An elderly woman has been questioned by police after allegedly keeping her mother's body in a freezer for up to two decades, it emerged today. Police found the body wrapped in a black bin liner in a chest freezer at a semi-detached house in Sidcup, south-east London.
Officers interviewed Daulat Irani, 83, under caution after the body was discovered and identified as that of her mother Gulbai Freedoon Murzan, who was born in 1901. Police believe she may have been dead for up to 20 years.
Metropolitan police said the death was being treated as unexplained, rather than suspicious. Postmortem results are expected later this week.
It is understood that officers were called to the property in Park Mead on 10 May after being alerted by a neighbour, and forensic officers removed the corpse.
It is unclear why the body was kept in the freezer, but neighbours of the elderly woman suggested she may have been worried that immigration authorities would discover her mother had been living illegally in the UK.
A neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said Irani was a "very private person" who kept her garden in pristine condition. "Obviously it was shocking when the police came and told me what happened. They said they believed she had been in the freezer for more than 20 years," the neighbour told the Daily Mirror.
"I think it was an immigration thing because her mum was illegal and they didn't want anyone to know."
Ray Dyson, 77, who lives nearby, said Irani was a "nice old lady" who went quietly about her business. "This has all come as a bit of a shock. The first we knew was when two police cars and an officer in a full forensic bodysuit turned up. They taped off the garage and have now put a padlock on it."
Another neighbour believed Irani had confided in a friend, who had passed on the information to police. "I saw her after the police visited and she told me they questioned her for hours. I told her it wasn't surprising considering what they had found. She said the police were going to contact her again soon."
A police spokesman said: "We can confirm that we went to a residential address in Sidcup. Officers found the body of a woman. We believe we know the identity but await formal identification. The death is being treated as unexplained. An 83-year-old woman has been interviewed under caution but there have been no arrests."
Thursday, May 28, 2009
British man accused of £4.4m Ponzi scam in US
A British man faces jail in the US after being charged with a £4.4m investment fraud. Robert Tringham, 64, from Knebworth, Hertfordshire, is accused of running a Ponzi (pyramid) scheme in which investors were tricked into handing over millons of pounds. They believed they would receive high returns on their investments but instead Tringham allegedly used the money for his own gain.
Tringham, who lived in Diamond Bar, California, used some of the money to buy a home and Land Rover, the indictment filed by prosecutors in California alleges.
If convicted of the 11 counts against him, he could receive a maximum sentence of 170 years in prison.
The indictment states that Tringham has previously been convicted of deception, forgery and theft in the UK.
A complaint filed by US regulators in April accuses him of fraudulently raising at least $6.4m from four or more investors since 2006.
One client was promised returns of 2.5% a month (30% a year) by Tringham, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said. It also claims Tringham repeatedly refused requests from clients to redeem their investments.
Under the criminal indictment filed by the US attorney's office, Tringham faces charges that also include mail and wire fraud. In addition to fraud, Tringham is accused of failing to pay nearly $500,000 in income tax. He is due to appear in the Los Angeles district court on Monday.
Ponzi schemes were named after fraudster Charles Ponzi in the early 20th century. In the scheme, investors are offered high returns, but are in reality paid with money from subsequent investors rather than actual profits.
Tringham, who lived in Diamond Bar, California, used some of the money to buy a home and Land Rover, the indictment filed by prosecutors in California alleges.
If convicted of the 11 counts against him, he could receive a maximum sentence of 170 years in prison.
The indictment states that Tringham has previously been convicted of deception, forgery and theft in the UK.
A complaint filed by US regulators in April accuses him of fraudulently raising at least $6.4m from four or more investors since 2006.
One client was promised returns of 2.5% a month (30% a year) by Tringham, the US Securities and Exchange Commission said. It also claims Tringham repeatedly refused requests from clients to redeem their investments.
Under the criminal indictment filed by the US attorney's office, Tringham faces charges that also include mail and wire fraud. In addition to fraud, Tringham is accused of failing to pay nearly $500,000 in income tax. He is due to appear in the Los Angeles district court on Monday.
Ponzi schemes were named after fraudster Charles Ponzi in the early 20th century. In the scheme, investors are offered high returns, but are in reality paid with money from subsequent investors rather than actual profits.
MoD admits use of controversial 'enhanced blast' weapons in Afghanistan
British pilots in Afghanistan are firing an increasing number of "enhanced blast" thermobaric weapons, designed to kill everyone in buildings they strike, the Ministry of Defence has revealed.
Since the start of this year more than 20 of the US-designed missiles, which have what is officially described as a "blast fragmentation warhead", have been fired by pilots of British Apache attack helicopters. A total of 20 were also fired last year after they were bought by the MoD from the Americans last May.
The missiles are a variant of the AGM-114N Hellfire missile, described by the Pentagon as "designed to produce higher sustained blast pressure in multi-room structures.
It adds: "The enhanced blast from the … warhead is more effective against non-traditional targets; multi-room structures expected in military operations in urban terrain operations, caves, and fortified bunkers."
The missile's warhead is made with a mixture of chemicals rather than a simple blast mechanism.
"The thermobaric Hellfire missile can take out the first floor of a building without damaging the floors above, and is capable of reaching around corners," according to Global-Security.org, a US thinktank.
It describes the effects of the missile as "formidable". Unlike conventional warheads, it produces a sustained pressure wave. US forces have deployed the missiles in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.
Its wider use was disclosed by John Hutton, the defence secretary, in answer to a parliamentary answer from Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman. "Given the MoD's reluctance to admit they were even going to use these weapons, they now seem to be getting rather more trigger-happy," Harvey said yesterday. "If these controversial weapons are being fired on a weekly basis in Afghanistan, we need to know that they are being used according to strict rules of engagement.
"Human rights groups have serious concerns about the effect of these weapons in populated areas, and their legality seems to be a grey area. The last thing we need in this counter-insurgency campaign is the allegation that civilians are dying at the hands of some kind of terror weapon. Parliament must be reassured these are a weapon of last resort."
A UK defence official told the Guardian that the Hellfire missiles that British Apaches had been initially equipped with were lighter anti-tank weapons. They would simply make a "small hole" in a building and the enemy would run away unscathed, the official said.
The new US-designed weapon was "particularly designed to take down structures and kill everyone in the buildings".
The official said British pilots' rules of engagement were strict and everything a pilot sees from the cockpit is recorded.
Since the start of this year more than 20 of the US-designed missiles, which have what is officially described as a "blast fragmentation warhead", have been fired by pilots of British Apache attack helicopters. A total of 20 were also fired last year after they were bought by the MoD from the Americans last May.
The missiles are a variant of the AGM-114N Hellfire missile, described by the Pentagon as "designed to produce higher sustained blast pressure in multi-room structures.
It adds: "The enhanced blast from the … warhead is more effective against non-traditional targets; multi-room structures expected in military operations in urban terrain operations, caves, and fortified bunkers."
The missile's warhead is made with a mixture of chemicals rather than a simple blast mechanism.
"The thermobaric Hellfire missile can take out the first floor of a building without damaging the floors above, and is capable of reaching around corners," according to Global-Security.org, a US thinktank.
It describes the effects of the missile as "formidable". Unlike conventional warheads, it produces a sustained pressure wave. US forces have deployed the missiles in Iraq as well as Afghanistan.
Its wider use was disclosed by John Hutton, the defence secretary, in answer to a parliamentary answer from Nick Harvey, the Liberal Democrat defence spokesman. "Given the MoD's reluctance to admit they were even going to use these weapons, they now seem to be getting rather more trigger-happy," Harvey said yesterday. "If these controversial weapons are being fired on a weekly basis in Afghanistan, we need to know that they are being used according to strict rules of engagement.
"Human rights groups have serious concerns about the effect of these weapons in populated areas, and their legality seems to be a grey area. The last thing we need in this counter-insurgency campaign is the allegation that civilians are dying at the hands of some kind of terror weapon. Parliament must be reassured these are a weapon of last resort."
A UK defence official told the Guardian that the Hellfire missiles that British Apaches had been initially equipped with were lighter anti-tank weapons. They would simply make a "small hole" in a building and the enemy would run away unscathed, the official said.
The new US-designed weapon was "particularly designed to take down structures and kill everyone in the buildings".
The official said British pilots' rules of engagement were strict and everything a pilot sees from the cockpit is recorded.
Tory paid daughter to rent flat
Senior Tory MP Bill Cash paid his daughter £15,000 in rent from Parliamentary expenses despite owning a flat closer to Parliament.
Mr Cash named a London flat owned by his daughter Laetitia as his second home in 2004-5 and claimed for rental payments, the Daily Telegraph revealed.
Mr Cash told the paper that "what is lawful is appropriate" but he would repay the money if required to.
Three further MPs are standing down after criticism of their expenses.
'Within the rules'
Conservative MPs Julie Kirkbride and Christopher Fraser and Labour's Margaret Moran said on Thursday they would not defend their seats at the next election although all insisted they had not done anything wrong.
Mr Fraser said he was standing down for personal reasons to care for his ill wife.
In its latest batch of disclosures about MPs' expenses, the Telegraph said Mr Cash rented a property from his daughter - an aspiring MP - in London despite owning a property closer to Westminster himself.
MPs are currently not allowed to rent properties from family members but the rules were only changed in July 2006 - after Mr Cash rented from his daughter.
He designated her flat as his second home and claimed more than £15,000 in rental payments given to her - equivalent to about £1,200 a month.
Ms Cash - who herself stood as a Tory candidate at the last general election and hopes to do so at the next election - later sold the property for a £48,000 profit, the newspaper added.
The arch eurosceptic, who has been an MP for 25 years, told the BBC that he had shown the tenancy agreement to the Commons authorities and it had been approved.
He also said that he had never claimed any allowances for his much larger principal residence in Shropshire, which would have cost the taxpayer much more.
He also stressed that, while living with his daughter, he had not rented out his own London property.
Mr Cash said he was happy for his arrangements to be examined by the Tories' internal scrutiny panel which is looking at all expenses claims made by MPs in the past four years.
Justifying claims
Tory leader David Cameron has said all his MPs must justify their expenses claims to their constituents as public anger over the issue led to some MPs to step down.
Among further allegations made by the Telegraph, the newspaper said Labour MP Nigel Griffiths claimed £3,600 for a digital TV and radio set so that he could keep up with news developments in his constituency in Scotland.
It said the Edinburgh MP's claim was rejected but that Mr Griffiths made other claims which were approved for decorating his second home, including one for £9,250 in 2004.
Mr Griffiths said the Commons authorities had turned down the claim for a TV and radio and he had bought the items without spending any public money.
Mr Cash named a London flat owned by his daughter Laetitia as his second home in 2004-5 and claimed for rental payments, the Daily Telegraph revealed.
Mr Cash told the paper that "what is lawful is appropriate" but he would repay the money if required to.
Three further MPs are standing down after criticism of their expenses.
'Within the rules'
Conservative MPs Julie Kirkbride and Christopher Fraser and Labour's Margaret Moran said on Thursday they would not defend their seats at the next election although all insisted they had not done anything wrong.
Mr Fraser said he was standing down for personal reasons to care for his ill wife.
In its latest batch of disclosures about MPs' expenses, the Telegraph said Mr Cash rented a property from his daughter - an aspiring MP - in London despite owning a property closer to Westminster himself.
MPs are currently not allowed to rent properties from family members but the rules were only changed in July 2006 - after Mr Cash rented from his daughter.
He designated her flat as his second home and claimed more than £15,000 in rental payments given to her - equivalent to about £1,200 a month.
Ms Cash - who herself stood as a Tory candidate at the last general election and hopes to do so at the next election - later sold the property for a £48,000 profit, the newspaper added.
The arch eurosceptic, who has been an MP for 25 years, told the BBC that he had shown the tenancy agreement to the Commons authorities and it had been approved.
He also said that he had never claimed any allowances for his much larger principal residence in Shropshire, which would have cost the taxpayer much more.
He also stressed that, while living with his daughter, he had not rented out his own London property.
Mr Cash said he was happy for his arrangements to be examined by the Tories' internal scrutiny panel which is looking at all expenses claims made by MPs in the past four years.
Justifying claims
Tory leader David Cameron has said all his MPs must justify their expenses claims to their constituents as public anger over the issue led to some MPs to step down.
Among further allegations made by the Telegraph, the newspaper said Labour MP Nigel Griffiths claimed £3,600 for a digital TV and radio set so that he could keep up with news developments in his constituency in Scotland.
It said the Edinburgh MP's claim was rejected but that Mr Griffiths made other claims which were approved for decorating his second home, including one for £9,250 in 2004.
Mr Griffiths said the Commons authorities had turned down the claim for a TV and radio and he had bought the items without spending any public money.
New president weeps over dead son
The president-elect of El Salvador has made an emotional statement at a trial for his son's murder in Paris.
"I am a man who is not seeking vengeance... only the truth," said Mauricio Funes. He wept in court.
Alejandro Funes, 27, a photography student in France, died in October 2007 from stab wounds on a pedestrian bridge near the Louvre Museum.
Mohamed Amor, the main suspect, has asked the family for forgiveness. The motive of the attack is unclear.
Mr Amor has already told the court he cannot remember exactly what happened.
"I never wanted to kill him," he said. If found guilty he could spend up to 30 years in prison.
Another suspect is also on trial for allegedly participating in the attack.
'Shared ideals'
Mr Funes spoke to his son by telephone the night before his death.
"The least we can hope for is to know the facts and establish who is responsible," he said.
"All this will not bring back my son, but I want to honour his memory," he added.
The weapon used to kill Alejandro is believed to have been an awl - a pointed tool for making holes in wood or leather.
President-elect Funes's brother was shot dead at the beginning of El Salvador's civil war in 1980 and safety had been a factor in Alejandro leaving the country, plagued by gang violence, to study in France.
"We thought he would be safer here.. I would never have imagined that he would be beaten to death here," said Mr Funes, unable to stop himself from crying as he spoke.
The left-wing leader, who takes office in June following his electoral victory in March, paid tribute to his son.
"We shared the same ideals, the same life projects and the desire to transform El Salvador, to convert it into a just society that would put an end to violence," Mr Funes said.
"I am a man who is not seeking vengeance... only the truth," said Mauricio Funes. He wept in court.
Alejandro Funes, 27, a photography student in France, died in October 2007 from stab wounds on a pedestrian bridge near the Louvre Museum.
Mohamed Amor, the main suspect, has asked the family for forgiveness. The motive of the attack is unclear.
Mr Amor has already told the court he cannot remember exactly what happened.
"I never wanted to kill him," he said. If found guilty he could spend up to 30 years in prison.
Another suspect is also on trial for allegedly participating in the attack.
'Shared ideals'
Mr Funes spoke to his son by telephone the night before his death.
"The least we can hope for is to know the facts and establish who is responsible," he said.
"All this will not bring back my son, but I want to honour his memory," he added.
The weapon used to kill Alejandro is believed to have been an awl - a pointed tool for making holes in wood or leather.
President-elect Funes's brother was shot dead at the beginning of El Salvador's civil war in 1980 and safety had been a factor in Alejandro leaving the country, plagued by gang violence, to study in France.
"We thought he would be safer here.. I would never have imagined that he would be beaten to death here," said Mr Funes, unable to stop himself from crying as he spoke.
The left-wing leader, who takes office in June following his electoral victory in March, paid tribute to his son.
"We shared the same ideals, the same life projects and the desire to transform El Salvador, to convert it into a just society that would put an end to violence," Mr Funes said.
Fresh blasts hit Pakistani city
At least 10 people have been killed in two separate attacks in the Pakistani city of Peshawar.
Six were killed and about 70 injured when two bombs exploded at a busy market, police said.
Shortly after, a suicide bomber attacked a military checkpoint on the city outskirts, killing four soldiers.
The attacks came hours after Pakistani Taliban warned of further violence following a gun and bomb attack in Lahore which killed at least 24 people.
In the initial Peshawar attacks, bombs were on two motorcycles and detonated by timers, bomb disposal squad chief Shafqat Malik told reporters, according to Associated Press news agency.
'Sudden blast'
Tahir Ali Shar, a resident of the Peshawar, told Reuters news agency he could see about 15 wounded people lying on the ground.
Some of the wounded are believed to be in a serious condition.
Shops and vehicles were damaged and television images showed men trying to douse flames, while injured people were being dragged out of the market to safety.
"It was a sudden blast and then there was fire all around, a cloud of smoke filled the sky," injured shopkeeper Khair Uddin told Reuters news agency.
Gunmen started shooting in the narrow alleyways as police arrived.
Police later said two suspected militants had been killed and two arrested.
While the gunfight was going on, a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives at a military checkpoint on the outskirts.
The apparent co-ordination of the attacks, coming so soon after Lahore and the Taliban warning, could herald a new wave of violence in Pakistani cities, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad.
Also on Thursday, a bomb killed at least three people and injured several in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, about 186 miles, (300km) south of Peshawar.
Peshawar is the capital of the North Western Frontier Province and has seen an increase in violence in the past three weeks:
• Six days ago a car bomb outside a cinema in a busy marketplace killed at least six people and injured about 70
• On 16 May a car bomb exploded in the densely populated Kashkal area, killing at least 11 people and injuring many others.
Swat revenge
The attack in Lahore a day earlier was in response to the army's operation in the Swat valley, Taliban deputy Hakimullah Mehsud told the BBC by phone.
The army is claiming sweeping victories against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley, near the Afghan border.
The army says more than 1,000 militants have been killed in the past month. There has been no independent confirmation of the figure.
It says it has recaptured 70% of Swat's main city, Mingora, and expects to secure it in a matter of days.
Hakimullah Mehsud, Taliban commander for Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions, called on citizens to "evacuate their cities"
He warned of further attacks on "government targets" in the Pakistani cities of Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Multan.
Pakistan's government said in the immediate aftermath of the Lahore bomb that it suspected it to be an act of revenge by militants in Swat.
The attack on Wednesday, which injured more than 200 people, targeted buildings belonging to the police and intelligence agency, the ISI.
A group of men shot at police officers before detonating a powerful car bomb, reportedly killing at least one ISI agent and 12 police officers, along with one child
Six were killed and about 70 injured when two bombs exploded at a busy market, police said.
Shortly after, a suicide bomber attacked a military checkpoint on the city outskirts, killing four soldiers.
The attacks came hours after Pakistani Taliban warned of further violence following a gun and bomb attack in Lahore which killed at least 24 people.
In the initial Peshawar attacks, bombs were on two motorcycles and detonated by timers, bomb disposal squad chief Shafqat Malik told reporters, according to Associated Press news agency.
'Sudden blast'
Tahir Ali Shar, a resident of the Peshawar, told Reuters news agency he could see about 15 wounded people lying on the ground.
Some of the wounded are believed to be in a serious condition.
Shops and vehicles were damaged and television images showed men trying to douse flames, while injured people were being dragged out of the market to safety.
"It was a sudden blast and then there was fire all around, a cloud of smoke filled the sky," injured shopkeeper Khair Uddin told Reuters news agency.
Gunmen started shooting in the narrow alleyways as police arrived.
Police later said two suspected militants had been killed and two arrested.
While the gunfight was going on, a suicide bomber drove a car laden with explosives at a military checkpoint on the outskirts.
The apparent co-ordination of the attacks, coming so soon after Lahore and the Taliban warning, could herald a new wave of violence in Pakistani cities, says the BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad.
Also on Thursday, a bomb killed at least three people and injured several in the town of Dera Ismail Khan, about 186 miles, (300km) south of Peshawar.
Peshawar is the capital of the North Western Frontier Province and has seen an increase in violence in the past three weeks:
• Six days ago a car bomb outside a cinema in a busy marketplace killed at least six people and injured about 70
• On 16 May a car bomb exploded in the densely populated Kashkal area, killing at least 11 people and injuring many others.
Swat revenge
The attack in Lahore a day earlier was in response to the army's operation in the Swat valley, Taliban deputy Hakimullah Mehsud told the BBC by phone.
The army is claiming sweeping victories against Taliban insurgents in the Swat valley, near the Afghan border.
The army says more than 1,000 militants have been killed in the past month. There has been no independent confirmation of the figure.
It says it has recaptured 70% of Swat's main city, Mingora, and expects to secure it in a matter of days.
Hakimullah Mehsud, Taliban commander for Orakzai and Khyber tribal regions, called on citizens to "evacuate their cities"
He warned of further attacks on "government targets" in the Pakistani cities of Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Multan.
Pakistan's government said in the immediate aftermath of the Lahore bomb that it suspected it to be an act of revenge by militants in Swat.
The attack on Wednesday, which injured more than 200 people, targeted buildings belonging to the police and intelligence agency, the ISI.
A group of men shot at police officers before detonating a powerful car bomb, reportedly killing at least one ISI agent and 12 police officers, along with one child
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Healthcare cuts would mean higher costs and possibly deaths, officials warn
She had been born with AIDS, lived with it all her 24 years. She credits her survival to the state program that provides the expensive antiviral drugs she takes daily.
Now, with that HIV-prevention program facing the ax as California grapples with a $24-billion deficit, she came before a legislative panel today to plead for life.
"If these cuts take place, you're not just cutting money from the program -- you're cutting my life," said the woman, who gave lawmakers only her first name, Linnea.
"I choose to live," she said, her voice shaking and tears falling. "Please don't make me die. My choice is life."
Public health officials warned that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to resolve the yawning budget deficit would halt medical insurance for more than 2 million Californians, sending them streaming into emergency rooms and costing the state billions of dollars for the more expensive care -- and potentially causing deaths.
Scores of patients and healthcare advocates told a 10-person legislative committee on the budget that in many cases the loss of state funding would mean an even bigger loss of federal dollars. A proposal to cut funding for family planning, for instance, would mean the loss of $9 in federal money for every $1 spent by the state, advocates testified.
In the worst cases, cuts from, or elimination of, some health programs -- such as Healthy Families and the state's poison control program -- would strip the state of its healthcare safety net and could result in the deaths of some patients who would not be able to get proper and timely treatment.
Michael Arnold, a representative of the California Dialysis Program, said the potential loss of that program would have two results for patients: "Either they die, or they show up at an emergency room for treatment."
David Welch, a California Nurses Assn. board member, said the results of the governor's proposed budget cuts would be "perfectly predictable": more people without care. More showing up at emergency rooms. And more dying.
If it eliminates healthcare for some its most vulnerable residents, he said, California will become "a contemptible society -- and a society that history will not judge kindly."
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, contends that the state's declining economy and plummeting tax revenues have boxed him into a corner, and that deep cuts are needed in health and welfare programs that have been the backbone of California's social safety net. Without those tough measures, the governor says, the state will cartwheel toward insolvency.
Some who testified pleaded for more revenue, ignoring the exhortations from Republican lawmakers to stand fast against tax increases as the state toils in coming weeks to balance its books.
"What I suggest is: Let's raise some revenue," said John Malone of the California Alliance of Retired Americans, adding that the state needs to boost taxes on alcohol, tobacco and residents with high incomes, and impose them on oil pumped from California soil.
Some simply pleaded from the heart.
James Nuñez, who has a developmental disability, told lawmakers that he worried about surviving without government help.
"I'm a human being like you," he said. "And I'm very, very scared."
Now, with that HIV-prevention program facing the ax as California grapples with a $24-billion deficit, she came before a legislative panel today to plead for life.
"If these cuts take place, you're not just cutting money from the program -- you're cutting my life," said the woman, who gave lawmakers only her first name, Linnea.
"I choose to live," she said, her voice shaking and tears falling. "Please don't make me die. My choice is life."
Public health officials warned that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's effort to resolve the yawning budget deficit would halt medical insurance for more than 2 million Californians, sending them streaming into emergency rooms and costing the state billions of dollars for the more expensive care -- and potentially causing deaths.
Scores of patients and healthcare advocates told a 10-person legislative committee on the budget that in many cases the loss of state funding would mean an even bigger loss of federal dollars. A proposal to cut funding for family planning, for instance, would mean the loss of $9 in federal money for every $1 spent by the state, advocates testified.
In the worst cases, cuts from, or elimination of, some health programs -- such as Healthy Families and the state's poison control program -- would strip the state of its healthcare safety net and could result in the deaths of some patients who would not be able to get proper and timely treatment.
Michael Arnold, a representative of the California Dialysis Program, said the potential loss of that program would have two results for patients: "Either they die, or they show up at an emergency room for treatment."
David Welch, a California Nurses Assn. board member, said the results of the governor's proposed budget cuts would be "perfectly predictable": more people without care. More showing up at emergency rooms. And more dying.
If it eliminates healthcare for some its most vulnerable residents, he said, California will become "a contemptible society -- and a society that history will not judge kindly."
Schwarzenegger, a Republican, contends that the state's declining economy and plummeting tax revenues have boxed him into a corner, and that deep cuts are needed in health and welfare programs that have been the backbone of California's social safety net. Without those tough measures, the governor says, the state will cartwheel toward insolvency.
Some who testified pleaded for more revenue, ignoring the exhortations from Republican lawmakers to stand fast against tax increases as the state toils in coming weeks to balance its books.
"What I suggest is: Let's raise some revenue," said John Malone of the California Alliance of Retired Americans, adding that the state needs to boost taxes on alcohol, tobacco and residents with high incomes, and impose them on oil pumped from California soil.
Some simply pleaded from the heart.
James Nuñez, who has a developmental disability, told lawmakers that he worried about surviving without government help.
"I'm a human being like you," he said. "And I'm very, very scared."
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