"You're not entitled to a pain-free execution"

Apparently, Ohio's Assistant Attorney General Thomas Madden has no concern about whether his state's method of murdering its prisoners is tantamount to torture.  Madden is clearly no better than those he despises.

McGuire "made sounds"?  You're not supposed to make conscious sounds if you're allegedly unconscious.  McGuire was almost certainly awake and aware for all 25 minutes of torture he endured.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=262933145

This is no time to wait and See

Hard questions are being asked of catholic "leadership" in regard to the organized molestation of children around the world.  This is long overdue, though I doubt much will come of it.  As with many charges against religious "leaders", people are afraid to appear "anti-religious", especially when one has the status of a sovereign country...with no native citizens.

The catholic church is making the laughable claim that it is only responsible for the actions of its priests inside their "sovereign city", the one place where there are few children.  (I wonder how many of them have been molested and they have no legal recourse or means of obtaining help.)  It is claiming the actions of priests are not its responsibility, despite the well known fact that it actively and deliberately relocated priests who had molested children to protect them from criminal charges.


Like the Southern Poverty Law Centre's lawsuits against Ku Klux Klan in the US, the only real damage that will happen to the catholic church is damages paid out by claimants in lawsuits.  The morally vacant city will never be held criminally accountable despite being worse than a ring of child porn purveyors.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vatican-faces-un-grilling-over-child-sex-abuse-9061875.html

Vatican faces UN grilling over child sex abuse

The Vatican will be grilled by a UN panel over cases of child sex abuse, and will be forced to defend itself over allegations it failed to prevent the rape of thousands of children by protecting paedophile priests at the expense of victims.

[...]

The Holy See ratified the [UN Convention on the Rights of the Child] in 1990 and submitted a first implementation report in 1994. However, it did not provide progress reports for almost ten years, and only submitted one in 2012 after receiving a storm of criticism following the revelations in 2010 of child sex abuse cases in Europe and beyond, the Associated Press has reported.

[...]

In the reports they also include correspondence from a Vatican cardinal allegedly praising a French bishop's decision to protect his abusive priest, and another Vatican command to Irish bishops to strike any mandatory reporting of abusers to police from their policies. 

"For too many years, survivors were the only ones speaking out about this and bearing the brunt of a lot of criticism," said Pam Spees, a human rights lawyer for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which provided a key report to the committee.

But according to AP, in its written response to the committee submitted last month, the Vatican declined to provide such information and did not answer many of the committee's questions, arguing that it was not responsible for the actions of every Catholic, much less every priest or parish in the world.

Instead, it said it is really only responsible for implementing the UN treaty where it exercises territorial control: the 44 hectares (110 acres) of the Vatican City State in downtown Rome, where 31 children currently live. 

Incineration without incarceration

Just what exactly is wrong with India's society that rape is an everyday event by the dozens or even hundreds?  And now this one.

On October 26, 2013, a sixteen girl was raped.  She went to the police to file a report.

On the way home, she was raped a second time.  Whether the attackers were the same or different is unknown.

Then on December 23, 2013, she was attacked again, burnt alive by two people connected to the rapists (either friends or family).

Prostitution is effectively decriminalized in Canada, but it could be worse

The Surpreme Court of Canada has struck down all laws regarding prostitution, most of which were based on "nuisance laws".  By striking down the laws, the court has effectively decriminalized prostitution (there's a difference between decriminalization and legalization).  If you think this decision is bad, it could be worse.

http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/12/20/supreme_court_of_canada_strikes_down_federal_criminal_prostitution_laws.html

I'm no fan of legalized prostitution, though I'm also onside with full protection - legal and physical - of those who sell sex.  Those who sell should be allowed to work (yes, it is work) in positions of safety.  Legalized brothels with security guards would prevent violence and other crime perpetrated against sex workers.  And it also protects the Johns, since they don't have to worry about "some psycho with a knife".  (Then again, if they're so worried, why aren't they buying a porno magazine and servicing themselves in safety?)

Those who sell sex are not the cause of the problem.  Prostitution exists because there is a demand for it.  If you want to stop prostitution, if you want to prosecute someone involved in it, target the Johns.  No Johns, no prostutition.

Male privilege sucks: Maasai women who refuse FGM are refused marriage

In a disgusting display of arrogance, males in the Maasai tribe in Tanzania are refusing to marry women who have refused to subject themselves to the horrors of Female Genital Mutilation.

No, FGM is not "clean".  The mutilation is actually less hygenic than women's natural genitalia.

No, it is not a "minor issue".  The violent cutting of highly sensitive skin leaves women with a lifetime of pain and discomfort, and most of the time it is done to girls too young to consent.

No, it is not "cultural" or "religious", it is an act of violence.  The fiction of religion does not trump the reality of nature.

No, male genital mutilation is not comparable.  The only way it could be compared is if the head of the penis were cut off with an axe, leaving only the shaft.  And even then, it's still not an apt comparison.

Charity starts with selfishness

The rich repeatedly claim that "We give a lot to charity!" but you never hear who exactly is getting the money or for what purpose.  So somebody decided to take a close look.

Do the rich give to food banks?  To help the underprivileged go to college?  Help the homeless?

Oh, puh-leeze, don't be so naïve.

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/14/the_wealthy_give_to_charity_elite_schools_and_operas_partner/

Rich people’s idea of charity: Giving to elite schools and operas 

Why I don't watch football, part 7: “This was an investigation of a rape victim”

Patricia Carroll is the lawyer of a young woman who was raped in Florida. She said, “This was an investigation of a rape victim, not an investigation of a rape suspect."

She says the Tallahassee Police Department and Florida state attorney Willie Meggs were more interested in clearing Jameis Winston of the rape charge than of finding out if he did it despite the evidence they have. Given the history of sports figures with rape accusations (e.g. Roethlisberger) and a failure to prosecute, I have no reason to doubt her.

But hey, Heisman trophies and the possibility of winning a "national championship" are so much more important than ensuring justice is carried out. Lucky for him he plays for Florida State (13-0) playing in the BCS title game and not Florida Atlantic (6-6) playing tiddly winks. Or are all football players exempt from prosecution in Florida?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/accuser-s-attorney-says-authorites-failed-to-properly-investigate-jameis-winston-case-185538536.html

Where is Jozef Wesolowski?

Another day, another catholic priest is facing charges for child molestation.

http://lezgetreal.com/2013/11/dominican-republic-prosecutors-find-archbishop-sexually-abused-minors/

Dominican Republic: Prosecutors Find Archbishop Sexually Abused Minors

Prosecutors in the Dominican Republic say that that the former apostolic nuncio to that country, Archbishop Jozef Wesolowski, is guilty of molesting at least five boys.

Wesolowski was relieved of his duties and recalled to Rome in August, after Church leaders in the Dominican Republic informed Pope Francis that they had uncovered evidence of sexual abuse by the papal representative. The Vatican turned over the evidence to the Dominican government, and has pledged to cooperate with prosecutors there and indeed, Dominican authorities report that the Vatican and church officials were fully cooperative in their investigation.

That's what they claim, but their actions are different.

The War On Cyclists and Pedestrians: Father arrested for walking to his kids' school

How ludicrous has the US become where parents are NOT allowed to walk to schools and pick up their children?  Or that parents are REQUIRED to have cars in order to do so?

"Just doing his job" is second only to "disorderly conduct" on the list of make-it-up-as-you-go-along police work.  It's not about "laws", it's about demonstrating and exerting authority (read: bullying the populace).

Libertarian clowns are trying to get mileage out of this story, but the real issues are parents having the right to see their own children at any time, and that cars are prioritized over pedestrians.

http://www.wate.com/story/24005228/cumberland-county-parent-releases-video-of-his-arrest-by-a-school-resource-officer

Cumberland County parent outraged by his arrest

A Cumberland County father didn't want to wait in a long line of traffic to pick his kids up from school. That led to a series of encounters last week at South Cumberland Elementary, and now the dad's facing charges.

What happenes when the "legal system" is more corrupt than the criminals?

What happens?  The corrupt members get a slap on the wrist.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/mass-chemist-gets-3-to-5-years-in-drug-lab-scandal/

Mass. chemist gets 3-to-5 years in drug lab scandal

A chemist at a Massachusetts drug lab who admitted faking test results in criminal cases pleaded guilty Friday to obstruction of justice, perjury and tampering with evidence in a scandal that has jeopardized thousands of convictions.

"Jeopardized thousands of convictions"?  Excuse me?  How about the dozens or possibly hundreds of innocent people who were falsely convicted?  Or does the stenographer assume the accused are all guilty?

The War On Cyclists and Pedestrians: Squash player deliberately murdered, minimal charges for the driver

Labelling such killings as "accidents" is done to minimize the actions of the perpetrator and to blame the victim.

At the very least, the killing of Adrian Dudzicki was manslaughter, if not second degree murder, and the driver should face that charge and the prison sentence that comes with it.

The media label the killing of cyclists and pedestrians "accidents" to blame the victim and to protect "car culture".  Remember that if you kid is ever run over by a car on a sidewalk - your child will be labelled the guilty party, the driver will be deemed innocent.

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Squash+player+from+Ottawa+dies+Toronto+cycling+accident/9191830/story.html

Assaulting and/or killing cyclists is a "minor" offense

In the New York Times on November 9, writer Daniel Duane asked, "Is It O.K. to Kill Cyclists?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/10/opinion/sunday/is-it-ok-to-kill-cyclists.html

The anecdotes mounted: my wife’s childhood friend was cycling with Mom and Dad when a city truck killed her; two of my father’s law partners, maimed. I began noticing “cyclist killed” news articles, like one about Amelie Le Moullac, 24, pedaling inside a bike lane in San Francisco’s SOMA district when a truck turned right and killed her. In these articles, I found a recurring phrase: to quote from The San Francisco Chronicle story about Ms. Le Moullac, “The truck driver stayed at the scene and was not cited.”

In stories where the driver had been cited, the penalty’s meagerness defied belief, like the teenager in 2011 who drove into the 49-year-old cyclist John Przychodzen from behind on a road just outside Seattle, running over and killing him. The police issued only a $42 ticket for an “unsafe lane change” because the kid hadn’t been drunk and, as they saw it, had not been driving recklessly.

Arizona prisons are turning into death camps

Arizona prisons are turning into death camps, and like death camps elsewhere, many of the public think those inside "deserve it" and have no empathy for them.

http://www.salon.com/2013/11/14/arizona_horror_show_after_illegal_mistreatment_inmates_in_grave_danger/

Arizona prison horror: “Critically ill” inmates told to “pray” for healing

A new report alleges illegal and deadly mistreatment of Arizona inmates whose medical care the state contracted out to the country’s largest private prison health care provider.

Sacrifice to the fallacy that war can end

The enscription on the gravestone of 2nd Lieutenant Arthur Conway Young, who died on August 16, 1917, reads thus:

"Sacrifice to the fallacy that war can end."


The corpse worship that goes on every November 11th is not a call to end war, it is a call for blind support of war. And those who call for it the most are often the profiteers of war. In England, BAE (the biggest supplier of military equipment in the country) is the principal "sponsor" of the British Legion.

A slap on the wrist is not "punishment"

Former  Williamson County (Texas) district attorney Ken Anderson has been disbarred, serve 500 hours of community service and do ten days in jail.  For what crime did he get such a punishment?

He knowingly railroaded an innocent man, Michael Morton, to a conviction for the murder of his wife.

Why I don't watch football, part 2: A player is bullied to death

Christian Adamek committed suicide after bullying...by the school principal.  After streaking through the school on a "dare", the principal sought inflated criminal charges against the teen.  Adamek would have been labelled a "sexual predator", the same as rapists and child molesters.

The only person that needs to be tried is the public persecutor

Long overdue, the farcical "conviction" of Marissa Alexander has been overturned.  The question now is, will the overzealous careerist who falsely convicted her try to do it again?  Will that prosecutor be allowed to continue a chain of corrupt and biased decisions of who to charge and who not to?

The War On Cyclists and Pedestrians: Five children run over, no charges for the driver

http://www.streetsblog.org/2013/09/12/running-down-five-children-on-a-sidewalk-is-legal-in-new-york-city/

Running Down Five Children on a Sidewalk Is Legal in New York City

DNAinfo is reporting that the driver who jumped a curb and hit five kids in Maspeth this morning, an incident captured on video, probably will not be charged.

A surveillance tape shows a group of kids on a Grand Avenue sidewalk when the driver of a Honda SUV runs one of them over, missing the others by inches. Witnesses lifted the SUV off at least one of the victims. One girl reportedly suffered a broken leg and another a broken hip. One boy has a leg injury and another was treated for a swollen arm. The victims were age 12 to 14. From DNAinfo:

Religious criminality: Is the pope protecting another pedophile?

Why the rush to remove someone from a position?  It's not as if he's going to arrested for something.

Or is he?

http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/catholic-church-removes-dominican-republic-envoy-20156575

Vatican Abruptly Ousts Dominican Republic Envoy

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic September 4, 2013 (AP) 

Authorities in the Dominican Republic will look into allegations of child sex abuse against the papal envoy to the Caribbean country following his abrupt removal from his post by the Vatican, the attorney general said Wednesday.

 Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito was careful to note that his office is aware only of rumors about the papal nuncio, Archbishop Josef Wesolowski, and has not received any accusations.

 A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, confirmed that Wesolowski had been removed from his post and that the church was conducting an investigation of him. He declined to provide any details about the accusations against the Polish-born prelate.

A nuncio is the pope's ambassador to a country and such an abrupt removal is rare.