Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe wants his community to be vigilantes.  He doesn't feel the police can take care of the citizens so he's telling them to go out and arm themselves with guns.

"Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don't care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.

"The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it's clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold," Troupe, 72, said Tuesday."

 

I'm not for gun control but this Alderman is a bit off the wall.  Telling everyone to go out and get a gun isn't going to solve the problem in St. Louis. I think Alderman Troupe and the rest of his city council need to work with their police department and not brush the problem under the rug.

Click to read the article

 
Sister Ardeth Platte (left) and Sister Carol Gilbert
Washington Times photo

Sister Carol and Sister Ardeth have been labeled terrorists, wrongfully, in the federal database. 

I, once again not being Catholic, would like to know what in the world kind of nuns these represent?

Is the work they do the work of God?

These nuns have been in prison:

Sister Carol and Sister Ardeth make no apologies for their actions and demonstrations in the past. In 2002, the two, along with another nun, broke into a nuclear missile site in Colorado and used their own blood to paint crosses on a silo. Sister Ardeth was sentenced to 41 months and Sister Carol was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison.

Read the entire article  HERE

Is what these nuns do fitting in with the vows they have taken?

Poverty The vow of poverty leads a nun to imitate Jesus who for our sake became poor, although he was rich. It helps her to be poor in spirit as well as in fact, and to live a life of labor and moderation. By the vow of poverty , she gives up the right to control or benefit from personal property and commits herself to live interdependently within a community, according to its constitutions. The purpose of this vow is to free her from being fascinated by material things so that she may be free to serve others.

Chastity The vow of chastity leads a nun to imitate Jesus who was chaste. This vow frees her from the demands of an exclusive human relationship so that she can give all her love to God, and through God to all people. By the vow she promises not to marry or to engage in romantic behavior or sexual acts.

Obedience The vow of obedience leads the nun to imitate the obedience of Jesus Christ. By seeking God's will for her and obeying her lawful superiors according to the constitutions of her particular group. As a member of her religious community, she searches for the will of God, not in arbitrary commands, but in prayerful reflection and dialogue with others.


Even reflecting upon a Dominican Nun in the United States, I do not see how the activites of these two nuns fits into their service.

Definitely not singing nuns, that’s for sure, although, while in prison, perhaps they sang like caged birds.

"Engineer sent text message"

When I saw the headline referenced above last Friday, I admit I thought twice about it, but uncharacteristic for me, I actually took the optimistic route with it and thought it was a positive story.  I thought the railroad engineer actually texted a call for help, or texted some information.  The slight inkling I had at first that he was texting while operating the train left my mind quickly.  Well, my first thoughts were correct, although, they actually were just the tip of the iceberg.

Yes, he was texting...last month on a commmuter train in Los Angeles.  He did it just seconds before the train ran through a red light and crashed.  25 people were killed in that tragedy...his fault.  And guess what...he had been texting not once, not ten, not 20 times..well you won't believe it, throughout the day...


From the Daily Journal

Through cell phone records, the preliminary report has determined that the engineer sent a text message 22 seconds before the train ran through a red light. Further investigation discovered the engineer had sent or received 57 messages while on duty the day of the crash. That is an average of seven messages per hour during an eight-hour shift. When was this guy conducting the train?

Secondhand texting resulted in 25 deaths. Will it take cell phone-related deaths to equal alcohol- or smoke-related deaths before someone calls for a ban on cell phones?

Continued HERE

You know, I really don't care if people want to talk on their cell phones, but I do care if they aren't able to drive correctly because they are doing so.  Too many aren't signaling because they don't have a free hand.  And when they're texting..their eyes aren't on the road.  Many cell phone users aren't going the proper speed limit, either.

All it takes is for your head to be down or your eyes to be off the road for a couple seconds...and you can kill one person, a whole family, cause a multi-car pile-up on the highway...who knows what can happen. 

Do I want a cell phone ban?  No, I don't.  Do we have to have the government tell us what to do about everything in our lives?  Can't people just use some common sense?  But they can't do that, and that's why there will end up being a ban on cell phone use in cars.

Now this is an innovative idea.

May as well put those texting teens to work for the benefit of their community.

Since every teen seems to have a cell phone (how do they afford those hefty phone bills anyway?) and is texting like there’s no tomorrow, how about using them to stop crime?

That’s what’s being done at a pilot program in 10 Chicago schools.

"Crime Stoppers of Cook County is even offering rewards to tipsters whose information produces arrests. For murder cases, that can involve up to $1,000. "Practically every student these days has a cell phone. Students are texting each other messages faster than they can dial a number,'' Police Supt. Jody Weis said in announcing the pilot program with Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan."We want them to text a tip to the police -- a tip that could potentially save their life or someone else's."All text messages must begin with the letters "cpd'' and can include common text abbreviations.” 

Read about it in the Chicago Sun-Times

HERE

Interesting that the messages have to be sent to Canada to be encrypted.  Maybe they will come back in French.  Go figure.

You hear a lot about families with troubled kids.  Kids dropping out of school, joining up with gangs, doing violent crimes.  Eventually someone gets hurt or someone gets killed.  Then blame is handed out.  There is always a lot of blame.  It isn’t very often that the blame takes a full circle and comes back to the parents, though.  Usually the parents are blaming everyone else instead.

In Cleveland, Ohio there is a small group of woman who are on the streets trying to be moms.  That’s because they’ve lost their real children…killed on the streets.  Instead of taking the easy way out and blaming everyone else, they are taking the responsibility.  They know their sons were "tearing up the community."  They’re telling people it’s time “to take the blinders off.”

These mothers are working against youth violence in Cleveland

Duane Keiser





So, there’s a reason we feed our prisoners better that a simple diet of bread and water.  Maybe that’s all some of them deserve…especially those who murder, or those who harm children, or those who deal drugs.  But we treat prisoners better. 

Let’s keep a better eye on the underweight ones now, too.

Yahoo News/AP    í  here








~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ever have the urge to be a guest blogger?

Now’s your chance    × here

Peer-to-Peer file sharing networks such as LimeWire or Napster allow computer users to share data, music, or movie files between computers.   You have to remember, copyrighted material is not legal to share with these programs, which severely limits file sharing.

I would think the average person is going to "file share" from home.  First of all, while most computer connections are now faster with cable, it still takes time and bandwidth to do so.   Plus you are allowing someone to link to your computer when you "share."

"Sometime late last year, an employee of a McLean investment firm decided to trade some music, or maybe a movie, with like-minded users of the online file-sharing network LimeWire while using a company computer. In doing so, he inadvertently opened the private files of his firm, Wagner Resource Group, to the public.

That exposed the names, dates of birth and Social Security numbers of about 2,000 of the firm's clients, including a number of high-powered lawyers and Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer.

The breach was not discovered for nearly six months. A reader of washingtonpost.com's Security Fix blog found the information while searching LimeWire in June."

Like I said in my title...I could see a teenager doing this...

Read the article from the Washington Post

Justice Breyer Is Among Victims in Data Breach Caused by File Sharing



Justice Breyer

 

 

I blogged in May about a Naval Reserve Station in LaCrosse, WI that had a 2000 lb. anchor that went missing, most likely at the hands of thieves who turned it in for scrap metal.  Who knows how much money that anchor was worth?

With some people tight on funds, instead of picking up cans for recycling for a few extra dollars, the lowest of the low have found a way to make bigger bucks.  They’re doing it in none other than cemeteries.

From Chicago to Florida, to Arizona and Texas, they haven’t yet become grave robbers, per se, but they might as well be.  They’ve started with ornaments, such as vases.  Some just flimsy and decorative, but others more heavy and ornamental.

The stakes are higher in Scottsdale [AZ], according to Jim Welch, director of family services for Green Acres Mortuary & Cemetery.

“While thefts are fewer, stolen bronze vases weigh about 4 pounds and cost $495 apiece. The cemetery foots the bill for replacements.

"We had a theft in January," Welch said. "They took two vases. We haven't had any incidents since then."

Welch said groundskeepers placed replacement vases the same day and families weren't contacted.

"It's very saddening that thieves are preying on cemeteries and grave sites," Welch said. "I don't know what to say that it's come to this, to steal from cemeteries.

We have to put an end to the problem. Police and scrap metal dealers are aware, and we're getting cooperation from them.

"We are open to the public. We can't really close our gates. A cemetery is known to be accessible to families. You don't want to stymie that activity."


View the entire article from Red Orbit

E.V. Scrap Metal Thieves Turn Attention to Robbing Graves   








That’s just an example, and it’s happening all across the country.  So, what used to be elegant and long-lasting as a monument for loved ones, will soon end up being plastic as another sign of the times.  What these thieves don't realize as they make their quick buck is that when a loved one comes back to a cemetery and sees a monument or vase for their loved one missing, they've pillaged part of a heart or memory, too.

I guess that’s why the Egyptians sealed their tombs.  But alas, that didn’t work either.



 Tomb Robbers!           

 

Well, this makes sense.

Teachers should be dressing more appropriately in school.

They would command more respect from students if they did.

But if they stuck to one specific color as the police department in Springfield, Mass. is going to do, well, that would put fear into the students and help put an end to violence, don’t you think?

Read about it on Fox News  í  here



It's interesting to note that the former police commissioner in Springfield, Ed Flynn, is the new police chief in Milwaukee...He's the one who wanted to "soften the image."  That should be refreshing for Milwaukee.

Don’t you just love cotton candy?

We know most kids do.

Or any other pink type of powdered candy.

The trouble with the candy in this picture is that it isn’t….

Candy, that is….






It’s cocaine…flavored cocaine.

The newest rage in California….strawberry, coconut, lemon, cinnamon.

And even though this laced cocaine was originally meant to mask the drug,

Who do you think will now be the target for this fruity concoction?

Just like flavored cigarettes or drug laced stickers, we know who’s going to want to try this drug.

Once again, we have drug dealers specifically targeting the young.

Read the article from NBC News

DEA warns drug that tastes like candy could spread quickly across U.S.   í here

After reading the story I am going to link you to, I know from past experience there will be differing views among my readers.

So be it.

I’m clear on my views.

This is a story about government surveillance. 

It begins off the coast of Washington State, near the city of Bellingham, where federal agents are monitoring terrorist activity that could possibly come in off of ferry runs.

But this is off of an interstate highway, and they are monitoring the area for nuclear “dirty bombs.”

The article doesn’t say so, but for them to be monitoring specifically for this activity, you would think there has to have been some tip-off somewhere along the line….but back to the story.

They are monitoring activity using highly sensitive radiation detectors. 

On this day, in the article, a car goes by at 70 miles per hour and the detector goes off with a warning.

They chase the driver, pull over the car, do questioning, do a search, and what do the find? 

They find radiation, alright….but as my title suggests, it is a pet.

The owner's cat had cancer and had undergone radiation treatment several days earlier.

Now, I think….how cool is that...we could detect radiation from a cancer treatment?   In a cat?

Look what we can do!

The article states something to that degree, also.

I say, keep it up and do what you have to do to prevent terrorism in the U.S.

We have already caught two terrorists on our soil, before they did the damage they intended to do, which you will also read about. 

The writer will end his article with a quote from a Washington, San Juan County Councilman, Kevin Ranker, who says “I think it’s fair to say many people up here have been left wondering just what kind of country it is they’ re living in.”

Well, Kevin Ranker…I think we are living in a wonderful country.

And I would like to keep it that way. 

I know it would be an inconvenience to be stopped by an FBI agent because I had radiation in my car.

I’m sure most people would be scared and angry about it at first.

But later, I’m sure you would feel reassured that if that had been a “dirty bomb” heading to San Juan, you would be safe. 

God Bless America.



Here’s the story from the Seattle Times

ø  Watch out, you’re being watched   ÷  here

Tent City in Phoenix, AZ



If you are in Phoenix, Arizona...don't break the law.

And if you are an illegal immigrant, maybe you just better avoid Arizona altogether.

You may be be familiar with Sheriff Joe Arpaio, known as "America's toughest Sheriff."

And that he is.

He's the one who runs that tent city jail.

He makes all of the male inmates wear pink underclothes and eat food that's not quite fresh.

They sleep outside, in tents, all year round, no matter what the weather.

Arpaio is tough on illegal immigrants too.



"Arpaio finds creative ways to arrest illegal immigrants — using state law intended on human smuggling to charge them with smuggling themselves — something no one else in the state has attempted."

And once arrested, they learn English.

Sheriff Arpaio is in trouble with the public quite often because of his methods.

But it's thought he will be re-elected again, for the fifth time, in November.

Read about America's toughest sheriff and his stance on illegal immigrants on npr.org

America's Toughest Sheriff Takes On Immigration   å  here

Picture returning to work from lunch, sitting in your office, not having had a chance to look at your email yet...

All of a sudden, a gunman bursts into the building, lines up all the employees against the wall and threatens to kill the employee who makes the highest wage.

Imagine how you would feel to later find out that it was all a "test" to see how you would handle the situation.

And, by the way, you were warned about it in an email....but, too bad if you didn't receive it before the experiment.

It just so happens, your office is on a second floor, and co-workers were thinking of jumping out of the windows.  

Others are so distraught they now need psychological counseling.  

The "fake gunman" could have been killed in the process.

Who knows if authorities might have shown up with real weapons.

Well, something like this did happened last Friday, in North Carolina.

What makes it worse is that it wasn't an office building.

It was a college campus; Elizabeth City State University.

And it happened just eight days after five killings by a gunman at Northern Illinois University.

"Anthony Brown, vice chancellor for student affairs, said the university was testing its response to shootings of the sort that have shaken campuses around the country. "The intent was not to frighten them but to test our system and also to test the response of the security that was on campus and the people that were notified," Brown said."

"I was prepared to die at that moment," Wang, [a political science teacher] said Tuesday."

The mock gunman broke into Wang's class.

Brown gets the honorary degree of  DUNCE.

Read the article in the The News & Observer

Mock Gunman Terrifies Students     ç here

 

 

If you haven't been in the actual store, I'm sure you've walked past one at either Brookfield Square or Mayfair.

They are dark, and shuttered.

They smell strongly of cologne...it pours out of the entryway.

Handsome young people, usually men, are standing inside near the doors...sales clerks.

I'm talking about Abercrombie & Fitch

The chain has been in past news before regarding their provocative ads and for charges of racist hiring policies.

They are in the news again. 

They have a new ad campaign of photos out where one photo includes three twenty-something guys in a field, shirtless, their backs to us, all appearing to be pulling up their jeans as they walk away.  One of them has some of his buttocks showing as he is pulling them up.

Walking behind them is the slight figure of a female, who is shadowed.

In Virginia Beach, police seized this mural and charged the manager with obscenity charges.

Children are allowed to enter the store and these photos are not proper, is what's been said.


Read the article


Virginia Beach Police Seize Photos From Abercrombie Store  Ã here

Has the Abercrombie & Fitch gone to far in their ads?

Did the police go to far?

What do you think?