Friday - June 23, 2006

Predator Punked In Alabama

Finally, it’s over ... and the judge did the right thing this time. This case has a very special meaning to me. I have followed it for the past few years, waiting for this day. Why? Well, those of you who read here regularly may know by now that I’m a transplanted Alabama native, currently stranded in St. Louis. I like the Midwest but it just ain’t home.

Besides the fact that this heinous crime happened “back home”, I have a special attachment to the case. You see ... I worked for this man in 1996. At the time I was doing software engineering work for a Department Of Defense contractor at the USAF’s Standard Systems Center in Montgomery. I was coding in Ada, building databases in Oracle and Team Lead for projects to manage the USAF’s information systems.

Lt. Colonel Wright retired from the Air Force and was hired as Office Manager for our contracting company’s local office. Nothing unusual. Military officers almost always retire and go to work for DoD contractors. We were all introduced to him at a meeting of Team Leads and Project Managers. I shook his hand and said something pleasant which I don’t recall now. I’m a fairly good judge of character and I almost instantly had a feeling of revulsion about the man. I don’t know whether it was the eyes, the false smile, the sweaty palm or what. Something just set off alarms in my head.

I have never been one to let first impressions totally cloud my relations with people though so I shrugged it off and went on back to work. That’s when things started to get weird. In the ensuing months, everyone in the office developed an extreme distaste for the man after a few minor incidents. He was good at passing the buck and letting others take the blame. He promised things he never delivered on. Our relations with the Air Force began to get a little strained.

Then, about six months after he came to our office he was gone. Fired. Can you guess why? Yep, you guessed it. We got hit with a lawsuit by the office secretary charging him with sexual harassment. It was settled out of court after the company saw the mountain of evidence and listened to depositions of witnesses. During this period, I was working outside the office on base, in direct contact with the Air Force. I didn’t hear about it until it was all over. It all went down in just a few days. He was gone.

The next we heard of him was a few years later when we heard he was working as a substitute teacher in Prattville, just outside of Montgomery. He got in trouble for “strange behavior” when several students complained about him. We heard he was taken off the list of substitute teachers and would not be teaching. What happened next was a foul-up at the school and the final, damnable acts of a miserable sexual predator. The school came up short a teacher one day and someone looked at the list of available substitutes. The list was an old one that hadn’t been recently updated. You can probably guess what happened then.

Yes, this creature was called to teach that day. You can read below what happened. I get nauseated just thinking about it. As I said above, the judge did the right thing. Twenty years, hard time. I don’t think Mr. Wright will last very long at Holman Prison down in Atmore, Alabama. It’s too bad the State of Alabama retired “Yellow Mama”, the state’s trusty old electric chair at Holman, two years ago. He would have been a prime candidate in my book. Twenty years in Holman is almost as good.

The main point you should take away from my little story here is that sexual predators are not spontaneous victims of temporary lust. It is almost always a lifetime habit that never goes away and only gets worse over the years. This man is a prime example of that. Sexual predators can never be “rehabilitated”. Their nature is warped and the longer they get away with their crime the bolder they get. Our courts and judges need to realize that and take action accordingly. I urge all states to pass Megan’s Law. Put these people away for life. No probation. No house arrest. Dammit, NO! Send them to prison and keep them there. Forever, if need be. In the meantime, I have a message for Mr. Wright .... “Welcome to your new home, pervert!”

Sex Offender Gets 20 Years
_{June 23, 2006}

PRATTVILLE, Alabama (MONTGOMERY ADVERTISER)—A former substitute teacher in the Autauga County public school system was sentenced to 20 years in prison Thursday, the maximum allowed by law, on a laundry list of sex charges. Terry Cleveland Wright, 61, of 1268 Plum St. was sentenced by Circuit Judge Ben Fuller. He pleaded guilty several weeks ago to seven counts of sexual abuse, two counts of enticing a child by computer for immoral purposes, one count of possession of child pornography and three misdemeanor counts of harassment.

The sexual abuse and harassment took place Oct. 7, 2004, at Prattville Elementary School, courthouse records state. Wright’s victims were 9- and 10-year-old boys and girls he touched inappropriately. A sobbing Wright apologized to the victims, his family and the community before the sentence was handed down. “I can’t say how sorry I am,” said Wright, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel. “If there was anything I could do to make the pain easier, I would do it. I would give my life if it would take the pain away.”

Fuller listened to emotional comments from parents of several victims asking for a long prison sentence. “Every morning I put my child on the bus to go to school and I trusted the teachers to look out for my child,” said one mother. “Don’t have any leniency on this man, he needs to pay. I looked up ‘predator’ in the dictionary and the definition was ‘an animal that preys upon others.’ This man is a predator and he needs to be locked up so he can’t prey on anyone else.”

Wright’s defense attorney suggested a sentence of house arrest, wearing an ankle bracelet for tracking purposes. “Mr. Wright, I may very well have taken your life, if it was in my power to do it,” Fuller said before sentencing. “The most touching statement I read was from one of your victims who said she doesn’t want to be in contact with older men, even her grandfather. My staff told me today that this has to be a very difficult case to decide. This case is not difficult for me because of your conduct.”

During the investigation into the school abuse, it was discovered Wright contacted two teenage girls from north Alabama by computer. Those incidents occurred before the school abuse, said Chief Assistant District Attorney Glenn Goggans. Both girls were 15. “He tried to get one girl to meet him, and he did meet another at a hotel in Pinson,” Goggans said. “This man is a sexual predator. If he remained in society, it wouldn’t be a question of if he would do it again, it would be a question of when.”

Wright’s full sentence was 20 years each on the enticing charges, 10 years each on the sex abuse charges, 10 years on the possession of child porn and three months on each harassment charge. The sentences are to be served concurrently, hence the 20-year stretch. The district attorney’s office suggested such a sentence in the plea agreement, an agreement that was approved by the victims and their parents.

Wright had been on the substitute list for just a few months. He passed a criminal background check before being hired. A teacher at the elementary school became ill in the middle of the day, and Wright was the only person on the substitute list that could come in. The week before he had been removed from the campus of Prattville Intermediate, after several students complained about his behavior. That was his first time to serve as a substitute. His name was taken off the substitute list, but the elementary school was using an older list.

The school system changed their policy after the incident, so updated lists would always be used. Several parents have filed two civil suits against the school system. Those cases are pending in federal court in Montgomery.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/23/2006 at 12:40 PM   
Filed Under: • Crime • Personal •  
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Censure Murtha

This just hit my e-mail Inbox. I thought some of you might be interested. Check out the site and let me know what you think.

Censuremurtha.com has been started to combat the political menace known as Jack Murtha.

It is time we stand up against this evil Anti-American, Anti-Troop, Anti-War politician.

Murtha has repeatedly accused,condemned and assaulted our troops and friends in the war on terror and the true patriots of America.

He has decided to embrace the enemy instead of protecting and defending America and its soldiers.

—www.censuremurtha.com

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/23/2006 at 11:54 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Stoopid-People •  
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Climate Cycles

The longer this goes on, the sillier it gets. Al Gore needs to be locked up in a padded cell for pushing this mumbo-jumbo science. I know the real reason why temps are higher - there are too many people. That’s right. Since the Earth’s population exploded in recent centuries from a few million to several billions, that means there are way too many 98.6 degree warm bodies around. It’s true! Here’s my theory ...

The coldest winter in recent history was during WWII after millions of warm bodies went cold. The winter of 1944 was the coldest it had been in over a century. The second coldest winter was in 1914. Once again, after a major depopulation event. Duh! That proves my theory. The obvious solution to global warming is for the human race to have another great big, hairy war! Trust me, it’ll work!

Earth Hottest It’s Been in 2,000 Years
—(AP via BREITBART)
_{Jun 22 4:51 PM US/Eastern}

The Earth is running a slight fever from greenhouse gases, after enjoying relatively stable temperatures for 2,000 years. The National Academy of Sciences, after reconstructing global average surface temperatures for the past two millennia, said Thursday the data are “additional supporting evidence ... that human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming.”

Other new research showed that global warming produced about half of the extra hurricane-fueled warmth in the North Atlantic in 2005, and natural cycles were a minor factor, according to Kevin Trenberth and Dennis Shea of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, a research lab sponsored by the National Science Foundation and universities.

The academy had been asked to report to Congress on how researchers drew conclusions about the Earth’s climate going back thousands of years, before data was available from modern scientific instruments. The academy convened a panel of 12 climate experts, chaired by Gerald North, a geosciences professor at Texas A&M University, to look at the “proxy” evidence before then, such as tree rings, corals, marine and lake sediments, ice cores, boreholes and glaciers.

Combining that information gave the panel “a high level of confidence that the last few decades of the 20th century were warmer than any comparable period in the last 400 years,” the panel wrote. It said the “recent warmth is unprecedented for at least the last 400 years and potentially the last several millennia,” though it was relatively warm around the year 1000 followed by a “Little Ice Age” from about 1500 to 1850.

8,000 B.C. - Climate Report

Tharg and me used to hunt mighty mammoth but he scared to cross ice bridge. It now too thin to take weight of even saber cat. Only mouse or rabbit can cross.

Many of my people have left the caves in search of food.

Sister’s daughter’s husband says it because of He-Who-Tamed-Fire. He say smoke from fire anger gods and they make it hot. Medicine Man say he full of mastodon droppings.

Medicine Man say Sun God told him Sun God get belly ache every 200 lifes of man. Belly ache make Sun God hotter, like when Og ate red berries birds don’t touch.

Sun God say it good thing. He say now we can go south past ice to land he call “Iowa.”

He mumble “junk science” and “media hype” and “poorly educated reporters.” We no understand these powerful magic words. We afraid to say words now that Moon God warn us. She say magic words make research grants dry up. We no understand.

Must go, little Ky-Rock need help flaking obsidian.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/23/2006 at 09:41 AM   
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • Satire •  
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Need A New Menu?

_{Mike Lester—Rome News-Tribune (GA)}

- Washington Post (June 23, 2006): “Senate Rejects Democrats’ Calls For Iraq Timetable”

The Republican-controlled Senate, embracing President Bush’s handling of the unpopular war in Iraq, rejected two Democratic efforts yesterday to begin a withdrawal of U.S. troops from the three-year-old conflict. Displaying cohesion that has eluded Democrats, Republicans voted overwhelmingly to leave deployment decisions in the president’s hands. The votes, which followed three days of sometimes-fierce debate, outlined the positions the two parties will carry into the November congressional elections and underscored the Democratic constituency’s split between staunchly antiwar activists and those who are frustrated but less fervent. Thirty-one of the Senate’s 44 Democrats opposed setting a firm deadline for withdrawal.

The Senate voted 86 to 13 to reject a proposal by Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.) that would have ordered Bush to bring most of the troops home within 13 months. Another Democratic measure—a nonbinding call on Bush to begin a troop drawdown by December—fared better but still failed, 60 to 39. Republicans unanimously opposed Kerry’s plan and lost only one member, Lincoln D. Chafee (R.I.), on the second proposal. Six Democrats, meanwhile, sided with Republicans in opposing both measures. One of them was Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), the Democrats’ 2000 vice presidential nominee, who is in danger of losing his party’s senatorial nomination this year to a strongly antiwar challenger.

The Senate action, which mirrored a House vote last week, ratified congressional Republicans’ decision to stake their electoral fortunes largely on Bush’s prosecution of a war that nearly two-thirds of Americans say is not worth fighting, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll. The GOP solidarity was a vote of confidence in the White House and a gamble that the situation in Iraq will stabilize, or at least not worsen, between now and November. The administration worked hard to reassure nervous Republicans, having the Pentagon send them a thick binder of talking points about the war’s progress and the need to stay the course until Iraqis can maintain order in their country.

Throughout the debate, Senate Republicans said troop deployment decisions must be left to military leaders advising Bush. “The proponents of these amendments want us to tell the new government of Iraq that we are leaving . . . no matter what the implications for the future of their country, no matter how much they plead with us to stay,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.). “The time to leave Iraq is when we have achieved our objectives.”

Democrats argued that Iraqis need a strong signal that it is time for them to ready their army and police for self-sufficiency. Senate Minority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) criticized what he described as “cheap political tricks” from the “playbook” of Bush political adviser Karl Rove, “saying Democrats want to surrender” in Iraq. Both parties, meanwhile, claimed to be in touch with U.S. public sentiment over the conflict, which has claimed more than 2,500 American lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. “The Republicans in the Senate stand alone in insisting on ‘no plan and no end,’ “ Reid said.

While Republicans in recent weeks gravitated toward a consensus in support of Bush’s policies, Democrats held intensive closed-door debates on what alternatives to offer. Liberals wanted a firm date for troop withdrawals, but others argued for a more moderate approach that would urge, but not compel, Bush to start a drawdown this year. Efforts to reconcile the two camps failed, resulting in the competing measures that were voted on yesterday.

Kerry’s proposed amendment to a military policy bill to set a deadline for withdrawal was co-sponsored by Sen. Russell Feingold (D-Wis.). Both men are weighing presidential bids in 2008 and drawing support from antiwar Democrats busily writing blogs and raising money. As the party’s 2004 presidential nominee, Kerry has a high profile, and his insistence on pushing his measure angered some colleagues who felt that it fueled the GOP’s “cut and run” taunts. All 55 Republicans opposed Kerry’s amendment, as did 31 Democrats. Of the 12 Democrats and one independent who voted for it, only two had voted in October 2002 to authorize military force in Iraq: Kerry and Tom Harkin (Iowa). The senators from Maryland and Virginia voted against the Kerry amendment.

- More on the Chicken-crats at the WAPO ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/23/2006 at 08:58 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Iraq •  
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   Thursday - June 22, 2006

Mainstream Media Oversight

Where do you go when you want to find out the news that the Mainstream Media refuses to cover? Why ... you come here, of course. You know we’ll tell it like it is. Even if it’s hypocritical Democrats behaving badly behind everyone’s back while pointing fingers at Republicans.

Today we examine John Murtha in an enlightening editorial from the Washington Times. If you think the Abramoff scandal stinks just read on, babe. See what Ol’ “Cut-n-Run” Murtha has been up to and while you’re at it, ponder this: how much of this story did you see on ABC, CBS,NBC, CNN or MSNBC?

The Real Jack Murtha
EDITORIAL (WASHINGTON TIMES)
_{June 21, 2006}

Rep. John Murtha is thinking big thoughts. Since coming out for an immediate withdrawal from Iraq last year, he has accused Marines of murder “in cold blood” before a preliminary investigation is even complete; accused the military of a cover up over the same incident; declared his candidacy for the House majority leadership post; and, most recently, refined his cut-and-run strategy in Iraq to mean “redeployment” to Okinawa, Japan.

That’s quite a splash for such a veteran congressman, who a year ago had zero name recognition outside Washington. That he’s made a name for himself now by slandering our troops and their mission deserves a brief recital of some other activities associated with Mr. Murtha.

Last June, the Los Angeles Times reported how the ranking member on the defense appropriations subcommittee has a brother, Robert Murtha, whose lobbying firm represents 10 companies that received more than $20 million from last year’s defense spending bill. “Clients of the lobbying firm KSA Consulting—whose top officials also include former congressional aide Carmen V. Scialabba, who worked for Rep. Murtha as a congressional aide for 27 years—received a total of $20.8 million from the bill,” the L.A. Times reported.

In early 2004, according to Roll Call, Mr. Murtha “reportedly leaned on U.S. Navy officials to sign a contract to transfer the Hunters Point Shipyard to the city of San Francisco.” Laurence Pelosi, nephew of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, at the time was an executive of the company which owned the rights to the land. The same article also reported how Mr. Murtha has been behind millions of dollars worth of earmarks in defense appropriations bills that went to companies owned by the children of fellow Pennsylvania Democrat, Rep. Paul Kanjorski. Meanwhile, the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan campaign-finance watchdog group, lists Mr. Murtha as the top recipient of defense industry dollars in the current 2006 election cycle.

As Rep. Joe Wilson, South Carolina Republican, has said, “If there is a potential pattern where Congressman Murtha has helped other Democrats secure appropriations that also benefited relatives of those members, I believe this would be something that merits further review by the ethics committee.”

It’s odd that the media, which has been fairly unbiased in going after corrupt politicians recently, has gone silent on Mr. Murtha’s questionable actions. Or maybe it isn’t. Since December, Mr. Murtha has become the darling of the antiwar crowd, and, as we’ve seen with other such darlings, scrutinizing their behavior is considered disrespectful. But as we’re on the subject, few might recall that after the massive 1980 Abscam scandal, Mr. Murtha was named by the FBI as an “unindicted co-conspirator.”

Maybe the next time the new Jack Murtha thinks up another big idea someone can ask him about the old Jack Murtha.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 05:41 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists • Media-Bias •  
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Catfish News

Well the old bottom feeder has been at it again, digging through the muck at the bottom of the pond. According to The Catfish, today’s news that sank to the bottom consists of Chubby Flashers, Snoring Beer Burglars and Women Drivers. I can hardly wait ....

N.H. Police Warn of Chubby Beach Flasher
_{June 21, 2006, 8:48 PM EDT}

RYE, N.H. (AP)—Police are warning of a male flasher on the beaches of Rye. They’re responding to a report that a woman was flashed at Odiorne State Park on Friday, and have noted that the flasher’s description—a white male, about 55, with a chubby belly and gray chest hair—is similar to that of a man who exposed himself to beachgoers last year.

That man has not been caught, though last year a woman reported being fondled by a flasher at Odiorne Point. Police say reports of the flasher—who uses underwear to mask his face—have been sporadic through the years.

Beer Burglar’s Snoring Leads Police to Him
_{June 21, 2006, 5:05 PM EDT}

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)—A burglar who broke into a small grocery shop in northern Thailand was caught after he hid under the store owner’s bed, drank a few beers and started snoring, police said Wednesday.

The robber broke into the grocery in Uthai Thani province, 125 miles north of Bangkok, in the middle of the night, stole some beers and quickly sought cover when he heard the owner of the shop stirring, said police Capt. Prasert Hiewchawna. The robber chose to hide under a bed in the shop—the same bed that the owner was sleeping on at the time, Praset said.

While waiting to flee, the robber drank a few of the stolen beers, passed out and started snoring so loudly that he woke up the shop’s owner, who quietly called police. The suspect, identified as Wiman Sukchareon, 32, was charged with breaking and entering and faces six months in prison.

Woman Seeking License Sends Car Into Canal
_{June 22, 2006, 7:55 AM EDT}

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP)—A 19-year-old woman may have to practice a little more after driving a borrowed taxi into a canal just before she was scheduled to take her driver’s license test Wednesday, authorities said.

The woman’s neighbor, a Broward Taxi Co. cab driver, drove her to the Pompano Beach license testing office and agreed to let the woman practice driving around the parking lot in his car before she took the test, city spokeswoman Sandra King said.

“He said the next thing he knew she was driving through the bushes and into the canal,” King said. “He ran over and pulled her out of the car. Obviously, she did not take or pass her driver’s test,” King added.

No one was hurt in the incident and no charges were pending. “It was purely an accident,” King said. The identities of the woman and the cab driver were not immediately available.

_{All Stories Courtesy Of: NewsDay.com}

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 04:59 PM   
Filed Under: • Odd-Strange •  
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Eliminated!

U.S. Eliminated After Loss to Ghana
Ghana 2, United States 1
_{Thursday, June 22, 2006}

NUREMBERG, Germany—Amid controversy, the U.S. national soccer team was bumped from the World Cup on Thursday when it lost to Ghana, 2-1, before 41,000 at Franken Stadium.

The Americans (0-2-1) had tied the match 1-1 late in the first half on Clint Dempsey’s goal and seemed poised to overwhelm the Black Stars after the break. Just before intermission, however, Ghana was awarded a penalty kick when U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu was called for bumping down an attacker in the box.

Stephen Appiah converted the kick, giving the Black Stars (2-1-0) all they needed to set up a likely round-of-16 match with defending champion Brazil on Tuesday in Dortmund. The Americans had needed to win and, although they didn’t score again, the call turned the match dramatically and affected the tone of the second half.

What made it more agonizing was the fact that Italy (2-0-1) had defeated the Czech Republic (1-2-0) in a game played at the same time in Hamburg, clearing the way for the Americans to advance.

- More on the agony of defeat at WASHINGTON POST...

_{Photo By; Roberto Schmidt - AFP/Getty Images}

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 04:46 PM   
Filed Under: • Sports •  
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Women: Arm Yourself!

This little device was announced last September with very little fanfare but has managed to create quite a controversy in the ensuing nine months since. Personally, I’d be all for this little “clamp” for rapists. It is fitting punishment for violating a woman against her will. I think every gal should have one for those trips to the ATM at midnight.

The only problem I might see is the ditzy blonde I’m out on a date with who got a little tipsy and forgot she was wearing it when she invited me back to her apartment and dropped her clothes. Even worse would be the angry wife or girlfriend who ... never mind. Gals aren’t really that sadistic are they? I better quit now. Following that last train of thought caused me to start shaking all over - especially when I recall what a sadistic, spiteful beeyatch my last wife turned into during the divorce. YIKES!

New Anti-Rape Female Condom
_{September 5, 2005}

So what is this device, for which design South African inventor Sonette Ehlers was inspired after meeting a traumatised rape victim who told her, “If only I had teeth down there”, all about?

A medieval device built on hatred of men? Or a cheap, easy-to-use invention that could free millions of South African women from fear of rape, in a country with the world’s worst sexual assault record?

“Rapex”, the condom-like device bristling with internal hooks designed to snare rapists has re-ignited controversy over South Africa’s alarming rape rate, even before plans for its production were announced in Western Cape this week. The device, concealed inside a woman’s body, hooks onto a rapist during penetration and must be surgically removed.

Ms Ehlers said the rape trap would be so painful for a rapist that it would disable him immediately, enabling his victim to escape; but would cause no long-term physical damage and could not injure the woman.

“I don’t hate men. I love men. I have not got revenge in mind. All I am doing is giving women their power back,” Ms Ehlers said. “I don’t even hate rapists. But I hate the deed with a passion.”

- The original announcement at MedGadget last Fall

Anti-rape Device Postponed
_{June 21, 2006, 06:45}

The controversial anti-rape device, Rapex, which was scheduled to make its debut on store shelves this month, is likely only to be available towards the end of the year. The invention which was launched in August last year, is the brainchild of Sonette Ehlers, a retired South African blood technician. The mechanism will clamp itself to a rapist’s penis forcing him to seek medical treatment and face arrest.

According to Ehlers, stock of the device is being manufactured overseas and will be imported back from the East into South Africa before the end of the year. Ehlers says she spends a lot of time in prisons and townships educating people about the device. The project has been greeted with enthusiasm as well as scepticism. One of those critical of the device is Charlene Smith, a rape survivor, journalist and activist on women’s issues. She says she believes the device will increase the risk of victims being killed.

“I would be appalled and every rape survivor I know would be appalled and be incredibly concerned, if the Rapex device does actually make it to stores. We believe that women who use it, will be killed by the rapist. If this device clamps onto a man, that man is right next to the woman, he’s not going to jump out and say ‘oh gosh this is hurting me’. He’s going to kill that woman. So we increase the risk of the women raped, being killed,” Smith said.

Ehlers says she is not perturbed by criticism of her invention. She replied and said, “I love criticism, but only when people know what they’re talking about, then I love it. But you know, number one, is they say its medieval, I say its a mediaeval device for a mediaeval deed. And another thing is the very same people that criticise it they should go out and educate the burglars too so we that we can all remove the burglar bars from our windows. We don’t even need to have the locks on our cars. So I mean this is a security device.”

Smith adds that in the case of gang rape, the victim is in even greater danger, but Ehlers says after being caught in the device, the perpetrator is likely to identify his accomplices to police. Lindsay Smith of Africa Contingency Consultants who specialises in Crisis and Threat Management believes the device will not work in an already violent society.

“I support any endeavour to prevent rape, but one must be realistic in a violent society where one must be careful of violence breeding violence or violence breeds violence. If you’re in a violent situation with a violent person, the average violent person is not necessarily just going to get up and run away once he’s been injured, especially if its in a gang situation. And that is my problem I have with Rapex. Is it not gonna effectively take an already violent person and make him more excessively violent?” While the controversy rages on, the true test will be when it finally hits the shelves - hopefully later this year.

- More on the postponement at SABC ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 10:40 AM   
Filed Under: • Odd-Strange • Sex •  
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Be afraid… be very afraid…

Welcome to our newest addition to the Fleet.

Posted by Christopher     on 06/22/2006 at 08:53 AM   
Filed Under: • Military •  
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Good News For Veterans

Well, it’s actually good news and bad news. The good news is that the VA is getting its head out of its butt and trying to do something to protect veterans after their security foul-up let millions of veterans’ records be stolen. The bad news is the credit protection won’t be available until August and then it’s only for a year. Most of you vets, like myself, have already gotten the first “warning” letter by now and I expect the letter announcing this service will be forthcoming as soon as the IRS forwards them to us (don’t ask - it’s a long story).

This should be a lesson for every IT shop out there. As an IT professional, I’ve known for decades that 70-80% of all security breaches come from inside. Stupid employees using easy passwords, taping their passwords to the bottom of their keyboards, employees failing to secure their laptops with cable-locks when out of the office and sometimes just plain meanness or outright stupidity cause these problems. Outside hackers are the least of our worries. It’s usually Joe in the next cubicle who blows it. I sincerely hope the VA is listening. HELLO! Is anyone in there ... ?

VA to Offer Credit Monitoring
1 Year of Service Free To Data-Theft Victims
_{Thursday, June 22, 2006}

(WASHINGTON POST)—The Department of Veteran Affairs said yesterday that it will offer free credit monitoring for a year to the millions of veterans and military personnel whose personal information was stolen last month. The department said the plan will safeguard the credit records of those affected and provide them with peace of mind.

But Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson told reporters that there has been no progress in finding the stolen electronic devices containing the data. The credit-monitoring plan received high marks from some VA critics on Capitol Hill, as well as from representatives of veterans—although questions were raised about how the department would pay for the monitoring.

About 17.5 million veterans and military personnel affected by the data breach—which included names, birth dates and Social Security numbers—will receive information about signing up for the monitoring in August, Nicholson said. He said the department continues to “have no evidence that any use is being made of this data that has been stolen.”

The department originally said that as many as 26.5 million people could have been affected by the breach, but some of the data turned out to be duplicates or did not contain Social Security numbers.

The plan is the most significant step VA has taken to protect the financial records of affected veterans and military personnel since the May 3 theft. The information was on an external hard drive and a laptop computer stolen from the house of a department employee. The public announcement of the theft came three weeks later. The authorities said the thief did not appear to target the data.

The department has taken several other steps to prevent another data breach, including hiring a special adviser on information security, accelerating security and privacy training, and reviewing procedures for accessing and storing sensitive data. Nicholson said that every VA facility across the country will observe a “security awareness” week starting Monday and that the department will hire a company to determine whether the stolen information is being misused.

“It is a positive step for all veterans, service members and their families,” said Joe Davis, a spokesman for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, which represents more than 2 million members.

“Is one year enough? We don’t know,” Davis said. He noted that military personnel and veterans will be left unprotected through August and may choose to pay for the credit monitoring themselves, which can cost more than $75 per year.

- More on this breaking story at the WAPO...

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 08:36 AM   
Filed Under: • Military • Stoopid-People •  
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Ahead Of His Time

Words Of Wisdom: “If there is one major difference between Democrats and Republicans that stands out above all else, it is that Democrats tend to live in the past while Republicans look to the future.”
-- The Skipper

_{Michael Ramirez—Investors Business Daily}

- Reuters (June 20, 2006): “US Activates Missile Defense Amid N.Korea Dispute”

WASHINGTON—The United States has activated its ground-based interceptor missile-defense system amid concerns over an expected North Korean missile launch, a U.S. defense official said on Tuesday. Pentagon officials declined to say whether they would try to shoot down any missile launched by the reclusive Communist state, but other U.S. officials have said that is unlikely, assuming the launch is aimed at open water.

The United States has said it would be a provocation if North Korea launched the missile, which some experts said could reach Alaska. Many U.S. experts say Pyongyang has a legal right to test, and there are questions about the reliability of U.S. missile defenses.

Pyongyang had no immediate comment, but a North Korean official said earlier the country does not feel bound by pledges to halt test firings of long-range missiles. A U.S. defense official confirmed a Washington Times report that the Pentagon had switched its multibillion-dollar missile-defense system from test mode to operational.

“It’s good to be ready,” the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Pentagon spokesman Eric Ruff, asked whether the United States would try to shoot down a North Korean missile, said: “We have a limited missile-defense system. ... We don’t discuss the alert status or the specific capabilities.”

The United States has built a complex of interceptor missiles, advanced radar stations and data relays designed to detect and shoot down an enemy missile.

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/22/2006 at 06:33 AM   
Filed Under: • Humor • International •  
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FOUND: The Word The Media Lost

This comes courtesy of my partner Flapjawman, who would normally post this on our blog Something’s Rotten. But since he was called up and is playing in the great foreign sandbox, it’s up to me to wade through the stuff he finds.

FOUND: The Word The Media Lost
A word seems to be missing from this story from CNN:

Former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, who presided over the city’s economic renaissance of the 1990s, was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison and fined more than $6,000 for racketeering and tax evasion.

U.S. District Judge Richard Story praised Campbell, 53, for two decades of public service but said he could not ignore his crimes. Campbell was convicted in March of a single racketeering count and three counts of tax evasion.

He was cleared of charges he lined his pockets with payoffs from a contractor but was found guilty of failing to pay taxes on what prosecutors said was illegally obtained money. Campbell said the money was gambling winnings.

“Yes, Bill Campbell, you did good things, and there is a person in this room that recognizes this,” Story said, referring to himself. He cited Campbell’s work in improving public housing in Atlanta as an example.

But the judge added that during the trial he “was overcome, almost appalled, at the breadth of misconduct in your administration.”

The story goes on for another 13 more paragraphs, and yet, I can’t find that word. Couldit be in WXIA’s coverage? No. How about UPI’s story? Nope, it’s not there, either.

It isn’t until the very last word of the very last paragraph of this AP story that we finally found that missing word:

“Instead, he was convicted on just three counts of federal tax evasion, and acquitted on racketeering and bribery charges _ a verdict he and his attorneys painted as a vindication. Campbell was once considered a rising star for Democrats”.

I wonder how that one particular word got so lost?

Hello, Neal Boortz…

Posted by Christopher     on 06/22/2006 at 05:02 AM   
Filed Under: • Democrats-Liberals-Moonbat Leftists •  
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   Wednesday - June 21, 2006

Simplicity

Think of this as a test post. I’ve been honored by the Skipper to be a guest poster on BMEWS. Thought I’d start with a favorite quote:

“In short, I am convinced, both by faith and experience, that to maintain one’s self on this earth is not a hardship but a pastime, if we will live simply and wisely.” – Thoreau, Walden

Memo: Thanks , Christopher. Welcome aboard!

Posted by Christopher     on 06/21/2006 at 06:35 PM   
Filed Under: • Miscellaneous •  
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Most Ridiculous Item Of The Day (so far)

Thanks to LGF we have this priceless gem of professional reportage from CBS News. Evidently, since Dan Rather left yesterday their crack research department was up all last night partying to celebrate Dan’s exit and forgot the difference between Japan and China. To make matters worse, it’s not even Earth’s moon - it’s Dione, one of Saturn’s moons. Yep, the tradition of honesty and truth in reporting just rolls right along at SEE-BS ...

Posted by The Skipper     on 06/21/2006 at 03:25 PM   
Filed Under: • Media-Bias • Stoopid-People •  
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