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Three children jailed for armed robbery
Three children from Hong Kong have been sentenced to more than three years for the armed hold-up of a jewellery shop.
Disguised with masks and caps, the two boys and one girl, all aged 14, threatened staff at the shop with knives in September last year, grabbing jewellery valued at more than HK$1 million ($128,200).
According to the court, the severe sentence was in the public interest. The judge said the offence was too serious to warrant a training centre term despite the age of the three. Three children from Hong Kong have been sentenced to more than three years for the armed hold-up of a jewellery shop. ... more -
Homophobic republican Sally Kern caught with loaded gun at Capitol
Sally Kern, the Oklahoma lawmaker who gained national notoriety with an antigay rant was stopped from entering the state capitol on Wednesday when she was found to have a loaded handgun in her handbag.
Guns and knives are prohibited in the capitol and it is a misdemeanor to bring a weapon inside. However, Kern was not charged because there did not seem to be any "malicious intent' behind her actions according to Chris West, a patrol spokeswoman. Kern said she forgot to take the .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun out of her purse after she stopped to talk to a colleague.
West also confirmed that there had been a second incident when Kern made it into the building with a gun in June. The first time, the weapon got through the security checkpoint, she said. ''I got all the way up to my office before I realized I had it, so I reported it,'' Kern said.
Kern complained earlier this year of receiving death threats after an audio clip was posted on YouTube in which she calls homosexuality a bigger threat to the U.S. than terrorism.
Sally Kern, the Oklahoma lawmaker who gained national notoriety with an antigay rant was stopped from entering the state capitol on We... more -
Man fined for smoking in his own van
Gordon Williams. 58. was fined £30 for smoking in his own van because it was considered to be a workplace.
Williams, a painter and decorator from west Wales, was on the way to buy tea bags when he incurred the on-the-spot fine.
According to him, his van is insured as a private vehicle and he only uses it to travel between jobs. He has lodged an appeal with the county council.
"Of course there are tools and things in the van, but a barrister would carry about documents in a briefcase in his own car. This is no different to my mind," he said.
Gordon Williams. 58. was fined £30 for smoking in his own van because it was considered to be a workplace. ... more -
Arrest made in Phoenix community college shooting
A man shot three people Thursday in a computer room at a Phoenix community college, injuring two of them critically, authorities said. The gunman fled but a suspect was arrested nearby. The shooting at South Mountain Community College was part of a running dispute between the suspect and one of the victims.
A 25-year-old man and a 22-year-old woman were in critical condition, and a 17-year-old boy was in stable condition, said Mark Faulkner, a division chief for the Phoenix Fire Department. No other information on their injuries was available.
About 20 to 30 people were in the computer lab during the shooting and as many as 300 people were on campus. Pryce couldn't say whether the suspect was a student. The computer lab is open to the public.
A man shot three people Thursday in a computer room at a Phoenix community college, injuring two of them critically, authorities said.... more -
Political Crimes In A Venn Diagram
Ever wonder which members of the Bush administration could be spending time in the slammer? This nifty chart clears up your questions.
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Suicide blast kills 8 U.S.-allied forces
BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber killed at least eight people Thursday night at a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied Sunni guards northeast of Baghdad, Iraqi police said.
The woman blew herself up near a checkpoint in central Baqouba, a police officer said.
At least eight guards were killed and 24 other people were wounded, according to the officer. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information
BAGHDAD - A female suicide bomber killed at least eight people Thursday night at a checkpoint manned by U.S.-allied Sunni guards north... more -
Conyers plans Bush impeachment substitute
Rebuffing Dennis Kucinich’s calls for impeachment hearings on George W. Bush, the House Judiciary Committee instead will hear testimony about Bush’s “imperial presidency” and several of his administration’s scandals.
In a press release issued Thursday, Rep. John Conyers, House Judiciary Committee chairman, said his panel will explore a variety of Bush controversies, including manipulation of prewar Iraq intelligence, politicization of the Justice Department, and refusal to cooperate with congressional investigations.
But the Michigan Democrat also left little doubt that the committee’s review was meant to fend off demands from Rep. Kucinich that Conyers initiate impeachment proceedings against Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
With impeachment ruled out, it’s unclear how much the Judiciary Committee’s inquiry can accomplish, given Bush’s broad assertion of executive privilege when his subordinates are faced with congressional questions about criminal and other wrongdoing.
Conyers’s committee faced just that dilemma earlier Thursday when former Attorney General John Ashcroft refused to answer an array of questions about his role in decisions regarding warrantless wiretaps and harsh interrogations of detainees in the “war on terror.”
In effect, President Bush keeps broadening his claims of executive privilege - even citing it Wednesday to cover testimony that Cheney gave in 2004 to a federal prosecutor about his role in exposing a covert CIA officer.
Bush knows that Democratic leaders, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Judiciary Committee Chairman Conyers, have long ago rejected impeachment proceedings, the one instrument included in the Constitution for Congress to wield against a President who has abused his powers.
With only six months left in his term, Bush can easily wait out any court challenges to his privilege claims, cases that might take years to litigate.
Nevertheless, in announcing the July 25 hearing, Conyers said his committee would address “possible legal responses” to Bush’s “imperial presidency.”
“As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I believe it is imperative that we pursue a comprehensive review commensurate to this constitutionally dangerous combination of circumstances. Next Friday’s hearings will be an important part of that ongoing effort,” Conyers said.
Abuses on display
Among the topics cited by Conyers for the hearing are:
* The forced resignation of nine U.S. attorneys allegedly because some balked at politically motivated prosecutions.
* The misuse of the “unitary executive” theory, which involved Bush’s presidential signing statements to negate laws passed by Congress.
* The abuse of the government’s powers to investigate and detain U.S. citizens and to harm administration critics, including disclosing the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame after her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, challenged Bush’s use of bogus intelligence to justify invading Iraq.
* The assertion of executive privilege to prevent Congress and the public from overseeing the administration’s actions and decisions.
Kucinich, D-Ohio, cited those issues and others, such as sanctioning torture and invading Iraq under false pretenses, as part of his 35 articles of impeachment, which were introduced in June.
The House sidetracked Kucinich’s resolution by voting - 251-166 - to send it to the House Judiciary Committee. At the time, Kucinich said he expected Conyers to hold hearings within a 30-day deadline Kucinich had imposed, but Conyers chose not to act.
Kucinich rankled Democratic leaders last week when he stated that he would reintroduce impeachment articles if Conyers and other top Democrats tried to derail his efforts.
Last week, Conyers told Congressional Quarterly that his committee’s actions will be limited to a public hearing.
“We’re not doing impeachment, but [Kucinich] can talk about it,” Conyers told CQ.
Rebuffing Dennis Kucinich’s calls for impeachment hearings on George W. Bush, the House Judiciary Committee instead will hear testimon... more -
Polygamous sects are 'form of organized crime'
Polygamous sects that have spread throughout the United States and beyond are "a form of organized crime," largely unchecked by law enforcement, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Thursday.
He is proposing a federal-state partnership aimed at policing such communities.
"The lawless conduct of polygamous communities in the United States deserves national attention and federal action," Reid said before the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Sects such as the Fundamental Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have "wrongfully cloaked themselves in the trappings of religion" to conceal crimes such as bigamy, child abuse and statutory rape, the Nevada Democrat said. In such communities, teenage or preteen girls are forced to marry older men and bear their children, he said.
While those offenses are the most obvious, Reid said, other criminal conduct occurs -- "welfare fraud, tax evasion, massive corruption and strong-arm tactics to maintain what they think is the status quo." Polygamous sects that have spread throughout the United States and beyond are "a form of organized crime," largely unchecked by law en... more -
Patient care to end over insurance impasse
You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford....
This is a case where the hospital and the insurance company were unable to reach a payment agreement. The hospital and insurance companies have mutually agreed not to do business with each other.
The patients in the hospital who are receiving treatment will have to leave before the deadline set in the agreement, although a clause has been left saying that those with the insurance can still receive emergency room services such as trauma or child birth. I think it's outrageous that you could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford. This makes room for patient discrimination. Here's the article:
Temple University Health System's doctors are notifying patients that they've reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Keystone Mercy Health Plan.
The contract expires Aug. 31. "Based on the expiration of these contracts, [Temple University Physicians] can no longer provide primary care, specialty care or hospital outpatient testing at Temple University Health System facilities for patients covered by Keystone Mercy," the university said in a written release this week.
Keystone Mercy is a Medicaid-managed care plan operated by Mercy Health System and Keystone First, a subsidiary of Independence Blue Cross.
Keystone Mercy subscribers will still be able to receive emergency care and treatment for ongoing health conditions, such as pregnancy or chronic illness.
The contract dispute involves about 350 physicians and the health plan. The contract expired on Dec. 31, 2007 and it has been extended four times.
Temple estimates that nearly 12,000 patients are affected by the contract problems. It says the doctors receive $8 million a year from Keystone Mercy - $12 million less than it costs to provide care to the company's subscribers.
The health system itself has extended its contract with Keystone Mercy until Nov. 30, according to Rick Buck, a Keystone spokesman.
"It is Keystone Mercy's intention to maintain its business relationship with Temple University Physicians and Temple University Health System," Buck said.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Let others know and join the conversation by commenting below. You could be denied medical service at the facility of your choice based on the insurance plan your family can afford.... ... more -
Child Molestor Walking Around Free After Conviction
According to a recent article on CNN.com, a man molested one of his students for over 2 years. He was tried in court and found guilty on 13 counts. But, he is still free. The man is currently trying to appeal the ruling and was allowed to be released on bond while the process goes through the court system. This is a rare situation according to the court system.
Okay, so I said what the article was about. Now its time to stand on my giant f***ing soap box . . .
If anyone in the South Florida area is not concerned by this story then they really need to look at their life. A man is currently roaming around the streets near children, schools, and local malls who is a convicted sex offender and is suppose to serve 43 years in prison. Does this not concern the people of Florida? We as a society need to apply pressure to our judical system to have tighter laws against sex offenders and child molesters. The system needs to take into the context that this man is not a drug user who is hurting himself . . . he is a man who is physically and mentally traumatizing little children. The children in these incidents end up losing their innocence and ability to become close to another human being for the rest of their lives. These child molestors need to be tried in the same manner as a murderer. They are evil people who prey on the weak and do not deserve the right to be tried even as an adult b/c they are not acting like adults. They are acting like molestors, which is a whole different kind of human. They should be tried on the fact that they are sick human beings who need to be weeded out from the poplulation. Maximum sentences need to be given and parole should never be an option. These men will never stop thinking about their next victim and should be punished forever b/c their victims are punished forever.
Wheeeew, That felt good to say. Thank you for listening According to a recent article on CNN.com, a man molested one of his students for over 2 years. He was tried in court and found guilty... more -
Pete Doherty Pleads Guilty
Babyshambles' shambling star Pete Doherty has pleaded guilty to smashing a photographer's camera when she tried to take pictures of him and his then-girlfriend last year. The star originally failed to turn up to an earlier hearing, but since his guilty plea is paying £918.27 to the reporter in compensation, as well as £100 in legal costs.
Just over £1,000? That's nothing to him right..? Babyshambles' shambling star Pete Doherty has pleaded guilty to smashing a photographer's camera when she tried to take pictures of hi... more -
A University in New Zealand offers a $5000 reward to arrest Condeleeza Rice
If there are any bounty hunters out there, Auckland Unversity Student Union is offering a $5000 reward to anyone who can make a successful citizens arrest of Condeleeza Rice when she visits Auckland this weekend.
Do you think you're up to it?
If there are any bounty hunters out there, Auckland Unversity Student Union is offering a $5000 reward to anyone who can make a succes... more -
Tory councillor charged with having gay sex in a public toilet
A Conservative councillor in Harrow has appeared in court charged with engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory.
Robert Benson did not enter a plea at Harrow Magistrates' Court last week. He has been suspended from the party but remains a councillor. Council leader David Ashton told the Harrow Observer:
"Firstly, this is a matter for the courts. Secondly, as Conservative group leader, I have suspended Councillor Benson from the group.
"If somebody is charged with a criminal offence, they are suspended as part of our standard procedure."
Mr Benson, 41, is accused of giving oral sex to another man in a public toilet in south Harrow on June 25th. He was arrested and bailed until July 8th, when he was charged. A 56-year-old from Essex man was issued with a caution. Mr Benson's case will be heard on 30th July at Wimbledon Magistrates Court.
Oops! Methinks the Tories doth protest about homosexuality too much...? http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2003/jun/09/immigrat...
A Conservative councillor in Harrow has appeared in court charged with engaging in sexual activity in a public lavatory. ... more -
DNA proof that adopted Guatemalan baby was stolen
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mother, officials say.
Ana Escobar reported her daughter Esther Sulamita stolen last year and during her search saw the baby with a US woman who was adopting her.
The baby had a false birth certificate but DNA tests proved the parentage and Esther is now back with Ms Escobar.
Baby thefts have long been suspected and Guatemala froze adoptions in May.
Guatemala is second only to China as the source of babies adopted by US parents and the adoption process is worth tens of millions of dollars a year.
Last year, more than 4,700 Guatemalan children were adopted by Americans.
Dozens of Guatemalan mothers have reported stolen babies.
Ana Escobar said armed men had locked her in a storage closet at the family's shoe shop north of Guatemala City and abducted six-month-old Esther in March last year.
Ms Escobar searched hospitals and orphanages and while at the National Adoption Council's offices in May saw a toddler she was convinced was Esther.
Jaime Tecu, director of a team of experts reviewing all pending Guatemalan adoptions, said: "She was so sure that the child was hers that we agreed to search the house where the baby was kept."
Ms Escobar told Associated Press news agency on Wednesday: "I can't explain how excited and happy I am. It's a miracle."
Mr Tecu said: "This is the first time that we've been able to show, with irrefutable evidence, that a stolen child was put up for adoption."
He said officials would investigate the lawyers who handled the adoption, the doctor who signed earlier, falsified DNA tests and anyone else associated with the process.
"This was run by a mafia, and we are going after them," he said.
In May the authorities suspended the adoption of some 2,300 children by foreigners and are reviewing each case to check if the babies were genuinely being offered for adoption by their birth mothers.
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Is this shocking evidence that some people will do anything for a baby, or anything for money? Will all of Guatemala's adopted babies now have to be tested to see if they were stolen instead of legally given up for adoption? If you were a child who had been stolen from your birth parents but had grown up in a new family what would you do?
DNA tests in Guatemala have proven for the first time that a child put up for adoption through the state system was stolen from her mo... more -
Brad Pitt threatens legal action over family photos
Lawyers for Brad Pitt threatened legal action against anyone publishing recent photographs taken by paparazzi of the actor and his family at their French estate.
Pictures of the Pitt-Jolie family in France were snapped using a powerful telephoto lens and sold to an anonymous buyer. According to Pitt's lawyer, Yael Holtkamp, the taking of the photos was a "malicious violation" of the actor's privacy rights under both French and California law. Several celebrity Web sites that had links to the pictures had removed them by late on Thursday.
Pitt and Jolie have reportedly sold pictures of their newborn twins to a U.S. publication for $11 million. The money is intended to go to charity. Lawyers for Brad Pitt threatened legal action against anyone publishing recent photographs taken by paparazzi of the actor and his fam... more -
'Olympic Security English': What lousy luck...
The Public Security Bureau in China has distributed a pamphlet to all security forces working during the upcoming Olympic games detailing key words and phrases, and likely dialogue scenarios, a policeman might encounter with English-speaking tourists...
Example exchanges include:
Police: Do you have your ticket for the boxing match?
Foreigner: No. I thought I could buy it when I got to the Gymnasium.
Police: Since you have neither passport nor other identification, you'll have to come along with us to the police station.
Foreigner: What lousy luck!
Have the interpreters been reading too much P.G. Wodehouse again? The Public Security Bureau in China has distributed a pamphlet to all security forces working during the upcoming Olympic games detail... more -
Stylist found guilty of stealing 1,000 hair straighteners
Mark McMorrine, 37, was found guilty of stealing almost 1,000 pairs of hair straighteners from an award-winning Edinburgh salon. Apparently, he sold the stolen goods on the internet, making a profit of £62,000 in total.
He was found guilty of theft and fraud and remains on bail until he is sentenced next month after further reports.
Charlie Miller, 63, the salon owner, said: "I'm glad it's all over, for everyone's sake, and happy that justice has been done."
Mark McMorrine, 37, was found guilty of stealing almost 1,000 pairs of hair straighteners from an award-winning Edinburgh salon. Appa... more -
£17,000 damages for victim of fake Facebook profile
A business man won £17,000 in damages against a former schoolfriend who apparently put a fake profile of him on Facebook.
The profile falsely suggested Matthew Firsht was interested in same-sex relationships and was signed up with groups included Gay Jews in London. The profiles were on the site for 16 days until Firsht's brother spotted them and they were taken down by Facebook.
The judge awarded Firsht £15,000 for libel and £2,000 for breach of privacy. A business man won £17,000 in damages against a former schoolfriend who apparently put a fake profile of him on Facebook. ... more -
Man dies after cop hits him with Taser 9 times
A police officer shocked a handcuffed man nine times with a Taser after arresting him on a cocaine charge, CNN reports.
Baron 'Scooter' Pikes, 21, was Tasered nine times by a police officer in January in Winnfield, Louisiana.
He stopped twitching after seven, according to a coroner's report. Soon afterward, he was dead.
Now the officer, since fired, could end up facing criminal charges in Pikes' death after medical examiners ruled it a homicide.
"It's taken several months for this case to even be properly addressed, so one has to wonder, why did it take so long?" said Carol Powell Lexing, a lawyer for the Pikes family. "Obviously, a wrongful death occurred."
Nugent's lawyer, Phillip Terrell, said his client followed proper procedure to subdue a man who outweighed him by 100 pounds. But Williams said Pikes was already handcuffed and on the ground when first hit with the Taser, after the 247-pound suspect was slow to follow police orders to get up.
Winnfield, a sleepy lumber town about 100 miles southeast of Shreveport, Louisiana, is best known as the birthplace of legendary Louisiana governors Huey and Earl Long. It's also about 45 miles northwest of Jena, Louisiana, where a racially charged assault case sparked a September 2007 demonstration by an estimated 15,000 people.
One of the teenage defendants in that case, Mychal Bell, is Pikes' first cousin -- and his lawyer was Powell Lexing.
Nugent is white; Pikes was black. His death led to demonstrations that drew several dozen people in Winnfield, where the population of about 15,000 is roughly half African-American.
"The family wants justice," Lexing said. "This is just another example of why it's very important to stay vigilant with these types of cases, on the injustice that's been perpetrated on the disadvantaged."
But Winnfield police Lt. Chuck Curry said race "isn't an issue at all" in the matter.
"This has come down to a police officer that was trying to apprehend a suspect that they had warrants for," he said. "He done what he thought he was trained to do to bring that subject into custody. At some point, something happened with his body that caused him to go into cardiac arrest or whatever."
Does it seem feasible that race could have been an issue in this case? Are particular groups of people, like those in disadvantaged communities, extra-vulnerable to misuse of weapons like Tasers by police? And knowing that they can kill, and that police officers aren't always using them correctly, should Tasers be outlawed? Just how much power should an armed officer have over a non-armed suspect?
A police officer shocked a handcuffed man nine times with a Taser after arresting him on a cocaine charge, CNN reports. ... more -
Child molester hasn't served single day of 43-year prison term
For nearly two years, a South Florida middle school art teacher forced a boy to have sex in a classroom supply closet. But Aaron Mohanlal, here in his sex offender registration photo, was allowed to stay out of prison on bond.
Sometimes, 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 his 13-year-old victim 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.
"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.
The judge 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.
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.
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."
"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. "I don't see what would stop him from doing this to other kids."
"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."
Should judges be able to make decisions like this, that affect a crime victim, their family and a community as a whole, without having to justify them? Should loopholes like this that allow convicted criminals to avoid jail if their cases are likely to be appealed even exist? Do you trust that GPS tagging systems do what they're supposed to?
For nearly two years, a South Florida middle school art teacher forced a boy to have sex in a classroom supply closet. But Aaron Mohan... more
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