I hate to admit it, but Texas Monthly is right. Perry imploded on the campaign trail and showed that he just isn’t ready for prime time.
WHY WE CHOSE RICK PERRY AS OUR 2012 BUM STEER OF THE YEAR
by Jake Silverstein
Texas Monthly
January 2012
As most readers know, every January TEXAS MONTHLY picks a Bum Steer of the Year, an honor conferred on whatever individual we feel has been responsible for the biggest screw-up, gaffe, fumble, stumble, train wreck, or humiliation of the past twelve months. This year, as the above cover (available on newsstands next week) makes pretty darn clear, our Bum Steer of the Year is Governor Rick Perry. Because this is not an award we relished bestowing, we are moved to offer an account of our decision to do so.
No one wants to give the governor a Bum Steer. No one wants to poke fun at the elected representative of 25 million Texans. And in fact, when Perry launched his presidential campaign four and a half months ago, we felt compelled to defend him (a little) from the slings and arrows of a national press corps incapable of seeing a boot-wearing Texas governor as anything other than George W. Bush II. We’d had our differences with Perry, about whom senior executive editor Paul Burka wrote, back in May: “He excels at consolidating and maintaining power but not at using it to move Texas forward.” But now that the Texas-mocking Yankee press was approaching, what Texan did not want to circle the wagons?
“We have endured a disproportionate amount of bad writing about our state from journalists who don’t know very much about the place, and I for one can’t bear to suffer through another campaign of it,” Paul wrote, in an August column addressed to the hordes of journalists soon to be clogging the taxi stand at the Austin airport. “I am writing you this note in the hope that it will help you avoid the political and sociological clichés that Texas is subjected to every time one of our politicians seeks the national stage.”
Among other things, Paul’s column counseled these reporters not to confuse Perry with Bush and to accept that the governor was “cannier than you think he is.” The next month, our account of his undefeated electoral history carried the headline “The Great Campaigner.” The month after that, we explained his rugged, individualistic “frontier style” and traced the roots of his political persona to Andrew Jackson, the original “Washington outsider.”
But already the worm had begun to turn. By November, Perry had completed the first several stages of decline, having devolved from a fantasy GOP savior (“He’ll unite the tea party and the chamber of commerce!”) to a real-life candidate with real-life challenges (“He’ll be fine as long as he can explain his immigration stance!”) to a mysteriously awful public speaker (“Is his back bothering him? Is he tired? Doing too much fund-raising?”). Still, as our Bum Steer deadlines approached, we were not moved to confer the lowest honor on our highest office. True, a late October survey of political insiders by the Texas Tribune found that 57 percent of them thought Perry’s struggling campaign had hurt the state’s image, but we remained firm. The governor had not earned the Bum Steer in our book, and we were torn, like many Texans, between embarrassment at Perry’s poor performance and contempt for the way the national media seemed to relish the opportunity to ridicule our state.
Then came that peculiar speech in New Hampshire, the one where he rambled about tomcats and buried gold, deployed more hand gestures and facial expressions than Ron Washington during a two-out rally, and finally finished by embracing a bottle of maple syrup.
Again the media piled on. But were we swayed? Nope. We entered the production cycle for the January issue unconvinced that the governor, for all his stumbles, deserved to be our Bum Steer of the Year. Such things are not to be taken lightly. Only once before had the magazine awarded a governor this individual dishonor, when Dolph Briscoe took the 1976 prize. Though the prospect of Perry on the cover (perhaps riding a steer into the sunset, dragging a dead coyote) was now being discussed around the office with increasing regularity, we remained resolute in our reservations; he had still not done enough.
The end came swiftly, in a matter of seconds. Fifty-three of them, to be exact: the time it took the governor to go from trying in vain to name the third agency of government he would shutter as president to giving up and muttering—in a phrase that will surely go down, should his campaign expire, as its perfect epitaph—“Oops.” In that moment all our resistance melted away, and we rushed, shaking our heads in disbelief, into the arms of our unquestionable 2012 Bum Steer of the Year. We didn’t want to, but we had to.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
POLITICALLY CORRECT POLICE CHIEF
It’s really sad how LAPD is being subjected to political correctness. Unfortunately, LAPD is far from the only police agency that that has been forced to make sure it’s practices will always be politically correct.
JUST CALL THE LAPD THE LAPC
By Doug McIntyre
Los Angeles Daily News
December 17, 2011
Politically Correct Charlie Beck strikes again.
As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's designated wingman, the police chief is the principal apologist for the sanctuary city policies that have turned L.A. into - as author David Rieff dubbed it back in 1992 - "The Capital of the Third World."
Whenever the mayor needs to un-enforce laws against the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants living here, he sends for the chief. After all, everyone loves the LAPD, so if the top cop thinks something's a good idea, it has to be, right?
The latest politically correct brainstorm from Beck goes something like this: since illegal immigrants can't legally drive in California - duh - their cars are more likely to be impounded. Same as yours or mine if we get caught driving without a license.
"But that's not fair!" says PCCB. "There's a vast difference between someone driving without a license because they cannot legally be issued one and someone driving after having their license revoked."
And there is a vast difference; just not the one Beck's trying to bamboozle us with.
Unlike illegal immigrants, even drunks who've had their driving privileges yanked had to pass a driving test at some point. While a license itself doesn't guarantee responsible driving - James Loney has one - at least it let us know it was the Dodgers' first baseman snoring in his Maserati on the 101 and not Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or the Queen of Sheba for that matter. With illegal immigrant drivers we don't know anything, not even the driver's real name.
Under Beck's plan, an illegal immigrant driver will be granted the privilege of calling a licensed friend to pick up his or her car so it doesn't make an expensive trip to the impound yard.
It will be up to the discretion of each officer to determine who is an illegal immigrant driver as opposed to some chowderhead like me who's forever leaving his wallet on the dresser. Which is a new spin on Special Order 40.
For decades, the LAPD has prohibited officers from using their judgment when it comes to determining immigration status. Now cops will be required to decide who is and isn't here legally in order to NOT impound an illegal immigrant's vehicle. You can't make this up.
The police union objects, rightly, claiming this idiocy would keep dangerous drivers on our roads. But it also represents something graver - an egregious codification of L.A.'s double standard when it comes to law enforcement; one set of penalties for citizens and a get-out-of-everything-free card for illegals.
If Beck gets his way, it's time to re-brand the LAPD, the LAPC.
JUST CALL THE LAPD THE LAPC
By Doug McIntyre
Los Angeles Daily News
December 17, 2011
Politically Correct Charlie Beck strikes again.
As Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's designated wingman, the police chief is the principal apologist for the sanctuary city policies that have turned L.A. into - as author David Rieff dubbed it back in 1992 - "The Capital of the Third World."
Whenever the mayor needs to un-enforce laws against the hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants living here, he sends for the chief. After all, everyone loves the LAPD, so if the top cop thinks something's a good idea, it has to be, right?
The latest politically correct brainstorm from Beck goes something like this: since illegal immigrants can't legally drive in California - duh - their cars are more likely to be impounded. Same as yours or mine if we get caught driving without a license.
"But that's not fair!" says PCCB. "There's a vast difference between someone driving without a license because they cannot legally be issued one and someone driving after having their license revoked."
And there is a vast difference; just not the one Beck's trying to bamboozle us with.
Unlike illegal immigrants, even drunks who've had their driving privileges yanked had to pass a driving test at some point. While a license itself doesn't guarantee responsible driving - James Loney has one - at least it let us know it was the Dodgers' first baseman snoring in his Maserati on the 101 and not Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder or the Queen of Sheba for that matter. With illegal immigrant drivers we don't know anything, not even the driver's real name.
Under Beck's plan, an illegal immigrant driver will be granted the privilege of calling a licensed friend to pick up his or her car so it doesn't make an expensive trip to the impound yard.
It will be up to the discretion of each officer to determine who is an illegal immigrant driver as opposed to some chowderhead like me who's forever leaving his wallet on the dresser. Which is a new spin on Special Order 40.
For decades, the LAPD has prohibited officers from using their judgment when it comes to determining immigration status. Now cops will be required to decide who is and isn't here legally in order to NOT impound an illegal immigrant's vehicle. You can't make this up.
The police union objects, rightly, claiming this idiocy would keep dangerous drivers on our roads. But it also represents something graver - an egregious codification of L.A.'s double standard when it comes to law enforcement; one set of penalties for citizens and a get-out-of-everything-free card for illegals.
If Beck gets his way, it's time to re-brand the LAPD, the LAPC.
Monday, December 19, 2011
BOB SCHIEFFER'S CONGRESSIONAL REORGANIZATION
If only it were possible!
A MODEST PROPOSAL: LET’S HAVE TWO CONGRESSES
By Bob Schieffer
CBS Face the Nation
December 18, 2011
After watching Congress flounder around for an entire year and manage to accomplish nothing, I've come up with my own reform plan. Just create a second Congress.
How do you do that? Hey, it's a campaign year, you can promise anything!
Here's a broad outline about how it would work: members of this Congress would be elected for one year - and barred from ever running again.
Since no one would have to worry reelection, they could dive into all the heavy lifting - entitlement reform, deficit reduction, tax policy, and rebuilding our roads and bridges and schools.
It's not exactly a new idea - I sort of modeled on the first Congress. Getting reelected was the last thing on those guys' minds. They were worried about being HANGED if it didn't work out. So they put all their chips on the line and went for it.
With my new Congress doing the work, what would we do with the old Congress? Well, they'd still be there. We'd just strip them of all power and no longer pay them.
With nothing to do, they could devote themselves full-time to what they do best - plotting against one another, dunning people for money, cranking out press releases, issuing declarations, dreaming up excuses, threatening to shut down the government every month or so, and otherwise finding ways to avoid doing anything that actually mattered to anyone but them.
Since it would no longer cost us anything, instead of feeling disgust, we might be actually moved to look kindly on them. We might even say, "Now THAT'S entertainment!"
A MODEST PROPOSAL: LET’S HAVE TWO CONGRESSES
By Bob Schieffer
CBS Face the Nation
December 18, 2011
After watching Congress flounder around for an entire year and manage to accomplish nothing, I've come up with my own reform plan. Just create a second Congress.
How do you do that? Hey, it's a campaign year, you can promise anything!
Here's a broad outline about how it would work: members of this Congress would be elected for one year - and barred from ever running again.
Since no one would have to worry reelection, they could dive into all the heavy lifting - entitlement reform, deficit reduction, tax policy, and rebuilding our roads and bridges and schools.
It's not exactly a new idea - I sort of modeled on the first Congress. Getting reelected was the last thing on those guys' minds. They were worried about being HANGED if it didn't work out. So they put all their chips on the line and went for it.
With my new Congress doing the work, what would we do with the old Congress? Well, they'd still be there. We'd just strip them of all power and no longer pay them.
With nothing to do, they could devote themselves full-time to what they do best - plotting against one another, dunning people for money, cranking out press releases, issuing declarations, dreaming up excuses, threatening to shut down the government every month or so, and otherwise finding ways to avoid doing anything that actually mattered to anyone but them.
Since it would no longer cost us anything, instead of feeling disgust, we might be actually moved to look kindly on them. We might even say, "Now THAT'S entertainment!"
ELIZABETH TAYLOR'S BIGGEST FAN IS DEAD
According to Wikipedia, Kim Jong il was said to be a huge film fan, owning a collection of more than 20,000 video tapes and DVDs. His reported favorite movie franchises included Friday the 13th, Rambo, Godzilla, and Hong Kong action cinema, and any movie starring Elizabeth Taylor.
The question is, now that the “Supreme Leader” is gone, will the “Great Successor” Kim Jong Un succeed as numero uno of North Korea? The same question was raised about his fun-loving father when he came to power, but dad turned out to be a very strong and shrewd leader.
NORTH KOREAN LEADER KIM JONG IL’S DEATH
STRATFOR Global Intelligence
December 18, 2011
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died the morning of Dec. 17, according to an official North Korean News broadcast at noon Dec. 19. Initial reports say Kim died of a heart attack brought on by fatigue while on board a train. Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, and his health has been in question since.
Kim’s death comes as North Korea was preparing for a live leadership transition in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim’s father and North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung, a transition that had been intended to avoid the three years of internal chaos the younger Kim faced after his father’s death in 1994. Kim Jong Il had delayed choosing a successor from among his sons to avoid allowing any one to build up their own support base independent of their father. His expected successor, son Kim Jong Un, was only designated as the heir apparent in 2010 after widespread rumors in 2009 and thus has had little experience and training to run North Korea and little time to solidify his own support base within the various North Korean leadership elements. Now, it is likely that Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, will rule behind the scenes as Kim Jong Un trains on the job. Like the transition from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il, it is likely that North Korea will focus internally over the next few years as the country’s elite adjust to a new balance of power. In any transition, there are those who will gain and those who are likely to be disenfranchised, and this competition can lead to internal conflicts.
The immediate question is the status of the North Korean military. Kim Jong Un is officially the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party of Korea and was recently made a four-star general, but he has no military experience. If the military remains committed to keeping the Kim family at the pinnacle of leadership, then things will likely hold, at least in the near term. There were no reports from South Korea that North Korea’s military had entered a state of heightened alert following Kim Jong Il’s death, suggesting that the military is on board with the transition for now. If that holds, the country likely will remain stable, if internally tense.
Kim’s death does not necessarily put an end to recently revived discussions with the United States and others over North Korea’s nuclear program. Pyongyang has increasingly felt pressured by its growing dependence on China, and these nuclear talks provide the potential to break away from that dependence in the long term.
The question is, now that the “Supreme Leader” is gone, will the “Great Successor” Kim Jong Un succeed as numero uno of North Korea? The same question was raised about his fun-loving father when he came to power, but dad turned out to be a very strong and shrewd leader.
NORTH KOREAN LEADER KIM JONG IL’S DEATH
STRATFOR Global Intelligence
December 18, 2011
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il died the morning of Dec. 17, according to an official North Korean News broadcast at noon Dec. 19. Initial reports say Kim died of a heart attack brought on by fatigue while on board a train. Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke in 2008, and his health has been in question since.
Kim’s death comes as North Korea was preparing for a live leadership transition in 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim’s father and North Korea’s founding leader, Kim Il Sung, a transition that had been intended to avoid the three years of internal chaos the younger Kim faced after his father’s death in 1994. Kim Jong Il had delayed choosing a successor from among his sons to avoid allowing any one to build up their own support base independent of their father. His expected successor, son Kim Jong Un, was only designated as the heir apparent in 2010 after widespread rumors in 2009 and thus has had little experience and training to run North Korea and little time to solidify his own support base within the various North Korean leadership elements. Now, it is likely that Kim Jong Un’s uncle, Jang Song Thaek, will rule behind the scenes as Kim Jong Un trains on the job. Like the transition from Kim Il Sung to Kim Jong Il, it is likely that North Korea will focus internally over the next few years as the country’s elite adjust to a new balance of power. In any transition, there are those who will gain and those who are likely to be disenfranchised, and this competition can lead to internal conflicts.
The immediate question is the status of the North Korean military. Kim Jong Un is officially the Vice Chairman of the Central Military Commission of the Workers Party of Korea and was recently made a four-star general, but he has no military experience. If the military remains committed to keeping the Kim family at the pinnacle of leadership, then things will likely hold, at least in the near term. There were no reports from South Korea that North Korea’s military had entered a state of heightened alert following Kim Jong Il’s death, suggesting that the military is on board with the transition for now. If that holds, the country likely will remain stable, if internally tense.
Kim’s death does not necessarily put an end to recently revived discussions with the United States and others over North Korea’s nuclear program. Pyongyang has increasingly felt pressured by its growing dependence on China, and these nuclear talks provide the potential to break away from that dependence in the long term.
TWO STUPIDS ARE AS TWO STUPIDS DO
The cop haters crawled out of the woodwork with their comments on this story in the San Francisco Chronicle, one of them with this jewel: “When you are a cop – murdering impunity is a way of life. We are all just insects to them. Their lives are much more important than ours. Just avoid murdering cops at all costs. Except when they burst, unannounced, into your bedroom and shoot and murder you. That makes it a little tough to avoid them.”
FELONY STUPID TURNS IN TO FATAL STUPID
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
December 17, 2011
A felony stupid move by one man turned into a fatal stupid move by another man in San Jose yesterday while the men were interacting with the local constabulary.
The cops spotted some bozo walking down the street sucking up a can of suds. They stopped, intending to cite him for a violation of the municipal code for drinking in public. Instead the guy ran into a nearby house. The cops pursued, and saw the bozo pull a gun from his pants and toss it into another room in the house.
At that time Valente Galindo, 47, picked up the gun and pointed it at the cops. Officer Lee Tasio, a nine-year veteran, ordered Galindo to drop the weapon. He didn’t. Tasio fired. Galindo collapsed like a punctured whoopee cushion and died. The original bozo, Mnauel Fuentes, 24, was arrested for resisting arrest and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
FELONY STUPID TURNS IN TO FATAL STUPID
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
December 17, 2011
A felony stupid move by one man turned into a fatal stupid move by another man in San Jose yesterday while the men were interacting with the local constabulary.
The cops spotted some bozo walking down the street sucking up a can of suds. They stopped, intending to cite him for a violation of the municipal code for drinking in public. Instead the guy ran into a nearby house. The cops pursued, and saw the bozo pull a gun from his pants and toss it into another room in the house.
At that time Valente Galindo, 47, picked up the gun and pointed it at the cops. Officer Lee Tasio, a nine-year veteran, ordered Galindo to drop the weapon. He didn’t. Tasio fired. Galindo collapsed like a punctured whoopee cushion and died. The original bozo, Mnauel Fuentes, 24, was arrested for resisting arrest and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Sunday, December 18, 2011
ISRAEL'S LUNATIC FRINGE
The Jewish state is beset with a lunatic fringe on both the left and the right. The extreme left-wing in Israel acts as a fifth-column for the Palestinians, siding with the Palestinians on most issues and acting against its own government in ways that threaten the survivability of a Jewish state surrounded by enemies that have vowed to destroy it.
On the extreme right-wing, some of the West Bank settlers have defaced and set fire to mosques, destroyed Palestinian olive trees and even attacked Israeli army outposts. These militant settlers are a disgrace and are fuelling the flames of hatred against Jews and bringing down worldwide condemnation on the State of Israel.
As my readers know, I am a very strong supporter of Israel and have pointed out numerous times that the real goal of the ‘moderate’ Palestinian leadership is not a peace with two states existing side by side, but only one state, a Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Like their brethren in Hamas, the so-called moderates want to erase Israel from the map and drive the Jews out of the Middle East.
I can’t see much sense for Israel to negotiate with a people who see a peace treaty as a mere stepping stone on the pathway to their avowed ‘final solution’ – the eradication of the ‘Zionist entity’ and a Judenrein Middle East.
Because Israel is a democracy, there is not much the government can do about the extreme left-wing with its pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli activities as long as they do not actually violate any of the Jewish state’s laws. But the militant settlers are another matter.
When the settlers deface and set fire to mosques, destroy olive trees and attack Israeli soldiers, they are acting as terrorists and should be treated as such. I know that the Jewish settlers have been up in arms ever since the Israeli army forcibly removed them from their settlements in Gaza. Their anger is exacerbated because the Israeli army has recently been removing them from some outpost settlements in the West Bank, even though those outposts are illegal.
It is quite possible that a civil war will tear Israel apart if it reaches a ‘peace’ agreement with the Palestinians that requires the dismantling of some well-established West Bank settlements, like those that were dismantled in Gaza. Then the government will be confronted not by a lunatic fringe, but by several hundred thousand normally law abiding settlers.
When the extreme right-wing settlers attack mosques and destroy Palestinian property, they are facilitating the demonization of Israel. The Israeli government must do more than just condemn the brazen acts committed by the lunatic fringe. It must come down hard with an iron fist on the settlers that are committing terrorist acts, and terrorism is exactly what defines the attacks on the mosques and the army.
On the extreme right-wing, some of the West Bank settlers have defaced and set fire to mosques, destroyed Palestinian olive trees and even attacked Israeli army outposts. These militant settlers are a disgrace and are fuelling the flames of hatred against Jews and bringing down worldwide condemnation on the State of Israel.
As my readers know, I am a very strong supporter of Israel and have pointed out numerous times that the real goal of the ‘moderate’ Palestinian leadership is not a peace with two states existing side by side, but only one state, a Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Like their brethren in Hamas, the so-called moderates want to erase Israel from the map and drive the Jews out of the Middle East.
I can’t see much sense for Israel to negotiate with a people who see a peace treaty as a mere stepping stone on the pathway to their avowed ‘final solution’ – the eradication of the ‘Zionist entity’ and a Judenrein Middle East.
Because Israel is a democracy, there is not much the government can do about the extreme left-wing with its pro-Palestinian, anti-Israeli activities as long as they do not actually violate any of the Jewish state’s laws. But the militant settlers are another matter.
When the settlers deface and set fire to mosques, destroy olive trees and attack Israeli soldiers, they are acting as terrorists and should be treated as such. I know that the Jewish settlers have been up in arms ever since the Israeli army forcibly removed them from their settlements in Gaza. Their anger is exacerbated because the Israeli army has recently been removing them from some outpost settlements in the West Bank, even though those outposts are illegal.
It is quite possible that a civil war will tear Israel apart if it reaches a ‘peace’ agreement with the Palestinians that requires the dismantling of some well-established West Bank settlements, like those that were dismantled in Gaza. Then the government will be confronted not by a lunatic fringe, but by several hundred thousand normally law abiding settlers.
When the extreme right-wing settlers attack mosques and destroy Palestinian property, they are facilitating the demonization of Israel. The Israeli government must do more than just condemn the brazen acts committed by the lunatic fringe. It must come down hard with an iron fist on the settlers that are committing terrorist acts, and terrorism is exactly what defines the attacks on the mosques and the army.
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT MALAYSIAN STYLE
From Borderland Beat:
The Malaysian method of execution is hanging.
Capital punishment in Malaysia follows a ridged line and applies to murder, drug trafficking, treason, and waging war against the King. There is no juvenile mercy in the country as juvenile justice is also subject to the gallows. Only pregnant women and young children are exempt from capital punishment. The judicial system in the country holds no distinction between “hard” drugs versus lighter drugs such as marijuana. One is subject to hanging for the seemingly lessor offense of selling small quantities of marijuana.
If convicted, [the condemned defendant] will have two automatic appeals which will last for about a year.
In November of this year the government has announced a decision to examine the [death penalty] issue, as it has failed to curb drug trafficking. Most drug trafficking arrests are small time, "little fish" in the drug trafficking pond, but subjected to the same harsh judgement and penalty. The hands of a judge are tied when imposing sentences, as they are mandatory.
Nora Murat, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, put it, "When a judge has decided on the guilt of the accused, he has only one punishment to give 'death.", further stating; "Mandatory death penalty removes the discretion of judges to consider external factors such as the accused's level of maturity and intelligence, life background, circumstances leading to the commission of the offense and other mitigating factors.".
The Malaysian method of execution is hanging.
Capital punishment in Malaysia follows a ridged line and applies to murder, drug trafficking, treason, and waging war against the King. There is no juvenile mercy in the country as juvenile justice is also subject to the gallows. Only pregnant women and young children are exempt from capital punishment. The judicial system in the country holds no distinction between “hard” drugs versus lighter drugs such as marijuana. One is subject to hanging for the seemingly lessor offense of selling small quantities of marijuana.
If convicted, [the condemned defendant] will have two automatic appeals which will last for about a year.
In November of this year the government has announced a decision to examine the [death penalty] issue, as it has failed to curb drug trafficking. Most drug trafficking arrests are small time, "little fish" in the drug trafficking pond, but subjected to the same harsh judgement and penalty. The hands of a judge are tied when imposing sentences, as they are mandatory.
Nora Murat, executive director of Amnesty International Malaysia, put it, "When a judge has decided on the guilt of the accused, he has only one punishment to give 'death.", further stating; "Mandatory death penalty removes the discretion of judges to consider external factors such as the accused's level of maturity and intelligence, life background, circumstances leading to the commission of the offense and other mitigating factors.".
Saturday, December 17, 2011
HAS OUR WAR IN IRAQ BEEN WORTH THE COST?
As the year is winding down, so is our military presence in Iraq. During the nine-year Iraq war, 4,500 of our troops were killed and 32,000 were wounded. And this war cost us $800 billion.
While our troops defeated the military forces of Saddam Hussein and defanged an al-Queda linked insurgency, we are leaving an uncertain Iraq. Will the Shiite government of Iraq be confronted with sectarian insurgencies from the Sunnis and the Kurds? Very likely! Will Iran end up exercising a strong influence over the Iraqi government? Probably!
Our military presence in Iraq is ending, not because we have been victorious, but because the president made a purely political motivated decision. As a senator, Obama was outspoken in his opposition to the war in Iraq. When he ran for president, Obama promised to bring the troops home. And now that President Obama is engaged in his campaign for a second term in office, that’s one of the few promises he’s kept.
Almost all of our top ranking military officers have opposed the total withdrawal of our armed forces from Iraq. They believe that an American military presence is necessary to counter the growing influence of Iran.
If sectarian warfare does erupt in Iraq and if it falls under the Iranian sphere of influence, one would have to question whether Obama’s political troop maneuver made the cost – 4,500 troops killed, 32,000 wounded, $800 billion – worth it.
While our troops defeated the military forces of Saddam Hussein and defanged an al-Queda linked insurgency, we are leaving an uncertain Iraq. Will the Shiite government of Iraq be confronted with sectarian insurgencies from the Sunnis and the Kurds? Very likely! Will Iran end up exercising a strong influence over the Iraqi government? Probably!
Our military presence in Iraq is ending, not because we have been victorious, but because the president made a purely political motivated decision. As a senator, Obama was outspoken in his opposition to the war in Iraq. When he ran for president, Obama promised to bring the troops home. And now that President Obama is engaged in his campaign for a second term in office, that’s one of the few promises he’s kept.
Almost all of our top ranking military officers have opposed the total withdrawal of our armed forces from Iraq. They believe that an American military presence is necessary to counter the growing influence of Iran.
If sectarian warfare does erupt in Iraq and if it falls under the Iranian sphere of influence, one would have to question whether Obama’s political troop maneuver made the cost – 4,500 troops killed, 32,000 wounded, $800 billion – worth it.
BEST JOKE OF 2011
The attorneys for accused Penn State child molester Jerry Sandusky now claim that their client took disadvantaged little boys to shower with him for the sole purpose of teaching them personal hygiene.
CLOSE SUPERVISION IS THE KEY TO PREVENTING BAD POLICING
The family of the woodcarver killed by a Seattle cop reached a $1.5 million settlement with the city.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: SEATTLE POLICE USED EXCESSIVE FORCE
Federal investigators said they found inadequate systems of supervision and oversight
By Donna Blankinship
Associated Press
December 16, 2011
SEATTLE — Seattle police have engaged in excessive force that violated federal law and the Constitution, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
An investigation was launched last spring following the fatal shooting of a homeless, Native American woodcarver and other reported use of force used against minority suspects. The investigation was aimed at determining whether Seattle police have a "pattern or practice" of violating civil rights or discriminatory policing, and if so, what they should do to improve.
"Our findings should serve as a foundation to reform the police department and to help restore the community's confidence in fair, just and effective law enforcement. The problems within SPD have been present for many years and will take time to fix," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division.
Federal investigators said they found inadequate systems of supervision and oversight, and that officers too quickly resorted to the use of weapons like batons and flashlights. And Seattle officers escalated situations and used unnecessary force when arresting people for minor offenses, according to the Justice Department.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and 34 other community groups called for the inquiry after a Seattle officer shot and killed the woodcarver, John T. Williams, in 2010.
Video from Officer Ian Birk's patrol car showed Williams crossing the street holding a piece of wood and a small knife, and Birk exiting the vehicle to pursue him. Off camera, Birk quickly shouted three times for Williams to drop the knife, then fired five shots. The knife was found folded at the scene, but Birk later maintained Williams had threatened him.
Birk resigned from the force but was not charged. A review board found the shooting unjustified.
Other incidents captured on surveillance or police-cruiser video include officers using an anti-Mexican epithet and stomping on a prone Latino man who was mistakenly thought to be a robbery suspect; an officer kicking a non-resisting black youth in a convenience store; and officers tackling and kicking a black man who showed up in a police evidence room to pick up belongings after he was mistakenly released from jail.
"The solution to the problems identified within the Seattle Police Department will require strong and consistent leadership along the chain of command, effective training and policies, and vigilant oversight," said Jenny A. Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, who joined Perez for Friday's announcement.
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT: SEATTLE POLICE USED EXCESSIVE FORCE
Federal investigators said they found inadequate systems of supervision and oversight
By Donna Blankinship
Associated Press
December 16, 2011
SEATTLE — Seattle police have engaged in excessive force that violated federal law and the Constitution, the U.S. Justice Department said Friday.
An investigation was launched last spring following the fatal shooting of a homeless, Native American woodcarver and other reported use of force used against minority suspects. The investigation was aimed at determining whether Seattle police have a "pattern or practice" of violating civil rights or discriminatory policing, and if so, what they should do to improve.
"Our findings should serve as a foundation to reform the police department and to help restore the community's confidence in fair, just and effective law enforcement. The problems within SPD have been present for many years and will take time to fix," said Thomas E. Perez, assistant attorney general for the civil rights division.
Federal investigators said they found inadequate systems of supervision and oversight, and that officers too quickly resorted to the use of weapons like batons and flashlights. And Seattle officers escalated situations and used unnecessary force when arresting people for minor offenses, according to the Justice Department.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and 34 other community groups called for the inquiry after a Seattle officer shot and killed the woodcarver, John T. Williams, in 2010.
Video from Officer Ian Birk's patrol car showed Williams crossing the street holding a piece of wood and a small knife, and Birk exiting the vehicle to pursue him. Off camera, Birk quickly shouted three times for Williams to drop the knife, then fired five shots. The knife was found folded at the scene, but Birk later maintained Williams had threatened him.
Birk resigned from the force but was not charged. A review board found the shooting unjustified.
Other incidents captured on surveillance or police-cruiser video include officers using an anti-Mexican epithet and stomping on a prone Latino man who was mistakenly thought to be a robbery suspect; an officer kicking a non-resisting black youth in a convenience store; and officers tackling and kicking a black man who showed up in a police evidence room to pick up belongings after he was mistakenly released from jail.
"The solution to the problems identified within the Seattle Police Department will require strong and consistent leadership along the chain of command, effective training and policies, and vigilant oversight," said Jenny A. Durkan, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, who joined Perez for Friday's announcement.
WOMEN IN MEXICO'S DRUG WAR
From Borderland Beat:
VICTIMS AND VILLAINS
by Geoffrey Ramsey
In Sight
December 14, 2011
Media representations of women caught up Mexico’s drug conflict are often two-dimensional, resorting to the dichotomy of portraying women either as helpless victims or powerful “drug queens.”
By now it is a familiar narrative: women are uniquely victimized in Mexico's male-dominated drug war, frequently targeted in revenge killings or the subjects of sexual exploitation. Since February 2008, the Mexican government’s special task force on violence against women estimates that there have been more than 1,500 cases of missing females, one third of which were never resolved.
Many of these victims are young women, who are coerced into sex trafficking or working as drug mules. Recently, the Regional Coalition Against Trafficking of Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean estimated that some 800 girls between the ages of 12 and 16 have disappeared since 2008.
Alongside this runs another narrative, that of the powerful woman at the head of a drug cartel. The press salivates over the stories of high-profile criminals like Sandra Avila, the “Queen of the Pacific,” who was arrested in September 2007 for allegedly serving as a key link between the Sinaloa Cartel and Colombia's Norte del Valle Cartel. Newsweek magazine referred to her as Mexico’s “Underworld Queenpin,” while ABC called her the “Glamorous Gangster” of Mexico.
But the emphasis on Avila’s power is overstated. In reality, she owes much of her prominence to family ties and romantic connections with influential men. Her uncle is Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, alias "El Padrino," (The Godfather), who was a member of the first generation of Sinaloan drug traffickers. Both of her husbands were corrupt police commanders, and both ended up being assassinated.
Since then, Avila has been in a romantic relationship with Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo," and Colombian trafficker Juan Diego Espinoza Ramirez, who worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to establish a network of suppliers in Colombia. It is worth questioning just how much of her influence was simply a product of the company she kept.
The same can be said for another celebrated Mexican drug queen, the Tijuana Cartel's Enedina Arellano Felix. Despite being hailed as the first female chief of a major drug trafficking organization in Mexico, she only became involved in the cartel’s leadership after her brothers were all killed or arrested. What’s more, Enedina’s role is still secondary compared to that of her son, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, alias "El Ingeniero."
Likewise, many women hold an ambiguous position on the line separating victim from victimizer. Sometimes females are drafted into the frontline of the drug conflict, as in the case of four teenage “assassins in training” that authorities captured at a Zetas training camp last June. There is evidence to suggest that this is on the rise. According to the National Women's Institute (INMUJERES), the number of females convicted in connection to the drug trade rose 400 percent between 2007 and 2010.
Some of these women hold mid-level leadership positions in Mexico's underworld. Just three months ago police arrested Mireya Moreno Carreon, alias "La Flaca," who had been working as the chief of the Zetas’ "plaza," or drug trafficking hub, of San Nicolas de los Garza, outside Monterrey. And Moreno is not alone; according to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office, officials are offering a reward for information on the whereabouts of 14 women who are currently plaza chiefs, hit squad bosses and kidnapping ring leaders across the country.
Two of these women, Elizabeth Garza and Elvira Arroyo, are wanted by officials in the United States for their role as large-scale drug traffickers. Garza is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of the 15 most wanted criminals worldwide.
These cases raise various questions about the nature of female empowerment in the drug trade. Do female drug lords, like their counterparts in the similarly male-dominated field of politics, find that in order to break the glass ceiling they must adopt the “iron lady” persona, portraying themselves as cold and asexual in order to command respect?
Or do they more frequently adopt the apparent strategy of Sandra Avila, using their sexuality as a means to gain power over men? What is clear is that restricting women to the twin categories of victim or powerful capo overlooks the ambiguities of their roles in Mexico’s criminal underworld.
VICTIMS AND VILLAINS
by Geoffrey Ramsey
In Sight
December 14, 2011
Media representations of women caught up Mexico’s drug conflict are often two-dimensional, resorting to the dichotomy of portraying women either as helpless victims or powerful “drug queens.”
By now it is a familiar narrative: women are uniquely victimized in Mexico's male-dominated drug war, frequently targeted in revenge killings or the subjects of sexual exploitation. Since February 2008, the Mexican government’s special task force on violence against women estimates that there have been more than 1,500 cases of missing females, one third of which were never resolved.
Many of these victims are young women, who are coerced into sex trafficking or working as drug mules. Recently, the Regional Coalition Against Trafficking of Women and Girls in Latin America and the Caribbean estimated that some 800 girls between the ages of 12 and 16 have disappeared since 2008.
Alongside this runs another narrative, that of the powerful woman at the head of a drug cartel. The press salivates over the stories of high-profile criminals like Sandra Avila, the “Queen of the Pacific,” who was arrested in September 2007 for allegedly serving as a key link between the Sinaloa Cartel and Colombia's Norte del Valle Cartel. Newsweek magazine referred to her as Mexico’s “Underworld Queenpin,” while ABC called her the “Glamorous Gangster” of Mexico.
But the emphasis on Avila’s power is overstated. In reality, she owes much of her prominence to family ties and romantic connections with influential men. Her uncle is Miguel Angel Felix Gallardo, alias "El Padrino," (The Godfather), who was a member of the first generation of Sinaloan drug traffickers. Both of her husbands were corrupt police commanders, and both ended up being assassinated.
Since then, Avila has been in a romantic relationship with Ismael Zambada Garcia, alias "El Mayo," and Colombian trafficker Juan Diego Espinoza Ramirez, who worked with the Sinaloa Cartel to establish a network of suppliers in Colombia. It is worth questioning just how much of her influence was simply a product of the company she kept.
The same can be said for another celebrated Mexican drug queen, the Tijuana Cartel's Enedina Arellano Felix. Despite being hailed as the first female chief of a major drug trafficking organization in Mexico, she only became involved in the cartel’s leadership after her brothers were all killed or arrested. What’s more, Enedina’s role is still secondary compared to that of her son, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, alias "El Ingeniero."
Likewise, many women hold an ambiguous position on the line separating victim from victimizer. Sometimes females are drafted into the frontline of the drug conflict, as in the case of four teenage “assassins in training” that authorities captured at a Zetas training camp last June. There is evidence to suggest that this is on the rise. According to the National Women's Institute (INMUJERES), the number of females convicted in connection to the drug trade rose 400 percent between 2007 and 2010.
Some of these women hold mid-level leadership positions in Mexico's underworld. Just three months ago police arrested Mireya Moreno Carreon, alias "La Flaca," who had been working as the chief of the Zetas’ "plaza," or drug trafficking hub, of San Nicolas de los Garza, outside Monterrey. And Moreno is not alone; according to the Mexican Attorney General’s Office, officials are offering a reward for information on the whereabouts of 14 women who are currently plaza chiefs, hit squad bosses and kidnapping ring leaders across the country.
Two of these women, Elizabeth Garza and Elvira Arroyo, are wanted by officials in the United States for their role as large-scale drug traffickers. Garza is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of the 15 most wanted criminals worldwide.
These cases raise various questions about the nature of female empowerment in the drug trade. Do female drug lords, like their counterparts in the similarly male-dominated field of politics, find that in order to break the glass ceiling they must adopt the “iron lady” persona, portraying themselves as cold and asexual in order to command respect?
Or do they more frequently adopt the apparent strategy of Sandra Avila, using their sexuality as a means to gain power over men? What is clear is that restricting women to the twin categories of victim or powerful capo overlooks the ambiguities of their roles in Mexico’s criminal underworld.
MARGARITA BOUGHT A CAR THAT STINKS
Think about it fellows, you would have been better off had you given the poor woman her money back.
WOMAN FILES LAWSUIT OVER BAD ODOR
By Jerry Reynolds
The Car Pro Weekly
December 15, 2011
Most funky odors are pretty easily traced back to their origins... the french fries that spilled out of the bag and have found permanent residence under the driver's seat, or the forgotten grocery bag in the trunk from last week. Other, more serious smells, require the assistance of a biohazard company.
Such is the case with a 2006 Ford Expedition purchased by a Michigan woman named Margarita Salais, who purchased the vehicle from Suburban Ford of Sterling Heights. It seems that the dealership acquired the SUV in December of 2010, a cold month in Michigan. Salais purchased the car in March, near the end of the much-too-long winter season. Yes, I know Suburban Ford and it is a good dealership.
The cold temperatures apparently masked the smell of rotting flesh. Salais took the car back to the dealership and was told the smell must be coming from a dead animal. Unhappy with that report, Salais called her insurance company, which contracted Elite Trauma Clean-Up in Clinton Township to investigate.
This is where things get a little murky. According to State Farm, the insurance provider, the smell was determined to be of human origin... dead body, anyone? The Detroit News, however, dug deeper and spoke to the Elite Trauma employee who inspected the vehicle, who said that the smell could be traced back only to "rotten meat" of unknown origin.
In any case, Salais still has her rotten-smelling Expedition, which she later found had been used as a rental car and had been reported stolen three times. At the very least, Salais' lawyer believes the dealership should take the car back and pay his client for damages - an amount that would likely vary depending on the real cause of the dead-body odor.
WOMAN FILES LAWSUIT OVER BAD ODOR
By Jerry Reynolds
The Car Pro Weekly
December 15, 2011
Most funky odors are pretty easily traced back to their origins... the french fries that spilled out of the bag and have found permanent residence under the driver's seat, or the forgotten grocery bag in the trunk from last week. Other, more serious smells, require the assistance of a biohazard company.
Such is the case with a 2006 Ford Expedition purchased by a Michigan woman named Margarita Salais, who purchased the vehicle from Suburban Ford of Sterling Heights. It seems that the dealership acquired the SUV in December of 2010, a cold month in Michigan. Salais purchased the car in March, near the end of the much-too-long winter season. Yes, I know Suburban Ford and it is a good dealership.
The cold temperatures apparently masked the smell of rotting flesh. Salais took the car back to the dealership and was told the smell must be coming from a dead animal. Unhappy with that report, Salais called her insurance company, which contracted Elite Trauma Clean-Up in Clinton Township to investigate.
This is where things get a little murky. According to State Farm, the insurance provider, the smell was determined to be of human origin... dead body, anyone? The Detroit News, however, dug deeper and spoke to the Elite Trauma employee who inspected the vehicle, who said that the smell could be traced back only to "rotten meat" of unknown origin.
In any case, Salais still has her rotten-smelling Expedition, which she later found had been used as a rental car and had been reported stolen three times. At the very least, Salais' lawyer believes the dealership should take the car back and pay his client for damages - an amount that would likely vary depending on the real cause of the dead-body odor.
Friday, December 16, 2011
UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OF MEDICAL MARIJUANA
This comes as no surprise to me. If marijuana is medically acceptable for whatever ails you, why wouldn’t teens think that there’s no harm in smoking pot?
While the NIH study showed that the use of other drugs among high school students has waned, just wait until the regular use of pot becomes prosaic. Then those pot headed teens will try to find a better high by turning onto other drugs.
REGULAR POT USE BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HITS PEAK
By Anahad O'Connor
The New York Times
December 14, 2011
One out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on a near daily basis, a figure that has reached a 30-year peak even as use of alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine among teenagers continues a slow decline, according to a new government report.
The popularity of marijuana, which is now more prevalent among 10th-graders than cigarette smoking, reflects what researchers and drug officials said is a growing perception among teenagers that habitual marijuana use carries little risk of harm. That perception is fueled in part by wider familiarity with medicinal marijuana and greater ease in obtaining it, they said.
Although it is difficult to track the numbers, "we're clearly seeing an increase in teenage marijuana use that corresponds pretty clearly in time with the increase in medical marijuana use," said Dr. Christian Thurstone, medical director of the adolescent substance abuse treatment program at Denver Health and Hospital Authority, who was not involved in the study.
The long-running annual report, called the Monitoring the Future survey and financed by the National Institutes of Health, looked at more than 46,000 students nationwide. Overall, about 25 percent of 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders who took part in the study reported using marijuana in the past year, up from about 21 percent in 2007.
R. Gil Kerlikowske, the federal drug czar, said he believed the increasing prevalence of medicinal marijuana was a factor in the uptick.
"These last couple years, the amount of attention that's been given to medical marijuana has been huge," he said. "And when I've done focus groups with high school students in states where medical marijuana is legal, they say, 'Well, if its called medicine and it's given to patients by caregivers, then that's really the wrong message for us as high school students.' "
The report also revealed that a mixture of herbs and chemicals known as "spice" or "K2" - or synthetic marijuana, since it mimics the intoxicating effects of herbal marijuana - has quickly gained popularity. One in every nine high school seniors reported using it in the past year; most of them also regularly used marijuana.
While interest in marijuana and synthetic marijuana has climbed, the willingness to try most other drugs has waned. The report found declines in the use of crack, cocaine, over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, sedatives, tranquilizers and prescription drugs like Adderall and the narcotic painkiller Vicodin.
While the NIH study showed that the use of other drugs among high school students has waned, just wait until the regular use of pot becomes prosaic. Then those pot headed teens will try to find a better high by turning onto other drugs.
REGULAR POT USE BY HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS HITS PEAK
By Anahad O'Connor
The New York Times
December 14, 2011
One out of every 15 high school students smokes marijuana on a near daily basis, a figure that has reached a 30-year peak even as use of alcohol, cigarettes and cocaine among teenagers continues a slow decline, according to a new government report.
The popularity of marijuana, which is now more prevalent among 10th-graders than cigarette smoking, reflects what researchers and drug officials said is a growing perception among teenagers that habitual marijuana use carries little risk of harm. That perception is fueled in part by wider familiarity with medicinal marijuana and greater ease in obtaining it, they said.
Although it is difficult to track the numbers, "we're clearly seeing an increase in teenage marijuana use that corresponds pretty clearly in time with the increase in medical marijuana use," said Dr. Christian Thurstone, medical director of the adolescent substance abuse treatment program at Denver Health and Hospital Authority, who was not involved in the study.
The long-running annual report, called the Monitoring the Future survey and financed by the National Institutes of Health, looked at more than 46,000 students nationwide. Overall, about 25 percent of 8th-, 10th- and 12th-graders who took part in the study reported using marijuana in the past year, up from about 21 percent in 2007.
R. Gil Kerlikowske, the federal drug czar, said he believed the increasing prevalence of medicinal marijuana was a factor in the uptick.
"These last couple years, the amount of attention that's been given to medical marijuana has been huge," he said. "And when I've done focus groups with high school students in states where medical marijuana is legal, they say, 'Well, if its called medicine and it's given to patients by caregivers, then that's really the wrong message for us as high school students.' "
The report also revealed that a mixture of herbs and chemicals known as "spice" or "K2" - or synthetic marijuana, since it mimics the intoxicating effects of herbal marijuana - has quickly gained popularity. One in every nine high school seniors reported using it in the past year; most of them also regularly used marijuana.
While interest in marijuana and synthetic marijuana has climbed, the willingness to try most other drugs has waned. The report found declines in the use of crack, cocaine, over-the-counter cough and cold medicines, sedatives, tranquilizers and prescription drugs like Adderall and the narcotic painkiller Vicodin.
A CHARLATAN, A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING
On Wednesday, Pulitzer Prize winning New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman excoriated Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney, America's right-wing Jews, and the Israeli government. And he accused Congress of being “bought and paid for by the Israel lobby.”
Here is what Friedman wrote about Gingrich and Romney:
__That thought came to mind last week when Newt Gingrich took the Republican competition to grovel for Jewish votes — by outloving Israel — to a new low by suggesting that the Palestinians are an "invented" people and not a real nation entitled to a state.
__This was supposed to show that Newt loves Israel more than Mitt Romney, who only told the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom that he would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem because "I don't seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel's leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that's something I'll be inclined to do. ... I don't think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process. Instead, we should stand by our ally."
__That's right. America's role is to just applaud whatever Israel does, serve as its ATM and shut up. And this guy's [Romney] running for president?
Responding to Friedman’s column, an Israeli official told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that "Friedman has crossed a line that true friends of Israel should never allow themselves to cross and inadvertently encouraged anti-Semitism."
Friedman is a charlatan, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He pretends to be a friend of Israel while doing everything he can to undermine the Jewish state. In column after column he has condemned Israel’s right-wing government and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in particular. His criticism of the Palestinians has been lukewarm at best.
Like George Soros, Friedman is typical of left-wing Jews who seem compelled to find fault in everything Israel does so as to prove their liberal credentials. Friedman’s defenders say that he is not an enemy of Israel. They are full of shit!
Motivational speaker Irwin N. Graulich once wrote: “Calling Tom Friedman and his ‘chevra’ [fellowship] Jewish, is like calling Charles Manson an American. Technically, both facts are correct even though these misguided souls do not uphold the most important values of their traditions.”
It is obvious from his numerous columns that Friedman has deluded himself into believing he’s an expert on any and all subjects imaginable. When it comes to Israel, Friedman either deliberately distorts the truth about the Jewish state’s conflict with the Palestinians or he simply doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Friedman is to Israel as the big bad wolf was to Little Red Riding Hood. With friends like Thomas Friedman, Israel sure as hell doesn’t need any enemies.
Here is what Friedman wrote about Gingrich and Romney:
__That thought came to mind last week when Newt Gingrich took the Republican competition to grovel for Jewish votes — by outloving Israel — to a new low by suggesting that the Palestinians are an "invented" people and not a real nation entitled to a state.
__This was supposed to show that Newt loves Israel more than Mitt Romney, who only told the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom that he would move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem because "I don't seek to take actions independent of what our allies think is best, and if Israel's leaders thought that a move of that nature would be helpful to their efforts, then that's something I'll be inclined to do. ... I don't think America should play the role of the leader of the peace process. Instead, we should stand by our ally."
__That's right. America's role is to just applaud whatever Israel does, serve as its ATM and shut up. And this guy's [Romney] running for president?
Responding to Friedman’s column, an Israeli official told the Israeli newspaper Haaretz that "Friedman has crossed a line that true friends of Israel should never allow themselves to cross and inadvertently encouraged anti-Semitism."
Friedman is a charlatan, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He pretends to be a friend of Israel while doing everything he can to undermine the Jewish state. In column after column he has condemned Israel’s right-wing government and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu in particular. His criticism of the Palestinians has been lukewarm at best.
Like George Soros, Friedman is typical of left-wing Jews who seem compelled to find fault in everything Israel does so as to prove their liberal credentials. Friedman’s defenders say that he is not an enemy of Israel. They are full of shit!
Motivational speaker Irwin N. Graulich once wrote: “Calling Tom Friedman and his ‘chevra’ [fellowship] Jewish, is like calling Charles Manson an American. Technically, both facts are correct even though these misguided souls do not uphold the most important values of their traditions.”
It is obvious from his numerous columns that Friedman has deluded himself into believing he’s an expert on any and all subjects imaginable. When it comes to Israel, Friedman either deliberately distorts the truth about the Jewish state’s conflict with the Palestinians or he simply doesn’t know what he is talking about.
Friedman is to Israel as the big bad wolf was to Little Red Riding Hood. With friends like Thomas Friedman, Israel sure as hell doesn’t need any enemies.
USS MICHAEL MURPHY MAY HAVE BEEN TARGETED WITH BLACK WIDOW TERRORISM
By Adolf der Schweinehund
The Schalotte
December 15, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Terrorist alarm bells went off at the Department of Homeland Security when it was notified by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine that the shipbuilder had discovered about two dozen black widow spiders in a shipment of vertical launch system components from the West Coast. The spiders forced them to fumigate a warehouse and the USS Michael Murphy, a navy destroyer that is under construction.
It was only last October when Homeland Security and the FBI investigated a possible terrorist link to “a plague of black widow spiders” in Tulsa, Oklahoma that resulted in double the number of bites than those that are normally reported.
In a joint news conference on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III announced that until proven otherwise, this latest black widow outbreak would be treated as a possible terrorist attack.
When asked about the Tulsa outbreak, Mueller told the reporter that the FBI had not yet completed its investigation. So far, according to Mueller, “65 FBI agents have worked full-time with countless hours of overtime, interviewing nearly 400 people about the Tulsa black widow outbreak.”
When asked how much the Tulsa investigation was costing the taxpayers, Mueller replied that he did not have an exact amount, but considering all the overtime, travel expenses and other investigative expenses, he estimated that the cost would easily exceed $1.5 million.
Napolitano interjected that, although the cost was high, she was sure “the American people understand that we cannot skimp pennies in protecting the country from acts of terrorism.”
As for the spiders discovered at the Bath Iron Works, Napolitano wanted to assure the American public that the FBI, together with state and local authorities, would leave no stone unturned to determine if this latest black widow outbreak has been perpetrated by Islamic terrorists.
Napolitano repeated the promise she made after the Tulsa outbreak: “The full weight of the United States government will be brought down on those responsible if the multi-agency investigation showed the spider outbreaks to be the result of a terrorist plot. And if necessary, we will use the U.S. military to wipe out the black widows.”
Mueller again urged all Americans to be vigilant and to report any sightings of black widows to their local FBI office.
At the time of the Tulsa outbreak, civil rights activist Al Sharpton accused Director Mueller of racism for singling out blacks and demanded that white widows also be reported to the FBI. When Sharpton was informed that Mueller had once again urged all Americans to report any sightings of black widows to their local FBI office, he became visibly angry.
“It looks like Mueller, that damn racist, is at it again, singling out poor black widows to the exclusion of white widows,” said Sharpton. “I’m gonna have to go directly to my friend, President Obama, to get this straightened out.”
The Schalotte
December 15, 2011
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Terrorist alarm bells went off at the Department of Homeland Security when it was notified by Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine that the shipbuilder had discovered about two dozen black widow spiders in a shipment of vertical launch system components from the West Coast. The spiders forced them to fumigate a warehouse and the USS Michael Murphy, a navy destroyer that is under construction.
It was only last October when Homeland Security and the FBI investigated a possible terrorist link to “a plague of black widow spiders” in Tulsa, Oklahoma that resulted in double the number of bites than those that are normally reported.
In a joint news conference on Wednesday, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III announced that until proven otherwise, this latest black widow outbreak would be treated as a possible terrorist attack.
When asked about the Tulsa outbreak, Mueller told the reporter that the FBI had not yet completed its investigation. So far, according to Mueller, “65 FBI agents have worked full-time with countless hours of overtime, interviewing nearly 400 people about the Tulsa black widow outbreak.”
When asked how much the Tulsa investigation was costing the taxpayers, Mueller replied that he did not have an exact amount, but considering all the overtime, travel expenses and other investigative expenses, he estimated that the cost would easily exceed $1.5 million.
Napolitano interjected that, although the cost was high, she was sure “the American people understand that we cannot skimp pennies in protecting the country from acts of terrorism.”
As for the spiders discovered at the Bath Iron Works, Napolitano wanted to assure the American public that the FBI, together with state and local authorities, would leave no stone unturned to determine if this latest black widow outbreak has been perpetrated by Islamic terrorists.
Napolitano repeated the promise she made after the Tulsa outbreak: “The full weight of the United States government will be brought down on those responsible if the multi-agency investigation showed the spider outbreaks to be the result of a terrorist plot. And if necessary, we will use the U.S. military to wipe out the black widows.”
Mueller again urged all Americans to be vigilant and to report any sightings of black widows to their local FBI office.
At the time of the Tulsa outbreak, civil rights activist Al Sharpton accused Director Mueller of racism for singling out blacks and demanded that white widows also be reported to the FBI. When Sharpton was informed that Mueller had once again urged all Americans to report any sightings of black widows to their local FBI office, he became visibly angry.
“It looks like Mueller, that damn racist, is at it again, singling out poor black widows to the exclusion of white widows,” said Sharpton. “I’m gonna have to go directly to my friend, President Obama, to get this straightened out.”
CUSTOMER TRIES TO COOK UP A BATCH OF METH INSIDE A WALMART
Sumbitch, what this world isn’t coming to!
THE METH SINGULARITY: OKLAHOMA WOMAN TRIES TO COOK BATCH INSIDE WALMART
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 15, 2011
In last month's feature on meth in East Texas, veteran Angelina County speed freak James "Bull" Durham was positively exultant about the drug's ease of manufacture these days. Gone are the days whereby expert "chefs" needed isolation and lots of time to whip up a batch. With the resurgence of the "shake n' bake" one-bottle method, every meth-head can be his own cook.
Here's how Durham put it to us when we spoke to him in the Angelina County Jail:
"Now I can walk in one store and come out with all the ingredients for a lab," Durham enthuses. "One store! I can go to Walmart right now and come out with the best dope you ever seen in your life. Throw some lithium in there, a little fuel, a little bit of red lye, you got it goin' there. It's called a reaction and you've got a good reaction, you've got good dope."
As bad as the meth epidemic is in rural East Texas, it's probably worse in Oklahoma, and the epicenter is Tulsa: America's meth capital, according to police. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that a Tulsa meth-head attempted to streamline the meth-cooking process even further.
Simply put, 45-year-old Elizabeth Alisha Greta Halfmoon was caught trying to cook a batch of meth inside a Tulsa Walmart.
Police say the woman was too broke to buy the chemicals so she loitered in the store for about six hours, collecting the ingredients in her cart. Is that what it means to be livin' on Tulsa time these days?
Finally Halfmoon allegedly just started mixing 'em up right there in the store. A cop said that when he arrived, she had just mixed sulfuric acid and starter fluid in a bottle, and had an active reaction going. The brew burned through the bottle and a cop's gloves. (He was treated at the scene for chemical burns.)
Halfmoon admitted to police that she was cooking meth, and also confessed that "she was not very good at it," according to Tulsa's Fox TV outlet.
At the time of her arrest, Halfmoon was fresh out of jail, on bond in a "Smurfing" case. (Smurfing is the illicit purchase of ephedrine and/or pseudoephedrine for the purpose of cooking meth.) She is set to be arraigned on the new meth charges tomorrow.
Police said that the area around this Walmart is a hive of meth activity -- literally. They told the TV station that tunnels and drainage ditches that honeycomb the neighborhood are full of little worker bees cranking out that satanic honey.
Wow. Ditches crawling with desperate meth freaks...subterranean meth chefs...An Oklahoma Walmart... Shudder.
THE METH SINGULARITY: OKLAHOMA WOMAN TRIES TO COOK BATCH INSIDE WALMART
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 15, 2011
In last month's feature on meth in East Texas, veteran Angelina County speed freak James "Bull" Durham was positively exultant about the drug's ease of manufacture these days. Gone are the days whereby expert "chefs" needed isolation and lots of time to whip up a batch. With the resurgence of the "shake n' bake" one-bottle method, every meth-head can be his own cook.
Here's how Durham put it to us when we spoke to him in the Angelina County Jail:
"Now I can walk in one store and come out with all the ingredients for a lab," Durham enthuses. "One store! I can go to Walmart right now and come out with the best dope you ever seen in your life. Throw some lithium in there, a little fuel, a little bit of red lye, you got it goin' there. It's called a reaction and you've got a good reaction, you've got good dope."
As bad as the meth epidemic is in rural East Texas, it's probably worse in Oklahoma, and the epicenter is Tulsa: America's meth capital, according to police. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that a Tulsa meth-head attempted to streamline the meth-cooking process even further.
Simply put, 45-year-old Elizabeth Alisha Greta Halfmoon was caught trying to cook a batch of meth inside a Tulsa Walmart.
Police say the woman was too broke to buy the chemicals so she loitered in the store for about six hours, collecting the ingredients in her cart. Is that what it means to be livin' on Tulsa time these days?
Finally Halfmoon allegedly just started mixing 'em up right there in the store. A cop said that when he arrived, she had just mixed sulfuric acid and starter fluid in a bottle, and had an active reaction going. The brew burned through the bottle and a cop's gloves. (He was treated at the scene for chemical burns.)
Halfmoon admitted to police that she was cooking meth, and also confessed that "she was not very good at it," according to Tulsa's Fox TV outlet.
At the time of her arrest, Halfmoon was fresh out of jail, on bond in a "Smurfing" case. (Smurfing is the illicit purchase of ephedrine and/or pseudoephedrine for the purpose of cooking meth.) She is set to be arraigned on the new meth charges tomorrow.
Police said that the area around this Walmart is a hive of meth activity -- literally. They told the TV station that tunnels and drainage ditches that honeycomb the neighborhood are full of little worker bees cranking out that satanic honey.
Wow. Ditches crawling with desperate meth freaks...subterranean meth chefs...An Oklahoma Walmart... Shudder.
NOT ALL COPS ARE CALLOUS
A retired police official sent me this heartwarming police story:
I get irritated when people criticize police officers, saying they are unfeeling and disrespectful. Well, here is an event that clearly demonstrates not all cops fit that description.
This story involves the police department in the small Texas hill country town of Fredericksburg. They reported finding a man's body last Saturday in the early evening in the Pedernales River near state highway 87 bridge. The dead man's name would not be released until his family had been notified. The victim apparently drowned due to excessive beer consumption while visiting "someone" in Kerrville .
He was wearing black fishnet stockings, 10-inch spiked heels, a red garter belt, a pink G-string, purple lipstick, dazzle dust on his eyelids, 2 1/2 inch false eyelashes and an Obama T-shirt.
The police removed the drowned man's Obama T-shirt to spare his family any embarrassment.
See....... Texas police do care.
I get irritated when people criticize police officers, saying they are unfeeling and disrespectful. Well, here is an event that clearly demonstrates not all cops fit that description.
This story involves the police department in the small Texas hill country town of Fredericksburg. They reported finding a man's body last Saturday in the early evening in the Pedernales River near state highway 87 bridge. The dead man's name would not be released until his family had been notified. The victim apparently drowned due to excessive beer consumption while visiting "someone" in Kerrville .
He was wearing black fishnet stockings, 10-inch spiked heels, a red garter belt, a pink G-string, purple lipstick, dazzle dust on his eyelids, 2 1/2 inch false eyelashes and an Obama T-shirt.
The police removed the drowned man's Obama T-shirt to spare his family any embarrassment.
See....... Texas police do care.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
EU STICKS THUMB IN UNCLE SAM'S EYE
This is simply outrageous! The European Union, in effect, is interfering in the internal affairs of those American states that practice capital punishment.
If the EU does ban the shipment of sodium thiopental to the U.S., it will do so not because of firm opposition to capital punishment, but because it gives the envious Europeans a chance to stick it to mighty Uncle Sam.
Thanks to Dorina Lisson for the heads-up on this one. Dorina, my Aussie anti-death penalty friend, must be jumping up and down with joy.
EUROPEAN UNION RESTRICTS EXPORT OF SODIUM THIOPENTAL TO THE USA
Pushed by international human rights groups, the European Union is set to ban the sale to the United States of one of the main active substances needed for lethal injections. Sodium thiopental is already in short supply, and executions are set to be further delayed. The export of sodium thiopental will only be possible by special permission, beginning Friday, posing a major problem for the US justice system.
The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) is to publish a new, uniform set of authorized export regulations, valid for all short or intermediate-acting barbiturism acids. One of them is the easy-to-use and fast-working anaesthetic sodium thiopental, which is used to execute criminals in the states of Ohio and Washington. In 33 other states, sodium thiopental is a key ingredient in other toxic cocktails used to kill inmates. In the past few months, supplies of the drug have become scarce.
The only manufacturer based in the US, Hospira, is unwilling to continue to make its product available for lethal injections, and under American law it is not allowed to simply change the injection “recipe.” To do that, a complicated approval procedure is required. So authorities, which have been postponing executions as a result of the difficulty in finding supplies, have been seeking other sources such as those in the EU.
International anti-death penalty and other international human rights groups have pushed for the EU decision to now require special permission to export to countries outside of Europe. The most prominent supporter of the move is Germany’s Minister of Economy and head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Philipp Rösler. In an earlier role as Minister of Health he had written to German manufacturers of sodium thiopental to encourage them not to sell the drug to the US. After changing jobs, he introduced to the Commission a bill to create a regulation valid Europe-wide that would effectively prevent the export of thiopental to the US. Initially, the proposal met with resistance from other states, but the majority of the 27 member states have now approved it.
(Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung)
If the EU does ban the shipment of sodium thiopental to the U.S., it will do so not because of firm opposition to capital punishment, but because it gives the envious Europeans a chance to stick it to mighty Uncle Sam.
Thanks to Dorina Lisson for the heads-up on this one. Dorina, my Aussie anti-death penalty friend, must be jumping up and down with joy.
EUROPEAN UNION RESTRICTS EXPORT OF SODIUM THIOPENTAL TO THE USA
Pushed by international human rights groups, the European Union is set to ban the sale to the United States of one of the main active substances needed for lethal injections. Sodium thiopental is already in short supply, and executions are set to be further delayed. The export of sodium thiopental will only be possible by special permission, beginning Friday, posing a major problem for the US justice system.
The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) is to publish a new, uniform set of authorized export regulations, valid for all short or intermediate-acting barbiturism acids. One of them is the easy-to-use and fast-working anaesthetic sodium thiopental, which is used to execute criminals in the states of Ohio and Washington. In 33 other states, sodium thiopental is a key ingredient in other toxic cocktails used to kill inmates. In the past few months, supplies of the drug have become scarce.
The only manufacturer based in the US, Hospira, is unwilling to continue to make its product available for lethal injections, and under American law it is not allowed to simply change the injection “recipe.” To do that, a complicated approval procedure is required. So authorities, which have been postponing executions as a result of the difficulty in finding supplies, have been seeking other sources such as those in the EU.
International anti-death penalty and other international human rights groups have pushed for the EU decision to now require special permission to export to countries outside of Europe. The most prominent supporter of the move is Germany’s Minister of Economy and head of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Philipp Rösler. In an earlier role as Minister of Health he had written to German manufacturers of sodium thiopental to encourage them not to sell the drug to the US. After changing jobs, he introduced to the Commission a bill to create a regulation valid Europe-wide that would effectively prevent the export of thiopental to the US. Initially, the proposal met with resistance from other states, but the majority of the 27 member states have now approved it.
(Source: Süddeutsche Zeitung)
PRISON INMATES DEMAND SEX IN PLACE OF FOOD
Hmm, the authorities in Kyrgyzstan could save a ton of money if they afforded their prison inmates sex instead of food. But then again, maybe the prison food is so bad that the inmates are willing to starve themselves so long as they get their fill of sex before they croak.
Thanks to Dorina Lisson for the heads-up on this one.
PRISONERS: "DON'T GIVE US FOOD, JUST SEX"
news.com.au
December 14, 2011
Prisoners at several prisons in Kyrgyzstan have launched a hunger strike over new restrictions barring them from being visited by prostitutes, a state official says.
"Prisoners at seven prisons have refused to take their meals," said Joldochbek Bouzourmankoulov, spokesman for the country's prison sentencing agency. He said the protest was tied to new limits on prisoner visits.
"Prisoners had the right for visits from their families and 'other' people," he said. "But under the label for 'others,' they were bringing prostitutes to the prison." From now on, only relatives with identity cards showing their ties to inmates can visit prisoners.
Prostitution in Kyrgyzstan is not a crime and there are no legal measures in place to regulate the industry. However, the operation of brothels, pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution is illegal, with penalties of up to five years in prison.
Thanks to Dorina Lisson for the heads-up on this one.
PRISONERS: "DON'T GIVE US FOOD, JUST SEX"
news.com.au
December 14, 2011
Prisoners at several prisons in Kyrgyzstan have launched a hunger strike over new restrictions barring them from being visited by prostitutes, a state official says.
"Prisoners at seven prisons have refused to take their meals," said Joldochbek Bouzourmankoulov, spokesman for the country's prison sentencing agency. He said the protest was tied to new limits on prisoner visits.
"Prisoners had the right for visits from their families and 'other' people," he said. "But under the label for 'others,' they were bringing prostitutes to the prison." From now on, only relatives with identity cards showing their ties to inmates can visit prisoners.
Prostitution in Kyrgyzstan is not a crime and there are no legal measures in place to regulate the industry. However, the operation of brothels, pimping, and recruiting persons into prostitution is illegal, with penalties of up to five years in prison.
NEWT GINGRICH TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PALESTINIANS (2)
It’s a shame that Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum didn’t have the courage to support Gingrich’s statement that the Palestinians were an ‘invented people.’ While Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry did not criticize Gingrich like Romney, Santorum and Ron Paul did, they too did not back his statement. And if Gingrich somehow ends up as the Republican presidential nominee, you can bet that Obama will pounce on him for making inflammatory and reckless foreign policy pronouncements.
NEWT SPOKE SOME TRUTH – AND BLINDSIDED THE REST
By Heather Robinson
politicalmavens.com
December 14, 2011
Newt Gingrich’s citing, during the Republican candidates’ debate Saturday, facts regarding Palestinians’ historical identity and U.S. funding of hate education in the Palestinian territories have grabbed headlines. It seems Newt understands the propaganda war that has been waged against Israel and feels it’s moral to speak the truth. He is also shrewd. His choice to come out strong on the issue at this juncture was probably strategic.
When he made politically incorrect statements and would not back down, even the normally unflappable Romney appeared blindsided, and flummoxed.
Newt understands the mountain of propaganda that’s been heaped on Israel for the past several decades. He also understands the incitement and unrelenting dehumanization of Israelis and Americans that goes on in Palestinian schools and mosques, as well as in official media, that we, preposterously, help fund “through our aid money,” as he said. He did the right thing to speak up about it. But why at this moment?
As a shrewd politician, Newt saw an opportunity to break from the Republican pack and “out-Israel-support” the rest. Rather than doing so in a predictable way (by spouting pledges and platitudes), he did so on substance, speaking truths that, as I wrote in an earlier post, many American Jews and other pro-Israel Americans, and even some Israelis themselves, today shy away from saying. As Gingrich said, “This is a propaganda war in which our side refuses to engage and we refuse to tell the truth when the other side lies.”
Gingrich demonstrated not only that he grasps certain politically incorrect, fundamental truths, but also that he has courage; he demonstrated he is able to endure condemnation from many corners for questioning the status quo. His words, in that sense, were not just words. Because they could and almost certainly will have some negative consequence for him–if only incurring the fury of those who benefit from the status quo–they constituted an action. The ability to act with courage, more than anything, is what voters who care about a strong America and a strong Israel want to see. Never has that been more true than now, when Israel faces a potential existential threat from Iran.
In noting that Gingrich was probably being strategic, I don’t suggest he’s not sincere. The way he attempted to explain the nature of the propaganda war against Israel suggests to me he grasps the situation perfectly and cares about it, as well as about the truth.
That he also chose to voice these truths at this moment should not be held against him. One can be simultaneously strategic and sincere.
NEWT SPOKE SOME TRUTH – AND BLINDSIDED THE REST
By Heather Robinson
politicalmavens.com
December 14, 2011
Newt Gingrich’s citing, during the Republican candidates’ debate Saturday, facts regarding Palestinians’ historical identity and U.S. funding of hate education in the Palestinian territories have grabbed headlines. It seems Newt understands the propaganda war that has been waged against Israel and feels it’s moral to speak the truth. He is also shrewd. His choice to come out strong on the issue at this juncture was probably strategic.
When he made politically incorrect statements and would not back down, even the normally unflappable Romney appeared blindsided, and flummoxed.
Newt understands the mountain of propaganda that’s been heaped on Israel for the past several decades. He also understands the incitement and unrelenting dehumanization of Israelis and Americans that goes on in Palestinian schools and mosques, as well as in official media, that we, preposterously, help fund “through our aid money,” as he said. He did the right thing to speak up about it. But why at this moment?
As a shrewd politician, Newt saw an opportunity to break from the Republican pack and “out-Israel-support” the rest. Rather than doing so in a predictable way (by spouting pledges and platitudes), he did so on substance, speaking truths that, as I wrote in an earlier post, many American Jews and other pro-Israel Americans, and even some Israelis themselves, today shy away from saying. As Gingrich said, “This is a propaganda war in which our side refuses to engage and we refuse to tell the truth when the other side lies.”
Gingrich demonstrated not only that he grasps certain politically incorrect, fundamental truths, but also that he has courage; he demonstrated he is able to endure condemnation from many corners for questioning the status quo. His words, in that sense, were not just words. Because they could and almost certainly will have some negative consequence for him–if only incurring the fury of those who benefit from the status quo–they constituted an action. The ability to act with courage, more than anything, is what voters who care about a strong America and a strong Israel want to see. Never has that been more true than now, when Israel faces a potential existential threat from Iran.
In noting that Gingrich was probably being strategic, I don’t suggest he’s not sincere. The way he attempted to explain the nature of the propaganda war against Israel suggests to me he grasps the situation perfectly and cares about it, as well as about the truth.
That he also chose to voice these truths at this moment should not be held against him. One can be simultaneously strategic and sincere.
10,000 OR MORE MISSING IN MEXICO'S DRUG WARS
From Borderland Beat:
MEXICO VICTIMS MOVEMENT MARKS PLIGHT OF 10,000 MISSING IN DRUG WAR
Fox News Latino
December 13, 2011
The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, a group founded by prominent poet Javier Sicilia, recalled the more than 10,000 people who have gone missing amid the drug war that has claimed 50,000 lives in Mexico over the last five years.
In a ceremony staged at the foot of the capital's Angel of Independence monument, Sicilia said that the Mexican state has committed "a tremendous crime" consisting of "having denied the victims, forgotten them, made them into a numerology that could be 1 or 10,000, it doesn't matter."
Before the event, members of the moment marched along the Paseo de la Reforma and "embalmed" with black cord several of the statues of Mexican heroes to recall the people who have disappeared.
"That is a very serious crime and now the state is starting to compensate and we're beginning to compensate by making the victims visible," said Sicilia at the event.
He noted that the families of all the disappeared "live facing an atrocious abyss because they don't know if they're alive, and if they are, in what condition, and if they're dead they don't know what happened to them and they don't have their bodies."
Whether it be at the hands of criminal organizations or the Mexican authorities, which are involved in some of the cases denounced by the movement, Sicilia said that it is "outrageous that a state cannot know where 10,000 or many more than 10,000 of its citizens are."
At the event, demonstrators recalled several of the movement's activists who have been murdered recently, while the daughters of two environmental campaigners who disappeared on Dec. 6 appealed publicly to their captors to release them alive.
Sicilia founded the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity in April after the brutal murder of his son, Juan Francisco, and six other people in the central state of Morelos by suspected drug-gang members.
The group, which has organized several marches bringing together relatives of victims of violence, is demanding an end to President Felipe Calderon's deployment of tens of thousands of troops to drug-war flashpoints.
The strategy has led to headline-grabbing captures of cartel kingpins, but drug-related violence has skyrocketed and claimed 50,000 lives nationwide during Calderon's tenure, which began in December 2006.
MEXICO VICTIMS MOVEMENT MARKS PLIGHT OF 10,000 MISSING IN DRUG WAR
Fox News Latino
December 13, 2011
The Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity, a group founded by prominent poet Javier Sicilia, recalled the more than 10,000 people who have gone missing amid the drug war that has claimed 50,000 lives in Mexico over the last five years.
In a ceremony staged at the foot of the capital's Angel of Independence monument, Sicilia said that the Mexican state has committed "a tremendous crime" consisting of "having denied the victims, forgotten them, made them into a numerology that could be 1 or 10,000, it doesn't matter."
Before the event, members of the moment marched along the Paseo de la Reforma and "embalmed" with black cord several of the statues of Mexican heroes to recall the people who have disappeared.
"That is a very serious crime and now the state is starting to compensate and we're beginning to compensate by making the victims visible," said Sicilia at the event.
He noted that the families of all the disappeared "live facing an atrocious abyss because they don't know if they're alive, and if they are, in what condition, and if they're dead they don't know what happened to them and they don't have their bodies."
Whether it be at the hands of criminal organizations or the Mexican authorities, which are involved in some of the cases denounced by the movement, Sicilia said that it is "outrageous that a state cannot know where 10,000 or many more than 10,000 of its citizens are."
At the event, demonstrators recalled several of the movement's activists who have been murdered recently, while the daughters of two environmental campaigners who disappeared on Dec. 6 appealed publicly to their captors to release them alive.
Sicilia founded the Movement for Peace with Justice and Dignity in April after the brutal murder of his son, Juan Francisco, and six other people in the central state of Morelos by suspected drug-gang members.
The group, which has organized several marches bringing together relatives of victims of violence, is demanding an end to President Felipe Calderon's deployment of tens of thousands of troops to drug-war flashpoints.
The strategy has led to headline-grabbing captures of cartel kingpins, but drug-related violence has skyrocketed and claimed 50,000 lives nationwide during Calderon's tenure, which began in December 2006.
OH MY, THOSE POOR 15-YEAR-OLD BOYS
I feel cheated. I was never sexually assaulted by a teacher when I was 15-years-old. I never got to be lucky like these boys in Amarillo.
JULIE ANN MOORE: ANOTHER TEXAS TEACHER SNARED IN STUDENT SEX SCANDAL
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 14, 2011
An Amarillo elementary school teacher is currently out on bond and has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the back seat of her car during the halftime of a high school football game.
According to an arrest affidavit summarized in the Amarillo Globe-News, 34-year-old Julie Ann Moore approached the boy in the parking lot of Amarillo ISD's Dick Bivins Stadium and asked him if he "wanted to see something she had in her car." The boy later told police that she opened the glove box and showed him a box of condoms.
The boy said in the extremely detailed complaint that the two of them drove around the back of a nearby apartment complex, where she parked the car and they began making out in the rear seat.
The complaint further states that she removed her clothes first, and then his, and then Moore subjected the boy to a sexual assault lasting, by the boy's estimation, for ten or 15 minutes. The complaint then goes on to state that the pair were back in their seats for the second-half kickoff. (According to UIL rules, the maximum length for a half-time is 28 minutes, though many choose to set it at 24 minutes.)
A total of three 15-year-old boys were mentioned in the complaint, some of which was compiled by Texas Rangers, who investigated Moore for a month. The teacher is also accused of texting a 15-year-old boy 100 times, with about half of these texts being "extremely sexually explicit," according to the affidavit. In one such, she allegedly offered the boy oral sex. This same boy told investigators that he suspected that one of his 15-year-old friends had also been assaulted by Moore, though that child has apparently not yet made an outcry about his ordeal.
Moore turned herself in to police last Tuesday and faces a charge of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Under the conditions of her bond, the married Moore is also barred from being around any children other than her own.
JULIE ANN MOORE: ANOTHER TEXAS TEACHER SNARED IN STUDENT SEX SCANDAL
By John Nova Lomax
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 14, 2011
An Amarillo elementary school teacher is currently out on bond and has been charged with sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in the back seat of her car during the halftime of a high school football game.
According to an arrest affidavit summarized in the Amarillo Globe-News, 34-year-old Julie Ann Moore approached the boy in the parking lot of Amarillo ISD's Dick Bivins Stadium and asked him if he "wanted to see something she had in her car." The boy later told police that she opened the glove box and showed him a box of condoms.
The boy said in the extremely detailed complaint that the two of them drove around the back of a nearby apartment complex, where she parked the car and they began making out in the rear seat.
The complaint further states that she removed her clothes first, and then his, and then Moore subjected the boy to a sexual assault lasting, by the boy's estimation, for ten or 15 minutes. The complaint then goes on to state that the pair were back in their seats for the second-half kickoff. (According to UIL rules, the maximum length for a half-time is 28 minutes, though many choose to set it at 24 minutes.)
A total of three 15-year-old boys were mentioned in the complaint, some of which was compiled by Texas Rangers, who investigated Moore for a month. The teacher is also accused of texting a 15-year-old boy 100 times, with about half of these texts being "extremely sexually explicit," according to the affidavit. In one such, she allegedly offered the boy oral sex. This same boy told investigators that he suspected that one of his 15-year-old friends had also been assaulted by Moore, though that child has apparently not yet made an outcry about his ordeal.
Moore turned herself in to police last Tuesday and faces a charge of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Under the conditions of her bond, the married Moore is also barred from being around any children other than her own.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
NEWT GINGRICH TELLS THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PALESTINIANS
I am sure that by now almost everyone knows that Newt Gingrich called the Palestinians an ‘invented people’ during an interview on The Jewish Channel. When that was brought up during Saturday’s Republican debate at Drake University, Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul attacked Gingrich for making an inflammatory statement. Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry did not criticize Newt for the ‘invented people’ statement.
From the transcript of the debate that ABC News provided, I’ve excerpted the comments Gingrich and Bachmann made concerning the Palestinians.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Speaker Gingrich, as I've said, this [Gingrich’s statement that the Palestinians are an ‘invented people’] has caused quite a reaction in-- in the Middle East. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Sa-- Saeb Erekat, said, "Mark my words: These statements of Gingrich will be the ammunition and weapons of the bin Ladens and the extremists for a long, long time."
SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH:
How would he [Erekat] know the difference [between the Palestinians and the extremists]? Look from historic, George, simply. Is-- is what I said factually correct? Yes. Is it historically true? Yes. Are we in a situation where every day, rockets are fired into Israel while the United States, the current administration, tries to pressure the Israelis into a peace process?
Hamas does not admit the-- the right of Israel to exist, and says publicly, "Not a single Jew will remain." The Palestinian Authority ambassador to India said last month, "There is no difference between Fatah and Hamas. We both agree Israel has no right to exist."
Somebody oughta have the courage to tell the truth: These people are terrorists. They teach terrorism in their schools. They have textbooks that say, "If there are 13 Jews and nine Jews are killed, how many Jews are left?" We pay for those textbooks through our aid money. It's fundamentally-- time for somebody to have the guts to stand up and say, "Enough lying about the Middle East."
The Israelis are getting rocketed every day. The-- we're not making life more difficult. The Obama administration's making life more difficult. The fact is, the Palestinian claim to a right of return is based on a historically false story. Somebody oughta have the courage to go all the way back to the 1921 League of Nations mandate for a Jewish homeland, point out the context in which Israel came into existence, and "Palestinian" did not become a common term until after 1977. This is a propaganda war in which our side refuses to engage. And we refuse to tell the truth when the other side lies. And you're not gonna win the long run if you're afraid to stand firm and stand for the truth.
But can-- can I just say one last thing? Because I didn't speak for the people of Israel. I spoke as a historian who's looked at the world stage for a very long time. I've known Bibi since 1984. I feel quite confident an amazing number of Israelis found it nice to have an American tell the truth about the war they are in the middle of and the casualties they're taking and the people who surround them who say, "You do not have the right to exist, and we want to destroy you."
CONGRESSWOMAN MICHELE BACHMANN:
In 1974, I went to Israel for the first time and I worked on a kibbutz for the summer. And I saw a brand new nation that had begun in 1948 and was making its way into the modernization that we know today. They're a first world nation. I was able to return as a member of Congress multiple times, and I also met with Fayad in Ramallah in the very room that Arafat used as his conference room. When I was in there, I-- I had asked Fayad about the issue that we were very concerned about, and that's how the Palestinians teach their children to hate the Jews and call them pigs and swine and descendants from Hades.
And I have asked him about this very important issues, because how do you find peace when you continue to teach your children hatred? And asked Fayad about this issue, and he said, "Oh, tha-- we don't do that anymore. Our textbooks aren't filled with that."
And I said, "Oh really?" I pulled out a manila envelope that I'd brought with me, and I pulled out the pages that I'd photocopied out of current books that were being used that clearly showed that. And he said, "Oh, but these are old textbooks." And he said-- I said, "Really? Well, then why don't you send me the new textbooks that no longer say that and compare them with the old?" And I checked my mailbox today; he still hasn't me those textbooks. That's what needs to change.
From the transcript of the debate that ABC News provided, I’ve excerpted the comments Gingrich and Bachmann made concerning the Palestinians.
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Speaker Gingrich, as I've said, this [Gingrich’s statement that the Palestinians are an ‘invented people’] has caused quite a reaction in-- in the Middle East. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Sa-- Saeb Erekat, said, "Mark my words: These statements of Gingrich will be the ammunition and weapons of the bin Ladens and the extremists for a long, long time."
SPEAKER NEWT GINGRICH:
How would he [Erekat] know the difference [between the Palestinians and the extremists]? Look from historic, George, simply. Is-- is what I said factually correct? Yes. Is it historically true? Yes. Are we in a situation where every day, rockets are fired into Israel while the United States, the current administration, tries to pressure the Israelis into a peace process?
Hamas does not admit the-- the right of Israel to exist, and says publicly, "Not a single Jew will remain." The Palestinian Authority ambassador to India said last month, "There is no difference between Fatah and Hamas. We both agree Israel has no right to exist."
Somebody oughta have the courage to tell the truth: These people are terrorists. They teach terrorism in their schools. They have textbooks that say, "If there are 13 Jews and nine Jews are killed, how many Jews are left?" We pay for those textbooks through our aid money. It's fundamentally-- time for somebody to have the guts to stand up and say, "Enough lying about the Middle East."
The Israelis are getting rocketed every day. The-- we're not making life more difficult. The Obama administration's making life more difficult. The fact is, the Palestinian claim to a right of return is based on a historically false story. Somebody oughta have the courage to go all the way back to the 1921 League of Nations mandate for a Jewish homeland, point out the context in which Israel came into existence, and "Palestinian" did not become a common term until after 1977. This is a propaganda war in which our side refuses to engage. And we refuse to tell the truth when the other side lies. And you're not gonna win the long run if you're afraid to stand firm and stand for the truth.
But can-- can I just say one last thing? Because I didn't speak for the people of Israel. I spoke as a historian who's looked at the world stage for a very long time. I've known Bibi since 1984. I feel quite confident an amazing number of Israelis found it nice to have an American tell the truth about the war they are in the middle of and the casualties they're taking and the people who surround them who say, "You do not have the right to exist, and we want to destroy you."
CONGRESSWOMAN MICHELE BACHMANN:
In 1974, I went to Israel for the first time and I worked on a kibbutz for the summer. And I saw a brand new nation that had begun in 1948 and was making its way into the modernization that we know today. They're a first world nation. I was able to return as a member of Congress multiple times, and I also met with Fayad in Ramallah in the very room that Arafat used as his conference room. When I was in there, I-- I had asked Fayad about the issue that we were very concerned about, and that's how the Palestinians teach their children to hate the Jews and call them pigs and swine and descendants from Hades.
And I have asked him about this very important issues, because how do you find peace when you continue to teach your children hatred? And asked Fayad about this issue, and he said, "Oh, tha-- we don't do that anymore. Our textbooks aren't filled with that."
And I said, "Oh really?" I pulled out a manila envelope that I'd brought with me, and I pulled out the pages that I'd photocopied out of current books that were being used that clearly showed that. And he said, "Oh, but these are old textbooks." And he said-- I said, "Really? Well, then why don't you send me the new textbooks that no longer say that and compare them with the old?" And I checked my mailbox today; he still hasn't me those textbooks. That's what needs to change.
RETURN THE DRONE?
By Adolf der Schweinehund
The Schalotte
December 13, 2011
From The National Post: A RQ-170 Sentinel, a high-altitude stealth drone known as the Beast of Kandahar, went down in Iran while on a surveillance mission. Iran said it shot the drone down, but the U.S. maintains it crashed due to a malfunction. Iran claims the drone penetrated 250 kilometers inside the Islamic republic’s air space.
President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have called on Iran to return the RQ-170. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi rebuffed the Americans, saying that “The U.S. spy drone is the property of Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran will decide what it wants to do in this regard.”
TEHRAN -- The Schalotte was successful in obtaining interviews with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This reporter conducted the interviews together with Fereshteh Zamaani Fard, our interpreter.
THE INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD:
Q: Mr. President, thank you for giving the Schalotte this interview.
A: You are welcome as long as you are not a Jew. You are not a Jew, are you?
Q: No sir, I am German. Now Mr. President, I am sure you know that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have called for the return of the American drone.
A: They must be kidding. Their spy plane was downed 250 kilometers inside the border of Iran and they expect us to return it to them. What is this, some kind of a joke?
Q: Are there any circumstances under which you would consider returning the drone.
A: No, no, no! You can tell Obama and Clinton to … how do you say it in America …take a flying fuck!
Q: I think that pretty well sums it up. Thank you Mr. President.
A: Let me add that we are going to invite our friends, the Russians, to have a close look at this spy plane. And the Chinese have told us they would like to have a look too. Fuck Obama and Clinton!
Q: Thank you Mr. President.
THE INTERVIEW WITH SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI:
Q: Thank you for giving the Schalotte this interview.
A: You are welcome as long as you are not a Jew. May the curse of Allah be on the Jews! You are not a Jew, are you?
Q: No sir, I am German.
A: May the blessings of Allah be with you and the Germans! Hitler was truly a great man! It’s a tragedy that he could not finish cleansing the world of all the filthy Jews.
Q: Now Sir, how do you respond to the reports that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have called for the return of the American drone?
A: Ha, ha, ha, ha … forgive me for laughing, but the Great Satan expects us to return their spy plane? I have been told that Secretary Clinton does not have a sense of humor. Off with the head of the perjurer who misinformed me!
Q: President Ahmadinejad told me that President Obama and Secretary Clinton could … as they say in America … take a flying fuck.
A: We Ayatollahs do not use such foul language.
Q: Then how do you respond to their demand that Iran return the drone?
A: May the curse of Allah be on the Great Satan! May the curse of Allah be on Obama and Clinton!
Q: Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to interview you Sir.
A: You are welcome. May the blessings of Allah be with you.
The Schalotte
December 13, 2011
From The National Post: A RQ-170 Sentinel, a high-altitude stealth drone known as the Beast of Kandahar, went down in Iran while on a surveillance mission. Iran said it shot the drone down, but the U.S. maintains it crashed due to a malfunction. Iran claims the drone penetrated 250 kilometers inside the Islamic republic’s air space.
President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta have called on Iran to return the RQ-170. Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi rebuffed the Americans, saying that “The U.S. spy drone is the property of Islamic Republic of Iran. Tehran will decide what it wants to do in this regard.”
TEHRAN -- The Schalotte was successful in obtaining interviews with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. This reporter conducted the interviews together with Fereshteh Zamaani Fard, our interpreter.
THE INTERVIEW WITH PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD:
Q: Mr. President, thank you for giving the Schalotte this interview.
A: You are welcome as long as you are not a Jew. You are not a Jew, are you?
Q: No sir, I am German. Now Mr. President, I am sure you know that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have called for the return of the American drone.
A: They must be kidding. Their spy plane was downed 250 kilometers inside the border of Iran and they expect us to return it to them. What is this, some kind of a joke?
Q: Are there any circumstances under which you would consider returning the drone.
A: No, no, no! You can tell Obama and Clinton to … how do you say it in America …take a flying fuck!
Q: I think that pretty well sums it up. Thank you Mr. President.
A: Let me add that we are going to invite our friends, the Russians, to have a close look at this spy plane. And the Chinese have told us they would like to have a look too. Fuck Obama and Clinton!
Q: Thank you Mr. President.
THE INTERVIEW WITH SUPREME LEADER AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI:
Q: Thank you for giving the Schalotte this interview.
A: You are welcome as long as you are not a Jew. May the curse of Allah be on the Jews! You are not a Jew, are you?
Q: No sir, I am German.
A: May the blessings of Allah be with you and the Germans! Hitler was truly a great man! It’s a tragedy that he could not finish cleansing the world of all the filthy Jews.
Q: Now Sir, how do you respond to the reports that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton have called for the return of the American drone?
A: Ha, ha, ha, ha … forgive me for laughing, but the Great Satan expects us to return their spy plane? I have been told that Secretary Clinton does not have a sense of humor. Off with the head of the perjurer who misinformed me!
Q: President Ahmadinejad told me that President Obama and Secretary Clinton could … as they say in America … take a flying fuck.
A: We Ayatollahs do not use such foul language.
Q: Then how do you respond to their demand that Iran return the drone?
A: May the curse of Allah be on the Great Satan! May the curse of Allah be on Obama and Clinton!
Q: Thank you again for giving us the opportunity to interview you Sir.
A: You are welcome. May the blessings of Allah be with you.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
DNA TESTS: PROSECUTORS WANT TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS
When prosecutors call for DNA testing to prove a case, they should not be able to claim that the result is irrelevant when the test showed that someone else could have committed the crime.
COURT REVERSES CONVICTION OF MAN JAILED FOR 19 YEARS IN RAPE AND MURDER
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times
December 10, 2011
In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago.
Rivera, who is 39 and serving a life sentence, has been convicted three times for killing the sitter, Holly Staker, based on the strength of a confession that was obtained after four days of questioning. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, which occurred in Waukegan, Ill., and DNA testing in 2005 excluded him as the source of sperm found in Holly’s body.
In the most recent trial, in 2009, prosecutors explained the DNA evidence by positing two theories: that the sperm sample had been contaminated and that Holly had been sexually active. Rivera’s case was the subject of a Nov. 27 article in The New York Times Magazine that examined efforts by prosecutors, particularly in Lake County, Ill., where Waukegan is located, to discredit DNA evidence that supported the innocence claims of men they had prosecuted.
In its opinion, the appellate court on Friday said the confession was highly suspect and was not enough for a “rational trier of fact” to conclude that Mr. Rivera was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. For instance, while prosecutors insisted that Mr. Rivera’s confession contained details only the killer would know, the court said that detectives had fed some details to him by asking leading questions and that some other facts had been made public in newspaper articles.
“The evidence belies the state’s argument and supports an inference that details of the crime were provided to defendant, intentionally or unintentionally, during the investigative process,” the opinion said. “The evidence further supports an inference that the details that the defendant provided were the result of psychological suggestion or linguistic manipulation.”
The court also noted that while the DNA evidence does not exonerate Mr. Rivera, it nonetheless “embedded reasonable doubt deep into the state’s theory.” The judges said evidence in the case discounted the idea that the sperm sample was contaminated. And regarding the state’s suggestion that the sperm came from an unnamed lover of Holly’s, the court said, “The state’s theories distort to an absurd degree the real and undisputed testimony that the sperm was deposited shortly before the victim died.”
The opinion also said, “The most reasonable explanation, therefore, of who murdered the victim is not the defendant but rather someone who, unfortunately, has not yet been identified.” Mr. Rivera, meanwhile “has suffered the nightmare of wrongful incarceration,” it said.
It may be several weeks before Rivera is released from prison, and even then prosecutors may try to block his release.
The Lake County state’s attorney, Michael J. Waller, said, “We are going to study the opinion, confer with our appellate attorneys on Monday and determine a course of action.” He declined to elaborate.
Rivera’s case is one of several in Lake County in which prosecutors have challenged DNA evidence. Michael Mermel, who was the lead prosecutor in Rivera’s last trial, said in the Nov. 27 Times article that DNA evidence can be irrelevant.
In one case, Mermel argued that an 8-year-old murder victim may have come into contact with sperm — which did not match the DNA of her father, whom he was trying to prosecute — by playing in woods where couples have sex or sitting on a bed where a man masturbated.
Mermel’s superiors deemed his comments in the article inappropriate, and last week he announced his retirement.
COURT REVERSES CONVICTION OF MAN JAILED FOR 19 YEARS IN RAPE AND MURDER
By Andrew Martin
The New York Times
December 10, 2011
In an opinion that harshly criticizes the tactics of the police and prosecutors, an Illinois appellate court on Friday night reversed the conviction of Juan Rivera, who has spent 19 years in jail for the 1992 rape and murder of an 11-year-old baby sitter in a suburb of Chicago.
Rivera, who is 39 and serving a life sentence, has been convicted three times for killing the sitter, Holly Staker, based on the strength of a confession that was obtained after four days of questioning. There was no physical evidence linking him to the crime, which occurred in Waukegan, Ill., and DNA testing in 2005 excluded him as the source of sperm found in Holly’s body.
In the most recent trial, in 2009, prosecutors explained the DNA evidence by positing two theories: that the sperm sample had been contaminated and that Holly had been sexually active. Rivera’s case was the subject of a Nov. 27 article in The New York Times Magazine that examined efforts by prosecutors, particularly in Lake County, Ill., where Waukegan is located, to discredit DNA evidence that supported the innocence claims of men they had prosecuted.
In its opinion, the appellate court on Friday said the confession was highly suspect and was not enough for a “rational trier of fact” to conclude that Mr. Rivera was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. For instance, while prosecutors insisted that Mr. Rivera’s confession contained details only the killer would know, the court said that detectives had fed some details to him by asking leading questions and that some other facts had been made public in newspaper articles.
“The evidence belies the state’s argument and supports an inference that details of the crime were provided to defendant, intentionally or unintentionally, during the investigative process,” the opinion said. “The evidence further supports an inference that the details that the defendant provided were the result of psychological suggestion or linguistic manipulation.”
The court also noted that while the DNA evidence does not exonerate Mr. Rivera, it nonetheless “embedded reasonable doubt deep into the state’s theory.” The judges said evidence in the case discounted the idea that the sperm sample was contaminated. And regarding the state’s suggestion that the sperm came from an unnamed lover of Holly’s, the court said, “The state’s theories distort to an absurd degree the real and undisputed testimony that the sperm was deposited shortly before the victim died.”
The opinion also said, “The most reasonable explanation, therefore, of who murdered the victim is not the defendant but rather someone who, unfortunately, has not yet been identified.” Mr. Rivera, meanwhile “has suffered the nightmare of wrongful incarceration,” it said.
It may be several weeks before Rivera is released from prison, and even then prosecutors may try to block his release.
The Lake County state’s attorney, Michael J. Waller, said, “We are going to study the opinion, confer with our appellate attorneys on Monday and determine a course of action.” He declined to elaborate.
Rivera’s case is one of several in Lake County in which prosecutors have challenged DNA evidence. Michael Mermel, who was the lead prosecutor in Rivera’s last trial, said in the Nov. 27 Times article that DNA evidence can be irrelevant.
In one case, Mermel argued that an 8-year-old murder victim may have come into contact with sperm — which did not match the DNA of her father, whom he was trying to prosecute — by playing in woods where couples have sex or sitting on a bed where a man masturbated.
Mermel’s superiors deemed his comments in the article inappropriate, and last week he announced his retirement.
DO COPS NEED TO BE TASERED BEFORE BEING ISSUED TASERS? (2)
I also posted ‘Do Cops Need To Be Tasered Before Being Issued Tasers?’ (12-12-11) on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. Here are some of the responses made on Paco’s blog:
WDC says: Getting tasered for “training” is really a cool idea, but-I’ve seen a few real life deployments of tasers where the taser for whatever reason did not produce the desired outcome. If you get tased and think everyone you tase will have the same response, you’re behind the power curve, same for firearms. The target may be dead, not know it and keep on going for long enough to hurt somebody. Assumed effect or compliance can get you hurt.
pacovilla replies: One point of disagreement: Getting tazed for training is NOT a cool idea. KL is correct, the Work Comp claims will rise because people will get hurt.
pacovilla says: Being one of countless idiots who volunteered to be shot with the latest Taser, I would say it is a terrible idea. Even though I suffered no long term side effects, I had several weird instances of short term memory loss in the week following. Beyond that, Tasers DO carry the potential to kill, unlike CS or OC which many agencies expose trainees to. I guess the most compelling argument against requiring trainee-tazing is the fact Taser Inc. reps will not allow a person to be tazed in a demo without signing a 2 page medical release. Surely that should give pause to trainers.
Lone Wolf says: I had to be tasered in training but never shot or had to take full contact baton strikes. It was like the worst cramp ever from head to toe. Oh yeah I’ve been exposed to CN, CS, and OC just like everybody else. Anybody had the baton round I heard it was a heart breaker.
kl2008a says: If they start requiring cops (street cops or tier cops) to get tasered during training to use the device I can see the Worker’s Comp claims rise significantly. Let’s hope that none of our brother or sister cops die during what would be labeled a s a “training mishap”, though I know the statistics, and we will see a few (maybe more). On a lighter side, they’ll need some jazzy music to do “the chicken” by.
WDC says: Getting tasered for “training” is really a cool idea, but-I’ve seen a few real life deployments of tasers where the taser for whatever reason did not produce the desired outcome. If you get tased and think everyone you tase will have the same response, you’re behind the power curve, same for firearms. The target may be dead, not know it and keep on going for long enough to hurt somebody. Assumed effect or compliance can get you hurt.
pacovilla replies: One point of disagreement: Getting tazed for training is NOT a cool idea. KL is correct, the Work Comp claims will rise because people will get hurt.
pacovilla says: Being one of countless idiots who volunteered to be shot with the latest Taser, I would say it is a terrible idea. Even though I suffered no long term side effects, I had several weird instances of short term memory loss in the week following. Beyond that, Tasers DO carry the potential to kill, unlike CS or OC which many agencies expose trainees to. I guess the most compelling argument against requiring trainee-tazing is the fact Taser Inc. reps will not allow a person to be tazed in a demo without signing a 2 page medical release. Surely that should give pause to trainers.
Lone Wolf says: I had to be tasered in training but never shot or had to take full contact baton strikes. It was like the worst cramp ever from head to toe. Oh yeah I’ve been exposed to CN, CS, and OC just like everybody else. Anybody had the baton round I heard it was a heart breaker.
kl2008a says: If they start requiring cops (street cops or tier cops) to get tasered during training to use the device I can see the Worker’s Comp claims rise significantly. Let’s hope that none of our brother or sister cops die during what would be labeled a s a “training mishap”, though I know the statistics, and we will see a few (maybe more). On a lighter side, they’ll need some jazzy music to do “the chicken” by.
A 49ERS FAN
An elementary teacher starts a new job at a school in Dallas, Texas and was trying to make a good impression on her first day by telling her class that she's a Cowboys fan.
She asks the class to raise their hands if they too are Cowboy fans.
Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl. The teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says: "Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?"
"Because I'm NOT a Cowboys fan," she replied.
The teacher, still shocked, asks: "Well, if you're not a Cowboys fan, then whom do you support?"
"I'm a 49ers fan, and proud of it," Mary replied.
The teacher could not believe her ears. "Well Mary, please tell us why you are a 49ers fan."
"Because my mom and dad are from San Francisco and my mom is a 49ers fan and my dad is a 49ers fan, so I'm a Niner fan too!"
"Well," said the teacher, in an obviously annoyed tone, "that's no reason for you to be a 49ers fan. You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom was a prostitute and your dad was a drug addict and a car thief, what would you be then?"
Mary said, "Then I'd be an OAKLAND RAIDERS fan."
She asks the class to raise their hands if they too are Cowboy fans.
Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl. The teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says: "Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?"
"Because I'm NOT a Cowboys fan," she replied.
The teacher, still shocked, asks: "Well, if you're not a Cowboys fan, then whom do you support?"
"I'm a 49ers fan, and proud of it," Mary replied.
The teacher could not believe her ears. "Well Mary, please tell us why you are a 49ers fan."
"Because my mom and dad are from San Francisco and my mom is a 49ers fan and my dad is a 49ers fan, so I'm a Niner fan too!"
"Well," said the teacher, in an obviously annoyed tone, "that's no reason for you to be a 49ers fan. You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mom was a prostitute and your dad was a drug addict and a car thief, what would you be then?"
Mary said, "Then I'd be an OAKLAND RAIDERS fan."
Monday, December 12, 2011
DO COPS NEED TO BE TASERED BEFORE BEING ISSUED TASERS?
As part of the training in the use of tasers, many police and correctional agencies require their officers to be tasered before being issued a taser. The thinking is that officers need to know what it feels like to be tasered in order to ensure the most judicious use of this non-lethal weapon.
The use of tasers has been embroiled in controversy because a number of people have died after being tasered by the police. I suspect that in some, if not all of those lethal cases, the officer who used the taser had been tasered himself during his taser training.
The tasers issued to cops are much more powerful than the tasers that are available to the general public. Instead of tasering their officers, law enforcement agencies should make sure that they are trained in the proper and safe use of these non-lethal weapons so that they really will be non-lethal. Some of the taser deaths appear to have resulted from the deliberate or unintended misuse of these devices.
Ever since tasers began to be issued to police officers I have ridiculed the tasering of cops as nothing more than a worthless form of entertainment. I remember that during my army basic training I was made to enter a building where my fellow recruits and I were tear gassed. The idea was not for us to see what it felt like to be gassed, but rather to give us some experience in putting on our gas masks.
The other night my oldest granddaughter paid us a visit. We were talking about her younger sister - now attending Sam Houston State University – wanting to become a cop. The subject of tasers came up and she asked me whether her sister would have to tasered. When I told her why her sister might have to be tasered, she came back with this:
If they taser cops so they’ll know what it feels like to be tasered, WHY DON’T THEY SHOOT THEM SO THEY’LL KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE SHOT?
Thanks to my granddaughter, I rest my case.
The use of tasers has been embroiled in controversy because a number of people have died after being tasered by the police. I suspect that in some, if not all of those lethal cases, the officer who used the taser had been tasered himself during his taser training.
The tasers issued to cops are much more powerful than the tasers that are available to the general public. Instead of tasering their officers, law enforcement agencies should make sure that they are trained in the proper and safe use of these non-lethal weapons so that they really will be non-lethal. Some of the taser deaths appear to have resulted from the deliberate or unintended misuse of these devices.
Ever since tasers began to be issued to police officers I have ridiculed the tasering of cops as nothing more than a worthless form of entertainment. I remember that during my army basic training I was made to enter a building where my fellow recruits and I were tear gassed. The idea was not for us to see what it felt like to be gassed, but rather to give us some experience in putting on our gas masks.
The other night my oldest granddaughter paid us a visit. We were talking about her younger sister - now attending Sam Houston State University – wanting to become a cop. The subject of tasers came up and she asked me whether her sister would have to tasered. When I told her why her sister might have to be tasered, she came back with this:
If they taser cops so they’ll know what it feels like to be tasered, WHY DON’T THEY SHOOT THEM SO THEY’LL KNOW WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO BE SHOT?
Thanks to my granddaughter, I rest my case.
EAT THE TURKEY, PARDON O HENRY!
O Henry has been considered an outstanding contributor to American literature. I agree with Grits that instead of pardoning the Thanksgiving turkey, President Obama should have pardoned O Henry.
PRESIDENT QUOTES TEXAS WRITER BUT WON’T PARDON HIM
Oh cruel, bitter irony!
Grits for Breakfast
December 9, 2011
After legendary Austin short-story writer O Henry's pardon was turned down some years back, and given President Obama's own stingy record regarding pardons, it's especially annoying to learn, via PS Ruckman at Pardon Power, that President Obama's speech writers had the gall (or perhaps the philistinism) to include a quote from O Henry in the President's remarks "pardoning" a Thanksgiving turkey.
O Henry, whose pardon application has been on Ruckman's clemency watch list for ages, always claimed he was innocent, but when accused of embezzling $748 from the Austin bank he worked for, he fled to Honduras, returning to face federal charges in 1898 after his wife became terminally ill. In a practice that wouldn't be allowed in today's TDCJ, he "began writing stories to support his young daughter while he was in prison," moving to New York to continue his career after his release.
According to the Houston Chronicle's coverage in 1985, O Henry's (i.e, William Sydney Porter's) federal pardon application, championed by supporters including late-Texas state appellate court Judge Trueman O'Quinn, was turned down at that time because "A pardon isn't complete until it's accepted by the person, and a dead man can't accept it." In other words, Reagan's pardon office refused to issue a posthumous pardon.
As luck would have it, though, last year a Texas Attorney General's opinion cleared the way for the Texas Governor to issue posthumous pardons so that he could give one to Timothy Cole, who was falsely convicted of rape but wasn't exonerated until years after he died in prison. The Texas opinion took head on the question of whether the US President may issue pardons when the recipient is dead and cannot "accept" it: "the United States Supreme Court has since recognized that 'the requirement of consent [to a pardon] was a legal fiction at best' and has generally abandoned the acceptance doctrine since adopting it in 1833. Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256, 261 (1974)." So according to the formal legal advice given to Rick Perry, the President has full authority to issue posthumous pardons and the "acceptance" requirement is a "legal fiction."
Grits has argued previously that Governor Perry would be wise to use his gubernatorial pardon power more generously than usual this Christmas season, both to distinguish himself from his GOP rivals - none of whom presently possess comparable clemency authority - and to highlight President Obama's abysmal clemency record, which even the President's liberal supporters deplore. (Perry's isn't great, but it's better than Obama's, granting clemency in 2003 alone more often than has Obama during his entire tenure.) IMO that'd be good campaign strategy for an incumbent governor looking to burnish his positive image in the holiday season, using the authority of his office to seize press attention for a news cycle or two and to elevate himself above his rivals.
Why not issue a coupla dozen or so gubernatorial pardons as a news hook, then attack Obama for his Scrooge-like clemency practices and for quoting a Texan during his trivializing turkey-pardon who merits a posthumous pardon himself. It would cost him nothing, it's an homage to a revered and influential Texan, and it rebukes Barack Obama after the President used the words of the Texas writer whose pardon was snubbed to commemorate the disingenuous ritual of pardoning a turkey.
Grits says eat the turkey, pardon O Henry!
PRESIDENT QUOTES TEXAS WRITER BUT WON’T PARDON HIM
Oh cruel, bitter irony!
Grits for Breakfast
December 9, 2011
After legendary Austin short-story writer O Henry's pardon was turned down some years back, and given President Obama's own stingy record regarding pardons, it's especially annoying to learn, via PS Ruckman at Pardon Power, that President Obama's speech writers had the gall (or perhaps the philistinism) to include a quote from O Henry in the President's remarks "pardoning" a Thanksgiving turkey.
O Henry, whose pardon application has been on Ruckman's clemency watch list for ages, always claimed he was innocent, but when accused of embezzling $748 from the Austin bank he worked for, he fled to Honduras, returning to face federal charges in 1898 after his wife became terminally ill. In a practice that wouldn't be allowed in today's TDCJ, he "began writing stories to support his young daughter while he was in prison," moving to New York to continue his career after his release.
According to the Houston Chronicle's coverage in 1985, O Henry's (i.e, William Sydney Porter's) federal pardon application, championed by supporters including late-Texas state appellate court Judge Trueman O'Quinn, was turned down at that time because "A pardon isn't complete until it's accepted by the person, and a dead man can't accept it." In other words, Reagan's pardon office refused to issue a posthumous pardon.
As luck would have it, though, last year a Texas Attorney General's opinion cleared the way for the Texas Governor to issue posthumous pardons so that he could give one to Timothy Cole, who was falsely convicted of rape but wasn't exonerated until years after he died in prison. The Texas opinion took head on the question of whether the US President may issue pardons when the recipient is dead and cannot "accept" it: "the United States Supreme Court has since recognized that 'the requirement of consent [to a pardon] was a legal fiction at best' and has generally abandoned the acceptance doctrine since adopting it in 1833. Schick v. Reed, 419 U.S. 256, 261 (1974)." So according to the formal legal advice given to Rick Perry, the President has full authority to issue posthumous pardons and the "acceptance" requirement is a "legal fiction."
Grits has argued previously that Governor Perry would be wise to use his gubernatorial pardon power more generously than usual this Christmas season, both to distinguish himself from his GOP rivals - none of whom presently possess comparable clemency authority - and to highlight President Obama's abysmal clemency record, which even the President's liberal supporters deplore. (Perry's isn't great, but it's better than Obama's, granting clemency in 2003 alone more often than has Obama during his entire tenure.) IMO that'd be good campaign strategy for an incumbent governor looking to burnish his positive image in the holiday season, using the authority of his office to seize press attention for a news cycle or two and to elevate himself above his rivals.
Why not issue a coupla dozen or so gubernatorial pardons as a news hook, then attack Obama for his Scrooge-like clemency practices and for quoting a Texan during his trivializing turkey-pardon who merits a posthumous pardon himself. It would cost him nothing, it's an homage to a revered and influential Texan, and it rebukes Barack Obama after the President used the words of the Texas writer whose pardon was snubbed to commemorate the disingenuous ritual of pardoning a turkey.
Grits says eat the turkey, pardon O Henry!
ONE LAST GLIMPSE OF HER FANTASTIC ...(CENSORED)
Here’s a kid that appreciates a good yoga instructor when he sees one.
6-YEAR-OLD BOY THINKS HE MIGHT BE TOO OLD TO BE IN WOMEN’S LOCKER ROOM
The Onion
December 7, 2011
STAMFORD, CT—Admitting to a growing sense of unease, 6-year-old Zachary Barrett confided to reporters Monday that he might be getting too old to continue accompanying his mother into the women's locker room at the local gym.
"I'm at that age now where every time I'm surrounded by grown, half-naked women I don't even know, I think to myself, 'What am I doing here? This isn't right,'" said Barrett, who called the situation "kind of creepy on a number of levels." "What's my mom thinking? I'm not three anymore, for God's sake—I know what's going on now, and frankly, I really don't appreciate standing around awkwardly for 10, 15 minutes trying to pretend I don't feel incredibly uncomfortable. What's worse, I can tell the women are starting to feel awkward being naked around me, too."
Barrett later confirmed that while he was certain he didn't belong in the locker room, he could probably endure another visit if it meant catching one last glimpse of that yoga instructor's fantastic tits.
6-YEAR-OLD BOY THINKS HE MIGHT BE TOO OLD TO BE IN WOMEN’S LOCKER ROOM
The Onion
December 7, 2011
STAMFORD, CT—Admitting to a growing sense of unease, 6-year-old Zachary Barrett confided to reporters Monday that he might be getting too old to continue accompanying his mother into the women's locker room at the local gym.
"I'm at that age now where every time I'm surrounded by grown, half-naked women I don't even know, I think to myself, 'What am I doing here? This isn't right,'" said Barrett, who called the situation "kind of creepy on a number of levels." "What's my mom thinking? I'm not three anymore, for God's sake—I know what's going on now, and frankly, I really don't appreciate standing around awkwardly for 10, 15 minutes trying to pretend I don't feel incredibly uncomfortable. What's worse, I can tell the women are starting to feel awkward being naked around me, too."
Barrett later confirmed that while he was certain he didn't belong in the locker room, he could probably endure another visit if it meant catching one last glimpse of that yoga instructor's fantastic tits.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
NEWT LOBS CANNONBALL AT PALESTINIANS
All of a sudden I have a strong urge to support Newt Gingrich.
PA OFFICIALS DISMAYED BY GINGRICH COMMENT ON ‘INVENTED’ PALESTINIANS
Reuters
December 10, 2011
Palestinian leaders said on Saturday U.S. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich had invited more conflict in the Middle East by calling the Palestinians an "invented" people who want to destroy Israel.
Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official, described his comments in an interview as "despicable". Hanan Ashrawi, another top official, said Gingrich's "very racist comments" showed he was "incapable of holding public office."
"This is the lowest point of thinking anyone can reach," Erekat, a close advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters. Such comments served only to "increase the cycle of violence", he added.
"What is the cause of violence, war in this region? Denial, denying people their religion, their existence, and now he is denying our existence," said Erekat, for years a leading figure in peace talks aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
In an interview on Friday with the Jewish Channel, Gingrich predictably sided with Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, who are seeking a state of their own on land occupied by Israel in a 1967 war.
But the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives departed from official U.S. policy that respects the Palestinians as a people deserving of their own state based on negotiations with Israel.
"Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire" until the early 20th century, said Gingrich, who has risen to the top of Republican polls with voting to start early next year to pick a nominee to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.
“NO ‘CONTRIBUTION TO PEACE”
"I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it's tragic," he said.
There are around 11 million Palestinians around the world, Palestinian officials say. They include refugees and their descendants who left or were forced to flee their homes during the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel. More than 4 million of them live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The 1948 war erupted after Arab states rejected a UN plan that would have divided British mandate-ruled Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.
Gingrich along with other Republican candidates are seeking to attract Jewish support by vowing to bolster U.S. ties with Israel if elected.
He said both the Hamas militant group, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Authority, which receives financial backing from the United States, represent "an enormous desire to destroy Israel."
While Hamas remains committed to armed "resistance" and will not recognize Israel, the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah states that only peaceful means can deliver Palestinian statehood and its security forces cooperate with Israel
Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, said Gingrich's remarks harked back to days when the Palestinians' existence as a people was denied by Israelis such as Golda Meir, prime minister from 1969 to 1974.
"It is certainly regressive," she said. "This is certainly an invitation to further conflict rather than any contribution to peace."
"This proves that in the hysterical atmosphere of American elections, people lose all touch with reality and make not just irresponsible and dangerous statements, but also very racist comments that betray not just their own ignorance but an unforgivable bias," she said.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said the Gingrich remarks "were grave comments that represented an incitement for ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.
PA OFFICIALS DISMAYED BY GINGRICH COMMENT ON ‘INVENTED’ PALESTINIANS
Reuters
December 10, 2011
Palestinian leaders said on Saturday U.S. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich had invited more conflict in the Middle East by calling the Palestinians an "invented" people who want to destroy Israel.
Saeb Erekat, a senior Palestinian official, described his comments in an interview as "despicable". Hanan Ashrawi, another top official, said Gingrich's "very racist comments" showed he was "incapable of holding public office."
"This is the lowest point of thinking anyone can reach," Erekat, a close advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, told Reuters. Such comments served only to "increase the cycle of violence", he added.
"What is the cause of violence, war in this region? Denial, denying people their religion, their existence, and now he is denying our existence," said Erekat, for years a leading figure in peace talks aimed at the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.
In an interview on Friday with the Jewish Channel, Gingrich predictably sided with Israel in its conflict with the Palestinians, who are seeking a state of their own on land occupied by Israel in a 1967 war.
But the former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives departed from official U.S. policy that respects the Palestinians as a people deserving of their own state based on negotiations with Israel.
"Remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire" until the early 20th century, said Gingrich, who has risen to the top of Republican polls with voting to start early next year to pick a nominee to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 election.
“NO ‘CONTRIBUTION TO PEACE”
"I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are in fact Arabs, and who were historically part of the Arab community. And they had a chance to go many places, and for a variety of political reasons we have sustained this war against Israel now since the 1940s, and it's tragic," he said.
There are around 11 million Palestinians around the world, Palestinian officials say. They include refugees and their descendants who left or were forced to flee their homes during the 1948 war that led to the creation of Israel. More than 4 million of them live in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The 1948 war erupted after Arab states rejected a UN plan that would have divided British mandate-ruled Palestine into Arab and Jewish states.
Gingrich along with other Republican candidates are seeking to attract Jewish support by vowing to bolster U.S. ties with Israel if elected.
He said both the Hamas militant group, which controls the Gaza Strip, and the Palestinian Authority, which receives financial backing from the United States, represent "an enormous desire to destroy Israel."
While Hamas remains committed to armed "resistance" and will not recognize Israel, the Palestinian Authority based in Ramallah states that only peaceful means can deliver Palestinian statehood and its security forces cooperate with Israel
Ashrawi, a member of the Palestine Liberation Organization Executive Committee, said Gingrich's remarks harked back to days when the Palestinians' existence as a people was denied by Israelis such as Golda Meir, prime minister from 1969 to 1974.
"It is certainly regressive," she said. "This is certainly an invitation to further conflict rather than any contribution to peace."
"This proves that in the hysterical atmosphere of American elections, people lose all touch with reality and make not just irresponsible and dangerous statements, but also very racist comments that betray not just their own ignorance but an unforgivable bias," she said.
Fawzi Barhoum, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, said the Gingrich remarks "were grave comments that represented an incitement for ethnic cleansing against the Palestinians.
FAKERS FAIL TO FARE WELL
Two examples of stupid is as stupid does:
MAN PRINTS FAKE OBIT OF MOM TO GET TIME OFF
CBS News
December 10, 2011
BROOKVILLE, Pa. - Authorities say a man published a fake obituary for his living mother in a ploy to get paid bereavement time off from work.
Relatives called The Jeffersonian Democrat newspaper in Pennsylvania after the obit appeared to say the woman was actually alive and well.
The woman herself then visited the paper.
Police charged 45-year-old Scott Bennett on Tuesday with disorderly conduct.
Newspaper editor Randy Bartley says he accepted the obituary in good faith after being unable to confirm the funeral arrangements at press time.
He told The Derrick newspaper on Friday that the woman was very understanding.
Police Chief Ken Dworek says Bennett wrote up the memorial notice because he didn't want to get fired for taking time off.
__________
CALIFORNIA PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST ACCUSED OF FAKING RAPE
By Don Thompson
Associated Press
December 9, 2011
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities allege a woman was so determined to convince her husband of a need to move to a safer neighborhood that she faked being raped.
She split her own lip with a pin, scraped her knuckles with sandpaper, had her friend punch her in the face, and even wet her pants to give the appearance she had been knocked unconscious, authorities said Friday.
Charges filed by the Sacramento County district attorney allege Laurie Ann Martinez, a prison psychologist, conspired with the friend to create the appearance that she was beaten, robbed and raped by a stranger in April in her Sacramento home.
Police detectives and crime scene investigators spent hundreds of hours on the case, until one of Martinez's prison co-workers came forward to say Martinez had been talking at work about faking a crime at her home to persuade her husband to move, Sacramento police Sgt. Andrew Pettit said Friday.
Martinez, her friend and two co-workers eventually told police the whole thing was a setup to convince Martinez's husband that they needed to move from a blighted, high-crime area three miles north of the state Capitol.
It didn't work. Instead, the couple filed for divorce six weeks after the April 10 incident, according to court records.
"If all you wanted to do is move, there's other ways than staging a burglary and rape," Pettit said. "She went to great lengths to make this appear real."
Martinez, 36, a psychologist for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reported she had come home that day to find a stranger in her kitchen, authorities said.
"As she tried to run away, the suspect grabbed her and hit her in the face," court records say in describing what she told police. "She lost consciousness and then when she awoke she found her pants and underwear pulled down to her ankles."
Missing from her home were two laptop computers, Martinez's purse, an Xbox video game console, a camera and numerous credit cards that Martinez said the stranger had stolen.
In reality, the items were all at the home of her friend, Nicole April Snyder, authorities allege. Investigators say Martinez had Snyder punch her in the face with boxing gloves they bought for that purpose.
Martinez began crying hysterically when police arrived, according to court papers.
Martinez was arrested Monday and freed on $50,000 bond. Snyder, 33, is charged with the same conspiracy counts, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest. If convicted of conspiracy, each woman faces up to three years in prison.
Martinez had been a psychologist overseeing other mental health workers treating inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento, said department spokeswoman Terry Thornton. The prison 20 miles east of Sacramento was the scene this week of a fight among more than 150 inmates that sent 11 inmates to outside hospitals.
MAN PRINTS FAKE OBIT OF MOM TO GET TIME OFF
CBS News
December 10, 2011
BROOKVILLE, Pa. - Authorities say a man published a fake obituary for his living mother in a ploy to get paid bereavement time off from work.
Relatives called The Jeffersonian Democrat newspaper in Pennsylvania after the obit appeared to say the woman was actually alive and well.
The woman herself then visited the paper.
Police charged 45-year-old Scott Bennett on Tuesday with disorderly conduct.
Newspaper editor Randy Bartley says he accepted the obituary in good faith after being unable to confirm the funeral arrangements at press time.
He told The Derrick newspaper on Friday that the woman was very understanding.
Police Chief Ken Dworek says Bennett wrote up the memorial notice because he didn't want to get fired for taking time off.
__________
CALIFORNIA PRISON PSYCHOLOGIST ACCUSED OF FAKING RAPE
By Don Thompson
Associated Press
December 9, 2011
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Authorities allege a woman was so determined to convince her husband of a need to move to a safer neighborhood that she faked being raped.
She split her own lip with a pin, scraped her knuckles with sandpaper, had her friend punch her in the face, and even wet her pants to give the appearance she had been knocked unconscious, authorities said Friday.
Charges filed by the Sacramento County district attorney allege Laurie Ann Martinez, a prison psychologist, conspired with the friend to create the appearance that she was beaten, robbed and raped by a stranger in April in her Sacramento home.
Police detectives and crime scene investigators spent hundreds of hours on the case, until one of Martinez's prison co-workers came forward to say Martinez had been talking at work about faking a crime at her home to persuade her husband to move, Sacramento police Sgt. Andrew Pettit said Friday.
Martinez, her friend and two co-workers eventually told police the whole thing was a setup to convince Martinez's husband that they needed to move from a blighted, high-crime area three miles north of the state Capitol.
It didn't work. Instead, the couple filed for divorce six weeks after the April 10 incident, according to court records.
"If all you wanted to do is move, there's other ways than staging a burglary and rape," Pettit said. "She went to great lengths to make this appear real."
Martinez, 36, a psychologist for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, reported she had come home that day to find a stranger in her kitchen, authorities said.
"As she tried to run away, the suspect grabbed her and hit her in the face," court records say in describing what she told police. "She lost consciousness and then when she awoke she found her pants and underwear pulled down to her ankles."
Missing from her home were two laptop computers, Martinez's purse, an Xbox video game console, a camera and numerous credit cards that Martinez said the stranger had stolen.
In reality, the items were all at the home of her friend, Nicole April Snyder, authorities allege. Investigators say Martinez had Snyder punch her in the face with boxing gloves they bought for that purpose.
Martinez began crying hysterically when police arrived, according to court papers.
Martinez was arrested Monday and freed on $50,000 bond. Snyder, 33, is charged with the same conspiracy counts, and a warrant has been issued for her arrest. If convicted of conspiracy, each woman faces up to three years in prison.
Martinez had been a psychologist overseeing other mental health workers treating inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento, said department spokeswoman Terry Thornton. The prison 20 miles east of Sacramento was the scene this week of a fight among more than 150 inmates that sent 11 inmates to outside hospitals.
DON'T MESS WITH OUR BUD!
Mom, we love you, but this will teach you to throw away our Bud Light.
CHILDREN ‘BEAT UP THEIR OWN MOTHER AFTER SHE THREW AWAY THEIR BEER’
By Daniel Miller
Mail Online
December 9, 2011
A furious son and daughter launched a vicious attack on their own mother after she threw away their cans of beer because they were below the legal drinking age, it was claimed.
Brittany Ferguson, 20, and brother Lindell, 18, of Fayetteville, Illinois are said to have assaulted their 42-year-old mother leaving her with a black eye, bloody nose and injuries to her body.
The pair are now being held at St. Clair County Jail on $10,000 bonds having been charged with multiple counts of domestic battery.
According to States attorney Brendan Kelly, Brittany Ferguson hit her mother in the face with a piece of trim before punching her in the face and kicking her about the body.
Her younger brother then allegedly joined in the attack.
Authorities say the mother told police the disturbance started because she threw out several cans of Bud Light beer because her daughter wasn't of legal drinking age.
St. Clair County sheriff's investigators say deputies responding to a report of a dispute at the victim's home found the 42-year-old woman bleeding and with a black eye.
The defendants' attorney hasn't returned a message left Wednesday seeking comment.
CHILDREN ‘BEAT UP THEIR OWN MOTHER AFTER SHE THREW AWAY THEIR BEER’
By Daniel Miller
Mail Online
December 9, 2011
A furious son and daughter launched a vicious attack on their own mother after she threw away their cans of beer because they were below the legal drinking age, it was claimed.
Brittany Ferguson, 20, and brother Lindell, 18, of Fayetteville, Illinois are said to have assaulted their 42-year-old mother leaving her with a black eye, bloody nose and injuries to her body.
The pair are now being held at St. Clair County Jail on $10,000 bonds having been charged with multiple counts of domestic battery.
According to States attorney Brendan Kelly, Brittany Ferguson hit her mother in the face with a piece of trim before punching her in the face and kicking her about the body.
Her younger brother then allegedly joined in the attack.
Authorities say the mother told police the disturbance started because she threw out several cans of Bud Light beer because her daughter wasn't of legal drinking age.
St. Clair County sheriff's investigators say deputies responding to a report of a dispute at the victim's home found the 42-year-old woman bleeding and with a black eye.
The defendants' attorney hasn't returned a message left Wednesday seeking comment.
MEMORY LOST (ON TOP OF OUR HEARING, SIGHT, HAIR, TEETH AND ..........)
A couple in their 80s was having problems remembering things, so they decided to go to their doctor to get checked out to make sure nothing was wrong with them.
When they arrived at the doctors, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory. After checking the couple out, the doctor told them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.
Later that night while watching TV, the man got up from his chair and his wife asked, "Where are you going?"
He replied, "To the kitchen."
She asked, "Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?"
He replied, "Sure."
She then asked him, "Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?"
He said, "No, I can remember that."
She then said, "Well I would also like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down because I know you'll forget that."
He said, "I can remember that, you want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries."
She replied, "Well I also would like whipped cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down."
With irritation in his voice, he said, "I don't need to write that down! I can remember that." He then fumes into the kitchen.
After about 20 minutes he returned from the kitchen and handed her a plate of bacon and eggs. She stared at the plate for a moment and said angrily:
"I TOLD you to write it down! You forgot my toast!"
When they arrived at the doctors, they explained to the doctor about the problems they were having with their memory. After checking the couple out, the doctor told them that they were physically okay but might want to start writing things down and make notes to help them remember things. The couple thanked the doctor and left.
Later that night while watching TV, the man got up from his chair and his wife asked, "Where are you going?"
He replied, "To the kitchen."
She asked, "Will you get me a bowl of ice cream?"
He replied, "Sure."
She then asked him, "Don't you think you should write it down so you can remember it?"
He said, "No, I can remember that."
She then said, "Well I would also like some strawberries on top. You had better write that down because I know you'll forget that."
He said, "I can remember that, you want a bowl of ice cream with strawberries."
She replied, "Well I also would like whipped cream on top. I know you will forget that so you better write it down."
With irritation in his voice, he said, "I don't need to write that down! I can remember that." He then fumes into the kitchen.
After about 20 minutes he returned from the kitchen and handed her a plate of bacon and eggs. She stared at the plate for a moment and said angrily:
"I TOLD you to write it down! You forgot my toast!"
Saturday, December 10, 2011
PLAYING SHAMELESS POLITICS WITH GAY RIGHTS
Right from the get-go let me make myself clear. I am not homophobic. I wish gays and lesbians well. Over the years I’ve had friends that were gay and I’ve worked closely with gays. My gay friends and colleagues have been smart, decent and productive persons. I believe that gays should not be discriminated against in the workplace. I believe in gay rights except when it comes to gay marriage. I agree with those who believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way let me get to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s shameless political play for the gay vote in next year’s presidential election.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration threatened to cut off foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals. Speaking in Geneva on International Human Rights Day, Clinton said: "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. It is a violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished."
The Associated Press reports that President Obama has instructed officials across government to "ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, and transgender persons," a clear threat to cut off foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals.
I guess Barack has given up on reaching out to the Muslim world because his advocacy of gay rights goes counter to the Quran which contains passages that declare homosexuality a damnable sin and appear to justify the killing of gay men and lesbians. Saudi Arabia and most other Muslim countries have laws that punish homosexuality.
Obama and Clinton’s foreign policy declaration on gay rights has infuriated the leaders of African countries. With the notable exception of South Africa, almost all the other countries on the African continent have laws banning homosexuality and provide for stiff punishment to people caught violating those laws.
I agree with Gov. Rick Perry who responded to Clinton’s speech by releasing this public statement: “Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money.”
Why did Obama and Clinton come out with their gay rights foreign policy? They claim it was done to mark International Human Rights Day. If you believe that, I’ve got a good deal for you on some beachfront property in Phoenix. This is why they really did it: How do you spell r-e-e-l-e-c-t-i-o-n c-a-m-p-a-i-g-n?
The gay community has been pissed off at Obama because he declined to support a national gay marriage act. Since gays make up around 15 percent of our population and since they are a very potent voting bloc, the Obama administration’s foreign policy declaration on gay rights is nothing more than a shameless ploy to regain the support of the gay community that Obama may have lost.
And to show you exactly how phony Obama and Clinton are, just think about this. The worst violators of gay rights are the oil rich Muslim countries that don’t need our aid to begin with. Furthermore, the African countries that do need it don’t serve our interests to anywhere near the same extent as do the oil sheikdoms.
When it gets down to push and shove, do you think that the U.S. would really withhold our aid from a gay discriminating country, even for one New York minute, if that country serves our vital interests? Not a fat chance!
While it may have pleased the gay community, the Obama administration’s only real accomplishment with its threat to withhold foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals, was to piss off a bunch of governments by a phony and shameless ploy to garner gay votes in next year’s presidential election.
Now that I’ve got that out of the way let me get to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton’s shameless political play for the gay vote in next year’s presidential election.
On Tuesday, the Obama administration threatened to cut off foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals. Speaking in Geneva on International Human Rights Day, Clinton said: "Gay rights are human rights, and human rights are gay rights. It is a violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave. It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay, or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished."
The Associated Press reports that President Obama has instructed officials across government to "ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of lesbian, gay, and transgender persons," a clear threat to cut off foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals.
I guess Barack has given up on reaching out to the Muslim world because his advocacy of gay rights goes counter to the Quran which contains passages that declare homosexuality a damnable sin and appear to justify the killing of gay men and lesbians. Saudi Arabia and most other Muslim countries have laws that punish homosexuality.
Obama and Clinton’s foreign policy declaration on gay rights has infuriated the leaders of African countries. With the notable exception of South Africa, almost all the other countries on the African continent have laws banning homosexuality and provide for stiff punishment to people caught violating those laws.
I agree with Gov. Rick Perry who responded to Clinton’s speech by releasing this public statement: “Promoting special rights for gays in foreign countries is not in America’s interests and not worth a dime of taxpayers’ money.”
Why did Obama and Clinton come out with their gay rights foreign policy? They claim it was done to mark International Human Rights Day. If you believe that, I’ve got a good deal for you on some beachfront property in Phoenix. This is why they really did it: How do you spell r-e-e-l-e-c-t-i-o-n c-a-m-p-a-i-g-n?
The gay community has been pissed off at Obama because he declined to support a national gay marriage act. Since gays make up around 15 percent of our population and since they are a very potent voting bloc, the Obama administration’s foreign policy declaration on gay rights is nothing more than a shameless ploy to regain the support of the gay community that Obama may have lost.
And to show you exactly how phony Obama and Clinton are, just think about this. The worst violators of gay rights are the oil rich Muslim countries that don’t need our aid to begin with. Furthermore, the African countries that do need it don’t serve our interests to anywhere near the same extent as do the oil sheikdoms.
When it gets down to push and shove, do you think that the U.S. would really withhold our aid from a gay discriminating country, even for one New York minute, if that country serves our vital interests? Not a fat chance!
While it may have pleased the gay community, the Obama administration’s only real accomplishment with its threat to withhold foreign aid to countries that discriminate against homosexuals, was to piss off a bunch of governments by a phony and shameless ploy to garner gay votes in next year’s presidential election.
KILLER OF MEXICAN COPS IS U.S. SOLDIER
Perhaps he just went down to Juarez for some R&R.
JUAREZ COP KILLER MAY BE A U.S. ARMY SOLDIER
Borderland Beat
December 9, 2011
The media In Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua are reporting that one of three "sicarios" arrested Wednesday after the armed robbery of a gasoline station in this border city is an active duty U.S. Army soldier.
According to authorities after their arrest the three men confessed to taking part in the murders of four Juarez police officers this year.
The men have been identified as Jesús Rubio González, age 24; Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán Aguirre, age 20; and César Benito Betancourt Griego, age 26.
Authorities claim that Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán identified himself as a soldier in the U.S. Army during his arrest and that his status was confirmed by police personnel.
The three men were in a blue Honda Accord at the time of their arrest and were in possession of a 9mm handgun and ammunition and a spare magazine for an AK-47 assault type weapon, in addition to a small amount of drugs and a bottle of Buchanon's whiskey.
The three men are alleged to have taken part in the murder of Juarez municipal police officers Joaquín Avendaño Pineda, Vidal Zatarain Valdez and Gabriel Avitia on the afternoon of September 7, 2011. The officers were intercepted by gunmen in two pickups while returning home at the end of their shift.
The three men are also alleged to have murdered municipal police officer Cordero Mireles, who was attacked and killed a day later on September 8, 2011.
At the time authorities had reported that evidence indicated the same group of gunmen were involved in both attacks.
JUAREZ COP KILLER MAY BE A U.S. ARMY SOLDIER
Borderland Beat
December 9, 2011
The media In Ciudad Juarez and the state of Chihuahua are reporting that one of three "sicarios" arrested Wednesday after the armed robbery of a gasoline station in this border city is an active duty U.S. Army soldier.
According to authorities after their arrest the three men confessed to taking part in the murders of four Juarez police officers this year.
The men have been identified as Jesús Rubio González, age 24; Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán Aguirre, age 20; and César Benito Betancourt Griego, age 26.
Authorities claim that Gilberto Manuel Estupiñán identified himself as a soldier in the U.S. Army during his arrest and that his status was confirmed by police personnel.
The three men were in a blue Honda Accord at the time of their arrest and were in possession of a 9mm handgun and ammunition and a spare magazine for an AK-47 assault type weapon, in addition to a small amount of drugs and a bottle of Buchanon's whiskey.
The three men are alleged to have taken part in the murder of Juarez municipal police officers Joaquín Avendaño Pineda, Vidal Zatarain Valdez and Gabriel Avitia on the afternoon of September 7, 2011. The officers were intercepted by gunmen in two pickups while returning home at the end of their shift.
The three men are also alleged to have murdered municipal police officer Cordero Mireles, who was attacked and killed a day later on September 8, 2011.
At the time authorities had reported that evidence indicated the same group of gunmen were involved in both attacks.
NOW GIVE THIS BOY A .22 RIFLE
What a great son!
Although this occurred last month, it’s still worth posting on this blog.
TEN-YEAR-OLD USES BB GUN TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND MOTHER FROM ATTACKER
Cops say the boy hit his mom’s attacker with a board and then shot him in the face
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
December 9, 2011
A ten-year old boy in Bellingham, Washington, used a pump-action BB gun to defend his mother as a man was attempting to strangle her in her own bedroom.
The attacker, who was a boarder in the home, came home drunk and upset, kicked in the woman’s bedroom door and attempted to strangle her. The ten-year old whacked him with a piece of lumber, then shot him four times in the face with his BB rifle. This gave the woman a chance to disengage and beat feet. The woman and her son fled next door and called the cops.
The 45-year old attacker was treated at a hospital and is currently cooling his heels in the slammer, facing assault charges.
Although this occurred last month, it’s still worth posting on this blog.
TEN-YEAR-OLD USES BB GUN TO SUCCESSFULLY DEFEND MOTHER FROM ATTACKER
Cops say the boy hit his mom’s attacker with a board and then shot him in the face
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
December 9, 2011
A ten-year old boy in Bellingham, Washington, used a pump-action BB gun to defend his mother as a man was attempting to strangle her in her own bedroom.
The attacker, who was a boarder in the home, came home drunk and upset, kicked in the woman’s bedroom door and attempted to strangle her. The ten-year old whacked him with a piece of lumber, then shot him four times in the face with his BB rifle. This gave the woman a chance to disengage and beat feet. The woman and her son fled next door and called the cops.
The 45-year old attacker was treated at a hospital and is currently cooling his heels in the slammer, facing assault charges.
HAKA?
If cops are going to have to be trained in cultural diversity and customs to accommodate every racial, ethnic, national, religious and life-style group in their community, cops in some places will have no time left to train for regular police work.
PROBE SOUGHT FOR POLICE PEPPER-SPRAYING HAKA
ACLU: Police report ‘anything but objective’
By Jennifer Dobner
Associated Press
December 8, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY — The first time the police in the small Utah state town of Roosevelt saw a haka, they thought a riot was happening.
So they used pepper spray and batons on the spectators performing New Zealand's native Maori challenge following a high school game of American football, including a dozen people from a single family, one aged 4.
An investigation by the police of Roosevelt, 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Salt Lake City, cleared their own officers of wrongdoing in the October incident and said their actions were appropriate because they feared a riot was imminent.
But the Utah branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said the police report was "anything but objective" in a letter sent this week to Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote.
The ACLU was concerned that the decision to pepper spray during a cultural ritual may have violated the spectators' constitutional rights, interim director Joseph Cohn wrote. He also noted that the police failed to consider a video of the haka or statements from 15 witnesses who said they did not feel threatened by the performance.
A haka, which usually lasts less than a minute, has been performed by New Zealand rugby teams as a pre-match challenge for more than 120 years around the world. The challenge has also been adopted by its national teams in rugby league, basketball and even ice hockey, and was further popularized by flash mobs during the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The haka has spread to at least a dozen American football teams at U.S. high schools, especially those with large numbers of Polynesians.
On Oct. 20, one Polynesian family drove 200 kilometers to Roosevelt to watch a relative play his final game for Union High School. Union lost to finish the season winless. To cheer up the team, a group of Polynesian men and boys performed a haka.
Officer Luke Stradinger, who deployed pepper spray, apologized in the police report for causing "discomfort" to innocent bystanders, but said he wasn't familiar with the haka and was concerned because the group was blocking the only exit from the field for the teams.
"I have never seen such an event, or even heard of such a thing," Stradinger said.
Officer Wade Butterfield, who used a baton to disperse the group, said he became worried during the game because some of the people were yelling obscenities at the referees and acting in an unsportsmanlike manner.
"I have seen a riot firsthand and know how dangerous they can be in an instant," Butterfield said. "No more force was used than was necessary to defuse the situation."
Roosevelt police said officers will be given additional training in cultural diversity and customs.
PROBE SOUGHT FOR POLICE PEPPER-SPRAYING HAKA
ACLU: Police report ‘anything but objective’
By Jennifer Dobner
Associated Press
December 8, 2011
SALT LAKE CITY — The first time the police in the small Utah state town of Roosevelt saw a haka, they thought a riot was happening.
So they used pepper spray and batons on the spectators performing New Zealand's native Maori challenge following a high school game of American football, including a dozen people from a single family, one aged 4.
An investigation by the police of Roosevelt, 230 kilometers (140 miles) east of Salt Lake City, cleared their own officers of wrongdoing in the October incident and said their actions were appropriate because they feared a riot was imminent.
But the Utah branch of the American Civil Liberties Union said the police report was "anything but objective" in a letter sent this week to Duchesne County Attorney Stephen Foote.
The ACLU was concerned that the decision to pepper spray during a cultural ritual may have violated the spectators' constitutional rights, interim director Joseph Cohn wrote. He also noted that the police failed to consider a video of the haka or statements from 15 witnesses who said they did not feel threatened by the performance.
A haka, which usually lasts less than a minute, has been performed by New Zealand rugby teams as a pre-match challenge for more than 120 years around the world. The challenge has also been adopted by its national teams in rugby league, basketball and even ice hockey, and was further popularized by flash mobs during the recent Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
The haka has spread to at least a dozen American football teams at U.S. high schools, especially those with large numbers of Polynesians.
On Oct. 20, one Polynesian family drove 200 kilometers to Roosevelt to watch a relative play his final game for Union High School. Union lost to finish the season winless. To cheer up the team, a group of Polynesian men and boys performed a haka.
Officer Luke Stradinger, who deployed pepper spray, apologized in the police report for causing "discomfort" to innocent bystanders, but said he wasn't familiar with the haka and was concerned because the group was blocking the only exit from the field for the teams.
"I have never seen such an event, or even heard of such a thing," Stradinger said.
Officer Wade Butterfield, who used a baton to disperse the group, said he became worried during the game because some of the people were yelling obscenities at the referees and acting in an unsportsmanlike manner.
"I have seen a riot firsthand and know how dangerous they can be in an instant," Butterfield said. "No more force was used than was necessary to defuse the situation."
Roosevelt police said officers will be given additional training in cultural diversity and customs.
HOLY WATER, BAPTISM AND CIRCUMCISION
A Catholic Priest, a Baptist Preacher and a Rabbi all served as Chaplains to the students of a university. They would get together two or three times a week for coffee and to talk shop.
One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard, a real challenge would be to preach to a bear.
One thing led to another, and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it to their religion.
Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their experiences.
Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs, went first.
'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism.
Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The Bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'
Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip.
In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he exclaimed, 'WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we Baptists don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me.
So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him
and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus..Hallelujah!
The Priest and the Reverend both looked down at the Rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He was in really bad shape.
The Rabbi looked up and said: "Looking back on it, .... circumcision may not have been the best way to start."
One day, someone made the comment that preaching to people isn't really all that hard, a real challenge would be to preach to a bear.
One thing led to another, and they decided to do an experiment. They would all go out into the woods, find a bear, preach to it, and attempt to convert it to their religion.
Seven days later, they all came together to discuss their experiences.
Father Flannery, who had his arm in a sling, was on crutches, and had various bandages on his body and limbs, went first.
'Well,' he said, 'I went into the woods to find me a bear. And when I found him, I began to read to him from the Catechism.
Well, that bear wanted nothing to do with me and began to slap me around. So I quickly grabbed my holy water, sprinkled him and, Holy Mary Mother of God, he became as gentle as a lamb. The Bishop is coming out next week to give him first communion and confirmation.'
Reverend Billy Bob spoke next. He was in a wheelchair, had one arm and both legs in casts, and had an IV drip.
In his best fire-and-brimstone oratory, he exclaimed, 'WELL, brothers, you KNOW that we Baptists don't sprinkle! I went out and I FOUND me a bear. And then I began to read to my bear from God's HOLY WORD! But that bear wanted nothing to do with me.
So I took HOLD of him and we began to wrestle. We wrestled down one hill, UP another and DOWN another until we came to a creek. So I quickly DUNKED him
and BAPTIZED his hairy soul. And just like you said, he became as gentle as a lamb. We spent the rest of the day praising Jesus..Hallelujah!
The Priest and the Reverend both looked down at the Rabbi, who was lying in a hospital bed. He was in a body cast and traction with IVs and monitors running in and out of him. He was in really bad shape.
The Rabbi looked up and said: "Looking back on it, .... circumcision may not have been the best way to start."
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