Couple Not Guilty After New Jersey Officals Pursue Obviously Bogus “Abuse” Allegations – State Didn’t Like Childrens Names

NEW JERSEY – Heath and Deborah Campbell, who named two of their children Adolf Hitler and JoyceLynn Aryan Nation, are claiming that a court vindicated them of all abuse allegations last month. But after 33 months in foster care, the children are still not home.

New Jersey Family Court officials had no comment Tuesday.

“Actually, the judge and DYFS told us that there was no evidence of abuse and that it was the names! They were taken over the children’s names,” Heath Campbell told NBC 10 Tuesday.

Court records last year stated that the children were not removed from the home because of their names, but because of tangible evidence of abuse or neglect.

Protesting the fact that they still don’t have their kids, the Campbells picketed with three other people outside of child services offices in Flemington, N.J. Tuesday. The couple spoke exclusively to NBC 10, saying that the state has no right to keep their children away from them now that the court allegedly ruled that the kids were taken away without cause.

“I don’t sleep, I don’t eat much. I miss my kids. Miss their pitter patters on the floor,” Heath Campbell told NBC 10’s Doug Shimell. “It’s hard. I fall asleep with their pictures.”

The Campbell’s three small children were removed from their Holland Township home by the state in January 2009 after they asked a grocery store in Greenwich, N.J., to write “Adolf Hitler” on their son’s birthday cake.

Though a local Wal-Mart honored the birthday cake request, Adolf Hitler Campbell and siblings JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell were put into foster care.

“They beg to come home all of the time,” Deborah told NBC 10 Tuesday. “They beg to see their dad, they want to see their dad all the time.”

While the Campbells maintained from the beginning that the only reason their children were taken away is because of their given names, New Jersey court documents stated last year that there was alleged abuse and parental incompetence.

A New Jersey appeals court ruled in August 2010 that there was sufficient evidence of abuse or neglect because of domestic violence in the home, and though there was a gag order for both parties in the case (which the Campbells have broken multiple times to deny the allegations), authorities have stated in the past that putting the children into the foster system had nothing to do with their names.

Court records stated last year that both parents were victims of childhood abuse and both were unemployed and suffering from unspecified physical and psychological disabilities.

The Campbells say that a judge will decide by early December if the kids will come home.

“Can’t wait for the decision,” Heath Campbell said Tuesday. “Can’t wait for them to come home.”

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Two Men Freed After Bogus Headline Grabbing “Terror” Arrests And Publication Of Their Personal Information – Boarded International Flights From U.S.

AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS – WASHINGTON, DC – Two Yemeni men arrested as possible terror suspects at Schiphol International Airport in the Netherlands have been cleared of wrongdoing and freed, Dutch authorities said Wednesday.

“Given that no evidence has been found to support the initial accusation, there is no reason to hold the men any longer and they are no longer considered suspects,” Dutch prosecutors said on their website.

The Dutch authorities had been detaining the men held on suspicion of plotting a terrorist act, but the two were never formally charged, said Ernst Koelman, a prosecution spokesman.

The two Yemeni citizens were arrested Monday while en route to the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, from Chicago, Illinois, Dutch officials said.

A U.S. law enforcement source said Monday the men may have been trying to test U.S. airport security by putting bottles attached to electronic devices in their checked baggage.

But two U.S. government officials said Tuesday an initial U.S. investigation into the men showed no evidence of terrorism and no indication that they even knew each other.

“This looks like nothing,” said one of the officials, adding that both men missed flights in Chicago because of a gate change and their airline rebooked them onto the same plane.

“We see no evidence of a dry run or a connection to terrorism,” said the source, who is not authorized to discuss the case with the media and asked not to be named.

The Department of Homeland Security noted before the men were freed that the two “have not been charged with any crime in the United States.”

“In this instance, sound judgment led to suspicious items being identified, which triggered automatic security responses by U.S. security personnel,” the department said. ” … When the investigation tells us more, we will let you know, but we don’t have anything else at this time.”

Another U.S. official has said the Dutch were being cautious and wanted to check everything.

That official, who also asked not to be named, said the United States did the same.

The Homeland Security department has said the two were taken into custody after “suspicious items” in their luggage raised concern.

“The items were not deemed to be dangerous in and of themselves, and as we share information with our international partners, Dutch authorities were notified of the suspicious items,” the U.S. agency said. “This matter continues to be under investigation.”

Those items were an empty shampoo bottle with watches attached to it and an empty bottle of a stomach medicine with mobile phones attached, according to the U.S. law enforcement source, who has been briefed on the investigation.

Dutch authorities confirmed that one phone was found taped to a bottle and seized in the United States. Nothing else suspicious was found in the men’s luggage, the Dutch said.

Attempts to sneak liquid explosives aboard jetliners were at the heart of a 2006 plot broken up by British authorities. That case led U.S. authorities to ban all but small quantities of liquids from aircraft cabins.

U.S. law enforcement officials told CNN that the men’s checked bags contained knives and box cutters as well.

Passengers have been banned from carrying those items on aircraft since the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington, but they are allowed in checked bags.

The source identified the men aboard United Airlines Flight 908, from Chicago, Illinois, to Amsterdam, as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al-Soofi and Hezem al-Murisi.

Al-Soofi began his trip by boarding a flight in Birmingham, Alabama, and al-Murisi originally flew from Memphis, Tennessee, the law enforcement source said.

Al-Soofi had been back to Yemen at least twice previously to deliver money and gifts, and bought watches and cell phones as gifts for family members on this trip, said co-worker Ali Moqbel in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Al-Murisi was scheduled to fly from Chicago to Yemen, with connections in Washington and Dubai, a U.S. government official said, but his flight was changed to go from Chicago to Amsterdam.

Another U.S. law enforcement official said both men were in the United States legally.

That official said neither of the passengers was carrying items that are barred from aircraft, and federal air marshals were aboard the Chicago-to-Amsterdam flight.

Al-Soofi’s luggage went aboard the Chicago-to-Washington flight without him, the source said, in what amounted to another violation of U.S. safety protocols.

The official said al-Soofi and al-Murisi were seated near each other on the Chicago-to-Amsterdam flight, but were not seated next to each other.

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City To Pay Up After Crazed And Trouble-Prone Atlanta Georgia Police Officer Brandy Dolson Jailed Woman Who Dared To Ask Why She Couldn’t Use Sidewalk

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – The Atlanta City Council is expected to agree pay $20,000 to settle a lawsuit a by a 62-year-old woman who was jailed for asking a police officer “why” she and friends had to move from a sidewalk where they were talking about an upcoming funeral.

A council committee has already accepted the city attorney’s recommendation to settle the case, but the settlement must be approved by the entire city council. Minnie Carey spent almost 10 hours in jail on a charge of disorderly conduct brought by an officer who already had a troubled history with the Atlanta Police Department.

“It’s resolved,” said Carey’s attorney, Robert Ortman.

APD was named in the suit, and a spokesman for the department said Friday that an internal investigation found officer Brandy Dolson “acted within the parameters of department policies and procedures,” which complied with national standards. “Those [national] guidelines are based on a set of proven standards that take into account the difficult situations police officers face every day, and the split-second decisions they must make to protect citizens and reduce their own personal risk,” APD public affairs director Carlos Campos said in an e-mail.

This is one of two settlements the council is expected to address on Monday that involve incidents with Atlanta police officers.

If the other proposed settlement is approved, taxpayers will give 22 cab drivers $425,000 to settle a federal lawsuit. The suit says officers confiscated permits and insurance stickers and then immediately cited or arrested the drivers for not having those stickers on their cars. The drivers were targeted because their checks to APD’s Division of Taxicabs and Vehicles for Hire were returned; some of those checks were written as long as two years before they were deposited.

Carey’s suit was filed Feb. 17, claiming Dolson violated her civil rights and falsely imprisoned her. The suit also said the city had not given Dolson training that might have led him to respond differently in his encounter with Carey and her friends on a sidewalk outside a convenience store.

“People don’t usually complain unless there’s something really wrong,” Carey said. “If you have people complaining about the same person, it’s time the city take a look into their background.”

Dolson has been suspended without pay for most of this year, but not for the Carey case. APD said it was other, unrelated infractions that led to the disciplinary action.

Dolson could not be reached for comment Friday but he has previously declined to talk about the matter.

The suit said APD had received more than 10 complaints against Dolson but had “failed to adequately investigate the claims and deter him from further misconduct.”

But in the proposed settlement, the city and APD do not admit any wrongdoing.

Before bring the suit, Carey had filed a complaint with the Citizen Review Board, a panel charged with investigating reports of police misconduct. The board found in favor of Carey last February but interim police Chief George Turner rejected that decision.

Around 4 p.m. on March 26, 2009, Carey and her friends were on the sidewalk in front of the Boulevard Lotto convenience store, just a few blocks from downtown Atlanta. They had been talking a few minutes about funeral plans for a woman they all knew when Dolson and his partner pulled up. Dolson told the women to “move it.”

Three women started walking away but Carey didn’t, asking “why” instead.

Dolson’s answer to Carey was “because I said so,” according to records.

“I’m a citizen and I’m a taxpayer and I have a right to be here. I’m merely trying to find out about a sister’s funeral,” Carey responded.

That’s when Carey was handcuffed, put in the back of the patrol car and eventually taken to jail on a city ordinance violation charge.

She was released on her own recognizance around 12:30 a.m. the next day, and the disorderly conduct charge was dismissed several weeks later, at the third court hearing, because Dolson failed to appear.

“This arrest was in violation of her rights under … the U.S. Constitution,” the suit said.

The suit also said Carey was subjected to unjustified and excessive force and that she and her friends were targeted because of their race; the police officers also are black.

“He was a lousy police officer. What else can I say?” Carey said in an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

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New Mexico State Supreme Court Overturns Bogus Albuquerque Police Drunk Driving Charge And Conviction – Police Finally Must Now Prove An Individuals “Intent To Drive While Intoxicated”

SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO – The state Supreme Court has overturned the drunken driving conviction of a motorist found passed out in his vehicle with the keys on the passenger seat.

The court on Tuesday said prosecutors had failed to prove that Mark Sims was in “actual physical control” of the vehicle when he was arrested by Albuquerque police in 2004. His vehicle was in a commercial parking lot.

The court used the case to outline a new standard of evidence that police and prosecutors need to show that a motorist intended to drive while intoxicated and posed a danger to themselves or the public.

The justices said courts can’t speculate that a passed out motorist might awake and then drive.

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Media Falls For “Volcano Expert” Living In Pink Trailer With A Bogus Degree :)

APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA – When a cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland shut down air travel in Europe in April, news media scrambled for volcano experts.

Soon, both the Wall Street Journal and CNN were quoting and chatting with a man who gave the location of his research facility as Apache Junction.

Robert “R.B.” Trombley directs the International Volcano Research Centre, where he is also listed as lead volcanologist on the center’s website. It bills itself as an organization that conducts volcanic analysis, eruption forecasting and public education.

On April 16, Trombley was quoted in the Wall Street Journal on the potential for acid rain. If a volcano’s ash has a high concentration of sulfur, it can mix with water vapor to form sulfuric acid. “It’s hard to say whether that’s a problem right now,” Trombley said.

Three days later, Trombley appeared on CNN’s “American Morning,” discussing the volcano’s effect on the airline industry as test flights were launched into the ash cloud.

According to a transcript of the show, Trombley said: “I think the test flights are good. I’m an ex-pilot myself, so I’m used to listening to these type of scenarios. . . . I understand their need for precaution on the safety side, but as things look like they’re OK, then I think they can resume the flights.”

Pay a visit to Trombley’s research center, however, and the story of Arizona’s volcano expert turns into a cautionary tale about how the media’s push for instant news coverage can sometimes lead to experts with questionable credentials.

The International Volcano Research Centre is located in Trombley’s home, a pink trailer in Apache Junction.

It’s the place where Trombley says he monitors online data from more than 500 volcanoes each day and then assesses their likelihood of eruption through a software program he says he designed.

On a recent morning, broken glass glistened by the front door as nearby traffic roared past on U.S. 60. The Superstition Mountains, said to be remnants of a volcano 18 million years ago, rose in the distance.

Trombley’s website, http://www.intlvrc.org, contains a list of current eruptions; a description of fee-based services and products, such as community presentations and CD-ROMs of past volcano expeditions; and links to the reports and papers by Trombley and his staff.

Included is his resume, which contained a discrepancy that he dismissed as an oversight in an interview with The Arizona Republic.

It said he received his Ph.D. in astronomy from the University of Dallas in 1974. The registrar’s office said Trombley was never registered at the private Christian school, nor has the school ever offered such a degree.

When confronted about the school’s response, Trombley told The Republic his doctorate actually came from Dallas State College.

He appeared surprised that the University of Dallas had been listed and then said he graduated from Dallas State, adding that he wasn’t sure “if it’s even open now.”

The same year Trombley received his doctorate, then-Texas Attorney General John Hill alleged Dallas State College was a “diploma mill” that sold diplomas and degree transcripts for fees ranging from $75 for a high-school diploma to $180 for a Ph.D.Since Trombley’s interview with The Republic, his resume has been corrected.

In 1975, a Texas District Court in Dallas permanently prohibited the college from operating in the state for violating the Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

A spokesman for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board said recently that all degrees from Dallas State College are void.

Trombley’s resume also lists a bachelor’s degree in law, cum laude, from LaSalle Extension University in Chicago in 1973, just a year before completing his Ph.D.

LaSalle was a program for studying at home. In 1978, the Federal Trade Commission required LaSalle to issue a disclaimer saying that no state accepts any home law course “as sufficient education to qualify for admission to practice law.”

LaSalle Extension University is not accredited with the American Bar Association. To practice law in the U.S., a law degree from an ABA-accredited institution is one of several requirements.

Trombley spent time teaching at DeVry University in Phoenix, a for-profit college offering degrees in business, technology and multimedia. He was remembered by staff as a knowledgeable man who told interesting stories about his volcano expeditions.

A company spokesman confirmed Trombley was a full-time faculty member from July 1993 to August 2000, teaching algebra, statistical analysis and program management.

He also taught a non-credit class earlier this year for the Central Arizona College Lifelong Learners program designed for retirees. The class – “Volcanoes: What, Why, Where and How” – was a lecture series.

Tom DiCamillo, a CAC spokesman, said the Lifelong Learners classes are typically taught by community members with a particular knowledge base.

Volcanologists recognized in their field have questioned Trombley’s credentials and his methodology.

In 2009, Jonathan Fink, a longtime professor at Arizona State University and director of its Center for Sustainability Science Applications, warned the more than 2,000 subscribers to his Volcano Listserv about Trombley’s eruption forecasts.

“To our knowledge, Dr. Trombley does not have training as a volcanologist, and his previous reports have raised concerns among a number of volcano practitioners and organizations . . . about the possibility of misinterpretation,” Fink told his subscribers by e-mail.

Trombley developed a computer program estimating the probability that a volcano will erupt based on widely available seismic data. He said his program, Eruption Pro 10.7, has forecast 41 of 43 eruptions this year.

The results can be used in a variety of ways, he said: World relief agencies may use the data to plan, and oil companies could use it to adjust their operations. Trombley said companies, countries, universities and the National Weather Service utilize the information.

Matt Ocaña, a Weather Service spokesman, said he checked with his colleagues at the agency and at the U.S. Geological Survey, which provides volcano data. They had not heard of Trombley, his center or Eruption Pro.

Fink told The Republic that Trombley has been a “somewhat controversial figure in volcanology, making forecasts based on statistical methods that others have not been able to replicate.” Fink said he thinks that if Trombley were to publish work in peer-reviewed literature, it would “go a long way to quieting his critics.”

Trombley said his work has been peer-reviewed and told The Republic he was published in Eos, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. No work bearing Trombley’s name could be found in a search of AGU’s archives.

Bill Rose, a volcanologist and professor of geological engineering and sciences at Michigan Tech University, said in a recent e-mail, “Anyone can say they are a volcanologist. . . . He (Trombley) seems ‘all hat and no cattle.’ “

Trombley said he didn’t know how to answer critics.

He explained that, although he doesn’t have a degree in volcanology or geology, traditional courses of study for volcano experts, astronomy is similar and that he has learned through experience.

“I don’t have a degree in geophysics or geology, per se, but it’s like I’m so close,” Trombley said. “I’ve worked in the field so long and been to so many different volcanoes and stuff, that, you know, I haven’t found one thing I’ve said yet that hasn’t been true.”

How did major media end up using a volcano enthusiast with no recognized formal education in the subject as an expert commentator?

The Wall Street Journal reporter did not return calls for comment.

A CNN spokesperson released this statement: “As with all our guests, CNN extensively researches their qualifications prior to putting them on our air.

“We found Dr. Trombley to be a knowledgeable volcanologist who could help shed light on the eruptions in Iceland.

“Dr. Trombley is the director and principal research volcanologist at the International Volcano Research Centre, as indicated on the website for Central Arizona College, where he is a professor who teaches volcanology. For these reasons, we booked him as a guest on the topic.”

The Republic ran a profile of Trombley’s center in 2006 but did not ask for an expert opinion.

Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar at the Poynter Institute, a journalism school and resource center in St. Petersburg, Fla., said, “This has always been a problem in journalism.”

He said there are people “who kind of flip though the filters, sometimes because they just seem to be everywhere. In other words, they’re quoted, and you think that maybe somebody has gone through the process of checking out their credentials.”

Clark said checking credentials may be one of the journalist’s most important jobs.

In the meantime, Trombley and one of his volcano technicians are headed to the Caribbean island of St. Lucia this month to conduct experiments at several volcanic sites.

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