Amplify’d from www.cnn.com

Sexual assault reports spike in military academies, report shows

By Larry Shaughnessy, CNN Pentagon Producer

Washington (CNN) -- Sexual assaults at the U.S. military's three service academies increased drastically in the 2009-2010 academic year after four years of declines, a new report shows. The academies reported 41 sexual assaults involving cadets or midshipmen compared with 25 the prior academic year, a 64% jump. But the report warns the problem may be 10 times greater than the statistics show. A Department of Defense statement accompanying the report said the increase could mean more reporting, not more attacks. "This may not indicate an increase in instances of sexual assault occurring, as it could also be a result of training and education and victims' confidence in the department's ability to respond," the news release said. Anuradha Bhagwati, a former Marine Corps captain and executive director of Service Women's Action Network, called the Defense Department statement a ""pretty pathetic explanation." The network is a national human rights organization with a goal of allowing women to serve in uniform without threat of harassment, discrimination, intimidation or assault. This week Service Women's Action Network and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Pentagon and the Department of Veterans Affairs, seeking records on sexual assault in the military. Bhagwati said reporting of sex assaults by academy students is rare. The Defense Department's report to Congress, which includes a survey of academy midshipmen and cadets, confirms that. "These survey results suggest that the 41 reports of sexual assault at the (military service academies) accounted for fewer than 10% of the incidents of unwanted sexual contact that may have actually occurred," the report says; "12.9 percent of women and 1.9 percent of men survey at all three service academies indicated experiencing unwanted sexual contact." The 41 sexual assaults referred to are not necessarily rape. The Defense Department has a wide definition of sexual assault. "The term 'sexual violence,' herein referred to as 'sexual assault,' is defined as intentional sexual contact, characterized by use of force, threats, intimidation, abuse of authority, or when the victim does not or cannot consent," the report said. "The reason that so many women and men do not report their sexual assaults," Bhagwati said, "is because there is a culture of intimidation. Not just at the military academies, but also ... in the armed services themselves." She gave as an example a woman in the military who was being choked by a male service member trying to sexually assault her. She fought back and was charged with striking a fellow service member. The man who was choking her was not charged. Greg Jacob, policy director for Service Women's Action Network, said the Defense Department has "an abysmal record of actually prosecuting sexual predators." He gave an example from the one cadet at the Army's U.S. Military Academy at West Point who was convicted last May of raping a fellow cadet. The cadet, Kyle Newman, was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison. In New York state, first-degree rape is a class B felony, punishable by 12 1/2 to 25 years in prison. All three of the academies claim things are improving. "Over the course of the academic program year 2009-2010, the United States Military Academy made steady progress on the prevention of sexual harassment and violence," reads a memo from the superintendent of West Point. "The United States Naval Academy continued to demonstrate its clear commitment to both the spirit and intent of Department of Defense and Department of the Navy Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Programs," reads the Naval Academy's part of the report. And the Air Force Academy "continues to provide a very robust education and training program, to include seminars, guest speakers and targeted year-group focused training," according the Air Force portion of the report. "These programs extend well beyond activities that heighten awareness of the problem," Kaye Whitley, director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, said in the press release accompanying the report. "Not only do the academies have a well-organized response structure, they also incorporate sexual harassment and sexual assault prevention objectives into leadership and academic curricula." Read more at www.cnn.com

 

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Amplify’d from gawker.com

Anti-Gay Group Wants Its Rainbow Back

An activist for a sub-group of the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage is speaking out against the rainbow as a symbol for gay rights. "We are the real rainbow coalition. The gay lobby does not own the rainbow," she said. Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse is the founder and president of the Ruth Institute, which describes itself as "a project of the National Organization for Marriage." On its site, the group describes its mission statement as "to promote life-long married love to college students by creating an intellectual and social climate favorable to marriage." Becky Yeh of right-wing American Family News Network's OneNewsNow, a product of the American Family Association, writes that Morse says "the rainbow is a sign of God's covenant with man." Morse told ONN: "Proposition 8 was passed by a great grassroots coalition that included people from all across the religious traditions, and also people of every race and color. We are the real rainbow coalition. The gay lobby does not own the rainbow." Morse continued: "We can't simply let that go by. Families put rainbows in their children's nurseries. Little Christian preschools will have rainbows...Noah's Ark and all the animals.... Those are great Christian symbols, great Jewish symbols." She also described how she wore a rainbow scarf to the Prop 8 hearings to show that anti-gay marriage activists still own the symbol. Morse operates a blog on the Ruth Institute's website, and recently wrote a post asking supporters of same-sex marriage: "Do you really believe that mothers and fathers are interchangeable and that gender is irrelevant to parenting? If gender is really irrelevant, why do self-described "gays" insist on having a male sex partner? Why isn't a really masculine woman just as acceptable as a male sex partner?" [viaRight Wing Watch]

See more at gawker.com

 

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Amplify’d from www.westernjournalism.com

FCC sets vote on ‘net neutrality’ rules…

Contentious Internet traffic rules facing a vote next week are likely to be adopted without radically veering from a proposal unveiled earlier in the month, telecommunications policy analysts said on Wednesday.

The Federal Communications Commission will vote on Dec. 21 on whether to adopt regulations that ban the blocking of lawful traffic but allow Internet service providers to ration Web traffic on their networks.

The proposal laid out two weeks ago by FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski was met with concern from the other members of the FCC, putting in question the likelihood of winning over a majority of the five-member FCC.

The two Republican commissioners have objected to FCC action on Internet rules, saying the Internet is best able to thrive in the absence of regulation. And Genachowski’s two fellow Democrats on the panel could withhold support from any measure they view as too weak.

But analysts said commissioners Mignon Clyburn and Michael Copps, the Democrats on the panel, are more likely to consider it in the majority’s interest to move ahead with so-called net neutrality rules.

Read More: Reuters

Related posts: Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

House Democrats shelve net neutrality proposal Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

FCC chairman to propose plan for net neutrality Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

Court: FCC has no power to regulate Net neutrality Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

Will the liberal media report that Lieberman will vote against Baucus bill? Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

Engulfing the Internet Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

 

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LIMBAUGH: ‘MAYBE THE REAL TERRORISTS WE FACE ARE ON CAPITOL HILL’

On Wednesday, Rush Limbaugh was still fired up over the GOP being called “hostage takers” by the president last week. So, he threw out some analogies of his own, comparing Democrats to “Al Capone” and “gangsters.” But he didn’t stop there — he went on to wonder if Democrats on the Hill are the real “terrorists.”

Transcript via Mediaite:

It could well be, ladies and gentlemen, that we’re fighting the wrong enemy in the Middle East. Maybe the real terrorists that we face are on Capitol Hill. I mean, really, who’s doing as good a job to undermine what this country stands for as the terrorists? ‘Dingy’ Harry, Nancy Pelosi. I mean, look, if they call us ‘hostage takers’ and ‘gangsters,’ then why can’t we call them what they are? They are terrorists. They certainly seem suicidal. Look at what they’re doing. Look at what they did. They knew they were going to get shellacked in this election and they did it! They knew they were gonna lose. And they want to take us with them.

Here’s the full clip where Rush explains his analogy:

Read More: By Jonathan Seidl, The Blaze

Related posts: Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

Breitbart to release ‘interesting’ audio of Capitol Hill politician Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

The Real Radio Hatemongers Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

Rush Limbaugh: Elections could end thanks to Obama Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

The Limbaugh Rule: Vote for Most Conservative Candidate in Primary Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

Limbaugh prompts healthcare calls, ties up House phone lines Read more at www.westernjournalism.com

 

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Lone Madman Puts Capitol Hill on Lockdown

URL:  http://gawker.com/5714197/lone-madman-puts-capitol-hill...

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Jury finds Masons not guilty in case - News - Charleston Daily Mail - West Virginia News and Sports -

http://www.dailymail.com/News/201012150813

by Cheryl Caswell

Daily Mail staff



A jury has determined that the Masons did not defame or damage a former Grand Worshipful Master when they threw him out of the organization.



Frank Haas, 53, of Wellsburg filed a lawsuit against the Grand Lodge in Charleston and two members of the Masons hierarchy - Charlie Montgomery and Charles Coleman. Those two men succeeded Haas as state leader of the men's brotherhood.



Haas claimed he suffered emotional distress after being unexpectedly expelled as a member in 2006, shortly after his term ended. He said other Mason leaders were unhappy that he attempted to change some of the group's restrictions on race, age and disabilities.



But after more than a week of testimony from both sides, the jury decided against Haas on all counts.



The case was presided over by Kanawha Circuit Court Judge Carrie Webster.



Haas is an attorney and administrative law judge.



He told the jury that the membership of the Masons approved his reforms, but there were allegations of fraud concerning that election. The changes ended up being overturned by Coleman.



Jack Tinney, the Charleston attorney who represented the Masonic lodge, Coleman and Montgomery, said he was pleased with the trial outcome.



"It was a complete defense victory," Tinney said. "The jury found in the defendants' favor on all counts. They awarded no damages."



The jury was asked to decide whether Haas suffered any damage due to his ouster and whether any of the three defendants placed him in a false light or intentionally inflicted emotional distress.



They decided no on all issues.



Tinney said, "They feel incredibly justified and pleased with the result. They certainly believed their actions were proper and within their province, and the jury verdict affirms that."



Whether the court had any business refereeing the decisions of a private organization was a point of contention in pre-trial arguments. Tinney asked the court to dismiss the case on that basis, but two judges - first former Circuit Judge Irene Berger and then Webster - decided to let the case go to a jury.



But the verdict sends a message that such organizations have much leeway in how they manage their affairs, make their rules and deal with membership issues.



"With regard to the future, it's a private organization that controls its own operating procedures," Tinney said. "I'm confident they will continue to do so."



Contact writer Cheryl Caswell at @dailymail.com">cher...@dailymail.com or 348-4832.

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Meet the mother of all earmarks: $48 billion (UPDATED)

Amplify’d from www.examiner.com

Meet the mother of all earmarks: $48 billion (UPDATED)

Howard Portnoy

Leave it to Cleaver: Emanuel and his pals

If Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) gets his way, Christmas will come early to his congressional district. And judging by the size of the gift, it will last for a long, long time.

Cleaver, who is chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, is proposing to divert $48 billion of taxpayer funds to the Quality Day Campus, a not-for-profit something or other that would redistribute your money to poor people. Sounds fair, no?

Pressed for details about the plan, Cleaver’s office is quoted by the Southeast Missourian as explaining that the cash would be used for

[a] mass scale urban reclamation project for combating, reducing, reversing and/or eliminating poverty within under served communities by utilizing mass scale economic redevelopment to bring about stability and self reliance.

If that explanation strikes you as skimpy on the details, you can at least rest easy in the knowledge that once Congressman Cleaver picks your pocket for this project, he will leave you alone. Oh, wait—no he won’t. I forgot to mention the $48 bil covers “Phase One” of his vision for a richer inner city.

Is this man mad? There seems to be little question. But that’s only because members of Congress have been conditioned to view themselves as benefactors to their constituents. Remember, the late John Murtha saw nothing wrong with extracting $200 million from the national coffers to build an airport—named for him, no less—that has three commercial flights a day.

Of course, when it comes to acts of indebtedness to one’s congressional district, there is a yawning chasm between $200 million and $48 billion.

It is worth noting that this is not the first time Cleaver has promoted this absurd experiment in wealth redistribution. His previous efforts have blessedly failed, as almost certainly will this one. The real question that emerges is when American voters will say, “Enough!” When we will get on the case of our elected officials in Congress to do the job they were hired to do, which is make laws, not friends back home.

UPDATE: It has been brought to my attention that the Wall Street Journal blog Washington Wire reports Cleaver had been asked to help secure this earmark but never actually proposed it in Congress. The item appears on Cleaver's appropriations spreadsheet with no amount entered next to it. Mary Petrovic, a spokeswoman for Cleaver, has stated, "We did not propose it [the inner-city project], we do not promote it, and we did not submit it to the House Appropriations Committee.”

Petrovic went on to clarify that Cleaver did not specify which earmarks he actually supported because “the rules do not require us to do so.” Accurate though her statement might be, it would seem based on entries in Cleaver's spreadsheet that perhaps it's high time those rules were changed. The total of the items penciled in that do have dollar amounts—which includes half a billion dollars for a regional transit system upgrade for Jackson County—is well over $1 billion dollars. That's a lot of proposals for a member of a legislative body with more than 500 members. It would benefit us as a nation to place some constraints on what our elected lawmakers can promise their constituents back home—a measure that would ensure greater transparency at election time.

New poll: The lamest (duck) Congress in Gallup history Read more at www.examiner.com

 

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The real goal of the climate conference?

Amplify’d from www.sbcbaptistpress.org

FIRST-PERSON: The real goal of the climate conference?

Penna Dexter

DALLAS (BP)--Another United Nations Climate Conference has come to an end. Delegates from 194 countries traveled to Cancun, Mexico, where they hobnobbed and deliberated for two weeks. Mexican President Felipe Calderon delivered the first speech. Pat Carlson, president of Texas Eagle Forum, was in attendance and reports that the Mexican president "spoke with great concern about global warming and the damage humans are perpetrating on the planet citing the deaths of 60 people in Mexico because of weather extremes." Mrs. Carlson thought the concern seemed a little out of proportion considering thousands are dying in Mexico due to drug violence. The truth is that most of these folks were not in Cancun to change the climate. They were there to advance the global redistribution of wealth from rich countries to poor. They argue that the United States and other developed nations have caused global warming by emitting too much greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Now we're supposed to hand over billions of bucks to poor and developing nations to pay some sort of historical debt. This hoax is built upon certain assumptions. Brian Sussman, award-winning television weatherman and now San Francisco radio host, wrote a great book last year: "Climategate." In it he discusses the erroneous claims made at every climate conference: -- Claim No. 1: Temperatures will rise about four degrees in the 21st century. Sussman points out that since 1850, the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, the average surface temperature of the earth has risen only .7 degrees Celsius. That's just over one degree Fahrenheit in 160 years. And most of this was before 1942! Scary! -- Claim No. 2: By the end of the century, sea levels will rise two meters, overwhelming certain island nations. Sussman points out that the oceans have been rising tiny fractions of an inch each year since the Ice Age. At that rate, in the next 90 years, we'll see the waters rise a few inches. We'll adjust. -- Claim No. 3: The United States and other developed countries should mandate the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions and should do this by rationing energy use. By doing so, they claim, we will lessen the effects of the previously described global warming. But planetary warming is not a problem. An increasing number of scientists and other believers in human-caused warming are rethinking their positions. They realize that fixing climate change, an absurd concept, is simply an excuse for U.N. planners to move wealth from richer countries to poorer ones. In order to perpetuate this global climate regime, countries will be forced to ration energy. When countries drastically cut energy use they limit their potential for growth. And of course, that's the point. In "Climategate," Sussman quotes President Obama's Director of Science and Technology Policy, John Holdren, who wrote, "A massive campaign must be launched in North America to restore a high-quality environment and to de-develop the United States." Conservative leader Cathie Adams, another participant at the conference, visited a community outside Cancun where the houses are made of discarded campaign posters and people prepare meals on old ironing boards. She wondered if this is what UN planners mean when they advocate drastic emissions cuts. We should admit these climate conferences are really economic conferences meant to squeeze successful economies. --30-- Penna Dexter is a conservative activist and frequent panelist on the "Point of View" syndicated radio program. Her weekly commentaries air on the Bott and Moody Radio Networks. Read more at www.sbcbaptistpress.org

 

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Fatal antifreeze poisoning report in Auburn being investigated

Cynthia's last job was as a cook at the Jesuit Community Center

Amplify’d from rosevillept.com

Fatal antifreeze poisoning report in Auburn being investigated

By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff Writer

Cynthia Smith died Friday, a week after reporting being assaulted and having antifreeze forced down her throat.

Cynthia Smith claimed she was attacked while on a walk on Auburn’s Edgewood Road by a man who forced antifreeze down her throat. Seven days later, the 36-year-old Citrus Heights woman died after sinking into a coma at Mercy San Juan Medical Center. Now, both Placer County Sheriff’s Office investigators and grieving family members are looking for answers in a bizarre set of circumstances that apparently started with a decision to take a Friday evening walk in the dark down a quiet road on the outskirts of the city. Sgt. Fred Guitron said it wasn’t unusual for Smith to go out on walks in the dark but what may have occurred the night of Dec. 3 is still couched in uncertainty. Smith’s death is being treated as suspicious but toxicology and autopsy reports from the county’s pathologist will give the Sheriff’s Office a better idea of what she died of. Those tests, however, won’t be completed until at least mid-January, Guitron said. “We’re investigating it as a suspicious death but we have minimal information,” Guitron said. The poisoning Smith spoke of would have occurred sometime between 6:30 p.m. and 6:40 p.m. Dec. 3, Guitron said. Smith told sheriff’s deputies later that Friday night of taking a walk alone outside while visiting a female cousin’s Edgewood Road apartment and being accosted by a white male with a thin build, Guitron said. The man pushed her down and forced her to drink antifreeze from a bottle, Smith told deputies. Smith said she walked back from the attack site – near the Union Pacific railroad overpass crossing Edgewood Road – and eventually got a return ride to her Sacramento County home from her female Citrus Heights roommate. Before leaving Auburn, Smith was seen by medical personnel at the apartment but signed a release stating that she had declined to be taken to hospital by ambulance, Guitron said. Leslie Smith, Cynthia’s father, said that his daughter “doesn’t like drama” and had to be talked into reporting the incident to authorities and seeking medical help. She declined ambulance help because she was out of work and didn’t want to pay for the short ride to the hospital, he said. Staff at the Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital performed a blood draw, Leslie Smith said. Cynthia appeared to be OK during the Saturday and Sunday after the attack but complained about not feeling well on Monday. On Tuesday, Cynthia’s roommate found her extremely sick and called 9-1-1 to have an ambulance take her to hospital, he said. Cynthia lapsed into a coma and was officially declared dead on Friday, her father said. The Sheriff’s Office is dealing with several scenarios – the possibilities ranging from a potential poisoning to a concocted story to perhaps even a suicide attempt. “It’s not implausible (Smith’s statement to investigators) but it’s pretty odd,” Guitron said. Leslie Smith said his daughter, a graduate of the University of California, Davis, had been out of work since last December but not despondent enough to take her own life. Cynthia’s last job was as a cook at the Jesuit Community Center in Sacramento County. She had also worked nine years in the back country at Yosemite National Park as a cook and spent two years after high school with the California Conservation Corps on the North Coast. Smith and his wife, Nancy, said their daughter had no enemies that they knew of. What the family is left with are more questions now than answers. “We spent a lot of hours at the ICU hoping things would turn around but they never did,” Leslie Smith said. Antifreeze poisoning symptoms include rapid breathing, bloody urine, blurred vision, blindness, change in the body’s internal acid-base balance, leg cramps, headache and slurred speech. Eventually the poisoning victim slips into a coma because of the system’s change in acid balance and kidney failure leads to death. Death can occur within a time period of as little as a day. For those who recover, blindness and brain damage may be permanent. Antifreeze poisoning victims may die after ingesting as little as two ounces. The ultimate outcome depends on how much antifreeze is swallowed and how long afterward appropriate care was given, the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission states. Murder by antifreeze wouldn’t be unprecedented. Georgia’s Lynn Turner was convicted of using antifreeze to poison her husband in 1995 and then her boyfriend six years later. Both died from ingesting ethylene glycol. A coroner found ethylene glycol crystals in the kidneys of both victims after both initially were believed to have died of an irregular heartbeat. The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone seeing anything suspicious in the Edgewood Road area during and after the time frame of the reported attack to contact (530) 889-7849 and leave a message with information. That could include a suspicious vehicle driving away rapidly around 6:30 p.m. or after on Dec. 3 or hearing screams or the sound of a struggle in that area, Guitron said. The incident as reported is not being considered a random act but the investigation could move forward as a homicide, depending on forensic tests and other information the Sheriff’s Office is gathering, Guitron said. The Sheriff’s Office has collected some evidence but Guitron declined to disclose what it is because of the ongoing investigation. Guitron said that there is nothing to indicate Cynthia Smith’s death has anything to do with the recent deaths of six men over the past two years in the nearby Wise Canal. ------------------------------------ Fast facts: A lethal poison - Two ounces of antifreeze can kill a dog - As little as one teaspoon of antifreeze can kill a cat - Two tablespoons can be hazardous to children - When ingested, antifreeze ingredients convert to oxalic acid, which damages the kidneys. Kidney failure and death can result - According to the American Association of Poison Control, about 3,400 poisonings a year involve antifreeze. - About 20 percent of antifreeze poisonings involve children under 6 Source: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration environmental compliance office - Gus Thomson Read more at rosevillept.com

 

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Jesuit Service says Immigration agents injure two of its members

Amplify’d from www.dominicantoday.com

Jesuit Service says Immigration agents injure two of its members

Repatriated Haitians were kept from returning through Dajabon. Photo J.L. Fernandez, SJRM.

Santo Domingo.- The Jesuit Service for Refugees and Migrants (SJRM) reports that two of its members were roughed up by agents wearing Immigration Agency (DGM) vests, during a Thursday morning sweep of undocumented Haitians near its Centro Bono offices on Josefa Brea street, in Santo Domingo.

In a press conference the SJRM said the alleged aggression took place when its lawyers who work with migratory legalization documents tried to prevent the repatriation of a young Haitian who was in the process of regularizing his migratory status.

The charitable organization said the lawyer Barbara Suárez and the social worker Dania Carmona were injured the scuffle, but didn’t speciry their severity.

In a statement emailed to DT, the Jesuits call the incident an abuse of authority and nothing new. “The use of physical violence has characterized other processes that we haven’t observed,” adding that they will file a complaint. Read more at www.dominicantoday.com

 

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