Day said his brother, Roy, was in Rader’s Cub Scout pack at the nearby Park City Baptist Church, but their mother pulled him out because of Rader.
“It was his demeanor,” he said. “He was so strange.”
Rader also was a scout leader at Christ Lutheran Church. Officials there said they would issue a statement later Saturday.
Not everyone had a bad story about Rader. David Cool said he had lived next to Raders’ in-laws for most of his life, and his parents knew Rader. He said Rader helped his parents, now in their 70s, with yard work..
“Mom doesn’t have a bad word to say about him,” Cool said.
For those of you who don’t know, “BTK“ stands for Bind, Torture, and Kill.
Williams said this was “a very historic day” for the Police Department and numerous other agencies instrumental in helping with the investigation.
The killer known as BTK is Wichita’s most notorious serial killer, now connected with 10 homicides from 1974 to 1991.
Police found four bodies inside the one-story wood-frame home: Joseph, 38; Julie, 34; Josephine, 11; and Joseph II, 9. Each was strangled with the type of cord used in venetian blinds.
“It was one of the most blood-curdling scenes I ever worked, and I worked a lot of murders in Wichita,” said former Wichita police detective Gary Caldwell.
Police had no way of knowing they were seeing the work of a man who would go on to become one of the nation’s most bizarre serial killers.
Over the next three decades, BTK would kill at least four more people. He would write to the media seeking attention for his exploits. And he would drop out of sight for 25 years. Although no one knows his name, much is known about what he has done.
A US state’s prohibition on the sale of sex toys was left standing by the US Supreme Court on Tuesday when the court refused to hear a constitutional challenge to the law.
The United States’ highest court declined to consider the complaint from users and vendors of paraphernalia for sexual stimulation, the sale of which is banned in the southeastern state of Alabama.
Adopted in 1998, the Alabama statute blocks the distribution of “any device designed or marketed as useful primarily for the stimulation of human sexual organs”. Violators risk up to 10,000 dollars in fines and one year in prison.
In July an appeals court affirmed that Alabama had the right to proscribe commerce in sex toys, reasoning that it potentially opened the door to illegal activities such as prostitution. The court added that if Alabamians wanted to reverse the law, they had recourse through the state legislature.
So, masturbation leads to prostitution? This is too funny! I think it’s safe to assume that just about every man commits this “Anti-Christ” act of evil. So, tell me…. how many of you men out there are prostitutes?
In refusing to hear the case, and making no comment on it, the Supreme Court effectively accepted the lower court’s judgment.
The American Civil Liberties Union, a leading defender of private citizens’ rights which joined the plaintiffs in the case, argued that sex toys “have many recognized beneficial uses and are used by consenting adults in deeply private acts that are beyond the reach of governmental regulation”.
President Bush is proud to introduce an ambitious new phase in the fight to preserve all that is decent in America. Conceived and championed by the revered Republican think tank Americans for Purity, “Operation Infinite Purity” is dedicated to the complete eradication of masturbation from American soil by the year 2008.
According to this website masturbation is a “Democrat-Created Crisis” !!!! But the “un-American”, “un-patriotic”, “communist”, and “Anti-Christ” AmErIkAnz are trying to fight back!
You’re all blithering idiots! Sorry I had to be that blunt but I spent the morning cruising from blog to blog and seemed to keep stumbling upon these sites that just, quite simply, had nothing to say. It seems like they spend all their time and energy spinning hate and disgust for the other side. Instead of spending time trying to come up with one constructive thought about what’s going on in the world they regurgitate what they just read on their favorite editorial site and then proceed to bash the opposite side for not seeing it their way.
I find it hard to believe that someone could actually believe their side is 100% right. Instead of bashing the other side maybe, and sit down when you read this, you might spend your time actually thinking of ways to better the political party you so staunchly protect, hold your leaders accountable for the promises they make and break, both parties have them.
No side is worse then the other because collectively they wouldn’t be able to come up with one original thought to better themselves or mankind. Rather, they seem quite content with being pigeon holed in their own private hells.
I couldn’t agree more! I actually never outwardly bashed the Republican Party until recently. Now, I see myself participating in the bashing. Like I commented in the above entry, written so beautifully by The Bastard , I am sick to death of the bully-like insults, name calling, and the relentless YOU’RE WRONG! WE’RE RIGHT!, bullshit. I got fed up and now I’m bashing them back.
What’s funny is (and I know I’ve mentioned this before), is that the Liberals think I’m not Liberal enough. I’m way to conservative on many issues for them to consider me a part of their group or even their web-rings. (The third one I’ve tried for is at the bottom of this page, and it appears I haven’t been accepted into that one either.)
However, according to the Republican Party, I’m stupid, I’m a hippie, I’m a commie, I’m a vegetarian, I’m psychotic, I belong to PETA and spend all my waking hours protecting fish (if they only knew I EAT THAT STUFF RAW), I’m un-Patriotic, I hate America, I sit on my ass waiting for the government to feed me, I’m insensitive, I hate freedom, I spit on soldiers, I’m a whiner, I worship Saddam, I love Clinton, I’m just a Liberal to get attention, I burn flags, and I beat up Republicans in the street. Is that the best argument you extremists have? I mean, is that the best argument “for Bush” that you have? Really?
Ummmm……
::::NEWSFLASH::::
I’m neither one of those things.
Why oh why, can’t the Republicans accept that?
You know, when I say Republicans here, I’m speaking of the EXTREME Republicans. I’m aware that there are Republicans out there that are level-headed and maintain some kind of balance in their lives.
Even though I’m a Liberal and I feel right about my views, that doesn’t necessarily mean that I’m right. I will listen to the arguments from the other side with an open mind. It doesn’t necessarily mean I will change my mind, but you never know. The truth of the matter is, if one in favor of the Iraqi War poses an intelligent argument WITHOUT bullying the other side, I will listen. In fact, there were times in the past, I have re-thought the way I feel about things because of a good argument I heard.
In part two of our investigation into the liberal mind and the syndrome of NAPPS (Narcissistic Peter Pan Paranoid Schizophrenia), we look into what has recently been termed the Peter Pan Syndrome. PPS is not an actual syndrome in psychological terms, but it is a label most of us innately understand. It refers to, in essence, those people who will just ‘never grow up’. People whose development has all but stopped in the adolescent phase. People who will avoid responsibility at all costs. People whose fear of the future, fear of failure, and fear of inadequacy has held them in a seemingly permanent state of dependency. This mental problem seems to be more common now than ever…
You gotta love that! Us Liberals need to “grow up”. This is actually funny more than anything else. We need to grow up? Why… because we share a different view? If not sharing common ground with your self-righteous blather is what YOU call being
How many babies and little kids do we know that cry and throw a temper tantrum when they don’t get their way? If you’re talking about issues concerning insecurity and immaturity, can you Right Wingers explain why your panties knot up in a ball when you read blogs written by Liberals? You must fight them. You must go out of your way ‘prove them wrong’. Your demeaning, sarcastic, and mean spirited comments only show
that you are hurt.
From this entry one can only assume that you know something about Psychology. If that is the case, anyone in that field professionally will tell you that anger comes from hurt!
And YOU call yourselves “Wide Awake”? Are you kidding me?
And YOU call yourselves “mature” and “mentally stable”? If the answer to this question is “yes”, than please tell me to sit down first because I will wet my pants laughing so hard. I’ve already went through too many packages of Depends laughing at you people, already. No, seriously.
PPS may not, in itself, be recognized by the mental health community; however there is a psychological syndrome that embodies many of the symptoms we use here to describe PPS.
It is Dependant Personality Disorder. Persons with this disorder are described here:
1) A yearning for a strong figure who will provide the resources for their survival and happiness (sounds like the left’s definition of government to me)
Well partner, looks like Bush is doing something for YOU or you wouldn’t have voted for him. Everybody’s for himself. That’s the way people are. Don’t give me any bologna that you voted for him for the common good for our country. Hogwash. You had your own best interests somewhere – even if it was to please mom and dad. Give me a break!
2) The need for support (ever hear of the term ‘entitlements’?)
Excuse me? YOU don’t feel entitled to anything. Really? You expect nothing from our government until something happens to you or your family. Then you’ll be squealing with the rest of us. That’s how hypocritical you people are. I know a soldier that lost all the movements in his hands due to driving over land mines in Iraq. He’s back in the U.S.now. And guess what? HE’S ON DISABILITY! And where’s that money coming from? YOUR TAX DOLLARS! According to your ‘logic’, he should just wither away and die of starvation without an income. Well, that is your ‘logic’. But I welcome you to correct me if I’m wrong.
If I’m not going to receive Social Security when I’m 70 years old, than why the hell am I putting money into Social Security with every pay check I get? Yes, I feel entitled. That’s my hard earned money! That money’s going to support the rich. While everyone’s entitled to get what they earned, the rich are getting more than that off of Bush being president. While the rich are getting more than they earned, there are those less fortunate that are busting their butts working 3 jobs just to get by.
So, you’ve got it backwards. It’s the Rich Republicans that feel entitled to more. Face it. Nobody thinks about anybody else but themselves. And the more you people deny that, the more foolish you come off.
3) Desiring help from other people (and if necessary, of course, that help will be forced by the penal power of government through the redistribution of wealth.)
Redistribution of wealth? Which democrat is expecting to get more than what they earn at work?
You must be talking about those living off welfare and disability. There are quite a few people that take advantage of the system. There are also those who pop out one baby after the next, wind up with 6 kids and are on welfare. I agree with you there. It’s not right. But there are people who genuinely need it – like that soldier who cannot use his hands at all. And I’m sure he’s not the only soldier on disability eating off your hard earned tax dollars.
4) Subservience and subordination (through the ceding of one’s rights for the feeling of safety)
What the…. Can anybody make out what this means? More power to yah if you feel you don’t deserve to live in a safe country. By the way, what are you doing sitting at home?
1) Feelings of helplessness (in themselves and thus projected onto others)
2) Fear of independence and having to do things for oneself (why be independent when the nanny state can take care of all one’s needs?)
3) Fear of rejection or criticism (remember the Narcissist? And what happens when he feels criticized or rejected? Uh oh.)
In the end, those with PPS/Dependent Personality Disorder wish to avoid, by any means, the world most of us know simply as adulthood. They refuse to acknowledge the need for independence and personal responsibility. They refuse to face the fact that life can be sometimes hard and mean. And, as perpetual adolescents, refuse to uphold their own duty to society. And, it is this refusal of the ‘Peter Pan’ to face true reality that ultimately leads directly into the next subject of this investigation and the next post…Paranoid Schizophrenia.
The above is priceless. Really. Fear of rejection or criticism? And ……. this behavior is only specific to Liberals??? Give me a f’n break?
Somebody, please tell me this person isn’t serious.
Could this not be you? I mean you spend so much of your time fighting Liberals. And if you’re so educated in the field of Psychology, you would know that if you were really secure in your Right Winged stances, you wouldn’t waste your time off work insulting us.
That’s the problem with you Extremists. You can’t handle a difference in opinion. You immediately go into hysterics, and again calling us “stupid” and “insecure” and making ridiculous assumptions about us. What’s that all about? If you ask me, that’s about YOUR insecurities. One doesn’t even have to major in Psychology to know that spewing out insults or pointing out grammatical/spelling errors as a substitution for what could be a clean, intelligent debate, is without doubt a mark of insecurity.
With the kind of attitudes you hateful Extremists have, you can go on and on and on preaching about god and conservatism until you’re blue in the face, and you’re not going to convert any of us. Just as much as I think I’m going to convert you….. it ain’t gonna happen. Get used to it.
None of this is to say that I’m perfect, I’m right, and that I never make hypocritical statements. However, I can proudly admit that I can debate without resorting to insults. If you insult me, though, you’re a fool’s fool if you don’t think I’ll bite back or just simply ignore you.
Not too long ago while I was at work, one of my co-workers sitting next to me had a major seizure. I had never seen someone having a seizure before in my life. At that time, I had thought she was dying from a heart attack and completely freaked out! I had the paramedics there right away. While waiting for the paramedics to arrive, I was told that she was actually having a seizure. A large group of people surrounded her, tried to stick candy in her mouth, and I noticed her seizure becomming more dramatic. It was quite frightning to witness – especially when I had thought she was dying before my eyes.
As soon as I returned from work that day, I looked "seizures" up on the internet to see what they were all about. From doing extensive research on it, I quickly learned that what I did and everyone else who attempted to help her was, in fact, the exact opposite of what really needed to be done to assist her.
Below are some snippets from the above website on what and what not to do upon witnessing someone having a seizure:
Rule 1: Be a good observer, keep calm.Speak softly and calmly to the person. Don’t panic.People almost never die from a seizure, but subsequent
medical care may depend critically on your observations of the seizure. For example: Did the patient stop talking in mid-sentence? Did one limb start jerking before the others? Were the movements symmetric and synchronous?
Rule 2: Do not attempt to force anything in the patient’s mouth! It is unnecessary, may cause the patient harm (break his teeth) or harm to yourself (he can bit your finger off). The patient cannot swallow his tongue, and any tongue biting or cheek biting usually occurs within the first seconds. Most seizures last only a few minutes, and there is nothing you can do to stop them.
Do not start CPR. The patient rarely stops breathing and, if he does, it is usually brief.
Rule 3: Protect the patient from harm. The patient will fall down and his movements might cause him to hit his head or extremities on hard objects, so clear the area and put something soft under his head. Don’t hold the patient down! Any attempt to stop movements may actually cause injury. If possible, the patient should not be moved.
Rule 4: Place the patient on his side after the convulsion to keep the
airway clear. Although uncommon, patients may vomit, and this will prevent
aspiration. Do not offer anything to eat or drink until fully awake
(including seizure medications).
Especially if this is the first seizure you’ve ever witnessed, or if you don’t know anything about the person’s medical history, feel for the carotid pulse. Feeling this should provide the necessary reassurance that the individual is not experiencing a cardiac arrest. Hopefully, you can relax enough to remember the following tips:
Create the safest possible environment for the seizure. Position away from objects which threaten injury. Provide a soft surface, if possible. Cushion head with hands to prevent banging of head against the ground/floor.
As the seizure ends and a state of deep relaxation ensues, place the person in the "recovery position" (as illustrated below).
Never should the individual be left flat on their back – that position invites airway obstruction (by a relaxed/swollen tongue dropping to the back of the throat, blood from a bitten tongue, or vomitus). If, after positioning the person as illustrated there is any sign of ineffective breathing (loud snoring type sound, little/no air moving to/from mouth/nose), ensure that there is nothing in the mouth by sweeping your finger through, removing any debris as you do so [NOTE WELL- The seizure has stopped at this point and the person looks as if deeply asleep]. If there are dentures, this is the time to remove them. If after doing the foregoing there is still a loud snoring sound, try extending the neck a bit more. Other options to help open the airway include use of an oral airway or a performance of a "jaw thrust maneuver" (illustrated here).
Rule 5: Do not call for an ambulance immediately.
Patients with epilepsy will have seizures in public. This does not require emergency room service and the high medical costs involved. Wait for the patient to wake up and ask if he or she wants
an ambulance. If the seizure lasts longer than 30 minutes, or the patient has repetitive seizures, this may indicate status epilepticus and an ambulance should be summoned immediately.
Rule 6:
DO NOT TRY TO RESTRAIN THE CONVULSING LIMBS:
Soften the surface, remove obstacles/furnishings, get the person to a safe spot, cushion head with your hands, YES. Restrain, NO.
Rule 7:
IF A PERSON KNOWN TO HAVE ‘CONVULSIVE’ EPILEPSY SHOWS A COLOR CHANGE TOWARD BLUE IN FACE, LIPS, NAIL-BEDS AT THE ONSET OF A SEIZURE- COUNT TO 60:
The cyanosis (bluing of lips, nails, skin) that may accompany what in essence is a brief "respiratory arrest" at the beginning of a convulsion is caused by contracted and ’stuck’ respiratory muscles. It is not something that can be altered by any bystander/caregiver. It should pass relatively quickly, with improvement in color as the convulsion proceeds.
If the above state lasts beyond a minute, OR if it is followed by relaxation (instead of convulsive movements) with persistent bluish color, it would probably be wise to assume that this IS a respiratory arrest and NOT a seizure. [In which case the proper response would be Basic Life Support].
Rule 8: Recovery should proceed over minutes, though significant fatigue is likely. If there has not been any injury (eg.- no significant cuts to skin or tongue or concern regarding injurious effects of a fall to ground/floor), the person should be allowed to fulfill their desire to rest.
Seek medical/hospital treatment if their is any concern about significant injury or if this is the individual’s first seizure.
Hello, fellow bloggers and blog-readers! I came across I am the Hermit’s weblog, and found this post. It really made me think about a few things.
I’m convinced that hours of being chained to my seat at stolen hours of the morning and afternoon and all hours of the evening into the early morning hours, clicking on numbers, colors, birds, hearts, hamburgers, elephants, smiley faces, and other matching items on BlogExplosion, BlogClicker, and Blogazoo, has led to severe muscle aches, eye strain and carpal tunnel. My mind is not complaining, my body is. And seriously, before I go to bed, I see the "Congratulations- You’re a Winner!" flashing in my mind’s eye, and before I know it, I’m up again, booting up my computer and driving traffic to my blogsite… click.click.click.click.click.click. Stop!
I applaud her for not being too embarrassed to admit to this. It sounds a lot like me, but I don’t think I’m to that level of addiction yet. However, if I didn’t work and wasn’t tired after returning home from work, I can easily imagine myself clicking, reading, and typing my heart out!
I am not in denial. I admit it–I am addicted to BE, BC and Blogazoo, and when I joined these traffic exchanges, I promised myself I would moderate my time, but alas, this is not the case.
Are there any of you out there who shares my addiction? I’ve spoken to a friend who is a psychologist and she is not happy with me. This would explain her refusal to create a blog for herself. "Get a life!", she says. Gee… but I do have a life…
This is the part that confuses me. Why is that nobody bats an eyelash at addictions to TV, reading, and other electronic forms of pleasure? Isn’t it the same thing? I mean the only difference between being a Book Worm and a blogger is a screen with words as opposed to pieces of paper with words, right? But Book Worms are given the utmost respect.
What about TV? They are both screens that we look at. One activity is audible entertainment or learning from a comfortable reclining chair or sofa, and the other is on your desktop. So, does eating a bag of doughnut holes sprawled out on the sofa watching reruns of "The Beverly Hillbillies" keep us out of the "You have no life" radar?
But back then before the Internet, people fussed about (and unfortunately still do) how TV rots your brain. However, I have to respectfully disagree. Why can’t we just say, "it depends on WHAT you watch". If all I did was watch "The Cosby Show", well then…. I think after a while I’d probably have myself committed! What about "The News", "The History Channel", "The Discovery Channel", "Court TV", and "The Learning Channel"?
I’d like to know what the difference between learning about WWII from a television screen as opposed to gaining this knowledge from a book or in school?
I never appreciated History when I was in school. I do now. I was bored to death by "war stories" in school. I am not any longer. As an adult I’ve become to find History and the people (both good and bad) who made it, extremely fascinating.
I do not call becoming more knowledgeable about the world around me and the people within it from a TV set to be a self-destructing pastime.
Remember years before the Internet made it’s way into everyone’s home, many were addicted to video games and arcades? Now, we can enjoy our addictions in the comfort of our own homes.
It has been said that blogging may have evolved from chat rooms. If this is the case, one can logically speculate that bloggers were also chat junkies at one time and have progressed to a higher developed venue of communication, or so I would hope.
Now, there’s a big difference between a journal and a blog. Wouldn’t you think that those who write in and read blogs have a thirst for knowledge? We like to report our discoveries and debate with our fellow bloggers too.(Although sometimes a debate may be substituted by a nasty quarrel!)
Yes, we are very intelligent people, but there’s something else! We are also attention-whores! I will surely admit that I’m one of them.
My name is Augustine and I am an addict, a blogging addict. I dream at night of things I have blogged, should blog or did not blog. I ruminate on comments that have been made or have not been made on my blog or that I might make or will make in other blogs. I check my stats more than once a day. More than twice a day. Allright, I check my stats a lot. I also check my Technorati rati quite a lot. I read the newspapers and feel guilty that I am not blogging about the news because nobody will know what’s going on in the world if I don’t blog about it. It’s my duty to blog about all the injustice and lies and horror because if people don’t read it in my blog then they won’t know it’s happening.
It’s also my duty to blog about the meaning of life and everything because if it’s not in my blog then where are people going to find out? It’s also my duty to translate my every passing thought and observation and experience into bloggish because if I don’t then, well, then I’m not a good and frequent blogger and nobody will visit me. I get withdrawal symptoms if I am away from my screen for more than a day even when I’m not blogging – I tap my fingers aimlessly on tables or armchairs and look pale and withdrawn. Enough already. I have decided to go into rehab. But since there are not, as yet, rehab clinics for blogaddicts, I have drawn up my own rehabilitation regime. Feel free to adapt it to your own needs.
I guess if your addiction gets in the way of other important responsibilities in your life, it can be detrimental. Oh well, I guess I’m in need of a 12-step program. Anyone else care to proudly join me?
I love Typepad! It’s way much better and more flexible than Blogger.
Although I’m very happy here, it’s a pain in the butt to re-list myself in all the search engines, blog directories, and all the blog-clicking sites. Ug!
I still have yet to get my "Site Meter" to work here. It’s not picking up hits from this site. I deleted the code from my old blog. I’m using the Pro-version of Site Meter so that’s why you can’t see the icon. The Type-List said that my character limit is 255. I guess that’s why the code for Site Meter doesn’t work?
It’s late now, and I’ve lost all my mental energy. But hopefully I will figure out everything tomorrow or the next day!
Oh goodness…. I just remembered another thing: trying to fit all my little stickers and links on the sidebar’s going to be a real treat. Argh!
In any event, it’s worth it all. I really do love it here so far.
Don’t forget about me. I will be trying to update you all on the latest events.
As Jon Stewart put it, bloggers can add another ‘notch to their belt’. After the ‘Jeff Gannon’ story broke (see Daily Kos) more and more interesting things have developed. Tonights opening sketch talked about the bloggers who not only discovered Gannon, but his racy photos. The funniest quote: “CNN broke… the breaking of the story” [clip] “…that’s CNN reporting on why blogs are way more interesting than CNN”.
“Jon, before we begin… before I get ‘outed’ by the bloggers…” Oh, have no fear, we’re always there to ‘out’ everyone right? “The vast majority of bloggers out there are responsible for .. niche reporting .. like Gilmore Girl Fan Fiction… where I draw the line is at those attack bloggers. They have no credibility, all they have is facts.” Haha, enough said.
Eventually, bloggers will gain a “seat at the table” which apparently will entitle us “access, status, money, power” and there will be, heaven forbid, complacency.
Well, congratulations to all you Bloggers out there – even the ones I don’t share the same opinions with. We ROCK, don’t we!?
Whoa! Wait a minute here! I thought that problem was solved?
WASHINGTON (CNN) — U.S. intelligence officials warned Wednesday that the threat of al Qaeda or other terrorist groups attacking the United States was still likely — probably in the form of a car bomb or other low-tech weapon.
But they stressed that terror groups were trying to circumvent U.S. security measures and obtain weapons of mass destruction.
Let’s have a look-see at our progress since our soldiers have gone to Iraq:
Fired for Blogging?While it’s true some may have deserved to be fired, for the most part, these individuals made no mention of their company and still got fired.
BOSTON
- Defrocked priest Paul Shanley, whose crimes shook the Roman Catholic Church, was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in prison on child rape charges Tuesday to a burst of applause from some of the many who accused him of molesting them.
Shanley will be eligible for parole after eight years. He was sent away despite warnings from some inmate advocates that the notorious child-molester would be a marked man behind bars and that prison could amount to a death sentence.
I’m generally against prison violence, but when it comes to rapists and child molesters, I say, “Go get ‘em!” because that child’s life is basically ruined and he will have to carry those memories (repressed or not) with him for the rest of his life.
Judge Stephen Neel condemned the former priest for using his revered status to prey on a little boy. “It is difficult to imagine a more egregious misuse of trust and authority,” he said. Shanley, once known for a being a hip “street priest” who reached out to troubled children and homosexuals, was convicted last week of repeatedly raping and fondling a boy at his church during the 1980s.
Is this not the norm? You know, the “altruistic humanitarian” type who successfully portrays himself as such. Everybody thinks he’s wonderful. This is the face he shows when he’s got his pants on. Nobody can believe he could possibly do such a thing. For those idiots who believe in his innocence, let me ask you a question: Do you think if a priest is secretly banging little boys behind closed doors, do you think he’s going to say mass and walk around in public wearing a shirt that says, “I DiddleLittle Boys”? In your naive, idealistic, “the world is perfect” little mind of yours, do you actually think he’s going to expose that side of himself to his parishioners – like he wants to get caught with his pants down? (pun intended). Give me a break!? And yes, Scott Peterson is guilty too. Cute people are capable of bad things as well.
We have a lot of criminals who are known to others as altruistic. Remember Ted Bundy?
Friends remember Bundy as witty, kind, and attractive, as well as charming. These were all to be his assets as a killer. Ironically, Bundy worked for some time at a crisis clinic, answering phones, and talking people down from suicide. In 1970, Ted saved a 3 and 1/2 year old from drowning in Green Lake. As far as most people were concerned, he saved lives, he didn’t take them.
We can somehow accept the fact that a few people go “crazy” sometimes and start shooting others. However, it is more disconcerting to learn that some of the “nicest” people one meets lead a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde life: a student by day, a killer of coeds by night; a caring, attentive nurse who secretly murders sick children, the handicapped, or the elderly; a building contractor and politician who enjoys sexually torturing and killing young men and burying them under his home. When we discover that people exist who are not considered to be insane or crazy but who enjoy killing others for “recreation,” this indeed gives new meaning to the word “stranger.”
Do you ever notice how whenever the media asks the next door neighbors of a psychopathic serial killer what the guy was like, the neighbors always say how nice, quiet, and peaceful the guy was? They also usually mention how nicely the guy kept up his lawn for some reason. They always talk about what a nice neighbor he was. Well, the media just seems to be shocked by the whole thing. I’m not saying anything about the other aspects of their personalities, but could it be possible that psychopathic serial killers actually do make the best neighbors in America? Everyone wants to move far away from these people; maybe the best way to avoid being their next victim is to, in fact, live next door to them. They’ll let you read the morning newspaper in peace, or blast your music at night all you want, as long as you don’t mind them sawing people into “convenient for the freezer” sized pieces or the occasional loud shriek of terror by a helpless victim.
The point of me saying this was not to say that psychopathic serial killers actually make better neighbors than anyone else, but to show the absolute stupidity behind the news media asking these questions of the neighbor. Of course they were peaceful, THEY DIDN’T WANT TO GET FUCKING CAUGHT, COLUMBO! What did they expect these people to say, that the guy stood around all day in his front lawn with a South Park T-shirt on, an iced tea in one hand, a bloody axe in the other, with an insane glaze on his eyes as he leered at passing children.
So, next time you find a quiet, reserved, friendly man living in your neighborhood who seems like a pretty good neighbor, take him over an apple pie or something. After all, he could be a serial killer, and you wouldn’t want an outstanding neighbor like that to move out of the neighborhood.
The organized killer is usually socially adequate and has friends and lovers, often even a spouse and children. They are the type who, when captured, are most likely to be described by acquaintances as ‘a really nice guy, he couldn’t hurt a fly’.
Now, back to the Pedo-Priest…..
I leave you with the following quotes:
More than two dozen people have accused Shanley of molesting them, but this was the only case to result in criminal charges.
The victim’s wife told Shanley in court:
“No words can ever explain my disgust for you. You are a coward. You hid behind God.”
“You robbed my little boy of his innocence,” the accuser’s father said. “You destroyed his understanding of good and bad and right and wrong.”
Evil Clown is very quick with a joke, but his jests always have a barb. He has little patience for in-depth discussions and will often disrupt exchanges between serious forum participants by introducing irrelevant topics, fatuous quips, and offhand comments. His greatest thrill is to taunt and humiliate weaker or more plodding Warriors with his snappy ripostes. Not a particularly powerful Warrior, Evil Clown will attempt to avoid defeat by accusing his attacker of having no sense of humor.
The excuse, “You don’t have a sense of humor!” or “You can’t take a joke???” has grown tired, has it not? My favorite response to that is, “A joke is supposed to be funny”. I believe most of us DO have a sense of humor, yet we are all different as to what is funny and what is not. When in doubt, one should know the person they are communicating with before introducing a joke that YOU know may potentially hurt that person. It’s common sense. In any event, I do strongly believe that those who want to make an insulting comment to another that out of fear of confrontation and the repercussions of said insult, cover themselves up with the cliché, “It was just a joke – lighten up!” if there is retaliation.
PAPD resistance to external demands is manifested in oppositional and obstructive behaviors. These individuals resent having to conform to the standards set by others. On the other hand, they fear direct confrontation. The combination of resentment and fear leads to passive, provocative behavior (Beck & Freeman, 1990, p. 333) and defiant compliance (Benjamin, 1994, p. 276).
Can you tell the truth?
Garble is a mystery: Is he a foreigner with only tenuous grasp of English? Is he on drugs? Does he suffer a serious mental debility? Is he typing wearing boxing gloves? Garble’s rampant typos, malapropisms and execrable grammar can’t be blamed solely on poor typing skills. Garble is all the more puzzling because if one manages to hack his way through the tangled muddle of his messages a discernable idea will often emerge. For example, in a forum discussion about a painting he might say, “Sorry the picchr the har is wrog. The culir. I liike the lips bot teh Paintng is sucs”. When someone refers to his random capitalization Garble might say something like, “oPS i HITTED THE CAPDLOCK”. Garble drives Grammarian and Nitpick absolutely nuts, but he disdains all efforts at correction, and if complaints persist he will indignantly sign exit saying, “yuor forum si stupef. bYE!” HINT: Garble may be Net Rat.
Hahahahahaha! I find the “Garble” very funny. Now, how could we take this type seriously?
Xenophobe is usually a long-term discussion forum participant and he thinks of the forum as his private compound. Xenophobe regards new forum arrivals as mentally deficient and perhaps even having criminal tendencies, and they are invariably approached with suspicion and condescension. Xenophobe will mount a furious attack if a Newbie has the temerity to make critical observations about the forum’s social dynamics, or questions its prevailing opinions.
It was a peaceful and productive forum; lively, congenial and a bounteous source of useful information. Then one day, completely without warning, Godzilla arose from the depths and blew his scalding breath on everything in his path. A phalanx of Warriors mobilized to attack the monster, only to be crushed like so many toy tanks under Godzilla’s mighty feet. Godzilla soon reduced the forum to searing and consuming flames. Just as abruptly, he rumbled back beneath the waves, leaving all to tremble in fear of his return. Net life would never be the same. Sadly, many netizens who survive a Godzilla attack will become Xenophobes.
Aaaaah. This one is too funny!
Grammarian usually has little to contribute to a discussion and possesses few effective weapons. To compensate, he will point out minor errors in spelling and grammar. Because of Grammarian’s obvious weakness most Warriors ignore him.
Every forum has one of these. Heh. When a “supreme being” doesn’t like what you have to say, your grammar and spelling mistakes will be pointed out and corrected. The fact is – is that these “Grammarians” cannot come up with an intelligent, logical response to your argument. They have nothing to say. Your grammar/spelling mistakes fill in the gap for what could be a clean and stimulating debate.
DO keep in mind, if this happens to you, be proud. This just means that YOU are right. If your argument was really wrong, these “Grammarians” would come up with more than resorting to attacking your petty typos.
Grunter always responds to discussion forum messages with a single word or a short phrase, and he NEVER edits quoted material. Profundus Maximus, Philosopher, Tireless Rebutter, and other verbose Warriors find Grunter a particularly exasperating opponent because he will answer their lengthy pontifications with a simple “Yeah!”. “Get a life.”, “Whatever”, “I agree.” “Wrong.”, etc. While Grunter is not a strong Warrior, he is very elusive and difficult to engage in direct battle, and only by his extended silence is there any indication that he has been vanquished.
Only a man, right? This gives validity to the expression, “less is more” because a lot of the times it is! Actually, I admire the type of person who can say everything with just a couple of words. I really wish that I could do that. But I’m the polar opposite and tend to be long-winded. And that’s the female part of me that shines through, I guess. The Cyber Sisters love the long-winded because it gives them even more of an opportunity to put words in your mouth.
Jerk is sarcastic, mean, unforgiving and never misses an opportunity to make a cutting remark. Jerk’s repulsive personality quickly alienates other Warriors, and after some initial skirmishing he is usually ostracized. Still, Jerk is very happy to participate in electronic forums because in cyberspace he is free to be himself…without the risk of getting a real-time punch in the mouth.
I’m assuming that most of you who have your own blogs have experienced being a subscriber to a message board at one time or another. If not, that’s okay because what I’m about to show you, I’m sure some of you will relate to, somehow. Being a part of online communities, journals, blogs, and the like, we’ve probably all ran across these personality types. Or maybe one or two of them … could be you?
ALLCAPS attempts to compensate for his limited rhetorical weaponry through the extravagant use of capitalized words – something netizens refer to as SHOUTING. Sure, a sprinkling of capitalized words can add some zip to a thrust, but they should be used sparingly. Even worse from a tactical point of view, too much shouting alerts other Warriors to the opponent’s verbal WEAKNESS and emotional EXCITABILITY.
People who type in all caps never really bothered me that much. My only complaint about it is that their words are a lot harder to read.
Although sometimes a male, Crybaby is usually a female, and often a close ally of Innocence Abused. When teased or attacked Crybaby will pitch a loud public temper tantrum, holding her breath and kicking her feet. If that defense fails she will run to Nanny for comfort.
Errr…. this sounds somewhat like the way I used to be, and still sometimes am. Ug!
Cyber Sisters are an extremely fierce confederation of fighting females who act something like a shrill Greek chorus, echoing and amplifying one another’s voice until their foes retreat in disarray. They are generally leaderless, but anyone who challenges one Cyber Sister can expect to be savagely attacked by the others. Only the most powerful and battle-hardened of Warriors is strong enough to weather a Cyber Sisters attack.
Oh my… this is the most notorious and the most common behavior I’ve ever (unfortunately) experienced on the internet. I’ve never been apart of this mob-mentality in cyberspace. It’s everywhere. Before you dissent or begin any kind of “touchy” or controversial topic, you better make sure you’re bonded with the popular,“I’m a bitch and I’m proud”, catty, combative, and the evil force of overly female poison. If not, you will be pounced upon and smashed to the ground by a pack of sexually frustrated female clique of wolves. They don’t mess with the popular people because they can dish it out but can’t take it back in return by a group. They are cowards and only go after the newbies or ones not involved in a click. They know in advance that you don’t have a support group or have an entourage everywhere you go. They know if they strike at you, that they will receive support from their catty coalition. And you will be dead and will know better the next time to keep your opinions to yourself! So, in short, if you’re going to voice a strong opinion, do it after you’ve connected with the “girls club”. It’s at that time, you can say whatever you please. Even if they disagree with you, you won’t know about it because they’re ON YOUR SIDE!
Yes, (believe it or not) a lot of these women are in their mid twenties, thirties, and forties. You’d think you were back in elementary school again.
I’ve never seen this type of behavior among men. However, before I had gotten married, I joined a couple of (cough) … ALL FEMALE message boards consisting of engaged prima-donnas or married soccer moms, Stepford wives and trophy wives. After these experiences of being a member of an ALL-FEMALE message board, I never went back and never intend on joining a community like that again!
Men are more logical and so much easier to get along with. They argue with more reason, and if you point out to a man that he dissed you, (if you were really undeserving of an attack by a male and you know it), more than likely, they will apologize to you! No, seriously. Too many women are too strongly driven by their emotions, and don’t have time to stop and think about what they’re doing or saying. If you point out to them their wrong-doings, you will get stomped on again —- but this time EVEN HARDER!
For Ego, the discussion forum is all about him, and he regards discussions that stray from that topic as trivial dalliances. Although tolerant of an occasional shift in focus, Ego grows increasingly restive when the forum’s attention shifts away from his interests, and he will often provoke conflict to reestablish himself as the subject at hand. Ego is one the the fiercest of all the Warriors and will fight to the death when attacked.
“Can we please stay on topic here?!”, “You’re not only off topic, but……”, and along with all other hostile ways of informing a member that they’re off topic — is very commonplace. I had always thought these cries directing people to stay on topic were so petty that it was laughable. What makes it even more humorous is the fact that if you say something nice, nobody mentions a thing. I always found that funny because the measures to get some people “on topic” were only directed at either those of whom weren’t liked or those that said something disagreeable. But if you are a really good boy or girl, you will be sure to post an “O/T” before you speak.
The same applies to blogs in blogdom. I could care less if someone puts comments in my blog that are off topic. I don’t have a problem as long as someone isn’t selling Viagra, Penis Enlargement pills, or attacking the person instead of the subject. But as long as everyone’s conversing and having a good time, so be it. I feel that life is way too short to get all riled up about stupidity like that.
Enfant Provocateur likes to stir up trouble because…because, well…just because. This species of Flame Warrior is almost always young and male – it could be just a hormone thing.
I must admit… I really enjoy this type.
I will continue this topic either later tonight or tomorrow. Please stay tuned for Part II of Flame Warriors!
1. Type “about:config” in the adress field.
2. Set the value of network.http.pipelining to “true”.
3. Set the value of network.http.pipelining.maxrequests to “100″.
4. Set the value of network.http.proxy.pipelining to “true”
5. Set the value of nglayout.initialpaint.delay to “0″
Now watch as the loading times that already beat IE’s go into overkill mode.
It’s not hard to change the values. Just double click on the line that you need to edit, and presto!
Under the pseudonym of Sarcastic Journalist, Rachel Mosteller wrote this entry on her personal Web log one day last April:
“I really hate my place of employment. Seriously. Okay, first off. They have these stupid little awards that are supposed to boost company morale. So you go and do something ’spectacular’ (most likely, you’re doing your JOB) and then someone says ‘Why golly, that was spectacular.’ then they sign your name on some paper, they bring you chocolate and some balloons.
“Okay two people in the newsroom just got it. FOR DOING THEIR JOB.”
YIKES! To think about a couple years back, I could have easily done the same thing without even thinking twice about it.
The day after that posting, she was fired.
Bill Stagg, managing editor of the Herald-Sun, said he could not comment on a personnel matter. But Mosteller, 25, said the blog was one of the reasons she was given for losing her job, and she is still in shock. “Considering I treated the blog as a smoke break, I didn’t think of it as a problem.”
There are 8 million personal Web logs — or blogs — in the United States, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. People write blogs to talk about their day, family outings, dates gone awry and, of course, work. But what might feel like a very personal entry about a dismal workday can mean something quite different to a boss who needs only a search engine to read it.
My guess is that her boss didn’t like her to begin with and was just trying to find a good excuse to fire her. If that isn’t the case, then it’s a very disturbing thought to think that your superiors at work go “googling” throughout the web TRYING TO FIND YOUR BLOG on their free time. Remember “Queen of Sky”? Well, at least for her blog, one can say that Delta had a good reason for firing her because she was in uniform when the questionable pictures were taken. Even though difficult, to an avid traveler, one can tell that’s a Delta uniform. Worrying about their business, Delta stepped into her personal blog and terminated her. But by reading Rachel Mosteller’s blog, one would never know where she works. The company she worked for was not in jeopardy of losing their business over her blog entries. Amazing. And scary.
I love my job, but even if I didn’t, after hearing that people are being fired everyday because of their blogs, the thought wouldn’t even cross my mind to complain about work. EGADS!
Are any of you worried about this? Do you think Funky Fresh Freddie is worried about this? Hate Crimes Towards Your Pee Pee is just one of the ’safer’ posts on his site to view or click on for that matter.
E-mail and Internet policies that have been developed were created to deal with improper employee usage during work hours. Very few companies have rules governing employee computer habits outside work.
Very few now, but just give it a couple months to a year, bloggers will only be limited to writing about how much they love President Bush, the weather, their teddy bears, Karen Carpenter songs, and a great Disney movie they just saw in the theater. Oh! And don’t forget, we won’t be able to smoke in the privacy of our own homes either!
Michael Hanscom started his blog, Eclecticism, before 2000, as a way to keep in touch with family and collect things he found on the Internet. A fan of Apple computers, he found himself working at a temporary job with Xerox on the Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash.
Hanscom said his family teased him that he would burst into flames when he walked onto the Microsoft campus. So one day, when he noticed a pallet of Macs — the same version he just bought for himself — ready to be delivered to Microsoft, he took a picture and posted it. “It struck my sense of humor,” he said.
A few days after Hanscom posted the picture, he said, his Xerox manager called him into an office. The manager had Hanscom’s blog up, and asked if the picture was his. Hanscom said it was, but said it was posted on his own time, on his own computer. According to Hanscom, the manager then said because it was posted on his own space and time, the company couldn’t ask him to take it down, but he could never come to the Microsoft campus again.
“It makes sense, really,” Hanscom said. “I’ve tried since then to look at it from their point of view. I never gave away any secrets, but I was in a position where I saw a lot.”
And yet, another blogger gets into trouble….
An Atlanta blogger who goes by Karsh says he was fired from a sales position in January after he blogged on company time. He was not so contrite. The writer of BGB, or Black Gay Blogger, said his boss wanted him to apologize for the things he had said about his fellow employees.
Since the other workers were not named, he did not think it was necessary, he said. “I feel like it’s been said and done.”
The blogger renamed his supervisor “Skeletor” and “Wednesday Addams” in an entry about the confrontation. When he was told he would be demoted and had to dismantle his site, he quit, he said.
It is possible to write a private blog, where only those with passwords can sign in to read the entries. But part of being a blogger is wanting to be heard!
The author of “The Papal Bull” attempts to find similarities among the “Fired for Blogging” community:
“When you look at all of these stories, what threads begin to become apparent? Here is what I see:
1) Some did not think anyone from work would ever know about the blog. – Matthew Brown said: “It was ignorant and rude,” Mr. Brown said of his comments. “But it was for nobody except my family and friends. I didn’t give the address to anyone at Starbucks. And I didn’t name the manager.”
- The Washington Post reported on Jessica Cutler: “The electronic bulletin board where Jessica began posting her online diary offered her the option of creating a password so no one could read it without her consent. But I thought that was, like, too much trouble for my friends to have to type in a password,” Jessica says. “I thought there are so many people with their own blogs, mine is not even going to come up on the radar.” After Jessica started to get Instant Messages telling her that Wonkette had outed her, she tried furiously to delete the blog and make it inactive. Alas, it was too late. You can still get to a recreated version of her pages here.
2) Some spent time posting to their blog while at “work.” – Iain Murray apparently falls into this category. “Mr Murray explained that he spent no more time working on the blog as other colleagues spent taking breaks from work to have a cigarette.”
- Daniel P. Finney was at least suspected of doing this, as well: “They say Finney’s hard drive was confiscated on Thursday, December 16, the day after the Unreal item was published.” Clyde Bentley, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism, wrote concerning Finney: “Most companies developed policies, similar to their other “moonlighting” policies. Generally, if the material was collected and processed at work, it is supposed to stay at work. Many companies, however, co-opted the process by sponsoring the blogs of their employees and making the blog a part of their regular work.” – Jessica Cutler seems to be guilty of this, as well if one were to take the recreated time stamps at face value :”
I may be fired someday for blogging or I may not. All I can say is that I’m not going to give up something that I love doing on my free time. Of course, I will censor myself some, but so be it. I have to work! Bills need to get paid! I have to sacrifice a bit.
“The North Koreans have been told by the president of the United States that the United States has no intention of attacking or invading North Korea,” Rice told reporters. “There is a path for the North Koreans that would put them in a more reasonable relationship with the rest of the world,” she said.
So, let me get this straight. We go after Iraq because they have WMD. Yet, N. Korea has had them for years now, and has been so obvious about it as to even test them in the ocean. Ok, I give the U.S some credit. We did find sarin and mustard gas in Iraq. However, look at the difference between these two countries. If you were going after a country that
was found as a potential threat toward the U.S. due to WMD
and had a dictator that oppressed it’s citizens (which based on history appears to be the two reasons why we invade another country),
wouldn’t N. Korea be #1 on the list of countries to “take over”?
Only someone with a logical mind would deduce from that – that we had “other motives” in Iraq. Hmm… What could THAT be?
In my opinion, other countries should have WMD. Why take their defenses away? What if another country outside the U.S. were to invade a defenseless country? If the U.S. is the most “powerful” country (regarding WMD) in the world, why should we feel threatened? Or maybe we want to be even bigger, better, stronger, and greater than everyone else? Why is that? Oh wait. … N. Korea can possess WMD… well, is that because we want to keep them as friends?
Yes, that’s right! Remember the site God Hates Fags.Com, and my entry about it? Well, a blog was established to counteract this named, “God Loves Fags“. Their mission statement is as follows:
This blog is intended to give an alternate (positive) viewpoint regarding reconciling religion and homosexuality. We abhor hate in all forms and advocate love and acceptance. Yeah, it’s a little touchy-feely but far better than the alternatives.
Let’s look at how the Republicans try to piss the Libs off!
Peace through SUPERIOR FIREPOWER?
KILL! KILL! KILL!
Errr…. Ok, I’m lost here. What in the world is this supposed to mean?
Ok. Fine. I’ll be a chicken. Oooooooh,
I’m soooo skeered of you people with guns. Every time I see one of you
gun owners, I have a panic attack and run quickly into my closet where
I’m there for weeks in the fetal position. Yeah, and my gay friends in
San Francisco too.
Annoy
the left. Buy a gun!!!! You know, when my husband and I go shopping
together, even if he gets to the parking spot first, I tell him to give
it to the next person in line waiting for it because it just could be
one of you guys with your gun!Boy, you folks sure do have a lot of power over us. Is there anything else I can do for you? Want fries with that parking spot?
If evidence of a nuclear weapon program is found in Iran, should the US invade? The poll hasn’t expired yet, but 52% of you have voted to invade.
Wouldn’t it be more time saving to utilize an H-Bomb and just "Nuke the Fuckers". Oh, the hell with it — let’s just destroy the whole Middle East!
What should we do about the marine corps general who said, "It’s fun to shoot some people."?
And this man represents our military? Sweet.
Since
when do you extreme-"righties" think you’re the only ones that are
patriotic and can design your weblogs with American flags all over it?
Are we "Un-American" just because we question the President’s actions?
Is that what being a patriot is all about?
A few months ago, on a message board, I wrote the following: (click the thumbnail to read it).
What
never ceases to amaze me is the fact that some of you Republicans
resort to name-calling and insults to defend your stance on the current
war. Although some Libs are just as guilty of the same, 80% of the
time, I hear it coming from you, folks. If you have nothing else to say
but
your stupid
your ignorant
you hippy
moonbat
you commie
If you don’t like it, get out of this country
tree hugger
bleeding heart
fuck you
you’re un-American
typical lib
go thank Bill Clinton, your pal (assumptions, assumptions, assumptions)
suck my **** and
moron,
then
it’s quite obvious that none of you have an argument to present. If you
cannot present a logical, well-written, and intelligently thought-out,
and civil argument when being questioned, (even if it’s just one or two
lines) then you are just basing your pro-Iraqi-War stance solely on
emotions. What I mean by emotions is that a lot of people grow up
believing in everything their parents teach them. And for the love of
your parents, you just hang on to their belief systems blindly.
Hence, your resorting to insults to fill in the gaps. It’s nice to love
your parents, but that can be carried out in different ways.
I
could be wrong, but my guess is that many Republicans come from violent
homes. This is where some of you could be basing your decisions on. It
would be a convenient outlet by supporting a senseless war to live
vicariously though all the killings in Iraq.
If any of you
Republicans came from a non-violent home and have come to your
decisions independent of your parent’s beliefs, than kudos to you!
For the rest of you, guys, keep running with the sheep.
Finally, these two circus freaks have been arrested.
They were found here.
They fled the state driving all the way from Tampa, FL to Utah when they were required to attend a hearing regarding the torture of their adopted children.
The arrest ended a search that attracted national media attention Friday. CNN and America’s Most Wanted posted mug shots of the Dollars on Web sites and broadcasts.The children told investigators that the Dollars starved them, shocked them with electricity, pulled out their toenails with pliers, bound them with chains and strips of plastic and struck their feet with hammers.
A 16-year-old boy weighed 59 pounds. Twin boys, age 14, weighed 36 and 38 pounds, the Sheriff’s Office said.
DCF released documents that showed the Dollars adopted three children in Hillsborough County in 1995; at that time, they already had five children.
This had been going un-noticed for years because The Dollars had all the children bound to the home. They were never let outside of the home – which is also the place where they received all their schooling. Mrs. Dollar was a stay home ‘mother’ and home-schooled her children.
Friends and neighbors, meantime, described the Dollars as religious and strict, and said the children hardly ever were seen.
Now, is it just me that keeps hearing stories of child abuse where their parents are so called ‘devout Christians’? Religious? Why do I keep hearing stories of ‘religious’ parents committing the most heinous
acts? Typical.
The investigation began Jan. 21 when Mrs. Dollar called an ambulance for her 16-year-old son, said sheriff’s spokeswoman Gail Tierney. The boy was taken to Seven Rivers Regional Medical Center near Crystal River, where he was treated for head and neck injuries.His injuries weren’t the only thing that caught the attention of law enforcement. No one in the family seemed able to explain how he got the injuries, including red marks around his neck, Tierney said.
The children were kept hidden for years while The Dollars kept moving back and forth from Tennessee and Florida. Between that and the fact that these two psychopaths fled like a bat out of hell following the unexpected accusations of said crimes, one would have to have their head up their bum to not see the obvious Consciousness of Guilt there.
One very frightening thing: One of the children was starved to death so much that it was said that this boy who looked as if he were six years old was really sixteen!
On Monday, the Dollars failed to appear at a hearing where the court system would determine, among other things, whether their children would remain in DCF custody or be returned to their parents, Tierney
said.When the Dollars didn’t show, authorities went to their home and found two of their vehicles missing and much of their belongings cleared out, Tierney said.
A breakthrough came late Friday morning when investigators found the couple’s motor home abandoned in a Polk County RV park.
After tracking the couple’s cell phone calls, law officers determined the Dollars were near Salt Lake City and likely traveling in their gold Lexus SUV, which the motor home had been towing.
“I was shocked,” said Frank Stanley, who knew the Dollars years before, when they lived in Indiana. “When I knew them, I never ever thought they would do that.”
What else is new? Who do you think you REALLY KNOW? Isn’t it becoming a cliché now that every time a crime is committed, the neighbors are surprised? I don’t blame the neighbors. But people would have to be really stupid not to realize that what YOU see is not always what is really there! Do you actually think if one of your Bible Thumping, friendly and loving neighbors were to be doing illegal stunts behind closed doors that they would not go out of their way to keep their little secrets hidden?
“They seemed to move around a lot, and they seemed to acquire children everywhere they’d go,” Stanley said.Stanley said the couple moved frequently between Florida and Tennessee.By 1995, the couple had adopted five children and were looking to adopt three more, according to DCF records in Hillsborough County.
EGADS!
In applying for a foster care license, John Dollar described himself as a commercial real estate appraiser with a bachelor’s degree. Mrs.Dollar said she was a housewife with a master’s.Mrs. Dollar wrote that she “would be interested in adopting (a) sibling group that would jell into our family unit to share lifetime of love.”She listed “time out, spending time alone in room, loss of rewards, discussions” among the forms of discipline she found most effective.
John Dollar said Mrs. Dollar was his third wife and guessed she would call him a “loving, caring, good father and a good provider, hardworking,” the records showed.
“We have 5 adopted children and have seen what we can do to help those less fortunate,” he wrote. “We see so many
children who need special care, love and an opportunity to be a part of a warm, loving, caring home atmosphere.”
He said he was looking forward to “seeing a child’s eyes response, and attitudes change from fear, neglect and apprehension to one of being accepted, loved and needed.”
Uh huh.
Well, enough of that. You can read the rest of the story and the tidbits I left out here.
One more thing I’d like to add…. You know how we adults get together and discuss how today’s teens are so out of control, filled with angst, rage, and rebellion? I think from now on it is best to try to understand where they came from.
We’ve got teenagers who
are suicidal or commit suicide,
are overdosing on drugs,
are suffering from extreme introversion or depression,
kill their parents or another family member or are violent with them,
get into trouble with the law,
run away from home, and
are addicted to sex.
Does anybody ever stop and wonder WHY?
Hypothetically speaking, if the children of Mr. and Mrs. Dollar were ever to be surrounded by people or have gone to school outside the home, would we not see something different about them? In any way? They
don’t necessarily have to be “mean”. Imagine how some people would criticize them and stop — right there — looking no deeper.
This happens way too often.
In most cases, children defend their parents and keep the lives that they have behind the closed doors of their own home a BIG SECRET.
“Many children are far too young to understand what has happened to him/her. Unable to communicate verbally what has happened. Remember sexual abuse knows no age limits. Unfortunately, it can and does happen to even the smallest of children whom are only weeks old.
Children are often threatened and or bribed by the abuser to keep the abuse a secret just between the two of them. It is a scary thing for a child to have their life or the lives of family members threatened if the tell the secret. Often they are afraid that even if they do tell no one will believe them. We must prove them wrong. It is very rare that young children lie about (word omitted) abuse. You must let them know you believe them. Assure them it is not their fault, they did nothing wrong and they are not being punished. This kind of attention can be confusing, causing them to feel ashamed and embarrassed and stirring up mixed emotions especially if it is someone they know, love and trust. They then worry about getting into trouble themselves or getting a loved one into trouble. —Children Are Worth saving…. C.A.W.S. —caws.com”
With that said, I’ve always believed that no child is born evil.
Blog Suicide……. Can there be such a thing? How many times have you sat down at the computer making an entry to your blog about something you are passionate about, your thoughts are flying, you’re reaching down deep, laying it on the line, just as you feel it. And then bam! You
stop suddenly in your tracks and you ask yourself, “Is this politically correct? Am I going to get a bad rating for this? Am I committing Blog Suicide here?
(Raising my hand) This happens to be more often than I wish it would. It’s pretty sad, but it’s inevitable. You know, people with tons of bottled up anger look for controversial reads and use that as an outlet. It’s so wrong. I wonder why people just cannot attack the subject matter rather than the person who presents it?
I try to be careful with those “touchy topics” especially those topics that ruffle the feathers of the Bush Supporters. Let’s face it. Many of us have very strong opinions about war. Well, that’s all good and well until you find some inane, insulting remarks in the comments section of your blog. A very good example of this can be found on the second blog comment in this entry from Unfair Witness.
“i say good job g.i. at least they didint cut off his head with a dull knife. you week minded goof”
The above mental midget who wrote that comment was responding to the tragic death of an Iraqi POW at the hands of our military police. Nice move.
I take risks, though. I take a break from walking on the egg shells. So far no one has posted any offensive comments in my blog, but I know it’s not a question of “if”, it’s more a question of “when”. It happens everywhere. It happens all the time. We have to be prepared for the wacko, crack-heads who read our blogs, and know that some of their comments will offend us — whether we like it or not. But all and all, I still believe it’s worth the risk. However, I’m not always that adventurous.
I think it’s fine to disagree or even be offended by the blog you’re viewing. Some people don’t like to hear
dissenting views, but it’s fair game. If you’re going to bring up a “touchy topic”, you better be prepared for a rebuttal. But there’s no excuse for insults or name-calling. (I’m guilty of this too, but only in response to other insults. Call me a hypocrite, but I personally feel it’s a fair game to fight back whether it’s the right or wrong thing to do.)
These two have GOT to be figures in a wax museum! Anybody have matches??
I got a match….My dogs ass and your face!
The first commenter didn’t offend the poster nor did he/she attack any other commenters. But the second commenter, with nothing intelligent to say, resorted to making an insulting attack rather than staying on topic and commenting on the entry written.
“Oh my God!” The thought of it all sends you clicking away at your backspace button or rapidly hitting the delete button. You lean back, think for a moment, then resume your entry, trying to sugar coat your thoughts in order to create a post that gets your feelings/point across
but stops short of an untimely death. How sad is that?
Very. Some people cannot handle opinions that differ from their own.
And then there’s that blogger or two or three that slams you! Gives you a damn 1 or 2? Hell, that’s almost not even showing up for class! How on earth can you get a rating like that other than spew hatred and vile thoughts? If I don’t like a blog I just keep on surfing. We all have varying opinions. We are individuals; that’s what makes surfing so much fun. Seeing different points of views other than my own, like them or not.
Well, there’s no rating system here, but those who disagree with us, like to punish us for our opinions. God forbid! If there’s no rating system, we get insulted, instead. Either way, it’s punishment. We are bad. Some punishments even take the form of being terminated from your job! because one of your clients got offended at your difference in views. I had to agree with the below commenter in response to the firing:
My condolences on the death of your country’s constitution. Where do we send the flowers?
You can send it to those who at least try to exercise their right to ‘free speech’. But as our men fight in Iraq, isn’t it ironic how we are losing our freedoms by the day?
There are always places and times when certain topics are taboo. You know those topics, politics, religion, sex. The topics that consume us on a
daily basis through media, at work at play, in our face all the time. So why not talk about them in our blogs without fear of blog suicide? If there was ever a time when our country was more divided by party lines, pro /anti war, morality issues, it’s now.
Yes, I reckon the terrorists and all the Anti-Americans in the Middle East love to hear about the division of the Americans. Yes, we hate each other. We don’t disagree with each other. We hate each other. Fifty-one percent VS forty-eight percent, right?
So I ask this, before you slam me or my fellow bloggers with a 1 or a 2 ask yourself this, “Did what they say inspire me? Invoke thoughts of my own? Make me feel passionate about my own beliefs?” If you can answer “yes” to any of those than maybe just maybe the post served it’s purpose and ignited new passions of your own.
In the ideal world, people will listen to other’s point of views and get inspired by them, rather than resorting to name-calling and getting too personal. They get personal because they are taking our comments personally. These are very touchy people and perhaps too thin-skinned to be participating in controversial subject matters with others.
The extreme Libs are just as guilty. Watch out for the extremists – Republicans or Democrats.
Nobody enjoys being insulted, hence for the “sugar-coating” of our words so as not to ‘offend’ those that don’t have the strength and maturity to accept the opinion of another.
As some of you already know, there are several Iraqi bloggers in Cyberspace. Today, with some mixed feelings, I went to several blogs to read up on the election that’s taking place in Iraq. I came across a few Iraqi blogs. Some Iraqis are feeling very positively about the current events in their country.
Democracy in Iraq is here!
“I am happy to report…no I am honored to report that I have cast my ballot in our election. It is such an amazing feeling to be able to have some control over the destiny of my nation, a feeling I have not known before! I was one of the first ones to report to our local voting station, and I placed my vote, my stained finger is proof (The authorities are using such a system to make sure people do not vote twice). I was not the only one to show up at the opening of the voting area, there were at least a dozen other Iraqis waiting to take part in this momentous event, and as I left, I saw tens more file in.
I have changed the header of my page to reflect the new, improved, democratic Iraq. The turnout has been higher than expected, even Yahoo had an article reflecting this. I link it below. The article states that turnout was about 75%, so I believe it was in reality somewhat higher. And all this despite the fact that the terrorists did indeed carry out attacks, but as we all knew, it did not stop Iraqis!! People do not get scared that easily when they are so close to their goal.
It is early in the day, but I am confident of the turnout of the vote. The terrorists have not scared us. They made some attempts at disrupting things yesterday when they attacked an American building, and in attacking balloting areas, but it has not been effective. People are going to vote. From the conversations I have had with people across Baghdad, it looks like the Iraqiya list is going to come out on top. But this is speculation and is not as important as the fact that we are voting as a nation now. No more of the shams that Saddam put us through, no more of not having control over the political future, it ends today.
It will be a day forever remembered. My voting was only a simple act, I went, I identified myself, got my finger stained, filled out a ballot, and dropped it in a box. It is not a complex or grand process to the eye, but it is one that I will forever remember and will recount to my children, and their children. And God willing it will be remembered through the ages.”
An Iraqi moved to tears from voting the very first time.
On GOPBloggers.Com, you can find Americans showing their support for the Iraqis by painting their index finger blue. This all started from one little girl named Shelby Dangerfield.
As mentioned in Slant Point.Com, the authors of Liberal blogs didn’t make much mention of the Iraqi election.
Here are some photos from Election Day in Iraq:
As a sign of respect, an Iraqi soldier crawls to the polling station.
Security guards are searching the women for weapons.
As there was no electricity at the time, the pollers had to resort to using a lantern to vote.
Here are Iraqi soldiers voting in Baghdad.
And the famous ink-stained finger.
Below is a demographical view of “who” voted “where”.
In “diary-style” another Iraqi shared some positive thoughts about these events in his blog.
“Just got back from the local voting station in my ‘hood, Karada, which is a heavily Shi’a neighborhood. The polling took place in the Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim High School, named for the former leader of the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq. The security for the neighborhood is being handled by Iraqi Police, New Iraqi Army and Badr/SCIRI militiamen. And—quelle surprise!—the list topped by Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the current leader of SCIRI and the brother of Muhammad Baqr al-Hakim, is the favored list. Almost everyone is voting for that one in this area. But for all that, there were a lot of women, and everyone looked happier than I’ve seen them in months.There were no Americans in sight, except for the Apache choppers circling above.
Interesting. I’m watching CNN International, and the shots of long lines and happy voters are almost all coming from Iraqi Kurdistan where the voters are motivated and the environment is (relatively) safe. The rub is that CNN is not identifying the images as coming from Kurdistan; the only way I knew it was from up north was the single shot of someone waving a Kurdish flag. But if you don’t know what the flag looks like (red, white and green bars with a yellow starburst in the center), as I suspect most Americans don’t, you wouldn’t know the context of these images. Shi’ites are also coming out in droves in the south. But Sunnis are staying home. I will be surprised if the Sunni vote hits double digits at this point.
Just got back from a couple of polling stations. Things have gone very smoothly, all things considered. Everyone out on the streets is happy, even the Iraqi security forces who will laugh and joke with journalists—the first time they’ve done it in months. I saw one American convoy patrolling around, but that was it. A few American choppers. But the promise to put the Iraqis front and center seemed to have been kept.
“It’s the first time for the Iraqis to express their opinions,” her father said. “It’s the greatest national eid (holiday) for us.”
“I feel like a free man,” said Muhammad Abad al-Badawi, a shopkeeper who had just finished voting. “For the last 35 years, we were electing nothing. They were fake elections.” He’s supporting Allawi, “because he’s a decent man” and he will fix the security situation.”
Well folks, that’s the good news. And I’m sure there’s more. Yet, there are some Iraqis not too very pleased about the recent change in Iraq.
An Iraqi woman, Houzan Mahmoud, bodly states her discontentment.
“I am an Iraqi woman, and I am boycotting Sunday’s elections. Women who do vote will be voting for an enslaved future. Surely, say those who support these elections, after decades of tyranny, here at last is a form of democracy, imperfect, but democracy nevertheless?
In reality, these elections are, for Iraq’s women, little more than a cruel joke. Amid the suicide attacks, kidnappings and US-led military assaults of the 20-odd months since Saddam’s fall, the little-reported phenomenon is the sharp increase in the persecution of Iraqi women. Women are the new victims of Islamic groups intent on restoring a medieval barbarity and of a political establishment that cares little for women’s empowerment.
Having for years enjoyed greater rights than other women in the Middle East, women in Iraq are now losing even their basic freedoms. The right to choose their clothes, the right to love or marry whom they want. Of course women suffered under Saddam. I fled his cruel regime. I personally witnessed much brutality, but the subjugation of women was never a goal of the Baath party. What we are seeing now is deeply worrying: a reviled occupation and an openly reactionary Islamic armed insurrection combining to take Iraq into a new dark age….”
You can read the rest of her story here as she goes into more detail.
Let’s see, well, this election in Iraq isn’t bad news, right? Aside from approximately 20 suicide bombings and some disgruntled Iraqis, from what I’m gathering, the majority of the Iraqis seem pleased about having been able to vote for the first time, and the hope for a democratic nation becomes a little more real in their eyes. I’d be most curious to see the outcome of all this.
Regardless of this positive experience for the Iraqis, I still don’t see all this worth the enormous amount of lives lost to accomplish this. I guess that how the liberal mind works? Some Republicans argue that we need to accomplish important goals even if innocent people have to die. Why does this not sit so well for me? Yes, I do see Iraqis happy. There is real hope for the future in Iraq, but I just cannot get myself past the deaths. The deaths of not only our men, but of the innocent Iraqis, themselves.
One more thing, not of less importance, that drives me crazy is the fact that there are ample countries out there under a crazy operated government where its people are suffering tremendously. Is President Bush going to straighten those countries out to?
Talk about WMD… can you say … N. Korea? If we need to fix any country, N. Korea should have been number one priority. Don’t you agree?
Iraq is going to be under a different leader soon. Who’s to say that leader is going to be any better than Sadaan? Look at Cuba and Haiti? We helped them get a new leader, and there countries are no better off.
In any event, what’s done is done. You can’t stop a war when it’s already happened and still going on. All we have to look forward to is some peace in Iraq. I’m just waiting for the next page to turn.
Employers have recently tried every carrot they can think of — including cash incentives and iPods — to persuade employees to quit smoking. Now some are trying the stick.
Pointing to rising health costs and the oversized proportion of insurance claims attributed to smokers, some employers in California and around the country are refusing to hire applicants who smoke and, sometimes, firing employees who refuse to quit.
A sheriff’s office in Florida is asking job applicants who have a recent history of smoking to pass a polygraph test proving they no longer smoke outside of work.
Employees, workers’ rights groups and some unions are decrying the smoking bans as an invasion of individual rights. “What you do in your own home after work or on the weekend is none of your bosses’ business,” says Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute in Princeton, N.J., a spin-off of the American Civil Liberties Union. “The last time I checked, tobacco is a legal product.”
Critics of the smoking bans say it’s not clear that smokers are more costly than other workers, such as people who are obese. Though some studies have shown that smokers have higher absentee and lower productivity rates than nonsmokers, economists say the research is limited. It’s possible, they say, that smokers don’t dramatically increase health costs with chronic and expensive conditions like emphysema, heart disease and cancer until they’re much older, when they may be employed elsewhere or retired.
“It sounds right for employers to say, ‘If we get rid of them, we’ll save money.’ But no one has the concrete data to prove that right now,” says Tom Morrison, senior vice president of Segal Co., an employee benefits consulting firm in New York.
Critics are concerned that if more companies follow suit, it will lead to other employer intrusions on workers’ lives. What is to stop companies from telling workers they can’t ride motorcycles? Or eat junk food?
Maltby, of the Workrights Institute, says employees are facing a variety of challenges to their freedoms outside of work. A worker in Texas was fired in 2003 for having an affair off the job. This fall, a woman in Alabama lost her job for refusing to remove a John Kerry bumper sticker from her car. (She was later hired by the Kerry campaign.)
Wow! Now, Big Brother’s watching our sexual activity and denying our right to have an opinion?
I understand the prohibition of smoking in the work place or in an area where non-smokers are located, but I find it very absurd that some employers are now not hiring or even firing employees that smoke even in the privacy of their own homes. Insurance costs? Really? Do these people not take in consideration that there are many who die from lung disease, lung cancer, and emphysema who have never even touched a cigarette? Do they not realize that there are several factors that can lead people to get ill or even terminally ill? I know people that spend several hundreds of dollars a month alone on psychiatric drugs. What about the food we eat? What about obesity and the very common heart conditions that come from it? If they start firing smokers, then they’re going to have to start firing obese people too! What about those that are anorexic or bulimic or those that just plain don’t eat right? Look at the health risks there!! They fail to think about heredity. What if an employee has a predisposition to certain illnesses, cancers, or diseases? Should they fire those people too based on thier family’s medical history?
If employers are so “worried about the cost of insurance”, they should follow through with the program and hire only healthy people. However, in order to carefully monitor each employee’s health, the privacy one has in their own home will no longer exist. Big brother will be watching you. Big brother will be making sure you work out at the gym everyday. He will be making sure you eat your veggies and stay on a proper and balanced diet.
I don’t see any consistency here. So, that’s what brings me to believe that these companies have an ulterior motive in their “no smoking laws”. I also believe this because I have personally known people that go absolutely berserk when they discover that someone they know is a smoker. What someone chooses to do that could potentially harm their body is their own business unless they’re bringing someone else down with them.
There is a strong hatred and prejudice against smokers in this society. My question is do they really care about YOU and YOUR health? If they did, then why do they get so angry and want to avoid you all together even if you don’t smoke around them. People just like to control others they hate for their own political and selfish reasons. It’s not the second hand smoke; it’s just that your smoking reminds them of some painful memory in their past that they have not recovered from. The smoking just merely symbolizes a person of their past that they hate. The hatred is then misplaced on an innocent smoker in their present life. What else could this be? The anti’s are carrying around years of baggage and are using smokers as a scapegoat so that they don’t have to deal with their own problems. People that really care about you won’t alienate you or get angry. If anti-smokers have any warm and fuzzy feelings in their heart than they will understand that people who wish to smoke do so for their own personal reasons and they will respect that because well, .. they just like you and want you to be happy. They will mind their own business because they know that “preaching” doesn’t work as there is nothing more incredibly annoying than unsolicited advice. These smoker-haters love to hide behind the “because I care” mantra. Well, that’s just one theory I have.
Of course, I understand “second-hand smoke”, but that’s not what we’re talking about here.
Look at all the existing hatred toward the obese! They aren’t hurting anyone but themselves. Some people are very openly cruel to them. I wonder if they have a plan to monitor people’s drinking habits too?
This type of predjudice reminds me of the Neo-Nazis, the KKK, and the God Hates Fags group. Same thing. Different prejudice. And when these control-freaks are given a position of high authority, they take advantage of their power to make the lives of those people they don’t agree with, miserable.
It’s all very simple, folks.
While we ARE technically free here in America, little by little our government and justice system are protecting the elitists and easily-offended, consequently jeopardizing the privacy and the “freedom” of those people who just go about their own business. The control-freaks pretty much prevail and get what they want.
Just for the record, I do realize that third-world countries DO have it worse than we do. And no, I don’t wish to leave this country for another one. It’s just that when you are used to having certain freedoms, just to have them taken away, doesn’t sit very well with me. But if I have to pretend I’m “Pro-Bush” to get or keep a job, so be it. How else are the bills going to get paid?
Click on any of the pictures below to see the complete portfolio of this new fashion trend scare.
Want more?
Click the banner below to visit the main weblog where these pictures came from. Interestingly enough, according to SIMON WORLD (The East Meets Westerner Site), the below MasaMania.com was voted second place in the Japan Blog Awards!
When Clyde Blount’s non-violent, relentless efforts to protect his son failed, the bully, Lonnie Hillery, had to learn his lesson the hard way. While my opinion is not a politically correct one, and one that is emotional and extreme, I’m glad dad got rid of the bully.
Too many victims of bullies eventually begin to feel that they deserve the beatings and their self-esteem goes down the drain and the trauma follows them for a life time, but I’m willing to bet the bullied son (C.J.) will grow up remembering what his father taught him: Bullying is wrong.
The ones who feel it deserved (even if subconsciously), will just continue the cycle.
It’s too bad it had to end the way it did. I also feel for the son who has to live years without seeing his father, whom I believe loved him very much.
While I don’t condone something as final as a murder as a resolution, the bitter, sour part of my heart is rejoicing the outcome. As biased I am on this topic, I would never be able to sit on on a jury for a case like this. Clyde Blount is obviously guilty, indeed. He was wrong for taking the law in his own hands — no doubt about that. It also frightens me to think that he could have shot another student in the crowd accidentally. So, please don’t get me wrong. I realize the father made a mistake, but again (not able to separate my feelings from the law), I am happy about the conclusion and hope that the jury finds him guilty of manslaughter rather than second degree murder! Unfortunately, he won’t be found innocent.
You know why his father went to this extreme? That’s right! The school’s faculty and staff didn’t give a hoot. They just merely told Lonnie Hillery not to do it again. Like that’s going to work? What does history prove? They should have expelled him!
The schools never do anything to solve this predicament. Well, I’ve only heard of a couple success cases, but they are few and far between.
CANORA, SASK. – The town of Canora is struggling to come to grips with the recent suicides of two teenagers who may have been victims of bullying at school.
On Monday night, hundreds of people packed a school gymnasium in the town to talk about whether the way the youths were treated by their peers contributed to their deaths in December.
One of the teenagers, 16-year-old Travis Sleeva, was subjected to harassment over an extended period said his parents, Gary and Carol Sleeva.
The school failed to deal with it, said the couple, who were at the meeting.
Look at this. Here again, the school didn’t take the matter in their hands and do anything about it.
A few weeks after Sleeva died, a female Grade 9 student also took her own life. Other students say fighting and intimidation are part of the daily routine at the town’s high school. Some parents are blaming the school for not doing enough to curb the problem.
“I’ve had no response from anyone,” said Carol Sleeva…
Parent Tracy Hannotte says the bullying problem must be stopped.
“There’s no repercussions for bullying,” she said. “I don’t think the teachers
are doing enough and I don’t think the parents of the bullies are doing enough.”
Some students walk out of meeting
The meeting upset many students, and a dozen walked out halfway through the event.
“I expected some of the problems to be confronted,” said one student. “This was just covering it up.”
This makes me even more enraged. Why is it that teenagers can see what these stupid adults can’t?
In November 2000, Dawn-Marie Wesley, 14, of Mission, B.C. hanged herself shortly after three teenage girls called her. Wesley’s suicide note said that she had been threatened by bullies and she believed death was her only escape.
In her ruling, B.C. Provincial Court Judge Jill Rounthwaite said that it was clear that one of the accused had bullied Wesley repeatedly, giving the victim reason to fear for her life.
Rounthwaite noted that bystanders added “to the power of the bully” by letting the harassment go on without intervening.
“None of those people had the moral strength to tell the bully to stop or go away,” the judge said.
Well, there you have it. You know, it’s no wonder Clyde Blount killed his son’s bully. Remember Clyde tried
the civil way to stop the relentless torment against his son. It didn’t work. I suppose years in prison for Clyde is worth it all to save his son.
Unreal. Should we just kill the bullies from now on? It seems like the only resolution.
In his suicide note, Hamed mentioned that when he was bullied in school, he always pretended that it didn’t bother him. He would just walk away and ignore the bullies. He continued that even though he put up an “I’m okay” facade, that he was really crying inside. This is very common, I believe.
The straw that broke the camels back was when he was punched in the stomach. Following that, he took his own life.
I know somebody that was continuously harassed because he didn’t take showers after P.E., and a gang of bullies tried to force him into the shower. On another occasion, he was punched in the stomach in the rest room. One day he tried to defend himself upon being made fun of, and he decided to stand up for himself. He made an appointment to meet his bully after school where he tried to fight his bully by pushing him. He
was then sent to the principal’s office and he got the beating of a life time on his behind. He told me that it hurt him so much physically that he was “dancing afterwards”.
That was my husband. An update? He says he doesn’t think about his school days of being perpetually taunted and beaten. When he goes back in retrospect, he feels that it means nothing to him today. Yet, by his behavior, to an intuitive person, it is very obvious that today at 49 he is still affected by that experience.
I believe that this is very normal. Our defenses work so very hard to repress the horrid memories, and to make one believe that it either never happened or that it was no big deal. Some have better defense mechanisms than others. For those that have, by nature, weak defenses, I guess wind up killing themselves. On the flip side, while our defenses save a lot of lives (thank God, including my husband’s), we wind up in denial of the memory and subconsciously, the “school-day torture” haunts us throughout the rest of our lives.
When my husband’s mother found out that the school’s administration did nothing to fix the problem, she persevered until more than half the staff got fired and were moved to different schools.
Hamed, in the above video documentary, said that he often gave out non-verbal signals to his parents. He said that he doesn’t blame his parents that they didn’t understand, and that he still loved them.
What about in the days where it was acceptable for teachers and principals to hit or whack their students as the parents not only condoned it but celebrated this ritual. Remember those days? For any students being bullied back then, can you imagine them coming home to mom and dad about being bullied by their classmates? Impossible. Children know that if mom and dad think it’s great that their child’s receiving regular “paddling sessions” for being naughty, what makes you think they’ll come home to report abuse from their “peers”? Especially if their being bullied by their own parents.
Give me a f’n break! And for the dolts that think bullying is a modern phenomenon as a result of minimal or no corporal punishment, you’re wrong! Bullying has been going on since ancient times — yes, including those days when teachers could do ANYTHING they wanted to “bad” pupils.
It’s 2005. Do you think adults have gotten the message by now? When’s the wake-up call? Do we have to sit on our rears waiting for more children to kill themselves for a few more years before some
action is taken?
Comes home with torn, damaged, or missing pieces of clothing, books, or other belongings
Has unexplained cuts, bruises, and scratches
Has few, if any friends, with whom he or she spends time
Seems afraid of going to school, walking to and from school, riding the school bus, or taking part in organized activities with peers (such as clubs)
Takes a long, “illogical” route when walking to or from school
Has lost interest in school work or suddenly begins to do poorly in school
Appears sad, moody, teary, or depressed when he or she comes home
Complains frequently of headaches, stomach aches, or other physical ailments
Has trouble sleeping or has frequent bad dreams
Experiences a loss of appetite
Appears anxious and/or suffers from low self-esteem
What to Do If You Suspect That Your Child Is Being Bullied?
If your child shows any of these signs, this does not necessarily mean that he or she is being bullied, but
it is a possibility worth exploring. What should you do? Talk with your child and talk with staff at school
to learn more.
1. Talk with your child. Tell your child that you are concerned about him or her and that you’d like to
help. Here are some questions that can get the discussion going.
Some direct questions:
“I’m worried about you. Are there any kids at school who may be picking on you or bullying you?”
“Are there any kids at school who tease you in a mean way?”
“Are there any kids at school who leave you out or exclude you on purpose?”
Some more subtle questions:
“Do you have any special friends at school this year? Who are they? Who do you hang out with?”
“Who do you sit with at lunch/on the bus?”
“Are there any kids at school who you really don’t like? Why don’t you like them? Do they ever pick on you or leave you out of things?”
If I’ve gotten my message across to at least one person, I’ve done my duty. Parents, teachers, and school administrators really need to keep their eyes open. I have hope that some day, this problem will be nipped in the bud.
Ten minutes after telling his fellow protesters to stay safe, Gil Kobrin lay huddled in the slush and mud as two anarchists repeatedly kicked him in the back.
“You can go a [expletive] half-mile away and stand on the first street corner you see!” shouted a self-described anarchist, dressed all in black with a bandana covering his face. As they taunted and threatened and liberally profaned Kobrin and the rest of the group, a member of the D.C.
Anti-War Network (DAWN) — the official organizers of the rally — tried to break it up.
“Your purpose is to instigate people. You’re going to have to leave!” shouted the “marshal,” DAWN’s term for their ad hoc security force.
“We’re staying here,” Kobrin replied.
After the scuffle, one young anarchist hurled a snowball, laced with dirt and pebbles and whatever else he could scoop of the ground, at the retreating Protest Warrior members. The anarchist, who declined to offer his name, said he did not believe in violence, but insisted that
“Throwing a snowball… is not going to hurt anybody.”
“Dude, you got your ass kicked,” one of them taunted at the Protest Warrior group.
Some in the anti-Bush crowd said they resented the fact that Protest Warrior’s “man bites dog” schtick eats up a disproportionate amount of press attention.
“They’re taking the media away from us!” exclaimed one angry protester.
It’s idiots like these that give Liberals a bad name. However, Anti-American Brits and Canadians are probably very proud.
Good Lord. I’m embarrassed to be associated with these people!
This picture cracks me up! How far do these nut jobs go? The police on several occasions had to spray them with with pepper spray because of their violence “in the name of peace”. I don’t get it. And yes, I’m a Liberal.
I don’t know about you guys, but personally, I don’t like to see our flag being burned. It’s a little over the top and too dangerous for passerby to boot.
Tin foil hats? What’s up with that? This reminds me of the “Scott is Innocent” group.
What’s wrong with this one?
In my opinion, this is fine (although offensive to some, perhaps). I have no problem with those who protest non-violently and without destroying property and putting others at a physical risk. Other than that, I pretty much don’t care what they do. In fact, I am happy that protesting is permitted, and that people are actually getting off their rears and doing it. Is protesting going to change things? Nope. Never. However, the message needs to be heard and spread. I admire those that can protest without throwing things at the police and causing a violent stir which I believe is hypocritical and just plain stupid!
Hey, let’s watch these moonbats on video! (Only the guy at the end is talking sense. The rest of them?… Well, …… you fill in the blank.)
One hundred and eleven bloggers have signed a petition already to protect themselves from getting the boot from both their companies and/or organizations they belong to. Wow!
Hear about what happened to a “former” Delta Air Lines flight attendant. If you read the feedback the woman got regarding her getting fired from Delta, some believe she had deserved to get fired while others sided with her and agreed that she should “fight it out”.
You can find more in depth information on “Queen of the Sky’s” story in her blog. There too, you will find the pictures that may have caused her to get fired.
~Hear the Feedback~
In a way, you kinda deserved it. Sorry. I am a very left-wing, liberal type but if I had a company and my employees were globally offending my operation for the sake of a few laughs and their own inferiority complex I’m afraid they’d be fired. Delta might not be the most employee-centric company around, but the idea of ‘team’ is tarnished when one uses her clought-lofted uniform to stage complaints and quarrels about her company.One thought is, if the company is/was so bad why bother working there then or trying to get your job back now? One would wonder if the ‘blog’ was about the job or about
yourself. After all, you do call yourself a ‘queen’. written by Nick Tomkin
Netta Johnson writes If you want it personal, keep it personal.
All in all she should take it with a grain of salt… but we do live in a cultural infrastructure that currently frowns on employees who cant keep private personal information out of the job…ie-employee silliness. Too bad she had to get fired to realize that. Blowing off steam, I could understand, complaints, I could understand, if taken to the source, but what company likes bad publicity, and even worse, self aggrandizement on their dime? Of course there is nothing out here to stop anyone from saying what ever they want to say about anyone else, but as always, you must expect consequences.
The issue isn’t blogging. Nobody is trying to stop anybody from blogging. The issue is you took pictures of yourself in your uniform (during work hours?) in your workplace in sexy poses and then posted them for the whole world to see.If you had taken pictures of yourself looking the slightest bit professional in your uniform, in the plane, smiling, doing your job, I doubt the company would’ve objected. To prance around the airplane, sprawl across the seats barefooted, take
pictures that say “see my tits and ass” in the workplace is so unprofessional as to be unbelievable.
Why do you think that this is acceptable behavior by anybody while at work? If you owned an airline, would you like it if your employees where clearly goofing off on your dime and then publishing it for the whole world to see?
I can’t believe all the people here rooting for this kind of unprofessional behavior in the workplace and missing the whole point by saying it’s some sort of oppression on your “right” to blog. Give me a break. written by Claire
However, some people feel she should fight back!
Why shouldn’t she fight back? Calling it “whining” is a red herring. It’s an elitist comment, and “bending over to take it” won’t solve a thing. People have a right to live their life. I am a business owner, and I feel privileged to work with great people. As
long as their personal business doesn’t affect mine, they can do whatever they feel like doing.In my experience, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In my experience, those who complain about others whining usually are the ones doing most of the whining.
Pathetic!
And J S writes Get the Facts before you judge her.
In reading her site, I see that the reason she is alleging sex discrimination is apparently because there are male pilots who have posted photos of themselves in uniform on web sites, but have not been fired for it.As for “at will” employment: Employment law is very complex and relates to individual state law. Some states are “at will” states, some are not.
My opinion is: she should fight Delta over this, but it would be better to do so privately rather than using the web as her podium.
Just wanted to rebut comments by “Claire.” I don’t think the pics by QofS are “unprofessional,” “unacceptable,” or even “sexy.” They may be considered “sexy” by viewers who deem it so (leg men, fetishists, the like). Those pictures were taken at the beginning of the workday, out of sight of passengers. It was not obvious that the uniform was Delta’s. What she did had no effect on the workday’s activities. And if
you think flight attendants should be humorless and serious all the time consider this. At Southwest Airlines, ground crew and flight attendants crack jokes, announce sport scores, make silly announcements (like “Welcome to Lost Wages” as they pull into McCarran), have singing contests and do other unorthodox, fun acts in front of passengers. As I have stated in previous posts, which airline is the only one making a
profit these days? written by Jimmy
Very interesting. And even more interesting for me because I used to work for Delta!!! Fortunately, I didn’t get fired nor did I leave the company on bad terms. I do not know what it’s like to work for Delta right now, but looking back, Delta was one of the most professional and employee-friendly companies in the US that I’ve ever worked for.
Before I even knew what had been going on in the Blogsphere regarding getting fired or “dooced” as they say, I had always thought to myself that I would keep the fact that I write in a blog a secret from everybody at work — regardless if they were a co-worker or good friend of mine. My real name is not exposed on my blog nor is any of my personal information that would lead anyone to find out “who I am” or “what I do”.
Secondly, I was raised to always “be careful what you put in writing”. This is so true. “Anything you say or do can be held against you….” Sounds familiar?
This is not to say that I don’t believe people should have “online diaries” that are focused primarily on themselves, their lives, their rants, and their deepest personal feelings. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. And yes, “Free Speech” DOES come in to play and is there to “protect” us. However, as others had mentioned in the “Queen of the Sky” case, Free Speech comes with limitations and must be used with caution. Remember one of the last lines in the movie, “Spiderman 1″?“With great power comes great responsibility.” This is pretty much of the same thing. Be prepared for the consequences of Free Speech (if there are any). I guess it all depends on “what you’re saying”, “who” you’re talking about, and how well you keep your identity hidden. For example, never send anyone from your workplace an email with an electronic signature escorting them to your blog!!
I do feel for Ellen Simonetti. I cannot imagine the devastation that comes with getting fired - let alone the embarrassment of “getting caught with your pants down“ with all your little secrets on the internet! Ug! At least, that’s how I would take it.
So, in this case, Delta may have not been in the wrong for firing this woman.
Chris says
I think its amazing that the NBA would fine you for those comments. It is obvious to pretty much anyone that having the season start on election day wasn’t a great decision. By fining you for pointing that out, rather than putting out a statement of reasons for starting the season on election day (assuming they exist), the NBA just looks worse and is cutting off a potential resource. If you’re allowed to make comments and criticisms in public, especially on the blog, the league can get some feedback on their decisions. I guess I just don’t get it.To answer your specific questions, I suppose it makes the league appear weaker, but more importantly it probably makes the league weaker. It won’t affect the way I interact with the league, I’ll still watch on TV and make the hour and a half trip to catch a game every year. It is upsetting though.
Darren comments…
I’ll probably blog about this on my own site, but here’s a quick first impression. When I lived in Europe, I was extremely surprised to see the on-field officials giving interviews after English Premiership (that’s soccer, incidentally) games. The media asked them about incidents in the game, and the officials seemed to answer (more or
less) honestly about what they thought transpired.Why don’t we make league officials answerable? In fact, I’d imagine that referees (et al) would feel empowered by being able to speak their mind in the media.
Lance Anderson makes an excellent point!
What pisses me off is the affect this could have on your blog and perhaps on the blogging community as a whole.It’s becoming more and more popular for executives and business leaders to write blogs. Your name always tops the list of executives that write blogs. I love the idea of more business leaders writing blogs but I’ve checked out some of these other blogs and you can tell that many of them have been proofread by an editor. They’re missing personality and style.
One thing that makes your blog — and all blogs for that matter — popular is that it’s more like a conversation than an article. You get to the point and you say what’s on your mind. That’s what makes blogs great. And a fine like this has the potential to
affect the way you write your blog.
And finally hear what a Public Relations professional has to say on his own blog about it…Since this involves a public relations issue, I thought I would bite on his invitation and respond.
Every organization that has a significant profile – whether it’s in sports or in another industry – will always be subject to public criticism from within. It doesn’t matter if it comes from a blog, an open letter or a comment in the media.
In the end, the public will evaluate the criticism based on who else is validating it and their views of those parties. If an individual is regularly railing against a league because of some personal beef (often the case with players), then it will probably have little impact on the league’s image and will be viewed as one person’s bellyaching. However, if a chorus of criticism arises that is deemed valid by those who cover the league in the press – it carries a different weight.
In the end, it all probably has little impact on sales. Those who are hooked on NBA basketball will probably remain fans – unless the league owners/players disenfranchise them directly by taking their fun away, as every league at one time or
another has done through strikes/lockouts.
It’s happening all over.
And this is not even the tip of the iceberg! There are an enormous amount of cases just like the ones we read above! It’s never ending, it seems…
Blog Interrupted Read here about “When Jessica Cutler put her dirty secrets on the Web, she lost her job,signed a book deal, posed for Playboy — and raised a ton of questions about where America is headed…”
In light of all the hoopla with bloggers getting fired from their workplace right, left, and center, one can only hope there is a resolution to this problem. While some companies and organizations may be justified in terminating an employee for potentially putting their business at risk, I’m dumbfounded by how ridiculous some of these cases are.
I believe several questions are unanswered here.
How does a company find out whether or not you have a blog if you don’t reveal your true name or don’t add it in any signature lines of your email or resume? How are these employers finding out? I guess some
people are making stupid mistakes that get them revealed somehow.
I’d be very curious to hear the opinions from someone in the legal profession about this. What do you think? What are the boundaries? Can bloggers really be protected?
Established
in 1955 by Pastor Fred Phelps, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of
Topeka, Kansas still exists today as an Old School (or, Primitive)
Baptist Church. See the WBC Monograph. In short, we adhere to the
teachings of the Bible, preach against all form of sin (e.g.,
fornication, adultery, sodomy), and insist that the doctrines of grace
be taught publicly to all men.
"GOD HATES FAGS" — though
elliptical — is a profound theological statement, which the world
needs to hear more than it needs oxygen, water and bread. The three
words, fully expounded, show:
the absolute sovereignty of "GOD"
in all matters whatsoever (e.g., Jeremiah 32:17, Isaiah 45:7, Amos 3:6,
Proverbs 16:4, Matthew 19:26, Romans 9:11-24, Romans 11:33-36, etc.),
the doctrine of reprobation or God’s "HATE"
involving eternal retribution or the everlasting punishment of most of
mankind in Hell forever (e.g., Leviticus 20:13,23, Psalm 5:5, Psalm
11:5, Malachi 1:1-3, Romans 9:11-13, Matthew 7:13,23, John 12:39-40, 1
Peter 2:8, Jude 4, Revelation 13:8, 20:15, 21:27, etc.), and
the certainty that all impenitent sodomites (under the elegant metaphor
of "FAGS" as the contraction of faggots, fueling the fires of God’s
wrath) will inevitably go to Hell (e.g., Romans 1:18-32, 1 Corinthians
6:9-11, 1 Timothy 1:8-11, Jude 7, etc.)
The only
lawful sexual connection is the marriage bed. All other sex activity is
whoremongery and adultery, which will damn the soul forever in Hell.
Heb. 13:4. Decadent, depraved, degenerate and debauched America, having
bought the lie that It’s OK to be gay, has thereby changed the truth of
God into a lie, and now worships and serves the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen! Rom. 1:25. But the Word of God
abides. Better to be a eunuch if the will of God be so, and make sure
of Heaven. Mat. 19:12. Better to be blind or lame, than to be cast into
Hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Mk. 9:43-48. Abstain,
you fools.
Most of the major Confessions of Faith throughout the history of the New Testament Church have also advanced these ideas. So,
even though the Arminian lies that "God loves everyone" and "Jesus died
for everyone" are being taught from nearly every pulpit in this
generation, this hasn’t always been the case. In fact, if you are in a
Church that supposedly believes the Bible, and you are hearing these
lies, then your church has apostatized. If you are interested in
this subject, we encourage you to do some independent research on the
history of the Church from Adam to now and, more importantly, we encourage you to carefully read the entire Bible.
Sad.
And what’s worse than that is that there are people all around us that
feel the same way as these people do. The only difference between these
people and others sharing the same beliefs just keep quiet about it.
Scary.
Bush (because he doesn’t do anything about the "fags"),
Sweden (because there are too many "fags" there),
Topeka, Kansas (because there are too many "whores" there),
priests (because they are all "fags"), and
all other "fag", pre-marital and extra-marital sex supporters and doers.
The members of The Westboro Baptist Church
firmly believe and dictate that Aids is God’s punishment to "fags".
They jubilate this dreadful disease and all mass disasters and
tragedies that happen because…
By all that is just, God
is fully entitled to utterly destroy the nation immediately. The fact
that instead He gave us a fair warning on September 11 is something
that those who fear and obey God as all mankind is bound to do are
thankful for this warning. Of course, the perverse people of this evil
nation are not getting the hint, and instead of repenting in sackcloth
and ashes, they continue to spit in God’s face. "And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not." Revelation 2:21.
Father
John Hooker of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church believes in turning the
other cheek. He says his church welcomes all people, including
homosexuals and those who hate them.
"We believe that in our baptism we are all made God’s children," says Hooker.
St.
Andrew’s Episcopal is one of six local churches to be picketed by
members of the Westboro Baptist Church, a self-admitted "gay hating"
congregation based out of Kansas.
~Questions & Answers~
Doesn’t the Bible say that God loves everyone?
…Or,
you are thinking of "God is love." God certainly is love, toward His
elect (His children). But He certainly is not love toward the reprobate
(children of the devil). That’s why His elect go to heaven, and the
reprobate go to hell. In Romans 9:13, which says "As it is written,
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated", Jacob is a representative
of God’s elect, while Esau is a representative of the reprobate. In
Romans 1, the word "reprobate" is used to describe fags. Fags are
reprobate. God hates reprobates. Therefore, God hates fags.
Why do you preach hate?
"Because the Bible preaches hate…"
Doesn’t God forgive everyone?
No.
God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He
hardeneth (Romans 9:18). God is sovereign, and does whatsoever he will
in the army of heaven and amongst the inhabitants of the Earth, and
none can stay his hand. You must come to term with two facts, which are
extremely difficult for the flesh to grasp: First, God does not exist
to serve you, you exist to serve him.
Why do you picket funerals?
To
warn the people who are still living that unless they repent, they will
likewise perish. When people go to funerals, they have thoughts of
mortality, heaven, hell, eternity, etc., on their minds. It’s the
perfect time to warn them of things to come. Is it mean, hateful,
uncompassionate, etc.? I’m sure it is, according to your standards.
However, according to my standards, it would be infinitely more mean,
hateful, uncompassionate, etc., to keep my mouth shut and not warn you
that you, too, will soon have to face God.
Why don’t you leave it up to God and stop wasting your time telling people that they are wrong?
"The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can
know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, I try the reins, even to give
every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his
doings." (Jeremiah 17:9-10). This being the exclusive prerogative of
God, we leave it alone, knowing that we can never convince someone that
they are doing something wrong. How do you feel about people who confess and realize their sins?
Based
upon 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, there is a scriptural basis to believe that
it is possible for a practicing fag to repent. On the other hand, Jesus
Christ taught that "no man can come to me, except the Father which has
sent me draw him." (John 6:44). In Romans 1, on three separate
occasions, it says that God has given homosexuals up to uncleanness (v.
24), vile affections (v.26) , and to a reprobate mind (v. 28). If he
has given them up to these things, he is not simultaneously drawing
them to Christ. These verses are not incongruous, because if Christ
died for them, the Holy Spirit will surely call them, God will in fact
draw them, they will leave off that uncleanness, vile affections and
reprobate mind, and the inevitable result will be that they will
inherit heaven and not hell. Therefore, a fag who has truly repented is
no longer a fag.
Are you associated with a milita, Aryan Nation, Nazi, KKK, or any other similar group?
No.
We don’t believe in physical violence of any kind, and the Scripture
doesn’t support racism. God never says "thou shalt not be black."
However, He does say, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with
womankind: it is abomination." (Leviticus 18:22).
The only true Nazis in this world are fags…
Are you a sinner? If so, does this mean you will burn in hell, or are you better than these people?
Of
course I’m a sinner. All have sinned and come short of the glory of
God, and if any man says he has not sinned he’s a liar. I am no better
than any homosexual. No human is good of his or her own accord. The
only righteousness that God recognizes is the righteousness that he
gives. His righteousness is a single heart, humble, contrite and
broken, devoted to God. And the only way a heart becomes this way is by
God touching it and making it that way.
The difference between
me and a defiant, practicing homosexual, is grace. When the grace of
God operates on the heart of a human, that human desires to obey God
and live soberly and righteously. And when that happens, that person is
profoundly impressed with his sinful nature, and falls on his knees
begging God’s mercy. And God has mercy on that heart. Then, and only
then, a true spirit of repentance exists, and forgiveness follows.
What about lesbians?
Lesbians are just female fags.
Why are you so harsh?
Because
the truth is harsh. We use great plainness of speech, and will not beat
around the bush when it comes to someone’s eternal soul. Watch out for
those people who tell you that it’s okay to be gay – they’ll take you
to hell with them.
Doesn’t the Bible say to love your neighbor?
Yes.
Does that mean to lie to him and tell him what he wants to hear? No. It
means to tell him the truth, and warn him to flee from the wrath to
come. …
Why do you fly the American flag upside down?
An
upside down flag is the international sign for distress. This country,
as well as the rest of the world, is in mortal danger – we’re in
distress. Our national support of perversity is bringing God’s wrath
upon us. September 11 was only the beginning. We have reached the point
of no return. It is too late for this evil country to repent (2
Chronicles 36:16, 2 Kings 23:26). God’s people must save themselves
from this perverse generation (Acts 2:40).
You can get the rest of this inane gobbledygook here.
I don’t know why, but for some odd reason this "churchy" group reminded me of these people.
I
realize the people of Westboro Baptist Church are not your typical
"born again Christian" fanatics or what we would call religious people,
by any means. To say "taking it to an extreme"
would be an understatement. I am just baffled. Yet, I’m not surprised
by this behavior as I can feel the hate coming from those who quietly
protest. The "It’s MY WAY or the Highway" people will never cease to exist, and they will always try to solicit their bile from one generation to the next.
I
don’t necessarily think religion has everything to do with it. Some of
us are taught to hate (just because), and many people feel uneasy and
insecure around anything or anybody that’s different. This goes with
culture, race, physical appearances, mental illnesses, religion,
mannerisms, values, and sexual preferences.
I criticize in this entry, yet I am no "higher being" as I sometimes am guilty of "hating" as well.
Before you right-winger extremists start reaming me a new one, let me first start off by saying that the US would not survive without a military, and while I don’t agree with THIS particular war, I support our military and the need for a strong defense. It wasn’t our military’s decision to go to Iraq. I don’t blame them. Yet, I support them – good war or bad war.
However, this whole Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal makes me furious. Every time I watch the news or see the
headlines everywhere, I’m outraged. And those that support the few involved with this scandal are no better. I am happy that justice is being served although I find their Mickey-Mouse-sentences not matching up to their crimes.
I can hear the righties right now already busting to say,
“Watch it there! It is those soldiers that are out there risking their lives and protecting your right to free speech so that you can spew out all this drivel.”
My answer: If they’re fighting for my right to free speech, than, by golly, I’m gonna use it. Because if I don’t then they died and are dying for nothing!
Getting back on the subject, I do realize that our military is under a great deal of stress over in Iraq. And the term, *stress*, I realize, is not even the tip of the iceberg as to what kind of emotions must be grilling inside them. They are separated from their families and loved ones. Not only that, but they probably never know if
they will make it through the next day alive – when they wake up everyday. It must be horrible to have to live like that day after day after day. My deepest sympathy extends to them and their family members. I don’t need to see all that tired propaganda spun throughout the internet, newspapers, and broadcasted on TV for me to realize what kind of ordeal this must be for them.
But this is the way I see it:
This wasn’t a draft. When you sign up and become accepted into the armed forces, you are well-informed. When you sign your name on that dotted line, you are agreeing that (should a war be deemed necessary), it may be you called for duty on the battlefields. This is something so elementary and basic. Nobody’s putting a gun to anyone’s head to sign up!
Finally, and most importantly, why must it be acceptable to make innocent POWs of Iraq suffer because the heat of the war is getting too much? I have no problem with those under life-threatening, horrific situations venting, getting upset, complaining, yelling, screaming, crying, kicking an object or what have you. Again, the military has my sympathy there. And they have every right to express somehow, the terror they feel inside or whatever emotion it is. But I think the line should be drawn when it comes to taking it out on innocent, and defenseless POWs who have done nothing wrong other than defend their own country.If this notion is too hard to grasp, let’s turn the tables around here. Think about it. Our defense team in the USA doing nothing but their jobs, handing their weapons in, and finally being detained in a prison camp. Imagine that. Our soldiers being subjected to the following:
IMAGINE THIS HAPPENING TO OUR MILITARY?!
Punching, slapping, and kicking detainees; jumping on their naked feet;
Forcing groups of male detainees to masturbate themselves while being photographed and videotaped;
Positioning a naked detainee on a MRE Box, with a sandbag on his head, and attaching wires to his fingers, toes, and penis to simulate electric torture;
Writing “I am a Rapist” (sic) on the leg of a detainee alleged to have forcibly raped a 15-year old fellow detainee, and then photographing him naked;
Sodomizing a detainee with a chemical light and perhaps a broom stick.
Beating detainees with a broom handle and a chair;
Breaking chemical lights and pouring the phosphoric liquid on detainees;
Pouring cold water on naked detainees;
Placing a dog chain or strap around a naked detainee’s neck and having a female Soldier pose for a picture;
Arranging naked male detainees in a pile and then jumping on them;
Allowing a military police guard to stitch the wound of a detainee who was injured after being slammed against the wall in his cell;
Using military working dogs to frighten and intimidate detainees with threats of attack, and in one instance actually biting a detainee.
Not enough? Just click this link to view the photos. Just keep in mind, these pictures are very graphic and can be disturbing!!
Now, is this kind of behavior justifiable? If duress gives free rein to sadism, torture, and finally homicide to those that are innocent, then why don’t we excuse people like THIS?
In some cases, the abuse of children by their parents is barbaric, and it seems little wonder that anything but a fledgling serial killer would come from such horrible squalor. As a child, the “Boston Strangler” Albert DeSalvo was actually sold off as a slave by his alcoholic dad. Many sadistic murderers portray their childhood as an endless chain of horrifying sexual abuse, torture, and mayhem. Some stories of torture may be exaggerated for sympathy (it is always to the killer’s advantage to concoct wicked parents as an excuse) but some have been corroborated by witnesses. Even families that appear healthy on the outside may be putting on an act. Children can learn the “Jeckyl and Hyde” routine from parents who are outgoing and social with neighbors and co-workers, but who scowl at their kid’s inadequacies when they get home.
In his book Serial Killers, Joel Norris describes the cycles of violence as generational: “Parents who abuse their children, physically as well as psychologically, instill in them an almost instinctive reliance upon violence as a first resort to any challenge.” Childhood abuse not only spawns violent reactions, Norris writes, but also affects the child’s health, including brain injuries, malnutrition, and other developmental disorders.
Some parents believed that by being harsh disciplinarians, it would “toughen” the child. Instead, it often creates a lack of love between parent and child that can have disastrous results. If the child doesn’t bond with its primary caretakers, there is no foundation for trusting others later in life. This can lead to isolation, where intense violent fantasies become the primary source of gratification. “Instead of developing positive traits of trust, security, and autonomy, child development becomes dependent on fantasy life and its dominant themes, rather than on social interaction,” writes Robert Ressler, Ann Burgess and John Douglas in Sexual Homicide: Patterns and Motives. When the child grows up, according to these authors, all they know are their fantasies of domination and control. They have not developed compassion for others. Instead, humans become flattened-out symbols for them to enact their violent fantasies.
In looking to the parents for explanations, we see both horrifying mothers and fathers. The blame usually falls on the mother, who has been described as too domineering or too distant, too sexually active or too repressed. Perhaps the mother is blamed more because the father has often disappeared, therefore “unaccountable.” When the father is implicated, it is usually for sadistic disciplinarian tactics, alcoholic rants, and overt anger toward women.
Serial killers, rapists, and all other violent people are unhappy and feel bad too because of what they had to grow up with all their lives.
Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Yes, I do wholeheartedly understand that I cannot compare our military with serial killers. That’s NOT what I’m trying to do. I am just asking you to step away from the Iraqi War for a bit and just try and see that no matter how much someone has suffered, no matter who they are or where they came from has absolutely no excuse to take it out on an innocent, defenseless person. That’s all I’m trying to show here. It’s very simple if you put your emotions aside and look at the logic.
Look at all those beheaded in Iraq? Right? Weren’t some of our people victimized of that? I sure saw the stir that it caused here in the US: Tears, sorrow, anger, outrage and disgust. But why is it that we like to pretend that what happened at Abu Ghraib… never was?
Have you ever wondered what time certain flights were arriving or departing on any given day? You may need to pick someone up from the airport, or if there’s weather problems or a problem with an airline and you just want to see how the flights are running? You’re at work and want to check to see if your boyfriend has boarded his plane yet at Miami International? Is your daughter’s flight still delayed at Chicago O’ Hare? I’ve found navigating the above web site to be a little bit easier as opposed to looking at the airline’s web site or calling the airline or online travel agency as the call-hold time can be quite long.
After clicking the hyperlink or the subject up at the top, select the state or territory you’re interested in. After that, then select any airport of your choice. On the airports web site, there should be a link that directs you to information regarding flights. Following that, there should be another link that reads, “Real Time Flight Arrivals and Departures”. Every airport web site words it slightly differently and has this “real time” link in a different place. NOTE: Not every airport web site has this feature. If it does have this feature, it’s VERY convenient, and the layout is very familiar to the one that they have (in real time) at the airport! Take a look at the screen shots I took below as examples:
Manchester Airport in New Hampshire: Miami International Airport:
T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island: Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii:
Logan Airport in Boston has a nicely done interface that is also very clever. If a flight is showing “in air”, and you click on the “track” button, it will allow you to track it’s movements on a map.
Some airport web sites such as Bradley International in Connecticut have flight trackers.
The Raleigh-Durham International Airport in North Carolina has a direct link on their site to the FAA web page that has a real time “Airport Status Page”. This page displays a map that will show symbols advising you if any airport is having problems with it’s traffic and what the reason is. (Some airports have to divert planes that are scheduled to arrive due to weather or Air Traffic Control problems.) If you follow the directions on the page, you will learn how to read the map. Click on the example I have down below.
You don’t need to know how to read airport codes because on “mouse over”, they are automatically translated for you. Go back to the above paragraph and try the live map out for yourself. Or just go HERE!
These airport web sites also provide prospective travelers with tourist information. The Niagara Falls International Airport has plenty of that! Ready to go to CANADA?
Those who live in Tucson are very lucky. On the Tucson Airport web site, there is a very handy-dandy, interactive map that displays all the airports in the US that can be flown to – either non-stop or direct. Click on the city you would like to travel to. A pop up window will then display the airline that will take you there along with its days of operation. If you click on the link within the pop up, it will take you right to the airline web site where you can book your ticket!! How cool is that? Give it a go!
Using Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky Airport as an example here, one thing every airport web site does not leave out is a list of each and every airline it services along with the phone number and web link to that carrier.
Just about on every web site as well, you will find both short and long term parking information. This example here is with Evansville, Indiana.
Take a peak at all the different airports. You’ll find maps, weather information, driving directions, you’ll be able to hear live feeds from the Air Traffic Control Tower, you’ll know which terminal to go to when you arrive to the airport and what the number is to Avis Rental Car. Need I say more? And there is more. But please keep in mind, the smaller the airport, the less features on the web site it will have, generally speaking. I’m not too sure about the size of T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, but for not one of the major airports, I was more than impressed with that one!
So, passengers, please don’t stress yourselves out there and wait for hours for an agent to answer the line for the airlines, Travelocity, Expedia and the like. First go to your airport web site to get the information you need. If you cannot find it there, then at least click on the link to the web site for the airline you’ll be flying on. You should be able to find what you’re looking for there. Hopefully.
Have a happy and safe flight. And please don’t forget to send me a postcard.
The Community Page has commented at length on socially-sanctioned exclusionary practices in Japan. However, it has rarely touched upon their quantifiable, longer-term effects. Exclusionism is bad for business. Why? Because non-Japanese residents are not the only ones affected by “no-foreigner” policies. So are visiting representatives of international corporations. This makes for unfavorable overseas impressions, not only of northern Japan (famous for its decade displaying “JAPANESE ONLY” signs), but also of the entire country.
The author of this article, Arudou Debito, explains further, that the extent of this over the past couple of years has reached 12 cities in Japan.
And this was just all over some Germans, Italians, and British men getting a little rowdy in the bars during the World Cup 2002 which had caused the police to appear on the scene. It is believed that the Japanese had wanted to keep foreigners out of shops, restaurants, bars, doctors offices, salons, and the like the whole time and that the World Cup 2002 just gave them the perfect excuse for them to pull this off.
“In Nagoya this year, I was invited to the Suzuka Formula One auto races as a guest of a Western company supporting this event for a long time,” Jackson recalled. “Walking down the street in Nagoya’s nightlife district with senior reps of this company, people on the street passing out flyers to their bars pulled their hands back when they saw us. We even got refused rides in taxis. That’s pretty stupid. What kind of an image is that supposed to create?”Jackson said this company is considering changing its support to the Shanghai Formula One because of this and other ill-feelings incurred.
“And Nagoya is going to be hosting the 2005 Aichi World’s Fair? You’re joking. Just more people to come to Japan and leave with a sour taste,” he said.
Amazing, isn’t it? A WORLD’S FAIR??? A Homogeneous World’s Fair? Oh no, wait a minute. Foreigners can come, but they can’t stay in a hotel, can’t use the public baths, can’t get into any of the shops or attractions, (God forbid they get sick) they can’t get in a hospital anywhere, and can’t use public transportation except for the trains.
Furthermore, it’s not only visitors or residents who feel the alienation. Japan spends millions annually bringing people over on Ministry of Education Scholarships, and through organizations like The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).Just how long does the Japanese government think it can get away with no redresses for discrimination, including a law against racial discrimination? Can it merely coast along on half-measures while prejudicial policies spread nationwide?
As lawsuits rack up involving refusals at a jewelry store, bathhouses, a real estate broker, a bar, and now an optician, the problem is getting worse.
Oh my. I had no idea the problem was getting this bad. I lived in Japan for 6.5 years, and I never once saw anything like this. I am appalled by the recent change, and stunned that this has reached all the way to Tokyo — of all places. Tokyo, the most metropolitan, modernized, and one of the largest cities in the world is beginning to follow suit in slamming the doors on the faces of foreigners. I am so glad I am not there to witness this. I don’t know what I would do. Racism and discrimination is so very sad, and “sad” is an understatement. It actually makes me sick to my stomach to hear what is going on over there.
Granted, I always knew they had no laws over there regarding discrimination. I had always known that, even in Tokyo, foreigners were denied housing in certain apartment complexes. That was a norm that all foreigners had gotten used to over there. If there’s a brawl between a drunken foreign guy and a drunken Japanese guy outside a bar and the police arrive, it’s normal for the police to side with the Japanese guy. We don’t raise our eyebrows over this stuff. It’s Japan. And naturally, we’re there because we want to be there. However, now (gaijin) or non-Japanese people are given the the x-sign with the arms if seen approaching a shop or any place of business in some areas. The hatred spreading is almost surreal.
Look at this:
HAIR SALON KITAMURA (barbershop)
(Wakkanai Minato 1 chome 1-19, Ph 0162-24-5045)
Roy had also been excluded from this place at the door and despite speaking Japanese. I decided to try my luck. The place was open and the proprietor was halfway through a head of hair. He left to come to the door, where he made an X-gesture with his hands. I spoke in Japanese, “Do you refuse foreigners?” (gaikokujin, okotowari desu ka). He paused, surprised that I spoke in Nihongo, and left his X-ed hands up. I repeated the question, and he said “That’s right.” (sou desu), indicating that he understood me. He went back to his head of hair and I stepped outside, thinking it best not to inquire further.
Says I:”What in heaven’s name would make him want to refuse foreigners? Onsens claim a hygiene problem. Regular stores claim a pilfering problem. But what here? People aren’t getting naked and sharing a bath, and the only thing to pilfer would be shampoo and scissors. What goes?” It goes further.” Reported by By ARUDOU DEBITO
And yet another lame excuse for discrimination….
“HIKOKUSAIKA”(“anti-internationalization”):NON-JAPANESE NOW OFFICIALLY SEEN AS PART OF JAPAN’S SOCIAL ILLS AND CANNOT BE TRUSTED IN THE EVENT OF A DISASTER
WIRE:04/09/2000 03:44:00 ET Japan Troops Told ‘Foreigners’ Likely to Loot, Riot
“TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese troops were told on Sunday to target foreigners to prevent looting and rioting in the event of a major earthquake, Kyodo News Agency reported.
Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara said in an address to Ground Self-Defense Force troops that foreigners were likely to riot and commit crimes because of the breakdown in order.
“Atrocious crimes have been committed again and again by sangokujin and other foreigners”, he was quoted as saying.
“We can expect them to riot in the event of a disastrous earthquake.”
The Japanese slang term “sangokujin” means “people from Third World countries” and was used in post World War Two Japan as an insult for residents from the former Japanese colonies of Korea and Taiwan.
Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials could not be reached immediately for comment due to the weekend holiday.
A fervent nationalist, Ishihara has angered China by doubting its accounts of Japanese wartime atrocities and referring to it by the derogatory term “Shina.”
After the Great Tokyo Earthquake of 1923, which killed about 100,000 people, unfounded rumors about riots among Tokyo’s Korean residents led to Japanese mobs attacking and killing several hundred Koreans, many of whom were brought to Japan as slave labor.
Thus Japan is starting to feel the tugs of a pluralist, multicultural society. Some degree of social hesitancy is natural. One of our jobs in this society will be helping make the transition smoother–by urging a more representative legal infrastructure and a more tolerant social policy approach. We do this in hopes that the future will herald a better place for everyone–citizen, immigrant, or visitor–to live. More to come.”
Dave Aldwinckle
Sapporo
Oh, okay. Now, I see where the racism is stemming from — the 1923 Tokyo Earthquake. How many years ago was this? The hate continues….
In another article in The Japan Times written again by Arudou Debito, an African American man accompanied by his wife and his African American friend were told by an eyeglass shop owner, “Move to the other side of the street! Don’t touch my store window!”
To read further regarding “information for people concerned with social issues who want to help make life better for everyone in Japan”, I highly recommend Arudou Debito/Dave Aldwincle’s ACTIVISTS’ PAGE
You will get a lot more information here. It’s very interesting. You will also see the improvements that Mr. Debito has made with his lawsuits as well. Mr. Debito, by the way, is American. You can find his autobiography here! His real name is David Christopher Aldwinckle.
There are still foreigners all over the place in Japan – especially in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. Now, as racism isn’t happening everywhere in Japan, if it happens in a couple of public places, it’s already happened too much. For all those who love Japan, (including myself), let’s all hope that the hatred stops over there sometime soon, and that Mr. Debito progresses even more than he already has. I have a feeling that he will.
“The cover of Amber Frey’s new book about her involvement in the Laci Peterson murder investigation is “extremely hurtful and offensive to Laci’s mother and her family,” an attorney for the slain Modesto woman’s mother said Monday.”Displaying a picture of Laci on the cover of Amber Frey’s book portrays a lack of respect and insensitivity towards Laci and Laci’s family and friends,” Adam Stewart said.”"In addition to that,” Stewart said, “having Amber’s picture positioned between Laci and Scott is extremely hurtful and offensive to Laci’s mother and her family.”
What? This grieving mother of 2 years is now confronting her lawyer about Laci’s picture in the background of Amber’s book? First of all, why must this go public? Secondly, why must the blame be put on Amber? Does not anyone realize that the decision of what cover goes on a book is that of the publishers, and that the author has no say in it? And last but not least, why didn’t Mrs. Rocha complain when the movie, “The Perfect Husband“ went public? As you can see here, Laci’s picture is right in the background as it is in Amber Frey’s book.
Please don’t get me wrong here. Sharon Rocha has lost her daughter and has every right to grieve, and as she even said publicly there will never be any closure until the day she dies. This is understandable. I cannot
imagine what this woman is going through. It must be awful, and she has my sympathy and my respect in that regard. However, to have her lawyer lash out on Amber publicly because of Laci’s picture being on the cover of her book is absolutely asinine to me. And for that reason, I am really disgusted that she’s making a scene over this. I always had some doubt in my mind about Mrs. Rocha, but this was an eye-opener for me.
Maybe she will come out and clarify things later. Who knows.
Newsweek: “Laci Peterson’s family members have said that they are offended that you included a picture of Laci on the cover of your book. How do you justify using their daughter’s picture to help sell your story?”
Gloria Allred: “I’ll answer this one. There are three individuals on the cover of the book: Scott Peterson, the defendant, and Laci,the unfortunate murder victim, may she rest in peace, and Amber. All of these individuals appeared
together or individually in thousands of pictures in newspapers, magazines and the Internet. They were central to the criminal prosecution; that is why these three individuals are pictured.”
“But that doesn’t get to the point that the family feels hurt by this.”
Allred:“Amber has the highest regard and respect for [Laci's mother] Sharon Rocha and for members of Laci Peterson’s family.”
“After pleading for your privacy for almost two years, why did you put your story in a book now?”
Amber Frey:“At the time, there was a lot at stake in preserving my testimony and serving justice, and now that there’s a verdict I can set the record straight and tell my story and correct some misconceptions that are out there. This has given me an opportunity to be able to say in my voice and my truth and my life that I have lived. [Begins to weep.] People that don’t understand how incredibly hard this has been, not just for me, but for my family and all the people around me. I know that may sound selfish to some people, because there are so many people hurting. But I want people to know that I am human and that I do feel pain, and
so does my family.”
Finally, after being on the gag order for two years, Amber gets to speak out and defend herself publicly from all the bashing, twisted stories, and lies that had surrounded her. Several critics out there still find it necessary to peg her, so I predict Gloria Allred will have to protect Amber for quite some time. You can see why it’s so necessary for Amber to have a lawyer. I would not only have a lawyer, I think I’d hire a bodyguard as well. There are so many wackos out there that if she were to turn up beaten, raped, or dead, I wouldn’t be surprised. Look at the jury? They’re already getting death threats!
“Women in their late 30s who have gone for careers after the first flush of university and who are among the brightest of their generation are finding that men are just not interesting enough,” said psychologist and professor at Nottingham University Paul Brown in The Sunday Times.
Claire Rayner, writer and broadcaster, said in the article that intelligent men often preferred a less brainy partner.
“A chap with a high IQ is going to get a demanding job that is going to take up a lot of his energy and time. In many ways he wants a woman who is an old-fashioned wife and looks after the home, a copy of his mum in a way.”
Brainy, knowledgeable, someone you can sit down and have an intelligent conversation with, substantial, a thinker, someone who thinks outside the box, non-squeamish, and the woman who doesn’t fear to show the
little bit of testosterone in her, was and still is (to some extent) considered unfeminine to some men and outside observers. And for those poor women who are intelligent, are forced to hide it. They giggle softly a lot at nothing with their hands over their mouth, bat their eye lashes, and look as dumb as they can be. That turns a “real man” on.
After women fighting all these years to become an equal, there are still men out there that prefer the ignoramus, ditzy-blonde, robotic, phony, Stepford Wife type.
If you ask me, these men in the aforementioned article, while they may be intelligent (book smart), they must be insecure to be looking for women who don’t allow themselves to mature outside the bedroom and the kitchen.
Well, according to this article, women were not allowed outside the home without being escorted by a man. They were also not allowed to be educated. Look how they had themselves covered. God forbid they had an
identity of their own, an opinion, a thought, or wanted to do something independently. Now, I understand this is an extreme example, but weren’t we once treated this way? Have you ever heard people say, “Have you been living under a rock all your life?” Some women had been trained to live under the rock and sadly, very sadly, in the free US of A some women, by choice, live under that rock. But I guess these are the “feminine kind” that men lust after — the plastic, robotic, sex-on-demand, the always smiling and cheerful, Trophy Wife.
A slight tangent here, yet somewhat related….
Now, let’s talk about education. Too many people have misconceptions about it that I’d like to clear up once and for all. A college education does not make you smarter nor does it make you more intelligent. Why do so
many people think that? And where does it say that a college education promises that you will become a smart and flawless person incapable of making silly mistakes or even big ones after graduation? Where does
college promise that you will come out capable of doing every little nitpicken’ thing the “right way” up to and including perfect grammar usage, perfect spelling, perfect sentence structure, perfect usage of words, and the capability of pronouncing and knowing every word in the unabridged dictionary?
A long time ago, some people must have gone around boasting that those with college educations are brighter than those without them. I’d like to slap those people for all the trouble they have caused. What do you mean by “trouble”? Well, for one, it hurts the feelings of those without a college education who are bright bulbs and have found success and happiness without one. And secondly and most importantly, for those that have graduated from college, they have to continuously be criticized for every nitpicken’ mistake they make “because they should know better with a college education”. It’s digs like these that college graduates will hear until the cover of their coffin is finally closed.
Why are women going to college now? In my personal opinion, women aren’t going to college now to become “smart” or “perfect”. Women are going to college now to either get a very specific type of job in a field of their dreams or because it’s much easier to get a job that way. You can’t argue that. It’s not impossible to get a job without a college degree, but you cannot argue the fact that there are many more jobs available to you when you have a degree. It’s as simple as that folks. College does not teach you to look both ways when you cross the street.
This is not to say you can’t gain anything from being in college. By studying in a university, one can be known to learn analytical thinking, imaginative thinking, integrative thinking, and most importantly, critical thinking (that is, if you apply yourself). Students with an open mind will be encouraged to learn the following by professors:
Lectures: You may of course directly teach critical thinking principles to your students during lecture, but this is neither required nor advisable. Stay with your subject matter, but present this is such a way that students will be encouraged to think critically about it. This is accomplished during lecture by questioning the students in ways that require that they not only understand the material, but can analyze it and apply it to new situations.
Laboratories: Students inevitably practice critical thinking during laboratories in science class, because they are learning the scientific method.
Homework: Both traditional reading homework and special written problem sets or questions can be used to enhance critical thinking. Homework presents many opportunities to encourage critical thinking.
Quantitative: Exercises Mathematical exercises and quantitative word problems teach problem solving skills that can be used in everyday life. This obviously enhances critical thinking.
Term Papers: The best way to teach critical thinking is to require that students write. Writing forces students to organize their thoughts, contemplate their topic, evaluate their data in a logical fashion, and present their conclusions in a persuasive manner. Good writing is the epitome of good critical thinking.
Exams: Exam questions can be devised which promote critical thinking rather than rote memorization. This is true for both essay question exams and multiple-choice exams.
Some may argue that we got all the critical thinking taught to us that we needed in elementary school. The author of the above website disagrees with this.
“The purpose of specifically teaching critical thinking in the sciences or any other discipline is to improve the thinking skills of students and thus better prepare them to succeed in the world. But, you may ask, don’t we automatically teach critical thinking when we teach our subjects, especially mathematics and science, the two disciplines which supposedly epitomize correct and logical thinking? The answer, sadly, is often no. Please consider these two quotations:”
“It is strange that we expect students to learn, yet seldom teach them anything about learning.” Donald Norman, 1980, “Cognitive engineering and education,” in Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and Research, edited by D.T. Tuna and F. Reif, Erlbaum Publishers.
“We should be teaching students how to think. Instead, we are teaching them what to think.” Clement and Lochhead, 1980, Cognitive Process Instruction.”
I thought that was quite interesting although not a surprise in the least. This can be corrected in college depending on you and your professor.
This Chinese proverb says it all:
“He who asks a question is a fool for a minute; he who does not remains a fool forever.”
However, you don’t have to be a college graduate to be a critical thinker. Children explore and ask a lot of questions by nature. The freedom of questioning things, expressing feelings, or having an individual thought — if encouraged — can lead to this child growing into a very bright adult.
Critical thinking is a learned behavior. Sadly enough though, there are still some chauvinist apologists that don’t find the “thinking type” to be the one they find men want to make love to. They just don’t pass the estrogen test. And some of these chauvinist apologists have the nerve to call these women lesbians. Really?
Male chauvinists are becoming more hard to find these days. Men looking for plastic dips on a stick are becoming few and far between.
“Critics hector Teresa Heinz for not gazing adoringly enough at her husband John Kerry. The New York Times’ Maureen Dowd complains, “Her attention rarely seems to light on her husband when she’s at a microphone with him.”
And, of course, there’s the much-written-about revival of “The Stepford Wives,” in which submissive, robot-like women cater to their husbands’ every whim.
But, in fact, do men want robotic, accommodating women? A number of studies published in the past few years have found that while “Stepford” may be good for a few chuckles in a movie, it’s far off the mark as far as most men and women are concerned.”
Sadly there are still some ladies that are brainwashed by the media and the girly fashion magazines. And it’s those women that think that everything that’s on the TV show “Friends” is Gospel and imitate every fashion trend and expression that Jennifer Aniston makes. So the vicious cycle continues for some, if you’re not married by 30, you’re a lezbo or an “Old Maid” that needs to change right away for that macho machismo man whose hormones are out of control, hot and bothered and waiting for a wife to serve him. Our elders and chauvinist supporters will be swearing until their graves at this revolution, but I along with other women out there applaud you ladies that are searching for a marriage of substance or for a partner that you can actually talk with “brain to brain”. If you wait it out patiently and don’t change yourself, you will find the right man. I did. And I’m not Jennifer Aniston.
“Scott Peterson, accused of murdering his pretty wife Laci is being bombarded with letters from love-hungry ladies begging him to marry them!
Sources inside Stanislaus County Jail in Modesto, Calif., say the handsome 30-year-old fertilizer salesman has received marriage proposals from desperate gals of all shapes and sizes since his arrest April 18.The kooky letters are delivered to the 6-foot-by-9-foot cell where Peterson is being housed alone to keep other prisoners from killing him in retaliation for the alleged murders of his wife Laci, 27, and their unborn son Conner.
He gets to spend as long as he wants with his lawyers. And he can respond to love letters in his spare time. But none of his passionate penpals have been invited to see him.
Peterson can have two personal visits every seven days. So far, he’s only met with family members — and none of his sicko fans.”
Female Clone
Scott Peterson has been penpals with Kristin Rossum, who is now serving a prison term for killing her husband. If you read the linked blog above, it’s interesting to see these two are a match made in Heaven as they have an amazing amount of things in common. It’s no wonder these two have found each other.
Scott Peterson doesn’t have his own website yet, but perhaps he will have one of those organizations or a friend or family member create one for him once he starts his prison term so as to enable him yet even more nation-wide publicity. And when I speak of a “website”, I mean one like THIS! Just dare to scroll down some and look at all the losers soliciting themselves to other loony tunes who are willing to support them, befriend them, or marry them. But in case any of you out there are seriously considering marriage with a prisoner, you may want to read How To Marry a Prisoner first and see if it’s really for you.
If you’ve made up your mind on marriage or just want to start out corresponding with a prisoner as friends, pen pals, or support all those convicted because you believe that they were “falsely accused”, why don’t we just start out at PrisonPenPals.com. Search alphabetically – take your pick. The “Gold Star Ads” and the “Platinum Ads” have much more information.
Here’s another dose of reality of a true experience of one who went on a visit to San Quentin. It’s quite an interesting read. There are other links on this site that may interest you as well. Enjoy.
WHY OH WHY DO WOMEN CHASE PRISONERS?
Richard Ramirez and new wife Doreen Lioy “Satanists Don’t Wear Gold” (The marriage of Ramirez and Doreen Lioy)
“The long-haired brunette who longed to be the Night Stalker’s bride had first contacted Ramirez after his arrest in 1985 and had written him nearly 75 letters during his incarceration. He finally proposed to her in 1988, but prison rules delayed their wedding. Other women tried to steal him away from her, visiting him in prison and lavished him with all kinds of attention. Doreen often ran into them when she came to for her visits, and at least one woman threatened physical violence if Doreen didn’t abandon her claim on the Night Stalker. But Doreen persevered, and in the end she got her man.
Obviously Doreen chose not to believe the mountain of evidence that had been presented at her husband’s trial, especially the testimony that described his gruesome methods. Richard Ramirez typically came in the night, sneaking into his victims’ bedrooms. Males were dispatched quickly, usually with a bullet to the head. Females were kept alive to be savored after he ransacked the homes, looking for valuables. After raping and degrading the women, sometimes repeatedly, he would most often kill them, or at least try to. Amazingly, some of his victims managed to survive his vicious attacks. His method was worthy of a grade-B Hollywood horror movie. He was a killer tailor-made for his prime hunting ground, Los Angeles.”
Remember that song by Gloria Estefan, “Bad Boys”?“Bad, bad, bad, bad boys, they make me feel so good.”?
Bad boys don’t make me feel good. Thank God! When I log on to the message boards at CTV, it never ceases to amaze me how many murderer apologists and groupies there are all over the site. Those so obviously guilty such as the godforsaken Westerfield and the almighty obvious Michael Peterson (not to be confused with Scott Peterson). Good Lord! Where do these people come from?
“The Thrill of the Killer” is another look inside of a possible reasoning of what may be going on in the minds of these nutty women.
“Sometimes called the “Bonnie and Clyde Syndrome,” the correct name for this particular paraphilia is hybristophilia, the love of someone who has committed an outrage-usually a rape or murder (single or multiple). The fetish can range from mild to deadly, from a sneering rock star to a serial killer. Think Tommy Lee and Ted Bundy. Both fit under the bad boy category but in very different ways. Lee is hot, has tattoos, is in a rock band, probably not college educated, does drugs, so on and so on. Bundy is clean-cut, a college graduate, literate, and most likely wasn’t inhaling butane behind the 7-11. As far as we know Tommy Lee hasn’t killed. Ted Bundy has. But it doesn’t matter; certain women are not only attracted to any type of bad boy, they seek them out, prison bars or not.
Why does this happen? Perhaps, the media plays a big part in it. Criminals are celebrities. In fact, it may now be the easiest way to get your Warholian 15 minutes. Celebrities are sexy because everyone wants what everyone else wants. So, criminal plus celebrity might mean extra sexy. Does this explain why the killers that have committed the worst crimes get the most babes? Maybe, but some of these are atrocious sex crimes against other women. It seems as if some women don’t care. Or maybe they were violently abused themselves. Perhaps it’s the ultimate taboo, thus, the ultimate aphrodisiac. Or simply just the power these men exhibit-not only did Charles Manson have the power to kill, he believed he was Jesus Christ. And he didn’t only have a harem of orgiastic flower children on acid, he got them to kill for him.
So, is what separates me from a woman who could make love to a murderer conscience or fear? Is it fear that keeps us a “polite society?” Is loving a murderer just a varying degree of any other type of sexual role-playing that involves power struggles and pain? I don’t know. In a way, I’m envious that some women can give in so completely and knowingly have sex with human demons. But on the other hand, I’m so glad my sex life will never have complications like visiting hours and death penalties.”
I would like to comment that I feel women who seek dangerous, bad boy-type men have been either sexually or violently abused growing up as a child or perhaps both. They could be looking for that protection that they never got from the “strong front” the criminal type possesses. “He won’t hurt me. He will protect me because he is strong both physically and mentally.” Hey, it shows in his murders! And secondly, these poor women could be trying to subconsciously relive the torment they grew up with. Look at it this way. Don’t some women try to go after types of men who mirror their own fathers without realizing it?
And with that note, I’ll leave you all with the image of these two monsters: (Don’t let their looks fool you.)
“Laci
Peterson’s image appeared to Amber Frey in a nightmare about the time
police believe the Modesto woman was murdered, Frey says in her new
book.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever felt that kind of fear in my life,” Frey wrote in her book about the murder investigation that became a national saga.”
Frey talks about how she once saw Scott Peterson as the “perfect man”, but then came to realization for the sociopath he really is.
“Frey
says Modesto police didn’t call her back after she first phoned them,
but officers later pumped their fists in the air as they listened to
her question Peterson on a tapped phone.
Frey also at one point
appears to question Peterson’s sexuality, saying it was “a little odd”
that he felt it was a compliment when a male waiter flirted with him.
She
also said she had growing suspicions of the man she hoped to form a
family with after she heard him phoning her from the bathroom as a
woman in the background called his name.
Much of the material in
the book will be familiar to those who followed the trial closely. Frey
wrote about their first date in Fresno and trips with Peterson and her
daughter.”
I highly recommend listening to Amber Frey and Scott Peterson’s complete recorded phone calls if you haven’t already heard them.
And don’t forget Amber Frey’s going to be on Dateline tomorrow night and Oprah Wednesday afternoon!
“On December 24, 1971, the New York Times ran one of the first of many articles on a new holiday designed to foster unity among African Americans. The holiday, called Kwanzaa, was applauded by a certain sixteen-year-old minister who explained that the feast would perform the valuable service of “de-whitizing” Christmas. The minister was a nobody at the time but he would later go on to become perhaps the premier race-baiter of the twentieth century. His name was Al Sharpton and he would later spawn the Tawana Brawley hoax and then incite anti-Jewish tensions in a 1995 incident that ended with the arson deaths of seven people.
Great minds think alike. The inventor of the holiday was one of the few black “leaders” in America even worse than Sharpton. But there was no mention in the Times article of this man or of the fact that at that very moment he was sitting in a California prison. And there was no mention of the curious fact that this purported benefactor of the black people had founded an
organization that in its short history tortured and murdered blacks in ways of which the Ku Klux Klan could only fantasize.
It was in newspaper articles like that, repeated in papers all over the country, that the tradition of Kwanzaa began. It is a tradition not out of Africa but out of Orwell. Both history and language have been bent to serve a political goal. When that New York Times article appeared, Ron Karenga’s crimes were still recent events. If the reporter had bothered to do any research into the background of the Kwanzaa founder, he might have learned about Karenga’s trial earlier that year on charges of torturing two women who were members of US (United Slaves), a black
nationalist cult he had founded.
ACCORDING TO COURT DOCUMENTS, Karenga’s real name is Ron N. Everett. In the ’60s, he awarded himself the title “maulana,” Swahili for “master teacher.” He was born on a poultry farm in Maryland, the fourteenth child of a Baptist minister. He came to California in the late 1950s to attend Los Angeles Community College. He moved on to UCLA, where he got a Master’s degree in political science and African Studies. By the mid-1960s, he had established himself as a leading “cultural nationalist.” That is a term that had some meaning in the ’60s, mainly as a way of distinguishing Karenga’s followers from the Black Panthers, who were conventional Marxists.”
Many of you probably already know about this already. I recently was having a conversation about this with my brother, and I just had to look this up for myself.
I find it very important that this holiday exists for African Americans, and I see absolutely nothing wrong with it. I do, however, find it’s origin very interesting, and it came as quite a surprise to me.
Since the beginning of electronic greetings on the internet, I had often seen Happy Kwanzaa cards as I was perusing through the holiday assortment during every Winter Season. I had always wondered what that “Kwanzaa” meant. I only knew that it was an African American holiday.
“Kwanzaa is supposed to be celebrated from 26 December through 1 January: It competes with Christmas and Chanukah while incorporating some echoes of both, e.g., gift-giving and a ceremony built around a seven-holed candle-holder that recalls Judaism’s seven-branched menorah.”
The author, William J. Bennetta, continues….
“Karenga has concocted some bits of lore, lingo, and mumbo-jumbo that are intended to make Kwanzaa look like something out of Africa instead of something from Los Angeles County, but his efforts have been feeble. If you scan The Official Kwanzaa Web Site, you’ll read that the origins of Kwanzaa lie in “the first harvest celebrations of Africa,” which allegedly “are recorded in African history as far back as ancient Egypt and Nubia” — but there is no explanation of why any ancient Egyptians or Nubians might have held harvest festivals around the time of the winter solstice, and there is no identification of the crops that they harvested. Karenga’s formula for celebrating Kwanzaa requires the use of two ears of maize — but maize is a New World plant, and it wasn’t known at all in ancient Africa.
In Karenga’s Kwanzaa-lingo, ears of maize are called by the Swahili name “muhindi.” In fact, all the objects that Karenga has worked into Kwanzaa have names taken from Swahili, which The Official Kwanzaa Web site describes as “a Pan-African language” and “the most widely spoken African language.” The labeling of Swahili as a “Pan-African” language is rubbish. Swahili — a Bantu tongue that includes many words absorbed from Arabic, from Persian and from certain Indian languages — is spoken by some 50 million people (i.e., about 7% of Africa’s population). Most of those Swahili-speakers are concentrated in eastern Africa, in a region that includes Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and a strip of Zaire. The language which is used most widely in Africa is Arabic; and indeed, Swahili was originally written in Arabic script
Kwanzaa is a hoax — a hoax built around fake history and pseudohistorical delusions. By attempting to dignify and promote Kwanzaa in The American Nation, Prentice Hall has joined in a flim-flam.”
It doesn’t sound like the founder of Kwanzaa knows much about his own roots, and had no problem creating
this holiday on a lie. Nonetheless, he is a man due no amount of respect.
If it weren’t for Ron N. Everett, someone else would probably have invented a similar holiday. As I see in several different cultures world-wide, depending on the ethnicity, the celebration of the Holiday Season is done differently and are very moving to observe. I don’t know why I feel this way, but I find that other cultures appear to stick together more so than that of the American culture. This is not to say I’m not proud of my American heritage, but I do feel we are somewhat drawn apart from one another.
Upon observing other cultures practicing their rituals, sometimes I become so moved that I cry. I think this is because I envy them and wish Americans only had the same type of bonding between one another.
I admire the way that the African Americans stick up for each other. Although, I have to say that’s inconvenient when it comes along to a predominantly all African American jury deciding the fate of an African American defendant as with the case of OJ Simpson. I guess you can’t have it both ways. Nevertheless, I think you get my point.
Culture is a beautiful thing to observe. The Kwanzaa Holiday, whether it be founded by a criminal or not, if the African Americans are happy celebrating it, good on them!
While Scott Peterson is staying in prison, he will be learning how to talk like the others. They speak an entirely different language there. It is so different that if people like you and I were to hear a conversation of prisoners talking, we wouldn’t understand everything.
“The speech of the contemporary criminal culture has always been a rich source of color and vitality to any language. Yet, when one compares the “bawds”, “strumpets”, “trulls”, “cutpurses”, “knaves”, and “rascals” of Fielding and Smollett to the “hookers,” “pimps,” “Narcs,” “junkies,” and “snitches” of today’s criminal argot, one wonders just which direction we are traveling on civilization’s ladder.”
Welcome to Prison Talk Online! This is the place to go to gather information via communication with others in a forum atmosphere. I am specifically targeting the one where Scott Peterson’s going to be staying. Most of the member’s of these forums have husbands, boyfriends, family, SO’s and prison pen pals that are under lock and key and whom they frequently communicate with. These members are pretty well informed. This website is definitely a fantastic read!
So, my friends, ….. as they say, “If yah can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”
“California’s Death Row” written by Michael Hunter explains the living conditions on Death Row. He goes over suicide, The Consent Decree, the North Segregation housing unit, the East Block housing unit, and The “Adjustment Center”.
This is a detailed explanation of what life is like on Death Row. From the inmates words, himself, he paints a realistic and chilling picture of all the horrors that we never hear from the media. Sit down, put your seat belts on, and get ready for the ride!
Death Row Inmate Richie Roldan reaches out for someone……
“I want to reach out to you,
But will i find you there ?
I need someone to comfort me
and show me that they care.
So many times I’ve looked
around to find myself alone
So I’ve learned to keep it all inside
and wear a face of stone . . .
But if you look behind my walls
I’m sure that you will find
A man with a heart of gold
That’s sweet gentle and kind
I’m still afraid to reach out to you
for fear I’d find myself still alone
So for now I’ll keep it all inside
and wear a face of stone . . .”
The Cost of the Death Penalty in California
There’s a misconception out there that Life Without Parole is more costly than the Death Penalty. Well, that may be the case with some states, but that is not so in the state of California and other states as well.
This is a fantastic site that covers every little detail you ever wanted to know about the Death Penalty including crimes punishable by the Death Penalty for each state. I just recently discovered that SEVERAL states (not just California) find the Death Penalty to be costly. The below is one example from the state of
Kansas.
“#1. The investigation costs for death-sentence cases were about 3 times greater than for non-death cases.
#2. The trial costs for death cases were about 16 times greater than for non-death cases ($508,000 for death case; $32,000 for non-death case).
#3. The appeal costs for death cases were 21 times greater.
#4. The costs of carrying out (i.e. incarceration and/or execution) a death
sentence were about half the costs of carrying out a non-death sentence
in a comparable case.
#5. Trials involving a death sentence averaged 34 days, including jury selection; non-death trials averaged about 9 days.”
You will also see on this site the imperfections of our Justice System where the innocent were sent to Death Row, and sadly, some weren’t exonerated until after they were executed. Since 1973, 117 people were mistakenly convicted where either their charges were dismissed, they were pardoned, or they were acquitted.
“Average number of years between being sentenced to death and exoneration: 9.025 years
Number of cases wherein DNA played a substantial factor in establishing innocence: 14″
Read up on the Recent Death Row Developments and don’t forget to take the Death Row Quiz. Enjoy!
“Two jury members were kicked off, the foreman was ousted, and the case was nearly deadlocked. Now jurors in the Scott Peterson case tell the story of their decision to sentence him to death.”
Although I have my doubts about the death penalty in this case, I agree with the guilty verdict, and I applaud this jury and want to thank them. Justice has been served! The right man is where he belongs!
The Robert Blake Case File:
Here you’ll find links to an assortment of documents related to the Robert Blake murder case. Los Angeles prosecutors have charged the 68-year-old actor with the May 2001 shooting death of wife Bonny Lee Bakley. Earle Caldwell, Blake’s bodyguard, has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder.
Who Shot Bonnie Lee Bakley? This article goes over the entire story, however, if you look at the bibliography, some of the sources stem from the tabloids.
What the Judge Denied
Perhaps tidbits of this will be allowed into evidence later, but if you read through this document and assume everything is true, Robert Blake is a free man. I highly recommend this read.
Court TV Extra!
This is a great place to go to catch the lastest on any trial, including the Blake trial live. I still haven’t finished watching the opening statements yet, so every once in a while I go to this site to continue watching it.
I would be the perfect juror in this case as for one, this case bears no weight on my emotions, and two, I still have yet to form an opinion on Robert Blake’s guilt or innocense. I’m waiting to hear more evidence before I make up my mind. I do have to say though, from watching the preliminary hearing, the state’s witnesses are a royal joke! They made total fools out of themselves which only makes me wonder if they’ll do it again once they take the stand.
I’m curious of what everyone else is thinking about this case. Any opinions?
Alarmed by glimpses of sweaty citizens in the buff, a Mexico city has adopted a law banning people from allowing themselves to be seen nude by the public, even while in their own homes, officials said today.
The regulation, which takes effect on January 1, 2005, calls for as much as 36 hours in jail or a fine of 1,356 pesos ($A160) for offenders in the Tabasco state capital of Villahermosa, 655 km east of Mexico City.
This site has it all. Everything even including Scott Peterson’s youth photo album, interviews, affairs, witness information, Laci’s friends, Laci’s photo album, videos, personal tributes, related stories to Amber Frey, and updated TRIAL NEWS. If you are keeping track of the Peterson Trial, you’ll find this site to have the most information and to be also very interesting.
This is something unfortunate. And this is something that I’ve always known to be true, but when I actually saw this in writing, I shook my head. This is truer that true.
After those who have lost their lives to a murderer, a genocide, war, and natural disasters, isn’t it true that in many cases especially if it’s high profile, that we find a book written about it? I guess I’m just getting tired of all those criticizing Amber Frey for having written a book on her experience and her involvement in the Scott Peterson trial. I’m wondering why she is being singled out here.
Have we forgotten about Michael Fleeman, the author of five books based on True Crime stories – one of which is written about the murder of Laci Peterson?
What about the publishers of all these books? Shouldn’t they too be among the “guilty” of those financially gaining off of the death of others?
I bet you all forgot about Aphrodite Jones as well. She is a True Crime author.
“The first step to fighting crime is to try to understand it. In my books, I provide a psychological profile that will allow us to get inside the minds of the killers and analyze the victims upon which they prey. I ask my audience to read between the lines, to examine the statements of killers, cops, lawyers, and victims, so they might better recognize the warning signs that can lead to needless brutality.”
Remember Michael Peterson? He murdered his wife too, and Aphrodite Jones covered his trial and conviction in the book, “A Perfect Husband”. And as we speak, this woman is writing a book that covers the entire Scott Peterson trial. It should be out soon.
Now, here we have twenty-six pages of True Crime Story authors and their books! And you and I both know that there’s more out there that are not covered on this site!
Shall we say another one with blood on her hands to be the famous Ann Rule?
Ann Rule
“Ann Rule is regarded by many as the foremost true crime writer in America, and the author responsible for the genre as it exists today. She came to her career with a solid background in law enforcement and the criminal justice system. Both her grandfather and her uncle were Michigan sheriffs, her cousin was a Prosecuting Attorney and another uncle was the Medical Examiner. Raised in that environment, she grew up wanting to work in law enforcement herself. She is a former Seattle Policewoman, former caseworker for the Washington State Department of Public Assistance, former student intern at the Oregon State Training School for Girls.
Ann has been a full-time true crime writer since 1969. Over the past 30 years, she has published 20 books and 1400 articles, mostly on criminal cases.
Ann’s books deal with three areas: the victims’ stories; the detectives and prosecutors and how they solve their cases with old fashioned police work and modern forensic science, and the killers lives. She tries to
go back to the killers’ early childhood, and even back into their family histories to find some of the genesis of their behavior. She spends many months researching her books, beginning with the trial and with many subsequent visits to the locale where the crimes occurred. Once she has finished her research, she returns to her office to write her books.
Ann is active in support groups for victims of violent crimes and their families, in the Y.W.C.A.’s program to help battered and abused women, and in Childhelp and Childhaven, support groups for children.
Ann’s hobbies often take a backseat to her writing, but she has many interests. She loves animals and has two dogs and five cats at last count. She loves to garden, and collects “way too many things,” including: antique bottles and pill boxes, miniature cars, cobalt blue glass, police
paraphernalia, wind chimes, and teddy bears. She is still working on her dollhouse, a rather unusual one–a house of ill repute. She tries to walk two or three miles every morning before she starts writing, and loves to beach comb and go to second-hand stores.”
The amount of books published just on Amazon.com alone under the category, TRUE CRIME is never ending – page after page! These books wouldn’t be out there if people didn’t like to read them. Should the readers be just as “guilty” for contributing and encouraging all these “greedy and insensitive” authors?
And this is not even the tip of the iceberg!
Remember the Holocaust? How many died? There’s a lot of debate regarding how
many Jewish people died during this tragedy. Everybody gives a different number all the way from 74,000 deaths to 8 million according to the author of this website.
We all know how much printed material and films came out of this genocide. And I don’t want to hear that books were published and movies were made for educational purposes. While that is true, why wouldn’t a book written about Laci Peterson be educational? If anything, couldn’t women get something out of it? Why belittle her death and write it off as a book for “fun”, but a book on the Holocaust — an educational read? What? That doesn’t make any sense!
Full Metal Jacket
More than 38 million people died in WWII. I would be here all day long just covering all the books and movies released following this war. Not just this war, but what about all the other wars in history. What about all the books and movies made as a result of them? I saw the movie, “Saving Private Ryan” and “Full Metal Jacket”. Does that make me a supporter of those who make “profit off dead people”? Am I just as bad as Amber Frey?
And last but not least, from watching CNN tonight, I discovered a book that just came out “intended to educate American people”on Al Qaida. More blood money?
And, surely enough, we can’t forget the infamous….
I wonder if you get my point now? Several people dead; several people made money. Everything is education whether it be attributed to the death of millions or just one person. That’s why we watch the news. Information is knowledge. While there are many sickos out there who “get off” on reading about the gruesome details and viewing graphic pictures of those who died in the hands of a murderer, I’d like to believe that most of us don’t.
Just wait until the books and movies start coming out about the recent Earthquake/Tsunami disaster in Asia….
With that being said, can we try to cut a little slack for Ms Frey?
Hello all, and welcome!
In my blog, I discuss Americanophobia, politics, political extremism (my rantings about the extreme right and the extreme left), anthropology, crime news, psychology, LOTS of humor, and try to debunk common rumors spread about the American people. The variety of topics I discuss are in 360 posts ... Continue reading »
“There is a big difference between being anti-American and being critical of the United States….critiques are appropriate and necessary, provided that they rest on facts and address real abuses, real errors and real excesses–without deliberately losing sight of America’s wise decisions, beneficient interventions and salutary policies. But critiques of this kind–balanced, fair and well-rounded–are hard to find, except in America herself…” — Jean-Francois Revel
"The fundamental role of anti-Americanism in Europe in general, and particularly among those on the Left, is to absolve themselves of their own moral failings and intellectual errors by heaping them onto the monster scapegoat, the United States of America. The U.S. is charged with all the evils, real or imagined, that afflict humanity, from the falling price of beef in France to AIDS in Africa and global warming everywhere. The result is a widespread refusal to accept responsibility for one's own actions." — Jean-Francois Revel
"Anti-Americanism is hypocrisy at its finest, You can spend your evening catching the latest episode of "24" and then complain about Guantanamo the next morning." --the Berlin bureau chief of Der Spiegel
"Of course some Americans are stupid, but... "It all boils down to the fact that knowledge and intelligence are two different issues. Rote memorization of world capitals does not equate intelligence.
I do find it interesting that Canadians and Europeans have such strong opinions on this, considering that there are many more pressing issues to be concerned about. Perhaps the steady Canadian and European refrain of "Americans are stupid" is a reflection of their own deep-rooted insecurity. You know -- an inferiority complex." --Mohammed
"As an American, please allow me to begin by asserting that our nation has had its strengths and its weaknesses, its successes and its failures, and its justices and injustices throughout history and continuing into the present. Although I sense much patriotism for my homeland, I recognize our need for humility to understand that our country is not above questioning or reproach but is rather under the same standards as all other nations of the world. I would simply like to ask those who view our country from afar to maintain a balanced perspective and realize too that there exists good and bad in America, both in terms of its domestic society and politics as well as in its relations with other nations.
Whilst there may be growing anti-Americanism in the United Kingdom I do not believe such sentiment to be reciprocated on our side of the Atlantic. I viewed a recent survey that indicated most Americans view England positively, and never have I seen the flag of your country (or any other foreign land, for that matter) burned in the streets of our cities. Clearly we as American citizens have not meant to be your enemies." --Seth
"As someone who takes human rights seriously, I'm appalled by the lack of sympathy the left feels toward the victims of any regime other than the Bush administration. Let's shout it to prisoners everywhere: If you're not harmed by an American, your suffering doesn't count." --Erik Svane
"Ambivalence, antipathy, and resentment toward and about the United States have comprised an important component of European culture since the American Revolution at the latest, thus way before America became the world's 'Mr. Big' -- the proverbial eight-hundred-pound gorilla -- and a credible rival to Europe's main powers, particularly Britain and France . . . . While the politics, style, and discourse of the Bush administration -- and of George W. Bush as a person -- have undoubtedly exacerbated anti-American sentiment among Europeans and fostered a heretofore unmatched degree of unity between elite and mass opinion in Europe, they are not anti-Americanism's cause. Indeed, a change to a center-left administration in Washington, led by a Democratic president, would not bring about its abatement, let alone disappearance." --Andrei S. Markovits (author of Uncouth Nation - Why Europe Dislikes America)
"Is Euro Disney Land a threat to the French Culture? If French culture can be squashed by Mickey Mouse, or more exactly by simply moving Mickey geographically, it would have to be disturbingly fragile." Moreover, Revel argued, culture always circulates and, in the case of Euro Disneyland, California was merely repackaging for Europeans such European stories as Cinderella and Pinocchio. According to Revel, French culture was not being colonized and if any culture was in crisis, he contended, it was that of America with its fad for political correctness and other forms of "neoprovincialism." --Jean-François Revel
"Anti-Americanism is the only face of xenophobia still broadly accepted in Europe." --Mary Fitzgerald (New Statesman)
"Americans find themselves damned either way. If they remain within their own borders, they are isolationist hicks who are shirking their responsibilities. If they intervene, they are rapacious imperialists." --To hate America is to hate mankind
"The British find it very difficult to come to terms with the loss of their global dominance. We felt a deep sense of hurt and loss. We used to run the world, and we don’t anymore. So, in order to palliate that insecurity, we tend to run ourselves down too much. And we’re also snooty about the people who DO run the world." -- Boris Johnson (Member of Parliament)
"It is tragic that Anti-American ideas are so easily passed through rumour, while reconciliatory ideas and notions must be backed up with catalogues of evidence before they are even considered, purely because of the fact that it is so much easier to hate than to keep an objective open mind." --David Hatton
"Other common anti-American objections are ignorance and stupidity. In dealing with these two, I have no reason to suspect that the average American is any less intelligent than the average person from anywhere else. One trait I have noticed is that other cultures are generally much more ashamed of any deficit in the intellect of the individual, especially ours (the British), and as such will make a much greater attempt to hide it. If all cultures bar one are scared of looking stupid and take action to prevent that happening, then that one remaining culture is inevitably going to be lumbered with that image." --David Hatton
"We became not a melting pot, but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." --Jimmy Carter
"Most of the anti-Americanism these days stems from plain old nationalistic jealousy by a lot of countries that are born of insecurity about their own place in the world and their painful self awareness of their own failings and shortcomings...like the kids in the next block who are jealous of the boy who has a better bicycle or a newer fancier skateboard....phuque 'em all." --Robbins Mitchell
"Europeans, like the rest of the world, hate America and Americans, but love our aid when in distress, and our soldiers to die for THEIR COUNTRIES. You need to work, live and pay taxes from this side of the Atlantic to understand our vision of Europe and the rest of the world." --Jerry
"Unjustified hatred of Americans:
There is much unjustified hatred in the world. There is unjustified hatred of the USA. Much of this arises from the victimisation complex that sweeps much of mankind. Whoever is in charge, whoever is powerful or successful will also be hated. This immature hatred often evaporates quickly with a little reason or thought. There are some some invalid, unjustified criticisms. The most widespread hate is the hate by people the world over who fall victim to their own shortcomings, and want a scapegoat." --Vexen Crabtree
"USA citizens are not given world news in the same way as most the other developed nations, and may well be genuinely unaware that much of the world is as poor as it is. European news is highly world-centric, whereas due to its size most USA news does not have enough time to cover news in all neighbouring states, let alone news from around the world. " --Vexen Crabtree
"Despite the USA's dominance of mass media, it is frequently only the pro-USA, self-congratulatory messages that seem to arrive in Europe, the USA citizens criticism and disbelief of their own government is not apparent, which gives the overall impression that Americans are either gullible, ignorant or honestly uncaring." --Vexen Crabtree
"If a person outside of American culture is a hateful person, they may actively hate and verbally attack America. If the person takes this to include a hatred of Americans themselves, they are inconsiderate and have become a fool. If a person like this is brought up by people with vested interests in attacking America (and there are many), a person can be driven to take his opinions to a violent level. Generic hatred is not solved or soothed by adding more layers of hatred.
There is a belief and hope that if enough nations oppose America, the American people will realize what their government has been doing and will overthrow them. This hope is misguided, as anti-American actions are causing the opposite"--Vexen Crabtree
"I think it is best, when faced with people from other nations, to treat them as individuals. Yes, you can "hate" the injustices that governments perpetuate on us all, and yes, you can despise ignorance in all its' forms. But any sort of blanket prejudice punishes yourself more than anyone else, because it thwarts the opportunity to learn from someone else. It stops you from making potential connections that could ultimately change your life. As an "american" living abroad, I pity my fellow countrymen who still have the wool over their eyes, but I don't hate them. The fact that when I meet them, they are indeed traveling at the time, says to me that they are in the process of opening their minds. Being in Europe, for many Americans, is the first step to realizing that other cultures do indeed exist and thrive, and that other forms of social structures are both possible and desireable.
-----------------
Many ask me why I left. Political reasons aside, when I mention that my family now enjoys free health-care and that my daughter will have the opportunity to go to university virtually for free (O.K. not free exactly, because we all pay taxes, but these services are included in what we as citizens receive for our tax dollars here in Europe,) they always respond with a sigh as they realize that this is the way all societies should be run. They know that something has gone terribly afoul in their beloved "homeland."
--------------
Americans, in essence, need to be re-taught what is possible in the world, they do not need to be shunned. Shunning them will only help to produce more negativity in the world. If we all, from without, can help them to change what is wrong with their country from within, by sharing our knowledge of alternatives, then the whole world will benefit." --Lily
"Sometimes the caliber of a nation is found not in why it is liked, but rather in why it is not." --Victor Davis Hanson
"Everyone is in favor of free speech. Hardly a day passes without its being extolled, but some people's idea of it is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage." --Winston Churchill
"With a military that has become a laughing stock and her increasing irrelevance in the world around her, I believe that the Canada I know and loved is gone. The sad truth is, Canadians have only themselves to blame since they meekly chose to accept everything without question and without fighting back. Most of them even pat themselves on the back for being so “progressive” and “multicultural” and “diverse,” while failing to recognize that all of those things will bring about Canada’s demise. America may not be perfect, but at least there is a strong conservative movement and a population who will fight to keep their rights." --Jayne Gardener (Why I left Canada)
"Regarding Race Relations in the South:
I once read an observation that ONE (and there are many) of the differences between the Northern and Southern approach to race is that the North tends to reject the Individual while embracing the Race. The South conversely seems to have prejudice towards the other Race while embracing the Individuals. It's a generalization to be sure but one with more than a grain of truth.
Blacks and Whites have always lived closely in the South, most southerners have an aquantince of another race whom they like, while at the same time generalizing about the 'others'.
The North has always been more segregated and less mixed in ordinary commerce and interaction. They accept the race but interact with few individuals of another group. Leading to less real experience with the other group. Fewer Northerners subsequently have friends of a different race.
I think we a need to be cautious when making these generalizations but I believe they still offer food for comment.
I guess I'm just saying that one shouldn't assume the South has a less open society because of some who have lingering, isolated, racist attitudes towards 'Canadians'. It just seems that these notions, are more exposed, and carry more gravity due to their past. --JG (reply #70)
"My “two cents” to all you Americans out there: speaking as a Brit, it pains me to see some of the comments emanating from this page by alleged British sophisticates. Much of the real reason for anti-Americanism of this type — though it will be hotly denied — is nothing more than envy. Truth be told, many an Englishman yearns for the day when we were the number one dog in town, with the world sitting obediently at the feet of hordes of short-back-and sides public school boys lording it over primitive tribes of Africans and Asians, whilst men such as Joseph Chamberlain and Winston Churchill sincerely speculated on the chances of the USA being welcomed back into the imperial bosom.
Americans, don't lose heart; you are the great power of the age. It is your lot to be envied and feared. Do not fall for the soft hearted illusion that this translates into moral superiority of any variety." --James
"It is sick that to be Canadian one must hate other people. I've been to US hundreds of times and England as well and they never equate their nationality with hatred of others. It seems we are a nation of people that are in serious need of therapy. Thank god I enjoy visiting other countries and felt no need to hate or denigrate others. When ever I go to United States or England I always leave the Canadian stuff at home and I get along just fine. I would recommend this for others." --Nov. 12th, 2005 5:08PM
"The only thing more annoying that a 'typical American' (and they do exist!) is a Canadian with a superiority complex! Americans do get the piss ripped out of them behind their backs but with the flag on your pack you probably will as well." --travoholic
"I grew up on army bases my whole life and nothing makes me prouder than watching Canadian soldiers do what they can, when they can, to help out more impoverished nations. I do, however, become angered at people who begin talking about who has the better, or bigger army and who can beat whom. Soldiers sacrifice their lives for the betterment of mankind, not to win pissing contests." --Mon Dec 13, 2004 5:12 pm
"I attribute European anti-Americanism to a state of prolonged “adolescence” from being protected by American treasure and military might throughout the post-WW2 era. I think about how teenagers rail against their parents actions and restrictions, all the while knowing, deep down, that they cannot provide for themselves.
On a somewhat lighter note, there was a program on PBS (Public Broadcasting System) a while back about why Europeans don’t like America. One interviewee attributed it to the Europeans knowing that America won’t hurt them." --Denis Eugene Sullivan
"In spite of the constant accusations of “arrogance,” Americans are really very self-deprecating in many ways and often place the French, and other Western Europeans, on a pedestal of cultural superiority; this probably goes further back into world history than virulent anti-Americanism does." --Jennifer
"Yes, anti-Americanism is a sad reality all over the world. I feel its simply part of "hatred of the superpower". Britian for most of its empire's history was mocked harshly by English speaking colonies and much of mainland Europe. Nobody likes the "big kid on the block". I think the fact that American media plays a more dominant role in English speaking societies around the world further reminds us of our inferiority complexes.
In short, America's ok with me. I can only hope that reason and the shedding of jealous ignorance can let other people see that America isn't that bad." --Matt
"Conservatives love America the way a six year old loves his mother. Mommy is perfect, don’t be mean to mommy, etc… Liberals, according to me, have a grown-up love for America — the kind that recognizes faults and works to improve the nation out of love." --Al Franken
argument, bloggers, blogging, censorship, civil rights, commentary, debate, delta air lines, dooced, ellen simonetti, fired for blogging, first amendment, flight attendant, free speech, international bloggers bill of rights, legal, opinion, petition, queen of sky, sexual discrimination
Do Bloggers Have Rights? And How Far Do They Go?
In Blog and Web/Tech News, Censorship / Freedom of Speech on February 17, 2005 at 10:49 PMInternational Bloggers’ Bill of Rights (You need an account over at Journalspace to see this.)
One hundred and eleven bloggers have signed a petition already to protect themselves from getting the boot from both their companies and/or organizations they belong to. Wow!
Hear about what happened to a “former” Delta Air Lines flight attendant. If you read the feedback the woman got regarding her getting fired from Delta, some believe she had deserved to get fired while others sided with her and agreed that she should “fight it out”.
You can find more in depth information on “Queen of the Sky’s” story in her blog. There too, you will find the pictures that may have caused her to get fired.
yourself. After all, you do call yourself a ‘queen’.
written by Nick Tomkin
If you want it personal, keep it personal.
All in all she should take it with a grain of salt… but we do live in a cultural infrastructure that currently frowns on employees who cant keep private personal information out of the job…ie-employee silliness. Too bad she had to get fired to realize that. Blowing off steam, I could understand, complaints, I could understand, if taken to the source, but what company likes bad publicity, and even worse, self aggrandizement on their dime? Of course there is nothing out here to stop anyone from saying what ever they want to say about anyone else, but as always, you must expect consequences.
pictures that say “see my tits and ass” in the workplace is so unprofessional as to be unbelievable.
Why do you think that this is acceptable behavior by anybody while at work? If you owned an airline, would you like it if your employees where clearly goofing off on your dime and then publishing it for the whole world to see?
I can’t believe all the people here rooting for this kind of unprofessional behavior in the workplace and missing the whole point by saying it’s some sort of oppression on your “right” to blog. Give me a break.
written by Claire
However, some people feel she should fight back!
long as their personal business doesn’t affect mine, they can do whatever they feel like doing.In my experience, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. In my experience, those who complain about others whining usually are the ones doing most of the whining.
Pathetic!
Rock on, Ellen! You are my Queen of the Sky!
written by Eric Johnson
Get the Facts before you judge her.
In reading her site, I see that the reason she is alleging sex discrimination is apparently because there are male pilots who have posted photos of themselves in uniform on web sites, but have not been fired for it.As for “at will” employment: Employment law is very complex and relates to individual state law. Some states are “at will” states, some are not.
My opinion is: she should fight Delta over this, but it would be better to do so privately rather than using the web as her podium.
you think flight attendants should be humorless and serious all the time consider this. At Southwest Airlines, ground crew and flight attendants crack jokes, announce sport scores, make silly announcements (like “Welcome to Lost Wages” as they pull into McCarran), have singing contests and do other unorthodox, fun acts in front of passengers. As I have stated in previous posts, which airline is the only one making a
profit these days?
written by Jimmy
Very interesting. And even more interesting for me because I used to work for Delta!!! Fortunately, I didn’t get fired nor did I leave the company on bad terms. I do not know what it’s like to work for Delta right now, but looking back, Delta was one of the most professional and employee-friendly companies in the US that I’ve ever worked for.
Before I even knew what had been going on in the Blogsphere regarding getting fired or “dooced” as they say, I had always thought to myself that I would keep the fact that I write in a blog a secret from everybody at work — regardless if they were a co-worker or good friend of mine. My real name is not exposed on my blog nor is any of my personal information that would lead anyone to find out “who I am” or “what I do”.
Secondly, I was raised to always “be careful what you put in writing”. This is so true. “Anything you say or do can be held against you….” Sounds familiar?
This is not to say that I don’t believe people should have “online diaries” that are focused primarily on themselves, their lives, their rants, and their deepest personal feelings. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this. And yes, “Free Speech” DOES come in to play and is there to “protect” us. However, as others had mentioned in the “Queen of the Sky” case, Free Speech comes with limitations and must be used with caution. Remember one of the last lines in the movie, “Spiderman 1″? “With great power comes great responsibility.” This is pretty much of the same thing. Be prepared for the consequences of Free Speech (if there are any). I guess it all depends on “what you’re saying”, “who” you’re talking about, and how well you keep your identity hidden. For example, never send anyone from your workplace an email with an electronic signature escorting them to your blog!!
I do feel for Ellen Simonetti. I cannot imagine the devastation that comes with getting fired - let alone the embarrassment of “getting caught with your pants down“ with all your little secrets on the internet! Ug! At least, that’s how I would take it.
So, in this case, Delta may have not been in the wrong for firing this woman.
Then we’ve got an NBA player that was fined thousands of dollars for writing this in his blog. Read his feelings and what his readers think about his situation. Here are some snippets:
I think its amazing that the NBA would fine you for those comments. It is obvious to pretty much anyone that having the season start on election day wasn’t a great decision. By fining you for pointing that out, rather than putting out a statement of reasons for starting the season on election day (assuming they exist), the NBA just looks worse and is cutting off a potential resource. If you’re allowed to make comments and criticisms in public, especially on the blog, the league can get some feedback on their decisions. I guess I just don’t get it.To answer your specific questions, I suppose it makes the league appear weaker, but more importantly it probably makes the league weaker. It won’t affect the way I interact with the league, I’ll still watch on TV and make the hour and a half trip to catch a game every year. It is upsetting though.
I’ll probably blog about this on my own site, but here’s a quick first impression. When I lived in Europe, I was extremely surprised to see the on-field officials giving interviews after English Premiership (that’s soccer, incidentally) games. The media asked them about incidents in the game, and the officials seemed to answer (more or
less) honestly about what they thought transpired.Why don’t we make league officials answerable? In fact, I’d imagine that referees (et al) would feel empowered by being able to speak their mind in the media.
What pisses me off is the affect this could have on your blog and perhaps on the blogging community as a whole.It’s becoming more and more popular for executives and business leaders to write blogs. Your name always tops the list of executives that write blogs. I love the idea of more business leaders writing blogs but I’ve checked out some of these other blogs and you can tell that many of them have been proofread by an editor. They’re missing personality and style.
One thing that makes your blog — and all blogs for that matter — popular is that it’s more like a conversation than an article. You get to the point and you say what’s on your mind. That’s what makes blogs great. And a fine like this has the potential to
affect the way you write your blog.
Every organization that has a significant profile – whether it’s in sports or in another industry – will always be subject to public criticism from within. It doesn’t matter if it comes from a blog, an open letter or a comment in the media.
In the end, the public will evaluate the criticism based on who else is validating it and their views of those parties. If an individual is regularly railing against a league because of some personal beef (often the case with players), then it will probably have little impact on the league’s image and will be viewed as one person’s bellyaching. However, if a chorus of criticism arises that is deemed valid by those who cover the league in the press – it carries a different weight.
In the end, it all probably has little impact on sales. Those who are hooked on NBA basketball will probably remain fans – unless the league owners/players disenfranchise them directly by taking their fun away, as every league at one time or
another has done through strikes/lockouts.
It’s happening all over.
And this is not even the tip of the iceberg! There are an enormous amount of cases just like the ones we read above! It’s never ending, it seems…
A UK Bookseller fires employee over blog
Blog Interrupted Read here about “When Jessica Cutler put her dirty secrets on the Web, she lost her job, signed a book deal, posed for Playboy — and raised a ton of questions about where America is headed…”
In light of all the hoopla with bloggers getting fired from their workplace right, left, and center, one can only hope there is a resolution to this problem. While some companies and organizations may be justified in terminating an employee for potentially putting their business at risk, I’m dumbfounded by how ridiculous some of these cases are.
I believe several questions are unanswered here.
How does a company find out whether or not you have a blog if you don’t reveal your true name or don’t add it in any signature lines of your email or resume? How are these employers finding out? I guess some
people are making stupid mistakes that get them revealed somehow.
I’d be very curious to hear the opinions from someone in the legal profession about this. What do you think? What are the boundaries? Can bloggers really be protected?
Anyone interested in helping your fellow bloggers? Don’t forget to sign the petition at The International Bloggers Bill of Rights Blog!