Epstein Guards Were Working Overtime

The jailers in charge of pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in Manhattan's federal lock-up were working extended hours over a period of days, which, of course, is a very good reason for not keeping an eye on a prisoner and allowing him to commit suicide.

Looking at the whole thing rationally, what does a night-shift jailer actually do? Well, he doesn't do any heavy lifting or inventory minute items. His job is to stay awake and make sure that the inmates don't saw their way through the bars, bash a hole in the wall, share narcotics with one another or commit suicide. A long list, to be sure, but  one that should be easily handled. We can't know how often this simple task is failed because few of the prisoners are as well-publicized as perv Epstein.

Odd as this event may have been, there are other aspects of it yet to be explored. New York Times journalist James Stewart says that in a 2018 interview with Epstein at his home in Manhattan, the wealthy financier shocked him by stating that "criminalizing sex with teenage girls was a cultural aberration and that at times in history it was perfectly acceptable". In reality his statement is perfectly factual and sex between post-pubescent humans is a biological norm regulated by cultural practices. In many societies, even today, women as young as 13 or 14 become wives and mothers. It's regarded as normal.

There's no consistency in the age of consent in the US. Federal law establishes it as 12 yrs, subject to regulations and legal everywhere at 18. Each US state has an age of consent, none younger than 16. According to Wikipedia in the US Virgin Islands "The age of consent is 18. There is however a close-in-age exemption that allows minors 16 and 17 years old to consent with someone no more than five years older than themselves and minors 13 to 15 years old to consent with one another, but not with anyone 16 or over."

Epstein was said to be facing 45 years in prison for his sexual misbehavior. In the East Bay area of northern California, the daughter of an Oakland police dispatcher, Jasmin Absulin, known as Celeste Guap, testified to having sex with over 30 local law enforcement officers while seventeen years of age. One cop committed suicide, others were disciplined or fired by their departments. None went to jail. Absulin received a  substantial settlement from the City of Oakland.

Dennis Hopper, Amy Irving, Hal Holbrook and Gary Busey starred in the 1996 motion picture "Carried Away", the story of a rural school teacher confronted by a sophisticated and manipulative teen-age girl that moves into the neighborhood. It ain't pretty. But neither was Vladimir Nabokov's book and Stanley Kubrick's cinema adaptation of "Lolita". Both stories demonstrate that the females hold the cards in these situations.

A generally ignored  aspect of the Epstein affair is that if indeed the females  of whom he took advantage were children and not responsible for making personal decisions about sex, and other matters, where were their parents? Isn't it the duty of parents to protect their offspring, both female and male, from harm of any kind? They make their children wear helmets when riding their bikes down to the playground. They don't let them roam the inner city late at night. They get them vaccinations for childhood diseases. How does someone like Epstein get a 17 year-old girl on his private plane and fly her to St. Thomas?

Finally, wealthy men, like Epstein and Harvey Weinstein, have the ability to bestow favors that include career possibilities. Young females enthusiastically explore those opportunities. If they work out, we don't hear much about them. When they don't, people make a noise.   

New Gopher State Driving Regs

Effective August 1st, it's no longer permissible to use a hand-held cell phone in a moving automobile in Minnesota or to drive more slowly than the rest of traffic in the left lane of freeways or multi-lane state highways. 

In terms of safety and efficiency these are both likely to be improvements to the general scheme of things. However, they're not enough. It might be illegal to drive around with a German shepherd on your lap but evidently no one knows about this. Statistically, it's inevitable that some crashes are caused by canines romping around in the passenger compartment of automobiles. No records are kept of wrecks that involve dogs so no one really knows how significant a factor they might be.

Certainly drivers in a hurry to get home to watch Seinfeld re-runs should have the right to an open left lane but this modification of existing regulations should also have stressed an even greater highway danger, following too close. Applicants for a driver's license should be required to watch this instructional video:

Tonight, August 6, is National Night Out in Minnesota

It's also the 74th anniversary of the delivery and detonation of the first atomic bomb over the heads of teen-age girls walking to school in Hiroshima, Japan.

What Would The Proper Punishment Be?

Zachary Wester and bride.

According to this CNN article , Jackson County, Florida sheriff's deputy Zachary Wester has planted drugs and drug paraphernalia on hundreds of innocent motorists. His activity was, however, defended by higher Florida authorities which led to the resignation of the prosecutor investigating the affair.

Wester comes from a law enforcement family. His father was also a deputy in the Jackson County sheriff's department. With a record as indicated by this story it's obvious that everyone is in imminent danger, not as much from terrorists or violent criminals as from cops. Since these public servants spend most of their time cruising around in automobiles, if a person wishes to minimize their exposure to false arrest and imprisonment they might be advised to walk, ride a bike or take the bus.

On the basis of the 52 felony counts filed against him, if found guilty of all Wester could serve 13 1/2 years in jail. At the same time, Bernie Madoff, who at age seventy-one,  pleaded guilty to 11 federal felony charges involving losses of $18 billion to wealthy investors, was given a sentence of 150 years in prison.

Japanese Resume Commercial Whaling On July 1

Japan had suspended commercial whaling operations in 1988, following an International Whaling Commission moratorium, but will now resume the practice on Monday, July 1, according to an article in NHK and this video.  Japan decided in December to leave the IWC because under current conditions the resumption of whaling seemed to be impossible at any level.

This article explains the Japanese justification for an industry that has become anathema over much of the world.

Sea Shepherd, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, is expected to confront Japanese whalers with units of its own fleet of vessels. This is likely to result in some form of violence, based on past experience. Expect to hear more about the Japanese whaling hunt and the responses to it.

Old Glory At Half-Mast

Ever notice flags flying at half-mast and wonder who might be "honored" by this? It's easy enough to find out. This website lists current and past individuals for whom the flag is lowered. A curiosity of this process is the make-up of these people. They are all either deceased public employees; government office holders, law enforcement figures, firemen, military active duty or veterans, and victims of mass murderers. It's hard to be sure how many victims of a mass murderer are needed to prevent the flag from being raised to normal height but it's more than two. 

In the case of a law enforcement officer who is also a military veteran, US flags in his state of residence will be raised to half-mast upon his internment and nationally during Peace Officers Memorial Day (May 15 in 2019) as well as Memorial Day. Eventually he will be honored, with others, at least twice a year, maybe forever.

Prominent members of the general public without a government background don't seem to qualify for this memorial.

A Forgotten Event

Americans seem to cherish many events in their short history, especially events of a military nature. Oddly, one of the most significant events occurred in 1667 but awareness of it has become rare.

From June 9-14, the Dutch fleet under Michiel de Ruyter sailed into the Thames Estuary and attacked the British warships anchored at Chatham, capturing three capital ships of the line, including the British flagship, the Royal Charles, and destroying ten others.

 The Royal Charles at Medway


The Dutch raid on the Medway was the greatest defeat in British naval history, one more disaster in the unlucky life of Stuart king, Charles II, and the impetus for the signing of the Treaty of Breda at that Dutch city on July 31. In this agreement the English agreed to give up any claim to the lucrative "spice islands" of the East Indies in exchange for the minor Dutch holdings on the east coast of North America. These colonies became New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. Later, in 1674, both countries signed the Treaty of Westminster, which further delineated the terms of the previous accord.

In the absence of these happenings it's quite likely that the population of at least the eastern area of North America would be a Dutch-speaking land and very much different than it is today.