The baby was found here. Police say the garage at the top of the photo had been over the cars at the bottom.

Brenda Stevens, 57, and her 3-month-old grandson were trapped between the collapsed home's first and second stories, authorities said.

The woman's husband, Harley, had headed downstairs before noon Thursday because he was worried by the heavy black clouds rolling in, said Deerfield Fire Chief Mark Tibbetts.

"No more than he got downstairs and it started throwing him from side to side and rotating him around the house," Tibbetts said. Watch damage in New Hampshire »

Stevens "was blown out the side of the building and found in the side yard," state Fire Marshal William Degnan said.

Brenda Stevens was pronounced dead at the scene, but the infant's cries led firefighters to him in the rubble. The baby was admitted to Concord Hospital, but a spokesman said the family requested no information would be released.

Concord Hospital said Harley Stevens was released after being examined in its emergency room.

The couple had been watching the boy while his parents were at work, neighbors said.

The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed that a tornado struck Deerfield. Officials said the violent storm left an intermittent path of destruction stretching about 20 miles from Epsom to New Durham.

A half-dozen homes were destroyed and many more seriously damaged, officials estimated. The storms snapped off thick trees, toppling many onto homes. Thousands remained without power, though utility crews were whittling down the number.

In Barnstead, which also saw widespread damage, a resident was injured Friday morning while clearing debris. Deputy Fire Chief Shawn Mulcahy said the man was knocked out when a falling tree limb hit him in the head.

Ref :: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/07/25/severe.weather.ap/index.html

Rule Of Law, Legalities Are Seldom A Priority On This Island

It is about priorities, and successive Barbados governments have traditionally spent money on show rather than necessities. We spend hundreds of millions of dollars on cricket parties while our hospital falls down and old women still haul water from the standpipes. We put a bright and shiny coat of paint on a public building while the raw sewerage from the toilets runs onto the beach.

Our governments buy new garbage trucks instead of ensuring that all government vehicles are properly maintained. We would rather change an engine than change the oil regularly and that analogy applies throughout our government and civil service.

This same neglect is evident in our law-enforcement and justice systems.

Successive Barbados governments have only paid lip-service to maintaining our police and justice systems - both in terms of funding, and in upholding the rule of law and other legal necessities that are the foundations of our society.

Look at the single issue of Coroner's Inquests and you will see a prime example of the outrageous neglect that Barbados has suffered under for decades.

As Richard Goddard pointed out in his excellent article Police Jurisdiction and Authority, up until very recently, Barbados neglected to hold coroner's inquests for hundreds of unusual or suspicious deaths. Some inquests were waiting for almost 30 years!

Think about how it looks to the outside world, and what it really means to a country when successive governments don't bother to properly investigate and document hundreds of deaths.

The article shown above "Men's Buddy Was Dead Drunk" was published in 2004 in the Nation News about the results of a Coroner's Inquest held in 2004 into an unusual death that occurred in 1982 - some 22 years earlier.

Prior to about 2002, Barbados had no "coroner in charge" and after one was appointed with island-wide jurisdiction, the backlog of hundreds of cases was cleared up in three or four years. Let us be truthful with ourselves and admit that many of these old suspicious deaths were "rubber stamped" by the coroner. What else could be done with cases 20 years old?

But instead of a "fresh start", we went back to our same old ways with chronic under-funding of police, the coroner's office and other agencies that are supposed to play a role in ensuring that when someone dies on this island no unanswered questions remain.

Thompson Government Is Careless With The Deaths Of Citizens At The Hands Of Police

We also have no independent body to investigate the police when a death occurs in police custody or under circumstances involving police. Strange revelations surrounding the recent death of I'Akobi Maloney while with police highlights the carelessness of our government in protecting citizens from wrong-doing by those in authority. The police are investigating themselves with no independent oversight and our government has adopted a "hands off" policy.

We read in the Nation News that Assistant Commissioner of Police Seymour Cumberbatch told a press conference...

"Maloney, on request of the police, put back on his clothing and placed his haversack on his back and started to accompany officers away from the cliff. It was during this period the young man darted away and jumped over the cliff."

Only one problem... the police gave the haversack back to Maloney's mother, who showed it to reporters. The haversack hadn't been in the water. No salt stains, no stuck-together papers, no ink running on notes.

The police say that I'Akobi Maloney ran from police, jumped over a cliff and then drowned while wearing the haversack - but Maloney's mother showed reporters that the haversack had never been in the water.

How much longer are we going to allow the police to investigate themselves? How much longer until the David Thompson Government starts taking some leadership to bring accountability and proper process to the serious business of the deaths of citizens who are in the custody of police?

Further Reading

Nation News: More in the bag than meets the eye

Nation News: A Mother's Advice

Barbados Free Press: Nation News Finally Discovers That Barbados Police Don’t Give A Damn About Rule Of Law

It was a good night of catching up with mates that many of us hadn't seen in the entire 4-5 weeks of break, however to the dissapointment of some, not everyone could make it and many  bailed early due to commitments the next day.

I must say, everyone looked superb all dressed up. And everyone was quite well behaved, probably a result of the posh venue and cheapo uni-student combination (but I left early too so yeah, no idea what eventuated as the night progressed - perhaps someone can enlighten us!)

Elyce drove me in and we went and picked up Steph from work. And guess where she works now everyone?! Sydney University Student Office in Carslaw Building! Woot! I've got connections in the uni now! These two freaked me out later in the night but, when they left to go home before me, but Tas and I got back and saw that Elyce's car wasn't home yet, and both their phones were off and none of them replied to my messages. We drove around for a bit and eventually found them at Steph's place and discovered that they had stopped off at Maccas quickly on their way back. No idea why the phones weren't working, but I was just glad that they were alright.

Thanks to Tas for giving me a lift home. How crazy is this but - we got pulled over for an RBT by undercover cops driving what resembled an old mother's station wagon. One cop came down my passenger seat side, and another to Tas. Tas wondered if he had to blow or suck (thinking that they still used those plastic straw like bits) but the cop told him to count to ten instead. I LOLed. They let us go without any dramas but Tas couldn't get over the fact that he was pulled over for the first time ever, and he was still freaking out a bit, even though we both had nothing to worry about :P

Oh, and I was meaning to clarify that this photo of Luke showing off his slowly but surely growing chest hair was him completely sober. Enough said.

So yes, Happy Birthday Vanessa and Happy Birthday Sam. Hope you both enjoyed your night :)

FORMER CHIEF CUSHING JOINS WOODSTOCK POLICE DEPARTMENT

By MARGO HOWLAND

WINDSOR – Former Police Chief Jim Cushing quietly joined the Woodstock Police Department one month ago, the day after he was taken off paid administrative leave by Interim Town Manager Mike Farrell.  Cushing, 65, stepped down as chief at one minute after midnight May 8, upon the anniversary of his one-year appointment, after there had been no movement by the town to either extend his contract as chief or to grant his request to return to his previous position as one of three sergeants in the Windsor Police Department. Farrell announced on May 8 that Cushing’s resignation had been accepted with regret by the Windsor Selectboard, which met in executive session the evening before, but that "the door was being left open" for him to possibly return to the department in another position.

Farrell later clarified that Cushing had been put on "paid administrative leave" while steps were being taken to sort out his future with the department and to find a "police manager" for the department while a search for a permanent police chief was underway.

Farrell quickly tapped John C. George, 62, a retired Massachusetts State Trooper who has been a resident of Windsor for several years and whose children attended Windsor High School, as the town’s part-time "police administrator." George has recruited three new officers who will start the Vermont Police Academy later this summer.

Because he is not certified in Vermont, George does not do patrol work and thus is not considered a "working chief" but rather a police administrator. This fiscal year’s police department budget includes a new position for an administrative assistant to the police chief.

According to Farrell, Cushing had been slated to return to the police department on June 23. Instead the town received a letter from Cushing’s lawyer stating that Cushing was not returning to work "on advise of counsel." The paid administrative leave ended the next day.

"We basically acceded to his wishes," Farrell said in a brief interview recently. Then Cushing didn’t report for work on the advice of his lawyer, the town manager said.

Farrell has said he can’t discuss Cushing’s status as "it’s in the hands of the lawyers."

This week’s issue of the Vermont Standard reported that Cushing joined the Woodstock Police Department on June 26. He reports he’s received "a warm reception" from the department and from members of the public. He plans to stay for two years and then retire, Cushing told Standard reporter Garreth Henderson.

Cushing is a member of the Windsor Rotary Club and hasn’t said publicly whether he plans to switch to the Woodstock Rotary Club. There is no requirement that a Rotarian live in or even work in the town in order to be a member of the club; past president Paul Bousquet lives and works in Woodstock but is a member of the Windsor Rotary Club.

Meanwhile, the search for a new police chief is reportedly down to three finalists, Farrell said last week.

                                                                                     –30–

You just do not get this level of editorial commentary on the evening news.

Complete link:

http://www.liveleak.com/view
i=9bb_1216872469

Tantalizing excerpt:

The disease of Liberalism makes Jihad possible
Mature
The Muslim states, even with their oil, are the poorest, most backward, illiterate and pathetic nations on earth. How then do they threaten Western civilization, indeed every non-Islamic civilization on earth? It is because we are weakened internally by a leftist 5th-column that believes the US is the greatest evil in the world and anything that replaces it would be preferable. It is because of this sickness that they support radical Islamists even though they represent the antithesis of liberal values.

Peter Hong, a longtime Republican operative in Minnesota, was arrested Wednesday afternoon on a charge of soliciting prostitution in St. Paul.

When reached by phone Thursday, Hong said: "I don't have any comment." But did mumble something about still being horny.

To his credit, he's never been picked up by Larry Craig in the Minneapolis airport john.

Hong is quite the Republican. He served as a spokesman for Gov. Tim Pawlenty's campaign in 2002 and for the Bush-Cheney campaign in Minnesota in 2004. Most recently, Hong was a point person for presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

He is the third political figure to be arrested in a St. Paul prostitution sting in the past year.

The Republicans better watch it. It could be embarrassing at their convention when more of them end up in jail than on the convention floor.

The police came. Two hours later. Not their fault though, Friday night and there's a lot of trouble around according to them. They did a crime report. They were jolly chaps, one very handsome one, I did notice. I was amused when the one filling in the form asked my brother for his mobile phone number as a contact detail. They were amusing and yet sensitive. Although all through my brother's mini statement I was thinking about the Psychology behind eye witness testimony and the fallibility of the human memory. Take for example my brother describing the clothing they were wearing. His memory might have constructed that out of stereotypical views of the common chav. Not that I am calling him a liar at all. It's just sometimes that happens and our memory reconstructs what happens. Probably not the best time to be thinking it. I believe my ego to be intellectualising the situation.

The police are coming back round tomorrow for the proper statement as it is very late now. I am dying to ring my brother's phone and see if those filthy chavs answer it though. I shouldn't though.

(FP: If you read this before mother has told you, don't worry, he's fine and don't tell her I told you!)

David Goodman
July 21, 2008

In March 2007, the eighth-grade class at Dyker Heights school in Brooklyn, New York, got a substitute teacher. Predictably, the kids got rambunctious. Thirteen-year-old Chelsea Fraser steered clear of the rowdier action, including the boys plastering the walls with post-office stickers. Instead she doodled on a desk with a marker, penning in block letters: "okay."

Two days later, Chelsea called her mom, Diana Silva, from school. She was panicked. "Mom," she said, "I think I'm gonna get arrested."

"For writing on a desk?" Silva laughed, suspecting teenage drama. "Did you write a bad word?"

"No," said Chelsea, a cheerful girl with a flip of black hair over one eye. "I wrote 'okay.'"

"Baby, tell them what you did," counseled Silva, a freelance graphic artist. "You'll probably go to the principal. They might suspend you, and they will probably make you scrub the desk." Silva doubted it would even go that far: Chelsea had been president of her class and captain of the volleyball team, and had never even been to the principal's office.

Ten minutes later, the phone rang again. This time it was a school dean saying Silva had better come in. "The children are being arrested," said the dean, explaining that the boys who had been stickering the walls were also headed to the police station.

Silva raced to school, and four police officers soon arrived. They handcuffed Chelsea and the boys and marched them out to a police van. As she walked, Chelsea looked up to see her classmates pressed against the windows. Her teacher was crying.

Silva tried to reason with the officers, who told her that writing on furniture was a crime. "Is it a crime to be a kid?" she shot back.

At the precinct, Chelsea was handcuffed to a pole over her head for three hours-while she was interrogated, her mother had to wait in another room. "I was scared, I was sad, and I was embarrassed," Chelsea told me. "I just wanted it to be over."

Chelsea Fraser's case is extreme, but in schools across the nation, disciplinary infractions are increasingly being turned over to police and prosecutors. The Denver public schools, for example, saw a 71 percent rise in the number of students referred to law enforcement between 2000 and 2004, most for behavior such as bullying and using obscenities. In Florida during the 2005-06 school year, more than one-quarter of some 25,000 school-related referrals to the Department of Juvenile Justice were for disorderly conduct and trespassing. In the Chicago public schools, more than 8,000 students were arrested in 2003, almost half for simple assaults or batteries that involved no serious injuries or weapons. A full 77 percent of the arrests were of black students, although they make up just half of Chicago's student body.

School violence is a real concern, but in many places, this fear has motivated rigid "zero tolerance" policies that target minor infractions as gateway offenses-and that often disproportionately affect students of color: Black students are three times more likely to be suspended or expelled than their white peers.

In 2006, Shaquanda Cotton, a 14-year-old African American girl from Paris, Texas, was sentenced to seven years in prison for shoving a teacher's aide. The aide, who was not hurt, was preventing Cotton from entering the building before the beginning of the school day. Cotton had no criminal record; she ended up serving a full year. Critics noted that the judge who sentenced her had previously let a 14-year-old white girl, charged with setting fire to her parents' house, go with probation only.

One reason why students are increasingly ending up in jail is that police now patrol the halls in many schools. In New York, the police department took control of school safety in 1998 under the Giuliani administration; by the 2005-06 school year, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, the city employed 4,625 school safety agents and at least 200 armed officers, making the nypd School Safety Division the 10th-biggest police force in the country-larger than those of Washington, DC, Detroit, Boston, or Las Vegas. "We are treating the kids like potential criminals," says Donna Lieberman of the nyclu. In January, a five-year-old named Denis Rivera was handcuffed behind his back by an nypd school safety officer for throwing a tantrum in his kindergarten class in Queens.

Chelsea Fraser, for her part, missed three school days going to court, served another two days of in-school suspension, and had to pay $45 in restitution for the desk. She agreed to talk because "I want to help everybody else who is getting in trouble."

This article has been made possible by the Foundation for National Progress, the Investigative Fund of Mother Jones, and gifts from generous readers like you.

© 2008" /> The Foundation for National Progress

via http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2008/07/slammed-hard-time-out.html

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/08/bc-kamloops-man-taser.html

It is unclear exactly what happened in the case of the 17 year old, except we are told he was a suspected thief who refused to surrender a knife. 

http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/466428

I have a great deal of respect for the concept of law enforcement in this country.  I don't have the guts to put on a uniform and go fight the bad guys every day at the same time being a walking target, so I admire their gumption.  However, I have less respect for how law enforcement actually gets put into practice.  In the case of the 82 year old - described by reporters as frail - he recently had heart surgery and was in hospital for pneumonia.  He was not getting enough oxygen and became delirious and apparently was waving a knife at staff.  OK guys, perhaps you could start thinking outside the box a bit, and find alternative solutions to situations rather than shooting people with 50,000 volt tases.  Perhaps, and I may be crazy here, our police could have THROWN A BLANKET on top of the elderly man, grabbed his arms, and removed the knife.  No harm, no foul.  Perhaps you could have put some extra oxygen in the room and he may have come to his senses.  But no, no, these fellows in Western Canada decided to tase the poor guy THREE times apparently because they wanted to resolve the situation as quickly as possible to move onto more pressing police matters. 

The fellow, Mr. Lasser, is an ex-prison guard, and was understandably unimpressed.  One would think that the RCMP would be taught how to disable a feeble knife-wielding-pneumonia-stricken-man-confined-to-a-hospital-bed, without the use of lethal force?  Seriously.    Pretty shabby, guys.  I've always had this noble image of Mounties in particular, riding up on their very cool horses, rescuing people in distress.  Not so much anymore.

While I have never been arrested, I grew up in a small town with a notoriously corrupt police force where it was simply best not to draw attention to yourself, especially if you were a young female.   As an adult who spends most of her time in major Canadian cities, I've been pretty impressed on the few occasions I've had to deal with big city police, with the notable exception that I'll tell you about below.   But I'm also a middle-aged professional white lady.    I'd be much more nervous if I was black, and still would be more nervous than you would assume if we were pulled over by small town police.  

I have a certain philosphy about dealing with police, if I do get pulled over while driving.  Be nice.  Be contrite.  Whatever you do, don't lose your cool.  I was once pulled over for speeding (and weaving around four slow moving vehicles, one of which happened to be a police car).   I pulled off into a side street since I didn't want to block the majority artery I was driving up.  It was dark.  The policeman got out of his car, took out his bully stick, and came up to my window.  He filled the entire window of my sport ute with his huge torso (he wasn't fat, but he was about 6' 6").  Then he banged on my window quite contemptously with his stick.  He was so mad his nostrils were flaring. 

I rolled down the window and he literally shouted at me, "Lady, did you GET your LICENSE out of a CEREAL box?"  He then stared at me.  The question obviously required a response.  I had two choices.   #1 - lip off, and risk this gentleman beating me about the head with his stick, which was still out, and us down this fairly deserted road in the dark and all, or #2 - answer politely and try to diffuse the situation.  So I looked him right in the eye and with a completely straight face (a "court face") I said, "No sir, I got it the regular old way."   He stared at me, and responded, still shouting, "SO what IS the SPEED limit where it is not marked".  I responded, "50, sir".   I was starting to feel like I was in the army or something.   "So WHY exactly were you driving like that?".  I explained, very politely, very calmly, that I had been working late, was finally getting home in good time after several nights of working until 1 a.m., but was late again versus what I'd promised my husband.  And I also explained that I didn't think it was an excuse for driving like a jerk, but that he had asked and I was trying to be honest. 

This finally got him to settle down a bit.  He stared at me for another minute while he digested my response, possibly coming to the conclusion that he had seriously lost his temper.  Then he asked in a much quieter tone, "WHERE do you work?"  I responded with the name of my then employer (a large, downtown, ahem....law firm).   

So, go figure, I didn't get a ticket after all this.  I did get one heck of a lecture.   That's fine, I deserved one.  He knew it, and I knew it.   I do think the officer realized that he had gone off his noodle, and I was going to make him look ridiculous to the judge if he did give me one, and that I was potentially tallying up names of judges to mention this whole incident to (he was correct on all counts).  It still didn't stop it from being a very frightening experience, in the dark, with one of our city's armed finest.   My fancy education won't do much good if I get bonked on the head with one of their sticks, or shot with one of their tasers and have a heart attack (since I do have a mild heart condition). 

It still didn't stop me from remembering and using all that I had been taught when I was young about how to deal with cops.  Speak quietly and calmly.  No fast motions.  If they tell you to give them something, explain what you will need to do to get it.  Don't dive under the seat for your license unless you warn them.  Be POLITE.  Be CONTRITE.  Answer what they ask and then shush up.  And if possible, speed dial someone on your cell phone and leave the line open so that you have a witness if you need one.  Canada is a free country and we shouldn't have to think about these things when dealing with law enforcement.  But at this stage in my life, I'm a realist and a optimist only when it makes sense to be one, and these are all things I will always think about when pulled over by an armed man in the dark, whether I'm a woman driving alone or with my dear husband. 

I think that the use of tasers need to be much more strictly regulated and treated explicitly like the use of a lethal weapon.  So, if you discharge your taser, you get to file a real big special report, that gets reviewed by a special commission made up of police representatives and the general public.   Perhaps our boys in black  will start using their brains and imagination a bit more like the good old days, once the ability to zap people whilly-nilly is removed.  Blankets, boys, break out the blankets the next time an 80 year old man poses a threat.....

The Notherngardener

(Copyright 2008 by the Northerngardener.  Go ahead and link to me, just don’t copy me. )

Denver city officials on Wednesday sought to set to rest rumors about police equipment for the Democratic National Convention, saying they would not be buying devices that would incapacitate unruly protesters with sound waves or other out-of-the-ordinary technology, The (Denver) Rocky Mountain News reported Thursday.

Rumors had circulated that the city was interested in buying a system that, using sound waves, could cause people to lose control of their bowels. Because of the intended use of the system, it has been dubbed as the “brown note” in some corners.

But why are the Denver Police telling the Advanced Crime Litigious Union this information?  Well, even before the convention this bunch is just expecting that somebody's civil liberties will be trampled and they are planning on pre-suing the city for some unspecified reason:

The paper reported that the city provided to the American Civil Liberties Union an accounting of its secretive security plans for the August convention as part of a deal to delay a lawsuit against the city; the ACLU sued the city in May to pry more information about the $18 million plans to beef up security following protesters’ concerns.

Extortion - what a wonderful concept.  Funny how the ACLU gets to pre-sue just based on their expectations.

           It has been brought to our attention that at least the last 2 Friday afternoons the Passaic Police Dept has been out full force on Brook Ave and Main Ave. They have set up a check point with approximately 10 police officer's. As our PCJN reporter passed by there were 4 cars pulled over all of whom were Orthodox Jews. We at PCJN are going to try to contact the Passaic Police Dept. for comment. And the Acting Mayor Gary Schaer.

my mind wanders and i think of random things
these are some things i've thought about and written down
because i'm not always able to blog everyday

----------

you think you know a person

but a new partner comes along and completely chages everythng about them

i unerstand that i new partner can bring on new and different interests

however, i believe it is important to remain yourself because that is who, originally, your significant other became attracted to

and who your friends and family know

stay true to yourself

----------

it's amazing how programed we are in our day-to-day activities

it's as simple as leaving the house at the same time or sitting in the same seat in class

during high school, i decided i didn't want to live the 9-5 life

i didn't want to be a robot

but it doesn't really matter

everything we do is programed and if someone or something disrupts the usual, we feel somewhat at a loss

so just remember that when something doesn't go the way it usually does, don't get all bent out of shape

----------

AND

i thought cops were supposed to set an example?

they are supposed to be model citizens

why is it that cops hardly seem to use their tun signal and they speed?

they must be above the law...

or maybe it's just the Clarksville PD

The reporter also asked that Li Yapeng apologize in public and pay for the video camera that he had damaged when he attacked the female reporter. LYP replied, "That's pretty funny. You harass me and ask me to apologize? It's you who should say sorry." The police announced that the incident and statements have been recorded for future reference. LYP asked for a copy of the video taken by the CCTV camera crew.

In an interview after the police interrogation, Li Yapeng said, politely, "Please wait for a moment. Let my mother and children leave before I say anything." After they left, he explained that he behaved the way he did to protect his daughter. He asked the journalists, "Did you see how that reporter used his camera to take photographs of Li Yan [李嫣]? Did you see? His camera was in my daughter's face!" Sighing, he continued, "It's okay to photograph me, but not my daughter. I wouldn't hit him only today if he did that again. I would hit him every time he does it. I will do anything to protect my daughters!"

Later, on the 24th, journalists approached Faye Wong (王菲), who was beside LYP. When a reporter shoved a mike into her face, Faye pushed it away with her hand. She said, in Cantonese, "I didn't say I would accept your interview." Faye was apparently angry about the incident the day before. The photo below was taken at a Bangkok hotel where the family was staying, some time after the incident.

(source: Asian Entertainment Universe, 24 July 2008)

Added 7.25.08: Faye Wong asked a friend at a local mediation center to intercede re the damaged camera and agreed to a 2300 Hong Kong dollar settlement (CNETNews, 7.25.08).

The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 570

“Phnom Penh: To increase the understanding of common problems and to contribute to combat sex tourists in Cambodia efficiently is the goal of a European Union delegation, led by Mr. Jules Maaten and Ms. Sarah Ludford, that came to Cambodia.

“In the afternoon of 23 July 2008, the European Union delegation discussed and studied some problems regarding combating sex tourism in Cambodia with senior officials of Acting for Women in Distressing Situations [AFESIP] in Phnom Penh, as well as with some national and international journalists.

“Ms. Mam Somaly, director of AFESIP and of the Somaly Mam Foundation, said that governments of western countries should open their eyes to see the activities of their citizens who have committed crimes outside of their own countries. Frequently, they pretend to be tourists, or sometimes to be staff of humanitarian organizations in Cambodia, to find opportunities to rape children. There are more children being abused sexually by these crimes than the number of cases that come under the crack-down by the authorities.

“Ms. Mam Somaly said, ‘In Cambodia, the Royal Government has improved the situation markedly to curb down trafficking by creating legislation against trafficking, and by creating national structures of cooperation against trafficking.’ However, the Royal Government has to do more, especially to strengthen procedures against trafficking and legislation beyond what has already been achieved.

“It should be remembered that Ms. Mam Somaly has saved 4,000 children from sexual slavery during the last decades. She created AFESIP to provide consultation and rehabilitation for victims in several centers in Cambodia, in Thailand, in Laos, and in Vietnam. Recently, she has been supported by friends who are famous stars, business people, lawyers, and other generous people, to create the Somaly Mam Foundation, which aims to eliminate the root causes of human trafficking by launching broad public campaigns, to struggle with public opinion about issues relating to human trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in the country, in the region, and internationally.

“Mr. Jules Maaten, the European Union delegation leader and a member of the European parliament from the Netherlands, said that Cambodia has become an important location for criminals to rape children; since some years, many children have been used as sex slaves for tourists from western countries, and for the staff of some humanitarian organizations. 'Now, we have to open our eyes to see this situation and to take actions against this modern form of slavery.'

“Ms. Sarah Ludford, a member of the European Parliament from London, pointed to the fact that criminals have often escaped from detention and from punishment, because of incompetent police to bring those criminals to court for punishment. Arrested suspects often bribe their way out of the country and flee to their home countries. Only one out of five cases leads to a conviction, and only 3% of the suspects have been convicted after being accused of raping children.

“After the discussion, Ms. Mam Somaly and the European Union delegation agreed with three requests: 1. Members of the member states of the European Union should work towards a stronger role for the police of the European Union to be authorized and to receive the means to train police officials, prosecutors, and judges about child sex trafficking and exploitation. 2. The European Union should pay more attention and exchange information with third countries, to exchange data to help identify suspects for prosecution. 3. The European Union should include information about sentences of sex tourists as well as of criminals who are not citizens of the European Union into the [European] Schengen data information system.” Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1702, 25.7.2008

Newspapers Appearing on the Newsstand:
Friday, 25 July 2008

Kampuchea Thmey, Vol.7, #1702, 25.7.2008

• European Union Delegation Comes to Study Combating Sex Tourism in Cambodia
• Nearly 1,000 [Garment] Workers of Chhang Leang Factory at Stung Meanchey Do Not Have Days Off to Go to Vote [this led to a protest on 24 July 2008]

Khmer Amatak, Vol.9, #616, 25.7.2008

• Siam [Thai] King Promotes the Honor of Samak Sundaravej while There Is Dispute with Cambodia [no specific proof given]; Siamese Troops Still Continue to Invade the Border

Khmer Machas Srok, Vol.2, #206, 25.7.2008

• Siam [Thailand] Rejected to Solve the Dispute through ASEAN or through the UN

Note:
Singapore's Foreign Minister and at present ASEAN Chair said Thursday [24.7.2008] a border dispute that recently flared between Thailand and Cambodia should never have become a problem, and it was unnecessary to take it to the U.N. Security Council.

Khmer Sthapana, Vol.1, #58, 25.7.2008

• Cambodia Has Suspended Its Complaint to the UN and Waits for New Results from Negotiations [28 July 2008 in Siem Reap, after the Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej called Prime Minister Hun Sen at 4:30 p.m. Thursday]
• Some Political Parties [Sam Rainsy Party, Funcinpec, and Human Rights Party] Show National Unity Regarding the Dispute with Thailand
• Handicap International Belgium Comments on Traffic Accidents in Cambodia [the head of the organization, Mr. Bruno Leclercq, said that traffic safety problems are complicated; there were 27,500 victims, and 17,000 vehicles were involved in 2007. In Cambodia there are more than four people killed every day. Looking at the first two months of 2008, the numbers were again higher]
• The Sale and Drinking of Alcohol Is Prohibited One Day before [and on the election day of 27 July 2008 – according to an instruction by the Phnom Penh Municipality]

Koh Santepheap, Vol.41, #6406, 25.7.2008

• More Razor Wire Is Added to Protect the [Preah Vihear] Temple; [Minister of Defense] Tea Banh: We Absolutely Defend the Preah Vihear Temple to Belong to Khmer; [Minister of Information] Khieu Kanharith: Thailand Has to Know that Now Thailand Is Violating [Cambodia] and Is Becoming a Country that Violates International Laws
• Border Police Post 911 Destroyed a Thai Camera Put Secretly by Thai Soldiers to Observe Khmer Activities [Poipet]

Moneaksekar Khmer, Vol.15, #3521, 25.7.2008

• Sam Rainsy Parliamentarians [on 24 July 2008] Asked International Observers to Prevent Tricks to Forge or Change Ballots by Officials of the Cambodian People’s Party who are with the National Election Committee

Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4650, 25.7.2008

• Six to Ten Companies [including Sokimex of Oknha Sok Kong and the ACLEDA Bank] Will Cooperate to Establish a Stock Market [in 2009]
• Strong Earthquake [6.8 on the Richter scale] Attacked Japan [injuring 16 people seriously – 24 July 2008]
• Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, the Mayor of New York Will Grant US$500 Million [to stop people around the world smoking cigarettes; according to the World Health Organization, tobacco will kill already 1 billion people in the 21st century]

Samleng Yuvachun Khmer, Vol.15, #3368, 25.7.2008

• Ms. Condoleezza Rice Expressed Concern and Suggested a Peaceful Solution for the Dispute between Cambodia and Thailand [24 July 2008 in a security conference of ASEAN, held in Singapore; she said Cambodia should not send the dispute to the UN Security council and should settle it bilaterally]

Note:
Among the regular UN Security Council members only France considers that the UN should discuss this issue – all others suggest bilateral discussion on the basis of existing documents.

Click here - and have a look at the last editorial - The Cambodian-Thai border crisis develops while the Khmer public is not aware what the Cambodian government representatives had agreed upon, to get the Preah Vihear Temple listed as a World Heritage Site, on a most narrowly defined piece of land.


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What I would like to know is what he plans on doing with this information should he actually receive it (which I'm sure he won't). Is he going to go kick the guys door down and beat him up for talking bad about him? Boo flippin hoo...the fact is anybody can say anything they want in this country without the fear of being punished for it. Of course, intentional defamation is another story ,but you have to prove that the person knew it was a lie.

Here is the article.

I can feel it coming in the air tonight...

Yes. Tonight I fulfill a goal of mine. I am riding along with a friend of mine who is a police office with the Tulsa Police Department. I will be taking a video camera along with me so hopefully I'll have some good stuff to share with you all.

What's happening in your world tonight?

"Sorry, police procedure" Officer Bucholz replied.

"How do I talk my way into riding in the front seat?"

Bucholz checked Eli in his rear view mirror and shook his head.  "Well, there's always the police academy."

"How about I buy you supper, or lunch, or forth meal, or whatever?"

"Sorry, I don't eat in my cruiser."

"Do you like working for the Sioux Falls Police?"

Bucholz looked at Eli in the rear view mirror as the car came to a stop.  "Mostly.  Is this going to be in your blog?"

"Ah" Eli said as he relaxed and took a comfortable posture on the back seat.  "So, you know my work?"

"No, the captain said not to say to much."

Eli frowned and watched the streetlights go by.  The trip back to Dell Rapids was going to take a while, and he still had to see if his attempt to get the word to Bob had succeeded.

***

Phil's world was a dark, confusing place right now.

His mind was still racing with the events of not just the last twenty-four hours, but of the last hour.  He had found his long lost fiance Michelle, and found out the reason he had not heard from her in months was the friend who had dragged him from the edge of his life falling completely apart.  He had little choice but to think about all of that, as he was tied to a chair with a cloth sack over his head.  His breath was hot against his face every time he exhaled, and the ropes had almost no give on his arms and legs.  Suddenly, the makeshift hood was ripped off of his head, and the darkness gave way to a different kind of darkness.  The kind where shapes are visible, and where he could get around if only he knew the layout a bit better.

"Phil, right?" came a voice from behind him.

"That's right" Phil said, not sure of what question would be next.

"What do you know about Gerrard?"

"You mean Jer?"

"Sure."

"Well..." Phil tried to consider his answer carefully but he heard footsteps behind him drawing closer.  Thoughtful answers suddenly seemed like a luxury.  "...he was a good poker player.  He always bought pizza...he could hold his liquor?  Am I saying anything remotely helpful?  Believe me, I want to help."

"Why so eager to help?" the voice said, as the footsteps moved closer, but now to Phil's right.

"I'm sick of riding around in boxcars and watching policemen get shot.  I'm ready for this ordeal to be over with."

"Ah yes, the police officer.  You saw that?"

"Yeah."

"What did Mokoto tell you about Jer?"

"She said she...she didn't know him or something.  Just that she knew of him."

Phil heard laughter, and more footsteps.  He couldn't see who was walking, but he heard them circling around.  "Is that what she told you, for real?"

"I'm fairly confident that's what she said."

"What if I told you he used to have a different name, and back then she did know him?"

"How well?"

"Very" came a voice so close to Phil's left ear that he could feel the hot breath on his neck.

I've just gone cross-eyed.

If you are confused already, that's OK. If you think you know more than me, that's probably true (you can comment on this like everybody else). If you don't care what I have to say that's cool too. Go to your local mega-mart, pay $7 (marked down from $10) on a 2 C-cell light and toss it in a junk drawer for the next time you need it. Just do one thing first. Bookmark this page, because in 3 months when the power goes out and you grab a light that doesn't work, you'll want to come back and finish reading.

In the next few posts we'll try to cover some of the things you'll want to consider if you want a little better option. Hopefully we can answer a few questions and clear up a couple of points. There may not be an obvious "buy this" answer, but when we are done, there will a light at the end of the tunnel. (See how I did that, a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm creative).

The first thing to consider is overall construction and quality. Poor quality lights will have some glaring problems. The exterior housing should be strong enough to take a drop without breaking. Avoid plastic, but a strong polymer or most metals are good. Turn on the light and shake it. Does it rattle or does the light flicker because the batteries aren't held well? Good lights will have a housing designed to hold the batteries firmly in place. Look at the switch. If the light has a rotating bezel switch or a click switch there should be a rubber seal or gasket. If it's not there your light may fail if it ever gets wet, even it only a little. Some lights can be opened at the tail cap and the lens. Anywhere the light opens should have smooth threads and fit tightly. Look at the front. The lens should be clear of scratches and have a snug fit. Overall, if the light feels poorly made, it probably is

Good lights aren't cheap. CHEAP lights are cheap, and like in many other things you tend to get what you pay for. That being said, you can get a good light for around $40 and not be disappointed. Yes, you can spend a lot more, and if you want more functionality, you'll pay for it, but these three lights are elite started lights that won't break the bank.

Surefire G2 ($35.99)-

One of the most reliable flashlights you'll find. It housing is an extremely strong Nitrolon polymer and an impact proof lens. It operates with a tail cap switch that has a lockout feature to avoid accidentally turning it on. The Surefire G2 used 2 3-volt lithium batteries for 1 hour of 65 lumen output. At 5" long, it fits well in the palm of your hand. for $35.99 this light uses an incandescent bulb. If you want an LED the price goes up to about $65.

Streamlight Scorpion ($39.99)

- The Scorpion features a machined aluminum housing covered by a rubber armor sleeve for a sure grip and an unbreakable polycarbonate lens. Like the Surefire G2, it has a tail cap switch, uses 2 3-volt batteries and has an approximate 1 hour run time. The output Measures 65,000 candle power and the front bezel can be adjusted to focus the beam into a small spotlight or expand the output into a flood light. It comes with a replacement bulb or for $10 more you can get the Streamlight scorpion with an LED.

The Pelican M6 ($41.99)

- Similar to the others, this light has a tail cap switch, fits well in the palm of your hand, has an approximate run time of 1 hour on 2 3-volt batteries. The output is closer to 74 lumens, and this light comes with a cordura belt holster. If you want the LED version, the price goes up to around $80.

Next post: Light emitters.

Acte 4 : Circulez, il n'y a rien à voir ...

Ce lundi 30 juin, je me levais de bonne heure, conscient de la rude tache qui m'attendais. Je fus dès lors en proie à une sourde anxiété, semblable à celle qui me dominait à l'approche de tout évaluation un tant-soit-peu déterminante. Pendant que mon père et mon grand-père maternel me prodiguaient des conseils variant entre l'utile et le superflu, j'essayais de me préparer psychologiquement à une attente qui promettait d'être longue et semée d'embûches. Je sortis auréolé de la bénédiction familiale, direction le commissariat de police à quelques dizaines de mètres de chez moi. J'apostrophais un policier avant d'entrer "Chrif, est-ce qu'il faut acheter un timbre ou est-ce que les 75 dhs étaient payés sur place ?" Il confirma la deuxième option, me demandant par la même occasion si j'avais un rendez-vous. "C'est nouveau ça ! Un rendez-vous rien que pour soumettre les documents ??" pensais-je à ce moment-là. Je pus me frayer, quoique difficilement, un chemin parmi ceux qui avaient déjà un rendez vous et qui étaient rassemblé à l'entrée, pour déboucher sur la file d'attente, déjà assez longue, dédiée à ceux qui en demandait un. Ces lève-tôt était entrain de dicuter, pour tuer le temps. Deux séxagénaires se lamentait sur l'état de l'urbanisme au Maroc, en affirmant que des bâtiments historiques se dégradaient d'une façon spectaculaire. Stigmatisant les autorités selon eux coupables de négligeance et même d'avidité, ils énuméraient les bâtiments dégradés naturellement, ou démolis par quelque responsable corrompu. Cette discussion tournant rapidement aux sempiternelles jérémiades sur le manque de civisme des marocains qui, si elles comportent une large part de vérité, demeurent dénuées de toute forme de nuance et habillées d'une arrogance détestable -absence totale d'autocritique-. La file adjacente, reservée aux représentantes du sexe féminin, était en tous cas beaucoup plus animée, et les commérages et autres discussion banales me parvenait fréquemment à l'oreille. Il était 9 heures et le fonctionnaire chargé d'attribuer les rendez-vous n'était pas encore... au rendez-vous ! En proie à ma paranoïa comme quoi j'aurais oublié une pièce requise, j'établis un contact avec un des séxagénaires cités plus haut, lui demandant ensuite plus d'infirmations à propos des étapes suivantes. Il s'avéra aussi ignorant que moi, les formalités ayant changé pendant les dix ans au cours desquels il n'eut plus affaire à la sûreté nationale...

9 heures 15. IL arrive enfin. Tout s'accélère, ou presque. La file devant moi étant encore longue, et la vérification des papiers de mise pour chacun, je continuais à me promener du regard. Une dispute qui éclata dans le rang des femmes, m'offrit l'occasion de me distraire. Sur le point d'en venir aux mains, la quadragénaire et la jeune furent séparées par un policier finalement très correct, qui usa d'un tact certain pour les dissuader de perdre leur sang-froid en public. Mon tour approcha, et je laisser ballader mes yeux pour satisfaire ma curiosité malsaine, ce qui me valut un rappel à l'ordre du fonctionnaire. Finalement, je pus lui présenter mes documents. Il les scruta, me demanda si j'étais né en 92, et me déclara, avec nonchalance : "7ta l3am ejjay" -traduisez "jusqu'à l'année prochaine"-. Je restais estomaqué, et déjà la file avançait. Je fis mine de protester, il n'en avait cure. Je retournais presque chancelant à la maison, tellement j'étais frappé de stupeur...

Je retournais illico presto au commissariat, pour rencontrer le "chef" qui m'avait promis monts et merveilles au début de l'aventure. Il me répondis le plus calmement du monde que je devais attendre jusqu'à la rentrée pour disposer d'un certificat scolaire prouvant que je suis en 2^ème année bac. Le comble de la bêtise, oui ! Malgré mes relances, je n'ai obtenu qu'une vague promesse pour la rentrée scolaire... Moi qui voulais me débarasser de ce fardeau une fois pour toutes, voilà qu'il me poursuivra malgré tout !

Terribly deceived !