Saturday, January 29, 2005

Hi, Elaine

Jacksonvile, FL

Tuesday afternoon, a message was left on Elaine Brown, President of the City Council's, voicemail. The message started out normally enough with "Hi, Elaine. The caller then went on to tell "Elaine" what he would do it the Superbowl was held in Jacksonville. He told her he was a scientist obsessed with the Big Bang theory and with the size it needs to be. He stated that 100,000 people dying would get their attention. He also said Jacksonville did not deserve the Super Bowl and he wanted the mayor, city council and members of law enforcement to resign. He said police had tried to kill him several times (Were you running naked thru the streets with a butcher knife Buddy?) He then left his cell phone number and name. The number was traced, the name his own. He was subsequentially arrested.

Peeing for Freedom

Possible to get Mad Cow Disease from Collagan Injections?

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

Link to Roy Hallum's Blogsite

She kept the awful truth secret from the world for weeks. Susan Hallums and family only revealed that Roy Hallums was being held hostage after news of his co-worker was released.
Here is the family blogsite set up to honor their dad and husband.

HIV Man-Made to Target Black Population?

When Aids was fairly new, I was listening to a talk show one day. On this particular show they discussed the belief among some Blacks that Aids was man-made, generated to control or wipe out their race.

I had not heard this supposition in such a long time, I assumed it had gone by the wayside. In a survey of 500 black people, conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 50% of them stated they believed the HIV virus to be man-made.

I can only wonder at the phrasing of the questions. If you asked me if I think Aids could have been created by men, I would have to say yes, it is possible. If you asked me if Aids were devised as a means of population control targeting the black population, supplied with a yes or no choice, I would say no, but it would cause me to think, to doubt and wonder.

I feel it is irresponsible to even ask such a question. Why ask it? Or if the study is private to glean needed information, why publish the study. Why cause division, pain and doubt? If there were some proof or legitimacy to the veracity of these suppositions then we would need to conduct a man or woman hunt and someone needs to pay.

FBI Knew Suspected Terrorists Were Enrolled in Flight Schools

Monday, January 24, 2005

Roe Versus Wade

Sarah Waddington was Jane Roe in Roe Versus Wade, the Supreme Court case that legalized abortion. Sarah Waddington, after doing an interview with Ted Koppel in1995, where she stated she was still pro-choice, changed her position to pro life shortly after. She met with a group called Operation Rescue and they showed her a chart outlining fetal development. At that point in time, she changed her mind. Click here for an interview with Sarah Waddington where she explains her change of heart. Here is also a transcript from the first oral arguments, Roe Versus Wade,

Dream

I have been behind in my news. I have had THINGS going on. This is an excerpt from Martin Luther King's speech delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963, when I was 4 days old. For the whole speech click on this link.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed into a situation where little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls and walk together as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today. I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together. This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Town Lays Off Police Force

Saturday, January 22, 2005

Bobbie Jo Stinnett Update

Lisa Montgomery, 36, accused of strangling Bobbie Jo Stinnett and stealing her baby has decided to plead not guilty. U.S. Attorney Todd Graves has indicated he plans to seek the death penalty.

Montgomery had interacted with Stinnett at dog shows and had chatted with her online. In a chat room frequented by other dog lovers and show people, some had criticized Lisa Montgomery for exagerating things. Bobbie Jo Stinnett had defended Montgomery.

Northeast Hit With Nasty Weather

Click on this link from Wunderground for a interactive severe weather map. I found this to be very helpful, I had heard nothing from our local weather down South, but I could hear the wind whistling outside. I clicked on the link and found out we were under a wind advisory.

For more information on the weather situation up North, this article is from The New York Times. Nasty Storm Snarls Traffic in Northeast.

Friday, January 21, 2005

Megan Holden

Her boyfriend died suddenly in October of a severe asthma attack. Megan Holden was devastated. They had both worked at a local deli. Everytime she went to work she imagined she could see him there. She decided to move in with her sister, in Chandler, just weeks ago. She got a job at Wal Mart and enrolled in a community college.

She was at work Wednesday when ex-Marine Johnny Williams, 24 showed up looking for a ride out of town. A security guard had approached him a couple of times as he loitered in and out of the store for 2 1/2 hours.

Video tape shows Meghan walking through the parking lot at 11:59 pm, Williams is following her. He pushed or knocked her into the truck and after a couple of minutes of trying to figure out how to drive her truck, he drove off with Meghan inside. Meghans parents contacted police before 4am when she did not come home. By that time Williams was well on his way out West with Meghan.

Williams and Meghan's truck was spotted for the first time by police this morning pulling into a hospital in Wilcox, Arizona. He was treated for a gunshot wound and immediately arrested.

He obtained the wound while trying to rob a R.V. park manager in Bowie, Arizona. He pulled a gun on the attendant. The attendant who had a shotgun hidden, pulled his out and shot Williams. He had also robbed a convenience store in Odessa, TX last night.

Minutes after arresting Williams, Meghan Holden's body was found in a ditch outside Stanton, in West Texas. She had died from a gunshot wound.



Thursday, January 20, 2005

Ouch! Castration 101

A guy I went to high school with castrated himself about a year after I graduated. He was doing drugs. The word on the street was he thought his item of castration was a snake.

RENO MAN CASTRATES HIMSELF

A Reno man called 911 Monday. Seems he was profusely bleeding from his lower quarters. See he wanted to lower his libido. Apparently he had some sort of sexual addiction? So he typed castration and did an internet search with this handy and usually useful little search tool. He found what he was looking for.

He castrated himself. No word on why other than the libido thing. He did have the where-withal to call 911 when he could not control the bleeding.

It was a successful castration. “The man obviously needs some sort of counseling,” Reno police Lt. Ron Donnelly said.

Condoleeza Rice + Barbara Boxer Transcript.

Provided by the Federal News Service.

SEN Boxer. Chairman. Thank you, Dr. Rice, for agreeing to stay as long as it takes, because some of us do have a lot of questions.

And, Senator Lugar, you are a very fair chairman, and I wanted to say to the new members also welcome -- and you'll enjoy this committee, because we have such a great chairman and such a terrific ranking member, and we really do a lot of things in a bipartisan way, unlike other committees. And I think you're going to enjoy your time here.

Dr. Rice, before I get to my formal remarks, you no doubt will be confirmed -- that's at least what we think. And if you're going to become the voice of diplomacy -- this is just a helpful point -- when Senator Voinovich mentioned the issue of tsunami relief, you said -- your first words were, "The tsunami was a wonderful opportunity for us." Now, the tsunami was one of the worst tragedies of our lifetime -- one of the worst -- and it's going to have a 10-year impact on rebuilding that area. I was very disappointed in your statement. I think you blew the opportunity. You mention it as part of one sentence. And I would hope to work with you on this, because children are suffering, we're worried they're going to get in the sex trade. This thing is a disaster, a true natural disaster and a human disaster of great proportions, and I hope that the State Department will take a huge lead under your leadership in helping those folks in the long range.

Well, Mr. Chairman, again I thank you. I am -- Dr. Rice, I was glad you mentioned Martin Luther King -- it was very appropriate, given everything. And he also said, Martin Luther King, quote, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." And one of the things that matters most to my people in California and the people in America is this war in Iraq.

Now, it took you to page three of your testimony to mention the word "Iraq." You said very little really about it, and only in the questioning have we been able to get into some areas. Perhaps you agree with President Bush, who said all that's been resolved. I'm quoting today's Post: "Bush said in an interview last week with the Washington Post that the '04 election was a moment of accountability for the decisions he made in Iraq." But today's Washington Post/ABC poll found that 58 percent disapprove of his handling of the situation, to 40 percent who approve -- and only 44 percent said the war was worth fighting.

So in your statement it takes you to page three to mention the word "Iraq." Then you mention it in the context of elections -- which is fine -- but you never even mention indirectly the 1,366 American troops that have died, or the 10,372 who have been wounded -- many mentally, as a report that I read over the weekend that maybe a third will come home and need help because of what they saw -- it's been so traumatic to them. And 25 percent of those dead are from my home state. And this from a war that was based on what everyone now says, including your own administration, were falsehoods about WMDs, weapons of mass destruction. And I've had tens of thousands of people from all over the country say that they disagree -- although they respect the president -- they disagree that this administration and the people in it shouldn't be held accountable. I don't know if you saw the movie, "The Fog of War" -- war is a nightmare, you know that. Colin Powell I think was the most eloquent I've heard on it, because he's seen it himself -- he's been there and done it. And I don't want to have you in a circumstance where you're writing something years later about the fog of war. And I'm fearful if we don't see some changes here we're going to have trouble.

And I think the way we should start is by trying to set the record straight on some of the things you said going into this war. Now, since 9/11 we've been engaged in a just fight against terror. And I, like Senator Feingold and everyone here who was in the Senate at the time, voted to go after Osama bin Laden and to go after the Taliban, and to defeat al Qaeda. And you say they have left territory -- that's not true. Your own documents show that al Qaeda has expanded from 45 countries in '01 to more than 60 countries today.

Well, with you in the lead role, Dr. Rice, we went into Iraq. I want to read you a paragraph that best expresses my views, and ask my staff if they would hold this up -- and I believe the views of millions of Californians and Americans. It was written by one of the world's experts on terrorism, Peter Bergen, five months ago. He wrote: "What we have done in Iraq is what bin Laden could not have hoped for in his wildest dreams: We invaded an oil-rich Muslim nation in the heart of the Middle East, the very type of imperial adventure bin Laden has long predicted was the U.S.'s long-term goal in the region. We deposed the secular socialist Saddam, whom bin Laden has long despised, ignited Sunni and Shi'a fundamentalist fervor in Iraq, and have now provoked a defensive jihad that has galvanized jihad- minded Muslims around the world. It's hard to imagine a set of policies better designed to sabotage the war on terror." This conclusion was reiterated last Thursday by the National Intelligence Council, the CIA director's think tank, which released a report saying that Iraq has replaced Afghanistan as the training ground for the next generation of professionalized terrorists.

That's your own administration's CIA. NIC chairman Robert Hutchings said Iraq is, quote, "a magnet for international terrorist activity."

And this was not the case in '01. And I have great proof of it, including a State Department document that lists every country -- could you hold that up? -- in which al Qaeda operated prior to 9/11. And you can see the countries; no mention of Iraq. And this booklet was signed off on by the president of the United States, George W. Bush. It was put out by George Bush's State Department, and he signed it. There was no al Qaeda activity there -- no cells.

Now, the war was sold to the American people, as Chief of Staff to President Bush Andy Card said, like a "new product." Those were his words. Remember, he said, "You don't roll out a new product in the summer." Now, you rolled out the idea and then you had to convince the people, as you made your case with the president.

And I personally believe -- this is my personal view -- that your loyalty to the mission you were given, to sell this war, overwhelmed your respect for the truth. And I don't say it lightly, and I'm going to go into the documents that show your statements and the facts at the time.

Now, I don't want the families of those 1,366 troops that were killed or the 10,372 that were wounded to believe for a minute that their lives and their bodies were given in vain, because when your commander-in-chief asks you to sacrifice yourself for your country, it is the most noble thing you can do to answer that call.

I am giving their families, as we all are here, all the support they want and need. But I also will not shrink from questioning a war that was not built on the truth.

Now, perhaps the most well-known statement you've made was the one about Saddam Hussein launching a nuclear weapon on America with the image of, quote, quoting you, "a mushroom cloud." That image had to frighten every American into believing that Saddam Hussein was on the verge of annihilating them if he was not stopped. And I will be placing into the record a number of such statements you made which have not been consistent with the facts.

As the nominee for secretary of State, you must answer to the American people, and you are doing that now through this confirmation process. And I continue to stand in awe of our founders, who understood that ultimately those of us in the highest positions of our government must be held accountable to the people we serve.

So I want to show you some statements that you made regarding the nuclear threat and the ability of Saddam to attack us. Now, September 5th -- let me get to the right package here. On July 30th, 2003, you were asked by PBS NewsHour's Gwen Ifill if you continued to stand by the claims you made about Saddam's nuclear program in the days and months leading up to the war.

In what appears to be an effort to downplay the nuclear-weapons scare tactics you used before the war, your answer was, and I quote, "It was a case that said he was trying to reconstitute. He's trying to acquire nuclear weapons. Nobody ever said that it was going to be the next year." So that's what you said to the American people on television -- "Nobody ever said it was going to be the next year."

Well, that wasn't true, because nine months before you said this to the American people, what had George Bush said, President Bush, at his speech at the Cincinnati Museum Center? "If the Iraqi regime is able to produce, buy or steal an amount of highly-enriched uranium a little larger than a single softball, it could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year."

So the president tells the people there could be a weapon. Nine months later you said no one ever said he could have a weapon in a year, when in fact the president said it.

And here's the real kicker. On October 10th, '04, on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, three months ago, you were asked about CIA Director Tenet's remark that prior to the war he had, quote, "made it clear to the White House that he thought the nuclear-weapons program was much weaker than the program to develop other WMDs. Your response was this: "The intelligence assessment was that he was reconstituting his nuclear program; that, left unchecked, he would have a nuclear weapon by the end of the year."

So here you are, first contradicting the president and then contradicting yourself. So it's hard to even ask you a question about this, because you are on the record basically taking two sides of an issue. And this does not serve the American people.

If it served your purpose to downplay the threat of nuclear weapons, you said, "No one said he's going to have it in a year." But then later, when you thought that perhaps you were on more solid ground with the American people because at the time the war was probably popular, or more popular, you'd say, "We thought he was going to have a weapon within a year."

And this is -- the question is, this is a pattern here of what I see from you on this issue, on the issue of the aluminum tubes, on the issue of whether al Qaeda was actually involved in Iraq, which you've said many times. And in my rounds -- I don't have any questions on this round, because I'm just laying this out; I do have questions on further rounds about similar contradictions. It's very troubling.

You know, if you were rolling out a new product like a can opener, who would care about what we said? But this product is a war, and people are dead and dying, and people are now saying they're not going to go back because of what they experienced there. And it's very serious.

And as much as I want to look ahead -- and we will work together on a myriad of issues -- it's hard for me to let go of this war, because people are still dying. And you have not laid out an exit strategy. You've not set up a timetable.

And you don't seem to be willing to, A, admit a mistake, or give any indication of what you're going to do to forcefully involve others. As a matter of fact, you've said more misstatements; that the territory of the terrorists has been shrinking when your own administration says it's now expanded to 60 countries. So I am deeply troubled.

MS. RICE: Senator, may I respond?

SEN. LUGAR: Yes, let me just say that I appreciate the importance of Senator Boxer's statement. That's why we allowed the statement to continue for several more minutes of time.

SEN. BOXER: I'm sorry, I lost track of time.

SEN. LUGAR: But clearly you ought to have the right to respond. Then, at that point, we're going to have a recess. But will you please give your response?

MS. RICE: Yes. Senator, I am more than aware of the stakes that we face in Iraq, and I was more than aware of the stakes of going to war in Iraq. I mourn and honor -- I mourn the dead and honor their service, because we have asked American men and women in uniform to do the hardest thing, which is to go and defend freedom and give others an opportunity to build a free society, which will make us safer.

Senator, I have to say that I have never, ever lost respect for the truth in the service of anything. It is not my nature. It is not my character. And I would hope that we can have this conversation and discuss what happened before and what went on before and what I said without impugning my credibility or my integrity.

The fact is that we did face a very difficult intelligence challenge in trying to understand what Saddam Hussein had in terms of weapons of mass destruction. We knew something about him. We knew that he had -- we had gone to war with him twice in the past, in 1991 and in 1998.

We knew that he continued to shoot at American aircraft in the no-fly zone as we tried to enforce the resolutions of U.N. Security -- that the U.N. Security Council had passed. We knew that he continued to threaten his neighbors. We knew that he was an implacable enemy of the United States who did cavort with terrorists.

We knew that he was the world's most dangerous man in the world's most dangerous region. And we knew that in terms of weapons of mass destruction, he had sought them before, tried to build them before, that he had an undetected biological weapons program that we didn't learn of until 1995, that he was closer to a nuclear weapon in 1991 than anybody thought. And we knew, most importantly, that he had used weapons of mass destruction.

That was the context that frankly made us awfully suspicious when he refused to account for his weapons-of-mass-destruction programs despite repeated Security Council resolutions and despite the fact that he was given one last chance to comply with Resolution 1441.

Now, there were lots of data points about his weapons-of-mass- destruction progra MS. Some were right and some were not. But what was right was that there was an unbreakable link between Saddam Hussein and weapons of mass destruction. That is something that Charlie Duelfer, in his report of the Iraq survey group, has made very clear, that Saddam Hussein intended to continue his weapons-of-mass- destruction activities, that he had laboratories that were run by his security services. I could go on and on.

But Senator Boxer, we went to war not because of aluminum tubes. We went to war because this was the threat of weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a man against whom we had gone to war before, who threatened his neighbors, who threatened our interests, who was one of the world's most brutal dictators. And it was high time to get rid of him, and I'm glad that we're rid of him.

Now, as to the statement about territory and the terrorist groups, I was referring to the fact that the al Qaeda organization of Osama bin Laden, which once trained openly in Afghanistan, which once ran with impunity in places like Pakistan, can no longer count on hospitable territory from which to carry out their activities.

In the places where they are, they're being sought and run down and arrested and pursued in ways that they never were before. So we can have a semantic discussion about what it means to take or lose territory, but I don't think it's a matter of misstatement to say that the loss of Afghanistan, the loss of the northwest frontier of Pakistan, the loss of running with impunity in places like Saudi Arabia, the fact that now intelligence networks and law enforcement networks pursue them worldwide, means that they have lost territory where they can operate with impunity.

SEN. BOXER: Mr. Chairman, I'm going to take 30 seconds, with your permission. First of all, Charles Duelfer said, and I quote -- here it is; I ask unanimous consent to place in the record Charlie Duelfer's report --

SEN. LUGAR: It will be placed in the record.

SEN. BOXER: -- in which he says, "Although Saddam clearly assigned a high value to the nuclear progress and talent that had been developed up to '91, the program ended and the intellectual capital decayed in the succeeding years."

Here's the point. You and I could sit here and go back and forth and present our arguments, and maybe somebody watching a debate would pick one or the other, depending on their own views. But I'm not interested in that. I'm interested in the facts. So when I ask you these questions, I'm going to show you your words, not my words.

And, if I might say, again you said you're aware of the stakes in Iraq; we sent our beautiful people -- and thank you, thank you so much for your comments about them -- to defend freedom. You sent them in there because of weapons of mass destruction. Later, the mission changed when there were none. I have your quotes on it. I have the president's quotes on it.

And everybody admits it but you that that was the reason for the war. And then, once we're in there, now it moves to a different mission, which is great. We all want to give democracy and freedom everywhere we can possibly do it. But let's not rewrite history. It's too soon to do that.

MS. RICE: Senator Boxer, I would refer you to the president's speech before the American Enterprise Institute in February, prior to the war, in which he talked about the fact that, yes, there was the threat of weapons of mass destruction, but he also talked to the strategic threat that Saddam Hussein was to the region.

Saddam Hussein was a threat, yes, because he was trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction. And, yes, we thought that he had stockpiles which he did not have. We had problems with the intelligence. We are all, as a collective polity of the United States, trying to deal with ways to get better intelligence.

But it wasn't just weapons of mass destruction. He was also a place -- his territory was a place where terrorists were welcomed, where he paid suicide bombers to bomb Israel, where he had used Scuds against Israel in the past.

And so we knew what his intentions were in the region; where he had attacked his neighbors before and, in fact, tried to annex Kuwait; where we had gone to war against him twice in the past. It was the total picture, Senator, not just weapons of mass destruction, that caused us to decide that, post-September 11th, it was finally time to deal with Saddam Hussein.

SEN. BOXER: Well, you should read what we voted on when we voted to support the war, which I did not, but most of my colleagues did. It was WMD, period. That was the reason and the causation for that, you know, particular vote.

But, again, I just feel you quote President Bush when it suits you but you contradicted him when he said, "Yes, Saddam could have a nuclear weapon in less than a year." You go on television nine months later and said, "Nobody ever said it was" --

MS. RICE: Senator, that was just a question of pointing out to people that there was an uncertainty. No one was saying that he would have to have a weapon within a year for it to be worth it to go to war.

SEN. BOXER: Well, if you can't admit to this mistake, I hope that you'll --

MS. RICE: Senator, we can have this discussion in any way that you would like. But I really hope that you will refrain from impugning my integrity. Thank you very much.

SEN. BOXER: I'm not. I'm just quoting what you said. You contradicted the president and you contradicted yourself.

MS. RICE: Senator, I'm happy to continue the discussion, but I really hope that you will not imply that I take the truth lightly.

SEN. LUGAR: Let me intervene at this point. Now we've had four hours of good hearing, and we thank all members for their constancy. We're going to recess, and I'm going to suggest we come back at 2:30. Is that convenient for you, Dr. Rice?

MS. RICE: Perfect.

SEN. LUGAR: Very well. We recess until 2:30.

Monday, January 17, 2005

He's gone.

Dawn and Gene Scott met Amanda Hopkins while she was pregnant. For the childless couple, it must have seen like a dream come true. Amanda agreed before the child's birth to let the Scotts adopt her baby.

The Scotts were there on hand to videotape the birth on May 1. He was placed with the Scotts 2 days later.

The adoption was supposed to be final in 2001, however, the child's biological father filed a motion demanding custody. Amanda Hopkin's withdrew her support for the adoption and started seeking custody herself.

She was awarded custody last month and the biological dad has visitation rights. The Scott's have appealed and the case is ongoing, meanwhile, the 3 year old has been returned to his mother, leaving the 2 people who raised him. There are no provisions, at this time, for the Scotts to have visitation.

Sunday, January 16, 2005

You Could Always Be a Stripper

It was career day last Tuesday at Jane Lathrop Stanford Middle School. The speaker, management consultant, William Fried, told the eighth graders that stripping and exotic dancing could be a lucrative career choice.

It was on a list Fried provided of 140 potential careers. When question and answer time rolled around, an eighth grader asked him why stripping was listed as a career choice.

Fried told the kids that you could make $250,000 a year as an exotic dancer. He also told them, every two inches of bustline add and additional $50,000 of potential income.

This was the 3rd year Fried had spoke at this middle school on career day. This will more than likely be his last, according to Principle Di Salvo. Their parents are upset.

When asked whether or not he offended any of the students, he replied, "Eighth grade kids are not dumb. They are pretty worldly."

Another Blogger Fired

Depending on the blog style, we bloggers tend to mention our personal lives. It is unavoidable. I try to use caution. I try hard not to post something that would hurt or offend a family member, some of my best material never makes it. I would rather my writing suffer than hurt my family.

And work well...no one I work with knows my blog address or that I even have a blog. I rarely mention work. Neither did this British employee of Waterstones. He occasionally poked fun at his "sandal wearing boss" and vented on his weblog. He did mention the name of the company he worked for but not the location. He was unceremoniously fired. He offered to cease and desist from all workplace blogging to no avail.

He joins a host of others fired for blogging about work. Among them: Ellen Simonetti, and employee of Delta Airlines, Jessica Cutler, a secretary for a U.S. Senator and others. Boing, Boing has a list of employers that have either fired or disciplined employess for blogging about work.

"Haunted House"

The definition of poltergeist is "noisy ghost".

An Austrian man was hearing strange noises late at night. He would hear slamming doors, echoing footsteps in an empty hallway. He decided his house was haunted. Not knowing what else to do, he called the police.

The police captured on video, a 42 year old woman, making ghostly noises throughout his house. She was very much alive and the wife of one of his employees. She was jailed for 4 months on nuisance charges.

Saturday, January 15, 2005

Brazilian Man Throws Mother to the Dogs

In San Paulo Brazil a 48 year old man threw his 88 year old mother over the fence, into the neighbor's back yard, where pit bulls mauled her to death. The had been arguing.

The man Luiz Polidoro, told the police, his mother had jumped over the wall on her on accord.

The newspaper account reports that the man tried to save his mother. When police arrived, he was cradling his blood soaked mother. He has been jailed and charged with murder.

Mother Kills Daughter with Bleach

Tunisia Archie, 31 years of age, has been arrested for killing her daughter. Jasmine was only 12 years old when she told her mother on November 16, that she was no longer a virgin.

Tunisia forced her daughter to drink bleach, then sat on her until she stopped breathing. She forced her 9 year old son to watch. She told him if he shed even one tear, she was going to kill him too.

She has been charged with capital murder. if convicted, she will either be sentenced to death or get life in prison without parole.

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

12 Year Old Rapes Beats 3 year Old. Mother does nothing.

Three-year-old Jeremy Rosario Milan's parents went out of town to take care of a family emergency. They left there 3 year old in the care of Marisol Alverio. He had played there on several times and had seemed to like going. This time, however, it was a mistake.

Alverio's 12 year old son reportedly repeatedly beat the child and raped him at least twice between December 11 and 17th. Marisol Alverio was aware of the abuse and did nothing.

The little boy died on December 19, two days after he was hospitalized with bruises and a severe head injury.

Marisol Alverio and her son have been arrested for the child's murder.

Oops! Kids do the darndest things?

Prince Harry wears Nazi costume to party.

My mother used to say, if you live long enough your kids will humble you. British royalty are no exception.

I think maybe Harry is rebelling a little. It would be difficult to be a Prince. And the British are so stuffy.

He was dressed as a Hitler Youth, complete with a swastika on the armband and collar. He was also photographed sporting a drink and a cigarette to complete the outfit.

He is scheduled to begin a prestigious military academy later this year. Some are saying he should not now be allowed to attend. A regular candidate would not be accepted under the same circumstances.

Monday, January 10, 2005

Cheerleading Camp

They weren't being abused, we were playing Cowboys in the Cheerleader camp!

Monday began the opening statements in the trial of the purported ringleader, Charles Graner, in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse case.

Mr. Graner's attorney,Guy Womack, defended his actions as being a means to soften prisoners up and gain control of them.

Remarking on a picture of prisoners on a leash he stated,
“You’re keeping control of them. A tether is a valid control to be used in corrections,” he said. “In Texas we’d lasso them and drag them out of there.” He compared the leash to parents who place tethers on their toddlers while walking in shopping malls.

Referring to stacking the naked prisoners, Womack said: "Don't cheerleaders all over America form pyramids six to eight times a year? Is that torture?"

Were the prisoner's abused or just humiliated? Regardless, of anyone's opinion, these were probably not the best comparisons or word pictures.

Officials want mass DNA test

Christa Worthington was killed in her home in January 2002. Her murder was the first in the small Massachusetts town of Turo in 30 years.
She was stabbed in the chest and sexually asaulted. Her toddler, then 2 1/2 years old was found with her Mom's body. She had been dead at least 24 hours.

Christa Worthington was a former fashion writer. At just 26 years old she had began working in Paris for Women's Wear Daily. She had moved to Turo, Massachusetts to raise her child and be near family. She was a single mom.

Among the possible suspects, a 29 year old heroin addict and former prostitute who was allegedly having an affair with Christa's father. Worthington had told friends she wanted her dad to end the relationship with both the woman and her friends.

Her ex boyfriend that discovered her body, while "returning a flashlight".

Then there is the child's father, a married man. He found out she was pregnant after he had ended their relationship. Christa had demanded that Tony Jackett tell his wife about the affair and their baby in 2000. He did and surprisingly his wife started a relationship with both Christa and the child.

All of the suspects have had their DNA tested and there was no match.

"For now, mystery still surrounds the murder of Christa Worthington,
whose life was taken on Cape Cod's outer banks -- at Land's End, where she'd come for peace."

Sunday, January 09, 2005

New Test May Predict Schizophrenia

A new test developed by researchers at Scotland's Edinburgh University, claims to accurately predict schizophrenia up to 3 years before onset. The test measures memory, IQ, motor skills and verbal learning.

They tested 163 people with family histories of schizophrenia over a period of 10 years. They also tested individuals with no family history. The tests included brain scans.

45% of the high risk people showed symptons of schizophrenia, 3 years later only 12% actually developed the disorder. The people who went on to develop schizophrenia were shy and oversensitive. Their IQs were normal but their memory ability was not as good. Their thalamus, a part of the brain, was also smaller.

Their is no cure for schizophrenia. It can be controled with medication, and those diagnosed early tend to fair better.
This is good news for those with a history of schizophrenia in their family history. In the future they could be tested and get early treatment if they show to be in the danger group.

Follow Up - Victims last message cry for help

Missing British college student Mary Geeson, who text messaged for help after apparently being abjucted, was found yesterday. Her body was discovered near a Second World War Cemetery. She disapeared on New Years Eve, she had been asphyxiated.

A suspect in the case Lance Corporal David Atkinson, 31, committed suicide. He reportedly set fire to himself and jumped out a hotel window.

Saturday, January 08, 2005

Rosemary Kennedy was just 23 when she was lobotomized.

The following story has been well documented in several books written about the Kennedys family. Those books include "The Kennedy Men 1901-1963" and by Jack El-Hai, a Minnesota journalist, and others.

Rosemary Kennedy was just 23 when she had her head cut open and part of her brain removed.

See, she wasn't as quick as the other children. She wasn't good at math, didn't like social situations. As an adult the Kennedy's had a barrage of tests to find out what whas wrong with Rosemary. She was diagnosed as mildly mentally retarded. They put her in a convent. She wrote letters to her siblings, in them she expressed sadness that her father did not accept her and that she had not been allowed to come home in years.

She started sneaking out at night and was reportedly seeing men.
This could not be allowed. The Kennedy had a public image. Rosemary was beginning to be an embarrasment.

Kathleen Kennedy, Rosemary's sister mentioned in passing one day, that as a journalist, she had been researching new procedures called lobotomies. Scientist's were hopeful these surgeries would someday help retarded people. Her mother looked hopeful, maybe this could help Rosemary. Kathleen quickly discouraged her mother. She told her family that the procedure would render Rosemary helpless, unable to care for herself.

All of the Kennedy girls were invited to be presented to Queen Elizabeth. Rosemary had attended almost none of the Kennedy's formal affairs. She had been kept hidden for years. Hoping she would not embarrass the family, the family had her practice walking and tried to tell her how she must act. When the big moment came for her to meet the Queen, Rosemary tripped on her dress, slightly, but managed an elegent curtsey. Everyone at the ball commented on what a good dancer she was. They said she was a sweet pretty girl.

A few days later, her father took Rosemary for a "check-up". He kept the "check up" secret from the rest of the family. It has been reported that she was totally awake as they cut away at her mind. She was the first "retarded person" ever to be lobotomized. Some people mark this event as the beginning of the Kennedy "curse".

Rosemary died today at age 86, her life was taken away when she was just 23.

Thursday, January 06, 2005

What? Man gets 4 months for killing wife, 15 years for wounding man.

Texas Case cannot be retried.
Due to double jeopardy, Jimmy Dean Watkins cannot be retried for his wife's murder. He was convicted of murder, however in the sentencing stage, the jury was asked to consider whether or not he killed in a fit of extreme passion.

Here is a transcript derived from the text posted on the web site of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals,

"The evidence at the first trial showed that Nancy Watkins, appellant’s estranged wife, made her husband move out of their home on December 21, 1998. She remained in the house with their two children. Her lover, Keith Fontenot, moved in that same evening. Through various telephone calls, appellant discovered that Keith and Nancy had made love that night on the living room floor with the children upstairs.

The next afternoon, December 22nd, appellant called his wife on his cellular telephone, telling her that he would kill her, kill Fontenot, and then kill himself. A few minutes later, he stormed into the house, still holding his telephone to his ear and carrying a gun. He went past Fontenot, who was in the living room, and found Nancy in the kitchen. He shot her twice, but neither wound was fatal."

"When Fontenot ran into the kitchen and saw Nancy on the floor, appellant began shooting at him. Fontenot was hit in the back and leg, but not seriously injured. As appellant continued to shoot at him, Fontenot ran out the front door and around the side of the house; he leapt over a chain link fence, ran through the back-yard, jumped over another fence into a neighbor’s yard, where he collapsed and called for help. He then saw appellant come out of the house, get in his truck and drive off.

Appellant had stopped shooting because he thought the gun was out of bullets. Within five minutes, he returned, having discovered that the gun was not out of bullets. Appellant re-entered the house, shot Nancy several more times–this time fatally–and then he drove off again."

"At the guilt stage of appellant’s trial for his wife’s murder, defense counsel argued that appellant did not form any intent during this incident, arguing instead that appellant was temporarily insane and was mentally “gone.”1 The jury rejected this argument and convicted Jimmy Dean Watkins of murder. However, during the punishment phase, it was asked to decide whether appellant had murdered his wife “in sudden passion” under Tex. Penal Code § 19.02(d).2 After lengthy deliberation, the jury concluded that Jimmy Dean Watkins had acted under the immediate influence of sudden passion in causing his wife’s death and it sentenced him to ten years community supervision. The State then indicted appellant for the attempted capital murder3 and attempted murder of Keith Fontenot, as well as aggravated assault with a deadly weapon."


1964 Slayings - Klansman Arrested

I am 41 years old and I was raised in Mississippi. I have never personally seen a KKK rally or even people in KKK garb. I am not ignorant of the South's past. I know there were dark, horrible times. I can state truthfully that the South I grew up in is not the South portrayed on TV and in some novels.

In 1964, when I was one year old, three voter registration volunteers, one black, the other two white, were murdered. Several Klansmen were convicted of conspiracy. but served only 3 to 6 years.

Today Edgar Ray Killen was arrested and is being held on three counts of murder. Sheriff Larry Myers stated that there will be more arrests.

Edgar Ray Killen should get the death penalty, it should be swift because of his age. He deserves to fry.

Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Not Kidnapped Kristian Walker - Thailands Child Sex Trafficking

Kristian Walker was not kidnapped. He missing along with his mother. Earlier this week it was reported that Kristian Walker had been taken out of a Thai hospital and was possibly abducted to be sold into sex slavery. It was a case of mistaken identity. A German man did take a child out of a Thai hospital, he didn't take him to harm him, he took him to his family.

I am sorry he is missing, I hope he is alive. I am happy he was not sold as a sex slave.

Right after the tsunami, I visited a foreign web site that mentioned American tourists and how he hated them because of the child sex trade. Another reader posted and gently chided him stating that the majority of American tourists are normal people, not predators.

I found this article on the US Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscentiy Section, website.

I clipped a small part of the article and it is listed below. It speaks of the child sex trade in general and includes other countries, not just Thailand.

"Child prostitutes live in constant fear; they live in fear of sadistic acts by clients, fear of being beaten by pimps who control the sex trade, and fear of being apprehended by the police. It comes as no surprise that victims often suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness."

"Many victims of child sexual exploitation also suffer from physical ailments, including tuberculosis, exhaustion, infections, and physical injuries resulting from violence inflicted upon them. Venereal diseases run rampant among these children and they rarely receive medical treatment until they are seriously or terminally ill. Living conditions are poor and meals are inadequate and irregular. Many children that fail to earn enough money are punished severely, often through beatings and starvation. Sadly, drug use and suicide are all too common for victims of child sexual exploitation."

Child Sex Tourists

"Child sex tourists are typically males and come from all income brackets. Perpetrators usually hail from nations in Western European nations and North America."

"While some tourists are pedophiles that preferentially seek out children for sexual relationships, many child sex tourists are "situational abusers." These are individuals who do not consistently seek out children as sexual partners, but who do occasionally engage in sexual acts with children when the opportunity presents itself."

"The distorted and disheartening rationales for child sex tourism are numerous.
Some perpetrators rationalize their sexual encounters with children with the idea that they are helping the children financially better themselves and their families. Paying a child for his or her services allows a tourist to avoid guilt by convincing himself he is helping the child and the child's family to escape economic hardship. Others try to justify their behavior by believing that children in foreign countries are less "sexually inhibited" and by believing their destination country does not have the same social taboos against having sex with children. Still other perpetrators are drawn towards child sex while abroad because they enjoy the anonymity that comes with being in a foreign land. This anonymity provides the child sex tourist with freedom from the moral restraints that govern behavior in his home country. Consequently, some tourists feel that they can discard their moral values when traveling and avoid accountability for their behavior and its consequences. Finally, some sex tourists are fueled by racism and view the welfare of children of third world countries as unimportant."

Oh and a message to the freak who "authors" the blog Accidents of Thought and conveniently does not allow comments or have an email listed on the site? You are a cowardly freak who is hiding behind religion to expouse your garbage. Don't you think God would also punish the nations that "took advantage" of child slavery and had sex with those children? There is evil everywhere. We in the West are not immune, pure, or holy.

Missing Student Last Message A Cry For Help

Missing student Sally Gleeson, 22 was last seen on early New Year's Day. She sent two text messages after becoming seperated from friends. The first at 1:40a.m. read "No one waited for me. I've got into a car with someone. Please call me x." Two minutes later another message stating simply "Please help me x."

Her friends did not receive her messages until around 9:00am that day.

Power to her mobile phone was lost at 9:44am on New Years Day. Techicians are trying to pinpoint it's location when the battery died or the phone turned off.



Not now, My toenails are too long.

I remember when I was a teenager, there was a saying that floated about on tv commercials, etc. It was "not now I am washing my hair" or "I will be washing my hair on Saturday". It was supposed to be a response to use when someone asked you out for a date and you did not want to go.

Radical Muslim cleric Abu Hamza, who faces 16 charges, including incitement to murder and stirring up racial hatred, stated he could not walk from his cell to the special video link room set up to take video testimony. He could not walk to this room and appear via video in court because he stated his toenails are too long.

The Judge adjourned the hearing for a fortnight due to the prisoners "disabilities".

Tuesday, January 04, 2005

Criminal Charges Filed Against Teen Accused of Aiding in Pregnancy Termination

In Mount Clemens, Michigan, a teen boy has been arrested. He is being accused of causing his girlfriend to miscarry by striking her in the abdomen over a course of two weeks. The girlfriend was allowing her boyfriend to strike her stomach. She did not want to be pregnant. She was not arrested.

A 1999 law created by the Michigan Legislature, makes the boys actions criminally liable. The girl, even if complicit in the termination is not criminally liable.

The baby was not viable at time of death, but this will not affect charges.

" Prosecutor Smith said the defendant must plead guilty as charged or face trial. "This crime is shocking and reprehensible," he said. "I will not entertain any plea bargaining on it."

My personal opinion? I have children around these teen's age and my heart breaks for both them and their parents, however, I think that if there is a law that prosecutes the one who causes the death of an unborn child then that same law should also prosecute the pregnant one if she allows the abuse that causes the miscarriage. Maybe this prosecution will send the message, life is important and not to be ended just because you are scared or inconvenienced.

Top Thai Forecaster Fired Over Tsunami

"Thailand's Meteorological Department has said that it knew about the huge earthquake that struck off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra island on Dec. 26 - and that it might produce a dangerous surge of water along the country's southwest coast - about an hour before waves began slamming ashore."

They stated they were reluctant to issue warnings or evaculations because they had no way of knowing the size of the waves. They did not want to hurt tourism (WELL IT IS HURT NOW) and possibly anger his government.

Suparerk Thantiratanawong, director general of the Meteorological Department, has been fired.

"If he warned (of the tsunami), the death toll would definitely have been minimized," Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said.

Monday, January 03, 2005

Jigsaw Rage

Soon to come.....little tests popping up all over blog sites, What kind of jigsaw strategist are you?

Researchers at the University of Bath have conducted a study on human interaction. They asked people to complete a 121 piece jigsaw puzzle alone or in a group. They were video taped. They will be using the results of the study to develope computer software designed to aid in work related projects.

Some of the behaviors observed....
-Shading completed sections of puzzle from other players view.
-Refusing to let a fellow player touch their puzzle
-Hourding of piles of pieces
-Hiding the lid so others could not see picture

They also identified groups
Border Obsessives - focus exclusively on sorting through the entire stock of pieces for the sole purpose of completing the border before concentrating on the rest of the puzzle. (that's me)
Opportunists', sort piles on more complex criteria and completing the puzzle using a range of different methods, such as from the top of the picture down to the bottom, or by concentrating on a major component of the picture depending on the pieces they pick up.

The Border Obsessives and the Opportunists had a tendancy to fight with Border Obsessives trying to run the show and the Opportunists performing better alone.

Sandra Bullock Gives to Tsunami Relief Effort

Sandra Bullock donated $1 million to the Red Cross for tsunami victims. She contacted them last week after news of the disaster. This isn't the first time she has given in a time of crisis. She also gave $1 million after 911.

I don't always automatically admire famous people just because they have familiar faces. She is an actress I have always admired. She is now even more esteemed in my eyes.

Sunday, January 02, 2005

New York Man Questioned About Laser Incident

There have been numerous reportings of laser generated light in airline cockpits in at least 5 states. David Banach was playing with his daughter Friday evening in the backyard. He was showing her a common laser pointer that can be purchased over the internet. The article states
"On Friday FBI agents, police from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and a federal terrorism task force were seeking the source of green lasers that were aimed at separate aircraft flying over Morris County in the last several days. The local incidents were among several being investigated nationwide.

A Port Authority helicopter was marked by a similar laser Friday during the search and authorities targeted the Lake Parsippany area for a possible source."

Authorities honed in on Barach and his home was swiflty surrounded and he was whisked into custody and interrogated until 4:am. He has not been cleared by authorities.

Barach states he is innocent. Not to good an idea, at least right now, to be playing with a laser at night. An even worse idea, is to point it at a police helicopter. Someone did......

Saturday, January 01, 2005

Says What I Cannot

I am obssessed with the Tsunami story. I try not to be but I am drawn again and again. I ran across a poem on a blogsite today that expresses the sadness I feel. It also expresses hope and a renewed gratitude for life. It is a brand new blogsite. I added it to my links.

South of Steinbeck

Like a lot of people, I am now searching for hope in "that sea of mud". I can. My children, friends and family were not lost that day. I was not there.

Looking for a story of hope, Click on the following story I found on CNN's website.
Two babies find life among the deadly waters.

Thai Gypsies Saved Entire Village/British Girl's warning saved hundreds of lives

My limited knowledge of tidal waves comes from movies. I am sure we touched on it in school but I don't remember that information. A British child that recognized the warning signs due to her school instruction was on the beach when the water started receding, warned her Mom and a beach was evacuated and hundreds of lives saved.

A group of fisherman called the Morgan Sea Gypsies, saw the receding waters and also recognized the danger. Their knowledge was due to information passed by tribal elders from one generation to another. Instead of gathering up the flopping fish on the beach like some people, they evacuated their entire village of 180 people to a temple on higher ground.

The article states: "Between April and December, they live in shelters on the shore surviving by catching shrimp and spear fishing. At boat launching festivals each May, they ask the sea for forgiveness."

Charge!!!

I don't have credit cards. Not that I am noble or anything. I don't have credit cards because I am divorced, my credit sucks and credit card companies would laugh hysterically at any application I would send their way.

Most of the time, I am very happy that I don't have the temptation those cards would bring me of little self control. There are desperate crunch times when I wish I had one or two or three....

An alarming report by Fox News today states that the majority of Americans are spending way beyond their income limits and that credit cards are to blame. They go so far to suggest that our economy could actually crash because of this.

There, now I can pretend to be noble with my credit cardless state and look down on the lofty borrowers that I so desperately envy.