El Bicho For those unfamiliar with the series, Moonlighting was a detective show from the latter half of the '80s, but it had much more in common with the screwball comedies of the '30s and '40s, driven by the verbal fireworks and sexual tension between lead characters, Maddie Hayes and David Addison. |
Mark My Words It's not very well known, but there has been an unwritten protocol for behavior in a men's room. At least there always has been for me. However, it seems recently, in the workplace, all those walls of isolation that my father and my father's father's generation have begun to be torn down. |
Chris Beaumont Ever wonder what goes on in a test screening? Well, wonder no more |
Moussaoui’s Crazy Trial
If ever a court trial was crazy and confusing, it has to be this trial for Zacarias Moussaoui. Moussaoui is being tried for …well I don’t know exactly what he is being tried for in the technical use of the legal terms. I do know that Moussaoui was considered part of that Al-Queda hijack team that did the deed on 9/11/01. I also know the government is going after the death penalty for Moussaoui.
The death penalty, to the chagrin of the rest of the compassionate western world, is an American thing. However I have some issues with giving this guy the death penalty although I fully understand that this idiot could have prevented the deaths of over 3,000 Americans by either not participating in the plot to begin with or stopping it once it was in process. He is an American citizen who betrayed his country and participated in the death of many of his co-citizens. It’s a fairly heinous thing.
Yet he didn’t actually kill anyone with his own bare hands.
Whatever the argument, should Moussaoui get the death penalty I’ll not mourn his loss. But by me, the man should be put on a slow leaky boat to somewhere in Yemen, never to be heard from again.
Moving on to his trial. At the beginning, Moussaoui insisted on being his own attorney. Now as naïve Americans, we’ve been there and done that. The modus operandi of these international criminal types is to make a mockery of serious judicial proceedings, witness the lovely Saddam and the now-deceased Milosevec. It’s a “hail Mary pass”, the only defense available to one responsible for the deaths of so many. For when the vipers are moving in, stand up, wave your arms, make funny faces and spout outrageous lies. Hey, it might work.Now we hear that the U.S. justice department has messed up things via prosecutorial coaching of witnesses.
I am confused yet again. Although I would need to have the word “coaching” defined a bit more because in the few cases I’ve ever been involved in the prosecutors did quite a bit of this “coaching”. The coaching consisted mostly of what to wear in court, how to present certain evidence, practice sessions with law firm personnel posing as defense attorneys. I had no idea such a thing was against the law. Given that there should be common sense parameters on such a thing and handing a witness a “speech” to recite on the stand would be over-stepping those common sense bound.
Thus I’ve no idea how far those Moussaoui prosecutors went with the coaching but the judge didn’t like it and all hell broke loose.
Now the government is scrambling to come up with new witnesses and evidence as the judge has thrown out much of the prosecutor’s case.
From AOL.com:
ALEXANDRIA, Va. (March 17) - The federal judge in the death penalty trial of al-Qaida conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui accepted a government compromise Friday that will allow prosecutors to present new witnesses about aviation security.
Littlejohn, St. Guillen and The Lying Bar Owner
The murder of Imette St. Guillen continues to garner national attention. Not only was the young would-be legal scholar’s murder tragic and horrific, with each passing day more is known about the lies and cover-ups by the owners of The Falls bar where bouncer Darryl Littlejohn was last seen accompanying St. Guillen out of the bar.
It seems investigators have recovered a lot of forensic evidence to pretty much try Littlejohn with little problem.
From ABClocal.com:
The commissioner revealed that the suspect's cell phone records not only place him at or near where the body was found, but essentially trace a direct route to the location, reportedly from Darryl Littlejohn's home. ABC News has learned that hairs from Littlejohn's cat match those on the quilt used to wrap the victim.
More intriguing is the behavior of the bar owners and how they acted not only the night St. Guillen was murdered, but the lies they told after the fact. I discussed this turn of events in my last True Crime post. And as events continue to unfold, it appears that the bar owners could have messed this investigation up completely had Littlejohn not been such a lousy criminal.
From the NY Daily news:
> But, St. Guillen was still sipping that second drink when young Dorrian announced it was closing time. She declined to leave before she could
finish what she had just bought. Danny Dorrian is said to have instructed the bouncer to escort her out. As police tell it, St. Guillen could be heard asking for her money back as bouncer Darryl Littlejohn removed her. One police official says her protests were suddenly punctuated by a whimper. Seventeen hours later, St. Guillen's body was found dumped in the weeds along Fountain Ave. on the far side of Brooklyn. She had been raped and murdered.
The Falls had ejected a protesting St. Guillen with a bouncer who was on parole for a violent felony, a bouncer who disappeared into the early morning darkness along with her. By the police account, Danny Dorrian repeatedly lied to the detectives over the next few days. He only began to tell something closer to the truth toward the end of the week, apparently at the urging of his
politically connected attorney. A police official was prompted to term the younger Dorrian a man with "no conscience whatsoever."
"[He] hears the whimper and lies to us repeatedly," a police official said. The official noted that the lies had accorded the prime suspect ample opportunity to dispose of evidence. He was in custody on a parole violation as police continued their search yesterday for any clues that might remain. At lunchtime, nary a customer was in The Falls. Not a cent was going into the three cash registers behind the bar where St. Guillen paid for that second drink.
The Dorrian referred to in the quote above is a son of a brother of a cousin of the actual bar owners. Actually, Dorrian is a relative of the family who owns The Falls bar and the excerpt above is very damaging. They heard St. Guillen’s whimper immediately after she left the bar and did nothing. The following day the love Danny Dorrian knew St. Guillen had been murdered and he had to know Littlejohn was involved. Yet he lied. As the quote states, the lies of Dorrian allowed the perpetrator to cover his tracks. Fortunately Littlejohn never thought of the cat hairs.
I expect this case will soon take on a new dimension as The Falls’ bar owners too will be charged with accessory to a murder. Oh, and I’m glad the wonderful Falls bar has no customers of late.
He Fathered a Child But Does Not Want to Pay
Poor Matthew Dubay. He and his girlfriend had a relationship that evidently involved some intimacy. Dubay’s girlfriend, a Lauren Wells, is alleged to have lied to Dubay regarding her fertility and whether she was using birth control.
Wells gives birth to a baby, sues Dubay for child support, now Dubay has filed a case in Michigan with a little help from the National Center for Men. Dubay feels that he had no choice in the matter, was deceived, and should not have to pay up. The arguments on his behalf are many.
First, Dubay was deliberately deceived by a lying girlfriend. Second, women can drop off a child at a nearby fire station and have no questions asked. Third, if the fire station option is out, women can have first trimester abortions in the case of an unplanned pregnancy, a choice men do not have.
Some things are determined by nature and that’s just a fact. If the males of the human species were the vessels of unborn babies until live birth, than the males would have the choice of whether to continue the pregnancy or not. The practice of dropping off unwanted babies at fire stations or other designated locations is meant to protect the child, for God’s sake, not the mother. A child left in a dumpster is an endangered human being. The logic is that if the mother is overwhelmed and feels unable to handle the baby, it’s best that a place be provided for the unwanted baby that it can live and eventually be placed in a home where he is wanted and loved.
Many argue about this practice but whatever the case, I do believe a man can drop off an unwanted child in the same manner, given an unusual set of circumstances that may leave a male in a situation faced with this choice. It’s not a discriminatory thing is what I’m saying here.
Then there’s the obvious argument. Condoms. Hey, in some schools and such they give the things away! Had Dubay been drop-dead serious about the matter, well he did have some control over it all.
There is one criteria over whether a man should support a child he fathered. And it’s quite simple. Does the child’s DNA match the charged father? If so, he pays.
The circumstances leading up to the child’s conception, the long intimate talks, the lies, the failure to use a condom, whatever and whatever, are of no matter. A living being exists that was brought into the world by two people. I know laws vary by state but if a child is given up for adoption both the mother and father have to sign. Had Dubay’s girlfriend chose to give up the baby, Dubay would have had a choice. He could have refused to sign the adoption papers. In which case he could then assert that he wants to keep the child himself and I believe he would win that battle. If Dubay refused to sign the adoption papers but didn’t want to keep the child himself, the government can file a petition to remove Dubay’s paternal rights thus allowing the child to be adopted out to a loving family. Same thing with the mother. If she didn’t want the child but refused to care for it, there are legal ways to deny maternal rights as well. Again, there’s no discrimination.
The choice whether to have an abortion will always lie on the female and I cannot imagine a world where males can demand that women have abortions for pregnancies they don’t want. I also can’t imagine a world where males can demand that expectant mothers of their children can refuse that woman’s right to an abortion. Until men grow ovaries and a uterus, this will simply never change.
This whole scenario has been designed by nature, not any rule of humankind. Women get periods every month and there’s no way passing legislation against it will actually stop this biological phenomena.
Dubay doesn’t have a chance of winning this thing. All he is doing is helping to destroy his child’s life. Imagine growing up knowing your biological father went to such great lengths to disown you.
That’s the greater crime.
Family of Six Missing
The Stivers family took off in their motor home one bright sunny day and are now missing. Peter Stivers’ mother and father were along so that makes a total of six people that just, poof, disappeared.
Popular belief is that the motor home somehow veered off the road to fall in some remote gully and unable to be seen from the roadside.
Whatever happened to the Stivers’ family the outcome does not appear positive. Soon they’ll likely find that motor home. Which is an ancient affair at any rate and motor homes are notoriously prone to such steering accidents.
From CBSnews.com:
Missing Family Baffles Police
NEW YORK, March 16, 2006(CBS) Police in Oregon are baffled by the disappearance of an entire family. Peter Stivers, his wife Marlo, their two children and his parents have been missing for 12 days. The family left Ashland, Ore., on March 4, headed for the coast in a motor home, and hasn't been heard from since.
Hill [Marlo’s mother] reported the family missing on March 8, three days after they had been expected home and says that so far, the police are stumped. "They know nothing," she told Syler. "We all think it's just bizarre. It's just like they vanished. We have no information since their disappearance."
One important piece of information is that there has been no activity in the family's bank accounts, which leads police to think this is not a case of foul play. "They are concentrating on a search and rescue at this point," said Mock.
"At this point, I am afraid that they are stranded or snowed in," she said. "So we're afraid they are out there cold and hungry."
Joking EMT Gets a Year for His Death-Causing Foolishness
I first wrote about this bizarre incident in late January. Seems a jocular fellow got it into his head that zapping his co-worker with defibrillation paddles would be a hoot. He was warned by his co-workers not to do it, that such a thing can kill someone. Joshua didn’t believe it and he engaged in his tomfoolery. A mother of two children died because of it.
Joshua has been sentenced to twelve months in jail and the horror of what he did will never go away.
From Timesnews.net:
Russell County Circuit Judge Mike Moore called the June 1, 2005, death of 23-year-old Courtney Leighann Hilton "a senseless, foolish act" before handing down a 12-month jail sentence to Joshua Phillip Martin, 25, who entered an Alford plea in January to one count of involuntary manslaughter.
That Big Internet Child Porn Sting
Children do not choose to participate in sexual activity. Period. Now one might argue the definition of “children” ad nauseam, but there would be little debate about abusing an 18-month old baby and broadcasting the abuse across the Internet. I think of my own precious 2 year old granddaughter and I get ill.
Let the record show the names of these fine people and may they rot in a jail cell somewhere.
From WRAL.com:
Feds: 'Worst Imaginable' Child Porn Site Had Live Abuse
POSTED: 9:09 am EST March 16, 2006
CHICAGO -- Participants in an international Internet chat room transmitted live visuals of child molestation and traded thousands of pictures of child pornography, federal authorities said Wednesday in announcing charges against 27 people.
U.S. and international authorities have charged 27 people who took part in the Kiddypics & Kiddyvids chat room. The youngest child seen in pictures or video was less than 18 months old, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said in announcing the results of the 10-month investigation.
The defendants include Brian A. Annoreno of suburban Chicago, who prosecutors say molested an infant and transmitted it live to a viewer in the Canadian city of Edmonton. Annoreno was in federal custody, and it was unclear if had an attorney.
"The behavior in the chat room and the images sent around the world ... are the worst imaginable form of child pornography," Gonzales said at a news conference in Chicago.
Investigators identified seven children who were molested on the streaming video, Gonzales said. Four molesters are among those charged, prosecutors said.
Ending With a Stupid Criminal Tale
Guy inquires at police station about a murder he committed. Now I suppose he wanted to deduce the progress of the investigation. Which might be giving this fellow more credit then he deserves. Whatever the case, thanks be to stupidity. A murderer is now off the street.
From WRAL.com:
Man Asks Police About Murder; Ends Up Being ChargedFAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- Fayetteville police arrested a man in connection with a deadly weekend shooting after he contacted them regarding the homicide.
Authorities said Dadi Kenyatta McNair went to the Fayetteville Police Department and inquired about the homicide of Charles Umar Johnson.
Johnson was shot to death Sunday night on Mayview Street near Southern Avenue.
After talking with detectives, McNair was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
More True Crime Updates HERE
Katrina, FEMA and Thousands of Mobile Homes
Kaitlyn,
Just a quick note to update you on yet another housing crisis as in March in this year of our Lord 2006 the government is now furiously trying to settle the hurricane evacuees into some sort of permanent housing.
Immediately after the storm and as the flood waters from the breached levees were filling New Orleans, the rescued were moved to various large rescue centers in different parts of the country. Such living arrangements are, as you must understand sweet granddaughter, are temporary at best. So many of the evacuees either moved out on their own or were put up in hotel rooms. Hotel rooms with a price tag of over $150 a day and after six months, Kaitlyn, these people are being evicted. In that six month time period one would think they would have moved on but there you have it. Of course the Democrats, those who didn’t care for the fragile levees to begin with and those who abandoned their populace to avoid evacuation costs, are now all shouting that Bush is evicting Katrina victims.
Indeed in the quote below, Senator Harry Reid, the Democratic house minority leader, expresses dismay at the failure of the Bush administration…yada, yada. Not that congress shouldn’t be doing something, especially those congress critters from Louisiana.
The latest debacle, sweet granddaughter, is the saga of the house trailers. Seems FEMA purchased thousands of mobile homes for the Katrina evacuees but as of this writing they sit unused in a field in Arkansas.
The delay in setting up these trailers for people to live is unclear. As I’ve surmised the reasons are many and varied.
First, where these mobile homes would have to be located is considered a flood plain. Assuming the mobile homes would replace the tenements that many of those Katrina evacuees lived in before the hurricane. FEMA and local rules prevent mobile homes from being placed in a flood plain.
Second, seems local Louisiana residents don’t want huge trailer parks full of Katrina evacuees located near them. Those resident who don’t live in a flood plain and of course this is what would have to happen unless the flood plain restriction is lifted.
Now I don’t know why FEMA even purchased the mobile homes to begin with if their eventual locale wasn’t already established but there you have it.
The saga of the mobile homes. Like the buses Nagin left to be flooded and unused, so too are acres of possible housing. All the work of our government, Kaitlyn, both the locals and the feds.
From NOLA.com:
LITTLE ROCK (AP) — After seeing row upon row upon row of mobile homes lined up at the Hope airport Saturday, Senate minority leader Harry Reid expressed dismay at the failure of President Bush's administration to put the trailers to use sheltering hurricane victims on the Gulf Coast. "I'm terribly mystified, disappointed and ashamed for our country," the Nevada senator said after he and Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., visited the site where the Federal Emergency Management Agency is storing the mobile homes, bought after Hurricane Katrina destroyed the homes of thousands of people in Louisiana and Mississippi.  "I can't imagine that we could could have a sea of 11,000 mobile homes sitting there, rotting, while people around the country can't find a place to live," Reid said. FEMA has said that it has been unable to put the trailers to use because federal regulations prohibit placing them in flood plains, and many of those needing shelter after the hurricanes are in areas classified as flood-prone. |
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