world news thread

[ProudUSC]

This certainly caused a media frenzy this morning.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/coast...ry?id=8547612&page=2

9/11 Scare: 'Shots' Reported Fired by Coast Guard

Coast Guard Admits it Was Having Training Exercise -- Right Near Pentagon Memorial

By NED POTTER
Sept. 11, 2009


Washington, D.C., residents mourning the victims of the Sept. 11 attacks this morning heard an eerie echo just an hour later -- reports that a Coast Guard vessel had fired shots at a boat in the Potomac River near the Pentagon.

But after half an hour of anxiety, the Coast Guard and local police said the whole thing was a training exercise, and no shots were fired at all.

Network news programs including "Good Morning America" broke into regular coverage to report the incident, and CNN went to blanket coverage.

As word spread of the false alarm, Frances Townsend, former Homeland Security adviser in the Bush administration, got angry -- calling the exercise "felony stupidity" in a CNN interview.

Why hold such a drill on Sept. 11, with memorial services still in progress? A Coast Guard information officer, John Edwards, said it was part of a "standardization training" drill. He told ABC News the Coast Guard trains this way all the time.

New Commander-in-Chief Reflects on 9/11, War That Followed911 Calls Reveal Terror during NYC Air Force One FlyoverPHOTOS: Then and Now: The Images of 9/11Sources said that during the exercise, a crew member on a Coast Guard boat may have said, "Bang, bang, bang," over a two-way radio -- a transmission overheard by many listeners, including media members, and perhaps misinterpreted as word of actual shots.

Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen was at the Pentagon for the Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony this morning, where President Obama spoke. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, according to one source, was unaware the exercise was to take place.

About an hour after the scare, the Coast Guard put out a statement:

"We are still gathering information of how this training event might have been misconstrued as an actual incident. We will conduct a thorough review of this incident."

It continued, "The best way that we in the Coast Guard can remember Sept. 11 and our security obligations to the nation is to be always ready and this requires constant training and exercise. To ensure the appropriate readiness posture we conduct training scenarios across the nation on a daily basis."

The Coast Guard promised a news conference, and a fuller explantion, by early afternoon.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said he was not aware of any heads-up given by the Coast Guard to the White House about its training exercise in the Potomac River, and suggested any panic that resulted was the fault of the media, not law enforcement.

Gibbs said the "reporting was based on listening to a police scanner" and wasn't "verified" before being reported.

Asked if 9/11 was an appropriate day for such a training exercise, Gibbs said, "I tend not to question law enforcement trying to keep the nation safe."

He said media should "check before reporting" such events, and suggested other training exercises are likely going on right now that we don't know about.

He rejected any comparison with the Air Force One flyover of Manhattan.

[ProudUSC]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/09/...omac.boat/index.html

Coast Guard to review exercise after Potomac security scare

NEW: Official: Coast Guard didn't alert other agencies on routine exercise

NEW: Official: FAA put "ground halt" on some flights at Reagan National Airport

Exercise occurs near where President Obama was observing 9/11 anniversary

updated 6 minutes agoNext Article in U.S. »



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Coast Guard promised a "thorough review" after a training incident Friday along the Potomac River briefly triggered concerns about the security of President Obama on the eighth anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

The Coast Guard will "take a good, hard look" at how it handled the routine training exercise to determine if the security scare that followed could have been avoided, Vice Adm. John Currier said.

Federal agency emergency operations centers were not aware of or notified about the exercise on the Potomac, and they began implementing response procedures, a federal source said.

Even the police department's Harbor Patrol, which is responsible for patrolling the river, was not notified, law enforcement sources in Washington said.

The patrol has now demanded the Coast Guard notify it in the future before any training exercises on the Potomac, the sources said.

The Coast Guard did not alert other agencies when it conducted the exercise, Currier said.
He said the U.S. Secret Service, which protects the president, was not notified, stressing that the exercise was routine and happens four times a week.

Obama lays wreath to mark Pentagon attack
The training incident took place as Obama was traveling across the Memorial Bridge following an event at the Pentagon shortly before 10 a.m. ET. CNN personnel saw what appeared to be a Coast Guard vessel working to prevent a boat from trying to enter a security zone.

Minutes later, there were reports on police scanners that the Coast Guard fired 10 rounds of ammunition.

A Department of Homeland Security representative later said no shots of any kind had been fired.

"Reports in the media were based on overheard radio calls made over a training frequency," the Coast Guard said in a statement.

The Secret Service said Obama was back at the White House by the time reports surfaced of shots being fired.

In addition, the Federal Aviation Administration put a "ground halt" on a small number of flights Friday at Reagan National Airport after the security scare, Currier said.

Reagan National is near where the training activity occurred.

[Brit4064]

First is was VCRs, then DVDs and now 3D. Sheesh and I've just upgraded to HD-Blu-Ray too!

Panasonic Launches Full HD 3D Home Theater Truck Tour

Panasonic, a leader in High Definition TV technology, today announced the start of a nationwide truck tour which will give the public their first look at Panasonic's Full HD 3D Home Theater System. The Full HD 3D system, which was first introduced to industry insiders and media in the U.S. at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2009, utilizes Plasma technology and a prototype Blu-ray Disc player to deliver true 1080p Full HD 3D entertainment in the home.

eventdv.net

[ProudUSC]

Originally posted by Brit4064:
First is was VCRs, then DVDs and now 3D. Sheesh and I've just upgraded to HD-Blu-Ray too!

Panasonic Launches Full HD 3D Home Theater Truck Tour

Panasonic, a leader in High Definition TV technology, today announced the start of a nationwide truck tour which will give the public their first look at Panasonic's Full HD 3D Home Theater System. The Full HD 3D system, which was first introduced to industry insiders and media in the U.S. at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2009, utilizes Plasma technology and a prototype Blu-ray Disc player to deliver true 1080p Full HD 3D entertainment in the home.

eventdv.net

How come when you think you have the latest, greatest technology, they always manage to knock you back into time? LOL!! And they will price gouge the h.eck out of this 3D for the first few years just like they did HDTV's. Best to wait on the purchase of this one if you want to save some bucks.

[Brit4064]

As always! The problem is by the time companies launch the "new" technology onto the consumer market, it's actually been around for some time. HD video codecs like HDV have been in existence since 2003. Earlier professional systems like Sony's D1 since 1986. I suspect this 3D stuff has been in existence for a while.

[ProudUSC]

There is so much truth to this. Well worth reading, especially if you are a parent.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITI...arcissism/index.html


Commentary: Joe, Kanye, Serena -- aren't they special?»

By Ruben Navarrette Jr.
Special to CNN

Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette Jr. is a nationally syndicated columnist and a regular contributor to CNN.com. Read his column here.

SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) -- Thanks to Joe, Kanye, Serena, and other misfits, a lot of people are talking about how society is undergoing a rash of rudeness.

That's not completely accurate. It's more like a rise in self-centeredness.

Among the self-centered: Congressman Joe Wilson, rapper Kanye West and tennis star Serena Williams. But this phenomenon isn't limited to celebrities and previously anonymous backbenchers in Congress basking in their 15 minutes.

There are many people out there, in all walks of life, who think they're more significant than they really are. Plagued with an exaggerated sense of self-importance, they feel entitled to do whatever they want, whenever they want to do it no matter whom it hurts.

The self-centered rarely think about the consequences because they're too busy claiming what they see as their rightful place in the spotlight. And when they're criticized for letting their narcissism get the best of them and face the wrath of their colleagues or the disapproval of their fans, they might apologize. But, even then, they often don't do a very good job of it because their heart's not in it.

They don't feel genuine remorse but they've been told by their press secretaries and publicists to fake it as best they can as part of the damage control. They mouth the words because they consider it to be in their own best interests. It's always about them.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford made matters worse at home by apologizing for an affair with someone he called his "soul mate."

Singer Chris Brown -- who began performing community service in Virginia this week in connection with his sentence for assaulting his then-girlfriend, singer Rihanna -- publicly apologized for the abuse and then played the victim when Oprah Winfrey criticized him.

So how did this virus of self-centeredness get in our national bloodstream?

Some in the media blame the coarseness of talk radio and the Internet where the most extreme voices are the loudest and where people tune in not to hear different points of view but to have their own views validated. That's no picnic for those of us who won't be boxed in. I've had liberals comment on this site that, as someone who sometimes voices conservative opinions, my column belongs somewhere. But, when I recently hosted a radio show, and expressed liberal views, an angry caller protectively informed me that "AM talk radio is for conservatives."

Others blame the look-at-me-I'm-so-special culture bred by egocentric social networking sites such as Facebook, My Space, and Twitter. With thousands of "followers" caring enough to take time from their own day to shadow you through yours, is it any wonder that the followed are getting big heads as they "tweet" what they had for breakfast?

But I'm old-school. I believe that what matters most is not what happens at your computer but around your dinner table. When we consider the reasons for this rash of self-centeredness, I think most of it comes down to just one thing: bad parenting.

Americans have reared at least one generation of kids, or maybe two, to think of themselves as the last bottle of soda pop in the desert. We said we were building children's self-esteem so they could be successful, but it never occurred to us that giving kids what psychologists call "cheap self-esteem" could do more harm than good by making our kids think they're 10-feet tall and bulletproof when they're neither.

Besides, what many of these parents were really doing was feeding their own egos; by telling your kids they're special, it confirms that you're special for having such special kids. Isn't that special?

Experts who study the generations say that, thanks to reliable birth control and legalized abortion, the last couple of generations have been the "most wanted" in American history. When they arrived, we drove them around in minivans with signs that broadcast: "Caution: Baby on Board." And when they went to school or summer camp, we made sure everyone got a trophy so no one got their feelings hurt.

One person who has zeroed in on this is Jean Twenge, an associate professor of psychology at San Diego State University. Twenge has spent more than a dozen years examining generational differences. Her research includes comparing studies on the self-esteem of more than 60,000 college students across the country from 1968 to 1994.

As a result of this, and the feedback of hundreds of her own students, Twenge has written two highly informed books on our self-centered culture. This year, she put out, "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement," with co-author and fellow psychologist W. Keith Campbell.

Twenge recalled the student who asked her to postpone a final exam because it interfered with his plans for a birthday outing to Las Vegas. She also heard from a person who runs a company in Minnesota who said it was not uncommon for employees to call into the office and say they were too tired to come to work.

In their book, Twenge and Campbell list the factors fueling the entitlement mentality. They include celebrity culture and the media, which teach Americans that they're entitled to be famous.

"Narcissism is absolutely toxic to society," Twenge told me when I interviewed her about her book a few months ago. "When faced with common resources, narcissists take more for themselves and they leave less for others."

And, as usual, diagnosing the ailment is easier than curing it. But cure it we must. Before we learn all the wrong lessons and come to think that the abnormal is normal, and the intolerable is acceptable. iReport.com: Why so many outbursts?

A friend who used to work in the Bush White House tells me that some Republican voters are already flooding the Congressional switchboard and pushing the idea of Joe Wilson running for president in 2012. No lie!

We had better work fast.

[Sprint_girl07]

Germany boosts terrorism alert level


BERLIN, Germany (CNN) -- The German government raised its terrorism alert level after al Qaeda posted a video on the Internet threatening attacks in Germany if this month's elections do not come out the way the terrorist organization wants.

"The federal elections offer a special [opportunity] for propaganda and operative activity by terror groups," the Interior Ministry said on Friday. "A new video posted on September 18 by al Qaeda underlines this. The security services have therefore increased the threat level, which leads to increased security measures especially at airports and railway stations."

The ministry added that it has noted an uptick in threats against Germany by al Qaeda and other Islamist groups since the beginning of the year.

In his nearly 26-minute video statement, a man identified as Bekay Harrach, using the pseudonym Abu Talha and speaking in German, says that, if the September 27 elections vote into power parties that not pledge to pull German troops from Afghanistan, there will be a "rude awakening."

The speaker calls on Muslims in Germany to stay away from public life during the first two weeks after the elections, implying that any attacks would take place then.

The speaker repeatedly criticizes German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her support of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

He also criticizes Merkel's rivals, the Social Democrats, but extended a "peace offer," stating, "If the German people vote for peace, then the Mujahedeen will choose peace with Germany as well. And with the withdrawal of the last German soldier from Afghanistan, the last Mujahed will also leave Germany. Al Qaeda gives you their word."

The speaker concludes by saying that it is up to the people of Germany to decide their fate: "In a democracy, only the people can order their soldiers to come home. But if the German people decide to continue this war, then it has sealed its own fate and, on top of that, it will have demonstrated that in a democracy civilians are not innocent after all."
advertisement

He promises the city of Kiel will remain safe.

Friday's statement was Abu Talha's third since January of this year.

CNN

[Brit4064]

This is just too funny. Matt Latimer exposes Bush comments during his time in the Whitehouse...

Of Obama:

This is a dangerous world," he said for no apparent reason, "and this cat isn't remotely qualified to handle it. This guy has no clue, I promise you."

Of Palin:

"I'm trying to remember if I've met her before. I'm sure I must have." His eyes *****led, then he asked, "What is she, the governor of Guam?" [...] "This woman is being put into a position she is not even remotely prepared for," he said. "She hasn't spent one day on the national level. Neither has her family. Let's wait and see how she looks five days out." It was a rare dose of reality in a White House that liked to believe every decision was great, every Republican was a genius, and McCain was the hope of the world because, well, because he chose to be a member of our party.

On the economic crisis:

One of the president's staff members anxiously pulled a few of us aside. "The president is misunderstanding this proposal," he warned. "He has the wrong idea in his head. ... It wasn't that the president didn't understand what his administration wanted to do. It was that the treasury secretary didn't seem to know, changed his mind, had misled the president, or some combination of the three.

huffingtonpost.com

[ProudUSC]

So much for the rights of this American dad. His ex violated the terms of the divorce agreement, and he's sitting in a Japanese jail. Go figure.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/...abduction/index.html

American jailed in Japan for trying to reclaim his children

American dad tries to snatch kids from ex-wife who took them to Japan

She is a fugitive in Tennessee, but has broken no law in Japan

Father, who has legal custody in U.S., charged in Japan with abduction

"Our court system failed him," court-appointed helper says of father


TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Had this custody drama played out in the United States, Christopher Savoie might be considered a hero -- snatching his two little children back from an ex-wife who defied the law and ran off with them.


A Tennessee court awarded Christopher Savoie custody of his son, Isaac, and daughter, Rebecca.

But this story unfolds 7,000 miles away in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, where the U.S. legal system holds no sway.

And here, Savoie sits in jail, charged with the abduction of minors. And his Japanese ex-wife -- a fugitive in the United States for taking his children from Tennessee -- is considered the victim.

"Japan is an important partner and friend of the U.S., but on this issue, our points of view differ," the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Tuesday. "Our two nations approach divorce and child-rearing differently. Parental child abduction is not considered a crime in Japan."

The story begins in Franklin, Tennessee, with the January divorce of Savoie from his first wife, Noriko, a Japanese native. The ex-wife had agreed to live in Franklin to be close to the children, taking them to Japan for summer vacations.

Savoie in March requested a restraining order to prevent his wife from taking the children to Japan, saying she had threatened to do so, according to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WTVF and posted on the station's Web site. A temporary order was issued, but then lifted following a hearing.

"If Mother fails to return to Tennessee [after summer vacation] with the children following her visitation period, she could lose her alimony, child support and education fund, which is added assurance to Father that she is going to return with the children," Circuit Court Judge James G. Martin III noted in his order on the matter.

Following the summer trip, Noriko Savoie did return to the United States, and Christopher Savoie then took the children on a vacation, returning them to his ex-wife, said Diane Marshall, a court-appointed parent coordinator who helped Christopher Savoie make decisions about the children.

In August -- on the first day of classes for 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca -- the school called to say they hadn't arrived.

Worried, Savoie called his ex-wife's father in Japan, who told him not to worry.

"I said, 'What do you mean -- don't worry? They weren't at school.' 'Oh, don't worry, they are here,' " Savoie recounted the conversation to CNN affiliate WTVF earlier this month. "I said, 'They are what, they are what, they are in Japan?' " Watch Savoie talk about how much he misses his kids »

The very thing that Savoie had predicted in court papers had happened -- his wife had taken their children to Japan and showed no signs of returning, Marshall said.

"Our court system failed him," she said. "It's just a mess."

In court documents, Noriko Savoie denied that she was failing to abide by the terms of the couple's court-approved parenting plan or ignoring court-appointed parent coordinators. In a May filing, she said that both Marshall and another coordinator had resigned from the case.

She added she was "concerned about the stability of Father, his extreme antagonism towards Mother and the effect of this on the children."

Savoie claimed in court documents his ex-wife was playing on the children's sympathy by crying in front of them. She responded that had only happened once, when the children took her by surprise, but allowed that "Father's continual harassment of Mother has reduced her to tears."

Noriko Savoie could not be reached by CNN for comment.

After Noriko Savoie took the children to Japan, a court in Williamson County, Tennessee, granted Christopher Savoie full custody of the children. And Franklin police issued an arrest warrant for his ex-wife, the television station reported.

But there was a major hitch: Japan is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction.

The international agreement standardizes laws, but only among participating countries.

So while Japanese civil law stresses that courts resolve custody issues based on the best interest of the children without regard to the parent's nationality, foreign parents have had little success in regaining custody.

Japanese family law follows a tradition of sole custody divorces. When a couple splits, one parent typically makes a complete and lifelong break from the children.

The International Association for Parent-Child Reunion, formed in Japan this year, claims to know of more than 100 cases of children abducted by noncustodial Japanese parents.

And the U.S. State Department says it is not aware of a single case in which a child taken from the United States to Japan has been ordered returned by Japanese courts -- even when the left-behind parent has a U.S. custody decree.

Saddled with such statistics and the possibility of never seeing his kids again, Savoie took matters into his own hands.

He flew to Fukuoka. And as his ex-wife walked the two children to school Monday morning, Savoie drove alongside them.

He grabbed them, forced them into his car, and drove off, said police in Fukuoka.

He headed for the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka to try to obtain passports for Isaac and Rebecca.

But Japanese police, alerted by Savoie's ex-wife, were waiting.

Consulate spokeswoman Tracy Taylor said she heard a scuffle outside the doors of the consulate. She ran up and saw a little girl and a man, whom police were trying to talk to.

Eventually, police took Savoie away, charging him with the abduction of minors -- a crime that upon conviction carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

The consulate met with Savoie on Monday and Tuesday, Taylor said. It has provided him with a list of local lawyers and said it will continue to assist.

Meanwhile, the international diplomacy continues. During the first official talks between the United States and Japan's new government, the issue of parental abductions was raised.

But it is anybody's guess what happens next to Savoie, who sits in a jail cell.

[MakeItRight!]

Originally posted by ProudUSC:
So much for the rights of this American dad. His ex violated the terms of the divorce agreement, and he's sitting in a Japanese jail. Go figure.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/...abduction/index.html

American jailed in Japan for trying to reclaim his children

American dad tries to snatch kids from ex-wife who took them to Japan

She is a fugitive in Tennessee, but has broken no law in Japan

Father, who has legal custody in U.S., charged in Japan with abduction

"Our court system failed him," court-appointed helper says of father


TOKYO, Japan (CNN) -- Had this custody drama played out in the United States, Christopher Savoie might be considered a hero -- snatching his two little children back from an ex-wife who defied the law and ran off with them.


A Tennessee court awarded Christopher Savoie custody of his son, Isaac, and daughter, Rebecca.

But this story unfolds 7,000 miles away in the Japanese city of Fukuoka, where the U.S. legal system holds no sway.

And here, Savoie sits in jail, charged with the abduction of minors. And his Japanese ex-wife -- a fugitive in the United States for taking his children from Tennessee -- is considered the victim.

"Japan is an important partner and friend of the U.S., but on this issue, our points of view differ," the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said Tuesday. "Our two nations approach divorce and child-rearing differently. Parental child abduction is not considered a crime in Japan."

The story begins in Franklin, Tennessee, with the January divorce of Savoie from his first wife, Noriko, a Japanese native. The ex-wife had agreed to live in Franklin to be close to the children, taking them to Japan for summer vacations.

Savoie in March requested a restraining order to prevent his wife from taking the children to Japan, saying she had threatened to do so, according to court documents obtained by CNN affiliate WTVF and posted on the station's Web site. A temporary order was issued, but then lifted following a hearing.

"If Mother fails to return to Tennessee [after summer vacation] with the children following her visitation period, she could lose her alimony, child support and education fund, which is added assurance to Father that she is going to return with the children," Circuit Court Judge James G. Martin III noted in his order on the matter.

Following the summer trip, Noriko Savoie did return to the United States, and Christopher Savoie then took the children on a vacation, returning them to his ex-wife, said Diane Marshall, a court-appointed parent coordinator who helped Christopher Savoie make decisions about the children.

In August -- on the first day of classes for 8-year-old Isaac and 6-year-old Rebecca -- the school called to say they hadn't arrived.

Worried, Savoie called his ex-wife's father in Japan, who told him not to worry.

"I said, 'What do you mean -- don't worry? They weren't at school.' 'Oh, don't worry, they are here,' " Savoie recounted the conversation to CNN affiliate WTVF earlier this month. "I said, 'They are what, they are what, they are in Japan?' " Watch Savoie talk about how much he misses his kids »

The very thing that Savoie had predicted in court papers had happened -- his wife had taken their children to Japan and showed no signs of returning, Marshall said.

"Our court system failed him," she said. "It's just a mess."

In court documents, Noriko Savoie denied that she was failing to abide by the terms of the couple's court-approved parenting plan or ignoring court-appointed parent coordinators. In a May filing, she said that both Marshall and another coordinator had resigned from the case.

She added she was "concerned about the stability of Father, his extreme antagonism towards Mother and the effect of this on the children."

Savoie claimed in court documents his ex-wife was playing on the children's sympathy by crying in front of them. She responded that had only happened once, when the children took her by surprise, but allowed that "Father's continual harassment of Mother has reduced her to tears."

Noriko Savoie could not be reached by CNN for comment.

After Noriko Savoie took the children to Japan, a court in Williamson County, Tennessee, granted Christopher Savoie full custody of the children. And Franklin police issued an arrest warrant for his ex-wife, the television station reported.

But there was a major hitch: Japan is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention on international child abduction.

The international agreement standardizes laws, but only among participating countries.

So while Japanese civil law stresses that courts resolve custody issues based on the best interest of the children without regard to the parent's nationality, foreign parents have had little success in regaining custody.

Japanese family law follows a tradition of sole custody divorces. When a couple splits, one parent typically makes a complete and lifelong break from the children.

The International Association for Parent-Child Reunion, formed in Japan this year, claims to know of more than 100 cases of children abducted by noncustodial Japanese parents.

And the U.S. State Department says it is not aware of a single case in which a child taken from the United States to Japan has been ordered returned by Japanese courts -- even when the left-behind parent has a U.S. custody decree.

Saddled with such statistics and the possibility of never seeing his kids again, Savoie took matters into his own hands.

He flew to Fukuoka. And as his ex-wife walked the two children to school Monday morning, Savoie drove alongside them.

He grabbed them, forced them into his car, and drove off, said police in Fukuoka.

He headed for the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka to try to obtain passports for Isaac and Rebecca.

But Japanese police, alerted by Savoie's ex-wife, were waiting.

Consulate spokeswoman Tracy Taylor said she heard a scuffle outside the doors of the consulate. She ran up and saw a little girl and a man, whom police were trying to talk to.

Eventually, police took Savoie away, charging him with the abduction of minors -- a crime that upon conviction carries a prison sentence of up to five years.

The consulate met with Savoie on Monday and Tuesday, Taylor said. It has provided him with a list of local lawyers and said it will continue to assist.

Meanwhile, the international diplomacy continues. During the first official talks between the United States and Japan's new government, the issue of parental abductions was raised.

But it is anybody's guess what happens next to Savoie, who sits in a jail cell.

YES, THIS IS HOW USA PROTECTS ITS USC!!! Only because It is in the media does USA do anything at all! How many never made it to the media???? and sit in the Prisons of other country's for loving their children???

[Brit4064]

South Carolina calling again. Must be something in the water LOL

First it was Mark "walkabout" Sanford, then Joe "you lie" Wilson, now it's the amazing 555lb 14 year old boy whose SC mom is being charged with criminal neglect of her son:

WOODLAWN, Md. - Baltimore County police say when officers arrested a South Carolina woman accused of neglecting her 555-pound son's health she showed signs of wanting to hurt herself and was taken to a hospital.

County police spokesman Bill Toohey says 49-year-old Jerri Gray was found with her son, 14-year-old Alexander Draper, at a laundry in the Baltimore suburb of Woodlawn. Police found the pair after calls on the mother's cell phone were traced to the community.

When Gray is released from the hospital, Toohey says she will be charged on a South Carolina warrant for violating a custody order and an extradition hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.

A county social services official says they're working with South Carolina officials to ensure Draper's safe return home.

nydailynews.com

[Brit4064]

I think there needs to be a weird America thread...

Man Admits Using Dog Shock Collar on His Kids for Fun

"He said he also got entertainment out of chasing his 3-year-old son around with the collar and making him cry at the thought of being shocked." - KATU-TV

[Sprint_girl07]

It amazes me that anyone from Hollywood would even support Polanski.
I am sure they would feel very different if it was their 13yr girl.

He committed the crime, he should do the time, whether it was 30 yrs later or not!.

------------------


Backlash builds against support of Polanski

While several high-profile actors and directors have rallied around Roman Polanski, not everyone in Hollywood believes he should be freed and forgiven.
The case surrounding the arrest of director Roman Polanski has both supporters and critics.

The case surrounding the arrest of director Roman Polanski has both supporters and critics.

In the face of a petition signed by notables such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese and John Landis calling for the immediate release of Polanski following his detainment in Switzerland, a backlash is building against such support.

"I can't believe that Hollywood has separated itself so completely from American morality," said Paul Petersen, a former child actor and president of A Minor Consideration, which advocates on behalf of young performers. "It is yet another case of Hollywood being out of sync with most of America."

Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to having unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, but fled the United States before he could be sentenced.

In the years since, the director known for "Chinatown" and "Rosemary's Baby" settled in France and avoided authorities until he was arrested Saturday while on his way to the Zurich Film Festival.

In the aftermath of Polanski's arrest last weekend, a number of performers -- including Penelope Cruz, Tilda Swinton and Monica Bellucci -- appear as supporters on a petition which states, "Roman Polanski is a French citizen, a renown and international artist now facing extradition. This extradition, if it takes place, will be heavy in consequences and will take away his freedom."

Polanski's detention has stirred debate over whether he should be returned to the United States to face possible imprisonment.

Supporters make note of his age, the years that have passed, his talent and the victim's own assertion that pursuing the case opens fresh wounds for her as reasons the director should be left alone.

But critics observe that Polanski's supporters might be downplaying his crime.

"I don't think a lot of people take the sexual assault of children very seriously at all, and it's something we battle everyday," said Grier Weeks, executive director of Protect, a national organization to protect children.

"We say at Protect that we are the most bipartisan group in America because we've got everyone from Hollywood liberals like Alison Arngrim [Nellie Oleson] from 'Little House on the Prairie' to extremely conservative people. ... But I will say with the notable exception of a few people from Hollywood, we get blank stares from some of that crowd."

Weeks pointed to the example of a discussion on ABC's "The View," in which panelist and actress Whoopi Goldberg made the comment that she didn't believe the original charges against Polanski were for "rape-rape," as what he views as a pervasive attitude.

"I assume [Goldberg] regrets saying what she said, but she really didn't say anything that is not under the surface anyway," Weeks said. "This is just the attitude, that children are property and crimes against them are not real crimes." Video Watch a discussion of about Polanski's supporters »

Goldberg's fellow panelist, Sherri Shepherd, said during the show that she believed Polanski should still be punished.

On Twitter, she tweeted, "Whew... long day at 'The View'... two shows today... hot debate over the Statutory Rapist Polanski. 45-year-old man plies a 13-yr-old w/drugs & Liquor and anally & orally penetrates her w/o her consent is a RAPIST. We hunt down 75-year-old Nazis. We must protect our children."

Actress Kirstie Alley wrote on Twitter "JUST FOR THE RECORD....RAPE IS RAPE...this is one HOLLYWOOD STAR who does not CELEBRATE or DEFEND Roman Polanski..his ART did not RAPE her."

"The Biggest Loser" trainer Jillian Michaels said "If she's [the victim] OK and feels that they are resolved then who are we to say" referring to the now adult victim, Samantha Geimer.


Despite that, Michaels said, "If somebody drugged and raped my 13-year-old I'd shoot them."

[ProudUSC]

Originally posted by iperson:
Leave Polanski ALONE!


I support him, I've met him, talked to him, got his autograph. And he's not a predator like Michael Jackson was.
Double standards anyone?

MJ was acquitted by a jury of his peers. What don't you get about that? So, Polanski is innocent because of what? He shares your heritage? Give me a break. Polanski has been in trouble since the word was invented.

[Sprint_girl07]

Huh? You support him? The fact he admitted to it and found guilty? Fled the country no less too!

Yet you made such a scenerio about MJ who was NOT found guilty.

Yep double standards alright. Says a lot.

Polanski should be thrown in jail, especially as he ran away.

Whether he did good movies or not, he drugged and raped the girl!

And there was that 15 yr old too!