‘No age of consent law’: Gay Irish Presidential candidate digs in deeper

Editor: David Norris clearly establishes here his courage while relinquishing any possibility of becoming Ireland's next President.

Predictable are the comments pouring in as a reaction to his statements. What is obvious from reading through some of these is that much of the public wants him to be punished, criminally if possible, for voicing his heartfelt, if socially radioactive, opinions.

David Norris has failed the moral litmus test of our times, engineered as it was, by the unlikely cabal of religious fascists in league with angry female supremacists some thirty years ago but which has long since become mainstream. His renunciation of all that is pure and divine in the eyes of the mob which we euphemistically refer to as "society" will cost him dearly. He is courageous, indeed!

DUBLIN, June 9, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Homosexualist Irish presidential hopeful David Norris is fighting to maintain his candidacy amidst even more revelations that he supports “classical pedophilia” and opposes any law specifying an age of consent for sex.

full story: http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/no-age-of-consent-law-gay-irish-presidential-candidate-digs-in-deeper/

The DSK Effect: French Media Starts Reporting the Peccadilloes (and Pedophilia) of Politicos

Of course, those French who say so are correct; we have been witnessing the spread of puerile American puritanism and for about 30 years now. That's precisely what it is. The result of right wing religious fanatics in league with left-wing female supremacists in the early '80's who had, as a common interest, a hatred of human sexuality and human liberty and a desire to foment hysteria and aggrandize power. C'est Ca! That is the basis upon which we have lost much of our liberty in the U.S. and, increasingly, in much of the rest of the world, by fanning the torch flames with shrieks of "protect the children from pedophiles!". It is always through hysteria and paranoia that we lose our liberties and often the topics of children and sex are the fuel that is thrown on the fire.

Read more: http://globalspin.blogs.time.com/2011/06/02/after-dsk-french-media-starts-reporting-the-peccadilloes-and-pedophilia-of-politicos/#ixzz1OlZbl2Hi

Hiding In Plain Sight

"Sadly, the Internet is the predator's venue of choice today. We need to update our strategies and our laws to stop these offenders who are a mere click away from our children". -Rep. Anthony Weiner

Pornography sentence unconstitutionally cruel, judge rules

Consider that child pornography was actually LEGAL at one time. Later, it became illegal to PRODUCE. And then it became illegal to DISTRIBUTE. And then it became illegal to SHOW to someone else. And then it became illegal to POSSESS if produced AFTER a certain date. And then all possession became illegal. And then the penalties became stiffer. Then stiffer, still. And stiffer again and again.

Consider also that child pornography now includes DRAWINGS and CARTOONS which at no time involved the use of actual children, something that would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.

And these laws can DESTROY the rest of your LIFE, even if there are no victims.

This is the essence of incremental social engineering.

Registered Sex Offenders Lower Neighboring Home Values By 9%, On Average

Ed: Now that's an unintended consequence! The voters overwhelmingly demanded the Registration and they got it. Now let them reap what they have sown!

Sex offenders.
Living in close proximity to a registered sex offender is one of the biggest downward drivers of home values. Researchers at Longwood University's College of Business & Economics conclude that the closer you live to a sex offender, the more your home will depreciate. In the paper, Estimating the Effect of Crime Risk on Property Values and Time on Market: Evidence from Megan's Law in Virginia, Longwoodresearchers say, "the presence of a registered sex offender living within one-tenth of a mile reduces home values by about 9%, and these same homes take as much as 10% longer to sell than homes not located near registered sex offenders."

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11120605/2/7-neighbors-that-can-hurt-your-homes-value.html

What "Treatment" Looks Like for Kids Accused Of Sexual Abuse

There is an extremely creepy "therapy" program in Phoenix, Arizona for kids accused of child sexual abuse. The same discredited voodoo pseudo-science that is widely reviled by legitimate mental health professionals as it is used on adults is being used on kids, many of whom are as young as ten. These "treatments" include:

• being forced to inhale ammonia fumes as "aversion therapy" while viewing "deviant" pornography
• having the circumferences of their penises measured to see what arouses them sexually and to ensure that they don't have "inappropriate" responses.
• group degradation sessions in which the "therapists" attempt to destroy the child's sense of self so that it might be later recreated in the image their tormentors would prefer them to have.

If this doesn't outrage you, I can't imagine what could.

*Note: Dear Reader, after looking at this story again I realized that the date of the original story in the Arizona Republic was dated July 1992. I have no idea if the conditions under which child offenders are being treated in Phoenix Arizona are now better or worse than they were in 1992. I suspect that the authorities have become more sophisticated in covering their asses but remain just as indifferent to the emotional well-being of kids.

http://www.ethicaltreatment.org/arizonarepublic.htm

Alabama Legislators Further Endear Themselves to Ignorant Constituents

Alabama Senate passes bill to require: weekly registration for homeless sex offenders, sex offenders convicted of having sex with siblings to move out of the house AND charging sex offenders a $250 registration fee whenever they register.

Much like the Chinese government who charge the family of executed criminals for the cost of the bullet required to blow-out their brains, Alabama joins other states who insist that the cost of sex offender registration must be borne by the sex offender him- (and occasionally her-) self. In this case, Alabama will charge R.S.O.'s $250 for the privilege of being degraded citizens with starkly fewer rights than anyone else, including, say, those guilty of homicide or attempted murder.

Presumably, the homeless R.S.O. would be hit especially hard in the pocketbook if they are having to register once a week. Let me guess: the State will run a tab continuously on that person which will likely lead to an eventual conviction for failure to pay. Hah! Another neat trick to get sex offenders back into prison which is what all of these bills are really about.

This seems to be Constitutionally problematic given that sex offender registration is ostensibly in aid of protecting the public and not a form of punishment. But somehow, I don't think that our current Supreme Court would see it that way.

As for forcing siblings out of the same home where one is the "victim" and the other the "perpetrator", I guess it should be quite obvious that they are talking about kids living in a family home. In other words, the family will be forced to split apart.

Now that's family-friendly, isn't it?

http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2011/jun/02/bill-tighten-ala-sex-offender-registration-heads-b-ar-1920918/

Alabama Legislators Further Endear Themselves to Ignorant Constituents

Alabama Senate passes bill to require: weekly registration for homeless sex offenders, sex offenders convicted of having sex with siblings to move out of the house AND charging sex offenders a $250 registration fee whenever they register.

Much like the Chinese government who charge the family of executed criminals for the cost of the bullet required to blow-out their brains, Alabama joins other states who insist that the cost of sex offender registration must be borne by the sex offender him (and occasionally her-) self. In this case, Alabama will charge R.S.O.'s $250 for the privilege of being degraded citizens with starkly fewer rights than anyone else, including those guilty of homicide or attempted murder.

Presumably, the homeless R.S.O. would be hit especially hard in the pocketbook if they are having to register once a week. Let me guess: the State will run a tab continuously on that person which will likely lead to an eventual conviction for failure to pay. Hah! Another neat trick to get sex offenders back into prison which is what all of these bills are really about.

This seems to be Constitutionally problematic given that sex offender registration is ostensibly in aid of protecting the public and not a form of punishment. But somehow, I don't think that our current Supreme Court would see it that way.

As for forcing siblings out of the same home where one is the "victim" and the other the "perpetrator", I guess it should be quite obvious that they are talking about kids living in a family home. In other words, the family will be forced to split apart.

Now that's family-friendly, isn't it?

http://www2.wrbl.com/news/2011/jun/02/bill-tighten-ala-sex-offender-registration-heads-b-ar-1920918/

David Norris campaign for President of Ireland derailed by past comments regarding pederasty in ancient Greece

Anyone deviating from the socially-enforced blanket condemnation of sex between adults and adolescents is immediately and forever punished.

Even David Norris's closest supporters condemn as "naive" his thoughtfully considered defense of man/boy relations in ancient Greece which he made at a dinner party more than a decade ago.

Now, more than ever, all politicians are subject to standard "moral litmus tests" that allow for no deviation in thinking from sacrosanct social opinions, regardless of the erudition which inform their views.

David Norris had hoped to be the President of the Republic of Ireland and, apparently, was considered a serious contender. Whatever qualities he may possess as a possible leader of that country have now shrink into insignificance given his private, but socially forbidden, opinions.

To express any hesitancy in joining the still-raging paedo witchhunt is a certain path towards career-death. As if we needed reminding...

http://www.independent.ie/national-news/norris-campaign-is-hit-by-his-old-comments-on-paedophilia-2661553.html

Protecting Children from Internet Pornographers Act of 2011

As always, fear and hysteria are the primary tools used to strip citizens of essential liberties and privacy.

Our lawmaker's arguments are persuasive to those ignorant of essential facts and unable to rationally assess risk and danger in its absence. Tragically, this appears to be most everyone in our country today.

The media, having long since thrown off their traditional responsibility of providing their public with hard information gained through principled investigation independent of government manipulation, are simply unavailable to question the veracity of politically-sourced allegations and fabricated statistics. Indeed, the media now serve mainly as conduits of propaganda, both government and organizational, for its distribution to a similarly unquestioning public.

Both the media and politicians discovered long ago that the way to get the public's attention was to discuss the sex lives of others and that the way to enrage them was to explosively combine the topic of sex with the topic of children.

And the results are all around us: more government, less freedom, more misinformation, more fear and a wildly unbalanced, unhappy and distrustful society.

http://www.pcworld.com/printable/article/id,228708/printable.html

6 Year Old Boy Charged With Sexual Assault In Madison Wisconsin

Who on Earth believes that this is a healthy and appropriate response to two small children, literally, playing "doctor"? Well, apart from the Taliban, apparently the prosecutor, Madison Wisconsin District Attorney, Lisa Riniker, does.

Several questions immediately spring to mind:

Is Grant County so flush with taxpayer money that the police and district attorney have uncovered and prosecuted all other, more serious, crimes in their community and are now free to pursue six-year-olds?

Also, let's assume for the moment that Lisa Riniker is sincere in her stated aim of getting the six-year-old boy the "help" he needs (although from past knowledge of prosecutors, sincerity is not one of their stronger traits). What will that "help"consist of? And "what" will he be "helped" with? His sexual curiosity?

Will that "help" actually end up hurting him?

How will this intervention of "help" affect his future emotional well-being?

There were two children involved in playing doctor, both a little girl and a little boy. How was it that the boy was singled-out for prosecution?

It should be manifestly clear that the anti-sex crusade begun decades ago has mutated and expanded to claim ever more victims, including the very children it professes to be "saving".

"Inappropriate" behavior has now become "criminalized" behavior with need of "qualified" taxpayer-funded "intervention" and categorization, if not outright imprisonment and permanently degraded citizenship.

Some of us said, more than a quarter of a century ago, that this was the path along which we were being taken by a bizarre and hateful alliance of right-wing, religious fundamentalists and bitter, power-hungry, female supremacists who had, as their common interest, the hatred of human sexuality.

And, sure enough, it is now easy to see the progression that this movement has taken, with a gradual erosion of rights extending to ever-greater numbers of victims.

One final question: where will this end?

the story: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_c13c6a62-72b8-11e0-8659-001cc4c03286.html

Oak Park police charge boy who allegedly made sex-ranking list

This sort of First Amendment protected speech, juvenile-obnoxious though it may be, would have warranted nothing more than a parental or school principal reprimand in times past.

Now, it's the sort of behavior that is treated as a criminal offense and will, no doubt, eventually require registration as a sex offender.

The "Zero Tolerance" society now deems a schoolboy's creation and dissemination of a list ranking schoolgirl's attractiveness (or other attributes unspecified in the news piece) as a criminal act warranting criminal sanction. Why are we not surprised that the net the hysterics have cast is growing so wide as to ensnare even the kids themselves? Could it be that they are running out of victims, err.. "victimizers"?

the story:

http://www.suntimes.com/5294285-417/oak-park-police-charge-boy-who-allegedly-made-sex-ranking-list.html

DOJ: FBI digital counterintelligence weakened by focus on child porn

Cyber attacks are at an all time high but FBI spends twice as much effort fighting child porn, according to a scathing criticism by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Despite a dramatic increase in cyber attacks on U.S. public and private infrastructure and networks, and evidence that hostile foreign governments are behind many of these attacks, the F.B.I. has done little to counter these threats, preferring instead to expend twice as many resources in the investigation of online child pornography.

This criticism is being leveled by the Department of Justice itself, which accuses the FBI of incompetence and lack of commitment in countering demonstrated cyber threats while expending excessive resources on child porn.

Specific intelligence pointing to Chinese military attacks on State Department computers has resulted in a massive grab of classified material by China. U.S. corporations are also actively targeted by China and other countries seeking to acquire competitive market intelligence.

Russian and other governments are known to have active programs for penetrating U.S. computer networks with the aim of gaining strategic military and economic advantage over the U.S.

Given these demonstrated threats against the well-being and prosperity of the U.S. and its citizens, it is shocking (although not surprising) that far greater resources are instead allocated to the investigation of child pornography (much of it produced by kids themselves) and to the entrapment of those still foolish enough to fall prey to badge-wearing adults masquerading as minors.

This bizarre mis-allocation of limited tax payer dollars is the result of decades of media, government and busybody-fueled hysteria to all things having to do with kids and sex.

We are finally beginning to realize the terrible consequences which inevitably result from dangerously misguided policies brought about by a distorted perception of reality.

These consequences have become ever more apparent in the dramatic erosion of our liberty as well as in our security and prosperity.

Ironic it is that the shrill voices which proclaim as their greatest priority the protection of children are themselves the enemies of their future. And let us hope that the eventual recognition of this glaring truth will come soon.

******************************************

DOJ: FBI digital counterintelligence weakened by focus on child porn
Cyberattacks are at an all time high; FBI spends twice as much effort fighting porn

By Kevin Fogarty

April 29, 2011, 11:35 AM — Despite its growing digital surveillance capabilities and increasing responsibility for investigating and countering cyber attacks on the U.S., the FBI's core cyber security division turns out to be basically incompetent, according to a critical report from the Dept. of Justice. [PDF] http://www.justice.gov/oig/reports/FBI/a1122r.pdf

Part of the reason is that the 14 agencies that share some responsibility for online counter-espionage don't share information well. Another contributor is the lack of effective pressure from top managers to get agents trained in national-security intrusion topics and tactics.

Most of the reason is that the FBI spends twice as much effort investigating child porn as it does attempts by foreign governments to attack U.S. facilities or steal information that would damage U.S. national security, the report found.

To put that in perspective, the number of foreign attacks on the U.S. increased 40 percent between 2007 and 2008, according to the report, whose data are pretty old for such a sensitive topic.

An April study from McAfee showed 80 percent of utilities in 14 countries had been attacked during the previous year, an increase of almost 50 percent compared to the year before. Attacks ranged from distributed denial of services to intrusions to remove data to intrusions that attempted to take control of the utility's internal IT systems.

And that's just among civilian-run utility companies.

State Dept. documents released through WikiLeaks this month showed that years-long cyberattacks launched by the Chinese military had netted "terabytes" of sensitive data ranging from names and passwords that would give access to State Department computers, to the design of major weapons systems.

The "Byzantine Hades" attacks – and others coming from Russia and other unfriendly powers – represent a new state of cyberwar the U.S. is not yet prepared to fight.

The attacks have been so successful "we have given up on the idea we can keep our networks pristine," according to Stewart Baker, a former senior cyber-security official at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and National Security Agency.

The focus has shifted instead to more sophisticated efforts to detect and counter intrusions as they're made.

Unfortunately, those are exactly the kinds of skills the FBI cyber squads lack and the kind of crime they don't have the time or resources to investigate.

Of 36 agents with cybersecurity responsibilities the DOJ tested – from 10 of the agency's 56 field offices, each of which has at least one "cyber squad" – only 23 told investigators they had the training to investigate national security intrusions.

The other 13 "lacked the networking and counterintelligence expertise to investigate national security intrusion cases." Five said they were completely unqualified to investigate national security intrusions effectively, the report said.

In 2007 the FBI created a separate career path for digital security investigators called the Cyber Career Path, which includes a four-stage training plan covering 12 core courses and a set of elective courses agents can use to develop a specialty.

The agency's habit of moving agents to new offices or new assignments every two or three years to expand their skills or experience makes completing that training difficult, the report concluded. So does a generally inconsistent focus on both online counter-espionage and giving agents either the training or time to build experience in investigating it.

Top FBI managers are much more comfortable with agents trained to track down domestic hackers and breaking down doors than they are investigating or countering serious online attacks from overseas.

The report – some information in which was blacked out to avoid releasing sensitive or top secret information to which the public should not have access – included the total number of agents who had completed all 12 courses as of June, 2010.

The number was the only part of the paragraph explaining the program that was redacted.

Online espionage isn't the FBI cyber squads' only responsibility, however. In 2009, 19 percent of the cyber agents worked on national security intrusion investigations, while 31 percent worked on non-spy-related digital crimes and 41 percent investigated online child porn.

That's not to say child porn and domestic, non-national-security related cybercrime should not be investigated.

When you're losing terabytes of sensitive data to foreign governments who can walk freely through your most secure computer systems, however, maybe it's time to reconsider your priorities.

Maybe shift a few agents away from the wankers and point them toward the enemy?


http://www.itworld.com/security/160701/doj-fbi-cyber-security-largely-incompetent-obsessed-child-porn

Another Unnecessary Death At California's Coalinga State Hospital

Early Saturday morning, the 5th of March, 2011, Civil Detainee Victor Segovia died in California's Coalinga State Hospital. He had complained to medical staff of chest pains and difficulty breathing earlier in the evening but was left untreated and told to go to bed. Shortly before 4:00 a.m., he collapsed on the bathroom floor and, despite attempts by other Detainees to get him the timely medical attention he desperately needed, he did not receive it and died shortly thereafter.

"Homeland Security" operation offered illicit "sex tourism" trips

Ed: Let's be clear about this: at a time when the U.S. is on the brink of fiscal disaster, the American taxpayers are funding entrapment schemes such as the “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” to ensnare individuals who, although lacking the common sense they were born with, are very likely not a threat to anyone but themselves.


Once ensnared by this creepiest of enterprises brought to you be our very own Department of Homeland Security, the taxpayers are again on the hook for the cost of prosecuting and then confining such individuals for the next twenty or more years.


When the D.H.S. was formed as a "super agency" just a few short years ago, the reasons given for its massive scale and even more massive appetite for tax dollars was the exigency of combating terrorism and keeping it away from America's shores.


Instead, we find that we are paying for it to create improbably salacious sting operations having nothing to do with "Homeland Security" whatsoever.


And all of this at a time when we are being told to expect less from government but are required to give it more.


At what point will our unfounded fears and obsessions with everything having to do with children and sex be widely recognized as the ruinously expensive and bizarre misadventures they have become?


Not convinced? Let's take a look at the government's own statistics on incarceration and crime:








MARCH 9--In an aggressive bid to entice prospective “sex tourists,” the Department of Homeland Security last year launched an undercover web site that purported to arrange trips from the U.S. to Canada, where clients could engage in sexual activity with minors, The Smoking Gun has learned.


The “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” web site was active until a few weeks ago when its Massachusetts-based web hosting firm removed the site from its servers, apparently in response to a complaint about its content. Now, visitors to precioustreasureholidaycompany.com are greeted with the message, “This site has been suspended.”


After a year online, the DHS undercover site may have fallen victim to its own sleazy, overt come-on. As seen at right, the site’s front page carried three symbols that an FBI intelligence bulletin has identified as being used by pedophiles. Additionally, the site’s acronym, PTHC, is an allusion to “preteen hardcore” pornography. The site’s carefully misspelled motto--“We Help Make Your Fantasy’s Come True!”--also does little to mask its illicit intentions.


An account executive with the hosting firm, who appeared unaware that “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” was a government operation, said that following a site’s suspension an internal investigation is launched. Upon the review’s completion, a site is either reinstated or terminated. The executive, Jason Crawford, added that if a customer’s site is found to contain illicit material like child pornography, the FBI is contacted.


[Five years ago, FBI agents concocted a similar sting, launching “Wicked Adventures Travel,” a web site purporting to offer pedophiles "exotic excursions" to the Philippines and Thailand. That operation yielded at least one felony conviction.]


According to court records and several sources familiar with the sting operation, the “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” web site was operated by investigators assigned to DHS’s Cleveland office. In affidavits sworn by Agent Gabriel Hagan, the undercover web site is described as “offering ‘international travel’ from Cleveland, Ohio, to Canada for the purpose of engaging in sexually explicit conduct with minors.” While records reveal that the site was first registered in February 2010, further details about its owner (as well as administrative and technical contacts) have been carefully cloaked.


To draw visitors--and potential targets--to the site, DHS agents early last year began seeding a wide variety of sketchy web sites with mentions of (and links to) “Precious Treasure Holiday Company.” Investigators touted the undercover business on Russian and Swedish web sites, assorted chat rooms, and online destinations with words like “jailbait” in their addresses.


Using the online handle “otra,” one individual has been particularly enthusiastic in trying to drive traffic to the undercover operation. Posting on several sites, “otra” enthused that “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” was a “great place for real incest” and the “only place for the real thing.” In one online profile, “otra”--who is described as a Canadian male--opted for a profile photo (seen at left) showing a hand in a masturbatory position. Shortly after the DHS site went live, an anonymous poster on a Swedish bulletin board reported that, “I found a website where you can travel to go have sex with kids.” After including the nascent undercover operation’s web address, the poster added, “This website…is an actually thriving business that is legit.”


While it is difficult to gauge the overall success of DHS’s efforts to drum up visitors, the “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” operation has led to the conviction of at least one defendant on felony charges (he was recently sentenced to 20 years in prison), while another man is under indictment for conspiring to transport an eight-year-old girl from Canada to the U.S. with the intent of having her engage in sexual activity.


Federal court records indicate that two other individuals became targets of the DHS operation after visiting the undercover web site last year and engaging in subsequent e-mail exchanges with investigators. One subject is a former Marine now deployed in the Middle East with the Army Reserves.


In every instance, targets have visited the undercover web site and sought, via e-mail, additional information about “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” offerings. Agents responded by sending back a “brochure” with details of the sex tour to Canada. The brochure, a court filing reported, also “requested answers to specific questions so not to disappoint the customer.” These included queries about the preferred age of the minors with whom the prospective sex tourist sought to consort. The brochure also noted that a female employee would accompany customers to Canada (this role has been played by Agent Hagan).


In some cases, a target was also provided a username and password that would allow access to a section of the DHS site containing an online “catalog” of girls aged eight to 14. Two men were arrested last year when they traveled to meet a child advertised in this catalog.


The enlisted man snared by the “Precious Treasure Holiday Company” web site, TSG has learned, is Sergeant Jason Talbott, a 32-year-old Washington State native.


In a mid-June 2010 e-mail from his Yahoo account, Talbott, pictured at right, wrote that he was “interested in a discreet package” involving an eight-year-old girl. While noting that, “I have no way of knowing if you are law enforcement or FBI,” Talbott asked about rates and sought “some sort of assurance that you are a legit company. Picture of some of the services provided maybe?” An account of Talbott’s e-mail exchanges with Agent Hagan is contained in a search warrant application excerpted here.


After receiving the brochure (and being provided access to the online catalog), Talbott described one particular child as “an attractive young lady, who would more than suit my needs.” He added, however, “I will not be back in the country for another year and a half as I am abroad.” Along with asking about adoption options mentioned in the brochure, Talbott wrote, “Again, I still have no assurances that you are legitimate, and not a sting operation or scam.”


Four months passed without further contact from Talbott. Then, on October 20, he sent an e-mail seeking “an updated catalogue of your females.” Based on entries from Talbott’s MySpace page, the e-mail was sent while he was home on leave in Spokane. In an October 14 post, he told of returning in a few weeks to the “sandbox” (Talbott previously wrote of being deployed in Kuwait).


Included with the October 20 e-mail was a naked photo of a prepubescent girl. “Attached is a pic of what I like just to show that I am not FBI. I would love a sample pic of one of your girls to verify something that shows a bit more than a clothed girl that looks like one of the dateline bait girls. All I need is to find myself on dateline.” While assuring that he was not a law enforcement agent, Talbott still appeared unconvinced that the web site’s proprietors were not themselves carrying badges or NBC employees.


After identifying Talbott as a target of the DHS probe, a TSG reporter sent a series of detailed e-mails to the Yahoo account seeking comment. In an initial response, the recipient replied, “I'm sorry, why are you calling me Sgt. Talbot? And what image was sent from this email? Do I need to run another virus scan?” Subsequent e-mails noted that, “I have nothing to talk to you about” and “I don't like being accused of shit like this. You are sick.”


In one e-mail, a reporter included a link to a TSG page that contained an excerpt from a search warrant for the contents of the swlfty@yahoo.com account. Within minutes of the e-mail being sent to the Yahoo account, the particular TSG page, server records showed, was accessed by an IP address registered in Kuwait City.


Additionally, after TSG e-mails were sent last month to the Yahoo account, Talbott’s profile page on Netlog, a social networking site targeting European youth, was edited. His name and photo were removed from the page, which carried the handle “swlfty.” His date of birth was changed. And the photos and nicknames of seven female friends were deleted. Of those friends, four were 14, one was 15, and another was 16.


Talbott’s Netlog page, which described him as “a man of particular tastes,” was subsequently deleted in its entirety (though a screen grab of the original page can be seen here). But his MySpace page, which contains the exact profile photo that was deleted from the Netlog page, remains online. (3 pages)

Minnesota Sex offender program is unconstitutional

Eventually the courts will reach that judgment about what is essentially indefinite incarceration.

What do you call a forced in-patient treatment program that has never successfully treated and released a patient?

Either it is a complete and utter failure, or you call it what it really is -- a prison.

That is the problem that Minnesota faces. It has 605 sex offender inmates who have no pending charges or convictions.

They are not on probation. In fact, all of these people have already been convicted and have served their debts to society.

However, some Minnesotans feel that is not enough. Rather, Minnesota is holding them for what they might do.

While both state and federal courts have called this dubious decision constitutional, they have done so only because it is "treatment."

Otherwise, the program would be considered unconstitutional. Which takes me back to my initial point.

If there has been no successful treatment, then it is nothing but incarceration.

You doubt me?

Minnesota started its Sex Offender Treatment Program in 1994. The number of inmates is growing by about 50 a year.

They are held at the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter and at a facility in Moose Lake. However, both are running out of space.

St. Peter is looking to expand its facility by an additional 55 beds, while Moose Lake is seeking to expand by some 400 beds. At a cost of about $96,000 per inmate per year, this is not a cheap proposition.

And how successful has the treatment been? Not one person forced into the Sex Offender Treatment Program has ever been released.

I repeat: Not one!

As we speak, one man is trying to be the first person ever released from the program.

Admittedly, he has done some horrible things, but he has been held for decades and has done everything -- everything -- asked of him.

However, while the Special Review Board may go along with the release, state Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson opposes the release. Frankly, she is a politician, and nobody would want an albatross like this around their neck if things went south.

But that is the ultimate problem. Again, these convicts have done some pretty terrible things.

As a result, the standard refrains seem to be "lock 'em up and throw away the key" or "shoot 'em out of a cannon." Of course, these arguments are irrelevant to the point at hand.

It is not about what one should do to those who commit these types of crimes in the first place.

If Minnesota thinks they should never see the light of day, the Legislature should consider that issue. This is about what we as a society should do once people have fulfilled their obligations.

If the state continues to do as it has done with this program for 16 years, the courts will see it for what it is: a prison.

When that happens, this entire system will be justifiably shut down.

Then what do we do?

Jack Rice is a criminal defense attorney , former prosecutor and former CIA officer. He also is the former host of the "Jack Rice Show" on WCCO Radio.

The Power of Lies: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children Fans the Flames

Ed: "There are nearly 500,000 registered sex offenders across the country and at any one time about 100,000 are unaccounted for."

This particular fabrication comes from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) a private, non-profit organization which gets almost all of its money from the U.S. Justice Department. This pronouncement follows several decades of distortions and lies issued by the group as a means to re-engineer social and criminal policy.

___________________________________________________

For several years, state Rep. Peter G. Palumbo has worked to revise the way Rhode Island registers and monitors convicted sex offenders. This year he introduced legislation to consolidate the state’s sex offender registry under the supervision of the state police and revamp it to comply with federal guidelines.

A General Assembly news release announcing the new bill cites the reason such legislation is needed, attributing the statement to Palumbo: "Across the nation, there are nearly 500,000 registered sex offenders and at any one time about 100,000 of them are unaccounted for. As long as there is one sex offender out there that we cannot account for, there is the potential for great harm, the potential for another victim."

We wondered if that many sex offenders were really missing, so we asked Palumbo where he got those figures. He cited one source: The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, a nonprofit based in Alexandria, Va. According to its annual report, the center was created by Congress in 1984, following the highly publicized disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz in New York City.

The center created a national missing children’s hot line and serves as a clearinghouse for information on missing and exploited children. It also collects data twice a year from every state on registered sex offenders.

Carolyn Atwell-Davis, the center’s director of legislative affairs, says the group arrives at its figures by calling law enforcement officials in each state and requesting the totals. It uses the information to periodically publish a national map showing the number of registered sex offenders in each state. Using similar data, and what it calls conservative estimates, the center tallies offenders who are unaccounted for.

Atwell-Davis said the number of registered sex offenders, based on the most recent survey, in December, is actually 728,435 -- 46 percent more than the number Palumbo cited.

Atwell-Davis said the last time the total number of sex offenders nationally was close to 500,000 was about 2002.

The group’s estimate of the number of unaccounted for is 100,000 -- a number that hasn’t changed in years.

NCMEC receives nearly $50 million annually in government grants and charitable contributions to fight child pornography, track sex offenders, maintain a missing children’s hot line and train police and prosecutors. Its data on sex offenders are cited routinely by politicians and the Justice Department.

Because Palumbo’s underlying point is that a substantial number of registered sex offenders is missing, we decided to examine that premise.

First, we checked Rhode Island, where the sex offender registry lists 569 offenders. Of that total, 119 are so-called Level 3 offenders, who have been convicted of sexual assaults, child molestation or kidnapping a minor. Ten of those were identified as being deported, moved out of state, incarcerated out of state or whereabouts unknown.

Another 225 are so-called Level 2 offenders, those who had committed less serious felony sex offenses. A total of 12 were identified as whereabouts unknown.

So, 22 of the 569 registered offenders in Rhode Island are unaccounted for -- about 4 percent.

We checked with some neighbors. One problem is that many use different criteria in entering offenders on their registries.

Connecticut, for instance, does not have tiers of offenders. All are lumped together, for a total of 5,279. Rather than having various categories of missing, public information officer Lt. Paul Vance says the state uses a category of "not in compliance." That includes everyone from those who haven’t supplied their addresses to those who have fled. The total is 372 or about 7 percent.

New York State identifies 31,972 offenders in three tiers. But only 490 are identified as location unknown. That is 1.5 percent of the total.

Massachusetts has a total of 8,166 registered sex offenders. Those who haven’t properly registered or who are otherwise unaccounted for are termed violators. As of Wednesday, there were 227 violators - or less than 3 percent.

We aren’t the only ones wondering about NCMEC’s numbers.

Jill Levenson, chairwoman of the Department of Human Services at Lynn University, in Boca Raton, Fla., has been studying sexual offender registries, with other researchers from the University of Massachusetts, the University of California and the New Jersey Department of Corrections. She disagrees with the number of 100,000 "missing" offenders reported by NCMEC. Levenson said the highest number her group could determine was 17,688.

"When they (NCMEC) say missing, part of the question is what does that mean?" said Levenson. She said her group found many of the "missing" were homeless, in transit or simply the result of data entry errors. A study of the Florida registry found nearly a third of the people listed had died, moved or been deported.

Levenson said she feels it’s important to make the proper data available so that resources may be allocated most efficiently to deal with social problems such as sexual offenses. She argues the current emphasis on "publicly identifying and tracking known offenders may do a disservice to the public, since over 90 percent of sexually abused children are victimized by someone well known to them with no previous sex crime record, not a stranger found on a registry."

We asked Atwell-Davis about Levenson’s conclusions.

As for the missing offenders, Atwell-Davis said, "We’ve always said that was an estimate and that it was conservative." She said several studies suggest the true number is higher.

For example, she said she believes California is missing 20 percent of its offenders. The official figures from California, as of March 1, are 71,803 registered offenders, with 17,544 in violation of the registration law. That is 24 percent.

Atwell-Davis said she believes the discrepancy is due to the fact that Levenson gets her figures from public registries while NCMEC gets data directly from law enforcement agencies in each state and territory.

"We don’t want to create fear where it is unnecessary," said Atwell-Davis. "We believe it is important for communities to have good information."

So where are we?

* The 500,000 figure Palumbo cites for the total number of sex offenders in the United States was, by NCMEC’s count, off by more than 228,000. The last time it was 500,000 was nine years ago.

* If NCMEC’s numbers are accurate, the ratio of unaccounted for sex offenders nationwide is 1 of 7, not the 1 of 5 Palumbo’s statement suggests.

* NCMEC’s numbers are in dispute. A team of academics says they’re substantially overstated. Data from Rhode Island and nearby states supports that view.

Clearly, when even one registered sex offender is missing, that’s a serious problem -- a problem Palumbo is trying to fix. But public officials owe it to their constituents to get the facts right when they’re trying to address such issues.

Palumbo’s statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression -- the PolitiFact definition for Barely True.

http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2011/mar/03/peter-palumbo/palumbo-says-there-are-500000-registered-sex-offen/

Are Sexual Offense Laws Too Harsh? And Do They Work?

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- University at Buffalo Law School Professor Charles Patrick Ewing has added to his series of critically acclaimed books on some of the most unsavory but attention-grabbing aspects of the law, this time with a book questioning the legal logic and effectiveness of the country's increasingly harsh sex offense laws.

In "Justice Perverted," Ewing examines what he calls "radically reshaped" laws dealing with the country's sex offenders. These laws include ordering sex offenders to register with authorities, punishment for people possessing child pornography that "dwarfs" sentences for more violent crimes, including murder, and a federal law that requires a minimum 10-year prison sentence for those using the Internet to lure minors for sex.

All these dramatic changes in sex offender laws have come about at least partly from input from the fields of psychology, psychiatry and the social sciences, according to Ewing, whose extensive writing credits include several books on forensic psychology, which is the application of psychological principles and methods to legal issues, and how they play out in the courtroom. And Ewing's research and experience in many trials -- both nationally notorious as well as obscure -- conclude that enforcement and administration of many of these significantly more restrictive sex offense laws rely heavily the opinions of mental-health professionals.

Working from that conclusion, Ewing takes on an original and intellectually courageous direction of answering questions about and evaluating this established legal environment:

Are these laws supported by empirical evidence, or even by well-reasoned psychological theories? Do these laws actually work? Are mental health professionals capable of reliably determining an offender's future behavior, and how best to manage it?

"All of these laws are purportedly designed to enhance public safety by reducing the incidence of sexual offending," says Ewing, whose work in forensic psychology has involved using psychology to understand legal issues such as insanity, competence to stand trial and future danger. "Not only is there no evidence that these laws have had their intended effect, but there is some evidence that some of them may in fact lead to an increased threat to society.

"The economic costs of these laws are staggering and seem indefensible at a time when other valued government programs are being cut to avoid fiscal disaster," says Ewing. "There can be little doubt that sexual offenses bring great harm to individuals and society or that we should do all that we can reasonably do to prevent them from occurring. The question is what is reasonable. It is neither reasonable nor responsible to spend billions of taxpayers' dollars on laws with no proven value."

The questions Ewing takes on in "Justice Perverted" go beyond the arcane procedures of the nation's courtrooms to issues of justice and fair treatment of all parties. Are experts capable of providing effective treatment for sex offenders, Ewing asks, for example, treatment that actually reduces the likelihood that an identified sex offender will repeat a similar offense?

Ewing is a nationally known expert on the criminal mind, a SUNY Distinguished Service Professor who has taught at the UB Law School for 25 years. He is an expert witness who has testified or been closely involved on some of the most celebrated and often grisly criminal cases in the country.

Ewing's past accomplishments have earned him a reputation for capturing the world of courtroom drama in books both scholarly and captivating. His "Insanity, Murder, Madness and the Law" took readers inside the minds of some of the nation's most heinous murderers, including David Berkowitz, John Wayne Gacy and Andrea Yates.

His previous book, "Trials of a Forensic Psychologist," was another example of Ewing's talent to produce a work of scholarship that is informative and still retains the ability to be darkly entertaining.

"Justice Perverted" has already earned impressive kudos from law and university professionals.

"A remarkable, eye-opener of a book. Professor Ewing brings to this highly controversial subject his knowledge as both a law professor and as a practicing forensic mental health expert," according to Alan M. Goldstein, a board certified forensic psychologist and professor emeritus at John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

"'Justice Perverted' is informative, readable and should be required reading for attorneys, judges and forensic psychologists and psychiatrists working in this area. Ewing's specific recommendations for public policy reform should make all of us re-think our immediate 'gut reaction' as to how those who commit these horrific crimes should be treated."

"This book is a breath of fresh air," says Michael L. Perlin, professor of law, director of the International Mental Disability Law Reform Project and director of the Online Mental Disability Law Program, New York Law School.

"It debunks the media-driven frenzy of fear, hate mongering and utterly irrational laws that do far more harm than good. Professor Ewing writes thoughtfully, carefully and persuasively. This book should be read by all who care about -- and think about -- this topic."

Scott Brown's Story Reveals America's Greatest Concerns For Child Abuse

Surprise! It isn't brutalization at the hands of parents or family members.

No, it's having been briefly fondled by a camp counselor.

Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts recently revealed that he had been horribly physically and emotionally abused (but not sexually) by several different stepfathers, repeatedly, and over years (presumably, his mother must also bear some responsibility given her failure to protect her son).

He also said that he had been very briefly fondled by a camp counselor when he was ten. Several years later, he claims to have been traumatized by being propositioned by another boy in the woods.

So guess which acts of abuse got the lion's share of coverage by our news media?

You guessed it! ALL of the major media reporting on this story ABC, CBS, Fox, CNN, NBC, Boston Globe, L.A. Times, New York Times- all lead with headlines such as "Sen. Brown Reveals He Was Sexually Abused As A Child"!

Given his own descriptions, his sexual abuse allegations are absolutely trivial compared to his abuse at the hands of his mother's various husbands or boyfriends.

How on earth could anyone (in their right mind) think that being fondled or propositioned had a greater impact on a child than physical and emotional abuse by members of his own family? Apparently, the level of common sense required to grasp this notion is now beyond the capabilities of most people.

This just tells you how far we have come in putting "sexual abuse" well before other forms of abuse in our national consciousness.

Yes, apparently, Americans do honestly believe that a boy having his genitals fondled is far more "heinous" (a word they have fallen in love with) than that same boy being beaten and emotionally tormented by his parents.

Tell me, where's the science behind that?

The answer is that you won't find it because no respected authority on the emotional well-being of children believes it.

And those authorities will also make distinctions between fondling, on one hand, and forcible penetration by violence, on the other hand, even if the government and the media automatically conflates these two very different acts.

Viewers find the combined topics of children and sex to be much more interesting as a news story than child battering. I would dare say they find it titillating; although they will be quick to proclaim their shock and outrage.

As for Senator Brown's motives in pushing America's emotional buttons, we can only speculate upon any public relations benefits he hopes to gain.

It certainly can't hurt his personal narrative or his political career, despite all the "courage" ostensibly required to bare one's soul these days in proclaiming one's childhood traumas.

Indeed, he can now be said to have established his bona fides as a defender of children; a big help in future elections.

I do have to say that I'm glad Scott Brown won that election instead of that hideous creature, Martha Coakley.

In her previous role as prosecutor in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, she destroyed the lives of innocent people in her very own day care sex abuse witch hunt. It was heartening to see her career advancement, built as it was on the destruction of others, hit an eventual brick wall.

So, it is disturbing, but not at all surprising, that her victor now weaves familiar elements of childhood sexual victimization into his publicized life story.

More disturbing yet is a public which is incapable of identifying the glaring contradictions and deranged imbalances which lie at the heart of a social policy and prejudice.

A simple fact provides the most damning evidence of all: when children are themselves increasingly being accused of child sexual abuse and losing their freedom and their futures as a result, it is becoming clear that society's stated concerns for the well-being of children have very dark and unexamined motivations having little to do with a genuine regard for their welfare.

It is long overdue that we examine the true nature of these motivations and the dubious morality shielding them from public scrutiny.