Friday, July 24, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/lafayette-shooting-gunman-identified-as-john-russell-houser/

Lafayette shooting: Gunman ID'd as "kind of a drifter"
CBS/AP
July 24, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Gov. Bobby Jindal praises heroism of police, theater-goers in shooting
Photograph of Houser -- No motive is known for why John Russell Houser, 59, shot 11 people at a Louisiana movie theater, killing two women, before killing himself. CBS NEWS

Police say a 59-year-old white male, described as "kind of a drifter," was the gunman who shot 11 people at a Lafayette, La., movie theater Thursday night, killing two people before turning the gun on himself.

John Russell Houser, who also went by the nickname "Rusty," was described by associates and family members as unstable.

In 2006 Houser applied for a concealed carry permit, which was denied, because of an arrest record and an indication of mental issues.

Lafayette Mayor Lester Joseph Durel, Jr., said Houser's prior arrests were for arson and a misdemeanor for selling alcohol to a minor, but that he had no arrest record in 10-15 years.

Formerly a resident of Phenix City, Ala., Houser had been staying since early July at a local motel, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said. It was there that, following last night's shooting at the Grand 16 theater, investigators found wigs, glasses and disguises.

In 2008 Houser's wife and other family members asked for a temporary protective order against him. Court documents said Houser "exhibited extreme erratic behavior and has made ominous as well as disturbing statements."
The documents also said that while he lived in Phenix City, he had traveled to Carroll County in Georgia, where they lived, and "perpetrated various acts of family violence."

Houser "has a history of mental health issues, i.e., manic depression and/or bi-polar disorder" the filing said. The documents also state that Houser's wife, Kellie Maddox Houser, became "so worried about the defendant's volatile mental state that she has removed all guns and/or weapons from their marital residence."

The protection order was at least temporarily granted. Also in 2008 and 2009, Houser was treated by East Alabama Mental Health Center.

In March Kellie filed for divorce.

Sheriff Heath Taylor, from Russell County, Alabama, told CBS News that Houser lived in Phenix until 2014, when he was evicted from a rental property on 32nd Street. After being served his eviction notice, Houser destroyed some of the property in the residence. There was a criminal mischief complaint filed, but Sheriff Taylor wasn't sure if an arrest warrant was ever issued.

Authorities are investigating web postings that appear to have been written by Houser, in which he espouses right-wing, reactionary politics. He wrote approvingly of Adolf Hitler, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the Westboro Baptist Church, and made racist statements about blacks.

"America is so sick that I now believe it to be the enemy of the world." - Comment posted by Rusty Houser on fellowshipoftheminds.com.

On the website stateofmind13.com, in the comments of an article about the adoration of Hitler, Rusty Houser wrote:

"Hitler is loved for the results of his pragmatism. There is no question of his being the most successful that ever lived. At this time the US is no more than a financially failing filth farm. Soon the phrase 'ruling with an iron hand' will be palatable anew."

And on a site devoted to the Greek neo-Nazi party, Golden Dawn, he wrote:

"I do not want to discourage the last hope for the best, but you must realize the power of the lone wolf, is the power that can come forth in ALL situations. Look within yourselves."

Houser graduated from the Jones School of Law at Faulkner University in Montgomery, Ala., in 1998, prior to the law school receiving ABA accreditation. However, he was not licensed to practice law in either Alabama or Georgia, and there is no indication he ever took those states' bar exams.

According to his Linkedin page he has owned/operated two bars: the Peachtree Pub in Columbia, Ga., in 1979-80; and Rusty's Buckhead Pub in Lagrange, Ga., in 1998-2000.

In 1993 Houser made several appearances as guest host of a morning show on WLTZ, an NBC affiliate in Phenix City, called "Rise and Shine." On his Linkedin page Houser wrote of his appearances, "Invited political controversy on every one of them, and loved every minute of it."

The station wrote that an investigation by WLTZ into Houser's background did not turn up a criminal record, though a former business partner of Houser had stated that he seemed "a bit unstable."

No Motive Evident

Police are still searching or a motive for the shooting at the Grand 16 theater Thursday.

According to police, Houser was alone in the screening of the comedy "Trainwreck" when, about 20 minutes into the film, he began indiscriminately firing.

Two women were killed. Nine others were injured, including one still in critical condition.

mayci-breaux-jilllian-johnson-220.jpg
Mayci Breaux (left) and Jillian Johnson were murdered at the Grand 16 theatre in Lafayette, La. FACEBOOK
The dead -- both of whom were sitting in front of Houser when he began firing -- were identified as Mayci Breaux, a 21-year-old white female from Franklin, who was found dead at the scene; and Jillian Johnson, a 33-year-old white female from Lafayette, who died at the hospital.
Craft said it is believed Houser had planned to make his escape after the shooting; his 1995 blue Lincoln Continental was parked near an exit door. However, after blending into the crowd, the arrival of police prompted him to return into the theater, where he died from a self-inflicted wound.

Houser dropped one magazine from his weapon in the lobby and reloaded before re-entering the theater.

"The quick law enforcement response forced him back into the theater, at which point he shot himself," said Craft.

Police recovered a .40 caliber handgun manufactured by High Point at the scene; at least 13 bullets had been discharged in all. No other weapons or devices were found in his car or his room at the Motel 6 where he has been staying since early July.

Craft said there were no indications that Houser had any accomplices, and no known ties to the Lafayette area. Sources say Houser is estranged from his family, and that is complicating the search for answers.

Overnight investigators issued an emergency trace on the .40-caliber handgun used in the shooting, to determine how Houser obtained the gun.

At a press conference Friday afternoon, Rep. Terry Landry, D-La., said, "It's our job as legislators to close the loopholes in these gun laws. When a person [who is] not mentally stable can get access to a gun and wreak havoc on our community, it tells us we have to have a serious conversation. We have to have some serious repeals in some of these gun restrictions, or lack of gun restrictions, in our community. If not, we'll be meeting somewhere [like this] another day, another time."

Investigators are asking the public for any information they may have about Houser, and have set up a special 24-hour hot line to call: (337) 291 8650.

Victims Not Targeted

Investigators said the shooting appears to have been random. "He wasn't saying anything. I didn't hear anybody screaming either," Katie Domingue told The Advertiser newspaper. "We heard a loud pop we thought was a firecracker."

Domingue said she heard about six shots before she and her fiance ran to the nearest exit, leaving behind her shoes and purse.

Lucas Knepper was seated in the same row as the gunman. Knepper told CBS News correspondent Omar Villafranca there were several empty seats between them.

"We look to the left and it's the shooter just standing up just shooting at the whole crowd," Knepper said. "He was, like, 6-7 seats down from us. ... He just looked like a common guy off the streets, good looking guy, just normal ... (with) white hair white facial hair. And said nothing."

Witnesses heard popping noises and saw flashes of light, reports Villafranca. Some people ran out without their shoes and abandoned their belongings.

Stories of heroism immediately began to emerge, with Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, who traveled to the scene about an hour west of the state capital of Baton Rouge within hours of the shooting, telling reporters a teacher who was in the theater jumped in front of a second teacher, saving her life. The second teacher then managed to pull a fire alarm to alert other moviegoers, he said.

"Her friend literally jumped over her and, by her account, actually saved her life," the 2016 presidential hopeful said.

Witness describes Lafayette shooting scene, aiding victim
The shooting took place a week after James Holmes, the man who shot and killed 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., was convicted, and on the very day a jury said his attack was cruel enough to consider sentencing him to death.

State Police Superintendent Col. Michael D. Edmonson said police believe the gunman fired shots only at the theater and had not waged an attack anywhere else beforehand.

"We have no reason to believe that this individual acted beyond this location here," Edmonson said.

He said police saw something suspicious inside the shooter's car and that a bomb-sniffing dog "hit on three different locations" in the vehicle, "so out of an abundance of caution we brought in the bomb squad."

No explosives were found in the car or in the theater complex.

"Trainwreck" star Amy Schumer took to Twitter after learning of the shooting: Gov. Jindal called the shooting "an awful night for Louisiana."

"What we can do now is we can pray," Jindal said. "We can hug these families. We can shower them with love, thoughts and prayers."

President Obama was briefed on the shooting aboard Air Force One by Lisa Monaco, his homeland security adviser, while on his way to Africa for a two-nation visit, the White House said.

Mr. Obama asked his team to keep him updated on the investigation and the status of those wounded. He also offered his thoughts and prayers to the community and to the families of those who were killed.

Outside the movie theater complex hours after the shooting, a couple of dozen police cars were still at the scene, which authorities had cordoned off with police tape as onlookers took photos with their cellphones.

A small group of theater employees stood outside the police perimeter. A man who identified himself as a general manager declined to be interviewed: "We would appreciate it if you could give us some space," he said.

Landry Gbery, 26, of Lafayette, was watching a different movie, "Self/less" at the time of the shooting when the lights came up and a voice over the intercom told everyone there was an emergency and they needed to leave.

Gbery said he never heard gunshots, and assumed the emergency was a fire until he got outside and saw a woman lying on the ground.

"I was really anxious for everybody at that point," Gbery said. "Fortunately I was lucky. I took the right exit."

Tanya Clark was at the concession stand in the lobby when she saw people screaming and running past her. She said she immediately grabbed her 5-year-old daughter and ran.

"In that moment, you don't think about anything," Clark, 36, told The New York Times. "That's when you realize that your wallet and phone are not important."

Clark's son, Robert Martinez, said he saw an older woman run past with blood streaming down her leg, and screaming that someone had shot her.




“Authorities are investigating web postings that appear to have been written by Houser, in which he espouses right-wing, reactionary politics. He wrote approvingly of Adolf Hitler, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the Westboro Baptist Church, and made racist statements about blacks. "America is so sick that I now believe it to be the enemy of the world." - Comment posted by Rusty Houser on fellowshipoftheminds.com. …. Police say a 59-year-old white male, described as "kind of a drifter," was the gunman who shot 11 people at a Lafayette, La., movie theater Thursday night, killing two people before turning the gun on himself. John Russell Houser, who also went by the nickname "Rusty," was described by associates and family members as unstable. In 2006 Houser applied for a concealed carry permit, which was denied, because of an arrest record and an indication of mental issues. Lafayette Mayor Lester Joseph Durel, Jr., said Houser's prior arrests were for arson and a misdemeanor for selling alcohol to a minor, but that he had no arrest record in 10-15 years. …. Formerly a resident of Phenix City, Ala., Houser had been staying since early July at a local motel, Lafayette Police Chief Jim Craft said. It was there that, following last night's shooting at the Grand 16 theater, investigators found wigs, glasses and disguises. …. Authorities are investigating web postings that appear to have been written by Houser, in which he espouses right-wing, reactionary politics. He wrote approvingly of Adolf Hitler, Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh and the Westboro Baptist Church, and made racist statements about blacks.

"America is so sick that I now believe it to be the enemy of the world." - Comment posted by Rusty Houser on fellowshipoftheminds.com.” There is a turn of mind in this country that does nothing about men like Houser until they do go completely over the edge in some sort of extreme incident like this one. That’s why we have so many mass murders. People capable of committing them are out walking among us every day. Abuse of family members is more than just a sin and a crime, it is a sign of worse things wrong with the person’s mental health. Unfortunately if a man is the abuser he is likely to be severely undercharged and given a few months in jail, or simply find himself the recipient of a cease and desist order. In this case when his wife divorced him he apparently stopped attacking her, but that doesn’t always stop them. Sometimes a man will follow his wife from place to place and threaten her repeatedly.

There were other times that people throughout his life found him “unbalanced,” and at one point he did spend time in a mental hospital. He was apparently somewhat plausible as a sane person, however, because he starred for a while on a morning local TV show. He also went to a university and received a law degree, but didn’t get a license to practice law. The reason was not given, but perhaps it was because he seemed to be a disturbed individual.

I notice one other thing in this article – he had been charged with arson. An interesting article I read years ago listed three characteristics commonly found in children who grow up to be “psychopaths,” or sociopaths as they are more often called now. Those are fire starting, killing/torturing animals, and bed wetting after the age of 12. That set of characteristics is called the MacDonald triad.

When I researched that just now I found articles which agreed with the theory and others which denied it vociferously. The characteristic that was considered the least likely to be accurate was the bedwetting. Kids who start more than one fire – which unfortunately any curious child could do – are usually considered deviant. Fire starting is both an extreme action and is dangerous. The following website stood firmly by the MacDonald Triad, however:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080717122356AAv22VK. The following quotation comes from Yahoo.

“QUESTION -- “Why is bed wetting in relation to serial killers?
I've read bed wetting can also be linked with anti-social disorder, but I don't understand the link in behavior at all. What behavior does bed wetting go along with to match such possible things in the first place?

Update: PS. I'm not saying every bed wetter turns into a serial killer of course, don't be silly. However, bed wetting is part of the MacDonald triad and I was wondering why.”

BEST ANSWER – “Enuresis or bed wetting IS a major factor in serial killer. In a report filed by the International Association of forensic Science they reported that more than 60% of Serial Killers were still bedwetting over the age of 12. But this is also combined with multiple other things. Just because a child wets the bed doesn’t mean he/she will become a serial killer. But mix a child that wets the bed with a mother that ridicules him for it, possibly abuses him with it, you will get a child that acts out usually causing the other traits such as hurting animals, setting fires, failing in school and a delusional mind. All of these lead to a serial killer. Not any one alone usually.

Source(s):
The Encyclopedia of Serial Killers along with hundreds of other serial killer books!


jaiseq

“It's not a causal link - bed wetting doesn't cause serial killers. If more serial killers turn out to have been bed wetters than non-serial-killers, there might be some kind of link. It could be that being having a mental disorder causes bed wetting, or something else causes both the mental disorder and bed wetting - such as anxiety, insecurity or fear. There's more than one reason for bed wetting, so it's not very useful information for predicting future serial killers.”


J. • 7 years ago

“Not everyone with anti-social disorder is a serial killer! Very few are! *ahem*

Persistent bed-wetting as children is a symptom according to the MacDonald Triad, but there is insufficient evidence for it to be in the DSM as of yet. They are correlated with diagnosed adults, but the number of kids who show this trait that go on to develop an Anti-Social Disorder is unknown.

It may be a side effect (they feel less shame and remorse than other children - harder to toilet train) or contrariness. Or linked to poor impulse control. They appear to be mainly focused on whether or not it *is* linked rather than finding out why.”


EDIT: “WHY it's in the traid is simply because he found a correlation between bedwetting (firestarting and cruelty to animals) and adult criminals diagnosed with ASD. He didn't come up with a reason for it, then look for evidence.”
smiling • 7 years ago


“Yes, most bed wetters are not serial killers. However, if most serial killers were bed wetters then that would be an interesting correlation.”


FROM HERE ON THE COMMENTS START GETTING FUNNIER –

ℓα gяιηgα • 7 years ago
“I think i wetted the bed until i was like 6-7 and i'm not a serial killer.”


“I wet the bed, and I'm a serial killer. Gotta be true.”
Gus S • 7 years ago


“That's pretty much an urban legend. There are millions of people who had problems with bed-wetting growing up and never became anti-social or sociopathic.”

sarge927 • 7 years ago


So there you go. With all these voices from the crowd, who needs a reliable expert opinion?? The fact is that mentally disturbed people do usually show signs, though generally not as clearcut as being found covered in blood with a knife in their hand, so they tend not to be diagnosed early. One day after making multiple rants in favor of Hitler, etc. – which a scary number of ordinary Americans actually agree with, after all -- they follow their hatred out with a violent act. Then everybody says, “How did that happen?? He seemed pretty normal to me.” Before that shocking day of blood and rage, they won’t even get arrested unless they blow through a stop sign and are black, and in that case they will be shot. (Sorry if a little cynicism has slipped into the subject.)





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/retired-lapd-detective-dubbed-snowbird-bandit-arrested-in-series-of-california-bank-robberies/

Retired LAPD detective dubbed "Snowbird Bandit" arrested in Calif. bank robberies
By CRIMESIDER STAFF
CBS NEWS
July 23, 2015

Photograph -- Dubbed the "Snowbird Bandit," law enforcement officials say this man is a former LAPD detective who committed at least five robberies in Orange County, California FBI VIA CBS LOS ANGELES
Photographs -- 10 PHOTOS, Former cops gone bad

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, Calif. -- Deputies announced the arrest of a 70-year-old man dubbed the "Snowbird Bandit" in connection with at least five recent bank robberies in south Orange County on Thursday, according to CBS Los Angeles.

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, Randolph Bruce Adair, of Rancho Santa Margarita, was arrested in a parking lot near his home around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, reports the station.

Authorities said Adair is a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective.

Deputies said family members of Adair contacted authorities claiming they had information about the "Snowbird Bandit" after they had seen recent media reports about the suspect.

According to the station, detectives said evidence collected during a preliminary investigation connected Adair to five recent bank robberies that date back to March 20.

The robberies took place at California Bank and Trust in Dana Point, First Citizens Bank in Rancho Santa Margarita, Wells Fargo Bank in Mission Viejo, U.S. Bank in Ladera Ranch and First Citizens Bank in Rancho Santa Margarita, officials said.

Adair is being held on $205,000 at the Orange County Jail for robbery and an outstanding warrant, reports CBS Los Angeles.

Authorities said they intend to pursue federal charges against him.

Anyone with additional information regarding this case is urged to contact the Orange County Sheriff's Department at (714) 647-7000




“Deputies said family members of Adair contacted authorities claiming they had information about the "Snowbird Bandit" after they had seen recent media reports about the suspect. …. Adair is being held on $205,000 at the Orange County Jail for robbery and an outstanding warrant, reports CBS Los Angeles. Authorities said they intend to pursue federal charges against him.”

We usually think police officers are trustworthy, but every now and then some act of corruption hits the news. I think this is of that exact sort. He needed money and he thought of a way to get it. Perhaps he was financially desperate, but still he should have gone to social services and asked for help instead of following the “macho” route and robbing banks.

Well, it’s sad that a family member had to be the one to call the police, but it’s not unheard of either. The Unabomber had the whole country scared. He was sending bombs to a number of places addressed to respectable people who seemingly had no enemies, and many of them were killed. In the end a newspaper published his “manifesto” at his own request, and the person who knew him well enough to spot his particular turn of mind called the feds and he was arrested. Now that was an exciting police story!





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/cheese-company-uses-new-york-caves-age-savory-snack-pungent-perfection/

Subterranean factory turns cheese into dairy gold
CBS NEWS
July 23, 2015

Three-stories below street level, the Crown Finish Caves facility in Brooklyn takes some of foodies' favorite kinds of cheese and ages them in a very special environment, reports CBS News correspondent Jamie Wax.

Down a set of steep spiral stairs, about 30 feet underground, a small group of cheese lovers is giving new meaning to New York's underground food scene.

A 19th century building houses Crown Finish Caves, one of the only cheese-aging facilities of its kind in the U.S.

In 2001, Benton Brown and his wife Susan Boyle bought the building, which originally housed a brewery. Neither had any experience working in the food world.

"Cheese was really something that I was passionate about consuming. And would try cheese all over the place and then I was like, 'This is where we can make cheese down here. We can make cheese.' And that was the sort of the beginning," Brown said.

In the days before refrigeration, brewers kept their lagers chilled in the caves, which naturally maintain a temperature between 50 and 54 degrees.

They don't make cheese though; they take young cheese from producers across the U.S. and bring the days-old dairy down to their brick-arched-caves.

"The buildings are what have driven us into cheese. The space, you know, this is a site-specific project in a way," Brown said.

Turns out the dark, cool conditions are also ideal for aging cheese. Brown studied the art of affinage, or cheese aging, in Vermont.

But he still needed one more skilled hand, so he called on Sam Frank, who studied cheese-making in Vermont and Italy.

Frank and Brown inspect the cheese daily, washing the wheels with whiskey or water. Flipping the cheese over helps develop its flavor.

What was it about cheese that sucked Frank in?

"Milk is just this blank canvas that could be turned into hundreds and thousands of different flavor profiles and appearances and textures," he said. "It's a pretty amazing thing."

The cheese inside Crown Finish Caves ages anywhere from three weeks to two years. It's then distributed to nearly 50 cheese shops and restaurants across the country.

"It's kind of the French model of cheese being made outside of the city and then being shipped in to age in the city where the markets are," Boyle said.

Brown said there's a demand for a more gourmet food.

"People in America seem to have acquired a finer palate," he said.

"And that's really what we're doing a lot of here is producing something very local and very unique," Boyle added.

The best part about their job, the couple said, is the daily samplings.

This subterranean team tries each cheese before it leaves the caves.

"It is a provolone style and it is just a really beautiful table cheese. It's got that, you know, that traditional picante-provolone flavor profile. but really, it is just a lovely cheese to eat all day long," Brown said, sampling one.

A cheese may be born on the farm, but can only find the maturity and sophistication it needs, with a little shelf life in the big city.




“Down a set of steep spiral stairs, about 30 feet underground, a small group of cheese lovers is giving new meaning to New York's underground food scene. A 19th century building houses Crown Finish Caves, one of the only cheese-aging facilities of its kind in the U.S. In 2001, Benton Brown and his wife Susan Boyle bought the building, which originally housed a brewery. Neither had any experience working in the food world. …. In the days before refrigeration, brewers kept their lagers chilled in the caves, which naturally maintain a temperature between 50 and 54 degrees. They don't make cheese though; they take young cheese from producers across the U.S. and bring the days-old dairy down to their brick-arched-caves. …. Turns out the dark, cool conditions are also ideal for aging cheese. Brown studied the art of affinage, or cheese aging, in Vermont. But he still needed one more skilled hand, so he called on Sam Frank, who studied cheese-making in Vermont and Italy. Frank and Brown inspect the cheese daily, washing the wheels with whiskey or water. Flipping the cheese over helps develop its flavor. …. The cheese inside Crown Finish Caves ages anywhere from three weeks to two years. It's then distributed to nearly 50 cheese shops and restaurants across the country. "It's kind of the French model of cheese being made outside of the city and then being shipped in to age in the city where the markets are," Boyle said. Brown said there's a demand for a more gourmet food. "People in America seem to have acquired a finer palate," he said. "And that's really what we're doing a lot of here is producing something very local and very unique," Boyle added.”

Occasionally a homemade cheese turns out to be harboring dangerous bacteria. I remember in the news somewhere back in the seventies a case when a couple was making goat cheese in a bathtub at home. If you’ve ever been on a farm you know that all milk, if not refrigerated, will start to turn within something like a day. My grandmother would eat the “curds and whey” unless the mixture had turned an unearthly blue color. She called that “bluejohn” and threw it away. Having had bleu cheese, though, I wonder what that milk looks like when it first starts to turn? Anyway, I would enjoy doing what these people are doing, and I’m glad to see that they are making lots of money on their home project. I’m also glad to see that age old skills are not always being lost to the technology and urbanization that is taking our country over. I love my computer, but much that existed in my childhood was very peaceful and beautiful. This is a good news story!





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/brain-eating-amoeba-confirmed-at-louisiana-water-sampling-site/

Brain-eating amoeba confirmed at Louisiana water sampling site
CBS NEWS
July 23, 2015

Photograph -- A close up photograph of Naegleria fowleri, an amoeba that is known to attack the central nervous system. CDC'S PUBLIC IMAGE LIBRARY
8 PHOTOS -- Brain-eating amoeba: How to stay safe from Naegleria fowleri

Louisiana health officials have confirmed the presence of an amoeba at a leaking sample station in the St. Bernard Parish water system, CBS New Orleans affiliate WWL reports.

The state's Department of Health and Hospitals has asked the parish to conduct a 60-day chlorine burn to kill off the amoeba in the system. The parish has agreed to comply "out of an abundance of caution."

Two of the seven sites tested positive for the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, the same organism that claimed the lives of a boy from Minnesota and a California woman earlier this summer.

"One positive test was at a site at the water treatment plant before the water was treated," reads a statement from the DHH. "The second positive test occurred at 948 Angela Street, which may have been contaminated by ground water due to a leak at the sampling station."

Monthly reports show the water system met the requirements for disinfectant levels, according to the DHH. Five other sites tested negative for the amoeba, and one site "did not meet the required level of disinfectant."

Officials say the water is safe to drink, but residents are being warned not to get the water into their nose when washing, bathing or swimming. That's how the amoeba is transferred to the brain.

"At this point that's a decision that the DHH has to make. We trust their expertise in this field. We do we feel that the system is fine and this was an anomaly," said St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta.

Peralta said a vehicle hit a water sampling site in Arabi, which was never reported to officials. He said contaminated water leaked into the sampling site but not the entire parish water system.

A state health office spokeswoman said they still need to determine the source of the contamination through testing. The DHH will speak with CDC officials Thursday.

Three deaths from the amoeba have been reported in the last several years in Louisiana, including that of a 4-year-old who died in 2013 after visiting St. Bernard Parish. The water system no longer tested positive for the amoeba back in February 2014.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Naegleria fowleri causes brain swelling and is fatal in 97 percent of cases. A person may start to experience symptoms one to five days after the amoeba enters the body. Initial symptoms include headache, fever, nausea or vomiting, followed by stiff neck, confusion, lack of attention to people and surroundings, loss of balance, seizures and hallucinations. The illness progresses rapidly and patients often die within a week.

The CDC says the infection cannot be transferred from person to person.

The DHH released the following precautions to take when dealing with tap water in St. Bernard Parish:

DO NOT allow water to go up your nose or sniff water into your nose when bathing, showering, washing your face, or swimming in small hard plastic/blow-up pools.
DO NOT jump into or put your head under bathing water (bathtubs, small hard plastic/blow-up pools); walk or lower yourself in.
DO NOT allow children to play unsupervised with hoses or sprinklers, as they may accidentally squirt water up their nose. Avoid slip-n-slides or other activities where it is difficult to prevent water going up the nose.
DO run bath and shower taps and hoses for five minutes before use to flush out the pipes. This is most important the first time you use the tap after the water utility raises the disinfectant level.
DO keep small hard plastic/blow-up pools clean by emptying, scrubbing and allowing them to dry after each use.
DO use only boiled and cooled, distilled or sterile water for making sinus rinse solutions for neti pots or performing ritual ablutions.
If you need to top off the water in your swimming pool with tap water, place the hose directly into the skimmer box and ensure that the filter is running. Do not top off the pool by placing the hose in the body of the pool.
DO keep your swimming pool adequately disinfected before and during use. Adequate disinfection means: Pools: free chlorine at 1 to 3 parts per million (ppm) and pH 7.2 to 7.8, and Hot tubs/spas: free chlorine 2 to 4 parts per million (ppm) or free bromine 4 to 6 ppm and pH 7.2 to 7.8.




“The state's Department of Health and Hospitals has asked the parish to conduct a 60-day chlorine burn to kill off the amoeba in the system. The parish has agreed to comply "out of an abundance of caution." Two of the seven sites tested positive for the Naegleria fowleri amoeba, the same organism that claimed the lives of a boy from Minnesota and a California woman earlier this summer. …. Monthly reports show the water system met the requirements for disinfectant levels, according to the DHH. Five other sites tested negative for the amoeba, and one site "did not meet the required level of disinfectant." Officials say the water is safe to drink, but residents are being warned not to get the water into their nose when washing, bathing or swimming. That's how the amoeba is transferred to the brain.”

The list of cautions shows how easy it would be to come in contact with polluted water. Those neti pot thingies have never appealed to me, so I won’t be doing that. They’re much too similar to waterboarding for my tastes. When I’m swimming if I get any water in my nose I instantly blow it back out. That keeps me from strangling followed by real drowning. One of the interesting things I learned along the way through life is that a human can drown on a teaspoonful of water! As for letting kids play in a little outdoor plastic pool, I wouldn’t ever think that they wouldn’t be dangerous after even one day in the FL sun. I saw a scientific description once of how fast things like bacteria reproduce and I was shocked.

The comments of the government, any government anywhere, will always be predictable --- “The parish has agreed to comply "out of an abundance of caution." And then there is, “At this point that's a decision that the DHH has to make. We trust their expertise in this field. We do we feel that the system is fine and this was an anomaly," said St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta.” In other words, “Damned bureaucrats! Too much of our tax money goes to things like that!”





http://www.cbsnews.com/news/no-criminal-probe-requested-into-hillary-clintons-email-doj-clarifies/

No criminal probe requested into Hillary Clinton's email, DOJ clarifies
CBS NEWS
July 24, 2015

Play VIDEO -- Hillary Clinton accused of lying about email subpoena

The Justice Department has received a request to investigate Hillary Clinton's email account, but the department corrected its earlier statement Friday to clarify that the request was not for a criminal investigation.

The request relates to Clinton's use of a private email account for official business while she was secretary of state - which has already come up as an issue in the 2016 campaign. The office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) confirmed to CBS News that the inspector general for the Intelligence Community [IC] has sent a referral to the Justice Department on the matter.

The story was first reported by The New York Times, citing senior government officials.

The request comes after a conclusion in a June 29 memo by the inspector general for the State Department and the IC inspector general that Clinton's private account had "hundreds of potentially classified emails" in it. The memo was sent to Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for management.

In a July 17 letter to Kennedy, the inspectors general wrote that the IC inspector general has received confirmation from IC Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] officials that "several of these emails contained classified IC information, though they were not marked as classified."

Additionally, CBS News has obtained a letter sent Thursday to the leadership of the House and Senate intelligence committees, in which the IC inspector general says some of the emails on Clinton's server "should have been handled as classified, appropriately marked, and transmitted via a secure network." He also reveals that the emails in question were "purported to have been copied to a thumb drive in the possession of former Secretary Clinton's personal counsel, Williams and Connelly attorney David Kendall."

What's not clear is whether any information in the emails was marked as classified by the State Department when Mrs. Clinton sent or received them -- some information could have been retroactively classified. As the Times reported, about two dozen emails were redacted before they were publicly released because they were upgraded to "classified status."

In the Times' initial report, the investigation was described as pertaining to whether Clinton specifically "mishandled sensitive government information." That characterization was changed in a subsequent version of the story.

Before the Justice Department corrected its characterization of the requested probe as "criminal," one Democratic leader in Congress put out a forceful statement that called the story "the latest example in a series of inaccurate leaks to generate false front-page headlines."

Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Benghazi Select Committee, also noted that the State Department inspector general told him personally that "he never asked the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation of Secretary Clinton's email usage."

The State Department inspector general -- as the above letters and memos illustrate -- had been working with the IC inspector general to express concerns over potential, unintentional leaks of classified information in the Clinton emails.

While the IC inspector general has asked for a Justice Department probe into the emails, Cummings said there's no evidence Clinton transmitted classified information on her private account.

"The Benghazi Select Committee has obtained zero evidence that any emails to or from Secretary Clinton were marked as classified at the time they were transmitted, although some have been retroactively classified since then," he said.

Since Clinton's use of the private account was revealed in March, she has said repeatedly that the account contained no classified information. She has said using it was a matter of convenience.

"I have said repeatedly that I will answer questions before the House Committee," Clinton said at an event in New York on Friday afternoon. "We are all accountable to the American people to get the facts right, but also stay focused on issues, big issues."

The Justice Department hasn't decided if it will open a probe, the Justice officials told CBS News.

A spokesman for Mrs. Clinton's campaign released this statement Friday morning:

"Contrary to the initial story, which has already been significantly revised, she followed appropriate practices in dealing with classified materials. As has been reported on multiple occasions, any released emails deemed classified by the administration have been done so after the fact, and not at the time they were transmitted."

CBS News' Paula Reid contributed to this report




“The Justice Department has received a request to investigate Hillary Clinton's email account, but the department corrected its earlier statement Friday to clarify that the request was not for a criminal investigation. The request relates to Clinton's use of a private email account for official business while she was secretary of state - which has already come up as an issue in the 2016 campaign. …. The request comes after a conclusion in a June 29 memo by the inspector general for the State Department and the IC inspector general that Clinton's private account had "hundreds of potentially classified emails" in it. The memo was sent to Patrick F. Kennedy, the under secretary of state for management. …. He also reveals that the emails in question were "purported to have been copied to a thumb drive in the possession of former Secretary Clinton's personal counsel, Williams and Connelly attorney David Kendall." What's not clear is whether any information in the emails was marked as classified by the State Department when Mrs. Clinton sent or received them -- some information could have been retroactively classified. As the Times reported, about two dozen emails were redacted before they were publicly released because they were upgraded to "classified status." …. In the Times' initial report, the investigation was described as pertaining to whether Clinton specifically "mishandled sensitive government information." That characterization was changed in a subsequent version of the story. Before the Justice Department corrected its characterization of the requested probe as "criminal," one Democratic leader in Congress put out a forceful statement that called the story "the latest example in a series of inaccurate leaks to generate false front-page headlines." …. that the State Department inspector general told him personally that "he never asked the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation of Secretary Clinton's email usage." The State Department inspector general -- as the above letters and memos illustrate -- had been working with the IC inspector general to express concerns over potential, unintentional leaks of classified information in the Clinton emails. …. "The Benghazi Select Committee has obtained zero evidence that any emails to or from Secretary Clinton were marked as classified at the time they were transmitted, although some have been retroactively classified since then," he said. …. The Justice Department hasn't decided if it will open a probe, the Justice officials told CBS News. A spokesman for Mrs. Clinton's campaign released this statement Friday morning: "Contrary to the initial story, which has already been significantly revised, she followed appropriate practices in dealing with classified materials.”

This statement sounds on the surface like an exaggerated number, and the use of the term “potentially classified” makes it even more suspect. "that Clinton's private account had hundreds of potentially classified emails" in it. They have since stated that at the time they were sent, none of the emails were considered classified, and the article states that a number in the range of three dozen had been reclassified and redacted. I wonder if the Republicans, in looking for proofs for their witch hunt went through and classified a huge bunch that “potentially” were damaging to Clinton’s position. They wanted to make sure they got enough, so that’s why there are “hundreds” of them. The fact that Clinton’s personal counsel David Kendall had received, presumably legally, at least some of the emails on a thumb drive, which I suppose the Republicans think was either unsafe handling or “inappropriate” in general. I am sure that any of the legislators have a trusted attorney to whom they give important documents. That is not inappropriate. It’s the way business is done. I know that from watching Perry Mason! (I used to work at a law library and every male student there would make a smart remark if I mentioned Perry Mason. They thought that the writer of the Perry Mason stories, who was actually a lawyer, was playing fast and loose with his information.)


Erle Stanley Gardner
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photograph of Gardner – 1966– shows a pretty grouchy seeming man with no trace of a smile, but very alert, competent and attentive to the world. He died at age 80 in 1970. He had written a very large number of novels and some non-fiction books, using a great many pen names. See Wikipedia for information about his life.


Erle Stanley Gardner (July 17, 1889 – March 11, 1970) was an American lawyer and author. Though best known for the Perry Mason series of detective stories, he wrote numerous other novels and shorter pieces, as well as a series of non-fiction books, mostly narrations of his travels through Baja California and other regions in Mexico.

The best-selling American author of the 20th century at the time of his death, Gardner also published under numerous pseudonyms, including A.A. Fair, Kyle Corning, Charles M. Green, Carleton Kendrake, Charles J. Kenny, Les Tillray and Robert Parr.
. . . .

Born in Malden, Massachusetts, Gardner graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1909 and enrolled at Valparaiso University School of Law in Indiana, but was suspended after approximately one month when his interest in boxing became a distraction. He moved to California, pursued his legal education on his own, and passed the state bar exam in 1911.

Gardner enjoyed litigation and the development of trial strategy, but was otherwise bored by legal practice. In his spare time he began writing for pulp magazines; his first story was published in 1923. He created many series characters for the pulps, including the ingenious Lester Leith, a parody of the "gentleman thief" in the tradition of A. J. Raffles; and Ken Corning, crusading lawyer, crime sleuth, and archetype for his most successful creation, Perry Mason. In his early years writing for the pulp magazine market Gardner set himself a quota of 1,200,000 words a year.[5] (When asked why his heroes always defeated villains with the last bullet in their guns Gardner answered, "At three cents a word, every time I say ‘Bang’ in the story I get three cents. If you think I’m going to finish the gun battle while my hero still has fifteen cents worth of unexploded ammunition in his gun, you’re nuts".[6]) Early on he typed his stories himself using two fingers, but later dictated them to a team of secretaries.

In 1957 Perry Mason became a long-running CBS-TV series starring Raymond Burr in the title role. Though Burr originally auditioned for the role of district attorney Hamilton Burger, Gardner reportedly declared he was the embodiment of Perry Mason.[12] Gardner made an uncredited appearance as a judge in "The Case of the Final Fade-Out" (1966), the last episode of the series.[13][14]:24

Gardner and his first wife had separated in the early 1930s, and after her death in 1968 Gardner married Agnes Jean Bethell (1902–2002), his secretary since 1930. The character of Della Street was a composite of Jean and her two sisters, Peggy and Ruth, who also worked as secretaries for Gardner.[15]