Society's ChildS


Family

US: Parents Sue D.A. for Charging Their 6-Year-Old Son With a Felony After He Played Doctor With a 5-Year-Old Girl

Jacob Sullum
Reason
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:01 UTC
Last week the parents of a Wisconsin boy sued Grant County District Attorney Lisa Riniker for charging their son with first-degree sexual assault, a Class B felony, after he played "butt doctor" with a 5-year-old girl. He was 6 at the time. When the boy's lawyer tried to have the charge dismissed, Riniker replied: "The legislature could have put an age restriction in the statute if it wanted to. The legislature did no such thing."

According to the complaint (PDF), the girl is "the daughter of a well-known political figure in Grant County," and her brother, who is the same age, also was involved in playing doctor but was not charged. In addition to Riniker, the lawsuit names as defendants retired Grant County Sheriff's Sgt. James Kopp and Jan Moravits, an investigator with Grant County Social Services "whose regional supervisor...is the political figure's wife's sister-in-law" - i.e., the aunt of the alleged victim.

Although the boy, now 7, is too young to be prosecuted or named in a juvenile delinquency petitition, Madison.com reports, county officials are using the felony charge to force his parents into accepting "protection or services" for him. The lawsuit says that once he turns 18, he will be listed as a sex offender.

I noted a similar case in my July Reason story on sex offender laws.
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Bomb

Triple bombings in south Iraq kill 11, injure 72

Nabil Al-Jurani, Mazin Yahya & Rebecca Santana
Associated Press
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:55 UTC
Image
© UnknownReference Image
Basra - A string of bombings in a southern oil city killed 11 people Thursday evening and injured dozens more, a grim sign of the security challenges Iraq will face after American troops go home.

The U.S. military is drawing down its troops ahead of an end-of-December deadline to have all American forces out of the country. Incidents like Thursday's triple bombing in a city seen as key to Iraq's economic development show the dangerous prospects awaiting Iraqis next year.

Three bombs went off in a popular open-air market in Basra, police officials said.

The third bomb exploded a few minutes after Iraqi army and police forces arrived on the scene in response to the earlier blasts, officials said. The third blast caused all the fatalities and almost all of the injuries, the officials said.

Among the dead and wounded were many policemen and Iraqi army soldiers.

The police officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Kamal Ali was working at a clothing shop across the street when the blasts went off. He said after the first explosion, bystanders rushed to help the victims. When another blast went off about five minutes later, the terrified people ran to escape.
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Bad Guys

Pepper or Not - Still Potentially Lethal Chemical Weapon

Sayer Ji
GreenMed Info
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 19:05 UTC
Pepper Spray_1
© GreenMed Info.com
Were it not for the stoic immovability of the protestors in this picture, the image would resemble even more stunningly an exterminator dispassionately spraying a nest of roaches ... only, roaches know what to expect, which is why they scatter in all directions when approached with chemicals designed to harm them.

Who, among these young protestors, could rightly have expected to be doused -- directly in the eyes -- with a purportedly "non-lethal" chemical weapon, simply for sitting there?

Older protestors were more likely able to anticipate what was coming the moment they saw their paramilitary gear-laden "public servants," towing their projectile-less and therefore not-so-bad sounding "Sound Canons" (mind you, which can crush your eardrums and make them bleed) behind them.

And many old-timers already knew through direct experience that in the United States the freedom of assembly, the right to freedom of association, and freedom of speech -- all of which establish the right to protest -- have little more than sentimental value in our history books (many of which, at this rate, will soon be burned).

After all, we are in the post-911, post-PATRIOT Act era. What's a little pepper spray, considering the crimes against humanity perpetuated of late by our once great nation-state, on self (citizens) and other ( resource-rich countries), in the name of universal freedom, security and democracy?
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Heart - Black

Native blood: the truth behind the myth of 'Thanksgiving Day' (now with video)

Mike Ely
LINKS International Journal of Social Renewal
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 11:28 UTC
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Bizarro Earth

Brazil Suspends Chevron's Drilling Rights

Peter Murphy
Reuters
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:30 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Rogerio SantanaAn aerial view shows oil that seeped from a well operated by Chevron at Frade, on the waters in Campos Basin in Rio de Janeiro state November 18, 2011.
Brazil's government suspended Chevron Corp's drilling rights until Chevron clarifies the causes of an offshore oil spill, the latest twist in a political firestorm threatening the U.S. company's role in Brazil's oil bonanza.

The decision on Wednesday came as the head of Chevron's Brazilian unit testified before Brazil's Congress, where he apologized for the November 8 spill that leaked about 2,400 barrels of oil into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro.

Brazil's National Petroleum Agency said it decided to halt Chevron's drilling rights after determining there was evidence that the company had been "negligent" in its study of data needed to drill and in contingency planning for abandoning the well in the event of accident.

The agency, known as ANP, also rejected a request from Chevron made before the leak to drill wells in the deeper subsalt areas in the Frade field where the spill occurred. The field is located in the oil-rich Campos Basin and is the only block in Brazil where Chevron produces oil as the operator.
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Wall Street

Mexico: More than 20 bodies found in Guadalajara

E. Eduardo Castillo
Associated Press
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:45 UTC
Image
© UnknownGeographic area of Mexico pointing out where the state of Jalisco and city Guadalajara are located.
More than 20 bodies were discovered early Thursday in vehicles abandoned in the heart of Guadalajara, Mexico's second-largest city and the site of the recent Pan American Games, an official said.

that the bodies were found early Thursday in three vehicles left near the Milennium Arches, one of the most recognizable landmarks in the western city, an official with the prosecutor's office in the state of, where Guadalajara is located, told The Associated Press. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the information.

The arches stand less than a 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) from the Expo Guadalajara events center, the site of both Pan Am Games events and the Guadalajara International Book Fair, which opens Saturday and describes itself as the world's most important Spanish-language book fair. The fair's website said it was expecting more than 600,000 visitors from around the world.

Guadalajara was flooded with police and soldiers during the Pan American Games and was spared significant violence.
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Heart - Black

US, Ohio: Missing Ohio man could be 3rd Craigslist victim

Andrew Welsh- Huggins
The Associated Press
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00 UTC
Image
© The Associated Press/FBIThis is an undated hand out photo of Timothy Kern of Massillon, Ohio provided by the FBI. Kern, missing since Nov. 13.
A man missing since Nov. 13 answered a Craigslist help-wanted ad that police say was actually a deadly scheme to lure people to a nonexistent farm job so they could be robbed, his family said.

Timothy Kern's father called the outlook "pretty grim" and Kern's son said his father had been murdered. The missing man, who would be the scheme's third known victim, had called the job offer "strange" in a Facebook post.

Two people are in custody, but law enforcement officials have released few details because of a gag order.

Kern was promised $300 a week, a trailer and a truck for the job near Caldwell in southern Ohio, his father, Jack Kern, told The Associated Press on Tuesday. He said his son was excited about the job because of the chance of bettering his life.

In a Facebook post on Nov. 10, Tim Kern wrote: "Just got one of the strangest job offers. A good offer but strange. The job is to watch over 680 acres south of cambridge. Odd jobs and such but mainly just secure it. Trailer, utilities, salary. Drawbacks? No cell phone service, kids are up here, and i have to move this sunday."

Jack Kern, of Massillon, said his son was rarely out of touch and often texted and called family members.

"We're holding hope, but pretty grim, I think," he said.
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Beer

New York, US: Controversial "Anti-Semitic" Vodka Billboard Taken Down in New York City

Eric Pfeiffer
The Sideshow
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 09:07 UTC
Image
© The New York Times
A billboard for Wodka vodka in NYC has been taken down and destroyed after complaints that the advertisement's message is anti-Semitic.

The New York Times reported that the billboard featured a long-haired dog wearing a yarmulke and another dog wearing a Santa hat with the words, "Christmas quality, Hanukkah pricing," alongside the photo.

The backlash against the billboard was nearly instantaneous. Ron Meier, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, called it "crude and offensive."

"To use the Jewish holiday in dealing with issues of money is clearly insensitive and inappropriate," Meier told the paper.

Brian Gordon, head of MMG, the advertising company behind the billboard, said the billboard's message was not intended to be offensive.
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Megaphone

US: Megyn Kelly's pepper spray comments spark backlash

Mike Krumboltz
The Upshot
Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00 UTC
Pepper spray, its effects, and its appropriateness continue to be top of mind in the media.

Following the protests at UC Davis, during which Occupy protesters were sprayed with pepper spray by a campus police officer, Fox News commentator Megyn Kelly went on the Bill O'Reilly show.

Kelly appeared to downplay the physical effects of pepper spray. Kelly said pepper spray is "like a derivative of real pepper. It's a food product essentially."

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Arrow Up

US: Passenger forced to stand for seven hours on U.S. Airways flight because of 400-pound man sitting next to him

Lee Moran and Mark Duell
The Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 24 Nov 2011 03:52 UTC
  • Arthur Berkowitz flying from Anchorage to Philadelphia
  • One of longest possible domestic flights without a stop
  • Said it was dangerous as he couldn't use his seatbelt
  • Obese man said 'I apologise, I'm your worst nightmare'
The passenger who had to stand during a seven-hour flight because of a morbidly obese man sitting next to him has today spoken about his ordeal.

Arthur Berkowitz, 57, said his 400lb neighbour on US Airways Flight 901 from Anchorage to Philadelphia made it impossible to get into his seat.

The obese man spilled over into Mr Berkowitz's personal space and he could not move because the plane was full so he was forced to stand up.

Image
© AlamyDangerous: Passenger Arthur Berkowitz had to stand for a seven-hour flight after a morbidly obese man next to him made it impossible for him to sit down
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