GINA COBB

One Year Ago Today on GINA COBB: After Virginia Tech, How to Prevent the Next Mass Killing (Updated)

Originally published on April 17, 2007:  After Virginia Tech, How to Prevent the Next Mass Killing

Leading Class Action Lawyer Sentenced to Two Years in Prison

Noteworthy:  A big, big fall for a plaintiffs' class-action lawyer who was once seemingly unstoppable.

Clearer Picture of Michelle Smith

By DemocracyRules

FOUND

14 yr old missing:

See Gina's description below.

Authorities are no longer investigating the kidnapping of a Garden City girl, after the report turned out to be false.

A 12-year-old girl initially told Garden City police that she and her cousin, 14, had been picked up by three men driving a small black car at Baker and Bay streets Sunday afternoon.

The girl said she had been assaulted by the men but was able to escape, while the 14-year-old remained missing.

The report was deemed unfounded Monday, Garden City officials said.

“The entire story was fabricated,” said Capt. Al Jelinski, criminal investigation division commander with Garden City police. “We’re happy there was no kidnapping, but the whole thing is very frustrating.”

Abducted Teen Alert

Michelle Smith

GARDEN CITY, Ga. —  Authorities in Savannah issued an abduction alert Monday for a 14-year-old girl they believe was taken by three males.

Michelle Smith has not been seen since she and another girl were forced into a black car around 4 p.m. Sunday, a Garden City police detective said.

The other girl, a 12-year-old, told police they were driven into Savannah and that she was sexually assaulted but managed to get out of the car and run away. The 12-year-old said Smith was also able to get out but the suspects chased her.

Smith hasn't been heard from since, police said.

Police believe Smith and the suspects may still be in the Savannah area.

Floral Baskets Laid before Kim Il Sung's Statues

Via DemocracyRules

Pyongyang, February 7 (North Korean News Agency) -- Floral baskets were laid before the statues of President Kim Il Sung Thursday, the lunar New Year's Day.
    An endless stream of servicepersons, working people, school youth and children and overseas compatriots visited his statues in Pyongyang and different areas of the country.
    Floral baskets were laid before his statue on Mansu Hill.
    Seen before the statue was a floral basket sent by General Secretary Kim Jong Il.
    Floral baskets were placed before the statue in the name of the party and armed forces organs, ministries, national institutions, KPA units, organs, enterprises, factories, farms and schools at all levels in Pyongyang, the Pyongyang mission of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front, etc.
    Written on the ribbons of the floral baskets were letters "The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Will Live Forever," "The Great Leader Comrade Kim Il Sung Will Always Be with Us," etc.
    The crowds paid homage to the President in humble reverence.

Van Der Sloot Tells How Holloway Died

By DemocracyRules

Van der Sloot: "I know what happened to that girl..."

Van Der Sloot on Tape

"We're on the beach... suddenly, she wasn't moving any more...[She] convulsed 'like a movie,' she was shaking 'a lot.'"

Friend: "Did you try CPR on her?"

Van der Sloot: "Of course, I tried everything, I tried to shake her. I was shaking the bitch. I was like, 'What is wrong with you man?' I almost wanted to cry. Why does this s*** have to happen to me?"

Van der Sloot called a friend to help dispose of the body: "And I told him, 'Well, this is what happened; come, come, come, come help me. And please don't call the police.' He says, 'No, I won't call the police. I'm coming to you now.'"

Van der Sloot said the friend took her out in a boat and dumped Holloway into the ocean.  She may or may not have actually been dead.

Van der Sloot: "I didn't even feel bad about it, I didn't lose a night of sleep over it. I thought, 'I have to go on.'"

Comment

This description is consistent with the theory that while she was alone with van der Sloot, Holloway was partly or completely unconscious, and vomited from excessive alcohol intake. If this  happened while she was lying on her back, she could have choked on the vomitus. This could have been precipitated or exacerbated by the cyclic pressure on the abdomen and stomach during intercourse.

Immediate medical attention may have saved her life, and she may have been breathing at least minimally when she was thrown overboard.  CPR probably was not done, since one of the steps in CPR is to check the airway and clear it of obstructions.  Ambulance paramedics are trained to deal with this type of throat obstruction and clear the airway.  This is done by physical removal of the vomitus from the throat.  In some cases, doctors cut a hole in the trachea at the base of the throat.  Once even a partial airway is established, forced respiration and oxygen can be started, as well as heart massage and supplemental medications. 

Shaking the person may make things worse by moving the obstruction deeper into the airway.

This happened close to hotels.  Many of those who work in hotels, and who are guests there have training that might have saved her life, including on or off duty lifeguards, police, paramedics, nurses, doctors, military medics, or anyone trained in CPR or first aid.

Monday at 9:30 p.m. ET, ABC News 90-minute special edition of 20/20: Natalee Holloway.

 

New Video in Natalie Holloway Case Shows Alleged Confession of Van der Sloot

DemocracyRules brought you the news on Saturday of a break in the disappearance of American student Natalie Holloway ("What Really Happened to Natalie Holloway"), and now the videotaped evidence he referred to has been released.

As reported at Fox News, hidden camera footage broadcast in the Netherlands on Sunday shows Dutch student Joran van der Sloot saying he was with Natalee Holloway when she died on a beach in Aruba, and that he asked a friend to dispose of her body at sea.

What Really Happened to Natalie Holloway

By DemocracyRules

Finally this case is nearing clarity, with new videotaped evidence about to be released.  Recall that Natalie was in Aruba with a chaperon and a number of other girls/young women celebrating their graduation.  In the days leading up to her disappearance, she was drinking heavily, especially for a novice drinker.

Young people often have difficulty managing their alcohol use at first.  They do not fully appreciate the effects of this very dangerously potent drug.  Often they drink too fast and too much, lapsing into heavy intoxication before they know it.  Joran van der Sloot said he and Holloway drank heavily and rapidly that night.

What happened next seems to have developed from sexual opportunism and alcohol toxicosis.   Alcohol poisoning is not rare, and young people drinking too much hard liquor too fast are particularly prone to it.  As the symptoms appear, the person begins to vomit and have diarrhea, as their system tries to purge the body of the alcohol.  Most people recover with only a terrible hangover.  However, if the blood alcohol volume rises very quickly, the vomiting may start too late, and unconsciousness and death may occur.  If the unconscious person is placed on their back, they can vomit while they are unconscious, and aspirate (inhale) the vomit.  They can die from drowning.

Van der Sloot has described accompanying Holloway to a secluded beach, where it seems likely he tried to seduce her, but she would have been far too intoxicated to give any informed consent.  Lying on her back, partly or fully unconscious, with a full stomach, any vomiting could have led to aspiration.  Blockage of the airway produces rapid death, and the alcohol-induced confusion and loss of voluntary muscle control can accelerate this process.

If that is what happened, and Natalie died suddenly, it would leave van der Sloot in drunken panic and confusion.  In spite of his own state of intoxication, he could have been charged with  manslaughter and rape. 

In the videotape about to be released, we are expecting to hear van der Sloot saying that Natalie died suddenly.  He got someone to help him dispose of her body in the ocean, and he concocted an improbable story about her asking to be left alone on the beach.

UN: Climate Change May Cost $20 Trillion

Or then again, maybe not.

Drunken Moose Terrorizes Family

Via DemocracyRules

From AftenPosten First published: 24 Nov 2005

A Swedish family is being plagued by a fairly common Norwegian problem, the drunken moose.  Laila von Scheele no longer dares let her children out of the house, for fear of an unfortunate encounter with the plastered visitor that frequents their garden.

Related stories:

Drunken moose alert in southern Norway - 29.11.2002

Angry moose chases joggers - 08.11.2005

Moose attacked moose statue - 17.10.2005

Moose rings twice - 04.03.2005

Moose attacks laundry rack - 20.12.2004

Moose breaks into grocery store - 12.08.2004

'Dead' moose attacked hunter - 16.10.2003

Flying moose lands on car's roof - 24.02.2003

Hungry moose head to town - 10.01.2003

Moose move proves fatal - 25.09.200

"I am terrified. It can be dangerous when it's drunk," von Scheele told Swedish newspaper Expressen.

The last five nights in a row the same moose has entered their property in Ekerö, west of Stockholm. It helps itself to the fallen fruit from the family's ten apple trees.

As frequently is the case in Norway, the decomposing fruit have begun to ferment, and the result is a tipsy moose. The animal eats all it can, stumbles around the yard and finally falls asleep.

"It stays there until sunrise," von Scheele said.

The family has tried in vain to frighten the animal off, but so far has instead been forced to stay indoors.

"I have three children, a cat, a grown dog and six puppies. I don't want any of them to be trampled or injured by the moose," von Scheele told the paper.

Dog Robs Gas Station

Via DemocracyRules
From Norway's Aftenposten, First published: 30 May 2003

A hungry bull terrier with a sweet tooth left his home to make a night raid on a gas station. The Statoil outlet's security cameras recorded the dog's stealthy hunt for his favorite type of chocolate, and a security guard busted the pooch without incident, newspaper Adressavisen reports.

Conan arrives around dawn, looking for something to satisfy his habit. PHOTO: Adresseavisen Conan makes a thorough search - he won't settle for just anything. PHOTO: Adresseavisen Is that the chocolate covered rice crisp? PHOTO: Adresseavisen

Terrier Conan, aged 7, ended up behind bars and according to his owner the dog is a repeat offender.

"He is incredibly fond of food in general and sweets in particular. He has run off a few times before, and he always heads for food stores," owner Liss-Hege Jeremiassen told Adresseavisen.

Conan snuck out the door Wednesday night and headed straight for only place open, a nearby Statoil station. The cameras picked him up sniffing around the candy shelves, poking his nose into the containers of sweets sold by loose weight, and snubbing all of these treats in search of his personal favorite, chocolate covered rice crisp. Here he stopped and devoured the contents of the container.

"When he was finished he let out this enormous burp," said Elisabeth Roel, who had the night shift at the station.

She tried to chase Conan out but the dog growled at this attempt to interrupt his chocolate raid. Roel then called the police, who turned the job over to Falken security.

"He's really a nice dog, but he doesn't have looks on his side. He spent the night next to a pit bull, but that went well. He's calm and friendly," said security guard Otto Olsen, who apprehended the hound.

Roel said she wouldn't have been worried if she had recognized Conan, but since he had escaped without his collar, she wasn't sure and wasn't about to take chances.

Tzipi Livni -- Dangerous Person

By DemocracyRules

Tzipi Livni is Israel's Vice Prime Minister, and Minister of Foreign Affairs (Condi's counterpart).  So Ms Magazine refused to have her picture in their magazine, even as an advertisement about Israeli political women.  Honestly, she doesn't look very scary to me.  Neither do her policies.

How to Control Corruption

By DemocracyRules

[Redder means higher corruption, greener means lower corruption]

Thousands of researchers and analysts study corruption, but few of their findings ever reach the public, so I’m going to lay some of it out right here. 

Politicians discuss ‘rooting out’ corruption with no sense of how to do it.  Corruption is not abnormal, honesty is abnormal.  Research shows that most of us will cheat if we go unmonitored and unpenalized. 

However corruption does awesome damage to social and political structures.  Each year trillions are wasted on corruption, but social justice is also denied to billions of people. Corrupt bureaucratic systems do not work as intended, and the undeserving get rewarded. 

Behavioral research shows us some ways to fix it.  First, a general principle from criminology is that it is better to monitor closely, and punish and reward mildly.  The opposite approach is more common, where crime is rarely detected, but the punishments are huge.  For example Turkey once had the death penalty for smoking.

Here is how tobacco control experts ‘sting out’ corruption.  Gas stations and convenience stores sell cigarettes, and they are prone to sell to minors, especially if they are near high schools.  Delaying tobacco use onset by even six months has a significant impact on long-term health outcomes. 

Enforcement people work in pairs, with an underage teenager doing the ‘buy’ and a tobacco control expert recording the incident.  Ideally, a ticket is issued immediately to the retailer with a small penalty attached.  It works like a parking ticket –- pay the ticket right away or appear in court if desired.  That retailer will be stung again not long after, this time with a slightly higher fine.  After a certain number of tickets, the retailer would have a higher penalty, like losing their city business license for a month.  The goal is not to harass or oppress the retailer, the goal is to encourage them to abide by the law.

The frequent surveillance, low penalty model is well suited for corruption.  The idea is to finance the program from the revenue from fines, and as corruption declines, enforcement can also decline. This system can be used for customs agents, police, jail guards, and any bureaucracy where corruption is a problem.  Enforce diligently and fine frequently but lightly with escalating penalties for repeat offenses.  Research shows this can work, it’s self-funding and it’s conceptually simple. 

The Top 10 Stupid Criminals of 2007

Another 2007 retrospective for your amusement:  The Top 10 Stupid Criminals of 2007

One Man Responsible for Both Colorado Shootings

One vengeful man was responsible for both of the two church-related shootings in Colorado on Sunday that killed four innocent youths and left five people wounded.