January 28, 2015

two passerbys stop rape. chase down & hold star Stanford swimmer until cops arrive

Stanford swimmer arrested, charged with felony sex assault

SAN JOSE -- A former Stanford University swimmer has been charged with raping an intoxicated, unconscious woman in an on-campus attack that prosecutors say was witnessed by two cyclists who nabbed him in the middle of the night as he tried to run away.

Brock Allen Turner, 19, who voluntarily withdrew from the school Tuesday, faces five felony counts that could put him behind bars for 10 years. He was booked into Santa Clara County Jail on Jan. 18, shortly after the attack, on suspicion of attempted rape and penetration with a foreign object, both felonies. He has been released on $150,000 bail.



Turner is charged with one count of rape of an intoxicated person, one count of rape of an unconscious person, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object of an intoxicated woman, one count of sexual penetration by a foreign object of an unconscious woman and one count of assault with intent to commit rape, prosecutor Alaleh Kianerci said Tuesday.

The attack happened after midnight on a Sunday morning outside a party where Turner met the woman, Kianerci said. Two men riding bikes on campus saw an unconscious woman on the ground with a man on top of her. The man ran away, but they chased him down and held him until police arrived, the prosecutor said.

Kianerci praised the men as good Samaritans, who leapt into action because what they saw "shocked their conscience."
http://www.mercurynews.com/education/ci_27404357/stanford-swimmer-arrested-suspicion-attempted-rape

January 27, 2015

130 lb mastiff befriens 1lb chihuahua at shelter

The odd couple! Chihuahua puppy weighing less than 1lb becomes best friends with 130lb mastiff after meeting at rescue centre
Five-week-old Digby was found near death outside flats in north London
He was taken to RSCPA kennels - where he befriended nine-stone Nero
The huge Neapolitan Mastiff eats the weight of four Digbys every day

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One's smaller than a bag of sugar and the other's as heavy as a full-grown woman - but that hasn't stopped these two pets becoming best friends.
Digby the tiny chihuahua, who weighs less than 1lb, was close to death when he was rescued from between two rubbish bins outside a block of flats in north London.
But since being taken to an RSPCA centre he has a new reason to survive - in the form of nine-stone Neapolitan Mastiff Nero.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2928796/The-odd-couple-Chihuahua-puppy-weighing-1lb-best-friends-130lb-mastiff-meeting-rescue-centre.html#ixzz3Q3m6L7VY

January 27, 2015

NEPAL'S CHILD GROOMS SUFFER IN PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL WAYS

"It is a way for families to control the boys' sexuality, and for poor families to get rid of one of their obligations," said Ramsharan Reidas, a 37-year-old community activist who was married at 7. "If the boy is married, it's like he is an adult and he should be taking care of himself."

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It's well established that for girls, particularly in South Asia where it is most prevalent, child marriage unleashes a lifetime of trauma: high dropout rates, unwanted pregnancies, childbirth injuries and other maladies.

Emotionally, they are trapped between being a man with a wife, and a boy living under his parents.
- Gita Kumari Shah, speaking of Nepal's child grooms
Less attention has been paid to child grooms — mainly because there are fewer of them. The United Nations estimates that 156 million men worldwide were married before age 18, one-fifth the number of women.

Yet recent surveys by aid workers in western Nepal have begun to reveal the extent of the physical and psychological strain on boys thrust into adult relationships, even those who aren't yet living with their wives.

School attendance rates drop after age 13 as boys join the work force, many crossing the open border to become laborers in India's booming cities. The desperation is greatest among families who belong to the lowest rung of the Hindu caste system — the Dalits, or "untouchables."
http://www.latimes.com/world/great-reads/la-fg-c1-nepal-child-grooms-20150127-story.html#page=1

January 27, 2015

To Collect Debts, Nursing Homes Are Seizing Control Over Patients

Lillian Palermo tried to prepare for the worst possibilities of aging. An insurance executive with a Ph.D. in psychology and a love of ballroom dancing, she arranged for her power of attorney and health care proxy to go to her husband, Dino, eight years her junior, if she became incapacitated. And in her 80s, she did.

Mr. Palermo, who was the lead singer in a Midtown nightclub in the 1960s when her elegant tango first caught his eye, now regularly rolls his wife’s wheelchair to the piano at the Catholic nursing home in Manhattan where she ended up in 2010 as dementia, falls and surgical complications took their toll. He sings her favorite songs, feeds her home-cooked Italian food, and pays a private aide to be there when he cannot.

But one day last summer, after he disputed nursing home bills that had suddenly doubled Mrs. Palermo’s copays, and complained about inexperienced employees who dropped his wife on the floor, Mr. Palermo was shocked to find a six-page legal document waiting on her bed.

It was a guardianship petition filed by the nursing home, Mary Manning Walsh, asking the court to give a stranger full legal power over Mrs. Palermo, now 90, and complete control of her money.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/26/nyregion/to-collect-debts-nursing-home-seizing-control-over-patients.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage®ion=CColumn&module=MostEmailed&version=Full&src=me&WT.nav=MostEmailed

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“It’s a strategic move to intimidate,” said Ginalisa Monterroso, who handled patient Medicaid accounts at the Mary Manning Walsh Nursing Home until 2012, and is now chief executive of Medicaid Advisory Group, an elder care counseling business that was representing Mr. Palermo in his billing dispute. “Nursing homes do it just to bring money.”

January 27, 2015

Koch Brothers Budget of $889 Million for 2016 Is on Par With Both Parties’ Spending

The political network overseen by the conservative billionaires Charles G. and David H. Koch plans to spend close to $900 million on the 2016 campaign, an unparalleled effort by coordinated outside groups to shape a presidential election that is already on track to be the most expensive in history.



The spending goal, revealed Monday at the Kochs’ annual winter donor retreat near Palm Springs, Calif., would allow their political organization to operate at the same financial scale as the Democratic and Republican Parties. It would require a significant financial commitment from the Kochs and roughly 300 other donors they have recruited over the years, and covers both the presidential campaign and congressional races. In the last presidential election, the Republican National Committee and the party’s two congressional campaign committees spent a total of $657 million.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/us/politics/kochs-plan-to-spend-900-million-on-2016-campaign.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

January 26, 2015

should we feel sorry for this sad sack woman?

I don't. She could have made a better decision


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Woman arrested for 'drowning 3-week-old puppy in airport bathroom' after she was told she couldn't bring it on the plane
Cynthia Anderson, 56, tried to smuggle the young doberman on the plane three times before she allegedly killed the dog
Dogs must be at least eight weeks old in order to fly o

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woman was arrested in Nebraska last week after allegedly drowning her 3-week-old puppy in an airport bathroom when she tried and failed several times to sneak the young doberman on her plane.
Cynthia Anderson, 56, was arrested on Friday and charged with with a felony count of animal cruelty.
Police say the Edgewater, Florida resident tried to board a flight out of Central Nebraska Regional Airport on Thursday with two small dogs in crates and three young puppies.
Following U.S. flight regulations, workers at the airport barred Anderson from boarding her flight because dogs younger than eight weeks old are not allowed to fly.
'Their eyes weren't even open,' said Grand Island Police Captain Dean Elliott.
Anderson allegedly handed off two of the puppies to her parents who live in western Nebraska, and tried to board a flight the next day with the two older dogs in cages and the remaining puppy which she tried to hide in her carry-on bag.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2927238/Woman-arrested-drowning-3-week-old-puppy-airport-bathroom-told-couldn-t-bring-plane.html#ixzz3PxrRNRlY

in happier times

January 25, 2015

dog saves cat from paper cup

http://m.





he two animals then go their separate ways, with the clearly relieved cat the last shot in the clip.
More than 100,000 have watched the video since it was uploaded to YouTube.

The footage left viewers perplexed as the animals put aside their age-old hostilities.
One commentator said: 'I love how the cat casually goes back to whatever it was doing like nothing had happened.'
Others suggested the dog simply wanted the paper cup.
What a CAT-astrophe! Dog rescues feline friend trapped in cup



Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2925736/Dog-proves-s-CAT-s-best-friend-saves-feline-buddy-trapped-paper-cup.html#ixzz3PrsgsKnH

January 24, 2015

House Speaker John Boehner’s tan aglow on social media

USTIN (KXAN) – First Lady Michelle Obama’s “The Good Wife” dress got plenty of people buzzing amid the State of the Union on Tuesday night, but someone else from across the aisle also stole a bit of the spotlight on Twitter — particularly because of how much light his skin has seemingly absorbed.
There was a certain kind of glow about U.S. Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner. Twitter user Jared Padalecki asked if Boehner’s office was on the surface of the sun or if he just had somebody on-call to spray-tan him — a comment that was massively favorited. Boehner’s “tan” got people saying that “SOTU is the new orange.”
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January 24, 2015

Giant Breed Rescue. 100 to 200 lb dogs too big for shelters. 75 lbs dog food per day

I hope this article scores them some donations

Giant Breed Dog Rescue wins court case, can continue operating

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or 13 years, dogs have traveled many paths to end up with the Kohls at their nonprofit Gentle Ben’s Giant Breed Dog Rescue. About 40 to 50 dogs are adopted out into new homes each year.

The Newfie’s owner didn’t want him anymore because “he got too big.” The mastiff became homeless when his owner was arrested and hauled off to jail. The St. Bernard lost his home when his owners ran into financial difficulties and lost their house. Other dogs had been physically abused or neglected.

The Kohls were thrilled to learn that the organization they run for no pay at all can continue operating thanks to a favorable ruling handed down by Commonwealth Court on Wednesday.

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ntle Ben’s takes in large and “giant” breeds of dogs that weigh 100 to 200 pounds, including Great Danes and Great Pyrenees. Many animal shelters and rescue organizations would euthanize those breeds because they don’t have kennels, cages and exercise areas large enough to handle them.

There are no kennels at Gentle Ben’s. Dogs sleep in the house with the Kohls, and are inside during the day when the couple are at work — he as a sheet metal worker and she as a manager in a medical office at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC in Lawrenceville.

Operating expenses are about $50,000 a year, including bills for veterinarians and 75 pounds of dog food per day.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/west/2015/01/23/Giant-Breed-rescue-wins-court-case-can-continue-operating/stories/201501230025

January 24, 2015

Skymall files for bankruptcy - that airplane magazine of expensive odd thingies

kitschy in-flight catalogs, files for bankruptcy protection
SkyMall's financial and operational difficulties are a result of the evolving retail industry, as well as technology and business changes, Scott Wiley, acting SkyMall CEO, said in the bankruptcy filing.

"With the increased use of electronic devices on planes, fewer people browsed the SkyMall in-flight catalog," Wiley said in the documents.


SkyMall generated $33.7 million in revenue in 2013, but just $15.8 million for the first nine months of 2014. On Jan. 16, the company shut down its catalog business and laid off 47 of its 150 employees, according to the documents.

Late last year, Delta Air Lines terminated its contract with SkyMall and Southwest Airlines notified the company it would no longer carry the catalog starting in April. Delta Airlines, American Airlines and U.S. Airways are included in the company's list of creditors holding the 20 largest unsecured claims.

In the petition, the company estimated its assets range from $1 million to $10 million. Debtors said they are owed $12 million.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-skymall-company-chapter-11-bankruptcy-20150123-story.html