"Scrap metal theft evolving into sophisticated business" by Kirk Johnson, New York Times | May 16, 2010
I've already scrapped them on December 31, 2007; the one New Year's resolution that actually took.
PIERCE, Colo. — Scrap metal thieves are not known for sophistication. From drug addicts in the 1970s ripping copper plumbing from walls to scrap-yard regulars of more recent years who proffer whatever fell off a truck, it has mostly been about having a strong back and a willingness to get dirty, law enforcement officials say.
The thieves who struck the Tucker dairy farm this year were different.
Start with the possession of a cherry-picker utility truck, which they apparently deployed to reach the tops of the 18-foot-tall poles bringing electricity to the farm. The thieves knew how to take down fully-charged electricity lines without getting killed and then, the police said, had a big enough team to roll up hundreds of pounds of wire and make their getaway. The case has not been solved.
Metal crime is being nudged into the 21st century, law enforcement officials and insurance experts say. And new tools in stanching the stolen metal market — hundreds of millions of dollars a year in value, according to insurance industry estimates — are also revealing how nimble criminals have become.
Last year, for example, a huge trailer-mounted portable generator, with a GPS unit mounted on its frame, was stolen in Kansas. The police could determine only that the rig was taken sometime between Friday and Monday. But by then, according to the GPS unit, the generator was in Mexico.So that is where the stuff is being hauled, huh?
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Of course, that downed economy that has caused stuff like that is doing just great!
Your FRONT-PAGE FEATURE today!
"High-end spenders again indulge urge to splurge" by Johnny Diaz, Globe Staff | May 17, 2010
During the recession, consumers in every income bracket scaled back on discretionary spending. But analysts say the slow and steady economic recovery is causing higher-end shoppers to loosen their purse strings again — splurging on everything from $200 pearl necklaces to $500,000 cars to million-dollar homes. Some analysts note, though, that the average consumer may not be riding this luxury wave.
"It is certainly a reversal of fortune for Newbury Street."
Yes, the RICH are doing JUST FINE, America, so go back to eating mouthpiece MSM s***.
"Chomsky barred from West Bank; MIT professor turned away at Jordan border" by Peter Schworm, Globe Staff | May 17, 2010
Noam Chomsky, an outspoken voice on the political left and a fierce critic of Israeli foreign policy, was denied entry by Israeli officials into the West Bank yesterday, where he was scheduled to deliver a lecture at a Palestinian university.
Chomsky, a renowned linguistics professor at MIT, was seeking to cross the border between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, but was turned away after being questioned for several hours. He said authorities did not provide an explanation, but told him they would send a written account to the American Embassy.
An Israeli official said in published reports that border officials barred Chomsky because they mistakenly thought he was also planning to visit other places in Israel outside of the Palestinian territory. She said border and immigration officials were consulting military officials about potentially letting him enter the country.
“We are trying to contact the military to clear things up, and if they have no objection, we see no reason why he should not be allowed in,’’ Interior Ministry spokeswoman Sabine Haddad told Reuters.
In an e-mail to the Globe, Chomsky said he believed he was being singled out for his criticism of Israel, as well as his plans to speak at a Palestinian university. “They are carrying out an action of a kind that I’ve never heard of before, except in totalitarian states,’’ he said.
Chomsky, 81, said he believes he was also targeted because his trip did not include any engagements at Israeli universities, as he has often done in the past. He predicted that Israel would ultimately reverse its decision because of international criticism.
In a live television interview with Al Jazeera, Chomsky said the Israeli government “does not like the kind of things I say, which puts them into the category of every other government in the world.’’
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Chomsky, who is Jewish, is a frequent critic of Israeli policy in the Palestinian territories and of US support for Israel....
Chomsky’s daughter —
Related: Noam Chomsky on 9/11 Conspiracy
That is the exact reaction I had upon seeing this as the above-the-fold Metro lead today.
Since when did the Globe care about Chumpsky anyway?
They never review his books.
See: Noam Chomsky: Controlled Asset Of The New World Order
Everyone has their place, huh?
Also see: I’M SURPRISED ISRAEL DID NOT GIVE CHOMSKY THE ‘RED CARPET’ WELCOME
