Australian research suggests that tea is good for blood pressure



It is hard to reconcile the claims in the article below with Prof. Hodgson's actual research findings, as published in 2013.  The first article of the year here showed no difference in day/night variability in BP but the second article, later on in the year here found that blood pressure was slightly less changeable at night among tea drinkers.  It looks like Prof. Hodgson squeezed his data until he got what he wanted. The data underlying the two contradictory articles  appear to be the same!

Furthermore a 2012 article, also by Prof. Hodgson, here showed a long-term difference between tea drinkers and controls of between 2 and 3 mmHg.  Totally trivial, in other words, close to the error of measurement.

The claims below are BS, to put it plainly.  Prof. Hodgson could throw away his teapot with no adverse consequences for his health

You might have thought you were simply satisfying a thirst in that most British of ways.  But drinking three cups of tea a day may also stabilise your blood pressure, researchers say.  It not only reduces blood pressure, but also minimises the variability of readings taken at night.

Experts say the benefits of tea are largely due to the flavonoid content - antioxidant ingredients that counteract cardio-vascular disease.

Every day there are 350 preventable strokes or heart attacks in the UK due to high blood pressure.  It has long been known that high blood pressure can significantly increase the risk of heart disease.

Now wide variations in blood pressure are also recognised as an important risk factor compared with readings that show little difference over a 24-hour period.

Professor Jonathan Hodgson of the University of Western Australia said: `There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health, but this is an important discovery because it demonstrates a link between tea and a major risk factor for heart disease.

`We have shown, for the first time to our knowledge, that the consumption of black tea can lower rates of blood pressure variation at night time.'

A survey last week found tea is still the nation's favourite drink, with Britons consuming 166 million cups of tea every day.

A high blood pressure reading is one that exceeds 140/90 millimetres of mercury (mm Hg).

The first figure, the systolic pressure, corresponds to the `surge' that occurs with each heartbeat.

In the latest study 111 men and women consumed three cups of black tea daily or a flavonoid free, caffeine containing beverage for six months.They had systolic blood pressure between 115 and 150 mm Hg.

The rate of blood pressure variation was assessed at three time points, on day one and at three and six months.

At these three time points, black tea consumption resulted in 10 per cent lower rates of blood pressure variability at night time than the flavonoid free drink.

These effects were seen immediately on the first day of tea drinking and maintained over the six months.

The study team believe coffee boosts the effects of the drug.

As the caffeine content of the two beverages was the same, the improvement in blood pressure variability would appear to be the result of a black tea component other than caffeine, says a report in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

This is likely to be the flavonoid content, say the researchers, whose previous work found drinking three cups of tea daily led to a cut in blood pressure of between two and three mm HG.

Although black tea was drunk in the study, other research suggests adding milk does not affect the benefits.

Dr Tim Bond, from the industry-backed Tea Advisory Panel, said `High blood pressure is a well-recognised risk factor for cardiovascular and total mortality. Traditionally the level of blood pressure has been equated with risk but the variability of blood pressure is now also thought to contribute to risk.

`Black tea and its constituent flavonoids are increasingly associated with improvement in blood pressure and cardiovascular health. The regular consumption of black tea has been shown to lower blood pressure.

`With its flavonoids, black tea packs a powerful punch with many health benefits particularly for the heart and recent studies show the flavonoids work their magic whether or not we choose to add milk. Drinking four or more cups of black tea each day is quite simply very good for us.'

SOURCE

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

Churchill Bank Note Announced




(London, England) A new British bank note honoring wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill was announced today. It will be issued in 2016.

Georgia Woman Accused of Molesting Two Girls

(Gwinnett County, Georgia) A 25-year-old local woman, Jessica Head, has been arrested for allegedly molesting two young girls. Uncooperative and belligerent, Head told police, "I am a gay man trapped in a woman’s body.”

Head faces counts of child molestation of girls aged 10 and 12.

She was spending the night in the victims’ home following a night of drinking with the girls’ older brother.

The siblings were reportedly sleeping in the same bed when Head left the couch to slip into their bed and climb on top of the 10-year-old victim and move her pelvis back and forth. The girl escaped, so Head then did the same thing to her 12-year-old sister. The older brother woke up and he force Head to go back to the living room.

She was getting out of bed when the children’s mother walked in and called the police.

Head was booked into custody with bail set at $11,400.

Colorado Teacher Gets 90 Days Jail in Sex Case - Update

(Colorado Springs, Colorado) Former teacher Terah Rawlings, 33, was sentenced yesterday to 90 days in jail and 10 years to life on sex offender intensive supervised probation.

* * * * *
Colorado Teacher Guilty in Sex Case - Update
[Previous 2/1/13 post]
(Colorado Springs, Colorado)

A teacher accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old student has pleaded guilty to sexual assault.

Terah Rawlings entered the guilty plea during a pre-trial readiness conference Thursday. Her trial was scheduled for February 4.

Rawlings was arrested in November 2011 on allegations that she had sex with a student numerous times between fall of 2007 and summer of 2008. The student was a sophomore at Hilltop Baptist School, where Rawlings taught, when the sexual encounters first started.

Rawlings is scheduled to be sentenced on April 25.

* * * * *
Colorado Teacher Accused in Sex Case
[Previous 11/18/11 post]
(Colorado Springs, Colorado) Terah Allyn Rawlings, a 32-year-old teacher formerly at the now-closed Hilltop Baptist School, has been accused of engaging in repeated episodes of sex with a 15-year-old boy during 2007.

Rawlings faces multiple counts of sexual assault by a person in a position of trust and promotion of obscenity. Three other individuals have also been accused in the case for failing to report child abuse.

[Terah Allyn Rawlings] is the daughter of Raymond Allen Knight, the Associate Pastor of Hilltop Baptist Church and the former Athletic Director of Hilltop Baptist School.

In addition, she is the niece of Wayne Knight, the Senior Pastor of Hilltop Baptist Church and the former Superintendent of Hilltop Baptist School.

Jan Ocvirk is the former principal of Hilltop Baptist School.

Rawlings was booked into custody and released on $25,000 bond.

Outsourcing Jury Duty?

(Sacramento, California)

The California Assembly passed a bill on Thursday that would make the state the first in the nation to allow non-citizens who are in the country legally to serve on jury duty.

Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont, said his bill, AB1401, would help California widen the pool of prospective jurors and help integrate immigrants into the community.

So, it's conceivable that a defendant could be convicted in a U.S. court by a jury comprised entirely of foreign nationals.

Offhand, this idea seems ludicrous. But it's California, arguably ground-zero for entertaining politics.

Florida Teacher Busted for Cocaine

(Clay County, Florida) A 23-year-old fifth-grade math teacher at Plantation Oaks Elementary School, Ashlea Eucker, has been accused of possessing cocaine at school during school hours.

Eucker was arrested on charges of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Eucker was very upset while at school Wednesday due to a personal issue and was meeting with Principal Lee Oliver, the assistant principal and Guidance Counselor Priscilla Dobson.

Oliver suggested Eucker take the rest of the day off and not go back to the classroom. When Dobson went back to her room to get Eucker's purse, police say a small baggie containing a white powder was plainly visible in the unzipped purse along with a straw.

Details on booking are unavailable.

ANZAC Day



Today is a high holiday down under.

ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) Day is the anniversary of the landing of troops from Australia and New Zealand on the Gallipoli Peninsula, Turkey, in World War I on April 25, 1915.

The bravery of all military personnel who participated in this campaign and the lives of those who died in all military actions are remembered.

Saluting those who have served.

California Teacher Gets No Jail for Inappropriate Conduct - Update

(Sacramento, California) In accordance with a plea agreement, English and drama teacher at Inderkum High School, Rebekah Lee Cyr, pleaded no contest to inappropriate conduct with a 17-year-old male student.

She was arrested in October 2012 and charged with annoying or molesting a child under 18 and making annoying phone calls, both misdemeanors.

On April 18, the molestation charge was dismissed when Cyr pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge of making annoying phone calls without disclosing her identity, according to Sacramento County District Attorney’s spokesperson Shelly Orio.

Cyr registered as a sex offender as a term of her 5-year grant of formal probation, Orio added.

Reportedly, Cyr will have resigned her teaching position by week's end.

* * * * *
California Teacher Accused of Inappropriate Conduct
[Previous 10/12/12 post]
(Sacramento, California) A 33-year-old English teacher at Inderkum High School, Rebekah Cyr, has been accused of inappropriate conduct with a 17-year-old male student.

Cyr faces misdemeanor charges of annoying or molesting a child and making annoying phone calls.

On Sept. 12 the Sacramento Police Dept. launched an investigation into allegations Cyr acted inappropriately toward a 17-year-old male student at Inderkum High School. Allegations were that Cyr made inappropriate advances and had unwanted communication with the victim.

Cyr was immediately placed on paid administrative leave while Natomas Unified School District officials and police investigated. Sex assault and child abuse investigators were assigned to the case.

On Oct. 10, investigator's findings were forwarded to the Sacramento County District Attorney's office and two misdemeanor warrants issued for Cyr's arrest.

Cyr was booked into custody at the Sacramento County Jail.

Preventing Accidental Incest

(Reykjavík, Iceland) With a relatively small population and a uniquely confusing method of passing on family names, Iceland is susceptible to accidental incest. Consequently, an "incest prevention" app has been created.

The app allows users to bump their phones together and instantly find out whether or not they are related.

“Bump in the app before you bump in bed,” is the totally awesome tag line for the new product, created by a group of Software Engineering students at the University of Iceland named Sad Engineer Studios.

Sleeping with a relative is more of an issue in Iceland than most other territories due to the country’s small size—Iceland has just 320,000 residents, compared with more than 300 million people in the U.S.—as well as the lack of immigration and the peculiar way that surnames are constructed in the country.

Your surname is not passed down through the generations as it is in most Western cultures. Instead, your surname is your mother or father’s first name, with the word “son” or “dottir” suffixed.

Heh.

The motivations of the Boston bombers were both  Leftist and Islamic

Ever wondered why the 9/11 bombers and many other Muslim terrorists were Western-educated?  It's because the combination of the anti-Americanism they get from Western educators (including Leftist American educators) and the violence preached by Islam  make an explosive mix.  Read the Koran (start with Surah 9) if you think Islam is a religion of peace.  the Koran is full of hatred towards non-Muslims and exhortations to kill or oppress them. So it was the same old same old with the Boston bombers.  Kent Clizbe sets out the evidence below

 The Boston Marathon massacre was carried out by two Caucasian Muslim brothers, one an American citizen, pot-smoking Obama voter, the other likely a green card holder. In the aftermath, the Politically Correct Progressive (PC-Prog) media and commentators are all flabbergasted. They wondered what could be the terrorists’ motivations. Over and over, the media reported, “Dzhokhor was a normal American kid.”  President Obama, our PC-Prog leader, said, "One thing we do know is that whatever hateful agenda drove these men to such heinous acts will not — cannot — prevail."

The media probably do not even realize how close they are to the truth—Dzhokhor is a normal American kid. Raised on anti-American messages from the media, from their high school, at their university, and from Hollywood, normal American kids are bombarded with a national self-loathing designed to destroy America’s exceptional culture and values.

Although my books, Willing Accomplices and Obliterating Exceptionalism detail the origins of this suicidal hatred of America, the Boston bombers are the clearest example yet of the power of this message to destroy the lives of Americans.

It seems likely that the older brother, Tamerlan, was the driving force behind the two Tsarnaev brothers’ terrorism. It appears that he was a follower of a Lebanese-Australian extremist cleric. This Muslim preacher’s messages of hatred for Western culture were prominent on Tamerlan’s Youtube playlists.

It appears that Tamerlan recently spent six months overseas. In Russia? Or did he travel elsewhere? Did he go to Chechnya? Did he spend time in what appears to be his homeland, Dagestan, where his father lives now? Who did he meet there? What did he do there?

Dagestan and Chechnya are hotbeds of Islamic terrorism. Chechen terrorists are active around the Middle East, Afghanistan, and North Africa. Wherever there is a jihadi war, it is likely you’ll find Chechens fighting there.

We do know that Tamerlan returned “from Russia,” in the summer of 2012. His brother would have been out of high school (more about that later) for about a year. His return was about nine months before the Marathon bombing.

If Tamerlan trained on bombing and attack techniques (a couple months of intensive training is the minimum for a mujahidin terrorist), he could have returned to Boston with the attack plan fully laid out. He would have the skills required to make the bombs. He would have likely already have identified the target. And he would have the techniques required to carry out the attacks. All that would be missing was the materials to make the bombs, and an accomplice.

So, in this scenario, we have a committed, trained Islamic terrorist ready to carry out his attack. What pool will he draw from to recruit his accomplice?

Why, his “average American” brother, Dzhokhor. With his American-accented English, the younger brother graduated from the celebrated (Matt Damon went here!) Boston high school, Cambridge Rindges and Latin School (CRLS), about the same time Tamerlan was probably contemplating terrorist training.

Now we get to the interesting part. A graduate of CRLS has had years of anti-American claptrap crammed down his throat. Instead of, “Why would a normal American kid do this?” a better question is, “Why don’t all CRLS graduates become anti-American terrorists?”

PC-Prog media widely quoted a retired CRLS history teacher, Larry Aaronson’s shocked reminiscences about Dzhokhor. Aaronson told The Boston Globe, “This is a progressive town, the People's Republic, and how could this be in our midst?" Larry Aaronson, a longtime Rindge and Latin teacher who knew Dzhokhor and who lives three doors down from the brothers on Norfolk Street. "I'm at a loss. I'm at a total and complete loss."

Well, Larry, let’s start with your own handiwork. Aaronson is an acolyte of the raving PC-Prog, traditional-America-hating deceased “revisionist historian,” Howard Zinn. Zinn was a PC-Prog darling. Zinn claimed that his eyes were opened to racist, imperialist horror that is America by the KGB covert influence agent, I.F. Stone.

Aaronson (third from left in the photo at left), who retired in 2007, used to brag to anyone who would listenthat he had taught Zinn’s textbook to CLRS students since the beginning of his career in 1981. In 2008, Aaronson started Social Justice Works! The Larry Aaronson Fund, in an evident attempt to cash in on his Zinn-Damon connections.

Aaronson proudly related how his students at CLRS had included Matt Damon and Damon’s brother. He proudly told how the Damon boys were taken with the anti-American history of Zinn. Larry, in an homage to Zinn on his death in 2008, started with this quote, “You wanna read a really good American History book? Read Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States. It will knock your socks off!” -Will Hunting (Matt Damon), Good Will Hunting

If you don’t know Zinn’s handiwork, here’s a sample of his writing in The Progressive. In detailing the idiocy of America’s belief that we are exceptional, Zinn’s contempt for America and its citizens fairly drips from each word, “The deeply ingrained belief--no, not from birth but from the educational system and from our culture in general that the United States is an especially virtuous nation makes us especially vulnerable to government deception. It starts early, in the first grade, when we are compelled to "pledge allegiance" (before we even know what that means), forced to proclaim that we are a nation with "liberty and justice for all.

“And then come the countless ceremonies, whether at the ballpark or elsewhere, where we are expected to stand and bow our heads during the singing of the "Star-Spangled Banner," announcing that we are "the land of the free and the home of the brave." There is also the unofficial national anthem "God Bless America," and you are looked on with suspicion if you ask why we would expect God to single out this one nation--just 5 percent of the world's population--for his or her blessing.”

Aaronson boasted that parents called him to say that their kids were talking about, “that “bastard Christopher Columbus… and his genocide, and how we have to question our history books and re-examine the evidence.” The CRLS teacher continued, “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

With that back-story illuminated, let’s return to the PC-Prog media’s puzzling over “What could the Tsarnaev boys’ motive possibly be?”

After the Marathon massacre, the media quoted the Zinn-acolyte Aaronson in its stories about the terrorist mass murderer. Aaronson was “utterly shocked by the news.” The media reported that, “Aaronson taught social studies at Cambridge Rindge and Latin, where Dzhokhor was a student.” The media reports continued, “Dzhokhor also lives just about three houses down from Aaronson’s condo, so they would talk from time to time after Dzhokhor's graduation in 2011.

“I will say to you and to anyone who asks me,” Aaronson told WBUR’s David Boeri outside his home in Cambridge on Friday morning, “he had a heart of gold, he was a sweetheart, he was gracious, he was caring, he was compassionate.”  [That shows how good is the judgment of Mr. Leftist Aaronson]

 ABC, CBS, USA Today, NY Times, CNN all carried versions of Aaronson’s comments about “how normal” Dzhokhor, his neighbor and student was. None of the PC-Prog media provided any other background on Aaronson and his brainwashing of students at CRLS with Zinn’s history.

The Aaronson-Dzhokhor “reporting” by the PC-Prog media brings together the three PC-Prog transmission belts of American culture—education/academia, Hollywood, and the media. All three are dedicated to destroying traditional-American culture. The media reports studiously ignore the connection between Dzhokhor's anti-American lessons taught by a “social justice” weenie (Aaronson) from a book by a follower (Zinn) of a KGB covert influence agent (I.F. Stone) slyly celebrated in a Hollywood product (Matt Damon’s Good Will Hunting).

Islamic terrorism was the force that planted the bombs in Boston. PC-Progressive hatred of American exceptionalism was the motivation behind that force.

We need to let the media and Obama know: We know what hateful agenda drove Dzhokhor. It has infected our media, schools, and Hollywood for nearly 80 years. When it destroyed normal-American culture, the way was cleared for opportunistic infections to take advantage of our weakened national immune system. Islamic extremism is the most violent. But look at others gathering momentum in their destructive power—Militant environmentalists, militant homosexuals, militant anti-capitalists, militant Islamic Extremists, militant anti-war activists, militant race-baiters. All hate normal-America. All call for extreme changes to America.

This is the challenge. We conservatives must realize that PC-Progs are not “for” militant Islamic Extremists—they are simply for anything that is anti-normal-America. When the logical outcome of the PC-Prog’s constant anti-American messages throughout the culture occurs—violent acting out against normal-America, in this case marathon runners—the PC-Progs claim shock and surprise.

It’s time for the chickens to come home to roost. PC-Progs must accept the results of their decades of anti-American messages. We know Dzhokhor's motivations. I agree fully with Obama. This “hateful agenda…will not — cannot — prevail.” Now let’s rebuild our country.

SOURCE


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

Border Fee Proposed



Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano seeks to tax Canadians entering the US.

The U.S. government is proposing to charge a new fee for every vehicle or pedestrian crossing the U.S.-Canada border — an idea that has prompted fierce objections from New York lawmakers who claim the levy would stifle transboundary commerce and undermine recent efforts to ease the flow of people and goods between the two countries.

Arguably, the Obama administration only has ideas which are impediments to business and economic growth. Just tax and spend.

Naked Texas Babe Enters Stranger's Home

(Weatherford, Texas) A 25-year-old local woman, Sara Elizabeth Soto, has been accused of getting naked and entering a stranger's home through a doggy door. She was found sitting naked in the bathtub.

Soto faces counts of misdemeanor criminal trespass and criminal mischief.

A woman living at the home told police that her husband heard a noise, got up and found the doggy door damaged.

Because they don’t have a dog, the couple assumed an animal had gotten in the house, according to the probable cause affidavit. However, they then observed an unknown woman in the bathroom.

Soto was booked into custody at the Parker County Jail with bond set at $4,000.

Offhand, I suspect I would be more accommodating in similar circumstances and not involve the police. Instead, I would probably offer her a refreshing beverage and a bit of engaging conversation. It's just my nature to be charitable and giving.

Nicene Creed for Environmentalism

Every religion needs a creed. A set of beliefs that its followers can adhere to. A flag they can rally around in good times and bad.

An early example is the Nicene Creed, drafted in the fourth century to explain exactly what Christians believed.

With the coming of Earth Day, Americans are reminded once again that modern environmentalism has morphed into a religion. For example, we can expect to be reminded that today’s cold weather and floods are caused by “climate change,” the exact same phenomenon that supposedly caused last year’s hot weather and droughts.

So to help environmentalist believers focus, it’s time for them to have their own Nicene Creed. Feel free to read it at Earth Day celebrations, or any appropriate worship services:

"We believe in one Planet, Mother of us all: the Earth, fragile and endangered by pollution,  both seen and unseen.

We believe in one agency, the EPA,  the only thing standing between us and oblivion,  created by Washington to protect us, its god-like rulings must never be questioned, we understand its decisions are begotten, not made.

EPA is of one with the Father, the federal government. Through it all things were made, for us and for our salvation.

EPA hands down judgments as if from heaven: It was given power by Richard Nixon, has grown inexorably, and now has the ability to make men bend to its will.

EPA was crucified under George W. Bush; it suffered greatly but soldiered on.  And now has arisen again to write new regulations which must be treated as Scripture;

Under Barack Obama, EPA has ascended to new heights and is seated at the right hand of the Father, the federal government.

It will never cease attempting to judge people and companies, whether living or dead, and its kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Planet, the Earth, the giver of life, which may soon be completely destroyed by man-caused global warming.

Through the Father, the federal government, and the Son, the EPA, Earth is worshiped and glorified.

It has spoken through the Prophet, Rachel Carson.

We believe in climate change, regardless of what the evidence may show.

We acknowledge that humans are the source of all environmental sins.

We look for redemption thorough recycling,

And look forward to a completely regulated life to come.

Amen."

SOURCE


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

Florida 'Rolls Back' Education Standards

(Tallahassee, Florida) Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation which "rolls back" graduation standards for Florida students.

Under the new law, middle and high school students are no longer required to pass end-of-course (EOC) exams in any subject except Algebra I.

For the other subject area EOCs, the score they receive will simply count as 30 percent of their grade and will no longer impact whether or not they can progress from one grade to the next or graduate.

Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, said that while the law does change educational paths for students, it doesn’t eliminate the state’s emphasis on increasing the rigor.

In any event, attaining the reduced standards will be more rigorously pursued. ???

France Legalizes Homosexual Marriage



French Gay Marriage Protesters
(Paris, France)

France made history on Tuesday when it became the 14th country to vote gay marriage into law. As supporters of the bill celebrated opponents vowed to continue their protests. French riot police were out in force on Tuesday night.

France's lower house National Assembly on Tuesday adopted a bill legalising same-sex marriages and adoptions for gay couples, defying months of opposition protests.

In its second and final reading, a majority of lawmakers approved the bill by a vote of 331 to 225.

"After 136 hours and 46 minutes of debate, Parliament has adopted the law opening marriage to same-sex couples," the Socialist speaker of the Assembly, Claude Bartolone, said after the vote.

The public outburst against same-sex marriage caught many, including French President Hollande, completely by surprise.

"They're opening a Pandora's box," says Alain Escada, the head of the fundamentalist Christian group Civitas. "The next thing they will want three-way or four-way marriages," blasted the archbishop of Lyon, Philippe Barbarin. "And then the ban on incest will be dropped."

"Who would then, in the name of the sacrosanctness of love, still be able to convey that sex with animals or polyandry are wrongful," asked the umbrella organization of Muslims in France. Finally, Frigide Barjot, the acid-tongued self-appointed icon of the anti-gay marriage movement, declared, "If Hollande wants blood, then he will get it." The activist later retracted her statement.

Metaphorically, the opening of Pandora's box is fitting. The issue is arguably nowhere close to being resolved. Expect violence.

Florida Woman, 29, and Boy, 15

(Holiday, Florida) A 29-year-old local woman, Tatiana Fonseca, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy.

Fonseca faces a charge of lewd and lascivious molestation.

The boy's stepmother alerted authorities after finding four sexually explicit videos on the youngster's cell phone.

The videos were time stamped dating back to late September, when the boy was 15. The most recent video was from March 11, the sheriff's report said.

Fonseca was booked into custody at the Land O'Lakes Jail and released on $10,000 bail.

Glorious Lenin's birthday Earth Day, comrades

From Oleg the Armenian



A day of action to save the earth from farmers, ranchers, mining, timber, oil, chemical companies, and anyone else who seeks to utilize the planet's resources to enhance, enrich, and extend the lives of people worldwide.

Characterized by the media's massive awareness drive to (a) remind the world that U.S. capitalists are raping the earth, stealing its riches, and causing environmental problems; (b) advocate a greater government control of land, resources, and industries; and (c) increase the ever growing white male guilt levels. A great way to hijack spring cleaning and politicize the rebirth of nature.



SOURCE


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

Alabama Educator Busted for Meth Lab

(Loxley, Alabama) A 52-year-old special education teacher's aide at Magnolia School, Lynda Rigsby, has been accused of making and possessing methamphetamine. An alleged co-conspirator, Steven East, 29, has also been implicated.

Rigsby and East face multiple drug manufacturing and possession charges.

Narcotics officers serving a warrant discovered an active methamphetamine lab and finished product.

A child who was present inside the home during the arrests is being cared for by family members.

Baldwin County School's Communication's Director, Terry Wilhite, confirmed that Rigsby is a special aide who assists teachers who work with special education children.

Rigsby and East were booked into custody at the Baldwin County Corrections Center.

Vermont Teacher Accused of Embezzlement

(Richford, Vermont) A 35-year-old first-grade teacher at Richford Elementary School, Shawna Steinhour, has been accused of felony embezzlement of $3,500 from the Richford Parent Teacher Organization.

The embezzlement allegedly occurred from October 2011 to March 2012.

Franklin Northeast School Superintendent Jay Nichols told The Burlington Free Press that Steinhour will be on an indefinite paid leave from the school while the matter is being investigated.

An appearance in Vermont Superior Court has been scheduled for May 20.

Terrorist Plot Targets Canadian Passenger Train




(Toronto, Canada)

Police say they have arrested two men accused of conspiring to carry out an "al-Qaeda supported" attack targeting a Via passenger train in the Greater Toronto Area, following a cross-border investigation that involved Canadian and American law enforcement.

In a press conference that followed a report by CBC's Greg Weston, police named the two accused as Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, from Toronto.

They have been charged with conspiracy to carry out a terrorist attack and "conspiring to murder persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group."

RCMP officials said the two accused were plotting to derail a passenger train.

The scheme was thwarted by efforts of Canadian law enforcement agencies, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Richie Havens b.1941 - d.2013



Richie Havens at Woodstock 1969

(Jersey City, New Jersey) Singer and guitarist Richard P. "Richie" Havens died today from a heart attack at his home in Jersey City. He was 72.

Bummer: According to Al Gore, we now have only three years "to avert a major [CO2-induced] catastrophe that could send our entire planet’s climate system into a tail-spin of epic destruction"

No sign of it yet but that's prophecy for you

    [2006] "Humanity is sitting on a time bomb. If the vast majority of the world’s scientists are right, we have just 10 years to avert a major catastrophe that could send our entire planet’s climate system into a tail-spin of epic destruction . . ."

    This quote, spoken by Al Gore in his movie, “An Inconvenient Truth,” embodies the fear that is driving the modern environmental movement.

SOURCE


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

Rehab for Al-Qaeda Terrorists



(Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have opened a luxury resort for jailed Al-Qaeda militants as part of the Gulf kingdom’s plan to turn its citizens away from jihadist activities.

The rehabilitation centre, which features spa treatments, pool tables and a swimming pool, has been opened just outside the capital Riyadh and can accommodate 228 prisoners, AFP reported.

The complex, and others like it, is the work of the Prince Mohammed bin Nayef centre for Counselling and Care, a body setup seven years ago during Saudi’s crackdown on Al-Qaeda militants.

"Just under 3,000 [Islamist prisoners] will have to go through one of these centers before they can be released," interior ministry spokesman General Mansur al-Turki told AFP during a tour of the facility.

The centre’s rehabilitation programme includes seminars on religious affairs designed to steer detainees away from extremism, and will reward inmates’ good behaviour with visits from their wives.

"In order to fight terrorism, we must give them an intellectual and psychological balance... through dialogue and persuasion," added director of the rehabilitation centre Said al-Bishi.

Frankly, I could not be more skeptical. Mind-numbed religious fanatics are not candidates for rehabilitation.

China Confirms More Avian Flu Deaths



Distribution of H7N9 Cases
(Beijing, China)

During the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. on Sunday, China confirmed six new cases of human H7N9 avian influenza, including five in Zhejiang and one in Jiangsu.

The National Health and Family Planning Commission said in its daily update on H7N9 cases that a total of 102 H7N9 cases have been reported in China, including 20 that have ended in death.

Of the total, 12 H7N9 patients have been discharged from hospitals after receiving treatment, and the other 70 patients are being treated in designated hospitals, according to the commission.

A total of 33 cases, including 11 that have ended in death, have been reported in Shanghai. Twenty-four cases, including three deaths, have been reported in Jiangsu Province, and 38 cases, including five deaths, in Zhejiang Province. Anhui Province has reported three cases, with one ending in death. Beijing has reported one case and three have been reported in Henan Province.

According to Chinese authorities, H7N9 cases are isolated to a lot of places and a lot of people.

Analysis finds planetary harmonics control solar activity and subsequent climate change

A new post at ClimateMonitor.it by Carlo Tosti demonstrates that  the global temperature record since 1880 is highly correlated to solar activity, and that solar activity is in turn highly correlated to the harmonics of planetary motion.

These correlations and accumulating evidence of an amplified solar effect on Earth's climate would tend to suggest a "unified theory" of climate change, whereby gravitational effects from planetary motions cause small changes in solar activity, which are then amplified via cosmic rays/clouds [Svensmark's theory of cosmoclimatology], ozone, and ocean oscillations to cause large changes in Earth's climate.


Blue = global temperature; red = solar activity
SOURCE

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.). 

Internet Stupidity




(Washington, D.C.)

The Czech ambassador to the United States has expressed concern over angry remarks in US social networks mistakenly aimed at his country in connection with a recent terrorist attack on the American soil.

Dozens of messages accusing the Czechs of terrorism and even calling for US retaliation against the Czech Republic appeared in the US segments of Twitter and Facebook on Friday after reports that the two suspects in Boston Marathon bombing had Chechen origins.

“As more information on the origin of the alleged perpetrators is coming to light, I am concerned to note in the social media a most unfortunate misunderstanding in this respect,” Ambassador Petr Gandalovič said in a statement on the Czech embassy’s website on Friday.[…]

“The Czech Republic and Chechnya are two very different entities - the Czech Republic is a Central European country; Chechnya is a part of the Russian Federation,” Gandalovič pointed out.

The two countries are about 2,730 kilometers (1,700 miles) apart.

Geography is hard.

Richard Wagner's Jewish Friends

Something people do not normally expect is that people's attitudes often are quite out of line with their actual behavior.  Psychologists have known of the "Attitude/behavior discrepancy" since the 1930s and it is particularly seen in anything to do with race relations.

Going further back -- into the 19th century -- we also see there some curious combinations.  The communist Karl Marx was furiously antisemitic, even though he was himself Jewish!  His essay, "Zur Judentum", is well known in that connection but his hate of Jews  emerges powerfully in his correspondence with Engels too.

And the man who coined the term "antisemitism" (he thought it was a good thing) -- The German Leftist Wilhem Marr -- three times married Jewish ladies, despite his furious antisemitism.

And the article below details a similar disjunction between the attitudes and behavior of composer Richard Wagner.

So what do we conclude from that?  In a word: caution about generalizing.  And no-one generalizes like Leftists.  Their scattergun accusations of all sorts of things being racist are simply empty-headed.

What I conclude is that it is only behaviour that matters. Words are just not useful as predictors of evil deeds.  So it is only a person who does actual harm to another person solely because of that person's race who is a real racist.  It is deeds, not words, that count.  Judging by his deeds, Wagner was actually philosemitic, rather than antisemitic

Richard Wagner, the 19th Century German composer of opera, has long been noted for his strident expressions of anti-Semitism. The most opprobrious of these has been his infamous Judaism in Music, an essay published in 1850 at the age of 37. Apart from the racist tone, it states in essence that Jews were capable of neither creating nor appreciating great art. It is with justification that he is today deemed a racist, thorough and through, with the bulk of his contempt directed at the Jews as a sub-population in his native German land.

Little noted by modern writers however is the fact that his racism seems exactly the opposite of the modern variety. Post Hitler almost no one admits to harboring such tendencies, even the many exhibiting obvious racial or religious prejudice in their daily lives. It was the opposite with Wagner. He expressed in speech and writing his overt animosity toward many groups, most explicitly toward the Jews, whom he seemed to target as a group, like some amorphous entity. Strange to say, but a fact nonetheless, in his dealings with individuals, he judged by only one attribute, namely whether the individual supported him in his life’s work, or opposed him. What ultimately mattered to him was not race or religion, but the realization of his artistic goals, his concept of art. Good and bad, right and wrong, were judged by that one criterion. With many of his close associates, including many Jews, he developed warm, close, and empathetic relationships.

Much more here


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

New York Teachers Pulled from Classroom



Melanie Akerberg and Donna Newton-McNally

(Long Island, New York) Two Sachem High School North business teachers, Melanie Akerberg, 33, and Donna Newton-McNally, 41, were pulled from their classrooms this week after being accused of inappropriate contact with two male students.

School district officials are investigating Akerberg and Newton-McNally for alleged misconduct with a football player and a wrestler.

Sources said a girlfriend of one of the boys found texts from a teacher on his phone and alerted Sachem North principal John Dolan, who ordered a probe.

The stunned husbands of the two women reacted angrily to the revelations, with one confronting one of the two seniors this week, a source said.

District spokesperson Chris Vaccaro confirmed the teachers were removed but would not disclose the nature of the probe.

It was not clear if they were accused of physical contact or inappropriate correspondence.

Both teachers have been administratively reassigned.

Illinois Teacher Gets 30 Days in Sex Case - Update

(Plainfield, Illinois) Yesterday, physical education and dance teacher formerly at Plainfield North High School, Ashley M. Blumenshine, pleaded guilty in Will County Court to a felony charge of traveling to meet a minor for sex.

As a result, Blumenshine was sentenced to two years of probation and 30 days in jail. Her attorney George Lenard said Blumenshine will get credit for time served.

Blumenshine, who surrendered to sheriff’s deputies Friday to serve her jail sentence, also will have to register as a sex offender for 10 years, Lenard said.

In a letter she wrote in January 2012 that was added to her court file on April 8, Blumenshine wrote that she wished she could undo her actions and has a hard time forgiving herself for what happened.

Blumenshine resigned her tenured position after arrest.

* * * * *
Illinois Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 1/5/11 post]
(Plainfield, Illinois) A 27-year-old physical education teacher at Plainfield North High School, Ashley M. Blumenshine, was arrested yesterday for allegedly engaging in sex with a 16-year-old boy.

Blumenshine faces a charge of criminal sexual abuse.

She was allegedly found having sex with the 16-year-old, who is a Plainfield North student, in a vehicle behind Kohl’s, 11860 S. Route 59, police said.

Doster said police approached the scene behind Kohl’s when they noticed two suspicious vehicles “at the end of the lot away from anything else.”

Following interviews, police determined they had sex slightly before officers arrived at the scene, Doster said.

Blumenshine was booked into custody at the Will County Adult Detention Center without bond.

NH Teacher Accused of DWI (Again) - Update

(Portsmouth, New Hampshire) Special education teacher formerly at Seabrook Elementary School, Holly Spreen, 40, has a storied history with alcohol-induced misbehavior.

This week Spreen was arrested by Officer Steven Blanding for drunk driving after colliding with two parked cars. According to Deputy Police Chief Corey MacDonald, no one was injured.

Spreen is now charged with a second-offense count of driving while intoxicated, as well as for driving with an open container of alcohol, according to police.

Bail was set at $290 cash and Spreen was released from custody when someone posted that bail at the police station, MacDonald said.

Date of next court appearance is not available.

* * * * *
NH Teacher Really Likes the Bottle
[Previous 4/3/08 post]
(Portsmouth, New Hampshire) Last year, special education teacher Holly Spreen was arrested for reckless conduct and child endangerment after being caught absolutely blitzed in public.

Onlookers saw her drop and drag her child and police ultimately tested her blood alcohol content at 0.49, over six times the legal limit.

In November 2007, Spreen pleaded guilty to charges of reckless conduct and simple assault in accordance with an agreement with the prosecution. In exchange, two charges of child endangerment and a charge of violating bail conditions were dropped. She was sentenced to 30 days in jail by Judge Sawako Gardner, to be served over summer vacation so it wouldn't interfere with her teaching.

Meanwhile, there are new developments in the life of Holly Spreen.

According to Portsmouth District Court documents, Holly Spreen, 35, was arrested by Kingston police on March 23, when her blood alcohol content was recorded at .33 and she told an officer she drank a bottle of wine "throughout the day."

At the time of her arrest, Spreen, a former Seabrook elementary school teacher, was court-ordered to abstain from all use of alcohol and to remain arrest-free.

Spreen was booked into custody this week with bond set by Judge Sharon DeVries at $5,000. A court appearance is scheduled for April 8th.


[Update 04/08/08]

Spreen sentenced to one year in jail.

Carolina Teacher Busted for Drugs

(Summerville, South Carolina) A 49-year-old fourth-grade teacher at Summerville Elementary School, Terri Wooten, has been arrested for possession of and trafficking in drugs.

Wooten and an alleged co-conspirator, David Eugene Cauthan, 39, face charges of trafficking methamphetamine, distribution near a school, possession of a schedule 4 narcotic and possession of LSD.

According to the Sheriff’s Office, during a search at the home, agents found the components to manufacture meth, 14 grams of a white powder that tested positive for meth, 2.3 grams of marijuana, 12 dosage units of LSD and 46 Xanax pills.

Wooten and Cauthan were booked into custody at the Hill Finklea Detention Center in Moncks Corner, SC.

California Teacher Porn Case



Heidi Kaeslin
(Stockton, California) A 37-year-old special education teacher and girl's soccer coach formerly at Lincoln High School, Heidi Kaeslin, has been accused of using a school-issued computer to help set up pornographic websites.

As a result of her pornography-involved malfeasance, Kaeslin was fired from her teaching position.

The district accused Kaeslin of keeping thousands of pornographic and erotic images on her school-issued laptop, then lying about her activities when administrators questioned her.

The district said it was subject to embarrassment due to the now-defunct websites and other online references to Kaeslin's involvement with them, which officials say lasted from late 2010 until at least April 2011.

Kaeslin has said her involvement in the websites with former Stockton police officer Richard Fields, who was assigned to the high school as a resource officer, lasted only a few days.

Kaeslin told the newspaper last month that she is the victim of a vendetta by her estranged husband, who was angered by her extramarital affair with Fields.

Kaeslin may appeal her dismissal in court.

Boston Marathon Bombing Suspects

(Watertown, Massachusetts) Two suspects have been identified. Believed to be from Chechnya, brothers Dzhokhar A. Tsarnaev, 19, and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, are the alleged bombers.

The older brother died in a shootout last night in Watertown MA.

The younger brother is at large in Watertown, holed up in an area saturated with law enforcers. His meter is running out.

Mars Mission




This summer applications will be accepted for a colonization trip to Mars. Forty candidates will be selected for training with an anticipated launch date in September 2022.

Once on Mars they will have "relatively spacious living units; over 50 square meters per person, and a total of more than 200 square meters combined interior space," to enjoy for the next two years, all under CCTV for our viewing entertainment.

Experts are skeptical of the project and doubt humans will survive for any extended period of time on Mars. Additionally, it's generally accepted that there will be no return flights. The Mars colonists won't be coming back to Earth.

Interestingly, the first four colonists will be selected by popular vote of the general public. As a card-carrying member of the general public, I've got a list of people I believe should be shot into space, never to come back. Oh yeah!

BOSTON MARATHON BLASTS - Updated



Boston Marathon Image Analysis
One must recognize the gargantuan task being undertaken by law enforcers in studying the thousands of still and video images of the Boston Marathon to determine potential perpetuators. It's detailed, time-consuming, mind-numbing work. Hopefully, we'll see a break in the case very soon.

A representative smattering of what the investigators face can be seen here.

* * * * *
BOSTON MARATHON BLASTS - Updated
[Previous 4/16/13 post]
(Boston, Massachusetts) After 12 hours of coordinating and verifying input, authorities and the media have confirmed details of the Boston Marathon blasts.

Two powerful bombs exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon on Monday afternoon, killing three people, including an 8-year-old child, and injuring more than 100, as one of this city’s most cherished rites of spring was transformed from a scene of cheers and sweaty triumph to one of screams and carnage.

Almost three-quarters of the 23,000 runners who participated in the race had already crossed the finish line when a bomb that had apparently been placed in a garbage can exploded around 2:50 p.m. in a haze of smoke amid a crowd of spectators on Boylston Street, just off Copley Square in the heart of the city. Thirteen seconds later, another bomb exploded several hundred feet away.

The FBI is leading the investigation. President Obama has called the incident "an act of terror."

Coordinating conflicting reports continues as New England is flooded with law enforcers.

* * * * *
BLASTS at BOSTON MARATHON
[Previous 4/15/13, 1730 post]



After-blast chaos at Boston Marathon

(Boston, Massachusetts)

Two explosions shattered the euphoria of the Boston Marathon finish line on Monday, sending authorities out on the course to carry off the injured while the stragglers in the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton were rerouted away from the smoking site of the blasts.

A federal law-enforcement source confirmed to The Post there are at least 12 dead. Massachusetts General Hospital was treating 10 people with amputated limbs and all operating rooms were on hold, sources said.

Authorities have a identified a suspect, a Saudi national, who is currently being guarded in a Boston hospital with shrapnel wounds.

The Boston Globe reported that there were up to 100 injuries stemming from the explosion.

The situation is fluid and some erroneous information has understandably been reported.

Alabama Woman Accused of Sex Assault

(Dothan, Alabama) A 41-year-old local woman, Stephanie Michelle McCray, has been accused of multiple sex crimes including rape of a teen boy.

McCray faces multiple sex-related charges, felony transmitting obscene material, felony second-degree rape, felony first-degree sex abuse and misdemeanor second-degree sex abuse.

Records show police charged McCray with sending nude pictures of herself to a 15-year-old boy for the alleged purpose of initiating a sex act with a child between March 1 and March 28.

Records show police also charged McCray with the rape of the same teenage boy during the same 28-day time period. Police also charged her with allegedly sexually abusing the same boy during that time period.

Police also charged McCray with felony first-degree sex abuse of a second male victim during the 28-day period.

McCray was booked into custody at the Houston County Jail with bond set at $177,000.

Margaret Thatcher funeral procession: How applause drowned out the jeers


The woman who saved Britain was applauded by her people




It seemed to come out of nowhere. No one knew who’d started it – perhaps it was purely instinctual. But as the hearse came into view, the crowds found themselves breaking into applause – applause that followed the hearse all the way along the route, until it drew up at the church of St Clement Danes. Then, once the coffin had been loaded on to the gun carriage, and the horses moved off, the applause started again – and followed the procession all the way to St Paul’s.

Down the roads it spread and spread, gently rippling, a long impromptu chain of respect and appreciation.

The applause wasn’t rowdy; there were no whoops or whistles. It was steady, warm, dignified. But it was also, somehow, determined. At Ludgate Circus, protesters began to boo and jeer – only to find the rest of the crowd applauding all the more loudly to drown them out.

It has often been said that Baroness Thatcher appealed to the silent majority. They weren’t silent now.

Ever since the news of her death last Monday, we have been told one thing above all else about the former Prime Minister: that she was divisive. Well, maybe she was. But you wouldn’t necessarily have known it yesterday along the route of her funeral procession. From Westminster to St Paul’s, mourners crammed the pavements, in places standing 12 deep.

In the build-up there’d been rumours of violent protests: lumps of coal, symbolising the fury of the miners, would be thrown at her coffin.

In the event, all that was thrown was roses.


This was a day, in short, of tributes untarnished. A day when, to a far greater degree than expected, abuse was overcome by respect, violence by decency, and hatred by love.

SOURCE

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

Texas Teacher Accused of Improper Relations with Student

(Liberty, Texas) A 29-year-old teacher at Liberty High School, Valerie Celeste Moore, has been accused of engaging in an improper relationship with a student.

Moore faces a charge of 2nd-degree felony improper relationship between educator and student.

As a result of these allegations, the teacher has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, effective immediately, according to the school district.

Moore was hired in February, and no reports of inappropriate student contact by the teacher had been made prior to this incident.

Moore was arrested and booked into custody with bond set at $25,000.

Electronic Vibrating Fork



An inventor in France has created an electronic vibrating fork to combat obesity. The fork vibrates if one eats food too quickly.

It is called the HAPIfork and it monitors:

•The number of "fork servings" taken per minute and per meal
•The specific duration of each "fork serving" interval
•The overall meal duration
•The exact start time and end time of the meal

All of the information can then be uploaded and viewed online. The user can choose to share the information with family and friends.

Well, the product comes from France. Uploaded to the Internet, it must be true.

Texas Fertilizer Plant Explodes, Many Casualties




(West, Texas) Shortly before 8PM local time, the West Fertilizer Co. plant exploded, injuring at least 200 people and destroying dozens of homes and businesses. Reportedly, 40 people have critical injuries.

A fire had broken out earlier at the fertilizer plant, and the explosion occurred while firefighters were trying to put it out. Firefighters were said to be among the injured.

“It was a small fire and then water got sprayed the ammonia nitrate, and it exploded just like the Oklahoma City bomb,” said Jason Shelton, a clerk at the Czech Best Western Hotel in West, according to a Dallas Morning News report.

Cause of the explosion is not known at present.

European Parliament Votes Against Climate Measure



EU Carbon Traders
For the time being, the celebrated European cap and trade system appears to have been stuffed and mounted.

The European Parliament on Tuesday voted down a proposal to make it more expensive for companies to burn fossil fuels, in what environmental advocates are calling a major setback in the fight against climate change.

The European Commission, the EU's executive branch, had proposed measures that would have increased the price per ton of emitted carbon dioxide that companies must pay under the bloc's Emissions Trading System (ETS), which was set up in 2005.

EU lawmakers narrowly rejected the bill 334 to 315, with 63 abstentions.

The climate change warriors will have to regroup.

North Korean Cannibalism



Starving orphans - North Korea
Source:

A North Korean man living in Australia has claimed that human flesh is served up to eat in the country’s third largest city.

Sung Min Jeong, 44, claims that in Chongjin – a city at the tip of the North Korean coast – a shopkeeper serves up human meat.

"One of his strongest thoughts is … if he didn't take steps to leave North Korea, he would've become a North Korean who ate human flesh," an interpreter for Mr Jeong told news.com.au.

The thought that he would have to one day eat a fellow human being is what drove Mr Jeong to leave his homeland behind and to escape to Sydney in March 2011.

Note that reports of cannibalism in North Korea are not new. They have been floating around for at least a decade. There have also been reports that North Koreans sometimes resort to eating grass when no food is available.

Alabama Teacher Accused of Sexual Misconduct

(Albertville, Alabama) A 34-year-old substitute teacher at Albertville High School, Jennifer Marie Morton, has been accused of sexual misconduct while at school.

Morton faces a charge of misdemeanor sexual misconduct.

Police believe the woman was locked in a classroom with a 17-year-old student, and they were allegedly kissing.

School officials said Morton was only at Albertville High School for about three weeks. She was filling in for a science teacher who was on maternity leave.

Morton was booked into custody and released on bond. A court appearance is scheduled for May 21.

Texas Teacher Accused of Indecency with Child

(Houston, Texas) A 61-year-old teacher at Northwest Preparatory Academy, Irene Stokes, has been accused of fondling a student in a classroom. Stokes denied the allegation, saying she is prejudiced and doesn't even like to touch black children.

Stokes faces a charge of indecency with a child.

“The victim said that she was in the classroom alone with the teacher and that the teacher touched her on the outside of her clothes, on what she called her ‘private part,’ her vaginal area,” said Humble Police Department Detective J. Blanchard.

The girl said when she told her teacher to stop, Irene Stokes, 61, told her to get out of the classroom, according to court records. The girl told investigators that Stokes made her stand out in the hallway outside of the class and then refused to allow her to eat lunch or take a test.

Stokes was booked and released on $10,000 bond.

Seven Bodies Found in Cancun

(Cancun, Mexico) On Sunday, seven people were found strangled to death in the yard of a local house after police received an anonymous tip.

According to Cancun Police Chief Arturo Olivarez Mendiola:

The victims – five men and two women – were bound and blindfolded, but the bodies did not have gunshot wounds, the police chief said.

“We have two young girls of around 20 and the rest are older ... All of them were in the yard, in the back of the house,” Olivarez Mendiola said.

The killings are believed to be drug-related.

The war on drugs launched by former President Felipe Calderon, who was in office from 2006 to 2012, left about 70,000 people dead, or an average of 32 per day, in Mexico, officials say.

Chinese Animal Cruelty?



Asian Swamp Eel
(Guangdong Province, China) Chinese porn is dangerous.

A porn addict who inserted a live eel up his backside after copying a kinky blue movie had to endure an all night emergency procedure by surgeons in southern China after finding he couldn't get it out.

The unmarried man rushed himself to a hospital casualty unit in Shunde, Guangdong province, and told the astonished medics: "Please, please help me. The eel is moving through my body."

Surgeons finally removed the 20 inch long Asian swamp eel - which weighed more than half a kilo - in the early hours of the morning after a lengthy treatment with drugs and medical probes.

"The eel was simply trying to find it's way out," explained one of the medical team.

"It was still alive when we got it out but it died soon afterwards, which was probably a mercy.

"This was a particularly idiotic stunt and could have caused him a serious injury. Eels have small but very sharp teeth," they added.

A police spokesman said: "We are aware of what happened and a 39-year-old man will be interviewed over alleged animal cruelty."

Frankly, I'm perplexed. It's a strange and reckless person that thinks, "Hey, here's an idea. I'll stick this slimy little bastard up my ass for a few grins. Surely, nothing can go wrong."

Russia Offers Help in Boston Blast Probe

(Moscow, Russia)

Russia’s Vladimir Putin has condemned the Boston bombing and sent his condolences to US President Barack Obama, offering Washington a helping hand in the terror attack probe.

The Russian President has stressed that Russia is ready to help out the US in its investigation of the deadly twin blast that hit the Boston Marathon on Monday, the Kremlin said.

It makes sense to team up in fighting terrorism realizing, of course, that the Russians will exercise restraint since some of the terrorism-supporting nations are Russian allies, most notably Iran. Heh.

The Right Climate Stuff - CPAC 2013, Washington, DC, March 15, 2013





[94-minute video] Apollo 7 Astronaut and author Walter Cunningham and two former NASA engineers discuss why they are urging government agencies to cease their "unbridled advocacy" of Anthropogenic Global Warming & Return Integrity to the Scientific Method. The video features presentations by Cunningham; Harold Doiron, consultant to NASA and commercial rocket developers; and Thomas Wysmuller, meteorologist, New York University and the Royal Dutch Weather Bureau.


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

Florida Woman Accused of Sex with Boys

(Sarasota, Florida) A 40-year-old female housesitter, Jeanine Shimandle, has been accused of engaging in sessions of jiggy-jiggy-slurp-slurp with two boys, ages 13 and 17.

Shimandle faces charges of lewd and lascivious exhibition and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

"Another male and two female teenagers who were also there listened to and at times, watched the sex acts take place," a news release states.

Shimandle also bought vodka for the teens, according to the sheriff's office.

Shimandle was booked into custody at the Sarasota Jail with bond set at $100,500.

The Scooter Store Files Bankruptcy




(New Braunfels, Texas)

The Scooter Store, a Texas-based company that supplies power wheelchairs and scooters to people with limited mobility, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Monday's bankruptcy filing in Delaware comes after federal agents raided the company's South Texas headquarters earlier this year, and amid congressional scrutiny of whether TV ads by The Scooter Store and a rival company target people who don't need scooters, leading to hundreds of millions of dollars in unnecessary Medicare spending.

The company blames Obamacare and federal investigations as financial burdens.

Notably, the FBI, the office of the Inspector General, Texas State Troopers and agents from the Texas Medicaid fraud unit raided The Scooter Store offices in February and sent all workers home. An investigation into possible Medicare fraud reportedly commenced.

Donald Trump Challenges Scotland on Wind Farm



(Aberdeen, Scotland)

Billionaire business magnate Donald Trump has reportedly hired one of Scotland’s top legal planning experts to lead his court challenge against the Scottish government’s decision in favour of an offshore wind farm planned off the coast Trump's Aberdeenshire golf resort.

The Scotsman reported today that Trump, 66, is set to do "whatever it takes" to bring to a halt plans for a 640ft-tall, 11-turbine scheme in Aberdeen Bay, which he claims is standing in the way of completing his planned £750 million “greatest golf course in the world”.

The Trump Organisation is expected to lodge the legal challenge at the Court of Session in Edinburgh next month.

Donald Trump vs. Scotland? You make the call.

California Woman Gets 35 Years for Sex Assault

(San Diego, California) Last month, a 49-year-old local woman, Catherine McCoy, was convicted of rape 'after she helped abduct and attack a younger rival in 2011, then left her naked on the side of a San Diego freeway.'

As a result, McCoy was sentenced last Friday to 35 years in prison.

During the sentencing hearing, San Diego Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser said McCoy had not shown any remorse for assaulting the victim and dumping her out of a vehicle.

McCoy’s purpose, the judge said, “was to have power over (the victim), to have control over her, to humiliate her,” and he called the attack sadistic.

According to the trial testimony, McCoy was angry at the other woman, who was 21 at the time, because she had sex with McCoy’s boyfriend.

You'd think that a person would have acquired a bit of common sense by the time age 49 is attained. Not so with McCoy.

Scandinavian names

I have always liked the sound of Scandinavian names.  They seem somehow impressive and important.  There is plenty of Norse ancestry among the English so maybe it is something to do with that.  Here are four Scandinavian names you might know.  Tell me what you think of them:  Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.

They are of course the names of the ABBA band members, now rather elderly people.  I have always rather wondered why I have never heard criticism of ABBA from feminists.  Both "Mamma Mia" and "Waterloo" recount how a woman is captivated by a man that she cannot give up  -- surely the reverse of the feminist gospel. And in "Money, Money", the female singer aspires to marry a rich man!  And "Dancing Queen" is a simple little ballad about a teenager who loves dancing.  Again not quite a feminist priority.  So at least the best known ABBA songs seem quite conservative to me.

Something to remind you below.  Don't ogle the beautiful blonde Agnetha too much.








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

Tennessee Woman Accused of Harboring Runaways

(Jackson, Tennessee) A 23-year-old local woman, Danielle Stephens, has been accused of harboring two 15-year-old female runaways.

Stephens faces charges of child abuse, possession of marijuana and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

On Thursday around 11:50 a.m., Jackson police were dispatched to a home in the 400 block of Burkett Street regarding two children who were suspected runaways.

Police reported finding Stephens, 23, and two minor girls inside the home asleep.
Investigators determined that the two girls were 15-year-old runaways from Coffee County and Bedford County. Police believe the Coffee County runaway was Stephens' niece and the Bedford County runaway was the niece's friend.

Stephens allegedly brought the girls to Jackson from Coffee County. They had been in Jackson for about three days. During that time, investigators believe Stephens gave the girls alcohol, marijuana and methamphetamine.

Stephens was booked into custody at the Madison County Jail with bond set at $25,000.

Kansas Mom Accused of Attempted Murder of Daughters

(Kansas City, Kansas) A 23-year-old local mother-of-two, Johnna Green, has been accused of trying to drown her two daughters, ages 1 and 4.

Green faces two counts of attempted first-degree murder.

Emergency crews took two girls, ages 1 and 4, to the University of Kansas Hospital. They were still in critical condition Thursday afternoon.

According to charging documents, prosecutors say Green held the children under water for a prolonged period of time until they were unresponsive. Police said she's the one who made the call for help.

Green was booked into custody with bail set at $1 million.

IP Milestone

This weekend is the 10th anniversary of Interested-Participant. I'm enjoying a celebratory cup of coffee. Woo-hoo!

"Honor" Murder

(Amman, Jordan)

Jordanian police said on Sunday they found the burned body of a pregnant woman whose throat had been slit and belly cut open showing her four-month-old fetus, in an apparent "honor killing."

"We found the body of the woman at dawn in Ruseifeh (east of Amman). Her throat was slit in a hideous way. The body was burned after the murder," a police spokesman said.

"We believe it was an honor crime. The belly of the woman, who was in her twenties, was cut open and we could see her four-month-old unborn child, who was dead too. Investigations are still under way."

At least one policeman called it as it is .. murder.