FedEx delivered a package as addressed that contained coke, meth and heroin, but it was not the address the sender intended his goods to be delivered to
Recently a home owner in the Houston area was surprised when FedEx delivered a package to him that contained coke, meth and heroin. The package, which had obviously been addressed incorrectly, was turned over to the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. With the help of an anonymous tip, sheriff’s investigators got the correct nearby address.
On Friday, October 10, when sheriff deputies raided the house for which the drugs were intended, they made quite a haul. Marijuana, pain pills, cocaine, morphine, LSD, hashish, steroids, black tar heroin, codeine and other drugs including a variety of medications typically prescribed to cancer patients, were found and seized. The cancer drugs were believed to have been stolen from pharmacies. The street value of the drugs was estimated at $100,000. Drug paraphernalia, including scales and the usual baggies, were also seized.
Also found and seized was $6,700 in cash and a number of shotguns, handguns and an AR-15 with a full 30-round clip and a military-grade night scope.
Arrested on drug and weapons charges were Michael Taylor, 45, Stephanie Adams, 30, and Leslie Peck, 32. Adams’ five-year-old child was placed in the custody of Child Protective Services.
The moral of this story is that when you get ready to mail a letter or package, always carefully double check, or better yet, triple check to make sure you got the address correct.
Saturday, October 18, 2014
WHAT YOU SAY IN THE CLASSROOM DOES NOT STAY IN THE CLASSROOM
A 28-year veteran LAPD cop may get fired for making inappropriate remarks while teaching a class to other cops
I have observed many poice training classes in which the instructor got carried away and would say something entirely inappropriate. I have noted something common to many police officers who are called upon to conduct a training class.
The officer will try to get the trainees to like him. He will try to impress them by telling ‘war stories’ throughout the session. He will refer to people using cop jargon, some of which is considered insensitive by minorities. And sometimes, he will get so carried away that he starts expressing his personal beliefs and opinions. That insensitive jargon and those personal opinions, especially when they involve internal department conflicts or politicians, can leave the officer waddling around in deep shit, and may even cost him his job.
That is what’s happening now to a 28-year veteran LAPD cop. In November 2013, Frank Lyga, a detective in LAPD's gang and narcotic division, was teaching a class to other cops when he shot his big mouth off on matters not dealing with the class subject. A black officer made a recording of Lyga’s presentation and gave it to Internal Affairs because he was offended by what he felt were racist remarks. Last June, the 28-year veteran was removed from street duty pending outcome of the investigation. And now, the LAPD Board of Rights has recommended Lyga be fired.
It seems that Lyga got way off the subject when he started talking about shooting Kevin Gaines, a black LAPD officer, way back in 1997. Gaines was off duty and in civilian clothes and Lyga had just come off an undercover narcotics investigation wearing grubby clothes. The two, neither of whom knew the other one was a cop, got involved in a traffic dispute. For some reason Gaines pulled his gun, and Lyga fearing for his life shot him dead. The shooting became controversial when several black cops and community activists claimed the shooting was racially motivated. Lyga was absolved of any wrongdoing.
Johnnie Cochran, of O.J. Simpson fame, and black civil rights lawyer Carl Douglas represented the Gaines family in a lawsuit. Here is how Jasmyne Cannick described part of the recording on her Jasmyne website, in which Lyga tells about a conversation he had with Douglas:
Lyga says, “The last thing I want to say is that Carl Douglas hit me up and said, ‘did you intend to shoot him’?”
With his colleagues laughing in the background, Lyga says he responded to Douglas by saying, “I hit him, didn’t I?”
He says that Douglas asked if it was an accident to which Lyga replied “No it wasn’t an accident.”
Lyga then says Douglas asked if he had any regrets. “I said yeah,” according to Lyga. “No, I regret that he was alone in his truck at the time.”
Lyga then goes on to say to his colleagues, “Figure that one out. Hear that? Alone in the truck at the time. I could have killed a whole truckload of ‘em…and would have been happily doing it–doing so.”
Cannick also reported Lyga as “saying how Capt. Lillian L. Carranza couldn’t find her ass with both her hands because someone else’s hands were always on it and because she’s been ‘tossed around’ a couple of times.” She also reported that Lyga was heard on the recording as referring to Johnnie Cochran as a “crooked-lipped motherfucker” and Douglas as [Johnnie Cochran's] “little Ewok assistant.”
What Lyga said about Carranza, Cochran and Douglas may very well have been true, but those kind of comments have absolutely no place in any classroom presentation.
In his appearance before the Board of Rights, Lyga admitted he made those and other remarks and he apologized profusely. Apparently the board was not impressed with his apologies.
I cannot comprehend what possessed Lyga to make those extremely inappropriate remarks. They were beyond the pale for whatever subject he may have been teaching.
Should Lyga be fired? My heart tells me no, but my brain says yes. It will be up to Chief Charlie Beck whether to fire Lyga or hand out a lesser punishment.
Now here’s my advice to police, parole and correctional officers. If you’re called on to teach a training class, stay strictly on the subject that you are supposed to teach. Save your war stories for coffee breaks. Above all, don’t get into internal department conflicts and keep your damn personal beliefs and opinions to yourself. What you say in the classroom does not stay in the classroom.
I have observed many poice training classes in which the instructor got carried away and would say something entirely inappropriate. I have noted something common to many police officers who are called upon to conduct a training class.
The officer will try to get the trainees to like him. He will try to impress them by telling ‘war stories’ throughout the session. He will refer to people using cop jargon, some of which is considered insensitive by minorities. And sometimes, he will get so carried away that he starts expressing his personal beliefs and opinions. That insensitive jargon and those personal opinions, especially when they involve internal department conflicts or politicians, can leave the officer waddling around in deep shit, and may even cost him his job.
That is what’s happening now to a 28-year veteran LAPD cop. In November 2013, Frank Lyga, a detective in LAPD's gang and narcotic division, was teaching a class to other cops when he shot his big mouth off on matters not dealing with the class subject. A black officer made a recording of Lyga’s presentation and gave it to Internal Affairs because he was offended by what he felt were racist remarks. Last June, the 28-year veteran was removed from street duty pending outcome of the investigation. And now, the LAPD Board of Rights has recommended Lyga be fired.
It seems that Lyga got way off the subject when he started talking about shooting Kevin Gaines, a black LAPD officer, way back in 1997. Gaines was off duty and in civilian clothes and Lyga had just come off an undercover narcotics investigation wearing grubby clothes. The two, neither of whom knew the other one was a cop, got involved in a traffic dispute. For some reason Gaines pulled his gun, and Lyga fearing for his life shot him dead. The shooting became controversial when several black cops and community activists claimed the shooting was racially motivated. Lyga was absolved of any wrongdoing.
Johnnie Cochran, of O.J. Simpson fame, and black civil rights lawyer Carl Douglas represented the Gaines family in a lawsuit. Here is how Jasmyne Cannick described part of the recording on her Jasmyne website, in which Lyga tells about a conversation he had with Douglas:
Lyga says, “The last thing I want to say is that Carl Douglas hit me up and said, ‘did you intend to shoot him’?”
With his colleagues laughing in the background, Lyga says he responded to Douglas by saying, “I hit him, didn’t I?”
He says that Douglas asked if it was an accident to which Lyga replied “No it wasn’t an accident.”
Lyga then says Douglas asked if he had any regrets. “I said yeah,” according to Lyga. “No, I regret that he was alone in his truck at the time.”
Lyga then goes on to say to his colleagues, “Figure that one out. Hear that? Alone in the truck at the time. I could have killed a whole truckload of ‘em…and would have been happily doing it–doing so.”
Cannick also reported Lyga as “saying how Capt. Lillian L. Carranza couldn’t find her ass with both her hands because someone else’s hands were always on it and because she’s been ‘tossed around’ a couple of times.” She also reported that Lyga was heard on the recording as referring to Johnnie Cochran as a “crooked-lipped motherfucker” and Douglas as [Johnnie Cochran's] “little Ewok assistant.”
What Lyga said about Carranza, Cochran and Douglas may very well have been true, but those kind of comments have absolutely no place in any classroom presentation.
In his appearance before the Board of Rights, Lyga admitted he made those and other remarks and he apologized profusely. Apparently the board was not impressed with his apologies.
I cannot comprehend what possessed Lyga to make those extremely inappropriate remarks. They were beyond the pale for whatever subject he may have been teaching.
Should Lyga be fired? My heart tells me no, but my brain says yes. It will be up to Chief Charlie Beck whether to fire Lyga or hand out a lesser punishment.
Now here’s my advice to police, parole and correctional officers. If you’re called on to teach a training class, stay strictly on the subject that you are supposed to teach. Save your war stories for coffee breaks. Above all, don’t get into internal department conflicts and keep your damn personal beliefs and opinions to yourself. What you say in the classroom does not stay in the classroom.
COP FIRED. GOOD CALL OR PC SLEAZE MOVE?
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
October 17, 2014
The basic facts are not in question. Milwaukee PD Officer Christopher Manney, 38, was sent to Red Arrow Park six months ago on a welfare check of a man sleeping on a park bench. The man was Dontre Hamilton, 31.
Hamilton was a bit of a paranoid schizophrenic. Manney initiated a contact with Hamilton and attempted to pat him down, which may or may not have been appropriate. Hamilton went off and a fight ensued. Hamilton allegedly got control of Manney’s baton and hit him in the neck with it. At that time Manney drew his service pistol and fired 14 rounds at Hamilton, striking him 14 times. Hamilton died. Manney was fired yesterday.
The local police union is outraged, and have said so.
Chief Edward Flynn said that, “you don’t go hands-on and start frisking someone only because they appear to be mentally ill.”
At least two additional outside investigations are under way in addition to the one already completed. No charges have been filed. Yet.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The frisk may or may not have been appropriate. But 14 shots? No way Jose! I suspect Manney was pissed off because Hamilton whacked him with the baton. I don't see any PC sleaze here.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
October 17, 2014
The basic facts are not in question. Milwaukee PD Officer Christopher Manney, 38, was sent to Red Arrow Park six months ago on a welfare check of a man sleeping on a park bench. The man was Dontre Hamilton, 31.
Hamilton was a bit of a paranoid schizophrenic. Manney initiated a contact with Hamilton and attempted to pat him down, which may or may not have been appropriate. Hamilton went off and a fight ensued. Hamilton allegedly got control of Manney’s baton and hit him in the neck with it. At that time Manney drew his service pistol and fired 14 rounds at Hamilton, striking him 14 times. Hamilton died. Manney was fired yesterday.
The local police union is outraged, and have said so.
Chief Edward Flynn said that, “you don’t go hands-on and start frisking someone only because they appear to be mentally ill.”
At least two additional outside investigations are under way in addition to the one already completed. No charges have been filed. Yet.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The frisk may or may not have been appropriate. But 14 shots? No way Jose! I suspect Manney was pissed off because Hamilton whacked him with the baton. I don't see any PC sleaze here.
Friday, October 17, 2014
TWO FLORIDA WOMEN BUSTED AFTER SHOT AT SNAKE MISSED
A mother who shot at and missed a water moccasin that interrupted a Pop Warner football practice got busted along with the mother who handed her the gun
Everyone knows there are lots of critters – both animal and human – in Florida, including gators and snakes, especially snakes. Last week, a slimy water moccasin was discovered on the Bay High School football field in Panama City, Florida. That was probably not unusual, except that it was found in the middle of a Pop Warner football practice.
The football coaches attempted to beat the poor snake with sticks, but when they failed to get rid of the poisonous critter, they ordered the young players off the field. That didn’t sit too well with April DeMarco, 30, the mother of one of the boys. Miren Gregory, 31, another of the mothers watching the practice, told April she had a concealed carry license and had a gun in her purse. Miren offered to hand Apridl the gun so she could shoot the snake and let the football practice continue.
At this point, a busybody mother told April it was against the law to have a firearm on any school grounds. April replied, “I will take the blame.”
While the children were at least 20 yards away, April strode over to the snake, took careful aim with the .380 caliber pistol and squeezed off one shot … but the deadeye mom missed.
On Monday, April got arrested for discharging a firearm on school property and possession of a firearm on school property. April’s excuse, that as a mother she was merely trying to protect the children, did not fly with the authorities.
Miren got busted Tuesday for carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm on school property. Florida law prohibits firearms on school property and makes no exception for concealed carry license holders.
As for the lucky snake, nobody knows what happened to it.
Everyone knows there are lots of critters – both animal and human – in Florida, including gators and snakes, especially snakes. Last week, a slimy water moccasin was discovered on the Bay High School football field in Panama City, Florida. That was probably not unusual, except that it was found in the middle of a Pop Warner football practice.
The football coaches attempted to beat the poor snake with sticks, but when they failed to get rid of the poisonous critter, they ordered the young players off the field. That didn’t sit too well with April DeMarco, 30, the mother of one of the boys. Miren Gregory, 31, another of the mothers watching the practice, told April she had a concealed carry license and had a gun in her purse. Miren offered to hand Apridl the gun so she could shoot the snake and let the football practice continue.
At this point, a busybody mother told April it was against the law to have a firearm on any school grounds. April replied, “I will take the blame.”
While the children were at least 20 yards away, April strode over to the snake, took careful aim with the .380 caliber pistol and squeezed off one shot … but the deadeye mom missed.
On Monday, April got arrested for discharging a firearm on school property and possession of a firearm on school property. April’s excuse, that as a mother she was merely trying to protect the children, did not fly with the authorities.
Miren got busted Tuesday for carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a firearm on school property. Florida law prohibits firearms on school property and makes no exception for concealed carry license holders.
As for the lucky snake, nobody knows what happened to it.
NEW HOME SECCURITY SYSTEM
Texas man installs cost-free security system that also provides him with round-the-clock personal protection
The Unconventional Gazette
October 16, 2014
Bob resides in the Dallas suburb of Plano. Even though he lives in an upscale gated community, many residents there have suffered from burglaries and home invasions. Bob decided he needed a better home security system.
In order to obtain better security, Bob tore out his ADT alarm system and notified his Neighborhood Watch captain that he no longer wanted them to watch his property.
Bob then purchased two Pakistani flags and one ISIS flag. He raised the three flags in his front Yard, the Pakistani flags at each corner and the black flag of ISIS in the center.
The Plano police, Collin County sheriff's deputies, Texas DPS, FBI, U.S. Marshals, CIA and other intelligence services are all watching Bob’s house 24/7. Furthermore, Bob has officers from those agencies following him everywhere he goes.
Bob now has a near-perfect security and personal protection system, and he only had to pay for the flags and flag poles. Plus, he no longer has to pay those monthly ADT charges.
Bob never felt safer in his whole life.
The Unconventional Gazette
October 16, 2014
Bob resides in the Dallas suburb of Plano. Even though he lives in an upscale gated community, many residents there have suffered from burglaries and home invasions. Bob decided he needed a better home security system.
In order to obtain better security, Bob tore out his ADT alarm system and notified his Neighborhood Watch captain that he no longer wanted them to watch his property.
Bob then purchased two Pakistani flags and one ISIS flag. He raised the three flags in his front Yard, the Pakistani flags at each corner and the black flag of ISIS in the center.
The Plano police, Collin County sheriff's deputies, Texas DPS, FBI, U.S. Marshals, CIA and other intelligence services are all watching Bob’s house 24/7. Furthermore, Bob has officers from those agencies following him everywhere he goes.
Bob now has a near-perfect security and personal protection system, and he only had to pay for the flags and flag poles. Plus, he no longer has to pay those monthly ADT charges.
Bob never felt safer in his whole life.
Thursday, October 16, 2014
IS THE PENTAGON PLAYING POLITICS WITH THE BERGDAHL INVESTIGATION?
The investigation into whether or not Bowe Bergdahl deserted was completed last week, but the Pentagon refuses to say when the report will be released
Members of Bowe Bergdahl’s unit testified that he deserted to the Taliban when he abandoned his outpost on the front lines in Afghanistan in June 2009. The investigation into whether or not he is a deserter was completed last week but the Pentagon refuses to say when the report will be released.
Soldiers from Bergdahl’s unit who testified and provided documentation that he deserted to the Taliban, and Republicans are furious about the delay in releasing the report. Some are suggesting that the Pentagon does not want to embarrass the Obama administration by releasing the report ahead of the November elections.
If you recall, Bergdahl was released last May after five years in captivity in exchange for five high-ranking Taliban members who had been held at Guantanamo. The release was heralded with great fanfare. The president even met with Bergdahl’s parents in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. And Susan Rice, the President’s National Security Adviser, went on the Sunday morning TV news shows to declare that Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction” even though the government knew he had been accused of desertion by members of his unit.
Bergdahl was promoted to sergeant while he was held in captivity. He’s been assigned to a desk job at a military base in San Antonio pending a decision on whether or not he will be court martialed. If cleared of wrongdoing, Bergdahl will receive $200,000 in back pay and $150,000 compensation for suffering at the hands of the Taliban.
The Pentagon is prohibited from engaging in politics, but if it is delaying release of the investigation report until after the November elections, the Pentagon is clearly playing politics with a potentially embarrassing situation for the President and his administration. If Bergdahl were to be charged with desertion before the November elections, that would be embarrassing to the administration and could hurt the Democrats in their attempts to maintain control of the Senate.
Members of Bowe Bergdahl’s unit testified that he deserted to the Taliban when he abandoned his outpost on the front lines in Afghanistan in June 2009. The investigation into whether or not he is a deserter was completed last week but the Pentagon refuses to say when the report will be released.
Soldiers from Bergdahl’s unit who testified and provided documentation that he deserted to the Taliban, and Republicans are furious about the delay in releasing the report. Some are suggesting that the Pentagon does not want to embarrass the Obama administration by releasing the report ahead of the November elections.
If you recall, Bergdahl was released last May after five years in captivity in exchange for five high-ranking Taliban members who had been held at Guantanamo. The release was heralded with great fanfare. The president even met with Bergdahl’s parents in a White House Rose Garden ceremony. And Susan Rice, the President’s National Security Adviser, went on the Sunday morning TV news shows to declare that Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction” even though the government knew he had been accused of desertion by members of his unit.
Bergdahl was promoted to sergeant while he was held in captivity. He’s been assigned to a desk job at a military base in San Antonio pending a decision on whether or not he will be court martialed. If cleared of wrongdoing, Bergdahl will receive $200,000 in back pay and $150,000 compensation for suffering at the hands of the Taliban.
The Pentagon is prohibited from engaging in politics, but if it is delaying release of the investigation report until after the November elections, the Pentagon is clearly playing politics with a potentially embarrassing situation for the President and his administration. If Bergdahl were to be charged with desertion before the November elections, that would be embarrassing to the administration and could hurt the Democrats in their attempts to maintain control of the Senate.
POLICE UNION ATTEMPTS TO CONTINUE STOP-AND-FRISK APPEAL THAT DE BLASIO DROPPED
The Bloomberg administration appealed a ruling by anti-police Judge Shira Scheindlin that NYPD’s stop-and-frisks discriminated against minorities. Sandinista-loving Bill de Blasio campaigned against the stop-and-frisks when he ran for mayor. One of the first things he did when assuming office was to drop the appeal. NYPD’s unions are attempting to replace the Bloomberg administration in the appeals process and de Blasio’s lawyers are trying to stop them.
U.S. PANEL HEARS APPEAL ON N.Y. STOP AND FRISK CASE
City's police unions are arguing they should be able to continue to appeal a federal judge's ruling that the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy violated civil rights
By Colleen Long
Associated Press
October 15, 2014
NEW YORK -- Police unions should be able to appeal a federal judge's ruling that the New York Police Department's stop and frisk policy violated civil rights even though the city no longer wants to fight, union lawyers argued Wednesday.
A lower court judge has said the unions did not signal soon enough their wish to be included in the case, heard last year in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled after a 10-week civil trial that the NYPD's stop, question and frisk policy sometimes discriminated against minorities. She ordered sweeping reforms and installed a monitor to oversee the changes.
Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration appealed her decision, but Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the appeal when he came into office this year. The police unions want to continue the fight.
The unions believe the ruling damaged their officers' reputations and worry they won't be able to bargain on the reforms ordered that involve training, discipline and other changes, their lawyers told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
The judges peppered the attorneys with challenges. Judge Barrington Parker Jr. said it would be highly unusual for an appeal to proceed when the actual parties in the case have agreed to settle — whether the unions like it or not.
It's a new regime "that wants its police department to behave differently," Parker said. "It's a part of the democratic process."
"You can't rewind the clock to what it was before the de Blasio administration took office," Judge John Walker Jr. said.
Meanwhile, the NYPD has already started implementing some of the suggestions made in the ruling on its own. For example, a pilot program of body-worn cameras is being developed in five precincts, and the form officers fill out to record a stop and frisk was being revised. Officers already receive training on how to properly stop someone.
Since before the trial, streets stops have been on decline from a high of more than 685,000 in 2011. In the first half of this year there have been 27,527 stops. In two of the precincts that recorded the most stops, both in Brooklyn, there have been 126 stops, compared with 10,540 in 2011.
Lawyers for the city, which spent years fighting the case, now say they're ready to turn the page. They say it will take five years to reform the process, three under a court monitor and two with the city's new inspector general overseeing reforms.
"The city's policymakers have decided to reform stop and frisk and not to continue this fight," said attorney Richard Dearing. "We are looking forward."
U.S. PANEL HEARS APPEAL ON N.Y. STOP AND FRISK CASE
City's police unions are arguing they should be able to continue to appeal a federal judge's ruling that the NYPD's stop-and-frisk policy violated civil rights
By Colleen Long
Associated Press
October 15, 2014
NEW YORK -- Police unions should be able to appeal a federal judge's ruling that the New York Police Department's stop and frisk policy violated civil rights even though the city no longer wants to fight, union lawyers argued Wednesday.
A lower court judge has said the unions did not signal soon enough their wish to be included in the case, heard last year in federal court. U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled after a 10-week civil trial that the NYPD's stop, question and frisk policy sometimes discriminated against minorities. She ordered sweeping reforms and installed a monitor to oversee the changes.
Then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration appealed her decision, but Mayor Bill de Blasio dropped the appeal when he came into office this year. The police unions want to continue the fight.
The unions believe the ruling damaged their officers' reputations and worry they won't be able to bargain on the reforms ordered that involve training, discipline and other changes, their lawyers told a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday.
The judges peppered the attorneys with challenges. Judge Barrington Parker Jr. said it would be highly unusual for an appeal to proceed when the actual parties in the case have agreed to settle — whether the unions like it or not.
It's a new regime "that wants its police department to behave differently," Parker said. "It's a part of the democratic process."
"You can't rewind the clock to what it was before the de Blasio administration took office," Judge John Walker Jr. said.
Meanwhile, the NYPD has already started implementing some of the suggestions made in the ruling on its own. For example, a pilot program of body-worn cameras is being developed in five precincts, and the form officers fill out to record a stop and frisk was being revised. Officers already receive training on how to properly stop someone.
Since before the trial, streets stops have been on decline from a high of more than 685,000 in 2011. In the first half of this year there have been 27,527 stops. In two of the precincts that recorded the most stops, both in Brooklyn, there have been 126 stops, compared with 10,540 in 2011.
Lawyers for the city, which spent years fighting the case, now say they're ready to turn the page. They say it will take five years to reform the process, three under a court monitor and two with the city's new inspector general overseeing reforms.
"The city's policymakers have decided to reform stop and frisk and not to continue this fight," said attorney Richard Dearing. "We are looking forward."
MOTHER, DAUGHTER, YOUNG MAN THREESOME
The Unconventional Gazette
October 15, 2014
Bob met an older woman at a bar last night. She looked pretty good for a 60+year-old. In fact, she wasn't too bad at all. Bob found himself thinking she probably had a really hot daughter.
They drank a couple of beers, and she asked if he'd ever had a Sportsman's Double?
'What's that?’, he asked.
'It's a mother and daughter threesome,' she said.
As Bob’s mind began to relish the idea, and he wondered what her daughter might look like, he said, 'No, I haven't.'
They drank a bit more, then she said with a wink, 'Tonight's your lucky night, Bob.'
They left the bar and went to her place, all the while he was trembling in anticipation. They walked in. She put on the hall light and shouted upstairs:
'Mom...you still awake?'
October 15, 2014
Bob met an older woman at a bar last night. She looked pretty good for a 60+year-old. In fact, she wasn't too bad at all. Bob found himself thinking she probably had a really hot daughter.
They drank a couple of beers, and she asked if he'd ever had a Sportsman's Double?
'What's that?’, he asked.
'It's a mother and daughter threesome,' she said.
As Bob’s mind began to relish the idea, and he wondered what her daughter might look like, he said, 'No, I haven't.'
They drank a bit more, then she said with a wink, 'Tonight's your lucky night, Bob.'
They left the bar and went to her place, all the while he was trembling in anticipation. They walked in. She put on the hall light and shouted upstairs:
'Mom...you still awake?'
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
$2.4M TAX DOLLARS SPENT ON ORIGAMI CONDOM DESIGN
The NIH spent millions of dollars on wacky projects like an origami condom design, a study of sex among fruit flies, an online game for Michelle’s anti-obesity campaign, a study of chimpanzee poop-throwing skills, etc., and now complains it did not have any money to develop an Ebola vaccine
Talk about your tax dollars at work, the expenditures by the National Institutes of Health are absolutely mind-boggling.
The NIH spent $2.4 million for a new ‘origami’ condom design. Daniel Resnic, the creator of the origami condom, conned the idiots at NIH into wasting all that money on condoms based on Japanese folding paper. Resnic is now under investigation for fraud, accused of spending some of the money on cosmetic surgery, a Playboy Mansion party and exotic trips..
$939,000 was spent on the sex habits of fruit flies and concluded that the males prefer younger females. In other words, they spent nearly a million dollars to learn that male fruit flies are just like their human counterparts, since men prefer to fuck younger women.
$257,000 was spent to produce “Virtual Sprouts” an online game which is a companion to Michelle Obama’s White House garden and is designed to teach nutrition and to fight obesity.
$592,000 was spent studying the shit slinging skills of Chimpanzees which found that chimps with the best communication skills were also best at flinging poop. Another $117,000 was spent to learn that most chimps are right-handed.
$325,000 was spent studying arguments between husbands and wives. The study found that when wives ‘downgraded’ [calmed down] their anger during an argument, both spouses had a more satisfying marriage over time. Not so, however, when men calmed down.
$666,000 was spent studying the effect on old people of watching reruns of sitcoms like Seinfeld and watching old movies.
$181,000 was spent on a study which found that cocaine use ‘enhanced’ the sex drive of the Japanese quail.
$548,000 was spent on a study that found partygoers in their 30s felt immature after binge drinking while those in their 20s didn’t.
$610,000 was spent on a survey of 120 countries to see how satisfied people are with their lives in those countries.
$484,000 was spent on a study to see if hypnosis can reduce hot flashes in women. Another $294,000 was spent to see if yoga could do the same.
$1.1 million was spent studying how athletes perceive their in-game surroundings. Among other things, the study found that golfers can putt better if they imagine the hole is bigger. [I think that men would enjoy sex better if they imagined the hole was smaller.]
$832,000 was spent to learn if it was possible to get South African tribesmen who had not been circumcised into the habit of washing their dicks off after having sex.
Those expenditures totaled $9.345 million, and that's only a partial list of studies, the expenditures for which would be considered by any reasonable person as wasteful spending. But then, we can all sleep better now knowing that the bigger a golfer imagines the hole to be, the better he can putt.
Providing us with a perfect example of chutzpah, NIH chief Dr. Francis Collins is now complaining that lack of funding prevented his agency from developing an Ebola vaccine.
I believe that Dr. Collins, and every person at NIH who had any part in approving these grants, be made to stand in front of the best communicating Chimpanzees every day for a month and let those chimps pelt them all day long with ape shit. Maybe, just maybe, that would teach them to stop wasting our tax dollars.
Wait a minute, not so fast. Maybe I can get a $500,000 grant from the NIH to conduct a study on the pleasure a man gets from having sex with a woman depending on the size of her hole.
Talk about your tax dollars at work, the expenditures by the National Institutes of Health are absolutely mind-boggling.
The NIH spent $2.4 million for a new ‘origami’ condom design. Daniel Resnic, the creator of the origami condom, conned the idiots at NIH into wasting all that money on condoms based on Japanese folding paper. Resnic is now under investigation for fraud, accused of spending some of the money on cosmetic surgery, a Playboy Mansion party and exotic trips..
$939,000 was spent on the sex habits of fruit flies and concluded that the males prefer younger females. In other words, they spent nearly a million dollars to learn that male fruit flies are just like their human counterparts, since men prefer to fuck younger women.
$257,000 was spent to produce “Virtual Sprouts” an online game which is a companion to Michelle Obama’s White House garden and is designed to teach nutrition and to fight obesity.
$592,000 was spent studying the shit slinging skills of Chimpanzees which found that chimps with the best communication skills were also best at flinging poop. Another $117,000 was spent to learn that most chimps are right-handed.
$325,000 was spent studying arguments between husbands and wives. The study found that when wives ‘downgraded’ [calmed down] their anger during an argument, both spouses had a more satisfying marriage over time. Not so, however, when men calmed down.
$666,000 was spent studying the effect on old people of watching reruns of sitcoms like Seinfeld and watching old movies.
$181,000 was spent on a study which found that cocaine use ‘enhanced’ the sex drive of the Japanese quail.
$548,000 was spent on a study that found partygoers in their 30s felt immature after binge drinking while those in their 20s didn’t.
$610,000 was spent on a survey of 120 countries to see how satisfied people are with their lives in those countries.
$484,000 was spent on a study to see if hypnosis can reduce hot flashes in women. Another $294,000 was spent to see if yoga could do the same.
$1.1 million was spent studying how athletes perceive their in-game surroundings. Among other things, the study found that golfers can putt better if they imagine the hole is bigger. [I think that men would enjoy sex better if they imagined the hole was smaller.]
$832,000 was spent to learn if it was possible to get South African tribesmen who had not been circumcised into the habit of washing their dicks off after having sex.
Those expenditures totaled $9.345 million, and that's only a partial list of studies, the expenditures for which would be considered by any reasonable person as wasteful spending. But then, we can all sleep better now knowing that the bigger a golfer imagines the hole to be, the better he can putt.
Providing us with a perfect example of chutzpah, NIH chief Dr. Francis Collins is now complaining that lack of funding prevented his agency from developing an Ebola vaccine.
I believe that Dr. Collins, and every person at NIH who had any part in approving these grants, be made to stand in front of the best communicating Chimpanzees every day for a month and let those chimps pelt them all day long with ape shit. Maybe, just maybe, that would teach them to stop wasting our tax dollars.
Wait a minute, not so fast. Maybe I can get a $500,000 grant from the NIH to conduct a study on the pleasure a man gets from having sex with a woman depending on the size of her hole.
IF YOU BELIEVE IN GHOSTS, LAPD IS THE PLACE TO BE
In order to meet street patrol specs, LAPD station commanders falsified reports by creating “ghost cars” to make it appear as though the mandated number of cops were patrolling the streets
First it was crime stats that were being manipulated in New York, Los Aneles, Houston and elsewhere, and now it’s the reports on the number of cops on patrol that are also being falsified. If you can’t trust police reports, how can you trust the police?
BUSTING LAPD’S ‘GHOST CAR’ FALSIFICATIONS
By the Times Editorial Board
Los Angeles Times
October 13, 2014
An Inspector General's report released Friday confirmed what many Los Angeles Police Department insiders have been complaining about for months: Officers have routinely falsified records to make it appear that they were patrolling the streets, when in fact they were doing paperwork, working desk jobs or handling other duties at stations.
The investigation found false reports of patrols — so-called “ghost cars” — in at least five of the department's 21 geographic areas. The falsifications were carried out over multiple shifts by officers of various ranks, but the sole purpose was to make it appear that station commanders were meeting staffing levels set by a computer program and rigidly watched by department brass. As Alex Bustamante, the LAPD's inspector general, wrote, commanding officers are responsible for 100% compliance with daily patrol staffing levels, and when they fail (or are unable) to meet that goal, they must answer to top leaders of the department. Union officials said captains are under “intense pressure” to hit their patrol numbers, and that urgency trickles down to lower-level supervisors who order officers to fill out logs showing they are on patrol when they are not.
The Inspector General's revelation is troubling for a number of reasons. For one thing, it's dishonest. False data lead city leaders and the public to believe the streets are more heavily patrolled than they really are. That undermines our sense of how safe we are, and also influences policy decisions on, for example, whether the city should hire more civilians for administrative tasks or keep hiring officers. And if supervisors can justify lying about staffing levels in order to keep the bosses happy, what other transgressions or omissions will they allow?
Most worrisome is that this is the second report in recent months to conclude that the LAPD has been relying on bad data and inaccurate reporting. A Times investigation in August found that the department understated violent crime in the city by misclassifying nearly 1,200 violent crimes as minor offenses during a one-year period. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck chalked that up to human error, although department insiders said deliberate miscoding had become common as captains and other supervisors were — again — under intense pressure to meet crime-reduction targets set by the brass.
Together, these investigations suggest that Chief Beck and his administration are so focused on maintaining good metrics that they're ignoring what's happening on the ground. Or worse, that they've created a culture in which officers and supervisors feel they have to cook the books to succeed. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Police Commission must hold the LAPD responsible for these specific lapses, but they also must determine whether there are deeper problems within the department.
First it was crime stats that were being manipulated in New York, Los Aneles, Houston and elsewhere, and now it’s the reports on the number of cops on patrol that are also being falsified. If you can’t trust police reports, how can you trust the police?
BUSTING LAPD’S ‘GHOST CAR’ FALSIFICATIONS
By the Times Editorial Board
Los Angeles Times
October 13, 2014
An Inspector General's report released Friday confirmed what many Los Angeles Police Department insiders have been complaining about for months: Officers have routinely falsified records to make it appear that they were patrolling the streets, when in fact they were doing paperwork, working desk jobs or handling other duties at stations.
The investigation found false reports of patrols — so-called “ghost cars” — in at least five of the department's 21 geographic areas. The falsifications were carried out over multiple shifts by officers of various ranks, but the sole purpose was to make it appear that station commanders were meeting staffing levels set by a computer program and rigidly watched by department brass. As Alex Bustamante, the LAPD's inspector general, wrote, commanding officers are responsible for 100% compliance with daily patrol staffing levels, and when they fail (or are unable) to meet that goal, they must answer to top leaders of the department. Union officials said captains are under “intense pressure” to hit their patrol numbers, and that urgency trickles down to lower-level supervisors who order officers to fill out logs showing they are on patrol when they are not.
The Inspector General's revelation is troubling for a number of reasons. For one thing, it's dishonest. False data lead city leaders and the public to believe the streets are more heavily patrolled than they really are. That undermines our sense of how safe we are, and also influences policy decisions on, for example, whether the city should hire more civilians for administrative tasks or keep hiring officers. And if supervisors can justify lying about staffing levels in order to keep the bosses happy, what other transgressions or omissions will they allow?
Most worrisome is that this is the second report in recent months to conclude that the LAPD has been relying on bad data and inaccurate reporting. A Times investigation in August found that the department understated violent crime in the city by misclassifying nearly 1,200 violent crimes as minor offenses during a one-year period. LAPD Chief Charlie Beck chalked that up to human error, although department insiders said deliberate miscoding had become common as captains and other supervisors were — again — under intense pressure to meet crime-reduction targets set by the brass.
Together, these investigations suggest that Chief Beck and his administration are so focused on maintaining good metrics that they're ignoring what's happening on the ground. Or worse, that they've created a culture in which officers and supervisors feel they have to cook the books to succeed. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the Police Commission must hold the LAPD responsible for these specific lapses, but they also must determine whether there are deeper problems within the department.
STUDENT MOVEMENTS: A SUBJECT OF HUMAN GEOGRAPHY
By Sim Tack
Stratfor Global Intelligence
October 14, 2014
As student protests in Hong Kong continue, memories of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations naturally spring to mind. Less iconic but no less notable were the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which began as a student movement; the 2007 Venezuelan protests, which started with a group of students demanding constitutional reform; and the 1929 protests in Paris, which challenged the role of churches in education.
Of course, each student movement is unique; the one underway in Hong Kong concerns Hong Kong affairs, not widespread democratic reform in China proper. And yet all such movements share characteristics that transcend borders, making them an ideal phenomenon through which to study geopolitics.
Student protests lay bare the social and cultural layers that move beneath the surface of geopolitics, much like subsurface currents flow beneath the waves of the oceans. Human geography forms the foundation of society and thus the systems that govern it. Even if we regard the state as the highest level of global policymaking and interaction, these social undercurrents are what move the generations, ideologies and cultural changes that shape the constraints under which states operate.
Patterns Emerge
From ethnic and religious sects to socio-economic divisions, human geography is as important to a state as the physical topography and resources that constitute it. Human geography exists in all states, and as with physical geography, revelatory, even educational, patterns emerge over time.
The way in which the ruled rise up against the rulers is one such pattern. These kinds of movements take a variety of forms, from peaceful demonstrations and strikes to violent insurgencies. Of these, student protests are perhaps the most intriguing because of the unique position in society that students occupy -- they are at the vanguard of a generation that often differs markedly from that of their forebears. It is at this fault line that competing ideologies and changing cultural identities collide.
That they are students means they are intellectually engaged, frequently espousing distinct political beliefs. But to be successful, student movements must galvanize the other areas of civil society. In that regard, they are often a good catalyst for change. Students are already grouped together at universities, often in urban areas, enabling student campaigns to evolve into broader protest movements. Of course, social media has made physical congregation somewhat obsolete, but proximity still simplifies the logistics of political action.
Even under ideal circumstances, student movements can fail, and indeed history is rife with failure. But more often than not, student uprisings tend to be part of longer-term social, cultural or political change. After all, when student protests disappear, students themselves often go on to become part of a more mature generation that retains much of its ideological conviction.
Think, for example, of the May 1968 movement that shook France and several other countries in Europe. Despite failing to achieve many of its goals as it occupied university buildings in Paris, the baby boomer generation later became part of post-graduate society, fomenting far-reaching social and cultural change throughout Europe as the ideas of the New Left continued to bleed into the mainstream.
When a student movement fails to create change, oftentimes it will join or be subsumed by an existing political movement, acting either as a force that advances change or one that that highlights the continuation of ongoing social trends. France's revolution in June 1832 is a prime example. The notion of popular sovereignty had been in place ever since the French Revolution ended the monarchy. The return of the monarchy in 1814, after Napoleon's fall, however, ultimately compelled students to take to the streets in what was essentially an extension of the very same social pressures that had dominated the internal evolution of France for more than three decades. These particular protests in 1832, eternalized in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, were struck down. But the underlying desires of the masses persisted, culminating in 1848, when the "Year of Revolution" saw the final collapse of the monarchy in France and generated a broader wave of social change throughout Europe.
Student campaigns have by no means been relegated to Europe. The United States witnessed profound student activism during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the anti-war movement brought about countless protests. At its core was a demographic shift -- the baby boom, which spawned the primary group challenging policy at the time. Of course, these movements did not end the war in Vietnam; they barely convinced Washington to end the draft. But they exemplified the trends of the time, namely, the introduction of a new generation with a distinct ideology.
When student movements emulate broader social unrest, the results can be dramatic. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution radically changed the political identity of the country, facilitated in part by students who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The ensuing hostage crisis united many sections of Iranian society in support of the revolution. Ironically, it was this generation of students that put down a later generation of students during the 2009-2010 Green Revolution.
A Society in Motion
Even prior to the current Hong Kong protests, China has had a rich history of student activism influencing society. In fact, the establishment of the People's Republic of China itself had its roots in student movements: Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai discovered socialism and began to organize politically as student leaders in the early 20th century. In 1919, the May 4th Movement, which grew out of student demonstrations, arguably ushered in what would become the beginning of China's contemporary history when it lashed out against Beijing's response to the Treaty of Versailles.
Students were also at the forefront of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. They helped reinforce the personality cult of Mao as Chinese citizens revolted against capitalism and traditional Chinese culture. It was student repudiation of university leaders accused of opposing the Chinese Communist Party that initiated the actual protests, which in turn started the Cultural Revolution -- something much larger than a student cause, to say the least.
Considering China's long history -- and the history of student movements -- the current protests in Hong Kong will not be the last time China faces social unrest. As a one-party state with immense geographic, social and economic diversity, China has faced significant calls for reform throughout the years. And the Communist Party will inevitably face more pressure as China changes. For China's is a society in motion: It is creating an urban middle class as its economy matures. Rising urbanization and private consumption have altered the interests and expectations of Chinese citizens, and as expectation rise, so too will pressure on the government to meet those demands.
Along with the emergence of a Chinese urban consumer class, there has been a veritable explosion in the number of students in China as higher education has expanded over the past decade. China is spending more money on higher education to create an educated work force better suited for the economy to which China aspires. But creating more students creates more opportunities for social unrest. The ability of these students to function the way China intends hinges heavily on the performance of the Chinese economy. If economic growth slows, the potential for unrest hastens.
It is difficult to gauge the ultimate effect of the protests in Hong Kong. Still, the student activism there reminds us why these subjects of society are well-suited to protest. Because of their position in the human geography, students will often be at the front of generational changes in their respective societies, even if they are not always the most decisive agents of change.
Stratfor Global Intelligence
October 14, 2014
As student protests in Hong Kong continue, memories of the 1989 Tiananmen Square demonstrations naturally spring to mind. Less iconic but no less notable were the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, which began as a student movement; the 2007 Venezuelan protests, which started with a group of students demanding constitutional reform; and the 1929 protests in Paris, which challenged the role of churches in education.
Of course, each student movement is unique; the one underway in Hong Kong concerns Hong Kong affairs, not widespread democratic reform in China proper. And yet all such movements share characteristics that transcend borders, making them an ideal phenomenon through which to study geopolitics.
Student protests lay bare the social and cultural layers that move beneath the surface of geopolitics, much like subsurface currents flow beneath the waves of the oceans. Human geography forms the foundation of society and thus the systems that govern it. Even if we regard the state as the highest level of global policymaking and interaction, these social undercurrents are what move the generations, ideologies and cultural changes that shape the constraints under which states operate.
Patterns Emerge
From ethnic and religious sects to socio-economic divisions, human geography is as important to a state as the physical topography and resources that constitute it. Human geography exists in all states, and as with physical geography, revelatory, even educational, patterns emerge over time.
The way in which the ruled rise up against the rulers is one such pattern. These kinds of movements take a variety of forms, from peaceful demonstrations and strikes to violent insurgencies. Of these, student protests are perhaps the most intriguing because of the unique position in society that students occupy -- they are at the vanguard of a generation that often differs markedly from that of their forebears. It is at this fault line that competing ideologies and changing cultural identities collide.
That they are students means they are intellectually engaged, frequently espousing distinct political beliefs. But to be successful, student movements must galvanize the other areas of civil society. In that regard, they are often a good catalyst for change. Students are already grouped together at universities, often in urban areas, enabling student campaigns to evolve into broader protest movements. Of course, social media has made physical congregation somewhat obsolete, but proximity still simplifies the logistics of political action.
Even under ideal circumstances, student movements can fail, and indeed history is rife with failure. But more often than not, student uprisings tend to be part of longer-term social, cultural or political change. After all, when student protests disappear, students themselves often go on to become part of a more mature generation that retains much of its ideological conviction.
Think, for example, of the May 1968 movement that shook France and several other countries in Europe. Despite failing to achieve many of its goals as it occupied university buildings in Paris, the baby boomer generation later became part of post-graduate society, fomenting far-reaching social and cultural change throughout Europe as the ideas of the New Left continued to bleed into the mainstream.
When a student movement fails to create change, oftentimes it will join or be subsumed by an existing political movement, acting either as a force that advances change or one that that highlights the continuation of ongoing social trends. France's revolution in June 1832 is a prime example. The notion of popular sovereignty had been in place ever since the French Revolution ended the monarchy. The return of the monarchy in 1814, after Napoleon's fall, however, ultimately compelled students to take to the streets in what was essentially an extension of the very same social pressures that had dominated the internal evolution of France for more than three decades. These particular protests in 1832, eternalized in Victor Hugo's Les Miserables, were struck down. But the underlying desires of the masses persisted, culminating in 1848, when the "Year of Revolution" saw the final collapse of the monarchy in France and generated a broader wave of social change throughout Europe.
Student campaigns have by no means been relegated to Europe. The United States witnessed profound student activism during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when the anti-war movement brought about countless protests. At its core was a demographic shift -- the baby boom, which spawned the primary group challenging policy at the time. Of course, these movements did not end the war in Vietnam; they barely convinced Washington to end the draft. But they exemplified the trends of the time, namely, the introduction of a new generation with a distinct ideology.
When student movements emulate broader social unrest, the results can be dramatic. In 1979, the Iranian Revolution radically changed the political identity of the country, facilitated in part by students who stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. The ensuing hostage crisis united many sections of Iranian society in support of the revolution. Ironically, it was this generation of students that put down a later generation of students during the 2009-2010 Green Revolution.
A Society in Motion
Even prior to the current Hong Kong protests, China has had a rich history of student activism influencing society. In fact, the establishment of the People's Republic of China itself had its roots in student movements: Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai discovered socialism and began to organize politically as student leaders in the early 20th century. In 1919, the May 4th Movement, which grew out of student demonstrations, arguably ushered in what would become the beginning of China's contemporary history when it lashed out against Beijing's response to the Treaty of Versailles.
Students were also at the forefront of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. They helped reinforce the personality cult of Mao as Chinese citizens revolted against capitalism and traditional Chinese culture. It was student repudiation of university leaders accused of opposing the Chinese Communist Party that initiated the actual protests, which in turn started the Cultural Revolution -- something much larger than a student cause, to say the least.
Considering China's long history -- and the history of student movements -- the current protests in Hong Kong will not be the last time China faces social unrest. As a one-party state with immense geographic, social and economic diversity, China has faced significant calls for reform throughout the years. And the Communist Party will inevitably face more pressure as China changes. For China's is a society in motion: It is creating an urban middle class as its economy matures. Rising urbanization and private consumption have altered the interests and expectations of Chinese citizens, and as expectation rise, so too will pressure on the government to meet those demands.
Along with the emergence of a Chinese urban consumer class, there has been a veritable explosion in the number of students in China as higher education has expanded over the past decade. China is spending more money on higher education to create an educated work force better suited for the economy to which China aspires. But creating more students creates more opportunities for social unrest. The ability of these students to function the way China intends hinges heavily on the performance of the Chinese economy. If economic growth slows, the potential for unrest hastens.
It is difficult to gauge the ultimate effect of the protests in Hong Kong. Still, the student activism there reminds us why these subjects of society are well-suited to protest. Because of their position in the human geography, students will often be at the front of generational changes in their respective societies, even if they are not always the most decisive agents of change.
Tuesday, October 14, 2014
AIR FRANCE FLIGHT 447: FAMOUS LAST WORDS FROM THE PILOTS
The voice recorder revealed that just before the Airbus 330 plunged into the Atlantic, one of the pilots shouted “Fuck, we’re dead!”
On May 31, 2009, Air France Flight 447 took off from Rio de Janeiro headed for Paris with 228 people onboard. The flight crew included Captain Marc Dubois, 58, and junior copilots David Robert, 37, and Pierre-Cedric Bonin, 32. Prior to the flight, Capt. Dubois had spent the night on the town with his girlfriend, an off-duty flight attendant and opera singer, who accompanied him on the trip. 4 hours and 15 minutes after taking off from Rio, the Airbus 330 smacked onto the surface of the Atlantic, killing all 228 onboard. After a long search, a French submarine carrying special equipment, found the wreckage. Two years after the crash, the flight recorders and all bodies were finally recovered.
The October issue of Vanity Fair carries an account of the investigation. Sometime after takeoff, Robert retied to the plane’s rest compartment, a small cabin with two berths behind the cockpit, to take a nap. About 15 minutes before the crash, Dubois also retired to the rest compartment, leaving Bonin in control, even though he knew a storm was ahead. If he had delayed his nap for only 15 minutes, he would have been at the controls instead of the inexperienced Bolin.
When the plane hit the bad weather, its airspeed sensors malfunctioned and the Airbus 330 went into a stall. 1 minute 39 seconds later, Dubois and Robert reappeared in the cockpit. But by then Bonin had made a fatal mistake by raising the plane’s nose instead of lowering it as the procedure for coming out of a stall calls for. Raising the plane’s nose just increased the stall.
Here are a few pertinent excerpts from the flight recorder:
Dubois: “I didn’t sleep enough last night. One hour, it’s not enough.”
Robert: “Fuck, we’re going to crash. It’s not true. But what’s happening?”
Robert or Bonin shouted: “Fuck, we’re dead!”
And dead they were, along with all the flight attendants and passengers. Dubois and Robert did not break any rules by leaving the cockpit to take a nap. But Dubois is guilty of using bad judgment twice. First by staying out all night in Rio with his girlfriend and then when he left an inexperience pilot at the controls to take a nap, even though he knew bad weather was ahead.
So now we can add the phrase, “Fuck, we’re dead!” to famous last words.
On May 31, 2009, Air France Flight 447 took off from Rio de Janeiro headed for Paris with 228 people onboard. The flight crew included Captain Marc Dubois, 58, and junior copilots David Robert, 37, and Pierre-Cedric Bonin, 32. Prior to the flight, Capt. Dubois had spent the night on the town with his girlfriend, an off-duty flight attendant and opera singer, who accompanied him on the trip. 4 hours and 15 minutes after taking off from Rio, the Airbus 330 smacked onto the surface of the Atlantic, killing all 228 onboard. After a long search, a French submarine carrying special equipment, found the wreckage. Two years after the crash, the flight recorders and all bodies were finally recovered.
The October issue of Vanity Fair carries an account of the investigation. Sometime after takeoff, Robert retied to the plane’s rest compartment, a small cabin with two berths behind the cockpit, to take a nap. About 15 minutes before the crash, Dubois also retired to the rest compartment, leaving Bonin in control, even though he knew a storm was ahead. If he had delayed his nap for only 15 minutes, he would have been at the controls instead of the inexperienced Bolin.
When the plane hit the bad weather, its airspeed sensors malfunctioned and the Airbus 330 went into a stall. 1 minute 39 seconds later, Dubois and Robert reappeared in the cockpit. But by then Bonin had made a fatal mistake by raising the plane’s nose instead of lowering it as the procedure for coming out of a stall calls for. Raising the plane’s nose just increased the stall.
Here are a few pertinent excerpts from the flight recorder:
Dubois: “I didn’t sleep enough last night. One hour, it’s not enough.”
Robert: “Fuck, we’re going to crash. It’s not true. But what’s happening?”
Robert or Bonin shouted: “Fuck, we’re dead!”
And dead they were, along with all the flight attendants and passengers. Dubois and Robert did not break any rules by leaving the cockpit to take a nap. But Dubois is guilty of using bad judgment twice. First by staying out all night in Rio with his girlfriend and then when he left an inexperience pilot at the controls to take a nap, even though he knew bad weather was ahead.
So now we can add the phrase, “Fuck, we’re dead!” to famous last words.
BEATEN UP, ROBBED AND OUTED
Seattle thugs use stolen cellphone to out 16-year-old victim to his mother
The depravity of today’s young criminals knows no bounds. Not satisfied with beating up their teenage victim, Seattle thugs used his stolen cell phone to text his mother that he was gay.
Seattle police report that the unidentified 16-year-old was waiting for a bus in the afternoon when he was suddenly assaulted by four thugs. In trying to defend himself, he dropped his cellphone and backpack. The thugs fled with the phone and backpack when a passerby yelled at them to cuti it out. Before he got home, his mother had received the following text message from the stolen cellphone:
“I’m gay you know that.”
The boy suffered a gash on his face and a busted tooth. He was able to identify one of the robbers to the police as a former classmate. The cops are looking for the assholes.
I don’t know whether this kid is gay or not, but after beating that poor sucker up and taking off with his belongings, that text message was downright depraved.
Strong-arm robberies for cellphones have become a runaway nationwide problem.
The depravity of today’s young criminals knows no bounds. Not satisfied with beating up their teenage victim, Seattle thugs used his stolen cell phone to text his mother that he was gay.
Seattle police report that the unidentified 16-year-old was waiting for a bus in the afternoon when he was suddenly assaulted by four thugs. In trying to defend himself, he dropped his cellphone and backpack. The thugs fled with the phone and backpack when a passerby yelled at them to cuti it out. Before he got home, his mother had received the following text message from the stolen cellphone:
“I’m gay you know that.”
The boy suffered a gash on his face and a busted tooth. He was able to identify one of the robbers to the police as a former classmate. The cops are looking for the assholes.
I don’t know whether this kid is gay or not, but after beating that poor sucker up and taking off with his belongings, that text message was downright depraved.
Strong-arm robberies for cellphones have become a runaway nationwide problem.
Monday, October 13, 2014
40 YEARS AS A COP
I have a very close friend who has been an outstanding law enforcement officer for 40 years and is thinking about finally retiring next year. Here is how he summed up his career:
I turn 60 this year and I hate to admit it, but I will probably pull the pin in 2015. It has been a career of excitement, disappointment, satisfaction and fulfillment all rolled into one.
If I can offer some advice to career cops it is: Stay true to yourself. Remember who you work for and obey the oath of office.
My friend has had a very successful career, and his advice is absolutely spot on!
I turn 60 this year and I hate to admit it, but I will probably pull the pin in 2015. It has been a career of excitement, disappointment, satisfaction and fulfillment all rolled into one.
If I can offer some advice to career cops it is: Stay true to yourself. Remember who you work for and obey the oath of office.
My friend has had a very successful career, and his advice is absolutely spot on!
HILLARY AND BILL ONCE RELIED ON TALMUDIC LAW
The definition of adultery in the Talmud absolved the President of cheating on his wife while he got all those blow jobs from Monica Lewinsky
A new batch of records released by the Clinton Library reveal that Ruby Shamir, Hillary’s domestic policy adviser, gave White House officials and Bill an excuse to claim that the philandering president did not cheat on Hillary when he got all those blow jobs from Monica Lewinsky.
Shamir found a Jewish professor who supplied her with the definition of adultery from the Talmud. Susannah Heschel, a professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth, claimed that the Talmud defines adultery as a married man having intercourse with a married woman. And since Monica was not married during the nine different times she gave Bill blow jobs, the President did not commit adultery and did not cheat on the First Lady.
What a crock of supreme shit! The Talmud notwithstanding, any way you look at it, Bill was clearly cheating on poor ole Hillary. Now, if Bill had converted to Judaism, he might possibly have gotten away with that excuse.
Actually, the Talmud defines adultery as sexual intercourse between a married woman and a man other than her husband. If I haven’t misread it, that seems to put the onus all on the woman.
So fellows, those of you that have been cheating on your wives, just convert to Judaism and then, since you will not be committing adultery, you can get over any guilt feelings you may have.
A new batch of records released by the Clinton Library reveal that Ruby Shamir, Hillary’s domestic policy adviser, gave White House officials and Bill an excuse to claim that the philandering president did not cheat on Hillary when he got all those blow jobs from Monica Lewinsky.
Shamir found a Jewish professor who supplied her with the definition of adultery from the Talmud. Susannah Heschel, a professor of Jewish Studies at Dartmouth, claimed that the Talmud defines adultery as a married man having intercourse with a married woman. And since Monica was not married during the nine different times she gave Bill blow jobs, the President did not commit adultery and did not cheat on the First Lady.
What a crock of supreme shit! The Talmud notwithstanding, any way you look at it, Bill was clearly cheating on poor ole Hillary. Now, if Bill had converted to Judaism, he might possibly have gotten away with that excuse.
Actually, the Talmud defines adultery as sexual intercourse between a married woman and a man other than her husband. If I haven’t misread it, that seems to put the onus all on the woman.
So fellows, those of you that have been cheating on your wives, just convert to Judaism and then, since you will not be committing adultery, you can get over any guilt feelings you may have.
SAYREVILLE WAR MEMORIAL HS: HAZING THE ANAL WAY
A New Jersey high school football team initiated new team members by pinning them down, sticking a finger up their bare asses and making them lick those fingers clean
Arrest warrants were issued last week for seven football players on Sayreville War Memorial High School’s football team and the school superintendent has cancelled the rest of the New Jersey team’s football schedule.
Three football players have been charged with aggravated sexual assault involving anal penetration, criminal restraint, hazing and other crimes. The other four have been charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact and other crimes. The assaults took place from September 19 to 29.
An unnamed parent of one of the victims revealed what form the hazing took. Boys new to the football team were assaulted in the locker room. Four team members would pin a freshman down, two would stand guard and the seventh would howl, then turn off the lights and stick his finger up the victim’s bare ass. And for the hazing climax, the victim was then forced to lick his own shit from the assailant’s finger.
If all this sounds revolting, it is! The assaults are beyond comprehension of any sane person. The superintendent was right in canceling the rest of the football season and he should fire the school’s athletic director and all of the school’s football coaches. There’s simply no way they were not aware of what was going on.
Now a lot of parents are upset that the season has been cancelled. They are complaining that players who did not participate in the sexual assault rituals are being punished for what others have done. Their whining doesn’t hold water because, like the coaches, the 'innocent' players had to be aware of what was being done to the new team members. By keeping silent, they must share some of the blame.
A family court will have to decide whether those arrested will be released to their parents or held in a juvenile detention facility. My feeling is that they should be held in an adult jail where they could experience what forcible anal penetration feels like.
Arrest warrants were issued last week for seven football players on Sayreville War Memorial High School’s football team and the school superintendent has cancelled the rest of the New Jersey team’s football schedule.
Three football players have been charged with aggravated sexual assault involving anal penetration, criminal restraint, hazing and other crimes. The other four have been charged with aggravated criminal sexual contact and other crimes. The assaults took place from September 19 to 29.
An unnamed parent of one of the victims revealed what form the hazing took. Boys new to the football team were assaulted in the locker room. Four team members would pin a freshman down, two would stand guard and the seventh would howl, then turn off the lights and stick his finger up the victim’s bare ass. And for the hazing climax, the victim was then forced to lick his own shit from the assailant’s finger.
If all this sounds revolting, it is! The assaults are beyond comprehension of any sane person. The superintendent was right in canceling the rest of the football season and he should fire the school’s athletic director and all of the school’s football coaches. There’s simply no way they were not aware of what was going on.
Now a lot of parents are upset that the season has been cancelled. They are complaining that players who did not participate in the sexual assault rituals are being punished for what others have done. Their whining doesn’t hold water because, like the coaches, the 'innocent' players had to be aware of what was being done to the new team members. By keeping silent, they must share some of the blame.
A family court will have to decide whether those arrested will be released to their parents or held in a juvenile detention facility. My feeling is that they should be held in an adult jail where they could experience what forcible anal penetration feels like.
Sunday, October 12, 2014
MOTHER FROM HELL FORCES DAUGHTER TO EAT USED CAT LITTER
An Avella, Pennsylvania woman has been arrested for committing multiple unspeakable acts of child abuse against her 16-year-old adopted daughter
Rana Cooper, 46, of Avella in Washington County, Pennsylvania, was arrested Monday, accused of:
Forcing her 16-year-old adopted daughter to eat used cat litter
Threatening to gouge her eyes out and slice off her tongue
Attempting to sew her mouth shut with a needle and thread
Choking her until she blacked out on two occasions
Striking her in the face with a belt buckle
Shoving a Q-tip in her ear, causing a hearing loss
Forcing her to run her finger along the rim of the toilet and lick off what was on her finger
Beating her with a hair brush
Spitting on her
Forcing her to eat half a tube of toothpaste
Biting her nose until it bled
Cooper and her husband adopted the victim in 2008 when she was 10 years old. They have six other children.
Washington County child welfare authorities were alerted to the abuses last May as they were investigating an assault at the victim’s school.
The victim told the cops that she was allowed to eat only once a day, and then only when the rest of the family had finished their meals. She said that when Cooper would choke her, her husband told her to stop, but then he just stood by and watched as his wife continued with the choking. She also claimed she was repeatedly bitten by the family’s Dobermans.
Rana Cooper is facing numerous charges including child endangerment, reckless endangerment and assault.
Cooper’s 24-year-old son Ronnie told authorities that all the charges are a pack of lies.
I don’t know whether all the allegations are true or not, but if only half of them are, Rana Cooper is truly a mother from hell.
Rana Cooper, 46, of Avella in Washington County, Pennsylvania, was arrested Monday, accused of:
Forcing her 16-year-old adopted daughter to eat used cat litter
Threatening to gouge her eyes out and slice off her tongue
Attempting to sew her mouth shut with a needle and thread
Choking her until she blacked out on two occasions
Striking her in the face with a belt buckle
Shoving a Q-tip in her ear, causing a hearing loss
Forcing her to run her finger along the rim of the toilet and lick off what was on her finger
Beating her with a hair brush
Spitting on her
Forcing her to eat half a tube of toothpaste
Biting her nose until it bled
Cooper and her husband adopted the victim in 2008 when she was 10 years old. They have six other children.
Washington County child welfare authorities were alerted to the abuses last May as they were investigating an assault at the victim’s school.
The victim told the cops that she was allowed to eat only once a day, and then only when the rest of the family had finished their meals. She said that when Cooper would choke her, her husband told her to stop, but then he just stood by and watched as his wife continued with the choking. She also claimed she was repeatedly bitten by the family’s Dobermans.
Rana Cooper is facing numerous charges including child endangerment, reckless endangerment and assault.
Cooper’s 24-year-old son Ronnie told authorities that all the charges are a pack of lies.
I don’t know whether all the allegations are true or not, but if only half of them are, Rana Cooper is truly a mother from hell.
SLIMEBALL STEALS CEREBRAL PALSY VICTIM’S $10,000 WHEELCHAIR
When Richard Young was taken away in an ambulance, Joseph Marshall promised to look after his $10,000 motorized wheelchair, but the slimeball put it up for sale on Craigslist
Richard Young is a cerebral palsy victim who needs a motorized wheelchair to get around. On September 7, while he was returning to his nearby home, Richard suffered a seizure at 3rd Ave. and Oxford St. in Chula Vista, California. A passerby who introduced himself as Joe called 911. When the paramedics loaded Richard into an ambulance, Joe told him that he lived close by and would look after the wheelchair for him.
After Richard was released from the hospital, there was no Joe and no $10,000 wheelchair. After three weeks or so, Chula Vista police investigators decided to go public Wednesday with the theft of the wheelchair. An alert citizen notified the investigators that he had seen the wheelchair for sale on Craigslist. The cops then set up a sting by pretending to be interested in purchasing the wheelchair. They asked the seller to come to their ‘house.’
When the cops grabbed the ‘seller,’ he told them he never had the wheelchair, but that he had put the ad on Craigslist for a friend. He identified the friend as Joe Marshall. With the cops standing by, the friend called Marshall to bring the wheelchair to the house. Joe than rode the wheelchair to the house where the cops grabbed his once-happy ass and hauled him off to Hotel Pokey, charged with suspicion of grand theft. For good measure they added a charge of possession of methamphetamine, because in searching Joe, they found some meth on him.
Richard was thrilled to get his wheelchair back and he even expressed his appreciation for Joe helping him by calling 911.
You can’t get much lower than what Marshall did. Unfortunately, what with Governor Moonbeam’s realignment and the resulting overcrowding of county jails, the slimeball will probably get off with a mere slap on the wrist – probation.
Richard Young is a cerebral palsy victim who needs a motorized wheelchair to get around. On September 7, while he was returning to his nearby home, Richard suffered a seizure at 3rd Ave. and Oxford St. in Chula Vista, California. A passerby who introduced himself as Joe called 911. When the paramedics loaded Richard into an ambulance, Joe told him that he lived close by and would look after the wheelchair for him.
After Richard was released from the hospital, there was no Joe and no $10,000 wheelchair. After three weeks or so, Chula Vista police investigators decided to go public Wednesday with the theft of the wheelchair. An alert citizen notified the investigators that he had seen the wheelchair for sale on Craigslist. The cops then set up a sting by pretending to be interested in purchasing the wheelchair. They asked the seller to come to their ‘house.’
When the cops grabbed the ‘seller,’ he told them he never had the wheelchair, but that he had put the ad on Craigslist for a friend. He identified the friend as Joe Marshall. With the cops standing by, the friend called Marshall to bring the wheelchair to the house. Joe than rode the wheelchair to the house where the cops grabbed his once-happy ass and hauled him off to Hotel Pokey, charged with suspicion of grand theft. For good measure they added a charge of possession of methamphetamine, because in searching Joe, they found some meth on him.
Richard was thrilled to get his wheelchair back and he even expressed his appreciation for Joe helping him by calling 911.
You can’t get much lower than what Marshall did. Unfortunately, what with Governor Moonbeam’s realignment and the resulting overcrowding of county jails, the slimeball will probably get off with a mere slap on the wrist – probation.
Saturday, October 11, 2014
MICHELLE OBAMA CAMPAIGNS FOR SLEEZY CANDIDATE
Texas gubernatorial candidate Wendy Davis’ husband took out a 10-year student loan for her Harvard law school education and she dumped him as soon as she graduated
“Wendy knows something about the American dream. She was the daughter of a single mother, and by age of 19 she was a mother herself. But Wendy worked hard. She went onto college and Harvard Law School. Wendy Davis knows the power of education."
So speaks Michelle Obama in a radio ad on behalf of the Texas gubernatorial candidate. She was obviously referring to Davis’ sob story that "By the time I was 19, I was a single parent. And I was living in a mobile home in southeast Fort Worth." And she went on to tell about her struggle to pay for her college education and Harvard Law School.
However, the Dallas Morning News exposed Davis’ story as a fraud. She was 21 by the time she was a single mother and she did not live in a trailer park. She received an academic scholarship and a Pell Grant for her first two years at Texas Christian University, and Jeff Davis, her second husband, paid for her final two years at TCU. Furthermore, Jeff cashed in his 401(k) account and took out a 10-year loan to pay for her Harvard law education.
And what did Wendy do as soon as she graduated from Harvard Law School? She dumped Jeff’s ass and filed for divorce, leaving the duped bastard to pay off that 10-year loan. Maybe what she did is acceptable to women, but for men sleezy is the only way to describe Wendy Davis.
Because the Dallas Morning News exposé received a hefty dose of national attention, Michelle Obama had to know that she was helping a sleezy candidate.
“Wendy knows something about the American dream. She was the daughter of a single mother, and by age of 19 she was a mother herself. But Wendy worked hard. She went onto college and Harvard Law School. Wendy Davis knows the power of education."
So speaks Michelle Obama in a radio ad on behalf of the Texas gubernatorial candidate. She was obviously referring to Davis’ sob story that "By the time I was 19, I was a single parent. And I was living in a mobile home in southeast Fort Worth." And she went on to tell about her struggle to pay for her college education and Harvard Law School.
However, the Dallas Morning News exposed Davis’ story as a fraud. She was 21 by the time she was a single mother and she did not live in a trailer park. She received an academic scholarship and a Pell Grant for her first two years at Texas Christian University, and Jeff Davis, her second husband, paid for her final two years at TCU. Furthermore, Jeff cashed in his 401(k) account and took out a 10-year loan to pay for her Harvard law education.
And what did Wendy do as soon as she graduated from Harvard Law School? She dumped Jeff’s ass and filed for divorce, leaving the duped bastard to pay off that 10-year loan. Maybe what she did is acceptable to women, but for men sleezy is the only way to describe Wendy Davis.
Because the Dallas Morning News exposé received a hefty dose of national attention, Michelle Obama had to know that she was helping a sleezy candidate.
RELEASE FROM PRISON WAS SHORTLIVED … ALMOST
New York inmate was released from prison after serving 15 years, but 15 minutes later he was shot by a man he had snitched on
A 33-year-old not yet identified inmate was released Thursday from New York’s Otisville State Prison after serving 15 years on weapons and assault convictions. Instead of using the train ticket he was given to take him to Manhattan, he got into a car that showed up to give him a ride. About 15 minutes into the ride the driver pulled over and another man popped out of the car’s trunk. The ‘trunk monkey’ promptly shot the ex-con twice. The driver and the shooter then sped away.
The wounded man was able to limp to the station where he was supposed to have caught a train. A station attendant called 911. Paramedics transported him to Westchester Medical Center where he underwent surgery. He is now in stable condition.
The ex-con was able to tell the cops who shot him. It turns out that the shooter was a man he had once snitched on. The shooter and the driver were arrested in Manhattan several hours later.
Now that he's snitched twice on the shooter, he better pray that his assailant gets a hefty prison term with no early release.
A 33-year-old not yet identified inmate was released Thursday from New York’s Otisville State Prison after serving 15 years on weapons and assault convictions. Instead of using the train ticket he was given to take him to Manhattan, he got into a car that showed up to give him a ride. About 15 minutes into the ride the driver pulled over and another man popped out of the car’s trunk. The ‘trunk monkey’ promptly shot the ex-con twice. The driver and the shooter then sped away.
The wounded man was able to limp to the station where he was supposed to have caught a train. A station attendant called 911. Paramedics transported him to Westchester Medical Center where he underwent surgery. He is now in stable condition.
The ex-con was able to tell the cops who shot him. It turns out that the shooter was a man he had once snitched on. The shooter and the driver were arrested in Manhattan several hours later.
Now that he's snitched twice on the shooter, he better pray that his assailant gets a hefty prison term with no early release.
CONGRESS WILL REVOLT IF OBAMA CLOSES GITMO
In order to satisfy his base, Obama may bypass Congress and close Guantanamo prison. If he does, he will have a bipartisan Congressional revolt.
REP. PETER KING: OBAMA MOVE ON GITMO WILL BRING ‘CONFRONTATION’
By Todd Beamon
Newsmax
October 10, 2014
If President Barack Obama closed the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, "it would be a direct confrontation with Congress," Rep. Peter King told Newsmax on Friday.
"It would be a lawless act, and it would be an act that would poison relations between Congress and the president," the New York Republican said. "I can see very severe action taken by Congress to counter that."
King, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, was among many Republicans who slammed the administration over news reports that Obama might close Guantanamo and transfer its detainees to U.S. prisons without congressional approval.
A senior White House official told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Obama remained "unwavering in his commitment" to closing Guantanamo.
In 2009, the president pledged to close the prison and said last year that keeping Guantanamo open "makes no sense."
Located on a Navy base on the eastern end of Cuba, Guantanamo Bay currently has 149 terrorism detainees — and 86 of them have been approved to be transferred out.
The last set of transfers occurred in September 2013 — and an office of the State Department tasked with finding countries that would take the others was closed by the administration in January.
Among the terrorists being held there are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed organizer of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington; accused co-conspirators Walid bin Attash and Ramzi Bin al-Shahb; and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is charged with leading the plot to bomb the USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 American sailors in 2000.
Republicans have battled Obama on closing Gitmo since he signed an order in January 2009 to suspend proceedings there and shut it down later that year. A military judge rejected Obama's move a week later in the case of al-Nashiri — and in May of that year, the Senate blocked funds for transferring or releasing detainees.
In December 2009, Obama ordered that the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois be readied to accept Guantanamo prisoners, but none have been sent there. More than a year later, in February 2011, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Guantanamo was unlikely to be closed because of strong congressional opposition.
In June, however, President Obama faced intense attacks from both parties after announcing that he had authorized the release of five top Taliban detainees from Guantanamo in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held in captivity for five years.
The president had made the move without informing Congress, as required by law.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said on Friday that the White House did not know "what new press reports are referring to when they say the administration is 'drafting options' intended to 'override a congressional ban'" regarding Guantanamo.
"It remains true that we continue to object to congressional restrictions, as we've said many times," she said in a statement.
"To the greatest extent possible and consistent with our national security interests, detainees will be repatriated or resettled, or prosecuted in federal courts or military commission proceedings."
King, a member of the House since 1993, characterized the administration's response to Newsmax as a "half-denial, which makes me more concerned that it might be true."
He said that if only President Obama could show as much fervor about battling the Islamic State (ISIS) — whose terrorists have beheaded four Westerners in recent months and captured the headquarters Kurdish fighters defending the Syrian border town of Kobani on Friday — as he is about closing Gitmo.
"He certainly seems very passionate about closing Guantanamo, but he's not passionate about fighting terrorists," King said. "He is passionate about letting them out Guantanamo.
"He seems to be almost obsessed with closing Gitmo. At a time when we should be mobilizing the country and the world to be fighting Islamic terrorism and fighting ISIS, he's talking about releasing the al-Qaida persons that we do have, the detainees that we do have.
"It seems that no matter what he keeps coming back to Gitmo — whether it's releasing them, whether it's trying them in New York City, whether it's tempting to close down Gitmo," King said. "The effort that goes into this just doesn't add up.
"This is as close to a constitutional crisis that you'll see."
Other Republicans were just as adamant about battling Obama on any Guantanamo unilateral move.
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts threatened on Friday to shut down the Senate if Obama tried to close Guantanamo via executive action.
"I stopped him once from trying to send a Gitmo terrorist to Leavenworth," Roberts told supporters, according to Roll Call. "I shall do it again. I shall do it again — and if he tries it, I will shut down the Senate."
Roberts is in a fierce re-election battle against independent Greg Orman.
Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe charged to Newsmax that "President Obama's desire to fulfill his campaign promise of closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is exceeded only by his willingness to bypass Congress and ignore the law in order to accomplish it.
"The American public and their members of Congress have consistently opposed transferring terrorist detainees to U.S. soil — and any move to do so now through unilateral, executive action will be met with strong resistance in the Senate.
"With the threat of terrorism on the rise, the president should be focusing on strengthening U.S. national security, but instead he is attempting to check boxes before the midterm elections."
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he would oppose any unilateral action by Obama and that the detainees should have been charged and prosecuted years ago.
"It's a huge mistake not to have adjudicated the process, and if they deserved punishment, given them punishment," he told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. "Most of the people who remain in Guantanamo Bay are a danger to the country.
"We should have some sort of justice — and it can be military — but it needs to be done and they need to be given finality instead of having them there without any decision making on how long they're going to be there."
Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine called any executive move by Obama on shuttering the prison "irresponsible."
"The president would put a giant bulls-eye on any federal prison forced to hold detainees," Bridenstine said. "We have seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen that Islamist terrorists will target detention facilities holding their brethren."
House Speaker John Boehner warned that Obama would be making a "dangerous" mistake to shift the detainees to prisons in the United States.
"An overwhelming majority of the American people and bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate oppose importing the terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay into the United States, yet the White House continues to move forward with its plan," the Ohio Republican said.
"Even as Islamic jihadists are beheading Americans, the White House is so eager to bring these terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to the United States that it is examining ways to thwart Congress and unilaterally rewrite the law," he said.
REP. PETER KING: OBAMA MOVE ON GITMO WILL BRING ‘CONFRONTATION’
By Todd Beamon
Newsmax
October 10, 2014
If President Barack Obama closed the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, "it would be a direct confrontation with Congress," Rep. Peter King told Newsmax on Friday.
"It would be a lawless act, and it would be an act that would poison relations between Congress and the president," the New York Republican said. "I can see very severe action taken by Congress to counter that."
King, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, was among many Republicans who slammed the administration over news reports that Obama might close Guantanamo and transfer its detainees to U.S. prisons without congressional approval.
A senior White House official told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Obama remained "unwavering in his commitment" to closing Guantanamo.
In 2009, the president pledged to close the prison and said last year that keeping Guantanamo open "makes no sense."
Located on a Navy base on the eastern end of Cuba, Guantanamo Bay currently has 149 terrorism detainees — and 86 of them have been approved to be transferred out.
The last set of transfers occurred in September 2013 — and an office of the State Department tasked with finding countries that would take the others was closed by the administration in January.
Among the terrorists being held there are Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-proclaimed organizer of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington; accused co-conspirators Walid bin Attash and Ramzi Bin al-Shahb; and Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is charged with leading the plot to bomb the USS Cole in Yemen, which killed 17 American sailors in 2000.
Republicans have battled Obama on closing Gitmo since he signed an order in January 2009 to suspend proceedings there and shut it down later that year. A military judge rejected Obama's move a week later in the case of al-Nashiri — and in May of that year, the Senate blocked funds for transferring or releasing detainees.
In December 2009, Obama ordered that the Thomson Correctional Center in Illinois be readied to accept Guantanamo prisoners, but none have been sent there. More than a year later, in February 2011, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said that Guantanamo was unlikely to be closed because of strong congressional opposition.
In June, however, President Obama faced intense attacks from both parties after announcing that he had authorized the release of five top Taliban detainees from Guantanamo in exchange for Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been held in captivity for five years.
The president had made the move without informing Congress, as required by law.
National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said on Friday that the White House did not know "what new press reports are referring to when they say the administration is 'drafting options' intended to 'override a congressional ban'" regarding Guantanamo.
"It remains true that we continue to object to congressional restrictions, as we've said many times," she said in a statement.
"To the greatest extent possible and consistent with our national security interests, detainees will be repatriated or resettled, or prosecuted in federal courts or military commission proceedings."
King, a member of the House since 1993, characterized the administration's response to Newsmax as a "half-denial, which makes me more concerned that it might be true."
He said that if only President Obama could show as much fervor about battling the Islamic State (ISIS) — whose terrorists have beheaded four Westerners in recent months and captured the headquarters Kurdish fighters defending the Syrian border town of Kobani on Friday — as he is about closing Gitmo.
"He certainly seems very passionate about closing Guantanamo, but he's not passionate about fighting terrorists," King said. "He is passionate about letting them out Guantanamo.
"He seems to be almost obsessed with closing Gitmo. At a time when we should be mobilizing the country and the world to be fighting Islamic terrorism and fighting ISIS, he's talking about releasing the al-Qaida persons that we do have, the detainees that we do have.
"It seems that no matter what he keeps coming back to Gitmo — whether it's releasing them, whether it's trying them in New York City, whether it's tempting to close down Gitmo," King said. "The effort that goes into this just doesn't add up.
"This is as close to a constitutional crisis that you'll see."
Other Republicans were just as adamant about battling Obama on any Guantanamo unilateral move.
Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts threatened on Friday to shut down the Senate if Obama tried to close Guantanamo via executive action.
"I stopped him once from trying to send a Gitmo terrorist to Leavenworth," Roberts told supporters, according to Roll Call. "I shall do it again. I shall do it again — and if he tries it, I will shut down the Senate."
Roberts is in a fierce re-election battle against independent Greg Orman.
Oklahoma Sen. Jim Inhofe charged to Newsmax that "President Obama's desire to fulfill his campaign promise of closing the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay is exceeded only by his willingness to bypass Congress and ignore the law in order to accomplish it.
"The American public and their members of Congress have consistently opposed transferring terrorist detainees to U.S. soil — and any move to do so now through unilateral, executive action will be met with strong resistance in the Senate.
"With the threat of terrorism on the rise, the president should be focusing on strengthening U.S. national security, but instead he is attempting to check boxes before the midterm elections."
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said he would oppose any unilateral action by Obama and that the detainees should have been charged and prosecuted years ago.
"It's a huge mistake not to have adjudicated the process, and if they deserved punishment, given them punishment," he told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. "Most of the people who remain in Guantanamo Bay are a danger to the country.
"We should have some sort of justice — and it can be military — but it needs to be done and they need to be given finality instead of having them there without any decision making on how long they're going to be there."
Oklahoma Rep. Jim Bridenstine called any executive move by Obama on shuttering the prison "irresponsible."
"The president would put a giant bulls-eye on any federal prison forced to hold detainees," Bridenstine said. "We have seen in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Yemen that Islamist terrorists will target detention facilities holding their brethren."
House Speaker John Boehner warned that Obama would be making a "dangerous" mistake to shift the detainees to prisons in the United States.
"An overwhelming majority of the American people and bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate oppose importing the terrorists imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay into the United States, yet the White House continues to move forward with its plan," the Ohio Republican said.
"Even as Islamic jihadists are beheading Americans, the White House is so eager to bring these terrorists from Guantanamo Bay to the United States that it is examining ways to thwart Congress and unilaterally rewrite the law," he said.
WORRISOME THINGS
By Charlie Daniels
The Charlie Daniels Band
October 10, 2014
The world is moving so fast and so many devastating things are happening on a daily basis that even serious issues are constantly back burnered to make way for a more serious or more currant piece of bad news.
ISIS, Ebola, drought, famine, drug cartels, unabated illegal crossings at our Southern border, a house of cards economy, kidnappings, a gridlocked Congress more concerned with inflicting damage on the opposing party than serving the people, unaddressed massive government scandals, potential terrorist attacks on the homeland.
And on it goes, a seemingly never ending procession of crisis du jour, problem overlapping problem without time to address one before having to move prematurely on to the next one leaving behind a ragged trail of half solved puzzles all folding together to construct a planet wide conundrum threatening to explode in an apparently ill informed, ill equipped and very stubborn American president's face.
And all the time, at least speaking for myself, we have to wonder if we're even being told the truth, Obama's seemingly nonchalant changing of horses in the middle of the stream or just out and out lying has fostered the kind of distrust that undermines unity and makes us easy pickings for our enemies.
Nobody wants American troops on the ground in Syria or Iraq but it has become apparent that no victory will be won by air strikes alone, yet the president who promised us that ISIS would be destroyed refuses to even consider it for purely political reasons. He would have to admit that pulling all the forces out of Iraq was a mistake.
The coalition he has put together is not going to commit ground troops. Even though ISIS is currently on Turkey's border, and even though Turkey is a member of Obama's coalition, they have not entered the fray and I believe the reason is that they simply don't trust America's commitment, and who can blame them.
Obama's commitment is more to symbolism than to substance, seemingly feeling that putting together a coalition, no matter how weak, and dropping bombs, no matter how ineffective, is all he should be required to do, much in the same way he seemed to believe that killing Bin Laden ended the terrorist threat, and acting accordingly precipitated the Benghazi debacle and weakened America's defenses.
We have reached the point of critical mass in America and come to the place where one mistake, perhaps allowing travelers from Ebola affected countries to keep flying to America during what could be an undetectable and unwitting incubation period could well cause the infection to inundate our health services, deplete our already slim supply of drugs and cause panic on an unprecedented level.
Or making the wrong decision on the war with ISIS, allowing them to become strong enough and resourceful enough to effect attacks on America and her allies.
We need to be told the unvarnished truth, no matter how harrowing or politically damaging. The survival of no president or party is worth keeping the truth from the public and allowing a national journey down the primrose path to devastation.
The Charlie Daniels Band
October 10, 2014
The world is moving so fast and so many devastating things are happening on a daily basis that even serious issues are constantly back burnered to make way for a more serious or more currant piece of bad news.
ISIS, Ebola, drought, famine, drug cartels, unabated illegal crossings at our Southern border, a house of cards economy, kidnappings, a gridlocked Congress more concerned with inflicting damage on the opposing party than serving the people, unaddressed massive government scandals, potential terrorist attacks on the homeland.
And on it goes, a seemingly never ending procession of crisis du jour, problem overlapping problem without time to address one before having to move prematurely on to the next one leaving behind a ragged trail of half solved puzzles all folding together to construct a planet wide conundrum threatening to explode in an apparently ill informed, ill equipped and very stubborn American president's face.
And all the time, at least speaking for myself, we have to wonder if we're even being told the truth, Obama's seemingly nonchalant changing of horses in the middle of the stream or just out and out lying has fostered the kind of distrust that undermines unity and makes us easy pickings for our enemies.
Nobody wants American troops on the ground in Syria or Iraq but it has become apparent that no victory will be won by air strikes alone, yet the president who promised us that ISIS would be destroyed refuses to even consider it for purely political reasons. He would have to admit that pulling all the forces out of Iraq was a mistake.
The coalition he has put together is not going to commit ground troops. Even though ISIS is currently on Turkey's border, and even though Turkey is a member of Obama's coalition, they have not entered the fray and I believe the reason is that they simply don't trust America's commitment, and who can blame them.
Obama's commitment is more to symbolism than to substance, seemingly feeling that putting together a coalition, no matter how weak, and dropping bombs, no matter how ineffective, is all he should be required to do, much in the same way he seemed to believe that killing Bin Laden ended the terrorist threat, and acting accordingly precipitated the Benghazi debacle and weakened America's defenses.
We have reached the point of critical mass in America and come to the place where one mistake, perhaps allowing travelers from Ebola affected countries to keep flying to America during what could be an undetectable and unwitting incubation period could well cause the infection to inundate our health services, deplete our already slim supply of drugs and cause panic on an unprecedented level.
Or making the wrong decision on the war with ISIS, allowing them to become strong enough and resourceful enough to effect attacks on America and her allies.
We need to be told the unvarnished truth, no matter how harrowing or politically damaging. The survival of no president or party is worth keeping the truth from the public and allowing a national journey down the primrose path to devastation.
NOW THAT EXPLAINS IT
The Unconventional Gazette
October 10, 2014
Paddy’s mother-in-law arrives home from shopping to find her son-in-law in a steaming rage and hurriedly packing his suitcase.
"What happened Paddy ?" she asks anxiously.
"What happened!! I'll tell you what happened. I sent an email to my wife, your daughter, telling her I was coming home today from my golfing trip. I get home... and guess what I found ? Yes, your daughter, my wife Jean, naked with Joe Murphy in our marital bed! This is unforgivable, the end of our marriage. I'm done. I'm leaving forever!"
"Ah now, calm down, calm down Paddy!" says his mother-in-law. "There is something very odd going on here. Jean would never do such a thing! There must be a simple explanation. I'll go speak to her immediately and find out what happened."
Moments later, the mother-in-law comes back with a big smile.
"Paddy, I told you there must be a simple explanation .....she never got your E-mail!"
October 10, 2014
Paddy’s mother-in-law arrives home from shopping to find her son-in-law in a steaming rage and hurriedly packing his suitcase.
"What happened Paddy ?" she asks anxiously.
"What happened!! I'll tell you what happened. I sent an email to my wife, your daughter, telling her I was coming home today from my golfing trip. I get home... and guess what I found ? Yes, your daughter, my wife Jean, naked with Joe Murphy in our marital bed! This is unforgivable, the end of our marriage. I'm done. I'm leaving forever!"
"Ah now, calm down, calm down Paddy!" says his mother-in-law. "There is something very odd going on here. Jean would never do such a thing! There must be a simple explanation. I'll go speak to her immediately and find out what happened."
Moments later, the mother-in-law comes back with a big smile.
"Paddy, I told you there must be a simple explanation .....she never got your E-mail!"
Friday, October 10, 2014
SECRET SERVICE AGENTS FIRED FOR CAVORTING WITH COLUMBIAN HOOKERS, BUT OBAMA AIDE WHO DID LIKEWISE PROMOTED TO STATE DEPARTMENT ADVISOR ON WOMEN’S ISSUES
Homeland Security investigators were directed to withhold evidence until after the 2012 election that Obama aide Jonathan Dach, like the fired Secret Service agents, had spent the night with a prostitute at a hotel in Cartagena, Colombia
It has now come to light that investigators with the Inspector General’s office of the Department of Homeland Security were directed to withhold evidence embarrassing to the White House from a Senate committee looking into the 2012 Secret Service prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Columbia. That evidence would have shown that Obama aide Jonathan Dach had also spent the night with a hooker at the same time and the same hotel as the Secret Service agents who were fired for cavorting with prostitutes. Top White House officials did not want Obama to be embarrassed ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
At a press briefing on April 23, 2012, then White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, responding to a question about whether or not any White House staff members were involved in the prostitution scandal, said "there's no indication that any member of the White House advance team engaged in any improper conduct or behavior"[in Cartagena, Colombia].
As one of the topmost White House officials, Carney had to know about Dach’s hooker escapade and the pressure being put on the DHS Inspector General to withhold that information from the Senate investigating committee. He was clearly part of this White House cover up.
Instead of getting fired, Dach was given a position as advisor to the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. Dach, 28, is the son of a longtime Obama donor and former Walmart lobbyist who is now the head of a Health and Human Services division in charge of implementing Obamacare.
Obama says he was not aware that anyone had pressured investigators to withhold information about Dach’s night out with a hooker. That is just one more example of why President Obama has been referred to as our Liar in Chief.
It has now come to light that investigators with the Inspector General’s office of the Department of Homeland Security were directed to withhold evidence embarrassing to the White House from a Senate committee looking into the 2012 Secret Service prostitution scandal in Cartagena, Columbia. That evidence would have shown that Obama aide Jonathan Dach had also spent the night with a hooker at the same time and the same hotel as the Secret Service agents who were fired for cavorting with prostitutes. Top White House officials did not want Obama to be embarrassed ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
At a press briefing on April 23, 2012, then White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, responding to a question about whether or not any White House staff members were involved in the prostitution scandal, said "there's no indication that any member of the White House advance team engaged in any improper conduct or behavior"[in Cartagena, Colombia].
As one of the topmost White House officials, Carney had to know about Dach’s hooker escapade and the pressure being put on the DHS Inspector General to withhold that information from the Senate investigating committee. He was clearly part of this White House cover up.
Instead of getting fired, Dach was given a position as advisor to the Secretary of State’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. Dach, 28, is the son of a longtime Obama donor and former Walmart lobbyist who is now the head of a Health and Human Services division in charge of implementing Obamacare.
Obama says he was not aware that anyone had pressured investigators to withhold information about Dach’s night out with a hooker. That is just one more example of why President Obama has been referred to as our Liar in Chief.
LEGLESS LIZARDS STAND IN WAY OF NEW PRISON UNIT
Endangered lizard impedes construction of maximum security building at Australian prison
Some of you may be able to recall the 1973 saga of the endangered snail darter, a tiny fish, that delayed the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River. Environmentalists obtained an injunction to stop construction of the dam under the Endangered Species act. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court which upheld the injunction. It took a Congressional Act to overturn the SCOTUS decision and allow the dam to be completed in 1979.
At this time Australia is embroiled in its own ‘snail darter’ controversy. Correctional authorities in Victoria want to construct a new maximum security building at Barwon Prison to house Victoria’s most dangerous prison inmates. Environmentalists are trying to stop the construction because the site is the habitat of an endangered species of legless lizards.
Here is the heads up from Dorina Lisson:
A maximum security unit planned to be built at Barwon Prison has been dealt a blow to the Department of Corrections Victoria. The building cannot go ahead due to concerns there could be rare 'legless lizards' in the area.
The proposed maximum security building was to house the state's most dangerous criminals. Although the Department of Corrections expects to proceed with the building, Melbourne Zoo animal experts, including animal and human rights activists, are strongly opposed to the building, due to the possible risk of extinction of the legless lizards.
Now, if you think Dorina is joking, you are wrong. Australia’s station 3AW reports there are two species of legless lizards in Australia and the ones around Barwon Prison are thought to be in danger of extinction.
Some of you may be able to recall the 1973 saga of the endangered snail darter, a tiny fish, that delayed the completion of the Tellico Dam on the Little Tennessee River. Environmentalists obtained an injunction to stop construction of the dam under the Endangered Species act. The case eventually reached the Supreme Court which upheld the injunction. It took a Congressional Act to overturn the SCOTUS decision and allow the dam to be completed in 1979.
At this time Australia is embroiled in its own ‘snail darter’ controversy. Correctional authorities in Victoria want to construct a new maximum security building at Barwon Prison to house Victoria’s most dangerous prison inmates. Environmentalists are trying to stop the construction because the site is the habitat of an endangered species of legless lizards.
Here is the heads up from Dorina Lisson:
A maximum security unit planned to be built at Barwon Prison has been dealt a blow to the Department of Corrections Victoria. The building cannot go ahead due to concerns there could be rare 'legless lizards' in the area.
The proposed maximum security building was to house the state's most dangerous criminals. Although the Department of Corrections expects to proceed with the building, Melbourne Zoo animal experts, including animal and human rights activists, are strongly opposed to the building, due to the possible risk of extinction of the legless lizards.
Now, if you think Dorina is joking, you are wrong. Australia’s station 3AW reports there are two species of legless lizards in Australia and the ones around Barwon Prison are thought to be in danger of extinction.
10-FOOT TALL ROADSIDE TOMBSTONE IN MEMORY OF TERRIFIED CHICKENS KILLED IN TRUCK CRASH
PETA has asked the Texas Department of Transportation for permission to erect a 10’foot tall roadside tombstone in Bryan "to commemorate the lives lost in this deadly crash"
Recently I had some kind things to say for much maligned PETA, but now the nut-jobs have shown why that animal rights organization is so maligned.
PETA ASKS FOR ROADSIDE TOMBSTONE TO HONOR DEAD CHICKENS
By Michael Barajas
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 9, 2014
Passing a roadside memorial down a barren stretch of road can be a brief, somber reminder of how fragile life is. How in an instant, a distracted or drunk driver can take away someone's mother, father, or daughter forever.
Naturally, the folks at PETA want you remember the dead chickens.
Among other sounds-like-an-Onion-story news from yesterday (like a Houston-based fracking company making pink drill bits to remind people about cancer), we learned that PETA has asked the Texas Department of Transportation for approval to erect a roadside tombstone honoring chickens that died when an 18-wheeler overturned in Bryan last month.
In an email to TxDOT Tuesday, Karla Waples, described by the organization as a "Texas resident and PETA staffer," asked for clearance to build a 10-foot tombstone in the right-of-way on U.S. 21 at FM 2818 in Bryan "to commemorate the lives lost in this deadly crash." PETA wants to leave the tombstone up for a month.
Here's the rest of Waples' email to TxDOT:
"This tribute will let commuters in Texas, where menus are overrun by fried and barbecued meats, know that the best way to prevent tragedies such as this one is to go vegan, because chickens, cows, turkeys, and pigs shouldn't have to make terrifying trips to slaughterhouses at all. After spending their entire short lives mired in waste on factory farms, chickens are crammed into trucks and hauled in all weather extremes without food, water, or veterinary care, just so that they can be eaten. Erecting PETA's memorial would also be a surefire way to make the roads safer for everyone by reminding tractor-trailer drivers of their responsibility to the thousands of animals they haul every year as well as to the motorists whose lives are endangered when a tractor-trailer crashes.
I hope to hear from you soon about how we can work together to erect the memorial in accordance with state guidelines. Thank you for your consideration."
We're not sure PETA's not-so-subtle jab at Texans' diet will go over so well with the folks at TxDOT. The Chron reports that this isn't the first time PETA has asked for roadside memorials for dead animals, either. So far, it's succeeded in installing only one such memorial -- in Madison, Wisconsin, where permission wasn't needed.
Recently I had some kind things to say for much maligned PETA, but now the nut-jobs have shown why that animal rights organization is so maligned.
PETA ASKS FOR ROADSIDE TOMBSTONE TO HONOR DEAD CHICKENS
By Michael Barajas
Houston Press Hair Balls
October 9, 2014
Passing a roadside memorial down a barren stretch of road can be a brief, somber reminder of how fragile life is. How in an instant, a distracted or drunk driver can take away someone's mother, father, or daughter forever.
Naturally, the folks at PETA want you remember the dead chickens.
Among other sounds-like-an-Onion-story news from yesterday (like a Houston-based fracking company making pink drill bits to remind people about cancer), we learned that PETA has asked the Texas Department of Transportation for approval to erect a roadside tombstone honoring chickens that died when an 18-wheeler overturned in Bryan last month.
In an email to TxDOT Tuesday, Karla Waples, described by the organization as a "Texas resident and PETA staffer," asked for clearance to build a 10-foot tombstone in the right-of-way on U.S. 21 at FM 2818 in Bryan "to commemorate the lives lost in this deadly crash." PETA wants to leave the tombstone up for a month.
Here's the rest of Waples' email to TxDOT:
"This tribute will let commuters in Texas, where menus are overrun by fried and barbecued meats, know that the best way to prevent tragedies such as this one is to go vegan, because chickens, cows, turkeys, and pigs shouldn't have to make terrifying trips to slaughterhouses at all. After spending their entire short lives mired in waste on factory farms, chickens are crammed into trucks and hauled in all weather extremes without food, water, or veterinary care, just so that they can be eaten. Erecting PETA's memorial would also be a surefire way to make the roads safer for everyone by reminding tractor-trailer drivers of their responsibility to the thousands of animals they haul every year as well as to the motorists whose lives are endangered when a tractor-trailer crashes.
I hope to hear from you soon about how we can work together to erect the memorial in accordance with state guidelines. Thank you for your consideration."
We're not sure PETA's not-so-subtle jab at Texans' diet will go over so well with the folks at TxDOT. The Chron reports that this isn't the first time PETA has asked for roadside memorials for dead animals, either. So far, it's succeeded in installing only one such memorial -- in Madison, Wisconsin, where permission wasn't needed.
Thursday, October 09, 2014
WHY CAN’T COPS CONTROL THEIR TEMPERS?
A recent NYPD case, in which one officer punched a 16-year-old black youth in the face and another cop slugged him in the mouth with his gun, would never have happened had the officers controlled their tempers
On October 2, NY Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told a meeting of NYPD brass that the department must fire the brutal, racist, corrupt and incompetent cops that are “poisoning the well” for the rest of NY’s finest. The talk given to 800 of NYPD’s top cops was well publicized.
DNAinfo New York reports that on August 29, cops chased 16-year-old Kahreem Tribble down a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. After a brief time, he stops running and turns around to face the cops. Surveillance footage shows Tyrane Isaac, the first cop to reach the youth, threw a punch at the face that missed as the youth was able to duck under it. Tribble then raised his hands in surrender, but David Afanador, the next cop to reach him, slugged him in the mouth with his gun. Afanador then leaves Isaac alone to handcuff Tribble as he retraces his steps to retrieve a canvas bag the youth had discarded. But before Isaac handcuffed Tribble, he punched the youth and threw him down on his stomach. Afanador then returns and is shown on the video smacking Tribble with the bag.
Isaac and Afanador explain that at 2:30 a.m., while they and officer Christopher Mastoros were on patrol as anti-crime cops, the trio spotted Tribble peering into the window of a parked mini-van. When they stopped and got out of their patrol car, the youth took off running, tossing away a small black canvas bag along the way. Afanador drew his gun during the chase because he was worried that Tribble could be armed.
The canvas bag contained 17 small packets of pot. Tribble, who suffered a broken tooth and a chipped tooth, as well as bruises, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct. During his arraignment he pled guilty and was released.
Afanador has been suspended without pay. Isaac was placed on modified duty, stripped of his badge and gun. Both are now facing criminal charges. Mastoros is facing departmental charges for not stopping the assault on Tribble. All three cops are nine year veterans.
Patrick Lynch, the police union president, came to the defense of the three cops, claiming that the video does not tell the entire tale. He said, “As usual, the video fails to capture the offense that resulted in police action or the lengthy foot pursuit that culminated in the arrest. Situations like this one happen in real time under great stress. It’s very easy to be judgmental in the comfort of an office while sitting in front of a video screen."
Amy Rameau, Tribble’s lawyer, says "My client was minding his own business and they decided to chase him for no reason. Their account is concocted to justify what they did, to cover their asses, to legitimize their criminal conduct." She intends to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the NYPD and the three officers.
Union president Lynch’s standard response to incidents like this simply will not fly. This is clearly a case in which the cops got pissed off because Tribble had the audacity to run from them, forcing them to give chase. There can be no other explanation.
In 1829 the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, put forth the principle that “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.”
The problem with police work is that there is no amount of training about what constitutes proper and improper police behavior that can prevent the loss of temper. In this case the pissed-off cops could not stop andcount to ten because by that time the kid would have been long gone.
What with the widespread use of surveillance cameras and the proliferation of cellphone cameras, it is imperative for officers to take extra care in controlling their tempers, because if they don’t, they are likely to end up behind bars.
On October 2, NY Police Commissioner Bill Bratton told a meeting of NYPD brass that the department must fire the brutal, racist, corrupt and incompetent cops that are “poisoning the well” for the rest of NY’s finest. The talk given to 800 of NYPD’s top cops was well publicized.
DNAinfo New York reports that on August 29, cops chased 16-year-old Kahreem Tribble down a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. After a brief time, he stops running and turns around to face the cops. Surveillance footage shows Tyrane Isaac, the first cop to reach the youth, threw a punch at the face that missed as the youth was able to duck under it. Tribble then raised his hands in surrender, but David Afanador, the next cop to reach him, slugged him in the mouth with his gun. Afanador then leaves Isaac alone to handcuff Tribble as he retraces his steps to retrieve a canvas bag the youth had discarded. But before Isaac handcuffed Tribble, he punched the youth and threw him down on his stomach. Afanador then returns and is shown on the video smacking Tribble with the bag.
Isaac and Afanador explain that at 2:30 a.m., while they and officer Christopher Mastoros were on patrol as anti-crime cops, the trio spotted Tribble peering into the window of a parked mini-van. When they stopped and got out of their patrol car, the youth took off running, tossing away a small black canvas bag along the way. Afanador drew his gun during the chase because he was worried that Tribble could be armed.
The canvas bag contained 17 small packets of pot. Tribble, who suffered a broken tooth and a chipped tooth, as well as bruises, was arrested and charged with possession of marijuana and disorderly conduct. During his arraignment he pled guilty and was released.
Afanador has been suspended without pay. Isaac was placed on modified duty, stripped of his badge and gun. Both are now facing criminal charges. Mastoros is facing departmental charges for not stopping the assault on Tribble. All three cops are nine year veterans.
Patrick Lynch, the police union president, came to the defense of the three cops, claiming that the video does not tell the entire tale. He said, “As usual, the video fails to capture the offense that resulted in police action or the lengthy foot pursuit that culminated in the arrest. Situations like this one happen in real time under great stress. It’s very easy to be judgmental in the comfort of an office while sitting in front of a video screen."
Amy Rameau, Tribble’s lawyer, says "My client was minding his own business and they decided to chase him for no reason. Their account is concocted to justify what they did, to cover their asses, to legitimize their criminal conduct." She intends to file a federal civil rights lawsuit against the NYPD and the three officers.
Union president Lynch’s standard response to incidents like this simply will not fly. This is clearly a case in which the cops got pissed off because Tribble had the audacity to run from them, forcing them to give chase. There can be no other explanation.
In 1829 the father of modern policing, Sir Robert Peel, put forth the principle that “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.”
The problem with police work is that there is no amount of training about what constitutes proper and improper police behavior that can prevent the loss of temper. In this case the pissed-off cops could not stop andcount to ten because by that time the kid would have been long gone.
What with the widespread use of surveillance cameras and the proliferation of cellphone cameras, it is imperative for officers to take extra care in controlling their tempers, because if they don’t, they are likely to end up behind bars.
NAMES OF ACCUSED RAPISTS SHOULD BE PROTECTED UNTIL THAT ACCUSATION HAS BEEN PROVED
While the names of rape victims are protected from disclosure, that is not the case with those accused of rape. Even when the rape accusation has been proved to be absolutely false, the accused’s reputation has been ruined.
THE TAWANA TRUTH
By Marilyn Penn
politicalmavens.com
October 8, 2014
A black woman accuses a prominent white lawyer of rape. The anonymity of the woman is protected as is that of the law enforcement official who speaks with reporters. Although no charges have yet been filed, the lawyer’s name and picture are splashed across the pages of the Daily News, the New York Post and the NY Times. The headline screams rape claim, and even though this man may turn out to be the innocent one in this incident, it is the woman whose reputation is protected. The assault is said to have taken place following a birthday party for Al Sharpton at which both individuals were guests. Mr Sharpton, who came to national prominence (and disgrace) with the Tawana Brawley case, had the insouciance to state “My heart is with both of them that the truth come out.” (NY Times 10/6)
In the Brawley case, the truth did eventually come out but that never deterred Al Sharpton from continuing to defend Ms. Brawley, insisting that in fact, the truth didn’t matter. The besmirching of Stephen Pagones who went from being an exemplary Asst. D.A. to a racist white rapist required a grand jury to peruse 6,000 pages of testimony before they concluded that all of Ms. Brawley’s accusations against Pagones and 5 other white men were a hoax concocted by a young black woman to avoid her feared stepfather’s violence. This non-rape occured in 1987 and here we are in 2014, still allowing people’s reputations to be irrevocably damaged before they are found guilty of anything. Al Sharpton has become the confidant of the most illustrious politicians in the democratic party. Hailed as the kingmaker in the election of De Blasio, he not only has the mayor’s attention and support but has wangled his former employee into a specially created job of assistant to the mayor’s wife to the tune of a $170,000 annual taxpayer-funded salary. Despite Rachel Noerdlinger’s failure to disclose that her live-in boyfriend was a convicted killer among other criminal misdeeds, she was neither fired nor censured for lying on the background check forms she was required to fill out. Sharpton has spoken out in her support, claiming that what her boyfriend did and says should have no bearing on Ms. Noerdlinger’s ability to do her job. But what about her willful decision to omit telling the “truth?”
The truth is that names of accused rapists should be protected until that designation has been proved. Just as criminals are not allowed to profit from accounts of their crimes, the media should not be allowed to profit from destroying someone’s name and standing in the community under the guise of reporting the news. Selective shielding of self-reported victims while trashing those whom they may falsely accuse is blatantly unfair and discriminatory. Perhaps the Reverend Sharpton who professes love of truth will consider urging the politicians in his pocket to campaign for laws that will truly and equally protect the innocent.
THE TAWANA TRUTH
By Marilyn Penn
politicalmavens.com
October 8, 2014
A black woman accuses a prominent white lawyer of rape. The anonymity of the woman is protected as is that of the law enforcement official who speaks with reporters. Although no charges have yet been filed, the lawyer’s name and picture are splashed across the pages of the Daily News, the New York Post and the NY Times. The headline screams rape claim, and even though this man may turn out to be the innocent one in this incident, it is the woman whose reputation is protected. The assault is said to have taken place following a birthday party for Al Sharpton at which both individuals were guests. Mr Sharpton, who came to national prominence (and disgrace) with the Tawana Brawley case, had the insouciance to state “My heart is with both of them that the truth come out.” (NY Times 10/6)
In the Brawley case, the truth did eventually come out but that never deterred Al Sharpton from continuing to defend Ms. Brawley, insisting that in fact, the truth didn’t matter. The besmirching of Stephen Pagones who went from being an exemplary Asst. D.A. to a racist white rapist required a grand jury to peruse 6,000 pages of testimony before they concluded that all of Ms. Brawley’s accusations against Pagones and 5 other white men were a hoax concocted by a young black woman to avoid her feared stepfather’s violence. This non-rape occured in 1987 and here we are in 2014, still allowing people’s reputations to be irrevocably damaged before they are found guilty of anything. Al Sharpton has become the confidant of the most illustrious politicians in the democratic party. Hailed as the kingmaker in the election of De Blasio, he not only has the mayor’s attention and support but has wangled his former employee into a specially created job of assistant to the mayor’s wife to the tune of a $170,000 annual taxpayer-funded salary. Despite Rachel Noerdlinger’s failure to disclose that her live-in boyfriend was a convicted killer among other criminal misdeeds, she was neither fired nor censured for lying on the background check forms she was required to fill out. Sharpton has spoken out in her support, claiming that what her boyfriend did and says should have no bearing on Ms. Noerdlinger’s ability to do her job. But what about her willful decision to omit telling the “truth?”
The truth is that names of accused rapists should be protected until that designation has been proved. Just as criminals are not allowed to profit from accounts of their crimes, the media should not be allowed to profit from destroying someone’s name and standing in the community under the guise of reporting the news. Selective shielding of self-reported victims while trashing those whom they may falsely accuse is blatantly unfair and discriminatory. Perhaps the Reverend Sharpton who professes love of truth will consider urging the politicians in his pocket to campaign for laws that will truly and equally protect the innocent.
AUSSIE PM FED UP WITH IMMIGRANT TROUBLEMAKERS
Tony Abbott wants to “red-card” people who want to come to Australia from overseas to peddle their extremist ideology, to divide Australian from Australian, and to give implicit, if not explicit support for terrorism
Apparently Australia has been experiencing some internal problems with immigrants, particularly with Muslim immigrants, and he wants to bar troublemakers from entering the country. Dorina Lisson sent me the following report.
PM WANTS TO CHANGE LAWS TO BAN RADICAL GROUPS SUCH AS HIZB UT-TAHRIR
Tony Abbott has pledged to “red-card” hate preachers from entering Australia, but has admitted his government can’t yet ban the radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir
news.com.au
October 8, 2014
The Prime Minister this morning said the government is unable, under existing law, to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.
“We’ve looked at banning them, but we were advised under exisiting law we can’t do it,” he told 2GB Radio.
But Mr Abbott said a change to the law, that he hopes comes into force by the end of the year, will make it an offence to also promote terrorism, “not just to engage in terrorism”.
“Then I suppose we have to have another look at Hizb ut-Tahrir to see whether they fall under the definition of promoting terrorism.
“But there is no doubt they are an organisation that campaigns against Australian values, that campaigns against Australian interests and they are a thoroughly objectionable organisation.”
Mr Abbott later conceded there are already powers to ban people from entering Australia, but he said the “important thing is to use them”.
“Over the years there have been all sorts of people come in to this country to cause trouble, to make a nuisance of themselves, to stir up Australian against Australian and as far as I am concerned, this will stop,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I say to people who want to come to this country from overseas to peddle their extremist ideology, to divide Australian from Australian, to give implicit, if not explicit support for terrorism, don’t bother applying.
“Don’t try to come.”
The Prime Minister said there needs to be “better coordination” between agencies so the Immigration Department can refuse visas.
Mr Abbott said the action he wants to take “swiftly” in the meantime is “put in place a system whereby these preachers of hate ... are not allowed into Australia.”
“By all means let Australians who want to say stupid things say stupid things, but there’s no point importing trouble-makers from overseas to stir people up and that’s what I want to see in place very, very swiftly.
“What they are promoting is the ideology which spawns terrorism and frankly it is absolutley and utterly unacceptable.”
The headline speaker at a public lecture organised by the group in Lakemba in south-western Sydney on Friday night was an example of such a preacher, Mr Abbott said, while admitting to being “frustrated and angry”.
“America has initiated yet another war, rounding up its puppets and allies to attack the Syrian revolution, while using intervention in Iraq as a convenient excuse,” it says with an invitation on the group’s website.
“Why, after three years of waiting, has America chosen this action now?
“What is the politics and reality behind this renewed war and what does it aim to achieve?
“How should Muslims respond as America attacks the most potent uprising in the Muslim world in the last century: the revolution of Syria?”
Apparently Australia has been experiencing some internal problems with immigrants, particularly with Muslim immigrants, and he wants to bar troublemakers from entering the country. Dorina Lisson sent me the following report.
PM WANTS TO CHANGE LAWS TO BAN RADICAL GROUPS SUCH AS HIZB UT-TAHRIR
Tony Abbott has pledged to “red-card” hate preachers from entering Australia, but has admitted his government can’t yet ban the radical group Hizb ut-Tahrir
news.com.au
October 8, 2014
The Prime Minister this morning said the government is unable, under existing law, to proscribe the group as a terrorist organisation.
“We’ve looked at banning them, but we were advised under exisiting law we can’t do it,” he told 2GB Radio.
But Mr Abbott said a change to the law, that he hopes comes into force by the end of the year, will make it an offence to also promote terrorism, “not just to engage in terrorism”.
“Then I suppose we have to have another look at Hizb ut-Tahrir to see whether they fall under the definition of promoting terrorism.
“But there is no doubt they are an organisation that campaigns against Australian values, that campaigns against Australian interests and they are a thoroughly objectionable organisation.”
Mr Abbott later conceded there are already powers to ban people from entering Australia, but he said the “important thing is to use them”.
“Over the years there have been all sorts of people come in to this country to cause trouble, to make a nuisance of themselves, to stir up Australian against Australian and as far as I am concerned, this will stop,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“I say to people who want to come to this country from overseas to peddle their extremist ideology, to divide Australian from Australian, to give implicit, if not explicit support for terrorism, don’t bother applying.
“Don’t try to come.”
The Prime Minister said there needs to be “better coordination” between agencies so the Immigration Department can refuse visas.
Mr Abbott said the action he wants to take “swiftly” in the meantime is “put in place a system whereby these preachers of hate ... are not allowed into Australia.”
“By all means let Australians who want to say stupid things say stupid things, but there’s no point importing trouble-makers from overseas to stir people up and that’s what I want to see in place very, very swiftly.
“What they are promoting is the ideology which spawns terrorism and frankly it is absolutley and utterly unacceptable.”
The headline speaker at a public lecture organised by the group in Lakemba in south-western Sydney on Friday night was an example of such a preacher, Mr Abbott said, while admitting to being “frustrated and angry”.
“America has initiated yet another war, rounding up its puppets and allies to attack the Syrian revolution, while using intervention in Iraq as a convenient excuse,” it says with an invitation on the group’s website.
“Why, after three years of waiting, has America chosen this action now?
“What is the politics and reality behind this renewed war and what does it aim to achieve?
“How should Muslims respond as America attacks the most potent uprising in the Muslim world in the last century: the revolution of Syria?”
PAYBACK FOR THAT TRAFFIC CITATION
The Unconventional Gazette
October 8, 2014
A police officer was rushed to the hospital with an inflamed appendix. The doctors operated and advised him that all was well. However, he kept feeling something pulling at his crotch hairs.
Worried that he might have had a second surgery that the doctors hadn't told him about, he finally got enough courage to pull his hospital gown up so he could see what was making him so uncomfortable.
Taped firmly across his pubic hair and genitals were three very wide strips of heavy duty Gorilla Tape, the duct tape that doesn't come off easily... if at all.
Written on the Gorilla Tape in bold black letters was the sentence:
"Get well soon, from the nurse in the red Ford Mustang you pulled over and cited last week."
October 8, 2014
A police officer was rushed to the hospital with an inflamed appendix. The doctors operated and advised him that all was well. However, he kept feeling something pulling at his crotch hairs.
Worried that he might have had a second surgery that the doctors hadn't told him about, he finally got enough courage to pull his hospital gown up so he could see what was making him so uncomfortable.
Taped firmly across his pubic hair and genitals were three very wide strips of heavy duty Gorilla Tape, the duct tape that doesn't come off easily... if at all.
Written on the Gorilla Tape in bold black letters was the sentence:
"Get well soon, from the nurse in the red Ford Mustang you pulled over and cited last week."
WOMAN STOPS GRIZZLY BEAR ATTACK WITH .25 CALIBER PISTOL
The Unconventional Gazette
October 8, 2014
This is a story of self-control and marksmanship. A woman survived a grizzly bear attack with one well-placed shot from her itsy bitsy .25 caliber Beretta Jetfire pistol.
These are her own words.:
While out hiking in Alberta Canada with my husband, we were surprised when a huge grizzly bear came charging at us out of nowhere. She must have been protecting her cubs because she was extremely aggressive.
If I had not had my little Beretta Jetfire I would not be here today! I yanked it out of my purse and fired one shot. It hit my husband in his kneecap and the bear caught him easily. While the grizzly mauled the poor cripple, I was able to escape by just walking away at a brisk pace.
I love that pistol. I'll find another husband.
October 8, 2014
This is a story of self-control and marksmanship. A woman survived a grizzly bear attack with one well-placed shot from her itsy bitsy .25 caliber Beretta Jetfire pistol.
These are her own words.:
While out hiking in Alberta Canada with my husband, we were surprised when a huge grizzly bear came charging at us out of nowhere. She must have been protecting her cubs because she was extremely aggressive.
If I had not had my little Beretta Jetfire I would not be here today! I yanked it out of my purse and fired one shot. It hit my husband in his kneecap and the bear caught him easily. While the grizzly mauled the poor cripple, I was able to escape by just walking away at a brisk pace.
I love that pistol. I'll find another husband.
Wednesday, October 08, 2014
COLORADO GOVERNOR REGRETS LEGALIZATION OF POT
John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, says Colorado voters were reckless in legalizing pot
During a debate on Monday with his Republican challenger, Colorado’s Democratic governor John Hickenlooper said voters were reckless in voting to legalize marijuana before knowing what the consequences would be.
Hickenlooper also said that other states should think long and hard before legalizing pot because legalization increases youth access to the drug.
Hickenlooper opposed the legalization of recreational pot at the time the measure was proposed.
Oregon and Alaska, are you listening?
During a debate on Monday with his Republican challenger, Colorado’s Democratic governor John Hickenlooper said voters were reckless in voting to legalize marijuana before knowing what the consequences would be.
Hickenlooper also said that other states should think long and hard before legalizing pot because legalization increases youth access to the drug.
Hickenlooper opposed the legalization of recreational pot at the time the measure was proposed.
Oregon and Alaska, are you listening?
IF POT IS NOT ADDICTIVE THEN NEITHER IS HEROIN
A 20 year study destroys the claim that pot, as President Obama exclaimed, is less harmful than alcohol
A 20 year study by a team led by Professor Wayne Hall, a drug adviser to the World Health Organization, found cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs.
According to Mail Online, the study built a “compelling case against those who deny the devastation cannabis wreaks on the brain.”
The study found:
One in six teenagers who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it.
Cannabis doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia.
Cannabis users do worse at school. Heavy use in adolescence appears to impair intellectual development.
One in ten adults who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it and those who use it are more likely to go on to use harder drugs.
Driving after smoking cannabis doubles the risk of a car crash, a risk which increases substantially if the driver has also had a drink.
Smoking it while pregnant reduces the baby's birth weight.
Hall, a professor of addiction policy at King's College in London, said “If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin.”
I know that the proponents of pot are going to debunk Professor Hall’s findings, but the undisputable fact is that there are a number of other credible studies that have come up with similar results. And the DEA has in hand a fistful of studies that found medical marijuana to be a worthless therapeutic drug.
Obama has told Americans that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol. Professor Hall’s study has exposed President Obama for what he is ... another Columbia and Harvard educated idiot.
A 20 year study by a team led by Professor Wayne Hall, a drug adviser to the World Health Organization, found cannabis is highly addictive, causes mental health problems and opens the door to hard drugs.
According to Mail Online, the study built a “compelling case against those who deny the devastation cannabis wreaks on the brain.”
The study found:
One in six teenagers who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it.
Cannabis doubles the risk of developing psychotic disorders, including schizophrenia.
Cannabis users do worse at school. Heavy use in adolescence appears to impair intellectual development.
One in ten adults who regularly smoke the drug become dependent on it and those who use it are more likely to go on to use harder drugs.
Driving after smoking cannabis doubles the risk of a car crash, a risk which increases substantially if the driver has also had a drink.
Smoking it while pregnant reduces the baby's birth weight.
Hall, a professor of addiction policy at King's College in London, said “If cannabis is not addictive then neither is heroin.”
I know that the proponents of pot are going to debunk Professor Hall’s findings, but the undisputable fact is that there are a number of other credible studies that have come up with similar results. And the DEA has in hand a fistful of studies that found medical marijuana to be a worthless therapeutic drug.
Obama has told Americans that marijuana is less dangerous than alcohol. Professor Hall’s study has exposed President Obama for what he is ... another Columbia and Harvard educated idiot.
ISRAEL IS THE ONLY PLACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST WHERE CHRISTIANS ARE SAFE
Father Gabriel Naddaf, a Christian Pries, tells the U.N. Human Rights Committee to “end your witch hunt of the only free country in the region”
In addressing the U.N. Human Rights Committee, a perpetual critic of Israel, Father Gabriel Naddaf was speaking to deaf ears.
CHRISTIAN PRIEST TO U.N.: STOP THE WITCH HUNT AGAINST ISRAEL
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
October 7, 2014
While Middle East Muslim leaders were gathered at UN Headquarters in New York late last month to lambast Israel, a local Christian cleric was addressing a different UN forum - the Human Rights Committee in Geneva - to set the record straight on freedom for minorities in the Jewish state.
“Every five minutes, a Christian is killed in the Middle East because of his faith,” noted Father Gabriel Naddaf before a largely unsympathetic audience.
The UN Human Rights Committee has made a habit out of focusing disproportionate attention on any and all claims of misbehavior by Israel, all in service to its favorite pet project, the Palestinian nationalist cause.
But Father Naddaf, who had been invited to speak by “The Face of Israel” organization, was not deterred, declaring boldly that “Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians are safe.”
The cleric from Nazareth continued by insisting that “leaders of people, seekers of peace, end your witch hunt of the only free country in the region.”
Father Naddaf pointed out the hypocrisy of those who claim to champion the weak and dispossessed, and then turn around and defame Israel.
“It is time the world woke up to the fact that those who want to destroy the Jewish state are signing the death warrant on the last free Christians in the Holy Land,” he said, reminding those gathered that Christians and other minorities across the Middle East are today living under Muslim persecution unprecedented in modern times.
Father Naddaf is the spiritual leader of a growing movement in Israel that encourages young Christians to voluntarily join the Israeli army as a first step toward fully integrating into Israeli society.
The Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum sees national service as a duty for all who would claim the rights of citizens, and increasingly recognizes the strong historical and spiritual ties between the region’s indigenous Christian population and the Jewish people.
In addressing the U.N. Human Rights Committee, a perpetual critic of Israel, Father Gabriel Naddaf was speaking to deaf ears.
CHRISTIAN PRIEST TO U.N.: STOP THE WITCH HUNT AGAINST ISRAEL
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
October 7, 2014
While Middle East Muslim leaders were gathered at UN Headquarters in New York late last month to lambast Israel, a local Christian cleric was addressing a different UN forum - the Human Rights Committee in Geneva - to set the record straight on freedom for minorities in the Jewish state.
“Every five minutes, a Christian is killed in the Middle East because of his faith,” noted Father Gabriel Naddaf before a largely unsympathetic audience.
The UN Human Rights Committee has made a habit out of focusing disproportionate attention on any and all claims of misbehavior by Israel, all in service to its favorite pet project, the Palestinian nationalist cause.
But Father Naddaf, who had been invited to speak by “The Face of Israel” organization, was not deterred, declaring boldly that “Israel is the only place in the Middle East where Christians are safe.”
The cleric from Nazareth continued by insisting that “leaders of people, seekers of peace, end your witch hunt of the only free country in the region.”
Father Naddaf pointed out the hypocrisy of those who claim to champion the weak and dispossessed, and then turn around and defame Israel.
“It is time the world woke up to the fact that those who want to destroy the Jewish state are signing the death warrant on the last free Christians in the Holy Land,” he said, reminding those gathered that Christians and other minorities across the Middle East are today living under Muslim persecution unprecedented in modern times.
Father Naddaf is the spiritual leader of a growing movement in Israel that encourages young Christians to voluntarily join the Israeli army as a first step toward fully integrating into Israeli society.
The Israeli Christian Recruitment Forum sees national service as a duty for all who would claim the rights of citizens, and increasingly recognizes the strong historical and spiritual ties between the region’s indigenous Christian population and the Jewish people.
SPANISH DOG SENTENCED TO DEATH BECAUSE MASTER CONTRACTED EBOLA
Husband of nurse who is hospitalized with Ebola, and animal welfare groups, fight to keep Excalibur alive
It seems to me that Spanish health officials were afflicted with a knee-jerk panic attack when they ordered that Excalibur be put down. Thousands of people have come to the defense of the condemned animal.
DON’T SACRIFICE OUR DOG! HUSBAND OF SPANISH NURSE INFECTED WITH EBOLA ATTACKS HEALTH CHIEFS FOR GETTING COURT ORDER TO PUT THEIR DOG DOWN
Mail Online
October 7, 2014
Last night the pet dog at the centre of a growing Ebola row in Spain took a new twist as it emerged its owner had ceded possession to an animal welfare group which is now trying to save it.
Health chiefs in Madrid obtained a court order to sacrifice Excalibur and sent police to the home of nurse Teresa Romero Ramos, who has been diagnosed with the deadly disease, and her husband Javier Limon Romero.
They were understood to be planning to gain entry to the property in the Madrid suburb of Alcorcon last night so they could take it away and put it down.
But a lawyer working for Madrid-based animal welfare group Mascoteros Solidarios rushed to the couple's flat to try to prevent the animal sacrifice.
The move came after Javier, who has been quarantined in a Madrid hospital with his wife, handed his pet dog over to the organisation's president Carlos Rodriguez, a vet and well-known radio presenter in Spain.
The association confirmed in a press release tonight: 'Teresa Romero's husband Javier, has ceded the custody of his dog to Carlos Rodriguez through a WhatsApp message while he is in Carlos III Hospital in Madrid.
'The dog, Excalibur, is currently inside the family home in Alcorcon. Several animal welfare groups and private individuals have mobilised following Javier's message over social networking sites about the plans to sacrifice the animal.'
Thousands of people had last night signed an online petition to save the dog.
Mascoteros Solidarios spokesman Beatriz Ramos said: 'We're not suggesting doing anything that endangers public health.
'All we want is for the authorities to consider the option of treating this animal like a human being and putting it into quarantine.
'This dog has been interacting with other animals over the past few days who in turn will have have been interacting with their owners.
'It's something that needs to be studied and we don't believe that just putting the animal down is the answer.'
Madrid health chiefs said the animal was a health risk and could transmit the Ebola virus to humans.
They said in a statement: 'The only way of eliminating the existing risk of the transmission of the illness is by putting the animal which has been in contact with the virus to sleep.'
Earloier today Javier, who lives in the Madrid suburb of Alcorcon, raged: 'Before leaving hospital I left several buckets of water out for it as well as filling the bath with water, along with a 15 kilo sack of food.
'I also left the door to the terrace open so it could do it necessities.'
He added: 'It seems unfair to me that because of a mistake they've made, they want to solve this the easy way.
'A dog doesn't have to infect a person and vice versa.
'If this problem worries them so much I think they should look for another type of alternative solution, such as putting the dog in quarantine and observation like they've done with me. Or perhaps they feel they should sacrifice me just in case. Of course a dog is easier, it doesn't matter as much.'
It seems to me that Spanish health officials were afflicted with a knee-jerk panic attack when they ordered that Excalibur be put down. Thousands of people have come to the defense of the condemned animal.
DON’T SACRIFICE OUR DOG! HUSBAND OF SPANISH NURSE INFECTED WITH EBOLA ATTACKS HEALTH CHIEFS FOR GETTING COURT ORDER TO PUT THEIR DOG DOWN
Mail Online
October 7, 2014
Last night the pet dog at the centre of a growing Ebola row in Spain took a new twist as it emerged its owner had ceded possession to an animal welfare group which is now trying to save it.
Health chiefs in Madrid obtained a court order to sacrifice Excalibur and sent police to the home of nurse Teresa Romero Ramos, who has been diagnosed with the deadly disease, and her husband Javier Limon Romero.
They were understood to be planning to gain entry to the property in the Madrid suburb of Alcorcon last night so they could take it away and put it down.
But a lawyer working for Madrid-based animal welfare group Mascoteros Solidarios rushed to the couple's flat to try to prevent the animal sacrifice.
The move came after Javier, who has been quarantined in a Madrid hospital with his wife, handed his pet dog over to the organisation's president Carlos Rodriguez, a vet and well-known radio presenter in Spain.
The association confirmed in a press release tonight: 'Teresa Romero's husband Javier, has ceded the custody of his dog to Carlos Rodriguez through a WhatsApp message while he is in Carlos III Hospital in Madrid.
'The dog, Excalibur, is currently inside the family home in Alcorcon. Several animal welfare groups and private individuals have mobilised following Javier's message over social networking sites about the plans to sacrifice the animal.'
Thousands of people had last night signed an online petition to save the dog.
Mascoteros Solidarios spokesman Beatriz Ramos said: 'We're not suggesting doing anything that endangers public health.
'All we want is for the authorities to consider the option of treating this animal like a human being and putting it into quarantine.
'This dog has been interacting with other animals over the past few days who in turn will have have been interacting with their owners.
'It's something that needs to be studied and we don't believe that just putting the animal down is the answer.'
Madrid health chiefs said the animal was a health risk and could transmit the Ebola virus to humans.
They said in a statement: 'The only way of eliminating the existing risk of the transmission of the illness is by putting the animal which has been in contact with the virus to sleep.'
Earloier today Javier, who lives in the Madrid suburb of Alcorcon, raged: 'Before leaving hospital I left several buckets of water out for it as well as filling the bath with water, along with a 15 kilo sack of food.
'I also left the door to the terrace open so it could do it necessities.'
He added: 'It seems unfair to me that because of a mistake they've made, they want to solve this the easy way.
'A dog doesn't have to infect a person and vice versa.
'If this problem worries them so much I think they should look for another type of alternative solution, such as putting the dog in quarantine and observation like they've done with me. Or perhaps they feel they should sacrifice me just in case. Of course a dog is easier, it doesn't matter as much.'
MEXICAN CARTEL THREATENS TO NAME CORRUPT POLITICIANS
Guerreros Unidos threatens to reveal the names of politicians who supported their criminal activities if the federal and state authorities don’t release 22 municipal cops imprisoned for the massacre of 17 anti-cartel vigilantes
It appears as though the criminal cartels regard crooked cops as way more valuable than crooked politicians.
GUERREROS UNIDOS: NARCO BANNERS APPEAR DEMANDING RELEASE OF 22 MUNICIPAL POLICE
Borderland Beat
October 6, 2014
Members of Guerreros Unidos placed banners in the town of Iguala demanding that the state government release 22 municipal police prisoners, held for the slaughter of normalistas from Ayotzinapa.
The members of the criminal group warned that if the government does not release the police, they will reveal the names of the politicians who support their criminal activities.
Official reports state that this morning several banners were placed with the following message:
"Federal and state government and all those who supported us - we demand the release of the 22 policemen arrested. We give you 24 hours to release them. If not released, you'll face the consequences. We'll start giving the names of people in government who supported us - the war has started... sincerely: GU "(sic).
The banners were removed by soldiers from 27th Infantry Battalion.
This comes a day after theAttorney General for Guerrero, Iñaky Blanco Cabrera, said municipal police and hitmen for the Guerreros Unidos cartel detained and executed 17 normalistas Ayotzinapa.
It appears as though the criminal cartels regard crooked cops as way more valuable than crooked politicians.
GUERREROS UNIDOS: NARCO BANNERS APPEAR DEMANDING RELEASE OF 22 MUNICIPAL POLICE
Borderland Beat
October 6, 2014
Members of Guerreros Unidos placed banners in the town of Iguala demanding that the state government release 22 municipal police prisoners, held for the slaughter of normalistas from Ayotzinapa.
The members of the criminal group warned that if the government does not release the police, they will reveal the names of the politicians who support their criminal activities.
Official reports state that this morning several banners were placed with the following message:
"Federal and state government and all those who supported us - we demand the release of the 22 policemen arrested. We give you 24 hours to release them. If not released, you'll face the consequences. We'll start giving the names of people in government who supported us - the war has started... sincerely: GU "(sic).
The banners were removed by soldiers from 27th Infantry Battalion.
This comes a day after theAttorney General for Guerrero, Iñaky Blanco Cabrera, said municipal police and hitmen for the Guerreros Unidos cartel detained and executed 17 normalistas Ayotzinapa.
DOUG BEQUEATHED EVERYTHING TO HIS WIFE AND KIDS
The Unconventional Gazette
October 7, 2014
Doug Smith is on his deathbed and knows the end is near.
His nurse, his wife, his daughter and 2 sons, are with him.
He asks for 2 witnesses to be present and a camcorder be in place to record his last wishes, and when all is ready he begins to speak:
My son, "Bernie, I want you to take the Mayfair houses."
My daughter "Sybil, you take the apartments over in the east end."
My son, "Jamie, I want you to take the offices over in the City Centre."
"Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings on the banks of the river."
The nurse and witnesses are blown away as they did not realize his extensive holdings, and as Doug slips away, the nurse says, "Mrs. Smith, your husband must have been such a hard-working man to have accumulated all this property".
Sarah replies, "Property ? .... the asshole had a paper route.
October 7, 2014
Doug Smith is on his deathbed and knows the end is near.
His nurse, his wife, his daughter and 2 sons, are with him.
He asks for 2 witnesses to be present and a camcorder be in place to record his last wishes, and when all is ready he begins to speak:
My son, "Bernie, I want you to take the Mayfair houses."
My daughter "Sybil, you take the apartments over in the east end."
My son, "Jamie, I want you to take the offices over in the City Centre."
"Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings on the banks of the river."
The nurse and witnesses are blown away as they did not realize his extensive holdings, and as Doug slips away, the nurse says, "Mrs. Smith, your husband must have been such a hard-working man to have accumulated all this property".
Sarah replies, "Property ? .... the asshole had a paper route.
Tuesday, October 07, 2014
CIA WARNS OF DIABOLICAL ISIS EBOLA PLOT
President Obama announces that the CIA has uncovered an ISIS plot to spread Ebola throughout the U.S. and Britain
By Ura Schlemiel, White House correspondent
The Unconventional Gazette
October 6, 2014
Newsflash: At a hastily called press conference, President Obama, flanked by the heads of the CIA, Homeland Security, the FBI and ICE, announced that the CIA has uncovered a plot by ISIS to spread Ebola throughout this country and Britain. The president said the purpose of this press conference is to warn all Americans of this potential threat and to assure them that their government is doing everything possible to thwart this plot. He said that because they only learned of this plot a few minutes ago, no questions would be allowed.
Obama said, “I am putting this country into a crisis mode and ordering Homeland Security, the FBI and ICE to immediately put in place procedures that will keep ISIS from carrying out this diabolical plot. CIA Director John Brennan will explain.”
Brennan: “Our agents have learned from very reliable sources in Syria that ISIS will recruit Africans in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia that have been in intimate contact with Ebola victims and exposed to their body fluids. They will pay each recruit $1,000 and give them airline tickets to fly to America and Britain with the goal of having them spread the deadly disease throughout the two countries. The Africans will be provided with fake passports and visas, and take surreptitious routes to disguise their points of origin. Since the incubation period usually takes around 21 days, they will be able to fly without showing any Ebola symptoms. Now I’ll turn this over to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.”
Johnson: “I have ordered FBI Director James Comey and acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas S. Winkowski to spare no expense in stopping ISIS operatives from infiltrating the homeland. I am confident that they will be successful in keeping our country Ebola free. Here is Director Comey.”
Comey: “At this moment we are establishing a special task force of 1,000 of our best FBI agents to find, arrest and isolate any of these Ebola-exposed Africans should they slip by ICE and succeed in entering the U.S. These agents will be ordered to shoot to kill any of these individuals should they attempt to avoid arrest. We believe those shooting will not violate and constitutional guarantees because these individuals present a serious and imminent threat to the public. Now I’ll turn this over to Director Winkowski.”
Winkowski: ”All our agents have been put on special alert to catch any African who might possibly have been exposed to Ebola from entering the United States. They are specially trained to detect any fake passports and to ascertain whether or not any Africans began their journey from Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia. I am confident that we will succeed, but in the rare event that one of these Ebola-exposed individuals should get by us, the FBI will be our backup. Mr. President, I’ll turn this back over to you.”
Obama: “As I said, we will take no questions. This ends our conference. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.”
TUG contacted civil rights leader Al Sharpton, the President’s go-to-guy on black issues, to get his thoughts on the ISIS plot.
Sharpton: “I don’t for half-a-second believe the CIA. That’s the same group that told us Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. This is nothing more than a plot by whites to suppress and kill blacks. I am most upset with President Obama for going along with this farce. He’s supposed to consult with me on any black issues. I can’t believe he didn’t call me on this before he held that press conference. This will energize our Action Network members to stop the FBI and ICE from carrying out their racist measures.”
TUG will keep on top this breaking story for any new developments.
By Ura Schlemiel, White House correspondent
The Unconventional Gazette
October 6, 2014
Newsflash: At a hastily called press conference, President Obama, flanked by the heads of the CIA, Homeland Security, the FBI and ICE, announced that the CIA has uncovered a plot by ISIS to spread Ebola throughout this country and Britain. The president said the purpose of this press conference is to warn all Americans of this potential threat and to assure them that their government is doing everything possible to thwart this plot. He said that because they only learned of this plot a few minutes ago, no questions would be allowed.
Obama said, “I am putting this country into a crisis mode and ordering Homeland Security, the FBI and ICE to immediately put in place procedures that will keep ISIS from carrying out this diabolical plot. CIA Director John Brennan will explain.”
Brennan: “Our agents have learned from very reliable sources in Syria that ISIS will recruit Africans in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia that have been in intimate contact with Ebola victims and exposed to their body fluids. They will pay each recruit $1,000 and give them airline tickets to fly to America and Britain with the goal of having them spread the deadly disease throughout the two countries. The Africans will be provided with fake passports and visas, and take surreptitious routes to disguise their points of origin. Since the incubation period usually takes around 21 days, they will be able to fly without showing any Ebola symptoms. Now I’ll turn this over to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.”
Johnson: “I have ordered FBI Director James Comey and acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Thomas S. Winkowski to spare no expense in stopping ISIS operatives from infiltrating the homeland. I am confident that they will be successful in keeping our country Ebola free. Here is Director Comey.”
Comey: “At this moment we are establishing a special task force of 1,000 of our best FBI agents to find, arrest and isolate any of these Ebola-exposed Africans should they slip by ICE and succeed in entering the U.S. These agents will be ordered to shoot to kill any of these individuals should they attempt to avoid arrest. We believe those shooting will not violate and constitutional guarantees because these individuals present a serious and imminent threat to the public. Now I’ll turn this over to Director Winkowski.”
Winkowski: ”All our agents have been put on special alert to catch any African who might possibly have been exposed to Ebola from entering the United States. They are specially trained to detect any fake passports and to ascertain whether or not any Africans began their journey from Guinea, Sierra Leone or Liberia. I am confident that we will succeed, but in the rare event that one of these Ebola-exposed individuals should get by us, the FBI will be our backup. Mr. President, I’ll turn this back over to you.”
Obama: “As I said, we will take no questions. This ends our conference. Thank you ladies and gentlemen.”
TUG contacted civil rights leader Al Sharpton, the President’s go-to-guy on black issues, to get his thoughts on the ISIS plot.
Sharpton: “I don’t for half-a-second believe the CIA. That’s the same group that told us Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. This is nothing more than a plot by whites to suppress and kill blacks. I am most upset with President Obama for going along with this farce. He’s supposed to consult with me on any black issues. I can’t believe he didn’t call me on this before he held that press conference. This will energize our Action Network members to stop the FBI and ICE from carrying out their racist measures.”
TUG will keep on top this breaking story for any new developments.
TSA SPREAD ASHES TO KEEP US SAFE
A mother’s ashes destined to be spread in the Caribbean Sea, were spread instead by TSA agents throughout a suitcase
Shannon Thomas filed a $750,000 federal lawsuit Thursday against the Transportation Security Administration and unnamed TSA agents at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for dumping his mother’s cremated remains throughout his suitcase.
Nearly two years ago, Thomas booked a flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Puerto Rico in order to fulfill his mother’s wish to have her ashes spread in the Caribbean Sea. He packed his suitcase with a "very heavy and sturdy" urn which had a tightly screwed on top to keep the ashes from getting spilled. He padded the urn with his clothing in order to protect it.
When he arrived in Puerto Rico he discovered that the ashes had been spread throughout the suitcase. The bag contained a TSA inspection notice. He found that the TSA agents did not screw the urn’s top back on properly.
In his lawsuit Thomas says that no one from the TSA or the U.S. government has ever issued an apology or explanation to him and the only notification he got was the inspection notice which was left inside the suitcase.
It appears as though Homeland Security is keeping us safe by hiring a bunch of dumbass TSA agents, many of them having been caught stealing valuables out of the luggage they were supposedly inspecting.
The boners pulled by the TSA are too numerous to list. They include making grandmothers in their 80s remove their shoes. TSA agents failed to recognize former Secretary of State Henri Kissinger - 89 at the time and in a wheelchair - and subjected him to a full pat-down. Children as young as four have also been given the full pat-down treatment along with those 80-smoething grannies.
Now, don’t you all feel safer knowing that Homeland Security has our backs? Oh by the way, Israeli airport security officials do not search children and the elderly unless prior intelligence requires it. For TSA to do so is a ridiculous and worthless practice designed to make the flying public feel safer.
Shannon Thomas filed a $750,000 federal lawsuit Thursday against the Transportation Security Administration and unnamed TSA agents at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport for dumping his mother’s cremated remains throughout his suitcase.
Nearly two years ago, Thomas booked a flight from Cleveland, Ohio to Puerto Rico in order to fulfill his mother’s wish to have her ashes spread in the Caribbean Sea. He packed his suitcase with a "very heavy and sturdy" urn which had a tightly screwed on top to keep the ashes from getting spilled. He padded the urn with his clothing in order to protect it.
When he arrived in Puerto Rico he discovered that the ashes had been spread throughout the suitcase. The bag contained a TSA inspection notice. He found that the TSA agents did not screw the urn’s top back on properly.
In his lawsuit Thomas says that no one from the TSA or the U.S. government has ever issued an apology or explanation to him and the only notification he got was the inspection notice which was left inside the suitcase.
It appears as though Homeland Security is keeping us safe by hiring a bunch of dumbass TSA agents, many of them having been caught stealing valuables out of the luggage they were supposedly inspecting.
The boners pulled by the TSA are too numerous to list. They include making grandmothers in their 80s remove their shoes. TSA agents failed to recognize former Secretary of State Henri Kissinger - 89 at the time and in a wheelchair - and subjected him to a full pat-down. Children as young as four have also been given the full pat-down treatment along with those 80-smoething grannies.
Now, don’t you all feel safer knowing that Homeland Security has our backs? Oh by the way, Israeli airport security officials do not search children and the elderly unless prior intelligence requires it. For TSA to do so is a ridiculous and worthless practice designed to make the flying public feel safer.
EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATORS FAILING TO KEEP EYES ON ROAD
Drivers distracted by information technology equipment in cop cars, fire trucks and ambulances caused at least 180 traffic collisions in California last year
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, three Southern California residents were killed by distracted emergency vehicle operators and 140 others were injured throughout the state in the last two years. At least 180 California traffic collisions were caused by operators of cop cars, fire trucks and ambulances last year. Some of the drivers at the time were talking on cellphones, but others were paying attention to information technology equipment inside the emergency vehicles, and in both instances not keeping their eyes on the road.
Of course this is a nationwide problem, not just one for California. In order to prevent such collisions, most public safety agencies prohibit the drivers of their vehicles from using cellphones while driving. As for the distractions caused by information technology equipment, several police agencies have turned to software technology that shuts down in-car computers whenever the emergency vehicle exceeds a speed of 15 mph.
Let me suggest that the number of accidents caused by emergency vehicle operators far exceeds the number reported. It’s no secret that police officers investigating traffic collisions will write up reports of accidents involving other cops, and often firefighters, in such a way as to absolve them of any blame even though they were clearly at fault.
According to the Los Angeles Daily News, three Southern California residents were killed by distracted emergency vehicle operators and 140 others were injured throughout the state in the last two years. At least 180 California traffic collisions were caused by operators of cop cars, fire trucks and ambulances last year. Some of the drivers at the time were talking on cellphones, but others were paying attention to information technology equipment inside the emergency vehicles, and in both instances not keeping their eyes on the road.
Of course this is a nationwide problem, not just one for California. In order to prevent such collisions, most public safety agencies prohibit the drivers of their vehicles from using cellphones while driving. As for the distractions caused by information technology equipment, several police agencies have turned to software technology that shuts down in-car computers whenever the emergency vehicle exceeds a speed of 15 mph.
Let me suggest that the number of accidents caused by emergency vehicle operators far exceeds the number reported. It’s no secret that police officers investigating traffic collisions will write up reports of accidents involving other cops, and often firefighters, in such a way as to absolve them of any blame even though they were clearly at fault.
LEONARD PITTS: ‘EVEN BLACK MEN FEAR BLACK MEN’
Although a South Carolina trooper was way too quick to shoot at an unarmed black man reaching into his car for his driver’s license, it is understandable why, with the high number of shootings by blacks, cops like all others fear black men.
The trooper definitely deserved to be fired. However, since he did not act out of malice, I do not think he should be prosecuted for assault with a deadly weapon. A lesser charge would seem more appropriate for an act of panic.
YOU ALMOST FEEL SORRY FOR THAT S.C. TROOPER
The officer now facing 20 years for shooting an unarmed driver suffers from a common malady: fear of black men
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
The Miami Herald
October 5, 2014
Let us give Sean Groubert every benefit of the doubt.
Let us assume he is a good person. Let us assume he is kind to children, well liked by neighbors. And by all means, let’s assume he has a black friend. For good measure, let’s assume he has two.
Now, with those assumptions in force, let’s ponder why Groubert, a white South Carolina state trooper, shot an unarmed black man last month at a gas station in Columbia. The incident has received less notice than did the shooting of Michael Brown, probably because the victim, 35-year-old Levar Jones, survived. But it deserves attention because it promises to enlighten us in ways the Brown killing did not.
Groubert, who has been fired and charged with assault and battery, tells his side of the story in audio obtained this week by MSNBC. He explains how he stopped Jones for a seat belt violation, how Jones “jumped out” of his car and “stared at me.” Groubert says that “as I approached him, he jumped headfirst into his car” and that when he ordered Jones out, “he jumped out of the car. I saw something black in his hands. I ran to the other side of the car, yelling at him, and he kept coming toward me. Apparently it was his wallet.”
But that is not what happened. Groubert’s story is contradicted by an unimpeachable witness – his own dashcam video. You can see it online for yourself. Groubert pulls up as Jones is exiting his vehicle. The officer asks to see Jones’ license. Jones reaches into the car to get it. The officer, voice rising in panic, orders Jones out of the vehicle. Jones is complying with this when Groubert opens fire. He’s still shooting as Jones falls out of frame, hands raised.
“Why did you shoot me?” Jones asks.
Now Jones, shot in the hip, is walking with a cane, Groubert is facing 20 years, and that question hangs like smoke. So let us accord him the benefit of the doubt because in situations like this, people always want to make it a question of character. And the shooter’s friends always feel obliged to defend him with the same tired words: “He is not a racist.”
He probably isn’t, at least not in the way they understand the term.
But what he is, is a citizen of a country where the fear of black men is downright viral. That doesn’t mean he burns crosses on the weekend. It means he’s watched television, seen a movie, used a computer, read a newspaper or magazine. It means he is alive and aware in a nation where one is taught from birth that thug equals black, suspect equals black, danger equals black.
Thus has it been since the days of chains, since the days of lynch law, since the days newspapers routinely ran headlines like “Helpless Co-Ed Ravished by Black Brute.” It is the water we drink and the air we breathe, a perception out of all proportion to any objective reality, yet it infiltrates the collective subconscious to such an unholy degree that even black men fear black men.
The Groubert video offers an unusually stark image of that fear in action. Viewing it, it seems clear the trooper is not reacting to anything Jones does. In a very real sense, he doesn’t even see him. No, he is reacting to a primal fear of what Jones is, to outsized expectations of what Jones might do, to terrors buried so deep in his breast, he probably doesn’t even know they’re there.
You almost feel sorry for Groubert, his life in ruins for a crime he probably can’t even explain to himself. But let us also spare some empathy for Jones, for Trayvon Martin, for Oscar Grant, for Amadou Diallo, for all the other African American men who have died because of – or who struggle to live through – this nation’s unreasoning fear of them and their sons.
Consider that video and answer honestly: Just who should be frightened of whom?
The trooper definitely deserved to be fired. However, since he did not act out of malice, I do not think he should be prosecuted for assault with a deadly weapon. A lesser charge would seem more appropriate for an act of panic.
YOU ALMOST FEEL SORRY FOR THAT S.C. TROOPER
The officer now facing 20 years for shooting an unarmed driver suffers from a common malady: fear of black men
By Leonard Pitts Jr.
The Miami Herald
October 5, 2014
Let us give Sean Groubert every benefit of the doubt.
Let us assume he is a good person. Let us assume he is kind to children, well liked by neighbors. And by all means, let’s assume he has a black friend. For good measure, let’s assume he has two.
Now, with those assumptions in force, let’s ponder why Groubert, a white South Carolina state trooper, shot an unarmed black man last month at a gas station in Columbia. The incident has received less notice than did the shooting of Michael Brown, probably because the victim, 35-year-old Levar Jones, survived. But it deserves attention because it promises to enlighten us in ways the Brown killing did not.
Groubert, who has been fired and charged with assault and battery, tells his side of the story in audio obtained this week by MSNBC. He explains how he stopped Jones for a seat belt violation, how Jones “jumped out” of his car and “stared at me.” Groubert says that “as I approached him, he jumped headfirst into his car” and that when he ordered Jones out, “he jumped out of the car. I saw something black in his hands. I ran to the other side of the car, yelling at him, and he kept coming toward me. Apparently it was his wallet.”
But that is not what happened. Groubert’s story is contradicted by an unimpeachable witness – his own dashcam video. You can see it online for yourself. Groubert pulls up as Jones is exiting his vehicle. The officer asks to see Jones’ license. Jones reaches into the car to get it. The officer, voice rising in panic, orders Jones out of the vehicle. Jones is complying with this when Groubert opens fire. He’s still shooting as Jones falls out of frame, hands raised.
“Why did you shoot me?” Jones asks.
Now Jones, shot in the hip, is walking with a cane, Groubert is facing 20 years, and that question hangs like smoke. So let us accord him the benefit of the doubt because in situations like this, people always want to make it a question of character. And the shooter’s friends always feel obliged to defend him with the same tired words: “He is not a racist.”
He probably isn’t, at least not in the way they understand the term.
But what he is, is a citizen of a country where the fear of black men is downright viral. That doesn’t mean he burns crosses on the weekend. It means he’s watched television, seen a movie, used a computer, read a newspaper or magazine. It means he is alive and aware in a nation where one is taught from birth that thug equals black, suspect equals black, danger equals black.
Thus has it been since the days of chains, since the days of lynch law, since the days newspapers routinely ran headlines like “Helpless Co-Ed Ravished by Black Brute.” It is the water we drink and the air we breathe, a perception out of all proportion to any objective reality, yet it infiltrates the collective subconscious to such an unholy degree that even black men fear black men.
The Groubert video offers an unusually stark image of that fear in action. Viewing it, it seems clear the trooper is not reacting to anything Jones does. In a very real sense, he doesn’t even see him. No, he is reacting to a primal fear of what Jones is, to outsized expectations of what Jones might do, to terrors buried so deep in his breast, he probably doesn’t even know they’re there.
You almost feel sorry for Groubert, his life in ruins for a crime he probably can’t even explain to himself. But let us also spare some empathy for Jones, for Trayvon Martin, for Oscar Grant, for Amadou Diallo, for all the other African American men who have died because of – or who struggle to live through – this nation’s unreasoning fear of them and their sons.
Consider that video and answer honestly: Just who should be frightened of whom?
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