‘Foreign patients who travel to China for transplants are likely receiving organs culled from political prisoners who are alive when their corneas, kidneys and livers are harvested, then left to die, an international group of doctors armed with a chilling Canadian report is warning.
In a new twist on an old practice of using organs from executed criminals, China has since 2000 turned to living donors and outlawed Falun Gong members to supply a growing trade in medical transplants, Doctors Against Organ Harvesting said yesterday during a public forum held at the University of Toronto. [..]
“Each person who travels to China for an organ causes the death of another human,” said Dr. Torsten Trey, a Washington, D.C.-based physician and founding member of Doctors Against Organ Harvesting.’
‘A Central Florida woman who was cleaning out her parents’ home found a hidden box of photographs with images of her mother and father molesting her young daughter more than a decade ago, according to police.
Investigators said the 58-year-old grandfather, who was not identified to protect the victim, was recently moving out of his Orange County home with the help of his adult daughter.
Officers said that during the move she began sifting through some family photos.
She then found images of her daughter being sexually molested by the her parents, according to the report.’
‘A woman blames the devil and not her husband for severely burning their infant daughter after the 2-month-old was put in a microwave, a Houston television station reported.
Eva Marie Mauldin said Satan compelled her 19-year-old husband, Joshua Royce Mauldin, to microwave their daughter May 10 because the devil disapproved of Joshua’s efforts to become a preacher. [..]
A Galveston County grand jury indicted Joshua Mauldin last week on child injury charges after hearing evidence that he placed his daughter in a motel microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. [..]
“That was not my husband; my husband is a wonderful father,” she said. “Satan was working through his weaknesses.”
Eva Maudlin described those weaknesses as an undisclosed mental disability, and that her efforts to get help for him have failed.’
‘A Japanese drop box for unwanted babies triggered a wave of nationwide soul searching Wednesday, a day after it was discovered a preschooler — and not an infant — had been dumped there by his father on its first day of operation.
Nationally circulated newspapers warned that the anonymous drop-off, known as “Stork’s Cradle,” is open for abuse and could traumatize youngsters. They also condemned the father, saying his action could spur copycats.
The drop-off was opened last Thursday by the Catholic-run Jikei Hospital in the southern city of Kumamoto to discourage abortions and the abandonment of children in unsafe public places. The same day, a boy believed to be 3 was found inside.’
‘Wildlife officials in Florida are expected to announce Monday that they want to make it illegal for developers to entomb tortoises.
Recently, Local 6 reported how it is legal to bury tortoises alive as long as construction crews have the proper permit. [..]
“For a price tag of a quarter million dollars, the Expressway Authority legally began to pave over the only openings to the tortoises’ burrows — essentially burying them alive,” Diaz said.
“They are immobilized and can’t get out of their burrow,” a wildlife official said. “It can take up to a year to die one biologist has told us. It can take that long before they die of suffocation, dehydration or starvation.” [..]
“Just because you can bury alive gopher tortoises, doesn’t necessarily mean you should,” a commissioner told Local 6 News.’
‘A Texas mother who claims the family dog tore off her baby son’s genitals has been arrested and accused of mutilating the boy herself with a sharp instrument.
Katherine Nadal is now awaiting a court hearing on custody of the boy. She has been charged with injury to a child and is being held on $100,000 bail.
Child-welfare authorities said she told social workers she woke up from a nap in March to find that her small dachshund had attacked her son. But police said a veterinarian and a doctor have agreed the dog did not cause the injuries.
Police have said in court papers that the mother had used a sharp instrument to cut off the boy’s genitals.’
Followup to Baby Is Emasculated; Mother Blames Dog.
‘Angered that a beloved member of his squad had been killed in an explosion, a US Marine urinated on one of the 24 dead Iraqi civilians killed by his unit in Haditha, the Marine testified.
Sergeant Sanick Dela Cruz, who has immunity from prosecution after murder charges against him were dismissed, also said he watched his squad leader shoot down five Iraqi civilians trying to surrender.
In dramatic testimony in a pre-trial hearing for one of the seven Marines charged in the November 2005 Haditha killings and alleged cover-up, Dela Cruz described his bitterness after a roadside bomb ripped Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, known as T J, into two bloody pieces.
“I know it was a bad thing what I’ve done, but I done it because I was angry T J was dead and I pissed on one Iraqi’s head,” said an unemotional Dela Cruz in a military courtroom in Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, California.’
‘Prosecutors issued arrest warrants Tuesday for eight former prison employees accused of abusing inmates, including forcing some to clean toilets with their tongues.
The eight were among 13 prison employees who had already been fired from the 605-inmate medium and minimum security wards at the Hendry Correctional Institution in the Everglades.
The previous warden and an assistant warden resigned, and three others were reassigned after an inmate was beaten and choked by guards in March.’
‘Socialite Paris Hilton said police officers “hit on her all the time” and posed in a zebra-print outfit meant to resemble jail stripes before a judge ordered her to spend 45 days in prison.
The 26-year-old multi-millionaire said she attracted attention because of who she was, but added that officers did not usually arrest her. [..]
She tells the magazine: “I think I get in more trouble just because of who I am.
“The cops do it all the time. They’ll just pull me over to hit on me. It’s really annoying. They’re like, ‘What’s your phone number? Want to go to dinner?’
“They just pull me over, and the paparazzi, of course, take a picture. All the time. I have so many cops’ business cards.”‘
Followup to Paris Hilton gets 45 days in jail.
‘On the tape, a young female voice can be heard berating David Hasselhoff, urging him not to drink and even warning him that he could lose his gig in the Las Vegas run of The Producers if he doesn’t sober up. The former Baywatch star released a statement on Thursday which read, in part, quoted by Reuters, “Despite that I have been going through a painful divorce and I have recently been separated from my children due to my work, I have been successfully dealing with my issue. Unfortunately, one evening I did have a brief relapse, but part of recovery is relapse.”‘
Followup to David Hasselhoff Drunk.
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‘Until this week, the only people who really hated the Jersey Guys were corrupt politicians. Now, corrupt state troopers hate them, too.
Craig Carton and Ray Rossi walked out in the middle of their popular afternoon talk radio show and took their families into hiding after learning of a press conference in which New Jersey state police union leader David Jones gave out their home addresses and threatened to “crush” the people who leaked anonymous Internet postings by state troopers in which they apparently were plotting a ticket-writing blitz. [..]
In an interview, Jones said, “I don’t believe in intimidating anyone.” [..]
“If guys, be they troopers or not troopers, choose to vent on a blog board, that’s their right, and that’s a board that’s supposed to be shared,” Jones said. “A couple of cowards obviously compromised it, and when I find out who those Girl Scouts are I’m going to crush ’em like bugs.”‘
‘Is somebody getting taken to the cleaners?
A $10 dry cleaning bill for a pair of trousers has ballooned into a $67 million civil lawsuit.
Plaintiff Roy Pearson, a judge in Washington, D.C., says in court papers that he’s been through the ringer over a lost pair of prized pants he wanted to wear on his first day on the bench.
He says in court papers that he has endured “mental suffering, inconvenience and discomfort.”
He says he was unable to wear that favorite suit on his first day of work. ‘
‘Canoeist Dennis Bohrn and his companions were stunned when they saw a woman jump off the Perrine Bridge, her body landing near them in the Snake River. Many in the group were crying by the time they managed to reach the woman and paddle her body to shore.
So Bohrn was shocked when an officer walked up and instead of thanking or comforting the group last Sunday, wrote out a couple of $85 tickets for failing to have life jackets on board either of the two canoes.
“The body was right there,” said the 58-year-old Twin Falls resident. “A girl deputy was trying to console everybody. Then a sergeant walked up. He said, ‘I see you don’t have any life jackets so I am going to give you a citation.’ It seemed a little cold.”‘
‘Celebrity heiress Paris Hilton has been jailed for 45 days after being found guilty of violating her probation for a drink-driving conviction.
A Los Angeles judge ruled she must start her sentence on 5 June and has no prospect of an early release.
Ms Hilton told the judge she was very sorry and that she would “pay complete attention to everything” from now on.
The socialite said she did not know her licence had been suspended when caught driving without headlights in February.’
Followup to Paris Hilton May Have Probation Revoked.
‘A new study by Indiana University media researchers finds that Fox News host Bill O’Reilly calls “a person or a group a derogatory name once every 6.8 seconds, on average, or nearly nine times every minute during the editorials that open his program each night.”
The study documented six months worth, or 115 episodes, of O’Reilly’s “Talking Points Memo” editorials “using propaganda analysis techniques made popular after World War I.” Researchers found that O’Reilly “was prone to inject fear into his commentaries and quick to resort to name-calling. He also frequently assigned roles or attributes — such as ‘villians’ or downright ‘evil’ — to people and groups.’
‘A disgruntled wife has admitted feeding her estranged husband a curry containing dog excrement after their relationship broke down.
Jill Martin, 47, pleaded guilty at Paisley Sheriff Court to culpable and reckless conduct against husband Donald Martin. [..]
Depute Fiscal Margaret Dunnipace told the court that on 13 March, after placing the dinner in front of her husband Donald and watching him start to eat it, Martin had burst out laughing. [..]
The couple have now begun divorce proceedings.’
‘American soldiers discovered a girls school being built north of Baghdad had become an explosives-rigged “death trap,” the U.S. military said Thursday.
The plot at the Huda Girls’ school in Tarmiya was a “sophisticated and premeditated attempt to inflict massive casualties on our most innocent victims,” military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell said.
The military suspects the plot was the work of al Qaeda, because of its nature and sophistication, Caldwell said in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
The plot was uncovered Saturday, when troopers in the Salaheddin province found detonating wire across the street from the school. They picked up the wire and followed its trail, which led to the school. Once inside, they found an explosive-filled propane tank buried beneath the floor. There were artillery shells built into the ceiling and floor, and another propane tank was found, the military said.’
‘On the afternoon of July 8, 2006, four private security guards rolled out of Baghdad’s Green Zone in an armored SUV. The team leader, Jacob C. Washbourne, rode in the front passenger seat. He seemed in a good mood. His vacation started the next day.
“I want to kill somebody today,” Washbourne said, according to the three other men in the vehicle, who later recalled it as an offhand remark. Before the day was over, however, the guards had been involved in three shooting incidents. In one, Washbourne allegedly fired into the windshield of a taxi for amusement, according to interviews and statements from the three other guards.’
‘More than a fifth of the approximately 385 prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, have been cleared for release but may have to wait months or years for their freedom because U.S. officials are finding it increasingly difficult to line up places to send them, according to Bush administration officials and defense lawyers.
Since February, the Pentagon has notified about 85 inmates or their attorneys that they are eligible to leave after being cleared by military review panels. But only a handful have gone home, including a Moroccan and an Afghan who were released Tuesday. Eighty-two remain at Guantanamo and face indefinite waits as U.S. officials struggle to figure out when and where to deport them, and under what conditions.
The delays illustrate how much harder it will be to empty the prison at Guantanamo than it was to fill it after it opened in January 2002 to detain fighters captured in Afghanistan and terrorism suspects captured overseas.’
‘A 12-year-old Brooklyn boy is clinging to life after being impaled in the head with a stick, and police have charged an 11-year-old with the vicious attack.
The victim, Stevenson Celius, was rushed to Kings County Hospital on Thursday evening when police say two inches of a wooden stick was lodged into his brain. His family says the attack happened when the boy went to the store to buy candy. The suspect, an 11-year-old classmate of his, demanded his change and when he refused, a chase ensued.
Stevenson made it as far as the vestibule of his building before the brutal attack occurred.’
He doesn’t sound entirely right in the head to me.
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‘A 2-year-old boy was severely burned Saturday after he went down the slide at an elementary school playground. Someone had broken into the school, stolen several bottles of industrial-strength drain cleaner and splashed it all over the playground equipment, authorities said. [..]
Peyton suffered second- and third-degree burns, mostly on his legs, from the cleaner, which contains a strong concentration of sulfuric acid, said Division Chief Michael Robinson of the Baltimore County Fire Department. No one else was injured.
Duschl said her son’s grandmother was with him at the playground, and he began screaming in pain as soon as he went down his favorite slide.’
‘Police said an 18-year-old Suffolk man battered a 4-week-old baby who reminded him of a guy he doesn’t like.
Breon Lashawn Perry, who caused a brain injury to the infant, was charged with felony child abuse and aggravated malicious wounding, Suffolk Police Lt. Debbie George said. [..]
After investigating, police found out the baby and his 3-year-old sister were left in the care of Perry, the mother’s boyfriend, while the mother was at work. Perry struck the baby several times in the face and head because the child reminded Perry of the child’s father, whom Perry did not like, George said.’
‘A woman with a history of drug abuse says she woke up from a nap to find her miniature dachshund had torn off her baby boy’s genitals. Authorities have doubts about her story, but exactly how the newborn was maimed is still a mystery.
Holden Gothia, now 7 weeks old, was found on a bed in his mother’s suburban Houston apartment March 13, covered in blood. His genitals were severed and there was a deep cut in his upper leg.
He has been in critical condition ever since. He may never regain the use of his leg and faces years of operations, according to the boy’s father, Camden Gothia.
Police, doctors and Child Protective Service officials told the baby’s father that the injuries were not consistent with dog bites — the lacerations were too neat.
But Holden’s mother, the only person who might have the answers, has checked into a treatment program and refuses to cooperate with police. No charges have been filed.’
Followup to: Mom: Dog Bites Off Infant’s Genitals
‘The latest person to discover how easy it is to abuse U.S. copyright law appears to be Uri Geller, the self-proclaimed “psychic” who has been fooling people about his supernatural powers for decades now. Geller has been exposed as a ridiculous fake time and time again, but he is trying hard to scrub the internet of all that embarrassing evidence so that his current business venture can trick more new suckers.
And United States copyright law is practically eager to aid this huckster in his quest to suppress criticism and victimize the ignorant. Using the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, Geller has managed to get YouTube to delete several videos that show Geller’s deceptions being exposed. Before Geller launched his purge, when you searched YouTube for “Uri Geller” you would immediately discover videos that let you know he is a trickster. But as of this moment, that same search yields mainly uncritical videos.’
‘Jonathan Goodrum, who pleaded guilty to the attempted rape of a 1-day-old girl, plans to request a DNA test in April to determine if the child is his daughter.
If the child is his, Goodrum, 20, said he plans to petition the Carroll County Juvenile Court for visitation rights.
“I’ll battle it to my dying days,” Goodrum said in a phone interview with The Jackson Sun last week.
Goodrum said he looks forward to the DNA test so he will know what his next step will be.’
‘Sydney radio broadcaster Alan Jones is facing a possible jail term after he was found to have broken the law that prohibits the naming of juvenile witnesses in court cases.
In July 2005, the 2GB talkback host named a boy who had given evidence at a murder trial.
The boy was allegedly aged 14 when he witnessed the fatal attack, in 2004.
Although prosecutors could not prove the exact age of the minor, NSW Deputy Chief Magistrate Helen Syme said yesterday evidence showed he had been born between 1988 and 1992, and she accepted that he was younger than 18 at the relevant time. [..]
The companies each face a penalty of $5500, while Jones could be imprisoned for up to 12 months.’
‘A man stabbed his 11-month-old son in the back, threw the boy out the car window with the kitchen knife stuck in his back and then drove away, police said Thursday.
“He was conscious, but the knife was buried all the way to the handle,” said Speedway Detective Jim Thiele. The boy, Devon Chandler, was in stable condition at a hospital Thursday.
“To the amazement of the doctors and everyone else involved, (the knife) somehow managed to just miss the vital organs,” Thiele said.’
‘So Wolf began snooping around and found that two chains, Costco and Sam’s Club, sold generics at prices far, far below the other chains. Even once you factor in the cost of buying a membership at Costco and Sam’s Club, the price differences were astounding. Here are the prices he found at Houston stores for 90 tablets of generic Prozac:
Walgreens: $117
Eckerd: $115
CVS: $115
Sam’s Club: $15
Costco: $12
Those aren’t typos. Walgreens charges $117 for a bottle of the same pills for which Costco charges $12.’
‘A 17-year-old girl who spent weeks looking for her missing dog unwrapped a box left on her doorstep and found the pet’s severed head inside, authorities said.
Homicide investigators were looking into the case because of the “implied” terroristic threat, St. Paul Police Sgt. Jim Gray said. The Humane Society of the United States said Wednesday it was offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to an arrest and conviction.
“This was extraordinarily heinous,” said Dale Bartlett, the Humane Society’s deputy manager for animal cruelty issues. “I deal with hundreds and hundreds of cruelty cases each year. When I read about this case, it took my breath away. It’s horrible.”‘
