Principal of Louisiana high school will kick students off sports teams if they don’t stand for national anthem
By Jacob Bogage
The Washington Post
September 28, 2017
A high school in northwest Louisiana will punish students with suspensions or removal from sports teams if they demonstrate during the national anthem.
Principal Waylon Bates of Parkway High School in Bossier Parish called such demonstrations a “disruption” in a letter sent Thursday to students and parents.
“Parkway High School requires student athletes to stand in a respectful manner throughout the National Anthem during any sporting event in which their team is participating,” he wrote. “Failure to comply will result in a loss of playing time and/or participation as directed by the head coach and principal. Continued failure to comply will result in removal from the team.”
President Trump last week at a campaign rally for a failed Senate candidate called for NFL owners to fire players who knelt during the national anthem before games to protest racial injustice and police violence.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, ‘Get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out, he’s fired. He’s fired,’ ” Trump said.
Trump won Bossier Parish in the 2016 election by 47 percent of the vote, and all of Louisiana by 20 percent.
In response to his remarks, every NFL team this past week made some sort of demonstration during the anthem. The Seahawks and Titans refused to take the field during the anthem. The Cowboys, including owner Jerry Jones, an avowed Trump supporter, knelt as a team before the anthem to show unity with the rest of the league.
Other teams, including Washington, locked arms during the anthem before its Sunday night game against Oakland. Many of the Raiders players sat on the bench during the anthem.
Saturday, September 30, 2017
IMPORTANT SECOND AMENDMENT RULING
by Bob Walsh
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has just issued a ruling (2-1 vote) in Brian Wrenn vs. D.C., case #16-7025. In that ruling the court stated that the right to carry a weapon in public is a CORE Second Amendment Right and that the current actions of the government of D.C. amount to a complete and total ban on this right, making the actions of the district unconstitutional.
This makes it more and more likely that SCOTUS is going to have to take an honest-to-god real look at open carry vs. concealed carry permits vs. constitutional carry vs. whatever. This will be especially interesting for places like CA and NYC and LA that totally ban open carry and highly restrict (to the point of outright prohibition) the issuance of permits to carry.
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has just issued a ruling (2-1 vote) in Brian Wrenn vs. D.C., case #16-7025. In that ruling the court stated that the right to carry a weapon in public is a CORE Second Amendment Right and that the current actions of the government of D.C. amount to a complete and total ban on this right, making the actions of the district unconstitutional.
This makes it more and more likely that SCOTUS is going to have to take an honest-to-god real look at open carry vs. concealed carry permits vs. constitutional carry vs. whatever. This will be especially interesting for places like CA and NYC and LA that totally ban open carry and highly restrict (to the point of outright prohibition) the issuance of permits to carry.
YOUNG AND STUPID VICIOUS CRIMINALS
by Bob Walsh
So there is this 8-year old boy in Stockton. A few days ago some older boys, 10-14 years old, beat the CRAP out of him and stole his bicycle. The stupid bastards were dumb enough to post their attack on the kid on Instagram which came to the attention of the child's older sister who notified the kid's father. (Mom died a few years back.)
The attackers threatened to kill the kid and his father to keep him from talking so he told his dad two adult men had stolen the bike. The Instagram post pretty much took care of that.
Three of the vicious young assholes are now in custody and the cops are looking for a fourth. I hope they throw the book at these punks. I can't imagine it is their first offense and robbery and assault and battery with GBI is no joke. You could even make it out to be attempted murder, when you kick somebody in the head while they are laying on the ground you are not attempting to rob them, you are trying to hurt or kill them.
So there is this 8-year old boy in Stockton. A few days ago some older boys, 10-14 years old, beat the CRAP out of him and stole his bicycle. The stupid bastards were dumb enough to post their attack on the kid on Instagram which came to the attention of the child's older sister who notified the kid's father. (Mom died a few years back.)
The attackers threatened to kill the kid and his father to keep him from talking so he told his dad two adult men had stolen the bike. The Instagram post pretty much took care of that.
Three of the vicious young assholes are now in custody and the cops are looking for a fourth. I hope they throw the book at these punks. I can't imagine it is their first offense and robbery and assault and battery with GBI is no joke. You could even make it out to be attempted murder, when you kick somebody in the head while they are laying on the ground you are not attempting to rob them, you are trying to hurt or kill them.
PATRIOTIC PISSED-OFF FANS BURN PATRIOTS JERSEYS
Patriots Jerseys Burned After National Anthem Protest
CBS Boston
September 28, 2017
SWANSEA, Mass. -- A Swansea man hosted a jersey burning party in response to the recent protest by the New England Patriots.
Mark Shane organized the event at his Gardners Neck Road home after about 20 members of the team took a knee during the national anthem before Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Shane says he was “shocked” that the Patriots protested and said they “always stayed above this kind of nonsense.”
More than 100 people turned out to support Shane and show their frustration with professional athletes who are kneeling during the national anthem. They sang America the Beautiful and said the Pledge of Allegiance as they tossed Patriots gear into the fire in protest.
He told WBZ he was happy with the turnout.
“I think it was a great success,” Shane said. “I think people were united, I think people love our country and I think it sends a great message to the NFL and any divisive type actions will not be tolerated during sports.”
Upset Patriots fans came from all over Massachusetts, many in attendance were veterans.
“Some of those young kids they don’t know what us old guys went through,” said Arthur Dallaire of Swansea.
“It upsets me that they, I understand we do have issues with this county that need to be resolved and I think that’s not the platform to be doing it,” said Andy Lavoie of Westport.
Some people showed up just to support Shane’s right to free speech.
“I’m probably not the biggest fan of what he is doing, but I think he has the right to do it,” said Kathy Cardenas of Swansea.
Not all the jerseys and Patriots gear were burned during the bonfire. A box was put out to collect some of the items so they can be sent to some of the victims of the recent hurricanes.
CBS Boston
September 28, 2017
SWANSEA, Mass. -- A Swansea man hosted a jersey burning party in response to the recent protest by the New England Patriots.
Mark Shane organized the event at his Gardners Neck Road home after about 20 members of the team took a knee during the national anthem before Sunday’s game against the Houston Texans.
Shane says he was “shocked” that the Patriots protested and said they “always stayed above this kind of nonsense.”
More than 100 people turned out to support Shane and show their frustration with professional athletes who are kneeling during the national anthem. They sang America the Beautiful and said the Pledge of Allegiance as they tossed Patriots gear into the fire in protest.
He told WBZ he was happy with the turnout.
“I think it was a great success,” Shane said. “I think people were united, I think people love our country and I think it sends a great message to the NFL and any divisive type actions will not be tolerated during sports.”
Upset Patriots fans came from all over Massachusetts, many in attendance were veterans.
“Some of those young kids they don’t know what us old guys went through,” said Arthur Dallaire of Swansea.
“It upsets me that they, I understand we do have issues with this county that need to be resolved and I think that’s not the platform to be doing it,” said Andy Lavoie of Westport.
Some people showed up just to support Shane’s right to free speech.
“I’m probably not the biggest fan of what he is doing, but I think he has the right to do it,” said Kathy Cardenas of Swansea.
Not all the jerseys and Patriots gear were burned during the bonfire. A box was put out to collect some of the items so they can be sent to some of the victims of the recent hurricanes.
Friday, September 29, 2017
NEVADA OR FLORIDA SOON TO BE POLLUTED BY A DISGUSTING PIECE OF SHIT
Cold-blooded, double murderer O.J. Simpson will be released from a Nevada prison next week
BarkGrowlBite
September 29, 2017
O.J. Simpson, who has been doing time for a kidnapping and robbery, will be released on parole from a Nevada prison probably sometime next week.
He will do his parole either in Nevada or Florida. I suspect he prefers Florida because he has close golfing buddies there. But he cannot do his parole there if Florida refuses to accept him for supervision in that state. I suspect Florida will accept him if Nevada makes a formal request to transfer his parole there.
This disgusting piece of shit got away with the cold-blooded, knife slashing murder of his wife and her friend Ron Goldman. A predominantly black jury, eager to shove it to whitey, acquitted Simpson despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt. Of course, an inept prosecution team and a jerk of a judge didn’t help matters either.
I’ll be the first to admit that the charges for which he was convicted in Nevada were rather unconvincing and that the jury stuck it to him for the murders he committed in L.A. , not for what he had done in Las Vegas. Good for them!
Next week, either Nevada or Florida will be polluted by this disgusting piece of shit.
BarkGrowlBite
September 29, 2017
O.J. Simpson, who has been doing time for a kidnapping and robbery, will be released on parole from a Nevada prison probably sometime next week.
He will do his parole either in Nevada or Florida. I suspect he prefers Florida because he has close golfing buddies there. But he cannot do his parole there if Florida refuses to accept him for supervision in that state. I suspect Florida will accept him if Nevada makes a formal request to transfer his parole there.
This disgusting piece of shit got away with the cold-blooded, knife slashing murder of his wife and her friend Ron Goldman. A predominantly black jury, eager to shove it to whitey, acquitted Simpson despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt. Of course, an inept prosecution team and a jerk of a judge didn’t help matters either.
I’ll be the first to admit that the charges for which he was convicted in Nevada were rather unconvincing and that the jury stuck it to him for the murders he committed in L.A. , not for what he had done in Las Vegas. Good for them!
Next week, either Nevada or Florida will be polluted by this disgusting piece of shit.
THEY SAY IT TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE
How to avoid assholes, according to a Stanford professor who's spent years studying annoying people
By Danielle Zoellner
Daily Mail
September 28, 2017
The asshole personality is everywhere in this world whether it comes in the form of a boss, co-worker, friend or significant other.
These people can leave you feeling de-energized or disrespected, and they aren't as easy to avoid as one might hope.
But Robert Sutton, a professor of organizational behavior and engineering at Stanford University in California, has spent more than 10 years of his career deciphering the asshole and the havoc they can cause for people.
His new book, The Asshole Survival Guide, gives a detailed look in the jerks in everyone's life and what are the best practices to avoid them... if possible.
Daily Mail Online spoke with Sutton on what makes someone an asshole and the steps people can take to ride them from their own life.
How to become an expert on assholes
Sutton didn't start off his career thinking he would write two books on assholes and how to survive them.
But early on, he became interested in human emotions and how they can have an influence on others.
This inspired Sutton to analyze assholes and what makes them prominent in daily life and the workplace.
'General definition (of an asshole) is someone who leaves you demeaned, disrespected or de-energized,' Sutton said.
He published his first book titled The No Asshole Rule in 2007, which focused on building a better workplace that is rid of these types of people.
And after that published, Sutton saw in influx in his inbox on people wanting more advice on how to rid their life of the jerks, backstabbers and bullies.
'People would write me saying "I have an asshole problem, help me",' Sutton said.
He published his second book this year, titled The Asshole Survival Guide, to establish the craft of finding and avoiding the jerks in someone's life.
While he recognizes that this character will probably always be part of society, that doesn't mean that people have to accept the behavior.
The four types of assholes in this world
1. THE MACHIAVELLIAN
Machiavellianism in modern psychology is someone that is focused on self-interest and personal gain.
These people take pleasure in someone's else's pain as it helps them reach their own goals in life.
Sutton described this person as nasty to a person's face and not afraid to show that behavior.
The Machiavellian type doesn't hide from their asshole behavior. Instead, they embrace it because they think it is what is helping get them to where they want to be.
2. THE BACKSTABBER
The Backstabber is more strategic about how they are an asshole to others because they don't always want to be portrayed as one.
'They are more strategically competent assholes,' Sutton said.
'They kiss up and knock down people around them.'
Sutton said the backstabbers can be the most dangerous because they pretend they are on your side for as long as possible before they no longer need you.
3. THE PURPOSEFULLY OBLIVIOUS
This person acts as if they don't know someone when they actually do.
Instead of acknowledging a person, they will pretend they have no idea who they are in order to belittle them as much as possible.
This type of asshole might not think they are being one because they aren't saying anything, but their lack of acknowledgement speaks volumes.
Sutton explained that power can make people feel like they are above others and therefore think they are allowed to behave this way.
4. THE CLUELESS ASSHOLE
This person doesn't even realize they are acting horrible to someone unless it is pointed out to them.
Sutton said it's best for people to surround themselves with those who are not afraid to tell them if they are acting like an asshole.
But most importantly, it is on each and every person to recognize their own actions and how it can be perceived by others.
How assholes have learned to thrive in the workplace
'Do assholes get ahead? The answer is yes,' Sutton said.
But this comes with its own consequences as someone makes their way to the top of the workplace.
He explained that people in the workplace might believe that pushing others down or aside will get them to a top spot quickly.
What is left, though, once they reach the top is disgruntled employees who have been wrongly treated.
'It does help you as an individual but it doesn't help you lead an effective organization,' Sutton said. 'They leave behind a trail of enemies and they are less effective in their job.'
Technology jobs in Silicon Valley or law firms, to name a few, this is commonly seen as an avenue for workers to get ahead. But then the boss is left with disgruntled employees who feel they have been mistreated.
Sutton listed President Trump as a popular figure who is known to push people aside to get what he wants.
'Trump got to the top by stepping on people,' Sutton said.
He thinks this is part of the reason why President Trump is now having issues pushing policy.
His treatment of others has hindered his ability to work with people and get items passed.
Although Sutton finished this book before Trump's presidency and says he wasn't fueled by politics, he can see why some readers find connections to political figures in America behaving like assholes.
The health care and the pharmaceutical industry also has it's own share of assholes.
This is because people have a taste for the power they can wield over society.
Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli experienced his own rise and decline of assholery when he significantly raised the price of an anti-inflammatory drug that people desperately needed.
He fell for the power he held in the industry, but his asshole ways landed him in jail for security fraud and conspiracy.
Steps to avoid and change the asshole in your life
These people aren't easy to avoid or change, especially if they are your own boss or a co-worker that is frequently around.
But Sutton has some steps in his book that people can use to help diffuse the situation.
1. CREATE PHYSICAL DISTANCE
'One of the most reliable ways to become an asshole is to be around them,' Sutton said.
He recommends first creating physical distance from the people around you who exhibit toxic behavior.
Previous research has shown people are more likely to exhibit horrible behavior of their own in the workplace if they are within a 25-foot radius of a toxic person.
Physical distance from a toxic person can be better emotionally and socially for someone.
2. ALTER YOUR PERSPECTIVE
His second solution to an asshole problem is to re-frame the mind's mental thoughts to help protect oneself.
People can do this by finding humor in the situation or feeling sad for the person who feels the need to act that way.
Changing the overall perception of the situation can help the person cope with what is happening and protect themselves from being hurt by the behavior.
3. KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS
His final suggestion is changing the asshole so that they are on your side instead.
'Flattery and ass kissing does seem to work,' Sutton said.
Turning the hater into a friend makes it harder for them to be rude towards you.
Sutton also mentioned the Benjamin Franklin Effect, a psychological phenomenon that helps when handling the 'haters'.
This is where someone does little favors for someone who is mean to them and is purposefully nice. The phenomenon finds that the receiver of these favors is likely to return them.
'It's really hard to hate somebody when you're doing something nice for them,' Sutton said.
But what happens if you find out you are the asshole?
Sutton has found a combination of reasons for why people turn towards the nasty behavior.
These include the inequality of power and wealth seen in the workplace, exhaustion and role models who act like assholes.
All of the above can be triggers for someone to start acting horribly to others.
The most reliable way to find yourself behaving in a rude way is by surrounding yourself with others who act similarly.
'If you're an asshole and a winner, you're still a loser in my book,' Sutton said.
He recommends for people take responsibility for their behavior and alter it slowly to create a better environment for those around them.
Sutton recognizes that sometimes people can fall into the trap of acting like a jerk in order to avoid one in their own life.
But reacting to people negatively doesn't always yield the best results.
'It is a dangerous thing to do,' Sutton said. 'If you're nasty to somebody typically they will do it back to you.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: When I was a cop it was easy to spot an asshole. Almost every citizen I came in contact with was an asshole! There were three kinds of assholes: assholes, fucking assholes and motherfucking assholes. Shit, even some of the cops were assholes. Of course, I wasn’t one.
How to become an expert on assholes? Become a cop, you can’t avoid them.
By Danielle Zoellner
Daily Mail
September 28, 2017
The asshole personality is everywhere in this world whether it comes in the form of a boss, co-worker, friend or significant other.
These people can leave you feeling de-energized or disrespected, and they aren't as easy to avoid as one might hope.
But Robert Sutton, a professor of organizational behavior and engineering at Stanford University in California, has spent more than 10 years of his career deciphering the asshole and the havoc they can cause for people.
His new book, The Asshole Survival Guide, gives a detailed look in the jerks in everyone's life and what are the best practices to avoid them... if possible.
Daily Mail Online spoke with Sutton on what makes someone an asshole and the steps people can take to ride them from their own life.
How to become an expert on assholes
Sutton didn't start off his career thinking he would write two books on assholes and how to survive them.
But early on, he became interested in human emotions and how they can have an influence on others.
This inspired Sutton to analyze assholes and what makes them prominent in daily life and the workplace.
'General definition (of an asshole) is someone who leaves you demeaned, disrespected or de-energized,' Sutton said.
He published his first book titled The No Asshole Rule in 2007, which focused on building a better workplace that is rid of these types of people.
And after that published, Sutton saw in influx in his inbox on people wanting more advice on how to rid their life of the jerks, backstabbers and bullies.
'People would write me saying "I have an asshole problem, help me",' Sutton said.
He published his second book this year, titled The Asshole Survival Guide, to establish the craft of finding and avoiding the jerks in someone's life.
While he recognizes that this character will probably always be part of society, that doesn't mean that people have to accept the behavior.
The four types of assholes in this world
1. THE MACHIAVELLIAN
Machiavellianism in modern psychology is someone that is focused on self-interest and personal gain.
These people take pleasure in someone's else's pain as it helps them reach their own goals in life.
Sutton described this person as nasty to a person's face and not afraid to show that behavior.
The Machiavellian type doesn't hide from their asshole behavior. Instead, they embrace it because they think it is what is helping get them to where they want to be.
2. THE BACKSTABBER
The Backstabber is more strategic about how they are an asshole to others because they don't always want to be portrayed as one.
'They are more strategically competent assholes,' Sutton said.
'They kiss up and knock down people around them.'
Sutton said the backstabbers can be the most dangerous because they pretend they are on your side for as long as possible before they no longer need you.
3. THE PURPOSEFULLY OBLIVIOUS
This person acts as if they don't know someone when they actually do.
Instead of acknowledging a person, they will pretend they have no idea who they are in order to belittle them as much as possible.
This type of asshole might not think they are being one because they aren't saying anything, but their lack of acknowledgement speaks volumes.
Sutton explained that power can make people feel like they are above others and therefore think they are allowed to behave this way.
4. THE CLUELESS ASSHOLE
This person doesn't even realize they are acting horrible to someone unless it is pointed out to them.
Sutton said it's best for people to surround themselves with those who are not afraid to tell them if they are acting like an asshole.
But most importantly, it is on each and every person to recognize their own actions and how it can be perceived by others.
How assholes have learned to thrive in the workplace
'Do assholes get ahead? The answer is yes,' Sutton said.
But this comes with its own consequences as someone makes their way to the top of the workplace.
He explained that people in the workplace might believe that pushing others down or aside will get them to a top spot quickly.
What is left, though, once they reach the top is disgruntled employees who have been wrongly treated.
'It does help you as an individual but it doesn't help you lead an effective organization,' Sutton said. 'They leave behind a trail of enemies and they are less effective in their job.'
Technology jobs in Silicon Valley or law firms, to name a few, this is commonly seen as an avenue for workers to get ahead. But then the boss is left with disgruntled employees who feel they have been mistreated.
Sutton listed President Trump as a popular figure who is known to push people aside to get what he wants.
'Trump got to the top by stepping on people,' Sutton said.
He thinks this is part of the reason why President Trump is now having issues pushing policy.
His treatment of others has hindered his ability to work with people and get items passed.
Although Sutton finished this book before Trump's presidency and says he wasn't fueled by politics, he can see why some readers find connections to political figures in America behaving like assholes.
The health care and the pharmaceutical industry also has it's own share of assholes.
This is because people have a taste for the power they can wield over society.
Pharma Bro Martin Shkreli experienced his own rise and decline of assholery when he significantly raised the price of an anti-inflammatory drug that people desperately needed.
He fell for the power he held in the industry, but his asshole ways landed him in jail for security fraud and conspiracy.
Steps to avoid and change the asshole in your life
These people aren't easy to avoid or change, especially if they are your own boss or a co-worker that is frequently around.
But Sutton has some steps in his book that people can use to help diffuse the situation.
1. CREATE PHYSICAL DISTANCE
'One of the most reliable ways to become an asshole is to be around them,' Sutton said.
He recommends first creating physical distance from the people around you who exhibit toxic behavior.
Previous research has shown people are more likely to exhibit horrible behavior of their own in the workplace if they are within a 25-foot radius of a toxic person.
Physical distance from a toxic person can be better emotionally and socially for someone.
2. ALTER YOUR PERSPECTIVE
His second solution to an asshole problem is to re-frame the mind's mental thoughts to help protect oneself.
People can do this by finding humor in the situation or feeling sad for the person who feels the need to act that way.
Changing the overall perception of the situation can help the person cope with what is happening and protect themselves from being hurt by the behavior.
3. KILL THEM WITH KINDNESS
His final suggestion is changing the asshole so that they are on your side instead.
'Flattery and ass kissing does seem to work,' Sutton said.
Turning the hater into a friend makes it harder for them to be rude towards you.
Sutton also mentioned the Benjamin Franklin Effect, a psychological phenomenon that helps when handling the 'haters'.
This is where someone does little favors for someone who is mean to them and is purposefully nice. The phenomenon finds that the receiver of these favors is likely to return them.
'It's really hard to hate somebody when you're doing something nice for them,' Sutton said.
But what happens if you find out you are the asshole?
Sutton has found a combination of reasons for why people turn towards the nasty behavior.
These include the inequality of power and wealth seen in the workplace, exhaustion and role models who act like assholes.
All of the above can be triggers for someone to start acting horribly to others.
The most reliable way to find yourself behaving in a rude way is by surrounding yourself with others who act similarly.
'If you're an asshole and a winner, you're still a loser in my book,' Sutton said.
He recommends for people take responsibility for their behavior and alter it slowly to create a better environment for those around them.
Sutton recognizes that sometimes people can fall into the trap of acting like a jerk in order to avoid one in their own life.
But reacting to people negatively doesn't always yield the best results.
'It is a dangerous thing to do,' Sutton said. 'If you're nasty to somebody typically they will do it back to you.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: When I was a cop it was easy to spot an asshole. Almost every citizen I came in contact with was an asshole! There were three kinds of assholes: assholes, fucking assholes and motherfucking assholes. Shit, even some of the cops were assholes. Of course, I wasn’t one.
How to become an expert on assholes? Become a cop, you can’t avoid them.
Thursday, September 28, 2017
BRONX JUDGE’S LENIENCY GOT COP SHOT
Judge allowed teen drug dealer who shot Yonkers cop Kayla Maher back on streets despite weapons possession charges and 23 prior arrests
BY Chelsia Rose Marcius, Rocco Parascandola and Graham Rayman
New York Daily News
September 27, 2017
He shouldn't have been on the street.
The Westchester County teen accused of shooting a Yonkers cop in the face Monday caught a break from a Bronx judge a week ago, when he got a no-prison sentence after getting busted with a gun and knives.
Frank Valencia, 18, of New Rochelle, was one of two men arrested for shooting the cop, Kayla Maher, 26, in the chin about 8 p.m. at Ridge Drive and Marshall Road in Yonkers, police sources said.
Maher was released from Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx on Tuesday to the applause of her fellow officers.
The teen — who sources said is a drug dealer with 23 prior arrests — likely would have never pulled the trigger if Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas had hit him with a stiffer sentence last Wednesday.
Villegas gave Valencia just five years’ probation after the teen pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon stemming from his arrest in May at a fast-food joint in the Bronx, according to court records.
NYPD officers had busted Valencia with a semiautomatic pistol, a machete and hundreds of rounds of ammo, according to the criminal complaint.
Valencia also slipped through the judicial system a few hours before he allegedly shot Maher when he missed a court appearance in New Rochelle — on charges he’d threatened his father with a gun, sources said. After failing to appear in court Monday, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
“We never expected this,” said Valencia’s devastated father, Francisco. “We didn’t raise him this way. It made me so mad. I can’t believe it.”
The father learned firsthand of his son’s violent side on May 25, when the teen threatened him with a gun at their home after an argument, law enforcement sources said. The elder Valencia kicked his son out of the house after the confrontation.
When the elder Valencia learned his son was in the Bronx on May 31, he called 911 and the 48th Precinct to alert them that he thought the teen was dangerous, armed and high on drugs in a hotel on Crotona Ave., according to police sources.
“He said he was concerned his son was going to shoot somebody,” the source said.
Cops went to the hotel, but couldn’t find him. They then called the dad, who told them his son was at a nearby White Castle, sources said.
Precinct cops found him at the eatery carrying a duffel bag. He had a gun in his waistband, and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition for a .22-caliber pistol, a 9-mm. pistol and a shotgun, according to a criminal complaint.
He was also carrying a machete, several knives and parts of a shotgun. A grand jury indicted him on illegal weapons possession charges.
Valencia caught his first break July 10 when he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon. Judge Villegas in turn granted Valencia youthful offender status — which seals a defendant’s criminal record after the completion of a sentence.
Under New York law, a judge has the discretion to grant the designation to teens between the age of 16 and 19 who haven’t been convicted of a felony.
The same day he pleaded guilty in the Bronx, Valencia was arrested by New Rochelle cops on menacing charges for threats he had made against his dad in May.
Last Wednesday, Villegas sentenced Valencia to probation against the objections of Bronx prosecutors, who wanted him to receive prison time.
“This is a bad guy and a known drug dealer,” a law enforcement source said. “He has not shown any reason why he deserves youthful offender status. It’s not about the cop — this guy was going to shoot someone.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, said he could not believe that Villegas set Valencia free.
“This is a terrible case where a clearly bad decision by a judge resulted in the shooting of Yonkers Police Officer Kayla Maher,” Lynch said in a statement.
“Valencia will be held accountable for the shooting of Police Officer Maher, and Judge Villegas must be held responsible for his extraordinarily poor judgment that put this obviously dangerous man back on the streets.”
Villegas has been hearing criminal cases since 2004, when he was appointed an acting justice in Bronx Supreme Court. He was elected to a 14-year term as a full Bronx Supreme Court justice in 2008.
The judge declined to comment on Valencia’s sentence Tuesday. A spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration also declined to comment, stating that the case was sealed.
On Monday night, Maher and her partner had responded to a routine call to check on a car that seemed out of place in the residential neighborhood.
As the cops neared the car, one of the two men inside — believed to be Valencia — pulled out a pistol and started blasting, police sources said. The officers returned fire and shot Valencia.
“As many as five officers exchanged gunfire during this gunfight,” Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner said. “I don’t know specifically if Officer Maher was able to fire.”
The gun battle lasted at least 10 minutes. Photos show at least 48 shell casings under yellow ballistic markers. Cops recovered a .40-caliber Glock at the scene.
Valencia needed surgery after being shot in the exchange. He's in serious but stable condition, police said.
One of Valencia’s neighbors, who declined to give his name, said the suspect’s father works two jobs. The family is from Mexico, he said.
The younger Valencia dropped out of high school and “hangs around the wrong crowd.”
“He was always in trouble,” the neighbor said.
The other man in the car was identified by sources as Jerry Reyes, 22, of New Rochelle.
BY Chelsia Rose Marcius, Rocco Parascandola and Graham Rayman
New York Daily News
September 27, 2017
He shouldn't have been on the street.
The Westchester County teen accused of shooting a Yonkers cop in the face Monday caught a break from a Bronx judge a week ago, when he got a no-prison sentence after getting busted with a gun and knives.
Frank Valencia, 18, of New Rochelle, was one of two men arrested for shooting the cop, Kayla Maher, 26, in the chin about 8 p.m. at Ridge Drive and Marshall Road in Yonkers, police sources said.
Maher was released from Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx on Tuesday to the applause of her fellow officers.
The teen — who sources said is a drug dealer with 23 prior arrests — likely would have never pulled the trigger if Bronx Supreme Court Justice George Villegas had hit him with a stiffer sentence last Wednesday.
Villegas gave Valencia just five years’ probation after the teen pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon stemming from his arrest in May at a fast-food joint in the Bronx, according to court records.
NYPD officers had busted Valencia with a semiautomatic pistol, a machete and hundreds of rounds of ammo, according to the criminal complaint.
Valencia also slipped through the judicial system a few hours before he allegedly shot Maher when he missed a court appearance in New Rochelle — on charges he’d threatened his father with a gun, sources said. After failing to appear in court Monday, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
“We never expected this,” said Valencia’s devastated father, Francisco. “We didn’t raise him this way. It made me so mad. I can’t believe it.”
The father learned firsthand of his son’s violent side on May 25, when the teen threatened him with a gun at their home after an argument, law enforcement sources said. The elder Valencia kicked his son out of the house after the confrontation.
When the elder Valencia learned his son was in the Bronx on May 31, he called 911 and the 48th Precinct to alert them that he thought the teen was dangerous, armed and high on drugs in a hotel on Crotona Ave., according to police sources.
“He said he was concerned his son was going to shoot somebody,” the source said.
Cops went to the hotel, but couldn’t find him. They then called the dad, who told them his son was at a nearby White Castle, sources said.
Precinct cops found him at the eatery carrying a duffel bag. He had a gun in his waistband, and nearly 500 rounds of ammunition for a .22-caliber pistol, a 9-mm. pistol and a shotgun, according to a criminal complaint.
He was also carrying a machete, several knives and parts of a shotgun. A grand jury indicted him on illegal weapons possession charges.
Valencia caught his first break July 10 when he pleaded guilty to criminal possession of a weapon. Judge Villegas in turn granted Valencia youthful offender status — which seals a defendant’s criminal record after the completion of a sentence.
Under New York law, a judge has the discretion to grant the designation to teens between the age of 16 and 19 who haven’t been convicted of a felony.
The same day he pleaded guilty in the Bronx, Valencia was arrested by New Rochelle cops on menacing charges for threats he had made against his dad in May.
Last Wednesday, Villegas sentenced Valencia to probation against the objections of Bronx prosecutors, who wanted him to receive prison time.
“This is a bad guy and a known drug dealer,” a law enforcement source said. “He has not shown any reason why he deserves youthful offender status. It’s not about the cop — this guy was going to shoot someone.”
Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, the city’s largest police union, said he could not believe that Villegas set Valencia free.
“This is a terrible case where a clearly bad decision by a judge resulted in the shooting of Yonkers Police Officer Kayla Maher,” Lynch said in a statement.
“Valencia will be held accountable for the shooting of Police Officer Maher, and Judge Villegas must be held responsible for his extraordinarily poor judgment that put this obviously dangerous man back on the streets.”
Villegas has been hearing criminal cases since 2004, when he was appointed an acting justice in Bronx Supreme Court. He was elected to a 14-year term as a full Bronx Supreme Court justice in 2008.
The judge declined to comment on Valencia’s sentence Tuesday. A spokesman for the state Office of Court Administration also declined to comment, stating that the case was sealed.
On Monday night, Maher and her partner had responded to a routine call to check on a car that seemed out of place in the residential neighborhood.
As the cops neared the car, one of the two men inside — believed to be Valencia — pulled out a pistol and started blasting, police sources said. The officers returned fire and shot Valencia.
“As many as five officers exchanged gunfire during this gunfight,” Yonkers Police Commissioner Charles Gardner said. “I don’t know specifically if Officer Maher was able to fire.”
The gun battle lasted at least 10 minutes. Photos show at least 48 shell casings under yellow ballistic markers. Cops recovered a .40-caliber Glock at the scene.
Valencia needed surgery after being shot in the exchange. He's in serious but stable condition, police said.
One of Valencia’s neighbors, who declined to give his name, said the suspect’s father works two jobs. The family is from Mexico, he said.
The younger Valencia dropped out of high school and “hangs around the wrong crowd.”
“He was always in trouble,” the neighbor said.
The other man in the car was identified by sources as Jerry Reyes, 22, of New Rochelle.
ONE MORE REASON WHY COPS SHOULD NOT SHARE THEIR FEELINGS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Michigan State police director facing calls to resign after she called NFL protesters 'millionaire anti-American DEGENERATES'
By Regina F. Graham
Daily Mail
September 27, 2017
The Michigan State Police director is facing calls to resign after sharing a Facebook message belittling athletes who kneel during the national anthem as 'anti-American degenerates'.
Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue shared a message on her Facebook page Sunday that stated athletes who take a knee during the pre-game national anthem are 'millionaire ingrates who hate America and disrespect our armed forces and veterans' and 'a bunch of rich, entitled, arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American degenerates.'
Hundreds of athletes have expressed they are taking a knee during the pre-game national anthem as a symbolic protest against racial oppression and incidents of police brutality against blacks.
The controversial message on her personal Facebook page caused outrage, as some have called for her to be fired.
Michigan ACLU Director Kary Moss wrote on Facebook: 'It is the sworn duty of the State Police Director to uphold the Constitution which protects all people in this State and to demonstrate respect for those principles.
'She undermines her own position and the trust of the community with these remarks and utter disregard of the people she represents.'
Late Tuesday Etue apologized for the post on the MSP Facebook page.
'It was a mistake to share this message on Facebook and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended,' Etue's post read.
'I will continue my focus on the unity at the Michigan State Police and in communities across Michigan.'
But the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality said Tuesday that she should be fired.
'Etue's words simply reflect the continued racist actions of the Michigan State Police, both in how they treat our citizens and in how their hiring demographics fail to even approach equity,' Kenneth Reed, the coalition spokesman, said in a news release.
'There needs to be complete overhaul of the department, and we urge the Michigan Black Caucus to call an emergency meeting to address the issue and develop a list of demands...'
The executive director of the liberal group Progress Michigan, Lonnie Scott, said Etue's apology is 'not good enough'.
'This isn't about people being offended,' Scott posted on Facebook.
'It's about the leader of the State Police missing the entire point of protesting police brutality. This statement helps nothing.'
Gov. Rick Snyder's office has not commented on the situation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: “Dear NFL: We will not support millionaire ingrates who hate America and disrespect our Armed Forces and Veterans. Who wins a football game has ZERO impact on our lives. Who fights for and defends our nation has EVERY impact on our lives. We stand with the HEROES, not a bunch of rich, entitled, arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American degenerates. Signed, We the People” is spot on!
My only problem with Kriste Kibbey Etue is that she apologized for sharing her feelings on Facebook. I guess she was trying to save her job.
By Regina F. Graham
Daily Mail
September 27, 2017
The Michigan State Police director is facing calls to resign after sharing a Facebook message belittling athletes who kneel during the national anthem as 'anti-American degenerates'.
Col. Kriste Kibbey Etue shared a message on her Facebook page Sunday that stated athletes who take a knee during the pre-game national anthem are 'millionaire ingrates who hate America and disrespect our armed forces and veterans' and 'a bunch of rich, entitled, arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American degenerates.'
Hundreds of athletes have expressed they are taking a knee during the pre-game national anthem as a symbolic protest against racial oppression and incidents of police brutality against blacks.
The controversial message on her personal Facebook page caused outrage, as some have called for her to be fired.
Michigan ACLU Director Kary Moss wrote on Facebook: 'It is the sworn duty of the State Police Director to uphold the Constitution which protects all people in this State and to demonstrate respect for those principles.
'She undermines her own position and the trust of the community with these remarks and utter disregard of the people she represents.'
Late Tuesday Etue apologized for the post on the MSP Facebook page.
'It was a mistake to share this message on Facebook and I sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended,' Etue's post read.
'I will continue my focus on the unity at the Michigan State Police and in communities across Michigan.'
But the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality said Tuesday that she should be fired.
'Etue's words simply reflect the continued racist actions of the Michigan State Police, both in how they treat our citizens and in how their hiring demographics fail to even approach equity,' Kenneth Reed, the coalition spokesman, said in a news release.
'There needs to be complete overhaul of the department, and we urge the Michigan Black Caucus to call an emergency meeting to address the issue and develop a list of demands...'
The executive director of the liberal group Progress Michigan, Lonnie Scott, said Etue's apology is 'not good enough'.
'This isn't about people being offended,' Scott posted on Facebook.
'It's about the leader of the State Police missing the entire point of protesting police brutality. This statement helps nothing.'
Gov. Rick Snyder's office has not commented on the situation.
EDITOR’S NOTE: “Dear NFL: We will not support millionaire ingrates who hate America and disrespect our Armed Forces and Veterans. Who wins a football game has ZERO impact on our lives. Who fights for and defends our nation has EVERY impact on our lives. We stand with the HEROES, not a bunch of rich, entitled, arrogant, ungrateful, anti-American degenerates. Signed, We the People” is spot on!
My only problem with Kriste Kibbey Etue is that she apologized for sharing her feelings on Facebook. I guess she was trying to save her job.
NOW ILLEGALS ARE TAKING OUR JOBS, NEXT IT WILL BE ROBOTS
Robots Are Coming for Your Job Sooner Than You Think. Will you be prepared?
By Caroline Thompson
VICE News
September 27, 2017
Back in March, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sat down with Axios to talk about his role in the newly formed Trump administration. Mnuchin said a lot of outlandish things during the course of this interview, from claiming the president had "perfect genes" to proposing we "look at putting Trump on the $1,000 bill." Most of this was the standard 2017 circus nonsense we've come to expect from those in the president's inner circle. But one exchange in particular should give American workers pause.
Midway through the conversation, interviewer Mike Allen asked Mnuchin about the threat of mass job loss from automation and artificial intelligence. A previous guest, Mark Cuban, was very focused on how it might affect the workforce. "What's your take on that?" Allen asked.
Mnuchin smirked. "I think we're, like, so far away from that," he said. "It's not even on my radar screen."
"How far away?" asked Allen. "Seven more years?"
"Seven more years?" Mnuchin laughed. "I think it's 50 to 100 more years!"
Curious, considering the conversation happened just a few short months after Uber began testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, and a year after the ride-sharing company began a similar test in Arizona. It also happened after Amazon opened its first prototype grocery store in Seattle, which requires zero human interaction, and may well be a possible indicator of what could come to pass at Whole Foods, which the online giant recently acquired. The number of retail jobs lost in the past year alone (6,100) is more than the total number of people employed by the coal industry, a darling of the current administration.
Contrary to Mnuchin's beliefs, automation and AI-related job loss isn't 50 or 100 years in the future. It's already happening. And his comments suggest we aren't prepared.
"Nobody believes this is coming soon, and nobody believes this is going to happen to their job," said Michael Solomon, co-founder and managing partner of 10x Management, a talent agency for high-performing software engineers, coders, and designers. "People assume the only positions that will be affected by automation are jobs like factory work, agriculture, driving, and other blue-collar jobs. But that's just automation—they ignore the artificial intelligence side, which is what they should be worried about."
Solomon is worried, and the numbers back him up. He spends much of his spare time trying to get the word out about what he sees as an imminent job loss apocalypse, recently launching the Day After Labor, a website dedicated to bringing "the topic of impending net job loss due to advances in technology to the forefront of social and policy discussions."
According to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, 38 percent of American jobs are at risk of becoming obsolete within the next 15 years, and it's not just blue-collar work that's going away.
"AI is going to eliminate a massive amount of white collar jobs," Solomon said. "Loan officers are going to be made entirely obsolete by this technology, because a machine is much better at calculating risk than a human is. When you really start to look into these things, you start to see this is going to impact everyone. This is going to end the careers of stock brokers and lawyers and many white-collar professionals."
AI is already being tested and perfected throughout industries many would imagine are immune. With each passing day, bots are getting better at writing the news, diagnosing obscure illnesses, scanning legal briefs, and even composing full orchestral symphonies.
Solomon isn't the only one who sees the potential for mass joblessness on the horizon. Just before the end of his term, President Obama's top economic and scientific advisers released Artificial Intelligence, Automation and the Economy, which took a deep dive into what emerging technologies might mean for the future of labor. That report focuses heavily on automated vehicles (called AVs), and estimates "2.2 to 3.1 million existing part- and full-time US jobs may be threatened or substantially altered by AV technology" within the next two decades.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I wonder if Trump can come up with some kind of wall to keep the robots out.
By Caroline Thompson
VICE News
September 27, 2017
Back in March, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin sat down with Axios to talk about his role in the newly formed Trump administration. Mnuchin said a lot of outlandish things during the course of this interview, from claiming the president had "perfect genes" to proposing we "look at putting Trump on the $1,000 bill." Most of this was the standard 2017 circus nonsense we've come to expect from those in the president's inner circle. But one exchange in particular should give American workers pause.
Midway through the conversation, interviewer Mike Allen asked Mnuchin about the threat of mass job loss from automation and artificial intelligence. A previous guest, Mark Cuban, was very focused on how it might affect the workforce. "What's your take on that?" Allen asked.
Mnuchin smirked. "I think we're, like, so far away from that," he said. "It's not even on my radar screen."
"How far away?" asked Allen. "Seven more years?"
"Seven more years?" Mnuchin laughed. "I think it's 50 to 100 more years!"
Curious, considering the conversation happened just a few short months after Uber began testing self-driving cars in Pittsburgh, and a year after the ride-sharing company began a similar test in Arizona. It also happened after Amazon opened its first prototype grocery store in Seattle, which requires zero human interaction, and may well be a possible indicator of what could come to pass at Whole Foods, which the online giant recently acquired. The number of retail jobs lost in the past year alone (6,100) is more than the total number of people employed by the coal industry, a darling of the current administration.
Contrary to Mnuchin's beliefs, automation and AI-related job loss isn't 50 or 100 years in the future. It's already happening. And his comments suggest we aren't prepared.
"Nobody believes this is coming soon, and nobody believes this is going to happen to their job," said Michael Solomon, co-founder and managing partner of 10x Management, a talent agency for high-performing software engineers, coders, and designers. "People assume the only positions that will be affected by automation are jobs like factory work, agriculture, driving, and other blue-collar jobs. But that's just automation—they ignore the artificial intelligence side, which is what they should be worried about."
Solomon is worried, and the numbers back him up. He spends much of his spare time trying to get the word out about what he sees as an imminent job loss apocalypse, recently launching the Day After Labor, a website dedicated to bringing "the topic of impending net job loss due to advances in technology to the forefront of social and policy discussions."
According to a report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, 38 percent of American jobs are at risk of becoming obsolete within the next 15 years, and it's not just blue-collar work that's going away.
"AI is going to eliminate a massive amount of white collar jobs," Solomon said. "Loan officers are going to be made entirely obsolete by this technology, because a machine is much better at calculating risk than a human is. When you really start to look into these things, you start to see this is going to impact everyone. This is going to end the careers of stock brokers and lawyers and many white-collar professionals."
AI is already being tested and perfected throughout industries many would imagine are immune. With each passing day, bots are getting better at writing the news, diagnosing obscure illnesses, scanning legal briefs, and even composing full orchestral symphonies.
Solomon isn't the only one who sees the potential for mass joblessness on the horizon. Just before the end of his term, President Obama's top economic and scientific advisers released Artificial Intelligence, Automation and the Economy, which took a deep dive into what emerging technologies might mean for the future of labor. That report focuses heavily on automated vehicles (called AVs), and estimates "2.2 to 3.1 million existing part- and full-time US jobs may be threatened or substantially altered by AV technology" within the next two decades.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I wonder if Trump can come up with some kind of wall to keep the robots out.
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
BOYCOTT THE NFL?
BarkGrowlBite
September 27, 2017
Americans outraged over the disrespect shown our flag and country by black professional football players and the team owners who support them are calling for a boycott of the NFL.
By and large, if anyone believes there will be a meaningful boycott of the NFL, they’ve been smoking some funny tobacco. Rabid football fans willing to shell out over $100 for a seat in the nosebleed section of a mammoth stadium will be there for every game.
This whole brouhaha could have been prevented had NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended or thrown Colin Kaepernick out of the league when he sat on his overpaid ass a year ago. Yes, Kaepernick had the right to express his hatred of the police, but speech can have its consequences. An employer can fire an employee if his behavior brings discredit on the employing agency. Instead, Goodell praised the asshole, thereby encouraging other black players to follow suit. Had Goodell thrown Kaepernick out of the league, none of those money-hungry players would now be disrespecting our flag and country. Money talks, bullshit walks.
The unity players and owners are now displaying are the result of one little mistake Trump made. He called the protesting players “sons of bitches,” which they are. Had he refrained from calling them SOBs, you wouldn’t have Tom Brady and Bob Craft, friends of Trump, joining the protesting players and openly criticizing the president. Except for that mistake, Trump was spot on in calling out those ungrateful, overpaid, disrespectful to our flag and country NFL and other league players.
The bottom line is that if it were not for Goodell, we wouldn’t have this brouhaha today. Asshole Goodell is the number one SOB in my book!
September 27, 2017
Americans outraged over the disrespect shown our flag and country by black professional football players and the team owners who support them are calling for a boycott of the NFL.
By and large, if anyone believes there will be a meaningful boycott of the NFL, they’ve been smoking some funny tobacco. Rabid football fans willing to shell out over $100 for a seat in the nosebleed section of a mammoth stadium will be there for every game.
This whole brouhaha could have been prevented had NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell suspended or thrown Colin Kaepernick out of the league when he sat on his overpaid ass a year ago. Yes, Kaepernick had the right to express his hatred of the police, but speech can have its consequences. An employer can fire an employee if his behavior brings discredit on the employing agency. Instead, Goodell praised the asshole, thereby encouraging other black players to follow suit. Had Goodell thrown Kaepernick out of the league, none of those money-hungry players would now be disrespecting our flag and country. Money talks, bullshit walks.
The unity players and owners are now displaying are the result of one little mistake Trump made. He called the protesting players “sons of bitches,” which they are. Had he refrained from calling them SOBs, you wouldn’t have Tom Brady and Bob Craft, friends of Trump, joining the protesting players and openly criticizing the president. Except for that mistake, Trump was spot on in calling out those ungrateful, overpaid, disrespectful to our flag and country NFL and other league players.
The bottom line is that if it were not for Goodell, we wouldn’t have this brouhaha today. Asshole Goodell is the number one SOB in my book!
DOING STUPID SHIT IN CALIFORNIA JUST GOT SAFER...MAYBE
by Bob Walsh
Yes, If you are an adrenaline junkie who gets his rocks off by jumping out of functional aircraft your life MAY have just gotten a bit safer.
My local assemblywoman, Susan Talamantes Eggman, proposed the bill that was passed UNANIMOUSLY by both houses and signed into law by Governor Moonbeam. This new law allows people who are turned into grease spots to sue if it turns out their instructors or parachute packers were not in compliance with federal standards. (I always thought you packed your own chute, or at a minimum you packed your own back-up chute.) The bill was introduced after a first-time jumper doing a tandem jump was turned into a street pizza. It turns out his instructor was not properly certified for tandem instruction.
The law will be enforced by Caltrans. I guess they will now start a division of vertical transportation.
Current applicable federal law is incumbent on the individual instructors, not on the company that employs them or operates the sky diving centers.
Damn, I feel safer already. (Of course I don't jump out of perfectly good aircraft, because I am not an idiot.)
Yes, If you are an adrenaline junkie who gets his rocks off by jumping out of functional aircraft your life MAY have just gotten a bit safer.
My local assemblywoman, Susan Talamantes Eggman, proposed the bill that was passed UNANIMOUSLY by both houses and signed into law by Governor Moonbeam. This new law allows people who are turned into grease spots to sue if it turns out their instructors or parachute packers were not in compliance with federal standards. (I always thought you packed your own chute, or at a minimum you packed your own back-up chute.) The bill was introduced after a first-time jumper doing a tandem jump was turned into a street pizza. It turns out his instructor was not properly certified for tandem instruction.
The law will be enforced by Caltrans. I guess they will now start a division of vertical transportation.
Current applicable federal law is incumbent on the individual instructors, not on the company that employs them or operates the sky diving centers.
Damn, I feel safer already. (Of course I don't jump out of perfectly good aircraft, because I am not an idiot.)
WHY AUTOS ARE MADE IN MEXICO
In Mexico, $2 per hour workers make $40,000 SUVs
By Mark Stevenson
Associated Press
September 25, 2017
MEXICO CITY -- Auto worker Ivan Flores spends his days transporting parts for U.S.-bound Audi SUVs at a plant in central Mexico, but he laughs when asked if he could ever buy one of the $40,000 Q5 SUVs the plant produces on his $2.25 per hour salary.
"For us it is a dream to buy a Q5; we never could," said Flores, 40, who supports three sons on his roughly $110 weekly paycheck.
The premise of the auto industry since the times of Henry Ford was that workers would make enough to buy the cars they produced. Across the U.S. and Europe, the arrival of an auto plant meant the creation of middle-class communities, with employees taking vacations, buying homes, cars, perhaps even cottages and boats.
But in Mexico — where the auto industry has boomed under the North American Free Trade Agreement, with plants like the Audi factory that opened in Puebla state in 2016 — the industry has created something different: a class of workers who are barely getting by, crammed into tiny 500-square-foot apartments in government-subsidized projects that they pay for over decades. Many can't afford even a used car, taking home as little as $50 per week after deductions for mortgages and cafeteria meals.
Why have Mexican auto salaries stagnated or declined while pay for Chinese auto workers rose, despite all the promises that North American Free Trade Agreement would increase Mexican wages? That's the question U.S. negotiators are asking as the third round of NAFTA talks resumes in Ottawa, Canada.
Ironically, U.S. President Donald Trump, widely seen here as one of Mexico's worst enemies, is pressing the issue of low Mexican wage rates, saying labor protections should be strengthened.
"It's ironic, right, that he's always criticizing us, but at the same time, he could do something that benefits us, by exposing the rot in the system" said Audi worker Eduardo Badillo, 34.
The key, in Mexico's auto industry, may be the so-called "protection" contracts signed long before plants open.
As in many factories in Mexico, very few of the current Audi workers ever voted for their union leader, and they won't get any chance to vote for years.
Government records show that on Jan 24, 2014 — almost three years before the Sept. 30, 2016, inauguration of the Audi plant — the company signed a union contract that specified wages as low as $1.40 per hour, up to $4 per hour. The union says nobody receives the lowest wage, with most earning about $2.25.
So when the plant's 5,000 workers finally were hired two years later, they were faced with a union and a contract only a handful had voted for. Given Mexico's lack of good jobs, many do apply, including college graduates. The contract locks in wage increase of about 6 percent per year — which outpaced inflation for a few years but now trails it — through 2019.
"Everybody knows what the conditions are when they apply. These are the wages, this is the union," said union chief Alvaro Lopez Vazquez. "You decide. If you don't like it, you can look elsewhere."
Lopez Vazquez refused to say how many people took part in the vote when he was elected in 2013; opponents say it was about two dozen. He also said he doesn't plan to call for any voting assembly or meeting until 2020.
"This is a democratic union, where the workers vote ... every six years," he said.
Lopez Vazquez and the company say the plant pays above-average wages for the sector. The company said it has paid workers bonuses and respects the union.
A Nissan plant in another state pays between $2.40 and $4.75 per hour. But workers at many other plants also get vouchers to buy groceries, which Audi workers don't. Mexico's minimum wage — which few people make — is about 50 cents per hour.
But the real issue is choice, says former assembly-line worker Juan Carmona, 35, an assembly-line worker who says he was fired for his attempts to call for a union leadership vote. The company denies that, but wouldn't say why he was fired.
Mexico recently changed its constitution to demand that unions signing labor contracts have to show they have the support of the workers they represent. But there has been little to no enforcement. The Labor Department refused requests for comment.
Alex Covarrubias, a labor professor at Mexico's Sonora College, said such "protection" contracts are almost universal in Mexico. "Almost all the (labor) contracts that are signed in Mexico are unlawful, which means that they are company contracts, which the workers aren't aware of."
Critics have long accused Mexican unions of doing more to control workers than represent them. The country's biggest labor federation forms part of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Low wages — along with closeness to U.S. markets — are the key attractions that have drawn automakers such as Audi, Kia, Mazda, Toyota and BMW to open plants in Mexico over the last couple of years.
Lopez Vazquez, the union leader, noted that other companies pay less than Audi. In March 2016, he said, BMW signed a pre-opening labor contract for its plant that says workers can earn as little as $1.00 per hour, with a maximum of $2.30.
BMW said in a statement, "Our salary package, the mix of daily wages and benefits, is competitive and is in accordance with the region and the market."
As in the United States, governments have bent over backward to attract plants, offering land, infrastructure and tax breaks. The state of Puebla is even creating a new "model city" on greenfields near the Audi plant, though its new, largely empty apartment blocks are too expensive for most of the plant's workers.
Lopez Vazquez also implied that a compliant union was part of the package of attractions to get the plant in Puebla, saying, "If we hadn't formed this union and gotten this contract, Audi might have gone somewhere else."
"We have a win-win philosophy. If the company does well, everybody does well," Lopez Vazquez said. He said the low level of wages is explained by the differences in the cost of living in Mexico. "We couldn't make what they (U.S. autoworkers) make. We'd be millionaires."
Badillo, the Audi worker, said he'd be satisfied making half the $34 an hour received by U.S. autoworkers.
Badillo is typical of the plant's employees. He works in the paint shop, and lives with his son, Alejandro, 13, and daughter Noemi, 11, in a tiny 500 square-foot (47 square meter) government-subsidized apartment that he'll be paying off for decades.
Like many of the Audi employees, he has some college education — he started a bachelors' degree in electronics — and he makes about $120 per week. His wife works in a department store, making less than he does. After paying their mortgage, utilities and taxes, they might have $50 per week to spend on food, entertainment and schools supplies.
Badillo can't afford a car. He takes the company bus two hours to work and two hours back. Alejandro would like an Xbox video game and Noemi would like a tablet, but they know their father can't afford it.
Wage rates are so low now that even auto companies from China — where average manufacturing wages rose to $3.60 per hour in 2016— are beginning to set up plants here.
Badillo said the persistence of such low wages makes him fear for the country.
"What we don't want to see later is children assembling cellphones, but that's where we're heading," said Badillo. "I don't want to see Mexico like that. I want to see Mexico make progress."
By Mark Stevenson
Associated Press
September 25, 2017
MEXICO CITY -- Auto worker Ivan Flores spends his days transporting parts for U.S.-bound Audi SUVs at a plant in central Mexico, but he laughs when asked if he could ever buy one of the $40,000 Q5 SUVs the plant produces on his $2.25 per hour salary.
"For us it is a dream to buy a Q5; we never could," said Flores, 40, who supports three sons on his roughly $110 weekly paycheck.
The premise of the auto industry since the times of Henry Ford was that workers would make enough to buy the cars they produced. Across the U.S. and Europe, the arrival of an auto plant meant the creation of middle-class communities, with employees taking vacations, buying homes, cars, perhaps even cottages and boats.
But in Mexico — where the auto industry has boomed under the North American Free Trade Agreement, with plants like the Audi factory that opened in Puebla state in 2016 — the industry has created something different: a class of workers who are barely getting by, crammed into tiny 500-square-foot apartments in government-subsidized projects that they pay for over decades. Many can't afford even a used car, taking home as little as $50 per week after deductions for mortgages and cafeteria meals.
Why have Mexican auto salaries stagnated or declined while pay for Chinese auto workers rose, despite all the promises that North American Free Trade Agreement would increase Mexican wages? That's the question U.S. negotiators are asking as the third round of NAFTA talks resumes in Ottawa, Canada.
Ironically, U.S. President Donald Trump, widely seen here as one of Mexico's worst enemies, is pressing the issue of low Mexican wage rates, saying labor protections should be strengthened.
"It's ironic, right, that he's always criticizing us, but at the same time, he could do something that benefits us, by exposing the rot in the system" said Audi worker Eduardo Badillo, 34.
The key, in Mexico's auto industry, may be the so-called "protection" contracts signed long before plants open.
As in many factories in Mexico, very few of the current Audi workers ever voted for their union leader, and they won't get any chance to vote for years.
Government records show that on Jan 24, 2014 — almost three years before the Sept. 30, 2016, inauguration of the Audi plant — the company signed a union contract that specified wages as low as $1.40 per hour, up to $4 per hour. The union says nobody receives the lowest wage, with most earning about $2.25.
So when the plant's 5,000 workers finally were hired two years later, they were faced with a union and a contract only a handful had voted for. Given Mexico's lack of good jobs, many do apply, including college graduates. The contract locks in wage increase of about 6 percent per year — which outpaced inflation for a few years but now trails it — through 2019.
"Everybody knows what the conditions are when they apply. These are the wages, this is the union," said union chief Alvaro Lopez Vazquez. "You decide. If you don't like it, you can look elsewhere."
Lopez Vazquez refused to say how many people took part in the vote when he was elected in 2013; opponents say it was about two dozen. He also said he doesn't plan to call for any voting assembly or meeting until 2020.
"This is a democratic union, where the workers vote ... every six years," he said.
Lopez Vazquez and the company say the plant pays above-average wages for the sector. The company said it has paid workers bonuses and respects the union.
A Nissan plant in another state pays between $2.40 and $4.75 per hour. But workers at many other plants also get vouchers to buy groceries, which Audi workers don't. Mexico's minimum wage — which few people make — is about 50 cents per hour.
But the real issue is choice, says former assembly-line worker Juan Carmona, 35, an assembly-line worker who says he was fired for his attempts to call for a union leadership vote. The company denies that, but wouldn't say why he was fired.
Mexico recently changed its constitution to demand that unions signing labor contracts have to show they have the support of the workers they represent. But there has been little to no enforcement. The Labor Department refused requests for comment.
Alex Covarrubias, a labor professor at Mexico's Sonora College, said such "protection" contracts are almost universal in Mexico. "Almost all the (labor) contracts that are signed in Mexico are unlawful, which means that they are company contracts, which the workers aren't aware of."
Critics have long accused Mexican unions of doing more to control workers than represent them. The country's biggest labor federation forms part of the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party.
Low wages — along with closeness to U.S. markets — are the key attractions that have drawn automakers such as Audi, Kia, Mazda, Toyota and BMW to open plants in Mexico over the last couple of years.
Lopez Vazquez, the union leader, noted that other companies pay less than Audi. In March 2016, he said, BMW signed a pre-opening labor contract for its plant that says workers can earn as little as $1.00 per hour, with a maximum of $2.30.
BMW said in a statement, "Our salary package, the mix of daily wages and benefits, is competitive and is in accordance with the region and the market."
As in the United States, governments have bent over backward to attract plants, offering land, infrastructure and tax breaks. The state of Puebla is even creating a new "model city" on greenfields near the Audi plant, though its new, largely empty apartment blocks are too expensive for most of the plant's workers.
Lopez Vazquez also implied that a compliant union was part of the package of attractions to get the plant in Puebla, saying, "If we hadn't formed this union and gotten this contract, Audi might have gone somewhere else."
"We have a win-win philosophy. If the company does well, everybody does well," Lopez Vazquez said. He said the low level of wages is explained by the differences in the cost of living in Mexico. "We couldn't make what they (U.S. autoworkers) make. We'd be millionaires."
Badillo, the Audi worker, said he'd be satisfied making half the $34 an hour received by U.S. autoworkers.
Badillo is typical of the plant's employees. He works in the paint shop, and lives with his son, Alejandro, 13, and daughter Noemi, 11, in a tiny 500 square-foot (47 square meter) government-subsidized apartment that he'll be paying off for decades.
Like many of the Audi employees, he has some college education — he started a bachelors' degree in electronics — and he makes about $120 per week. His wife works in a department store, making less than he does. After paying their mortgage, utilities and taxes, they might have $50 per week to spend on food, entertainment and schools supplies.
Badillo can't afford a car. He takes the company bus two hours to work and two hours back. Alejandro would like an Xbox video game and Noemi would like a tablet, but they know their father can't afford it.
Wage rates are so low now that even auto companies from China — where average manufacturing wages rose to $3.60 per hour in 2016— are beginning to set up plants here.
Badillo said the persistence of such low wages makes him fear for the country.
"What we don't want to see later is children assembling cellphones, but that's where we're heading," said Badillo. "I don't want to see Mexico like that. I want to see Mexico make progress."
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF BERKELEY IS OUT 677 POUNDS OF MAGIC MUSHROOMS
Berkeley police seize 677 pounds of drugs after stumbling onto psychedelic mushroom operation
By Alene Tchekmedyian
Los Angeles Times
September 26, 2017
Berkeley police stumbled onto a massive psychedelic mushroom operation while investigating a domestic disturbance, seizing 677 pounds of mushrooms with an estimated street value of more than $1 million, authorities said.
Two people — a 35-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman — were arrested in the bust late Saturday, according to the Berkeley Police Department.
Authorities were called to the home in the 1700 block of Alcatraz Avenue about 10 p.m. regarding a domestic disturbance between a couple. The occupants initially refused to open the door, but eventually came outside and were detained.
Officers then entered the house to search for other occupants, suspects or victims and discovered a “large-scale” mushroom processing operation, with psilocybin mushrooms in various stages of cultivation in plain view, along with storage and distribution materials.
Officers obtained a search warrant and seized the drugs, along with more than $3,000 in cash.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This case may be thrown out of court over the way the search warrant was obtained. Look for the lawyers to argue that the cops entered the house without permission and without a search warrant on the pretense there might be someone else inside.
By Alene Tchekmedyian
Los Angeles Times
September 26, 2017
Berkeley police stumbled onto a massive psychedelic mushroom operation while investigating a domestic disturbance, seizing 677 pounds of mushrooms with an estimated street value of more than $1 million, authorities said.
Two people — a 35-year-old man and a 37-year-old woman — were arrested in the bust late Saturday, according to the Berkeley Police Department.
Authorities were called to the home in the 1700 block of Alcatraz Avenue about 10 p.m. regarding a domestic disturbance between a couple. The occupants initially refused to open the door, but eventually came outside and were detained.
Officers then entered the house to search for other occupants, suspects or victims and discovered a “large-scale” mushroom processing operation, with psilocybin mushrooms in various stages of cultivation in plain view, along with storage and distribution materials.
Officers obtained a search warrant and seized the drugs, along with more than $3,000 in cash.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This case may be thrown out of court over the way the search warrant was obtained. Look for the lawyers to argue that the cops entered the house without permission and without a search warrant on the pretense there might be someone else inside.
Tuesday, September 26, 2017
BACK WHEN POLICE WORK USED TO BE ENJOYABLE
Undercover funds bought cop a hand job
By Harry Dunne
I can remember when going to work was something I looked forward to. Times have changed and with it policing.
I remember working whores in the sailor bars in Galveston, Texas. Most of the whore houses were dimly lit and had small booths with beaded entrances. The girls were mostly Asian but there were some whites and blacks sprinkled in the mix. The Madam sat at the end of the bar so she could see most of the bar. As in most clip joints they plied the men with liquor and took them for most of their money. When they were broke they were ushered out by the bouncer. Here is the kicker. Most of the time the girls never sold pussy. Instead they would get a man drunk and maybe sell him a hand job. At the most a blow job. I told you that to tell you this.
I needed an undercover agent from out of town because most of the prostitutes knew my crew. In fact when we did open bar checks we often joked with the girls and there was no ill feelings toward us or us toward the girls. Everybody was doing their job. The Madam always sat at the end of the bar and could see everything going on. HQ sent me a rookie from East Texas. He was as green as they get. I went over the rules with him explaining that all he had to do was get an offer of sex for money.
These prostitutes were good at their job. They knew this guy wasn’t a seaman or had he ever worked on a dock. I was sitting in my car behind the jail when the rookie called me on the radio in twenty minutes tops. There were no pocket sized cell phones then. He wanted to meet me. He drove to my location and looked scared. It was then that he said, “Sarge,I got an offer, but she was too quick.” He then explained that once they got in the booth behind the beads she stuck her hand down his pants and jerked him off. If that wasn’t bad enough, he paid her $40 of the state’s money. I told him it would be difficult to testify about it. I then told him to give me back $40 of the state’s money. He didn’t have it. I then told him to get back to Jasper or wherever he came from and not come back.
He was scared and wanted to know what he should put down on his daily report. I told him don’t write, drove to Galveston bought a beer and a hand job!
By Harry Dunne
I can remember when going to work was something I looked forward to. Times have changed and with it policing.
I remember working whores in the sailor bars in Galveston, Texas. Most of the whore houses were dimly lit and had small booths with beaded entrances. The girls were mostly Asian but there were some whites and blacks sprinkled in the mix. The Madam sat at the end of the bar so she could see most of the bar. As in most clip joints they plied the men with liquor and took them for most of their money. When they were broke they were ushered out by the bouncer. Here is the kicker. Most of the time the girls never sold pussy. Instead they would get a man drunk and maybe sell him a hand job. At the most a blow job. I told you that to tell you this.
I needed an undercover agent from out of town because most of the prostitutes knew my crew. In fact when we did open bar checks we often joked with the girls and there was no ill feelings toward us or us toward the girls. Everybody was doing their job. The Madam always sat at the end of the bar and could see everything going on. HQ sent me a rookie from East Texas. He was as green as they get. I went over the rules with him explaining that all he had to do was get an offer of sex for money.
These prostitutes were good at their job. They knew this guy wasn’t a seaman or had he ever worked on a dock. I was sitting in my car behind the jail when the rookie called me on the radio in twenty minutes tops. There were no pocket sized cell phones then. He wanted to meet me. He drove to my location and looked scared. It was then that he said, “Sarge,I got an offer, but she was too quick.” He then explained that once they got in the booth behind the beads she stuck her hand down his pants and jerked him off. If that wasn’t bad enough, he paid her $40 of the state’s money. I told him it would be difficult to testify about it. I then told him to give me back $40 of the state’s money. He didn’t have it. I then told him to get back to Jasper or wherever he came from and not come back.
He was scared and wanted to know what he should put down on his daily report. I told him don’t write, drove to Galveston bought a beer and a hand job!
LAWSUIT AGAINST PARENTS OF ADULT COP KILLER
by Bob Walsh
Eric Matthew Frein, 34, was living with his parents in Lackawanna County, PA in 2014 when he shot and killed Trooper Bryon Dickson and seriously wounded Trooper Alex T. Duglass. Frein was captured, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Trooper Dickson's widow has just filed a civil action against Frein's parents.
The widow's assertion is that the father, Eugene Frein, exerted significant influence over his son and passed along his skills, developed in the military, with explosives and small-arms. She also asserts that the parents were negligent in having several dozen firearms unsecured in the home and easily accessible to their son, who they knew had trouble separating reality from fantasy.
A similar action was filed by Trooper Douglass against both Frein and his parents. The parents have since left Monroe County, allegedly in an attempt to evade the civil action.
Eric Matthew Frein, 34, was living with his parents in Lackawanna County, PA in 2014 when he shot and killed Trooper Bryon Dickson and seriously wounded Trooper Alex T. Duglass. Frein was captured, tried, convicted and sentenced to death. Trooper Dickson's widow has just filed a civil action against Frein's parents.
The widow's assertion is that the father, Eugene Frein, exerted significant influence over his son and passed along his skills, developed in the military, with explosives and small-arms. She also asserts that the parents were negligent in having several dozen firearms unsecured in the home and easily accessible to their son, who they knew had trouble separating reality from fantasy.
A similar action was filed by Trooper Douglass against both Frein and his parents. The parents have since left Monroe County, allegedly in an attempt to evade the civil action.
MISSOURI INMATE ABOUT TO BECOME VERY POPULAR
by Bob Walsh
Ecclesiastical Denzel Washington, 53, (formerly known as Willie Simmons), is doing life for two murders and is a guest of the people of Missouri. He is also a militant non-smoker. He sued the prison system to ban ALL smoking in the prison because he is asthmatic. He won.
The state of Missouri has been ordered to go smoke-free at all areas in all prison facilities not later than April 1 of next year. I am sure all of the denizens of that system will be terribly grateful and appreciative over his concern for their health.
Ecclesiastical Denzel Washington, 53, (formerly known as Willie Simmons), is doing life for two murders and is a guest of the people of Missouri. He is also a militant non-smoker. He sued the prison system to ban ALL smoking in the prison because he is asthmatic. He won.
The state of Missouri has been ordered to go smoke-free at all areas in all prison facilities not later than April 1 of next year. I am sure all of the denizens of that system will be terribly grateful and appreciative over his concern for their health.
VEGAS MAN CHOKED TO DEATH ON A BIG DICK
Vegas PD: Man dies during sexual act, homicide detectives investigate
by Jordan Gartner
Fox 5
September 24, 2017
LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas police are investigating the death of a man who lost his life during a sex act Saturday night.
Officers responded to an incident call at a home located in the 3300 block of Frontier Street, near Desert Inn Road and Decatur Boulevard, at about 9:20 p.m.
Metro said two men were engaging in a sexual act when one of them was choked and eventually died.
Homicide detectives were notified of the situation and are handling the investigation.
Authorities did not immediately report any arrests were made in the incident.
The Clark County Coroner's office will release the identity of the man deceased after family has been notified.
by Jordan Gartner
Fox 5
September 24, 2017
LAS VEGAS -- Las Vegas police are investigating the death of a man who lost his life during a sex act Saturday night.
Officers responded to an incident call at a home located in the 3300 block of Frontier Street, near Desert Inn Road and Decatur Boulevard, at about 9:20 p.m.
Metro said two men were engaging in a sexual act when one of them was choked and eventually died.
Homicide detectives were notified of the situation and are handling the investigation.
Authorities did not immediately report any arrests were made in the incident.
The Clark County Coroner's office will release the identity of the man deceased after family has been notified.
THINK COPS ARE RACIST KILLERS?
HERE Is Why You’re Wrong
By Kyle S. Reyes
NewBostonPost
September 21, 2017
Police are evil racist Nazi pigs.
According to certain fringe groups, that is. But I’d suggest the majority of Americans are pretty sick and tired of this narrative.
Put on the news and what do you see? Stories about police-involved shootings. And riots, of course. Because the two go hand in hand. Thank God there are groups out there like Law Enforcement Today that are working to report on the real stories.
Let’s talk about police use of force. It’s time to systematically destroy the argument that cops are racist killers. And I’ll break this down pretty simply so everyone can understand.
__The U.S. population is about 314,000,000 people.
__There are approximately 670,439 police officers.
__That means there are less than 2.2 police officers per 1,000, or 2,133 officers per million.
__Police officers are less than .22 % of population.
__Officers come into contact with 17% of the population annually.
__That means 53,380,000 contacts …
__Which led to 26,000 excessive force complaints against officers.
__That’s 0.049% of contacts.
__Only 8% of those complaints were sustained.
__That’s 2,080 out of 53,380,000 contacts, or .0039%
A good friend of mine who is a Chief of Police put that into perspective:
__You are seven times more likely to be murdered …
__15 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident …
__42 times more likely to be raped …
… than to have a police officer use excessive force on you.
But we’re just warming up. Let’s look at 2015 police shootings.
990 people were shot by police in 2015. Here’s the demographic breakdown of those “victims”:
__White — 494, 50%
__Black — 258, 26%
__Hispanic – 172, 17%
__Other — 66, 7%
Of those:
__Mental illness played a role in 25%.
__25% involved fleeing suspects.
__In 75% of the incidents, the officer was under attack or defending someone that was.
__Indictments of police officers tripled from previous years.
Listen. I’m not suggesting racism doesn’t exist in law enforcement. It exists everywhere – that’s the sad truth of it.
And yes, black people in the United States are more likely to be victims of violent confrontations with police officers (per capita) than their white counterparts. But let’s dive deeper into why this is.
Statistically minorities come to police attention far more than their population would suggest.
__Black Americans make up about 13% of the population.
__But according to the FBI, they account for about 50% of murders, and about 38% of all violent crime overall.
Chicago gives us some great examples. And let’s not forget the insanely strict gun laws there, by the way. For example, during the first eight months of 2016 (the most recent period for which the numbers are available), 2,818 people were shot — only 12 by police. (That’s one-half of 1 percent).
In cities with large black populations, homicide rates have skyrocketed during that same period:
__In Washington D.C., homicides are up 54%. In Cleveland, up 90%. Overall, homicide is up 17%.
__The U.S. Department of Justice says that Black people make up 15% of the population in the 75 largest counties in the United States, yet account for 62% of all robberies, 57% of murders, 45% of all assaults.
So what’s going on here? Are we confusing the color of one’s skin with poverty or inequality? It’s a fair argument. Black people tend to be greater offenders, statistically speaking, because they tend to be more disadvantaged, living in poorer urban areas with less access to public services.
Then of course there’s the argument about the “violent subculture theory.” This is the idea that some black communities have developed cultural values that are more tolerant of crime and violence.
I want to leave you with a few recent studies.
First, a 2016 study by Roland G. Fryer Jr., who is an economics professor at Harvard. He found that no racial bias could be detected in police shootings, in either the raw data or when accounting for controls. He also found racial bias was detected in lesser use of police force, but not deadly encounters. His recommendation?
“Black Lives Matter should seek solutions within their own communities rather than changing the behaviors of police and other external forces.”
Second, there were 6,095 black homicide deaths in 2014 — the most recent year for which such data are available — compared with 5,397 homicide deaths for whites and Hispanics combined. Almost all of those black homicide victims had black killers.
Finally, police officers — of all races — are also disproportionately endangered by black assailants. Over the past decade, according to FBI data, 40% of cop killers have been black. Officers are killed by blacks at a rate 2.5 times higher than the rate at which blacks are killed by police.
Seems to me like the real problem here is socioeconomic disparities along with a public perception issue thanks to biased reporting. And let’s not forget the huge role that social media plays in disseminating false narratives and creating emotional, knee-jerk reactions.
It’s important to have very real conversations about racism in America and accountability among those who hold the thin blue line. Let’s just make sure we’re basing those conversations on facts and not feelings.
By Kyle S. Reyes
NewBostonPost
September 21, 2017
Police are evil racist Nazi pigs.
According to certain fringe groups, that is. But I’d suggest the majority of Americans are pretty sick and tired of this narrative.
Put on the news and what do you see? Stories about police-involved shootings. And riots, of course. Because the two go hand in hand. Thank God there are groups out there like Law Enforcement Today that are working to report on the real stories.
Let’s talk about police use of force. It’s time to systematically destroy the argument that cops are racist killers. And I’ll break this down pretty simply so everyone can understand.
__The U.S. population is about 314,000,000 people.
__There are approximately 670,439 police officers.
__That means there are less than 2.2 police officers per 1,000, or 2,133 officers per million.
__Police officers are less than .22 % of population.
__Officers come into contact with 17% of the population annually.
__That means 53,380,000 contacts …
__Which led to 26,000 excessive force complaints against officers.
__That’s 0.049% of contacts.
__Only 8% of those complaints were sustained.
__That’s 2,080 out of 53,380,000 contacts, or .0039%
A good friend of mine who is a Chief of Police put that into perspective:
__You are seven times more likely to be murdered …
__15 times more likely to be killed in a traffic accident …
__42 times more likely to be raped …
… than to have a police officer use excessive force on you.
But we’re just warming up. Let’s look at 2015 police shootings.
990 people were shot by police in 2015. Here’s the demographic breakdown of those “victims”:
__White — 494, 50%
__Black — 258, 26%
__Hispanic – 172, 17%
__Other — 66, 7%
Of those:
__Mental illness played a role in 25%.
__25% involved fleeing suspects.
__In 75% of the incidents, the officer was under attack or defending someone that was.
__Indictments of police officers tripled from previous years.
Listen. I’m not suggesting racism doesn’t exist in law enforcement. It exists everywhere – that’s the sad truth of it.
And yes, black people in the United States are more likely to be victims of violent confrontations with police officers (per capita) than their white counterparts. But let’s dive deeper into why this is.
Statistically minorities come to police attention far more than their population would suggest.
__Black Americans make up about 13% of the population.
__But according to the FBI, they account for about 50% of murders, and about 38% of all violent crime overall.
Chicago gives us some great examples. And let’s not forget the insanely strict gun laws there, by the way. For example, during the first eight months of 2016 (the most recent period for which the numbers are available), 2,818 people were shot — only 12 by police. (That’s one-half of 1 percent).
In cities with large black populations, homicide rates have skyrocketed during that same period:
__In Washington D.C., homicides are up 54%. In Cleveland, up 90%. Overall, homicide is up 17%.
__The U.S. Department of Justice says that Black people make up 15% of the population in the 75 largest counties in the United States, yet account for 62% of all robberies, 57% of murders, 45% of all assaults.
So what’s going on here? Are we confusing the color of one’s skin with poverty or inequality? It’s a fair argument. Black people tend to be greater offenders, statistically speaking, because they tend to be more disadvantaged, living in poorer urban areas with less access to public services.
Then of course there’s the argument about the “violent subculture theory.” This is the idea that some black communities have developed cultural values that are more tolerant of crime and violence.
I want to leave you with a few recent studies.
First, a 2016 study by Roland G. Fryer Jr., who is an economics professor at Harvard. He found that no racial bias could be detected in police shootings, in either the raw data or when accounting for controls. He also found racial bias was detected in lesser use of police force, but not deadly encounters. His recommendation?
“Black Lives Matter should seek solutions within their own communities rather than changing the behaviors of police and other external forces.”
Second, there were 6,095 black homicide deaths in 2014 — the most recent year for which such data are available — compared with 5,397 homicide deaths for whites and Hispanics combined. Almost all of those black homicide victims had black killers.
Finally, police officers — of all races — are also disproportionately endangered by black assailants. Over the past decade, according to FBI data, 40% of cop killers have been black. Officers are killed by blacks at a rate 2.5 times higher than the rate at which blacks are killed by police.
Seems to me like the real problem here is socioeconomic disparities along with a public perception issue thanks to biased reporting. And let’s not forget the huge role that social media plays in disseminating false narratives and creating emotional, knee-jerk reactions.
It’s important to have very real conversations about racism in America and accountability among those who hold the thin blue line. Let’s just make sure we’re basing those conversations on facts and not feelings.
Monday, September 25, 2017
ONE SHINING STAR ON A DARK SUNDAY
NFL player Alejandro Villanueva stood sharply at attention and saluted the flag
BarkGrowlBite
September 25, 2017
Sunday was a dark day in the history of the United States. More than 200 NFL players refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem, including players in a game played in London. There was however one shining star on that dark day.
When the Pittsburg Steelers decided to stay off the field during the playing of the anthem, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva decided to honor our flag and country. Villanueva positioned himself outside the tunnel during the playing of the anthem. He stood sharply at attention and saluted the flag by holding his right hand over his heart.
Why did Villanueva choose to respect flag and country when so many NFL players chose to show their disrespect? It’s because Alejandro is a military veteran. He served three tours of duty in Afghanistan as a Captain in the army rangers. I’m sure Alejandro saw his fellow soldiers shed their blood for our country. A West Point graduate, Alejandro was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroism in combat.
When Colin Kaepernick first sat out the anthem, Villanueva said:
“I don't know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that's providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year ... when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year.”
Villanueva's teammates could be seen in the tunnel, a few of them standing at attention with the hand-over heart salute.
Alejandro Villanueva should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom!
BarkGrowlBite
September 25, 2017
Sunday was a dark day in the history of the United States. More than 200 NFL players refused to stand during the playing of the national anthem, including players in a game played in London. There was however one shining star on that dark day.
When the Pittsburg Steelers decided to stay off the field during the playing of the anthem, offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva decided to honor our flag and country. Villanueva positioned himself outside the tunnel during the playing of the anthem. He stood sharply at attention and saluted the flag by holding his right hand over his heart.
Why did Villanueva choose to respect flag and country when so many NFL players chose to show their disrespect? It’s because Alejandro is a military veteran. He served three tours of duty in Afghanistan as a Captain in the army rangers. I’m sure Alejandro saw his fellow soldiers shed their blood for our country. A West Point graduate, Alejandro was awarded a Bronze Star for his heroism in combat.
When Colin Kaepernick first sat out the anthem, Villanueva said:
“I don't know if the most effective way is to sit down during the national anthem with a country that's providing you freedom, providing you $16 million a year ... when there are black minorities that are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for less than $20,000 a year.”
Villanueva's teammates could be seen in the tunnel, a few of them standing at attention with the hand-over heart salute.
Alejandro Villanueva should be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom!
ONLY NASCAR ….. AND HOCKEY
BarkGrowlBite
September 25, 2017
Responding to Trump’s condemnation of sports stars who refuse to stand for the National Anthem, DJ diplo tweeted:
“Trump wants to fire all black athletes with an opinion so we will only left with NASCAR.”
Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Then all those ungrateful overpaid athletes who are disrespecting the flag will have to go out and earn a real living.
But wait a minute. In addition to NASCAR we will still have hockey.
Granted, there are only a handful of black players in the National Hockey League. But, unlike the NFL and NBA, the NHL will not put up with any of its players disrespecting the flag of any country.
The National Hockey League has teams in Canadian and U.S. cities. The teams are composed of Canadian, Russian, Swedish, Czech, American and players from several other countries. All NHL players stand when the Canadian or American anthems are played, regardless of what country they are citizens of. You can bet the NHL would not tolerate any player sitting down while the Canadian or American anthem was being played.
Hockey coach John Tortorella says, “If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game.” Every player that suits up for a game is just dying to get off the bench and on the ice. You can bet that coach Tortorella’s declaration will have all of his players standing during an anthem with no exceptions, be they black or white.
Standing during the playing of our National Anthem shows that we respect our country and the flag under which countless of soldiers have died to protect the rights we enjoy under the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. How many of the NFL and other league players that are refusing to stand for the anthem have ever served in the military? I’ll bet none of them have.
Only NASCAR and hockey? Not a bad idea at all.
September 25, 2017
Responding to Trump’s condemnation of sports stars who refuse to stand for the National Anthem, DJ diplo tweeted:
“Trump wants to fire all black athletes with an opinion so we will only left with NASCAR.”
Hey, that’s not a bad idea. Then all those ungrateful overpaid athletes who are disrespecting the flag will have to go out and earn a real living.
But wait a minute. In addition to NASCAR we will still have hockey.
Granted, there are only a handful of black players in the National Hockey League. But, unlike the NFL and NBA, the NHL will not put up with any of its players disrespecting the flag of any country.
The National Hockey League has teams in Canadian and U.S. cities. The teams are composed of Canadian, Russian, Swedish, Czech, American and players from several other countries. All NHL players stand when the Canadian or American anthems are played, regardless of what country they are citizens of. You can bet the NHL would not tolerate any player sitting down while the Canadian or American anthem was being played.
Hockey coach John Tortorella says, “If any of my players sit on the bench for the national anthem, they will sit there the rest of the game.” Every player that suits up for a game is just dying to get off the bench and on the ice. You can bet that coach Tortorella’s declaration will have all of his players standing during an anthem with no exceptions, be they black or white.
Standing during the playing of our National Anthem shows that we respect our country and the flag under which countless of soldiers have died to protect the rights we enjoy under the Constitution’s Bill of Rights. How many of the NFL and other league players that are refusing to stand for the anthem have ever served in the military? I’ll bet none of them have.
Only NASCAR and hockey? Not a bad idea at all.
LATINOS MUST BE LAUGHING THEIR ASSES OFF OVER THIS BLACK VS. WHITE BROUHAHA
Outrage at Colorado high school football team's fans for flying a Confederate flag and spewing racist slurs at the other team
By Keith Griffith
Daily Mail
September 24, 2017
A high school principal has claimed that a football game was disrupted when the opposing team brought a Confederate flag and racially taunted his students, despite denials from officials at the other school.
Nick Dawkins, the principal of Manual High School in Denver, shared the shocking story in a letter to parents following the Manual Thunderbolts' Friday home game versus the Weld Central Rebels.
'Last night, the Weld Central High School team, which has a Rebel mascot, displayed a Confederate flag during the first quarter of the game, offending many members of the Manual community. We asked them to remove the flag and they did so,' Dawkins wrote.
However, Weld County athletic director Scott Richardson told 7News Denver that Weld officials never saw a Confederate flag at the game and that the flag is banned from their sporting events.
'I didn't see any Confederate flags, and I asked the coaches and they said they didn't see any flags,' Richardson said. 'If we did see it we would have asked our fans to put it away because we banned the flags.'
The Weld principal also said that some of his school's players had reported that Weld players had 'taunted them with racial slurs' during tackles.
Dawkins also said that three Manual players were injured during the game, but are receiving treatment and will be fine.
Manual's student body is 29 percent black and 6 percent white, according to state data. At Weld Central, located 40 miles northeast of Denver, the student demographics are 58 percent white and less than 1 percent black.
At both schools, Hispanic students make up most of the rest of the student bodies.
There were no photos of the Confederate flag incident available, and local Fox affiliate KDVR reported that parents from both schools had emailed saying the incident did not happen the way Dawkins described it.
Weld Central's mascot, a Civil War-era soldier, has generated controversy in recent weeks.
Two petitions, one calling for the abolition of the Rebel mascot and one calling for its preservation, circulated in August, as tensions boiled nationwide over Confederate memorials.
'Regardless of the reason why a school started 100 years after the Civil War in Colorado would choose to use Confederate symbols for a mascot, it's disrespectful to people of color and aggrandizes a movement that is abhorrent,' Emma Locke wrote on the petition calling for the mascot's removal.
But many in the small farming community of Keenesburg, where Weld Central is located, expressed emotional ties to the mascot and strongly oppose its abolition.
'Growing up here and still living in the area not once did I ever associate the Rebel mascot with any thing other than a symbol of unity, of a band of brothers and sisters united together toward a common goal,' alumnus Stan Roskop wrote on Facebook as the controversy flared.
'I have often stated that I am a Weld Central Rebel , my children are Weld Central Rebels, and my grand children will be Weld Central Rebels.'
The Rebels beat the Thunderbolts 48 to 12 in Friday's game.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I suspect what’s really bugging Manual is that the Rebels trounced them 48-12.
By Keith Griffith
Daily Mail
September 24, 2017
A high school principal has claimed that a football game was disrupted when the opposing team brought a Confederate flag and racially taunted his students, despite denials from officials at the other school.
Nick Dawkins, the principal of Manual High School in Denver, shared the shocking story in a letter to parents following the Manual Thunderbolts' Friday home game versus the Weld Central Rebels.
'Last night, the Weld Central High School team, which has a Rebel mascot, displayed a Confederate flag during the first quarter of the game, offending many members of the Manual community. We asked them to remove the flag and they did so,' Dawkins wrote.
However, Weld County athletic director Scott Richardson told 7News Denver that Weld officials never saw a Confederate flag at the game and that the flag is banned from their sporting events.
'I didn't see any Confederate flags, and I asked the coaches and they said they didn't see any flags,' Richardson said. 'If we did see it we would have asked our fans to put it away because we banned the flags.'
The Weld principal also said that some of his school's players had reported that Weld players had 'taunted them with racial slurs' during tackles.
Dawkins also said that three Manual players were injured during the game, but are receiving treatment and will be fine.
Manual's student body is 29 percent black and 6 percent white, according to state data. At Weld Central, located 40 miles northeast of Denver, the student demographics are 58 percent white and less than 1 percent black.
At both schools, Hispanic students make up most of the rest of the student bodies.
There were no photos of the Confederate flag incident available, and local Fox affiliate KDVR reported that parents from both schools had emailed saying the incident did not happen the way Dawkins described it.
Weld Central's mascot, a Civil War-era soldier, has generated controversy in recent weeks.
Two petitions, one calling for the abolition of the Rebel mascot and one calling for its preservation, circulated in August, as tensions boiled nationwide over Confederate memorials.
'Regardless of the reason why a school started 100 years after the Civil War in Colorado would choose to use Confederate symbols for a mascot, it's disrespectful to people of color and aggrandizes a movement that is abhorrent,' Emma Locke wrote on the petition calling for the mascot's removal.
But many in the small farming community of Keenesburg, where Weld Central is located, expressed emotional ties to the mascot and strongly oppose its abolition.
'Growing up here and still living in the area not once did I ever associate the Rebel mascot with any thing other than a symbol of unity, of a band of brothers and sisters united together toward a common goal,' alumnus Stan Roskop wrote on Facebook as the controversy flared.
'I have often stated that I am a Weld Central Rebel , my children are Weld Central Rebels, and my grand children will be Weld Central Rebels.'
The Rebels beat the Thunderbolts 48 to 12 in Friday's game.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I suspect what’s really bugging Manual is that the Rebels trounced them 48-12.
RESCUE OF OLD DOG FROM TOP OF COLORADO MOUNTAIN BEATS ALL THE RACIAL CRAP ON THE NEWS
Hikers rescue 14-year-old dog stuck on top of Mt. Bross for 6 weeks
By Kelly Jensen
KUSA-TV
September 24, 2017
PARK COUNTY, Colorado -- Thanks to a post in a local Facebook group for 14er enthusiasts, a lost dog has been reunited with her humans.
It took several attempts over two days, but Trinity Smith and Sean Nichols were able to locate Chloe, a 14-year-old dog, atop Mt. Bross.
This week, Trinity saw a post on the 14ers Facebook group that someone had heard a dog crying atop Mt.Bross/Lincoln. On Thursday, she hiked up the mountain in search of the crying dog.
She heard the dog but knew she couldn't get to it alone. She had someone take her back up in a jeep, but it was too dark and the class 3 scramble would have been too dangerous.
So, Friday morning, Trinity and her boyfriend Sean Nichols headed up again. They told 9NEWS they called and called for the dog for three or four hours. Eventually, the pup stopped answering.
Nichols says he climbed chute after chute and then, finally, heard a faint bark. Nichols found her and was able to grab her off a large rock and slide back down with her in his lap.
The community near Breckenridge and Alma has been searching for Chloe for nearly six weeks after her owners posted about her on Facebook.
So, when Trinity and Sean headed back into town and a local store to get the dog some food, Chloe's owner had already heard the good news and met them at the store.
A Facebook post from Chloe's family said they had lost her around Aug. 10 and searching for her ever since.
Sean says Chloe went to the vet with her owners. She's down to 26 pounds from 85.
Larry Osborne, her owner, spoke with 9NEWS on Saturday. He said she's doing better and is at home now, but still recovering.
He spoke about how grateful he was to the community and the rescuers specifically.
"It's a really tight-knit community -- but it's really good to know that with all the bad in the world -- there's still a lot of good," Osborne said. "So I thank those guys a lot."
By Kelly Jensen
KUSA-TV
September 24, 2017
PARK COUNTY, Colorado -- Thanks to a post in a local Facebook group for 14er enthusiasts, a lost dog has been reunited with her humans.
It took several attempts over two days, but Trinity Smith and Sean Nichols were able to locate Chloe, a 14-year-old dog, atop Mt. Bross.
This week, Trinity saw a post on the 14ers Facebook group that someone had heard a dog crying atop Mt.Bross/Lincoln. On Thursday, she hiked up the mountain in search of the crying dog.
She heard the dog but knew she couldn't get to it alone. She had someone take her back up in a jeep, but it was too dark and the class 3 scramble would have been too dangerous.
So, Friday morning, Trinity and her boyfriend Sean Nichols headed up again. They told 9NEWS they called and called for the dog for three or four hours. Eventually, the pup stopped answering.
Nichols says he climbed chute after chute and then, finally, heard a faint bark. Nichols found her and was able to grab her off a large rock and slide back down with her in his lap.
The community near Breckenridge and Alma has been searching for Chloe for nearly six weeks after her owners posted about her on Facebook.
So, when Trinity and Sean headed back into town and a local store to get the dog some food, Chloe's owner had already heard the good news and met them at the store.
A Facebook post from Chloe's family said they had lost her around Aug. 10 and searching for her ever since.
Sean says Chloe went to the vet with her owners. She's down to 26 pounds from 85.
Larry Osborne, her owner, spoke with 9NEWS on Saturday. He said she's doing better and is at home now, but still recovering.
He spoke about how grateful he was to the community and the rescuers specifically.
"It's a really tight-knit community -- but it's really good to know that with all the bad in the world -- there's still a lot of good," Osborne said. "So I thank those guys a lot."
Sunday, September 24, 2017
THE PERSONAL ATTACKS ON PRESIDENT TRUMP ARE ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING!
BaekGrowlBite
September 24, 2017
When it was reported that Trump had withdrawn an invitation for the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House because the Warriors’ Stephen Curry said he would not go, basketball super star LeBron James piped up and tweeted:
“U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
Donna Edwards, a retired black Democratic congresswoman from Maryland tweeted:
“On Sunday, I hope every @NFL player takes a knee in solidarity w [Colin Kaepernick] against the white supremacist who squats in our White House.”
Cincinnati Bengals safety George Iloka tweeted:
“I can’t take anything our Celebrity in Chief says seriously. He’s a real life clown/troll.”
GQ correspondent Keith Olbermann said:
“THE PROTESTING PLAYERS ARE BLACK. TRUMP IS A WHITE SUPREMACIST. Any other questions?”
And the list goes on and on and on.
Of course, Trump should not have called the players sons of bitches, even though that’s what they are.
These personal attacks on Trump are absolutely disgusting. LeBron James calling the President a bum. Why, if he were not such an outstanding basketball player, he would be nothing more than a real bum.
There are better and more decent ways to criticize the President, but these people have no decency or are too stupid to do so.
September 24, 2017
When it was reported that Trump had withdrawn an invitation for the Golden State Warriors to visit the White House because the Warriors’ Stephen Curry said he would not go, basketball super star LeBron James piped up and tweeted:
“U bum @StephenCurry30 already said he ain't going! So therefore ain't no invite. Going to White House was a great honor until you showed up!”
Donna Edwards, a retired black Democratic congresswoman from Maryland tweeted:
“On Sunday, I hope every @NFL player takes a knee in solidarity w [Colin Kaepernick] against the white supremacist who squats in our White House.”
Cincinnati Bengals safety George Iloka tweeted:
“I can’t take anything our Celebrity in Chief says seriously. He’s a real life clown/troll.”
GQ correspondent Keith Olbermann said:
“THE PROTESTING PLAYERS ARE BLACK. TRUMP IS A WHITE SUPREMACIST. Any other questions?”
And the list goes on and on and on.
Of course, Trump should not have called the players sons of bitches, even though that’s what they are.
These personal attacks on Trump are absolutely disgusting. LeBron James calling the President a bum. Why, if he were not such an outstanding basketball player, he would be nothing more than a real bum.
There are better and more decent ways to criticize the President, but these people have no decency or are too stupid to do so.
THEY THINK THE CELLIE DID IT
by Bob Walsh
James Junior Nice, 45, is not a nice man. His cell partner, Glenn Arthur Cox, is, or at least was, a drunk doing 8 years for DUI. He was two years into his sentence and was eligible for parole consideration. He is now a dead guy. Staff at the Idaho State slammer found Cow unresponsive in their cell. The men were the only occupants of the cell when the body was found.
Nice was doing three life sentences for murdering his three children, six-year old twins and a 2-year old girl, more than ten years ago. A fourth child died earlier under suspicious circumstances.
Nice is being moved to a more secure facility. I wonder if he will get another cellie?
James Junior Nice, 45, is not a nice man. His cell partner, Glenn Arthur Cox, is, or at least was, a drunk doing 8 years for DUI. He was two years into his sentence and was eligible for parole consideration. He is now a dead guy. Staff at the Idaho State slammer found Cow unresponsive in their cell. The men were the only occupants of the cell when the body was found.
Nice was doing three life sentences for murdering his three children, six-year old twins and a 2-year old girl, more than ten years ago. A fourth child died earlier under suspicious circumstances.
Nice is being moved to a more secure facility. I wonder if he will get another cellie?
TRUMP ON THE STUMP STOMPS COLIN KAERPERNICK AND OTHER NFL PLAYERS WHO DISRESPECT OUR FLAG
BarkGrowlBite
September 24, 2017
Friday, during a campaign rally for GOP Senate candidate Luther Strange in Huntsville, Alabama, President Trump stomped Colin Kaepernick and the other NFL players who refuse to stand while the National Anthem is played.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired, he’s fired. Total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for.”
President Trump is spot on about those sons of bitches! NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, are you listening?
Well the asshole did. Goodell responded by releasing a statement which said: “Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.”
What a schmuck! What’s really divisive, Goodell, is your fucking players disrespecting our flag.
Trump also got a shitload full of flack from NFL players and players of other leagues. But on Saturday he fired back with this tweet:
“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag and should stand for the national anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”
Go get the sons of bitches, Donald, I’m totally with you!
September 24, 2017
Friday, during a campaign rally for GOP Senate candidate Luther Strange in Huntsville, Alabama, President Trump stomped Colin Kaepernick and the other NFL players who refuse to stand while the National Anthem is played.
“Wouldn’t you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, get that son of a bitch off the field right now, out. He’s fired, he’s fired. Total disrespect of our heritage, a total disrespect of everything that we stand for.”
President Trump is spot on about those sons of bitches! NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, are you listening?
Well the asshole did. Goodell responded by releasing a statement which said: “Divisive comments like these demonstrate an unfortunate lack of respect for the NFL, our great game and all of our players, and a failure to understand the overwhelming force for good our clubs and players represent in our communities.”
What a schmuck! What’s really divisive, Goodell, is your fucking players disrespecting our flag.
Trump also got a shitload full of flack from NFL players and players of other leagues. But on Saturday he fired back with this tweet:
“If a player wants the privilege of making millions of dollars in the NFL, or other leagues, he or she should not be allowed to disrespect our Great American Flag and should stand for the national anthem. If not, YOU'RE FIRED. Find something else to do!”
Go get the sons of bitches, Donald, I’m totally with you!
WHEN MEET THE PRESS AND MATTRESSES FOR LES ARE COJOINED
BarkGrowlBite
September 24, 2017
If you watch NBC TV, I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for Meet the Press in which host Chuck Todd says, “….. if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.”
In Houston there is a mattress store chain called Mattresses for Less.
While I was watching the Today show yesterday, NBC broke for the Chuck Todd commercial. But local Channel 2 cut in with the mattress commercial so that the conjoined ads said:
“If it’s Sunday, it’s mattresses for less.”
Way to go, Channel 2.
September 24, 2017
If you watch NBC TV, I’m sure you’ve seen the ads for Meet the Press in which host Chuck Todd says, “….. if it’s Sunday, it’s Meet the Press.”
In Houston there is a mattress store chain called Mattresses for Less.
While I was watching the Today show yesterday, NBC broke for the Chuck Todd commercial. But local Channel 2 cut in with the mattress commercial so that the conjoined ads said:
“If it’s Sunday, it’s mattresses for less.”
Way to go, Channel 2.
Saturday, September 23, 2017
ROCKET MAN CALLS TRUMP A MENTALLY DERANGED DOTARD
Kim Jong-Un responded to Trump’s UN speech with an unprecedented public address to the North Korean people
The Rocket Man, as Trump described him, said he would definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.
Here from the Mirror is the North Korean leader's statement in full:
The speech made by the US President in his maiden address on the UN arena in the prevailing serious circumstances, in which the situation on the Korean peninsula has been rendered tense as never before and is inching closer to a touch-and-go state, is arousing worldwide concern.
Shaping the general idea of what he would say, I expected he would make stereotyped, prepared remarks a little from what he used to utter in his office on the spur of the moment as he had to speak on the world's biggest official diplomatic stage.
But, far from making any remarks of any persuasive power that can be viewed to be helpful in diffusion tension, he made unprecedented rude nonsense no one has ever heard from any of his predecessors.
A frightened dog barks louder.
I'd like to advise Trump to exercise prudence in selecting words and be considerate of whom he speaks to when making a speech in front of the world.
The mentally deranged behaviour of the US President openly expressing on the UN arena the unethical will to "totally destroy" a sovereign state, beyond the boundary of threats and regime change or overturn of social system, makes even those with normal thinking faculty think about discretion and composure.
His remarks remind me of such words as "political layman" and "political heretic" which were in vogue in reference to Trump during his presidential election campaign.
After taking office Trump has rendered the world restless through threats and blackmail against all countries in the world. He is unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country, and he is surely a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire, rather than a politician.
His remarks which described the US option through straightforward expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last.
Now that Trump has denied the existence of and insulted me and my country in front of the eyes of the world and made the most ferocious declaration of war in history that he would destroy the DPRK, we will consider with seriousness exercising a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history.
Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say.
As a man representing the DPRK and on behalf of the dignity and honor of my state and people and on my own, I will make the man holding the prerogative of the supreme command in the US pay dearly for his speech calling for totally destroying the DPRK.
This is not a rhetorical expression loved by Trump.
I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue.
Whatever Trump might have expected, he will face results beyond his expectation.
I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.
__________
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S RESPONSE
Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before! (Tweet)
We can’t have madmen out there, shooting rockets all over the place. And by the way, rocket man should have been handled a long time ago. This shouldn’t be handled now, but I’m going to handle it, because we have to handle it. Little rocket man. (Rally Friday in Alabama)
__________
EDITOR’S NOTE: A dotard? I had to look it up. A dotard is an old person, especially one who has become weak or senile.
Now I most certainly disagree that Trump is either weak or senile. But by following his many tweets, I think Kim got one thing right … Trump is deranged.
Rocket Man … Mentally Deranged Dotard … Madman. The war of words between Trump and Kim is akin to a couple of schoolyard brats yapping at each other until, if left unchecked, it escalates into fisticuffs that may leave them with some fat lips or black eyes. But the war of words between the two grownup brats, if it continues, is liable to result in a shooting war with countless people killed and wounded.
The Rocket Man, as Trump described him, said he would definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.
Here from the Mirror is the North Korean leader's statement in full:
The speech made by the US President in his maiden address on the UN arena in the prevailing serious circumstances, in which the situation on the Korean peninsula has been rendered tense as never before and is inching closer to a touch-and-go state, is arousing worldwide concern.
Shaping the general idea of what he would say, I expected he would make stereotyped, prepared remarks a little from what he used to utter in his office on the spur of the moment as he had to speak on the world's biggest official diplomatic stage.
But, far from making any remarks of any persuasive power that can be viewed to be helpful in diffusion tension, he made unprecedented rude nonsense no one has ever heard from any of his predecessors.
A frightened dog barks louder.
I'd like to advise Trump to exercise prudence in selecting words and be considerate of whom he speaks to when making a speech in front of the world.
The mentally deranged behaviour of the US President openly expressing on the UN arena the unethical will to "totally destroy" a sovereign state, beyond the boundary of threats and regime change or overturn of social system, makes even those with normal thinking faculty think about discretion and composure.
His remarks remind me of such words as "political layman" and "political heretic" which were in vogue in reference to Trump during his presidential election campaign.
After taking office Trump has rendered the world restless through threats and blackmail against all countries in the world. He is unfit to hold the prerogative of supreme command of a country, and he is surely a rogue and a gangster fond of playing with fire, rather than a politician.
His remarks which described the US option through straightforward expression of his will have convinced me, rather than frightening or stopping me, that the path I chose is correct and that it is the one I have to follow to the last.
Now that Trump has denied the existence of and insulted me and my country in front of the eyes of the world and made the most ferocious declaration of war in history that he would destroy the DPRK, we will consider with seriousness exercising a corresponding, highest level of hard-line countermeasure in history.
Action is the best option in treating the dotard who, hard of hearing, is uttering only what he wants to say.
As a man representing the DPRK and on behalf of the dignity and honor of my state and people and on my own, I will make the man holding the prerogative of the supreme command in the US pay dearly for his speech calling for totally destroying the DPRK.
This is not a rhetorical expression loved by Trump.
I am now thinking hard about what response he could have expected when he allowed such eccentric words to trip off his tongue.
Whatever Trump might have expected, he will face results beyond his expectation.
I will surely and definitely tame the mentally deranged US dotard with fire.
__________
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S RESPONSE
Kim Jong Un of North Korea, who is obviously a madman who doesn't mind starving or killing his people, will be tested like never before! (Tweet)
We can’t have madmen out there, shooting rockets all over the place. And by the way, rocket man should have been handled a long time ago. This shouldn’t be handled now, but I’m going to handle it, because we have to handle it. Little rocket man. (Rally Friday in Alabama)
__________
EDITOR’S NOTE: A dotard? I had to look it up. A dotard is an old person, especially one who has become weak or senile.
Now I most certainly disagree that Trump is either weak or senile. But by following his many tweets, I think Kim got one thing right … Trump is deranged.
Rocket Man … Mentally Deranged Dotard … Madman. The war of words between Trump and Kim is akin to a couple of schoolyard brats yapping at each other until, if left unchecked, it escalates into fisticuffs that may leave them with some fat lips or black eyes. But the war of words between the two grownup brats, if it continues, is liable to result in a shooting war with countless people killed and wounded.
FIVE YEARS FROM NOW ..... A TIMELY EXECUTION DATE
by Bob Walsh
Acting a day or two ago the Ohio Supreme Court set an execution date for Percy Hutton, sentenced to die for the 1985 murder of Derek Mitchell. They were fighting over a sewing machine. Must have been one hell of a sewing machine.
The scheduled execution date is June 22, 2022. I will make sure to put that into my day timer.
Acting a day or two ago the Ohio Supreme Court set an execution date for Percy Hutton, sentenced to die for the 1985 murder of Derek Mitchell. They were fighting over a sewing machine. Must have been one hell of a sewing machine.
The scheduled execution date is June 22, 2022. I will make sure to put that into my day timer.
YOU FUCKING REPUBLICAN ….. BANG … PLOP
Doctor indicted over fatal shooting that happened after political argument
by Nolan Clay
The Oklahoman
September 21, 2017
A physician from Cordell was indicted Thursday over a fatal shooting that happened after an argument over politics last year.
Dr. Jerry Hernandez, 56, was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
The state's multicounty grand jury accused Hernandez in the felony indictment of fatally shooting Roy Lee Weeaks "in the heat of passion" on Dec. 7.
Weeaks, 78, of Colorado, was visiting his daughter, Stacey Weeaks, and Hernandez at their home in Cordell.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported in December that the elder Weeaks was shot just outside the house.
"Special agents have learned Weeaks got into a verbal altercation with another person inside the house. Weeaks was told to leave the property," the OSBI reported. "Both Weeaks and the shooter produced firearms. The shooter fired one shot, killing Weeaks."
"It was over politics," an OSBI spokeswoman told The Oklahoman at the time.
Hernandez could not be reached for comment, and his attorney did not immediately return a phone call left at a law office. Stacey Weeaks, who is listed on the indictment as a witness, declined to comment.
Hernandez was expected to surrender in Washita County on Friday.
The grand jury returned the indictment in Oklahoma City, where it met three days this month. Grand jurors next meet Oct. 17-19.
by Nolan Clay
The Oklahoman
September 21, 2017
A physician from Cordell was indicted Thursday over a fatal shooting that happened after an argument over politics last year.
Dr. Jerry Hernandez, 56, was charged with first-degree manslaughter.
The state's multicounty grand jury accused Hernandez in the felony indictment of fatally shooting Roy Lee Weeaks "in the heat of passion" on Dec. 7.
Weeaks, 78, of Colorado, was visiting his daughter, Stacey Weeaks, and Hernandez at their home in Cordell.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation reported in December that the elder Weeaks was shot just outside the house.
"Special agents have learned Weeaks got into a verbal altercation with another person inside the house. Weeaks was told to leave the property," the OSBI reported. "Both Weeaks and the shooter produced firearms. The shooter fired one shot, killing Weeaks."
"It was over politics," an OSBI spokeswoman told The Oklahoman at the time.
Hernandez could not be reached for comment, and his attorney did not immediately return a phone call left at a law office. Stacey Weeaks, who is listed on the indictment as a witness, declined to comment.
Hernandez was expected to surrender in Washita County on Friday.
The grand jury returned the indictment in Oklahoma City, where it met three days this month. Grand jurors next meet Oct. 17-19.
Friday, September 22, 2017
WE CAN ALL BREATHE EASIER NOW
Don't Worry, NASA Says — Armageddon Will Not Begin on Saturday
By Dianna Wray
Houston Press
September 21, 2017
Some people are fairly possibly certain that the world is going to reach the beginning of the end this Saturday.
Why? Because of a four-minute video by the evangelical Christian publication Unsealed that is making the rounds. In the viral video, "September 23, 2017: You Need to See This," one David Meade claims the Rapture will start on Saturday, owing to a clutch of verses and numerical codes he claims he has found in the Bible, when the planet Nibiru smacks into Earth.
However, before y'all put that R.E.M. song on repeat and start stocking up on canned goods, bunker books and cuddly blankets you'll undoubtedly need for the end-of-the-world event, it might be helpful to consider the fact that the planet Nibiru does not exist.
Meade came up with his prediction based on evidence that's even less scientifically sound than Armageddon, the asteroid movie that was so scientifically incorrect that legend has it NASA officials have made employees watch it and note all the inaccuracies as a test, according to the Washington Post. Basically, Meade looked at the Bible, noting that Jesus lived for 33 years and that the Hebrew name for God, "Elohim," was mentioned 33 times in the Bible.
How does that make Saturday the end of the world? Well, Saturday marks 33 days since the total solar eclipse, which Meade counts as a portent of doom. From there, he says that based on the Book of Revelation, a woman "clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet and a crown of 12 stars" will give birth to a boy who will "rule all the nations with an iron scepter" while a seven-headed dragon threatens her. Eventually, she'll be swallowed up by Earth and sprout the wings of an eagle, not necessarily in that order.
Mainstream Christians of many denominations have rebuked Meade's theories.
Somehow, Meade and others take the trippy, always-difficult-to-understand Book of Revelation and make an extra leap, applying the statement in the Bible to mean that the constellation Virgo will line up so that Jupiter passes out of Virgo, giving metaphorical birth to the planet.
There's still no explanation on how this movement summons Nibiru, the planet that is supposed to kick off the End Times by colliding with us, but that's either because of the mysterious workings of the heavens — or because using numerology to make sweeping astronomical predictions is really not the best way for anyone to spend his or her time.
For one thing, because this isn't the first time this crew has claimed that the previously undetected planet was coming for us. Earlier predictions said the End Times were supposed to commence in both May 2003 and December 2012, and yet the world has continued to spin.
But if even this hasn't soothed your nerves, take heart in the fact that NASA has already shot this armageddon theory down. NASA scientist David Morrison actually went through and categorically debunked and dismissed this apocalyptic theory years ago, advising people to just "get over it." Now it has been once again reiterated by NASA. The total eclipse was not a sign that the end of days was upon us — it was just the moon, sitting in front of the sun for a few minutes, allowing those in the path of totality to see something pretty friggin' cool.
And Saturday will be fine even if it isn't the end of the world. After all, it's still a Saturday.
By Dianna Wray
Houston Press
September 21, 2017
Some people are fairly possibly certain that the world is going to reach the beginning of the end this Saturday.
Why? Because of a four-minute video by the evangelical Christian publication Unsealed that is making the rounds. In the viral video, "September 23, 2017: You Need to See This," one David Meade claims the Rapture will start on Saturday, owing to a clutch of verses and numerical codes he claims he has found in the Bible, when the planet Nibiru smacks into Earth.
However, before y'all put that R.E.M. song on repeat and start stocking up on canned goods, bunker books and cuddly blankets you'll undoubtedly need for the end-of-the-world event, it might be helpful to consider the fact that the planet Nibiru does not exist.
Meade came up with his prediction based on evidence that's even less scientifically sound than Armageddon, the asteroid movie that was so scientifically incorrect that legend has it NASA officials have made employees watch it and note all the inaccuracies as a test, according to the Washington Post. Basically, Meade looked at the Bible, noting that Jesus lived for 33 years and that the Hebrew name for God, "Elohim," was mentioned 33 times in the Bible.
How does that make Saturday the end of the world? Well, Saturday marks 33 days since the total solar eclipse, which Meade counts as a portent of doom. From there, he says that based on the Book of Revelation, a woman "clothed with the sun, with the moon at her feet and a crown of 12 stars" will give birth to a boy who will "rule all the nations with an iron scepter" while a seven-headed dragon threatens her. Eventually, she'll be swallowed up by Earth and sprout the wings of an eagle, not necessarily in that order.
Mainstream Christians of many denominations have rebuked Meade's theories.
Somehow, Meade and others take the trippy, always-difficult-to-understand Book of Revelation and make an extra leap, applying the statement in the Bible to mean that the constellation Virgo will line up so that Jupiter passes out of Virgo, giving metaphorical birth to the planet.
There's still no explanation on how this movement summons Nibiru, the planet that is supposed to kick off the End Times by colliding with us, but that's either because of the mysterious workings of the heavens — or because using numerology to make sweeping astronomical predictions is really not the best way for anyone to spend his or her time.
For one thing, because this isn't the first time this crew has claimed that the previously undetected planet was coming for us. Earlier predictions said the End Times were supposed to commence in both May 2003 and December 2012, and yet the world has continued to spin.
But if even this hasn't soothed your nerves, take heart in the fact that NASA has already shot this armageddon theory down. NASA scientist David Morrison actually went through and categorically debunked and dismissed this apocalyptic theory years ago, advising people to just "get over it." Now it has been once again reiterated by NASA. The total eclipse was not a sign that the end of days was upon us — it was just the moon, sitting in front of the sun for a few minutes, allowing those in the path of totality to see something pretty friggin' cool.
And Saturday will be fine even if it isn't the end of the world. After all, it's still a Saturday.
POOR POLICIES DAMN NEAR GET COP KILLED
by Bob Walsh
Joshua Stam, 26, had just been in court in Decatur County, Ohio. He was being transported back to prison by what seems to have been a solo deputy in an uncaged car. Stam managed to slip his cuffs and attacked the deputy, attempting to strangle him and seize his weapon.
A passer-by noticed the incident developing and summoned two near-by officers who dealt with the situation. Stam is now facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted escape and battery resulting in bodily injury to an officer. He had just been sentenced to two years after copping to resisting an officer with a weapon.
I thought only Mayberry still did crap like this. Solo transport of convicted felons and uncaged cars is stupid and dangerous. It should not be happening in this day and age.
Joshua Stam, 26, had just been in court in Decatur County, Ohio. He was being transported back to prison by what seems to have been a solo deputy in an uncaged car. Stam managed to slip his cuffs and attacked the deputy, attempting to strangle him and seize his weapon.
A passer-by noticed the incident developing and summoned two near-by officers who dealt with the situation. Stam is now facing charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, attempted escape and battery resulting in bodily injury to an officer. He had just been sentenced to two years after copping to resisting an officer with a weapon.
I thought only Mayberry still did crap like this. Solo transport of convicted felons and uncaged cars is stupid and dangerous. It should not be happening in this day and age.
DOMINO’S PIZZA SHOP CHEAPER THAN HOTEL ROOM
Couple who had sex at the counter of a Domino's pizza shop face PRISON after court sees 18-minute CCTV footage of their 'obscene and disgusting act'
By Charlie Moore and Anthony Joseph
Daily Mail
September 21, 2017
A couple who had sex in Domino's face prison after a video of their 'obscene and disgusting' was shown in court.
CCTV footage of Daniella Hirst and Craig Smith having sex on the counter while waiting for a 12inch pepperoni pizza with stuffed crust was shown at Scarborough Magistrates Court today.
Hirst, 29, sat at the back of the court with her hands over her eyes in shame through the more explicit parts of the 18-minute clip.
The prosecutor said: 'We view this offence as so serious that it passes the custody threshold.'
The video showed the couple ordering food and messing around with a yellow cleaning cone before Hirst performs oral sex on Smith, 31.
The pair then have sex leaning on the counter close to the till.
Staff can be seen working in the kitchen as deliverymen come and go throughout.
Hirst pleaded guilty to 'committing an act outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner'.
Smith, who was not in court because he was on remand in prison, was found guilty in his absence.
He was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of assault in November 2015 after a fight outside a pub.
Hirst described her behaviour as 'horrendous' and told the court she 'cringed' when watching the CCTV footage back during police interview.
As she left the court having changed out of her pink dungarees she said she was 'fuming'.
North Yorkshire Police were made aware of the footage by the local media after it was posted on Twitter by a member of the Domino's staff.
The couple, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, had spent the weekend drinking and celebrating Smith's birthday when they got the train to Scarborough on February 25 2016.
Prosecuting, Neil Holdsworth said: 'This charge is committing an act outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner.
'This case is about an occasion where the two defendants engaged in sexual activity in a Domino's pizza outlet which was open to the public, with members of staff present.'
Defending, Scott McLaughlin attempted to have the CCTV footage thrown out but magistrates rejected his request.
In mitigation, he said: 'This case speaks for itself. Clearly, they were in drink and let their exuberant spirits get the better of them.
'There is nothing sinister in relation to the acts themselves, they are quite guarded. They have not been brazen in their actions.
He added: 'Miss Hirst's dirty laundry has been aired in public.'
Magistrate Angela Beardshall said: 'The prosecution has not obtained this footage illegally although it may well be it was distributed improperly.
'In coming to our decision we do take note Mr Smith has not attended but do deem him present via his solicitor.
'We have watched the footage and it's not disputed the male in the footage is Mr Smith.
'A great deal of the acts were lude, obscene and disgusting.
'Members of staff were present and the defendants could not be sure that members of the public would not enter the premises.
'The offence was in a public place. Members of the public were present and so were staff.
'Members of the public should not have to put up with this disgusting behaviour.'
Both Hirst and Smith will be sentenced on October 17 at Scarborough Magistrates Court.
Speaking after the video went viral in February, Hirst said: 'I'm very opened-minded about sex and public places – I love the thrill you may get caught.
'But obviously I never thought we'd get caught like this and end up all over the internet.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: Daniella Hirst and Craig Smith should come to America and live in San Francisco where couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, fuck in public every day with apparent impunity.
By Charlie Moore and Anthony Joseph
Daily Mail
September 21, 2017
A couple who had sex in Domino's face prison after a video of their 'obscene and disgusting' was shown in court.
CCTV footage of Daniella Hirst and Craig Smith having sex on the counter while waiting for a 12inch pepperoni pizza with stuffed crust was shown at Scarborough Magistrates Court today.
Hirst, 29, sat at the back of the court with her hands over her eyes in shame through the more explicit parts of the 18-minute clip.
The prosecutor said: 'We view this offence as so serious that it passes the custody threshold.'
The video showed the couple ordering food and messing around with a yellow cleaning cone before Hirst performs oral sex on Smith, 31.
The pair then have sex leaning on the counter close to the till.
Staff can be seen working in the kitchen as deliverymen come and go throughout.
Hirst pleaded guilty to 'committing an act outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner'.
Smith, who was not in court because he was on remand in prison, was found guilty in his absence.
He was charged with grievous bodily harm with intent and two counts of assault in November 2015 after a fight outside a pub.
Hirst described her behaviour as 'horrendous' and told the court she 'cringed' when watching the CCTV footage back during police interview.
As she left the court having changed out of her pink dungarees she said she was 'fuming'.
North Yorkshire Police were made aware of the footage by the local media after it was posted on Twitter by a member of the Domino's staff.
The couple, from Bridlington, East Yorkshire, had spent the weekend drinking and celebrating Smith's birthday when they got the train to Scarborough on February 25 2016.
Prosecuting, Neil Holdsworth said: 'This charge is committing an act outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner.
'This case is about an occasion where the two defendants engaged in sexual activity in a Domino's pizza outlet which was open to the public, with members of staff present.'
Defending, Scott McLaughlin attempted to have the CCTV footage thrown out but magistrates rejected his request.
In mitigation, he said: 'This case speaks for itself. Clearly, they were in drink and let their exuberant spirits get the better of them.
'There is nothing sinister in relation to the acts themselves, they are quite guarded. They have not been brazen in their actions.
He added: 'Miss Hirst's dirty laundry has been aired in public.'
Magistrate Angela Beardshall said: 'The prosecution has not obtained this footage illegally although it may well be it was distributed improperly.
'In coming to our decision we do take note Mr Smith has not attended but do deem him present via his solicitor.
'We have watched the footage and it's not disputed the male in the footage is Mr Smith.
'A great deal of the acts were lude, obscene and disgusting.
'Members of staff were present and the defendants could not be sure that members of the public would not enter the premises.
'The offence was in a public place. Members of the public were present and so were staff.
'Members of the public should not have to put up with this disgusting behaviour.'
Both Hirst and Smith will be sentenced on October 17 at Scarborough Magistrates Court.
Speaking after the video went viral in February, Hirst said: 'I'm very opened-minded about sex and public places – I love the thrill you may get caught.
'But obviously I never thought we'd get caught like this and end up all over the internet.'
EDITOR’S NOTE: Daniella Hirst and Craig Smith should come to America and live in San Francisco where couples, both heterosexual and homosexual, fuck in public every day with apparent impunity.
Thursday, September 21, 2017
DONALD TRUMPS DANGEROUS NORTH KOREA GAMBIT
By Brian Barrett Security
Wired
September 19, 2017
On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump gave a bombastic speech to the assembled delegates of the United Nations. Pay special attention to how he addressed North Korea and its looming nuclear threat. Unlike most of what Trump said otherwise, its implications are as wide-ranging as they are grim.
“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” said Trump. “‘Rocket Man’ is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”
“Rocket Man,” you rightly guessed, refers to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The rockets in question include intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, potentially capable of reaching United States territory. Soon, experts agree, North Korea should be able to pair those rockets with a miniaturized nuclear warhead. And while Trump has made similar provocations before, either in impromptu remarks or ill-advised tweets, his UN taunting worsens an already alarmingly combustible situation—while also making it harder to defuse.
Sound and Fury
There are two very important things to understand about North Korea in this context. First, as Evan Osnos explored in depth in the New Yorker recently, no one in the US—including Donald Trump—has perfect insight into what Kim Jong-un thinks about Trump’s various conflagrations. The country comes by its “Hermit Kingdom” moniker honestly.
But the international community does know at least one fundamental detail about the North Korean state.
“My perception, based on 30 years of work on this, is that North Korea is paranoid that the United States is going to eliminate them,” says Jon Wolfsthal, a member of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation’s Szilard Advisory Board, and former special advisor to Joe Biden on nuclear security.
One can trace that paranoia back to the Korean War. In 1950, then-US president Harry Truman said that he was prepared to authorize the use of nuclear weapons to end the conflict. Ever since, North Korea has “lived under US threat perception,” says Jenny Town, managing editor of North Korea watchdog 38 North and assistant director of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
“They point to several different actions and signals along the way, and they use this as a justification for why they need nuclear weapons, in order to deter the United States from any preemptive attack,” says Town. “They’ve seen this happen in the past, with Iraq, with Lybia. Early in the Trump administration they saw the bombing of Syria and Afghanistan. They’re trying to prevent this from happening to them.”
Those two ingredients combine into one bitter stew. Trump has once again threatened and provoked a country knowing not what specific reaction he might inspire, but with the general understanding that the rhetoric can only strengthen North Korea’s nuclear resolve. And while cheap nicknames worked for Trump on the campaign trail, “Little Marco” and “Lying Ted” didn’t have an arsenal capable of destruction on a global scale.
“In North Korea, Kim Jong-un is basically the state. If you’re threatening Kim Jong-un, or denigrating him, these are things Kim Jong-un takes as not only a personal attack but an attack against the state,” says Town. That attack burns even more when delivered in front of the United Nations.
In fairness, Trump’s remarks may have been precisely calculated, a four-dimensional chess move designed to bring about a political outcome, rather than barreling toward a disastrous use of force.
“I am convinced there is a solid strategy that is indeed mixing defense and deterrence on one hand with diplomacy and engagement,” says Patrick Cronin, a senior advisor, focused on Asia, at the bipartisan Center for a New American Security. “The president now has to balance the pressure part of the strategy with the diplomacy part of the strategy.”
Yes, Trump’s UN remarks could have served as a carefully calculated stick with some yet unseen carrot to follow. (By way of counterpoint, Wolfsthal asserts that Trump “has no clear strategy” and is “all id,” certainly plausible given the weight of evidence.) But even if so, bringing his vitriol to the UN does little to spur those diplomatic efforts. In fact, it likely hinders them.
A Little Help From Our Friends
As others have noted, there are no good options in North Korea. But any plausible solution that doesn’t end in nuclear catastrophe will almost certainly require a cooperative effort with Japan, South Korea, and China—not unilateral action from the US. Trump’s display today did nothing to further the goal of cooperation.
“It’s clear that the tone President Trump used at the UN is going to make it harder for us to get broader international cooperation,” says Wolfsthal. His performance may play well to his base, but to world leaders, it comes across as unsettling at best. That’s especially true for those in close proximity to North Korea, who have repeatedly urged Trump to knock it off. Instead, Trump has once again ratcheted things up.
“The way that most people are interpreting these messages is that the US is goading on war,” says Town. “The more they make these kinds of statements, the more they match bombastic rhetoric with bombastic rhetoric, the rest of the world gets very anxious.”
Trump defenders often point to the incendiary talk that Kim Jong-un uses, and has used for years, as justification for Trump’s similarly loaded rhetoric. Aside from the obvious absurdity of introducing I know you are but what am I to a potential nuclear conflict, the US risks more than just self-respect by wading in Kim Jong-un’s gutter.
Wolfsthal says that the Obama administration’s Iran deal, which limited that country’s nuclear pursuits, illustrates the benefits of the high road.
“We were able to get effective international cooperation by showing we were prepared to negotiate, that we were reasonable, and that it was Iran that was being unreasonable,” says Wolfsthal. “In this case, President Trump is making it seem to countries around the world that we’re the ones that are just as unreasonable as North Korea.”
Sticks and Stones
If you’re looking for some modestly good news, most analysts agree that rhetoric alone won’t provoke a military exchange. “Words are pretty cheap when it comes to North Korea,” says Cronin.
And indeed, Kim Jong-un and Trump simply rattling sabres makes for a fine best-case scenario. Given the stakes, though, that seems like a poor bet, especially given that each exchange increases the chance that either side makes a strategic miscalculation. Remember: We don’t know what North Korea thinks, other than a decades-old certainty that the US represents an existential threat.
“When does someone overplay their hand,” says Town. “The red lines have been blurred so much over the years, and with each one of these new statements, we just don’t know right now where that threshold is.”
“Language is the dry kindling. You still need a spark,” says Wolfsthal. “The problem is, a spark can come from almost anywhere, and we don’t have a monopoly on the ability to control that.”
In isolation, Trump’s bluster may amount to only that. Taken in combination with an unexplained power outage in North Korea, or a fishing vessel that strays too far, or one of dozens of other potential scenarios, it could help burn down the region.
The US could still pursue diplomacy. Tensions could still gradually ease. On stage at the UN Tuesday, Trump took his best opportunity yet to kick off that process, and in a few short lines, reduced it to rubble.
Wired
September 19, 2017
On Tuesday morning, Donald Trump gave a bombastic speech to the assembled delegates of the United Nations. Pay special attention to how he addressed North Korea and its looming nuclear threat. Unlike most of what Trump said otherwise, its implications are as wide-ranging as they are grim.
“The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea,” said Trump. “‘Rocket Man’ is on a suicide mission for himself and for his regime.”
“Rocket Man,” you rightly guessed, refers to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The rockets in question include intercontinental-range ballistic missiles, potentially capable of reaching United States territory. Soon, experts agree, North Korea should be able to pair those rockets with a miniaturized nuclear warhead. And while Trump has made similar provocations before, either in impromptu remarks or ill-advised tweets, his UN taunting worsens an already alarmingly combustible situation—while also making it harder to defuse.
Sound and Fury
There are two very important things to understand about North Korea in this context. First, as Evan Osnos explored in depth in the New Yorker recently, no one in the US—including Donald Trump—has perfect insight into what Kim Jong-un thinks about Trump’s various conflagrations. The country comes by its “Hermit Kingdom” moniker honestly.
But the international community does know at least one fundamental detail about the North Korean state.
“My perception, based on 30 years of work on this, is that North Korea is paranoid that the United States is going to eliminate them,” says Jon Wolfsthal, a member of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation’s Szilard Advisory Board, and former special advisor to Joe Biden on nuclear security.
One can trace that paranoia back to the Korean War. In 1950, then-US president Harry Truman said that he was prepared to authorize the use of nuclear weapons to end the conflict. Ever since, North Korea has “lived under US threat perception,” says Jenny Town, managing editor of North Korea watchdog 38 North and assistant director of the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.
“They point to several different actions and signals along the way, and they use this as a justification for why they need nuclear weapons, in order to deter the United States from any preemptive attack,” says Town. “They’ve seen this happen in the past, with Iraq, with Lybia. Early in the Trump administration they saw the bombing of Syria and Afghanistan. They’re trying to prevent this from happening to them.”
Those two ingredients combine into one bitter stew. Trump has once again threatened and provoked a country knowing not what specific reaction he might inspire, but with the general understanding that the rhetoric can only strengthen North Korea’s nuclear resolve. And while cheap nicknames worked for Trump on the campaign trail, “Little Marco” and “Lying Ted” didn’t have an arsenal capable of destruction on a global scale.
“In North Korea, Kim Jong-un is basically the state. If you’re threatening Kim Jong-un, or denigrating him, these are things Kim Jong-un takes as not only a personal attack but an attack against the state,” says Town. That attack burns even more when delivered in front of the United Nations.
In fairness, Trump’s remarks may have been precisely calculated, a four-dimensional chess move designed to bring about a political outcome, rather than barreling toward a disastrous use of force.
“I am convinced there is a solid strategy that is indeed mixing defense and deterrence on one hand with diplomacy and engagement,” says Patrick Cronin, a senior advisor, focused on Asia, at the bipartisan Center for a New American Security. “The president now has to balance the pressure part of the strategy with the diplomacy part of the strategy.”
Yes, Trump’s UN remarks could have served as a carefully calculated stick with some yet unseen carrot to follow. (By way of counterpoint, Wolfsthal asserts that Trump “has no clear strategy” and is “all id,” certainly plausible given the weight of evidence.) But even if so, bringing his vitriol to the UN does little to spur those diplomatic efforts. In fact, it likely hinders them.
A Little Help From Our Friends
As others have noted, there are no good options in North Korea. But any plausible solution that doesn’t end in nuclear catastrophe will almost certainly require a cooperative effort with Japan, South Korea, and China—not unilateral action from the US. Trump’s display today did nothing to further the goal of cooperation.
“It’s clear that the tone President Trump used at the UN is going to make it harder for us to get broader international cooperation,” says Wolfsthal. His performance may play well to his base, but to world leaders, it comes across as unsettling at best. That’s especially true for those in close proximity to North Korea, who have repeatedly urged Trump to knock it off. Instead, Trump has once again ratcheted things up.
“The way that most people are interpreting these messages is that the US is goading on war,” says Town. “The more they make these kinds of statements, the more they match bombastic rhetoric with bombastic rhetoric, the rest of the world gets very anxious.”
Trump defenders often point to the incendiary talk that Kim Jong-un uses, and has used for years, as justification for Trump’s similarly loaded rhetoric. Aside from the obvious absurdity of introducing I know you are but what am I to a potential nuclear conflict, the US risks more than just self-respect by wading in Kim Jong-un’s gutter.
Wolfsthal says that the Obama administration’s Iran deal, which limited that country’s nuclear pursuits, illustrates the benefits of the high road.
“We were able to get effective international cooperation by showing we were prepared to negotiate, that we were reasonable, and that it was Iran that was being unreasonable,” says Wolfsthal. “In this case, President Trump is making it seem to countries around the world that we’re the ones that are just as unreasonable as North Korea.”
Sticks and Stones
If you’re looking for some modestly good news, most analysts agree that rhetoric alone won’t provoke a military exchange. “Words are pretty cheap when it comes to North Korea,” says Cronin.
And indeed, Kim Jong-un and Trump simply rattling sabres makes for a fine best-case scenario. Given the stakes, though, that seems like a poor bet, especially given that each exchange increases the chance that either side makes a strategic miscalculation. Remember: We don’t know what North Korea thinks, other than a decades-old certainty that the US represents an existential threat.
“When does someone overplay their hand,” says Town. “The red lines have been blurred so much over the years, and with each one of these new statements, we just don’t know right now where that threshold is.”
“Language is the dry kindling. You still need a spark,” says Wolfsthal. “The problem is, a spark can come from almost anywhere, and we don’t have a monopoly on the ability to control that.”
In isolation, Trump’s bluster may amount to only that. Taken in combination with an unexplained power outage in North Korea, or a fishing vessel that strays too far, or one of dozens of other potential scenarios, it could help burn down the region.
The US could still pursue diplomacy. Tensions could still gradually ease. On stage at the UN Tuesday, Trump took his best opportunity yet to kick off that process, and in a few short lines, reduced it to rubble.
APPELLATE COURT TELLS SF TO STICK SODA LAW WHERE THE SUN DON'T SHINE
by Bob Walsh
The People's Republic of San Francisco recently ordered that advertising for soda must contained a conspicuous warning tells potential consumers how fucking stupid they are for drinking the stuff and how horrible it is for them and how grotesque and stupid they must be to even consider consuming soda.
The federal court just said that the city ordinance is unenforceable and unconstitutional as it steps on the free speech rights of the advertisers. In an uncharacteristic act of sanity the Ninth Circuit said that unless the warnings are clearly factual advertisers have a right to reject them.
The People's Republic of San Francisco recently ordered that advertising for soda must contained a conspicuous warning tells potential consumers how fucking stupid they are for drinking the stuff and how horrible it is for them and how grotesque and stupid they must be to even consider consuming soda.
The federal court just said that the city ordinance is unenforceable and unconstitutional as it steps on the free speech rights of the advertisers. In an uncharacteristic act of sanity the Ninth Circuit said that unless the warnings are clearly factual advertisers have a right to reject them.
SMART MOVE BY JUDGE IN DUI CASE
by Bob Walsh
There was a very nasty DUI collision in Stockton a few days ago. It shut down the major street in Stockton for hours and killed a well-liked local high school football player.
The suspected drunk driver had the right of way but was allegedly traveling WAY too fast when the T-boned the car the kid was ridding in. The suspect, Anthony Calderon, 31, was in jail against a $1 million bail. The judge just raised it to $2 million.
Calderon has no criminal priors except for one recent citation for doing 100+ph on Hwy 99 near Stockton, for which he was fined $508 dollars.
EDITOR'S NOTE: While I am glad to see the puke remain jailed, I think the Judge violated his right against excessive bail.
There was a very nasty DUI collision in Stockton a few days ago. It shut down the major street in Stockton for hours and killed a well-liked local high school football player.
The suspected drunk driver had the right of way but was allegedly traveling WAY too fast when the T-boned the car the kid was ridding in. The suspect, Anthony Calderon, 31, was in jail against a $1 million bail. The judge just raised it to $2 million.
Calderon has no criminal priors except for one recent citation for doing 100+ph on Hwy 99 near Stockton, for which he was fined $508 dollars.
EDITOR'S NOTE: While I am glad to see the puke remain jailed, I think the Judge violated his right against excessive bail.
CLEVER SUBTERFUGE
by Bob Walsh
The production people for the GAME OF THRONES have announced that they intend to script and shoot fake alternate endings to discourage hacking into their system and attempting to hold them up for ransom.
I have no idea how expensive that might be but it sounds to me like it might be a clever idea indeed.
The production people for the GAME OF THRONES have announced that they intend to script and shoot fake alternate endings to discourage hacking into their system and attempting to hold them up for ransom.
I have no idea how expensive that might be but it sounds to me like it might be a clever idea indeed.
JAKE WAS A GREAT FIGHTER WHO REFUSED TO GO DOWN ..... EXCEPT FOR THE ONE MATCH HE THREW
Boxing legend Jake LaMotta who was played by Robert De Niro in the movie Raging Bull has died aged 95
By Hannah Parry
Daily Mail
September 20, 2017
Boxing legend Jake LaMotta who was played Robert De Niro in the movie Raging Bull has died.
LaMotta passed away in a nursing home due to complications from pneumonia on Tuesday aged 95.
His wife Denise, 65, told TMZ: 'I just want people to know, he was a great, sweet, sensitive, strong, compelling man with a great sense of humor, with eyes that danced.'
The Bronx fighter had an incredible career, spanning 106 pro fights and winning a world middleweight championship, after he was rejected from serving in the military due to a medical issue in 1941.
The Bronx native earned the nickname 'The Raging Bull' for his rough style in the ring as a middleweight fighter.
But he's most famously remembered for his six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson although he only won one match. His brother Joey LaMotta was his manager.
LaMotta retired from boxing in 1954 and published his memoir, Raging Bull: My Story in 1970. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
It was later turned into a movie in 1980, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring De Niro as the troubled boxing champion - a role which saw him gain 50 pounds to portray the older, heavier LaMotta, and netted him an Academy Award for best actor.
The movie captured LaMotta's life, which was just as turbulent outside as inside the ring. He was married seven times and even admitted to once throwing a game for the mob, for a change at the middleweight championship.
The film portrays a self-destructive and rage driven fighter whose ambition and fury eventually destroyed his relationship with his wife and family.
LaMotta was born in the Bronx in 1922 to his American mother and Italian immigrant father.
He began boxing at a young age after his father forced him to fight other neighborhood kids for his and his friends and neighbors' entertainment.
Crowds would throw pennies and dimes into the ring after they fought, which LaMotta's father would use to help pay the rent.
After a stint in reform school, he applied to join the military in 1941, during the Second World War, but was rejected because of a mastoid operation on one of his ears.
Aged 19, he turned to the world of pro boxing.
The following year, came his first clash with boxing legend Robinson.
They met in New York where Robinson earned a 10-round decision.
In 1943, the fought twice with three weeks in Detroit where LaMotta defeated Robinson - his first loss in 41 pro fights. That was the only time LaMotta claimed a victory against Robinson in their six matches, and Robinson same back to beat him within a few weeks.
LaMotta also clashed with many other top-ranked competitors of his time, including Fritzie Zivic and Tony Janiro.
On June 16, 1949 he finally got his chance at a middleweight title when he challenged champion Marcel Cerdan and won via a 10th-round TKO.
Of the claim that Cerdan had to quit because of a shoulder injury, LaMotta said in 1970: 'Something's bound to happen to you in a tough fight, cut eye, broken nose or broken hand or something like that. So you could make excuses out of anything, you know, but you got to keep on going if you're a champ or you're a contender.'
Renowned for his strong chin, and the punishment he could take, and dish out, LaMotta was knocked down only once - in a 1952 loss to light-heavyweight Danny Nardico - in his 106 fights.
LaMotta's first defense was supposed to be a rematch with Cerdan, but the Frenchman was killed when a plane en route to the United States crashed in the Azores in 1949.
So in his first defense, LaMotta outpointed Tiberio Mitri on July 12, 1950, in New York, then on Sept. 13, he rallied to knock out Dauthuille at Detroit.
LaMotta saved the championship in movie-script fashion against Laurent Dauthuille in 1950, before his the sixth and final meeting with Robinson the following year in Chicago.
Trailing badly on all three scorecards, LaMotta knocked out the challenger with 13 seconds left in the fight.
LaMotta threw a fight against Billy Fox, which he admitted in testimony before the Kefauver Committee, a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime in 1960.
'I purposely lost a fight to Billy Fox because they promised me that I would get a shot to fight for the title if I did,' LaMotta said in 1970 interview printed in Peter Heller's 1973 book 'In This Corner: 40 World Champions Tell Their Stories.'
LaMotta was 'stopped' by Fox in the fourth round on Nov. 14, 1947, in Madison Square Garden. He didn't get a title shot until 10 fights later.
He finally lost his title in 1951 in his last bout with Robinson - a fight that became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
LaMotta, a boxer adept at rolling with the punches, gave as good as he got in the early rounds, then took tremendous punishment. He would not go down. A referee finally stopped the match in the 13th round.
He retired from boxing a few years later in 1954.
LaMotta would later own a nightclub for a time in Miami, and dabbled in show business and commercials. He also made personal appearances and for a while in the 1970s he was a host at a topless nightclub in New York.
The boxing champ leaves behind four daughters and his seventh wife, Denise Baker.
Tragically, in 1998, he lost both of his sons. Jake LaMotta Jr., 51, died from cancer in February. Joe LaMotta, 49, was killed in plane crash off Nova Scotia in September.
A funeral in Miami and a memorial service in New York City are being planned, Baker said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I knew Jake because he and my buddy Rocky Graziano were close friends from childhood on.
By Hannah Parry
Daily Mail
September 20, 2017
Boxing legend Jake LaMotta who was played Robert De Niro in the movie Raging Bull has died.
LaMotta passed away in a nursing home due to complications from pneumonia on Tuesday aged 95.
His wife Denise, 65, told TMZ: 'I just want people to know, he was a great, sweet, sensitive, strong, compelling man with a great sense of humor, with eyes that danced.'
The Bronx fighter had an incredible career, spanning 106 pro fights and winning a world middleweight championship, after he was rejected from serving in the military due to a medical issue in 1941.
The Bronx native earned the nickname 'The Raging Bull' for his rough style in the ring as a middleweight fighter.
But he's most famously remembered for his six-fight rivalry with Sugar Ray Robinson although he only won one match. His brother Joey LaMotta was his manager.
LaMotta retired from boxing in 1954 and published his memoir, Raging Bull: My Story in 1970. He was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1990.
It was later turned into a movie in 1980, directed by Martin Scorsese and starring De Niro as the troubled boxing champion - a role which saw him gain 50 pounds to portray the older, heavier LaMotta, and netted him an Academy Award for best actor.
The movie captured LaMotta's life, which was just as turbulent outside as inside the ring. He was married seven times and even admitted to once throwing a game for the mob, for a change at the middleweight championship.
The film portrays a self-destructive and rage driven fighter whose ambition and fury eventually destroyed his relationship with his wife and family.
LaMotta was born in the Bronx in 1922 to his American mother and Italian immigrant father.
He began boxing at a young age after his father forced him to fight other neighborhood kids for his and his friends and neighbors' entertainment.
Crowds would throw pennies and dimes into the ring after they fought, which LaMotta's father would use to help pay the rent.
After a stint in reform school, he applied to join the military in 1941, during the Second World War, but was rejected because of a mastoid operation on one of his ears.
Aged 19, he turned to the world of pro boxing.
The following year, came his first clash with boxing legend Robinson.
They met in New York where Robinson earned a 10-round decision.
In 1943, the fought twice with three weeks in Detroit where LaMotta defeated Robinson - his first loss in 41 pro fights. That was the only time LaMotta claimed a victory against Robinson in their six matches, and Robinson same back to beat him within a few weeks.
LaMotta also clashed with many other top-ranked competitors of his time, including Fritzie Zivic and Tony Janiro.
On June 16, 1949 he finally got his chance at a middleweight title when he challenged champion Marcel Cerdan and won via a 10th-round TKO.
Of the claim that Cerdan had to quit because of a shoulder injury, LaMotta said in 1970: 'Something's bound to happen to you in a tough fight, cut eye, broken nose or broken hand or something like that. So you could make excuses out of anything, you know, but you got to keep on going if you're a champ or you're a contender.'
Renowned for his strong chin, and the punishment he could take, and dish out, LaMotta was knocked down only once - in a 1952 loss to light-heavyweight Danny Nardico - in his 106 fights.
LaMotta's first defense was supposed to be a rematch with Cerdan, but the Frenchman was killed when a plane en route to the United States crashed in the Azores in 1949.
So in his first defense, LaMotta outpointed Tiberio Mitri on July 12, 1950, in New York, then on Sept. 13, he rallied to knock out Dauthuille at Detroit.
LaMotta saved the championship in movie-script fashion against Laurent Dauthuille in 1950, before his the sixth and final meeting with Robinson the following year in Chicago.
Trailing badly on all three scorecards, LaMotta knocked out the challenger with 13 seconds left in the fight.
LaMotta threw a fight against Billy Fox, which he admitted in testimony before the Kefauver Committee, a U.S. Senate committee investigating organized crime in 1960.
'I purposely lost a fight to Billy Fox because they promised me that I would get a shot to fight for the title if I did,' LaMotta said in 1970 interview printed in Peter Heller's 1973 book 'In This Corner: 40 World Champions Tell Their Stories.'
LaMotta was 'stopped' by Fox in the fourth round on Nov. 14, 1947, in Madison Square Garden. He didn't get a title shot until 10 fights later.
He finally lost his title in 1951 in his last bout with Robinson - a fight that became known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre.
LaMotta, a boxer adept at rolling with the punches, gave as good as he got in the early rounds, then took tremendous punishment. He would not go down. A referee finally stopped the match in the 13th round.
He retired from boxing a few years later in 1954.
LaMotta would later own a nightclub for a time in Miami, and dabbled in show business and commercials. He also made personal appearances and for a while in the 1970s he was a host at a topless nightclub in New York.
The boxing champ leaves behind four daughters and his seventh wife, Denise Baker.
Tragically, in 1998, he lost both of his sons. Jake LaMotta Jr., 51, died from cancer in February. Joe LaMotta, 49, was killed in plane crash off Nova Scotia in September.
A funeral in Miami and a memorial service in New York City are being planned, Baker said.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I knew Jake because he and my buddy Rocky Graziano were close friends from childhood on.
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