Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on Twitter • Be a Facebook Fan • Tumble us!

08 Oct 2011 10:20

tags

U.S.: Leaked e-mails: White House staffer was heavy Solyndra cheerleader

  • who Former White House official Steven Spinner, an Obama fundraiser and Silicon Valley investor who advised the Energy Department on alternative energy loan programs.
  • what E-mails showed that Spinner heavily pushed the Solyndra loans, despite the fact that he was supposed to be recused from the case. The company later failed.
  • why His wife’s law firm represented the company, and while she didn’t closely work on the company’s case, the firm benefited from the government loan. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Oct 2011 16:37

tags

U.S.: Suspect in lethal Cupertino shooting believed to be dead

  • Three dead, six injured: Shareef Allman, the man chiefly suspected to have committed a deadly shooting at a quarry in Cupertino, California, may have been shot dead by Santa Clara Sheriff’s deputies earlier today. According to one of the men injured in the attack, Allman had clocked in and poured himself a cup of coffee before drawing a gun and opening fire on those around him; what (if any) motive he might have had to commit the crime is unclear. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

06 Oct 2011 01:17

tags

U.S.: Occupy Wall Street: The crowds get bigger, the police more violent?

  • Switching gears a little bit, tonight’s Occupy Wall Street rallies hit a new peak, in part thanks to fresh support from unions such as AFL-CIO, the United Federation of Teachers, the Communications Workers of America and District Council 37. (According to one estimate, the crowd hit 20,000, but an exact number couldn’t be narrowed down — either way, it was large.) But the new peak in attendance came with a price — police brutality, some of which hit journalists covering the march. “I don’t know what sparked it, but people started tossed about, and I did see people getting beaten with clubs, and I personally was pepper sprayed,” said Flux Rostrum, a journalist and videographer for Mobile Broadcast News. Above is a clip of one of the more violent scenes tonight — the way that they’re throwing around those batons is nothing short of frightening. In all, at least 28 people were arrested. (thanks usualchatter for the kick in the pants; this take on the evening’s events is also worth a read) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

04 Oct 2011 10:04

tags

U.S.: Texas inmate to be freed after DNA evidence exonerates him

  • He’s eager to be released, as you can imagine, after all these years. He’s kind of going to be Rip Van Winkle — he’s never held a cell phone; Reagan was president when he went in. There’s going to be a lot of adjustments, but he’ll be fine.
  • Houston lawyer John Raley, who works with the Innocence Project • Discussing the imminent release of convicted murderer Michael Morton, who is expected to be released today after DNA evidence exonerated him from the crime of killing his wife in 1986. DNA evidence implicates a convicted felon who has also been tied to a similar 1988 murder. Morton, meanwhile, was convicted on circumstantial evidence and otherwise had no history of violence. Enjoy your freedom, Michael — they have these things called iPhones now, and they’re awesome. (thanks Michael Cote for the tip) source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2011 21:25

tags

U.S.: NYC Bus drivers want no part of Occupy Wall Street arrests

  • There’s NYPD brass with guns on buses saying ‘Move the bus, this bus is now under the control of the NYPD. What room to protest is there? It’s not a transit supervisor you’re dealing with.
  • New York Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen • Discussing the way that the Brooklyn Bridge Occupy Wall Street arrests went down, particularly how the NYPD commandeered buses to arrest protesters en masse. The union is seeking injunctions (preliminary and permanent) against the NYPD to prevent them from doing this again. “The actions of the NYPD on Oct. 1, 2011, amounted to a seizure of the bus drivers,” the union’s lawyer, Arthur Schwartz, claimed in court. Will be curious to see how this goes. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Oct 2011 09:26

tags

U.S.: This year’s Nobel Prize for Medicine co-winner died three days ago

  • Friday Ralph Steinman, a senior physician at Rockefeller University noted for his research into dendritic cells, dies after suffering from pancreatic cancer for the past four years. A big loss for the world of medicine.
  • Monday The Nobel Prize Committee awards the Nobel Price for Medicine. Steinman won for his research into the immune system. They don’t give out prizes posthumously. The Nobel folks didn’t know. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 20:38

tags

U.S.: NYPD: 400 arrested on Brooklyn Bridge during protests

  • Some complied and took the walkway without being arrested. Other locked arms and proceeded on the Brooklyn-bound vehicular roadway. The latter were arrested.
  • A NYPD police spokesman • Discussing the arrests of 400 protesters (EDIT: This number jumped significantly from an earlier version of this story — from 50 to 400) on the Brooklyn Bridge earlier today, during the Occupy Wall Street protests, which are starting to pick up some steam (along with union support). Witnesses say that police used orange netting to surround and control the movements of protesters, and those arrested were taken away on three separate buses. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

01 Oct 2011 16:43

tags

U.S.: Labor unions slowly latching onto Occupy Wall Street

  • I think it’s a tactic and a valid tactic to call attention to a problem. Wall Street is out of control. We have three imbalances in this country—the imbalance between imports and exports, the imbalance between employer power and working power, and the imbalance between the real economy and the financial economy. We need to bring back balance to the financial economy, and calling attention to it and peacefully protesting is a very legitimate way of doing it.
  • AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka • Talking on C-SPAN Friday about mass protests in general and Occupy Wall Street in particular. Trumka’s endorsement of the protests shadows the growing support the movement is getting from such labor unions as the Transport Workers Union. If the movement grows among labor unions, that will help swell the growth of the movement significantly. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Oct 2011 16:16

tags

U.S.: Why the anti-Bank of America “Take Back Boston” protests worked so well

  • Much credit to these protesters: In some ways, these protests were arguably more effective in one quick burst than the Occupy Wall Street protests have been in one long, slow-moving one. With a specific target (Bank of America) and a specific reason (their overly harsh handling of foreclosures) the result is a protest that plays well for the cameras and effectively encapsulates the point of what’s going on. People got arrested, but they did peacefully. It took a while to draw some reaction from Occupy Wall Street; Bank of America was forced to dismiss the protests as a PR stunt right away. But the fact they had to say anything at all is a big deal. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

29 Sep 2011 22:46

tags

U.S.: California inmates hunger strike en masse … for the second time

  • first Roughly 6,600 prisoners went on a hunger strike in California, protesting the rough conditions due to lack of human contact. Officials said they would review their procedures.
  • then Officials reviewed their procedures, and decided, well, maybe there’s something to this whole prisoner-treatment thing, and said they would make changes.
  • now They haven’t done enough: Roughly 4,200 inmates haven’t eaten since Monday, despite the threat of punishment for inmates on hunger strikes. source
  • » Treating “gang members” differently: Many of the concerns the prisoners have with their treatment revolve around the fact that they were put into fairly extreme prison cells, designed to limit human contact, due to their perceived affiliation with gangs. One of the ways they can get out involves a process called “debriefing,” where the prisoner renounces his gang affiliation and discloses information about possible members — which has the effect of putting the prisoner directly in danger. Activists consider this damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don’t approach to handling prisoners akin to torture. “These are inhumane conditions designed to extract information from someone,” noted Carol Strickman of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, an activist group.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
<< newer 
top tags
older >>