Well Said Paris

LOOSE LIPS: “Every woman should have four pets in her life. A mink
in her closet, a jaguar in her garage, a tiger in her bed, and a
jackass who pays for everything.”

One Word Meme.......Try It....

Yourself: FUN
Your partner: asleep
Your hair: straight
Your Mother: hilarious
Your Father: darlin
Your Favorite Item: books
Your dream last night: hot
Your Favorite Drink: coffee
Your Dream Car: truck
Your Dream Home: beach
The Room You Are In: computer
Your Ex: remarried
Your fear: violence
Where you Want to be in Ten Years? breathing
Who you hung out with last night: family
What You're Not: ignorant
Muffins: craberry
One of Your Wish List Items: stone
Time: 9:29 pm
The Last Thing You Did: sigh
What You Are Wearing: undies
Your favorite weather: sunny
Your Favorite Book: all
Last thing you ate: tacos
Your Life: busy
Your mood: calm
Your Best Friends: irreplaceable
What are you thinking about right now: sleep
Your car: jalopy
What are you doing at the moment: typing
Your summer: lazy
Relationship status: hitched
What is on your tv: nothing
What is the weather like: cool
When is the last time you laughed: today

Woman Files Obscenity Complaint Over Library Book

LEWISTON, Maine -- A Lewiston woman has lodged a formal complaint with police, claiming a children’s sex education book at the public library is obscene and should be taken off the shelves.

JoAn Karkos said the book, “It’s Perfectly Normal,” violates the city’s obscenity ordinance, and she wants police to issue a citation against the Lewiston Public Library.

Several weeks ago, Karkos checked the book out of the library and refused to return it, saying the book was inappropriate.

The library eventually had police issue a summons for the return of the book. Karkos will appear before a judge in December on that issue.

In the meantime, police are investigating her complaint.

Library Director Rick Speer said he is not pleased with Karkos’ latest move.

Police told News 8 they should reach a decision as to whether they will issue the citation within a few days.

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YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME! WHO IS THIS WOMAN TO DECIDE WHO CAN OR CAN'T READ THIS BOOK, OR ANY OTHER BOOK FOR THAT MATTER? LADY YOU ARE NOT THE LITERARY POLICE AND HAVE NO RIGHT TO DECIDE WHO CAN READ WHAT. IT IS NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS. NO WONDER KIDS ARE SO MESSED UP THESE DAYS. PEOPLE LIKE YOU ARE SO ASHAMED OF YOUR BODIES AND THINK ANY DISCUSSION ABOUT SEX AND REPRODUCTION IS OBSCENE. YOUR MOTHER SHOULD BE ASHAMED AS SHE FAILED IN HER DUTY AS A PARENT TO INFORM AND EDUCATE YOU. THANK GOODNESS I WAS RAISED BY A FATHER WHO BELIEVED KNOWLEDGE WAS POWER AND WOULD NEVER HAVE BANNED A BOOK IN OUR HOME. THANK GOODNESS MY CHILD HAVE THE SAME TYPE OF PARENT. I FIND IT INSULTING THAT PEOPLE ACTUALLY GET TO DECIDE (BY BANNING BOOKS) WHAT I AM ALLOWED TO READ. I CAN DECIDE FOR MYSELF AND MY CHILDREN THANK YOU.

Casey Anthony a liar? No?! Really?

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- There are five big lies investigators said Casey Anthony told them. Even seasoned detectives were astounded over how she kept up the charade for so long at Universal Studios, where she said she works, but it was all part of a pattern of lying.

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Lie #1: Casey Anthony told detectives that she last saw 2-year-old Caylee after dropping her off at Sawgrass Apartments #210 on South Conway Road (see map) on June 9, but the apartment has been vacant since February.

Lie #2: Casey told detectives that she's an event planner at Universal Studios. They brought her to the park telling her they were hoping to find clues in her locker. She told security she had lost her identification and then led investigators on a long walk through the park until she finally admitted she was fired two years ago.

Lie #3: Casey told detectives Caylee's babysitter had once lived in an apartment building in Orlando, which they found is for seniors only. It is across the street from her friend's home, where she even stayed after Caylee disappeared."I am very, very close to the family. I was close to Casey," Amy Huizenga told Eyewitness News.They were close, she said, until she recently accused Casey of stealing more than $700."I'm very worried for the child. Why not? She's been missing for a month. There's no reason not to be worried for this kid. I love her a lot. She's a great girl," she said.

Lie #4: Casey claims a woman named Zenaida Gonzalez is Caylee's longtime babysitter. When investigators talked to Gonzalez, she told them she doesn't know the Anthonys and has never been a babysitter.

Lie #5: Investigators say, during the time after Casey claims Caylee disappeared with the babysitter, she told her boyfriend Caylee was with the "nanny" at Disney.According to the police report, Casey admitted up to lying about working at Universal and to everything else except one. She still insists she dropped Caylee off at the Sawgrass Apartments unit for the babysitter.

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THE BABY IS DEAD. THE MOM DID IT AND KNOWS WHERE SHE IS. MAKE HER TALK. STOP PLAYING THESE BLEEPING GAMES WITH HER AND MAKE HER BLEEPING TALK. REVOKE THAT BOND AND PUT HER LYING, MURDERING FANNY BACK IN THE POKEY WHERE SHE BELONGS.

Offensive Apology

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Stephen Colbert apologized on air Tuesday night for offending residents of Canton, Kan.

Colbert, who is host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report," jokingly insulted the town of 800 residents last week, saying, "You can smell that dump all the way from Topeka."

On Tuesday, Colbert played a CNN video clip of angry Canton residents, one of whom said she wanted to hit Colbert in the nose.

Colbert said it was a mix-up, and he meant to insult Canton, S.D."I hope you can accept my apology and I'm glad this whole business is over," Colbert said.
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Good gravy. Give me a break already. Grow some thicker skin people! What a bunch of crybabies. Jesus was insulted more times than any of us, and you didn't hear him tattling.

Mexican government protests Texas execution

MEXICO CITY, Mexico (CNN) -- The United States violated international law by putting a Mexican national to death in Texas, the Mexican government said Wednesday.

Protesters for and against Jose Ernesto Medellin's execution gathered before he was put to death Tuesday night in Huntsville, Texas, for raping and murdering two teens in 1993.

His death ended 15 years of legal disputes on a sour note.

"The government of Mexico sent the U. S. Department of State a diplomatic note of protest for this violation of international law, expressing its concern for the precedent that it may create for the rights of Mexican nationals who may be detained in that country," the Mexican government said in a written statement.

"The Ministry of Foreign Relations reiterates that the importance of this case fundamentally stems from the respect to the right to consular access and protection provided by consulates of every state to each of its nationals abroad."

Medellin's execution was also the first of what promises to be a busy month at the state's death chamber in Huntsville. Five other men are scheduled to die in the next four weeks by lethal injection, including Honduran native Heliberto Chi Acheituno on Thursday.

Mexico took the case of Medellin and four other Mexican nationals on death row to the International Court of Justice at The Hague. The court ruled in 2004 that the United States had violated the Vienna Conventions of Consular Relations, which requires a country to notify another country when one of its nationals is accused of a serious crime.

Under the Vienna Conventions, arrested suspects are also eligible for legal assistance from their consulates.

After the ICJ ruling, President Bush reluctantly ordered Texas to comply with that decision and reopen Medellin's case. Texas appealed. In March the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Vienna Conventions were not binding on the United States, which is a signatory to them, because Congress had not passed a law requiring their enforcement.

The president cannot establish binding rules "that pre-empt contrary state law," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.

The ICJ ruled again last month that the executions should not be carried out pending a ruling on a request for further interpretation of the 2004 ruling. But Texas, which had set Medellin's execution date immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, carried out the execution Tuesday night after the Supreme Court denied an appeal for a stay.

In June, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Michael Mukasey asked Texas Gov. Rick Perry to delay the execution.

"We continue to seek a practical and timely way to carry out our nation's international legal obligation," wrote the Cabinet officers, "a goal that the United States needs the assistance of Texas to achieve."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also asked Texas officials this week to delay the capital punishment.

Medellin's lawyers, who argued that Mexican consular officials were not able to meet with the man until after his conviction, condemned the execution.

"With this action, our nation has broken a commitment willingly made by our president and our Senate," the lawyers said in a written statement. "We must now hope that other nations stand stronger in their promises than we do, lest our own citizens be placed at risk elsewhere."

Journalists who witnessed the execution said Medellin apologized to his victims' families before he received the lethal cocktail.

Medellin was 18 when he participated in the June 1993 gang rape and murder of two Harris County girls, Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16.
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If you visit or live in Mexico and break the law, you are subject to Mexican justice. If you live or visit in the US, and break the law, you are subject to US justice. Period. Don't want the death penalty? DON'T MURDER. Period. The Mexican government should have came and got him. The fact that they didn't proves they wanted nothing to do with him. International law? Please.

Rosemary Kennedy's Lobotomy

I ran across this story while reading about lobotomies, and I learned something about the Kennedy family I never knew (not that I know it all in the first place).

After reading this article, and more on the subject, I find myself realizing how frightening it must have been (and still must be) for families to have someone in their family who does not fit the 'normal' mode of being.

Is it really so wrong to be a little slow? To need a little more affection and praise? Why do families ignore or turn their backs on these children? I am appalled and utterly furious that this happened. Now we all know that lobotomies are nothing more than radical experiments, but back then? You would think someone would have said "Wait just a damn minute. This man is shoving ice picks into peoples eyes and calling it surgery". Why did so many people have to die or be injured before someone stopped this monster?

This story is credited to fatboy.cc.

Does this young woman look retarded to you?

She was Joe and Rose Kennedy’s third child, their first daughter. She was born in September 1918, two months before the end of World War I, during the Spanish influenza epidemic. Her name was Rose Marie Kennedy, but she became known as “Rosemary.” Later the Kennedys speculated that she was retarded because the nurse had prevented her birth until the arrival of the obstetrician, so that he could collect his full feee. In his book, “The Kennedy Women,” Lawrence Leamer describes her as “painfully slow… a pretty child with green eyes that peered out on life directly.” Leamer: “As Rosemary grew into a teenager she desperately wanted praise. She was happy for hours with a mere scrap of approval, and forlorn and discouraged at the hint of criticism…. Rosemary was slow, but she was not stupid and sometimes she would erupt in an inexplicable fury, the rage pouring out of her like a tempest from a cloudless sky.” Perhaps she was angry at being treated as if she were somehow inferior to her siblings. At most, Rosemary was “mildly retarded,” as her obituaries would one day describe her, as well as the inspiration for her sister Eunice’s “Special Olympics.” Shortly before World War II broke out in Europe, FDR appointed Joe Kennedy as ambassador to the Court of St. James – at the time the most important diplomatic post any American could hold. Joe of course moved to London, along with Rose and his two oldest daughters – Rosemary and Kathleen. As the American ambassador, Joe and his family would move in the highest circles of British society. And a decision was made: both daughters, the charming and brilliant Kathleen, and the “slow” Rosemary, would be “presented” to the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace. Rosemary spent endless hours practicing her curtseying – the bow she would have to make to the King and Queen. On the appointed evening, with the cream of British nobility (and the press) watching, Kathleen and Rosemary were presented. Everything went off without a hitch, until the very end. “Suddenly,” Leamer wrote, “just as Rosemary was attempting to glide off, she tripped, nearly falling. It was a debutante’s worst horror, at the most important social moment of her life, in front of the king and queen, to make a public spectacle of her awkwardness, her ineptness. The kind and queen smiled as if nothing had happened, and there was not even a murmur from the assembly, and indeed, it was all over in a few seconds. Rosemary recovered and followed Kathleen out the door.” But although no one ever mentioned Rosemary’s faux pas, it reinforced what everyone (at least in the family) understood: that Rosemary was somehow different. Increasingly, the problem was simply that Rosemary was too good-looking, even more striking than Kathleen, who was herself a knock-out. As long as older brothers Joe Jr. and Jack had been around, to arrange her dance card and to scare off the potential suitors “who took her cryptic silences and deliberate speech as feminine demureness,” she was okay. Later, in London she was often squired to social events by a young Embassy employee named, of all things, “Jack Kennedy,” who became known as “London Jack,” to distinguish him from JFK. But as war clouds gathered, and Joe was recalled to the U.S. after his disastrous pro-Hitler remarks to the Boston Herald, Joe, Jr. and Jack joined the Navy. There was no one left to escort Rosemary. She was packed off to a Washington convent, which she quickly figured out how to escape from. “At night she walked out into the dark streets looking for the light and life of the city… The family feared that she was going out into the streets to do what Kathleen called ‘the thing the priest says not to do.’… There was a dread fear of pregnancy, disease and disgrace.” Joe Kennedy began talking to a quack physician from George Washington University named Walter Freeman, who was experimenting with a new form of brain surgery that would come to be known as a pre-frontal lobotomy. He sold Joe Kennedy a bill of goods – the biggest drawback for a female patient, Freeman wrote, was the fact that her head would have to be partially shaved, preventing her from going out socially for several weeks. Not everything in the family was convinced, though. Kathleen Kennedy sought out a reporter friend of hers who had done research into the new procedure. The reporter told Kathleen that the whole procedure was “just not good” and that post-lobotomy, the patients “don’t worry so much, but they’re gone as a person, just gone.” Which may have been what Joe really wanted all along. Soon thereafter, Rosemary was wheeled into the operating room. She received a shot of Novocain and when she regained consciousness, her head was on a sandbag. Freeman and his associate drilled a hole in her skull and inserted a sort of spatula into her brain and began digging. They asked her to sing simple songs and perform basic addition and subtraction. As long as she could recite the doggerel, and handle third-grade arithmetic, they kept digging. Finally, though, Rosemary Kennedy fell silent, and the operation was over. And so, for all practical purposes, was Rosemary Kennedy’s life. “She had regressed into an infantlike state,” Leamer wrote, “mumbling a few words, sitting for hours staring at the walls, only traces left of the young woman she had been, still with flashes of rage. This was a horror beyond horror, an unthinkable, unspeakable disaster. Rose and her children had repressed so much, and now they repressed what Joe had done to his daughter, repressed it all and pretended that it had never happened and that Rosemary no longer existed.” She lived in a series of private institutions, including years in the Craig House, a private hospital north of New York City. No one from the family ever visited her. In the 1970’s, she somehow escaped once more, from a Midwestern psychiatric home, into the streets of Chicago. The wire services carried photos of her in a wheelchair, being hustled into an ambulance by Chicago cops. But Rosemary’s story, so horrifying in its casual, callous brutality, was never forgotten by millions of Americans, and certainly not by any members of the Kennedy family. In the late 1970s, Bobby’s doomed son, David, was reading a copy of the pro-drug magazine High Times when he came across a story on lobotomies. Naturally enough, one of the illustrations was a photo of his beautiful aunt Rosemary, pre-lobotomy. “She had a new pair of white shoes on,” David recalled later for the authors Peter Collier and David Horowitz. “The thought crossed my mind that if my grandfather was alive the same thing could have happened to me that happened to her. She was an embarrassment; I am an embarrassment. She was a hindrance; I am a hindrance. As I looked at this picture, I began to hate my grandfather and all of them for having done the thing they had done to her and for doing the thing they were doing to me.” David died of a drug overdose in 1984. His aunt outlived him by almost 21 years, finally dying in January 2005 in Fort Atkinson, WI, where she had been institutionalized for more than a quarter century. She was 86.

________________________________________________________________ Links : My Lobotomy Physcosurgery

Flint Man Dragged To Death By Pickup

FLINT, Mich. -- The search for suspects is under way in Flint after police said a man was robbed and then killed by being dragged behind a truck.The incident happened at the intersection of Gilispie Avenue and Buick Street around 4 a.m. Sunday.

Gary Dotson, 48, has been identified as the victim. Police said Dotson had multiple chest and head injuries.The vehicle is described as a gray newer model pickup truck with an extended cab, with rear tire fenders that stuck out.

Police said the truck was driven by a black male with a black female passenger.Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call Flint Police at 810-237-6929.

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If the victim had been black this would have been labeled a hate crime.

4-year-old killed in 'tragic accident'

KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) - A Kokomo family grieves for a four-year-old girl after her grandfather accidentally ran over her.

The tragic incident happened Sunday morning in the parking lot of Centro Cristiano Adonai Church.

Police said Jesus Martinez didn't see his four-year-old granddaughter Beatriz Arreola standing in front of his minivan when he put the van in drive and rolled over her.

"The four-year-old had apparently traveled to the church with an uncle, but once church services were over she apparently went to her grandfather's minivan and stood at the front bumper," said Sheriff Marshall Talbert of the Howard County Sheriff's Department.

Church members of the congregation witnessed the accident. They rushed to help get the van off Beatriz by using a jack, but by that time it was too late.

In May of 2005, 24-Hour News 8 reporter Gene Rodriguez did a story on the dangers of blind-spots in larger vehicles such as, SUVs, trucks and vans.

Since that story aired, more than 700 American children died in non-traffic accidents on private property. So far this year there has been 116 deaths.

Janette Fennell with Kids and Cars has lobbied for legislation that protects children.

"We know that as many as two children every week in the United States are being backed over and killed," said Fennell.

In this most recent case, it was a front over accident. And according to Kids in Cars between 2002 and 2006 there were 128 fatal front over accidents in the U.S.

"Often times when you step into a vehicle you are looking inside the vehicle and then as you take your seat look out drive forward he probably never saw her there," said Sheriff Talbert.

Martinez tested negative for drugs and alcohol. The sheriff said this was just a tragic accident and Martinez won't be charged.

Meantime, recent federal legislation aims to prevent these accidents by creating rear visibility standards for vehicles, requiring the federal government to collect data on non-traffic accidents like these and provide educational programs about these dangers.

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I don't understand why people don't look before they get into their vehicles. I look for animals for crying out loud. Be aware of your surroundings.

Pakistani terror suspect due in U.S. court

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A Pakistani scientist accused of shooting at U.S. officers while in Afghan custody last month was due to appear before a U.S. magistrate judge Tuesday morning in New York.

Aafia Siddiqui allegedly shot at U.S. officers while in Afghan custody last month.

Aafia Siddiqui, whom the FBI had sought for several years for terrorism, faces federal charges of attempted murder and assault of a U.S. officer and U.S. employees, federal authorities said.

The 36-year-old American-educated neuroscientist is a suspected member of al Qaeda. If convicted, she faces a maximum of 20 years in prison on each charge.

On July 18 Siddiqui shot at two FBI special agents, a U.S. Army warrant officer, an Army captain and military interpreters who unknowingly entered a room where she was being held unsecured at an Afghan facility, officials said.

Siddiqui was behind a curtain when she used an officer's rifle to shoot at the group, officials said. She shot twice but hit no one, they said. The warrant officer returned fire with a pistol, shooting Siddiqui at least once. She struggled with the officers before she lost consciousness and was then given medical attention.

The day before the shootings, Afghan police arrested Siddiqui outside the Ghazni governor's compound where they found bomb-making instructions, excerpts from the "Anarchist's Arsenal," papers with descriptions of U.S. landmarks, and substances sealed in bottles and glass jars, U.S. officials said Monday.

Elaine Whitfield Sharp, an attorney representing Siddiqui, told CNN she found "a lot of the allegations implausible" and argued that the charges "don't pass the sniff test."

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"This is a very intelligent woman. What is she doing outside of the governor's residence? The woman is a Ph.D. Is a woman like this really that stupid? There is an incongruity and I have trouble accepting the government's claims," the attorney said.

"If she was carrying fluids and was considered dangerous, then why was she left unattended in a room behind a curtain? And this dangerous, hardened criminal picks up a gun and misses?"

Speaking to reporters in Pakistan, Siddiqui's sister, Fowzia Siddiqui, is urging authorities to presume her sister is innocent and is demanding that the government be required to prove any charges against her "beyond a reasonable doubt."

"I fear a political prosecution to protect the United States from embarrassment, rather than from 'terrorism,'" Fowzia Siddiqui said.

Since 2003, Siddiqui's whereabouts were the source of much speculation. She and her three small children were reportedly apprehended in Karachi, Pakistan, in March 2003 after the FBI issued an alert for information about her location earlier that month, according to Amnesty International.

It was the first time the FBI issued a worldwide alert for a woman in connection to al Qaeda.

Several reports indicated that Siddiqui was arrested in Karachi in 2003 and was in U.S. custody at a base outside Kabul, Afghanistan. And initial reports from U.S. officials said Pakistani officials indicated she was in custody there.

But the FBI later said she was missing, and in May 2004 then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and FBI Director Robert Mueller identified Siddiqui among several sought-after al Qaeda members.

However, Amnesty International included her on a June 2007 list as someone for whom there was "evidence of secret detention by the United States and whose fate and whereabouts remain unknown."

Government sources have said that al Qaeda leader Khalid Shaikh Mohammed named Siddiqui among al Qaeda's operatives.

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Do people really think a woman can't be a terrorist? And bleep....we are EDUCATING them. How's that for ironic.

Ohio Inmate Says He's Too Fat to Execute

COLUMBUS, Ohio (Aug. 4) - A death row inmate scheduled for execution says he's too fat to be put to death, claiming executioners would have trouble finding his veins and that his weight could diminish the effectiveness of one of the lethal injection drugs.

Lawyers for Richard Cooey argue in a federal lawsuit that Cooey -- 5-feet-7 and 267 pounds -- had poor veins when he faced execution five years ago and the problem has been worsened by weight gain.

The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, also says prison officials have had difficulty drawing blood from Cooey for medical procedures.

Cooey, 41, is sentenced to die for raping and murdering two young women in 1986. His execution is scheduled for Oct. 14.

His attorneys say a drug he is taking for migraine headaches could affect the execution process. The drug Topamax, a type of seizure medication, may have created a resistance to thiopental, the drug used to put inmates to sleep before two other lethal drugs are administered, Dr. Mark Heath, a physician hired by the Ohio Public Defender's Office, said in documents filed with the court.

Heath says Cooey's weight, combined with the potential drug resistance, increases the risk he would not be properly anesthetized.

"All of the experts agree if the first drug doesn't work, the execution is going to be excruciating," Cooey's public defender, Kelly Culshaw Schneider, said Monday.

Prison system spokeswoman Andrea Carson and Jim Gravelle, a spokesman for the Ohio Attorney General's Office, both said Monday they hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment.

Last year, Carson cited the obesity of condemned inmate Christopher Newton as one of the reasons prison officials had difficulty accessing his veins before his execution. Newton was 6 feet tall and weighed 265 pounds.

Two years ago, convicted killer Jeffrey Lundgren was put to death after a federal appeals court rejected his claim that he was at greater risk of experiencing pain and suffering because he was overweight and diabetic.

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Why is this even an issue? Why is this piece of filth allowed to even clog up the court system with a lawsuit? It might hurt? The first round of drugs might fail and he may feel some pain upon his execution? Boo hoo mother lover. What about those girl's pain? What about their hurt? You weren't too fat to rape and kill them. You weren't too fat to disregard their fear and pain. You are being punished. It is supposed to hurt. And if there was truly any justice in this country, the death penalty wouldn't be so humane. You are getting off easier than your victims did. You were man enough to commit the crime. Be a man now. Cry baby.

Eva Mendes CK Ad Banned in the US? WTF?!

Spoilsport American TV network bosses have banned this advert featuring EVA MENDES for being TOO sexy.

In the steamy commercial for Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession perfume, the gorgeous actress writhes topless on a bed in

Eva admitted she was "thrilled" that the ad was considered too saucy for US broadcast.

EEva admitted she was “thrilled” that the ad was considered too saucy for US broadcast.

Eva, 33, said: “I love it. That means the ads are totally Calvin, totally provocative and a little controversial.”

She continued: “In the commercial you’ll see me rolling around in bed a lot, that’s basically all I do. I have been a fan of Calvin Klein’s Obsession ads since I can remember.”

She added: “I love to feel super-feminine. I love dresses and skirts and dislike jeans.

“I think what makes a woman sexy is confidence.”

Creative Director of the advert Fabien Baron said: “This country really needs a new president — this country is so messed up.

“It’s such a joke and it’s quite upsetting, frankly, how hypocritical this country has become. It’s OK for children to see people killed by guns? Spreading a little love right now would be a good idea.

“She is being a little sexy, but they are not provocative.”

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See the video here. Why do we Americans pretend to be so damned prudish? We have people having sex on street corners, actresses who wear next to nothing on national television, bikinis that barely cover your tits and cooch, and we are banned from seeing a woman's breast on tv? No wonder girls are getting pregnant at young ages. No one talks about the tits. Stop being a closet boob looker. At least stand up and say you aren't afraid of the breast already. Good grief! And we wonder why other countries don't take us seriously.

Bali bombers seek 'execution without pain'

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Three militants awaiting execution for the 2002 Bali bombings plan to challenge the legality of death by firing squad, but it was unclear if the move would lead to a last-minute stay, their lawyer said Tuesday.
Imam Samudra, one of three militants sentenced to death over the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

Imam Samudra, one of three militants sentenced to death over the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings.

Mahendradatta, who goes by a single name, said he would file a petition next week at the Constitutional Court arguing that convicts who go before a firing squad sometimes do not die immediately, causing unnecessary suffering.

"We're seeking an execution without pain," said the lawyer, who in the past has argued that his clients would prefer to be beheaded, which they say is more in line with Islamic teachings.

Ali Ghufron, Imam Samudra and Amrozi Nurhasyim were convicted in 2003 of planning and helping to carry out the Oct. 12 suicide bombings targeting two packed nightclubs on Bali island, killing 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

The three, who have admitted taking part in the attacks, already have exhausted the appeals process.

Attorney General spokesman Bonaventura Daulat Nainggolan declined to say whether the petition would result in an automatic last-minute stay in their executions, which authorities have said would likely be carried out before September.

Mahendradatta acknowledged the executions could well go ahead even if the case was lodged at the Constitutional Court, but said it would be "murder" if they did.

The Bali attacks were carried out by members and associates of Jemaah Islamiyah, a local network of mostly Afghan trained militants, with al-Qaida providing money and some expertise, police and former militants have said.

Islamic militants have carried out three other major attacks on Western targets in Indonesia since then, the last in 2005, also on Bali, when three suicide bombers killed 21 people in restaurant attacks.

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WHAT ABOUT THE UNNECESSARY SUFFERING OF THE VICTIMS IN THE BOMBING THAT DID NOT DIE IMMEDIATELY? CRY ME A RIVER.

Apologize for slavery? WTF?!

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The House of Representatives was poised Tuesday to pass a resolution apologizing to African-Americans for slavery and the era of Jim Crow.

The nonbinding resolution, which is expected to pass, was introduced by Rep. Steve Cohen, a white lawmaker who represents a majority black district in Memphis, Tennessee.

While many states have apologized for slavery, it will be first time a branch of the federal government will apologize for slavery if the resolution passes, an aide to Cohen said.

By passing the resolution, the House would also acknowledge the "injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery and Jim Crow," the period after slavery was abolished in which African-Americans were denied the right to vote and other civil liberties. The resolution states that "the vestiges of Jim Crow continue to this day."

"African-Americans continue to suffer from the consequences of slavery and Jim Crow -- long after both systems were formally abolished -- through enormous damage and loss, both tangible and intangible, including the loss of human dignity and liberty, the frustration of careers and professional lives, and the long-term loss of income and opportunity," the resolution states.

The House would also commit itself to stopping "the occurrence of human rights violations in the future," if it passes the resolution.

The resolution does not address the controversial issue of reparations. Some members of the African-American community have called on lawmakers to give cash payments or other financial benefits to descendents of slaves as compensation for the suffering caused by slavery.
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MONEY. IT ALL COMES DOWN TO MONEY. LISTEN BLACK FOLKS, STOP USING YOUR SKIN COLOR AS A CRUTCH,A ND STOP EXPECTING ME TO PAY YOU FOR WHAT SOMEONE DID TO YOUR ANCESTORS. I DIDN'T DO IT, YOU HAVEN'T SUFFERED. GET OVER IT. YOU DON'T HEAR NATIVE AMERICANS BLAMING US FOR WHAT OUR ANCESTORS DID DO YOU? AT LEAST THEY TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEMSELVES. IF YOU ARE POOR, GET A FUCKING JOB LIKE THE REST OF US POOR ASSES.

FUCKING LAZY CRY BABIES. THROW DOWN THAT CRUTCH AND DO SOMETHING FOR YOURSELF. LIKE GET A JOB.

Report: Children Left Mom's Body To Rot

MIDDLEFIELD, Conn. -- A brother and sister who left their mother's corpse to rot in her ramshackle house may not be charged with a crime for keeping her death a secret for more than seven years.

While John and Diane Simmeck acknowledged they allowed Ann Simmeck's body to decompose and did nothing about it, the state law that makes failing to report a death a crime does not require private citizens to contact officials when a relative is discovered dead.

The statute only applies when a body has been officially reported dead.

"I'm not aware of any crime that would clearly apply to their conduct," Todd Fernow, a professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law.

"There really isn't anything that requires a regular citizen to report a death or dispose of a dead body in accordance with a procedure," Fernow told The Hartford Courant, in an article published Sunday.

A 100-page state police case file, recently released to the newspaper, details how the brother and sister made biannual trips to their mother's Middlefield home, stepping over her mummified remains on the floor.

Police believe Ann Simmeck died in late 1999 or early 2000. They discovered her body in June 2007 after an estranged son, Michael Simmeck, had grown worried about his mother's well-being. She was probably 72 when she died of natural causes.

Her remains were so badly decomposed that she was identified by comparing her DNA to Michael Simmeck's DNA.

After spending six months investigating the elderly woman's death, investigators applied for warrants charging John and Diane Simmeck with failing to report a death and improper disposal of a body. But Superior Court Judge Patrick J. Clifford refused to sign them because he did not feel their actions "fit within the parameters of the crimes," according to state police reports.

"It's an odd set of facts," Fernow said. "I don't see the legislature doing a lot to create a statute for something like this because people don't expect this to happen every day."

John Simmeck Jr., in interviews with state police, said he didn't report his mother's death because "he was scared and in trouble with the law in both New Hampshire and Connecticut," according to police documents.

He is facing an identity theft charge in connection with his alleged use of his father's identity in 2003 to set up a cell phone account.

To protect the secret of his mother's death, Simmeck continued for years to pay property taxes on the house and the electric bill because the freezer was stuffed with food. Water was cut off to the house.

His sister, Diane Simmeck, could not provide police with a reasonable explanation for her actions.

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I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO SAY HERE. THIS IS DISGUSTING AND SHOULD BE A CRIME.

Iowa asks: Is stripping an art?

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa doesn't have any all-nude strip clubs -- but it does have performing arts centers where women dance naked.
A loophole in Iowa's public indecent exposure law allows nude dancing at "art centers."

A loophole in Iowa's public indecent exposure law allows nude dancing at "art centers."

However, the loophole in the state's public indecent exposure law that allows nude dancing at "art centers" is under attack in the small community of Hamburg, a town of 1,200 just across the Missouri River from Nebraska.

The case pending before a Fremont County judge effects only one business in Hamburg, but if he agrees with the prosecutor, it could eventually threaten the legal standing of nude dancing clubs across the state.

District Judge Timothy O'Grady heard arguments in a one-day trial on July 17 and took the case under advisement.

It all began on July 21, 2007, when a 17-year-old niece of Sheriff Steven MacDonald climbed up on stage at Shotgun Geniez in Hamburg and stripped off her clothing. Owner Clarence Judy was charged with violating Iowa's public indecent exposure law.

Judy responded that the law doesn't apply to a "theater, concert hall, art center, museum, or similar establishments" devoted to the arts or theatrical performances.

"Dance has been considered one of the arts, as is sculpture, painting and anything else like that. What Clarence has is a club where people can come and perform," said his lawyer, Michael Murphy.

Murphy noted that the club has a gallery selling collectible posters and other art, and it provides patrons with sketch pads.

Nonsense, said Fremont County Attorney Margaret Johnson, an underage girl danced naked at the club, and that's illegal.

"Are you saying that minors can't be protected? Can a group of 12-year-olds come down and go in and dance nude and it's OK? I don't think that's what the Legislature had in mind when it made those additional provisions," Johnson said.

Johnson said the intent of the law is to allow movies in a theater where there's brief nudity or for an art gallery displaying paintings of nudes.

Murphy said Judy bans anyone under 18 from entering the five-year-old business. The problem, he said, was "a group of girls snuck in a 17-year-old."

"While she was there, she felt like dancing so she got up and danced on the stage and then she took her clothes off. Trouble with that is she's the sheriff's niece," he said.

Johnson denied that the teen's relation to the sheriff was connected to the charges filed against Judy.

"Her parents were absolutely appalled with the situation," Johnson said.

The sheriff declined to comment. There was no comment from his niece, whose name wasn't given.

As part of his defense during trial, Murphy cited a 1998 ruling that found nude dancing is a form of art. In that case, the owner of the Southern Comfort Free Threatre for the Performing Arts in Davenport was charged under the public indecent exposure law for allowing nude dancing. A judge found owner not guilty.

The current case deals only with Judy and Shotgun Geniez, but there could be an appeal if either side loses.

Johnson said that would take it to the Iowa Court of Appeals and perhaps the Iowa Supreme Court. That would make it a statewide case that could affect dozens of other clubs in the state.

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MAIN POINT HERE: "Her parents were absolutely appalled with the situation," Johnson said. AS THEY SHOULD BE: WITH THIER DAUGHTER, WHO SNUCK INTO AN 18 & OVER ESTABLISHMENT, AND TOOK OFF HER CLOTHES IN PUBLIC. THE FACT THAT SHE IS UNDERAGE IS NOT THE OWNERS PROBLEM. IT IS HER AND HER PARENTS PROBLEM. CHARGE HER FOR PUBLIC NUDITY,SNEAKING INTO A PLACE SHE HAD NO BUSINESS BEING IN, AND GET OVER IT. DANCING IS ART. BARE BODIES IS ART. HELL, WE ALL HAVE EITHER TITS, PUSSIES OR DICKS. DEAL WITH IT.

Rapids: Family's Weight A Factor In Accident

FAMILY ATTORNEY: RAPIDS RESPONSIBLE FOR POLICING PEOPLE'S WEIGHT

Less than 24 hours after an emergency in the water, the Rapids Water Park in Riviera Beach re-opened for business as usual. Park-goers swarming the slides, enjoying the sun, perhaps not knowing what happened on the Black Thunder yesterday.

An entire family of four, the Lenghan's visiting from New York, rushed to the emergency room after their raft flipped over. Their injuries severe enough that they are still hospitalized dealing with a myriad of bumps, bruises, and cuts. Marc Gottlieb, the Lenghan's attorney said: "The hospital is treating them like they had severe head trauma."

The Rapids went on the defensive Thursday with spokeswoman Tina Hatcher saying: "weight was a factor in the accident that took place." The water park says signs like this one clearly spell out that the weight on the rafts, which can carry up to 4 people, cannot exceed 700 pounds. Hatcher claims ride operators question people if they seem too heavy, but then she said this: "It's the same thing when you go to Disney. They're not going to ask you if your pregnant, do you have seizures or medical conditions? That's why every attraction at every park has signs up at their rides for the rider to read."

The family's attorney, however, told us by phone it's the park's responsibility to police their rules. "When you go to a park like this you are not thinking what your personal responsibility and personal liability is," said attorney Marc Gottlieb. An attorney, not involved in the case, put it this way: "If the ride operator is aware of the fact that participants are not following the rules , it certainly would seem they have some responsibility," said David Sales with Searcy, Denney, Scarola, Barnhart, & Shipley.

We checked in with the state and they say there is no administrative code that deals specifically with enforcement on water slides.

But the Bureau of Fair & Ride Inspections is fully investigating this accident. They plan to look into what the water slides manufacturer recommends for proper protocol.

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THE FAMILY WANTS TO SUE BECAUSE THE RIDE OPERATOR DIDN'T ASK THEM HOW MUCH THEY WEIGH? WHEN THERE ARE SIGNS THAT CLEARLY STATE THE WEIGHT LIMIT? GET REAL. THESE FAT FOLKS WOULD SUE EVEN IF THE RIDE OPERATOR HAD ASKED THEIR WEIGHT. WHY? FOR OFFENDING THEM. IF YOU KNOW YOU ARE FAT, YOU CAN SEE YOU ARE FAT, AND A SIGN CLEARLY GIVES A FAT LIMIT, DON'T OVER FAT IT. YOU TOOK A RISK BUDDY AND LOST. BE A MAN (OR WOMAN) AND BUCK UP AND DEAL WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF YOUR ACTIONS.

Charter Boat Murder Suspect Changes Plea

MIAMI -- One of two men accused of hijack and murder aboard a Miami Beach fishing charter has pleaded guilty.

In Miami federal court Thursday, Kirby Archer -- absent without leave from the military and wanted by authorities in Arkansas -- exchanged his guilty plea for a life sentence with no chance of parole. He was facing a possible death sentence.

"Did you, in fact, do what the government said you did in this case," Judge Paul Huck asked. "How do you plead?"


"Guilty," Archer replied.

Prosecutors have no witnesses and no bodies as evidence in the deaths of Jake Branam, captain of the fishing vessel, "Joe Cool;" his wife, Kelly Branam; crewmember and Jake Branam's half-brother, Scott Michael Gamble; and first mate Samuel Kairy.

The victims' families begrudgingly agreed to the plea so as not to chance a jury trial in a case without witnesses or bodies.

"We all came to the realization that no one's going to come back," said Jonathan Branam, Jake's cousin. "It is what it is. We'd rather have him spend his life in jail than walk."

Kirby's attorney said the plea deal was a best-case scenario for his client.

"We were able to save his life and he pled guilty to do so," said Allan Kaiser as he left the courthouse.

Archer and Guillermo Zarabozo, a then-19-year-old Hialeah resident, initially claimed pirates commandeered the "Joe Cool" and killed the crew.

In open court, prosecutor Karen Gilbert detailed the events of September 2007, beginning with Archer's intended flight from the law. He convinced Zarabozo, whom he had met while stationed in the Cuban refugee tent camp at Guantanamo Bay, to escape with him to Cuba, Gilbert alleged.

They scouted marinas for a charter they could commandeer and offered the crew of the "Joe Cool" $4,000 for a purported one-way trip. At sea, when Archer gave the signal, he shot the Branams on the fishing bridge as Zarabozo shot Kairy and Gamble on deck, Gilbert claimed.

Those were among the details the victims' family members had not yet learned.

"I wasn't aware that, according to Archer, Archer shot Jake and Zarabozo supposedly shot Scott," said Scott's sister, Amie Gamble, who is also half-sister to Jake Branam.

Zarabozo has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors will not seek the death penalty in his case.
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WHAT BURNS ME UP ABOUT THIS CASE IS THAT THE FAMILY IS PROBABLY RIGHT. WITHOUT BODIES, IT WILL BE HARD TO PROVE THE CASE. LIFE IN PRISON IS TOO GOOD FOR THESE MURDERERS, BUT AT THIS POINT, IT IS THE BEST TO HOPE FOR.

CPS: Protocol Not Followed In Slain Boy's Case

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- A social worker did not follow protocol in the case of a boy who was allegedly killed at the hands of his mother's boyfriend, the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services said Thursday.

The department's director, Lynn Frank, said Jahmaurae Allen, 4, was the subject of a Child Protective Services case that was opened on June 16, 2008.

Frank said the social worker affiliated with the case did not follow established department procedures and has been put on administrative leave pending further review of the circumstances.

She released the following statement Thursday:

"Although Child Protective Services intervened in this case and did take some steps to protect Jahmaurae, we could have -- and should have -- done more," Frank said. "In the majority of cases, records show our workers make the right decisions. In the case of Jahmaurae Allen, we did not adhere to our own high standards."

Frank said the social worker did take some steps to ensure the boy's safety, but it wasn't enough.

"I'm really horrified by the situation and by the death of this child. I don't understand how with the focus that we've had, how this could have happened again," Frank said.

CPS said it would implement immediate changes. It will now review all 921 current investigations of children ages 5 and younger; have supervisors accompany social workers over the next 30 days to assess their skills; reach out to law enforcement and other experts to improve the system and accountability of employees; and increase quality assurance reviews from quarterly to monthly.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office said Allen died of blunt-force head and stomach injuries.

Jonathan Lamar Perry, 26, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of murder and child endangerment.

Perry was supposed to be arraigned Thursday but did not appear in court because of a psychological condition. He is scheduled to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

He is facing murder and assault charges.
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THIS IS A SAD STORY. HOWEVER, IT IS IGNORANT TO BLAME DCS. HAVE YOU ANY IDEA OF THE CASE LOAD THESE WORKERS MAINTAIN? NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOUR SERVICE IS, SOMEONE IS GOING TO SUFFER. IT IS A FACT OF LIFE. PEOPLE NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR ACTIONS. NAMELY, THE MURDERER WHO KILLED THIS BABY. END OF STORY.

'Extreme Home Makeover' House Threatened With Foreclosure

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. -- An Extreme Home Makeover may be going bust. The first metro family who got a new home is facing foreclosure.

Channel 2 followed the progress as an army of volunteers swarmed a Clayton County neighborhood to build a new home for a deserving family on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” in 2005. When the show came to town, no one could have predicted what would happen less than four years later -- foreclosure.

A foreclosure notice appeared last Friday, a $450,000 second mortgage they took out less than 15 months ago was in default.

Patricia Harper, the homeowner, told Channel 2 she and her husband had struck a deal with Chase Home Finance to rescue their "extreme" home. Chase said they couldn't confirm that claim.

“I didn't really know what the circumstances were, I was kind of surprised. I was really surprised to read that,” said neighbor Doris Rhodenizer.

Lake City mayor Willie Oswalt was among the 1,800 volunteers helping "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" build the Harper’s new home 3 ½ years ago. Beazer Homes of Atlanta was the main sponsor. The mayor said he is baffled.

“Beazer gave them $100,000 cash, paid their mortgage off and they still can't make it," said Oswalt.

Harper told Channel 2 they invested the loan proceeds in a construction business and the business hasn’t been good. She didn’t say how much of the money is left.

“What’s going to happen is instead of keep paying my mortgage, I’m going to take my money and not pay my mortgage because I’m being harassed,” said Harper.

Atlanta law firm McCalla Raymer represents Chase. They wouldn’t talk about it except to say federal law bars Chase from talking without Harper’s permission. Harper said that if Channel 2 wanted proof the foreclosure is off, we should show up at the courthouse next month to watch it not happen.

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THEY BUILD YOU A NEW HOUSE, PAY OFF YOUR MORTGAGE, AND GIVE YOU $100,000. THEN YOU TURN AROUND AND WASTE THAT MONEY, TAKE OUT A $450,000 MORTGAGE ON YOUR NEW, FREE HOUSE, AND THREATEN NOT TO PAY BECAUSE YOU ARE BEING HARASSED? YOU HAVE SOME FUCKING NERVE. YOU DESERVE TO LOSE THIS HOUSE. LET SOMEONE HAVE IT WHO WILL ACTUALLY PAY FOR IT, AND APPRECIATE IT. FUCKING COMMON ASS ********.

Authors to Read

Leanne Burroughs
Diana Gabaldon
Lynn Kurland
Deborah Macgillivray
Donna Fletcher

Gays in Iraq terrorized by threats, rape, murder

Editor's note: CNN agreed to change the names of the two men in this article to protect their identities.


BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Kamal was just 16 when gunmen snatched him off the streets of Baghdad, stuffed him in the trunk of a car and whisked him away to a house. But the real terror was about to begin.

The men realized he was gay, Kamal said, when he took his shirt off and they saw his chest was shaved.

"They told me to take off my clothes to rape me or they would kill me immediately. This moment was the worst moment in my life," he told CNN, weeping as he spoke of the 2005 ordeal.

"I was watching them taking off their clothes, preparing to rape me. I did not know what to do, so I started shouting loudly, 'Please do not do that! I will ask my family to give you whatever you want.'" Watch the tormented life of gays in Iraq »

His pleas went unheeded. "The other two kidnappers took off my clothes by force and, at that time, I saw them as three dirty animals trying to tear my body apart."

He was held for 15 days, released only after his family paid a $1,500 ransom. He was raped every day. Only once, he said, was he allowed to talk to his family during captivity. "I told my family that I was beaten by them, but I did not dare to tell my family that I was raped by them. I could not say it, it's too much shame."

CNN spoke with Kamal, now 18, and his 21-year-old friend, Rami, about what it's like to be gay in Iraq. Coming out as gay is not easy in any country, but to do so in Iraq could mean a death sentence or torture.

The two men rarely show feelings toward each other in public. They spend a lot of time in Internet cafes in Baghdad, surfing gay chat rooms and seeking contacts with other gay men in Iraq and elsewhere.

Since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, the situation for gays and lesbians in Iraq has deteriorated. Ridiculed under Hussein, many now find themselves the targets of violence, according to humanitarian officials.

Lesbians are also victims of harassment and violence, but not nearly as often as gay men.

It's unknown how many homosexuals have been killed by militias in the lawless streets of Iraq's cities, but some Web sites post pictures of Iraqis they say were killed for being gay.

One photo on the Iraqi Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender site shows a group of men standing around three male bodies sprawled on a street, blood pouring from their heads. "Gay Iraqi victims of the police and death squads," the site says.

A U.N. report on human rights in Iraq reinforces the accusations of violence. Although gays are supposed to be protected by law in Iraq, it says, they face extreme brutality.

"Armed Islamic groups and militias have been known to be particularly hostile toward homosexuals, frequently and openly engaging in violent campaigns against them," the report said, adding that homosexuals have been murdered.

"Militias are reportedly threatening families of men believed to be homosexual, stating that they will begin killing family members unless the men are handed over or killed by the family," it said.

The report was issued at the end of 2006 and is the last U.N. study to touch on the subject.

Human rights experts say homosexuals are targeted for cultural reasons as well.

"Gay men and lesbians in Iraq face a lot of risks right now, because homosexuality is sometimes interpreted by people in Iraq as being a Western import," said Scott Portman with the Heartland Alliance, a group that promotes human rights worldwide. "So they can sometimes be targeted by insurgent groups or militias, in part, because of animosity toward the West and, in part, because homosexuality is not well-accepted in Iraqi society."

He added, "The biggest threats right now are from militia organizations, who will attack and actually sometimes kill gay men and women."

Kamal and Rami say the dangers are all too real in Baghdad -- and they live in secrecy not to shame their families.

"I would rather commit suicide than allow my family to find out I am gay," Rami said.

Kamal said he often pretends to have girlfriends in social settings and tells his friends he's dating girls. "I am also careful with the way I dress -- not to show them that I am gay, especially my family."

What would his family do if they found out?

"They will force me to give it up, and I cannot do that," he said. "The 'normal' people cannot live in Iraq. Imagine how the life is for gays."

Rami added, "I do not know why people hate gays even though so many have this tendency. But still they hate it."

Homosexuality is a touchy subject for many Iraqis. When CNN asked Iraqis in Baghdad how they felt about homosexuals, we found intolerance to be widespread.

One man said he considers gays no different from "criminals and terrorists." Another claimed homosexuality was "illegal under Islamic law, and they [gays] should be punished by law like criminals."

Rami said he once fell in love with a man who was part of the Mehdi Army, a Shiite insurgent group loyal to the radical anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

Their relationship eventually soured.

"One day he told me he would come over to my house and kill me in front of my family," Rami said. "I told him I would come outside and be killed in the street because I do not want my family to find out I am gay."

Both men hope to escape Iraq. They say their ideal destination would be San Francisco, California. For now, both of them keep their feelings secret.

Kamal is still tormented by what happened to him nearly three years ago.

"During my sleep, I only see nightmares and I start crying. My family thought it was because they were beating me."

He paused, "Only my close friend Rami knows about this secret."

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WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? IRAQIS CONSIDER BEING GAY A DEATH OFFENSE, A CRIME AGAINST NATURE...AND THEIR SOLUTION IS TO RAPE THEM? HELLO...IF YOU PUT YOUR DICK IN A MAN, YOU ARE GAY. SO...RAPING A GAY MAN AS PUNISHMENT SEEMS A BIT HYPOCRITICAL TO ME. MORONS. ALL THIS DOES IS GIVE GAYS IN IRAQ A LEGAL WAY TO BE GAY WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES TO THEIR LAWS.

NZ judge backs girl over 'embarrassing' name

(CNN) -- A New Zealand judge has made a 9-year-old girl a ward of the court so that her name can be changed from Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii, the country's national news agency reported Thursday.

Family Court Judge Rob Murfitt listed a series of unusual names that New Zealand parents had given their children, and said he was concerned that such strange monikers would create hurdles for them as they grew up.

"It makes a fool of the child and sets her up with a social disability and handicap," the New Zealand Press Association quoted the judge as saying.

Among the names Murfitt cited: twins named Benson and Hedges -- after a brand of cigarettes; Violence; and Number 16 Bus Shelter.

Some parents had named children after six-cylinder Ford cars, the news agency reported.

The Registrar General of Births, Deaths and Marriages said in a statement that it had rejected names including Fish and Chips, Yeah Detroit, Stallion, Twisty Poi -- a staple food in Polynesian cuisine -- and Sex Fruit.

A lawyer for Talula Does the Hula From Hawaii said the girl is so embarrassed by her name that friends know her as "K."

Last month, an judge in the U.S. state of Illinois allowed a school bus driver to legally change his first name to "In God" and his last name to "We Trust."

But an appeals court in the state of New Mexico ruled against a man -- named Variable -- who wanted to change his name to a two-word phrase that contains a four-letter expletive and expresses opposition to censorship.

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STOP GIVING YOUR KIDS IGNORANT NAMES. ARE YOU STUPID? OR DO YOU JUST NOT CARE THAT YOU ARE FUCKING YOUR KIDS MIND UP?

CHILD MOLESTER DOES NOT SERVE TIME

(CNN) -- For nearly two years, the South Florida middle school art teacher forced the boy to have sex in a classroom supply closet.

Aaron Mohanlal, here in his sex offender registration photo, was allowed to stay out of prison on bond.

Sometimes, Aaron Mohanlal would call in sick to work, take the boy to his home for sex and drop the seventh-grader back off at school at the end of the day.

To keep the abuse secret, Mohanlal bought the 13-year-old a cell phone and created nicknames for their genitalia. When police arrested him, the teacher was caught on hidden video trying to destroy letters threatening the boy if he ever told.

Last summer, a Broward County jury convicted Mohanlal of 13 counts, including child abuse, molestation and lewd battery, and a judge sentenced him to 43 years.

But a year later, Mohanlal has yet to spend a day in prison.

"I can't understand why he isn't behind bars," said the victim, now 18. The network is not disclosing his name because it doesn't identify sexual assault victims.

"I want to move on with my life. I'm trying to graduate high school and forget about this," he said. "I try not to think about it, but it's hard, because all I can think about is, what if he's out there around other kids?"

Weeks after the trial, Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold, who presided over the trial and sentenced Mohanlal, granted the teacher a rare bond that allows him to remain free while his case is tried on appeal, a process that could take years.

During the two months CNN has investigated this story, Mohanlal has been working a construction job in Broward County and spending time at a house in Sunrise, Florida, 15 miles from where the boy and his family live, according to the Broward County Sheriff's Office.

He resigned from his teaching job in 2005 after his arrest.

"The idea of that monster being that close to my family again is outrageous," said the boy's father, who is often so overwhelmed with rage and sadness that he drives to a park, leans against a tree and sobs.

"What did we go through a trial for?" he said.

A man who identified himself as Mohanlal hung up on a CNN reporter who called his home in Port St. Lucie, Florida, his address on record with the state's sex offender registry.

Mohanlal's appellate attorney, Tom Odom, refused to comment on the case beyond saying, "Everyone has a right to a first appeal."

Gold gave Mohanlal the right to live, work, travel and attend church in South Florida, according to numerous interviews and documents CNN has obtained. The judge ordered Mohanlal to wear a GPS device, register as a sex offender and surrender his passport.

He stipulated that Mohanlal cannot contact the boy and his family but did not order him to stay away from children, according to a transcript of the July 2007 bond hearing. Read the entire bond hearing

Mohanlal was allowed to post the $610,000 bond using his relatives' properties as collateral, the transcript shows.

Post-conviction bonds are rarely given in criminal trials, but judges occasionally grant them if there was a procedural error during trial that would make a conviction reversal at the appellate level likely, legal experts say.

But there were no procedural mistakes during Mohanlal's trial, both prosecutor Anita White and defense attorney Steve Rossi said.

Under Florida statute, defendants without prior felonies are eligible for post-conviction bond unless they have committed first-degree murder or sexual battery. Mohanlal wasn't convicted of first-degree sexual battery. He was convicted of second-and third-degree felonies, and he had no prior felony record.

Gold refused to talk on record about why he granted the bond. He would only give this statement: "The simple truth is that I had to rule based on what was presented to me during that hearing. And I took everything into consideration and felt a bond was appropriate."

"For a judge to delay jail is highly unusual, but it's especially unusual when you have someone convicted of a serious crime like sexual molestation of a child," said CNN legal analyst and criminal attorney B.J. Bernstein. "One of the concerns is that you have someone who commits a sex offense who, by their employment, seeks to be around children. They have abused that trust between a student and teacher."

A dozen legal experts, including criminal attorneys based in Florida, said they agree with Bernstein. None could recall a single case of a violent offender receiving the same kind of treatment.

Information on how many offenders are out on post-conviction bonds in Florida is difficult to find. There is no entity in the state, including the Florida Department of Corrections, that keeps track.

Last year, the boy's family won $300,000 from the school district after a civil claim that the district failed to protect the student.

Other students in Mohanlal's class testified that their teacher handed them fliers, with the boy's picture and phone number, that falsely accused the teen of having sex with animals. Caught on surveillance camera at a grocery store copying the fliers, prosecutors say Mohanlal had become a disturbed lover scorned when the boy entered high school and began rejecting his advances.

And there was evidence that Mohanlal was grooming other children. One middle-schooler told police that Mohanlal rubbed his arms and back during class; another testified at trial that his teacher gave him his cell phone number, money and hair conditioner.

"This was one of the most disturbing cases I've ever worked on, and there's no doubt in my mind that Aaron Mohanlal is a dangerous person," said Miramar Police Sgt. Jeff Armiento.

The investigator learned that Mohanlal was released on bond when he randomly searched for him on the state's correctional Web site.

"I was astonished, flabbergasted," Armiento said. "I called the state attorney's office to see if it was some kind of mistake. I don't see what would stop him from doing this to other kids."

Mohanlal's GPS device is monitored 24 hours a day by the Broward County Sheriff's Office, meaning his location appears on a computer screen. Otherwise, there is no police agency watching him.

Kristina Gulick, who oversees the electronic monitoring system, said Mohanlal gives the agency weekly itineraries to help police follow his whereabouts.

But 70 days of itineraries from March to June that CNN obtained from the Broward Sheriff's Office are not detailed; for example, some say Mohanlal intends to leave his home at 6:30 a.m. and return at 9:30 p.m. but do not say where he will be or what his plans are.

"We are confident that he is doing what he's supposed to be doing," Gulick said. "We have had no reason to think otherwise."

Because Mohanlal was required to register as a sex offender, he must provide the Florida Department of Law Enforcement with his home address. That home is in Port St. Lucie, about two hours from Broward County. See Mohanlal's sex offender registration

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Department is required to make four visits to the home each year and verify that Mohanlal is living there based on what he tells deputies, according to department spokesman Mark Weinberg.

"This guy has all the reason in the world to take off," said Florida state criminologist Tom Blomberg, who conducted a 2006 study of sex offenders who are monitored by wearable GPS devices. "He's looking at prison for the rest of his life, and child molesters are almost always victimized in prison. He has to know that.

"This is not effective monitoring. In fact, it's a little bit beyond imagination what's going on here," Blomberg said. "The [GPS] technology works; that's not the problem. Police can only do so much. The question is whether this guy should be out of prison.

"This seems like a system failure on down."
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THIS IS OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM AT IT'S BEST. WHY BOTHER GOING TO TRIAL? WHY BOTHER PUTTING THE VICTIM THROUGH IT? PUT THE ASSHOLE IN JAIL WHERE HE BELONGS.

Attorney For Missing Girl's Mom Grilled; Family Negotiating Jail Release

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The family of a missing 2-year-old Orlando girl is believed to be working with a bail bondsman Thursday to free the child's mother as a national search for the child continues.
Sources said the bail for Casey Anthony, 22, could be paid as early as Thursday.

Anthony did not report her daughter, Caylee, missing for five weeks, detectives said, and the 22-year-old has been called a person of interest in the child's disappearance.

A judge set a $500,000 bond for Anthony earlier this week but changed the conditions of her bond release order Wednesday.

She's now been ordered to home confinement with an electronic monitoring device and no GPS bracelet.

A bondsman said the change in conditions raises the risk, but also gives Anthony the freedom to roam.

Attorney Grilled During Interview

Meanwhile, CNN's Nancy Grace grilled Casey Anthony's attorney Jose Baez and asked why his client did not report her daughter missing and why she lied to police.

"Don't you think your client should know the last time she was with her own daughter?" Grace asked.

"Since it was so long ago…" Baez said.

"It was last month, it was last month," Grace said.

"Where was your client during the four weeks Caylee was missing?" Grace asked.

"Part of that is some of the things that I simply can't discuss because it is protected by attorney-client privilege," Baez said.

"But why?" Grace said. "Why is that a secret if she wants to find her little girl alive."

"You are an attorney as well and you wouldn't want to violate the attorney-client privledge," Baez said.

"I would want to find the little girl alive," Grace said.

"I'm a little confused why you would ask that question," Baez said.

"Because I want to find Caylee alive and obviously you and your client do not," Grace said.

"She does not know where Caylee is," Baez said.

Baez said rumors that Anthony would talk to police in exchange for immunity were not true.

Billboards Planned

Caylee's grandparents, Cindy and George Anthony are trying new ways to bring in tips in the case.

Local 6 reported that the Anthony family will be putting up 14 billboards across the state asking for help in the case.

They've also organized volunteers to call people in Central Florida to spread the word.

Plus, a $225,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the return of a missing Orlando 2-year-old girl.

About $200,000 of the reward is from Skyview Aviation and Exotic Car Rental and the remaining money is from the Never Lose Hope foundation.

Tipster Questioned

Wednesday night, investigators spoke with a woman who believes she recently spoke with Caylee at Orlando International Airport.

The woman said she spotted the girl boarding a flight to Atlanta and even talked with the girl.

Detectives created a composite sketch but said they would not release it until they firmly believe the tip is credible.

Possible Connection Between Car, Yard

Investigators said similar human decomposition smells found in a yard and a car during a search for a missing Orlando girl indicate the source may have been moved.

Last week, cadaver dogs searched the Orange County back yard of Cindy and George Anthony for signs of their missing granddaughter, who was not reported missing for five weeks.

During the search, cadaver dogs found the smell of human decomposition in the yard, Local 6 learned.

The dogs also hit on the same smell in the trunk of the car the Casey Anthony had been driving, police said.

"We had two different dogs from two different counties that hit on the same exact spot," Orange County sheriff's investigator Carlos Padilla said.

The sheriff's office believes it is possible that whatever produced the decomposition smell could have been in the back yard and then moved to the car, Bolden reported.

"Could it have been a body or could it have been clothes?" Padilla asked. "Again, that is something that has to be investigated."

The investigation includes processing other items found in Anthony's car.

"Because they found hair samples in the trunk of the car that are similar in color and length to that of Caylee and they also found a stain in the trunk that came up under black light that is questionable," Orange County Detective Yuri Melich said. "They also found some dirt inside the car that needs to be processed."

Detectives said they don't have enough evidence to file additional charges against Anthony but it could become a potential homicide investigation.

"Is it something that could later on bring more charges?" Padilla said. "That is a possibility. But right now, we have to process that evidence."

Officers said they still have not ruled out the possibility that Caylee could still be alive.

Anyone with information concerning the whereabouts of Caylee is urged to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS.

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I THINK THE CHILD IS DEAD AND THE MOM KILLED HER. THERE IS NO REASON WHY A MOTHER OF A MISSING CHILD WOULD NOT REPORT THE KID MISSING. AND IF SHE KNEW WHERE THE KID WAS, WHY WOULDN'T SHE SAY SO? SHE IS A MURDERING LIAR. OUR LAWS ARE TOO DAMN SOFT WHEN IT COMES TO THIS TYPE OF THING. SHE NEEDS A GOOD OLD FASHIONED BEATING UNTIL SHE TALKS. PERIOD. 5 MINUTES WITH HER IS ALL I ASK.

Killed In Afghanistan

U.S. soldiers killed

The Defense Department on Wednesday identified the U.S. soldiers killed Sunday when their outpost was overrun in Afghanistan.
• 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Aiea, Hawaii.
• Sgt. Israel Garcia, 24, of Long Beach, California.
• Cpl. Jonathan R. Ayers, 24, of Snellville, Georgia.
• Cpl. Jason M. Bogar, 25, of Seattle, Washington.
• Cpl. Jason D. Hovater, 24, of Clinton, Tennessee.
• Cpl. Matthew B. Phillips, 27, of Jasper, Georgia.
• Cpl. Pruitt A. Rainey, 22, of Haw River, North Carolina.
• Cpl. Gunnar W. Zwilling, 20, of Florissant, Missouri.
• Pfc. Sergio S. Abad, 21, of Morganfield, Kentucky.

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Let them in Peter, for they are very tired;
Give them couches where the angels sleep and light those fires.
Let them wake a whole again to brand new dawns fired by the
sun not war time's bloddy guns. And may their peace be deep
Remember where the broken bodies lie --
God knows how young they were to have to die!
Well, God knows how young they were to have to die!
Give them things they like. Let them make some noise.
Give dance hall bands not golden harps, to these are boys,
Let them love Peter, -- for they have had no time --
They should have bird songs and trees, and hills to climb
The taste of Summer in a ripened pear,
Girls sweet as meadow wind, with flowing hair --
And Tell them how they are missed. But say not to fear;
It's going to be alright with us down here.

Let them in Peter, for they are very tired;
Give them couches where the angels sleep and light those fires.
Let them wake a whole again to brand new dawns fired by the
sun not war time's bloddy guns. And may their peace be deep
Remember where the broken bodies lie --
God knows how young they were to have to die!
Well, God knows how young they were to have to die!

Tell them how they are missed. But say not to fear;
It's going to be alright with us down here.

Drug Maker Found 'Not' Liable in Motrin Trial

MALIBU -- Jurors in the $1 billion Motrin lawsuit have decided that Johnson & Johnson is not liable for damages suffered by 11-year-old Topanga Canyon girl who claims she was blinded by Children's Motrin in 2003.

"There will be no award," a disappointed plaintiff attorney, Browne Greene, said.

Although jurors found for the plaintiffs in seven of eight questions, on the ninth question they decided it was not proved that Motrin caused the girl's injury.

Corporate responsibility is the major theme of the $1 billion claim made by the Johnsons, whose lawyers contend that Children's Motrin triggered an extremely rare, nearly fatal allergic reaction in the first-grader that caused chemical-type burns in her eyes, mouth and other mucous membranes, eventually blinding her.

The company, facing similar allegations stemming from about 60 cases of the reaction -- ironically called Stevens-Johnson syndrome -- among the billions of doses of Motrin sold annually, has fought back with a message that Motrin is safe and effective.

Company attorneys claim that Sabrina Johnson's illness was not caused by the widely used drug, and that the package labels were federally approved and had adequate warnings.

Lawyers representing the 11-year-old girl said her Stevens-Johnson syndrome is a painful illness that makes the inside of a her eyelids feel as if they are made of sandpaper.

During the trial, Sabrina testified that she spent months living inside a large cardboard box during daylight hours to keep her eyes from erupting in pain.

But doctors testified that there is a one-in-a-million chance of a person who takes ibuprofen having a severe allergic reaction.

Johnson & Johnson and McNeil Laboratories insisted that ibuprofen in general and Motrin in particular are safe and effective, and are used billions of times a year for pain relief.

Sabrina Johnson's family is asking for $14 million in actual damages and $103 million for the girl's and the family's pain and suffering, as well as punitive damages of $950 million.

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SADLY I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THE JUDGE. DRUGS COME WITH WARNINGS. THERE WILL ALWAYS BE SOMEONE WHO IS ALLERGIC TO A DRUG. IT IS A FACT OF LIFE. EVERYONE'S BODY IS DIFFERENT. 60 CASES OUT OF BILLIONS OF USES? IT IS SAD THAT THE CHILD IS SUFFERING, AND I HOPE THE DOCS CAN DO SOMETHING TO EASE HER PAIN. BUT THE DRUG COMPANY IS NOT AT FAULT. HER BODY'S CHEMICAL MAKE UP IS.

Missing Child Investigation Turns To Mother's Home

ORLANDO, Fla. -- A search for a 2-year-old girl led investigators near the back yard of the house of the toddler, her mother and the child's grandparents Thursday.

Caylee Anthony has brown hair and hazel eyes and stands about 3 feet tall. The girl has been missing for more than a month, but it was only reported Tuesday.
Click here to find out more!

Sources have told WESH 2 News that K9s and crime scene investigators are at the scene digging near the family's home in East Orlando. Neighbors led investigators to the back yard and told them that they recently saw Anthony at the home without her parents.

Investigators also removed a shovel covered with a paper bag from a neighbor's home earlier on Thursday afternoon.

The toddler's mother, Casey Anthony, 22, said she dropped off her daughter with a friend and babysitter on June 9 and hasn't heard from her since. Investigators later deduced that no one had lived in that apartment for almost five months. They also said they spoke with a Zenaida Gonzalez, the alleged babysitter, and she said she has never met Anthony or Caylee and has never baby-sat for anyone. Anthony said she did not report her daughter missing because she wanted to find the child herself to spare her parents the sadness of their grandchild being missing.

Anthony was arrested Wednesday night and has been a focus in the search and investigation in the case. She made a first appearance in court on Thursday on child neglect charges. The arrest was made after authorities said the child's grandmother called deputies to report the toddler missing.

Earlier on Thursday, investigators removed a computer hard drive from the Anthonys around the same time a judge was conducting Anthony's first court appearance. The judge scolded the young mother for her apparent lack of cooperation in the investigators' attempts to find her daughter.

"You left your child with someone who doesn't exist at an apartment you cannot identify. You lied to your parents. It appears you care so little for your child you didn't report her missing until five weeks later," Judge John Jordan said.

"All I want is to put the word out and show her picture as many places as we can," grandmother Cindy Anthony said.

Cindy Anthony said finding the girl is where the focus needs to be. She said Casey Anthony told her she was going to Tampa for a job. She said she talked to the toddler on the phone around July 11.

"As every hour passes, I get a little bit more nervous," she said.

"It's not about my daughter or what part or role she has played in any of this this, if anything. It's about bringing this little girl home," she said.

"At this point, we don't have any information that the child has been spoken to by the grandparents in some time. The child's grandparents have been very cooperative with us. They seem very concerned about their granddaughter. I think more than anybody they would like us to find that child and return the child to them," Sgt. John Allen of the Orange County Sheriff's Office said.

Detectives said Anthony claimed she lost track of the babysitter and her own child.

"The most important step for us at this point is to try to find the missing girl. You know, is she out there with somebody? If so, where is she?" Allen said.

In an arrest report, investigators said Casey Anthony told friends repeatedly that her child was with a nanny. They said Casey Anthony has told them "repetitive lies."

While her 2-year-old is missing, detectives claimed Casey Anthony has "laughed at the situation" and failed to show any outward signs of remorse or concern. That's why they want her held without bond until the child is located.

"She's a 2-year-old child, and nobody knows where she is," Allen said.

The arrest report indicated a friend of the mother contacted authorities and told them he spent the weekend with Casey Anthony in late June, and at that time, according to the friend and the arrest report, the child was with a nanny.

In addition to confiscating Anthony's computer, investigators said they plan to scour Anthony's car for any clues on the child's whereabouts.

Anthony agreed to take detectives to Universal Studios, where she claimed to work, so they could speak to her co-workers, but while leading them to her alleged office, she stopped in the middle of a hallway and admitted to them she lied and no longer worked there.

Investigators said the best-case scenario at this point may be that the mother gave the child away or possibly even sold her. A judge ordered a mental-health evaluation for Casey Anthony on Thursday, and she is being held without bond.

Allen said the child's father has not been located, but many leads have come in.

Several Web sites through MySpace have been set up to help locate Caylee Anthony with phone numbers to call if anyone has information about her whereabouts.

Casey Anthony is being held without bond in a cell by herself and is expected to be transferred into protective custody because of the high-profile nature of the case.

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ANOTHER ONE? THE MOTHER DID IT WHETHER SHE KILLED HER, OR SOLD HER. I HOPE THE KID IS OK, BUT I DOUBT IT. THE MOM AIN'T TALKING, SO MORE THAN LIKELY THE KID IS DEAD. THE MOM NEEDS TO BE MADE TO TALK.

Toddler Dies After Being Left In Truck

GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- Police in Livingston County's Green Oak Township say an 18-month-old girl is dead after being left unattended inside a pickup truck for more than two hours.

Chief Bob Brookins says police and fire crews responding to a call about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday found the girl unconscious and overheated.

National Weather Service data show the temperature in nearby Howell was 88 degrees at the time.

Brookins said that it doesn't appear any windows were cracked while the girl was in the truck in the driveway on Riviera Court.

Investigators said the girl's father was the last person to drive the pickup truck and her mother was at work in the morning. Investigators said at some point, both parents realized the child was in the car.

It is unclear what events led to the child being inside the vehicle.

Family members are cooperating with investigators.

Authorites have not released the names of the parents, who are both in their late 20s, but they did say the victim's name was Alyssa. The couple also shares a 3-year-old child.

One woman's daughter who lives in the neighborhood told her about it and she felt compelled to bring the family a card.

"She called me later on and told me the circumstances. My heart just goes out to them," said Sharon Burmeister.

An autopsy is to be conducted soon.

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MY HEART GOES OUT TO THE FAMILY. MY QUESTION IS HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR CHILD IS AT ALL TIMES? WHEN YOU GO TO THE GROCER, DON'T YOU MAKE SURE YOU HAVED ALL YOUR FOOD? WHY IS IT SO HARD TO DO THE SAME WITH YOUR KID?