Student Disappears Over Niagara Falls




(Toronto, Ontario) A 20-year-old Japanese female at language school in Toronto, Ayano Tokumasu, was swept over Niagara Falls last weekend and disappeared.

Police said surveillance footage from a nearby visitors centre showed a young woman holding an umbrella, straddling a safety railing and looking at the falls. It appeared as if she was having her picture taken by a friend.

But when she got up to climb back over the railing, she lost her balance and slipped into the rushing waters near the brink of Horseshoe Falls.

Five police and fire departments on both sides of the border spent Sunday evening and Monday morning searching.

Later Monday, police said they were scaling back their search. No body has been found and the young woman is presumed dead.

The student's family in Japan has been notified.

American President in Canadian Bus



Obama Bus

One rule of leadership is to avoid mixed messages.

President Obama is barnstorming the heartland to boost US jobs in a taxpayer-financed luxury bus the government had custom built -- in Canada, The Post has learned.

The $1.1 million vehicle, one of two that Quebec-based Prevost sold the government, has been tricked out by the Secret Service with state-of-the-art security features and creature comforts.

It's a VIP H3-45 model, the company's top of the line, and is used by major traveling rock bands.

It's likely an embarrassment for President Obama to preach boosting jobs for Americans after boosting jobs for Canadians in constructing his $1.1 million ride.

Companion post at A Western Heart.

Nebraska Teacher Accused of Arson

(Lincoln, Nebraska) A local teacher, Sharon Brewster, has been arrested for allegedly setting fire to and destroying the Lincoln Public Schools headquarters building.

Fire inspectors suspect a former Lincoln teacher used a cigarette lighter to set fire to a pile of papers on her supervisor’s desk.

The May 30 fire grew quickly out of control and destroyed the Lincoln Public Schools district headquarters before it could be extinguished. School officials have estimated the loss at $20 million.

Sharon E. Brewster, 44, a gifted-education coordinator and reading recovery teacher, was arrested Monday on suspicion of first-degree arson. She remains in jail awaiting the filing of formal charges.

A gallery of photos of the destruction is here.

Woman Accused of Embezzling from School

(Santa Rosa, California) The former business manager at a children's learning center, Sheila Accornero, has been jailed for allegedly embezzling nearly $400,000.

Kid Street Learning Center Principal Linda Conklin indicated that Accornero kept duplicate books to fool auditors.

“That's what Sheila was doing; she had a whole second set of books,” Conklin said between greetings to parents and new students beginning the school year Monday at the charter school.

Accornero, 42, is in jail accused of forging Conklin's signature on charter school checks totaling $396,633.87 that she allegedly wrote to herself. The scheme went undetected for more than 2½ years until someone at Accornero's credit union became suspicious of her account activity and alerted authorities, Conklin said.

Accornero reportedly was fueling a drug habit with her alleged offenses.

California Molestation Trial - Updated

View more videos at: http://nbcbayarea.com.

(Los Gatos, California) The child sex case against Sara Cole concluded earlier this month with acquittals on two counts and a hung jury on a third.

A Los Gatos mother of four has been acquitted of two felony counts of having sex with her son's 16-year-old friend.

Jurors on Wednesday, however, hung 11-1 in favor of finding 48-year-old Sara Cole guilty of a third count of unlawful sex with the boy and convicted her of molesting or annoying a child, a misdemeanor.

She faces up to a year in county jail at sentencing and will have to register as a sex offender.

Sentencing is scheduled for August 30.

* * * * *
California Mom Accused of Sex with Boy
[Previous 9/30/10 post]
(Santa Clara County, California) A 47-year-old Los Gatos mother-of-four, Sara Cole, surrendered to police and was arrested Wednesday for allegedly engaging in sex with a male teen victim identified as a family friend.

Notably, Cole achieved local prominence after a 2007 traffic accident when she was seriously injured by a drunk driver. The community rallied around her, holding fundraisers to support Cole's medical bills and family expenses. Now, she faces three felony counts of sex with a minor.

Police said they interviewed Cole last week, after they received a tip about two months ago from the parents of a teenager. She has four sons, ages 9 to 18.

The news was disappointing for many in town, including the police department, where many had become close to Cole as they investigated her accident and helped put the drunk driver behind bars.

"The chief, and several of our officers, had a supportive relationship with Sara,'' said Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Capt. Alana Forrest, the department spokeswoman. "There was certainly a level of disappointment and shock here. But we also have an obligation to the victim, and to do our job.''

Cole was booked into custody at the Santa Clara County Jail with bond set at $30,000.

Before the Music



Yuja Wang

Remarkable, eh?

Connecticut Mom Gets Prison in Sex Case

(Danielson, Connecticut) In May 2010, 43-year-old wife and mother Sandra M. Lanasa was arrested for an alleged 2009 sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy who was a friend of her daughter.

Jump forward to the present. Now 44-year-old Lanasa has been convicted at trial on counts of risk of injury to a minor, inappropriate sexual contact with a minor and impairing the morals of a minor.

Sandra Lanasa cried at times during the daylong proceedings in Danielson Superior Court, where her attorney, Pamala Favreau, unsuccessfully petitioned Judge John Nazzaro for a new trial.

Calling it a “gross lack of judgment” and devastating for the two families involved, Nazzaro sentenced Lanasa to 10 years, suspended after one year in prison, and 10 years’ probation. Lanasa also will have to register as a sexual offender for the next 10 years and is to have no unsupervised contact with minors.

Nazzaro ordered a $20,000 appeal bond, which will allow Lanasa, who maintains her innocence, to post bail while her appeal is pending.

Heh.

Extreme Christian fanatics?

With the 2012 GOP presidential contenders already pretty clear -- some combination of Bachman, Romney and Perry -- the Donks have got their campaign of lies underway. All three contenders are "extreme Christian fanatics". Even the Mormon Romney presumably qualifies.

Below is an excerpt from one such attack. Notable in it is that NOT ONE WORD from Bachman, Romney or Perry is quoted. Views are attrbuted to them entirely out of thin air. They are accused of beliefs that they have never avowed. The only authority quoted for attributing nutty views to the GOP contenders is previous accusations by other Leftists.

But that's OK. Its a secret conspiracy, you see, just like the Jewish conspiracy to control the world or GWB's conspiracy to blow up the twin towers. Leftists mock Christians for their beliefs but Leftists will believe anything if it suits them. And they mainline on conspiracy theories.

So the fact that a rather nutty but tiny Christian sect exists is enough evidence to prove that any chosen Christian must believe in its tenets -- even if most people in the Christian world have never even heard of the sect concerned. Lies are the lifeblood of Leftism.

With Tim Pawlenty out of the presidential race, it is now fairly clear that the GOP candidate will either be Mitt Romney or someone who makes George W. Bush look like Tom Paine. Of the three most plausible candidates for the Republican nomination, two are deeply associated with a theocratic strain of Christian fundamentalism known as Dominionism. If you want to understand Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, understanding Dominionism isn’t optional.

Put simply, Dominionism means that Christians have a God-given right to rule all earthly institutions. Originating among some of America’s most radical theocrats, it’s long had an influence on religious-right education and political organizing. But because it seems so outré, getting ordinary people to take it seriously can be difficult. Most writers, myself included, who explore it have been called paranoid. In a contemptuous 2006 First Things review of several books, including Kevin Phillips’ American Theocracy, and my own Kingdom Coming: The Rise of Christian Nationalism, conservative columnist Ross Douthat wrote, “the fear of theocracy has become a defining panic of the Bush era.”

Now, however, we have the most theocratic Republican field in American history, and suddenly, the concept of Dominionism is reaching mainstream audiences. Writing about Bachmann in The New Yorker this month, Ryan Lizza spent several paragraphs explaining how the premise fit into the Minnesota congresswoman’s intellectual and theological development. And a recent Texas Observer cover story on Rick Perry examined his relationship with the New Apostolic Reformation, a Dominionist variant of Pentecostalism that coalesced about a decade ago. “[W]hat makes the New Apostolic Reformation movement so potent is its growing fascination with infiltrating politics and government,” wrote Forrest Wilder. Its members “believe Christians—certain Christians—are destined to not just take ‘dominion’ over government, but stealthily climb to the commanding heights of what they term the ‘Seven Mountains’ of society, including the media and the arts and entertainment world.”

In many ways, Dominionism is more a political phenomenon than a theological one. It cuts across Christian denominations, from stern, austere sects to the signs-and-wonders culture of modern megachurches. Think of it like political Islamism, which shapes the activism of a number of antagonistic fundamentalist movements, from Sunni Wahabis in the Arab world to Shiite fundamentalists in Iran.

Dominionism derives from a small fringe sect called Christian Reconstructionism, founded by a Calvinist theologian named R. J. Rushdoony in the 1960s. Christian Reconstructionism openly advocates replacing American law with the strictures of the Old Testament, replete with the death penalty for homosexuality, abortion, and even apostasy. The appeal of Christian Reconstructionism is, obviously, limited, and mainstream Christian right figures like Ralph Reed have denounced it.

More HERE

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

Normalization of Pedophilia

(Baltimore, Maryland) A group of pro-pedophile activists and professionals is sponsoring a conference this month in an attempt to influence a planned revision to the American Psychiatric Association’s rulebook of mental illnesses — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).

The group, B4U-ACT, seeks the removal of pedophilia from the DSM.

According to the conference brochure, the event will examine “ways in which minor-attracted persons [pedophiles] can be involved in the DSM 5 revision process” and how the popular perceptions of pedophiles can be reframed to encourage tolerance.[...]

B4U-ACT has been active attacking the APA’s definition of pedophilia in the run up to the conference, denouncing its description of “minor-attracted persons” as “inaccurate” and “misleading” because the current DSM links pedophilia with criminality.

One child advocate, Dr. Judith Reisman, remarked the conference is part of a strategy to normalize pedophilia.

“The first thing they do is to get the public to divest from thinking of what the offender does criminally, to thinking of the offender’s emotional state, to think of him as thinking of his emotional state, [and] to empathize and sympathize,” Reisman said.

“You don’t change the nation in one fell swoop; you have to change it by conditioning. The aim is to get them [pedophiles] out of prison.”

Reisman indicated that some mental health practitioners simply seek counseling for pedophiles instead of prison.

Breaking News from Fantasyland

(Valparaiso, Indiana) Supposedly, evidence supports this report.

Two Northwest Indiana girls, ages 16 and 14, are accused of tying up a 17-year-old boy and sexually assaulting him.

The boy was able to get away and reported the incident to police when he got home. Police assumed he was reporting a crime. I suspect he was bragging.

Readers can decide.

Tip: slwlion

Florida Woman Accused in Nutcracker Attack

(Palm Bay, Florida) A 19-year-old local female, Brianna Del Rio, has been accused of attacking her boyfriend with a nutcracker in a domestic dispute stemming from messages left on her cell phone. Del Rio faces a charge of battery.

Police officers arrived to find a man identified as Del Rio's boyfriend with cuts on his face and a bite mark on his side. Del Rio will have an Aug. 24 hearing on the charge.

Police said the couple had gotten into an argument Aug. 6 over the cell phone messages, prompting Del Rio to attack the man, first by slapping him, then by hitting him with a wooden nut cracker and other objects.

Del Rio was booked in to custody at the Brevard County Detention Center.

Tip: C. Nestor

Kentucky Woman Accused of Prostitution

(Louisville, Kentucky) Twenty-one-year-old Kelly A. Duffy was arrested and issued a citation for allegedly offering sexual services to an undercover police officer after being contacted through a classified ad online.

Duffy faces charges of prostitution, resisting arrest and possession of marijuana, all misdemeanors.

The detective called the woman and scheduled an appointment to meet her at Bardstown Road and Goldsmith Lane on Wednesday afternoon.

When the woman arrived at the location, she told the detective she would charge $225 for oral sex or $300 for anal sex.

When the detective identified himself as a police officer, the woman began resisting and attempted to call someone, according to the citation.

Duffy has a court appearance scheduled for Aug. 15.

Men from poor families tend to be uglier

How do you like that headline? Given the "all men are equal" gospel that guides the political Left, it is just about impossible to say it. It is terminally "incorrect". I might be just about the only person capable of making such a dastardly statement in public. It might hurt feelings!

Yet it seems to be true. There has just appeared in the academic literature a well-founded study which shows that.

So how have the media treated that finding? Read here if you want a laugh. They skate all around it and at no point make the blunt point that I have made.

And the scientists themselves did not repoort their findings bluntly either. All we got from them was some near incomprehensible waffle and speculation.

Yet the only statistically significant correlation in the reported data was between male facial symmetry (a major factor in attractiveness/ugliness) and coming from a poor background. And the correlation (-.44) was quite large as such correlations go. That was the one finding that they had to report.

I go into it all in more detail here.

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

Ground Zero Hardhats

Work progresses at the new World Trade Center. And there's always a break for lunch.

The Post spotted two dozen workers stream north from the site each day at about 11:45 a.m. and pack two Murray Street watering holes for their hourlong lunch breaks -- the same pub pilgrimage hardhats were making two years ago from Ground Zero.

Once again, many skipped food entirely in favor of liquid refreshments -- including bottles of beer, shots of whiskey and -- in the case of one wasted worker -- a pint glass nearly full of vodka.

That man, in a T-shirt, jeans and construction boots, was among two groups crammed into Eamonn's Irish Bar & Restaurant at 41 Murray St. about noon on Wednesday.

A backslapping barkeep put ice into a pint glass for him, filled it three-quarters with Absolut vodka and topped the drink with a splash of soda.

Heh.

Tip: mike

Airline Fires Cockpit Sex Crew - Updated

In the cockpit sex photo scandal, Cathay Pacific Airlines has completed its investigation and identified the participants. Chief Executive Officer John Slosar said the pilot and flight attendant involved have been fired.

Industry sources said they suspected the photos were a malicious stunt designed to hurt the company, but the company confirmed the images were authentic.

Slosar said the passenger jet was not in flight when the photos were taken.

"I find any behavior that recklessly soils the reputation of our company or our team members as totally unacceptable," Slosar said.

Given the biologically messy nature of sex in general and customary spillage, it's likely the company's reputation wasn't the only thing soiled. Heh.

* * * * *
Airline Investigates Cockpit Sex Photos
[Previous 8/7/11 post]




(Hong Kong) When it comes to distractions, there undoubtedly are things worse than texting while driving.

Cathay Pacific said on Sunday that it had launched a “full investigation” into photos allegedly showing a flight attendant performing oral sex on a pilot aboard an aircraft of the Hong Kong carrier.

Several pixellated photos of the act have been published in local Chinese-language media, showing the woman in a red outfit resembling Cathay’s cabin crew uniform giving oral sex to a man who the reports said was a pilot.

“We are conducting a full investigation into the matter and there are some indications that the female shown in the photos may be a member of our cabin crew,” a Cathay spokeswoman said in a statement to AFP.

Reportedly, the recipient of the oral sex filed a criminal complaint stating that someone stole the photos from his computer.

“One of the photos appears to have been taken inside an aircraft cockpit,” an airline spokesman said. “There is no way to tell conclusively whether the photo was taken while the aircraft was on the ground or airborne.” He said the airline was trying to identify the woman who was dressed in what appeared to be a Cathay Pacific cabin crew uniform.

“As we have more than 8,000 cabin crew, some in Hong Kong and some elsewhere, this process will take time. The male in the photo is not identifiable as the face is not shown. There is no evidence whatsoever that he is a pilot on duty. His clothing does not appear to be Cathay Pacific pilot uniform,” the spokesman said.

Becky Kwan Siu--wa, a former chief of the Cathay Pacific Flight Attendants Union, said, “I don’t think this happened on the plane. It is just someone trying to be malicious who has sent these photographs around out of spite.

Sensational story, no doubt, but it's largely speculation based on pictures appearing on the Internet. Chuckle and move on.

Companion post (w/pic) at TJR.

Leading Democrat deliberately stirs up racial strife

Nancy Pelosi Tells Predominantly Black Audience that the GOP Complicated the Debt Debate Because Obama Is Black‏. As if there weren't enough racial tension in America already, she is prepared to lie in order to create more of it. She is clearly an enemy of America and all Americans.



"Why is this President being treated so disrespectfully?" GWB wasn't treated disrespectfully, of course. "Obama=Nazi" signs are all over the place, aren't they?

SOURCE

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

Man Allegedly Sneaks Pics of Teen Girls

(Hammond, Indiana) A county correctional officer, Steven E. Lewis, was arrested last week for allegedly liquoring up his daughter's friends and taking inappropriate pictures.

Hammond Police Chief Brian Miller said the Hammond Police Department initiated the investigation in late July after three teen girls reported that while visiting a friend in the 7500 block of Jefferson Avenue, their friend's father provided alcohol to them and later took pictures of them without their knowledge.

Miller said Sgt. Chris Matonovich and Sgt. Mark Biller began questioning the girls, and called in the Department of Homeland Security and a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement unit because of the nature of the complaint involving pictures of teens and use of the Internet.

Lewis is in federal custody without bond.

Tip: slwlion

California Woman Accused of Theft from Cops

(Santa Barbara, California) A 22-year-old office supervisor formerly at the Santa Barbara Police Department, Karen Flores, has been accused of embezzling at least $100,000 from her employer.

Flores has been charged with grand theft by embezzlement with enhancements of being more than $65,000, which could add a year to a sentence if convicted, and being more than $100,000, which can make someone presumptively ineligible for probation.

She also faces four counts of destroying parking citations. District Attorney’s Office investigators are trying to find out more details as quickly as possible, but for now Cota said $100,000 is the amount he’s comfortable alleging.

Deputy Police Chief Frank Mannix said last week that the city’s Finance Department noticed a discrepancy in parking citation funds and contacted police. A team of investigators ruled out several possible scenarios and determined that embezzlement could be the only plausible cause. Mannix said they eventually found evidence that pointed to Flores.

Flores was booked and released on her own recognizance.

Florida Teacher Accused of Child Abuse

(Titusville, Florida) A 48-year-old preschool teacher at A Gold Star Academy, Priscilla Dale Cole, has been accused of slamming the face of a four-year-old into a desk.

Cole was arrested yesterday and charged with felony child abuse.

According to arrest documents, Cole was mad at the boy for acting up on Wednesday. She grabbed the child’s shirt and slammed him facedown into a table, the report said.

"The victim in this incident ... sustained cut and bruised lips, a bloody nose, bruises to his gums and a loose tooth," said Detective Jessica Edens of the Titusville Police Department.[…]

She told detectives that the boy was having a "temper tantrum" and was running around a table when he tripped over a chair, causing his face to hit a desk.

Cole was booked into custody.

Checkout Aisle Math Aide

We got this after the formation of the Department of Education.




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