Monthly Archives: September 2013

Ex-cops get new trial in post-Katrina bridge shootings

"A federal judge tossed the convictions of five ex-New Orleans police officers accused of shooting an unarmed family and firing on others as they tried to flee the flooded city. District Judge Kurt D. Engelhardt issued a 129-page ruling that cited a lengthy list of 'egregious and inflammatory' comments made online by at least three Justice Department officials. One of the top federal prosecutors in the case questioned how the officers were issued badges in a comment posted on a newspaper website just minutes before jury selection began, according to the ruling. Prosecutors are forbidden under Justice Department policies from making public statements that could influence the outcome of a case." Continue reading →

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Canadian Group Protests Missing Signs In Speed Camera Zones

"Wise Up Winnipeg members stood at the corner of Stafford Street and Warsaw on Friday warning drivers with bright yellow signs that read, 'Unsigned school zone ahead.' The group wants to bring attention to the city's refusal to act on a list of 203 locations where they say the signs do not comply with legal standards. So far, city officials are not commenting on the matter and have installed only three new warning signs since the group raised the issue last October. On Tuesday, video was posted of Winnipeg city employees pulling down a speed limit sign. The city is looking to further increase citations by reducing school zone speed limits from 50km/h (31 MPH) to 30km/h (19 MPH)." Continue reading →

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US farmers challenging Monsanto patent claims appeal to Supreme Court

"Seventy-three US farmers, seed companies, and public advocacy groups appealed their case against Monsanto Co. to the Supreme Court on Thursday. The case seeks to challenge Monsanto’s aggressive claims on patents of genetically-engineered seeds and aims to bar the chemical and biotech company from suing anyone whose field is contaminated by such seeds. Monsanto has in the past sued over 100 farmers for patent infringement and won cases against farmers who were found to have used seeds without paying the company royalties." Continue reading →

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Judge Bars Jewish Man from His Own Trial then Finds Him Guilty

"The Rutherford Institute has come to the defense of a Jewish man who was barred from participating in his own trial after a circuit court judge removed him from the courtroom for insisting on wearing a head covering in keeping with his Jewish beliefs. Stephen Orr, a resident of Chesapeake, Va., was tried in absentia and found guilty, after a Circuit Court judge denied his request to wear a hat, or 'kippah,' into the courtroom in keeping with a Jewish mandate that persons wear a head covering at all times. The judge allegedly based his denial on the fact that other Jewish litigants appear in court without a head covering." Continue reading →

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Cop fired 12 shots, hit unarmed man 10 times, Charlotte police say

"Jonathon Ferrell, a 24-year-old North Carolina man, suffered a severe late-night car crash. His car slipped into a ravine. He had to kick his way out the back windshield. He managed to get out of the car and go to a nearby home, where he knocked on the door repeatedly for help. When police arrived, he approached them -- and one shot him repeatedly, killing him on the spot. Now the officer is charged with manslaughter. Police say he had no cause to shoot Ferrell." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop fired 12 shots, hit unarmed man 10 times, Charlotte police say

“You Know How to Leave”: Scenes from a Police Riot in Idaho Falls

"The initial police contact – to investigate a noise complaint, recall – occurred at around 10:49 PM. Within about twenty minutes, the air was thick with shouting and screaming, and a fleet of about a dozen police cars had converged on the address. Lund’s attack on Dindo left the living room floor filled with shattered furniture. So in the interests of preserving the 'peace,' Lund and his costumed buddies assaulted two unresisting men, committed felonious battery on a 79-year-old woman and a pregnant mother, destroyed property, terrorized a completely innocent next-door neighbor, and disrupted an entire city block. The Madrigals were able to post unedited video of most of the episode on-line." Continue reading →

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SF Police shut down chess games on Market Street

"For more than 30 years, chess games have been a staple in the Mid-Market neighborhood. But earlier this month, the San Francisco Police Department confiscated the playing equipment, chairs and tables where dozens of people, mostly homeless, would gather every day to play between Fifth and Sixth streets. 'It’s turned into a big public nuisance,' said Capt. Michael Redmond. Redmond said the players’ property will eventually be released back to them and he hopes to help work out a plan for chess in the future — but that may involve convincing a business to pay for a permit so games can be played on the sidewalk." Continue reading →

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Why is California Jailing Landscapers? Don’t Cops Have Better Things to Do?!

"California suffers from one of the highest unemployment rates in the nation and the state is under court order to release 10,000 inmates, yet state agents are jailing people who manage to find home-improvement work. After placing ads on Craigslist, California State License Board investigators go undercover posing as homeowners, when landscapers, painters, and other contractors show up, the agents give them the 'To Catch a Predator' treatment. CSLB recently announced that agents from the Statewide Investigative Fraud Team had completed operation 'California Blitz.' SWIFTers busted 79 perps for contracting without a license; they face $5,000 in fines and up to six months in jail." Continue reading →

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Detroit Bus Company Helps Detroiters Get Around

"When it appeared in 2012 that plans to put even a 4-mile streetcar line through downtown Detroit were dead, Andy Didorosi was fed up. Only 25 at the time, he was already a serial entrepreneur in Detroit, launching a co-working space called Paper Street, a local racing event called the Thunderdrome and numerous other projects. So he bought a bus, hired graffiti artist Kobie Salomon to paint it, and named it Bettis. That old school bus became the Detroit Bus Company, Didorosi's first experiment to show how mass transit could be improved in Detroit." Continue reading →

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Poverty Just Ain’t What It Used To Be

"A newly released report by the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that most Americans living below the bureaucratically designated 'poverty line' enjoy most modern conveniences. For example more than 80 percent of U.S. households below the poverty line have a: refrigerator (97.8%); stove (96.6%); television (96.1%); microwave oven (93.1%); air conditioner (83.4%); VCR/DVD player (83.2%); and cell phone (80.9%). In addition, more than half of households beneath the poverty level also have a: clothes washer (68.7%); clothes dryer (65.3%); computer (58.2%); and landline telephone (54.9)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPoverty Just Ain’t What It Used To Be