Oklahoma plans to use nitrogen gas as its preferred method of execution when it resumes using the death penalty, the first US state to do so.
The announcement was made by State Attorney General Mike Hunter and Corrections Director Joe Allbaugh.
Capital punishment has been on hold in Oklahoma for three years amid problems with the lethal injection method.
Mr Hunter told a news conference on Wednesday that nitrogen was easy to obtain and led to a painless death.
Authorities will work together over the coming months to develop new protocols, the two men added. It is not clear exactly how soon executions will resume.
#8
Gallows humor aside, the same hypocrisy that applies to objections involving lethal injection will still be present. Nobody on the left ever complains about any of the mixtures involved in "death with dignity" euthanasia. I'm unaware of any of the drug manufacturers making ostentatious press statements that they don't want their products used for euthanasia. Likewise some idiot in Australia is offering a three-D printed euthanasia machine that uses nitrogen. The press is giddy about it. Watch them turn on a dime now that it might be used for execution.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/16/2018 11:52 Comments ||
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#9
Heroin mega-dose... The list goes on and on, but again the problem is that if you are opposed to the Death Penalty per se there is no method that will satisfy you.
#11
I could be wrong but I think nitrogen or helium would be a peaceful death. It would displace the oxygen and you'd breathe it as if it were air so your body wouldn't freak out until your heart stopped. That's why factories that deal with the two gases treat them as so deadly.
It's not allowable to make an example of a condemned person any more. It's death that's the punishment, not the dying. A real philosopher's knot for sure. "Let the punishment fit the crime" is just too old school to fly nowadays...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/16/2018 14:53 Comments ||
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#14
a peaceful death
More than one relative of a murder victim has commented after witnessing a lethal injection that the condemned "just went to sleep," "got of easy," etcetera.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/16/2018 14:58 Comments ||
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#15
I have no issue with killing them the way they killed others, I was just discussing what would be acceptable by the masses and what would not.
Precisely. Years ago in Pittsburgh, a couple gangbangers were shooting it out. A little kid in the back seat of a car at a gas station was killed by a stray bullet.
1) Not premeditated, so death penalty not even in play. Stupid.
2) The way to handle that incident (in my mind) would be to bring the shooter back to the scene of the crime, handcuff him to a street sign, bring every gangbanger from every lockup and jail around, say "You know why we are all here," and then shoot him in the head. I'm betting there'd be some deterrent value in that.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/16/2018 15:23 Comments ||
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#17
Old Sparky not good enough?
Not 'Green' enough.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
03/16/2018 16:56 Comments ||
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#18
What if it is solar powered? High noon does have a certain cachet? :-)
#19
Nitrogen sounds good. There is plenty of it and it is carbon free.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
03/16/2018 20:02 Comments ||
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#20
Heroin mega-dose...
Seems to me that the cheapest method would be to recycle seized drug shipments, after testing for purity. Inject them with fentanyl or carfentanyl, while stashing a 1000-year supply of execution drugs, instead of destroying them.
[ARABNEWS] When Asadullah Poya’s wife gave birth to their third child in a tiny village in rural Afghanistan, he immediately thought of Donald Trump ...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States... Not Donald Trump the upstart politician, who at that time was in the thick of the 2016 presidential campaign, but Donald Trump the celebrity businessman. He had just recently read a Dari translation of what appears to be "Trump: How to Get Rich," published in 2004 by the then-star of "The Apprentice," and was transfixed.
"I loved his personality. I thought he is the best at economics and he is great at politics," Poya said. "I thought ’This is a great man.’ I liked the way he decides he wants something and then he goes and gets it."
So when his baby came into the world in August 2016, and he saw that the boy had an unusual shock of blond hair, he named him Donald Trump, hoping it would bring him good fortune.
It hasn’t.
Poya’s own parents were furious that he had given their grandchild a non-Moslem name. The imam of the village mosque devoted an entire Friday sermon to the matter, calling the name an insult. The opposition doesn’t have much to do with President Trump’s politics, but with the decision to break with tradition and name the boy for a non-Moslem.
"Every day the situation got worse," Poya said. "Every day in the house, when I was calling my son Trump, my father got angrier and angrier, until finally my father couldn’t tolerate it anymore."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2018 00:00 ||
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[Free Beacon] The Trump administration on Thursday imposed economic sanctions on 19 Russians and two Russian intelligence agencies for their role in the 2016 election meddling and costly cyber attacks and penetrations.
The Russian spy agencies included the Federal Security Service and the GRU military intelligence service, along with six GRU officers.
No FSB officers were named in the Treasury Department list of sanctioned Russians, although 13 Russians indicted last month in a separate action, were named.
The Russians are linked to the Internet Research Agency, a St. Petersburg operation that used social media to interfere with the presidential election.
Government officials did not say whether the Internet Research Agency was a front organization for the Russian government.
Officials also revealed that Russian cyber actors conducted reconnaissance into industrial control systems related to the U.S. electrical grid in a bid to obtain sensitive information that could be used in future attacks aimed at shutting down power networks.
"The administration is confronting and countering malign Russian cyber activity, including their attempted interference in U.S. elections, destructive cyber-attacks, and intrusions targeting critical infrastructure," Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in announcing the sanctions.
"These targeted sanctions are a part of a broader effort to address the ongoing nefarious attacks emanating from Russia," he stated.
Additional action will be taken under new legislation known as the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, Mnuchin said, "to hold Russian government officials and oligarchs accountable for their destabilizing activities by severing their access to the U.S. financial system."
The sanctions were the first to be imposed under the new law, as well as an executive order related to cyber security.
On the election meddling, the officials said the Russians used false online personas to conduct influence operations that they said affected millions of Americans during the election.
Regarding the infrastructure cyber attacks, officials said since at least March 2016 Russian government cyber attacks were carried out on multiple U.S. critical infrastructures, including energy, nuclear, commercial facilities, water, aviation, and critical manufacturing networks.
[ATimes]Recent reports by Chinese media confirm previous rumors that the PLA had mounted a railgun on a landing ship.
China is also set to be the first country to mount a railgun on a warship. The PLA landing ship Haiyang Shan, carrying what appeared to be a shipborne railgun, was seen undergoing tests at a dock in Wuhan before its reported sea trail this year.
Zhang Xiao, associate research fellow at the Wuhan-based PLA Naval University of Engineering, said the breakthrough was a hard-won result after hundreds of failures and more than 50,000 tests.
She also led a team that scaled the technical hurdles of installing shipborne electromagnetic launching systems, believed to be planned for use in future Chinese aircraft carriers.
[ARABNEWS] US media company Meredith Corp. has hired advisers to explore a sale of its Time, Fortune, Money and Sports Illustrated magazines following its $1.84 billion acquisition of Time Inc. in January, people familiar with the matter said.
The move illustrates how Meredith sees some of Time Inc’s titles that attract primarily male readership as not playing to its core strength in women’s magazines, which include Better Homes & Gardens, Family Circle and Martha Stewart Living.
The Des Moines, Iowa-based company has tapped investment banks Citigroup Inc. and Houlihan Lokey Inc. to find potential buyers for the magazines, the sources said this week. There is no certainty that a divestiture will occur, the sources added.
While it’s possible that media, telecommunications or technology companies could express an interest in the magazines, a sale to wealthy individuals, such as philanthropists or billionaires, is viewed by Meredith as more likely, according to one of the sources.
The sources asked not to be identified because details of the sale process are confidential. Citigroup declined to comment, while Houlihan Lokey did not immediately return a request for comment.
“We are in fact exploring a number of additional changes to the (magazine) portfolio, including divestitures of brands and businesses that might perform better under a different owner,” Meredith CEO Steven Lacy told investors at a Deutsche Bank conference earlier this month.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2018 00:00 ||
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The arrest warrant which names princess Hassa bint Salman using a French spelling of her name, Hussat ben Salmane, was issued in late December, a source said, confirming a report by Le Point magazine.
The alleged victim was hired to carry out some refurbishment work at the princess’s apartment, located on the ultra-expensive Avenue Foch in western Paris, in September 2016.
He maintains that he took a photograph of the room that he was set to work on and was accused of taking pictures to sell them to the media.
The worker alleges that the princess then ordered her bodyguard to beat him up.
He says he was punched in the face, his hands were tied and he was then forced to kiss the princess’s feet.
The bodyguard was charged on 1 October 2016 with armed violence, theft, issuing death threats and holding someone against their will.
Setting a fine example of potential American leadership, isn't she? I swear she's doing this stuff on purpose just to make Americans look like idiots. With Justin Trudeau looking like a six year-old flinging spaghetti on his tour of India a few weeks ago, I'm sure they have quite the impression of Western political 'leadership'.
[News Weak] - Hillary Clinton has injured her wrist on a book tour of India in another fall while on official duty.
The former US presidential candidate was staying at Umaid Bhawan Palace, the one-time residence of the former royal family of Jodhpur, when she slipped in the bath, DNA India reported.
The former first lady was taken to the private Goyal Hospital at around 5am Wednesday.
#2
I am trying very hard to keep that visual image out of my brain.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
03/16/2018 13:34 Comments ||
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#3
The short answer is yes.
The natural instinct is to save the drink at the expense of the fall. The expert, however, is ambidextrous. Furthermore, the professional is simultaneous in skill.
Seeing how she is on 'official duty' and in the bathtub at 4 am, she was likely still trying to sober up when she reached for the bottle for a second glass of wine she lost traction and saved the bottle at the expense of her default pouring limb.
Her ego would suggest Heaven Hill. Her taste suggests Ten High...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/16/2018 14:45 Comments ||
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#8
4A.M.? Why can't she just decide to take leisurely and stealthy stroll through some random upizlla and then when the drunken stupor sets in, forgets where she is and begin beating on doors, trying to find a way in. Surely some concerned spidey-sense-equipped individual would aletrt the RAB to investi- (bangety-bangety-bang)gate......
[DAWN] An anti-terrorism court (ATC) in Lahore on Thursday sentenced a man to life imprisonment after finding him guilty in the Kasur child abuse scandal.
ATC judge Chaudhry Muhammad Ilyas announced the verdict against Haseem Amir in one of the 29 cases police had registered since the child abuse ring was uncovered in 2015.
Other suspects, including Aleem Asif, Naseem Shahzad and Maqsood Sindhi, were acquitted by the court over lack of evidence.
Amir was punished in FIR number 248/15 registered by Ganda Singhwala police. He has already been sentenced to life in prison in at least two other cases after the prosecution accused Amir and others of sexually assaulting young boys and filming the act to blackmail their families.
In Hussain Khanwala village in Kasur, videos were made of at least 280 children being sexually abused by a gang who later blackmailed their parents by threatening to leak the videos and received money from them.
The police, who had conspicuously failed to act despite pleas from some parents, eventually made dozens of arrests after festivities between relatives and authorities brought the issue into the media spotlight.
In March 2016, the Senate also passed a bill that criminalised sexual assault against minors, child pornography and trafficking for the first time ‐ previously only the acts of rape and sodomy were punishable by law.
Police had registered a total of 34 cases regarding the Kasur child abuse scandal. However, corruption finds a dozen alibis for its evil deeds... a joint investigation team had dismissed five cases as fake.
Last month, the ATC had awarded life sentence to three people, including Amir, that were nominated in one of the cases regarding the scandal. The three convicts were also slapped with a fine of Rs500,000 each.
Kasur has been in the limelight for recurring cases of child abuse in the area. Earlier in February, an ATC had awarded death sentence to the rapist and murderer of six-year-old Zainab in a high profile case that had sparked anger across the country with #JusticeForZainab becoming a rallying cry for an end to violence against children.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2018 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] A police officer in Sialkot who was caught on video manhandling a child during a raid on a residence in the Dhera Sindha area was suspended from active duty on Thursday.
The video, which went viral on social media, shows a police officer identified as Sadar Police Station's Sub-Inspector Tahir grabbing a girl sitting on a cycle of violence ─ believed to be between 4-7 years old ─ by her arm and tossing her harshly onto the ground at her family's home on Wednesday.
The girl's father, who is currently embroiled in an ongoing dispute with relatives, told DawnNewsTV that despite securing interim bail in the case, coppers had raided his home and misbehaved with his family, including the person shooting the video, who was allegedly subjected to physical violence and abusive language.
District Police Officer (DPO) Sialkot Asad Sarfaraz took notice of the incident and also condemned it.
"The police officer in question has been suspended," he said, adding: "Disrespect shown by any person in uniform towards the public will not be tolerated."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2018 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The ’disappearance’ of gold crown worth Rs2 million offered by Mayor Malik Aslam Naveed to Maryam Nawaz during her address to social media convention here on Feb 24 is shrouded in mystery.
Reports said the mayor had gifted the crown to Maryam Nawaz who directed that it should be donated to any local orphanage. The mayor said he didn’t know about the crown [now].
Muhammad Latif, a philanthropist affiliated with Allah Tawakli, a local charity, said this institution is located adjacent to the residence of MNA Chaudhry Hamid Hameed who had arranged the social media convention.
He said the MNA should have delivered the gift to it or the orphanage. "So far as I know no institution has received the gift."
When asked, the MNA was also ignorant about the issue.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2018 00:00 ||
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#1
it should be donated to any local orphanage
"My children will be orphans when I die," said the Mayor.
[DAWN] Terming the death of four children in Benazirabad district a ’human error’ and not the result of unsafe measles vaccine, the Sindh health ministry has said the matter had been taken up at the highest level and "strict disciplinary action" is being carried out against those involved in the sad episode.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... Health Secretary Fazlullah Pechuho told a presser on Wednesday that the incident occurred because of transfer of bacteria in a vial owing to erroneous administering of vaccine.
"An unfortunate incident occurred in Nawabshah (Benazirabad) on March 1 where three infants died during the mother and child week. We are all saddened by this event. We offer our heartfelt condolence to the families and relatives who lost their loved ones," said a statement issued by the health ministry on Wednesday.
Upon receiving the report of that tragic incident, it said, the Sindh government’s health ministry immediately formed an investigation committee comprised of government officers, paediatricians and technical partners and "the committee has established what went wrong".
"The Sindh government would like to inform the public and the media that these deaths did not take place because of the measles vaccine and that the vaccine being given to children was not expired. It is perfectly safe. It is the same vaccine being administered throughout the world and subscribes to international standards," claimed the health ministry.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/16/2018 00:00 ||
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“The experiments are beautiful and open up a new class of states of matter that really qualitatively are new and fascinating in their own right,” MIT theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate Frank Wilczek told Gizmodo. Wilczek proposed time crystals in 2012, while wondering whether certain properties changing in time, rather than in space, could yield new phases of matter. He said “the new discoveries... are certainly a recognizable descendant of the original vision and have retained the name.”
Physical laws are laden with symmetries—instances where an action produces the same reaction in a different environment. If you punch a solid wall with the same force, it will hurt equally no matter where along the length of the wall you punch it or what time of day it is—those are spatial and time translation symmetries. Some symmetries can break. Crystals, solids where particles arrange themselves in a lattice, break a so-called spatial translational symmetry, since the molecules prefer a specific place in space. If you had a picket fence instead of a solid wall, that might break a spatial translational symmetry, since punching a picket feels different than punching the space between planks.
Wilczek’s idea was simple: Can molecules break time translational symmetry? Can certain solids crystallize in time, preferring different states at different time intervals? That question became: Do certain periodic behaviors of a collection of atoms have preferred tempos? This would kind of be like 17-year cicadas—they could come every year, but instead they break a time translational symmetry, since they clump on the 17th year rather than appearing evenly every year.
#4
#3 How 'bout them Vols. I doubt they'll finish with better than 7 wins this year.
Its more like Woo is the Vols. The Vols are caught in that time continuum that existed after the fall of Phil Fulmer...never again to return to the days of greatness, but remain the lowly door mat of the SEC...even losing to Vandy on a regular basis.
Lots of hot NFL free agent action going on this week, except for one guy...
[ESPN] - SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Two days into free agency, many players have signed with new teams or re-signed with their current ones. Safety Eric Reid isn't one of them.
Reid, who was the first player to kneel alongside Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem in protest of racial inequality and systemic oppression, took to Twitter on Thursday afternoon to state his feelings on how his protests might be affecting his job search.
#1
Well, I mean, the NFL has already said they don't believe the kneeling stuff affected their ratings. They should be all in, I mean, talent like this is in such short supply...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
03/16/2018 15:17 Comments ||
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#2
painful lesson showing that actions have consequences...I'd have told him that for free. I'm quite sure he would have listened..
[Wash Times] A Georgia school district is investigating after a 7-year-old student, "the only white girl in her class," according to her father, was cast to play a segregationist in a school play.
In a video of the play, 7-year-old Anastasia Bertram, playing the part of a segregationist, yelled at a group of black children to "go away, you don’t belong here!" She then marched with a sign that read, "Go home," on one side and "Cursed is the man who integrates" on the other, ABC-affiliated WSB-TV reported.
Douglas County School District said it is investigating the March 2 incident at Burnett Elementary School in Douglasville, after the girl’s parents complained that they were never notified about their daughter’s involvement in the play, and that they had no idea the nature of her role until they were sitting in the audience.
#2
I told you they were gonna put y'all back in chains...
Posted by: Joe Biden ||
03/16/2018 9:06 Comments ||
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#3
A new 'blood libel' of the Progressives? It was the Donks not all of America that promoted slavery, segregation, jim crow laws, KKK, et al. Sort of skips over the whites who gave 'their last full measure of devotion' for four long years in numbers unimaginable in today's terms, who provide the votes for the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments and the Civil and Voting Rights Acts.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Recent reports by Chinese media confirm previous rumors that the PLA had mounted a railgun on a landing ship.
[TheGuardian] Princess 
[DAWN] Terming the death of four children in Benazirabad district a ’human error’ and not the result of unsafe measles vaccine, the Sindh health ministry has said the matter had been taken up at the highest level and "strict disciplinary action" is being carried out against those involved in the sad episode.
