A Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem as demanded by the Palestinians, is the equivalent of plunging a dagger into the heart of the Jewish state that would serve as a springboard for a future attack on Israel
Israel would be foolish to relinquish any part of Jerusalem to the Palestinians. A Palestinian capital in East Jerusalem would serve as a springboard for a future attack on Israel.
Besides that, Jerusalem was the capital of the Jewish people long before there were any Palestinians. When they Arabs conquered the land of Israel, they build their own holy site on top of the ancient Jewish temple. The Palestinians are interlopers with no right to any part of Jerusalem.
PALESTINIANS: GIVE US JERUSALEM, OR NO PEACE
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
January 13, 2014
The Palestinian leadership at the weekend again signaled how far we are from reaching a bilateral, final status peace agreement, the determined and ongoing efforts of US Secretary of State John Kerry notwithstanding.
In a previous report, Israel Today pointed out how Israelis see control over Jerusalem as the next, and most significant stumbling block on the road to peace.
Polls over the past decade have consistently shown that an overwhelming majority of Israelis are opposed to surrendering to the Palestinians the eastern half of their ancient capital, including the Old City and its Temple Mount.
But on Saturday, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas reiterated that he would be signing no peace deal with Israel that didn't include explicit Palestinian sovereignty over East Jerusalem.
When Kerry returns to the region next Sunday, "he will be told that occupied East Jerusalem [sic] is the capital of the state of Palestine, and without this there will be no peace between us and Israel," Bethlehem's Ma'an news agency quoted Abbas as telling visit Arab officials from Jerusalem.
"Unless it is mentioned clearly and marked in big fonts that it is the capital of the state of Palestine, there will be no peace with [Israel] and I want them to hear this," he continued.
Abbas strongly suggested that his regime is simply going through the motions in the current round of US-brokered peace talks, and has no intention of reaching a compromise agreement with Israel.
When the current count of negotiations reaches its predetermined end-date in a few months, "we are free to do whatever we want," Abbas said. "The time frame is limited and not open, and our unanimous position isn't secret."
Tuesday, January 14, 2014
SHARON’S BODY WASN’T EVEN COLD BEFORE THE LIES AND DISTORTIONS BY ‘RESPECTABLE’ MEDIA BEGAN
In his January 13 Jewish World Review article, Ariel the Evil: Falsehoods as Fact Already Aplenty, Alex Safian, PhD lists a litany of lies spread about Ariel Sharon by Palestinians, pro-Palestinian activists and journalists from The New York Times, The Boston Globe, CNN and other ‘respectable’ media organizations. Here is an excerpt from his article explaining why the anti-Sharon crowd got all charged up when he had his debilitating stroke in 2006 and again now with his death:
Most of the false anti-Sharon charges, which have been repeated endlessly by pro-Palestinian activists, and by journalists who should know better, have their genesis in one simple fact. Over the last 60 years, every time Arab armies or terrorists have come to attack Israel, Sharon in ways large and small stood in their way, frustrating their aims and helping to defeat them. Whether as a young soldier in 1948 helping to defend Jerusalem against an Arab onslaught, or as a commando leader inventing counter-terror tactics in the 1950's, Sharon proved, to Arabs and Israelis alike, that the young nation could defend itself. As a Major General in the Six Day War, Sharon's brilliant assault on well-prepared defenses at Abu Agheila/Umm Katef shattered Egypt's hold on the Sinai; it is still studied in military academies around the world.
And Sharon's bold crossing of the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, surrounding most of the Egyptian army, dismantling surface-to-air missiles that had been keeping the Israeli airforce at bay, and bringing Cairo under threat, brought the war to a close. Thanks to Sharon, yet another Arab attempt to destroy Israel had been soundly defeated.
For his successful efforts to build and defend the state of Israel, Ariel Sharon will never be forgotten. For exactly the same reasons, among Israel's adversaries Ariel Sharon will never be forgiven.
Most of the false anti-Sharon charges, which have been repeated endlessly by pro-Palestinian activists, and by journalists who should know better, have their genesis in one simple fact. Over the last 60 years, every time Arab armies or terrorists have come to attack Israel, Sharon in ways large and small stood in their way, frustrating their aims and helping to defeat them. Whether as a young soldier in 1948 helping to defend Jerusalem against an Arab onslaught, or as a commando leader inventing counter-terror tactics in the 1950's, Sharon proved, to Arabs and Israelis alike, that the young nation could defend itself. As a Major General in the Six Day War, Sharon's brilliant assault on well-prepared defenses at Abu Agheila/Umm Katef shattered Egypt's hold on the Sinai; it is still studied in military academies around the world.
And Sharon's bold crossing of the Suez Canal in the Yom Kippur War in 1973, surrounding most of the Egyptian army, dismantling surface-to-air missiles that had been keeping the Israeli airforce at bay, and bringing Cairo under threat, brought the war to a close. Thanks to Sharon, yet another Arab attempt to destroy Israel had been soundly defeated.
For his successful efforts to build and defend the state of Israel, Ariel Sharon will never be forgotten. For exactly the same reasons, among Israel's adversaries Ariel Sharon will never be forgiven.
MEXICO AT WAR WITH ITSELF
The drug cartels, the army, the police and the ‘Autodefensa’ vigilantes are all fighting each other
Mexico is becoming more like a jigsaw puzzle with various groups – the cartels, the military, the police and lately the Autodefensa vigilantes all competing for the same pieces of the puzzle. Sometimes the military is in cahoots with the cartels. The police, for the most part, are in cahoots with the cartels. The vigilantes are fighting the cartels, as well as the military and police. It has been alleged that the vigilantes are supported by rival cartels. And when all is said and done, the cartels will likely be the real winners in these conflicts.
THE BATTLE TO ‘FREE’ MEXICAN TOWN FROM DRUG GANGS: HUGE FIREFIGHT BREAKS OUT AS VIGILANTES TAKE ON KNIGHTS TEMPLAR CARTEL
Vigilante groups have sprung up all over Mexico over the past year, especially in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, which is plagued by the Knights Templar Cartel
Associated Press
January 13, 2014
Gunfire and firefights erupted in western Mexico on Sunday as hundreds of vigilantes pressed forward in their fight over territory with a drug cartel, as Mexico's top security officials prepared to make yet another effort to try to stop the violence.
Members of so-called 'self-defense groups' entered the town of Nueva Italia on a campaign they say is designed to liberate towns from the control of the Knights Templar cartel.
Opponents and critics say the vigilantes are backed by a rival cartel, however the groups vehemently deny any connection.
State Government official Fausto Vallejo gave a brief statement on the issue, saying he has formally asked the federal government for more help to quell the violence, and announced a meeting on Monday in the state capital to lay out a strategy to reclaim the peace.
Hundreds of vigilantes arrived in Nueva Italia late Sunday morning in a cavalry of large trucks, surrounding the City Hall and disarming local police.
An Associated Press journalist on the scene witnessed citizens initially welcoming them.
But firefights broke out almost immediately in and around the center square.
Only one injury was reported by mid-day.
Gunfire could be heard around the city as the Mexican military stayed outside, guarding the road into town.
There were no federal police or uniformed authorities inside the town, though violence between vigilantes and alleged cartel members has gripped Michoacan for almost a year, and President Enrique Pena Nieto's government already has sent thousands of units to the state.
Vallejo said he formally asked Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong on Friday for more federal forces, 'given insufficient state and municipal police'.
The self-defense groups claim that local and state police are in the employ of the Knights Templar.
Violence in the state has flared in the last several days as vigilantes have been on a march, taking over the towns of Paracuaro and Antunez and advancing toward the farming hub of Apatzingan, said to be the cartel's central command.
The federal government has said the civilian groups are operating on the margins of the law, and they carry high-caliber weapons that Mexico only allows for military use.
But government forces have not moved against them and in some cases appear to be working in concert with them.
Rumors circulate that some self-defense groups have been infiltrated by the New Generation cartel, which is reportedly fighting a turf war with the Knights Templar in the rich farming state that is a major exporter of limes, avocados and mangos.
Some in the region say members of the Knights Templar have also tried to use self-defense groups as cover for illegal activities.
Mexico is becoming more like a jigsaw puzzle with various groups – the cartels, the military, the police and lately the Autodefensa vigilantes all competing for the same pieces of the puzzle. Sometimes the military is in cahoots with the cartels. The police, for the most part, are in cahoots with the cartels. The vigilantes are fighting the cartels, as well as the military and police. It has been alleged that the vigilantes are supported by rival cartels. And when all is said and done, the cartels will likely be the real winners in these conflicts.
THE BATTLE TO ‘FREE’ MEXICAN TOWN FROM DRUG GANGS: HUGE FIREFIGHT BREAKS OUT AS VIGILANTES TAKE ON KNIGHTS TEMPLAR CARTEL
Vigilante groups have sprung up all over Mexico over the past year, especially in the western Mexican state of Michoacan, which is plagued by the Knights Templar Cartel
Associated Press
January 13, 2014
Gunfire and firefights erupted in western Mexico on Sunday as hundreds of vigilantes pressed forward in their fight over territory with a drug cartel, as Mexico's top security officials prepared to make yet another effort to try to stop the violence.
Members of so-called 'self-defense groups' entered the town of Nueva Italia on a campaign they say is designed to liberate towns from the control of the Knights Templar cartel.
Opponents and critics say the vigilantes are backed by a rival cartel, however the groups vehemently deny any connection.
State Government official Fausto Vallejo gave a brief statement on the issue, saying he has formally asked the federal government for more help to quell the violence, and announced a meeting on Monday in the state capital to lay out a strategy to reclaim the peace.
Hundreds of vigilantes arrived in Nueva Italia late Sunday morning in a cavalry of large trucks, surrounding the City Hall and disarming local police.
An Associated Press journalist on the scene witnessed citizens initially welcoming them.
But firefights broke out almost immediately in and around the center square.
Only one injury was reported by mid-day.
Gunfire could be heard around the city as the Mexican military stayed outside, guarding the road into town.
There were no federal police or uniformed authorities inside the town, though violence between vigilantes and alleged cartel members has gripped Michoacan for almost a year, and President Enrique Pena Nieto's government already has sent thousands of units to the state.
Vallejo said he formally asked Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong on Friday for more federal forces, 'given insufficient state and municipal police'.
The self-defense groups claim that local and state police are in the employ of the Knights Templar.
Violence in the state has flared in the last several days as vigilantes have been on a march, taking over the towns of Paracuaro and Antunez and advancing toward the farming hub of Apatzingan, said to be the cartel's central command.
The federal government has said the civilian groups are operating on the margins of the law, and they carry high-caliber weapons that Mexico only allows for military use.
But government forces have not moved against them and in some cases appear to be working in concert with them.
Rumors circulate that some self-defense groups have been infiltrated by the New Generation cartel, which is reportedly fighting a turf war with the Knights Templar in the rich farming state that is a major exporter of limes, avocados and mangos.
Some in the region say members of the Knights Templar have also tried to use self-defense groups as cover for illegal activities.
Monday, January 13, 2014
HONG KONG TRIADS SUPPLYING SINALOA DRUG CARTEL WITH PRECURSORS FOR METH
The powerful Mexican drug cartels’ tentacles are spread throughout the world.
HK TRIADS IN BED WITH MEXICAN DRUG LORDS
Members of 14K and Sun Yee On crime gangs supplying the notorious Sinaloa cartel with raw materials to produce 'Ice' as demand surges
By Bryan Harris
South China Morning Post
January 12, 2014
Two Hong Kong triads have linked up with one of Latin America's largest and most notorious drug cartels to supply the burgeoning global market for methamphetamine, the Sunday Morning Post has learned.
Members of the 14K and Sun Yee On triads are supplying Mexico's Sinaloa cartel with the raw materials needed to produce methamphetamine, or "crystal meth", as demand skyrockets.
The Sinaloa cartel is one of Mexico's most powerful organised crime groups and has played a deadly role in the country's drug wars, which have claimed 60,000 lives since 2006.
The connection emerged a week after one of the biggest drug busts in recent years saw a massive methamphetamine production racket closed down in the eastern Guangdong city of Lufeng. China is one of the world's biggest producers of methamphetamine, also known as Ice, and of its precursor chemicals. Hong Kong triads have long been significant players in the regional narcotics trade, but recent developments suggest they are seeking to build networks further afield.
Details of the Mexico connection come in the wake of the arrest on Christmas Day of three known affiliates of the Sinaloa cartel in a US intelligence-led raid on a cock fighting farm south of Manila.
Philippine anti-drug agents smashed a meth lab and seized 84kg of the powerful and addictive stimulant in the raid.
"The Mexicans are already here," said drug task force chief Bartolome Tobias, adding that he believed they were getting help from "Chinese drug syndicates".
Informed sources have identified the 14K and Sun Yee On as being among the syndicates known to smuggle the raw material used to make meth - ethyl phenylacetate - into the Philippines.
A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency source told the Post that intelligence reports indicated the involvement of the 14K in the meth lab busted south of Manila. Several drug syndicates may have been involved, but details could not be disclosed until certain arrests were made.
Ties between Hong Kong triads and the Sinaloa cartel were also outlined in a report by the Mexican attorney general's office last year.
According to the report, the 14K and Sun Yee On supply the cartel with precursor chemicals such as ethyl phenylacetate and ephedrine for the manufacture of meth for the insatiable American market.
In recent years there have been a spate of seizures of precursor chemicals by authorities in Latin America, with most of the shipments coming from China.
In a six-week period in 2012, Mexican security forces seized about 900 tonnes of precursor chemicals.
Months later, the authorities in Belize intercepted a single shipment of meth from China that was worth an estimated US$10 billion.
Lax controls in China's chemical industry offer gangs easy access to precursor materials, while regulatory shortcomings abet smuggling efforts.
A recent UN report said Hong Kong did not issue end-user certificates to ensure the buyers of precursor chemicals were the actual recipient of the materials.
The narcotics division had not responded to questions on the regulatory framework by last night.
"These cartels benefit via linkages with Chinese organised crime by obtaining access to bulk precursor chemicals whose regulation has been severely tightened in Mexico and the United States," said Professor Robert Bunker, of the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.
"The Chinese and HK triads get cash providing the bulk of precursor materials and also infantry small arms and ammunition. They also profit from smuggling Chinese and other Asian nationals via the cartels into the United States."
The gangs also trade finished drugs, with Sinaloa selling cocaine to increasingly affluent Asian markets, according to a 2011 report by the non-profit Jamestown Foundation.
Cocaine seizures by Hong Kong Customs soared from 30kg in 2011 to 600kg in 2012, a jump of nearly 2,000 per cent.
The figure fell to 170kg last year, yet the drug has been classed a "growing threat" in Asia by the UN.
According to Customs, most of the seizures were destined for neighbouring countries.
Cocaine's expanding presence on the mainland has been linked to increasing affluence. The prevalence of meth has also continued to grow across Hong Kong and the mainland, although its popularity is generally confined to younger drug users.
Seizures of meth pills across China rocketed 1,500 per cent from 6 million in 2008 to 100 million in 2012, according to a November report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The extent of Hong Kong's involvement in the international meth trade was highlighted by a series of arrests in Sydney over the past two years.
In 2012, four Hongkongers were detained following a record seizure of HK$4 billion of heroin and crystal meth.
The huge haul was followed less than a year later by the capture of three more Hongkongers in the city in two more big methamphetamine busts.
Chief Superintendent Kwok Ho-fai, of the police organised crime and triad bureau, declined to answer questions on the links, saying the force would not comment on "operational matters".
HK TRIADS IN BED WITH MEXICAN DRUG LORDS
Members of 14K and Sun Yee On crime gangs supplying the notorious Sinaloa cartel with raw materials to produce 'Ice' as demand surges
By Bryan Harris
South China Morning Post
January 12, 2014
Two Hong Kong triads have linked up with one of Latin America's largest and most notorious drug cartels to supply the burgeoning global market for methamphetamine, the Sunday Morning Post has learned.
Members of the 14K and Sun Yee On triads are supplying Mexico's Sinaloa cartel with the raw materials needed to produce methamphetamine, or "crystal meth", as demand skyrockets.
The Sinaloa cartel is one of Mexico's most powerful organised crime groups and has played a deadly role in the country's drug wars, which have claimed 60,000 lives since 2006.
The connection emerged a week after one of the biggest drug busts in recent years saw a massive methamphetamine production racket closed down in the eastern Guangdong city of Lufeng. China is one of the world's biggest producers of methamphetamine, also known as Ice, and of its precursor chemicals. Hong Kong triads have long been significant players in the regional narcotics trade, but recent developments suggest they are seeking to build networks further afield.
Details of the Mexico connection come in the wake of the arrest on Christmas Day of three known affiliates of the Sinaloa cartel in a US intelligence-led raid on a cock fighting farm south of Manila.
Philippine anti-drug agents smashed a meth lab and seized 84kg of the powerful and addictive stimulant in the raid.
"The Mexicans are already here," said drug task force chief Bartolome Tobias, adding that he believed they were getting help from "Chinese drug syndicates".
Informed sources have identified the 14K and Sun Yee On as being among the syndicates known to smuggle the raw material used to make meth - ethyl phenylacetate - into the Philippines.
A Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency source told the Post that intelligence reports indicated the involvement of the 14K in the meth lab busted south of Manila. Several drug syndicates may have been involved, but details could not be disclosed until certain arrests were made.
Ties between Hong Kong triads and the Sinaloa cartel were also outlined in a report by the Mexican attorney general's office last year.
According to the report, the 14K and Sun Yee On supply the cartel with precursor chemicals such as ethyl phenylacetate and ephedrine for the manufacture of meth for the insatiable American market.
In recent years there have been a spate of seizures of precursor chemicals by authorities in Latin America, with most of the shipments coming from China.
In a six-week period in 2012, Mexican security forces seized about 900 tonnes of precursor chemicals.
Months later, the authorities in Belize intercepted a single shipment of meth from China that was worth an estimated US$10 billion.
Lax controls in China's chemical industry offer gangs easy access to precursor materials, while regulatory shortcomings abet smuggling efforts.
A recent UN report said Hong Kong did not issue end-user certificates to ensure the buyers of precursor chemicals were the actual recipient of the materials.
The narcotics division had not responded to questions on the regulatory framework by last night.
"These cartels benefit via linkages with Chinese organised crime by obtaining access to bulk precursor chemicals whose regulation has been severely tightened in Mexico and the United States," said Professor Robert Bunker, of the Strategic Studies Institute at the US Army War College in Pennsylvania.
"The Chinese and HK triads get cash providing the bulk of precursor materials and also infantry small arms and ammunition. They also profit from smuggling Chinese and other Asian nationals via the cartels into the United States."
The gangs also trade finished drugs, with Sinaloa selling cocaine to increasingly affluent Asian markets, according to a 2011 report by the non-profit Jamestown Foundation.
Cocaine seizures by Hong Kong Customs soared from 30kg in 2011 to 600kg in 2012, a jump of nearly 2,000 per cent.
The figure fell to 170kg last year, yet the drug has been classed a "growing threat" in Asia by the UN.
According to Customs, most of the seizures were destined for neighbouring countries.
Cocaine's expanding presence on the mainland has been linked to increasing affluence. The prevalence of meth has also continued to grow across Hong Kong and the mainland, although its popularity is generally confined to younger drug users.
Seizures of meth pills across China rocketed 1,500 per cent from 6 million in 2008 to 100 million in 2012, according to a November report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime.
The extent of Hong Kong's involvement in the international meth trade was highlighted by a series of arrests in Sydney over the past two years.
In 2012, four Hongkongers were detained following a record seizure of HK$4 billion of heroin and crystal meth.
The huge haul was followed less than a year later by the capture of three more Hongkongers in the city in two more big methamphetamine busts.
Chief Superintendent Kwok Ho-fai, of the police organised crime and triad bureau, declined to answer questions on the links, saying the force would not comment on "operational matters".
HONG KONG’S TRIADS
By Bryan Harris
South China Morning Post
January 12, 2014
Hong Kong is home to a handful of organised crime syndicates.
Paramount are the 14K and the Sun Yee On triads, arch-rivals with a propensity towards violence.
Triads have their roots in dialect groups, trade guilds or political movements, but are now responsible for much of the region's drug trafficking and vice establishments.
With about 55,000 members worldwide, the Sun Yee On is said to be the most organised and wealthiest triad society.
Founded by Hokkien immigrants from northeast Guangdong in 1919, the triad exerts considerable sway in its traditional stronghold Tsim Sha Tsui East, as well as in Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O.
The 14K was founded in Guangzhou in 1945 as an anti-communist taskforce. In 1949, it relocated to Hong Kong following the Nationalist defeat and today exerts influence predominantly over West Kowloon, Yuen Long and Kwun Tong.
South China Morning Post
January 12, 2014
Hong Kong is home to a handful of organised crime syndicates.
Paramount are the 14K and the Sun Yee On triads, arch-rivals with a propensity towards violence.
Triads have their roots in dialect groups, trade guilds or political movements, but are now responsible for much of the region's drug trafficking and vice establishments.
With about 55,000 members worldwide, the Sun Yee On is said to be the most organised and wealthiest triad society.
Founded by Hokkien immigrants from northeast Guangdong in 1919, the triad exerts considerable sway in its traditional stronghold Tsim Sha Tsui East, as well as in Tuen Mun and Tseung Kwan O.
The 14K was founded in Guangzhou in 1945 as an anti-communist taskforce. In 1949, it relocated to Hong Kong following the Nationalist defeat and today exerts influence predominantly over West Kowloon, Yuen Long and Kwun Tong.
IMPRISONED ‘ANTI-SOCIAL PSYCHOPATH’ SUES NIKE FOR $100M FOR NOT HAVING A WARING LABEL IN HIS SHOES WARNING THAT THEY COULD BE CLASSIFIED AS A DANGEROUS WEAPON
Oregon pimp says his Nike Air Jordans should have had a label warning that the shoes could be classified as a dangerous weapon if they were used to injure someone
The act of suing Nike because he stomped on a john’s face defines the term ‘chutzpah.’ I cannot conceive of the court giving this frivolous lawsuit the time of day, but if it does, we need a complete overhaul of the judicial system.
PORTLAND PIMP SUES NIKE FOR $100 MILLION FOR LACK OF WARNING LABEL AFTER BEATING VICTIM WITH JORDANS
By Aimee Green
The Oregonian
January 10, 2014
A 26-year-old Portland pimp has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Nike, claiming the shoe manufacturer is partially responsible for a brutal beating that helped net him a 100-year prison sentence.
Sirgiorgiro Clardy claims Nike should have placed a label in his Jordan shoes warning consumers that they could be used as a dangerous weapon. He was wearing a pair when he repeatedly stomped the face of a john who was trying to leave a Portland hotel without paying Clardy's prostitute in June 2012.
Jurors early in 2013 found him guilty of second-degree assault for using his Jordans -- a dangerous weapon -- to beat the john's face to a pulp. The man required stitches and plastic surgery on his nose.
The jury also found him guilty of robbing the john and beating the 18-year-old woman he forced to work as his prostitute. She was injured so badly that she bled from her ears.
In his three-page complaint handwritten from the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, Clardy claims that Nike, Chairman Phil Knight and other executives failed to warn consumers that the shoes could be used as a weapon to cause serious injury or death.
"Under product liability there is a certain standard of care that is required to be up-held by potentially dangerous product ..." wrote Clardy, who is representing himself. "Do (sic) to the fact that these defendants named in this Tort claim failed to warn of risk or to provide an adequate warning or instruction it has caused personal injury in the likes of mental suffering."
Clardy wrote that he's tried to starve himself and kill himself multiple times.
He asks a Multnomah County judge to order Nike to affix warning labels to all their "potentially dangerous Nike and Jordan merchandise."
In the past, Oregon defendants have been convicted of using a wide array of items or substances as dangerous weapons. The list includes boots, rope, a phone receiver, scalding hot water and HIV-infected blood. The "dangerous weapon" classification can spur longer prison sentences.
Clardy filed his suit this week in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
During his two-week trial and his two-day sentencing hearing, Clardy was known for his unusual courtroom antics. He shouted expletives at the judge, prosecutors and jurors.
A psychologist declared him an anti-social psychopath who was 100 percent likely to commit violent crimes again. And Clardy disagreed so loudly -- making such a scene -- that he was removed from the courtroom.
In the coming days, the suit will be served to Nike, which will then have an opportunity to respond.
The act of suing Nike because he stomped on a john’s face defines the term ‘chutzpah.’ I cannot conceive of the court giving this frivolous lawsuit the time of day, but if it does, we need a complete overhaul of the judicial system.
PORTLAND PIMP SUES NIKE FOR $100 MILLION FOR LACK OF WARNING LABEL AFTER BEATING VICTIM WITH JORDANS
By Aimee Green
The Oregonian
January 10, 2014
A 26-year-old Portland pimp has filed a $100 million lawsuit against Nike, claiming the shoe manufacturer is partially responsible for a brutal beating that helped net him a 100-year prison sentence.
Sirgiorgiro Clardy claims Nike should have placed a label in his Jordan shoes warning consumers that they could be used as a dangerous weapon. He was wearing a pair when he repeatedly stomped the face of a john who was trying to leave a Portland hotel without paying Clardy's prostitute in June 2012.
Jurors early in 2013 found him guilty of second-degree assault for using his Jordans -- a dangerous weapon -- to beat the john's face to a pulp. The man required stitches and plastic surgery on his nose.
The jury also found him guilty of robbing the john and beating the 18-year-old woman he forced to work as his prostitute. She was injured so badly that she bled from her ears.
In his three-page complaint handwritten from the Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution in Pendleton, Clardy claims that Nike, Chairman Phil Knight and other executives failed to warn consumers that the shoes could be used as a weapon to cause serious injury or death.
"Under product liability there is a certain standard of care that is required to be up-held by potentially dangerous product ..." wrote Clardy, who is representing himself. "Do (sic) to the fact that these defendants named in this Tort claim failed to warn of risk or to provide an adequate warning or instruction it has caused personal injury in the likes of mental suffering."
Clardy wrote that he's tried to starve himself and kill himself multiple times.
He asks a Multnomah County judge to order Nike to affix warning labels to all their "potentially dangerous Nike and Jordan merchandise."
In the past, Oregon defendants have been convicted of using a wide array of items or substances as dangerous weapons. The list includes boots, rope, a phone receiver, scalding hot water and HIV-infected blood. The "dangerous weapon" classification can spur longer prison sentences.
Clardy filed his suit this week in Multnomah County Circuit Court.
During his two-week trial and his two-day sentencing hearing, Clardy was known for his unusual courtroom antics. He shouted expletives at the judge, prosecutors and jurors.
A psychologist declared him an anti-social psychopath who was 100 percent likely to commit violent crimes again. And Clardy disagreed so loudly -- making such a scene -- that he was removed from the courtroom.
In the coming days, the suit will be served to Nike, which will then have an opportunity to respond.
SELF-AIMING RIFLES AND PISTOLS
TrackingPoint, an Austin, Texas-based gun manufacturer, has developed a semi-automatic self-aiming rifle with a range of 500 yards, a self-aiming rifle with a range of 1,200 yards, and a self-aiming pistol
According to Digital Trends, the new 500 Series AR Smart Rifle uses the Tag Track Xact (TTX) system which tracks a target continuously by automatically calculating “range, drop, magnus effect, spindrift, coriolis effect, direction, cant, inclination, pressure, temperature, humidity, muzzle velocity, barrel length and twist, lock time, ballistic coefficient, and drag coefficient.” Batteries operate the TTX system. The shooter will have to input the wind direction and speed.
The new rifle has five times the accuracy of most experienced shooters. It tracks a target even if it is moving as fast as 10mph.
Using the TTX ballistic system, shooters simply tag the target they want to shoot, pull the trigger, and the instant that the shot is lined up, the AR Smart Rifle fires a round. Shooters can also re-tag their target as many times as they like, to ensure the best possible shot.
TrackingPoint is exhibiting its self-aiming firearms at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is taking orders now for the new 500 Series AR Smart Rifles, which come in either 7.62, .300 BLK, and 5.56 calibers. The price is $9,950. Shipments will start in October.
According to Digital Trends, the new 500 Series AR Smart Rifle uses the Tag Track Xact (TTX) system which tracks a target continuously by automatically calculating “range, drop, magnus effect, spindrift, coriolis effect, direction, cant, inclination, pressure, temperature, humidity, muzzle velocity, barrel length and twist, lock time, ballistic coefficient, and drag coefficient.” Batteries operate the TTX system. The shooter will have to input the wind direction and speed.
The new rifle has five times the accuracy of most experienced shooters. It tracks a target even if it is moving as fast as 10mph.
Using the TTX ballistic system, shooters simply tag the target they want to shoot, pull the trigger, and the instant that the shot is lined up, the AR Smart Rifle fires a round. Shooters can also re-tag their target as many times as they like, to ensure the best possible shot.
TrackingPoint is exhibiting its self-aiming firearms at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and is taking orders now for the new 500 Series AR Smart Rifles, which come in either 7.62, .300 BLK, and 5.56 calibers. The price is $9,950. Shipments will start in October.
WHAT THE … THAT’S NOT MY MOTHER!
A grieving daughter discovers that the body in the casket is not her mother and, to top it off, the death certificate issued in St. Maarten listed her mother as a man
Her sister wasn't allowed to see the body in St. Maarten and the funeral home on the island wouldn't release it unless the family wired $7,000 in cash because it wouldn't accept a check or credit cards.
WOMAN FINDS WRONG BODY IN HER MOTHER’S CASKET
By Erika Nedowski
Associated Press
January 10, 2014
WARWICK, R.I. — A woman wants answers after discovering the wrong body in a casket that should have contained her mother, who died unexpectedly while on vacation in St. Maarten.
Lisa Kondvar, of Warwick, and her family discovered another woman's body in the casket at a New Jersey funeral home last month. The body of her mother, Margaret Porkka, had been prepared at a funeral home on the island.
"I looked up, and I was like, 'Good God, are you kidding me?' I was stunned," Kondvar said by telephone Friday.
The family proceeded with the wake, with the casket closed, because they discovered the mistake just before calling hours were about to begin.
The relatives believe a hospital or funeral home confused Porkka's body with that of a Canadian woman who died on the island around the same time. They also think Porkka's body was cremated in Ottawa.
The family wants to know for sure and will take possession of the ashes if they are determined to be those of Porkka, Kondvar said.
The two dead women bore no resemblance to one another and were of different frames and heights, she said. The family has hired a detective and is looking for an international attorney.
St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said Friday the government there has formed a committee to investigate the case at the request of U.S. officials and will conduct a DNA analysis to verify the identities of both bodies.
She said the women were in their 80s and died Nov. 29 from natural causes and their bodies were flown to the U.S. on the same airline. She said the body flown to Canada was cremated.
Emerald Funeral Home director Orlando Vanterpool said he took the bodies to the airport on the same day and the air trays containing the bodies were identical.
"To my knowledge, we sent the correct human remains," he said. "Everything was regulated with the government. All the paperwork was in order, but apparently somewhere, somehow, something happened."
Vanterpool said he would give the family a refund if the government determines a mistake was made.
Kondvar said her sister wasn't allowed to see the body on the island and the funeral home wouldn't release it unless the family wired $7,000 in cash because it wouldn't accept a check or credit cards.
Vanterpool said Emerald Funeral Home has a policy of not releasing human remains until the necessary payments have been made, especially if the remains are being flown abroad.
St. Maarten, which is part of the Netherlands, shares a Caribbean island with St. Martin, a French dependency. Porkka and the family were there over Thanksgiving.
Kondvar said her 82-year-old father, who lives in Englewood, N.J., and couldn't make the trip to St. Maarten, is distraught after being unable to say goodbye to his wife of more than 60 years.
"He's very angry and very bitter," she said.
Kondvar said a cause of death for her mother hasn't been provided and the death certificate issued in St. Maarten listed her as a man.
Her sister wasn't allowed to see the body in St. Maarten and the funeral home on the island wouldn't release it unless the family wired $7,000 in cash because it wouldn't accept a check or credit cards.
WOMAN FINDS WRONG BODY IN HER MOTHER’S CASKET
By Erika Nedowski
Associated Press
January 10, 2014
WARWICK, R.I. — A woman wants answers after discovering the wrong body in a casket that should have contained her mother, who died unexpectedly while on vacation in St. Maarten.
Lisa Kondvar, of Warwick, and her family discovered another woman's body in the casket at a New Jersey funeral home last month. The body of her mother, Margaret Porkka, had been prepared at a funeral home on the island.
"I looked up, and I was like, 'Good God, are you kidding me?' I was stunned," Kondvar said by telephone Friday.
The family proceeded with the wake, with the casket closed, because they discovered the mistake just before calling hours were about to begin.
The relatives believe a hospital or funeral home confused Porkka's body with that of a Canadian woman who died on the island around the same time. They also think Porkka's body was cremated in Ottawa.
The family wants to know for sure and will take possession of the ashes if they are determined to be those of Porkka, Kondvar said.
The two dead women bore no resemblance to one another and were of different frames and heights, she said. The family has hired a detective and is looking for an international attorney.
St. Maarten Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams said Friday the government there has formed a committee to investigate the case at the request of U.S. officials and will conduct a DNA analysis to verify the identities of both bodies.
She said the women were in their 80s and died Nov. 29 from natural causes and their bodies were flown to the U.S. on the same airline. She said the body flown to Canada was cremated.
Emerald Funeral Home director Orlando Vanterpool said he took the bodies to the airport on the same day and the air trays containing the bodies were identical.
"To my knowledge, we sent the correct human remains," he said. "Everything was regulated with the government. All the paperwork was in order, but apparently somewhere, somehow, something happened."
Vanterpool said he would give the family a refund if the government determines a mistake was made.
Kondvar said her sister wasn't allowed to see the body on the island and the funeral home wouldn't release it unless the family wired $7,000 in cash because it wouldn't accept a check or credit cards.
Vanterpool said Emerald Funeral Home has a policy of not releasing human remains until the necessary payments have been made, especially if the remains are being flown abroad.
St. Maarten, which is part of the Netherlands, shares a Caribbean island with St. Martin, a French dependency. Porkka and the family were there over Thanksgiving.
Kondvar said her 82-year-old father, who lives in Englewood, N.J., and couldn't make the trip to St. Maarten, is distraught after being unable to say goodbye to his wife of more than 60 years.
"He's very angry and very bitter," she said.
Kondvar said a cause of death for her mother hasn't been provided and the death certificate issued in St. Maarten listed her as a man.
ONLY A MAN FROM TEXAS CAN MAKE A WOMAN FEEL LIKE A WOMAN
The Unconventional Gazette
January 12, 2014
A plane passed through a severe storm. The turbulence was awful, and things went from bad to worse when one wing was struck by lightning.
One woman lost it completely. She stumbled her way up to the front of the plane and screamed, "I'm too young to die," she cried. Then she yelled, "If I'm going to die, I want my last minutes alive to be memorable! Is there anyone on this plane who can make me feel like a woman?"
For a moment, there was silence.. Everyone stared at the desperate woman in the front of the plane. Then a man from Texas stood up in the rear of the plane.
He was handsome, tall, well built, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
Slowly, he started to walk up the aisle, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, one button at a time. No one moved. He removed his shirt. Muscles rippled across his chest. She gasped in anticipation...
Then he spoke: "Get me a beer woman, and then iron this fucking shirt!"
January 12, 2014
A plane passed through a severe storm. The turbulence was awful, and things went from bad to worse when one wing was struck by lightning.
One woman lost it completely. She stumbled her way up to the front of the plane and screamed, "I'm too young to die," she cried. Then she yelled, "If I'm going to die, I want my last minutes alive to be memorable! Is there anyone on this plane who can make me feel like a woman?"
For a moment, there was silence.. Everyone stared at the desperate woman in the front of the plane. Then a man from Texas stood up in the rear of the plane.
He was handsome, tall, well built, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.
Slowly, he started to walk up the aisle, unbuttoning his shirt as he went, one button at a time. No one moved. He removed his shirt. Muscles rippled across his chest. She gasped in anticipation...
Then he spoke: "Get me a beer woman, and then iron this fucking shirt!"
Sunday, January 12, 2014
ARIEL SHARON 1928-2014: GIANT AMONG HEROES
I have always considered Ariel Sharon as one of the greatest Israelis, right up there with David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s founding father. As a military commander, Sharon could be compared to Gen. George Patton. In the 1973 Yom Kippur War, his daring and brilliant military maneuvers saved the Jewish state from being destroyed by the invading armies of Egypt and Syria.
Sharon was scapegoated for the Christian Phalangist militia’s 1982 slaughter of hundreds of Palestinian men, women, and children at Beirut, Lebanon’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. He was hated by the Israeli left-wing because of his hardline stands against the Palestinians. Yet as prime minister, the hardliner gave up the Gaza Strip, something I believe turned out to be a serious mistake.
One thing is crystal clear though …Ariel Sharon was a giant among heroes.
‘KING OF ISRAEL,’ ARIEL SHARON DEAD AT 85
By Jim Meyers and Martin Gould
Newsmax
January 11, 2014
Ariel Sharon — the military hero and prime minister who was among the most controversial figures in the history of Israel — has died, eight years after the massive stroke that left him comatose. He was 85.
He died Saturday at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, outside of Tel Aviv, where he has been cared for since 2006.
Over his long career Sharon served as Israel's 11th prime minister, headed several ministries including Defense, and rose to the rank of general in the Israeli army, seeing action in all four of Israel's major wars.
Reviled by Arabs over his hardline policies and viewed with a mixture of respect and suspicion by many Israelis, Sharon had been on life support at the hospital far from the public gaze.
A state funeral is planned.
Sharon was born on Feb. 26, 1928, in Kfar Malal, then in the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents had emigrated from Russia.
"I was born on a farm," he said many year later. "My strength has nothing to do with political apparatus. I get my strength from nature, from flowers."
In 1942, at the age of 14, Sharon joined the Gadna, a paramilitary youth battalion, and later the Haganah, an underground paramilitary force.
He was a platoon commander in the Israeli military at the outset of the 1948 War of Independence, and rose swiftly up the ranks during the war.
In the 1956 Suez War, Sharon commanded a paratrooper brigade, and he headed Israel's most powerful armored division as a major general in the 1967 Six-Day War. His actions on the Sinai front brought Sharon international commendation by military strategists.
Sharon retired from military service in 1973, but was called back to active duty at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in October of that year.
Sharon's bold maneuver in crossing the Suez Canal and encircling Egypt's Third Army was considered the key to Israel's ultimate victory and led the Israeli public to nickname him "The King of Israel" and "The Lion of God."
Crowds swarmed the streets singing a revised old Hebrew Song — "David: King of Israel" — replacing David with Sharon's nickname, "Arik: King of Israel."
Sharon, who received a law degree from the Tel Aviv branch of the Hebrew University, served as a special aide to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the mid-1970s, then as Secretary of Agriculture.
He used his position to encourage Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, doubling the number of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and Gaza Strip during his tenure.
Following the 1981 elections, he was appointed Minister of Defense, the post he held during the 1982 Lebanon War.
In 1983, an Israeli state inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible for the killing of hundreds of Palestinian men, women, and children at Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
The slaughter took place after the Israeli army, which invaded Lebanon in 1982, allowed Israeli-backed Christian Phalangist militiamen to enter the camps. Sharon was forced to resign his post.
From 1983 to 1999, he served in successive governments as a Minister without Portfolio, Minister for Trade and Industry, Minister of Housing Construction, Minister of National Infrastructure, and Foreign Minister.
On Sept. 28, 2000, Sharon — then head of the Likud Party — led more than 1,000 Israeli police officers to the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem, a Jewish holy site that also includes two of Islam's holiest sites, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. He declared that the complex would remain under perpetual Israeli control.
The provocative move torpedoed ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and led to the Palestinian uprising known as the intifada. But Sharon and his supporters claimed that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian National Authority had planned the uprising months before Sharon's visit.
Sharon was elected prime minister in February 2001. Two years later, he announced his commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state in the future.
"It is not in our interest to govern you," he told the Palestinians. "We would like you to govern yourselves in your own country.
"Abandon the path of terror and let us together stop the bloodshed," he pleaded. "Let us move forward together towards peace."
He ordered the unilateral withdrawal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, expelling nearly 10,000 settlers from 21 settlements in August 2005. Israeli soldiers formally left Gaza in September.
Critics of the withdrawal point to the territory's seizure two years later by Hamas Islamists opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and to intensive rocket fire from Gaza.
The withdrawal decision sparked bitter protests from members of the Likud Party. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quit the Cabinet in protest.
"Netanyahu is pressured easily, gets into a panic and loses his senses," said Sharon. "To run a country like Israel a leader needs to have reason and judgment and nerves of steel, two traits he does not have."
In November 2005, Sharon resigned as head of Likud to form a new party, Kadima, and his rival Netanyahu took over as leader of Likud.
Sharon was a fierce defender of Israel and the Jewish people.
"Israel may have the right to put others on trial, but certainly no-one has the right to put the Jewish people and the State of Israel on trial," he said.
But he recognized that Israel had to improve relations with its Arab neighbors.
"If we are to reach a situation of true peace, real peace, peace for generations, we will have to make painful concessions. Not in exchange for promises, but rather in exchange for peace," he said in 2003.
"If it turns out that we have someone to talk to, that they understand that peace is neither terrorism nor subversion against Israel, then I would definitely say that we will have to take steps that are painful for every Jew and painful for me personally," Sharon said.
Not everyone believed his conciliatory words. Ronald Reagan, in his autobiography, "An American Life," called Sharon "a bellicose man, who seemed to be chomping at the bit to start a war."
During his time as prime minister, Sharon piled on weight, causing doctors to warn him that he was putting his health at risk. His official car was said to be stacked with snacks, caviar, and vodka.
"I love life. I love all of it, and in fact I love food," he said.
He even joked about his weight, which ballooned to 250 pounds, although he was only 5 feet, 7 inches. When asked about fears for his safety, he shot back "There is no bullet-proof vest in my size."
Polls in November 2005 indicated that Sharon was likely to beat Netanyahu at the polls, but on Dec. 18, he suffered a mild stroke while heading to his ranch in the Negev Desert.
He left the hospital after two days, but on Jan. 4, 2006, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage that left him comatose and on life support. His deputy Ehud Olmert formally succeeded him as prime minister in April.
Within months, Sharon was transferred to a long-term care unit at Sheba. Medical experts said his cognitive abilities were destroyed by the stroke and he was in a persistent vegetative state with little chance of regaining consciousness, though family members refused to allow them to turn off his life support.
"When he is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to," his son Gilad said in 2011. "He lies in bed, looking like the lord of the manor, sleeping tranquilly. Large, strong, self assured. His cheeks are a healthy shade of red. When he's awake, he looks out with a penetrating stare. He hasn't lost a single pound; on the contrary, he's gained some."
When Sharon suffered from renal failure on New Year's Day, Israeli media reported that doctors were unlikely to take drastic measures to keep him alive.
In the end, he died peacefully. Raanan Gissin, a former senior aide to Sharon, said: "It's a very sad moment for people in Israel because Ariel Sharon was an icon in Israel."
Sharon was widowed twice. His first wife Margalit, with whom he had a son, Gur, died in a car accident in 1962, and Gur died in 1967 after a friend accidentally shot him with a rifle.
After Margalit's death, Sharon wed her younger sister Lily, and they had two sons, Omri and Gilad. Lily died in 2000.
Sharon was scapegoated for the Christian Phalangist militia’s 1982 slaughter of hundreds of Palestinian men, women, and children at Beirut, Lebanon’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps. He was hated by the Israeli left-wing because of his hardline stands against the Palestinians. Yet as prime minister, the hardliner gave up the Gaza Strip, something I believe turned out to be a serious mistake.
One thing is crystal clear though …Ariel Sharon was a giant among heroes.
‘KING OF ISRAEL,’ ARIEL SHARON DEAD AT 85
By Jim Meyers and Martin Gould
Newsmax
January 11, 2014
Ariel Sharon — the military hero and prime minister who was among the most controversial figures in the history of Israel — has died, eight years after the massive stroke that left him comatose. He was 85.
He died Saturday at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, outside of Tel Aviv, where he has been cared for since 2006.
Over his long career Sharon served as Israel's 11th prime minister, headed several ministries including Defense, and rose to the rank of general in the Israeli army, seeing action in all four of Israel's major wars.
Reviled by Arabs over his hardline policies and viewed with a mixture of respect and suspicion by many Israelis, Sharon had been on life support at the hospital far from the public gaze.
A state funeral is planned.
Sharon was born on Feb. 26, 1928, in Kfar Malal, then in the British Mandate of Palestine. His parents had emigrated from Russia.
"I was born on a farm," he said many year later. "My strength has nothing to do with political apparatus. I get my strength from nature, from flowers."
In 1942, at the age of 14, Sharon joined the Gadna, a paramilitary youth battalion, and later the Haganah, an underground paramilitary force.
He was a platoon commander in the Israeli military at the outset of the 1948 War of Independence, and rose swiftly up the ranks during the war.
In the 1956 Suez War, Sharon commanded a paratrooper brigade, and he headed Israel's most powerful armored division as a major general in the 1967 Six-Day War. His actions on the Sinai front brought Sharon international commendation by military strategists.
Sharon retired from military service in 1973, but was called back to active duty at the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War in October of that year.
Sharon's bold maneuver in crossing the Suez Canal and encircling Egypt's Third Army was considered the key to Israel's ultimate victory and led the Israeli public to nickname him "The King of Israel" and "The Lion of God."
Crowds swarmed the streets singing a revised old Hebrew Song — "David: King of Israel" — replacing David with Sharon's nickname, "Arik: King of Israel."
Sharon, who received a law degree from the Tel Aviv branch of the Hebrew University, served as a special aide to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in the mid-1970s, then as Secretary of Agriculture.
He used his position to encourage Israeli settlements in the occupied territories, doubling the number of Jewish settlements on the West Bank and Gaza Strip during his tenure.
Following the 1981 elections, he was appointed Minister of Defense, the post he held during the 1982 Lebanon War.
In 1983, an Israeli state inquiry found Sharon indirectly responsible for the killing of hundreds of Palestinian men, women, and children at Beirut's Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
The slaughter took place after the Israeli army, which invaded Lebanon in 1982, allowed Israeli-backed Christian Phalangist militiamen to enter the camps. Sharon was forced to resign his post.
From 1983 to 1999, he served in successive governments as a Minister without Portfolio, Minister for Trade and Industry, Minister of Housing Construction, Minister of National Infrastructure, and Foreign Minister.
On Sept. 28, 2000, Sharon — then head of the Likud Party — led more than 1,000 Israeli police officers to the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem, a Jewish holy site that also includes two of Islam's holiest sites, the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque. He declared that the complex would remain under perpetual Israeli control.
The provocative move torpedoed ongoing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians and led to the Palestinian uprising known as the intifada. But Sharon and his supporters claimed that Yasser Arafat and the Palestinian National Authority had planned the uprising months before Sharon's visit.
Sharon was elected prime minister in February 2001. Two years later, he announced his commitment to the creation of a Palestinian state in the future.
"It is not in our interest to govern you," he told the Palestinians. "We would like you to govern yourselves in your own country.
"Abandon the path of terror and let us together stop the bloodshed," he pleaded. "Let us move forward together towards peace."
He ordered the unilateral withdrawal of Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, expelling nearly 10,000 settlers from 21 settlements in August 2005. Israeli soldiers formally left Gaza in September.
Critics of the withdrawal point to the territory's seizure two years later by Hamas Islamists opposed to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and to intensive rocket fire from Gaza.
The withdrawal decision sparked bitter protests from members of the Likud Party. Finance Minister Benjamin Netanyahu quit the Cabinet in protest.
"Netanyahu is pressured easily, gets into a panic and loses his senses," said Sharon. "To run a country like Israel a leader needs to have reason and judgment and nerves of steel, two traits he does not have."
In November 2005, Sharon resigned as head of Likud to form a new party, Kadima, and his rival Netanyahu took over as leader of Likud.
Sharon was a fierce defender of Israel and the Jewish people.
"Israel may have the right to put others on trial, but certainly no-one has the right to put the Jewish people and the State of Israel on trial," he said.
But he recognized that Israel had to improve relations with its Arab neighbors.
"If we are to reach a situation of true peace, real peace, peace for generations, we will have to make painful concessions. Not in exchange for promises, but rather in exchange for peace," he said in 2003.
"If it turns out that we have someone to talk to, that they understand that peace is neither terrorism nor subversion against Israel, then I would definitely say that we will have to take steps that are painful for every Jew and painful for me personally," Sharon said.
Not everyone believed his conciliatory words. Ronald Reagan, in his autobiography, "An American Life," called Sharon "a bellicose man, who seemed to be chomping at the bit to start a war."
During his time as prime minister, Sharon piled on weight, causing doctors to warn him that he was putting his health at risk. His official car was said to be stacked with snacks, caviar, and vodka.
"I love life. I love all of it, and in fact I love food," he said.
He even joked about his weight, which ballooned to 250 pounds, although he was only 5 feet, 7 inches. When asked about fears for his safety, he shot back "There is no bullet-proof vest in my size."
Polls in November 2005 indicated that Sharon was likely to beat Netanyahu at the polls, but on Dec. 18, he suffered a mild stroke while heading to his ranch in the Negev Desert.
He left the hospital after two days, but on Jan. 4, 2006, suffered a massive cerebral hemorrhage that left him comatose and on life support. His deputy Ehud Olmert formally succeeded him as prime minister in April.
Within months, Sharon was transferred to a long-term care unit at Sheba. Medical experts said his cognitive abilities were destroyed by the stroke and he was in a persistent vegetative state with little chance of regaining consciousness, though family members refused to allow them to turn off his life support.
"When he is awake, he looks at me and moves fingers when I ask him to," his son Gilad said in 2011. "He lies in bed, looking like the lord of the manor, sleeping tranquilly. Large, strong, self assured. His cheeks are a healthy shade of red. When he's awake, he looks out with a penetrating stare. He hasn't lost a single pound; on the contrary, he's gained some."
When Sharon suffered from renal failure on New Year's Day, Israeli media reported that doctors were unlikely to take drastic measures to keep him alive.
In the end, he died peacefully. Raanan Gissin, a former senior aide to Sharon, said: "It's a very sad moment for people in Israel because Ariel Sharon was an icon in Israel."
Sharon was widowed twice. His first wife Margalit, with whom he had a son, Gur, died in a car accident in 1962, and Gur died in 1967 after a friend accidentally shot him with a rifle.
After Margalit's death, Sharon wed her younger sister Lily, and they had two sons, Omri and Gilad. Lily died in 2000.
SHARON’S DEATH: PRAISE FROM WESTERN LEADERS, VITRIOL FROM PALESTINIAN AND HUMAN RIGHTS LEADERS
It comes as no surprise that the hatred Palestinians and anti-Israel human rights groups have for Ariel Sharon would follow him to the grave.
As for the praise, no one said it better than Texas Governor Rick Perry: “Ariel Sharon was a proud and strong defender of the nation of Israel, an uncompromising patriot who faced down the multiple enemies surrounding his young country with selfless determination and unflinching courage. We stand with the Israeli people as they mourn his passing. Anita joins me in sending our prayers and sympathies to Sharon’s friends and family, as well as everyone ever inspired by his courageous example of love of country.”
WORLD REACTS TO SHARON’S DEATH
Associated Press
January 11, 2014
Here is a selection of reactions from world leaders and others to the death of former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was both admired and despised for his bold style and hard-driving tactics.
____
"I was honored to know this man of courage and call him friend. He was a warrior for the ages and a partner in seeking security for the Holy Land and a better, peaceful Middle East." – Former President George W. Bush
____
"It was an honor to work with him, argue with him, and watch him always trying to find the right path for his beloved country." – Bill and Hillary Clinton
____
"Ariel Sharon is one of the most significant figures in Israeli history and as Prime Minister he took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace, before he was so tragically incapacitated. Israel has today lost an important leader." — British Prime Minister David Cameron
____
"He wanted to erase the Palestinian people from the map ... He wanted to kill us, but at the end of the day, Sharon is dead and the Palestinian people are alive." — Tawfik Tirawi, who served as Palestinian intelligence chief when Sharon was prime minister.
____
"After eight years, he is going in the same direction as other tyrants and criminals whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood." — Khalil al-Haya, a leader in the Islamic militant group Hamas
____
Russian President Vladimir Putin "highly praised Ariel Sharon's personal qualities and his activities to protect Israel's interests, noting a high respect for him among compatriots and his high authority in the international arena." — The Kremlin.
____
German Chancellor Angela Merkel "is mourning with the Israeli people" for Sharon. "With his courageous decision to withdraw the Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, he took a historic step on the path to a deal with the Palestinians and a two-state solution." — Steffen Seibert, Merkel's spokesman.
____
"His passing is another grim reminder that years of virtual impunity for rights abuses have done nothing to bring Israeli-Palestinian peace any closer." — Leah Whitson, Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch.
____
"Today, a strong leader has gone and my thoughts also go to his family." — Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
____
"Ariel Sharon's last battle is now over ... Sharon was literally from the beginning a tireless defender of his beloved homeland, Israel." — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
As for the praise, no one said it better than Texas Governor Rick Perry: “Ariel Sharon was a proud and strong defender of the nation of Israel, an uncompromising patriot who faced down the multiple enemies surrounding his young country with selfless determination and unflinching courage. We stand with the Israeli people as they mourn his passing. Anita joins me in sending our prayers and sympathies to Sharon’s friends and family, as well as everyone ever inspired by his courageous example of love of country.”
WORLD REACTS TO SHARON’S DEATH
Associated Press
January 11, 2014
Here is a selection of reactions from world leaders and others to the death of former Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was both admired and despised for his bold style and hard-driving tactics.
____
"I was honored to know this man of courage and call him friend. He was a warrior for the ages and a partner in seeking security for the Holy Land and a better, peaceful Middle East." – Former President George W. Bush
____
"It was an honor to work with him, argue with him, and watch him always trying to find the right path for his beloved country." – Bill and Hillary Clinton
____
"Ariel Sharon is one of the most significant figures in Israeli history and as Prime Minister he took brave and controversial decisions in pursuit of peace, before he was so tragically incapacitated. Israel has today lost an important leader." — British Prime Minister David Cameron
____
"He wanted to erase the Palestinian people from the map ... He wanted to kill us, but at the end of the day, Sharon is dead and the Palestinian people are alive." — Tawfik Tirawi, who served as Palestinian intelligence chief when Sharon was prime minister.
____
"After eight years, he is going in the same direction as other tyrants and criminals whose hands were covered with Palestinian blood." — Khalil al-Haya, a leader in the Islamic militant group Hamas
____
Russian President Vladimir Putin "highly praised Ariel Sharon's personal qualities and his activities to protect Israel's interests, noting a high respect for him among compatriots and his high authority in the international arena." — The Kremlin.
____
German Chancellor Angela Merkel "is mourning with the Israeli people" for Sharon. "With his courageous decision to withdraw the Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip, he took a historic step on the path to a deal with the Palestinians and a two-state solution." — Steffen Seibert, Merkel's spokesman.
____
"His passing is another grim reminder that years of virtual impunity for rights abuses have done nothing to bring Israeli-Palestinian peace any closer." — Leah Whitson, Middle East Director of Human Rights Watch.
____
"Today, a strong leader has gone and my thoughts also go to his family." — Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg.
____
"Ariel Sharon's last battle is now over ... Sharon was literally from the beginning a tireless defender of his beloved homeland, Israel." — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
ARCHEOLOGICAL DISCOVERY OF ANCIENT BIBLICAL-ERA PALACE IN THE WEST BANK COULD DERAIL THE PEACE PROCESS
Digging up any ancient ruins which would prove a Jewish presence in the West Bank long before that of any Palestinians would probably cause the Palestinian delegation to walk out on the peace negotiations.
‘DAVID’S CASTLE’ TO BE UNVEILED ON ‘PALESTINIAN’ LAND
Israel Today
January 10, 2014
We reported last year on the discovery of an ancient biblical-era palace probably dating back to the time of King David himself that was subsequently covered up for political reasons.
Now, the group that stumbled upon the unprecedented find tells Israel National News that they will publicly reveal the location of the buried palace next Friday, January 17, an event that is likely to cause a diplomatic earthquake.
Israel's Makor Rishon Hebrew daily reported last April that a major biblical archeology find in the Judean hills south of Jerusalem was apparently being covered up by the government.
At the time, a member of the Kfar Etzion Field School in the Eztion Bloc of Jewish communities had stumbled across an ancient ornate pillar as he descended into a cave in the Judean hills. The pillar and its attached capital clearly belonged to a royal structure, and local archaeologists said it certainly dated back to the times of the Judean kings, if not David himself.
The undisturbed nature of the find suggested that a large part of the ancient palace was probably buried intact beneath where the pillar was found.
"We appear to have a complete castle here," Kfar Etzion Field School Director Yaron Rosental told the newspaper. "Those who lived here after it did not know of its existence and thus, instead of using its stones to build a new building as was the usual practice, left it intact."
But, when Rosental contacted Israel's Antiquities Authority, he was harshly rebuffed and told to "keep [his] mouth shut" about the find.
The Antiquities Authority later confirmed to Makor Rishon that the find exists, and had actually been first discovered the year prior, but that political sensitivities had prevented archaeologists from exploring the site.
It was pointed out that the find is located in territory claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Uncovering a major and even unprecedented archaeological site that solidifies the ancient Jewish presence in and control of these lands could upset the peace process.
‘DAVID’S CASTLE’ TO BE UNVEILED ON ‘PALESTINIAN’ LAND
Israel Today
January 10, 2014
We reported last year on the discovery of an ancient biblical-era palace probably dating back to the time of King David himself that was subsequently covered up for political reasons.
Now, the group that stumbled upon the unprecedented find tells Israel National News that they will publicly reveal the location of the buried palace next Friday, January 17, an event that is likely to cause a diplomatic earthquake.
Israel's Makor Rishon Hebrew daily reported last April that a major biblical archeology find in the Judean hills south of Jerusalem was apparently being covered up by the government.
At the time, a member of the Kfar Etzion Field School in the Eztion Bloc of Jewish communities had stumbled across an ancient ornate pillar as he descended into a cave in the Judean hills. The pillar and its attached capital clearly belonged to a royal structure, and local archaeologists said it certainly dated back to the times of the Judean kings, if not David himself.
The undisturbed nature of the find suggested that a large part of the ancient palace was probably buried intact beneath where the pillar was found.
"We appear to have a complete castle here," Kfar Etzion Field School Director Yaron Rosental told the newspaper. "Those who lived here after it did not know of its existence and thus, instead of using its stones to build a new building as was the usual practice, left it intact."
But, when Rosental contacted Israel's Antiquities Authority, he was harshly rebuffed and told to "keep [his] mouth shut" about the find.
The Antiquities Authority later confirmed to Makor Rishon that the find exists, and had actually been first discovered the year prior, but that political sensitivities had prevented archaeologists from exploring the site.
It was pointed out that the find is located in territory claimed by the Palestinian Authority. Uncovering a major and even unprecedented archaeological site that solidifies the ancient Jewish presence in and control of these lands could upset the peace process.
CONVICTED SOUTH CAROLINA MURDERER WRITES PRIZE-WINNING NOVEL WHILE SERVING LIFE IN PRISON
Alaric Hunt is not the first convict to write a book while in prison. Under South Carolina law, he will be allowed to keep any money earned from the sale of his book.
PRIZE-WINNING CRIME NOVELIST IS CONVICTED KILLER IN JAIL FOR MURDERING A 23-YEAR-OL STUDENT (AND HE DISCOVERED HIS LOVE FOR LITERATURE IN THE PRISON LIBRARY
Detective fiction contest judges were impressed with the authenticity of ‘Cuts Through Bones’ by convicted murderer Alaric Hunt
Mail Online
January 11, 2014
A convicted killer, who was jailed for murdering a 23-year-old student, has won a £10,000 prize for his first crime novel after judges were bowled over by the tale's realism.
The Private Eye Writers of America panel had no idea that Alaric Hunt was serving a life sentence for the killing of student, Joyce Austin, in Clemson, South Carolina in 1988.
Hunt's novel, entitled Cuts Through Bone they impressed them with its authenticity, and sparked interest from a publisher.
But when the interested party rang the Southern California number Hunt had submitted with his manuscript, they were told he unavailable as he was was in an institution.
Hunt's cousin, Jade Reed, who had posted his novel to the competition's organisers, had to reveal to Toni Kirkpatrick, an editor at Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, that the author was holed-up in a maximum-security facility in the small town of Bishopville.
'Will he be out soon?' miss Kirkpatrick asked.
To which Ms Reed was forced to reply: 'Well, he's there indefinitely.'
Hunt, 44, has lived more than half his life behind bars. He last saw the outside world when he was 19. In 1988 he was convicted of killing a 23-year-old student, Joyce Austin, in Clemson, South Carolina.
Ms Austin died of smoke inhalation from a fire started by Hunt's older brother, Jason. The brothers planned to disctract the emergency services while they robbed a jewellery shop nearby. Jason wanted to go to music school in Southern California and needed the money to do so.
Six weeks later the police arrested Alaric and Jason for Joyce’s murder, and for robbery, conspiracy and several counts of arson. The spoils of their theft turned out to be women’s rings worth only US$200 in total.
The brothers were sentenced to life with no parole for at least 30 years.
Hunt, who after finishing at secondary school was found to have an IQ of 137, is understood to have immersed himself in literature while inside.
After landing a job in the prison library, he has discovered authors such as Ernest Hemingway, the Greek and the Roman philosophers and the science fiction masters who wowed him as a boy and inspired him to write his own stories.
It was also in the prison library that he saw a competition advertised - the contest sponsored by Minotaur, an imprint of St Martin's Press.
The prize money caught his eye – a US$10,000 (£6,000) advance and a guaranteed publishing contract for the book – three years ago.
He wrote Cuts Through Bone in nine months in sessions between his prison duties - five to write the first draft in longhand and another four months for a rewrite.
The 320-page novel tells the story a military veteran wrongfully accused of his girlfriend's murder.
Middle-aged detective Clayton Guthrie, teams up with Rachel Vasquez, the inquisitive teenage daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, to investigate the crime.
The book is set in New York, which Hunt has never visited.
He said he pieced together knowledge of the city from watching episodes of the popular Manhattan-based detective drama, Law and Order, various novels set in New York, and a map of the city's boroughs dating for 1916.
Unlike some other states, South Carolina has no law to prevent prisoners profiting from such work.
Hunt's publishers, Minotaur, stress that Cuts Through Bone book is not based on the author's own crime.
But Frances Austin, the mother of the Hunt brothers' victim, told The New York Times she was incredulous to learn he had written the book. 'He caused my daughter's death, and now he's writing a book about it,' she said. 'I can't believe this.'
Reflecting on his crime, Hunt told The New York Times: 'What haunts me is not seeing beyond what I wanted, and casually risking others. I killed Joyce Austin, and I killed my brother and myself. There's a hole there that can't ever fill up.'
He hopes to earn parole when he is eligible to, but that day is still five years away. 'I'm afraid to choke on wistfulness,' he said. 'That has been the fate of many a prisoner. I pass them each day, still shuffling and muttering with their hands full of hope.'
PRIZE-WINNING CRIME NOVELIST IS CONVICTED KILLER IN JAIL FOR MURDERING A 23-YEAR-OL STUDENT (AND HE DISCOVERED HIS LOVE FOR LITERATURE IN THE PRISON LIBRARY
Detective fiction contest judges were impressed with the authenticity of ‘Cuts Through Bones’ by convicted murderer Alaric Hunt
Mail Online
January 11, 2014
A convicted killer, who was jailed for murdering a 23-year-old student, has won a £10,000 prize for his first crime novel after judges were bowled over by the tale's realism.
The Private Eye Writers of America panel had no idea that Alaric Hunt was serving a life sentence for the killing of student, Joyce Austin, in Clemson, South Carolina in 1988.
Hunt's novel, entitled Cuts Through Bone they impressed them with its authenticity, and sparked interest from a publisher.
But when the interested party rang the Southern California number Hunt had submitted with his manuscript, they were told he unavailable as he was was in an institution.
Hunt's cousin, Jade Reed, who had posted his novel to the competition's organisers, had to reveal to Toni Kirkpatrick, an editor at Thomas Dunne Books, an imprint of St. Martin’s Press, that the author was holed-up in a maximum-security facility in the small town of Bishopville.
'Will he be out soon?' miss Kirkpatrick asked.
To which Ms Reed was forced to reply: 'Well, he's there indefinitely.'
Hunt, 44, has lived more than half his life behind bars. He last saw the outside world when he was 19. In 1988 he was convicted of killing a 23-year-old student, Joyce Austin, in Clemson, South Carolina.
Ms Austin died of smoke inhalation from a fire started by Hunt's older brother, Jason. The brothers planned to disctract the emergency services while they robbed a jewellery shop nearby. Jason wanted to go to music school in Southern California and needed the money to do so.
Six weeks later the police arrested Alaric and Jason for Joyce’s murder, and for robbery, conspiracy and several counts of arson. The spoils of their theft turned out to be women’s rings worth only US$200 in total.
The brothers were sentenced to life with no parole for at least 30 years.
Hunt, who after finishing at secondary school was found to have an IQ of 137, is understood to have immersed himself in literature while inside.
After landing a job in the prison library, he has discovered authors such as Ernest Hemingway, the Greek and the Roman philosophers and the science fiction masters who wowed him as a boy and inspired him to write his own stories.
It was also in the prison library that he saw a competition advertised - the contest sponsored by Minotaur, an imprint of St Martin's Press.
The prize money caught his eye – a US$10,000 (£6,000) advance and a guaranteed publishing contract for the book – three years ago.
He wrote Cuts Through Bone in nine months in sessions between his prison duties - five to write the first draft in longhand and another four months for a rewrite.
The 320-page novel tells the story a military veteran wrongfully accused of his girlfriend's murder.
Middle-aged detective Clayton Guthrie, teams up with Rachel Vasquez, the inquisitive teenage daughter of Puerto Rican immigrants, to investigate the crime.
The book is set in New York, which Hunt has never visited.
He said he pieced together knowledge of the city from watching episodes of the popular Manhattan-based detective drama, Law and Order, various novels set in New York, and a map of the city's boroughs dating for 1916.
Unlike some other states, South Carolina has no law to prevent prisoners profiting from such work.
Hunt's publishers, Minotaur, stress that Cuts Through Bone book is not based on the author's own crime.
But Frances Austin, the mother of the Hunt brothers' victim, told The New York Times she was incredulous to learn he had written the book. 'He caused my daughter's death, and now he's writing a book about it,' she said. 'I can't believe this.'
Reflecting on his crime, Hunt told The New York Times: 'What haunts me is not seeing beyond what I wanted, and casually risking others. I killed Joyce Austin, and I killed my brother and myself. There's a hole there that can't ever fill up.'
He hopes to earn parole when he is eligible to, but that day is still five years away. 'I'm afraid to choke on wistfulness,' he said. 'That has been the fate of many a prisoner. I pass them each day, still shuffling and muttering with their hands full of hope.'
‘FRIENDS’ OF VICTIM BRUTALIZED HER AND HELD HER DOWN SO MAN COULD RAPE HER
After punching, kicking and pepper-spraying her, 15 and 16-year-old teens held down 16-year-old ‘friend’ while 19-year-old man raped her
Why teenagers would commit such a brutal crime is a mystery that would probably elude the best headshrinkers.
EXCLUSIVE: NEW VIDEOS RELEASED IN ATTACK ON HOLLYWOOD TEEN
By Carey Codd
CBS Miami
Januay9, 2014
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA — CBS4 News has obtained a series of new and disturbing cell phone videos that show a vicious, unrelenting beating of a Hollywood teenager last November outside a home on McKinley Street.
Hollywood Police say the videos depict Ericka Avery and Patricia Montes relentlessly punching and kicking the victim while telling her that the beating will cease if she has sex with a man named Jayvon Woolfork. Last month prosecutors showed a series of videos in court of the attack from inside the house. These new videos show what occurred before the attack moved inside.
As the videos begin, the victim is on the ground being dragged on the ground and sustaining a series of blows from her attackers. Voices recorded on the videos refer to the victim having been maced. At one point, one of the females is heard asking, “Are you recording again?” before walking over to the victim and forcefully slapping her in the head.
The videos reveal that at least two young men were watching the beating. One of the men is heard saying, “They don’t like this girl.” One of the females responds, “I told you we were gonna fuck somebody up.”
During a break in the attack, when the victim is trying to regain her composure, one of the women is heard saying the victim should be let go, “Just let this girl get up and go home.”
But one of the men is heard saying that the victim has to stay to perform a sex act.
In the new videos, we see one of the men refusing to allow the victim to go outside to smoke a cigarette and again demanding that she have sex with Woolfork.
The victim told police that Montes, Avery, Dwight Henry and Lanel Singleton dragged her into a room and held her down while Woolfork raped her.
Hours later at a hospital, the victim spoke to police about the attack. A detective asked her why the young women beat her and
the victim said “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”
The victim also told police “I just don’t ever want to see them again. I mean, I thought Patricia, I thought they were my friends. And for them to do something like that, it’s just really messed up and cruel, and sick in the head.”
The victim also told police that before she left the house Ericka Avery spit on her.
In the videos shown in court last year, police say the videos shows Avery and Montes dragging the victim around a house by her hair, relentlessly punching and kicking the victim and leaving her with a bloody face and two hugely swollen eyes. On the video the women are heard shouting demands at the victim to remove her clothes and demanding that she be brought outside where the beating continued. The victim is seen fighting back against her attackers but she was outnumbered.
Also on the video, the victim is heard crying and begging to be let go.
“Take me home,” she moans.
During that court hearing, prosecutors also played a recording of the interview between Singleton and Hollywood Police detective Bryan Rousell after Singleton was detained. On that video, Singleton admitted recording the beating and telling the victim the punishment would continue unless she had sex with Woolfork. Rousell told Singleton that Montes and Avery told him Singleton helped restrain the victim during the rape. Singleton denied it.
“I swear to God on my life,” Singleton said. “No one was holding her down.”
As the videos are being revealed, the court cases against the defendants are continuing. Lanel Singleton is expected in court on Friday. His attorney, Joe Pappacoda, will ask that his case separated from his four co-defendants. Pappacoda also said that he expects a psychological evaluation of his client will show that by videotaping the attack Singleton considered himself a bystander in the incident and not a participant.
Singleton remains in jail along with Henry, Woolfork and Avery. Patricia Montes is out on bond.
Why teenagers would commit such a brutal crime is a mystery that would probably elude the best headshrinkers.
EXCLUSIVE: NEW VIDEOS RELEASED IN ATTACK ON HOLLYWOOD TEEN
By Carey Codd
CBS Miami
Januay9, 2014
HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA — CBS4 News has obtained a series of new and disturbing cell phone videos that show a vicious, unrelenting beating of a Hollywood teenager last November outside a home on McKinley Street.
Hollywood Police say the videos depict Ericka Avery and Patricia Montes relentlessly punching and kicking the victim while telling her that the beating will cease if she has sex with a man named Jayvon Woolfork. Last month prosecutors showed a series of videos in court of the attack from inside the house. These new videos show what occurred before the attack moved inside.
As the videos begin, the victim is on the ground being dragged on the ground and sustaining a series of blows from her attackers. Voices recorded on the videos refer to the victim having been maced. At one point, one of the females is heard asking, “Are you recording again?” before walking over to the victim and forcefully slapping her in the head.
The videos reveal that at least two young men were watching the beating. One of the men is heard saying, “They don’t like this girl.” One of the females responds, “I told you we were gonna fuck somebody up.”
During a break in the attack, when the victim is trying to regain her composure, one of the women is heard saying the victim should be let go, “Just let this girl get up and go home.”
But one of the men is heard saying that the victim has to stay to perform a sex act.
In the new videos, we see one of the men refusing to allow the victim to go outside to smoke a cigarette and again demanding that she have sex with Woolfork.
The victim told police that Montes, Avery, Dwight Henry and Lanel Singleton dragged her into a room and held her down while Woolfork raped her.
Hours later at a hospital, the victim spoke to police about the attack. A detective asked her why the young women beat her and
the victim said “I don’t know. I honestly don’t know.”
The victim also told police “I just don’t ever want to see them again. I mean, I thought Patricia, I thought they were my friends. And for them to do something like that, it’s just really messed up and cruel, and sick in the head.”
The victim also told police that before she left the house Ericka Avery spit on her.
In the videos shown in court last year, police say the videos shows Avery and Montes dragging the victim around a house by her hair, relentlessly punching and kicking the victim and leaving her with a bloody face and two hugely swollen eyes. On the video the women are heard shouting demands at the victim to remove her clothes and demanding that she be brought outside where the beating continued. The victim is seen fighting back against her attackers but she was outnumbered.
Also on the video, the victim is heard crying and begging to be let go.
“Take me home,” she moans.
During that court hearing, prosecutors also played a recording of the interview between Singleton and Hollywood Police detective Bryan Rousell after Singleton was detained. On that video, Singleton admitted recording the beating and telling the victim the punishment would continue unless she had sex with Woolfork. Rousell told Singleton that Montes and Avery told him Singleton helped restrain the victim during the rape. Singleton denied it.
“I swear to God on my life,” Singleton said. “No one was holding her down.”
As the videos are being revealed, the court cases against the defendants are continuing. Lanel Singleton is expected in court on Friday. His attorney, Joe Pappacoda, will ask that his case separated from his four co-defendants. Pappacoda also said that he expects a psychological evaluation of his client will show that by videotaping the attack Singleton considered himself a bystander in the incident and not a participant.
Singleton remains in jail along with Henry, Woolfork and Avery. Patricia Montes is out on bond.
OREGON WOMAN SPEEDS HIGH ON SPEED IN STOLEN COP CAR
After stabbing a man in the back, Tara Axmaker stole one of the responding cop cars and led police on a 15-minute chase while high on speed at speeds up to 120 mph
In 2010, Axmaker had stabbed another man in the back while also high on meth. She was sentenced to four years in prison for that meth-fueled assault. At the time The Oregonian reported that “Axmaker said she wants to enter a drug treatment program while in prison. She said the day of the attack she was ‘wigged out’ and believed she and her companions might be killed by intruders she imagined were close by.” If she entered a drug treatment while in prison, it apparently did not work.
TARA AXMAKER’S METH-FUELED JOY RIDE IN STOLEN CLACKAMAS SHERIFF’S CRUISER
Axmaker taunts pursuing deputies over police radio with singing, swearing, babbling -- all while careening along darkened country roads, with no headlights, at speeds up to 121 mph
By Steve Mayes
The Oregonian
January 10, 2014
Tara Elizabeth Axmaker, high on meth, stabbed a man in the back in the wee hours of March 15, 2013, at a Mulino-area home.
When Clackamas County deputies arrived, they found the bloody victim but no Axmaker.
As deputies scoured the crime scene, Axmaker climbed behind the wheel of a responding deputy's patrol car and led the cops on a "Dukes of Hazzard" pursuit down back roads and around blind curves.
The chase, and Axmaker's expletive-filled running commentary, was captured on the patrol car's video cameras and on police radio.
She drove without headlights at speeds that hit 121 mph, finally driving off Oregon 213 as she careened toward Molalla.
Miraculously, no one was injured as Axmaker meandered into the oncoming traffic lane, ignored stop signs and evaded her pursuers.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office released the video this week in response to a public records request submitted in October by The Oregonian.
Axmaker pleaded guilty Oct. 15 in Clackamas County Circuit Court to first-degree assault for the attack and to aggravated theft and attempting to elude police. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Throughout the 11-minute ride, Axmaker can be heard on singing, swearing and carrying on an incoherent monologue. The audio is sometimes muffled, because Axmaker was sitting on the microphone.
"We're on a high-speed chase (expletive)," she said as she began her misadventure.
In 2010, Axmaker had stabbed another man in the back while also high on meth. She was sentenced to four years in prison for that meth-fueled assault. At the time The Oregonian reported that “Axmaker said she wants to enter a drug treatment program while in prison. She said the day of the attack she was ‘wigged out’ and believed she and her companions might be killed by intruders she imagined were close by.” If she entered a drug treatment while in prison, it apparently did not work.
TARA AXMAKER’S METH-FUELED JOY RIDE IN STOLEN CLACKAMAS SHERIFF’S CRUISER
Axmaker taunts pursuing deputies over police radio with singing, swearing, babbling -- all while careening along darkened country roads, with no headlights, at speeds up to 121 mph
By Steve Mayes
The Oregonian
January 10, 2014
Tara Elizabeth Axmaker, high on meth, stabbed a man in the back in the wee hours of March 15, 2013, at a Mulino-area home.
When Clackamas County deputies arrived, they found the bloody victim but no Axmaker.
As deputies scoured the crime scene, Axmaker climbed behind the wheel of a responding deputy's patrol car and led the cops on a "Dukes of Hazzard" pursuit down back roads and around blind curves.
The chase, and Axmaker's expletive-filled running commentary, was captured on the patrol car's video cameras and on police radio.
She drove without headlights at speeds that hit 121 mph, finally driving off Oregon 213 as she careened toward Molalla.
Miraculously, no one was injured as Axmaker meandered into the oncoming traffic lane, ignored stop signs and evaded her pursuers.
The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office released the video this week in response to a public records request submitted in October by The Oregonian.
Axmaker pleaded guilty Oct. 15 in Clackamas County Circuit Court to first-degree assault for the attack and to aggravated theft and attempting to elude police. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Throughout the 11-minute ride, Axmaker can be heard on singing, swearing and carrying on an incoherent monologue. The audio is sometimes muffled, because Axmaker was sitting on the microphone.
"We're on a high-speed chase (expletive)," she said as she began her misadventure.
Saturday, January 11, 2014
MARS NOT FOR ASTRONAUTS
Edward Snowden leaks video of disastrous secret NASA manned space mission to Mars
THE RIGHT TO CARRY: STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES
Beaumont, Texas man complains that his right to carry was violated when cops confiscated the AR-15 he was carrying around in a mall and charged him with Disorderly Conduct
Bob Walsh says: Is Texas becoming warm and fuzzy? In days gone by, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, it was legally permissible to carry an unconcealed, loaded handgun in California. However, in some large metropolitan areas, notably SF and LA, if you did so you would be arrested for disturbing the peace and your gun would be seized. You would then have to sue to get it back, and it would often be lost or badly damaged by the time you got it back. You expect that sort of thing in the Peoples Republic of California, but not in Texas.
No Bob, Texas is not becoming warm and fuzzy, but stupid is as stupid does. Nowadays, you don’t go into a mall carrying an AR-15 what with all the recent mass shootings. I can understand why the mall patrons were terrified and why the cops took his toy away from him. This case has nothing to do with the right to carry. It has everything to do with common sense, something stupid Mr. Poe apparently does not have.
Bob, let me assure you that unlike anti-gun California, Texas remains a very gun friendly state.
MAN WHO CARRIED AR-15 ON HIS BACK INSIDE MALL SAYS CHARGES NOT WARRANTED
By Agustin Garfias
12 News
January 3, 2014
BEAUMONT - A Beaumont store owner charged with disorderly conduct insists he never broke the law and was just exercising his second amendment rights.
On Dec. 28, Derek Poe stopped by GameStop in Parkdale Mall before going to the store he owns in the mall, Golden Triangle Tactical. While at GameStop, he was stopped by police officers and the AR-15 that was slung around his back was seized.
Poe says he was just exercising his right to open carry a long rifle.
Police have charged him with disorderly conduct because he displayed a firearm “In a manner calculated to alarm.”
Poe disagrees saying his rifle was facing barrel down on his back and his hands weren’t even on the gun.
“It was clearly obvious I didn’t have criminal intent. I had a drink in one hand and a bag in the other. I didn’t commit a crime. I legally carried a long arm in Texas,” Poe said.
Detectives say witnesses gave statements that they were “terrified” and “thought they were going to die.”
An Open Carry Freedom Walk is scheduled for Jan. 18 in the Gander Mountain parking lot. The event was planned before Poe was stopped in the mall with his firearm.
Bob Walsh says: Is Texas becoming warm and fuzzy? In days gone by, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, it was legally permissible to carry an unconcealed, loaded handgun in California. However, in some large metropolitan areas, notably SF and LA, if you did so you would be arrested for disturbing the peace and your gun would be seized. You would then have to sue to get it back, and it would often be lost or badly damaged by the time you got it back. You expect that sort of thing in the Peoples Republic of California, but not in Texas.
No Bob, Texas is not becoming warm and fuzzy, but stupid is as stupid does. Nowadays, you don’t go into a mall carrying an AR-15 what with all the recent mass shootings. I can understand why the mall patrons were terrified and why the cops took his toy away from him. This case has nothing to do with the right to carry. It has everything to do with common sense, something stupid Mr. Poe apparently does not have.
Bob, let me assure you that unlike anti-gun California, Texas remains a very gun friendly state.
MAN WHO CARRIED AR-15 ON HIS BACK INSIDE MALL SAYS CHARGES NOT WARRANTED
By Agustin Garfias
12 News
January 3, 2014
BEAUMONT - A Beaumont store owner charged with disorderly conduct insists he never broke the law and was just exercising his second amendment rights.
On Dec. 28, Derek Poe stopped by GameStop in Parkdale Mall before going to the store he owns in the mall, Golden Triangle Tactical. While at GameStop, he was stopped by police officers and the AR-15 that was slung around his back was seized.
Poe says he was just exercising his right to open carry a long rifle.
Police have charged him with disorderly conduct because he displayed a firearm “In a manner calculated to alarm.”
Poe disagrees saying his rifle was facing barrel down on his back and his hands weren’t even on the gun.
“It was clearly obvious I didn’t have criminal intent. I had a drink in one hand and a bag in the other. I didn’t commit a crime. I legally carried a long arm in Texas,” Poe said.
Detectives say witnesses gave statements that they were “terrified” and “thought they were going to die.”
An Open Carry Freedom Walk is scheduled for Jan. 18 in the Gander Mountain parking lot. The event was planned before Poe was stopped in the mall with his firearm.
LAST OF OKLAHOMA TRIO EXECUTED FOR 1995 MURDER
After the lethal injection started flowing, he told the Warden he felt his whole body burning. However, he showed no signs of physical distress ….. that’s too bad!
‘I FEEL MY WHOLE BODY BURNING’: LAST WORDS OF MAN EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION IN OKLAHOMA
Michael LeeWilson and three others brutally beat Richard Yost to death and robbed the store where both worked
Associated Press
January 10, 2014
A man has been executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary almost 20 years after orchestrating the brutal assault and robbery of his co-worker at a Tulsa convenience store.
Michael Lee Wilson, 38, was convicted in the killing of Richard Yost, 30, who aspired to one day manage the Quiktrip store. Wilson, who was convicted of first-degree murder, was the third person executed for the February 25, 1995, crime; the fourth defendant is serving a life term.
Prison spokesman Jerry Massie said Wilson's time of death was 6:06 p.m. Wilson gave brief remarks twice - at first saying, 'I love everybody,' then speaking up again after Warden Anita Trammel ordered the execution to begin.
'I love the world,' he said. 'Love my daughters for me. I'm going to miss you always.'
Within 20 seconds of the execution starting, Wilson's final words were, 'I feel my whole body burning.' He showed no physical signs of distress.
Wilson's sister, Staci Wilson, sang a hymn throughout the execution, including the line, 'His soul is resting and it's a blessing.' When he was pronounced dead, she recited Psalm 23.
After the execution, Wilson's mother, Patricia Taylor, stood to capture a final look at her son on the gurney as a curtain began to close, blocking her view. Wilson's fiancee sobbed beside her.
Earlier in the day, he ate his last meal, which consisted of a stuffed-crust pizza with parmesan cheese as a final meal, along with a Cherry Dr Pepper, a pomegranate and cherry mash candy.
Yost's family denied an interview request but issued a statement noting the third of three executions was behind them.
'Closure will be not hearing this on the news and reading about it in the paper,' the family said in a statement issued by Angela Houser-Yost, Yost's widow. 'That is my closure - not to relive his death over and over but to remember the good times.'
Before the crime, the men loitered nearly an hour while waiting for customers to leave. Once they were gone, they struck Yost with an aluminum baseball bat 54 times in 131 seconds. They jostled a safe while removing it, but Wilson posed as Yost when a security company called to check an alarm.
And to dampen suspicions among middle-of-the-night customers, Wilson put on Yost's uniform and worked the cash register as Yost lay dying in a pool of blood, beer and milk behind the cooler doors.
The state Board of Pardon and Parole last month rejected Wilson's clemency request on a four to one vote. Ahead of the hearing, Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Miller told the panel that Wilson knew Yost had to die so he couldn't identify his robbers.
Police trailed Wilson after he didn't show up for work later that day and stopped all four men in a car about 14 hours after the crime. They carried multiple rolls of $5 bills and had pairs of Nike Air tennis shoes with the price tags still attached.
Wilson told officers that the four had planned for two weeks to rob and kill Yost, and a week before the killing even Yost knew something was up: He asked a police officer to increase patrols in the area because he believed Wilson and his friends intended to rob him.
The assault was captured on the store's surveillance system - video of Wilson stuffing money in his pockets and audio of the bat striking Yost as he pleaded for mercy.
'The repeated sounds of the baseball bat striking Mr Yost and Mr Yost's screams will never leave my mind,' Tulsa Assistant District Attorney James D. Dunn wrote to the parole board. Dunn was a bailiff during the defendants' preliminary hearings in 1995.
Yost, 30, had worked at the store three months.
In small talk 14 minutes before the assault began, Wilson asked Yost what kind of future he thought he had with the company. According to a summary of the case by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Yost told Wilson of his desire to manage the store some day.
Wilson, who was 19 at the time of the killing, laughed at Yost's answer, and then replied, 'For real?'
Darwin Brown, 32, was executed in January 2009, and Billy Don Alverson, 39, was executed in January 2011. The fourth defendant, Richard Harjo, who was 16 at the time of the crime and is now 35, was sentenced to life in prison.
Wilson will be the 192nd person executed by the state of Oklahoma since statehood; 52 will remain on death row after Wilson's death. He is the first to be executed in the state in 2014.
‘I FEEL MY WHOLE BODY BURNING’: LAST WORDS OF MAN EXECUTED BY LETHAL INJECTION IN OKLAHOMA
Michael LeeWilson and three others brutally beat Richard Yost to death and robbed the store where both worked
Associated Press
January 10, 2014
A man has been executed by lethal injection at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary almost 20 years after orchestrating the brutal assault and robbery of his co-worker at a Tulsa convenience store.
Michael Lee Wilson, 38, was convicted in the killing of Richard Yost, 30, who aspired to one day manage the Quiktrip store. Wilson, who was convicted of first-degree murder, was the third person executed for the February 25, 1995, crime; the fourth defendant is serving a life term.
Prison spokesman Jerry Massie said Wilson's time of death was 6:06 p.m. Wilson gave brief remarks twice - at first saying, 'I love everybody,' then speaking up again after Warden Anita Trammel ordered the execution to begin.
'I love the world,' he said. 'Love my daughters for me. I'm going to miss you always.'
Within 20 seconds of the execution starting, Wilson's final words were, 'I feel my whole body burning.' He showed no physical signs of distress.
Wilson's sister, Staci Wilson, sang a hymn throughout the execution, including the line, 'His soul is resting and it's a blessing.' When he was pronounced dead, she recited Psalm 23.
After the execution, Wilson's mother, Patricia Taylor, stood to capture a final look at her son on the gurney as a curtain began to close, blocking her view. Wilson's fiancee sobbed beside her.
Earlier in the day, he ate his last meal, which consisted of a stuffed-crust pizza with parmesan cheese as a final meal, along with a Cherry Dr Pepper, a pomegranate and cherry mash candy.
Yost's family denied an interview request but issued a statement noting the third of three executions was behind them.
'Closure will be not hearing this on the news and reading about it in the paper,' the family said in a statement issued by Angela Houser-Yost, Yost's widow. 'That is my closure - not to relive his death over and over but to remember the good times.'
Before the crime, the men loitered nearly an hour while waiting for customers to leave. Once they were gone, they struck Yost with an aluminum baseball bat 54 times in 131 seconds. They jostled a safe while removing it, but Wilson posed as Yost when a security company called to check an alarm.
And to dampen suspicions among middle-of-the-night customers, Wilson put on Yost's uniform and worked the cash register as Yost lay dying in a pool of blood, beer and milk behind the cooler doors.
The state Board of Pardon and Parole last month rejected Wilson's clemency request on a four to one vote. Ahead of the hearing, Assistant Attorney General Jennifer Miller told the panel that Wilson knew Yost had to die so he couldn't identify his robbers.
Police trailed Wilson after he didn't show up for work later that day and stopped all four men in a car about 14 hours after the crime. They carried multiple rolls of $5 bills and had pairs of Nike Air tennis shoes with the price tags still attached.
Wilson told officers that the four had planned for two weeks to rob and kill Yost, and a week before the killing even Yost knew something was up: He asked a police officer to increase patrols in the area because he believed Wilson and his friends intended to rob him.
The assault was captured on the store's surveillance system - video of Wilson stuffing money in his pockets and audio of the bat striking Yost as he pleaded for mercy.
'The repeated sounds of the baseball bat striking Mr Yost and Mr Yost's screams will never leave my mind,' Tulsa Assistant District Attorney James D. Dunn wrote to the parole board. Dunn was a bailiff during the defendants' preliminary hearings in 1995.
Yost, 30, had worked at the store three months.
In small talk 14 minutes before the assault began, Wilson asked Yost what kind of future he thought he had with the company. According to a summary of the case by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Yost told Wilson of his desire to manage the store some day.
Wilson, who was 19 at the time of the killing, laughed at Yost's answer, and then replied, 'For real?'
Darwin Brown, 32, was executed in January 2009, and Billy Don Alverson, 39, was executed in January 2011. The fourth defendant, Richard Harjo, who was 16 at the time of the crime and is now 35, was sentenced to life in prison.
Wilson will be the 192nd person executed by the state of Oklahoma since statehood; 52 will remain on death row after Wilson's death. He is the first to be executed in the state in 2014.
WARNING: ALWAYS READ THE FINE PRINT
Woman drops off car at closed rental car office; car is stolen before office reopened; now billed for $47,271
She didn’t read the fine print, so now she and her insurance company are stuck with the cost of replacing a Mustang GT Convertible. And if the insurance company turns down her claim, she’s stuck for the whole amount.
RENT CAR CUSTOMER BILLED $47K
A weekend rental of a Ford Mustang GT Convertible sounds like a nice, relaxing way to burn some gas, but one Nova Scotia woman’s two-day rental is turning into a months-long headache
By Jerry Reynolds
Car Pro News
January 7, 2013
In early October, Kristen Cockerill picked up the Mustang from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and she returned it the following day as stipulated by the rental contract. Unfortunately, she dropped the car off on a Sunday – a day on which the particular Enterprise office is closed – and the car ended up being stolen overnight.
Now, two months later, CBC reports that Cockerill received a bill from Enterprise for the full replacement of the car totaling $47,271 (a base 2014 Mustang GT Convertible currently costs $40,349 in Canada). As it turns out, the fine print in the contract says that the renter is responsible for cars dropped off after hours until it can be inspected the next business day – this is also reflected on the key drop seen in the news report video, which states “vehicles returned after hours are the responsibility of the renter until inspected on the next business day.”
It’s not clear how much, if any, of that amount Cockerhill will be responsible for once her insurance company gets involved, but if the insurance company refuses to pay, Enterprise will bill the amount to the credit card she provided during her rental. While this ordeal is far from over for Cockerhill, it’s a good reminder for the rest of us to always read the fine print.
She didn’t read the fine print, so now she and her insurance company are stuck with the cost of replacing a Mustang GT Convertible. And if the insurance company turns down her claim, she’s stuck for the whole amount.
RENT CAR CUSTOMER BILLED $47K
A weekend rental of a Ford Mustang GT Convertible sounds like a nice, relaxing way to burn some gas, but one Nova Scotia woman’s two-day rental is turning into a months-long headache
By Jerry Reynolds
Car Pro News
January 7, 2013
In early October, Kristen Cockerill picked up the Mustang from Enterprise Rent-A-Car, and she returned it the following day as stipulated by the rental contract. Unfortunately, she dropped the car off on a Sunday – a day on which the particular Enterprise office is closed – and the car ended up being stolen overnight.
Now, two months later, CBC reports that Cockerill received a bill from Enterprise for the full replacement of the car totaling $47,271 (a base 2014 Mustang GT Convertible currently costs $40,349 in Canada). As it turns out, the fine print in the contract says that the renter is responsible for cars dropped off after hours until it can be inspected the next business day – this is also reflected on the key drop seen in the news report video, which states “vehicles returned after hours are the responsibility of the renter until inspected on the next business day.”
It’s not clear how much, if any, of that amount Cockerhill will be responsible for once her insurance company gets involved, but if the insurance company refuses to pay, Enterprise will bill the amount to the credit card she provided during her rental. While this ordeal is far from over for Cockerhill, it’s a good reminder for the rest of us to always read the fine print.
BRAIN ADDLED DINERS LEFT METH TIP
When a waitress discovered that the two diners she had served left her an envelope containing 17 grams of meth as a tip, she told the manager to call the police. When the cops showed up, the brain addled pair were still sitting at the table where they had dined.
OREGON DINERS LEAVE ENVELOPE FULL OF METHAMPHETAMINE AS TIP
Ryan Bensen and Erica Manley left a gift card and an envelope containing 17 grams of methamphetamine to cover their tab and the tip for their cocktail waitress at the Twisted Fish in Seaside, Ore., police say
By Sasha Goldstein
New York Daily News
January 7, 2014
Two Oregon diners were cuffed on drug charges after they left a waitress an envelope full of methamphetamine as a tip.
Ryan Bensen, 40, of Beaverton, and Erica Manley, 37, of Cascade Locks, were having drinks early Friday morning at the Twisted Fish in Seaside when they left a gift card to cover the tab — and 17 grams of meth as gratuity.
The shocked waitress called police about 1 a.m. when she found the white crystalline powder, Seaside Police Chief Robert Gross told the Daily News.
“I think the waitress was stunned and probably offended that somebody would think she was a user of a methamphetamine,” Gross said.
Responding officers recognized the drug as meth and placed both patrons under arrest, Gross said. A subsequent search of Manley’s purse uncovered even more of the drug.
Cops searched the couple’s car and motel room and found more meth and items used to make the highly addictive drug.
Both were booked on charges of possession of methamphetamine and manufacture of methamphetamine, while Manley faces an additional charge of delivery of methamphetamine.
They’re both being held at the Clatsop County Jail awaiting arraignment.
Gross praised the waitress for “making the call to police and saying ‘no’ to more methamphetamine in our community.”
“It speaks volumes of the business community doing their part” to stop the drug’s spread in the small town, about 80 miles from Portland, Gross said.
OREGON DINERS LEAVE ENVELOPE FULL OF METHAMPHETAMINE AS TIP
Ryan Bensen and Erica Manley left a gift card and an envelope containing 17 grams of methamphetamine to cover their tab and the tip for their cocktail waitress at the Twisted Fish in Seaside, Ore., police say
By Sasha Goldstein
New York Daily News
January 7, 2014
Two Oregon diners were cuffed on drug charges after they left a waitress an envelope full of methamphetamine as a tip.
Ryan Bensen, 40, of Beaverton, and Erica Manley, 37, of Cascade Locks, were having drinks early Friday morning at the Twisted Fish in Seaside when they left a gift card to cover the tab — and 17 grams of meth as gratuity.
The shocked waitress called police about 1 a.m. when she found the white crystalline powder, Seaside Police Chief Robert Gross told the Daily News.
“I think the waitress was stunned and probably offended that somebody would think she was a user of a methamphetamine,” Gross said.
Responding officers recognized the drug as meth and placed both patrons under arrest, Gross said. A subsequent search of Manley’s purse uncovered even more of the drug.
Cops searched the couple’s car and motel room and found more meth and items used to make the highly addictive drug.
Both were booked on charges of possession of methamphetamine and manufacture of methamphetamine, while Manley faces an additional charge of delivery of methamphetamine.
They’re both being held at the Clatsop County Jail awaiting arraignment.
Gross praised the waitress for “making the call to police and saying ‘no’ to more methamphetamine in our community.”
“It speaks volumes of the business community doing their part” to stop the drug’s spread in the small town, about 80 miles from Portland, Gross said.
ANOTHER EDUCATED IDIOT TEACHER BITES THE DUST OVER SEX WITH STUDENT (UPDATE)
I posted the report of Lauren Harrington-Cooper’s arrest for having sex with an 18-year-old student on December 23, 2013. Now she has been arrested again for having sex with a 17-year-old youth. The soon-to-be ex-teacher looks like she’s really hot to trot. And here again, text messages brought her down.
TEACHER FACES NEW SEX CHARGES
‘I’m all the candy you need,’ Wyoming Valley West teacher allegedly told teen
By Edward Lewis
The Sunday Dispatch
January 9, 2013
KINGSTON, PA — For the second time in less than a month, Wyoming Valley West English teacher Lauren Harrington-Cooper was arrested on charges she performed oral sex on a male student in a car.
Harrington-Cooper, 31, of Winola Avenue, Kingston, was arraigned by District Judge Paul Roberts on charges of institutional sexual assault and corruption of minors. She was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.
According to arrest papers filed by Plymouth police and Luzerne County detectives:
Harrington-Cooper responded to a note with a “drawn heart” and a cell number of a 17-year-old boy he left on the windshield of her car outside the high school in Plymouth sometime in October. The boy left the note after Cooper allegedly told a female student he was “good looking.”
Harrington-Cooper sent a text message containing the names of three boys asking if he was the student she thought was good looking, the complaint says.
The teacher and student exchanged text messages that were “sexually explicit in nature” and talked about having sexual relations. Harrington-Cooper advised the boy not to tell anyone of their communications for fear she could get into legal trouble, according to the complaint.
After two weeks of text messages, the boy picked up Harrington-Cooper at her residence. A neighbor who was outside asked Cooper where she was going and she replied “going out drinking,” the complaint says.
They drove around the Back Mountain area for about 90 minutes and parked in front of Harrington-Cooper’s residence, where they kissed and fondled each other, authorities allege in the complaint.
Harrington-Cooper and the boy continued to send text messages to each other and converse in the school’s hallway. When the boy asked for a piece of candy in school, Harrington-Cooper allegedly told him, “I’m all the candy you need,” the complaint says.
The boy told authorities he was embarrassed by Harrington-Cooper’s remark.
Sometime in November, Harrington-Cooper contacted the boy at about 2:30 a.m. on a weekend night and arranged to meet him at his grandfather’s house in Kingston.
Harrington-Cooper picked up the boy and they drove to McDonald’s in Edwardsville, and then back to the grandfather’s house. While in the car, Harrington-Cooper and the boy kissed and she performed oral sex on him, according to the complaint.
After the alleged incident in the car, the boy told authorities he limited his contact with Harrington-Cooper.
Harrington-Cooper told him, “What 17-year-old doesn’t want to have sex with his 31-year-old teacher,” the complaint says.
On several occasions, Harrington-Cooper told the boy to delete their text message conversations because she feared someone would see them.
In court Thursday
During the brief arraignment Thursday, Harrington-Cooper told the district judge she is employed by the Wyoming Valley West School District.
Detective Charles Balogh said Harrington-Cooper has been “sending messages to several students” after she was initially arrested on Dec. 18 on allegations she performed oral sex on an 18-year-old male student in a car.
Roberts told Harrington-Cooper not to have any contact with minors unless supervised and not to contact any student if she is able to post bail.
“No contact with any student attending a high school, 18, 19, it doesn’t matter what their age is,” Roberts ordered.
First case
She was first arrested on Dec. 18 and charged with one count of institutional sexual assault in connection with an alleged encounter with the 18-year-old student.
In that case, police said the student’s parents told school officials they discovered inappropriate text messages between their son and a female teacher, later identified as Harrington-Cooper.
According to the victim, his sister told him Harrington-Cooper texted her that her brother was “hot.” He said he got Harrington-Cooper’s cellphone number from his sister and later that day started texting her and they agreed to hang out, an affidavit says.
The victim told police Harrington-Cooper would pick him up and she performed oral sex on him three times and that they had intercourse twice, according to the affidavit.
Harrington-Cooper told investigators she began texting the student on Dec. 13 and knew he was a senior in high school. She allegedly admitted to having sexual relations with the student, all of which occurred in her vehicle, the complaint says.
She had been free on $25,000 unsecured bail in that case.
TEACHER FACES NEW SEX CHARGES
‘I’m all the candy you need,’ Wyoming Valley West teacher allegedly told teen
By Edward Lewis
The Sunday Dispatch
January 9, 2013
KINGSTON, PA — For the second time in less than a month, Wyoming Valley West English teacher Lauren Harrington-Cooper was arrested on charges she performed oral sex on a male student in a car.
Harrington-Cooper, 31, of Winola Avenue, Kingston, was arraigned by District Judge Paul Roberts on charges of institutional sexual assault and corruption of minors. She was jailed at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility for lack of $25,000 bail.
According to arrest papers filed by Plymouth police and Luzerne County detectives:
Harrington-Cooper responded to a note with a “drawn heart” and a cell number of a 17-year-old boy he left on the windshield of her car outside the high school in Plymouth sometime in October. The boy left the note after Cooper allegedly told a female student he was “good looking.”
Harrington-Cooper sent a text message containing the names of three boys asking if he was the student she thought was good looking, the complaint says.
The teacher and student exchanged text messages that were “sexually explicit in nature” and talked about having sexual relations. Harrington-Cooper advised the boy not to tell anyone of their communications for fear she could get into legal trouble, according to the complaint.
After two weeks of text messages, the boy picked up Harrington-Cooper at her residence. A neighbor who was outside asked Cooper where she was going and she replied “going out drinking,” the complaint says.
They drove around the Back Mountain area for about 90 minutes and parked in front of Harrington-Cooper’s residence, where they kissed and fondled each other, authorities allege in the complaint.
Harrington-Cooper and the boy continued to send text messages to each other and converse in the school’s hallway. When the boy asked for a piece of candy in school, Harrington-Cooper allegedly told him, “I’m all the candy you need,” the complaint says.
The boy told authorities he was embarrassed by Harrington-Cooper’s remark.
Sometime in November, Harrington-Cooper contacted the boy at about 2:30 a.m. on a weekend night and arranged to meet him at his grandfather’s house in Kingston.
Harrington-Cooper picked up the boy and they drove to McDonald’s in Edwardsville, and then back to the grandfather’s house. While in the car, Harrington-Cooper and the boy kissed and she performed oral sex on him, according to the complaint.
After the alleged incident in the car, the boy told authorities he limited his contact with Harrington-Cooper.
Harrington-Cooper told him, “What 17-year-old doesn’t want to have sex with his 31-year-old teacher,” the complaint says.
On several occasions, Harrington-Cooper told the boy to delete their text message conversations because she feared someone would see them.
In court Thursday
During the brief arraignment Thursday, Harrington-Cooper told the district judge she is employed by the Wyoming Valley West School District.
Detective Charles Balogh said Harrington-Cooper has been “sending messages to several students” after she was initially arrested on Dec. 18 on allegations she performed oral sex on an 18-year-old male student in a car.
Roberts told Harrington-Cooper not to have any contact with minors unless supervised and not to contact any student if she is able to post bail.
“No contact with any student attending a high school, 18, 19, it doesn’t matter what their age is,” Roberts ordered.
First case
She was first arrested on Dec. 18 and charged with one count of institutional sexual assault in connection with an alleged encounter with the 18-year-old student.
In that case, police said the student’s parents told school officials they discovered inappropriate text messages between their son and a female teacher, later identified as Harrington-Cooper.
According to the victim, his sister told him Harrington-Cooper texted her that her brother was “hot.” He said he got Harrington-Cooper’s cellphone number from his sister and later that day started texting her and they agreed to hang out, an affidavit says.
The victim told police Harrington-Cooper would pick him up and she performed oral sex on him three times and that they had intercourse twice, according to the affidavit.
Harrington-Cooper told investigators she began texting the student on Dec. 13 and knew he was a senior in high school. She allegedly admitted to having sexual relations with the student, all of which occurred in her vehicle, the complaint says.
She had been free on $25,000 unsecured bail in that case.
MICHELLE WILL THINK I’VE BEEN IN A WHOREHOUSE
The Unconventional Gazette
January 10, 2014
George W Bush and Barack Obama somehow ended up at the same barber shop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken. The barbers were even afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics. As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Obama in his chair reached for the aftershave.
Obama was quick to stop him saying, “No thanks, my wife Michelle will smell that and think I’ve been in a whorehouse.”
The second barber turned to Bush and said, “How about you sir?” Bush replied, “Go ahead; my wife doesn’t know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like.”
January 10, 2014
George W Bush and Barack Obama somehow ended up at the same barber shop. As they sat there, each being worked on by a different barber, not a word was spoken. The barbers were even afraid to start a conversation, for fear it would turn to politics. As the barbers finished their shaves, the one who had Obama in his chair reached for the aftershave.
Obama was quick to stop him saying, “No thanks, my wife Michelle will smell that and think I’ve been in a whorehouse.”
The second barber turned to Bush and said, “How about you sir?” Bush replied, “Go ahead; my wife doesn’t know what the inside of a whorehouse smells like.”
Friday, January 10, 2014
NEW MEXICO WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER USING S&W REVOLVER AS DILDO (UPDATE)
After arguing about space aliens with her boyfriend, she performs a sex act with the S&W before withdrawing it from her genitals and aiming it pointblank at his head
I also posted this report on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. Thus far there have been three comments made in response. Here they are:
Bob Walsh says: No doubt a very well worn holster.
bulldogger says: I bet that S&W didn’t need any lube.
And this one will be hard to top:
FXSTC1 says: Reliable sources close to the investigation reveal that the alleged weapon was once used by celebrity detective “Dirty Harry” and that medical staff were not surprised to also locate 3 speed loaders and a “throw down” in the before mentioned “holster”.
I also posted this report on PACOVILLA Corrections blog. Thus far there have been three comments made in response. Here they are:
Bob Walsh says: No doubt a very well worn holster.
bulldogger says: I bet that S&W didn’t need any lube.
And this one will be hard to top:
FXSTC1 says: Reliable sources close to the investigation reveal that the alleged weapon was once used by celebrity detective “Dirty Harry” and that medical staff were not surprised to also locate 3 speed loaders and a “throw down” in the before mentioned “holster”.
JUDGE RULES CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION AGENTS DO NOT NEED REASONABLE SUSPICION TO SEARCH TRAVELERS’ ELECTRONIC DEVICES AT THE BORDER
A number of right-wing blogs have filled cyberspace with a post by a Sam Rolley who claims that Judge Korman “upheld an Obama Administration policy that allows the Federal government to deny 4th Amendment protections within 100 miles inland from the Nation’s border.”
I cannot find any reliable source which reports that the ruling applied to searches within 100 miles of the border. It looks like Rolley is one of those right-wing bloggers who rails against Obama any chance he gets and, in this case, he does so by cleverly inserting bogus materials into a legitimate report. He even included a map of the U.S. entitled “The Constitution-Free Zone of the United States” surrounded by a 100-mile-wide orange stripe.
DISTRICT JUDGE UPHOLDS GOVERNMENT’S RIGHT TO SEARCH ELECTRONICS AT BORDER
Pascal Abidor sued the government after American border agents handcuffed him, placed him in a cell and questioned him for several hours, then seized and kept his laptop for 11 days
By Susan Stelin
The New York Times
December 31, 2013
The government’s right to search travelers’ electronic devices at the border was upheld in a ruling released by a federal judge on Tuesday, which dismissed a lawsuit challenging this policy.
In his opinion, Judge Edward R. Korman of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York found that the plaintiffs did not have standing for their lawsuit because such searches occur so rarely that “there is not a substantial risk that their electronic devices will be subject to a search or seizure without reasonable suspicion.”
Even if the plaintiffs did have standing, Judge Korman found that they would lose on the merits of the case, ruling that the government does not need reasonable suspicion to examine or confiscate a traveler’s laptop, cellphone or other device at the border.
“There’s no silver lining to this decision,” said Catherine Crump, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs. “It’s not just that we lost the case. It’s that the judge decided against us on multiple alternative grounds.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Pascal Abidor, a graduate student in Islamic studies, who sued the government after American border agents removed him from an Amtrak train crossing from Canada to New York. He was handcuffed, placed in a cell and questioned for several hours, then his laptop was seized and kept for 11 days.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Press Photographers Association were also plaintiffs in the case, arguing that their members travel with confidential information that should be protected from government scrutiny.
In rejecting this argument, Judge Korman cited the rarity of electronic device searches and questioned whether travelers need to carry computers containing sensitive data when they travel abroad.
“While it is true that laptops may make overseas work more convenient,” he wrote, “the precautions plaintiffs may choose to take to ‘mitigate’ the alleged harm associated with the remote possibility of a border search are simply among the many inconveniences associated with international travel.”
Mr. Abidor said he was disappointed but not entirely surprised by the ruling.
“I can’t say it wasn’t foreseeable based on the line of questioning by the judge during the initial hearing,” Mr. Abidor said. “He just seemed so skeptical of the basic premise that people need to travel with devices.”
“These checks are essential to enforcing the law, and protecting national security and public safety,” Peter Boogaard, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement, “always with the shared goals of protecting the American people while respecting civil rights and civil liberties.”
In his opinion, Judge Korman emphasized how infrequently border agents search or detain electronic devices, but it is unclear how accurately the government tracks these statistics.
According to Customs and Border Protection, the agency conducts about 15 device searches a day at American entry points. But a 2011 assessment of this practice by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border agency, cited problems with how these incidents are counted.
The report noted: “C.B.P.’s system for entering the results of electronic device searches did not allow analysts to accurately identify incidents and seizures related to electronic device search activity, thus hindering C.B.P.’s ability to monitor and evaluate performance and making it difficult to provide accurate operational data concerning searches of electronic devices.”
While the courts have generally supported the government’s authority to search travelers at the border, based on the government’s interest in combating crime and terrorism, a decision last year placed some limits on more intrusive device searches.
In March, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California ruled in United States v. Cotterman that reasonable suspicion of criminal activity was required for a forensic search of a device confiscated at the border — a more extensive exam, as opposed to a cursory look at photos or other files.
That decision applies to states covered by the Ninth Circuit, including California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. Judge Korman’s ruling will not have as much legal impact, since it comes from a district court rather than a circuit court.
“It maintains the status quo, which is that the government is free everywhere except in the Ninth Circuit to conduct all types of electronic device searches without reasonable suspicion,” Ms. Crump from the A.C.L.U. said. “We are considering an appeal, but we haven’t made a decision one way or the other yet.”
I cannot find any reliable source which reports that the ruling applied to searches within 100 miles of the border. It looks like Rolley is one of those right-wing bloggers who rails against Obama any chance he gets and, in this case, he does so by cleverly inserting bogus materials into a legitimate report. He even included a map of the U.S. entitled “The Constitution-Free Zone of the United States” surrounded by a 100-mile-wide orange stripe.
DISTRICT JUDGE UPHOLDS GOVERNMENT’S RIGHT TO SEARCH ELECTRONICS AT BORDER
Pascal Abidor sued the government after American border agents handcuffed him, placed him in a cell and questioned him for several hours, then seized and kept his laptop for 11 days
By Susan Stelin
The New York Times
December 31, 2013
The government’s right to search travelers’ electronic devices at the border was upheld in a ruling released by a federal judge on Tuesday, which dismissed a lawsuit challenging this policy.
In his opinion, Judge Edward R. Korman of the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of New York found that the plaintiffs did not have standing for their lawsuit because such searches occur so rarely that “there is not a substantial risk that their electronic devices will be subject to a search or seizure without reasonable suspicion.”
Even if the plaintiffs did have standing, Judge Korman found that they would lose on the merits of the case, ruling that the government does not need reasonable suspicion to examine or confiscate a traveler’s laptop, cellphone or other device at the border.
“There’s no silver lining to this decision,” said Catherine Crump, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, which represented the plaintiffs. “It’s not just that we lost the case. It’s that the judge decided against us on multiple alternative grounds.”
The lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Pascal Abidor, a graduate student in Islamic studies, who sued the government after American border agents removed him from an Amtrak train crossing from Canada to New York. He was handcuffed, placed in a cell and questioned for several hours, then his laptop was seized and kept for 11 days.
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the National Press Photographers Association were also plaintiffs in the case, arguing that their members travel with confidential information that should be protected from government scrutiny.
In rejecting this argument, Judge Korman cited the rarity of electronic device searches and questioned whether travelers need to carry computers containing sensitive data when they travel abroad.
“While it is true that laptops may make overseas work more convenient,” he wrote, “the precautions plaintiffs may choose to take to ‘mitigate’ the alleged harm associated with the remote possibility of a border search are simply among the many inconveniences associated with international travel.”
Mr. Abidor said he was disappointed but not entirely surprised by the ruling.
“I can’t say it wasn’t foreseeable based on the line of questioning by the judge during the initial hearing,” Mr. Abidor said. “He just seemed so skeptical of the basic premise that people need to travel with devices.”
“These checks are essential to enforcing the law, and protecting national security and public safety,” Peter Boogaard, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement, “always with the shared goals of protecting the American people while respecting civil rights and civil liberties.”
In his opinion, Judge Korman emphasized how infrequently border agents search or detain electronic devices, but it is unclear how accurately the government tracks these statistics.
According to Customs and Border Protection, the agency conducts about 15 device searches a day at American entry points. But a 2011 assessment of this practice by the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the border agency, cited problems with how these incidents are counted.
The report noted: “C.B.P.’s system for entering the results of electronic device searches did not allow analysts to accurately identify incidents and seizures related to electronic device search activity, thus hindering C.B.P.’s ability to monitor and evaluate performance and making it difficult to provide accurate operational data concerning searches of electronic devices.”
While the courts have generally supported the government’s authority to search travelers at the border, based on the government’s interest in combating crime and terrorism, a decision last year placed some limits on more intrusive device searches.
In March, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California ruled in United States v. Cotterman that reasonable suspicion of criminal activity was required for a forensic search of a device confiscated at the border — a more extensive exam, as opposed to a cursory look at photos or other files.
That decision applies to states covered by the Ninth Circuit, including California, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii. Judge Korman’s ruling will not have as much legal impact, since it comes from a district court rather than a circuit court.
“It maintains the status quo, which is that the government is free everywhere except in the Ninth Circuit to conduct all types of electronic device searches without reasonable suspicion,” Ms. Crump from the A.C.L.U. said. “We are considering an appeal, but we haven’t made a decision one way or the other yet.”
24 SAN DIEGO GANG MEMBERS CHARGED WITH OPERATING PROSTITUTION RING THAT SPANNED 46 CITIES IN 23 STATES
Prostitution is a flourishing business all across the U.S. And once in a while it brings down celebrities like former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
FEDS: SAN DIEGO GANG RUNS VAST PROSTITUTION RING
Associated Press
January 9, 2014
SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego street gang operated a vast prostitution ring that spanned 46 cities in 23 states, promising luxury lifestyles to girls and women. Federal prosecutors said that instead they were branded with tattoos and bar codes and treated like slaves.,
"The kind of sex trafficking described in this indictment is nothing less than modern-day slavery," said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy on Wednesday as she announced the indictment on racketeering conspiracy charges of 24 people, all San Diego residents ages 22 to 36. "Unfortunately, more gangs are expanding from traditional pursuits like drug dealing into this lucrative business."
Seventeen of those indicted were arrested in California, Arizona and New Jersey on Wednesday in raids by police and FBI agents, prosecutors said. Four other defendants were already in custody and three remained at-large.
The indictment alleges that women and girls were recruited from city streets or social media to join the sex-trafficking ring, then had to deliver their earnings to pimps in exchange for protection, food, housing, clothing and cars.
The U.S. attorney's office said authorities have offered assistance to 60 female victims, including 11 children.
The network was run by a gang known as BMS, which traces its origins to San Diego's increasingly gentrified North Park neighborhood in the early 1990s, and whose members have nicknames like "Pimpsy" ''Stick Up" and "Li'l Play Doh," prosecutors said.
Members would post photos and videos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter advertising a high life of jewelry, champagne and parties.
But gang members would use threats or actual violence to force them into prostitution, and often tattooed gang monikers, pimps' names and bar codes on them.
Authorities also seized luxury cars, dozens of Air Jordan shoes and pimp paraphernalia like diamond-studded canes, hats and chalices, much of which prosecutors said they would seek to have forfeited.
Many defendants, facing racketeering conspiracy charges traditionally used for organized-crime syndicates, were scheduled to make initial court appearances Thursday in San Diego. Fourteen of those arrested could get life in prison if convicted.
A similar prosecution of a gang-run prostitution ring in nearby Oceanside in 2011 led to the indictment of 39 people 34 of whom have since pleaded guilty.
FEDS: SAN DIEGO GANG RUNS VAST PROSTITUTION RING
Associated Press
January 9, 2014
SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego street gang operated a vast prostitution ring that spanned 46 cities in 23 states, promising luxury lifestyles to girls and women. Federal prosecutors said that instead they were branded with tattoos and bar codes and treated like slaves.,
"The kind of sex trafficking described in this indictment is nothing less than modern-day slavery," said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy on Wednesday as she announced the indictment on racketeering conspiracy charges of 24 people, all San Diego residents ages 22 to 36. "Unfortunately, more gangs are expanding from traditional pursuits like drug dealing into this lucrative business."
Seventeen of those indicted were arrested in California, Arizona and New Jersey on Wednesday in raids by police and FBI agents, prosecutors said. Four other defendants were already in custody and three remained at-large.
The indictment alleges that women and girls were recruited from city streets or social media to join the sex-trafficking ring, then had to deliver their earnings to pimps in exchange for protection, food, housing, clothing and cars.
The U.S. attorney's office said authorities have offered assistance to 60 female victims, including 11 children.
The network was run by a gang known as BMS, which traces its origins to San Diego's increasingly gentrified North Park neighborhood in the early 1990s, and whose members have nicknames like "Pimpsy" ''Stick Up" and "Li'l Play Doh," prosecutors said.
Members would post photos and videos on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter advertising a high life of jewelry, champagne and parties.
But gang members would use threats or actual violence to force them into prostitution, and often tattooed gang monikers, pimps' names and bar codes on them.
Authorities also seized luxury cars, dozens of Air Jordan shoes and pimp paraphernalia like diamond-studded canes, hats and chalices, much of which prosecutors said they would seek to have forfeited.
Many defendants, facing racketeering conspiracy charges traditionally used for organized-crime syndicates, were scheduled to make initial court appearances Thursday in San Diego. Fourteen of those arrested could get life in prison if convicted.
A similar prosecution of a gang-run prostitution ring in nearby Oceanside in 2011 led to the indictment of 39 people 34 of whom have since pleaded guilty.
POLICE UNION’S RELEASE OF VIDEO SHOWING CURSING BLACK TODDLER BRINGS CHARGES OF POLICE RACISM
In a video that lasted just over a minute, the diapered black toddler used 36 curse words
The toddler used the words ‘fuck’, ‘bitch’ and ‘nigger’, and gave the birdie finger sign. I am rather skeptical of the police union’s claim that it released the video for educational purposes. Instead, I think they were being a bunch of smart asses with an obvious dig at the black community.
VIRAL VIDEO OF TODDLER CURSING:SOME SEE RACISM IN IN POLICE COMMENTS
The Omaha Police Officers Association's handling of a viral video of a toddler spotlights the troubled relationship between the local police force and minority communities, the ACLU says
By Elizabeth Barber
Christian Science Monitor
January 9, 2014
A toddler seen babbling a litany of obscenities while adults goaded him on in a video that went viral has been taken into protective custody, police in Omaha, Neb., said on Wednesday. But while the video itself has generated plenty of commentary, a civil rights group says the police union's handling of the incident spotlights a troubled relationship between the local police force and minority communities, as well as bears possible racist undertones.
In the video, an African-American toddler wearing just a diaper pushes over a chair, waves his middle finger, and repeats the obscenities and racial slurs that adult male and female voices, heard in the background, encourage him to say. The adults laugh each time the child parrots the profanities.
The video was first posted on the Facebook page of a man that the Omaha Police Officers Association (OPOA) called “a local thug.” It went viral when the police union reposted the video, under the title the “Thug Cycle,” on its website and Facebook page, calling the “heartbreaking and sickening footage” an example of the “terrible cycle of violence and thuggery” that local police officers battle.
“Now while we didn’t see anything in this video that is blatantly ‘illegal,’ ” the union wrote, “we sure did see a lot that is flat out immoral and completely unhealthy for this little child from a healthy upbringing standpoint.”
Viewers reacted to the video with outrage – but not just at the adults egging the child on. They also had vitriol for the police union that had reposted the video.
Commentators on the postings and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska said this week that the union’s description of the video – in particular its use of the word “thug” to describe the video’s original poster – have put stress on an already-bitter relationship between the city’s minority communities and a police department that has been beset over the past few years with allegations of racism and abuse.
The episode comes just days after the ACLU filed a lawsuit against 32 Omaha police officers, alleging that they had used excessive force against a local African-American family while responding to a parking incident last spring. An internal investigation of the incident, in which a woman was allegedly thrown from her wheelchair and handcuffed, has so far resulted in the firing of four of the officers, and criminal charges have been brought against two of them.
“At a time when the Omaha Police Department is facing a lawsuit from the ACLU over racially-biased misconduct, it is very disconcerting to have the Officers Association use such racially charged language,” said Becki Brenner, executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska, in a statement provided to the Monitor.
“The manner in which the Officers Association has discussed this incident has done nothing but further erode community trust and reinforce the need for independent oversight, trainings, and other reforms,” she said.
A year earlier, the ACLU had asked the Department of Justice to conduct a federal review of police practices in Omaha, alleging that a string of reports of police abuses suggested that the department had “failed to police itself,” the ACLU said.
Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said in a statement Tuesday that there is a distinction between the union, which posted the video, and the police force and that the comments on the video do not reflect the Police Department’s views.
"I want to make it explicit and clear that the views expressed on the OPOA Facebook page do not necessarily reflect the official stance of the Omaha Police Department," Chief Schmaderer said. "I strongly disagree with any postings that may cause a divide in our community or an obstacle to police community relations."
The union has not removed the postings and later posted a blog defending its use of the word “thug,” arguing that the term is not freighted with racist connotations. The word is used by people “of all colors, races and socioeconomic classes to describe anti-social, non-law abiding folks of all colors, races and socioeconomic classes,” the union said.
It also posted a public-service video on its blog called “Children See, Children Do,” in which young children mimic the violent actions and language of their parents.
“If we don’t understand it, we are doomed to continue to repeat it,” the union wrote under the video. “That’s how troubling cycles work.”
The toddler in the video was one of four children in that home taken into the care of state protective services, police said. A determination has not yet been made about future actions, a spokesman for the Omaha Police Department said on Thursday morning. CNN first reported that turn in the case.
ADDENDUM: KETV reports that in October, the toddler was one of five injured when someone fired shots through their front door. The adults caring for the child repeatedly allowed known gang members into their home - even after the state paid twice to relocate the family away from danger. The little boy's mother is only 16 and the father is believed to have been killed in a gang-related shooting at the age of 17. The boy's grandmother was arrested on weapons charges in December after guns were brought into the house while children were present.
The toddler used the words ‘fuck’, ‘bitch’ and ‘nigger’, and gave the birdie finger sign. I am rather skeptical of the police union’s claim that it released the video for educational purposes. Instead, I think they were being a bunch of smart asses with an obvious dig at the black community.
VIRAL VIDEO OF TODDLER CURSING:SOME SEE RACISM IN IN POLICE COMMENTS
The Omaha Police Officers Association's handling of a viral video of a toddler spotlights the troubled relationship between the local police force and minority communities, the ACLU says
By Elizabeth Barber
Christian Science Monitor
January 9, 2014
A toddler seen babbling a litany of obscenities while adults goaded him on in a video that went viral has been taken into protective custody, police in Omaha, Neb., said on Wednesday. But while the video itself has generated plenty of commentary, a civil rights group says the police union's handling of the incident spotlights a troubled relationship between the local police force and minority communities, as well as bears possible racist undertones.
In the video, an African-American toddler wearing just a diaper pushes over a chair, waves his middle finger, and repeats the obscenities and racial slurs that adult male and female voices, heard in the background, encourage him to say. The adults laugh each time the child parrots the profanities.
The video was first posted on the Facebook page of a man that the Omaha Police Officers Association (OPOA) called “a local thug.” It went viral when the police union reposted the video, under the title the “Thug Cycle,” on its website and Facebook page, calling the “heartbreaking and sickening footage” an example of the “terrible cycle of violence and thuggery” that local police officers battle.
“Now while we didn’t see anything in this video that is blatantly ‘illegal,’ ” the union wrote, “we sure did see a lot that is flat out immoral and completely unhealthy for this little child from a healthy upbringing standpoint.”
Viewers reacted to the video with outrage – but not just at the adults egging the child on. They also had vitriol for the police union that had reposted the video.
Commentators on the postings and the American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraska said this week that the union’s description of the video – in particular its use of the word “thug” to describe the video’s original poster – have put stress on an already-bitter relationship between the city’s minority communities and a police department that has been beset over the past few years with allegations of racism and abuse.
The episode comes just days after the ACLU filed a lawsuit against 32 Omaha police officers, alleging that they had used excessive force against a local African-American family while responding to a parking incident last spring. An internal investigation of the incident, in which a woman was allegedly thrown from her wheelchair and handcuffed, has so far resulted in the firing of four of the officers, and criminal charges have been brought against two of them.
“At a time when the Omaha Police Department is facing a lawsuit from the ACLU over racially-biased misconduct, it is very disconcerting to have the Officers Association use such racially charged language,” said Becki Brenner, executive director of the ACLU of Nebraska, in a statement provided to the Monitor.
“The manner in which the Officers Association has discussed this incident has done nothing but further erode community trust and reinforce the need for independent oversight, trainings, and other reforms,” she said.
A year earlier, the ACLU had asked the Department of Justice to conduct a federal review of police practices in Omaha, alleging that a string of reports of police abuses suggested that the department had “failed to police itself,” the ACLU said.
Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said in a statement Tuesday that there is a distinction between the union, which posted the video, and the police force and that the comments on the video do not reflect the Police Department’s views.
"I want to make it explicit and clear that the views expressed on the OPOA Facebook page do not necessarily reflect the official stance of the Omaha Police Department," Chief Schmaderer said. "I strongly disagree with any postings that may cause a divide in our community or an obstacle to police community relations."
The union has not removed the postings and later posted a blog defending its use of the word “thug,” arguing that the term is not freighted with racist connotations. The word is used by people “of all colors, races and socioeconomic classes to describe anti-social, non-law abiding folks of all colors, races and socioeconomic classes,” the union said.
It also posted a public-service video on its blog called “Children See, Children Do,” in which young children mimic the violent actions and language of their parents.
“If we don’t understand it, we are doomed to continue to repeat it,” the union wrote under the video. “That’s how troubling cycles work.”
The toddler in the video was one of four children in that home taken into the care of state protective services, police said. A determination has not yet been made about future actions, a spokesman for the Omaha Police Department said on Thursday morning. CNN first reported that turn in the case.
ADDENDUM: KETV reports that in October, the toddler was one of five injured when someone fired shots through their front door. The adults caring for the child repeatedly allowed known gang members into their home - even after the state paid twice to relocate the family away from danger. The little boy's mother is only 16 and the father is believed to have been killed in a gang-related shooting at the age of 17. The boy's grandmother was arrested on weapons charges in December after guns were brought into the house while children were present.
ENGLISH PROFESSOR SUDDENLY REALIZES STUDENTS WILL BELIEVE LITERALLY ANYTHING SHE SAYS
The Onion
January 9, 2014
LINCOLN, NE—Midway through her 9 a.m. Intro to American Literature course Thursday, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor Elizabeth Mabrey suddenly realized that her students would accept, without question, literally any words that came out of her mouth as absolute, incontrovertible fact, sources confirmed.
“I could say that On the Road was an overt metaphor for the Vietnam War and they would jot it down in their notebooks without any hesitation whatsoever,” said Mabrey, adding that, come midterms, her students will, as if on cue, mindlessly regurgitate whatever she tells them, whether it’s that the character of Dean Moriarty is supposed to be a figment of Sal Paradise’s imagination, or that the entire novel is meant to be read backwards. “I could, honest to God, ask them to tear their copies of the novel in half because that’s what Kerouac ‘intended the reader to do,’ and they would do it. I mean, what are they going to do? Disagree with me?”
Professor Mabrey told reporters she has no plans to abuse her newly discovered power, though she would admittedly reconsider this position if denied tenure.
January 9, 2014
LINCOLN, NE—Midway through her 9 a.m. Intro to American Literature course Thursday, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Professor Elizabeth Mabrey suddenly realized that her students would accept, without question, literally any words that came out of her mouth as absolute, incontrovertible fact, sources confirmed.
“I could say that On the Road was an overt metaphor for the Vietnam War and they would jot it down in their notebooks without any hesitation whatsoever,” said Mabrey, adding that, come midterms, her students will, as if on cue, mindlessly regurgitate whatever she tells them, whether it’s that the character of Dean Moriarty is supposed to be a figment of Sal Paradise’s imagination, or that the entire novel is meant to be read backwards. “I could, honest to God, ask them to tear their copies of the novel in half because that’s what Kerouac ‘intended the reader to do,’ and they would do it. I mean, what are they going to do? Disagree with me?”
Professor Mabrey told reporters she has no plans to abuse her newly discovered power, though she would admittedly reconsider this position if denied tenure.
Thursday, January 09, 2014
NEW MEXICO WOMAN ARRESTED AFTER USING S&W REVOLVER AS DILDO
After arguing about space aliens with her boyfriend, she performs a sex act with the S&W before withdrawing it from her genitals and aiming it pointblank at his head
According to police reports, Jennifer McCarthy, 48, and her boyfriend had an argument about space aliens at their Santa Fe home. She left the house in a huff but returned later and changed into some sexy lingerie. Then she performed a sex act for the boyfriend, using an S&W revolver as a dildo. Shortly thereafter, she withdrew the gun from its ‘holster’ and aimed it pointblank at his head. The boyfriend, who has not been identified, was able to grab the gun and called the cops.
After the cops found Jennifer's 'dildo' in the trash can where her boyfriend had tossed it, the pistol-packing mama was arrested – along with her unique concealed weapon holster – and locked up Saturday morning in Santa Fe’s county pokey, charged with aggravated assault. She has been released on $5,000 bail.
Anybody wanna buy Jennifer’s used holster?
According to police reports, Jennifer McCarthy, 48, and her boyfriend had an argument about space aliens at their Santa Fe home. She left the house in a huff but returned later and changed into some sexy lingerie. Then she performed a sex act for the boyfriend, using an S&W revolver as a dildo. Shortly thereafter, she withdrew the gun from its ‘holster’ and aimed it pointblank at his head. The boyfriend, who has not been identified, was able to grab the gun and called the cops.
After the cops found Jennifer's 'dildo' in the trash can where her boyfriend had tossed it, the pistol-packing mama was arrested – along with her unique concealed weapon holster – and locked up Saturday morning in Santa Fe’s county pokey, charged with aggravated assault. She has been released on $5,000 bail.
Anybody wanna buy Jennifer’s used holster?
YOUNG ISRAELI VANDALS GOT EXACTLY WHAT THEY DESERVED
If it were not for the intervention of village elders, the beat-up Jewish youths would have been killed by a Palestinian mob
There is absolutely no excuse for the abhorrent behavior of some settlement youths. They do not seem to realize that by their unwarranted and illegal acts, they are actually helping the Palestinian cause.
‘NEXT TIME WE’LL SLAUGHTER THEM’
Israel Today
January 8, 2014
A series of clashes in Samaria on Tuesday lead to the near lynching of 14 young Jewish vandals at the hands of an angry Palestinian mob. The Jewish youths' lives were saved by local Palestinian elders.
The day's violence began when Israeli security forces uprooted two Jewish olive groves that had been planted illegally near the Jewish community of Esh Kodesh.
A short time later, the 14 masked Jewish youth set out for a nearby Palestinian village, presumably to carry out another "price tag" reprisal. Groups such as this one insist that every time the Israeli authorities act against the Jewish settlement enterprise, they will respond by further inflaming the situation with acts of vandalism against Arabs.
Some reports suggested the youths also threw stones at Palestinian farmers, but that could not be verified.
What is known is that upon reaching the outskirts of the Palestinian village of Kosra, the youths were themselves attacked and pushed into an abandoned construction site, where Palestinian men proceeded to bind and beat them.
It is widely believed that the youths would have died horribly had elders from Kusra and other nearby village not intervened and protected the Jews from further violence. The elders called the Israeli army and then negotiated the release of the youths.
A local Palestinian resident told Israeli media that the next time Jewish youths dare to enter the area, "they won't leave alive."
Israeli police placed the youth under detention pending an investigation. Dani Dayan, a senior leader in the Jewish settlement movement, blasted the Jewish youth for their provocative actions.
"I am tired of the fools who think the Land of Israel can be gained through the use of clubs, matchboxes and provocations," he wrote. "I am tired of the masked Jewish bullies who hurt soldiers, policemen and innocent Arabs. I am tired of irresponsible cads who do bad and stupid things."
While very few in Israel would defend the actions of the "price tag" assailants, the incident did leave many wondering how the world would respond if the situation had been reversed, if Israeli Jewish civilians were to nearly lynch a group of young Arab vandals...
There is absolutely no excuse for the abhorrent behavior of some settlement youths. They do not seem to realize that by their unwarranted and illegal acts, they are actually helping the Palestinian cause.
‘NEXT TIME WE’LL SLAUGHTER THEM’
Israel Today
January 8, 2014
A series of clashes in Samaria on Tuesday lead to the near lynching of 14 young Jewish vandals at the hands of an angry Palestinian mob. The Jewish youths' lives were saved by local Palestinian elders.
The day's violence began when Israeli security forces uprooted two Jewish olive groves that had been planted illegally near the Jewish community of Esh Kodesh.
A short time later, the 14 masked Jewish youth set out for a nearby Palestinian village, presumably to carry out another "price tag" reprisal. Groups such as this one insist that every time the Israeli authorities act against the Jewish settlement enterprise, they will respond by further inflaming the situation with acts of vandalism against Arabs.
Some reports suggested the youths also threw stones at Palestinian farmers, but that could not be verified.
What is known is that upon reaching the outskirts of the Palestinian village of Kosra, the youths were themselves attacked and pushed into an abandoned construction site, where Palestinian men proceeded to bind and beat them.
It is widely believed that the youths would have died horribly had elders from Kusra and other nearby village not intervened and protected the Jews from further violence. The elders called the Israeli army and then negotiated the release of the youths.
A local Palestinian resident told Israeli media that the next time Jewish youths dare to enter the area, "they won't leave alive."
Israeli police placed the youth under detention pending an investigation. Dani Dayan, a senior leader in the Jewish settlement movement, blasted the Jewish youth for their provocative actions.
"I am tired of the fools who think the Land of Israel can be gained through the use of clubs, matchboxes and provocations," he wrote. "I am tired of the masked Jewish bullies who hurt soldiers, policemen and innocent Arabs. I am tired of irresponsible cads who do bad and stupid things."
While very few in Israel would defend the actions of the "price tag" assailants, the incident did leave many wondering how the world would respond if the situation had been reversed, if Israeli Jewish civilians were to nearly lynch a group of young Arab vandals...
GANG WARFARE RAGES IN BRAZILAIN PRISON
Three inmates decapitated by rival gang members in latest outbreak
By comparison to Mexican and Brazilian prisons, ours are more like luxury hotels, but human rights groups keep complaining about the horrible conditions in America’s prisons.
GRUESOM DECAPITATION FOOTAGE EMERGES FROM BRAZILAIN PRISON SHOWING INMATES PARADING AROUND WITH HEADS OF RIVAL GANG MEMBERS LIKE TROPHIES
More than 60 inmates killed at the notorious Pedrinhas prison in the state of Maranhao last year in long-running gang war
By Simon Tomlinson
Mail Online
January 8, 2014
Shocking video has emerged showing the decapitated bodies of three men who were executed by a rival gang - inside a Brazilian prison.
The footage, which is too gruesome to publish, shows the inmates slumped on the floor with two heads resting on one of the corpses.
Their bodies are peppered with dozens of wounds, suggesting they suffered horrific torture before being killed.
Brazilian newspaper the Folha de Sao Paulo, which released the footage, described how 'other prisoners posed with the bodies, showing them off like trophies'.
The video was handed to the publication by a union of jail workers to highlight the horrendous conditions which have long blighted the country's prison population.
This latest display of brutality, recorded on December 17, took place at Pedrinhas jail in the north-eastern state of Maranhao where 62 inmates were killed in 2013 alone.
The source of the problem lies in a long-running feud between rival factions from the state's capital and those elsewhere.
Just days after the beheadings, a judge visited the prison to demand the government seize back control of the site, according to CNN.
Douglas Martins also highlighted the extreme violence meted out on women, in particular female visitors who were forced to have sex with leaders of the gangland prisoners.
But overcrowding - Pedrinhas has 2,196 inmates but was designed for only 1,770 - is also a major issue all over the country.
According to the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency reported this week that the federal government has reached agreement to transfer the leaders of these gangs to other prisons.
In October, a violent uprising at Pedrinhas Penitentiary Complex left 10 dead and 30 injured after wardens discovered that 60 prisoners were digging an escape tunnel.
In April 2011, inmates were involved in one of the largest and bloodiest rebellions that lasted about 30 hours in the São Luis penal complex.
The revolt left 18 dead, three of them by beheading. Five prison guards were held hostage.
At one point police attempting to break into the site were held back by the convicts who threw two severed heads over the wall.
The criminals had gone on the rampage demanding better treatment saying the food wasn’t fit for human consumption and the water was polluted and rank.
By comparison to Mexican and Brazilian prisons, ours are more like luxury hotels, but human rights groups keep complaining about the horrible conditions in America’s prisons.
GRUESOM DECAPITATION FOOTAGE EMERGES FROM BRAZILAIN PRISON SHOWING INMATES PARADING AROUND WITH HEADS OF RIVAL GANG MEMBERS LIKE TROPHIES
More than 60 inmates killed at the notorious Pedrinhas prison in the state of Maranhao last year in long-running gang war
By Simon Tomlinson
Mail Online
January 8, 2014
Shocking video has emerged showing the decapitated bodies of three men who were executed by a rival gang - inside a Brazilian prison.
The footage, which is too gruesome to publish, shows the inmates slumped on the floor with two heads resting on one of the corpses.
Their bodies are peppered with dozens of wounds, suggesting they suffered horrific torture before being killed.
Brazilian newspaper the Folha de Sao Paulo, which released the footage, described how 'other prisoners posed with the bodies, showing them off like trophies'.
The video was handed to the publication by a union of jail workers to highlight the horrendous conditions which have long blighted the country's prison population.
This latest display of brutality, recorded on December 17, took place at Pedrinhas jail in the north-eastern state of Maranhao where 62 inmates were killed in 2013 alone.
The source of the problem lies in a long-running feud between rival factions from the state's capital and those elsewhere.
Just days after the beheadings, a judge visited the prison to demand the government seize back control of the site, according to CNN.
Douglas Martins also highlighted the extreme violence meted out on women, in particular female visitors who were forced to have sex with leaders of the gangland prisoners.
But overcrowding - Pedrinhas has 2,196 inmates but was designed for only 1,770 - is also a major issue all over the country.
According to the state-run Agencia Brasil news agency reported this week that the federal government has reached agreement to transfer the leaders of these gangs to other prisons.
In October, a violent uprising at Pedrinhas Penitentiary Complex left 10 dead and 30 injured after wardens discovered that 60 prisoners were digging an escape tunnel.
In April 2011, inmates were involved in one of the largest and bloodiest rebellions that lasted about 30 hours in the São Luis penal complex.
The revolt left 18 dead, three of them by beheading. Five prison guards were held hostage.
At one point police attempting to break into the site were held back by the convicts who threw two severed heads over the wall.
The criminals had gone on the rampage demanding better treatment saying the food wasn’t fit for human consumption and the water was polluted and rank.
WHAT MAKES A SUCCESSFUL MARRIAGE?: MULTIPLE EXTRAMARITAL AFFAIRS?
Mark Connolly has been the head minister of the Mission Community Church, a Phoenix suburban mega-church with a congregation of 6,000. Rev. Connolly and his wife Kay have been married for 29 years and have two children. Last year he was the headliner at the Buckhead Church in Atlanta where he hosted a seminar on what makes a successful marriage.
On January 4 and 5, the 6,000 members of the Mission Community Church were informed by other church leaders that the good Rev. Connolly had been fired December 30 for engaging in multiple extramarital affairs with women from the congregation.
I am sure that Mrs. Connolly will be more understanding than the narrow-minded church leaders who fired her husband. It is obvious that the good reverend was merely going the extra mile in fulfilling his ministerial duties by meeting the needs of several ladies in his flock. He should have been praised, not fired. Amen!
On January 4 and 5, the 6,000 members of the Mission Community Church were informed by other church leaders that the good Rev. Connolly had been fired December 30 for engaging in multiple extramarital affairs with women from the congregation.
I am sure that Mrs. Connolly will be more understanding than the narrow-minded church leaders who fired her husband. It is obvious that the good reverend was merely going the extra mile in fulfilling his ministerial duties by meeting the needs of several ladies in his flock. He should have been praised, not fired. Amen!
IT’S -10 DEGREES IN MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA
By Adolf der Schweinehund
The Unconventional Gazette
January 8, 2014
I just got off the phone with a friend who lives in Minot, ND. He said that since early this morning the snow has been nearly waist high and is still falling. The temperature is 10 below zero and the north wind is increasing to near gale force. Wind chill is -30. His wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window and just stare.
He says that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in.
The Unconventional Gazette
January 8, 2014
I just got off the phone with a friend who lives in Minot, ND. He said that since early this morning the snow has been nearly waist high and is still falling. The temperature is 10 below zero and the north wind is increasing to near gale force. Wind chill is -30. His wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window and just stare.
He says that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
DISABILITY FRAUD LEADS TO 106 ARRESTS OF 9/11 HEROES, THEIR LAWYERS AND DOCTORS
106 arrests of New York police officers, firefighters, correctional officers and their lawyers and doctors were made after a two-year investigation by the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office and federal investigators uncovered a massive disability fraud related to the 9/11attack on the World Trade Center.
The accused cops and firefighters retired on disability, claiming they suffered from debilitating stress and psychiatric disorders after working among the carnage of the World Trade Center rubble. The investigation determined that those arrested were not stressed out as claimed and those claiming to suffer psychiatric problems were feigning their symptoms, all with the connivance of lawyers and doctors.
Four of those arrested were accused of organizing the disability scam and recruiting the other participants. They are:
__Raymond Lavallee, 83, a Nassau County lawyer and retired FBI agent.
__John Minerva, 61, a former NYPD detective who had worked in the Detectives Endowment Association, giving him knowledge of the pension system.
__Joseph Esposito, 64, a retired NYPD officer who is accused ofrecruiting other retired officers.
__Thomas Hale, 89, aNassau County, pension consultant.
All four are accused of running a disability fraud scheme since 1988 and are charged with first- and second-degree grand larceny and attempted second-degree grand larceny. Most of those arrested are retired NYPD, FDNY and Correction officers that were charged with second-degree grand larceny and second-degree attempted grand larceny. 72 of those arrested are former NYPD cops. Of the 20 scammers arrested out of state, most had retired to Florida.
The 9/11 disability fraud has cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security Disability Insurance payments. The retied scammers were collecting between $30,000 and $50, 000 a year for bogus PTSD, anxiety and depression claims. Many were caught working in a second career in violation of laws regulating disability benefits.
The investigation is ongoing and could lead to the arrests of hundreds more.
The accused cops and firefighters retired on disability, claiming they suffered from debilitating stress and psychiatric disorders after working among the carnage of the World Trade Center rubble. The investigation determined that those arrested were not stressed out as claimed and those claiming to suffer psychiatric problems were feigning their symptoms, all with the connivance of lawyers and doctors.
Four of those arrested were accused of organizing the disability scam and recruiting the other participants. They are:
__Raymond Lavallee, 83, a Nassau County lawyer and retired FBI agent.
__John Minerva, 61, a former NYPD detective who had worked in the Detectives Endowment Association, giving him knowledge of the pension system.
__Joseph Esposito, 64, a retired NYPD officer who is accused ofrecruiting other retired officers.
__Thomas Hale, 89, aNassau County, pension consultant.
All four are accused of running a disability fraud scheme since 1988 and are charged with first- and second-degree grand larceny and attempted second-degree grand larceny. Most of those arrested are retired NYPD, FDNY and Correction officers that were charged with second-degree grand larceny and second-degree attempted grand larceny. 72 of those arrested are former NYPD cops. Of the 20 scammers arrested out of state, most had retired to Florida.
The 9/11 disability fraud has cost the taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars in Social Security Disability Insurance payments. The retied scammers were collecting between $30,000 and $50, 000 a year for bogus PTSD, anxiety and depression claims. Many were caught working in a second career in violation of laws regulating disability benefits.
The investigation is ongoing and could lead to the arrests of hundreds more.
ESCAPEE TURNS SELF IN TO ESCAPE COLD
Prison escapee Robert Vick wanted back in after spending one night of freedom in freezing temperatures. Vick was serving a six-year sentence for burglary when he escaped Sunday from the minimum security Blackburn Correctional Complex near Lexington, Kentucky.
After spending the night freezing his ass off in a nearby abandoned farm house, he went to a motel Monday morning and asked the manager, "Can you call the law on me?" The authorities who came to place him back in custody took Vick to the University of Kentucky Hospital to be treated for frostbite. His happy thawed-out ass was returned to prison Monday night.
After spending the night freezing his ass off in a nearby abandoned farm house, he went to a motel Monday morning and asked the manager, "Can you call the law on me?" The authorities who came to place him back in custody took Vick to the University of Kentucky Hospital to be treated for frostbite. His happy thawed-out ass was returned to prison Monday night.
DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE BETWEEN YALE PROFESSOR AND HIS HUSBAND LEADS TO JAIL CELL DEATH
‘And his husband’ – Yes that’s not a typo. Looks like the relationship in this gay marriage wasn’t so gay.
YALE PROFESSOR DIED OF DRUG OVERDOSE
By Hilda Munoz
The Hartford Courant
January 7, 2014
NEW HAVEN — A Yale University professor found dead in a detention cell in November following his arrest in a domestic incident overdosed on methamphetamine and amphetamine, the medical examiner's office said Monday.
Samuel See died of acute methamphetamine and amphetamine intoxication with recent myocardial infarction. His death was ruled an accident.
See was found unresponsive in a detention cell at 6 a.m. on Nov. 24. Court marshals performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until medics arrived. See, who was alone in his cell, was pronounced dead at 6:15 a.m.
See, an assistant professor of English and American studies, was on leave this semester.
New Haven police are investigating the circumstances of See's death.
New Haven police responded to a domestic dispute at See's home the evening of Nov. 23. Sunder Ganglani, 32, who identified himself as See's husband, was at the home in violation of a protective order, police said.
Ganglani told police he was retrieving his belongings. He was charged with violating a protective order.
See told officers to remove Ganglani from his home, and officers reminded See that there was a protective order barring him from being near Ganglani, police said.
See became enraged and yelled that he shouldn't be arrested because he was in his own home, then fought with officers who tried handcuffing him, police said.
"I will kill you. ... I will destroy you," See allegedly yelled at an officer as he was led to a police car.
See suffered a cut above his right eye when he and the officers fell during the arrest, police said. He was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital and was then released to New Haven police.
Officers took him to the detention facility. He was charged with violating a protective order, interfering with police and second-degree threatening.
Judicial marshals spoke with See, who was alone in his cell, during routine checks throughout the night, police said. He was found unresponsive the next morning.
On his faculty website, See wrote that his scholarship focuses on British and American modernist literature and sexuality studies.
YALE PROFESSOR DIED OF DRUG OVERDOSE
By Hilda Munoz
The Hartford Courant
January 7, 2014
NEW HAVEN — A Yale University professor found dead in a detention cell in November following his arrest in a domestic incident overdosed on methamphetamine and amphetamine, the medical examiner's office said Monday.
Samuel See died of acute methamphetamine and amphetamine intoxication with recent myocardial infarction. His death was ruled an accident.
See was found unresponsive in a detention cell at 6 a.m. on Nov. 24. Court marshals performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation until medics arrived. See, who was alone in his cell, was pronounced dead at 6:15 a.m.
See, an assistant professor of English and American studies, was on leave this semester.
New Haven police are investigating the circumstances of See's death.
New Haven police responded to a domestic dispute at See's home the evening of Nov. 23. Sunder Ganglani, 32, who identified himself as See's husband, was at the home in violation of a protective order, police said.
Ganglani told police he was retrieving his belongings. He was charged with violating a protective order.
See told officers to remove Ganglani from his home, and officers reminded See that there was a protective order barring him from being near Ganglani, police said.
See became enraged and yelled that he shouldn't be arrested because he was in his own home, then fought with officers who tried handcuffing him, police said.
"I will kill you. ... I will destroy you," See allegedly yelled at an officer as he was led to a police car.
See suffered a cut above his right eye when he and the officers fell during the arrest, police said. He was treated at Yale-New Haven Hospital and was then released to New Haven police.
Officers took him to the detention facility. He was charged with violating a protective order, interfering with police and second-degree threatening.
Judicial marshals spoke with See, who was alone in his cell, during routine checks throughout the night, police said. He was found unresponsive the next morning.
On his faculty website, See wrote that his scholarship focuses on British and American modernist literature and sexuality studies.
OBAMA’S AGENDA GEARED TO ACHIEVE LIBERALS’ PARADISE
The Unconventional Gazette
January 8, 2013
A Liberal’s paradise would be a place where everybody has guaranteed employment, free comprehensive healthcare, free education, free food, free housing, free clothing, free utilities, and only Law Enforcement has guns.
And believe it or not, such a place does indeed exist…… It's called prison.
January 8, 2013
A Liberal’s paradise would be a place where everybody has guaranteed employment, free comprehensive healthcare, free education, free food, free housing, free clothing, free utilities, and only Law Enforcement has guns.
And believe it or not, such a place does indeed exist…… It's called prison.
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