Friday, November 30, 2007

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: DNA Confirms Match


Two weeks after twenty-year-old Robert Sawyers submitted DNA samples to the Galveston County Sheriff's Department and the FBI the results are finally in. It's now official, Baby Grace, the little unidentified girl whose body, encased in a plastic tote, was found by a fisherman October 29th on Galveston Bay, is Riley Sawyers.

Riley's mother, Kimberly Trenor, and her step-father, Royce Zeigler, sit in the Galveston County Jail, both charged with evidence tampering and injury to a child.

With Baby Grace’s identity confirmed, District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk will consider upgrading the charges filed against the girl’s mother and stepfather, Tuttoilmondo said.

Trenor and Zeigler were charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence on Nov. 24. They’re being held on bonds of $350,000 each. [1]

Kimberly Trenor gave a statement to the authorities on the 23rd. Robert Sawyers, Riley's father had submitted his DNA a week earlier. Kimberly had to of known that the authorities were very close to establishing that "Baby Grace" was in fact, Kimberly's 2 1/2 year old daughter. That once the DNA results came in Kimberly's little world would come crumbling down.

In her statement to the Galveston authorities Kimberly admitted that she and Royce had beaten Riley to death on 24th of July. They had bought a plastic storage container at Walmart that evening and put Riley's body into it then placed the storage container in the shed in the backyard.

As of yet no mention of the date Kimberly and Royce drove to the Galveston Causeway, 75 miles southeast of Spring and left Riley in her little plastic coffin.

The Galveston authorities and FBI are to be commended for their tireless efforts in working to identify Baby Grace and to find to persons responsible for her death.

It was revealed yesterday that Kimberly is pregnant, that she and Royce have begun to point fingers at one another in who was the one responsible for Riley's death.

The mystery of who Baby Grace is was finally solved by DNA. The mystery of why Kimberly and Royce decided to beat little Riley to death will take longer to unravel.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sawyers family.

By LBG

Source - [1]Galveston County Daily News
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Megan Meiers' Legacy: Cyberbully Laws To Be Enacted


Thirteen-year-old Megan Meier's suicide was tragic but Megan's legacy may help to save others from the new scourge of cyberbullying.[1]
St. Louis is poised to join the growing list of cities in the region to make Internet bullying a crime.

The city’s Board of Aldermen has on its agenda this morning a proposed ordinance “prohibiting any person from harassment by means of the Internet or other electronic communications.”

The legislation is an apparent response to the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, who hung herself last year after receiving cruel messages on the Internet.
When Megan's story hit the papers and internet the reaction was one of outrage and sorrow. Outrage over the revelation that Megan was tortured by a form of "cyber-bullying". Sorrow that a young girl chose to end her life.

There are different forms of cyberbullying.

Email

Cyber-bullies can and do use e-mail to send harassing and threatening messages to the targets of their hatred and loathing. Those who are bullied often ask themselves "What have I done to deserve this?" and the usual answer is that they have not done anything to deserve such awful messages.

It is often possible to trace which e-mail account the message was sent from, however, it is almost impossible to prove who actually used this e-mail account to send the offending messages. Messages sent from accounts with local/regional Internet Service Providers (ISPs) can be more easily traced and acted upon than messages sent from large Web-based e-mail accounts such as Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail etc. [2]
Instant Messaging
Cyberbullies can and do use IM to send harassing and threatening messages to the targets of their hatred and loathing. IM has become a very large part of the social lives of our young people. The relationships they form with others in school and in other facets of their lives are extended and maintained through IM-ing. The conversations and conflicts that arise online often give rise to behaviours that are acted out in person during school or at the local shopping mall. [2]
Chat Rooms
The "bash board" is the nickname for an online bulletin board, or virtual chat room, where teenagers can go to anonymously and write anything they want, true or false, creating or adding mean-spirited postings for the world to see.

People are not always who they appear to be or who they say they are in chat rooms. Chat rooms can be places where some strangers may try to "befriend" others, especially young people. They may attempt to lure them into meeting in person. Young people should NEVER arrange to meet someone in person whom they have been in contact with online.

Young kids shouldn't be in chat room unless a trusted and responsible parent or guardian is sitting with them at the computer. Older kids should be only in moderated chat rooms and even moderated chat rooms can lead to compromising, embarrassing and harassing situations. Kids shouldn't exchange e-mail with someone from a chat room or arrange to meet someone from a chat room without a parent or guardian present. [2]
Text Messaging
Short for Short Message Service Similar to paging, SMS is a service for sending short text messages to mobile phones. (Webopedia: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/S/SMS.html ).

SMS: The Short Message Service (SMS) is the ability to send and receive text messages to and from mobile telephones. The text can comprise of words or numbers or an alphanumeric combination. SMS was created when it was incorporated into the Global System for Mobiles (GSM) digital mobile phone standard. A single short message can be up to 160 characters of text in length using default GSM alphabet coding, and 70 characters when UCS2 international character coding is used.

EMS: -Enhanced Messaging Service (text messaging with more bells and whistles)

MMS -Multimedia Messaging Service, (MMS) is the ability to send messages comprising a combination of text, sounds, images and video to MMS capable handsets.

PDAs: PDAs stand for Personal Digital Assistants. You might recognize these better if we used names like Palm Pilot, RIM Blackberry, Handspring Visor / Treo, Sony Clie, iPaq, Pocket PC etc. Most of these are not only personal information organizers, they can now connect to the Internet, receive and send e-mail and browse the World Wide Web. [2]
Web Sites
Cyberbullies can create Web sites that mock, torment and harass others. If these are published on a local/regional Internet Service Provider (ISP), you should copy and print out these Web sites and then contact the ISP. Give them a chance to respond and address the situtation. For most responsible IPSs in Canada, this is likely a violation of the Terms of Use or Acceptable Use Policies (AUP). Better ISPs will post a copy of their AUP in an easily accessible place as well as appropriate contact information where you can report any such abusive situations with an e-mail account such as abuse@isp.ca (example).[2]
Megan's hometown just recently passed an anti-cyber-bullying law:
Since the circumstances surrounding her death became public earlier this month, officials in both Dardenne Prairie and Florissant have approved laws against Net harassment.

The Meiers have accused neighbor Lori Drew, her 13-year-old daughter and Drew's employee, Ashley Grills, 18, of creating a fictitious MySpace.com profile to send messages to Megan. [1]
Bullying has always existed. The internet has made it easier for someone to harass others online by the ability to post anonymously. Offline the "bully" might be too afraid to act for fear of being caught or engage in a face to face confrontation. So in essence the anonymity of the internet offers the coward an avenue that wasn't available in the past.

These new laws give the victim of a cyberbully the avenue to press charges. Before Megan this avenue wasn't available. The victim was left to deal with the cyber-bully on their own. Cyber-bullies operated without fear of prosecution. Those days seem to be coming to end as hopefully more communities enact cyber harassment laws.

Megan's death was tragic but the instantaneous outrage over Megan's story was the catalyst needed to enact cyberbullying laws. Megan's legacy may save others from the vicious type of harassment Megan suffered. For this we owe Megan our thanks.

By LBG
Source - 1 - MySpace Cruel Prank Leads To Teen’s Suicide
Source - 2 - Cyberbullying.org
Image [Sangrea.net]


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Condom Creations Raise AIDS Awareness



CSU's Cherokee Park Ballroom filled with laughter as visitors attempted to demonstrate their ability to use condoms at the table in the back on Nov. 29.

If you give out free condoms they will come...



Artwork made out of condoms was impossible to miss on the way to the bananas and wooden phallus awaiting safe sex demonstrations.
Carrie Reilly and Laura KinCannon spent four hours creating a dress made out of condom packets. "The Stoplight" earned the pair first place in the clothing competition at the Condom Concoction Competition.

"We just did this for fun," said Reilly, who modeled the outfit, complete with condom earrings and condoms worn over her pigtails.

Lynn Kalert, a member of the committee for the Condom Concoction Competition and an employee of Hartshorn Health Service, said that the event was thought up by CSU students to raise awareness of the AIDS/HIV pandemic. Premium Condoms donated the colored condoms used in the artwork.



An Eiffel Tower made of condoms and a picnic basket featuring "condom-ments" like relish and mustard also won awards.


A good cause so no condomnation here!

By LBG

Source - Rocky Mountain Post
Image [unaids.org]
Image [Rocky Mountain Post]
Image [Rocky Mountain Post]


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American Daredevil





by RidesAPaleHorse

[graphics: top-RAPH]



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Once Again



Michael Ramirez at IBD

China: CyberWars On The Electronic Horizon





Jordan Robertson of the Associated Press wrote a great piece on future cyberwars and present modern day attacks:
SAN FRANCISCO — The Chinese government today disputed a report labeling it the world's most aggressive offender in probing for holes in other nations' Internet security and encouraging a looming global cyber showdown.

The report, issued today by Santa Clara-based security software vendor McAfee Inc., said government-affiliated hackers in China are at the forefront of a brewing "cyber Cold War" still in its infancy. [1]
Cyber Wars are predicted to happen in the future. This report is chilling, the cyberworld is under attack now.
Based on McAfee research and input from security experts with NATO, the FBI and other intelligence outfits, the report said hackers in China are believed responsible for four out of five major cyber attacks on government targets in 2007.

The biggest intrusions appear to have targeted a Pentagon computer network and government agencies in Germany, India, Australia and New Zealand. [1]
Attacks on critical national infrastructure rose in 2007. These included "financial markets, utilities and air traffic control machinery, and the attacks were believed to have been launched by governments or government-allied groups."

Governments and infrastructure are not the only targets.
The McAfee report also detailed the growing threat to Web surfers from increasingly sophisticated techniques to steal personal information online and install malicious code on victims' computers to herd them into networks of compromised machines that pump out spam or fire off attacks.[1]
It was revealed that the September 9 strike by Israel on a "nuclear" site in Syria was the first major use of a "electronic" warfare strike.
Elements of the attack included some brute-force jamming, which is still an important element of attacking air defenses, U.S. analysts say. Also, Syrian air defenses are still centralized and dependent on dedicated HF and VHF communications, which made them vulnerable. The analysts don’t believe any part of Syria’s electrical grid was shut down. They do contend that network penetration involved both remote air-to-ground electronic attack and penetration through computer-to-computer links.

“There also were some higher-level, nontactical penetrations, either direct or as diversions and spoofs, of the Syrian command-and-control capability, done through network attack,” says an intelligence specialist.[2]

The Cold War is over, the Cyber Wars have just begun.


By LBG
Source - [1] Houston Chronicle
Source - 2 - The September 9th Attack On Syria
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Pravda: Women Only Smart and Nice Seven Days A Month


A new study from Pravda. Since this is one of the days that I'm smarter and nicer but becoming emotionally dreamy (according to this story) then I've decided to post it.

Women become smarter and nicer only for seven days of their monthly cycle

How can women be so different? A sweet and tender bunny can turn into a spiteful and irritable bitch without any apparent cause. Where is their common sense? What for are all these groundless suspicions and jealousy? These are typical questions men have been asking for ages. Even Nancy Meyers in her “What Women Want” did not give a clear explanation to this question. But now it is science that can answer. It turns out that sex hormones rule over women’s brain. The knowledge of biochemistry can easily predict women’s emotions.

The difference between male and female brains is not a secret to modern-day science: cerebral hemispheres function in different ways. Neurons - nerve cells in woman’s brain – are always active. These factors cause constant changes in perception and handling of information.

Scientists explained this fact through experimental results. They discovered that pregnant mice are much smarter than their non-pregnant companions. The animals become cleverer because their brain receives more estrogen, the female sex hormone.

“This hormone stimulates the growth of dendrites, neuron sprouts; and this, in its turn, improves cerebration,” Professor Craig H. Kinsley said.

The professor believed at first that the experiment held true only for animals. But his colleagues from York University of Toronto proved that estrogen positively influenced all mammalian female beings, especially human beings of female sex. The latter should not necessarily be pregnant to be wise: their quick-wittedness depends on the menstrual period.

The concentration of estrogen in female body grows in about ten days after the beginning of the menstrual period. As a result of this process women become smarter and nicer, but only for seven days. Men can quickly tell the difference between photographs of one and the same woman made in different monthly periods.

“On these days women are also prone to rivalry. Her senses including hearing, vision, smell, her skin sensitivity, logic and emotions can either worsen or intensify during menstruation,” Charles Crawford, a psychologist from Simon Fraser University says.

On the basis of these experiments scientists compiled a peculiar calendar, which men can use in their relations with the opposite sex. The only difficulty is that men should possess enough information about women whose behavior they want to predict.

From the first till the seventh day of the cycle:

Women experience slight problems with understanding other people and prefer to simply smile back. The ability to express thoughts weakens. Women become dreamy and emotional.

From the eighth to the fourteenth day:

Women grow wiser and prettier, but become emotionally unbalanced at the same time. They make scathing remarks about other women, but are favorably concerned with men.

From the fifteenth to the eighteenth day:

This is a period of extreme suspiciousness and jealousy. The organism demands more sex and scandals. Mental capacity decreases. Skin becomes more sensitive to caress.

From the nineteenth to the twenty-second day:

Mental capacity fades away. Problems with memory are possible. Women become extremely confiding. Their color sensing is quite OK: all presented bouquets of flowers would be appreciated.


Source - Pravda

By LBG
Image [beststuff.com]

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Dog the Bounty Hunter Petition to Arts and Entertainment Network OVER 400 Pages of Signatures So Far!



Bring back "Dog the Bounty Hunter" now!


NOTICE

Dog Fans, give yourselves a pat on the back. We've already collected over 400 pages worth of signatures and comments on the "BRING BACK DOG" petition. We're going to leave it up for a few more days; probably until Monday or Tuesday.

Over 400 pages! We had to start a new post because the comments section at HaloScan was overloaded and was giving some people trouble. This will be up for a few more days.

Keep up the good work! If you know anyone who hasn't signed yet, they still have 3 or 4 more days, so encourage them.

All the instructions are the same as before.


Sign the petition below and help us bring back the Dog.

Tired of reading about it, talking about and worrying about a Dog-less TV line-up?Now you can help get Dog out of the doghouse--now!

We are trying to collect 250,000 signatures to put "Dog the Bounty Hunter" back on the Art & Entertainment Network's fall line-up. The petition and electronic signatures will be sent to the AETV's corporate offices on November 26, 2007. AETV is the parent corporation of the A & E Network.

We will also send along all comments made by the readers--you--at the end of this story to AETV.

To help us help Dog, follow the instructions at the end of the petition wording.

That's 14 days to collect 250,000 signatures: that's only a little over 17,000 signatures a day--a small fraction of the show's audience.

Tell your friends and family and anyone else who might be interested in seeing "Dog the Bounty Hunter" possibly return to the airwaves. If A&E is unmoved, the outpouring of support might surely influence another rival network, such USA Network or Spike TV, to pick the show up.

The petition reads as follows:

--- PETITION To Bring "DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER" Back To A & E - --

Bring back "Dog the Bounty Hunter" to the Arts & Entertainment Network schedule.

The tapes released by the National Enquirer were of a private cell-phone conversation, made without Duane "Dog" Chapman's knowledge (most probably illegally) and sold for monetary gain.

The slur was not an expression of hate, but of ignorance.

Duane Chapman has on several occasions apologized on national TV broadcasts.

While not condoning the use of racial slurs, supporters urge the Arts & Entertainment Network to bring back the "Dog the Bounty Hunter" show.

The sooner, the better.


----------- Bring Back "DOG THE BOUNTY HUNTER" -----------

Only fourteen days.

Everybody better get busy.

[NOTE: We will update the totals from all our source petitions. We took the comments off to speed the page speed. Total for Dog the Bounty Hunter at 07:00 November 13, 2007: 1445]

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SIGNING THE PETITION:
1. Go to the "Comments" section at the end of this piece.
2. Fill in your real name and email address. Your email address will not be visible to others.
(Optional: You may add a comment. No profanity please. You are trying to impress A & E that you are a responsible viewer--valuable to their advertisers on "Dog the Bounty Hunter")
3. Push the [PUBLISH] button.

Tell your any Dog fan. Thank you.

by Mondoreb


MORE DOG NEWS:
Petition is at other locations: one other Bring Back Dog petition.
NEW! Fan Reactions
Two Fan Videos Here
NEW! Dog Trivia
NEW! Dog Still Loves the Son Who Sold Him Out:
Dog Still Loves His Son

Dog Petitions Spring Up All Over Internet
Latest Dog the Bounty Hunter News
DOG CENTRAL:


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DBKP Video Viewing Center #4Wild Card TV

WILD CARD TV


It might be GREAT!
It might be horrible.
Constantly changing crapshoot of Tubic Delight.

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FRENCH MAID TV


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Hillary for Dummies: 10 Hillary Clinton Quotes on the Issues




10 Hillary Clinton quotes on the issues to start your day.

Two weeks ago,the news was about Hillary Clinton's flip flops on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants. For or against? No one, including Clinton, seemed to know.

The focus has since turned on the experience Clinton brings to the table in her quest for the 2008 Presidency.

To answer both questions about her stand on the issues and her experience, DBKP presents this capsule view of the 2008 Clinton platform--in her own words. Carry it with you for quick reference.

Tax policy:
* "The tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're going to have to cut that short and not give that to you. We are going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."
--San Francisco fund-raiser for Sen. Barbara Boxer - 6/8/2004

Small Business Growth:
* "I can't worry about every under capitalized business"
--Testimony before congress on the effects of Nationalized Health Care.

The War on Terror:
* "It's been said, and I think it's accurate, that my husband was obsessed by terrorism in general and al-Qaida in particular."
--Dateline, NBC 4/16/2004

Executive Privilege:
* "I'm not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president."
--Commenting on release of subpoenaed documents in 2000.

Religious Issues
* "I have to confess that it's crossed my mind that you could not be a Republican and a Christian."
--Richmond Times-Dispatch, 1997
* "I have to admit that a good deal of what my husband and I have learned (about Islam) has come from our daughter."
--U.S. presidential reception - 2/20/1996

The U.S. Constitution
* "A right-wing network was after his (husband Bill Clinton) presidency...including perverting the Constitution."
--20/20, ABC 6/8/2003

Media Matters:
* "I mean, you've got a conservative and right-wing press presence with really nothing on the other end of the political spectrum."
--aired on C-Span, 1/19/1997

The Importance of The Historical Record:
* "Heavens, no! It could get subpoenaed. I can't write anything."
--Asked in 1996 interview if she as US First Lady was keeping a diary, hours before a jury in Little Rock, Arkansas, returned guilty verdicts against Clintons' business partners.

Challenges
* "The great story here for anybody willing to find it, write about it and explain it is this vast right-wing conspiracy that has been conspiring against my husband since the day he announced for president."
--NBC's Today show interview January 1998


Clear, concise, compact: the 2008 Hillary Clinton stand on the issues, in her own words.

Never again be confused.

ALSO:
Bill Clinton: 1992-2000, In His Own Words

by Mondoreb
[image: Cox & Forkum]


Top 10 Most Ridiculous Quotes by Hillary Clinton
The 10 Stupidest Things Hillary Clinton Has Ever Said
The 'Clinton Era' in Quotes
Hillary Clinton Quotes

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Y.A.A.F.M.: Muslims



An oldie-but-goodie about the Danish/Muslim Cartoon controversy.

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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Parent's Interview with Anderson Cooper





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Taser Parties: Shocking Success



Let's get this Taser Party started...

Tired of Tupperware and looking for something different? Haven't felt safe and you're looking for something in personal protection? Now address both concerns in one fell swoop: Throw a home Taser party!

TASER devices utilize compressed nitrogen to project two small probes up to various ranges of 15, 21, 25 or 35 feet only 15 foot cartridges are sold to citizens) at a speed of over 160 feet per second. These probes are connected to the TASER device by insulated wire. An electrical signal is transmitted through the wires to where the probes make contact with the body or clothing, resulting in an immediate loss of the person’s neuromuscular control and the ability to perform coordinated action for the duration of the impulse.[2]
Tupperware, Top Secret Lingerie, and now Tasers, home "parties" have evolved.





Dana Shafman, founder of Shieldher Inc., has recently started sponsoring Taser parties, giving women a chance to buy Tasers for $300, or $350 with a laser beam to help with aiming.


Shafman's parties allow women to get together to discuss concerns and learn about the Taser C2, the newest consumer Taser that is similar to the device police officers use. "I felt that we have Tupperware parties and candle parties to protect our food and house, so why not have a Taser party to learn how to protect our lives and bodies," Shafman said. [1]



The Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco and Firearms has stated that TASER ECDs are non-firearms in 1998 and in 1994. [2]
By invitation only, no booze, and no humans tasered, Shafman's the only Taser party coordinator in the country.
Conducted electrical weapons (CEWs) are used by law enforcement to subdue combative subjects. Occasionally, subjects will die after a CEW has been used on them. It is theorized that CEWs may contribute to these deaths by impairing respiration. [2]
Tupperware, lingerie, and now Tasers. One wonders what's next on the home party horizon?

By LBG
Source - 1 - The Arizona Republic
Source - 2 - NCBI
Image [michellemiller.blogs.com]
Image [l.b5z.net]
Image [taser.com]

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Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: 30 Memorable Quotes




30 quotes from the people involved in the Megan Meier MySpace Suicide story and the media.

Megan, the 13-year-old daughter of Ron and Tina Meier, was the victim of harassment by "Josh", a boy she'd met at popular social site, MySpace. Upset at his messages, she hung herself.

"Josh" was later found to be a hoax, the fictional creation of Curt and Lori Drew, neighbors who lived down the street from the Meier's. "Josh" was created to by Lori Drew and her employee to monitor what Megan might be saying about the Drew's daughter after the two girls had a fight.





"Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."
--bulletin posted at MySpace by "Josh"

"Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you."
--Josh's last message to Megan, according to Ron Meier's best recollection

"They are all being so mean to me."
--Megan Meier, to her mom, on the day of her death

"I grabbed her as she tried to go by," Ron says. "She told me that some kids were saying horrible stuff about her and she didn't understand why."
--Ron Meier right about what happened right before Megan took her life.

"She did sit here in my living room and confess everything to me. She told me that they had pulled an image of a boy off the Internet and that they had created an account using the name of Josh Evans, and she said she knew the last message that left her house that Monday when Megan attempted her life was that, 'The world would be a better place without you".
--an unnamed neighbor about how she learned Lori Drew was behind the hoax

"That is what makes it even more disgusting, that she knew the circumstances around our daughter and still played on it,"
--Ron Meier, Megan's father

“These people were supposed to be our friends.”
--Tina Meier, about their neighbors, the Drews

"Give it a rest. Give it a rest."
--Curt and Lori Drew, reportedly to the Meiers, when confronted by the Meier parents

"You cannot as an adult sit there and do that and hide behind a computer. It is a criminal act. We want to see her go to jail,"
---Tina Meier, Megan's mother, about Lori Drew

"It's time that we do something against this. On all levels, the state
and federal level,"
--Dardenne Prairie Mayor Pam Fogarty, on the need for stricter laws for Internet harassment

"Coincidentally, two months after Megan's suicide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported that antidepressants double the risk of suicidal behavior in young adults. (Psychiatrists have disputed the FDA report.)"
--Jeff , from a post at "Megan's Vigilantes"

"We were concerned about the daughter [of the Drews] and to what extent she was involved and dragged along with this."
--Dave Bundy, editorial director of Lee Enterprises, the newspaper group that includes several papers who broke the Megan Meier story; on why his papers decided not to name the Drews.

"She [Lori Drew] is not being accused in a court of law, she is not being sued and our take is that we don’t run suspects unless charges are filed."
--Steve Pokin, reporter who wrote the original Megan Meier story.

"I posted that — where Curt works. I'm not ashamed to admit that. Why? Because there's never been any sense of remorse or public apology from the Drews, no 'maybe we made a mistake.' "
--Trevor Buckles, 40, a neighbor whose two teenage boys grew up with
Meier.

"We're all in shock. If I have anything to say about it, we'll never have our hands tied legally like this again."
--Mayor Fogerty

"There are enough details for people to find out who it is on their own. They are free to do so. It was a judgment call. I think there were a lot of other issues at stake."
--Pokin, on his critics for his not revealing the Drew's name in his stories.

"We believe that all the publicity about this situation has led to an air of vigilantism. We're concerned people will take things into their own hands."
--Lt. Craig McGuire of the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department

“Give me a break; that’s nothing. But it’s the most we could do. People are saying to me, ‘Let’s go burn down their house.’”
--Mayor Pam Fogarty said of the penalties imposed by the town of Dardenne Prairie, MO on cyber harassment. It's now punishable by up to a $500 fine and 90 days in jail.

"Ms. Drew used the same same exact mode of operation as a child predator enacts in the seduction of a child. Drew posed as a member of the opposite sex and spent weeks and weeks luring this girl into a relationship. But yet it went further. The adult Drew formed a heated relationship with the 13 year old girl. She worked hard to gain the girl's confidence. She exploited the girl intimately by posing as a boyfriend. Do you really thing there was no intimate grooming going on?"
--online comment by DanCnKC

"Oh and I don't think Lori Drew is so evil as everyone says. Megan was a total bitch to everyone around her especially Laura so if I was her mom I would be mad at Megan too and I would check up on her to see what shit she was spreading about my daughter."
--"Kristen", author of "Megan Had it Coming" blog.

"Lori Drew is a psychopath. That part is clear. But more disturbing than that are the actions of authorities: If it had been an adult MALE that "carried on" in a sexually explicit way with a 13 year old girl, even if it WERE for the purposes of revenge for his teen daughter, he'd be locked up as a pedophile."
--online comment by Danny Vice

"Every story has two sides and if you don't think so - then I hope you are never tried and convicted in your own court."
--JennaD, from a comment posted on "Megan Had it Coming" blog

"All we feel is frustration, anger. For months, we've been asking ourselves, 'What mother in her right mind would do this? And why won't the cops do anything to punish them? We just want them gone."
--neighbor Kristie Kriss, of the Drews

"The woman emotionally raped this child. She took her supposed love and sexual stimulation and crushed the girl emotionally with them. This girl was mentally raped [by] a mother and her employee. This adult and her friends played this girl into an emotional high... and then pulled the plug when it would inflict the highest possible damage. It took 4 months of planning."
--online comment by DanCnKC

"So nobody in the news talks about what Megan the bitch was like so now you know. Oh and don't bother trying to figure out who I am. Unlike Megan, I DO have a boyfriend and he knows computers and he totally covered my tracks."
--"Kristen", author of "Megan Had it Coming" blog

"Lori Drew groomed her victim like many child predators do, enticing her with flirtation, mild sexual conversation and playing on Megan's weakness. Lori knew that Megan had a low self esteem and was treated for depression.

Outing Child Predators has been public policy in most states and is usually upheld under the premise that the public has a right to reasonably protect itself from criminal behavior where it exists. Families with children have a right to know when those who might prey upon their child, live nearby. Public policy dictates that if a child is exposed to potential harm from predatory activity, then parents should at least have the opportunity to be aware such harm may exist."
--online comment by Danny Vice

"It's not to say if only Megan (spoke out/did this/did that/reached out), it's to say there has to be more positive and supportive role models out there for our youth.
The parents can only do so much. My solution: it's time to stop the "code of silence." It's time to not be afraid to speak up when something is wrong."
--online comment by Jo

"Megan's story really won't matter; some writers will bend it to fit their preconceived point of view. It'll not be about Megan to them: it'll be about using her as a tool to advance their cause. Laws for regulating the Internet; for stricter controls on what can be said online; to raise money; that any negative reactions are 'vigilantism'; for more money for suicide prevention: take your pick.

They'll all invoke the name and story of Megan Meier. To most of those, she'll cease to be a 13-year-old schoolgirl: she'll be a slogan."
--RE Bierce, commenting the first week of the story on future likely reactions.

“There are no words to explain my rage.”
--Tina Meier

by Mondoreb

Sources:
Parents Want Jail Time for MySpace Hoax Mom - ABC News

New York Times - A Hoax Turned Fatal Draws Anger but No Charges

Missouri Weeklies That Broke 'MySpace Suicide ' Story Still Won't Name Alleged 'Cyberbully'
-Editor & Publisher

Megan's Vigilantes blog

Megan Had it Comingblog

"Frontier Justice in an online World?"- Seattle Times

"Megan Meier MySpace Suicide: Reactions to the Reactions" - Death by 1000 Papercuts blog

Weekly Vice blog

"MySpace Cruel Hoax Leads to Teen's Suicide" - Death by 1000 Papercutsblog


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Christmas: Wisconsin Atheists Claim Anything "X-Mas" Offensive



We Wish You An Offensive Christmas...

Yet another brouhaha has erupted over how the state of Wisconsin should celebrate "the holidays."

A public hearing was held Wednesday night on what to call the giant tree in the Capital building.

Rep. Marlin Schneider, (D), from Wisconsin Rapids, asked for support to name the tree, "Wisconsin State Christmas Tree." He stated the tree has been known as "Christmas tree" since 1916.

Annie Laurie Gaylor of the Freedom From Religion Foundation made her position quite clear stating that anything with a Christmas moniker would "offend" nonreligious people and amount to state sponsorship of Christianity.

And yet it just crossed our minds here at DBTP, since atheists do not celebrate Christmas then why do they insert themselves into matters concerning the celebration of Christmas?

Miss Gaylord Grinch continued: "The state of Wisconsin cannot have a Christmas anything."

One can imagine Ms. Gaylord stamping her foot.

What kind of grey monotone non-offensive affair would Ms. Gaylord and her cronies put together if we put them in charge of the holiday festivities?

Just how is the concept of Christmas "offensive?"



Christmas has evolved into not only the celebration of the birth of Christ but of rounds of office parties, putting up a live or fake tree, stringing tiny lights across the eaves, a day of getting together with friends and family.

Ms. Gaylord finds this concept, "offensive." To Ms. Gaylord we would give this advice:

Get a grip. We have just as much of a "right" to celebrate how we chose and find you "offensive" in painting the celebration of Christmas, "offensive." We shall now refer to you as Ms. Grinch because you deserve it and a bag of coal.

By LBG
Source - AP
Image [scienceblogs]
Image [nicholson cartoons]
Hat Tip: Awa Puhi

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Riley Sawyer's Pregnant Mother: Riley Needed "Manners"


It was day like any other late July day in East Texas, hot and muggy, when Royce Zeigler, 24, decided to stay home from work to help 19-year-old Kimberly, his new bride of less than two months, "discipline" Riley.

Riley had become a problem. The little two 1/2-year-old girl didn't have any "manners". She refused to learn how to say things such as "thank you" or "yes sir" or "please."





According to Kimberly, Royce wanted her to use a belt to spank Riley.




No one knows what happened that day other than Kimberly Ziegler's statement on November 24th to the investigators at the Galveston County Sheriff's Department.

Kimberly told a horrifically sadistic tale, one of where the little girl was beaten with leather belts, of holding Riley's head under water, of pillows being used to smother Riley, of Royce grabbing Riley by her hair and throwing her across the room, her tiny head hitting the hard tile floor. Royce giving Riley cold medication, of Riley, now dead, being covered by a purple towel.

Kimberly went on to tell how that evening they got into their vehicle and drove to Walmart to search for something they could store Riley's body in. How they walked the aisles until they found a blue plastic Sterling storage tote, a "Walmart" casket for little Riley.

They wrapped Riley in plastic and then laid her into the storage tote. They then put the storage tote in the shed that sat out in the back yard. Little Riley stayed in that shed, day after day, night after night, her body decomposing in the hot humid Texas heat while Royce and Kimberly thought about what to do next.

Eventually they drove 75 miles to the Galveston Causeway with the storage tote containing Riley in the back. It was there at the Causeway that Royce and Kimberly left Riley believing their troubles were finally over. No one would know who this little girl was, if anyone ever found her. At least they hoped.

On October 29th, approximately 105 days since that fateful morning when Royce stayed home from work to teach Kimberly how to "discipline" Riley, a fisherman near Green's Cut found a blue plastic storage tote, inside the decomposing body of a little girl.

Riley's father, 20-year-old Robert Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, is finding it difficult to believe Kimberly could have been involved.

"I never thought she could do anything like this," Robert Sawyers, of Mentor, Ohio, said in an interview on NBC's Today show.

"I mean, she loved Riley . . . You can't not love that little girl
the first time you see her, you know," said Sawyers, 20. "It's
heart-wrenching to think she might have done this to such a beautiful
little girl." [1]

Royce's attorney, Neal Davis III, has said that Kimberly is pointing the finger of blame at Royce in an attempt to save herself.

Once we start sorting through these facts, her credibility will be a big issue."
Davis said it's too early to know what prompted the beating.

"Before we make any kind of comment about what would provoke that and who was
provoked, we need to delve into the facts," he said.[1]

It has been also reported that Kimberly is pregnant and housed in the medical wing of the Galveston County Jail.

Trenor (Kimberly) is being kept in the medical wing probably out of fear that
other inmates might attack her because of the nature of the
allegations, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said.

Galveston County sheriff's spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said he
is prevented by law from discussing an inmate's medical condition, but
in general, inmates are isolated when other inmates pose a threat.

If Trenor gives birth while in custody, she will not be allowed to
keep the child, Olguin said. She said Trenor is 5 feet 7 inches tall
and 125 pounds and does not show, so it's unlikely that she is more
than two months pregnant.[1]

On a hot and muggy late July day in East Texas, 24-year-old Royce Zeigler decided to stay home from work in order to show his 19-year-old new bride Kimberly how to teach her little 2 /12-year-old daughter Riley, some "manners." How to say "thank you, please, and yes sir."

Source - Houston Chronicle
Source - Riley Sawyers: Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death

By LGB


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Anti-Nazis Use Nazi Methods to "Wreck" Oxford Debate


To the Left, a sense of irony has always been over-rated.

Socialists and others, proclaiming themselves anti-fascists, proceeded to use fascist tactics to shut down an Oxford Union debating club forum recently.

An eyewitness reports:
I was one of over a 1,000 protesters from all walks of life that gathered outside the Oxford Union debating club on Monday of this week to try and stop it from hosting a “forum” featuring two leading Nazis.
Nick Griffin, leader of the British National Party(BNP) and Holocaust denier David Irving were to be two of the speakers at the debate. Neither is an appealing figure, but they weren't the only speakers who had their plans disrupted that night.

Their scheduled opponents never got to argue their cases either, thanks to the quick wits--and arms and legs--of the brave watchmen of British liberties.
The atmosphere at the protest was electric as people thronged around the Union building, arguing with those trying to attend the meeting.

The air was full of real political debate – in sharp contrast to the superficial rituals that the Union prides itself on.
The real debate of deciding if a real debate gets to take place. The witness has a real future if the Soviet Union is ever reconstituted.

Or Nazi Germany.

Getting to decide another's actions, or what is heard or said: it's enough to stir the blood of Socialist and Nazi alike.

People kept up a noisy presence by chanting and singing, when suddenly a gate swung open. Around 60 of us pushed our way into the Union compound past a pair of security guards that tried to rugby tackle us.

Eventually around 35 of us made it into the debating chamber – fending off attempts to physically block us by the Oxford Union’s champions of “free speech”.

We argued with the people inside, telling them that what went on in their chambers had real effects in the outside world.

At this point they decided to walk out of the debating chamber and hold their meetings with Nazis in two separate rooms elsewhere.

The atmosphere was getting ugly, so we negotiated to be let out.

One might remark that the atmosphere was plenty ugly well before that. But then that would spoil the mood.

The witness then recounts how he exited the building, "rejoining the protest outside to cheers."

Irony was not among the well-wishers, having long since departed.

It's disturbing whenever free and open debate is strangled. There's little doubt that had Griffin had 1000 of his cohorts and true-believers present, while the witness had tried to address a crowd, that the same results would have occurred.

Shout them down, shut them up: they're Nazis, they're Socialists, they're Jews.

The end justifies the means. What would Stalin do? Or Hitler or Mao or Che? What is Chavez doing at this very moment?

Tactics are tactics and totalitarian methods are totalitarian methods, no matter what the label.

The witness can slap some lipstick on his Nazi-like actions and pretend that they're now pretty and noble; just as he slapped some quotation marks around free speech and pretended that it wasn't.

The Brown Shirts excelled at disrupting the speech of anyone they disagreed with: breaking up meetings of opponents, shouting them down, hounding them in public until they silenced them. Physical violence shortly followed and grew.

As did the list of those whose speech they found disagreeable.

Once a group gets to decide who speaks and who is silenced, they develop a taste for it. Today's allies become tomorrow's enemies. And there's always a need for an enemy: a target's just the thing to produce an "electric atmosphere" among the faithful.

At least it can't happen in America. Can it?

Liberal zealots spend their days crafting Internet screeds against the coming Bush police state. The rants are so many, one would think they'd have time for little else.

But there's always time to be found to rush down to the College Union to fling a pie at the occasional conservative speaker who wanders on campus.

It's not really police state tactics if the target is Ann Coulter. After all, she's such a bitch.

A squelching of free speech is a squelching of free speech.

Hello Nick!

There's a reason that Nazis and White Supremacists and Socialists like our witness mainly flourish in the shadows with their cronies: when they come out into the light, most people can see how insanely ridiculous they are.

The issue of political elites not listening to their constituents is always a wild card in Europe, but I'll take the regular guy's good sense every time, Jerry Springer notwithstanding.

Give David Irving three hours of prime time every week and in less than six months, both he and his loony views will be as unpopular as any of the politicians who now hog the BBC's airwaves. As if they aren't already.

There'd be a line of historians from Oxford to Moscow forming up for a chance to debunk the nut.

If the Socialists are really interested in stamping out the BNP, they'd take up a collection so Nick Griffin could get his prime-time slot too. The British see through him. Let Nick have his chance to humiliate himself.

But then, that would be letting ordinary folk make up their own minds about what to hear.

Source: Socialist Worker, "1000 Anti-Fascists Wreck Oxford's Sham Debate"

by Mondoreb

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Sean Taylor: Victim of the Black KKK


Sean Taylor, 1983-2007


Sean Taylor was sometimes called "half-man, half-beast" for his unbelievably hard hits.

Two days ago, the part of Taylor that was a man lost his battle to a beast with a gun.

Because of his prowess at football, Taylor, free safety for the Washington Redskins, was a young, well-known black man. The funeral won't be long over before the usual suspects use his death to try and advance whatever line they're selling that day.

Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star and weekly columnist at Fox Sports.com writes an angry piece and it's well it was read. "Taylor's Death a Grim Reminder to Us All" is well worth reading in its entirety. It might make you think about old things in a new way.

You don't have to be a sports fan to feel the power his anger at another needless death brings to the piece. You also need not be a sports fan to recognize what he says is true.

One thing that stands out is his condemnation of the Black KKK.

The perspective he offers is one you may never have considered before.

There's a reason I call them the Black KKK. The pain, the fear and the destruction are all the same.

Someone who loved Sean Taylor is crying right now. The life they knew has been destroyed, an 18-month-old baby lost her father, and, if you're a black man living in America, you've been reminded once again that your life is in constant jeopardy of violent death.

The Black KKK claimed another victim, a high-profile professional football player with a checkered past this time.

No, we don't know for certain the circumstances surrounding Taylor's death. I could very well be proven wrong for engaging in this sort of aggressive speculation. But it's no different than if you saw a fat man fall to the ground clutching his chest. You'd assume a heart attack, and you'd know, no matter the cause, the man needed to lose weight.

Well, when shots are fired and a black man hits the pavement, there's every statistical reason to believe another black man pulled the trigger. That's not some negative, unfair stereotype. It's a reality we've been living with, tolerating and rationalizing for far too long.

When the traditional, white KKK lynched, terrorized and intimidated black folks at a slower rate than its modern-day dark-skinned replacement, at least we had the good sense to be outraged and in no mood to contemplate rationalizations or be fooled by distractions.

Our new millennium strategy is to pray the Black KKK goes away or ignores us. How's that working?

Whitlock: pulls no punches


After laying out an air-tight case, he brings the hammer down.
You're damn straight I blame hip hop for playing a role in the genocide of American black men. When your leading causes of death and dysfunction are murder, ignorance and incarceration, there's no reason to give a free pass to a culture that celebrates murder, ignorance and incarceration.
He lines up the cultural culprits and mows them down--just like they've mowed down so many young black men themselves.

He's aiming his fire at one group, one color; though the culture he's speaking of has plenty of admirers who are white, brown or yellow.

But today, he's speaking to, and about, a particular group.
Let's cut through the bull(manure) and deal with reality. Black men are targets of black men. Period. Go check the coroner's office and talk with a police detective. These bullets aren't checking W-2s.

Rather than whine about white folks' insensitivity or reserve a special place of sorrow for rich athletes, we'd be better served mustering the kind of outrage and courage it took in the 1950s and 1960s to stop the white KKK from hanging black men from trees.

But we don't want to deal with ourselves. We take great joy in prescribing medicine to cure the hate in other people's hearts. Meanwhile, our self-hatred, on full display for the world to see, remains untreated, undiagnosed and unrepentant.
The three closing sentences should be required reading of anyone--any color, any age--who thinks there's nothing wrong with the glorification of failure and perversion.
The Black KKK is enforcing the same crippling standards as its parent organization. It wants to keep black men in their place — uneducated, outside the mainstream and six feet deep.

In all likelihood, the Black Klan and its mentality buried Sean Taylor, and any black man or boy reading this could be next.
Read his entire story, "Taylor's Death a Grim Reminder to Us All".

It's too late for Sean Taylor. For someone reading Jason's Whitlock, if they listen: it doesn't have to be.

by Mondoreb
[image:nypr
ess & redskins.com]

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Don't Blink: Pixelaneous #21 12 Things Too Fast to See


We got these in our email (along with the usual pleas from Nigerians to help them spend $17 million dollars, someone offering to make our web site bigger than Google and a racy invitation from someone named "Hot Teen Chat Chix") and thought they were cool.
With the click of a shutter sometimes we become privy to the strange world that occurs between the seconds. These are spectacular photographs snapped at just the right split second to make the difference between a good picture and a prize winner.

We don't know where they came from originally; if we did, we'd be happy to give credit and links, as usual. We'll just credit Vickie, the Goth chick who sent them to us until we find out.

When you think your life is too fast, these pix will remind you that it's not fast enough to see some things without a camera.

As always, click on the pictures to enlarge them.














by Mondoreb

[note: We Googled a few terms and came up with a this site and "Between the Seconds" at Just Pictures. They have other pix. Go see.]

Pixelaneous #20: Militant Monkeys Run Amok


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