Bay State Teacher Accused of Attempted Murder

(Swampscott, Massachusetts) A 49-year-old teacher at Ingalls Elementary School in Lynn, Kimberly Ann English, was arraigned yesterday on charges that she drove her car into her ex-husband’s girlfriend. The girlfriend recovered after suffering serious injuries.

English faces counts of violation of a restraining order, aggravated assault and battery with intent to murder, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, and leaving the scene of a crash.

English, a Swampscott resident, allegedly drove her car into the other woman as she and English’s ex-husband, Carl Schroeder, were unloading groceries outside his house on Magnolia Road in the North Shore town at around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Assistant District Attorney Erin Bellavia said English and Schroeder’s two children were in their father’s house when they heard the girlfriend screaming outside.

Bellavia said that the ex-husband told investigators that one of the children had told him that their mother had said she hoped the girlfriend would die.

English was booked into custody without bond.

SOURCE

9/11/01 - Above the 92nd Floor

Above the 92nd floor is a report from history. Scroll down to view a fairly accurate description of the occurrences on 9/11/01 regarding three men working in the World Trade Center when the towers were attacked.

* * * * *
In today's news, the new World Trade Center has reportedly been completed.

Fine.

The new edifice is attractive. But I'll not be beguiled into believing that justice for 3,000 dead people in two toppled buildings is achieved by constructing one replacement building.

Why couldn't the United States of America show its fortitude and strength by building four (4) replacement buildings emblazoned at the entrances with etched-marble warnings of Don't Tread on the USA.

I suggest the United States has the power and intelligence to decimate jihadism worldwide. All that's needed is will. The US military will perform with brilliance, given the chance.

And another thing, I am constantly troubled by the knowledge that jihadists are vacationing in the Caribbean resort prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. I suggest that one of the uninhabited Aleutian Islands, preferably rocky, freezing cold and windswept, be turned into a primary detention facility for jihadists.

Given that the Aleutians are in the boundaries of the United States and protected by the US Constitution, of course the rules would be different from those exercised in Cuba, a foreign country. However, I suggest the rules would need revision because access to the remote rocky, freezing island would be spotty. How many, for example, young ambitious jihadi lawyers can you see visiting their clients in a real-life wilderness outpost, accessible maybe only once a month?

Think about it. Centuries ago, the Brits sent their criminals to Australia, at the time considered unbelievably remote. Meanwhile, the French sent criminals to islands in the South Atlantic and Mediterranean. Sending jihadists to the Aleutians is just a thought. I figure the contrast between sunny shorelines and cold biting wind may prompt attitude adjustment. Also, there would be a benefit for the indigenous population by providing good paying jobs.

* * * * *
9/11/01 - Above the 92nd Floor
[Previous 9/11/12 post]
Long time readers of Interested-Participant may recognize this stalwart anecdotal tribute to three innocent World Trade Center victims murdered on September 11, 2001. Although Obdulio Ruiz-Diaz, Manuel Da Mota, and Joshua Poptean were killed more than a decade ago, their stories endure.

It's important to remember the victims of 9/11 as much more than faceless, no-name statistics.

Meanwhile, the former World Trade Center acreage reportedly will soon be occupied by the 'Freedom Tower,' nearing completion after years of sloth-like progress. I suspect cadres of Islamist terrorists are already making plans to topple it.

* * * * *
9/11/01 - Above the 92nd Floor - Anniversary
[From 9/11/11 entry]
The tenth anniversary of the horror of 9/11/01 has come. There is noticeable progress on the new World Trade Center and Osama bin Laden is dead after being taken out by U.S. Navy SEALs.

* * * * *
9/11/01 - Above the 92nd Floor - Revisited
[Previous 9/11/10 post]
Another anniversary, the ninth, of the horror of 9/11/01 has come and still there is no new building or buildings on the World Trade Center site to demonstrate strength and resurgence from the destruction. I don't know why.

Meanwhile, a Muslim group wants to build a mosque within spitting distance of the WTC site, calling it the Cordoba House, a reference to the Muslim conquest of the Spanish city of the same name in the Middle Ages.

New Yorkers and other Americans have become enraged about the placement and naming of the mosque. I personally think it's offensive to have an Islamic religious center called Cordoba House, implying conquest, adjacent to the former site of the World Trade Center buildings taken down by Muslims of the fundamental persuasion.

I also think it's intentional, to send a message of the absolute strength of Islam and to function as an enduring symbol for the Muslim world. "Look, Osama took down the infidel's skyscrapers and replaced them with a mosque."

It remains to be seen whether there will be any progress this coming year on the new World Trade Center.

* * * * *
[Previous 9/11/09 post]
The horror of September 11, 2001, plagues me -- and will continue to do so for as long as I have a heartbeat. Long-time readers of this blog will recognize the following tribute to three tradesmen, Obdulio Ruiz-Diaz, Manuel Da Mota, and Joshua Poptean, who were guilty of nothing more than going to work one fateful day. New readers may benefit from gleaning a snippet of exactly what happened on September 11, 2001.

However, it's not for the new readers that I repeat the story, it's for me. I want to read through and update, as appropriate, this post. I want to relive the sensations of 9/11, recharging my storehouses of outrage and white-hot anger, of sadness, of sorrow and of fear. I want to remember the heroism of the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department and the Port Authority Police. I want my long-term memory prompted to recall images of sobbing wives and mothers and sons and daughters and fathers and husbands. I want to remember tears from reddened eyes on faces of loved ones holding photos of the missing, crying for help, crying for information.

For me, revisiting the story of Obdulio, Manuel and Joshua is simply the right thing to do.

Above the 92nd Floor

American Airlines Flight 11, scheduled Boston to Los Angeles, took off from Logan Airport at 7:59am on September 11, 2001. Its flight path was due west.

About the same time, 44-year-old Obdulio Ruiz-Diaz arrived at One World Trade Center along with two coworkers, 43-year-old Manuel Da Mota and 37-year-old Joshua Poptean. The three men then took the minutes-long elevator trip to the Windows of the World restaurant on the 107th floor.

Representing Bronx Builders, a woodworking and renovation company, Ruiz-Diaz, Da Mota and Poptean commenced planning and scheduling a remodeling project for one of the bars in the restaurant.


  
Obdulio Ruiz-Diaz, Manuel Da Mota, and Joshua Poptean


At 8:20am, Flight 11's pilots stopped transmitting a transponder signal and turned the plane northward, a dramatic change from the intended heading. Although the pilots had not actuated a distress call, controllers concluded Flight 11 had likely been hijacked.

At 8:28am, the controllers' traffic screens displayed Flight 11 making a 100 degree turn to the south.

Meanwhile, Obdulio, Manuel and Joshua concentrated on their job planning efforts. They discussed the client's desired results, took measurements, and identified necessary materials and equipment for the renovation project.

At 8:46am, traveling at 490 miles per hour, American Airlines Flight 11, a Boeing 767 carrying thousands of pounds of jet fuel, crashed into One World Trade Center between the 94th and 98th floors. The resultant fire and collapse of the building killed Obdulio Ruiz-Diaz and his coworkers. Their deaths were confirmed by the coroner's office.

North WTC burning. South WTC just before collision.

Obdulio Ruiz-Diaz, Manuel Da Mota and Joshua Poptean were targeted for murder, not by name, but by the fact that they were human beings in America. The Islamofascists didn't care who they murdered just as long as the body count was high.

Approximately 3,000 people were murdered on September 11, 2001. Everyone above the 92nd floor of the North Tower, 1360 people, died. Obdulio, Manuel, and Joshua were three of them.

We won't forget you.

Link: Remembering the Victims of 9/11

And, eight years hence, the horror perpetrated on the United States has not been reciprocated. In my opinion, the enemies of America have not been made to pay for 3,000 murders.


[Add. 2009 entry] Public Service on 9/11

As I understand, to remember the horror of 3,000 murders on 9/11/2001, President Obama has called for citizens to pick up litter or work in soup kitchens or register voters or some other public service. Frankly, I'm offended. It appears that the President wants the remembrance of 9/11 besmirched down to something similar to Arbor Day.

Personally, I want to relive all the sensations of 9/11, recharging my storehouses of outrage and white-hot anger, of sadness, of sorrow and of fear. I want to remember the heroism of the New York Fire Department, the New York Police Department and the Port Authority Police. I want my long-term memory prompted to recall images of sobbing wives and mothers and sons and daughters and fathers and husbands. I want to remember tears from reddened eyes on faces of loved ones holding photos of the missing, crying for help, crying for information. And, I want to remember who the terrorists were and still are and I want justice.

There are American children born after 9/11 who don't know what occurred and they are not going to learn by cleaning litter from ditches or planting trees. They will learn by national emphasis on what happened that day when 3,000 friends and neighbors were killed in a terrorist attack on the United States.

Today should be devoted to talking and learning about what happened on 9/11. Picking up litter can wait until tomorrow.

Also: The Jawa Report

Carolina Woman, 24, Nasty with Boy, 4

(King, North Carolina) A 24-year-old local woman, Shirley Denise Whicker, has been accused of committing sex crimes on a 4-year-old boy.

Whicker faces multiple counts of first-degree sex offense with a child, child abuse through a sexual act and taking indecent liberties with a child.

Whicker was arrested as a result of an ongoing investigation, King police said.

No other information was released.

Whicker was booked into custody at the Stokes County Jail with bond set at $100,000.

The 44th Pacific Island Forum, Majuro, September 3-5. 2013

Commentary by Nils-Axel Mörner, Paleogeophysics & Geodynamics, Stockholm, Sweden, morner@pog.nu

The 44th Pacific Island Forum was held in Majuro, the Marshall Islands, on September 3-5. Before the meeting, the European Climate Action Commissioner Connie Hedegaard declared that the Pacific region could count on Europe’s help (obviously with money), if the Pacific helped EU in their efforts to bring about “an ambitious future climate regime to be finalized in 2015”. In other words: we pay if you deliver what we need.

And, indeed, not even in Europe is easy to convince people that temperature is rising when it has been stable for 15 years, and that sea level is rapidly rising when it has been stable or only moderately rising. Hence, the Europe Commission need support and they are willing to pay for it.

The Forum Communiqué describes the outcome of the meeting on 9 pages. Very little, if anything is said about climate change, temperature and sea level. Subject like fishery, trading, education, gender, regional assistance, security and radioactive contaminations are discussed. These non-climatic issues were probably important in the regional context.

Added to the notes of the meeting is a “Declaration for Climate Leadership” (2 pages) written in a very different style and devoted to the well-known IPCC dialectics. The declaration is said to be “a platform for an upward spiral of action to urgently reduce and phase down greenhouse gas pollution”.   Obviously, we here have what the commissioner needed in order to continue the European economical assistance (as stated before the meeting).

In conclusion, the meeting contributed absolutely nothing (zero) to the scientific discussion on climate, sea level and global changes. All the talk in the Resolution about “consensus”, “escalating greenhouse gas”, “carbon dioxide threshold and new danger”, “4oC or more” temperature rise and the necessity of “urgent actions” to be taken, is nothing but a repetition of old disinformation that doesn’t become better just because it is repeated. We can happily turn our backs to it; the same old politicised stuff.

Later (PINA, PACNEWS, Sept. 10) at a “Post-Forum Dialogue”, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Sally Jewell, stated that the Obama administration will sign onto the Majuro declaration. The reason she gave for this is quite remarkable, however.

“Climate change is going to have wide ranging impacts all over our globe and that’s something that we are already seeing, particularly here as I flew into the airport and saw the sandbags from the last time the water inundated the runway (in Majuro).”

The fact is that the Majuro tide gauge has recorded stable sea level conditions over the last 20 years. The inundation the secretary talked about was just an extreme storm event, which all coastal sites occasionally may experience. It has absolutely nothing to do with any sea level rise or climate change.


The Majuro tide gauge record indicating no rising trend in sea level over the last 20 years

Via email

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

New Hampshire Mom Attempts to Kill Her Kids

(Seabrook, New Hampshire) A 33-year-old local mother, Wendy Wright, has been accused of attempting to kill her children, ages 6 and 7, by forcing them to drink bleach.

Wright faces two counts of attempted murder, carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison, and two counts of first-degree assault.

Wright uttered that she wanted to kill herself and her kids after regaining consciousness from her own dose of bleach, according to Seabrook police.

“I don't want to live. I really love my kids but I wanted to save them from everyone else,” Seabrook officer Keith Dietenhofer allegedly overheard Wright saying to emergency personnel treating her on June 18 after nine police officers responded to her home.

Wright allegedly held down her children and poured bleach down their throats. She waived her probable cause hearing at the Seabrook District Court on July 29, and the case moved on to Superior Court.

Both children were able to spit out most of the bleach they were given by their mother, who was calling it “medicine,” according to police. After Wright became unconscious, the children went next door and met a neighbor, who called the police after the girl “barged in” the back door and asked “if her and her brother can stay here for an hour while (their) mother is sick.”

“(The) girl said the mother (took) medicine and (the) mother made (the) boy and girl take medicine, too,” the neighbor wrote in a statement to police, according to the police affidavit.

Wright is in custody at the Rockingham County Jail.

Louisiana Lord of the Flies

(Lafayette, Louisiana) An investigation has been launched regarding the pig's head found on a rental car at the Lafayette Regional Airport.

A deputy working at the airport first spotted the head Sunday evening and called police, LPD spokesman Cpl. Paul Mouton said.

Mouton said the pig’s head was found resting on a rental vehicle. There were are (?) no signs of malicious intent.

It's a mystery.

Hear My Finger Technology

(Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) The Disney company, known as the iconic creator of Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Pluto, has now developed a hear-my-finger technology.

Disney has developed a device to transmit sound through the human body.

The Ishin-Den-Shin technology uses a standard microphone to record audio and then converts it into an inaudible signal transmitted through the body of the person holding the microphone.

When they touch someone's earlobe, an organic speaker is formed and the sound becomes audible, effectively whispering a message into that person's ear.

Here's a graphical image.

On a somewhat related note, it was rumored decades ago that a young experimenter named Billy tried to get support for sole authorship of a smell-my-finger communication technique. No whiff of interest arose.

Harrison Ford Shocks Indonesian Minister

Indonesian President Yudhoyono & Harrison Ford
(Jakarta, Indonesia) Popular Hollywood film star Harrison Ford visited Indonesia this week to complete location work for an upcoming environmental documentary. While there, Ford reportedly exhibited a shocking level of rudeness toward Indonesian leadership.

Ford and his crew have been accused of “harassing state institutions” resulting in a threat of deportation.

Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan told reporters that he had been angered by Ford’s approach during the interview in the capital Jakarta.

“His emotions were running very high,” the minister was quoted as saying by the state-run Antara news agency.

“I understand the American man just came here to see Tesso Nilo [a national park on Sumatra island] and wanted violators to be caught the same day.”

The minister added he was not given the chance to explain the challenges of catching people who break the law in Indonesia’s sprawling rainforests, where illegal logging is rampant.

“I was only given the opportunity to say one or two sentences during the interview,” he said.

Arief said the minister thought there would have been some time to discuss the interview before it began.

But in the event he was “shocked that as soon as his [Ford's] crew came in, they started filming and interviewing him… and attacking him with questions.”

“There’s no privilege for him although he is a great a actor,” he said. “His crew and those who were helping him in Indonesia must be questioned to find out their motives for harassing a state institution.”

Ford, presumably a kool-aid leftist, is working on a climate change program. Ostensibly, he doesn't care who he insults because he believes in the omnipotence of Gaia, goddess of the Earth.

Norway has just elected a new conservative government

Some background

    "Conservative Party leader Erna Solberg — nicknamed “Iron Erna” — will become Norway’s new prime minister as the leader of a center-right coalition government likely including an anti-immigration party.

    Preliminary results from the oil-rich Nordic country’s parliamentary elections shows the Conservative Party got 26.8 percent of votes, the best result for the party in 28 years. Solberg, who will be Norway’s second female prime minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland, thanked the voters Monday for a historic victory.

    “The voters had the choice between 12 years of red-green government or a new government with new ideas and new solutions,” Solberg said. …

    The discovery of oil and gas in Norway’s waters in the 1960s turned the Scandinavian nation into one of the richest in the world, with a strong welfare system and a high living standard. The oil wealth helped it withstand Europe’s financial crisis and retain low unemployment throughout Stoltenberg’s years in power. Still, the Conservative Party has managed to attract votes amid pledges to increase the availability of private health care and cut taxes on assets over $140,000."

Although much of Europe continues to stagger beneath the tremendous weight of their own imploding welfare states and the accompanying fiscal and economic burdens, borne of their very progressive- and labor-influenced state-spending policies, Norway is still a relative island of plenty amidst that sea of European debt. Norway, too, has an extravagant welfare state, but the constant stream of wealth that comes from their nationalized system of tapping their vast reserves of oil and gas mean that they have a robust revenue stream that enables them to keep the welfare state going.

Norwegians take a lot of pride in their economic inclusiveness, and they boast some of the highest living standards in Europe with an unemployment rate of only 3.5 percent and a relatively (and I do mean relatively) good GDP growth rate of 3 percent in 2012. That 3 percent, however, is still a slowdown, and the conservative-minded politicians in the running want to avoid injecting too much public spending into the economic in the misbegotten attempt to spur growth as well as keep taxes low and business-friendly. What’s more, as the United States’ shale oil-and-gas boom continues to grow and as countries like Germany and the United Kingdom think about fracking for themselves, using oil riches to cover a full third of your country’s revenue stream isn’t necessarily a dependable plan for the future, and it sounds like they’re at least taking small steps toward a more definitely sustainable public-spending plan for the long term.

On a semi-related note concerning energy riches and Scandinavia, President Obama stopped in Sweden on his way to Russia last week and hailed the tiny country as an example to us all in bringing about the cleaner, greener future to which we should all be aspiring: “Sweden is obviously an extraordinary leader when it comes to tackling climate change and increasing energy efficiency, and developing new technologies. And the goal of achieving a carbon-neutral economy is remarkable, and Sweden is well on its way. We deeply respect and admire that and think we can learn from it.” That prompted RealClearEnergy‘s editors to wonder: …Er, Obama does know that Sweden is 40 percent nuclear, right?

SOURCE

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

New York Woman Pinched for Drugs

(Catskill, New York)

An Athens woman was arrested last week on multiple drug charges following an investigation into narcotics sales in Catskill and Athens, according to police.

The New York State Police at Catskill arrested Alexis Weeks, 21, on Sept. 5 and charged her with third degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and third degree criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Weeks was indicted by a Greene County Grand Jury following an investigation….

Weeks was booked into custody at the Greene County Jail with bond set at $5,000.

California Teacher Gets Jail for Giving Toddlers Sleeping Pills - Update

(Morgan Hill, California) Deborah Gratz, 59, is going behind bars.

A former Morgan Hill preschool teacher was sentenced to six months in Santa Clara County jail and four years of probation after pleading no contest to attempted child endangerment for dosing toddlers’ cups with sleeping pills.

Sentence starts on September 27.

* * * * *
California Teacher Accused of Giving Toddlers Sleeping Pills
[Previous 3/13/13 post]
(Morgan Hill, California) A 59-year-old teacher at Kiddie Academy, Deborah Gratz, has been accused of putting sleep medicine in toddlers' drink cups.

Gratz was arrested on a charge of felony child endangerment.

She was fired Friday after a witness reported seeing her putting an unknown substance into several children's drink cups, police said.

When confronted by school administrators, police said, Gratz allegedly admitted that the substance was Sominex, an over-the-counter sleep aid.

The children involved were between 1 and 2 years old, according to police.

Details on booking are unavailable.

Ivy League Integrity

(Cambridge, Massachusetts)

Nearly half of new students starting at Harvard this year have admitted to cheating in their studies before starting at university.

A tenth of the incoming class have cheated on an exam, while 42 per cent admit to doing homework dishonestly, according to the results of a survey by the university’s own newspaper The Harvard Crimson.

Athletic students were most likely to cheat, with 20 per cent confessing to chicanery in tests, compared to nine per cent of those who do not play a varsity sport.

It's nice to know that Harvard apparently recruits untrustworthy cheats.

Texas Teacher Gets Prison for Relations with Student - Update

(Beaumont, Texas) Music teacher Linda Leann Wallace, 53, formerly at Legacy Christian Academy was sentenced yesterday to 16 years in prison for conviction of engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a student.

* * * * *
Texas Teacher Guilty of Relations with Student
[Previous 7/15/13 post]

(Beaumont, Texas) A 53-year-old former music teacher at Legacy Christian Academy, Linda Leann Wallace, has pleaded guilty to engaging in an inappropriate relationship with a female student.

Officials say the relationship was ongoing in 2007 and involved a 16-year-old female student.

A spokesperson for the school told 12News Wallace, who was a music teacher, resigned in 2012 without mentioning that she had been charged.

The charge is punishable with from 2 to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Sentencing is scheduled for next month.

Big Hash Bust at Sea

(North of Malta in Mediterranean) Last Friday, the Gold Star cargo ship carrying 30 tons of hashish was intercepted by Italian authorities.

A fire aboard a cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea was set in order to get rid of 30 tons of hashish, according to officials in Italy and Malta. Authorities had approached the Gold Star, a Tanzania-registered ship, for an inspection Friday afternoon. But members of the crew reportedly set fire to their cargo, which Italian authorities identified as hashish resin.

The incident began in waters about 30 nautical miles north of Malta, where police and firefighting ships converged on the Gold Star as it burned Friday night. They succeeded in quenching the flames around noon Saturday.

The hashish has been valued at $400 million.

California Woman in Grandmother Abuse Case

(Siskiyou County, California) A 19-year-old local woman, Alyssa Ashlie, has been accused of holding her 70-year-old grandmother at gunpoint and attempting to smother her with a pillow last month.

Ashlie was originally charged with attempted murder, false imprisonment of an elder adult and theft from an elder adult. However, in accordance with an agreement with the prosecution, Ashlie pleaded guilty to reduced charges of elder abuse and burglary.

Consequently, Ashlie has agreed to a sentence of one year in jail, a year in a residential rehabilitation center, five years probation and a five-year suspended prison sentence that would be executed if she fails to abide by the terms and conditions of her probation.

Siskiyou County Superior Court Judge William Davis advised Ashlie that at the sentencing the presiding judge could rule the sentence is not sufficient given the nature of the charges, and at that time, she would have the option to withdraw her plea.

He scheduled her to reappear in court for sentencing on Oct. 29.

According to Ashlie's public defender Andy Marx, she did not have a previous criminal record.

Ashlie is free on $25,000 bail.

"Racist" app taken down after Twitter attack

Sounds like a useful thing to me.  There's no doubt that some areas are much more dangerous than others  -- and locals know best

A website and app called "Ghetto Tracker", designed to help people avoid going to the "bad" part of town has been taken down after it was attacked on Twitter for being racist.

Featuring a smiling white family on the home page, Ghetto Tracker purported to be an innocent travel tool for wary tourists wanting to keep out of trouble.

It posed the questions, "Travelling to a new city? Will you be visiting a safe part of town?" and the reassurance, "Ghetto Tracker can help determine which parts of town are safe and which parts are not."

The way the app worked was to allow locals to rate the safety of different parts of a given area.

The site appeared last weekend, and within 24 hours it was causing a stir on Twitter, with tweets from Americans accusing it of playing on people's fears and, Gawker said, being "a racist, classist app for helping the rich to avoid the poor".

Apart from the racist associations of the site's name - a ghetto is traditionally a poor area inhabited by African Americans, people were angry the site appeared to allow anyone to arbitrarily decide which neighbourhoods were good or bad, rather than rely on crime statistics.

Source

Posted by John J. Ray (M.A.; Ph.D.). 

Florida Dance Teacher, 30, and Boy, 15

(Coral Springs, Florida) A 30-year-old dance teacher at the Dance Effect Studio in Coral Springs, Jennifer Efre Deberry, has been accused of engaging in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old boy.

Deberry faces a charge of lewd and lascivious battery.

Detectives arrested Deberry after an 8-month investigation during which they obtained 117 pages of text messages between Deberry and the victim, detailing their sexual relationship, police said.

"Oh my love its so amazing that today was so incredible for you ;D It really was very incredible for me too <3 It was so perfect and amazing and making love with you was just the greatest feeling in the whole world <3 :D XOXO," read one of the texts, according to the arrest report.

Another said: "I hope one day I will be their daughter-in-law. I can't believe how I want to spend the rest of my life with you and I'm sure of it <3 I love you more than anything and I have loved you for a long time."

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

Frustrations Doing Genealogical Research

I've just started researching my genealogy and have discovered several things that, had I realized their importance earlier, would have lessened some of my current frustrations:

I can't rely on anyone else's work. EVERYONE makes mistakes, even I; therefore even though it's helpful to review other people's work, it's necessary to make my own conclusions.

When reviewing credible sources, it's possible to find differences in information that should be identical (again because everyone makes mistakes), therefore, from the very beginning, I should have cited sources for the information obtained. Much easier to go back and figure out what makes sense!

Even though I may not be interested in the siblings or other children of my direct ancestors, it's helpful to record their names; sometimes that's the only way to distinguish between individuals with identical names.

There's lots of information on the Internet, even whole genealogical books. Rather than handwriting my notes, it's probably better to type them (even if I have to print them out to look at them side by side). That way I can add info easily using my preferred organizational format (after figuring out theirs). I'll probably type on my laptop and review info on my tablet.

And most importantly...

I need to set a time limit each day or else I'll never get anything else done. This is great fun, but where did my weekend go!?!?

Posted by Note Taker

Muslim on Muslim Violence in Somalia

(Mogadishu, Somalia) From yesterday,

Somali militants attacked a restaurant near Mogadishu’s seat of government for the second time in less than a year on Saturday, detonating two large blasts that killed at least 15 people and wounded nearly two dozen, police said.

Officials said the attack included a car bomb blast and a suicide bomber who entered The Village eatery. The second blast was caused by a suicide bomber posing as a first responder after the car bomb exploded, the African Union military force in Somalia said in a statement.

Members of the al-Qaeda-linked group al-Shabab are believed to be the attackers.

Revising the past again

The Los Angeles Times: "Since Democrats led the passage of civil rights legislation that marchers pushed for in 1963, Republicans have struggled to recover with black voters, leaving a stark racial divide in American politics."

History Lesson: The Civil Rights Act of 1964 received greater support from Republicans than Democrats, both in the House and in the Senate. Senate Democrats, in fact, staged an 83-day filibuster in opposition to the measure.

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

Australian Election News

(Victoria, Australia) National elections are taking place down under this weekend.

While the votes in the Australian election are still coming in, it looks early enough to say that conservative Tony Abbott has trounced liberal Kevin Rudd — and that Julian Assange's specially formed Wikileaks Party may not have done very well at all.

Assange himself was on the ticket for a Senate seat in Victoria. However, the results coming in so far suggest that the Wikileaks Party has little more than 1% of the vote counted so far — trailing behind the "Australian Sex Party."

Everyone awaits the final tabulation. Notably, Assange remains cooped up in a renovated female bathroom in the Ecuadoran Embassy in London, presumably waiting for better news.

Some CRAZY Shoes!

London based architect Julian Hakes created the Mojito shoe.

Posted by Note Taker

The Australian election

Conservatives have just had a huge win in Australia's Federal election.  Romney would have had a similar win but for the rusted-on vote of America's two big minorities.  There are no such big minorities in Australia.

The picture below shows voting in Australia.  Australians just use pencil and paper in temporary carboard cubicles.  No voting machines so no hanging chads, no accusations of the machines being "fixed" and easy recounts.  And results were known within a couple of hours of the polls closing.



Elections in Australia are also less hectic.  They are on Saturdays when most people are not working.  And if you turn up to vote mid-morning there are usually no lines of people waiting to vote.  I had no wait at all.

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

World's Best Pizza

Davide Civitiello - Best Pizza Maker
(Naples, Italy) A competition determined that Davide Civitiello makes the best pizza in the world. His recipe…

“The secret for a delicious pizza is to have passion and love for what you do,” Civitiello told The Local, after beating 500 people from 47 countries to the top spot.

“I didn’t expect to win and above all I’m so happy because as I always say, sacrifice brings rewards,” he said.

As a native of Naples, the home of Pizza, Civitiello may have had an advantage. But competition is fierce - participants have no more than 10 minutes to make a pizza - and Civitiello is the first person from Naples to win in eight years.

I'll take a slice but skip the passion and love and put on extra cheese and pepperoni.

Vermont Teacher Gets No Jail for Sex with Student - Update

(Burlington, Vermont) Former teacher Giovanna Yaranga has been sentenced in accordance with a plea agreement.

She would admit having sex with a teenage student throughout the 2012-13 school year.

She would receive a prison sentence of up to four years, but it would be suspended, keeping her on probation — and under the constant threat of jail if she steps out of line. She would be listed on the state sex-offender registry for a decade and would undergo counseling.

A judge outlined the plea agreement and all the rights the teacher would give up by agreeing to the arrangement with prosecutors.

Even though she gets no jail, Yaranga cried in court while whimpering that she was so sorry.

* * * * *
Vermont Teacher Accused of Sex with Student
[Previous 5/6/13 post]
(Burlington, Vermont) A 44-year-old Spanish teacher at Burlington High School, Giovanna Yaranga, has been accused of engaging in multiple sex episodes with a 17-year-old male student.

Yaranga faces four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

Chittenden County State’s Attorney T.J. Donovan said the investigation started after police found Yaranga and a teenage boy in the back seat of a car behind a building at about 8 p.m. on April 29.

Yaranga told police she was a teacher and the boy was a student and they were in the back seat because they needed more leg room, Detective Pete Chapman said in a court affidavit.

Details on booking are not available.

Arkansas Woman, 26, and Boy, 14

(Mountain Home, Arkansas) A 26-year-old local woman, Rachel Erin Alman, has pleaded guilty in Baxter County Circuit Court to sexual assault of a 14-year-old boy.

As a consequence, Alman was sentenced to five years in prison.

Alman, speaking softly and just able to see over the courtroom podium, acknowledged she’d had sex with a 14-year-old boy last year, when she was 25.

According to the case file, the boy’s mother — who worked with Alman — notified authorities in December about the situation.

Both the teen and Alman told investigators they’d engaged in sexual activity on two occasions, according to court records.

In addition to prison, Alman was fined $1,000 plus $920 in costs and fees.

War in Syria - A Solution

Here's a crib sheet for the confusing armed conflict in Syria which will hopefully help people formulate an informed opinion regarding possible US involvement.

With that clarification, I recommend that Pentagon planners use the ground pepper and fly feces technique for their Syrian conflict military strategy. On a large map of Syria, use pepper and fly feces to indicate strongholds of the opposing sides. Then pick the preferred winner.

Using the integrated military capacity of the United States and its allies, target and destroy the strongholds of either the ground pepper or the fly feces. Precise targeting coordinates will be essential to avoid situations where a storm of feces is struck while aiming for a snoot of pepper. Or vice versa.

Companion post at TJR.

Louisiana Woman Accused of Prostitution

(Baton Rouge, Louisiana) A 19-year-old local female, Payton Shelton, has been arrested for prostitution along with a 16-year-old female friend after an undercover police sting operation.

Shelton faces a charge of prostitution.

The undercover deputy met the two women at the Courtyard Mariott on Acadian Thruway.

The deputy met Payton Shelton, of Baker, and the 16-year-old girl at the hotel. He was told that the cost would be $600 and the two girls would perform various sexual favors. He was told an additional $200 would buy him an additional half-hour with both girls.

The arrest report describes in explicit detail the services the girls agreed to perform, and those which were excluded.

The deputy gave Payton $800 in cash. She allegedly replied “Ok, I’m going to go and hide the money and we are going to get undressed,” after he gave her the money.

Shelton was booked into custody at the East Baton Rogue Parish Prison with bond set at $10,000.

The 16-year-old was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center.

Denmark's Largest Mosque to Broadcast Hamas TV

Copenhagen Mosque construction
(Copenhagen, Denmark)

A mosque in Copenhagen’s Nordvest district is approaching completion and, with its minaret and dome, will be Denmark’s first “real” mosque.

So says Mohamed al Mainouni, the media spokesperson for Dansk Islamisk Råd, the organisation responsible for building the mosque.

“The minaret and done are two important aspects of the mosque,” al Mainouni told Jyllands-Posten newspaper. “They have an important symbolic meaning and demonstrate that we have a proper place to be and that we are recognised.”

Under Danish law, minarets cannot be used to broadcast a call to prayer.

The 6,800 square metre Sunni mosque on Rovsingsgade will house class rooms, a restaurant, a cinema, childcare facilities and more in what al Mainouni says is the largest mosque in Scandinavia.

The mosque was only possible because of a 150 million kroner donation by the former ruling emir of Qatar, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, which has led critics to voice concern that the mosque will be used as mouthpiece for the Islamic state’s conservative views.

And, from another report:

Hamas-controlled TV station Al-Aqsa TV will broadcast from Copenhagen’s new mosque, according to the media spokesperson of the Muslim organisation Dansk Islamisk Råd.

Hamas is recognised as a terror organisation by the EU and because Al-Aqsa is owned and operated by the group, their broadcast from Denmark may break anti-terror legislation.

It remains to be seen how strident Denmark is at enforcing EU laws.

Toy Helicopter Kills Man

Roman Pirozek
(Brooklyn, New York) A 19-year-old model helicopter enthusiast, Roman Pirozek, was killed yesterday when the blades of one of his remote-controlled copters scalped him.

Pirozek was pronounced dead at the scene, the FDNY said. The park, near Shore Parkway and Bay 44th Street, is a sanctioned flying field by the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

The young model flyer was the vice president of the Seaview Rotary Wings club and had his own YouTube channel where he was featured in many videos of his flights.

R.I.P.

Indiana Woman Gets Prison for Credit Union Theft

(Sunman, Indiana) A 62-year-old credit counselor at Cinfed Credit Union, Sandra Sicking, has been accused of stealing more than $300,000 from clients.

Sicking was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison.

Sicking’s clients, many of whom were elderly, would deposit money with Cinfed Credit Union, allowing Sicking to budget their money. Sicking would give her clients a small spending allowance each week to go towards living expenses.

Sicking has been ordered to pay back the money she stole, but many of her clients may not ever see their money again because it is hard to know exactly how much she stole from each client, prosecutors said.

Sicking had a previous conviction for theft and received probation.

Voyeurism with Camera Watch

(Yokohama, Japan)

Police had an easy day of work this Thursday when they arrested 31-year-old Hirotaka Kikuchi on charges of voyeurism (deemed ‘harassment’ by Kanagawa Prefecture). Although it took some time, the suspect was quite easy to find after he accidentally videoed himself while setting up his so-called hidden cameras.

According to police, on the morning of 10 July Kikuchi taped two wristwatches four centimeters in diameter with built-in hidden cameras to a flight of stairs on a hill in Yokohama. His alleged goal was to take a video up the skirts of passing women on the stairs.

However, a male teacher at a nearby high school happened to spot the watches while using the stairs himself and checked them out. Upon viewing the video he could see up a third year high school student’s skirt shortly after seeing Kikuchi’s face, clear as day, as he set up the camera. The teacher then contacted the police who were eventually able to identify the victim and, of course, Kikuchi, leading to his arrest.

What an idiot.

Pennsylvania Woman Gets Prison for Sex with Boy

(Bushkill, Pennsylvania) A 32-year-old local woman, Christal Sheridan, has been convicted of sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy.

Sheridan has been sentenced to five years in state prison for statutory sexual assault, unlawful communication with a minor and corruption of minors.

Sheridan admitted that she engaged in sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy from June 2009 through January of 2010. She had asked the boy to baby-sit her children.

An investigation by state police discovered that Sheridan purchased a cellphone for the victim and that she sent numerous lewd text messages to him.

Sheridan will also be classified as a sex offender under Megan's Law.

Muslims Mutilate Young Danish Girl

Nicole Zanlith - before and after attack

(Marbella, Spain) This is sickening!

Nicole Zanlith, a Danish citizen, was waiting for a taxi in the Spanish town of Marbella.

A group of North African Muslim immigrants attacked her for the fun of it. They slashed her face with a broken vodka bottle causing permanent blindness in her right eye.

Zanlith, fair-skinned and beautiful, is only 15 years old.

More….

Armed EPA 'SWAT' Team Raids Alaska Wilderness Gold Miners

Downtown Chicken, Alaska
(Chicken, Alaska) Presumably, the armed eight-man EPA force in body armor was looking for dirty water in a remote community of 17 people.

When agents with the Alaska Environmental Crimes Task Force surged out of the wilderness around the remote community of Chicken wearing body armor and jackets emblazoned with POLICE in big, bold letters, local placer miners didn’t quite know what to think.

Did it really take eight armed men and a squad-size display of paramilitary force to check for dirty water? Some of the miners, who run small businesses, say they felt intimidated.

Others wonder if the actions of the agents put everyone at risk. When your family business involves collecting gold far from nowhere, unusual behavior can be taken as a sign someone might be trying to stage a robbery. How is a remote placer miner to know the people in the jackets saying POLICE really are police?

Miners suggest it might have been better all around if officials had just shown up at the door -- as they used to do -- and said they wanted to check the water.

Politicians are getting involved and area miners are demanding a meeting on September 14th with the EPA to discuss its overbearing thug tactics.

New Zealand answers Al Gore

NIWA, the New Zealand weather service, is notoriously corrupt and dishonest in the global warming cause and not at all averse to a good ol' NZ "orchestrated litany of lies".  But Al Gore recently hung his hat on their claim that NZ has just had a record warm winter.  Attaching much weight to what was happening on the tiny percentage of the earth's surface that is NZ  is amusing enough but more amusing is some much less ambiguous data -- "freak" late winter snowfalls in NZ.  We read:

"HUNDREDS of skiers are stuck on New Zealand's Mt Hutt after freak weather forced its closure.

A combination of drifting snow and poor visibility has been blamed. While ski area management were aware of an approaching front and poor forecast, the situation deteriorated quickly, Mt Hutt ski area manager James McKenzie said.

There are 316 people trapped on the mountain.

"We made a decision to close the mountain at 11.30 this morning and a number of people made it safely down the road," he said.
"However at midday a combination of new snow blowing around everywhere and wind gusts of up to 45km/h, especially around the Saddles, meant visibility along the upper section of the access road deteriorated to the extent we closed the road completely."

SOURCE

That must pull the NZ winter average temperature down a bit.  Poor old Al Gore.  Cold weather just seems to follow him about

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

Wisconsin Teacher Gets Prison for Sex with Boy - Update

(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin)

Under a plea agreement both the prosecution and the defense recommended only jail time for Shannon Cardinal, but in the end the judge decided she needed to serve two years in prison instead.

Cardinal has to start her prison sentence by October 14.

* * * * *
Wisconsin Teacher Guilty of Sex with Boy - Update
[Previous 5/25/13 post]
(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) Yesterday, former Mayville High School Spanish teacher Shannon Cardinal, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual assault of a 16-year-old boy.

Five counts of sexual assault and six counts of child enticement were dismissed.

Cardinal appeared in court with her attorney Christopher VanWagner. Fond du Lac County Assistant District Attorney Devra Ayala appeared for the state. Cardinal cried as she read her plea.

Ayala said the state agreed to the plea agreement due to Cardinal’s lack of prior record and potential penalties. While age and position may have been a factor in the case, Ayala said the potential sentence for one count of sexual assault of a student by staff is “appropriate,” mostly due to her lack of prior criminal record.

A sentencing date awaits completion of a pre-sentence investigation.

* * * * *
Wisconsin Teacher Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 4/29/12 post]
(Fond du Lac, Wisconsin) A 43-year-old Spanish teacher at Mayville High School, Shannon Cardinal, has been accused of engaging in an enduring sexual relationship with a 16-year-old male student.

Cardinal faces six counts of sexual assault of a student by school staff and six counts of child enticement.

The complaint says in spring of 2012, the two began to “text each other back and forth and that their relationship escalated from that point.” Initially, the texts were about “school stuff and random events and then the texts progressed into talking about problems the two of them were having and deeper conversations.”

The criminal complaint says the first time Cardinal and the victim had sex was in December 2011. The paperwork says Cardinal picked up the victim and they went to her house in the Village of Oakfield.

The two also allegedly met for sexual relations in Marion, Iowa.

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

Alabama Grandma Indicted for Attempted Murder

(Mobile, Alabama) A 53-year-old former second-grade teacher, Shirley Bowman, was accused last month of strangling her then-4-year-old granddaughter until the child was unconscious.

Bowman has been indicted on a charge of attempted murder.

Although it typically takes one year to 18 months to indict a defendant, 53-year-old Shirley Bowman was indicted just three days after her case was sent to the grand jury.

Defense attorney Michael McDuffie said word came down after he sat with District Judge Bob Sherling, who was concerned for her mental state after hearing of her history of paranoid behavior.

In a petition to have Bowman involuntarily committed to a mental health facility as she awaits trial, her family chronicled various incidents of paranoid and confused behavior.

The granddaughter recovered after a few days in the hospital.

Machine-guns on the streets:  Africa? Syria? No:  London.  Ain't multiculturalism grand?



A mother of one was caught in a hail of bullets from a shotgun and machine gun when she was killed outside a takeaway, a court heard today.

Nursery teacher Sabrina Moss had been celebrating her 24th birthday with friends last month when she was shot in the chest in Kilburn, north-west London.

Her friend Sabrina Gachette, 24, was wounded in the incident - along with two other men - but is recovering from her injuries in hospital. Martell Warren, 22, has been charged with murder. [A Google image search reveals a number of men named Martell Warren -- all African]

Warren, of Willesden, north-west London, today appeared at the Old Bailey in Central London via video link from HMP Belmarsh in Thamesmead, south-east London, for a brief hearing.

He is charged with Miss Moss’s murder and the attempted murders of Miss Gachette, Mahod Ahmed and Edson Da-Silva on August 25.

He is also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life. The court was told that a shotgun and a Mac 10 machine gun were used in the attack.

Prosecutor Julian Evans said: ‘Mr Warren is charged with six matters in relation to the incident. Two firearms were discharged at the scene, the first a Mac 10 machine gun and the second a shotgun.’

Warren spoke to confirm his name and that he understood the proceedings. No bail application was made and he was remanded into custody by judge John Bevan QC until a hearing on November 19.

He was arrested by officers from the British Transport Police at St Pancras International train station in Central London two days after the shootings.

SOURCE

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

Ariel Castro Suicide in Prison

(Orient, Ohio)

Convicted Cleveland kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro was hanging in his cell at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio Tuesday night.

Castro, 53, was found at 9:20 p.m. He was pronounced dead at 10:52 p.m. at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

Castro took a plea to avoid the death penalty. Interestingly, by virtue of his suicide the plea deal was a waste of time.

Animal Control



Try to get a cat to do that trick.

Washington Educator Gets Hand Slap in Sex Case - Update

(Goldendale, Washington) Former teaching assistant at Goldendale High School Cheri Powers, 45, pleaded guilty yesterday to having an inappropriate relationship with a student.

Cheri Powers pleaded guilty to the charge of sexual misconduct with a minor. She was sentenced to 364 days in jail, however, 329 days were suspended and 30 days were converted to work crew detail.

Powers was a part-time teacher and an assistant coach for track and cross-country in the Goldendale School District. She was arrested in April 2012 and fired from her job.

The school district says Powers was a special-needs teacher, but the victim was not one of her students. A community member reportedly notified the school district about the case.

With her sentence largely suspended, it's not surprising that Powers will also be able to walk away without having to register as a sex offender.

* * * * *
Washington Educator Accused in Sex Case
[Previous 5/2/12 post]
(Goldendale, Washington) A 44-year-old teaching assistant at Goldendale High School, Cheri Powers, has been accused of engaging in sex with a 16-year-old male student.

Powers has been fired from her position and faces a charge of first-degree sexual misconduct with a minor.

Powers was an assistant track and field, and cross country coach at Goldendale High, as well as a para-educator, working one-on-one with a special education student for the past ten years.

Powers was arrested by Goldendale police last week and is facing first degree sexual misconduct charges.

She has been released from custody, and is awaiting her arraignment.

A court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

Oregon Woman Gets No Jail in Rape Case - Update

(Troutdale, Oregon) Tiffany Maydew gets no jail in rape case involving a 15-year-old boy.

Tiffany Maydew, 40, pleaded guilty to the charge of third-degree rape Tuesday. As part of her plea deal, additional charges including sex abuse were dismissed.

Maydew was arrested in April after police said she had sex with the boy, who was friends with her daughter. A Sam Barlow High School resource officer received a tip about the situation and confronted the teen boy.

Investigators said he didn't want to talk, so the officer contacted his mother. At that point, police said, the boy admitted having sex with Maydew in her car at various locations, including outside his home.

Maydew was ordered to register as a sex offender and spend five years on probation.

* * * * *
Oregon Woman Accused of Sex with Male Teen
[Previous 4/20/13 post]
(Troutdale, Oregon) A 40-year-old local woman, Tiffany Maydew, has been accused of engaging in sex with her daughter's 15-year-old male friend.

Maydew faces counts of third-degree rape, sodomy and sex abuse.

It's believed Maydew and the teenage boy would meet up on several occasions all across town to have sex, according to investigators.

Investigators say they learned about the alleged crimes after a Sam Barlow High School resource officer from the Gresham Police Department got a report from the Department of Human Services about what was going on.

Maydew was booked into custody and released.

Consensus? What Consensus?

Global Warming Survey Virtually Meaningless.  Even very skeptical writers were alleged to be part of the "consensus"

In recent weeks US President Obama and the UK’s Energy and Climate Secretary Ed Davey have both cited a survey of climate science abstracts that alleges an overwhelming consensus on the subject of global warming.

In a new briefing note published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation today, Andrew Montford reviews the methodology used in the survey and concludes that the consensus revealed by the paper by Cook et al. is so broad that it incorporates the views of most prominent climate sceptics.

“The consensus as described by the survey is virtually meaningless and tells us nothing about the current state of scientific opinion beyond the trivial observation that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas and that human activities have warmed the planet to some unspecified extent,” Andrew Montford says.

“The survey methodology therefore fails to address the key points that are in dispute in the global warming debate,” Montford adds.

Full paper here

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

Tennessee Woman Hides Stolen Cash in Rectum

(Kingsport, Tennessee) A 43-year-old Hawkins County woman, Christie Black, has been accused of theft over $1,000 after doctors removed a large wad of cash from her rectum.

Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, the Hawkins County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to the home of Bobby Gulley, 249 North Ridge Road, Bulls Gap, on a complaint that his girlfriend was stealing from him.

Gulley told HCSO Sgt. Michael Allen he’d “set a trap” for Christie Black, 43, also of that address, by placing two envelopes containing $4,000 and $1,000 in $100 bills in an old medicine bag.[…]

When Gulley confronted Black with the theft, Black reportedly vomited up a baggy containing partially dissolved pills.

“He then asked her where the money was, and she admitted to him she’d wrapped it up and stuck it in her rectum,” Allen stated in his report. “Black admitted (to Allen) to taking the money and medication because Mr. Gulley was going to kick her out and she needed money for a place to live.”

Allen said Black attempted to remove the cash with a toilet brush and tongs but was unsuccessful.

The wad had to be removed at the hospital emergency room.

Oklahoma Teacher Gets No Jail for Rape of Student - Update

(McAlester, Oklahoma) Last month, former Quinton High School teacher Andrea Antrich pleaded no contest to engaging in an ongoing sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student between Oct. 1 and Nov. 30 of 2012.

Antrich, 24, of Quinton was originally charged in December with five counts of second-degree rape, she faced up to 15 years for each count.

After pleading no contest, Antrich was sentenced to a 10-year suspended sentence and the rest of the charges were dismissed, court records state.

Reportedly, the sex occurred at her home after school hours.

* * * * *
Oklahoma Teacher Accused of Rape
[Previous 12/19/12 post]
(McAlester, Oklahoma) A 24-year-old substitute teacher at Quinton High School, Andrea Antrich, has been accused of raping a 17-year-old male student.

Antrich faces five counts of second-degree rape.

Quinton Police Chief Tim Reavis was called to Quinton High School on Nov. 29 regarding allegations that a teacher had been having a sexual relationship with a student, according to a police affidavit.

While interviewing the student, Reavis determined that Antrich and the student had allegedly had an on-going sexual relationship at her home after school hours.

“I then told Miss Antrich of the allegations and asked her if they were true,” Reavis states in the affidavit, “and she stated yes that she and the student did have a sexual relationship.

Details on booking are unavailable.

PETA: Eating Chicken Results in Birth Defects

(Buffalo, New York)

The annual National Buffalo Wing Festival took place in (of course) Buffalo, N.Y., and thousands enjoyed the sights, smells, and especially tastes.

But wouldn’t you know that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals had a bone to pick, of sorts, with Drew Cerza, who runs the whole belly-filling shindig.

And this time (yes, PETA has come after Cerza and fest before), the animal-rights group wasn’t merely concerned about chickens.

PETA asked Cerza to bar pregnant women from taking part in the annual wing-eating contest because when they consume poultry, it might harm the physical development of male babies’…sex organs.

To wit: Birth defects “including smaller-than-average penises for newborn boys,” wrote PETA’s associate director of campaigns Lindsay Rajt in her double entendre-filled missive, the Daily Caller notes.

The researcher said the link between chicken wings and size of offspring's genitals is tenuous. Nevertheless, notice that PETA classifies smaller-than-average genitalia as a birth defect. Interestingly, I'd frankly agree with the assertion that membership in PETA is a brain disease.

Putin Underwear Painter Flees Russia - Update

(Moscow, Russia) President Putin is not amused by the lingerie painting from artist Konstantin Altunin.

A Russian artist who painted President Vladimir Putin in lingerie stroking the hair of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said threatening phone calls and the fear of arrest compelled him to flee St. Petersburg for France.

In a telephone interview with RFE/RL, Konstantin Altunin said he does not want to return to Russia.

"Today, I appealed to the French prefecture in Paris because I have no other [option]. I would gladly get [local residence and work permits] so that I can be useful to France and to work and pay taxes," he said. "But now, I am forced to request political asylum because I fled very quickly without luggage or money."

So, it appears that any off-color references to President Putin need to be accompanied with a fast horse out of the country.

* * * * *
President Putin Offended by Underwear Painting
[Previous 8/28/13 post]

(St. Petersburg, Russia) Freedom of expression, tolerance and a sense of humor are attributes seemingly not applicable to the current Russian leadership.

Police have seized a painting of Russia's president Vladamir Putin wearing women's underwear from a gallery, saying the satirical display had broken the law.

The painting entitled 'Travesty' by Konstantin Altunin, shows President Putin wearing a tight-fitting slip and brushing the hair of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who is wearing knickers and a bra.

Police swooped on the Muzei Vlasti (Museum of Authorities) in St. Petersburg on the night of August 26 confiscating several art installations, including 'Travesty' which are to be checked for extremist propaganda.

Heh.

Human beings are a disease

The Greenie dream

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

Colorado Lunch Lady with Boy as Others Watched

(El Paso County, Colorado) A 34-year-old lunch lady with the Falcon School District 49, Tonya Harris, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a boy while others watched at a house party.

Harris faces counts of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

It is reported to have involved a teenage boy and another 20-year-old man, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.[…]

The incident was first brought to police in February but there was lack of evidence to make an arrest.

A call to a confidential tip line led to Harris’s arrest.

Harris was booked into custody at the El Paso County Jail with bail set at $3,000.

EU Wants Speed Limiters on All Cars

(Brussels, Belgium)

Under the proposals new cars would be fitted with cameras that could read road speed limit signs and automatically apply the brakes when this is exceeded.

Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary, is said to be opposed to the plans, which could also mean existing cars are sent to garages to be fitted with the speed limiters, preventing them from going over 70mph.

The new measures have been announced by the European Commission’s Mobility and Transport Department as a measure to reduce the 30,000 people who die on the roads in Europe every year.

If I owned a high-performance European sports car, I would balk at having a speed limiter installed.