Domestic Violence Awareness

Look for the signs that your partner may be an abuser before it is too late. Some of the signs are as follows:


Profile of an abuser

Psychologists have studied certain personality characteristics of individuals who batter their partner. These include:

* Blames others for problems/feelings
* Close mindedness
* Cruelty to animals and/or children
* Hypersensitivity
* Isolation of victim
* Jealousy
* Manipulation through guilt
* Minimization of violence
* Objectification of women
* "Playful" use of force during sex
* Quick Involvement
* Rigid sex roles
* Threats of violence
* Tight control of finances
* Unrealistic expectations
* Verbally abusive

My Favorite Author is Being Sued

Apparently the plaintiffs do not like the way they were portrayed. Sometimes the truth hurts. They did pursue innocent men.


"Novelist John Grisham has been named in a libel lawsuit filed over The Innocent Man, a nonfiction best-seller he wrote about the 1982 murder of a cocktail waitress.

The suit, filed Friday in U.S. District Court, named several other defendants including Robert Mayer of Santa Fe, author of a similar true-crime book, The Dreams of Ada, published in 1987. The suit seeks relief of more than $75,000 and demands a jury trial. The plaintiffs are Pontotoc County District Attorney Bill Peterson and Gary Rogers, a former agent for the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation." |Read more|

Jena 6 Case is Not Over

Black leaders plead to Justice

By GERARD SHIELDS
Advocate Washington bureau
Published: Sep 29, 2007 - Page: 1A

WASHINGTON — National civil-rights leaders said Friday that they will seek a meeting with President Bush if the U.S. Justice Department fails to enforce what they consider federal hate crimes in the Jena 6 case in Louisiana.

A contingent of leaders from four civil-rights groups said that they were “extremely disappointed” after a Friday meeting with the Justice Department, whom they said made no commitments to prosecute the hanging of nooses on a tree at Jena High School in LaSalle Parish and the posting of addresses of Jena 6 family members on Web sites.

“There is a very violent atmosphere and those people’s lives are in jeopardy,” said the Rev. Jesse Jackson.

A Justice Department spokesman said after the meeting that the agency, along with the FBI, is investigating the Jena incidents and are taking the allegations seriously.

In addition to prosecuting the incidents, Jackson called for the department to force the district attorney and judge in the Jena 6 case to recuse themselves from further proceedings.

Jackson, president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, was joined by Marc Morial, president of The National Urban League and a former New Orleans mayor. Julian Bond, chairman of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Dennis Courtland Hayes, interim NAACP president and CEO, and Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, also participated in the two-hour meeting.

As a result of Friday’s meeting, Jackson said the group has asked for a meeting with the interim U.S. attorney general and will call for a meeting with Bush if the group’s requests aren’t satisfied. Jackson also suggested that a march on the Justice Department offices could occur.

Justice Department officials told the civil-rights contingent on Friday that the cases involving hanging nooses were closed, Jackson said. “We see this as a real retreat for civil-rights enforcement,” he said.

The case of the Jena 6 rocketed to the public eye over the past several months, drawing national and international media attention.

Up to 20,000 people poured into Jena on Sept. 20 from across the country in a peaceful demonstration to support Mychal Bell and the five other black defendants — Bryant Purvus, Carwin Jones, Jesse Ray Beard, Theo Shaw and Robert Bailey Jr. — accused of beating white Jena High School student Justin Barker Dec. 4. The defendants have been released on bail.

The Rev. Al Sharpton has led a public charge since last spring and maintained that racial tensions started at the high school in August 2006 when a black student asked school officials at a student assembly whether he could sit under a tree traditionally used as a gathering place by white students. The next day nooses were hung in the tree. The three white students who hung the nooses were suspended.

The Jena 6 were first charged with attempted second-degree murder. That later was lowered to aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy. Until his conviction, Bell was held on $90,000 bond. Once convicted, his bond request was denied because he has a juvenile record, including adjudications for battery.

Bell, who was 16 at the time of his arrest in Barker’s beating, was convicted in adult court by an all-white jury in June on the battery charge and was to have been sentenced Sept. 20. But the conviction was overturned Sept. 14 by the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal, ruling the case should have filed in juvenile court.

LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters announced that same day he planned to appeal the court’s decision. But Walters said Thursday that he had since decided to let Bell’s case stay in juvenile court.

Meanwhile, families of the Jena 6 have been threatened on Web sites and radio shows, Morial said. “We believe they are actions that should be prosecuted by this nation’s civil-rights laws and this nation’s hate crimes laws,” he said.

Said Hayes: “Jena is not over with. We have much work to do.”

Census Study Eyes Blacks in Prison

"More than three times as many black people live in prison cells as in college dorms, the government said in a report to be released Thursday.

The ratio is only slightly better for Hispanics, at 2.7 inmates for every Latino in college housing. Among non-Hispanic whites, more than twice as many live in college housing as in prison or jail.

The numbers, driven by men, do not include college students who live off campus. Previously released census data show that black and Hispanic college students — commuters and those in dorms — far outnumber black and Hispanic prison inmates.

Nevertheless, civil rights advocates said it is startling that blacks and Hispanics are more likely to live in prison cells than in college dorms.

"It's one of the great social and economic tragedies of our time," said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the Urban League. "It points to the signature failure in our education system and how we've been raising our children."" |Read more|

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By Fleet and Family Support Center

"Many people believe that Domestic Violence only involves physical contact (i.e. hitting, choking, etc.) or use of a weapon. While these are the ones we hear about most often, emotional and verbal abuse occurs more often but are not reported. It is unfortunate that couples do not seek help when emotional and verbal abuses are occurring as these can eventually escalate to physical abuse. Also, many people believe that only men are abusers. This is not true, men and women are both victims of Domestic Violence.

Some examples of verbal and emotional abuse include name calling, yelling, shouting, making threats to harm, or making threats to take children away. Other things an abuser may do to gain control is breaking things, throwing things, threatening to leave or threatening suicide.

In cases of Domestic Violence the abuser is trying to gain or exert control over their spouse, partner or family. One of the first things an abuser does is to isolate their victim from friends and family. The military, in some cases, makes this easier for an abuser with frequent moves to new areas and overseas bases.

The couple is not the only victims in a Domestic Violence incident. Children are affected also. If children are present then in addition to any law enforcement involvement a report is made to Children Protective Services and the abuse can be charged with child abuse as well as Domestic Violence.

The Navy now offers a restricted reporting process for victims of Domestic Violence. You can talk to victim advocate, a counselor, seek medical attention and NOT trigger an investigation or command notification. There are certain restrictions on this but you can get all the details by contacting the Fleet and Family Support Center or Family Advocacy Center.

If you, or someone you know, is, or may be, the victims of Domestic Violence seek help."

Awareness of Domestic Violence is Crucial

"The Domestic Violence Crisis Center (DVCC) works year round to help victims of domestic violence and raise awareness. DVCC does this through community outreach and educational programs, advocacy, a Web site (dvccct.org) and a toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-888-774-2900.

In its own words DVCC -- which serves both Weston and Westport as well as Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan, Stamford and Wilton -- is "a safe place to escape and heal."

Each town served by DVCC has a local task force. The Domestic Violence Task Forces in Weston and Westport have a number of events planned in October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

According to the Weston Task Force, domestic violence is Weston's No. 1 violent crime. The Weston Police Department said they've had 11 domestic violence incidents between Sept. 1, 2006, and Aug. 31, 2007.

"Domestic violence occurs when someone is intentionally being emotionally, verbally, sexually or physically hurt by an intimate partner or family member. But because domestic violence affects all members of a family, domestic violence education also addresses anger management, and bullying issues among younger children, as well as dating violence and the need for control among teens," according to a press release issued by the Weston Task Force." |Read more|

Employers play a role in Preventing Domestic Violence

"The traumatic impact of domestic violence is well-documented and hundreds of groups have made it their goal to eliminate violence in the home.

But because domestic violence often follows victims from their homes - putting co-workers at risk and increasing liabilities for their employers - the crime has also become a major human resources concern for businesses.

Aside from the obvious concerns about the well-being of their employees, businesses are also looking at ways to attack domestic violence because it often spills over to the workplace through harassing phone calls and visits, and sometimes even violent acts.

Carol Gundlach, executive director of the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said domestic violence presents several problems."

Know the warning Signs of Domestic Violence

"Domestic violence is sadly common in Marion County. From 2003 to 2006, there were 14 domestic violence deaths.

It didn't happen here, but the Monday night shooting death in Oviedo of 19-year-old Tiffany Barwick of Ocala is a grim reminder that such violence knows no boundaries, geographic or otherwise.

"It's a community problem," said Monica Bryant, family violence prevention coordinator with the Marion County Children's Alliance. "It may not be in your home today, but it might be tomorrow. It may be your sister. It could be your mother. It could be your father, because men are abused, too, but the majority are women."

Those who work with victims say there are warning signs that indicate one's partner may be a batterer and there are steps victims can take to protect themselves. There also is help available to get out of a violent situation.

There are a number of signs to look for that indicate someone has a battering personality.

# Jealousy and controlling behavior are among those signs. Often, a batterer forms a quick attachment or blames others for problems. He or she may be verbally abusive.

# An abuser may have unrealistic expectations, or try to isolate his or her partner from others. They blame their feelings on others. They may be hypersensitive, becoming easily insulted, or be cruel to children or animals.

# Other signs may include the "playful" use of force in sex, rigid sex roles, and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" changing moods.

# One should be concerned if one's partner makes threats of violence, if any force is used during an argument, if the person breaks or strikes objects and if there are instances of battering in past relationships."
|Read more|

Rally Against Domestic Violence

"King County Executive Ron Sims and other local officials will take part in a noon rally Monday at Seattle City Hall Plaza to kick off Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The one-hour gathering is being sponsored by the county's Domestic Violence Council. City Hall is at Fourth Avenue and James Street in downtown Seattle."

Study Aims to Document Domestic Violence Patterns

By KETAKI GOKHALE
India-West Staff Reporter

The Asian Pacific Islander Institute on Domestic Violence, in collaboration with the University of Michigan School of Social Work, has launched a research project on the degree to which South Asian American women seek help in domestic violence situations, and the effectiveness of criminal justice interventions in these instances.

The study, funded by the National Institute of Justice, will issue a recommendation on how local law enforcement agencies can improve their domestic violence investigations in South Asian households. The recommendation will be based on 220 confidential interviews with battered South Asian women.

March Against Domestic Violence

"Hundreds of women dressed in wedding gowns hit the streets of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx Wednesday, for the seventh annual March Against Domestic Violence.

Participants said they marched to raise awareness of domestic violence and let victims know there is a place to turn for help.

“We have to bring it more out to light so that people are not embarrassed to come out,” said Julie Ann Dominguez of Latinas Against Domestic Violence. “You'd be surprised that domestic violence does not see economic, color, race, it could happen to anybody. So the more that we bring it out to the public, the more people might come out.”

Many were dressed in wedding gowns in tribute to Gladys Ricart, who was killed in 1999 by her ex-boyfriend on the day she was to be married to another man." |Read more|

October is Time to Battle against Domestic Violence

"Domestic violence causes far more pain than the visible marks of bruises and scars. It is devastating to be abused by someone that you love and think loves you in return."

Dianne Feinstein,

(U.S. Senator, California)

October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. What we must never forget is that across our country, domestic violence traumatizes victims, endangers children, harms families, and threatens communities. According to the most recent report from the Department of Justice, there is an average of 700,000 incidents of domestic violence reported each year. Approximately one-third of women who are murdered each year are killed by their current or former husband or partner. Children who are subjected to domestic violence too often grow up to inflict violence on others, creating a cycle of violence that must be stopped.

For centuries no one talked about it, no one admitted to witnessing it no one did anything to prevent it. I recently read a very frightening statistic. During the Vietnam War 58,000 American soldiers were killed.

As with those who have died in other conflicts, memorials are put up in their honor. But during the same period, between 30,000 and 54,000 American women were killed in their homes. Why was this war against women allowed to continue?

Violence by male partners is the single largest cause of injury to women - more than muggings and car accidents combined. Yet violence against women has remained largely unreported. However, thanks largely to the activities of voluntary women's organizations; today that is changing.

Domestic abuse knows no social economic class, race, age or geographical boundaries. Every women and child in every area of the world can be a victim. It is the most graphic symptom of the imbalance of power in the relationship between men and women. We must continue to renew our commitment to prevent and punish the perpetrators of this despicable crime and bring hope and healing to those affected by it.

In some communities across our country, law enforcement, medical, and legal services for domestic violence victims are fragmented, requiring victims to travel to several different places to receive the help and treatment they need. Comprehensive service centers for domestic violence victims and their dependents enable health and justice professionals to better serve those in need." |Read more|

Play Takes on subject of Domestic Violence

"There will be people who have been directly affected by abuse that will come to this play and relate to it, says director Kurt Gerard Heinlein.

He hopes others, who have no connection to abuse, will also relate and realize violence affects us all.



"A Lie of the Mind," a play by Sam Shepard, opens at 7:30 tonight at the Balcony Theatre in Craig Hall at Missouri State University.

The play won the New York Drama Critics Award for Best Play of the Year in the 1985-1986 season.

"It surrounds the idea of domestic violence, but it's not about domestic violence itself. It's about the after-effects or consequences of abuse. What people have to do emotionally, mentally to survive domestic violence," he says." |Read more|

New Strategies recommended to respond to Domestic Violence

"The fight is on to save lives. The newly-formed Kern County Domestic Violence Advisory Council has finished a review of the murders and suicides related to domestic abuse, their analysis calls for seven courses of action.

The Domestic Violence Death Review Team looked at related deaths from 1999 through 2004. They reviewed 23 cases, with a total of 32 domestic violence fatalities -- that included both murder and suicide.

Team chairman Sheriff's Commander Christopher Speer says the goal of the review is "..to examine how we can do things better as a community in our response to the impacts of domestic violence."" |Read more|

Students join fight against "Domestic Violence"

"At a formal gala where more than 250 people gathered to fete and fundraise for a local organization, an unexpected group of honorees huddled at one of the glamorously set tables: a club of teen-aged boys.

The San Fernando Valleybased Haven Hills honored Teens Against Domestic Violence, founded and staffed by mostlymale Calabasas High School students. Haven Hills, which started in the mid-1970s, established the first battered women's shelter in Los Angeles County.

"To us this is a way to give back to the community and make a difference," said the club's copresident Evan Plotkin. "Domestic violence doesn't get the attention it deserves. We've learned about the power of a small group. It gives up great feelings of pride and accomplishment to be able to do this."" |Read more|

Louisiana Cottages get go- ahead after Months of Wrangling

"Louisiana's alternative housing program for hurricane and flood victims appears to be finally moving forward, but not before one more public tiff about how the state housing board and private contractors will divide duties and money as the structures go up.

Ten months after federal officials announced Louisiana's $74.5 million share of a $400 million federal grant for the Gulf Coast program, the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency approved a final contract proposal Wednesday for the private consortium expected to build more than 530 Louisiana Cottages and "carpet cottages" in disaster zones." |Read more|

Lower 9th. Ward Project to build 150 Homes

"In a novel and ambitious effort to return New Orleans homeowners to their own neighborhood, an international consortium of architects led by film star Brad Pitt announced plans Wednesday to develop at least 150 storm-safe, environmentally sound houses in the section of the Lower 9th Ward reduced to rubble by a massive levee breach.

Working lot by lot instead of amassing huge development tracts, the project, dubbed Make It Right, will take applications from homeowners who want to rebuild their own properties with model homes now being designed, said Virginia Miller, a New Orleans spokeswoman for the project.

"Make It Right isn't buying big parcels of land," she said. "We don't have an interest in being a developer. We have an interest in building houses for people."
unlike other plans, including recovery director Ed Blakely's $1.1 billion blueprint to rebuild the city starting in 17 target zones, Make It Right is not designed around a traditional commercial center, nor does it aim to expand an area already beginning to thrive.

Instead, it focuses squarely on a neighborhood that has become an icon of New Orleans' destruction: the blocks just east of where a powerful storm surge crashed through the Industrial Canal floodwall during Hurricane Katrina, obliterating dozens of homes and reducing hundreds more to piles of splintered rubbish.

Miller said the project area will extend across the 11 blocks between North Claiborne Avenue and the Florida Avenue Canal, and several blocks to the east, though precisely how far is in flux.

Loan program

With the average home expected to cost between $100,000 and $174,000, planners anticipate most homeowners will be able to contribute some cash for construction but that most will fall about $70,000 short of paying off their new homes, according to a program dossier.

As a result, Make It Right plans to offer forgivable gap loans of as much as $100,000, with the caveat that applicants must have owned a home or lot in the Lower 9th Ward before Katrina. No homeowners who participate in the program will pay more than 30 percent of their gross monthly income on house payments, documents show.

Homeowners will be expected to contribute money from insurance proceeds, savings and Road Home grants, and to investigate their options in the traditional mortgage market. But Miller said a large loan reserve will be available, financed largely by contributions of $5 million each from Pitt and Steve Bing, a film producer and philanthropist who inherited his family's real estate fortune." |Read more|

Phil Spector's Murder Trial Ends In a Mistrial

Let's hope this does not become another OJ Simpson scenario.


"The murder trial of music producer Phil Spector ended today in a mistrial after the jury, leaning heavily to convict him, could not reach a unanimous verdict.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office said it planned to retry the case.

Mr. Spector, 67, charged with second-degree murder in the 2003 killing of a struggling actress in his home, stared blankly forward as Judge Larry Paul Fidler of Superior Court ended the proceedings after the jury foreman reported a 10-to-2 deadlock.

The impasse came after an earlier deadlock of 7-to-5, which jurors later said also tilted toward conviction, that lead the judge to take the unusual step of sending jurors back to deliberate with new instructions, infuriating the defense.

Three jurors, speaking to reporters afterward, said the two holdouts gave credence to defense claims that the death may have been a suicide rather than a murder. Jurors at various points, they said, also had been troubled by the lack of large amounts of blood on Mr. Spector and the poor English of a witness who said he heard Mr. Spector emerge from his house and say “I think I killed somebody.”" |Red more|

Seattle, Are You Sure It Wasn't S.B., from New Orleans, who loves to eat the goodies of prostitutes?

Deputies bust man who picked up teen prostitute

By HECTOR CASTRO
P-I REPORTER

King County sheriff's deputies on Monday said they arrested a man after they caught him having sex with a suspected prostitute who was just 15 years old.

Deputy Rodney Chinnick said that about 3:30 p.m. the two deputies were patrolling a bus line in Seattle, along Aurora Avenue North and North 145th Street, when they saw a young woman they believed was working as a prostitute.

The deputies watched as the suspected prostitute was picked up by a man in a 1997 Subaru Legacy, and followed.

Inside a nearby parking garage, the deputies said they saw the two engaged in a sex act, and moved in.

After determining that the suspected prostitute was underage, they contacted her family and released her to her mother.

Chinnick said having sex with anyone under 16 is rape of a child, a felony. The deputies booked the 34-year-old man into the King County Jail for investigation of child rape and committing a sexual assault.

Though the offense happened inside Seattle city limits, deputies working in the Metro Transit unit often make such arrests as part of their work patrolling the buses and transit lines.

Ahmadinejad lauded in Iran for "Lion's Den" Visit

"President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may have faced ridicule in the United States by suggesting there were no homosexuals in Iran, but he won praise at home on Wednesday for taking his country's case to "the Lion's Den".

Generally, politicians and media in the Islamic Republic -- even some who have previously criticized the president -- described Ahmadinejad's visit to New York as a triumph and denounced the university president who called him "a petty and cruel dictator".

But one pro-reform newspaper said that, although the president told his U.S. audience he respected academics, that was not always how it seemed at home.

Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West, traveled to the United States at a time of escalating tension between the two foes over Tehran's nuclear ambitions and the war in Iraq.

The president spoke at Columbia University on Monday and on Tuesday addressed the U.N. General Assembly, where he told world leaders the issue of Iran's nuclear ambitions was "closed" and that military threats and sanctions had failed.

"By fearlessly and courageously walking into the 'Lion's Den' ... he is sure to become even more of a hero in the Arab-Muslim street than before," the daily Iran News wrote.

Iran denies U.S. accusations it is seeking atomic bombs, saying it wants to generate electricity. It also rejects accusations it is violating human rights and muzzling critics." |Read more|

Launch of Halo 3

Residents of Washington State: Please hold on to your game. There is a 40 year old unemployed vagrant on the loose who has already stolen an Xbox.

________________________________________
"In the world of computer games, it is the denouement to match Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: what will happen to Master Chief in his epic battle against the evil alien Covenant?

But as fans queued up last night for the global launch of Halo 3 — the final chapter in the blockbuster series — the game’s climax had already leaked out on the web.

Cheats uploaded the movie-like scenes on to YouTube, potentially spoiling the enjoyment of thousands of players.

The Halo games, which play on Xbox, have made hundreds of millions of dollars for its makers, Microsoft. The game went on sale across the US a day before Europe, and in New York about 500 people turned out for the midnight launch." |Read more|

The Month of October is "Domestic Violence Awareness" Month

Speak out against domestic violence. I hope B.B. now realize that no amount of money is worth living with an abusive husband.
______________________________________________
Actress and Author Robin Givens Lends Star Power to California's Statewide Domestic Violence Awareness Day

"Robin Givens will be the keynote speaker at the Second Annual Californians
Uniting to End Domestic Violence Statewide Day of Awareness, on October 2nd
at the State Capitol building. October is Domestic Violence Awareness
Month; this gathering kicks off a month's worth of community events focused
on domestic violence education and prevention. The California Partnership
to End Domestic Violence (CPEDV) is joining forces with community,
government and business leaders to raise public awareness about the
prevalence and cost of domestic violence, and what can be done to stop it." |Read more|

Seattle Home Values Hottest In U.S.

Wow, Seattle, you better watch out. Let's hope the 40 year old unemployed vagrant from New Orleans don't know about this. Surely he will be on the prowl, to commit more burglaries, before he is sentenced. After all, how will he support his drug habit and his kinky fetish for the attention of young prostitutes? Daddy Big Bucks will soon be going to the federal pen. Therefore, he cannot help his pathetic son.
___________________________
"Seattle-area home appreciation has been the hottest in the nation for 11 months in a row, despite steadily slowing for the past year and a half, according to data released Tuesday.

July's price for a typical home in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties was up 6.9 percent from July 2006 and 0.2 percent from June 2007, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, which do not give actual prices.

The August median home price was $439,000 in Seattle and $415,000 in King County, according to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Both medians figured in condominiums and single-family homes." |Read more|

Judge, InThe Spector Case, Threatened On Myspace

The authorities need to really investigate the online social networking site, Myspace. Can you believe that a judge is being threatened simply for doing his job? We all know that they allow losers and perverts on their site. Any idiot, with recording equipment, in their basement can post noise, which is described as music, on Myspace. There is one nonsensical gang called Paper Chasin, which is composed of two burglars that live in a delusional world, of make belief: That is, they believe they are successful rappers. Dream on losers. Stick to what you know best: CRIME!!!

_______________________________________

"Someone took his or her love for Phil Spector online—and took it too far.

The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department said Tuesday it is investigating an alleged death threat against L.A. Superior Court Judge Larry Paul Fidler, the jurist presiding over the famed music producer's murder trial, which wrapped up testimony a few weeks ago.

"I love Phil Spector!! The evil judge should DIE!!" read a message signed "Chelle" and posted on the Official Team Spector page on MySpace.

The menacing note was taken down Monday, but Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore said that the Judicial Services Unit investigates all perceived threats against sitting judges.

"We are certainly going to look into it," he said.

Last week, Fidler warned Spector's wife, Rachelle, whom some friends reportedly refer to as Chelle, not to speak to the media about the case. The 26-year-old argued with the judge in court and he threatened to hold her in contempt, but she later wrote him an apologetic note.

"We are hoping we can find out who did it," defense attorney Christopher Plourd told reporters. "Rachelle denies being connected to the quote, or knowledge of anything related to it. She took the judge's admonishment seriously about not talking to anybody. She's not going to disobey a court order."

Meanwhile, the jury concluded its 11th day of deliberations today, a week after telling Fidler the panel was deadlocked 7-5, although at the request of the judge they didn't say which way the majority was swinging.

After listening to their concerns regarding reasonable doubt and questions about what Spector needed to have done to constitute second-degree murder, Fidler withdrew one of the special instructions given to the jury before deliberations began and laid out several hypothetical scenarios that would make Spector guilty in the shooting death of Lana Clarkson—although he was quick to say one of his examples didn't necessarily take place.

About the only sign of movement from the panel this week was when they requested a VCR Monday, but it's unknown what the nine men and three women were looking to review.

One possibility is that they wanted to check out the tapes played in court of L.A. County Sheriff's homicide detectives interviewing chauffeur Adriano De Souza, who testified during the trial that he dialed 911 after Spector walked out of his house on Feb. 3, 2003, and said, "I think I killed somebody."

Jurors started discussing the case Sept. 10 and have spent more than 40 hours in the jury room. Deliberations are expected to resume Wednesday morning.

Spector is facing 15 years to life in prison if convicted."

Polygamist Leader Found Guilty In Rape Case

Well, if Warren Jeffs was S.B., the father, he would have committed bribery, money laundering, mail fraud and obstruction of justice to pay for his liasons with the young girls. Thanks S.B., the son, for the heads up.

____________________

"Warren Jeffs, the polygamous sect leader, faces the prospect of life imprisonment after he was found guilty of rape charges stemming from his role in the arranged marriage of a 14-year-old girl to her older cousin.

The 51-year-old self-styled prophet and leader of the Mormon breakaway Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS) was convicted on two identical counts of being an accomplice to rape in relation to the 2001 marriage.

The trial in St George, Utah, shone a light on the practices of the secretive polygamous community on the Arizona-Utah border which Jeffs has led since 2002.

Up to 10,000 followers live in the twin towns of Hilldale and Colorado City, practising polygamy and revering Jeffs as a descendant of Jesus Christ who holds sway over their salvation.

Prosecutors accused Jeffs of forcing Elissa Wall, then 14, to marry and have sex with her first cousin, Allen Steed, 19. Lawyers for the sect leader had argued that Jeffs would not have known that rape would be committed after the marriage.
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His followers claimed their leader was prosecuted for his religious beliefs, including polygamy, which was renounced by the Mormon church in 1890 and is illegal under US law.

Jeffs was on the FBI's top 10 most wanted list alongside figures such as Osama Bin Laden and on the run for 18 months before being captured in Las Vegas last year.

Under Utah law, a 14-year-old can consent to sex. But sex is not considered consensual if a person under 18 is enticed by someone at least three years older.

Jeffs, who is expected to be sentenced within the next 45 days, also faces charges in Arizona for being an accomplice to both incest and sexual misconduct with a minor for arranging marriages between two underage girls and their relatives."

Sisters Arrested In Online Prostitution

If these sisters would have met up with S.B., from New Orleans, he would have performed oral sex on them before persuading them to drive him on a burglary spree.

"Authorities arrested a pair of sisters on sex charges in River Ridge after an undercover officer caught them peddling their wares online at Craigslist.org.

Sgt. William Hare of the Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office vice squad said he set up a date with Melissa Williams, 31, of Slidell, known as "Amber" on the popular classified advertising web site, after receiving an anonymous complaint that she and Amanda Williams, 27, "were working the River Ridge area on Craigslist." |Read more|

He Is Not The Only One Who Failed To File Tax Returns

The federal government should check the tax records of the associates and family members of those who were caught up in the City Hall corruption scandal.

_________________________
From the Times Picayune:
Jacques Morial pleads guilty to tax violations

"Jacques Morial, younger brother to former New Orleans Mayor Marc Morial, admitted in federal court today that he failed to file income tax returns for three consecutive years beginning in 2000. His admission was part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors

The 46-year-old political strategist faces up to a year in jail and a fine of $25,000. His sentencing is set for Jan. 9.


Jacques Morial joins a long line of Morial associates caught up in the still-unfolding probe of City Hall corruption.

While many of the cases against members of Marc Morial's inner circle have had clear links to contracts awarded during his tenure, Jacques Morial's offense does not appear to have any relation to his brother's actions as mayor between 1994 and 2002. Marc Morial, who has headed the National Urban League since 2003, has not been accused of any wrongdoing.

The plea agreement comes 3 ½ years after agents from the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service -- armed with a search warrant and weapons -- used a battering ram to break down the door of Jacques Morial's French Quarter townhouse."

Restrictions Imposed On Prostitute Who Made Life Hell For Residents

London really knows how to handle prostitutes who commit burglary. If she would have commited a burglary with S.B. from New Orleans, he would have asked her to spread her legs first so he could have a lick before they committed any burglaries together.


"A prostitute with almost 200 convictions for burglary has been banned from entering most of central London for the next seven years after blighting the lives of local residents.

Magistrates imposed the ASBO on Nicola Dunk, 36, following scores of complaints from residents in Hyde Park, Lancaster Gate and Bayswater.

Dunk was charged with a number of offences including petty theft, handling stolen goods and possession of Class A drugs.

She is also prohibited from going into any hotel, hostel or bed and breakfast in Westminster unless she identifies herself first at the front desk.

The only exception to the ban is if she needs to see medical staff at St Mary's hospital in Praed Street. She can also attend a Westminster Drugs Project scheme but needs an appointment to do so.

If she breaches the ban she faces arrest and a sentence of up to five years in prison."

New York AG Subpoenas Facebook

If Facebook is being subpoenaed, then Myspace definitely should be subpoenaed. After all, Myspace has S.B. on it. He is definitely a sexual predator who prey on the young and naive. Hopefully this will end soon when he is convicted. Washington State Department of Corrections have already been notified about his scams. They know they will have to protect others from him while he serves his time.
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"New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on Monday served Facebook with a subpoena after he said the company failed to respond to complaints about sexual predators and inappropriate content on the social network.

The move comes after the New York AG's office had been testing Facebook’s safety controls over the past several weeks, according to a statement.

A preliminary review of the site revealed significant defects in the safety measures Facebook has in place for protecting underage users, despite the Palo Alto, California, company’s tendency to position itself as a safer alternative to more popular social network MySpace." |Read more|

Raising "Cane"

Some families can be very corrupt. They can be psychopaths and sociopaths who believe the world owe them everything. They will beat and cheat on their wife while they are constantly stealing, bribing, and creating chaos in other people's lives. The good news is that sometime these family members are finally caught. Prison is the place they should be and isn't it a nice feeling to know that soon they will be spending time in prison. Don't try to live life based on TV fantasies.

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"Along with the new "Dirty Sexy Money" and the ongoing "Brothers & Sisters," "Cane" represents a current slight return for the family-business epic. The show, set among the sugar cane fields and seaside estates of South Florida, premieres tonight on CBS, appropriately the former home of "Dallas," "Knots Landing" and "Falcon Crest," and while it's really too soon to tell whether the story is going to take us anywhere special, there are signs that it might.

Created by Cuban-born Cynthia Cidre, who wrote the screenplay for "The Mambo Kings" and grew up herself in South Florida, "Cane" is in most respects a class act, albeit one whose energy so far derives largely from a real star turn by Jimmy Smits.

Smits plays Alex Vega, the not-quite-adopted "son" of Pancho Duque (Hector Elizondo), a South Florida sugar-and-rum magnate; he is also his son-in-law, having married his own more-or-less adoptive sister Isabel (Miss Universe runner-up Paola Turbay). As it opens, Pancho has decided to divide his estate, it being his fast intent to shake all cares and business from his age, conferring them on younger strengths, while he unburthen'd crawls toward death -- which, according to his doctor, will come in six months to a year, though you can always pray to the show runner for a miracle, or a misdiagnosis." |Read more|

Kanye West: Hip Hop's Creative Genius

Kanye West is definitely a creative genius. He spend his time in the studio doing what he does best. Perhaps S.B. should have taken notes from Kanye. Don't spend your time licking the goodies of a prostitute; it could only lead to a prison sentence. Well when you are a 40 year old unemployed loser, what can anyone expect.

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"Since the days of Tupac versus the Notorious B.I.G., or Jay-Z versus Nas, disputes between rappers have been a sure fire way to generate lots of headlines.

The media attention didn't cease when industry bad boy 50 Cent challenged the middle-class rap superstar Kanye West. 50 Cent announced that he would retire if West's album "Graduation" beat his album "Curtis" for sales in their first week.

In the end, West won, selling almost 1 million albums in the first week. 50 later recanted his statement about retirement.

But now that this battle has ended, West admits that he and 50 accomplished their intended results -- winning the publicity war.

"Because that's what they want," West tells "Nightline." "They want the black guys to be up against each other, about to shoot each other. And that's not what they got. What they got is two black guys sellin' a lot of records."" |Read more|

Bomber Kills 26, Including Police Chief In Iraqi City

"A suicide bomber killed 26 people including the police chief of the Iraqi city of Baquba on Monday in a mosque compound where local Shi'ite and Sunni Arab leaders were holding reconciliation talks.

Two other senior police officers were killed while tribal leaders were among 50 people wounded in the attack in the local capital of Diyala province. Police said there were reports the governor of Diyala had also been wounded.

The attack bore the hallmarks al Qaeda, which has said it was launching a new round of attacks to mark the holy fasting month of Ramadan. The group has specifically warned it would attack tribal leaders cooperating with the security forces.

The bomber entered the compound while senior police officers, local government officials and tribal leaders were taking part in reconciliation talks and attending a meal to mark the breaking of the daily fast, police said." |Read more|

Google Says Street View Will Comply With Privacy Laws

"Google Inc.'s Street View application, which has raise privacy concerns because of the street-level views of locations it provides, will respect the local laws of the countries wherever it is available, the company's privacy counsel said today in a company blog.

Global Privacy Counsel Peter Fleischer appears to be responding to concerns raised by Canada's privacy commissioner about the implications of Street View.

In a recent letter to Google, Canadian Privacy Commissioner Jennifer Stoddart said Street View may violate that country's privacy law, which prohibits the commercial use of personal data without permission from the individual. Stoddart was likely making preemptive strike since the application isn't offered in Canada yet.

Currently, Street View provides users with a close look at U.S. city streets that could include identifiable images of people. Google launched Street View in May with its Canadian partner, Immersive Media Corp." |Read more|

"The War" Captures 7.3 Million Viewers

"The premiere of Ken Burns' new documentary series "The War" brought in 7.3 million viewers Sunday night, PBS said.

The first episode of the multipart documentary averaged a 5.0 household rating/7 share in the top 56 "metered" markets, according to preliminary estimates released Monday by Nielsen Media Research.

That is on par with the opener of Burns' 1994 highly rated documentary series for PBS' "Baseball," which had a 5.1 household rating. (The 1990 premiere of Burns' "The Civil War" brought in a 9.0 rating.)" |Read more|

Graft In US Army Contracts

"On the fourth Sunday in July, John Lee Cockerham was here in his hometown for the baptism of his twin sons.


People in this northwest corner of Louisiana think of him as an unlikely success story, a man who started with nothing to become a major in the Army. He and his 17 siblings grew up without electricity and running water. His parents earned barely enough to keep everyone fed.

Yet even after he made it out of Castor, his ties to these backwoods remained strong. The congregation at New Friendship Baptist Church celebrated his last promotion with a parade. At his sons’ baptism, he told fellow worshipers that he hoped to instill in his children the values he had wrested from hardship.

Less than 24 hours later Major Cockerham was behind bars, accused of orchestrating the largest single bribery scheme against the military since the start of the Iraq war. According to the authorities, the 41-year-old officer, with his wife and a sister, used an elaborate network of offshore bank accounts and safe deposit boxes to hide nearly $10 million in bribes from companies seeking military contracts."
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Columbia Alumnus Released From An Iranian Prison

"The president of Columbia University is expressing relief that a Columbia alumnus was released from an Iranian prison -- just days before the Iranian president is scheduled to speak at Columbia University.

Dr. Kian Tajbakhsh, who works for George Soros's Open Society Institute, was one of several Iranian-Americans detained by Iran for allegedly conspiring against Iran's national security.

Tajbakhsh was freed on bail last Thursday. Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad is speaking at Columbia on Monday, and the invitation for him to appear on campus has drawn widespread condemnation from politicians and ordinary Americans, who view Amadinejad as an enemy of the United States and Israel." |Read more|

Fifty Years Since Little Rock Integration

"Fifty years after federal troops escorted Terrence Roberts and eight fellow black students into an all-white high school, he says the struggles over race and segregation still are unresolved.

"This country has demonstrated over time that it is not prepared to operate as an integrated society," said Roberts, who is a faculty member at Antioch University's psychology program.

He and the other students known as the Little Rock Nine will help the city observe Central High School's 50th anniversary this week with a series of events culminating with a ceremony featuring former President Bill Clinton.

For three weeks in September 1957, Little Rock was the focus of a showdown over integration as Gov. Orval Faubus blocked nine black students from enrolling at a high school with about 2,000 white students. Although the U.S. Supreme Court had declared segregated classrooms unconstitutional in 1954 — and the Little Rock School Board had voted to integrate — Faubus said he feared violence if the races mixed in a public school." |Read more|

Woman Loses Her Job After Son Uses Her Work Phone To Call Sex "Chatline"

This case reminds me of something: Never use anyone else's phone to call chatlines. Well let's say for a minute; your nasty phone calls are recorded. Those lucid calls can come back and bite you in the butt. That is what will soon be happening to Dina K. Too bad she did not realize that everyone will soon be able to hear her nasty, filthy, torrid calls with S.B.

"A Catholic charity boss sacked after her teenage son used her work phone to call sex chatlines has won £50,000 from 'sexist' directors."

Experimental AIDS Vaccine Fails Key Test

Can you imagine being that poor sap, I spoke about, who love to munch on the goodies of a prostitute? Do they give AIDS vaccines to new prison inmates?



"A trial of a vaccine designed to control AIDS has been halted after numerous participants became infected with HIV, the virus that causes the disease.

Drug maker Merck & Co. said Friday that it was stopping enrollment and vaccination of volunteers taking part in the international study, which was partly funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

Merck told theAssociated Pressthat 24 of 741 volunteers who got the vaccine in one part of the trial eventually became infected with HIV. In a comparison group of volunteers who got dummy shots, 21 of 762 participants also became infected with HIV.

The volunteers were HIV-free at the start of the trial. But they were at high risk for getting HIV. Most were homosexual men or female sex workers. They were all repeatedly counseled about how to reduce their risk of HIV infections, including use of condoms, according to Merck, theAPsaid." |Read more|

The Dangers of The Social Networking Site, Myspace

Young girls raped by men in hotel room:

"Detective Buster said the 19- and 20--year-old men used MySpace to communicate with the girls and set up a meeting at a room at a Motel 6 in the 1300 block of Belmont Avenue Thursday evening.

The men allegedly got the girls drunk and raped two of them, ages 11 and 15. Another 11-year-old girl was in the room but was not raped, Buster said.

The three girls, who are friends, left the motel and went to a house where they called their parents, who reported the incident to police.

Buster said all three girls lived in the Oakville area, about 19 miles west of Centralia."
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This incident reminds me of the incident I mentioned yesterday about Jenny K.
Jenny K is twenty years old but she has the mental capacity of a twelve year old. She was given alcohol by a 40 year old unemployed vagrant who somehow persuaded the young woman to sleep with him and also bail him out of jail.