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From the Washington Times

32 years after attack, Pakistani woman gets nose

by Asif Shahzad

THATHA PIRA, Pakistan (AP) — After six years of abuse, Allah Rakhi was walking out of her marriage when her husband struck again. Snatching a knife, he sliced off her nose. “You're no longer beautiful!” he shouted.

He then slashed at her foot — brutal punishment for leaving the house without his permission.

“A woman is only a woman inside the home, outside she's a whore!” he yelled at Rakhi as she lay bleeding on the dusty street just outside her home.

That was 32 years ago.

All that time, Rakhi hid her disfigured face under a veil. Then in March, a surgeon took up her case. He cut flesh from her ribs and fashioned it into a new nose, transforming her life.

While the details of every case of violence against Pakistani woman differ, many are based on a concept of “family honor.” Women can be targeted for suspicion of an affair, wishing to divorce or dressing inappropriately. Hundreds women are murdered each year because of mere suspicions.

The nose is considered the symbol of family honor in Pakistan — explaining why a woman's nose is often the target of spousal abuse. A popular plea from parents to children is “Please take care of our nose,” which means, “don't do anything that tarnishes the reputation of the family.”

Rooted in tribal ideas that a woman's chastity is the property of the man, honor killings are practiced in much of the Arab world and South Asia. They have also been carried out by immigrants from those regions to the West.

Pakistani courts have a history of letting off offenders or giving them only light punishment, assuming the cases get to trial at all.

Rakhi's husband, for example, served just 10 months in jail before being released in exchange for a commitment to pay her medical bills. He never did.

Accurate statistics on the extent of honor crimes are hard to come by, because many cases go unreported or are settled out of court under pressure from the families of the victim and the attacker.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that in 2011, at least 943 women were murdered, nine had their noses cut off, 98 were tortured, 47 set on fire and 38 attacked with acid.

Efforts to introduce stronger laws to increase punishments for violence against women have been blocked by an Islamist political party which publicly supports the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. The party, Jamiat Ulema Islam, is a member of the ruling coalition.

The lower houses of parliament passed the bill, but the JUI is preventing its passage through the upper house.

“We will never let it happen,” said JUI senator Maulana Ghafoor Haideri, who said the bill was an attempt to “Westernize” Pakistan. “It will ruin our family institutions,” he said.

Shad Begum, a Pakistani right activists who received the U.S. International Woman of Courage award from first lady Michelle Obama this year, said firmer laws and better enforcement are the only solution to violence against woman.

“Our leaders need to take a firm stand,” she said. “If a man makes a woman a victim, or makes an ‘example out of her' as he believes, our courts should also make an example out of him.”

Rakhi was attacked when she was 19, after being married at 13. Despite being illegal, child marriages remain common in parts of Pakistan.

Following the attack, she worked to support herself and her daughter, painting flowers on pots in a factory and buying and selling clothes in markets across the country, all the time hidden behind a veil.

“I died every moment,” Rakhi said in her three-room mud and brick house in a village hidden among the wheat fields of Pakistan's Punjab province.

Rakhi's husband divorced her soon after he was released from prison, she said.

In a bizarre twist, the 51-year-old woman now lives again under the same roof as him — something she claims as a “victory,” but also perhaps points to her poverty and lack of alternatives.

Rakhi 's son persuaded her to return home, anxious for her to have a more comfortable life.

On a recent visit, the husband scooted out of the house as Rakhi welcomed a reporter, and he did not made himself available for comment.

She said she never stopped hoping for a new nose, but doctors were unwilling to operate because she suffers from hepatitis C, a liver condition that can complicate surgery.

It was her daughter who gave her the chance. She was working in the capital, Islamabad, at an institute that provides training for woman recovering from having acid thrown on their faces. She introduced Rakhi to the Acid Survivors Foundation, which put her in touch with a surgeon.

Dr. Hamid Hasan took her case for free. Asked why he would take the chance, he answered, “Her pleas. Her tears.”

At a follow up appointment last month, Hasan touched the scars where the stitches once were on her nose and forehead.

Rakhi winced slightly, and smiled as the surgeon took his hands away.

Hasan said her positive attitude was important for the other operations she must undergo in the coming months.

“Thank God I did not commit suicide,” Rakhi said. “Life is a blessing!”

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/jun/2/32-years-after-attack-pakistani-woman-gets-nose/?page=all#pagebreak

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From Google News

Ohio outlaws texting while driving

Minors face fine, 60-day loss of driver's license

by Jim Siegel

Surrounded by family members of those killed by drivers distracted by cellphones, Gov. John Kasich yesterday made Ohio the 39th state to ban texting while driving.

The new law, which takes effect in 90 days, also bans drivers younger than 18 from using any hand-held electronic device, whether to text, make a call or do anything else.

“This is why we are doing this,” Kasich said, sitting behind the desk in his ceremonial office, holding a photo of 23-year-old Keith Homstad Jr. in his right hand and a photo of 16-year-old Dalton Ludwig in his left.

“These families are finding some relief by doing something constructive to help others,” he added. “It's a hard road back, folks, when you don't have a dad, when you lose your only son, when your soldier son is killed on leave. This helps them to heal.”

Homstad, of Johnstown, was killed while on leave from the Air Force in August 2010. He was a passenger in a car driven by a 19-year-old woman who prosecutors argued was texting — though a judge said that was not proved.Keith Homstad Sr. called the law a good first step, but he would have rather seen texting made a primary driving offense for adults, instead of a secondary offense. A secondary offense means an officer must first pull over a driver for something else, such as speeding.

“If anything, maybe it will create a mindset. If 50 percent of the folks adhere to it, there is a 50 percent greater chance of a life being saved,” Homstad said.

Ludwig, of Pickerington, was a student driver sitting in a parked car along the shoulder of I-270 in July 2010 when he was struck and killed by a man who was texting. His father, Phillip, said the new law will be tough to enforce but “I think it's a good educational tool to use” for young adults who think they can multitask behind the wheel.

The law is a primary offense for minors punishable by a $150 fine and 60-day license suspension for a first offense, and a $300 fine and one-year suspension for repeat violations.

For the first 60 days after the bill takes effect, drivers will be issued warnings instead of tickets. The bill also bans emailing while driving.

The bill's sponsors, Reps. Rex Damschroder, R-Fremont, and Nancy Garland, D-New Albany, also wanted a violation to be a primary offense for all drivers, as is done in 35 other states.

But Senate Republicans refused. Some were concerned about infringing on personal freedoms, trying to legislate common sense and passing a law that is very difficult to enforce.

The law does allow local texting bans to supersede state law if they make it a primary offense.

“For those people who might think this is somehow an invasion of your rights or nanny state or whatever, come meet these families,” Kasich said, talking to the media after an emotional private meeting with the victims' relatives, many of whom pressed lawmakers into action.

Kasich's parents were killed by a drunken driver, and though he called the texting law an “incredible achievement,” he said he would have been fine if it were tougher.

“If that driver could have turned back the hands of time and avoided this death that he caused, I'm sure he would have done it,” Kasich said, adding that the same is true of the texters who caused more recent deaths.

Kasich said law enforcement will enforce the law aggressively. He also said there may be more education on texting at the Ohio State Fair, and he has talked to his transportation director about erecting billboards.

“If we continue to see a problem, we'll come back,” he said.

Garland has noted that drivers who text, according to studies, are 20 times more likely to get in a crash or near-crash and can drive the length of a football field without looking up at the road when going 55 mph.

AT&T applauded the law. In May, the company released a survey of 1,200 drivers ages 15-19 showing that while 97 percent viewed texting while driving as dangerous, 43 percent admitted to doing it, and 61 percent said their friends text and drive.

AT&T is among those that offer an app to shut off a phone's texting function while a person is driving.

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/06/02/ohio-outlaws-texting-while-driving.html

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Scammers hope you'll bite on 'zombie' news

by Matt Liebowitz

The past few weeks have given us a rash of unbelievably gruesome news stories. There's the 21-year-old college student who allegedly killed, dismembered and ate his victim's brain and heart; the Swedish man arrested for reportedly eating his wife's lips; and the "zombie" that started it all, Rudy Eugene, who was shot and killed by Miami police while in the process of eating another man's face.

Each story is horrific, disgusting and compelling in its own way — in other words, perfect fodder for online scammers.

Right now, there is surveillance footage of Eugene's May 26 attack, but the 18-minute video, embedded in articles from local Miami news sources including the Miami Herald, is partially obscured by a bridge. There is no other video, no "exclusive" footage or "never-before-seen" angle. This is important to remember, as online scammers, in a plea to get you to click on possibly harmful links, often promise to show you the "real" videos or photos you haven't seen.

Scammers used these tactics after the Japan earthquake and tsunami last year and after the deaths of Osama bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston. SecurityNewsDaily hasn't yet seen any rigged emails or Facebook posts about these horrific "zombie" incidents, but they will almost certainly pop up in the next few days. They could come from anywhere, but with some common sense, you can keep your computer out of trouble.

The advice is simple: Use your brain. If you need to satisfy your curiosity and thirst for gore, read stories about these crimes from legitimate news sources. No matter how enticing or convenient, don't simply click on a link you see on Facebook or Twitter or in an unsolicited email.

Scammers know how captivating these horrifying stories are, and they're sure to cast their bait far and wide in the hopes of getting you to bite. As a matter of course, make sure you are running up-to-date anti-virus software on your computer to protect you in the event you fall for one of the scammers' tricks.

http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/06/03/scammers-hope-youll-bite-on-zombie-news/

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Virginia

Neighborly effort combats crime

by Bill Engle

Richmond police say that residents should arm themselves with communication and old-fashioned neighborly cooperation and concern to combat the rise in violent crime in the city.

"Richmond is not a dangerous community," said Diane Whitehead, who coordinates community policing for Richmond police. "People have called me and asked, 'Should we buy a gun?' But that's not the answer. It's not arming yourself against one another. It's just a case of being observant and stay in contact with one another."

Whitehead said she has received an ever-increasing number of calls from residents wanting information about forming crime watch groups.

"People are asking what they can do and what they can do is form neighborhood watches," she said. "And if you have a neighborhood association get active in it. Get to know your neighbors. Observe and report anything out of the ordinary."

Becky Dingle is coordinator of the Hidden Valley Neighborhood Watch Association on the city's west side. That group was formed in 2007 because of problems with minor crimes. Interest has ebbed and flowed, but now Dingle said she has 63 contacts who share information about abandoned houses, weeds, needed street repairs, car break-ins and burglaries.

"This is a good thing because it keeps neighbors connected," Dingle said. "We had cars broken into a few weeks ago and a lot of people didn't know about it. It gives us a chance to communicate and keep an eye on our neighborhood."

Richmond Mayor Sally Hutton said "people nowadays need to be more vigilant."

"We need to be true neighbors," she said. "We need to look out for one another and report problems. I would encourage everyone to be in a neighborhood association or a crime watch area."

Wayne County Sheriff Jeff Cappa said education is always a key in citizens helping police.

"The best way is to know your neighborhood and report things that don't seem right," Cappa said. "Yes, we're experiencing some violent acts right now. But residents need to be aware, not to overreact but to be calm. We need to help each other right now."

http://www.pal-item.com/article/20120602/NEWS01/206020312/-No-heading-?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs