I have been organizing my pictures from my recent trip to Italy and was struck by the many people that we met on our wanderings. The led to the column below.
Alvin Cross Junior is the poster child for the perils of texting. Junior was on probation for possession of cocaine when he decided that he wanted to buy some pot. However, he inexplicably texted his probation officer to ask to sell him marijuana. He is now serving an additional year for violating his probation.
There is an interesting poll out by the Washington Post and ABC News showing support for Democrats in Congress failing to a record low. Given the even more unpopular GOP, that is not necessarily surprising. The parties have long given up being popular and have focused on simply being less unpopular than the other party in our duopoly. However, what was particularly surprising was that some 47 percent of blacks now oppose the Democrats.
Continue reading “Poll: Support For Congressional Democrats To Record Low”
The video below has gone viral on YouTube not only for the dangerous motorcycle antics of some 50 bikers in California but their open dismissal of a California Highway Patrol officer who is told to “go away” . . . and he does.
The viral video below shows one of the closest calls that any of us have seen. This little girl in Ukraine barely avoid being killed by a collapsing segment of a building.
Continue reading “Ukrainian Girl Avoids Certain Death By Inches In Collapsing Facade”
Having partially recovered from the Bears-Patriots game, I put my mind to more tranquil things like my dawn hike this morning on Billy Goat trail.
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
It never ceases to amaze me that the heads of major corporations and officers of those companies just never seem to go to jail when the corporation’s fingers are caught in the cookie jar. We saw two separate examples of that concept this week. One example is simply a case of corporate greed at employees expense and the other is a brutal and deadly tragedy that caught up the corporate employees, but not their bosses.
In the past, I have written about banks getting away with fines and financial penalties for committing crimes, but today the focus is on two corporations in two different areas of endeavor. I am referring to the corporation formerly known as Blackwater and Electronics for Imaging (EFI). Blackwater as you may recall was in the private security and intelligence gathering business with many government clients, while EFI is a Silicon Valley tech firm with earnings of over $100 million in 2013. They both have one thing in common. They broke the law and one got a slap on the wrist and the CEO and founder of the other and his fellow corporate officers avoided any culpability in a brutal murder case. Continue reading “Two Corporate Crimes and No Accountability for the Suits”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
The Washington Supreme Court heard an appeal brought by attorneys representing the internet website backpage.com resulting from a lower court ruling allowing the trial to proceed against the site for allegations that it assisted child sex traffickers to lure children toward sexual exploitation in the state. The argument primarily rests on whether backpage.com can claim immunity under the Communications Decency Act, Title 47 USC 230. The respondents, three unnamed child victims, argued that backpage.com created an environment and construed posting rules that guided alleged sex traffickers and those offering adult services to evade law enforcement and other sanctions, thereby assuming the role of a developer of content which would exempt backpage.com from immunity under the CDA.
The case is being monitored for its potential implications on the freedom of websites to host content from subscribers without being subject to undue liability in the strict sense and the limits to which websites can be responsible. Amicus briefs were filed by interests such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the National Center For Missing and Exploited Children
By Mark Esposito, Weekend Blogger
Fascinating book out by NPR media reporter, David Folkenflik, entitled Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires that explores the strange world of publisher Rupert Murdoch. Gobbler of such English-speaking newspapers as The News of The World, The Sun, The Wall Street Journal, and The Times, Murdoch is mostly known for his media collaboration with Roger Ailes in the development and promotion of Fox News, the Right’s mouthpiece of choice. Until his inglorious dismount from credibility in the London Phone Hacking scandal where a Murdoch newspaper employee was convicted of hacking the telephone voice mails of murdered British teenager, Milly Dowler, Murdoch had personified all that is unseemly about tabloid journalism. The personification of Charles Foster Kane, Murdoch fed the Right the red meat of dissention blending news with opinion and relying on practices that were criticized by honest journalists (even conservative ones) around the world calling it right-leaning tabloidism (here).
By Mark Esposito, Weekend Blogger
I have been reading about the latest Breitbart-inspired dire prediction of the nefarious ( and possibly illegal) machinations of the Obama Administration. You know “Green Paper-Gate.” It’s the one where the conservative blog, Breitbart, reports that a draft solicitation proposal for purchase of green paper issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services definitely means that the Obama Administration is secretly planning a massive amnesty campaign of undocumented aliens. And, worse still, that it’s keeping that secret until after the mid-term elections as a boon to Democratic candidates. I went back and took a look at the proposal and here is the offending language: “The requirement is for an estimated 4 million cards annually with the potential to buy as many as 34 million cards total. The ordering periods for this requirement shall be for a total of five (5) years.” A draft RFP issued a few days later contains the same language but adds the following: “In addition, the Contractor shall demonstrate the capability to support potential “surge” in PRC and EAD card demand for up to 9M cards during the initial period of performance to support possible future immigration reform initiative requirements.” You can view the proposal (here) and the RFP (here) and then read all the GSA bureaucratic verbiage for yourself. Have a good time.
Continue reading “Predicting Obama: Is The Right Ever Right?”
Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
A second reporter for the Russia backed television network RT (Formerly known as Russia Today) has resigned her position due to what she considered to be being required to obscure the truth and whitewash the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin. She made the announcement via a RT News Broadcast she anchored.
Submitted by Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
Members of the Kurd Community residing in the United States will host a demonstration to draw attention to the plight of Yezidi and Christian women in Iraq and Syria suffering and persecuted at the hands of ISIS.
Reportedly beginning at 10:00am on Monday, October 27, members of the Kurdish Diaspora will begin a five-day hunger strike at Lafayette Park across from the White House, culminating with a march to the White House and a demonstration on Friday, October 31 from 12:00-3:00pm. The procession will include a mock Islamic State (IS) slave market, exhibiting the humanitarian disaster being faced by thousands of Yezidi and Christian women and girls currently being held captive by IS in Iraq and Syria.
Continue reading “U.S. Kurds To Stage Mock Sex Slave Auction and Begin Hunger Strike At White House”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In another example of the bureaucratic disarray shackling the recreational and medical marijuana industry in Washington State, the City of Seattle sent a warning letter to over three hundred medical marijuana dispensaries requiring them to obtain a state license for medical marijuana by next summer or face closure. The problem is Washington does not license medical marijuana dispensaries.
We previously discussed the pending execution of Rayhaneh Jabbari, 26, for killing a former Iranian intelligence official who she said had raped her. Early reports that the execution had been carried out were premature and international efforts intensified to save Rayhaneh. I regret to report that the Associated Press is now confirming that today the Iranians hanged Rayhaneh in the latest outrage to come from that medieval legal system.
Continue reading “Iran Hangs Woman Who Claimed That Intelligence Official Drugged And Raped Her”
We have been discussing the extraordinary and public decision of President Barack Obama to withhold any information on his promised changes in immigration until after the election. While immigration remains one of the most important issues of this election, Obama officials have admitted to preparing for the changes while refusing to give any details or even summaries of what is being planned, as we discussed again yesterday. There has been surprisingly little hard reporting on the decision to withhold this information from voters until after they have voted. However, yesterday White House CBS reporter Major Garrett broke from the mainstream pack and pressed White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on a report that the Administration has order material for a “surge” of immigration IDs of up to 9 million in one year. Ernest called the questions “crazy” and encouraged everyone not to speculate . . . before the election obviously.