Children traded for pet cockatoo and cash

By Calvin Palmer

A Louisiana woman is accused of trading two children in her care for a pet cockatoo, worth $1,500, and $175 cash from a couple who had been trying for years to have their own child.

Donna Greenwell, 53, a long-haul trucker with an arrest record from Pitkin, is charged with aggravated kidnapping, along with would-be adoptive parents Paul J. Romero, 46, and Brandy Lynn Romero, 27, of Evangeline Parish.

“The Romeros had good intentions from what we see,” said Keith Dupre, a detective with the Evangeline Parish Sheriff’s Office. “They really wanted to take care of the kids. The kids were well-dressed and seemed to be treated good by the Romero family.”

The transaction for the 5-year-old boy and the 4-year-old girl was negotiated by phone after Greenwell spotted a flier posted at a livestock barn selling a cockatoo for $1,500 and called the Romeros on February 18, Dupre said.

Although Paul Romero had three children from a previous marriage, he and Brandy had tried unsuccessfully for years to have a child together.

When they told that to Greenwell, she allegedly offered to hand over the boy and girl for money. When the Romeros said they couldn’t meet the price, Dupre said, “Ms. Greenwell agreed to make an even trade: the bird for the kids.”

Greenwell showed up with the children at the Romeros’ home the next day and said she would also need $175 for an attorney to complete adoption paperwork, but she had no authority to put the children up for adoption.

Everything began to unravel last week when authorities received a phone tip that the Romeros and the children would be at a local fast food restaurant, where authorities approached them. The children are in state custody.

Greenwell’s relationship to the children was unclear. Dupre said the children’s father, of Leesville, was being questioned and that authorities were looking for the mother who is believed to be somewhere in Texas.

The Romeros were free on $5,000 bond. Greenwell — described as a long-haul trucker with an extensive arrest record including charges of kidnapping, assault and theft — remained in jail on $100,000 bond, Dupre said. She turned herself in on Sunday.

Police in Glenmora, near where Greenwell lives, are seeking information from anyone who might know if Greenwell has sold other children.

“She’s had numerous children living with her at various times over the years,” said Officer Jennifer Potter, who received the anonymous telephone tip that eventually led to the arrests.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]

Intriguing headline of the day

By Calvin Palmer

The purpose of a headline in a newspaper, and these days on a Web site, is to attract the reader to a story.

The Trentonian in New Jersey did just that today with the headline “Prosecutor’s dick causes wreck, but victims barely paid”.

Intrigued as to how male genitalia could be responsible for an auto accident, and with my smutty British mind fearing the worst, I clicked on to the story. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the “dick” did not relate to masturbatory practices but to the prosecutor’s detective.

Having no knowledge of the man, I cannot comment whether he is a “dick” in the other sense of the word.

Although the story does mention the detective stating that he had been using a cell phone without a hands-free device.

Read into that what you will.  Perhaps my interpretation of the headline was correct after all.

In future I shall keep a sharp look-out for a headline in The Trentonian that reads: “Nurse’s pussy causes wreck”.

Of course, it will refer to a story about a healthcare worker’s cat having escaped from the house, running straight into the road and causing a vehicle to swerve and you can guess the rest.
 
[Based on a report by The Trentonian.]

More charges filed against morgue worker convicted of sex with corpse

By Calvin Palmer

A former Ohio morgue worker serving a prison sentence for having sex with the body of an 18-year-old murder victim was today indicted on further charges of sexually abusing corpses.

Kenneth Douglas, 55, of Westwood, Cincinnati, was indicted on two more counts of abuse of a corpse after DNA evidence showed his semen was in the bodies of two more women killed in 1991and whose bodies were awaiting autopsy, said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters.

The women were Charlene Edwards, also known as Charlene Apling, and Angel Hicks.

Edwards was strangled to death and Hicks fell to her death from a window of a third-floor apartment.

Deters said he was stunned by so many aspects of the case – sex with a corpse, sex with violently mutilated or damaged bodies, sex with dozens of bodies.

“Frankly, it’s frightening. His numbers when he’s talked to authorities go from one to three or four to ‘a lot’ to maybe over a hundred,” Deters said, quoting Douglas. “I think it’s fair to speculate that he’s been doing this all the time, when he’s able and had the opportunity.”

After Douglas admitted last year he had sex with the bloody, nearly beheaded body of 18-year-old murder victim Karen Range in 1982, prosecutors said they suspected there were other victims.

They called area law enforcement agencies asking for cases to investigate and looked at old evidence stored in property rooms of the Hamilton County court reporters – who store evidence used in trials – as well as property rooms of the Cincinnati Police Department, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton County Prosecutor and Hamilton County Coroner.

That evidence was mostly vaginal swabs taken from the bodies during autopsies.

Officials came up with 15 cases they believe could have involved Douglas. DNA could be found on just 12 of them. Of those, two showed the semen belonged to Douglas.

“We’ll never know,” how many victims there are, Deters said, “because Douglas doesn’t know. We probably won’t know the scope of his abuse.”

Douglas also worked at a funeral home during part of the 16 years – 1976 to 1992 – when Douglas worked at the morgue. That was investigated but no charges were brought. He also was never caught when he worked at the morgue.

“No one ever saw this man do anything,” Deters said.

The closest was an incident when an assistant coroner tried to get into a room with bodies and found it locked. A few minutes after the doctor knocked, Deters said, “Douglas walked out.”

Douglas was caught when he violated his probation on a previous conviction and his DNA was taken by officials and placed in a database. The database showed Douglas DNA matched that of the semen left in Range’s body.

“I hope,” Deters wished, “I never see anybody like Kenneth Douglas again.”

[Based on reports by Cincinnati.com and the Associated Press.]

Girl badly burned after using gasoline to get rid of head lice

By Calvin Palmer

A teenage girl is in critical condition in hospital after she soaked her hair in gasoline to try and kill head lice and the fumes ignited.

Jessica Brooks, 18, was airlifted to the burn unit at University Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, after the incident happened at her apartment in Evansville, Indiana, on Sunday.

Police said Brooks was in her bathroom letting her hair soak in gasoline just before a pilot light from a water heater ignited the gas fumes and her hair.

Investigator Richard Howard said Brooks suffered second- and third-degree burns over more than half of her body.

“Skin was hanging off her and she was bloody,” he said.

An ambulance took Brooks to Deaconess Hospital before she was flown to Louisville.

Her roommate and friend Brie Abshier, 19, said: “No one’s been able to talk to her. No one’s been able to go see her. The doctors won’t allow it because she’s so badly burned.”

Abshier said Brooks was in critical condition yesterday in a medically induced coma.

Brooks had planned to marry her fiancé, Ronald Young, in May.

[Based on reports by the Associated Press and Evansville Courier & Press.]

MPs raise concerns over Google

By Calvin Palmer

British politicians are urging the Government to refer Google’s dominance of the online search advertising market to the Competition Commission.

An Early Day Motion signed by 29 Members of Parliament urges ministers to “consider measures to prevent the monopolization of the online search advertising market”.

Google has increased its share of the market to almost 90 percent in the last year.

The motion has the support of 25 Labour MPs, one Conservative MP, two Liberal Democrats and one MP from the Scottish National Party.

“A monopoly is unhealthy,” said Labour MP Andrew Dismore. “Google cornering the market is not good for competitive pricing or quality of service. The Government should recognise that there is a potential problem.

“The Competition Commission should draw up recommendations to protect consumers – in this case, the people buying the advertising.”

Google has defended its position by arguing that market dominance does not necessarily constitute a monopoly. It has also emphasized that Google does not set the price of online adverts, which are determined by auction and therefore driven by the market.

“On the Internet, competition is literally one click away,” said a Google spokesman. “We have to prove our value to our users and advertisers every day, because if they’re unhappy with Google, there’s nothing preventing them from switching to another search engine.”

A recent report from industry analysts Forrester Research found that 55 per cent of Internet users use more than one search engine every week.

Early Day Motions are rarely debated on the floor of the House of Commons and are seen more as a gesture of protest or concern. They remain open for signatures during the session of Parliament.

[Based on a report by The Daily Telegraph.]

Piracy of the antipodeans

By Calvin Palmer

A Seafolly bikini design modeled by Miranda Kerr is at the center of piracy claims.

The Australian swimwear company has launched Federal Court action against a company it alleges stole the pattern of its Zambezi range.

Miranda Kerry models the Seafolly bikini. Picture courtesy of the Melbourne Herald Sun.

Seafolly says it bought the Zambezi design from Sydney textile designer Longina Phillips in 2006 and then simplified it to produce the Zambezi range, which includes bikinis, tank-tops, dresses and a kaftan.

Seafolly alleges Sydney company Australian Downtown Marketing sold copies marketed under the Mooloola brand. When they appeared in shops, Seafolly asked retail chain City Beach and distributor Fashion Allied Agency to stop selling the Mooloola-branded costumes.

After an exchange of legal letters, City Beach and Fashion Allied Agency stopped selling the suits in November.

City Beach, which owns the Mooloola brand, told Seafolly it had ordered stocks of the swimsuits, but they were “returned to its Chinese manufacturer as they were considered defective”.

Fashion Allied Agency then pointed the finger at Sydney company Australian Downtown Marketing, Seafolly alleged.

This latest legal action is the third in four years taken by Seafolly against copies of its designs.

In 2007 Seafolly sued swimmers brand 2Chillies for allegedly using its Tiki Stripe design without permission.

And in 2005 the company sued swimsuit competitor Baku, alleging it copied swimsuit patterns created by a Seafolly employee.

Both cases were settled out of court.

[Based on a report by the Melbourne Herald Sun.]

Actress Wendy Richard loses her battle against cancer

By Calvin Palmer

British actress Wendy Richard — best known to American TV viewers for her role as Miss Brahms in the comedy series Are You Being Served? — died today at the age of 65 after losing her battle with cancer.

Richard died at a clinic in London’s Harley Street with her husband John Burns at her side.

Her agent Kevin Francis said: “She was incredibly brave and retained her sense of humor right to the end.”

Her TV career began in the 1960s playing Joyce Harker in the BBC soap, The Newcomers. She went on to appear in comedy shows such as The Likely Lads, Up Pompeii! and Dad’s Army.

In the 1970s, she became a household name partnering Mollie Sugden in the women’s department at Grace Brothers department store in the sitcom Are You Being Served?. The sitcom ran from 1972 to 1985 and spawned the feature film Are You Being Served? in 1977.

Richard also appeared in two Carry On films.

For British TV viewers, she will also be remembered most for her role as Pauline Fowler, the matriarch of Albert Square,  in the long-running soap, Eastenders, a role she played for more than 20 years.

Richard had endured two battles with breast cancer in the mid-1990s and then in 2002.

The cancer went into remission after years of treatment, but last year it was discovered that the disease had returned in an aggressive form, attacking her kidneys, bones and spine.

Last October she told a newspaper that the cancer was terminal and that she was dying.

[Based on reports by The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.]

Funeral director charged over leaving corpse to rot in hearse

By Calvin Palmer

An Alabama funeral director accused of leaving a woman’s body to decay in a parked hearse after her relatives failed to pay the bill was arrested on a felony charge of abusing a corpse, police said yesterday.

Watson and Sons Funeral Home in Gadsden embalmed the remains of Edna Kathleen Woods, 52, after she died of natural causes in November 2007, said police Sgt. Jeff Wright.

Relatives wanted the body cremated but failed to sign the necessary paperwork or pay owner Harold Watson Sr. After storing the corpse at his funeral home for more than a year, 76-year-old Watson decided to move it because he was unable to reach the woman’s family.

Someone complained about a foul smell near downtown Gadsden and officers on Tuesday found the woman’s remains in a cardboard box locked inside a hearse parked on a piece of property that Watson owns.

Watson was arrested after officers tracked the hearse to him. The body had apparently been in the hearse for about two months, and the battery had been removed so no one could move the vehicle, Wright said.

Funeral directors with unclaimed bodies can file a petition to have counties dispose of remains.

“He knows better. The family wouldn’t pay him, so he just got rid of it,” Wright said.

The head of the state office that regulates Alabama’s funeral industry said Watson could lose his director’s license if convicted.

“We don’t have many cases this bizarre,” said Warren Higgins, executive secretary of the Alabama Board of Funeral Service. “We’re just waiting to hear more from the authorities in Gadsden.”

Police didn’t know how much the woman’s relatives owed, and it wasn’t clear who notified officers about the hearse.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]

Jindal becomes the latest Republican man of straw

By Calvin Palmer

Put some straw sticking out from Bobby Jindal’s collar and stick a floppy hat on his head and what have you got? The Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz.

Now, what’s that song The Scarecrow sings?  Ah yes, If I Only Had A Brain.

Rhodes scholar he may well be but the song personifies Jindal perfectly after his disastrous response to President Obama’s speech to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

Having seen the back of the Wicked Witch of Wasilla, Sarah Palin — strange how she was not chosen to give the GOP’s response – I had hoped the Republican Party would have someone to rescue its credibility with the American people.  I am talking about all Americans, not the Wicked Witch’s “real Americans”.

I had heard good things about Jindal.  One of my relatives on my wife’s side lives in Louisiana and she has been impressed by him since he became governor of that state.  He was portrayed to me as being young and dynamic, and his youth led me to believe that he wouldn’t subscribe to some of the GOP’s sacred cows that cost them the presidential election in November 2008.

How wrong I was.  And my thoughts seem to be shared by a great many of the great and the good in America’s political scene.  Of course, Rush Limbaugh is an exception but then he is neither great nor good. 

“Insane.” “Childish.” Disaster.” Those were some of the kinder comments from political pundits about Jindal’s response.

His criticism of government spending for emergency economic relief has been widely panned, especially given his state’s receipt of billions in federal assistance after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

And Jindal’s voice and earnest awkward delivery have drawn comparisons to Kenneth Parcell, the geeky page on the NBC comedy 30 Rock.

A  new Facebook group titled Bobby Jindal is Kenneth the Page had already attracted more than 1,800 members by yesterday afternoon.

Jindal spoke from the governor’s mansion in Baton Rouge, and critics pounced on his remarks almost immediately, panning everything from his overly folksy demeanor to his complaint that Obama’s plan to revive the economy was “irresponsible”.

David Brooks, a conservative New York Times columnist who has criticized aspects of the stimulus plan, nonetheless called Jindal’s arguments “insane” and “tone-deaf” given the dire economic challenges the country faces.

“To come up in this moment in history with a stale, ‘Government is the problem, you can’t trust the federal government’ is just a disaster for the Republican Party,” Brooks said on The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer on PBS. “It’s not where the country is, it’s not where the future of the country is.”

Fox News commentator Juan Williams focused on Jindal’s delivery.

“It came off as amateurish, and even the tempo in which he spoke was sing-songy,” Williams said, adding that the content of the speech was “very simplistic and almost childish.”

Penni Pier, a political communication specialist at Iowa’s Wartburg College, said Jindal’s presentation was overly colloquial and his message of less government and more tax cuts was substantively thin.

“It sounded like the same old rhetoric — we had tax cuts the last eight years, and look where it got us,” Pier said. “Jindal was also trying to be so familiar, he lost credibility. Obama is familiar, but at the same time always a statesman.”

Rush Limbaugh defended Jindal on his radio show yesterday, while conceding that Obama had “stylistically” outshined Jindal.

“The people on our side are making a real mistake if they go after Bobby Jindal,” Limbaugh said. “We cannot shun politicians who speak for our beliefs just because we don’t like the way he says it.”

Who is “we” Rush?  You and the mouse in your pocket? And what is this nonsense about “sides”? The issue at stake  here is America. Usually, when a nation is facing a catastrophic crisis, party politics are put to one side until the crisis has been resolved. America, in case you had not realized, is bigger than any one political faction.

Jindal said that the solution to America’s problems lies in not raising taxes and not putting more money and power in the hands of Washington politicians. He argued the way to lead is by empowering the American people.

His way of getting out of the financial crisis and accompanying recession is to strengthen incentives for businesses to invest in new equipment and hire new workers.

But if the banks are not lending, indeed if many of the banks had ceased to exist, a likely scenario without the bailout package, where would businesses get the money to invest in new equipment and hire new workers?

Does he imagine CEOs will stump up the cash from their offshore bank accounts? Here’s hoping they did not invest their millions with Allen Stanford’s bank or his investment companies.

And if Jindal is so keen on empowering the people, why isn’t he revoking Louisiana’s stringent anti-smoking legislation, introduced under his Democratic predecessor?

If he is true to his political philosophy, shouldn’t he allow individual business owners to decide whether they make their premises smoking or non-smoking?  Shouldn’t he be encouraging provisions for people who do enjoy tobacco to be allowed to do so, while at the same time making smoke-free provisions for those who do not?

Poor Bobby, if he only had a brain to think beyond the failed mantra of the Republican Party, to offer something fresh and exciting, a vision that would capture the imagination of the American people.

That is precisely what Obama offered the nation and look where it got him.

[Based on a report by the Associated Press.]