Thursday, July 14, 2011
Washington D.C Unarmed Firefighters Forced To Patrol Streets With Police
(NBC Washington)Both D.C. firefighters and police officers are upset over a new program that forces the fire department to help fight crime.
For the past three weeks, D.C. Fire and EMS personnel have been parking their trucks at high crime neighborhoods.
"It's to prevent things from bubbling up. The idea is that if you have a fire engine with adults there no one is going to commit a crime," said D.C. Deputy Mayor Paul Quander.
City officials said they just want firefighters to call 911 if they see suspicious activity.
The D.C. police union and firefighters union say the plan is not safe.
"I think it is a disaster," said D.C. Police Union spokesman Kris Baumann. "You're putting untrained, unsupervised, unequipped firefighters in some of the most dangerous neighborhoods in town to perform a law enforcement function."
Right now, the plan is to keep the policy in place at least through next spring.
Georgia Looking To Pass Legislation To Crack Down On Child Sex Crime Offenders
(One News Now)In this taped audio excerpt from a study on child sex demand, a man tells a woman posing as a 16-year-old escort that she is too old. When she reveals to the caller that she just "turned 16...a couple of days ago," he tells her he would like her to be "about 12."
Some Georgia legislators are making efforts to accomplish a balance between tougher penalties for criminals and better treatment for victims, like one sex trafficking survivor who thought of a painful way to get away from being sold for her body.
"I was hoping that I would get in a car accident and have my face disfigured because I thought if I was ugly, then nobody would want me anymore and nobody would have sex with me," she shares.
Another survivor, Keisha Head, adds that victims are often intimidated by their captors.
"They would beat you; they would make you feel like they would cause you...or your family harm," she accounts. "And another thing...some of the girls don't have anywhere else to go."
Ernie Allen, CEO of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, reports that the official numbers are in dispute, but child sex trafficking in the U.S. is a serious issue.
"This is America's dirty little secret," he notes. "These are crimes that the public doesn't see, that the public doesn't want to believe exist. These are hidden victims."
The proposed legislation calls for a 25-year minimum sentence for those convicted of coercing children under the age of 18 into trafficking, and it slaps a minimum sentence of five years on those who pay for sex with a 16-year-old. Pursuing sexual encounters with younger children could lead to at least ten years behind bars.
Atheist Group Files Lawsuit Against Texas Governor Due To Upcoming Prayer Rally
(Christian Post)An atheist-agnostic group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday in an effort to block Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s upcoming prayer rally next month.
The Madison, Wis.-based group Freedom From Religion Foundation called the prayer rally unconstitutional, saying it violates the Establishment Clause “by giving the appearance that the government prefers evangelical Christian religious beliefs over other religious beliefs and non-beliefs…”Perry is partnering with the American Family Association and other faith groups to hold “The Response: A Call to Prayer for a Nation in Crisis” at Houston’s Reliant Stadium on Aug. 6.
"Right now, America is in crisis: we have been besieged by financial debt, terrorism, and a multitude of natural disasters,” reads the letter from Perry posted on the event’s website. “As a nation, we must come together and call upon Jesus to guide us through unprecedented struggles, and thank Him for the blessings of freedom we so richly enjoy."
In response to the lawsuit, Perry’s office issued a statement Wednesday declaring that the Aug. 6 prayer event will continue as planned.
“He (Perry) believes it will serve as an important opportunity for Americans to gather together and pray to God, seeking his wisdom and guidance as our nation navigates the challenges before it.,” reads the written statement. “The pending litigation does not affect plans for the prayer event.”
Prisoner Accused Of Child Sex Crimes Is Allowed To View Child Porn
TACOMA, Wash. -- A Washington state man accused of child sex crimes is allowed to view child pornography in jail.
The sheriff and the prosecutor don't like it. But Weldon Marc Gilbert is acting as his own lawyer in the case, and that means he's allowed to review the evidence.
More than 100 videos and photographs were seized from Gilbert's Lake Tapps home after his 2007 arrest. Authorities say some of them were shot by Gilbert.
Gilbert worked as a pilot and is accused of using money and alcohol to lure more than a dozen boys to his home, where police say he molested them.
KIRO-FM reports that when Gilbert views his videos in the Pierce County Jail in Tacoma, he's with an investigator in a separate room visible to jail guards.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Pennsylvania Mayor Under Attack For Praying
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania is in a quandary over its budget, as several parties are in disagreement and disarray over the city's financial state and the possibility of bankruptcy. So Mayor Linda Thompson turned to God for prayer and three days of fasting for help in deciding what to do for the city and its future.
"I would argue that that is an entirely wholesome undertaking, and she should be commended for it," contends Colin Hanna, president of the pastors network and Let Freedom Ring. "But instead, she's being chastised for it."
Atheist groups protested Thompson's efforts, and the Harrisburg mayor has been attacked for opening staff meetings with prayer.
"Every president that the nation has ever had, I think, and I am happy to say that, has encouraged the citizens of the country to pray. And there's nothing wrong with that," Hanna argues. "The notion that it is is totally twisted. What [Thompson is] doing as a mayor is the same kind of thing that presidents have done since George Washington."
The Pennsylvania Pastors Network is a group of biblically faithful clergy and church liaisons, whose objective is to build a permanent infrastructure of like-minded clergy who affirm the authority of scripture and engage their congregations in taking part in the political process on a non-partisan basis.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Syrian Protestors Attack U.S and French Embassy In Damascus
French Embassy guards in the Syrian capital fired in the air to hold back loyalists of President Bashar Assad's regime who also attacked that compound to protest the French ambassador's visit last week to the same restive city, Hama, in central Syria. Protesters smashed embassy windows and shattered the windshield of a diplomatic SUV outside the compound. The French Foreign Ministry said three embassy workers were injured.
Both the U.S. and France accused Syrian security forces of being too slow to respond to the attacks. And France said Syria was not living up to its international commitments to protect diplomatic missions and allow envoys freedom of movement.
"The people want to kick out the dog," read graffiti written on the wall of the U.S. embassy, along with another line cursing America. The protesters smashed the embassy sign hanging over one gate.
Assad's regime called the French and American ambassadors' visits to Hama last week interference in the country's internal affairs and accused the envoys of undermining Syria's stability.
U.S. Ambassador Robert Ford on Thursday visited Hama where he was greeted by friendly crowds who put flowers on his windshield and olive branches on his car, chanting: "Down with the regime!" The State Department said the trip was to support the right of Syrians to demonstrate peacefully.
The protests erupted after Ford harshly criticized the Syrian government's crackdown on a popular uprising that has raged over the past four months.
The U.S. said no embassy personnel were hurt in the melee and there was no immediate word on any other casualties.