DEMOCRATS NO.1 PRIORITY: DESTROY TRUMP

Democrats try to change the subject and other commentary 

 

Post Editorial Board 

New York Post

November 28, 2021

Democrats continue to focus on the Capitol riot and former President Donald Trump instead of addressing issues

 

From the right: Democrats’ Losing Strategy

“The Democrats have a novel solution to their crumbling popularity: avoid tackling any of the actual issues facing American families” and continue “pinning the January 6 riot at the Capitol on former president Donald Trump,” quips Spectator World’s Amber Athey. “This is all an obvious attempt at distraction from real issues facing the country. Democrats offer few solutions outside of a progressive fever dream spending bill that would only exacerbate inflation,” even though they face “a walloping in the upcoming midterm elections.” So they’re trying to make Republicans “politically toxic by affixing them to the alleged ‘insurrection.’ . . . Once again, the out-of-touch left clearly still hasn’t learned anything from recent bellwether elections in Seattle, Minneapolis, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.”

Free trader: Onerous Regs Fuel Supply Crisis

The supply-chain crisis has spurred a new “Made in America” push — yet, Mario Loyola argues at National Review, “the real culprit is an uncompetitive level of regulation and taxation,” and protectionism only makes that worse. The “hallmark” of the crisis is the lowest labor-force-participation rate in decades, fueled by generous COVID unemployment benefits. The Jones Act, requiring ships that transport goods between US ports to be made in America and owned and crewed by Americans, has worsened the problem, limiting unloading sites and, combined with other regulations, rendering the industry among the most inefficient in the world. “Politicians need to stop treating American companies — and by extension American workers — like enemies.” Let US workers compete, “and they will put an end to the supply-chain crisis.”

Crime watch: Tearing the ‘Fabric of Civilization’

“Being pro-criminal and anti-police is beginning to undermine the fabric of our civilization,” fears former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at Fox News, citing the “dramatic rise in murders,” mobs looting stores and “rioting and violence” in Portland, Ore., for “almost two years.” In New York, a no-bail-required rule lets criminals “walk out of jail faster than the police can fill out arrest reports.” Yet we know “a sound program of crime prevention” leads to safety: “In 1991, New York City was disastrous, crime-ridden and dangerous. It became safer — first through Mayor [Rudy] Giuliani and then through Mayor Michael Bloomberg,” who employed broken-windows policing. Yet Mayor de Blasio and “his Big Government Socialist belief” in “favoring criminals undermined” the success. The sooner Americans tire of that approach, “the sooner we can eliminate lawlessness.”

Pandemic journal: Panicking Over Omicron

“Unless you live in South Africa (and even if you do), there is no need to panic” over the COVID-19 Omicron variant, declares Roger Kimball at American Greatness. “Zero cases have been reported in the United States,” and companies are lining up with novel vaccines and new treatments. “But if you are bored, then by all means, panic.” On Friday, the Dow fell more than 900 points, though it was “long overdue for a correction.” New York Gov. Hochul also “forbade elective hospital surgeries in New York, just as bad boy [former Gov. Andrew] Cuomo did when he was busy packing the nursing homes with COVID patients, and consequently then the morgues, with your grandparents. Are we really going to do this again?”

Education beat: Spreading CRT Curriculum Further

“Classrooms across the United States” are now using Lucy Calkins’ “Units of Study” curriculum, which is “informed” by critical-race-theory writers and “focuses on identity-based power dynamics, victimhood, white supremacy” and the like, lament teachers Daniel Buck and James Furey at City Journal. It’s a “radical approach” that “upends” former notions of what education should be, “replacing the goal of fostering inquisitive, capable minds with ideologically trained” kids. CRT’s ultimate goal: to “use race and history as a lens through which to judge — to condemn — Western values.” Rather than give kids “foundational” skills, we’re sending them “radical messages about identity.” And rather than training them “to love what is beautiful and true, our modern progressive theorists are training them only to deconstruct it.”

GET OUT-OF-JAIL CARDS ... AND THEY'RE FREE

NYC man predicts he’ll dodge bail after 3 busts in 36 hours — and he’s right 

 

By Joe Marino, Reuven Fenton and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon

 

New York Post

November 28, 2021

 

 Agustin Garcia was arrested three times in 36 hours last week for robberies across the city

 

A Brooklyn homeless man was busted three times in just 36 hours last week, boasting to NYPD cops that he would dodge bail at each turn because he “didn’t have a record.”

He proved to be right. 

Agustin Garcia, 63, was charged with robbing two Manhattan straphangers — wielding a knife against one of them — and stealing a beer from a Bronx bodega in rapid succession, prosecutors and law-enforcement sources told The Post.

Manhattan prosecutors twice asked that Garcia be held on bail amid his alleged crime spree, only to be denied by judges.

It wasn’t until the suspect was busted a third time that he was sent to Bellevue Hospital for a psychiatric evaluation, although still without any bail to keep him locked up.

“We can arrest people, we can cut them loose, incarcerate them, but it’s not addressing the underlying problems,” said a frustrated law-enforcement source.

“There are so many underlying issues when it comes to revolving-door criminal-justice problems. But by far, the No. 1 issue we see in cases … is mental health.”

Garcia’s distraught brother Jose said the source was spot-on in his sibling’s case.

“My brother is a sick person,” Jose Garcia told The Post on Sunday, saying Agustin suffers from schizophrenia. “He’s been sick for the past 35 years. 

“When he goes to the hospital and is committed there, sometimes for a month or two, he sometimes doesn’t get the treatment completely, and they release him. And once they release him, the problem comes back again.”

Agustin Garcia’s alleged 36-hour crime spree began around 7:30 p.m. Nov. 21 when police say he swiped a dozen cans of Coors Light beer from a bodega on East 165th Street in The Bronx. The suspect was charged with petty larceny.

Cops released him on a desk-appearance ticket pending a court hearing.

Then just a few hours later, Garcia was back in handcuffs.

 

Garcia’s first crime was petty larceny for stealing beer from a Bronx bodega 

 

Police said he was busted again around 3 a.m. Nov. 22 at the Canal Street subway station in Manhattan after allegedly stealing a straphanger’s backpack and pulling a knife on her while warning her to “stay back” when she followed him.

“I know I’m getting out,” Garcia boasted to cops at the Fifth Precinct station house after his arrest, according to sources. “I have no record.”

Garcia, who sources said has no prior convictions, was charged with felony robbery, and Manhattan prosecutors asked that he be held on $15,000 cash bail or a $45,000 bond. 

But Garcia was cut loose on supervised release without bail by Manhattan Criminal Court Judge James Clynes.

 

Garcia allegedly stole a woman’s backpack and threatened her with a knife at the Canal Street subway station 

 

Back on the street again, the suspect stole an iPhone from another straphanger at the West 145th Street/Lenox Avenue subway station around 7:15 a.m. Nov. 23 and fled with it into the subway tunnel, cops said.

Police caught him when he tried to climb up a subway platform back into the station, sources said.

This time, Garcia was charged with grand larceny and criminal trespassing.

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office said it again tried to have Garcia jailed, recommending that he be kept behind bars on $20,000 cash bail or a $60,000 bond.

But Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Valentina Morales denied the request and instead ordered a 72-hour psych evaluation for Garcia at Bellevue.

New York City Sheriff’s Office deputies took Garcia into custody and transported him to the hospital for the evaluation.

Bellevue told The Post that Garcia was still there Sunday. 

 

According to his brother Jose Garcia, Agustin suffers from schizophrenia 

 

Jose said it was far from the first time his brother had been hospitalized. Agustin previously did stints at Jacobi, New York-Presbyterian and Gracie Square hospitals, the sibling said.

He said his brother belongs in a hospital, not on the street.

Agustin stops taking his meds because he believes “God will come down and cure him,” Jose said.

“I tell him, ‘You’ve got to understand that God gave humans the power to make those medications so you can survive. Use it!’ ” Jose said. “When he stops using it, we lost him. Forget it.”

He said his brother was once “sharp as a weasel,” employed as a supervisor at a welding company that worked on PATH trains, subway cars and even US Navy ships.

But in 1987, Agustin was diagnosed with schizophrenia, and his life spiraled downward, his brother said.

Recently, Agustin had been living in Harlem but was evicted from his apartment and moved into a Brooklyn homeless shelter, his brother said.

A spokesman for the state court system said the judges who declined to set bail on Agustin Garcia used their discretion, as they are authorized to do under the law. 

 

Jose Garcia has urged his brother to take his medication since he was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1987 

 

“Nearly 300 defendants are arraigned every day in New York City Criminal Court,” wrote Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the Office of Court Administration, in an e-mail to The Post.

“The one thing they all have in common is … a criminal court judge who, with purposely enacted, extremely limited discretion, must foretell the future,” Chalfen said.

“Unlike ‘the legislature’ or ‘the defendants’ or ‘the prosecutors,’ they are not amorphous,” he said of the judges. “They are the individuals holding up a metal rod as the thunder and lightning of our criminal justice system that no one wants to address passes over.”

But critics bemoaned what they called the city’s badly broken legal system.

“When we see the same [defendant] over and over … we see the same red flags,” another law-enforcement source said. “People are entering the system with serious mental, emotional illness and are coming out the same, if not worse.

“Bail reform is all well and good, but you have an oblibgation to do better than just send people who need a high level of care on their way so as not only to keep from reoffending but keep themselves safe. Ultimately that’s what keeps the community safe.”

Meanwhile, Jose Garcia insisted that despite his troubles, his brother has a good heart.

“You know what he does with his money, the money he receives from Social Security? He takes the money and gives it to the church,” Jose said. “When he’s his old way, believe me, he’s the most noble and helpful guy you can be with.

“He sees you cold and knows he has a coat at home, he gives it to you. That’s the kind of person he is.”

MICHAEL FLYNN: QANON IS A CIA-CREATED DISINFORMATION CAMPAIGN OF 'TOTAL NONSENSE'

QAnon Hero Michael Flynn Secretly Said QAnon Is ‘Total Nonsense’

 

By Will Sommer

 

Daily Beast

November 28, 2021

 

 

Michael Flynn was the featured speaker at the QAnon convention in Dallas on May 30, 2021 where he said a military coup like the one recently happened in Myanmar should happen in the United States 

 

 

Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn has embraced his position as a hero to QAnon conspiracy theorists. He took the QAnon oath, sold QAnon T-shirts, and even auctioned off a QAnon quilt. He appeared at a QAnon convention and signed books with a QAnon slogan. Some QAnon followers even believe that Flynn is “Q,” the mysterious figure behind QAnon.

But a recording released late Saturday night by a one-time Flynn ally suggests that the retired three-star general privately believes QAnon to be “total nonsense.”

On Saturday night, pro-Trump lawyer and QAnon booster Lin Wood released a recording of what purports to be a phone call between Wood and Flynn on Telegram. The audio’s publication comes amid a right-wing civil war pitting Wood against one-time allies like Flynn and other figures involved in the 2020 attempt to overturn the election.

In the call, Wood complains to Flynn that his QAnon supporters had attacked Wood online. But Flynn attempts to disown QAnon, claiming it’s a “disinformation campaign” created by the CIA.

“I think it’s a disinformation campaign,” Flynn said on the call. “I think it’s a disinformation campaign that the CIA created. That’s what I believe. Now, I don’t know that for a fact, but that’s what I think it is. I think it’s a disinformation campaign.”

Later in the recording, Flynn called QAnon “total nonsense.”

“I find it total nonsense,” Flynn said. “And I think it’s a disinformation campaign created by the left.”

Flynn could not be reached for comment.

In the call, Flynn promises to send Wood an article about QAnon’s failure to come true. Based on text messages from Flynn that Wood also published on his Telegram account, the article Flynn referenced on the call was a Nov. 2 article by white supremacist radio host Hal Turner that endorsed the idea of mass violence.

In the blog post that Flynn apparently cited, Turner ridicules QAnon believers who traveled to Dallas believing the John F. Kennedy Jr. would appear. Turner wrote that Trump supporters would repeatedly look like fools “until something like a mass slaughter happens,” writing that the JFK Jr. debacle was caused because people were “too cowardly to stand up, pick up guns, and go kill the people” Turner falsely claimed stole the election.

Flynn’s private disavowal of QAnon would mark a blow to the conspiracy theory movement, which claims the world is run by a cabal of cannibal-pedophiles that can only be defeated by Trumpworld stars like Flynn. In May, Flynn was feted as a hero at a QAnon convention in Dallas, where he endorsed the idea of a Myanmar-style coup in the United States.

 

Myanmar soldiers take control during the military coup on February 28, 2021

 

Wood’s publication of the audio comes as part of a growing feud between Wood and Flynn and other figures active in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election. The fight kicked off last week when recently acquitted Kenosha shooting defendant Kyle Rittenhouse, a former Wood client, accused Wood in a Fox News interview of deliberately keeping him in jail to raise money off of his case.

 

Flynn's attorney Sidney Powell with her Kraken. Powell has been a follower of QAnon since its inception 

 

Suddenly under attack by Rittenhouse, Wood grew publicly furious that allies like Flynn and pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell weren’t strenuously defending him. The ensuing clash has consumed QAnon and other far-right communities over the past week, while Wood grows increasingly hostile, even claiming at one point that a plane he was set to take a flight on was sabotaged in an attempt to kill him.

It’s not clear when the call between Wood and Flynn took place, though it appears to have come sometime in early November since Flynn mentioned Turner’s article. The Daily Beast couldn’t verify the audio’s authenticity, but Wood regularly records phone calls with his allies and reporters. Last week, Wood published a recording of a call with former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, a one-time Wood ally involved in the attempt to overturn the election. Byrne, who is caught on the call criticizing Powell, confirmed that recording’s authenticity in his own Telegram post.

JUSSIE SMOLLETT TRIAL TO START TOMORROW

• by Bob Walsh

  
  

  The Chicago trial for actor Jussie Smollett, who is charged with felony stupid for filing a false police report of a racial attack three years ago. 

  
  

  Jury selection is supposed to begin on Monday.  The regular (highly irregular actually) prosecutor Kim Foxx has been bypassed due to clear conflict of interest and egregious stupidity and a special prosecutor appointed.  Foxx communicated directly with members of Smollett's defense team (at Michelle Obama's request apparently), and when she finally recused herself after a stink was raised her office dropped all charges against Smollett.  

  
  

  Part of the delay was due to the Covid-19 pandemic in which jury trials were essentially stopped in many parts of the country, including Chicago.  

  
  

  Smollett's contract to appear in EMPIRE was renewed for the final season in 2019, but he never appeared in a single episode.  

  
  

  Smollett has continued to insist, at least on the record, that the attack was real and did happen.  He paid the two guys that he hired to help him fake the attack with a check.  The general belief is he wanted to pump up his personal brand and get more money and more screen time from the EMPIRE producers.  It didn't work.

  
  

  I wonder if CNN will cover the trial like the covered the Rittenhouse trial?  I am guessing not. 

  ---

20 YEARS AGO

 Submitted by Trey Rusk

A woman awakes during the night to find that her husband is not in bed. She puts on her robe and goes downstairs to look for him. She finds him sitting at the kitchen table with a hot cup of coffee in front of him. He appears to be in deep thought, just staring at the wall. She watches as he wipes a tear from his eye and takes a sip of his coffee.

 

'What's the matter, dear' she whispers as she steps into the room, 'Why are you down here at this time of night

 

The husband looks up from his coffee, 'It's the 20th Anniversary of the day we met'.

 

She can't believe he has remembered and starts to tear up.

 

The husband continues, 'Do you remember 20 years ago when we started dating, I was 18 and you were only 16,' he says solemnly.

 

Once again, the wife is touched to tears. 'Yes, I do' she replies.

 

The husband pauses The words were not coming easily. 'Do you remember when your father caught us in the back seat of my car'

 

'Yes, I remember' said the wife, lowering herself into the chair beside him.

 

The husband continued. 'Do you remember when he shoved the shotgun in my face and said, "Either you marry my daughter or I will send you to prison for 20 years.

 

'I remember that, too' she replied softly.

 

He wiped another tear from his cheek and said "I would have gotten out today."

REDUCING FELONIES TO MISDEMEANORS IS WHAT'S BEHIND - NOT WHO - THE RASH OF SMASH-AND-GRAB RAIDS

Who is behind 'smash-and-grab' crime wave? Officials helpless as shocking trend continues 

 

By Kunal Dey  

 

meaww

November 28, 2021

 

Security footage from Iceberg Diamonds jewelers in Sun Valley Mall, Concord on November 15

 

 

A string of "smash and grab" heists have rocked California of late, especially at luxury stores across the Golden State.

Recent weeks have seen gangs of crooks armed with hammers and crowbars smashing their way into high-end stores and taking off with tens of thousands of dollars in goods. While authorities have responded by stepping up patrols and increasing security around stores, many are wondering who is to blame for the recent uptick in crime.

Earlier this week, so-called 'smash-and-grab' gangs struck a Nordstrom in Canoga Park, Los Angeles, taking nearly $25,000 of high-end luxury goods and bear spraying a security guard on their way out. Another Nordstrom store was raided in Walnut Creek, east of San Francisco, with at least 90 looters entering the branch and making off with luxury goods in a matter of minutes. Police described the incident as "organized theft" and said it was "clearly a planned event." Meanwhile, four young men stormed into an Apple Store in Santa Rose on Wednesday morning and took off with $20,000 in goods.

It also emerged that eight people headed to a Home Depot store in Lakewood, California, to steal goods. Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said the thieves "selected various hammers, sledgehammers and crowbars approximate value of 400 dollars." Palo Alto police announced Wednesday that two women had been arrested in connection with a Sunday night attempt to steal items from a RealReal clothing boutique downtown. According to the authorities, at least 30 to 40 people arrived in some 20 cars and tried to break down the glass front door but it held. Police responded to a call by a security guard and stopped the women in a car with at least $15,000 in clothes from a second RealReal location that was burglarized in Larkspur earlier that night. Police also revealed how five people were charged with thefts in San Francisco and nine people were charged in connection with Friday night attacks on stores including Louis Vuitton, Burberry, and Bloomingdale's in the downtown area and in Union Square, a coveted area teeming with tourists and shoppers.

Having said that, as these 'smash-and-grab' robberies continue to rise during the holiday shopping season, light penalties are being blamed for the crime spree. Rick Caruso, a billionaire businessman and owner of The Grove, blasted local leaders for not doing enough to address the crime wave. According to CBS LA, Caruso has toyed with the idea of running for mayor of Los Angeles. “I think it’s a manifestation of weak leadership. I think it’s a manifestation of some really bad decisions that our leaders made. It’s a manifestation of we’re going to defund the cops,” Caruso told the outlet.

Meanwhile, the Democrat Governor of California Gavin Newsom stressed the need for better prosecution and harsher penalties for suspects. “I have no sympathy or empathy for people smashing and grabbing, stealing people’s items, creating havoc and terror in our streets. None,” he said. However, many believe that this status quo is a result of years of liberal lawmakers watering down penalties for such acts.

INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CHILD SEX EXPLOITATION NETWOEK

Global child sex ring spanning 100 countries and 5,000 people from US to India busted

 

By Kunal Dey  

 

meaww

November 27, 2021

 

 

                                        Child prostitutes in Pattaya, Thailand

 

NEW DELHI, INDIA: India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested seven people on Wednesday, November 24, as part of a nationwide crackdown on a suspected international online child sex exploitation network. 

The CBI revealed how raids were conducted following the discovery of an online child sex abuse operation involving more than 50 syndicates and 5,000 individuals spread across 100 countries. Agency sources told online newspaper The Print that the nexus had engaged in the online distribution of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) for monetary gain. 

Sources said the illicit operation was discovered by the CBI following “intensive intel collection and surveillance in the remotest areas of the country over a period of three months," after which the agency conducted raids at multiple locations on November 14, including Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Bihar, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Delhi.

In a statement, the CBI revealed the seizure of numerous laptops, mobile phones, and other electronic gadgets during the raids, lodging a whopping 23 cases against 83 people. Nine people have been arrested thus far, and more arrests are imminent per a CBI source. The initial inputs were obtained by the Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention/Investigation (OCSAE) unit of the CBI, which was set up in 2019 to track and monitor posting, circulation, and downloads of CSEM on the internet, according to The Print.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation told the newspaper noted how authorities followed a money trail of e-wallets and bank accounts to track down the accused. While the actual amount involved in the nationwide racket is yet to be disclosed, sources confirmed that foreign funds were also tracked in the operation. “The accused were disseminating the child abuse content online through links, videos, pictures, texts, posts, and hosting such things on social media platforms,” they said. 

An FIR lodged against a group of individuals in Jhansi stated that “individuals based in different parts of India and foreign countries” were “circulating, storing and viewing child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) [using] social media groups/platforms and third-party storage/hosting platforms," according to The Print, which accessed the documents.

Sources further revealed that the suspected child sexual abuse network crossed international borders and involved people from Pakistan, the US, Canada, the UK, Nigeria, Ghana, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Yemen, Malaysia, and Indonesia, among other countries. “This is part of a larger nexus,” one insider told the newspaper. “Thirty-six of the phone numbers identified have been detected in Pakistan, 35 in Canada and the UK, 31 in Bangladesh, 30 in Sri Lanka, 28 in Nigeria, 27 in Azerbaijan, 24 in Yemen, and 22 in Malaysia,” the source added. The CBI is now reportedly working with foreign law enforcement agencies and Interpol to get to the root of the international network. Meanwhile, the agency also sought help from social media websites and hosting platforms to aid the investigation.

TEXAN IS CANDIDATE FOR DIMBEST CRIMINAL OF THE DECADE ..... MURDERED WIFE JUST TWO DAYS AFTER SHE SIGNED LIFE INSURANCE POLICY

Texas husband accused of killing wife after she signed $250K life insurance policy

 

By Patrick Reilly

 

New York Post

November 29, 2021

 

 

Christopher Collins was charged in the murder of his wife Yuanhua Liang

 

A Texas man is accused of murdering his wife just two days after she signed a $250,000 life insurance policy, prosecutors said.

Christopher Collins, 41, is facing charges that he killed his wife Yuanhua Liang, 46, and went “to great lengths” to make it look as if she was shot and killed by a home invader.

Officials said that Collins called law enforcement on Nov. 18 and said his wife had texted him about a stranger in their home in northwest Harris County, ABC 13 reported. He then drove to his home to meet investigators, who had found Liang shot to death in the living room.

The house was strangely not ransacked, however, and investigators began to suspect that Collins’ story did not add up.

Surveillance video from the gym showed Collins pacing around for 45 minutes and only working out for five minutes before he went to the gym’s cafe and called police, officials said. Police searched a gym locker where they found Liang’s wallet — which Collins had reported missing — and cosmetic bag.

 

Yuanhua Liang signed a life insurance policy worth $250,000 two days before she was killed 

 

Collins, a former member of the military, said that Liang, a Chinese national, was “paranoid,” which is why he took 45 minutes to return to his home after she told him there was a stranger in the house. Investigators also found security cameras installed at the home, which Collins claimed he used to check on his wife when he was out of the country. That day, he said he didn’t think to check the footage.

Officials said Liang was shot with a small-caliber handgun while wearing a sleep mask and was found with a bag over her head. Prosecutors argued that covering a victim’s face is common when the suspect doesn’t want to watch someone they know die, ABC 13 reported. 

“Which indicated the bag had been placed over her head after she had been shot,” prosecutors said in court on Thursday.

 

Collins covered up Liang’s death as if she was fatally shot in a home invasion 

 

A search of the residence also yielded a life insurance policy worth $250,000 signed by Liang just two days earlier.

“Officers who searched the home found a sheet of paper on the desk inside the residence. The paper was for life insurance for $250,000. The officer stated that the defendant and the complainant had signed the paper for life insurance on Nov. 16, 2021.”

A .22 caliber live round was found in Collins’ pocket, investigators said. The medical examiner determined that a small-round handgun was used to kill Liang.

Collins is being held in jail on a $150,000 bond. He has been ordered to surrender his passport and not speak with any witnesses.

ALTHOUGH RETIRED, KEVIN NISHITA DIED A HERO COP

Retired cop fatally shot in robbery attempt of TV crew’s equipment in Oakland 

 

By Patrick Reilly

 

New York Post

November 27, 2021

 

 

Retired police sergeant Kevin Nishita was fatally shot by alleged robbers trying to steal television equipment near downtown Oakland  

 

A retired police officer has died after he was shot during an attempted robbery while providing security for a Bay Area television news crew covering the latest in a rash of smash-and-grab thefts.

Kevin Nishita, was shot in the abdomen during an attempted robbery of KRON-TV’s camera equipment near downtown Oakland on Wednesday, police said.

He was employed as an armed guard for Star Protection Agency and provided security for local reporters.

On Wednesday, he was reported to be hospitalized in stable condition, but succumbed to his injuries days later. His body was escorted from the hospital “with full law enforcement honors,” the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office tweeted.

“We are devastated by the loss of security guard and our friend, Kevin Nishita. Our deepest sympathy goes to Kevin’s wife, his children, his family, and to all his friends and colleagues,” KRON-TV’s vice president and general manager, Jim Rose, said in a statement issued Saturday.

No arrests have been made, however cops are offering a reward of $32,500 for information that leads to the arrest of Nishita’s killer. Oakland Police released a photo of the suspect’s vehicle: a white, four-door 2004-2008 Acura TL with a sunroof and no front license plate.

 

Retired police officer Kevin Nishita was acclaimed during his years in service and worked his way to a sergeant position

“This senseless loss of life is due to yet another violent criminal act in the Bay Area. We hope that offering a reward will help lead to the arrest of those responsible so they can face justice for this terrible tragedy,” Rose said.

Nishita served in the San Jose Police Department from 2001 to 2012, where he worked as a gang investigations detective and the department’s gaming/vice unit.

He then joined the Colma Police Department, where he served until his retirement in 2018. He received several awards in his six years at the department, where he served as a detective and field training officer, earning a promotion to sergeant in 2015, the department said. He also spent time with the Hayward Police Department.

“We are heartbroken and mourning the passing of retired Colma Police Department Sergeant Kevin Nishita. Kevin was part of our San José Police family for eleven years wearing the San José Police patch with great pride,” San José Chief of Police Anthony Mata said in a statement on Saturday.

“His contagious smile, passion to serve others, and an unmatched work ethic embodied the best of all of us. As a patrol officer, gang detective, and as a person, Kevin modeled bravery, kindness, and dedication helping make San José a better place for everyone.

“We must work together and stay committed to stop senseless violence and the loss of precious life and hold those committing these acts accountable,” the chief said, adding that flags will be flown at half-mast until his funeral.

 

Many officers across California police departments paid tribute to fallen retired cop Kevin Nishita.Colma Police Department

 

Violence has surged in Oakland, with Nishita’s death marking the city’s 126th death due to violence, police said. It is now under investigation by the Oakland Police Department’s Homicide Section.

______________

 

REAL LIFE BITES A NEWS CREW IN THE BUTT IN OAKLAND

By Bob Walsh

TV news crews use expensive equipment.  Due to people walking up, shoving a gun in their faces and taking their equipment in many urban areas those news crews are now protected by armed security, virtually always retired cops.  One of the guys I used to work with has that for a retired gig and it pays him tolerably well.  (I am guessing the thieves often sell the equipment back to the insurance companies involved as it might be hard to sell it on the open market when that stuff is all numbered and presumably traceable, unless they have a market where nobody cares about such things.)

Kevin Nishita was a retired cop and was protecting a SF news crew that was filming a crime story in Oakland the day before Turkey Day when it went sideways.  Somebody tried to rob the news crew of their equipment.  It ended up with Kevin Nishita dead.  All the cops have is a pretty good description of a very common get-away car, at least as far as they are letting it be known at this time.  

Since CA no longer has a felony murder rule it may be difficult to prosecute any of the offenders for murder even if they are caught.  All they have to do is say I DIDN'T SHOOT HIM and proving otherwise is now very, very difficult.

TWO SHOT NYPD OFFICERS RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL, SHOOTER IN CUSTODY

Suspect charged in connection with NYPD-involved shootings

 

By Dean Balsamini and Joe Ma

 

New York Post

November 27, 2021

 

 

                                     

Charlie Vasquez faces two counts of attempted murder and other charges  

 

Surveillance video shows the moment NYPD Officers Robert Holmes and Alejandra Jacobs were shot by suspect Charlie Vasquez in the Bronx on Nov. 24, 2021

 

The suspect who allegedly opened fire at a pair of cops in the Bronx on Thanksgiving Eve was arrested and charged on Saturday, police said.

Charlie Vasquez, 23, of Greenpoint, Brooklyn, faces two counts each of attempted murder, assault, criminal use of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon (loaded firearm) and reckless endangerment and menacing, the NYPD said.

Vasquez was taken into custody Wednesday night at St. Barnabas Hospital — where he was being treated after being shot once during the melee in Belmont, police and sources said. Vasquez is expected to survive, the NYPD said.

Vasquez has eight prior arrests and at least one for criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly pulling a shotgun on a 32-year-old male acquaintance during a squabble in Greenpoint on Oct. 19, 2017, police sources said.

In that that incident, Vasquez cocked the shotgun and pointed it directly at his victim before running off, the sources said. He was caught shortly after and charged with criminal possession of a weapon, a loaded firearm, menacing, with a weapon and unlawful possession of marijuana, according to cops and sources. 

The two NYPD cops were shot in The Bronx on Wednesday night while responding to a call of a person with a gun, police said.

The suspect opened fire at East 187th Street and Beaumont Avenue around 8 p.m., police said. He was then shot by one of the wounded cops, police said.

The cops were in uniform when they arrived, and spotted a person who matched a description of the suspect sitting on a stoop.

One of the officers, Robert Holmes, 31, an eight-year veteran, told the man to remove his hands from his pockets. The gunman then allegedly pulled out a Ruger handgun and opened fire, according to police.

The other officer — Alejandra Jacobs, a female Air Force reservist with one year on the job — was shot and returned fire five times, hitting the suspect, cops said. She was shot twice in the upper right arm.

Holmes struggled with the suspect and wrestled him to the ground. That officer was shot in the armpit during the struggle.

Both cops were originally taken to St. Barnabas Hospital, where they were listed in stable condition. 

 

NYPD Officer Alejandra Jacobs left St. Barnabas Hospital to a round of applause from her fellow officers after she was shot twice in the arm during a gun arrest in the Bronx

 

Officer Robert Holmes was released from the hospital after he was shot in the arm on Nov. 24, 2021

 

Jacobs was discharged from the hospital on Thanksgiving. On Friday afternoon, Holmes was wheeled out of St. Barnabas Hospital to applause and salutes from other cops.

“Within seconds, they are in a gun battle,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said at a press conference late Wednesday night.

“We have two incredibly brave police officers doing their job. And not complaining a bit right now, as they’re laying recovering in the hospital, eager to get back to work, and loving what they do serving the people in New York City.”

Shea called the suspect a “career criminal” and said the firearm he allegedly used was reported stolen last year in Georgia.

RUSSIA HAS ZIRCON, WE'RE GETING OMICRON

Russia starts full-scale production of its 'unstoppable' 6,670mph Zircon hypersonic missile as Moscow boasts it has capability to evade all Western defences

 

By Will Stewart 

Daily Mail

November 27, 2021

Russia today announced it has started serial production of its deadly 6,670 mph Zircon - or Tsirkon - hypersonic missile amid acute tensions with the West.

The 'unstoppable' weapon is being rushed into manufacture even before the end of state trials, reported TASS.

The go-ahead for full-scale production at a top-secret plant at Reutovo, near Moscow, follows recent 'successful' tests of the Mach-9 capable missile which Russia boasts will evade all Western defences.

'Serial production of Tsirkon missiles is underway at NPO Mashinostroyenia (plant), although state trials of this product’s surface launches will continue,' said an informed source.

Vladimir Putin has ordered the missile to be deployed next year by the Russian Navy boasting that it is 'truly unparalleled…in the world'.

Most recently, there was a successful test of the hypersonic missile from a frigate in the White Sea on 18 November.

A month earlier the Zircon was fired from a submarine for the first time.

 

Kremlin deputy premier Yury Borisov (pictured) said last month that Russia had outpaced the West in hypersonic weapons, and intends to maintain its lead

It has been identified by Moscow’s state-controlled TV as Vladimir Putin’s weapon of choice to wipe out American cities in the event of an atomic conflict.

The 'multi-purpose hypersonic missile is designated to strike sea and ground targets', reported TASS.

It can strike targets at a distance of more than 625 miles.

Relations with the West are deeply strained over Russia’s reported troop build-up near its border with Ukraine, triggering fears of invasion.

Senior US State Department official Karen Donfried on Friday expressed American concerns over 'large and unusual' Russian troop movements near the Ukrainian frontier.

NATO foreign ministers will next week discuss options for dealing with the perceived Russian threat, amid claims by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of Moscow’s backing for a plot to overthrow him, a claim the Kremlin has denied.

Other flashpoints relate to Russian gas supplies to Europe during the winter amid shortage fears, and Moscow’s ally Belarus encouraging a flood of migrants to break into the EU.

The Zircon will be deployed on Russian frigates and, later, on submarines.

A recent announcement said that further submarine Zircon tests would only proceed in 2024 or 2025.

A defence ministry source said this week: 'They will be carried out from the Project 885M submarine Perm that will differ from its predecessors by a slightly modified design.

'If the submarine is not ready for the Zircon test-launches in 2024, they will be resumed in the first half of 2025.'

Kremlin deputy premier Yury Borisov said last month that Russia had outpaced the West in hypersonic weapons - and intends to maintain its lead.

'We have broken forward, specifically, in the sphere of hypersonic weapons and (those) based on new physical principles,' he said.

'We now have serious advantages in this regard over the leading Western countries - and will try to maintain this position.'

The hypersonic missiles are being developed at Military-Industrial Corporation Research and Industrial Association of Machine Building MIC NPO Mashinostroyenia at Reutovo in Moscow region.

JUSTICE FOR SOME PERPS ... INJUSTICE FOR SOME VICTIMS

Restorative justice: Here's why cop Julia Crews had charges DROPPED for shooting shoplifter

 

By Srivats Lakshman  

 

meaww

November 27, 2021

 

 

                          

Julia Crews, the former Laude police officer who shot Ashley Fountain Hall in 2019 

 

On November 5, a 13-year veteran of the Ladue Police Department named Julia Crews met with Ashley Fountain Hall, the woman she accidentally shot in April 2019. Shortly after, Crews had her felony charges dropped, allowing her to return to work, albeit not in the police force. It's just one of the many examples of restorative justice, a social movement that has long been popular in countries like Canada and South Africa and is now finding roots here in the USA.

For a very long time, activists and politicians have been calling for a reform of the criminal justice system. In fact, back in 2020, Kim Kardashian even met the then-President over the matter. On the campaign trail, Joe Biden laid out his version for reform, but over 10 months into his administration, most of them are yet to see the light of day. Simply put, America's criminal justice system is broken, and there seems to be little political appetite to change that.

That said, there have been a few efforts to do so. In April 2019, we reported on CNN's 'The Redemption Project'. Like with Crews, the project is an attempt at restorative justice, which hopes to avoid the cycle of incarceration, punishment, and ostracism brought by the current justice system. In many cases, it's proven to be highly valuable as well.

What is restorative justice?

The social movement has been described as an "aim to redirect society’s retributive response to crime. Restorative justice views crime not as a depersonalized breaking of the law but as a wrong against another person... restorative justice seeks to elevate the role of crime victims and community members; hold offenders directly accountable to the people they have harmed; and restore, to the extent possible, the emotional and material losses of victims by providing a range of opportunities."

Simply put, restorative justice is a system where the victim and the offender sit together and work out a solution that allows both of them to heal from the crime. Rather than simply lock the offender away, this system ensures that the offender is still a part of society, and can therefore contribute in a positive way. At the core of the movement is direct mediation, i.e. dialogue between the victim and offender. 

The reason restorative justice is gaining steam is because it avoids sending people to jail but still ensures offenders are held responsible. It is widely adopted in Canada and South Africa, as well as Europe. It is believed around 30 states practice some form of restorative justice today. 

Restorative justice in the USA

In 1994, the American Bar Association endorsed victim-offender mediation, bringing restorative justice to the US criminal justice system for the first time. In the decades since, it has been adopted only by a handful of states and cities. St. Louis County in Missouri adopted restorative justice for the first time in the case of Crews and Hall. In April 2019, Crews responded to a call from a supermarket in Ladue saying two women left without paying.

That led her to arrest Hall, who put up a struggle. Crews then accidentally shot Hall, while attempting to subdue her with her taser. Hall survived, after being resuscitated at the hospital, where she spent months. Crews was charged with second-degree assault, a felony charge that carries a 10-year prison sentence. After recovering, Hall said she forgave the officer, but still wanted some action to be taken.

After filing a federal lawsuit, the duo was offered a restorative justice session by St Louis County prosecuting attorney Wesley Bell. That led to mediation via Zoom on November 5. It's unclear what was said, but it appears Hall has forgiven the ex-cop for her actions, which led to her felony charges being dropped. It will allow Crews to return to work as a vindicated woman, and continue to contribute to Laude's economy and society, without the specter of having spent a decade in jail.

MONK ASKS COW: DO YOU TAKE THIS WOMAN TO BE YOUR WIFE? ... COW ANSWERS: MOO

Woman marries cow after it kissed her, says it's her dead husband reincarnated

 

By Yasmin Tinwala  

 

meaww

November 7. 2021

 

 

Khim Hang from Cambodia with the calf she believes to be her reincarnated husband 

 

A woman in Cambodia has married a cow she believes is her dead husband's reincarnation. 78-year-old Khim Hang has advised, rather ordered her kids to take care of the animal as they would of their father, until it passes away. The cow's funeral ceremony has to be carried out the same way as a human, Hang insisted. 

Before diving into the story any further, we'd like to highlight a recent animal-involved bizarre incident that brings to the fore a rather intriguing relationship of a woman with her pet cat. Passengers aboard a Delta flight were stupefied as they saw their co-flyer, a female passenger, breastfeed her cat. A screenshot message believed to be sent by the crew or the pilot of the Atlanta-bound flight surfaced online and has since gone viral. The in-flight Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System message read, "Req Redcoat meet AC Pax (passenger) in (seat) 13A is breastfeeding a cat and will not put cat back in its carrier when FA (flight attendant) requested." The airline experienced an 84 percent surge in incidents related to emotional support animals in the past few years but in this case it was the pet owner who was acting up, and not the pet.

'I believe the calf is my husband'

Khim Hang's story first came to light in 2017 after a video of the cow walking inside the one-story house went viral on Facebook. The cow was born on March 27 that year and became quite the internet celebrity after the video was viewed and shared multiple times. So much so that Khim Hang and her family were interviewed about their relationship with the animal. Hang told Reuters, "I believe that he (the calf) is my husband because whatever he does when he goes upstairs... it is in exactly the same way as he (my husband) did when he was alive."

She also said she was kissed by the cow and that it also licked her hair, strengthening her belief further. "When I went to see a medium, his soul came in and said 'I am your husband'. Then I noted that he (the calf) licked my hair, then my neck, then kissed me so that really made me believe that he is my husband," she added. Hang's seven kids and their neighbors share the belief as well. Her son Vandy says the calf only licks the hands of relatives while neighbor Lim Rith noted that the calf "loves his children". Hang has since married the calf and while there's no video proof of it, villagers confirm that it indeed took place. Hang has forbidden her kids from selling the animals or mistreating it after her death and asked them to care for their father.

KITTY TITTY SHUTDOWN

Woman breastfed cat on Delta Airlines flight to Atlanta

 

By Yasmin Tinwala  

 

meaww

November 27, 2021  

 

 

 

 

Stop what you're doing - a woman has been breastfeeding a cat on a plane

 

Delta Airlines passengers were reportedly witnesses to a co-flyer "breastfeeding a cat" on a flight to Atlanta. A screenshot of a message which appears to be from the pilot or the crew has surfaced on the Internet and has now gone viral. The message suggests that the female passenger continued caring for her cat in a way no one could've imagined and refused to put the pet back in the carrier despite the crew requesting her to do so. 

The incident as bizarre as it sounds is one of the many shocking things to happen aboard Delta flights. In October, a disruptive passenger was placed right at the back of the plane after she started making her own in-flight announcement with her own microphone and amplifier. The incident occured aboard a flight to New York City and was captured on camera and the video was then uploaded to TikTok. Needless to say, it was viewed and shared widely. The woman was attempting to lecture her co-passengers on "the reason the pandemic started" and flight crew rushed to ask her to go back to her seat. She kept pushing back to the point where crew told her they'd have to restrain her if she wouldn't follow instructions. “I don’t need to be taken anywhere. I don’t need to be cuffed. I’m completely harmless,” she said into her microphone. “Although, I think [the passengers] are enjoying this, because like I said, I’m not terrible to look at."

'Cat people are weird' says Internet

The in-flight Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System message, reportedly sent by the crew or the pilot, reads, "Req Redcoat meet AC Pax (passenger) in (seat) 13A is breastfeeding a cat and will not put cat back in its carrier when FA (flight attendant) requested." The airline is said to have experienced an 84 percent increase in incidents related to emotional support animals in the past few years, prompting them to tighten regulations. However, this case is about the pet owner acting up and not the pet. Rules state that the pets need to remain in their carrier and placed in front of the passenger's seat during the whole flight but the woman refused to follow protocol, according to reports. 

Social media has been buzzing with reactions after the incident made news, including the cliche, "cat people are weird." Another confused Twitter user said, "Can anyone tell me how one goes about breastfeeding their cat? I love my kitties but man... someone tell me how this happened." Another quipped, "Just when we thought we were all stocked up on crazy. But it's probably better than passenger-on-passenger or passenger-on-flight attendant violence." Another person tweeted, "Reality is undefeated with the weird shit." Another funny comment read, "Kitty Titty shutdown."

A MOB OF 20 TO 30 LOOTERS RAIDED A BEST BUY

Looters rampage through suburban Minneapolis Best Buy 

 

By Isabel Vincent

 

New York Post

November 27, 2021

 

 

A mob of suspected looters rampaged through a Best Buy electronics store near Minneapolis on Nov. 26, 2021  

 

A mob of 20 to 30 suspected looters converged on a Minnesota mall, rampaging through a Best Buy electronics store — the latest in a rash of “flash mob” type thefts across the US in recent weeks.

The incident in suburban Minneapolis, which police said involved no weapons, took place near the Burnsville mall Friday night. Police did not have an estimate on how much merchandise was allegedly stolen.

Smash-and-grab gangs struck in California earlier this week, dousing a security guard with bear spray in Canoga Park to enter a Nordstrom store, where they allegedly grabbed more than $25,000 worth of luxury goods, according to reports.

Another Nordstrom store was targeted in Walnut Creek last week, with more than 90 suspected looters captured on video raiding the store within minutes.

TEENS CLEANED OUT A HOME DEPOT'S SUPPLY OF TOOLS NEEDED FOR MORE SMASH-AND-GRAB RAIDS

California smash-and-grab crew steals hammers, tools from Home Depot 

 

By Patrick Reilly

 

New York Post

November 27, 2021 

Looters -  who range in age from 15 to 20 - stole every sledgehammer and crowbar in stock at a California Home Depot

 

California smash-and-grab thieves were back at it on Friday — with one crew hitting up a Home Depot to steal sledgehammers, crowbars and other tools, authorities said.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the Lakewood store’s entire hammer section had been cleared out by the mob of eight during the robbery, which took place at around 7:45 p.m. local time, Fox 11 reported.

The suspects — who range in age from 15 to 20 — fled in getaway cars parked outside the Home Depot, the sheriff’s department said.

It was one of several brazen flash-robberies in the area on Black Friday.

The Los Angeles Police Department said it issued a city-wide tactical alert after a large group raided a Bottega Veneta store in the ritzy Beverly Grove neighborhood, CBS LA reported.

The robbers pepper-sprayed someone inside the Melrose Avenue boutique and made off with several high-end items, cops said.

Three armed men also stole a Rolex watch from a jewelry store on Melrose Avenue on Friday night, according to KTLA. The suspects used a handgun in the incident, which occurred just before 7 p.m. local time, the report said.

The robberies came after more than $25,000 of merchandise was plucked from the shelves at a Nordstrom in LA’s Canoga Park neighborhood on Wednesday.

The Golden State has recently been plagued by a troubling trend of smash-and-grab raids, prompting one San Francisco tech store to hire bulletproof vest-clad security guards for a staggering $30,000 each month.