False Sense Of Security

Truck Driver Nearly Beaten to Death By Police For Not Signing Traffic Ticket

"Two officers, one of them a trained fist-boxer, beat Kozacenko on the side of the highway nearly to death. He suffered a crushed left orbital eye socket, multiple facial fractures, a broken left arm, broken ribs, a concussion, loss of consciousness, and possible neurological damage. His injuries caused a deprivation of oxygen for a prolonged period of time. Officers Andrew P. Murrill and Jim Sherman maintained that the force was not excessive. Both are still on the job a full 2 years after the incident. Olegs Kozacenko suffers long-term physical and emotional injuries and is no longer able to work." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTruck Driver Nearly Beaten to Death By Police For Not Signing Traffic Ticket

Suddenly, Banks Are Victims In Justice Department’s S&P Lawsuit

"Justice is not suing Warren Buffett's Moody's ratings service, even though Moody's rated many of these same deals, often with identical ratings. Are we supposed to believe that Moody's never suggested to anyone that it was independent and objective? Whether Team Obama would ever dare to sue a company in which St. Warren is invested, you don't have to be a cynic to wonder if the feds will first wait and see whether Moody's downgrades U.S. Treasury debt the way S&P did in 2011. The truth is that the damage occurred because the same government that's now suing S&P required financial institutions to use the ratings issued by S&P and the other raters." Continue reading →

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It’s Time for Private Defense

"If the Cleveland Police Department had believed and convinced a judge that there were drugs being consumed or sold in the Castro home, a battering ram would have collapsed the front door years ago. A dozen cops from various agencies would have stormed the place. Police don’t take those kinds of chances with a less sexy crime like kidnapping. So while government maintains a monopoly on policing power, its finances don’t allow it to do the job adequately. Police departments prioritize chasing drugs, cash, and terrorists. Because of asset forfeiture laws, those are the crimes that pay." Continue reading →

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Army sexual assault prevention officer arrested for stalking ex-wife

"For the third time in ten days, a U.S. military officer leading his branch’s sexual assault prevention efforts has been accused of misbehavior. Lt. Col. Darin Haas, the manager of the prevention program at Fort Campbell in Kentucky, turned himself into police on charges of stalking his ex-wife and violating a restraining order she had against him. An Army statement indicated that Haas has been removed from his position in the sexual assault prevention office, and that he was due to retire soon. News of Haas’ arrest comes as the military sexual assault issue is becoming a top priority for President Obama, the Pentagon, and the U.S. Congress." Continue reading →

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Forget Too Big to Fail Banks — It’s Time to Break Up the Fed

"St. Louis Fed President Jim Bullard recently laid out four criteria that a bank needs to be split up — namely, if its assets are too voluminous, if it's too leveraged, if it has too much short-term funding of longer term assets and if it creates too much systemic risk. Alex Pollock said of the Fed: It's too big, with over $3.3 trillion in assets, it's too leveraged at 60 to 1, it's extremely short-funded and it's 'a frequent contributor through its interest rate and money-printing action of gigantic systemic risk.' 'Therefore, it follows pretty clearly from the same logic that we should break up the Fed,' said Pollock, a former bank CEO." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingForget Too Big to Fail Banks — It’s Time to Break Up the Fed

Hundreds of inmates released early in Colorado prison sentencing mess

"Colorado Department of Corrections officials are contacting state judges alerting them that an audit of the state’s prison system has revealed errors in the sentencing of more than 8,000 inmates, including hundreds who were released from prison early. According to the Denver Post, judges are currently reviewing the case files in an attempt to determine what individuals need to be returned to jail, and who among the individuals facing imminent release needs to have their sentence extended. The audit is still in its early stages. Some 8,415 people’s sentences need to be reviewed in all with an estimated 2,500 requiring intensive study and revision." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHundreds of inmates released early in Colorado prison sentencing mess

Florida deputy rehired, awarded back pay, despite checkered police past

"Sanchez was fired in July 2008 following accusations by a 21-year-old woman booked on drug charges that he tried to look down her shirt, asked for her phone number and asked her out on a date upon her release. He had received three written reprimands for propositioning a defendant’s pregnant girlfriend; allowing jury deliberations to be overheard in a courtroom, nearly causing a mistrial; and he received a two-day suspension without pay for allegedly using his status to intimidate a woman during a 'traffic incident.' Sanchez was also forced to resign in 1989 following allegations from four prostitutes that he would have sex with them while on duty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida deputy rehired, awarded back pay, despite checkered police past

Airliner diverted as secure cockpit door locks pilot out mid-flight

"An Air India flight to Bangalore was diverted to another city after the pilot returned from a toilet break and found the door to the cockpit jammed shut, the state-run carrier says. The flight left Delhi but the plane had to be diverted to Bhopal in central India when the pilot realised he could not get back to the controls. 'The commander of the flight had left the cockpit for a short while to visit the toilet and on returning to the cockpit found the door locked,' Air India said in statement. It said that 'all efforts to open the door, even from inside by the co-pilot, failed'. The co-pilot was forced to diverted the flight to Bhopal where the door was repaired." Continue reading →

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TSA issued $1.8 million in airport firearms fines last year

"There were 1,549 firearms discovered at TSA checkpoints nationwide in 2012. TSA has found 10 guns at Memphis International Airport this year and six at McGhee Tyson. Weapons — included guns — are not permitted in carry-on baggage. Passengers are responsible for the contents of bags they bring to the security checkpoint. Passengers who bring firearms to a checkpoint face a civil penalty from TSA, which last year assessed more than $1.8 million in civil penalties for firearms discovered in passenger carry-on bags." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTSA issued $1.8 million in airport firearms fines last year