The proponents of medical pot, like the death penalty abolitionists, keep trying to con us with questionable, if not outright phony statistics in support of their cause.
Some pot proponents at the Rand Corporation severely damaged the reputation of that once highly thought of think tank with their phony claim that the closure of medical pot dispensaries led to an increase in crime.
Now we have a couple of pro-pot professors, one from Montana State University and the other from Colorado University, that have come out with a highly questionable study showing a decrease of traffic fatalities in the 13 states that have legalized medical marijuana – or should I say legalized marijuana?
There are two kinds of research. There are the unbiased scientific research studies and then there are the biased studies in which the researchers set out to prove what they themselves happen to believe.
RAND STUDY ON MEDICAL POT AMONG YEAR’S WORST, SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN SAYS
By Nick Schou
OC Weekly
December 29, 2011
Remember that Rand Corporation study from earlier this year that claimed crime actually increased in L.A. neighborhoods where cops closed medical marijuana dispensaries? The one that forgot to include crime statistics compiled by the Los Angeles Police Department?? The one that Rand had to retract because it was pretty much completely worthless???
Well, if you do, it will come as no surprise that the Santa Monica-based think tank's somewhat, uh, flawed, report is number five on Scientific American's list of 2011's biggest retractions.
But despair not, oh ye advocates of medical ganja, for the year's end brings great tidings of the many miracles this wondrous weed is visiting upon our land. Forget about crime, let's talk drunk driving! Oh wait, that's also a crime. But anyway, what was I saying? Ah yes, let's celebrate a brand new study that purports to show how states that have allowed the medical use of marijuana have seen a drop in both traffic fatalities and beer sales.
The report, by D. Mark Anderson, an economics professor with Montana Sate University, and the University of Colorado's Daniel Rees claims a 9 percent decrease in traffic-related deaths in the 13 states that had legalized medical marijuana as of 2009, according to an article in Montana's Missoulian newspaper. The report also shows that beer consumption in those states has decreased by five percent.
That's nice, although it doesn't necessarily mean that the dwindling beer drinkers are turning to pot rather than Maker's Mark or meth, for that matter. Moreover, the math on the traffic fatalities seems a little fuzzy, too. While the report shows a decrease in fatal accidents at nights and on weekends, when many drunk drivers typically roam the road, that's not the same as proving a direct correlation between medical marijuana and a drop in drunk driving.
In fact, as the newspaper points out, one of the report's own authors admits that the drop in traffic fatalities could be related to just about anything, including the simple possibility that fewer people are driving, which raises another compelling question for men and women of science: does smoking pot make you more likely to sit on your ass rather than leave your house?
Saturday, December 31, 2011
PANTS-DRAGGING, HOODIE-WEARING MONSTERS
Psychiatrists and psychologists who are really good at making excuses for the behavior of miscreants and MSW (Master of Social Work) case workers are likely to puke if they read Rachel Raskin-Zrihen’s column. Good for her!
WHY THE WORLD SUCKS
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
politicalmavens.com
December 30, 2011
There have been 18 homicides in my town [in the San Francisco Bay area] so far this year.
That includes the assassination of a policeman in the line of duty last month, and the stabbing death of a 22-year-old kid who died today, on Christmas Eve.
Why do they keep killing each other?
Why can’t we stop behaving like barbarians?
On one hand, I don’t care who this guy was, what ethnicity or religion he belonged to, his family or financial situation ––there was no need to take his life violently and leave him to die alone in his car. I have two sons about that age, and the image of this happening to one of them has the power to send me over the edge.
On the other hand, if the kid turns out to have been a violent gangbanger with blood on his hands, then it’s really only a tragedy in that his was a life wasted, and his violent death put a damper on the holiday mood for the rest of us.
Except for his family, that is.
They probably consider it a tragedy no matter what kind of person he was. And depending on the nature of his family, they may seek to exact revenge, and we could see even more bloodshed here before the year is out.
And woe to the innocent bystander who happens to be in the way when that happens.
Really, I can’t tell you how tired I am of this antisocial, savage behavior among some of our young people. And we as a society had better get a handle on it before a higher power decides to do it for us.
There are warnings and cautionary tales all over sacred texts from nearly every religion about what happens when a culture gets out of control, and none of it is very pretty – Google Noah, or Sodom and Gomorrah, or fire and brimstone.
So, in a city of about 120,000 souls, 18 of them – that we know of – lost their lives at the hands of another human being – or a monster in human clothing – this year.
I wonder what number must be reached before some universal reaction is triggered.
So, we’re at 18 and holding at eight days and counting. Maybe some pants-dragging, hoodie-wearing, functionally illiterate, surly middle school drop-out can bring that number up. There’s still time. Why give up now?
And don’t give me that crap about they have crummy lives, so they take it out on society. There are too many examples of people whose lives sucked worse and who didn’t trash the world.
Don’t these creatures realize that if the world sucks, it’s because of people like them?
WHY THE WORLD SUCKS
By Rachel Raskin-Zrihen
politicalmavens.com
December 30, 2011
There have been 18 homicides in my town [in the San Francisco Bay area] so far this year.
That includes the assassination of a policeman in the line of duty last month, and the stabbing death of a 22-year-old kid who died today, on Christmas Eve.
Why do they keep killing each other?
Why can’t we stop behaving like barbarians?
On one hand, I don’t care who this guy was, what ethnicity or religion he belonged to, his family or financial situation ––there was no need to take his life violently and leave him to die alone in his car. I have two sons about that age, and the image of this happening to one of them has the power to send me over the edge.
On the other hand, if the kid turns out to have been a violent gangbanger with blood on his hands, then it’s really only a tragedy in that his was a life wasted, and his violent death put a damper on the holiday mood for the rest of us.
Except for his family, that is.
They probably consider it a tragedy no matter what kind of person he was. And depending on the nature of his family, they may seek to exact revenge, and we could see even more bloodshed here before the year is out.
And woe to the innocent bystander who happens to be in the way when that happens.
Really, I can’t tell you how tired I am of this antisocial, savage behavior among some of our young people. And we as a society had better get a handle on it before a higher power decides to do it for us.
There are warnings and cautionary tales all over sacred texts from nearly every religion about what happens when a culture gets out of control, and none of it is very pretty – Google Noah, or Sodom and Gomorrah, or fire and brimstone.
So, in a city of about 120,000 souls, 18 of them – that we know of – lost their lives at the hands of another human being – or a monster in human clothing – this year.
I wonder what number must be reached before some universal reaction is triggered.
So, we’re at 18 and holding at eight days and counting. Maybe some pants-dragging, hoodie-wearing, functionally illiterate, surly middle school drop-out can bring that number up. There’s still time. Why give up now?
And don’t give me that crap about they have crummy lives, so they take it out on society. There are too many examples of people whose lives sucked worse and who didn’t trash the world.
Don’t these creatures realize that if the world sucks, it’s because of people like them?
DID MEXICAN COPS KILL 'DEAR WONDERFUL DADDY'S' LITTLE GIRL?
“Dear Wonderful Daddy, I know we will make it there and back safely.” So wrote 13-year-old Cristina Hartsell to her imprisoned father about the family trip to Mexico.
It is quite possible, as the Zetas charge, that corrupt Mexican cops killed seven bus passengers in Veracruz, among them Cristina, her mother and another American.
From Borderland Beat:
ZETAS DENOUNCE MURDER OF AMERICANS IN VERACRUZ
Source: US Open Borders
December 30, 2011
The Zetas have placed a banner in Veracruz stating they are not responsible for the murders on passenger buses (which included 3 Americans).
Attacks were carried out which resulted in at least 7 deaths among buses traveling through Veracruz State. The Zeta banner states the killings were from the hands of corrupt police officers.
The Zetas have recently tried to scrap their horrible public image. Many other cartels have made it a priority to maintain respect within the people. The Zetas up to recent months have not done so. With their sole tactic of fear, instead of respect, they have not won the hearts of many. They have made it a personal issue to denounce their ties to terror, murders of innocents, and extortion.
Original message in Espanol:
“A TODO EL PUEBLO VERACRUZANO”NO SE DEJEN ENGANAR NO SOMOS SUS ENEMIGOSEL GOBIERNO HA PERMITIDO QUE MUERAN FAMILIAS VERACRUZANAS INOCENTES EN ESTA GUERREAQUE SOLO ES ENTRE ALGUNOS CARTELES. LA MUERTE DE TRES INTEGRANTES DE UNA FAMILIAEL 13 DE OCTUBRE EN MORALILLO Y EL ATENTADO A PASAJEROS DE LOSAUTOBUSES EL 22 DE DICIEMBRE NO FUERON CAUSADOS POR NOSOTROS.UN OFICIAL CORRUPTO DEL GOBIERNO FUE EL EJECUTOR DE LOS ATENTADOS;DISPARANDO SIN CONCIENCIA Y SIN IMPORTARLE LA VIDA DE INOCENTES.NO SOMOS CULPABLES DE ESAS TRAGEDIASSOMOS GENTE DEL PUEBLO Y SEGUIREMOS EN LA LUCHAATT: UNIDAD:Z
English Tranlation:
“TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF VERACRUZ” DO NOT BE DECEIVED WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOWED INNOCENTs TO DIE IN THE WARS VERACRUZANA (of Veracruz) ONLY IS AMONG SOME POSTERS. THE DEATH OF THREE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY ON 13 OCTOBER IN MORALILLO AND THE ATTACK ON PASSENGERS BUSES ON 22 DECEMBER WE WERE NOT CAUSED BY ZETAS. A (police) OFFICER WAS CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OF EXECUTING THE ATTACKS; SHOOTING WITHOUT CONSCIENCE AND REGARDLESS OF THE INNOCENT LIFE.WE ARE NOT GUILTY OF THESE TRAGEDIES PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE AND WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT ATT: UNIT: Z
It is quite possible, as the Zetas charge, that corrupt Mexican cops killed seven bus passengers in Veracruz, among them Cristina, her mother and another American.
From Borderland Beat:
ZETAS DENOUNCE MURDER OF AMERICANS IN VERACRUZ
Source: US Open Borders
December 30, 2011
The Zetas have placed a banner in Veracruz stating they are not responsible for the murders on passenger buses (which included 3 Americans).
Attacks were carried out which resulted in at least 7 deaths among buses traveling through Veracruz State. The Zeta banner states the killings were from the hands of corrupt police officers.
The Zetas have recently tried to scrap their horrible public image. Many other cartels have made it a priority to maintain respect within the people. The Zetas up to recent months have not done so. With their sole tactic of fear, instead of respect, they have not won the hearts of many. They have made it a personal issue to denounce their ties to terror, murders of innocents, and extortion.
Original message in Espanol:
“A TODO EL PUEBLO VERACRUZANO”NO SE DEJEN ENGANAR NO SOMOS SUS ENEMIGOSEL GOBIERNO HA PERMITIDO QUE MUERAN FAMILIAS VERACRUZANAS INOCENTES EN ESTA GUERREAQUE SOLO ES ENTRE ALGUNOS CARTELES. LA MUERTE DE TRES INTEGRANTES DE UNA FAMILIAEL 13 DE OCTUBRE EN MORALILLO Y EL ATENTADO A PASAJEROS DE LOSAUTOBUSES EL 22 DE DICIEMBRE NO FUERON CAUSADOS POR NOSOTROS.UN OFICIAL CORRUPTO DEL GOBIERNO FUE EL EJECUTOR DE LOS ATENTADOS;DISPARANDO SIN CONCIENCIA Y SIN IMPORTARLE LA VIDA DE INOCENTES.NO SOMOS CULPABLES DE ESAS TRAGEDIASSOMOS GENTE DEL PUEBLO Y SEGUIREMOS EN LA LUCHAATT: UNIDAD:Z
English Tranlation:
“TO ALL THE PEOPLE OF VERACRUZ” DO NOT BE DECEIVED WE ARE NOT YOUR ENEMY THE GOVERNMENT HAS ALLOWED INNOCENTs TO DIE IN THE WARS VERACRUZANA (of Veracruz) ONLY IS AMONG SOME POSTERS. THE DEATH OF THREE MEMBERS OF A FAMILY ON 13 OCTOBER IN MORALILLO AND THE ATTACK ON PASSENGERS BUSES ON 22 DECEMBER WE WERE NOT CAUSED BY ZETAS. A (police) OFFICER WAS CORRUPT GOVERNMENT OF EXECUTING THE ATTACKS; SHOOTING WITHOUT CONSCIENCE AND REGARDLESS OF THE INNOCENT LIFE.WE ARE NOT GUILTY OF THESE TRAGEDIES PEOPLE ARE PEOPLE AND WILL CONTINUE TO FIGHT ATT: UNIT: Z
THE AMAZING LIFE OF THOMAS JEFFERSON
Thomas Jefferson was a very remarkable man who started learning very early in life and never stopped.
At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia , succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France , and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions, and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase , doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello .
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia , and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, along with John Adams
At 5, began studying under his cousin's tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence .
At 33, took three years to revise Virginia 's legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia , succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France , and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions, and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States .
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase , doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello .
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of Virginia , and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, along with John Adams
THOMAS JEFFERSON'S WISDOM
John F. Kennedy once held a dinner in the White House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." Here’s why:
"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe ." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world." -- Thomas Jefferson
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." -- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe ." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."
-- Thomas Jefferson
"It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world." -- Thomas Jefferson
"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them." -- Thomas Jefferson
"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government." -- Thomas Jefferson
"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -- Thomas Jefferson
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." -- Thomas Jefferson
"To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." -- Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson said in 1802: "I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered."
Friday, December 30, 2011
WHAT WOULD GEORGE PATTON SAY?
General George Patton, nicknamed 'Old Blood and Guts', was thought by many to be America's greatest war general, but was ridiculed by some who accused him of being too callous, uncaring and hardened by war. He was, nonetheless, the most decorated army officer of WWII, honored to the extent that he was unable to display all of the medals, ribbons, medallions and campaign sashes together on his dress uniform.
Imagine for a moment General George Patton addressing everyone today as outlined below...... He sure had a unique way of expressing his thoughts.
This is how General George S. Patton would sum things up.... and then catch holy hell from Ike:
ATTENTION!
To ALL those whining, pathetic panty-waist Citizens, it's time for a little refresher course on exactly why we Americans occasionally have to fight wars to keep this nation great.
See if you can tear yourself away from your "reality" TV and Starbucks for a minute, pull your head out of your ass -- and LISTEN UP!!
Abu Ghraib is not "torture" or an "atrocity."
Got that ?
The beheadings of Americans and 9/11 are atrocities!!!
WHICH PART DON'T YOU GET?
Islam Extremists are peaceful people? My Ass! Millions of these warped misled sons-of-bitches are plotting, as we speak, to destroy our country and our way of life any way they can. Some of them are here among us now!
They don't want to convert you and don't want to rule you. They believe you are a vile infestation of Allah's paradise. They don't give a shit how "progressive" you are, how peace-loving you are, or how much you sympathize with their cause.
They want your ass dead, and they think it is God's will for them to do it.
Some think if we give them a hug or listen to them, then they'll like us, and if you agree –
Then you are a pathetic dumb ass!
If they manage to get their hands on a nuke, chemical agents, or even some anthrax -- you will wish to God we had hunted them down and killed THEM while we had the chance.
How many more Americans must be beheaded? You've fallen asleep AGAIN - get your head out of your ass! You may never get another chance!
NOW GET OFF YOUR SORRY ASS and pass this on to any and every person you give a damn about - if you ever gave a damn about anything!
DISMISSED!
Imagine for a moment General George Patton addressing everyone today as outlined below...... He sure had a unique way of expressing his thoughts.
This is how General George S. Patton would sum things up.... and then catch holy hell from Ike:
ATTENTION!
To ALL those whining, pathetic panty-waist Citizens, it's time for a little refresher course on exactly why we Americans occasionally have to fight wars to keep this nation great.
See if you can tear yourself away from your "reality" TV and Starbucks for a minute, pull your head out of your ass -- and LISTEN UP!!
Abu Ghraib is not "torture" or an "atrocity."
Got that ?
The beheadings of Americans and 9/11 are atrocities!!!
WHICH PART DON'T YOU GET?
Islam Extremists are peaceful people? My Ass! Millions of these warped misled sons-of-bitches are plotting, as we speak, to destroy our country and our way of life any way they can. Some of them are here among us now!
They don't want to convert you and don't want to rule you. They believe you are a vile infestation of Allah's paradise. They don't give a shit how "progressive" you are, how peace-loving you are, or how much you sympathize with their cause.
They want your ass dead, and they think it is God's will for them to do it.
Some think if we give them a hug or listen to them, then they'll like us, and if you agree –
Then you are a pathetic dumb ass!
If they manage to get their hands on a nuke, chemical agents, or even some anthrax -- you will wish to God we had hunted them down and killed THEM while we had the chance.
How many more Americans must be beheaded? You've fallen asleep AGAIN - get your head out of your ass! You may never get another chance!
NOW GET OFF YOUR SORRY ASS and pass this on to any and every person you give a damn about - if you ever gave a damn about anything!
DISMISSED!
MISLEADING DEATH PENALTY COST CLAIMS
The anti-death penalty crowd seems to be scoring points with their misleading cost figures. They’ve conned some California legislators and the public, which may very well vote to abolish California’s ultimate penalty. The problem with the Golden State is that there are more than 700 scumbags roosting on death row and when you figure in the cost of fighting their appeals, that is costly indeed.
Dorina Lisson, still passionately engaged in the fight to abolish capital punishment, sent me the following piece of propaganda:
GRIM REAPINGS: HOW THE COST OF U.S. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ADDS UP
A number of US states are debating whether to abolish the death penalty in light of rising costs.
But how much does it cost to put a person to death?
Capital punishment in the US costs, on average, $1.9m more per case than life without parole.
California has the most expensive death penalty system of any state in the US.
With 721 people on death row but only 13 executions since 1978, the state has spent $4bn more than it would have if capital punishment were not available there.
(source: The Guardian)
Now here is why those cost figures are misleading. The biggest cost associated with the death penalty is what it costs to fight the endless appeals that are filed while a murderer sits on death row. The death row custodial costs are somewhat higher than those for the regular prison population. But as for those sentenced to life without parole, when you add up what it costs to keep them in prison for 30 or more years, it will cost more for a lifer than for an inmate awaiting execution. We’re still talking about millions of dollars to maintain those lifers.
California’s predicament is self-inflicted. The reason there are more than 700 scumbags roosting on death row is because the state’s appellate judges keep finding excuses to prevent any executions from taking place.
In the last few years, most of those executed in Texas had been on death row 8 – 10 years. Had they been sentenced to life without parole and lived for 30 – 40 years, the cost of maintaining them in the joint for life would far exceed the cost of keeping them on death row for 10 years, including the cost of fighting their appeals.
So, those figures in 'Grim Reapings' don't add up and you can bet the abolitionists behind this phony propaganda damn well know it! The costs associated with the death penalty, when figured on a yearly basis for each individual person condemned to death, are a mere drop in the bucket of an annual state budget. Citing those costs as a good reason to abolish capital punishment is nothing more than one big con job!
Dorina Lisson, still passionately engaged in the fight to abolish capital punishment, sent me the following piece of propaganda:
GRIM REAPINGS: HOW THE COST OF U.S. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT ADDS UP
A number of US states are debating whether to abolish the death penalty in light of rising costs.
But how much does it cost to put a person to death?
Capital punishment in the US costs, on average, $1.9m more per case than life without parole.
California has the most expensive death penalty system of any state in the US.
With 721 people on death row but only 13 executions since 1978, the state has spent $4bn more than it would have if capital punishment were not available there.
(source: The Guardian)
Now here is why those cost figures are misleading. The biggest cost associated with the death penalty is what it costs to fight the endless appeals that are filed while a murderer sits on death row. The death row custodial costs are somewhat higher than those for the regular prison population. But as for those sentenced to life without parole, when you add up what it costs to keep them in prison for 30 or more years, it will cost more for a lifer than for an inmate awaiting execution. We’re still talking about millions of dollars to maintain those lifers.
California’s predicament is self-inflicted. The reason there are more than 700 scumbags roosting on death row is because the state’s appellate judges keep finding excuses to prevent any executions from taking place.
In the last few years, most of those executed in Texas had been on death row 8 – 10 years. Had they been sentenced to life without parole and lived for 30 – 40 years, the cost of maintaining them in the joint for life would far exceed the cost of keeping them on death row for 10 years, including the cost of fighting their appeals.
So, those figures in 'Grim Reapings' don't add up and you can bet the abolitionists behind this phony propaganda damn well know it! The costs associated with the death penalty, when figured on a yearly basis for each individual person condemned to death, are a mere drop in the bucket of an annual state budget. Citing those costs as a good reason to abolish capital punishment is nothing more than one big con job!
13-YEAR-OLD GIRL KILLED IN MEXICO WHILE 'DEAR WONDERFUL DADDY' SITS IN TEXAS PRISON
From Borderland Beat:
LITTLE MIKE GIVES DETAILS OF THE HORROR, AS A COMPLICATED FAMILY DYNAMIC UNFOLDS
Borderland Beat
December 29, 2011
“Dear Wonderful Daddy, I know we will make it there and back safely”
Those were the words of 13 year old Cristina Hartsell, in a letter she wrote to her father before her ill-fated trip to Mexico. Her father, Mike Hartsell Sr. was very concerned for their safety and had begged them not to go.
Below is a Star-Telegram article written by Anna Tinsley where little Mike recalls the traumatic bus attack:
Last week, Mike Hartsell was an ordinary 10-year-old, teasing his sisters during a family vacation in Mexico over the Christmas holidays. That changed in a matter of minutes. He is one of two children in his family who survived a deadly gun attack on their bus in the Mexican state of Veracruz -- where violence has escalated as two Mexican drug cartels battle. More than a half-dozen passengers were killed, including Mike's mother, Maria, his 18-year-old half-sister, Karla, and his 13-year-old sister, Cristina.
In one of his first interviews since returning to North Texas late Tuesday with his 15-year-old sister, Angie, Mike talked to the Star-Telegram on Wednesday about the horror of that day, four days before Christmas .He also talked about missing his father, who was recently sentenced to six years in prison on a charge of prohibited sexual contact. His paternal grandmother, Margaret Schneider of Cleburne, is working to get his father released from custody. Mike -- who family members say has been uncharacteristically reserved and quiet since returning home -- said he can't stop thinking about his mother, his sisters and the deadly bus ride he knows he was fortunate to survive. “I couldn't believe it happened," he said. "It feels like a dream.” ‘I want to be with him.
The Hartsells had gone to Mexico to be with his mother's family against the advice of their relatives in Texas, who were concerned with the dangerous conditions there. The American consulate has asked U.S. citizens to use caution when traveling to Veracruz and to avoid intercity travel at night. Mike said the bus they were riding on was driving through a rural area when it was suddenly stopped and he saw Mexican robbers -- who he called "Mafia" -- board. They shot the driver and began walking through the bus, slapping and threatening passengers. When one of the robbers approached his sister, Angie, who has Down syndrome, his mother told the man to leave her alone, saying "she's special."But "he slapped my sister and my mom went over and started hitting him," Mike said during a telephone interview conducted at his grandmother's home. The man spoke in Spanish, shoved Maria Hartsell to the floor of the bus and left. Then he returned quickly, this time carrying a gun. “He shot my mom and she fell down," Mike said quietly. His mother fell back on Karla, and as the man kept shooting, the bullets passed through Maria Hartsell, also killing her oldest daughter, family members said.
When his sister Cristina, who family members call "Tina," called out to try to help her mother, she also was shot and killed, he said. “When my mom got shot, I screamed at the same time my sister did and I tried to go to my mom, but my cousin held me back," he said. "Another cousin tried to help my mom, but he got shot. ... A guy near us told me to hush because he didn't want to get shot, too. “The gunmen were later killed by soldiers.
Maria, Karla and Cristina were buried in Mexico after the family couldn't raise the $6,000 the Mexican morgue said was necessary to bring them back to Texas. He said Mexican officials gave him his mom's purse and he often touches it and looks through it. "I'm thinking about her a lot," he said. After several days, family members were able to pick up Mike and Angie, who went into shock during the shootings, and bring them back to the United States. Mike has been to the hospital for a sore throat, some bumps and a rash on his hands. He also got medicine for a virus he got from tainted drinking water.
Now all he wants is to be with his father. He went to see him in the Burnet County Jail late Tuesday before returning home to Cleburne. He said he talked to him for about 30 minutes through a glass barrier about what he had gone through. “He said he loved me and I told him I loved him," the 10-year-old said. "I want to be with him. Me and Angie want to be with him.”
Schneider and Fort Worth attorney Paul Enlow are trying to contact criminal justice officials, seeking some sort of probation or early parole that would allow Mike's dad -- who has Huntington's disease that leads to mental and physical illness -- to be with his surviving children. The father, whose name is also Mike Hartsell, agreed to a plea bargain this month with the Johnson County district attorney's office that includes a six-year sentence for committing prohibited sexual conduct, Enlow said.The district attorney's office did not return a telephone call Wednesday from the Star-Telegram seeking comment. The elder Mike Hartsell was convicted of having improper contact with his stepdaughter Karla -- a charge he both denied and confessed to at one point after lengthy interrogation, which Enlow chalked up to his illness.No one has elaborated about the charge, saying only that it involves prohibited sexual conduct under Section 25.02 in the Texas Penal Code, which notes that sexual activity is a crime between many categories of people -- including stepparents and their current or previous stepchildren.
Hartsell is on suicide watch at the Burnet facility, Enlow said.Schneider said little about her son's conviction. She said her son was afraid that if he didn't accept the plea bargain, he might end up in prison for decades. She said she hopes there's a way he can be released early from prison to help raise his surviving children. “Little Mike loves his dad so much," Schneider said. "He's the only parent he has left."
LITTLE MIKE GIVES DETAILS OF THE HORROR, AS A COMPLICATED FAMILY DYNAMIC UNFOLDS
Borderland Beat
December 29, 2011
“Dear Wonderful Daddy, I know we will make it there and back safely”
Those were the words of 13 year old Cristina Hartsell, in a letter she wrote to her father before her ill-fated trip to Mexico. Her father, Mike Hartsell Sr. was very concerned for their safety and had begged them not to go.
Below is a Star-Telegram article written by Anna Tinsley where little Mike recalls the traumatic bus attack:
Last week, Mike Hartsell was an ordinary 10-year-old, teasing his sisters during a family vacation in Mexico over the Christmas holidays. That changed in a matter of minutes. He is one of two children in his family who survived a deadly gun attack on their bus in the Mexican state of Veracruz -- where violence has escalated as two Mexican drug cartels battle. More than a half-dozen passengers were killed, including Mike's mother, Maria, his 18-year-old half-sister, Karla, and his 13-year-old sister, Cristina.
In one of his first interviews since returning to North Texas late Tuesday with his 15-year-old sister, Angie, Mike talked to the Star-Telegram on Wednesday about the horror of that day, four days before Christmas .He also talked about missing his father, who was recently sentenced to six years in prison on a charge of prohibited sexual contact. His paternal grandmother, Margaret Schneider of Cleburne, is working to get his father released from custody. Mike -- who family members say has been uncharacteristically reserved and quiet since returning home -- said he can't stop thinking about his mother, his sisters and the deadly bus ride he knows he was fortunate to survive. “I couldn't believe it happened," he said. "It feels like a dream.” ‘I want to be with him.
The Hartsells had gone to Mexico to be with his mother's family against the advice of their relatives in Texas, who were concerned with the dangerous conditions there. The American consulate has asked U.S. citizens to use caution when traveling to Veracruz and to avoid intercity travel at night. Mike said the bus they were riding on was driving through a rural area when it was suddenly stopped and he saw Mexican robbers -- who he called "Mafia" -- board. They shot the driver and began walking through the bus, slapping and threatening passengers. When one of the robbers approached his sister, Angie, who has Down syndrome, his mother told the man to leave her alone, saying "she's special."But "he slapped my sister and my mom went over and started hitting him," Mike said during a telephone interview conducted at his grandmother's home. The man spoke in Spanish, shoved Maria Hartsell to the floor of the bus and left. Then he returned quickly, this time carrying a gun. “He shot my mom and she fell down," Mike said quietly. His mother fell back on Karla, and as the man kept shooting, the bullets passed through Maria Hartsell, also killing her oldest daughter, family members said.
When his sister Cristina, who family members call "Tina," called out to try to help her mother, she also was shot and killed, he said. “When my mom got shot, I screamed at the same time my sister did and I tried to go to my mom, but my cousin held me back," he said. "Another cousin tried to help my mom, but he got shot. ... A guy near us told me to hush because he didn't want to get shot, too. “The gunmen were later killed by soldiers.
Maria, Karla and Cristina were buried in Mexico after the family couldn't raise the $6,000 the Mexican morgue said was necessary to bring them back to Texas. He said Mexican officials gave him his mom's purse and he often touches it and looks through it. "I'm thinking about her a lot," he said. After several days, family members were able to pick up Mike and Angie, who went into shock during the shootings, and bring them back to the United States. Mike has been to the hospital for a sore throat, some bumps and a rash on his hands. He also got medicine for a virus he got from tainted drinking water.
Now all he wants is to be with his father. He went to see him in the Burnet County Jail late Tuesday before returning home to Cleburne. He said he talked to him for about 30 minutes through a glass barrier about what he had gone through. “He said he loved me and I told him I loved him," the 10-year-old said. "I want to be with him. Me and Angie want to be with him.”
Schneider and Fort Worth attorney Paul Enlow are trying to contact criminal justice officials, seeking some sort of probation or early parole that would allow Mike's dad -- who has Huntington's disease that leads to mental and physical illness -- to be with his surviving children. The father, whose name is also Mike Hartsell, agreed to a plea bargain this month with the Johnson County district attorney's office that includes a six-year sentence for committing prohibited sexual conduct, Enlow said.The district attorney's office did not return a telephone call Wednesday from the Star-Telegram seeking comment. The elder Mike Hartsell was convicted of having improper contact with his stepdaughter Karla -- a charge he both denied and confessed to at one point after lengthy interrogation, which Enlow chalked up to his illness.No one has elaborated about the charge, saying only that it involves prohibited sexual conduct under Section 25.02 in the Texas Penal Code, which notes that sexual activity is a crime between many categories of people -- including stepparents and their current or previous stepchildren.
Hartsell is on suicide watch at the Burnet facility, Enlow said.Schneider said little about her son's conviction. She said her son was afraid that if he didn't accept the plea bargain, he might end up in prison for decades. She said she hopes there's a way he can be released early from prison to help raise his surviving children. “Little Mike loves his dad so much," Schneider said. "He's the only parent he has left."
A WISE OLD JEWISH CABBIE
A drunk woman, stark naked, jumped into a taxi in New York City.
The taxi driver, who happened to be an old Jewish man, opened his eyes wide and stared at the woman. He made no attempt to start the cab.
She said to him, "What's wrong with you honey? Haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?"
The old man said "Lady, I'm not staring at you, I am telling you, det vould not be proper vair I come from".
She said, "Well, if you're not staring at my boobs sweetie, what are you doing then?"
He said, "Vell, I am looking and I'm looking, and I am tinking to myself, vair in da hell is dis lady keeping de money to pay for dis ride?"
The taxi driver, who happened to be an old Jewish man, opened his eyes wide and stared at the woman. He made no attempt to start the cab.
She said to him, "What's wrong with you honey? Haven't you ever seen a naked woman before?"
The old man said "Lady, I'm not staring at you, I am telling you, det vould not be proper vair I come from".
She said, "Well, if you're not staring at my boobs sweetie, what are you doing then?"
He said, "Vell, I am looking and I'm looking, and I am tinking to myself, vair in da hell is dis lady keeping de money to pay for dis ride?"
Thursday, December 29, 2011
THIS WILL MAKE THE GUN CONTROL CROWD CRINGE
The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence is trying to put the best face on the FBI stats by claiming that guns are being purchased by repeat gun buyers and making the dubious claim that the number of gun owners in this country is actually declining.
GUN SALES AT RECORD LEVELS, ACCORDING TO FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS
Almost half a million checks were done in just the last six days before Christmas
By Carol Cratty,
CNN
December 28, 2011
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- December holiday shoppers were not just interested in buying the hottest electronics and toys -- they also were purchasing record numbers of guns, according to the latest FBI figures on background checks required to buy firearms.
With a few days left in December, the FBI reports the number of background checks has already topped the previous one-month record -- set only in November -- of 1,534,414 inquiries by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also known as NICS. Almost half a million checks were done in just the last six days before Christmas.
Two days before Christmas, NICS ran 102,222 background checks, which was the second-busiest day in history. The one-day record was set this year on Black Friday, the big shopping day following Thanksgiving, with 129,166 searches. By comparison, the previous one-day high was set November 28, 2008, when gun dealers made slightly less than 98,000 requests for background searches.
It's not possible to tell exactly how many guns have been purchased because buyers often take home more than one gun. But most people pass the background checks. Only 1.3% of the searches result in people being denied permission to buy a weapon, said FBI spokesman Steve Fischer.
FBI officials did not offer a theory on the spike in gun sales. It's also not clear how many of the background checks were for people who never had owned guns before and how many were for gun owners adding to their collections.
The National Rifle Association says the figures indicate more people feel they need guns for self defense.
"I think there's an increased realization that when something bad occurs, it's going to be between them and the criminal," NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told CNN. Arulandandum said Americans realize police cannot be everywhere there's trouble and also that some officers are being laid off due to budget cutting.
The NRA spokesman also said an increased number of Americans are participating in skeet shooting and other gun sports.
A leading gun-control organization says repeat buyers most likely are responsible for the holiday surge in guns sales.
"The research we've seen indicates fewer and fewer people are owning more and more guns," said Caroline Brewer of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "All the trends indicate the number of Americans who own guns has declined."
"It would appear because of fear-mongering by the NRA since (President Barack) Obama's election that people are adding more guns to their arsenals out of fear Obama and the Democrats will take away their guns, which is absurd," said Brewer.
GUN SALES AT RECORD LEVELS, ACCORDING TO FBI BACKGROUND CHECKS
Almost half a million checks were done in just the last six days before Christmas
By Carol Cratty,
CNN
December 28, 2011
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- December holiday shoppers were not just interested in buying the hottest electronics and toys -- they also were purchasing record numbers of guns, according to the latest FBI figures on background checks required to buy firearms.
With a few days left in December, the FBI reports the number of background checks has already topped the previous one-month record -- set only in November -- of 1,534,414 inquiries by gun dealers to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System also known as NICS. Almost half a million checks were done in just the last six days before Christmas.
Two days before Christmas, NICS ran 102,222 background checks, which was the second-busiest day in history. The one-day record was set this year on Black Friday, the big shopping day following Thanksgiving, with 129,166 searches. By comparison, the previous one-day high was set November 28, 2008, when gun dealers made slightly less than 98,000 requests for background searches.
It's not possible to tell exactly how many guns have been purchased because buyers often take home more than one gun. But most people pass the background checks. Only 1.3% of the searches result in people being denied permission to buy a weapon, said FBI spokesman Steve Fischer.
FBI officials did not offer a theory on the spike in gun sales. It's also not clear how many of the background checks were for people who never had owned guns before and how many were for gun owners adding to their collections.
The National Rifle Association says the figures indicate more people feel they need guns for self defense.
"I think there's an increased realization that when something bad occurs, it's going to be between them and the criminal," NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam told CNN. Arulandandum said Americans realize police cannot be everywhere there's trouble and also that some officers are being laid off due to budget cutting.
The NRA spokesman also said an increased number of Americans are participating in skeet shooting and other gun sports.
A leading gun-control organization says repeat buyers most likely are responsible for the holiday surge in guns sales.
"The research we've seen indicates fewer and fewer people are owning more and more guns," said Caroline Brewer of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "All the trends indicate the number of Americans who own guns has declined."
"It would appear because of fear-mongering by the NRA since (President Barack) Obama's election that people are adding more guns to their arsenals out of fear Obama and the Democrats will take away their guns, which is absurd," said Brewer.
ANOTHER 'CHANGE AND HOPE' EXPECTATION DOWN THE DRAIN
Howard LaFranchi notes that Obama’s ‘Let’s Talk, Not Fight’ proposals for Iran, Syria and North Korea have been a flop. Here’s how he flopped with Venezuela.
HAS OBAMA’S ‘LET’S TALK’ APPROACH WORKED WITH VENEZUELA?
One of Obama’s objectives entering the White House was to show that dialogue could be more effective than confrontations with U.S. adversaries
By Howard LaFranchi
Jewish World Review
December 28, 2011
WASHINGTON — When Barack Obama entered the White House in January 2009 on the heels of George W. Bush, one of his objectives was to demonstrate that engaging in a dialogue with America's adversaries could be more effective than confrontation in addressing such prickly foreign policy concerns as nuclear proliferation and authoritarian regimes.
Some three years later, the media salvos President Obama launched against Venezuelan strong man Hugo Chavez were a small but striking reminder that the "talking with the enemy" approach has had few successes.
President Chavez has rarely been at a loss for words in his 13-year rule over his oil-producing South American country, and he remained true to form this week after Obama told a Caracas newspaper that the US is "deeply concerned" about restrictions on personal freedoms and the erosion in the separation of powers in Venezuela.
"Leave us alone," Mr. Chavez shot back on state television. Calling Obama a "clown," the Latin leftist then advised the US president to "focus on governing your country, which you've turned into a disaster."
It was a sharp contrast from the days, early in the administration, when Venezuela was considered to be one of the easier adversaries to win over with dialogue. The two countries exchanged ambassadors again after having called them home at a breaking point in relations in 2008, and Obama and Chavez shook hands and smiled for cameras at a regional summit in 2009.
But the handshakes never transitioned to conversations, as each country accused the other of hegemonic actions in South America, and Chavez deepened his relations with other American antagonists including Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Chavez is up for reelection in October and Obama in November, but neither leader will look to the other for support.
HAS OBAMA’S ‘LET’S TALK’ APPROACH WORKED WITH VENEZUELA?
One of Obama’s objectives entering the White House was to show that dialogue could be more effective than confrontations with U.S. adversaries
By Howard LaFranchi
Jewish World Review
December 28, 2011
WASHINGTON — When Barack Obama entered the White House in January 2009 on the heels of George W. Bush, one of his objectives was to demonstrate that engaging in a dialogue with America's adversaries could be more effective than confrontation in addressing such prickly foreign policy concerns as nuclear proliferation and authoritarian regimes.
Some three years later, the media salvos President Obama launched against Venezuelan strong man Hugo Chavez were a small but striking reminder that the "talking with the enemy" approach has had few successes.
President Chavez has rarely been at a loss for words in his 13-year rule over his oil-producing South American country, and he remained true to form this week after Obama told a Caracas newspaper that the US is "deeply concerned" about restrictions on personal freedoms and the erosion in the separation of powers in Venezuela.
"Leave us alone," Mr. Chavez shot back on state television. Calling Obama a "clown," the Latin leftist then advised the US president to "focus on governing your country, which you've turned into a disaster."
It was a sharp contrast from the days, early in the administration, when Venezuela was considered to be one of the easier adversaries to win over with dialogue. The two countries exchanged ambassadors again after having called them home at a breaking point in relations in 2008, and Obama and Chavez shook hands and smiled for cameras at a regional summit in 2009.
But the handshakes never transitioned to conversations, as each country accused the other of hegemonic actions in South America, and Chavez deepened his relations with other American antagonists including Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Chavez is up for reelection in October and Obama in November, but neither leader will look to the other for support.
THAT BEER IN THE CAR? WHAT BEER?
Not tested for alcohol? Hmm, I wonder if there might not be a cover-up here?
NM COP CRASHES CRUISER INTO RESTAURANT
No blood alcohol test was performed while the sheriff’s deputy was at the hospital
By Karen Peterson
Albuquerque Journal
December 28, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE — A Taos County sheriff's deputy crashed his car into a packed El Prado restaurant on Christmas Eve, landing in the patio.
As the deputy's car spun and rolled through the parking lot into the patio, it took out more than half of the restaurant's fence and three trees before coming to rest on the patio fire pit, in an area where there also was a tank of kerosene and a propane tank, said a restaurant employee who was in the restaurant at the time.
The car stopped "just inches" from the patio's winter-weather tent, which was packed for Christmas Eve dinner when the crash happened about 8 p.m., said Christina Garcia,who was on duty at Orlando's New Mexico Cafe.
"We were afraid the car was going to blow up," Garcia said. "A group of boys sitting on our porch got the fire pit and pulled it out — one boy burned his hand," she said. "Then they pulled the kerosene and the propane tank out of the way and got the officer out of the car."
Taos County Sheriff Miguel Romero said Deputy Nicholas Lamendola was responding to a call in Questa. With his lights flashing and siren engaged, he was traveling fast through traffic on the north side of Taos when a car at the side of the roadway pulled out in front of him. As Lamendola's car spun and rolled, it badly damaged three cars in Orlando's parking lot.
Beer cans were found in the deputy's car, but Romero was adamant that Lamendola had not been drinking. "He had just borrowed the vehicle from another officer, and that officer had responded to open container calls," Romero said. "(Lamendola) wasn't drinking."
Lamendola, who suffered only minor injuries, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos where a urine test was performed, as required by department policy, Romero said. The test came back negative "for any kind of drug."
New Mexico State Police are investigating the crash. Spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald said that to his knowledge, no blood alcohol test had been performed while Lamendola was at the hospital.
"There was no reason to, as far as I know," McDonald said.
NM COP CRASHES CRUISER INTO RESTAURANT
No blood alcohol test was performed while the sheriff’s deputy was at the hospital
By Karen Peterson
Albuquerque Journal
December 28, 2011
ALBUQUERQUE — A Taos County sheriff's deputy crashed his car into a packed El Prado restaurant on Christmas Eve, landing in the patio.
As the deputy's car spun and rolled through the parking lot into the patio, it took out more than half of the restaurant's fence and three trees before coming to rest on the patio fire pit, in an area where there also was a tank of kerosene and a propane tank, said a restaurant employee who was in the restaurant at the time.
The car stopped "just inches" from the patio's winter-weather tent, which was packed for Christmas Eve dinner when the crash happened about 8 p.m., said Christina Garcia,who was on duty at Orlando's New Mexico Cafe.
"We were afraid the car was going to blow up," Garcia said. "A group of boys sitting on our porch got the fire pit and pulled it out — one boy burned his hand," she said. "Then they pulled the kerosene and the propane tank out of the way and got the officer out of the car."
Taos County Sheriff Miguel Romero said Deputy Nicholas Lamendola was responding to a call in Questa. With his lights flashing and siren engaged, he was traveling fast through traffic on the north side of Taos when a car at the side of the roadway pulled out in front of him. As Lamendola's car spun and rolled, it badly damaged three cars in Orlando's parking lot.
Beer cans were found in the deputy's car, but Romero was adamant that Lamendola had not been drinking. "He had just borrowed the vehicle from another officer, and that officer had responded to open container calls," Romero said. "(Lamendola) wasn't drinking."
Lamendola, who suffered only minor injuries, was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Taos where a urine test was performed, as required by department policy, Romero said. The test came back negative "for any kind of drug."
New Mexico State Police are investigating the crash. Spokesman Lt. Robert McDonald said that to his knowledge, no blood alcohol test had been performed while Lamendola was at the hospital.
"There was no reason to, as far as I know," McDonald said.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
WRONGFUL INCARCERATIONS DUE TO BOTCHED IDs ARE A SHAMEFUL DISGRACE
There is absolutely no excuse for locking people up because of botched IDs. The number of poor bastards locked up under these circumstances is alarming.
ID ERRORS PUT HUNDREDS IN COUNTY JAIL
Wrongful incarcerations totaled 1,480 in the last five years, a Times inquiry finds
By Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard
Los Angeles Times
December 25, 2011
Hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jails in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized those arrested were mistaken for wanted criminals, a Times investigation has found.
The wrongful incarcerations occurred more than 1,480 times in the last five years. They were the result of a variety of factors, including officials' overlooking fingerprint evidence and working off incomplete records.
The errors are so common that in some years people were jailed because of mistaken identity an average of once a day.
Many of those wrongly held inside the county's lockups had the same names as criminals or had their identities stolen -- problems that took days or weeks for authorities to sort out.
In one case, a mechanic held for nine days in 1989 on a warrant meant for someone else was detained again 20 years later on the same warrant. He was jailed for more than a month the second time before the error was discovered.
In another instance, a Nissan customer service supervisor was hauled by authorities from Tennessee to L.A. County on a local sex-crimes warrant meant for someone with a similar name.
In a third case, a former construction worker mistaken for a wanted drug offender said he was assaulted by inmates and ignored by jailers.
"I'm with criminals, and I was a criminal to them," said Jose Ventura, 53, who had never been arrested before.
The problems continue because of a breakdown not just by jail officials but by police who arrest the wrong people and by the courts, which have issued warrants that did not precisely identify the right people.
Sheriff's officials said they make every effort to avoid detaining the wrong suspects. They pointed out that the number of people wrongly identified as wanted criminals makes up a tiny fraction of the 15,000 inmates in the county's jails at any given time. The Sheriff's Department produced the tally of people who were jailed because of misidentification in response to a Times Public Records Act request.
The errors occur in jails up and down the state, and many of the misidentified inmates in the L.A. County sheriff's jails were arrested by law enforcement agencies outside the county.
In California, criminals are assigned a unique nine-digit number matched to their fingerprints. Some warrants issued by judges fail to include those identifiers, making it more difficult for police and jailers to determine whether they have the right suspect.
When those fingerprint numbers are included, police agencies sometimes fail to determine why the arrested person has a different number or no number at all. In those cases, authorities could catch the error by obtaining the wanted criminal's fingerprints from the state Department of Justice and comparing them with those of the person in custody.
"It's bureaucratic sloth and indifference," said attorney Donald W. Cook, who has represented more than a dozen clients mistakenly held on warrants issued for other people. "They don't want to take the heat for letting someone go who a cop has decided, no matter how tentatively, is the subject of a warrant."
Those mistakenly arrested told The Times that they were ignored when they pleaded with police and jail staff about their innocence. In the county jails, the Sheriff's Department has a policy to launch investigations when inmates protest during booking that they are not the wanted people. But records show the department conducted investigations for only a small fraction of the people who courts eventually ruled were not the right suspects.
Sheriff's officials said they are bombarded with false innocence claims from inmates. It would be impossible to check every claim, they said, and jailers' authority to release an inmate ordered detained by a judge is limited.
"People lie to us about who they are all the time," said sheriff's Cmdr. David Fender.
Victims of mistaken identification typically go through several rounds of checks before they land in L.A. County Jail. Arresting officers use the name, birth date and driver's license number of the person they stop to check for warrants. The first fingerprint check is usually done when officers bring the people they arrest to the police station where they are booked. From there, inmates are taken either to court or directly to county jail.
Once inmates arrive at the jail, officials there review the fingerprints again and compare what's on a warrant to the personal information for the inmate. But sheriff's officials maintain that their top priority is to hold people awaiting court hearings rather than questioning the validity of the arrests.
"It's not our position or authority to check the work of every police agency in the county," said sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker.
The number of mistaken identifications per year has been declining, but the department is still on pace to record nearly 200 wrongful detentions this year. For those who are jailed, the experience can be harrowing.
ID ERRORS PUT HUNDREDS IN COUNTY JAIL
Wrongful incarcerations totaled 1,480 in the last five years, a Times inquiry finds
By Robert Faturechi and Jack Leonard
Los Angeles Times
December 25, 2011
Hundreds of people have been wrongly imprisoned inside the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department jails in recent years, with some spending weeks behind bars before authorities realized those arrested were mistaken for wanted criminals, a Times investigation has found.
The wrongful incarcerations occurred more than 1,480 times in the last five years. They were the result of a variety of factors, including officials' overlooking fingerprint evidence and working off incomplete records.
The errors are so common that in some years people were jailed because of mistaken identity an average of once a day.
Many of those wrongly held inside the county's lockups had the same names as criminals or had their identities stolen -- problems that took days or weeks for authorities to sort out.
In one case, a mechanic held for nine days in 1989 on a warrant meant for someone else was detained again 20 years later on the same warrant. He was jailed for more than a month the second time before the error was discovered.
In another instance, a Nissan customer service supervisor was hauled by authorities from Tennessee to L.A. County on a local sex-crimes warrant meant for someone with a similar name.
In a third case, a former construction worker mistaken for a wanted drug offender said he was assaulted by inmates and ignored by jailers.
"I'm with criminals, and I was a criminal to them," said Jose Ventura, 53, who had never been arrested before.
The problems continue because of a breakdown not just by jail officials but by police who arrest the wrong people and by the courts, which have issued warrants that did not precisely identify the right people.
Sheriff's officials said they make every effort to avoid detaining the wrong suspects. They pointed out that the number of people wrongly identified as wanted criminals makes up a tiny fraction of the 15,000 inmates in the county's jails at any given time. The Sheriff's Department produced the tally of people who were jailed because of misidentification in response to a Times Public Records Act request.
The errors occur in jails up and down the state, and many of the misidentified inmates in the L.A. County sheriff's jails were arrested by law enforcement agencies outside the county.
In California, criminals are assigned a unique nine-digit number matched to their fingerprints. Some warrants issued by judges fail to include those identifiers, making it more difficult for police and jailers to determine whether they have the right suspect.
When those fingerprint numbers are included, police agencies sometimes fail to determine why the arrested person has a different number or no number at all. In those cases, authorities could catch the error by obtaining the wanted criminal's fingerprints from the state Department of Justice and comparing them with those of the person in custody.
"It's bureaucratic sloth and indifference," said attorney Donald W. Cook, who has represented more than a dozen clients mistakenly held on warrants issued for other people. "They don't want to take the heat for letting someone go who a cop has decided, no matter how tentatively, is the subject of a warrant."
Those mistakenly arrested told The Times that they were ignored when they pleaded with police and jail staff about their innocence. In the county jails, the Sheriff's Department has a policy to launch investigations when inmates protest during booking that they are not the wanted people. But records show the department conducted investigations for only a small fraction of the people who courts eventually ruled were not the right suspects.
Sheriff's officials said they are bombarded with false innocence claims from inmates. It would be impossible to check every claim, they said, and jailers' authority to release an inmate ordered detained by a judge is limited.
"People lie to us about who they are all the time," said sheriff's Cmdr. David Fender.
Victims of mistaken identification typically go through several rounds of checks before they land in L.A. County Jail. Arresting officers use the name, birth date and driver's license number of the person they stop to check for warrants. The first fingerprint check is usually done when officers bring the people they arrest to the police station where they are booked. From there, inmates are taken either to court or directly to county jail.
Once inmates arrive at the jail, officials there review the fingerprints again and compare what's on a warrant to the personal information for the inmate. But sheriff's officials maintain that their top priority is to hold people awaiting court hearings rather than questioning the validity of the arrests.
"It's not our position or authority to check the work of every police agency in the county," said sheriff's Capt. Mike Parker.
The number of mistaken identifications per year has been declining, but the department is still on pace to record nearly 200 wrongful detentions this year. For those who are jailed, the experience can be harrowing.
KOOKY CANDIDATE RON PAUL
Ron Paul has said that we should not have gone to war with Hitler. He also said that Mossad, Israel’s CIA, was behind the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, saying the Mossad agents did it so that the Arabs and Muslims would be blamed.
Paul has said that we should not have killed Osama bin Laden. Instead we should have asked the Pakistani Authorities to arrest him and turn him over to us for trial. Like the Pakistanis were going to bust him when for years Osama had been living within a stone’s throw of their military officer candidate school.
Ron now disavows the racist and anti-Semitic newsletters he put out years ago, saying that he never read them. If you believe that, you are kookier than he is.
EX-AIDE: RON PAUL’S FOREIGN POLICY IS ‘SHEER LUNACY’
A disillusioned former aide publishes scathing allegations, saying that Paul harbors anti-Israel views and is a 9/11 truther
By Jill Lawrence
The Atlantic
December 27, 2011
Ron Paul is not having the best holiday season. First the media discovered racist, anti-Semitic newsletters that went out under Paul's name in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Then The New York Times did a story about the support Paul draws from white supremacists and anti-Semites.
Now there's former Paul staffer Eric Dondero purporting to describe the ins and outs of Paul's positions on everything from Israel (it shouldn't exist) to Hitler (we shouldn't have fought him) to 9/11 (U.S. authorities may have known about the attacks) to Afghanistan (we shouldn't have invaded). He calls Paul's foreign policy "sheer lunacy."
Or, as the conservative Weekly Standard summarized in its headline: "Ex-Aide Says Ron Paul Is a 9/11 Truther & Isolationist Who Thinks U.S. Shouldn't Have Fought Hitler."
In his 2,100-word piece, posted at RightwingNews.com, Dondero says he held several campaign and Capitol Hill posts with Paul over a 15-year period from 1987 to 2003. At his own website, LibertarianRepublican.net, he said he was revealing much of the information for the first time. "Much of what I have to say will not please the liberal media hacks. Though, the Ron Paul diehards will find much objectionable, as well," Dondero wrote.
Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton, in a statement circulated to the media, called Dondero "a disgruntled former staffer who was fired for performance issues. He has zero credibility and should not be taken seriously."
Still, Dondero's bill of particulars was getting wide pickup on Twitter and on conservative sites such as the Weekly Standard, National Review and HotAir.
Dondero goes out of his way to say that Paul is not anti-Semitic or a racist. He said Paul has hired many black and Hispanic employees and "I never heard a racist word expressed towards Blacks or Jews come out of his mouth. Not once." In fact, Paul's current campaign spokesman, Gary Howard, is black.
Still, any way you cut it, the picture Dondero paints isn't pretty. Among his contentions:
--Paul is anti-Israel. "His view is that Israel is more trouble than it is worth, specifically to the America taxpayer. He sides with the Palestinians, and supports their calls for the abolishment of the Jewish state, and the return of Israel, all of it, to the Arabs."
--"He is not all bigoted towards homosexuals. He supports their rights to do whatever they please in their private lives. He is however, personally uncomfortable around homosexuals" and refused to use a bathroom in a gay supporter's home.
--"Ron Paul was opposed to the War in Afghanistan, and to any military reaction to the attacks of 9/11." He planned to vote against the invasion despite threats of staff resignations and a constituent uproar, Dondero says; he changed his mind at the last minute.
"If Ron Paul should be slammed for anything, it's not some silly remarks he's made in the past in his Newsletters. It's over his simply outrageously horrendous views on foreign policy, Israel, and national security for the United States. His near No vote on Afghanistan. That is the big scandal," he concludes.
Paul has said he did not know what was in the newsletters. The Times looks at the newsletter issue more broadly, and gets Paul to comment on his less savory supporters. He told the newspaper that he rejects their extremist views but not their backing.
--CBS's Rodney Hawkins contributed.
Paul has said that we should not have killed Osama bin Laden. Instead we should have asked the Pakistani Authorities to arrest him and turn him over to us for trial. Like the Pakistanis were going to bust him when for years Osama had been living within a stone’s throw of their military officer candidate school.
Ron now disavows the racist and anti-Semitic newsletters he put out years ago, saying that he never read them. If you believe that, you are kookier than he is.
EX-AIDE: RON PAUL’S FOREIGN POLICY IS ‘SHEER LUNACY’
A disillusioned former aide publishes scathing allegations, saying that Paul harbors anti-Israel views and is a 9/11 truther
By Jill Lawrence
The Atlantic
December 27, 2011
Ron Paul is not having the best holiday season. First the media discovered racist, anti-Semitic newsletters that went out under Paul's name in the 1970s, '80s and '90s. Then The New York Times did a story about the support Paul draws from white supremacists and anti-Semites.
Now there's former Paul staffer Eric Dondero purporting to describe the ins and outs of Paul's positions on everything from Israel (it shouldn't exist) to Hitler (we shouldn't have fought him) to 9/11 (U.S. authorities may have known about the attacks) to Afghanistan (we shouldn't have invaded). He calls Paul's foreign policy "sheer lunacy."
Or, as the conservative Weekly Standard summarized in its headline: "Ex-Aide Says Ron Paul Is a 9/11 Truther & Isolationist Who Thinks U.S. Shouldn't Have Fought Hitler."
In his 2,100-word piece, posted at RightwingNews.com, Dondero says he held several campaign and Capitol Hill posts with Paul over a 15-year period from 1987 to 2003. At his own website, LibertarianRepublican.net, he said he was revealing much of the information for the first time. "Much of what I have to say will not please the liberal media hacks. Though, the Ron Paul diehards will find much objectionable, as well," Dondero wrote.
Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton, in a statement circulated to the media, called Dondero "a disgruntled former staffer who was fired for performance issues. He has zero credibility and should not be taken seriously."
Still, Dondero's bill of particulars was getting wide pickup on Twitter and on conservative sites such as the Weekly Standard, National Review and HotAir.
Dondero goes out of his way to say that Paul is not anti-Semitic or a racist. He said Paul has hired many black and Hispanic employees and "I never heard a racist word expressed towards Blacks or Jews come out of his mouth. Not once." In fact, Paul's current campaign spokesman, Gary Howard, is black.
Still, any way you cut it, the picture Dondero paints isn't pretty. Among his contentions:
--Paul is anti-Israel. "His view is that Israel is more trouble than it is worth, specifically to the America taxpayer. He sides with the Palestinians, and supports their calls for the abolishment of the Jewish state, and the return of Israel, all of it, to the Arabs."
--"He is not all bigoted towards homosexuals. He supports their rights to do whatever they please in their private lives. He is however, personally uncomfortable around homosexuals" and refused to use a bathroom in a gay supporter's home.
--"Ron Paul was opposed to the War in Afghanistan, and to any military reaction to the attacks of 9/11." He planned to vote against the invasion despite threats of staff resignations and a constituent uproar, Dondero says; he changed his mind at the last minute.
"If Ron Paul should be slammed for anything, it's not some silly remarks he's made in the past in his Newsletters. It's over his simply outrageously horrendous views on foreign policy, Israel, and national security for the United States. His near No vote on Afghanistan. That is the big scandal," he concludes.
Paul has said he did not know what was in the newsletters. The Times looks at the newsletter issue more broadly, and gets Paul to comment on his less savory supporters. He told the newspaper that he rejects their extremist views but not their backing.
--CBS's Rodney Hawkins contributed.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
SECRET SERVICE POUNCES ON BABY AND MOTHER
By Ima Schmuck
The Schalotte
December 26, 2011
HONOLULU – On Christmas Day, four Secret Service agents pounced on a baby and his mother after eight-month-old Cooper Wall Wagner stuck his right hand in and grabbed the mouth of President Obama while he was visiting a Marine Corps base during his Hawaiian vacation.
Meredith Wagner, who had been holding her baby, and Cooper were whisked away by the sunglass-clad agents as the baby’s shocked father, Marine Capt. Greg Wagner, was left looking on in utter amazement.
The mother and baby were reported to be detained at the Honolulu headquarters of the Secret Service pending an investigation to determine if Cooper would be charged with assaulting the President of the United States and his mother with being an accessory to the assault.
The Schalotte contacted Mark Sullivan, Director of the Secret Service, and Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, and asked them if the Secret Service agents might have overreacted in pouncing on the baby and his mother.
“Absolutely not,” said Sullivan. “The agents were responsible for protecting the president. They had no way of knowing whether or not the baby had some kind of poison in his hand. They acted prudently and will be awarded the Secret Service’s highest honor.”
Napolitano said she agreed with Director Sullivan. When asked why the baby and mother were being detained, Napolitano replied, “In cases like this, we have to take every precaution to make sure that the president was not the target of an assassination plot. . If the investigation shows this to be the innocent act of an eight-month-old boy, he and his mother will be released.”
Both Sullivan and Napolitano said the investigation would be thorough and would take some time.
On the other hand, President Obama laughed the whole incident off, joking that the baby just liked his big nose.
The Schalotte
December 26, 2011
HONOLULU – On Christmas Day, four Secret Service agents pounced on a baby and his mother after eight-month-old Cooper Wall Wagner stuck his right hand in and grabbed the mouth of President Obama while he was visiting a Marine Corps base during his Hawaiian vacation.
Meredith Wagner, who had been holding her baby, and Cooper were whisked away by the sunglass-clad agents as the baby’s shocked father, Marine Capt. Greg Wagner, was left looking on in utter amazement.
The mother and baby were reported to be detained at the Honolulu headquarters of the Secret Service pending an investigation to determine if Cooper would be charged with assaulting the President of the United States and his mother with being an accessory to the assault.
The Schalotte contacted Mark Sullivan, Director of the Secret Service, and Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Homeland Security, and asked them if the Secret Service agents might have overreacted in pouncing on the baby and his mother.
“Absolutely not,” said Sullivan. “The agents were responsible for protecting the president. They had no way of knowing whether or not the baby had some kind of poison in his hand. They acted prudently and will be awarded the Secret Service’s highest honor.”
Napolitano said she agreed with Director Sullivan. When asked why the baby and mother were being detained, Napolitano replied, “In cases like this, we have to take every precaution to make sure that the president was not the target of an assassination plot. . If the investigation shows this to be the innocent act of an eight-month-old boy, he and his mother will be released.”
Both Sullivan and Napolitano said the investigation would be thorough and would take some time.
On the other hand, President Obama laughed the whole incident off, joking that the baby just liked his big nose.
RON PAUL SAYS PARENTS SHOULD BE FREE TO RISK THE HEALTH OF THEIR CHILDREN
By Pamela Putz
The Schalotte
December 26, 2011
NBC Today has repeated a special report on the carbon monoxide poisoning of children that play ice hockey and figure skate in indoor ice arenas. The carbon monoxide is released by the use of gasoline-powered ice resurfacing Zambonis and by gasoline-powered ice edgers. A number of children have had to be hospitalized. Not only have children been sickened, but adults have been poisoned as well.
The Today Show reported that in the past year alone 250 people have been seriously poisoned by CO fumes in ice arenas. Former Ice Capades star, Linda Davis, was interviewed and stated that the cumulative exposures she has experienced since she started skating at the age of 6 have caused her to have memory lapses and lung damage so severe that she’s required to use a respirator.
NBC also reported that there are currently no federal laws requiring clean air in ice arenas and only three states, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, regulate air quality in their arenas. It was reported that many ice arenas continue to use gasoline-powered Zambonis because modern, battery-powered resurfacing vehicles cost twice as much to purchase. Officials from the EPA and four members of Congress declined to speak with NBC when contacted at their offices.
The Schalotte contacted Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul to get their reaction to demands for the federal government to regulate the carbon monoxide levels in indoor ice arenas.
Palin, who has billed herself as a ‘hockey mom,’ said carbon monoxide was not a problem in Alaska because most of the hockey is played on outdoor skating rinks. “As for indoor rinks, I would want to go slow with any government regulations because the overzealous bureaucrats at the EPA would put most indoor ice skating facilities out of business.”
Mitt Romney said his kids had played hockey and figure skated. “As a presidential candidate I am opposed to additional government regulations, but as a father I believe the government should step in to provide for the safety of our children.”
Ron Paul said, “As a libertarian I am opposed to government regulations. The government has no business intervening in the personal lives of its citizens. If parents want to risk the health of their children by letting them play hockey in carbon monoxide filled arenas, they should be free to do so without any government interference.”
The Schalotte
December 26, 2011
NBC Today has repeated a special report on the carbon monoxide poisoning of children that play ice hockey and figure skate in indoor ice arenas. The carbon monoxide is released by the use of gasoline-powered ice resurfacing Zambonis and by gasoline-powered ice edgers. A number of children have had to be hospitalized. Not only have children been sickened, but adults have been poisoned as well.
The Today Show reported that in the past year alone 250 people have been seriously poisoned by CO fumes in ice arenas. Former Ice Capades star, Linda Davis, was interviewed and stated that the cumulative exposures she has experienced since she started skating at the age of 6 have caused her to have memory lapses and lung damage so severe that she’s required to use a respirator.
NBC also reported that there are currently no federal laws requiring clean air in ice arenas and only three states, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Rhode Island, regulate air quality in their arenas. It was reported that many ice arenas continue to use gasoline-powered Zambonis because modern, battery-powered resurfacing vehicles cost twice as much to purchase. Officials from the EPA and four members of Congress declined to speak with NBC when contacted at their offices.
The Schalotte contacted Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney and Ron Paul to get their reaction to demands for the federal government to regulate the carbon monoxide levels in indoor ice arenas.
Palin, who has billed herself as a ‘hockey mom,’ said carbon monoxide was not a problem in Alaska because most of the hockey is played on outdoor skating rinks. “As for indoor rinks, I would want to go slow with any government regulations because the overzealous bureaucrats at the EPA would put most indoor ice skating facilities out of business.”
Mitt Romney said his kids had played hockey and figure skated. “As a presidential candidate I am opposed to additional government regulations, but as a father I believe the government should step in to provide for the safety of our children.”
Ron Paul said, “As a libertarian I am opposed to government regulations. The government has no business intervening in the personal lives of its citizens. If parents want to risk the health of their children by letting them play hockey in carbon monoxide filled arenas, they should be free to do so without any government interference.”
IRAN RETALIATES AGAINST THE GREAT SATAN'S SANCTIONS
By Adolf der Schweinehund
The Schalotte
December 26, 2011
TEHRAN -- Saturday’s Houston Chronicle published an article by Matthew Tresaugue about the Asian black tiger prawn, a foot-long crustacean with a voracious appetite and a proclivity for disease, that has invaded the northern Gulf of Mexico, threatening prized native species, from crabs and oysters to smaller brown and white shrimp. Gulf shrimpers and oystermen already hurting from the BP oil spill as well as adverse ecological conditions, are worried that the black tiger prawns - which can grow up to 13 inches long - will wipe out their shrimp and oyster crop.
The Schalotte decided to investigate how this cannibalistic species from the western Pacific invaded the Gulf. We found several shrimpers that had caught black tigers and discovered several of them with Chinese tags on them. We then contacted Zhang Yesui, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the U.S. to inquire about the tags. Zhang asked us to wait while he made several phone calls to his homeland. After nearly an hour he had an answer for us.
Zhang explained that “my government shipped thousands of Asian black tiger prawns to our Iranian friends. You will have to contact the government of Iran for an explanation about how they ended up in the Gulf.”
Since they had previously granted us an interview, The Schalotte returned to Iran where we were granted another interview with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The interviews were conducted with the help of Fereshteh Zamaani Fard, our trusted interpreter.
THE INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD:
Q: Mr. President, thank you for giving The Schalotte another interview.
A: You are welcome since you are not a Jew.
Q: Now Mr. President, the Northern Gulf of Mexico has been invaded by Asian black tiger prawns that are destroying America’s shrimp and oyster crop. The Chinese have told The Schalotte that the black tigers found in the Gulf had been shipped to Iran. Could you please explain how they ended up in the Gulf.
A: No problem Mr. Schweinehund. We sent two of our super trawlers to the Gulf and dumped the black tigers along the coast for 100 kilometers east and 100 kilometers west of New Orleans.
Q: Wow! Why did Iran to that?
A: I’ll be happy to tell you why. The United States – the Great Satan – has imposed sanctions on us because we will not stop the nuclear program that we are developing for peaceful purposes only. Your country has prevented companies from trading with Iran and has frozen millions of dollars that are deposited in your banks. Those sanctions have hurt the Iranian people. So, we are going to hurt your people too and dumping the black tiger prawns is one way of doing that.
Q: So you dumped the black tigers in the Gulf in retaliation for the sanctions?
A: Exactly! And if your government doesn’t like it, well, it can just … how do you say it in America …take a flying fuck!
Q: Thank you Mr. President.
THE INTERVIEW WITH SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI:
Q: Thank you your holiness for giving The Schalotte another interview.
A: You are welcome since you are not a Jew. May the curse of Allah be on the Jews!
Q: Now sir, your government has admitted dumping thousands of Asian black tiger prawns in the Gulf of Mexico in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on Iran by the American government. That is going to hurt the American people because those prawns are destroying America’s shrimp and oyster crop. Your holiness, doesn’t that go against the teachings of the holy Quran?
A: Not at all young man! The holy Quran teaches us to deal harshly with our enemies. Not only that, but the bible of the filthy Jews that you Christians also follow, calls for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. May the curse of Allah be on the Jews! So our retaliation against the Great Satan has the blessings of Allah.
Q: Thank you again for giving us another opportunity to interview you, your holiness.
A: You are welcome. May the blessings of Allah be with you.
The Schalotte
December 26, 2011
TEHRAN -- Saturday’s Houston Chronicle published an article by Matthew Tresaugue about the Asian black tiger prawn, a foot-long crustacean with a voracious appetite and a proclivity for disease, that has invaded the northern Gulf of Mexico, threatening prized native species, from crabs and oysters to smaller brown and white shrimp. Gulf shrimpers and oystermen already hurting from the BP oil spill as well as adverse ecological conditions, are worried that the black tiger prawns - which can grow up to 13 inches long - will wipe out their shrimp and oyster crop.
The Schalotte decided to investigate how this cannibalistic species from the western Pacific invaded the Gulf. We found several shrimpers that had caught black tigers and discovered several of them with Chinese tags on them. We then contacted Zhang Yesui, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to the U.S. to inquire about the tags. Zhang asked us to wait while he made several phone calls to his homeland. After nearly an hour he had an answer for us.
Zhang explained that “my government shipped thousands of Asian black tiger prawns to our Iranian friends. You will have to contact the government of Iran for an explanation about how they ended up in the Gulf.”
Since they had previously granted us an interview, The Schalotte returned to Iran where we were granted another interview with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The interviews were conducted with the help of Fereshteh Zamaani Fard, our trusted interpreter.
THE INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD:
Q: Mr. President, thank you for giving The Schalotte another interview.
A: You are welcome since you are not a Jew.
Q: Now Mr. President, the Northern Gulf of Mexico has been invaded by Asian black tiger prawns that are destroying America’s shrimp and oyster crop. The Chinese have told The Schalotte that the black tigers found in the Gulf had been shipped to Iran. Could you please explain how they ended up in the Gulf.
A: No problem Mr. Schweinehund. We sent two of our super trawlers to the Gulf and dumped the black tigers along the coast for 100 kilometers east and 100 kilometers west of New Orleans.
Q: Wow! Why did Iran to that?
A: I’ll be happy to tell you why. The United States – the Great Satan – has imposed sanctions on us because we will not stop the nuclear program that we are developing for peaceful purposes only. Your country has prevented companies from trading with Iran and has frozen millions of dollars that are deposited in your banks. Those sanctions have hurt the Iranian people. So, we are going to hurt your people too and dumping the black tiger prawns is one way of doing that.
Q: So you dumped the black tigers in the Gulf in retaliation for the sanctions?
A: Exactly! And if your government doesn’t like it, well, it can just … how do you say it in America …take a flying fuck!
Q: Thank you Mr. President.
THE INTERVIEW WITH SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI:
Q: Thank you your holiness for giving The Schalotte another interview.
A: You are welcome since you are not a Jew. May the curse of Allah be on the Jews!
Q: Now sir, your government has admitted dumping thousands of Asian black tiger prawns in the Gulf of Mexico in retaliation for the sanctions imposed on Iran by the American government. That is going to hurt the American people because those prawns are destroying America’s shrimp and oyster crop. Your holiness, doesn’t that go against the teachings of the holy Quran?
A: Not at all young man! The holy Quran teaches us to deal harshly with our enemies. Not only that, but the bible of the filthy Jews that you Christians also follow, calls for an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. May the curse of Allah be on the Jews! So our retaliation against the Great Satan has the blessings of Allah.
Q: Thank you again for giving us another opportunity to interview you, your holiness.
A: You are welcome. May the blessings of Allah be with you.
Monday, December 26, 2011
ABBAS IS NOT A PARTNER FOR ANYTHING
Israel’s much maligned right-wing foreign minister tells it like it really is. No diplomatic doublespeak here.
FOREIGN MINISTER TO EUROPE: ISRAEL HAS NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR
Following strong European condemnation of settlement activity and rightist violence, FM says Israeli democracy 'has nothing to be ashamed of' and will know how to handle 'price tag' assailants. 'Obstacle to peace not Jewish settlements, but Palestinian policies,' he adds
By Omri Efraim
Ynetnewsl.com
December 25, 2011
Israel does not need to apologize to European nations which condemned its West Bank construction policy and the growing rightist violence, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday.
During a meeting with Israeli ambassadors, the FM said "we don't need to apologize, quite the contrary. Israeli democracy has nothing to be ashamed of – even in comparison with the glorious British democracy - and we do not need tips on how to handle rioters who break the law in Judea and Samaria or in any other place in the country."
Last week European members of the UN Security Council – Britain, Germany, France and Portugal – issued a strong condemnation of Israel's construction in the West Bank and attacks by settlers on Palestinians.
In response, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying "if instead of contributing to stability in the Middle East (European Union members of the UN Security Council) are investing their efforts in inappropriate bickering with the one country in which the independent law justice system knows how to deal with lawbreakers, then they are losing their credibility and making themselves irrelevant."
On Sunday Lieberman reiterated the Foreign Ministry's position, saying Israel was doing all it can to curb violence initiated by rightists "who are hurting Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria." According to him, "the countries which issued the condemnation should understand that construction in Judea and Samaria is not an obstacle to peace; it is the Palestinians who are hurting the chances for peace by refusing to negotiate.
"The peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have proven that Jewish settlement is not an obstacle to peace," Lieberman stressed.
"(Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas showed his true face last week when he travelled all the way to Turkey to honor terrorist Amna Muna - who lured an innocent boy, Ofir Rahum, to his death – and met with 10 other terrorists who were released in the Shalit deal," Israel's top diplomat told the ambassadors.
"This is Abu Mazen (Abbas). This is the path he believes in, and this is why he is avoiding negotiations with Israel. He proves again and again that he is not a partner for anything. He is the one the European states should be condemning," said Lieberman.
The FM further claimed that the Palestinians were not interested in peace. Rather, he said, they seek to change the reality on the ground and internationalize the conflict. "Therefore, Israeli must adjust its diplomacy and way of thinking to reality and realize that the key to our relations with the Palestinians should be managing the conflict rather then trying to find a solution for it," he said. "Those who claim peace with the Palestinians can be achieved in the coming years are mistaken and misleading. No territorial concession will solve the real issues at hand."
Lieberman said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not be resolved "until a broad, prosperous and influential middle class emerges within the Palestinian Authority."
"I know it is sometimes hard to face facts. Some prefer to live in denial and delude others, but I prefer to tell the truth, even if it is not the most pleasant," the minister added.
Addressing the Iranian threat, Lieberman said "unfortunately, I am under the impression that some European states and senior figures (in Europe) speak of sanctions more to allay Israel's concerns than to actually terminate Iran's nuclear program.
FOREIGN MINISTER TO EUROPE: ISRAEL HAS NOTHING TO APOLOGIZE FOR
Following strong European condemnation of settlement activity and rightist violence, FM says Israeli democracy 'has nothing to be ashamed of' and will know how to handle 'price tag' assailants. 'Obstacle to peace not Jewish settlements, but Palestinian policies,' he adds
By Omri Efraim
Ynetnewsl.com
December 25, 2011
Israel does not need to apologize to European nations which condemned its West Bank construction policy and the growing rightist violence, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said Sunday.
During a meeting with Israeli ambassadors, the FM said "we don't need to apologize, quite the contrary. Israeli democracy has nothing to be ashamed of – even in comparison with the glorious British democracy - and we do not need tips on how to handle rioters who break the law in Judea and Samaria or in any other place in the country."
Last week European members of the UN Security Council – Britain, Germany, France and Portugal – issued a strong condemnation of Israel's construction in the West Bank and attacks by settlers on Palestinians.
In response, the Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying "if instead of contributing to stability in the Middle East (European Union members of the UN Security Council) are investing their efforts in inappropriate bickering with the one country in which the independent law justice system knows how to deal with lawbreakers, then they are losing their credibility and making themselves irrelevant."
On Sunday Lieberman reiterated the Foreign Ministry's position, saying Israel was doing all it can to curb violence initiated by rightists "who are hurting Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria." According to him, "the countries which issued the condemnation should understand that construction in Judea and Samaria is not an obstacle to peace; it is the Palestinians who are hurting the chances for peace by refusing to negotiate.
"The peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan have proven that Jewish settlement is not an obstacle to peace," Lieberman stressed.
"(Palestinian President Mahmoud) Abbas showed his true face last week when he travelled all the way to Turkey to honor terrorist Amna Muna - who lured an innocent boy, Ofir Rahum, to his death – and met with 10 other terrorists who were released in the Shalit deal," Israel's top diplomat told the ambassadors.
"This is Abu Mazen (Abbas). This is the path he believes in, and this is why he is avoiding negotiations with Israel. He proves again and again that he is not a partner for anything. He is the one the European states should be condemning," said Lieberman.
The FM further claimed that the Palestinians were not interested in peace. Rather, he said, they seek to change the reality on the ground and internationalize the conflict. "Therefore, Israeli must adjust its diplomacy and way of thinking to reality and realize that the key to our relations with the Palestinians should be managing the conflict rather then trying to find a solution for it," he said. "Those who claim peace with the Palestinians can be achieved in the coming years are mistaken and misleading. No territorial concession will solve the real issues at hand."
Lieberman said the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would not be resolved "until a broad, prosperous and influential middle class emerges within the Palestinian Authority."
"I know it is sometimes hard to face facts. Some prefer to live in denial and delude others, but I prefer to tell the truth, even if it is not the most pleasant," the minister added.
Addressing the Iranian threat, Lieberman said "unfortunately, I am under the impression that some European states and senior figures (in Europe) speak of sanctions more to allay Israel's concerns than to actually terminate Iran's nuclear program.
OCCUPY LA PROTESTERS CAN OCCUPY CLASSROOM IN LIEU OF OCCUPY COURTROOM
The authorities must have been smoking some funny tobacco to make them think that the Occupy LA rabble will learn anything by attending Free Speech classes. Well, at least they will have to fork over $355 if they accept the deal.
OCCUPY LA PROTESTERS GET FREE SPEECH CLASSES
Attorney: City won’t press charges if program completed
By Kate Linthicum
Chattanooga Times Free Press
December 25, 2011
LOS ANGELES — Many Occupy L.A. protesters arrested during demonstrations in recent months are being offered a unique chance to avoid court trials: pay $355 to a private company for a lesson in free speech.
Los Angeles Chief Deputy City Attorney William Carter said the city won't press charges against protesters who complete the educational program offered by American Justice Associates.
He said the program, which may include lectures by attorneys and retired judges, is being offered to people with no other criminal history and who were arrested for low-level misdemeanor offenses, such as failure to disperse.
There have been more than 350 arrests at Occupy demonstrations in Los Angeles since protesters first set up camp outside City Hall in October.
The most recent arrests occurred last weekend, when six protesters climbed a wall and jumped onto the City Hall lawn, which has been fenced off for rehabilitation since police cleared the encampment Nov. 30.
Carter said the free-speech class will save the city money and teach protesters the nuances of the law.
"The First Amendment is not absolute," he said, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled government can regulate when, where and how free speech can be exercised.
But a civil rights attorney who has worked closely with the protesters called the class "patronizing," and said the demonstrators who were arrested are the last people needing free-speech training.
"There they were exercising their First Amendment, their lawful right to protest nonviolently," said attorney Cynthia Anderson-Barker.
Several Occupy protesters, many of whom are fueled by anger at what they perceive as corporate greed and the increased privatization of public services, have noted the irony of being asked to pay a private contractor for the program. The tuition will go to the company, not the city, officials say.
In the past, first-time offenders arrested in L.A. protests were typically granted an informal hearing at the city attorney's office.
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has taken a tougher approach. In several instances, he has gone to court to prosecute protesters, especially if they had tied up traffic or police.
This year, the city has filed charges against 50 Occupy protesters arrested for more serious offenses or who have criminal records.
But prosecuting the remaining protesters arrested on lesser charges would unduly burden the city attorney's office, said Trutanich's chief legal adviser, Curt Livesay. The office has seen its budget cut 25 percent in recent years.
The city often turns to privately run pretrial diversion programs like the one offered by American Justice Associates, Livesay said. The programs have different themes, depending on the low-level offenses involved. The city is likely to divert more cases to such classes given overcrowding in jails, he said.
First-time arrestees at other protests this year, including antiwar demonstrations and protests against tuition hikes, also may be offered a chance to enroll in the free-speech diversion program, Carter said.
Anderson-Barker said many Occupy protesters already had paid for their actions, and shouldn't be subjected to a costly class.
The bulk of Occupy protesters — those who were arrested on the night of the LAPD eviction — were held on at least $5,000 bail and locked up for two days.
"Spending that much time in jail was definitely punishment enough," she said.
OCCUPY LA PROTESTERS GET FREE SPEECH CLASSES
Attorney: City won’t press charges if program completed
By Kate Linthicum
Chattanooga Times Free Press
December 25, 2011
LOS ANGELES — Many Occupy L.A. protesters arrested during demonstrations in recent months are being offered a unique chance to avoid court trials: pay $355 to a private company for a lesson in free speech.
Los Angeles Chief Deputy City Attorney William Carter said the city won't press charges against protesters who complete the educational program offered by American Justice Associates.
He said the program, which may include lectures by attorneys and retired judges, is being offered to people with no other criminal history and who were arrested for low-level misdemeanor offenses, such as failure to disperse.
There have been more than 350 arrests at Occupy demonstrations in Los Angeles since protesters first set up camp outside City Hall in October.
The most recent arrests occurred last weekend, when six protesters climbed a wall and jumped onto the City Hall lawn, which has been fenced off for rehabilitation since police cleared the encampment Nov. 30.
Carter said the free-speech class will save the city money and teach protesters the nuances of the law.
"The First Amendment is not absolute," he said, noting that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled government can regulate when, where and how free speech can be exercised.
But a civil rights attorney who has worked closely with the protesters called the class "patronizing," and said the demonstrators who were arrested are the last people needing free-speech training.
"There they were exercising their First Amendment, their lawful right to protest nonviolently," said attorney Cynthia Anderson-Barker.
Several Occupy protesters, many of whom are fueled by anger at what they perceive as corporate greed and the increased privatization of public services, have noted the irony of being asked to pay a private contractor for the program. The tuition will go to the company, not the city, officials say.
In the past, first-time offenders arrested in L.A. protests were typically granted an informal hearing at the city attorney's office.
City Attorney Carmen Trutanich has taken a tougher approach. In several instances, he has gone to court to prosecute protesters, especially if they had tied up traffic or police.
This year, the city has filed charges against 50 Occupy protesters arrested for more serious offenses or who have criminal records.
But prosecuting the remaining protesters arrested on lesser charges would unduly burden the city attorney's office, said Trutanich's chief legal adviser, Curt Livesay. The office has seen its budget cut 25 percent in recent years.
The city often turns to privately run pretrial diversion programs like the one offered by American Justice Associates, Livesay said. The programs have different themes, depending on the low-level offenses involved. The city is likely to divert more cases to such classes given overcrowding in jails, he said.
First-time arrestees at other protests this year, including antiwar demonstrations and protests against tuition hikes, also may be offered a chance to enroll in the free-speech diversion program, Carter said.
Anderson-Barker said many Occupy protesters already had paid for their actions, and shouldn't be subjected to a costly class.
The bulk of Occupy protesters — those who were arrested on the night of the LAPD eviction — were held on at least $5,000 bail and locked up for two days.
"Spending that much time in jail was definitely punishment enough," she said.
18 MONTHS FOR POTTED CHRISTMAS TREE
Oh my goodness, the Brits jailed this poor soul because they didn’t like his idea for a Christmas tree. Bah, humbug!
UK MAN JAILED FOR CANNABIS CHRISTMAS TREE
The 5-foot tall plant was brightly decorated to resemble a Christmas tree
By Tom Pugh
The Press Association
December 25, 2011
A man who grew a large cannabis plant to look like a Christmas tree will spend the festive season behind bars after police found his home-based drug factory.
Ian Richards, 46, made the cannabis plant resemble a festive tree by growing it to 5ft tall and decorating it with brightly-colored baubles.
Police found it along with a small number of other cannabis plants when they raided his home in Attlee Avenue, Aylesham, near Canterbury, Kent, last December.
Investigating officer Pc Darren Dennett, of Kent Police, said: "By using a 5ft tall cannabis plant as a Christmas tree, Richards showed a total disregard for the law."
A judge at Canterbury Crown Court sentenced Richards to 18 months behind bars for drugs offences on November 24, a Kent Police spokesman said today.
Pc Dennett added: "One of the bedrooms at his home had been transformed into a very sophisticated cannabis factory.
"He claimed the plants were for his own personal use but the factory clearly had the potential to produce a large quantity of cannabis.
"He is now spending his Christmas in prison, and by closing down this cannabis factory we have prevented a large quantity of Class B drugs from reaching the streets."
UK MAN JAILED FOR CANNABIS CHRISTMAS TREE
The 5-foot tall plant was brightly decorated to resemble a Christmas tree
By Tom Pugh
The Press Association
December 25, 2011
A man who grew a large cannabis plant to look like a Christmas tree will spend the festive season behind bars after police found his home-based drug factory.
Ian Richards, 46, made the cannabis plant resemble a festive tree by growing it to 5ft tall and decorating it with brightly-colored baubles.
Police found it along with a small number of other cannabis plants when they raided his home in Attlee Avenue, Aylesham, near Canterbury, Kent, last December.
Investigating officer Pc Darren Dennett, of Kent Police, said: "By using a 5ft tall cannabis plant as a Christmas tree, Richards showed a total disregard for the law."
A judge at Canterbury Crown Court sentenced Richards to 18 months behind bars for drugs offences on November 24, a Kent Police spokesman said today.
Pc Dennett added: "One of the bedrooms at his home had been transformed into a very sophisticated cannabis factory.
"He claimed the plants were for his own personal use but the factory clearly had the potential to produce a large quantity of cannabis.
"He is now spending his Christmas in prison, and by closing down this cannabis factory we have prevented a large quantity of Class B drugs from reaching the streets."
Sunday, December 25, 2011
METH-HEAD PAROLEE RAPES CHIHUHAHUA
Bob Walsh reports that the dog was severely injured and required surgery as a result of the assault. About a dozen animal rights activists were in attendance at this sicko’s sentencing hearing.
DOG MOLESTER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS, MUST REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDER
By Cynthia Hubert
The Sacramento Bee
December 23, 2011
A Sacramento judge today sentenced a man convicted of animal abuse to 10 years in state prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender over strong objections from his defense lawyer.
It may represent the first time that "Jessica's Law" has been applied in a case involving sexual abuse of an animal, a county prosecutor said. The man's defense lawyer indicated she will appeal.
A Superior Court jury convicted Robert DeShields, a parolee and chronic methamphetamine user, of felony animal cruelty in the sexual abuse of a Chihuhahua mix named Shadow.
Sacramento Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley Franzoia argued in court Friday that DeShields be treated as a sexual offender for the rest of his life because he is a danger to society.
The defendant's lawyer, Jennifer Stoneburner, argued that her client was convicted of animal abuse, not a sexual crime.
But Judge Thadd Blizzard concluded that the crime that DeShields committed was "inherently sexual in nature" and ordered him to register as a sex offender.
As such, DeShields will be prohibited from living near schools and places where children gather and must wear a tracking device on his ankle for the rest of his life.
Blizzard also imposed the maximum sentence of 10 years, saying that the defendant's conduct represents "a serious threat to society."
DOG MOLESTER SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS, MUST REGISTER AS SEX OFFENDER
By Cynthia Hubert
The Sacramento Bee
December 23, 2011
A Sacramento judge today sentenced a man convicted of animal abuse to 10 years in state prison and ordered him to register as a sex offender over strong objections from his defense lawyer.
It may represent the first time that "Jessica's Law" has been applied in a case involving sexual abuse of an animal, a county prosecutor said. The man's defense lawyer indicated she will appeal.
A Superior Court jury convicted Robert DeShields, a parolee and chronic methamphetamine user, of felony animal cruelty in the sexual abuse of a Chihuhahua mix named Shadow.
Sacramento Deputy District Attorney Hilary Bagley Franzoia argued in court Friday that DeShields be treated as a sexual offender for the rest of his life because he is a danger to society.
The defendant's lawyer, Jennifer Stoneburner, argued that her client was convicted of animal abuse, not a sexual crime.
But Judge Thadd Blizzard concluded that the crime that DeShields committed was "inherently sexual in nature" and ordered him to register as a sex offender.
As such, DeShields will be prohibited from living near schools and places where children gather and must wear a tracking device on his ankle for the rest of his life.
Blizzard also imposed the maximum sentence of 10 years, saying that the defendant's conduct represents "a serious threat to society."
HOUSE BONEHEADS MAY HAVE HANDED OBAMA HIS SECOND TERM ON A SILVER PLATTER
The Republicans have been on a hell-bent roll of self-destruction. The presidential candidates have been ripping each other apart, thus providing lots of campaign fodder for the Democrats to use against the eventual winner who will be Obama’s opponent. But that’s nothing compared to what the tea party boneheads among House Republicans managed to do - they virtually handed Obama his second term on a silver platter.
The Senate passed a stop-gap measure to extend the payroll tax cuts for two months. The bipartisan measure preserved the $1,000 average tax break for 160 million working Americans, maintained benefit payments for the long-term unemployed and prevented reduced Medicare payments to doctors. Even though Congress will have to wrestle with this measure all over again when it returns from its holiday break, the payroll tax cut was important to middle class Americans.
Speaker John Boehner was all set to sign off on the Senate measure when the tea party Republicans hung Boehner out to dry and left him twisting in the wind by refusing to go along. This led prominent Republicans, the Wall Street Journal and, of course, President Obama to condemn the House tea party boneheads and to question the Speaker’s leadership.
In the end, the House boneheads caved in, but not before giving Obama a huge political victory, one that may well carry him into a second term. Obama capitalized on the fact that the Republicans were about to raise the taxes of hard working middle class Americans, and that resonated well throughout the country.
Obama had been blaming the GOP for the congressional gridlock since well before this latest Republican debacle. When you add up the congressional gridlock, the attacks on each other by the Republican presidential candidates and the payroll tax cut fiasco of the House boneheads, it spells victory for President Obama. And if either Ron Paul or Donald Trump decides to run as a third party candidate, that will be the coup de grace to the Republican Party’s presidential quest.
The Senate passed a stop-gap measure to extend the payroll tax cuts for two months. The bipartisan measure preserved the $1,000 average tax break for 160 million working Americans, maintained benefit payments for the long-term unemployed and prevented reduced Medicare payments to doctors. Even though Congress will have to wrestle with this measure all over again when it returns from its holiday break, the payroll tax cut was important to middle class Americans.
Speaker John Boehner was all set to sign off on the Senate measure when the tea party Republicans hung Boehner out to dry and left him twisting in the wind by refusing to go along. This led prominent Republicans, the Wall Street Journal and, of course, President Obama to condemn the House tea party boneheads and to question the Speaker’s leadership.
In the end, the House boneheads caved in, but not before giving Obama a huge political victory, one that may well carry him into a second term. Obama capitalized on the fact that the Republicans were about to raise the taxes of hard working middle class Americans, and that resonated well throughout the country.
Obama had been blaming the GOP for the congressional gridlock since well before this latest Republican debacle. When you add up the congressional gridlock, the attacks on each other by the Republican presidential candidates and the payroll tax cut fiasco of the House boneheads, it spells victory for President Obama. And if either Ron Paul or Donald Trump decides to run as a third party candidate, that will be the coup de grace to the Republican Party’s presidential quest.
NEAR-RIOTING BY IDIOTS WHO CAN ILL AFFORD $180 SHOES
Nike made its new $180 retro Air Jordans available for purchase on Friday. All over the country people camped out and lined up outside malls and stores for a chance to buy those over-glorified, over-priced athletic shoes.
At many locations, the police had to be called out in force to deal with near-riotous conditions. In Seattle cops had to use pepper spray to break up fights over people cutting in line and shoving. In the Houston area suburb of Humble, there were fights and some mall doors were broken. In several locations some people, including small children, were trampled as the mobs swarmed into stores.
I saw video clips from all over the country, and the one thing that stood out was the fact that most of those waiting in line and rushing into the stores were people of color. I wonder how many of those folks are on welfare. And even if they are not on welfare, can they really afford to pay $180 for a pair of athletic shoes? I doubt it.
What makes those Nikes so expensive? They carry the name of Michael Jordan despite the fact he hasn’t played basketball in eight years. You can buy any number of athletic shoes just as good as the retro Air Jordans for around 30 to 40 bucks.
And by pointing out that most of the idiots charging into malls and stores to buy those shoes were people of color, possibly on welfare, I am leaving myself open to be targeted as a racist.
At many locations, the police had to be called out in force to deal with near-riotous conditions. In Seattle cops had to use pepper spray to break up fights over people cutting in line and shoving. In the Houston area suburb of Humble, there were fights and some mall doors were broken. In several locations some people, including small children, were trampled as the mobs swarmed into stores.
I saw video clips from all over the country, and the one thing that stood out was the fact that most of those waiting in line and rushing into the stores were people of color. I wonder how many of those folks are on welfare. And even if they are not on welfare, can they really afford to pay $180 for a pair of athletic shoes? I doubt it.
What makes those Nikes so expensive? They carry the name of Michael Jordan despite the fact he hasn’t played basketball in eight years. You can buy any number of athletic shoes just as good as the retro Air Jordans for around 30 to 40 bucks.
And by pointing out that most of the idiots charging into malls and stores to buy those shoes were people of color, possibly on welfare, I am leaving myself open to be targeted as a racist.
DRINKING AND DRIVING
Now that New Year’s Eve is close at hand, I would like to share an experience with you all about drinking and driving.
It’s no secret that some of us have had brushes with the law over the years while driving on our way home from office parties, New Year’s Eve celebrations and other social gatherings.
A couple of nights ago, I was out for a few drinks with some friends and had a few too many beers and some rather rare Goldslager Schnappes. Realizing that I was in no condition to drive, I did something I've never done before - I took a bus home.
I arrived home safely and without incident. It turned out to be a real surprise because I have never driven a bus before and am not sure how or where I got this one.
It’s no secret that some of us have had brushes with the law over the years while driving on our way home from office parties, New Year’s Eve celebrations and other social gatherings.
A couple of nights ago, I was out for a few drinks with some friends and had a few too many beers and some rather rare Goldslager Schnappes. Realizing that I was in no condition to drive, I did something I've never done before - I took a bus home.
I arrived home safely and without incident. It turned out to be a real surprise because I have never driven a bus before and am not sure how or where I got this one.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
SEASON'S GREETINGS
To all my Christian readers, I want to wish you and your loved ones a Very Merry Christmas.
To all my Christian readers and those who do not follow the Christian faith, I wish you and your loved ones a very healthy and prosperous year in 2012.
To all my Christian readers and those who do not follow the Christian faith, I wish you and your loved ones a very healthy and prosperous year in 2012.
AMERICA'S SAUDI FRIENDS TEACH THEIR KIDS THAT JEWS NEED TO BE EXTERMINATED AND HOMOSEXUALS SHOULD BE PUT TO DEATH
With so much of the oil that we depend on coming from Saudi Arabia, we shouldn’t let a little thing like 9th and 10th-grade textbooks get in the way of our friendship with the Saudis.
ARABIC SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS SHOW CHILDREN HOW TO CHOP OFF HANDS AND FEET UNDER SHARIAH LAW
9th and 10th-grade textbooks published and handed out by the Saudi government also call for the extermination of Jews and homosexuals
By Leon Watson
Mail Online
December 23, 2011
Barbaric textbooks handed out in Saudi Arabian schools teach children how to cut off a thief's hands and feet under Sharia law, it has emerged.
The shocking books, paid for and printed by the Saudi government, also tell teenagers that Jews need to be exterminated and homosexuals should be 'put to death'.
Recent editions were obtained by the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, D.C., which says they should raise fears in the West over the use of jihadist language.
The books were published and handed out to 9th and 10th-graders despite Saudi Arabia's promises to clean up textbooks in the kingdom.
Ali Al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, told Fox News: 'This is where terrorism starts, in the education system.
'They show students how to cut (the) hand and the feet of a thief,' he said.
The textbooks were printed for the 2010-2011 academic year and translated from Arabic by the institute.
In one, for ninth-graders, students are taught the annihilation of the Jewish people is imperative.
One text reads in part: 'The hour (of judgment) will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. There is a Jew behind me come and kill him.'
According to the translations, women are described as weak and irresponsible.
Mr Al-Ahmed said the textbooks also call for homosexuals to be put to death 'because they pose a danger at society, as the Saudi school books teaches'.
Mr Al-Ahmed said: 'If you teach six million children in these important years of their lives, if you install that in their brain, no wonder we have so many Saudi suicide bombers.'
The Saudi Embassy in Washington D.C. was approached for comment, but there was no immediate response.
ARABIC SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS SHOW CHILDREN HOW TO CHOP OFF HANDS AND FEET UNDER SHARIAH LAW
9th and 10th-grade textbooks published and handed out by the Saudi government also call for the extermination of Jews and homosexuals
By Leon Watson
Mail Online
December 23, 2011
Barbaric textbooks handed out in Saudi Arabian schools teach children how to cut off a thief's hands and feet under Sharia law, it has emerged.
The shocking books, paid for and printed by the Saudi government, also tell teenagers that Jews need to be exterminated and homosexuals should be 'put to death'.
Recent editions were obtained by the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, D.C., which says they should raise fears in the West over the use of jihadist language.
The books were published and handed out to 9th and 10th-graders despite Saudi Arabia's promises to clean up textbooks in the kingdom.
Ali Al-Ahmed, director of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, told Fox News: 'This is where terrorism starts, in the education system.
'They show students how to cut (the) hand and the feet of a thief,' he said.
The textbooks were printed for the 2010-2011 academic year and translated from Arabic by the institute.
In one, for ninth-graders, students are taught the annihilation of the Jewish people is imperative.
One text reads in part: 'The hour (of judgment) will not come until the Muslims fight the Jews and kill them. There is a Jew behind me come and kill him.'
According to the translations, women are described as weak and irresponsible.
Mr Al-Ahmed said the textbooks also call for homosexuals to be put to death 'because they pose a danger at society, as the Saudi school books teaches'.
Mr Al-Ahmed said: 'If you teach six million children in these important years of their lives, if you install that in their brain, no wonder we have so many Saudi suicide bombers.'
The Saudi Embassy in Washington D.C. was approached for comment, but there was no immediate response.
FOR THE OIL-HUNGRY EUROPEANS, ISRAEL HAS BEEN AND IS NOTHING BUT A PARIAH
In order to curry favor with the oil rich Arabs, the Europeans have long sided with the Palestinians and in doing so they, along with the United Nations, have held Israel out as a pariah.
ISRAEL: WHO CARES WHAT EUROPE SAYS?
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
December 22, 2011
Israel's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday lashed out at European powers for their harsh criticism of the Jewish state at the UN Security Council a day earlier. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that the European Union was in danger of making itself irrelevant as far as the peace process is concerned.
If European powers continue to focus exaggerated attention on Israel, a law-abiding and democratic nation, instead of real flash points like Syria and Egypt, "they are bound to lose their credibility and make themselves irrelevant," read the Foreign Ministry statement.
Israel's anger was sparked by a statement released by the four European members of the Security Council - France, Britain, Germany and Portugal - that condemned Jewish building in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem and took a very unbalanced view of what is needed to get the peace process back on track.
The Europeans said that recent Israeli plans to build additional apartments in existing Jewish "settlements" on in Jewish neighborhoods on the eastern side of Jerusalem "send a devastating message" and must be reversed.
"All settlement activity, including in east Jerusalem, must cease immediately," insisted France, Britain, Germany and Portugal.
Contradicting the traditional position that all peace negotiations should take place between Israel and the Palestinians, the Europeans demanded that both sides instead present proposals to the Middle East Quartet comprised of the European Union, United States, UN and Russia. The Quartet would then mediate those proposals and provide a plan for peace.
Knowing that the international powers have generally sided with Arab demands and adopted the Arab narrative, the Palestinians are pleased with the new direction taken by the Europeans, and have already submitted a "peace" proposal to the Quartet. Israel refuses to do so since the peace process has always been based on the idea of direct bilateral negotiations, and so is being made out as the primary obstacle to peace.
Israel's Foreign Ministry noted that instead of advancing the cause of peace, the Europeans were only "adding obstacles on the path toward renewed negotiations."
The Americans took Israel's side in that debate.
Israel and the Palestinians must "get back to the table and settle these issues together, and that's the way we are going to have a lasting, stable peace," said US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "Shouting from the rooftops of the Security Council is not going to change the situation on the ground."
The European statement issued from the Security Council also took Israel to task for recent acts of vandalism against Arabs and Muslims by a small group of right-wing religious youth. The so-called "price tag" attacks are meant to demonstrate to the Israeli government that it cannot surrender to international demands without creating a problem with its own people.
The Europeans appeared to place a lot of importance on those attacks, despite the fact they have resulted in no casualties. They demanded that Israel "bring the perpetrators to justice and put an end to impunity," calling the attacks "deliberately provocative actions."
The statement was enormously hypocritical.
For decades Palestinians groups, many of them actually associated with and backed by the Palestinian leadership, have attacked and killed Israeli Jews. Very rarely, if ever, has the UN Security Council or the European Union issued such a strong and direct condemnation of such attacks. Instead, the international community usually responds to Palestinian terror attacks by condemning violence in general, and calling on both sides to "show restraint."
The Europeans generally give the Palestinian Authority itself a pass when it comes to Palestinian violence, accepting the official Palestinian position that it cannot stop all acts of aggression, which at any rate are legitimate responses to ongoing "Israeli occupation."
ISRAEL: WHO CARES WHAT EUROPE SAYS?
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
December 22, 2011
Israel's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday lashed out at European powers for their harsh criticism of the Jewish state at the UN Security Council a day earlier. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman stated that the European Union was in danger of making itself irrelevant as far as the peace process is concerned.
If European powers continue to focus exaggerated attention on Israel, a law-abiding and democratic nation, instead of real flash points like Syria and Egypt, "they are bound to lose their credibility and make themselves irrelevant," read the Foreign Ministry statement.
Israel's anger was sparked by a statement released by the four European members of the Security Council - France, Britain, Germany and Portugal - that condemned Jewish building in Judea, Samaria and Jerusalem and took a very unbalanced view of what is needed to get the peace process back on track.
The Europeans said that recent Israeli plans to build additional apartments in existing Jewish "settlements" on in Jewish neighborhoods on the eastern side of Jerusalem "send a devastating message" and must be reversed.
"All settlement activity, including in east Jerusalem, must cease immediately," insisted France, Britain, Germany and Portugal.
Contradicting the traditional position that all peace negotiations should take place between Israel and the Palestinians, the Europeans demanded that both sides instead present proposals to the Middle East Quartet comprised of the European Union, United States, UN and Russia. The Quartet would then mediate those proposals and provide a plan for peace.
Knowing that the international powers have generally sided with Arab demands and adopted the Arab narrative, the Palestinians are pleased with the new direction taken by the Europeans, and have already submitted a "peace" proposal to the Quartet. Israel refuses to do so since the peace process has always been based on the idea of direct bilateral negotiations, and so is being made out as the primary obstacle to peace.
Israel's Foreign Ministry noted that instead of advancing the cause of peace, the Europeans were only "adding obstacles on the path toward renewed negotiations."
The Americans took Israel's side in that debate.
Israel and the Palestinians must "get back to the table and settle these issues together, and that's the way we are going to have a lasting, stable peace," said US State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland. "Shouting from the rooftops of the Security Council is not going to change the situation on the ground."
The European statement issued from the Security Council also took Israel to task for recent acts of vandalism against Arabs and Muslims by a small group of right-wing religious youth. The so-called "price tag" attacks are meant to demonstrate to the Israeli government that it cannot surrender to international demands without creating a problem with its own people.
The Europeans appeared to place a lot of importance on those attacks, despite the fact they have resulted in no casualties. They demanded that Israel "bring the perpetrators to justice and put an end to impunity," calling the attacks "deliberately provocative actions."
The statement was enormously hypocritical.
For decades Palestinians groups, many of them actually associated with and backed by the Palestinian leadership, have attacked and killed Israeli Jews. Very rarely, if ever, has the UN Security Council or the European Union issued such a strong and direct condemnation of such attacks. Instead, the international community usually responds to Palestinian terror attacks by condemning violence in general, and calling on both sides to "show restraint."
The Europeans generally give the Palestinian Authority itself a pass when it comes to Palestinian violence, accepting the official Palestinian position that it cannot stop all acts of aggression, which at any rate are legitimate responses to ongoing "Israeli occupation."
MEXICAN COPS ROUTINELY SLAUGHTERED
While there has been a marked increase in gunshot ambushes of American police officers, just look at what is happening to cops in Mexico.
From Borderland Beat:
POLICE OFFICER IN JUAREZ BURNED ALIVE
By Arturo Chacon and Nick Valencia
CNN
December 21, 2011
A policeman in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was burned alive Tuesday by unknown attackers in front of several witnesses who saw him writhing in agony as he died.
The killing was the 33rd of a municipal police officer in Juarez this year and the 59th in the last 15 months, according to the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office.
Jose Everardo was kidnapped Monday night, according to prosecutors. Witnesses said Everardo was dumped from a vehicle around 8:30 a.m.. His hands and feet bound, his attackers sprayed him with a flammable liquid and set him afire.
A photographer, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, told CNN he was warned not to arrive at the scene "very quickly" because the attackers were still there. In the past, journalists who arrived at crime scenes moments after an attack have faced retribution.
"The body was upside down, burned completely," prosecutors said.
The photographer eventually arrived at the scene and snapped a grisly picture of a charred body, face down in the middle of a Juarez street. The officer appears to still be wearing his police uniform.
A note for the police was left at the crime scene, prosecutors said, but the contents of the note have not been disclosed.
On the Texas border, Juarez is one of Mexico's most violent cities.
It has become a symbol of the brutal realities of the nation's drug war, which has claimed about 43,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon declared a crackdown on cartels in December 2006.
From Borderland Beat:
POLICE OFFICER IN JUAREZ BURNED ALIVE
By Arturo Chacon and Nick Valencia
CNN
December 21, 2011
A policeman in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, was burned alive Tuesday by unknown attackers in front of several witnesses who saw him writhing in agony as he died.
The killing was the 33rd of a municipal police officer in Juarez this year and the 59th in the last 15 months, according to the Chihuahua State Attorney General's Office.
Jose Everardo was kidnapped Monday night, according to prosecutors. Witnesses said Everardo was dumped from a vehicle around 8:30 a.m.. His hands and feet bound, his attackers sprayed him with a flammable liquid and set him afire.
A photographer, who did not want to be identified for security reasons, told CNN he was warned not to arrive at the scene "very quickly" because the attackers were still there. In the past, journalists who arrived at crime scenes moments after an attack have faced retribution.
"The body was upside down, burned completely," prosecutors said.
The photographer eventually arrived at the scene and snapped a grisly picture of a charred body, face down in the middle of a Juarez street. The officer appears to still be wearing his police uniform.
A note for the police was left at the crime scene, prosecutors said, but the contents of the note have not been disclosed.
On the Texas border, Juarez is one of Mexico's most violent cities.
It has become a symbol of the brutal realities of the nation's drug war, which has claimed about 43,000 lives since President Felipe Calderon declared a crackdown on cartels in December 2006.
PALIN MUST BE SUFFERING FROM A BRAIN ANEURYSM
How low can Sarah Palin sink? Now she’s joined Roach Limburger who bashes everything Barack and Michelle Obama do, no matter how trivial. Palin's criticism of the Obama holiday greeting card is not something a healthy person would do. She must be suffering from a brain aneurysm. Doesn’t Palin realize that Obama is president of all Americans, not just of Christian Americans?
SARAH PALIN CRITICIZES OBAMA HOLIDAY CARD – AND THE DOG
By David Ng
Los Angeles Times
December 21, 2011
So much for the holiday spirit. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is once again targeting the Obama administration, leveling a critical glare at the official White House holiday greeting card for not emphasizing Christmas.
The card was created for the Obama family by L.A. artist and designer Mark Matuszak. It features an image of Bo, the Obama family dog, in front of a fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The card, which makes no direct mention of Christmas and doesn't feature a Christmas tree, states: "From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season."
Palin told Fox News that she found it "odd" that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom." She also said that Americans are able to appreciate "American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree."
In the past, White House cards have varied in terms of a secular versus a Christian approach. The George W. Bush administration tended toward the religious. In 2008, the White House card made no direct reference to Christmas but featured a quote from the Gospel of Matthew. In 2005, the Bush family's card featured a quote from the book of Psalms.
The Bill Clinton administration took a more secular tack. The family's 1995 card used the word "holiday" but featured an image of a Christmas tree.
The Obama family has also preferred a more secular approach. Last year's holiday card featured an image of a White House covered with snow, with the following greeting: "May your holiday be filled with all the simple gifts of the season, and may your new year be blessed with health and happiness."
Matuszak said in a phone interview last week that he was contacted a few months ago by the White House social secretary, who asked him to create this year's holiday card.
"They wanted to do an inside shot, something home related," said Matuszak. One idea was to focus on Bo, the Obama family dog. "So we thought, let's put Bo in front of a fireplace."
SARAH PALIN CRITICIZES OBAMA HOLIDAY CARD – AND THE DOG
By David Ng
Los Angeles Times
December 21, 2011
So much for the holiday spirit. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is once again targeting the Obama administration, leveling a critical glare at the official White House holiday greeting card for not emphasizing Christmas.
The card was created for the Obama family by L.A. artist and designer Mark Matuszak. It features an image of Bo, the Obama family dog, in front of a fireplace in the White House library with a poinsettia and other decorations. The card, which makes no direct mention of Christmas and doesn't feature a Christmas tree, states: "From our family to yours, may your holidays shine with the light of the season."
Palin told Fox News that she found it "odd" that the card emphasizes the dog instead of traditions like "family, faith and freedom." She also said that Americans are able to appreciate "American foundational values illustrated and displayed on Christmas cards and on a Christmas tree."
In the past, White House cards have varied in terms of a secular versus a Christian approach. The George W. Bush administration tended toward the religious. In 2008, the White House card made no direct reference to Christmas but featured a quote from the Gospel of Matthew. In 2005, the Bush family's card featured a quote from the book of Psalms.
The Bill Clinton administration took a more secular tack. The family's 1995 card used the word "holiday" but featured an image of a Christmas tree.
The Obama family has also preferred a more secular approach. Last year's holiday card featured an image of a White House covered with snow, with the following greeting: "May your holiday be filled with all the simple gifts of the season, and may your new year be blessed with health and happiness."
Matuszak said in a phone interview last week that he was contacted a few months ago by the White House social secretary, who asked him to create this year's holiday card.
"They wanted to do an inside shot, something home related," said Matuszak. One idea was to focus on Bo, the Obama family dog. "So we thought, let's put Bo in front of a fireplace."
PHYSICS LESSON
Since we are in an election cycle, this seems like an appropriate lesson for all of us:
“If you run naked around a tree at a speed of 185,999 miles per second, there is a distinct possibility of fucking yourself. Or you can vote for Obama to obtain the exact same effect.”
__Albert Einstein
I might add that the same lesson applied to those who voted for Jerry 'Moonbeam' Brown in California’s election for governor.
“If you run naked around a tree at a speed of 185,999 miles per second, there is a distinct possibility of fucking yourself. Or you can vote for Obama to obtain the exact same effect.”
__Albert Einstein
I might add that the same lesson applied to those who voted for Jerry 'Moonbeam' Brown in California’s election for governor.
Friday, December 23, 2011
LAW ENFORCEMENT IMPAIRED
Much of the sleep deprivation among cops results from the fact that so many officers moonlight in order to make ends meet. Sleep deprivation is definitely an officer safety hazard. Studies showed that when 10 hour shifts were popular, there was a marked increase in police car accidents during the last two hours of the shift.
MANY COPS HAVE SLEEP DISORDERS
A new study found that nearly half of police officers from the U.S. and Canada suffer from sleep disorders, including apnea and insomnia
By Geneva Pittman
Reuters
December 21, 2011
A survey from the United States and Canada found 40 percent of police officers had symptoms of a sleep disorder, including sleep apnea and insomnia.
Officers who screened positive for those disorders were also more likely to be burnt out, depressed, or have an anxiety disorder. And over the next two years, they committed more administrative errors and safety violations and were more prone to falling asleep at the wheel than sound sleepers.
"In general we have this cultural attitude of, sleep is for the weak," said Dr. Michael Grandner, from the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"When you're in an environment where signs of weakness are particularly discouraged, there may be a social pressure to not address sleep problems or to shrug them off," added Grandner, the author of a commentary published with the new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
But when police officers in particular suffer from sleep problems, he said, it becomes a public health and safety problem. "It's not just the people with sleep disorders that are affected," Grandner told Reuters Health. "If they're impaired, you're at risk."
Researchers say police departments could do more to make sure that officers with sleep disorders get the appropriate treatment, which may include sleep machines, therapy, or changes in work schedules.
For the new study, close to 5,000 police officers were surveyed on sleep problems and other health topics. That included Philadelphia officers and Massachusetts state police as well as a broader range of other U.S. and Canadian cops. The officers were an average of 38 to 39 years old and most had been in the police force for more than decade.
Dr. Charles Czeisler from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and his colleagues found that 40 percent of the officers screened positive for at least one sleep disorder. The most common was sleep apnea, which affected one-third of cops, followed by moderate or severe insomnia and shift work disorder, which consists of sleepiness and insomnia associated with working at night.
Officers with a sleep disorder were more than twice as likely as healthy sleepers to report depression, emotional exhaustion, or burnout and anxiety disorders on their original surveys.
On follow-up questionnaires sent out over the next two years, they were also 40 to 60 percent more likely to report making serious administrative errors, falling asleep while driving, or committing a fatigue-related error or safety violation during work. Poor sleepers reported more citizen complaints and more often showed uncontrolled anger toward a suspect or citizen.
"You have people who are sleep deprived, which means that their ability to make good decisions, to respond effectively, to drive emergency vehicles well ... all of those things are impaired," said Bryan Vila, a criminal justice professor who studies sleep and performance in cops at Washington State University in Spokane but wasn't involved in the new study.
The researchers noted that being heavy increases the risk of sleep apnea, and that almost 80 percent of the officers they surveyed were overweight or obese.
Czeisler said that the lowest rates of both sleep apnea and overweight and obesity were in Massachusetts state cops, and that that's no coincidence.
Those officers get one hour paid exercise time for every work shift, he told Reuters Health, and undergo regular fitness tests that simulate chasing a suspect or dragging a victim, with a bonus in pay if they pass. "It's an impressive program and perhaps a model for the nation," Czeisler said.
Putting in measures to catch sleep disorders early could also help prevent future health and safety consequences, researchers say. Those could include on-the-job screening in police departments, according to Czeisler, and making sure cops with sleep problems get help.
"We have great treatments for sleep disorders, we have great screening tools, the technology is there," Grandner told Reuters Health. He said that sleep apnea can be treated with a breathing machine and mask used at night, and that behavioral therapy is often the first line of treatment for people with insomnia. For cops with shift-work disorder, cutting back on extra-long shifts and overtime hours could help.
"Not only is sleep important for health, it's also important for functioning," Grandner said. "We're making it much harder for [police officers] than it needs to be. They'd have a much better time doing their job if we were able to take better care of them."
"What are we doing with impaired cops working these critical jobs where the public safety is at risk?" Vila, also a former law enforcement officer, told Reuters Health. "This is a critical problem, and it affects a population we rely on to do some of the most sensitive things in society."
Some of the researchers report receiving funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those that develop and manufacture sleeping pills. The current research was funded by a sleep medicine foundation as well as the U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Czeisler said next up is a study funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to look at sleep disorders in firefighters.
MANY COPS HAVE SLEEP DISORDERS
A new study found that nearly half of police officers from the U.S. and Canada suffer from sleep disorders, including apnea and insomnia
By Geneva Pittman
Reuters
December 21, 2011
A survey from the United States and Canada found 40 percent of police officers had symptoms of a sleep disorder, including sleep apnea and insomnia.
Officers who screened positive for those disorders were also more likely to be burnt out, depressed, or have an anxiety disorder. And over the next two years, they committed more administrative errors and safety violations and were more prone to falling asleep at the wheel than sound sleepers.
"In general we have this cultural attitude of, sleep is for the weak," said Dr. Michael Grandner, from the Center for Sleep and Circadian Neurobiology at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
"When you're in an environment where signs of weakness are particularly discouraged, there may be a social pressure to not address sleep problems or to shrug them off," added Grandner, the author of a commentary published with the new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
But when police officers in particular suffer from sleep problems, he said, it becomes a public health and safety problem. "It's not just the people with sleep disorders that are affected," Grandner told Reuters Health. "If they're impaired, you're at risk."
Researchers say police departments could do more to make sure that officers with sleep disorders get the appropriate treatment, which may include sleep machines, therapy, or changes in work schedules.
For the new study, close to 5,000 police officers were surveyed on sleep problems and other health topics. That included Philadelphia officers and Massachusetts state police as well as a broader range of other U.S. and Canadian cops. The officers were an average of 38 to 39 years old and most had been in the police force for more than decade.
Dr. Charles Czeisler from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and his colleagues found that 40 percent of the officers screened positive for at least one sleep disorder. The most common was sleep apnea, which affected one-third of cops, followed by moderate or severe insomnia and shift work disorder, which consists of sleepiness and insomnia associated with working at night.
Officers with a sleep disorder were more than twice as likely as healthy sleepers to report depression, emotional exhaustion, or burnout and anxiety disorders on their original surveys.
On follow-up questionnaires sent out over the next two years, they were also 40 to 60 percent more likely to report making serious administrative errors, falling asleep while driving, or committing a fatigue-related error or safety violation during work. Poor sleepers reported more citizen complaints and more often showed uncontrolled anger toward a suspect or citizen.
"You have people who are sleep deprived, which means that their ability to make good decisions, to respond effectively, to drive emergency vehicles well ... all of those things are impaired," said Bryan Vila, a criminal justice professor who studies sleep and performance in cops at Washington State University in Spokane but wasn't involved in the new study.
The researchers noted that being heavy increases the risk of sleep apnea, and that almost 80 percent of the officers they surveyed were overweight or obese.
Czeisler said that the lowest rates of both sleep apnea and overweight and obesity were in Massachusetts state cops, and that that's no coincidence.
Those officers get one hour paid exercise time for every work shift, he told Reuters Health, and undergo regular fitness tests that simulate chasing a suspect or dragging a victim, with a bonus in pay if they pass. "It's an impressive program and perhaps a model for the nation," Czeisler said.
Putting in measures to catch sleep disorders early could also help prevent future health and safety consequences, researchers say. Those could include on-the-job screening in police departments, according to Czeisler, and making sure cops with sleep problems get help.
"We have great treatments for sleep disorders, we have great screening tools, the technology is there," Grandner told Reuters Health. He said that sleep apnea can be treated with a breathing machine and mask used at night, and that behavioral therapy is often the first line of treatment for people with insomnia. For cops with shift-work disorder, cutting back on extra-long shifts and overtime hours could help.
"Not only is sleep important for health, it's also important for functioning," Grandner said. "We're making it much harder for [police officers] than it needs to be. They'd have a much better time doing their job if we were able to take better care of them."
"What are we doing with impaired cops working these critical jobs where the public safety is at risk?" Vila, also a former law enforcement officer, told Reuters Health. "This is a critical problem, and it affects a population we rely on to do some of the most sensitive things in society."
Some of the researchers report receiving funding from pharmaceutical companies, including those that develop and manufacture sleeping pills. The current research was funded by a sleep medicine foundation as well as the U.S. Department of Justice and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Czeisler said next up is a study funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to look at sleep disorders in firefighters.
ASSAULTS ON POLICE INCREASE (2)
There is something terribly wrong in this country when gunmen ambush police officers, especially since the overwhelming majority of cops do not mistreat people, unlike in many other countries.
MORE POLICE OFFICERS DIE IN AMBUSH ATTACKS
By Kevin Johnson
USA Today
December 22, 2011
WASHINGTON – Despite a national campaign focused on police safety, the number of officers killed in the line of duty will increase for the second consecutive year, largely because of an alarming spike in ambush-style attacks, a Justice Department review found.
Federal and local officials have been troubled for the past two years by the overall number of firearms-related fatalities, which are up 23% in 2011, even though violent crime has declined in much of the country, according to preliminary statistics compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Yet in 63 of the 65 shooting deaths that the Justice Department analyzed this year, 73% were the result of ambush or surprise attacks, said Josh Ederheimer, deputy director of the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services Office. (The Justice Department hasn't reached a determination on the other two shootings.)
"It is an incredibly large number," Ederheimer said.
This year, a USA TODAY review of officer deaths highlighted a rising number of ambush slayings. In that August review, nearly 40% of the shooting deaths at that time were attributed to ambush or surprise attacks. That number was up from 31% in all of 2009, according to the most recent FBI study.
Ederheimer said the ongoing Justice review has revealed a more troubling pattern of violence.
Although the pace of overall shooting deaths has slowed since midyear, the numbers continue to frustrate law enforcement officials who convened a national review of officer safety this year.
Less than two weeks until the end of the year, the total number of officer deaths from all causes — 174 — marks the third largest death toll in the past decade.
Alarmed by the recent spikes in officer deaths, Attorney General Eric Holder called a meeting of law enforcement officials in March to examine the problem. Police departments were directed by the Justice Department to require officers to wear body armor or risk losing millions of dollars in federal aid.
(A 2009 study by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank in Washington, found that 41% of departments did not require officers to wear armor at least some of the time.)
Ederheimer said increased use of body armor, though important, does not necessarily protect victims of ambush. Many of the officers were shot in the head or other unprotected areas of the body.
Ederheimer said Justice Department officials have scheduled a meeting of safety and training experts Jan. 26 to discuss the overall firearm deaths, in addition to the increase in ambush attacks, to produce written guidelines for police agencies. "This is a priority of the attorney general," Ederheimer said.
Among the most recent victims of a deadly ambush, Atchison, Kan., police Sgt. David Enzbrenner, 46, was shot in the back of the head Dec. 9 as he was responding to a nuisance complaint.
Police Chief Mike Wilson said the gunman, who was not apparently involved in the incident, attacked the officer from the rear and later fatally shot himself. "It was an assassination," Wilson said.
Wilson said Enzbrenner, a 24-year veteran, was one of the "best-trained, best-educated and most-informed" of the department's 23 full-time officers. "He did all the right things to avoid something like this."
Before the shooting, Wilson said, he and his officers were aware of the rising number of officer fatalities and took appropriate precautions.
He said Enzbrenner wore body armor at the time of the attack, but the gunman targeted his head.
"When someone assassinates you from behind, all of the training, education and equipment is sometimes not much help,'' Wilson said.
MORE POLICE OFFICERS DIE IN AMBUSH ATTACKS
By Kevin Johnson
USA Today
December 22, 2011
WASHINGTON – Despite a national campaign focused on police safety, the number of officers killed in the line of duty will increase for the second consecutive year, largely because of an alarming spike in ambush-style attacks, a Justice Department review found.
Federal and local officials have been troubled for the past two years by the overall number of firearms-related fatalities, which are up 23% in 2011, even though violent crime has declined in much of the country, according to preliminary statistics compiled by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund.
Yet in 63 of the 65 shooting deaths that the Justice Department analyzed this year, 73% were the result of ambush or surprise attacks, said Josh Ederheimer, deputy director of the Justice Department's Community Oriented Policing Services Office. (The Justice Department hasn't reached a determination on the other two shootings.)
"It is an incredibly large number," Ederheimer said.
This year, a USA TODAY review of officer deaths highlighted a rising number of ambush slayings. In that August review, nearly 40% of the shooting deaths at that time were attributed to ambush or surprise attacks. That number was up from 31% in all of 2009, according to the most recent FBI study.
Ederheimer said the ongoing Justice review has revealed a more troubling pattern of violence.
Although the pace of overall shooting deaths has slowed since midyear, the numbers continue to frustrate law enforcement officials who convened a national review of officer safety this year.
Less than two weeks until the end of the year, the total number of officer deaths from all causes — 174 — marks the third largest death toll in the past decade.
Alarmed by the recent spikes in officer deaths, Attorney General Eric Holder called a meeting of law enforcement officials in March to examine the problem. Police departments were directed by the Justice Department to require officers to wear body armor or risk losing millions of dollars in federal aid.
(A 2009 study by the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank in Washington, found that 41% of departments did not require officers to wear armor at least some of the time.)
Ederheimer said increased use of body armor, though important, does not necessarily protect victims of ambush. Many of the officers were shot in the head or other unprotected areas of the body.
Ederheimer said Justice Department officials have scheduled a meeting of safety and training experts Jan. 26 to discuss the overall firearm deaths, in addition to the increase in ambush attacks, to produce written guidelines for police agencies. "This is a priority of the attorney general," Ederheimer said.
Among the most recent victims of a deadly ambush, Atchison, Kan., police Sgt. David Enzbrenner, 46, was shot in the back of the head Dec. 9 as he was responding to a nuisance complaint.
Police Chief Mike Wilson said the gunman, who was not apparently involved in the incident, attacked the officer from the rear and later fatally shot himself. "It was an assassination," Wilson said.
Wilson said Enzbrenner, a 24-year veteran, was one of the "best-trained, best-educated and most-informed" of the department's 23 full-time officers. "He did all the right things to avoid something like this."
Before the shooting, Wilson said, he and his officers were aware of the rising number of officer fatalities and took appropriate precautions.
He said Enzbrenner wore body armor at the time of the attack, but the gunman targeted his head.
"When someone assassinates you from behind, all of the training, education and equipment is sometimes not much help,'' Wilson said.
DOCTORS DISCOVER TUMOR WHILE TREATING GUNSHOT VICTIM
Could the gunman have been someone in a nearby room who couldn’t sleep because of all the noise coming from the prostitute party?
GETTING SHOT SAVED HIS LIFE
“Sinner” says he got wake-up call
By Jeff Weiner
Jewish World Review
December 22, 2011
ORLANDO— At first, getting shot by an assault rifle in an Orange Blossom Trail motel room seemed like a bad thing.
Now, Dan D'Amato says it likely saved his life. That's because, were it not for the bullet wound, doctors may not have found the massive tumor that was festering in his lung.
D'Amato, 45, says he views the shooting as a catalyst to change his life by shedding bad habits and improving his health.
However, the gunman who opened fire at the Knights Inn last month remains at large, and D'Amato fears the next victim won't be so lucky.
D'Amato doesn't deny why he went to the Knights Inn: He was there to meet a pair of prostitutes at what he described as a "24-hour party" in a motel room, with other people popping in an out over the course of the evening for sex and possibly drug use.
He was sitting on the floor of the room just before 4 a.m., D'Amato says, when gunfire erupted and he dove for cover behind a bed.
"It was like all hell broke loose in that room," D'Amato recalls. "All I know is it was like the Wild West in there. Pure chaos."
Surveillance video of the incident shows D'Amato's assailant, a man with what appears to be an AK-47 standing outside the room and firing numerous rounds into the walls and windows. It's not clear who was targeted in the shooting.
One of those bullets struck D'Amato just above his buttocks. After the shelling stopped, he staggered to the motel's front desk to await the authorities.
The bullet that hit D'Amato traveled through his body, exiting near his hip. He says doctors told him the same shot centimeters to the right or left could have been devastating or potentially fatal.
He was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. There, D'Amato was stunned when doctors found what appeared to be a pair of growths in the upper lobe of his right lung.
One was a tumor - described by a surgeon in his report as a "giant mass" weighing between three and four pounds, according to hospital officials.
Although the growth wasn't cancerous, D'Amato's doctors have attributed a host of respiratory ailments to it, including a hacking cough, pneumonia and a growing build-up of fluid in his lungs.
"(The surgeon) said, 'Dude, getting shot saved your life," says D'Amato, who praised his surgeon and ORMC doctors and staff for providing excellent care. He lost half of one of his lungs in the surgery.
The gunman fled the shooting in a dark red, late-90s Nissan Maxima with tinted windows, according to Central Florida Crimeline. Tips can be reported to Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.
The suspect is described as a man between the ages of 20 and 25, about 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 and weighing about 150 pounds.
D'Amato, who has a history of theft and trespassing arrests and admits he's "no angel," says he's worried that his case - because of who he is, where he was and what he was doing when he was shot - isn't getting enough attention from authorities or the public.
A woman who answered the phone at Knights Inn immediately declined comment when asked about the shooting by a reporter.
D'Amato is working to get help for his medical bills, which have ballooned to tens of thousands of dollars. But he says the shooting has forced him to reflect on how he wound up bleeding on the floor of an OBT motel.
"I put myself in a position to die surrounded by people I didn't know," he said. "The fact that I almost died alone was a wake-up call for me."
GETTING SHOT SAVED HIS LIFE
“Sinner” says he got wake-up call
By Jeff Weiner
Jewish World Review
December 22, 2011
ORLANDO— At first, getting shot by an assault rifle in an Orange Blossom Trail motel room seemed like a bad thing.
Now, Dan D'Amato says it likely saved his life. That's because, were it not for the bullet wound, doctors may not have found the massive tumor that was festering in his lung.
D'Amato, 45, says he views the shooting as a catalyst to change his life by shedding bad habits and improving his health.
However, the gunman who opened fire at the Knights Inn last month remains at large, and D'Amato fears the next victim won't be so lucky.
D'Amato doesn't deny why he went to the Knights Inn: He was there to meet a pair of prostitutes at what he described as a "24-hour party" in a motel room, with other people popping in an out over the course of the evening for sex and possibly drug use.
He was sitting on the floor of the room just before 4 a.m., D'Amato says, when gunfire erupted and he dove for cover behind a bed.
"It was like all hell broke loose in that room," D'Amato recalls. "All I know is it was like the Wild West in there. Pure chaos."
Surveillance video of the incident shows D'Amato's assailant, a man with what appears to be an AK-47 standing outside the room and firing numerous rounds into the walls and windows. It's not clear who was targeted in the shooting.
One of those bullets struck D'Amato just above his buttocks. After the shelling stopped, he staggered to the motel's front desk to await the authorities.
The bullet that hit D'Amato traveled through his body, exiting near his hip. He says doctors told him the same shot centimeters to the right or left could have been devastating or potentially fatal.
He was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center. There, D'Amato was stunned when doctors found what appeared to be a pair of growths in the upper lobe of his right lung.
One was a tumor - described by a surgeon in his report as a "giant mass" weighing between three and four pounds, according to hospital officials.
Although the growth wasn't cancerous, D'Amato's doctors have attributed a host of respiratory ailments to it, including a hacking cough, pneumonia and a growing build-up of fluid in his lungs.
"(The surgeon) said, 'Dude, getting shot saved your life," says D'Amato, who praised his surgeon and ORMC doctors and staff for providing excellent care. He lost half of one of his lungs in the surgery.
The gunman fled the shooting in a dark red, late-90s Nissan Maxima with tinted windows, according to Central Florida Crimeline. Tips can be reported to Crimeline at 1-800-423-8477.
The suspect is described as a man between the ages of 20 and 25, about 5-foot-7 to 5-foot-9 and weighing about 150 pounds.
D'Amato, who has a history of theft and trespassing arrests and admits he's "no angel," says he's worried that his case - because of who he is, where he was and what he was doing when he was shot - isn't getting enough attention from authorities or the public.
A woman who answered the phone at Knights Inn immediately declined comment when asked about the shooting by a reporter.
D'Amato is working to get help for his medical bills, which have ballooned to tens of thousands of dollars. But he says the shooting has forced him to reflect on how he wound up bleeding on the floor of an OBT motel.
"I put myself in a position to die surrounded by people I didn't know," he said. "The fact that I almost died alone was a wake-up call for me."
SAY WHAT?
Dorina Lisson sent me a video clip of an Aussie guy saying … “G’day mate, I’ve been from the big smoke to the back’o’Bourke to get a website for my bizzo, from the top of my ticker toe to the dingo’s flapper.”
Shit, and I’ve always been under the impression that English was the spoken language of Aussies. After ‘G’day mate’ everything else was unintelligible to me. Fortunately, Dorina came back and furnished me the translation from Australian to American:
“Good day friend, I have been from the big city to the back of beyond and in the middle of nowhere to get a website for my business, from every person who talks about nothing they know about except a wild dog’s penis that hangs.”
Dorina added: In simple English ... the Australian man wants a website for his business. He is pissed because he has been everywhere, from here to there, talking to many people whilst trying to find someone who knows what they are talking about.
I rather liked the ‘dingo’s flapper’ bit.
Shit, and I’ve always been under the impression that English was the spoken language of Aussies. After ‘G’day mate’ everything else was unintelligible to me. Fortunately, Dorina came back and furnished me the translation from Australian to American:
“Good day friend, I have been from the big city to the back of beyond and in the middle of nowhere to get a website for my business, from every person who talks about nothing they know about except a wild dog’s penis that hangs.”
Dorina added: In simple English ... the Australian man wants a website for his business. He is pissed because he has been everywhere, from here to there, talking to many people whilst trying to find someone who knows what they are talking about.
I rather liked the ‘dingo’s flapper’ bit.
IF PETS KEPT DIARIES
Excerpts from a Dog's Daily Diary......
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary......
Day 1983 of my captivity...
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.
Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bast**ds.
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.... For now.................
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk Bones! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!
Excerpts from a Cat's Daily Diary......
Day 1983 of my captivity...
My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.
Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.
The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.
Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am. Bast**ds.
There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means and how to use it to my advantage.
Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.
I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.
The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicating with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe.... For now.................
Thursday, December 22, 2011
THE CASE FOR MALE CHAUVINISM
Every time a notorious murderer ends up behind bars a number of women make the case for male chauvinism by falling in love with the killer. Serial killer-rapist Ted Bundy had his share of women professing their love for that creep as he awaited execution. Charlie Manson continues to accumulate a number of women that have fallen in love with him.
Now if these women were ugly or had scored low on IQ tests, one could understand their desperate need to find a man willing to love them. But in most cases, these bimbos have been very good looking professional women, rather than mentally challenged ugly ducklings.
The latest example involves Dr. Mary Monica Hamer, a 55-year-old divorced Florida radiologist, who is in love with Joran van der Sloot presently roosting in a Peruvian prison awaiting trial for the murder of 21-year-old Peruvian student Stephany Flores. Van der Sloot, 24, is also the primary suspect in the 2005 disappearance in Aruba of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
Hamer says that she is in love with van der Sloot, but not in a romantic sense. Duh? In trying to save his sorry ass, Hamer has written a song for him that she’s titled "Rescue". She's recorded it on a CD and sings the song with gusto. Some of the lyrics are: "I'll help you heal from the justice...When everything has been shattered, and given up for lost, I will rescue you."
Hamer has gone broke sending van der Sloot care packages, visiting him in prison, buying him clothes, and paying for the killer’s legal defense. As a result Hamer has had to dip into her retirement savings to make ends meet. She has made several trips to Peru to visit her love and plans to move to Peru to be with him.
Hamer is convinced that van der Sloot is innocent. "It is stressful but it is for a good cause," she claimed. "It takes time and money and interest to reach out to someone who is suffering." She has appealed to both President Humala and President Barack Obama for Joran to be released into her care so that she can rehabilitate him. Yeah, right.
Van der Sloot says that “Mary is my guardian angel” and considering what Hamer has done and is doing for this dirtball, she is his guardian angel indeed.
While attractive, Hamer is no raving beauty. However, she is a professional woman, one who you would expect to have better sense than to fall in love with, and squander her savings on a murderer.
Since Hamer is but one of many such fools, one could conclude that compared to men, women are more likely to use bad judgment and more likely to lack good sense.
Now if these women were ugly or had scored low on IQ tests, one could understand their desperate need to find a man willing to love them. But in most cases, these bimbos have been very good looking professional women, rather than mentally challenged ugly ducklings.
The latest example involves Dr. Mary Monica Hamer, a 55-year-old divorced Florida radiologist, who is in love with Joran van der Sloot presently roosting in a Peruvian prison awaiting trial for the murder of 21-year-old Peruvian student Stephany Flores. Van der Sloot, 24, is also the primary suspect in the 2005 disappearance in Aruba of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.
Hamer says that she is in love with van der Sloot, but not in a romantic sense. Duh? In trying to save his sorry ass, Hamer has written a song for him that she’s titled "Rescue". She's recorded it on a CD and sings the song with gusto. Some of the lyrics are: "I'll help you heal from the justice...When everything has been shattered, and given up for lost, I will rescue you."
Hamer has gone broke sending van der Sloot care packages, visiting him in prison, buying him clothes, and paying for the killer’s legal defense. As a result Hamer has had to dip into her retirement savings to make ends meet. She has made several trips to Peru to visit her love and plans to move to Peru to be with him.
Hamer is convinced that van der Sloot is innocent. "It is stressful but it is for a good cause," she claimed. "It takes time and money and interest to reach out to someone who is suffering." She has appealed to both President Humala and President Barack Obama for Joran to be released into her care so that she can rehabilitate him. Yeah, right.
Van der Sloot says that “Mary is my guardian angel” and considering what Hamer has done and is doing for this dirtball, she is his guardian angel indeed.
While attractive, Hamer is no raving beauty. However, she is a professional woman, one who you would expect to have better sense than to fall in love with, and squander her savings on a murderer.
Since Hamer is but one of many such fools, one could conclude that compared to men, women are more likely to use bad judgment and more likely to lack good sense.
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