See if you can escape alive:
"Haunted houses become more extreme" by Callum Borchers | Globe Staff October 25, 2014
When you run haunted theme parks for a living, you don’t scare easily. But these days Michael Accomando is terrified.
The Spooky World co-owner looks around his industry and sees what he considers a disturbing trend: Halloween attractions that go far beyond creepy masks and fake blood, to outright physical confrontation of willing participants, including binding, gagging, and torture tactics such as waterboarding.
“With some of these extreme haunts, somebody is going to die at some point,” said Accomando, whose haunted houses in Litchfield, N.H., and Cranston, R.I., enforce strict no-touching rules. “I guarantee that’s going to happen.”
Americans’ growing love of Halloween, coupled with their increasing desensitization to violence and gore, has created a dilemma for the $500 million haunted theme park industry.
Okay, I wanted to comment on a few things here before moving to the next room.
The first is this obscene fascination with torture and its introduction through culture and television that has somehow normalized it all, I've heard of that, torture, no big deal, even Obama said we tortured some folks as he represses and redacts the report. Now it is being turned into some sort of AMUSEMENT! Talk about conditioning a people for what is coming their way, and it is not amusing at all if you are under it. Remember the words "I confess" and sign whatever they want.
The second thing is the "love" coupled with desensitization of violence and gore comment coming from a ma$$ media that has done all it can to desensitize us to the goddamn wars while pushing the gun control agenda back here at home. The stinking hypocritical steamers they defecate on a daily basis are beyond offensive and insulting at this point. Couple that with the con$tant per$pective coming from my propaganda pre$$ and the dilemma for industry comment makes a lot of $en$e.
People want more than ever to be scared, yet because consumers are exposed to graphic content on a regular basis — in popular horror movies, for example — it is a steep challenge to come up with a novel fright.
I don't watch horror movies anymore, and that includes the staged and scripted frauds and fakes of the "news" channels. The Globe is scary enough for me.
The result is a small but expanding subgenre of hard-core haunts that immerse patrons in simulated scenes of cruelty and abuse that seem pulled from some rogue CIA operation. These operations are targeted at mature audiences only, often enforcing age minimums of 16, 18, or even 21.
Yeah, except it wasn't rogue, it was policy signed off on by Bush, Cheney, Condi, Rummy, et al, and it continues to this day (in international waters so Obummer doesn't look bad, of course).
Some are such low-profile operations that they’re run out of private homes, and many operate with little or no oversight. A few have joined industry trade groups, only to be booted out for being too extreme; others are asked to tone things down by nervous landlords.
Oh, so this is some scheme to regulate fake torture from a government that engages in the real stuff (with little or no oversight -- or articles in the paper, for that matter)?
Even many mainstream haunts have taken a sharp turn from classic imaginary characters, like vampires and ghosts, and embraced darker, more realistic figures, such as kidnappers and serial killers.
Does that include lying presidents and former presidents of the U.S.A., the coterie of Israeli war criminal cabinets, and their EU collaborators?
I must admit, seeing them in a haunted house would frighten the fuck out of me.
Accomando, for one, has pushed the envelope at Spooky World. At its New Hampshire location, his company last year staged the discovery of fake human remains in nearby woods to hype its latest plotline. And because Spooky World got local police to play along, some residents thought the faux crime scene was legitimate.
Okay, I want to stop right here and point out something: be it crisis actors, fake videos, fake shootings, and all the other scripted and staged false flag drills gone live, this goes to show you that YOU CAN NOT BELIEVE ANYTHING that comes from AUTHORITY or its ma$$ media MOUTHPIECES!
Look, folks, if they would fake the fireworks there is nothing they would not fake. It's more likely than not, much more likely, that EVERYTHING YOU SEE or READ in the AmeriKan ma$$ media is DISTORTION at BEST, STAGED and SCRIPTED FAKERY at WORST!
It's ALL LIES, folks. All AGENDA-PUSHING LIES to BENEFIT a cho$en elite!!
Such stunts always spark complaints, yet people come in droves — 60,000 to the Litchfield Spooky World alone, in a good year. That’s merely a sliver of an adult haunted-house market the National Retail Federation estimates at 32.7 million people.
“Haunts are increasingly becoming more of a personal immersive theater experience,” said Christine Scharf, editor-in-chief of the Raven & Black Cat, a website that reviews haunted houses. “In the digital age when everything is virtual, people are looking for that tactile experience. The more extreme haunts make you the star of your own horror movie.”
You first.
One of the most intense attractions ever rated by Scharf’s site was at Cranmore Mountain Adventure Park in North Conway, N.H. A small outfit called Death Becomes You Productions transformed part of the family-friendly ski resort into a convincing replica of a torture chamber, where visitors paid $30 to be handcuffed to a bed and have bags pulled over their heads and live cockroaches crawl along their legs and necks.
The Rendition Ride?
“What we were trying to do was take total control of that person and make them do things they normally wouldn’t do,” said cocreator Jim Chichwak. “The whole idea was to make them crack.”
So they will sign a confession to.... anything? Do they torturing your kids in front of you like they did to Aafia Siddiqui or KSM? In the name of realism, I mean.
The Cult, as the experience was called, lasted only the 2012 Halloween season. Cranmore deemed it over-the-top, and Chichwak acknowledged audiences were too small to make it a viable business.
But if the crowds had come and there was no criticism?
Chichwak has since reverted to producing a tamer production called the Ghoullog.
But he maintains the Cult would be a hit in a major metropolitan area, where crowds would be larger, and said his company was tapping into a real demand among people who want to test their nerves in a controlled environment.
That's the problem: it's a controlled setting and you know the torture is not real and could be stopped at any time for safety.
Besides, we already have haunted houses where people are tortured: we call 'em jails.
Indeed other extreme haunts have demonstrated staying power. At Blackout Haunted House in New York City, people pay as much as $135 to participate in elaborate scenarios that include staged abductions, forced stripping, and water boarding.
Enjoy the six seconds before the chemical reactions kick in and the mind goes haywire with panic. It's NOT FUN!
As for the rest of "The Game"....
Vortex Productions, the company behind Blackout, has hosted Halloween events in Los Angeles and Chicago and also has productions during the off-season to satisfy patrons whose love of the macabre is not confined to October.
I was going to say thankfully this is only once a year for a few days, but.... SIGH!
What a sick society we have become, but I suppose that is what happens when you have been steeped in Zionist values and control.
McKamey Manor, the backyard creation of a San Diego couple, is a year-round operation on weekend nights. Sessions run four to seven hours and can include being force fed, stuffed in a coffin, and roughed up to the point of leaving real cuts and bruises. McKamey admits just two people per night; the waiting list exceeds 17,000.
Maybe you can join the Gitmo prisoners for dinner.
Extreme haunts typically require visitors to sign — and in some cases recite on video — extensive waivers that include accepting the possibility of injury. Most provide guests with a “safe word” they can call out at any time to end the nightmare.
I already told you what it was. I CONFESS!
People who get a thrill from hard-core haunts experience the same kind of enjoyment others might take from different extreme activities, such as running a Tough Mudder obstacle course or eating ultrahot peppers, said Abigail Marsh, a professor of psychology at Georgetown University who has conducted research on the haunted-house phenomenon. The attraction, she added, is the sense of accomplishment participants experience after they endure such hardships through mental fortitude.
“Maybe we’re in a weird cultural place,” Marsh said. “People seem to find pleasure at whatever level is right below the one they can’t stand.”
Weird to say the least. Try sick.
Scharf said she has “only met incredibly kind, wonderful people” behind the scenes of extreme haunts. The San Diego couple, Russ and Carol McKamey, for example, don’t charge admission but instead require a donation of dog food to a greyhound rescue program. Many of the actors are just that — thespians working side gigs. Others include professional wrestlers who have been trained in the stage drama of their trade — performing seemingly dangerous maneuvers without causing serious harm.
They sound like crisis actors, and we have seen so many these last few years.
Despite such assurances, extreme attractions such as Blackout and the Cult have alarmed officials at America Haunts, a trade association of the country’s biggest haunts, including Spooky World.
You have seen what has alarmed me!
“We don’t like them,” said Ben Armstrong, an America Haunts board member and co-owner of the Netherworld haunted house in Atlanta. “We’ve spent a lot of time trying to make our industry more professional, and these guys come along and they’re touching people, waterboarding them. We’re concerned people will get injured or confuse what they’re doing with mainstream haunted attractions.”
--more--"
As we leave the house I'm more sad than scared.
So what other attractions are there in the Globe's haunting pages?
"NYC police kill man attacking with hatchet" Associated Press October 24, 2014
NEW YORK — New York City police shot and killed a hatchet-wielding man after he suddenly attacked a group of patrol officers without warning on Thursday afternoon on a busy commercial district in Queens.
Here we go again!
At a news conference at a hospital where one officer was being treated for a serious head wound, Police Commissioner William Bratton said investigators were still trying to confirm the identity of the assailant and determine a motive.
Security videotape and witness accounts appeared to leave no doubt that the man purposely targeted four rookie New York Police Department officers, police said.
Moments before the attack, he was seen on a street corner crouching down to pull the hatchet out of backpack before he charged the officers and began swinging the hatchet with a two-handed grip, police said.
Asked if the attack could be related to terrorism, Bratton didn’t rule it out. He cited the fatal shooting of a soldier in Canada earlier this week — what officials there have called a terror attack — as reason for concern....
Now I know that was an agenda-pushing psyop.
Related: ISIS Freezes Canada
Now I'm just laughing at all this fraud.
--more--"
Btw, there is another demon baby on the way.
"NYC ax attack was act of terrorism, police leader says" by Tom Hays | Associated Press October 25, 2014
NEW YORK — A daylight hatchet attack against a group of police officers on a busy New York street was a terrorist act by a reclusive Muslim convert who ranted online against America but had no clear ties to international extremists, the police commissioner said Friday.
Pffffffffttt!
Yes, there are terrorists amongst us!
Police were examining Zale Thompson’s computer for clues about a motive for the Thursday assault that left one of the officers seriously injured and ended with Thompson being killed by police.
Police Commissioner William Bratton said Thompson’s browsing history included organized terror groups, beheadings, and the shooting in Canada earlier this week that officials there have called a terrorist attack.
You guys gotta get some new scripts with some new actors because this is getting so played. It's not scary at all anymore.
Thompson was not on any watch lists, and officials found no indication that he sought any training or affiliation to any groups.
PFFFFFT!!
Bratton said investigators were trying to determine whether the attack was planned or spontaneous but believe Thompson was self-radicalized. His father told officials he converted to Islam about two years ago and was described as a ‘‘recluse’’ who had been depressed lately. ‘‘This was a terrorist attack, certainly,’’ Bratton said.
So what pre$cription pharmaceuticals were whacking his mind?
But he also stopped short of including the attack in the list of terror plots against the city since Sept. 11, 2001, saying the investigation was continuing.
Thompson, 32, had once served in the Navy and had a history of run-ins with the law over domestic violence in California in 2003 and 2004, police said.
Oh, no, NOT AGAIN!
He was on a PSYOPS MISSION!
In recent postings on social media, he ranted about injustices in American society and oppression abroad, but the postings didn’t point to any affiliation with a terror group or direct influence of radical Islam, they said.
Neither do mine. I'm just one sick of being lied to, pissed off American.
Security video and witness accounts appeared to leave no doubt that Thompson purposely targeted four rookie New York Police Department officers who were in uniform and on foot patrol in a bustling Queens commercial district.
When the propaganda pre$$ claims no doubt that is when I doubt most. Too many distortions, too many lies, for far too long.
Moments before the attack, the bearded suspect was seen on a street corner crouching down to pull the hatchet out of backpack before he charged the officers and began swinging the hatchet with a two-handed grip, police said.
At the time, the officers were posing for a photo for a passerby. Without a word, Thompson swung at an officer who blocked the blow with his arm, police said. Another officer was hit in the back of the head and fell to the ground.
The two uninjured officers drew their weapons and fired several rounds, police said. The bullets killed the assailant and wounded a bystander, police said. Officer Kenneth Healey remained hospitalized on Friday with a head wound. The bystander, a 29-year-old woman, also was being treated for a gunshot wound to the back.
--more--"
Just don't lose your head laughing.
"Police: Man decapitates mother, is killed by train" Associated Press October 30, 2014
FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — A man with a history of psychiatric problems decapitated his mother, dragged her body into the street in front of their home, then killed himself by walking into the path of an oncoming train, police said Wednesday.
Psycho.
Patricia Ward, a 66-year-old college professor, was killed Tuesday night in her Farmingdale apartment, just steps from a Long Island Rail Road station, Nassau County Police Detective Lieutenant John Azzata said. Her body was found in the street, her head several paces away, police said. A knife was recovered in the apartment.
Ward’s 35-year-old son, Derek, committed suicide several minutes later by walking in front of a commuter train, Azzata said.
Derek Ward was arrested years ago for gun possession and criminal mischief and had a psychiatric history going back about 10 years, authorities said. The mother and son had lived in the apartment for about three months, and police had no record of any domestic violence complaints, Azzata said.
--more--"
I hope that doesn't cost you any sleep tonight, readers.
This might:
"Car smashes Ten Commandments statue in Okla." Associated Press October 25, 2014
OKLAHOMA CITY — Authorities took a man into custody Friday after they say he admitted driving a car onto the state Capitol grounds and into a disputed granite monument of the Ten Commandments, smashing it to pieces.
The man was detained after he showed up at a federal building in Oklahoma City on Friday morning, rambling and making derogatory statements about the president, and admitted destroying the monument, said David Allison, an agent with the Secret Service in Oklahoma City.
‘‘He claimed he got out of his car, urinated on the monument, and then ran over it and destroyed it,’’ Allison said. ‘‘He said Satan told him to do it, and that he was a Satanist.’’
The 6-foot-tall monument was erected in 2012 with the blessing of the conservative Legislature. The American Civil Liberties Union of Oklahoma has been suing to have it removed, arguing that it violates the state constitution and could be seen as a state endorsement of a religion.
ACLU on the side of the Satanists?
--more--"
There is evil in the world.
I say put the Satanists to death. To hell with 'em.
Magical efforts to reach Houdini coming to Danvers
The next thing you know the Globe will be seeing UFOs.
Westminster postpones Halloween night festivities because of EEE fears
Good idea.
Good night.
Friday, October 31, 2014
Halloween 2014: Menino Will Haunt Boston
“Because of his leadership, Boston is a better place today.”
"Thomas M. Menino, Boston’s longest serving mayor, dies at 71" by Bryan Marquard and Jim O’Sullivan | Globe Staff October 30, 2014
Thomas Michael Menino, who insisted a mayor doesn’t need a grand vision to lead, then went on to shepherd Boston’s economy and shape the skyline and the very identity of the city he loved through an unprecedented five consecutive terms in City Hall, died Thursday.
An old-school politician whose smarts owed more to the streets than the college classroom, Mr. Menino nonetheless helped turn Boston into a hub of 21st-century innovation, recruiting high-tech companies to the sprawling South Boston waterfront one minute, then cutting the ribbon at a neighborhood burrito shop the next....
--more--"
I don't want to throw dirt on the guy, but wealth inequality has soared during his term, the college kids were living in slums, he played favorites more than anyone, and there is more common crime now.
The guy left Walsh a mess, yet the elite of Bo$ton gained and that is why he gets the tributes from the Bo$ton Globe.
Across the city, tears and memories of Menino flow
The tributes begin on page A9 of my printed Globe and continue all the way to page A14 (ugh), with the entire op/ed section devoted to his passing. It's a real bummer for the campaigns, dude (Wow. A guy just lost his life and it's how's the politics?). The coverage continues on page B4 through B6 and beyond, but I'm going to let it rest in peace.
I don't blame amount of coverage, he was mayor of Boston. I just don't like the spin.
Former mayor Thomas M. Menino hospitalized with dehydration
"Menino breaks off cancer treatment, seeks palliative care" by Andrew Ryan and Meghan E. Irons | Globe Staff October 23, 2014
Former Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino has stopped chemotherapy and other treatment for his inoperable cancer, a decision that reverberated Thursday with sadness and calls for prayer in the city he led for two decades.
The 71-year-old was diagnosed with advanced cancer in February, shortly after leaving office and the round-the-clock pace he kept during five terms as mayor.
Menino began chemotherapy and charged ahead with his post-mayoral plans. He helped launch an initiative on cities at Boston University earlier this year, traveled across the country giving speeches, and co-wrote a memoir published earlier this month.
But as Menino embarked on a book tour last week in New York City, cancer and the treatment regimen had clearly taken their toll. He used a wheelchair, and his voice was often reduced to a rasp because of laryngitis.
Upon returning to Boston, he was hospitalized with dehydration at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is receiving palliative care, and doctors have told the former mayor the next step is hospice care....
--more--"
"Menino is missed at mayoral gathering; Health issues keep him from a talk on power" by Evan Allen | Globe Staff October 26, 2014
During the “Mayors Rule” panel discussion at Old South Church, which was part of the Boston Book Festival, the book’s author, Benjamin R. Barber, laid out his theory that states are paralyzed in the face of problems like climate change, terrorism, guns, and poverty. Cities, which produce the majority of wealth and are home to the majority of people, are much better equipped to deal practically and effectively with these issues, he argued, and heads of cities should join in a world Parliament of Mayors to lead together.
“Cities are the quintessential human communities. They define our identity. They’re where we’re born, where we grow up, have our children, where we’re educated, where we create and procreate and play and pray. Where we get old and where we die,” said Barber. “And the people who choose with us to govern our cities . . . are pragmatists, problem solvers, and, above all, neighbors. You know them.”
For some in the audience, the absence of Thomas M. Menino, former mayor of Boston — a mayor who, polls showed, had personally met more than half of the city’s residents face-to-face — was deeply felt. The “urban mechanic” was known as mayor for his attention to the minute details of city life — the potholes and the playgrounds — and the panel touched repeatedly on the critical importance of no-nonsense mayors who know how to keep the machinery of a city running, regardless of politics....
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Just disregard that homeless problem:
"City taxpayers and nonprofit groups have spent millions of dollars in recent years refurbishing the stately old buildings on Long Island, the refuge on Boston Harbor where until this month about 700 homeless people sought shelter and other services every day. But all that work — repointing brick, replacing windows, and the wholescale renovation of programs — may have been for naught — Long Island has become a veritable ghost town."
Some are saying “ it’s like being in a prison with the inhumane violation of human rights, but it could be a heck of a lot worse,” which is a shame. It used to be a fun place to grab drinks while sipping Samuel Adams Octoberfest in the balmy fall air (while ignoring the foul smells, smelly feet, and incessant snoring).
Related: The $olution to Bo$ton's Hou$ing Problem
Movin' on up!
"At $37.5m, Millennium Tower condo tops most everything" by Casey Ross | Globe Staff October 23, 2014
For sale: Huge penthouse, nearly triple the price of the most expensive condominium ever sold in Boston, sure to become the city’s most exclusive address in its tallest residential building.
The 60th-story luxury unit comes with floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace looking across Boston Common to the gentle bends of the Charles River. For potential buyers struggling to imagine the view, developers dispatched a drone up 625 feet to take photos of the surrounding cityscape.
The penthouse in Millennium Tower Boston just went on the market for $37.5 million, among the priciest properties in the state amid a building boom that is attracting an influx of wealthy international buyers and billions of dollars of investment.
“It’s jaw-dropping,” said Debra Blair, president of LINK, a real estate firm that tracks the downtown condo market. “This is a building that could be in Dubai or Shanghai or Manhattan, and completely hold its own.”
On Wednesday, developer Millennium Partners opened a sales center on Franklin Street to begin marketing the 442 condominiums in the building, which is situated on the former Filene’s block in a rejuvenated part of Boston’s downtown. Prices for its condominiums — a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units — range from $850,000 to the $37.5 million penthouse.
Potential buyers who visit the sales center are whisked past a 3D model of the city into a dimly lit room that plays “Millennium Tower, the Movie.” A super high definition screen shows the lap pool, the massage and fitness rooms, and the face of the Michelin-star chef whose food is served only to residents.
“When someone comes into this room, they tend to just want to hang out for a while,” Richard Baumert, an executive with developer Millennium Partners.
As he spoke, an image of the tower rotated across the screen, showing a 360-degree view of its glass facade. In one corner of the room, a gas fireplace let off a subtle glow. In another, a model kitchen displayed high-gloss Poggenpohl cabinets and a 30-inch wine cooler.
All of it will cater to a wealthy clientele accustomed to pampering. Residents will also have access to Flex One fitness, a customized personal training program.
That's where the whole society is headed.
“It’s really three pillars: mind, body, and nutrition,” Baumert said. “There’s access to trainers, massage therapists, nutritionists, yoga, pilates — all those different activities if you like.”
Designed by Handel Architects, the skyscraper includes a private bar and club room where residents can order the finest offerings of chef Michael Mina, a James Beard winner who has restaurants from Miami to San Francisco. Although a public restaurant may also open on the property, Mina is committed only to providing the private dining service for condo owners.
The tower has two separate entrances, one for residents on the lower half of the building and another for those who buy units on the top floors. All owners will have access to valet parking, 24-hour concierge service, and the building’s fitness and nutrition services.
Going to have their very own poor door like New York, huh?
Retail space is planned for the first two levels, and a new public plaza and outdoor amphitheater will be constructed at the corner of Washington and Franklin streets. Next door, the newly restored Filene’s building will get a new Roche Bros. supermarket in the spring and a Primark department store next fall. Several floors of new offices in the building have already been filled by the advertising firm Arnold Worldwide.
So far, sales of condominiums in the new tower are proceeding briskly, according to Baumert....
Great!
--more--"
Related:
Rising downtown rents spur state to shop tower
Hook & Co., the lobster seller, plans high-rise tower
Allston sale highlights hot city housing market
Lower rents, wide choices draw tenants to Route 128
In a vacant lot, the story of Boston’s housing crunch
BRA approves $152m in development projects
Construction underway for North Station apartments
At least Menino was able to get nonprofits to contribute to the tax base:
"Many colleges not paying Boston in full for services; Forgo voluntary outlays for services; most hospitals comply" by Matt Rocheleau | Globe Correspondent October 27, 2014
Most colleges in Boston have failed to pay the city the full amount sought to help pay for municipal services, while a majority of hospitals met the recommended amounts, a Globe review has found.
Under a three-year-old program, the city asks nonprofits with more than $15 million worth of tax-exempt property to write checks twice a year to help offset the cost of police and fire protection, snow removal, and other services. The payments are voluntary contributions, in lieu of taxes.
Fifteen of the 19 colleges, including the city’s wealthiest universities, did not pay amounts requested by the city during fiscal 2014, which concluded at the end of June, according to city data. Northeastern University, which was asked for $2.5 million this past fiscal year, gave nothing, even though it paid $886,000 in each of the previous two years and $30,000 in fiscal 2011.
City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, who was a member of the task force that in 2011 recommended the so-called PILOT program, criticized the colleges that failed to reach their benchmarks.
“They were all in the room, and they all agreed to this,” Murphy said. “You made commitments; you gave your word. Is your word any good?” he added, as if he were speaking directly to the campuses.
Murphy said he hopes to hold a City Council hearing on the issue soon.
But Richard Doherty, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, said “everyone understood these were going to be voluntary payments.”
He said that for some colleges, significantly increasing their payments would force them to make budget cuts, and all of the schools already provide valuable public benefits.
“The city has recognized that these institutions make contributions far above what the formula might recommend in terms of community benefits — scholarships to Boston residents, partnerships with the schools and community centers, partnerships regarding athletic fields and facilities and arts facilities,” he said.
For decades, Boston typically negotiated payments on a case-by-case basis with nonprofits when the organizations built a new facility or acquired new property. But starting with fiscal 2012, the city established a structured system and began to incrementally increase the amounts requested of each institution with the goal that, by fiscal 2016, each nonprofit will be asked to contribute 25 percent of the property tax bill they would owe if not exempt.
Institutions can get up to half of the city’s requested amount covered through a “community benefits credit” by demonstrating they provide at least that amount through services that uniquely benefit Boston residents.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who inherited the PILOT program from his predecessor, Thomas M. Menino, is committed to keeping it, according to Melina Schuler, a spokeswoman in his office. “While the PILOT program is voluntary, institutional participation is both needed and expected, and institutions that don’t participate, or participate with less than the full amount, place a greater burden on the city’s taxpaying residents and businesses,” Schuler said.
More than half of higher-education institutions have increased their payments since the new program took effect, and Murphy and other city officials credit them for increasing city revenues.
The city this past fiscal year asked 49 institutions for a combined $34.6 million and received a total of $24.9 million, an increase of 64 percent over fiscal 2012.
If not for their tax-exempt status, the city says, the organizations would owe the city a collective $425 million in annual property taxes.
And they kicked in less than 10%, huh?
Cultural institutions and several middle-high schools are also asked to make voluntary payments. However, much of the program’s attention has focused on colleges and hospitals, economic engines for Boston....
--more--"
Also see:
City Council raises also may boost pensions
Walsh vetoes City Council pay raise
Boston City Council all the poorer after pay grab
Ignore the homeless, housing problems, and service cuts.
Two stabbed in South Boston
Boston police name 1st Muslim captain
Boston man sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking
Boston gang-unit officer charged with lying to FBI
Antiviolence program by Roca expands into Boston
Such things haunt us all.
"Thomas M. Menino, Boston’s longest serving mayor, dies at 71" by Bryan Marquard and Jim O’Sullivan | Globe Staff October 30, 2014
Thomas Michael Menino, who insisted a mayor doesn’t need a grand vision to lead, then went on to shepherd Boston’s economy and shape the skyline and the very identity of the city he loved through an unprecedented five consecutive terms in City Hall, died Thursday.
An old-school politician whose smarts owed more to the streets than the college classroom, Mr. Menino nonetheless helped turn Boston into a hub of 21st-century innovation, recruiting high-tech companies to the sprawling South Boston waterfront one minute, then cutting the ribbon at a neighborhood burrito shop the next....
--more--"
I don't want to throw dirt on the guy, but wealth inequality has soared during his term, the college kids were living in slums, he played favorites more than anyone, and there is more common crime now.
The guy left Walsh a mess, yet the elite of Bo$ton gained and that is why he gets the tributes from the Bo$ton Globe.
Across the city, tears and memories of Menino flow
The tributes begin on page A9 of my printed Globe and continue all the way to page A14 (ugh), with the entire op/ed section devoted to his passing. It's a real bummer for the campaigns, dude (Wow. A guy just lost his life and it's how's the politics?). The coverage continues on page B4 through B6 and beyond, but I'm going to let it rest in peace.
I don't blame amount of coverage, he was mayor of Boston. I just don't like the spin.
Former mayor Thomas M. Menino hospitalized with dehydration
"Menino breaks off cancer treatment, seeks palliative care" by Andrew Ryan and Meghan E. Irons | Globe Staff October 23, 2014
Former Boston mayor Thomas M. Menino has stopped chemotherapy and other treatment for his inoperable cancer, a decision that reverberated Thursday with sadness and calls for prayer in the city he led for two decades.
The 71-year-old was diagnosed with advanced cancer in February, shortly after leaving office and the round-the-clock pace he kept during five terms as mayor.
Menino began chemotherapy and charged ahead with his post-mayoral plans. He helped launch an initiative on cities at Boston University earlier this year, traveled across the country giving speeches, and co-wrote a memoir published earlier this month.
But as Menino embarked on a book tour last week in New York City, cancer and the treatment regimen had clearly taken their toll. He used a wheelchair, and his voice was often reduced to a rasp because of laryngitis.
Upon returning to Boston, he was hospitalized with dehydration at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is receiving palliative care, and doctors have told the former mayor the next step is hospice care....
--more--"
"Menino is missed at mayoral gathering; Health issues keep him from a talk on power" by Evan Allen | Globe Staff October 26, 2014
During the “Mayors Rule” panel discussion at Old South Church, which was part of the Boston Book Festival, the book’s author, Benjamin R. Barber, laid out his theory that states are paralyzed in the face of problems like climate change, terrorism, guns, and poverty. Cities, which produce the majority of wealth and are home to the majority of people, are much better equipped to deal practically and effectively with these issues, he argued, and heads of cities should join in a world Parliament of Mayors to lead together.
“Cities are the quintessential human communities. They define our identity. They’re where we’re born, where we grow up, have our children, where we’re educated, where we create and procreate and play and pray. Where we get old and where we die,” said Barber. “And the people who choose with us to govern our cities . . . are pragmatists, problem solvers, and, above all, neighbors. You know them.”
For some in the audience, the absence of Thomas M. Menino, former mayor of Boston — a mayor who, polls showed, had personally met more than half of the city’s residents face-to-face — was deeply felt. The “urban mechanic” was known as mayor for his attention to the minute details of city life — the potholes and the playgrounds — and the panel touched repeatedly on the critical importance of no-nonsense mayors who know how to keep the machinery of a city running, regardless of politics....
--more--"
Just disregard that homeless problem:
"City taxpayers and nonprofit groups have spent millions of dollars in recent years refurbishing the stately old buildings on Long Island, the refuge on Boston Harbor where until this month about 700 homeless people sought shelter and other services every day. But all that work — repointing brick, replacing windows, and the wholescale renovation of programs — may have been for naught — Long Island has become a veritable ghost town."
Some are saying “ it’s like being in a prison with the inhumane violation of human rights, but it could be a heck of a lot worse,” which is a shame. It used to be a fun place to grab drinks while sipping Samuel Adams Octoberfest in the balmy fall air (while ignoring the foul smells, smelly feet, and incessant snoring).
Related: The $olution to Bo$ton's Hou$ing Problem
Movin' on up!
"At $37.5m, Millennium Tower condo tops most everything" by Casey Ross | Globe Staff October 23, 2014
For sale: Huge penthouse, nearly triple the price of the most expensive condominium ever sold in Boston, sure to become the city’s most exclusive address in its tallest residential building.
The 60th-story luxury unit comes with floor-to-ceiling windows and an outdoor terrace looking across Boston Common to the gentle bends of the Charles River. For potential buyers struggling to imagine the view, developers dispatched a drone up 625 feet to take photos of the surrounding cityscape.
The penthouse in Millennium Tower Boston just went on the market for $37.5 million, among the priciest properties in the state amid a building boom that is attracting an influx of wealthy international buyers and billions of dollars of investment.
“It’s jaw-dropping,” said Debra Blair, president of LINK, a real estate firm that tracks the downtown condo market. “This is a building that could be in Dubai or Shanghai or Manhattan, and completely hold its own.”
On Wednesday, developer Millennium Partners opened a sales center on Franklin Street to begin marketing the 442 condominiums in the building, which is situated on the former Filene’s block in a rejuvenated part of Boston’s downtown. Prices for its condominiums — a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units — range from $850,000 to the $37.5 million penthouse.
Potential buyers who visit the sales center are whisked past a 3D model of the city into a dimly lit room that plays “Millennium Tower, the Movie.” A super high definition screen shows the lap pool, the massage and fitness rooms, and the face of the Michelin-star chef whose food is served only to residents.
“When someone comes into this room, they tend to just want to hang out for a while,” Richard Baumert, an executive with developer Millennium Partners.
As he spoke, an image of the tower rotated across the screen, showing a 360-degree view of its glass facade. In one corner of the room, a gas fireplace let off a subtle glow. In another, a model kitchen displayed high-gloss Poggenpohl cabinets and a 30-inch wine cooler.
All of it will cater to a wealthy clientele accustomed to pampering. Residents will also have access to Flex One fitness, a customized personal training program.
That's where the whole society is headed.
“It’s really three pillars: mind, body, and nutrition,” Baumert said. “There’s access to trainers, massage therapists, nutritionists, yoga, pilates — all those different activities if you like.”
Designed by Handel Architects, the skyscraper includes a private bar and club room where residents can order the finest offerings of chef Michael Mina, a James Beard winner who has restaurants from Miami to San Francisco. Although a public restaurant may also open on the property, Mina is committed only to providing the private dining service for condo owners.
The tower has two separate entrances, one for residents on the lower half of the building and another for those who buy units on the top floors. All owners will have access to valet parking, 24-hour concierge service, and the building’s fitness and nutrition services.
Going to have their very own poor door like New York, huh?
Retail space is planned for the first two levels, and a new public plaza and outdoor amphitheater will be constructed at the corner of Washington and Franklin streets. Next door, the newly restored Filene’s building will get a new Roche Bros. supermarket in the spring and a Primark department store next fall. Several floors of new offices in the building have already been filled by the advertising firm Arnold Worldwide.
So far, sales of condominiums in the new tower are proceeding briskly, according to Baumert....
Great!
--more--"
Related:
Rising downtown rents spur state to shop tower
Hook & Co., the lobster seller, plans high-rise tower
Allston sale highlights hot city housing market
Lower rents, wide choices draw tenants to Route 128
In a vacant lot, the story of Boston’s housing crunch
BRA approves $152m in development projects
Construction underway for North Station apartments
At least Menino was able to get nonprofits to contribute to the tax base:
"Many colleges not paying Boston in full for services; Forgo voluntary outlays for services; most hospitals comply" by Matt Rocheleau | Globe Correspondent October 27, 2014
Most colleges in Boston have failed to pay the city the full amount sought to help pay for municipal services, while a majority of hospitals met the recommended amounts, a Globe review has found.
Under a three-year-old program, the city asks nonprofits with more than $15 million worth of tax-exempt property to write checks twice a year to help offset the cost of police and fire protection, snow removal, and other services. The payments are voluntary contributions, in lieu of taxes.
Fifteen of the 19 colleges, including the city’s wealthiest universities, did not pay amounts requested by the city during fiscal 2014, which concluded at the end of June, according to city data. Northeastern University, which was asked for $2.5 million this past fiscal year, gave nothing, even though it paid $886,000 in each of the previous two years and $30,000 in fiscal 2011.
City Councilor Stephen J. Murphy, who was a member of the task force that in 2011 recommended the so-called PILOT program, criticized the colleges that failed to reach their benchmarks.
“They were all in the room, and they all agreed to this,” Murphy said. “You made commitments; you gave your word. Is your word any good?” he added, as if he were speaking directly to the campuses.
Murphy said he hopes to hold a City Council hearing on the issue soon.
But Richard Doherty, president of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities in Massachusetts, said “everyone understood these were going to be voluntary payments.”
He said that for some colleges, significantly increasing their payments would force them to make budget cuts, and all of the schools already provide valuable public benefits.
“The city has recognized that these institutions make contributions far above what the formula might recommend in terms of community benefits — scholarships to Boston residents, partnerships with the schools and community centers, partnerships regarding athletic fields and facilities and arts facilities,” he said.
For decades, Boston typically negotiated payments on a case-by-case basis with nonprofits when the organizations built a new facility or acquired new property. But starting with fiscal 2012, the city established a structured system and began to incrementally increase the amounts requested of each institution with the goal that, by fiscal 2016, each nonprofit will be asked to contribute 25 percent of the property tax bill they would owe if not exempt.
Institutions can get up to half of the city’s requested amount covered through a “community benefits credit” by demonstrating they provide at least that amount through services that uniquely benefit Boston residents.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh, who inherited the PILOT program from his predecessor, Thomas M. Menino, is committed to keeping it, according to Melina Schuler, a spokeswoman in his office. “While the PILOT program is voluntary, institutional participation is both needed and expected, and institutions that don’t participate, or participate with less than the full amount, place a greater burden on the city’s taxpaying residents and businesses,” Schuler said.
More than half of higher-education institutions have increased their payments since the new program took effect, and Murphy and other city officials credit them for increasing city revenues.
The city this past fiscal year asked 49 institutions for a combined $34.6 million and received a total of $24.9 million, an increase of 64 percent over fiscal 2012.
If not for their tax-exempt status, the city says, the organizations would owe the city a collective $425 million in annual property taxes.
And they kicked in less than 10%, huh?
Cultural institutions and several middle-high schools are also asked to make voluntary payments. However, much of the program’s attention has focused on colleges and hospitals, economic engines for Boston....
--more--"
Also see:
City Council raises also may boost pensions
Walsh vetoes City Council pay raise
Boston City Council all the poorer after pay grab
Ignore the homeless, housing problems, and service cuts.
Two stabbed in South Boston
Boston police name 1st Muslim captain
Boston man sentenced to 20 years for sex trafficking
Boston gang-unit officer charged with lying to FBI
Antiviolence program by Roca expands into Boston
Such things haunt us all.
Halloween 2014: Horror at the White House
I believe it's another playing for sympathy psyop:
"White House jumper mentally ill, father says" by Jessica Gresko | Associated Press October 24, 2014
WASHINGTON — The latest person to climb over the White House fence had the paranoid belief he was being watched by cameras and had previously been arrested at the executive mansion, his father said.
As soon as I read that paragraph I thought psyop.
Dominic Adesanya of Bel Air, Md., was ordered held without bond in an appearance Thursday before a federal magistrate judge. Wearing blue prison garb, he resisted being taken away and started talking as two deputy marshals removed him from the courtroom.
Adesanya, 23, has been charged with unlawfully entering the restricted grounds of the White House and harming two law enforcement dogs that were released to take him down on Wednesday. A preliminary hearing and detention hearing have been scheduled for Monday.
Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said options are being considered to enhance security at the White House, including more personnel, technology, and physical impediments to get in. He praised the agents’ response, saying, ‘‘Yesterday’s incident underscores the professionalism of the Secret Service.’’
Is that why they carried through withy this psyop?
Adesanya had previously been arrested at the White House on July 27 and ordered to undergo mental health screening. His father, Victor Adesanya, said in a telephone interview Thursday that his son has been experiencing mental health problems for over a year, but he refused the help the family tried to get for him.
Victor Adesanya said his son was diagnosed with paranoia and ‘‘complained about cameras everywhere.’’ He said at one point his son took down a mirror in the bathroom and cut into the wall, trying to find a camera. He also looked for them in the family’s attic. He said his son was not trying to hurt the president.
Yeah, ignore the surveillance and security cameras all over the place. Your just nuts for noticing!
‘‘He’s not violent,” Victor Adesanya said. “He’s not a criminal. He’s not a murderer. He’s just someone that’s just mentally disturbed.’’
Oh.
**************
After climbing over the fence Wednesday night, Adesanya was swiftly apprehended on the North Lawn, on Pennsylvania Avenue, by uniformed Secret Service agents and their dogs. He was unarmed. President Obama was at the White House at the time.
The incident came about a month after a previous White House fence jumper, Omar Gonzalez, sprinted across the same lawn carrying a knife, ran past armed uniformed agents, and entered the mansion before being apprehended in the ceremonial East Room and taken into custody.
This week a federal judge delayed Gonzalez’s arraignment because of questions about his mental fitness to stand trial.
Pffft!
The embarrassing Sept. 19 incident preceded the disclosure of other serious Secret Service breaches in security for Obama and ultimately led to Julia Pierson’s resignation as director of the agency after 18 months on the job.
Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who has been leading congressional investigations into the Secret Service, commended the swift response Wednesday night but said more needed to be known about Dominic Adesanya, including whether he was doing anything suspicious immediately before the incident that should have led to his detection.
Chaffetz also suggested changes might be needed to ‘‘maximize the pain of going over the fence.’’
‘‘It seems a little too easy to get over,’’ he said.
Yeah.
--more--"
Related: The Terrorists Among Us
Speaking of terrorists:
Israeli leader lashes back at harsh US criticism
Jew Reporter Uses Cartoon to Show Israel's Involvement in the 9/11 False Flag
That is not funny at all, since it turns out that it wasn't Muslims that did 9/11; it was Israel and her helpers in various western governments and intelligence agencies that did. As for my memories, well, we all know the 800-lb gorilla in the room, and there is no sense dancing around the missing links anymore. It's what they call the old triple cross.
Also see: Secret Service Let Gunman Get Close to Obama
What are they doing, working for Israel?
"White House jumper mentally ill, father says" by Jessica Gresko | Associated Press October 24, 2014
WASHINGTON — The latest person to climb over the White House fence had the paranoid belief he was being watched by cameras and had previously been arrested at the executive mansion, his father said.
As soon as I read that paragraph I thought psyop.
Dominic Adesanya of Bel Air, Md., was ordered held without bond in an appearance Thursday before a federal magistrate judge. Wearing blue prison garb, he resisted being taken away and started talking as two deputy marshals removed him from the courtroom.
Adesanya, 23, has been charged with unlawfully entering the restricted grounds of the White House and harming two law enforcement dogs that were released to take him down on Wednesday. A preliminary hearing and detention hearing have been scheduled for Monday.
Earlier Thursday, White House press secretary Josh Earnest said options are being considered to enhance security at the White House, including more personnel, technology, and physical impediments to get in. He praised the agents’ response, saying, ‘‘Yesterday’s incident underscores the professionalism of the Secret Service.’’
Is that why they carried through withy this psyop?
Adesanya had previously been arrested at the White House on July 27 and ordered to undergo mental health screening. His father, Victor Adesanya, said in a telephone interview Thursday that his son has been experiencing mental health problems for over a year, but he refused the help the family tried to get for him.
Victor Adesanya said his son was diagnosed with paranoia and ‘‘complained about cameras everywhere.’’ He said at one point his son took down a mirror in the bathroom and cut into the wall, trying to find a camera. He also looked for them in the family’s attic. He said his son was not trying to hurt the president.
Yeah, ignore the surveillance and security cameras all over the place. Your just nuts for noticing!
‘‘He’s not violent,” Victor Adesanya said. “He’s not a criminal. He’s not a murderer. He’s just someone that’s just mentally disturbed.’’
Oh.
**************
After climbing over the fence Wednesday night, Adesanya was swiftly apprehended on the North Lawn, on Pennsylvania Avenue, by uniformed Secret Service agents and their dogs. He was unarmed. President Obama was at the White House at the time.
The incident came about a month after a previous White House fence jumper, Omar Gonzalez, sprinted across the same lawn carrying a knife, ran past armed uniformed agents, and entered the mansion before being apprehended in the ceremonial East Room and taken into custody.
This week a federal judge delayed Gonzalez’s arraignment because of questions about his mental fitness to stand trial.
Pffft!
The embarrassing Sept. 19 incident preceded the disclosure of other serious Secret Service breaches in security for Obama and ultimately led to Julia Pierson’s resignation as director of the agency after 18 months on the job.
Representative Jason Chaffetz, a Utah Republican who has been leading congressional investigations into the Secret Service, commended the swift response Wednesday night but said more needed to be known about Dominic Adesanya, including whether he was doing anything suspicious immediately before the incident that should have led to his detection.
Chaffetz also suggested changes might be needed to ‘‘maximize the pain of going over the fence.’’
‘‘It seems a little too easy to get over,’’ he said.
Yeah.
--more--"
Related: The Terrorists Among Us
Speaking of terrorists:
Israeli leader lashes back at harsh US criticism
Jew Reporter Uses Cartoon to Show Israel's Involvement in the 9/11 False Flag
That is not funny at all, since it turns out that it wasn't Muslims that did 9/11; it was Israel and her helpers in various western governments and intelligence agencies that did. As for my memories, well, we all know the 800-lb gorilla in the room, and there is no sense dancing around the missing links anymore. It's what they call the old triple cross.
Also see: Secret Service Let Gunman Get Close to Obama
What are they doing, working for Israel?
Halloween 2014: Scary Jail Cells
"Charles Manson jail cell preserved in LA Hall of Justice" Associated Press October 27, 2014
LOS ANGELES — The old Los Angeles Hall of Justice has received a dazzling restoration.
But a single grim artifact has been preserved: the claustrophobic jail cell occupied by Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, and other high-profile defendants.
The cell is in the basement where the county coroner once performed autopsies on Marilyn Monroe and Senator Robert F. Kennedy in the building that also saw the trials of Bugsy Siegel and movie stars Robert Mitchum and Charlie Chaplin.
The Hall of Justice opened in 1926 as an all-purpose justice center, providing 17 courtrooms, 750 jail cells, a morgue, and offices for law enforcement officials.
Its proximity to Hollywood made it a site of famous trials and fictional movie and TV shows, including ‘‘Dragnet’’ and ‘‘Get Smart.’’
In 1949, movie star Robert Mitchum, convicted of marijuana possession, served his 60-day sentence there.
The 12-floor edifice was restored at a cost of $231.8 million.
I'm sure the austerity-lashed California taxpayers will be pleased with that.
--more--"
Also see: Nev. court considers Simpson case
I'm not going to.
"Rikers corruption spurs NYC shake-up" by Michael Schwirtz and Michael Winerip | New York Times October 29, 2014
NEW YORK — In a major shake-up at the New York City Correction Department, three high-ranking officials, including the top uniformed officer, are stepping down amid mounting criticism over the handling of violence and corruption at Rikers Island.
The chief of the department, William Clemons, and two high-level deputies — Joandrea Davis, the bureau chief of administration, and Gregory McLaughlin, the bureau chief of facility operations — are departing, according to two senior correction officials. The Department of Correction did not immediately comment or provide an explanation for the sudden changes. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s hand-picked correction commissioner, Joseph Ponte, had promoted all three within the last five months.
But the department has been under intense pressure from the news media, lawmakers, and federal authorities to address systemic brutality and corruption at Rikers, the country’s second-largest jail complex. The US attorney’s office in Manhattan, which in August released a damning report detailing abuse of adolescent inmates at Rikers, has threatened to sue the city if changes are not made.
The highest-ranking official in the group, Clemons, was a 29-year veteran of the department. But he has been under scrutiny since an investigation by The New York Times in September uncovered details from an internal Correction Department audit that found he had “abdicated all responsibility” in his duties as warden of a juvenile facility at Rikers Island in 2011, where hundreds of inmate fights had been omitted from official statistics. The audit recommended that he be demoted.
Instead, the Times found, he was promoted, multiple times, while large sections of the audit, including the recommendation for demotion and the sharpest criticism, were removed from the report by the commissioner at the time.
Ponte has said he did not see the unedited version of the report before appointing Clemons chief of the department in May. He promoted Clemons over the objections of the city’s Department of Investigation, the Times found.
In a statement released Tuesday, Ponte wrote that Clemons had “proved himself an able leader” and “was a model of stability in a tumultuous time.” Ponte said he would appoint a new chief by Dec. 1, when Clemons is scheduled to retire.
Davis, who joined the department in 1988, is Clemons’s sister-in-law. She served as warden of three of the 10 jails on Rikers Island, including the women’s detention facility, before moving to high-ranking administrative positions. McLaughlin has been with the department for 27 years and held several high-ranking posts. He was warden of the Robert N. Davoren Center, an adolescent jail on Rikers, during a period of extreme violence, and was removed from that command in 2008 shortly after an 18-year-old inmate named Christopher Robinson was beaten to death by fellow inmates.
Davis, McLaughlin, and Clemons were promoted to their positions within a month of Ponte’s arrival in April.
In the face of withering criticism directed at Clemons, some of his strongest support in the last month has come from the correction officers’ union. Norman Seabrook, the union’s president, has said that Clemons has been doing “a great job.” In a post on the union’s website, Seabrook’s deputy, Elias Husamudeen, defended Clemons against lawmakers’ criticism this month.
“I feel like this council is calling for the head of Chief Clemons,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Mark Riley, the union’s spokesman, said that Seabrook would not be commenting on Clemons’s departure.
As recently as this month, Ponte praised Clemons at a City Council hearing for a “long history of doing good work in the agency.”
At the hearing lawmakers seized upon Ponte’s defense of Clemons, raising questions about his commitment to remaking the department.
Citing the Times’ investigation, the council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, criticized Ponte for failing to fire Clemons, calling the department chief “clearly incompetent.”
In a joint statement released Tuesday, Mark-Viverito and Elizabeth Crowley, the chairwoman of the committee overseeing Rikers, urged “Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Ponte to appoint new leadership that will commit to implementing transparent and humane policies.”
“For too long, the Department of Correction has been rife with the mismanagement and mistreatment of inmates, and the council’s oversight has only served to further shed light on the deep-seated issues plaguing the DOC,” the statement said.
At the hearing this month, Clemons did not appear at that hearing, raising the ire of Crowley.
Clemons, she said, “did not have the backbone to appear today before the committee.”
When asked where he was, Ponte told her that Clemons was on vacation.
--more--"
Related: Taking a Trip to Rikers Island
Didn't a Marine die there?
LOS ANGELES — The old Los Angeles Hall of Justice has received a dazzling restoration.
But a single grim artifact has been preserved: the claustrophobic jail cell occupied by Charles Manson, Sirhan Sirhan, and other high-profile defendants.
The cell is in the basement where the county coroner once performed autopsies on Marilyn Monroe and Senator Robert F. Kennedy in the building that also saw the trials of Bugsy Siegel and movie stars Robert Mitchum and Charlie Chaplin.
The Hall of Justice opened in 1926 as an all-purpose justice center, providing 17 courtrooms, 750 jail cells, a morgue, and offices for law enforcement officials.
Its proximity to Hollywood made it a site of famous trials and fictional movie and TV shows, including ‘‘Dragnet’’ and ‘‘Get Smart.’’
In 1949, movie star Robert Mitchum, convicted of marijuana possession, served his 60-day sentence there.
The 12-floor edifice was restored at a cost of $231.8 million.
I'm sure the austerity-lashed California taxpayers will be pleased with that.
--more--"
Also see: Nev. court considers Simpson case
I'm not going to.
"Rikers corruption spurs NYC shake-up" by Michael Schwirtz and Michael Winerip | New York Times October 29, 2014
NEW YORK — In a major shake-up at the New York City Correction Department, three high-ranking officials, including the top uniformed officer, are stepping down amid mounting criticism over the handling of violence and corruption at Rikers Island.
The chief of the department, William Clemons, and two high-level deputies — Joandrea Davis, the bureau chief of administration, and Gregory McLaughlin, the bureau chief of facility operations — are departing, according to two senior correction officials. The Department of Correction did not immediately comment or provide an explanation for the sudden changes. Mayor Bill de Blasio’s hand-picked correction commissioner, Joseph Ponte, had promoted all three within the last five months.
But the department has been under intense pressure from the news media, lawmakers, and federal authorities to address systemic brutality and corruption at Rikers, the country’s second-largest jail complex. The US attorney’s office in Manhattan, which in August released a damning report detailing abuse of adolescent inmates at Rikers, has threatened to sue the city if changes are not made.
The highest-ranking official in the group, Clemons, was a 29-year veteran of the department. But he has been under scrutiny since an investigation by The New York Times in September uncovered details from an internal Correction Department audit that found he had “abdicated all responsibility” in his duties as warden of a juvenile facility at Rikers Island in 2011, where hundreds of inmate fights had been omitted from official statistics. The audit recommended that he be demoted.
Instead, the Times found, he was promoted, multiple times, while large sections of the audit, including the recommendation for demotion and the sharpest criticism, were removed from the report by the commissioner at the time.
Ponte has said he did not see the unedited version of the report before appointing Clemons chief of the department in May. He promoted Clemons over the objections of the city’s Department of Investigation, the Times found.
In a statement released Tuesday, Ponte wrote that Clemons had “proved himself an able leader” and “was a model of stability in a tumultuous time.” Ponte said he would appoint a new chief by Dec. 1, when Clemons is scheduled to retire.
Davis, who joined the department in 1988, is Clemons’s sister-in-law. She served as warden of three of the 10 jails on Rikers Island, including the women’s detention facility, before moving to high-ranking administrative positions. McLaughlin has been with the department for 27 years and held several high-ranking posts. He was warden of the Robert N. Davoren Center, an adolescent jail on Rikers, during a period of extreme violence, and was removed from that command in 2008 shortly after an 18-year-old inmate named Christopher Robinson was beaten to death by fellow inmates.
Davis, McLaughlin, and Clemons were promoted to their positions within a month of Ponte’s arrival in April.
In the face of withering criticism directed at Clemons, some of his strongest support in the last month has come from the correction officers’ union. Norman Seabrook, the union’s president, has said that Clemons has been doing “a great job.” In a post on the union’s website, Seabrook’s deputy, Elias Husamudeen, defended Clemons against lawmakers’ criticism this month.
“I feel like this council is calling for the head of Chief Clemons,” he wrote.
On Tuesday, Mark Riley, the union’s spokesman, said that Seabrook would not be commenting on Clemons’s departure.
As recently as this month, Ponte praised Clemons at a City Council hearing for a “long history of doing good work in the agency.”
At the hearing lawmakers seized upon Ponte’s defense of Clemons, raising questions about his commitment to remaking the department.
Citing the Times’ investigation, the council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, criticized Ponte for failing to fire Clemons, calling the department chief “clearly incompetent.”
In a joint statement released Tuesday, Mark-Viverito and Elizabeth Crowley, the chairwoman of the committee overseeing Rikers, urged “Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Ponte to appoint new leadership that will commit to implementing transparent and humane policies.”
“For too long, the Department of Correction has been rife with the mismanagement and mistreatment of inmates, and the council’s oversight has only served to further shed light on the deep-seated issues plaguing the DOC,” the statement said.
At the hearing this month, Clemons did not appear at that hearing, raising the ire of Crowley.
Clemons, she said, “did not have the backbone to appear today before the committee.”
When asked where he was, Ponte told her that Clemons was on vacation.
--more--"
Related: Taking a Trip to Rikers Island
Didn't a Marine die there?
Halloween 2014: Making the Rounds
Related: Saturday Shootouts
Celebrities go first:
"Suspect in Penn. trooper ambush captured" Associated Press, October 31, 2014
LORDS VALLEY, Pa. — A survivalist accused of ambushing two state troopers, killing one and seriously wounding the other, was captured Thursday by US marshals in an abandoned airplane hangar, ending a seven-week manhunt that had rattled the nerves of residents, authorities said.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Eric Frein, District Attorney Ray Tonkin said.
The quiet takedown of Frein ended weeks of tension and turmoil in the area, as authorities at times closed schools, canceled outdoor events, and blockaded roads to pursue him. Residents grew weary of hearing helicopters overhead, while small businesses suffered mounting losses and town supervisors canceled a Halloween parade.
Time to call off the psyop fraud, huh?
"Saying Frein was armed and extremely dangerous, officials had closed schools and urged residents to be alert and cautious. Using dogs, thermal imaging technology and other tools, law enforcement officials combed miles of forest as they hunted for the suspect, whom they called an experienced survivalist at home in the woods.
They pursued countless tips, and closed in on an area around Frein’s parents’ home in Canadensis after he used his cellphone to try contacting them, and the signal was traced to a location about three miles away."
Are you flipping kidding? The idiot used his cellphone?
--more--"
I'm sorry, folks, but the whole thing looks like a total hoax to me so you will feel sympathy for the murderous police.
Related:
"Two ‘‘Stop the Violence’’ organizers allegedly beat one of their colleagues so severely that he vomited blood and was left unconscious in critical condition."
How ironic.
"Sheriff says Wash. school shooter invited victims to lunch" by Gene Johnson | Associated Press October 28, 2014
MARYSVILLE, Wash. — A popular student responsible for a deadly shooting at a Washington state high school on Friday invited his victims to lunch by text message, then shot them at their table, investigators said Monday.
Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said at a news conference that the five students were at a lunch table when they were shot by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg. Fryberg then committed suicide, the medical examiner said.
Two of the students have died of their wounds, and three others are hospitalized.
Detectives are digging through reams of text messages, phone, and social media records as part of an investigation that could take months, Trenary said.
It is going to take that long to construct a cover story?
********
Fryberg, a football player who was named a prince on the school’s homecoming court one week before the killings, was a member of a prominent Tulalip Indian Tribes family. He seemed happy although he was also upset about a girl, friends said.
His Twitter feed was recently full of vague, anguished postings, like ‘‘It won’t last . . . It’ll never last,’’ and ‘‘I should have listened. . . . You were right . . . The whole time you were right.’’
On Friday, after texting five friends to invite them to lunch, he pulled out a handgun in the cafeteria and started shooting....
It's looking like some sort of sick mind control to me, but just in case we have to remove all the guns from homes where there are children because, you know, you never know.
The Snohomish County medical examiner on Monday ruled Fryberg’s death a suicide. There had been some question over whether he might have shot himself accidentally as a teacher tried to intervene, but Trenary said Monday that investigators confirmed there was no physical contact between the teacher and the gunman....
Already covering up what happened!
--more--"
The community is ‘‘devastated by this senseless tragedy,’’ even as the terrorists among us continue with there threats full of fear.
That government monitoring program coming just in time, huh?
"California shooting suspects arraigned" by Don Thompson | Associated Press October 29, 2014
SACRAMENTO — Prosecutors filed murder charges Tuesday against two Utah residents in the slayings of two California sheriff’s deputies during a shooting rampage that also left a motorist and third deputy wounded.
Luis Enrique Monroy- Bracamonte, who was booked into jail under the pseudonym Marcelo Marquez, and his wife, 38-year-old Janelle Marquez Monroy, appeared separately in court for an arraignment, but did not enter pleas.
They were both shackled and in a courtroom cell surrounded by sheriff’s deputies during their appearances.
Monroy-Bracamonte, his left forearm heavily bandaged from an injury he suffered before his arrest, asked Sacramento Superior Court Judge Helena Gweon to slow down as she read the charges against him.
Immigration authorities say Monroy-Bracamonte has been living in the United States illegally after being convicted in Arizona for selling drugs in 1997 and deported to Mexico twice, most recently in 2001.
Just thought that was something of note. I'm sure he was only here trying to put food on the table for his family and should be given amnesty.
The 14-count complaint charges both with the murder of one deputy, though authorities say Monroy-Bracamonte fired the fatal shots. He alone is charged with the other slaying.
Monroy-Bracamonte is facing special circumstances that could qualify him for the death penalty. At a press conference, Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully said she and Placer County District Attorney Ronald ‘‘Scott’’ Owens, who are jointly prosecuting the pair, have not yet decided whether to seek his execution. ‘‘The facts speak for themselves,’’ she said, but added prosecutors follow a legal protocol in making such decisions. ‘‘We’re not going to treat this case any differently.’’
The prosecutors, joined by sheriffs from both counties, declined to say if they have determined a motive for the shootings or why the pair had come to California, where they apparently had no ties. The couple appeared to be living quietly in the Salt Lake City area until their arrest in California.
Attorneys for Monroy- Bracamonte and Monroy declined to comment on the charges after the hearing.
Jeff Barbour, the public defender who is representing Monroy-Bracamonte, said he had just been appointed and had not seen the police reports. Peter Kmeto, who is representing Monroy, said he would reserve his comments for court.
Authorities say Monroy- Bracamonte, 34, fired the fatal shots during Friday’s rampage, first killing Sacramento County Deputy Daniel Oliver, then wounding a motorist while attempting to carjack his vehicle. The charges say he used a .9mm handgun in both shootings.
Both are charged with the attempted murder and attempted carjacking of motorist Anthony Davis, Monroy as an accomplice. Davis is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The couple is also charged with two more attempted carjackings and one carjacking.
They fled to neighboring Placer County, where Monroy-Bracamonte is charged with killing a second deputy and wounding a third using an AR-15 assault rifle. He and his wife are charged with the murder of Placer County homicide detective Michael Davis. The complaint says he fired the shot but that she was an accomplice.
The complaint alleges that Monroy-Bracamonte stole a Placer County sheriff’s department vehicle along with a sheriff’s department shotgun.
It also accuses the pair of attempting to murder two other Placer County sheriff’s deputies, Charles Bardo and Joseph Roseli, along with attempting to murder and wounding Placer County deputy Jeffrey Davis.
--more--"
Also see:
"Kentucky State Police detectives were trying to figure out Monday what led to the shooting deaths of a married couple, their adult daughter, and another man in western Kentucky over the weekend."
"Police: New Mexico deputy kills fleeing colleague" by Juan Carlos Llorca | Associated Press October 29, 2014
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A northern New Mexico sheriff’s deputy fired several rounds from his semiautomatic weapon and killed a fellow deputy as his colleague tried to flee an alcohol-fueled argument at a hotel, police said Tuesday.
Just a bunch of above-the-law thugs now.
The shooting happened just after midnight at Hotel Encanto in the southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces, where the two Santa Fe County deputies had stopped to spend the night after transporting a prisoner to Safford, Ariz.
Jeremy Martin, 29, was pronounced dead at MountainView Regional Medical Center, and detectives were interviewing the other deputy, Tai Chan, 27.
Chan’s attorney, Santa Fe lawyer John Day, said, ‘‘It’s a tragic situation for everybody involved.’’
Yeah, it's tragic when a jackboot is killed, but for all the citizens blown away by cops it was deserved for they are always absolved.
***********
Investigators say the two deputies went to Dublin’s Street Pub, where they drank and got into an argument, which escalated at the hotel.
Nothing good ever seems to come from alcohol. That's why I'm for the return of Prohibition. If it's good enough for pot, it's better for booze. Booze obviously kills people.
As Martin tried to flee into an elevator, several rounds were fired that hit him in the back and arms, authorities said.
Police arrived at the hotel and found Martin staggering off the elevator with multiple wounds, Las Cruces police spokesman Dan Trujillo said.
--more--"
Evil always turns on itself, notice that?
Celebrities go first:
"Suspect in Penn. trooper ambush captured" Associated Press, October 31, 2014
LORDS VALLEY, Pa. — A survivalist accused of ambushing two state troopers, killing one and seriously wounding the other, was captured Thursday by US marshals in an abandoned airplane hangar, ending a seven-week manhunt that had rattled the nerves of residents, authorities said.
Prosecutors will seek the death penalty for Eric Frein, District Attorney Ray Tonkin said.
The quiet takedown of Frein ended weeks of tension and turmoil in the area, as authorities at times closed schools, canceled outdoor events, and blockaded roads to pursue him. Residents grew weary of hearing helicopters overhead, while small businesses suffered mounting losses and town supervisors canceled a Halloween parade.
Time to call off the psyop fraud, huh?
"Saying Frein was armed and extremely dangerous, officials had closed schools and urged residents to be alert and cautious. Using dogs, thermal imaging technology and other tools, law enforcement officials combed miles of forest as they hunted for the suspect, whom they called an experienced survivalist at home in the woods.
They pursued countless tips, and closed in on an area around Frein’s parents’ home in Canadensis after he used his cellphone to try contacting them, and the signal was traced to a location about three miles away."
Are you flipping kidding? The idiot used his cellphone?
--more--"
I'm sorry, folks, but the whole thing looks like a total hoax to me so you will feel sympathy for the murderous police.
Related:
"Two ‘‘Stop the Violence’’ organizers allegedly beat one of their colleagues so severely that he vomited blood and was left unconscious in critical condition."
How ironic.
"Sheriff says Wash. school shooter invited victims to lunch" by Gene Johnson | Associated Press October 28, 2014
MARYSVILLE, Wash. — A popular student responsible for a deadly shooting at a Washington state high school on Friday invited his victims to lunch by text message, then shot them at their table, investigators said Monday.
Snohomish County Sheriff Ty Trenary said at a news conference that the five students were at a lunch table when they were shot by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg. Fryberg then committed suicide, the medical examiner said.
Two of the students have died of their wounds, and three others are hospitalized.
Detectives are digging through reams of text messages, phone, and social media records as part of an investigation that could take months, Trenary said.
It is going to take that long to construct a cover story?
********
Fryberg, a football player who was named a prince on the school’s homecoming court one week before the killings, was a member of a prominent Tulalip Indian Tribes family. He seemed happy although he was also upset about a girl, friends said.
His Twitter feed was recently full of vague, anguished postings, like ‘‘It won’t last . . . It’ll never last,’’ and ‘‘I should have listened. . . . You were right . . . The whole time you were right.’’
On Friday, after texting five friends to invite them to lunch, he pulled out a handgun in the cafeteria and started shooting....
It's looking like some sort of sick mind control to me, but just in case we have to remove all the guns from homes where there are children because, you know, you never know.
The Snohomish County medical examiner on Monday ruled Fryberg’s death a suicide. There had been some question over whether he might have shot himself accidentally as a teacher tried to intervene, but Trenary said Monday that investigators confirmed there was no physical contact between the teacher and the gunman....
Already covering up what happened!
--more--"
The community is ‘‘devastated by this senseless tragedy,’’ even as the terrorists among us continue with there threats full of fear.
That government monitoring program coming just in time, huh?
"California shooting suspects arraigned" by Don Thompson | Associated Press October 29, 2014
SACRAMENTO — Prosecutors filed murder charges Tuesday against two Utah residents in the slayings of two California sheriff’s deputies during a shooting rampage that also left a motorist and third deputy wounded.
Luis Enrique Monroy- Bracamonte, who was booked into jail under the pseudonym Marcelo Marquez, and his wife, 38-year-old Janelle Marquez Monroy, appeared separately in court for an arraignment, but did not enter pleas.
They were both shackled and in a courtroom cell surrounded by sheriff’s deputies during their appearances.
Monroy-Bracamonte, his left forearm heavily bandaged from an injury he suffered before his arrest, asked Sacramento Superior Court Judge Helena Gweon to slow down as she read the charges against him.
Immigration authorities say Monroy-Bracamonte has been living in the United States illegally after being convicted in Arizona for selling drugs in 1997 and deported to Mexico twice, most recently in 2001.
Just thought that was something of note. I'm sure he was only here trying to put food on the table for his family and should be given amnesty.
The 14-count complaint charges both with the murder of one deputy, though authorities say Monroy-Bracamonte fired the fatal shots. He alone is charged with the other slaying.
Monroy-Bracamonte is facing special circumstances that could qualify him for the death penalty. At a press conference, Sacramento District Attorney Jan Scully said she and Placer County District Attorney Ronald ‘‘Scott’’ Owens, who are jointly prosecuting the pair, have not yet decided whether to seek his execution. ‘‘The facts speak for themselves,’’ she said, but added prosecutors follow a legal protocol in making such decisions. ‘‘We’re not going to treat this case any differently.’’
The prosecutors, joined by sheriffs from both counties, declined to say if they have determined a motive for the shootings or why the pair had come to California, where they apparently had no ties. The couple appeared to be living quietly in the Salt Lake City area until their arrest in California.
Attorneys for Monroy- Bracamonte and Monroy declined to comment on the charges after the hearing.
Jeff Barbour, the public defender who is representing Monroy-Bracamonte, said he had just been appointed and had not seen the police reports. Peter Kmeto, who is representing Monroy, said he would reserve his comments for court.
Authorities say Monroy- Bracamonte, 34, fired the fatal shots during Friday’s rampage, first killing Sacramento County Deputy Daniel Oliver, then wounding a motorist while attempting to carjack his vehicle. The charges say he used a .9mm handgun in both shootings.
Both are charged with the attempted murder and attempted carjacking of motorist Anthony Davis, Monroy as an accomplice. Davis is recovering from multiple gunshot wounds.
The couple is also charged with two more attempted carjackings and one carjacking.
They fled to neighboring Placer County, where Monroy-Bracamonte is charged with killing a second deputy and wounding a third using an AR-15 assault rifle. He and his wife are charged with the murder of Placer County homicide detective Michael Davis. The complaint says he fired the shot but that she was an accomplice.
The complaint alleges that Monroy-Bracamonte stole a Placer County sheriff’s department vehicle along with a sheriff’s department shotgun.
It also accuses the pair of attempting to murder two other Placer County sheriff’s deputies, Charles Bardo and Joseph Roseli, along with attempting to murder and wounding Placer County deputy Jeffrey Davis.
--more--"
Also see:
"Kentucky State Police detectives were trying to figure out Monday what led to the shooting deaths of a married couple, their adult daughter, and another man in western Kentucky over the weekend."
"Police: New Mexico deputy kills fleeing colleague" by Juan Carlos Llorca | Associated Press October 29, 2014
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — A northern New Mexico sheriff’s deputy fired several rounds from his semiautomatic weapon and killed a fellow deputy as his colleague tried to flee an alcohol-fueled argument at a hotel, police said Tuesday.
Just a bunch of above-the-law thugs now.
The shooting happened just after midnight at Hotel Encanto in the southern New Mexico city of Las Cruces, where the two Santa Fe County deputies had stopped to spend the night after transporting a prisoner to Safford, Ariz.
Jeremy Martin, 29, was pronounced dead at MountainView Regional Medical Center, and detectives were interviewing the other deputy, Tai Chan, 27.
Chan’s attorney, Santa Fe lawyer John Day, said, ‘‘It’s a tragic situation for everybody involved.’’
Yeah, it's tragic when a jackboot is killed, but for all the citizens blown away by cops it was deserved for they are always absolved.
***********
Investigators say the two deputies went to Dublin’s Street Pub, where they drank and got into an argument, which escalated at the hotel.
Nothing good ever seems to come from alcohol. That's why I'm for the return of Prohibition. If it's good enough for pot, it's better for booze. Booze obviously kills people.
As Martin tried to flee into an elevator, several rounds were fired that hit him in the back and arms, authorities said.
Police arrived at the hotel and found Martin staggering off the elevator with multiple wounds, Las Cruces police spokesman Dan Trujillo said.
--more--"
Evil always turns on itself, notice that?
Halloween 2014: Terror in Texas
"Missing Texans found dead in Mexico" Associated Press October 31, 2014
MATAMOROS, Mexico — The governor and chief prosecutor for a northern Mexico border state confirmed Thursday that three Texans missing for more than two weeks were found dead near Matamoros Wednesday.
The father of the three, Pedro Alvarado, identified them from photographs of the bodies showing tattoos, Tamaulipas state Attorney General Ismael Quintanilla Acosta told Radio Formula. Clothing found with the bodies near the border city also matched that of the three siblings from Progreso, Texas, who disappeared with a Mexican friend.
Parents of the missing youths have said witnesses reported they were seized on Oct. 13 by men dressed in police gear.
In a country riveted by the case of 43 students missing more than a month at the hands of police, Tamaulipas’s governor promised swift action in this case.
‘‘We will apply the full force of the law and zero tolerance,’’ Governor Egidio Torre Cantu said, lamenting the death of the three Americans and a Mexican citizen even though their identities had not been officially confirmed by DNA.
--more--"
At least they have been found and will be returned to the United States.
MATAMOROS, Mexico — The governor and chief prosecutor for a northern Mexico border state confirmed Thursday that three Texans missing for more than two weeks were found dead near Matamoros Wednesday.
The father of the three, Pedro Alvarado, identified them from photographs of the bodies showing tattoos, Tamaulipas state Attorney General Ismael Quintanilla Acosta told Radio Formula. Clothing found with the bodies near the border city also matched that of the three siblings from Progreso, Texas, who disappeared with a Mexican friend.
Parents of the missing youths have said witnesses reported they were seized on Oct. 13 by men dressed in police gear.
In a country riveted by the case of 43 students missing more than a month at the hands of police, Tamaulipas’s governor promised swift action in this case.
‘‘We will apply the full force of the law and zero tolerance,’’ Governor Egidio Torre Cantu said, lamenting the death of the three Americans and a Mexican citizen even though their identities had not been officially confirmed by DNA.
--more--"
At least they have been found and will be returned to the United States.
Halloween 2014: AT&T Trick or Treat
Related: AT&T's Crank Calls
I opened the door to pass out candy and no one was there:
"AT&T accused of deceiving consumers on unlimited data plan" by Edward Wyatt | New York Times October 29, 2014
WASHINGTON — Three years ago, AT&T warned smartphone customers with “unlimited” data plans that their connections might be slowed if they used a lot of data. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission said AT&T’s disclosure was deceptive because it was not specific enough.
The commission filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, saying the company had misled customers by slowing the connections of people with unlimited plans after they used more than 2 gigabytes of data in a month.
For some people who hit that threshold, the FTC said, downloads were slowed as much as 95 percent, essentially making their smartphones unable to access the Internet or use certain apps.
I have an AT&T phone, and now I know why it is such a pos.
“AT&T promised its customers unlimited data, and in many instances it has failed to deliver on that promise,” said Edith Ramirez, FTC chairwoman. “The issue here is simple: ‘Unlimited’ means unlimited.”
The commission, which has no power to impose fines, said it would seek “millions of dollars” in restitution.
AT&T called the charges “baseless” and said it had been “completely transparent” in its dealings with customers.
“We informed all unlimited data plan customers via bill notices and a national news release that resulted in nearly 2,000 news stories, well before the program was implemented,” said Wayne Watts, AT&T’s general counsel. “In addition, this program has affected only about 3 percent of our customers, and before any customer is affected, they are also notified by text message.”
The slowdowns affected 25 percent of AT&T’s 14 million unlimited data plan customers.
**********
The FTC is not the only agency to take an interest in the practice of slowing data speeds, often called throttling. In July, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, warned Verizon after it said it would slow data speeds of customers with unlimited data plans after they reached a certain usage level each month. Verizon subsequently abandoned the plan.
--more--"
Look what I found out on the stoop:
"For the third quarter, AT&T said earnings fell to $3 billion.... revenue rose."
Damn kids.
I opened the door to pass out candy and no one was there:
"AT&T accused of deceiving consumers on unlimited data plan" by Edward Wyatt | New York Times October 29, 2014
WASHINGTON — Three years ago, AT&T warned smartphone customers with “unlimited” data plans that their connections might be slowed if they used a lot of data. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission said AT&T’s disclosure was deceptive because it was not specific enough.
The commission filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday, saying the company had misled customers by slowing the connections of people with unlimited plans after they used more than 2 gigabytes of data in a month.
For some people who hit that threshold, the FTC said, downloads were slowed as much as 95 percent, essentially making their smartphones unable to access the Internet or use certain apps.
I have an AT&T phone, and now I know why it is such a pos.
“AT&T promised its customers unlimited data, and in many instances it has failed to deliver on that promise,” said Edith Ramirez, FTC chairwoman. “The issue here is simple: ‘Unlimited’ means unlimited.”
The commission, which has no power to impose fines, said it would seek “millions of dollars” in restitution.
AT&T called the charges “baseless” and said it had been “completely transparent” in its dealings with customers.
“We informed all unlimited data plan customers via bill notices and a national news release that resulted in nearly 2,000 news stories, well before the program was implemented,” said Wayne Watts, AT&T’s general counsel. “In addition, this program has affected only about 3 percent of our customers, and before any customer is affected, they are also notified by text message.”
The slowdowns affected 25 percent of AT&T’s 14 million unlimited data plan customers.
**********
The FTC is not the only agency to take an interest in the practice of slowing data speeds, often called throttling. In July, Tom Wheeler, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, warned Verizon after it said it would slow data speeds of customers with unlimited data plans after they reached a certain usage level each month. Verizon subsequently abandoned the plan.
--more--"
Look what I found out on the stoop:
"For the third quarter, AT&T said earnings fell to $3 billion.... revenue rose."
Damn kids.
Halloween 2014: Toga Party
"Divers with a Florida-based group called Global Underwater Explorers are helping Italian researchers to unlock an ancient shipwreck thought to date to the second Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage.
Able to descend hundreds of feet farther than most divers, they are assisting the archeologists by swimming about the wreck and recovering artifacts as no robotic submersible can.
In one recent dive, they descended 410 feet into waters off Italy, their lights revealing the skeleton of a ship that sank thousands of years ago when Rome was a world power....
Eventually the same will be said of AmeriKa.
--more--"
Are you naked under that balance sheet?
Able to descend hundreds of feet farther than most divers, they are assisting the archeologists by swimming about the wreck and recovering artifacts as no robotic submersible can.
In one recent dive, they descended 410 feet into waters off Italy, their lights revealing the skeleton of a ship that sank thousands of years ago when Rome was a world power....
Eventually the same will be said of AmeriKa.
--more--"
Are you naked under that balance sheet?
Halloween 2014: Heimlich Saved Hernandez
"Dominick Hernandez loves nachos. The bespectacled fifth-grader loves them almost as much as he loves pizza, and even more than he loves hot dogs, cheeseburgers, and chicken patties, and every good superhero story needs a villain....
--more--"
--more--"
Halloween 2014: Pennsylvania Barbecue
"Fire burns 3 buildings at Flight 93 memorial site" Associated Press October 04, 2014
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — A fire destroyed three administrative buildings at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, and officials are concerned about memorabilia stored there.
The National Park Service said no one was injured when the fire broke out Friday afternoon. The memorial and the visitors center, under construction, were unaffected. Both are about 2 miles from the fire, whose cause hasn’t been determined.
The buildings in Shanksville house the park’s headquarters. Officials say about 10 percent of the memorial’s archival collection was kept on site, but many objects were in fireproof safes. Among the items was a flag that flew over the US Capitol on Sept. 11, 2001. Its status is unclear.
The affected buildings serve as the park’s headquarters and include the superintendent’s office, National Parks spokesman Mike Litterst said.
The memorial, still under construction in Shanksville, marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The plane, which was traveling from Newark to San Francisco, went down in a reclaimed strip mine after passengers fought back against its hijackers.
Then why was there no wreckage?
All 33 passengers and seven crew members were killed along with the hijackers.
A memorial plaza was completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011. It features a white stone wall, which traces the path of the doomed flight, with separate panels for each victim. There are plans for a 93-foot-tall tower with 40 wind chimes.
Officials have said they hope construction of the visitors center, which is estimated to cost $17 million to $23 million, will be finished by June.
That would give park officials three months to install exhibits in time to open for the 14th anniversary of the crash.
The president of the Families of Flight 93, Gordon Felt, issued a statement expressing sadness about the fire and saying the group awaited further information on the cause.
All told, the park is expected to cost about $60 million. The government spent another $10 million for the land, which is about 75 miles east of Pittsburgh.
--more--"
"Flight 93 fire losses included photos, other items" Associated Press October 25, 2014
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — An inventory released Friday of items lost from a recent fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters includes hundreds of original photographs and items found at the crash site that were linked to the passengers and crew.
The National Park Service said its team of museum experts and archeologists determined that 334 photos and 25 items connected to the plane’s occupants were destroyed. Digital copies of all the lost photos still exist, and audio recordings of phone calls made by passengers to family were undamaged.
There couldn't have been phone calls from a plane that high up, etc.
Just part of the scenery, right?
Other items lost in the Oct. 3 fire include about 100 tributes from visitors and material from the investigation. The plane crashed after passengers fought back against hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001.
That's the official myth, anyway.
--more--"
Let's roll!
"3 NYC firefighters who worked at ground zero die of cancer on same day" Associated Press September 26, 2014
NEW YORK — Three retired firefighters who worked at ground zero have died on the same day from cancer, an illness that many fear might be connected to toxic World Trade Center dust released in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, fire officials said Thursday.
It is important to remember that this government told you the air was safe to breath, and let's get Wall Street back up and running.
Lieutenant Howard Bisch-off, 58, and firefighters Robert Leaver, 56, and Daniel Heglund, 58, died within hours of one another Monday.
Their deaths are ‘‘a painful reminder that 13 years later we continue to pay a terrible price for the department’s heroic efforts,’’ Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a prepared statement.
While the rest of us pay for it in other ways -- like a world based on lies.
Thousands of people who aided in the rescue and recovery effort were diagnosed with respiratory ailments and other health problems in the years after the attacks. Cancer, though, remains the biggest fear for people exposed to the gritty soot at the site.
Hundreds of first responders have gotten cancer in the 13 years since the attacks, but doctors and researchers are still uncertain whether there is any link to 9/11. Cancer is the leading cause of death for Americans in their mid-40s to mid-60s, making it hard to tell which deaths, if any, might be related. Most medical studies have not found evidence of a substantial surge in cancer rates, though researchers have spotted some worrisome trends.
Don't know this, sure of fart mist.
It will be like with the veterans: they won;t admit anything until most are dead, and thus won't have to compensate.
--more--"
And at the end of the day all they got was chump change.
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — A fire destroyed three administrative buildings at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Pennsylvania, and officials are concerned about memorabilia stored there.
The National Park Service said no one was injured when the fire broke out Friday afternoon. The memorial and the visitors center, under construction, were unaffected. Both are about 2 miles from the fire, whose cause hasn’t been determined.
The buildings in Shanksville house the park’s headquarters. Officials say about 10 percent of the memorial’s archival collection was kept on site, but many objects were in fireproof safes. Among the items was a flag that flew over the US Capitol on Sept. 11, 2001. Its status is unclear.
The affected buildings serve as the park’s headquarters and include the superintendent’s office, National Parks spokesman Mike Litterst said.
The memorial, still under construction in Shanksville, marks the spot where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The plane, which was traveling from Newark to San Francisco, went down in a reclaimed strip mine after passengers fought back against its hijackers.
Then why was there no wreckage?
All 33 passengers and seven crew members were killed along with the hijackers.
A memorial plaza was completed in time for the 10th anniversary of the attacks in 2011. It features a white stone wall, which traces the path of the doomed flight, with separate panels for each victim. There are plans for a 93-foot-tall tower with 40 wind chimes.
Officials have said they hope construction of the visitors center, which is estimated to cost $17 million to $23 million, will be finished by June.
That would give park officials three months to install exhibits in time to open for the 14th anniversary of the crash.
The president of the Families of Flight 93, Gordon Felt, issued a statement expressing sadness about the fire and saying the group awaited further information on the cause.
All told, the park is expected to cost about $60 million. The government spent another $10 million for the land, which is about 75 miles east of Pittsburgh.
--more--"
"Flight 93 fire losses included photos, other items" Associated Press October 25, 2014
SHANKSVILLE, Pa. — An inventory released Friday of items lost from a recent fire at the Flight 93 National Memorial headquarters includes hundreds of original photographs and items found at the crash site that were linked to the passengers and crew.
The National Park Service said its team of museum experts and archeologists determined that 334 photos and 25 items connected to the plane’s occupants were destroyed. Digital copies of all the lost photos still exist, and audio recordings of phone calls made by passengers to family were undamaged.
There couldn't have been phone calls from a plane that high up, etc.
Just part of the scenery, right?
Other items lost in the Oct. 3 fire include about 100 tributes from visitors and material from the investigation. The plane crashed after passengers fought back against hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001.
That's the official myth, anyway.
--more--"
Let's roll!
"3 NYC firefighters who worked at ground zero die of cancer on same day" Associated Press September 26, 2014
NEW YORK — Three retired firefighters who worked at ground zero have died on the same day from cancer, an illness that many fear might be connected to toxic World Trade Center dust released in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack, fire officials said Thursday.
It is important to remember that this government told you the air was safe to breath, and let's get Wall Street back up and running.
Lieutenant Howard Bisch-off, 58, and firefighters Robert Leaver, 56, and Daniel Heglund, 58, died within hours of one another Monday.
Their deaths are ‘‘a painful reminder that 13 years later we continue to pay a terrible price for the department’s heroic efforts,’’ Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro said in a prepared statement.
While the rest of us pay for it in other ways -- like a world based on lies.
Thousands of people who aided in the rescue and recovery effort were diagnosed with respiratory ailments and other health problems in the years after the attacks. Cancer, though, remains the biggest fear for people exposed to the gritty soot at the site.
Hundreds of first responders have gotten cancer in the 13 years since the attacks, but doctors and researchers are still uncertain whether there is any link to 9/11. Cancer is the leading cause of death for Americans in their mid-40s to mid-60s, making it hard to tell which deaths, if any, might be related. Most medical studies have not found evidence of a substantial surge in cancer rates, though researchers have spotted some worrisome trends.
Don't know this, sure of fart mist.
It will be like with the veterans: they won;t admit anything until most are dead, and thus won't have to compensate.
--more--"
And at the end of the day all they got was chump change.
Halloween 2014: L.A. Ice Cream
"Driver attacked after ice cream truck kills boy in Los Angeles" Associated Press October 24, 2014
LOS ANGELES — Neighborhood residents attacked the driver of an ice cream truck after it struck and killed a 7-year-old boy riding a motorized bike in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
The child had been riding alongside the truck on Wednesday when he apparently slipped for an unknown reason and was caught under a rear wheel, police Sergeant Timothy Colson said.
The collision was an accident and the driver, who sustained bruises in the beating, has not been charged, police said. His name was not released.
The driver told police that bricks were thrown at his truck and someone threatened him with a knife. He was taken to a police station for protection. Police were searching for the attackers.
The child died at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a police spokeswoman said.
‘‘I walked outside and [the boy] was on the ground, bleeding,’’ Karen Black, who lives in the neighborhood, told KCAL-TV. ‘‘I just tried to comfort the family, you know, because they were hollering.’’
Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter identified the child as Jamarion Thomas.
Neighbor Jackie Johnson described Thomas as ‘‘a lovely little boy.’’
--more--"
It's Reginald Denny all over again.
Might as well order a banana split:
"This time, Chiquita says yes to sale" by Simon Casey | Bloomberg News October 28, 2014
NEW YORK — Chiquita Brands International has agreed to be bought by Cutrale Group and Safra Group, both of Brazil, for about $681 million in cash, after shareholders last week rejected its plan to buy another banana producer....
Chiquita had rejected the Cutrale-Safra overtures three times, including last week, when it cited its plans to buy the Irish banana producer Fyffes. The company, which also sells salad under the Fresh Express brand, reconsidered and began talks with the Brazilian companies after its shareholders voted Oct. 24 to reject the Fyffes deal.
Including debt, the value of Monday’s deal is $1.27 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It is the fifth-largest pending or completed takeover of a US food company to be announced this year.
--more--"
LOS ANGELES — Neighborhood residents attacked the driver of an ice cream truck after it struck and killed a 7-year-old boy riding a motorized bike in South Los Angeles, authorities said.
The child had been riding alongside the truck on Wednesday when he apparently slipped for an unknown reason and was caught under a rear wheel, police Sergeant Timothy Colson said.
The collision was an accident and the driver, who sustained bruises in the beating, has not been charged, police said. His name was not released.
The driver told police that bricks were thrown at his truck and someone threatened him with a knife. He was taken to a police station for protection. Police were searching for the attackers.
The child died at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, a police spokeswoman said.
‘‘I walked outside and [the boy] was on the ground, bleeding,’’ Karen Black, who lives in the neighborhood, told KCAL-TV. ‘‘I just tried to comfort the family, you know, because they were hollering.’’
Coroner’s Assistant Chief Ed Winter identified the child as Jamarion Thomas.
Neighbor Jackie Johnson described Thomas as ‘‘a lovely little boy.’’
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It's Reginald Denny all over again.
Might as well order a banana split:
"This time, Chiquita says yes to sale" by Simon Casey | Bloomberg News October 28, 2014
NEW YORK — Chiquita Brands International has agreed to be bought by Cutrale Group and Safra Group, both of Brazil, for about $681 million in cash, after shareholders last week rejected its plan to buy another banana producer....
Chiquita had rejected the Cutrale-Safra overtures three times, including last week, when it cited its plans to buy the Irish banana producer Fyffes. The company, which also sells salad under the Fresh Express brand, reconsidered and began talks with the Brazilian companies after its shareholders voted Oct. 24 to reject the Fyffes deal.
Including debt, the value of Monday’s deal is $1.27 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. It is the fifth-largest pending or completed takeover of a US food company to be announced this year.
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Halloween 2014: Bobbing For Apples
In an ice bucket?
"Ohio bill inspired by fake ice bucket challenge" AP October 30, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bill that would require prison time for many felony crimes against the disabled or elderly was inspired by a fake ice-bucket challenge that led to charges against five teenagers, a state lawmaker said.
The boys were charged with dumping a bucket of urine, water, and tobacco spit on an autistic 15-year-old boy who thought he was participating in a charity event.
State Representative Bill Patmon said that the arrest of the teenagers prompted the legislation he introduced Tuesday. It would require at least two years in prison or juvenile custody for certain felonies against the elderly or the disabled, plus any other punishment imposed by the court.
Patmon, a Cleveland Democrat who has a grandson with autism, said those who commit crimes against the disabled or senior citizens should get more than a light punishment.
‘‘There shouldn’t be anything that you do to a senior or a handicapped person that there shouldn’t be some kind of guarantee that you’re not going to spend some time in jail for that — no slap on the wrist for that,’’ Patmon said.
Bankers excepted, of cour$e.
--more--"
Related: Police Protected Ice Bucket Bullies
Birds of a feather....
I was able to grab four apples:
"Sales of iPhones, including the new, big-screen iPhone 6 models released last month, helped carry Apple to a record-breaking quarter, with $8.5 billion in profit, the company said Monday. The company’s profit for its fiscal fourth quarter was 13.3 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago. Revenue over the quarter was $42.1 billion, up from $37.4 billion in the same period last year. “Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books,” Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said in a statement.....
He will have more to say below.
While Apple has partnered with major banks and large retail chains including Macy’s Inc., Walgreen Co., and McDonald’s Corp., critics have noted that its system is not accepted by a number of other large chains. Among them are the drugstore chains CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp., which belong to a retail coalition that’s working on a rival system. Cook also said he plans to talk this week with Jack Ma, executive chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, about a possible partnership, although he offered no details. On Monday, Ma told the same audience that he would be ‘‘very interested’’ in teaming up with Apple to bring Apple Pay to China. Ma and Cook spoke during separate appearances on an outdoor stage on the opening night of a three-day technology conference organized by The Wall Street Journal."
Also see: ‘Proud to be gay,’ Apple CEO Tim Cook comes out
Don't you just love it?
"Cyanide searches found on poison suspect’s laptop" Associated Press October 29, 2014
PITTSBURGH — A medical researcher charged with poisoning his wife had a computer on which someone conducted searches relating to cyanide poisoning two or three days after she died, a State Police computer specialist testified Tuesday.
The searches found on Dr. Robert Ferrante’s laptop occurred days before test results on Dr. Autumn Klein’s blood revealed a fatal level of cyanide.
Earlier in the fourth day of what is expected to be a three-week trial, one of Ferrante’s lab assistants testified he placed an overnight order for potassium cyanide two days before Klein fell suddenly ill in the couple’s kitchen. Another lab assistant said he was acting a ‘‘little bizarre’’ around the time his wife fell ill.
In the days after her death, Ferrante, 66, had told friends and family he believed she died of a sudden, unexplained illness such as a stroke.
Corporal John Roche, a computer specialist, testified Tuesday that one of the searches typed into Yahoo Answers on his computer was, ‘‘How would a coroner detect when someone is killed by cyanide?’’
Under cross examination, Roche acknowledged that he cannot prove whether Ferrante or someone else did the computer searches.
Some of the searches were done as early as January 2013, including one seeking the legal definition of ‘‘malice of forethought,’’ an apparent reference to malice aforethought, a legal term that means premeditation.
Investigators contend that Ferrante, a specialist on Lou Gehrig’s disease, laced Klein’s creatine energy drink with the poison on April 17, 2013.
--more--"
Also see: Former MGH researcher charged in wife’s poisoning death
"Ohio bill inspired by fake ice bucket challenge" AP October 30, 2014
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A bill that would require prison time for many felony crimes against the disabled or elderly was inspired by a fake ice-bucket challenge that led to charges against five teenagers, a state lawmaker said.
The boys were charged with dumping a bucket of urine, water, and tobacco spit on an autistic 15-year-old boy who thought he was participating in a charity event.
State Representative Bill Patmon said that the arrest of the teenagers prompted the legislation he introduced Tuesday. It would require at least two years in prison or juvenile custody for certain felonies against the elderly or the disabled, plus any other punishment imposed by the court.
Patmon, a Cleveland Democrat who has a grandson with autism, said those who commit crimes against the disabled or senior citizens should get more than a light punishment.
‘‘There shouldn’t be anything that you do to a senior or a handicapped person that there shouldn’t be some kind of guarantee that you’re not going to spend some time in jail for that — no slap on the wrist for that,’’ Patmon said.
Bankers excepted, of cour$e.
--more--"
Related: Police Protected Ice Bucket Bullies
Birds of a feather....
I was able to grab four apples:
"Sales of iPhones, including the new, big-screen iPhone 6 models released last month, helped carry Apple to a record-breaking quarter, with $8.5 billion in profit, the company said Monday. The company’s profit for its fiscal fourth quarter was 13.3 percent higher than the same quarter a year ago. Revenue over the quarter was $42.1 billion, up from $37.4 billion in the same period last year. “Our fiscal 2014 was one for the record books,” Timothy D. Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said in a statement.....
He will have more to say below.
While Apple has partnered with major banks and large retail chains including Macy’s Inc., Walgreen Co., and McDonald’s Corp., critics have noted that its system is not accepted by a number of other large chains. Among them are the drugstore chains CVS Caremark Corp. and Rite Aid Corp., which belong to a retail coalition that’s working on a rival system. Cook also said he plans to talk this week with Jack Ma, executive chairman of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, about a possible partnership, although he offered no details. On Monday, Ma told the same audience that he would be ‘‘very interested’’ in teaming up with Apple to bring Apple Pay to China. Ma and Cook spoke during separate appearances on an outdoor stage on the opening night of a three-day technology conference organized by The Wall Street Journal."
Also see: ‘Proud to be gay,’ Apple CEO Tim Cook comes out
Don't you just love it?
"Cyanide searches found on poison suspect’s laptop" Associated Press October 29, 2014
PITTSBURGH — A medical researcher charged with poisoning his wife had a computer on which someone conducted searches relating to cyanide poisoning two or three days after she died, a State Police computer specialist testified Tuesday.
The searches found on Dr. Robert Ferrante’s laptop occurred days before test results on Dr. Autumn Klein’s blood revealed a fatal level of cyanide.
Earlier in the fourth day of what is expected to be a three-week trial, one of Ferrante’s lab assistants testified he placed an overnight order for potassium cyanide two days before Klein fell suddenly ill in the couple’s kitchen. Another lab assistant said he was acting a ‘‘little bizarre’’ around the time his wife fell ill.
In the days after her death, Ferrante, 66, had told friends and family he believed she died of a sudden, unexplained illness such as a stroke.
Corporal John Roche, a computer specialist, testified Tuesday that one of the searches typed into Yahoo Answers on his computer was, ‘‘How would a coroner detect when someone is killed by cyanide?’’
Under cross examination, Roche acknowledged that he cannot prove whether Ferrante or someone else did the computer searches.
Some of the searches were done as early as January 2013, including one seeking the legal definition of ‘‘malice of forethought,’’ an apparent reference to malice aforethought, a legal term that means premeditation.
Investigators contend that Ferrante, a specialist on Lou Gehrig’s disease, laced Klein’s creatine energy drink with the poison on April 17, 2013.
--more--"
Also see: Former MGH researcher charged in wife’s poisoning death
Halloween 2014: Rivera Directed Michigan Murder Attempt
"Michigan girl meant to kill family, prosecutors say" Associated Press October 24, 2014
PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 15-year-old suburban Detroit girl accused of stabbing her younger brother as part of a plot to kill her family so that she could run off with a 23-year-old man was ordered held on $1 million bond Thursday.
The girl, who is facing adult charges of assault with intent to murder and conspiracy to commit murder in last Friday’s attack, wore a red jail jumpsuit at her hearing, which her parents attended.
Michael Rivera, who prosecutors and the girl’s parents describe as her boyfriend, was ordered held on $1 million bond Sunday. He faces the same charges as the girl, plus a felonious assault charge.
Prosecutors say the girl stabbed her brother in the throat and tried to stab her younger sister. The boy was treated at a hospital. Prosecutors contend that during the attack, Rivera was outside the girl’s Plymouth Township home sending text messages instructing her.
‘‘He was using her to do his dirty work. She was under this man’s spell,’’ the girl’s mother told reporters.
The girl’s parents said she and Rivera were in a sexual relationship. The Associated Press isn’t naming the girl or her family members because prosecutors said they may file sex charges against Rivera, since the girl is a minor.
The parents said the girl met Rivera earlier this year through social media.
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PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. — A 15-year-old suburban Detroit girl accused of stabbing her younger brother as part of a plot to kill her family so that she could run off with a 23-year-old man was ordered held on $1 million bond Thursday.
The girl, who is facing adult charges of assault with intent to murder and conspiracy to commit murder in last Friday’s attack, wore a red jail jumpsuit at her hearing, which her parents attended.
Michael Rivera, who prosecutors and the girl’s parents describe as her boyfriend, was ordered held on $1 million bond Sunday. He faces the same charges as the girl, plus a felonious assault charge.
Prosecutors say the girl stabbed her brother in the throat and tried to stab her younger sister. The boy was treated at a hospital. Prosecutors contend that during the attack, Rivera was outside the girl’s Plymouth Township home sending text messages instructing her.
‘‘He was using her to do his dirty work. She was under this man’s spell,’’ the girl’s mother told reporters.
The girl’s parents said she and Rivera were in a sexual relationship. The Associated Press isn’t naming the girl or her family members because prosecutors said they may file sex charges against Rivera, since the girl is a minor.
The parents said the girl met Rivera earlier this year through social media.
--more--"