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Child bride gets divorced after rape, beatings
Nujood Ali is 10 years old, but she already has been married and divorced. It was an arranged marriage in which she said a husband three times her age routinely beat and raped her.
"When I got married, I was afraid. I didn't want to leave home. I wanted to stay with my brothers and sisters and my mom and dad," she said, speaking to CNN with the permission of her parents.
"I didn't want to sleep with him, but he forced me to. He hit me, insulted me."
As she plays marbles with her brothers and sister, Nujood is a portrait of innocence, with a shy smile and a playful nature.
But what happened evokes anger and shame. Asked if what she went through was torture, she nods quietly.
Nujood's parents married her off in February to a man in his 30s whom she describes as old and ugly.
Her parents said they thought they were putting her in the care of her husband's family, but Nujood said he would often beat her into submission.
Nujood then turned to her family for mercy.
"When I heard, my heart burned for her; he wasn't supposed to sleep with her," said Nujood's mother, who asked not to be identified.
But, initially, she also told her daughter she could not help her -- that she belonged to her husband now.
Nujood's father, Ali Mohammed Ahdal, said he is angry about what happened to his daughter. "He was a criminal, a criminal. He did hateful things to her," he said. "He didn't keep his promise to me that he wouldn't go near her until she was 20."
When contacted by CNN, the girl's former husband declined to comment.
Nujood's parents, like so many others in Yemen, struck a social bargain when they decided to have their daughter wed. More than half of all Yemeni girls are married off before the age of 18, according to Oxfam International, a nonprofit group that fights global poverty and injustice. Nujood Ali is 10 years old, but she already has been married and divorced. It was an arranged marriage in which she said a husband thr... more -
Court bans death for child rape
The US Supreme Court has struck down a law that would have allowed the execution of someone convicted of raping a child.
The court said the Louisiana law would have violated the US constitution's ban on "cruel and unusual punishment".
"The death penalty is not a proportional punishment for the rape of a child," wrote Justice Anthony Kennedy in his majority opinion.
The justices voted 5-4 in favour of striking down the law.
The ruling means that a Louisiana man convicted of raping his stepdaughter in 1998 will not now face the death penalty.
'National consensus'
The US Supreme Court struck down a law allowing the death penalty in cases of adult rape in 1977, but five states still allowed execution when a child rape had been committed.
Citing the 45 states who had imposed bans on execution for child rape, Justice Kennedy wrote in his opinion that "there is a national consensus against capital punishment for the crime of child rape".
Writing on behalf of the minority of justices who opposed the decision, Justice Samuel Alito said: "The harm that is caused to the victims and to society at large by the worst child rapists is grave.
"It is the judgment of the Louisiana lawmakers and those in an increasing number of other states that these harms justify the death penalty." The US Supreme Court has struck down a law that would have allowed the execution of someone convicted of raping a child. ... more -
Katrina Bowden - Wikipedia
"30 Rock" returning for third season this Fall.
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Katrina Bowden - IMDB
"30 Rock" returning for third season this Fall.
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Pirate Bay Investigation Cop Hired By Warner Bros
A police officer, previously involved in the investigation of the Swedish file sharing site has been given a job with Warner Bros.
The hiring occurred several months after the initial inverstigation closed, BUT the same police officer is still scheduled to appear as a witness in the case.
Basically, from what I can gather, this could represent one huge conflict of interests and an attempt to pervert the course of justice. Heavy stuff. A police officer, previously involved in the investigation of the Swedish file sharing site has been given a job with Warner Bros. ... more -
Press Gazette - Photographers lobby parliament over police curbs
Freedom to take photos; you might think we already have it - but it appears that many over zealous security (wo)men are getting heavy with people who want to document public spaces.
They aren't allowed to; but who's going to set them straight...? let's face it - most security / police are buff and particularly unthinking (sorry if yr the exception).
Well - "Labour MP Austin Mitchell is planning to take a delegation of photographers to the Home Office to protest about the growing number of cases in which police officers and others try to stop professional and amateur photographers taking pictures in public places."
click the link for more...
particularly relevant to this pod by klengle and neerajvk, which highlights the issue - http://current.com/items/88887930_what_s_wrong_with_thi... Freedom to take photos; you might think we already have it - but it appears that many over zealous security (wo)men are getting heavy ... more -
Man gets life for Lottery Ticket Scam
A Chinese lottery ticket seller has been jailed for life for fraud for taking advantage of a system flaw to cash 28 million yuan ($3.76 million) in tickets illegally, state media said Tuesday.
Zhao Liqun discovered the flaw in the Welfare Lottery "3D" system in 2005 that let a person buy tickets with the right numbers within five minutes of their being announced, sources at the Intermediate People's Court in Anshan, northeastern Heilongjiang province, said.
Zhao, 36, who ran three lottery stalls in Anshan, "bought" the announced numbers many times over. A Chinese lottery ticket seller has been jailed for life for fraud for taking advantage of a system flaw to cash 28 million yuan ($3.7... more -
Man arrested after reporting pot theft
A man was arrested for drug possession after telling authorities that two masked gunmen had stolen 150 pounds of marijuana from his home.
Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies arrived at the home near Penitas in South Texas to find the door kicked in and nearly 15 pounds of pot lying on the floor, Sheriff Lupe Trevino said. A man was arrested for drug possession after telling authorities that two masked gunmen had stolen 150 pounds of marijuana from his ho... more -
Ten stupidest laws ever written
.. would you agree?
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Loverboys
An investigation into the growing rate of prostitution amongst 'ordinary' Dutch teenagers...
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SVU actor in hot water of the Child Porn kind
IMDB him, he was in MASH, Corvette Summer (with Mark Hamill fresh off of Star Wars) and then took a 25 year break from acting.
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Fred Thompson leaves the air....
I think the real news here is Sam Waterston is taking over for Fred in the DA chair....
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