False Sense Of Security

Oakland Cops’ Violent Past to Be Kept from Jury

"Oakland residents have filed scores of misconduct complaints against the two police officers who shot and killed Derrick Jones, a 37-year-old barber, in 2011. The two cops, Omar Daza-Quiroz and Eriberto Perez-Angeles, had previously been involved in the killing of another man. In addition, records show that there have been 74 use-of-force complaints lodged against Daza-Quiroz alone. Nonetheless, a federal judge ruled last weekend that jurors in a civil trial involving the Jones shooting must not learn about the officers' troubled histories or know of the department's failure to correct their behavior." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOakland Cops’ Violent Past to Be Kept from Jury

LAPD Brutality Continues: 54 People Shot & Killed In 2011

"In the aftermath of the Christopher Dorner manhunt, the LAPD exposed some of the ugly skeletons it has been trying to hide in its closet. While Los Angeles police claim to have left their historically, corrupt and brutish police tactics behind, the shooting of innocent civilians during the search for Dorner, has shown that the department has changed very little." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD Brutality Continues: 54 People Shot & Killed In 2011

Chicago PD: Let’s Turn ‘Em Loose on Congress

"Chicago's uniformed thugs responded to a robbery by shooting the store's owner 11 times (they also shot the thieves, whom the owner had already disarmed, without warning them first or giving them a chance to surrender); forbidding the owner's father-in-law to bandage his wounds or comfort him in any way; harassing him in the ambulance as well as at the hospital, where they handcuffed him to his bed as he tried to recover from their rampage. And yet most Americans insist we 'need' cops. Only if we need murder, rape, plunder, and extortion. And bills for $10 million, the amount the owner seeks for the cops' crimes against him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChicago PD: Let’s Turn ‘Em Loose on Congress

Illinois Lies

"Illinois, which has the worst-funded state pension system in the United States, agreed on Monday to settle federal civil securities fraud charges alleging it repeatedly misled municipal bond investors about the underfunding of its pensions, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The settlement of charges that Illinois failed from 2005 to early 2009 to fully tell investors the risks of buying $2.2 billion worth of its municipal bonds is the latest blow to the state's reputation as fiscally troubled and crippled by a pension shortfall of $98.6 billion." Continue reading →

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Florida investment adviser charged with selling $8 million of fake Facebook shares

"A Florida investment adviser was charged Tuesday with selling $8 million of fake Facebook shares ahead of the social network’s highly anticipated public offering, officials said. The Justice Department said Craig Berkman, 71, was arrested on two separate securities fraud schemes involving Facebook shares. Berkman received a total of at least $8 million from these schemes, most of which he 'misappropriated for his own benefit,' a Justice Department statement said. Investors discovered the fraud when they tried to redeem their shares in 2012, officials said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida investment adviser charged with selling $8 million of fake Facebook shares

Cyprus and the reality of banking: Deposit haircuts are both inevitable and the right thing to do

"My sympathies for Cypriot depositors is somewhat limited. If you are a depositor in a Cypriot bank, whether of deposits of more or less than €100,000, who did you think was guaranteeing your deposit? The Blue Fairy? Did you really think that in such a small place with such a bizarrely bloated banking system – one that for years and, by now, very publicly had been investing in Greek government bonds! – your government had the resources to protect all depositors? The bailout of Cyprus’ two largest banks will cost the equivalent of 60% of GDP! And after what happened in Greece, did you really think that the Germans were willing to cover the whole bill?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus and the reality of banking: Deposit haircuts are both inevitable and the right thing to do

Airport security set for boom despite budget cuts

"The airport security sector is still expected to soar despite US budget cutbacks as air traffic grows and the threat of terrorism persists, analysts say. Screening passengers and baggage as well as surveillance at airports is a business that has boomed as countries radically tightened security in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In addition to new types of screening equipment, the drive to better target screening by use of information on travellers available to border control agencies will rely heavily on technology and data gathering." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAirport security set for boom despite budget cuts

Michigan couple grew 206 marijuana plants ‘across the street from city hall’

"A couple in Coloma, Michigan was arrested Wednesday and charged in connection to a marijuana growing operation authorities claim they found in the rear of their computer repair business, located directly across the street from the town’s city hall. In all, police said they pulled 206 marijuana plants out of the building. The couple, 66-year-old Dennis Dickson and 57-year-old Emily Jacobs, were arrested Wednesday afternoon following an investigation by the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Authorities said the total value of the grow was roughly $206,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan couple grew 206 marijuana plants ‘across the street from city hall’

North Chicago cop charged with double homicide after drunken wrong-way crash

"A North Chicago police officer was charged on Saturday with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence for his involvement in a three-car collision that killed two people. WMAQ-TV reported that Officer Terrel Garrett was been placed on administrative leave after the accident, in which Garrett was going the wrong way on on Lake Shore Drive on Friday morning when his SUV plowed into two other vehicles. Witnesses said Garrett was driving at more than 60 miles an hour at the time. Two college students, 25-year-old Joaquin Garcia and 27-year-old Fabian Torres, were killed at the scene." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Chicago cop charged with double homicide after drunken wrong-way crash