Sri Lankan Soldiers Allegedly Raped And Executed Tamil Lt. Colonel Aipriya At End Of Civil War

Issei Piriya, aka, "Aipriya or Shoba"

New video surfaces showing Tamil Tiger rebel Lt. Colonel Issei Piriya captured by Sri Lankan soldiers and then what appeared her execution after being sexually assaulted. 

By H. Nelson Goodson

November 1, 2013

Sri Lanka - Last Sunday, a video and photographs showing Tamil Tiger Lieutenant Colonel Isseia Piriya, 27, aka, "Aipriya or Shoba" being captured alive at the "No Fire Zone" by Sri Lankan government soldiers at the end of the civil war indicates that she was not killed on May 18, 2009 during combat with the 53rd government military Division as the Sri Lankan government had listed and attempted to hide her execution. Major General Kamal Gunarathne was in charged of the 53rd Division in 2009. 

The new video released on Sunday was exposed by Channel 4 News UK, which shows her live capture by Sri Lankan government troops and included the 2010 release of images of her body, which were identified by a friend and family members. Her body was included in field with others killed. New evidence exposed by Channel 4 shows she was killed at another location and then her body placed with other bodies in a field.
The new video shows that she was captured alive and then a 30 second footage shows her body lying in a ditch with hands bound behind her back and a close up of her that shows she was sexually assaulted and executed afterwards. The footage also included government troops executing suspected Tamil rebels who were stripped naked, bound and cold bloodily executed. The video actually captured the faces of some of the executioners.
The video and images of Lt Col. Aipriya were taken by a Sri Lankan government soldier, according to Channel 4, who didn't mention where they got the video. 

Jonathan Miller, a Foreign Affairs Correspondent claims, that her sexual assault and execution indicates a war crime was committed and the Sri Lankan government had tried to cover up her murder. Her murder was most likely ordered by high ranking officials in the Sri Lankan government, according to the report. Her murder shows a systematic policy to execute Tamil Tiger soldiers while they were captured and bound as the civil war ended.

Lt. Col. Aipriya was known to carry a camera, paper and pencil instead of a weapon. Her health prevented her from the battlefield and was assigned to a propaganda unit. She became the Tamil propaganda star artist, actor, singer and TV host for videos promoting and glorifying suicide bombings. 

The new video is drawing controversy and protests against the Sri Lankan government. 

In less than two weeks, one third of world government leaders from 52 nations will meet in Colombo for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHGM) in Sri Lanka. The Tamil Nadu Assembly recently passed a resolution urging India to boycott the November 15, CHGM meeting summit and accused the Sri Lankan government of human rights violations and war crimes committed during the end of the civil war. Also, the Tamil National Alliance party, who won the election in the northern province of Sri Lanka has confirmed they will boycott the CHGM meeting.

Lt. Col. Asipriya appears to have been tortured, raped and executed by Sri Lankan government forces on May 18, 2009 at 3:17 p.m. at another area and then her moved to where other Tamil suspected sympathizers the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) or Tamil Tigers were executed as well while bound and tortured.

In February, several photos were released by the Journalists for Democracy in Sri Lanka providing clear evidence that Balachandran Prabhakaran, 12, had been executed by government troops on May 19, 2009, the last day of the nearly three decade war with Tamil Tiger rebels. Government officials had claimed in 2009 that the teen had been killed in cross fire in the battle field. He was the son of Velupillai Prabhakaran, founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam who was reportedly killed in battle on the same day.
Callum Macrae, the British director of the Channel 4 documentary,  "No fire zone: The killing fields of Sri Lanka" wrote in an article in the Hindu, an Indian daily newspaper, that the photos show Balachandran was not killed in crossfire or in the battle field as the government claims. "...His death was deliberate and calculated," Macrae wrote.

New video showing the live capture of Tamil Lt. Col. Assei Piriya at link:  http://bit.ly/1hyCwdW

Milwaukee Police Detective Charged With Felony Misconduct In Public Office

Rodolfo Gomez Jr.

Detective Gomez Jr. police powers were suspended in August during an internal investigation and has now been charged with one felony count of misconduct in public office in connection with the physical abuse of a murder suspect.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 31, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - On Thursday, Milwaukee Police Detective Rodolfo Gomez Jr., 46, was charged with one felony count of misconduct in public office, including excessive use authority. Gomez Jr. posted a $10,000 signature bond and if convicted, Gomez Jr. Is facing up to three and a half years in prison and $10,000 in fines. He is scheduled for a preliminary court hearing on November 12.

Gomez Jr. has been suspended with pay until the outcome of the case. He is accused of beating Deron Darnell Love on August 14,  while handcuffed during an interrogation. Gomez Jr. was caught on video surveillance in the interrogation room punching Love in the upper body. Gomez Jr. was removed from the room by another officer who witnessed the beating. Gomez Jr. came back in with several Milwaukee County Sheriff deputies to move Love into another cell. Gomez Jr. is also seen grabbing Love's head and bringing it down to knee him, according to the criminal complaint.

The Milwaukee Police Department referred Gomez Jr. to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office for prosecution after an internal investigation determined that Gomez Jr. violated department policy.  

Love who was charged with two felony counts of homicide in the death of his 7-year-old son was taken to a hospital for treatment. 

The suspect's attorney had requested a copy of the video from the Milwaukee Police Department and the Milwaukee County District Attorney's office, but his request was denied until the investigation was completed.

Mexican National Andrade Tolentino Extradited To Chicago For Chávez Homicide

Raúl Andrade Tolentino today, at age 28 and Alma Chávez

Tolentino was extradited to the U.S. from Mexico to face a 2000 homicide in Chicago.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 31, 2013

Chicago, Illinois - On Wednesday,  murder suspect Raúl Andrade Tolentino, 42, originally from Morelia, Mexico was extradited to the U.S. to face a homicide charge for the January 7, 2000 stabbing death of his former girlfriend Alma Chávez, 19, of Chicago. Tolentino was escorted by two FBI agents on a flight from Mexico and when he arrived on Wednesday night at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, he was taken into custody by Chicago authorities. He is scheduled for a bond hearing on Thursday.

In 2000, Tolentino went to the Chávez home on Pilsen and fatally stabbed her multiple times. He then stabbed himself to conceal his crime. Police arrested Tolentino after confessing to killing Chávez. Family members posted a $20,000 bond and a month later Tolentino skipped a court appearance and fled to California where his mother lived. The FBI in California went to the mother's address, but found that both Tolentino and his mother had returned to Mexico.

Years went by and Tolentino could not be located in Mexico. Benifacio Chávez, Alma's father travelled multiple times to Mexico and in 2006, he was able to get reliable information that Tolentino had been living in Michoacan. Authorities couldn't locate him and the case went cold again. 

The U.S. Department of Justice had issued a warrant for Tolentino for flight to avoid prosecution. He was featured in America's Most Wanted in 2012.

In 2008, the U.S. requested for the Mexican government to issue an arrest warrant for Tolentino. 

The Chavezes later learned that Tolentino had moved to his hometown in Morelia, Michoacan where he was working at a local pizza parlor. Alma's father later died and the case went cold once again.

In 2011, two Chicago Tribune reporters and a photographer went to Michoacan to follow up on information gathered from Alma's father. They discovered that Tolentino had registered to vote in Michoacan and had also registered a truck with the state. With the latest information by the reporters, authorities in Michoacan began to search for Tolentino until last February, when he turned himself in to authorities.

Tolentino had been held in a federal prison in Hermosillo, Sonora awaiting extradition, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Tolentino knew authorities in Mexico were hot on his trail, but he moved from house to house, used assumed names and worked in odd jobs to elude police, according to authorities in Mexico. 

This email making the rounds again...and its Mostly FALSE

Federal Benefit Payments

I just read this again today in my email...BUT its not true go figure.

Check www.snopes.com before getting tricked into sending out lies in email.

Claim:   Item criticizes various aspects of the Social Security security system.

MOSTLY FALSE

Example:   [Collected via e-mail, March 2012]

SOCIAL SECURITY NOW CALLED 'FEDERAL BENEFIT PAYMENT'/ENTITLEMENT

Have you noticed, your Social Security check is now referred to as a "federal benefit payment"?

I'll be part of the one percent, to forward this, our government gets away with way too much in all areas of our lives, while they live lavishly on their grossly overpaid incomes! KEEP passing THIS AROUND UNTIL EVERY ONE HAS READ IT.....

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT THE ONLY THING WRONG WITH THIS CALCULATION IS THEY FORGOT TO FIGURE IN THE PEOPLE WHO DIED BEFORE THEY COLLECTED THEIR SOCIAL SECURITY!!!! WHERE DID THAT MONEY GO?????????????

This was sent to me, I am forwarding it because it does touch a nerve in me.

This is another example of what Rick Perry called "TREASON in high places"!!! Get angry and pass this on!

Remember, not only did you contribute to Social Security but your employer did too. It totaled 15% of your income before taxes. If you averaged only $30K over your working life, that's close to $220,500.

If you calculate the future value of $4,500 per year (yours & your employer's contribution) at a simple 5% (less than what the government pays on the money that it borrows), after 49 years of working you'd have $892,919.98.

If you took out only 3% per year, you'd receive $26,787.60 per year and it would last better than 30 years (until you're 95 if you retire at age 65)and that's with no interest paid on that final amount on deposit! If you bought an annuity and it paid 4% per year, you'd have a lifetime income of $2,976.40 per month.

The folks in Washington have pulled off a bigger Ponzi scheme than Bernie Madhoff ever had.

Entitlement my butt, I paid cash for my social security insurance!!!! Just because they borrowed the money, doesn't make my benefits some kind of charity or handout!!

Congressional benefits — free healthcare, outrageous retirement packages, 67 paid holidays, three weeks paid vacation, unlimited paid sick days, now that's welfare, and they have the nerve to call my social security retirement entitlements?

We're "broke" and can't help our own Seniors, Veterans, Orphans, Homeless.

In the last months we have provided aid to Haiti, Chile, and Turkey . And now Pakistan ......home of bin Laden. Literally, BILLIONS of DOLLARS!!!

Our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive no aid nor do they get any breaks while our government and religious organizations pour Hundreds of Billions of $$$$$$'s and Tons of Food to Foreign Countries!

They call Social Security and Medicare an entitlement even though most of us have been paying for it all our working lives and now when it's time for us to collect, the government is running out of money. Why did the government borrow from it in the first place? Imagine if the *GOVERNMENT* gave 'US' the same support they give to other countries.

Sad isn't it?

99% of people won't have the guts to forward this.

I'm one of the 1% — I Just Did.

 

Origins:   It's true that Social Security retirement payments are classified as "federal benefit payments," but that's about the only bit of information the author of this item got right — and even at that he errs in mistakenly assuming this terminology to be new and in misconstruing what it means.

The word "benefits" has been applied to Social Security retirement payments since the Social Security program was enacted in the 1930s. The terminology is also not unique to Social Security, as the phrase "federal benefit payments" applies to a broad class of payments made to (or on behalf of) individuals under federal government programs — everything from Social Security Disability Insurance to Medicare to farm subsidies are considered "federal benefit payments." The fact that workers themselves contribute much of the money that goes into the Social Security retirement fund doesn't affect its classification as a benefit.

Likewise, the word "entitlement" has long been the standard terminology for payments made under government programs that guarantee and provide benefits to particular groups. Persons who have demonstrated their eligibility to claim such payments are entitled (i.e., "qualified for by right according to law") to receive them. The usage has nothing to do with pejorative connotations associated with the word (e.g., "a sense of entitlement") which are often applied to denote people expecting or demanding something they do not merit.

As for the calculations about savings detailed in the latter half of the above-quoted example, they're far off the mark for a number of reasons:

• Assuming the aggregate Social Security contributions for any individual to be equal to 15% of his lifetime income is a flawed approach, because the required levels of Social Security contributions have varied across time, and Social Security contributions from individuals and employers combined have never "totaled 15% of your income before taxes." The current contribution level is 12.4%, and historically the contribution rates have been significantly less. (Many people confuse Federal Insurance Contributions Act [FICA] payments, which are currently assessed at a 15.3% rate, with Social Security, but they are not the same thing. FICA payments include both Social Security and Medicare taxes.)


• Assuming the Social Security contributions for any individual to be equal to a percentage of his average lifetime income is a flawed approach, because Social Security contributions have a yearly cap (i.e., contributors never pay more than a specified maximum amount, no matter how much money they make in a given year). A person who earned $80,000 in 2001 would have paid just as much into Social Security as a person who made $750,000 in 2001, so assuming that the Social Security contributions for each equalled 12.4% of their income that year would produce a grossly inflated figure in the latter case.


• The dollar figures provided are a mish-mash that take neither past nor future conditions into account. It's wrong to assume that Social Security contributions equal "15% of your income before taxes" because (as already noted), Social Security contribution levels have varied across time, they have never been as high as 15%, and there's no guarantee of what they will be in the future. It's wrong to assume that a typical current retiree (i.e., someone who started his working life 40+ years ago) earned an average of $30,000 per year across his lifetime, as the median household income in the U.S. didn't even reach that level until 1993. And it's wrong to assume that a current wage earner could safely see a 5% return on his money if it weren't paid into Social Security, as the average interest rates for savings accounts and certificates of deposit have been well below that figure (typically under 1% or 2%) for several years now.

Additionally, the statement that "our retired seniors living on a 'fixed income' receive no aid nor do they get any breaks, while our government pours hundreds of billions of $$$$$$'s to foreign countries" reflects a common but grossly inaccurate perception of how the federal government spends taxpayer monies. In fact, the bulk of the federal budget (by far) goes towards providing for retirees and low-income households: 20% of the budget pays for Social Security, 21% pays for health insurance programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP), and another 13% pays for financial safety net programs. By contrast, only about 1% of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid.

Finally, although the anonymous author of this piece uses the term "Social Security insurance," he doesn't seem to understand that's exactly what Social Security is. Social Security isn't a savings plan or an investment scheme; it's an Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program intended to ensure that Americans are guaranteed a minimum monthly payment in their non-working years. As with all insurance programs, some people will eventually receive less than they paid in, and others will receive more.

Last updated:   11 February 2013

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/politics/taxes/benefit.asp#AQMt4AjvcWQI3QtW.99

think PINK

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I'm totally romantically involved with the blush pink color. For me this is more of a Spring color but this year it appears to be a Fall sensation as well. To make this color more autumnal appropriate I paired with -burgundy- and I added this light coat.




                                                                                Coat: vintage/ I also love this one Here
                                                                                Sweater: NY&CO/ similar Here and Here
                                                                                Cuff bracelet: c/o COOEE/ Here
                                                                                Skirt: H&M (old)/ similar style Here 
                                                                                Sunglasses: Chloe
                                                                                Shoes: c/o Sam Edelman/ Here
                                                                                Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim/ Here 

  FACEBOOK . BLOGLOVIN . INSTAGRAM 

The Tea Party, the most serious challenge to the American way of life

“The modern Tea Party doesn’t understand history, so it can’t be expected to appreciate irony.  It is a mongrel movement, its leaders self-proclaimed, its agenda by turns unfathomable and incoherent, its philosophy grounded in vehemence.  So how can it possibly be dangerous?  Here, in no particular order, are my four Rs of the Tea Party,” writes someone named Mike Appleton, a guest blogger on a site hosted by law professor and legal analyst Jonathon Turley. First, it is racist, he states, and it is a religionist movement that is revisionist and repressive.

He is not alone in his disdain for the Tea Party. Florida 9th District Democrat Representative Alan Grayson compared the Tea Party’s popularity to that of the Ku Klux Klan, and used a burning cross to replace the T in “Tea” in an email he sent out last week.

New York Democrat Representative Charlie Rangel told the Daily Beast: “It is the same group we faced in the South with those white crackers and the dogs and the police."

West Virginia Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller said a while back that they are "People who will do absolutely extraordinarily bad things that are extraordinarily bad for the country and not care about it." He added he believes some members of the Tea Party are "extremists" who have "hijacked" the Republican Party.

Many Republicans also sharply criticized the Tea Party faction’s behavior, including the party leadership in both the House and the Senate.

The Tea Party has been blamed for the government shut down earlier this month, and during and after Congressional wrangling over raising the debt limit to prevent the shut down, the Republicans and Tea Party were called “arsonists,” “terrorists,” “extremists” and “anarchists,” accused of “waging a War on Women,” compared to Thelma and Louise, and have been blamed for healthcare.gov’s failed rollout, as well as for Standard & Poor's downgrading the U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ for the first time, and the non-existent recovery from the 2008 recession.

Such power. No wonder most Democrats and establishment Republicans fear the Tea Party.

However, after months of digging into documents in the National Archives and elsewhere a research firm has discovered that the Tea Party was also responsible for the 9-11 terrorist attacks, Fast and Furious, the Benghazi terrorist attack, as well as Eve’s temptation of Adam, the Edsel, the Black Sox scandal, New Coke, and choosing the name of the Washington Redskins, although there is a strong argument that most of these things were really Bush’s fault.

It won’t come as a shock to all those blaming the Tea Party for destroying the country that there is no such thing as “the Tea Party,” per se.

Several organizations use the words “Tea Party” in their name, but “Tea Party” signifies a movement, not a formal organization. It is a loose affiliation of national and local groups that independently set their own agendas, based upon a broad set of principles.

The original form of the name was TEA Party, for “Taxed Enough Already” Party, obviously opposing existing high taxation and proposed new taxes and higher rates on existing ones.

The broad goals of the movement are to advance the principles of limited federal government, individual freedoms, personal responsibility, free markets, and returning political power to the states and the people.

Radical stuff, that.

These are essentially the same principles sought by the Framers of the U.S. Constitution 220-odd years ago. It says more about the Tea Party critics than about the Tea Party movement itself that the critics attack the founding principles as extreme.

The Republicans/Tea Partiers who opposed Obamacare and tried to repeal or defund or delay it earned themselves the enmity of Democrats because it interfered with their strong desire to control the healthcare of every American, and also of establishment Republicans because the political price of what they did was thought to be very high for Republicans.

There may be a high political price to be paid, but that remains to be seen. However, the Tea Partiers weren’t playing politics – and in Washington, DC not playing politics may be the worst sin of all. They were standing for a principle: that Obamacare, which cedes control of 18 percent of the economy to government, is bad for the country from its dishonorable smoky backroom origins, to its passage with only Democrat support, to the idiotic “that depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is” acrobatics of Chief Justice John Roberts to find it constitutional.

With only control of the House of Representatives, the Tea Partiers had no chance at repealing Obamacare and their efforts earned them great anger, though now delay seems the smart thing to do. But the decision to try to repeal, or defund, or delay was a decision based on a principle, whereas the decision not to try is a political decision.

If elected officials make a mistake, wouldn’t we rather they did so supporting a founding principle than considering political repercussions?

And what does it say about our country when taking a stand for one of America’s fundamental principles is considered radical or extreme?

Obamacare, a small number of people lose their current insurance but they end up with alternative, typically stronger coverage.

Under the Republican plan, by contrast, people losing employer insurance would end up in the dysfunctional, non-reformed individual market—the one full of confusing, junk policies that might not cover basic services like maternity or mental health or have huge gaps in coverage. And the people losing Medicaid? They would end up with … nothing at all.
The real issue here isn’t simply Republican opportunism and hypocrisy—although, please, let’s not ignore that either. The real issue is about the true trade-offs of policy. Both sides offer them. With Obamacare, a small number of people lose their current insurance but they end up with alternative, typically stronger coverage. Under the plans Republicans have endorsed, a larger number of people would lose their current insurance, as people migrated to a more volatile and less secure marketplace. Under Obamacare, the number of Americans without health insurance at all will come down, eventually by 30 or 40 million. Under most of the Republican plans, the number of Americans without insurance would rise.

Source

Arcos Alvarez From Veracruz Killed In Milwaukee Southside Crash

Diego Isidro Arcos Alvarez

Photos: HNG

Arcos Alvarez lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a building killing him and sending a woman to the hospital.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 30, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - Last Saturday, Diego Isidro Arcos Alvarez,  23, was reported killed around 2:40 a.m. after losing control of his vehicle going eastbound, then crashed into La Carniceria Campesino southeast corner building and ruptured a gas line at the 600 block of W. Greenfield Ave., according to police. Firefighters had to open a door to the store to check for gas leaks inside. 

Later someone broke into the store through the same door and stole a cash register. In another break in afterwards, someone attempted to take a safe from the same store, but failed, according to police. Police recovered video from Arcos Alvarez losing control of the vehicle from video surveillance cameras at the scene.

Police also have a suspect or suspects on video going into the store and an arrest is forthcoming.

Arcos Alvarez's passenger, a woman survived and was taken to Froedtert Hospital in Wauwatosa.

Arcos Alvarez is originally from Maguellito, in the state of Veracruz and his body will be sent to Mexico once funds are collected to pay for the cost of transporting the body. Friends and family members placed donation boxes for Arcos Alvarez throughout local southside stores and at El Campesino store with a number to call for more information.

Arcos Alvarez's wake and remembrance began on Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at the Church and Chapel Funeral Home at the 1800 of W. Becher St. Arcos Alvarez body is expected to be transported to Mexico by Saturday, according to Magdaleno Alvarez Olmedo, Diego's uncle. Olmedo said, Diego had lived in Milwaukee for 8 years and is survived by friends and relatives in Milwaukee and Veracruz.

On Saturday in an unrelated accident, a homeless man known as Anthony "Tony" J. Judd, 45, was fatally hit by a westbound vehicle at the 900 block of W. Greenfield Ave. around 7:30 p.m., according to Ricco Lopez, a Block Watch Captain on S. 10th St. Tony was crossing from North to South on Greenfield Ave. when he was struck by the vehicle. The driver of the vehicle involved didn't stop after striking Tony, Lopez said.

Tony was known by many local residents as a man who would say hello and a punch line of "Hey amigo, do you have 25 cents."

Tony, the Milwaukee homeless man seen just south of W. National Ave. on S. Cesar E. Chavez Dr. or S. 16th St., last August 21 after he just sat down and fell asleep as hundreds of vehicles passed and ignored him.

Photo: HNG

one room challenge - family room week 5

One. Week. Left. I only have one week left to get everything finished before the big One Room Challenge reveal next Wednesday. (catch up on weeks 1 - 4 here)

I'll keep it real people, my progress from last week has been almost non-existent slow and I am burning the candle at both ends to get this, as well as some other big projects, done on time. So I'll keep this short and sweet.

I thought I'd share a few sneak peeks to hold you over while I work on final touches. With seven days to go, here is what I have left to cross off the list. (plus a few dozen non-list items)

- Rip up gross carpet (floor and stairs) and replace flooring
- Paint and plank walls and bookshelves
- Recover estate sale chairs - at the upholsterers 
- Create some sort of art station for the girls
- Paint chairs and table
- Repair and paint coffee table
- Create toy storage that doesn't involve the words 'pink' or 'plastic'
- Get some art on those walls
- Find rugs
- New Lighting

Be sure to check out how everyone else is wrapping up:

Calling it Home 

Chinoiserie Chic 

Classic Casual Home 

Cottage and Vine 

Design Addict Mom 

Design Crisis 

Design Indulgence 

Design Manifest 

The English Room 

The Green Room Interiors 

Henhurst Interiors  

Maddie's Nest 

Mix And Chic 

My Notting Hill 

Pawleys Island Posh 

The Pink Pagoda 

Shelter 

Simple Details 

The Vault Files 

Now wish me luck! Coco the house boy and I have a lot to get done!!

Hernández Pérez, A DREAM 30 Member Deported to Mexico

Rocio Hernández Pérez

Pérez was deported to Mexico City on Tuesday morning while twelve were released just after 7:00 p.m.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 30, 2013

El Paso, Texas - On Tuesday, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed Rocio Hernández Pérez, 23, from the U.S. She was flown to Mexico City in the morning and released. Pérez is originally from Veracruz. 

She was taken into custody by ICE on September 30 at the Laredo, Texas border crossing and ICE checkpoint. Pérez was among 34 undocumented immigrants who decided to voluntarily return to Mexico and then attempt to reenter the U.S. and ask for asylum. Their attempt to reenter the U.S. failed and they were transferred to an El Paso ICE processing detention center for deportation proceedings. Nine were later released by ICE.
Only 25 of the DREAM 30 filed for asylum under "credible fear" including Pérez who was brought to the U.S. when she was four and lived in North Carolina. ICE denied her asylum claim and was ordered by an immigration judge to be removed. ICE would not release any information why Pérez was denied asylum.

So far, ICE has approved 17 of the DREAM 30 members and seven have been denied asylum including Pérez. The rest of the DREAM 30 group are waiting the same fate, the 13 left in detention continued with their hunger strike. ICE attempted to order doctors at the facility to force feed them, but doctors have refused ICE's request, according to family members.

Pérez and the rest of the group were protesting the broken national immigration system and were demanding immigration reform.

The following twelve members of the DREAM 30 were released just after 7:00 p.m.on Tuesday. They were identified as Raul Juarez of New York; Edna Flores of Arizona; Israel Rodriguez of North Carolina; Giselle Gomez of South Carolina; Jesus Gutierrez of Pennsylvania; Marco Pacheco of Texas; Leonardo Contreras of New York; Pablo Vivas of California; Lorena Vargas of Arizona, Marcela Espinoza of Illinois; Sandra Paloma of California and Vidal Francisco of Arizona.

Also Erika Isaura Guzman Mata was facing deportation after she was denied asylum as Pérez, but an immigration judge overturned that decision and is awaiting her release.

The Softer Side of Shears (Musical Tribute)

Click to enlarge.



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

EQUINOX In Kenosha Removes McDowell's Photo From Website

Erin Ziemendorf and Matthew McDowell

McDowell no longer featured in the EQUINOX Body and Soul Boutique website as a License Massage Therapist. He was charged with first-degree intentional homicide and hiding a corpse.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 29, 2013

Kenosha, WI - On Tuesday, Matthew McDowell's photo and brief statement of his work has been removed from the EQUINOX Body and Soul Boutique website where he worked. McDowell, 40, of Kenosha was featured in the EQUINOX website as a License Massage Therapist.
McDowell was charged on Tuesday with one count for first-degree intentional homicide, one count for hiding a corpse and a $350,000 bail was set. He is scheduled to appear at a Kenosha County court on November 5 for further proceedings.
He was arrested on Sunday after turning himself to Kenosha police and confessing that he accidentally killed Erin Ziemendorf, 30, of West Allis. Ziemendorf's body was discovered on Sunday at 6:25 p.m. by Chicago police near a Greyhound station at the 500 block of South Jefferson St. Her body was found inside the trunk of her Silver 2004 Grand Prix with Wisconsin license plates in a public parking lot.

McDowell told police that he got into a heated argument with Ziemendorf and he accidentally killed her. He then drove her vehicle to Chicago with the victim's body in the trunk. McDowell left Ziemendorf's auto near a Greyhound station and then took a train back to Kenosha where he decided to turn himself to police.

The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled Ziemendorf's death a homicide by blunt-force trauma to her neck from an assault. 

Lettuce Prey

Click to enlarge.

Let us pray that the wages of production and nonsupervisory manufacturing workers will finally be able to keep up with the price of lettuce over the long-term.


Click to enlarge.

Let us also pray that the remaining 12 million manufacturing employees (down from nearly 20 million in the late 1970s) will not soon be replaced by even more automated systems and outsourcing.

And lastly, let us pray that SNAP benefits will be cut for all participants in November 2013. May this new era of American manufacturing employment provide all that we could possibly ever want or need and may we remain recession-free well into the distant future.

In Ted Cruz' name we pray. Amen.

October 26, 2013
How Washington’s “Crucifixion” Of Ted Cruz Made Him A Tea Party Saint In Iowa

DES MOINES, Iowa — As an audience of 600 Republicans awaited the arrival of Sen. Ted Cruz Friday night at the Iowa Events Center, conservative Christian activist Steve Scheffler came to the podium to give thanks to God for the Tea Party savior — and plead for more principled conservative leaders like him willing to “be crucified for their belief system.”

The ballroom full of amens that followed went a long way toward explaining why Cruz — fresh off a failed crusade to dismantle Obamacare that resulted in a 16-day government shutdown and a political disaster for his party — has been greeted with such adoration by Tea Party crowds in recent days.

Source Data:
BLS: CPI Database
St. Louis Fed: Average Hourly Earnings of Production and Nonsupervisory Employees: Manufacturing
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Manufacturing

The Camel Coat

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-Where: New York
-When: Last week, Tuesday
-Trip destination: To preview Christian Siriano 2014 Collection/ Mavi Jeans Collection and Corso Como 2014 Collection

Now let's talk a little bit about this outfit.
To don a camel- hair coat was just a dream (for quite some time) that finally came true. I always knew that it will be a vintage one (affordable/ best quality) but I didn't know when I will find "the one". Well,  last week, before my NY trip I visited one of my favorite vintage boutique and I found this timeless piece in camel shade.
For a first wear I paired with white and a fuchsia accent.
Voila!




                                                                            Coat: vintage/ great option on sale Here, Here and Here 
                                                                            Skirt: Asos/ Here
                                                                            Sweater: DKNY/ similar style Here and Here
                                                                            Shoes: Topshop/ on sale Here 
                                                                            Bag: Liz Claiborne/ option Here
                                                                            Cuff bracelet: c/o COOEE/ Here
                                                                            Sunglasses: Ralph Lauren

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40-year-old McDowell Facing Charges For Ziemendorf's Homicide

Erin Ziemendorf and Matthew McDowell

Ziemendorf's body was found in a trunk of a vehicle near a Chicago Greyhound station.

By H. Nelson Goodson

October 28, 2013

Kenosha, WI - Police in Kenosha have arrested Matthew McDowell, 40, of Kenosha in connection with the homicide of Erin Ziemendorf, 30, of West Allis whose body was discovered on Sunday at 6:25 p.m. by Chicago police near a Greyhound station at the 500 block of South Jefferson St. Ziemendorf's body was found inside a trunk of a grey vehicle with Wisconsin license plates. 

Ziemendorf was pronounced death at 7:25 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. The cause of death was ruled a homicide by blunt forced trauma to her neck during an assault. 

McDowell confessed to Kenosha police that both he and Ziemendorf had gotten into a heated fight and he accidentally killed her. He then drove to Chicago and left the vehicle near a Greyhound station with her body in the trunk. McDowell then took a train back to Kenosha where he turned himself to police.

McDowell who had been dating the victim for over a year and a half is now facing homicide charges and attempting to hide a corpse.
McDowell works as a License Massage Therapist at the EQUINOX Body and Soul Boutique in Kenosha, according to its website.

Texas Abortion Restrictions Declared Unconstitutional By Federal Judge

Rick Perry Strategy Foiled Again

A federal judge has determined that new Texas abortion restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution, a ruling that keeps open — at least for now — dozens of abortion clinics that were set to halt operations Tuesday had the law taken effect.

AUSTIN, Texas -- AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A federal judge has determined that new Texas abortion restrictions violate the U.S. Constitution, a ruling that keeps open — at least for now — dozens of abortion clinics that were set to halt operations Tuesday had the law taken effect.

In a decision released Monday that the state is certain to appeal, District Judge Lee Yeakel wrote that the regulations requiring doctors to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital creates an undue obstacle to women seeking an abortion.

"The admitting-privileges provision of House Bill 2 does not bear a rational relationship to the legitimate right of the state in preserving and promoting fetal life or a woman's health and, in any event, places a substantial obstacle in the path of a woman seeking an abortion of a nonviable fetus and is thus an undue burden to her," he wrote.

While Yeakel found that the state could regulate how a doctor prescribes an abortion-inducing pill, he said the law did not allow for a doctor to adjust treatment taken in order to best protect the health of the woman taking it. Therefore he blocked the provision requiring doctors to follow U.S. Food and Drug Administration protocol for the pills in all instances.

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