IRR: Asian taxi driver murdered in Gravesend Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 16:18:24 +0100 Message-Id: n e w s s h o p p e r Asian taxi driver murdered in Gravesend http://www.newsshopper.co.uk/mostpopular.var.1422304.mostcommented.extra_time_to_question_suspect.php An Asian taxi driver, Gian Chand Bajar has died after being run over by his own taxi. Police have arrested one man. ------------------------------------------------------ You should have only been sent this email directly from us if you are one of the 7390 subscribers to the IRR news network. If you have been forwarded this email by someone else and want to get your own free news emails from the IRR network, then visit http://www.irr.org.uk/subscribe To unsubscribe, reply to this email with only the word 'remove' in the subject line. For technical support, reply to this email with your query. 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Newspapers Demand more Sunshine on Virginia Tech Massacre Date: Tue, 29 May 2007 01:18:20 -0500 (CDT) Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine created the Virginia Tech Review Panel to investigate the largest school massacre in U.S. history. Seung Hui Cho's mental "health" records and medical examiner records (toxicology) still have not been made public. Various news outlets have reported that Cho was taking prescription medications related to the treatment of psychological problems. If you agree with the below newspapers that the records should be made public you can send your comments to the Virginia Tech Review Panel here: http://www.vtreviewpanel.org/CitizenComments/ The next scheduled meeting for this Review Panel is June 11, 2007 in Northern Virginia. The time and location is still to be determined. _____ http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/27/AR200705 2700858.html?sub=new The Washington Post May 28, 2007 Behind Closed Doors; Needed: More sunlight on the inquiry into the Virginia Tech massacre EDITORIAL IN LAYING out his vision for the panel he named to review last month's massacre at Virginia Tech, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) said that he hoped its work would be "be conducted in as open and as public and as transparent a way as possible." Last Monday, in its second meeting, the panel ignored the governor's directive and booted out the media for two hours of testimony from law enforcement officials, then acceded to the university's request that journalists be barred from accompanying panel members when they toured the massacre sites. In doing so, the panel and its chairman, retired State Police Col. W. Gerald Massengill, raised doubts about their commitment to openness and accountability. The Virginia Tech panel inquiry is expected to be long and complex. No doubt, panel members will wrestle with legitimate issues pertaining to privacy, confidentiality and the sensitivity of survivors. But for reasons that Mr. Kaine articulated well, there should be a bias in favor of openness -- for letting the media, and thereby the public, scrutinize as much information as possible about the horrifying events on April 16 and what preceded them. "The degree to which that [process] is open and transparent will create that sense of confidence about the recommendations," the governor said, and "will give that sense of comfort to families who are grieving." The arguments offered for closing the doors last week were flimsy. In their public statements, police and other state officials have given no indication that Seung Hui Cho had any accomplice or that his crime was in any way part of a conspiracy. If that is the case -- if, in other words, Mr. Cho acted alone in killing 32 people -- then police are no longer seeking a suspect or facing any risk that divulging information will upset an ongoing criminal investigation. Rather, they are carrying out a detailed forensic reconstruction of the events leading up to and including the killings, which is a legitimate subject of public interest. Some records, particularly those relating to Mr. Cho's mental health, may still be covered by privacy laws; the panel itself may have trouble gaining access to those documents. As a matter of common law, though, most privacy protections expire with a person's death. That, too, argues for leaving the great majority of the panel's proceedings open to the media and public. Col. Massengill, who has a sterling reputation in law enforcement, reiterated to us that he is committed to the transparency that Mr. Kaine called for. "We are not going to have a closed session arbitrarily -- it'll be approached judiciously and thoughtfully," he said. Fine words. But if the panel he leads shuts the doors and draws the curtains whenever it is in the least doubt, it will undercut its own mission and the public's trust. The panel's guiding principle must be more access, not less. _____ http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=125276 &ran=224118 The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, VA.) May 24, 2007 The Virginian-Pilot Edition Cho doesn't deserve any privacy protection By: KERRY DOUGHERTY Since when do mass murderers - dead ones, anyway - have privacy rights? Just wondering, because the eight-person Virginia Tech Incident Review Panel has slammed into a brick wall of federal privacy protections as it tries to unravel what led to last month's tragedy. A key part of the mystery may be found in the mental health records of the killer, Seung-Hui Cho. They are secret, however, thanks to federal law. Unbelievable. The moment this 23-year-old opened fire on fellow students and teachers on April 16 and unleashed the country's worst mass shooting spree, Cho gave up any claim he may have had to privacy. Certainly his "privacy rights" should have expired when he did. Apparently they didn't. According to news reports, the investigators want copies of Cho's mental health records. Those files might provide a peek into his twisted mind. At the very least, the records would show whether Cho complied with court-ordered outpatient counseling two years ago. The panel's request is simple. Complying with it is not. On Monday, Tech President Charles Steger told the panel that federal privacy laws effectively gag school officials from disclosing personal information about students. Even more troubling, they prevent medical professionals from sharing critical information about students with school administrators. In other words, it's unclear how much the university even has on file about Cho. "I'm concerned about our inability to know these things," Steger said. "... Just saying we don't know is not good enough. We have to do better, but we must follow the laws." Must we? I wish Steger would release Cho's records - the ones he has access to - and dare the feds to do something about it. Even without that , Gerald Massengill, the retired State Police superintendent who's serving as chief of the Tech review panel, said he'd go to the Virginia State Crime Commission to obtain a subpoe na for Cho's medical files if necessary. That's the spirit. Just one caveat: Under no circumstances should the panel agree to look at Cho's records and keep the contents secret. This massacre took place on the grounds of a public university and cost 32 innocent people their lives. The public is entitled to a full and complete explanation of what happened. Including any disturbing data found in Cho's personal files. We have lots of smart lawyers in Virginia. Surely one can find a way around well-meaning federal laws that never were intended to protect the privacy of crazed killers after they are dead. Charles Dickens may have said it best when he wrote, "the law is a ass." In this case, it surely is. _____ http://www.dailymail.com/story/Opinion/Editorial/2007052453/Murderers+do n%27t+deserve+privacy/ Charleston Daily Mail (West Virginia) Editorial Thursday May 24, 2007 Murderers don't deserve privacy IN the wake of the massacre of 32 people on the campus of Virginia Tech, the state of Virginia appointed a panel to investigate. W. Gerald Massengill, a former superintendent of the Virginia State Police, was a natural to serve as the leader of the group. But university officials told Massengill his group cannot have access to the medical or mental health records of the killer, Seung-Hui Cho. Virginia Tech officials cited federal privacy laws. Massengill consulted the state's attorney general's office. "We're going to get what we need, one way or the other," Massengill said. If that fails, "we'll have to go to the courts." The Associated Press reported that Virginia Tech counsel Kay Heidbreder said the laws, even for someone who is deceased, forbid sharing of records even among departments at the university. That is part of the problem, it seems. Everyone knew Cho had problems, but no one in authority could warn anyone else. It is an absurdity that one agency in Virginia has to beg another for information that is essential to an investigation into one of the most tragic events in modern American history. There is no logical reason to protect Cho. He was a mass murderer. He committed suicide. There is no privacy left to protect. _____ 21,652 signatures: http://www.petitiononline.com/TScreen/petition.html TeenScreen, etc. Videos: http://www.youtube.com/profile_favorites?user=TeenScreenDemo ++ If you would rather not receive the latest news via this e-mail line, please send a message to parents_against_teenscreen@earthlink.net with "UNSUBSCRIBE ME" in the subject line.