Ahh...this, "Otherwise feel free to spank me later...drool" explains so much about you Andy.

Forgive me for not finding the original thread please.

I did want to up-date you all on this. I know there are legal challenges to breathalyzer testing in a variety of states. This news is from New Jersey where they found a startling 19,400 potential errors in the code. I am aware there are several manufacturers of these types of devices and this speaks to just one.

I believe it is essential to justice that the accused in any trial be allowed full access to all information used in court including the methodology used to determine what the state considers "facts"

I hope the New Jersey finds will lead other states to examine their equipment and procedures.

I include here only the introduction. A full and more detailed version of this report can be found at http://www.dwi.com/new-jersey/state-v-chun/?yeah.

State v. Chun

Base One Findings


SUMMARY OF THE SOFTWARE HOUSE FINDINGS
FOR THE
SOURCE CODE OF THE
DRAEGER ALCOTEST 7110 MKIII-C


Code Review

After two years of attempting to get the computer based source code for the Alcotest 7110 MKIII-C, defense counsel in State v. Chun were successful in obtaining the code, and had it analyzed by Base One Technologies, Inc.

By making itself a party to the litigation after the oral arguments in April, Draeger subjected itself to the Supreme Court's directive that Draeger ultimately provide the source code to the defendants' software analysis house, Base One.

Despite Draeger's protestations that the code was proprietary, Base One found that the code consists mostly of general algorithms arranged in a manner to implement the breath testing sequence. "That is, the code is not really unique or proprietary."

In a report released August 28, 2007, Base One determined:

As a matter of public safety, the Alcotest should be suspended from use until the software has been reviewed against an acceptable set of software development standards, and recoded and tested if necessary. An incorrect breath test could lead to accidents and possible loss of life, because the device might not detect a person who is under the influence, and that person would be allowed to drive. The possibility also exists that a person not under the influence could be wrongly accused and/or convicted.

Draeger reviewed the code, as well, through its software house, SysTest Labs, which agreed with Base One, that the patchwork code that makes up the 7110 is not written well, nor is it written to any defined coding standard. SysTest said, "The Alcotest NJ3.11 source code appears to have evolved over numerous transitions and versioning, which is responsible for cyclomatic complexity."

The best thing SysTest said about the machine was, "The translation from German to English of the comments within the major components shows the logical intent of the programmers to produce reliable and valid test results. SysTest was unable to find any evidence of any intention to mis-direct or re-direct the test results or report anything other than valid results."

SysTest only looked for "mal-ware", not for functioning of the code.

Base One, however, did an extensive evaluation, finding 19,400 potential errors in the code.

Humm not sure how this will come through the censoring on this site. I know Mister Cheney's first name doesn't come through. Apologizes in advance if the article is edited by the site.

I say...don't change the dogs name.

The dog's name was Nigger. Deal with it.

Just in case you weren't yet convinced that almost anything qualifies as a controversy in these enlightened times, here's one that redefines ridiculous.


Currently in production is the long-planned remake of the 1954 film The Dam Busters. Made under the auspices of Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings) and TV icon Sir David Frost, the Universal film will offer a detailed recounting of the famous 1943 raid in which the 617 squadron of the RAF used a revolutionary "bouncing bomb" to breach three dams in the industrial heart of Germany. It sounds like it's going to be great.


But there's a snag. The film's producers are presently riddled with anxiety over the name of the black Labrador owned and cherished by Wing Commander Guy Gibson. It was Nigger.


So, should they keep it or change it? It's a hot debating point, apparently. On one hand is the issue of historical accuracy. On the other, the fear that using the actual, factual name would cause widespread offense and, presumably, boycotts, rioting and death threats.

Such has been the worry that the film's writer Stephen Fry was instructed to come up with a list of alternative names. Jackson has declared the name-issue a "no-win scenario" and even Sir David has said they might go with "Nigsy", which Gibson sometimes called his beloved dog.


Sensitivity over the name of this historically important pooch has history. American TV airings of the original film replaced "Nigger" with "Trigger", and when it was screened in the UK by ITV in 2001 the name was erased entirely.


This caused outrage, with the magazine Index on Censorship deeming the deletion "unnecessary and ridiculous". Even Stephen Fry's website has been inundated by people voicing their opposition to any name change.


Quite right, too.


This Orwellian impulse to retrofit history according to the ancient strictures of political correctness is not only intellectually dishonest it is behind the pop-cultural curve by about 20 years.


We live in a post-PC world. Anybody who knows South Park or The Simpsons knows this. The hair-trigger sensitivities of the 1980s have been replaced by a more mature, intuitive understanding about the way the world works, especially when
it comes to matters of race, and the use of that term.


The plain fact is that audiences have long understood the critical importance of context and intent when it comes to the use of the N-word.



As far back as 1974 Mel Brooks mocked the word's racist legacy in the classic comedy Blazing Saddles. He ridiculed those who used it by flipping racial stereotypes and casting a black man as the hero. In the 1991 film Do the Right Thing Spike Lee brilliantly highlighted the hypocrisy of those who use the N-word as a slur, yet admire black culture.


Most significantly, the liberal use of the term in Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction (1994) powerfully crystallised what so many films and comedians had already shown, that the meaning of the N-word was no longer controlled by racists. It was subject to how it was said, who was saying it and how it was meant.


This is why in Stanley Kubrick's Full Metal Jacket (1987) when Animal Mother (Adam Baldwin) says how "all niggers must f---ing hang" we understand that he is jesting with a black comrade-in-arms whose life he later tries to save.

And it explains why a film like Tropic Thunder can feature a white actor in blackface without raising a single heckle. What was once a racist insult was now, when presented in context to a knowing audience, an inoffensive joke.


The comedy of black comedians such as Dave Chappelle, Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy and Chris Rock, and TV shows such as Seinfeld, The Simpsons, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm and South Park hammer the point that when it comes to touchy things like the N-word, context is everything.


Which brings us back to the Dam Buster's dog.


Of course they should keep the name. People will get it. They'll understand. Only the willfully ignorant will find offense.


Nigger was dearly loved by Gibson and his men, who adopted him as their mascot. When he was killed by a car shortly before the raid they named a target after him in tribute.


And here's a point. The dam buster raid was against a Nazi regime that considered black people as sub-human. Thus, keeping the dog's name would imbue the film with a delicious irony. The producers would be crazy to surrender this for the sake of "Nigsy".


Besides, a name change now would be pointless. Everyone knows his name was Nigger. And there hasn't been a riot yet.


Questions

Do you agree with any of this? Should they change the dog's name or not? And if so, what to? Fido? Rover? Belvedere? Is there validity to this controversy? Or is it a non-issue?


Your valued thoughts are hereby sought.

http://blogs.theage.com.au/schembri/archives/2009/05/_just_in_case_y.html

If this kid is going to school on a scholarship to play ball he is going to school at the expense of donors and the tax payer. Seems like there are other non-criminal football players that could use the money.

Boo brings up a good point. What about the girl who was raped. Wonder if she got a scholarship to go to school? How has this affected her life long term?

I wonder if this kid was say an English major would his criminal past keep him out?

Ah yes...reading...such a hardship...but..it doesn't just stop at reading.

Once you've read something you have to digest it and form your own thoughts.

Why bother? Really? When there are so many people who are happy to tell you what to think about everything from your diet to world events.

Ahh this is the thread I was looking for.

I have had some discussions regarding this thread with a person I know who is currently serving. I cannot identify him for obvious reasons. However here is a copy of one of our communications.

Original Message YOU sent on 5/13/2009 8:59:31 AM

Here is part of a post that many seem to be referring to. Some posters are saying that soldiers now serving are being trained to disarm US citizens and are secretly being sworn to be loyal to the UN.

No. 45 in this list is frequently referred to by folks who feel there is a one world government conspiracy afoot. The earliest date these surveys were circulated mentioned in these posts is 1994.

The following survey questions, except for the last one, were not reprinted in the July 11 New American article. They were forwarded by the magazine to the New Jersey Conservative PAC (NJCPAC, 2 Thornton Lane, Piscataway NJ 08854-5044 ph/fx:908-463-0797), which also reports that preliminary fact-finding at the base indicates that the “surveys came through the chain of command.” The questions are reproduced here with NJCPAC’s permission.

NJCPAC asks that anyone who knows of other administrations of this or similar COMBAT ARMS SURVEY(s) pls contact them or Congressmen Bob Dornan (ph:202-225-2965) or Duncan Miller (ph:202-225-5672 fx:202-225-0235).
COMBAT ARMS SURVEY
This questionnaire is to gather data concerning the attitudes of combat trained personnel with regards to nontraditional missions. All of your responses are confidential. Write your answers directly on the questionnaire form. In Part II, place an “X” in the space provided for your response.

1. Part I. Demographics What Service are you in?
2. What is your pay grade? (e.g. E-?, O-?)
3. What is your MOS code and description?
4. What is your highest level of education in years?
5. How many months did you serve in Operation Desert Storm/Desert Shield?
6. How many months did you serve in Somalia?
7. What state or country did you primarily reside in during childhood?

Part II. Attitudes Do you feel that U.S. combat troops should be used within the United States for any of the following missions?
8. Drug enforcement
(___) (___) (___) (___) (___)
Strongly Agree agree No opinion Strongly disagree Disagree
9. Disaster relief (e.g. hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes) [transcriber's note: questions #9 through #46 all provide the same range of response options as shown in question #8, above. The response options have been omitted from the remaining questions for brevity.]
10. Security at national events (e.g. Olympic Games, Super Bowl)
11. Environmental disaster clean-up
12. Substitute teachers in public schools
13. Community assistance programs (e.g. landscaping, environmental clean-up, road repair, animal control)
14. Federal and State prison guards
15. National emergency police force
16. Advisors to S.W.A.T units, the FBI, or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (B.A.T.F.)
17. Border patrol (e.g. prevention of illegal aliens into U.S. territory.) Do you feel that U.S. combat troops under U.S. command should be used in other countries for any of the following United Nations missions?
18. Drug enforcement
19. Disaster relief (hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes)
20. Environmental disaster clean-up
21. Peace keeping
22. Nation building/reconstruct civil government, develop public school system, develop or improve public transportation system, etc.)
23. Humanitarian relief (e.g. food and medical supplies, temporary housing, and clothing) Do you feel that U.S. combat troops should be used in other countries, under command of non-U.S. officers appointed by the United Nations for any of the following missions?
24. Drug enforcement
25. Disaster relief (e.g. hurricanes, floods, fires, earthquakes)
26. Environmental disaster clean-up
27. Peace keeping
28. Nation building (Reconstruct civil government, develop public school system, develop or improve public transportation system, etc.
29. Humanitarian relief (e.g. food and medical supplies, temporary housing, and clothing)
30. Police Action (e.g. Korea, Vietnam, but serving under non-U.S. officers) Consider the following statements:
31. The U.S. runs a field training exercise. U.N. combat troops should be allowed to serve in U.S. combat units during these exercises under U.S. command and control.
32. The United Nations runs a field training exercise. U.S. combat troops under U.S. command and control should serve in U.N. combat units during these exercises.
33. The United Nations runs a field training exercise. U.S. combat troops should serve under U.N. command and control during these exercises.
34. U.S. combat troops should participate in U.N. missions as long as the U.S. has full command and control.
35. U.S. combat troops should participate in U.N. missions under United Nations command and control.
36. U.S. combat troops should be commanded by U.N. officers and noncommissioned officers (NCOs) at battalion and company levels while performing U.N. missions.
37. It would make no difference to me to have U.N. soldiers as members of my team. (e.g. fire team, squad, platoon)
38. It would make no difference to me to take orders from a U.N. company commander.
39. I feel the President of the United States has the authority to pass his responsibilities as Commander-in-Chief to the U.N. Secretary General.
40. I feel there is no conflict between my oath of office and serving as a U.N. soldier.
41. I feel my unit’s combat effectiveness would not be affected by performing humanitarian missions for the United Nations.
42. I feel a designated unit of U.S. combat soldiers should be permanently assigned to the command and control of the United Nations.
43. I would be willing to volunteer for assignment to a U.S. combat unit under a U.N. commander.
44. I would like U.N. member countries, including the U.S., to give the U.N. all the soldiers necessary to maintain world peace.
45. I would swear to the following code: “I am a United Nations fighting person. I serve in the forces which maintain world peace and every nation’s way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense.”
46. The U.S. government declares a ban on the possession, sale transportation, and transfer of all non-sporting firearms. A thirty (30) day amnesty period is permitted for these firearms to be turned over to the local authorities. At the end of this period, a number of citizen groups refuse to turn over their firearms. Consider the following statement: I would fire upon U.S. citizens who refuse or resist confiscation of firearms banned by the U.S. government.
Edited by willing2 on Sat 05/02/09 11:32 AM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First of all a survey is a questionnaire to gain information, period! It is not intended to and does not set policy for any organization.

In regards to #45. Someone wants to know if they would swear to such an oath. It does not mean there is such an oath. Here is the oath that I took when I was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army. Enlisted soldiers take a similar oath when they are enlisted into the Army.

"I, _________, having been appointed as an officer in the Army of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; so help me God."

#45 seems to be an adaptation of the "Code of Conduct for Members of the United States Armed Forces" which was created after the Korean War to give service members guidelines that they could follow even if they had been captured and no longer under their US chain of command.

#1 in the Code states, "I am an American fighting man. I serve in the forces which guard my country and our way of life. I am prepared to give my life in their defense."

#6 in the Code states, "I will never forget that I am an American fighting man, responsible for my actions, and dedicated to the principles which made my country free. I will trust in my God and in the United States of America."

In regards to #36. When under a "unified command," which means there is a mix of forces from a variety of nations, US forces are employed as tactical UNITS, not individuals. US forces are typically deployed overseas at a level not below a brigade combat team and normally complete US command exists at no less than Corps or division. This means NO US company or battalion would be under a UN commander, that was not a US officer. This has been the position of the United States since the introduction of US forces to the European Theater in WWI.

I hope this clears some things up.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, whatcha think about this? The kid had to know he might be discovered. His employer told him so and well...we all know porn reaches across all of society.

Is how he paid for school important? Oh and what about the idea of hating the sin and not the sinner?

The article does not mention whether he signed a code of conduct, something that would be relevant I would think. Does gay sex negate his accomplishments in his classes in molecular biology? What does one have to do with the other?

Any thoughts ladies and gentlemen?

Christian college discovers porn career of student from Berks, suspends him
Muhlenberg grad, 22, studied at Grove City College
Courtesy of Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

If everything had gone according to plan, John Gechter would have been studying Thursday for a final exam - one of his last obligations before graduation from Grove City College with a degree in molecular biology.

Instead, the 2005 Muhlenberg High School graduate was suspended and the chances are slim that he'll be attending the weekend ceremonies on campus.

For the past two years, Gechter, 22, has been paying the bills through his secret life as gay porn star "Vincent DeSalvo," earning as much as $11,000 per weekend while jetting off to Chicago, Miami and Los Angeles to film videos.

He did so without telling a soul on the 2,300-student campus in Mercer County.

But on April 23, a fellow student at the college that describes itself as "authentically Christian" found Gechter's work on the Web and forwarded evidence of his secret identity to friends. The next day, Gechter had a meeting with administrators.

His punishment: an indefinite suspension and a prohibition from re-applying for admission until the fall of 2010. A Grove City appeals board turned down his initial appeal. One is pending.

Gechter, who said he is bisexual, had been warned by his employers in the adult film industry that his identity would likely become known.

Though Gechter said that his porn career opened doors in modeling and acting, he now wishes that he hadn't done it, given the academic consequences and the pain it has caused his religious family.

When he broke the news, his mother started praying and fasting. His father was upset, but said that they still loved him.

Okay, I am very curious about what people think about a rapist being given a football scholarship.

The article is an opinion piece but there is an embedded link that offers the details of the rape case. That link is in the second paragraph of the story and is in PDF format so I cannot link it here.

So, is this the second chance he and so many people feel all are entitled to or is it another case of a criminal who can play sports get away with it?

I am a sports nut. I love hockey and football but if it were my money I'd rather take a pass. I'd rather the scholarship went to someone who wasn't a criminal.


Paul Finebaum: Maybe Tennessee did the right thing in signing Daniel Hood despite rape case
Posted by Paul Finebaum, Sports Columnist May 12, 2009 1:59 AM

When the story first surfaced the other day about Daniel Hood signing a scholarship with the University of Tennessee, I reacted the same as most of you -- with rage and revulsion.

How could a school be this desperate to allow someone with Hood's background within 500 miles of the UT campus?


It's been well documented that when Hood was 13 he participated with a 17-year-old friend, in the rape of Hood's 14-year-old cousin. Like many of you, I was nauseated reading the gruesome details of the case.

But the more I reflected, my outrage simmered and I began to wonder whether the school was perhaps doing the right thing.
Columnist Paul Finebaum: If Daniel Hood had signed with Alabama and Nick Saban stood up for him, how would you feel then?

Instead of casting away Hood, now 19, they are giving him a second chance. What I really like about Tennessee's handling of this case is the transparency -- so refreshing in today's cloak and dagger and deceptive world of intercollegiate athletics.

Unlike so many other schools who keep everything under wraps to gain some sort of competitive advantage, UT has made the young man available for interviews -- which he has passed with poise. The school has not run away from the controversy and perhaps, some good can come out of this family tragedy.

For starters, Hood has not been in any trouble since the incident and even the harshest cynics would have to agree the overwhelming fault in this case was on the friend, who is now serving a 10-year prison sentence. Had Hood been older, the case would be dramatically different. And while we can debate ad nauseam the maturity of a 13-year old, I think Hood was clearly not able to handle the situation. Would you have been at 13?

It doesn't really need to be said that there will be zero tolerance at UT for Hood, whose future behavior will be closely scrutinized. But unlike many of his new teammates, the young man has excelled in school (3.8 GPA) and has been a model citizen at Catholic High School in Knoxville. The high school's administration has staked its reputation on its high recommendation of Hood.

Was he the star player on a high school team that won the state? Sure. But Hood has talked of his newfound faith and unlike many who use this as a crutch or a means of convenience, he appears sincere and genuinely remorseful.

Someone said to me the other day he would have less of a problem with Hood being accepted at Tennessee if he had committed murder. Clearly, rape is a heinous crime. However, in a murder case, the victim would not have been around to write a letter on his behalf -- which was the case here. Obviously, the victim's letter carried significant weight.

"I know ... Daniel on a personal level and believe that he has been very remorseful towards me," said the letter, which was published in the Knoxville News Sentinel. "He is a very caring individual. We are now working on rebuilding our relationship. Hoping to become a family like before. He is becoming a very mature adult and will be a great asset to any college and to society as a whole."

Of all of the impromptu and bizarre things that Lane Kiffin has said and done in his short tenure at Tennessee, at least this one seems well thought out. Is he doing this because he really cares about Hood or because lineman is a position of need? Who knows, but at least Kiffin and UT are willing to take a chance and give a second chance.

It's also worth pointing out that scores of schools wanted Hood. Well, that was until Hood's past caught up to him. Even former coach Phil Fulmer bailed on him until Kiffin showed up.

And if we're honest with ourselves, does the fact that UT and Kiffin are involved affect how we feel?

If Hood had signed with Alabama and Nick Saban stood up for him, how would you feel then? Some wouldn't be swayed. But I think many of us would be influenced by that fact and would be applauding instead of bashing Tennessee.

I don't know what the odds are of this story having a happy ending or whether the reward for Hood and UT outweigh the risk being taken. It chaps me when coaches coddle players when they get into trouble. That only enables the star athlete to believe he is bulletproof. When you factor in reports that one in three NFL players has had some brush with the law, you know the lack of discipline in college (and before) rarely results in a positive ending.

But this case isn't about the arrogance of a Michael Vick or a Pacman Jones. This is about a young man who participated in a gruesome crime and paid a price by being in state juvenile custody for several of his teenage years. Perhaps, not the price you would have doled out, but a price nevertheless.

The story here isn't that the University of Tennessee has given him a second chance. The real story is what he does with the precious gift and opportunity. Ultimately, that will determine whether this was the right call.

(Contact Paul Finebaum at finebaumnet@yahoo.com His column appears on Tuesdays in the Press-Register.

http://blog.al.com/press-register-sports/2009/05/paul_finebaum_tennessee_hood_rape.html#comments

I always read profiles.

When I see a poorly written profile lacking punctuation or ALL IN CAPS it makes me think the writer either cared so little about themselves or potential readers that they wouldn't be a good match for me.

It doesn't take much effort to write a readable sentence. If you aren't sure what to say about yourself then it is okay to say that too. Honesty counts!

Pictures don't matter to me although no picture at all does send up a red flag. When I see a profile without a picture I most often wonder if the poster is married.

Your profile makes an important first impression on others or...well it should that is. That is why it is important to take the time to do it right.

So, children "belong" to parents and have no rights? This father thinks so...I bet the Bronx father who raped and murdered his 14 year old daughter who was pregnant with his child thought she belonged to him too.

Funny isn't it that people who oppose abortion say the unborn fetus has rights but apparently children have none other than those their parents grant them? Bull$it!



By Mac McLean
Reporter / Bristol Herald Courier
Published: April 21, 2009

BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. – Sullivan Gardens resident Sid Daugherty didn’t know he’d end up in the middle of a political debate when he asked to see the results of a drug test his 13-year-old son had two months ago.

But Daugherty and his son are behind legislation being carried through the Tennessee General Assembly that would give parents access to the results of any medical tests or procedures performed on their children.

On Monday, the Sullivan County Commission voted 16-3 in favor of a resolution voicing its support for this proposed law, which some have argued could deter children from seeking out medical care in some cases.

“Parents don’t have the rights you think they have,” Daugherty said Monday as he told commissioners about the proposed law and the story behind it.

Daugherty said he took his son to the doctor’s office two months ago because the 13-year-old was having problems with some medications he was taking. The doctors asked if they could perform a drug test, he said, because they wanted to see if the teen might be taking any illegal drugs that could have an adverse effect on the medication.

“It never concerned me that [my son] was using drugs,” said Daugherty, who refused to identify his child’s doctor or where the drug test was conducted.

Daugherty said he then asked to see the results of the drug test, but the doctor wouldn’t allow him to, saying it would interfere with his son’s right to privacy.

“Our children belong to us,” Daugherty said as he questioned the doctor’s rationale for refusing to release the test results. “The only rights my son have is what I give him.”

Daugherty said the doctors would only release the information if they got permission directly from his son. The doctor’s office called Daugherty’s house twice to try to get that permission, but both times Daugherty said he refused to let them talk to his son.

Daugherty said he’d rather force the doctors to release his son’s test results and he has found an ally in the Tennessee General Assembly.

In March, state Rep. Tony Shipley, R-Kingsport, introduced a bill that would require doctors to provide parents with any information about their children. The legislation, House Bill 1762, is slated to go before a House subcommittee for a vote today.

Though the state could lose out on $6.5 million worth of federal funds for family planning services, Shipley said he could not think of any federal or state laws barring doctors from releasing information about a child’s medical condition to his or her parents.

“What we’re looking at is the establishment of a tradition,” Shipley said Monday, adding that he hopes the legislation would clarify any vague areas when it comes to determining an age of consent for the release of medical records.

The bill would not apply to potential child abuse or neglect cases in which doctors think releasing the medical information would end up hurting the child, Shipley said. But even so, the legislation is not without its detractors.

When she testified against the legislation in committee last week, Tennessee Medical Association spokeswoman Nicole Schlecther said many young people may not feel comfortable talking about their medical condition with their parents, especially when it came to topics like sex or reproductive health. As a result, she said the bill could discourage them from getting medical attention.

County Commissioner Linda Brittenham echoed this sentiment on Monday when she voted against the resolution sponsored by Joe Herron of Kingsport.

She said the law may violate the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996, or HIPAA, which requires doctors, health care workers and agencies to get consent from patients before releasing medical information. But HIPAA leaves most age of consent decisions up to the states, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The law does allow doctors to withhold this information if they feel doing so could endanger the child.

“We’ve got to protect [the rights of] all the children and not this one family,” Brittenham said while the commission debated the resolution.

gmclean@bristolnews.com | (276) 645-2518

Poor kid...

*sigh*

NEWTON COUNTY, Ga. -- The latest case of zero-tolerance at the public schools has a 10-year-old student sadder and wiser, and facing expulsion and long-term juvenile detention. And it has his mother worried that his punishment has already been harsher than the offense demands.

"I think I shouldn't have brought a gun to school in the first place," said the student, Alandis Ford, sitting at home Thursday night with his mother, Tosha Ford, at his side.

Alandis' gun was a "cap gun," a toy cowboy six-shooter that his mother bought for him.

"We got it from Wal-Mart for $5.96," Tosha Ford said, "in the toy section right next to the cowboy hats. That's what he wanted because it was just like the ones he was studying for the Civil War" in his fifth-grade class at Fairview Elementary School.

"It kind of reminded me of the [soldiers'] guns that I was studying," Alandis said, "because I had brought pictures home of the gun and stuff, and that gun that I had reminded me of the revolver" depicted in his textbook.

Tosha said that Wednesday afternoon, after school, "six police officers actually rushed into the door" of their home. "He [Alandis] opened the door because they're police. And then they just kind of pushed him out of the way, and asked him, 'Well where's the gun, where's the real gun?' And they called him a liar... they booked him, and they fingerprinted him."

The "police officers" were actually Newton County Sheriff's Deputies.

Lt. Mark Mitchell said Thursday that Alandis had used the toy gun to threaten other children on the school bus and in his neighborhood, which Alandis denies.

Alandis was charged with possessing a weapon on school property and with terroristic acts and threats.

"On the school bus," on Tuesday, Alandis said, "when I dug into my bookbag trying to get my phone out, the boy beside me, he reached in my bookbag and got it [the toy gun] and started telling everybody, 'He's got a gun, he's got a gun,' and spread it around the whole bus. So I put it back in my bookbag."

But he said the students kept shouting, "He's going to shoot all y'all, he's got a gun, he's going to bring it to school and shoot all y'all." Did Alandis ever say anything like that or make any threatening moves with his toy gun? "No!"

The school bus driver never caught on to what the students were saying, and as a result never confiscated Alandis' toy gun.

There is video from inside the school bus, and investigators are reviewing it.

The next afternoon, Wednesday afternoon, Alandis and his cousin went to the home of a friend in the neighborhood, another 10-year-old boy, to play with him.

"And we told him, 'We came over to see if you can come out.' He saw the gun that I had. So he ran in the house and called 911."

Alandis said he found out later that his friend had never before seen a gun and thought it was real, and thought Alandis might shoot it. Alandis insists he never said anything to the friend other than inviting him to come out and play.

"The 911 call that we received" on Wednesday, Lt. Mitchell said, "was that a 10-year-old male was outside of a residence with a gun threatening to shoot another child."

Mitchell was referring to the incident report from the Newton County Sheriff's investigators who write that deputies "responded to a 911 call from a ten-year-old [neighbor of the Fords] who said there was a boy outside of his house with a gun trying to kill him."

Lt. Mitchell said that, apart from Alandis' denial that he made any threats, investigators quickly realized that the only gun Alandis had was his cap gun.

"In this day and time, we do not take anything lightly, whether it's a toy gun or a real weapon, for the safety of the kids and everyone involved, the safety of the school. That's our main concern."

Tosha Ford agrees that Alandis should not have brought the toy gun to school, and did not know that he did, but she said the reaction that unfolded was overblown, due to rumors that school children quickly spread.

"Someone heard that Alandis had a toy gun in his bookbag and said, 'Oh, Alandis is going to bring a gun, he's going to shoot everybody.' He [Alandis] was wrong, he should never have taken it to school. And I told him that. And he's being punished" at home. "But also on the other side of the coin, I think it's a travesty what's happened to him.... For them to say that's he's made terroristic threats is just ridiculous. We've taken it and changed what 'terroristic threats' was meant to be for. And with children saying that 'he's got a gun, he's got a gun,' it's gotten blown out of proportion.... I don't think they handled it very well. I know it's their job, but I think they took it to the extreme."

Sherri Viniard, the Director of Public Relations for the Newton County School System, emailed a statement to 11Alive News Thursday that reads, in part:

"Student safety is our primary concern, and although this was a toy gun, it is still a very serious offense and it is a violation of school rules. We will not tolerate weapons of any kind on school property."

Alandis had his first hearing in juvenile court on Thursday. Tosha said the case worker assigned to Alandis will recommend a period of probation, rather than juvenile detention. The judge will make the final decision.

Tosha said Alandis is not allowed back in school for now. She has a meeting scheduled with school administrators. She does not know if he will be expelled, and is hoping for no more than a ten-day suspension.

"A toy gun is a toy gun," Lt. Mitchell said, "to be played with and for kids to have fun with. But when kids use it the wrong way, just like anything, then it can be scary."

And that's the crux of the dispute about the "terroristic threats" charge, whether Alandis purposely did anything to scare anyone, or whether other children over-reacted at the sight of his toy gun.

For the record, Alandis knows what he wants to be when he grows up -- a police officer. And that hasn't changed.

"You know, he's a 10-year-old little boy who wants to be a police officer," Tosha said. He also has "little walky-talkies and stuff, because they like to play police and recon."

Innocence of child's play now lost, she says, no matter what the outcome of the case is.
http://www.11alive.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=124359&catid=40&GID=juD5/d++YtmiZjwqGKDay6Tw1TGed4c0A5QCiVJAOvA%3D

Do they still sell those in the backs of nudie magazines?

haha Here is the first result of my google search "how to get any woman you want hypnotize"

http://ezinearticles.com/?How-To-Hypnotize-Women-To-Do-What-You-Want&id=921570 This site advises the use of "conversational hypnosis"

I recall full page ads that used to appear in Penthouse that offered a book or tapes does anyone else?

The ad I see is Meet Christian Singles...not an ad for mind control but an ad about people who are mind controlled.

LA LA LA

/waits for inc

When thinking about torture here's some related information you might like to know about.

Project MK-ULTRA: The CIA’s Program of Research in Behavioural Modification

From 1953 until the early 1970’s, Project MK-ULTRA was the CIA’s code name for a mind-control research program run by the Office of Scientific Intelligence. Their purpose was to study mind-control, interrogation methods and behaviour modification. In order to manipulate mental states and alter brain function, doctors administered various types of drugs such as LSD, mescaline, heroin, morphine, psilocybin, scopolamine, marijuana, alcohol, and sodium pentothal, usually without the subject’s awareness or consent.

Experiments were tested on CIA employees, military personnel, doctors, government agents, prostitutes, members of the public and mentally ill patients

Find more on this and the other four at: http://www.highestfive.com/mind/5-unethical-psych-experiments/

Pretty sure a thread like that would disappear quick.

Pointing at another poster and speculating that they are actually a prostitute would likely be considered attacking another poster.

The Bush administration sent poorly equipped troops to war and it seems the problem persists under the Obama administration.

Maybe it is time to reconsider the outsourcing of many military operations to private contractors. Contractors who are by the way laughing all the way to the bank while our service men and women deal with inadequate supplies, disgusting food and now lack of water? WTF?

(CBS) Stories of short supplies for American forces in Iraq, such as inadequate body armor or unshielded Hummers, have been around since the war began. CBS affiliate KHOU-TV in Houston has discovered that some soldiers were forced to ration water, perhaps as little as 2-3 liters per day, because there was never enough.

It is less than the one gallon minimum a day that an Army manual says is necessary just to survive in a desert environment. In fact, an Army training document on preventing heat casualties states that water losses in the desert can reach 15 liters (about four gallons) a day per soldier.

Army Staff Sgt. Dustin Robey told KHOU correspondent Jeremy Rogalski that soldiers would throw up or pass out from dehydration.

Chronic dehydration can lead to such problems as kidney stones, urinary infection, rectal afflictions and skin problems, and can have long-term health problems, including kidney injury.

Robey said in 2003 his company would run out of water on missions, forcing them to improvise, like drinking water from whatever taps they found.

Unfortunately, the often-untreated Iraqi water can cause intestinal illnesses. Robey said 50 to 60 members of his company got dysentery.

Desperate, Robey said he and his commander were reduced to stealing water from supplies stored at Baghdad International Airport.

They found plenty, in the hands of civilian contractors who Robey claims were supposed to be distributing it to soldiers.

"You just had pallets upon pallets upon pallets of (bottled) water," Robey said.

According to Private Bryan Hannah, in 2007 his lieutenant said that they didn’t have enough water and he was told, "Go find some."

Hannah and his fellow soldiers did just that, finding it once again at a civilian contractor facility.

While many soldiers have said they had adequate access to water, and even Gatorade, KHOU found that the differing experiences seemed to have a great deal to do with when and where a soldier was deployed in Iraq, and their assignment.

In 2008 at Camp Taji, Sgt. Casey J. Porter videotaped the water - yellow and filthy - that came out of pipes in the soldier's showers and bathroom sinks. Yet the camp itself looked more like a mall, fitted with franchises and shops, than a war zone.

"You can eat Subway, Burger King, you can buy a $1,200 Oakley watch, but you can’t have clean water to brush your teeth with? What's the real priority here?" Sgt. Porter told KHOU.

The water was supposed to be processed by Houston-based company KBR.

KHOU's Rogalski says that an internal KBR report reveals "massive programmatic issues" with water for personal hygiene at its Iraq facilities dating back to 2005, and outlines how there was no formalized training for anyone involved with water operations.

Former KBR employee and whistleblower Ben Carter told KHOU that he discovered that soldiers' sinks at Camp Ar Ramadi were pouring out untreated wastewater. He described showers as "essentially a sauna of microorganisms. Your eyes, ears, anyplace there's a cut, a person would be at risk of containing a pathogen," Carter said.

Carter says he received a verbal lashing from KBR supervisors when he raised his concerns.

KHOU obtained a statement from the Multi-National Force in Iraq press office which read, "We have a proven system that works. Commanders at all levels do their utmost to provide the necessary resources required to sustain the force."

KBR told KHOU that a Department of Defense Inspector General's report has concluded "KBR has (since) satisfied applicable water standards," adding that "the DoD has not found any illness which it attributes to water in Iraq."

Staff Sgt. Dustin Robey disagrees. He says he's passed hundreds of kidney stones since returning form Iraq, and because of his condition the Army forced him to retire. His family is now facing foreclosure.


For more on this story you can watch the KHOU video report by clicking here, or read the complete article on the KHOU Web site.

Wow SKPCG beat me too it haha

Well I was going to ask Andy if he was bitter much but...

Honestly there are a ton of pic's and profiles on many so called dating sites that are little more than thinly veiled ad's for services.

If adult services ad's aren't on Craig's List they will pop up elsewhere or will be there phrased differently.

Oh, not all people who avail themselves of these sorts of services fall into the categories in Andys post. Some are like a gentleman I knew for many years. He was an adult male who had CP. Finding a woman who was interested was difficult given his physical limitations. So, about once a month he availed himself of professional services. No harm no foul.

Frankly I see nothing wrong with it at all.

Watch and comment please?

http://www.i-am-bored.com/bored_link.cfm?link_id=40248

WOW

Here is some nifty thinking: "I'm not sure i buy into this one totally. he had to have caused some sort of a ruckus to be detained like that."

Yep...that's right...only people who have done something wrong are detained or arrested.

*COUGH*

And this is America?

Blind interpreter detained at Philly airport says he has nightmares from arrest

By JESSICA BAUTISTA & KITTY CAPARELLA
Philadelphia Daily News

caparek@phillynews.com 215-854-5880

A BLIND INTERNATIONAL interpreter who says he was dragged off a Belgium-bound flight, arrested and held in custody in Philadelphia for hours without food or water faces an arraignment Thursday.

His crime: He questioned why his U.S. Airways flight was delayed nearly two hours.

Nicola Cantisani, 61, of Brussels, Belgium, a professional translator who has been blind since birth, was charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct, police said.

"This is taking airplane security to a new and ridiculous level," said his attorney, A. Charles Peruto Jr. "It's pretty crazy."

Cantisani and his wife, Paola, were returning to Brussels April 4 after visiting family in New York. The couple changed planes at Philadelphia International Airport and boarded the 8:32 p.m. flight.

After the plane sat on the tarmac for some time, passengers were told that the flight would be delayed - without explanation, according to Cantisani. They were unable to use phones, receive attendant service or move from their seats.

"That was the straw that unfortunately broke the camel's back," Cantisani said. "It just got to me: They board you and just taxi you around."

Cantisani said he stood up to request a glass of water and to speak with the crew or captain about the delay, but was told to sit down.

In interviews in Philadelphia and later by phone from Brussels, Cantisani described what he called an "indescribable" chain of events that has given him nightmares.

"I felt I was being kidnapped - like I was a hostage," Cantisani said of the wait.

Cantisani said he spoke with the captain, who told him the plane was having mechanical problems. He then returned to his seat.

Shortly afterward, another passenger made a remark about the crew, prompting three Philadelphia Police officers to escort that man off the plane, Cantisani said.

Then, police tried to remove Cantisani as well, he said.

Lt. Frank Vanore, a police spokesman, said the police were called to Gate A-19 because of a disorderly passenger.

"A passenger had become irate over the delay," Vanore said.

Cantisani, unaware of why he was being removed, refused to leave.

He said the officers yanked Cantisani from his seat and dragged him off the plane, injuring his hand, which was gripping his seat belt . Then they forced him into a wheelchair.

At one point, an officer held him "by the throat," he said.

Vanore said that Cantisani had been asked several times to leave the plane but continually refused.

A U.S. Airways representative said Cantisani was an unruly passenger who had refused to exit the plane.

During the struggle with police, Cantisani said, he lost his retractable walking cane, making him unable to navigate.

Officers told him they had done the "blind test" and didn't believe he was blind, he said.

Vanore said he knew of no "blind test" administered by police.

Cantisani claimed he was held in police custody at the airport from about 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. without food, water or access to his phone or outside communication.

His wife, who had followed him off the plane, said she "was asking a lot of questions" but got no explanation.

After speaking with the officers, Cantisani - who translates several languages for international conferences - said he was asked how much English he spoke and was questioned by a psychiatrist.

About 3 a.m., he was taken to the 18th Police District, where he was detained until late the next evening, he said.

"I was never read my rights. I was put against the wall, told to put [my] hands on the wall, empty [my] pockets and undo my shoelaces," Cantisani said. "Then, I was shoved into a 6-by-7-foot cell and that was it."

Cantisani said that without his cane to help him navigate, he bumped his head, causing it to bleed.

Cantisani said no one believed he was blind until the end of his stay.

"Imagine yourself blindfolded and being knocked around, and I had no idea how long that was going to last," Cantisani said.

After Cantisani appeared before a bail commissioner, he was released sometime after 7:35 p.m. April 5 and driven to the Penn View Hotel in Old City, where he was reunited with his wife.

Cantisani said he remains "beside himself" about the flight procedures, the crew and the officers who handled him.

"It's indescribable . . . I still have nightmares," Cantisani said. "I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I'm in a prison cell."

Cantisani said he does not plan to return to Philadelphia. Peruto said he would represent Cantisani in court Thursday.