Paper Money Design Is Anti-Blind

The U.S. Appeals Court for the District of Columbia has ruled that paper money discriminates against the blind and the visually-impaired.

The court's decision was handed down in a case called American Council for the Blind et al v. Henry M. Paulson Jr., Secretary of the Treasury . The U.S. Mint which prints the nation's currency is part of the Treasury Department.

Next, the issue goes to the Supreme Court. If the Treasury Department loses, paper money will have to be redesigned to be identifiable by feel.

Caroline Corbett Jailed for Sex with Scout - Updated

(Key West, Florida) The case against 23-year-old Caroline Corbett progresses.

After almost a year of correspondence between Keys law enforcement officials and Corbett's attorneys, she was only recently forced to face charges in Monroe County - and she did not turn herself in.

Corbett recently spent six weeks in jail after being arrested March 27 at a Rhode Island airport when a Transportation Security Administration check revealed she had a warrant in the Keys for lewd and lascivious battery on a person between ages 12 and 16.

“This was not a ‘turn-herself-in' situation,” said Manny Madruga, the Keys assistant state attorney prosecuting the case. “She was arrested on the warrant.”

Madruga said the case has been frustrating since the Sheriff's Office issued her arrest warrant last fall, and she had only recently been sent to jail here.

The original warrant was issued Sept. 24. Police in Hingham arrested Corbett, but a Massachusetts judge let her go, saying the warrant presented insufficient evidence she was a fugitive.

“This was really unusual. Most states will honor probable-cause warrants from another state,” Madruga said.

But the warrant was not inactive just because she was released from jail in Massachusetts.

Madruga said he was in correspondence with her two attorneys - one a Massachusetts lawyer and one in Palm Beach - about getting Corbett to turn herself in. Her lawyers told Madruga she would turn herself in if the bond - originally set at $150,000 - was reduced.

“I said, ‘If she turns herself in, we'll talk about bond.' It's not good practice to negotiate bond with a fugitive,” Madruga said.

Bond was finally set at $75,000 by Monroe County Circuit Court Judge Mark Jones. A court appearance is scheduled for July 2.

* * * * *
Woman Arrested for Sex with Scout
[Previous 9/29/07 post]
(Key West, Florida) A 22-year-old woman, Caroline Corbett, has been arrested for allegedly engaging in sex with a 15-year-old boy last July.

Caroline Corbett was the first mate on a sailboat, the Heritage of Miami, that was used for a weeklong sleepover trip for 18 Boy Scouts.

While the boat was anchored off Key West, Corbett allegedly had sex with a 15-year-old boy from Georgia, police said.

Sex with the first mate! Aargh!

The boy's mother alerted authorities after seeing a letter Corbett wrote to the boy.

Corbett was arrested in Georgia and extradited to Florida. She faces charges of lewd and lascivious battery on a child over 12 but under 16.

Tip: Don Morgenstern

Pennsylvania Teacher Scores Dope from Student

(Berks County, Pennsylvania) A 53-year-old substitute teacher at Governor Mifflin High School, Susan Siegel, has been charged with buying marijuana from an undercover detective and an 18-year-old student.

Siegel offered the student vodka in exchange for setting up the buy. Last Thursday, Siegel was arrested after the transaction was conducted at a local diner.

"Our officers actually met in a car with this substitute teacher, sold $100 worth of marijuana and after that an arrest was made," said Berks County District Attorney John Adams.

Siegel has been charged with possession of marijuana and furnishing alcohol to a minor. She was booked into custody at the Berks County Prison with bail set at $25,000.

Chinese reluctance to accept earthquake help


What I reproduce below is an unusual news summary but it comes from someone I know personally (I am slightly amazed that three of my old friends are in China these days) so I thought I would pass it on:

At HK airport Sunday night and also in the Herald Tribune I read some interesting details I bet you wont read in China daily. Apparently China stores all its nuclear bombs in this earthquake zone as it's so remote. Also there are a number of nuclear reactors there to make bomb grade plutonium. They are supposed to be all reported as suffering none or little damage.

There was another news item about 2 foreign disaster relief teams from Scotland and Canada who arrived in HK with all their equipment...specialist earthquake relief teams...they tried to join the rescue effort but were refused visas in HK , the visa office their telling them they were not required. They had their own tents , food and specialist equipment to find the living buried in rubble.

After hearing about a Beijing Govt International apeal for International specialist help, they had advised the embassies of China in both Canada and UK they were able to come but received no reply from these embassies. Frustrated they flew out to HK anyway with all their gear only to be refused visas . They were returning home Monday.

In other articles there are lots of stories about people being refused visas to China in HK . Apparently the China Govt is now asking all Nationals to return to their home countries to get visas. Multiple entry visas are no longer being issued. Many foreigners who own businesses in China are whinging [complaining] as they need to come and go at short notice and now there are huge queues at the only mainland HK visa issuing office in Wanchai.

The situation is obviously very confused because I flew to Beijing OK last Thursday night without a Hotel voucher requirement and using the multiple entry visa in my passport which expires October 2008. However the Dragon Air flight was alomost empty...I have never seen a plane more empty....an A330 airbus capable of carrying up to 350 people with about 50 people on it.

At the new airport in Beijing I was stamped in without any questions. The China Govt seems to be getting more paranoid as the Olympics approaches.

Posted by John Ray.

USNavy Jet Violates Venezuelan Airspace

(Caracas, Venezuela) A U.S. Navy S-3B Viking aircraft strayed into Venezuelan airspace over the weekend, prompting a strong denunciation by Hugo Chavez's government.


Lockheed Martin S-3B Viking jet aircraft
According to State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, the breach of airspace was inadvertent.

"While conducting a counternarcotics mission in international airspace, the pilot realized that a navigation error had occurred," Mr. McCormack said.

"He contacted a Venezuelan tower to report the error, stating that he would immediately return to international airspace. The exchange was polite and professional."

Not so, said Venezuelan Defense Minister Gustavo Rangel. It was deliberate and another link in a chain of provocations toward Venezuela, said Rangel. Foreign Minister Nicolas Maduro has summoned U.S. Ambassador Patrick Duddy to provide an explanation.

The S-3B Viking incident occurred around the Venezuelan island of La Orchila and another island about 80 miles off the coast. The island of La Orchila has a military base and Hugo Chavez's presidential retreat.

The breach of airspace also occurred concurrent with an alleged incursion of Colombian troops about 500 yards into Venezuela on Friday. Both occurrences play into Hugo Chavez's accusations that the U.S. and Colombia are colluding to invade Venezuela.

Interestingly, Defense Minister Rangel remarked that violations of Venezuelan airspace likely happened before but nobody knew because they didn't have the equipment to detect violations. Now they do.

Also: The Jawa Report

Teacher Christal Gravlin Sentenced in Sex Case - BUMPED

Former Lisbon Central School teacher Christal Gravlin has been sentenced to 120 days in jail for engaging in sex with a 15-year-old student.

Gravlin was also given a term of 10 years probation and ordered to pay $1,300 in court costs. Her sex offender status will be determined after an assessment.

* * * * *
[Previous 03/03/08 entry]
Today (03/03/08), Christel Gravlin pleaded guilty to one count of third-degree felony rape in accordance with a plea agreement. In return for the guilty plea, Gravlin will be sentenced to no more than six months in jail and 10 years probation. The felony conviction means automatic loss of her state teacher's license. It's not known if she will be required to register as a sex offender.

Formal sentencing for Gravlin is scheduled for May 5th.

* * * * *
[Previous 12/08/07 entry]
(Lisbon, New York) A 33-year-old English teacher at Lisbon Central School, Christel C. Gravlin, has been named as allegedly involved in a sex scandal with a 15-year-old male student.

Authorities were alerted to the alleged sex when the boy's mother filed a complaint. The St. Lawrence County Sheriff's Department is investigating.

Gravlin, a married mother of two is a former beauty queen, having been chosen Miss St. Lawrence County Teen-Ager in 1990 at the age of 15 and was voted St. Lawrence County Dairy Princess the following year.

She graduated summa cum laude from SUNY Potsdam in 2003 with a degree in literature, writing, and secondary education.

Gravlin has been absent from school this entire week.


[Update 12/11/07]
Yesterday, Christel Gravlin was crying as she was arraigned on felony counts of third-degree rape and third-degree criminal sexual act and misdemeanor endangering the welfare of a child. Gravlin was released on probation supervision -- whatever that is -- pending further action.

The 10th-grade teacher provided investigators with a detailed accounting of the affair in a three-page signed statement that was made part of the court record on Monday.

Gravlin said she had been suffering from depression for the past year and was taking antidepressants. She told police she began drinking alcohol and was taking prescription pain killers.

Gravlin said that during this time, one of her students contacted her through AOL Instant Messaging to discuss his problems at school and they developed a close relationship.

"He told me I was young and beautiful and he said he loved me. There was something about hearing these things that made me feel good again," said Gravlin, who has two children.

When she tried to break off the affair, the boy began talking about suicide, Gravlin told investigators.

"Each time I mentioned ending everything, he reminded me of these suicidal thoughts. In retrospect, I feel it was a way to manipulate me," she said.

Kinda makes one feel wispy, eh? Poor thing.

Obviously, I'm being sarcastic. I've little sympathy for adults who act like children and then blame their bad behavior on the children.

By the way, I haven't been able to find a pic of Gravlin, which is odd since she is a former beauty queen. You'd imagine that someone took some pictures of her. [Update: Found a pic.]

Razor Wire Effective on Border

(San Diego, California) Razor wire added to the fence may not completely secure the border but it sure seems to help.

Three strands of razor sharp wire, along one point two miles of the country's *most* violent section of the border.

The "concertina" wire went up in December on a trial basis, and after five months the border patrol says the impact has been so significant, the concertina will run continuously for five miles between Otay Mesa and San Ysidro.

In fact, the border patrol says the number of injuries to illegals coming over the fence has decreased by nearly half since the concertina went up. Assaults on border patrol agents have gone down 53 percent. And the number of people coming across illegally has decreased by 61 percent.

Sounds like a good plan, eh? Good fences make good neighbors.

No Transplants for Medical Marijuana Users

(Seattle, Washington) It appears that life is a bit more complicated for medical marijuana users since they are being denied placement on organ transplant lists and two recent cases have raised the profile of the issue.

Timothy Garon, 56, of Seattle died after being rejected for a liver transplant and 33-year-old Jonathon Simchen of Fife, a town south of Seattle, still seeks transplant help after being rejected by two medical facilities.

The reasoning for rejecting marijuana smokers is partly because smoking of any substance has negative "patient-safety and transplant-effectiveness issues."

Additionally, since marijuana is considered illegal by the federal government, marijuana users, including those with prescriptions, are classified as substance abusers. Illegal substance abuse is customarily a disqualifying factor for transplants.

The organ transplant denial issue, however, is far from being resolved as medical-marijuana advocates protest the process.

The website Stop the Drug War called it evil to deny transplants to medical marijuana patients.

One Seattle-area alternative newspaper was so outraged that it listed the telephone numbers of University of Washington transplant center staff members.

I suggest the future will be more contentious.

British police: OK to be a terrorist-supporter but not OK to reform and condemn terrorism

The Muslim-loving British police get madder every day

He was the poster boy for jihadist extremism who become one of its most vocal opponents, meeting a government minister and being offered Home Office funding to support his deradicalisation work among young Muslims. But now Hassan Butt is under arrest and at the centre of a high-stakes legal battle that goes to the core of Britain's fight against terrorism.

Hassan Butt sent dozens of British Muslims to training camps in Pakistan, raised money for the Taleban and once boasted of his desire "to kill or be killed for the sake of Allah". His words and deeds in support of Islamist terrorism were reported widely between 2001 and 2004, yet he was never charged with any offence.

After the suicide attacks on London in July 2005, he embarked on a lengthy and painful reexamination of his beliefs, eventually repudiating violence and emerging as a passionate critic of the cause he once espoused. Since early 2007 Mr Butt, 28, has denounced al-Qaeda in numerous newspaper articles, in international television interviews and in debate at the Cambridge Union. However, he has been labelled a traitor to Islam by his former comrades and in April last year was stabbed in the street by two assailants.

Ten days ago, as he prepared to board a flight to Pakistan, Mr Butt was arrested - and is still detained - under the Terrorism Act. If his rejection of violence was not a sham, then Greater Manchester Police - whose investigation is being carried out independently of Counter Terrorism Command at Scotland Yard - may be about to face more than a few tough questions.

More here


Posted by John Ray.

Turkey Going Cold Turkey on Tobacco

(Istanbul, Turkey) A nation-wide comprehensive smoking ban will be enacted tomorrow.

Smoking will be banned in almost all enclosed areas such as public buildings including education, health, entertainment, sports, production, business, cultural and social facilities.

The ban also covers all public transportation, including taxis, trains and boats. [ ... ]

The fines for violating the regulation have been increased, and business owners who let people smoke in prohibited areas will have to pay more than the smoker. Those who throw the stump of a cigarette on the street will be fined YTL 23. Those who smoke in prohibited areas will be fined YTL 62. [Note: 100 Turkish Lira = about US $81]

However, those who allow smoking (the owner or manager of the building) will be fined from YTL 50,000 up to YTL 250,000.

Advertisements and any encouragement of smoking are prohibited. Showing cigarettes on TV will be fined between YTL 1,000 up to YTL 100,000.

The sale of tobacco products to those younger than 18 is prohibited, and those who sell it can be sentenced to between one and six years imprisonment.

I think enforcement of the law might be problematic.

Ohio Man Gets 40 Years for Raping Boy

(Lucas County, Ohio) A 22-year-old Spencer Township man, Dale Boerio, was sentenced by Judge Linda Jennings this past week to 40 years to life in prison for raping a 9-year-old boy.

Boerio was handed consecutive sentences of 15 years to life for the two counts of rape and consecutive five-year terms for the two counts of gross sexual imposition.

He first will be eligible to appear before the state parole board when he is 62.

"Your pattern of abhorrent behavior has emotionally damaged this child for the rest of his life," Judge Jennings told Boerio.

"Because of your sexual abuse, this little boy has suffered physical abuse as well," she added.

Given a chance to address the court, Boerio expressed innocence.

Ohio Judge Strikes Down Sex Offender Law

(Cleveland, Ohio) Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas Judge Ronald Suster declared Ohio's sex offender registration law unconstitutional this past week.

Judge Ronald Suster blocked the state from enforcing the law on one sex offender convicted of sexual battery in 2003.

In his court order, Suster ruled that the new requirements are unlawful because they increase punishment without a court hearing and are retroactively applied to sex offenders whose crimes were committed before the law passed in 2007.

Judge Suster said the law intended to "punish and ostracize this unpopular group."

The state has 30 days to appeal the ruling.

Based on Judge Suster's words, it's not clear whether he's merely against the provisions of the law or the entire concept of registration of sex offenders. My guess would be the latter.

Baha'i Leaders Jailed in Iran

The Islamic government of Iran jailed six top Baha'i religious leaders this week. It appears that the action is contrary to the stated philosophy of the religion of peace.

Six Baha'i leaders in Iran were seized and imprisoned this week, the religious group said. The act prompted condemnation and concern from the movement and a top American religious freedom panel.

Iranian intelligence agents searched the homes of the six on Wednesday and then whisked them away, according to the Baha'i's World News Service. The report said the six are in Evin prison and that the arrests follow the detention in March of another Baha'i leader.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry could not immediately be reached for comment, and the incident has not been mentioned in Iran's state-run media.

"Their only crime is their practice of the Baha'i faith," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i international community to the United Nations.

The Baha'i is the largest minority religious community in Iran and the government considers its followers to be apostates. Since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad became president, attacks against the Baha'i have increased.

About 300,000 Iranians follow the Baha'i faith out of the 65 million total population in the country.

Also: The Jawa Report

Wild Party: Naked Teens, Drugs and Alcohol

(Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania) Sixteen individuals, mostly juveniles, were arrested and more are expected. Two young adults face charges for hosting.

Scant reporting on this story thus far.

Village Proud of Double Honor Killings

(Balla, India) Because it is taboo for a man and woman in the same village to marry, a young couple was killed. The village rejoices now that its honor has been restored. Absolutely sickening.

Five armed men burst into the small room and courtyard at dawn, just as 21-year-old, 22-week pregnant, Sunita was drying her face on a towel.

They punched and kicked her stomach as she called out for her sleeping boyfriend "Jassa", 22-year-old Jasbir Singh, witnesses said. When he woke, both were dragged into waiting cars, driven away and strangled.

Their bodies, half-stripped, were laid out on the dirt outside Sunita's father's house for all to see, a sign that the family's "honor" had been restored by her cold-blooded murder.

Police with the bodies of Sunita Devi, 21, and Jasbir Singh, 22, on May 9, 2008.
The village stands united in full support of the honor killings. Since Sunita and Jasbir were from the same village, they were viewed as brother and sister, a dishonorable union.

"From society's point of view, this is a very good thing," said 62-year-old farmer Balwan Arya, sitting smoking a hookah in the shade of a tree in a square with other elders from the village council or panchayat. "We have removed the blot."

Interestingly, the farmer used the term "we" which indicates community-wide culpability. Only four individuals, however, were arrested -- Sunita's father, an uncle and two cousins.

Notably, identifying this case as a double honor killing is disingenuous. My arithmetic puts the death toll at three when the unborn baby is included.

German-Afghan Family Honor

(Hamburg, Germany) Again, I'm disgusted.

Police investigating the fatal stabbing of 16-year-old German girl of Afghan origin are searching for her brother on suspicion he carried what media believe may have been an "honor killing".

Police said on Friday they were conducting an all-out search for the victim's 23-year-old brother, whom they "strongly suspected" was responsible for the attack in a park in a central area of Hamburg on Thursday night.

A police spokeswoman said the motive was unclear in response to German media speculation that the girl's death from multiple stab wounds was the result of an honor killing.

Why is it that I feel disgusted when a family in Germany feels honorable? Somebody has screwy thinking and I don't think it's me.


[Update 05/19/08]

A 23-year-old man, Ahmad O., has confessed to the killing of his sister, Morsal O.

Dutch cartoonist update



We read:

"The Dutch authorities have arrested the cartoonist Gregorius Nekschot (a pseudonym. Nekschot means deathblow, litt: “shot in the back of the neck” [An interview with Nekschot here]). The judicial authorities in Amsterdam said yesterday that the cartoonist was arrested as a suspect for the criminal offense of “publishing cartoons which are discriminating for Muslims and people with dark skin.”

The cartoonist was arrested on Tuesday, while the police searched his house for “discriminating evidence.” His computer, backups, usb sticks, mobile phone and a number of drawings were confiscated.

Nekschot was released two days later but it is possible that he will be charged following a complaint in 2005 by the Dutch imam Abdul Jabbar van de Ven, an indigenous Dutchman who converted to Islam.

Source

The guy is a hero, considering the Muslim-loving Dutch authorities and the lack of protection for free speech there.

Posted by John Ray.

Larissa Shuster Gets Life for Acid Murder of Husband - Updated

(Fresno, California) The sentencing proceeding yesterday included emotional statements from Larissa Shuster's former husband's family and friends. Then, Shuster's daughter had some harsh words for her mother.

"You've given up all rights as a mother, wife, daughter, friend and woman. You're a disgrace to this family-a pitiful excuse for a human."

Kristin called her father Tim Schuster her rock and best friend, "I pray you're continually haunted at night by the sight and sound of my father fighting for his last breathing moments on this earth. I hope you toss and turn and have horrible nightmares visualizing the horrific act of violence you have committed."

For the conviction of first-degree murder, with special circumstances, Larissa Shuster was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. She was also ordered to pay her victim's burial expenses.

An appeal is planned.

* * * * *
Wife Murders Husband in Barrel of Acid
[Previous 12/14/07 entry]
(Van Nuys, California) A 47-year-old biochemist, Larissa Schuster, was found guilty this week by a Superior Court jury of murdering her husband, Timothy Schuster, 45. The conviction included a special circumstance provision since the murder was committed for financial gain.

Timothy Schuster's body was found a few days after his death in 2003 when the Schusters, co-owners of a chemical lab, were in the middle of a bitter divorce.

Prosecutors said Larissa Schuster and her former lab assistant kidnapped her 45-year-old husband on July 10, 2003, knocked him out with a stun gun and chloroform-soaked rag, then dumped his bound body headfirst into a barrel while he was still breathing.

The assistant, James Fagone, told authorities that Larissa Schuster then poured hydrochloric acid into the 55-gallon container.

Fagone said Schuster paid him $2,000 to help rob and assault her husband but he didn't know murder was planned. Schuster testified that Fagone killed her husband by accident and that she only helped dispose of the body.

Fagone was convicted in December 2006 of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Schuster is scheduled to be sentenced on January 16th when she faces a mandatory term of life in prison without parole.

Tip: SuidaeEmpathy

Kentucky Woman Accused of Raping Boy

(Covington, Kentuucky) A 28-year-old Independence woman, Tanya Baynum, has been accused of multiple offenses including the rape of a 15-year-old runaway boy, custodial interference and unlawful transaction with a minor.

Baybum was arrested this past week and later released on $5,000 bond.

Reportedly, the boy ran away from home and lived with Baynum for a period of time and allegedly got him involved with sex and drugs. When the boy's mother learned that her son was with Baynum, a meeting was planned and the mother taped the conversation.

Police say that the mother was able to get Baynum to admit to the allegations.

Capt. Tony Lucas, Independence Police: "There was some drug activity taking place ... sales involved in that, she had him participate in and also taking drugs. There is also some allegations of sexual intercourse with him."

Baynum has a court appearance scheduled for June 2.

Jihad Funding Ring Busted in Europe

A group of Islamists with ties to al-Qaeda were rounded up yesterday by German, French and Dutch authorities.

Police in Germany, France and the Netherlands arrested 10 people on Friday suspected of providing funding to Islamic extremists in Uzbekistan, officials said.

The 10 men arrested after a yearlong investigation are suspected of belonging to a network involved in funding the Islamist terror organization Islamic Jihad Union, German press agency DPA reported.

In France, eight suspects were arrested in a suburb of the eastern city of Mulhouse, about 30 miles from Weil am Rhein. The French domestic intelligence agency DST investigated the group for about a year.

In Germany, a 35-year-old Turkish immigrant was arrested in Weil am Rhein. Extradition to France is pending court approval.

In the Netherlands, a 48-year-old Turk was arrested in the southern town of Tilburg. Extradition to France has been requested.

Good! At least one channel for funding the terrorists is out of business.