Israeli Court Denies Rachel Corrie Lawsuit

(Haifa, Israel) Back in 2003, a 23-year-old student at Evergreen State College in Olympia, WA, Rachel Corrie, traveled to the Gaza Strip to participate in the pro-Palestinian International Solidarity Movement (ISM) effort against the Israelis.

During a protest in a war zone, Corrie died as she was run over by an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) bulldozer.

On behalf of Corrie's family, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed. The case was decided earlier today.

A Haifa District Court invoked the "combatant activities" exception, and said on Tuesday that the US activist who was killed in disputed circumstances involving an IDF bulldozer on March 16, 2003, while protesting an IDF home demolition in Rafah, could have avoided the dangerous situation.

The court nonetheless called her death a "regrettable accident."

In the verdict, Judge Oded Gershon invoked the principle of the combatant activities exception, noting that IDF forces had been attacked in the same area Corrie was killed just hours earlier.

The combatant activities exception essentially says that a country's armed forces cannot be held liable for civil damages for physical or economic harm to civilians in an area defined as a war zone.

A major point of contention was whether the bulldozer operator saw Rachel Corrie before running her over. The court held that "the driver had not and could not have seen Corrie because the bulldozer has an obstructed view."

An appeal to the Israeli Supreme Court has been promised by the Corrie family lawyer, Hussein Abu Hussein.

Adapting to Euro Crisis




According to Spiegel.de, Europeans are looking at smaller packages.

Realism is the name of the game and some, such as the multinational consumer goods giant Unilever, have begun to adjust.

"Poverty is returning to Europe," Jan Zijderveld, Unilever's top manager in Europe, told the Financial Times Deutschland on Monday.

As a result, the company has begun offering smaller, less expensive packages so as not to put too great a strain on increasingly limited budgets.

Heh, poverty is returning. And big government socialism gets the blame since empirical evidence shows socialism usually leads to poverty. Granted, it's equally-distributed poverty but poverty nonetheless.

Sadly, there are cadres of policy-makers who believe that socialism leads to utopia. Of course, the policy-makers usually prosper while the masses typically suffer.

Patented Google Glove Cam



Glove Cam
From The Register:

US patent 8,009,151 plants the Google flag on “methods and systems for gathering and conveying information, for example, such as with a hand of a user[…]

Apart from the obvious application suggested by Google’s application image, the patent also seems to try to post the stay-off-my-lawn signs around the idea of embedding processors in gloves – including motion sensors, CPUs, storage and wireless comms.

And if you like creepy suggestions and have a tinfoil hat handy, it’s right there in the patent application: why not use the Google glove to shoot videos around corners? “To allow a user to ‘see’ an inaccessible environment, a user may wear a device equipped with one or more detectors on one of his or her hands”, and since someone might circumvent the patent by putting cameras on the toes instead, “or on other areas of the user’s body”.

Interesting. It seems one could obtain a video image from any place a finger can possibly be situated.

Utah Woman Guilty of Ramming Husband with SUV

(Salt Lake City, Utah) A 36-year-old local woman, Brenda Christine White, pleaded guilty earlier today to driving her SUV through a glass door and hitting her husband.

Before the incident, White and her estranged husband, Jon White, had been arguing about money, child custody and other matters. White believed her then-husband was having an affair and was addicted to pornography.

Brenda White tried to talk to Jon White at his workplace about refinancing their home, but when he refused to sign certain documents, she apparently called the man a "parasite" and told him "she was going to wipe him off the earth," court documents state.

She left but returned four hours later, chased him in her vehicle as he ran for cover on foot, smashed the SUV through a Salt Lake office building's glass door and hit the man, throwing him about 10 feet.

She then pursued him once he got up and drove into him again, prosecutors say.

White will be sentenced on January 8, 2013, for convictions on aggravated assault and criminal mischief.

Tennessee Teacher Gets Prison in Sex Case - Update

(Sullivan County, Tennessee) Former Sullivan East High School teacher Sherri Baffa has pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor in accordance with an agreement with the prosecution.

As a consequence, Baffa was sentenced to eight years in prison.

Baffa, 37, entered an Alford, or best-interest, plea of guilty to the charges Monday in front of Sullivan County Circuit Court Judge Jerry Beck.

The plea agreement required Baffa to agree to serve 100 percent of an 8-year prison term and pay a $2,000 fine.

Baffa must also undergo a sexual offender evaluation and will be placed on the Tennessee Sexual Offender Registry for a minimum of 10 years. After that, she may petition to be removed from the registry.

She must also pay a $3,000 sexual offender surcharge.

The authorities were initially alerted to Baffa's sex offenses by her ex-husband who, oddly, faces similar charges.

* * * * *
Tennessee Teacher Accused of Sex Offenses
[Previous 9/3/11 post]
(Sullivan County, Tennessee) A 36-year-old math teacher at Sullivan East High School, Sherri Baffa, has been accused of sex offenses involving a male juvenile.

Baffa faces seven counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

The Sullivan County Sheriff's Office reports Det. Jason Hite presented evidence this week to the grand jury, concerning explicit photos of an adult female and juvenile male.[…]

SCSO Public Information Officer Leslie Earhart says police received an initial report of the alleged crimes in May of this year. She said the photos concerned were dated 2007, but declined to comment on Baffa's relationship with the victim. Police identified him as 16-years-old at the time of the alleged offenses.

Baffa was booked into custody at the Sullivan County Jail and subsequently released on $50,000 bond.

Chinese Hooligan Pigs

Chinese authorities are as confused as everyone else about what constitutes obscenity.

"Ten years ago, the Department of Industry and Commerce raided a jewelry store on Jianghan Road in Wuhan City and confiscated a set of indecent objects in the form of 'hooligan pigs.'"

Ten years ago

Recently, photos of the Zhengzhou city Central Plains Fortune Tower Plaza were posted on the Internet. One prompted controversy.


Last week

Commenters claimed that one of the photos displayed two pigs engaging in an indecent act. Local authorities disagree.

The Zhengzhou city urban management department responded to inquiries that there are 21 stone statues in Central Plains Fortune Tower Plaza, including ones of small monks learning martial arts; children reading books; children picking carrots; a polar bear carrying a small bear.

The particular statue of interest is that of a "small pig giving his mother a back rub" under the theme of filial piety.

So, in Wuhan City the sculpture is an indecent object while in Zhengzhou City, it's a pig back rub.

Readers can decide for themselves.

Chinese Hookers in Africa



(Lagos, Nigeria)

The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in Abuja has paraded 13 Chinese nationals who were arrested for allegedly engaging in prostitution.

NIS spokesman, Joachim Olumba, said the suspects were apprehended in Lagos following a tip off from an informant.

According to Mr Olumba, the immigration service received a report on the activities of some Chinese nationals who connived with some Nigerians to traffic teenage girls into the country under the pretext of offering them jobs in factories.

“Having gathered intelligence information, operatives of the Nigeria Immigration Service swooped on the operational locations of the syndicates at No. 18, 24 and 26B Emena Crescent, Ikeja, Lagos,” he said.

Allegedly, the women are victims of a human trafficking enterprise.

Border Patrol Agent Guilty in Arms Conspiracy

(El Paso, Texas)

A Border Patrol agent from El Paso pleaded guilty to firearms conspiracy Friday.

Ricardo Montalvo, 29, and his girlfriend pleaded guilty to conspiracy, firearms and smuggling charges in federal court.

According an indictment, between November 2010 and January 2011, Montalvo and girlfriend Carla Gonzales-Ortiz participated in a conspiracy to illegally purchase firearms, ammunition and high-capacity magazines of the type for which there was a ready market among Mexican cartels.

The indictment alleged Montalvo and Gonzales-Ortiz made the purchases knowing that they would illegally be exported to Mexico.

Sentencing for Montalvo is scheduled for November 9. when he faces five years in prison.

Gonzales-Ortiz faces three years in prison when sentenced. After her release, she will be deported.

Amusing "junk" food idiocy in the NYT

Economist Don Boudreaux has a laugh at some addled Leftist hatred in the letter to the New York Times below:

Asserting that “Not everyone can afford fresh fruits and vegetables,” Mark Bittman pleads for policies that would replace today’s large commercial farms with smaller farms (“Celebrate the Farmer!” Aug. 22). He writes: “The naysayers will yell, ‘this mode of farming will not produce enough corn and soy to feed our junk food and cheeseburger habit,’ and that’s exactly the point. It would produce enough food so that we can all eat well”.

Not all food experts agree with Mr. Bittman’s suggestion that agricultural markets and policies result in too little availability of fresh foods and, hence, prevent Americans – and especially poor Americans – from eating well. Only last September one expert found that “In fact it isn’t cheaper to eat highly processed food…. In general, despite extensive government subsidies, hyperprocessed food remains more expensive than food cooked at home. You can serve a roasted chicken with vegetables along with a simple salad and milk for about $14, and feed four or even six people” – a price, this expert reported, that is half of what it costs at McDonald’s for the same number of people to dine on burgers, fries, and soda. (This fact, of course, means that people who eat lots of hyperprocessed foods choose to do so, and even pay a premium to indulge that preference.)

Oh, I almost forgot: the expert who found that junk food is more pricey than are many healthier options such as “rice, grains, pasta, beans, fresh vegetables” is your very own Mark Bittman writing in your very own pages (“Is Junk Food Really Cheaper?” Sept. 24).

SOURCE

The empty-headed self-righteousness of the original NYT article is nauseating so I am pleased that Boudreaux has exposed the author for what he is -- JR

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

Maine Woman Gets Prison for Sex with Boy, 13 - Update

(Farmington, Maine) Last June, 35-year-old Mandy Lynn Thibodeau pleaded guilty to two counts of gross sexual assault of a mentally-disabled 13-year-old boy with the understanding that she would only spend four years in prison.

This week, Thibodeau was sentenced to four years of a 10-year prison sentence and six years probation.

Assistant District Attorney Joshua Robbins told the court that the victim and his family have been seriously affected and the impact is long lasting.

Thibodeau and the mother of the boy met in junior high school and had been friends for 22 years, Robbins said. She had been through a couple of rough patches in her life and the boy's mother brought her back into her life to help her.

The victim has Asperger's Syndrome and struggles with routine tasks, including communication, and relies on many people, Robbins said.

Since the assaults that occurred eight days apart, he has had suicidal thoughts and he thinks he is to blame, he said. That has caused a lot of stress to him and his family, he said.

Thibodeau cried while expressing sorrow during her sentencing.

* * * * *
Maine Woman, 34, and Boy, 13
[Previous 9/2/11 post]
(Farmington, Maine) A 34-year-old local woman, Mandy Lynn Thibodeau, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly engaging in sex with her friend's 13-year-old son.

According to Farmington Police Detective Marc Bowering, Thibodeau faces one count of gross sexual assault in Farmington.

Franklin County Sheriff's Detective David St. Laurent also issued Thibodeau a summons on a second charge of gross sexual assault pertaining to the Farmington case, Bowering said.

Thibodeau is an acquaintance of the boy. The assaults allegedly occurred in Farmington and northern Franklin County, Bowering said.

Thibodeau was booked into custody with bond set at $1,500.

Florida Teacher Accused of Theft

(Pinellas County, Florida) A 34-year-old teacher at East Lake High School, Julia King, has been accused of stealing an iPad from her former school and selling it to Best Buy.

King faces a felony charge of dealing in stolen property.

According to a report, the iPad was reported stolen in September. Detectives assigned to the Burglary and Pawn Unit in May discovered the iPad had been sold to a Best Buy on April 26 for $145 by King.

Detectives continued their investigation and subsequently obtained an arrest warrant for King, who was arrested in Palm Harbor …

Details on booking are unavailable.

Neil Armstrong, b.1930 - d.2012




Neil Armstrong, the first astronaut to set foot on the moon, died earlier today due to complications from a recent heart bypass operation. He was 82.

Billboard




(Stamford, Connecticut)

Metro-North Railroad is reviewing its advertising policies after the latest controversial billboard linking Islam to terrorist attacks that currently appears at a handful of New Haven Line stations.

Harsh criticism regarding a "lack of civility" has been voiced, however, there seem to be no complaints regarding accuracy. Apparently, only polite and cultivated accuracy is acceptable.

Source

Ohio Teacher Gets Hand Slap in Sex Case - Updated

(Swanton, Ohio) Former sociology and psychology teacher Michelle Blosser has been found guilty and sentenced for attempting to engage in sexual conduct with a student.

As consequences, Fulton County Common Pleas Judge James Barber gave Blosser 10 days in jail and one year community control.

Judge Barber also ordered her to pay prosecution costs, receive a mental health assessment, and have no contact with the victim. If she does not abide by those conditions, she could be ordered to serve a year in prison, authorities said.

Blosser was also ordered to surrender her teaching license.

* * * * *
Ohio Teacher Indicted in Sex Case
[Previous 3/23/12 post]
(Swanton, Ohio) A 44-year-old psychology teacher at Swanton High School, Michelle Blosser, has been accused of engaging in sex with a male student.

Blosser was suspended early this month and now it's reported that she has been indicted on one count of sexual battery.

Ms. Blosser, of Fayette, Ohio, was born in 1967, according to Ohio voter registration records. She teaches psychology, sociology, and advanced placement psychology and was the high school's teacher of the month in December.

"She is always willing to go the extra mile to help our students be successful," Principal Steve Gfell said at the time.

Rumors at the school led to the investigation of Blosser.

Tennessee Teacher Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(Arlington, Tennessee) Former Arlington High School teacher Stacy Hopkins, 29, was sentenced Thursday to four years probation for engaging in sex with two male students.

In a plea agreement last month, Hopkins pleaded guilty to aggravated statutory rape involving two of the students.

The plea included a four-year prison sentence, but that was suspended Thursday when Criminal Court Judge James Beasley Jr. granted her request for probation. The request was not opposed by prosecutors.

She will be placed on the sex offender registry.

Hopkins' attorney C. Anne Tipton said her client accepts responsibility and wants to move forward.

In addition to probation, Hopkins is prohibited from having contact with the students and can hold no supervisory position involving children under 18, including as a teacher, youth counselor or even a baby sitter.

* * * * *
Tennessee Teacher Guilty in Sex Case - Updated
[Previous 7/26/12 post]
(Arlington, Tennessee) Former Arlington High School teacher Stacy Hopkins pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in sex with two of her male students, ages 16 and 17.

Reportedly, Hopkins agreed to a four-year sentence.

How she serves that time will be up to Criminal Court Judge James Beasley Jr., who will make that decision next month during a sentence hearing.

Hopkins' attorney, Anne Tipton, said she plans to lobby for probation instead of jail time.[…]

Hopkins had faced up to 22 years in prison if convicted of all charges, including statutory rape by an authority figure involving two 17-year-olds and the 16-year-old.

During the plea agreement Wednesday, prosecutors dropped charges involving the photos, all charges involving one of the 17-year-old students and reduced the more serious felony charges of statutory rape by an authority figure involving the other two victims.

Hopkins was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.

* * * *
Tennessee Teacher Accused of Sex with Male Students
[Previous 5/6/11 post]
(Arlington, Tennessee) A 28-year-old physical education teacher at Arlington High School, Stacy L. Hopkins, has been accused of engaging in sex with two male students along with sending them nude images of herself.

Hopkins faces two counts of aggravated statutory rape by an authority figure and two counts of soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor.

According to the Shelby County Sheriff's Office, "On May 5th, SCSO investigators were advised of a sexual assault involving two Arlington High School students. A complainant received a phone call from the suspect, Stacy Hopkins ex-boyfriend who stated Hopkins sent inappropriate text messages to two male victims.

Upon further investigation, both victims advised receiving text messages containing nude images. They also advised investigators they had sexual intercourse with the suspect which she did admit to."

Hopkins was booked into custody and subsequently released on $10,000 bond.

Mass Murderer Gets 21 Years in Prison - Update

(Oslo, Norway)

Norwegian mass killer Anders Behring Breivik was jailed for a maximum term on Friday when judges declared him sane enough to answer for the murder of 77 people last year, drawing a smirk of triumph from the self-styled warrior against Islam.

An unrepentant Breivik, 33, gave the Oslo court a stiff-armed, clench-fisted salute before being handed the steepest possible penalty, 21 years.

His release, however, can be put off indefinitely should he still pose a threat to a liberal society left traumatized by his bomb and shooting rampage last July.

Justifying blasting a government building and gunning down dozens of teenagers at a summer camp as a service to a nation threatened by immigration, he had said only acquittal or death would be worthy outcomes. But his biggest concern was being declared insane, a fate he said would be "worse than death".

It's reported that Breivik apologized to "militant nationalists" for not killing more people.

What a douche. If it were up to me, Breivik would be executed.

* * * * *
Norway Attacks, Deaths at 91
[Previous 7/23/11 post]



Oslo city center, 7/22/11
(Oslo, Norway) Yesterday's attacks in Oslo and Utoya Island resulted in at least 91 deaths, seven in Oslo from the bombing in the city center and 84 teens and adults at the Labor Party Youth Camp on Utoya Island.

Norwegian television stations and newspaper reports have identified the suspect in Friday's attacks as 32-year-old Anders Behring Breivik, though authorities have not released the identity of the man they have in custody.

Much more to come after investigators dive onto the case.

* * * * *
Update at 0500EDT

Source:

Survivors of Friday’s terror on Utøya told gripping tales of how campers approached suspected gunman Anders Behring Breivik, thinking he came from the police as a safety measure after the bombing in the Oslo, only to experience that he shot them in cold blood.

One young man told newspaper VG that he saw a girl shot in the head. Others ran for their lives, seeking refuge behind rocks or trees as the gunman continued his shooting spree around the small island in the Tyri Fjord.

Breivik, arrested by police and charged with the shootings, was described as a 32-year-old member of the Free Masons and a right-wing extremist who hates Muslims. It remained unclear what he thought he could accomplish by gunning down Norwegian teenagers at the Labour Party’s summer camp, but some speculated the shootings were politically motivated.

Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) reported that the gunman reportedly used both a rifle, a hand weapon and an automatic weapon. Police also found explosives on the island that hadn’t been detonated.

Breivik had been observed in downtown Oslo just before a powerful bomb exploded in the heart of the government complex, killing at least seven others, injuring several more and causing widespread damage to government ministries and surrounding property. Police quickly linked the two incidents.

(More later….)

Florida Couple Accused of Domestic Battery


Tina Michelle Norris -- James Albert Barfield
(Spring Hill, Florida) Liquored up at an alleged swingers' party, 39-year-old Tina Michelle Norris and 56-year-old James Albert Barfield started smacking each other around.

Someone called the cops and naked duo were arrested for domestic battery. Feisty Norris was also charged with resisting arrest.

The female suspect was mad her boyfriend was having sex with another woman while the male suspect lost his temper about his girlfriend being in bed with two men, according to the Hernando County Sheriff's Office.

Tempers flared and the woman suffered a bloody lip and the man sustained scratch marks on his neck and back, deputies said.

Norris and Barfield were booked into custody at the Hernando County Jail without bond.

Florida Woman Accused of Sex with Boy

(Citrus County, Florida) A 44-year-old local woman, Renee Mangini, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Mangini faces one count of lewd and lascivious battery involving a minor.

The boy reported in mid-May that he and Mangini had sex in mid-May on her couch. The said that they only had sex on two occasions, and that he had regularly visited her during the course of the summer.

Mangini was asked to come in for questioning, and after being read her rights, she agreed to be interviewed. When asked if she and the boy had engaged in sex, she at first said no. Later, she said they did have sex, but only once. She said she would like to apologize to the boy and realized that she made a mistake and would take responsibility for it.

Mangini was arrested and booked into custody with bond set at $5,000.

Former Player Plans NBA Franchise in Mexico

(Mexico City) Former professional basketball player for the Charlotte Bobcats, Eduardo Najera, 36, has announced that he will dedicate his life to getting an NBA franchise in Mexico.

Najera retired from pro ball yesterday after a 12-year career.

“It something that’s difficult, but it’s not impossible. The NBA has its rules, but in the end this is a business and if Canada can do it, why not us? It would be a long process, for the future,” Najera said.

Mexico has been ready to have a professional basketball, football or baseball team for years because there’s a big market and a lot of fans, the 36-year-old Najera said.

“To achieve that goal, first I’ll have to go through a learning process and I’m ready to work and dedicate all my time to it,” Najera, a journeyman forward who averaged 4.9 points and 3.7 rebounds a game during his career, said.

Najera retired Wednesday to become the new head coach of the NBA Development League’s Texas Legends, replacing Del Harris. Under the deal, Najera will also become a minority owner of the Legends, a team co-owned by Dallas Mavericks president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.

In his role as a Development League coach, he will open doors for more Mexican players who want to play in the NBA, Najera said.

If Najera is successful, I propose that his team be named the 'Mexico City Amigos.' Or maybe the 'Mexican Calientes' with, of course, full credit for the idea being given to the Miami Heat.

EU Ban on Filament Light Bulbs

(Berlin, Germany) Although it appears that enforcement measures haven't been standardized and finalized, the nation of Germany will comply with a European Union directive to institute a complete ban on filament light bulbs, effective September 1st.

German state governments say they would have to employ extra staff to police the European ban on filament light bulbs if they are to make the checks called for by the European Commission.[…]

The commission has called on German authorities to carry out in-shop inspections to police the ban.

Germany's state market surveillance authorities, who would be responsible for these inspections, offered a mixed response to the EU's request.

Berlin and Brandenburg's authorities said they would need extra employees, while the North Rhine-Westphalia office said they had not planned any measures to police the light bulb ban so far.

At present, it appears that the light bulb police will only monitor retail sales of filament bulbs. However, it seems logical to expect that the police will ultimately conduct investigations of smuggling activity and black market sales.

Note that punitive measures for violations of the light bulb ban haven't been reported and possibly haven't been decided. In any event, I suggest the EU ban on light bulbs wasn't clearly thought through prior to being imposed.

In Obama's America .....





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

Ronald Reagan Jokes

The vid runs one minute, 19 seconds.




Tip: Rita and Eugene

Dakota Teacher Guilty of Distributing Alcohol - Update

(Mandan, North Dakota) Yesterday, a jury convicted former Hebron High School teacher Jennifer Katherine Schultz, 25, of distributing alcohol to minors but acquitted her on charges of sexual assault of students.

Schultz was a family and consumer science teacher at Hebron High School. She resigned during an investigation into her alleged actions last winter.

The state agreed to drop a charge of Class A misdemeanor corruption or solicitation of a minor when it concluded its case Wednesday afternoon at the Morton County Courthouse in Mandan.

Morton County Assistant State's Attorney Jackson Lofgren said this was because none of the state's witnesses could remember Schultz asking them for sex.

Closing out the case, South Central District Judge Thomas Schneider sentenced Schultz to one year in jail with all but 60 days suspended and fined her $500.

* * * * *
Dakota Teacher Accused of Sex with Student
[Previous 1/28/12 post]
(Hebron, North Dakota) A 25-year-old former teacher, Jennifer Schultz, has been accused of engaging in sex with one of her male students.

Schultz faces two counts of sexual assault, one count of corruption of a minor, and another count of delivery of alcohol to a minor.

Morton County Sheriff Dave Shipman says Schultz allowed four boys into her home in late October. Shipman says Schultz allegedly had sex with one of the boys while a second told her no. She provided them all with alcohol.

During the investigation Schultz refused to speak to authorities.

Schultz was booked into custody and released on $5,000.

Topless Babysitter Accused of Child Neglect

(Melbourne, Florida) A 47-year-old Fort Pierce woman, Stacey Kerres, has been accused of child neglect after being found topless lying in the River Palm Hotel parking lot when she was supposed to be babysitting.

Police talked to the child, who was sitting with the hotel staff playing a video game, told them his mother had gone to the “casino” and that his mother left him with a woman named Stacey. The child also indicated the woman was routinely put in charge of watching him.

Police searched the property and found Kerres, identified with a dagger and rose ankle tattoo, lying topless in the middle of the parking lot, not far from the room where the boy was staying with his mother, reports show.

Kerres, who police said appeared lethargic and incoherent as she struggled to talk, managed to tell the patrol officers that the child’s mother had gone gambling that “I don’t even know where (the boy) is right now,” reports show.

Kerres was booked into custody at the Brevard County Jail.

Obama at the Bat

From TheDepartment7:




Tip: Rita and Eugene

Court: EPA Overstepped Authority

(Washington, D.C.)

A federal appeals court in Washington has overturned an Obama administration rule that requires aging power plants in Texas and several Midwestern states to sharply reduce emissions that contribute to unhealthy air in neighboring states.

In a 2-1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday that the Environmental Protection Agency overstepped its authority with the new regulation, which was one of the hallmarks of the federal government's recent efforts to improve air quality.

The decision keeps in effect an earlier version of the rule that is weaker but still requires cuts in air pollution that crosses state borders.

Okay.

Outcry after military veteran detained for anti-government Facebook posts

A former Marine involuntarily detained for psychiatric evaluation for posting strident anti-government messages on Facebook has received an outpouring of support from people who say authorities are trampling on his First Amendment rights.

Brandon J. Raub, 26, has been in custody since FBI, Secret Service agents and police in Virginia's Chesterfield County questioned him Thursday evening about what they said were ominous posts talking about a coming revolution. In one message earlier this month according to authorities, Raub wrote: "Sharpen my axe; I'm here to sever heads."

Police -- acting under a state law that allows emergency, temporary psychiatric commitments upon the recommendation of a mental health professional -- took Raub to the John Randolph Medical Center in Hopewell. He was not charged with any crime.

A Virginia-based civil liberties group, The Rutherford Institute, dispatched one of its attorneys to the hospital to represent Raub at a hearing Monday. A judge ordered Raub detained for another month, Rutherford executive director John Whitehead said.

"For government officials to not only arrest Brandon Raub for doing nothing more than exercising his First Amendment rights but to actually force him to undergo psychological evaluations and detain him against his will goes against every constitutional principle this country was founded upon," Whitehead said.

Source

Florida Teacher Gets Prison for Sex with Boy - Updated

(Crestview, Florida)

A former teacher accused of fleeing Florida with a teenage boy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison and designated a sexual offender.

Okaloosa County Circuit Judge Michael Flowers sentenced Amanda L. Cooney on several charges, including unlawful sexual activity with a minor, grand theft, burglary and credit card fraud, according to a news release from the state attorney’s office.

After prison, Cooney will spend 10 years on sexual offender probation. She will have a curfew and be allowed no unsupervised contact with children.

She also will be required to register her sexual offender status with authorities and not allowed within 1,000 feet of schools, playgrounds or convenience stores, Chief Assistant State Attorney Bill Bishop said.

Fifteen years is a fairly stiff sentence and, arguably, it was earned.

* * * * *
Florida Teacher Guilty of Multiple Crimes - Updated
[Previous 4/19/12 post]
(Crestview, Florida) Yesterday, former teacher Amanda Cooney pleaded no contest to multiple crimes including burglary, theft, fraud and forgery, and unlawful sex with a minor.

A charge of interfering with the custody of a minor was dropped Wednesday because the teenager wasn’t forced to leave town with Cooney.

“Based upon his actions, that charge became a little questionable,” said Bill Bishop, the chief assistant state attorney in Okaloosa County. “ … He voluntarily went with the woman.”

When Cooney was brought before Circuit Judge Michael Flowers Wednesday, her responses were quiet as she stood next to [defense attorney] Stewart in an orange jumpsuit and handcuffs.

“There will not be a jury trial,” said Flowers, who then looked up and added, “although you do have that right.”[…]

Bishop said the state will seek the minimum sentence allowed under law of 95.5 months in prison, but based on her plea Cooney could face up to 90 years.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.

* * * * *
Florida Teacher on Lam with Teen Arrested in Ohio
[Previous 11/5/11 post]
(Montgomery County, Ohio) A 26-year-old reading teacher at Okaloosa Academy Charter School in Fort Walton Beach, Amanda Cooney, on the lam from Florida with a 16-year-old fugitive, has been arrested at a motel in Ohio.

While on routine patrol, officers took note of their vehicle in the Days Inn parking lot.

"Quite honestly [it had] quiet a bit of stuff inside it, almost like a hoarder," says Riverside Deputy Police Chief Michael Brown.

A run of the car's license plate showed the 16-year-old had warrants out for his arrest and that he might be armed and dangerous. So officers went to the pair's room where they took them into custody.

Cooney faces charges of aiding and interfering with a missing child. She and the boy await extradition to Florida.

New York Woman Accused of Raping Boy

(Seneca Falls, New York) A 45-year-old local woman, Dawn Planty, has been accused of liquoring up and boffing a 14-year-old boy.

Planty faces charges of rape in the 2nd degree, endangering the welfare of a child, and unlawfully dealing with a child.

Planty was arraigned in Village of Waterloo Court by Judge Dean Mattoon and was sent to the Seneca County Correctional Facility in lieu of $5,000 cash, $10,000 bond.

A court appearance is scheduled for August 28.

Cheating at Texas Fishing Tournament

(South Padre Island, Texas) Earlier this month, the Ladies Kingfish Tournament was held in the waters around South Padre Island with over 200 female participants.

The women competed in a variety of categories for cash prizes, trophies and a boat worth $18,000.

Sadly, it's alleged that seven participants were cheating, a felony crime under a new law governing salt water fishing tournaments.




(Cameron County, Texas)

The tourney contestants are in hot water with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department game wardens and fellow contestants. The incident happened during the Lady Kingfish Tournament.

Fellow contestants said some will try stuffing ice and lead weights into the fish in an effort to win the tournament.

"I've heard of (people) keeping fishing tanks out in the bay somewhere ... (they) put fish in there and hold them," said fishing guide Corey Mock. "(Some) pay other people to go fish for them."

Seven people are behind bars accused of taking part in the scheme. Police said they attempted to use a fish they didn't catch to win the tournament.

Fishing guide Johnny Watts said the incident bothers him.

"I am (sun) burnt, and come to the weigh station (with) a decent stringer and place second or third. Then they are not burnt and they have a winning stringer ... that frustrates me," Watts said.

If convicted of fraud, the seven could face possible 10-year prison terms.

Minnesota Pol Faces Sex Scandal

(Duluth, Minnesota) Last month, 56-year-old state Representative Kerry Gauthier, D-Duluth, admitted to sexual contact with a 17-year-old boy at a Minnesota rest stop.

Rep. Kerry Gauthier, 56, hasn’t been charged in the July incident, and authorities said he wouldn’t be because the boy was older than 16, the legal age of consent, and no money was exchanged.

Police say the teenager responded to the lawmaker’s Craigslist ad for “no strings attached” sex.

Gauthier admitted to the liaison, according to police reports made public late last week. The teen told police the two had oral sex, according to the reports.

The scandal has hurt Democrats’ hopes of retaking at least one chamber of the Legislature. They need to pick up at least six seats in the House, and Gauthier’s Duluth-area seat usually is reliably Democratic. But if he drops out, any Democrat seeking to replace him would have to run as a write-in candidate, making the race much more difficult to win.

Minnesota Democrats have asked Gauthier to withdraw from the race for reelection while allowing him to collect pay and benefits for the remaining months of his term.

Republicans called for Gauthier to resign immediately.

New York Woman Allegedly Clobbers Walmart Worker

(Batavia, New York) A 26-year-old local woman, Jacquetta Simmons, faces assault charges for allegedly punching out a 70-year-old Walmart greeter, Grace Suozzi, last Christmas Eve.

Simmons faces felony and misdemeanor assault charges.

The 26-year-old faces up to seven years in prison after being charged under New York state's "Granny Law." The law makes it a felony to injure someone 65 or older if the defendant is at least 10 years younger than the victim.

Simmons is accused of knocking Grace Suozzi off her feet with a blow to the face while Suozzi was checking her receipt. Simmons' lawyer says Suozzi grabbed her bag.

A Genesee County Court jury will hear the case.

Phones to Avoid

From CNET TV:




You're welcome.

Canadian Church Boycotts Israeli Goods

Church members are instructed to avoid "any and all products produced in the settlements."

Canada's largest Protestant church has approved a boycott of products made in Israeli settlements.

Meeting in Ottawa, the governing General Council of the United Church of Canada's General Council on Friday supported a resolution calling for a boycott of goods produced in the West Bank and eastern Jerusalem.

Restricting free trade is apparently the Canadian Christian thing to do.

Girls in the Clubhouse




Not any more. The all-male Augusta National Golf Club is now coed.

The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the last decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and South Carolina financier Darla Moore to become the first women in green jackets when the club opens for a new season in October.

Both women accepted.

Congratulations to the ladies.

Is libertarianism an infantile disorder?

In the excerpt below the very level-headed Mark Krikorian says it is:

I think libertarianism is an infantile disorder, an "ideology" in the worst, anti-Burkean sense of the word. That is not to say that many Americans who call themselves "libertarians" share that disorder — I think the appeal of the label comes from the Republican Party's pathetic big-government record over the past couple of decades. Despite the many patriotic Americans who call themselves "libertarians" as a kind of protest, the ideology of libertarianISM is a post-American creed that rejects national borders and nationhood itself.

Krikorian is of course alluding to "Left-Wing" Communism: An Infantile Disorder", a book by V.I. Lenin in which Lenin criticizes the more idealistic and less practical Communists of his day.

I am inclined to agree with Krikorian. The level of hate and fanaticism that I regularly read in libertarian publications can sometimes be quite nauseating. Ideas of moderation and compromise are a rarity. As I myself am very much a minimum government conservative I find a lot of libertarian analyses helpful so I will not go on a rampage of finger-pointing and naming names but some of the writers on Lew Rockwell's site (for instance) regularly sound distinctly unpleasant to me. Take this article by Karen de Coster for instance. It absolutely drips hate and dogmatism. She is admittedly an extreme food fanatic as much as she is a libertarian but that seems to pass muster among at least some libertarians. Their very Leftist contempt for the society they live in makes them disrespectful of scientific caution so food and health fads seem to flourish among them.

I will not go on but those who read much libertarian literature will know well why libertarians are and will remain a tiny minority in politics. Which is all the more a pity because a more moderate presentation might help in the great struggle against government and for the individual that is afoot in America today

An important caveat, however, is that there are as many versions of libertarianism as there are libertarians and there are a minority of libertarians who manage to keep their feet on the ground. There are, for instance, some libertarians who oppose unrestricted immigration, though that is far from the majority position among libertarians.

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

Arizona Woman Accused of Killing Mother

(Phoenix, Arizona) A 42-year-old local woman, Carol Hatley, has been accused of killing her 73-year-old mother, Deborah Hatley, and trying to dismember her body.

Hatley faces one count of second-degree murder.

Police said Hatley provided a statement regarding the circumstances that preceded the death of her mother and was taken into custody. Court paperwork indicates that what Hatley told officers did not mesh with what they were seeing at the scene or the time line provided by Martin.

Police said the mother and daughter lived together in the home and they had a very tumultuous relationship.

A court appearance is scheduled for September 28.

Gun Buyers at Firearms Turn-In



(Portland, Oregon) At a parking lot adjacent to the Memorial Coliseum, the Ceasefire Oregon Education Foundation conducted a four-hour firearms turn-in event yesterday.

Portland Police officers assisted foundation volunteers as gun owners surrendered their unwanted weapons for $75 gift cards.

Standing on the sidewalk across the street were a half-dozen gun buyers offering cash for the weapons. With bids starting at $80, the buyers shout cash offers to the gun owners, who typically do not know the resale value of their firearms.

Central Precinct Sgt. Tim Sessions said the police did not have a problem with the buyers on the sidewalk.

"They have a right to buy guns," Sessions said. "That's in the Constitution. So that doesn't bother me a bit."

Sessions dismissed the possibility that the sidewalk buyers would then sell to "undesirables. That's not the case. These people know what they're doing, They know the laws. They know they'd lose that right if they did sell to the undesirables."

Equally unlikely, said Sessions, who assisted the foundation with its guns buyback for nine years, is the notion that gang members would be among those turning in guns.

"They really would like to see the gangs turn in the guns," Sessions said. "And I tell them, 'Keep wishing that.' But it's not going to happen."

Gang members, first of all, want to hold onto their guns because "a gun means power. And two, they see us, the police, and they say 'We don't want to be caught with a gun.'"

Since criminals generally keep their guns, the value of gun buy-back/turn-in programs in reducing gun crime is questionable.

All charm



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

Pennsylvania Woman Accused of Poisoning Boyfriend

(Fulton County, Pennsylvania) A 33-year-old local woman, Vickie Jo Mills, has been accused of poisoning her boyfriend with Visine eyedrops.

Mills faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault and reckless endangerment.

Vickie Jo Mills of 18250 Great Cove Road in Ayr Township was arrested Thursday after she admitted to Pennsylvania State Police in Fulton County she had put eyedrops in the drinking water of Thurman Edgar Nesbitt III, 45, 10 or 12 times over the past three years, starting in June of 2009.

“She related she had been putting Visine eyedrops in Nesbitt’s water since 2009. She never meant to kill him, only wanted him to pay more attention to her,” an affidavit of probable cause filed in Magisterial District Judge Wendy Mellott’s office reads.

Police were alerted to Nesbitt’s illnesses on July 17 when his doctor, Dr. Harry Johnston, told troopers he had been treating Nesbitt for various symptoms including nausea and vomiting, blood pressure fluctuation and breathing difficulties for years. He told police he suspected someone was putting Visine in his water.

Mills was booked into custody at the Franklin County Jail with bail set at $75,000.

Pizza Delivery Man Shot in Detroit

(Detroit, Michigan) A 19-year-old male college student, Tim McKenna, suffered a chest wound after being shot while delivering pizza.

In the wake of the shooting, a Jets Pizza franchise in Dearborn ruled it will no longer deliver to Detroit after dark. Before the shooting, they sent two drivers to every nighttime Detroit delivery, one of whom was armed, Joan McKenna said.

“They usually send somebody with a guy … who carries a gun,” she said. “Usually they have two go into Detroit after dark, if they have a delivery … One guy has a legal, he can carry a gun. That night, Timmy was the only one left, they had this one run to do, he said ‘yeah, I’ll do it.’ He’s a kid, he doesn’t think anything’s going to happen to him.”

Tim McKenna was shot in the ribs, and the bullet hit a lung, but he survived and plans to return in the fall to Adrian College, where he plays football. Pizza delivery was his summer job.

Police are searching for leads to the shooter.

The fact that an armed escort customarily rides along on after-dark pizza deliveries in Detroit is arguably a strong indication that violent crime is ubiquitous in the Motor City.

"Progressive" by name and "progressive" by nature

I have just seen the recent appalling story about the firm Progressive Insurance, the insurance company from hell. They spent much more on dodging a claim they were due to pay than it would have cost them to pay the claim in the first place. Lawyers don't come cheap. Their customer had to go to court to collect what was due and the court verdict was eventually in favor of the customer anyway. So now Progressive have legal costs to pay as well as the customer's original entitlement. What a way to run a business! What a way to chase away prospective customers! What use is an insurance company that runs away just when you need them?

Interestingly, their name seems to be the only thing about them that is straight up. They ARE political Progressives (Leftists) and do donate to Leftist causes and organizationa.

So their actions exhibit the complete lack of ethical anchors that we expect from Leftists: The people who tell us, "There is no such thing as right and wrong". Doing their best to dodge a payout is obviously not wrong to them. And they are such moral defectives that they cannot even see that their actions are unwise. They are moral imbeciles.

Where I live we have a large insurance company (Suncorp) that prides itsef on making payouts without quibbling. And they do, resulting in their having about two thirds of the State's housing insurance business. As the early Protestants saw, good ethics are in fact good business.

Anybody insured with Progressive, however, should in my view go elsewhere at the earliest opportunity.

UPDATE: The company has now paid the original claim of about $70,000 but we also read: "the payment is separate from the judgment rendered by a jury in Baltimore Circuit Court last week awarding the Fishers $760,000". That should give them a well-deserved pain in the pocket. They are probably unwise enough to appeal it, though.

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

Florida Mom Guilty of Molesting Her Baby




(Charlotte County, Florida) A jury took less than two hours to convict 29-year-old Melissa Bailey of molesting her 18-month-old daughter.

Bailey was convicted of two counts of sexual battery on a person under the age of twelve, lewd and lascivious molestation, lewd and lascivious exhibition, possession of child pornography and use of child in sexual performance.

Sentencing is scheduled for October.

Pussy Riot Punk Band Sentenced - Update

(Moscow, Russia)

A Moscow judge has sentenced each of three members of the provocative punk band Pussy Riot to two years in prison on hooliganism charges following a trial that has drawn international outrage.

Friday's sentence comes amid a wave of protests around the world in support of the feminist rockers.

The judge said in the verdict that the three band members "committed hooliganism driven by religious hatred" and offended religious believers.

The three were arrested in March after a guerrilla performance in Moscow's main cathedral calling for the Virgin Mary to protect Russia against Vladimir Putin, who was elected to a new term as Russia's president two weeks later.

The case prompted wide interest with demonstrations and protests supporting Pussy Riot across Europe.

Celebrities including Paul McCartney, Madonna and Bjork have called for the band members to be freed.

Germany's top human rights official, Markus Loening, joined them Friday, saying the women's detention had already been "fully disproportionate."

It appears President Putin wants to send a message of intolerance toward those who may be too free with their acts of political expression.

* * * * *
Pussy Riot Punk Band
[Previous 7/25/12 post]



(Moscow, Russia)

Six months or so ago, few people in Russia -- and even fewer abroad -- had even heard of Pussy Riot. Now they're not only an international cause celebre, but well on their way to becoming a global brand.

And all it took was a little Kremlin-sponsored repression.

Sting is the latest artist to publicly express support for three members of the band -- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina, and Yekaterina Samutsevich -- who are languishing in pretrial detention and face stiff prison terms for their infamous unauthorized performance in Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior.[…]

The group's performance in the cathedral on February 21 -- shortly before Vladimir Putin's reelection as president -- was an attempt to draw attention to the close ties between the Kremlin leader and the Russian Orthodox Church and to protest what they consider Russian Patriarch Kirill's inappropriate support for Putin in the election.

Reportedly, the group didn't actually perform a concert in the church. They mimed the performance and matched it later with music as shown on the following video. It's essentially an anti-Putin rant.




After the video was viewed by church officials, the members of Pussy Riot were charged with hooliganism, debasing the feelings and beliefs, diminishing the spiritual foundations of the state, and blasphemy.

Debra Lafave - The Enduring Story - Updated

(Tampa, Florida)

Almost a year ago, a retiring judge joked with Debra Lafave about the demands of her newborn twins, complimented her on completing her community control sentence, then released the ex-teacher from the probation she had promised to serve for having sex with a 14-year-old boy in 2004.

On Wednesday, the 2nd District Court of Appeal ruled that Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman's last act of leniency before retirement was "an abuse of judicial power resulting in a gross miscarriage of justice."

The ruling means Lafave — whose platinum blond hair and blue eyes made her name a household word — will have to resume four remaining years of sex-offender probation.

Defense attorney John Fitzgibbons said he may take the case to the Florida Supreme Court.

* * * * *
Debra Lafave - The Enduring Story - Updated
[Previous 9/28/11 post]




(Tampa, Florida) Last week, Judge Wayne Timmerman granted Debra Lafave's request to be released from the remaining four years of her probation and, the following day, prosecutors asked for a stay on the decision while an appeal to the 2nd District Court of Appeals is crafted.

Assistant State Attorney Michael Sinacore said Lafave was contractually obligated to serve her entire probation since it was a provision in her original, signed plea deal.

However, today Judge Timmerman nixed the prosecution's argument, saying that ending probation early is common practice despite what was agreed to in the plea deal.

The judge did say he would grant the stay to file an appeal but not for the sole sake of keeping Lafave on probation.

* * * * *
Debra Lafave - The Enduring Story
[Previous 9/23/11 post]
Arguably the teacher-student sex story with the longest legs has been the adventures of Debra Lafave (aka Debra Beasley), who was initially arrested and charged more than seven years ago.

The blonde beauty had mixed it up with a 14-year-old boy in a variety of ways, ultimately being prosecuted in two different Florida counties.

In the end, she was sentenced to a hand slap, no jail, only three years house arrest and seven years probation in Hillsborough County Court.

The courts were understandably influenced by the massive public and media interest in the story.

To be fair, who could resist the tale of the bombshell 24-year-old teacher (pic), who claimed she was insane during sex and bipolar, having creative oral sessions with a 14-year-old male student in the back seat of a car as it was driven around central Florida through Hillsborough and Marion Counties by the student's cousin?

The furor died down in March 2006 when prosecutors dropped charges in Marion County against Lafave, leaving her with only the house arrest and probation terms imposed by the Hillsborough County Court. But that's not the end of the story.

In December 2007, having completed nearly two years on house arrest with good behavior, Lafave was arrested on a probation violation for engaging in intimate conversations with a 17-year-old coworker at Danny Boys' Restaurant. Apparently, the offense was dropped as being a minor isolated instance.

In April 2008, reports of Lafave's good behavior prompted Hillsborough County Court Judge J. Rogers Padgett to cut the remaining time that Lafave was to serve on house arrest from seven months to three and a half.

In October 2009, having completed her term of house arrest and a sex offender therapy program, Debra Lafave filed a motion to amend the terms of her probation to allow contact with "a limited number of children of family and friends" with their parents' permission.

In 2010, reports surfaced indicating that Debra Lafave would run for Congress and had become engaged to a Florida restaurant owner. Neither of the stories panned out. The reports do, however, seem to indicate that Lafave was being watched closely.

In the latest development, a judge yesterday (9/22/11) released Debra Lafave from her final four years of probation. Since she recently gave birth to twin boys and became engaged to be married, Lafave argued that also being on probation was too hard.

Texas Teacher Busted for Drugs

(Houston, Texas) A 40-year-old science teacher at Elsik High School, Percy Melton, was busted for marijuana possession after a traffic stop on Interstate 10 between Vinton and Sulpher, Louisiana.

Investigators said when Melton began to act suspiciously during the traffic stop, they asked for permission to search the car and she refused.

A drug dog was brought in and was alerted to the odor of the drugs in the car's trunk, officials said. The 53 pounds of drugs were found wrapped in cellophane and trash bags inside a duffel bag, investigators said.

Detectives said the marijuana has a street value of more than $120,000.

Melton was booked into custody Calcasieu Correctional Center and charged with possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

Dishonorable Disclosures




The outrage at revealing secrets is understandable. Throughout history, secrecy in military operations has been of paramount importance.

More than 2,500 years ago, Sun Tzu detailed in The Art of War:

. . . of all matters none is more confidential than those relating to secret operations.[…]

If plans relating to secret operations are prematurely divulged the agent and all those to whom he spoke of them shall be put to death.

Granted, Sun Tzu's words may not be directly applicable to sensitive disclosures by the Obama administration. However, it's notable that in Sun Tzu's time, revealing operational secrets was a capital offense.

Nutjob Maine mother terrorizes her children

Meteorologist Joseph D’Aleo has supplied the following graph of temperatures in Maine



My 12-year old has just asked to participate in another weekly activity thirty minutes away. I try a quick rebuff: “You’re already too busy and it’s too expensive.” With more than a bit of adolescent attitude, she replies, “You just don’t want to take the time to drive me.”

I look at the clock. It’s past 7 p.m. We haven’t eaten dinner, and unfinished homework clutters the kitchen table. There is never a perfect moment to get into the real nitty gritty of why and wherefore. Still, sometimes you have to take the time to give your kids an honest answer to their questions.

“Yes, you’re partly right,” I tell her, and her sister too, who has now wandered in. “I don’t especially want to spend more time carting you around. But there is another reason. Every time we get in the car we contribute to climate change. By the end of this century – and you may both still be around – climate change is likely to make conditions for life on earth drastically different from what they are today.”

I pause. It’s gloomy stuff, the state of the environment. Usually I try not to dwell on scientists’ pessimistic planetary forecasts. Nobody, including me, really wants to hear it. Nobody wants to read about it over morning coffee and a doughnut. Nobody wants to tell their kids about it.

I plunge ahead. I tell them that they have just lived through the hottest decade ever recorded. I tell them that recent flooding submerged one fifth of the land surface of Pakistan, washing away 7,000 schools.

I tell them that the Arctic is melting, that hurricanes are getting stronger, droughts are lengthening, and rainfall records are being shattered. Within their lifetimes, sea level could rise by 6 feet, or more, submerging the world’s coastal cities.

The children are quiet. Finally they ask if our house, a few miles inland from the Maine coast, will be okay. This question, in its innocent disregard either for the welfare of others, or for the fact that if the world disintegrates around them it won’t matter if their house is okay, seems to reflect a child’s perspective.

But it’s how us adults think too: Sure, catastrophic drought struck Texas last year and the Midwest this summer. But here in the Northeast global warming so far has mostly meant warmer winters. In other words, our house and family are fine.

Well then, my children ask, shouldn’t we do something about it?

I tell them they are already helping by riding their bikes and walking around town, by delighting in hand-me-downs rather than shopping trips, by eating local spinach rather than asking for processed foods from afar.

Although this cheers them up a bit, they are smart enough to know that a few leaves of spinach are not going to fix a whole lot. By the end of the conversation, they’re in tears.

Like every parent, I want my children to believe their futures are full of hope and promise. Yet at some point they also need to look with clear eyes at the world around them. Without that, where will the motivation come from to make anything better?

SOURCE

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

Carolina Woman and 3 Little Boys

(Lexington County, South Carolina) An 18-year-old local woman, Kayla Renee Walters-Merrian, has been accused of coercing three young boys into performing sex acts on her.

Walters-Merrian faces three counts of criminal sex with a minor.

Arrest warrants say Walters-Merrian engaged the three boys, an 11-year-old and two 12-year-olds, in sexual relationships on an old red couch in the woods.

The mother of one of the boys reported the incidents to the sheriff's department on Tuesday after the sister of one of the three boys told the mother about what happened.

Walters-Merrian was booked into custody at the Lexington County Detention Center with bail set at $15,000.

Colorado Teacher Gets Probation in Sex Case - Updated

(Eagle, Colorado)

A former teacher at Basalt High School potentially avoided additional jail time for having sexual relations with a male student, but she faces four years of supervised probation and treatment for sexual offenders, a judge ruled Tuesday.

Lauren K. Redfern, 25, of El Jebel, faced sentencing in two related cases — one stemming from the sex case and another for violating conditions of her bond after her arrest. Eagle County Judge Katharine Sullivan sentenced Redfern to 180 days in jail but suspended 150 days on the condition that she meet other requirements.

Redfern has been in the Eagle County Jail since July 17 after she voluntarily relinquished bond. She will get credit for the time served.

Redfern will be freed this week.

* * * * *
Colorado Teacher Guilty of Sex with Student - Updated
[Previous 5/20/12 post]
(Basalt, Colorado) In accordance with a plea agreement, teacher and coach formerly at Basalt High School, Lauren Redfern, pleaded guilty to one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Two counts of Sexual Assault on a Minor by a Person in a Position of Trust were dropped.

The charges comes after she and the 18-year-old student were allegedly caught having sex in her office bathroom at the school in February.

According to the Aspen Time, both Redfern and the victim told authorities they had sex when he was 17, as well.

The Times also reports the victim told authorities he "pursued" Redfern romantically and that the couple called off their relationship until he graduated.

Details on sentencing are unavailable.

* * * * *
Colorado Teacher Accused of Sex with Student
[Previous 2/16/12 post]
(Glenwood Springs, Colorado) A 25-year-old teacher and coach at Basalt High School, Lauren Redfern, has been accused of having a sexual relationship with a student.

According to Eagle County Undersheriff Mike McWilliam, Redfern faces a charge of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust.

Investigators believe Redfern had repeated sexual contact with a male student attending Basalt High School for “three of four months, since last fall,” McWilliam said.

The student is a senior at the high school. He was 17 years old when the contact started and is now 18, according to McWilliam.

The Sheriff's Office was notified by school officials about the alleged sexual relationship last week. Investigators believe the teacher and student met at his house and at her house, but not at the school.

Redfern has been placed on paid leave from the school.

Arkansas Educator Gets Hand Slap in Sex Case - Update

(Bentonville, Arkansas) Former Bentonville High School teacher’s aide Mandy Flynn, 33, pleaded guilty yesterday to engaging in sex with a 17-year-old special education student.

Flynn pleaded guilty because prosecutors offered her a lesser felony charge, said Bonnie Bridges, Benton County deputy prosecutor.

Benton County Circuit Court Judge Jon Comstock sentenced Flynn to 28 days of house arrest with an ankle monitor, despite prosecutors’ suggestion that Flynn serve the time in jail.

Flynn will also be required to register as a sex offender, and she will spend the next four years under probation.

Flynn resigned her teaching position when she was initially arrested.

* * * * *
Arkansas Teacher's Aide Accused in Sex Case
[Previous 1/30/11 post]
(Bentonville, Arkansas) A teacher's aide at Bentonville High School, Mandy Flynn, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sexual misconduct with a special needs student.

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

Flynn faces a charge of first-degree sexual assault.

Submarine Commander Booted



USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720)

(Groton, Connecticut) On August 3, 2012, Cmdr. Michael P. Ward II became the commanding officer of the USS Pittsburgh, relieving Cmdr. Michael K. Savageaux.

On August 10, 2012, Cmdr. Michael P. Ward II was relieved of his command "due to lack of confidence in Ward's ability to command based upon allegations of personal misconduct on the part of Ward." Ward has been accused of engaging in an affair with a 23-year-old Virginia woman and faking his own death as a means of ending it.

The woman said she met Ward, 43, on a dating Website in October 2011. She said he told her he worked in "special ops." She said Ward, who is married with children, told her he was separated. She said he impregnated her and, in an effort to end the relationship, faked his death in an email communication in July.[…]

The Virginia woman, who works in the banking industry, asked not to be identified because she does not want to jeopardize her career.

"I don't want revenge here," the woman said in a phone interview Sunday. "I want everyone to know the truth about Michael. He does not need to be commanding a submarine. He's a deceitful man."

The woman said she has been in contact with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and with the master chief of the USS Pittsburgh. She provided The Day with copies of text messages and emails from Ward.

"I want you, but I don't know how to make this all perfect," says one of the texts. Another says, "I love you and I always will."

The woman said Ward sent her emails using the name Tony Moore. On July 6, she received an email from his address purporting to be from a man named Bob who worked with Ward.

"He asked me to contact you if this ever happened," the email says. "I am extremely sorry to tell you that he is gone. We tried everything we could to save him. I cannot say more. I am sorry it has to be this way."

The email goes on to say, "He loved you very much," and that Bob had something Ward wanted to give to the woman.

The woman said on July 9, she drove with her family members to Ward's house in Burke, Va., to pay her respects and learned from the new owner that Ward was alive and had moved to Connecticut to take command of a submarine.

She said she became ill, was hospitalized, and learned she was pregnant. She said she has since lost the baby.

Cmdr. Michael Savageaux has returned to command the USS Pittsburgh.

Reinventing the Toilet

(Seattle, Washington) The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is sponsoring a competition to reinvent the toilet.

Scientists from around the world have taken up the challenge, and the foundation announced some projects Tuesday that will be getting more money to take their ideas from the lab to cities.

There, local entrepreneurs will use the new technology to turn pollution into cash.

"We couldn't be happier with the response that we've gotten," Bill Gates said.

To pass the foundation's threshold for the world's next toilet, it must operate without running water, electricity or a septic system, not discharge pollutants, preferably capture energy or other resources, and operate at a cost of 5 cents a day.

The Gates toilet effort has committed $370 million for research and development of the new toilet. First prototypes are expected within three years.

Bumper Sticker Removal

According to this source:




Tip: Rita and Eugene

Woman Gets Probation in Nebraska Child Sex Case

(McCook, Nebraska) In October 2011, a 23-year-old South Dakota woman, Heather J. Geary, was accused of engaging in sex with a 13-year-old boy.

Geary was initially charged with felony sexual assault, however, she pleaded guilty in accordance with a plea agreement to misdemeanor contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

The plea agreement, offered by Red Willow County Attorney Paul Wood, reduced the original felony charge to a Class I misdemeanor and also agreed the state would not seek any finding under the sex offenders registration act.

Geary's original offense stemmed from a October 2010 incident in Red Willow County during which she was accused of having sexual contact with a victim who was 14 years of age or younger, when she was at least 19 years of age.

Geary was assigned a public defender in October 2011 and subsequently failed to appear for hearings in the case in November 2011 and January 2012.

As a result of her conviction, Geary was sentenced this week in Red Willow County District Court to 12 months probation.

Another "Green" car goes up in flames

In yet another example of a federally funded “green energy” failure, Fisker has confirmed that its Karma hybrid “burst into flames” in a California parking lot last Friday, in the words of Reuters.

The car was not charging at the time, and Fisker said the fire was not caused by problems with the vehicle’s lithium-ion battery pack, new technology components or exhaust routing.

A Fisker Karma driver from Woodside, California parked his hybrid at the grocery store… and after grabbing the items he needed, returned to the parking lot to find that his vehicle was on fire.
He called the manufacturer immediately, who then told him to call 911. The Woodside Fire Department arrived to put out the fire, saying there was considerable damage to the front left area of the car.

Fisker Automotive’s Karma is a plug-in hybrid luxury sports sedan that goes for about $102,000 and up.

This fire is the second occurrence this year. Back in May 2012, a Karma plug-in was held responsible for a house fire in Houston, Texas. Before that, Fisker and A123 Systems, which is the battery maker for Fisker’s Karma, recalled over 200 batteries for the Karma. No fires had occurred at that point yet, but A123 Systems said that a poorly positioned hose clamp could potentially be the cause of such issues.

Fisker is currently investigating the cause of the fire, but does not yet have any concrete answers.

According to the New York Times, the government approved $529 million in guaranteed loans for the company, but it has still struggled to maintain its workforce, laying off 66 workers earlier this year.

Commenters have noted a number of interesting aspects about the story. “Ironic isn’t it? They put all their money in a car to have zero emissions. Now how [many pollutants] are being expelled as it burns?” one asked.

A Jalopnik reader added: “Wait. His first response to ‘oh dear, my exceedingly expensive car is on fire’ was to CALL FISKER? That…Is just not even something I can comprehend.”

SOURCE

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

42-Inch Television Boosted




(Oslo, Norway) Regarding a female shoplifter:

A woman was arrested in Oslo on Thursday after walking out of a shopping centre with a 42-inch flat screen television between her legs.

The woman, who was accompanied by a male companion, wandered out of the Elkjøp shopping centre in the Skøyen area of Oslo with the substantial item under her long flowing skirt.

A witness alerted the police after spotting the cumbersome couple leaving the shopping centre at around 8pm on Thursday.

The woman was able to carry the widescreen television clasped between her legs and well hidden under her long skirt, to a nearby bus stop. The police however took up the chase and the pair were apprehended as their bus headed out of the city centre.

It's hard to believe that a woman could effectively conceal a 42-inch television under her skirt. She must be real tall with long, muscular legs.

Stressed-Out Men Prefer Chubby Women

(London, England) According to a survey performed by researchers at the University of Westminster, when men are stressed, they prefer chubbier women.

The study, lead by Viren Swami, rounded up 81 young men whose ages ranged from 18 to 42 and raised the stress levels of 41 of the men by having them do some tough math and to participate in a simulated job interview — a situation that has been proven to significantly increase tension and anxiety, while the rest of the group got to relax in a quiet room.

Afterwards, all of the participants were shown 10 photos of women whose weight ranged from emaciated to obese and were then asked to rate the attractiveness of the women on a scale of 1 to 10.

The men found the overweight women to be more attractive.