California Mom Arrested for Drowning Daughter, 3

(Patterson, California) A 23-year-old local woman, Jennifer Bigham, was arrested last Friday for allegedly abusing and killing her 3-year-old daughter, Alexandrea. Bigham faces charges of child abuse and murder.

Deputies were dispatched to a home on the 400 block of Thrush Drive in Patterson, 20 miles southwest of Modesto, at about 6 p.m. Thursday on a report of a bathtub drowning, sheriff's officials said.

They found Alexandrea unresponsive. She was flown by helicopter to a Modesto hospital, where she clung to life for several hours before dying at 9:50 p.m., sheriff's officials said.

Statements from family members and evidence at the house led investigators to conclude that Alexandrea's mother had drowned her, Deputy Andrew Winter said.

Bigham was booked into custody without bail.

Wisconsin Woman Arrested for Dealing Pot in Daycare

(Milwaukee, Wisconsin) A local daycare owner, Cleopatrick Marks, was arrested last Wednesday for allegedly selling marijuana out of the daycare. Marks has been charged with possession and delivery of a controlled substance.

According to the criminal complaint, Marks sold marijuana to an undercover Milwaukee police officer at Rudy Dee's Daycare, on the city's north side.

Marks told police she owns the business, which is located in a house.

Marks was booked into custody.

Firearms Execs Pinched in Bribery Sting

(Las Vegas, Nevada) From ABC News:

The Justice Department and the FBI announced the arrest and indictment of 22 executives and employees from 16 companies that supply equipment to law enforcement and the military. The government charged them with attempting to bribe officials of an African country.

There was no African country. The whole thing was a sting operation.

The arrests were the result of a 30-month undercover investigation by prosecutors and FBI agents which resulted in 21 individuals being arrested in Las Vegas and one more in Miami.

Coporate bribery of foreign nationals is an enduring problem.

Why is academe so Leftist?

The NYT has just come out with some half-reasonable thoughts on that and I have added a few comments in my leading post today on EDUCATION WATCH. For readers in a hurry, however, I will repeat below my preamble to the article:

There is much that is reasonable in the NYT article below but it ignores the numerous reports from conservative academics of the discriminatory treatment that they have received in their workplaces. My own experience is typical. Probably because I was an obvious high-flyer from the beginning, I was APPOINTED (at age 27) with tenure. I didn't have to wait for tenure. So when they found out that I was a conservative, they could not kick me out. But they COULD block my promotion. And they did. Although I was in some years getting as much published in the journals as the whole of the rest of the Department put together, I only ever managed to get one step up the ladder. With the amount I was getting published, I should have FLOWN up the ladder.

Another thing the article below ignores is that the unrealistic ideas of Leftists make them unsuitable for work in business. My realistic conservative ideas meant that I did well in both business and academe but the only Leftist I know who went into business eventually went broke. Academe is a refuge for dreamers who couldn't make it elsewhere. I look at the issues concerned in greater detail here

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

Colorado Teacher Gets Jail for Liquoring Up Boys

(Fort Collins, Colorado) A 30-year-old physical education teacher formerly at Poudre High School, Amber Huber, has pleaded guilty to liquoring up two male students last spring.

According to an arrest affidavit obtained by the Coloradoan, Huber admitted she provided two 17-year-old male students with alcohol in April.

The affidavit indicates Huber drove the boys to Horsetooth Reservoir on a Friday night to drink a bottle of Patron tequila and then took the boys to a McDonalds before returning them to their car at about 1:30 a.m.

Interestingly, cell phone communications from Huber to one boy are telling.

In other messages sent to one of the boys two days after the drinking incident Huber said, "I can't. I talked to (the other boy) about it yesterday. I can't chill with u guys anymore. We can all only be friends and that is it. It creates a tempting situation when we chill so we probably shouldn't chill anymore."

In a second message sent the same day, Huber said, "Just the fact that I am married and we can't be putting ourselves in tempting situations. Obviously drinking alcohol and chillin together is not the smartest decision. I can't be lying to my husband cause if I keep doing what I am doing then my marriage is going to be over. I just need to play it safe. Make sense?"

For felony contributing to the delinquency of a minor, Huber was sentenced to 30 days in jail.

Big Boobs Equals Free Drinks

(Singapore) Take it as a fact of life, if you want attention, bring in the boobies. Here's an enterprise which is doing just that.

A NIGHTCLUB in Singapore is offering free drinks to women according to the cup size of their bra, reports China Press.

The OverEasy nightclub came out with the idea to attract customers by organising the event themed 'Fill My Cups'.

It is said that those with A cup would get one free drink while those with B cup would get two glasses. Those who wore C cup would receive three drinks. Women with D cup would be given a bottle of alcoholic drink worth S$168.

FYI, S$168 equals approximately US$120.

Of course, this practice may help explain the jolly attitudes of some of the more-buxom ladies in society. It also may be linked to any noticeable surge in breast enhancement surgeries in Singapore. In any event, reactions to the marketing ploy have been mixed. Some, I'd suggest A-cuppers, are offended.

Meanwhile, here's a vid I found and cannot explain. It's probably NSFW.



Heh.

Tribute to Massachusetts


Scott Brown (R) wins Massachusetts Senate race, beating Martha Coakley (D) 52-47%.


According to a Fox News interview of die-hard Democrat Susan Estrich, something has to be very wrong for Massachusetts to elect a Republican.

More quotes:

"When there's trouble in Massachusetts, rest assured there's trouble everywhere." Scott Brown, Senator-elect (R-MA)

"an air raid siren going off in . . . the bedroom." Charles Cook, Election handicapper, LAT

"Tsunami" in US politics: Obama loses Kennedy seat - SMH

Deaths from Neglect in Cuban Hospital

(Havana, Cuba) Last week, 26 patients suffered hypothermia-related deaths at the state Psychiatric Hospital in Havana. The dissident Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation (CCDHRN) initially reported the deaths on Thursday, criticizing the Castro regime for not informing the public. Consequently, the government was prompted to make a statement on Friday.

“The principal people responsible for these events will be brought before the appropriate courts,” President Raul Castro’s government said in a statement read on state television, the first mention of the deaths in Cuba’s state-controlled media.

“In the Havana psychiatric hospital, which has 2,500 beds, there has been an increase in patient mortality during the last week. Twenty-six deaths were reported in total,” the communique said.

While acknowledging the fatalities were linked to prolonged temperatures of 3.6 C (38 F) earlier this week, the statement noted that some of those who succumbed to the cold were elderly and suffered from cancer or chronic heart problems.

So, in its defense the government contends that some of the patients who died were real sick. But they didn't die from sickness, they died from being abandoned in a run-down facility with broken windows which allowed the cold night to engulf them.

According to CCDHRN Chairman Elizardo Sanchez, no international agencies such as the Red Cross have been allowed to critique the Cuban national health system even as "deterioration, especially in regard to the availability of medications, reagents and other basic chemical and provisioning items” is evident.

Sanchez stated that the deaths last week are a result of "criminal negligence." The Cuban government blames the U.S. for deficiencies in its health care system, saying the U.S. trade embargo makes it hard to get medicines and equipment.

Deterioration, criminal neglect and death are words which filmmaker Michael Moore failed to use when he described the Cuban health care system in one of his movies. Maybe Mr. Moore didn't get to assess the entire socialized medicine system or maybe he was just jiving us.

With regard to the Haitian earthquake, a report from the International Journal of Socialist Renewal claims that communist doctors from Venezuela and Cuba were the first to arrive in Haiti after the devastating earthquake while complaining that nobody noticed. Apparently, the Cubans are upset with the American PR machine and the supposed imperialistic aims of the military/industrial complex.

A disparaging shot is taken at "Western news agencies" with special mention of Fox News for minimizing the efforts of the Cuban doctors. It's sarcastically suggested that speakers be placed on the moon so that people will know of Cuban doctors in Haiti.

Companion posts at SocGlory and The Jawa Report.

Israel in Haiti

Israel’s relief efforts to Haiti include the following:

* A field hospital, the only hospital in operation, with 40 doctors, 25 nurses, paramedics, a pharmacy, a children's ward, a radiology department, an intensive care unit, an emergency room, two operating rooms, a surgical department, an internal department and a maternity ward. The hospital can treat approximately 500 patients each day, and in addition will perform preliminary surgeries.

* A search-and-rescue team, which has rescued about five people from under the rubble.

* 220 personnel in total

* Dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment

Saudi Arabia, on the other hand, one of the richest countries in the world, has sent a message of condolence to Haitian President René Préval. Some Arab countries have “pledged” help, such as $1 million pledged from both Kuwait and Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates says it will “shortly” send a plane with humanitarian assistance. Qatar, with the third largest gas reserves and the second highest GDP per capita in the world, has dispatched 50 metric tons of aid to the hundreds of thousands of homeless and injured Haitians.

Latest reports are that the IDF Medical Corps have treated some 200 injured people in Haiti, performed ten life-saving surgeries and saved the lives of 140 others. On Sunday night, a resident of Port-au-Prince gave birth to a boy at the Israeli field hospital. In appreciation and gratitude, his mother decided to name her new son “Israel” in honor of the country that helped her.

The director of the Haiti field hospital, Col. Dr. Itzik Reis, explained that the IDF delegation is also giving assistance "to people from emergency crews from all over the world, who simply are not capable of dealing with everyone who needs help and giving them treatment. For example, when we understood that the Dominican team is not set up to provide full treatment, we created an order by which they stabilize the patients and we give them the remainder of the treatment.”

Other Israeli relief operations in Haiti include:

* A six-man ZAKA rescue unit, which worked for 38 consecutive hours and succeeded in pulling eight students alive from the rubble of the collapsed university.

* IsraAID, which sent a planeload of food and medical equipment.

* "Latet" (To Give) – a 15-member mission to Haiti, including three physicians, three nurses, and three paramedics.

SOURCE (Videos here)

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

Wall-Mounted Kitchen Computer



Wall-mounted kitchen computer
It has a touch-screen and runs Windows XP. Now the enterprising cook can do an Internet search for an appealing shaky pudding recipe and follow the instructions on the kitchen screen.

Colorado Babe Arrested for Murder

(Grand Junction, Colorado) A 19-year-old local woman, Amy Ann Adamson Gonzalez, was arrested Sunday for allegedly stabbing 20-year-old Ramon E. Sandoval to death.

Gonzalez faces charges of second-degree murder and felony tampering.

Police said in a news release that Gonzalez and Sandoval knew each other. No other suspects are being sought in the investigation.

The Mesa County Coroner’s Office said Sandoval died of a stab wound to the abdomen.

His body was discovered by a couple around 9:30 a.m. Saturday in a parking lot at Monument Ridge Town Homes, 2680 B 1/2 Road. A man and a woman who on Saturday identified themselves as relatives of Sandoval said he had been with family members at a birthday party until around 11 p.m. Friday.

It's noteworthy that Adamson Gonzalez has been arrested at least seven times since turning 18 on a variety of charges, including criminal mischief, drug possession and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Romanovs Want Czar Nicholas' Murder Investigated

(Moscow, Russia) The murders of Czar Nicholas II and his family in 1918 by the Bolsheviks need to be investigated, says an heir to the imperial Romanov throne.

The Investigative Committee said it had formally closed a criminal investigation into the killing of Nicholas II because too much time had elapsed since the crime and because those responsible had died.

But monarchists said a resumption of the criminal case is essential if Russia is finally to come to terms with its brutal past.

"This case is essential for Russia," said Alexander Zakatov, who represents Grand Duchess Maria Vladimirovna, a Romanov who styles herself as the heir to the imperial throne.

"Russians need to know about the fate of the tsarist family and all of the other victims of the Communist regime. There should be a clear legal verdict on this," said Zakatov, who heads the chancellery of Russia's so-called Imperial House.

He said lawyers for Maria Vladimirovna had asked Moscow's Basmanny District Court to force prosecutors to reopen the case, which he said was needed to resolve a host of questions about the murder and remains said to belong to the last tsar.

There remain questions about the remains of Czar Nicholas II and his family which were reportedly unearthed in 1991 and placed in the imperial crypt in St. Petersburg. The Russian Orthodox Church concurs with the Romanov heir that an investigation needs to proceed.

India-Russia Arms Deals

The Indian government is working a deal for the Russians to supply more than two dozen MIG-29 fighter aircraft to the Indian Navy for $1.2 billion.

The proposed deal comes after the two countries agreed on a 10-year military pact in December to cover weapons development, aircraft and maintenance contracts worth more than $5 billion.

The agreement was signed during a trip to Russia by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, reflecting the former Cold War allies' desire to maintain a close defence relationship.

"The deal will be finalised during a visit by a high-level Russian defence team later this week," Sitanshu Kar, a defence ministry spokesman, said in New Delhi.

In another deal, Russia is leasing a new Nerpa-class nuclear powered submarine to the Indian Navy. Delivery is promised sometime this year.

Ekranoplan


Russian Ekranoplan
Looking somewhat like the offspring of a seagull and a hammerhead shark, the ekranoplan is a high-speed ground-effect craft/water cruising vehicle with wings to lift it 10-30 feet above the surface. It cannot fly as conventional aircraft, rather it rides on a cushion of air immediately above the water.

The Scandinavians and Russians have been toying with the concept for the last 50-something years. In particular, the Soviet Navy wanted to make it into a missile-launching platform or rescue vessel.

Developers struggle to find a niche for the ekranoplan.

OMG! Shortage of Cookie Dough!

The Nestle company has a problem with the flour they use and must now halt production of chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and other popular cookies. Flour must now be pretreated.

Heh. Time to stock up.

British Met Office computer models accused of 'warm bias' by BBC weatherman

Perish the thought!

A BBC weather forecaster has suggested that the Met Office's super-computer has a 'warm bias' which has stopped it predicting bitterly cold spells like the one we have just endured. Paul Hudson said the error may have crept into the computer's climate model as a result of successive years of milder weather.

His claim was rejected by the Met Office but other experts said there could be flaws in the system, which was first developed 50 years ago.

In a blog, the BBC Look North presenter writes: 'Clearly there is the rest of January and February to go, but such has been the intensity of the cold spell...it would take something remarkable for the Met Office's forecast (of a mild winter) to be right. 'It is also worth remembering that this comes off the back of the now infamous barbecue summer forecast. 'Could the model, seemingly with an inability to predict colder seasons, have developed a warm bias, after such a long period of milder than average years?'

The Met Office produces its forecasts by feeding information from sources, including satellites and weather stations, into a 'climate model'. A set of complex equations then predict weather changes.

Mr Hudson appears to be suggesting that data recorded over the past decade of warmer winters could be unduly influencing the computer's calculations. However, the Met Office denies this, saying 'any small biases' are automatically corrected before it issues seasonal forecasts.

SOURCE

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

Chemical Ali Sentenced to Death

(Baghdad) Ali Hassan al-Majid, aka Chemical Ali, has been sentenced to death for the 1988 gassing of Kurds in the town of Halabja, killing more than 5,000.

Al-Majid earned his nickname because of his willingness to use poison gas against the Kurds.

The 1988 killings remain a source of deep pain, particularly for Iraq's Kurds. Many in Halabja still suffer physically from the effects of the nerve and mustard gas that were unleashed on the village at the end of the eight-year, Iran-Iraq War.

The gas attack occurred in March 1988 when Iraqi jets sprayed a deadly mix of mustard gas and the nerve agents Tabun, Sarin and VX.

Doctor Gets Probation in Lemon Juice Death

(Wegberg, Germany) A doctor and hospital owner, Arnold Pier, has been convicted and sentenced in Mönchengladbach District Court for causing bodily harm resulting in death of a patient when lemon juice was used to clean and disinfect wounds.

Pier's sentence of 15 months was suspended.

Seven people died in the private hospital in Wegberg after lemon juice was used rather than conventional sterile solutions, to clean and disinfect their operation wounds.

This was decided by the doctor and head of the clinic, Arnold Pier, who along with three other medics, has been charged with 64 counts of grievous bodily harm, concerning 18 patients.

Pier was found guilty of causing bodily harm resulting in death on Friday at the district court in Mönchengladbach. Two other medics involved in the care of that particular woman were exonerated.

The court found that Pier had not sufficiently explained the risks of the operation to the woman, and had not informed her of his intention to use lemon juice on her wounds. She suffered a serious infection after the operation and died.

“The use of lemon juice to treat the wounds of recently-operated patients is medical malpractice,” Judge Lothar Beckers said in his verdict.

He said staff at the hospital regularly used lemon juice under the regime of Pier. The juice was not prepared in sterile conditions, Beckers said, and its use, which probably caused additional pain, was not licensed and experimental in character.

Apparently, the 100-bed hospital was close to bankruptcy and cost savings were sought in all areas of hospital services. Astonishingly, one method of curtailing costs was to initiate a lemon juice drip to disinfect open wounds.

Dr. Pier's defense attorney contended that no experts have determined that lemon juice actually has a negative effect on patients while Pier said he only used it on wounds that didn't heal.

An odd old saying

There is an old tripartite saying that sticks in my mind -- mainly because I don't understand the second part, I think. It was said to be fatherly advice given by a British aristocrat to his son:

1. Never drink port after champagne.

2. Never hunt south of the Thames

3. Never give your lady one in the morning. You never know what might come up during the day.

I would be interested if anybody knows other versions of that advice and if anybody knows who first uttered it. I remember reading it long ago in a book but have quite forgotten which one.

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

Felony Charges Against Illegals Dropped

(Bucks County, Pennsylvania) Felony assault and rioting charges against three illegal aliens, Mario Joel Joya, 20, Danillo Fernandez, 21, and Tulio Flores, 22, resulting from a brawl at a bar have been dropped since it would be kind of hard to prosecute them and they will probably be deported anyway.

The brawl reportedly involved about 40 people at 2 AM Tuesday outside the Cheers & Beers bar in Telford PA. According to Telford Police Lt. Randall S. Floyd, patrons from a neighboring bar, the Bier Garten Tavern, ran over and joined in the melee. Joya, Fernandez and Flores allegedly beat the crowd with chains, including two off-duty Marines, and inflicted multiple stab wounds on one 23-year-old man who required hospitalization.

The Tuesday hearing brought a crowd to the court, including three defense lawyers, three Spanish language interpreters, five witnesses, a prosecutor, several police officers and sheriff's deputies.

The Marines, considered important witnesses, could not make the hearing. "They were very helpful, but they're stationed elsewhere now and it's logistically impossible for them to get here," said Floyd. The man who was stabbed has not cooperated with authorities, Floyd said.

Charges that were dropped against Joya include a first-degree felony aggravated assault and the third-degree felonies riot and criminal conspiracy to riot.

Charges that were dropped against Flores and Fernandez include the third-degree felony riot and a misdemeanor charge of possessing an instrument of crime.

In conclusion, they were tagged with only misdemeanor charges. Uncooperative witnesses and the difficulty in proving exactly what each illegal did during the brawl led to the withdrawal of the most serious charges. Furthermore, as indicated by Lt. Floyd, they're probably going to be deported.