Canada bus killer not guilty

Vince Weiguang Li, 43, after being diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was found not guilty of murdering 22-year-old Tim McLean on a Canadian Greyhound bus on July 30, 2008. Li, a devout Christian and a computer engineer, immigrated to Canada with his wife from China's province of Liaoning in 2001. Tim McLean, a 22-year-old Canadian man, was stabbed, beheaded and cannibalized while riding a Greyhound Canada bus about 18 miles (29 km) west of Portage La Prairie, Manitoba traveling the Trans Canada Highway.

Li is a a computer software engineer in Beijing who immigrated to Canada from China on June 11, 2001 who worked at various jobs in Winnipeg, Thompson and Edmonton after his arrival in Canada from China. He worked in Winnipeg at menial jobs at Grant Memorial Church for six months to support his wife. In Edmonton 2006 he take up jobs which included service at a Wal-Mart, at a fast-food restaurant, and newspaper delivery.
Spare the rod of fears about wrongful convictions, concerns about the state taking the lives of individuals, and uncertainty about the death penalty's role as a deterrent for crime? Balancing the need to protect the public, the mental condition of the accused, the accused’s re-integration into society, and the other needs of the accused aren't an easy task.
Canada has abolished the death penalty on July 14, 1976. The last execution in Canada was on December 11, 1962. A good precedent for the abolition of capital punishment is the 1959 case of Steven Truscott, who was just 14 years old when convicted of a murder that he did not commit.. (On August 28, 2007, Truscott was acquitted of the charges by the Ontario Court of Appeal.)
Related Article : Canada bus killer ate flesh of beheaded victim
Source: 1
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Lover's penis severed by angry spouse

Chandana Pradeep, a 30 years old barber who argued with his 45 years old lover when she refused to give him money for alcohol had his penis bitten off  in Sri Lanka. Herald Sun May 19, 2012 8:51AM

The barber's case has a preceding infamous New Yorker, John Wayne Bobbit  who allegedly mistreated his wife.  His Ecuadorian wife, Lorena, in June 23, 1993 cut off nearly half of his penis on grounds of cheating, abuse, forcing her to get an abortion, and other heinous acts. She threw the penis into a field and was later located after an exhaustive search by the police who then packed in ice, and delivered to the hospital where John Bobbitt was being treated.

According to testimony given by Lorena Bobbitt in a 1994 court hearing, he  was intoxicated after a night of partying and then raped her. Subsequently  John Wayne Bobbitt  was tried for and acquitted of spousal rape. The jury found Lorena not guilty due to insanity causing an irresistible impulse to sexually wound her husband. Lorena underwent a 45-day evaluation period at Central State Hospital, located in Petersburg, Virginia.  In 1995, after six years of marriage, Lorena and John divorced.

After the divorce, John continued to have run-ins with the law. He was reportedly arrested seven times for offenses ranging from assault to grand larceny. He appeared in a gimmick adult biopic of his own life, as well as a dominatrix video in order to pay his medical (a nine-hour operation) and legal bills. Eventually he began dating someone new, publicly claiming that they would remain abstinent until they married, but after a while he got thrown in jail for hitting her. Early in 1997, he became a minister at a Las Vegas church, but told Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" (1996) that a sequel to _John Wayne Bobbit Uncut_ (1997) was not out of the question.

In December 1997, Gallo made news when she was charged with assault for punching her mother, Elvia Gallo, as they watched television. She was eventually found not guilty of assault and her mother continued to live with her. In 2007, she was working at a beauty salon in the Washington, D.C. area and in the same year founded Lorena's Red Wagon organization, which helps prevent domestic violence through family oriented activities.

The Bobbitt case was one of the first cases that brought public attention to the subject of marital rape.
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Altantuya case: Judge yet to file judgment

 Political analyst Abdul Razak Abdullah Baginda, who was charged with abetting in the murder but was acquitted and discharged without his defence being called on Oct 31, 2008.
Azilah and Sirul were convicted in April 9, 2009 sentenced to death by the Shah Alam High Court .
Found guilty of murdering the 28-year-old Mongolian mother of two in Mukim Bukit Raja near here 10pm on Oct 19, 2006 and 1am the following day.

There is no perfect crime. The taxi driver hired by Altantuya for the day did not appreciate that his passenger was kidnapped under his eyes without payment for the fare. He took note of the registration plate of the kidnapper’s car and filed a complaint at the local police station. In a few days, the police identified the car and realized that it was a government vehicle. Read More at Margeemar Blog

The duo, who were commandos with the elite Special Action Squad, subsequently filed their appeals  in the same month. As at Friday February 10, 2012 the hearing date for the appeals of two police personnel convicted of the murder of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibuu has yet to be fixed because one of them, C/Insp Azilah Hadri has not filed his petition of appeal. Azilah's lawyer J Kuldeep Kumar said the petition could not be filed as he had only received 40 of 57 volumes of the documents. Kuldeep Kumar said the documents were subsequently send to him in stages in the last six months, adding that he would obtain the remaining 17 volumes of documents from the court.

 Opposition leaders have said Najib might also have had an affair with Altantuya and that there was a connection between her murder and the controversial multi-billion ringgit Scorpene submarine deal between the Malaysian government and French arms manufacturer DCNS. They said the onus was now on Najib to prove his innocence in the RM6.7billion submarine deal following an allegation of a “third person” in the negotiation that took place in Macau. It is alleged that Altantuya was an interpreter in the deal.

In June 2002, the Malaysian government signed a EUR 1 billion contract with Armaris (now DCNS) and Spanish naval shipbuilder Izar (now Navantia) for 2 SSK Scorpenes and associated support and training.

Sources:
Minister Nazri Aziz explains to Parliament the delay in the appeal of the two cops convicted for murder. by Syed Jaymal Zahiid | June 27, 2011

Azilah yet to file appeal in Altantuya murder case  Published: Friday February 10, 2012 MYT 5:18:00 PM The Star

Related Posts:-
1) What happen to the Altantuya, murdered mongolian girl case?(Extended)
2) Anwar Ibrahim fights on.............
3) Altantuya connected to Najib fresh evidence
4) What happen to the Altantuya, murdered mongolian girl case?

Malaysia unrest over reform

Update 20 July 2011-Malaysia censors Economist article on Bersih rally in the July 16 edition:-Home Ministry official Abdul Aziz Mohamad Nor was quoted in The Star daily as saying Malaysia has censored sections of an article in The Economist magazine about the death of a man during the protest and to police action in putting down the rally. Source

The Economist - 16 July 2011
English | 173 pages | True PDF | 6.29 Mb
Political affray in Malaysia:Taken to the cleaners
An overzealous government response to an opposition rally
Jul 14th 2011 | SINGAPORE | from the print edition

Update 15thJuly2011:-Bersih 2.0 - The Lies vs the Truth



Read following is the first public statement made by medical officers following the police denial that personnel had shot tear gas into hospital compounds on July 9.

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (sworn affidavits) We, the undersigned doctors, wish not to enter into the polemics of the Bersih 2.0 march on 9th July 2011 but would like to clarify the inconvenient truth. We are outraged at the incidents, and the subsequent responses from the authorities, to the events where tear gas and chemical laced water were shot into the compounds of Tung Shin and Chinese Maternity Hospitals, two adjacent buildings along Jalan Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, with scant regard for the safety of patients, staff and the general public who were at the buildings that afternoon. Hospitals are considered as safe sanctuaries for all, even during war times, but these consecrated places of refuge and protection were violated by the defence forces that afternoon. Police even entered the buildings in search of some of these peaceful marchers. What was most frightening and witnessed by many was the unprovoked violent assault within the hospital compounds and apprehension of several protesters who had merely run into the hospitals to seek shelter from the tear gas and the water cannons! It is repulsive that the authorities entrusted with policing the nation and protecting the weak and needy, have shamelessly denied publicly, the occurrence of these incidents IN SPITE of countless photo/video and eye witness accounts of what was evident to all independent observers. A few of the undersigned were actually visiting or working in the hospitals concerned at the time of the events and will gladly provide sworn affidavits, if required, as to veracity of the incidents The Malaysian public expect holders of high public office to honour their positions accorded by the citizens, by discharging their duties with moral integrity, dignity and transparency. Their failure to do so raises the public's doubts in their competence and credibilty as much as it demeans those high offices. Dr Ng Kwee Boon - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Datin Dr Low Paik See - Consultant Paediatrician Dato' Dr Musa Mohd Nordin - Consultant Paediatrician & Neonatologist Dr Mazeni Alwi - Consultant Paediatric Cardiologist Dr David Quek - Consultant Cardiologist Dr Sheikh Johari Bux - Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist Dr Steve Wong - Consultant Plastic Surgeon Dr Ahmad Farouk Musa - Consultant Cardiothoracic Surgeon Dr Ng Swee Choon - Consultant Cardiologist Source

Update 11thJuly2011:Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said authorities would review their video footage of the protest to investigate the 59-year-old taxi driver who died during the protest -- the biggest in four years -- which police say he was a bystander who died of a heart attack. Allegations that police fired tear gas into a hospital compound will also be probed. Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein says the government will answer (the allegations) without fear or favour. Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak says his concern is the security of the nation and the safety of the people and defended the police, saying the opposition-backed rally was a ploy to tarnish the country's image.

But rally organiser Bersih 2.0, a coalition of non-governmental groups demanding electoral reform claimed police fired tear gas canisters into the crowd, hurting people, and beat others and these were unwarranted attacks against a peaceful gathering of unarmed citizens was nothing short of shocking.

Monday See Malaysia back to Normal


Malaysia warns irresponsible foreign media and ralliers
Update 10thJuly2011:

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak on Sunday defended the government's handling of street protests demanding electoral reform on Saturday amid intense criticism heightened by the death of a demonstrator. Baharuddin Ahmad, a former soldier, a member of the opposition Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), was fleeing after police fired gas canisters when he collapsed, his brother Mohamad Sharin told AFP.

KUALA LUMPUR - The police arrested over 1,600 ralliers on Saturday 09 July 2011 during clashes with protesters demanding poll reform ahead of general elections,who defied government warnings to rally in the capital for electoral reform. Tear gas has injured some as Malaysian police fired tear gas and water canon on the crowd as they march to a stadium and to the king's palace to hand over a memorandum detailing their demands. Among those injured were Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim who suffered a bruise on his head and a cut leg. His bodyguard however had to undergo minor surgery after he was hit in the left eye by a tear gas canister,reportedly taking the shot for Anwar.

Police brutality remains a concern as heavy-handed measures were employed to disperse what was a peaceful march until the water cannons and tear gas were deployed.Bleeding protestors were carted off by police personnel, while a man spotted on the ground with a fracture and his wrists bound in police-issued plastic handcuffs.He had boot marks on his pants and claimed that several police personnel had pinned him to the ground and kicked his leg. Incidences of police brutality were seen, with officers allegedly punching and shoving detainees. They were also allegedly seen manhandling female detainees. Extracts from Malaysiakini

Leaders of opposition parties were among those detained during a massive security operation but it failed to thwart the outlawed demonstration which saw 50,000 people take to the streets of Kuala Lumpur, according to organisers. Among those arrested were protest leader Ambiga Sreenivasan and Maria Chin Abdullah(Reforms group Bersih 2.0-a broad coalition of opposition parties and civil society groups). Ambiga, former head of the Malaysia Bar Council, told AFP she was freed later Saturday without being charged. Abdul Hadi Awang, president of the Pan-Malaysia Islamic Party (PAS), the country's largest opposition grouping, was also arrested.

With elections expected to be called early next year, demonstrators were demanding changes to the voting process including eradication of vote buying and prevention of irregularities which they say marred previous polls.

Malaysian police may have crushed a weekend protest, but analysts say the crackdown has tainted the country's democratic credentials and could embolden the opposition ahead of elections.



Source: Channel News Asia

JOKE: Mahathir, Queen Elizabeth, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell. While there, they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth. Putin asks to call Russia and talks for 5 minutes. When he is finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million dollars, so Putin writes him a check. Next Queen Elizabeth calls England and talks for 30 minutes. When she is finished the devil informs her that the cost is 6 million dollars, so she writes him a check. Finally Mahathir gets his turn and talks for 4 hours When he is finished the devil informs him that the cost is $5.00. When Putin hears this he goes ballistic and asks the devil why Mahathir got to call Malaysia so cheaply. The devil smiles and replies: “Since Najib took over, the country has gone to hell, so it’s a local call.” SOURCE

High-Tech Hijacking

Electronic Pickpocketing


RFID = convenience and invasion of privacy.
Walt Augustinowicz may be scaring you to buy a card protector(Faraday Cage).
Armed with a credit card reader he bought for less than $100 on-line and a netbook computer, WREG On Your Side Investigators put Augustinowicz to the test. The report goes as experts at the Identity Theft Resource Center stated that they've never seen a case of RFID skimming used to steal information. Not all credit cards has RFID chip implemented. (Radio-frequency identification)
RFID is a tracking system that uses intelligent bar codes to track items in a store. RFID chips are very similar to barcodes. RFID tags do not have to be visible to the reading device. They can be scanned through clothes, wallets, and even cars. The distance from which they can be read is also much greater than that of a barcode.

Source

How to block/kill RFID chips
A good quick fix. A layer or two of aluminum foil should do the trick. Just wrap your RFID card in aluminum foil which will retards the signal Easy way to test this is to take a cellphone, turn it on, wrap it inside something that will prevent its antenna from touching the cage (such as a sock?) then wrap it in aluminum foil, folding over the edges so the package is pretty much airtight. Then call your cell phone number from a landline, if you've done everything correctly the phone will be out of range and will not ring, but the call will go to voicemail.

Or Obtain a RFID Reader. If you pay for the reader you might as well buy a READER/WRITER. MAke sure you get a list of the frequency that the RFID reader/writer operates at. These units are good for creating mis-information because you can write false data to the chip (NOT YOUR PASSPORT!!!!) and carry some false info on the chip(s) in your wallet, so when someone scans you then they will see all the false data. Include in the info "YOU ARE BEING WATCHED!" See more option right below!!


1)Buy a wallet and passport holder that block rfid transmission here

2)RFID-blocker passport cover made by Travelon at overstock.com

3)EMvelope #93390 at American Science & Surplus catalog - RFID-Blocker Sheet. The description reads as follows:"it is an 8-3/8" x 3-1/2 x .012" thick trim-able electromagnetic sheet (think Farraday cage with floating ground) that blocks RF up to 2.4 GHz. Cut it to size and slip it in your wallet, or whatever, and it protects the data on your credit cards, ID cards, E-Z Pass, or anything else with an embedded RFID chip, including the new US Passport."

4) Ebay as at Jan 20. 2011
RFID Blocking Bonus Pak/ 2 Passport/ 10 card sleeves. Post to:Worldwide

20 Tyvek RFID Credit ID Card Protector Sleeve Envelopes. Post to:Worldwide

What happen to the Altantuya, murdered mongolian girl case?(Extended)

Three urns in which Altantuya bones sit
Recap:
Who was Altantuya Shaariibuu?
The DAP chairman said the Mongolian Foreign Affairs office contacted him that they will finance Dr Shaariibuu’s suit. The opposition leader promised “the case will go on at any cost.”
Murder of Shaariibuugiin Altantuyaa -wikipedia

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OK, RPK Switch Sides But Why Are Everyone Surprise?
 The pro-government TV3 station aired an exclusive interview with blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin April 13, 2011, where he claimed that he was merely writing accusations made by others against Datuk Seri Najib Razak and his wife over the Altantuya murder case. VIA

RPK: I don’t believe PM’s wife was at Altantuya's murder scene VIA
How Raja Petra lost the plot and became irrelevant VIA

On  April 15, 2011 The Malaysian Civil Liberties Movement (MCLM)  president Haris Ibrahim said the timing and "spin-doctoring" by the mainstream media clearly showed that the BN was using any means it could to stop Pakatan Rakyat's advance in the Sarawak polls. He also lambasted Najib for claiming that the Altantuya murder case is closed following Raja Petra’s alleged “confession”, saying that there are too many questions left unanswered for it to be done and over with.

“The public have lost faith in our judiciary. Razak Baginda was acquitted, and the public believe that the two convicted are just scapegoats.

“Nobody understands why these two lowly police officers, of their own volition, blew this woman to smithereens?

“It (the case) may be closed in the PM’s mind, (but) it is not closed in the court of public opinion. That is what counts,” Haris said.  VIA

Raja Petra Kamarudin has defended his interview aired with TV3, saying that it will renew focus on allegations surrounding the Altantuya Shariibuu murder. VIA

In an e-mail interview with Malaysia Insider on April 15, Raja Petra insisted that he is not a turncoat. He said that he will continue to support the opposition – the Pakatan Rakyat.

Immediately following the TV3 interview of Raja Petra, the Prime Minister Najib Razak claimed that he is thankful that the truth has finally emerged and he considered the matter closed.

These questions below  have been there right since the start of the case and they will continue to be there for posterity until the truth of the grisly murder finally emerges.

What were the motives of the two police officers convicted of killing Altantuya as they appear to have no earlier connection or previous knowledge of her?

How did they obtain the C4 explosives and who approved the release of this strictly restricted materiel to them?

The third accused Abdul Razak Baginda – who was acquitted of the charge against him – is a political analyst with known ties to Najib. A transcript had surfaced of alleged text messages between them. What did the sms exchanges imply?

Why was DSP Musa Safri never investigated when he gave orders to his officer Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri to help Razak Baginda? Azilah had testified in court that Musa told him Razak had a problem because someone threatened him and he [Azilah] was to lend assistance to Razak.

Why was Altantuya’s record of entry missing from the immigration records? Have the immigration officers responsible provided a credible explanation as to how Altantuya’s entry details seemingly disappeared?

Why has the immigration department not carried out an internal inquiry, and the other higher authorities carried out an independent inquiry, into this serious breach or if they did, the report not made public?

Why were the three affidavits and video interview of P. Balasubramaniam, who was engaged by Abdul Razak Baginda as private investigator and who has since vanished, not investigated? VIA

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Part 5: 'I was told Rosmah was happy with my retraction'
Part 4: PI Bala - From Bangkok to Kathmandu to Delhi
Part 3: Cops grill PI Bala in Bangkok, praise his courage
Part 2: PI Bala reveals his final hours in M'sia
Part 1: Bala was in town, now on Youtube
Press conference at the Holiday Villa London on Wednesday, 07 July 2010
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers who were supposed to record former private investigator P. Balasubramaniam statement in London has cancelled their trip. Balasubramaniam had flown to London from India after MACC officers contacted his lawyers to express their intention to interview him in connection with his retraction of statutory declaration and events surrounding the death of Mongolian Altantuya Shaariibu. Balasubramaniam's counsel, Manjeet Singh Dhillon intended to highlight a whole series of events surrounding this Altantunya matter if MACC had come to London to interview Bala. According to Dhillon MACC had recorded no less than five statements from Balasubramaniam.

Five statements from Balasubramaniam previously made to MACC 1)Balasubramaniam was hired as a private investigator by Abdul Razak Baginda after it was alleged that Altantunya was harrassing him for non-payment of commission after the purchase of submarines. 2)Abdul Razak Baginda, a former political analyst, who was charged with abetting in Altantuya's murder, was acquitted by the Shah Alam High Court on Oct 31, 2008 after the judge found no prima facie case against him. 3)After the death of Altantunya, Balasubramaniam had made a statutory declaration relating to the murder but withdrew it the day after through a second sworn declaration. 4)"The way Bala was treated after the first SD on 3rd July 2008; he was immediately apprehended, bribed, cajoled, threatened and removed from the jurisdiction of Malaysia," Dhillon asserted. 5)Balasubramaniam admitted that he was apprehensive about returning to Malaysia and alleged that he could be thrown into detention.

The press conference was also attended by Federal Territory Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) chief Zaid Ibrahim, fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamaruddin and members of the alternative media, Bernama reports. Also according to the report of a online news portal, Balasubramaniam said Razak is a scapegoat. He has nothing to do with the murder. VIA

Monday May 24, 2010:Fugitive blogger Raja Petra Raja Kamarudin has turned up in London and threw a challenge to the Malaysian Government to bring him to trial in the United Kingdom. Link

Pakatan Rakyat is taking its fight overseas with the launch of Friends for Pakatan Rakyat (FoPR) club in London. VIA

The Launch of Friends of Pakatan Rakyat on Sunday 4th of July

Americk Sidhu,counsel for P. Balasubramaniam has made a press atatement that The money P. Balasubramaniam is using to pay for his trip to London and his hotel accommodation there is derived from the funds he has received from Deepak Jaikishan at the behest of Rosmah Mansor. VIA

Below is the statement released by Balasubramaniam on what he told the French prosecutor M Ryckewaert at the Direction Centrale de la Police Judiciare DNIF, Nanterre,in Paris on Monday,July 12, 2010.

Areas covered in the interview. 1) My background [including date and place of birth] and my occupation from the time I was with the Malaysian police to the time when I became a private investigator in 1998. 2) The validity of my PI (private investigator) licence. 3) The whole story as to how I was recruited to do a job for Razak Baginda and my interview before the job done by Dhirren Norendra, a lawyer practising in Kuala Lumpur. I was questioned about the scope of my assignment, the target and objectives of my assignment. 4) The background to the Altantuya murder. I briefed them on the events leading up to and after the murder and also told them to read my first SD (statutory declaration) and the Singapore interview. Also the identity of the two police officers convicted of the murder, who they worked for as well as the identity of the various other people identified as being about when Altantunya disappeared and their link to Razak Baginda and/or the PM (prime minister). 5) Razak Baginda's relationship with our present PM, the information and events narrated to me by Razak Baginda including the SMS sent by the PM to Razak Baginda at the point of his arrest for the murder of Altantuya. 6) The Malaysian company, Perimekar, its ownership, and link to Razak Baginda and his wife. Also nature of business undertaken by Perimekar. I told them of the presence of army equipment in Razak Baginda's office. Information concerning Razak Baginda and his present whereabouts. 7) Financial payments by Razak Baginda to Altantuya, including the three US$5,000 payments by Baginda to Altantuya, which included a penalty of US$1,000 because of late banking in. Also the purchase by Razak Baginda of an apartment in Mongolia for Altantuya. Also the background to the US$500,000 payment demanded by Altantuya, how it arose, its link to the Scorpene submarine deal, Altanunya's involvement in the negotiations, and admission and confirmation by Razak Baginda that he should have paid Altantuya the money. 8) How Rosmah Mansor teamed up with Deepak to exile me from Malaysia, the threats to my family after I signed the first SD as well as the involvement of the PM's brother in the events that led to the second SD and my being smuggled out of Malaysia and asked to stay away till Najib Razak became PM. 9) I was asked to retrace the events in Rawang coffee house where Deepak, Dinesh and ASP Suresh were present. 10) The length and time I have been in exile. 11) Details concerning Altantuya's cousin, Ammy, who had knowledge of the Paris dinner where the PM and Razak Baginda were present with Altantuya. 12) The identity of the French individuals involved in the Scorpene deal. 13) My knowledge of any payments by the French to Perimekar and information given to me by Altantuya that her US$500,000 was because of the successful deal concerning the Scorpene submarine transaction. 14) The identity, background and involvement of two Malaysians identified as Major Rahim and Abdul Rahim Saad. 15) Altantuya's family background. 16) My links with Suaram, if any. 17) The need for justice to be served for the Altantuya murder and the truth to be told concerning the Scorpene deal. VIA

Related Post:
What happen to the Altantuya, murdered mongolian girl case?
Read More (External Link) We know Baginda is ‘innocent’. « *SUSAN LOONE's Blog*
The Star 1
The Star 2

Hundreds of cats rescued from being eaten in China

More than 300 cats were rescued thanks to animal rights activists in Shanghai. All these cats were going to become food in prestigious Chinese restaurants in Guangdong province. Eating cat meat is a tradition in many parts of China, especially in southern regions, where some restaurants specialise in preparing the dishes.(local soup called ‘Tiger vs. Dragon’ which is made with snake and cat.

Restaurant owners pay about about 50 yuan/$8a cat.) 22 bamboo cages full of cats in a yard were found with some contained more than 20 cats. Two of these cats had been dead for a while at the rescue and some of those alive had broken legs. Most of the animals have been returned to their owners after the activists sent out a message on an internet forum. Some cats were adopted by animal lovers and others were released in areas where volunteers leave food for strays. Police detained the cat dealer, Yang Baoguo, went scot free after a few hours without charge because animal protection laws are non-existent in China. Unlike dogs, a licence is not required for owning a cat in Shanghai as such the cat dealer could not be charged him with possessing stolen property.
VIA

Lancaster Man Allegedly Demands Sex To Return Lost Dog -

Alfredo Demkey of Lancaster in the Los Angeles area found the 17-year-old girl's 2-year-old mutt Pineapple on 27th Friday June,2009, called the number listed on the collar and said the dog would suffer if she didn't give him $70 or sexual favors.

Hawthorne Police Lt. Mike Ishii said the girl hung up on Demkey, but he called back. She then agreed to meet him at an El Pollo Loco restaurant, where police and the girl's father were waiting for him. The dog, Pineapple was returned to its owner unharmed. Police also say Dempkey was arrested on suspicion of parole violation for violating his registration requirements and could face other charges.

VIA

'Slumdog Millionaire' star Rubina Ali's father to become a millionaire by selling her

Rubina - the child star of oscar winner movie,Slumdog Millionaire has been put up for sale by Rubina's muslim father. Rafiq Qureshi, who lives in a Mumbai slum along with his star daughter, offered to sell Ali for nearly $300,000 to undercover reporters. That was an astonishing four-fold increase on his opening demand. But Rafiq’s equally demanding brother Mohiuddin insisted: “The child is special now. This is not an ordinary child. This is an Oscar child!” The undercover reporters travelled to Mumbai to expose the illegal sale after a tip-off from a concerned close family friend and former neighbour. The father of adorable "Slumdog Millionaire" star Rubina Ali however denies he tried to sell his his 9-year-old daughter. News of the World confirms with a published a photo of their journalists meeting with the family while disguised as a wealthy couple from Dubai. Uncle Rajan More said on behalf of his father that they are only interested in securing their girl's future through her adoption. Rafiq Qureshi said he is keen to find a rich family to bring up Rubina but only if they are willing to help the whole family to get out of the slums. Shockingly, this sort of transaction is far from unusual in an impoverished nation where human life comes cheap and children are often treated as a commodity.


Slumdog has been a roaring success, raking in a staggering £185 million at box offices around the world. Rubina's family are furious that despite the film doing so well and their pretty daughter becoming so famous, they are still living in such rough conditions. Rafiq, 36, complained that the film producers haven't looked after them. That they gave them around 150,000 rupees (£2,040) at the start but nothing afterwards.Also added that they've been talking about giving them a house amounted to nothing but just talk.

The fact is that Danny Boyle and producer Christian Colson have set up a trust to ensure Rubina gets a proper education, is well housed and receives support dealing with media attention. In early April 2009 Rubina and fellow child actor Azharuddin Ismail were each given a £12,000 luxury apartment by Slumdog sound engineer Rasul Pookutty. The property in Kerala, south India, was awarded to Rasul - who himself escaped poverty - by the local council in honour of his Oscar achievement.

Rafiq shrugged it off saying he had no intention of moving to Kerala, even when the apartment is complete in a year time.
Picture: Rafiq Qureshi and her daughter, Rubina
Qureshi now acknowledges he received an offer to adopt Ali but says he pretended to be interested in an effort to be polite.

'Slumdog Millionaire' fame Rubina Ali's mother Khushi Sunday,20/4/2009 afternoon lodged a complaint with police following media reports that her estranged husband allegedly attempted to 'sell' their daughter. Khushi expressed shock over reports that her ex-husband was planning to sell Rubina for 200,000 pounds (over Rs.14 million). Khushi is concerned that her daughter to be well taken care of in pursuing her studies and acting career simultaneously by which Qureshi must account for the money the child earned from the movie.
VIA 1
VIA 2

Related Article: Slumdog Millionaire hit the $200m (£140m) mark

Filthiest fast-food joints

These pictures in video were taken in the dining area at 3am last Sunday by Adelaide law student Jeremy Brown while on a night out with friends. McDonald's employees had told Mr. Brown that the filthy area was a regular occurrence.



Mcdonald's Hindley Street‎
44 Hindley St
Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
(08) 8212 5200‎
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McDonald's Hindley Street in Adelaide, Australia, is seen with countless discarded brown paper bags and burger wrappers lay strewn across the floor, piled up in trampled heaps around the tables and chairs. Diners sit eating amidst abandoned soft drinks, squashed chips and other rubbish cover the table tops.

McDonald's SA market manager Josie Mangini said the store's management had been "counselled" over the mess. The store manager, Sandra, confirmed a complaint had been made last Saturday April 4, 2009 night but said she was unable to comment further. When the Sunday Mail visited the restaurant in the early hours of Friday April 10, 2009 morning, staff members were clearing tables every 10 minutes. One teenage diner, said the restaurant appeared cleaner than normal and it is the numbers of people who come in and out of here that make such a mess. Mr Brown earlier remarked that the blame is not on the staffs, who appeared to be working "flat out" but thought that it was short-staffed when there were big queues to get food.

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Over in America, Domino’s Pizza faced an even bigger PR crisis after footage emerged of employee ‘Michael’ apparently putting nasal mucus on the sandwiches,and stuffing cheese up his nose when two Domino’s Pizza employees filmed a prank in the restaurant’s kitchen, they decided to post it online. In the most popular video of the franchise location in Conover, North Carolina, a woman who identifies herself as Kristy films a co-worker, Michael, preparing the unsanitary sandwiches. By Wednesday April 15, 2009 afternoon, the video had been viewed more than a million times on YouTube. According to Domino’s, the employees told executives that they had never actually delivered the tainted food. Still, Domino’s fired the two employees on Tuesday, (identified by Domino’s as Kristy Hammonds, 31 and Michael Setzer, 32) and they were in the custody of the Conover police department on Wednesday evening, facing felony charges. On Thursday April 16, 2009 they were charged with contaminating food distributed to the public, the same charge that covers people who taint Halloween candy. Hammonds, 31, has a criminal history that includes a conviction for sexual battery last on June 24 2008 (Has a probation period of 24 months. ) and convictions for possession of stolen property and breaking into a vending machine. If convicted, the Hammonds and Setzer could be sentenced to four months to one year in jail. Conover residents said they are thinking twice about eating at Domino’s now. The restaurant has taken steps to rectify the situation. It reopened for business Wednesday after spending one day closed so workers could sanitize everything inside the restaurant and throwing out all food and paper products that were not still sealed directly from the manufacturer.

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Court secretly sentences Pervez Kambaksh for downloading a report from the internet

Worldwide outrage over Pervez Kambaksh's death sentence was sparked after The Independent reported his plight in January 2008. The Government raised the matter directly with Afghanistan after more than 100,000 Independent readers signed the petition and in October 2008 a Kabul appeals court lifted the death sentence.



A young man, a student of journalism, is sentenced to death by an Islamic court for downloading a report from the internet. The sentence is then upheld by the country's rulers. This is Afghanistan – not in Taliban times but six years after "liberation" and under the democratic rule of the West's ally Hamid Karzai.

For Kambaksh the four-minute hearing has led to four months of incarceration, sharing a 10 by 12 metre cell with 34 others and having the threat of execution constantly hanging over him. His fate appeared sealed when the Afghan senate passed a motion, proposed by Sibghatullkah Mojeddeid, a key ally of the President Hamid Karzai, confirming the death sentence, although this was later withdrawn after domestic and international protests.

The fate of Sayed Pervez Kambaksh has led to domestic and international protests, and deepening concern about erosion of civil liberties in Afghanistan. He was accused of blasphemy after he downloaded a report from a Farsi website which stated that Muslim fundamentalists who claimed the Koran justified the oppression of women had misrepresented the views of the prophet Mohamed.

Mr Kambaksh, 23, distributed the tract to fellow students and teachers at Balkh University with the aim, he said, of provoking a debate on the matter. But a complaint was made against him and he was arrested, tried by religious judges without – say his friends and family – being allowed legal representation and sentenced to death.


On 27 October, 2007 he was arrested at the offices of Jahan-e-Naw, a newspaper for which he had carried out reporting assignments. On 6 December, 2007 he was brought before a court in Mazar where the charges against him, accusing him of blasphemy and breaching other tenets of Islamic law, were read out. But then the proceedings concluded without any evidence being presented before the court.

The next hearing, on 12 January, 2008 was cancelled after Mr Kambaksh became ill. He arrived at the court at the next session, on 22 January, 2008 expecting a date to be set for the trial, only to hear numbing news that he has been found guilty and the sentence was death.

In February, 2009 the Supreme Court Judge Bahauddin Baha vowed the appeal would be held in "a very open court" but that promise has proved hollow.

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Brazil: Girl, 9, Has Abortion Despite Church's Objections

A NINE-year-old Brazilian girl pregnant was believed to be sexually abused since she was aged six by her 23-year-old stepfather. She was found to be four months pregnant with a twin after being taken to hospital suffering stomach pains. She was being cared for by a medical and psychological team in the Maternal-Child Institude in the northern city of Recife, close to her hometown of Alagoinha in Pernambuco state.

She underwent an abortion Wednesday, March 04, 2009 at the public university hospital. The director, Fatima Maia said the 15-week-old pregnancy posed a serious risk to the 80-pound (36-kilogram) girl. "She is very small. Her uterus doesn't have the ability to hold one, let alone two children," But Marcio Miranda, a lawyer for the Archdiocese of Olinda and Recife in northeastern Brazil, said the girl should have carried the twins to term and had a Caesarean section. Brazil is home to more Catholics than any other nation and there were complaints from Brazil's Roman Catholic church against the abortion. Abortion is illegal in Brazil except in cases of rape or if the woman's health is in danger.

The 23-year-old stepfather was also allegedly abused the girl's physically handicapped 14-year-old sister. He was arrested on Thursday March 05, 2009 as he attempted to flee to another region in Brazil, and was being kept in protective custody.
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Lesbians subjected to "corrective rape" in South Africa

South African Human Rights Commission backed, international NGO ActionAid said the horrific crimes against lesbians were going unrecognised by the state and unpunished by the legal system. Lesbians living in South Africa are being subjected to "corrective rape" and severe violence by men trying to "cure" them of their sexual orientation. Research shows 86 per cent of black lesbians from the Western Cape live in fear of sexual assault. Triangle, a gay rights organisation, said it deals with up to 10 new cases of "corrective rape" every week.

In April last year when Eudy Simelane, former star of South Africa's national female football squad, became one of the victims of "corrective rape". The partially clothed body of Eudy Simelane, former star of South Africa's acclaimed Banyana Banyana national female football squad, was found in a creek in a park in Kwa Thema, on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Simelane had been gang-raped and brutally beaten before being stabbed 25 times in the face, chest and legs. As well as being one of South Africa's best-known female footballers, Simelane was a voracious equality rights campaigner and one of the first women to live openly as a lesbian in Kwa Thema. Since then a tide of violence against lesbian women in South Africa has continued to rise and scores more women have been deliberately targeted for rape in a macho culture society which seeks to oppress women and sees them as merely sexual beings macho culture, which seeks to oppress women and sees them as merely sexual beings.

The July 2008 trial of the three men accused of Simelane's rape and murder has produced the first conviction, when one man who pleaded guilty to her rape and murder was jailed last month, February 2009.

While hate crimes – especially of a sexual nature – are rife, it is not something that the South African government has prioritised as a specific project as acclaimed by South Africa's national prosecuting authority.
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U.S. paid $1 million to ship two 19-cent washers

Charlene Corley, 47, co-owner of the plumbing and electrical firm C&D Distributors, who supplied parts to the military, is awaiting sentence after pleading guilty on 16 Aug 2007 to defrauding the Pentagon. She faces 20 years in jail. Still awaiting prison term, on Friday 27th February 2009, her lawyer appealed for leniency, claiming that it was all Wooten’s fault and that Corley, as a volunteer, transformed an autistic child into an honor student. Darlene Wooten the other owner and Charlene Corley's twin sister, committed suicide after being contacted by federal investigators. On the day she killed herself, Wooten wrote a check to the government for $4.5 million.

Nothing compared to an extravagant claim by a South Carolina firm: almost $1m for two metal washers worth 19c each. The owners of C&D Distributors of Lexington, South Carolina, submitted online bids to the Defense Department to supply hardware components, plumbing fixtures, electronic equipment and other items to US bases round the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. The most expensive washers in history were part of $20.5m the company stole from the Pentagon over the last 10 years. C&D fabricated shipping costs into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, as in the case of the washers, although the value of the items purchased rarely topped $100. The company took advantage of an automated system intended to cut out red tape by making speedy payments. It claimed $998,798 for sending the two washers, which could have been put in an envelope and posted through normal mail for a few dollars. Other bills included $445,640 for shipping one elbow pipe worth $8.75, $492,096 for a machine thread plug and $403,436 for six screws worth $59.94.

Picture left:Lock washers are meant for applications where the components of the joint or the threads may permanently deform enough to reduce bolt tension. Properly applied lock washers are not "mashed flat" they are left with some spring in them.
There are applications, ex some automobile starter motor mounts, that stipulate the use of lock washers. Lock washers usually have a plain washer under them, next to whatever part is being tightened. Lock washers come in several styles. Spring, Wave, Internal Tooth, External Tooth, Ribbed, lots of different types. Sometimes, the lock washer will have a tab on the inside which fits into a hole in the part being held on. After you tighten the nut, part of the washer is bent over against the nut. This keeps the nut from loosening. Other times there is a groove in the end of the male threaded part and, after tightening, part of the nut is bent into that groove. This is called a Key Nut. These bendy type washers require a new washer or nut every time you disassemble a part. Nuts and bolts can also be locked in place by chemical thread lockers and by safety wire.

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Girls being force-fed for marriage as junta revives fattening farms

Fears are growing for the fate of thousands of young girls in rural Mauritania, where campaigners say the cruel practice of force-feeding young girls for marriage is making a significant comeback since a military junta took over the West African country.



Mauritania, Africa's newest oil-producing nation is one of the few African countries where, on average, girls receive more food than boys. Now only around one in 10 girls are treated this way. The treatment has its roots in fat being seen as a sign of wealth - if a girl was thin she was considered poor, and would not be respected. Mauritania, largely desert and twice the size of France, has a population of more than 3 million. It is an Islamic republic, the westernmost member of the 22-strong Arab League and one of the world's poorest countries. It is an ally of the US in its "war on terror" and has diplomatic relations with Israel. Mauritania has suffered a series of coups since independence from France in 1960. The latest, in Thursday 7 August 2008, saw General Mohamed Ould Abdelaziz seize power in a bloodless coup after the elected president, Sidi Cheikh Ould Abdallahi (Picture) tried to sack him.


The resurgence of the practice in rural Mauritania is a depressing setback for campaigners after previous education and awareness campaigns on the dangers of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The government then even commissioned ballads condemning fattening. Fat women are traditionally seen as more desirable. Obesity is seen as a sign a husband cares for his wife. Obesity is revered among Mauritania's white Moor Arab population and in rural Mauritania you still see the rotund women that the country is famous for. To men here, fat is sexy. And in this patriarchal region, many Mauritanian women do everything possible — and have everything possible done to them — to put on pounds.

Aminetou Mint Ely, head of the Association of Women Heads of Households and children's rights lawyer, Fatimata M'baye, insist the fat "ideal" is back against claims by political scientist Mohamed el-Mounir, 38, that western influence had wiped out the allure of feminine fat. Ely cites the life-threatening weight-gain practices of some grown women take animal hormones or buy prescription drugs with appetite-enhancing side-effects in order to remain fat, as adults. ( At the capital’s open-air market a buyer can easily secured a gold box of Indian-made dexamethasone tablets, a prescription steroid hormone that can cause sharp weight gain.)

Fatimata M'baye, echoed Ely's pessimism cited she has never managed to bring a case in defence of a force-fed child. The politicians are scared of questioning their own traditions. Rural marriages usually take place under customary law or are overseen by a marabou (a Muslim preacher). No state official gets involved, so there is no arbiter to check on the age of the bride. Yet Mauritania had signed both international and African treaties protecting the rights of the child.

Aminetou Mint Ely, a women's rights campaigner, said girls as young as five were still being subjected to the tradition of leblouh every year. The practice sees them tortured into swallowing gargantuan amounts of food and liquid - and consuming their vomit if they reject it. A successful fattening process will see a 12-year-old weigh 80kg. By the age of 15 she will look 30.

Leblouh is intimately linked to early marriage and often involves a girl of five, seven or nine being ‘gavage’(a French term for force-feeding geese to obtain foie gras), obliged to eat excessively to achieve female roundness and corpulence, so that she can be married off as young as possible. Girls from rural families are taken for leblouh at special "fattening farms" where older women, or the children's aunts or grandmothers, will administer pounded millet, camel's milk and water in quantities that make them ill. A typical daily diet for a six-year-old will include two kilos of pounded millet, mixed with two cups of butter, as well as 20 litres of camel's milk. Fingers are often clamped between two sticks, a frequently-used instrument of torture which will stem the urge to vomit by distracting her with some local pain.

Fatematou, a voluminous woman in her sixties told BBC World Service's The World Today programme it is not cruel to make girls fat (beating and force feeding children)and she has seen 10-year old girls giving birth. "Once they are fat and beautiful they can serve their men well, once they are fat they can be married,"
Picture: Women and men exercise around a sports stadium in the city of Nouakchott, Mauritania. Husbands often get upset when their wives try to shed weight because the desert culture prizes corpulence.

Mohamed el-Moktar Ould Salem, a 52-year-old procurement officer, blames the brightly colored, head-to-toe mulafas that hide all but the most voluptuous female curves for shaping the men’s preferences. A slender woman, he said, “just looks like a stick wrapped up.” "Women are very sensitive about their weight,” “She just wants to keep up a good image.”


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Wife admits exercising husband to death

Picture:Christine Newton-John, formerly John Vallandingham

Newton-John 41, who used to be John Vallandingham before a sex change operation in 1993, stopped her husband from leaving the water in a swimming pool 43 times. Against surveillance video which showed Christine Newton-John, 41, pulling James Mason around the pool by his arms and legs, the transsexual woman admitted exercising her 73-year-old husband to death in the swimming pool. James and Christine had known each other for a number of years and married in 2006 . Police chief Joseph Stehlik the video is bone-chilling and sinister, showing Mr Mason resting his head on the side of the pool several times while gasping for breath. Mr Mason had a heart attack on June 2, 2008 after the extended swim session in Middlefield, Ohio. The couple had been married three years. Geauga County Prosecutor David Joyce said they couldn't hear what the struggling man was saying on the video tape as it had no audio which is insufficient for a murder conviction. Newton-John pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and faces up to five years in prison. There were previous complaints that Mr Mason was being abused.


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Ohio teacher cut class for prostitution

This photo, supplied by the Logan County Sheriff's Office, shows Amber Carter, 35, the Ohio fourth grade teacher, who is being charged with misdemeanor prostitution, skipped class after using a school computer to arrange an afternoon tryst at a motel and was arrested Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2009, in Bellefontaine, Ohio.

Amber Carter was arrested Tuesday at a motel parking lot in Bellefontaine in central Ohio and was charged with misdemeanor prostitution and a felony, unauthorized use of property, regarding the computer.

Carter now on administrative leavenever received a reprimand in 13 years at the district.

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Drunked Pilots in Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York

On 28 December 2008, the pilot, Alexander Cheplevsky was so garbled it was impossible to tell what language he was speaking on a welcome announcement aboard a 10 hours Aeroflot flight from Moscow to New York. Despite a group of passengers demanded to see the man at the controls to check whether or not he was drunk, Mr Cheplevsky refused to leave the cockpit to reassure the passengers, who were told by the crew they should either stop complaining or get off the plane. An Aeroflot representative boarded the aircraft and told the passengers it wasn't a big deal if the pilot was drunk. A television presenter, Ksenia Sobchak who happened to be on the plane saved the day by making a few phone calls and after a delay of several hours, the pilots were replaced and flight 315 took off.

The newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that Mr Cheplevsky had been celebrating his birthday the night before, but the airline denied he was drunk. A spokeswoman for Aeroflot, Irina Dannenberg, accused the passengers of "mass psychosis" and said the airline would sue Ms Sobchak. The airline later issued a statement claiming the pilot may have suffered a stroke before take-off.

A passenger, Katya Kushner,described the incident as the pilot, Alexander Cheplevsky was looking at the passengers like they were crazy. Then, when they wouldn't back down, he said that he wouldsit there quietly in a corner, that they had three more pilots and he wouldn't even touch the controls, he promised.

Aereflot has before hired Western PR firms to help shed its Soviet-era image of rusting old planes, harridan-like stewardesses and poor safety and an allegation of an intoxicated pilot is a worrying new development for the airline.

A report released on the first week of February 2009 said alcohol was found in the muscle tissue of the pilot Rodion Medvedev on a crash last September of an internal flight run by Aereflot subsidiary airline, Aeroflot-Nord. Recordings reveal that Mr Medvedev, who was due to land the plane, handed over the controls to his co-pilot, saying: "You see yourself that I can't."

Related incidents:
* In December 2003, Virgin Atlantic pilot Richard Harwell tried to fly between Washington DC and London while drunk. The 55-year-old American was arrested shortly before he was due to leave Dulles airport after a security officer smelled alcohol on his breath. He was sentenced to 60 days in prison.

* In December 2004 Finnish pilot Heikki Tallila, 51, was jailed for six months after falling failing a breath test. The day before he was due to fly his Finnair jet out of Manchester with 225 passengers on board, Tallila drank six glasses of wine and a beer.

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Cocaine cheaper than lager and wine as drug price falls by half

Picture left: The coca plant, Erythroxylon coca.
Britain Home Office has admitted that the street price of both cocaine and heroin has fallen by nearly half in the last ten years, making the most dangerous illegal drugs cheaper than they have ever been. Cocaine is now being sold for as little as £20 a gram in some parts of the country with the most common price for the drug is £40 per gram. Home Office figures for 1998 show the average price was £77. A gram of heroin can now be bought for as little as £25, with the average price somewhere between £40 and £50 per gram. In 1998, the average was £74. Although cocaine is still seen by some as a drug for celebrities and the wealthy, the fall in price has made it affordable for more drug users.
Picture left: Bricks of cocaine, a form in which it is commonly transported.

Cocaine is a potent central nervous system stimulant. Its effects can last from 20 minutes to several hours, depending upon the dosage of cocaine taken, purity, and method of administration. The initial signs of stimulation are hyperactivity, restlessness, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and euphoria. The euphoria is sometimes followed by feelings of discomfort and depression and a craving to experience the drug again. Sexual interest and pleasure can be amplified. Side effects can include twitching, paranoia, and impotence, which usually increases with frequent usage.

Accordingly, and with a little mathematical jiggery-pokery, it can be calculated that if a gram contains 10 to 20 lines, users can get a hit for as little as £1, with the average price lying between £2 and £4. The average price of a pint of lager is £2.75, with a glass of plonk costing around £3.50. Those of you who are no longer prepared to stump £2.75 for a pint, but don't fancy cocaine as an alternative stimulant, should note that the average price of heroin has also fallen - down to 40 to 50 quid for a gram from the 1998 average of £74. It equates to less than a pound per line of the drug - cheaper than a cup of coffee or a bag of chips. The price has been driven down because the drug is thought to be more readily available and because of more competition among dealers.


Rolled up banknotes, hollowed-out pens, cut straws, pointed ends of keys, specialized spoons, long fingernails, and (clean) tampon applicators are often used to insufflate cocaine. Such devices are often called "tooters" by users. The cocaine typically is poured onto a flat, hard surface (such as a mirror, CD case or book) and divided into "bumps", "lines" or "rails", and then insufflated.

An army of drug mules(A mule or courier is someone who smuggles something with him or her across a national border, including smuggling into and out of an international plane, especially a small amount, transported for a smuggling
organization.)pours into Britain via new smuggling routes is now being brought in through West Africa and the Balkans, say international monitors. This is because South American producers have found the traditional supply routes out of the Caribbean being cut off by US patrols. This 'shotgun approach' makes it impossible for police and customs officials to spot every mule - meaning more cocaine reaches Britain. Colombia is the world's leading producer of cocaine. Due to Colombia's 1994 legalization of small amounts of cocaine for personal use, while sale of cocaine was still prohibited, the result was the spread of local coca crops, partly justified by the local demand.

DrugScope chief executive Martin Barnes said it does suggest that law enforcement activity has had little impact on supply and availability. British youngsters are also being targeted by illegal online pharmacies selling heroin substitute. The unlicensed pharmacies sell methadone, codeine and other stimulants without prescription. The International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) report backs the decision to upgrade cannabis to Class B because of fears over the harm to mental health of the strong 'skunk' variety.

In 1863, Mariani started marketing a wine called Vin Mariani, which had been treated with coca leaves, to become cocawine. The ethanol in wine acted as a solvent and extracted the cocaine from the coca leaves, altering the drink’s effect. It contained 6 mg cocaine per ounce of wine, but Vin Mariani, which was to be exported, contained 7.2 mg per ounce to compete with the higher cocaine content of similar drinks in the United States. A “pinch of coca leaves” was included in John Styth Pemberton's original 1886 recipe for Coca-Cola, though the company began using decocainized leaves (a process which removes all the cocaine and ecgonine from them. ) in 1906 when the Pure Food and Drug Act was passed. The actual amount of cocaine that Coca-Cola contained during the first twenty years of its production is practically impossible to determine. The main use of these decocainized leaves is to flavor Coca-Cola. Coca coke & tea would be illegal in the US except if it is made from decocainized leaves. Coca herbal infusion (also referred to as Coca tea) is used in coca-leaf producing countries much as any herbal medicinal infusion would elsewhere in the world. The free and legal commercialization of dried coca leaves under the form of filtration bags to be used as "coca tea" has been actively promoted by the governments of Peru and Bolivia for many years as a drink having medicinal powers. Visitors to the city of Cuzco in Peru, and La Paz in Bolivia are greeted with the offering of coca leaf infusions (prepared in tea pots with whole coca leaves) purportedly to help the newly-arrived traveler overcome the malaise of high altitude sickness. The effects of drinking coca tea are a mild stimulation and mood lift. It does not produce any significant numbing of the mouth nor does it give a rush like snorting cocaine.

A problem with illegal cocaine use, especially in the higher volumes used to combat fatigue (rather than increase euphoria) by long-term users is the risk of ill effects or damage caused by the compounds used in adulteration. The normal adulterants for profit are inactive sugars, usually mannitol, creatine or glucose, so introducing active adulterants gives the illusion of purity and to 'stretch' or make it so a dealer can sell more product than without the adulterants.

Cocaine is a potent central nervous system stimulant. Its effects can last from 20 minutes to several hours, depending upon the dosage of cocaine taken, purity, and method of administration. The initial signs of stimulation are hyperactivity, restlessness, increased blood pressure, increased heart rate and euphoria. The euphoria is sometimes followed by feelings of discomfort and depression and a craving to experience the drug again. Sexual interest and pleasure can be amplified. Side effects can include twitching, paranoia, and impotence, which usually increases with frequent usage. With excessive or prolonged use, the drug can cause itching, tachycardia, hallucinations, and paranoid delusions. Overdoses cause tachyarrhythmias and a marked elevation of blood pressure. These can be life-threatening, especially if the user has existing cardiac problems

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Dad at 13-Baby-faced boy Alfie Patten is father at 13

DNA test shows 13-year-old Alfie Patten is not a dad. Chantelle Stedman told Alfie Patten, who was 12 when he slept with her, he was her newborn daughter Maisie's father and that he was the only boy she had ever slept with, but soon after other teens came forward saying they too could be the baby's father, because they claimed to have had sex with the girl. It is still not clear who the baby's father is as at March 27, 2009. VIA

The Mirror reports: (The Mirror has pulled the story from their site on 27 March, 2009)
The result will be a blow to Alfie who was "devastated" by the boys' claims and "adored" Maisie.
He was convinced he was the dad after a single night of unprotected sex with Chantelle.
Before he took the test, he said: "I didn't know about DNA tests before but mum explained it's when they do a swab in your mouth and it tells if you're the dad. So if I have it, they can all shut up."
His mum Nicole, 43, added at the time: "It had not even crossed Alfie's mind whether Chantelle had not been faithful to him. He's absolutely devastated that these lads say they slept with her." VIA

Press silence on Alfie Patten DNA test result broken by Google News.
They have also had it removed from Google's cache.

Update: Alfie agreed to take the test after two other boys – Richard Goodsell, 16, and Tyler Barker, 14 – claimed they had been involved in a sexual relationship with Chantelle. His father Dennis, 45, who has reportedly boasted about how much money he can make from the situation, is allegedly considering an offer to have the DNA results opened on a television talk show, according to the Daily Star. Richard Goodsell, 16, a trainee chef, has claimed he often shared a bed with Chantelle over a period of three months around the time she became pregnant. His mother Barbie-Jayne, 35, also backs his story. Tyler Barker, 14, also claims to have had a relationship with Chantelle, who appears much older than her years. He told the News of the World: "I slept with Chantelle in her bed about nine months ago and I'm really worried I could be the father. In the UK, there were no restrictions on paternity tests until the Human Tissue Act came into force in September 2006. Section 45 states that it is an offence to possess without appropriate consent any human bodily material with the intent of analyzing its DNA. Legally declared fathers have access to paternity testing services under the new regulations, provided the putative parental DNA being tested is their own. VIA

Picture left: Penny Stedman , mother of 15-year-old Chantelle, at her home in Eastbourne, East Sussex
After a night of unprotected sex, an eight year old looking Alfie Patten of 13 became a father on Monday 9 Feb 2009 when his girlfriend Chantelle Steadman gave birth to 7lb 3oz Maisie Roxanne at Eastbourne Hospital, East Sussex. Alfie, who is just 4ft tall didn’t think about how he d his “girlfriend” would afford it. Alfie don’t really get pocket money. His dad sometimes gives him £10. Maisie was conceived after Chantelle and Alfie — just 12 at the time — had a single night of unprotected sex. Alfie’s dad Dennis said Alfie seemed desperate to be a devoted and responsible father. The young couple found out about the baby when Chantelle was 12 weeks pregnant. It is not until six weeks later when Chantelle’s mum Penny, 38, became suspicious about her weight gain and confronted her when the truth spilled out.

United Kingdom PM Gordon Brown refused to comment directly on the story but said it was important that the Government did all it could to prevent teenage pregnancies. The age of sexual consent is 16. But Sussex Police said they had looked into the case and decided it was 'not in anyone's interests' for anyone to be prosecuted.

Chantelle and Maisie after been released from hospital are living with Penny, Chantelle’s jobless dad Steve, 43, and her five brothers in a rented council house in Eastbourne. The family live on benefits. Alfie, who lives on an estate across town with mum Nicola Patten, 43, spends most of his time at the Steadmans’ house. Alfie’s dad, is separated from Nicola(They had been married for 14 years after Dennis divorced Nicola. ) who works for a vehicle recovery firm. Alfie's half-sister Nicole, 19, yesterday blamed their father for the 13-year-old having a child so young because he left home for a 19-year-old girl. Dennis ran off with the teenager, who is now 21, two years ago, when Alfie was 11, and is still living with her.

And rumours began circulating in Chantelle's neighbourhood that Alfie was not Maisie's father. Neighbours said Chantelle has been with quite a few lads. They are allowed to sleep over at her house, her parents don't mind. She is treated like an adult and can do what she wants. The Stedmans let the kids run wild on the street until all hours, they have no control over them.
She knows lots of boys and never has the same boyfriend for long. Alfie lives with her and seems to think he's the dad but everbody think he should have a DNA test.

Chantelle Stedman can claim no benefits until she reaches 16, her next birthday. But state benefits to support her and her baby will be paid to her mother Penny until then. At a minimum, the family can expect to receive around £30,000 a year - close to £600 a week. Penny, 38, will claim benefits to support herself and her four children including Chantelle.
She will also claim on behalf of new-born Maisie. The family may claim benefits on the basis that Penny's unemployed partner Steve is a live-in member of the household.

If so, their claims may look like this:

* Child Benefit: Paid automatically for each child - £72.80 a week.
* Council Tax Benefit: Likely to cover the full bill - £30 a week.
* Child Tax Credit: Now the main payment to support children of out-of-work or low income mothers. Possible payment for the five Stedman children - £221 a week.
* Income Support: If paid to Penny and Steve as a live-in couple - £94.95 a week.
* Housing Benefit: Likely to cover the full rent of their council house, together with any service charges. This may be - £150 a week.
* Total: £568.75 a week, or £29,575 a year.

Source: FIVE-YEAR-OLD GIRL GIVES BIRTH TO BABY & Britain’s youngest known father is Sean Stewart. He became a dad at 12 when the girl next door, 15-year-old Emma Webster, gave birth in Sharnbrook, Bedford, in 1998. They split six months later.
Above:Sean Stewart who is Britain's youngest known father.
Left:Ray and Shirley Webster with their daughter Emma, 15. In 1998 she became pregnant by her boyfriend Sean Stewart who lived next door