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singledad's comments:
on KBR Lawsuit
I'm a former DoD contractor.
When you join the military, any branch, you effectively become the property of the US Government, chattel if you will, and the goverment can do anything they want with you. But a US private citizen who contracts with US Military is not property of the goverment.
From a public policy perspective, DoD will have difficulty attracting top tier contractors - scientists, engineers, etc. - if these contractors feel that the DoD will not respect and support their rights as US Citizens. From that perspective, the KBR case could cause far-ranging damage to DoD's ability to recruit and retain top civilians.
posted 2 years, 10 months ago
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on Northwest Passages: Shaindel Beers
Fascinating conversation. My 4-year-old son loves to create and tell stories, and loves creating and experiencing art.
He was kidnapped by his mom several years ago, but is back with me now. It was a traumatic experience for him, and I have done what I can to help him recover.
Listening to you, and what you've accomplished, gives me incredible hope for his future.
Thank you...
posted 3 years, 8 months ago
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on Handmade Musical Instruments
I have a handmade Koa guitar -- exactly the opposite of a Flamenco -- the entire guitar, including soundboard, is made of Koa, a Hawaiian hardwood with irridescent qualities. It has a beautiful, rich tone, lilting voice, and excellent volume for stage work. But... I've played many examples of Koa guitars, even old Martin Koa guitars, that didn't have the same sound quality. So I have to wonder if the difference is in the luthier or the variability of the wood.
-- Brian
posted 3 years, 9 months ago
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on Sex Offender Laws
My concern is that Oregon CPS and the criminal justice system does not seem interested in prosecuting female sex offenders.
Here’s my example: In the spring of 2008, the maternal grandmother of an 8-year-old girl used a tape recorder to “coach” the little girl to bring forth false allegations of child sex abuse against her former stepfather. This happened one month after the stepfather was awarded sole custody of her younger half-brother. The 8-year-old girl went through a CARES NW assessment for child sex abuse, during which she disclosed being coached by the maternal grandmother. She also disclosed knowledge of deviant sex activities; it was clear from the CARES NW report that the girl had been exposed to pornography of the most deviant form. Her accusations resulted in child sex abuse charges bring brought by the deputy DA against the stepfather.
The deputy DA dropped the case against the stepfather. The judge found that the grandmother had coached the 8-year-old to bring false allegations of sex abuse against the former stepfather, and that the mother had committed emotional abuse of a child by sponsoring false allegations of sex abuse. The mother’s parenting time with her son was restricted to supervised visits only. Experts testified that they had never in their career seen such an obvious and egregious form of coaching of a child to bring forth false allegations of sex abuse.
One year prior to this event, Oregon DHS Child Welfare/CPS received a report from DHS Child Welfare/CPS in another state that that same maternal grandmother had sexually abused her daughter, the 8-year-old’s mother. Yet Oregon DHS never contacted the out-of-state CPS case worker to verify the report, per testimony from an Oregon CPS caseworker. The Oregon CPS caseworker’s testimony was accepted as credible by a Multnomah County Judge.
The little girl, now 9 years old, still lives with her maternal grandmother, who works in a public university setting. Her half-brother now lives with his father, and is safe from further abuse by the maternal family.
Who will protect this little girl?
posted 4 years, 2 months ago
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