SPEED LIMIT 80? WHY NOT? WHY A SPEED LIMIT AT ALL?

Yes, you read that sign right: About 500 miles of rural Texas interstate are getting signs like these in the coming days after the State approved a higher speed limit.

And frankly, I have NO problem with that whatsoever.

If the roads are built well enough to withstand such high speed traffic on a regular basis (1), if people consistently drive speeds that support such a move (2), and most folks tend to handle themselves competently even with higher speeds (3), I cannot see why the roads would not be able to support that type of speed.

My real problem is in-town drivers who can barely putt-putt around town at 25 to 35 miles an hour. Those are the people that make small town traffic look more and more congested. Angelenos who think they have traffic problems may want to drive Range Line Road in Joplin or Missouri Boulevard in Jefferson City. Bostonians who remember the old Central Artery will take a back seat to Angelenos---who will in turn take a back seat to Joplin and Jefferson City and Branson with regard to traffic problems.

Last Monday the State of Missouri launched a new Route 249 dual carriageway from Seventh Street to the I-44; the pavement on the old carriageway will have to be remarked and the new carriageway marked.

And now I wonder about the speed limits of some of the other highways round the nation, significant stretches of many Interstates and some US highways could easily stand even higher speed limits, or even go without speed limits altogether.

What if every freeway of 10 or more miles in length had its speed limits taken off? If people knew they could drive as fast as they wanted, maybe that could resolve A LOT of congestion issues.

The same reasoning could apply for all tollways, all divided highways of four or more lanes more than 20 miles in length, and all undivided highways of four or more lanes more than 30 miles in length.

And then we would have to maintain our vehicles properly!

Which is all that it really comes down to: Most cars can handle higher speeds IF they are properly maintained with regular service. It ia a good idea to get service intervals of some sort at every 3 000 miles (4 800-5 000km) and more comprehensive intervals annually, or every 12 000mi (20 000km) and again at every 30 000mi (48 000km) interval. This is especially important for high mileage cars like mine. I had a comprehensive maintenance regimen performed when my car hit 90 000 miles.

But with regard to high speed accidents, they may well be more disastrous, but they are fairly uncommon. Cars are getting safer and safer in their construction and more and more state road agencies are putting a higher priority on road maintenance.

I can see other major Texas highways and even those in other states one day foregoing speed limits altogether...if the roads are well maintained that such speeds would be supported.

And such routes SHOULD be signposted like something this:

This means that such ultra-high-speed highways would advise motorists that if their car becomes disabled, or if the motorists happen to be differently abled, they would have to exercise extreme caution. Extremely high speeds CAN be handled by anyone...if they learn how to handle them first.

And drivers education must be improved: Mandatory full year drivers ed courses should start in the eighth grade with mandatory drivers training in the ninth grade; though we WOULD be turning 15-year-olds loose with full drivers licences, they would have two full years of experience including one year of driving under their belts. Intense and thorough education is the key. Then the rest is up to their parents to teach them about personal responsibility behind the wheel.

Which is what it takes to handle such high speeds.

Even if it's only 65, 70, 75, or even 80 miles an hour.

Triple Shot: Jimi Neglected, MNM Implodes, Oz Rejects Gay Marriage

After having visited the Leon Hendrix Mysterience here on Myspace and listened to several of their tracks, I read a story on the weblog over there about how the City of Seattle had badly neglected their most famous native son, born James Marshall Hendrix in 1942, who would go on to enjoy fame as perhaps the greatest rock guitarist ever.
From 1980 when the city named a rock at the local zoo for Jimi Hendrix, a number of citizens, White and Black alike, expressed their own disgust at the disrespect for this great rock icon.
Why only a rock? Why not a street? Maybe a street in the neighbourhood where Jimi and Leon grew up would have been better named for him. Maybe their neighbourhood school would have been suited for his name. Or how about a major street, a highway, even a freeway?
Why not rename Interstate 5, Interstate 90, or even Interstate 405 for Jimi Hendrix? Surely the man known for hits like Purple haze, The wind cries Mary, Fire, Crosstown traffic, Third stone from the sun, and Who knows. Jimi has been credited with launching much of the hard rock and even R&B we hear today.
Hey, how about resurrecting US99 and renaming that the Jimi Hendrix Memorial Highway? Or at the least, a motorway junction, maybe the I-5/I-90 junction? Maybe the Alaskan Way Viaduct is worthy of Jimi Hendrix' name.
Maybe a ballpark would help...Why so much emphasis on naming ballparks for companies? Why not Jimi Hendrix Stadium? Jimi DID serve in Airborne---why not a National Guard Armoury building, or a street in front of the same?
The plain and simple is a man of Jimi's talent which defies description in magnitude clearly deserves so much more of a memorial. And it is not just rock fans who would benefit: The city of Seattle would further benefit from increased tourism from those who would want to see a major music icon honoured in proper fashion. Even if they had to do it at 60mi/h on a potential Jimi Hendrix Memorial Freeway!
IN WRESTLING NEWS: Yesterday night in Phoenix at the WWE pay per view event Judgment Day the three-time Tag Team Champions MNM basically collapsed on themselves.
Starting in a miscue during their match against the new tag team champions Paul London and Brian Kendrick in which Joey Mercury knocked his partner Johnny Nitro down, the always-fiery and always-snobbish Melina Perez, infamous for her splits on the apron in their entrance, erupted in a fury and screamed at Joey, then slapped him; Joey then grabbed her wrist, causing Johnny, who had been dating Melina as of late, to erupt, pounding Joey mercilessly whilst Melina kicked referee Jim Korderas in the groin. SmackDown! General Manager Theodore Long had to break the whole matter up, then Melina went on to lose a WWE Divas Match against newfound rival Jillian Hall, who defeated her by rolling her up despite Melina's efforts to grab the rope; Melina protested by slapping Long in the face, and Johnny blew up in Long's face as well.
Long fired both Johnny and Melina immediately.
And there was evidently a long history of heat or drama backstage, and had even been the subject of a session of Wrestlers Court in which Undertaker presided as judge.
Now there is word that Johnny and Melina are on suspension and will be moved to RAW when they return. Only Joey's pic was on the SmackDown! superstars page as of this morning. And HE has taken time off to attend to some personal issues.
I would THINK that Joey would want to take time off! The poor sap has been stabbed in the back by both his erstwhile manager---a loose cannon in her own right---AND his erstwhile partner.
It is abundantly clear that MNM are no more. They came in with a bang and they definitely went out with a bang!
But then again Melina has been bringing this on herself for so long, in fact MNM did, but Joey is running like hell to distance himself from MNM. Good luck, Brother Joey. You'll make it.
Johnny: He is also as we found out a bit of a loose cannon given his reputation as of late. Maybe anger management is in order? Even John Heidenreich underwent the same, as has Big Show.
Melina: OMG don't get me STARTED on Melina! Let us say that my most blunt remarks about her are NOT the kind of remarks you would want to make to your pastor or your rabbi or your imam or your priest. I derided her splits on the apron, I used to spit at the telly whenever they would steal another match---they rarely if ever won a match fairly, largely due to Melina's interference with the matches, like distracting referees or opponents, clearly a dirty fighter. And that is topped off with layers of snobbery and a generally foul attitude, with absolute disrespect for her opponents and the audience, who regularly jeered MNM. And in recent weeks her "primal" earpiercing scream has been met with thunderous booing.
Brother Vince had met with Melina recently regarding her problems with Sharmell. Now it looks like he is being way too charitable with Melina if not also with Johnny.
If I were in Brother Vince's position I would most certainly have not been NEARLY this charitable. I would have given the both of them a loud and clear gruff growl of

DATELINE: DUBLIN, IRELAND, 22_05_2006
Australian Prime Minister John Howard had to face down some heat from a Dublin University student who challenged Prime Minister Howard on his country's vast majority stand against same sex "marriage".
The prime minister correctly affirmed that it is radical gay and lesbian activists acting in fundamentalist fashion trying to force their minority fundamentalism upon the masses of Australia.
Of course Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby spokesman David Scamell offered the following:
"Given that both Labor and Liberal say that they don't support gay marriage, I don't think it's likely to happen anytime soon, but that doesn't mean he is in touch with what Australians want."
Actually Mr Scamell could not be more wrong: The reality is most Australians, as is the case with most Americans, are vigourously opposed to same sex "marriage". Australians will never accept same sex "marriage" as a whole. It is not in their nature.
As is the case with most radical Marxists who have hijacked the gay and lesbian rights movement, prostituting LGBT folk for the sake of forcing their own fringe minority neoliberal neosocialist neocommunist hegemony upon the masses, Mr Scamell has got everything back to front.
The plain and simple is the Australian people by far and away defend REAL marriage, a union exclusively between one man and one woman. And until people like Mr Scamell get that fact, they will continue to be on the losing end of this debate.
And I am pleased to announce that LGBT folk in the US are starting to see through the neocom smokescreen. Already weblogs like "Homocon" and "Gay Patriot" have popped up, and there is even a pro-life organisation based largely of LGBT folk who support unborn rights, PLAGAL.
All I gotta say, is keep on fighting, folks. As a heterosexual man myself I support every effort by LGBT folk to resist the neocom hegemony.
And I hope the rest of you do too.

Mahmud Ahmadinejad: The NEW Adolf Hitler Of The Middle East

All hell broke loose yesterday when the National Post of Canada reported about the Iranian government's plans to start forcing non-Muslims to wear badges.
Needless to say the entire world erupted in disgust and outrage. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper put it right when he stated that it was reminiscent of Nazi Germany when the Iranian parliament approved a plan to require thr country's 25 000 Jews to wear yellow strips of cloth on their clothes.
The measure also calls for Christians to wear red strips on their clothes and Zoroastrians to wear blue strips.
To be forthright Mahmud Ahmadinejad and his tyrannical authoritarian regime are disgustingly vengeful and hateful. After all, it was Ahmadinejad who has been calling for Israel to be wiped off the map, tempting the largest and most advanced military in the Middle East to strike.
And with the US-led Coalition next door in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ahmadinejad is clearly at risk of being wiped off the map himself.
The Iranians have boasted endlessly about their plans to continue their nuclear programme, some components of which have come from China, no matter WHAT the global community thinks. And doubts have been raised about the strength of the Iranian nuclear programme but I don't doubt the Iranians' prospect, especially not after hearing the anti-Semitic filth coming from Ahmadinejad.
Mahmud Ahmadinejad is clearly a threat and a present danger round the Middle East, the new Saddam Hussein, with the same prospects for the same atrocities that Hussein committed in Iraq during his 34-year dictatorship.
Whilst Iraq continues its recovery from the last Hitler of the Middle East---their parliament has confirmed a new government amidst significant violence in the capital Baghdad---Iran is just starting to enter its dark ages.
The difference between then and now is the growth of the independent media and the Internet to expose the truth about those sorts of regimes.
Neighbours are justifiably worried---Kuwaiti Arab President Muhammad AlSagr has expressed concerns about the safety of the nuclear programme given that Iran has also used Russian components---and the danger level is abundantly evident.
And Ahmadinejad's government are hardheaded in their refusal to stop their nuclear programme, even as the European Union proposes an aircraft incentive for Iran. Clearly this can mean nothing but trouble brewing ahead.
It is widely known that the Nazis forced Jewish people under their jurisdiction to wear yellow stars of David, whether they were in the community, in the ghettos or in the camps. And the fact that Ahmadinejad is forcing a similar badge of oppression upon the Jews of his country is just as disturbing.
Another symbol that came from Hitler's regime is the pink triangle used widely by the homosexual community, because that is how the Nazis branded homosexuals. And Ahmadinejad is also working in similar fashion by branding other non-Muslims.
Clearly the jihadist regime of Iran needs to be vacated. Mahmud Ahmadinejad is drawing closer to the day when he will get his wish for war with Israel and the West...but he is not going to like the results.
And then we will have to topple ANOTHER Adolf Hitler in the Middle East.

Captain Picard's Journal: Another One Of My Choice Pleasures

For some reason I went to the dashboard after adding the weblog entry about Interstates 39 and 63 and checked out Captain Picard's Journal which I happen to find very interesting as it takes a look at Star Trek series character Jean Luc Picard (who was portrayed by Patrick Stewart in Star Trek Next Generation and Voyager as well as the movie Star Trek Insurrection).
I would also suggest you give that a look at an interesting part of science fiction history and one of the most iconic figures in that realm. It takes a look at mundane things like the collapse of the laundry machine and more unique like Seven Of Nine (played by Jeri Ryan) going on a shopping trip.
I cannot say that Capt Picard is living a fantasy; I will reserve that judgment for the Democrat leadership, the controlled media in America, and the leaders of Zimbabwe, Iran, Cuba, Venezuela, China, and North Korea.

Volume Five, Sixteen Interstate Highways That The DOT SHOULD Build: FOCUS: Interstate 39

Interstate 39 is a bit of unique route to be forthright, and a fairly recent innovation. It has come along only in the past 15 years or so as a connector from Madison WI into central Illinois. But I have bigger plans for the I-39 and maybe some of you folks might too.

We start from its present terminus at Bloomington and bring that route toward the Gulf and south Florida first by sending it on a direct path to Evansville IL, which along with neighbouring Owensboro in Kentucky are forming part of a growing metropolitan area that should be attracting more commerce to the area in the coming decades.
And part of that dynamic means that the growing Southern states will need additional corridors to major metropoles of the North. Interstate 39, and the proposed I-63 as well, will help to connect that area with other metropoles throughout the Great Lakes, the Midwest, and the South.

Kentucky and Indiana are definitely on the move as are Southern states like Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida, all of which are on the I-39 corridor. It even runs through eastern Chattanooga and links western Georgia to the western Great Lakes as well as providing Columbus with a 2di, freeing up the I-185 for a new corridor elsewhere in the Peach State, and then puts some of the Florida West Coast on the Interstate Highway System, before putting the Florida's Turnpike on the same system as well. The significance of the addition of the turnpike to the Interstate Highway System cannot be underestimated as it not only gives the Sunshine State a direct connection to the western Great Lakes and the Midwest but also it adds more toll revenues to the Florida Turnpike authority.

Besides the increasingly sensitive environments of central and southern Florida will be further maintained with Interstate 39 being extended without one dime spent on new construction south of Leesburg, the northernmost community on the Turnpike.



Additionally, speaking of the Turnpike, the state of Florida could even choose to put Crystal River, Chiefland, and Perry on a turnpike extension connecting to Tallahassee, putting more communities on the corridor and presenting greater income potential. Though the I-39 north of Leesburg IS designated on that map as a freeway (red line), it could easily be a turnpike, even an extended Florida's Turnpike (black line).

For Kentucky and Tennessee there are greater opportunities, even for running the I-39 between the I-24 and the I-75, forming a bit more of a fan for southern Tennessee from Chattanooga. As area US and state highways gain traffic volume the I-39 will clearly be necessary.

As a bonus I have enclosed a graphic that shows not only the proposed I-39 but also an I-63 proposal to link western Kentucky and Tennessee to Mississippi, essentially following a corridor composed of US49 to Tupelo, MS15 through Philadelphia and MS9(or 15?) through eastern Mississippi, connecting Laurel to Gulfport, a great way to help the Gulf Region rebuild from Hurricane Katrina and also connect the Gulf directly to the Great Lakes as the I-39 ALSO goes north along the US41 corridor in Indiana connecting Terre Haute. Surely the I-65 parallels the I-63 for at least some of the distance---the I-65 connects to Mobile from Gary, but could be realigned to run to Panama City FL and the I-85 could take over that stretch. But those factors will need to addressed in future. I am planning at least special segment on additional highways in the areas affected by these proposals.

Feisty Republican Whore: Indonesian tsunami caused by Acehese chicks' sins

Feisty Republican Whore: Indonesian tsunami caused by Acehese chicks' sins

I just dropped into this VERY interesting weblog called Feisty Republican Whore and read a rather disturbing story about Sharia law adherents chopping off women's hair in Indonesia under the mistaken misbelief that long hair and feminine wiles caused the tragic tsunamis.

DAMN those Sharia law lovers are NUTS!

I have nothing against Muslims per se; it's just the few lunatics that cause the majority of the problems we have to deal with and the messes we have had to clean up after, like what they did one September morning when they flew aeroplanes into the World Trade Centre.

Volume Four, Sixteen Interstate Highways That The DOT SHOULD Build: FOCUS: Interstate 29

As we all recall from last summer the Gulf Coast is prone to hurricanes; we all remember what happened to the devastated Baton Rouge-Mobile area.
But this alone is not the only justification for extending Interstate 29 from Kansas City Missouri to Mobile Alabama, as the Gulf Coast continues to grow, and the same holds true for the states in between those cities.
Traffic continues to rise along key segments of this corridor, most notably in Central Arkansas, where Interstate 530 has arrived to connect Pine Bluff to the capital Little Rock. And other parts of the corridor continue to see more and more traffic, like Missouri State Routes 7 and 13 which form the basis of the proposed I-29 to Springfield, where it connects at the I-44's Junction 69 and supplants the present MO360 then multiplexes with the James River Freeway (US60) across southern Springfield to US65 where it connects through to Branson and then into the Ozarks of central Arkansas then along the current I-530 into Greenville and Jackson MS before terminating at Mobile, thus connecting a major river port with a seaport and also connecting the Midwest more directly into the Southeast.
Now some folks question the need for putting the I-29 into Alabama when it is several longitudes east of even the I-45 and I-49 as well as even the I-55 and I-59. This is something you folks should have considered before planning to put the I-69 through to Tennessee, Arkansas, and Laredo TX...Admittedly the route is a bit out of place so you might as well make the best of it.
Considering that Southern states continue to grow, including Missouri and Arkansas, and for certain the traffic demands continue to grow, this would fit perfectly within the interregional highway infrastructure.
Additionally it serves as a shipping route for prawns freshly caught in the Gulf and will even ameliorate delivery to other areas of the South and Midwest. And then there is the hurricane evacuation factor: The route could easily evacuate not only southern Alabama but also southern Mississippi in fairly short order.
Another sticking point in the Springfield area is the railway crossing that cuts through the cloverleaf at the junction of US60 and US65. That rail line is little-used anyway and can easily be replaced with an overcrossing set at a height of about 18 to 20 feet.
Also a flyover for the I-29 north from Branson to Springfield will be needed. And neither MO123 nor MO7 nor MO13 need be replaced even where the I-29 is routed; even MO291 can remain in place even if there is a lot of multiplexing as there will be with US65 between Springfield and Little Rock.

And though it will appear unusual to place a multiplex on the I-40 between Conway and Little Rock one needs to understand that that corridor will not only become part of a major Gulf-Midwest corridor especially as ethanol and other biofuels become better developed as an industry in the USA but also this will pave the way for additional 3dis in that region including one that could bypass Little Rock altogether.

And the Jackson area will also be fairly well served by this route as their population continues to grow.

But in the end the I-29 certainly could use an extension to the Gulf and will further solve transport throughout the Southeast.

The Witches Cabinet Needs Your Help!

I just read about this in my email from Shadow Dark Fyre from The Domain And Realms Forum (click this link) about some folks who really could use some help and some support. I want everyone in here to read the whole post and offer support from some decent minded businesspersons who happen to be getting stabbed in the back by other folks claiming to share their Pagan faith.
=================================================

Hi! Sorry, you had to hear this but the witches cabinet in Katy will be closing .My wife and I set out in good faith to open a pagan temple and a store. But greed and power took over with two of my students. Feb. I incited Cheyenne and Manny into the craft for the first time in there lives . They then preceded to call themselves hps / hp of our coven with the backing of there kids in the coven it was a Koo. But because my wife and I are true witches we stepped down and let them lead. Then they set there eyes on totally running the store and locked us out of the store and removed us from the bank account.

But as you know we never publicized this dirty laundry on the web for fear it would hurt the business. so we had an attorney get the bank account frozen and the keys for the new locks cut and we had a meeting and resolved the mater at that time . well we all started over . But of course that didn't last long sinita, revae and i were given the cold shoulder.

we were the unwanted ex husband so we stepped back and let Cheyenne and her kids just run the store . but for the last three months the store has been run into the ground we started out with no debt and now the store owes more per month than it brings in. so we told them we could no longer bail the store out of debt. ha they told me either give them 1500 dollars or they would forcibly remove us as ( owners ) so my wife and I being the first owners of the store . going on the advice of our Attorney Got ALL of the files for taxes, 1 /3 of the merchandise, and all of the things that belonged to us personally. and we did this at 6:00 Am before the store was open so as not to hurt the stores rep.

you see we owned the name witches cabinet since 2003 when we still worked for Diann at sellers mystical cottage . and we were in the process of opening store # 2 when we got the message that store #1 was failing. The reason we haven't posted on Witches Cabinet Yahoo Group and on West side Pagans Yahoo Group is because we have been moderated not allowed to speak. Any thing we send Cheyenne just deletes. So no one in the group even knows what we say. We need help to get the truth out. Not because we want pity. But because they can and will do this to others. We just want peace. I do not hate Cheyenne, Manny, Krystal, Fred, Cory, Robert, Liz, Josh, or Sinita, but I am glad for the time that we had. And the friendship that we shared. I do have sorrow that power and greed came between a family. That the Wiccan Rede, that I live my life by and the justice to protect the innocent has failed. I hope with all my heart that my friends can find peace, in their lives and wish the very best for all of them, in their lives. I pray that they will be successful in any venture that they pursue. However, as far as Witches Cabinet in Katy Texas goes, the phones will be turned off on the 5Th of this month. The power will be turned off on Monday. And the store in Katy is closed as of Tuesday May 03, 2006. There is no sales tax id. in the store. There are no catalogs to order new merchandise, at that location. We as the owners of Witches Cabinet apologize for our dirty laundry.

And any inconvenience that we may have caused our community.

As of today Cheyenne, Manny, Krystal are considered warlocks. And anything they say as of this moment should be taken with a grain of salt. They bare false witness against their family, and have been banished from the coven, Oakley Forest Clan. Stripped of any titles, powers or magic they may have received while under my tutelage.Sincerely, Kris Acly AKA Lord Sterling Knight OakleyP.S. We need your help to get the truth out. We are censored and can not defend ourselves. We only ask that you put this in your own words and spread the message. I hope that we can get through this hard time. And look forward to doing business with you in the future.

But most importantly that we haven't lost your respect and love. Feel free to leave out personal information that I am telling you. We don't want to gossip, or bare false witness against our brothers and sisters. No matter how far they have fallen there is always hope. Thank you for your love and support may the god and goddess bless you and yours. May all who help reap nothing but positive and wondrous Karmic rewards or fortunes.

Email: WitchesCabinet@yahoo.com
Phone: (832) 435 4164
=================================

Brother Kris, you have my wholehearted support. As a Christian I believe it is important to show respect for others of my faith; that is why you will never see me as a Pentecostal attacking other Pentecostals, or Baptists, or Lutherans, or even Catholics.
And I hope that if you are reading this, no matter WHAT your faith, you too will show your support. Don't get too eager to preach, that is not important so much as helping these folks with their business.
And these are decent minded businesspersons with a positive approach toward both their faith and their business. They want to develop their business and having had a business in the past I can relate easily to their concerns.

The Phenomenon Of Paedophile Teachers Is More Widespread---Worldwide

Recently I covered the case of paedophile teacher Debra Lafave including the woeful nonpunishment she received for raping a teenage boy.
Not long after that I learned of another case in Delaware, the case of Rachel Holt, who ALSO raped a teenage boy who was a student of hers in public school as well.
And then there has been a lot more attention paid to Tennessee paedophile teacher Pamela Rogers Turner who has been BUSTED for having a Myspace blog (1) and for contacting the teen boy whom she violated (2) BOTH in violation of her probation.
Now I find that there has been a number of other cases covered on Wikipedia and in Australian media, with no fewer than three such high profile cases in recent years of paedophile women working as teachers raping their male students.
And I have a real problem with the double standard afforded to female paedophile teachers versus male paedophile teachers. Why is it that paedophile females in public schools get only days or weeks behind bars yet their male counterparts ALWAYS get multiyear sentences?
Folks, this problem bothers the HELL out of me and chances are it bothers you too.
What we need is a judicioprosecutorial structure which LEVELS the playfield by mandating tough sentences for paedophile teachers of BOTH sexes AND prosecutors willing to have paedophile teachers irrespective of sex (or gender for those of you in Soviet Monica) locked up, meaning stop the 30 day jail terms for paedophile female teachers and start locking them down for 30 years or more in the toughest prison possible, and make them have to live in general population with the other female inmates who are oftentimes locked away from THEIR children themselves and show NO mercy for paedophiles either just as male prisoners show paedophiles no mercy.
Of course the misandrist extreme leftist militant feminist gangs will disagree with that. Well, it's time we the people rose up against that sort of kidglove treatment for women and started demanding---and then giving them---more HAMFISTED treatment like we give the men!
And let's have a look at some of the grave examples from Down Under...
Karen Ellis engaged in a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old student during October and November 2003, during which time she worked as a physical education teacher at a school in Melbourne, and even had sex with him in the same bed with which she slept with her husband. Vicious criticism erupted nationwide in the wake of her nonpunishment.
Then there is Heidi Choat, who seduced and had a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old in Central Queensland in 1998 and 1999. And she was mollycoddled at first but then finally stripped of her teaching position only to face a rather paltry sentence of two years.
Then there is Victorian paedophile teacher Cindy Leanne Howell who in 2005 pled guilty and faced a 5 year prison term for her relationship with a 15-year-old boy.
Looks like Australian justice is also having to face the same problem with paedophile teachers that WE are having to face. And the solution is simple:

• Stop the double standards---NOW! Female criminals need to face the SAME punishment that a MAN would face.
• Start giving female paedophile teachers the SAME LONG SENTENCES for their crimes that they would get if they were males committing the same offences.
• And if you are the parent of a young boy and his teacher(s) is(are) female, particularly young females who would be considered attractive, watch her/them like a hawk. They must understand that we need to verify their trust first. Certainly female teachers are about as likely to look like sick pigs like Madonna, Cindy Sheehan, or Feminazi Feinstein as they are to look like Kylie Minogue, Paula Abdul, or Dayna Devon, but we need to be on our guard.

Of course this is not to impugn every teacher and suspect him or her of being a potential paedophile; however it is to the benefit of EVERY parent to keep their eye on the school, and particularly on the instructors and administrators as well.

No matter WHERE you live.

Dr. Razavi's Good to Know Info: Is It Safe to Eat Chicken in Asia ?

Just visited a place called Dr. Razavi's Good to Know Info: Is It Safe to Eat Chicken in Asia ? was the topic I started reading into. Actually there was a topic on travelling in China and I left a question about the recommendation against poliomyelitis vaccine boosters she offered.
Dr Razavi is based at the Google HQ in California and appears fairly sharp with regard to her knowledge of medicine. It's a decent enough place and she even cuts through the hype to get to what is for the best part straight talk...
A lot like what I deal with over here...

Sixteen Interstates The DOT SHOULD Build: FOCUS: Interstate 44---San Diego, California To Calais, Maine

Admittedly a lot of folks are going to question the logic of so much extension for this Midwestern and Southern Interstate route.

That is because traditionally Interstate routes are set in specific positions on the map based upon the numerical system established by the AASHTO at the beginning of the Interstate Highway System exactly 50 years ago.

And the extension of Interstate 44 from its current western and eastern termini at Wichita Falls and St Louis respectively to San Diego and Calais, Maine, also respectively, not only opens new opportunities for international truck transport between Atlantic Canada and Mexico---in fact an x44 spur actually connects TO the Mexican border---but it also sets the new length of the I-44 at just about 3200 miles, which would exceed the length of the longest current interstate, the I-90 from Boston to Seattle.

And what is the reasoning behind this new transcontinental route? Part of it lies in Nafta, the North American Free Trade Agreement. And whilst I disagree with its existence I must admit that this route not only enhances accessibility for San Diego and Atlantic Canada (including New Brunswick and Nova Scotia) but also gives the former a direct transcontinental route: San Diego is rapidly growing with some one and a quarter million people in its city limits alone, yet the nearest that it has to a transcontinental route is the I-8 which branches off the I-10 in Arizona.

Another unique characteristic is the I-44 also crosses the White Sands Missile Range between Alamogordo and Truth or Consequences in New Mexico, which ALSO opens up another defence characteristic as per one of the primary original purposes of the Eisenhower Interstate System.

Additionally this puts several other cities on a major cross country corridor, specifically Cincinnati, OH and Nashua, NH. The route crosses California and Arizona desert, New Mexico mountains and missile test ranges, Texas prairie, Illinois plains and Indiana farmland, then bucolic Ohio hillsides and Amish territory, steep West Virginia and Pennsylvania mountainsides and valleys, approaching the Catskills of New York and then western Massachusetts, followed by lower New Hampshire and even into coastal Maine, perhaps easing lobster and maple syrup producers' travel burdens.

Let's have a look at some maps, shall we?

First let's have a look at the Eastern Extension:

And now let's have a look at how the Western extension turned out:

You will note that the Mountain Southwest Expansion Plan incorporates a number of other route proposals, at least one of which will be addressed in this series.

Also, note where the California routing goes, and as an added bonus here is a look at what San Diego's metropolitan area looks with the addition of not only the I-44 but also several other 3dis including a long x08 route through the entire county.

Incidentally my earliest I-44 extension into San Diego County was routed through the more northerly Oceanside and the earliest plan was to send an x44 into San Diego. Instead I chose to send the I-44 into San Diego via existing routes with state route markers if only because San Diego area freeways are built to the most modern standards of any metropolitan area in California, not to mention of course the higher population concentration served by going to downtown San Diego.

The I-44 is the most diagonal of the Interstates with the exception of Interstates 24 and 74, and the coming I-22. But this route also provides another direct connection from the Pacific Coast to the Northeast as well as between the East Coast and New England and the Southwest. The number of states served on this route would be quintupled and the number of miles quadrupled but the entire nation would enjoy the benefits, from the hotel manager in Joplin to the mechanic in Tempe to the builder in Binghamton. And this route would prove to be a new major artery for America in so many ways.