WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court will consider whether investigators must give a jail inmate his Miranda rights before questioning him on matters unrelated to what landed him behind bars.
The justices on Monday said they will hear Michigan's appeal of a court ruling in favor of Randall Fields, who acknowledged to sheriff's deputies that he had sexual contact with a minor. The admission took place during an interview in the same building where Fields was jailed on unrelated charges. The deputies never advised Fields he could be silent or have a lawyer, hallmarks of the Miranda warning for criminal suspects. They did tell him he could leave when he wanted.
“To Shake or Not To Shake Hands…Is That The Question?”
JANUARY 24, 2011
It’s been a while since I last updated my blog. Whatever could be the excuse for that is immaterial for now. But what could be not excusable is the fact that I’m posting you the least-of-the-important-things in the life of this embattled nation.
Yes, but with the raging debate in the public sphere, out to almost split this already-very-beleaguered-nation, I’m ostensibly taking liberty again to post you the many things Malaysians have said, responding to this unfortunate “To Shake or Not To Shake Hands” Debate.
As the Umno-BN controlled media is on the round-the-clock capitalizing and making a huge political meal of this issue of hand-shake and lest you have missed the debate, I now invite you to intelligently peruse the 156 comments of this ‘great national debate’.
As usual, it’s always in very trying crisis time like this one that brings out the best of us and perhaps also the worst of us, the jewels from our pens and similarly the darnest words from our own pens, surely coming out of our own perverted logic.
Not wanting to be excessively judgmental, I will allow you to read all the comments and then decide for yourself whichever way you think is the right decision to go objectively, principally and perhaps even pragmatically.
But prior to that, let me take on Dr Chua Soi Lek first. This MCA President despite of, or perhaps because of all his infamous ‘sins of omission and commission’ has transformed to become the fighting dog or more appropriately the attack dog of Umno, outperforming and putting to shame even Perkasa and callously leading the charge against PAS, for his political master, Umno.
After embroiling the nation in again the Islamic state and hudud issue, CSL has turned his savage attack on the noble lady of Cikgu Normala, the PAS’ Tenang’s candidate, for refusing to shake hands with men of her opposite sex (Muslims and non-Muslims alike, save those with matrimonial and blood relation), in typical fashion of a ‘budak-suruhan’ Umno.
I’m wanting to pose him a question or two, given his profound ‘intellectual’ grasp and his recent ‘moral’ advocacy.
To CSL, is shaking hands a Chinese culture?
As 80% of Chinese in Malaysia are Buddhists, CSL shouldn’t require a reminder from this writer, a Muslim, that Buddhists do not greet each other by shaking hands. I’ve a personal experience in getting an awareness of this in my not so recent visit to the Malaysian Buddhist Association of Kuala Selangor’s branch. I was gracefully informed then that Buddhists greet each other by the salutation of OMITOFO with their clasped hands in paying obeisance (a sign of respect) and even bows to an elderly, while ladies use a form of courtesy in a charming manner.
Incidentally, as a blogger put it, refined Chinese culture does not encourage the shaking of hands even between man and man, much less between man and woman. (please refer to bloggers’ comments).
Since CSL has touched on the issue of non-acceptability of the Chinese on not hand-shaking, may I also remind the MCA President that not only is the Chinese community not capable of accepting people caught committing adultery but the entire human race too is opposed to and reject such social abomination.
Very evidently, CSL’s tactic is so archaic and outmoded. He has now cunningly reduced the plethora of unresolved burning issues of the nation, not the least the problems of the people and voters of Labis and Tenang to hand-shaking. Umno and the BN are out to hoodwink and pull wools over the eyes of voters in Tenang by their many goodies, hand-outs and announcement of the huge pump-priming projects in the ETP to inject the feel-goods factors while endemic corruption and the recent revelation of the GFI of RM880 billions siphoned and flouted out of the country illicitly and all, continue unabated.
Will the voters and the rakyat of Tenang, Labis, Johor and the entire nation bite the bait again? Will the rakyat be again forgiving to the Umno/BN government of Najib?
We do it at our own peril and have only ourselves to blame.
This writer, utterly nauseated and disgusted, is now turning the verdict to the rightful owner of democracy, the ultimate Judge, the RAKYAT.
Please Read the article of Adip Zalkapli here and the 156 comments in the Malaysianinsiders. (Normala defends refusal to shake hands with men).
Arguments will take place later this year
Julie*, a California girl-next-door, star volleyball player and award-winning concert pianist thought the boy who invited her to his home was her friend. But after he and four other classmates gang raped her, this naïve 15-year old blamed herself. Consumed with guilt, she told no one -- especially not her parents.
"I became suicidal, smoked weed and slept around," Julie says. "I went from the perfect angel to a little girl lost in the world of drugs and men."
The emotional trauma drove her from the people who cared about her. She dropped out of school, ran away, and became a real "ho", like the rap lyrics she and her so-called friends idolized. Alone and vulnerable, she was an easy mark for a sadistic pimp, Maurice MacFarland, a.k.a. "Genius," who followed the pimp "code book" to the letter. He began the grooming process by plying her with gifts, words of love and drugs. He then beat and raped her into submission before trafficking her to Washington D.C. where she was rented by the hour to powerful men with deep pockets. If she didn't earn $1,000 a day, he beat her viciously.
Eventually, they made it back to California where the two were arrested. Her luck changed when she was picked up by a detective who worked closely with Lois Lee, Ph.D., the founder of Children of the Night in Van Nuys, Calif., whose life work is rescuing teen prostitutes. Julie's long road to normalcy began while she was in Lee's capable hands. Though terrified, she agreed to testify against "Genius" who is currently serving a 77-year, eight-month sentence for sexually exploiting and trafficking a child.
A pioneer in rescuing America's sex slaves, Lee hit the streets long before law enforcement even recognized prostituted children. What began as a study in human sexuality for a Ph.D. dissertation became her life's work. For 27 years, she says she has been in the middle of a tornado.
Actually, it's more of a tsunami.
Julie is just one of the young girls Lee has rescued since she founded Children of the Night in 1979. Over the last 30 years, she has raised $40 million in private funds to provide shelter, an onsite school and specialized services needed to help these girls return to physical and mental health. Her hotline receives more than 10,000 calls a year from all over the country and many of the program's graduates -- including Julie -- have gone on to college and become lawyers, executives and educators.
In the beginning, Lee ran the organization from her small apartment, supporting victims age 11 to 17 through her financial aid, part-time teaching and research fees. A generous grant from the Playboy Foundation enabled her to buy food and turn her home into a hotline for girls (800-551-1300) caught in the sordid web of life on the street.
While child prostitution is an equal opportunity crime, Caucasian girls bring top dollar on the streets -- $60 to $300 for 15-minute to one-hour increments. Blondes with blue eyes known as "swans" command even more and in Minnesota, Native American girls are in high demand.
Contrary to the belief that the sexual exploitation of children only takes place in Third World countries, it occurs daily in the United States. A well-known trafficking highway leads down the Eastern seaboard, through Miami, Charlotte, Atlanta, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle, Hawaii, Minneapolis and more. No city -- regardless the size -- is immune.
Trafficking minors for prostitution is the third highest money-maker for organized crime in the U.S. Only gun and drug sales are higher. Teens are recruited in arcades, malls, entertainment centers, tourist attractions, concerts and even schools.
Lee assists other agencies around the country to develop programs similar to hers to rehabilitate prostituted teens who suffer from PTSD, Stockholm Syndrome (victims become sympathetic to their perpetrators), STDs, HIV-Aids, educational issues and psychological trauma.
PORNOGRAPHY: DRIVING THE DEMAND IN INTERNATIONAL SEX TRAFFICKING
PORNOGRAPHY: DRIVING THE DEMAND IN INTERNATIONAL SEX TRAFFICKING
PORNOGRAPHY: DRIVING THE DEMAND IN INTERNATIONAL SEX TRAFFICKINGChildren of the Night has been in the fight longer than any other American organization. Others have followed, but more are needed to join forces and battle this crime against children.
(Photos courtesy of Children of the Night)
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