Winning Hearts & Minds

1,000 bank workers march on Cyprus’ presidential palace to protest bank restructuring

"At least 1,000 bank workers fearing for their jobs staged a march on the Cyprus presidency on Saturday ahead of a planned protest outside parliament which is to debate a bailout to save the island from bankruptcy. The workers marched from union headquarters towards the presidential compound where they held a brief rally at the gates before heading towards the finance ministry. The marchers held placards that read: 'Hands off provident funds' and 'No to the bankruptcy of Cyprus' as well as 'Let us dream.' Police initially blocked the protesters from nearing the presidential palace before then letting them through." Continue reading →

Continue Reading1,000 bank workers march on Cyprus’ presidential palace to protest bank restructuring

NYPD officers testify stop-and-frisk program motivated by quotas and race

"The New York police department’s controversial stop-and-frisk program is being driven by a high-pressure quota system imposed upon lower-ranking officers by their supervisors, two NYPD officers testified in court this week. The claims were made as part of a landmark class action lawsuit that seeks to prove that the nation’s largest police department has demonstrated a widespread and systemic pattern of unconstitutional stops that disproportionately target minorities. The trial represents a historic challenge to the legacies of NYPD commissioner Ray Kelly and mayor Michael Bloomberg, who have both vocally supported stop-and-frisk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD officers testify stop-and-frisk program motivated by quotas and race

New Mexico’s Torture State

"The habeas corpus guarantee requires that anyone arrested by the police be quickly brought before a judge and either formally charged or released. Slevin was never given a judicial hearing. Nor was he given medical attention by his jailers. He was literally left to rot in solitary confinement until relatives inquired into his case. After being released, Slevin was awarded a $15.5 million tax-funded civil settlement – and nobody has been held accountable for the two years of torture he endured." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Mexico’s Torture State

Brooklyn man released from jail after 22-year murder conviction is overturned

"A 58-year-old Brooklyn man was released from prison Thursday after his murder conviction was overturned following a witness’ confession that he was coaxed by authorities into identifying him as the suspect, CNN reported on Friday. 'As I said from the beginning, I had nothing to do with this case,' David Ranta said after leaving prison. Ranta’s case was reopened in 2011, after a witness, Menachem Lieberman, told his court-appointed attorney that police had told him to 'pick the guy with the big nose' when identifying suspects in a lineup." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrooklyn man released from jail after 22-year murder conviction is overturned

Joe Biden runs up bill of $585,000 in taxpayer funds for just ONE NIGHT in five-star Paris hotel

"Paris may be known as the City of Light, but that title certainly doesn’t mean that visitors are light on spending as Vice President Joe Biden’s one day trip cost taxpayers more than half a million dollars. When Mr Biden and his hefty entourage stayed in Paris for an evening in early February and it cost $585,000.50 for that single night. The Vice President likely rented out more than 100 rooms in the Hotel Intercontinental Paris Le Grand, though they must not have gotten a group discount rate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJoe Biden runs up bill of $585,000 in taxpayer funds for just ONE NIGHT in five-star Paris hotel

Read This Blog or the Puppy and Kitten Get It

"If your city faces a shortfall of tax revenues, the first response of overpaid bureaucrats in City Hall frantic to keep their jobs, pensions and perks will be to slash the hours the library is open. A 2% reduction in the Federal budget, we're told, will push orphans onto the frigid streets, send our troops into battle without ammo, and generally shut down every service the public cares about. The alternative you will never hear about is a reduction in the multiple layers of overpaid bureaucrats in City Hall, the White House staff, the Pentagon, the local school district, etc., or any reduction in funding the parasitic cartels that have captured the machinery of governance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRead This Blog or the Puppy and Kitten Get It

Pictures From A Cyprus ATM Line

"For a few days, the people of Cyprus were calm, quietly and orderly accepting the unreality of the levy being imposed upon them - incredulous that it was even possible. As we reach the 4th day of bank closures, amid rolling rumors and ECB threats, it appears the people have reached a tipping point as this series of images from Cyprus ATM lines indicates - the bank-jog has arrived. When will it become a full blown sprint? It appears the catalyst for this latest move is the ECB threat and EU concerns over the future of the two biggest insolvent banks: As AFP reports: EU calls on Cyprus to set capital controls and merge 2 biggest banks Laiki and Bank of Cyprus." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPictures From A Cyprus ATM Line

Smart Drones

"IF you find the use of remotely piloted warrior drones troubling, imagine that the decision to kill a suspected enemy is not made by an operator in a distant control room, but by the machine itself. Imagine that an aerial robot studies the landscape below, recognizes hostile activity, calculates that there is minimal risk of collateral damage, and then, with no human in the loop, pulls the trigger. Welcome to the future of warfare. While Americans are debating the president’s power to order assassination by drone, powerful momentum — scientific, military and commercial — is propelling us toward the day when we cede the same lethal authority to software." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSmart Drones

80-year-old with artificial knees dragged off ATV, slammed to the ground by police chief

"An 80-year-old man spent three days in the hospital after he was dragged off his ATV and slammed to the concrete by a Cedar Grove police officer, witnesses say. Cole said he thinks that McComb's difficulty hearing might have led to Walls pulling him off the ATV because McComb might not have responded to the officer. McComb was taken to the police station, then released to his friends. Walls told him he would get a summons in the mail stating the charges against him. McComb was taken to the hospital by ambulance with his daughter, Karen McComb, at his side." Continue reading →

Continue Reading80-year-old with artificial knees dragged off ATV, slammed to the ground by police chief

Michigan governor appoints technocrat to run Detroit

"Michigan Governor Rick Snyder tapped a restructuring expert who helped successfully steer Chrysler through a government-backed bankruptcy to lead a state takeover of Detroit. The move by a white, Republican governor to take control of a predominantly black and Democratic city has drawn intense criticism and charges of racism. The choice of Kevyn Orr, an African American and Democrat who grew up in Michigan, should help stem some of that criticism. Emergency managers have the power to eliminate entire departments, change labor contracts, sell city assets and rewrite laws without any public review or input." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan governor appoints technocrat to run Detroit