Four American soldiers, including a colonel and a major, have been killed during the ‘Koran burning’ riots, as of this writing. I agree with Newt that we do not owe the Afghans any apologies for the inadvertent burning of their holy books.
‘THEY DON’T DESERVE AN APOLOGY’: GINGRICH SLAMS OBAMA FOR SAYING SORRY TO AFGHANS OVER KORAN BURNING AS DEATH TOLL RISES TO 23
Claims Afghanistan should apologize to U.S. after American soldiers are killed
By Mark Duell
Mail Online
February 25, 2012
Twelve people died today during the bloodiest day yet of protests in Afghanistan over the burning of Koran copies found in a rubbish pit at a NATO military base.
Back in the U.S., GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich lashed out at President Barack Obama for saying sorry after copies of the Muslim holy book were found burned earlier this week.
Riot police and soldiers are braced for more violence after the Bagram compound burning deepened mistrust of NATO as it struggles to stabilise the nation before foreign combat troops leave in 2014.
Hundreds of Afghans marched toward the palace of their country’s President Hamid Karzai in Kabul on Friday, while on the other side of the capital protesters hoisted the white flag of the Taliban.
Chanting ‘Death to America!’ and ‘Long live Islam!’, protesters also threw rocks at police in Kabul, while Afghan army helicopters circled above and mosques in the capital drew large crowds.
Armed protesters took refuge in shops in the eastern part of the city, where one was killed, police said. In another Kabul rally, police were unsure who fired the shots that killed a second protester.
Seven more protesters were killed in Herat, two in Khost and one in the relatively peaceful Baghlan province, health and local officials said. In Herat, around 500 men charged at the U.S. consulate.
President Obama's apology was announced on Thursday and a few hours later it was reported that an Afghan soldier killed two U.S. troops and wounded others in retaliation for the Koran burning.
Campaigning in Washington state, Mr Gingrich said President Karzai now owes the U.S. an apology.
‘There seems to be nothing that radical Islamists can do to get Barack Obama's attention in a negative way and he is consistently apologising to people who do not deserve the apology,’ he said.
‘Candidly, if Hamid Karzai, doesn't feel like apologising then we should say goodbye and good luck, we don't need to be here risking our lives and wasting our money on somebody who doesn't care.’
President Obama apologised to President Karzai for the unintentional burning of the Korans at NATO's main Bagram air base after Afghan labourers found charred copies while collecting rubbish.
White House spokesman Jay Carney sought to counter criticism, telling reporters on board Air Force One: ‘It is wholly appropriate, given the sensitivities to this issue, the understandable sensitivities.’
‘His primary concern as commander in chief is the safety of the American men and women in Afghanistan, of our military and civilian personnel there. And it was absolutely the right thing to do.’
Sunday, February 26, 2012
AMATEUR TATTOO ARTIST’S WORK NOT APPRECIATED BY 15-YEAR-OLD GIRL’S MOTHER
The State of Texas didn’t appreciate it either.
RUDY GARAY: HOMEMADE “HELLO KITTY” STOMACH TATTOO ON 15-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR GIRL BRINGS CHARGES
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 24, 2012
A Rio Grande Valley man is facing charges because he inked a free "Hello Kitty" tattoo on the stomach of the 15-year-old girl who lived next door.
Rudy Garay, 19, has been charged with various violations of state tattoo regulations, among them not getting permission from the minor's parents, Valleycentral.com reports.
Maybe Garay thought the girl would keep the tat hidden, but her mother noticed it on the right side of her stomach and -- we presume after some loud words -- contacted authorities in Olmito.
Garay was unlicensed and using homemade equipment, investigators say, which certainly inspires confidence in his services.
He remained in jail as of this morning, unable to make bond.
RUDY GARAY: HOMEMADE “HELLO KITTY” STOMACH TATTOO ON 15-YEAR-OLD NEIGHBOR GIRL BRINGS CHARGES
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 24, 2012
A Rio Grande Valley man is facing charges because he inked a free "Hello Kitty" tattoo on the stomach of the 15-year-old girl who lived next door.
Rudy Garay, 19, has been charged with various violations of state tattoo regulations, among them not getting permission from the minor's parents, Valleycentral.com reports.
Maybe Garay thought the girl would keep the tat hidden, but her mother noticed it on the right side of her stomach and -- we presume after some loud words -- contacted authorities in Olmito.
Garay was unlicensed and using homemade equipment, investigators say, which certainly inspires confidence in his services.
He remained in jail as of this morning, unable to make bond.
Saturday, February 25, 2012
CALIFORNIA IS THE MOST HATED STATE IN THE UNION
Texas didn't fare too well either. I think the reason people in other parts of the country don’t like Texas is because they are simply jealous of our great state. The fact that Texans do a lot of bragging about their state doesn’t help either.
I suspect the reason they hate California – I call it Kookfornia – the most of all the states is because of the kooky ultra-liberal garbage it keeps trying to foster on the rest of the country. Houston Press Hair Balls has presented five ‘irrefutable arguments’ that aliens from outer space landed and settled in Hollywood 70 years ago, which would explain how Kookfornia keeps coming up with that kooky garbage.
Here is one of the five arguments presented by Hair Balls: Very, very strange people like Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger have reached the pinnacle of Hollywood success. And let me add as further proof of the now settled aliens from outer space, the fact that Kookfornia voters elected as governors, Arnold the Terminator and Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown.
WE CAN BE TEXAS PROUD THAT WE’RE NOT CALIFORNIA
By Emily Wilkins
Houston Chronicle
February 23, 2012
Texas is big, proud and … not really liked that much by people in other states, at least according to the results of a Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday.
The state of Texas is many things, but when 1,200 Americans were asked for their opinion of Texas in the last several months, 31 percent responded unfavorably. The good news is that 40 percent responded favorably, but the difference in percentages wasn’t enough for the state to be viewed more positively than Hawaii. Or North Dakota. Or Rhode Island.
You get the idea.
The 9 percentage point difference in positive and negative opinions placed Texas at 38th most liked state among the 50 United States.
But however Texas is viewed, residents can take comfort in knowing Americans aren’t indifferent about its Lone Star. About forty to sixty percent of respondents answered “not sure” when asked about their opinions of most states. But only 29 percent were unsure whether they liked Texas or not – a credit to Texas’s distinct culture and style, said Mark P. Jones, chair of the Department of Political Science at Rice University.
“States like Texas, given that it’s a well known brand and elicits a lot of positive support, it also has high negatives,” Jones said.
The only state respondents had less of an opinion about was California with 28 percent – the most hated state on the list.
Some more findings from the survey: If you are black, you probably don’t like Texas as much as most other states, but it’s better than Mississippi or Alabama. If you are a Republican, you probably love Texas and hate California. (The reverse is true if you are a Democrat.)
Take heart, Texas – 25 million people can’t be wrong. You will always be the biggest (as long as you’re only counting the continental states because Alaska beats you by a lot.) You have a lot of oil and presidents and a really big water park. And people like you more than New Jersey.
I suspect the reason they hate California – I call it Kookfornia – the most of all the states is because of the kooky ultra-liberal garbage it keeps trying to foster on the rest of the country. Houston Press Hair Balls has presented five ‘irrefutable arguments’ that aliens from outer space landed and settled in Hollywood 70 years ago, which would explain how Kookfornia keeps coming up with that kooky garbage.
Here is one of the five arguments presented by Hair Balls: Very, very strange people like Tom Cruise and Arnold Schwarzenegger have reached the pinnacle of Hollywood success. And let me add as further proof of the now settled aliens from outer space, the fact that Kookfornia voters elected as governors, Arnold the Terminator and Jerry ‘Moonbeam’ Brown.
WE CAN BE TEXAS PROUD THAT WE’RE NOT CALIFORNIA
By Emily Wilkins
Houston Chronicle
February 23, 2012
Texas is big, proud and … not really liked that much by people in other states, at least according to the results of a Public Policy Polling survey released Tuesday.
The state of Texas is many things, but when 1,200 Americans were asked for their opinion of Texas in the last several months, 31 percent responded unfavorably. The good news is that 40 percent responded favorably, but the difference in percentages wasn’t enough for the state to be viewed more positively than Hawaii. Or North Dakota. Or Rhode Island.
You get the idea.
The 9 percentage point difference in positive and negative opinions placed Texas at 38th most liked state among the 50 United States.
But however Texas is viewed, residents can take comfort in knowing Americans aren’t indifferent about its Lone Star. About forty to sixty percent of respondents answered “not sure” when asked about their opinions of most states. But only 29 percent were unsure whether they liked Texas or not – a credit to Texas’s distinct culture and style, said Mark P. Jones, chair of the Department of Political Science at Rice University.
“States like Texas, given that it’s a well known brand and elicits a lot of positive support, it also has high negatives,” Jones said.
The only state respondents had less of an opinion about was California with 28 percent – the most hated state on the list.
Some more findings from the survey: If you are black, you probably don’t like Texas as much as most other states, but it’s better than Mississippi or Alabama. If you are a Republican, you probably love Texas and hate California. (The reverse is true if you are a Democrat.)
Take heart, Texas – 25 million people can’t be wrong. You will always be the biggest (as long as you’re only counting the continental states because Alaska beats you by a lot.) You have a lot of oil and presidents and a really big water park. And people like you more than New Jersey.
MORE THAN 100,000 AMERICANS HAVE ALIGNED THEMSELVES WITH THE ‘SOVEREIGN CITIZEN’ MOVEMENT
The Sovereign Citizens pose just as serious a threat to the police as do White Supremacists and Jihadist terrorists.
‘SOVEREIGN CITIZEN’ MOVEMENT NOW ON FBI’S RADAR
Homeland Security has ranked the movement as a major threat. Its members reject the law, and some kill cops
By Brian Bennett
Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2012
Reporting from Washington— With the FBI pounding on his door, and his wife and two children barely awake, Shawn Rice allegedly strapped on a bulletproof vest, grabbed a semiautomatic pistol and stepped out his back door on Dec. 22.
But dozens of FBI agents and local police had surrounded the ranch house in Seligman, Ariz., about 80 miles west of Flagstaff, and the only nearby cover was knee-high sagebrush. Rice ducked back inside, and warned the FBI to keep away.
After a tense 10-hour standoff, Rice, 49, was arrested. He now sits in a Las Vegas jail awaiting trial on federal money-laundering charges.
But it wasn't Rice's alleged offense alone that prompted the FBI's interest.
According to court papers, Rice was involved in the "sovereign citizen" movement, a group that has attracted little national media attention but which the FBI classifies as an "extremist antigovernment group." So-called sovereign citizens argue that they are not subject to local, state or federal laws, and some refuse to recognize the authority of courts or police.
Since 2000, members of the movement have killed six police officers, and clashes with law enforcement are on the rise, according to the FBI. The deadliest incident came in 2010, when a shootout with a member left four people dead, including two police officers, during what began as a routine traffic stop in West Memphis, Ark.
Since then, in a notable shift in policy, federal officials have stepped up their attention on sovereign citizens.
"We are focusing our efforts because of the threat of violence," said Stuart R. McArthur, a deputy assistant director in the FBI's Counterterrorism Division.
In two recent unpublished studies, the Homeland Security Department and the National Counterterrorism Center ranked the sovereign citizen movement as a major threat, along with Islamic extremists and white supremacists. The FBI assigned a supervisor to coordinate investigations of the movement last year.
"This is a movement that has absolutely exploded," said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization based in Montgomery, Ala., that tracks domestic terrorists and hate groups. More than 100,000 Americans have aligned themselves with the sovereign citizens, the center said.
Adherents cite a patchwork of beliefs, including that the U.S. is essentially under martial law, that some U.S. constitutional amendments are invalid, and that dollars have been illegitimate since the U.S. Treasury went off the gold standard during the Great Depression.
Most important, some followers believe they are entitled to use armed force to resist arrest and fight police.
The FBI also is investigating followers for alleged mail fraud and harassment of federal officials through nuisance lawsuits and property liens. Such cases are clogging courts in every state, said Casey Carty, who heads the FBI's sovereign citizen unit.
Until recently, federal officials had steered clear of any extensive focus on right-wing extremist groups. In 2009, some members of Congress complained after a Homeland Security Department report warned that such groups might seek to recruit disaffected military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as others. The report highlighted several groups, including the sovereign citizen movement.
Bowing to the criticism, Homeland Security officials gutted the office that had focused on right-wing extremism. They also canceled planned presentations and shelved a reference guide that the office had produced to inform local police about the movement.
"The topic had become too politically charged," said Daryl Johnson, who headed the team that wrote the 2009 report.
That changed after the West Memphis shootout with Jerry Kane Jr., a sovereign citizen proponent who had traveled the country offering $100-a-head seminars that taught spurious ways to avoid paying taxes, among other movement tactics.
Kane and his 16-year-old son, Joseph, were killed in the shootout. Also killed was Police Sgt. Brandon Paudert, son of the local police chief, Bob Paudert.
Paudert had never heard of the sovereign citizen movement until that day. Now retired, he has spoken to more than 75 law enforcement groups around the country warning of its danger.
Paudert remains angry that Kane wasn't identified as potentially armed and dangerous in the FBI-run database that local police normally access for warrants and other data when they stop a vehicle. He wants the FBI to change the database to flag known sovereign citizen adherents.
"If we had that, [my son] would have immediately called for backup," Paudert said. "He would be alive today."
‘SOVEREIGN CITIZEN’ MOVEMENT NOW ON FBI’S RADAR
Homeland Security has ranked the movement as a major threat. Its members reject the law, and some kill cops
By Brian Bennett
Los Angeles Times
February 23, 2012
Reporting from Washington— With the FBI pounding on his door, and his wife and two children barely awake, Shawn Rice allegedly strapped on a bulletproof vest, grabbed a semiautomatic pistol and stepped out his back door on Dec. 22.
But dozens of FBI agents and local police had surrounded the ranch house in Seligman, Ariz., about 80 miles west of Flagstaff, and the only nearby cover was knee-high sagebrush. Rice ducked back inside, and warned the FBI to keep away.
After a tense 10-hour standoff, Rice, 49, was arrested. He now sits in a Las Vegas jail awaiting trial on federal money-laundering charges.
But it wasn't Rice's alleged offense alone that prompted the FBI's interest.
According to court papers, Rice was involved in the "sovereign citizen" movement, a group that has attracted little national media attention but which the FBI classifies as an "extremist antigovernment group." So-called sovereign citizens argue that they are not subject to local, state or federal laws, and some refuse to recognize the authority of courts or police.
Since 2000, members of the movement have killed six police officers, and clashes with law enforcement are on the rise, according to the FBI. The deadliest incident came in 2010, when a shootout with a member left four people dead, including two police officers, during what began as a routine traffic stop in West Memphis, Ark.
Since then, in a notable shift in policy, federal officials have stepped up their attention on sovereign citizens.
"We are focusing our efforts because of the threat of violence," said Stuart R. McArthur, a deputy assistant director in the FBI's Counterterrorism Division.
In two recent unpublished studies, the Homeland Security Department and the National Counterterrorism Center ranked the sovereign citizen movement as a major threat, along with Islamic extremists and white supremacists. The FBI assigned a supervisor to coordinate investigations of the movement last year.
"This is a movement that has absolutely exploded," said Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit organization based in Montgomery, Ala., that tracks domestic terrorists and hate groups. More than 100,000 Americans have aligned themselves with the sovereign citizens, the center said.
Adherents cite a patchwork of beliefs, including that the U.S. is essentially under martial law, that some U.S. constitutional amendments are invalid, and that dollars have been illegitimate since the U.S. Treasury went off the gold standard during the Great Depression.
Most important, some followers believe they are entitled to use armed force to resist arrest and fight police.
The FBI also is investigating followers for alleged mail fraud and harassment of federal officials through nuisance lawsuits and property liens. Such cases are clogging courts in every state, said Casey Carty, who heads the FBI's sovereign citizen unit.
Until recently, federal officials had steered clear of any extensive focus on right-wing extremist groups. In 2009, some members of Congress complained after a Homeland Security Department report warned that such groups might seek to recruit disaffected military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as others. The report highlighted several groups, including the sovereign citizen movement.
Bowing to the criticism, Homeland Security officials gutted the office that had focused on right-wing extremism. They also canceled planned presentations and shelved a reference guide that the office had produced to inform local police about the movement.
"The topic had become too politically charged," said Daryl Johnson, who headed the team that wrote the 2009 report.
That changed after the West Memphis shootout with Jerry Kane Jr., a sovereign citizen proponent who had traveled the country offering $100-a-head seminars that taught spurious ways to avoid paying taxes, among other movement tactics.
Kane and his 16-year-old son, Joseph, were killed in the shootout. Also killed was Police Sgt. Brandon Paudert, son of the local police chief, Bob Paudert.
Paudert had never heard of the sovereign citizen movement until that day. Now retired, he has spoken to more than 75 law enforcement groups around the country warning of its danger.
Paudert remains angry that Kane wasn't identified as potentially armed and dangerous in the FBI-run database that local police normally access for warrants and other data when they stop a vehicle. He wants the FBI to change the database to flag known sovereign citizen adherents.
"If we had that, [my son] would have immediately called for backup," Paudert said. "He would be alive today."
LISHA SHOULD HAVE STUCK TO PUBLIC-LEWDNESS
I wasn’t aware that gas stations were in the habit of cashing very large checks.
LISHA UNDERWOOD: CRIMINAL GENIUS CHANGES STOLEN #25,439.26 CHECK TO $8,439.26, CAUGHT ANYWAY
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 24, 2012
What is the downfall of every criminal mastermind? Hubris, often, sure. But also greed. They just decide to go too far, and get caught.
Lisha Underwood wasn't going to fall into that trap, if what court documents say is true.
Last October, a local company cut a $25,439.26 check to another business and put it in the mail.
Somehow the check didn't make it to the second company but instead ended up in the hands of Underwood, 37.
She took it to a North Freeway gas station and cashed it, but she wasn't going to make it easy on the cops. Or maybe she was trying to keep the check under the station's check-cashing limit, since ensuing events sorta detract from any criminal-genius assessments.
Usherwood changed the "25" in $25,439.26 to "8," as in $8,439.26.
She must have done it well, for the check went through and she got her money. In the course of the transaction, though, she handed over her driver's license, which the station made a copy of.
So when the check finished its way through the banking process and ended up back at the company that wrote it, investigating the forgery was a pretty simple affair.
Usherwood faces a felony forgery charge. Court records, by the way, show she pleaded nolo contendere to a public-lewdness charge in 1993.
LISHA UNDERWOOD: CRIMINAL GENIUS CHANGES STOLEN #25,439.26 CHECK TO $8,439.26, CAUGHT ANYWAY
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 24, 2012
What is the downfall of every criminal mastermind? Hubris, often, sure. But also greed. They just decide to go too far, and get caught.
Lisha Underwood wasn't going to fall into that trap, if what court documents say is true.
Last October, a local company cut a $25,439.26 check to another business and put it in the mail.
Somehow the check didn't make it to the second company but instead ended up in the hands of Underwood, 37.
She took it to a North Freeway gas station and cashed it, but she wasn't going to make it easy on the cops. Or maybe she was trying to keep the check under the station's check-cashing limit, since ensuing events sorta detract from any criminal-genius assessments.
Usherwood changed the "25" in $25,439.26 to "8," as in $8,439.26.
She must have done it well, for the check went through and she got her money. In the course of the transaction, though, she handed over her driver's license, which the station made a copy of.
So when the check finished its way through the banking process and ended up back at the company that wrote it, investigating the forgery was a pretty simple affair.
Usherwood faces a felony forgery charge. Court records, by the way, show she pleaded nolo contendere to a public-lewdness charge in 1993.
VERY EXPENSIVE T-SHIRT
They say the truth hurts!
SPANISH WOMAN FINED 1,000 EUROS FOR WEARING T-SHIRT SAYING ‘MY EX-HUSBAND IS AN ASSHOLE’
Ironically the t-shirt was a present to the woman by her new-found love
By Paul Milligan
Mail Online
February 23, 2012
A divorcée in Spain has been ordered to pay €1,000 damages to her ex-husband after she posted photos on Facebook wearing a t-shirt with a rude message about him.
The 40-year-old woman posted the image back in 2010. In December that year, her former husband saw the offending images and filed for damages.
The couple divorced in 2005, reports the Register website.
A court in Madrid sided with the ex-husband and agreed that the phrase 'Mi exmarido es gilipollas' which roughly translates as 'my ex-husband is an asshole' was an attack on the victim's dignity and damaged his reputation.
He ordered the woman to pay her ex €2,000, and a €240 fine.
These were reduced on appeal to €1,000 damages and eight days' house arrest in lieu of the fine.
To make matters worse, the woman had to ask the judge to pay the damages in installments as she doesn’t earn enough money to pay the fine in one go.
Telling the judge she only earned €700 a month, she responded to the verdict by saying: ‘I started crying because I couldn't believe it. I don't understand how the complaint could have ended in court. It's only a t-shirt.’
Apparently, this now very expensive t-shirt, was bought by the woman's current partner as a joke present for her on holiday in 2009.
SPANISH WOMAN FINED 1,000 EUROS FOR WEARING T-SHIRT SAYING ‘MY EX-HUSBAND IS AN ASSHOLE’
Ironically the t-shirt was a present to the woman by her new-found love
By Paul Milligan
Mail Online
February 23, 2012
A divorcée in Spain has been ordered to pay €1,000 damages to her ex-husband after she posted photos on Facebook wearing a t-shirt with a rude message about him.
The 40-year-old woman posted the image back in 2010. In December that year, her former husband saw the offending images and filed for damages.
The couple divorced in 2005, reports the Register website.
A court in Madrid sided with the ex-husband and agreed that the phrase 'Mi exmarido es gilipollas' which roughly translates as 'my ex-husband is an asshole' was an attack on the victim's dignity and damaged his reputation.
He ordered the woman to pay her ex €2,000, and a €240 fine.
These were reduced on appeal to €1,000 damages and eight days' house arrest in lieu of the fine.
To make matters worse, the woman had to ask the judge to pay the damages in installments as she doesn’t earn enough money to pay the fine in one go.
Telling the judge she only earned €700 a month, she responded to the verdict by saying: ‘I started crying because I couldn't believe it. I don't understand how the complaint could have ended in court. It's only a t-shirt.’
Apparently, this now very expensive t-shirt, was bought by the woman's current partner as a joke present for her on holiday in 2009.
Friday, February 24, 2012
THE CASE FOR A CONCEALED WEAPONS CARRY PERMIT
PACOVILLA follower Steelheader says, “It is always better to have a gun in the hand than a cop on the phone. Another avoidable tragic death.”
COPS DIDN’T COME, HOMEOWNER DIED
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
February 22, 2012
Peter Cukor, 67, was by all accounts a good guy. He was beaten to death at his Berkeley home Saturday night when the cops didn’t come. They were only responding to “real emergencies” at the time because they were on standby for an Occupy Oakland response.
Cukor first called the cops about 8:45 p.m. on the non-emergency line to report a suspicious person hanging around his property. After that call Cukor walked 160 feet to the nearby fire station to request assistance. The firefighters were out on a call. When he returned home he was confronted by the suspicious person, Daniel Jordan DeWitt, 23, who is something of a nutter. DeWitt picked up a large ceramic pot and beat Cukor to death with it.
At that time Cukor’s wife called the cops. They responded in less than five minutes and arrested DeWitt, who was still in the area.
It turns out there was an available cop nearby when the first call came in. That cop volunteered to respond but was reminded by dispatch that they were only responding to emergency calls at that time. On that particular evening the Occupy mob was quite and numbered only about 40. No arrests were made.
DeWitt also has a charge pending from an assault on a nurse at a psych facility in San Leandro.
COPS DIDN’T COME, HOMEOWNER DIED
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
February 22, 2012
Peter Cukor, 67, was by all accounts a good guy. He was beaten to death at his Berkeley home Saturday night when the cops didn’t come. They were only responding to “real emergencies” at the time because they were on standby for an Occupy Oakland response.
Cukor first called the cops about 8:45 p.m. on the non-emergency line to report a suspicious person hanging around his property. After that call Cukor walked 160 feet to the nearby fire station to request assistance. The firefighters were out on a call. When he returned home he was confronted by the suspicious person, Daniel Jordan DeWitt, 23, who is something of a nutter. DeWitt picked up a large ceramic pot and beat Cukor to death with it.
At that time Cukor’s wife called the cops. They responded in less than five minutes and arrested DeWitt, who was still in the area.
It turns out there was an available cop nearby when the first call came in. That cop volunteered to respond but was reminded by dispatch that they were only responding to emergency calls at that time. On that particular evening the Occupy mob was quite and numbered only about 40. No arrests were made.
DeWitt also has a charge pending from an assault on a nurse at a psych facility in San Leandro.
‘ALL OUR TROUBLES ARE DUE TO IRAEL’
So said the chief strategist of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And members of Hillary Clinton’s State Department and Leon Panetta’s Defense Department have also said this when discussing our troubled relations with the Muslim world.
MORE EVIDENCE IRAN’S NUCLAR PROGRAM IS NOT PEACEFUL
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
February 23, 2012
Iran continues to insist its secretive nuclear program is peaceful in nature, and Western leaders remain eager to at least partially take Tehran at its word in order to avoid a military conflict. But an interview with the wife of a slain Iranian nuclear scientist further suggested that the international community is sticking its head in the sand, to the detriment of Israel.
Speaking to Iran's Fars News Agency, Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani, the wife of recently assassinated nuclear scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, said her husband's "ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel."
Roshan was a director and lead chemist at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, one of the most important facilities in Iran's nuclear program, and perhaps the most important if Iran is planning building atomic bombs.
Iranian officials and media have accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of being behind the car bomb that killed Roshan as he drove to work last month. Israeli President Shimon Peres denied that his nation was involved.
On Wednesday, Israeli army chief Gen. Benny Gantz reiterated that a nuclear-armed Iran poses an unacceptable existential threat to the Jewish state. And Balouri Kashani's revelation of what her husband was working toward is only the latest vindication of the Israeli assessment.
A document recently published by the chief strategist of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Alireza Forghani, argued that "in the name of Allah, Iran must attack Israel by 2014. All our troubles are due to Israel!"
Khamenei and especially Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have repeatedly referred to Israel as a cancer that must be removed from the Middle East.
Despite this evidence to the contrary, Israel's critics continue to accuse the Jewish state of manipulating the situation for the sake of starting what they call another pointless war.
MORE EVIDENCE IRAN’S NUCLAR PROGRAM IS NOT PEACEFUL
By Ryan Jones
Israel Today
February 23, 2012
Iran continues to insist its secretive nuclear program is peaceful in nature, and Western leaders remain eager to at least partially take Tehran at its word in order to avoid a military conflict. But an interview with the wife of a slain Iranian nuclear scientist further suggested that the international community is sticking its head in the sand, to the detriment of Israel.
Speaking to Iran's Fars News Agency, Fatemeh Bolouri Kashani, the wife of recently assassinated nuclear scientist, Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan Behdast, said her husband's "ultimate goal was the annihilation of Israel."
Roshan was a director and lead chemist at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility, one of the most important facilities in Iran's nuclear program, and perhaps the most important if Iran is planning building atomic bombs.
Iranian officials and media have accused Israel's Mossad spy agency of being behind the car bomb that killed Roshan as he drove to work last month. Israeli President Shimon Peres denied that his nation was involved.
On Wednesday, Israeli army chief Gen. Benny Gantz reiterated that a nuclear-armed Iran poses an unacceptable existential threat to the Jewish state. And Balouri Kashani's revelation of what her husband was working toward is only the latest vindication of the Israeli assessment.
A document recently published by the chief strategist of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Alireza Forghani, argued that "in the name of Allah, Iran must attack Israel by 2014. All our troubles are due to Israel!"
Khamenei and especially Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have repeatedly referred to Israel as a cancer that must be removed from the Middle East.
Despite this evidence to the contrary, Israel's critics continue to accuse the Jewish state of manipulating the situation for the sake of starting what they call another pointless war.
THE GOVERNMENT DOES NOT WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT ALIENS FROM OUTER SPACE LANDED AND SETTLED IN HOLLYWOOD
Hair Balls exposes a government coverup.
THE “BATTLE OF LA,” 70 YEARS AGO TODAY: 5 IRREFUTABLE ARGUMENTS WHY IT WAS ACTUALLY A UFO ATTACK
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 23, 2012
Seventy years ago today, the Battle of Los Angeles occurred, a vicious fight that resulted in three civilian deaths.
Haven't heard of it? We're not surprised.
The U.S. government said what happened was nighttime antiaircraft crews protecting Los Angeles got nervous -- it was just two months after Pearl Harbor -- and opened fire on a weather balloon.
The crews also set off flares, and all the confusion just built on itself. So we're told.
Others say the night featured an attempted UFO landing, in which the valiant gun crews fought aliens trying to land.
It's pretty obvious the latter is true.
Obviously the aliens not only attempted to land, they succeeded. Just look at what's happened in Hollywood since then. The logic becomes inescapable.
5. THE QUANTITY OF UFO/ALIEN MOVIES HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY
Between 1911 and 1941, UFOs and flying saucers were occasionally a subject for films. Since then -- especially since the 1950s, after a necessary period of time to learn the equipment and infiltrate studio management -- movies about UFOs exploded. Coincidence? who's being naive, Kay?
4. THE QUALITY OF UFO/ALIEN MOVIES HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY
In the 1930s, UFOs were laughably portrayed on screen, obvious frauds. While it understandably took a decade or two to import the necessary technology from the home planet to Earth, all of a sudden you got Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Independence Day and the Transformers series. The aliens' unstinting desire for complete accuracy in movies is inspiring
3. VERY, VERY STRANGE PEOPLE LIKE TOM CRUISE AND ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER HAVE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF HOLLYWOOD SUCCESS
One fiercely believes in aliens and Xenu as if he knows it was true and the other became an influential box-office legend despite documentaries that proved a) he could barely speak English, and b) he was a cyborg sent from the future to kill a specific human. Luckily for the U.S. -- and the world -- the aliens overreached when they had him elected California governor as a first step towards getting his finger on the nuclear button (Yes, their plans included overturning the "natural born citizen" section of the Constitution.)
2. THE ATTACKS SUDDENLY STOPPED
If it was a case of "itchy trigger fingers," why weren't there countless more up and down the coast? Answer: Because the aliens had succeeded in landing and needed no more attempts. Sherlock Holmes's "dog that didn't bark" theorem FTW, bitchaz.
1. THEY NEVER FOUND THE “WEATHER BALLOON” THAT STARTED IT ALL
The feds would have you believe the following:
1) A weather balloon was shot at by a lot of antiaircraft guns
2) It, or its pieces, fell to the Pacific Ocean.
If that's true, why couldn't they produce the balloon? Surely the balloon (or the pieces thereof) would have floated in the Pacific for some time, and the Pacific is known by oceanologists to be, as they say, "not very big."
So why couldn't the government find this alleged "balloon"?
Think, people. And vote Ron Paul!!!
THE “BATTLE OF LA,” 70 YEARS AGO TODAY: 5 IRREFUTABLE ARGUMENTS WHY IT WAS ACTUALLY A UFO ATTACK
By Richard Connelly
Houston Press Hair Balls
February 23, 2012
Seventy years ago today, the Battle of Los Angeles occurred, a vicious fight that resulted in three civilian deaths.
Haven't heard of it? We're not surprised.
The U.S. government said what happened was nighttime antiaircraft crews protecting Los Angeles got nervous -- it was just two months after Pearl Harbor -- and opened fire on a weather balloon.
The crews also set off flares, and all the confusion just built on itself. So we're told.
Others say the night featured an attempted UFO landing, in which the valiant gun crews fought aliens trying to land.
It's pretty obvious the latter is true.
Obviously the aliens not only attempted to land, they succeeded. Just look at what's happened in Hollywood since then. The logic becomes inescapable.
5. THE QUANTITY OF UFO/ALIEN MOVIES HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY
Between 1911 and 1941, UFOs and flying saucers were occasionally a subject for films. Since then -- especially since the 1950s, after a necessary period of time to learn the equipment and infiltrate studio management -- movies about UFOs exploded. Coincidence? who's being naive, Kay?
4. THE QUALITY OF UFO/ALIEN MOVIES HAS INCREASED DRAMATICALLY
In the 1930s, UFOs were laughably portrayed on screen, obvious frauds. While it understandably took a decade or two to import the necessary technology from the home planet to Earth, all of a sudden you got Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Independence Day and the Transformers series. The aliens' unstinting desire for complete accuracy in movies is inspiring
3. VERY, VERY STRANGE PEOPLE LIKE TOM CRUISE AND ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER HAVE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF HOLLYWOOD SUCCESS
One fiercely believes in aliens and Xenu as if he knows it was true and the other became an influential box-office legend despite documentaries that proved a) he could barely speak English, and b) he was a cyborg sent from the future to kill a specific human. Luckily for the U.S. -- and the world -- the aliens overreached when they had him elected California governor as a first step towards getting his finger on the nuclear button (Yes, their plans included overturning the "natural born citizen" section of the Constitution.)
2. THE ATTACKS SUDDENLY STOPPED
If it was a case of "itchy trigger fingers," why weren't there countless more up and down the coast? Answer: Because the aliens had succeeded in landing and needed no more attempts. Sherlock Holmes's "dog that didn't bark" theorem FTW, bitchaz.
1. THEY NEVER FOUND THE “WEATHER BALLOON” THAT STARTED IT ALL
The feds would have you believe the following:
1) A weather balloon was shot at by a lot of antiaircraft guns
2) It, or its pieces, fell to the Pacific Ocean.
If that's true, why couldn't they produce the balloon? Surely the balloon (or the pieces thereof) would have floated in the Pacific for some time, and the Pacific is known by oceanologists to be, as they say, "not very big."
So why couldn't the government find this alleged "balloon"?
Think, people. And vote Ron Paul!!!
WHERE ARE THE JOBS, MR. PRESIDENT?
The unemployment rate went down only because millions of people simply gave up looking for work and dropped out of the workforce all together.
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
By Monica Crowley
politicalmavens.com
February 23, 2012\
“Where are the jobs, Mr. President?” So wailed then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi when the unemployment rate was about 6 percent toward the end of President Bush’s term.
Different president, same question. Only in Obama’s case, staggeringly high unemployment, routinely over 9 percent, for years on end. And when the rate did drop, it was only because millions of people simply gave up looking for work and dropped out of the workforce all together.
Today, Gallup reports its latest unemployment findings:
“The U.S. unemployment rate, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 9.0% in mid-February,” Gallup said in its mid-month unemployment survey, released on February 17. “The mid-month reading normally reflects what the U.S. government reports for the entire month, and is up from 8.3% in mid-January.
“Gallup said the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) would likely report a rise in the official unemployment rate in early March, when it publishes its February figures.
“Gallup’s mid-month figures are not seasonally adjusted, and so may not predict the official unemployment rate precisely. However, because Gallup and BLS both conduct their unemployment surveys at the same time - in the middle of the month - Gallup’s early figures can provide a barometer of where the official rate is likely headed.
“The survey also found that “underemployment” - those unemployed and those working part-time because full-time jobs are unavailable - rose to 19 percent, up from the 18.7 percent Gallup found in January.
“Gallup said its report reflected a continuing trend of weakness in U.S. labor markets, marking a “sharp deterioration” in job market conditions.”
In other words, the jobs picture is not improving, 13 million people remain out of work, and Obama’s policies are as destructive as ever.
Where are the jobs, Mr. President?
JOBS, JOBS, JOBS
By Monica Crowley
politicalmavens.com
February 23, 2012\
“Where are the jobs, Mr. President?” So wailed then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi when the unemployment rate was about 6 percent toward the end of President Bush’s term.
Different president, same question. Only in Obama’s case, staggeringly high unemployment, routinely over 9 percent, for years on end. And when the rate did drop, it was only because millions of people simply gave up looking for work and dropped out of the workforce all together.
Today, Gallup reports its latest unemployment findings:
“The U.S. unemployment rate, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 9.0% in mid-February,” Gallup said in its mid-month unemployment survey, released on February 17. “The mid-month reading normally reflects what the U.S. government reports for the entire month, and is up from 8.3% in mid-January.
“Gallup said the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) would likely report a rise in the official unemployment rate in early March, when it publishes its February figures.
“Gallup’s mid-month figures are not seasonally adjusted, and so may not predict the official unemployment rate precisely. However, because Gallup and BLS both conduct their unemployment surveys at the same time - in the middle of the month - Gallup’s early figures can provide a barometer of where the official rate is likely headed.
“The survey also found that “underemployment” - those unemployed and those working part-time because full-time jobs are unavailable - rose to 19 percent, up from the 18.7 percent Gallup found in January.
“Gallup said its report reflected a continuing trend of weakness in U.S. labor markets, marking a “sharp deterioration” in job market conditions.”
In other words, the jobs picture is not improving, 13 million people remain out of work, and Obama’s policies are as destructive as ever.
Where are the jobs, Mr. President?
WARREN BUFFETT SHOULD JUST CUT A CHECK EVERY YEAR
Since Buffett complains that he’s not paying enough in taxes, why doesn’t he just cut a check and send it to the IRS?
THE REAL STORY ON TAXES THE RICH PAY
By Scott Burns
Houston Chronicle
February 22, 2012
Warren Buffett and Mitt Romney have something in common beyond wealth. Both pay federal income taxes at a 45 percent rate. That's three times the 15 percent rate mentioned by Buffett and reported in the press. That rate is also higher than the 30 percent "Buffett Rule" that President Barack Obama is touting in the name of fairness.
How can this be? How can Buffett and Romney pay so much more in taxes than we see discussed in the press? Doesn't everyone know that the very rich have the advantage of being able to rent representatives and senators to write the best tax code money can buy?
The answer lies in understanding what economists call "tax incidence" - knowing who really pays a tax.
If you have a lemonade stand, it is considered a "proprietorship." You're the owner, operator and the person who earns income selling the lemonade. You subtract the costs of doing business from the sales of lemonade, and that becomes your earned income. Since it is labor income, it is subject to employment taxes. It is also subject to the federal income tax.
MORE TAXES
But you have a vision. You want to become the Starbucks of lemonade. You open multiple stands. The net income of the business soars. Your new CPA says you need to turn your proprietorship into a corporation. Since you enjoy having a big income, you make it an "S" corporation, a form that allows you to, for tax purposes, pass all net income through to yourself and, perhaps, a few other shareholders.
That income, like the proprietorship income, will be subject to the employment tax and the federal income tax. You'll pay at a 12.4 percent rate on the first $110,100 you earn for the employment tax. (The Medicare tax is an additional 2.9 percent.) As a practical matter, you're earning so much that you leave the employment tax far behind. The only tax that matters is the federal income tax. On that, you pay at a rate as high as 35 percent.
BIGGER AND BIGGER
Now suppose Ubiquitous Lemonade grows even larger. What do you do?
You become a "C" corporation, one that is a taxable entity unto itself. As a consequence, you now have to pay the corporate income tax. Whatever your corporation earns, it may be taxed at a rate up to 35 percent. For each $1 of earnings, the corporation can retain 65 cents after taxes. The corporation can then pay you a dividend out of those 65 cents.
When you get that dividend, it will be subject to a federal income tax rate of 15 percent. Since you are paying a 15 percent tax on 65 cents, $1 of what used to be your earnings is now down to 55 cents after taxes.
One of the reasons the tax rate on dividends is so low is that economists see this as double taxation. However you look at it, your effective tax rate is 45 percent because that's how much of each earned dollar goes to the government. If Obama gets his Buffett Rule, with a minimum tax rate of 30 percent for millionaires, the effective tax rate won't be 30 percent. It will be 55 percent.
Would that kill the economy? Maybe. Maybe not. It certainly wouldn't be friendly to income from capital, so we can expect to see yet more money being invested in other countries.
We can also expect more wealthy Americans deciding that Australia, New Zealand or Brazil are better places to live, work and collect dividends.
HIGH TAXES FOR ALL
The reality here is that the U.S. is a high-tax land for everybody.
If you are a typical worker, you probably pay a top income tax rate of 15 percent. You also pay the 15.3 percent employment tax. (If you think you only pay half of that tax, you've been snookered by a politician. Stop working, and your employer stops paying its "share" of the tax.) So your real but disguised tax burden is about 30 percent.
That's two-thirds of what Buffett and Romney pay.
What should our tax rate be? I don't know. But it would help if the politicians started with the right numbers.
THE REAL STORY ON TAXES THE RICH PAY
By Scott Burns
Houston Chronicle
February 22, 2012
Warren Buffett and Mitt Romney have something in common beyond wealth. Both pay federal income taxes at a 45 percent rate. That's three times the 15 percent rate mentioned by Buffett and reported in the press. That rate is also higher than the 30 percent "Buffett Rule" that President Barack Obama is touting in the name of fairness.
How can this be? How can Buffett and Romney pay so much more in taxes than we see discussed in the press? Doesn't everyone know that the very rich have the advantage of being able to rent representatives and senators to write the best tax code money can buy?
The answer lies in understanding what economists call "tax incidence" - knowing who really pays a tax.
If you have a lemonade stand, it is considered a "proprietorship." You're the owner, operator and the person who earns income selling the lemonade. You subtract the costs of doing business from the sales of lemonade, and that becomes your earned income. Since it is labor income, it is subject to employment taxes. It is also subject to the federal income tax.
MORE TAXES
But you have a vision. You want to become the Starbucks of lemonade. You open multiple stands. The net income of the business soars. Your new CPA says you need to turn your proprietorship into a corporation. Since you enjoy having a big income, you make it an "S" corporation, a form that allows you to, for tax purposes, pass all net income through to yourself and, perhaps, a few other shareholders.
That income, like the proprietorship income, will be subject to the employment tax and the federal income tax. You'll pay at a 12.4 percent rate on the first $110,100 you earn for the employment tax. (The Medicare tax is an additional 2.9 percent.) As a practical matter, you're earning so much that you leave the employment tax far behind. The only tax that matters is the federal income tax. On that, you pay at a rate as high as 35 percent.
BIGGER AND BIGGER
Now suppose Ubiquitous Lemonade grows even larger. What do you do?
You become a "C" corporation, one that is a taxable entity unto itself. As a consequence, you now have to pay the corporate income tax. Whatever your corporation earns, it may be taxed at a rate up to 35 percent. For each $1 of earnings, the corporation can retain 65 cents after taxes. The corporation can then pay you a dividend out of those 65 cents.
When you get that dividend, it will be subject to a federal income tax rate of 15 percent. Since you are paying a 15 percent tax on 65 cents, $1 of what used to be your earnings is now down to 55 cents after taxes.
One of the reasons the tax rate on dividends is so low is that economists see this as double taxation. However you look at it, your effective tax rate is 45 percent because that's how much of each earned dollar goes to the government. If Obama gets his Buffett Rule, with a minimum tax rate of 30 percent for millionaires, the effective tax rate won't be 30 percent. It will be 55 percent.
Would that kill the economy? Maybe. Maybe not. It certainly wouldn't be friendly to income from capital, so we can expect to see yet more money being invested in other countries.
We can also expect more wealthy Americans deciding that Australia, New Zealand or Brazil are better places to live, work and collect dividends.
HIGH TAXES FOR ALL
The reality here is that the U.S. is a high-tax land for everybody.
If you are a typical worker, you probably pay a top income tax rate of 15 percent. You also pay the 15.3 percent employment tax. (If you think you only pay half of that tax, you've been snookered by a politician. Stop working, and your employer stops paying its "share" of the tax.) So your real but disguised tax burden is about 30 percent.
That's two-thirds of what Buffett and Romney pay.
What should our tax rate be? I don't know. But it would help if the politicians started with the right numbers.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
GROSS MISCARRIAGE OF JUSTICE
On June 27, 1990, Carl Wayne Buntion shot and killed Houston police officer James Irby during a routine traffic stop. Buntion, a career criminal with convictions dating back to 1961 and sentences totaling 105 years in prison, shot the motorcycle cop in the head, then stood over the fallen officer and shot him twice more in the back. Buntion had told people that, “If the police ever pull me over, I’m going to kill the officer because I’m not going back to prison.”
During the original trial in which Buntion was sentenced to death, this sorry piece of worthless shit claimed he shot Irby in self-defense because the officer had approached the car in which he had been riding with his service weapon drawn.
Now, some 22 years after the coldblooded murder of Officer James Irby, the punishment phase for Buntion, 68, is being retried. An appellate court had ordered the retrial because the jury that sentenced Buntion to death did not consider the mitigating evidence of his difficult childhood with an abusive father. His attorneys are arguing that his life should be spared because he has been a model prisoner while roosting on death row for over 20 years.
Buntion’s record of convictions for assaults, burglaries, a sexual assault and Irby’s murder were the result of an abusive childhood? Come on, give us a break! And he deserves to have his life spared because he has been a model prisoner on death row? What a crock of shit!
If his current jury resentences him to death, Buntion will probably roost another 10 years on death row pending resolution of the appeals that are sure to be filed in his behalf.
What we have here is a gross miscarriage of justice. Buntion, this sorry piece of worthless shit, should have been executed years ago, no ifs ands or buts about it!
During the original trial in which Buntion was sentenced to death, this sorry piece of worthless shit claimed he shot Irby in self-defense because the officer had approached the car in which he had been riding with his service weapon drawn.
Now, some 22 years after the coldblooded murder of Officer James Irby, the punishment phase for Buntion, 68, is being retried. An appellate court had ordered the retrial because the jury that sentenced Buntion to death did not consider the mitigating evidence of his difficult childhood with an abusive father. His attorneys are arguing that his life should be spared because he has been a model prisoner while roosting on death row for over 20 years.
Buntion’s record of convictions for assaults, burglaries, a sexual assault and Irby’s murder were the result of an abusive childhood? Come on, give us a break! And he deserves to have his life spared because he has been a model prisoner on death row? What a crock of shit!
If his current jury resentences him to death, Buntion will probably roost another 10 years on death row pending resolution of the appeals that are sure to be filed in his behalf.
What we have here is a gross miscarriage of justice. Buntion, this sorry piece of worthless shit, should have been executed years ago, no ifs ands or buts about it!
A NEW TWIST ON THE N-WORD
In the context of which the teacher used the forbidden N-word, I think he may have a winnable case.
WHITE CHICAGO TEACHER SUES TO USE N-WORD IN CLASS
By Jay Scott Smith
the grio
February 20, 2012
CHICAGO - A 48-year-old Chicago public school teacher used the "n-word" as part of a lesson on the perils and pitfalls of racism, and it landed him a five-day suspension from his job. Now the teacher is fighting back, filing a federal lawsuit against the district and claiming that his civil rights have been violated.
Lincoln Brown, a 21-year veteran teacher and native of Chicago's Hyde Park, used the word in his sixth grade classroom at Murray Language Academy on Oct. 4, 2011 after discovering a note that a female student was passing, which had the slur written on it citing some rap lyrics. Brown, who is white, used the note as an opportunity to teach a lesson about racism in the context of Huckleberry Finn.
In almost impeccable timing, as soon as Brown said the "n-word," the school's principal, George Mason, walked into the room, and the trouble started.
"This cannot be a part of who I am," Brown said, during a press conference with his attorney, "My character has been assassinated."
Mason gave a different account of the incident, and charged Brown with "using verbally abusive language to or in front of students" and "cruel, immoral, negligent or criminal conduct or communication to a student, that causes psychological or physical harm" which is in violation of the Chicago Public Schools policy. Mason disputed the context in which Brown used the n-word.
"We've talked about racial stereotyping and how words really shape people's ideas of who you are," Brown said, "I cannot tell you how much it hurts me to say that word."
Following a disciplinary hearing, Brown was suspended for five days without pay. CPS denied Brown's appeal of the suspension on grounds that he "engaged in inappropriate discussions with sixth-grade students during instructional time."
"If we can't discuss these issues, we'll never be able to resolve them," Brown said to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the suit, he names Mason, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, and the Chicago Board of Education, saying his first and fifth amendment rights were violated.
Brown told the Sun-Times that he had previously used materials from the Southern Poverty Law Center that advised teachers on how to approach the subject of the "n-word" with students. He also insists that he thought Mason was supporting him when he stayed to watch the discussion with "engaged, excited" students.
"It's ridiculous to believe that sixth-graders aren't exposed to this language, not only in music but in their everyday lives," Brown said. He also claims that the stress has caused him to have high blood pressure and sleepless nights. Brown has gotten support from parents of current and former students, but that has not convinced the school district to reconsider on its decision.
"The principal determined that the way the teacher used the word was improper and imposed a short suspension," CPS Director of Communications Robyn Ziegler said in a prepared statement. "The teacher has received sufficient due process. In our opinion, his federal lawsuit is without merit."
This is just the example of a teacher employing questionable tactics to inject race into lesson plans in school. Last month, a teacher in suburban Detroit came under fire for a lesson she asked students to participate in slavery role-playing.
In December, a teacher in Atlanta resigned after attempting to correlate a math lesson with slavery. That lesson included questions such as: If Frederick (Douglass) got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?
There was no word on when Brown's suit would be heard in federal court. Brown, who is expected to serve his suspension this week, hopes that this will lead to a more open discussion over the usage of the "n-word" in schools.
"It goes to the heart of the first amendment," William Spielberger, Brown's attorney, said. "We want the board of education to change their policy to allow this type of discussion to occur."
WHITE CHICAGO TEACHER SUES TO USE N-WORD IN CLASS
By Jay Scott Smith
the grio
February 20, 2012
CHICAGO - A 48-year-old Chicago public school teacher used the "n-word" as part of a lesson on the perils and pitfalls of racism, and it landed him a five-day suspension from his job. Now the teacher is fighting back, filing a federal lawsuit against the district and claiming that his civil rights have been violated.
Lincoln Brown, a 21-year veteran teacher and native of Chicago's Hyde Park, used the word in his sixth grade classroom at Murray Language Academy on Oct. 4, 2011 after discovering a note that a female student was passing, which had the slur written on it citing some rap lyrics. Brown, who is white, used the note as an opportunity to teach a lesson about racism in the context of Huckleberry Finn.
In almost impeccable timing, as soon as Brown said the "n-word," the school's principal, George Mason, walked into the room, and the trouble started.
"This cannot be a part of who I am," Brown said, during a press conference with his attorney, "My character has been assassinated."
Mason gave a different account of the incident, and charged Brown with "using verbally abusive language to or in front of students" and "cruel, immoral, negligent or criminal conduct or communication to a student, that causes psychological or physical harm" which is in violation of the Chicago Public Schools policy. Mason disputed the context in which Brown used the n-word.
"We've talked about racial stereotyping and how words really shape people's ideas of who you are," Brown said, "I cannot tell you how much it hurts me to say that word."
Following a disciplinary hearing, Brown was suspended for five days without pay. CPS denied Brown's appeal of the suspension on grounds that he "engaged in inappropriate discussions with sixth-grade students during instructional time."
"If we can't discuss these issues, we'll never be able to resolve them," Brown said to the Chicago Sun-Times.
In the suit, he names Mason, CPS CEO Jean-Claude Brizard, and the Chicago Board of Education, saying his first and fifth amendment rights were violated.
Brown told the Sun-Times that he had previously used materials from the Southern Poverty Law Center that advised teachers on how to approach the subject of the "n-word" with students. He also insists that he thought Mason was supporting him when he stayed to watch the discussion with "engaged, excited" students.
"It's ridiculous to believe that sixth-graders aren't exposed to this language, not only in music but in their everyday lives," Brown said. He also claims that the stress has caused him to have high blood pressure and sleepless nights. Brown has gotten support from parents of current and former students, but that has not convinced the school district to reconsider on its decision.
"The principal determined that the way the teacher used the word was improper and imposed a short suspension," CPS Director of Communications Robyn Ziegler said in a prepared statement. "The teacher has received sufficient due process. In our opinion, his federal lawsuit is without merit."
This is just the example of a teacher employing questionable tactics to inject race into lesson plans in school. Last month, a teacher in suburban Detroit came under fire for a lesson she asked students to participate in slavery role-playing.
In December, a teacher in Atlanta resigned after attempting to correlate a math lesson with slavery. That lesson included questions such as: If Frederick (Douglass) got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week?
There was no word on when Brown's suit would be heard in federal court. Brown, who is expected to serve his suspension this week, hopes that this will lead to a more open discussion over the usage of the "n-word" in schools.
"It goes to the heart of the first amendment," William Spielberger, Brown's attorney, said. "We want the board of education to change their policy to allow this type of discussion to occur."
NOW I KNOW WHY I'VE REACHED THE AGE OF 85
It’s the booze I’ve consumed during my lifetime.
SAY CHEERS! TO DRINKING
By Victoria Shanta Retelny, R.D., L.D.N.
Jewish World Review
February 22, 2012
Alcohol may make you happy, but can it really keep you healthy? The good news is that moderate alcohol intake can fit into a healthy lifestyle and even offer some benefits — welcome tidings for the estimated 100 million American adults who drink alcohol responsibly.
Alcohol's potentially positive effects on health and quality of life have been on the public health radar screen for decades, dating to 1979, when one of the first research papers was published on the topic.
While there are positive health effects documented with moderate alcohol intake, drinking too much clearly wipes away any potential benefits. Consider alcohol a double-edged sword with the shiny side holding the promise of improved health and the lackluster side leading to health risks. Experts contend that garnering the health benefits (or not) of alcohol depends on the amount consumed, drinking environment, age, and other unique characteristics of the drinker. Here are a few interesting areas of research on alcohol and health.
The heart: One of the most publicized benefits of drinking alcohol is heart health; research has linked moderate drinking to a 25 to 40 percent reduction in risk of coronary heart disease. What is it about alcohol that makes it heart healthy? "The ethanol in any alcoholic beverage — beer, wine and liquor — imparts benefits to counter atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries," explains Andrea N. Giancoli, M.P.H., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Alcohol is one of the only dietary practices that increases the 'good' high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lowers the 'bad' low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, as well as lowers the risk of blood clots."
Research in the British Medical Journal showed convincing evidence that one to two alcoholic drinks per day increased HDL cholesterol by as much as 15 to 20 percent. This, in turn, reduced narrowing of the arteries caused by plaque and decreased the propensity for blood clotting, a common cause of heart attacks. It didn't take long to see positive results; this study showed that within two weeks of regular, moderate imbibing the HDL cholesterol was affected for the better. In addition, the cardio-protective benefit was found to compound with regular exercise. People who worked out for 30 to 60 minutes four to five times a week experienced even greater increases in HDL cholesterol when combined with moderate alcoholic intake.
Diabetes defense: While you do not want to drink alcohol solely to manage blood sugar levels, it may be another added benefit of moderate consumption. According to Giancoli, "Drinking alcohol in moderation also has been found to improve insulin sensitivity, which controls blood sugar levels and staves off Type 2 diabetes, a risk factor for heart disease and premature death." Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association published in 2002 examined whether daily consumption of none to moderate amounts of alcohol (0, 15, or 30 grams/day) influenced fasting insulin, glucose concentrations and insulin sensitivity in 51 nondiabetic postmenopausal women. After eight weeks, the greatest impact was observed in the group that drank 30 grams of alcohol (about two drinks) a day; fasting insulin levels decreased and insulin sensitivity improved as a result of regular, moderate alcohol consumption compared with those who didn't drink at all.
Longevity: According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, people who have one to two drinks a day live longer due to lower rates of all-cause mortality found among moderate drinkers.
The lowest incidence of deaths due to diseases like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes occurs in moderate alcohol drinkers. In a literature review published in 2008 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, moderate drinking was found to consistently reduce mortality rates and disease risk among middle-aged (45-65 years) and older adults.
Cancer: No cause for celebrating alcohol. On the other side of the coin, studies show that even one drink a day can pose an increased risk for certain cancers, such as breast cancer. Experts caution women with a family history of breast cancer to monitor alcohol intake and abstain, if possible. And in a new meta-analysis published September 2011 in the Annals of Oncology, researchers identified a 21 percent increase in colorectal cancer risk associated with moderate alcohol consumption.
The American Heart Association's Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations, published in 2006, specifically suggests moderation for people who drink, with cautionary advice against taking up drinking just for the sake of health.
The AHA guidelines, as well as the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, recommend no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men due to men's larger size. Experts recommend that you drink alcohol with meals because food slows down the absorption rate of alcohol in your blood stream and eating will enable you to savor your drinks with food more mindfully.
SAY CHEERS! TO DRINKING
By Victoria Shanta Retelny, R.D., L.D.N.
Jewish World Review
February 22, 2012
Alcohol may make you happy, but can it really keep you healthy? The good news is that moderate alcohol intake can fit into a healthy lifestyle and even offer some benefits — welcome tidings for the estimated 100 million American adults who drink alcohol responsibly.
Alcohol's potentially positive effects on health and quality of life have been on the public health radar screen for decades, dating to 1979, when one of the first research papers was published on the topic.
While there are positive health effects documented with moderate alcohol intake, drinking too much clearly wipes away any potential benefits. Consider alcohol a double-edged sword with the shiny side holding the promise of improved health and the lackluster side leading to health risks. Experts contend that garnering the health benefits (or not) of alcohol depends on the amount consumed, drinking environment, age, and other unique characteristics of the drinker. Here are a few interesting areas of research on alcohol and health.
The heart: One of the most publicized benefits of drinking alcohol is heart health; research has linked moderate drinking to a 25 to 40 percent reduction in risk of coronary heart disease. What is it about alcohol that makes it heart healthy? "The ethanol in any alcoholic beverage — beer, wine and liquor — imparts benefits to counter atherosclerosis or hardening of the arteries," explains Andrea N. Giancoli, M.P.H., R.D., a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association. "Alcohol is one of the only dietary practices that increases the 'good' high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and lowers the 'bad' low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, as well as lowers the risk of blood clots."
Research in the British Medical Journal showed convincing evidence that one to two alcoholic drinks per day increased HDL cholesterol by as much as 15 to 20 percent. This, in turn, reduced narrowing of the arteries caused by plaque and decreased the propensity for blood clotting, a common cause of heart attacks. It didn't take long to see positive results; this study showed that within two weeks of regular, moderate imbibing the HDL cholesterol was affected for the better. In addition, the cardio-protective benefit was found to compound with regular exercise. People who worked out for 30 to 60 minutes four to five times a week experienced even greater increases in HDL cholesterol when combined with moderate alcoholic intake.
Diabetes defense: While you do not want to drink alcohol solely to manage blood sugar levels, it may be another added benefit of moderate consumption. According to Giancoli, "Drinking alcohol in moderation also has been found to improve insulin sensitivity, which controls blood sugar levels and staves off Type 2 diabetes, a risk factor for heart disease and premature death." Research in the Journal of the American Medical Association published in 2002 examined whether daily consumption of none to moderate amounts of alcohol (0, 15, or 30 grams/day) influenced fasting insulin, glucose concentrations and insulin sensitivity in 51 nondiabetic postmenopausal women. After eight weeks, the greatest impact was observed in the group that drank 30 grams of alcohol (about two drinks) a day; fasting insulin levels decreased and insulin sensitivity improved as a result of regular, moderate alcohol consumption compared with those who didn't drink at all.
Longevity: According to the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, people who have one to two drinks a day live longer due to lower rates of all-cause mortality found among moderate drinkers.
The lowest incidence of deaths due to diseases like heart disease and Type 2 diabetes occurs in moderate alcohol drinkers. In a literature review published in 2008 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, moderate drinking was found to consistently reduce mortality rates and disease risk among middle-aged (45-65 years) and older adults.
Cancer: No cause for celebrating alcohol. On the other side of the coin, studies show that even one drink a day can pose an increased risk for certain cancers, such as breast cancer. Experts caution women with a family history of breast cancer to monitor alcohol intake and abstain, if possible. And in a new meta-analysis published September 2011 in the Annals of Oncology, researchers identified a 21 percent increase in colorectal cancer risk associated with moderate alcohol consumption.
The American Heart Association's Diet and Lifestyle Recommendations, published in 2006, specifically suggests moderation for people who drink, with cautionary advice against taking up drinking just for the sake of health.
The AHA guidelines, as well as the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, recommend no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men due to men's larger size. Experts recommend that you drink alcohol with meals because food slows down the absorption rate of alcohol in your blood stream and eating will enable you to savor your drinks with food more mindfully.
THE FAMILY THAT PREYS TOGETHER STAYS TOGETHER
Bob Walsh says: What do you do when you want to go out and thump and slice some gang rivals but you are not old enough to have a license? It’s pretty simple, you get mommy to drive you. The family that preys together stays together.
POLICE: SAN JOSE MOM DROVE GETAWAY CAR IN STABBING OF 13-YEAR-OLD
By Mark Gomez
MercuryNews.com
February 21, 2012
A San Jose mother accused of driving the getaway vehicle after the stabbing of a 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to police.
Margaret Juanita Suazo, 42, was arrested by San Jose police in connection with the midday stabbing Thursday of a teenager in a residential neighborhood near Mabury Road and North Capitol Avenue, according to San Jose police Sgt. Jason Dwyer.
Dwyer described the stabbing as a gang-related attack.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.
Police arrested the woman's son and are looking for a second juvenile suspect who may have been involved, Dwyer said.
About noon Thursday, Suazo was driving the two teens, one of whom was her son, when they encountered the 13-year-old victim, Dwyer said.
Some gang-related words were exchanged, and at some point Suazo's son, 15, allegedly jumped out of the car and chased the 13-year-old boy.
The juvenile stabbed the boy, got back into the car and the group fled, Dwyer said.
"When they are done, Mom makes the getaway," Dwyer said.
After calls to 911, officers rushed to the 2700 block of Glen Firth Drive and found the 13-year-old boy leaning against a car with stab wounds. He was rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, Dwyer said.
The 15-year-old was taken into custody as a juvenile.
POLICE: SAN JOSE MOM DROVE GETAWAY CAR IN STABBING OF 13-YEAR-OLD
By Mark Gomez
MercuryNews.com
February 21, 2012
A San Jose mother accused of driving the getaway vehicle after the stabbing of a 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, according to police.
Margaret Juanita Suazo, 42, was arrested by San Jose police in connection with the midday stabbing Thursday of a teenager in a residential neighborhood near Mabury Road and North Capitol Avenue, according to San Jose police Sgt. Jason Dwyer.
Dwyer described the stabbing as a gang-related attack.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office is reviewing the case.
Police arrested the woman's son and are looking for a second juvenile suspect who may have been involved, Dwyer said.
About noon Thursday, Suazo was driving the two teens, one of whom was her son, when they encountered the 13-year-old victim, Dwyer said.
Some gang-related words were exchanged, and at some point Suazo's son, 15, allegedly jumped out of the car and chased the 13-year-old boy.
The juvenile stabbed the boy, got back into the car and the group fled, Dwyer said.
"When they are done, Mom makes the getaway," Dwyer said.
After calls to 911, officers rushed to the 2700 block of Glen Firth Drive and found the 13-year-old boy leaning against a car with stab wounds. He was rushed to a hospital with non-life-threatening wounds, Dwyer said.
The 15-year-old was taken into custody as a juvenile.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
HOW THE INTERNET GOT STARTED
The Schalotte
February 22, 2012
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.
And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?"
And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.
To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP).
And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known. He said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."
And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."
"YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.
Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
That is how it all began. And now you know the truth – Al Gore did not invent the internet.
February 22, 2012
In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot. And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.
And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?
And Abraham did look at her as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said, "How, dear?"
And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."
Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.
To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was known as Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP).
And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.
And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.
And Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others." And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known. He said, "We need a name that reflects what we are."
And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators."
"YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.
Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).
That is how it all began. And now you know the truth – Al Gore did not invent the internet.
TEXAS BLIVOT RANTS THAT A MEDICAL CATASTROPHE WOULD NOT BANKRUPT ANYONE
A Texas Blivot is 10 pounds of shit in a two pound bag. That is a perfect description of Roach Limburger - oops, I mean Rush Limbaugh.
Yesterday I happened to be listening to Roach – there I go again – rattling off his daily rants about Obama ‘betraying’ our country. When he ranted about Obama’s health care law, he flat-out said that no one has been bankrupted due to a medical catastrophe. He also said that no one in this country is struggling to make ends meet.
I thought good old Roach had gotten over his drug addiction problem but what I heard him say makes me think he was spaced out on something. Millionaire Roach may not be struggling to make ends meet, but millions of poor and lower middle-class American’s are having a hard time keeping their heads above water. Roach says that people who are struggling financially have no one but themselves to blame because they’re simply not putting forth the effort it takes to achieve the American dream.
Will someone please give Roach a drug antidote. Of course, he probably has the best health insurance that money can buy so he could have a heart, kidney, liver and double lung transplant all at the same time without going bankrupt. But most people cannot afford that type of insurance. Those who cannot afford Roach’s platinum policies could easily find themselves wiped out financially in a hot New York minute. And those without any health insurance would be wiped out even quicker than that.
What’s so sad is not that the Texas Blivot comes up with some really stupid statements almost every day, but that his legion of dodoheads – oops, I mean dittoheads – salivate over every word that spews out of his big fat mouth. I keep wondering under what rocks all those dodoheads keep crawling out from?
Yesterday I happened to be listening to Roach – there I go again – rattling off his daily rants about Obama ‘betraying’ our country. When he ranted about Obama’s health care law, he flat-out said that no one has been bankrupted due to a medical catastrophe. He also said that no one in this country is struggling to make ends meet.
I thought good old Roach had gotten over his drug addiction problem but what I heard him say makes me think he was spaced out on something. Millionaire Roach may not be struggling to make ends meet, but millions of poor and lower middle-class American’s are having a hard time keeping their heads above water. Roach says that people who are struggling financially have no one but themselves to blame because they’re simply not putting forth the effort it takes to achieve the American dream.
Will someone please give Roach a drug antidote. Of course, he probably has the best health insurance that money can buy so he could have a heart, kidney, liver and double lung transplant all at the same time without going bankrupt. But most people cannot afford that type of insurance. Those who cannot afford Roach’s platinum policies could easily find themselves wiped out financially in a hot New York minute. And those without any health insurance would be wiped out even quicker than that.
What’s so sad is not that the Texas Blivot comes up with some really stupid statements almost every day, but that his legion of dodoheads – oops, I mean dittoheads – salivate over every word that spews out of his big fat mouth. I keep wondering under what rocks all those dodoheads keep crawling out from?
PCP STILL PROMINENT IN THE RECREATIONAL DRUG MARKETPLACE
The size of the PCP seizure indicates that there is still a substantial demand for this dangerous hallucinogen. For the police, this is an exceptionally dangerous drug because PCP users feel no pain. It requires the use of considerable force to subdue some jerk high on PCP and that can lead to the injury of arresting officers. Furthermore, there have been a number of instances in which PCP users have charged cops with a dangerous weapon and, feeling no pain, they had to be shot numerous times before they were brought down.
$100 MILLION IN PCP SEIZED
Stunned officials find 130 gallons of the dangerous drug in Los Angeles and Culver City – enough for 10 million doses
By Sam Allen
Los Angeles Times
February 17, 2012
About $100 million worth of PCP was seized this week in Los Angeles and Culver City in what authorities described as a major bust of a national drug-trafficking organization.
Officials said they found huge amounts of PCP — totaling roughly 10 million individual doses, which in the Los Angeles area sell for between $10 and $20 each — at two local storage facilities and several other locations. Authorities also recovered nearly $400,000 in cash.
Authorities believe the trafficking organization included at least 10 individuals locally and that it was distributing to Texas, New York and Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities.
"They were shipping and moving and dealing a huge amount of product," said Lt. Scott Fairfield of the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force, known as L.A. IMPACT. "It's the largest PCP seizure I've ever heard of."
Two suspects, Darryl Dwayne Burton and Lagina Bell Huckaby, were arrested Wednesday at a UPS store in Culver City where they were allegedly trying to ship narcotics, Fairfield said. L.A. IMPACT investigators had been trailing the suspects for about a month in response to a tip from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Search warrants were subsequently issued for several locations where a drug ring was believed to be operating, Fairfield said. In the sweep, authorities discovered approximately 130 gallons of phencyclidine, the chemical name for PCP, along with $389,000 in cash, two assault weapons and enough chemicals to produce 500 additional gallons of the narcotic.
Fairfield said Burton is believed to be associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods, a street gang active in Los Angeles. He described Burton as a "major player" in the trafficking organization, but said investigators are still trying to determine what relationship, if any, existed between the drug operation and the gang.
The search warrants covered two residences in South Los Angeles as well as two large storage facilities, Fairfield said. Authorities found cash and an active drug lab at the homes, and most of the PCP and "precursor ingredients" were found at the storage facilities, he added.
Burton and Huckaby both pleaded not guilty to felony drug charges on Friday. They are being held in lieu of $3 million and $2 million bail, respectively.
Burton, 55, has two convictions for drug offenses, including one for possession of PCP, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. No prior convictions were listed for Huckaby, who is 31.
Experts said the quantity of drugs seized indicates a potentially sizable network involved in the manufacturing and distribution of the PCP.
"You know for sure it's not somebody cooking down in his basement," said John Sullivan, a former chief of detectives for the Las Vegas Police Department. "It must be on a grand scale."
Fairfield said there were "definitely more than two" individuals involved in the operation. "We're still working this," he said. "We're hoping it leads to more and we believe that it will."
Another law enforcement expert, Stan Kephart, said it was difficult to asses the exact value of such a large quantity of PCP because street prices can vary substantially throughout the country. But he expressed shock at the total volume seized.
"PCP is a very scary drug — basically what it does is take people on trips where they don't feel any pain," he said. "I can't even get my head around 130 gallons."
$100 MILLION IN PCP SEIZED
Stunned officials find 130 gallons of the dangerous drug in Los Angeles and Culver City – enough for 10 million doses
By Sam Allen
Los Angeles Times
February 17, 2012
About $100 million worth of PCP was seized this week in Los Angeles and Culver City in what authorities described as a major bust of a national drug-trafficking organization.
Officials said they found huge amounts of PCP — totaling roughly 10 million individual doses, which in the Los Angeles area sell for between $10 and $20 each — at two local storage facilities and several other locations. Authorities also recovered nearly $400,000 in cash.
Authorities believe the trafficking organization included at least 10 individuals locally and that it was distributing to Texas, New York and Washington, D.C., and other U.S. cities.
"They were shipping and moving and dealing a huge amount of product," said Lt. Scott Fairfield of the Los Angeles Interagency Metropolitan Police Apprehension Crime Task Force, known as L.A. IMPACT. "It's the largest PCP seizure I've ever heard of."
Two suspects, Darryl Dwayne Burton and Lagina Bell Huckaby, were arrested Wednesday at a UPS store in Culver City where they were allegedly trying to ship narcotics, Fairfield said. L.A. IMPACT investigators had been trailing the suspects for about a month in response to a tip from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Search warrants were subsequently issued for several locations where a drug ring was believed to be operating, Fairfield said. In the sweep, authorities discovered approximately 130 gallons of phencyclidine, the chemical name for PCP, along with $389,000 in cash, two assault weapons and enough chemicals to produce 500 additional gallons of the narcotic.
Fairfield said Burton is believed to be associated with the Bounty Hunter Bloods, a street gang active in Los Angeles. He described Burton as a "major player" in the trafficking organization, but said investigators are still trying to determine what relationship, if any, existed between the drug operation and the gang.
The search warrants covered two residences in South Los Angeles as well as two large storage facilities, Fairfield said. Authorities found cash and an active drug lab at the homes, and most of the PCP and "precursor ingredients" were found at the storage facilities, he added.
Burton and Huckaby both pleaded not guilty to felony drug charges on Friday. They are being held in lieu of $3 million and $2 million bail, respectively.
Burton, 55, has two convictions for drug offenses, including one for possession of PCP, according to the criminal complaint filed against him. No prior convictions were listed for Huckaby, who is 31.
Experts said the quantity of drugs seized indicates a potentially sizable network involved in the manufacturing and distribution of the PCP.
"You know for sure it's not somebody cooking down in his basement," said John Sullivan, a former chief of detectives for the Las Vegas Police Department. "It must be on a grand scale."
Fairfield said there were "definitely more than two" individuals involved in the operation. "We're still working this," he said. "We're hoping it leads to more and we believe that it will."
Another law enforcement expert, Stan Kephart, said it was difficult to asses the exact value of such a large quantity of PCP because street prices can vary substantially throughout the country. But he expressed shock at the total volume seized.
"PCP is a very scary drug — basically what it does is take people on trips where they don't feel any pain," he said. "I can't even get my head around 130 gallons."
IN THE INTEREST OF PUBLIC SAFETY OR IN THE INTEREST OF THE CHILD?
Considering that this boy has had serious behavioral problems since the age of 5, I would say that the safety of the public trumps the interests of the child. Since he has already committed a murder, it is likely that somewhere down the road he will kill again. Keep him locked up until he is too feeble to harm anyone else!
HOW WILL ‘THE SYSTEM’ DEAL WITH 10-YEAR-OLD MURDER SUSPECT?
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
February 20, 2012
A ten-year old boy is accused in San Diego Juvenile Court of murdering a young friend by stabbing him to death with a kitchen knife. As you might expect, the system has some problems dealing with serious very young offenders.
Right now there is only one person under the age of 14 in the state system. The average age of wards held by the state is 19. Most of them have already been through county programs, some of them repeatedly. It is unknown right now if the state system will even exist when this young man’s case is adjudicated. Right now the state spends about $179,000 per year per ward. The counties spend about $2,400 per year per juvenile detainee.
The young man is question is the adopted child of a school teacher. His birth mother was a junkie and he started having significant behavior problems at age five or so. There seems to be little doubt that he actually committed the act of which he is accused, though that does not mean he will be found to be responsible.
HOW WILL ‘THE SYSTEM’ DEAL WITH 10-YEAR-OLD MURDER SUSPECT?
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
February 20, 2012
A ten-year old boy is accused in San Diego Juvenile Court of murdering a young friend by stabbing him to death with a kitchen knife. As you might expect, the system has some problems dealing with serious very young offenders.
Right now there is only one person under the age of 14 in the state system. The average age of wards held by the state is 19. Most of them have already been through county programs, some of them repeatedly. It is unknown right now if the state system will even exist when this young man’s case is adjudicated. Right now the state spends about $179,000 per year per ward. The counties spend about $2,400 per year per juvenile detainee.
The young man is question is the adopted child of a school teacher. His birth mother was a junkie and he started having significant behavior problems at age five or so. There seems to be little doubt that he actually committed the act of which he is accused, though that does not mean he will be found to be responsible.
STOLEN VALOR ACT UNDER ATTACK
Americans have never had the right of unrestricted free speech – one cannot yell fire in a theater if there is no fire and one cannot incite others to riot - and they should not have the right to lie about their military service or the award of any military decorations.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER A LIE IS PROTECTED SPEECH
Believe it or not, it has come to this
By Michael Doyle
Jewish World Review
February 21, 2012
WASHINGTON— (MCT) Fake hero Xavier Alvarez lied to his fellow Californians.
He never rescued an American ambassador. He was never a Marine. Most definitely, contrary to what he told a Southern California audience, Alvarez was never awarded the Medal of Honor.
He lied, until he was caught. Now, the Supreme Court must decide whether the First Amendment protects Alvarez and other wannabes from prosecution. The consequences could stretch well beyond what lawmakers and veterans call stolen valor.
"If false factual statements are unprotected, then the government can prosecute not only the man who tells tall tales of winning the Congressional Medal of Honor, but also the JDater who falsely claims he's Jewish or the dentist who assures you it won't hurt a bit," Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals warned in a ruling that overturned Alvarez's conviction under the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims to military honors.
But Congress, the Obama administration and veterans organizations all consider false military claims uniquely harmful. Just ask George Washington, they say.
"Should any who are not entitled to the honors, have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished," Washington stated in a 1782 military order, according to a legal brief filed by the American Legion.
In oral arguments Wednesday, the Supreme Court will start sorting this all out.
A former elected board member of the Three Valleys Water District in Claremont, Calif., Alvarez spoke of his spurious Marine exploits in a September 2007 hearing. Even his own lawyer admits Alvarez's sometimes tenuous hold on the truth.
"He lied when he claimed to have played professional hockey for the Detroit Red Wings," federal public defender Jonathan D. Libby acknowledged. "He lied when he claimed to be married to a Mexican starlet whose appearance in public caused paparazzi to swoon."
Unlike those other falsehoods, though, Alvarez's claim to military honors ran afoul of federal law.
The Stolen Valor Act imposes prison sentences of up to six months on those who "falsely represent" that they have received any military "decoration or medal." For certain elite medals, the penalty increases to a year in prison.
Backed by politically powerful veterans organizations, the legislation had raced through Congress in 2006 without hearings. The House debated it for about 20 minutes.
"These frauds and these phonies have diminished the meaning and the honor of the recognitions received by our military heroes," bill author Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., declared during the brief House debate.
Subsequently, federal charges were filed in 2008 against Rick Strandlof, a Colorado resident who raised funds while falsely claiming to be a wounded Marine with a metal plate in his head.
"Strandlof stated that he did not wear his Purple Heart medal or his Silver Star medal because it would appear egotistical," FBI Special Agent Gregg Slater declared in a 2009 affidavit filed in federal court.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal law. In California, the 9th Circuit struck it down.
This split means residents of a 10th Circuit state like Kansas and Colorado face Stolen Valor Act prosecution while residents of a 9th Circuit state like Washington, Idaho and California do not. The Supreme Court picks cases to resolve such circuit splits.
Constitutionally, the question comes down to whether false heroism claims resemble the other types of speech considered unworthy of First Amendment protection, such as obscenity or defamation. Some further liken the Stolen Valor Act to laws making it illegal to impersonate a police officer.
SUPREME COURT TO HEAR ARGUMENTS ON WHETHER A LIE IS PROTECTED SPEECH
Believe it or not, it has come to this
By Michael Doyle
Jewish World Review
February 21, 2012
WASHINGTON— (MCT) Fake hero Xavier Alvarez lied to his fellow Californians.
He never rescued an American ambassador. He was never a Marine. Most definitely, contrary to what he told a Southern California audience, Alvarez was never awarded the Medal of Honor.
He lied, until he was caught. Now, the Supreme Court must decide whether the First Amendment protects Alvarez and other wannabes from prosecution. The consequences could stretch well beyond what lawmakers and veterans call stolen valor.
"If false factual statements are unprotected, then the government can prosecute not only the man who tells tall tales of winning the Congressional Medal of Honor, but also the JDater who falsely claims he's Jewish or the dentist who assures you it won't hurt a bit," Judge Alex Kozinski of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals warned in a ruling that overturned Alvarez's conviction under the Stolen Valor Act, which criminalizes false claims to military honors.
But Congress, the Obama administration and veterans organizations all consider false military claims uniquely harmful. Just ask George Washington, they say.
"Should any who are not entitled to the honors, have the insolence to assume the badges of them, they shall be severely punished," Washington stated in a 1782 military order, according to a legal brief filed by the American Legion.
In oral arguments Wednesday, the Supreme Court will start sorting this all out.
A former elected board member of the Three Valleys Water District in Claremont, Calif., Alvarez spoke of his spurious Marine exploits in a September 2007 hearing. Even his own lawyer admits Alvarez's sometimes tenuous hold on the truth.
"He lied when he claimed to have played professional hockey for the Detroit Red Wings," federal public defender Jonathan D. Libby acknowledged. "He lied when he claimed to be married to a Mexican starlet whose appearance in public caused paparazzi to swoon."
Unlike those other falsehoods, though, Alvarez's claim to military honors ran afoul of federal law.
The Stolen Valor Act imposes prison sentences of up to six months on those who "falsely represent" that they have received any military "decoration or medal." For certain elite medals, the penalty increases to a year in prison.
Backed by politically powerful veterans organizations, the legislation had raced through Congress in 2006 without hearings. The House debated it for about 20 minutes.
"These frauds and these phonies have diminished the meaning and the honor of the recognitions received by our military heroes," bill author Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., declared during the brief House debate.
Subsequently, federal charges were filed in 2008 against Rick Strandlof, a Colorado resident who raised funds while falsely claiming to be a wounded Marine with a metal plate in his head.
"Strandlof stated that he did not wear his Purple Heart medal or his Silver Star medal because it would appear egotistical," FBI Special Agent Gregg Slater declared in a 2009 affidavit filed in federal court.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the federal law. In California, the 9th Circuit struck it down.
This split means residents of a 10th Circuit state like Kansas and Colorado face Stolen Valor Act prosecution while residents of a 9th Circuit state like Washington, Idaho and California do not. The Supreme Court picks cases to resolve such circuit splits.
Constitutionally, the question comes down to whether false heroism claims resemble the other types of speech considered unworthy of First Amendment protection, such as obscenity or defamation. Some further liken the Stolen Valor Act to laws making it illegal to impersonate a police officer.
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