March 31, 2010
Jakarta Globe
The Indonesian Children Protection Agency has reacted with horror after a video was posted on Youtube in which a toddler from East Java was filmed smoking and answering with explicit langauge a series of questions posed by adults about encounters with prostitutes.
In the three-and-a-half-minute video, the child, whose addressed as San and who appears no older than four years of age, repeatedly inhales deeply from a large clove cigarette and blows smoke rings while he answers the questions in Javanese.
Adults: Sandy, what do you want be when you grow up?
San: A thief.
Adults: What will you spend your money on?
San: On hookers.
Adults: Where?
San: Dolly [Dolly prostitution complex in Surabaya, East Java].
Adults: What’s the best thing in the world?
San: Vaginas
The adults then asked him to demonstrate intercourse, to which the child responds by shaking his hips.
Eddy Iksan from the Pusaka Indonesia Foundation, which is a member of the Indonesian Children Protection Commission (KPAI), said the adults had clearly violated the 2003 Child Protection Law.
“They used the child to verbally spread pornography, that’s a violation of the Child Protection Law and it’s obvious that they were recording the conversation to publish or to expose it to public,” Eddy said.
He added that the police should start an investigation because San was clearly being abused.
“It’s child abuse,” Eddy said. “Teaching a toddler to smoke and speak foul language is an abuse of the child’s rights for a stable environment and a good education. Police should take action.”
The person who uploaded the video on Youtube did not mention the location where the video was taken. However, the dialect sounded similar to that spoken by people in East Java.
From: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/east-java-toddler-in-sickening-youtube-video/366823
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Jilted Java Teenager Cuts off Penis and Throws it Down Well
March 29, 2010
Devastated by the news that his girlfriend was going to marry another man, a teenager from a village in Central Java cut off his own penis in a fit of despair.
Any hopes of reattaching the severed member were dashed after the 19-year-old threw the appendage into a well and it could not be found by residents of Bantasari village.
Sugeng Budi Susanto, director of Cilacap General Hospital, said on Monday that it was extremely fortunate that medical personnel were able to save the life of the teenager, who was identified only by the initials AMD.
He arrived at the hospital last Thursday in critical condition from blood loss, Sugeng said. “It was a critical time,” he said. “Cutting off a penis can be fatal.”
Sugeng said that after several days in the intensive care unit, the teenager had been transferred to a standard recovery room, though he was being provided with additional security to ward off the swarm of journalists besieging the hospital.
Sugeng appealed to journalists not to bother the family given the sensitive nature of the injury.
“The patient is in shock over what he experienced,” he said. “Reporters can ask the family about this case, but do not interfere with their comfort.”
Though family members declined to comment, a source confirmed that AMD had cut of his penis after he discovered his girlfriend intended to marry another man.
“The sliced-off penis has not been found,” the source said. “Allegedly, AMD threw it into the well with the intention of committing suicide because he thought nobody would be able to save his life.”
Sugeng said the teenager had still not spoken to anyone about the incident. “He’s still too shocked and embarrassed to talk to or see anyone.”
From: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/central-java-man-cuts-off-own-penis/366451
Devastated by the news that his girlfriend was going to marry another man, a teenager from a village in Central Java cut off his own penis in a fit of despair.
Any hopes of reattaching the severed member were dashed after the 19-year-old threw the appendage into a well and it could not be found by residents of Bantasari village.
Sugeng Budi Susanto, director of Cilacap General Hospital, said on Monday that it was extremely fortunate that medical personnel were able to save the life of the teenager, who was identified only by the initials AMD.
He arrived at the hospital last Thursday in critical condition from blood loss, Sugeng said. “It was a critical time,” he said. “Cutting off a penis can be fatal.”
Sugeng said that after several days in the intensive care unit, the teenager had been transferred to a standard recovery room, though he was being provided with additional security to ward off the swarm of journalists besieging the hospital.
Sugeng appealed to journalists not to bother the family given the sensitive nature of the injury.
“The patient is in shock over what he experienced,” he said. “Reporters can ask the family about this case, but do not interfere with their comfort.”
Though family members declined to comment, a source confirmed that AMD had cut of his penis after he discovered his girlfriend intended to marry another man.
“The sliced-off penis has not been found,” the source said. “Allegedly, AMD threw it into the well with the intention of committing suicide because he thought nobody would be able to save his life.”
Sugeng said the teenager had still not spoken to anyone about the incident. “He’s still too shocked and embarrassed to talk to or see anyone.”
From: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/central-java-man-cuts-off-own-penis/366451
Inglewood police fatally shoot bloody man with ax
By WIRE SERVICES
Story Published: Mar 28, 2010 at 7:04 PM PDT
INGLEWOOD -- The 43-year-old Los Angeles who was killed in a fatal officer-involved shooting in an Inglewood market after he lunged at officers with an ax has been identified, the Los Angeles coroner said.
Mario Jaramillo had been stabbing himself with a knife and was fatally shot by two Inglewood police officers, according to the Inglewood Police Department.
Inglewood police would not, however, confirm the victim's name or age or where he was from.
The fatal officer-involved-shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m., Saturday at City Farm Market, 10801 Prairie Ave., Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Serrano said.
Inglewood police were called to the store by market employees, who said a man confronted a worker with a knife and said "he killed people,'' Serrano said.
The suspect allegedly tried to stab the worker, then walked away, Serrano said. Officers sealed off the market and began searching for the man. Police followed a trail of blood to a walk-in refrigerator in the warehouse, where they found blood.
As officers were preparing to enter the walk-in refrigerator, the suspect allegedly exited the refrigerator holding an ax, Serrano said. The suspect then allegedly raised the ax over his head and lunged toward officers.
Two officers opened fire on the man, who died at the scene, Serrano said.
The dead man's name was unavailable early Sunday.
An Inglewood watch commander said he didn't know if the man was homeless or had a history of mental illness. Officers recovered an ax and a knife at the scene.
The two officers who fired their weapons were identified as Sgt. John Knapp, a 28-year veteran, and Sgt. Greg Held, a 9-year veteran.
Inglewood police began separate criminal and administrative investigations of the shooting.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's officer-involved shooting team also was investigating.
Inglewood Police Officer Adam Butler said police were not releasing any other information.
There have been at least three officer-involved shootings in Inglewood in the past two years. The Los Angeles Times reported that Inglewood police shot and killed 11 people, five of them unarmed, between 2003 and 2009.
From: http://www.wavenewspapers.com/news/local/west-edition/89370307.html
Story Published: Mar 28, 2010 at 7:04 PM PDT
INGLEWOOD -- The 43-year-old Los Angeles who was killed in a fatal officer-involved shooting in an Inglewood market after he lunged at officers with an ax has been identified, the Los Angeles coroner said.
Mario Jaramillo had been stabbing himself with a knife and was fatally shot by two Inglewood police officers, according to the Inglewood Police Department.
Inglewood police would not, however, confirm the victim's name or age or where he was from.
The fatal officer-involved-shooting occurred about 9:30 p.m., Saturday at City Farm Market, 10801 Prairie Ave., Inglewood police Lt. Oscar Serrano said.
Inglewood police were called to the store by market employees, who said a man confronted a worker with a knife and said "he killed people,'' Serrano said.
The suspect allegedly tried to stab the worker, then walked away, Serrano said. Officers sealed off the market and began searching for the man. Police followed a trail of blood to a walk-in refrigerator in the warehouse, where they found blood.
As officers were preparing to enter the walk-in refrigerator, the suspect allegedly exited the refrigerator holding an ax, Serrano said. The suspect then allegedly raised the ax over his head and lunged toward officers.
Two officers opened fire on the man, who died at the scene, Serrano said.
The dead man's name was unavailable early Sunday.
An Inglewood watch commander said he didn't know if the man was homeless or had a history of mental illness. Officers recovered an ax and a knife at the scene.
The two officers who fired their weapons were identified as Sgt. John Knapp, a 28-year veteran, and Sgt. Greg Held, a 9-year veteran.
Inglewood police began separate criminal and administrative investigations of the shooting.
The Los Angeles County District Attorney's officer-involved shooting team also was investigating.
Inglewood Police Officer Adam Butler said police were not releasing any other information.
There have been at least three officer-involved shootings in Inglewood in the past two years. The Los Angeles Times reported that Inglewood police shot and killed 11 people, five of them unarmed, between 2003 and 2009.
From: http://www.wavenewspapers.com/news/local/west-edition/89370307.html
Cigarettes may contain pigs blood
AAP March 30, 2010 3:21PM
CIGARETTES may contain traces of pig's blood, an Australian academic says with a warning that religious groups could find its undisclosed presence "very offensive".
University of Sydney Professor Simon Chapman points to recent Dutch research which identified 185 different industrial uses of a pig - including the use of its haemoglobin in cigarette filters.
Prof Chapman said the research offered an insight into the otherwise secretive world of cigarette manufacture, and it was likely to raise concerns for devout Muslims and Jews.
Religious texts at the core of both of these faiths specifically ban the consumption of pork.
"I think that there would be some particularly devout groups who would find the idea that there were pig products in cigarettes to be very offensive," Prof Chapman said today.
"The Jewish community certainly takes these matters extremely seriously and the Islamic community certainly do as well, as would many vegetarians.
"It just puts into hard relief the problem that the tobacco industry is not required to declare the ingredients of cigarettes ... they say 'that's our business' and a trade secret."
The Dutch research found pig haemoglobin - a blood protein - was being used to make cigarette filters more effective at trapping harmful chemicals before they could enter a smoker's lungs.
Prof Chapman said while tobacco companies had moved voluntarily list the contents of their products on their websites, they also noted undisclosed "processing aids ... that are not significantly present in, and do not functionally affect, the finished product".
This catch-all term hid from public view an array of chemicals and other substances used in the making of tobacco products, he said.
At least one cigarette brand sold in Greece was confirmed as using pig haemoglobin in its processes, Prof Chapman said, and the status of smokes sold was unknown.
"If you're a smoker and you're of Islamic or Jewish faith then you'd probably would want to know and there is no way of finding out," Prof Chapman said.
The Sydney office of British American Tobacco Australia was contacted by AAP.
A spokeswoman said a comment would be provided although it was not immediately available.
From: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/cigarettes-may-contain-pigs-blood/story-e6freuyi-1225847538778
CIGARETTES may contain traces of pig's blood, an Australian academic says with a warning that religious groups could find its undisclosed presence "very offensive".
University of Sydney Professor Simon Chapman points to recent Dutch research which identified 185 different industrial uses of a pig - including the use of its haemoglobin in cigarette filters.
Prof Chapman said the research offered an insight into the otherwise secretive world of cigarette manufacture, and it was likely to raise concerns for devout Muslims and Jews.
Religious texts at the core of both of these faiths specifically ban the consumption of pork.
"I think that there would be some particularly devout groups who would find the idea that there were pig products in cigarettes to be very offensive," Prof Chapman said today.
"The Jewish community certainly takes these matters extremely seriously and the Islamic community certainly do as well, as would many vegetarians.
"It just puts into hard relief the problem that the tobacco industry is not required to declare the ingredients of cigarettes ... they say 'that's our business' and a trade secret."
The Dutch research found pig haemoglobin - a blood protein - was being used to make cigarette filters more effective at trapping harmful chemicals before they could enter a smoker's lungs.
Prof Chapman said while tobacco companies had moved voluntarily list the contents of their products on their websites, they also noted undisclosed "processing aids ... that are not significantly present in, and do not functionally affect, the finished product".
This catch-all term hid from public view an array of chemicals and other substances used in the making of tobacco products, he said.
At least one cigarette brand sold in Greece was confirmed as using pig haemoglobin in its processes, Prof Chapman said, and the status of smokes sold was unknown.
"If you're a smoker and you're of Islamic or Jewish faith then you'd probably would want to know and there is no way of finding out," Prof Chapman said.
The Sydney office of British American Tobacco Australia was contacted by AAP.
A spokeswoman said a comment would be provided although it was not immediately available.
From: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/cigarettes-may-contain-pigs-blood/story-e6freuyi-1225847538778
Michelle Morrissey stabbed dozens of times, court hears
By Clementine Cuneo and Edith Bevin From: The Daily Telegraph April 01, 2010 12:00AM MURDERED Mudgee teenager Michelle Morrissey was allegedly stabbed "dozens and dozens" of times by a stranger in her home as she prepared to go to a party.
Police said that they had no indication the popular 19-year-old knew her alleged killer Luke John Cotterill, 18.
Cotterill, from Londonderry in Sydney's outer-west, appeared in Mudgee Local Court yesterday charged with Ms Morrissey's murder, which police allege occurred some time between 3pm and 6.30pm on Saturday.
Ms Morrissey was allegedly ironing clothes and preparing to dress for a party in Dubbo where she was to meet up with family members later that afternoon.
Police will allege that Cotterill entered her home and stabbed her in a frenzied attack.
Ms Morrissey's boyfriend Jake McGowan went to the Cox St house about 6.30pm looking for her after she failed to turn up in Dubbo and multiple calls to her mobile phone went unanswered.
He allegedly discovered her body on the rear steps of the home.
On Tuesday night, police arrested Cotterill at the Mudgee home of one of his relatives.
He was charged with her murder and appeared before Mudgee Local Court yesterday. Cotterill whimpered during his brief court appearance but did not apply for bail.
Registrar Tony Goodwin formally refused bail and remanded him to appear via audio-visual link before Bathurst Local Court today.
Although he is registered as living at Londonderry, police said Cotterill had family ties in Mudgee and he was known to spend time in the country town.
Outside the court, members of Cotterill's family said they had no idea about what is alleged to have happened. "I just want to say I feel very sorry for her (Ms Morrissey's) family, they don't have her anymore, but at least we still have Luke," a woman believed to be Cotterill's mother said.
Choking back tears, a group of Ms Morrissey's friends arrived at court carrying flowers and hugging each other for comfort.
"We're just here in support of her family, OK," a friend named Kayla said.
Homicide detective Inspector Russell Oxford said police had carried out an intense investigation of what was a tragic case.
"It's a tragic case and it's something that's really hit home to the people of Mudgee," Insp Oxford said.
From: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw-act/michelle-morrissey-stabbed-dozens-of-times-court-hears/story-e6freuzi-1225848230622
Teenager stabbed in neck with scissors during fight at school
From correspondents in London From: NewsCore March 31, 2010 11:57PM
A SCHOOLGIRL was stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors and another suffered a head injury after being battered with an umbrella in an afternoon ruckus outside a London high school.
Police were called to the fight, which took place at a bus stop opposite the Burlington Danes Academy in White City, west London, around 4pm London time on Tuesday.
The stab victim was thought to be around 14 or 15 years old, police said, and the second victim was thought to be of a similar age.
Both girls were taken to the hospital, but the injuries suffered by them were not life-threatening.
Police said they were to be discharged after treatment.
Four girls, aged between 12 and 16, were arrested in connection with the incident and taken to a west London police station.
From: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/teenager-stabbed-in-neck-with-scissors-during-fight-at-school/story-e6freuyi-1225848267779
A SCHOOLGIRL was stabbed in the neck with a pair of scissors and another suffered a head injury after being battered with an umbrella in an afternoon ruckus outside a London high school.
Police were called to the fight, which took place at a bus stop opposite the Burlington Danes Academy in White City, west London, around 4pm London time on Tuesday.
The stab victim was thought to be around 14 or 15 years old, police said, and the second victim was thought to be of a similar age.
Both girls were taken to the hospital, but the injuries suffered by them were not life-threatening.
Police said they were to be discharged after treatment.
Four girls, aged between 12 and 16, were arrested in connection with the incident and taken to a west London police station.
From: http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/breaking-news/teenager-stabbed-in-neck-with-scissors-during-fight-at-school/story-e6freuyi-1225848267779
Shop owner defends sale of 'Holocaust' soap
Montreal shop owner's wares draw ire from Jewish groups
Last Updated: Friday, March 26, 2010 | 7:03 PM ET
The owner of a Montreal collectibles shop is defending his decision to sell a bar of soap he advertises as being made of the fat of Holocaust victims.
Jewish groups in Montreal are denouncing the shop in the city's Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood where the beige bar of soap is displayed.
The soap is inscribed with a swastika and displayed in a glass case with a card that says "Poland 1940."
On Friday, Abraham Botines, a Spanish-born Jew who has operated the quirky boutique since 1967, admitted he has no idea whether the soap is really made of human remains.
"I'm 73 and I was collecting things from the Holocaust and from World War II because I belong to that period," Botines told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday in the cluttered shop.
"In my lifetime I got a lot of curiosity items — that is, things that are hard to find ... and my things, my children, they don't have any interest."
But Botines is adamant he's selling a collectible item and not hateful ideology.
After reporters began descending on the store Friday morning, the controversial bar of soap was put aside.
Botines said it can now be seen only by serious collectors.
"It's my soap and I'm free to do anything I want with it," he said.
Most Holocaust experts say the stories that have circulated over the years about Nazis mass-producing soap from the remains of Jews and others who died in concentration camps are largely untrue although there is evidence the Nazis experimented with soap-making using human remains.
Nonetheless, Jewish groups were angered by the discovery of the soap, which was first reported by CBC News.
Fake or real, the soap is outrageous, and "this individual, and others like him, are not preserving history in any way," said Alice Herscovitch, director of Montreal's Holocaust Centre. "The sale of objects which glorify Nazism and hatred, to me, do nothing. They certainly don't help us remember."
The idea is also disgusting, she said.
"These are items that should not be out there in a promotional, sales kind of way."
Braid of hair on sale
The sale of items with swastikas is not illegal under Canadian law, but selling soap made with human remains is, said Anita Bromberg, B'nai Brith Canada's chief legal counsel.
Making such a claim about a bar of soap, if untrue, is also illegal because it is fraud, she added.
"It's just offensive to the core," said Bromberg, who is based in Toronto. "I can't imagine that someone would even pretend to say they're collecting it for historical interest."
Botines also sells a braid of hair labelled as originating from a Nazi "extermination camp."
He said he wouldn't sell any of the items to a neo-Nazi.
On Friday, Montreal police said they would verify the facts and speak with local Jewish groups before deciding whether to open an investigation.
"It's very important to validate the information first," said Montreal police Cmdr. Paul Chablo. "It’s one thing to say this is being sold, [but] is it actually true? … If there is any truth to this, then, of course, we'll want to open an investigation."
An investigation could include ordering a lab analysis of the soap, Chablo said.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/03/26/montreal-shop-sells-nazi-objects.html
Last Updated: Friday, March 26, 2010 | 7:03 PM ET
The owner of a Montreal collectibles shop is defending his decision to sell a bar of soap he advertises as being made of the fat of Holocaust victims.
Jewish groups in Montreal are denouncing the shop in the city's Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood where the beige bar of soap is displayed.
The soap is inscribed with a swastika and displayed in a glass case with a card that says "Poland 1940."
On Friday, Abraham Botines, a Spanish-born Jew who has operated the quirky boutique since 1967, admitted he has no idea whether the soap is really made of human remains.
"I'm 73 and I was collecting things from the Holocaust and from World War II because I belong to that period," Botines told The Canadian Press in an interview Friday in the cluttered shop.
"In my lifetime I got a lot of curiosity items — that is, things that are hard to find ... and my things, my children, they don't have any interest."
But Botines is adamant he's selling a collectible item and not hateful ideology.
After reporters began descending on the store Friday morning, the controversial bar of soap was put aside.
Botines said it can now be seen only by serious collectors.
"It's my soap and I'm free to do anything I want with it," he said.
Most Holocaust experts say the stories that have circulated over the years about Nazis mass-producing soap from the remains of Jews and others who died in concentration camps are largely untrue although there is evidence the Nazis experimented with soap-making using human remains.
Nonetheless, Jewish groups were angered by the discovery of the soap, which was first reported by CBC News.
Fake or real, the soap is outrageous, and "this individual, and others like him, are not preserving history in any way," said Alice Herscovitch, director of Montreal's Holocaust Centre. "The sale of objects which glorify Nazism and hatred, to me, do nothing. They certainly don't help us remember."
The idea is also disgusting, she said.
"These are items that should not be out there in a promotional, sales kind of way."
Braid of hair on sale
The sale of items with swastikas is not illegal under Canadian law, but selling soap made with human remains is, said Anita Bromberg, B'nai Brith Canada's chief legal counsel.
Making such a claim about a bar of soap, if untrue, is also illegal because it is fraud, she added.
"It's just offensive to the core," said Bromberg, who is based in Toronto. "I can't imagine that someone would even pretend to say they're collecting it for historical interest."
Botines also sells a braid of hair labelled as originating from a Nazi "extermination camp."
He said he wouldn't sell any of the items to a neo-Nazi.
On Friday, Montreal police said they would verify the facts and speak with local Jewish groups before deciding whether to open an investigation.
"It's very important to validate the information first," said Montreal police Cmdr. Paul Chablo. "It’s one thing to say this is being sold, [but] is it actually true? … If there is any truth to this, then, of course, we'll want to open an investigation."
An investigation could include ordering a lab analysis of the soap, Chablo said.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/03/26/montreal-shop-sells-nazi-objects.html
Moral judgments can be altered
Written by: Anne Trafton, MIT News Office March 29, 2010
MIT neuroscientists influence people’s moral judgments by disrupting specific brain region
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — MIT neuroscientists have shown they can influence people’s moral judgments by disrupting a specific brain region — a finding that helps reveal how the brain constructs morality.
To make moral judgments about other people, we often need to infer their intentions — an ability known as “theory of mind.” For example, if a hunter shoots his friend while on a hunting trip, we need to know what the hunter was thinking: Was he secretly jealous, or did he mistake his friend for a duck?
Previous studies have shown that a brain region known as the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) is highly active when we think about other people’s intentions, thoughts and beliefs. In the new study, the researchers disrupted activity in the right TPJ by inducing a current in the brain using a magnetic field applied to the scalp. They found that the subjects’ ability to make moral judgments that require an understanding of other people’s intentions — for example, a failed murder attempt — was impaired.
The researchers, led by Rebecca Saxe, MIT assistant professor of brain and cognitive sciences, report their findings in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences the week of March 29.
The study offers “striking evidence” that the right TPJ, located at the brain’s surface above and behind the right ear, is critical for making moral judgments, says Liane Young, lead author of the paper. It’s also startling, since under normal circumstances people are very confident and consistent in these kinds of moral judgments, says Young, a postdoctoral associate in MIT’s Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences.
“You think of morality as being a really high-level behavior,” she says. “To be able to apply (a magnetic field) to a specific brain region and change people’s moral judgments is really astonishing.”
How they did it: The researchers used a non-invasive technique known as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to selectively interfere with brain activity in the right TPJ. A magnetic field applied to a small area of the skull creates weak electric currents that impede nearby brain cells’ ability to fire normally, but the effect is only temporary.
In one experiment, volunteers were exposed to TMS for 25 minutes before taking a test in which they read a series of scenarios and made moral judgments of characters’ actions on a scale of 1 (absolutely forbidden) to 7 (absolutely permissible).
In a second experiment, TMS was applied in 500-milisecond bursts at the moment when the subject was asked to make a moral judgment. For example, subjects were asked to judge how permissible it is for someone to let his girlfriend walk across a bridge he knows to be unsafe, even if she ends up making it across safely. In such cases, a judgment based solely on the outcome would hold the perpetrator morally blameless, even though it appears he intended to do harm.
In both experiments, the researchers found that when the right TPJ was disrupted, subjects were more likely to judge failed attempts to harm as morally permissible. Therefore, the researchers believe that TMS interfered with subjects’ ability to interpret others’ intentions, forcing them to rely more on outcome information to make their judgments.
Next steps: Young is now doing a study on the role of the right TPJ in judgments of people who are morally lucky or unlucky. For example, a drunk driver who hits and kills a pedestrian is unlucky, compared to an equally drunk driver who makes it home safely, but the unlucky homicidal driver tends to be judged more morally blameworthy.
Source: “Disruption of the right temporo-parietal junction with transcranial magnetic stimulation reduces the role of beliefs in moral judgments,” Liane Young, Joan Albert Camprodon, Marc Hauser, Alvaro Pascual-Leone, Rebecca Saxe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, week of March 29, 2010.
Funding: National Center for Research Resources, the MIND Institute, the Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, the Simons Foundation and the David and Lucille Packard Foundation.
From: http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/moral-control.html
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Nearly nude, one-legged woman found dead on Brooklyn subway tracks
By Jill Colvin and Wil Cruz
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Sunday, March 28th 2010, 10:37 PM
Updated: Tuesday, March 30th 2010, 6:28 AM
The mangled body of a nearly naked young woman was found on the tracks near a Brooklyn subway station Sunday - and her prosthetic leg was discovered a few feet away.
The woman's body was found about 3:40 p.m. in a subway culvert about 100 feet from the Kings Highway station on the N line in Bensonhurst.
"I heard one of the workers screaming on the radio, 'A woman's body on the tracks!'" said Matt Bencivenga, a dispatch manager for a car service company nearby. "She was all mangled."
The woman, who was wearing only black panties, was apparently struck by a train. Besides knocking off her prosthetic leg, the impact severed her hands, authorities said.
Police said the woman's death was not suspicious, suggesting it might have been a suicide. Even so, witnesses were spooked at the gory sight.
"We feel scared," said Anna Berrezveta, 35. "We see the body. We see the blood, everything."
From: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/29/2010-03-29_nude_woman_found_dead_on_rails.html
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Originally Published:Sunday, March 28th 2010, 10:37 PM
Updated: Tuesday, March 30th 2010, 6:28 AM
The mangled body of a nearly naked young woman was found on the tracks near a Brooklyn subway station Sunday - and her prosthetic leg was discovered a few feet away.
The woman's body was found about 3:40 p.m. in a subway culvert about 100 feet from the Kings Highway station on the N line in Bensonhurst.
"I heard one of the workers screaming on the radio, 'A woman's body on the tracks!'" said Matt Bencivenga, a dispatch manager for a car service company nearby. "She was all mangled."
The woman, who was wearing only black panties, was apparently struck by a train. Besides knocking off her prosthetic leg, the impact severed her hands, authorities said.
Police said the woman's death was not suspicious, suggesting it might have been a suicide. Even so, witnesses were spooked at the gory sight.
"We feel scared," said Anna Berrezveta, 35. "We see the body. We see the blood, everything."
From: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/03/29/2010-03-29_nude_woman_found_dead_on_rails.html
Christian militia members charged in cop-killing plot
By Corey Williams View as one page 8:36 AM Tuesday Mar 30, 2010
DETROIT - Nine suspects tied to a Christian militia that was preparing for the Antichrist were charged with conspiring to kill police officers, then kill scores more by attacking a funeral using homemade bombs, federal prosecutors said.
The Michigan-based group, called Hutaree, planned to use the attack on police as a catalyst for a larger uprising against the government, according to newly unsealed court papers.
US Attorney Barbara McQuade said agents moved quickly on the group because its members were planning a violent mission sometime in April.
Members of the group, including its leader, David Brian Stone, also known as "Captain Hutaree," were charged following FBI raids over the weekend on locations in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Seven people were arraigned in Detroit on Monday, and another one of Stone's sons, Joshua, is being sought.
Stone's ex-wife, Donna Stone, told The Associated Press before the arraignments that her former husband was to blame for pulling her son into the movement.
She said David Brian Stone legally adopted her son, David Brian Stone Jr., who is among those indicted.
"It started out as a Christian thing," said Donna Stone, 44. "You go to church. You pray. You take care of your family. I think David started to take it a little too far."
According to the indictment, the group had been meeting and conducting military-style training exercises in the Michigan woods since 2008 to prepare for an impending war with its enemies. Members practised building and detonating explosives and shooting firearms and built storage bunkers, investigators said.
The group says on its website that Hutaree means "Christian warrior" and describes the word as part of a secret language that only a few people are privileged enough to know.
The group quotes several Bible passages and states: "We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. ... Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment."
The site also features a picture on the site of 17 camouflaged men, all holding large guns, and includes videos of camouflaged men toting guns and running through wooded areas in apparent training exercises. Each wears a patch on the left shoulder that bears a cross and two red spears.
According to investigators, the Hutaree view local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel as a "brotherhood" and an enemy, and planned to attack them as part of an armed struggle against the US government.
The idea of attacking a police funeral was one of numerous scenarios discussed as ways to go after law enforcement officers, the indictment said.
Other scenarios included using a fake emergency call to lure an officer to his or her death, killing an officer after a traffic stop or an attack on the family of a police officer.
Once other officers gathered for a slain officer's funeral, the group planned to detonate homemade bombs at the funeral, killing scores more, according to the indictment.
After the attacks, the group allegedly planned to retreat to "rally points" protected by trip-wired improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, for what they expected would become a violent standoff with law enforcement personnel.
The indictment says members of the group conspired "to levy war against the United States, (and) to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States."
The charges against the eight include seditious conspiracy, possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, teaching the use of explosives, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction - homemade bombs.
All seven defendants in court requested to be represented by the federal defender's office, and a bond hearing is set for Wednesday.
The arrests have dealt "a severe blow to a dangerous organisation that today stands accused of conspiring to levy war against the United States," US Attorney General Eric Holder said.
The raids on the group began over the weekend. FBI agents in Michigan swarmed a rural, wooded property Saturday evening in Adrian, about 110 kilometres southwest of Detroit. The same night in Indiana law enforcement agents flooded a neighbourhood, startling workers at a nearby pizzeria. In Ohio, authorities blocked off streets and raided two homes.
Outside Adrian, Heidi Wood, who lives near the property that was raided, said she hears gunshots "all the time" from near two ramshackle trailers that sit side-by-side. On Monday, a long gun leaned against a washing machine that sat in the yard, and on top of a nearby canister was another long gun.
Wood's mother, Phyllis Brugger, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said Stone and his family were known as having ties to militia. They would shoot guns and often wore camouflage, she said.
"Everybody knew they were militia," Brugger said. "You don't mess with them."
In Hammond, 18-year-old George Ponce, who works at a pizzeria next door to a home that was raided, said he and a few co-workers stepped outside for a break Saturday night and saw a swarm of law enforcement.
"I heard a yell, 'Get back inside!' and saw a squad member pointing a rifle at us," Ponce said. "They told us the bomb squad was going in, sweeping the house looking for bombs."
He said another agent was in the bushes near the house, and law enforcement vehicles were "all over." He estimated that agents took more than two dozen guns from the house.
In Ohio, one of the raids occurred at Bayshore Estates, a well-kept trailer park in Sandusky, a small city on Lake Erie between Toledo and Cleveland. Neighbours said the man taken into custody lived in a trailer on a cul-de-sac with his wife and two young children.
The man's wife, Kelly Sickles, said her husband collected guns as a hobby. Agents searched their home for bomb-making materials, she said, but she couldn't believe her husband, Kristopher Sickles, 27, could be connected to a group that was plotting anything violent.
"He doesn't even know how to make a bomb," she said. "We had no bomb material here."
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10635291
DETROIT - Nine suspects tied to a Christian militia that was preparing for the Antichrist were charged with conspiring to kill police officers, then kill scores more by attacking a funeral using homemade bombs, federal prosecutors said.
The Michigan-based group, called Hutaree, planned to use the attack on police as a catalyst for a larger uprising against the government, according to newly unsealed court papers.
US Attorney Barbara McQuade said agents moved quickly on the group because its members were planning a violent mission sometime in April.
Members of the group, including its leader, David Brian Stone, also known as "Captain Hutaree," were charged following FBI raids over the weekend on locations in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana.
Seven people were arraigned in Detroit on Monday, and another one of Stone's sons, Joshua, is being sought.
Stone's ex-wife, Donna Stone, told The Associated Press before the arraignments that her former husband was to blame for pulling her son into the movement.
She said David Brian Stone legally adopted her son, David Brian Stone Jr., who is among those indicted.
"It started out as a Christian thing," said Donna Stone, 44. "You go to church. You pray. You take care of your family. I think David started to take it a little too far."
According to the indictment, the group had been meeting and conducting military-style training exercises in the Michigan woods since 2008 to prepare for an impending war with its enemies. Members practised building and detonating explosives and shooting firearms and built storage bunkers, investigators said.
The group says on its website that Hutaree means "Christian warrior" and describes the word as part of a secret language that only a few people are privileged enough to know.
The group quotes several Bible passages and states: "We believe that one day, as prophecy says, there will be an Anti-Christ. ... Jesus wanted us to be ready to defend ourselves using the sword and stay alive using equipment."
The site also features a picture on the site of 17 camouflaged men, all holding large guns, and includes videos of camouflaged men toting guns and running through wooded areas in apparent training exercises. Each wears a patch on the left shoulder that bears a cross and two red spears.
According to investigators, the Hutaree view local, state, and federal law enforcement personnel as a "brotherhood" and an enemy, and planned to attack them as part of an armed struggle against the US government.
The idea of attacking a police funeral was one of numerous scenarios discussed as ways to go after law enforcement officers, the indictment said.
Other scenarios included using a fake emergency call to lure an officer to his or her death, killing an officer after a traffic stop or an attack on the family of a police officer.
Once other officers gathered for a slain officer's funeral, the group planned to detonate homemade bombs at the funeral, killing scores more, according to the indictment.
After the attacks, the group allegedly planned to retreat to "rally points" protected by trip-wired improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, for what they expected would become a violent standoff with law enforcement personnel.
The indictment says members of the group conspired "to levy war against the United States, (and) to oppose by force the authority of the government of the United States."
The charges against the eight include seditious conspiracy, possessing a firearm during a crime of violence, teaching the use of explosives, and attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction - homemade bombs.
All seven defendants in court requested to be represented by the federal defender's office, and a bond hearing is set for Wednesday.
The arrests have dealt "a severe blow to a dangerous organisation that today stands accused of conspiring to levy war against the United States," US Attorney General Eric Holder said.
The raids on the group began over the weekend. FBI agents in Michigan swarmed a rural, wooded property Saturday evening in Adrian, about 110 kilometres southwest of Detroit. The same night in Indiana law enforcement agents flooded a neighbourhood, startling workers at a nearby pizzeria. In Ohio, authorities blocked off streets and raided two homes.
Outside Adrian, Heidi Wood, who lives near the property that was raided, said she hears gunshots "all the time" from near two ramshackle trailers that sit side-by-side. On Monday, a long gun leaned against a washing machine that sat in the yard, and on top of a nearby canister was another long gun.
Wood's mother, Phyllis Brugger, who has lived in the area for more than 30 years, said Stone and his family were known as having ties to militia. They would shoot guns and often wore camouflage, she said.
"Everybody knew they were militia," Brugger said. "You don't mess with them."
In Hammond, 18-year-old George Ponce, who works at a pizzeria next door to a home that was raided, said he and a few co-workers stepped outside for a break Saturday night and saw a swarm of law enforcement.
"I heard a yell, 'Get back inside!' and saw a squad member pointing a rifle at us," Ponce said. "They told us the bomb squad was going in, sweeping the house looking for bombs."
He said another agent was in the bushes near the house, and law enforcement vehicles were "all over." He estimated that agents took more than two dozen guns from the house.
In Ohio, one of the raids occurred at Bayshore Estates, a well-kept trailer park in Sandusky, a small city on Lake Erie between Toledo and Cleveland. Neighbours said the man taken into custody lived in a trailer on a cul-de-sac with his wife and two young children.
The man's wife, Kelly Sickles, said her husband collected guns as a hobby. Agents searched their home for bomb-making materials, she said, but she couldn't believe her husband, Kristopher Sickles, 27, could be connected to a group that was plotting anything violent.
"He doesn't even know how to make a bomb," she said. "We had no bomb material here."
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/crime/news/article.cfm?c_id=30&objectid=10635291
Rapist broke into home
By Vaimoana Tapaleao 4:00 AM Tuesday Mar 30, 2010
Police in West Auckland are hunting for a man after a woman was raped in her home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A 45-year-old woman from New Lynn was attacked after the man, described as being "tall and light skinned", broke into her home and raped her.
The attack is thought to have happened between 3am and 5am.
Police say the offender, who was wearing shorts and a light-coloured T-shirt, had been walking around Tahi Tce and Rua and Fruitvale Rds and possibly lives in the area.
Meanwhile, in the nearby suburb of Avondale, two teenage boys repeatedly punched and kicked a 20-year-old man until he was unconscious.
The victim suffered serious head injuries and is in a critical condition in hospital.
Police said the attack happened shortly before 9.30pm last Wednesday, just outside Avondale Physiotherapy, on Rosebank Rd.
Several people stopped to help because they were concerned for the victim's safety and stunned by the "ferocity" of the attack.
However, they were threatened by one teenager, and were not able to stop the attack.
Police arrested one of the offenders, but were unable to catch the other.
Detective Sergeant Rick Veacock last night said the victim was in a serious condition and his injuries were thought to be life threatening.
"This was a sustained and vicious attack on a young local resident by two males who showed a clear disregard for the consequences of their actions," he said.
The offender at large is described as a Polynesian male in his late teens, of solid build and with short hair.
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10635253
Police in West Auckland are hunting for a man after a woman was raped in her home in the early hours of Saturday morning.
A 45-year-old woman from New Lynn was attacked after the man, described as being "tall and light skinned", broke into her home and raped her.
The attack is thought to have happened between 3am and 5am.
Police say the offender, who was wearing shorts and a light-coloured T-shirt, had been walking around Tahi Tce and Rua and Fruitvale Rds and possibly lives in the area.
Meanwhile, in the nearby suburb of Avondale, two teenage boys repeatedly punched and kicked a 20-year-old man until he was unconscious.
The victim suffered serious head injuries and is in a critical condition in hospital.
Police said the attack happened shortly before 9.30pm last Wednesday, just outside Avondale Physiotherapy, on Rosebank Rd.
Several people stopped to help because they were concerned for the victim's safety and stunned by the "ferocity" of the attack.
However, they were threatened by one teenager, and were not able to stop the attack.
Police arrested one of the offenders, but were unable to catch the other.
Detective Sergeant Rick Veacock last night said the victim was in a serious condition and his injuries were thought to be life threatening.
"This was a sustained and vicious attack on a young local resident by two males who showed a clear disregard for the consequences of their actions," he said.
The offender at large is described as a Polynesian male in his late teens, of solid build and with short hair.
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10635253
Police allege boy bashed up at home, given dope
By Andrew Koubaridis 4:00 AM Tuesday Mar 30, 2010
A 13-year-old boy was allegedly strangled, slapped and punched in the face by his mother and stepfather, who is also accused of supplying the teenager with cannabis.
A 39-year-old man and his 42-year-old wife were arrested by officers from the Auckland City police child abuse team last week.
The couple's names are not suppressed but the Herald has decided not to name them, to protect the identity of the boy and of another child who remains in their care.
The stepfather is accused of punching the boy in the face, kicking him in the ribs, strangling him and assaulting him with an extension cord.
The boy returned to live at the couple's Pt England, Auckland, home only after his grandmother died.
The family were known to Child, Youth and Family after isolated incidents over several years, but abuse could never be proven, the agency said yesterday.
Child, Youth and Family was unaware he had returned to live with the couple until the alleged assaults were reported to police.
The stepfather faces five assault charges and one of assault with a blunt instrument. The alleged assaults occurred between January last year and last month.
As well as the violence charges, he is alleged to have supplied the boy with cannabis last September.
The mother is alleged to have used a plank of wood, a broomstick handle, a kettle cord, a rubber Jandal and a cordless phone as weapons during assaults between last June and this February.
She faces five separate charges of assault with a blunt instrument and three of assaulting a child.
Court documents allege that between November 1 and December 31 she also punched, slapped and strangled him and pushed his face into the ground.
The Herald understands the 13-year-old was left unconscious after one of the blows to his head. He is now living with a relative.
The couple appeared in the Auckland District Court on Friday and were remanded on bail until April 16.
Their bail conditions include no contact with the boy and no alcohol consumption. They were forced to surrender their passports to court officials yesterday.
CYF's general manager of operations, John Henderson, said the family were known through a small number of isolated incidents over the years.
"Abuse has never been able to be substantiated. The boy has lived most of his life with his grandmother, where he was safe and protected.
"Only recently did we become aware that his grandmother passed away last year and he had returned to the home where he was allegedly assaulted. Since then, the boy has been living with relatives that he trusts and feels safe with."
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10635247
A 13-year-old boy was allegedly strangled, slapped and punched in the face by his mother and stepfather, who is also accused of supplying the teenager with cannabis.
A 39-year-old man and his 42-year-old wife were arrested by officers from the Auckland City police child abuse team last week.
The couple's names are not suppressed but the Herald has decided not to name them, to protect the identity of the boy and of another child who remains in their care.
The stepfather is accused of punching the boy in the face, kicking him in the ribs, strangling him and assaulting him with an extension cord.
The boy returned to live at the couple's Pt England, Auckland, home only after his grandmother died.
The family were known to Child, Youth and Family after isolated incidents over several years, but abuse could never be proven, the agency said yesterday.
Child, Youth and Family was unaware he had returned to live with the couple until the alleged assaults were reported to police.
The stepfather faces five assault charges and one of assault with a blunt instrument. The alleged assaults occurred between January last year and last month.
As well as the violence charges, he is alleged to have supplied the boy with cannabis last September.
The mother is alleged to have used a plank of wood, a broomstick handle, a kettle cord, a rubber Jandal and a cordless phone as weapons during assaults between last June and this February.
She faces five separate charges of assault with a blunt instrument and three of assaulting a child.
Court documents allege that between November 1 and December 31 she also punched, slapped and strangled him and pushed his face into the ground.
The Herald understands the 13-year-old was left unconscious after one of the blows to his head. He is now living with a relative.
The couple appeared in the Auckland District Court on Friday and were remanded on bail until April 16.
Their bail conditions include no contact with the boy and no alcohol consumption. They were forced to surrender their passports to court officials yesterday.
CYF's general manager of operations, John Henderson, said the family were known through a small number of isolated incidents over the years.
"Abuse has never been able to be substantiated. The boy has lived most of his life with his grandmother, where he was safe and protected.
"Only recently did we become aware that his grandmother passed away last year and he had returned to the home where he was allegedly assaulted. Since then, the boy has been living with relatives that he trusts and feels safe with."
From: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10635247
Three convicted of sadistic killing of Wigan man
Last updated at 15:36 GMT, Monday, 29 March 2010 16:36 UKThree people have been found guilty of killing a man in a sexually-motivated and sadistic attack in Wigan.
Shaun Fitton, also known as Shaun Anthony Hall, suffered internal injuries caused by the handle of a mop, Liverpool Crown Court heard.
He was attacked by Owen Skeate, 23, Shaun Beatty, 20, and Rebecca Birt, 22, after drunkenly asking Birt, Beatty's girlfriend, for sex.
A jury convicted Skeate and Beatty of murder, and Birt of manslaughter.
The three, who are from Wigan, will be sentenced on 9 April.
A fourth person, Michael Gerrard, 22, of Rivington Street, Atherton, was cleared of murder and released.
Beaten and stripped
The trial heard how the attack began after 26-year-old Mr Fitton's sexual advances towards Birt at her home in Tyldesley, Wigan, in August 2009.
Mr Fitton was beaten, stripped naked and hauled around in a wheelie bin.
The jury was shown a home video recording of what was described as the "horrific" attack with a mop handle. Voices of others could be heard in the background laughing and shouting words of encouragement.
Neil Flewitt QC, prosecuting, told jurors: "This was, we suggest, a sexually motivated and sadistic killing."
Officers, who were alerted by neighbours, found the victim lying unconscious in the back yard of Birt's house.
He died in hospital later from massive internal injuries and head injuries sustained in the attack, the court heard.
All four defendants, who are from the Wigan area, had denied murder.
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/manchester/8593219.stm
Teen charged as adult in Laguna Beach Facebook stabbing case
March 29, 2010 | 6:13 pmA 16-year-old Laguna Beach boy who began a confrontation on Facebook has been charged as an adult after he allegedly used a carving knife to stab a former classmate in the stomach and attack two of the victim's friends, authorities said.
Michael Jason Wilson is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with sentencing enhancements for causing great bodily injury, the Orange County district attorney's office said.
Wilson allegedly confronted the 17-year-old former classmate on Facebook and also exchanged e-mails and text messages with the victim, the district attorney said.
After the two agreed to meet at Wilson's home March 11, Wilson allegedly used a 12-inch knife to stab the victim outside the residence while three of his friends waited in a nearby vehicle, according to the district attorney. The victim was described only at "Julian C" by authorities.
As the attack took place, the three friends exited the vehicle to help the victim. Wilson allegedly stabbed two of the friends in the hands, according to the district attorney.
The three stabbing victims were treated at a hospital and released, the district attorney said. The victims attend the same high school where Wilson was once a student. Authorities declined to name the school.
Wilson, who was released on $65,000 bail, is scheduled for arraignment April 28 at the Newport Beach courthouse. If convicted, he could be sentenced to 15 years in state prison.
From: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/laguna-beach-facebook-stabbing.html
Winnipeg dad dies after birthday party assault
Last Updated: Sunday, March 28, 2010 | 2:25 PM CT
The Canadian Press
A Winnipeg father of five has died in hospital after being assaulted by an uninvited guest who crashed his daughter's 18th birthday party early Saturday.
Family members identified the man who died as Garth Isfeld, 44, who they say got into a fight with a man who'd been asked to leave.
They said Isfeld was struck over the head with a beer bottle as he stepped in to protect another daughter from the man.
Isfeld had a barbecue to celebrate the birthday of his daughter, Stephanie Krasnesky, after recently moving into the small home in the north Winnipeg neighbourhood.
Police were called to the house around 12:30 a.m. Family members said Isfeld was rushed to hospital, where he developed blood clots and died.
Elia Bevacqua, Isfled's sister-in-law, saw the assault happen. “Beer-bottled him in the head and he just dropped,” she said.
His daughter Stephanie curled up in a chair and sobbed, her family leaning over to touch and hug her as she spoke about the traumatic experience.
“I just seen him on the ground and he was rolling his eyes back in,” she cried. “There was so much blood everywhere. I just grabbed a pillow and put it around his head.”
Neighbours said the party got rowdy and people could be heard screaming, telling a man to leave.
Several people who were at the home when the fight happened are being interviewed.
Police are investigating. No charges have been laid.
Randall Krasnesky, 22, holding his sister's hand, said he'll do everything he can to support the remaining children who've been left without a father.
“They got me and I'll look after them,” he said.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/27/winnipeg-dad027.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r4:c0.141906:b32291426
The Canadian Press
A Winnipeg father of five has died in hospital after being assaulted by an uninvited guest who crashed his daughter's 18th birthday party early Saturday.
Family members identified the man who died as Garth Isfeld, 44, who they say got into a fight with a man who'd been asked to leave.
They said Isfeld was struck over the head with a beer bottle as he stepped in to protect another daughter from the man.
Isfeld had a barbecue to celebrate the birthday of his daughter, Stephanie Krasnesky, after recently moving into the small home in the north Winnipeg neighbourhood.
Police were called to the house around 12:30 a.m. Family members said Isfeld was rushed to hospital, where he developed blood clots and died.
Elia Bevacqua, Isfled's sister-in-law, saw the assault happen. “Beer-bottled him in the head and he just dropped,” she said.
His daughter Stephanie curled up in a chair and sobbed, her family leaning over to touch and hug her as she spoke about the traumatic experience.
“I just seen him on the ground and he was rolling his eyes back in,” she cried. “There was so much blood everywhere. I just grabbed a pillow and put it around his head.”
Neighbours said the party got rowdy and people could be heard screaming, telling a man to leave.
Several people who were at the home when the fight happened are being interviewed.
Police are investigating. No charges have been laid.
Randall Krasnesky, 22, holding his sister's hand, said he'll do everything he can to support the remaining children who've been left without a father.
“They got me and I'll look after them,” he said.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/27/winnipeg-dad027.html?ref=rss&loomia_si=t0:a16:g2:r4:c0.141906:b32291426
Boy stabs mom to stop drunk driving
Last Updated: Sunday, March 28, 2010 | 2:10 PM CT
CBC News
A Winnipeg teenager stabbed his mom in an apparent effort to keep her from drinking and driving, police said on Sunday.
The dispute between the 14-year-old boy and his 31-year-old mother broke out in a home on Toronto Street at about 6 a.m. Saturday.
Police said the woman had been drinking and the boy didn't want her to drive after she got up to leave the home.
"He took the car keys from her and the dispute started," said Const. Blair Good.
The woman ran from the home carrying the boy's jacket, Good said.
The boy responded by tossing a knife and striking his mom in the upper body, police said.
The woman remains in hospital in stable condition. Police did not identify her.
The teen, who may not be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with aggravated assault and is being held at the Manitoba Youth Centre.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/28/man-aggravated-assault-teen-mother.html
CBC News
A Winnipeg teenager stabbed his mom in an apparent effort to keep her from drinking and driving, police said on Sunday.
The dispute between the 14-year-old boy and his 31-year-old mother broke out in a home on Toronto Street at about 6 a.m. Saturday.
Police said the woman had been drinking and the boy didn't want her to drive after she got up to leave the home.
"He took the car keys from her and the dispute started," said Const. Blair Good.
The woman ran from the home carrying the boy's jacket, Good said.
The boy responded by tossing a knife and striking his mom in the upper body, police said.
The woman remains in hospital in stable condition. Police did not identify her.
The teen, who may not be identified under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, has been charged with aggravated assault and is being held at the Manitoba Youth Centre.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/03/28/man-aggravated-assault-teen-mother.html
21 dead babies found in river in China
Bodies believed to have been dumped as hospital wasteBy Chi-Chi Zhang, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Last Updated: March 30, 2010 10:53am
BEIJING — The bodies of 21 babies, believed dumped by hospitals, have washed ashore on a riverbank in eastern China, state media reported Tuesday.
Video footage showed that the bodies — stashed in yellow plastic bags, at least one of which was marked “medical waste” — included some infants several months old. Some wore identification tags with their mothers’ names, birth dates, measurements and weights. The official Xinhua News Agency said there were also fetuses among the bodies.
Residents discovered the remains under a bridge in the city of Jining, Shandong province, over the weekend. Tags on the feet of eight of the babies traced them back to a hospital in Jining, according to the People’s Daily Web site. Three of them had been admitted earlier to the hospital in critical condition, the report said. It did not say when.
The other 13 bodies were unidentified. The number of girls or boys was not reported.
More girls than boys are aborted in China because of the traditional preference for male offspring, especially in rural areas. Although gender-selection abortions are illegal in China, the practice remains widespread and has led to a skewed sex ratio at birth in China with 119 males born for every 100 females. In industrialized countries, the ratio is 107 to 100.
An official from the general office from the Affiliated Hospital of Jining Medical College confirmed it was involved.
“Several of the bodies of babies with (identification) tags were from our hospital, but not all of them. The officials from the health bureau are still in the hospital doing an investigation,” said the official, who like most Chinese officials would not give his name.
Xinhua said medical staff were suspended after the discovery.
“The hospital medical staff involved have been suspended from their work during the investigation,” Zhong Haitao, a spokesman at the Jining Health Bureau, was quoted as saying.
Local residents and firefighters recovered the bodies Monday after they were discovered under a bridge spanning the Guangfu River in the outskirts of Jining, Zhong said.
Interviews with residents who discovered the bodies floating near the shore over the weekend were broadcast on the Web site of the Shandong Broadcasting Company, IQILU.com.
The footage shows bodies lying on parts of the bank of the river. Some are uncovered, and others are in bags. They are all small and covered in dirt. A leg sticks out from under one bag. At least one of the bags has “medical waste” written on it.
The IQILU.com report said the babies ranged from newborns to several months old. One of the bluish-green identification tags visible in the video indicates the baby was born in April 2009.
People’s Daily said all the bodies were babies, while Xinhua said several were fetuses.
An official from the information office of China’s Health Ministry said she was not aware of the case, while telephone calls to the Jining Health Bureau and the Shandong Health Bureau rang unanswered Tuesday.
From: http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/03/30/13406401.html
Nebraska Boy Dies Playing 'The Choking Game'
Butler County To Hold Forum On Dangerous GamePOSTED: 8:53 pm CDT March 28, 2010
UPDATED: 11:06 am CDT March 29, 2010
DAVID CITY, Neb. -- The small Nebraska community of David City, northwest of Lincoln, is mourning the death of an 11-year-old boy. The Butler County Sheriff's Office believes Drew Fiala died from suffocation while trying something known among children and teenagers as "the choking game."
“I don’t even know how to explain it,” said Luke Fiala, Drew's father. “Not even getting hit in the gut is even comparable to how I felt, you know?”
Drew was the only son of Luke and Kandie Fiala.
“You always knew he was there,” said Drew’s mother, Kandie Fiala. “He made his presence known.”
Drew's parents and older sister remember him singing loudly with the radio, break-dancing and trying to be the center of attention.
“He didn’t hold back,” said Luke. “He was 110 percent all the time with everything.”
Photos of Drew show a busy little boy; on the soccer field, on the wrestling mat, on the football field and in several tuxedos for family weddings and events. When Kandie couldn’t find her son on a recent Friday, she wasn’t worried until several hours passed and Drew still hadn’t returned home.
“For three hours we looked for him and looked for him and looked for him,” said Kandie. “The whole town was looking for him. I’m sitting here the whole time, running around town to see if he’s walking down the street, coming from a buddy’s house. He was upstairs the whole time, in his room.”
Drew Fiala was found in his room with a belt around his neck. He had suffocated.
Luke Fiala had never heard of the game. Kandie Fiala said she had heard of it as a child, but never as something done alone.
“I think it was an experiment. I really do,” said Luke. “I think he found out about it through his friends and he wanted to experiment.”
Word of what happened to Drew quickly spread throughout David City. By the next day, Butler County Sheriff Mark Hecker was fielding calls about Drew’s death and about the choking game.
“If you've got one kid doing it, you'd be foolish to think that's the only kid that's heard about it, thought about it, tried it,” said Hecker.
A quick Internet search by KETV revealed hundreds of videos showing kids and teenagers making themselves pass out for the rush of coming to.
Sheriff Hecker said after talking to students, he knows the trend is in his community and it’s a concern.
“I absolutely hate the 'fainting game' or the 'choking game' title,” said Hecker. “You hear that, kids think it's a game. It's not a game. It's a life and death situation. There's no game to it.”
Back at the Fialas' home, a strong breeze rattles the wind chimes in the front yard.
“When the wind blows, I can hear him,” said Kandie. She remembers one of the last conversations she had with her son.
“He curled up on the couch with me and said, ‘You know, Mom, I turn 12 next week and I promise, when I turn 12, I’m gonna be more mature.'”
Drew Fiala was buried on what would have been his 12th birthday.
“We need this to stop,” said Luke. “We don’t want any more of these deaths that should never, ever happen. I would have never thought this. Never. There were just too many things in Drew’s life that we wanted to do. Or he wanted to do. Too many things.”
Butler County is hosting a public forum for parents and families to discuss the choking game. It will be held on Tuesday, Mar. 30, at David City Aquinas School at 7 p.m.
Hecker suggested all parents learn the warning signs of children trying the choking game:
•Sudden bruises or marks around your child’s neck
•Ropes, belts or other materials seemingly showing up without reason in your child’s possession
•Your child starts spending more time alone behind closed doors
•Check your computer for Web sites or searches about the choking game
From: http://www.ketv.com/news/22982965/detail.html#
Woman Stabs Man With Wiccan Dagger
POSTED: 5:43 pm MDT March 23, 2010UPDATED: 12:35 pm MDT March 24, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --
Police said a woman allegedly killed her lover with a Wiccan dagger near a hiking trail, then told others she'd been raped.
Albuquerque police were called out to the trail at the end of Copper Ave. just east of Tramway Blvd. around 5:45 p.m. Monday.
Police said someone told them a woman was getting assaulted along a bike path.
When police arrived at the location, they said they found the woman, and also the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The man died from trauma to his torso, police said.
Police accuse 30 year-old Angela Sanford, a self-proclaimed Wiccan, of stabbing her lover, Joel Leyba, to death. The couple met up on the trails Monday and started drinking, police said.
"She had decided she needed to go to the restroom," Albuquerque police cheif Ray Schultz said. "The male had asked if he could watch her go to the restroom."
"That's when police said Leyba then tied Sanford up with a rope, but Sanford was able to get the ropes free. Then, Schultz said, both Sanford and Leyba took their clothes off.
"While she was on top of him, she stabbed him multiple times," said Schultz.
Police said Sanford stabbed Leyba with a Wiccan dagger she always carries with her.
According to police, witnesses saw Sanford walking around later in her underwear. She told them she had been sexually assaulted. She told police a similar story in 1999, but never followed through to prosecute the alleged rape.
Police said they don't know if witchcraft had anything to do with the murder.
"This is a time of Wiccan holiday, being the solstice," said Schultz. "We're still investigating to determine if that had something to do with this particular homicide."
Sanford is being held on a $500,000 cash bond.
There was some confusion last night because police brought a man in for questioning, but Schultz said that man was a witness. Schultz said the man was scared because of what he saw, but has been released.
From: http://www.koat.com/news/22924684/detail.html
Dead Baby Found In Bernalillo County
Property Owner Discovers Child Under Blanket Inside Box
POSTED: 6:32 pm MDT March 28, 2010
UPDATED: 7:03 pm MDT March 28, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --
The Bernalillo County sheriff called the discovery of a dead child "disturbing."
The sheriff's department said it found a dead baby near Highway 14 at about 12:30 p.m.
A property owner and his wife were walking around when they saw what they described as a baby blanket. There was a box underneath the blanket and when they looked inside they found the dead baby, police said.
So far, the sheriff told Action 7 News he thinks they baby was an infant up to two months old. He did not reveal the baby's gender.
The property owner said he saw the blanket there since January when he bought the property, but because of the snow, he just walked the land to see what it was.
The sheriff's department said it is trying to find anything that will lead them to the baby's parents.
"Our detectives are going through. They have a pretty large crime scene. It's a pretty large property. They want to comb the area for any additional evidence," said Deputy Lawrence Koran, with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.
"This is a very sad, upsetting event. It's unfortunate that this took place," said Sheriff Manuel Gonzales.
Gonzales said at this point they do not know if there are any missing infants. He said the first thing is to try to identify the baby. Detectives are also trying to determine how the child ended up at the location.
The sheriff wants to remind everyone about the Safe Haven Law --- babies up to 90 days old can be dropped off at any hospital, police station or fire station without facing any criminal charges.
From: http://www.koat.com/news/22982627/detail.html
POSTED: 6:32 pm MDT March 28, 2010
UPDATED: 7:03 pm MDT March 28, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. --
The Bernalillo County sheriff called the discovery of a dead child "disturbing."
The sheriff's department said it found a dead baby near Highway 14 at about 12:30 p.m.
A property owner and his wife were walking around when they saw what they described as a baby blanket. There was a box underneath the blanket and when they looked inside they found the dead baby, police said.
So far, the sheriff told Action 7 News he thinks they baby was an infant up to two months old. He did not reveal the baby's gender.
The property owner said he saw the blanket there since January when he bought the property, but because of the snow, he just walked the land to see what it was.
The sheriff's department said it is trying to find anything that will lead them to the baby's parents.
"Our detectives are going through. They have a pretty large crime scene. It's a pretty large property. They want to comb the area for any additional evidence," said Deputy Lawrence Koran, with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.
"This is a very sad, upsetting event. It's unfortunate that this took place," said Sheriff Manuel Gonzales.
Gonzales said at this point they do not know if there are any missing infants. He said the first thing is to try to identify the baby. Detectives are also trying to determine how the child ended up at the location.
The sheriff wants to remind everyone about the Safe Haven Law --- babies up to 90 days old can be dropped off at any hospital, police station or fire station without facing any criminal charges.
From: http://www.koat.com/news/22982627/detail.html
German beer can call itself F**king Hell
Published on : 26 March 2010 - 4:41pm | By RNW News DeskA German brewery has won its battle to market a beer called F**king Hell. The European Union's OHIM trade marks agency initially rejected the name because of its sexual connotation.
That decision has now been overruled in the OHIM's appeals procedure. The brewery defended its choice of name pointing out that 'hell' in German means 'pale' and refers to light-coloured ale. It also argued that the beer is produced in F**king, a village in Austria.
It is a popular destination with British tourists, who enjoy being photographed in front of the traffic sign on which the village's name is printed. A few years ago, residents voted to keep the name, despite the problems caused by the tourists.
A few years ago a referendum was held to decide whether or not to change the village's name because of all of the attention, but in the end it was decided that the name should stay unchanged.
From: http://www.rnw.nl/english/article/german-beer-can-call-itself-fking-hell
Monday, March 29, 2010
Grasshopper mouse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaThe genus Onychomys, contains species commonly referred to as grasshopper mice. This is a genus of New World mouse only distantly related to the common house mouse, Mus musculus.
Its behavior is rather distinct from other mice. It is a carnivorous rodent, dining on insects (such as grasshoppers), worms, scorpions, snakes, and even other mice. It also stalks its prey in the manner of a cat, sneaking up quietly, and defends its territory by "howling" like a small wolf. The Grasshopper Mouse is known to be immune to various venoms released by its prey. (Scorpions, Snakes, etc.)
Species
Onychomys arenicola (Mearns's grasshopper mouse)
Onychomys leucogaster (northern grasshopper mouse)
Onychomys torridus (southern grasshopper mouse)
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grasshopper_mouse
Pa. boy, 12, to be tried as adult in pregnant woman's murder
Associated Press • March 29, 2010
A judge says a western Pennsylvania boy who was 11 when he allegedly killed his father's pregnant fiancee with a shotgun will be tried as an adult for murder.
Jordan Brown is charged with killing 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk in their western Pennsylvania farmhouse last February. Houk's unborn son also died.
A defense psychologist testified that the case should be moved to juvenile court, in part, because an adolescent's brain does not control impulses in a "mature way." But a prosecution psychiatrist says Brown isn't likely to be rehabilitated in juvenile court, which would have jurisdiction over him only until he is 21.
Lawrence County Judge Dominick Motto on Monday ordered Brown, who is now 12, be tried as an adult. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
From: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100329/NEWS01/100329027/Pa.-boy-12-to-be-tried-as-adult-in-pregnant-woman-s-murder
A judge says a western Pennsylvania boy who was 11 when he allegedly killed his father's pregnant fiancee with a shotgun will be tried as an adult for murder.
Jordan Brown is charged with killing 26-year-old Kenzie Marie Houk in their western Pennsylvania farmhouse last February. Houk's unborn son also died.
A defense psychologist testified that the case should be moved to juvenile court, in part, because an adolescent's brain does not control impulses in a "mature way." But a prosecution psychiatrist says Brown isn't likely to be rehabilitated in juvenile court, which would have jurisdiction over him only until he is 21.
Lawrence County Judge Dominick Motto on Monday ordered Brown, who is now 12, be tried as an adult. If convicted, he faces life in prison.
From: http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20100329/NEWS01/100329027/Pa.-boy-12-to-be-tried-as-adult-in-pregnant-woman-s-murder
Cops shoot hatchet, shotgun-wielding bicyclist
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff WriterMonday, March 29, 2010
(03-28) 08:41 PDT OAKLAND -- A young man riding a bicycle and carrying a shotgun and a hatchet was shot and wounded by Oakland police officers after he opened fire at several patrol cruisers parked near the city's police headquarters, authorities said.
Nathaniel Reddick, a 25-year-old man from Sacramento, was shot at the Oakland police transportation section on the 400 block of Sixth Street about 11:30 p.m. Saturday, said Officer Jeff Thomason, a department spokesman.
Reddick was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland with wounds that were not considered life-threatening. Thomason said it was unclear why he rode up, damaged at least six police cars with gunfire and threw a hatchet at a vehicle.
An Oakland police sergeant confronted Reddick and fired several shots at him when he brandished the shotgun, police said. The suspect was not hit.
Moments later, police said, a lieutenant came on the scene and tried to negotiate with Reddick, who refused to back down. The lieutenant fired one shot, wounding the suspect, who was then taken into custody.
The names of the sergeant and lieutenant were not released. They were placed on routine paid leave pending investigations by the Oakland police department's homicide and internal affairs units as well as Alameda County prosecutors.
The incident comes a little more than a year after four Oakland officers were shot and killed by Lovelle Mixon, who was himself shot dead by officers.
From: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/29/BA9I1CMJHI.DTL
Porn-browsing dad charged with abuse after leaving daughter in car
Posted: 10:30 p.m. Friday, March 26, 2010
POLICE BLOTTER
While a West Palm Beach man browsed adult videos and toys Friday morning, his 9-month-old daughter was left in an unlocked vehicle, authorities said. Rafael J. Garcia, 28, was charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said. The girl had a temperature of 104 degrees and was transported to Palms West Hospital in serious, though not believed to be life-threatening, condition, the sheriff's office said. Garcia left the girl in a blue Ford Escort for 36 minutes while inside Guys and Dolls Adult Book Store at 464 S. Military Trail in suburban West Palm Beach.
WEST PALM BEACH — A couple beat their three young children with a television cable, belt and stick, striking them one time for each of their years of age, police said. A girl, 10, a boy, 9, and a girl, 5, told police that they were beaten repeatedly by their mother, Jerita Aaron, 31, and Christopher Aaron, 41, stepfather of the older two and father of the youngest. The couple were charged with multiple counts of child torture and cruelty, caging of a child and neglect. On Friday, they were ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
COURTS
A 14-year-old raped a 10-year-old girl walking to school in Belle Glade, and tried to sexually assault an adult female, authorities said Friday. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Bobby Martinez, of Belle Glade, on Feb. 24 at Crossroads Academy. He is charged as an adult with felony sexual assault and kidnapping, and as a juvenile on one misdemeanor count of simple battery in the second attack, the sheriff's office said. The 10-year-old told deputies she was assaulted on Feb. 22 after Martinez grabbed her neck and forced her into an abandoned home. A 26-year-old woman told deputies someone tried to sexually assault her on Feb. 9.
Federal authorities on Friday indicted George Joseph England, who is accused of keeping a girl as a sex slave for more than a decade, much of that time in Palm Beach County. Moved recently from a California prison to federal custody, England will be transferred to Florida. Prosecutors allege England bought Jackie Zudis from her mother in Vietnam in the early 1970s when Jackie was 5. Living under an assumed name for years in South Florida, England continued to sexually assault Zudis until she was an adult, they said.
From: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/metro-report-porn-browsing-dad-charged-with-abuse-458933.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
POLICE BLOTTER
While a West Palm Beach man browsed adult videos and toys Friday morning, his 9-month-old daughter was left in an unlocked vehicle, authorities said. Rafael J. Garcia, 28, was charged with aggravated child abuse and child neglect, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said. The girl had a temperature of 104 degrees and was transported to Palms West Hospital in serious, though not believed to be life-threatening, condition, the sheriff's office said. Garcia left the girl in a blue Ford Escort for 36 minutes while inside Guys and Dolls Adult Book Store at 464 S. Military Trail in suburban West Palm Beach.
WEST PALM BEACH — A couple beat their three young children with a television cable, belt and stick, striking them one time for each of their years of age, police said. A girl, 10, a boy, 9, and a girl, 5, told police that they were beaten repeatedly by their mother, Jerita Aaron, 31, and Christopher Aaron, 41, stepfather of the older two and father of the youngest. The couple were charged with multiple counts of child torture and cruelty, caging of a child and neglect. On Friday, they were ordered held in lieu of $50,000 bail.
COURTS
A 14-year-old raped a 10-year-old girl walking to school in Belle Glade, and tried to sexually assault an adult female, authorities said Friday. Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested Bobby Martinez, of Belle Glade, on Feb. 24 at Crossroads Academy. He is charged as an adult with felony sexual assault and kidnapping, and as a juvenile on one misdemeanor count of simple battery in the second attack, the sheriff's office said. The 10-year-old told deputies she was assaulted on Feb. 22 after Martinez grabbed her neck and forced her into an abandoned home. A 26-year-old woman told deputies someone tried to sexually assault her on Feb. 9.
Federal authorities on Friday indicted George Joseph England, who is accused of keeping a girl as a sex slave for more than a decade, much of that time in Palm Beach County. Moved recently from a California prison to federal custody, England will be transferred to Florida. Prosecutors allege England bought Jackie Zudis from her mother in Vietnam in the early 1970s when Jackie was 5. Living under an assumed name for years in South Florida, England continued to sexually assault Zudis until she was an adult, they said.
From: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/crime/metro-report-porn-browsing-dad-charged-with-abuse-458933.html?cxntlid=cmg_cntnt_rss
Russia bans Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' over fears it fuels rise of far-Right
Adolf Hitler's book "Mein Kampf" has been banned in Russia in an attempt to combat the growing allure of far-Right politics.
Published: 5:15PM GMT 26 Mar 2010
Russian prosecutors on Friday banned the 1925 semi-autobiographical book, saying its outline of racial supremacy encouraged extremist and violent behaviour.
Despite including tracts that are both anti-Jewish and anti-Russian, it has become increasingly popular among Russia's far-Right groups.
Russian extremists have attacked migrant workers from poor nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus who come to Russia and often have menial jobs and squalid living conditions. African and Asian students and Russians who do not look Slavic have also been targeted.
At least 60 people were killed and 306 injured in hate attacks in Russia last year, according to Sova, a Moscow-based non-governmental organisation that tracks racist violence.
The ban was initiated after a regional office of the prosecutor sought new ways to combat extremism and found the book was being distributed in the Ufa region.
Hitler dictated the book to his aide Rudolf Hess while in prison in Bavaria after the failed Munich "Beer Hall" putsch of 1923. It sets out his doctrine of German racial supremacy and ambitions to annex huge areas of the Soviet Union.
"Mein Kampf" has been banned in Germany since the Second World War. In Germany, it is illegal to distribute it except in special circumstances, such as for academic research.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7528364/Russia-bans-Hitlers-Mein-Kampf-over-fears-it-fuels-rise-of-far-Right.html
Published: 5:15PM GMT 26 Mar 2010
Russian prosecutors on Friday banned the 1925 semi-autobiographical book, saying its outline of racial supremacy encouraged extremist and violent behaviour.
Despite including tracts that are both anti-Jewish and anti-Russian, it has become increasingly popular among Russia's far-Right groups.
Russian extremists have attacked migrant workers from poor nations in Central Asia and the Caucasus who come to Russia and often have menial jobs and squalid living conditions. African and Asian students and Russians who do not look Slavic have also been targeted.
At least 60 people were killed and 306 injured in hate attacks in Russia last year, according to Sova, a Moscow-based non-governmental organisation that tracks racist violence.
The ban was initiated after a regional office of the prosecutor sought new ways to combat extremism and found the book was being distributed in the Ufa region.
Hitler dictated the book to his aide Rudolf Hess while in prison in Bavaria after the failed Munich "Beer Hall" putsch of 1923. It sets out his doctrine of German racial supremacy and ambitions to annex huge areas of the Soviet Union.
"Mein Kampf" has been banned in Germany since the Second World War. In Germany, it is illegal to distribute it except in special circumstances, such as for academic research.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7528364/Russia-bans-Hitlers-Mein-Kampf-over-fears-it-fuels-rise-of-far-Right.html
Moscow metro blasts: female suicide bombers kill 35
Two female suicide bombers known as “black widows” blew themselves up in Moscow’s busy metro during morning rush hour killing at least 35 people, according to the Russian authorities. By Andrew Osborn, in Moscow
Published: 8:43AM BST 29 Mar 2010
A further 40 people were reported badly wounded.
Though no group has so far claimed responsibility for the atrocity, security sources said early indications suggested that the suicide bombers were from the volatile North Caucasus region that includes Chechnya.
If that is right, it would be the first time since 2004 that Islamist extremists have struck the Moscow metro, raising the terrifying spectre of a new bombing campaign aimed at Russia’s biggest cities.
Prosecutors opened a criminal case immediately, saying they would be working on the basis that the explosions were the work of terrorists.
The bombers struck two separate metro stations in central Moscow – Lubyanka and Park Kultyry - in a carefully coordinated attack.
At least 22 people were reported dead at the Lubyanka metro station, which is situated close to the headquarters of the FSB security service, the successor agency to the KGB.
Witnesses said an explosion tore through one of the carriages as the train was coming into the station killing commuters onboard as well as people standing on the platform. Dozens were reported wounded.
One witness, a policeman, said the bomb went off as the train’s doors opened and people poured out. Officials said the suicide bombers were wearing belts around their bodies packed with explosives. There were unconfirmed reports that they had set off the bombs using their mobile phones.
A second explosion at the busy Park Kultyry metro station located close to Moscow’s famous Gorky Park followed about forty minutes later.
It is not clear how many people that blast killed and wounded though some reports said up to fifteen people had lost their lives. Officials said the attacks had been conducted in identical fashion and that the overall death toll was likely to rise.
There were unconfirmed reports of a third blast at a third metro station, Prospekt Mira, but officials said they could not confirm whether that was true or not.
Traffic on the metro system, one of the world’s busiest, was disrupted as emergency service vehicles surrounded the stations affected. Police said sniffer dogs were checking for explosives before removing victims’ bodies. Mobile phone networks crashed as people scrambled to find out about their loved ones, long traffic jams formed, and emergency hotlines were set up.
Islamist rebels seeking to establish an Islamic caliphate on Russia’s southern tip have largely confined their attacks to the North Caucasus area they want to control in recent years. But a bombing of a passenger train between Moscow and St. Petersburg last November that left dozens dead suggested they may be preparing to widen their campaign to Russia’s big cities.
Russian security forces claim to have killed a number of high profile militants in recent months including one of the movement’s principal ideologues and strategists. Russian politicians said at the time that the rebels were likely to strike back to show they are still a force with which to be reckoned.
Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, was travelling outside Moscow at the time and was being kept abreast of the situation, his spokesman said. Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB security service, briefed President Dmitry Medvedev about the situation as security across the Russian capital was tightened.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7533884/Moscow-metro-blasts-female-suicide-bombers-kill-35.html
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Edinburgh man arrested in meat attack
Updated: Mar 26, 2010 6:54 PM
Edinburgh - An Edinburgh man is behind bars facing charges after an incident inside a grocery store's meat department.
Police say 28-year-old Anthony Coffman walked into the Jay C. Food Store, pulled out a hunting knife and attacked packages of hamburger, and then threw dog food onto it.
When an employee tried to stop him, police say Coffman lunged at the man with the hunting knife.
"He told people at the store that God had sent him there to do that. And he was trying to save young girls from the beef," said Deputy Police Chief David Lutz, Edinburgh Police.
Coffman is charged with criminal mischief and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
From: http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=12210631
Who is the Butcher of Prospect Park?
By Stephen BrownThe Brooklyn Paper
Someone is murdering animals in Prospect Park — and the death count is rising.
Thus far, his identity remains a mystery — but he has left pieces of his victims scattered about the lakefront in Prospect Park like a demented Johnny Appleseed. At every turn, it seems park-goers are coming across more chicken heads and piles of assorted intestines.
It’s disgusting, disquieting and disturbing.
Days after The Brooklyn Paper broke the mysterious story of a bloody chopping block, smashed turtle shells, and an arson, Bonita Makuch came upon the Butcher’s most brazen — and horrifying — deed: entrails piled high on the rocks, animal guts fallen into the water, pieces of viscera peeking out like fleshy glaciers.
A chicken’s carcass floated nearby.
“It was quite repulsive,” said Makuch, who was unsure if the greasy tripe belonged only to chickens. “With a pile that big, it seems to me you’d have to do a lot of killing to get that many guts.”
That same day, Anne-Katrin Titze and Ed Bahlman — de facto Prospect Park watchdogs — discovered a disembodied chicken head on their daily walk.
“The chicken’s neck was stretched out facing the lake on the rocks — the head was in the water. No feathers, just flesh,” Bahlman said. “A swan ended up knocking the head into the lake.”
Nearby, Bahlman found a large box with two latex gloves inside. Beside the box were chicken feathers strewn about the banks of the lake.
After that first fateful encounter with murder most fowl, the couples’ daily perambulations became veritable horror shows. At several spots along the lake chicken heads were bobbing at the lake’s surface.
On Tuesday, Titze poked the lakebed near Prospect Park Southwest with a stick, trying to remove the dangerous viscera. As she jabbed the murky water, chicken heads kept popping up, eventually forming a gruesome clump of feathers and flesh.
In one single spot, at least eight chicken heads were visible, and that’s not counting the intestines and chicken feet.
Susan Yuen, who came upon a similar revolting crime scene in the same area last week, also saw the pile of intestines and immediately alerted park officials. A park employee — who would not give his name — quickly cleaned up the mess, pulling two chicken carcasses out of the water and throwing it all in a trash bag.
“It was so gross,” said Yuen, who snapped photos of the grisly scene. “I saw a chicken head, it started to smell as he pulled it all out of the water!”
Unfortunately, the park employee didn’t get all the gore, as much of it was not visible. In recent days the guts have surfaced or become entangled in other shrubs and trash as it decomposes. Eugene Patron, a spokesman for the park, said staff would clean up the area further, and suggested that people call 311 if they spot more gruesome meat left behind by the butcher.
Bob Ipcar, a member of the dog advocacy group FIDO, noticed the nasty scene and said that dog owners should also be concerned about the mysterious wave of poultry mutilations.
“Your dog wants to drink the water [in the lake], and it’s dangerous,” Ipcar said. “Everybody wants to feed the ducks, and there are chicken heads floating around. They need to come and rake this stuff out.”
Park officials remain baffled.
“Maybe [the intestines] could be left over from a voodoo or Santeria ritual?” Patron speculated.
He may be onto something. Santeria gross-outs are not uncommon in the area. Just last year, a pig’s head was left along the fence of Green-wood Cemetery, perhaps as a gift to the gods. Also, 15 cow tongues were nailed to trees in the park last year — another incident thought to have been related to the often-vilified religion.
Ritual or not, some wished the park would take the wave of incidents more seriously and treat them as legitimate crimes deserving of an investigation.
“How can the park investigate these incidents when they remove the evidence and don’t even call the police?” asked Titze.
Bahlman, after doing some investigating of his own, determined that the slaughter must have occurred beyond the confines of the park.
“This is planted there — there was no blood, unlike last time,” said Bahlman. “Now, they’re dumping dead animals in the park. I do not believe this was a sacrifice.”
And Bahlman may be right. Later visits to the scene of the crime on Monday revealed that a veritable flock of butchered chickens had been discarded in the lake. The mysterious butcher had also used a spot across from the wellhouse as another dumping grounds.
“There was the Superfund for the Gowanus Canal,” Bahlman joked. “This is going in that direction!”
But in a more serious moment, Bahlman considered the multi-million-dollar renovation going on across the lake.
“They’re calling all this attention to the Lakeside project,” he said. “Meanwhile, they’re basically letting the lake die. … A large area is being used as a dump.”
Bahlman pointed to a nearby dead opossum and turtle as evidence that the lake had been possibly poisoned. He also nervously noted that the swans and geese that usually flock to the shore to receive their daily feedings of corn and bread were now staying away.
“Look at them!” Bahlman said, pointing at his beloved waterfowl. “They’re afraid. They know something is wrong. They’ve seen so much.”
But officials said that the park’s hands are tied, much like the feet of a chicken before it meets its demise.
“Unless someone catches someone in the act of either abusing an animal or littering — which this gory stuff is — there is little we can do,” Patron said.
From: http://www.brooklynpaper.com/stories/33/13/33_13_sb_park_butcher.html
This man has a huge growth on his face
16.03.2010 - 12:05 UHRChang Du is poor and afflicted by his swollen chin. The destitute man has virtually no chance of receiving medical care.
It is another abnormal case from China, where last week reports revealed an old woman had devil-like horns growing on her head.
Chang Du lives in a village near the town Luoyang in Henan province.
The 47-year-old clearly suffers from a very rare illness. His chin has swollen to such a size that he can hardly close his mouth. Eating and drinking are torture.
He could hardly bring himself to leave his house during the last five years out of fear that he might frighten people.
Chang Du said that he first noticed a small bump on his chin.
But it quickly became more serious: “I went to a herb doctor to have some medicine prescribed. My chin began to swell up a few days after I took the medicine.”
The Chinese man rubbed the growth in desperation, but it continued to grow.
He can’t afford treatment.
The hospital in Luoyang has said that Chang Du needs a lower jaw replacement. But that would cost 50,000 yuan (around €5,300).
From: http://www.bild.de/BILD/news/bild-english/world-news/2010/03/16/chang-du-from-henan-province/chinese-man-has-huge-growth-on-face.html
The pros and cons of procreation
Lucy Siegle The Observer, Sunday 28 March 2010
To spawn or not to spawn? Naturally the planet has a view. Hitherto its mouthpiece has appeared to be the Optimum Population Trust (patron: David Attenborough)Proc. Its core message: that the projected 70-80 million additions to earth every year represent environmental catastrophe.
Every day 10,000 new inhabitants will, according to the OPT, begin using life-sustaining resources and emit carbon when the planet just can't take it. We are no longer able to live on the interest from the earth's natural capital – we are eating into the actual capital. The OPT's "Stop at Two" pledge encourages us to stop procreating after we've replaced ourselves.
But eco warriors send mixed messages. For every Norwegian sex activist wanting to "Fuck For Forest" (a non-profit "erotic ecological organisation" which involves more than just treehugging), there's a green campaigner angsting over oestrogen pollution from the pill and condoms killing coral reef.
Meanwhile, environmental writer Fred Pearce, in his book Peoplequake, argues that we've misinterpreted growth statistics. Look long term and factor in a time lag, and population is declining. Environmentally, he says, it's about overconsumption in rich nations, not overcrowding globally.
Green factions will just have to slug it out like Punch and Judy until someone's left holding the baby…
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/28/lucy-siegle-not-easy-being-green-having-family
To spawn or not to spawn? Naturally the planet has a view. Hitherto its mouthpiece has appeared to be the Optimum Population Trust (patron: David Attenborough)Proc. Its core message: that the projected 70-80 million additions to earth every year represent environmental catastrophe.
Every day 10,000 new inhabitants will, according to the OPT, begin using life-sustaining resources and emit carbon when the planet just can't take it. We are no longer able to live on the interest from the earth's natural capital – we are eating into the actual capital. The OPT's "Stop at Two" pledge encourages us to stop procreating after we've replaced ourselves.
But eco warriors send mixed messages. For every Norwegian sex activist wanting to "Fuck For Forest" (a non-profit "erotic ecological organisation" which involves more than just treehugging), there's a green campaigner angsting over oestrogen pollution from the pill and condoms killing coral reef.
Meanwhile, environmental writer Fred Pearce, in his book Peoplequake, argues that we've misinterpreted growth statistics. Look long term and factor in a time lag, and population is declining. Environmentally, he says, it's about overconsumption in rich nations, not overcrowding globally.
Green factions will just have to slug it out like Punch and Judy until someone's left holding the baby…
From: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/28/lucy-siegle-not-easy-being-green-having-family
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Danse macabre (Saint-Saëns)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Danse macabre, Op. 40 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns is an art song for voice and piano (first performed in 1872) with a French text by the poet Henri Cazalis which is based in an old French superstition. Two years later, the composer expanded and reworked the piece into a tone poem for orchestra, replacing the vocal line with a solo violin.
Analysis
According to the superstition of the French people, "Death" appears at midnight every year on Halloween. Death calls forth the dead from their graves to dance their dance of death for him while he plays his fiddle represented by a solo violin with its E-string tuned to an E-flat in an example of scordatura tuning. His skeletons dance for him until the rooster crows at dawn, when they must return to their graves until the next year.
The piece opens with a harp playing a single note, D, twelve times to accompanied which is accompanied by soft chords from the string section. This then leads to the E flat and A chords also known as a tritone or the "Devil's chord", and the solo violin's E string is tuned a half step lower to create this effect played by a solo violinist, which represents death. After which the main theme is heard on a solo flute and is followed by a descending scale on the solo violin which is accompianed by soft chords from the string section, particularly the lower instruments of the string section, followed by the full orchestra who then joins in on the descending scale. The main theme and the scale is then heard throughout the various sections of the orchestra until it breaks to the solo violin and the harp playing the scale. The piece becomes more energetic and climaxes with the full orchestra playing very strong dynamics . Towards the end of the piece, there is another violin solo, now modulationg, which is then joined by the rest of the orchestra. The final section, represents the dawn breaking and the skeletons returning to their graves.
The piece makes particular use of the xylophone to imitate the sounds of rattling bones. Saint-Saëns uses a similar motif in the Fossils part of his Carnival of the Animals.
Instrumentation
Danse macabre is scored for an obbligato violin, as well as the following orchestra:
Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons
Brass: 4 horns in G and D, 2 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, tuba
Percussion: timpani, xylophone, bass drum, cymbals, triangle
Strings: harp, violins I, II, violas, violoncellos, double basses
Text
An English translation of the poem follows:
Zig, zig, zig, Death in cadence,
Striking a tomb with his heel,
Death at midnight plays a dance-tune,
Zig, zig, zag, on his violin.
The winter wind blows, and the night is dark;
Moans are heard in the linden trees.
White skeletons pass through the gloom,
Running and leaping in their shrouds.
Zig, zig, zig, each one is frisking,
You can hear the cracking of the bones of the dancers.
A lustful couple sits on the moss
So as to taste long lost delights.
Zig zig, zig, Death continues
The unending scraping on his instrument.
A veil has fallen! The dancer is naked.
Her partner grasps her amorously.
The lady, it's said, is a marchioness or baroness
And her green gallant, a poor cartwright.
Horror! Look how she gives herself to him,
Like the rustic was a baron.
Zig, zig, zig. What a saraband!
They all hold hands and dance in circles.
Zig, zig, zag. You can see in the crowd
The king dancing among the peasants.
But hist! All of a sudden, they leave the dance,
They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed.
Oh what a beautiful night for the poor world!
Long live death and equality!
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_macabre_(Saint-Sa%C3%ABns)
Danse macabre, Op. 40 by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns is an art song for voice and piano (first performed in 1872) with a French text by the poet Henri Cazalis which is based in an old French superstition. Two years later, the composer expanded and reworked the piece into a tone poem for orchestra, replacing the vocal line with a solo violin.
Analysis
According to the superstition of the French people, "Death" appears at midnight every year on Halloween. Death calls forth the dead from their graves to dance their dance of death for him while he plays his fiddle represented by a solo violin with its E-string tuned to an E-flat in an example of scordatura tuning. His skeletons dance for him until the rooster crows at dawn, when they must return to their graves until the next year.
The piece opens with a harp playing a single note, D, twelve times to accompanied which is accompanied by soft chords from the string section. This then leads to the E flat and A chords also known as a tritone or the "Devil's chord", and the solo violin's E string is tuned a half step lower to create this effect played by a solo violinist, which represents death. After which the main theme is heard on a solo flute and is followed by a descending scale on the solo violin which is accompianed by soft chords from the string section, particularly the lower instruments of the string section, followed by the full orchestra who then joins in on the descending scale. The main theme and the scale is then heard throughout the various sections of the orchestra until it breaks to the solo violin and the harp playing the scale. The piece becomes more energetic and climaxes with the full orchestra playing very strong dynamics . Towards the end of the piece, there is another violin solo, now modulationg, which is then joined by the rest of the orchestra. The final section, represents the dawn breaking and the skeletons returning to their graves.
The piece makes particular use of the xylophone to imitate the sounds of rattling bones. Saint-Saëns uses a similar motif in the Fossils part of his Carnival of the Animals.
Instrumentation
Danse macabre is scored for an obbligato violin, as well as the following orchestra:
Woodwinds: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in B-flat, 2 bassoons
Brass: 4 horns in G and D, 2 trumpets in D, 3 trombones, tuba
Percussion: timpani, xylophone, bass drum, cymbals, triangle
Strings: harp, violins I, II, violas, violoncellos, double basses
Text
An English translation of the poem follows:
Zig, zig, zig, Death in cadence,
Striking a tomb with his heel,
Death at midnight plays a dance-tune,
Zig, zig, zag, on his violin.
The winter wind blows, and the night is dark;
Moans are heard in the linden trees.
White skeletons pass through the gloom,
Running and leaping in their shrouds.
Zig, zig, zig, each one is frisking,
You can hear the cracking of the bones of the dancers.
A lustful couple sits on the moss
So as to taste long lost delights.
Zig zig, zig, Death continues
The unending scraping on his instrument.
A veil has fallen! The dancer is naked.
Her partner grasps her amorously.
The lady, it's said, is a marchioness or baroness
And her green gallant, a poor cartwright.
Horror! Look how she gives herself to him,
Like the rustic was a baron.
Zig, zig, zig. What a saraband!
They all hold hands and dance in circles.
Zig, zig, zag. You can see in the crowd
The king dancing among the peasants.
But hist! All of a sudden, they leave the dance,
They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed.
Oh what a beautiful night for the poor world!
Long live death and equality!
From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danse_macabre_(Saint-Sa%C3%ABns)
Hairdresser's chemicals "exploded like a bomb"
8:39am Thursday 25th March 2010A teenage hairdresser killed in a “catastrophic explosion” as she drove may have died after chemicals in her equipment bag formed a lethal cocktail.
Now the grieving father of 19-year-old Jennie Mitchell – himself a Dorset fire fighter with 24 years experience – is urging hairdressers to show extreme caution when carrying hydrogen peroxide.
Jennie died earlier this month after the chemicals exploded with the force of a bomb blast as she drove her treasured Mini car along a quiet country road.
From: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/5082175.Hairdresser_s_chemicals__exploded_like_a_bomb_/
Bainbridge Police Disarm Sword-Brandishing, Knife-Throwing Man
•By Kitsap Sun staff
•Posted March 23, 2010 at 5:20 p.m.
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND —
A shirtless man thrashing a large sword and armed with throwing knives gave himself up outside a lumber-supply store without incident Tuesday afternoon.
The man, 35, was covered with scrapes and cuts and had been waving the sword aggressively and stabbing objects in the parking lot of the Pro Build building-supply store near Highway 305 and High School Road around 1:45 p.m.
An off-duty Bainbridge Island police officer approached the oddly behaving man and told him to lay down his sword, knives and other sharp objects he was carrying.
The agitated man complied.
He then told the off-duty officer and other officers who’d gathered there he was “hunting werewolves and C.H.U.D.s” who can disguise themselves as humans. He said he was afraid of getting hurt.
Police took the man to Harrison Medical Center for evaluation.
Employees of a nearby Ace Hardware store said the man had approached customers there, displaying and demonstrating his sword and throwing his knives, according to a police report.
From: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/mar/23/bainbridge-police-disarm-sword-brandishing-knife/
•Posted March 23, 2010 at 5:20 p.m.
BAINBRIDGE ISLAND —
A shirtless man thrashing a large sword and armed with throwing knives gave himself up outside a lumber-supply store without incident Tuesday afternoon.
The man, 35, was covered with scrapes and cuts and had been waving the sword aggressively and stabbing objects in the parking lot of the Pro Build building-supply store near Highway 305 and High School Road around 1:45 p.m.
An off-duty Bainbridge Island police officer approached the oddly behaving man and told him to lay down his sword, knives and other sharp objects he was carrying.
The agitated man complied.
He then told the off-duty officer and other officers who’d gathered there he was “hunting werewolves and C.H.U.D.s” who can disguise themselves as humans. He said he was afraid of getting hurt.
Police took the man to Harrison Medical Center for evaluation.
Employees of a nearby Ace Hardware store said the man had approached customers there, displaying and demonstrating his sword and throwing his knives, according to a police report.
From: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2010/mar/23/bainbridge-police-disarm-sword-brandishing-knife/
South Carolina Mom Accused of Letting Kids Die in Sweltering Car Takes Stand
Updated March 26, 2010
Sametta Heyward is charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse and two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child in the deaths of her 4-year-old son and her daughter, who was almost 2.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A South Carolina woman accused of letting her children die in a sweltering car said she put the tots in the trunk and pressed a pillow against their faces to stop them from crying so she could work nearby, a witness testified Friday.
"She said she put a pillow over the little boy's face and then over the little girl," testified Rebecca Stone, who shared a cell at the Berkleley County Jail with Sametta Heyward after Heyward's arrest in 2007.
Heyward, 30, is charged with homicide by child abuse and illegal conduct toward a child in the deaths of her 4-year-old son and her daughter, who was nearly 2.
Authorities allege that after the deaths, Heyward took the children back to her apartment, washed and dressed them and stuffed them in plastic bags under a sink.
Heyward assured Circuit Judge R. Markley Dennis who is presiding over her bench trial that she wants to tell her side in a story that attracted national headlines. Heyward was to testify later Friday.
Stone was among the last of 23 prosecution witnesses.
She testified Heyward told her she left the children in the car because her babysitter had canceled and she had no one else to watch them. The car was parked outside a home for the disabled where Heyward worked.
Stone, in jail on a bad check charge, said Heyward told her she checked on her children from time to time. According to earlier trial testimony, temperatures in the car that July day reached nearly 130 degrees.
Stone said Heyward told her she was upset that the children were crying.
"She said she went back out and put the children in the trunk with a pillow and bedding," Stone testified, adding Heyward later returned and covered their faces with the pillow.
She said the defendant told her she did not kill them but put the pillows in their faces "just long enough to keep them from crying."
Stone also testified Heyward said she was angry with her aunt that day and could not ask her to baby sit.
During the few weeks they shared a cell, Stone said Heyward always spoke highly of her older son, now 15, but not of her younger children.
"She said they had ruined her life," Stone said. "They kept her from going to school."
The prosecution called several other witnesses who at the time worked for the Charleston County disabilities board where Heyward worked.
One of them, Mary Dilligard, who coordinated operation of the group homes, said she was only three miles away and could have covered Heyward's shift if she had been called.
Another witness testified Heyward had 23 days of vacation and sick time available to her.
From: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/26/s-carolina-mom-stand-killings-kids/
Sametta Heyward is charged with two counts of homicide by child abuse and two counts of unlawful conduct toward a child in the deaths of her 4-year-old son and her daughter, who was almost 2.
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- A South Carolina woman accused of letting her children die in a sweltering car said she put the tots in the trunk and pressed a pillow against their faces to stop them from crying so she could work nearby, a witness testified Friday.
"She said she put a pillow over the little boy's face and then over the little girl," testified Rebecca Stone, who shared a cell at the Berkleley County Jail with Sametta Heyward after Heyward's arrest in 2007.
Heyward, 30, is charged with homicide by child abuse and illegal conduct toward a child in the deaths of her 4-year-old son and her daughter, who was nearly 2.
Authorities allege that after the deaths, Heyward took the children back to her apartment, washed and dressed them and stuffed them in plastic bags under a sink.
Heyward assured Circuit Judge R. Markley Dennis who is presiding over her bench trial that she wants to tell her side in a story that attracted national headlines. Heyward was to testify later Friday.
Stone was among the last of 23 prosecution witnesses.
She testified Heyward told her she left the children in the car because her babysitter had canceled and she had no one else to watch them. The car was parked outside a home for the disabled where Heyward worked.
Stone, in jail on a bad check charge, said Heyward told her she checked on her children from time to time. According to earlier trial testimony, temperatures in the car that July day reached nearly 130 degrees.
Stone said Heyward told her she was upset that the children were crying.
"She said she went back out and put the children in the trunk with a pillow and bedding," Stone testified, adding Heyward later returned and covered their faces with the pillow.
She said the defendant told her she did not kill them but put the pillows in their faces "just long enough to keep them from crying."
Stone also testified Heyward said she was angry with her aunt that day and could not ask her to baby sit.
During the few weeks they shared a cell, Stone said Heyward always spoke highly of her older son, now 15, but not of her younger children.
"She said they had ruined her life," Stone said. "They kept her from going to school."
The prosecution called several other witnesses who at the time worked for the Charleston County disabilities board where Heyward worked.
One of them, Mary Dilligard, who coordinated operation of the group homes, said she was only three miles away and could have covered Heyward's shift if she had been called.
Another witness testified Heyward had 23 days of vacation and sick time available to her.
From: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/03/26/s-carolina-mom-stand-killings-kids/