"In 2011, the number of stops of young black men exceeded New York City's entire population of young black men. Daniel A Medina followed the story of one, Keeshan, whose teenage years were scarred by the controversial police tactic a court has ruled a violation of minorities' rights." Continue reading →
"For the humorously challenged, exposing the funny takes several ingredients. First, you need to be in a position to observe everyday occurrences that can be mocked or exposed for ridicule. Then you need the ability to craft a joke about that topic. Finally, you need the ability to deliver that joke. Vince Sicari has those ingredients. He's also a part-time judge in New Jersey, which is the sort of thing I didn't know existed (part-time judges, not the great state of New Jersey). Unfortunately that apparently makes him the bane of the legal system, as the New Jersey Supreme Court has ordered him to step down from the bench if he continues working in comedy." Continue reading →
"It sounds absurd: tickets and warning letters for parking in your own driveway. But Pittsburgh City Councilman Corey O’Connor says it’s happened on two city streets – one in the West End and one in Squirrel Hill. A pregnant mother of seven who lives across the street is trying to follow the rule, but can’t get out of the driver’s side of her van anymore. She has to crawl out of the passenger’s side when she parks the vehicle between her home and her neighbor’s. O’Connor says the tickets and warning letters are issued by the Bureau of Building Inspection. KDKA was unable to reach anyone from that office Wednesday night. He says one family ended up paying a $2,400 fine." Continue reading →
"The FBI has posted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) release regarding Michael Hastings, the reporter who died in a fiery car crash in June. The bureau released what it says is the only material found in FBI records that mention Hastings. The release is 21 pages in total and contains copies of articles written by Hastings, along with heavily redacted FBI notes. The FBI states these are the only records the have on Hastings and that it had no investigative interest in Hastings." Continue reading →
"The mob that beat Professor Singh called him 'Osama' and accused him of being a terrorist. This kind of thing is hardly uncommon: Since 9/11, scores of Sikhs have been beaten or abused – or murdered -- by people mistakenly believing them to be Arab terrorists. Commercial trucker Jageet Singh was the victim of an even worse variety of mob violence in Mississippi. When he suffered a flat tire last January, police officers who arrived on the scene accused him of being a terrorist, made derogatory remarks about his religion, forced him to circle his truck with his hands on his head while the vehicle was searched, and then arrested him for supposedly refusing to obey an officer." Continue reading →
"A 45-year-old officer, who is working as the bodyguard of a Golden Dawn lawmaker, was detained during the raid at party offices in central Greece, a police source said. The links between Golden Dawn and police have come under intense scrutiny in Greece after the murder of an anti-fascist musician by an alleged member of the party. Further raids of Golden Dawn’s offices are expected in coming days, the police source said. Capitalising on a rise in social tension in the debt-stricken country, Golden Dawn was first elected to parliament last year with nearly seven percent of the vote, winning 18 seats out of an overall 300." Continue reading →
"It happened after three deputies removed him from a Frederick movie theater for not having a $12 ticket. Ethan's aide who was with him that night shared her story only with WUSA9's, Debra Alfarone. She says when she heard that Ethan had died, 'I just started crying.' She says she's done so many more times since that fateful January night. She asked that we not identify her, nor show her face on camera. She is 18, and was Ethan Saylor's aide for the last 3 months of his life. Now, hers will never be the same. Today, she joined the Saylor family as they delivered 340,000 signatures to Governor Martin O'Malley, asking for an independent investigation into his death," Continue reading →
"This reminds me of the treatment of Ms. Curran – an elderly widow – in Florida. You may remember her as the woman who paid – and may well have been coerced into a 21 million dollar FBAR penalty based on accounts she inherited from her late husband - I repeat accounts owned by her late husband. One blogger referred to this as a 'Penalty Jackpot for the IRS'. Yup, definitely a good return for a small amount of work. The facts in the Curran case are here. But, for those of you who think IRS Penalty Abuse is restricted to rich Homelanders you should take the time to read this submission to the Ways and Means Committee from this disabled 68 year old British born woman." Continue reading →
"The officers who pulled Singh over believed that his kirpan — a ceremonial 'sword' worn by Sikhs that poses as grave a danger to the public as the crosses donned by many Christians — was a 'dangerous weapon,' despite the fact that it had been sewn into the waistband of his pants. Singh tried to educate the lead officer by 'show[ing] him, and other officers present, videos stored on his phone and on Youtube about the Sikh faith.' The officers responded with mockery, one of them allegedly referring to Sikhs as 'depraved' and 'terrorists.' As if that was not humiliating enough, when Singh returned to Pike County to contest his arrest, presiding Judge Aubrey Rimes ejected him from the courtroom." Continue reading →
"This man runs a small store. His insurance company insures against theft for only $10,000 per robbery. So, his daughter waited until there was $9,000. Then she deposited the money in the bank. An IRS agent seized the money. She charged 'structuring.' The IRS requires you to report cash deposits in excess of $10,000. It also prohibits 'structuring' — deposits just under $10,000. 'How will I pay my workers?' he said. 'I don’t care,' she replied. She handed him her card. The Internet may give the story enough coverage to convince the IRS agent’s superior that the bad publicity isn’t worth $35,000. Otherwise, this man is out of business." Continue reading →