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Dear Sergeant Eld, I write this letter to you because you were identified as the spokesperson for the Orlando Police Department in a story on false rape accusations that recently ran on NBC Channel Two in Orlando, both in their television broadcast and on their website.

There were some statements attributed to you by the station that raise some questions that I think need to be posed, given the gravity of the subject at hand.

You were quoted as saying, “We want victims to continue to report crime. We don’t want to spend endless hours and resources chasing ghosts.”

You added to that comment by saying, “False reports take personnel away from other calls for service, increasing the response time for real victims,” and that, “It also taints the jury pool in Orange county for true legitimate rape cases.”

Finally, you were quoted as saying, “False reports cause unnecessary fear in the community.”

With all respect to the dangerous and often thankless work done by police everywhere, and with great appreciation for your public call to address this problem, isn’t there something else that these false reports cause?

Like the lives of men devastated, their reputations and well being destroyed? Like innocent men behind bars? ...

The Violence Against Women Act is up for renewal this year, 2010, as it has been every five years since its enactment in 1994. Whether or not Congress will actually vote on its renewal before year’s end is another question. Between the Supreme Court nomination, the Gulf Oil Spill, two overseas wars, and an election they just might have to wait. Also, the way that certain bills get reauthorized can be a very behind the scenes process that is very hard to understand or even get a grasp of as many committees do their work behind closed doors in order for things to run more smoothly. Whether VAWA gets reauthorized quickly without amendments or delayed until next year, giving SAVE and other groups a chance to influence the legislation, is anybody’s guess right now.

One thing is for sure, increasing numbers of groups and individuals are coming to the hill as citizen lobbyists to talk to House and Senate staffers about their opinions and experiences concerning the domestic violence laws that often times seize control over the lives of people in the most destructive of ways. Some congressional staff are ambivalent, some confused, some hostile, and some are actually listening. Yes, that’s right, there are actually people on Capitol Hill that are open to the idea that VAWA is a flawed piece of legislation that should be changed in a fundamental way.
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BBC News - BA compensates man 'humiliated' over child seat policy

BA has compensated a passenger who was "humiliated' over its policy of not allowing single male flyers to sit next to solo child travellers on its planes.
British Airways cabin crew told Mirko Fischer to move after he swapped seats with his wife and ended up sitting next to a boy he did not know.
Mr Fischer, 33, accused staff of harassing him and said the policy contravened the Sex Discrimination Act.
BA apologised to the businessman but denied the policy was discriminatory.
A spokesman told the BBC the policy was now under review.
A consent order detailing a settlement between the parties was drawn up at Slough County Court on Wednesday.
Mr Fischer was on a flight from London back to his home in Luxembourg on 20 April 2009 when his pregnant wife Stephanie asked him to swap seats so she could sit next to the window.
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