Thread: Say What? Items in the News

Originally Posted by Johanna

This is funny:
A priest tells the congregation that it's OK to shoplift in the recession:

His argument is that supermarkets are rather immoral and ungodly kinds of businesses and that God would love the poor people more than shareholders of the supermarkets who would be the ones losing out...

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...-shoplift.html

And when they get caught and have to pay a fine or put in jail... will he take money out of the Offerings to pay the fine or to support their family?

This is actually a litle old; but, it was just sent to me and OMG... what were the people on when they thought of this concept and what were the people on when it was approved and the poor boy, I know he was not paid nearly enough to in this lame spot!

Read the comments, they are spot on! You are welcome to post your own here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QInmPaJKXvc

See, this is what I get for not feeling well, taking my "holiday at Chez Georgetown" this summer, and not writing and finishing my book! Ugh!!

After being opened for what... 79 years... "Tavern on the Green, one of the most famous sites in New York City and once one of the nation's top grossing restaurants, will close its doors on December 31, 2009" I have Dmitri and Valentina eating there on their first outing! Nooooooooooooooo! Now what shall I do??? Darn it!! (*&*^%$&*(!!
http://www.ireport.com/docs/DOC-375427

I almost posted this under Johanna's Education thread or maybe the Police one ???!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/02/18/...ex.html?hpt=C1

Girl's arrest for doodling raises concerns about zero tolerance




By Stephanie Chen, CNN
STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Alexa Gonzalez, 12, was arrested by NYPD for drawing on her desk Critics of zero tolerance policies say school officials, police have gone too far Zero tolerance policies became more popular after Columbine, security experts say Students in Chicago arrested for food fight; students in L.A. ticketed for tardiness

(CNN) -- There was no profanity, no hate. Just the words, "I love my friends Abby and Faith. Lex was here 2/1/10 " scrawled on the classroom desk with a green marker.

Alexa Gonzalez, an outgoing 12-year-old who likes to dance and draw, expected a lecture or maybe detention for her doodles earlier this month. Instead, the principal of the Junior High School in Forest Hills, New York, called police, and the seventh-grader was taken across the street to the police precinct.

Alexa's hands were cuffed behind her back, and tears gushed as she was escorted from school in front of teachers and -- the worst audience of all for a preadolescent girl -- her classmates.

"They put the handcuffs on me, and I couldn't believe it," Alexa recalled. "I didn't want them to see me being handcuffed, thinking I'm a bad person."

Alexa is no longer facing suspension, according a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education. Still, the case of the doodling preteen is raising concerns about the use of zero tolerance policies in schools.

Critics say schools and police have gone too far, overreacting and using well-intended rules for incidents involving nonviolent offenses such as drawing on desks, writing on other school property or talking back to teachers.

"We are arresting them at younger and younger ages [in cases] that used to be covered with a trip to the principal's office, not sending children to jail," said Emma Jordan-Simpson, executive director of the Children's Defense Fund, a national children's advocacy group.

There aren't any national studies documenting how often minors become involved with police for nonviolent crimes in schools. Tracking the incidents depends on how individual schools keep records. Much of the information remains private, since it involves juveniles.

But one thing is sure: Alexa's case isn't the first in the New York area. One of the first cases to gain national notoriety was that of Chelsea Fraser. In 2007, the 13-year-old wrote "Okay" on her desk, and police handcuffed and arrested her. She was one of several students arrested in the class that day; the others were accused of plastering the walls with stickers.

At schools across the country, police are being asked to step in. In November, a food fight at a middle school in Chicago, Illinois, resulted in the arrests of 25 children, some as young as 11, according to the Chicago Police Department.

The Strategy Center, a California-based civil rights group that tracks zero tolerance policies, found that at least 12,000 tickets were issued to tardy or truant students by Los Angeles Police Department and school security officers in 2008. The tickets tarnished students' records and brought them into the juvenile court system, with fines of up to $250 for repeat offenders.

The Strategy Center opposes the system. "The theory is that if we fine them, then they won't be late again," said Manuel Criollo, lead organizer of the "No to Pre-Prison" campaign at The Strategy Center. "But they just end up not going to school at all."

His group is trying to stop the LAPD and the school district from issuing the tickets. The Los Angeles School District says the policy is designed to reduce absenteeism.

And another California school -- Highland High School in Palmdale -- found that issuing tardiness tickets drastically cut the number of pupils being late for class and helped tone down disruptive behavior. The fifth ticket issued landed a student in juvenile traffic court.

In 1998, New York City took its zero tolerance policies to the next level, placing school security officers under the New York City Police Department. Today, there are nearly 5,000 employees in the NYPD School Safety Division. Most are not police officers, but that number exceeds the total police force in Washington, D.C.

In contrast, there are only about 3,000 counselors in New York City's public school system. Critics of zero tolerance policies say more attention should be paid to social work, counseling and therapy.

"Instead of a graduated discipline approach, we see ... expulsions at the drop of a hat," said Donna Lieberman, an attorney with the New York branch of the American Civil Liberties Union.

"If they have been suspended once, their likelihood of being pushed out of the school increases," she said. "They may end up in jail at some point in their life."

One of Lieberman's clients was in sixth grade when police arrested her in 2007 for doodling with her friend in class. The child, called M.M. in court filings to protect her identity, tried to get tissues to remove the marks, a complaint states.

Lieberman says police subjected M.M. to unlawful search and seizure. A class-action lawsuit, filed in January on behalf of five juveniles, is pending. It maintains that inadequately trained and poorly supervised police personnel are aggressive toward students when no criminal activity is taking place.

Several studies have confirmed that the time an expelled child spends away from school increases the chance that child will drop out and wind up in the criminal justice system, according to a January 2010 study from the Advancement Project, a legal action group.

Alexa Gonzalez missed three days of school because of her arrest. She spent those days throwing up, and it was a challenge to catch up on her homework when she returned to school, she said. Her mother says she had never been in trouble before the doodling incident.

New York attorney Joe Rosenthal, who is representing Alexa, plans to file a lawsuit accusing police and school officials of violating Alexa's constitutional rights. New York City Department of Education officials declined to comment specifically on any possible legal matters.

"Our mission is to make sure that public schools are a safe and supportive environment for all students," said Margie Feinberg, an education department spokeswoman.

Several media outlets have reported that school officials admitted the arrest was a "mistake," but when asked by CNN, Feinberg declined to comment specifically on the incident. She referred CNN to the NYPD.

The NYPD did not return CNN's repeated phone calls and e-mails. It is unknown whether charges will be pressed against Alexa.

Kenneth Trump, a security expert who founded the National School Safety and Security Services consulting firm, said focusing on security is essential to the safety of other students. He said zero tolerance policies can work if "common sense is applied."

Michael Soguero recalls being arrested himself in 2005 when, as principal at Bronx Guild School, he tried to stop an officer from handcuffing one of his students. A charge of assault against him was later dropped. He says police working in schools need specific training on how to work with children.

In Clayton County, Georgia, juvenile court judge Steven Teske is working to reshape zero tolerance policies in schools. He wants the courts to be a last resort. In 2003, he created a program in Clayton County's schools that distinguishes felonies from misdemeanors.

The result? The number of students detained by the school fell by 83 percent, his report found. The number of weapons detected on campus declined by 73 percent.

Last week, after hearing about 12-year-old Alexa's arrest in New York, he wasn't shocked.

"There is zero intelligence when you start applying zero tolerance across the board," he said. "Stupid and ridiculous things start happening."

I was going to post this video clip when I saw it earlier as it was just so funny... a lady texting as she is walking in a mall and not looking where she is going and then BAMB she falls into the fountain! But now... she plans on sue because the tape went viral??? Puh-lease (please).

Originally Posted by rockzmom

I was going to post this video clip when I saw it earlier as it was just so funny... a lady texting as she is walking in a mall and not looking where she is going and then BAMB she falls into the fountain! But now... she plans on sue because the tape went viral??? Puh-lease (please).

"The video is not available in your country". I hate this
Anyway, I've found the original footage on Youtube as well as her interview to ABC News, and my feelings on the subject are mixed. While it was obviously her own fault that she took that dive, I feel pity for her. It was also troubling to see the people in the video just walk by without as much as asking her if she was okay.

Originally Posted by translationsnmru

"The video is not available in your country". I hate this
Anyway, I've found the original footage on Youtube as well as her interview to ABC News, and my feelings on the subject are mixed. While it was obviously her own fault that she took that dive, I feel pity for her. It was also troubling to see the people in the video just walk by without as much as asking her if she was okay.

But part of what she wants to sue for is the embarrassment of the video being shown all over the world. She wants to know how the video got released but the thing is, no one would have known it was her if she had not gone on the news! I agree it is sad that no one went to her aid; but, grrr... in the video grrrr...that you can't see, the reporter makes the point that she gets up by herself and walks, albeit a bit wet, just fine. It is her own fault that she took a dive in the fountain in the first place. The reporter goes on to apologize on behalf of everyone so that she would not have to sue!

i don't blame her, if I had the slightest chance to sue for millions no matter how spurious the cause I would do it - it's the American way to riches.