By TIM DONOGHUE - The Dominion Post
Last updated 05:00 05/07/2010
A young motorcyclist was heckled and jeered at as he lay dying beneath a van in Wellington, residents claim.
Shelley McManis, 19, said she was at her Russell Tce flat with her flatmate about 11pm on Saturday when she heard a collision between a motorcyclist and taxi outside the back entrance to Wakefield Hospital.
As he lay groaning in agony two men laughed at him and passing motorists jeered "oh shame mate, you crashed", Ms McManis said.
"The man's bike bounced off the side of the taxi and he was catapulted into the front of a van on the other side of the street.
"Ambulance staff cut all his clothes off. He was groaning and in immense pain.
"After the accident I went to the front window of our flat and looked down. I saw two men standing over the young man laughing and mocking him as he lay dying.
"At first I thought it was a bag of rubbish they were standing over and laughing about. But when I went down there I saw it was a young man. What they did was disgusting."
Her flatmate, Valerie Sloss, 19, said she also heard laughing and jeering from the footpath.
The Victoria University arts student was too frightened to look out the window or go down to the street. "They were laughing like they were having fun.
"My immediate thought was that someone was crashing into bins or something outside." Ms Sloss said.
The 22-year-old motorcyclist was taken by ambulance to Wellington Hospital but died from his injuries soon after.
"Something else I found quite horrible is that there were people driving past and tooting while the ambulance people looked after the [Newton] motorcyclist," Ms McManis said.
"There were people in a car laughing at him [the victim] and saying 'oh shame mate, you crashed'. It was just disgusting."
The two men she saw mocking the motorcyclist were either Maori or Pacific Islanders, she said.
Ms McManis said the Indian taxi driver was distraught after the accident.
The dead man is yet to be named.
It was the second death of a motorcyclist in the city in two days. Another man died on the Wellington motorway on Friday night.
Wayne Francis McLaughlin, 58, a prominent Wellington IT businessman, died in a multi-vehicle pile up near the Aotea off-ramp about 6:30pm on Friday.
The father of two and his wife Dawn lived near Aotea Lagoon in Porirua.
Mr McLaughlin's brother Kevin described his brother as a loyal family man who was passionate about keeping his family together.
Ambulance officials and police emergency response manager Inspector Simon Perry refused to comment last night.
"Until I've had a chance to review the whole file I'm not saying anything about this," Mr Perry said.
From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3883612/Passers-by-laughed-at-motorcyclist-as-he-lay-dying
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Man pays for wife, daughters to get boob jobs
By QMI Agency
A British man has paid more than $16,000 for his wife and two daughters to get breast implants.
Mom Deborah Higley had her operations first about five years ago, and then the two daughters, Harriett and Rose, decided they wanted a new set too, the U.K. newspaper The Mirror reported Sunday.
“We’re a really close family, so having boob jobs together seemed the most natural thing in the world,” Harriett, 21, told the newspaper. "I remember when Mom had hers done, I was so jealous. I just wanted mine to look the same.”
The sisters had their operations the same day and got identical implants.
Their father paid for the surgeries as their birthday gift, when Rose turned 19 and Harriet turned 21.
The father is not named in the article, which notes he and Deborah are now divorced.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/07/04/14605696.html
A British man has paid more than $16,000 for his wife and two daughters to get breast implants.
Mom Deborah Higley had her operations first about five years ago, and then the two daughters, Harriett and Rose, decided they wanted a new set too, the U.K. newspaper The Mirror reported Sunday.
“We’re a really close family, so having boob jobs together seemed the most natural thing in the world,” Harriett, 21, told the newspaper. "I remember when Mom had hers done, I was so jealous. I just wanted mine to look the same.”
The sisters had their operations the same day and got identical implants.
Their father paid for the surgeries as their birthday gift, when Rose turned 19 and Harriet turned 21.
The father is not named in the article, which notes he and Deborah are now divorced.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/07/04/14605696.html
Trucker attempts to remove tooth while driving
By DON PEAT, QMI Agency
TORONTO - A Kitchener truck driver is facing a careless driving charge but on the bright side, his tooth doesn't hurt anymore.
Lambton County OPP say they stopped a big rig driver doing some driving dentistry along Hwy. 402 on Wednesday.
Const. John Reurink told QMI Agency Saturday it's the first time he's ever heard of a driver being pulled over performing dental surgery.
"I've never heard of this sort of thing occurring before," Reurink said, adding he has stopped drivers doing their make-up, reading a map or talking on a cellphone. "Somebody doing an amateur tooth pulling? That's a first."
Reurink said it all started June 30 when an officer was on Hwy. 402 in Warwick Township, near Sarnia, and a passing driver pointed him to a tractor trailer being driven "all over the road."
The officer found the eastbound rig and pulled it over.
Cops determined the 58-year-old driver was driving so poorly because he was trying to pull out a tooth while he was driving.
"The driver was very forthright with the officer," Reurink said.
The amateur dentist of a driver had rigged a string around his hurting tooth and then tied the other end to the roof of the cab, police said.
"One good bump and the tooth should come out," police explained.
Turns out the "one good bump" likely did come along at some point.
"The evidence of his efforts were nearby," Reurink said.
When the driver was stopped the officer found a bloody tooth and a string lying next to him.
Strangely, police say the road down that way isn't that bumpy and was recently resurfaced.
"He may have been better off on a sideroad," Reurink said.
Police won't be releasing the driver's name because he's charged under the Highway Traffic Act, not the Criminal Code, and they figure he'd be "continuously bombarded" by media trying to talk to him about his stunt — which would likely be more of a headache than a toothache.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/07/03/14599611.html
TORONTO - A Kitchener truck driver is facing a careless driving charge but on the bright side, his tooth doesn't hurt anymore.
Lambton County OPP say they stopped a big rig driver doing some driving dentistry along Hwy. 402 on Wednesday.
Const. John Reurink told QMI Agency Saturday it's the first time he's ever heard of a driver being pulled over performing dental surgery.
"I've never heard of this sort of thing occurring before," Reurink said, adding he has stopped drivers doing their make-up, reading a map or talking on a cellphone. "Somebody doing an amateur tooth pulling? That's a first."
Reurink said it all started June 30 when an officer was on Hwy. 402 in Warwick Township, near Sarnia, and a passing driver pointed him to a tractor trailer being driven "all over the road."
The officer found the eastbound rig and pulled it over.
Cops determined the 58-year-old driver was driving so poorly because he was trying to pull out a tooth while he was driving.
"The driver was very forthright with the officer," Reurink said.
The amateur dentist of a driver had rigged a string around his hurting tooth and then tied the other end to the roof of the cab, police said.
"One good bump and the tooth should come out," police explained.
Turns out the "one good bump" likely did come along at some point.
"The evidence of his efforts were nearby," Reurink said.
When the driver was stopped the officer found a bloody tooth and a string lying next to him.
Strangely, police say the road down that way isn't that bumpy and was recently resurfaced.
"He may have been better off on a sideroad," Reurink said.
Police won't be releasing the driver's name because he's charged under the Highway Traffic Act, not the Criminal Code, and they figure he'd be "continuously bombarded" by media trying to talk to him about his stunt — which would likely be more of a headache than a toothache.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/07/03/14599611.html
Egypt farmer calls 2-headed calf 'a miracle'
July 4, 2010, 3:53pm
CAIRO (AP) — A farmer in northern Egypt says his cow has given birth to a two-headed calf that he calls a “divine miracle.”
Sobhy el-Ganzoury said Saturday it took two hours and much pulling to deliver the rare calf. He said the difficult birth has weakened the calf's legs.
El-Ganzoury said the veterinarian informed him that the calf, which was born this week, is now in stable condition and is expected to survive. He said he intends to keep the animal as a reminder that “God is able to do anything.”
The calf still can't stand up because of its heavy heads and weak legs, and is being fed her mother's milk with a baby bottle.
From: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/265161/egypt-farmer-calls-2headed-calf-a-miracle
CAIRO (AP) — A farmer in northern Egypt says his cow has given birth to a two-headed calf that he calls a “divine miracle.”
Sobhy el-Ganzoury said Saturday it took two hours and much pulling to deliver the rare calf. He said the difficult birth has weakened the calf's legs.
El-Ganzoury said the veterinarian informed him that the calf, which was born this week, is now in stable condition and is expected to survive. He said he intends to keep the animal as a reminder that “God is able to do anything.”
The calf still can't stand up because of its heavy heads and weak legs, and is being fed her mother's milk with a baby bottle.
From: http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/265161/egypt-farmer-calls-2headed-calf-a-miracle
Shark bites fisherman removing hook
Published: July 4, 2010 at 2:21 PM
WEST HAMPTON DUNES, N.Y., July 4 (UPI) -- An 8-foot blue shark chomped on a New York fisherman's arm as he released the fish back into the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Frank Joseph, 20, was helicoptered to a Long Island hospital. Doctors said the wound was not deep or life-threatening.
He had been removing the hook from the shark's mouth around 12:30 p.m. EDT Saturday when the shark turned and snapped at the bottom of Joseph's right bicep, Coast Guard Petty Officer Antonio Capoccetta told the New York Daily News.
Two other men aboard the 25-foot recreational fishing boat in Moriches Inlet, about 25 nautical miles south of Shinnecock, N.Y., used a sweatshirt to stanch the bleeding and called for help as the shark swam off into the ocean.
From: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/07/04/Shark-bites-fisherman-removing-hook/UPI-78651278267705/
WEST HAMPTON DUNES, N.Y., July 4 (UPI) -- An 8-foot blue shark chomped on a New York fisherman's arm as he released the fish back into the Atlantic Ocean, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Frank Joseph, 20, was helicoptered to a Long Island hospital. Doctors said the wound was not deep or life-threatening.
He had been removing the hook from the shark's mouth around 12:30 p.m. EDT Saturday when the shark turned and snapped at the bottom of Joseph's right bicep, Coast Guard Petty Officer Antonio Capoccetta told the New York Daily News.
Two other men aboard the 25-foot recreational fishing boat in Moriches Inlet, about 25 nautical miles south of Shinnecock, N.Y., used a sweatshirt to stanch the bleeding and called for help as the shark swam off into the ocean.
From: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2010/07/04/Shark-bites-fisherman-removing-hook/UPI-78651278267705/
24 people injured after two horses run wildly out of control at Fourth of July parade
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sunday, July 4th 2010, 7:39 PM
BELLEVUE, Iowa (AP) — Two horses running out of control trampled children collecting candy and other onlookers along a Fourth of July parade route in a small Mississippi River town in eastern Iowa on Sunday.
Twenty-four people were injured, including at least two children who were in critical condition, police and hospital officials said.
The horses took off after one rubbed its head against the other, removing that horse's bridle, police said. The horses, with a wagon in tow, galloped for several blocks, running over children and adults who sat and stood along the streets watching the parade in Bellevue.
Sandie Crilly, 46, of Willow Springs, Ill., said she was collecting Tootsie Rolls from the street with her 8-year-old son, 12-year-old niece and 2-year-old granddaughter when the horses ran toward them about halfway through the parade.
Someone yelled to get out of the way, she said.
"I could see it was two horses," Crilly said. "I could see they were running at full speed and they were harnessed together and I knew we were going to most certainly get hit, and as soon as it happened, everybody was crying and screaming."
Five people were critically injured, five others severely injured and 14 suffered minor injuries, police and fire officials said in a statement. The victims were as young as 2 years old and suffered injuries ranging from multiple fractures to collapsed lungs and abrasions, officials said.
The parade is a decades-long tradition in the town of about 2,300 people, located 25 miles south of Dubuque on the Iowa-Illinois border.
"The mood is shock and disbelief," Bellevue Mayor Virgil Murray said. "We've had this parade forever. We've had horses in the parade forever."
Crilly, who was visiting her parents in Bellevue, said someone pulled her granddaughter to safety, but her niece was left with a broken left wrist and had her two front teeth knocked out. Everyone else in their group suffered bumps and bruises, she said.
Paramedics treated victims in a nearby art gallery, Crilly said, and a triage area was set up near the Mississippi River, where volunteers held up tarps to shield the injured and paramedics from the sun and heat. Others brought the injured ice and water, she said.
"It was madness," Crilly said. "I mean we were in a triage. The town really came together. It was a huge community effort."
Murray said residents pitched in, making phone calls and sending text messages to get word out that doctors and nurses were needed.
The injured were sent by ambulance and medical helicopter to hospitals in Dubuque, Maquoketa and Iowa City. Ten patients were taken to Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque, nine of them children, house supervisor Carol Dietzel said.
One child in critical condition was flown to University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City, and another critically injured child was in surgery at Mercy Medical, she said. Six children were treated and released.
Officials at Finley Hospital in Dubuque said a 70-year-old woman in serious condition was flown to University of Iowa Hospital.
"We've never really had any tragedy," the mayor said. "Usually our biggest nemesis is if it rains. That's what we're always worried about."
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people attend the annual parade, many people coming in from rural areas and nearby towns, he said.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver released a statement, saying he was thinking and praying for the victims.
"I am especially saddened because the accident occurred during the events celebrating Independence Day, which is a day that should be filled with pride and joy for all Iowans and Americans," Culver said.
From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/04/2010-07-04_24_people_injured_after_two_horses_run_wildly_out_of_control_at_fourth_of_july_p.html
Sunday, July 4th 2010, 7:39 PM
BELLEVUE, Iowa (AP) — Two horses running out of control trampled children collecting candy and other onlookers along a Fourth of July parade route in a small Mississippi River town in eastern Iowa on Sunday.
Twenty-four people were injured, including at least two children who were in critical condition, police and hospital officials said.
The horses took off after one rubbed its head against the other, removing that horse's bridle, police said. The horses, with a wagon in tow, galloped for several blocks, running over children and adults who sat and stood along the streets watching the parade in Bellevue.
Sandie Crilly, 46, of Willow Springs, Ill., said she was collecting Tootsie Rolls from the street with her 8-year-old son, 12-year-old niece and 2-year-old granddaughter when the horses ran toward them about halfway through the parade.
Someone yelled to get out of the way, she said.
"I could see it was two horses," Crilly said. "I could see they were running at full speed and they were harnessed together and I knew we were going to most certainly get hit, and as soon as it happened, everybody was crying and screaming."
Five people were critically injured, five others severely injured and 14 suffered minor injuries, police and fire officials said in a statement. The victims were as young as 2 years old and suffered injuries ranging from multiple fractures to collapsed lungs and abrasions, officials said.
The parade is a decades-long tradition in the town of about 2,300 people, located 25 miles south of Dubuque on the Iowa-Illinois border.
"The mood is shock and disbelief," Bellevue Mayor Virgil Murray said. "We've had this parade forever. We've had horses in the parade forever."
Crilly, who was visiting her parents in Bellevue, said someone pulled her granddaughter to safety, but her niece was left with a broken left wrist and had her two front teeth knocked out. Everyone else in their group suffered bumps and bruises, she said.
Paramedics treated victims in a nearby art gallery, Crilly said, and a triage area was set up near the Mississippi River, where volunteers held up tarps to shield the injured and paramedics from the sun and heat. Others brought the injured ice and water, she said.
"It was madness," Crilly said. "I mean we were in a triage. The town really came together. It was a huge community effort."
Murray said residents pitched in, making phone calls and sending text messages to get word out that doctors and nurses were needed.
The injured were sent by ambulance and medical helicopter to hospitals in Dubuque, Maquoketa and Iowa City. Ten patients were taken to Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque, nine of them children, house supervisor Carol Dietzel said.
One child in critical condition was flown to University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City, and another critically injured child was in surgery at Mercy Medical, she said. Six children were treated and released.
Officials at Finley Hospital in Dubuque said a 70-year-old woman in serious condition was flown to University of Iowa Hospital.
"We've never really had any tragedy," the mayor said. "Usually our biggest nemesis is if it rains. That's what we're always worried about."
Between 3,000 and 4,000 people attend the annual parade, many people coming in from rural areas and nearby towns, he said.
Iowa Gov. Chet Culver released a statement, saying he was thinking and praying for the victims.
"I am especially saddened because the accident occurred during the events celebrating Independence Day, which is a day that should be filled with pride and joy for all Iowans and Americans," Culver said.
From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/04/2010-07-04_24_people_injured_after_two_horses_run_wildly_out_of_control_at_fourth_of_july_p.html
Georgia couple faces child cruelty charges after tattooing six kids with home made device
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Originally Published:Sunday, July 4th 2010, 4:00 AM
Updated: Sunday, July 4th 2010, 1:02 AM
A Georgia couple is facing child cruelty charges for tattooing six of their children with a crude device made from a guitar string, says reports.
Patty Jo Marsh and husband Jacob Edwards Bartels were arrested late last year after the biological mother of some of the children found that markings on their hands wouldn't wash off.
They were each charged with three counts of illegal tattooing, second degree child cruelty and reckless conduct. The couple was released Friday after posting a property bond of $10,000 each.
Both unlicensed tattooing and the tattooing of minors are illegal in Georgia.
Five of their six children, ages 10 to 17, received small cross tattoos on their hands. Another child had "mom and dad" lettered on a hand. The youngest child was left unmarked.
Police described the home-made tattoo gun as a plastic pen with a needle made from a guitar string that was connected to an electric motor.
Marsh thinks the public overreacted to the tattoos.
"We would never do anything to hurt them," she told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution after her arrest. "I don't understand why this is getting blowed up so big."
John Everett, Chattooga County Sheriff, told the local paper that the case is unusual. "I've never seen parents tattooing their kids like that."
From: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/04/2010-07-04_georgia_couple_faces_child_cruelty_charges_after_tattooing_six_kids_with_home_ma.html#community
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Policeman shot 'by gunman on the run after murder'
A gunman who allegedly attacked his ex-wife and killed her new boyfriend days after leaving prison is believed to have shot a policeman in an "unprovoked" attack.
Published: 6:15AM BST 04 Jul 2010
The uniformed officer was approached by an armed man and suffered a gunshot wound, in East Denton, Newcastle, at around 12.45am. Police fear he may be targeting them because of a "grudge".
The policeman is currently being treated in hospital where his condition is described as ''serious'' but is not thought to be life-threatening.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: ''Police strongly believe that this shooting is linked to the incident in Gateshead in the early hours of Saturday morning during which a man was killed and a woman seriously injured.''
Police said the uniformed motor patrol officer was carrying out a "static patrol" on a roundabout joining the A1 and A69 when he was attacked.
He suffered a gun shot wound and was taken to Newcastle General Hospital.
Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim said: "This was an unprovoked attack on a Northumbria police officer as he carried out his duty.
"My thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this time.
"We strongly believe that this was carried out by the same man who shot two people in Gateshead early yesterday morning.
"Raoul Thomas Moat is a wanted man. He is very dangerous and shouldn't be approached by a member of the public."
Police said they were pursuing several lines of inquiry and said all available resources and tactics were being used.
Early yesterday morning a woman, named locally as Samantha Stobbart, was injured when a shot was fired through her living room window.
Moments later her partner left the house only to be struck down around 50 metres from the front door.
Northumbria Police were today searching for Moat, from Newcastle, who was released from Durham prison on Thursday after serving a sentence for assault.
The 37-year-old – reportedly a former nightclub bouncer – is understood to have had a previous relationship with Miss Stobbart.
Detectives yesterday suggested the attack was motivated by a grudge against the couple.
But today a spokesman said: "It is now believed that his grudge at the moment is with the police."
The pair, who have not been officially named, were targeted in the early hours of yesterday morning, at around 2.40am.
Mary Hall, 63, a neighbour living close to the scene, said she saw the gunman fire at the young woman through the living room window.
Mrs Hall said a woman in the house was screaming, apparently on the phone to the police. She believed this was the woman's mother.
"The man shot through the window and shot the girl. I saw a figure of a man with a handgun," she told the Northern Echo.
"It's all very shocking as there are a lot of old age pensioners around here and you don't expect this to happen."
Another local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "I didn't see it happen but I heard a few loud bangs that must have been gun shots.
"There was a police helicopter hovering around for a long time.
"It's a really quiet area, it's residential you know, so it's a total shock."
Emergency services called to the scene discovered the man, understood to be Miss Stobbart's current partner, lying on a grassy area opposite the house in Scafell, Birtley, near Gateshead.
He is believed to have been in his late 20s or early 30s. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Det Supt Steve Howes, who is leading the investigation, said of yesterday's shootings: "I would like to stress that this is not a random attack and that the people involved are all known to each other.
"We believe the offender targeted his victims because of a grudge he held against them."
A large number of officers, including specialist firearms officers, were working on the case.
The man's precise cause of death has yet to be established but police said the couple suffered injuries "believed to be consistent with a gunshot wound".
A post-mortem examination on the dead man was taking place.
Miss Stobbart's relatives told The Sunday Telegraph the 22-year-old had been in an on-off relationship with Moat for six years.
And they said the trainee hairdresser, who has a three-year-old daughter Chanel, was shot twice.
She is now in a critical condition in hospital where she was said to be under armed police guard.
Her half-sister Kelly Stobbart told the News of the World that family members were warned she may not survive.
"We don't think she'll make it," the 27-year-old said. "She's been shot in the chest and stomach, her body's been ripped apart.
"She is on a life-support machine and is critical. The hospital have told us to expect the worst."
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7870875/Policeman-shot-by-gunman-on-the-run-after-murder.html
Published: 6:15AM BST 04 Jul 2010
The uniformed officer was approached by an armed man and suffered a gunshot wound, in East Denton, Newcastle, at around 12.45am. Police fear he may be targeting them because of a "grudge".
The policeman is currently being treated in hospital where his condition is described as ''serious'' but is not thought to be life-threatening.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: ''Police strongly believe that this shooting is linked to the incident in Gateshead in the early hours of Saturday morning during which a man was killed and a woman seriously injured.''
Police said the uniformed motor patrol officer was carrying out a "static patrol" on a roundabout joining the A1 and A69 when he was attacked.
He suffered a gun shot wound and was taken to Newcastle General Hospital.
Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim said: "This was an unprovoked attack on a Northumbria police officer as he carried out his duty.
"My thoughts are with his family and colleagues at this time.
"We strongly believe that this was carried out by the same man who shot two people in Gateshead early yesterday morning.
"Raoul Thomas Moat is a wanted man. He is very dangerous and shouldn't be approached by a member of the public."
Police said they were pursuing several lines of inquiry and said all available resources and tactics were being used.
Early yesterday morning a woman, named locally as Samantha Stobbart, was injured when a shot was fired through her living room window.
Moments later her partner left the house only to be struck down around 50 metres from the front door.
Northumbria Police were today searching for Moat, from Newcastle, who was released from Durham prison on Thursday after serving a sentence for assault.
The 37-year-old – reportedly a former nightclub bouncer – is understood to have had a previous relationship with Miss Stobbart.
Detectives yesterday suggested the attack was motivated by a grudge against the couple.
But today a spokesman said: "It is now believed that his grudge at the moment is with the police."
The pair, who have not been officially named, were targeted in the early hours of yesterday morning, at around 2.40am.
Mary Hall, 63, a neighbour living close to the scene, said she saw the gunman fire at the young woman through the living room window.
Mrs Hall said a woman in the house was screaming, apparently on the phone to the police. She believed this was the woman's mother.
"The man shot through the window and shot the girl. I saw a figure of a man with a handgun," she told the Northern Echo.
"It's all very shocking as there are a lot of old age pensioners around here and you don't expect this to happen."
Another local resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "I didn't see it happen but I heard a few loud bangs that must have been gun shots.
"There was a police helicopter hovering around for a long time.
"It's a really quiet area, it's residential you know, so it's a total shock."
Emergency services called to the scene discovered the man, understood to be Miss Stobbart's current partner, lying on a grassy area opposite the house in Scafell, Birtley, near Gateshead.
He is believed to have been in his late 20s or early 30s. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Det Supt Steve Howes, who is leading the investigation, said of yesterday's shootings: "I would like to stress that this is not a random attack and that the people involved are all known to each other.
"We believe the offender targeted his victims because of a grudge he held against them."
A large number of officers, including specialist firearms officers, were working on the case.
The man's precise cause of death has yet to be established but police said the couple suffered injuries "believed to be consistent with a gunshot wound".
A post-mortem examination on the dead man was taking place.
Miss Stobbart's relatives told The Sunday Telegraph the 22-year-old had been in an on-off relationship with Moat for six years.
And they said the trainee hairdresser, who has a three-year-old daughter Chanel, was shot twice.
She is now in a critical condition in hospital where she was said to be under armed police guard.
Her half-sister Kelly Stobbart told the News of the World that family members were warned she may not survive.
"We don't think she'll make it," the 27-year-old said. "She's been shot in the chest and stomach, her body's been ripped apart.
"She is on a life-support machine and is critical. The hospital have told us to expect the worst."
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/7870875/Policeman-shot-by-gunman-on-the-run-after-murder.html
Chopped to death trying to 'fight for his family'
July 4, 2010
A SYDNEY security guard's connections to members of an outlaw motorcycle gang are being examined by detectives investigating his machete murder.
Liverpool police commander Superintendent Gary Worboys said ''butchered'' was the only way to describe the wounds suffered by Kesley Burgess, 25, during a home invasion at Lurnea in Sydney's south-west.
Four men in dark clothing used machetes and axes to chop into Mr Burgess's wrists and ankles.
''His left wrist was all but amputated,'' Superintendent Worboys said yesterday.
The intruders broke down the front door of the house in Clingan Avenue about 11.45pm on Thursday, shortly after Mr Burgess's brother Jacob had left to celebrate his 20th birthday with friends.
Inside the house with Mr Burgess, who died from his injuries in Liverpool Hospital on Friday night, were his 25-year-old girlfriend, Krysty, his mother, Tracy White, 47, and her partner Gary, 56.
Mrs White returned to the crime scene yesterday with relatives.
Reeling from the blood-soaked scene inside, the family swiftly gathered some clothes then headed off in search of a motel.
Before leaving, the family ushered The Sun-Herald inside and Mr Burgess's eldest brother Terence asked: ''Have you ever seen anything like this? Kesley was just trying to protect his family and they chopped him to pieces.''
Shedding further light on the incident, he said: ''My mother's partner Gary went to the door, thinking it was our youngest brother who'd probably forgotten his key. As he went to answer, this bloke has kicked it, knocking Gary out cold.''
He added: ''They've then gone down the hallway towards the bedroom and mum's come out. Straight away, one of them had a swing at her with a machete, which fortunately just scraped her hand.
''Kesley pushed mum and his girlfriend into the bedroom. He knew they were in danger - he wanted to protect his family and so he's tried to fight these people off … He never stood a chance. They were savages. As far as I know, our family have no idea who any of them are.''
Superintendent Worboys said the attackers, described as Pacific Islander in appearance, made threats as they inflicted the wounds on Mr Burgess.
Keith Burgess, Kesley's grandfather, said his dead grandson was ''a quiet boy'' who had previously worked as a security guard at a hotel known as a haunt for bikies.
Superintendent Worboys confirmed police were looking at bikie connections. But police have also refused to rule out links with two other home invasions in the area, one at Warwick Farm the same night and another at Green Valley earlier in the week.
Last Sunday three men armed with a pistol and an axe terrorised seven people during an 11pm home invasion at Cabramatta during which a woman, 65, was tied up and a man, 30, was kicked in the head.
Motorcyclist killed at Chain Valley Bay – Central Coast
Sunday, 04 Jul 2010 01:29am
Police are investigating the cause of a fatal motorcycle crash at Chain Valley Bay on the state’s Central Coast.
Just after 4pm yesterday, a 25-year-old man from Chain Valley Bay was riding his Honda CRF 250F north-west along Tall Timbers Road.
Another motorist has told police they saw the trail bike overtake them and perform a ‘wheelie’ at high speed.
Police from the Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command were told the rider apparently lost control as he lowered the front wheel and the motorbike left the roadway.
The rider was thrown from the motorcycle and struck a power pole, dying instantly. The motorcycle was unregistered and the rider did not hold a motorcycle licence.
Police arrived and diverted traffic around the crash scene.
Investigations into the crash are continuing and a brief will be provided to the Coroner.
From: http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/media_release_archive?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmViaXoucG9saWNlLm5zdy5nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjEyMDMwLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE%3D
Police are investigating the cause of a fatal motorcycle crash at Chain Valley Bay on the state’s Central Coast.
Just after 4pm yesterday, a 25-year-old man from Chain Valley Bay was riding his Honda CRF 250F north-west along Tall Timbers Road.
Another motorist has told police they saw the trail bike overtake them and perform a ‘wheelie’ at high speed.
Police from the Tuggerah Lakes Local Area Command were told the rider apparently lost control as he lowered the front wheel and the motorbike left the roadway.
The rider was thrown from the motorcycle and struck a power pole, dying instantly. The motorcycle was unregistered and the rider did not hold a motorcycle licence.
Police arrived and diverted traffic around the crash scene.
Investigations into the crash are continuing and a brief will be provided to the Coroner.
From: http://www.police.nsw.gov.au/news/media_release_archive?sq_content_src=%2BdXJsPWh0dHBzJTNBJTJGJTJGd3d3LmViaXoucG9saWNlLm5zdy5nb3YuYXUlMkZtZWRpYSUyRjEyMDMwLmh0bWwmYWxsPTE%3D
Think You're Operating on Free Will? Think Again
By Eben Harrell Friday, Jul. 02, 2010
Studies have found that upon entering an office, people behave more competitively when they see a sharp leather briefcase on the desk, they talk more softly when there is a picture of a library on the wall, and they keep their desk tidier when there is a vague scent of cleaning agent in the air. But none of them are consciously aware of the influence of their environment.
There may be few things more fundamental to human identity than the belief that people are rational individuals whose behavior is determined by conscious choices. But recently psychologists have compiled an impressive body of research that shows how deeply our decisions and behavior are influenced by unconscious thought, and how greatly those thoughts are swayed by stimuli beyond our immediate comprehension.
In an intriguing review in the July 2 edition of the journal Science, published online Thursday, Ruud Custers and Henk Aarts of Utrecht University in the Netherlands lay out the mounting evidence of the power of what they term the "unconscious will." "People often act in order to realize desired outcomes, and they assume that consciousness drives that behavior. But the field now challenges the idea that there is only a conscious will. Our actions are very often initiated even though we are unaware of what we are seeking or why," Custers says.
It is not only that people's actions can be influenced by unconscious stimuli; our desires can be too. In one study cited by Custers and Aarts, students were presented with words on a screen related to puzzles — crosswords, jigsaw piece, etc. For some students, the screen also flashed an additional set of words so briefly that they could only be detected subliminally. The words were ones with positive associations, such as beach, friend or home. When the students were given a puzzle to complete, the students exposed unconsciously to positive words worked harder, for longer, and reported greater motivation to do puzzles than the control group.
The same priming technique has also been used to prompt people to drink more fluids after being subliminally exposed to drinking-related words, and to offer constructive feedback to other people after sitting in front of a screen that subliminally flashes the names of their loved ones or occupations associated with caring like nurse. In other words, we are often not even consciously aware of why we want what we want.
John Bargh of Yale University, who 10 years ago predicted many of the findings discussed by Custers and Aarts in a paper entitled "The Unbearable Automaticity of Being," called the Science paper a "landmark — nothing like this has been in Science before. It's a large step toward overcoming the skepticism surrounding this research."
But Bargh says the field has actually moved beyond the use of subliminal techniques, and studies show that unconscious processes can even be influenced by stimuli within the realms of consciousness, often in unexpected ways. For instance, his own work has shown that people sitting in hard chairs are more likely to be more rigid in negotiating the sales price of a new car, they tend to judge others as more generous and caring after they hold a warm cup of coffee rather than a cold drink, and they evaluate job candidates as more serious when they review their résumés on a heavy clipboard rather than a light one.
"These are stimuli that people are conscious of — you can feel the hard chair, the hot coffee — but were unaware that it influenced them. Our unconscious is active in many more ways than this review suggests," he says.
Custers says his work demonstrates that subliminal-advertising techniques —which some countries have outlawed — can be effective. But he says people concerned about being unconsciously manipulated "should be much more scared of commercials they can see, rather than those they can't see." Many soda commercials, he says by way of example, show the drink with positive-reward cues such as friends or beaches. "If you are exposed to these advertisements over and over again, it does create an association in your mind, and your unconscious is more likely to suddenly decide you want a Coke," he says.
But he also says that, at least when it comes to unhealthy food, policymakers are beginning to understand that "personal choice" may be a weak counter to heavy advertising. "We are starting to talk about 'toxic environments' with food and to understand how easy it is to mindlessly reach for a bag of potato chips. Removing such stimuli from the environment can be very effective," he says.
Both Custers and Bargh acknowledge that their research undermines a fundamental principle used to promote human exceptionalism — indeed, Bargh has in the past argued that his work undermines the existence of free will. But Custers also points out that his conclusions are not new: people have long sensed that they are influenced by forces beyond their immediate recognition — be it Greek gods or Freud's unruly id. What's more, the unconscious will is vital for daily functioning and probably evolved before consciousness as a handy survival mechanism — Bargh calls it "the evolutionary foundation upon which the scaffolding of consciousness is built." Life requires so many decisions, Bargh says, "that we would be swiftly overwhelmed if we did not have the automatic processes to deal with them."
For his part, Custers says that it is true that our conscious selves are sometimes voyagers on a vessel of which they have little control, but he does not see this as a cause for helplessness. "We have to trust that our unconscious sense of what we want and what is good for us is strong, and will lead us largely in the right direction."
From: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2000994,00.html#ixzz0sdTFfUhi
Studies have found that upon entering an office, people behave more competitively when they see a sharp leather briefcase on the desk, they talk more softly when there is a picture of a library on the wall, and they keep their desk tidier when there is a vague scent of cleaning agent in the air. But none of them are consciously aware of the influence of their environment.
There may be few things more fundamental to human identity than the belief that people are rational individuals whose behavior is determined by conscious choices. But recently psychologists have compiled an impressive body of research that shows how deeply our decisions and behavior are influenced by unconscious thought, and how greatly those thoughts are swayed by stimuli beyond our immediate comprehension.
In an intriguing review in the July 2 edition of the journal Science, published online Thursday, Ruud Custers and Henk Aarts of Utrecht University in the Netherlands lay out the mounting evidence of the power of what they term the "unconscious will." "People often act in order to realize desired outcomes, and they assume that consciousness drives that behavior. But the field now challenges the idea that there is only a conscious will. Our actions are very often initiated even though we are unaware of what we are seeking or why," Custers says.
It is not only that people's actions can be influenced by unconscious stimuli; our desires can be too. In one study cited by Custers and Aarts, students were presented with words on a screen related to puzzles — crosswords, jigsaw piece, etc. For some students, the screen also flashed an additional set of words so briefly that they could only be detected subliminally. The words were ones with positive associations, such as beach, friend or home. When the students were given a puzzle to complete, the students exposed unconsciously to positive words worked harder, for longer, and reported greater motivation to do puzzles than the control group.
The same priming technique has also been used to prompt people to drink more fluids after being subliminally exposed to drinking-related words, and to offer constructive feedback to other people after sitting in front of a screen that subliminally flashes the names of their loved ones or occupations associated with caring like nurse. In other words, we are often not even consciously aware of why we want what we want.
John Bargh of Yale University, who 10 years ago predicted many of the findings discussed by Custers and Aarts in a paper entitled "The Unbearable Automaticity of Being," called the Science paper a "landmark — nothing like this has been in Science before. It's a large step toward overcoming the skepticism surrounding this research."
But Bargh says the field has actually moved beyond the use of subliminal techniques, and studies show that unconscious processes can even be influenced by stimuli within the realms of consciousness, often in unexpected ways. For instance, his own work has shown that people sitting in hard chairs are more likely to be more rigid in negotiating the sales price of a new car, they tend to judge others as more generous and caring after they hold a warm cup of coffee rather than a cold drink, and they evaluate job candidates as more serious when they review their résumés on a heavy clipboard rather than a light one.
"These are stimuli that people are conscious of — you can feel the hard chair, the hot coffee — but were unaware that it influenced them. Our unconscious is active in many more ways than this review suggests," he says.
Custers says his work demonstrates that subliminal-advertising techniques —which some countries have outlawed — can be effective. But he says people concerned about being unconsciously manipulated "should be much more scared of commercials they can see, rather than those they can't see." Many soda commercials, he says by way of example, show the drink with positive-reward cues such as friends or beaches. "If you are exposed to these advertisements over and over again, it does create an association in your mind, and your unconscious is more likely to suddenly decide you want a Coke," he says.
But he also says that, at least when it comes to unhealthy food, policymakers are beginning to understand that "personal choice" may be a weak counter to heavy advertising. "We are starting to talk about 'toxic environments' with food and to understand how easy it is to mindlessly reach for a bag of potato chips. Removing such stimuli from the environment can be very effective," he says.
Both Custers and Bargh acknowledge that their research undermines a fundamental principle used to promote human exceptionalism — indeed, Bargh has in the past argued that his work undermines the existence of free will. But Custers also points out that his conclusions are not new: people have long sensed that they are influenced by forces beyond their immediate recognition — be it Greek gods or Freud's unruly id. What's more, the unconscious will is vital for daily functioning and probably evolved before consciousness as a handy survival mechanism — Bargh calls it "the evolutionary foundation upon which the scaffolding of consciousness is built." Life requires so many decisions, Bargh says, "that we would be swiftly overwhelmed if we did not have the automatic processes to deal with them."
For his part, Custers says that it is true that our conscious selves are sometimes voyagers on a vessel of which they have little control, but he does not see this as a cause for helplessness. "We have to trust that our unconscious sense of what we want and what is good for us is strong, and will lead us largely in the right direction."
From: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2000994,00.html#ixzz0sdTFfUhi
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Mum 'let paedophile wash her daughters'
11:05am Wednesday 30th June 2010
AN AMMANFORD woman has been accused of allowing a convicted paedophile to bathe her two daughters and put them to bed.
The man went on to sexually abuse them even though she had been warned by police and social services that he was a danger to them.
The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, has admitted cruelty to the girls by exposing them to danger.
But she denies an accusation by the prosecution at Swansea crown court that she also ignored the girls themselves when they told her they were being abused.
Judge Huw Davies has said it was an important issue and would affect the sentence she will receive.
A "trial of issue," known as a Newton hearing, is now underway after which Judge Davies will decide the mother's true degree of guilt.
Paul Hobson, prosecuting, said the man had criminal convictions for sexuall assaulting children. When it became known that he was in regular contact with the woman both the police and social services became worried that his real interest was in her daughters.
Mr Hobson said the man began baby sitting the girls when their mother went out, bathed them, took them out on day trips and showered them.
The mother allowed the contact to continue "in the face of clear warnings" from the police and social services that he might try to "groom" them for sexual purposes.
When he was eventually arrested he admitted sexually abusing them over a 12 month period and was sentenced to an indefinite number of years in jail "for public protection."
Mr Hobson said the mother was even told by her children they were being abused "but she was too busy with her boyfriend and did not listen."
He said that at the time of the visit by police and a social worker the woman had assured them she told them the man did not visit their home.
The girls were giving evidence to the hearing yesterday (Tuesday).
From: http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/8246344.Mum__let_paedophile_wash_her_daughters_/
AN AMMANFORD woman has been accused of allowing a convicted paedophile to bathe her two daughters and put them to bed.
The man went on to sexually abuse them even though she had been warned by police and social services that he was a danger to them.
The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the children, has admitted cruelty to the girls by exposing them to danger.
But she denies an accusation by the prosecution at Swansea crown court that she also ignored the girls themselves when they told her they were being abused.
Judge Huw Davies has said it was an important issue and would affect the sentence she will receive.
A "trial of issue," known as a Newton hearing, is now underway after which Judge Davies will decide the mother's true degree of guilt.
Paul Hobson, prosecuting, said the man had criminal convictions for sexuall assaulting children. When it became known that he was in regular contact with the woman both the police and social services became worried that his real interest was in her daughters.
Mr Hobson said the man began baby sitting the girls when their mother went out, bathed them, took them out on day trips and showered them.
The mother allowed the contact to continue "in the face of clear warnings" from the police and social services that he might try to "groom" them for sexual purposes.
When he was eventually arrested he admitted sexually abusing them over a 12 month period and was sentenced to an indefinite number of years in jail "for public protection."
Mr Hobson said the mother was even told by her children they were being abused "but she was too busy with her boyfriend and did not listen."
He said that at the time of the visit by police and a social worker the woman had assured them she told them the man did not visit their home.
The girls were giving evidence to the hearing yesterday (Tuesday).
From: http://www.southwalesguardian.co.uk/news/8246344.Mum__let_paedophile_wash_her_daughters_/
Boy saw brother killed years ago; now he's a convicted murderer himself
Friday, Jul. 02, 2010
The Associated Press
CHICAGO -- Derrick Lemon was 9 years old when he testified to how he tried to save his younger brother from two boys who eventually tossed him from a 14th-floor window of a shuttered high-rise.
Now 23 years old, Lemon on Thursday was back in the same courthouse. This time he was being found guilty of murdering his aunt's 40-year-old boyfriend, Illya Glover, on March 1, 2006. Glover was shot to death as he tried to stop Lemon from choking the woman during a family barbecue.
According to prosecutors, Lemon attacked his aunt when she asked him to leave the residence during an argument.
Lemon's brother, 5-year-old Eric Morse, was dropped from a Chicago Public Housing building in 1994. Prosecutors said two boys, a 10- and an 11-year-old, killed the boy because he refused to steal candy for them.
From: http://www.bnd.com/2010/07/02/1316330/boy-who-saw-brother-murdered-convicted.html
The Associated Press
CHICAGO -- Derrick Lemon was 9 years old when he testified to how he tried to save his younger brother from two boys who eventually tossed him from a 14th-floor window of a shuttered high-rise.
Now 23 years old, Lemon on Thursday was back in the same courthouse. This time he was being found guilty of murdering his aunt's 40-year-old boyfriend, Illya Glover, on March 1, 2006. Glover was shot to death as he tried to stop Lemon from choking the woman during a family barbecue.
According to prosecutors, Lemon attacked his aunt when she asked him to leave the residence during an argument.
Lemon's brother, 5-year-old Eric Morse, was dropped from a Chicago Public Housing building in 1994. Prosecutors said two boys, a 10- and an 11-year-old, killed the boy because he refused to steal candy for them.
From: http://www.bnd.com/2010/07/02/1316330/boy-who-saw-brother-murdered-convicted.html
Web Site Keeping Tabs on the Country's 'Bad' Teachers
Updated: Jul 03, 2010 5:14 AM
By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9
OKLAHOMA CITY -- There's a new Web site putting a spotlight on so-called "bad teachers."
It's called Bad Bad Teacher, and it's a one-stop shop for stories of sex scandals from public and private schools across the nation. The site calls it the "dark side of teacher-student relations," and it features at least 53 Oklahoma teachers and faculty members accused of inappropriate conduct.
The most recent Oklahoma entry included Robert Yerton Jr., a 41-year old assistant principal in Tulsa who is accused of sexually abusing kids.
Professor Liz Willner at Oklahoma City University gave some insight in to the Web site.
"We need to counsel some people out of the teaching profession. Just because you want to be a teacher, doesn't mean you should be a teacher," Willner said.
Like many schools, at OCU ethics and morals are discussed in classroom management courses for all future educators.
There's also a follow-up process OCU offers for first-year teachers, but after that they're on their own, and Professor Willner said correcting 'that' may be the first step in preventing what is being reported on BadBadTeacher.com.
"Sometimes you'll hear stories about what a certain teacher has done and then you'll hear back stories about this has been going on," Willner said. "This needs to be corrected much sooner, and that means the colleagues of this teacher and the administrator of this teacher need to be observing and catching things before they get to that point."
NEWS 9 has attempted to reach the editors of the site, but they have not returned a request for an interview.
There is a disclaimer on the Web site that states all those featured on the site are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law.
From: http://www.news9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12749975
Gospels don't say Jesus was crucified, scholar claims
Update July 2 8:04 a.m.
After this article posted Gunnar Samuelsson got in touch to stress that his research focuses specifically on the narratives of Jesus's execution in the four Gospels, not on the entire New Testament, so "Gospels" has been substituted for "Bible" in the headline.
There have been plenty of attacks on Christianity over the years, but few claims have been more surprising than one advanced by an obscure Swedish scholar this spring.
The Gospels do not say Jesus was crucified, Gunnar Samuelsson says.
In fact, he argues, in the original Greek, the ancient texts reveal only that Jesus carried "some kind of torture or execution device" to a hill where "he was suspended" and died, says Samuelsson, who is an evangelical pastor as well as a New Testament scholar.
"When we say crucifixion, we think about Mel Gibson's 'Passion.' We think about a church, nails, the crown of thorns," he says, referring to Gibson's 2004 film, "The Passion of the Christ."
"We are loaded with pictures of this well-defined punishment called crucifixion - and that is the problem," he says.
Samuelsson bases his claim on studying 900 years' worth of ancient texts in the original languages - Hebrew, Latin and Greek, which is the language of the New Testament.
He spent three years reading for 12 hours a day, he says, and he noticed that the critical word normally translated as "crucify" doesn't necessarily mean that.
"He was handed over to be 'stauroun,'" Samuelsson says of Jesus, lapsing into Biblical Greek to make his point.
At the time the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were writing their Gospels, that word simply meant "suspended," the theologian argues.
"This word is used in a much wider sense than 'crucifixion,'" he says. "It refers to hanging, to suspending vines in a vineyard," or to any type of suspension.
"He was required to carry his 'stauros' to Calvary, and they 'stauroun' him. That is all. He carried some kind of torture or execution device to Calvary and he was suspended and he died," Samuelsson says.
Not everyone is convinced by his research. Garry Wills, the author of "What Jesus Meant," "What Paul Meant," and "What the Gospels Meant," dismisses it as "silliness."
"The verb is stauresthai from stauros, cross," Wills said.
Samuelsson wants to be very clear about what he is saying and what he is not saying.
Most importantly, he says, he is not claiming Jesus was not crucified - only that the Gospels do not say he was.
"I am a pastor, a conservative evangelical pastor, a Christian," he is at pains to point out. "I do believe that Jesus died the way we thought he died. He died on the cross."
But, he insists, it is tradition that tells Christians that, not the first four books of the New Testament.
"I tried to read the text as it is, to read the word of God as it stands in our texts," he says - what he calls "reading on the lines, not reading between the lines."
Samuelsson says he didn't set out to undermine one of the most basic tenets of Christianity.
He was working on a dissertation at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden when he noticed a problem with a major book about the history of crucifixion before Jesus.
What was normally thought to be the first description of a crucifixion - by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus - wasn't a crucifixion at all, but the suspension of a corpse, Samuelsson found by reading the original Greek.
The next example in the book about crucifixion wasn't a crucifixion either, but the impaling of a hand.
Samuelsson's doctoral advisor thought his student might be on to something.
"He recommended I scan all the texts, from Homer up to the first century - 900 years of crucifixion texts," Samuelsson recalled, calling it "a huge amount of work."
But, he says, "I love ancient texts. They just consume me." So he started reading.
He found very little evidence of crucifixion as a method of execution, though he did find corpses being suspended, people being hanged from trees, and more gruesome methods of execution such as impaling people by the belly or rectum.
The same Greek word was used to refer to all the different practices, he found.
That's what led him to doubt that the Gospels specify that Jesus was crucified.
At the time they were written, "there is no word in Greek, Latin, Aramaic or Hebrew that means crucifixion in the sense that we think of it," he says.
It's only after the death of Jesus - and because of the death of Jesus - that the Greek word "stauroun" comes specifically to mean executing a person on the cross, he argues.
He admits, of course, that the most likely reason early Christians though Jesus was crucified is that, in fact, he was.
But he says his research still has significant implications for historians, linguists and the Christian faithful.
For starters, "if my observations are correct, every book on the history of Jesus will need to be rewritten," as will the standard dictionaries of Biblical Greek, he says.
More profoundly, his research "ought to make Christians a bit more humble," he says.
"We fight against each other," he reflects, but "the theological stances that keep churches apart are founded on things that we find between the lines.
"We have put a lot of things in the Bible that weren't there in the beginning that keep us apart. We need to get down on our knees as Christians together and read the Bible."
From: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/01/bible-doesnt-say-jesus-was-crucified-scholar-claims/?hpt=C2
After this article posted Gunnar Samuelsson got in touch to stress that his research focuses specifically on the narratives of Jesus's execution in the four Gospels, not on the entire New Testament, so "Gospels" has been substituted for "Bible" in the headline.
There have been plenty of attacks on Christianity over the years, but few claims have been more surprising than one advanced by an obscure Swedish scholar this spring.
The Gospels do not say Jesus was crucified, Gunnar Samuelsson says.
In fact, he argues, in the original Greek, the ancient texts reveal only that Jesus carried "some kind of torture or execution device" to a hill where "he was suspended" and died, says Samuelsson, who is an evangelical pastor as well as a New Testament scholar.
"When we say crucifixion, we think about Mel Gibson's 'Passion.' We think about a church, nails, the crown of thorns," he says, referring to Gibson's 2004 film, "The Passion of the Christ."
"We are loaded with pictures of this well-defined punishment called crucifixion - and that is the problem," he says.
Samuelsson bases his claim on studying 900 years' worth of ancient texts in the original languages - Hebrew, Latin and Greek, which is the language of the New Testament.
He spent three years reading for 12 hours a day, he says, and he noticed that the critical word normally translated as "crucify" doesn't necessarily mean that.
"He was handed over to be 'stauroun,'" Samuelsson says of Jesus, lapsing into Biblical Greek to make his point.
At the time the apostles Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were writing their Gospels, that word simply meant "suspended," the theologian argues.
"This word is used in a much wider sense than 'crucifixion,'" he says. "It refers to hanging, to suspending vines in a vineyard," or to any type of suspension.
"He was required to carry his 'stauros' to Calvary, and they 'stauroun' him. That is all. He carried some kind of torture or execution device to Calvary and he was suspended and he died," Samuelsson says.
Not everyone is convinced by his research. Garry Wills, the author of "What Jesus Meant," "What Paul Meant," and "What the Gospels Meant," dismisses it as "silliness."
"The verb is stauresthai from stauros, cross," Wills said.
Samuelsson wants to be very clear about what he is saying and what he is not saying.
Most importantly, he says, he is not claiming Jesus was not crucified - only that the Gospels do not say he was.
"I am a pastor, a conservative evangelical pastor, a Christian," he is at pains to point out. "I do believe that Jesus died the way we thought he died. He died on the cross."
But, he insists, it is tradition that tells Christians that, not the first four books of the New Testament.
"I tried to read the text as it is, to read the word of God as it stands in our texts," he says - what he calls "reading on the lines, not reading between the lines."
Samuelsson says he didn't set out to undermine one of the most basic tenets of Christianity.
He was working on a dissertation at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden when he noticed a problem with a major book about the history of crucifixion before Jesus.
What was normally thought to be the first description of a crucifixion - by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus - wasn't a crucifixion at all, but the suspension of a corpse, Samuelsson found by reading the original Greek.
The next example in the book about crucifixion wasn't a crucifixion either, but the impaling of a hand.
Samuelsson's doctoral advisor thought his student might be on to something.
"He recommended I scan all the texts, from Homer up to the first century - 900 years of crucifixion texts," Samuelsson recalled, calling it "a huge amount of work."
But, he says, "I love ancient texts. They just consume me." So he started reading.
He found very little evidence of crucifixion as a method of execution, though he did find corpses being suspended, people being hanged from trees, and more gruesome methods of execution such as impaling people by the belly or rectum.
The same Greek word was used to refer to all the different practices, he found.
That's what led him to doubt that the Gospels specify that Jesus was crucified.
At the time they were written, "there is no word in Greek, Latin, Aramaic or Hebrew that means crucifixion in the sense that we think of it," he says.
It's only after the death of Jesus - and because of the death of Jesus - that the Greek word "stauroun" comes specifically to mean executing a person on the cross, he argues.
He admits, of course, that the most likely reason early Christians though Jesus was crucified is that, in fact, he was.
But he says his research still has significant implications for historians, linguists and the Christian faithful.
For starters, "if my observations are correct, every book on the history of Jesus will need to be rewritten," as will the standard dictionaries of Biblical Greek, he says.
More profoundly, his research "ought to make Christians a bit more humble," he says.
"We fight against each other," he reflects, but "the theological stances that keep churches apart are founded on things that we find between the lines.
"We have put a lot of things in the Bible that weren't there in the beginning that keep us apart. We need to get down on our knees as Christians together and read the Bible."
From: http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/01/bible-doesnt-say-jesus-was-crucified-scholar-claims/?hpt=C2
Jesus Christ 'appears' on a drainpipe in Coventry
Is this the Second Plumbing? We're guessing not, but the face of Jesus has apparently appeared on a drainpipe... in Coventry.
- 30th June, 2010
We all know that the Lord likes to make his presence felt, be it on a naan bread, in a chip pan or even on Google maps, but now it seems he's taken to the drainpipes of suburbia as well.
Nurse Alex Cotton, 38, returned home from a football match with friends when the holy son decided to make his entrance. While chatting in the garden, eagle-eyed Cotton noticed the mysterious smudge, noticing that ‘It’s got his crown of thorns and beard,’.
We're not entirely sure it's the son of God (it's not), but talk to us after an afternoon's drinking while watching the football and we may well change our minds.
Cotton has even invited the Pope to visit the scene of Jesus' latest apparition, though we imagine his holiness will probably give this one a miss on his next tour of the UK.
From: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/833465-is-this-jesus-christ-on-a-drainpipe-in-coventry
We all know that the Lord likes to make his presence felt, be it on a naan bread, in a chip pan or even on Google maps, but now it seems he's taken to the drainpipes of suburbia as well.
Nurse Alex Cotton, 38, returned home from a football match with friends when the holy son decided to make his entrance. While chatting in the garden, eagle-eyed Cotton noticed the mysterious smudge, noticing that ‘It’s got his crown of thorns and beard,’.
We're not entirely sure it's the son of God (it's not), but talk to us after an afternoon's drinking while watching the football and we may well change our minds.
Cotton has even invited the Pope to visit the scene of Jesus' latest apparition, though we imagine his holiness will probably give this one a miss on his next tour of the UK.
From: http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/833465-is-this-jesus-christ-on-a-drainpipe-in-coventry
Friday, July 2, 2010
Tom Waits - Chocolate Jesus
Words:
Don't go to church on Sunday
Don't get on my knees to pray
Don't memorize the books of the Bible
I got my own special way
I know Jesus loves me
Maybe just a little bit more
I fall down on my knees every Sunday
At Zerelda Lee's candy store
Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Make me feel good inside
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Keep me satisfied
Well I don't want no Abba Zabba
Don't want no Almond Joy
There ain't nothing better
Suitable for this boy
Well it's the only thing
That can pick me up
Better than a cup of gold
See only a chocolate Jesus
Can satisfy my soul
(Solo)
When the weather gets rough
And it's whiskey in the shade
It's best to wrap your savior
Up in cellophane
He flows like the big muddy
But that's ok
Pour him over ice cream
For a nice parfait
Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Good enough for me
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Good enough for me
Well it's got to be a chocolate Jesus
Make me feel good inside
Got to be a chocolate Jesus
Keep me satisfied
Winnipeg teen not guilty in random killing
Last Updated: Thursday, July 1, 2010 | 5:48 PM CST
CBC News
A young Winnipeg man has been found not guilty of taking part in the random beating that killed Audrey Cooper on a city street almost four years ago.
Jurors reached the verdict late Wednesday night.
Audrey Cooper, 34, was beaten, stripped naked and urinated on when she was swarmed by a group of youths, who tossed loose change on her after the attack.
The youths, who included three girls, were upset Cooper didn't give them a cigarette when they walked by her home on Spence Street in October 2006, court was told.
The 19-year-old man acquitted Wednesday can't be named because he was only 15 at the time of the slaying. He claimed he was a bystander to the attack and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
Three girls — one 12 years old at the time, and two who were 14 — have already admitted their roles in the fatal beating.
The youngest pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in exchange for her testimony against the man. She got the maximum youth sentence of two years in custody and one year of community supervision.
The two other girls pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were given the maximum youth sentence of four years in custody and three years of community supervision.
Court was told at the girls' sentencing that Cooper suffered a brain hemorrhage and ruptured organs during the attack, which police described as completely random.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/07/01/mb-audrey-cooper-man-acquitted.html
CBC News
A young Winnipeg man has been found not guilty of taking part in the random beating that killed Audrey Cooper on a city street almost four years ago.
Jurors reached the verdict late Wednesday night.
Audrey Cooper, 34, was beaten, stripped naked and urinated on when she was swarmed by a group of youths, who tossed loose change on her after the attack.
The youths, who included three girls, were upset Cooper didn't give them a cigarette when they walked by her home on Spence Street in October 2006, court was told.
The 19-year-old man acquitted Wednesday can't be named because he was only 15 at the time of the slaying. He claimed he was a bystander to the attack and pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder.
Three girls — one 12 years old at the time, and two who were 14 — have already admitted their roles in the fatal beating.
The youngest pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in exchange for her testimony against the man. She got the maximum youth sentence of two years in custody and one year of community supervision.
The two other girls pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and were given the maximum youth sentence of four years in custody and three years of community supervision.
Court was told at the girls' sentencing that Cooper suffered a brain hemorrhage and ruptured organs during the attack, which police described as completely random.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/manitoba/story/2010/07/01/mb-audrey-cooper-man-acquitted.html
Colorado woman blames vampire for crash
Denver Post
Posted: 06/30/2010 12:28:22 PM MDT
A woman told state troopers she was fleeing a vampire when she ran her sport-utility vehicle into a canal in Mesa County, Colorado, Sunday night, KKCO television station in Grand Junction reported.
The woman, whose name was not released, told a trooper she was traveling alone about 9:25 p.m. on a dirt road near Fruita when she came upon the vampire, threw her vehicle in reverse and ran off the road. The SUV came to rest on its passenger side.
She was not injured, and since neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected she was not charged, according to the State Patrol.
The station reported today that she might not have taken some medicine the day of the incident. Her husband arrived soon after the wreck and took her home, KKCO reported.
The incident comes amid the hype surrounding the latest "Twilight" vampire-romance movie is released today.
Colorado has a number of vampire-related interest groups, including "vampire-friendly bars and clubs" in Denver and Colorado Springs, according to an Internet search.
From: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15409251?source=most_viewed
Posted: 06/30/2010 12:28:22 PM MDT
A woman told state troopers she was fleeing a vampire when she ran her sport-utility vehicle into a canal in Mesa County, Colorado, Sunday night, KKCO television station in Grand Junction reported.
The woman, whose name was not released, told a trooper she was traveling alone about 9:25 p.m. on a dirt road near Fruita when she came upon the vampire, threw her vehicle in reverse and ran off the road. The SUV came to rest on its passenger side.
She was not injured, and since neither drugs nor alcohol were suspected she was not charged, according to the State Patrol.
The station reported today that she might not have taken some medicine the day of the incident. Her husband arrived soon after the wreck and took her home, KKCO reported.
The incident comes amid the hype surrounding the latest "Twilight" vampire-romance movie is released today.
Colorado has a number of vampire-related interest groups, including "vampire-friendly bars and clubs" in Denver and Colorado Springs, according to an Internet search.
From: http://www.elpasotimes.com/ci_15409251?source=most_viewed
Gun fanatic lured stranger to isolated station then shot him in the head for the 'thrill of it'
Last updated at 1:23 AM on 2nd July 2010
Wielding two guns and gripping a cigar between his teeth, this is the cold-blooded killer who murdered a father-of-three for fun.
Colin Cheetham, 61, executed taxi driver Stuart Ludlam at point blank range simply for the ‘thrill’ of it.
He lured Mr Ludlam, 43, to an isolated train station before firing at him through the rear windscreen, hitting him in the head and injuring him.
Cheetham – who had an unhealthy ‘fascination’ with guns – then marched his victim round to the back of the cab and forced him to kneel in the boot before shooting him in the head execution-style.
Mr Ludlam’s body was found by horrified holidaymakers who saw his lifeless arm hanging out of the car with the engine still running.
The court heard the attack was over in minutes. The victim’s family and members of the jury wept as Nottingham Crown Court heard how Cheetham had spent weeks plotting the murder.
The former gun club member compiled a photo scrapbook of four potential murder sites – all isolated railway stations – and train timetables to work out the best time and place to commit his crime.
Cheetham, who held a firearms licence, had even photographed an advert for the taxi firm he would pick his victim from.
He then bought a pay-as-you-go mobile phone to order Mr Ludlam’s cab from Cromford station, near Matlock, Derbyshire, in September last year.
Police were initially baffled by the killing but they eventually caught Cheetham after they traced the mobile phone that was used to call Mr Ludlam’s taxi.
Cheetham had paid for the phone in cash in an attempt to cover his tracks but bought a top-up card for the phone with his credit card allowing police to find him.
He maintained that he was innocent, claiming that an acquaintance had killed Mr Ludlam on September 17 last year.
But a jury found him guilty of murder and he was given life.
Sentencing him to 30 years in jail, Mr Justice Alistair MacDuff branded 27-stone Cheetham ‘evil’.
He said: ‘You decided to execute a man for your own pleasure and gratification.
‘Any man. There was no motive except your own enjoyment. How chilling that you were prepared to put to death a person you had never met.’
Peter Joyce QC, prosecuting, said: ‘He had no knowledge of Mr Ludlam but he had a fascination with taxis and a fascination with guns and Mr Ludlam was just the unlucky man with whom this fascination ended.’
He said Cheetham appeared to have no motive other than the desire to shoot a ‘complete stranger’.
Neighbours described Cheetham as a ‘loner’ and said his wife Jennifer had not been seen in 20 years.
Their house in Ripley, Derbyshire was so cluttered, they both had to live in rooms downstairs.
When police raided it they found the images of train stations and timetables as well as bottles of urine.
Cheetham took photographs of himself carrying his guns at his shooting club.
The former technical director at a dye firm testing textiles for companies such as M&S, Cheetham was forced to take early retirement because of illness.
He suffers from diabetes, arthritis and high blood pressure.
Det Chief Superintendent Tony Blockley said: ‘He had almost committed the perfect murder because he had covered his tracks and there were no links back to him and no witnesses.
‘We have no idea why he did it. The only person who knows the answer is Cheetham, but it looks like it was just the thrill of killing somebody.’
After the verdict, Mr Ludlam’s mother, Sheila Ludlam, said: ‘Nothing will bring Stuart back, but it shows justice has been done.
‘He loved his children with all his heart and all he ever wanted was a little girl.
‘He got his little girl but now she has no daddy. It’s just so sad that now he won’t be able to see her grow up or get the chance to walk her down the aisle.
‘I’ve got so many memories of him and those will never leave me. Since his death it has been horrible, such a struggle for all of us.’
Cheetham, who has no previous convictions, claimed he went to the station to loan a loaded gun to a man named Geoff who wanted to teach a drug dealer a lesson.
The incident last year sent shockwaves through the whole community.
A two-minute silence was held in Matlock just over a week after Mr Ludlam’s killing and was broken only by the passionate sounding of taxi horns by the hundreds of drivers who attended.
From: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1291093/Murderer-Colin-Cheethams-chilling-photo-album.html
Southport deputy head admits encouraging child rape
Last updated at 20:43 GMT, Thursday, 1 July 2010 21:43 UK
A deputy head teacher on Merseyside has admitted encouraging another man to rape a three-year-old girl.
Patrick Lennon, 59, who taught at Greenbank High School in Southport since the 1970s, pleaded guilty to a string of sexual offences.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Lennon contacted John Hawley, 38, from Halliwell, Bolton, and Philip Skitt, of Orrell Road, Wigan over the internet.
Hawley admitted child rape and Skitt admitted encouraging sexual abuse.
Lennon, who was suspended from his post in September, and Skitt had asked Hawley to commit the rape of the child during their online conversations.
The teacher, of Warwick Avenue, Crosby, pleaded guilty to two offences of encouraging or assisting Hawley to rape a three-year-old girl.
He also admitted six counts of possessing extreme pornography and 15 counts of making indecent photographs of children.
Following Lennon's arrest, Merseyside and Greater Manchester police worked together and after trawling through computer hard drives they arrested Hawley and Skitt.
In an interview, police said Hawley told them that he raped and sexually abused a child under 13 on a number of occasions over two years and said on at least one occasion, Skitt and another man were watching on a webcam and encouraging the abuse.
A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said: "Images of him raping a child and other extreme pornography were found in his possession."
Hawley admitted three counts of raping a child under 13, three counts of sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and making indecent images of a child.
Skitt, 54, admitted to two counts of encouraging or assisting sexual abuse on the same day as Lennon. He also pleaded guilty to voyeurism and making indecent images of children.
All three will be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 3 September.
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/merseyside/10483924.stm
A deputy head teacher on Merseyside has admitted encouraging another man to rape a three-year-old girl.
Patrick Lennon, 59, who taught at Greenbank High School in Southport since the 1970s, pleaded guilty to a string of sexual offences.
Liverpool Crown Court heard that Lennon contacted John Hawley, 38, from Halliwell, Bolton, and Philip Skitt, of Orrell Road, Wigan over the internet.
Hawley admitted child rape and Skitt admitted encouraging sexual abuse.
Lennon, who was suspended from his post in September, and Skitt had asked Hawley to commit the rape of the child during their online conversations.
The teacher, of Warwick Avenue, Crosby, pleaded guilty to two offences of encouraging or assisting Hawley to rape a three-year-old girl.
He also admitted six counts of possessing extreme pornography and 15 counts of making indecent photographs of children.
Following Lennon's arrest, Merseyside and Greater Manchester police worked together and after trawling through computer hard drives they arrested Hawley and Skitt.
In an interview, police said Hawley told them that he raped and sexually abused a child under 13 on a number of occasions over two years and said on at least one occasion, Skitt and another man were watching on a webcam and encouraging the abuse.
A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said: "Images of him raping a child and other extreme pornography were found in his possession."
Hawley admitted three counts of raping a child under 13, three counts of sexual assault by penetration of a child under 13, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child and making indecent images of a child.
Skitt, 54, admitted to two counts of encouraging or assisting sexual abuse on the same day as Lennon. He also pleaded guilty to voyeurism and making indecent images of children.
All three will be sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on 3 September.
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/merseyside/10483924.stm
Huyton boy shot friend dead by mistake
A 16-year-old boy from Merseyside has been detained for five years for accidentally shooting his best friend dead as they fooled around with a gun.
Dean Eastham shot Louis O'Brien, 17, at point blank range through the heart at his Huyton home in January.
Liverpool Crown Court heard the pair had earlier taken photographs of each other posing with the revolver.
Judge Henry Globe QC said he accepted Eastham did not know the gun was loaded.
Eastham, who had been smoking cannabis with Louis and another boy, fled shortly after the shooting. His friend bled to death, the court heard.
'Gun glamour'
Eastham left his home in Hathersage Road, Huyton, dumped his clothes over a wall, hid the gun and vanished for five days before handing himself in.
Judge Globe QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, told him: "Instead of being fearful of the gun you were play-acting with it and pretending to be big.
"This was no toy, it was a real gun.
"The disturbing feature of the photographs is that they portray an element of perceived glamour derived from holding a real gun."
He added: "You did so failing to take any steps to check if it was loaded.
"You did so in circumstances where you were smoking cannabis, an unlawful activity in itself."
Defending Eastham, Nigel Power, said the killer was devastated by his best friend's death and was physically overcome when he tried to talk about it.
He said the author of Eastham's pre-sentencing report "described him as still being in mourning".
Eastham who was given an Asbo for bad behaviour just weeks before the incident, refused to tell detectives where he stashed the Ruger revolver - choosing instead to tell other Liverpool gangs where it was.
He was sentenced to five years' detention after admitting possession of a prohibited weapon, perverting the course of justice and manslaughter on the grounds of an accidental killing.
The court heard the 16-year-old had a number of past convictions, including threatening a shopkeeper with an imitation firearm.
Judge Globe said although he accepted Eastham had not realised the gun was loaded, he did not accept his version of events which suggested the two boys had "fought" over the gun seconds before the trigger was pulled.
Mr Globe added that "considerable pressure" also had to be applied to pull the revolver trigger, though he accepted that Eastham did not know it was loaded.
Louis' parents, Mark O'Brien and Shirley Spendlove, released a statement after the hearing where they said there will never be "fitting justice" for their son's death.
"It is the deepest tragedy to lose a loved one in such horrific circumstances.
"Words can't express the pain we feel and there will never be a fitting justice for our son Louis.
"His life was cruelly and prematurely taken way and our lives will never be the same."
From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/england/merseyside/10476283.stm
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Three-month-old mauled to death after being snatched by dogs
A three-month-old boy was snatched from a table where he was sleeping and mauled to death by two dogs while he was being looked after by his grandmother, an inquest heard.
Published: 3:28PM BST 25 Jun 2009
Jaden Joseph Mack was staying with his grandmother Ann Denise Wilson at her home in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales.
He died after he was pulled from his bedding on a living room table and mauled by her Staffordshire bull terrier and a Jack Russell.
Mrs Wilson had been watching a DVD when she dozed off "for a few moments" and awoke to the horrific scene.
She had been minding the baby as normal over a weekend while Jaden's parents Christopher and Alexandra had a night off from looking after him. Mrs Mack is now believed to be pregnant again.
Jaden suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage from the fall and would not have been aware of any pain during the attack by the dogs once he was on the floor, Newport Coroner's Court heard.
Gwent coroner David Bowen said the incident, which happened on the night of February 6 of this year, was "unforeseen" due to the dogs' previous friendly manner towards the baby.
The inquest heard evidence from Mrs Wilson stating the Staffordshire bull terrier, who was called Tyson, was as "docile as a dormouse".
Mr Bowen said: "Any criticism of thoughtlessness that may be levelled at Mrs Wilson pales into insignificance compared to the self-recrimination and guilt that will undoubtedly be carried to her grave."
He stressed that, however docile a family dog may appear, whatever their breed, they are essentially pack animals by instinct and should be supervised around babies and children at all times.
He added: "The dogs' actions were not foreseen nor were they anticipated, therefore the proper verdict is that of accidental death."
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5636010/Three-month-old-mauled-to-death-after-being-snatched-by-dogs.html
Published: 3:28PM BST 25 Jun 2009
Jaden Joseph Mack was staying with his grandmother Ann Denise Wilson at her home in Ystrad Mynach, South Wales.
He died after he was pulled from his bedding on a living room table and mauled by her Staffordshire bull terrier and a Jack Russell.
Mrs Wilson had been watching a DVD when she dozed off "for a few moments" and awoke to the horrific scene.
She had been minding the baby as normal over a weekend while Jaden's parents Christopher and Alexandra had a night off from looking after him. Mrs Mack is now believed to be pregnant again.
Jaden suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage from the fall and would not have been aware of any pain during the attack by the dogs once he was on the floor, Newport Coroner's Court heard.
Gwent coroner David Bowen said the incident, which happened on the night of February 6 of this year, was "unforeseen" due to the dogs' previous friendly manner towards the baby.
The inquest heard evidence from Mrs Wilson stating the Staffordshire bull terrier, who was called Tyson, was as "docile as a dormouse".
Mr Bowen said: "Any criticism of thoughtlessness that may be levelled at Mrs Wilson pales into insignificance compared to the self-recrimination and guilt that will undoubtedly be carried to her grave."
He stressed that, however docile a family dog may appear, whatever their breed, they are essentially pack animals by instinct and should be supervised around babies and children at all times.
He added: "The dogs' actions were not foreseen nor were they anticipated, therefore the proper verdict is that of accidental death."
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5636010/Three-month-old-mauled-to-death-after-being-snatched-by-dogs.html
Woman stabbed by 'flying umbrella'
High winds lift umbrella into air
Posted: 06/30/2010
Last Updated: 20 hours and 48 minutes ago
OCEAN CITY, Md. - A trip to the beach ended with a trip to the hospital for a woman Monday afternoon. It happened in Ocean City near the 48th street beach just after 3pm.
According to the beach patrol a strong gust of wind picked the umbrella up out of the ground and when it came down it ended up stabbing the woman in the leg.
Video from WBOC.com shows the victim being treated by EMT's and beach patrol. Crews had to saw off part of the umbrella to take the woman to an area hospital.
Authorities say she was in good spirits and is expected to be okay.
From: http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/eastern_shore/woman-impaled-by-umbrella
Posted: 06/30/2010
Last Updated: 20 hours and 48 minutes ago
OCEAN CITY, Md. - A trip to the beach ended with a trip to the hospital for a woman Monday afternoon. It happened in Ocean City near the 48th street beach just after 3pm.
According to the beach patrol a strong gust of wind picked the umbrella up out of the ground and when it came down it ended up stabbing the woman in the leg.
Video from WBOC.com shows the victim being treated by EMT's and beach patrol. Crews had to saw off part of the umbrella to take the woman to an area hospital.
Authorities say she was in good spirits and is expected to be okay.
From: http://www.abc2news.com/dpp/news/region/eastern_shore/woman-impaled-by-umbrella
Good Samaritan saves woman with severed legs
Jeweller credits nimble fingers in saving train accident victim
Last Updated: Monday, June 28, 2010 | 8:56 PM ET
A Quebec man says he was able to help save a woman who lost her legs in a train accident by tying the arteries in her legs thanks to his experience as a jeweller.
Roger Saulnier was walking his dog near the train station in Jonquère shortly after midnight Sunday when he said he heard someone scream about a woman who had fallen beneath a train.
He said he ran to the scene and saw a woman with both her legs severed at the thigh. Witnesses saw the young woman and a young man trying to hop onto a freight train just past midnight, Saguenay police spokesman Bruno Cormier said.
The 20-year-old woman fell and ended up under the train with both legs severed, Cormier said.
The woman was reportedly hoping to spend Sunday night under the stars with her boyfriend as they jumped onto a slow-moving freight train in the area northeast of Quebec City.
Saulnier said he has no first aid training and acted on instinct alone.
"I didn't look at it," he said. "I just said that the blood had to stop."
Saulnier said he first tried to push the gushing arteries back into the woman's legs.
When that didn't work, he said he managed to grab the artery in one leg and tie it into a tight knot.
"The blood finally stopped," he said.
Saulnier said he used a nearby plastic bag to fashion a tourniquet around the other leg.
Saulnier said that his fingers are extremely nimble thanks to the delicate work he does as a jeweller.
"The only skill I have is that I acted very fast," said Saulnier. "It took me about 30 seconds to tie the knots."
Saguenay police said Saulnier stayed calm until the arrival of medical help, who were stunned by what he had done.
"He did it rapidly, efficiently and using the right technique to avoid hemorrhaging," said police spokesperson Bruno Cormier.
After police arrived on the scene, Saulnier was treated for shock.
He said he is still unable to sleep.
"I can't close my eyes," he said, breaking into sobs. "I see nothing but the bones, muscle and blood."
Julie Sénécal, a spokeswoman for CN Rail, said that the railway campaigns to try to prevent this kind of accident.
"But unfortunately, some people just don't realize how dangerous it is to be close to a train, or to climb on railway equipment."
People can be fined as much as $144 for trespassing on CN property, she said.
Saguenay police have said the woman injured in the accident won't be charged.
Authorities say her life is not in danger.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/06/28/quebec-train-accident.html
Last Updated: Monday, June 28, 2010 | 8:56 PM ET
A Quebec man says he was able to help save a woman who lost her legs in a train accident by tying the arteries in her legs thanks to his experience as a jeweller.
Roger Saulnier was walking his dog near the train station in Jonquère shortly after midnight Sunday when he said he heard someone scream about a woman who had fallen beneath a train.
He said he ran to the scene and saw a woman with both her legs severed at the thigh. Witnesses saw the young woman and a young man trying to hop onto a freight train just past midnight, Saguenay police spokesman Bruno Cormier said.
The 20-year-old woman fell and ended up under the train with both legs severed, Cormier said.
The woman was reportedly hoping to spend Sunday night under the stars with her boyfriend as they jumped onto a slow-moving freight train in the area northeast of Quebec City.
Saulnier said he has no first aid training and acted on instinct alone.
"I didn't look at it," he said. "I just said that the blood had to stop."
Saulnier said he first tried to push the gushing arteries back into the woman's legs.
When that didn't work, he said he managed to grab the artery in one leg and tie it into a tight knot.
"The blood finally stopped," he said.
Saulnier said he used a nearby plastic bag to fashion a tourniquet around the other leg.
Saulnier said that his fingers are extremely nimble thanks to the delicate work he does as a jeweller.
"The only skill I have is that I acted very fast," said Saulnier. "It took me about 30 seconds to tie the knots."
Saguenay police said Saulnier stayed calm until the arrival of medical help, who were stunned by what he had done.
"He did it rapidly, efficiently and using the right technique to avoid hemorrhaging," said police spokesperson Bruno Cormier.
After police arrived on the scene, Saulnier was treated for shock.
He said he is still unable to sleep.
"I can't close my eyes," he said, breaking into sobs. "I see nothing but the bones, muscle and blood."
Julie Sénécal, a spokeswoman for CN Rail, said that the railway campaigns to try to prevent this kind of accident.
"But unfortunately, some people just don't realize how dangerous it is to be close to a train, or to climb on railway equipment."
People can be fined as much as $144 for trespassing on CN property, she said.
Saguenay police have said the woman injured in the accident won't be charged.
Authorities say her life is not in danger.
From: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2010/06/28/quebec-train-accident.html
Grieving woman doesn't blame driver who stopped for ducks
By Monique Muise, The Gazette June 29, 2010
MONTREAL - A woman who lost both her husband and teenage daughter in a tragic collision Sunday night says she doesn’t want to see charges laid against the young woman driving the car involved in the crash.
Pauline Volikakis survived the accident which claimed her two family members on Highway 30 near the 98 kilometre mark in Candiac on the South Shore. Her husband, André Roy, 50, and their 16-year-old daughter, Jessie, were killed when their motorcycle struck a car travelling ahead of them that stopped suddenly when the female driver spotted a family of ducks in the road. Volikakis was riding on a separate bike, which also struck the car, but she was not seriously injured.
It is illegal in Quebec to slam on the brakes in the middle of the highway — even to avoid hitting an animal.
“Charges against this girl won’t bring back the two people who died,” said Volikakis early Tuesday morning from her home. “She saw them die, both of them. That’s enough of a punishment for a young woman of only 20 years old. You can punish her until she is 60 years old, but it won’t bring my family back.”
Volikakis said she did not speak to the young woman at the scene, but expects that she was utterly traumatized by what happened.
“She’s been through enough,” she said.
Both of the victims were from St. Constant and were wearing helmets when the crash occurred, police said.
According to Volikakis, there was no time to react when the car screeched to a halt in the roadway in front of the two motorbikes. It was over in the blink of an eye, she explained, and she is convinced her daughter died on impact.
“I was trying to comfort Jessie, but there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t help her,” she recalled. “André opened one eye, but that was all.”
Several good Samaritans stopped to assist the family at the side of the road, offering whatever help they could as they waited for ambulance and fire crews to arrive on the scene. It took about 20 minutes, said Volikakis — but it felt like an eternity.
“I want to say thank you to those three or four people who stopped,” she added. “They were there from the very moment it happened until the very end. Certainly, it was very unsettling for them to witness.”
Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Richard Gagné said it may take several days for a crown prosecutor to decide on whether or not to press charges against the young driver, who was not hurt in the crash.
“Whether it's ducks or any other small animal, you do not stop unless it is perfectly safe to do so,” Gagne said.
From: http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/killed+Candiac+when+driver+stops+ducks/3210738/story.html
Slain child's dad faces funeral ban
CALGARY - He barely knew his daughter Clare, having seen her only five times since the divorce.
James Shelswell said he was looking forward to Clare growing older, and the far-off day when he might finally bond with the child he surrendered when she was only four months old.
Instead, Shelswell will fly this week from Calgary to Abbotsford B.C., to attend Clare's funeral.
On Sunday, Clare was murdered, her throat slashed open after an apparent domestic dispute between her mom and step-dad over how to discipline the kids.
Peter Wilson, 29, is charged with killing his step daughter.
And now, all that's left for her biological dad is to say goodbye to the stranger who was once his baby girl.
"She didn't really know me -- I'd seen her maybe five time in five years," said Shelswell.
If his daughter dying in pain and terror at the hands of the man she knew as her dad wasn't devastating enough, Shelswell has been told he's not welcome at the funeral.
His ex-wife, Sarah Wilson, called Wednesday morning to discuss Clare's murder.
It didn't go well, and the old resentments resurfaced.
"I didn't have too much nice to say to her," said Shelswell.
"I asked if she was in the room when it happened and why she didn't protect Clare -- she said it happened in a different room, and I asked if my other daughter saw it. She said no."
His ex, said Shelswell, then made it clear he is not welcome at Clare's private funeral service.
"She said I shouldn't go to the funeral, and I have no rights to my kids," said Shelswell.
Taking a deep breath, Shelswell sounds like a man struggling to remain calm.
"Of course I'm going, I'll be there this weekend, even though she won't even tell me what time it's at," he said.
"I'll find out."
Shelswell's anger is palpable, and he is clearly a man who feels his daughter's cruel slaying is the culmination of years of injustice.
Clare Shelswell's life ended Sunday while on vacation with her family in Washington State.
U.S. cops say Peter Wilson, charged with first degree murder, has confessed to his step-daughter's killing.
A court affidavit states that Wilson told detectives, "as soon as he started to walk down the stairs to the kitchen with Clare he knew he was going to kill her."
In Mason County court on Monday, statements were read saying Sarah Wilson had admitted to arguing with the suspect over discipline earlier in the day, and her husband told her "he would take care of it."
The man, who the court heard has bipolar disorder, then walked away.
Soon after, Sarah Wilson heard a scream, and when she rushed to see what was wrong, she found Clare lying on her back in a pool of blood, holding her throat with her hands.
"My husband took a knife to her throat," Sarah told an operator, in a frantic 911 call.
"She's barely breathing, she's barely breathing."
Nothing could save the little girl.
On Wednesday night, residents of Hoodsport, Wash., planned a memorial for Clare.
Her funeral is expected to take place in Abbotsford this weekend.
In Calgary, Shelswell, who is re-married with two kids, is a man whose fury is mixed with remorse.
He laments that he didn't have enough money to fight back with a lawyer, back when his wife took their Calgary-born daughters away with her to B.C.
He says he settled into a pattern of paying child support, and looking forward to yearly visit with his girls -- the last, a happy trip to Vancouver, included the aquarium and McDonald's.
That was also the last time Shelswell saw the man now accused of taking Clare's life.
"I met him a couple times, like when I'd go to pick up the kids, and he seemed normal to me, no one mentioned he was on meds and was bipolar, or anything," said Shelswell.
"I had no idea."
Now, too late to save the daughter he never really knew, Shelswell hopes the justice system in Washington State, where the death penalty is practised, make her killer pay.
"He's got dual citizenship, so I hope they keep him down there and fry his ass," said Shelswell.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/07/01/14575501.html
Girl who murdered kin gets rehab
By NADIA MOHARIB, QMI Agency
MEDICINE HAT, Alberta - Plans to rehabilitate a girl who killed her family appear to be on track, with details being finalized for her to take the next step towards easing back into society, likely in the Calgary area, court heard Wednesday.
Crown prosecutor Ramona Robins stressed "baby steps" are necessary not only for the youth to succeed and but to ensure public safety.
"If the plan is to try to make her a successful human being, there has to be a transition," Robins said outside court.
"If you take someone with that level of isolation and don't transition them, they won't succeed.
"I think this next step is critical, to see how society will respond to her and how she will respond to society ... We will know in the next six months whether it's been an easy transition or not."
The teen, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was 12 when she and her boyfriend killed her parents and eight-year-old brother in a bloody April 2006 attack in their Medicine Hat home.
Not a candidate to be tried as an adult, she was handed the maximum term under the youth act and is now serving a 10-year sentence.
Co-accused Jeremy Steinke is serving a life term without chance of parole for 25 years.
Since her arrest, the youth has been in closed custody.
She was granted open-custody last November but has not ventured far -- only recently taking escorted walks on the grounds of an Edmonton psychiatric hospital where she resides.
During a mandated progress review done every six months, court heard Wednesday the girl is excelling at academic studies and therapy.
She is likely to be relocated to the Calgary area but details of conditions and restrictions, have to be approved by the Solicitor General's office.
She could be in a group home or a foster-parent type setting and under constant, but not necessarily direct supervision.
A key factor to be considered will be safety, for both the teen and the public, her lawyer Katherin Beyak said.
"Things are going very well, now we are working and progressing at having her released into a community placement of some sort," she said.
"She is understandably, excited but very apprehensive."
Outside court, Robins said, "We have someone who has been in custody since age 12."
"For the first few years she was never even allowed out on the property ... she's never gone shopping, every adult who deals with her is a paid person ... It's a big step."
The killer, now 16, appeared via closed-circuit TV, her long dark hair parted down the centre.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/07/01/14575481.html
MEDICINE HAT, Alberta - Plans to rehabilitate a girl who killed her family appear to be on track, with details being finalized for her to take the next step towards easing back into society, likely in the Calgary area, court heard Wednesday.
Crown prosecutor Ramona Robins stressed "baby steps" are necessary not only for the youth to succeed and but to ensure public safety.
"If the plan is to try to make her a successful human being, there has to be a transition," Robins said outside court.
"If you take someone with that level of isolation and don't transition them, they won't succeed.
"I think this next step is critical, to see how society will respond to her and how she will respond to society ... We will know in the next six months whether it's been an easy transition or not."
The teen, who can't be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was 12 when she and her boyfriend killed her parents and eight-year-old brother in a bloody April 2006 attack in their Medicine Hat home.
Not a candidate to be tried as an adult, she was handed the maximum term under the youth act and is now serving a 10-year sentence.
Co-accused Jeremy Steinke is serving a life term without chance of parole for 25 years.
Since her arrest, the youth has been in closed custody.
She was granted open-custody last November but has not ventured far -- only recently taking escorted walks on the grounds of an Edmonton psychiatric hospital where she resides.
During a mandated progress review done every six months, court heard Wednesday the girl is excelling at academic studies and therapy.
She is likely to be relocated to the Calgary area but details of conditions and restrictions, have to be approved by the Solicitor General's office.
She could be in a group home or a foster-parent type setting and under constant, but not necessarily direct supervision.
A key factor to be considered will be safety, for both the teen and the public, her lawyer Katherin Beyak said.
"Things are going very well, now we are working and progressing at having her released into a community placement of some sort," she said.
"She is understandably, excited but very apprehensive."
Outside court, Robins said, "We have someone who has been in custody since age 12."
"For the first few years she was never even allowed out on the property ... she's never gone shopping, every adult who deals with her is a paid person ... It's a big step."
The killer, now 16, appeared via closed-circuit TV, her long dark hair parted down the centre.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/07/01/14575481.html
Ex's partying allegedly enraged suspect
TORONTO - Etobicoke mom-of-two Ayan Osman had her throat slashed allegedly by an ex-boyfriend enraged after he walked into a late-night party at her apartment, neighbours say.
The 26-year-old suspect, who's the father of the two boys, was barred from Osman's 390 Dixon Rd. building because of domestic abuse and had snuck past security cameras just before 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, residents said.
Osman, 28, also known as Denise, had a restraining order against the suspect, who was jealous she was having parties at her place with men present. Her friends said he was jealous Osman may have had boyfriends.
Detectives said about six people were at Osman's party and fled after the murder. One person called 911 from a nearby gas station.
Police said the suspect snuck out after the murder by using the stairs and made his way to the eastbound lanes of Hwy. 401.
Once there, he walked into traffic and was hit by a transport truck.
Two officers were outside Osman's apartment on Wednesday as bits of paper marking possible evidence covered sections of a rug in the hallway.
Neighbours said Osman, well-liked and friendly, was being stalked by the suspect.
"She was terrified of him," said Jama Mohamed, 28, a close friend of Osman. "The two were always fighting and bickering."
Mohamed said Osman was planning to turn her life around and wanted to move from the area.
"Two days before she died, she told me she was going to be killed," he said on Wednesday. "She was scared for her life."
Toronto Police Const. Tony Vella said the suspect is still in hospital and no charges have been laid.
From: http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Crime/2010/07/01/14575411.html
Man accused of 'sadistic' sexual abuse of children
By CLIO FRANCIS - Stuff
Last updated 09:01 01/07/2010
A staff member at a school for troubled children is accused of subjecting three pupils to "sadistic" sexual abuse, and of burning one with cigarettes and firing a staple gun at him.
The man is charged with sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy and with indecently assaulting two 12-year-old girls. The children all attended the Waimokoia Residential School in Auckland during the 1980s.
A second trial for the man, who has interim name suppression, began in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.
The first trial was stopped last year and the reason has been suppressed. The man is facing 25 charges relating to the physical and sexual abuse of three pupils between 1984 and 1987.
Crown prosecutor Tiffany Robertson told the court the man had engaged "in . . . physical violence which had sexual overtones".
One of the complainants initially complained to police in 1996, but for "reasons unknown" police had closed the file without the complainant's knowledge. The investigation was reopened in 2006 when one of the female complainants came forward.
The offending against the male complainant had begun when he was nine and had grown "progressively more sadistic" over the year he was at the school, Ms Robertson said.
Much of the offending would happen at night when the boy was in his bedroom. The man would try to wake the boy and then punch him in the face. Other sexual offending had taken place in the school's "time-out" room, which was often used for disciplining children.
On one occasion a staple gun and other implements were used to hurt the boy, Ms Robertson said. "He [the accused] would fire the gun at different parts of the boy's body. He would also hit him with a chair leg." It is claimed an attempt was made to staple the boy's penis to a chair.
On another occasion, the boy was burnt with a cigarette on his hands and neck, "scars which are still evident to this day", Ms Robertson said.
One of female complainants said she had been indecently assaulted by the man in her room, on the school bus and in the school toilet block. She had also been made to watch pornographic films with the man in the school's lounge when the other children had gone to bed.
Another female complainant was allegedly raped in the school sick-bay.
The man's lawyer, Ron Mansfield, said the allegations were not true. "They simply did not happen."
From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3873706/Man-accused-of-sadistic-sexual-abuse-of-children
Last updated 09:01 01/07/2010
A staff member at a school for troubled children is accused of subjecting three pupils to "sadistic" sexual abuse, and of burning one with cigarettes and firing a staple gun at him.
The man is charged with sexually abusing a nine-year-old boy and with indecently assaulting two 12-year-old girls. The children all attended the Waimokoia Residential School in Auckland during the 1980s.
A second trial for the man, who has interim name suppression, began in the High Court at Auckland yesterday.
The first trial was stopped last year and the reason has been suppressed. The man is facing 25 charges relating to the physical and sexual abuse of three pupils between 1984 and 1987.
Crown prosecutor Tiffany Robertson told the court the man had engaged "in . . . physical violence which had sexual overtones".
One of the complainants initially complained to police in 1996, but for "reasons unknown" police had closed the file without the complainant's knowledge. The investigation was reopened in 2006 when one of the female complainants came forward.
The offending against the male complainant had begun when he was nine and had grown "progressively more sadistic" over the year he was at the school, Ms Robertson said.
Much of the offending would happen at night when the boy was in his bedroom. The man would try to wake the boy and then punch him in the face. Other sexual offending had taken place in the school's "time-out" room, which was often used for disciplining children.
On one occasion a staple gun and other implements were used to hurt the boy, Ms Robertson said. "He [the accused] would fire the gun at different parts of the boy's body. He would also hit him with a chair leg." It is claimed an attempt was made to staple the boy's penis to a chair.
On another occasion, the boy was burnt with a cigarette on his hands and neck, "scars which are still evident to this day", Ms Robertson said.
One of female complainants said she had been indecently assaulted by the man in her room, on the school bus and in the school toilet block. She had also been made to watch pornographic films with the man in the school's lounge when the other children had gone to bed.
Another female complainant was allegedly raped in the school sick-bay.
The man's lawyer, Ron Mansfield, said the allegations were not true. "They simply did not happen."
From: http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/3873706/Man-accused-of-sadistic-sexual-abuse-of-children
Husbands can be jailed for insulting wives under new French law
Couples who insult each other over their physical appearance or make false accusations about infidelity face jail, under a new French law making "psychological violence" a criminal offence.
By Henry Samuel in Paris
Published: 6:55PM BST 30 Jun 2010
The law – the first of its kind – means that partners who make such insults or threats of physical violence faces up to three years in prison and a €75,000 (£60,000) fine.
French magistrates have slammed the new legislation as "inapplicable", as they argue the definition of what constitutes an insult is too vague and verbal abuse too hard to prove.
Nadine Morano, the junior family minister, told the National Assembly that "we have introduced an important measure here, which recognises psychological violence, because it isn't just blows (that hurt), but also words."
Miss Morano said the primary abuse help line for French women got 90,000 calls a year, with 84 per cent concerning psychological violence.
But men now also have the right to report their wives verbal abuse in a domestic row.
It will apply to both married couples and cohabiting partners.
The bill, which has been unanimously approved by French MPs, defines mental violence as "repeated acts that could be constituted by words," including insults or repeated text messages that "degrade one's quality of life and cause a change to one's mental or physical state."
Miss Morano said witnesses could be called on to testify in such cases and doctors' certificates charting a patient's descent into nervous depression as a result of such insults could be used as evidence.
"The judge could (also) take into consideration letters, SMSs or repetitive messages, because one knows that psychological violence is made up of insults," she added.
The law will experiment with electronic ankle bracelets to keep psychological or physical abusers at bay.
French judges said they were "deeply sceptical" about the new legislation.
"How can you define what is 'a reiterated insult'?," said Virgine Duval, national secretary USM, France's biggest magistrates' union.
Lawmakers moulded the new law on legislation against moral or sexual harassment in the workplace, she said. But the difference is that there are no reliable external witnesses, such as work colleagues, in a domestic dispute – only other family members who cannot be relied on to be "objective".
"This is just a poster law pushed through to please women's rights lobbies – but it's inapplicable in practice and if anything will increase conflicts in families," she told The Daily Telegraph.
"Men who beat their wives can exploit the new law by saying: 'Yes but I was the victim of psychological violence'," she said.
The courts also stood to be "clogged" by couples using the law to get the upper hand in acrimonious divorces, she added. Women who complain
that their husband insulted them can now have a judge ban him from approaching his wife or their children on a simple declaration, she warned.
According to government statistics, 675,000 women have suffered physically violent attacks over the past two years, with 166 women murdered in 2007 and 156 in 2008.
In November, François Fillon, the prime minister, called the draft law "a national cause" and said it would allow the authorities to deal with "the most insidious situations, which don't leave a mark to the naked eye but can mutilate the victim's inner self."
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7863702/Husbands-can-be-jailed-for-insulting-wives-under-new-French-law.html
By Henry Samuel in Paris
Published: 6:55PM BST 30 Jun 2010
The law – the first of its kind – means that partners who make such insults or threats of physical violence faces up to three years in prison and a €75,000 (£60,000) fine.
French magistrates have slammed the new legislation as "inapplicable", as they argue the definition of what constitutes an insult is too vague and verbal abuse too hard to prove.
Nadine Morano, the junior family minister, told the National Assembly that "we have introduced an important measure here, which recognises psychological violence, because it isn't just blows (that hurt), but also words."
Miss Morano said the primary abuse help line for French women got 90,000 calls a year, with 84 per cent concerning psychological violence.
But men now also have the right to report their wives verbal abuse in a domestic row.
It will apply to both married couples and cohabiting partners.
The bill, which has been unanimously approved by French MPs, defines mental violence as "repeated acts that could be constituted by words," including insults or repeated text messages that "degrade one's quality of life and cause a change to one's mental or physical state."
Miss Morano said witnesses could be called on to testify in such cases and doctors' certificates charting a patient's descent into nervous depression as a result of such insults could be used as evidence.
"The judge could (also) take into consideration letters, SMSs or repetitive messages, because one knows that psychological violence is made up of insults," she added.
The law will experiment with electronic ankle bracelets to keep psychological or physical abusers at bay.
French judges said they were "deeply sceptical" about the new legislation.
"How can you define what is 'a reiterated insult'?," said Virgine Duval, national secretary USM, France's biggest magistrates' union.
Lawmakers moulded the new law on legislation against moral or sexual harassment in the workplace, she said. But the difference is that there are no reliable external witnesses, such as work colleagues, in a domestic dispute – only other family members who cannot be relied on to be "objective".
"This is just a poster law pushed through to please women's rights lobbies – but it's inapplicable in practice and if anything will increase conflicts in families," she told The Daily Telegraph.
"Men who beat their wives can exploit the new law by saying: 'Yes but I was the victim of psychological violence'," she said.
The courts also stood to be "clogged" by couples using the law to get the upper hand in acrimonious divorces, she added. Women who complain
that their husband insulted them can now have a judge ban him from approaching his wife or their children on a simple declaration, she warned.
According to government statistics, 675,000 women have suffered physically violent attacks over the past two years, with 166 women murdered in 2007 and 156 in 2008.
In November, François Fillon, the prime minister, called the draft law "a national cause" and said it would allow the authorities to deal with "the most insidious situations, which don't leave a mark to the naked eye but can mutilate the victim's inner self."
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/7863702/Husbands-can-be-jailed-for-insulting-wives-under-new-French-law.html
German faces jail for Adolf Hitler mobile phone ring tone
By Allan Hall in Berlin
Published: 12:35PM BST 30 Jun 2010
The 54-year-old had the speech - in which the Nazi leader pledged the "destruction of world Jewry" if Germany was "dragged" into war - programmed into his Nokia phone.
Passengers aboard a train in Hamburg heard the ring tone several times during a journey and reported him to police who seized him at the end of his journey.
When he was taken into custody, police also found swastika stickers and photos of Hitler on the telephone with the words "The greatest commander of all time".
He was charged with violating the German constitution, which expressly forbids public displays of the Nazis and all their works.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7863086/German-faces-jail-for-Adolf-Hitler-mobile-phone-ring-tone.html
Published: 12:35PM BST 30 Jun 2010
The 54-year-old had the speech - in which the Nazi leader pledged the "destruction of world Jewry" if Germany was "dragged" into war - programmed into his Nokia phone.
Passengers aboard a train in Hamburg heard the ring tone several times during a journey and reported him to police who seized him at the end of his journey.
When he was taken into custody, police also found swastika stickers and photos of Hitler on the telephone with the words "The greatest commander of all time".
He was charged with violating the German constitution, which expressly forbids public displays of the Nazis and all their works.
From: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7863086/German-faces-jail-for-Adolf-Hitler-mobile-phone-ring-tone.html
Man burned after climbing over fence into power substation
by CHRIS NORWOOD
06/26/2010
TALLADEGA — A Talladega man sustained burns over about 90 percent of his body after climbing a fence into an Alabama Power substation on Stephen J. White Memorial Blvd. early Friday morning.
Police Chief Alan Watson said Willie Eugene Lewis scaled the fence around the substation sometime before 2 a.m. Friday. He then began climbing on some of the equipment, grabbing on with both hands.
Some 44,000 volts of electricity proceeded to pass through his body, burning the clothes off his back and burning off his genitals. In spite of this, Lewis was able to walk to the emergency room of Citizens Baptist Medical Center on his own.
Watson said Lewis would have had to climb back over the fence in order to do this.
Emergency room staff notified police, Watson said.
Lewis was admitted in critical condition, and was eventually airlifted to the burn center at UAB Hospital. Watson said he was listed in stable condition Friday afternoon.
Alabama Power spokesman Brandon Glover confirmed the company had been informed of a trespassing complaint at one of their substations, but said he could not provide any further details.
Watson could not say exactly what Lewis might have been doing inside the fenced substation, but alcohol should not be ruled out as a factor.
From: http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/8060343/article-Man-burned-after-climbing-over-fence-into-power-substation?instance=home_right
06/26/2010
TALLADEGA — A Talladega man sustained burns over about 90 percent of his body after climbing a fence into an Alabama Power substation on Stephen J. White Memorial Blvd. early Friday morning.
Police Chief Alan Watson said Willie Eugene Lewis scaled the fence around the substation sometime before 2 a.m. Friday. He then began climbing on some of the equipment, grabbing on with both hands.
Some 44,000 volts of electricity proceeded to pass through his body, burning the clothes off his back and burning off his genitals. In spite of this, Lewis was able to walk to the emergency room of Citizens Baptist Medical Center on his own.
Watson said Lewis would have had to climb back over the fence in order to do this.
Emergency room staff notified police, Watson said.
Lewis was admitted in critical condition, and was eventually airlifted to the burn center at UAB Hospital. Watson said he was listed in stable condition Friday afternoon.
Alabama Power spokesman Brandon Glover confirmed the company had been informed of a trespassing complaint at one of their substations, but said he could not provide any further details.
Watson could not say exactly what Lewis might have been doing inside the fenced substation, but alcohol should not be ruled out as a factor.
From: http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/8060343/article-Man-burned-after-climbing-over-fence-into-power-substation?instance=home_right
Man arrested for the 154th time
Updated: Thursday, 01 Jul 2010, 8:19 AM EDT
Published : Thursday, 01 Jul 2010, 8:19 AM EDT
KITTERY, MAINE (AP) - Paul Baldwin should have his Miranda rights memorized by now. He's been arrested for the 154th time.
Baldwin was arrested in Kittery, Maine for allegedly stealing two 18-packs and a 12-pack of beer from a convenience store.
Baldwin's criminal record includes eight trespass notices, 75 citations, four Social Security aliases and convictions for thefts, receiving stolen property, arson and criminal mischief.
From: http://www.wavy.com/dpps/news/strange_news/man-arrested-for-the-154th-time-ob10-jgr_3463540
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
"He who can, does. He who cannot, teaches."
"Being is substance and life; life manifests by movement; movement is perpetuated by equilibrium; equilibrium is therefore the law of immortality.
"The doctrine of equality!... But there exists no more poisonous poison: for it seems to be preached by justice itself, while it is the end of justice.... "Equality for equals, inequality for unequals" that would be the true voice of justice: and, what follows from it, "Never make equal what is unequal."
