Monday, October 06, 2014
ISLAM ACCUSED OF BEING THE ‘MOTHERLOAD OF BAD IDEAS’
Responding to the stereotyping of Muslims as Jihadists, actor Ben Affleck said, “It's just an ugly thing to say. It's gross, it's racist. It's like saying: ‘Oh you shifty Jew’”
Let me repeat that while the dictates of the Quran and the teachings of The Prophet belie the oft repeated apologist slogan of "Islam is a religion of peace," it is important to remember this from a Dennis Prager op-ed:
None of this justifies bigotry against Muslims. There are hundreds of millions of non-Islamist Muslims (an Islamist is a Muslim who seeks to impose Shariah on others), including many "cultural" or secular Muslims. And individual Muslims are risking their lives every day to provide the intelligence needed to forestall terror attacks in America and elsewhere.
FURIOUS BEN AFFLECK BLASTS BILL MAHER AND GUESTS ON-AIR AFTER THEY CLAIMED ISLAM IS THE ‘MOTHERLOAD OF BAD IDEAS’ AND COMPARED THE RELIGION TO BEING IN THE MAFIA
The heated discussion took place on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday between Maher and author Sam Harris on the one hand and Affleck on the other
By Wills Robinson
Mail Online
October 5, 2014
Ben Affleck clashed with Bill Maher during a heated discussion on Islam where the controversial TV host claimed being a member of the religion is like being in the Mafia.
The Oscar-winning director was also appalled when author and guest on the talk show Sam Harris said the Muslim faith was the 'motherload of bad ideas'.
The trio, appearing on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, collided while debating whether large numbers of the Muslim population share the beliefs of jihadists.
It led to the actor saying: 'It's just an ugly thing to say. It's gross, it's racist. It's like saying: "Oh you shifty Jew".'
The conversation started with Harris, who was promoting his book Waking Up, by saying: 'Liberals have failed on the topic of theocracy. They'll criticize white theocracy, they'll criticize Christianity. They still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happened in 1984.
'The crucial point of confusion is we have been sold this meme of Islamaphobia - where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam is conflated with bigatory towards Muslims as people. Which is intellectually ridiculous.
Affleck responds by saying: 'Are you the person who understands the officially codified doctrine of Islam.
Harris then returns by saying 'I am actually well educated in this subject' before Affleck says: 'You are saying that Islamaphobia is not a real thing?'
Maher then says: 'That's not what we are saying' before Harris adds: 'We have to be able to criticize bad ideas and Islam is the motherload of bad ideas.'
The Gone Girl star then sits back in his chair in shock and adds 'It's an ugly thing to say.'
Maher continues the conversation: 'Lets get down to who has the right answer. A billion people you say, all these people don't hold these pernicious beliefs. That's just not true Ben, that's just not true.
'You say its down to these few bad apples, but the idea that someone should be killed if they leave the Islamic religion is just a few bad apples...'
Affleck then says: 'The people who actually believe that you should murder someone if you dishonor the Islamic faith is not with the majority of Muslims at all.
Explaining the the proportions of followers who believe in certain ideals, Harris says: 'At the center of the circle you have jihadists who wake up ion the morning wanting to kill apostates, wanting to die trying, they believe in paradise, they believe in martyrdom.
'Outside of this you have Islamists. People who are just convinced of matryrdom and paradise and wanting to force their religion on the rest of humanity.
'But they want to work with in the system and they are not willing to blow themselves up on a bus. They want to change governments, they want to use democracy against itself.
'Those two circles are arguably 20 per cent of the Muslim world. Based on a bunch of polls that we can talk about.
'To give you one point of contact, 78 per cent of British Muslims said the Danish cartoonist (who was accused of depicting the prophet Mohammad in an animation) should have been prosecuted.'
'But outside of that we have conservative Muslims who say that ISIS does not represent us, that we are horrified by that. But they hold views about human rights and about women and about homosexuals are deeply troubling.
'These are not Islamists, these are not jihadists. They also keep women and homosexuals immiserated in those cultures.
'And we have to empower the true Muslim reformers in the world to change it. This behaviour is not going to do that.
Journalist Nicholas Kristof then cuts in, telling Maher he was painting an 'incomplete' picture of the religion by failing to account reformers like activist Malala Yousafzai.
'Or how about the more than a billion people who aren't fanatical, who don't punish women, who just want to go to school, have some sandwiches, and don't do any of the things you say all Muslims do?' Affleck adds.
Maher responds to this by saying: 'One reason they (other views) don't get exposed is because they are afraid to speak out. Because it's the only religion that acts like the Mafia. That will f***ing kill if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book.'
Seeking an explanation, Affleck then asks the panelists: 'What is you answer? Is it just to condemn Islam? We've killed more Muslims than they have killed us by an awful lot.
'Yet somehow we are exempt from these things. Because they are not really a reflection of what we believe in.
He then said sarcastically: 'It was by accident, that's how we invaded Iraq. I am explicitly telling you that I disagree with what you think.
But Maher disparagingly tells the actor: 'We are obviously not convincing anyone here.'
Let me repeat that while the dictates of the Quran and the teachings of The Prophet belie the oft repeated apologist slogan of "Islam is a religion of peace," it is important to remember this from a Dennis Prager op-ed:
None of this justifies bigotry against Muslims. There are hundreds of millions of non-Islamist Muslims (an Islamist is a Muslim who seeks to impose Shariah on others), including many "cultural" or secular Muslims. And individual Muslims are risking their lives every day to provide the intelligence needed to forestall terror attacks in America and elsewhere.
FURIOUS BEN AFFLECK BLASTS BILL MAHER AND GUESTS ON-AIR AFTER THEY CLAIMED ISLAM IS THE ‘MOTHERLOAD OF BAD IDEAS’ AND COMPARED THE RELIGION TO BEING IN THE MAFIA
The heated discussion took place on HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher on Friday between Maher and author Sam Harris on the one hand and Affleck on the other
By Wills Robinson
Mail Online
October 5, 2014
Ben Affleck clashed with Bill Maher during a heated discussion on Islam where the controversial TV host claimed being a member of the religion is like being in the Mafia.
The Oscar-winning director was also appalled when author and guest on the talk show Sam Harris said the Muslim faith was the 'motherload of bad ideas'.
The trio, appearing on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher on Friday, collided while debating whether large numbers of the Muslim population share the beliefs of jihadists.
It led to the actor saying: 'It's just an ugly thing to say. It's gross, it's racist. It's like saying: "Oh you shifty Jew".'
The conversation started with Harris, who was promoting his book Waking Up, by saying: 'Liberals have failed on the topic of theocracy. They'll criticize white theocracy, they'll criticize Christianity. They still get agitated over the abortion clinic bombing that happened in 1984.
'The crucial point of confusion is we have been sold this meme of Islamaphobia - where every criticism of the doctrine of Islam is conflated with bigatory towards Muslims as people. Which is intellectually ridiculous.
Affleck responds by saying: 'Are you the person who understands the officially codified doctrine of Islam.
Harris then returns by saying 'I am actually well educated in this subject' before Affleck says: 'You are saying that Islamaphobia is not a real thing?'
Maher then says: 'That's not what we are saying' before Harris adds: 'We have to be able to criticize bad ideas and Islam is the motherload of bad ideas.'
The Gone Girl star then sits back in his chair in shock and adds 'It's an ugly thing to say.'
Maher continues the conversation: 'Lets get down to who has the right answer. A billion people you say, all these people don't hold these pernicious beliefs. That's just not true Ben, that's just not true.
'You say its down to these few bad apples, but the idea that someone should be killed if they leave the Islamic religion is just a few bad apples...'
Affleck then says: 'The people who actually believe that you should murder someone if you dishonor the Islamic faith is not with the majority of Muslims at all.
Explaining the the proportions of followers who believe in certain ideals, Harris says: 'At the center of the circle you have jihadists who wake up ion the morning wanting to kill apostates, wanting to die trying, they believe in paradise, they believe in martyrdom.
'Outside of this you have Islamists. People who are just convinced of matryrdom and paradise and wanting to force their religion on the rest of humanity.
'But they want to work with in the system and they are not willing to blow themselves up on a bus. They want to change governments, they want to use democracy against itself.
'Those two circles are arguably 20 per cent of the Muslim world. Based on a bunch of polls that we can talk about.
'To give you one point of contact, 78 per cent of British Muslims said the Danish cartoonist (who was accused of depicting the prophet Mohammad in an animation) should have been prosecuted.'
'But outside of that we have conservative Muslims who say that ISIS does not represent us, that we are horrified by that. But they hold views about human rights and about women and about homosexuals are deeply troubling.
'These are not Islamists, these are not jihadists. They also keep women and homosexuals immiserated in those cultures.
'And we have to empower the true Muslim reformers in the world to change it. This behaviour is not going to do that.
Journalist Nicholas Kristof then cuts in, telling Maher he was painting an 'incomplete' picture of the religion by failing to account reformers like activist Malala Yousafzai.
'Or how about the more than a billion people who aren't fanatical, who don't punish women, who just want to go to school, have some sandwiches, and don't do any of the things you say all Muslims do?' Affleck adds.
Maher responds to this by saying: 'One reason they (other views) don't get exposed is because they are afraid to speak out. Because it's the only religion that acts like the Mafia. That will f***ing kill if you say the wrong thing, draw the wrong picture or write the wrong book.'
Seeking an explanation, Affleck then asks the panelists: 'What is you answer? Is it just to condemn Islam? We've killed more Muslims than they have killed us by an awful lot.
'Yet somehow we are exempt from these things. Because they are not really a reflection of what we believe in.
He then said sarcastically: 'It was by accident, that's how we invaded Iraq. I am explicitly telling you that I disagree with what you think.
But Maher disparagingly tells the actor: 'We are obviously not convincing anyone here.'
ISIS HAVING DIFFICULTY FINDING AMERICAN RECRUITS PHYSICALLY FIT FOR JIHAD
Americans are too fat, too medicated, and out of shape
The Onion
October 1, 2014
AR-RAQQAH, SYRIA—Frustrating the Islamic extremist group’s efforts to bolster its ranks and expand its influence overseas, representatives for ISIS told reporters Wednesday that they have so far encountered considerable difficulty in finding American recruits who are physically fit enough for jihad.
“We’ve been in communication with a number of U.S. citizens who are eager to join in our holy crusade, but unfortunately, not one of them is in decent enough shape to effectively wage war against the West,” said ISIS operative Bakir Hamdani, pointing to a general lack of athleticism among the hundreds of potential American recruits, as well as respiratory ailments and dependencies on a variety of diabetes, blood pressure, and allergy medications that preclude these would-be jihadists from assisting in the establishment of a worldwide Sunni caliphate. “Even though these people are enthusiastic about righteous martyrdom, I honestly don’t see most of them even fitting into a suicide vest, let alone lugging a 40-pound rocket launcher through the desert. The thing is, we can’t inflict terror into the hearts of the masses if our fighters are always doubled over red-faced and winded.”
Hamdani added that ISIS’ best course of action was to allow these overweight, sedentary American operatives to continue burdening the U.S. health care system in hopes of eventually bankrupting the nation.
The Onion
October 1, 2014
AR-RAQQAH, SYRIA—Frustrating the Islamic extremist group’s efforts to bolster its ranks and expand its influence overseas, representatives for ISIS told reporters Wednesday that they have so far encountered considerable difficulty in finding American recruits who are physically fit enough for jihad.
“We’ve been in communication with a number of U.S. citizens who are eager to join in our holy crusade, but unfortunately, not one of them is in decent enough shape to effectively wage war against the West,” said ISIS operative Bakir Hamdani, pointing to a general lack of athleticism among the hundreds of potential American recruits, as well as respiratory ailments and dependencies on a variety of diabetes, blood pressure, and allergy medications that preclude these would-be jihadists from assisting in the establishment of a worldwide Sunni caliphate. “Even though these people are enthusiastic about righteous martyrdom, I honestly don’t see most of them even fitting into a suicide vest, let alone lugging a 40-pound rocket launcher through the desert. The thing is, we can’t inflict terror into the hearts of the masses if our fighters are always doubled over red-faced and winded.”
Hamdani added that ISIS’ best course of action was to allow these overweight, sedentary American operatives to continue burdening the U.S. health care system in hopes of eventually bankrupting the nation.
Sunday, October 05, 2014
TOM AND JERRY SMACKED BY POLITICALLY CORRECT THOUGHT POLICE
Amazon Prime labels the cat-and-mouse cartoons as racist because the housemaid is black
When I was a little kid, if you went to the movie theater you were treated to a Movietone News newsreel and a cartoon short as you waited for the featured film to start. I loved those Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts whenever they were shown. And years later, I loved them on TV. Since some people consider me a racist, if I am, I must have been infected by those Tom and Jerry cartoons because the politically correct thought police have now labeled them as racist.
Amazon Prime has started labeling Tom and Jerry cartoons with the following warning:
"Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today."
No, this is not a joke. If this makes you wonder what in the hell is going on here you’re not alone. It seems as though the politically correct thought police have discovered a black housemaid in some of the shorts. They have determined that this is stereotypically demeaning to blacks. Actually the maid is never shown in the cartoons, only her legs as she sweeps a broom.
I cannot fathom any young kid thinking in racial terms whenever they see those black legs. What we have here is another example of political correctness run amok. Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards. It’s a wonder those who see racists behind every bush, in every closet and under every bed, haven’t demanded that those Academy Award Oscars be recalled.
When I was a little kid, if you went to the movie theater you were treated to a Movietone News newsreel and a cartoon short as you waited for the featured film to start. I loved those Tom and Jerry cartoon shorts whenever they were shown. And years later, I loved them on TV. Since some people consider me a racist, if I am, I must have been infected by those Tom and Jerry cartoons because the politically correct thought police have now labeled them as racist.
Amazon Prime has started labeling Tom and Jerry cartoons with the following warning:
"Tom and Jerry shorts may depict some ethnic and racial prejudices that were once commonplace in American society. Such depictions were wrong then and are wrong today."
No, this is not a joke. If this makes you wonder what in the hell is going on here you’re not alone. It seems as though the politically correct thought police have discovered a black housemaid in some of the shorts. They have determined that this is stereotypically demeaning to blacks. Actually the maid is never shown in the cartoons, only her legs as she sweeps a broom.
I cannot fathom any young kid thinking in racial terms whenever they see those black legs. What we have here is another example of political correctness run amok. Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards. It’s a wonder those who see racists behind every bush, in every closet and under every bed, haven’t demanded that those Academy Award Oscars be recalled.
COPS OUTRAGED AGAINST WHITE ‘BLACK MAYOR’ OF NEW YORK
Bill de Blasio: "The more people criticize him [Al Sharpton], the more I want to hang out with him"
NY Mayor Bill de Blasion’s close relationship with rabblerousing charlatan Al Sharpton has led some to joke that Sharpton is the de facto NY police chief. But that may not be a joke at all.
The Sandinista-loving mayor has sided with Sharpton against the cops in several incidents between white cops and black New Yorkers, and that does not fly with the rank and file NYPD cops. Topping off their outrage against the white ‘black mayor’ is the fact that Rachel Noerdlinger, chief of staff to his wife Chirlane McCray, attends high-level NYPD meetings while living with a cop-hating ex-con.
Sharpton has been on a blistering harangue against NYPD. De Blasio has shown his true colors when he said, "The more people criticize him [Al Sharpton], the more I want to hang out with him"
UNEASE GROWS BETWEEN DEBLASIO AND NYPD OFFICERS
By Jonathon Lemire and Colleen Long
Associated Press
October 4, 2014
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's relationship with police, already strained by accusations he sided with frequent NYPD critic Al Sharpton over the chokehold death of an unarmed suspect, suffered another hit with revelations a top aide is living with a convicted killer who has often mocked officers as "pigs."
Police unions say it's only the latest incident that shows the mayor's lack of support for the 34,000-officer force. And even some de Blasio allies acknowledge the mayor could do a better job of leading the department he is simultaneously trying to reform.
"This is difficult terrain, particularly for a new mayor," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who was on the mayor's transition team. "Morale has been low on the force and it's only getting worse."
Following a pair of mayors who were largely lockstep with the NYPD, de Blasio was viewed suspiciously by police from the beginning with his fierce push to end stop-and-frisk, the crime-fighting tactic that allowed officers to stop anyone they deemed suspicious but a judge ruled sometimes discriminated against minorities.
He drew their ire when he called a police official to inquire about the arrest of a political ally, who was later released. Police said the release had nothing to do with the mayor's request but the unions said the call made it seem like de Blasio was undermining officers.
And the latest strain was the revelation that Rachel Noerdlinger, first lady Chirlane McCray's chief of staff and a highly visible face at City Hall, is dating Hassaun McFarlan, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 1993 shooting when he was 15 and later served time for drug trafficking. The news website DNAinfo reported that McFarlan's Facebook page, now taken down, had several posts referring to police as "pigs."
The city's largest police union has called for Noerdlinger's dismissal over the matter.
"It raises serious questions about her judgment and character and the quality of the counsel she provides to City Hall," said union head Pat Lynch.
Although de Blasio defended Noerdlinger — "We don't care what someone's boyfriend says," he said — the controversy shows no signs of abating. It was revealed that Noerdlinger recently joined McCray for a high-level NYPD crime-fighting briefing while he city's Department of Investigations opened an investigation into whether Noerdlinger failed to disclose that she lived with McFarlan. It later closed the investigation without recommending any disciplinary action.
But it's de Blasio's close ties to Sharpton — who is also Noerdlinger's former boss — that has fueled much of the unions' anger.
Sharpton spent months denouncing the NYPD for the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died from a police chokehold in July while being arrested for selling loose cigarettes on the street. A grand jury this past week convened to consider possible charges against the white officers involved and the entire police department is being put through use of force retraining.
In a City Hall summit called to ease tensions, de Blasio sat awkwardly between Police Commissioner William Bratton and Sharpton, who proceeded to rail against the NYPD, saying the mayor's teenage son, who is black, could also be a "candidate for a chokehold."
Police unions were outraged that Sharpton was given equal billing with Bratton. That became a central point in a full-page ad taken out by the Sergeant's Benevolent Association in The New York Times opposing the city's bid to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
"The mayor has provided a public platform to the loudest of the city's anti-safety agitators," wrote union president Ed Mullins. The ad also claimed that City Hall's "diminished support for police officers translates directly into crime spikes and drops in quality of life."
Mayoral aides strongly disputed any suggestion that de Blaiso's leadership over the NYPD had been compromised.
"The mayor has nothing but the strongest support for the brave men and women of the NYPD," said spokesman Phil Walzak, who noted crime continues to fall.
But experts said there are political risks for de Blasio if the complaints grow louder.
"The perception that City Hall and the police are not on the same page does not usually sit well with voters," said Costas Panagopoulos, political science professor at Fordham University.
De Blasio has repeatedly defended Bratton but the perception that Sharpton is given an outsized voice at City Hall has penetrated even the city's elite, as evidenced by a roast at the annual white-tie Alfred E. Smith dinner Wednesday night.
"What a crowd tonight," Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone said, looking around the ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria. "Although I don't see the person in charge of the NYPD up here tonight, Al Sharpton."
De Blasio, who was sitting nearby, smiled at the joke. And when the dinner ended, he hustled to a party for Sharpton's 60th birthday, telling reporters "The more people criticize him, the more I want to hang out with him."
NY Mayor Bill de Blasion’s close relationship with rabblerousing charlatan Al Sharpton has led some to joke that Sharpton is the de facto NY police chief. But that may not be a joke at all.
The Sandinista-loving mayor has sided with Sharpton against the cops in several incidents between white cops and black New Yorkers, and that does not fly with the rank and file NYPD cops. Topping off their outrage against the white ‘black mayor’ is the fact that Rachel Noerdlinger, chief of staff to his wife Chirlane McCray, attends high-level NYPD meetings while living with a cop-hating ex-con.
Sharpton has been on a blistering harangue against NYPD. De Blasio has shown his true colors when he said, "The more people criticize him [Al Sharpton], the more I want to hang out with him"
UNEASE GROWS BETWEEN DEBLASIO AND NYPD OFFICERS
By Jonathon Lemire and Colleen Long
Associated Press
October 4, 2014
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio's relationship with police, already strained by accusations he sided with frequent NYPD critic Al Sharpton over the chokehold death of an unarmed suspect, suffered another hit with revelations a top aide is living with a convicted killer who has often mocked officers as "pigs."
Police unions say it's only the latest incident that shows the mayor's lack of support for the 34,000-officer force. And even some de Blasio allies acknowledge the mayor could do a better job of leading the department he is simultaneously trying to reform.
"This is difficult terrain, particularly for a new mayor," said Eugene O'Donnell, a professor of police studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice who was on the mayor's transition team. "Morale has been low on the force and it's only getting worse."
Following a pair of mayors who were largely lockstep with the NYPD, de Blasio was viewed suspiciously by police from the beginning with his fierce push to end stop-and-frisk, the crime-fighting tactic that allowed officers to stop anyone they deemed suspicious but a judge ruled sometimes discriminated against minorities.
He drew their ire when he called a police official to inquire about the arrest of a political ally, who was later released. Police said the release had nothing to do with the mayor's request but the unions said the call made it seem like de Blasio was undermining officers.
And the latest strain was the revelation that Rachel Noerdlinger, first lady Chirlane McCray's chief of staff and a highly visible face at City Hall, is dating Hassaun McFarlan, who pleaded guilty to manslaughter in a 1993 shooting when he was 15 and later served time for drug trafficking. The news website DNAinfo reported that McFarlan's Facebook page, now taken down, had several posts referring to police as "pigs."
The city's largest police union has called for Noerdlinger's dismissal over the matter.
"It raises serious questions about her judgment and character and the quality of the counsel she provides to City Hall," said union head Pat Lynch.
Although de Blasio defended Noerdlinger — "We don't care what someone's boyfriend says," he said — the controversy shows no signs of abating. It was revealed that Noerdlinger recently joined McCray for a high-level NYPD crime-fighting briefing while he city's Department of Investigations opened an investigation into whether Noerdlinger failed to disclose that she lived with McFarlan. It later closed the investigation without recommending any disciplinary action.
But it's de Blasio's close ties to Sharpton — who is also Noerdlinger's former boss — that has fueled much of the unions' anger.
Sharpton spent months denouncing the NYPD for the death of Eric Garner, a black man who died from a police chokehold in July while being arrested for selling loose cigarettes on the street. A grand jury this past week convened to consider possible charges against the white officers involved and the entire police department is being put through use of force retraining.
In a City Hall summit called to ease tensions, de Blasio sat awkwardly between Police Commissioner William Bratton and Sharpton, who proceeded to rail against the NYPD, saying the mayor's teenage son, who is black, could also be a "candidate for a chokehold."
Police unions were outraged that Sharpton was given equal billing with Bratton. That became a central point in a full-page ad taken out by the Sergeant's Benevolent Association in The New York Times opposing the city's bid to host the 2016 Democratic National Convention.
"The mayor has provided a public platform to the loudest of the city's anti-safety agitators," wrote union president Ed Mullins. The ad also claimed that City Hall's "diminished support for police officers translates directly into crime spikes and drops in quality of life."
Mayoral aides strongly disputed any suggestion that de Blaiso's leadership over the NYPD had been compromised.
"The mayor has nothing but the strongest support for the brave men and women of the NYPD," said spokesman Phil Walzak, who noted crime continues to fall.
But experts said there are political risks for de Blasio if the complaints grow louder.
"The perception that City Hall and the police are not on the same page does not usually sit well with voters," said Costas Panagopoulos, political science professor at Fordham University.
De Blasio has repeatedly defended Bratton but the perception that Sharpton is given an outsized voice at City Hall has penetrated even the city's elite, as evidenced by a roast at the annual white-tie Alfred E. Smith dinner Wednesday night.
"What a crowd tonight," Home Depot founder Kenneth Langone said, looking around the ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria. "Although I don't see the person in charge of the NYPD up here tonight, Al Sharpton."
De Blasio, who was sitting nearby, smiled at the joke. And when the dinner ended, he hustled to a party for Sharpton's 60th birthday, telling reporters "The more people criticize him, the more I want to hang out with him."
Saturday, October 04, 2014
16-YEAR-OLD GETS LUCKY IN MENAGE A TROIS WITH TWO TEACHERS
Two Louisiana English teachers make whoopee together with 16-year-old student
Hardly a day goes by that one or more teachers get busted for having sex with one or more of their students. I’ve stopped posting about those trysts because they have become so common. But this is rather different because it involves a ménage à trois involving a student and two English teachers.
The now ex-educators got caught because the student bragged to his classmates about screwing the two teachers.
Shelley Dufrense, 32, and Rachel Respess, 24, two English teachers at Destrehan High School in Kenner, Louisiana were busted for having sex together with a 16-year old student.
Shelly, a married mother of three, was busted Tuesday and charged with carnal knowledge of a juvenile for a tryst that occurred at her home early in September. She was released on bond.
Both Shelley and Rachel were busted Wednesday for the ménage à trois. They were charged with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. They were released on bail Thursday. If convicted, both women face up to 17-1/2 years in prison.
The ménage à trois took place September 12 at Rachel’s home after their school’s football game. The student told police that Shelley took him to Rachel’s apartment. After they got there all three got naked and he started screwing Rachel. While the two were fucking each other, Shelley was passionately kissing Rachel.
Former students told the cops that the trio had been having sex for some time.
Shelley is the daughter of St. Charles Parish Judge Emile St. Pierre. Since Kenner is in Jefferson Parish, there is no chance that her case will be tried before her father.
What we have here are two educated idiots who flushed their careers down the shitter for a fresh piece of ass. Obviously, they didn't have the brains to realize that the student would very likely brag about his sexual exploits.
Hardly a day goes by that one or more teachers get busted for having sex with one or more of their students. I’ve stopped posting about those trysts because they have become so common. But this is rather different because it involves a ménage à trois involving a student and two English teachers.
The now ex-educators got caught because the student bragged to his classmates about screwing the two teachers.
Shelley Dufrense, 32, and Rachel Respess, 24, two English teachers at Destrehan High School in Kenner, Louisiana were busted for having sex together with a 16-year old student.
Shelly, a married mother of three, was busted Tuesday and charged with carnal knowledge of a juvenile for a tryst that occurred at her home early in September. She was released on bond.
Both Shelley and Rachel were busted Wednesday for the ménage à trois. They were charged with carnal knowledge of a juvenile, indecent behavior and contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile. They were released on bail Thursday. If convicted, both women face up to 17-1/2 years in prison.
The ménage à trois took place September 12 at Rachel’s home after their school’s football game. The student told police that Shelley took him to Rachel’s apartment. After they got there all three got naked and he started screwing Rachel. While the two were fucking each other, Shelley was passionately kissing Rachel.
Former students told the cops that the trio had been having sex for some time.
Shelley is the daughter of St. Charles Parish Judge Emile St. Pierre. Since Kenner is in Jefferson Parish, there is no chance that her case will be tried before her father.
What we have here are two educated idiots who flushed their careers down the shitter for a fresh piece of ass. Obviously, they didn't have the brains to realize that the student would very likely brag about his sexual exploits.
EBOLA AND SECRET SERVICE CONSPIRACY THEORIES
Ebola is a bioweapon designed to target blacks and the Secret Service deliberately allowed an intruder to get deep inside the White House
Louis Farrakhan, that white-hating leader of the Nation of Islam, accuses whites of manufacturing AIDS and Ebola as bioweapons that will target only blacks. Here is Farrakhan’s conspiracy theory about AIDS and Ebola:
Another method [of depopulation] is disease infection through bio-weapons such as Ebola and AIDS, which are race targeting weapons. There is a weapon that can be put in a room where there are Black and White people, and it will kill only the Black and spare the White, because it is a genotype weapon that is designed for your genes, for your race, for your kind.
I think I saw something like that in one of Roger Corman’s horror flicks. Anyhow, I wish Farrakhan’s theory was true, so I would no longer have to worry about catching AIDS and - now that it has made an appearance in Dallas - Ebola too.
Now for the conspiracy theory about the Secret Service not being interested in protecting a black president.
Democratic Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland and Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, both say that many of their constituents believe the Secret Service deliberately allowed Omar J. Gonzalez, who was armed with a knife, to jump over the fence, run across the White House lawn and get deep inside the White House because Secret Service agents are not interested in protecting a black president.
Wasn’t there something like that on the Fox TV series ‘24’ starring Kiefer Southerland? I don’t suppose it ever occurred to Cummings and Cleaver’s constituents that if their theory was true, Obama would have been killed not long after he took office.
Louis Farrakhan, that white-hating leader of the Nation of Islam, accuses whites of manufacturing AIDS and Ebola as bioweapons that will target only blacks. Here is Farrakhan’s conspiracy theory about AIDS and Ebola:
Another method [of depopulation] is disease infection through bio-weapons such as Ebola and AIDS, which are race targeting weapons. There is a weapon that can be put in a room where there are Black and White people, and it will kill only the Black and spare the White, because it is a genotype weapon that is designed for your genes, for your race, for your kind.
I think I saw something like that in one of Roger Corman’s horror flicks. Anyhow, I wish Farrakhan’s theory was true, so I would no longer have to worry about catching AIDS and - now that it has made an appearance in Dallas - Ebola too.
Now for the conspiracy theory about the Secret Service not being interested in protecting a black president.
Democratic Congressmen Elijah E. Cummings of Maryland and Emanuel Cleaver II of Missouri, members of the Congressional Black Caucus, both say that many of their constituents believe the Secret Service deliberately allowed Omar J. Gonzalez, who was armed with a knife, to jump over the fence, run across the White House lawn and get deep inside the White House because Secret Service agents are not interested in protecting a black president.
Wasn’t there something like that on the Fox TV series ‘24’ starring Kiefer Southerland? I don’t suppose it ever occurred to Cummings and Cleaver’s constituents that if their theory was true, Obama would have been killed not long after he took office.
QUOTAS AND POLICE PRODUCTIVITY
Professor Eli Silverman sent me a copy of the below Huffington Post article which is highly critical of a continuing NYPD quota system. Instead of cops making minor and needless arrests to show productivity, the article calls for a “new approach”…
…that would "emphasize not only punitive interactions with New Yorkers like arrests and summonses, but also constructive contacts like meeting with local clergy and social service providers, intervening in minor disputes before they escalate into actual violence and physical harm, and instead of arresting and locking up homeless persons sleeping under an apartment building stairwell for trespass, bringing them to a neighborhood organization that can provide needed services."
I can see cops gaming the system by concentrating on those kinds of services rather than on proactive prevention of serious crimes against persons and property. Furthermore, there is a subculture that permeates black and Hispanic low-income communities which means proactive crime prevention will impact those neighborhoods much more than middle-class and upper-class neighborhoods.
The types of quotas the article refers to are quite different from ticket quotas.
I agree that some of the chickenshit arrests mentioned in the article are unnecessary, but as long as cops are evaluated on productivity they are going to jack up those arrests. I do not think that the "new approach" is going to fly, one reason being that cops are going to be too busy answering calls to spend their time doing social work.
I've always been a backer of progressive policing. If I sound like a dinosaur, it's not because I am opposed to change, but because I am a pragmatist. Unfortunately, cops have always been evaluated on productivity - the number of busts - whether they are working in a minority neighborhood or in a small lily-white town, and I do not think that is going to change.
POLICE QUOTAS ARE TERRIBLE, AND THE NYPD STILL SEEMS TO BE USING THEM
By Christopher Mathias
Huffington Post
October 2, 2014
NEW YORK -- If there's one subject on which New York City police unions and police reform advocacy groups seem to agree, it's this: Arrest quotas for police officers are terrible and counterproductive, and they sow distrust between cops and communities.
When NYPD Commissioner William Bratton took office in January, he promised an end to arrest quotas, as well as the numbers-driven policing culture championed by his predecessor, Ray Kelly. "I want to focus on the quality of police actions, with less emphasis on our numbers and more emphasis on our actual impact," Bratton said in a video statement.
But 10 months into Bratton's tenure as top cop, a new report claims that quotas -- which are illegal under New York state law -- remain alive and well in the NYPD.
"Though police brass well deny it, here's how the quota system works and does harm: Precinct Captains or Lieutenants, under pressure from police headquarters, direct officers to meet specific goals regarding arrests and summonses and deploy the officers in particular neighborhoods," said Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project, in an emailed press statement. On Tuesday, Gangi's group released a report calling on Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio to put an end to the quota system.
"Everyone in those communities becomes a potential criminal even if their criminality is fabricated by officers to meet monthly 'productivity' goals," Gangi continued.
The NYPD did not respond to a Huffington Post request for comment on PROP's report.
The report points to the number of misdemeanor arrests under Bratton, as well as the poor quality of those arrests, as evidence that New York cops are still operating under a quota system.
According to statistics compiled by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, there were 137,039 misdemeanor arrests in New York during the first seven months of Bratton's time as commissioner. That's almost 1,000 more such arrests than during the same period in 2013 under former Commissioner Kelly. Eighty-six percent of those charged with a misdemeanor in the first seven months of this year were people of color, representing a decline of only 1 percent from the same time period in 2013.
PROP regularly sends monitors into New York City's arraignment courts in order to document the most common arrests and summonses made by NYPD officers.
"In cases PROP has observed, the accused, almost always a man or woman of color, was charged with a minor infraction like: begging, sleeping on a park bench or subway, walking between subway cars, jaywalking, or having an open alcohol container," reads Tuesday's report. "Most people walked out of the courtroom with the charge dismissed or a minor sanction applied. The court had clearly decided that the person was not a risk to the community."
Gangi also conducted an informal interview with one New York City police officer who said the NYPD is still operating under an "unwritten" quota system, with officers under pressure to make numbers.
Gangi argues that the quota system was firmly ingrained in the police department during the past decade, and that Bratton will need to make a bigger, "strong-arm effort" to ensure that it's eradicated.
In 2008, officer Adrian Schoolcraft started secretly recording his supervisors telling him and his fellow cops in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn to meet a series of stop-and-frisk and arrest quotas. Two other whistleblowers, officers Pedro Serrano and Adil Polanco, made similar recordings at their precincts in the Bronx around the same time.
Polanco later testified about quotas in a federal class-action lawsuit brought against the city over the NYPD's use of stop and frisk, a policing strategy that had officers stop, question and search hundreds of thousands of people on the street every year, most of them minorities.
"There came a point in time in 2009 where they came very hard with the quotas. They call it productivity," Polanco testified, according to The Nation. After every patrol, Polanco said, he and his fellow officers would have to report to their commander "and specifically tell him what we had done for that night."
"They will never question the quality" of the arrests, Polanco said. "They will question the quantity ... How we got them, they don't really care about."
In the 2013 ruling that declared the NYPD's use of stop and frisk unconstitutional, a federal judge also called out the department's use of quotas.
"Imposing numerical performance goals for enforcement activities, without providing effective safeguards to ensure the activities are legally justified, could result in an officer taking enforcement action for the purpose of meeting a 'performance goal' rather than because a violation of the law has occurred," wrote Judge Shira Scheindlin.
A few months after that ruling, then-public advocate Bill de Blasio was elected mayor with a sweeping mandate to reform the NYPD. Although de Blasio has kept his promise to rein in the NYPD's use of stop and frisk -- which has fallen off dramatically this year -- it's unclear how aggressively he and Bratton have tried to eliminate quotas.
"Certainly the quotas for stop, question and (sometimes) frisk have ceased," an official from the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association told HuffPost. The PBA is the city's largest police union, and has been vocal in its opposition to quotas for cops. "We'll have to wait and see about summonses and arrests," the official said.
Last month, Bratton told reporters that "there are no quotas in the NYPD and if I [...] find any of my personnel operating under a quota system, they're going to be gone. We are after quality, not quantity."
But according to Eli Silverman, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, rank-and-file cops "need more than just a proclamation from above" that quotas are dead.
"They have to hear it in the CompStat meetings, they have to hear it from supervisors, in roll call," Silverman said. He added that cops also need to be assured they won't face consequences, like losing overtime or vacation days, if they fall short of productivity goals.
Tuesday's report calls for an "overhaul" of the system by which cops are evaluated. It describes a "new approach" that would "emphasize not only punitive interactions with New Yorkers like arrests and summonses, but also constructive contacts like meeting with local clergy and social service providers, intervening in minor disputes before they escalate into actual violence and physical harm, and instead of arresting and locking up homeless persons sleeping under an apartment building stairwell for trespass, bringing them to a neighborhood organization that can provide needed services."
Silverman, a co-author of The Crime Numbers Game, a book on police quotas, told HuffPost Wednesday that he remained encouraged by Bratton's vow to stop quotas. He urged New Yorkers to be patient with the commissioner.
"It's difficult to make wholesale changes in such a short time," he said, "especially when this quota system has been entrenched for so long."
…that would "emphasize not only punitive interactions with New Yorkers like arrests and summonses, but also constructive contacts like meeting with local clergy and social service providers, intervening in minor disputes before they escalate into actual violence and physical harm, and instead of arresting and locking up homeless persons sleeping under an apartment building stairwell for trespass, bringing them to a neighborhood organization that can provide needed services."
I can see cops gaming the system by concentrating on those kinds of services rather than on proactive prevention of serious crimes against persons and property. Furthermore, there is a subculture that permeates black and Hispanic low-income communities which means proactive crime prevention will impact those neighborhoods much more than middle-class and upper-class neighborhoods.
The types of quotas the article refers to are quite different from ticket quotas.
I agree that some of the chickenshit arrests mentioned in the article are unnecessary, but as long as cops are evaluated on productivity they are going to jack up those arrests. I do not think that the "new approach" is going to fly, one reason being that cops are going to be too busy answering calls to spend their time doing social work.
I've always been a backer of progressive policing. If I sound like a dinosaur, it's not because I am opposed to change, but because I am a pragmatist. Unfortunately, cops have always been evaluated on productivity - the number of busts - whether they are working in a minority neighborhood or in a small lily-white town, and I do not think that is going to change.
POLICE QUOTAS ARE TERRIBLE, AND THE NYPD STILL SEEMS TO BE USING THEM
By Christopher Mathias
Huffington Post
October 2, 2014
NEW YORK -- If there's one subject on which New York City police unions and police reform advocacy groups seem to agree, it's this: Arrest quotas for police officers are terrible and counterproductive, and they sow distrust between cops and communities.
When NYPD Commissioner William Bratton took office in January, he promised an end to arrest quotas, as well as the numbers-driven policing culture championed by his predecessor, Ray Kelly. "I want to focus on the quality of police actions, with less emphasis on our numbers and more emphasis on our actual impact," Bratton said in a video statement.
But 10 months into Bratton's tenure as top cop, a new report claims that quotas -- which are illegal under New York state law -- remain alive and well in the NYPD.
"Though police brass well deny it, here's how the quota system works and does harm: Precinct Captains or Lieutenants, under pressure from police headquarters, direct officers to meet specific goals regarding arrests and summonses and deploy the officers in particular neighborhoods," said Robert Gangi, director of the Police Reform Organizing Project, in an emailed press statement. On Tuesday, Gangi's group released a report calling on Bratton and Mayor Bill de Blasio to put an end to the quota system.
"Everyone in those communities becomes a potential criminal even if their criminality is fabricated by officers to meet monthly 'productivity' goals," Gangi continued.
The NYPD did not respond to a Huffington Post request for comment on PROP's report.
The report points to the number of misdemeanor arrests under Bratton, as well as the poor quality of those arrests, as evidence that New York cops are still operating under a quota system.
According to statistics compiled by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, there were 137,039 misdemeanor arrests in New York during the first seven months of Bratton's time as commissioner. That's almost 1,000 more such arrests than during the same period in 2013 under former Commissioner Kelly. Eighty-six percent of those charged with a misdemeanor in the first seven months of this year were people of color, representing a decline of only 1 percent from the same time period in 2013.
PROP regularly sends monitors into New York City's arraignment courts in order to document the most common arrests and summonses made by NYPD officers.
"In cases PROP has observed, the accused, almost always a man or woman of color, was charged with a minor infraction like: begging, sleeping on a park bench or subway, walking between subway cars, jaywalking, or having an open alcohol container," reads Tuesday's report. "Most people walked out of the courtroom with the charge dismissed or a minor sanction applied. The court had clearly decided that the person was not a risk to the community."
Gangi also conducted an informal interview with one New York City police officer who said the NYPD is still operating under an "unwritten" quota system, with officers under pressure to make numbers.
Gangi argues that the quota system was firmly ingrained in the police department during the past decade, and that Bratton will need to make a bigger, "strong-arm effort" to ensure that it's eradicated.
In 2008, officer Adrian Schoolcraft started secretly recording his supervisors telling him and his fellow cops in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn to meet a series of stop-and-frisk and arrest quotas. Two other whistleblowers, officers Pedro Serrano and Adil Polanco, made similar recordings at their precincts in the Bronx around the same time.
Polanco later testified about quotas in a federal class-action lawsuit brought against the city over the NYPD's use of stop and frisk, a policing strategy that had officers stop, question and search hundreds of thousands of people on the street every year, most of them minorities.
"There came a point in time in 2009 where they came very hard with the quotas. They call it productivity," Polanco testified, according to The Nation. After every patrol, Polanco said, he and his fellow officers would have to report to their commander "and specifically tell him what we had done for that night."
"They will never question the quality" of the arrests, Polanco said. "They will question the quantity ... How we got them, they don't really care about."
In the 2013 ruling that declared the NYPD's use of stop and frisk unconstitutional, a federal judge also called out the department's use of quotas.
"Imposing numerical performance goals for enforcement activities, without providing effective safeguards to ensure the activities are legally justified, could result in an officer taking enforcement action for the purpose of meeting a 'performance goal' rather than because a violation of the law has occurred," wrote Judge Shira Scheindlin.
A few months after that ruling, then-public advocate Bill de Blasio was elected mayor with a sweeping mandate to reform the NYPD. Although de Blasio has kept his promise to rein in the NYPD's use of stop and frisk -- which has fallen off dramatically this year -- it's unclear how aggressively he and Bratton have tried to eliminate quotas.
"Certainly the quotas for stop, question and (sometimes) frisk have ceased," an official from the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association told HuffPost. The PBA is the city's largest police union, and has been vocal in its opposition to quotas for cops. "We'll have to wait and see about summonses and arrests," the official said.
Last month, Bratton told reporters that "there are no quotas in the NYPD and if I [...] find any of my personnel operating under a quota system, they're going to be gone. We are after quality, not quantity."
But according to Eli Silverman, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, rank-and-file cops "need more than just a proclamation from above" that quotas are dead.
"They have to hear it in the CompStat meetings, they have to hear it from supervisors, in roll call," Silverman said. He added that cops also need to be assured they won't face consequences, like losing overtime or vacation days, if they fall short of productivity goals.
Tuesday's report calls for an "overhaul" of the system by which cops are evaluated. It describes a "new approach" that would "emphasize not only punitive interactions with New Yorkers like arrests and summonses, but also constructive contacts like meeting with local clergy and social service providers, intervening in minor disputes before they escalate into actual violence and physical harm, and instead of arresting and locking up homeless persons sleeping under an apartment building stairwell for trespass, bringing them to a neighborhood organization that can provide needed services."
Silverman, a co-author of The Crime Numbers Game, a book on police quotas, told HuffPost Wednesday that he remained encouraged by Bratton's vow to stop quotas. He urged New Yorkers to be patient with the commissioner.
"It's difficult to make wholesale changes in such a short time," he said, "especially when this quota system has been entrenched for so long."
NYPD CHIEF BILL BRATTON CALLS FOR OUSTER OF COPS ‘POISONING THE WELL’
Bratton wants to fire the officers that, by their actions, are undoing all the good NYPD is trying to achieve
Perceptions are not always what they seem. I foresee a shitload of lawsuits that will be filed against NYPD and NYC once they start firing officers that appear to be brutal, racist, corrupt or incompetent.
BRATTON TELLS POLICE BRASS: OUST BAD COPS
Commissioner Cites ‘the Brutal, the Corrupt, the Racist, the Incompetent’
By Pervaiz Shallwani
The Wall Street Journal
October 2, 2014
Police Commissioner William Bratton said Thursday that the New York Police Department must confront the reality that it had officers who were “poisoning the well” and needed to be weeded out.
In a speech to NYPD executives, Mr. Bratton described the number of problematic officers as “very few,” but said their actions hampered the work of the rest of their colleagues.
“My intention going forward is to ensure that we will aggressively seek to get those out of the department who should not be there—the brutal, the corrupt, the racist, the incompetent,” he said.
Mr. Bratton didn’t specify how such officers would be identified and removed. He said the work would be carried out by the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau along with independent partners including local prosecutors, the city’s newly installed inspector general for the police and a revamped Civilian Complaint Review Board.
Patrick Lynch, president of Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents NYPD officers, said his organization would “ensure that every officer who is accused has the same opportunity to defend him or herself as any other American.”
The drive to oust some officers was among several goals laid out by Mr. Bratton in remarks to more than 800 top police executives at a one-day retreat in College Point, Queens. The rest of the forum was private.
In his speech, Mr. Bratton cited the sharp drop in crime over the past 20 years in some high-crime neighborhoods but said the NYPD also needed to find ways to make those communities as safe as those where violent crime is a rarity. “We clearly need to do something about the disparity of safety in this city,” he said.
Even as the 35,000-officer department works to be innovative, savvy about technology and improve community outreach, “there’s the need to also deal with our discipline systems,” Mr. Bratton said.
“The reality is, at this moment, that there’s some in the organization who shouldn’t be here,” he said. “They’re not the right fit for the NYPD of 2014. There are a few, a very few, in a very large organization who just don’t get it.”
“They are poisoning the well, and the trust that we deserve and the trust that we need is eroded by some of their actions,” Mr. Bratton said.
For the 99% he said he believed were doing the job the right way, Mr. Bratton said he planned to provide better training, equipment and leadership.
The commissioner said he came to the conclusion while dealing with the flurry of cellphone videos that show alleged excessive use of force by officers along with other activities of officers. The videos include one in which an officer on Staten Island uses an apparent chokehold while trying to arrest Eric Garner for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.
Mr. Garner later died, and the city chief medical examiner’s office ruled he died in part as a result of the chokehold. Mr. Bratton has called what he has seen on the video an apparent violation of department protocol. The Staten Island district attorney has empaneled a grand jury to determine if charges should be filed against the officer.
In another instance, an officer in Brooklyn was captured on video allegedly kicking a street vendor as other officers worked to arrest him. Mr. Bratton said he had suspended that officer while the department conducted an internal investigation.
Perceptions are not always what they seem. I foresee a shitload of lawsuits that will be filed against NYPD and NYC once they start firing officers that appear to be brutal, racist, corrupt or incompetent.
BRATTON TELLS POLICE BRASS: OUST BAD COPS
Commissioner Cites ‘the Brutal, the Corrupt, the Racist, the Incompetent’
By Pervaiz Shallwani
The Wall Street Journal
October 2, 2014
Police Commissioner William Bratton said Thursday that the New York Police Department must confront the reality that it had officers who were “poisoning the well” and needed to be weeded out.
In a speech to NYPD executives, Mr. Bratton described the number of problematic officers as “very few,” but said their actions hampered the work of the rest of their colleagues.
“My intention going forward is to ensure that we will aggressively seek to get those out of the department who should not be there—the brutal, the corrupt, the racist, the incompetent,” he said.
Mr. Bratton didn’t specify how such officers would be identified and removed. He said the work would be carried out by the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau along with independent partners including local prosecutors, the city’s newly installed inspector general for the police and a revamped Civilian Complaint Review Board.
Patrick Lynch, president of Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the union that represents NYPD officers, said his organization would “ensure that every officer who is accused has the same opportunity to defend him or herself as any other American.”
The drive to oust some officers was among several goals laid out by Mr. Bratton in remarks to more than 800 top police executives at a one-day retreat in College Point, Queens. The rest of the forum was private.
In his speech, Mr. Bratton cited the sharp drop in crime over the past 20 years in some high-crime neighborhoods but said the NYPD also needed to find ways to make those communities as safe as those where violent crime is a rarity. “We clearly need to do something about the disparity of safety in this city,” he said.
Even as the 35,000-officer department works to be innovative, savvy about technology and improve community outreach, “there’s the need to also deal with our discipline systems,” Mr. Bratton said.
“The reality is, at this moment, that there’s some in the organization who shouldn’t be here,” he said. “They’re not the right fit for the NYPD of 2014. There are a few, a very few, in a very large organization who just don’t get it.”
“They are poisoning the well, and the trust that we deserve and the trust that we need is eroded by some of their actions,” Mr. Bratton said.
For the 99% he said he believed were doing the job the right way, Mr. Bratton said he planned to provide better training, equipment and leadership.
The commissioner said he came to the conclusion while dealing with the flurry of cellphone videos that show alleged excessive use of force by officers along with other activities of officers. The videos include one in which an officer on Staten Island uses an apparent chokehold while trying to arrest Eric Garner for allegedly selling untaxed cigarettes.
Mr. Garner later died, and the city chief medical examiner’s office ruled he died in part as a result of the chokehold. Mr. Bratton has called what he has seen on the video an apparent violation of department protocol. The Staten Island district attorney has empaneled a grand jury to determine if charges should be filed against the officer.
In another instance, an officer in Brooklyn was captured on video allegedly kicking a street vendor as other officers worked to arrest him. Mr. Bratton said he had suspended that officer while the department conducted an internal investigation.
Friday, October 03, 2014
PORTA-POTTY BUSTS NOT COVERED IN POLICE TRAINING
Four Memphis, Tenn. cops have been suspended for tipping over a porta-potty in which a suspect they had been chasing was hiding
On September 19, Joseph Hampton, 31, went to visit an elderly friend at a Memphis, Tenn. Apartment complex from which he had been banned. When cops tried to stop him, he took off on foot and ran to a construction site where he came upon a row of portable toilets. He stopped and hid in one of them.
Apparently the cops were not amused by having to chase Joe. So, to amuse themselves they tipped over the porta-potty, then set it back up. When Joe staggered out they kicked him in the ass for good measure.
According to WMC, Hampton said "I could hear them when they pulled up, so I knew that they were behind the porta potty. I heard them say on three. Three. And it went over. Luckily didn't any of the blue water or septic water get on me. …I believe they tried to humiliate me, because they knew that water and feces and pee was in there. I believe they did that on purpose."
Hampton was jailed on charges of trespassing and evading arrest. He was released on a $250 bond. The four officers have been suspended pending an administrative investigation.
Hampton admits he should not have run from the cops. He says that being a cigarette smoker he had to stop to catch his breath and that is why he entered the porta-potty … that and he wanted to stop and call his girlfriend to tell her was going to be jailed. Hampton accuses the officers of using excessive force and claims his back has been hurting ever since he got dumped off the shitter. Looks like a lawsuit in the making.
The porta-potty bust came to light after a construction worker, who videotaped the tipping incident, posted his video on social media.
Apparently, the Memphis PD does not train its officers in the proper way to make porta-potty busts.
On September 19, Joseph Hampton, 31, went to visit an elderly friend at a Memphis, Tenn. Apartment complex from which he had been banned. When cops tried to stop him, he took off on foot and ran to a construction site where he came upon a row of portable toilets. He stopped and hid in one of them.
Apparently the cops were not amused by having to chase Joe. So, to amuse themselves they tipped over the porta-potty, then set it back up. When Joe staggered out they kicked him in the ass for good measure.
According to WMC, Hampton said "I could hear them when they pulled up, so I knew that they were behind the porta potty. I heard them say on three. Three. And it went over. Luckily didn't any of the blue water or septic water get on me. …I believe they tried to humiliate me, because they knew that water and feces and pee was in there. I believe they did that on purpose."
Hampton was jailed on charges of trespassing and evading arrest. He was released on a $250 bond. The four officers have been suspended pending an administrative investigation.
Hampton admits he should not have run from the cops. He says that being a cigarette smoker he had to stop to catch his breath and that is why he entered the porta-potty … that and he wanted to stop and call his girlfriend to tell her was going to be jailed. Hampton accuses the officers of using excessive force and claims his back has been hurting ever since he got dumped off the shitter. Looks like a lawsuit in the making.
The porta-potty bust came to light after a construction worker, who videotaped the tipping incident, posted his video on social media.
Apparently, the Memphis PD does not train its officers in the proper way to make porta-potty busts.
GOLF CLUB SWINGING TEENS WHACK 920 CHICKENS TO DEATH
Four California teens broke into a Foster Farms chicken house last month and mutilated 920 chickens by whacking them with golf clubs
18-yar-old Gabriel Quintero, two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old broke into a Foster Farms plant near Fresno on September 20. They tore off the siding of a chicken house and proceeded to have some good old teenage fun by playing golf with the chickens. When the game was over, they had whacked 920 chickens to death with their golf clubs. Foster Farms says the mutilated chickens were worth $5,000.
After running down leads on social media, Fresno sheriff’s deputies arrested the four teen pieces of shit on Wednesday. Quintero and two of his fellow chicken whackers reside in Fresno County, while the other teen is from King County. They are being held in a juvenile detention center, charged with burglary and felony animal cruelty.
It has long been established that children and youths who perform horrific acts of cruelty against animals are later likely to do serious if not deadly harm to humans. Thus it is absolutely imperative that all four of these sub-humans be tried as adults and punished to the fullest extent of the law. None of that juvenile court ‘in the interest of the child’ nonsense for Quintero and his three pals!
18-yar-old Gabriel Quintero, two 17-year-olds and a 16-year-old broke into a Foster Farms plant near Fresno on September 20. They tore off the siding of a chicken house and proceeded to have some good old teenage fun by playing golf with the chickens. When the game was over, they had whacked 920 chickens to death with their golf clubs. Foster Farms says the mutilated chickens were worth $5,000.
After running down leads on social media, Fresno sheriff’s deputies arrested the four teen pieces of shit on Wednesday. Quintero and two of his fellow chicken whackers reside in Fresno County, while the other teen is from King County. They are being held in a juvenile detention center, charged with burglary and felony animal cruelty.
It has long been established that children and youths who perform horrific acts of cruelty against animals are later likely to do serious if not deadly harm to humans. Thus it is absolutely imperative that all four of these sub-humans be tried as adults and punished to the fullest extent of the law. None of that juvenile court ‘in the interest of the child’ nonsense for Quintero and his three pals!
DIVISIONS COULD WEAKEN U.S.-LED COALITION IN IRAQ AND SYRIA
Stratfor Global Intelligence
September 29, 2014
Summary
Over the past week, the U.S.-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria has expanded to include several new members. This has enhanced its overall combat power and spread the burden more equitably. The British parliament voted Sept. 26 to join the group and has already commenced airstrikes over Iraq. Denmark and Belgium also decided to participate in direct combat operations. These new partners join two European peers, France and the Netherlands, as well as Australia. Notably, these six countries have chosen to restrict their combat roles to Iraq. This contrasts with the role of the United States' five Arab partners — Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — which have been carrying out airstrikes with the United States in Syria since operations expanded there Sept. 23.
This odd division of labor does not operate in the interest of efficiency but is instead an artifact of the complicated and juxtaposed reality on the ground and in the political arena. The battleground against the Islamic State is ostensibly divided between the sovereign states of Iraq and Syria. In reality, however, it is a single space spread over what has become an imaginary border. The divided coalition reflects the members' divergent political views on how to manage the respective situations of Iraq and Syria. Ultimately, the arrangement artificially separates what should be treated as a single battlefield and a single enemy. This weakens the coalition, confuses desired outcomes and often limits operations to what will appease all members.
Analysis
The coalition's division of the battle space into two parts has already led to differences in target selection. Since earlier limited U.S. operations in Iraq expanded into Syria, the United States and Arab coalition members have focused on critical infrastructure in Syria that supports Islamic State operations in Syria and Iraq. This has included command centers, finance operations, supply depots and, most recently, oil refineries. The coalition's strategy in Syria has been to degrade the Islamic State's military capabilities through destruction or disruption of the critical assets that support it.
The strategy in Iraq, however, has been quite different. There, the focus of air campaigns has been to buttress ground operations. This has translated into close air support for Kurdish peshmerga and national government forces, as well as strikes aimed at destroying Islamic State military supplies, vehicles and heavy weapons used in operations against those forces. This divergence stems in part from the different tactical situations in each country: In Iraq the coalition is operating in direct coordination with local forces, whereas in Syria efforts to facilitate anti-Islamic State ground attacks are in the early stages, with only the first steps having been taken to train Syrian anti-regime rebels in Saudi Arabia.
But these disparate tactical realities are only part of the picture. The primary differences between these operations are explained by the imperatives of the partners operating in Iraq and in Syria. The United States' Sunni Arab partners have an interest in participating in the operations against the Islamic State in Syria. Degrading the Islamic State's capabilities there takes pressure off of anti-regime rebels currently fighting Damascus and Islamic State forces simultaneously. The United States' reliance on support from these Sunni Arab countries, however, presents the risk that the core mission in Syria will be stretched in two different directions. The United States aims to cripple the Islamic State without directly targeting Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The Sunni Arab states, though, want to dislodge al Assad's Iran-friendly regime and weaken the position of Lebanese-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which is assisting the Syrian government.
Risks to Cohesion
For their part, Australia and the coalition's European members have a different set of interests from their Arab partners. Because a large number of Islamic State foreign fighters originated in Europe, these governments fear that the militants could at some point return home and threaten national security. The Islamic State has also taken European hostages and continues to be a source for radicalization inside Europe. This means that these states have compelling reasons for carrying out strikes against the Islamic State regardless of its area of operation. All six of these powers, however, have chosen not to operate over Syria without a clear mandate from the United Nations. In European countries especially, military intervention is a touchy political subject; approval for any type of direct involvement typically requires the support of parliament, putting tight electoral constraints on such operations. These limits are less severe in the case of Iraq, where the coalition is delivering assistance to a host nation requesting help rather than conducting a military intervention in a country without coordinating with its government.
The division of the coalition into two separate areas does not necessarily limit its military capabilities, but it does pose serious risks to its cohesion and, by extension, its ability to sustain effective operations over Syria in particular. Because of the Arab states' direct interest in the outcome of the Syrian civil war, they may try to push the United States toward extending air operations to targets of the al Assad regime. This is something the United States is unwilling to do, in part because it would carry a much higher logistical cost. But if such a disagreement were to threaten operations over Syria, the Europeans' reluctance to extend their own activities into Syria would seriously limit the coalition. The United States would also risk being perceived as the sole actor on the Syrian side of the battle, rather than part of an international coalition, and this could result in significant blowback on the ground. At the same time, disagreements on the scope of operations in Syria could also constrain the effectiveness of strikes by limiting the target set to the bare minimum to which all parties can agree.
As it stands, the U.S.-led coalition is fragile. When something is this delicate and complicated, it is hard to take the decisive action required to degrade and contain a dynamic opponent such as the Islamic State.
September 29, 2014
Summary
Over the past week, the U.S.-led coalition carrying out airstrikes against Islamic State positions in Iraq and Syria has expanded to include several new members. This has enhanced its overall combat power and spread the burden more equitably. The British parliament voted Sept. 26 to join the group and has already commenced airstrikes over Iraq. Denmark and Belgium also decided to participate in direct combat operations. These new partners join two European peers, France and the Netherlands, as well as Australia. Notably, these six countries have chosen to restrict their combat roles to Iraq. This contrasts with the role of the United States' five Arab partners — Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — which have been carrying out airstrikes with the United States in Syria since operations expanded there Sept. 23.
This odd division of labor does not operate in the interest of efficiency but is instead an artifact of the complicated and juxtaposed reality on the ground and in the political arena. The battleground against the Islamic State is ostensibly divided between the sovereign states of Iraq and Syria. In reality, however, it is a single space spread over what has become an imaginary border. The divided coalition reflects the members' divergent political views on how to manage the respective situations of Iraq and Syria. Ultimately, the arrangement artificially separates what should be treated as a single battlefield and a single enemy. This weakens the coalition, confuses desired outcomes and often limits operations to what will appease all members.
Analysis
The coalition's division of the battle space into two parts has already led to differences in target selection. Since earlier limited U.S. operations in Iraq expanded into Syria, the United States and Arab coalition members have focused on critical infrastructure in Syria that supports Islamic State operations in Syria and Iraq. This has included command centers, finance operations, supply depots and, most recently, oil refineries. The coalition's strategy in Syria has been to degrade the Islamic State's military capabilities through destruction or disruption of the critical assets that support it.
The strategy in Iraq, however, has been quite different. There, the focus of air campaigns has been to buttress ground operations. This has translated into close air support for Kurdish peshmerga and national government forces, as well as strikes aimed at destroying Islamic State military supplies, vehicles and heavy weapons used in operations against those forces. This divergence stems in part from the different tactical situations in each country: In Iraq the coalition is operating in direct coordination with local forces, whereas in Syria efforts to facilitate anti-Islamic State ground attacks are in the early stages, with only the first steps having been taken to train Syrian anti-regime rebels in Saudi Arabia.
But these disparate tactical realities are only part of the picture. The primary differences between these operations are explained by the imperatives of the partners operating in Iraq and in Syria. The United States' Sunni Arab partners have an interest in participating in the operations against the Islamic State in Syria. Degrading the Islamic State's capabilities there takes pressure off of anti-regime rebels currently fighting Damascus and Islamic State forces simultaneously. The United States' reliance on support from these Sunni Arab countries, however, presents the risk that the core mission in Syria will be stretched in two different directions. The United States aims to cripple the Islamic State without directly targeting Syrian President Bashar al Assad. The Sunni Arab states, though, want to dislodge al Assad's Iran-friendly regime and weaken the position of Lebanese-based Shiite militant group Hezbollah, which is assisting the Syrian government.
Risks to Cohesion
For their part, Australia and the coalition's European members have a different set of interests from their Arab partners. Because a large number of Islamic State foreign fighters originated in Europe, these governments fear that the militants could at some point return home and threaten national security. The Islamic State has also taken European hostages and continues to be a source for radicalization inside Europe. This means that these states have compelling reasons for carrying out strikes against the Islamic State regardless of its area of operation. All six of these powers, however, have chosen not to operate over Syria without a clear mandate from the United Nations. In European countries especially, military intervention is a touchy political subject; approval for any type of direct involvement typically requires the support of parliament, putting tight electoral constraints on such operations. These limits are less severe in the case of Iraq, where the coalition is delivering assistance to a host nation requesting help rather than conducting a military intervention in a country without coordinating with its government.
The division of the coalition into two separate areas does not necessarily limit its military capabilities, but it does pose serious risks to its cohesion and, by extension, its ability to sustain effective operations over Syria in particular. Because of the Arab states' direct interest in the outcome of the Syrian civil war, they may try to push the United States toward extending air operations to targets of the al Assad regime. This is something the United States is unwilling to do, in part because it would carry a much higher logistical cost. But if such a disagreement were to threaten operations over Syria, the Europeans' reluctance to extend their own activities into Syria would seriously limit the coalition. The United States would also risk being perceived as the sole actor on the Syrian side of the battle, rather than part of an international coalition, and this could result in significant blowback on the ground. At the same time, disagreements on the scope of operations in Syria could also constrain the effectiveness of strikes by limiting the target set to the bare minimum to which all parties can agree.
As it stands, the U.S.-led coalition is fragile. When something is this delicate and complicated, it is hard to take the decisive action required to degrade and contain a dynamic opponent such as the Islamic State.
‘SAL THE SLICER’ HAS A SMART LAWYER
The Unconventional Gazette
October 2, 2014
Salvatore ‘Sal the Slicer’ Gigante, a Mafia boss, finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10 million.
His bookkeeper is deaf. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing and would therefore never have to testify in court.
When Sal goes to confront Guido about the missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer, who knows sign language. Sal tells the lawyer, "Ask him where the money is."
The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido, “Where's the money?”
Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The lawyer tells Sal, "He says he doesn't know what you are talking about."
Sal pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's head and says, "Ask him again or I'll blow his fucking brains out!"
The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll blow your fucking brains out if you don't tell him.”
"Guido trembles and signs back, "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house."
Sal asks the lawyer, "What did he say?"
The lawyer replies, "He says fuck you, you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."
October 2, 2014
Salvatore ‘Sal the Slicer’ Gigante, a Mafia boss, finds out that his bookkeeper, Guido, has cheated him out of $10 million.
His bookkeeper is deaf. That was the reason he got the job in the first place. It was assumed that Guido would hear nothing and would therefore never have to testify in court.
When Sal goes to confront Guido about the missing $10 million, he takes along his lawyer, who knows sign language. Sal tells the lawyer, "Ask him where the money is."
The lawyer, using sign language, asks Guido, “Where's the money?”
Guido signs back, "I don't know what you are talking about."
The lawyer tells Sal, "He says he doesn't know what you are talking about."
Sal pulls out a pistol, puts it to Guido's head and says, "Ask him again or I'll blow his fucking brains out!"
The lawyer signs to Guido, "He'll blow your fucking brains out if you don't tell him.”
"Guido trembles and signs back, "OK! You win! The money is in a brown briefcase, buried behind the shed at my cousin Bruno's house."
Sal asks the lawyer, "What did he say?"
The lawyer replies, "He says fuck you, you don't have the balls to pull the trigger."
Thursday, October 02, 2014
WHAT IS THE MOST OVERPRICED SUBSTANCE ON EARTH?
Stephan Pastis writes and illustrates Pearls Before Swine, my favorite comic strip which has animal characters like Rat, Pig, Goat, Zebra, a family of crocs, etc.
In Tuesdays strip, the question of what is the most overpriced substance on earth was answered by Goat.
Printer Cartridge Ink!!
In Tuesdays strip, the question of what is the most overpriced substance on earth was answered by Goat.
Printer Cartridge Ink!!
A FLY ON THE WALL
The Unconventional Gazette
October 1, 2014
The media reports that after a long period of hostility between them and a strong personal dislike for each other, President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu buried the hatchet during a White House meeting on Wednesday and are now bosom buddies.
However, if The Unconventional Gazette were a fly on the wall, this is what it would have heard after Obama and Netanyahu had returned to their respective quarters:
OBAMA: That damn Jew bastard! He’s the one that has fucked up the legacy I wanted to take with me when I leave office … of having accomplished a peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Him and his goddamn settlements. He’s keeping me from getting a second Nobel peace prize, damn it! I’d give anything if I could fuck him up. It sickened me that I had to shake hands with him.
NETANYAHU: That damn schwartze, what an idiot! He doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s doing. He’s spoken with a forked tongue so many times that there’s no way I can ever trust him. The only reason he has supported Israel is because of the overwhelming bipartisan support we have in the U.S. Congress. Otherwise that fool would have climbed in bed with Abbas. It sickened me that I had to shake hands with him.
The purported reconciliation did not last long. Just hours after that meeting, the White House and the State Department warned Israel against constructing a new housing project in East Jerusalem. At about the same time, Netanyahu was telling NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he was afraid Obama’s negotiations will leave Iran on the threshold of producing nuclear weapons.
TUG believes Obama and Netanyahu will both be relieved knowing they can now go on hating each other publicly.
October 1, 2014
The media reports that after a long period of hostility between them and a strong personal dislike for each other, President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu buried the hatchet during a White House meeting on Wednesday and are now bosom buddies.
However, if The Unconventional Gazette were a fly on the wall, this is what it would have heard after Obama and Netanyahu had returned to their respective quarters:
OBAMA: That damn Jew bastard! He’s the one that has fucked up the legacy I wanted to take with me when I leave office … of having accomplished a peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Him and his goddamn settlements. He’s keeping me from getting a second Nobel peace prize, damn it! I’d give anything if I could fuck him up. It sickened me that I had to shake hands with him.
NETANYAHU: That damn schwartze, what an idiot! He doesn’t have a clue as to what he’s doing. He’s spoken with a forked tongue so many times that there’s no way I can ever trust him. The only reason he has supported Israel is because of the overwhelming bipartisan support we have in the U.S. Congress. Otherwise that fool would have climbed in bed with Abbas. It sickened me that I had to shake hands with him.
The purported reconciliation did not last long. Just hours after that meeting, the White House and the State Department warned Israel against constructing a new housing project in East Jerusalem. At about the same time, Netanyahu was telling NBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he was afraid Obama’s negotiations will leave Iran on the threshold of producing nuclear weapons.
TUG believes Obama and Netanyahu will both be relieved knowing they can now go on hating each other publicly.
THAT HARMLESS POT AIN’T SO HARMLESS AFTER ALL
The journal of Emergency Medicine reports that marijuana “can trigger a heart attack”
There have been a number of studies showing that cannabis had caused heart problems in the young and middle-aged. The latest case was reported in the Journal of Emergency Medicine. Doctors in Wales treated a healthy 21-year-old patient for a heart attack. Tests showed he had higher than normal triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and a blood clot in his coronary arteries that was blocking the blood supply to his heart. The man was a regular cigarette and marijuana smoker, but doctors said pot use was the most significant cause of his heart attack..
The Welch physicians wrote:
Although our patient was a cigarette smoker and had elevated lipid levels, cannabis use was identified as the most significant precipitant of his acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
The doctors noted that there is evidence pot can trigger heart attacks, with the risk increasing 4.8 times in the first hour after smoking the weed. They also noted that studies have shown marijuana affects blood flow, increases the heart rate, causes high blood pressure when sitting down and low pressure when standing up.
Didn’t President Obama say pot was less harmful than alcohol? Isn’t that what those who want to decriminalize or legalize pot keep saying?
There have been a number of studies showing that cannabis had caused heart problems in the young and middle-aged. The latest case was reported in the Journal of Emergency Medicine. Doctors in Wales treated a healthy 21-year-old patient for a heart attack. Tests showed he had higher than normal triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and a blood clot in his coronary arteries that was blocking the blood supply to his heart. The man was a regular cigarette and marijuana smoker, but doctors said pot use was the most significant cause of his heart attack..
The Welch physicians wrote:
Although our patient was a cigarette smoker and had elevated lipid levels, cannabis use was identified as the most significant precipitant of his acute coronary syndrome (ACS).
The doctors noted that there is evidence pot can trigger heart attacks, with the risk increasing 4.8 times in the first hour after smoking the weed. They also noted that studies have shown marijuana affects blood flow, increases the heart rate, causes high blood pressure when sitting down and low pressure when standing up.
Didn’t President Obama say pot was less harmful than alcohol? Isn’t that what those who want to decriminalize or legalize pot keep saying?
NAZI HUNTER WANTS EINSATZGRUPPEN SURVIVORS PROSECUTED
Efraim Zuroff, the top Nazi hunter from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, has identified 76 men and four women who belonged to the Einsatzgruppen, a 3,000 member death squad staffed by SS and police personnel that is believed to have murdered more than one million Jews as well as tens of thousands Gypsies by shooting them to death.
The murders occurred between September 1939 and June 1941 before the Nazis established the death camps ofAuschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka.
The Einsatzguppen followed behind German troops as they advanced on the Eastern Front, rounding up and shooting Jews and Gypsies in Poland and Russia along the way.
Zuroff has identified 76 men and four women members of the death squad. He has turned his evidence of their identities over to the German justice and interior ministries and demanded they be prosecuted.
Zuroff maintains that, unlike in the death camps where only a few personnel actually carried out killings, nearly every member of the Einsatzgruppen was a hands-on murderer.
The Justice Ministry said it has turned Zuroff’s information over to the federal prosecutor’s office that investigates and prosecutes Nazi-era crimes. Schrimm, the head of that office, says that any surviving members of the Einsatzgruppe could now be prosecuted because a new German law holds that service in a Nazi unit whose sole purpose was murder is enough to convict a former member of accessory to murder, even without any evidence that he had participated in a specific crime as had previously been required.
The crimes of the Einsatzgruppe were of such a magnitude that no matter how old or infirm its surviving members may be, they should still be prosecuted for the mass murders they committed.
The murders occurred between September 1939 and June 1941 before the Nazis established the death camps ofAuschwitz-Birkenau, Belzec, Chelmno, Majdanek, Sobibor, and Treblinka.
The Einsatzguppen followed behind German troops as they advanced on the Eastern Front, rounding up and shooting Jews and Gypsies in Poland and Russia along the way.
Zuroff has identified 76 men and four women members of the death squad. He has turned his evidence of their identities over to the German justice and interior ministries and demanded they be prosecuted.
Zuroff maintains that, unlike in the death camps where only a few personnel actually carried out killings, nearly every member of the Einsatzgruppen was a hands-on murderer.
The Justice Ministry said it has turned Zuroff’s information over to the federal prosecutor’s office that investigates and prosecutes Nazi-era crimes. Schrimm, the head of that office, says that any surviving members of the Einsatzgruppe could now be prosecuted because a new German law holds that service in a Nazi unit whose sole purpose was murder is enough to convict a former member of accessory to murder, even without any evidence that he had participated in a specific crime as had previously been required.
The crimes of the Einsatzgruppe were of such a magnitude that no matter how old or infirm its surviving members may be, they should still be prosecuted for the mass murders they committed.
CALIFORNIA IS NOW SAFE
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
September 30, 2014
The formerly great state of California is now safe……from the horrendous and devastating scourge of single-use plastic bags.
Our dearly beloved maximum leader, Jerry ’Moonbeam’ Brown, has signed legislation that would make handing out such bags in a grocery store or pharmacy an offense effective July 1, 2015. This safety net will extend to convenience stores and similar dens of inequity further down the road.
Don’t you feel safer already?
EDITOR’S NOTE: OK, soon Kookfornians will be safe from the scourge of small-capacity plastic bags and the damage they are believed to do to the environment. But what about the larger-capacity paper bags? When will the tree huggers demand an end to paper bags in order to save Kookfornia’s trees? If the environmentalists get their way, many shoppers will probably make multiple trips to the grocery stores instead of a single trip. But that will require the use of more fossil fuels which are being blamed for that dreadful global warming. Those environmentalists will not be happy until we’re all back in the Stone Age.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
September 30, 2014
The formerly great state of California is now safe……from the horrendous and devastating scourge of single-use plastic bags.
Our dearly beloved maximum leader, Jerry ’Moonbeam’ Brown, has signed legislation that would make handing out such bags in a grocery store or pharmacy an offense effective July 1, 2015. This safety net will extend to convenience stores and similar dens of inequity further down the road.
Don’t you feel safer already?
EDITOR’S NOTE: OK, soon Kookfornians will be safe from the scourge of small-capacity plastic bags and the damage they are believed to do to the environment. But what about the larger-capacity paper bags? When will the tree huggers demand an end to paper bags in order to save Kookfornia’s trees? If the environmentalists get their way, many shoppers will probably make multiple trips to the grocery stores instead of a single trip. But that will require the use of more fossil fuels which are being blamed for that dreadful global warming. Those environmentalists will not be happy until we’re all back in the Stone Age.
THE SHERIFF DID NOT KNOW
Harris County, Texas Sheriff Adrian Garcia claims he did not know that a jail inmate was being held for months in a cell full of his own shit and that a homicide investigator he just rehired had bee fired by the DA’s office for making a back-date change on a search warrant
As an elected official, the Harris County sheriff cannot be fired. If he were the head of a private company, he would have been held responsible for any serious problems and fired, regardless of whether or not he was aware of them.
SHERIFF LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION AFTER INMATE FOUND IN CELL WITH BUGS, GARBAGE AND FECES
A whistleblower leaked photos of Goodwin's cell to KTRK
By Michael Barajas
October 1, 2014
It's not necessarily that Harris County Jail officials didn't know about the squalid conditions inmate Terry Goodwin was forced to live in for weeks. It's just that nobody told Sheriff Adrian Garcia about it, his office insists.
Garcia would have immediately taken corrective action, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Christina Garza, but he didn't know about the incident -- how Goodwin was trapped in a cell with mounds of trash, swarms of bugs, and piles of his own feces -- until three weeks ago, right around the time someone sent an anonymous tip to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and a whistleblower shared photos of the gnarly-looking cell with KTRK. On Tuesday, the same day KTRK posted its story with photos showing Goodwin's cell, TCJS sent Garcia a letter temporarily putting the jail back in "at risk" status until his office sends the jail commission a plan to make sure something like this never happens again.
Here's what KTRK reported Tuesday:
"When inspectors with a jail compliance team entered the cell of inmate Terry Goodwin on October 10, 2013, he was wearing a filthy, shredded jail uniform in the fetid cell, sources said. Shards of his orange uniform were hanging from the ceiling light.
His sink, toilet and shower drain were clogged, not just with feces, but with toilet paper in an apparent attempt by Goodwin to cover his own waste and with orange rinds, perhaps in futile effort to mask the smell, according to whistleblowers.
The cell may have not been opened for as long as two months, sources said. They said a sign attached to the outside of the cell door instructed guards not to open it. Food in Styrofoam containers was pushed in by guards through a slit in the door and the refuse was never collected, sources said."
Records show Goodwin was arrested in on March 5, 2013 on a misdemeanor marijuana charge. While the pot charge was dismissed the following month, it appears the arrest triggered a probation violation on a five-year-old burglary charge, keeping Goodwin in lockup. On June 5, 2013, Goodwin picked up a felony assault charge for "striking" a jail guard "with his hand."
Goodwin's mother told the station she believes her son has mental health problems, which may have been exacerbated by jail time. Court records show that on September 27, 2013, weeks before he was discovered in the foul cell by jail compliance inspectors, Goodwin was declared incompetent to stand trial. On October 30, 2013, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for a 120 day commitment.
Goodwin was declared competent for trial in February. In March a judge sentenced him to three years in prison on the assault charge. Records show he's serving another three years on his old burglary charge.
We asked the sheriff's spokeswoman when Garcia found out about the apparent horrible conditions one of his inmates was forced to endure, allegedly for weeks, and when the office launched an investigation into how the problem occurred. Follow along for her dizzying response...
"We knew of the incident when it happened back in October 2013."
So the office started investigating the incident back in 2013?
"Well, it's hard to say, in a sense that we have a jail compliance team that the sheriff has formed."
So, the sheriff didn't know until a few weeks ago, and then he launched an investigation?
"The sheriff did not find out about this incident until several weeks ago. And that's something that, you know, something like this the sheriff should have been told. Alright, so that's the issue with (KTRK/Channel) 13, it's like, when did the sheriff know about it and why didn't he know about it? The issue itself, we found out about it. And so now we're conducting an investigation into, number one: why did that happen to begin with? And why is it that the sheriff didn't know about it?"
So, you're investigating the incident, but also investigating why the sheriff didn't know that you were already investigating the incident?
"Right. Why wasn't anything done? Why weren't people that are to be held accountable held accountable back then? I mean, we knew of the incident, somebody knew of this incident, because there were reports generated."
So, the "investigation" started in 2013. But why didn't the sheriff know about it until three weeks ago, when TCJS and KTRK started asking for information about the incident?
"Well, because the sheriff doesn't know about every single internal investigation that we conduct. But something like this is something that he should have known about."
So, the "investigation" has been going on for a year, but it's still not finished?
"We're trying to figure that out. Why has it taken this long? Why didn't anybody get the ball rolling on a resolution to the problem? It's not until the sheriff found out about it that he said, 'Well, why hasn't this been resolved?'"
So, you're investigating why the investigation hasn't been finished?
"Right. ...Why did it go stagnant?"
There's no review process so the sheriff or someone in his office can keep track of how these types of investigations are going?
"There is. And it shouldn't have failed. And we have meetings to discuss everything that's happening in the organization, good and bad. And again, I think the question is why didn't anyone tell him about a matter such as this. That's what we're trying to find out. ... It's clear that this is something that we're taking ownership of and the sheriff certainly wants some answers."
SO. Just to recap: About a year ago, the sheriff's office began investigating how one of its inmates, who appears to have suffered from mental health issues, was left in a cell to wallow in his own filth and feces for weeks on end. The sheriff just didn't know about that investigation, which is still ongoing.
So Garcia's now investigating why he didn't know about that investigation and he's investigating why his team doesn't have any answers after a year of investigating.
Thankfully, in a letter to the jail following a surprise inspection Monday, a TCJS inspector wrote that Goodwin's treatment appears to have been an "isolated" incident.
These types of communication lapses at HCSO, however, don't appear to be so isolated. Just weeks ago, we were left scratching our heads trying to figure out why the sheriff's office would re-hire Ruben Carrizal, a homicide investigator who got canned by the district attorney's office amid allegations that he back-dated a judge's signature on a search warrant that he'd already served on a murder case.
Back then, Garza told us the answer was simple: the sheriff's office knew "nothing" about the allegations, otherwise they wouldn't have considered re-hiring Carrizal. That was despite the DA's office telling us, in some detail, how they included sheriff's officials in their investigation into the backdated document from the beginning -- in part because Carrizal was with HCSO when he served the original warrant.
Maybe Garcia can investigate that lapse in communication, too.
As an elected official, the Harris County sheriff cannot be fired. If he were the head of a private company, he would have been held responsible for any serious problems and fired, regardless of whether or not he was aware of them.
SHERIFF LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION AFTER INMATE FOUND IN CELL WITH BUGS, GARBAGE AND FECES
A whistleblower leaked photos of Goodwin's cell to KTRK
By Michael Barajas
October 1, 2014
It's not necessarily that Harris County Jail officials didn't know about the squalid conditions inmate Terry Goodwin was forced to live in for weeks. It's just that nobody told Sheriff Adrian Garcia about it, his office insists.
Garcia would have immediately taken corrective action, according to sheriff's spokeswoman Christina Garza, but he didn't know about the incident -- how Goodwin was trapped in a cell with mounds of trash, swarms of bugs, and piles of his own feces -- until three weeks ago, right around the time someone sent an anonymous tip to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards and a whistleblower shared photos of the gnarly-looking cell with KTRK. On Tuesday, the same day KTRK posted its story with photos showing Goodwin's cell, TCJS sent Garcia a letter temporarily putting the jail back in "at risk" status until his office sends the jail commission a plan to make sure something like this never happens again.
Here's what KTRK reported Tuesday:
"When inspectors with a jail compliance team entered the cell of inmate Terry Goodwin on October 10, 2013, he was wearing a filthy, shredded jail uniform in the fetid cell, sources said. Shards of his orange uniform were hanging from the ceiling light.
His sink, toilet and shower drain were clogged, not just with feces, but with toilet paper in an apparent attempt by Goodwin to cover his own waste and with orange rinds, perhaps in futile effort to mask the smell, according to whistleblowers.
The cell may have not been opened for as long as two months, sources said. They said a sign attached to the outside of the cell door instructed guards not to open it. Food in Styrofoam containers was pushed in by guards through a slit in the door and the refuse was never collected, sources said."
Records show Goodwin was arrested in on March 5, 2013 on a misdemeanor marijuana charge. While the pot charge was dismissed the following month, it appears the arrest triggered a probation violation on a five-year-old burglary charge, keeping Goodwin in lockup. On June 5, 2013, Goodwin picked up a felony assault charge for "striking" a jail guard "with his hand."
Goodwin's mother told the station she believes her son has mental health problems, which may have been exacerbated by jail time. Court records show that on September 27, 2013, weeks before he was discovered in the foul cell by jail compliance inspectors, Goodwin was declared incompetent to stand trial. On October 30, 2013, he was sent to the Rusk State Hospital for a 120 day commitment.
Goodwin was declared competent for trial in February. In March a judge sentenced him to three years in prison on the assault charge. Records show he's serving another three years on his old burglary charge.
We asked the sheriff's spokeswoman when Garcia found out about the apparent horrible conditions one of his inmates was forced to endure, allegedly for weeks, and when the office launched an investigation into how the problem occurred. Follow along for her dizzying response...
"We knew of the incident when it happened back in October 2013."
So the office started investigating the incident back in 2013?
"Well, it's hard to say, in a sense that we have a jail compliance team that the sheriff has formed."
So, the sheriff didn't know until a few weeks ago, and then he launched an investigation?
"The sheriff did not find out about this incident until several weeks ago. And that's something that, you know, something like this the sheriff should have been told. Alright, so that's the issue with (KTRK/Channel) 13, it's like, when did the sheriff know about it and why didn't he know about it? The issue itself, we found out about it. And so now we're conducting an investigation into, number one: why did that happen to begin with? And why is it that the sheriff didn't know about it?"
So, you're investigating the incident, but also investigating why the sheriff didn't know that you were already investigating the incident?
"Right. Why wasn't anything done? Why weren't people that are to be held accountable held accountable back then? I mean, we knew of the incident, somebody knew of this incident, because there were reports generated."
So, the "investigation" started in 2013. But why didn't the sheriff know about it until three weeks ago, when TCJS and KTRK started asking for information about the incident?
"Well, because the sheriff doesn't know about every single internal investigation that we conduct. But something like this is something that he should have known about."
So, the "investigation" has been going on for a year, but it's still not finished?
"We're trying to figure that out. Why has it taken this long? Why didn't anybody get the ball rolling on a resolution to the problem? It's not until the sheriff found out about it that he said, 'Well, why hasn't this been resolved?'"
So, you're investigating why the investigation hasn't been finished?
"Right. ...Why did it go stagnant?"
There's no review process so the sheriff or someone in his office can keep track of how these types of investigations are going?
"There is. And it shouldn't have failed. And we have meetings to discuss everything that's happening in the organization, good and bad. And again, I think the question is why didn't anyone tell him about a matter such as this. That's what we're trying to find out. ... It's clear that this is something that we're taking ownership of and the sheriff certainly wants some answers."
SO. Just to recap: About a year ago, the sheriff's office began investigating how one of its inmates, who appears to have suffered from mental health issues, was left in a cell to wallow in his own filth and feces for weeks on end. The sheriff just didn't know about that investigation, which is still ongoing.
So Garcia's now investigating why he didn't know about that investigation and he's investigating why his team doesn't have any answers after a year of investigating.
Thankfully, in a letter to the jail following a surprise inspection Monday, a TCJS inspector wrote that Goodwin's treatment appears to have been an "isolated" incident.
These types of communication lapses at HCSO, however, don't appear to be so isolated. Just weeks ago, we were left scratching our heads trying to figure out why the sheriff's office would re-hire Ruben Carrizal, a homicide investigator who got canned by the district attorney's office amid allegations that he back-dated a judge's signature on a search warrant that he'd already served on a murder case.
Back then, Garza told us the answer was simple: the sheriff's office knew "nothing" about the allegations, otherwise they wouldn't have considered re-hiring Carrizal. That was despite the DA's office telling us, in some detail, how they included sheriff's officials in their investigation into the backdated document from the beginning -- in part because Carrizal was with HCSO when he served the original warrant.
Maybe Garcia can investigate that lapse in communication, too.
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