Car Salesmen now more trustworthy than politicians
A Gallup Poll shows that 46 percent of Americans don’t trust the police. While trust in politicians is at an all-time low, trust in the clergy is slipping as well.
NEW POLLING SHOWS POLITICIANS LESS TRUSTWORTHY THAN CAR SALESMEN; TRUST IN CLERGY DROPPING AS WELL
By Calvin TerBeek
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 23, 2013
According to a recent Gallup Poll, Members of Congress have now slipped below car salesmen in terms of the public's trust in them; only lobbyists are lower. State elected officials are only slightly higher than MCs. And judges come in at a lowly 46 percent.
What is also interesting to note is that members of the clergy have dropped from a high in the mid-1980s of 67 percent to 47 percent in the latest snapshot.
Polls are snapshots, not forecasts. But does this particular snapshot tell us anything larger about what's going on right now? No doubt, the Catholic Church's pedophilia scandals have helped cause some of the drop in the trust in our religious leaders. There is also the fact that the "nones" -- those with no religious affiliation -- have grown; why trust a religious leader if you're not religious? And political scientist Eric Voeten adds this:
[T]he authority of clergy is intrinsically linked to how much we trust them. This is especially problematic for religions like Catholicism that rely strongly on the authoritativeness of clergy. That is why clergy in these religions invest so heavily in symbols that are difficult to imitate, such as celibacy. Celibacy tends to deter imposters. It is also why the Catholic Church is rightly worried about the consequences of declining trust.
More troubling, perhaps, is that we have little faith in those people who run the institutions who control our government. Start with the fact that only 54 percent of us trust police officers -- and anyone who tells you that cops do not deal in falsehoods is stunningly gullible -- and only 46 percent of us trust the judges that rule on the laws that the state legislatures and Congress pass (14 and 8 percent, respectively).
In short, there is, at the moment, an almost complete failure of the governing elites and those who are on the front lines of the criminal justice system to inspire widespread confidence. Liberals will want to yell "Tea Party" and conservatives might yell "Pelosi and Reid," and minorities will be able to tell you about their experiences with the criminal justice system. And many of us can shake our heads at the state of our elected judiciary.
Whatever else, this snapshot shows one of a populace deeply disillusioned with the powers that be. Chicken littles let's not be, but perhaps be a bit unsettled. The sky ain't falling, it's, to mix metaphors, getting darker.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
INVENTOR OF WORLDS MOST POPULAR MILITARY RIFLE HAS DIED
Mikhail Kalashnikov invented the nearly jam-proof AK-47 which is the standard weapon of Russian soldiers and the armies of many countries. The AK-47 is also the weapon of choice for insurgency militias throughout the world.
RUSSIAN DESIGNER OF AK-47 ASSAULT RIFLE DIES AT 94
Thomson/Reuters
December 23, 2013
Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the assault rifle that has killed more people than any other firearm in the world, died on Monday aged 94, Russian officials said.
Kalashnikov, who was in his 20s when he created the AK-47 just after World War Two, died in his home city of Izhevsk near the Ural Mountains, where his gun is still made, a spokesman for the Udmurtia province's president said on state television.
The spokesman did not give the cause of death. Kalashnikov was fitted with a electric heartbeat stimulator at a Moscow hospital in June and had been in hospital in Izhevsk since Nov. 17, state media reported.
The AK-47, which rarely jams even in adverse conditions, went into service in the Soviet armed forces in 1949. Today, Kalashnikov rifles are still a mainstay of Russia's armed forces and police.
Known as the weapon of choice for guerrillas, the gun and its imitations have been used in conflicts around the world for decades.
At a lavish Kremlin ceremony on Kalashnikov's 90th birthday, then-President Dmitry Medvedev bestowed on him the highest state honour - the Hero of Russia gold star medal - and lauded him for creating "the national brand every Russian is proud of".
Kalashnikov, a son of Siberian peasants who never finished school, said pride in his iconic invention was mixed with the pain of seeing it used by criminals and child soldiers.
RUSSIAN DESIGNER OF AK-47 ASSAULT RIFLE DIES AT 94
Thomson/Reuters
December 23, 2013
Mikhail Kalashnikov, the designer of the assault rifle that has killed more people than any other firearm in the world, died on Monday aged 94, Russian officials said.
Kalashnikov, who was in his 20s when he created the AK-47 just after World War Two, died in his home city of Izhevsk near the Ural Mountains, where his gun is still made, a spokesman for the Udmurtia province's president said on state television.
The spokesman did not give the cause of death. Kalashnikov was fitted with a electric heartbeat stimulator at a Moscow hospital in June and had been in hospital in Izhevsk since Nov. 17, state media reported.
The AK-47, which rarely jams even in adverse conditions, went into service in the Soviet armed forces in 1949. Today, Kalashnikov rifles are still a mainstay of Russia's armed forces and police.
Known as the weapon of choice for guerrillas, the gun and its imitations have been used in conflicts around the world for decades.
At a lavish Kremlin ceremony on Kalashnikov's 90th birthday, then-President Dmitry Medvedev bestowed on him the highest state honour - the Hero of Russia gold star medal - and lauded him for creating "the national brand every Russian is proud of".
Kalashnikov, a son of Siberian peasants who never finished school, said pride in his iconic invention was mixed with the pain of seeing it used by criminals and child soldiers.
ANOTHER DUMB COP THROWS HIMSELF ON THE SWORD IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Cops who make disparaging comments on social media should have their brain-damaged heads examined
This imbecile, going by the name Coon Trapper on the internet, wrote on his Facebook page: “The fact that he [Obama] is still alive bewilders me. Go die in a shallow grave you Muslim commie …..”
PLEASANTVILLE COP SUSPENDED, ACCUSED OF RACIST POST
By Richard Liebson
The Journal News
December 17, 2013
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. — A village police officer has been suspended and could be fired after apparently posting a racist, obscenity-laced rant about President Obama on his Facebook page.
"The fact that he (Obama) is still alive bewilders me," Officer Peter Burns allegedly wrote in the post, which The Journal News obtained Thursday. "Go die in a shallow grave you Muslim commie ..."
The post, time-stamped Dec. 11 on a Facebook profile page Burns is accused of operating under the name "Coon Trapper," contained a racial slur, made reference to "1st amendment NSA," and described Obama as "un-American."
After being shown a screen grab of the vulgar diatribe late Monday afternoon, Pleasantville Police Chief Richard Love said he was unaware of the post but would take immediate action. On Tuesday, Love announced that Burns had been relieved of his duties and placed on paid administrative leave.
The Facebook post contained "despicable statements," Love said in a statement. He said the comments "are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Once an internal affairs investigation is complete, "the police department will consider all legal options, including the possibility of commencing disciplinary proceedings against the police officer, which could lead to his dismissal," Love said. Pleasantville is a village of 7,000 people about 30 miles northeast of New York City.
The statement did not identify Burns by name.
The Facebook profile page, which was deleted Tuesday morning, contained photos of Burns in hunting gear and camouflage, and included links to hunting and animal trapping websites. The page's settings were private, meaning that only those who "friended" Burns had access to the Obama post and others on his Facebook page.
Burns, 35, could not be reached for comment. He was hired in 2004 and receives an annual salary of $98,959. Officer Matthew Listawn, president of the Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association, is on bereavement leave and could not be reached.
"We deplore racism in any form," Mayor Peter Scherer said. He said he could not comment further because the Village Board of Trustees would hear the case should disciplinary charges be filed against Burns.
Some have portrayed village police as racist following the shooting death of Danroy Henry, a black Pace University football player. In the Oct. 17, 2010, incident that took place outside a bar Thornwood, N.Y., just south of Pleasantville, Officer Aaron Hess, who is white, shot Henry as he started to drive away.
Hess had joined a number of Mount Pleasant officers responding to reports of a disturbance involving a large crowd. Hess, who ended up on the hood of Henry's car, was injured and has since retired. The case has resulted in a number of lawsuits.
The 20-member Pleasantville department includes one black, one Hispanic and two female officers among its ranks.
"The fact that a cop can say something like that about the president shows that there are deep racial issues within law enforcement," said Damon Jones, president of the Westchester chapter of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America. "It's something our elected officials have to pay attention to. There should be racial sensitivity training in every police department with oversight to make sure that it's being done properly and being taken seriously."
The Pleasantville incident is the latest of similar cases of cops getting into hot water over controversial Facebook postings:
• In October, the police chief in Austin, Texas, suspended a detective for 10 days for posting what he called sensitive law-enforcement information — photos of interrogations and crash scenes — on his Facebook page.
• Last year, 17 New York City cops were suspended for posting racist and offensive comments on a Facebook page devoted to the city's 2011 West Indian Day Parade.
• In 2009, three Harrison, N.Y., police officers were suspended and demoted after making lewd comments about then-Supervisor Joan Walsh and swapping racist jokes about Obama.
Those episodes and similar incidents across the country have prompted many police and government agencies to adopt social media policies for their employees. Pleasantville does not have such a policy.
This imbecile, going by the name Coon Trapper on the internet, wrote on his Facebook page: “The fact that he [Obama] is still alive bewilders me. Go die in a shallow grave you Muslim commie …..”
PLEASANTVILLE COP SUSPENDED, ACCUSED OF RACIST POST
By Richard Liebson
The Journal News
December 17, 2013
PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. — A village police officer has been suspended and could be fired after apparently posting a racist, obscenity-laced rant about President Obama on his Facebook page.
"The fact that he (Obama) is still alive bewilders me," Officer Peter Burns allegedly wrote in the post, which The Journal News obtained Thursday. "Go die in a shallow grave you Muslim commie ..."
The post, time-stamped Dec. 11 on a Facebook profile page Burns is accused of operating under the name "Coon Trapper," contained a racial slur, made reference to "1st amendment NSA," and described Obama as "un-American."
After being shown a screen grab of the vulgar diatribe late Monday afternoon, Pleasantville Police Chief Richard Love said he was unaware of the post but would take immediate action. On Tuesday, Love announced that Burns had been relieved of his duties and placed on paid administrative leave.
The Facebook post contained "despicable statements," Love said in a statement. He said the comments "are totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated."
Once an internal affairs investigation is complete, "the police department will consider all legal options, including the possibility of commencing disciplinary proceedings against the police officer, which could lead to his dismissal," Love said. Pleasantville is a village of 7,000 people about 30 miles northeast of New York City.
The statement did not identify Burns by name.
The Facebook profile page, which was deleted Tuesday morning, contained photos of Burns in hunting gear and camouflage, and included links to hunting and animal trapping websites. The page's settings were private, meaning that only those who "friended" Burns had access to the Obama post and others on his Facebook page.
Burns, 35, could not be reached for comment. He was hired in 2004 and receives an annual salary of $98,959. Officer Matthew Listawn, president of the Pleasantville Police Benevolent Association, is on bereavement leave and could not be reached.
"We deplore racism in any form," Mayor Peter Scherer said. He said he could not comment further because the Village Board of Trustees would hear the case should disciplinary charges be filed against Burns.
Some have portrayed village police as racist following the shooting death of Danroy Henry, a black Pace University football player. In the Oct. 17, 2010, incident that took place outside a bar Thornwood, N.Y., just south of Pleasantville, Officer Aaron Hess, who is white, shot Henry as he started to drive away.
Hess had joined a number of Mount Pleasant officers responding to reports of a disturbance involving a large crowd. Hess, who ended up on the hood of Henry's car, was injured and has since retired. The case has resulted in a number of lawsuits.
The 20-member Pleasantville department includes one black, one Hispanic and two female officers among its ranks.
"The fact that a cop can say something like that about the president shows that there are deep racial issues within law enforcement," said Damon Jones, president of the Westchester chapter of Blacks in Law Enforcement of America. "It's something our elected officials have to pay attention to. There should be racial sensitivity training in every police department with oversight to make sure that it's being done properly and being taken seriously."
The Pleasantville incident is the latest of similar cases of cops getting into hot water over controversial Facebook postings:
• In October, the police chief in Austin, Texas, suspended a detective for 10 days for posting what he called sensitive law-enforcement information — photos of interrogations and crash scenes — on his Facebook page.
• Last year, 17 New York City cops were suspended for posting racist and offensive comments on a Facebook page devoted to the city's 2011 West Indian Day Parade.
• In 2009, three Harrison, N.Y., police officers were suspended and demoted after making lewd comments about then-Supervisor Joan Walsh and swapping racist jokes about Obama.
Those episodes and similar incidents across the country have prompted many police and government agencies to adopt social media policies for their employees. Pleasantville does not have such a policy.
YET TWO MORE EDUCATED IDIOT TEACHERS BITE THE DUST OVER SEXUAL CONDUCT WITH STUDENTS
More proof that that what is lacking in teacher education degree programs is a two semester course on how not to cave into one’s desire to have sex with a student. Such a course would make much more sense than some of the worthless courses required for obtaining a teaching credential.
COPS: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST HAD SEX WITH STUDENT
By Rebecca Lurye
The Charlotte Observer
December 23, 2013
BEAUFORT, S.C. - A Battery Creek High School psychologist was arrested Friday, accused of engaging in a sexual act with a student, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office news release.
Megan Michelle Snipes, 28, was charged with sexual battery of a student, the release said. The Beaufort County School District has placed Snipes on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, district spokesman Jim Foster said.
Snipes' arrest was the second in less than two weeks involving a district employee accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. A long-term substitute at Hilton Head Island High School facing similar charges is no longer working for the school district after her arrest earlier this month.
Snipes' arrest came after the mother of the 16-year-old male student contacted the Sheriff's Office early Thursday to report that she had discovered sexually oriented communication between her son and Snipes on her phone. The woman's son had been seeing the school psychologist regularly.
Deputies questioned Snipes and the student and confirmed that they engaged in a sexual act Oct. 18 near Bob Jones Field on Jones Avenue in Beaufort, according to the Sheriff's Office. Snipes did not coerce the student, according to the release.
While the legal age of consent in South Carolina is 16, a state law says that sexual acts between a student and teacher -- regardless of age -- cannot be consensual.
Sheriff's Office Capt. Bob Bromage would not say what the sexual act entailed, but said it met the criteria for the charge. According to the statute, "sexual battery" can include various sex acts.
Attempts to reach Sheriff P.J. Tanner were unsuccessful.
Snipes was in the Beaufort County Detention Center on Friday afternoon awaiting a bond hearing.
She was hired by the district in August 2011 and has worked as a psychologist at four schools: Port Royal Elementary School, Okatie Elementary School, Beaufort Middle School and Battery Creek High School, according to Foster.
She is on administrative leave and continues to be paid her $46,012 salary pending an investigation by the district, Foster said.
She is a certified employee, meaning she has state certification. The superintendent cannot immediately terminate a certified employee, but must instead take a recommendation for termination to the school board "if the situation warrants that kind of action," Foster said.
Superintendent Jeffrey Moss said Friday he would discuss the situation with the school board at its next meeting. He declined to comment further.
The next board meeting is Jan. 7.
Snipes' arrest came less than two weeks after Margaret LaMantia, 23, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and disseminating harmful material to a minor, according to court records.
LaMantia told deputies she sent a 16-year-old male student an inappropriate picture, kissed him and asked him to buy marijuana for her, according to an incident report.
LaMantia, who is no longer employed by the school district, posted a $25,000 bond Wednesday, according to the jail log.
COPS: SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGIST HAD SEX WITH STUDENT
By Rebecca Lurye
The Charlotte Observer
December 23, 2013
BEAUFORT, S.C. - A Battery Creek High School psychologist was arrested Friday, accused of engaging in a sexual act with a student, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff's Office news release.
Megan Michelle Snipes, 28, was charged with sexual battery of a student, the release said. The Beaufort County School District has placed Snipes on administrative leave pending an internal investigation, district spokesman Jim Foster said.
Snipes' arrest was the second in less than two weeks involving a district employee accused of inappropriate behavior with a student. A long-term substitute at Hilton Head Island High School facing similar charges is no longer working for the school district after her arrest earlier this month.
Snipes' arrest came after the mother of the 16-year-old male student contacted the Sheriff's Office early Thursday to report that she had discovered sexually oriented communication between her son and Snipes on her phone. The woman's son had been seeing the school psychologist regularly.
Deputies questioned Snipes and the student and confirmed that they engaged in a sexual act Oct. 18 near Bob Jones Field on Jones Avenue in Beaufort, according to the Sheriff's Office. Snipes did not coerce the student, according to the release.
While the legal age of consent in South Carolina is 16, a state law says that sexual acts between a student and teacher -- regardless of age -- cannot be consensual.
Sheriff's Office Capt. Bob Bromage would not say what the sexual act entailed, but said it met the criteria for the charge. According to the statute, "sexual battery" can include various sex acts.
Attempts to reach Sheriff P.J. Tanner were unsuccessful.
Snipes was in the Beaufort County Detention Center on Friday afternoon awaiting a bond hearing.
She was hired by the district in August 2011 and has worked as a psychologist at four schools: Port Royal Elementary School, Okatie Elementary School, Beaufort Middle School and Battery Creek High School, according to Foster.
She is on administrative leave and continues to be paid her $46,012 salary pending an investigation by the district, Foster said.
She is a certified employee, meaning she has state certification. The superintendent cannot immediately terminate a certified employee, but must instead take a recommendation for termination to the school board "if the situation warrants that kind of action," Foster said.
Superintendent Jeffrey Moss said Friday he would discuss the situation with the school board at its next meeting. He declined to comment further.
The next board meeting is Jan. 7.
Snipes' arrest came less than two weeks after Margaret LaMantia, 23, was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor and disseminating harmful material to a minor, according to court records.
LaMantia told deputies she sent a 16-year-old male student an inappropriate picture, kissed him and asked him to buy marijuana for her, according to an incident report.
LaMantia, who is no longer employed by the school district, posted a $25,000 bond Wednesday, according to the jail log.
CORRUPTION IN MEXICO HELPS DRUG CARTELS THRIVE
From the Mexican politician’s bible: “A politician that is poor is a poor politician.”
Many Mexican politicians have been and are on the payrolls of the drug cartels. That certainly helps Mexico’s criminal organizations to thrive. But it is the enormous gulf between the ruling filthy rich and the poor masses that gave rise to the cartels which feed off the insatiable hunger for drugs by the people of Mexico’s northern neighbor.
THE 10 MOST CORRUPT MEXICANS OF 2013
By Dolia Estevez
Forbes
December 16, 2013
Alarming levels of corruption in government, the judiciary and law-enforcement, earned Mexico the 2013 title of one of the two most corrupt countries in Latin America, according to the Global Corruption Barometer released in July by Transparency International, an anti-corruption nonprofit group. Mexico shares its rank with Argentina.
In the group’s Global Corruption Barometer of 2013, Mexico’s political parties, police, legislature and judiciary were perceived as the most corrupt, with 91%, 90%, 83% and 80% negative views on corruption. The report, which is based on a survey of 114,000 people in 107 countries, offers a warning that the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world. In Mexico corruption cases are rarely prosecuted.
A serious drag on Mexico’s development and a significant obstacle to Mexico achieving a functional democracy, corruption has long been a part of the country’s political culture. Carlos Hank González, the deceased founder of the powerful Grupo Atlacamulco, which masterminded Enrique Peña Nieto’s run for president, once said: “A politician that is poor is a poor politician.” For many Mexican politicians, his motto became the Bible.
The following is a list of the 10 Mexicans perceived to be the most corrupt in 2013. I appreciate the input received from colleagues and academics during the process of compiling this list.
Elba Esther Gordillo Former teacher’s union leader known as La Maestra (the Teacher) was charged in February with embezzling $200 million from union funds to pay for her lavish lifestyle. She is notorious for her $5,000 Hermes bags and expensive plastic surgeries in California clinics. Three residences connected to Gordillo have been identified in California. The main one, where the now jailed teacher spent most of her time, is a $4.7 million house on a cul-de-sac in Coronado Cays that features a private dock with a boat and jet ski.
Carlos Romero Deschamps is the powerful Pemex workers union leader and one of the most notorious PRI members long suspected of influence-peddling for personal enrichment. Paulina Romero, his daughter, displays on Facebook her travels around the world in private jets –accompanied by her three English bulldogs Keiko, Boli and Morgancita– her voyages on yachts, dining in first class restaurants and sporting $12,000 Hermes luxury bags. Her brother drives a $2 million limited edition red Enzo Ferrari sport car, a gift from their father, whose trade union monthly salary is $1,864. Romero Deschamps, a federal senator, is reported to have a “cottage” in Cancun with a value close to $1.5 million. According to political analyst Denise Dresser, in 2011 he received $21.6 million for “aid to the union executive committee” and $15.3 million from union dues. My “hands are clean,” Romero Deschamps claims. The Peña Nieto administration seems to agree. He is not under investigation.
Raúl Salinas de Gortari is largely responsible for destroying his brother Carlos Salinas de Gortari’s presidential legacy by becoming a symbol of corruption and impunity. Raúl spent ten years in jail convicted of a high-profile political homicide, but was acquitted in 2005. In July, a Mexican judge exonerated him on the final charge pending against him of “unlawful enrichment” and ordered $19 million dollars deposited in twelve bank accounts and 41 properties be returned to him. The decision outraged Mexicans. It was perceived as one more proof of abuse of power by Mexican elites.
Genaro García Luna was the powerful Secretary of Public Security (SSP) under the Calderón Administration. With the biggest budget assigned to his department and a blank check from Calderón, García Luna was the most feared cabinet member. His tenure was marked by an excess of spending for self-promotion and abuse of power scandals exposed by the Mexican press. In her book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers, award-winning journalist Anabel Hernandez links García Luna with the country’s top drug capos, including Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. García Luna allegedly threatened to have Hernandez killed. In 2012, convicted drug kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villareal claimed that García Luna had been on the payroll of drug trafficking groups for ten years. The Peña Nieto Administration dissolved the SSP. García Luna has not been seen since he left office in 2012. He is believed to be living in Miami but reporters have not been able to find him. There is no known investigation against him in Mexico or the U.S.
[UPDATE Dec. 18: Genaro García Luna broke his one-year self-imposed silence in a December 17 letter to Steve Forbes to say that the “value judgments” about him in this article “are lies and they lack journalistic rigor.” He charges that the “source on which they are based is false.” The “source” he seems to be referring to is the book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers (Verso 2013), by award-winning Mexican journalist Anabel Hernandez. In the letter to Steve Forbes, the man in charge of conducting the bloody war on drugs during the Calderón administration lists medals and merits bestowed upon him by world governments and international organizations as proof of the results of his public performance. He claims that what he describes as “disinformation and discrediting campaigns” against him are due to his having “hurt drug trafficking and kidnapping structures” in Mexico.
García Luna’s “clarification letter” was reprinted in various Mexican media on Tuesday, hours after being sent to Forbes, under headlines such as García Luna, who has more than a year without appearing, accuses Forbes of lying and says he is not corrupt.” ]
Andrés Granier, former PRI governor of Tabasco, was arrested by Mexican federal law-enforcement in June on charges of corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion and money laundering. In a taped conversation leaked to the media, Granier bragged about owning 400 pairs of shoes, 300 suits and 1,000 shirts, bought from luxury stores in New York and Los Angeles. His yearly salary as governor was $92,000. His successor discovered that $190 million was missing from state coffers. He was also indicted by the Tabasco authorities. He denies any wrongdoing.
Tomás Yarrington is a former PRI governor of Tamaulipas. He was indicted in early December on racketeering and money laundering charges in Texas. Yarrington allegedly took large bribes from major drug trafficking groups in Tamaulipas, including the Gulf Cartel, in return for letting them operate freely during his administration (1999-2004). Yarrington’s lawyers say that the charges are based on false accusations by people trying to bargain with U.S. prosecutors. The U.S. has not asked Mexico for his arrest and extradition. His whereabouts are unknown.
Humberto Moreira is the former PRI governor of Coahuila state. During his administration (2005-2011), the debt of the state increased from $27 million to $2.8 billion, creating the state’s worst financial crisis in history. The debt scandal forced Moreira’s resignation. Jorge Torres López, who took over as an interim governor, was charged with conspiracy to launder money and other financial crimes in Texas in November. Moreira has not been charged. He is living with his family in an upscale neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain, while earning a masters degree.
Fidel Herrera, former PRI governor of Veracruz. Under his administration (2004-2010) the Zeta cartel’s criminal activities thrived. Allegations about his connections to the Zetas emerged during a trial in April in Texas. An FBI agent testified that Francisco Colorado Cessa, a contractor for Mexico’s state oil company Pemex, acted as an intermediary between Herrera and a founding member of the Zetas. Colorado Cessa was convicted. Herrera allegedly was bribed into allowing the Zetas to operate freely. Herrera has denied the allegations and is not under investigation in Mexico. There are unconfirmed reports that he may be sent as ambassador to Greece.
Arturo Montiel, former Mexico state PRI governor, uncle of Peña Nieto and member of the Grupo Atlacamulco, is accused by French citizen Maudi Versini, his former wife, of kidnapping their three children. Versini, who has custody over the children, claims that justice has been manipulated by her ex-husband to prevent her from seeing them. Montiel dropped out of the 2005 presidential race following allegations of millionaire mansions and bank transactions in Mexico and France. He is not under investigation.
Alejandra Sota, former President Calderon’s spokesperson, is being investigated by Mexican authorities for alleged embezzlement and trafficking of influence. She is suspected of favoring friends and former classmates with government contracts during the time she served as a top government official. She is currently attending graduate school at Harvard’s Kennedy School even though she has no college degree.
Many Mexican politicians have been and are on the payrolls of the drug cartels. That certainly helps Mexico’s criminal organizations to thrive. But it is the enormous gulf between the ruling filthy rich and the poor masses that gave rise to the cartels which feed off the insatiable hunger for drugs by the people of Mexico’s northern neighbor.
THE 10 MOST CORRUPT MEXICANS OF 2013
By Dolia Estevez
Forbes
December 16, 2013
Alarming levels of corruption in government, the judiciary and law-enforcement, earned Mexico the 2013 title of one of the two most corrupt countries in Latin America, according to the Global Corruption Barometer released in July by Transparency International, an anti-corruption nonprofit group. Mexico shares its rank with Argentina.
In the group’s Global Corruption Barometer of 2013, Mexico’s political parties, police, legislature and judiciary were perceived as the most corrupt, with 91%, 90%, 83% and 80% negative views on corruption. The report, which is based on a survey of 114,000 people in 107 countries, offers a warning that the abuse of power, secret dealings and bribery continue to ravage societies around the world. In Mexico corruption cases are rarely prosecuted.
A serious drag on Mexico’s development and a significant obstacle to Mexico achieving a functional democracy, corruption has long been a part of the country’s political culture. Carlos Hank González, the deceased founder of the powerful Grupo Atlacamulco, which masterminded Enrique Peña Nieto’s run for president, once said: “A politician that is poor is a poor politician.” For many Mexican politicians, his motto became the Bible.
The following is a list of the 10 Mexicans perceived to be the most corrupt in 2013. I appreciate the input received from colleagues and academics during the process of compiling this list.
Elba Esther Gordillo Former teacher’s union leader known as La Maestra (the Teacher) was charged in February with embezzling $200 million from union funds to pay for her lavish lifestyle. She is notorious for her $5,000 Hermes bags and expensive plastic surgeries in California clinics. Three residences connected to Gordillo have been identified in California. The main one, where the now jailed teacher spent most of her time, is a $4.7 million house on a cul-de-sac in Coronado Cays that features a private dock with a boat and jet ski.
Carlos Romero Deschamps is the powerful Pemex workers union leader and one of the most notorious PRI members long suspected of influence-peddling for personal enrichment. Paulina Romero, his daughter, displays on Facebook her travels around the world in private jets –accompanied by her three English bulldogs Keiko, Boli and Morgancita– her voyages on yachts, dining in first class restaurants and sporting $12,000 Hermes luxury bags. Her brother drives a $2 million limited edition red Enzo Ferrari sport car, a gift from their father, whose trade union monthly salary is $1,864. Romero Deschamps, a federal senator, is reported to have a “cottage” in Cancun with a value close to $1.5 million. According to political analyst Denise Dresser, in 2011 he received $21.6 million for “aid to the union executive committee” and $15.3 million from union dues. My “hands are clean,” Romero Deschamps claims. The Peña Nieto administration seems to agree. He is not under investigation.
Raúl Salinas de Gortari is largely responsible for destroying his brother Carlos Salinas de Gortari’s presidential legacy by becoming a symbol of corruption and impunity. Raúl spent ten years in jail convicted of a high-profile political homicide, but was acquitted in 2005. In July, a Mexican judge exonerated him on the final charge pending against him of “unlawful enrichment” and ordered $19 million dollars deposited in twelve bank accounts and 41 properties be returned to him. The decision outraged Mexicans. It was perceived as one more proof of abuse of power by Mexican elites.
Genaro García Luna was the powerful Secretary of Public Security (SSP) under the Calderón Administration. With the biggest budget assigned to his department and a blank check from Calderón, García Luna was the most feared cabinet member. His tenure was marked by an excess of spending for self-promotion and abuse of power scandals exposed by the Mexican press. In her book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers, award-winning journalist Anabel Hernandez links García Luna with the country’s top drug capos, including Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzman, leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. García Luna allegedly threatened to have Hernandez killed. In 2012, convicted drug kingpin Edgar “La Barbie” Valdez Villareal claimed that García Luna had been on the payroll of drug trafficking groups for ten years. The Peña Nieto Administration dissolved the SSP. García Luna has not been seen since he left office in 2012. He is believed to be living in Miami but reporters have not been able to find him. There is no known investigation against him in Mexico or the U.S.
[UPDATE Dec. 18: Genaro García Luna broke his one-year self-imposed silence in a December 17 letter to Steve Forbes to say that the “value judgments” about him in this article “are lies and they lack journalistic rigor.” He charges that the “source on which they are based is false.” The “source” he seems to be referring to is the book Narcoland: The Mexican Drug Lords and their Godfathers (Verso 2013), by award-winning Mexican journalist Anabel Hernandez. In the letter to Steve Forbes, the man in charge of conducting the bloody war on drugs during the Calderón administration lists medals and merits bestowed upon him by world governments and international organizations as proof of the results of his public performance. He claims that what he describes as “disinformation and discrediting campaigns” against him are due to his having “hurt drug trafficking and kidnapping structures” in Mexico.
García Luna’s “clarification letter” was reprinted in various Mexican media on Tuesday, hours after being sent to Forbes, under headlines such as García Luna, who has more than a year without appearing, accuses Forbes of lying and says he is not corrupt.” ]
Andrés Granier, former PRI governor of Tabasco, was arrested by Mexican federal law-enforcement in June on charges of corruption, embezzlement, tax evasion and money laundering. In a taped conversation leaked to the media, Granier bragged about owning 400 pairs of shoes, 300 suits and 1,000 shirts, bought from luxury stores in New York and Los Angeles. His yearly salary as governor was $92,000. His successor discovered that $190 million was missing from state coffers. He was also indicted by the Tabasco authorities. He denies any wrongdoing.
Tomás Yarrington is a former PRI governor of Tamaulipas. He was indicted in early December on racketeering and money laundering charges in Texas. Yarrington allegedly took large bribes from major drug trafficking groups in Tamaulipas, including the Gulf Cartel, in return for letting them operate freely during his administration (1999-2004). Yarrington’s lawyers say that the charges are based on false accusations by people trying to bargain with U.S. prosecutors. The U.S. has not asked Mexico for his arrest and extradition. His whereabouts are unknown.
Humberto Moreira is the former PRI governor of Coahuila state. During his administration (2005-2011), the debt of the state increased from $27 million to $2.8 billion, creating the state’s worst financial crisis in history. The debt scandal forced Moreira’s resignation. Jorge Torres López, who took over as an interim governor, was charged with conspiracy to launder money and other financial crimes in Texas in November. Moreira has not been charged. He is living with his family in an upscale neighborhood in Barcelona, Spain, while earning a masters degree.
Fidel Herrera, former PRI governor of Veracruz. Under his administration (2004-2010) the Zeta cartel’s criminal activities thrived. Allegations about his connections to the Zetas emerged during a trial in April in Texas. An FBI agent testified that Francisco Colorado Cessa, a contractor for Mexico’s state oil company Pemex, acted as an intermediary between Herrera and a founding member of the Zetas. Colorado Cessa was convicted. Herrera allegedly was bribed into allowing the Zetas to operate freely. Herrera has denied the allegations and is not under investigation in Mexico. There are unconfirmed reports that he may be sent as ambassador to Greece.
Arturo Montiel, former Mexico state PRI governor, uncle of Peña Nieto and member of the Grupo Atlacamulco, is accused by French citizen Maudi Versini, his former wife, of kidnapping their three children. Versini, who has custody over the children, claims that justice has been manipulated by her ex-husband to prevent her from seeing them. Montiel dropped out of the 2005 presidential race following allegations of millionaire mansions and bank transactions in Mexico and France. He is not under investigation.
Alejandra Sota, former President Calderon’s spokesperson, is being investigated by Mexican authorities for alleged embezzlement and trafficking of influence. She is suspected of favoring friends and former classmates with government contracts during the time she served as a top government official. She is currently attending graduate school at Harvard’s Kennedy School even though she has no college degree.
Monday, December 23, 2013
SPECIAL NAVAL ESCORTS REQUESTED FOR DEBUTANTE BALL
The Unconventional Gazette
December 23, 2013
Back when blacks were still segregated in the South, a US Navy cruiser anchored in Gulfport, Mississippi for a week's shore leave.
The first evening, the ship's Captain received the following note from the wife of a very wealthy and influential plantation owner:
"Dear Captain, Thursday will be my daughter Melinda's Debutante Ball. I would like you to send four well-mannered, handsome, unmarried officers in their formal dress uniforms to attend the dance. They should arrive promptly at 8:00 PM prepared for an evening of polite Southern conversation. They should be excellent dancers, as they will be the escorts of lovely refined young Southern ladies. I have just one more request: No Jews please.”
Sending a written message by his own yeoman, the captain replied: "Madam, thank you for your invitation. In order to present the widest possible knowledge base for polite conversation, I am sending four of my best and most prized officers."
"One is a lieutenant commander, and a graduate of Annapolis with an additional Masters degree from MIT in fluid technologies and ship design."
"The second is a Lieutenant, one of our helicopter pilots, and a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. His Masters Degree and PhD. In Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering are from Purdue University."
"The third officer is also a lieutenant, with degrees in both physics and chemistry from Stanford University and he is awaiting notification on his Doctoral Dissertation from Cal Tech."
"Finally, the fourth officer, also a lieutenant commander, is our ship's doctor, with an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and his medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania. We are very proud of him, as he is also a senior fellow in Trauma Surgery at Bethesda."
Upon receiving this letter, Melinda's mother was quite excited and looked forward to Thursday with pleasure. Her daughter would be escorted by four handsome naval officers without peer and the other ladies in her social circle would be insanely jealous.
At precisely 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Melinda's mother heard a polite rap at the door which she opened to find, in full dress uniform, four very handsome, smiling Black officers. Her mouth fell open, but pulling herself together, she stammered, "There must be some mistake."
"No, Madam," said the first officer, Captain Goldberg never makes any mistakes."
December 23, 2013
Back when blacks were still segregated in the South, a US Navy cruiser anchored in Gulfport, Mississippi for a week's shore leave.
The first evening, the ship's Captain received the following note from the wife of a very wealthy and influential plantation owner:
"Dear Captain, Thursday will be my daughter Melinda's Debutante Ball. I would like you to send four well-mannered, handsome, unmarried officers in their formal dress uniforms to attend the dance. They should arrive promptly at 8:00 PM prepared for an evening of polite Southern conversation. They should be excellent dancers, as they will be the escorts of lovely refined young Southern ladies. I have just one more request: No Jews please.”
Sending a written message by his own yeoman, the captain replied: "Madam, thank you for your invitation. In order to present the widest possible knowledge base for polite conversation, I am sending four of my best and most prized officers."
"One is a lieutenant commander, and a graduate of Annapolis with an additional Masters degree from MIT in fluid technologies and ship design."
"The second is a Lieutenant, one of our helicopter pilots, and a graduate of Northwestern University in Chicago, with a BS in Aeronautical Engineering. His Masters Degree and PhD. In Aeronautical and Mechanical Engineering are from Purdue University."
"The third officer is also a lieutenant, with degrees in both physics and chemistry from Stanford University and he is awaiting notification on his Doctoral Dissertation from Cal Tech."
"Finally, the fourth officer, also a lieutenant commander, is our ship's doctor, with an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota and his medical degree is from the University of Pennsylvania. We are very proud of him, as he is also a senior fellow in Trauma Surgery at Bethesda."
Upon receiving this letter, Melinda's mother was quite excited and looked forward to Thursday with pleasure. Her daughter would be escorted by four handsome naval officers without peer and the other ladies in her social circle would be insanely jealous.
At precisely 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, Melinda's mother heard a polite rap at the door which she opened to find, in full dress uniform, four very handsome, smiling Black officers. Her mouth fell open, but pulling herself together, she stammered, "There must be some mistake."
"No, Madam," said the first officer, Captain Goldberg never makes any mistakes."
USSS SEXUAL MISCONDUCT?: WHOPPER OF A WHITEWASH!
DHS Inspector General’s survey of Secret Service personnel concludes that its agents do not engage in sexual misconduct
Some 21 months after more than a dozen Secret Service officials had a ball with prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, an investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security concluded that the agency does not have a widespread problem with its agents engaging in sexual misconduct while on official business. That flies in the face of whistleblowers informing Congress that agents and supervisors of the US Secret Service have engaged in misconduct in 17 countries in recent years.
Upon release of the IG’s report exonerating the agency of sexual misconduct, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan trumpeted: “This report confirms what we’ve been saying for two years — that there is not widespread misconduct and there is not an environment that fosters misconduct in the agency.”
How did the Inspector General’s investigators reach that conclusion? They conducted an anonymous electronic survey of Secret Service agents. 2,575 of the agency’s 6,500 personnel completed the questionnaire and 83 percent of the respondents said they were not personally aware of sexual misconduct like what occurred in Cartagena.
Talk about a whitewash … this one’s a whopper. Did the investigators really expect Secret Service agents to admit that sexual misconduct within their ranks is quite common? Taking that survey of Secret Service agents is the same as taking a survey of prison inmates and asking them if they were guilty or innocent … such a survey would conclude that our prisons are full of innocent inmates.
I've said this before: “Boys, in this case Secret Service agents, will be boys.”
Some 21 months after more than a dozen Secret Service officials had a ball with prostitutes in Cartagena, Colombia, an investigation by the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security concluded that the agency does not have a widespread problem with its agents engaging in sexual misconduct while on official business. That flies in the face of whistleblowers informing Congress that agents and supervisors of the US Secret Service have engaged in misconduct in 17 countries in recent years.
Upon release of the IG’s report exonerating the agency of sexual misconduct, Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan trumpeted: “This report confirms what we’ve been saying for two years — that there is not widespread misconduct and there is not an environment that fosters misconduct in the agency.”
How did the Inspector General’s investigators reach that conclusion? They conducted an anonymous electronic survey of Secret Service agents. 2,575 of the agency’s 6,500 personnel completed the questionnaire and 83 percent of the respondents said they were not personally aware of sexual misconduct like what occurred in Cartagena.
Talk about a whitewash … this one’s a whopper. Did the investigators really expect Secret Service agents to admit that sexual misconduct within their ranks is quite common? Taking that survey of Secret Service agents is the same as taking a survey of prison inmates and asking them if they were guilty or innocent … such a survey would conclude that our prisons are full of innocent inmates.
I've said this before: “Boys, in this case Secret Service agents, will be boys.”
DUCK DYNASTY OPENS OLD CAN OF WORMS
Phil Robertson’s comments reignite gay controversies
By Trey Rusk
The big story last week was Phil from Duck Dynasty's comments to GQ Magazine. Why is A&E surprised that a 67 year old white male from rural Louisiana has deeply religious beliefs. Professional journalists usually know what answer they will receive before they ask a question. I think everyone got what they wanted. A&E says they have suspended Phil from the show. Yet, most of next season's episodes have already been filmed. A&E did not say that they would cancel the already filmed shows. Why? In my opinion, Money!
Wal-Mart hasn't cancelled either product line, A&E's Duck Dynasty Products or the Robertson's Duck Commander's line. Why? In my opinion, Money!
GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has suggested that they have suffered through numerous unflattering posts on their website. However, I think they also received a lot attention from media outlets that showed they are a organization to be reckoned with. Let's be honest with ourselves, homosexuality has always been around. We should all know about it now since Phil has commented on it. I don't know if GLAAD received any financial donations. But I'd wager that they did.
I can remember when "Queers" as they used to be openly called were in fear for their lives. It hasn't been that long ago that homosexuals were beaten and murdered in this country and probably still are. The police have never been sympathetic to their lifestyle choice. However, I believe some of the Gay bashing officers that I worked with may have been putting up a front to hide their own homosexuality. I used to work Gay bar complaints and I can tell you homosexuals fear law enforcement.
Phil's racial statement was fairly accurate for a person that grew up in that time period. When I began my law enforcement career the tickets or booking sheets changed several times for black arrestees. C for colored, then N for Negro, then A for African American and now B for black. Did Blacks suffer from discrimination? Certainly.
Attitudes change through awareness and Phil has contributed to the awareness issues for Gays, Blacks and Capitalism. Thank You Phil.
I wish someone would ask his opinion on the economy. He seems to be doing well financially.
__________
Trey Rusk is a retired ranking law enforcement official.
By Trey Rusk
The big story last week was Phil from Duck Dynasty's comments to GQ Magazine. Why is A&E surprised that a 67 year old white male from rural Louisiana has deeply religious beliefs. Professional journalists usually know what answer they will receive before they ask a question. I think everyone got what they wanted. A&E says they have suspended Phil from the show. Yet, most of next season's episodes have already been filmed. A&E did not say that they would cancel the already filmed shows. Why? In my opinion, Money!
Wal-Mart hasn't cancelled either product line, A&E's Duck Dynasty Products or the Robertson's Duck Commander's line. Why? In my opinion, Money!
GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) has suggested that they have suffered through numerous unflattering posts on their website. However, I think they also received a lot attention from media outlets that showed they are a organization to be reckoned with. Let's be honest with ourselves, homosexuality has always been around. We should all know about it now since Phil has commented on it. I don't know if GLAAD received any financial donations. But I'd wager that they did.
I can remember when "Queers" as they used to be openly called were in fear for their lives. It hasn't been that long ago that homosexuals were beaten and murdered in this country and probably still are. The police have never been sympathetic to their lifestyle choice. However, I believe some of the Gay bashing officers that I worked with may have been putting up a front to hide their own homosexuality. I used to work Gay bar complaints and I can tell you homosexuals fear law enforcement.
Phil's racial statement was fairly accurate for a person that grew up in that time period. When I began my law enforcement career the tickets or booking sheets changed several times for black arrestees. C for colored, then N for Negro, then A for African American and now B for black. Did Blacks suffer from discrimination? Certainly.
Attitudes change through awareness and Phil has contributed to the awareness issues for Gays, Blacks and Capitalism. Thank You Phil.
I wish someone would ask his opinion on the economy. He seems to be doing well financially.
__________
Trey Rusk is a retired ranking law enforcement official.
HIGH HOPES FOR NEW NY POLICE COMMISSIONER UNDER NEW FAR-LEFT MAYOR
William J. Bratton will only get it right as NY’s police commissioner if Sandinista-loving Mayor Bill de Blasio does not interfere with police operations.
BRATTON’S RETURN AS NEW YORK’S POLICE COMMISSIONER
By Eli B. Silverman and John A. Eterno
The New York Times
December 18, 2013
William J. Bratton has repeatedly promised to “get it right” in his second tenure as police commissioner of New York City. Based on his previous record in New York and elsewhere, there is every reason to have confidence in this prediction.
Mr. Bratton’s 1994 introduction of CompStat — developing crime-fighting strategies based on statistical data — has rightly been hailed as a significant policing innovation. Nevertheless, our research has disclosed the unraveling of CompStat under Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as it descended into a top-down, quota-driven instrument focusing on numbers regardless of community consequences.
The department’s lack of transparency has obscured the deterioration of CompStat’s primary ingredient — accurate and timely intelligence, which is essential to successful crime fighting and citizen satisfaction. Yet the current leadership’s push to present crime statistics only in the most favorable light has contributed to the underreporting of crime and the downgrading of serious felony crimes into lesser crime categories.
If community trust and confidence are restored, then the police will more accurately record crime and citizens will feel more comfortable reporting criminal or terrorist activity. This is an important road to a more transparent, effective and citizen-responsive police department.
BRATTON’S RETURN AS NEW YORK’S POLICE COMMISSIONER
By Eli B. Silverman and John A. Eterno
The New York Times
December 18, 2013
William J. Bratton has repeatedly promised to “get it right” in his second tenure as police commissioner of New York City. Based on his previous record in New York and elsewhere, there is every reason to have confidence in this prediction.
Mr. Bratton’s 1994 introduction of CompStat — developing crime-fighting strategies based on statistical data — has rightly been hailed as a significant policing innovation. Nevertheless, our research has disclosed the unraveling of CompStat under Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as it descended into a top-down, quota-driven instrument focusing on numbers regardless of community consequences.
The department’s lack of transparency has obscured the deterioration of CompStat’s primary ingredient — accurate and timely intelligence, which is essential to successful crime fighting and citizen satisfaction. Yet the current leadership’s push to present crime statistics only in the most favorable light has contributed to the underreporting of crime and the downgrading of serious felony crimes into lesser crime categories.
If community trust and confidence are restored, then the police will more accurately record crime and citizens will feel more comfortable reporting criminal or terrorist activity. This is an important road to a more transparent, effective and citizen-responsive police department.
ANOTHER EDUCATED IDIOT TEACHER BITES THE DUST OVER SEX WITH STUDENT
It has just come to me that what is lacking in teacher education degree programs is a two semester course on how not to cave into one’s desire to have sex with a student. Such a course would make much more sense than some of the worthless courses required for obtaining a teaching credential.
And students should also be thought to always delete personal messages on their computers. If this lucky young man had done that, he would still be enjoying the pleasures of a special relationship with this now ex-teacher.
If I had found out my son was having sex with a female teacher, I would have congratulated the lucky little fart and warned him not to let her husband catch them, and to use rubbers so he wouldn’t knock her up.
MARRIED PENNSYLVANIA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED FOR HAVING SEXUAL RELATIONS IN HER CAR WITH STUDENT
Lauren Harrington-Cooper, 31, was arrested Thursday for having sex with a male student after the alleged victim's parents discovered an inappropriate conversation between the pair on a laptop
Mail Online
December 21, 2013
A married Pennsylvania high school teacher has been arrested for having sexual relations with a male student.
The arrest came after the alleged victim's parents found a sexually explicit conversation on a laptop between 31-year-old Lauren Harrington-Cooper and the boy.
The parents went to Wyoming Valley West High School and informed the principal of the material Thursday and Harrington-Cooper, of Plymouth, was arraigned that night on a single count of institutional sexual assault.
According to the Times-Leader, Harrington-Cooper, a ninth-grade English teacher at the school, told the victim's sister she thought he was 'hot.'
The boy obtained Harrington-Cooper's phone number from his sister and the pair exchanged text messages.
They agreed to meet up and Harrington-Cooper picked the boy up near his home several times during which they had sex and Harrington-Cooper performed oral sex on the boy in the car.
The alleged incidents occurred beginning December 13.
According to the Times-Leader, Harrington-Cooper admitted having sexual relations with the boy, whom she knew was a high school senior to investigators.
Harrington-Cooper is married to Raphael Cooper, owner of Cooper Dance Academy.
On December 19, he told the school's students and their parents that classes were cancelled due to 'a family emergency' via Facebook.
Later that evening, he wrote: 'After the holiday, I , Raphael Cooper will address all of the members of our studio as to our future. Please keep everyone in our family in your prayers as we confront the days ahead.'
According to the Times-Leader, Harrington-Cooper has been placed under medical supervision after attempting to harm herself.
She was released on $25,000 bail and advised by District Judge Martin Kane that if she does not attend her preliminary hearing on December 26, she will be incarcerated.
According to the Citizen's Voice, Harrington-Cooper graduated from the University of Scranton in 2005. In addition to being a high school teacher, she teaches dance at Body Language Studios in Kingston.
School officials have not yet commented on the scandal.
And students should also be thought to always delete personal messages on their computers. If this lucky young man had done that, he would still be enjoying the pleasures of a special relationship with this now ex-teacher.
If I had found out my son was having sex with a female teacher, I would have congratulated the lucky little fart and warned him not to let her husband catch them, and to use rubbers so he wouldn’t knock her up.
MARRIED PENNSYLVANIA HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER ARRESTED FOR HAVING SEXUAL RELATIONS IN HER CAR WITH STUDENT
Lauren Harrington-Cooper, 31, was arrested Thursday for having sex with a male student after the alleged victim's parents discovered an inappropriate conversation between the pair on a laptop
Mail Online
December 21, 2013
A married Pennsylvania high school teacher has been arrested for having sexual relations with a male student.
The arrest came after the alleged victim's parents found a sexually explicit conversation on a laptop between 31-year-old Lauren Harrington-Cooper and the boy.
The parents went to Wyoming Valley West High School and informed the principal of the material Thursday and Harrington-Cooper, of Plymouth, was arraigned that night on a single count of institutional sexual assault.
According to the Times-Leader, Harrington-Cooper, a ninth-grade English teacher at the school, told the victim's sister she thought he was 'hot.'
The boy obtained Harrington-Cooper's phone number from his sister and the pair exchanged text messages.
They agreed to meet up and Harrington-Cooper picked the boy up near his home several times during which they had sex and Harrington-Cooper performed oral sex on the boy in the car.
The alleged incidents occurred beginning December 13.
According to the Times-Leader, Harrington-Cooper admitted having sexual relations with the boy, whom she knew was a high school senior to investigators.
Harrington-Cooper is married to Raphael Cooper, owner of Cooper Dance Academy.
On December 19, he told the school's students and their parents that classes were cancelled due to 'a family emergency' via Facebook.
Later that evening, he wrote: 'After the holiday, I , Raphael Cooper will address all of the members of our studio as to our future. Please keep everyone in our family in your prayers as we confront the days ahead.'
According to the Times-Leader, Harrington-Cooper has been placed under medical supervision after attempting to harm herself.
She was released on $25,000 bail and advised by District Judge Martin Kane that if she does not attend her preliminary hearing on December 26, she will be incarcerated.
According to the Citizen's Voice, Harrington-Cooper graduated from the University of Scranton in 2005. In addition to being a high school teacher, she teaches dance at Body Language Studios in Kingston.
School officials have not yet commented on the scandal.
HOW MANY TREES WERE CUT DOWN TO MAKE ENOUGH PAPER FOR HER ARREST REPORTS, COURT PAPERS AND PRISON DOCUMENTS?
Shermaine Miles busted for 397th time just one month after release from prison
397 arrest reports, court papers and prison documents for this one woman had to contribute to the deforestation of America.
WOMAN, JUST OUT OF PRISON, ARRESTED FOR 397TH TIME
Chicago Sun-Times
December 20, 2013
Last month on the train ride home from prison, Shermaine Miles said she was done with booze — done with the old life of petty crime, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Old habits apparently die hard.
The woman who has racked up a near-record 396 arrests picked up one more this week when she was hauled off an Edgewater street for a host of alleged offenses, including misdemeanor battery, theft, reckless conduct and drinking in public.
Miles, 52, was due to appear at the George Leighton courthouse at 26th and California Friday, police said.
“It’s sad,” remarked Alderman James Cappleman (46th), a Miles victim in August 2012.
After her release from Logan Correctional Center in Downstate Lincoln Nov. 18, Miles headed to Humboldt Park to a second-chance residential home for ex-inmates. At the time, Miles — whose arrests have mostly occurred on the North Side — said she planned to quit drinking for good and stay away from her drinking buddies on the North Side.
But the Edgewater business community — which dreaded Miles’ return — began seeing her in her old haunts earlier this month.
Miles was arrested Wednesday after allegedly being identified as the woman who approached a 63-year-old man in the 5600 block of North Winthrop and stole a set of keys from him, police said. Miles was found nearby, drinking and “engaging in a physical altercation with a male companion,” police said.
397 arrest reports, court papers and prison documents for this one woman had to contribute to the deforestation of America.
WOMAN, JUST OUT OF PRISON, ARRESTED FOR 397TH TIME
Chicago Sun-Times
December 20, 2013
Last month on the train ride home from prison, Shermaine Miles said she was done with booze — done with the old life of petty crime, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
Old habits apparently die hard.
The woman who has racked up a near-record 396 arrests picked up one more this week when she was hauled off an Edgewater street for a host of alleged offenses, including misdemeanor battery, theft, reckless conduct and drinking in public.
Miles, 52, was due to appear at the George Leighton courthouse at 26th and California Friday, police said.
“It’s sad,” remarked Alderman James Cappleman (46th), a Miles victim in August 2012.
After her release from Logan Correctional Center in Downstate Lincoln Nov. 18, Miles headed to Humboldt Park to a second-chance residential home for ex-inmates. At the time, Miles — whose arrests have mostly occurred on the North Side — said she planned to quit drinking for good and stay away from her drinking buddies on the North Side.
But the Edgewater business community — which dreaded Miles’ return — began seeing her in her old haunts earlier this month.
Miles was arrested Wednesday after allegedly being identified as the woman who approached a 63-year-old man in the 5600 block of North Winthrop and stole a set of keys from him, police said. Miles was found nearby, drinking and “engaging in a physical altercation with a male companion,” police said.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
JUSTINE SACCO: WINNER OF THE 2013 ‘DUMBEST BLONDE OF THE YEAR’ AWARD
Sacco tweeted “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” How did this blonde bimbo ever get a public relations job? There can be no doubt that Sacco is the dumbest blonde of the year. And this is a good example of a tweeter throwing oneself on a social media sword.
Sacco once tweeted “I can’t be fired for things I say while intoxicated right?” Wrong! An IAC representative has confirmed that this year’s dumbest blonde has been fired for posting that "outrageous and offensive" tweet.
Justine, enjoy your African vacation. Hope you don’t get AIDS ... or any other STD. Not kidding!
PR EXEC JUSTINE SACCO TWEETS RACIST JOKE ON FLIGHT TO AFRICA, SPARKS OUTRAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Justine Sacco, director of corporate communications for IAC, tweeted out Friday: 'Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!'
By Nina Golgowski
New York Daily News
December 21, 2013
It's sounding more like OK Stupid.
The communications director for media conglomerate IAC, which represents brands like OKCupid, is in trouble after publicly tweeting a racist “joke” that’s getting few — if any — laughs.
“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” Justine Sacco tweeted Friday, apparently from London shortly before departing on a trip.
Sacco, who's represented brands also include Vimeo and CollegeHumor, was not immediately available for comment.
But the offending tweet disappeared late Friday night — which would be early Saturday morning in Africa. Just after midnight in New York, in fact, Sacco’s entire account vanished.
But it might be too little, too late, judging by a statement IAC sent earlier to the Daily News.
“This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC,” said the company, which is operated by billionaire media executive Barry Diller. Noting it had been unable to reach the in-flight “employee in question,” the statement continued, “This is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action.”
Meanwhile, outrage over what many dubbed “worst tweet of the year” piled up, with one vengeful Twitter user publishing Sacco’s cell phone number online.
“She gon get that message I left,” Twitter user illmami wrote.
Another wrote, “Listen, homegirl is about to be FIRED.”
Sacco's tweet also inspired the Twitter hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet, with users mocking her controversial tweet and speculating what would happen when her flight landed.
"Sometimes you land with more baggage than you took off with," user LAmaleCA tweeted.
Someone even created a website — justinesacco.com — that links to a coalition of charities that benefit sub-Saharan Africa.
Though it’s possible Sacco was the victim of malicious hackers, her past tweets make that scenario seem less likely.
“I like animals, but when it’s this cold out I’ll skin one myself for the fur,” she once tweeted to the animal rights group PETA.
Other Sacco tweets:
I can't be fired for things I say while intoxicated right?
— Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) January 30, 2013
I had a sex dream about an autistic kid last night. #fml
— Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) February 24, 2012
Sacco once tweeted “I can’t be fired for things I say while intoxicated right?” Wrong! An IAC representative has confirmed that this year’s dumbest blonde has been fired for posting that "outrageous and offensive" tweet.
Justine, enjoy your African vacation. Hope you don’t get AIDS ... or any other STD. Not kidding!
PR EXEC JUSTINE SACCO TWEETS RACIST JOKE ON FLIGHT TO AFRICA, SPARKS OUTRAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Justine Sacco, director of corporate communications for IAC, tweeted out Friday: 'Going to Africa. Hope I don't get AIDS. Just kidding. I'm white!'
By Nina Golgowski
New York Daily News
December 21, 2013
It's sounding more like OK Stupid.
The communications director for media conglomerate IAC, which represents brands like OKCupid, is in trouble after publicly tweeting a racist “joke” that’s getting few — if any — laughs.
“Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!” Justine Sacco tweeted Friday, apparently from London shortly before departing on a trip.
Sacco, who's represented brands also include Vimeo and CollegeHumor, was not immediately available for comment.
But the offending tweet disappeared late Friday night — which would be early Saturday morning in Africa. Just after midnight in New York, in fact, Sacco’s entire account vanished.
But it might be too little, too late, judging by a statement IAC sent earlier to the Daily News.
“This is an outrageous, offensive comment that does not reflect the views and values of IAC,” said the company, which is operated by billionaire media executive Barry Diller. Noting it had been unable to reach the in-flight “employee in question,” the statement continued, “This is a very serious matter and we are taking appropriate action.”
Meanwhile, outrage over what many dubbed “worst tweet of the year” piled up, with one vengeful Twitter user publishing Sacco’s cell phone number online.
“She gon get that message I left,” Twitter user illmami wrote.
Another wrote, “Listen, homegirl is about to be FIRED.”
Sacco's tweet also inspired the Twitter hashtag #HasJustineLandedYet, with users mocking her controversial tweet and speculating what would happen when her flight landed.
"Sometimes you land with more baggage than you took off with," user LAmaleCA tweeted.
Someone even created a website — justinesacco.com — that links to a coalition of charities that benefit sub-Saharan Africa.
Though it’s possible Sacco was the victim of malicious hackers, her past tweets make that scenario seem less likely.
“I like animals, but when it’s this cold out I’ll skin one myself for the fur,” she once tweeted to the animal rights group PETA.
Other Sacco tweets:
I can't be fired for things I say while intoxicated right?
— Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) January 30, 2013
I had a sex dream about an autistic kid last night. #fml
— Justine Sacco (@JustineSacco) February 24, 2012
WORLDS FIRST ARTIFICIAL HEART IMPLANTED IN PATIENT
I hope this transplant will perform well for the long haul. Unfortunately, in the past some pioneering organ transplants turned out to be short lived.
PIONEERING FRENCH SURGEONS PERFORM THE WORLD’S FIRST ARTIFICIAL HEART TRANSPLANT
Device, which is powered by an external battery, is three times the weight of a real organ and mimics the heart muscle contractions
By Peter Allen
Mail Online
December 21, 2013
An artificial heart has been transplanted into a patient for the first time in medical history, it was announced today.
French medics said that a male patient was awake and responding well following Wednesday’s ground-breaking operation at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris.
Marcello Conviti, head of the Carmat biomedical firm, said: ‘We are delighted with this first implant, although it is premature to draw conclusions given that a single implant has been performed and that we are in the early postoperative phase.'
Mr Conviti said the artificial heart, which is three times the weight of a real one, would beat for at least five years.
Heart-assistance devices have frequently been used for patients waiting for transplants, but the new bioprosthetic device will replace the real heart
It will help thousands of people who are die each year while waiting for a donor, including many in Britain.
Surgeon Alain Carpentier said: ‘It's about giving patients a normal social life with the least dependence on medication as possible.
‘We’ve already seen these types of device of this type but they had a relatively low autonomy. This heart will allow for more movement and less clotting. The study that is starting is being very closely watched in the medical field.’
‘This news brings great pride to France,’ said the French health minister .’It shows we are pioneers in healthcare, that we can invent, that we can carry an innovation that will also bring great hope to plenty of people.’
In 2005 surgeons in France performed the first face transplant, and they are always trying to push back research frontiers.
Developed by a team of engineers from Airbus parent company EADS, the artificial heart weighs 2 lb - almost three times as much as an average healthy human heart.
It is expected to cost around £150,000 if it is made widely available.
The device mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patient's moves.
The artificial heart is powered by external, wearable lithium-ion batteries. Inside the heart, surfaces that come into contact with human blood are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic that can cause blood clots.
Heart failure affects more men than women, and the size of the artificial heart means it can fit in 86 percent of men but only around 20 percent of women.
But Carmat says it can manufacture a smaller version to fit the smaller bodies of women as well as patients in India and China.
PIONEERING FRENCH SURGEONS PERFORM THE WORLD’S FIRST ARTIFICIAL HEART TRANSPLANT
Device, which is powered by an external battery, is three times the weight of a real organ and mimics the heart muscle contractions
By Peter Allen
Mail Online
December 21, 2013
An artificial heart has been transplanted into a patient for the first time in medical history, it was announced today.
French medics said that a male patient was awake and responding well following Wednesday’s ground-breaking operation at the Georges Pompidou Hospital in Paris.
Marcello Conviti, head of the Carmat biomedical firm, said: ‘We are delighted with this first implant, although it is premature to draw conclusions given that a single implant has been performed and that we are in the early postoperative phase.'
Mr Conviti said the artificial heart, which is three times the weight of a real one, would beat for at least five years.
Heart-assistance devices have frequently been used for patients waiting for transplants, but the new bioprosthetic device will replace the real heart
It will help thousands of people who are die each year while waiting for a donor, including many in Britain.
Surgeon Alain Carpentier said: ‘It's about giving patients a normal social life with the least dependence on medication as possible.
‘We’ve already seen these types of device of this type but they had a relatively low autonomy. This heart will allow for more movement and less clotting. The study that is starting is being very closely watched in the medical field.’
‘This news brings great pride to France,’ said the French health minister .’It shows we are pioneers in healthcare, that we can invent, that we can carry an innovation that will also bring great hope to plenty of people.’
In 2005 surgeons in France performed the first face transplant, and they are always trying to push back research frontiers.
Developed by a team of engineers from Airbus parent company EADS, the artificial heart weighs 2 lb - almost three times as much as an average healthy human heart.
It is expected to cost around £150,000 if it is made widely available.
The device mimics heart muscle contractions and contains sensors that adapt the blood flow to the patient's moves.
The artificial heart is powered by external, wearable lithium-ion batteries. Inside the heart, surfaces that come into contact with human blood are made partly from bovine tissue instead of synthetic materials such as plastic that can cause blood clots.
Heart failure affects more men than women, and the size of the artificial heart means it can fit in 86 percent of men but only around 20 percent of women.
But Carmat says it can manufacture a smaller version to fit the smaller bodies of women as well as patients in India and China.
TAMPA POLICE CRITICIZE ASSAULT VICTIM FOR HUMILIATING HER ATTACKER INSTEAD OF FILING CHARGES AGAINST HIM
Alisha Hessler made Gabriel Urena sit at a busy intersection for eight hours wearing a dunce cap and holding a sign with bold lettering which read ‘I beat women. Honk if I’m a scumbag’
Tampa police criticized Hessler for taking the law into her own hands. According to the Daily Mail, a spokeswoman for TPD said, “We responded to her home. She did have visible injuries. The officer initiated a report for battery, and rescue personnel transported her to a local hospital.” When, after the initial investigation, they told the victim to bring her medical records to detectives so they could determine if he was to be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, she stopped returning their calls.
WOMAN CHOOSES TO EMBARRASS ACCUSED ATTACKER BY MAKING HIM HOLD SIGN SAYING, ‘I BEAT WOMEN’
By: Alex Hobson
Scripps Media
December 18, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. - He sat on a stool in a dunce cap, puzzling Tampa drivers for hours with a sign that read: "I BEAT WOMEN. HONK IF I'M A SCUMBAG," boldly written in black marker.
"He's doing it because he doesn't want to go to jail," Alisha Hessler said.
Hessler, 20, put him up to it.
She says she met the man Saturday night when friends of hers brought him along to go clubbing. But on the way home, Hessler says he started making unwanted sexual advances toward her in the backseat of the car. She says she asked him to stop, then hit him when he didn't.
"That's when he started beating me repeatedly until I had a broken nose and a concussion," Hessler said.
Sunday morning police were called to her house and a police report was filed. Hessler was taken to the hospital for her injuries.
But in a peculiar turn of events, she decided to not press charges. Hessler found the man on Facebook, who we're choosing not to name given the circumstances, and gave him the following ultimatum.
"I can either press charges and have you arrested for a year or I can have you sit outside at a busy intersection for eight hours holding up a sign that says I beat women," Hessler said.
Mindy Murphy, the CEO of The Spring, couldn't believe her eyes.
"There's so many problems with this," Murphy said. "Women die every day at the hands of abusers. Sexual assaults occur every day. The fact that we've got a guy sitting in a dunce cap with a sign on the side of the road really is trivializing a serious issue," she said.
Tampa police tell ABC Action News that Hessler has stopped returning their calls.
Tampa police criticized Hessler for taking the law into her own hands. According to the Daily Mail, a spokeswoman for TPD said, “We responded to her home. She did have visible injuries. The officer initiated a report for battery, and rescue personnel transported her to a local hospital.” When, after the initial investigation, they told the victim to bring her medical records to detectives so they could determine if he was to be charged with a misdemeanor or a felony, she stopped returning their calls.
WOMAN CHOOSES TO EMBARRASS ACCUSED ATTACKER BY MAKING HIM HOLD SIGN SAYING, ‘I BEAT WOMEN’
By: Alex Hobson
Scripps Media
December 18, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. - He sat on a stool in a dunce cap, puzzling Tampa drivers for hours with a sign that read: "I BEAT WOMEN. HONK IF I'M A SCUMBAG," boldly written in black marker.
"He's doing it because he doesn't want to go to jail," Alisha Hessler said.
Hessler, 20, put him up to it.
She says she met the man Saturday night when friends of hers brought him along to go clubbing. But on the way home, Hessler says he started making unwanted sexual advances toward her in the backseat of the car. She says she asked him to stop, then hit him when he didn't.
"That's when he started beating me repeatedly until I had a broken nose and a concussion," Hessler said.
Sunday morning police were called to her house and a police report was filed. Hessler was taken to the hospital for her injuries.
But in a peculiar turn of events, she decided to not press charges. Hessler found the man on Facebook, who we're choosing not to name given the circumstances, and gave him the following ultimatum.
"I can either press charges and have you arrested for a year or I can have you sit outside at a busy intersection for eight hours holding up a sign that says I beat women," Hessler said.
Mindy Murphy, the CEO of The Spring, couldn't believe her eyes.
"There's so many problems with this," Murphy said. "Women die every day at the hands of abusers. Sexual assaults occur every day. The fact that we've got a guy sitting in a dunce cap with a sign on the side of the road really is trivializing a serious issue," she said.
Tampa police tell ABC Action News that Hessler has stopped returning their calls.
ONIONS AND CHRISTMAS TREES
The Unconventional Gazette
December 21, 2013
A family is at the dinner table. The son asks his father, "Dad, how many kinds of boobs are there?"
The father, surprised, answers, "Well, son, there are three kinds of boobs. In her 20s, a woman's are like melons, round and firm. In her 30s, 40s and 50's they are like pears, still nice but hanging a bit. After 60, they are like onions."
"Onions?"
"Yes. You see them and they make you cry."
This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter said, "Mom, how many kinds of peckers are there?"
The mother, surprised, smiles and answers, "Well, dear, a man goes through three phases. In his 20's, his pecker is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his 30s, 40s and 50's it is like a birch, flexible but reliable. After his 60s, it is like a Christmas tree."
"A Christmas tree?"
"Yes. The tree is dead and the balls are just ornaments."
December 21, 2013
A family is at the dinner table. The son asks his father, "Dad, how many kinds of boobs are there?"
The father, surprised, answers, "Well, son, there are three kinds of boobs. In her 20s, a woman's are like melons, round and firm. In her 30s, 40s and 50's they are like pears, still nice but hanging a bit. After 60, they are like onions."
"Onions?"
"Yes. You see them and they make you cry."
This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter said, "Mom, how many kinds of peckers are there?"
The mother, surprised, smiles and answers, "Well, dear, a man goes through three phases. In his 20's, his pecker is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his 30s, 40s and 50's it is like a birch, flexible but reliable. After his 60s, it is like a Christmas tree."
"A Christmas tree?"
"Yes. The tree is dead and the balls are just ornaments."
Saturday, December 21, 2013
THOSE LOUSY CAVITY SEARCHES
While cavity searches may seem repugnant to the uninitiated, they constitute a valuable search technique in the effort to detect drug smuggling by individuals crossing the border from Mexico into the U.S. People would be surprised what kind of things and in what amounts that can be concealed by a vag-stash or keister-stash.
In this case, I am sure the border agents didn’t pick out this woman by using the eeny, meeny, miny, moe, it’s your turn routine. They must have had a reasonable suspicion to subject her to those cavity searches.
U.S. WOMAN GOT ‘INVASIVE CAVITY SEARCHES’ COMING BACK TO THE U.S., ACLU SAYS
By Dianna Wray
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 20, 2013
If there's anything worse than rolling up to the U.S.-Texas border and getting flagged by agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, it's getting flagged, searched and probed by those agents.
On December 8, 2012, agents frisked and strip-searched a U.S. citizen as she was trying to return to the U.S. via the El Paso bridge, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the ACLU of New Mexico.
The agents transported the New Mexico resident to the University Medical Center of El Paso, where doctors conducted an X-ray, a speculum exam, a rectal exam, a vaginal exam and a CT scan. They also observed a bowel movement, which is probably even more awkward than it sounds. This all happened over the course of six hours and without a warrant, according to the lawsuit.
"Securing the border has become an excuse for outright abandonment of Constitutional principles that protect our privacy and dignity," Adriana Piñon, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, stated in a release. "The hand of the government should never have unfettered power to invade our most intimate bodily spaces."
The 54-year-old woman at the center of all this is, understandably, traumatized about all this, according to ACLU of New Mexico Legal Director Laura Schauer Ives. "The fact that our government treated an innocent 54-year-old woman with such brutality and inhumanity should outrage all Americans," Ives said.
We contacted the media arm for U.S. Customs & Border Protection but Public Affairs Specialist Roger Maier said they do not comment on pending litigation, noting they work with any criminal or administrative investigations of corruption or misconduct. However, as Mel Brooks once said, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition, but when crossing into the U.S. you might want to be on guard for cavity searches.
In this case, I am sure the border agents didn’t pick out this woman by using the eeny, meeny, miny, moe, it’s your turn routine. They must have had a reasonable suspicion to subject her to those cavity searches.
U.S. WOMAN GOT ‘INVASIVE CAVITY SEARCHES’ COMING BACK TO THE U.S., ACLU SAYS
By Dianna Wray
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 20, 2013
If there's anything worse than rolling up to the U.S.-Texas border and getting flagged by agents with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, it's getting flagged, searched and probed by those agents.
On December 8, 2012, agents frisked and strip-searched a U.S. citizen as she was trying to return to the U.S. via the El Paso bridge, according to a lawsuit filed Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the ACLU of New Mexico.
The agents transported the New Mexico resident to the University Medical Center of El Paso, where doctors conducted an X-ray, a speculum exam, a rectal exam, a vaginal exam and a CT scan. They also observed a bowel movement, which is probably even more awkward than it sounds. This all happened over the course of six hours and without a warrant, according to the lawsuit.
"Securing the border has become an excuse for outright abandonment of Constitutional principles that protect our privacy and dignity," Adriana Piñon, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, stated in a release. "The hand of the government should never have unfettered power to invade our most intimate bodily spaces."
The 54-year-old woman at the center of all this is, understandably, traumatized about all this, according to ACLU of New Mexico Legal Director Laura Schauer Ives. "The fact that our government treated an innocent 54-year-old woman with such brutality and inhumanity should outrage all Americans," Ives said.
We contacted the media arm for U.S. Customs & Border Protection but Public Affairs Specialist Roger Maier said they do not comment on pending litigation, noting they work with any criminal or administrative investigations of corruption or misconduct. However, as Mel Brooks once said, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition, but when crossing into the U.S. you might want to be on guard for cavity searches.
HATING ISRAEL IS WHAT LEFTISTS DO
The Left’s hatred of Israel includes its share of anti-Semitic Jews, including billionaires George Soros and Peter Lewis, as well as a large number of Jewish college students
I strongly suspect that the Israel-hating Jewish students have been indoctrinated against the Jewish state by Marxist and other far-left professors.
THE LEFT AGAINST ZION
The Left's doctrinaire insistence that Israel is the root of all evil is not limited to campuses
By Caroline B. Glick
Jewish World Review
December 20, 2013
In the 1960s, the American Left embraced the anti-Vietnam War movement as its cri de coeur.
In the 1970s, the Left's foreign policy focus shifted to calling for unilateral nuclear disarmament by the US and its Western allies.
In the 1980s, supporting the Sandinista Communists' takeover of Nicaragua became the catechism of the Left.
In the 1990s, the war on global capitalism - that is, the anti-globalization movement - captivated the passions of US Leftists from coast to coast.
In the 2000s, it was again, the anti-war movement.
This time the Left rioted and demonstrated against the war in Iraq.
And in this decade, the main foreign policy issue that galvanizes the passions and energies of the committed American Left is the movement to delegitimize Israel's right to exist.
This week has been a big one for the anti-Israel movement. In the space of a few days, two quasi academic organizations - the American Studies Association and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association - have launched boycotts against Israeli universities. Their boycotts follow a similar one announced in April by the Asian Studies Association.
These groups' actions have not taken place in isolation. They are of a piece with ever-escalating acts of anti-Israel agitation in college campuses throughout the United States.
Between the growth of Israel Apartheid Day (or Week, or Month) from a fringe exercise on isolated campuses to a staple of the academic calendar in universities throughout the US and Canada, and the rise of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to wage economic war against the Jewish state, anti-Israel activism has become the focal point of Leftist foreign policy activism in the US and throughout the Western world.
Every week brings a wealth of stories about new cases of aggressive anti-Israel activism. At the University of Michigan last week, thousands of students were sent fake eviction notices from the university's housing office. A pro-Palestinian group distributed them in dorms across campus to disseminate the blood libel that Israel is carrying out mass expulsions of Palestinians.
At Swarthmore College, leftist anti-Israel Jewish students who control Hillel are insisting on using Hillel's good offices to disseminate and legitimate anti-Israel slanders.
And the Left's doctrinaire insistence that Israel is the root of all evil is not limited to campuses.
At New York's 92nd Street Y, Commentary editor John Podhoretz was booed and hissed by the audience for trying to explain why the ASA's just-announced boycott of Israel was an obscene act of bigotry.
Many commentators have rightly pointed out that the ASA and the NAISA are fringe groups.
They represent doctorate holders who chose to devote their careers to disciplines predicated not on scholarship, but on political activism cloaked in academic regalia whose goal is to discredit American power. The ASA has only 5,000 members, and only 1,200 of them voted on the Israel- boycott resolution. The NAISA has even fewer members.
It would be wrong, however, to use the paltry number of these fringe groups' members as means to dismiss the phenomenon that they represent. They are very much in line with the general drift of the Left.
Rejecting Israel's right to exist has become part of the Left's dogma. It is a part of the catechism.
Holding a negative view of the Jewish state is a condition for membership in the ideological camp. It is an article of faith, not fact.
Consider the background of the president of the ASA. Curtis Marez is an associate professor in the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of California, San Diego. His area of expertise is Chicano Film and Media Studies.
He doesn't know anything about Israel. He just knows that he's a Leftist. And today, Leftists demonize Israel. Their actions have nothing to do with anything Israel does or has ever done. They have nothing to do with human rights. Hating Israel, slandering Israel and supporting the destruction of Israel are just things that good Leftists do.
And Marez was not out of step with his fellow Leftists who rule the roost at UCSD. This past March the student council passed a resolution calling for the university to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
Why? Because hating Israel is what Leftists do.
The Left's crusade against the Jewish state began in earnest in late 2000. The Palestinians' decision to reject statehood and renew their terror war against Israel ushered in the move by anti-Israel forces on the Left to take over the movement. And as they have risen, they have managed to silence and discredit previously fully accredited members of the ideological Left for the heresy of supporting Israel.
This week, Harvard Law Prof. Alan Dershowitz retired after 50 years on the law faculty. His exit, the same week as the ASA and the NAISA announced their boycotts of Israeli universities, symbolized the marginalization of the pro-Israel Left that Dershowitz represented.
For years, Dershowitz has been a non-entity in leftist circles. His place at the table was usurped by anti-Israel Jews like Peter Beinart. And now Beinart is finding himself increasingly challenged by anti-Semitic Jews like Max Blumenthal.
The progression is unmistakable.
For the past decade, donors like George Soros have been open in their commitment to elect Democrats who oppose the US's alliance with Israel. A decade ago, Soros and fellow Jewish American billionaire Peter Lewis funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into Moveon.org.
Moveon. org became a clearinghouse for anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages that became the stock in trade of the ideological Left, and of Democratic candidates in need of campaign funding.
It was due to then-Democratic senator Joe Lieberman's refusal to get on the Soros- and Lewis-funded anti-Israel bandwagon in the 2004 elections, that they turned Moveon.org against Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary for his seat in the Senate. His Democratic challenger, Ned Lamont, who won the primary, ran a campaign laced with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda.
While the ASA and its comrades are on the fringes of academia, they are not fringe voices on the Left. The Left has embraced the cause of Israel's destruction.
I strongly suspect that the Israel-hating Jewish students have been indoctrinated against the Jewish state by Marxist and other far-left professors.
THE LEFT AGAINST ZION
The Left's doctrinaire insistence that Israel is the root of all evil is not limited to campuses
By Caroline B. Glick
Jewish World Review
December 20, 2013
In the 1960s, the American Left embraced the anti-Vietnam War movement as its cri de coeur.
In the 1970s, the Left's foreign policy focus shifted to calling for unilateral nuclear disarmament by the US and its Western allies.
In the 1980s, supporting the Sandinista Communists' takeover of Nicaragua became the catechism of the Left.
In the 1990s, the war on global capitalism - that is, the anti-globalization movement - captivated the passions of US Leftists from coast to coast.
In the 2000s, it was again, the anti-war movement.
This time the Left rioted and demonstrated against the war in Iraq.
And in this decade, the main foreign policy issue that galvanizes the passions and energies of the committed American Left is the movement to delegitimize Israel's right to exist.
This week has been a big one for the anti-Israel movement. In the space of a few days, two quasi academic organizations - the American Studies Association and the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association - have launched boycotts against Israeli universities. Their boycotts follow a similar one announced in April by the Asian Studies Association.
These groups' actions have not taken place in isolation. They are of a piece with ever-escalating acts of anti-Israel agitation in college campuses throughout the United States.
Between the growth of Israel Apartheid Day (or Week, or Month) from a fringe exercise on isolated campuses to a staple of the academic calendar in universities throughout the US and Canada, and the rise of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement to wage economic war against the Jewish state, anti-Israel activism has become the focal point of Leftist foreign policy activism in the US and throughout the Western world.
Every week brings a wealth of stories about new cases of aggressive anti-Israel activism. At the University of Michigan last week, thousands of students were sent fake eviction notices from the university's housing office. A pro-Palestinian group distributed them in dorms across campus to disseminate the blood libel that Israel is carrying out mass expulsions of Palestinians.
At Swarthmore College, leftist anti-Israel Jewish students who control Hillel are insisting on using Hillel's good offices to disseminate and legitimate anti-Israel slanders.
And the Left's doctrinaire insistence that Israel is the root of all evil is not limited to campuses.
At New York's 92nd Street Y, Commentary editor John Podhoretz was booed and hissed by the audience for trying to explain why the ASA's just-announced boycott of Israel was an obscene act of bigotry.
Many commentators have rightly pointed out that the ASA and the NAISA are fringe groups.
They represent doctorate holders who chose to devote their careers to disciplines predicated not on scholarship, but on political activism cloaked in academic regalia whose goal is to discredit American power. The ASA has only 5,000 members, and only 1,200 of them voted on the Israel- boycott resolution. The NAISA has even fewer members.
It would be wrong, however, to use the paltry number of these fringe groups' members as means to dismiss the phenomenon that they represent. They are very much in line with the general drift of the Left.
Rejecting Israel's right to exist has become part of the Left's dogma. It is a part of the catechism.
Holding a negative view of the Jewish state is a condition for membership in the ideological camp. It is an article of faith, not fact.
Consider the background of the president of the ASA. Curtis Marez is an associate professor in the Ethnic Studies Department at the University of California, San Diego. His area of expertise is Chicano Film and Media Studies.
He doesn't know anything about Israel. He just knows that he's a Leftist. And today, Leftists demonize Israel. Their actions have nothing to do with anything Israel does or has ever done. They have nothing to do with human rights. Hating Israel, slandering Israel and supporting the destruction of Israel are just things that good Leftists do.
And Marez was not out of step with his fellow Leftists who rule the roost at UCSD. This past March the student council passed a resolution calling for the university to divest from companies that do business with Israel.
Why? Because hating Israel is what Leftists do.
The Left's crusade against the Jewish state began in earnest in late 2000. The Palestinians' decision to reject statehood and renew their terror war against Israel ushered in the move by anti-Israel forces on the Left to take over the movement. And as they have risen, they have managed to silence and discredit previously fully accredited members of the ideological Left for the heresy of supporting Israel.
This week, Harvard Law Prof. Alan Dershowitz retired after 50 years on the law faculty. His exit, the same week as the ASA and the NAISA announced their boycotts of Israeli universities, symbolized the marginalization of the pro-Israel Left that Dershowitz represented.
For years, Dershowitz has been a non-entity in leftist circles. His place at the table was usurped by anti-Israel Jews like Peter Beinart. And now Beinart is finding himself increasingly challenged by anti-Semitic Jews like Max Blumenthal.
The progression is unmistakable.
For the past decade, donors like George Soros have been open in their commitment to elect Democrats who oppose the US's alliance with Israel. A decade ago, Soros and fellow Jewish American billionaire Peter Lewis funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into Moveon.org.
Moveon. org became a clearinghouse for anti-Israel and anti-Jewish messages that became the stock in trade of the ideological Left, and of Democratic candidates in need of campaign funding.
It was due to then-Democratic senator Joe Lieberman's refusal to get on the Soros- and Lewis-funded anti-Israel bandwagon in the 2004 elections, that they turned Moveon.org against Lieberman in the 2006 Democratic primary for his seat in the Senate. His Democratic challenger, Ned Lamont, who won the primary, ran a campaign laced with anti-Israel and anti-Jewish propaganda.
While the ASA and its comrades are on the fringes of academia, they are not fringe voices on the Left. The Left has embraced the cause of Israel's destruction.
ACTUALLY ONLY 751 OUT OF 5,000 ASA MEMBERS VOTED TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL
The New York Times hyperbolized the report on the ASA vote by emphasizing that the boycott was endorsed by ‘a ratio of more than two to one’
It’s no surprise that The New York Times, with its Israel-hating columnist Thomas Friedman and reporter Jodi Rudoren, is trying to bolster its anti-Israel positions by trying to make chicken soup out of chicken shit.
FAKING THE NUMBERS FOR B.D.S.
By Marilyn Penn
politicalmavens.com
December 20, 2013
The NYTimes of Dec 17 reported the following in its front page article about the American Studies Association (ASA) vote to boycott Israeli academics:
“Members of the American Studies Association voted by a ratio of more than two to one to endorse the boycott in online balloting that concluded Sunday night….With fewer than 5000 members, the group is not one of the larger scholarly associations. But its vote is a milestone for a Palestinian movement known as B.D.S. for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions, which for the past decade had found little traction in the United States.”
What the Times purposely withheld is that only 1252 of the 5,000 academicians bothered to vote and only 60% of those approved the resolution. In other words, 751 people out of a total membership of 5000 agreed with the decision to boycott, a far cry from the ratio of 2 to 1. Jodi Rudoren, the Times Bureau Chief in the Middle East has proven to be a reporter with an obvious anti-Israel bias so her participation in fudging these numbers is no surprise. What is inexcusable is that the Times issued a correction about another inaccuracy in this article on Dec 18th but failed to mention the enormous discrepancy in the reporters’ tally.
Readers who have remained blinded to the Times’ yellow journalism when it comes to Israel should need no further proof than this outlandish distortion. Figures don’t lie but liars can figure.
It’s no surprise that The New York Times, with its Israel-hating columnist Thomas Friedman and reporter Jodi Rudoren, is trying to bolster its anti-Israel positions by trying to make chicken soup out of chicken shit.
FAKING THE NUMBERS FOR B.D.S.
By Marilyn Penn
politicalmavens.com
December 20, 2013
The NYTimes of Dec 17 reported the following in its front page article about the American Studies Association (ASA) vote to boycott Israeli academics:
“Members of the American Studies Association voted by a ratio of more than two to one to endorse the boycott in online balloting that concluded Sunday night….With fewer than 5000 members, the group is not one of the larger scholarly associations. But its vote is a milestone for a Palestinian movement known as B.D.S. for Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions, which for the past decade had found little traction in the United States.”
What the Times purposely withheld is that only 1252 of the 5,000 academicians bothered to vote and only 60% of those approved the resolution. In other words, 751 people out of a total membership of 5000 agreed with the decision to boycott, a far cry from the ratio of 2 to 1. Jodi Rudoren, the Times Bureau Chief in the Middle East has proven to be a reporter with an obvious anti-Israel bias so her participation in fudging these numbers is no surprise. What is inexcusable is that the Times issued a correction about another inaccuracy in this article on Dec 18th but failed to mention the enormous discrepancy in the reporters’ tally.
Readers who have remained blinded to the Times’ yellow journalism when it comes to Israel should need no further proof than this outlandish distortion. Figures don’t lie but liars can figure.
OBAMACARE NAVIGATORS: TEXAS PROTECTS ITS CITIZENS BY CORRECTING OBAMA ADMINISTRATION’S FAILURE TO REQUIRE QUALIFICATIONS AND BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR THE JOB
Gov. Rick Perry counters Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius for accusing Texas of making it hard for its citizens to sign up for Obamacare.
PERRY TO SEBELIUS: DON’T BLAME ‘PESKY TEXANS’ FOR OBAMACARE PROBLEMS
By Sandy Fitzgerald
Newsmax
December 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Perry is defending Texas's decision to strengthen qualification requirements for Obamacare navigators, saying it's not the state's fault that President Barack Obama's signature healthcare program has so many problems.
"Obamacare offers virtually no protection for consumers shopping for health coverage through these so-called navigators," the Republican governor wrote in an scathing op-ed piece that appeared Thursday in The Austin American-Statesman.
The former GOP 2012 presidential candidate, and possible 2016 candidate, also took Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to task for suggesting that Obamacare enrollment would be going a lot smoother if "it weren't for all those pesky Texans getting in the way," as the governor put it.
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is implementing "commonsense" rules for navigators who "probe Texans for their most personal and private information in the name of signing consumers up for Obamacare," Perry wrote. "These rules are especially important given the minimal federal requirements navigators must meet."
The rules include basic measures like criminal background checks, Perry said, to help protect Texans.
"Secretary Sebelius herself admitted federal navigators underwent no background check at all and could, in fact, be felons," he continued. "TDI’s rules will help ensure felons, including convicted sex offenders, are not knocking on Texans’ doors under the guise of signing them up for insurance, and that Texans aren’t giving out their most private and sensitive information to someone already convicted of fraud or identity theft."
Further, Perry noted that even though Sebelius has "bragged" that navigators get 20 hours of training, "it hasn’t prevented fraud documented in published videos showing navigators — who have already completed Secretary Sebelius’ training — encouraging applicants to lie about their income and misstate their smoking habits in order to snare higher subsidies and lower premiums at taxpayer expense."
A new report by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also points out the need for overseeing the navigators, he added. The report shows instances in which he said "navigators openly encouraged applicants to commit tax fraud to obtain subsidies they otherwise are not qualified to receive."
But consumers are still at risk even if they don't use navigators, the governor said, noting "security flaws" in the Healthcare.gov website that been "widely reported."
"Clearly, Texas’ concerns about this program are well-founded," he added.
Perry went on to describe Obamacare as "a colossal disaster and getting worse."
"Until the Obama administration places the privacy and protection of American consumers above political pushback, Texas will hold the line on protecting our citizens," Perry declared.
PERRY TO SEBELIUS: DON’T BLAME ‘PESKY TEXANS’ FOR OBAMACARE PROBLEMS
By Sandy Fitzgerald
Newsmax
December 20, 2013
Gov. Rick Perry is defending Texas's decision to strengthen qualification requirements for Obamacare navigators, saying it's not the state's fault that President Barack Obama's signature healthcare program has so many problems.
"Obamacare offers virtually no protection for consumers shopping for health coverage through these so-called navigators," the Republican governor wrote in an scathing op-ed piece that appeared Thursday in The Austin American-Statesman.
The former GOP 2012 presidential candidate, and possible 2016 candidate, also took Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to task for suggesting that Obamacare enrollment would be going a lot smoother if "it weren't for all those pesky Texans getting in the way," as the governor put it.
The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) is implementing "commonsense" rules for navigators who "probe Texans for their most personal and private information in the name of signing consumers up for Obamacare," Perry wrote. "These rules are especially important given the minimal federal requirements navigators must meet."
The rules include basic measures like criminal background checks, Perry said, to help protect Texans.
"Secretary Sebelius herself admitted federal navigators underwent no background check at all and could, in fact, be felons," he continued. "TDI’s rules will help ensure felons, including convicted sex offenders, are not knocking on Texans’ doors under the guise of signing them up for insurance, and that Texans aren’t giving out their most private and sensitive information to someone already convicted of fraud or identity theft."
Further, Perry noted that even though Sebelius has "bragged" that navigators get 20 hours of training, "it hasn’t prevented fraud documented in published videos showing navigators — who have already completed Secretary Sebelius’ training — encouraging applicants to lie about their income and misstate their smoking habits in order to snare higher subsidies and lower premiums at taxpayer expense."
A new report by the U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also points out the need for overseeing the navigators, he added. The report shows instances in which he said "navigators openly encouraged applicants to commit tax fraud to obtain subsidies they otherwise are not qualified to receive."
But consumers are still at risk even if they don't use navigators, the governor said, noting "security flaws" in the Healthcare.gov website that been "widely reported."
"Clearly, Texas’ concerns about this program are well-founded," he added.
Perry went on to describe Obamacare as "a colossal disaster and getting worse."
"Until the Obama administration places the privacy and protection of American consumers above political pushback, Texas will hold the line on protecting our citizens," Perry declared.
Friday, December 20, 2013
DEATH PENALTY: PROUD TO BE FROM TEXAS, PROUD TO BE FROM HARRIS COUNTY
Texas continues to lead the nation in executions and Harris County leads all U.S. counties in the number of death sentences
Jeff Balke is obviously not a supporter of capital punishment. As a strong proponent of the death penalty, I for one am proud to be a Texan and proud to be from Harris County. We’re both number one!
As for the nationwide decrease in executions, that is due to prosecutors asking for fewer death penalties and juries being more selective between death and life sentences, not because there has been a shortage of execution drugs.
TEXAS, HARRIS COUNTY STILL NO. 1 IN EXECUTIONS, BUT NUMBERS DOWN SHARPLY NATIONWIDE
By Jeff Balke
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 19, 2013
According to a report from the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been only 39 executions in the United States this year, only the second time that number has been below 40 since 1994 and down 4 from last year's 43. This is additionally a decline of 60 percent since 1999 and the number of death sentences given hovered at a number (80) that, other than last year's 77, is the lowest since 1973. In fact, the number of death sentences has declined 75 percent since 1996.
Not surprisingly, Texas led states in the number of executions, representing more than 40 percent (16 total) of the executions nationwide. Combined with Florida, the two states are responsible for the majority of executions (59 percent). Florida had 7 total. There are 18 states who have abolished the use of the death penalty as a punishment.
There are some positives if you aren't a fan of the needles. Texas, according to the report, sentences fewer than 10 people to death in 2013. By comparison, that number was 48 in 1999. But, it's not all positive, particularly for those of us who live in Harris County.
According to the report, only 2 percent of counties in the entire country represent the vast majority of all death penalty cases and death row inmates. At the top of that list is Harris County. And we lead by a mile.
Since 1975, there have been 115 inmates executed from Harris County. The next closest county is Dallas County at 50. There are only 5 counties with more than 20 executions since 1975. If you were to add on Montgomery and Jefferson, two counties within close proximity to Harris, you would tack on another 30 executions.
There are currently 101 death row inmates from Harris County. This is dwarfed by Los Angeles County and its whopping 248, but part of the reason is because California has not executed anyone for seven years.
An even more grim note from the report indicates the reason for the decline in executions in 2013 is likely due to a shortage of the drug used for lethal injections.
Jeff Balke is obviously not a supporter of capital punishment. As a strong proponent of the death penalty, I for one am proud to be a Texan and proud to be from Harris County. We’re both number one!
As for the nationwide decrease in executions, that is due to prosecutors asking for fewer death penalties and juries being more selective between death and life sentences, not because there has been a shortage of execution drugs.
TEXAS, HARRIS COUNTY STILL NO. 1 IN EXECUTIONS, BUT NUMBERS DOWN SHARPLY NATIONWIDE
By Jeff Balke
Houston Press Hair Balls
December 19, 2013
According to a report from the Death Penalty Information Center, there have been only 39 executions in the United States this year, only the second time that number has been below 40 since 1994 and down 4 from last year's 43. This is additionally a decline of 60 percent since 1999 and the number of death sentences given hovered at a number (80) that, other than last year's 77, is the lowest since 1973. In fact, the number of death sentences has declined 75 percent since 1996.
Not surprisingly, Texas led states in the number of executions, representing more than 40 percent (16 total) of the executions nationwide. Combined with Florida, the two states are responsible for the majority of executions (59 percent). Florida had 7 total. There are 18 states who have abolished the use of the death penalty as a punishment.
There are some positives if you aren't a fan of the needles. Texas, according to the report, sentences fewer than 10 people to death in 2013. By comparison, that number was 48 in 1999. But, it's not all positive, particularly for those of us who live in Harris County.
According to the report, only 2 percent of counties in the entire country represent the vast majority of all death penalty cases and death row inmates. At the top of that list is Harris County. And we lead by a mile.
Since 1975, there have been 115 inmates executed from Harris County. The next closest county is Dallas County at 50. There are only 5 counties with more than 20 executions since 1975. If you were to add on Montgomery and Jefferson, two counties within close proximity to Harris, you would tack on another 30 executions.
There are currently 101 death row inmates from Harris County. This is dwarfed by Los Angeles County and its whopping 248, but part of the reason is because California has not executed anyone for seven years.
An even more grim note from the report indicates the reason for the decline in executions in 2013 is likely due to a shortage of the drug used for lethal injections.
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