Today is Halloween. This morning it was still dark when I went out the door to pick up today’s Houston Chronicle. Suddenly, not two feet from my front walkway, I spotted a little Trick or Treat visitor.
Lo and behold, there sat a possum. I got within one foot of the critter but I didn’t want to get any closer. Because he did not scurry away from me I was afraid he might have been sick, possibly with rabies, and I did not want to get bit.
We both just stayed there looking at each other. I started talking to him and he looked at me like I was nuts. After three or four minutes I went on to get the newspaper. As I walked back to the house, the possum remained in place. A half hour later, when it was getting to be daylight, I went outside to take another look. The possum was gone.
In all the years that I have seen Halloween come and go, Mr. Possum was by far the best Trick or Treat visitor I ever had.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
33 YEEARS AFTER HE WAS SENTENCED TO DEATH, THE 9TH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS DECIDES A COLD BLOODED MURDERER DID NOT RECEIVE AN ADEQUATE DEFENSE
The notoriously liberal 9th Circuit decides that California’s longest-serving death row inmate’s lawyer failed to tell the jury of his troubled childhood
33 years ago, Douglas Stankewitz was convicted and sentenced to death for the cold blooded murder of Theresa Greybeal in Fresno. According to the Los Angeles Times, on Monday a panel of the 9th Circuit spared his worthless life, ruling that his lawyer presented a “paltry” amount of evidence in trying to avoid the death sentence for his client and ignored extensive documentation of his troubled past. Judge Raymond C. Fisher wrote that the jury might have chosen a life sentence had it known of Stankewitz’ upbringing and his heavy drug use just hours before the murder.
The 2-1 ruling held that Stankewitz should receive a new penalty phase trial or be resentenced to life to life without possibility of parole. It will be nearly impossible for the prosecution to gather up witness some 33 years later, so for all practical purposes the 9th Circuit has spared this worthless piece of shit’s life.
Troubled childhood, my ass! What about the life of Theresa Greybeal that Stankewitz snuffed out?
Bob Walsh says: A combination of the courts, lack of public will and (at least right now) a governor and attorney general who are both strongly personally opposed to the death penalty will help insure that it doesn’t happen here. I personally expect the repeal of the death penalty to pass. Even if it does not, we will not have a functional death penalty for the foreseeable future.
Here is Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle’s take on this shameful and sickening decision:
JUSTICE DELAYED, DENIED, DEFEATED
Douglas Stankewitz is the Poster Slob for the death penalty litigation abuse endemic in the state and federal appeal systems. His continuing existence is our collective shame
By Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
October 30, 2012
A year prior to the murder of Theresa Greybal, I graduated from high school. In 1979, one year after the Superior Court upheld Stankowitz’ initial death sentence, I married my wife, now suffering her 33rd year of wedded regret.
In the years to follow, I had a 25 year (plus) career, became a grandfather and, well, lived. Douglas Stankewitz also lived. Meanwhile, Theresa Greybal moldered in the grave and faded from memory–No photos of the victim are to be found on the web while her killer’s fat face is a Google search away.
How very sad–How very sick.
33 years after being convicted by a jury of his peers for the murder of an innocent woman, Stankowitz’ right to a fair trial has been deemed harmed. We cannot, as a civilized people, put him to death because the jury wasn’t appropriately apprised the killer was abused a s a child. 33 years.
In the interim, South Dakota Inmate Eric Robert murdered correctional officer Ronald Johnson at The State Penitentiary on April 12, 2011–He was executed 14 days ago for that crime. South Dakota is blessed by falling well outside the boundaries of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 2 weeks, Californian’s will cast ballots to decide if Capital Punishment remains on the books–Notwithstanding, the Ninth Circuit will keep it from becoming a reality.
33 years ago, Douglas Stankewitz was convicted and sentenced to death for the cold blooded murder of Theresa Greybeal in Fresno. According to the Los Angeles Times, on Monday a panel of the 9th Circuit spared his worthless life, ruling that his lawyer presented a “paltry” amount of evidence in trying to avoid the death sentence for his client and ignored extensive documentation of his troubled past. Judge Raymond C. Fisher wrote that the jury might have chosen a life sentence had it known of Stankewitz’ upbringing and his heavy drug use just hours before the murder.
The 2-1 ruling held that Stankewitz should receive a new penalty phase trial or be resentenced to life to life without possibility of parole. It will be nearly impossible for the prosecution to gather up witness some 33 years later, so for all practical purposes the 9th Circuit has spared this worthless piece of shit’s life.
Troubled childhood, my ass! What about the life of Theresa Greybeal that Stankewitz snuffed out?
Bob Walsh says: A combination of the courts, lack of public will and (at least right now) a governor and attorney general who are both strongly personally opposed to the death penalty will help insure that it doesn’t happen here. I personally expect the repeal of the death penalty to pass. Even if it does not, we will not have a functional death penalty for the foreseeable future.
Here is Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle’s take on this shameful and sickening decision:
JUSTICE DELAYED, DENIED, DEFEATED
Douglas Stankewitz is the Poster Slob for the death penalty litigation abuse endemic in the state and federal appeal systems. His continuing existence is our collective shame
By Jeff ‘Paco’ Doyle
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
October 30, 2012
A year prior to the murder of Theresa Greybal, I graduated from high school. In 1979, one year after the Superior Court upheld Stankowitz’ initial death sentence, I married my wife, now suffering her 33rd year of wedded regret.
In the years to follow, I had a 25 year (plus) career, became a grandfather and, well, lived. Douglas Stankewitz also lived. Meanwhile, Theresa Greybal moldered in the grave and faded from memory–No photos of the victim are to be found on the web while her killer’s fat face is a Google search away.
How very sad–How very sick.
33 years after being convicted by a jury of his peers for the murder of an innocent woman, Stankowitz’ right to a fair trial has been deemed harmed. We cannot, as a civilized people, put him to death because the jury wasn’t appropriately apprised the killer was abused a s a child. 33 years.
In the interim, South Dakota Inmate Eric Robert murdered correctional officer Ronald Johnson at The State Penitentiary on April 12, 2011–He was executed 14 days ago for that crime. South Dakota is blessed by falling well outside the boundaries of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
In 2 weeks, Californian’s will cast ballots to decide if Capital Punishment remains on the books–Notwithstanding, the Ninth Circuit will keep it from becoming a reality.
CALIFORNIA PAROLE REVOCATION RATES MAKE TEXAS CORRECTIONAL AUTHORITIES OUT TO BE HUMONGOUS LIARS
Texans are known for bragging about the Lone Star State, but there is no way that Texas can claim a recidivism rate of 14.7 percent when California’s rate exceeds 60 percent
When I was a California parole agent, the parole revocation rate hovered around 40-50 percent. In recent years, California’s recidivism rate has exceeded 60 percent. For 2010, Texas claimed a parole revocation rate of 14.7 percent, with half returned to prison or state jails for technical parole violations and the other half for new beefs. Those Texas stats lead me to believe that the Texas correctional authorities either do not know how to keep reliable statistics or they are flat out lying about the low number of parolees returned to prison. I think they are humongous liars!
By the end of 2010, California had a recidivism rate of 63.7 percent. The recidivism rates are based on the number of parolees returned to prison within three years after they were paroled. The 2010 rate was somewhat lower than previous rates. I suspect that the recidivism rates will show a significant increase, especially for new beefs, now that Gov. Moonbeam’ realignment program is dumping thousands of prison inmates and parolees onto California’s counties.
MORE PAROLED FELONS STAY CLEAN, BUT REVOLVING DOOR CONTINUES
By Paige St. John
Los Angeles Times
October 29, 2012
The rate of California prisoners committing new crimes after release has continued to drop, according to a report released Monday by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The number of inmates who found themselves back behind bars within three years of release peaked in 2008, at 67.5%. According to Monday's updated report, just 63.7% of adults paroled in 2007 were found guilty of new crimes by 2010. That means that out of 116,000 inmates paroled, more than 75,000 committed new felony crimes that put them back in state prison. Data for more recent years were not available.
The report highlights the severity of the issue of revolving-door criminals in California. The recidivism rate among those with two or more prison stays is more than 75%. More than 16,000 of parolees who committed new felonies had been in CDCR custody 10 times or more.
The majority of those returning to prison did so within a year of release from parole.
The state measures recidivism by counting how many paroled felons return to state custody. Those numbers are bound to drop significantly with realignment, with new criteria for determining parole violations, and because tens of thousands of low-level offenders are now sent to county jails instead of state prison.
Los Angeles County had the lowest recidivism rate of any county in California. Just 54% of its parolees returned to prison. San Francisco County had the highest recidivism rate: almost 78% of parolees went back to prison.
Sex offenders had the highest rate of recidivism, though not for committing new sex-related crimes. Almost 87% of those who returned to prison wound up there because of parole violations. Almost 8% committed some other crime, 3.5% failed to register their address, and fewer than 2% were found guilty of a new sex offense.
When I was a California parole agent, the parole revocation rate hovered around 40-50 percent. In recent years, California’s recidivism rate has exceeded 60 percent. For 2010, Texas claimed a parole revocation rate of 14.7 percent, with half returned to prison or state jails for technical parole violations and the other half for new beefs. Those Texas stats lead me to believe that the Texas correctional authorities either do not know how to keep reliable statistics or they are flat out lying about the low number of parolees returned to prison. I think they are humongous liars!
By the end of 2010, California had a recidivism rate of 63.7 percent. The recidivism rates are based on the number of parolees returned to prison within three years after they were paroled. The 2010 rate was somewhat lower than previous rates. I suspect that the recidivism rates will show a significant increase, especially for new beefs, now that Gov. Moonbeam’ realignment program is dumping thousands of prison inmates and parolees onto California’s counties.
MORE PAROLED FELONS STAY CLEAN, BUT REVOLVING DOOR CONTINUES
By Paige St. John
Los Angeles Times
October 29, 2012
The rate of California prisoners committing new crimes after release has continued to drop, according to a report released Monday by the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
The number of inmates who found themselves back behind bars within three years of release peaked in 2008, at 67.5%. According to Monday's updated report, just 63.7% of adults paroled in 2007 were found guilty of new crimes by 2010. That means that out of 116,000 inmates paroled, more than 75,000 committed new felony crimes that put them back in state prison. Data for more recent years were not available.
The report highlights the severity of the issue of revolving-door criminals in California. The recidivism rate among those with two or more prison stays is more than 75%. More than 16,000 of parolees who committed new felonies had been in CDCR custody 10 times or more.
The majority of those returning to prison did so within a year of release from parole.
The state measures recidivism by counting how many paroled felons return to state custody. Those numbers are bound to drop significantly with realignment, with new criteria for determining parole violations, and because tens of thousands of low-level offenders are now sent to county jails instead of state prison.
Los Angeles County had the lowest recidivism rate of any county in California. Just 54% of its parolees returned to prison. San Francisco County had the highest recidivism rate: almost 78% of parolees went back to prison.
Sex offenders had the highest rate of recidivism, though not for committing new sex-related crimes. Almost 87% of those who returned to prison wound up there because of parole violations. Almost 8% committed some other crime, 3.5% failed to register their address, and fewer than 2% were found guilty of a new sex offense.
THE BEST DESCRIPTION OF WHAT AILS OUR COUNTRY
Finally, someone has explained the true problem we have with our nation, where the guilt really lies and who is really to blame
Whether this actually came from a Czech newspaper or not doesn’t really matter because it’s a good description of what ails this great nation of ours.
THE DANGER TO AMERICA IS NOT BARACK OBAMA BUT THE FOOLS WHO ELECTED HIM
Prager Zeitungon
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting an inexperienced man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama Presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their President.
The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their President.”
Whether this actually came from a Czech newspaper or not doesn’t really matter because it’s a good description of what ails this great nation of ours.
THE DANGER TO AMERICA IS NOT BARACK OBAMA BUT THE FOOLS WHO ELECTED HIM
Prager Zeitungon
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting an inexperienced man like him with the Presidency. It will be far easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama Presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their President.
The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails America . Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The Republic can survive a Barack Obama. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their President.”
A TRUE GOLD STAR PAROLEE
Here is a good case for capital punishment. Paroled murderers do murder again. There is no guarantee that ‘life without parole’ will actually be life without parole.
BENNIE RAY DUPNIK JR., INFAMOUS 1970S PORT ARANSAS MURDERER, DEAD IN APPARENT MURDER-SUICIDE
Lifer paroled in 2010 on sixth bid for freedom
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 30, 2012
The paroled murderer of the owner of a famous, long-lived Texas Gulf Coast beer joint is dead, apparently at his own hand after killing his girlfriend in their Victoria apartment.
51-year-old Bennie Ray Dupnik Jr. and 44-year-old Sandra Rivera were discovered by Rivera's sons. Rivera had been stabbed to death, and Dupnik reportedly slit his wrists. The two had been dating off and on for less than eight weeks. Her family believes that Rivera was on the verge of leaving Dupnik for good.
In 2010, Dupnik was paroled after serving more than 30 years of a life sentence for the May 25, 1978, slaying of 72-year-old Gladys "Shorty" Fowler, founding owner of Port Aransas's now 66-year-old dockside dive Shorty's Place.
Alone in the bar with Fowler early in the evening, Dupnik, then a 16-year-old deckhand, picked up a pool cue and beat the tiny woman to death. After helping himself to the till, Dupnik drove off in Fowler's brown Ford LTD but was arrested 45 minutes after the killing.
Dupnik was tried as an adult and convicted of capital murder. In those days, there was no "life without parole" option, so Dupnik's case came up for review six times, beginning in 1998, after he had served 20 years. The Parole Board denied him five times. On the sixth, in 2010, they granted his wish by a 7-0 vote.
Shorty's "Oldest and Friendliest" Place is still open on Tarpon Street and remains in Fowler's family. Today, it is owned by Fowler's granddaughter, Joy George, who spoke to the Victoria Advocate about Dupnik. "I really do have a real grief for the family in Victoria that is having to go without their mother, sister, grandmother, relative," she said. "That they had to suffer from the same man - that is just unforgivable by the parole board. They are to blame for that one."
(George publicly campaigned against Dupnik's release in 2007. She has said she was unaware of Dupnik's 2010 hearing.)
BENNIE RAY DUPNIK JR., INFAMOUS 1970S PORT ARANSAS MURDERER, DEAD IN APPARENT MURDER-SUICIDE
Lifer paroled in 2010 on sixth bid for freedom
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 30, 2012
The paroled murderer of the owner of a famous, long-lived Texas Gulf Coast beer joint is dead, apparently at his own hand after killing his girlfriend in their Victoria apartment.
51-year-old Bennie Ray Dupnik Jr. and 44-year-old Sandra Rivera were discovered by Rivera's sons. Rivera had been stabbed to death, and Dupnik reportedly slit his wrists. The two had been dating off and on for less than eight weeks. Her family believes that Rivera was on the verge of leaving Dupnik for good.
In 2010, Dupnik was paroled after serving more than 30 years of a life sentence for the May 25, 1978, slaying of 72-year-old Gladys "Shorty" Fowler, founding owner of Port Aransas's now 66-year-old dockside dive Shorty's Place.
Alone in the bar with Fowler early in the evening, Dupnik, then a 16-year-old deckhand, picked up a pool cue and beat the tiny woman to death. After helping himself to the till, Dupnik drove off in Fowler's brown Ford LTD but was arrested 45 minutes after the killing.
Dupnik was tried as an adult and convicted of capital murder. In those days, there was no "life without parole" option, so Dupnik's case came up for review six times, beginning in 1998, after he had served 20 years. The Parole Board denied him five times. On the sixth, in 2010, they granted his wish by a 7-0 vote.
Shorty's "Oldest and Friendliest" Place is still open on Tarpon Street and remains in Fowler's family. Today, it is owned by Fowler's granddaughter, Joy George, who spoke to the Victoria Advocate about Dupnik. "I really do have a real grief for the family in Victoria that is having to go without their mother, sister, grandmother, relative," she said. "That they had to suffer from the same man - that is just unforgivable by the parole board. They are to blame for that one."
(George publicly campaigned against Dupnik's release in 2007. She has said she was unaware of Dupnik's 2010 hearing.)
DEATH TO THAT NOSY DOG
‘Boss,’ the Rio De Janeiro police sniffer dog, to be protected by nine heavily armed officers after drug gang issues death warrant
A lot of police sniffer dogs throughout the world have been targeted by drug gangs.
‘GET BROWNIE’: RIO DRUG GANG ISSUES DEATH WARRANT ON POLICE SNIFFER DOG AFTER IT FINDS 300KG OF THEIR CANNABIS
By Matt Roper
Mail Online
October 30, 2012
A drug gang in Rio de Janeiro has issued a death order against a brown labrador named Boss, after the sniffer dog uncovered 300kg of cannabis.
Five-year-old Boss is the most feared of the 68 sniffer dogs who help police find drugs in Rio’s vast slums, police said.
He has been known to home in on a single hidden cannabis joint buried in the ground several meters away.
The gang in the violent Manguinhos slum wants the labrador’s head after he sniffed out the huge quantity of cannabis hidden inside a false wall.
Police patrolling the favela in the north of the city intercepted a radio message from the trafficking kingpin with an order to ‘target brownie’ - a reference to the dog's color.
The gangsters recently tried to throw him off the scent by hiding a batch of drugs next to an open sewage drain, but the labrador still managed to lead officers to them despite the pungent smell.
Major Vitor Valle, from Rio's military police dog squad, said Boss will continue to work in the slum but will now be protected by nine policemen.
He said it was the first time one of their dogs has received a death threat from the powerful drugs factions.
He said: ‘Since 1955, when the dog squad was first formed, have we had a case like this. We haven't even had a dog injured during police operations.’
He added that Boss has always been an ‘excellent’ sniffer dog. ‘He's become a target because of the amount of the traffickers' drugs he's helped seize,’ he said.
‘We see this as a normal situation. Every one of us is at risk who are working against drugs trafficking.
‘A dog can also be threatened, especially as our dogs have helped find more than 1.5 tons of drugs in the last year. It won't stop us, or him, doing our work.’
A lot of police sniffer dogs throughout the world have been targeted by drug gangs.
‘GET BROWNIE’: RIO DRUG GANG ISSUES DEATH WARRANT ON POLICE SNIFFER DOG AFTER IT FINDS 300KG OF THEIR CANNABIS
By Matt Roper
Mail Online
October 30, 2012
A drug gang in Rio de Janeiro has issued a death order against a brown labrador named Boss, after the sniffer dog uncovered 300kg of cannabis.
Five-year-old Boss is the most feared of the 68 sniffer dogs who help police find drugs in Rio’s vast slums, police said.
He has been known to home in on a single hidden cannabis joint buried in the ground several meters away.
The gang in the violent Manguinhos slum wants the labrador’s head after he sniffed out the huge quantity of cannabis hidden inside a false wall.
Police patrolling the favela in the north of the city intercepted a radio message from the trafficking kingpin with an order to ‘target brownie’ - a reference to the dog's color.
The gangsters recently tried to throw him off the scent by hiding a batch of drugs next to an open sewage drain, but the labrador still managed to lead officers to them despite the pungent smell.
Major Vitor Valle, from Rio's military police dog squad, said Boss will continue to work in the slum but will now be protected by nine policemen.
He said it was the first time one of their dogs has received a death threat from the powerful drugs factions.
He said: ‘Since 1955, when the dog squad was first formed, have we had a case like this. We haven't even had a dog injured during police operations.’
He added that Boss has always been an ‘excellent’ sniffer dog. ‘He's become a target because of the amount of the traffickers' drugs he's helped seize,’ he said.
‘We see this as a normal situation. Every one of us is at risk who are working against drugs trafficking.
‘A dog can also be threatened, especially as our dogs have helped find more than 1.5 tons of drugs in the last year. It won't stop us, or him, doing our work.’
ALBERT EINSTEIN WAS RIGHT
The Unconventional Gazette
October 30, 2012
Albert Einstein said: "I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots."
Everywhere you go, you see people texting on their smart phones, even while they’re driving. Albert Einstein was right. We have become a nation of idiots.
October 30, 2012
Albert Einstein said: "I fear the day when the technology overlaps with our humanity. The world will only have a generation of idiots."
Everywhere you go, you see people texting on their smart phones, even while they’re driving. Albert Einstein was right. We have become a nation of idiots.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
HEROIC OFFICER STABBED MULTIPLE TIMES TRYING TO KEEP MAN FROM JUMPING OFF FREEWAY OVERPASS
One of the stab wounds was to the California Highway Patrol officer’s eye
This is an act of bravery and devotion to duty that would be hard to equal.
WOULD-BE FREEWAY JUMPER STABS OFFICER
Suspect was apprehended before he may have jumped onto the freeway, risking the lives of motorists below
The Press Enterprise
October 29, 2012
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California Highway Patrol officer who — despite being stabbed multiple times — held onto a man who climbed onto a Highway 91 overpass in Riverside has been praised for his bravery.
CHP Sgt. Brian Gonsalves praised the courage and dedication of the officer, who is expected to recover, in apprehending the suspect before he may have jumped onto the freeway, risking the lives of motorists below.
"Our mission is to save lives and that also goes with it," Gonsalves said. "Despite what he had to endure, he continued holding onto this guy. He really went above and beyond."
The CHP declined to identify the wounded officer.
The CHP received a 911 call shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, reporting that a man was climbing the fence of the freeway overpass on La Sierra Avenue, Riverside police Sgt. David Amador said in a statement.
The first CHP officer on scene found Javier Hernandez Rios, 45, of Riverside, climbing the fence of the freeway, and tried to pull him down by his legs.
Police said Rios pulled a knife and began stabbing the officer in the eye, face and back repeatedly. The CHP officer continued to try to pull him off the fence, Amador said.
Off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's Sgt. John Walker and an off-duty Riverside police officer, both of whom were passing by, stopped to help the injured CHP officer, who was still struggling with Rios.
Police said Rios swung the knife at the off-duty officers while he continued to fight with the CHP officer.
A second CHP officer then arrived and shot Rios with a nonlethal projectile, Amador said. Rios was arrested at the scene.
The CHP officer was hospitalized and treated for multiple stab wounds to his back, arms, face and one of his eyes. He was taken to an eye specialist at Loma Linda University Medical Center and is expected to survive. Authorities were unclear if the officer would recover from the eye injury.
Rios was briefly hospitalized after his arrest and released with minor injuries before being booked at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer, mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon on the two off-duty police officers.
The district attorney is expected to review the case next week.
Gonsalves said the wounded officer is a three-year veteran of the CHP and that it was his first position in law enforcement.
Rios was arrested in 2009 on misdemeanor spousal abuse charges. He was accused of punching his wife twice in the ear as she tried to move out, according to court records.
The charge was dismissed last year after he pleaded guilty to an infraction of disturbing the peace. He did not serve any time or pay any fine.
This is an act of bravery and devotion to duty that would be hard to equal.
WOULD-BE FREEWAY JUMPER STABS OFFICER
Suspect was apprehended before he may have jumped onto the freeway, risking the lives of motorists below
The Press Enterprise
October 29, 2012
RIVERSIDE, Calif. — A California Highway Patrol officer who — despite being stabbed multiple times — held onto a man who climbed onto a Highway 91 overpass in Riverside has been praised for his bravery.
CHP Sgt. Brian Gonsalves praised the courage and dedication of the officer, who is expected to recover, in apprehending the suspect before he may have jumped onto the freeway, risking the lives of motorists below.
"Our mission is to save lives and that also goes with it," Gonsalves said. "Despite what he had to endure, he continued holding onto this guy. He really went above and beyond."
The CHP declined to identify the wounded officer.
The CHP received a 911 call shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 25, reporting that a man was climbing the fence of the freeway overpass on La Sierra Avenue, Riverside police Sgt. David Amador said in a statement.
The first CHP officer on scene found Javier Hernandez Rios, 45, of Riverside, climbing the fence of the freeway, and tried to pull him down by his legs.
Police said Rios pulled a knife and began stabbing the officer in the eye, face and back repeatedly. The CHP officer continued to try to pull him off the fence, Amador said.
Off-duty San Bernardino County sheriff's Sgt. John Walker and an off-duty Riverside police officer, both of whom were passing by, stopped to help the injured CHP officer, who was still struggling with Rios.
Police said Rios swung the knife at the off-duty officers while he continued to fight with the CHP officer.
A second CHP officer then arrived and shot Rios with a nonlethal projectile, Amador said. Rios was arrested at the scene.
The CHP officer was hospitalized and treated for multiple stab wounds to his back, arms, face and one of his eyes. He was taken to an eye specialist at Loma Linda University Medical Center and is expected to survive. Authorities were unclear if the officer would recover from the eye injury.
Rios was briefly hospitalized after his arrest and released with minor injuries before being booked at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of attempted murder of a police officer, mayhem and assault with a deadly weapon on the two off-duty police officers.
The district attorney is expected to review the case next week.
Gonsalves said the wounded officer is a three-year veteran of the CHP and that it was his first position in law enforcement.
Rios was arrested in 2009 on misdemeanor spousal abuse charges. He was accused of punching his wife twice in the ear as she tried to move out, according to court records.
The charge was dismissed last year after he pleaded guilty to an infraction of disturbing the peace. He did not serve any time or pay any fine.
MERGER OF LIKUD AND ISRAEL BEITEINU POLITICAL PARTIES SURE TO MAKE OBAMA UNHAPPY
Bibi Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman form an alliance that will keep both men in power and give both Obama and Hillary Clinton severe headaches
Obama, who has personally treated Netanyahu with disdain, is sure to be very unhappy with any move that will keep the Israeli prime minister in power. And Hillary Clinton will be very unhappy to see Lieberman remain as foreign minister in Israel’s next government.
NETANYAHU BOOSTS ELECTION CHANCES WITH NEW ALLIANCE
BY Aviel Schneider
Israel Today
October 28, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again managed to pull a pre-election surprise by merging his Likud Party with Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu Party ahead of the January poll.
Israel Beiteinu is currently the third largest faction in Israel's Knesset, and has been the linchpin in Netanyahu's coalition since the last election in 2009, making Lieberman something of a "king-maker."
In a press conference held last Thursday, both Netanyahu and Lieberman said the merger would "strengthen the government, strengthen the prime minister, and strengthen the country" at a time when Israel is dealing with serious threats and domestic issues.
Netanyahu and Lieberman see largely eye-to-eye on the Iran nuclear threat, the faltering peace process with the Palestinians, and the implementation of more free market capitalist reforms to Israel's traditionally socialist economic system.
The alliance is also one of convenience for both leaders. Newly formed and revitalized left-wing parties are looking to pose a serious challenge to Netanyahu in the upcoming early election, and the combination of Israel Beiteinu's seats with those of the Likud will almost guarantee that he remains head of the Knesset's largest faction.
Lieberman, too, stands to gain much, with analysts agreed that Israel Beiteinu has likely seen its heyday, and would lose a number of mandates to centrist and left-wing parties that are currently on the upswing.
That being said, Lieberman remains popular among right-wing voters, and with a large number of Israel's immigrants from Russia. As part of the merger agreement, he will remain Israel's foreign minister in any future Netanyahu-led government.
Understandably, Israel's left-wing parties were furious over the news, with some going so far as to call the Netanyahu-Lieberman alliance a "fascist union."
Also uneasy over the merger were ultra-Orthodox parties like Shas. Lieberman has been at the forefront of several efforts to force Israel's ultra-Orthodox community to be a more productive segment of society, in particular by being drafted into the army. With Likud and Israel Beiteinu split, the religious factions were able to muster enough influence to resist such efforts.
Obama, who has personally treated Netanyahu with disdain, is sure to be very unhappy with any move that will keep the Israeli prime minister in power. And Hillary Clinton will be very unhappy to see Lieberman remain as foreign minister in Israel’s next government.
NETANYAHU BOOSTS ELECTION CHANCES WITH NEW ALLIANCE
BY Aviel Schneider
Israel Today
October 28, 2012
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has again managed to pull a pre-election surprise by merging his Likud Party with Avigdor Lieberman's Israel Beiteinu Party ahead of the January poll.
Israel Beiteinu is currently the third largest faction in Israel's Knesset, and has been the linchpin in Netanyahu's coalition since the last election in 2009, making Lieberman something of a "king-maker."
In a press conference held last Thursday, both Netanyahu and Lieberman said the merger would "strengthen the government, strengthen the prime minister, and strengthen the country" at a time when Israel is dealing with serious threats and domestic issues.
Netanyahu and Lieberman see largely eye-to-eye on the Iran nuclear threat, the faltering peace process with the Palestinians, and the implementation of more free market capitalist reforms to Israel's traditionally socialist economic system.
The alliance is also one of convenience for both leaders. Newly formed and revitalized left-wing parties are looking to pose a serious challenge to Netanyahu in the upcoming early election, and the combination of Israel Beiteinu's seats with those of the Likud will almost guarantee that he remains head of the Knesset's largest faction.
Lieberman, too, stands to gain much, with analysts agreed that Israel Beiteinu has likely seen its heyday, and would lose a number of mandates to centrist and left-wing parties that are currently on the upswing.
That being said, Lieberman remains popular among right-wing voters, and with a large number of Israel's immigrants from Russia. As part of the merger agreement, he will remain Israel's foreign minister in any future Netanyahu-led government.
Understandably, Israel's left-wing parties were furious over the news, with some going so far as to call the Netanyahu-Lieberman alliance a "fascist union."
Also uneasy over the merger were ultra-Orthodox parties like Shas. Lieberman has been at the forefront of several efforts to force Israel's ultra-Orthodox community to be a more productive segment of society, in particular by being drafted into the army. With Likud and Israel Beiteinu split, the religious factions were able to muster enough influence to resist such efforts.
ANOTHER FOUR YEARS WILL AFFECT OUR ECONOMY, OUR FREEDOMS, RULE OF LAW AND SOCIAL COHESION, BUT NOT IN A GOOD WAY
When Erskine Bowles, President Clinton’s former chief of staff, slams Obama’s ‘irresponsible budgetary behavior,’ Americans better take note!
WHEN THE ‘KOOKS’ AND ‘RACISTS’ TURN OUT TO BE YOUR IDEOLOGICAL ALLIES
By Jay Ambrose
Jewish World Review
October 29, 2012
Erskine Bowles is not some right-wing, know-nothing extremist. He is in fact left of center, a former university president who served as White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton and as Democratic co-chair of President Barack Obama's bipartisan debt commission. It is in that latter position that he slammed Obama's irresponsible budgetary behavior while praising Paul Ryan to the skies.
Some Obama supporters try to pretend over and over again that it's mainly kooks -- many of them racists -- who have been sharply critical of Obama's handling of major issues. But knowledgeable, balanced sources like Bowles have repeatedly confirmed how Obama has run lickety-split from a potentially ruinous debt threat, doing more to flatten perfectly sound proposals from the other side than to come up with anything credible of his own.
The evidence in fact surrounds us that Obama is pushing us closer and closer to the tipping point on any number of crucial matters affecting our economy, our freedoms, rule of law and social cohesion. Give him another four years to do his sometimes amateurish, politically sneaky, ideologically overreaching thing, and our deliverance possibilities could be vastly reduced.
Let's start a brief review of some of these issues, with emphasis on the obese $16 trillion debt. Our president, who cheerfully overfed it with trillion-dollar deficits, then had the temerity to attack Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a debate for wanting to keep our defense strong. The defense budget is around 20 percent of the total budget, and that's including wars that cost little more during all the Bush years than Obama's stimulus measures. The core of the peril is entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that in their entirety are getting ever closer to two-thirds of the budget and could eventually pass that mark because of an aging population.
Well before he became the Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Ryan of Wisconsin put forth a well-considered restructuring plan to salvage Medicare. That proposal and his other budgetary ideas were denounced by Obama even though he was making his own Medicare cuts that would not save a single budgetary dollar. They were meant to help finance Obamacare, a brand-new entitlement worsening our financial burdens while also piling up 13,000 pages of new regulations, just for starters. This conglomeration comes on top of an already existing regulatory mishmash that inconveniences us, occasionally handcuffs our liberties, thwarts prosperity and sometimes even shoves us in fatal directions.
Here is another tipping-point issue summed up by the egregious excess of the U.S. code's 356,000 pages of laws and regulations that leave fewer and fewer aspects of our lives untouched. Obviously, some of these regulations are good and needed, but many are a terrible bother and worse. Reductions are needed, but what Obama is giving us instead is more, including some in Obamacare already scaring businesses out of hiring more people for fear of unaffordable costs.
Obama's regulatory enthusiasms hardly end there, as we see in the way the Environmental Protection Agency is slapping energy industries around. This bullying to no good end and conceivably disastrous ones is in no small measure the consequence of still another tipping point issue: radical environmentalism that is forever winning its way.
Most of us are pro-environment, of course, but at some point some parts of the environmental movement degenerated into a fanatical, theocratically minded religion that Obama seems to embrace. No single example is clearer than his nixing a vitally important Canadian-Texas oil pipeline as not safe when dozens of scientists had spent three years and filled eight volumes with details proving it was.
Actions of this sort could demolish the prospect of an economy-resuscitating energy boom that otherwise seems to be in the offing. That's hardly the end of the tipping-point story. There is also the risk to rule of law that comes from Obama's disregard of constitutional restraints and there are still other worries that could be lessened with a voter-induced turnover in management, starting at the top.
WHEN THE ‘KOOKS’ AND ‘RACISTS’ TURN OUT TO BE YOUR IDEOLOGICAL ALLIES
By Jay Ambrose
Jewish World Review
October 29, 2012
Erskine Bowles is not some right-wing, know-nothing extremist. He is in fact left of center, a former university president who served as White House chief of staff under President Bill Clinton and as Democratic co-chair of President Barack Obama's bipartisan debt commission. It is in that latter position that he slammed Obama's irresponsible budgetary behavior while praising Paul Ryan to the skies.
Some Obama supporters try to pretend over and over again that it's mainly kooks -- many of them racists -- who have been sharply critical of Obama's handling of major issues. But knowledgeable, balanced sources like Bowles have repeatedly confirmed how Obama has run lickety-split from a potentially ruinous debt threat, doing more to flatten perfectly sound proposals from the other side than to come up with anything credible of his own.
The evidence in fact surrounds us that Obama is pushing us closer and closer to the tipping point on any number of crucial matters affecting our economy, our freedoms, rule of law and social cohesion. Give him another four years to do his sometimes amateurish, politically sneaky, ideologically overreaching thing, and our deliverance possibilities could be vastly reduced.
Let's start a brief review of some of these issues, with emphasis on the obese $16 trillion debt. Our president, who cheerfully overfed it with trillion-dollar deficits, then had the temerity to attack Republican challenger Mitt Romney in a debate for wanting to keep our defense strong. The defense budget is around 20 percent of the total budget, and that's including wars that cost little more during all the Bush years than Obama's stimulus measures. The core of the peril is entitlements such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that in their entirety are getting ever closer to two-thirds of the budget and could eventually pass that mark because of an aging population.
Well before he became the Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Ryan of Wisconsin put forth a well-considered restructuring plan to salvage Medicare. That proposal and his other budgetary ideas were denounced by Obama even though he was making his own Medicare cuts that would not save a single budgetary dollar. They were meant to help finance Obamacare, a brand-new entitlement worsening our financial burdens while also piling up 13,000 pages of new regulations, just for starters. This conglomeration comes on top of an already existing regulatory mishmash that inconveniences us, occasionally handcuffs our liberties, thwarts prosperity and sometimes even shoves us in fatal directions.
Here is another tipping-point issue summed up by the egregious excess of the U.S. code's 356,000 pages of laws and regulations that leave fewer and fewer aspects of our lives untouched. Obviously, some of these regulations are good and needed, but many are a terrible bother and worse. Reductions are needed, but what Obama is giving us instead is more, including some in Obamacare already scaring businesses out of hiring more people for fear of unaffordable costs.
Obama's regulatory enthusiasms hardly end there, as we see in the way the Environmental Protection Agency is slapping energy industries around. This bullying to no good end and conceivably disastrous ones is in no small measure the consequence of still another tipping point issue: radical environmentalism that is forever winning its way.
Most of us are pro-environment, of course, but at some point some parts of the environmental movement degenerated into a fanatical, theocratically minded religion that Obama seems to embrace. No single example is clearer than his nixing a vitally important Canadian-Texas oil pipeline as not safe when dozens of scientists had spent three years and filled eight volumes with details proving it was.
Actions of this sort could demolish the prospect of an economy-resuscitating energy boom that otherwise seems to be in the offing. That's hardly the end of the tipping-point story. There is also the risk to rule of law that comes from Obama's disregard of constitutional restraints and there are still other worries that could be lessened with a voter-induced turnover in management, starting at the top.
12-YEAR-OLD HANGED DOG FROM DOOR HANDLE AND WATCHED IT SLOWLY DIE
Bob Walsh calls this despicable little bastard a ‘future client,’ meaning that he will eventually end up in prison. I believe Bob is exactly right and when he does go to prison, it will be for a crime of violence against a human.
SALINAS POLICE: BOY, 12, KILLS DOG BY HANGING
The Salinas Californian
October 28, 2012
Salinas Police say a 12-year-old boy killed his dog, telling them,“I was mad at the dog so I killed it.”
At 4:05 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a 911 call in which the caller hung up before explaining the emergency.
Police said the female caller was heard saying “he’s hurting the dog” as she struggled with someone while on the phone.
The occupants of the apartment in the 300 block of Front Street refused to open the door when police arrived. Officers obtained a pass key.
They said they found a dead terrier-mix dog of about 12 pounds hanging by its collar on the bedroom door handle.
A 12-year-old boy came out of the same bedroom and was detained by officers.
Police said the boy told them he wanted to see the dog die.
The boy showed no remorse for his behavior, police said.
He was booked in Monterey County Juvenile Hall for felony cruelty to an animal.
SALINAS POLICE: BOY, 12, KILLS DOG BY HANGING
The Salinas Californian
October 28, 2012
Salinas Police say a 12-year-old boy killed his dog, telling them,“I was mad at the dog so I killed it.”
At 4:05 p.m. Friday, officers responded to a 911 call in which the caller hung up before explaining the emergency.
Police said the female caller was heard saying “he’s hurting the dog” as she struggled with someone while on the phone.
The occupants of the apartment in the 300 block of Front Street refused to open the door when police arrived. Officers obtained a pass key.
They said they found a dead terrier-mix dog of about 12 pounds hanging by its collar on the bedroom door handle.
A 12-year-old boy came out of the same bedroom and was detained by officers.
Police said the boy told them he wanted to see the dog die.
The boy showed no remorse for his behavior, police said.
He was booked in Monterey County Juvenile Hall for felony cruelty to an animal.
A PROBLEM WITH TIGHT SKIRTS
The Unconventional Gazette
October 29, 2012
At a busy bus stop in downtown Atlanta, a beautiful woman wearing a very tight leather skirt was waiting in line for a city bus.
After the bus arrived and stopped, and it was her turn to get on, she became aware that her skirt was too tight to allow her leg to come up to the height of the first step of the bus.
Slightly embarrassed and with a quick smile to the bus driver, she reached behind her to unzip her skirt a little, thinking that this would give her enough slack to raise her leg. Again, she tried to make the step only to discover she still couldn't.
So, a little more embarrassed, she once again reached behind her to unzip her skirt a little more. For the second time she attempted the step and, once again, much to her chagrin, she could not raise her leg.
With little smile to the driver, she again reached behind to unzip a little more and again was unable to make the step.
About this time, a large Texan who was standing behind her picked her up easily by the waist and placed her gently on the step of the bus.
The woman went ballistic and turned to the would-be good Samaritan and screeched, "How dare you touch my body! I don't even know who you are!"
The Texan smiled and drawled, "Well, ma'am, normally I would agree with you, but after you unzipped my fly three times, I kinda figured we was friends."
October 29, 2012
At a busy bus stop in downtown Atlanta, a beautiful woman wearing a very tight leather skirt was waiting in line for a city bus.
After the bus arrived and stopped, and it was her turn to get on, she became aware that her skirt was too tight to allow her leg to come up to the height of the first step of the bus.
Slightly embarrassed and with a quick smile to the bus driver, she reached behind her to unzip her skirt a little, thinking that this would give her enough slack to raise her leg. Again, she tried to make the step only to discover she still couldn't.
So, a little more embarrassed, she once again reached behind her to unzip her skirt a little more. For the second time she attempted the step and, once again, much to her chagrin, she could not raise her leg.
With little smile to the driver, she again reached behind to unzip a little more and again was unable to make the step.
About this time, a large Texan who was standing behind her picked her up easily by the waist and placed her gently on the step of the bus.
The woman went ballistic and turned to the would-be good Samaritan and screeched, "How dare you touch my body! I don't even know who you are!"
The Texan smiled and drawled, "Well, ma'am, normally I would agree with you, but after you unzipped my fly three times, I kinda figured we was friends."
Monday, October 29, 2012
OFFICIALLY SANCITONED PARTY AT ELITE UNIVERSITY HOSPITALIZES 11 SOUSED STUDENTS
Rice University, one of the nation’s premier universities, officially sanctions annual ‘Night of Decadence’
No wonder Chinese university students excel over our university students. The Chinese authorities would never allow students to participate in a night of debauchery.
11 RICE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER ‘NIGHT OF DECADENCE’
KHOU.com
October 28, 2012
HOUSTON—Eleven students went to the hospital Saturday night after a “Night of Decadence” celebration.
The Night of Decadence party has been being held right around Halloween since 1972. It is so well known that it was, at one point, named a “Top Ten Greatest College Party" by a national magazine.
The event is approved by the university and alcohol is served to those of age. That is consistent with university policy.
More than 1,200 people attended the event held at Weiss College, a name Rice University uses for its residence halls.
Eleven students were taken to area hospitals suffering from what the University said were symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
“That is a large number. It is larger than it has been historically by a large amount actually, so we are concerned about that,” said Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson.
All 11 of the students were released from area hospitals early Sunday morning. Rice officials could not tell us the exact ages of who was taken to the hospital, but they did assume that at least some were under age.
“We re-evaluate constantly. We are in constant dialogue with our student leaders to find the most effective ways to keep our students safe, to keep our students healthy. (And) to make sure that they have the proper information to make appropriate choices,” Hutchinson said.
In 1999 a school panel at Rice University examined the Night of Decadence tradition and whether or not it was going too far.
No wonder Chinese university students excel over our university students. The Chinese authorities would never allow students to participate in a night of debauchery.
11 RICE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER ‘NIGHT OF DECADENCE’
KHOU.com
October 28, 2012
HOUSTON—Eleven students went to the hospital Saturday night after a “Night of Decadence” celebration.
The Night of Decadence party has been being held right around Halloween since 1972. It is so well known that it was, at one point, named a “Top Ten Greatest College Party" by a national magazine.
The event is approved by the university and alcohol is served to those of age. That is consistent with university policy.
More than 1,200 people attended the event held at Weiss College, a name Rice University uses for its residence halls.
Eleven students were taken to area hospitals suffering from what the University said were symptoms of alcohol poisoning.
“That is a large number. It is larger than it has been historically by a large amount actually, so we are concerned about that,” said Dean of Undergraduates John Hutchinson.
All 11 of the students were released from area hospitals early Sunday morning. Rice officials could not tell us the exact ages of who was taken to the hospital, but they did assume that at least some were under age.
“We re-evaluate constantly. We are in constant dialogue with our student leaders to find the most effective ways to keep our students safe, to keep our students healthy. (And) to make sure that they have the proper information to make appropriate choices,” Hutchinson said.
In 1999 a school panel at Rice University examined the Night of Decadence tradition and whether or not it was going too far.
PALM OIL: THE LEADING CAUSE FOR THE EXTINCTION OF ORANGUTANS
The habitat of these magnificent apes is being replaced by palm oil plantations whose owners pay a bounty for ridding this already endangered species
I have a great affinity for the ‘Red Apes,’ having worked with them during my years as a volunteer in the primate section of the Houston Zoo. Orangutans are the most intelligent of all primates. In the wild, they nest and spend most of their time in trees. While fruits are the mainstay of their diets, they also eat tree bark and leaves. They first became endangered through the deforestation for lumber of their rainforest habitat. In recent years, the introduction of palm oil plantations in the deforested areas has hastened their extinction.
BLIND IN ONE EYE, THE ORANGUTAN FIGHTING FOR LIFE AFTER BEING SHOT MORE THAN 100 TIMES BY PALM OIL PLANTATION THUGS
Rescue workers are fighting to save her life as pellets hit near heart
By Richard Shears
Mail Online
October 27, 2012
An endangered orangutan is fighting for life after being shot more than 100 times with an air rifle in a cruel attack.
The female ape, called Aan,has been blinded in one eye and has sustained other serious wounds to her body after being struck repeatedly by pellets.
She was hit 37 times in the head by the lead slugs, while 67 projectiles penetrated other parts of her body in the shooting, which took place in an oil palm plantation in the Indonesian part of Borneo.
'We're amazed, but truly thankful, that she has managed to cheat death – but it has been touch and go', said a local conservationist.
The savage attack is yet another incident in a catalogue of cruelty against the large apes which are being targeted by vigilantes working for oil plantation owners.
As their forest habitat has dwindled with trees being chopped down for the forestry industries, orangutans have encroached onto oil plantations and other properties looking for food.
Earlier this year the Daily Mail revealed the story of a mother orangutan photographed with her arms around a baby ape as hunters working for their oil plantation boss moved in for the kill.
Fortunately conservationists were able to save her before any harm came to her or the infant and they were moved to another location.
But Aan has not been so lucky. Conservationists said the only good news to emerge from the incident is that she has survived and has started to eat at a clinic where the pellets are still being removed from her.
Aan’s recovery is being aided by volunteers from the British-based Orangutan Foundation, but they are concerned she could die from infections caused by the wounds to her head, as well as those near her heart and lungs.
The head of the local conservation agency, Hartono, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said: 'Even though she is eating, she is still, technically, fighting for her life.
'She has been very seriously injured and she could relapse at any moment. But she’s a true fighter. She’s fighting very hard.'
Added to the fears that Aan could still die are concerns that should she survive she might lose the sight in her remaining eye and her hearing could be affected.
If she survives, conservationists fear she will never be able to be released back into her slowly diminishing world in the wild.
She would be an easy target for hunters once again and she would have problems finding food.
But keeping her in captivity would also cause her distress as she would want to return to a mate or an extended family still in the jungle.
Rangers from the conservation group found Aan struggling through grassland on the outskirts of an oil plantation and managed to catch her and take her to a clinic.
'The next few weeks are touch and go,’ said Hartono. 'We are all praying for her.'
Six months ago four men were sent to jail for eight months for shooting and beating to death three orangutans and long-nosed monkeys in East Kalimantan – the Indonesian part of Borneo, the large island that is shared with Malaysia.
It was revealed after their arrest that the owners of a Malaysian oil company had paid them to drive the apes away from a plantation.
Just 50,000 to 60,000 of the two species of orangutans are left in the wild, 80 per cent of them in Indonesia and the remainder in Malaysia.
International conservation groups are worried the animals are faced with extinction from poaching and the rapid destruction of their forest habitat, which is being swallowed up by palm oil plantations.
I have a great affinity for the ‘Red Apes,’ having worked with them during my years as a volunteer in the primate section of the Houston Zoo. Orangutans are the most intelligent of all primates. In the wild, they nest and spend most of their time in trees. While fruits are the mainstay of their diets, they also eat tree bark and leaves. They first became endangered through the deforestation for lumber of their rainforest habitat. In recent years, the introduction of palm oil plantations in the deforested areas has hastened their extinction.
BLIND IN ONE EYE, THE ORANGUTAN FIGHTING FOR LIFE AFTER BEING SHOT MORE THAN 100 TIMES BY PALM OIL PLANTATION THUGS
Rescue workers are fighting to save her life as pellets hit near heart
By Richard Shears
Mail Online
October 27, 2012
An endangered orangutan is fighting for life after being shot more than 100 times with an air rifle in a cruel attack.
The female ape, called Aan,has been blinded in one eye and has sustained other serious wounds to her body after being struck repeatedly by pellets.
She was hit 37 times in the head by the lead slugs, while 67 projectiles penetrated other parts of her body in the shooting, which took place in an oil palm plantation in the Indonesian part of Borneo.
'We're amazed, but truly thankful, that she has managed to cheat death – but it has been touch and go', said a local conservationist.
The savage attack is yet another incident in a catalogue of cruelty against the large apes which are being targeted by vigilantes working for oil plantation owners.
As their forest habitat has dwindled with trees being chopped down for the forestry industries, orangutans have encroached onto oil plantations and other properties looking for food.
Earlier this year the Daily Mail revealed the story of a mother orangutan photographed with her arms around a baby ape as hunters working for their oil plantation boss moved in for the kill.
Fortunately conservationists were able to save her before any harm came to her or the infant and they were moved to another location.
But Aan has not been so lucky. Conservationists said the only good news to emerge from the incident is that she has survived and has started to eat at a clinic where the pellets are still being removed from her.
Aan’s recovery is being aided by volunteers from the British-based Orangutan Foundation, but they are concerned she could die from infections caused by the wounds to her head, as well as those near her heart and lungs.
The head of the local conservation agency, Hartono, who like many Indonesians uses only one name, said: 'Even though she is eating, she is still, technically, fighting for her life.
'She has been very seriously injured and she could relapse at any moment. But she’s a true fighter. She’s fighting very hard.'
Added to the fears that Aan could still die are concerns that should she survive she might lose the sight in her remaining eye and her hearing could be affected.
If she survives, conservationists fear she will never be able to be released back into her slowly diminishing world in the wild.
She would be an easy target for hunters once again and she would have problems finding food.
But keeping her in captivity would also cause her distress as she would want to return to a mate or an extended family still in the jungle.
Rangers from the conservation group found Aan struggling through grassland on the outskirts of an oil plantation and managed to catch her and take her to a clinic.
'The next few weeks are touch and go,’ said Hartono. 'We are all praying for her.'
Six months ago four men were sent to jail for eight months for shooting and beating to death three orangutans and long-nosed monkeys in East Kalimantan – the Indonesian part of Borneo, the large island that is shared with Malaysia.
It was revealed after their arrest that the owners of a Malaysian oil company had paid them to drive the apes away from a plantation.
Just 50,000 to 60,000 of the two species of orangutans are left in the wild, 80 per cent of them in Indonesia and the remainder in Malaysia.
International conservation groups are worried the animals are faced with extinction from poaching and the rapid destruction of their forest habitat, which is being swallowed up by palm oil plantations.
SHOOTOUT: CROOKS MISS, COPS DON’T
Bob Walsh describes this incident as ‘Two rehabilitated, three in custody following chase and shootout.’ And Bob asks, ‘Don’t you love happy endings?’ To answer that question, I am sure that police critics are not happy with this ending and will find any number of things wrong with this police shooting.
TWO KILLED AFTER CHASE, SHOOTOUT WITH POLICE IN VISALIA
By Stephen Ceasar
Los Angeles Times
October 27, 2012
Two suspects were killed after a police chase and shootout with officers in the Central Valley city of Visalia, police said Saturday.
The incident began when officers attempted to make a traffic stop about 11:30 p.m. Friday, but the driver of the vehicle failed to pull over. Officers pursued the vehicle until the driver lost control and crashed in a field, according to the Visalia Police Department.
As the suspects exited the vehicle, they fired shots at the officers, authorities said. The officers returned fire, hitting three suspects. Two other people remained in the vehicle and were not injured.
Two of the three suspects who were shot later died, and the third was taken to a hospital for treatment, the Police Department said.
Two handguns were found at the scene.
TWO KILLED AFTER CHASE, SHOOTOUT WITH POLICE IN VISALIA
By Stephen Ceasar
Los Angeles Times
October 27, 2012
Two suspects were killed after a police chase and shootout with officers in the Central Valley city of Visalia, police said Saturday.
The incident began when officers attempted to make a traffic stop about 11:30 p.m. Friday, but the driver of the vehicle failed to pull over. Officers pursued the vehicle until the driver lost control and crashed in a field, according to the Visalia Police Department.
As the suspects exited the vehicle, they fired shots at the officers, authorities said. The officers returned fire, hitting three suspects. Two other people remained in the vehicle and were not injured.
Two of the three suspects who were shot later died, and the third was taken to a hospital for treatment, the Police Department said.
Two handguns were found at the scene.
PARAPROSDOKIANS BY WINSTON CHURCHILL
A paraprosdokian is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. Winston Churchill was fond of using paraprosdokians. Here are some of them:
Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.
Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station.
I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.
In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'
I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. Amen.
I'm supposed to respect my elders, but its getting harder and harder for me to find one now.
__________
Cecil Arnold, a retired Houston arson investigator, submitted Churchill’s paraprosdokians to BGB and added one of his own:
Once I thought I was wrong, but I was wrong.
Where there's a will, I want to be in it.
The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.
Since light travels faster than sound, some people appear bright until you hear them speak.
If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.
We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.
War does not determine who is right - only who is left.
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
They begin the evening news with 'Good Evening,' then proceed to tell you why it isn't.
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.
Buses stop in bus stations. Trains stop in train stations. On my desk is a work station.
I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.
In filling out an application, where it says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'
I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.
Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.
Behind every successful man is his woman. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.
A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.
You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.
Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.
There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.
I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.
Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.
Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.
Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car. Amen.
I'm supposed to respect my elders, but its getting harder and harder for me to find one now.
__________
Cecil Arnold, a retired Houston arson investigator, submitted Churchill’s paraprosdokians to BGB and added one of his own:
Once I thought I was wrong, but I was wrong.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
DEADLY SHOOTING FROM POLICE HELICOPTER GETS ACLU ALL RILED UP
"If initial reports are accurate," ACLU of Texas Executive Director Terri Burke stated in a press release, "the DPS has [started] executing persons who they merely suspect of the civil offense of unlawful entry into the United States. And where's the 'public safety' when a trooper in a helicopter opens fire on unarmed persons in a vehicle on a public road?"
While I think the decision in this case to shoot was not a good one – my agency had a written policy prohibiting firing from a moving vehicle - where does the ACLU come off with the absurd contention that smuggling illegal immigrants is a ‘civil offense?’ If the ACLU’s Terri Burke only had half a brain, she would still have to know that smuggling is a criminal offense.
TEXAS TROOPER WHO FIRED FROM HELICOPTER WAS TRYING TO DISABLE PICKUP TRUCK DURING DEADLY CHASE
Associated Press
October 26, 2012
LA JOYA, Texas — A Texas state trooper who fired on a pickup truck from a helicopter during a deadly chase through the desert was trying to disable the vehicle and suspected it was being used to smuggle drugs, authorities said Friday.
The disclosure came a day after the incident left two illegal immigrants from Guatemala dead on an isolated gravel road near the town of La Joya, just north of the Mexico border.
State game wardens were the first to encounter the truck Thursday. After the driver refused to stop, they radioed for help and state police responded, according to Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Mike Cox.
When the helicopter with a sharpshooter arrived, officers concluded that the truck appeared to be carrying a “typical covered drug load” on its bed and was travelling at reckless speeds, police said.
After the shots were fired and the truck’s tires blown out, the driver lost control and crashed into a ditch.
Eight people who were in the truck were arrested. At least seven of them were also from Guatemala. No drugs were found.
The sharpshooter was placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure after such incidents.
An expert on police chases said the decision to fire on the truck was “a reckless act” that served “no legitimate law enforcement purpose.”
“In 25 years following police pursuits, I hadn’t seen a situation where an officer shot a speeding vehicle from a helicopter,” said Geoffrey Alpert, professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina. Such action would be reasonable only if “you know for sure the person driving the car deserves to die and that there are no other occupants.”
In general, he said, law enforcement agencies allow the use of deadly force only when the car is being used as a weapon, not “just on a hunch,” Alpert added.
The Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for the agency’s policy governing the use of deadly force.
Other law enforcement agencies that patrol the border say they have limits on the practice.
For instance, federal Customs and Borders Protection agents “are trained to use deadly force in circumstances that pose a threat to their lives, the lives of their fellow law enforcement partners and innocent third parties,” agency spokesman Doug Mosier said.
But a report presented Thursday to the United Nations by the American Civil Liberties Union said shootings and excessive force by Customs and Border Protection agents on the border have left at least 20 individuals dead or seriously hurt since January 2010.
Of those, eight cases involved agents responding to reports of people throwing rocks. Six involved people killed while standing on the Mexican side of the border.
In recent years, Texas state police have increased their presence in the border area, deploying more agents, more helicopters and more boats to patrol the Rio Grande.
Troopers are regularly involved in high-speed pursuits, often chasing drug smugglers into the river and back to Mexico.
Agency Director Stephen McCraw has said state police were pushed into that role because the federal government’s efforts to secure the border have been insufficient.
Diplomats quickly began their own investigation into the chase.
The head of the Guatemalan Consulate in McAllen said she is demanding federal and state authorities provide an explanation.
“I am baffled. I can’t understand how this could happen,” Alba Caceres said. “I understand that the agents are doing their job, that they are protecting their border. But if there is someone who is responsible for this, he has to pay.”
The Guatemalans started their journey 19 days ago near Guatemala City, with plans to stay with friends and relatives in New York, New Jersey and Houston, she said.
They were covered with a tarp, but as the car sped away from the game warden and the helicopter, the men “were having lots of trouble holding on to that tarp, Caceres said. “They must have seen them.”
While I think the decision in this case to shoot was not a good one – my agency had a written policy prohibiting firing from a moving vehicle - where does the ACLU come off with the absurd contention that smuggling illegal immigrants is a ‘civil offense?’ If the ACLU’s Terri Burke only had half a brain, she would still have to know that smuggling is a criminal offense.
TEXAS TROOPER WHO FIRED FROM HELICOPTER WAS TRYING TO DISABLE PICKUP TRUCK DURING DEADLY CHASE
Associated Press
October 26, 2012
LA JOYA, Texas — A Texas state trooper who fired on a pickup truck from a helicopter during a deadly chase through the desert was trying to disable the vehicle and suspected it was being used to smuggle drugs, authorities said Friday.
The disclosure came a day after the incident left two illegal immigrants from Guatemala dead on an isolated gravel road near the town of La Joya, just north of the Mexico border.
State game wardens were the first to encounter the truck Thursday. After the driver refused to stop, they radioed for help and state police responded, according to Parks and Wildlife Department spokesman Mike Cox.
When the helicopter with a sharpshooter arrived, officers concluded that the truck appeared to be carrying a “typical covered drug load” on its bed and was travelling at reckless speeds, police said.
After the shots were fired and the truck’s tires blown out, the driver lost control and crashed into a ditch.
Eight people who were in the truck were arrested. At least seven of them were also from Guatemala. No drugs were found.
The sharpshooter was placed on administrative leave, a standard procedure after such incidents.
An expert on police chases said the decision to fire on the truck was “a reckless act” that served “no legitimate law enforcement purpose.”
“In 25 years following police pursuits, I hadn’t seen a situation where an officer shot a speeding vehicle from a helicopter,” said Geoffrey Alpert, professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina. Such action would be reasonable only if “you know for sure the person driving the car deserves to die and that there are no other occupants.”
In general, he said, law enforcement agencies allow the use of deadly force only when the car is being used as a weapon, not “just on a hunch,” Alpert added.
The Texas Department of Public Safety did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for the agency’s policy governing the use of deadly force.
Other law enforcement agencies that patrol the border say they have limits on the practice.
For instance, federal Customs and Borders Protection agents “are trained to use deadly force in circumstances that pose a threat to their lives, the lives of their fellow law enforcement partners and innocent third parties,” agency spokesman Doug Mosier said.
But a report presented Thursday to the United Nations by the American Civil Liberties Union said shootings and excessive force by Customs and Border Protection agents on the border have left at least 20 individuals dead or seriously hurt since January 2010.
Of those, eight cases involved agents responding to reports of people throwing rocks. Six involved people killed while standing on the Mexican side of the border.
In recent years, Texas state police have increased their presence in the border area, deploying more agents, more helicopters and more boats to patrol the Rio Grande.
Troopers are regularly involved in high-speed pursuits, often chasing drug smugglers into the river and back to Mexico.
Agency Director Stephen McCraw has said state police were pushed into that role because the federal government’s efforts to secure the border have been insufficient.
Diplomats quickly began their own investigation into the chase.
The head of the Guatemalan Consulate in McAllen said she is demanding federal and state authorities provide an explanation.
“I am baffled. I can’t understand how this could happen,” Alba Caceres said. “I understand that the agents are doing their job, that they are protecting their border. But if there is someone who is responsible for this, he has to pay.”
The Guatemalans started their journey 19 days ago near Guatemala City, with plans to stay with friends and relatives in New York, New Jersey and Houston, she said.
They were covered with a tarp, but as the car sped away from the game warden and the helicopter, the men “were having lots of trouble holding on to that tarp, Caceres said. “They must have seen them.”
A TRAGIC CASE, BUT THE CORRECT JUDGEMENT
Young woman permanently brain damaged by doped-up, unlicensed trucker whose rig had no brakes, loses $8 million jury award
This is one of those cases in which you want to pull for the victim, but there is no justice in holding a businessman liable for the injuries caused by a truck driver over whom he had no control.
TEXAS SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR MICHELLE GAINES CASE, $8 MILLION JUDGEMENT REMAINS OVERTURNED
By Margaret Downing
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 26, 2012
The Texas Supreme Court today rejected the appeal by Michelle Gaines, the Palestine, TX woman we wrote about in August who as a teenager was broadsided by an 18-wheeler with no brakes and suffered extensive lasting brain injuries.
Initially a jury had awarded Gaines more than $8 million in damages and levied these against Kenneth Woodworth, the driver of the tractor-trailer -- who had had no driver's license for six years (let alone a commercial one) and admitted he "had done some methamphetamines" the day before he inspected the brakes on the trailer he was pulling. They found against Benny Joe Adkinson, Woodworth's employer and the owner of the rig.
The jury also found against Joseph Pritchett, a businessman with lots in Robstown and Conroe who buys and sells new and old oilfield equipment, who'd had a lot of deals with Adkinson over the years and who, Michelle's attorneys say, had entered into a joint enterprise with Adkinson to use this particular rig as a template for other rigs they'd produce and sell. Pritchett, who was added later in the case, was the only one with any real money.
However, after Prichett filed an appeal arguing there was no proof of any joint enterprise, the 12th Court of Appeals sided with him and overturned the judgment.
The appeals court ruled that Michelle's attorneys had failed to prove that Pritchett had any control over the drilling rig and what Adkinson had done with it, even though the first person Adkinson called after the wreck was Pritchett. They said Pritchett didn't owe a penny; he'd had nothing to do with the accident. It was a sad situation, his attorney Jennifer Grace says, but he's not responsible.
The key point, according to Grace, was that setting a precedent by allowing Pritchett to be held liable would have a devastating effect on business in Texas. "If this were allowed to impose liability, it would forever change the business landscape in Texas. Anybody that was in business with somebody else could potentially be responsible for their acts that they had no control over."
Attorney Scott Clearman who took over Gaines case appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.
Michelle's main caregiver is Mike Gaines who has said that he wanted the money so his daughter, now in her late 20s, could get better treatment and so her needs could be met after his death.
Unless the Texas Supreme Court reconsiders, Michelle will probably have to go to a state facility after her father's death.
This is one of those cases in which you want to pull for the victim, but there is no justice in holding a businessman liable for the injuries caused by a truck driver over whom he had no control.
TEXAS SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR MICHELLE GAINES CASE, $8 MILLION JUDGEMENT REMAINS OVERTURNED
By Margaret Downing
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 26, 2012
The Texas Supreme Court today rejected the appeal by Michelle Gaines, the Palestine, TX woman we wrote about in August who as a teenager was broadsided by an 18-wheeler with no brakes and suffered extensive lasting brain injuries.
Initially a jury had awarded Gaines more than $8 million in damages and levied these against Kenneth Woodworth, the driver of the tractor-trailer -- who had had no driver's license for six years (let alone a commercial one) and admitted he "had done some methamphetamines" the day before he inspected the brakes on the trailer he was pulling. They found against Benny Joe Adkinson, Woodworth's employer and the owner of the rig.
The jury also found against Joseph Pritchett, a businessman with lots in Robstown and Conroe who buys and sells new and old oilfield equipment, who'd had a lot of deals with Adkinson over the years and who, Michelle's attorneys say, had entered into a joint enterprise with Adkinson to use this particular rig as a template for other rigs they'd produce and sell. Pritchett, who was added later in the case, was the only one with any real money.
However, after Prichett filed an appeal arguing there was no proof of any joint enterprise, the 12th Court of Appeals sided with him and overturned the judgment.
The appeals court ruled that Michelle's attorneys had failed to prove that Pritchett had any control over the drilling rig and what Adkinson had done with it, even though the first person Adkinson called after the wreck was Pritchett. They said Pritchett didn't owe a penny; he'd had nothing to do with the accident. It was a sad situation, his attorney Jennifer Grace says, but he's not responsible.
The key point, according to Grace, was that setting a precedent by allowing Pritchett to be held liable would have a devastating effect on business in Texas. "If this were allowed to impose liability, it would forever change the business landscape in Texas. Anybody that was in business with somebody else could potentially be responsible for their acts that they had no control over."
Attorney Scott Clearman who took over Gaines case appealed to the Texas Supreme Court, which declined to hear the case.
Michelle's main caregiver is Mike Gaines who has said that he wanted the money so his daughter, now in her late 20s, could get better treatment and so her needs could be met after his death.
Unless the Texas Supreme Court reconsiders, Michelle will probably have to go to a state facility after her father's death.
MEAT LOAF BETTER THAN HOLLYWOOD CRÈME DE LA CRÈME
The rocker’s endorsement of Romney could be more influential than endorsements of Obama by Hollywood’s elite.
MEAT LOAF JOINS CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS OF ROMNEY
Thomson/Reuters
October 26, 2012
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney could be feeling paradise by the dashboard lights after rocker Meat Loaf endorsed him at a rally in the swing state of Ohio.
It was a highly ungrammatical endorsement, but with the election less than two weeks away, it hardly mattered.
"There has storm clouds come over the United States," the singer said, after performing a few songs at a high school football stadium in Defiance, ahead of a speech by Romney.
He continued: "There is thunderstorms over Europe. There are hail storms, and I mean major hail storms, in the Middle East. There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere, and there's only one man that on the other night when President Barack Obama, God bless him, said to Mitt Romney, 'The Cold War is over.'"
"I have never heard such a thing in my life," Meat Loaf continued. "The man needs to understand Putin and Russia. So I want you to know that there is one man who will stand tall in this country and fight the storm and bring the United States back to what it should be — Governor Mitt Romney!"
Meat Loaf, whose given name was Michael Lee Aday, might have surprised his audience with his passion for foreign affairs.
He did tell the crowd that he had never endorsed a candidate before but said, "I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States."
Romney promptly appeared to salute his support from the "fabulous" Meat Loaf, along with country singer Randy Owen of the band Alabama and Big and Rich.
President Obama surely has more celebrities campaigning on his side than Romney. But Republicans are likely thinking at this point that — together with Clint Eastwood — two out of three ain't bad.
MEAT LOAF JOINS CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS OF ROMNEY
Thomson/Reuters
October 26, 2012
Presidential candidate Mitt Romney could be feeling paradise by the dashboard lights after rocker Meat Loaf endorsed him at a rally in the swing state of Ohio.
It was a highly ungrammatical endorsement, but with the election less than two weeks away, it hardly mattered.
"There has storm clouds come over the United States," the singer said, after performing a few songs at a high school football stadium in Defiance, ahead of a speech by Romney.
He continued: "There is thunderstorms over Europe. There are hail storms, and I mean major hail storms, in the Middle East. There are storms brewing through China, through Asia, through everywhere, and there's only one man that on the other night when President Barack Obama, God bless him, said to Mitt Romney, 'The Cold War is over.'"
"I have never heard such a thing in my life," Meat Loaf continued. "The man needs to understand Putin and Russia. So I want you to know that there is one man who will stand tall in this country and fight the storm and bring the United States back to what it should be — Governor Mitt Romney!"
Meat Loaf, whose given name was Michael Lee Aday, might have surprised his audience with his passion for foreign affairs.
He did tell the crowd that he had never endorsed a candidate before but said, "I think that in 2012 this is the most important election in the history of the United States."
Romney promptly appeared to salute his support from the "fabulous" Meat Loaf, along with country singer Randy Owen of the band Alabama and Big and Rich.
President Obama surely has more celebrities campaigning on his side than Romney. But Republicans are likely thinking at this point that — together with Clint Eastwood — two out of three ain't bad.
LAW AND ORDER: A PHILIPPINO MAYOR’S WAY
This even beats our old ‘Wild West’ with its ‘Wanted Dead or Alive’ posters and rewards.
MAYOR OF A PHILIPPINES CITY OFFERS $120,000 REWARD FOR THE DECAPITATED HEAD OF LOCAL CRIME BOSS – BROUGHT TO HIM ‘ON ICE SO IT WON’T SMELL BAD’
By Eddie Wrenn
Mail Online
October 26, 2012
The vice mayor of a southern Philippine city has offered a $121,000 reward for the decapitated head of the alleged leader of a gang of car thieves.
Davao City vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for being tough on criminals, told a news conference in Davao that he would give two million pesos ($48,400) if suspect Ryan Yu is arrested - and four million pesos ($96,800) if he is killed.
He said he would add another one million pesos ($24,200) if Yu's decapitated head is delivered to him 'on ice.'
Davao police chief Ronald de la Rosa said on Friday that he had received text messages from people seeking assurances the reward offer was real.
He said they should cooperate with police.
Human rights commission chairman Loretta Rosales said Friday that Duterte violated the law by passing a sentence on Yu without due process.
Duterte's offer comes as he runs virtually unopposed to regain his seat as mayor of Davao.
His daughter is currently the mayor but she will not seek re-election. His son, Paolo, is running as his vice mayor.
Rosales urged Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to take action against Duterte, who has been indirectly linked to a 'death squad' that was responsible for over 200 killings of suspected criminals, including some minors, when he was mayor from 2004 to 2009. He has denied any involvement.
'What he says ... is irresponsible coming from a person of authority,' Rosales said. 'That is an extrajudicial killing. He is justifying extrajudicial killing.'
Duterte told reporters that Yu had made unfounded allegations of car smuggling against his son, Paolo, late last year and that received a call from Roxas on behalf of President Benigno Aquino III asking about the allegations.
It is not known where Yu is, or if he is still in the Philippines.
Duterte said the offer was prompted by the recent discovery of a compound where cars allegedly stolen by Yu's gang were being stored, adding the offer was open to anyone or any group, including Muslim and communist rebels.
'Make your choice. Either you want to earn two million, or you want to earn four million, or if you want to be morbid about it - bring the head of Ryan Yu to me and I will add one million,' he said.
He suggested putting the head in an ice bag 'so it won't smell bad.'
He said the money will come from contributions to his election campaign.
De la Rosa said offering a reward for an arrest is legal, adding that if Yu resists his death could be justified.
'I have no comment about that,' he said when asked about the reward for the decapitation.
He urged the public to cooperate with police officers, who will share in the reward. 'Otherwise we will have so many Ryan Yus or people who look like him dead,' he said.
MAYOR OF A PHILIPPINES CITY OFFERS $120,000 REWARD FOR THE DECAPITATED HEAD OF LOCAL CRIME BOSS – BROUGHT TO HIM ‘ON ICE SO IT WON’T SMELL BAD’
By Eddie Wrenn
Mail Online
October 26, 2012
The vice mayor of a southern Philippine city has offered a $121,000 reward for the decapitated head of the alleged leader of a gang of car thieves.
Davao City vice mayor Rodrigo Duterte, who is known for being tough on criminals, told a news conference in Davao that he would give two million pesos ($48,400) if suspect Ryan Yu is arrested - and four million pesos ($96,800) if he is killed.
He said he would add another one million pesos ($24,200) if Yu's decapitated head is delivered to him 'on ice.'
Davao police chief Ronald de la Rosa said on Friday that he had received text messages from people seeking assurances the reward offer was real.
He said they should cooperate with police.
Human rights commission chairman Loretta Rosales said Friday that Duterte violated the law by passing a sentence on Yu without due process.
Duterte's offer comes as he runs virtually unopposed to regain his seat as mayor of Davao.
His daughter is currently the mayor but she will not seek re-election. His son, Paolo, is running as his vice mayor.
Rosales urged Interior Secretary Mar Roxas to take action against Duterte, who has been indirectly linked to a 'death squad' that was responsible for over 200 killings of suspected criminals, including some minors, when he was mayor from 2004 to 2009. He has denied any involvement.
'What he says ... is irresponsible coming from a person of authority,' Rosales said. 'That is an extrajudicial killing. He is justifying extrajudicial killing.'
Duterte told reporters that Yu had made unfounded allegations of car smuggling against his son, Paolo, late last year and that received a call from Roxas on behalf of President Benigno Aquino III asking about the allegations.
It is not known where Yu is, or if he is still in the Philippines.
Duterte said the offer was prompted by the recent discovery of a compound where cars allegedly stolen by Yu's gang were being stored, adding the offer was open to anyone or any group, including Muslim and communist rebels.
'Make your choice. Either you want to earn two million, or you want to earn four million, or if you want to be morbid about it - bring the head of Ryan Yu to me and I will add one million,' he said.
He suggested putting the head in an ice bag 'so it won't smell bad.'
He said the money will come from contributions to his election campaign.
De la Rosa said offering a reward for an arrest is legal, adding that if Yu resists his death could be justified.
'I have no comment about that,' he said when asked about the reward for the decapitation.
He urged the public to cooperate with police officers, who will share in the reward. 'Otherwise we will have so many Ryan Yus or people who look like him dead,' he said.
THE DEER HUNTER
The Unconventional Gazette
October 27, 2012
It was Saturday morning as Jake, an avid Texas hunter, woke up before daybreak, raring to go bag the first deer of the season. He walks down to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, and to his surprise he finds his wife, Alice, sitting there, fully dressed in camouflage.
Jake asks her, "What are you up to?"
Alice smiles, "I'm going hunting with you!"
Jake, although he had many reservations about this, reluctantly decides to take her along.
Three hours later they arrive at a game preserve just outside of San Marcos.
Jake sets his lovely wife safely up in the tree stand and tells her, "If you see a deer, take careful aim on it and I'll come running back as soon as I hear the shot."
Jake walks away with a smile on his face knowing that Alice couldn't bag an elephant - much less a deer.
Not 10 minutes pass when he is startled as he hears an array of gunshots. Quickly, Jake starts running back. As Jake gets closer to her stand, he hears Alice screaming, get the fuck away from my deer!"
Confused and frightened, Jake races faster towards his screaming wife. And again he hears her yell, "Get the fuck away from my deer!" followed by another volley of gunfire!
Now within sight of where he had left his wife, Jake is surprised to see a state game warden with his hands high in the air.
The game warden, obviously distraught, yelled, "Okay, lady! You can have your fucking deer, just let me get my saddle off of it!"
October 27, 2012
It was Saturday morning as Jake, an avid Texas hunter, woke up before daybreak, raring to go bag the first deer of the season. He walks down to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, and to his surprise he finds his wife, Alice, sitting there, fully dressed in camouflage.
Jake asks her, "What are you up to?"
Alice smiles, "I'm going hunting with you!"
Jake, although he had many reservations about this, reluctantly decides to take her along.
Three hours later they arrive at a game preserve just outside of San Marcos.
Jake sets his lovely wife safely up in the tree stand and tells her, "If you see a deer, take careful aim on it and I'll come running back as soon as I hear the shot."
Jake walks away with a smile on his face knowing that Alice couldn't bag an elephant - much less a deer.
Not 10 minutes pass when he is startled as he hears an array of gunshots. Quickly, Jake starts running back. As Jake gets closer to her stand, he hears Alice screaming, get the fuck away from my deer!"
Confused and frightened, Jake races faster towards his screaming wife. And again he hears her yell, "Get the fuck away from my deer!" followed by another volley of gunfire!
Now within sight of where he had left his wife, Jake is surprised to see a state game warden with his hands high in the air.
The game warden, obviously distraught, yelled, "Okay, lady! You can have your fucking deer, just let me get my saddle off of it!"
NEW YORK COP RETIRES TO ALASKA
The Unconventional Gazette
October 27, 2012
Pete O’Brien had been a NYC cop for 27 years. Finally sick of the stress, he quits his job and buys 50 acres of land in Alaska as far from humanity as possible. He sees the postman once a week and gets groceries once a month. Otherwise it's total peace and quiet.
After six months or so of almost total isolation, someone knocks on his door. He opens it and a huge, bearded man is standing there.
'Name's Cliff, your neighbor from forty miles up the road. Having a Christmas party Friday night. Thought you might like to come at about 5:00...'
'Great', says Pete, 'after six months out here I'm ready to meet some local folks, thank you.'
As Cliff is leaving, he stops. 'Gotta warn you. Be some drinking.'
'Not a problem' says Pete. 'After 27 years as a cop, I can drink with the best of 'em'.
Again, the big man starts to leave and stops. 'More 'n' likely gonna be some fighting' too.'
'Well, I get along with people, I'll be all right! I'll be there. Thanks again.'
'More'n likely be some wild sex, too,'
'Now that's really not a problem' says Pete, warming to the idea. 'I've been all alone for six months! Wild sex … that’ll be great. I'll definitely be there. By the way, what should I wear?'
'Don't much matter. Just gonna be the two of us.'
October 27, 2012
Pete O’Brien had been a NYC cop for 27 years. Finally sick of the stress, he quits his job and buys 50 acres of land in Alaska as far from humanity as possible. He sees the postman once a week and gets groceries once a month. Otherwise it's total peace and quiet.
After six months or so of almost total isolation, someone knocks on his door. He opens it and a huge, bearded man is standing there.
'Name's Cliff, your neighbor from forty miles up the road. Having a Christmas party Friday night. Thought you might like to come at about 5:00...'
'Great', says Pete, 'after six months out here I'm ready to meet some local folks, thank you.'
As Cliff is leaving, he stops. 'Gotta warn you. Be some drinking.'
'Not a problem' says Pete. 'After 27 years as a cop, I can drink with the best of 'em'.
Again, the big man starts to leave and stops. 'More 'n' likely gonna be some fighting' too.'
'Well, I get along with people, I'll be all right! I'll be there. Thanks again.'
'More'n likely be some wild sex, too,'
'Now that's really not a problem' says Pete, warming to the idea. 'I've been all alone for six months! Wild sex … that’ll be great. I'll definitely be there. By the way, what should I wear?'
'Don't much matter. Just gonna be the two of us.'
Saturday, October 27, 2012
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION HAS EVOLVED INTO DISCRIMINATING AGAINST WHITES
Texas offers a good example of how affirmative action has evolved into discriminating against whites. In 1997, a law known as the ‘Top 10% Rule’ was passed by the Texas legislature to overcome court rulings against the race-based admission policies of the state’s colleges and universities. The law guarantees Texas high school students who graduated in the top ten percent of their class automatic admission to all public-funded universities.
Texas universities were determined to increase the diversity of their student populations and they knew that with the Top 10% Rule, they would be able to admit a high number of students from inner-city schools with a predominant enrollment of minority students. The legislators and the university administrators also had to know that the top ten percent of a predominantly minority school could equate to the bottom ten percent of a predominantly white school.
The problem with the Top 10% Rule is that applications for admission to the top tier universities – The University of Texas and Texas A&M University – always exceed the number of slots available for incoming freshmen. So when it came to picking which students to admit, the admissions offices often chose minority students who were far less qualified than white students whose admission applications were rejected.
Affirmative action was designed to prevent discrimination against minorities in the work place. It has evolved into a guarantee of diversity that discriminates against whites. Affirmative action is once again before the Supreme Court. Hopefully, this time the conservative majority of the court will lay a once good law to its deserved rest.
HIGH COURT MUST SETTLE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
By Dan K. Thomasson
Jewish World Review
October 26, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court is wrestling once again with the question of racial preference in college admissions. It is entirely possible that it might end the controversial policy of affirmative action, given the conservative bent of five of the nine justices.
There's an old story about a brilliant football prospect at the University of Texas whose racial considerations were being challenged by a white student denied admission four years earlier.
As the story goes, a young black man showed up at the university's stadium in Austin and asked for a tryout. The coach told the equipment manager to outfit him with old, oversized pads, helmet and clothing. The coach then told the ambitious athlete to start on the one-yard line and run through the entire team, which was lined up down the field to stop him. If he could do this, he was told, he would make the team.
The young man took the ball and headed downfield with speed and grace that left the coach and his assistants breathless. When he reached the end zone 99 yards away, he turned around and ran back, outrunning and sidestepping tackle after tackle until he reached the coach and quietly handed him the ball.
At that point, the coach turned to his equipment manager and fairly shouted. "For crying out loud, can't you get this Cuban kid something that fits?"
The story, of course, is apocryphal at an institution that has promoted a policy to overcome those times when it was, like other Southern schools, a bastion of segregation. Through decades of effort, this highly endowed jewel of a public institution has managed to diversify its student body -- despite an earlier Supreme Court decision declaring that quota systems and other preferential devices in admissions based solely on race violate the Constitution.
However, the court ruled that considering race in judging applicants to support campus diversity was acceptable. It is this concept that is being challenged by Katie Fisher, a white female student who went on to Louisiana State University and is about to graduate. She and her supporters contend that Texas, her first choice, unfairly denied her acceptance because of her skin color.
It is time for the court to settle this contentious debate once and for all. Without a definitive ruling, the nation's public institutions will be under siege when it comes to their selection processes for the foreseeable future.
For too long, many of the nation's most elite schools have created a false diversity that is more aimed at making them look good than in considering the welfare of those they contend benefit from it. One justice who opposes the policy is Clarence Thomas, who has benefited from it. He has said he found the affirmative action label a stigma.
In a perfect world, intellect and skill would be the only qualities used to judge admission. Selecting one student over another would be based totally on academic merit combined with special talents. Only in tie situations would anything else come into play. The way to achieve diversity would be to improve the quality of secondary education for minorities.
But as we all know this isn't a perfect world. So if two students come down to the wire, with both meeting the required test and skill levels, should race be a factor to settle the matter? The thorny question has caused major heartburn among academics for years. As the court already has said, giving racial preference points for being white, black, green or orange to reach a specific number violates the Constitution.
Fisher, the complaining applicant, was a good student in high school. Why is she continuing her crusade four years later? She says she doesn't believe there should even be a race box on a college application. Her point is well taken. We will see if the court agrees.
Texas universities were determined to increase the diversity of their student populations and they knew that with the Top 10% Rule, they would be able to admit a high number of students from inner-city schools with a predominant enrollment of minority students. The legislators and the university administrators also had to know that the top ten percent of a predominantly minority school could equate to the bottom ten percent of a predominantly white school.
The problem with the Top 10% Rule is that applications for admission to the top tier universities – The University of Texas and Texas A&M University – always exceed the number of slots available for incoming freshmen. So when it came to picking which students to admit, the admissions offices often chose minority students who were far less qualified than white students whose admission applications were rejected.
Affirmative action was designed to prevent discrimination against minorities in the work place. It has evolved into a guarantee of diversity that discriminates against whites. Affirmative action is once again before the Supreme Court. Hopefully, this time the conservative majority of the court will lay a once good law to its deserved rest.
HIGH COURT MUST SETTLE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
By Dan K. Thomasson
Jewish World Review
October 26, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court is wrestling once again with the question of racial preference in college admissions. It is entirely possible that it might end the controversial policy of affirmative action, given the conservative bent of five of the nine justices.
There's an old story about a brilliant football prospect at the University of Texas whose racial considerations were being challenged by a white student denied admission four years earlier.
As the story goes, a young black man showed up at the university's stadium in Austin and asked for a tryout. The coach told the equipment manager to outfit him with old, oversized pads, helmet and clothing. The coach then told the ambitious athlete to start on the one-yard line and run through the entire team, which was lined up down the field to stop him. If he could do this, he was told, he would make the team.
The young man took the ball and headed downfield with speed and grace that left the coach and his assistants breathless. When he reached the end zone 99 yards away, he turned around and ran back, outrunning and sidestepping tackle after tackle until he reached the coach and quietly handed him the ball.
At that point, the coach turned to his equipment manager and fairly shouted. "For crying out loud, can't you get this Cuban kid something that fits?"
The story, of course, is apocryphal at an institution that has promoted a policy to overcome those times when it was, like other Southern schools, a bastion of segregation. Through decades of effort, this highly endowed jewel of a public institution has managed to diversify its student body -- despite an earlier Supreme Court decision declaring that quota systems and other preferential devices in admissions based solely on race violate the Constitution.
However, the court ruled that considering race in judging applicants to support campus diversity was acceptable. It is this concept that is being challenged by Katie Fisher, a white female student who went on to Louisiana State University and is about to graduate. She and her supporters contend that Texas, her first choice, unfairly denied her acceptance because of her skin color.
It is time for the court to settle this contentious debate once and for all. Without a definitive ruling, the nation's public institutions will be under siege when it comes to their selection processes for the foreseeable future.
For too long, many of the nation's most elite schools have created a false diversity that is more aimed at making them look good than in considering the welfare of those they contend benefit from it. One justice who opposes the policy is Clarence Thomas, who has benefited from it. He has said he found the affirmative action label a stigma.
In a perfect world, intellect and skill would be the only qualities used to judge admission. Selecting one student over another would be based totally on academic merit combined with special talents. Only in tie situations would anything else come into play. The way to achieve diversity would be to improve the quality of secondary education for minorities.
But as we all know this isn't a perfect world. So if two students come down to the wire, with both meeting the required test and skill levels, should race be a factor to settle the matter? The thorny question has caused major heartburn among academics for years. As the court already has said, giving racial preference points for being white, black, green or orange to reach a specific number violates the Constitution.
Fisher, the complaining applicant, was a good student in high school. Why is she continuing her crusade four years later? She says she doesn't believe there should even be a race box on a college application. Her point is well taken. We will see if the court agrees.
ELECTRIFYING CRASH LEADS TO ARREST ON VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES
This car crash and its horrible aftermath involved both heroism and tragedy.
DRIVER ARRESTED IN VALLEY VILLAGE CRASH THAT LED TO WOMEN’S ELECTROCUTIONS
By Samantha Tata and Ryan Bourgard
NBC Southern California
October 26, 2012
The driver who in August slammed into a utility pole and sheered off a fire hydrant in Valley Village creating a pool of electrified water that would kill two would-be rescuers was arrested on Thursday.
Armen Samsonian, 19, turned himself in Thursday afternoon and was booked on two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the LA County District Attorney.
He’s being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to the county’s inmate information website.
Irma Zamora, 40, of Burbank, and Stacey Schreiber, 39, of Valley Village were killed on Aug. 22 as they attempted to help Samsonian out of his white Chevy Traverse, which was travelling west on Magnolia Boulevard when the driver apparently lost control as he tried to make a right turn onto Ben Avenue.
Several people were shocked as they attempted to help Samsonian and the women, one of whom died in front of her husband.
The horrific incident galvanized the community to donate enough money to cover the ambulance costs for the eight people who were injured. And city officials lauded the spirit of the two women.
"Yesterday was a day of heartbreaking tragedy but it was also a day of inspiring heroism," Los Angeles City councilman Paul Krekorian said at a news conference on Aug. 23.
The tragedy also prompted reminders to residents to call 911 immediately and to "always, always" assess the safety of a situation before running in.
DRIVER ARRESTED IN VALLEY VILLAGE CRASH THAT LED TO WOMEN’S ELECTROCUTIONS
By Samantha Tata and Ryan Bourgard
NBC Southern California
October 26, 2012
The driver who in August slammed into a utility pole and sheered off a fire hydrant in Valley Village creating a pool of electrified water that would kill two would-be rescuers was arrested on Thursday.
Armen Samsonian, 19, turned himself in Thursday afternoon and was booked on two felony counts of vehicular manslaughter, said Sandi Gibbons, spokeswoman for the LA County District Attorney.
He’s being held in lieu of $100,000 bail, according to the county’s inmate information website.
Irma Zamora, 40, of Burbank, and Stacey Schreiber, 39, of Valley Village were killed on Aug. 22 as they attempted to help Samsonian out of his white Chevy Traverse, which was travelling west on Magnolia Boulevard when the driver apparently lost control as he tried to make a right turn onto Ben Avenue.
Several people were shocked as they attempted to help Samsonian and the women, one of whom died in front of her husband.
The horrific incident galvanized the community to donate enough money to cover the ambulance costs for the eight people who were injured. And city officials lauded the spirit of the two women.
"Yesterday was a day of heartbreaking tragedy but it was also a day of inspiring heroism," Los Angeles City councilman Paul Krekorian said at a news conference on Aug. 23.
The tragedy also prompted reminders to residents to call 911 immediately and to "always, always" assess the safety of a situation before running in.
FLYING FISH IS FOR THE BIRDS, ERR THAT’S FROM THE BIRDS
It isn’t every day that a shark drops in to flop around the greens of a golf course. But then, this is after all California.
LIVE LEOPARD SHARK DROPS FROM SKY ONTO GOLF COURSE
By Houston Mitchell
Los Angeles Times
October 25, 2012
Now this is a hazard worth taking a penalty stroke for. A shark fell from the sky and landed near the 12th tee at the San Juan Hills Golf Club in San Juan Capistrano on Monday.
“It was just wriggling around,” Director of Club Operations Melissa McCormack told the Capistrano Dispatch. “Honestly, this is the weirdest thing that’s happened here.”
The shark, a two-foot long leopard shark, was discovered by an on-duty course marshal, who loaded it onto his golf cart and drove it to the clubhouse, where he put it in a bucket of water.
Fellow employee Bryan Stizer then drove the shark to the Pacific Ocean, which is about five miles from the course.
"I thought he was dead," Stizer told the Dispatch. "When I dropped him into the water, he just lied there for a few seconds, but then he did a twist and shot off into the water."
Experts think the shark was snatched out of the ocean by a bird because it had puncture wounds near its dorsal fin.
“It had a little blood on it, but it was still alive,” McCormack said. “We didn’t want to waste any time. Poor guy, he got dropped onto a golf course.”
Julianne Steers, chief aquarist at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, said: "I have seen peregrine falcons and we do have ospreys. Between the two of those, ospreys are probably more frequent. Those are the only two that would've had the strength," Steers said.
But a leopard shark? Wouldn't it have made more sense for it to be a tiger shark?
LIVE LEOPARD SHARK DROPS FROM SKY ONTO GOLF COURSE
By Houston Mitchell
Los Angeles Times
October 25, 2012
Now this is a hazard worth taking a penalty stroke for. A shark fell from the sky and landed near the 12th tee at the San Juan Hills Golf Club in San Juan Capistrano on Monday.
“It was just wriggling around,” Director of Club Operations Melissa McCormack told the Capistrano Dispatch. “Honestly, this is the weirdest thing that’s happened here.”
The shark, a two-foot long leopard shark, was discovered by an on-duty course marshal, who loaded it onto his golf cart and drove it to the clubhouse, where he put it in a bucket of water.
Fellow employee Bryan Stizer then drove the shark to the Pacific Ocean, which is about five miles from the course.
"I thought he was dead," Stizer told the Dispatch. "When I dropped him into the water, he just lied there for a few seconds, but then he did a twist and shot off into the water."
Experts think the shark was snatched out of the ocean by a bird because it had puncture wounds near its dorsal fin.
“It had a little blood on it, but it was still alive,” McCormack said. “We didn’t want to waste any time. Poor guy, he got dropped onto a golf course.”
Julianne Steers, chief aquarist at the Ocean Institute in Dana Point, said: "I have seen peregrine falcons and we do have ospreys. Between the two of those, ospreys are probably more frequent. Those are the only two that would've had the strength," Steers said.
But a leopard shark? Wouldn't it have made more sense for it to be a tiger shark?
‘MOTHER MARY WAS ESSENTIALLY RAPED,’ MOURDOCK SAYS WHILE DIGGING SELF INTO DEEPER HOLE
The Onion
October 24, 2012
NEW ALBANY, INDIANA—Defending his comment that a woman becoming pregnant from rape “is something God intended,” Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock dug himself into an even deeper hole today when he argued that, if you really stop to think about it, the Virgin Mary was basically raped by God.
“Mary certainly didn’t ask for God to impregnate her with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but obviously the Immaculate Conception, while not the result of a consensual act, was still a part of God’s plan—you see what I’m getting at, right?” said the 61-year-old man who currently serves as the state treasurer of Indiana. “Of course I don’t condone sexual assault. I’m just saying that sometimes when a woman is violated and impregnated against her will, it’s actually a really good thing in the end, because God’s rape of Mary gave us Jesus, and Jesus saved mankind from sin. So that’s one example right there.”
At press time, multiple male Senate candidates in their 60s remained divided between those who believe pregnancies resulting from rape are biologically impossible and those who believe they are the divine will of God.
October 24, 2012
NEW ALBANY, INDIANA—Defending his comment that a woman becoming pregnant from rape “is something God intended,” Republican Senate candidate Richard Mourdock dug himself into an even deeper hole today when he argued that, if you really stop to think about it, the Virgin Mary was basically raped by God.
“Mary certainly didn’t ask for God to impregnate her with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, but obviously the Immaculate Conception, while not the result of a consensual act, was still a part of God’s plan—you see what I’m getting at, right?” said the 61-year-old man who currently serves as the state treasurer of Indiana. “Of course I don’t condone sexual assault. I’m just saying that sometimes when a woman is violated and impregnated against her will, it’s actually a really good thing in the end, because God’s rape of Mary gave us Jesus, and Jesus saved mankind from sin. So that’s one example right there.”
At press time, multiple male Senate candidates in their 60s remained divided between those who believe pregnancies resulting from rape are biologically impossible and those who believe they are the divine will of God.
Friday, October 26, 2012
90-YEAR-OLD MAN SHOT BY BURGLAR, SUED BY BURGLAR FOR SHOOTING BURGLAR
It’s called chutzpah.
GREENBRAE SHOOTING DEFENDANT SUES 90-YEAR-OLD MAN HE SHOT
By Gary Klien
Marin Independent Journal
October 23, 2012
A 90-year-old Greenbrae man who was shot in the head during an alleged burglary has been sued by the alleged burglar.
Samuel Cutrufelli, who was also shot during the incident, claims Jay Leone "negligently shot" him during the confrontation inside Leone's home.
Cutrufelli, 31, claims Leone caused him "great bodily injury, and other financial damage, including loss of Mr. Cutrufelli's home, and also the dissolution of Mr. Cutrufelli's marriage."
Cutrufelli shot Leone once in the face during the alleged burglary, and Leone returned fire, hitting Cutrufelli several times. Both men were hospitalized for an extended period after the gun battle.
Cutrufelli, whose charges include two counts of attempted murder against Leone, is near the end of his criminal trial. The negligence lawsuit was filed on his behalf by his father and his criminal defense attorney.
Leone, reached at home Tuesday, said he was unaware of the lawsuit.
"He's the one who busted my door in," he said. "I'll just countersue him then. That's what I'll need to do."
The incident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. Jan. 3 at Leone's home on Via La Cumbre. Authorities said Cutrufelli entered the home, put a gun to Leone's head, tied his hands with a belt and rummaged through his bedroom for valuables.
Leone said he was able to wriggle his hands free, then convinced the burglar to let him use the bathroom. Then he got one of the five handguns stashed in his bathroom, sneaked back to the bedroom and spotted Cutrufelli in his closet.
Cutrufelli allegedly fired his gun, hitting Leone in the jaw area, and Leone fired back. Cutrufelli then wrestled his gun away, put it to Leone's head and pulled the trigger, but no bullets were left in the gun.
When police found Cutrufelli bleeding in his car a short distance from Leone's home, he said he had shot himself and needed medical attention, Twin Cities police said.
Cutrufelli could face life in prison if convicted of the charges. His lawyer, Sanford Troy, said Cutrufelli is a methamphetamine user, that the incident was a drug deal gone sideways, and that Leone shot him in the back when he was trying to flee.
GREENBRAE SHOOTING DEFENDANT SUES 90-YEAR-OLD MAN HE SHOT
By Gary Klien
Marin Independent Journal
October 23, 2012
A 90-year-old Greenbrae man who was shot in the head during an alleged burglary has been sued by the alleged burglar.
Samuel Cutrufelli, who was also shot during the incident, claims Jay Leone "negligently shot" him during the confrontation inside Leone's home.
Cutrufelli, 31, claims Leone caused him "great bodily injury, and other financial damage, including loss of Mr. Cutrufelli's home, and also the dissolution of Mr. Cutrufelli's marriage."
Cutrufelli shot Leone once in the face during the alleged burglary, and Leone returned fire, hitting Cutrufelli several times. Both men were hospitalized for an extended period after the gun battle.
Cutrufelli, whose charges include two counts of attempted murder against Leone, is near the end of his criminal trial. The negligence lawsuit was filed on his behalf by his father and his criminal defense attorney.
Leone, reached at home Tuesday, said he was unaware of the lawsuit.
"He's the one who busted my door in," he said. "I'll just countersue him then. That's what I'll need to do."
The incident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. Jan. 3 at Leone's home on Via La Cumbre. Authorities said Cutrufelli entered the home, put a gun to Leone's head, tied his hands with a belt and rummaged through his bedroom for valuables.
Leone said he was able to wriggle his hands free, then convinced the burglar to let him use the bathroom. Then he got one of the five handguns stashed in his bathroom, sneaked back to the bedroom and spotted Cutrufelli in his closet.
Cutrufelli allegedly fired his gun, hitting Leone in the jaw area, and Leone fired back. Cutrufelli then wrestled his gun away, put it to Leone's head and pulled the trigger, but no bullets were left in the gun.
When police found Cutrufelli bleeding in his car a short distance from Leone's home, he said he had shot himself and needed medical attention, Twin Cities police said.
Cutrufelli could face life in prison if convicted of the charges. His lawyer, Sanford Troy, said Cutrufelli is a methamphetamine user, that the incident was a drug deal gone sideways, and that Leone shot him in the back when he was trying to flee.
PURE: INSURANCE COMPANY FROM HELL
Despite denials to the contrary, it sure looks like PURE deliberately tried to collect damages from the estate of a pedestrian killed by a car driven by one of their clients.
INSURANCE CO. GOES AFTER DEAD PEDESTRIAN
Struck and killed by a passing car? That will be $6,000, please
By Jerry Reynolds
Car Pro News
October 24, 2012
That’s what one insurance company told the grieving relatives of a Long Island grandmother who was fatally injured while crossing a busy street earlier this year in Westbury, N.Y. A BMW struck Anna Cedeno, 70, in the westbound lanes of Old Country Road on April 2 as she walked toward a bus stop.
PURE, the insurance company of the driver, now wants Cedeno’s estate to pay $6,245.09 for damage to the BMW, according to a letter obtained by the New York Post.
“Our investigation shows that your client was responsible for the accident,” read the letter. “We now look forward to your client’s estate for payment of the damages.”
After The New York Post contacted the insurance company, PURE backtracked on its macabre efforts, and said it was not its policy to pursue damages in “a case like this.” In a statement to The Post, the president of the company wrote:
“We acknowledge that a letter was written and sent by an otherwise excellent claims professional. … That created the impression that reimbursement would be pursued even if there was no applicable insurance. This runs counter to our position, and (PURE) should not have written the letter.”
Daniel Flanzig, the attorney for the Cedeno’s daughter, doesn’t buy that explanation.
He tells The Huffington Post “this was not just a form letter issued by an insurance company, but rather a conscious decision by the company to get their money back from this family.”
In a similar recent case in Maryland, the brother of a woman killed in a car accident said that Progressive, her insurance company, helped defend the man accused of killing her at trial instead of representing its client.
INSURANCE CO. GOES AFTER DEAD PEDESTRIAN
Struck and killed by a passing car? That will be $6,000, please
By Jerry Reynolds
Car Pro News
October 24, 2012
That’s what one insurance company told the grieving relatives of a Long Island grandmother who was fatally injured while crossing a busy street earlier this year in Westbury, N.Y. A BMW struck Anna Cedeno, 70, in the westbound lanes of Old Country Road on April 2 as she walked toward a bus stop.
PURE, the insurance company of the driver, now wants Cedeno’s estate to pay $6,245.09 for damage to the BMW, according to a letter obtained by the New York Post.
“Our investigation shows that your client was responsible for the accident,” read the letter. “We now look forward to your client’s estate for payment of the damages.”
After The New York Post contacted the insurance company, PURE backtracked on its macabre efforts, and said it was not its policy to pursue damages in “a case like this.” In a statement to The Post, the president of the company wrote:
“We acknowledge that a letter was written and sent by an otherwise excellent claims professional. … That created the impression that reimbursement would be pursued even if there was no applicable insurance. This runs counter to our position, and (PURE) should not have written the letter.”
Daniel Flanzig, the attorney for the Cedeno’s daughter, doesn’t buy that explanation.
He tells The Huffington Post “this was not just a form letter issued by an insurance company, but rather a conscious decision by the company to get their money back from this family.”
In a similar recent case in Maryland, the brother of a woman killed in a car accident said that Progressive, her insurance company, helped defend the man accused of killing her at trial instead of representing its client.
NYPD CANNIBAL ARRESTED BY FBI
I wonder if he preferred white meat or dark meat.
NYC OFFICER CHARGED WITH PLAN TO COOK, EAT WOMEN
Authorities say NYC officer plotted to kidnap women, rape and torture them and then cook and eat their body parts
By Tom Hays
Associated Press
October 25, 2012
NEW YORK — A New York City police officer was charged Thursday with plotting to kidnap, rape, torture and kill women, and then cook and eat their body parts.
Gilberto Valle was taken into custody by the FBI on Wednesday and suspended from the New York Police Department. He was expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later Thursday.
In a criminal complaint, investigators cited numerous emails and other Internet communications that portray a ghoulish scheme of torture and cannibalism. They allege Valle met one potential victim over lunch, but there was no information that any women were harmed.
"The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us," said Mary E. Galligan, acting head of the FBI's New York office. "They speak for themselves. It would be an understatement merely to say Valle's own words and actions were shocking."
The name of Valle's attorney was not immediately available. There was no immediate response to a message left with the NYPD on Thursday.
According to the complaint, the FBI intercepted emails from Valle to an unidentified co-conspirator "discussing plans to kidnap, rape, torture, kill, cook and eat body parts of a number of women."
In one online exchange in July, Valle and another person talked about abducting a woman and eating her, the complaint said.
"I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible," Valle allegedly wrote.
The complaint alleges that in February, Valle negotiated to kidnap another woman for someone else, writing, "$5,000 and she's all yours."
It says he added: "I will really get off on knocking her out, tying up her hands and bare feet and gagging her. Then she will be stuffed into a large piece of luggage and wheeled out to my van."
Valle, 28, lives in Queens. He had been assigned to a Manhattan precinct before his suspension on Wednesday.
NYC OFFICER CHARGED WITH PLAN TO COOK, EAT WOMEN
Authorities say NYC officer plotted to kidnap women, rape and torture them and then cook and eat their body parts
By Tom Hays
Associated Press
October 25, 2012
NEW YORK — A New York City police officer was charged Thursday with plotting to kidnap, rape, torture and kill women, and then cook and eat their body parts.
Gilberto Valle was taken into custody by the FBI on Wednesday and suspended from the New York Police Department. He was expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later Thursday.
In a criminal complaint, investigators cited numerous emails and other Internet communications that portray a ghoulish scheme of torture and cannibalism. They allege Valle met one potential victim over lunch, but there was no information that any women were harmed.
"The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us," said Mary E. Galligan, acting head of the FBI's New York office. "They speak for themselves. It would be an understatement merely to say Valle's own words and actions were shocking."
The name of Valle's attorney was not immediately available. There was no immediate response to a message left with the NYPD on Thursday.
According to the complaint, the FBI intercepted emails from Valle to an unidentified co-conspirator "discussing plans to kidnap, rape, torture, kill, cook and eat body parts of a number of women."
In one online exchange in July, Valle and another person talked about abducting a woman and eating her, the complaint said.
"I was thinking of tying her body onto some kind of apparatus ... cook her over low heat, keep her alive as long as possible," Valle allegedly wrote.
The complaint alleges that in February, Valle negotiated to kidnap another woman for someone else, writing, "$5,000 and she's all yours."
It says he added: "I will really get off on knocking her out, tying up her hands and bare feet and gagging her. Then she will be stuffed into a large piece of luggage and wheeled out to my van."
Valle, 28, lives in Queens. He had been assigned to a Manhattan precinct before his suspension on Wednesday.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
COPHEIMER’S DISEASE
Copheimer’s is a loss of brain function peculiar to law enforcement officers that causes cops to lose their guns in public restrooms
Last week a businessman from Ohio went into one of the public restrooms at Denver International airport and found a .45 cal. Glock pistol on the back of a toilet seat. The gun had 10 rounds in its magazine and one round in the chamber. The Ohio traveler notified the Denver police and they turned the gun over to an FBI agent. The Glock was found to belong to a Drug Enforcement Agent who was scheduled to fly from Denver to Houston. The DEA agent was able to retrieve his gun after the FBI verified that it was his department issued weapon.
The DEA agent told the FBI that he went into the restroom to take a crap. He removed the Glock from his holster and laid it on the back of the toilet seat. After completing his business he left the stall without remembering that he had laid his piece aside.
Apparently, a lot of cops are suffering from Copheimer’s Disease. The Houston Chronicle’s Dane Schiller reports that “there have been a stream of incidents involving officers and agents from various agencies, leaving their guns in bathrooms in airports and at least once, on a plane.”
In August, a Secret Service agent left a gun in the bathroom on presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plane. It was found by a reporter traveling with the campaign. In 2011, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer left his gun in a shitter at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport. Also last year, a federal agent left a gun in an El Paso airport restroom.
Schiller says that guns found in airport restrooms tend to make headlines, but most of the incidents involving cops who lost their guns get little if any public notice. “The Department of Homeland Security had 179 firearms go missing from 2006 through 2008 - in places like cars, restaurants and bathrooms - because officers did not properly secure them, according to a 2010 report by the agency's Office of Inspector General.”
So here is my warning to all law enforcement officers: Don’t take a crap while packing heat! You could be suffering from Copheimer’s Disease.
Last week a businessman from Ohio went into one of the public restrooms at Denver International airport and found a .45 cal. Glock pistol on the back of a toilet seat. The gun had 10 rounds in its magazine and one round in the chamber. The Ohio traveler notified the Denver police and they turned the gun over to an FBI agent. The Glock was found to belong to a Drug Enforcement Agent who was scheduled to fly from Denver to Houston. The DEA agent was able to retrieve his gun after the FBI verified that it was his department issued weapon.
The DEA agent told the FBI that he went into the restroom to take a crap. He removed the Glock from his holster and laid it on the back of the toilet seat. After completing his business he left the stall without remembering that he had laid his piece aside.
Apparently, a lot of cops are suffering from Copheimer’s Disease. The Houston Chronicle’s Dane Schiller reports that “there have been a stream of incidents involving officers and agents from various agencies, leaving their guns in bathrooms in airports and at least once, on a plane.”
In August, a Secret Service agent left a gun in the bathroom on presidential candidate Mitt Romney's plane. It was found by a reporter traveling with the campaign. In 2011, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer left his gun in a shitter at Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport. Also last year, a federal agent left a gun in an El Paso airport restroom.
Schiller says that guns found in airport restrooms tend to make headlines, but most of the incidents involving cops who lost their guns get little if any public notice. “The Department of Homeland Security had 179 firearms go missing from 2006 through 2008 - in places like cars, restaurants and bathrooms - because officers did not properly secure them, according to a 2010 report by the agency's Office of Inspector General.”
So here is my warning to all law enforcement officers: Don’t take a crap while packing heat! You could be suffering from Copheimer’s Disease.
‘OH ALLAH, DESTROY THE JEWS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS’
‘Amen’ says Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi
The ‘Arab Spring’ blows a cold wintry blast at Israel and the Jews.
EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT PRAYS FOR JEWS’ DEMISE
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
October 23, 2012
While the mainstream media over the past week provided extensive coverage of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's cordial diplomatic letter to his Israeli counterpart, an incident that demonstrated where the Egyptian leader's heart truly lies regarding the Jews received much less attention.
It must first be noted that Morsi's letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres, in which he called the Israeli a "great friend," was simply in keeping with diplomatic protocol, though even that was too much for many Egyptians.
Members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood were incensed by the gracious language used in asking the Israeli president to accept Egypt's new ambassador.
But if there were any questions over whether Morsi was turning his back on the Brotherhood's traditional hatred of Israel and the Jews, those were quickly put to rest by video footage taken at a Cairo mosque last weekend showing Morsi piously agreeing with the preacher's prayers for Allah to "destroy the Jews."
"Oh Allah, absolve us of our sins, strengthen us, and grant us victory over the infidels," prayed cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi. "Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder. Oh Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them."
During the prayer, Morsi was shown kneeling, eyes closed, hands raised, mouthing the word "amen" to each of the cleric's requests.
One can only imagine the international reaction to an Israeli leader saying "amen" in agreement with a rabbi's prayers for God to visit destruction upon the Arabs.
The ‘Arab Spring’ blows a cold wintry blast at Israel and the Jews.
EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT PRAYS FOR JEWS’ DEMISE
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
October 23, 2012
While the mainstream media over the past week provided extensive coverage of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi's cordial diplomatic letter to his Israeli counterpart, an incident that demonstrated where the Egyptian leader's heart truly lies regarding the Jews received much less attention.
It must first be noted that Morsi's letter to Israeli President Shimon Peres, in which he called the Israeli a "great friend," was simply in keeping with diplomatic protocol, though even that was too much for many Egyptians.
Members of Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood were incensed by the gracious language used in asking the Israeli president to accept Egypt's new ambassador.
But if there were any questions over whether Morsi was turning his back on the Brotherhood's traditional hatred of Israel and the Jews, those were quickly put to rest by video footage taken at a Cairo mosque last weekend showing Morsi piously agreeing with the preacher's prayers for Allah to "destroy the Jews."
"Oh Allah, absolve us of our sins, strengthen us, and grant us victory over the infidels," prayed cleric Futouh Abd Al-Nabi. "Oh Allah, destroy the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, disperse them, rend them asunder. Oh Allah, demonstrate Your might and greatness upon them."
During the prayer, Morsi was shown kneeling, eyes closed, hands raised, mouthing the word "amen" to each of the cleric's requests.
One can only imagine the international reaction to an Israeli leader saying "amen" in agreement with a rabbi's prayers for God to visit destruction upon the Arabs.
STEVE MARTIN ADVOCATES TEXAS ADOPT CALIFORNIA’S PRISON REALIGNMENT PROGRAM
Not the Hollywood comedian, but a Texas correctional consultant; his solution for ‘reform’ of the Texas criminal justice system is as funny as any of comedian Steve Martin’s hilarious skits
Steve J. Martin, a correctional consultant and former General Counsel of the Texas prison system, has been highly critical of the Texas criminal justice system. He charges that:
•Texas incarcerates the greatest number of persons in the U.S. but is dead last in the percentage of persons who graduate from high school.
•Texas has 75,000 inmates incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, a number that exceeds the prison populations of all but one state.
•Texas prisons hold more people with mental illness than our state mental health institutions have patients.
• Texas continues to incarcerate almost twice as many African-American males as are enrolled in the state’s public universities.
Martin says, “We have too many Texans locked-up — especially minorities who comprise nearly 70 percent of the total prison population.”
Martin’s solution is to ‘reform’ the Texas criminal justice system by adopting California’s prison realignment program. He says:
__“In the past six years, California has reduced its prison population by 50,000 by ‘realigning’ its criminal justice system and shifting the burden of managing low-level offenders from state prisons to local communities. California is now spending $800 million less on its prisoners than it did two years ago without compromising public safety and without an increase in crime rates.”
Advocating that Texas adopt California’s prison realignment is what I would expect to hear from Hollywood comedian Steve Martin, not from a professional ‘correctional consultant.’ Martin, the correctional consultant, ignores the fact that California’s ‘local communities’ have been overwhelmed by having thousands of prison inmates and parolees dumped on them. He ignores the fact that instead of ‘low level offenders,’ many of the realigned inmates and parolees have a history of violence on their rap sheets. The low level classifications are based solely on the most recent arrest - previous arrests for crimes of violence are not taken into account. And Martin ignores the fact that in many California counties the crime rate has gone up since realignment went into effect.
As for the disproportionate number of minorities in prison, isn’t Martin, the correctional consultant, aware that blacks and Hispanics are committing a disproportionate number of crimes?
I’d be interested in hearing comedian Steve Martin’s solution to reform the Texas criminal justice system. I’ll bet it would make more sense.
Steve J. Martin, a correctional consultant and former General Counsel of the Texas prison system, has been highly critical of the Texas criminal justice system. He charges that:
•Texas incarcerates the greatest number of persons in the U.S. but is dead last in the percentage of persons who graduate from high school.
•Texas has 75,000 inmates incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, a number that exceeds the prison populations of all but one state.
•Texas prisons hold more people with mental illness than our state mental health institutions have patients.
• Texas continues to incarcerate almost twice as many African-American males as are enrolled in the state’s public universities.
Martin says, “We have too many Texans locked-up — especially minorities who comprise nearly 70 percent of the total prison population.”
Martin’s solution is to ‘reform’ the Texas criminal justice system by adopting California’s prison realignment program. He says:
__“In the past six years, California has reduced its prison population by 50,000 by ‘realigning’ its criminal justice system and shifting the burden of managing low-level offenders from state prisons to local communities. California is now spending $800 million less on its prisoners than it did two years ago without compromising public safety and without an increase in crime rates.”
Advocating that Texas adopt California’s prison realignment is what I would expect to hear from Hollywood comedian Steve Martin, not from a professional ‘correctional consultant.’ Martin, the correctional consultant, ignores the fact that California’s ‘local communities’ have been overwhelmed by having thousands of prison inmates and parolees dumped on them. He ignores the fact that instead of ‘low level offenders,’ many of the realigned inmates and parolees have a history of violence on their rap sheets. The low level classifications are based solely on the most recent arrest - previous arrests for crimes of violence are not taken into account. And Martin ignores the fact that in many California counties the crime rate has gone up since realignment went into effect.
As for the disproportionate number of minorities in prison, isn’t Martin, the correctional consultant, aware that blacks and Hispanics are committing a disproportionate number of crimes?
I’d be interested in hearing comedian Steve Martin’s solution to reform the Texas criminal justice system. I’ll bet it would make more sense.
THE DONALD FLAMES OUT
Trump’s ‘October Surprise’ does not shake up the presidential race
The Donald had said he would reveal a big surprise that would ‘shake up the presidential race.’ But he only shook up the media and Romney’s supporters who were waiting with abated breath for Trump’s October Surprise.
DONALD TRUMP’S OCTOBER SURPRISE: I DON’T HAVE ONE
By Tim Molloy
The Wrap
October 24, 2012
Donald Trump doesn't have any secret documents about the president, but he'd be willing to pay for some.
Trump's announcement that he would reveal a big surprise today that would shake up the presidential race led to all sorts of speculation about what he knew. There was even ill-informed talk that he might unveil records showing the president and first lady once considered divorcing.
But the "Apprentice" host revealed at noon that he has discovered... dumdumdum... nothing.
Rather, his big surprise was that he's willing to make a $5 million donation to the charity of President Obama's choice if he will release his college records and "passport records," whatever those are.
The Donald had said he would reveal a big surprise that would ‘shake up the presidential race.’ But he only shook up the media and Romney’s supporters who were waiting with abated breath for Trump’s October Surprise.
DONALD TRUMP’S OCTOBER SURPRISE: I DON’T HAVE ONE
By Tim Molloy
The Wrap
October 24, 2012
Donald Trump doesn't have any secret documents about the president, but he'd be willing to pay for some.
Trump's announcement that he would reveal a big surprise today that would shake up the presidential race led to all sorts of speculation about what he knew. There was even ill-informed talk that he might unveil records showing the president and first lady once considered divorcing.
But the "Apprentice" host revealed at noon that he has discovered... dumdumdum... nothing.
Rather, his big surprise was that he's willing to make a $5 million donation to the charity of President Obama's choice if he will release his college records and "passport records," whatever those are.
PSYCHOLOGY VS. LAW
The Unconventional Gazette
October 24, 2012
A guy asked a girl in a university library: “Do you mind if I sit beside you?”
The girl answered with a loud voice: “I don’t want to spend the night with you.”
All the students in the library stared at the guy and he was embarrassed. A couple of minutes after he had scurried away, the girl walked quietly to the guy’s table and told him: “I study psychology and I know what a man is thinking. I guess you felt embarrassed, right?”
The guy responded with a loud voice: “$300 just for one night? That’s too much.”
As all the people in the library looked at the girl in shock, the guy whispered in her ears: “I study Law and I know how to make someone look guilty."
October 24, 2012
A guy asked a girl in a university library: “Do you mind if I sit beside you?”
The girl answered with a loud voice: “I don’t want to spend the night with you.”
All the students in the library stared at the guy and he was embarrassed. A couple of minutes after he had scurried away, the girl walked quietly to the guy’s table and told him: “I study psychology and I know what a man is thinking. I guess you felt embarrassed, right?”
The guy responded with a loud voice: “$300 just for one night? That’s too much.”
As all the people in the library looked at the girl in shock, the guy whispered in her ears: “I study Law and I know how to make someone look guilty."
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
ROTTEN COPS OR ROTTEN FEDERAL PROSECUTOR?
Or how about a rotten victim?
This would make for a hit TV series. ‘The Bad Wife’ would be an appropriate title. Sex, lies, violence and more, this plot has it all.
JENNY ROBERTS: FEDERAL PROSECUTOR’S WIFE ACCUSES COPS OF BEATING HER; COPS SAY HER HUSBAND DID IT
By Craig Malisow
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 23, 2012
The wife of a federal prosecutor formerly based in Houston has accused Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies of beating her so severely she suffered permanent brain damage, while the County Attorney says her husband is the one who beat her, and the couple conspired to cover up domestic abuse by blaming everyone else but a vicious wife-beater.
The claims stem from the 2010 arrest of Jenny Roberts, wife of U.S. Attorney Tony Roberts, outside a Montgomery County bar called Tailgators. In an amended federal complaint filed last September, Jenny Roberts accused deputies Biff Knight and Scott Carson of approaching her while she sat in her car outside the bar, where "she was taking no action which constituted a criminal act." (By the way, the Roberts family moved to Honolulu -- where Tony took a job in that U.S. Attorney's Office --shortly after the incident).
Without stating an ostensible reason, the lawsuit claims that the deputies "pulled Plaintiff from her vehicle and, after dragging her away from the view of a surveillance video camera, slammed her head into the concrete, thereby causing Plaintiff permanent brain damage."
Jenny was taken to Montgomery County Jail and charged with resisting arrest, but the charge was subsequently dropped. Her husband was out of town that night, and a friend of the family posted bond.
The lawsuit accuses Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage of running a bad department, with deputies like Knight and Carson, who allegedly have a history of excessive force. She also claims Gage green-lighted an internal affairs investigation that was only interested in confirming the deputies' version of events.
But here's what the counterclaim, filed by Montgomery County Assistant Attorney Daniel Plake on behalf of the deputies and Sheriff Gage, alleges: As soon as Tony Roberts got back in town, he used his position as federal prosecutor to interrogate witnesses, and he didn't like what he was told. According to the counterclaim, a bar employee and witness told Tony that Jenny "had only been served three drinks by the bar but had gone table to table drinking and making a spectacle of herself" that she "had offered sexual services to bar employees, patrons and one of the officers" and that when the deputies found her, "she did not have her shoes, panties or bra on, and her shirt was inside out." Oh, and the witness also alleged that Jenny "had left the bar with another man."
The counterclaim also alleges that Tony told a bar employee and witness that his wife "had been diagnosed with compulsive disorder and was incapable of drinking in moderation" and that "this was not the first time" she behaved in the way the witness described.
Plake also alleges that "Tony Roberts has a history of being violent against his wife when he believes she has been unfaithful. After questioning the bar personnel and learning facts that made Tony Roberts believe his wife had been unfaithful, Tony Roberts caused injury to his wife by physical violence. Tony and Jenny Roberts then conspired and collaborated to blame the injuries on Deputies Knight and Carson."
Also, per the suit: "Tony and Jenny Roberts have had prior problems of violence between them. Jenny Roberts has gone to jail for assaulting Tony Roberts. On one occasion prior to Jenny Roberts' arrest, the police were called to the Roberts' residence. Jenny Roberts told the police that Tony Roberts had picked her up and threw her down on the head. Tony Roberts told the police that he and his wife argued because she received a gift from another man; a man with whom Tony Roberts believed his wife was having an affair. Tony Roberts also stated that his wife charged at him, he pushed her away, and she slipped causing her to hit her head."
That allegation is reflected in a January 2009 Montgomery County Sheriff's Office incident report, in which a deputy noted a fight over a purse, but stated that no injuries were observed and that alcohol did not seem to be a factor. No charges were filed. The deputy also noted that Jenny Roberts had gone to jail approximately six years earlier, in Midland, for assault, but that charges were later dropped. (The name of the person she assaulted was redacted, but in the context of the report, it appears to be Tony Roberts).
Both Jenny and Tony threatened the livelihoods of the deputies involved, and Tony intimidated witnesses and led them to believe that he was conducting an official investigation, according to the suit.
Attorneys for all parties have kept tight lips. Since we think it's kind of a big deal for a county attorney to accuse a federal prosecutor of being a wife-beater and criminal conspirator, we had hoped Plake would be able to back up such assertions with evidence. Instead, he told us to file the public records request that ultimately yielded the somewhat opaque results. We think this is, in a word, irresponsible, since this is not some petty he-said/she-said civil squabble -- this is a serious case where public servants have been accused of despicable acts of violence and violations of office, and that's something the public has a stake in.
We didn't get much out of Tony's attorney, Tim Johnson, who said he didn't know much about the information contained in the previous incident reports, and that he's not concerned with Jenny's credibility, because she's not his client. Really?
Nor did we get much from Jenny's attorney, Edwin Wright III, who declined to share the medical records that supposedly prove that Jenny suffered permanent brain damage. He told us to ask Plake for those. So, really, is there any definitive proof of such extensive injuries?
This whole thing leaves a bad taste in our mouth. The public deserves to know if we've got some rotten cops or a rotten federal prosecutor. We sought comment from the Houston U.S. Attorney's Office, but their public information officer is out of the office. Hopefully we can get a comment in the future -- if a county attorney has accused one of their prosecutors of such criminal acts, wouldn't they want to look into it? Or is this just some backwoods pissing contest that we're not really supposed to care about?
Well, we care, because right now something about this case stinks. And we aim to find out what it is.
This would make for a hit TV series. ‘The Bad Wife’ would be an appropriate title. Sex, lies, violence and more, this plot has it all.
JENNY ROBERTS: FEDERAL PROSECUTOR’S WIFE ACCUSES COPS OF BEATING HER; COPS SAY HER HUSBAND DID IT
By Craig Malisow
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 23, 2012
The wife of a federal prosecutor formerly based in Houston has accused Montgomery County Sheriff's deputies of beating her so severely she suffered permanent brain damage, while the County Attorney says her husband is the one who beat her, and the couple conspired to cover up domestic abuse by blaming everyone else but a vicious wife-beater.
The claims stem from the 2010 arrest of Jenny Roberts, wife of U.S. Attorney Tony Roberts, outside a Montgomery County bar called Tailgators. In an amended federal complaint filed last September, Jenny Roberts accused deputies Biff Knight and Scott Carson of approaching her while she sat in her car outside the bar, where "she was taking no action which constituted a criminal act." (By the way, the Roberts family moved to Honolulu -- where Tony took a job in that U.S. Attorney's Office --shortly after the incident).
Without stating an ostensible reason, the lawsuit claims that the deputies "pulled Plaintiff from her vehicle and, after dragging her away from the view of a surveillance video camera, slammed her head into the concrete, thereby causing Plaintiff permanent brain damage."
Jenny was taken to Montgomery County Jail and charged with resisting arrest, but the charge was subsequently dropped. Her husband was out of town that night, and a friend of the family posted bond.
The lawsuit accuses Montgomery County Sheriff Tommy Gage of running a bad department, with deputies like Knight and Carson, who allegedly have a history of excessive force. She also claims Gage green-lighted an internal affairs investigation that was only interested in confirming the deputies' version of events.
But here's what the counterclaim, filed by Montgomery County Assistant Attorney Daniel Plake on behalf of the deputies and Sheriff Gage, alleges: As soon as Tony Roberts got back in town, he used his position as federal prosecutor to interrogate witnesses, and he didn't like what he was told. According to the counterclaim, a bar employee and witness told Tony that Jenny "had only been served three drinks by the bar but had gone table to table drinking and making a spectacle of herself" that she "had offered sexual services to bar employees, patrons and one of the officers" and that when the deputies found her, "she did not have her shoes, panties or bra on, and her shirt was inside out." Oh, and the witness also alleged that Jenny "had left the bar with another man."
The counterclaim also alleges that Tony told a bar employee and witness that his wife "had been diagnosed with compulsive disorder and was incapable of drinking in moderation" and that "this was not the first time" she behaved in the way the witness described.
Plake also alleges that "Tony Roberts has a history of being violent against his wife when he believes she has been unfaithful. After questioning the bar personnel and learning facts that made Tony Roberts believe his wife had been unfaithful, Tony Roberts caused injury to his wife by physical violence. Tony and Jenny Roberts then conspired and collaborated to blame the injuries on Deputies Knight and Carson."
Also, per the suit: "Tony and Jenny Roberts have had prior problems of violence between them. Jenny Roberts has gone to jail for assaulting Tony Roberts. On one occasion prior to Jenny Roberts' arrest, the police were called to the Roberts' residence. Jenny Roberts told the police that Tony Roberts had picked her up and threw her down on the head. Tony Roberts told the police that he and his wife argued because she received a gift from another man; a man with whom Tony Roberts believed his wife was having an affair. Tony Roberts also stated that his wife charged at him, he pushed her away, and she slipped causing her to hit her head."
That allegation is reflected in a January 2009 Montgomery County Sheriff's Office incident report, in which a deputy noted a fight over a purse, but stated that no injuries were observed and that alcohol did not seem to be a factor. No charges were filed. The deputy also noted that Jenny Roberts had gone to jail approximately six years earlier, in Midland, for assault, but that charges were later dropped. (The name of the person she assaulted was redacted, but in the context of the report, it appears to be Tony Roberts).
Both Jenny and Tony threatened the livelihoods of the deputies involved, and Tony intimidated witnesses and led them to believe that he was conducting an official investigation, according to the suit.
Attorneys for all parties have kept tight lips. Since we think it's kind of a big deal for a county attorney to accuse a federal prosecutor of being a wife-beater and criminal conspirator, we had hoped Plake would be able to back up such assertions with evidence. Instead, he told us to file the public records request that ultimately yielded the somewhat opaque results. We think this is, in a word, irresponsible, since this is not some petty he-said/she-said civil squabble -- this is a serious case where public servants have been accused of despicable acts of violence and violations of office, and that's something the public has a stake in.
We didn't get much out of Tony's attorney, Tim Johnson, who said he didn't know much about the information contained in the previous incident reports, and that he's not concerned with Jenny's credibility, because she's not his client. Really?
Nor did we get much from Jenny's attorney, Edwin Wright III, who declined to share the medical records that supposedly prove that Jenny suffered permanent brain damage. He told us to ask Plake for those. So, really, is there any definitive proof of such extensive injuries?
This whole thing leaves a bad taste in our mouth. The public deserves to know if we've got some rotten cops or a rotten federal prosecutor. We sought comment from the Houston U.S. Attorney's Office, but their public information officer is out of the office. Hopefully we can get a comment in the future -- if a county attorney has accused one of their prosecutors of such criminal acts, wouldn't they want to look into it? Or is this just some backwoods pissing contest that we're not really supposed to care about?
Well, we care, because right now something about this case stinks. And we aim to find out what it is.
THE BALLAD OF ISLAMIST RAGE BOY
By A. Barton Hinkle
Jewish World Review
October 23,2012
They made a movie I don't like — at least, I'm pretty sure;
I haven't really seen it yet; the flick is frightfully obscure.
It's out there somewhere, though — a fact that drives me nuts.
And that is why my friends and I all hate your stinking guts.
We'd like to kill you slowly — soon, with lots of pain and blood —
For letting anyone produce such narrow-minded crud.
You've hurt our feelings — mocked our Prophet — made us blow a gasket.
We won't find any peace until your head is in a basket.
A stoning, for such blasphemy, might also be required
By those of us who are by grace and tolerance inspired.
With sticks and stones we'll break your bones while you complain and snivel
For having the audacity to imply that we're uncivil.
Don't feel too bad — it's not just you; we also plan to slaughter
Any mother or her son who tries to teach a daughter
Math or science, prose or verse, or other learned arts.
Stultifying minds, you see, is how we capture hearts.
We shot one girl the other day — Malala is her name.
Despite the many protests, we feel not a whit of shame.
Defying us, she tried to learn, and now she's in our debt —
For she's been taught a lesson that she will not soon forget.
We're also torching schools when we catch them teaching girls —
There's nothing like the morning smell of smoking flesh and curls.
Our methods may be stern, but with God's blessing we'll persist
'Til every girls' school puts a sign up, reading: "Class Dismissed."
We're waging war as well on what we deem immodest dress.
The passions it can stir we all must instantly repress,
For otherwise, one cannot tell where such things could be leading;
Without us men, the women might display improper breeding.
An inter-gender glance that lingers could ignite intense emotions
That could distract a man and woman from their Heavenly devotions
Such as love, and joy, and tenderness — and others we disparage
As having no befitting role within a proper marriage.
So it's our duty to ensure the ladies all stay chaste —
And those who don't, for their own good, must quickly be de-faced
By veiling, slashing, stoning, or a simple vial of acid.
That's the ticket that we use to keep our members flaccid.
We've built some scaffolds, too, for men who lie with men.
They did that once in Sodom, but won't do it here again.
We'll stretch their necks with solid rope we've twisted into nooses —
That will stop those fellows cold, and dry up all their juices.
For thieves we keep a vorpal blade, for cleaving hand from arm;
Some find this quite barbaric; we think it has its charm.
Five-finger discounts, people find, aren't nearly as much fun
When, counting up your digits, you discover you have none.
Our attitude on heretics is: never, ever judge —
We don't care how they die and we will not hold a grudge,
So long as they die slowly — and make it hurt like hell.
If everyone can hear them scream, then we think that they've died well.
And then, of course, there is The Jew — that son of ape and pig
Whose double-dealing forces neighbors to renege
On promises pre-emptively, before The Jew can do it.
The lack of peace is all his fault — no matter how you view it.
Just look around the modern world, which knew no strife or stress
Until The Jew appeared to impede its happiness.
Now brother fights with brother, and Sunni fights with Shi'a.
I'm telling you, those Euro-fascists had the right idea.
Don't get me wrong! — I don't concede the Holocaust was real.
It's just a Jewish fantasy cooked up so Jews could steal
The land where milk and honey once through other fingers flowed.
The very thought makes me so mad I think I might explode.
What really gets my goat, of course, is how you all depict us:
Wild-eyed and waving fists, mouths twisted into a rictus.
How such a funny notion ever got into your head. . . .
Was it something that we did, or something we said?
Jewish World Review
October 23,2012
They made a movie I don't like — at least, I'm pretty sure;
I haven't really seen it yet; the flick is frightfully obscure.
It's out there somewhere, though — a fact that drives me nuts.
And that is why my friends and I all hate your stinking guts.
We'd like to kill you slowly — soon, with lots of pain and blood —
For letting anyone produce such narrow-minded crud.
You've hurt our feelings — mocked our Prophet — made us blow a gasket.
We won't find any peace until your head is in a basket.
A stoning, for such blasphemy, might also be required
By those of us who are by grace and tolerance inspired.
With sticks and stones we'll break your bones while you complain and snivel
For having the audacity to imply that we're uncivil.
Don't feel too bad — it's not just you; we also plan to slaughter
Any mother or her son who tries to teach a daughter
Math or science, prose or verse, or other learned arts.
Stultifying minds, you see, is how we capture hearts.
We shot one girl the other day — Malala is her name.
Despite the many protests, we feel not a whit of shame.
Defying us, she tried to learn, and now she's in our debt —
For she's been taught a lesson that she will not soon forget.
We're also torching schools when we catch them teaching girls —
There's nothing like the morning smell of smoking flesh and curls.
Our methods may be stern, but with God's blessing we'll persist
'Til every girls' school puts a sign up, reading: "Class Dismissed."
We're waging war as well on what we deem immodest dress.
The passions it can stir we all must instantly repress,
For otherwise, one cannot tell where such things could be leading;
Without us men, the women might display improper breeding.
An inter-gender glance that lingers could ignite intense emotions
That could distract a man and woman from their Heavenly devotions
Such as love, and joy, and tenderness — and others we disparage
As having no befitting role within a proper marriage.
So it's our duty to ensure the ladies all stay chaste —
And those who don't, for their own good, must quickly be de-faced
By veiling, slashing, stoning, or a simple vial of acid.
That's the ticket that we use to keep our members flaccid.
We've built some scaffolds, too, for men who lie with men.
They did that once in Sodom, but won't do it here again.
We'll stretch their necks with solid rope we've twisted into nooses —
That will stop those fellows cold, and dry up all their juices.
For thieves we keep a vorpal blade, for cleaving hand from arm;
Some find this quite barbaric; we think it has its charm.
Five-finger discounts, people find, aren't nearly as much fun
When, counting up your digits, you discover you have none.
Our attitude on heretics is: never, ever judge —
We don't care how they die and we will not hold a grudge,
So long as they die slowly — and make it hurt like hell.
If everyone can hear them scream, then we think that they've died well.
And then, of course, there is The Jew — that son of ape and pig
Whose double-dealing forces neighbors to renege
On promises pre-emptively, before The Jew can do it.
The lack of peace is all his fault — no matter how you view it.
Just look around the modern world, which knew no strife or stress
Until The Jew appeared to impede its happiness.
Now brother fights with brother, and Sunni fights with Shi'a.
I'm telling you, those Euro-fascists had the right idea.
Don't get me wrong! — I don't concede the Holocaust was real.
It's just a Jewish fantasy cooked up so Jews could steal
The land where milk and honey once through other fingers flowed.
The very thought makes me so mad I think I might explode.
What really gets my goat, of course, is how you all depict us:
Wild-eyed and waving fists, mouths twisted into a rictus.
How such a funny notion ever got into your head. . . .
Was it something that we did, or something we said?
TOILET SCRUBBERS IN NEED OF UNION REPRESENTATION
Wages are so low in India that even China is outsourcing jobs to that impoverished nation.
WORLD’S LOWEST PAID WORKERS: INDIAN CLEANERS GET JUST £64 AFTER 40 YEARS OF SCRUBBING TOILETS WITHOUT A DAY OFF (AND THEY’VE NEVER HAD A PAY RAISE)
Two women have applied to the Guinness World Records for the lowest salary in the world
By Kerry McQueeney
Mail Online
October 22, 2012
For more than 40 years they've toiled away, meticulously scrubbing and cleaning toilets in southern India
However, astonishingly, two dedicated cleaners in India have only £64 EACH to show for their four decades of working their fingers to the bone.
Akku and Leela Sherigar have earned an average of 180 rupees - or £2 - a year. And for the last 11 years the have worked for free following a dispute with their employer.
The two women, both aged 59, started working as toilet cleaners for the Government’s Women Teacher’s Training Institute, in South India, in 1971, for 15 Rupees (18p) a month as fresh-faced 18-year-olds.
But they’ve not had a pay rise ever since, even though they have never missed a day’s work.
Even though they are angry, they’ve now applied to the Guinness Book of World Records for the title of the lowest salary in the world.
Akku said: ‘We were promised a pay rise every year but it never came. We trusted our employers that eventually they’d pay us. We never believed it’d come to this.
‘We take pride in our work; we couldn’t give it up. We have always hoped that we would get what we were promised.’
In 2001, they finally had enough and complained to the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, in Udupi, near Goa, in southwest India.
Then, their wages stopped altogether with no mention of any reimbursement.
But the dedicated women still went into work cleaning 21 toilets, three times a day, seven days a week.
And for the last 11 years, they have worked for free.
Ravindranath Shanbhag, president of the Human Rights Protection Foundation, in Udupi, has been helping the women take their case to the Supreme Court of India.
However, even though the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal ordered the government to pay out, in 2003, nothing was given to the women.
And even after the same decision from the High Court of Karnataka, in 2004, and the Supreme Court, in 2010, concluded the government should pay out, they are yet to do so.
With the help of the Indian press and local support Akku and Leela are now praying they'll get what they’re deserved, plus interest, before they can happily retire next year.
‘All we want is what is due to us, what our hard work through the past 42 years deserves,’ Akku added.
WORLD’S LOWEST PAID WORKERS: INDIAN CLEANERS GET JUST £64 AFTER 40 YEARS OF SCRUBBING TOILETS WITHOUT A DAY OFF (AND THEY’VE NEVER HAD A PAY RAISE)
Two women have applied to the Guinness World Records for the lowest salary in the world
By Kerry McQueeney
Mail Online
October 22, 2012
For more than 40 years they've toiled away, meticulously scrubbing and cleaning toilets in southern India
However, astonishingly, two dedicated cleaners in India have only £64 EACH to show for their four decades of working their fingers to the bone.
Akku and Leela Sherigar have earned an average of 180 rupees - or £2 - a year. And for the last 11 years the have worked for free following a dispute with their employer.
The two women, both aged 59, started working as toilet cleaners for the Government’s Women Teacher’s Training Institute, in South India, in 1971, for 15 Rupees (18p) a month as fresh-faced 18-year-olds.
But they’ve not had a pay rise ever since, even though they have never missed a day’s work.
Even though they are angry, they’ve now applied to the Guinness Book of World Records for the title of the lowest salary in the world.
Akku said: ‘We were promised a pay rise every year but it never came. We trusted our employers that eventually they’d pay us. We never believed it’d come to this.
‘We take pride in our work; we couldn’t give it up. We have always hoped that we would get what we were promised.’
In 2001, they finally had enough and complained to the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal, in Udupi, near Goa, in southwest India.
Then, their wages stopped altogether with no mention of any reimbursement.
But the dedicated women still went into work cleaning 21 toilets, three times a day, seven days a week.
And for the last 11 years, they have worked for free.
Ravindranath Shanbhag, president of the Human Rights Protection Foundation, in Udupi, has been helping the women take their case to the Supreme Court of India.
However, even though the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal ordered the government to pay out, in 2003, nothing was given to the women.
And even after the same decision from the High Court of Karnataka, in 2004, and the Supreme Court, in 2010, concluded the government should pay out, they are yet to do so.
With the help of the Indian press and local support Akku and Leela are now praying they'll get what they’re deserved, plus interest, before they can happily retire next year.
‘All we want is what is due to us, what our hard work through the past 42 years deserves,’ Akku added.
THERE AREN’T MANY FARMS IN DETROIT
The Unconventional Gazette
October 23, 2012
A first grade teacher in a Detroit school asked the kids in her class what kind of sound a pig makes.
Little Tyrone jumped up and yelled: “Freeze Muthafucka”
October 23, 2012
A first grade teacher in a Detroit school asked the kids in her class what kind of sound a pig makes.
Little Tyrone jumped up and yelled: “Freeze Muthafucka”
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
PHASE OF THE MOON?: COPS ACROSS AMERICA CONFRONTED BY ARMED NAKED PEOPLE
Lately cops have been running into armed naked people from California to Florida. I can understand that phenomenon in Kookfornia, but in Florida and elsewhere? If it’s not the result of dope, then it must be a phase of the moon.
POLICE SHOOT NAKED MAN IN BURNING HOME
Bay City News Service
October 21, 2012
VALLEJO, Calif. -- A police officer fatally shot a naked man armed with a rifle inside a home that had been set on fire in Vallejo early this morning, police said.
Officers responded at 1:28 a.m. to a home in the 2500 block of Alameda Drive on a report that two men were arguing and trying to burn their house down, according to police.
The men had also apparently broken windows of several cars in front of the home, police said.
The officers arrived to find a naked man running into the home.
When they confronted a naked man inside, a second naked man appeared from the back of the house armed with a rifle, police said.
The man pressed the barrel of the rifle against an officer's stomach, prompting another officer to fire his service weapon at the man, striking him, according to police.
As the officers took the two men into custody, they realized the house was on fire and took them outside. Other officers followed a blood trail to the backyard of the home where they found a recently slaughtered animal, police said.
Firefighters responded and put out the fire, which had engulfed the home.
The 29-year-old man who was shot by police was taken to KaiserPermanente Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. His name is not yet being released.
The other man taken into custody, a 28-year-old whose name is also not yet being released, was taken to a hospital for observation. He was not injured and was later booked into jail, police said.
Investigators believe the two men were under the influence of some kind of controlled substance and had shut power off to the home and set it on fire. The rifle, which was taken into custody, was loaded with a round in the chamber, according to police.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard department procedure while the case is investigated by police and the Solano County District Attorney's Office.
__________
2 OFF-DUTY OFFICERS FATALLY SHOOT NAKED WOMAN
The county sheriff’s office said in a news release that the men were approached by an ‘armed, naked and irrational female'
Associated Press
October 21, 2012
TAMPA, Florida — Two off-duty Florida law-enforcement officers fatally shot an armed, naked woman who confronted them at a social gathering Saturday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday north of Tampa. The county sheriff's office said in a news release that the men were approached by an "armed, naked and irrational female." The news release does not identify the weapon, but it says "one or both of the law enforcement officers fired their weapons, striking the female." She died at the scene.
Lt. Cinda Moore, a spokeswoman for the Hernando sheriff's office, said in an email late Saturday that she could not immediately identify the woman or disclose the weapon she was carrying. She said she also could not comment on what the woman specifically said or did or whether she was told to drop the weapon.
The Tampa-area shooting comes two weeks after a naked, unarmed University of South Alabama freshman was fatally shot by a campus police officer after going to the police station there and pounding on the glass. The shooting has led to protests by students.
Police said 18-year-old Gil Collar had taken LSD and acted aggressively when an officer came outside carrying a gun. The officer repeatedly backed away from the student before firing. An attorney for the student's family says Collar never touched the officer and the fatal shooting never should have happened. Authorities have said a grand jury will review that shooting to determine whether charges should be filed.
POLICE SHOOT NAKED MAN IN BURNING HOME
Bay City News Service
October 21, 2012
VALLEJO, Calif. -- A police officer fatally shot a naked man armed with a rifle inside a home that had been set on fire in Vallejo early this morning, police said.
Officers responded at 1:28 a.m. to a home in the 2500 block of Alameda Drive on a report that two men were arguing and trying to burn their house down, according to police.
The men had also apparently broken windows of several cars in front of the home, police said.
The officers arrived to find a naked man running into the home.
When they confronted a naked man inside, a second naked man appeared from the back of the house armed with a rifle, police said.
The man pressed the barrel of the rifle against an officer's stomach, prompting another officer to fire his service weapon at the man, striking him, according to police.
As the officers took the two men into custody, they realized the house was on fire and took them outside. Other officers followed a blood trail to the backyard of the home where they found a recently slaughtered animal, police said.
Firefighters responded and put out the fire, which had engulfed the home.
The 29-year-old man who was shot by police was taken to KaiserPermanente Medical Center where he was pronounced dead. His name is not yet being released.
The other man taken into custody, a 28-year-old whose name is also not yet being released, was taken to a hospital for observation. He was not injured and was later booked into jail, police said.
Investigators believe the two men were under the influence of some kind of controlled substance and had shut power off to the home and set it on fire. The rifle, which was taken into custody, was loaded with a round in the chamber, according to police.
The officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave, as is standard department procedure while the case is investigated by police and the Solano County District Attorney's Office.
__________
2 OFF-DUTY OFFICERS FATALLY SHOOT NAKED WOMAN
The county sheriff’s office said in a news release that the men were approached by an ‘armed, naked and irrational female'
Associated Press
October 21, 2012
TAMPA, Florida — Two off-duty Florida law-enforcement officers fatally shot an armed, naked woman who confronted them at a social gathering Saturday, authorities said.
The shooting occurred at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday north of Tampa. The county sheriff's office said in a news release that the men were approached by an "armed, naked and irrational female." The news release does not identify the weapon, but it says "one or both of the law enforcement officers fired their weapons, striking the female." She died at the scene.
Lt. Cinda Moore, a spokeswoman for the Hernando sheriff's office, said in an email late Saturday that she could not immediately identify the woman or disclose the weapon she was carrying. She said she also could not comment on what the woman specifically said or did or whether she was told to drop the weapon.
The Tampa-area shooting comes two weeks after a naked, unarmed University of South Alabama freshman was fatally shot by a campus police officer after going to the police station there and pounding on the glass. The shooting has led to protests by students.
Police said 18-year-old Gil Collar had taken LSD and acted aggressively when an officer came outside carrying a gun. The officer repeatedly backed away from the student before firing. An attorney for the student's family says Collar never touched the officer and the fatal shooting never should have happened. Authorities have said a grand jury will review that shooting to determine whether charges should be filed.
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