Pre-Teen Brothers Guilty of Vicious Attack

It is not unusual to hear in the news about victims of brutal attacks. This story however shows the depths of depravity and inhumanity that some people are capable of perpetrating on others. The various acts of torture, abuse and forced sexual activity are in themselves cause to recoil; but the realization that neither the victims nor the attackers had even reached puberty should make each and every one of us pause and say --- WTF!!?!

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Two brothers in Britain aged 10 and 12, from the town of Edlington, near Doncaster, pleaded guilty to luring two young boys, aged 9 and 10, into a secluded area of woodland and ravines to see some animals — and then torturing them in an attack so violent it left one of the victims pleading to be left alone to die.

The two young boys were robbed, beaten with sticks and stones, stabbed, burned with cigarettes, forced to eat nettles, had their genitals stomped on, forced to have sex with each other and told to commit suicide as part of their grotesque torture.

Prosecutors charged the two aggressors with attempted murder but, so as to spare the two young victims the further trauma of having to testify in court, accepted lesser charges of robbery, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.

See video clip below

This was not the first time the brothers had been in trouble. They in fact both had a history of violence. The 12-year-old had already appeared in court four times for acts of violence. His younger brother had been reprimanded for a variety of crimes, including assault.

The names of all the boys involved have been withheld due to their ages. However, in my opinion, the crimes that the two brothers committed were so horrible and adult-like that their names and addresses should be made public and published so that the world can be wary of two monsters that walk among us.

Below is a copy the news report widely distributed in the media.

9/3/2009, 9:20 p.m. EDT

RAPHAEL G. SATTER

The Associated Press

(AP) — LONDON - A pair of British brothers pleaded guilty Thursday to luring two young boys into a clearing to see some animals-and then torturing them in an attack so violent it left one of the victims pleading to be left alone to die.

The attackers, aged 10 and 11 at the time, robbed, beat, and stabbed their victims with sticks and bricks. One child, aged 10, had a sink thrown on to his head, while his nephew, aged 9, was forced to eat nettles. At one point the young tormentors tried to force the victims to have sex with each another.

None of the children can be named for legal reasons.

So violent was the attack that prosecutors charged the aggressors with attempted murder-making them some of the youngest ever accused of such a crime in Britain. Media here compared the case to the shocking death of James Bulger, a 2-year-old abducted from a shopping center near Liverpool in 1993 by two 10-year-olds who punched him, beat him with bricks and hit him with an iron bar before leaving his body on a railroad track.

Britain's prime minister weighed in, calling the case "disturbing."

The pair denied attempted murder, but admitted lesser charges of robbery, intentionally causing grievous bodily harm and causing a child to engage in sexual activity. Prosecutors at Sheffield Crown Court, in northern England, said they would accept the pleas, in part to spare the young victims the ordeal of a trial.

The April 4 assault came to light when a group of girls in the former English mining town of Edlington found the 9-year-old stumbling around, spattered in blood, with a cut on his arm which went down to the bone. His uncle was later found unconscious, naked from the waist down, with a large cut to the head and bruising around his neck.

Prosecutor Graham Measures told an earlier hearing that the younger boy said he and his uncle went to a secluded area of woodland and ravines with the brothers, who said they wanted to show them some toads and foxes.

It was then that the brothers turned on their victims, stealing a small amount of cash and a cell phone. They then began beating them with sticks and bricks, at one point stabbing the younger child in the arm and then jamming cigarettes into the gaping wound. His genitals were stamped on, and his eyelids were burned with cigarettes. He was forced to smoke, eat nettles and then ordered to commit suicide.

He said he then picked up a stick and put it into his mouth to convince his attackers he was harming himself.

The uncle received even harsher treatment, having a broken sink smashed against his head and a noose rung around his neck. The younger brother told police that his uncle pleaded with the attackers, saying: "Leave me, I can't see. Leave me to die."

The 9-year-old said the attack only ended when the brothers said they had to go to meet their stepfather-although one brother warned his sibling that they should not leave before killing their victims.

The brothers had a history of violence. The 11-year-old, now 12, had already appeared in court four times for acts of violence. His younger brother had been reprimanded for a variety of crimes, including assault.

They lived with five other male siblings and their 36-year-old mother in a run-down home on a different part of town before being moved to a foster home in Edlington about a month before the attack.

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Black Woman Imprisoned and Raped by Racists

Megan Williams, 20, who is Black, was recovering in hospital after her week-long ordeal. She was imprisoned, raped, choked, subjected to racial slurs and endured many other terrible abuses. Six persons, three males and three females, were arrested and charged with multiple felonies related to this incident. They were all white. They all had criminal records. Since 1991, police have filed 108 criminal charges against the six. See the video here


An anonymous tip about a woman being held against her will, led Logan County sheriff's deputies to the house where Megan Williams was incarcerated. On arrival they were met by Frankie Lee Brewster who was sitting on the front porch and at first said she was alone at home. Megan then showed up at the door with her arms outstretched, saying "Help me." She had four stab wounds in her left leg and her eyes were bruised. Six people face charges, including kidnapping, sexual assault and lying to police in the torture of Megan Williams, 20, at the remote hillside home in Big Creek, a rural area about 50 miles southwest of the West Virginia state capital, Charleston.

A criminal complaint filed in Logan County said the victim told police that suspect Karen Burton said, "That's what we do to niggers around here" after cutting the woman's hair, choking her with a cable and cutting her ankle with a knife.

There was much more to come. The woman's captors forced her to eat dog and rat droppings. They also poured hot water over her, made her drink from a toilet, and beat and sexually assaulted her during a span of about a week.

Logan County Prosecutor Brian Abraham said that while race appeared to be a "contributory factor," he denied there was a problem with racial tension in the area.

"This is unprecedented in Logan County," he said. "We don't have a problem with racial crime."
"It's the kind of thing you would see in a horror movie," Abraham said.

"I mean, I've been in law enforcement for over 30 years, and this is probably the most horrendous thing that I've ever seen or ever encountered," said Logan County Sheriff Eddie Hunter.

All six defendants are in jail in lieu of $100,000 cash bail each.

• Frankie Brewster, 49, is charged with kidnapping, sexual assault, malicious wounding and giving false information during a felony investigation. According to the criminal complaint, Brewster forced the victim to have oral sex with her, threatened to kill the victim and withheld information from police when they arrived at her residence to investigate a missing person report.




• Bobby Brewster, 24, also of Big Creek, is charged with kidnapping, first-degree sexual assault, malicious wounding, assault during commission of a felony. According to the criminal complaint, Brewster forced to victim to have sex with him, threatened to kill her, stabbed the victim and forced her to eat rat and dog feces and drink from a toilet bowl.




• Danny J. Combs, 20, of Harts, is charged with sexual assault and malicious wounding during the commission of a felony. According to the criminal complaint, he forced the victim to have sex with him at knife point.




• Karen Burton, 46, of Chapmanville, was charged with malicious wounding, battery and assault during the commission of a felony. According to a criminal complaint filed in Logan County, she pulled the victim’s hair, choked the victim, cut her ankles and told her “that’s what we do to niggers around here.




• Burton's daughter, Alisha Burton, 23, and George A. Messer, 27, both of Chapmanville, are charged with assault during the commission of a felony and battery. According to the criminal complaint, Burton beat and choked the victim.

Both Megan Williams and her mother, Carmen Williams, agreed to release her name to the press. Carmen Williams said she wanted people to know what her daughter had endured. See her interview here

"I want other parents and other mothers to realize that there are people out there like that. To keep a closer eye on their children," she said. "You never think it'll happen to your child but obviously I never thought, but here we are."
"I know the Lord will somehow bring us through this, but you know, it's just devastating," said Carmen Williams.

Neighbors in Charleston recalled her as sweet-natured but said her family members kept largely to themselves. "They were isolated, in a way," said the Rev. Norman Jones of the Greater Emmanuel Gospel Tabernacle, which Carmen Williams attended. "Carmen was very protective of Megan, so it was hard to know her well."

It appears as if Megan knew at least one of her attackers. According to prosecutor Brian Abraham, Megan was not a random target. She had a "social relationship" with one of the suspects, Bobby Brewster. "That is based on the fact that she was present at his residence on a prior date." Bobby Brewster was charged in July with domestic battery and assault after a domestic dispute involving Megan.

U.S. Attorney Charles Miller announced that his office will not seek federal charges in the alleged rape and torture of Megan Williams:

"Because of the serious nature of the pending charges in Logan County, both in the factual allegations and in the potential penalties if the defendants are convicted, we have and will continue to work closely with local authorities," Miller said in a release. "At this time, we believe it is appropriate to defer to the Logan County Prosecutor in pursuing the state charges against the defendants."

While federal civil rights or state hate crime charges remain an option, a state kidnapping count that carries a sentence of up to life in prison will provide the best chance for successful prosecution, officials said. State hate crime charges, which carry a sentence of 10 years, could come later, prosecutor Brian Abraham said. State sexual assault charges carry a penalty up to 35 years in prison.
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Witches Killed in India

Two Indian women Radhika Gorai, 65, and Parvati Sabar, 30, were killed, beaten to death by their neighbors. Why? Because they were witches! This happened in Jharkhand's steel city of Jamshedpur (see map for location). When Betka Sabar, 10, died of tuberculosis, the two women were blamed by the family members of the child. They were taken and beaten with iron rods until they were dead. Parvati's younger sister Chunnu Sabar told the police that the villagers branded the women witches and killed them as punishment for allegedly practicing black magic. She also claimed that her sister was raped before being killed. The police are looking for five suspects in the killing. Witchcraft allegations are rampant in Jharkhand and other parts of India. In the last 10 years, more than 600 people, mostly women, have been killed in the state after being branded witches.

Ramani Devi,45, was one of the lucky ones. She was accused of witchcraft and was badly tortured, but she survived. Not only is she a survivor but she is now fighting back on behalf of hundreds of vulnerable women. She is leading a program all over Jharkhand through 'Nukkad Nataks' (street plays) to raise awareness about the practice and save many others who might meet a fate worse than her own.

'I simply do not want repetition of what I had to face. It is all because of superstitious beliefs and nothing else,' says Ramani. 'I was tortured and forced to eat human excreta just because I was branded a witch by the ojhas (witch doctors).'

There are scores of women who have been branded witch by villagers and tortured. Many were killed, sometimes by beheading or dismembering their limbs. Many like Ramani Devi are forced to drink urine or consume human excreta. Some are ostracized and thrown out of their villages.

'When these women tell the gory acts and inhuman things they were subjected to, people can feel it. They succeed in pulling a good number of crowds,' says Vasvi, a social worker engaged with Free Legal Aid Committee (FLAC), an NGO that organizes the street plays and works to spread awareness against witch killings.

Vaisakhi, another survivor, in her 50s, had also been brutally beaten up by a villager, who branded her a witch.

'It is a blot on our society. We have to face such inhuman torture even in this 21st century. It is a shame that when women have reached space, we are subjected to such horror.' says Vaisakhi.

In the interiors of states like Bihar and West Bengal, ‘witches’ or ‘dains’ and their children are still hunted and killed. Witch-hunting is one of the least talked-about acts of violence. The murder of individuals and entire families accused of witchcraft is common in other states too, such as Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. From 1991 to 2000, over 522 cases of witch-hunting have been registered in Bihar alone.

The Free Legal Aid Committee (FLAC), based in the new state of Jharkhand, first got involved in the case of Mani Kui of Karandih, Jamshedpur, who had been attacked and badly wounded by a group of people who accused her of witchcraft. The mob also killed her husband and son. FLAC decided to investigate the case, and initiated a widespread discussion of the practice.

FLAC has been successful in highlighting the fact that it is not superstition that is at the root of many of these accusations of witchcraft but socio-economic factors: land-grabbing, property disputes, personal rivalry and resistance to sexual advances. In many cases, a woman who inherits land from her deceased husband is asked to disown the land by her husband’s family or other men. If she resists, they approach the Ojhas (traditional village doctors) and bribe them to brand her a witch. G S Jaiswal of FLAC says, “It is difficult to shake people’s faith in witch-doctors.” Lack of health facilities and legal support add to the problem. This strategy of branding a woman a witch is also used against women who spurn the sexual advances of the powerful men in the community.

For more on FLAC's campaign against witch-hunting click here

For more information on witch-hunting in India Click here and Also here

Rumsfeld's Farewell

Donald Rumsfeld, outgoing secretary of Defense, took his 15th and final trip to Iraq, to say farewell to the troops that he has been responsible for since the US led invasion in 2003 that toppled Saddam Hussein.

Rumsfeld leaves behind a legacy of almost 3,000 dead American troops and ten of thousands of Iraqis killed in the more than three years since "liberating" Iraq from Saddam. His leadership had been under attack for years and many had called for his resignation. However President Bush loyally refused to force Rumsfeld out, even after the scandal of Abu Ghraib.

It was the 2006 election results that seemed to push President Bush to replace Rumsfeld. One day after the elections, when it was clear that Democrats would control both the House and the Senate, the President finally announced that Rumsfeld would leave office on Dec 18, 2006. Rumsfeld was just 9 days short of becoming the longest serving Secretary of Defense. He does however have the distinction of being the only person to serve as Secretary of Defense twice in 1975-1977 under President Ford and 2001-2006 under President Bush. He was also the youngest and the oldest person to hold that office.

On his farewell tour of Iraq, Rumsfeld tried to encourage the troops:

"For the past six years, I have had the opportunity and, I would say, the privilege, to serve with the greatest military on the face of the Earth," Rumsfeld said to more than 1,200 soldiers and Marines at al-Asad, a sprawling air base in western Anbar province, an insurgent stronghold.

"We feel great urgency to protect the American people from another 9/11 or a 9/11 times two or three. At the same time, we need to have the patience to see this task through to success. The consequences of failure are unacceptable," Rumsfeld said at al-Asad air base in western Iraq. "The enemy must be defeated."

Terrorists defeat Habeas Corpus!

As we all know by now the Military Commissions Act of 2006 was made law by George W Bush on October 17 2006. For brief overview of the issues involved click here . Keith Olbermann of MSNBC uses US Historical Events to explain why this law is so dangerous. He uses the words and actions of past Presidents and George Bush himself to dispute the wisdom of signing this bill into law. See video below.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVtu-idqL8E]

“With the distance of history, the questions will be narrowed and few: Did this generation of Americans take the threat seriously, and did we do what it takes to defeat that threat?” George W. Bush

"Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety" Benjamin Franklin

Habeas Corpus......Gone!

The Geneva Conventions......Optional!

The moral force we shined outwards to the world as an eternal beacon and inwards at ourselves as an eternal protection......Snuffed Out!

These things you have done Mr. Bush! Keith Olbermann