July 28, 2013

Gays in Baton Rouge arrested under invalid sodomy law

Gays in Baton Rouge arrested under invalid sodomy law
Sheriff's Office sets up park stakeouts to ensnare gay men

BY JIM MUSTIAN
Advocate staff writer
July 27, 2013

An undercover East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff’s deputy was staking out Manchac Park about 10 a.m. one day this month when a slow-moving sedan pulling into the parking lot caught his attention. The deputy parked alongside the 65-year-old driver and, after denying being a cop, began a casual conversation that was electronically monitored by a backup team nearby.

As the two men moved their chat to a picnic table, the deputy propositioned his target with “some drinks and some fun” back at his place, later inquiring whether the man had any condoms, according to court records. After following the deputy to a nearby apartment, the man was handcuffed and booked into Parish Prison on a single count of attempted crime against nature.

There had been no sex-for-money deal between the two. The men did not agree to have sex in the park, a public place. And the count against the man was based on a part of Louisiana’s anti-sodomy law struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court a decade ago.

The July 18 arrest is among at least a dozen cases since 2011 in which a Sheriff’s Office task force used the unenforceable law to ensnare men who merely discussed or agreed to have consensual sex with an undercover agent, an investigation by The Advocate has found.


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http://theadvocate.com/home/6580728-125/gays-in-baton-rouge-arrested

July 28, 2013

The Permafrost We're Building On

The Permafrost We're Building On
.
"A couple of cities in northern Russia near 70 degrees north latitude may have registered the warmest temperatures so far north in global records."
Permafrost threatened by rapid retreat of Arctic sea ice
http://www.terranature.org/permafrostThreatened.htm



The Trans-Alaska Pipeline north of Valdez. Alaska's infrastructure depends on permafrost staying frozen. The pipeline is above ground or in insulated ditches to keep the heat of the oil from thawing the permafrost it rests on. Permafrost thawing will have disastrous consequences for many parts of Alaska's built and natural environment.

Arctic Sea Ice Extent
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/charctic-interactive-sea-ice-graph/
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/global.html

July 28, 2013

Obama Sounds Skeptical on XL Keystone (?)

NYT: A couple other quick subjects that are economic-related. Keystone pipeline -- Republicans especially talk about that as a big job creator. You've said that you would approve it only if you could be assured it would not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon in the atmosphere. Is there anything that Canada could do or the oil companies could do to offset that as a way of helping you to reach that decision?

MR. OBAMA: Well, first of all, Michael, Republicans have said that this would be a big jobs generator. There is no evidence that that’s true. And my hope would be that any reporter who is looking at the facts would take the time to confirm that the most realistic estimates are this might create maybe 2,000 jobs during the construction of the pipeline -- which might take a year or two -- and then after that we’re talking about somewhere between 50 and 100 [chuckles] jobs in a economy of 150 million working people.

NYT: Yet there are a number of unions who want you to approve this.

MR. OBAMA: Well, look, they might like to see 2,000 jobs initially. But that is a blip relative to the need.

So what we also know is, is that that oil is going to be piped down to the Gulf to be sold on the world oil markets, so it does not bring down gas prices here in the United States. In fact, it might actually cause some gas prices in the Midwest to go up where currently they can’t ship some of that oil to world markets.

Now, having said that, there is a potential benefit for us integrating further with a reliable ally to the north our energy supplies. But I meant what I said; I'm going to evaluate this based on whether or not this is going to significantly contribute to carbon in our atmosphere. And there is no doubt that Canada at the source in those tar sands could potentially be doing more to mitigate carbon release.

NYT: And if they did, could that offset the concerns about the pipeline itself?

MR. OBAMA: We haven't seen specific ideas or plans. But all of that will go into the mix in terms of John Kerry’s decision or recommendation on this issue.

MORE:
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/us/politics/interview-with-president-obama.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0



http://www.democraticunderground.com/10023358577

July 28, 2013

This story should not be hijacked as one of about greedy, fiscal, public unions.

from today's ABC roundtable:

WILL: Can't solve the problems, because their problems are cultural. You have a city, 139 square miles, you can graze cattle in vast portions of it, dangerous herds of feral dogs roam in there. 3 percent of fourth graders reading at the national math standards, 47 percent of Detroit residents are functionally illiterate, 79 percent of Detroit children are born to unmarried mothers. They don't have a fiscal problem, Steve, they have a cultural collapse.

VANDEN HEUVEL: I find that really insulting to the people of Detroit. I think there is a serious discussion about the future of cities in a time of deindustrialization. But in many ways, Detroit has been a victim of market forces, and I think that what Steve said is so critical, that retirees and workers should not bear this. And this story should not be hijacked as one of about greedy, fiscal, public unions.

http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/week-transcript-judy-smith-jack-lew/storynew?id=19792551&page=3

July 28, 2013

Corporate Media Outrage-Ometer

CORPORATE
MEDIA OUTRAGE - OMETER:

Texting nude pictures of yourself, or "Sexting" (Tony Weiner) = AN Unforgivable Sin;

Wearing a Diaper while Soliciting the favors of a prostitute (Senator David Vitter) = Not Even an Issue*
(* unless you're a Democrat like Eliot Spitzer, and you don't wear the Diaper - Then it's of Earth Shattering, Career Ending importance.)

Participating in the Destruction of the World Economy through advocating Deregulation while making misogynist comments and being wrong about everything in your chosen area of expertise (Larry
Summers) = No big deal, in fact it may increase your prestige;

Advocating Re Regulation of the Markets, (Robert Reich, Paul Krugman) = Insanely Unrealistic,
the pipe dream of utopian idealists who probably believe in Unicorns.
This can only hurt your credibility.

Almost Crashing the World Economy, demanding taxpayer funded bailouts in the
trillions (Wall Street banksters)= the cost of doing business;

Foodstamps for the Poor = Dependency on bloated welfare state "handouts".

Data Mining and collecting the phone records of journalists in direct violation of the Bill of Rights = Laudible behavior;

Telling Your Fellow Americans their government is spying on them, in a blatant violation of Democratic Norms and Constitutional rights (Edward Snowden)= High Treason.








Found & stolen
from the tubes,
kp

July 28, 2013

“You’re really doing what you need to be doing” & teachers would tell me “But the test says I’m Not"

This is a school where the average child entering kindergarten has a vocabulary of 300 words, versus 3,000 words for kids in suburban schools. The whole thing is worth a read for what he notices about education and for a brave coming out story.

July 28, 2013

80 Percent Of U.S. Adults Face Near-Poverty, Unemployment: Survey

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — Four out of 5 U.S. adults struggle with joblessness, near-poverty or reliance on welfare for at least parts of their lives, a sign of deteriorating economic security and an elusive American dream.

Survey data exclusive to The Associated Press points to an increasingly globalized U.S. economy, the widening gap between rich and poor, and the loss of good-paying manufacturing jobs as reasons for the trend.

The findings come as President Barack Obama tries to renew his administration's emphasis on the economy, saying in recent speeches that his highest priority is to "rebuild ladders of opportunity" and reverse income inequality.

As nonwhites approach a numerical majority in the U.S., one question is how public programs to lift the disadvantaged should be best focused – on the affirmative action that historically has tried to eliminate the racial barriers seen as the major impediment to economic equality, or simply on improving socioeconomic status for all, regardless of race.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/28/poverty-unemployment-rates_n_3666594.html

July 28, 2013

Obama: "Some of those folks think I usurp my authority by having the gall to win the presidency.”

Some of those folks think I usurp my authority by having the gall to win the presidency.”

Mr. Obama all but dared Republicans to challenge his executive actions, including his decision three weeks ago to delay until 2015 the health care law’s mandate that large employers provide insurance or pay fines. Republicans and some legal scholars questioned whether he had the legal authority to unilaterally change the law.

The delay in the employer mandate, which mostly affects large businesses that already insure workers but are worried about federal reporting requirements, was “the kind of routine modifications or tweaks to a large program that’s starting off that in normal times in a normal political atmosphere would draw a yawn from everybody,” Mr. Obama said.

“If Congress thinks that what I’ve done is inappropriate or wrong in some fashion, they’re free to make that case,” he said. “But there’s not an action that I take that you don’t have some folks in Congress who say that I’m usurping my authority. Some of those folks think I usurp my authority by having the gall to win the presidency.”

........................

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/28/us/politics/obama-says-income-gap-is-fraying-us-social-fabric.html?pagewanted=all

July 28, 2013

New beer lawsuit could spell trouble for Keystone XL pipeline

Bell’s Brewery, which bills itself as the oldest and largest brewery in Michigan, has just filed a lawsuit against the company Enbridge and if that name doesn’t ring a bell, think back to July 26, 2010 when an Enbridge pipeline broke and spilled an estimated 843,00 gallons of Line 6B oil into the Kalamazoo River, making it the largest tar sands oil spill in US history. How does that affect the proposed Keystone XL pipeline? Just for starters, it undercuts the safety claims of pipeline advocates. The Enbridge cleanup is not nearly complete after three full years, and EPA has all but admitted that up to 168,000 gallons of oil will remain in the Kalamazoo River indefinitely.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

In a statement issued on July 2, Larry Bell, President of Bell’s Brewery, explained:

“As Michigan’s oldest and largest brewery, Bell’s has a longstanding commitment to quality. While Bell’s uses water from the municipal water system to brew our beer, the pristine cleanliness of the water and air around our brewery and neighbors is of the utmost importance to us.”

Evidently Bell’s concerns were not addressed, because last week the company filed a lawsuit against Enbridge and CCP, the developer of the site where the pollution facility is being located, at Comstock Commerce Park. The facility will be used to process sediment dredged from a delta near Morrow Lake.

As reported by Ursula Zerilli of Midwestern Energy News, the lawsuit alleges that Enbridge and the developer failed to notify Comstock Township of the work, and CCP failed to notify other businesses on the property as required by Michigan law.


MORE (wouldn't it be something if the BEER/Water get priority?):
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/07/28/new-beer-lawsuit-could-spell-trouble-for-keystone-xl-pipeline/

July 28, 2013

Hacker found dead days before he was due to demonstrate how to kill someone fitted with a pacemaker

Hacker found dead just days before he was due to demonstrate how to kill someone fitted with a pacemaker at conference
Barnaby Jack had said he could kill a person from 30 feet by using the hack
Gained infamy after demonstrating how to hack cash machines

..............

A computer hacker who gained cult status across the internet after revealing how to hack cash machines has been found a week before he was due to demonstrate how to kill someone by hacking their pacemaker.

The body of Barnaby Jack was found in San Francisco yesterday. The city's medical examiner's office would not give any further details.

.......................


He was due to appear at the Black Hat hacking convention in San Francisco next week, demonstrating how he could attack heart devices.

He had claimed he had developed techniques for attacking implanted heart devices that could kill a man from 30 feet away

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2379009/Barnaby-Jack-dead-days-demonstrate-kill-fitted-pacemaker.html#ixzz2aIZJaLOw