I have been unemployed since Mar. 2009 and have been unable to find a job. What they don’t tell me is my age at 58 is the reason that I do not get hired. Most jobs that I have applied for,( like many Americans) I am over qualified for and still I do not get the job. I should be in Tier IV of unemployment benefits, but because I did not make the cutoff date, I have no more benefits. Capital One Auto Finance just got off the phone with me and stated that they are going to repo the car due to non-payment. Once this happens, then how am I to hunt for a job? I hear that Australia has low unemployment and jobs for anyone that can get there. But unfortunately I don’t have the funds to do that. I am now at the end of my rope (as many of us are) and looking down at a very long drop.

It’s time that the American people are taken care of first. I am a veteran and was all for the war in Afghanistan to stop AL-Qaeda from having training camps. I supported this because the lives that had been taken on 9/11 called for some military action. Like most Americans I raised and flew the Flag to show our unity and pride for this country. One war would be the only one that our military could handle at one time. More than one theater of operation would stretch the military to the limits and close to the breaking point, where we are today. We are now in two wars with no real end in sight for either. To pull our troops out now would be a slap in the face of those that have given the total sacrifice by dying in these wars. It now has been 9 years and how much more in lives and money do we have to pour out?  Do we continue to forget history and what Vietnam taught us? We are reliving the past and should have learned from our mistakes in that operation. We are now stuck between two wars that are costing us dearly in Fathers, Sons, and Daughters that we will never be able to replace. We need to get out, bring our troops back home and safe and use the money we are spending for that to get the United States back on her feet.

The Senate states that we need to cut spending and they have looked high and low, cutting many programs to decrease the deficit. Most of these cuts have been focused on the middle and poor class Americans. They have done everything to find extra money but one, by looking to themselves. We need to tell Congress that they work for us, each and every American and that all useless bills need to end. Bills should stand alone, no added items that someone wants to get passed buried within hundreds of words so that no one would notice. This also includes pork-bellies that are for only one state. Why do we send money overseas to countries that hate us and have stated over and over again, this will never change? They have been fighting each other for hundreds of years and that will never change.

The way to stop the economic downfall, and for this country to get back on its feet, is to have the House and Senate members take a pay cut. We need to limit the number of terms that they can hold office to two terms (we have term limits on the President of two terms, why not the House and Senate)? Once they leave office they should not receive stipend for the rest of their lives (American citizens do not get this, so why should they)? Make them pay for their health insurance as we all have to do now. Maybe they would see what it’s like to live from paycheck to paycheck. These cuts would save the taxpayers of America millions of dollars. They should have to stay in session if there are any unresolved issues or bills, like the unemployment issue that is still hurting many lives.

 President Obama stated we need a change and he is right on that issue. Both the House and Senate need to be changed, all need to be sent home and do whatever they do when they are not in Congress or in Washington! They need to remember and understand that they work for the people, each and every one, and not only to line their pockets from the rich.

Let’s take our country and government back, controlled by the people as is stated in the first lines of the Constitution of The United States “We the People” and not “We the Government”.

Stories of unsolved murders have long been a subject of great books and movies, most of the time these stories are of killers you probably heard of at school, or on the news or, indeed, other movies or books.  The most famous would be the likes of the Zodiac Killer and Jack the Ripper, both of these killers shared one major thing, neither was ever caught.

Theories abound, Jack the Ripper worked for the Queen killing prostitutes working in Whitechapel who knew of an illegitimate heir to the throne born of a tryst between Prince Albert and an local whore.  Some believe it was Albert himself wielding the knife.  After over 100 years and still no real leads, I have resigned to never knowing, or living under the assumption that the Royal Family knew then, know now and continue to cover it up.

Zodiac… Badass.

While Jack the Ripper is an English tale, Zodiac is American lore.  Credited with starting the old killer messes with the cop’s routine, Zodiac was a west coast killer who would write letters and ciphers demanding they be published in the paper.  Jack the Ripper did it first.  However, a lot of the Ripper letters are regarded as fakes.  Although one or two are thought to be real by true Ripperologists, in particular the From Hell package containing part of a human kidney, the other part ‘Saucy Jack’ ate.

The Zodiac Killer hunted humans, and for a long time was believed to be a man called Arthur Leigh Allen, DNA says otherwise, but again, we will probably never know.  This is the reason we become drawn to these stories, particularly after some time has passed, the mystery.

There is such a mystery in Scotland.  The story of Bible John is one that almost every West Coast Scot knows; it is the story of murder at what is now Scotland’s best Venue, the Barrowlands.

Back in the day the Barrowlands in Glasgow was a dance hall, today it is the only decent large live music venue in the country.  Bible John frequented this “den of iniquity” as he called it, and it is where he found his 3 known victims, all of whom were menstruating, and all were strangled with their own stockings.  He was given the name Bible John after he was heard talking about the bible, and sin, etc. the war cry of the religious maniac.

Much like the Zodiac case, the police in charge of the Bible John case have a prime suspect, but a lack of solid evidence makes it impossible to make an arrest.

Tobin & Bible John

In 2006 the body of Polish student Anjelika Kluk was found under the floor of a church in Paisley, fingers pointed straight at the creepy handyman who blew in to town not long before the grisly discovery.  The name he gave was Pat McLaughlin, his real name was Peter Tobin, a man with a dark past filled with suspicious deaths, child abuse and prison

He was found guilty of the young Polish student’s murder and sentenced to 21 years in prison, once found guilty the Police started digging in his known previous addresses; evidence gathered from these digs linked him to the murders of Dinah McNicol and Vicky Hamilton.  He was charged with these murders and will now die in prison.

It was not long before reporters and the police started putting pieces together and noticed similarities between Tobin’s M.O and that of Bible John.  Not only that but the artists impression of Bible John could easily be a young Tobin, who lived in a house that had access to a back lane where one of Bible Johns victims was discovered.

On the surface Tobin is a fit for Bible John, he certainly shares the same evil tastes.  Naturally, he is not saying much in the way of a confession, but if we have learned anything about serial killers in UK is that they love to bury the evidence where they live, a move I have never fully understood.  Fred and Rose West buried so many bodies in their foundations that I am surprised the house did not collapse.

Jack the Ripper's last known victim.

Serial killers are the rock stars of the criminal world, by that I mean you wouldn’t want to spend time with one.  The actions of these mad men and women are disgusting and tragic, such a disregard for human life is something us regular folks could never comprehend.  Although, in saying that do you think Mary Kelly would think, while up some dirty alley way in Victorian London having sex with a disgusting drunk, that she would not only be remembered over 100 years later, but portrayed in Hollywood movies.  Obviously not, Hollywood movies had not been invented at the time, but you get my drift.  She became famous because someone (possibly Royal) did this to her.

Tobin may only ever admit to three killings, but the advancements in DNA and forensics alongside his known habits, burying bodies and evidence in “secure” places could lead to his downfall very soon.  The police are digging and are sure to find something to tie him to the Bible John killings, if indeed he is the 60′s killer who is also credited with 3 killings.  The exact number of people killed by Tobin and Bible John may never be known.

Copycat killers do not count due to a lack of originality.  Like cover bands.

Henry Hunter WorldNewsVine Scotland

Washington, D.C. (Jun 28) – H.R. 4213 American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act is a bill that would help American families get by during the Greatest Recession in American history, a bill designed to put American workers back to work, and provide for an unemployment extension.

The current version of the bill blocked via filibuster by the Republican Party is designed to cut taxes for businesses, facilitate small business loans, and increase investments in highways and other infrastructure projects. The bill also would extend unemployment extensions under the current EUC program while providing housing assistance to individuals that have lost their jobs providing a roof over themselves and families.

To date, nearly a million American’s have lost any form of assistance via unemployment insurance programs due to the Republican Party reneging on their original March 2010 agreement, then titled H.R. 4213 Tax Extenders Bill, when Republicans ran a filibuster against the original bill passed by the House in December 2009. The original bill was to be fully offset and paid for utilizing recaptured TARP monies. This was unacceptable for unknown reasons to Senate Republicans hence, the creation of the existing bill to which, Senate Republicans stated they would completely endorse.

The current revision of H.R. 4213 was trimmed back by nearly 50 percent, by cutting the health care benefits regarding COBRA, removing the additional $25 per week increase in unemployment benefits, along with drastic reductions in Medicaid, Medicare, and Tricare. The price tag of the original H.R. 4213, nearly $200 billion dollars. Currently the bill carries a price tag closer to $118 billion with over 70 percent of the bill being paid for with offsets.

American families are now facing a crisis never witnessed in current times, homelessness, lack of medical care, and children simply going hungry.

Senate Republicans still refuse to allow for what little assistance unemployment or unemployment extension have to offer to those that lost their jobs due to fiscal mismanagement, and failed economic policies created within the past administration. Senate Republicans have proven once again, if given the choice, supporting their rich campaign donors with trillion dollar bailouts, or keeping a roof over the heads of American families, American’s lose out.

Rumors are abundant regarding one final Senate move to end the Republican filibuster, Constitutional Action known as the “Nuclear Clause” an option threatened by Senate Republican Frist in 2005. This clause is a procedural ruling once invoked states that the will of the majority will be effective. Senate Finance Committee members need to go back to the bill, have the bill rescinded and laid back on the floor as the original House bill was written in 2009, that is utilizing recaptured TARP monies, and then enact the Nuclear Option and get American breadwinners back to work, and allow American families a fighting chance to return to a normal life.

When the Senate reconvenes this afternoon, prior to the extended Fourth of July recess, the plan is to take up a Small Business bill. One would only hope that by Wednesday of this week in celebration of the nation’s Declaration of Independence, the Senate Leadership enacts the Nuclear Option as described above sending the original bill introduced and passed by the House, back in December 2009 to President Obama’s desk for signature. This would truly be America’s Independence Day, the promise of fair representation and taxation to which the Republican Party completely refutes.

God Bless America!

Washington, D.C. (Jun 24) – The Senate vote on cloture on H.R. 4213 Jobs Extenders and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 has failed.

Prior to the vote Senator Snowe (R-ME) after a long-winded speech to defend herself against an article in today’s NY Times, the Senator emphatically stated she was voting against cloture. It would appear that once again, the GOP robots have lined up to vote against their own bill.

Once again, the Republican Party is more concerned about protecting tax shelters for the rich over support for America’s working class.

The minority party is once again calling on the Senate to re-write their own bill, H.R. 4213 and offset any emergency spending with Stimulus funds that are unavailable for use. This is one loud and clear message being sent by the GOP, “We do not want to directly help the over 24 million unemployed or underemployed Americans.”

The unemployed can soon expect to see an increase in their COBRA payments as well. The direct consequence will be millions of men, women, and children going without healthcare as well as, food, shelter, and a chance of stability in their lives.

Exactly what is it the Republican Party wants Americans unemployed to do is the question. It is obvious that the big money bankrolls sponsoring their seats in the Senate have more influence over their decisions then common sense and decency.

With nearly 1 million Americans having already exhausted their standard weeks and extended unemployment compensation benefits, with millions more to follow in less than a week, a national emergency needs to be declared by President Obama to at least get FEMA camps set-up to handle the flood of homeless American families.

These families will still need food, medical care, and shelter as much as any other homeless human being on this planet that the United States so quickly dishes out materials and cash to provide for those suffering.

It is once again a sad day for America; the Republican Party has once again proven that only the wealthy in the United States needs to be taken care in the form of tax breaks and credits. As more and more American’s go without, credit ratings will decline, mortgages will foreclose, and credit cards and medical payments go unpaid. This decision by the Republican Party has just caused more damage than any single action ever taken by any foreign or domestic enemy in the history of the United States of America.

God bless and help America’s unemployed and underemployed, for the Republican Party has just condemned them to a life undeserving of any.

WNV Update 7:13 p.m.

- Senator Levin (D-MI) just stated on the Senate floor that the Democratic Leadership is NOT giving up it’s fight for the unemployed… No word on a way around the GOP filibuster was announced…

Kyrgyzstan refugees return - Courtesy of UN News

New York, NY (June 23) – United Nations officials have announced that despite ongoing security concerns, thousands of civilians displaced during recent ethnic violence in Kyrgyzstan are beginning to receive vital aid.

United Nations spokesperson Elizabeth Byrs of the Office of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released a statement in Geneva that the security situation is not under control in southern Kyrgyzstan to include the city of Osh.

Government troops have attempted to clear barricades on the streets of Osh and are being met with heavy resistance. Spokesperson Byrs stated, “That the tense situation is hampering the delivery of humanitarian aid for internally displaced persons (IDPs), which number about 300,000 in Kyrgyzstan.”

All toll approximately 100,000 civilians have fled the area seeking safe haven in neighboring Uzbekistan. Aid agencies have assisting the Uzbekistan government in handing out relief items.

Adrian Edwards, spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told reporters, “The Uzbek authorities have themselves been handing out UNHCR relief items, and our own emergency team has been on the ground in the Andijan area since Friday visiting sites and doing assessments.”

The security situation is also preventing members from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) from carrying out essential goals of their mission. In the past, UNICEF has provided measles, and rubella vaccinations in the region.

Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe had this to say about the ongoing crisis, “WHO and health partners stress the urgency of providing the necessary health care and support to the communities affected by violence.”

The director added, “People affected by the violence must be able to receive health services – in particular those who have been wounded in gunfire, those who have suffered from sexual and gender-based violence, those suffering from chronic diseases, and children who need vaccination against polio.”

 source: UNited Nations Press Release

By Eromo Egbejule, Nigeria

A prominent Nigerian traditional ruler, Oluwadare Adepoju Adesina the Deji of Akureland, on Sunday evening physically assaulted one of his wives in a chaotic situation fight in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

The Oba and his latest wife, Remi Adesina, descended on Olori Bolanle Adesina and wounded her severally.

The incident was said to have happened around 5.30pm on Sunday when the the Oba and Remi, stormed the residence of the second wife located on 141, Hospital Road Akure, in an SUV and Toyota starlet.

The younger brother of Olori Bolanle and some passers-by descended on the Nissan Pathfinder brought to the scene by Oba Adesina. The vehicle, which was marked “Deji of Akure”, was seriously damaged by irate youth, who vowed to deal with him.

In trying, to escape being beaten up by the people of the neighbourhood, the Oba fell into the drainage along the road and his cap allegedly fell off his head. It took the quick intervention of police officers from the state command to save him from being lynched by the irate mob.

Reasons for the traditional ruler’s violent action are still sketchy currently.

By Eromo Egbejule, Nigeria

Serving Irish Bishop and Archbishop of Benin City, Richard Burke, yesterday resigned over child sexual abuse he allegedly committed while serving as a priest in the Warri Diocese. This further compounds the tide of sexual scandals that the Catholic Church worldwide has been experiencing in recent times.

According to the Irish Catholic website, the Pope has accepted the resignation of the Tipperary-born Archbishop, on Monday, saying, “the reason for his resignation was his failure to observe his vow of celibacy.”

WorldNewsVine learnt that the erstwhile priest had initially relegated his office as Archbishop of Benin by stepping down in early 2009, after an allegation of child sexual abuse, which he denied. The victim had been one Dolores Atwood, (a woman) who claimed Mr. Burke sexually abused her when she was 14 years old, while the Archbishop was serving as a priest in the Warri Diocese of the church.

In his resignation statement addressed to the Pope and made available to WorldNewsVine, Mr. Burke apologized for the “pain and hurt” he has caused Mrs. Atwood, who is now based in Canada, and her family, stating, “she and I had a caring relationship that began in the latter part of 1989, when she was 21 and I was 40. I was posted back to Ireland in March 1990, and returned to Nigeria in April 1996.”

He further described the sexual escapades with the woman as against the Catholic’s celibacy doctrine, stating, “In the last 20 years, Mrs. Atwood and I met on seven occasions. On three of those occasions, our relationship was again expressed sexually. This was entirely inappropriate behaviour and it is something for which I am truly sorry,” he expressed in the statement to the Vatican.

It remains to be seen how Nigerian Catholics and Christendom in general will react to the situation that is fast becoming a trend in the Catholic Church.

National (May 6) – With the first week of May drawing to a close and no mention about any action to be taken to extend unemployment for those currently in the system, things look dire. For those who have long since run out of unemployment extension benefits, money of their own paid into the system when they had jobs, anger and despair continues to breed.

Sarah Smith writes, “I am a 99er. The congress said it does not want to set up a welfare system and that another tier will cause people not to look for a job. I was sent a letter from unemployment that said if you can not find work you may be eligible for welfare.” Welfare is not what Sarah seeks nor it is the dream come true for millions of others. They want to work, they want their job back or a new job – any job. Her frustration is the expression of all the millions of unemployed whether still within the structure of receiving weekly checks or not.

She continues, “I have worked for 22 years and this was my first time collecting unemployment. I do not think anyone who is on unemployment enjoys being on it. My unemployment was not even enough to pay my rent. I had to move out of my 3 bedroom house into a one bedroom apartment.”

But her story, like so many, does not end there. The amount of unemployment she received was not even enough to pay the rent and her electric and water. Compounding her dire straits is the worry about how she is suppose to feed her child. Sarah, along with millions of others, feels deserted by her own government. “I would love to have a job,” she declares, “So if you can not give us a Tier V I suggest Congress finds a job for each us. It seems like they are living in another world.”

Her voice rings out the cry of all Americans abandoned by those on Capitol Hill, “The unemployed workers did not cause this! They did and now we have to pay for their mistakes, while they have no worries about where their next month’s rent is coming from. We get cut off while Wall street gets billions of our dollars. It is wrong!”

John is another wants-to-work individual who is reaching the end of his unemployment. Not yet a member of the rank and file “99ers”, he has at least the small comfort of a minimum check each week. John is organized to the point of almost obsessiveness. Color-coded folders, high profile resumes, follow up phone calls, requests for interviews and a background filled with construction awards from prominent companies, John searches the nation daily in the hopes of finding a job, any job, any where. With a family, he is more than willing to move or commute. Yet all his hard work, which he will continue, goes unanswered. He cannot find a job anywhere.

The trouble is two-fold. The inability of Congress, or their unwillingness to help, coupled with jobs that do not exist and are not being created as promised. Against their will, millions have been forced into a system they never tapped into before; people who have stood on their own two feet their entire lives, yet through the fault of greed and neglect of administrations past and present are the one’s made to suffer.

Congress cannot turn their backs to this situation. Jobs will not magically appear. People do have a breaking point. It is time for those on the Hill to look out their windows, answer their telephones, pick up their faxes, and read their emails. Things are not getting better, unless you are already rich. Will this country end up with two classes? Rich and dirt poor? Will our government allow this to happen? These are serious questions and many millions of unemployed have long since started formulating their own answers.

National (May 4) – Unemployment worries are not going to magically disappear just because people wish they would, but the dedication of many is making a difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands who have felt alone and abandoned. Issa Decker’s Change.org petition made headlines late March and others have followed in her footsteps to take up the banner of equal rights for those without unemployment benefits – and without jobs.

“I’ve created a website, www.99erspetition.com, for the people who have signed the petition,” Issa is quick to inform the existing 99er’s group. This will help those who have already committed to letting Congress know their unemployment and futile job search stories a way to stay in touch through newsletters and urgent emails. “The petition is at 23,657 now. When we reach 100,000, miracles will happen,” Decker firmly believes.

The original petition, for all those who have reached and exceeded their unemployment benefits, can be found at Change.org.

National (May 3) – The unemployed without extensions movement to impress upon Congress and all those on Capitol Hill the seriousness of their plight started April 30th and officially ends tonight at midnight. The lives of too many Americans hangs in the balance. Congress was scheduled to vote on Tier IV extensions before the end of May. The silence so far from the Hill is not a good indicator. Some individuals have received the standard form letter expressing “concern” while many more have heard nothing in reply to their cries for help.

Melanie Klein-Robbenhaar, with a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Educational Leadership and Administration education, is just one of millions unable to obtain employment. Melanie also holds a Master’s degree from Harvard. “My resume speaks for itself. I have been gainfully employed my entire life and now I can’t even get an interview. Unemployment benefits put food on the table for my family of four. Mine were exhausted in March. This is getting very scary.”

Teaching has until recently been a field that, while underpaid, held endless opportunities. States across the nation, in individual crisis, act irrationally. One of the first areas of employment to feel the full effects of the Wall Street triggered chaos has been education.

“I have been gainfully employed my entire life, and now we face possible foreclosure in the not-too-distant future. We hope that the economy improves soon, and that jobs start to become available, but until then, please add a Tier V of benefits. I did not ask for this disaster, nor did I help to create it,” Melanie appeals the Legislative body.

Her resume reflects experience and leadership in what was once a very desirable field. From Director of Studies to Financial Aid expert to financial services and copious amounts of higher education work-related experience, Melanie, like so many, exudes all the attributes most employers would snap up in a flash. Yet, to this day, she, along with millions of others, cannot find a job.

The President proclaimed that education and continuing higher education was a top priority for his administration. Yet, he has no control over the day-to-day functions of individual states that choose to cut funding to much-needed sectors within their state. Instead of trimming the fat from the top, most state officials meet to chop off the legs of the basic, necessary services and fields. In other words, poor decisions at the state level head many states deeper and deeper into troubled times.

While the 99ers initial grassroots movement ends officially at midnight tonight, their anguish will not. It is to be hoped that every American of this country, unemployed or lucky enough to have a job, urge Congress to protect its citizens. Billions of taxpayer dollars, and those unemployed paid their fair share, are poured into the black hole of financial fat cats and wars halfway around the world. Where is the help that needs to happen here, right within our own borders?

Open your doors and windows and hearts and see what is really going on “out there”. Someone, somewhere you know is going through a personal hell and needs help. There is compassion in this country, often expressed in an outpouring of money to those outside the U.S. Apply that same compassion to your own and demand change.