Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Much at Stake in Stopping Animal Cruelty


By LAURA SCOTT lascott@kcstar.com.

The grand jury indictment of Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick has focused attention on the grisly underground activity of dog-fighting.

The federal charges are a reminder that animal abuse of a horrific nature, even if prohibited by law, goes on all too often. Some people even call it “sport.” It attracts money, drugs, and gambling, all bathed in the blood of animals who have been trained, tortured and abused to get them to go after other dogs until the death.

The Vick charges represent the extreme of animal cruelty. That’s why the details make us squirm uncomfortably. If the charges are true, the ways losing dogs were dispensed with indicate terribly sick individuals, one of whom has been held up as an athletic role model.

Other people copy celebrities. They think it is cool to have a dog that they train (or mistreat) so it will be vicious or frightening or tough. It is a status symbol. Such thinking can create dangerous owners who disregard or are lax about neighbors’ safety.

Children, too, learn from those they admire that cruelty is part of an acceptable culture. Children often are observers at dog fights, for instance. Little imitations of the big money-making operations take place throughout America on the streets of cities, where young people in gangs like to pit dogs at each other.


Abuse of animals is linked to child abuse, domestic violence and elder abuse. Children who observe a parent’s cruelty against an animal or who live in a home where violence is the norm grow up conditioned to that sort of way of treating others. Animal torturers often breed others like them.

Serial killers and violent offenders often were animal torturers when they were young. They graduated to people later.

the photos posted have been picked randomly and do not necessarily represent pictures of Vick or his dogs.

Elder Abuse Cases Expected to Grow With Aging Population

WA,United States By Andrew Binion (Contact)

The police officer had the 84-year-old woman step outside so she could talk without fear of her live-in grandson overhearing what she had to say.

She broke down and started crying and said that she had been menaced for months. She said that her grandson had forced her to write him checks, and he became violent when she refused, court documents said.

A few weeks later, another grandmother reported that her 19-year-old grandson, wanted for deserting the military, had assaulted her during an argument and then threatened to kill her as she called the police, reports said.

......as baby boomers age, more cases of exploitation, violence and neglect of adults and the elderly are expected.

"Any of us, if we have the inability to care for ourselves, can be victims," said Carol Sloan, Adult Protective Services training program manager. "We're going to see more of it."

Statewide there were 13,136 reports of abuse. A total of 10,640 investigations substantiated the reports in 1,381 cases. Almost 70 percent of victims are 60 and older.

Also last year, there were 3,359 reports of financial exploitation of adults, more than any other kind of abuse. In 2001 the state registered 2,641 reports of financial abuse.

"It's not a big increase," Sloan noted. "It's a steady increase."

Although senior citizens can be as vulnerable as children, awareness and laws to protect the elderly lag about 20 years behind child abuse, said Sloan, noting that there are no uniform federal laws standardizing what counts as abuse and at what age to start counting cases of elder abuse.

But most commonly the abuse stems from family members, Sloan said.

State Attorney General Rob McKenna is holding community forums to educate people about protecting personal information. On Aug. 27, McKenna, along with representatives from the Federal Trade Commission and AARP, will hold a meeting at South Kitsap High School starting at 6:30 p.m. to spread the word about avoiding scams and fraud.

Abridged and edited for E.A. read it all here >>

Monday, July 30, 2007

Elder Justice "Gone Awfully Wrong!"

Florence, Alabama Elizabeth S. Hill

I read recently that in 2006 there were almost 500,000 cases of elder abuse reported in domestic settings. If there were this many cases in homes, how many cases were in institutions, and how many abuses were not reported?

It's frightening to even think about it.In the past few years I have become aware of the lack of love and the excess of greed when an old person has Alzheimer's or some other debilitating disease, and can be manipulated.

I witnessed a case when a friend with Alzheimer's had every legal document he had carefully made when he was well reversed and changed during the last six months of his life.

They were changed so that people whom he had not intended to benefit were benefitted from his legacy. There was no one with legal or medical authority who would help him, or who could help him.

Congress needs our encouragement to pass the Elder Justice Act (HR 1783).

All we have to do is call 1-800-928-8084 and say the we want help for the elderly, help for the multitudes who are being physically, sexually, emotionally or psychologically abused. We want help for those being neglected and financially exploited.This act will fund services and training for those who can help the elderly to see that they are treated as they should be treated.

Titled by blog master

State Sen. Ronda Storms Wants To Hold Public Hearings Statewide to Ensure Mistakes Like Those in Courtney Clark's case Are Not Repeated.

By MELANIE AVE, Times Staff Writer

SARASOTA - The downtown headquarters of the Sarasota Family YMCA is in a 10-story Spanish-style building flanked by stately palm trees. A chandelier lights the marble-floored lobby. Valet parking out front is free.

The Sarasota YMCA, which entered the state's foster care business 10 years ago, is now one of the oldest and richest private child welfare agencies in Florida.

Since 1998, its first full year of foster work, the Sarasota YMCA's annual revenue has grown 379 percent, from $19-million to $91-million.

It receives $72-million to care for abused and neglected children in five counties, including Pinellas and Pasco. Last year its CEO, Carl Weinrich, made $254,000, far more than the man who oversees the state's entire child welfare system.

But for all the money, the Sarasota YMCA is faltering in its most basic mission: protecting children. Though its funding per child was the highest among 20 community child care agencies, its overall performance was the worst. In several key categories, including salaries of caseworkers, it ranks at or near the bottom, state records show.

In the last two months, the Sarasota YMCA's shortcomings were revealed in two high-profile cases: a 2-year-old former Pinellas County foster girl, Courtney Clark, who disappeared for nine months, and an 18-month-old Manatee County girl who suffocated under a stove.

"The Sarasota YMCA in the last couple of years has gotten away from being focused on the children," said Andrea Moore, executive director of the advocacy group Florida's Children First.

State Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Brandon, who chairs the Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs, said she wants to hold public hearings statewide to ensure mistakes like those in Courtney Clark's case are not repeated.

Titled and Abridged for E.A. read entire story here >>

Since When Did It Became Acceptable in the Unites States of America to do This ?

Power Of Attorney in Effect given to Baptist Hospital when DCF over rode Dr. Fernandez requests to have his wife back into his care when she was released.






Please click to enlarge Documents

Proxy Papers in effect when Dr. Fernandez was denied access to his wife




Saturday, July 28, 2007

Ben Franklin Spoke About the Future !


Here at E.A. we like to talk about the past and the future, Ben Franklin a great visioner, who would have ever thought the things he envisioned would become commonplace in todays world.

What about the things he envisioned for tommorrow's world could he also been right about those things becoming commonplace in the future?

"... Ben Franklin was more responsible than any one else for creating the modern world .... No one did more too shape the physical/cultural makeup of present day civilization.... Accordingly, he was one of the most influential figure of the millennium...."

- B. FRANKLIN. talks about the future ......

"I wish it were possible... to invent a method of embalming drowned persons, in such a manner that they might be recalled to life at any period, however distant; for having a very ardent desire to see and observe the state of America a hundred years hence, I should prefer to an ordinary death, being immersed with a few friends in a cask of Madeira, until that time, then to be recalled to life by the solar warmth of my dear country! But... in all probability, we live in a century too little advanced, and too near the infancy of science, to see such an art brought in our time to its perfection... "

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN wanted a procedure for stopping and restarting metabolism, but none was then known. Do we live in a century far enough advanced to make biostasis available - to open a future of health to patients who would otherwise lack any choice but dissolution after they have expired?

We can stop metabolism in many ways, but biostasis, to be of use, must be reversible. This leads to a curious situation. Whether we can place patients in biostasis using present techniques depends entirely on whether future techniques will be able to reverse the process. The procedure has two parts, of which we must master only one.
If biostasis can keep a patient unchanged for years, then those future techniques will include sophisticated cell repair systems. We must therefore judge the success of present biostasis procedures in light of the ultimate abilities of future medicine. Before cell repair machines became a clear prospect, those abilities - and thus the requirements for successful biostasis - remained grossly uncertain. Now, the basic requirements seem fairly obvious.

Abridged Read it all here >>

More From Transvision 2007

by Ronald Bailey

Ronald Bailey brings us another report from Transvision 2007 at Reason Online: "The Tuesday evening session was devoted to another sort of speculative revival technology, cryonics.

Presentations were made by three members of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. ... Alcor currently has 850 members with 78 patients who are cryonically suspended. The first talk was by nanotechnologist Ralph Merkle who gave the standard line that cryonics is an experimental technology for life extension. The question is do you want to be in the experimental group or in the control group? ... Alcor has a team that flies to the bedsides of clients whose hearts are about to stop.

Once they do stop, the team begins immediately to try to limit damage to their brains. To do that Alcor technicians pump patients' bodies up with cryoprotectants that prevent the formation of damaging ice crystals. ... Alcor is about to begin experiments with mice to see if they can be cooled and then revived. ...

A Peek at Developing Technologies of the Future


Andrew Rosenson, a doctor who heads up Chicago Heartscan, didn't peer so much into the future, but showed us the results of some remarkable recent advances in medical imaging. Combining various imaging technologies, CT scans with PET scans enable physicians and surgeons to precisely isolate areas of disease within a patient's body. Last year, given my family's history of heart disease, I decided to take advantage of this technology by having my heart scanned by a 64-slice CT scanner. Contrary to my critics' views, I do, in fact, have a heart:

Later in the day, Sirius satellite radio founder, Martine Rothblatt, discussed "Cybernetic Biostasis." The idea is that people should be creating digital mindfiles throughout their lives that could be used to revive them by means of mindware when sufficiently strong artificial intelligence is developed. As Rothblatt explained, mindfiles would record aspects of an individual including mannerisms, personality traits, recollections, feelings, beliefs, attitudes and values. This can be done compiling digital photos and videos, blogs and diaries, the results of psychological testing, and sensecam data. Rothblatt specifically cited the work of information scientist William Sims Bainbridge on personality capture.

To enable the creation of mindfiles, Rothblatt's Terasem Foundation has created the websites, Cyberev.org and Lifenaut.com. Cyberev is short for "cybernetic beingness revival."

The Tuesday evening session was devoted to another sort of speculative revival technology, cryonics. Presentations were made by three members of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation.

Friday, July 27, 2007

TGIF

Thank G-d it's
Friday



Ended up better than Monday


Senator Kohl Provisions in 9/11 Bill Ensure National And Local Emergency Preparedness Plans Account For Needs Of Seniors

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Herb Kohl, Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, today hailed the passage of H.R. 1, Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007 Conference Bill, which included four of his provisions to ensure the needs of seniors are met in national, state, and local emergency preparedness plans.

“These provisions send a strong signal to states and communities engaged in emergency planning that seniors must be a priority and cannot be forgotten or ignored during mass evacuations,” said Chairman Kohl. “We need specific plans, programs, and information for all vulnerable populations facing an emergency or disaster.”

Chairman Kohl worked with Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN), Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) to include the following two provisions:

Title I: Amends the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to ensure that as state, local, and tribal governments develop their mass evacuation plans they include specific procedures to inform the elderly before and during an evacuation. This will assist older individuals and their families in appropriately preparing for an evacuation during an emergency or other disaster.

Title IV: Amends the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 to ensure that the National Exercise Program is designed to address the unique needs of older individuals. The National Exercise Program was originally created to test and evaluate our nation’s level of preparedness and capability to prevent, protect against, respond to, and recover from national disasters. This will keep older individuals on the forefront of national emergency planning.

Chairman Kohl also worked with Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Chairman Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) and Ranking Member Richard C. Shelby (R-AL) to include the follow two provisions:

Title XIV: Ensures that public transportation workers are trained to meet the evacuation needs of seniors in the event of a crisis. The Secretary of Transportation will establish a program to conduct security exercises, which will be scaled to meet the needs of specific transportation systems and must take into account the needs of seniors who utilize those systems. This is particularly important since so many of our seniors utilize public transportation for access to their every day needs. Furthermore, only public transportation has the capacity to move millions of people and provide first responders with critical support in major evacuations of urban areas. This provision has the support of the American Public Health Association.

Title XIV: Requires transportation agencies that receive grant funding in high-risk areas to implement mandatory security plans that include appropriate evacuation and communication measures for the elderly as a component of each agency’s plan.

H.R. 1 passed the Senate last night by a vote of 85-8. It is expected to pass the House of Representatives today, at which time it will be sent to the President’s desk to be signed and become law.

Ashley GlacelPress SecretarySpecial Committee on AgingSenator Herb Kohl, ChairPh: (202) 224-5364 Cell: (202) 340-3299 www.aging.senate.gov

Man Punches Father for Having Dementia

San Jose, Caifornia- Contra Costa Times

A man angry at his 87-year-old father -- who suffers from dementia -- because he wandered away from his residence without telling him punched the elderly man in the face at the Harbor Bay Landing Shopping Center, leaving him with a black eye, police said.

Witnesses told police that the man, 49, also verbally abused and threatened them when they confronted him following the assault on Wednesday.

The elderly man was walking through the center when the suspect sped up in a vehicle, got out and shouted, "What the hell are you doing here?" and punched him, police said.
Investigators said other bruises on the victim's body may have stemmed from other incidents of abuse.

Along with arresting his son, police turned over the older man to Adult Protective Services.

Man Scams Neighboor for $180,000

Salt Lake City, Utah A 62-year-old Salt Lake City man allegedly duped his 66-year-old neighbor out of $180,000 by tricking her into investing in a children's television show that never existed.

The man allegedly had the woman write him checks and sign for bank loans to fund his company, "Globie," which was a business designed to educate children about the planet, court documents state. The alleged fraud occurred in 2004 and 2005.

The man is charged with a second-degree felony count of securities fraud and a third-degree felony count of abuse, neglect or exploitation of an elder adult.

EXPOSES OF CORRUPTION AND BRIBERY


Do things like Abduction and cover ups and corruption and bribes and padding of legal bills against incapacitated elders that are un able to fight back? Elder Finacial Abuse Cases where there is money and real estate involved? Do this things really happen in America? Florida ? New York? California?




New York City Commission to Investigate Alleged Police Corruption, Knapp Commission Report on Police Corruption (1972) (this analyzes how police have been pressured or corrupted to not enforce laws, just as pre-Civil War, they were not allowed to enforce Constitutional rights and Northern states' anti-kidnaping laws even when slavers were kidnaping white women; while not all police are corrupt, those who are not, typically look the other way with respect to corrupt colleagues, so prosecutions are rare)


Keegan, Anne, "Sting in Cook County," Chicago Tribune Magazine, and 136 Reader's Digest 9-16 (June 1990) (cites widespread bribery of judges, the amounts ($50, $100, $200, for volume) and the shunning of the honest lawyer Terry Hake who worked with the FBI in identifying the bribers).


Kelly, John F., and Phillip K. Wearne, Tainting Evidence: Inside the Scandals at the FBI Crime Lab (New York: The Free Press, 1998) (citing rampant falsifications, with whistleblowers punished, and the corrupt ones, promoted)


Lieberman, Jethro K., How The Government Breaks the Law (New York: Stein and Day, 1972) (he has many examples of legislator, police, and judicial lawlessness)


Jurors allegedly threatened in corruption case.....


Slobogin, Christopher, "Testilying: Police Perjury and What To Do About It," 67 U. Colo. L. Rev. 1037 (Fall 1996) ("Police, like people generally, lie in all sorts of contexts for all sorts of reasons. This article has focused on police lying designed to convict individuals the police think are guilty. Strong measures are needed to reduce the powerful incentives to practice such testilying and the reluctance of prosecutors and judges to do anything about it.")


Vipperman, Franklin D., The Deal Makers; The Cesspool; and Hell Hole (Vipperman at Las Vegas Tribune] covers police, judges, and prosecutors framing of innocent people, railroading them into prison, while defense attorneys aid, abet, and cover up. Goal: for all to benefit politically and monetarily)


Woodward, Bob, VEIL: The Secret Wars of the CIA 1981-1987 (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987) (bribery does not take much money, "a comparatively small amount of money could" suffice, p 397. Concern about "anticorruption" action was deemed an obsession, making the person so concerned "a big pain in the ass for the [Reagan] administration," p 339. A Reaganite U.S. Attorney handling Operation Greylord, Dan K. Webb, not surprisingly was later retained by the tobacco lobby, promoting the underlying basis (tobacco-crime link) of the bribery process he had purported to oppose! despite the (tobacco link to drugs and thus to terrorism, supra.)


Ashman, Charles R., The Finest Judges Money Can Buy, And Other Forms of Judicial Pollution (Los Angeles: Nash Publishing, 1973) (that constitutional scholar provides 74 documented cases of corruption, including via bribes, "loans" and prostitutes. Those are the ones who were caught.)


Related Posts: Elder Financial Abuse Isn't such a Bad Crime! It's a Business

Contractor Convicted of Defrauding Elderly Man

MANCHESTER – A local contractor was convicted of scamming a 72-year-old Manchester man of $4,000 and failing to re-roof his house as promised, Attorney General Kelly Ayotte announced yesterday.

After a trial in Hillsborough County Superior Court, the state found George Sideris of Manchester committed an unfair or deceptive business act or practice in violation of the New Hampshire Consumer Protection Act, Ayotte said.

The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit of the Attorney General's office reported that Sideris took the $4,000 as a deposit to buy building materials for the job, then failed to perform the work and never returned the money despite the man's repeated requests to do so.
The victim alleged during testimony at trial that Sideris used "pressure tactics, false promises and outright lies" to induce him to enter into an agreement, according to the Attorney General's office.

The prosecution introduced evidence at the trial that Sideris never obtained a building permit to repair the victim's roof. A call to Sideris' residential listing, seeking comment on the case, was not returned last night.

The Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation Unit was established in 2006 to pursue and prosecute cases of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation statewide.

"It sends a clear message to the community that crimes against seniors, particularly home improvement fraud, will not be tolerated and anyone engaging in such behavior will be prosecuted," Ayotte said in her announcement. "Second, the conviction should encourage other seniors who have been similarly victimized to report the crimes to the police."

Nationally, only one in 14 cases of elder abuse, neglect and financial exploitation are ever reported, Ayotte said.

Contractor fraud remains a priority for the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Bureau, which continues to try to convince state lawmakers to support legislation to better regulate or certify home improvement contractors. Several industry groups have already expanded professional and training standards, seeking to weed out what they say are only a few bad or deceptive contractors.

Contractor Rips Off 88yr Old Lady in Florida Gets Away with it !







How much was Clara down on this , $12,000.00
.
How much was Clara out on this, not only the 7,000.00 but much more because the membrane, applied on the one day he did show up with some seemingly questionable workers with smell of alcohol, and improperly installed the membrane that had to be redone at nearly double the price, because of cost of having covered up rotten plywood that all had to be taken up now, in order to find and replace the rotten, plywood covering.
The contractor also did not bother to get any permits as agreed in the contract.
Bad break for a 88 yrs old!!

When I looked this contractor up, in the local courthouse records , he is one of those guys that has so many complaints filed , that you really don't think one more is going to make any difference! and you walk away in disgust, but what makes this more disgusting is that this is being done to an Elder an an Elder's money is irrepleaceable as most elders have no means of making this up. This should fall under the category of Elder Financial Abuse and be prosecuted accordingly.

Man Out On Bail Beats Father In Law Senseless


Grass Valley, Nevada by Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com

A North San Juan man, out on bail for the charge of using a gun to make threats, is in jail again after allegedly beating his father-in-law with a metal cane while his own small children were nearby.
Michael Biles, 37, is being held without bail at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility after his arrest Tuesday night at his home on the 14000 block of Boquest Drive.
Sheriff's deputies responded to the home after Biles' 6-year-old son called 911 to report his grandfather, Charles Carter, 60, was bleeding from the nose and injured, Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal said Wednesday."The victim was assaulted with a metal-type walking cane," Royal said. "He had been struck repeatedly and had injuries to his head and body.

"When paramedics arrived to treat Carter, Royal said, Biles and his wife Tonya, 35, walked away into the woods with their other son, who is 3.Carter was transported by helicopter to Enloe Medical Center in Chico with serious injuries, Royal said.Carter remained in serious condition Wednesday afternoon, hospital spokeswoman Sharon Cuglietta said.

At the time of his arrest, Michael Biles was out on bail after being jailed on suspicion of using a gun to threaten the lives of two men in April, according to court files.For that alleged crime, the district attorney charged Biles on June 4 with making criminal threats and using a firearm during a fight.

After Biles was released on his own recognizance on June 25, he failed to show up in court July 19 to enter his plea, court records show.Visiting Judge Ersel Edwards postponed issuing an arrest warrant for Biles' failure to appear until a scheduled July 30 hearing for a separate criminal case, in which Biles and his wife were both charged with trespassing and vandalism.

They allegedly destroyed property on the 17000 block of Greenhorn Road on Feb. 24, according to court records.A jury trial in the trespassing case is tentatively scheduled for Aug. 14.Edwards said he would issue an arrest warrant for Biles if he did not appear at the July 30 hearing.Biles is being held without bail at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility and is scheduled for arraignment on the new charges at 8:30 a.m. today.

---------------------------------
comments by stiffler
Will the judges around here get a clue...ever?
These local judges need to be firm in sending a message, to violent offenders particularly. How does one get released on their own recognizance after using a firearm in a fight? What's it going to take to wake these juges up?? From the recent track record (skateboard attack, 5 DUIs), nothing short of a tragic death or twenty is going to resonate with these softies. I'm guessing that for Judge Edwards, having no conscience, sleep must be difficult, hence the horrible decision making. Get a clue, Judge(s)
-----------------------------------------

Scandal of Elderly Abused by Their Families

U.K. AT THE last census, 15,258 people out of the 80,287 living in the district were above the age of 65, which works out as 19 per cent of the population.

However,both the county council and charity Help the Aged say that the true figure is likely to be much higher because there are still ongoing investigations and because a large amount of abuse goes unreported.

Lizzie Jeans, the manager for Help the Aged's elder abuse campaign, said: "More often than not older people will not report abuse or maynot even recognise that they are being abused.

"Many elderly people have low self-esteem and think of themselves as a burden, so when people are being abusive,they often think that they deserve it.

"Recent research that we have carried out suggests that on anational level there maybe 500,000 cases of elder abuse that have gone unreported."

The statistics reveal, quite shockingly, that family members were the main source of abuse....

Of the other cases, four were committed by care home workers, one was from a domestic care agency, one was by a resident of a care home and two were classified as "other".
Most of the abuse also occurred at the elder-ly person's home rather than at care or nursing homes.

Ms Jeans said: "There is a common misconception, due to a number of high-profile cases, that most abuse of elderly people is in care homes and nursing homes and perpetrated by the staff or other residents.

"What these statistics prove, however, is that most abuse is, sadly,intheir own homes and by family members.Researchhas suggestedthat it tends not to be a primary carer, but someone slightly removed, such as an in-law or even a grand-child."

Abridged >>

Senator Kohl Gives States More Power to Regulate Sales & Marketing of Medicare Advantage Plans

Chairman of Aging Committee Delivers on Promise to “Hold Feet to the Fire”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, was joined today by Senators Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in introducing the Accountability and Transparency in Medicare Marketing Act of 2007. The bill would give state insurance commissioners the ability to develop standardized marketing and sales regulations of Medicare Advantage (MA) and Medicare prescription drug plans, and regulate both agents and companies in the marketing and sales of MA and prescription drug plans. If passed, the legislation would enable state insurance commissioners to adequately serve and protect Medicare beneficiaries in conjunction with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Currently, states are largely pre-empted from regulating the marketing of MA and Medicare Part D plans. The marketing guidelines for these plans were established by CMS and have proven to be inadequate. Instead of regulating these abusive marketing practices themselves, state authorities must refer complaints to CMS where it appears little has been done to quickly resolve the issues and prevent future problems.

“The Committee’s investigation into the sales and marketing of Medicare Advantage plans has uncovered questionable practices that border on outright fraud,” said Chairman Kohl. “It is clear that a major disconnect in oversight exists, and it is simply unacceptable to leave our seniors unprotected.”

“Since the Administration is not stepping up to protect seniors from abusive marking practices, it makes sense to authorize state governments to do so,” Senator Dorgan said. “Many state governments have let us know they are very concerned about this problem. They want to act where the Administration has failed to act. I am pleased to co-sponsor legislation that would allow them to protect seniors.”

“A decade ago I helped write a law that put an end to Medicare supplement insurance scams, but today some of the same deceptive practices have resurfaced in the marketing of Medicare Advantage,” said Senator Wyden. “It is time to act to ensure that the promise of health care is no longer used to prey on those who need health care the most.”

The bill is being introduced in response to the Aging Committee’s ongoing investigation of the marketing practices of private Medicare plans and providers, which has uncovered such questionable sales practices as removing seniors from traditional Medicare without their knowledge, signing seniors up for plans they cannot afford, and misleading seniors regarding which physicians and hospitals accept the plan. At a May 16 Aging Committee hearing on the topic, officials representing the state insurance commissions from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, and Georgia described a nationwide pattern of aggressive, and at times deceptive, marketing practices employed by Medicare Advantage sales agents. Executives from three of the companies participating in the voluntary moratorium (Humana Inc., UnitedHealth Group, and WellCare) testified at the hearing that efforts would be made to reform their marketing and sales practice guidelines.

Also in reaction to the Aging Committee hearing, seven insurance companies—which together account for 90 percent of the private fee-for-service (PFFS) Medicare Advantage market—voluntarily agreed to temporarily terminate the marketing and sales of their Medicare private fee-for-service plans to individuals. Abby Block, Director of the Center for Beneficiary Choices at the Centers for Medicare for Medicaid Services (CMS), announced the voluntary moratorium on June 15, saying it will last until such time that the insurers are able to fully comply with the six provisions released earlier this year by CMS as part of new guidelines for 2008.

Specifically, the Accountability and Transparency in Medicare Marketing Act of 2007 would direct the National Association of Insurance Commissioners to establish regulations, set standards for agent conduct, and define prohibited activities with respect to the sales and marketing of MA plans. CMS and the states would then adopt these regulations, allowing both federal and state governments to enforce them. The legislation is comparable to a provision that has been included in the U.S. House of Representatives’ SCHIP package.

Thus far, the bill has received a letter of support from the Medicare Rights Center.
Ashley GlacelPress SecretarySpecial Committee on AgingSenator Herb Kohl, ChairPh: (202) 224-5364 Cell: (202) 340-3299 http://www.aging.senate.gov/

Pair Admits Elder Abuse

Easton,PA BELVIDERE by Tom Quigley tquigley@express-times.com

The judge told Nina Bohuslawsky on Wednesday that as a registered nurse she should have known better.

Bohuslawsky, 36, and her 62-year-old mother, Nadia Bohuslawsky, admitted to their roles in what one Adult Protective Services official described as the worst case of elder abuse he's ever seen.

The former Lopatcong Township residents owned up to the neglect that led to their elderly matriarch's death in exchange for having murder charges in the case dismissed.

Eighty-year-old Dunia Kuczynsky arrived at Warren Hospital in Phillipsburg on May 30, 2006, weighing about 80 pounds, dehydrated, with a broken leg bone protruding through her skin and gangrene, authorities said.

Nina Bohuslawsky, the victim's granddaughter, pleaded guilty to second-degree reckless manslaughter and theft under a plea bargain reached with Warren County Assistant Prosecutor Craig Barto. She faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years.

Nadia Bohuslawsky, the victim's daughter, pleaded guilty to third-degree endangering the welfare of an elderly person and theft. She faces up to five years in state prison.

Both originally faced murder charges and had earlier rejected a plea offer from the Warren County Prosecutor's Office calling for 30-year state prison sentences.

"She was not properly cared for at all," Nina Bohuslawsky admitted to the judge during her plea.
"She sustained a fall and I didn't seek medical attention," she said of her grandmother. Nina Bohuslawsky also admitted her grandmother suffered other injuries.

"The condition (Kuczynsky) was in when she arrived at the hospital was horrific," he said.
Her injuries also included bruises on her left cheek, a broken nose and skin abrasions on her legs and hip.

Abridged and edited for E.A. red all here >>

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Cancer, Longevity, Statins and the ' Ape Diet'

ANDRÉ PICARD PUBLIC HEALTH REPORTER
A customized vegetarian diet can lower cholesterol levels just as effectively as state-of-the-art drugs, according to a new Canadian study.Researchers found that a modernized "ape diet" -- one that is high in fibre, nuts, soy and extracts of leafy greens -- can reduce cholesterol by almost 30 per cent.

By Randall Parker Biomedical

The ape diet had 4 major categories of components.
The key components of the ape diet are plant sterols, found in plant oils and enriched margarines, viscous fibre, found in oats, barley and aubergine, and soy protein and nuts.
The margarines enriched with plant sterols (which compete with cholesterol for absorption) used in the study may have been the commercial brands Take Control, Benecol, and Benecol Light. To up your plant sterol content using natural foods one possibility is pecans with 95 milligrams of plant sterols per 100 grams. However, the level of plant sterols in the margarines is about two orders of magnitude greater (1.7 grams sterols in 14 grams of Take Control) and clinical trials in plant sterols have used about 2 grams per day. Still, the nuts have other heart-healthy benefits.

The researchers claim this diet works because it recreates the kind of diet humans evolved eating.

"We went right back in time to, hypothetically, five million years ago, when the diet would largely be leafy vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds," Dr. Jenkins said.


The results of this study are sufficiently dramatic that JAMA recommends its use before cholesterol-lowering drugs are tried.

In an accompanying editorial, James Anderson, a professor of medicine at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, said the findings have dramatic public-health implications. He suggested that physicians prescribe the "ape diet" to patients before even considering drugs.

This diet is an improvement on the Garden of Eden diet the same researchers developed.
The daily volume of food was about a third of that of the Garden of Eden diet, Jenkins said, adding the people who followed it didn't complain about how much they had to eat but said they couldn't eat any more.

Those who lost weight were asked to, however.
Most of the reports on this study didn't pick up on one particularly interesting result the researchers observed.

Surprisingly, the diet also lowered the levels of C-reactive protein, considered a risk marker for heart disease.

The CRP drop was dramatic.
Equally impressive was a 28 percent drop in C-reactive protein, a substance found in the blood that is a sign of inflammation and possible heart disease. The statin group had a 33 percent drop.
The Scientist has a good recent survey of the many ways chronic inflammation appears to contribute to the development of many diseases. (requires free registration - and I really recommend taking the trouble as they are one of the better science news sites)

Peridontal disease also causes arterial inflammation and increased risk of heart disease.

However, many clinicians were unclear of the cause of elevated CRP levels. A study published earlier this year in the Journal of Periodontology reported that inflammatory effects from periodontal disease, a chronic bacterial infection of the gums, cause oral bacterial byproducts to enter the bloodstream and trigger the liver to make proteins such as CRP that inflame arteries and promote blood clot formation.


Keep your teeth clean and your gums healthy.

Excerpt from Do statins cause cancer or affect longevity?

CONCLUSIONS--Extrapolation of this evidence of carcinogenesis from rodents to humans is an uncertain process. Longer-term clinical trials and careful postmarketing surveillance during the next several decades are needed to determine whether cholesterol-lowering drugs cause cancer in humans. In the meantime, the results of experiments in animals and humans suggest that lipid-lowering drug treatment, especially with the fibrates and statins, should be avoided except in patients at high short-term risk of coronary heart disease.

A Warning From History

UK. writes Drew Clode

The first ever UK-wide elder abuse prevalence study, published last month, drew a lot of eminently sensible thoughts from eminently sensible people.

Not least was care services minister Ivan Lewis' demand that people should feel as outraged by adult abuse as they are by child abuse. Others called for the protection of adults to be placed on the same statutory footing as child protection.

But before this blanket endorsement smothers us, a warning against complacency can be found in the consequences of the lonesome death of Maria Colwell in Sussex in the 1970s.

It's acknowledged now that her murder skewed the then recently created social services departments away from the dynamic family and community resources that their creator, Lord Seebohm, had envisaged. And instead, for a whole variety of perfectly sensible reasons, began to push them towards being almost exclusively child protection agencies.

What started off as an apparent self-defining crusade ended up as witch-hunt, virtually destroying them.

Back to the present, and is there not a danger that the same thing might happen again? With all the best will in the world, might the newly created adult services departments, over time, be led similarly down a narrower and perhaps more defensive, adult protection agency route? Or will they have the space to exploit fully the opportunities their new and wider role has opened up for them?

It isn't necessarily either/or. Nor was it 30 years ago after Maria Colwell's death. But the call to protect and defend can sometimes deafen social care to other, less emotionally strident, tones. It is a strategic challenge that the new adult social services departments will do well to bear in mind over the coming decades.

Drew Clode is the policy and press adviser for the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services and is writing in a personal capacity.

Abridged >>

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Maureen McCormick speaks about the 'Other side of Abuse'

Maureen explains that she was close to her father, Richard, until her mother died. She claims, "Kevin isolated him totally from me, totally took him away. My family is in a huge crisis. We can't see our father any more. We have no contact with him.

Her brother, Michael, recounts, “After Mom passed away, Maureen called and said, 'What do you think about Dad living with Kevin?' And at first I was a little nervous, but we said, 'Look, let's give it a try,' but things started getting really bad, really soon.”

Maureen says her father and Kevin isolated themselves. “I felt like there was a lot of dishonesty,” she says. “They were starting to do a lot of things without telling anyone, like transferring huge amounts of money into Kevin's name. The degree of control that Kevin had is so, so scary.”

“They were putting things on me that — " Maureen begins. “It was like they were turning everything around. It jumped out to me that they're one, that they're just like one person.” Dr. Phil says, “You had noticed that they were kind of dressed alike, sunglasses, kind of almost identical white shirts.” “It's like my father's in a cult, a cult of one,” says Maureen.

"'You did this wrong, you stole, you're a criminal, you're a liar, you're a perjurer.’ And you stood up to it, but I saw you several times, you just kind of — you just got taller. You know, you stood there for a minute, and you seemed to be shrinking around, and all of a sudden you just stood up and said, 'What proof? What crimes? What's this? We all need help. I'll go. Let's go.' And when you pushed for information, did you see what happened every time?

Wild laughter, broad accusations, walk away. You could never have a conversation where you said, 'OK, if I am guilty, articulate my crimes for me.

I'd like to get them here.' 'You'll find out.' 'Well, what were they?' 'Oh, you'll find out.' But never an answer. Always evasion. Hit and retreat, hit and retreat, hit and retreat. Accuse and evade, accuse and evade, accuse and evade. That's what I see on this tape."

---------------------------------------------

Thanks for the anonymous tip on the story: comments by blog master

These are exerpts from the interview because of the on going discussion of elder abuse here on E.A. we printed some relevant comments that follow a pattern by a member of the family that feels victimized , and then sets out to bad mouth other members of the family by the use of broad accusations and slander to discredit them and gain control over the person who is at the center of the power struggle and then use that person to harm others and gain money,attention, power and influence that otherwise they would be un able to get on their own . For the complete transcript, prints and slide show please go to Here >>

Related Posts Worth Reading : Steal An Estate and Narcissist As Slanderer
also see Maureen McCormick's - Fighting Brothers - A Common Denominator

Carol said...
I had almost the same thing as Maureen during the past four years. Mine ended May 17, 2007, when my mother died. I never got to say goodbye.


My brother also was the black sheep of the family. He could never say a kind word about Mom and Dad.

I did go to court and got the money out of his hands and into a bank to handle the trust. Everything went in my favor in court. It will break your heart if you don't get to say goodbye.

Casitas Care Center Nursing Home in Granada Hills Charged with Negligence, Fraud, Alleged Wrongful Death of a Patient Suffering from Dementia

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Makarem & Associates announced today that Casitas Care Center, located in Granada Hills, Calif., has been charged with elder abuse, fraud, negligence and the alleged wrongful death of Mr. Klaus Warme, a 66-year-old resident of the facility who was suffering from debilitating dementia.

The family suit claims that on September 11, 2005, the nursing home caused the death of Mr. Warme by responding too slowly and negligently when during dinner Mr. Warme began choking on some of his food. It is alleged that the nursing home’s account of the incident is fraudulent because their course of action was inconsistent with standard medical emergency procedures and their reported timeline contradicted the timeline recorded by the Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics.

Mr. Warme became a resident of Casitas Care Center in February 2005. Due to his dementia, Mr. Warme required extensive assistance with his daily activities, including direct supervision when eating meals. A symptom of dementia is having a significant appetite, which results in eating excessive amounts of food too rapidly. This symptomatic behavior by Mr. Warme required proper monitoring, of which Casitas was aware.

The nursing home reported that Mr. Warme was served dinner at 5:00 p.m. According to the LA Fire Department, the paramedics were not called until 5:46 p.m. The Warme family lawsuit claims that the staff at Casitas did not discover Mr. Warme until it was too late and that the cause of death was lack of oxygen to his brain, which lasted at least 30 minutes. By the time the paramedics arrived, his condition was critical.

Mr. Warme was taken to Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills where he died two days later on September 13, 2005. He is survived by his wife Marlene Warme and their three children, Jeffrey, Suzanne and Paul Warme, the plaintiffs in the case.

The case, Warme v. Casitas, is scheduled for trial on September 10, 2007 at the Chatsworth Courthouse in Chatsworth, Calif.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Elder Abuse - What to do When Authorities Refuse to Help

Letters to Editor:

An Elder named Ray is suspected of being a victim of elder financial abuse and elder abuse by a family member. Adult services were called by a family member . The Family Services responded by saying that they would not talk to her and would not investigate.

The Victims' family is at a loss as to what to do and who to call now.

History:


Ray and Mary Ruth had ups/downs with their children (7) but the one child that they always depended and relied upon was, Rosemary.

Ray and May Ruth had a close relationship with Rosemary and her family. They went places together and Ray idolized and bent over backwards for his grandson.

When Mary Ruth was diagnosed with cancer, it was Rosemary who was there daily and took them to the doctor and hospitals and surgeries.

Mary Ruth passed away two years ago and Rosemary’s father, Ray became even more dependent on her after the loss of his wife of 58 years.

Rosemary made sure he had food in the house and took him home-cooked meals, did his washing, made sure he was always clean, paid his bills, took him to the doctor and for tests, made sure he took his medications, clean his house and much more.

No help was ever offered by the other siblings for the first year and most did not even visit their dad.

Ray was able to stay in his home, went on daily rides and went out to eat at several local restaurants every day. Ray was always very aware of his finances and assets (he was very well off financially).

Ray spent most of his time with Rosemary and her family and went on most vacations with them.

In June she and her family went on vacation once again because she needed sometime with her family and needed a break from her dad’s dependence on her.

She contacted her siblings and made arrangements for them to look in on her dad while they were on vacation and they did. After she returned she started noticing her dad acted different and confused.

She found out that even though her siblings where checking on him while she was away, one sister, Carole took it upon herself to medicate Ray and took him off some of his medications that she did not think he should take.

She exhibited the (Victimized Child Syndrome )She had written her mother, Mary Ruth that her father had molested her as a child and caused all her life’s problems and made attempts to put her mother on a guilt trip by manipulating her feelings and capitalizing on the mother's natural love and affection for all her children.

Mary Ruth never told her husband Ray of her accusations, and kept them to herself but the sister made copies of her letter and sent it to the rest of the siblings.

Ray’s confusion and health appeared to take a turn for the worse he became violent, unpredictable, afraid to make decisions and his situation became worst day by day as he exhibited all the signs of the progression of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

It all came to a head in the fall of 2006 when the oldest sister was staying with Ray at nights because he was so confused. The sister called our office and told Rosemary that she could not find their dad. She had gone downstairs and when she came back up Ray was gone. Rosemary immediately left and went over. She found her dad hiding behind bushes in a neighbor’s backyard. They convinced Ray to go to the emergency room and took him to the hospital. Rosemary’s concern was her fathers’ health, well being and state-of-mind. They admitted him into the hospital and he was evaluated while under sedation. The copy of the attending doctor’s final evaluation was he had Alzheimer.

Ray would never give any of his family Power-Of-Attorney, Rosemary never asked for it knowing how he felt about it.

So now all the siblings are at the hospital. All of them, but two (2) agreed that Rosemary should be the one to get Guardianship over Ray. However Rosemary is reluctant to do so because she knows how independent her dad is and how he feels about the delegation and the erosion of his rights to govern himself.

But while everyone was debating this subject, Carole, in a surprise move went to Family Services and got temporary Guardianship over her dad.

A hearing was set and the family went in front of the judge two or three days later. The family was now put in a position where they had to prove to the judge that Carole was unfit and was only looking out for her own well being.

What happened next was Carole then made unfounded and slanderous accusations, and allegations of impropriety and accused Rosemary of stealing her dad’s money and that is all the judge heard.

Rosemary had joint accounts with her dad as she had helped with the handling of the of paying the bills. .

The Judge left Carole as temporary emergency guardian.

A month later he was declared by the judge to be competent and needed no further Guardianship.

During that 30 day period, Carole abducted her dad and moved him into her home. The siblings tried to visit, but each time Carole would not leave for them to visit. Any conversation that they tried to have with their dad was recorded by Carole, and the isolation of Ray grew progressively worst with time.

A month later Carole changed all his banking accounts, removed Rosemary from his accounts.

The sister Carole then preceded to have her father Ray sign over the Deed to his home over to her , then she moved her oldest daughter into Ray’s home and in March 2007 she mortgaged the home as collateral for a loan.

The siblings are no longer comfortable visiting with their dad and the few times a visit was made, Carole would not leave them alone or Ray refused to see them.

This past Tuesday, 7/17/2007 one of Ray’s sons’ and Rosemary’s husband went to visit Ray and they were upset at his condition. He looked like death warmed over. His face was sunk in, he was filthy, his pants had feces on them, he was having trouble talking and when shown pictures he made no comment or showed any response to them.

Rosemary’s husband came home and said that something needed to be done; Ray did not look good at all and explained his condition. The following morning Rosemary called Family Services and they refused to investigate.

So what can the family do now? Ray the father has been subject to isolation, undue influence, has been made to sign documents he does not understand and is not being cared for properly.

The family suspects Ray is a victim of abuse,and elder financial abuse and have called for help and the authorities will not do anything.

I want very much to help Rosemary in someway but do not know how and I do not know what to tell her.

Thank you very much for listening and I hope that this Elder (Ray) and his family receive the help that they deserve in their hour of need and during this most difficult time

A Concerned Neighbor

Monday, July 23, 2007

No One to Turn for Help in Case of Abused Child

Sunday, July 22nd 2007

A mother who alleges that her now 16-year-old daughter was influenced to begin an intimate relationship with an older woman more than a year ago is calling on the authorities to investigate what she said is a case of sexual abuse.

The woman said the relationship between her daughter and the older woman started out innocently and continued that way for some time before certain things started happening that caused her to question the nature of the association. According to her, many of the things were distressing and forced her to take action against the older woman.

She said the woman was an educator at a reputable institution and her daughter who attends a city school met her through another educator. Within days of the introduction, she said, the woman became a frequent visitor to her home and presented herself as a mentor to the child. It was for that reason, she said, the girl was allowed to spend time away from the home for long hours with the woman.

Sunday Stabroek contacted the institution and was informed by its head that the educator was no longer employed there. The head declined to say anything on the issue but confirmed that the matter had engaged the institution's attention.

"I can only say that the woman is no longer here and that we were unable to do anything in relation to the case because the young girl in question was not a student at this institution," the head stated.

In a recent interview, the mother who said she had nowhere left to turn but to the media, revealed that the educator had been charged with assaulting her during a confrontation. She said when her daughter did not return home after lessons one day, she began searching for her, and found her standing on the road with the older woman.

According to her, it was hard to stay calm on seeing them together and she challenged the woman verbally, which led to her being physically assaulted.

Before the assault, the mother said, she had visited every authority possible for help and was turned away. The police did not know what to charge the woman with; a welfare officer had no solutions while friends and family urged her to pray.

It was in December 2006, she said, that she realized that the woman was involved in a physically intimate relationship with her daughter. The mother produced a stack of love letters, postcards and poems the woman wrote to her daughter professing deep feelings. She said the letters started coming through the mail in September 2006, but the girl would only say that a friend was sending them. She tried, but could not get the girl to say who the friend was.

"I wanted to know more than anything who was sending the letters because the language was very deep and the thoughts were well crafted. I had trouble believing it was a boy her age but she would not tell me who it was until I found a signed letter with the woman's name on it," the mother said.

The family was celebrating Christmas at the time, but that revelation brought everything to an abrupt halt, according to her. She said a complaint was immediately lodged at a police station in the area since the girl was below the age of consent and was still a minor. But the police turned her away saying they were not in a position to do anything.

The woman said she showed them the box full of information she had that clearly established the nature of the relationship between her daughter and the woman, to no avail.

She said she allowed the Christmas season festivities to pass and visited a welfare officer in January 2006 to complain about the woman since she had stopped her daughter from communicating with her but they were still in touch. She said the welfare officer also offered no assistance and asked her to try other places. She then went back the police but got the same response.

The woman said she then visited the institution where the woman worked and complained to her superiors. Though they listened to her and empathised, she said, they also could do nothing and she left not knowing what to do.

According to her, it became very clear after a while that she was going to have to protect her daughter on her own, so she sent the woman a lawyer's letter instructing her to stay away from her child. The woman responded by a lawyer's letter also, in which she denied having a relationship with the girl and stating that she had already withdrawn from the girl's company. Her lawyer's letter instructed the mother to talk to her daughter and to get the child to stay away from her.

But the relationship continued. The mother said her daughter went home late one night and the woman was with her. When she confronted her about still hanging around the girl, she said, the woman verbally abused her.

"She told me that my daughter was going to turn 16 very soon and that she would be able to consent to a relationship regardless of whether I agreed to it or not. That woman looked me in my face and said that. I chased her from my home but she left laughing," the mother related.

What happened next was something she said the family did not see coming. On her sixteenth birthday, the girl stayed out all night. She said when her daughter returned home the next day, she offered no explanation as to where and with whom she had been. She said the girl spent two more nights away from home shortly after that and when she confronted her about it, the child said that she had to work out a few things with the older woman.

The mother said her daughter opened up about how the relationship was stressing her out and said that she had to clear up a few things. According to her, the girl seemed ready to move on with her life, but not long after she went missing from home. She said she got a call one night from the woman urging her to go and pick up the girl at a bus park. The whole family turned up and found the child waiting.

The mother said her daughter was clearly taken advantage of by someone who was supposed to have been a trusted elder and according to her that amounted to sexual abuse. She said no one else seems to think so, because most of the people she went to with her complaints told her there was no law under which the woman could be charged.

She said the authorities should investigate the matter because there might be other young girls out there being preyed upon by older women.

"I never would have thought that my child would have been molested by another woman. You think of men and you warn your girls about older men and older boys but there are other predators out there and they wear skirts and dresses," she said.

The mother said her daughter used to perform well at school but since meeting the woman her grades had dropped. She added that no mother should have to go through what she had endured so far and felt that if people out there knew what happened in her family they might be more aware of what is happening in the society.

She said that as a parent, she was hurting and deeply upset and as a mother, she felt "lost, lonely and defeated." She pointed out though that her husband had been at her side and had been very supportive, in addition to an older son.

-------------------------------------------------

The numbers of victims of abuse are swelling daily, unfortunately we live in a society that protects the predators and not the victims, I am sorry there was nothing you could do outside of taking the law into your own hands to protect your daughter.

Your child who has lost her innocence and will neve be the same, your family will never be the same , we all share the same frustration with you, the pain and also the shoulder shrugs that you received from the people who are supposed to protect you.

We all have lost mothers, fathers, children to perpetrators who in your own words have left "she left laughing," .

The words of Indigo Star, a victim of abuse when she wrote in the post under the header Our Legal System - A Victim's Perspective - come to mind.

"The perpetrator then gets the added thrill of hearing this grueling and
terrifying testimony of how deeply they have harmed someone and rather than
instilling remorse, it gives them a sick sense of power and satisfaction. Many
choose to challenge it as a further way of tormenting and terrorizing their
victims."

We will not be silenced the whole world will know how we treat our children, our elderly our infirm, maybe one day our leaders will be shamed into action and others will be spared the grief that you and I and so many others who have lost loved ones to indifference, indolence and negligence feel.

The Single Mothers and Children...are Used to the Indifference of the Authorities

J. Pat Carter/Associated Press New York Times

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., July 16 — The single mothers and children who fill most of the apartments at Dunbar Village — a housing project on the poor, black, north side of this city — are used to nightly gunfire. They are used to theft, assault, murder and the indifference of federal and local authorities.

Citoya Greenwood has asked officials to take action at Dunbar Village, the site of the attack, where she lives with her daughter, Joya.

After dark on June 18, the police say, as many as 10 armed assailants repeatedly raped a Haitian immigrant in her apartment at Dunbar Village and then went further, forcing her to perform oral sex on her 12-year-old son. They took cellphone pictures of their acts. They burned the woman’s skin and the boy’s eyes with cleaning fluid, forced them to lie naked together in the bathtub, hit them with a broom and a gun and threatened to set them on fire.

Neighbors did not respond to her screams, and no one called the police. The victims ended up walking a mile to the nearest hospital afterward.

[On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Avion Lawson, 14; Jakaris Taylor, 15; and Nathan Walker, 16, on charges in connection with the case that include eight counts of sexual battery by multiple perpetrators, two counts of kidnapping and one count of promoting sexual performance by a child. The three teenagers, who will be tried as adults, face life in prison if convicted.]

The police have said that Mr. Lawson’s DNA was found in a condom at the crime scene.

The people of Dunbar Village are petrified, furious and doubtful that even such a savage crime will bring about change. West Palm Beach — “a city of unsurpassed beauty,” its Web site says — has eagerly permitted luxury condominiums and revitalized neighborhoods for the rich and middle class. But the north side, where steady violence has pushed up the city’s crime rate, continues to languish.

“They keep promising, promising, promising,” said Citoya Greenwood, who lives four doors down from the attack victims, who have since moved away. “Nothing is getting done.”

Ms. Greenwood, 33, is one of the few Dunbar Village residents speaking openly about the attacks. Others agreed to be interviewed but would not give their names, fearing consequences. The police said many had shrunk away from their questions, a longstanding problem in the neighborhood.

On Monday, Ms. Greenwood attended a city meeting where she implored the mayor and commissioners not to forget what happened.

“Just stop by and see what goes on there,” she said, “and you’ll see how I have to live and how my daughter has to live every day.”

Laurel Robinson, executive director of the West Palm Beach Housing Authority, said that even before the attack, the agency had decided to allow only a single entrance for cars at Dunbar Village and to install a “panoramic security camera” with a direct feed to the police department. The camera will allow the police to monitor most of the 17-acre property, Ms. Robinson said.

Cars will need an electronic device to open the gate at night, she said, but there is no way to stop people from entering on foot. As dismal as the conditions are at Dunbar Village, she said, more than 700 families are on a waiting list for housing there and at four other projects in West Palm Beach.

Mayor Lois Frankel said improving Dunbar Village and the surrounding neighborhood was “high on my radar screen,” ideally by replacing the complex with mixed-income housing. But Ms. Frankel said the city had already tried to address problems there, adding, “It would not be accurate to say that these people live in an enclave of neglect.”

The housing authority is financed by the federal government, and has repeatedly failed to win a federal grant that would have allowed the demolition of Dunbar Village and relocation of its 300 residents. Four years ago, Congress eliminated $165,000 a year that paid for extra policing at the city’s housing projects as a part of a national cutback in housing money.

"That’s going to be scarred in my mind forever,” the neighbor said, her voice rising, before driving off with her daughter. “I could have never, ever believed that would happen six doors down from me.”

Outside another unit, Calvin Jones, 71, said he would leave with his 13-year-old granddaughter this weekend. They came to Dunbar Village from Gulfport, Miss., after Hurricane Katrina, Mr. Jones said, and now they were going back — though with no home.

"If you knew that happened,” he asked, “would you stay here?”

Abridged,Titled and Edited for E.A. Read entire article here >>

-----------------------------

At he expense of sounding like a broken record. When are we going to stop protecting the abusers and stop predator from walking the streets, how many more victims before we stop protecting the predators and protect the victims.

When are we going to start to get tough on child molesters, elder abusers and their enablers in government?

How many have to die or become incapacitated from their injuries? How many is enough?

Help! My Mother is Losing Her Will to Live !

Hello, Ray: Revised 7-23-2007

I just found your group. My abuse is at the hands of the system. Isolation of my 86 yrs old mother for over a year, taken by the Office on Aging.

Collusion with assisted living owner, court appointed attorney, Adult Protective Services, and the judge. About money, of course!

I have learned from others that the court appointed attorney has a bad reputation. I had already learned myself how bad she was, not looking out for my mother's best interest. Mother is losing her will to live, "I just want to die, just let me die!"

I hope you have other contacts in Maryland, specifically Howard County or Ellicott City, MD. Also helpful - Montgomery and Carroll Counties. Anyone else that may be having issues with the system taking over their elderly parents, isolating them from family and taking the estates.
Thank you, in advance, for your help.

Barbara Morris

--------------------------------

Dear Barbara

I know how you must feel , my mother Clara a widow with the foresight to prepare a will a Trust , Trustee and advance directives to govern in these exact circumstances . On July 1st 2007 a Guardian was chosen in spite of my mother being cared for 24/7 by the best care available, her bills are all paid and she is very well taken care of.

At the hearing where the attorney was chosen as my mother's guardian, there was no advance notice, no written notification and no chance for the family to prepare in advance or to have an attorney to represent the family present.

It is indeed scary that my mother Clara can have her wishes overruled without ever being heard or considered while the funds and permission necessary to care for are her placed in someone else's hands! Someone who might not pay the meager salary paid her caregivers which will result of my mother being forced out her home and into a nursing home. A place she doesn't want to go and she has made it clear that she wants to stay in familiar surroundings and should be able to stay in her home and live out her days free of un necesary and costly third party intervention.

Those of us relying on living wills had best beware.

Please read When did this become acceptable behavior in the United States of America?

Comments From Readers : This Stuff Is So Wrong!


Anonymous said...

Darned,..this stuff is happening to families is so wrong,..I feel sorry for the woman,..and I am seeing that she is reaching out for your help.

Sad that people are so greedy,..sad that we don't see the warning signs before this crap happens!
In your case Ray, it was "writing on the wall",..but you couldn't imagine such evil in your brother,. you have a way of only seeing the good in people. In a way that is a good thing,..in another, it certainly was not.

I have always been able to read people , I started to read into people for my own protection, and I haven't had any really bad problems with anyone. I saw the problem coming down the line for you ,..but you had to find out for yourself.

----------------------------------------------

Yes find out for myself I did, you were right a lot of people warned me, and I wrote it off , even when he would visit late at night and stay up all night going through the file cabinets gathering account numbers, information he could use later, to carry out his plans .

And I still did not read the 'writing on the wall'

After he took Clara , and alarms bells went off, even then we would say, "He is her son, he is not going to let anything Bad happen to her!"

Surprise, Surprise, Surprise not 3 months went by before Clara was totally incapacitated and fighting for her life in a string of hospitals and nursing homes.
This totally devastated A.J. Fernandez, Clara's husband of 58 years , who died shortly thereafter from the stress off the situation.

If I Were a Ruthless S.O.B


by Tamar Yonah

They’re not stupid and they’re not crazy. Our leaders today have a reason for their lousy leadership. And it all has to do with money and power. It’s been like this throughout the ages. Nothing has changed and we are not seeing anything new under the sun.
The world is not always what we have been brought up to view it as.

As a child, the thought of becoming a Hollywood actor, a policeman or a prize fighter might have been glamorous, but the real picture was only shown to us once we entered that world.
Becoming a policeman didn’t turn out to be the 'upholding of the law' and having integrity. You found out who you could enforce the rule of law to, and who to leave alone....

Vying to be the best in boxing or other sports didn’t always go as planned, especially when you were told to take a dive, because that’s what ‘scar-faced Vinney’ wanted.

The world is run by people who are ambitious, thick skinned and love having power. Most people abuse this power. Sadly, this is happening to most all of us around the world, whether in the USA or in Israel. Let me show you how people corrupt and manipulate others.

This is what I would do if I were a ruthless S.O.B.

I would make sure I rubbed elbows with the 'right' people. I would get to know them, offer to 'help them' in any way, I could, and even come through on that offer. I'd make big contributions to political campaigns, - both the republican and the democratic candidates, this, in order to cover all bases. No matter who the citizens voted for, democrat or republican, I would own them both. The people would THINK they chose who they wanted, but in reality, they both work for me.

I'd have a grand party at my residence. At this party, I would invite these new friends and business acquaintances of mine, like the Governor, senators, mayor, judges, district attorneys, Police chief, media people, the hottest musicians, some other celebrities, in short, all the 'elite' of the area and out of area.

There would be lots and lots of booze, and maybe some other mind altering substances that celebs use.At this party, I would also make sure that I had some other guests. They'd be female. Well, mostly female. They'd be beautiful, and what's more important, they'd be for hire. Get my drift?

I would instruct these 'hired' guests of mine to get them good and drunk, and to 'please' my guests any way they would want to be 'pleased'. I would have the premises at my house equipped with many tiny cameras, video-ing all the action. I would keep these videos for future need, i.e. twisting arms, blackmailing.

If I ever found myself in legal proceedings or any court cases against me, I would ask the judges, district attorney, whoever, to find a way to drop the case, or lose evidence, -whatever it takes to get the charges dropped, or the case thrown
out. If they didn't comply, I would show them the videos I have and ask them if they would want it to get out, and their career ended.

This by the way happens in 'real life' and there have been cases of judges being bribed, the courts 'losing evidence', or thugs threatening jury members or witnesses to a case. In the case of law and enforcement, there are politicians who have the power to make a law in-active, by stating that there is 'no public interest' in enacting or pursuing a case.

Edited for E.A.

Man tries to Snuff His Mother Out


ST. LOUIS COUNTY — A man said to be upset with his elderly mother and her worsening health is accused of punching her and holding a pillow over the face of the 88-year-old woman Tuesday night at the family's north St. Louis County apartment.

John R. Noble, 61, who lives in the 100 block of Shepley Drive, near the Glasgow Village area, with his mother and sister, was charged Wednesday with first-degree elder abuse, a Class A felony, according to the charges.Helen L. Noble, who suffers from Alzheimer's and had returned home from hospice care Saturday, was taken to a hospital with body bruises and cuts to her face, county police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said. Police said John Noble admitted that he had lost his temper and attacked his mother but could not explain why, other than he had drunk some beer that night.

"I guess he was just frustrated about having to take care of her," Panus said. "He was just angry."As John Noble was preparing his mother for bed, police charged, he punched her three times in the back, then held a pillow over her face.Helen Noble's daughter, Patricia Sprick, stopped her brother from suffocating their mother, according to court documents, and called police.

Patricia Sprick and John Noble had been caring for their mother since she returned from hospice, authorities said.No one from the Noble home could be reached for comment. John Noble told police he loved his mother and had taken care of her for years, according to the arrest warrant.poconnell@post-dispatch.com 314-863-2821

Sunday, July 22, 2007

Les Grandes Médiévales d’Andilly


Each Year From May to June the Festival of Andilly transforms the modern world into mediaval times , a time capsule where a magical transformation occurs.

A human adventure out of the ordinary , Andilly Loisirs had for simple objective, with its creation in 1982, to propose small village fêtes and distractions with the inhabitants of the commune.

The first medieval festival launched in 1996 accelerated the rate/rhythm of a human adventure in many exceptional connections and the Medieval theme became “Large”, in terms of human mobilization on all levels, creative capacity, frequentation by the public and notoriety.


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Each day, 12 hours of shows in the forest presented by more than 250 artists and a thousand of observers: equestrian tournaments, erudite combat, raptors, circus, dogs and still grinds… Especially don’t miss the night show.

Visit Geneva4you for exact dates and directions to this amazing event.