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06 Feb 2012 20:03

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U.S.: Amid molestation scandals, parents keep Miramonte Elementary students home

  • 73% of Miramonte students showed up Monday source
  • » And parents were protesting outside: Roughly three dozen parents and supporters protested outside the L.A.-area school Monday, which has been rocked by two shocking but unrelated allegations of sexual molestation. The first case, involving a former teacher accused of doing unspeakable things to his students (note: trigger warning), was shocking enough; the second case, involving a teacher active until last week, only worsened things, as the allegations against him came out only as a result of the first case. The initial allegations did not lead to parents keeping their children home en masse (as the school had over 90 percent attendance throughout last week), but the second case, however, did. Low attendance hurts the school’s funding, so this hurt financially, but the school will also close Tuesday and Wednesday for emergency staff meetings, so the pain could go even deeper for the school. And things might go deeper: A third allegation at a different school in the region led to the arrest of a janitor.

03 Feb 2012 16:31

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U.S.: Second teacher accused of molestation at Los Angeles-area school

  • Monday Los Angeles’ Miramonte Elementary School was cast under a pall after unspeakable allegations against one of its third-grade teachers, Mark Berndt, surfaced. We covered the allegations over here. (Note: Trigger warning.) Let’s just say it’s not pretty, and was so bad that his $2.3 million bail was increased tenfold later in the week.
  • Thursday Another student, inspired by the arrest of Berndt, came forward in regards to another teacher at the school. The teacher has been removed from their duties while the investigation continues. Also, word that Berdnt was investigated for molestation in 1994 has surfaced, leading to much anger at the school district. source

21 Mar 2011 10:41

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World: Pedophilia bust update: One guy had millions of pictures. Yuck.

  • 2 million number of photos a Bosnian man recently caught in a child porn bust had in his possession, authorities say
  • 4,000 number of videos the man had; he was just one of 70,000 members of the recently-broken-up ring source
  • » And worse: The unidentified man, referred to as an “important member” of the pedophilia ring, had a suitcase full of children’s clothes. Officials say he was “producing and posting online child sexual abuse materials.” Ugh. Disgusting.

28 Jan 2011 15:10

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World: Ugandan gay activist David Kato’s funeral marred by anti-gay pastor

  • Here’s what this Anglican pastor Thomas Musoke had to say: “The world has gone crazy. People are turning away from the scriptures. They should turn back, they should abandon what they are doing. You cannot start admiring a fellow man.” Hey, Mr. Musoke, this is a GAY MAN WHO WAS KILLED BECAUSE OF ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY. AND YOU HAVE THIS TO SAY AT HIS FUNERAL?!?!? This world is a disgrace sometimes, and we’re not sure we even want to be on the same planet as people such as these. David Kato was the gay activist beaten to death Wednesday, which we noted in an article that shocked many on Tumblrsource

25 Jan 2011 10:42

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Biz: How much meat does Taco Bell have in its “taco meat filling”?

  • 40% the percentage of meat needed in a product to call it “meat taco filling,” according to the USDA
  • 36% the percentage of meat in Taco Bell’s “meat taco filling” (UH-OH); here comes the lawsuit source
  • » The other ingredients: Water, isolated oat product, salt, chili pepper, onion powder, tomato powder, oats (wheat), soy lecithin, sugar, spices, maltodextrin (a polysaccharide that is absorbed as glucose), soybean oil (anti-dusting agent), garlic powder, autolyzed yeast extract, citric acid, caramel color, cocoa powder, silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent), natural flavors, yeast, modified corn starch, natural smoke flavor, salt, sodium phosphate, less than 2% of beef broth, potassium phosphate, and potassium lactate. (thanks rubenfeld)

23 Jan 2011 12:00

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U.S.: From activism to murder charges: Kermit Gosnell’s long decline

  • respected Physician Kermit Gosnell, an early abortion practicioner, went to the Mantua neighborhood of Philadelphia in the late ’60s as an activist trying to change the rough-and-tumble neighborhood. He helped open both an abortion clinic and a methadone clinic.
  • reckless Over the years, Gosnell became known for taking risks that most abortion doctors wouldn’t – a trend that led to a declining reputation, and eventually, his recent arrest on really disturbing charges. He didn’t even have a nurse for most of the time he ran the clinic! source

19 Jan 2011 20:41

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U.S.: This Philly abortion clinic story makes us freaking sick

  • 45 fetuses were just hanging around the Philadelphia clinic (ugh)
  • nine clinic workers were charged along with Dr. Kermit Gosnell
  • one patient reportedly died in Gosnell’s utterly disgusting care source
  • » Breaking the rules, and then some: The clinic was performing illegal late-term abortions en masse, some as late as eight months in. He would induce birth and then … ugh, we don’t even want to talk about it. The fetuses were aborted so late in pregnancy that Gosnell, whose clinic was a mess, will be charged with murder for the fetuses along with the mother who died. No matter where you fall on the abortion debate, we can probably all agree that this is not how they should be done – with bent and gruesomely ignored rules all over the place. *shudder*
 

28 Dec 2010 22:09

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U.S.: Suspect in prostitute-body-in-luggage case: It was self-defense

  • bad You decide to use the services of a prostitute, which is illegal in almost every state, including New York.
  • worse You get in a dispute with her over the cost of said illegal services and strangle her to death. Not smart at all.
  • worser You hide the body in a piece of luggage – and after getting arrested, you claim self-defense. Not a good idea. source
  • » So … Ever write about something and want to take a shower immediately afterwards? We kinda want to take a shower now. Ugh.

20 Nov 2010 11:14

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World: Haitian workers take on the cholera problem head-on. (Eww.)

Well, that’s one way to stop the cholera problem. This guy jumps into Port-au-Prince’s disgusting canals to clean them out. By hand. Uh, thanks, man. source

12 Sep 2010 02:44

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Music: Joaquin Phoenix movie turns Spacehog guitarist into exhibitionist

  • Remember Spacehog? Well, they kinda disappeared quick after “In the Meantime” made them famous for 15 minutes (too bad because we really dug it back in the day), but the guitarist of this band, Antony Langdon, just showed up in the most random place ever – Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre new documentary, “I’m Still Here.” Langdon was one of Phoenix’s assistants, something of Phoenix’s “Johnny Drama.” Langdon he earned his keep with some very embarrassing, humiliating scenes (yes, there’s nudity – and more!). New York Magazine has more. source