"Here is Josie Harris reading a letter from a prisoner of Guantanamo Bay, along with a 'visual aide' by Mos Def, doing a real-life demonstration of the force-feeding practices that are being imposed, right now, on people who have never been charged with any crime." Continue reading →
"A couple of months ago, I wrote about Detroit’s jail blunder and the potential work stoppage on the construction of the massive facility – on prime downtown property – that was over budget on all counts. Work on this addition to incarceration nation has finally stopped, and five developers have submitted bids to develop the area for … gasp, private development and city life enrichment for the people who live here. Dan Gilbert wants to develop not only the jail fail property, but also nearby detention center properties for the purpose of building a 'mixed-use retail, entertainment, residential and office development that would serve as a gateway to downtown from the east.'" Continue reading →
"The researchers tested ten locations on the river and found bacteria resistant to the most common antibiotic ampicillin 84 percent of the time. Campaigners say sewage is regularly dumped in the Hudson because treatment plans cannot cope with the volumes of waste water they have to deal with at times of heavy rain. City authorities are trying to address the problem by introducing porous pavements and by planting vegetation on rooftops to reduce run-off. The spread of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, has been blamed on the drugs being over prescribed for minor infections and their widespread use in livestock production." Continue reading →
"The Federal Aviation Administration responded negatively on Friday to a proposal by the Colorado town of Deer Tail to license hunters to shoot down drones. In a statement, it warned that anyone shooting at either a manner or unmanned aircraft 'could result in criminal or civil liability,' according to the Associated Press. In the proposal, the town would issue licenses — for a fee — to shoot at drones with shotguns and anyone who turns in a shot-down drone belonging to the United States government would be eligible for a $100 bounty (parts could net successful hunters $25). The drones cost around $18 million a piece." Continue reading →
"A New York firefighter is accused of making fake 911 calls to dispatch firefighters so he can raid the unmanned firehouses in Queens and Staten Island for money left behind, according to WNBC. Joseph Keene allegedly made three false 911 calls about made-up fires and is accused of nabbing more than $1,900 in cash during May and June. Keene made two false calls in which he reported smelling gas and a third which reported a sparking transformer. Keene is also charged with stealing $50 from a colleague’s locker at the Randall’s Island facility where he worked and stealing $100 from a Queens facility he sneaked into." Continue reading →
"Revina Garcia reportedly got into an accident in which she slammed into a truck while having a diabetic episode and said she couldn’t open the door of the car. 'I just didn’t know how to open the door,' she told KOAT. A sheriff’s deputy removed the woman from the car, slammed her face down down on the pavement and left her there. Police finally picked her up and took her to the back of a police car, where they determined her blood sugar level was low and called paramedics to treat her. KOAT reported that Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia commented on the incident, 'In this case there was no resistance. We are looking at that very seriously.'" Continue reading →
"Does voting mean that government is by the people? Ask yourself what influence you have on any legislation by your vote or by your vote in conjunction with others. Many members of Congress frequently do not even have an influence, neither reading the massive bills nor knowing what is in them. A few members and lobbyists are writing laws in the dead of night. Hearings are rigged. What influence do you have on what a president decides? What influence do you have on what a Supreme Court says is or is not law? What influence do you have on what a Congress legislates? What influence do you have on who is elected to office and who your representatives are?" Continue reading →
"Jimmy Carter is making waves: 'America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time,' he told a meeting of the American Bridge, held in Atlanta, when asked about Edward Snowden’s exposure of Washington’s secret global surveillance system. Carter’s previous statements about the Snowden affair were mildly supportive. Yet this new statement goes way beyond that: it is a sweeping condemnation of the current regime. That a former US President would say such a thing has got to be the scariest public pronouncement I’ve heard since the Watergate era. What’s even scarier: Carter is right." Continue reading →
"If security feels it is necessary to search some cars in the name of safety, why not search all of them? Laurie Iacuzza walked to her waiting car at the Greater Rochester International Airport after returning from a trip and that's when she found it -- a notice saying her car was inspected after she left for her flight. She said, 'I was furious. They never mentioned it to me when I booked the valet or when I picked up the car or when I dropped it off.' Iacuzza's car was inspected by valet attendants on orders from the TSA. But why only valet parked cars?" Continue reading →
"'When Trayvon Martin was first shot,' Obama said during the daily White House press briefing on Friday, 'I said that this could’ve been my son. Another way of saying that is Trayvon Martin could’ve been me 35 years ago.' 'There are very few African-American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of being followed when they were shopping in a department store. That includes me. There are very few African-American men in this country who haven’t had the experience of walking across the street and hearing the locks click on the doors of cars. That happens to me, at least before I was a senator,' Obama continued." Continue reading →