(CNN) — In a country with a flourishing porn industry and an annual penis festival, it may come as a surprise that an artist with a mission to make female genitalia "more casual and pop" has run afoul of authorities.
But in Japan, a conceptual artist known for creating works inspired by her genitals is being held by Tokyo police on charges of sharing obscene material electronically.
Megumi Igarashi, who goes by the pseudonym Rokudenashiko (which means "good-for-nothing kid"), launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise money to build a kayak in the shape of her vagina using a 3D printer.
In exchange for donations, supporters of the project were given data that would allow them to make their own 3D prints of her genitals.
Police arrested Igarashi Saturday, charging her with "distributing data that could create an obscene shape through a 3D printer."
The 42-year-old denies the charges, saying that she doesn't acknowledge that the work is "an obscenity." For her, it's a piece of fine art.
In fact, Igarashi came up with the the idea for the project based on her own self doubt. Female genitalia is such a taboo in Japanese society, she explained on her fundraising page, that it has become "overly hidden."
She did not know what a vagina "should look like," she said, and worried that her own was "abnormal."
Images of penises, on the other hand, were an acceptable part of pop culture, she said. (And anyone who's witnessed crowds licking phallic lollipops and sporting penis-shaped glasses at Japan's "Festival of the Steel Phallus" will find it difficult to argue with her.)
The artist has embarked on a whole series of cutesy works inspired by the female anatomy, from smartphone cases to a giant kawaii mascot. She created miniature dioramas, including one of workers toiling away in a vagina-shaped crevice at Fukushima's damaged nuclear plant.
Many critics of her arrest have pointed out that Japan only banned the possession of child pornography a month ago, and even then, the ban excludes explicit anime and manga cartoons.
Distributing uncensored images of real genitalia is a crime under the country's obscenity laws.
More than 17,000 people had signed an online petition calling for Igarashi's release as of Wednesday.
One of her lawyers, Kazuyuki Minami, acknowledges that not everyone will appreciate Igarashi's work, but says that her case is about more than artistic expression.
"Whether you experience empathy with her works that challenge a taboo will depend on the individual's sensitivity. However, all people who believe in freedom and equality of human beings should understand that her arrest and detention was not right thing."
Police are still questioning Igarashi, a spokesperson for the Tokyo Metropolitan Police told CNN Wednesday.
The earliest the artist can be released is August 8, although police can hold her for up to 20 days in order to gather evidence because she denies the charges, the spokesperson said.
If convicted, she could face up to two years jail time or a fine of as much as 2.5 million yen (around US$24,500), her lawyers say.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu just made the following speech in front of the Knesset:
To Ismail Haniya, and the leaders and operatives of Hamas:
We, the people of Israel, owe you a huge debt of gratitude. You have succeeded where we have failed. Because never before, in the history of the modern State of Israel, has the Jewish people been so united, like one person with one heart. You stole three of our most precious children, and slaughtered them in cold blood. But before we could discover the horrible truth, we had 18 days of pain and anxiety while we searched for them, during which our nation united as never before, in prayer, in hopes, in mutual support.
And now, as you continue to launch deadly missiles indiscriminately , intended to maim and murder as many civilians as possible, while you take cowardly refuge behind your own civilians – you continue to inspire us to hold strongly onto our newly discovered unity. Whatever disputes we Jews may have with each other, we now know that we have one common goal: we will defeat you.
But we are offering you now one last chance. Within 24 hours , all rocket fire – and I mean all rocket fire – will cease. Completely. Forever.
I give you formal notice that our tanks are massed at the Gaza border, with artillery and air support at the ready. We have already dropped leaflets over the northern parts of the Gaza strip, warning civilians of our impending arrival, and that they should evacuate southward, forthwith. If you fail to meet our ultimatum, we are coming in, and, with God's help, this time we will not leave. Every centimetre of land that we conquer will be annexed to Israel, so that there will never be another attack launched at our civilians from there.
Even so, we will continue to keep the door open to allow you to surrender gracefully. The moment you announce that you are laying down arms, we will halt our advance, and there we will draw our new borders. If you continue to attack our citizens, we will continue to roll southwards, driving you out of territory that you will never again contaminate with your evil presence.
It pains me deeply that your civilians will be made homeless. But we did not choose this war; you did. And if our choice is between allowing our citizens to be targeted mercilessly by your genocidal savagery, versus turning your civilians into refugees, I regret that we must choose the latter. If only you loved your people as much as you hate ours, this war would never have happened.
To the rest of the world: Israel has tired of your ceaseless chidings that we should "show restraint". When you have your entire population under constant missile fire from an implacable enemy whose stated goal is the murder every man, woman and child in your land, then you may come and talk to us about "restraint". Until then, we respectfully suggest that you keep your double standards to yourselves. This time, Hamas has gone too far, and we will do whatever we have to in order to protect our population.
Hamas, once again, I thank you for bringing our people together with such clarity of mind and unity of purpose. The people of Israel do not fear the long road ahead.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Editor's note: The following article contains references that may not be suitable for all readers.
Clermont, Florida (CNN) — Just days after getting arrested in a child sex sting, Robert Kingsolver is a long way from his beloved job at Walt Disney World.
Inside his rented house in a suburban Orlando neighborhood filled with children, he sits in a folding chair in a nearly empty room, wires dangling in the corner where his computer used to be connected.
Now, he can't be online or near children.
"My life is ruined," he told CNN in an interview at his home. "My family's life is ruined. My kids' life is ruined. I've devastated my parents because of bad judgment."
Robert Kingsolver is one of at least 35 Disney employees arrested since 2006 on charges of sex crimes involving children.
Kingsolver, 49, is one of at least 35 Disney employees arrested since 2006 and accused of sex crimes involving children, trying to meet a minor for sex, or for possession of child pornography, according to a six-month CNN investigation that examined police and court records, and interviewed law enforcement officials and some of the men who have been arrested.
Five Universal Studios employees and two employees from SeaWorld have also been arrested.
So far, a total of 32 have been convicted, with the remaining cases pending.
Two cases, which were for possession of child pornography, occurred on Disney property, according to police reports.
None of the cases involved children or teenagers visiting the parks.
Kingsolver, a service manager who oversaw ride repairs at the Magic Kingdom, has pleaded not guilty to soliciting a child for sexual acts and traveling to meet a minor for unlawful sexual activity.
He said he thought he was going to meet a 14-year-old girl for sex at a house set up by detectives from the Lake County, Florida, Sheriff's Office, according to police records. Instead, when he showed up at the house, he was met by detectives.
Kingsolver told CNN he was just trying to protect the girl, and planned to call authorities when he showed up at the house. He said his family is standing by him.
"They love me," Kingsolver said. "My kids know me, and they know how much I care for kids. They know that their dad is not somebody that will go out and hurt a young child. They know their dad is somebody that would go out and protect a young child at any cost."
Other Disney employees caught up in the police stings and child porn cases include security guards, a costumer, a VIP tour guide in training, a gift shop employee and maintenance workers, according to police and court records.
"Wherever you find children, you'll find sexual predators that want to be there," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
In the latest sting that ended in July, two Disney employees and an employee at Universal Studios were among those arrested by Polk County Sheriff's detectives. One of those arrested was 40-year-old Allen Treaster, a concierge at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge who used to work at Disney's popular Toy Story ride. The police report said he advertised himself online as "Big Teddy Bear for younger chaser."
Detectives arrested Treaster after he showed up at a house to meet someone police said he thought was a 14-year-old boy, hoping to "fulfill a fantasy," according to his text messages. Treaster was actually communicating with an undercover detective. He has pleaded not guilty.
During the videotaped interrogation with detectives, Treaster confessed to having sex with a teenage boy he met online 3½ weeks before his arrest. He said he drove to Georgia to meet the boy at his house, then took him to a hotel where they had sex, according to the interrogation video.
The undercover detective asked Treaster, "OK and when did you find out how old he was?"
"Honestly, I found out before I met him, but you know," Treaster said.
"So you still went for that, to have sex with him, knowing he was 15 years old?" the detective asked.
"Yes," Treaster said.
Treaster did not return calls from CNN.
He was one of four Disney employees and one Universal employee arrested in sex stings or in child porn cases from June 10 to July 1.
In the February sting by the Lake County Sheriff's Office, police also arrested 32-year-old Patrick Holgerson, another Disney employee. Holgerson sent nude photos and engaged in explicit sexual chats online with someone he thought was a 13-year-old boy and his uncle, according to police records. After he showed up to meet the boy, Holgerson ran from police.
During a videotaped interview with sheriff's detectives after the arrest, Holgerson said he was a character actor at Disney and in training to become a VIP tour guide.
He pleaded not guilty and said he went to the home to make sure the boy was OK.
"I work with kids," Holgerson told the detectives during the videotaped interrogation. "I love kids and not in a bad way. I just have a strong connection with kids. I like working with kids. I just enjoy helping them grow and that's why I've been working with high schools for so long is because a lot of these kids look up to me.
"And that's why I was honestly worried about this kid. Because I felt his uncle was in the wrong. I would never do anything with the kid, I promise. I didn't want him hurt. And I'm being honest here."
The sprawling Disney theme park has about 70,000 employees.
In a statement to CNN, Disney spokeswoman Jacquee Wahler said, "Providing a safe environment for children and families is a responsibility we take very seriously. We have extensive measures in place, including pre-employment and ongoing criminal background checks and computer monitoring and firewalls.
"The numbers reported by CNN represent one one-hundredth of one percent of the 300,000 people we have employed during this time period. We continue to work closely with law enforcement and organizations like the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as we constantly strengthen our efforts."
Universal Studios said it fired Matthew Cody Myers, who was arrested in the July sting by the Polk County Sheriff's Office after police say he showed up to have sex with a 14-year-old girl. He told detectives during an interrogation that he wouldn't have really gone through with it. He pleaded not guilty, and did not return CNN's calls.
In a statement, Universal Studios spokesman Tom Schroder said, "We have zero tolerance for this kind of activity. We deal with situations such as this immediately and permanently." The company, like Disney and SeaWorld, requires that "all our team members undergo thorough background checks as part of the hiring process."
SeaWorld spokesman Nick Gollattscheck said, "The safety of our team members and employees is our top priority," adding that the company has "policies and procedures in place and we need to take appropriate action as needed."
Grady Judd, the sheriff of Polk County, Florida, said Disney and other businesses that cater to children need more leeway to use polygraph tests when hiring employees.
"Anyone that works around children, whether it's a church, in the nursery, or whether it's Disney or any of our other theme parks, we should be able to give a polygraph examination to them," Judd said.
Congress, citing privacy and civil liberties issues, has made it illegal for most private companies to polygraph employees.
In the wake of the CNN investigation, U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross, R-Florida, has proposed legislation that would add an exemption to the Polygraph Act of 1988. The proposal would give businesses that cater to children the option to use a polygraph to screen prospective employees. Specifically, the exemption would apply to prospective employees "whose activities would involve the care or supervision of children or regular access to children who are cared for or supervised by another employee," or where there is a "high probability" the employee "will interact with unsupervised children on frequent basis."
"We owe it to ourselves, we owe it to our children, we owe it to our future to make sure we don't let the next predator find a victim," Ross said.
Asked specifically about the number of theme park employee arrests, Ross said, "You know I can't put the label on any particular employer because there's just too many of them — period. And it doesn't matter so much the industry but it's the act that it's happening. And I understand the propensity is probably greater where there are more opportunities to be around children and that's something that I find that we have to offer them the tools necessary so that we can prevent it."
In Robert Kingsolver's case, police records and chat logs show he thought he was e-mailing and texting a 14-year-old girl and her father who he met on Craigslist to set up a meeting. The pair was actually a Lake County Sheriff's detective posing as both the father and girl.
"The defendant specifically stated he would perform oral sex when referring to what he was going to do with the 14-year-old child," the police report said.
Kingsolver, in the chat logs released by police, wrote he was "actually a very cuddling and snuggling kind of guy" and that "I really enjoy giving oral."
Kingsolver wrote, "I work for Disney so I love to see dads having fun with their daughters. I believe in treating a lady like a princess. I treat ladies with respect because that is how I hope my daughter gets treated."
In the interview with CNN, Kingsolver said police got it all wrong. He said he planned to call authorities after showing up at the home and meeting the girl and her father.
"I'm not the monster that people are saying I am, and that the news, CNN and everyone else is saying that I am. I'm an honest guy that I thought was trying to help and I thought I was trying to do the right thing. Did I do it in the right manner? No, obviously not," he said.
Kingsolver, who is separated from his wife, has a son and a daughter as well as two stepchildren. During the CNN interview, he reminisced about seeing children and their families enjoying the rides at the park.
"It was like going to a fun — some place you really enjoyed," he said. "The best part about that job was just seeing families. Some family you knew had saved up literally for a decade to come there and spend a few days. Just to see them having fun and to see the, you know, look on the children's faces when they get to see, you know, Prince Charming or one of the princesses or you know, riding Barnstormer or anything, or any of the rides or just walking around and maybe running into Mickey. It was just, that was the best part, just seeing kids glow and seeing their heroes. I just enjoyed that so much."
Asked why he had a sexually laced chat with people he thought were a father and 14-year-old girl, he had an explanation.
We threw the bait out in the water … and you bit the bait. What we didn't do is take this big net … grab you and then stick the bait in your mouth. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, on child sex stings
"I was trying to get someone safe," Kingsolver said. "I honestly thought someone was in danger and if I had to tell him anything, if I had to tell him the moon was made out of cheese, I would have told him that. I have no intention and had no intention of doing anything with anyone, any minor."
After he was arrested, he said he was in shock.
"I was mad at myself for making a mistake like that. I was in shock that I was there because I'd never even been in a jail before or on the outside looking in to visit someone, much less, you know, having to get to wear a size 3X jumpsuit and a size 13 shoe. So you know, yeah, I did a lot of thinking."
Kingsolver was booked into jail on a Friday night and was released two days later. The next day, he said he showed up for work at Disney, where he was promptly placed on what he said was unpaid leave. He hired a lawyer to fight the charges.
Judd, the Polk County sheriff, said he has no sympathy for the men arrested like Kingsolver, who was arrested in a neighboring county's sting operation.
"I get tickled when they say, 'You set me up, you set me up.' I go, 'Yeah, so what?' That's exactly what it is. We did an undercover operation. We threw the bait out in the water, and you're the fish and you bit the bait. What we didn't do is take this big net, and grab you up and then grab you and then stick the bait in your mouth."
Judd said predators are attracted to venues where there are children.
"Why do people work at Disney? Well, they work at Disney because they want a good, stable job for a great company, but there is always a few that are there because they can see children. They can live in a child's world," Judd said.
Ernie Allen, president of the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, said the number of those arrested in the child sex stings and for child porn "should signal to all of us that this is a real threat. It's a threat to Disney, it's a threat to a lot of companies and a lot of settings because these offenders will attempt to defeat the barriers that you put in place that deny them access to children."
Asked if Disney is doing enough, Allen said, "It's hard to imagine any company that's done more, that cares more, that's trying harder on these issues and part of the reason is Disney recognizes that it's a magnet, it's a magnet that is sort of America's symbol for children."
He pointed out that, even though only two of the cases were on Disney property, that didn't make the threat less serious.
"It also indicates that there is that interest present, that there are people who have sexual interest in children, and will be at risk of offending against a real child," Allen said.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
<img style="float: right; height: 188px; width: 250px;" alt="drug" src="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9602693.ece/alternates/w620/Antiretroviral-drug.jpg" _cke_saved_src="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9602693.ece/alternates/w620/Antiretroviral-drug.jpg" "=""> Studies show that antiretroviral drug use can reduce the chance of passing on HIV by up to 92 per cent</p> <div class="body "> <p> In a report published on Friday, the WHO made “strong recommendations” that all men who have sex with men should seriously consider taking antiretroviral medicine “as an additional method of preventing the HIV infection from spreading”, even if they haven’t got the virus themselves.</p> <p> The report says that in addition to other forms of protection like condoms and regular testing, increased use of antiretroviral drugs in the gay community could have a significant impact in stopping the spread of HIV and could prevent a million new infections in the next ten years, according to the WHO.</p> <p> In the report, it says that homosexual men are 19 times more likely to have HIV than the rest of the population, and it is believed that encouraging gay men to take the antiretroviral medicine could decrease this significantly.</p> <p> <span class="inline-image w460 leftAligned"><span class="inLineImageCaption">According to the report, HIV rates in gay communities are still on the rise</span> </span> Some scientists predict that the antiretroviral drug use for all gay men could lower the spread of HIV by 20 to 25 per cent.</p> <p> Speaking after the release of the report, Gottfried Hirnschall, who heads WHO’s HIV department, said that they were seeing an “exploding epidemic” when it came to HIV rates in the gay community around the world.</p> <p> He said this was largely down to a more relaxed attitude to HIV, which were the result of new drugs that made it possible to live with the disease.</p> <p> He said that antiretroviral drugs could help stop this growth and supported the WHO’s recommendations.</p> <p> A number of studies looking into the impact antiretroviral drugs have on preventing the transmission of HIV have shown that those who regularly take the drug have a significantly smaller chance of contracting or <span class="inline-image w460 leftAligned"><img alt="According to the report, HIV rates in gay communities are still on the rise" src="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9601150.ece/alternates/w460/hiv-2.jpg" _cke_saved_src="http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9601150.ece/alternates/w460/hiv-2.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 188px; float: right;" title="According to the report, HIV rates in gay communities are still on the rise"></span>passing on the virus.</p> <p> The Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis as HIV Prevention Among Men who Have Sex with Men (Iprex) study published in 2010, the most in-depth study into this area, found that the use of antiretroviral drugs could reduce the risk of infection in men who have sex with men by up to 92 per cent.</p> <p> As well as looking at how to best prevent the spread of HIV in the gay community, the report also focussed on other high-risk groups including transgender women, sex workers and people that inject drugs.</p> <p> According to the study, transgender women and those that inject drugs are 50 times more likely to catch HIV, while sex workers are 14 times more likely to get the disease when compared with the rest of the population.</p> <p> The report recommended that national agencies that deal with preventing the spread of HIV should spend more time focusing on these groups as they account for just under half of all new HIV infections worldwide.</p> </div> <p></p>
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
"I hate to mention this, but Monica Lewinsky's presence in London has been widely reported recently and she's described herself very openly as 'the most humiliated woman in the world'. How do you perceive her and your husband's role in all of that?" Murray asked.
"Well that is something we have certainly moved beyond and our country has moved beyond. I have wished her well but it's important to stay focused on what's happening in the here and now," Clinton said.
"For us back in the United States, we still have a lot of work to do. Our people are not recovered from the great recession, there's enormous about of anxiety and insecurity, our politics is dysfunctional, as you can see from over here. So I am looking at the here and now. "
Murray pushed further: "Just one more question about the private life, what is it about Bill that has enabled you to forgive his infidelity?"
"Forgiveness is a choice. And I fully respect those who don't make that choice, for whatever reason, in their personal or their professional lives but for me it was absolutely the right choice," Clinton responded. "For me, it is something that is incredibly difficult but I am grateful everyday that that's the choice that I made and I've counseled others to see if in their own hearts they can also do that."
"But it's not by accident the great religions, the great writers talk about how the person who forgives is liberated, maybe even more than the person who is forgiven," she continued.
As for her rumored presidential run, Clinton kept it vague: "I have not decided yet … I am not going to make that decision until I am ready to make it. It's a profoundly important decision."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
MEXICALI, Mexico (AP) — A U.S. effort to discourage immigrants' repeated attempts to enter the country illegally by dropping them back in Mexico hundreds of miles away from where they were caught has been sharply scaled back after producing relatively modest gains.
U.S. authorities insist the Alien Transfer Exit Program has contributed to overall achievements in border security and say the cutbacks reflected a need to shift resources to deal with Central Americans pouring into Texas.
The government has flown or bused hundreds of thousands of Mexican men to faraway border cities since February 2008, believing they would give up after being separated from their smugglers.
But government statistics and interviews with migrants in Mexican shelters suggest the dislocation is a relatively ineffective deterrent, especially for immigrants with spouses, children and roots in the U.S.
After being dropped off, many get on another bus and head right back to where they started. Once there, they reunite with their smugglers for another attempt, taking advantage of a standard practice that they pay only when they cross successfully.
"It's a nuisance. That's all," said Pablo Hernandez, 50, who lingered in the hallway of a shelter in Mexicali, swapping stories with other migrants after the U.S. government took him on a five-hour bus ride from Tucson, Arizona.
He planned to take a commercial bus to the Mexican town of Altar to reunite with his smuggler, who provided a phone number and said he wouldn't demand his $3,400 fee until Hernandez made it.
The challenges illustrate the limits and pitfalls of massive spending increases on border enforcement.
Despite overwhelming numbers of Central Americans crossing in Texas, the Border Patrol is making strides by key measures, including a drop in the percentage of migrants who are arrested entering the country again after being caught.
The recidivism rate for all migrants arrested on the Mexican border fell to 16 percent in the 2013 fiscal year from 17 percent a year earlier, 20 percent in 2011, 24 percent in 2010 and 27 percent in 2009.
But results for ATEP, as the program is known, were higher: 25 percent last year, up from 24 percent the previous year, down from 28 percent the year before, 33 percent in 2010 and 34 percent in 2009.
Last year's 9-point difference between ATEP and the overall rate matched the widest ever.
ATEP has barely fared better than "voluntary returns," the term for migrants who are simply turned around without being charged. Criminal prosecutions have yielded the lowest recidivism rates.
Without fanfare, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency largely withdrew from ATEP last June after spending $15.2 million to fly 50,295 Mexican men on 421 flights from Harlingen, Texas, to California's Imperial Valley, which neighbors Mexicali.
ICE virtually stopped providing detention space for ATEP and pulled back on bus transportation.
Thomas Homan, ICE's executive associate director for enforcement and removal operations, told a congressional panel in March that ATEP was "a good border enforcement strategy" but that ICE shifted money to flying home Central Americans who cross in South Texas, the busiest corridor for illegal crossings.
On Tuesday, President Barack Obama asked Congress for $3.7 billion in emergency spending to deal with that crisis.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which oversees the Border Patrol, said in a statement that ATEP has disrupted smuggling networks and contributed to an overall decline in recidivism rates. The program, it said, "was designed specifically to create displacement and increase time between entry attempts."
Asked to provide the cost, Customs and Border Protection said ATEP "uses resources that were already in place … and cannot be separated from the normal cost of doing business."
Until last year, ICE typically paid a night of detention, which cost an average of $119 a person.
Air-conditioned buses still leave the Border Patrol's Tucson compound each weekday with up to 188 passengers. Two follow a 700-mile route east to Del Rio, Texas, where they are dropped off in the neighboring Mexican city of Ciudad Acuna. Two head about 300 miles west toward Mexicali.
As ATEP grew, Mexicali became the top destination for those deported to Mexico, peaking at 66,517 in 2012, a 24 percent increase from two years earlier, according to Mexico's National Immigration Institute. Several migrant shelters opened in the sprawling city of 750,000 to handle the influx.
Migrants gravitate to a breezy, sunlit hallway to discuss their next moves at the Hotel of the Deported Migrant, which housed up to 300 people a night after opening in 2010. The Mexican government offers discounted bus tickets and a limited number of free flights to their hometowns, but few consider it.
Abel Delgado, who lived in the Phoenix area for 23 years and was a cook and construction worker before he was deported in 2010, was bused from Tucson after four days of walking through the Arizona desert.
The 30-year-old planned to reunite with his smuggler for another attempt in Arizona after the summer heat, determined to rejoin his wife and daughters, ages 5 and 8.
"If I didn't have family, I'd stay here," he said.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Joe Biden speaks before the National Governors Assocation
Vice President Joe Biden, who is infamously gaffe prone, reflected on his habit of sticking his foot in his mouth in a Friday speech before the National Governors Assocation.
"I probably shouldn’t say this, but then again I’m Joe Biden," he quipped, causing widespread laughter in the audience. "No one ever doubts I mean what I say, but the problem is I sometimes say all that I mean."
Unfortunately for Biden-watchers, the vice president's follow-up statement wasn't especially scandalous by Biden standards. He merely called the decades spent in the U.S. Senate the "greatest honor" of his life — presumably even more than being vice president.
"But I mean this sincerely," Biden continued. "I was thinking about this a lot the last three to four weeks. The greatest honor of my life was to be a United States senator and to serve for all those years in the United States Senate with some of the greatest, finest people I've ever known in my life. And I loved it."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Meet Alina Kovalevskaya, who like the "Human Barbie" we're already aware of hails from Ukraine and has features that can only be considered doll-like.
As in, Mattel-made, plastic-doll-like features.
"I look like a doll," Alina, who like compatriot Valeria Lukyanova claims not to have had plastic surgery on her face to achieve that Barbie look, recently told Barcroft TV, per a translation included with the interview. "I like big eyes, a little nose, small plump lips. I love long hair, my hair is a meter long."
Unlike Valeria, however, the 21-year-old from Odessa has not yet offended far and wide with questionable comments about being repulsed by children and people of mixed race representing a "degeneration" of beauty.
Alina, whose bouncy ringlets of hair immediately call to mind Rapunzel-meets-Merida from Brave, told Barcroft that she maintains her porcelain complexion by staying out of the sun.
A student of psychology and social work at Odessa University, Alina says that she adopted her look about 18 months ago after seeing "some pictures of ball-jointed dolls." Their wide-eyed look inspired her to buy contact lenses that made her eyes look bigger, she says.
Facebook
And while the attention she received from her YouTube videos flaunting her style led to a brief friendship with Valeria, apparently they don't get along anymore.
"I have had certain misunderstandings with her, after which she ceased to communicate," Alina said. "I realized that she is not a person with whom I would like to talk or even be friends."
Hey, it's tough being a Barbie girl in a Barbie world.
Valeria, whose look at a glance is less natural-looking than Alina's, has only admitted to breast augmentation, but none other than Human Ken Justin Jedlica (who has undergone many surgeries) has dissed her brand of beauty.
"I don't really get her," Justin told GQ in April. "I don't get why people think she's so interesting. She has extensions. She wears stage makeup. She's an illusionist."
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
A U.S. Supreme Court justice let same-sex marriages continue in Pennsylvania, rejecting a request from a county clerk who sought to reinstate the state’s ban.
The rebuff by Justice Samuel Alito leaves Pennsylvania as one of 19 states where gay marriages can take place. The District of Columbia also allows same-sex weddings, and court rulings permitting them in nine other states are on hold. Alito, who handles emergency matters from Pennsylvania, acted without comment.
U.S. District Judge John E. Jones struck down Pennsylvania’s ban in May, and Governor Tom Corbett quickly abandoned the state’s defense. Schuylkill County Clerk Theresa Santai-Gaffney then moved to take up the defense.
Jones and a federal appeals court said Santai-Gaffney lacked the legal right to get involved in the case. Those rulings prompted Santai-Gaffney to ask the Supreme Court to block Jones’s marriage ruling while she tries to press her appeal.
The Supreme Court will almost certainly have a chance to take up the issue of gay marriage in its next nine-month term, which starts in October. Advocates of same-sex marriage are on a legal roll, winning at least 18 straight court rulings.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Sorry, China, but the U.S. still has the upper hand. (Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jared Hill/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
The bad news first. The People's Republic of China now believes it can successfully prevent the United States from intervening in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan or some other military assault by Beijing.
Now the good news. China is wrong — and for one major reason. It apparently disregards the decisive power of America's nuclear-powered submarines.
Moreover, for economic and demographic reasons Beijing has a narrow historical window in which to use its military to alter the world's power structure. If China doesn't make a major military move in the next couple decades, it probably never will.
The U.S. Navy's submarines — the unsung main defenders of the current world order — must hold the line against China for another 20 years. After that, America can declare a sort of quiet victory in the increasingly chilly Cold War with China.
How China wins
The bad news came from Lee Fuell, from the U.S. Air Force's National Air and Space Intelligence Center, during Fuell's testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 30.
For years, Chinese military planning assumed that any attack by the People's Liberation Army on Taiwan or a disputed island would have to begin with a Pearl Harbor-style preemptive missile strike by China against U.S. forces in Japan and Guam. The PLA was so afraid of overwhelming American intervention that it genuinely believed it could not win unless the Americans were removed from the battlefield before the main campaign even began.
A preemptive strike was, needless to say, a highly risky proposition. If it worked, the PLA just might secure enough space and time to defeat defending troops, seize territory, and position itself for a favorable post-war settlement.
But if China failed to disable American forces with a surprise attack, Beijing could find itself fighting a full-scale war on at least two fronts: against the country it was invading plus the full might of U.S. Pacific Command, fully mobilized and probably strongly backed by the rest of the world.
That was then. But after two decades of sustained military modernization, the Chinese military has fundamentally changed its strategy in just the last year or so. According to Fuell, recent writings by PLA officers indicate "a growing confidence within the PLA that they can more-readily withstand U.S. involvement."
The preemptive strike is off the table — and with it, the risk of a full-scale American counterattack. Instead, Beijing believes it can attack Taiwan or another neighbor while also bloodlessly deterring U.S. intervention. It would do so by deploying such overwhelmingly strong military forces — ballistic missiles, aircraft carriers, jet fighters, and the like — that Washington dare not get involved.
The knock-on effects of deterring America could be world-changing. "Backing away from our commitments to protect Taiwan, Japan, or the Philippines would be tantamount to ceding East Asia to China's domination," Roger Cliff, a fellow at the Atlantic Council, said at the same U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission hearing on Jan. 30.
Worse, the world's liberal economic order — and indeed, the whole notion of democracy — could suffer irreparable harm. "The United States has both a moral and a material interest in a world in which democratic nations can survive and thrive," Cliff asserted.
Fortunately for that liberal order, America possesses by far the world's most powerful submarine force — one poised to quickly sink any Chinese invasion fleet. In announcing its readiness to hold off the U.S. military, the PLA seems to have ignored Washington's huge undersea advantage.
(Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Adam K. Thomas/U.S. Navy via Getty Images)
The Silent Service
It's not surprising that Beijing would overlook America's subs. Most Americans overlook their own undersea fleet — and that's not entirely their own fault. The U.S. sub force takes pains to avoid media coverage in order to maximize its secrecy and stealth. "The submarine cruises the world's oceans unseen," the Navy stated on its Website.
Unseen and unheard. That why the sub force calls itself the "Silent Service."
The Navy has 74 submarines, 60 of which are attack or missile submarines optimized for finding and sinking other ships or blasting land targets. The balance is ballistic-missile boats that carry nuclear missiles and would not routinely participate in military campaigns short of an atomic World War III.
Thirty-three of the attack and missile boats belong to the Pacific Fleet, with major bases in Washington State, California, Hawaii, and Guam. Deploying for six months or so roughly every year and a half, America's Pacific subs frequently stop over in Japan and South Korea and occasionally even venture under the Arctic ice.
According to Adm. Cecil Haney, the former commander of Pacific Fleet subs, on any given day 17 boats are underway and eight are "forward-deployed," meaning they are on station in a potential combat zone. To the Pacific Fleet, that pretty much means waters near China.
America has several submarine types. The numerous Los Angeles-class attack boats are Cold War stalwarts that are steadily being replaced by newer Virginia-class boats with improved stealth and sensors. The secretive Seawolfs, numbering just three — all of them in the Pacific — are big, fast, and more heavily armed than other subs. The Ohio-class missile submarines are former ballistic missile boats each packing 154 cruise missile.
U.S. subs are, on average, bigger, faster, quieter, and more powerful than the rest of the world's subs. And there are more of them. The U.K. is building just seven new Astute attack boats. Russia aims to maintain around 12 modern attack subs. China is struggling to deploy a handful of rudimentary nuclear boats.
Able to lurk silently under the waves and strike suddenly with torpedoes and missiles, submarines have tactical and strategic effect greatly disproportionate to their relatively small numbers. During the 1982 Falklands War, the British sub Conqueror torpedoed and sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano, killing 323 men. The sinking kept the rest of the Argentine fleet bottled up for the duration of the conflict.
America's eight-at-a-time submarine picket in or near Chinese waters could be equally destructive to Chinese military plans, especially considering the PLA's limited anti-submarine skills. "Although China might control the surface of the sea around Taiwan, its ability to find and sink U.S. submarines will be extremely limited for the foreseeable future," Cliff testified. "Those submarines would likely be able to intercept and sink Chinese amphibious transports as they transited toward Taiwan."
So it almost doesn't matter that a modernized PLA thinks it possesses the means to fight America above the waves, on land, and in the air. If it can't safely sail an invasion fleet as part of its territorial ambitions, it can't achieve its strategic goals — capturing Taiwan and or some island also claimed by a neighboring country — through overtly military means.
That reality should inform Washington's own strategy. As the United States has already largely achieved the world order it struggled for over the last century, it need only preserve and defend this order. In other words, America has the strategic high ground against China, as the latter must attack and alter the world in order to get what it wants.
In practical military terms, that means the Pentagon can more or less ignore most of China's military capabilities, including those that appear to threaten traditional U.S. advantages in nukes, air warfare, mechanized ground operations, and surface naval maneuvers.
"We won't invade China, so ground forces don't play," pointed out Wayne Hughes, a professor at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. "We won't conduct a first nuclear strike. We should not adopt an air-sea strike plan against the mainland, because that is a sure way to start World War IV."
Rather, America must deny the Chinese free access to their near waters. "We need only enough access to threaten a war at sea," Hughes said. In his view, a fleet optimized for countering China would have large numbers of small surface ships for enforcing a trade blockade. But the main combatants would be submarines, "to threaten destruction of all Chinese warships and commercial vessels in the China Seas."
Cliff estimated that in wartime, each American submarine would be able to get off "a few torpedo shots" before needing to "withdraw for self-preservation." But assuming eight subs each fire three torpedoes, and just half those torpedoes hit, the American attack boats could destroy all of China's major amphibious ships — and with them, Beijing's capacity for invading Taiwan or seizing a disputed island.
(Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Adam K. Thomas/U.S Navy via Getty Images)
Waiting out the Chinese decline
If American subs can hold the line for another 20 years, China might age right out of its current, aggressive posture without ever having attacked anyone. That's because economic and demographic trends in China point towards a rapidly aging population, flattening economic growth, and fewer resources available for military modernization.
To be fair, almost all developed countries are also experiencing this aging, slowing and increasing peacefulness. But China's trends are pronounced owing to a particularly steep drop in the birth rate traceable back to the Chinese Communist Party's one-child policy.
Another factor is the unusual speed with which the Chinese economy has expanded to its true potential, thanks to the focused investment made possible by an authoritarian government… and also thanks to that government's utter disregard for the natural environment and for the rights of everyday Chinese people.
"The economic model that propelled China through three decades of meteoric growth appears unsustainable," Andrew Erickson, a Naval War College analyst, told the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission.
What Erickson described as China's "pent-up national potential" could begin expiring as early as 2030, by which point "China will have world's highest proportion of people over 65," he predicted. "An aging society with rising expectations, burdened with rates of chronic diseases exacerbated by sedentary lifestyles, will probably divert spending from both military development and the economic growth that sustains it."
Wisely, American political and military leaders have made the investments necessary to sustain U.S. undersea power for at least that long. After a worrying dip in submarine production, starting in 2012 the Pentagon asked for — and Congress funded — the acquisition of two Virginia-class submarines per year for around $2.5 billion apiece, a purchase rate adequate to maintain the world's biggest nuclear submarine fleet indefinitely.
Given China's place in the world, its underlying national trends and America's pointed advantage in just that aspect of military power that's especially damaging to Chinese plans, it seems optimistic for PLA officers to assume they can launch an attack on China's neighbors without first knocking out U.S. forces.
Not that a preemptive strike would make any difference, as the only American forces that truly matter for containing China are the very ones that China cannot reach.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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