A Wichita library patron is tased after police say he pulled a knife on a librarian. It happened Tuesday afternoon at the Central Library on S. Main Street in Wichita.  

According to police, a customer went to a librarian and said a man was behind some shelves masturbating.  The librarian found the man sitting at a table and confronted him.

Police say other employees came over to help after the man became irate and started yelling at the librarian.  As the librarian grabbed the man's arm, he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a short knife.

A WPD security officer saw the knife and tased the man before he could stab the librarian.  The 58-year-old was then arrested for aggravated assault and indecent exposure.

Library employees say they'd had a similar complaint about this man several weeks ago, but they couldn't find him in the library.

The man doesn't have a permanent address and has been living out of local shelters.

Wichita police started manning libraries with armed security officers in December of last year.

WHAT DOES "FED PUMPS $68 BILLION INTO BANKING SYSTEM" ACTUALLY MEAN?
By: Devvy
August 13, 2007
© 2007 - NewsWithViews.com

Last week saw a bucking bronco ride in the stock market. The American people read headlines such as: Fed vows, then pumps massive funds to calm markets and Fed's $38 billion helps markets. I have written many columns the past several years as have hundreds of others warning of the coming financial tsunami. Far too many people scoffed at all the warnings, continued to rack up massive debt and pursued the American dream of owning their own home when their financial portfolio and credit history simply could not float the big boat they were taking out into the ocean. The first of the dominos began to teeter earlier in the week: Aug. 6 (Bloomberg) -- "American Home Mortgage Investment Corp. became the second-biggest residential lender to file for bankruptcy protection this year, adding to signs that late payments have spread to homeowners with good credit records."

Dr. Edwin Vieira is arguably the foremost authority in this country on the central bank and the history of our monetary system. His monumental tomes, CrashMaker (fiction) and Pieces of Eight (non-fiction) are the quintessential teaching tools towards understanding this complex issue and making it understandable for average Americans like me. I bring this up because over the weekend I had a long telephone discussion with Edwin about the market last week. We both agree that the clock is ticking and all the bombastic gas let loose by financial guru's like FAUX's (FOX) Neil Cavuto, is just that because all the kings horses and all the kings men will not be able to fix this one. Not for a long time.

The government's plunge protection team (PPP) galloped in this past week and dumped almost $70 billion "dollars" into the banking system to save themselves. Creating "billions" out of thin air. Worldwide, central banks were scrambling and issuing more worthless paper to the tune of triple digit billions. The big neon billboard has been lit up with a message no one wanted: the stock market growing more fearful about tightening credit after years of free for all liquidity. High Times at Mortgage Express. Investors who don't have in-depth knowledge or real understanding of our monetary system and the FED, trying to figure out what's going to happen to their investments. The subprime mortgage market free fall has been building for years. These are loans made to people who have less than ideal credit - all being done during a housing market that began it's slumpalmost two years ago.

On August 9, 2007, the privately owned Federal Reserve pumped "$24 billion in temporary reserves to the banking system amid an increase in demand for cash from banks roiled by U.S. subprime loan losses." The next day, the FED infused the dying patient on the operating table three different injections: $38 billion. Some say this won't be nearly enough to stop the hemorrhaging. This latest "rescue" by the central bank is going to be short lived and many experts not on the government's payroll predict the FED will have to reverse it's decision last week to leave interest rates alone and instead, announce an emergency drop in rates. The wise folks over at urbansurvival.com said it best last Friday: "When up to a third of a trillion dollars being dumped into financial market's in 36-hours doesn't stem the tide, even the financially ignorant can sense something has changed. That's pouring money into the financial system at a rate equivalent to all of Canada's Annual GDP every four days. And what did we get? A 31-point Dow loss anyway!"

The government announced on August 10, 2007, that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae will not be allowed to acquire any more mortgage debt. Banks and lending institutions have for too long been making bad loans and despite the gigantic warnings signs, greed carried them through the years, but now foreclosures packages are spitting out more paper than the Pentagon. Let me give you an example. Go to: www.foreclosure.com On the left side, just pick California (state) and Los Angeles (county). Look at just this one list of houses in foreclosure. There are other sites I've browsed with page after page after page of houses in foreclosure just in the LA area alone; they range from $250,000-$1.8 million. Foreclosures were already hitting record numbers by June 2007.

The inventory of available housing continues to stack up like Uncle Sam's IOUs to the world. The "dominant media" continues to dress up the naked mannequin in little better than see-through clothing; the numbers tell the real story. During the roaring re-fi years of low interest rates, Americans took the equity out of their homes and enjoyed the good life. Then came the unpleasant taste of fear when their homes were no longer worth what they paid for them, inventory in their areas can't be sold and the final shocker: subprime loans in numbers enough to gag a planet suddenly went bad as consumers could no longer make those payments. Where do these folks go when they are forced out because of foreclosure? Rental apartments, family or in their cars. They contribute nothing to the economy because any disposable income they might have goes just for the basics of survival.

As Edwin said in our recent conversation, the system has to keep propping itself up in an attempt to fend off hyper inflation like what hit Argentina where people once able to prosper were eating out of garbage cans. Unfortunately, and sadly, most Americans simply have little or no understanding of the subject matter, but to not understand what's happening will be deadly for millions. How will this affect the average American out there already dying under the weight of credit cards debt insufficient household income (despite two working people, sometimes with three paychecks) and taxes in all forms taking disposable income?

1. The middle class has been destroyed by unconstitutional trade agreements; our most productive and important job sectors decimated - agriculture, manufacturing, industrial. Wages have not kept up with the cost of goods and services; the illegals invasion sucking the lifeblood out of this country by stealing jobs (like meat packing at good wages) and sending BILLIONS "home." Pile on the continued sacking of the people's purse by thieves in one Congress after another and a five year undeclared war being funded through borrowing slapped on their backs, has left the American family broke. Seniors living on social security and investments will see those dwindle and will have to keep tapping whatever savings they might have accumulated over their lifetimes. One "rainy day" will drown them.

2. Growing numbers of Americans refuse to buy Made in Communist China; I am one who has been doing it since 1994 when NAFTA was unconstitutionally signed into law. I don't even own a toaster. I go without when I can't find what I need, but I can generally find what I want by taking the time; see Made in USA. If you can't find it there, do a www.scroogle.org search and you will get results. This does not help our economy or retailers, but I'm sorry. I will not give my money to an enemy of my country just for "things." And, remember this: there's a good chance the fur in your sweater, parka and even doll clothes comes from dogs skinned alive in Communist China.

3. In the real world, parents across this country are scrambling to get their children new clothes, books and other trappings because summer break ends for most schools the end of this month. Cash strapped, they go for credit cards. Too many are already maxed out and as credit tightens by the banks, the situation becomes even more dire. Heap the bankruptcies on top of foreclosures (July 2007: Ariz. bankruptcies up 60%; credit-card debt, higher mortgage payments cited) and we're no longer talking chump change here, we're talking about a dreadful scenario for our nation.

4. In a couple of months you will start to see hints of Thanksgiving and Christmas decorations begin to hit the big box stores. Retailers depend on the grotesque spending spree every December called Christ-mas for their big earnings boost. But what's going to happen this year? It's difficult to buy Christmas presents - especially all that 'bling' when your house is in foreclosure, you're one of two SUV payments behind and child care is running you $150 a week. Johnny needs braces, Sally wants ballet lessons, both kids want to go to Disneyland and you would just love a week in the French countryside. However, when the financial squeeze starts to keep you awake at night, the first thing to go is non-essential services like entertainment, eating out in restaurants 2-3 nights a week, vacations and those $75 seats at the Cowboys game. Savings in this country is almost extinct and for the poor, the only place they have to go is ever expanding food banks which are hurting in many major cities throughout the country. For part 2 click below.

What's going to happen next year when the first wave of baby boomers begin to retire? At the sake of repeating myself, Comptroller General David Walker has been touring the U.S. trying to warn the American people what's going to happen and it isn't pretty: "What they don't talk about is a dirty little secret everyone in Washington knows, or at least should. The vast majority of economists and budget analysts agree: The ship of state is on a disastrous course, and will founder on the reefs of economic disaster if nothing is done to correct it." The only presidential candidate addressing the issue of the FED and our economy is Congressman Ron Paul, a man now hated by his own party (GOP) and marginalized by the MSM (mainstream media) and cable networks as if one of the great constitutionalists of our time is nothing more than a "maverick and semi-crank." (Look at this exquisite ad for Dr. Paul). The tax and spend Democrats (who replaced the tax and spend Republicans) have been in office eight months and what have they accomplished? Zippo, yet the one man who can do what has to be done (along with the right Secretary of Treasury, say Dr. Edwin Vieira) is being treated like a disease.

5. It isn't just the house that doesn't sell causing major financial problems, it's also the construction industry itself. Every house has a faucet, carpeting, light fixtures - but all industries suffer when houses aren't built or remodeling stops because of a recession or depression. That means major home improvement stores like Home Depot, lays off and the domino effect starts to rattle already jittery investor nerves. Investors don't like "lower than expected" earnings and anyone who has done enough research knows the feds have been cooking the books for decades thereby deceiving investors. Well, the chickens are coming home to roost. Local municipalities suffer because contractors are charged a percentage of the project for schools, parks and other revenue generating enterprises. Tax bases from a dozen sources dry up. Every related industry from mortgage loan brokers, realtors to escrow companies all begin to feel the noose. Tensions heat up as tribalism takes over as a matter of survival and crime increases in these massive, over crowded metropolitan cities. It's not a pretty picture when one sits down and lists all the ingredients for financial and societal melt down.

I wish everyone could subscribe to LeMetropolecafe.com. Their writers are exceptional. Their knowledge of this subject matter is easy to understand and not sanitized for votes, i.,e., this recent post by Neville Bennett on Credit contamination: "The sub-prime mortgages offered by U.S. institutions have been sliced, diced and repackaged to get them off U.S. bank balance sheets. They have contaminated global credit markets. Very strong metaphors are appropriate. To some extent, it is poison. It is also a virus, virulent and contagious. 49 European banks and financial institutions needed support last week.

"It could be more this week as uncertainty spreads. Banks can discount good news, they can discount bad news, but one report rightly says, “they cannot discount what they do not know.” My take is that they do not know the present value of their assets. The packages of U.S. housing debt, sold under a variety of names, were syndicated and accepted because they had a credit rating and a good anticipated yield. However, there have been more sub prime defaults than anticipated and escalating defaults. It is increasingly difficult value these packages. Many large hedge funds are admitting a 25% fall in value. This is often wildly optimistic. The Street is predicting a 90% fall.

"Rather than discuss generalities, this article will explore the recent difficulties of BNP Paribas, France’s largest bank. The Bank caused mayhem in Europe by suspending three investment funds worth 2 bn euros, saying it was impossible to value certain assets, because of the “complete evaporation “of liquidity in some markets. It said a valuation would be made “when liquidity returned to the market.” The ECB responded to the crisis made $130 b of loans available. These were on the same scale as the intervention on 9/11. What impressed me was that 49 banks and financial institution grasped the ECB’s lifeline. 49 banks needing support!

"Paribas’s statement is very scary. It confirms that the two-way movement of bonds and derivatives associated with the U.S. housing market is seizing up. I have heard that $3 trillion of derivatives have been written in this market. There will be massive repercussions. The scariest aspect could be that the massive French bank declined to buy these investments from investors who want to sell. It suspended activity. It could have bought them at fair value, and have held the bonds until maturity. It did not. This suggests the bonds are toxic...Paribas apparently invested also in asset-backed securities (ABS) which are bundles of loans, (credit card loans, car loans etc) that were packaged together into bonds. These are now frozen. The mounting crisis is reflected in the soaring LIBOR (London interbank offered rate). The LIBOR is regarded a risk-free investment made on overnight loans. It is important to realize how fast the credit storm is developing."

How is the average Joe and Mary out in America trying to put food on the table and fill up their gas tank at $50 - $75 bux a pop going to understand all this, much less react to it? The media continues to gloss things over with carefully crafted word smithing while a gallon of milk climbs towards $4.00. Dr. Edwin Vieira began warning Americans a couple of years ago in his columns, i.e., Are Monetary and Banking Crises Inevitable in the Near Future?

http://newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd297.htm

Australia to spend $189 million on anti-porn tech initiative

Australia's prime minister John Howard and opposition leader Kevin Rudd revealed the Australian government's sweeping new $189 million anti-pornography initiative on Friday at an event hosted by the Australian Christian Lobby. During the presentation, which was broadcast to over 700 Australian churches, Howard discussed Christian values and described the government's latest costly plans for preventing pictures of naked people from clogging The Tubes.

Related StoriesProposal to erect XXX domain faces stiff opposition
Approximately $89 million will be used to establish Australia's National Filter Scheme, which will impose burdensome filtering requirements on ISPs and provide Australian citizens with free* access to PC-based Internet filtering software. The filtering systems will leverage the Australian Communications and Media Authority's official Blacklist, which is based on the country's National Classification Scheme. According to a statement issued on Friday by communications minister Helen Coonan, the Australian Communications and Media Authority is also evaluating plans to extend the Blacklist to include "terrorism and cyber-crime sites upon prescription by the Attorney-General."

Approximately $22 million will be spent on a broad "public awareness and education campaign" to inform parents of Internet safety issues, and another $11.7 million will be used to establish community outreach programs that will push "the Internet safety message" into thousands of schools. Additionally, the government plans to establish a consultative working group to find a "workable solution" to combat "the use of social networking web sites by predators to contact and groom children via the internet."

Only last year, the Australian government spent $116 million on a similar initiative, $93 million of which was used to provide free* Internet filtering software to families for a three-year period. At the time, Coonan said in a statement that the government's three separate studies on the efficacy of ISP-level filtering found "significant problems with content filter products operating at the ISP-level," and Coonan cited ease of circumvention and limited filtering control when arguing that ISP-level filtering isn't as effective as PC-based filtering. It is ironic that Australia's latest costly anti-pornography initiative leverages the same kind of ISP-level filtering technologies that were dismissed as inadequate only a year ago. One wonders what kind of improvements have been in the filtering technology field since then.

Proposal would impose jail sentences for possessing five or more pornographic movies
In related news, the Australian Parliament is evaluating a legislative proposal introduced by indigenous affairs minister Mal Brough that aims to impose extreme restrictions on pornography in the Northern Territory. The proposal is inspired by the Australian government's "Children Are Sacred" report, which discusses instances of child sexual abuse in the Northern Territories. Mal Brough's proposal, which is described as "draconian" by the New Zealand Herald, would implement a broad ban on X-rated films in the Northern Territory, and impose jail sentences for porn "trafficking" on those who are caught with five or more X-rated films even in instances where the pornographic products are not being distributed.

Although Mal Brough only aims to impose the restrictions and "trafficking" penalties on the Northern Territories, groups like the Australian Christian Lobby are calling for the proposed directive to be expanded nationally. "The Australian Christian Lobby, along with many other Christian and family groups is asking why the ban on X-rated pornography should only apply to Northern Territory indigenous communities," the Australian Christian Lobby said in a statement. "The problems of pornography aren't confined to these communities and the ban needs to extend Australia-wide. Don't all children need protecting?"

Shooting Massacre In German Town

SKY News
Updated: 07:16, Wednesday August 15, 2007

Six people have been shot dead in a west German town - all of them suffered bullet wounds to the head.

Five bodies were found in two cars near the train station in Duisburg and a sixth person died in an ambulance on the way to hospital.

Police spokesman Hermann-Josef Helmich said police do not yet know who could have committed the killings or what the motive might have been.

"A witness heard the shots and stopped a police patrol car which was incidentally driving nearby," said another police spokesman, Reinhard Pape.

The bodies were discovered around 2.30am local time and all victims were between 20 and 30 years old, Mr Pape said.

He said one of the cars was a small van registered in Duisburg while the other one was a white Volkswagen from Pforzheim in south west Germany.

Police started investigating at the crime scene but work was hindered by heavy rain, he said.

To own a gun in Germany, one must posses a license issued by the police. Target shooters must be members of a legitimate club, must attend a 3-day safety class, and must pass a written and practical exam. Strict limits are placed on the number and types of guns one may own: "Assault weapons" (defined as guns having the "outer form" of a full-auto gun, regardless of actual functionality) are illegal, and the law limits target shooters to a maximum of 8 single-shot .22s.

Perhaps surprisingly, a very wide range of guns are in fact legal, including almost any handgun available in the U.S., to people who hold the appropriate license. A dealer informed me that a particular H&K rifle was legal with a grey plastic stock, but would be considered an "assault weapon" if the stock were black. Hunting rifles and shotguns exactly like those in the US are available for sale, but the Germans seem to prefer double and triple-barreled guns (say, one 12ga. barrel, one .270, and one .44 mag, on the same break-action stock) to the more familiar bolt and pump repeaters.

A hunting gun requires a hunting license, which is issued only after a 1-year class (2-3 times a week) and an exhaustive test. Applicants get only one chance to pass this test. I personally knew one woman who planned on getting hunting license primarily because she would enjoy learning woodcraft and tracking, and secondarily so that she could keep an heirloom shotgun in the family after her grandfather died (if no one in the family had had a hunting license, the gun would have gone to the local police).

Concealed carry is legal for those with permits. Permits are issued on a "may-issue" basis to those who can prove a "need." In reality, this means that NO ONE gets permits except professional bodyguards. Self-defense generally is stigmatized. One woman who was a martial artist informed me that martial arts training was a liability legally; if she injured a rapist, she could expect to be charged with assault and have her karate knowledge used as evidence against her.

It is technically illegal to keep a loaded weapon at home--guns and ammo have to be stored "securely," a term which is undefined in the law. A recent change in the law will require that they also be stored separately. Shooting a home invader before he shoots at you is likely to be regarded as murder. Since there are no juries in Germany, you'd better hope you get a sympathetic judge.

Buying a gun, gun parts, or ammunition, even .22, is legally impossible without a license unless your gun will be immediately exported. Ironically, mail-order guns are common--just send in a notarized copy of your license, and they send the gun to your door.

In what is perhaps the oddest result of tight gun laws, Germans can choose from a plethora of realistic-looking "Scare-guns," which are almost indistinguishable from the real thing, but which fire only blanks, or in some cases, pepper spray and CS tear gas. Where American gun shops proudly display racks of pistols, German shops have similar racks of fake pistols available for immediate, no-license purchase. Until recently carrying a fake gun for "self-defense" was generally legal; a new law will require a "fake gun CCW" permit.

On the black market side, an illegal full-auto AK is easy to come by because of the collapse of East Germany. Glock handguns sell for $200 on the street (I rely on my conversations with gun dealers for this information, as I made no attempt to illegally acquire any weapons). Corrupt sale of gun licenses to criminals by police officials does occur, but I cannot say if this problem is widespread. Certainly I saw stories about it in my year over there.

Target shooting thrives in Germany, as it has for some 500 years. Self-defense is dead. Hunting remains, as it ever was, an aristocratic amusement.

On the day before this most recent massacre, a new law was passed from the lower house of the German parliament which would make the following changes in German weapons regulations:

--"Little CCW" license now required for carry of fake "scare-guns." A practical test will be administered in their safe use.

--"Violence-prone extremists" forbidden to posses weapons.

--Various types of knives forbidden.

--Throwing stars forbidden (I'm sorry, but I have to comment: how dumb is this? Has ANYONE been killed with throwing stars in Germany this year?)

--Guns and ammo must be stored separately.

The massacre at the high school has prompted the German police union to call for additional laws:

--Strengthening of penalties for illegal concealed carry of weapons, including knives.

--Creation of a national gun database (Current registries are local.)

The police union claims there is a "huge black market" in illegal weapons in Germany. How their proposals would reduce this problem is unclear.

Indeed, it is unclear what if any effect all of Germany's strict laws might have had on such a disgusting but well-planned crime as this.

In summary, Germany's gun laws closely resemble those of Massachusetts, but are perhaps a tiny bit more irrational. They do not appear to deter school shootings, several of which have taken place in the past year.

I do not expect Germany to enact truly rational reforms anytime soon, and the lack of a strong pro-rights lobby will likely spell disaster for the shooting community if these sorts of school shootings continue.

'Career flasher' sentenced to 13 years for indecent exposure

A 52-year-old man prosecutors called a "career flasher" was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison after pleading no contest to charges he exposed himself to a woman on a commuter train.

Police arrested Kenneth Ray Burton of San Francisco last year after he allegedly began masturbating in front of a woman on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train.

Prosecutors sought the lengthy prison sentence because Burton already had two prior convictions for indecent exposure and a previous conviction on six counts related to sexual assault, San Mateo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said.

The sentence of 13 years, four months in state prison was handed down Wednesday in San Mateo County Superior Court after Burton agreed to plead no contest to five felony counts of indecent exposure. He originally faced a maximum sentence of 25 years to life.

"Our concern was, 'Are we being too lenient? Are we adequately protecting the public?'" Wagstaffe said. "We have a person here who has done this for many, many years. And with all likelihood, he will be doing it again."

Bears eat man at beer festival

BELGRADE, Serbia (Reuters) -- A 23-year old Serb was found dead and half-eaten in the bear cage of Belgrade Zoo at the weekend during the annual beer festival.

The man was found naked, with his clothes lying intact inside the cage. Two adult bears, Masha and Misha, had dragged the body to their feeding corner and reacted angrily when keepers tried to recover it.

"There's a good chance he was drunk or drugged. Only an idiot would jump into the bear cage," zoo director Vuk Bojovic told Reuters.

Local media reported that police found several mobile phones inside the cage, as well as bricks, stones and beer cans.