Comrade.
Need to get the fuck out of my country before you bring fire and brimstone on your asses.
No where in our Constitution does it say we have to tolerate communism.
Time to get rid of them.
Printable View
Comrade.
Need to get the fuck out of my country before you bring fire and brimstone on your asses.
No where in our Constitution does it say we have to tolerate communism.
Time to get rid of them.
Indiana prosecutor resigns over Walker email
Posted on March 24, 2011 by Kate Golden
http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/wp-con...eo-238x300.jpg
Carlos Lam, a deputy prosecutor in Johnson County, Ind., resigned after sending an email encouraging Gov. Scott Walker to fake an attack against himself. Photo from a video debate posted at 3 Left Turns Make a Right.
Initially denied encouraging Wisconsin violence
By Kate Golden
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
***
5:39 p.m.: This is an updated version. Read the Center’s original version here.
***
An Indiana deputy prosecutor and Republican activist resigned Thursday after the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism uncovered an email to Gov. Scott Walker in which he suggested a fake attack on the governor to discredit union protesters.
Carlos F. Lam submitted his resignation shortly before the Center published a story quoting his Feb. 19 email, which praised Walker for standing up to unions but went on to say that the chaos in Wisconsin presented “a good opportunity for what’s called a ‘false flag’ operation.”
“If you could employ an associate who pretends to be sympathetic to the unions’ cause to physically attack you (or even use a firearm against you), you could discredit the unions,” the email said.
“Currently, the media is painting the union protest as a democratic uprising and failing to mention the role of the DNC and umbrella union organizations in the protest. Employing a false flag operation would assist in undercutting any support that the media may be creating in favor of the unions. God bless, Carlos F. Lam.”
At 5 a.m. Thursday, expecting the story to come out that day, Lam called his boss, Johnson County, Ind., Prosecutor Brad Cooper, and told him he had been up all night thinking about it.
“He wanted to come clean, I guess, and said he is the one who sent that email,” Cooper said.
He came into the office and gave his resignation verbally, Cooper told the Daily Journal in Franklin, Ind. The resignation was announced after the Center’s initial story was published.
Email headers with detailed IP addresses suggested that the message was sent from Indianapolis.
Lam, an Indianapolis resident, at first told the Center he never wrote it.
Reached Tuesday by phone at the number listed on the email, Lam confirmed his email address matched the Hotmail address appearing on the Walker email, but said he had never written to Walker.
“I am flabbergasted and would never advocate for something like this, and would like everyone to be sure that that’s just not me,” he said, after being read the email.
http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/wp-con...il-225x300.gif
Indiana deputy prosecutor Carlos Lam confirms this email appears to be from his email address, but he denies sending it. Click to see a larger version in a new page.
Asked his views on Scott Walker, Lam said, “I think he’s trying to do what he has to do to get his budget balanced. But jeez, that’s taking it a little bit to the extreme,” he said of the email’s suggestion to fake violence. “Jeez!”
He said he was minivan-shopping with his family when the email was sent.
Walker’s bill to balance the budget and strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees was introduced Feb. 11 and triggered protests involving tens of thousands of people at the Capitol for weeks.
Lam is the second Indiana prosecutor to resign over suggestions to use violence in Wisconsin.
He sent this email the same Saturday on which another Indiana law-enforcement figure, state Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Cox, tweeted that riot police should “use live ammunition” to clear the Capitol of protesters.
Cox was fired Feb. 23 after Mother Jones magazine published the suggestion from his private Twitter account.
The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism discovered the email to Walker among tens of thousands released to media organizations last week as part of an open-records lawsuit settlement with Isthmus and the Associated Press. It was in a folder produced by the governor’s office called “Pro,” full of emails supporting the governor’s budget repair bill.
A lawyer in the governor’s office, Nate Ristow, said most of the emails to Walker were sorted into folders automatically by a computer, though some were added to the folders manually.
Cullen Werwie, Walker’s press secretary, said no one at the office had seen the email or contacted Lam. Werwie condemned the email’s suggestions Monday in a statement to the Center.
“Certainly we do not support the actions suggested in Carlos’ email. Governor Walker has said time and again that the protesters have every right to have their voice heard, and for the most part the protests have been peaceful. We are hopeful that the tradition will continue,” Werwie wrote.
What’s a false flag operation?
The expression derives from the naval practice of flying another country’s flag to deceive one’s enemy. It was used in World War II several times, as when the British dressed up a U.S. destroyer, the Campbelltown, as a German sub-chaser. That allowed them to get close enough to the German-held dry-dock at St. Nazairre to blow it up.
It’s been used to describe political activities, too. An aide to Republican Congressman Charlie Bass resigned in 2006 after posing as a supporter of a Bass opponent and posting discouraging messages on political websites.
On Feb. 22, when a prank-caller posing as major Walker campaign donor David Koch suggested planting troublemakers in the crowd, Walker began by saying, “Well, the only problem with that — because we thought about that,” but ultimately said he’d decided it was a bad idea.
“My only fear would be is if there was a ruckus caused is that that would scare the public into thinking maybe the governor has gotta settle to avoid all these problems,” Walker told the blogger.
Walker’s comments troubled Madison Police Chief Noble Wray and Mayor Dave Cieslewicz.
“I find it very unsettling and troubling that anyone would consider creating safety risks for our citizens and law enforcement officers,” Wray said in a statement at the time.
Lam, who had asked that his name not be used, said he was particularly concerned since “the person who wrote this seems to know a lot about me” and his account “had been hacked in the past.” On the advice of Cooper, he took down his Facebook page, changed his cell phone number, email passwords, “library, medical, bank, student loan, and a whole host of records,” and was afraid for his and his family’s safety.
He said he had made some political enemies, particularly in primary fights he helped on, and also said he often left his email account open at his home. But he said he couldn’t think of any specific suspects.
Madison Police Det. Cindy Murphy said that if Lam’s account was hacked and his identity was stolen, either Wisconsin or Indiana could have jurisdiction over that crime.
Murphy, who specializes in computer forensics, said it would have been simple to figure out whether Lam had been hacked by requesting information from Hotmail and his Internet service provider. Lam had declined to name his provider to the Center.
Prosecutor outspoken about conservative views
Lam’s blog posts, video appearances and comments on the Internet paint the picture of an outspoken, politically active, longtime Republican who has publicly lambasted collective bargaining for state employee unions and alluded to government taxation as “essentially taking money at gunpoint.”
http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/wp-con...ts-300x294.gif
Carlos Lam's comments online are consistent with some of the sentiments in the email. Click for a larger version. Image: Screengrab from SeekingAlpha.com.
In one of his 1,306 comments on a stock investors’ site, Lam called Indiana “an unsustainable public worker gravy train bubble.” In another, he said “unions & companies that feed at the gov’t trough will fight tooth & nail against anything that un-feathers their nests.”
Lam wrote in his account profile there that he “believes that to truly prosper as the republic envisioned by the Founding Fathers, we must return to principles of sound money and limited government. He has his own ‘3G network’ that is quite apart from Apple: guns, gold and gasoline.’ ”
Before Lam resigned, Erik Guenther, a criminal defense and constitutional lawyer at the Madison law firm of Hurley, Burish and Stanton, said that if the email’s writer were to participate in devising such a scheme, he could be held accountable for conspiracy to obstruct justice — “but an unsolicited and idiotic suggestion itself probably is not a crime.”
Madison criminal defense lawyer Michael Short said that if Lam wrote the email, he should be investigated for a possible breach of the Indiana Rules of Professional Conduct, for “suggesting that officials in the Walker administration commit a felony,” namely, misconduct in public office.
Those rules state that “conduct involving dishonesty, fraud, deceit or misrepresentation” amount to professional misconduct. They are the rules to which lawyers are held accountable by the Indiana lawyer discipline system.
Cooper, the Johnson County prosecutor, at first adamantly defended Lam, whom he has known for most of his career. The Republican said he was not considering any such investigation.
“Whether there’s rules of professional conduct that apply or not is irrelevant, because he didn’t send it,” Cooper said Wednesday.
“At the time, I had zero doubts that he had been hacked,” Cooper said Thursday, after the resignation.
Black Georgia Legislators Sue to Dissolve ‘Super-Majority White Cities’
Posted on March 29, 2011 at 5:51pm by Emily Esfahani Smith
Looks like California’s Marin County is not the only U.S. community that’s too white.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports:The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus filed a lawsuit Monday against the state of Georgia seeking to dissolve the city charters of Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Milton and Chattahoochee Hills. Further, the lawmakers, joined by civil rights leader the Rev. Joseph Lowery, aim to dash any hopes of a Milton County.
http://www.theblaze.com/wp-content/u...03/ga-race.jpg
The lawsuit, filed in a North Georgia U.S. District Court Monday, claims that the state circumvented the normal legislative process and set aside its own criteria when creating the “super-majority white ” cities within Fulton and DeKalb counties. The result, it argues, is to dilute minority votes in those areas, violating the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments to the Constitution….
Lead attorney Jerome Lee, of Taylor Lee & Associates, said the suit is novel.
“The Voting Rights Act forbids a state from doing anything that affects the voting rights of minorities, except with a permissible purpose,” he said, citing the redistricting that takes place when the census documents population shifts. “In this case, it’s different because the state actually went outside the normal redistricting process and created these cities that have no meaningful state purpose.”
According to the 2010 census, Fulton County is 44.5 percent white and 44.1 percent black. About 54 percent of DeKalb County residents are black, and 33.3 percent are white.
Sandy Springs, created in 2005, is 65 percent white and 20 percent black. Milton, formed a year later, is 76.6 percent white and 9 percent black. Johns Creek, also formed that year, is 63.5 percent white and 9.2 percent black. Chattahoochee Hills, formed in 2007, is 68.6 percent white and 28 percent black, while Dunwoody, created in 2008, is 69.8 percent white and 12.6 percent black.
Glenn outlines the Socialist Unions and Communists are converging on several fronts starting in May
Glenn Beck 04 05 2011
Geithner warns U.S. to hit debt ceiling by May 16
Factbox
- Treasury's tools to delay hitting debt limitMon, Apr 4 2011
http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?...0_OBAMA-BRAZIL
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and other members of President Barack Obama's cabinet wait to be introduced to Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia, March 19, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jason Reed
By Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON | Mon Apr 4, 2011 6:17pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will hit the legal limit on its ability to borrow no later than May 16, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday, ramping up pressure on Congress to act to avoid a debt default.
"The longer Congress fails to act, the more we risk that investors here and around the world will lose confidence in our ability to meet our commitments and our obligations," Geithner said in a letter to congressional leaders.
"Default by the United States is unthinkable."
Previously, the Treasury had forecast that the $14.3 trillion statutory debt limit would be reached between April 15 and May 31. As of Friday, Treasury borrowing stood just $95 billion from the ceiling.
Some Republican lawmakers have sought to use the need to raise the debt limit as a lever to pressure the Obama administration into agreeing on large-scale budget cuts.
The debt-limit showdown comes as Congress struggles to complete a spending package that would keep the government operating beyond Friday.
Republicans are seeking to use that bill to enact deep spending cuts and lawmakers are focusing on a proposal to trim this year's budget by $33 billion, a relatively small amount compared with a projected $1.4 trillion deficit.
Geithner said a failure to raise the debt ceiling in a timely way would push interest rates higher and spark "a financial crisis potentially more severe than the crisis from which we are only starting to recover."
Both Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have said a failure to raise the ceiling could have "catastrophic consequences."
BUYING TIME
As the government nears the debt ceiling, the Treasury has authority to take certain extraordinary measures to postpone the date the United States would default on its obligations.
However, those actions would be exhausted after about eight weeks and there would be "no headroom" to borrow after July 8, Geithner said.
Some lawmakers have called for legislation to force the Treasury to first pay interest on U.S. bonds before other obligations, such as unemployment benefits and Social Security and Medicare payments, as a way to stave off a debt default.
They have also asked Treasury whether financial assets such as the country's gold reserves or the government's portfolio of student loans could be sold to avoid raising the debt ceiling.
Treasury has rejected the proposals as unworkable.
"To attempt a fire sale of financial assets in an effort to buy time for Congress to act would be damaging to financial markets and the economy and would undermine confidence in the United States," Geithner said.
Based on estimates last year from the International Monetary Fund, U.S. debt as measured against the size of the economy is higher than in France, Canada and Germany, but less than in Italy and Japan.
Geithner said that while the debt ceiling projections could change, the Obama administration does not believe they could change in a way that would give Congress more time to raise the debt ceiling. He said Treasury would provide updated projections in early May.
Flash Mobs of…Bandits and Looters? In D.C., Yes.
Quote:
April 28, 2011
Last week Glenn Beck called for “flash mobs of kindness,” random acts of kindness meant to jumpstart charity across the country. And while Beck is hoping those become a trend, different types of flash mobs are running rampant throughout the nation’s capital. Flash mobs of theft and looting.
ABC 7 News in D.C. reports that around 6 pm on Monday, a group of about 20 young men entered a pricey, trendy clothing store near Dupont Circle and, without any regard or inhibitions, started sizing up the merchandise and then stole it off the shelves, racks, and tables. It was a quick and somewhat sophisticated operation, as the mob took the time to post a lookout at the front door.
The store manager says the group made off with hundreds of items worth “thousands and thousands” of dollars.
You can see the video from ABC 7 below:
Local police say that this is the sixth such theft in the area since last July.
“They helped themselves to whatever they wanted,” Manager Greggory Lennon told ABC 7. “They had no fear, they weren’t concerned. They were on their cell phones inside the store talking to their friend outside the store who were watching for the police.”
The police response has also come under scrutiny, as cops aren’t seen entering the store until 10 minutes after the first 911 call was placed. The department responded by saying that police spent time outside first, canvasing the area for the thiefs.
To see a another perspective on the story, visit Gateway Pundit.
Random acts of thievery?
Yep, pretty much...
Police: 20-25 Teens Storm Georgia Train, Attack and Mug Riders
Quote:
April 21, 2011
A group of 20 to 25 youths jumped aboard a commuter train bound for Atlanta’s airport and viciously attacked the passengers, police said.
One of the teenagers bashed a rider in the face with a soda-pop can, pushed him down and stole his wallet, according to a police report. Another passenger late Saturday was punched in the face, the report said.
A video report, via MyFoxAtlanta:
Two Delta Employees Attacked on MARTA Train: MyFoxATLANTA.com
Both riders who were attacked work for Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines, police said. They have been staying at a hotel near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The Delta workers – one from Gig Harbor, Wash., and the other from New York City – suffered cuts to their faces in the attack south of downtown Atlanta.
They told police the group of teens boarded the MARTA red line train at the Garnett Station, on the south edge of downtown, and were attacked as the train approached a station.
At one point, two men interceded and separated the teen attackers and Delta workers, police said.
It wasn’t known how many passengers were riding the train at the time, around 11:58 p.m.. The red line is one of two north-south routes that carry air passengers, airline employees and tourists to and from the world’s busiest airport.
No arrests have been made.
WTF is wrong with the world, Ryan?
Guess I'm going to start packing my weapon again.
Shoot a few and you'll settle their asses down.
Preparing for Economic Collapse
Friday, May 13, 2011, 9:19 am, by FerFAL
http://www.chrismartenson.com/files/...ina-street.jpg
Today's contributor is Fernando "FerFAL" Aguirre. Many of our readers have expressed interest in hearing accounts from those who have lived through economic collapse. FerFAL experienced the hyperinflationary destruction of Argentina's economy in 2001 and continues to blog about his experiences and observations of its lingering aftermath.
His website and his book Surviving the Economic Collapse offer windows into the probable outcomes to expect during a collapsing economy. Note: Our site's What Should I Do? Guide offers specific guidance relevant to a number of the steps FerFAL recommends below.
“How can I prepare for an economic collapse?” is one of the most common questions I get. It usually takes me a second to start to explain how complex such a question is. It’s like asking an auto mechanic, “Say, how do you build a car?” or asking a computer engineer, “What’s all that stuff inside my laptop?”
I do have some first-hand experience in this matter, though. The economy in my country, Argentina, has gone through various crises, but none as large as when the economy collapsed in 2001 after a decade of apparent prosperity. The currency devaluated, and Argentina defaulted on its USD$132 billion debt, the largest default ever. The middle class took to the streets after bank accounts were frozen, and the president was forced to resign, escaping the presidential building in a helicopter.
What I’ll do is, provide five quick foundational steps, based on what I know, for you to follow so as to be better prepared if something like what happened in my country ever happens in yours.
Step #1: Secure a percentage of your savings in bullion.
Five years ago, even the most paranoid person claimed you would never see “nationalized” banks in USA. The gung-ho survivalists claimed the entire country would go up in flames and open revolts would start before something as insane as a $700+ billion bailout to save the "too big to fail" rich elite was laid on the backs of the American working class. Yet here we are.
When I try to explain this very important issue to my American friends, they tell me that banks would never steal people’s money because there are laws against that in the USA. Their money is insured. We had those same laws in Argentina, but still it happened. We had a constitutional right to private property. Yet the constitution mattered little during the collapse. Go right ahead -- sue the government of the United States if something like that ever happens. Maybe you’ll get some of your savings back in a few years. If they feel like returning it.
What people don’t understand is that laws are written by men, not some greater power. As soon as those running the show feel an emergency decree or law is in order, existing laws are simply rewritten. They may even be ignored all together! What do you do if something like that happens?
You may complain, you may sue, but you’re not changing the cold hard fact that as of right now that bank door is closed, that ATM has no money in it, and you still have to survive. This is something Argentines have experienced and know very well. Hundreds of thousands of us have banged the doors of our banks, for years, without a penny being returned. You still sued, and waited, and spent the little money you had by hiring a lawyer. You lose, they win…unless you have some of that money at hand before they decide to steal it.
Every single Argentine wishes he could go back in time, close his bank account, and put that money into gold. We would all do that if we had a time machine. Since you can't guess the future, all you can do is estimate what can happen and play the odds in your favor. In the event of a full economic collapse, if you have 20% of your savings in physical gold and silver, that’s a percentage of your savings that is spared. It's not an investment; don’t go crazy over gold and silver going up or down a few dollars, just be content that it's not getting any lighter as it sits in your safe.
If the economy collapses or even if there’s simply inflation (as there clearly will be), that percentage of your savings in precious metals is safe and will likely go up in price beyond its standard purchasing power as things get worse.
During the first stages of a severe economic crisis, you will see ATMs running out of money fast, and many stores won't be accepting credit cards. As the saying goes, “Cash is king” during those times. Your precious metal can be sold to a dealer, but you better keep that stored for now.
When everyone is running around looking for an ATM with a few bucks in it, having a month's worth of expenses in cash means you won't be one of them. Why not more than a month´s worth of expenses? Because if the economy fully collapses, that paper money will lose its value within hours. It may drop 50%, 60%, or 75%, as happened in Argentina. Who knows? All you know is that as the currency loses value, the value of the precious metals you have stored goes up in proportion. Still, during those first days, a wad of cash gets you what you need.
So, step one is acquiring precious metals (I generally recommend 20% of your savings but each person is a separate case) and a month’s worth of expenses in cash, kept safe at home.
Step #2: Stock up on food.
The more you have, the better. There may be periods of civil unrest like the ones we saw where stores are being looted and closed after that. There may be problems with resupply because of logistical complications. It's better if you already have 6 to 12 months worth of food in your expanded pantry. Also, keep in mind the food you buy now will be considerably cheaper compared to post-inflation prices.
This large supply of food will bring peace of mind in case of job loss, as well.
Who knows how long it will be before you find another source of income? After the 2001 collapse, some people genuinely spent YEARS looking for a job without finding any. I can’t emphasize enough the peace of mind it brings knowing you still have some time, and that you can, in fact, put food on the table the following night.
The food should be long-term storage type, requiring little or no cooking, at least for some of it. Water is also essential, so having a two-week supply is advised. The minimum amount is a gallon per person per day, and you should double that for flushing toilets and taking an elemental bath in case the water service is interrupted.
Step #3: Acquire the essentials by putting together a survival/emergency kit.
This will include your typical camping gear: a tent, sleeping bags, a stove (have enough fuel for it in case services are disrupted), first aid kit, medicines, LED flashlights and several spare batteries. Depending on how bad civil unrest gets, there may be problems with the infrastructure. After the economy collapsed in Argentina, the power company simply couldn’t afford the repairs needed, and it hadn’t planned for something like this, either. Rolling blackouts became common, and having LED lights and rechargeable batteries was a blessing. You could easily spend two or three days without power during summer. At one time, downtown Buenos Aires was left without power for five days. Imagine the complications this brings. If natural gas service is interrupted, you may need other ways of cooking. A camping stove and enough fuel will get you through it.
Step #4: Improve your personal and home security.
If you ask any Argentinean what concerns him the most, 9 out of 10 people will have the same answer: security. In second place is the economic situation. Ten years after the economic collapse, things are nothing like they used to be. Half of the middle class became poor, and its standard of living has decreased considerably. We’re still a high-risk economy, and it shows. Inflation is still rampant and can be anywhere from 5% to 10% per month, usually hitting the middle class the worst. But that’s something we’ve grown used to. That’s something we can live with.
What concerns Argentineans the most is the crime problem, and the out-of-control violent crime we suffer is the major legacy of the 2001 economic collapse. Poverty sure didn’t help, nor did social segregation. But the greatest cause responsible for the crime levels we suffer is our own government. The liberal government that took control after the collapse considers criminals to be poor victims of brutal capitalism. The unofficial stance is that criminals have a right to steal, murder and rape - in their view, it's how the “poor” get back at the rich and middle class who thrived during the 90’s. Of course, with a government like that, the crime problem just keeps getting worse.
During the first days after the economy collapsed, civil unrest, rioting and looting was out of control. A state of siege and military law was declared, enforcing curfew hours after 10 pm. This lasted a few months, and for months after that, while order was recovered in the capitol district, there were still occasional revolts and looting. The sense of lawlessness extended way beyond the visible accounts depicted by the TV and general media. It's during times like these that you realize you must have means of defending yourself and your family.
My advice is to make your home as secure as possible against criminals that may take advantage of the lack of control during the worst of the rioting. After that, a better security plan for the entire family must be worked out. As things get worse, you understand that you can no longer afford to be lax about your personal and home security. Those that are quickly become vicitims. With a more secure home, you may want to consider having a weapon to defend yourself. Certainly not an easy decision, and one you must be extremely serious about. If you have the self-control and maturity to handle one, having a firearm and getting the minimum training to know how to use (it if it ever comes to that) is something you should consider doing.
Crime and insecurity will be one of the greatest threats people all across USA will suffer, and very few will be ready for it. It won't happen one dark gloomy night after watching the latest horror movie. It will happen in the Walmart parking lot at 3 pm, with plenty of people around (people who will hurry out of the way, pretending not to see anything). You’ll be thinking about what you just bought, that you maybe should have bought Lucky Charms instead of Corn Flakes. That’s when the nice-looking person with two other buddies, all well-dressed (with neat hair cuts, too), pulls a gun on you. Developing a sense of awareness will be the most important part, as well as making the rest of your family comprehend that times have changed and you can no longer be careless regarding security.
Step #5: Embrace a different mindset.
When Argentina went through its economic collapse, people handled it differently. Maybe the most common response was denial. The “I can't believe this is happening “ attitude was pretty popular. Others complained, but you soon understood it changed nothing: It only made you feel more miserable, more stressed, and that was something you could do without. Others just ended their misery. Suicide rates doubled after the collapse, with people sometimes jumping under the train at early rush hour in a desperate attempt to make their misery noticed by others.
What you need to do is become more positive, more active. Be someone who, while accepting those things you can’t change, does something about the things you can. Get involved now, do what I just recommended right now, it will bring you peace of mind. Remember to stay positive and put every problem into perspective. Complain less. You’ll have enough to complain about when inflation gets worse. Soon you'll understand that material things can be replaced, and you become more grateful for what you have instead of worrying about what you don’t.
It's essential to keep a positive attitude. Being someone that gets easily depressed will be the end of you as the economy worsens. Problems much worse that what you are used to will be a daily occurrence. You’ll just have to roll with it and learn to cope with the new world you live in. Reinforce your relationships with people. Fight stress by finding a hobby you enjoy, hopefully one that has a practical side as well. After the collapse, lots of people started their own businesses when they realized there were no jobs to be found. It would be better if you get started now, just in case you ever need it in order to earn a living.
These are my recommendations. I know many people could have used such advice back when our economy collapsed.
Some common questions regarding hyperinflation
How quickly does it happen?
These events occur fast, but there are warning signs: lack of investment; higher interest rates; unemployment. When banks start coming up with excuses so as to not give you your money right away when closing an account, that’s usually not a good sign.
As for inflation and hyperinflation, they happen right in front of your eyes. It actually happened to me that the price of an item I picked in a store almost doubled in price by the time I reached the cash register. The employee just placed the sticker with the new price over the old one (no time to remove them) Employees rushed around changing prices several times a day, all day long during the ongoing crisis. It was fun to peel back the stack of stickers with the different prices and see how they had gone up in a matter of hours. Rioting happens fast, too. Once the banks close rioting is just minutes away.
What happens to your savings/investments?
I didn’t have much but managed to close my account just a day before the banks closed their doors. My parents are accountants and saw the signs mentioned earlier. When we went to the bank a nice lady told us they didn’t have USD$1,000 in the bank. Our jaws just dropped. That same day we went to the main branch and closed the account my sister and I had. The next day all banks closed, the accounts where frozen.
As for real estate, that was a pretty safe investment. Eventually rents went up so as to compensate for the devaluation. Of course you were much better of with your money in bricks and mortar than in a bank account.
How does the populace react?
Violently, as you’d expect when your life savings are stolen from you.
What is the government saying/doing?
Laws were changed to make everything nice and legal. The excuses the then-president Fernando De La Rua came up with in his speeches during the crisis just made everything worse.
Just days before the bank holidays they promised none of that would happen. Same thing before the devaluation. They swore on their mothers's names they wouldn’t do such a thing, then did it the following day.
Politicians tend to do such things, and they are all similar worldwide.
What happens to the capital markets?
The stock market dropped like a rock, then shut down. What surprised you the most was how everything was simply frozen in expectation. No one wanted to spend a single cent, not even to buy half a gallon of paint for a work site because you just didn’t know what would happen in a matter of hours, let alone next week. The biggest investors had sold and left the country months before everything went down. Another sign to look for.
Does violence and crime become an immediate concern?
Yes it does. While stores were the more common targets, houses were looted, too. The best thing to do was stay home, have a defendable position and be armed. I had looters not 20 yards away from my home.
What do you do if they rush your home? Can you just open fire on them?
What will they do when/if you do? All these things flash into your mind.
A significant amount of people behave because they believe there’s a punishment if they do otherwise. Once that fear is removed because the authorities have clearly lost control, you see the worst of people’s nature.
It's not a pleasant thought, but it's better to be ready.
Take care,
Fernando “FerFAL” Aguirre.
Supreme Court orders California to release tens of thousands of prison inmates
The 5-4 decision represents one of the largest prison release orders in U.S. history. The court majority says overcrowding has caused 'suffering and death.' In a sharp dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia warns 'terrible things are sure to happen.'
http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2011-01/59056827.jpg
Inmates sit for dinner at the California State Prison in Lancaster. A federal overseer of the state's prison system has suggested freeing the sickest inmates as a way to cut costs. (Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times / June 10, 2010)
By David G. Savage, Washington Bureau May 23, 2011, 8:56 a.m.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ordered California on Monday to release tens of thousands of its prisoners to relieve overcrowding, saying that "needless suffering and death" had resulted from putting too many inmates into facilities that cannot hold them in decent conditions.
It is one of the largest prison release orders in the nation's history, and it sharply split the high court.
- Related
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbna...5-23081012.jpg
Disturbance at Sacramento-area prison leaves several inmates injured
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbna...5-23080350.png
Document: Read the annotated Supreme Court decision
http://www.latimes.com/media/thumbna...900-187105.JPG
Video by prison guards union links campaign donations to new contract
Justices upheld an order from a three-judge panel in California that called for releasing 38,000 to 46,000 prisoners. Since then, the state has transferred about 9,000 state inmates to county jails. As a result, the total prison population is now about 32,000 more than the capacity limit set by the panel.
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, speaking for the majority, said California's prisons had "fallen short of minimum constitutional requirements" because of overcrowding. As many as 200 prisoners may live in gymnasium, he said, and as many as 54 prisoners share a single toilet.
Kennedy insisted that the state had no choice but to release more prisoners. The justices, however, agreed that California officials should be given more time to make the needed reductions.
In dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia called the ruling "staggering" and "absurd."
He said the high court had repeatedly overruled the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for ordering the release of individual prisoners. Now, he said, the majority were ordering the release of "46,000 happy-go-lucky felons." He added that "terrible things are sure to happen as a consequence of this outrageous order." Justice Clarence Thomas agreed with him.
In a separate dissent, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. said the ruling conflicted with a federal law intended to limit the power of federal judges to order a release of prisoners.
State officials and lawyers for inmates differ over just how many prisoners will have to be released. In recent figures, the state said it had about 142,000 inmates behind bars, and the judges calculated the prison population would need to be reduced to about 110,000 to comply with constitutional standards.
Kennedy said the judges in California overseeing the prison-release order should "accord the state considerable latitude to find mechanisms and make plans" that are "consistent with the public safety."
The American Civil Liberties Union said the court had "done the right thing" by addressing the "egregious and extreme overcrowding in California's prisons."
David Fathi, director of the ACLU national prison project, said "reducing the number of people in prison not only would save the state taxpayers half a billion annually, it would lead to the implementation of truly rehabilitative programs that lower recidivism rates and create safer communities."
Meanwhile, the court took no action on another California case in which a conservative group is challenging the state's policy of granting in-state tuition at its colleges and universities to students who are illegal immigrants and have graduated from its high schools.
The justices said they would consider the appeal in a later private conference.
Personally, I think they need to release about 80% of the people in prison. Seriously. I worked in a prison. Some of those people were in there simply because they were stupid, doing dumbassed things.
Keep the murderers and other capital crimes.
Reading this, it sounds like the criminals are getting away with exploiting a loophole due to California's financial stupidity.
Also, here's some of Justice Scalia's decent I found:
Quote:
There comes before us, now and then, a case whose proper outcome is so clearly indicated by tradition and common sense, that its decision ought to shape the law, rather than vice versa. One would think that, before allowing the decree of a federal district court to release 46,000 convicted felons, this Court would bend every effort to read the law in such a way as to avoid that outrageous result. Today, quite to the contrary, the Court disregards stringently drawn provisions of the governing statute, and traditional constitutional limitations upon the power of a federal judge, in order to uphold the absurd.
The proceedings that led to this result were a judicial travesty. I dissent because the institutional reform the District Court has undertaken violates the terms of the governing statute, ignores bedrock limitations on the power of Article III judges, and takes federal courts wildly beyond their institutional capacity.
Quote:
The Court acknowledges that the plaintiffs "do not base their case on deficiencies in care provided on any one occasion”; rather, "[p]laintiffs rely on system wide deficiencies in the provision of medical and mental health care that, taken as a whole, subject sick and mentally ill prisoners in California to ‘substantial risk of serious harm’ and cause the delivery of care in the prisons to fall below the evolving standards of decency that mark the progress of a maturing society.” Ante, at 7, n. 3. But our judge empowering "evolving standards of decency” jurisprudence(with which, by the way, I heartily disagree, see, e.g., Roper v. Simmons, 543 U. S. 551, 615–616 (2005) (SCALIA, J., dissenting)) does not prescribe (or at least has not until today prescribed) rules for the "decent” running of schools,prisons, and other government institutions. It forbids "indecent” treatment of individuals—in the context of this case, the denial of medical care to those who need it. And the persons who have a constitutional claim for denial of medical care are those who are denied medical care—not all who face a "substantial risk” (whatever that is) of being denied medical care.
Quote:
But the idea that the three District Judges in this case relied solely on the credibility of the testifying expert witnesses is fanciful. [span style='font-style: italic;']Of course[/span] they were relying largely on their own beliefs about penology and recidivism. And [span style='font-style: italic;']of course[/span] different district judges, of different policy views,would have "found” that rehabilitation would not work and that releasing prisoners would increase the crime rate. I am not saying that the District Judges rendered their factual findings in bad faith. I am saying that it is impossible for judges to make "factual findings” without inserting their own policy judgments, when the factual findings are policy judgments. What occurred here is no more judicial factfinding in the ordinary sense than would be the factual findings that deficit spending will not lower the unemployment rate, or that the continued occupation of Iraq will decrease the risk of terrorism. Yet, because they have been branded "factual findings” entitled to deferential review, the policy preferences of three District Judges now govern the operation of California’s penal system.
Quote:
But structural injunctions do not simply invite judges to indulge policy preferences. They invite judges to indulge [span style='font-style: italic;']incompetent [/span]policy preferences. Three years of law school and familiarity with pertinent Supreme Court precedents give no insight whatsoever into the management of social institutions. Thus, in the proceeding below the District Court determined that constitutionally adequate medical services could be provided if the prison population was 137.5% of design capacity. This was an empirical finding it was utterly unqualified to make. Admittedly, the court did not generate that number entirely on its own; it heard the numbers 130% and 145% bandied about by various witnesses and decided to split the difference. But the ability of judges to spit back or even average-out numbers spoon-fed to them by expert witnesses does not render them competent decision makers in areas in which they are otherwise unqualified.
Peter Fonda encourages his grandchildren to take up arms against President Barack Obama
Peter Fonda, the star of Easy Rider, says he is training his grandchildren to use rifles for a conflict with President Barack Obama.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/...a_1901881c.jpg
Peter Fonda arrives for the screening of 'The Beaver' in Cannes Photo: AP
By Richard Eden 6:28AM BST 22 May 2011
Lars von Trier, who was banned from Cannes for praising Hitler, was not the only one making unsavoury comments at the film festival.
Peter Fonda, the star of Easy Rider, suggested to Mandrake that he was encouraging his grandchildren to shoot President Barack Obama.
“I’m training my grandchildren to use long-range rifles,” said the actor, 71. “For what purpose? Well, I’m not going to say the words 'Barack Obama’, but …”
He added, enigmatically: “It’s more of a thought process than an actuality, but we are heading for a major conflict between the haves and the have nots. I came here many years ago with a biker movie and we stopped a war. Now, it’s about starting the world.
“I prefer to not to use the words, 'let’s stop something’. I prefer to say, 'let’s start something, let’s start the world’.
“There’s no room any more for a cissy and, like I said, don’t forget that I’ve got grandsons who I’ve trained with long-distance rifles. We have to run like mofos to change this world.”
100,000 Protesting In Athens Right Now
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 05/29/2011 16:33 -0400
The first confirmation of protests expected to sweep across Europe tonight from Greece to Spain, France and Italy comes from Syntagma square where up to 100,000 people are protesting at this moment. Ekathimerini reports:
"Greeks inspired by the Spanish “Indignant” or “Indignados” movement held their largest protest so far in Athens on Sunday, which some estimates put as high as 100,000 people, although a more accurate assesment seemed to be that those taking part exceeded 30,000.
No official figure was given for the number of people packing into Syntagma Square in front of Parliament but it was clear that the protest was by far the largest since the movement began on Wednesday." For now the Greek protest is peaceful, but with the US on vacation, and the EURUSD about to be very volatile, we urge readers to follow the real time update at the following live webcast.
(the feed may be down due to a surge in traffic, we are looking for alternative feeds)
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/defau....47%20PM_0.png
More from Ekathimerini:Then, some 20,000 people were thought to have taken to the streets of the capital but it was clear that on Sunday, the numbers were much larger. The protest remained peaceful, as people sang, chanted slogans against the country’s politicians and austerity measures and aimed gestures at Parliament.A "commission to establish how the country's debt was amassed"... and the commission is to be funded with more debt issuance.
Greece’s deputy Prime Minister Theodoros Pangalos had earlier dismissed the significance of the country’s ‘Indignant’ movement.
“It is a movement without an ideology or organization, which bases itself on only one feeling, that of rage,” Pangalos told Ethnos newspaper.
Greece’s version of the ‘Indignant’ movement, protesting austerity measures and demanding that politicians are more in tune with citizens’ needs, has led to thousands of people protesting in front or Parliament in Athens, as well as in other cities, every day since Wednesday. Some have started camping out overnight as well.
On Sunday, similar protests were due to be held in other European countries, including Spain, France and Italy.
Famed Greek composer Mikis Theodorakis gave his public backing to the protesters and called for “the government of shame” to go along with “the politicians for destroying, plundering and subjugating Greece.”
The protesters also found an unlikely ally in Thessaloniki’s conservative bishop, Anthimos.
An MEP representing the centrist Democratic Alliance party, Theodoros Skylakakis said that the protesters would have to affect the political process if they want to have a real impact.
“These people have to become politicized and develop a greater political realization,” he told Skai TV. “They have to progress from “this is what I don’t like” to “this is what I like”.”
Organizers posted a message on their Facebook page on Saturday calling for the messages of the protest to become more specific. Suggestions included demands for the International Monetary Fund to leave Greece, for Parliamentary immunity to be lifted and for audit commission to be set up to establish how the country’s debt was amassed.
Pure insanity.
Looks like it's shaping up to be an "interesting" summer.
Serious violence seems to be breaking out in a number of places.
FLORIDA...
One Killed, Seven Injured During Police-Involved Shootings On South Beach
YouTube: Miami Beach shooting - Memorial Day weekend 2011 Urban Beach WeekQuote:
May 30, 2011
A police chase and firefight on the streets of South Beach Monday morning ended with officers shooting into a car on Collins Avenue and killing the driver, bringing a bloody conclusion to Miami Beach’s annual Memorial Day weekend parties.
By 5:30 a.m., police were investigating two officer-involved shootings. One alleged gunman was dead, four bystanders were wounded — possibly by police gunfire — and three officers were being treated at Mount Sinai Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening. None has been named by police.
Club and bar hoppers in town for the massively popular Urban Beach Week scattered and screamed as gunshots followed after the weaving car. Some on the relatively empty stretch of Collins Avenue jumped behind cars or into bushes as shots grew closer and louder.
Hundreds of officers shut down the heart of South Beach.
“This incident really mars us,” said Mayor Matti Herrera Bower.
Police Chief Carlos Noriega said the weekend’s relative peace was shattered just before 4 a.m. when a driver struck an officer with his car near Collins Avenue and 16th Street. Noriega said the officer was not from Miami Beach, but an employee of one of many departments who help police South Beach’s Urban Beach Week crowds, which come for hip-hop shows and private parties and can grow to be several hundred thousand strong.
Noriega said the driver sped off and officers on bicycles had to jump out of the way as the car headed south, running over their bikes, driving on the sidewalk and striking “countless” vehicles for about three blocks. Unconfirmed witness reports say the driver was shooting out of his car as police gave chase, though Noriega said police did not find a gun.
“This is all preliminary information we’re trying to verify,” the chief said, adding that police are investigating some reports that passengers ran from the car before officers opened fire.
A YouTube video filmed from several stories above Collins Avenue shows the car driving south and then skidding to a stop as gunshots grow from distant firecracker-like pops to four echoing booms.
Pedestrians fled, or hid and then took off running, as officers approached the driver’s side of the car in a semi-circle with guns drawn.
About one minute after the car stopped, the video shows, pre-dawn darkness is lit by muzzle flashes and the air peppered with the sounds of rapid gun shots.
No one can be seen leaving the car.
Noriega said the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
He also said four bystanders were shot during the chase, and said they could have been hit by stray bullets fired by police officers.
“I’m not going to discount that possibility,” he said.
At Jackson Memorial Hospital, a woman who wouldn’t give her name told WSVN-7 that police shot her friend while they were running back to her hotel room.
“The police shot her,” she said. “It was by accident, but they still shot her.”
Another witness, Ashley Hinds, 23, from Nashville, said she was leaving Mansion on Washington Avenue when she heard the shots.
“I tried to go back in, but some lady closed the doors and even though we were knocking she never opened them,” Hinds said. “I was afraid. People were running. It was a scary scene.”
Two Miami Beach officers and a Hialeah officer were also hurt during the chase and shooting.
Noriega could not say how his department’s officers were injured, but Hialeah police spokesman Carl Zogby said the Hialeah officer may have been hit by the fleeing vehicle.
Police set up a perimeter following the shooting, which led to the second incident on Washington Avenue.
Just after 5 a.m., authorities say the driver of a gray Mercedes Benz somehow entered an area police had shut down near 14th Street and sped toward several officers.
Noriega said one officer fired into the car, which then crashed into a police cruiser near the median of the busy street.
No one was hurt, and the driver — whom police did not name — was arrested and jailed. Noriega could not say what charges he faces.
Noriega said police officers acted appropriately in both incidents.
“They were both extremely volatile and extremely dangerous,” he said. “And our officers responded to what I consider to be situations involving deadly force.”
But the American Civil Liberties Union called for an outside investigation into the shootings.
“An independent and thorough investigation must be conducted, as should happen every time a civilian is shot and killed by the police,” wrote John de Leon, president of the ACLU’s Greater Miami chapter, which often monitors the policing of the heavily black Memorial Day crowds on South Beach. “What is reported as factual early on is often times rebutted by an independent investigation.”
Both Urban Beach Week visitors and Miami Beach police have been criticized since the event first descended on South Beach in 2001.
That year, city officials and police were unaware that several hundred thousand people were heading into town for private events, and crowds grew out of hand with too few police to manage traffic and the huge influx of people.
There was at least one shooting, fights described as “near-riots” and general gridlock on city streets.
Since then, Urban Beach Week has been criticized by some as a dangerous time to be on South Beach. While there have been calm years, there have also been years like 2007, when a drive-by shooting on Lincoln Road killed two men.
Conversely, police have been sometimes called overzealous in their enforcement.
From 2002 on, the city’s entire police force has worked alternating 12-hour shifts throughout the weekend, aided by dozens of officers from outside agencies. In 2006, when police confiscated 73 firearms and arrested more than 1,000 people — mostly locals — the ACLU and NAACP questioned whether officers had engaged in racial profiling.
City officials were hoping going into Monday morning that Urban Beach Week 2011 would end on a positive note. Ocean Drive businesses dealt with a few scares Saturday night, when crowds rushed sidewalk cafes several times, but otherwise police and officials say the weekend was mostly without violence.
And while officials and business owners said Saturday night was one of the most congested nights ever in the event’s 10-year history, the Sunday night crowds were reportedly much lighter.
Still, there were roughly 450 police in South Beach’s entertainment district around 4 a.m., with clubs still open for another hour.
Noriega said there were so many officers from different agencies on South Beach and present during the time of the shootings that he wasn’t yet sure what officers had fired their weapons and what agencies were involved.
For city officials, who spend months preparing for Memorial Day crowds and roughly $1 million cleaning and patrolling the crowds, Monday’s violence was disheartening.
“It’s really disappointing,” said Assistant City Manager Hilda Fernandez, who spearheaded the city’s efforts during the weekend. “We were almost at the finish line.”
Witnesses Recall Frightening SoBe Police Involved Shooting
Quote:
May 31, 2011
Three police officers and four innocent bystanders remain hospitalized just one day after two separate police-involved shootings in Miami Beach. One person was also killed in the shooting which was caught on camera.
A YouTube video posted early Monday and obtained by CBS4 News shows the first shooting scene from several stories above.
Jameela Simmons said she saw it from the beginning and that it started when police stopped the car at 18th and Collins.
She says someone in the car started shooting at officers and bystanders.
CBS4’s Natalia Zea asked Simmons, “You saw the guy inside the car shooting?” She responded, “Yes I saw him shooting at the police officer, that’s probably why he pulled off because he had a gun,”
Zea asked what police were doing while the man was shooting. Simmons said, “They were shooting back of course, they had to open fire they were shooting back.”
Three officers were hurt in the melee, and four bystanders were shot. At least one witness says a police officer shot her sister…not the suspect.
4 women visiting from England saw police open fire on the car when it finally came to a stop.
“With all that gunfire there was no way anyone who was in that car was going to survive, absolutely no way, said Soraya Lopez.
“It was so busy, people were falling on top of each other, it was like instant reaction. People were screaming and panicking,” said Fiona Harris.
This was the group’s fourth year visiting South Beach for Memorial Day Weekend. And this traumatic incident has changed their plans for next year.
“We didn’t travel all the way across the world to see this kind of stuff, we wanted a nice peaceful vacation,” said Lopez.
Harris added, “Next year we’re gonna try Vegas.”
Police said the incident took place around 4:00 a.m. on Collins Avenue between 13th and 16th Streets. Police said there was a tense situation between some officers and a man driving a car when the man tried to hit officers with that moving car.
The home video opens with the sound of four loud gunshots and a dark-colored vehicle zooming down the street before stopping at an intersection.
The man shooting the video tells a companion, “Stay right there, don’t come to the window,” as sirens and screams are heard from below. The man tries to explain to his female friend what was going on and he said “He was shooting people from inside the car.”
About one minute into the video, at least a half dozen people, apparently police officers, approach the stopped car and a barrage of bullets rings out. One officer can be seen approaching the car shining a flashlight into the driver’s side window as the man on the video continues to say “Oh my Gosh.”
The man inside that car was killed. He has not been identified.
“If you’re driving a vehicle and you aim that at someone and drive towards that person with the intent of causing injury, that’s deadly force,” said Miami Beach Police Chief Carlos Noriega. When asked whether a weapon was found on the suspect, he replied, “I have not been informed of a weapon recovered yet,” said Chief Noriega.
Two Miami Beach officers and one Hialeah officer were taken to Mount Sinai Medical Center with unknown injuries. Those officers have not been identified.
Four innocent bystanders were injured by gun fire. Miami Beach police say it’s unclear whether the gunfire that injured the innocent bystanders came from police or the suspect in the vehicle.
CBS4 News has confirmed that at least two of the injured were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital. One person is a young woman whose boyfriend said was shot at least twice, once in the arm and also in the leg. He did not want to identify himself or the woman but he said one bullet passed through her and the other lodged in her elbow.
CBS4′s Peter D’Oench also caught up with the cousin of another man who was wounded by the stray bullets. As she walked into the Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital, she told D’Oench, “He is going to be ok. He was shot in the left side. I was very worried about him. I heard about this early this morning. I was very worried.”
She did not want to identify herself or her cousin, but she also told D’Oench, “I have a lot of questions about this. Who shot him? Was he shot by the police or the bad guy. And if police shot him, why did this have to happen? For what reason, I don’t know. I also want to know how many of those innocent bystanders got shot? He was just running. That’s all I heard. He was just running and they shot him.”
Angie Vasquez told also told D’Oench that her sister, Sarah Garcia, 24, was one of the innocent bystanders who was wounded. It happened right in front of her.
“Yes, it was very scary; I was scared for my life. My sister was shot in the arm, it came through her bones and fractured them. She was also shot in the leg, but her legs are going to be OK,” said Vasquez. “It was just crazy. We are here visiting from Naples all these shots rang out. It didn’t make any sense to me.”
Vasquez said that while she was not able to look inside the suspect’s car, she did not think he had a gun.
“He was never shooting back. It’s crazy, police are supposed to protect us, but instead we get shot,” said Vasquez.
As of Tuesday afternoon, police haven’t said whether they have found a gun on the suspect.
Other witnesses also talked about their frightening experience.
One witness from New York said, “The Miami Beach Police Department shot her. That was not right. There was a drive by going on. And the Miami Police shot her. It was by accident but they shot her.”
Another New York tourist described what happened.
“We were just walking going to our hotel. We seen a drive by going by. We ducked down. The police came out with their guns. They were like this and they started shooting.”
Witness Jose Vazquez said it was chaos.
“We were about to turn the corner when all the sudden we heard gun shots. Maybe about 5 to 12 gunshots. In the chaos we heard a girl got hit,” explained Vazquez. “Everyone was running. I was kind of scared. It was sporadic. Then you had more gunshots. It was kind of frightening. All the sudden the police started running with their guns drawn.”
About an hour and 15 minutes after the first shooting incident, there was another police-involved shooting at 14th Street and Washington Avenue.
“The driver of the car came directly at several officers, a couple of corrections officers, and the officer that fired a weapon. It looks like she may have been directly in front of the vehicle when he was coming at her,” said Chief Noriega.
The bullets missed the driver and that’s when he crashed into the police cruiser and was arrested.
There were no injuries involved in this intense situation.
Police were working two additional crime scenes related to the shootings: one at 15th and Drexel Avenue, and another at 14th and Collins Avenue.
Police shut down several blocks in the heart of South Beach to motorists and pedestrians. South Beach has been packed with thousands of tourists in town for the 12th annual Urban Beach weekend.
Chief Noriega stated it was relatively uneventful until Monday morning. “It was quiet last night until 3:56 a.m. It’s just a darn shame this had to happen,” said Noriega.
Overall it was a very busy weekend for law enforcement on Miami Beach this weekend.
According to Miami Beach Police, during the 2011 Memorial Day weekend in South Beach there were 431 total arrests, 66 felonies and 365 misdemeanors. Notably, there were 1,298 citations and 3,221 calls for service.
In 2010, there were 382 total arrest, 71 felonies and 311 misdemeanors. The department said that there were also 1,327 citations and 3,198 calls for service.
SOUTH CAROLINA...
Myrtle Beach Police Inundated With Crime During 8-Hour Window
Quote:
May 31, 2011
Myrtle Beach police received reports of five armed robberies, a stabbing, a shooting and an incident involving a shotgun being pointed at a security guard during a nearly eight-hour period in the city early Sunday and Monday.
Because so many people were in the area for Memorial Day celebrations and the Atlantic Beach Bikefest, officers responded to numerous criminal complaints and traffic violations, said Myrtle Beach police Capt. David Knipes.
"Policing this event has always come with huge challenges. Unfortunately, criminal activity is often associated with large events, which is why we have deployed additional officers to allow us to respond to this increase in activity," Knipes said Monday afternoon. "All of the officers working this event have done an outstanding job in very stressful conditions."
The incidents and their details:
At 8:50 p.m. Sunday, a 39-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound. A woman told police he tripped and fell, which caused the gun to go off in her Myrtle Beach home at 716 62nd Ave. N., according to a police report.
The woman, whose age was not listed in the report, told police she had allowed the man to stay with her for a couple of days to help him out. She had told him he could not stay with her any longer, according to the report. The man was gathering his things to leave when he picked up a 22-caliber rifle.
The woman said the man asked if she wanted to sell the gun and she told him to put the gun down, according to the report. The woman told police the man turned with the gun in his hand, tripped and fell, which caused it to go off.
Additional details about the incident were not listed in the report.
At 9:30 p.m. Sunday, a police officer saw an 18-year-old man running, yelling that he had been robbed.
The 18-year-old, a 28-year-old man and another man whose age was not listed on the report told police they left their room at the Bar Harbor and were going downstairs when they were confronted by three men with guns.
One man ran away from the robbers, but the other two told police they were robbed of their belongings. The men told police the suspects went into a nearby room and police found two men matching their description inside.
Officers found marijuana and a stolen gun inside the room and arrested the two men, Knipes said. Charges are pending.
At 11:30 p.m. Sunday, police were called to Fourth Avenue South and Ocean Boulevard when someone pointed a gun at another person, Knipes said. The victims did not want police involved.
Officers were told by Family Kingdom security that a woman reported being raped by several men, Knipes said. The guard told the woman they had to call police, but she left and a short time later he saw her with a man in a sport utility vehicle.
The guard said the woman got out of the SUV and yelled at him about her property being stolen and the man got out and pointed a shotgun at the guard, who ran.
The couple returned to the SUV and left.
At 1 a.m. Monday, a 41-year-old man reported being stabbed in the abdomen. He told police he wasn't sure where the attack occurred. The man and his wife flagged down an officer from their fifth-floor hotel balcony at 1307 S. Ocean Blvd., to report the incident.
The man told police he and his wife were each on their motorcycles stopped at a traffic signal when a large group of people surrounded them and tried to grab the necklaces from his neck. The man said he felt a pinch to his side and the couple rode back to their hotel.
The man said that on the way up to their room, he noticed he had been stabbed, according to the report. The man was taken to Grand Strand Regional Medical Center for treatment.
The man's wife told police she was behind him on her motorcycle when the incident occurred. The woman said she tried to care for him when they got to the room and she cleared a coffee table to make him lie down, but he got on the bed.
The woman said she tried to call 911 from the hotel, but was put on hold so she hung up.
Police noticed broken glass on the hotel room floor and the woman said she broke a liquor bottle when she cleared the coffee table. The woman said she cleaned up the mess before police arrived.
The woman also had a cut to her foot and she said that occurred when she cleared the coffee table and the bottle was broken. Police also noted a broken shampoo bottle in the bathroom and shampoo on the mirror and ceiling.
At 2:45 a.m. Monday a 24-year-old man told police he was robbed in the area of 12th Avenue South and Yaupon Drive. The man told officers he was walking with a friend when two men, armed with a handgun, took the man's necklace, ring and cash.
The man said the robbers had their faces covered and officers could not find the man's friend in the area, according to the report.
At 3 a.m. Monday, a couple told Myrtle Beach police they were robbed at gunpoint by two men while on the beach.
The couple, ages 30 and 21, told officers they were at the beach near 26th Avenue South when two men approached them from a sand dune and pointed a gun at them, police said.
The man told police the robbers ordered them to the ground and went through their pockets. The man said the robbers took various items including necklaces, then ordered the couple to run toward the water.
The robbers ran along the beach until the man lost sight of them. The man and woman returned to their hotel room and called police.
When police ran the man's name through their computer system they learned he was the victim of a similar style robbery early March 13 in the 100 block of North Ocean Boulevard, according to the report. The man reported the same items reported stolen early Monday.
Officers forwarded the case to detectives for investigation.
At 4:30 Monday, police were called to the parking lot of the Greyhound Bus Station at Seventh Avenue North, where a driver for Beachside Cab told police he was hit in the head and robbed while sleeping in the driver's seat of his van, Knipes said. The driver told police the robber demanded money and hit him several times in the head before he threatened him with a gun.
The driver gave the man $320 and another man with the robber demanded the driver's cell phone before he hit the man. Both men ran from the area.
NEW YORK...
Mayor, Police Chief Promise Order at Ontario Beach Park
Long Island Beach RiotQuote:
May 30, 2011
A busy Memorial Day evening at the beach ended abruptly when fights broke out among at least 100 youth.
Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies shut down Ontario Beach Park, prompting a traffic jam. Large crowds of youth ran south on Lake Ave.
Sheriff’s and Rochester police arrested 13 people on charges ranging from disorderly conduct to drug and alcohol offenses.
Erica Blake, 34, allegedly assaulted a deputy who responded to the scene. She’s been charged with second-degree assault. Police say the deputy was scratched on the face as he was pulled into the fracas.
Witnesses said there were many young children on the beach. When a large scramble suddenly became more like a fight, parents feared the worst.
"I was scared for a minute. I started grabbing everybody...and making sure they moved out of everybody's way," said beach-goer Catrina Davis.
"There was a group of young gentleman running through the parking lot, saying something like someone's getting beat up, and next thing you know there are 20 cops, ambulances, fire trucks," said Kelsey Davis.
Many people were at the beach to attend the city-organized Rib Festival. Those already at the festival Monday were allowed to stay in the fenced in area.
This isn't the first time a local venue has shut down because of fights on Memorial Day. Seabreeze made it a policy to close on Memorial Day starting last year after rumors of violence. The city has an ongoing issue with crowds of youth at the Liberty Pole downtown.
"I think what you saw at the beach is what we’ve been seeing in many of our neighborhoods for two decades," said Councilman Adam Mcfadden. "It’s just that you had a lot of people there who are not used to that culture and got to witness it personally."
“It’s unfortunate because that’s not the kind of reputation we want in our community,” said Michele Labigan of the Charlotte Community Association. “It’s frustrating for families that want to go down there to have to deal with this.”
“That has to be a place people are comfortable going and if we need to impose some order on it we’re going to do exactly that,” said Mayor Tom Richards.
Police Chief Jim Sheppard said he had already beefed up patrols in the area.
“We know that on good days we’re going to need resources down there,” he said.
But McFadden said additional officers won’t solve the problem. He said the youth mobs the city is experiencing are related to “gang culture.”
“What do we do about these young people who don’t respect life and make going to an event miserable for the rest of the community?” McFadden said. “That’s really the issue.”
Quote:
May 31, 2011
A Long Island police department says it had to call for backup to quell a beach melee involving hundreds of people that spilled out onto the streets and a nearby bus depot.
Long Beach police say they are investigating the incident. There was no immediate word on arrests.
No injuries were reported.
According to Newsday , 11 Nassau police cars and two Metropolitan Transportation Authority police units assisted with the crowd control on Monday evening.
Police say a series of fights erupted on the beach just before it closed at 6 p.m. and continued for several hours. It was not clear whether the fights involved the same group of young people or different groups.
Police say the situation was brought under control by 9 p.m. MTA spokesman Sam Zambuto said the bus depot was cleared by 9:30 p.m.