Source: News-press.com

Fort Myers mother describes fireworks horror

Toddlers to undergo skin graft surgery today

By Rachel Myers • rmyers@news-press.com • July 8, 2008

There will probably always be scars.

And for Catarina Felix, 22, of Fort Myers, the sound of her two youngest children's piercing screams is something she will likely never forget.

As of Monday, no arrests had been made in the July 4 incident in which Fort Myers police say someone tossed live fireworks into an open window of Felix's car, where the toddlers sat helpless to avoid the explosions.

Felix spoke by phone Monday from a room at Tampa General Hospital, where she is keeping vigil over Mariah Felix, 2, and Juan Coley, 1. She is pleading with anyone who saw what happened to come forward with information.

"We were just at the wrong place at the wrong time," Felix said. "These kids are innocent and didn't deserve this. We deserve to know why this happened."

When first admitted, the children were in critical condition. Mariah suffered from burns on 6 percent of her body, mostly on her left leg. Juan was burned on 15 percent of his body, including both legs, his right arm and his left hand. Described as "playful, happy children," they are expected to undergo skin graft surgery today, Felix said.

"They don't understand what happened," she said. "I just try to let them know I'm here, and it's going to be all right."

Felix herself is struggling, watching her babies in pain, wishing she could take it on for them.

Fort Myers police spokeswoman Maureen Buice said detectives are still investigating.

"We are following up on information provided by several witnesses," Buice said. "Anyone with information is asked to call FMPD or Crimestoppers."

Felix said she was only running a quick errand to the store with the children and three friends. All the windows were rolled down as she stopped at a sign at the corner of Starnes Avenue and Dale Street, where she noted a group of teens setting off fireworks. She continued without much thought until less than a minute later, she heard six or seven pops.

"It happened so fast," she said. "My car was smoking, and my kids were screaming. I didn't even see it happen. I only heard my kids, and then I saw the burns."

Her instinct tells her whoever threw the fireworks didn't realize the seriousness of what they were doing, and probably didn't know there were kids in the car. But not knowing that for sure makes her uneasy.

"If it was a mistake, they need to just come forward and say so," she said. "If at least they could step up and admit to what they did, I would feel better about it."

Keith Olbermann spoke aptly in response to Clinton's loaded words, which she had been playing on since March.

I have no confidence in Sen. Clinton to take the position as the 44th President of the United States. All the things that Olbermann had listed as forgiven were acts that I had neither forgiven nor forgotten. Her continuous unashamed display of her lack of integrity makes it obvious that someone who can't be bothered to behave like a respectable individual pursuing the best interests of people as a democratic presidential nominee is not qualified of becoming a democratic president.

Before conceding to Arizona Senator John McCain during the Republican Primaries, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee told Tim Russert that he did not want to be vice president. The anti-gay, anti-evolution, pro-death penalty (and how) ordained Baptist minister has changed his tune and now wants to be John McCain's running mate, telling NBC, "There's no one I would rather be on a ticket with than John McCain." Also feeling the need to point out that "there was no one who was more complimentary of him publicly and privately [during the campaign]."

At this time, the McCain camp has remained appropriately silent.

Hat tip to karnythia for this good news:

Woman indicted in Missouri MySpace suicide case

By LINDA DEUTSCH, AP Special Correspondent

LOS ANGELES - A federal grand jury on Thursday indicted a Missouri woman for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committed suicide.

Lori Drew of suburban St. Louis allegedly helped create a false-identity MySpace account to contact Megan Meier, who thought she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans. Josh didn't exist.

Read the rest of the article.

HIV-positive man sentenced 35 years for spitting at officer

Even when brought into contact with the eyes and mouth, saliva is not a host for transmitting the HIV virus. Due to Campbell's spit not being any deadlier than anyone else's spit, this is an unjust sentence.

Beagle wins Westminster Dog Show

The AP

NEW YORK | Barking and baying up a storm, Uno lived up to his name Tuesday by becoming the first beagle to win best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club.

The nation’s new top dog was clearly the crowd favorite at Madison Square Garden when he was picked. Uno got right into the act, jumping up on handler Aaron Wilkerson and confirming his other title: noisiest in show.

Years from now, he’ll be known for the “ah-roo” heard ’round the ring.

“He’s a people’s dog, a merry little hound,” Wilkerson said.

The only dog consistently listed among America’s most popular breeds for nearly 100 years, a beagle had never won in the 100 times Westminster picked a winner. That changed when judge J. Donald Jones pointed to this nearly 3-year-old package of personality.

Uno (hound group) beat two poodles (one for toy group, one for nonsporting); a Sealyham (terrier); a Weimaraner (sporting), an Australian shepherd (herding); and an Akita (working).

Uno is co-owned by Eddie Dziuk of Missouri, chief operating officer of the Orthopedic Foundation for Animals in Columbia.

Formally known as K-Run’s Park Me in First, the beagle soaked in the cheers Tuesday as he walked around the ring. And when he made his final stop in front of Jones, Uno went to town, baying over and over.

Uno at Westminster Dog Show 2008

Photo courtesy of The Associated Press

Hey, female singletons, Drew Peterson is back on the market!

Does anybody actually believe Stacy Peterson ran off with another man, abandoning her children without a single word for over eight months, and cannot be found by law enforcement, FBI or anyone who's watched the news and be able to ID her? If she's left the country with someone, wouldn't someone have an idea who it would be? Why doesn't Drew Peterson have an idea who she ran off with if he's so sure that's what she did? Wouldn't law enforcement and FBI be able to find him?

Seriously. Anybody buy any of his story against what the sister has said?

On a related note, if it weren't for Heath Ledger, our news would have been entirely about killed or missing white women. If I were to trust Florida news, I'd believe that POC never get hurt unless they're a famous sports celebrity or doing something wrong. It's always white women who end up in trouble, even when they lie about it. With the emphasis on white women, it's understandable why some quip, "Won't somebody think of the white women!" as a satire of "Won't somebody think of the children!", but can we ever analyse why white women are equated and treated like children in so many circumstances instead of mocking this exercise of sexism as if it's something that white women benefit from?

One of those white women was a North Port mom was kidnapped and killed, dumped just down the road at our I-75 exit (this was after police failed to locate her from her 911 call and nobody who saw her clawing at the Camaro windows and calling for help picking up their phones to call 911). There's been no motive so far for why Michael King abducted and murdered Denise Amber Lee. I really hate when shit happens in my backyard, especially when it's so close that "backyard" seem less figurative and more literal.

Film & TV writers are on strike, which means everything except reality TV could halt production.  Do you support the strike?  Are any of your favorite shows in jeopardy?

I don't know but I'm skeptical that reality tv doesn't use writers.

Airman First Class Cassandra Hernandez was gang raped by fellow airmen while at a party near her base, Pope Air Force Base in Fayetteville, North Carolina. She reported the case immediately and was medically examed by the hospital, where she then received appropriate treatment. AFC Hernandez was then interrogated by her superiors, all without the presence of a victim advocate as per USAF policy, until she made the decision not to testify against her attackers. This is a decision that many rape victims make, even the ones who have evidence and witnesses, because the current judicial system, even for civilians, is unrelentingly harsh on rape victims. Given the circumstances and threats given by the USAF to AFC Hernandez, her decision to recover from her trauma without ligitation is sadly not surprisingly.

The USAF has validated claims of AFC Hernandez's rape and evidence supports the claim of gang rape. The claim of gang rape was never contested and was not pursued only because AFC Hernandez felt unable and unsafe to proceed and testify against her attackers.

In return to her decision to not put herself and her sexual history on trial for being raped, the USAF is now charging her with indecent acts and underaged drinking and providing immunity to her attackers to testify against her.

AFC Hernandez now faces imprisonment for up to one year, dishonourable discharge and registration as a sex offender if found guilty for her own rape.

Write your Representatives and your Senators, as well as your State Governor.

Hat tip to The Social Commentator [here].

Sources:

http://www.kvue.com/news/state/stories/080107kvueairforce-eh.d0a50cd9.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/07/AR2007080701595.html?hpid=moreheadlines

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=5546973

An interesting piece by Shakespeare's Sister discusses the sickening theme in the treatment of rape victims in the USAF: The Air Force's Rape Culture and contains a link to the Feministing.org article [here].

National Geographic assures all of us who worry night upon night about this ever-looming threat:

Giant Bugs a Thing of the Past, Study Suggests

Hope Hamashige

for National Geographic News

July 30, 2007

 

For the giant insects that roamed Earth 300 million years ago, there was something special in the air.

A higher concentration of oxygen in the atmosphere let dragonflies sometimes grow to the size of hawks, and some millipede-like bugs reached some six feet (two meters) in length, a new study suggests.

Now that the proportion of oxygen has decreased, however, bugs can't grow much larger than they do now, the authors write.

The reason: The bigger an insect, the bigger the proportion of its body devoted to its tracheal system, which functions like a lung but is far less efficient at large sizes.

"[The tracheal system] explains why they are small," said study co-author Jon Harrison, a professor of environmental physiology at Arizona State University. "It takes up all the room."

The study appears this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

 

Read the rest of this article on the National Geographic News Site: [link]