Ohio Woman Accused of Raping Boy

(Union Township, Ohio) A 20-year-old local woman, Jamie Nichole Phillips, has been accused of raping a 14-year-old boy at knifepoint.

Phillips allegedly held a knife to the boy's throat and forced him to perform sex acts.

Phillips faces charges of rape, unlawful sexual conduct with a minor, kidnapping and felonious assault.

Sgt. Scott Blankenship with Union Township police said a knock at the door was enough distraction for the boy to quickly leave. Police said the boy was not physically harmed during the encounter.

"This young juvenile victim walked out from visiting his mother to get something out of the car. When he walked outside, a neighbor, which he had been associated with simply by being her neighbor, approached the victim put a weapon to his throat and chest area, and ordered him back into the apartment," said Blankenship.

The boy told his friends about the alleged incident who then encouraged him to tell his parents. The victim's family went to police on Easter Sunday.

Phillips was booked into custody at the Clermont County Jail with bond set at $200,000.

Roadside Pooper Pinched by Trooper

(Fort Pierce, Florida) A 30-something woman, Melissa Mansfield (aka Mellisa Mansfield), has been accused of indecent exposure after being caught by a Florida Highway Patrol trooper as she was taking a dump on the berm of Interstate 95.

According to the trooper:

As I approached the vehicle I clearly observed a white female squatting on the passenger side of the vehicle with her pants down below her knees defecating with moderate traffic flowing.

She had no expectation of privacy due to the fact she did [not] open the rear passenger door to shield herself from the view of oncoming traffics. I asked her what she was doing and she stated, "I am going to the bathroom."

Mansfield reportedly had no driver's license and the car she was driving was reported stolen in Key West. She was booked into custody on charges of indecent exposure, vehicle theft, and operating a motor vehicle without a valid license.

Another Spectacular US Government Global Warming Forecast Fail

In 1989, global warming was going to kill off the last Kirtland Warbler



Since they made this forecast in 1989, the population has increased by 800%.

SOURCE (See the original for links and graphics)

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

Officer-Involved Beating Caught on Dashcam

(Sante Fe, New Mexico) Unknowingly, Sgt. Mike Eiskant of the Santa Fe Police Department was caught by his own dashcam as he made love to himself.




Interestingly, Eiskant has a reputation of inappropriate behavior, including harassment and stalking.

You can hear on the video his audio-erotic situation and the sound of a zipper can be heard clearly. The officer seems to be masturbating while looking at a nude picture of a woman on his cellphone.

The video is a total of 10 minutes and at one time in the video the officer can be heard saying, “Oh, show me those big beautiful breasts, baby.”

The department is investigating Eiskant's latest impropriety. Sgt. Eiskant is due to retire in November.

Tip: slwlion

Reagan vs. Obama




Tip: Rita and Eugene

Chuck Woolery and the Mexican Fence

Solving the alien influx from Mexico is addressed.




It has been asserted that Chuck Woolery is a genius. No disagreement here.

T. Boone Pickens on Wind Power

Readers may remember that not long ago renowned oilman T. Boone Pickens was a vocal advocate of wind energy.

Pickens planned to build windfarms and expected to turn a profit if he could convince the government to fund construction of a transmission network.

Since wind-derived electricity is substantially more expensive to produce than coal, oil, nuclear or hydro, even before adding miles and miles of taxpayer-funded transmission lines, neither the public nor the politicians supported Pickens' proposal.

As a result, Pickens abandoned his windpower scheme.

Appearing on a television program this week, Pickens summed up his wind energy efforts in one simple sentence. In the patois of the American Southwest Pickens remarked,

"I've lost my ass."

I suggest Mr. Pickens is no longer fond of wind power.

Antisemitic stunt at Florida University

It was nominally anti-Israel but how did they know the Jewish students were pro-Israel? There are plenty of anti-Israel Jews. So the students were singled out just because they were Jewish

More than 200 Jewish students at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL found “eviction” notices posted on their dormitory doors Friday, unaware that it was part of a publicity stunt by Students for Justice in Palestine.

The organization’s chapter president, Noor Fawzy, explained, “We want to raise awareness about the plight of the Palestinians…The intent is to expose Israel‘s illegal policies and give students a feel of what it’s like to live under occupation. “The ”notice” explained that more than 25,000 homes have been demolished since the “occupation of Palestine” began in 1967.

While SJP appears to have gotten university approval for the stunt (some members may have even been escorted by an employee official as they were posting the signs), the school has since removed the postings after many expressed their disapproval.

Rayna Exelbierd, who received one of the notices, said, “We’re taking it very seriously. We’re considering it a hate crime. The flier promotes hate; it doesn’t promote peace. People were scared by it. People felt threatened by it.”

Source

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

Notice of Discontinuation

An announcement was received this week that Haloscan Comments will be discontinued.

Today, we are announcing our decision to “end of life” the commenting widgets previously known as JS-Kit Comments, Haloscan, and Echo Comments.

We will keep the service running for the next 6 months until it shuts down on October 1st, 2012.

We will only be able to address password recovery related support questions and won't be able to respond to other inquiries.

It's mentioned that comments collected over the years will likely be lost.

Virginia Teacher Gets Jail for Sex with Boy - Updated

(Prince William County, Virginia) Earlier today, former teacher Tina Marie Amato, 28, was sentenced to three months in jail for engaging in sex with a student.

Prince William Circuit Court Judge Lon E. Farris sentenced her to five years in prison, with four years and nine months suspended on each charge, and ordered that the sentences run concurrently, giving her three months to serve.[…]

In addition to the jail time, Farris sentenced Amato to serve two years probation. She was also ordered to have no contact with the victim and will have to register as a sex offender.

Amato still faces charges of taking indecent liberties with a minor in Stafford County. A plea is expected later this month.

* * * * *
Virginia Teacher Guilty of Sex with Boy - Updated
[Previous 12/15/11 post]
(Dale City, Virginia) Earlier today, 28-year-old Tina Marie Amato pleaded guilty in Prince William Circuit Court to charges stemming from a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old male student.

The boy, who was not identified because of his age, told authorities his relationship with Amato began when he was in the ninth grade, in the 2008-2009 school year, prosecutors said.

The boy said he approached Amato, who was his English teacher, repeatedly and, towards the end of the school year got her to kiss him in an empty classroom, prosecutors said.

The two continued their relationship over the summer by chatting online and occasionally going to the movies together, prosecutors said.

During the boy’s sophomore year, the relationship became sexual, authorities said. The two would have sex at an area movie theater occasionally and at least once had sex in a Woodbridge hotel, according to court documents.

Amato told police that she fell in love with the boy, prosecutors said.

Sentencing is scheduled for April 12.

Note that Amato faces similar charges in Stafford County with proceedings scheduled for February 8. Meanwhile, Amato is free on bond.

* * * * *
Virginia Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 4/4/11 post]
(Dale City, Virginia) A 27-year-old English teacher at Gar-Field High School, Tina Marie Amato, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student.

Amato faces charges of indecent liberties by a custodian, crimes against nature and use of a communications system to facilitate certain offenses.

Police said the boy told school officials of an “inappropriate relationship” between a teacher and himself on Friday.

School officials immediately notified authorities, said Prince William County police spokesman Jonathan Perok.

Police found out the relationship between the teacher and student lasted over a period of a year, he said.

Amato was booked into custody without bond.

Georgia Woman Stabs Hubby in Crotch

(Macon, Georgia) A 39-year-old local woman, Edith Katherine Shellow, was arrested last Sunday for allegedly stabbing her husband in the groin with a Phillips screwdriver.

Shellow also reportedly banged him in the face and head with a wrench.

Shellow faces a charge of aggravated assault.

Shellow stabbed Willis in the groin while he tried to defend himself against Shellow’s teenage daughter, according to the report.

Willis asked to be taken to the hospital, but Shellow sat in a chair in front of a door and held a baseball bat, “threatening Mr. Willis with further violence if he attempted to leave the room,” according to the report.

Shellow was booked into custody. Her husband was treated at the hospital and released.

Arkansas Teacher and Three Male Students

(White Hall, Arkansas) A former substitute teacher at White Hall Junior High and High School, Marla Sizemore, has been accused of sexually assaulting three male students.

Sizemore faces counts of first degree sexual assault, second degree sexual assault, and providing alcohol and contributing to the delinquency of minors.

Investigators say Sizemore hosted a party for junior high and high school students, had sex with three of them, and provided them with alcohol.

Sizemore is currently out on bond. Her attorney had no comment at this time.

Sizemore reportedly has a prior conviction for child endangerment.

Fox News Mole

Yesterday, associate producer Joe Muto, a self-identified mole and Gawker.com columnist working in Fox News headquarters, bragged that Fox News security had not found him yet.

Shortly thereafter, "two nice gentlemen from security" escorted Muto from Fox News headquarters.

Muto writes:

Two hours ago I was called into a meeting with Dianne Brandi, the Fox News Executive Vice President of Legal and Business Affairs and suspended indefinitely… with pay, oddly enough. They nailed me.

I am a weasel, a traitor, a sell-out and every bad word you can throw at me… but as of today, I am free, and I am ready to tell my story, which I wasn’t able to fully do for the previous 36 hours.

The weasel/traitor/sellout promised "much, much more tomorrow."

It's not clear what "much, much more" would entail but a review of Muto's inaugural Gawker column indicates that he has scrutinized the bathrooms at Fox headquarters and he disapproves of the "dreary" newsroom and the older computers. Maybe "much, much more" will include a scathing review of the lunchroom.

In any event, after eight years working at Fox News, Muto's first producible as a mole is to expose the gap between the bathroom stall and the wall "that's so big that it has toilet paper draped over it for a modicum of privacy."

It might be premature but based on Muto's initial effort, I'd suggest that he not count on his "mole" career lasting long and he needs a backup plan.

Muto has been employed by Fox since 2004, starting as a production assistant. In 2007, Muto joined the O'Reilly Factor as an associate producer. As of today, he has been fired and Fox News is exploring legal recourse.

Companion post at A Western Heart.

More hate speech about conservatives

Substitute "blacks" or "homosexuals" for "Republicans" in the statements below and imagine the response. The teacher would be out on her ear. As it is, only a reprimand seems to be forthcoming

"Republicans are “stupid.” That loaded statement was purportedly delivered to sixth-graders by their public school teacher in Fairfax County, Virginia. The educator, Kristin Martin, is said to have railed against conservatives, allegedly telling students that “[Republicans] don’t care about anyone but wealthy people and businesses.”

“It all started when this disabled kid came in and named all the Republicans candidates for Super Tuesday,” one student said. “She [Martin] said to him, ‘I don’t like them, I think that they are stupid.’”

One mother, a Republican who is going unnamed in an effort to protect her child from retaliation, claims that the teacher’s words constitute indoctrination.

“I felt like the teacher was brainwashing naive, young children to believe people like me, my family and, to a certain extent, my daughter, were stupid,” the woman told The DC in an e-mail.

According to the woman’s daughter, Martin also made it known that she had voted for President Barack Obama and that the Democrats tend to do more “for the community and schools.”

SOURCE

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

Maryland Woman, 39, and Florida Boy, 16

(Harford County, Maryland) A 39-year-old local married woman, Lisa Elaine Carroll, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 16-year-old Florida boy she met via an online video game site.

Carroll faces nine felony counts of unlawful sexual activity with a minor and one misdemeanor count of traveling to meet a minor.

The Harford County Child Advocacy Center was contacted March 28 by the Highlands County, Fla., Sheriff's Office to assist in the investigation of an adult woman who allegedly was sexually involved with a Florida minor, according to the news release.

The Florida minor, 16, told police he was involved in a sexual relationship with Carroll, whom he met in October while playing the online video game War 2 Glory.

Carroll and the juvenile male began communicating and their relationship continued via Skype, a service that allows users to communicate with peers by voice, video, and instant messaging over the Internet, according to the news release.

During an interview with members of the Harford County Child Advocacy Center, Carroll allegedly admitted to the sexual relationship with the victim.

Carroll was booked into the Harford County Detention Center and awaits an extradition hearing.

CA Teacher's Aide Gets Jail in Sex Case - Updated

(Glenn County, California) Former teacher's aide Laura M. Gallegos has pleaded guilty to one felony charge of "arranging to have sex with a teenager."

As a result of an agreement, multiple counts of felony sex with a minor were dismissed.

Sentencing was last Friday and Gallegos received one year in the Glenn County Jail. She was also ordered to serve four years of probation upon release. According to Glenn County Assistant District Attorney John Vacek,

Vacek said the judge could have sentenced her to more time on the single felony, but felt the sentence was reasonable within the perimeters of the case.

"She will have to register as a sex offender," said Vacek. "That's the big deal."

Immediately after sentencing, Gallegos was taken away in handcuffs.

* * * * *
California Mom Accused of Sex with HS Wrestlers
[Previous 8/19/10 post]
(Willows, California) A 38-year-old teacher's aide formerly at Shasta High School, Laura Michelle Gallegos, was arrested Tuesday for allegedly engaging in sex with with members of the Orland High School wrestling team.

On April 11 the Sheriff's Office received a call from an Orland area mother who told a dispatcher she believed her son, 15, was receiving explicit messages from an adult female.

The mother later told a deputy her son was an Orland High wrestler and the team had just returned from a tournament in Reno.

While at the tournament, the mother found a saved contact on her son's cell phone listed as "GF."

A mother of another wrestler sitting nearby said her son's cell phone had received a text message from "GF" and it was determined to have come from Gallegos.

The suspect was known to one of the mothers as a woman in her late 30s and a teacher's aide in Redding.

When the mother questioned her son about the contact, he emotionally admitted they had been "sexting" each other.

During this time, according to the press release, a 17-year-old boy on the Orland team was identified as a possible second victim.

Gallegos faces charges of exhibiting lewd material to a minor, contacting a minor to commit lewd acts, arranging meetings with a minor to commit lewd acts, oral copulation, and unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor more than three years younger.

Gallegos was booked into custody at the Glenn County Jail and released on $110,000 bond.

Ohio Teacher Forced to Resign - Updated

(Mount Gilead, Ohio) Yesterday, the charge of contributing to the delinquency/unruliness of a minor against teacher Sarah Hickman was dropped.

A trial was set to start Wednesday.

According to family members, Hickman's charges were dropped because of a plea deal.

Hickman also was forced to resign and write an apology letter to the student, and it is recommended that Hickman lose her teaching license.

Regarding plea deals, charges are typically reduced rather than eliminated completely.

* * * * *
Ohio Teacher Accused of Relationship with Student
[Previous 11/16/11 post]
(Cardington, Ohio) A 37-year-old teacher at Cardington-Lincoln High School, Sarah Hickman, has been accused of engaging in a two-year relationship with a student.

Hickman faces a charge of contributing to the delinquency or unruliness of a child.

The teacher and the teen were not having sex, according to Charles Howland, Morrow Co. prosecutor.

Court documents show the inappropriate activity was "meeting, texting, and telephoning... after receiving explicit warnings from the student's parents" to stop.

A court appearance is scheduled for November 30.

Immigration Program Funds Ballparks

(Tampa, Florida) Local decision-makers are salivating to have Chinese immigrants pay for a new stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.

Chamber of commerce leaders from Tampa and St. Petersburg who have been studying how to pay for a new Rays stadium landed on an obscure federal immigration program called EB-5 that might help with the half-billion-dollar tab.

Under the program, foreigners willing to invest at least $500,000 each to create jobs in the United States can qualify for a green card for themselves and their families.

Essentially, affluent foreigners can buy their way into a life in America — and the majority are coming from China.

The idea of using foreign EB-5 money is also being considered in Oakland, CA. Like the Tampa Bay Rays, the Oakland A's want a new ballpark.

Companion post at Immigration Watch.

Ohio Teacher Caught with Half-Naked Girl, 14

(Green, Ohio) A 27-year-old drama teacher at Green Middle School, Jason Mazan, was arrested after being caught by police in a car with a half-naked 14-year-old girl.

Mazan faces a charge of importuning.

Inspector Bill Holland said a Summit County deputy noticed a vehicle parked behind a business on Massillon Road in Green on Saturday, April 7 around 1:30 a.m.

Upon further investigation, the deputy found Mazan and the teen, who were both partially-clothed in the back seat, Holland said.[…]

Further charges are pending the outcome of the investigation, according to Holland.

"Any sex offense that involves a child is very serious," Holland said.

Mazan was booked into custody at the Summit County Jail and released on $50,000 bond.

Tip: Phil

John Derbyshire is not backing down

Below is an excerpt from his response to the furore over his advice that whites should avoid blacks

The natural preference most people have for some races—usually their own—over others means that multiracial societies are plagued with stresses that you don't see in monoracial societies. The tendency in modern times is to separation. Look at residential and educational patterns in the U.S.A. I discuss these issues at length in my book We Are Doomed.

A friend of mine who is an academic social scientist likes to say that if you want to know what people believe, there are two methods of inquiry: (A) ask them, or (B) observe their behavior. It's a depressing fact about human nature that if you apply both (A) and (B) to a given situation, the answers you get will not necessarily be the same. Whether we are, as our current Attorney General said, a nation of cowards about race, I don't know; but looking at those residential and educational patterns, it's awfully hard to deny that we are a nation of liars.

The big question is whether these problems, as they manifest themselves in the U.S.A., are solvable. Current orthodoxy is that they are, and offers a laundry list of solution methods. Fix the schools! End poverty! Stamp out racism! Affirmative action! Fifty years ago a thoughtful person could sign on to those prescriptions. I know: I was around: I did. Yes (we said) once unjust laws had been struck down, and some social massaging of that sort been done for a few years, the races would merge in happy harmony, and the word "race" and its derivatives would drop out of the language. We all believed that. I believed it.

Plainly this hasn't happened, except of course in the upper classes, which go by their own rules. For a thoughtful person today to believe that these social-engineering nostrums will (for example) bring black crime rates to a level indistinguishable from white crime rates, involves a strenuous act of what Orwell called "doublethink"—massive self-deception. Does anyone, after all those decades, all those trillions of dollars, all those failed social-engineering experiments, does anyone really, honestly still believe in the nostrums? I don't.

My own sense of the thing is that underneath the happy talk, underneath the dogged adherence to failed ideas and dead theories, underneath the shrieking and anathematizing at people like me, there is a deep and cold despair. In our innermost hearts,we don't believe racial harmony can be attained. Hence the trend to separation. We just want to get on with our lives away from each other. Yet for a moralistic, optimistic people like Americans, this despair is unbearable. It's pushed away somewhere we don't have to think about it. When someone forces us to think about it, we react with fury. That little boy in the Andersen story about the Emperor's new clothes? The ending would be more true to life if he had been lynched by a howling mob of outraged citizens.

Source

Derbyshire is ill with leukemia so may not have long to live. So I guess he feels that he has nothing to lose by calling it like it is. Sad that it takes a dying man to point out the obvious.

I note that elsewhere in the article Derb says that he is fine with Asians. I am too. I have several Indians living with me in my house. They are gentlemen as far as I am concerned. Who cares if they are brown? What a racist I must be!

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

Teacher of the Year Accused of Theft

(Bennington, Vermont) In September 2011, 32-year-old Chinese language teacher at Leland and Gray Secondary School, Tong Chen, was awarded the Golden Apple as Vermont's Teacher of the Year.

"I teach from the bottom of my heart and I speak to the students in a way I believe in educational philosophies. I believe they can learn and I learn from them. I learn from them how to teach and I teach them how to learn," Chen said.

Sadly, Chen's award is somewhat tarnished by her arraignment this week on charges of theft of $70-worth of merchandise from a supermarket.

Earthquake West of Sumatra




(Jakarta, Indonesia) A massive earthquake struck about four hours ago in the Indian Ocean off the western coast of Indonesia. A series of aftershocks has followed.

A tsunami warning has been issued for Sumatra. A tsunami watch covers the entire Indian Ocean.

Thus far the quakes have measured between 8.5 and 8.8 on the Richter scale. Damage estimates are unavailable.

Medical Devices Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks

Medical Daily:

An increasing number of patients are being fitted with medical implants like pacemakers and insulin pumps that are vulnerable to cyber-attacks, according to security researchers.

Expert Barnaby Jack, a researcher at security firm McAfee, discovered that the wireless links used in heart-regulating pacemakers, insulin-delivering pumps and cardiac rhythm-monitoring defibrillators that are used for interrogating and updating these devices left them opening exposed to hackers looking to gain remote control.

Jack told BBC that in just two weeks he found a way to scan for and compromise insulin pumps that communicate wirelessly. After overriding the pump’s safeguard, a hacker can threaten the lives of patients on the device by either turning off the device or by commanding wireless implants to deliver a hazardous dose of medicine to the patient.

"We can influence any pump within a 300ft range," Jack told the BBC. "We can make that pump dispense its entire 300 unit reservoir of insulin and we can do that without requiring its ID number."

More at the link.

Teacher Leaves Job and Family for Girl, 18, Then Gets Arrested for Sexual Misconduct with Another Girl

(Modesto, California) In mid-February, a 41-year-old business teacher at Enochs High School, James Hooker, left his family and quit his job to live with an 18-year-old female student, Jordan Powers.

Controversy erupted and persists with the school district, the teachers union, parents and the media weighing in.

Hooker and Powers seemingly lived in conjugal bliss until last week when Hooker was arrested for sexual misconduct with a different teen girl 14 years ago. Powers apparently felt betrayed and left, announcing they were through.

Check the video update.




Last Saturday, Hooker was released from custody on $50,000 bond. Latest report indicates Hooker is now trying to win back his teenage paramour.

Companion post at TJR.

Empirical Data on Hybrid Cars

According to Automotive News, most people who purchase hybrid automobiles don't purchase another one.

Apparently the experience of owning of one hybrid automobile lessens the desire to be proactive on saving the planet by owning another. I suggest that cost is also a factor.

Roving Chinese Ultrasound Gang

(Beijing, China)

Police in China have arrested a woman for performing ultrasound tests in the back seats of cars and illegally telling mothers the gender of their fetus, state media said Tuesday.

It is forbidden in China to tell expectant parents which sex their child will be because the practice has encouraged parents with a traditional preference for sons to abort female fetuses, skewing the ratio of boys to girls. Sonograms are allowed but gender identification is forbidden.

The official Xinhua News Agency said a woman surnamed Hu was arrested last month in Wuhan and is suspected of being part of a group of three people and a network of middlemen who provided gender testing across the city of 4.5 million.

Women usually paid around 700 yuan ($110) for the service, it said.

Illegal gender testing is punishable with prison.

Unruly Female, 19, Arrested

(Iowa City, Iowa) A 19-year-old female, Hope Ann Rain, has been accused of violating the city's under-21 ordinance, urinating in front of a local bar and resisting arrest.


Hope Rain
For being underage in a bar after 10 PM, Rain was issued a citation and set free.

Minutes later, police said they saw Rain lift her skirt in front of Pints, a bar on Clinton Street, squat down and urinate. Officers spoke with Rain and noticed she appeared to be intoxicated.

Police said Rain refused to give officers any personal information or take a breath test.

When told she was being place under arrest and place her hands behind her back, the woman physically resisted, police said. Rain was “belligerent and boisterous,” police said.

Rain was booked into custody.

Was old Karl right?

Marx pointed out that communism could easily be presented as Christian and the mainstream churches are mostly Left-leaning. Even Papal encyclicals make some concessions to socialist thinking. See both "De rerum novarum" and "Centesimus annus".

In that context a recent report from Britain is not inherently surprising. The Guardian summarizes:

People with faith are far more likely to take left-of-centre positions on a range of issues, including immigration and equality. The research, revealed in a new report by the thinktank Demos, undermines the widely held view that members of religious groups are more likely to have conservative tendencies.

The Demos report suggests that the example of the outgoing archbishop of Canterbury, who combines deeply held progressive beliefs with his religious convictions, is not unusual.

"Rowan Williams may be far more representative of the religious community than many have suggested," said Jonathan Birdwell, the author of the report. "Progressives should sit up and take note. Their natural allies may look more like the archbishop of Canterbury than Richard Dawkins."

The report found that 55% of people with faith placed themselves on the left of politics, compared with 40% who placed themselves on the right. The report also suggests that people with faith are more likely to value equality over freedom than their non-religious counterparts. It discloses that 41% of people with religious views prioritise equality over freedom, compared with 36% of those without faith.

The report, based on an analysis of the European Values Study, also finds evidence that people who belong to a religious organisation are more likely to say they are very interested in politics, to have signed a petition and to have participated in a demonstration.

There are some large caveats to be attached to that report, however. England is generally an irreligious country and the survey was based on the 13% who report that they belong to a church. It did not ask which church, how often the respondents went to church, or how strong are their religious beliefs. Usual Sunday Attendance at church in England is less than one million out of a total population of about 55 million -- which is about 2% (to be generous) -- so we see some gap between the 13% and the 2%

And even that 2% is no indication of religiosity. Attendance at the Church of England in particular is often motivated by broadly social reasons rather than by any real religious convictions. And any influence the C of E had would be of a Leftist character -- as is shown by their totally unbiblical acceptance of homosexual and female clergy.

So what does the survey tell us about religion in Britain? Very little, I am afraid. It's entirely possible, though not probable, that all the genuinely religious people in England are conservative.

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

Dakota Woman Accused of Unlawful Breastfeeding?

(Brookings, South Dakota) A 24-year-old local woman has been arrested for attempting to breastfeed a stranger's infant after breaking into a Brookings home. Police said that alcohol may have played a role in the incident.

The mother called 911 around 5 a.m. Sunday to report that a woman she didn't know had entered her home in Brookings and tried to breast feed her 2-month-old daughter, Brookings Police Lt. Derrick Powers said.

The mother was able to safely take her daughter away from the 24-year-old suspect, who police said then treated the home as her own until police arrived.

The interloper faces a charge of unlawful occupancy.

A Block of Hope For Sale



(London, England) Hope goes for £1 per block.

A supermarket will this week start selling "hope" alongside its baked beans and bananas, in the latest initiative aimed at persuading the cash-strapped public to give more money to charity.

Wooden blocks roughly the size of box of Maltesers branded with the single word "hope" will be interspersed with groceries at branches of Budgens in Crouch End and Belsize Park in London in a pilot scheme. Shoppers will be urged to take them to the till where they will be charged £1 per block which the retailer will forward to the Alzheimer's Society – the block is returned to the shelf.

The tactic is aimed at countering a national slump in charity donations.

It would be interesting if a store starts selling blocks of change to accompany the hope.

East Turkistan Islamic Movement Suspects

(Beijing, China) Chinese authorities have identified a list of six most-wanted terrorism suspects and taken action to freeze their assets.

The six are all believed to be core members of “East Turkistan Islamic Movement”, a terrorist group in Pakistan, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Security on Thursday.

They all hail from the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, it said.

"They have participated in organizing, planning, recruiting, and carrying out terrorist acts against Chinese targets within and outside the country," said a ministry press officer.

The most-wanted terrorist suspects are:

- Nurmemet Memetmin, 47,

- Abdulkyum Kurban, 30,

- Paruh Tursun, 40,

- Tursunjan Ebibla, 31,

- Nurmemet Raxit, 42, and

- Mamat Imin Nurmamat, 29.

The men are considered direct and real threats to China. The Chinese government seeks help from other nations in capturing the suspects.

Gravy Wrestler Clobbered with Monkey Wrench


Elisa Sampson
World Champion Gravy Wrestler
(Lancashire, England)

A model who became a champion gravy wrestler suffered serious eye damage after being hit in the face with a monkey wrench.

Elisa Sampson, 31, was hit in the face by her 'best friend' Sabina English, after arriving back at her home in Rossendale, Lancashire, and finding the single mother having sex with another friend on her sofa.

When kick boxer Elisa interrupted the two with a shout of: 'What are you doing', laundry worker English jumped up and hit her in the face with the garage tool, which was lying nearby on the floor.

The victim received two fractures around her right eye and a gashed upper lid, which needed surgery and 17 stitches to repair it and which resulted in a 'deformity' on the eyelid and long-term vision problems.

At Burnley Crown Court, Lancashire, English admitted grievous bodily harm and was jailed for two years.

Rough, eh? Seems one easily could get a few lumps from the gravy-wrestling crowd.

Tip: Charley Nestor

Chinese Teen Sells Kidney for iPhone

(Changsha, China)

Five people in south China face charges of illegal trading of a kidney from a teenager who bought an iPhone and an iPad with the earnings, local authorities said Friday.

The five, including a surgeon, were charged with intentional injury, the people's procuratorate in Chenzhou city in Hunan province said in a statement.

Defendant He Wei, who was penniless and frustrated over gambling debts, sought to make enormous earnings through illegal kidney trading, according to the agency.

He asked Yin Shen to look for donors through online chat rooms and Tang Shimin to lease an operating room from Su Kaizong, the contractor of a local hospital's urology department, it stated.

Song Zhongyu, a surgeon from a provincial hospital in Yunnan province, conducted the kidney transplant from a 17-year-old high school student from Anhui province, surnamed Wang, to a recipient in April last year.

He received about 220,000 yuan (35,000 U.S. dollars) for the activity and gave Wang 22,000 yuan. He, the other four defendants and several other medical staff involved in the transplant shared the remaining earnings.

Reportedly, Wang's other kidney isn't doing its job and his condition is deteriorating.

Easter Vigil Service


Pope Benedict XVI
(Vatican City) Last night during an Easter vigil service, Pope Benedict XVI spoke of good and evil.

"Life is stronger than death. Good is stronger than evil. Love is stronger than hate. Truth is stronger than lies," Benedict, wearing white robes in a symbol of new life, told the faithful in a packed St. Peter's Basilica.

Still, Benedict worried in his homily: "The darkness that poses a real threat to mankind, after all, is the fact that he can see and investigate tangible material things, but cannot see where the world is going or whence it comes, where our own life is going, what is good and what is evil."

"The darkness enshrouding God and obscuring values is the real threat to our existence and to the world in general," the pope said.

"If God and moral values, the difference between good and evil, remain in darkness, then all other 'lights,' that put such incredible technical feats within our reach, are not only progress but also dangers that put us and the world at risk," Benedict added.

Amen.

Is Florida's "stand your ground" law the reason Zimmerman has not been arrested?

Zimmerman claims Martin knocked him down and repeatedly smacked his head against the pavement. He says his gun was exposed during the scuffle and he feared Martin would grab it, so he drew the pistol and fired. In these circumstances, a right to "stand your ground" would make no difference, since there would be no feasible way to safely escape.

Under Florida law, the crucial question is whether Zimmerman reasonably believed deadly force was necessary to prevent Martin from killing or seriously injuring him. The same defense would have been available to him under the "duty to retreat" standard that applied in public places prior to 2005—even if Zimmerman threw the first punch.

Another change to the law seems more relevant: To arrest Zimmerman, police need "probable cause" to conclude not simply that he killed someone but also that his use of force was unlawful. Yet probable cause is the same test that applies to all other crimes, and if it has not been met so far the fault probably lies in an incomplete investigation, rather than the requirement that police have a "reasonable belief" a suspect broke the law before they charge him.

Showing probable cause, of course, is not the same as proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—something to keep in mind if, as now seems likely, George Zimmerman's claims are scrutinized by a jury.

Source

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

Occupy Protesters Say But Don't Do


Occupy Encampment (typical)
(Richland, Washington) The Occupy Portland movement is reportedly baring breasts to help advertise its planned gathering on April 15 for the “Hanford: America’s Fukushima” protest in Richland.

The event is planned to call attention to the need for cleanup of the Hanford nuclear reservation, including increased funding and transparency, according to organizers.

Ironic, eh? The Occupy protesters are telling others to clean up.

Teacher Sentenced for Boozing Minors - Updated

(Providence, Rhode Island) Former Central Falls High School teacher Emma Wise pleaded no contest to providing alcohol to minors and was sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

* * * * *
Teacher Accused of Providing Alcohol to Minors
[Previous 2/3/12 post]
(Central Falls, Rhode Island) A 22-year-old chemistry teacher formerly at Central Falls High School, Emma Wise, has been accused of providing alcohol to minors.

Wise faces charges of procurement of alcohol beverages for underage persons and contributing to the delinquency of a person under 16.

Police say they received a complaint about the first year chemistry teacher at Central Falls High School on January 24th.

An investigation revealed that back in October 2011, Wise drove several students to a liquor store in Pawtucket and purchased alcohol, police said.

Officers say Wise then drank the alcohol with the same underage kids at a local park. Some of the students were reportedly 15 and 16-years-old.

Wise was booked into custody and subsequently released on $1,000 personal recognizance bond.

Ve vill make you happy! Whether you like it or not

This new Green/Left proposal seems faintly reasonable at first. Is not happiness in some sense the bottom line for all of us? The idea that the government can make us happy is the funny bit. All the government departments I know of are much better at provoking rage!

But, aside from that, an even bigger fly in the proto-Fascist ointment is that happiness is largely dispositional. We are pretty much born with a pre-set level of happiness and departures from it are both rare and temporary. A common clinical observation is proof of that: Even people who have suffered catastrophic injuries -- such as paraplegics -- seem to bounce back to their original level of happiness after a couple of years. Some people (mainly conservatives) are born happy and positive and some others (Leftists) are born miseries and whiners.

And if you think I am just making propaganda in saying that, I'm not. Surveys of various sorts always show that conservatives are happier. Just one small example here, for instance.

And the whole concept of happiness is surprisingly suspect anyway. German and English are closely related languages and yet German just has no word for happiness. The nearest they can come is to say that they are "lucky" (gluecklich).

That was borne home to me forcefully many years ago when I was talking to an old Jewish gent who had escaped Hitler and ended up in Australia. He was glad to be alive but missed the vibrant cultural life he had known in prewar Germany. We spoke in English but he was aware that I knew some German so when I asked him a how he felt about his escape to Australia he replied: "Gluecklich I am but happy I am not".

And I would be surprised if other languages did not have similar difficulties of translation. I say more about the considerable body of happiness research here

Are you happy? Are Canadians happy, or at least happier than the Americans or the French or the Taiwanese? Would you like to be happier?

At the United Nations on Monday, they took a major step toward a global strategy to enhance your happiness status, and the happiness of everybody else in the world. It’s the new role for governments across the planet. If the UN has its way, the state’s major objective will be to boost your sense of well-being and improve how you feel about your life.

It all began in 1972 in the landlocked Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan (pop. 700,000) when King Jigme Singye Wangchuck announced that his Buddhist country (GDP per capita US$5,500) would thereafter pursue economic progress guided not by the harsh and dehumanizing concept of Gross National Product, but by the warm and humanistic principles of Gross National Happiness.

Almost 40 years later in New York on Monday, under the auspices of the Kingdom of the United Nations, the high priests of economic interventionism and wealth redistribution moved one step closer to turning Gross National Happiness into a global paradigm.

They issued a report — the World Happiness Report. They staged a conference — Well-being and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm. And they fashioned a declaration — Realizing a World of Sustainable Well-being and Happiness.

The declaration is in turn intended to become part of “a long-term reference framework” for the coming Rio +20 Earth Summit, a grand replay in June this year of Maurice Strong’s 1992 Rio Earth Summit.

At Rio +20, the UN activists hope to change the direction of world economic policy-making. Production goals and measures based on dollars and yen are out. Happiness measures are in — even though the concepts, happiness and “subjective well-being,” remain vacuous bits of quasi-religious sophistry.

The opening paragraphs of Monday’s World Happiness Report — written by Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University’s Earth Institute — set out the transcendental mindset required to deal with the mind-blowing idea of Gross National Happiness or its equivalent.

One of the amazing characteristics of the happiness paradigm as described by Mr. Sachs and others is how remarkably similar its conclusions are to the old interventionism and redistribution policies of the traditional left.

It’s as if the high priests of Occupy the Planet and the Green Apocalypse — having run their old socialist and environmental engines into the ground — have stumbled across a new set of rationalizations and slogans.

To no surprise, with 65/309 as a mandate, the Monday meeting in New York produced a radical declaration calling for the overthrow of the “current economic paradigm” to take into account finite global resource limits and the emerging science of well-being and happiness.

What that means, aside from the same old nitty-gritty policies such as more government job creation, is nothing less than a “redesign of the world economy” and the overthrow of existing economic ideas to be replaced by the pursuit of happiness as defined by the United Nations, not by individuals.

More HERE

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

More on the Samantha Brick furore



The furore seems to be ramping up rather than dying down so I thought I might put up an email from a lady who read my comments yesterday

I have just read your response to the widespread ridicule and damnation of journalist Samantha Brick.

Bless you; I could not agree more wholeheartedly. My husband and I were dismayed at the vitriolic response.

Mrs Brick described herself as attractive; her confident assertion was clearly a taboo.

Many people would indeed be drawn strongly to those classic style indicators of attractiveness: tallness, slimness and blondeness. Add a high heel and a pretty skirt and hey! Presto. Plenty of colour and movement abounds, attracting ample male attention.

As a tallish, slimmish, blonde woman who often dons heels and red lipstick, I understand and agree with Mrs Brick’s points. I have had many similar experiences (to those she described).

I submit Mrs Brick’s crime was to break the unspoken pledge of sisterhood by referring to herself positively. We women bond by exposing our own flaws, together… we compare and contrast. And nothing creates a sense of solidarity as rapidly as joining forces to rip a pretty woman to shreds. Observe, if you will, a table of women being served by a gorgeous young waitress. The more wine that is consumed, the ruder and more hostile they become to her.

Should some men be present at the table, the waitress will likely be left a generous tip, motivated in part by a sense of apology. I have watched a number of times, though, as the men leave the table first in order to arrange taxis and so forth. And I have seen the last lady at the table look around furtively, scoop up the notes and shove them in her purse before skittering away.

There are a trillion examples. Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for defending Mrs Brick.

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

Indiana Scrotum Attack

(Muncie, Indiana) A 43-year-old local woman, Christina L. Reber, has been accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend's house, grabbing his scrotum and squeezing hard.

Reber faces charges of aggravated battery, residential entry and domestic battery.

The man said he was in "incredible pain" and Reber began digging in her fingers, and that she maintained her grip as both fell to the floor. The alleged victim said he was "finally able to pry his scrotum from Reber's hand."

The man was taken to Ball Memorial Hospital for treatment of what was described as a "long tear on his scrotum."

Reber was booked into custody at the Delaware County Jail without bond.

Tip: slwlion

Sick Hugo Chavez Prays "Do not take me yet"

(Caracas, Venezuela) On Wednesday, El Presidente Hugo Chavez was feeling chipper after returning from Cuba where he received a second series of radiation treatments for his cancer.

The radiation treatments have caused no ill effects, the 57-year-old president said after disembarking from his official aircraft.

“The body has assimilated it well” and all of the medical tests show his recovery is progressing, Chavez said in remarks broadcast live on all television and radio networks.

However, another report alleges that the Cuban doctors zapped Chavez in the wrong place resulting in radiation burns on his intestines. Consequently, rumors have surfaced saying Chavez will now seek treatment in Brazil.

Meanwhile, there's this.

A tearful Hugo Chávez has prayed for God to spare his life as he attended a pre-Easter mass on returning from cancer treatment in Cuba.

The Venezuelan president wept in a televised speech from the Catholic service in his home state of Barinas. Chávez cried and his voice broke as he eulogised Jesus, the revolutionary fighter Ernesto "Che" Guevara and the South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.

"Give me your crown, Jesus. Give me your cross, your thorns so that I may bleed. But give me life, because I have more to do for this country and these people. Do not take me yet," Chávez said, standing below an image of Jesus with the Crucifix.

Chávez said he had held faith that his cancer would not return after his first two operations last year – which removed a baseball sized tumour from his pelvis – but it did.

Chavez's condition seems much more serious than is generally reported.

German Veterans' Day?

Given the history of the German military during the 20th Century, there is reluctance to introducing an American-style Veterans' Day despite calls to do so. The population remains deeply uneasy about the idea.

Nevertheless,

German Defence Minister Thomas de Maizière has proposed May 22 as an annual Veterans’ Day to honour former soldiers, both living and dead.

“Against the background of our operations and the questions they pose our society, it is time to speak objectively and openly about our veterans’ policy,” de Maizière wrote in his proposal.

Opposition to the proposal runs from skeptical to scathing.

US-UK Trust Issue

The CIA is no longer sharing sensitive intelligence information with the Brits.

The CIA warned MI6 that al-Qaeda was planning an attack 18 months ago, but withheld detailed information because of concerns it would be released by British courts.

British intelligence agencies were subsequently forced to carry out their own investigations, according to Whitehall sources.

Several potential terrorists were identified with links to a wider European plot, but it is still not known whether the British authorities have uncovered the full extent of the threat.

The breakdown in relations came after the release of US intelligence in the case of Binyam Mohamed, a former Guantánamo Bay detainee who took legal action over his incarceration. The Government was subsequently forced to pay millions in compensation to him and other detainees.

Conservative ministers are proposing establishing a system of “secret justice” to allow sensitive intelligence to be heard in British courts behind closed doors, but are facing mounting opposition from the Liberal Democrats.

Loose lips sink ships.

University Callboy Service




(Mannheim, Germany) A free callboy service is being offered to female students at the University of Mannheim to relieve stress from the pressures of school.

As a business model, it's a win-win formula: Two potential partners set out to profit from a mutual transaction. That must be how the three business students from the University of Mannheim in southwestern Germany, who call themselves Oskar, Christopher and Julius, imagined things to be when they decided to offer their services by creating what could best be described as a free brothel. They offer stressed-out, female students uncomplicated and anonymous one-night stands.[…]

They call their project Bib:Love -- a reference to the first letters of the German word Bibliothek, meaning library -- and the slogans which they have plastered on posters around the university's campus promise "Good Grades through Good Sex."

Reportedly, five callboy one-night stands have occurred to date in Mannheim while other franchises of Bib:Love are being contemplated in Tübingen and Ulm.

Ohio Woman Accused of Prostituting Girl, 15

(Cleveland, Ohio) A 21-year-old local woman, Chardee Barfield, has been arrested by the FBI for allegedly offering a 15-year-old girl for sex.

An accomplice, 27-year-old Ernest McClain, was arrested in January for the same alleged offense and is scheduled for trial on April 9.

Both McClain and Barfield were indicted by a federal grand jury on February 2 for knowingly transporting a minor female across the state line from Ohio to Pennsylvania with the intent of engaging that 15-year-old girl in prostitution.

While in Pennsylvania, Anderson says Barfield posted herself and posted the teen as available to engage in prostitution at a local motel. Barfield included provocative images of the 15-year-old on the internet website advertising the minor as available for sex. Barfield also engaged in sexual activities with the 15-year-old.

Barfield and McClain are in federal custody.

Indian Navy Commissions Nuclear Submarine


INS Chakra (formerly Russian K-152 Nerpa)
From India Today:

India's silent service has just got its biggest boost in over 20 years. The arrival of INS Chakra -- an 8,000 ton sea monster -- could not have come a moment sooner.

The Russian-built nuclear-powered submarine would operate with the Indian Navy for 10 years and provide the country's arsenal a thumping new capability. Not just as a weapons platform, but a laboratory to study the intricate science of nuclear submarine warfare.

Shrouded in secrecy for years, India Today scooped the first video footage of the submarine days before the silent killer formally joins Indian Navy on April 4. The clip taken from a crew boat approaching the submarine off the Vladivostok coast and from on board the submarine itself provides a distinctive sense of this immense beast.

The commissioning of the attack submarine heralds a new beginning for the Indian Navy. After over two decades, India now steps back into an elite club of countries -- the United States, Russia, France, China and the United Kingdom -- that operate nuclear submarines.

India reportedly paid $650 million for the sub.

In defence of Samantha Brick

This subject is not my line of country at all but a claim by Mrs Brick has sparked a huge internet furore so I thought I might add a little more to it. You can read about it all here or here

Basically, Mrs Brick says that it can sometimes be a handicap to be good looking. Now she doesn't look remarkably attractive to me but these are matters of taste and it appears that in her experience her looks have caused jealousy among other women and unwanted attention from men. I am sure there are many attractive women who would report similarly and I have myself known one very attractive woman who had exactly that problem. And it was as disturbing to her equilibrium as it apparently is to Mrs Brick.

So what Mrs Brick said seemed perfectly reasonable and even commonplace to me.

So why the furore? I guess that you are not supposed to say such things. It crosses a politically correct boundary. Not only are all men equal but all women are equal in looks too, apparently. Feminists certainly bridle at displays of feminine pulchritude at times.

I certainly think that people were entitled to say that Mrs Brick is not in fact pretty. From what I can see, I think her looks are middling myself. But to condemn and abuse her for raising the subject is egregious and -- I can find no other word for it -- bitchy.

Mrs Brick comes out of the affair looking (in the sense of character) far better than any of her detractors.

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

Sex for Cheeseburgers

(Manatee, Florida) A 45-year-old local alleged prostitute, Christine Faith Baker, has been arrested for offering sex to an undercover officer for two double cheeseburgers.

The detective bought the burgers for $2.75 and then Baker told him that he could also tip her $40 for her services, according to the report.

After Baker gave the detective directions to a vacant lot, Baker was arrested by other agents and charged with prostitution, the report states.

Baker was booked and released on Saturday.

Tip: Charley Nestor

DOE Blythe Solar Project Now Bankrupt

Another Obama solar power initiative goes shovel tips up.

In keeping with the recent trend of so-called green companies going into the red, another solar energy company supported by President Obama's top administration officials declared bankruptcy today.

Solar Trust for America received $2.1 billion in conditional loan guarantees from the Department of Energy -- "the largest amount ever offered to a solar project," according to Energy Secretary Steven Chu -- for a project near Blythe, Calif., but declared bankruptcy within a year. It is unclear how much of the guarantee, if any, was actually awarded.

Senior officials in Obama's administration had very high hopes for the Blythe project. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar attended the groundbreaking ceremony, which he described as "a historic moment in America’s new energy frontier" and "another important step in making America’s clean energy future a reality." Chu trumpeted at the time that Solar Trust would prove that "when we rev up the great American innovation machine, we can out-compete any other nation."

Unfortunately, the "great American innovation machine" only operates efficiently with entrepreneurs, not bureaucrats marinated with lofty intentions.

Tip: Charlie Nestor

Teacher Benched on Facebook Page Dispute

(Cass County, Michigan) A 27-year-old teacher's aide at Frank Squires Elementary School, Kimberly Hester, has been disciplined by Superintendent Robert Colby for not showing her Facebook page to him.

A letter from the Lewis Cass Intermediate School District said, "…in the absence of you voluntarily granting Lewis Cass ISD administration access to you[r] Facebook page, we will assume the worst and act accordingly."

At issue is a photo Hester obtained from a coworker and posted on her Facebook page. It was deemed to be unprofessional and offensive by a parent, a family friend, who had access to the page. The parent complained to the superintendent.

Hester said she and her coworker pictured in the photo were put on seven weeks of paid administrative leave, and they were eventually suspended for ten days. She said the coworker, who was up for tenure, was forced to resign.

Bill Young, an attorney representing Hester through the Michigan Education Association, said Hester's case will go before a private arbiter under the collective bargaining agreement in late May. Young said the coworker has taken another job.

The photo is arguably suggestive at most. It's neither pornographic nor obscene.

This story has garnered attention since it involves an employer demanding to see an employee's personal Facebook page. The question of Facebook privacy is unresolved.

Media distortion bears fruit as Harvard academic laps it up without checking

The following paragraph was written by Nancy Gertner, a retired US District Court judge, and a professor at Harvard Law School:

"Nothing prevents the Sanford police from critically evaluating Zimmerman’s account, as police do in so many situations, and concluding that it was contradicted by the girlfriend’s account, by 911 tapes of other bystanders shortly before the killing, that it makes no sense for Martin to start a fight since Zimmerman obviously had a gun in a holster, was substantially larger than Martin, since the encounter took place close to where Martin was staying and he was moments away from safety."

She's accepted uncritically the relevance of all those pretty media pictures showing Martin when he was about 12 years old. She really thinks that Zimmerman was the tall one -- when in fact Martin was 6" taller than Zimmerman.

What a clown she is! If that's what passes for proper judicial scrutiny at Harvard, we are all in big trouble. Anybody who appeared before when she was a judge and lost his case should take a screenshot of her original article above and use it to petition for a re-opening of his case.

I've got a question for the learned lady. What would she feel if she found the guy in the photo below looking down on her on a dark night?



Because that's a picture of the 17 year old 6'3" Trayvon Martin that Zimmerman encountered. And don't forget that it is she, not I who said that height is important.

The first time I saw the media pictures of Martin and then read his age I smelt a rat. Blind Freddy would know that a normal black male would be at or near full physical maturity at age 17 -- as Martin indeed was -- so why were they showing pictures of what looked like a 12-year-old kid? Easy answer: The whole thing is a media beatup designed to sell newspapers. And people lacking in critical thinking ability -- such as Harvard faculty -- fell for it hook line and sinker.

And if you think it's not a beatup consider the two cases below for contrast:



Shawn Tyson (above) was sentenced this week for murdering two white British tourists in Florida. No rallies against violence and no charges of racism. Tyson even referred to his victims as "crackers" so it was a clear hate crime.

Terry Moore, 32, was beaten this week by a mob of black males. Again, no rallies against racism; no public outpouring of support for the victim. Such black-on-White violence is the norm and only rarely makes it to anything but local headlines.

QED

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

Seven Dead in University Shootings

(Oakland, California) A 43-year-old former student at Oikos University, One L. Goh, has been accused of fatally shooting seven people on campus yesterday. After police launched a manhunt, Goh was captured at a nearby shopping center.

According to Police Chief Howard Jordan, a .45-caliber gun was recovered.

"It's going to take us a few days to put the pieces together," Jordan said. "We do not have a motive."

Police first received a 911 call at 10:33 a.m. reporting a woman on the ground bleeding. As more calls came in from the school, the first arriving officer found a victim suffering from a life-threatening gunshot wound, he said.

It was an "extremely chaotic scene," Jordan said.

More officers arrived and formed a perimeter around the school on the belief that the suspect was still inside, he said.

"Potential victims remained inside the building either trapped by a locked door which officers were unable to open," Jordan said. Others were unable to flee because they were injured, he said.

Jordan said there were about 35 people in or near the building when gunfire broke out. Of the seven fatalities, five died at the scene and another two at the hospital.

Three wounded victims are in stable condition.

US Marines Arrive in Darwin, Australia

Evidently the Marines were welcomed with open arms. The mayor of Darwin said the Marines will provide a needed boost to the economy.

Video

Lights Going Out for German Solar

(Bitterfeld-Wolfen, Germany) Q-Cells, formerly the world's largest maker of solar panels, will file for bankruptcy today.

The German firm says it has abandoned an attempt to refinance its debts and will file for insolvency on Tuesday.

Like other solar panel makers, Q-Cells has been hit by falling prices and last year the firm lost 846m euros ($1.1bn; £702m).

The company started in 2001 with 19 staff and now employs more than 2,000 workers.

Several other German makers of solar equipment have failed recently including Solon, Solar Millennium and Solarhybrid.

Earlier this year, government subsidies were cut for solar power production. So, as in the United States, the German solar industry cannot compete in the marketplace without massive infusion of taxpayer funds.

Texas Educator Gets Prison for Sexting - Updated

(San Antonio, Texas) Federal charges against 43-year-old Cynthia Stewart have been dropped in favor of state prosecution for online solicitation of a minor, considered more appropriate.

This week, a report indicates that Cynthia Stewart, former guidance counselor at Judson ISD Olympia Elementary School, has been convicted of felony online solicitation of a minor. As a result, Stewart was sentenced to six years in prison.

Cynthia Stewart, 43, met a 15-year-old student through a local sports association and starting communicating with him using Facebook. Their relationship grew and Stewart sent sexually explicit pictures of herself to the boy on her cellphone.

Once she is released, Stewart will have to register for a sex offender for 10 years. She will no longer be allowed to be a teacher or school counselor.

* * * * *
Texas Educator Accused of Sexting
[Previous 11/15/11 post]
(San Antonio, Texas) A 43-year-old guidance counselor at Judson ISD Olympia Elementary School, Cynthia Stewart, has been accused of sexual offenses involving a 15-year-old boy.

Authorities say Stewart sent naked pictures of herself, sexted, to the boy.

[Stewart] is facing federal charges of receipt of child pornography and solicitation of a minor to engage in sexual conduct.

Stewart was arrested and booked into custody.

Iowa Woman Accused of Doing 3 Boys

(Waterloo, Iowa) A 34-year-old local woman, Jennifer Linn Dicken, has been accused of engaging in sex with three boys. Police say one victim is 12 and two are 14.

Dicken faces three counts of third-degree sexual abuse.

The incidents happened in September, and one of the parents went to authorities after hearing their son (sic) talk about the incident.

Dicken was booked into custody at the Black Hawk County Jail and subsequently released on $30,000 bond.

Woman Charged with Sex Assault of Boy, 14

(Berks County, Pennsylvania) A 23-year-old local woman, Crystal M. Kinsey, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 14-year-old boy in his Hamburg home.

Kinsey faces charges of statutory sexual assault, indecent assault and corruption of a minor.

Detectives with the district attorney's Child Abuse Unit were asked on Dec. 11 to investigate a report from the county Children and Youth Services after caseworkers received information that a 14-year-old boy and Kinsey had sex earlier in the fall.

Detective David E. McQuate interviewed Kinsey Dec. 28, and she admitted to having sex with the boy in his bedroom Oct. 2.

Kinsey was booked into custody at the Berks County Prison with bail set at $10,000.

Resistance to warmism must be 'treated'


The Stalinist ratbag herself above

Warmists have jumped the shark -- or maybe make that jumped the Stalin. The old Soviet trick of defining political opposition as a mental illness is back, this time at the Unioversity of Oregon. Their media relations folks are bursting with pride that one of their faculty is faithfully recycling, in this case from Uncle Joe:

"Resistance at individual and societal levels must be recognized and treated before real action can be taken to effectively address threats facing the planet from human-caused contributions to climate change.

That's the message to this week's Planet Under Pressure Conference by a group of speakers led by Kari Marie Norgaard, professor of sociology and environmental studies at the University of Oregon. In a news briefing today, Norgaard discussed her paper and issues her group will address in a session Wednesday, March 28.."

Warmism has become a religion, and Oregon is its spiritual capital, so this would-be priestess of the cult calling for unbelievers to be brainwashed fits a pattern seen before in history. The pride of the Department of Sociology continues:

"Climate change poses a massive threat to our present social, economic and political order. From a sociological perspective, resistance to change is to be expected," she said. "People are individually and collectively habituated to the ways we act and think. This habituation must be recognized and simultaneously addressed at the individual, cultural and societal level - how we think the world works and how we think it should work."

We have to address the way people think, the ways they are habituated to act. Collectively, naturally. The great Australian columnist Andrew Bolt:

"I've said, again in a post today, that the global warming faith licences the closet totalitarian. Imagine what such people as this sociologist feel licenced to do to us - for our own good, of course, as the Inquisition, Nazis and Bolsheviks insisted, too. Already some, like Professor Clive Hamilton, ponder the need for a "suspension of the democratic processes".

As the nature of the fraud becomes more apparent with each succeeding scandal, warmists are becoming frenzied. I really hope Kari Norgaad carries her crusade as far as possible. The bookers at Fox News should get contact media relations at The University of Oregon.

SOURCE

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

Teacher-Student Sex

Rules regarding teacher-student sexual relations were stirred last week when the Arkansas Supreme Court overturned a state law banning sexual contact between teachers and those high school students who are age 18 and older. The court reasoned that the law was unconstitutional.

In contrast, most states are legislating in the opposite direction - making any teacher-student sex, regardless of age of the student, illegal while in high school.

From a practical perspective, the Arkansas ruling allows aggressively lustful teachers to legally sample the teen buffet by simply waiting for an 18th birthday party. Frankly, I suspect that less-than-ethical Arkansas teachers will be cutting candidates from the student body in junior, sophomore and freshman years for grooming.

Thanks to several tipsters on this story.

Connecticut condo owner told to remove Jewish religious ornament or face fines

This is blatant antisemitism. A Mezuzah is a small, inconspicuous thing. How is it going to "offend" anybody?

"A Connecticut condominium owner has been told by the complex's management association that she must remove a Jewish religious symbol or face fines, advocates told FoxNews.com.

Barbara Cadranel, an internationally-renown harpsichordist living in Stratford, Conn., contacted the Connecticut Regional Office of the Anti-Defamation League earlier this month to report that she had been told by the California Condo Association to remove the mezuzah -- a small object inscribed with Hebrew verses from the Torah placed on the doorpost of a Jewish family's home -- or face fines of $50 per day, according to ADL's Connecticut Regional Director Gary Jones.

"It's pretty rare," Jones said of disputes between condominium association and owners involving mezuzot. "The obligation to place a mezuzah on the doorframe or doorpost is a right in the Bible. Jewish people everywhere, including those in condominiums, post a mezuzah as a reminder of their religious obligations."

Jones said Cadranel, 60, who could not be reached by FoxNews.com for comment Friday, has retained Nathan and Alyza Lewin of Lewin & Lewin, a Washington, D.C.-based firm that has notified the condominium association that its actions are in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act.

According to an agreement with its condo owners, the display of items like Christmas wreaths and crosses on doors is allowed, but the display of other items such as mezuzah on doorposts is not, the Jewish Ledger reports.

Jim O'Neill, spokesman for the Connecticut Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, said his office had not received a complaint on the matter. "If she files a complaint, we'll certainly look into it," O'Neill told FoxNews.com.

Source

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

Minnesota Coach Accused of Sex with Girl, 14

(Anoka, Minnesota) A 20-year-old girl's basketball coach at Blaine High School, Jenessa Diamond White, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 14-year-old girl.

White faces counts of criminal sexual conduct.

During a routine Tuesday evening patrol, a Blaine Police officer noticed a lone car parked in the Jefferson Park. The park is located on Jefferson Street and 128th Avenue, not far from Blaine High School.

The officer noted the car’s windows were fogged up. He believed people were inside the vehicle and investigated further.

On closer inspection, the officer observed people in the car as well as movement. The officer also observed that the front passenger seat was in the fully reclined position.

The officer saw the head of one person and a second person laying back in the reclined seat. The second person was not wearing any pants or underwear.

The officer gave both people time to dress, then spoke to each of them about the incident that had occurred.

White was booked into custody with bail set at $10,000.