I simply no longer want to blog about the Bo$ton Globe as I hit my golden years. Sorry.
"New rules set to make retirement industry more accountable" by Deirdre Fernandes Globe Staff April 06, 2016
The $14 trillion retirement industry is about to undergo a major overhaul: Brokers for the first time will be forced to consider the best interest of their clients — rather than the brokers’ own fees — in recommending investments.
Weren't they already?
I mean, that's what the vast television advertisements seem to imply.
Now we find, as we often do, is they just $#erving themselves.
The US Department of Labor announced the new rules, the first in decades, on Wednesday, after banks, insurance firms, and mutual fund companies spent millions furiously lobbying against them.
It was MassMutual and Fidelity that fought the hardest.
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who pledged her support for the tighter rules more than a year ago and joined President Obama in drumming up support for them among consumer groups, called it an “enormous victory” for working families.
It’s also a victory for the Democratic senator, a firebrand on financial regulation who has aimed her substantial political voice at banks, investment houses, and now financial advisory firms.
“Hard-working Americans need every dollar to work for them, not to lose billions of dollars to investment advisers who are watching out for themselves instead of for their clients,” Warren said. “Today the rules begin to change.”
Doesn't mean they will follow them!
With all due respect, she has become just as much a cartoon character (along the lines of Cher, Carrie Fisher, Condoleezza Rice, and Gabrielle Giffords) as those she is criticizing it's almost comic.
The rules will legally require companies and financial advisers to act in their customers’ best financial interest, potentially saving them money in fees. The rules will be phased in, starting next April, federal officials said, and fully implemented by January 2018.
Plenty of time to work around through loopholes!
For consumers, the most immediate change may come when they decide to roll over their 401(k)s into IRAs. An adviser would need to provide information and disclosures about the types of investments he or she is recommending, as well as any commissions or perks tied to the recommendation, said Alicia Munnell, the director of Boston College’s retirement center.
Ultimately, it will discourage advisers from pushing those higher-cost products, Munnell said.
“It really changes the nature of the conversation,” she said.
As well as to whom.
The retirement landscape has changed over the last decades, with company pensions disappearing and more people responsible for building their own retirement savings. As a result, stricter standards are needed to provide a greater measure of retirement security, US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said during a press conference Wednesday.
Combined, 401(k)s and individual retirement accounts hold $14 trillion in private retirement assets, compared to about $3 trillion in traditional pensions, according to the Investment Company Institute.
“When your doctor and when your lawyer are talking to you, they’re obligated to look out for your best interest and despite what most working people assume, that’s not necessarily the case for financial advisers,” US Labor Secretary Thomas Perez said during a press conference Wednesday.
Why does he think it's necessarily the case with those other two these days?
In unveiling the final version of the rules, regulators made several concessions to the financial services industry, including more time to implement the regulations and fewer restrictions on the investments they can sell....
Meaning this whole lead story is nothing but front-page crap.
--more--"
Yes, dear readers, it appears that we have “hit a tipping point” here at the PPM regarding the endless lies and distortions, Jewish supremacism, and subtle elite insult that spew forth from the agenda-pu$hing paper where “money is the biggest driver.”
Time to call it quits for good, for the obvious rea$ons.
I'm not saying I'll never blog again; however, I will be doing some spring cleaning in the following weeks whereby I will be cleaning out drafts, and be going through all the unread, half-read, and quarter-read Globes that are piling up, as well as the piles of clippings going back 15 months or more. If I find anything worth posting I'll put it up, but I suspect most of them will end up in the recycling bag.
UPDATE: How new retirement savings rules will affect consumers
Thursday, April 14, 2016
State Street Medicine
It's for $tre$$ so open up!!
"State Street CEO takes a 23 percent pay cut to $10 million" by Beth Healy Globe Staff April 07, 2016
State Street Corp. chief executive Joseph L. “Jay” Hooley earned $10 million last year, the company said, down 27 percent from 2014, marking the second straight annual decline in his pay.
Compensation fell across the top ranks of the Boston-based financial giant, as the board took into account lackluster financial performance and a series of costly lapses in oversight.
As a result, the panel awarded less cash and more stock.
Hooley, 59, was apparently willing to take his medicine.
That is one hell of a $poonful!
State Street’s revenue has been under pressure, in part due to low interest rates....
It still rose last year.
--more--"
With all due respect, I'm tired of apologist fellatio when it comes to the pre$$ and the bankers.
Now take your medicine!
"Former State Street executives indicted over alleged fraud" by Beth Healy Globe Staff April 05, 2016
Two former State Street Corp. executives were indicted on criminal securities fraud charges in an alleged scheme to overcharge six large clients, the US attorney in Boston said Tuesday, the latest legal black eye for the financial services company.
Ross McLellan, 44, of Hingham, and Edward Pennings, 45, a Dutch citizen believed to be in England, were charged in the five-count indictment. McLellan, a former executive vice president of Boston-based State Street, who served as head of its US broker-dealer unit, was arrested Tuesday morning in Hingham, officials said.
In what US Attorney Carmen Ortiz called a “brazen fraud,” the pair allegedly generated millions of dollars in improper trading commissions from June 2010 into September 2011, from clients who had already paid fees to State Street for handling their accounts.
The customers included a British government pension fund and a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, according to Ortiz’s office.
State Street spokeswoman Carolyn Cichon said the employees had been terminated by the company several years ago. She said State Street has been cooperating with US authorities for the past few years.
McLellan pleaded not guilty Tuesday in US District Court in Boston and was released on $250,000 bond secured by his home. His lawyer, Marty Weinberg, in a statement said, “The evidence will ultimately and compellingly show that Ross McLellan committed no criminal acts and had no criminal intent.”
He also said the alleged behavior — charging clients “markups” on bond trades — is common, and that the profits were received by State Street, not McLellan.
McLellan has been running a Hingham firm called Harbor Analytics since 2012, according to his LinkedIn page. The Massachusetts state pension fund had hired him to evaluate some of its trading costs, paying him about $25,000 for the service, spokesman Eric Convey said.
“We suspended the relationship today,” Convey said.
I checked that, and the last I saw it was making small gains with big raises for managers (looks like skimming to me), but Galvin and Goldberg are looking after things. Good thing they didn't have a guy like Bill Gross running it.
A lawyer for Pennings could not be identified.
The charges are the latest in a series of employee conduct and oversight problems at State Street, which manages $2 trillion in client funds and provides administrative services on $28 trilllion in assets for pensions and mutual funds.
The company recently has been embroiled in cases related to financing a political campaign in Ohio in exchange for pension servicing business; overcharging clients for administrative services over 18 years, and overcharging for foreign exchange trading services.
Timothy Smith of Walden Asset Management in Boston, a $3 billion money manager and longtime State Street shareholder, said the question is whether these are one-off issues or part of a broader compliance problem.
“What we as investors expect for situations like this, is that they probe deeply into these situations, they learn what caused the problem,’’ Smith said. “Was it just a rogue individual or is it a pattern?”
I think that question has been answered.
State Street shares fell 2 percent on a generally down day for stocks....
Take that bitter pill!
--more--"
Related: Saturday No Longer So Special
And now they will be handling GE's retirement assets.
"State Street Corp.’s efforts to cut costs have hit the global financial giant’s travel budget, with employees being asked to use “good judgment” in planning out-of-town trips. State Street reported first-quarter earnings of $319 million Wednesday. The Boston-based investment management and banking company did not put a dollar figure on the travel cuts but chief executive Jay Hooley said it’s part of a broader, multi-year plan to trim spending, including $100 million this year. Hooley said the company is encouraging options such as video conferences for short meetings with State Street colleagues in other cities. The company has been struggling to grow revenue in a low-interest rate environment and amid volatile stock markets early in the first quarter."
"State Street CEO takes a 23 percent pay cut to $10 million" by Beth Healy Globe Staff April 07, 2016
State Street Corp. chief executive Joseph L. “Jay” Hooley earned $10 million last year, the company said, down 27 percent from 2014, marking the second straight annual decline in his pay.
Compensation fell across the top ranks of the Boston-based financial giant, as the board took into account lackluster financial performance and a series of costly lapses in oversight.
As a result, the panel awarded less cash and more stock.
Hooley, 59, was apparently willing to take his medicine.
That is one hell of a $poonful!
State Street’s revenue has been under pressure, in part due to low interest rates....
It still rose last year.
--more--"
With all due respect, I'm tired of apologist fellatio when it comes to the pre$$ and the bankers.
Now take your medicine!
"Former State Street executives indicted over alleged fraud" by Beth Healy Globe Staff April 05, 2016
Two former State Street Corp. executives were indicted on criminal securities fraud charges in an alleged scheme to overcharge six large clients, the US attorney in Boston said Tuesday, the latest legal black eye for the financial services company.
Ross McLellan, 44, of Hingham, and Edward Pennings, 45, a Dutch citizen believed to be in England, were charged in the five-count indictment. McLellan, a former executive vice president of Boston-based State Street, who served as head of its US broker-dealer unit, was arrested Tuesday morning in Hingham, officials said.
In what US Attorney Carmen Ortiz called a “brazen fraud,” the pair allegedly generated millions of dollars in improper trading commissions from June 2010 into September 2011, from clients who had already paid fees to State Street for handling their accounts.
The customers included a British government pension fund and a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund, according to Ortiz’s office.
State Street spokeswoman Carolyn Cichon said the employees had been terminated by the company several years ago. She said State Street has been cooperating with US authorities for the past few years.
McLellan pleaded not guilty Tuesday in US District Court in Boston and was released on $250,000 bond secured by his home. His lawyer, Marty Weinberg, in a statement said, “The evidence will ultimately and compellingly show that Ross McLellan committed no criminal acts and had no criminal intent.”
He also said the alleged behavior — charging clients “markups” on bond trades — is common, and that the profits were received by State Street, not McLellan.
McLellan has been running a Hingham firm called Harbor Analytics since 2012, according to his LinkedIn page. The Massachusetts state pension fund had hired him to evaluate some of its trading costs, paying him about $25,000 for the service, spokesman Eric Convey said.
“We suspended the relationship today,” Convey said.
I checked that, and the last I saw it was making small gains with big raises for managers (looks like skimming to me), but Galvin and Goldberg are looking after things. Good thing they didn't have a guy like Bill Gross running it.
A lawyer for Pennings could not be identified.
The charges are the latest in a series of employee conduct and oversight problems at State Street, which manages $2 trillion in client funds and provides administrative services on $28 trilllion in assets for pensions and mutual funds.
The company recently has been embroiled in cases related to financing a political campaign in Ohio in exchange for pension servicing business; overcharging clients for administrative services over 18 years, and overcharging for foreign exchange trading services.
Timothy Smith of Walden Asset Management in Boston, a $3 billion money manager and longtime State Street shareholder, said the question is whether these are one-off issues or part of a broader compliance problem.
“What we as investors expect for situations like this, is that they probe deeply into these situations, they learn what caused the problem,’’ Smith said. “Was it just a rogue individual or is it a pattern?”
I think that question has been answered.
State Street shares fell 2 percent on a generally down day for stocks....
Take that bitter pill!
--more--"
Related: Saturday No Longer So Special
And now they will be handling GE's retirement assets.
"State Street Corp.’s efforts to cut costs have hit the global financial giant’s travel budget, with employees being asked to use “good judgment” in planning out-of-town trips. State Street reported first-quarter earnings of $319 million Wednesday. The Boston-based investment management and banking company did not put a dollar figure on the travel cuts but chief executive Jay Hooley said it’s part of a broader, multi-year plan to trim spending, including $100 million this year. Hooley said the company is encouraging options such as video conferences for short meetings with State Street colleagues in other cities. The company has been struggling to grow revenue in a low-interest rate environment and amid volatile stock markets early in the first quarter."
One Day Wonder: Gartenlaub’s Boeing
"How a spy probe turned into a child pornography case" by Eric Tucker Associated Press April 05, 2016
WASHINGTON — FBI agents investigating a potential data leak at Boeing obtained a secret warrant to search the home computers of a company manager in California for evidence they thought would connect him to Chinese economic espionage.
Instead, they say, they found something else entirely: graphic child pornography.
With that discovery two years ago, an investigation of sensational but ultimately unproven allegations of espionage veered into an unrelated child pornography prosecution that won Keith Gartenlaub’s conviction in December.
Now, the Los Angeles case is testing a defendant’s ability to access information about himself presented to the nation’s secretive intelligence court, which issued the warrant that let agents scour his computers.
At issue is how the government uses evidence derived through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and under what circumstances that information should be seen by defendants, particularly when it’s repurposed for a routine criminal prosecution that has nothing to do with national security.
Gartenlaub and his lawyers say they have a right to know the government’s arguments that were used to obtain the warrant, and fight them.
‘‘You can’t base a search on lies,’’ the 47-year-old said.
He’s seeking a new trial as he awaits his April 18 sentencing, saying there’s no evidence he was aware of the child pornography or had ever accessed the images.
Did the government plant it?
If that’s denied, he’s likely to appeal on grounds that the warrant to inspect his computers was based on mistaken assumptions and allegations of a crime — espionage — for which he’s never been charged.
It won’t be easy. His request to suppress pornography evidence he said was improperly obtained was denied before the trial. He’s tried to review the sealed FISA court records in hopes of attacking the FBI search, but the government refused and a judge backed that up.
‘‘I don’t want the FISA warrant for my own personal edification. I need to know whether they provided probable cause to a judge to search a man’s computers and home,’’ said his attorney, Mark Werksman.
The FISA court, created in 1978 to hear government surveillance requests in foreign intelligence matters, remains shrouded in secrecy. Judges can order prosecutors to share FISA information with defendants if they deem it necessary for challenging a search’s legality, but courts have consistently said disclosing the material could expose sensitive intelligence secrets. In Gartenlaub’s case, then-Attorney General Eric Holder advised against disclosure.
A rare exception came in 2014, when a judge in Chicago ordered the disclosure of FISA materials in a bomb-plot case. A federal appeals court overturned the decision, and the Supreme Court declined to review it.
‘‘For defendants, access to this information is a matter of fundamental fairness, because without it they cannot meaningfully challenge whether the government’s secret searches were lawful in the first place,’’ American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Patrick Toomey said in an e-mail. ‘‘For the public, this information is crucial because it is the only way to know whether the law’s basic protections for Americans have been watered down in practice, behind closed doors.’’
The Justice Department noted that the judge, Christina Snyder, already ruled that the FISA warrant was lawfully issued and that the evidence was gathered properly.
‘‘When law enforcement lawfully obtains evidence of a serious crime, in this case a crime against children, we will pursue further investigation of that crime,’’ the department said in a statement.
The FBI interviewed Gartenlaub in 2013 after a Wired.com article revealed a resemblance between a new Chinese aircraft, the Xian Y-20, and the Boeing C-17, a military cargo plane, and suggested someone within Boeing may have been responsible.
An FBI affidavit described Gartenlaub as the ‘‘one engineer’’ who had access to C-17 data, intimate knowledge of Boeing’s computer systems, and family ties to China. His wife is from China with a family described as ‘‘well connected.’’ He traveled regularly to the country and expressed frustration that Boeing sought to limit his excursions there over security concerns, the affidavit says. The FBI also focused on dozens of deposits to the couple’s bank account that it deemed suspicious — transactions Gartenlaub says were legitimate.
A recent court filing obliquely suggested a connection to the prosecution of Su Bin, a Chinese businessman who pleaded guilty last month for his role in a Boeing hack that led to the theft of C-17 secrets.
Gartenlaub, for his part, maintains he wasn’t working on the C-17 program when the Su Bin theft is thought to have occurred and didn’t have access to the data in the first place — though, he says, thousands of other Boeing employees did.
The FBI accessed his computers in 2014 after obtaining a FISA warrant. Gartenlaub acknowledges the information presented to the court likely mirrors the FBI affidavit, but says there’s no way to know for sure without seeing the warrant application.
In its search the FBI says it found videos of prepubescent girls on multiple hard drives, and evidence that Gartenlaub maintained a ‘‘carefully curated and organized collection’’ that was copied multiple times.
But Jeff Fischbach, a forensic examiner who reviewed the evidence for the defense, said the images were intermingled in extensive folders with files from other computer users, raising the possibility someone else was responsible for the pornography. Defense lawyers say there was no proof the images were ever opened or accessed in the years since they’d been downloaded to an unknown source and placed onto his computer.
‘‘Either I’m this spy-slash-child pornographer, or I’m one of them, or I’m none of them,’’ Gartenlaub said. ‘‘I’m telling you, I’m none of them.’’
Prosecutors have recommended a 10-year prison term. ‘‘Defendant,’’ they wrote in a recent filing, ‘‘continues to deny any personal responsibility for his crimes of conviction.’’
--more--"
WASHINGTON — FBI agents investigating a potential data leak at Boeing obtained a secret warrant to search the home computers of a company manager in California for evidence they thought would connect him to Chinese economic espionage.
Instead, they say, they found something else entirely: graphic child pornography.
With that discovery two years ago, an investigation of sensational but ultimately unproven allegations of espionage veered into an unrelated child pornography prosecution that won Keith Gartenlaub’s conviction in December.
Now, the Los Angeles case is testing a defendant’s ability to access information about himself presented to the nation’s secretive intelligence court, which issued the warrant that let agents scour his computers.
At issue is how the government uses evidence derived through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and under what circumstances that information should be seen by defendants, particularly when it’s repurposed for a routine criminal prosecution that has nothing to do with national security.
Gartenlaub and his lawyers say they have a right to know the government’s arguments that were used to obtain the warrant, and fight them.
‘‘You can’t base a search on lies,’’ the 47-year-old said.
He’s seeking a new trial as he awaits his April 18 sentencing, saying there’s no evidence he was aware of the child pornography or had ever accessed the images.
Did the government plant it?
If that’s denied, he’s likely to appeal on grounds that the warrant to inspect his computers was based on mistaken assumptions and allegations of a crime — espionage — for which he’s never been charged.
It won’t be easy. His request to suppress pornography evidence he said was improperly obtained was denied before the trial. He’s tried to review the sealed FISA court records in hopes of attacking the FBI search, but the government refused and a judge backed that up.
‘‘I don’t want the FISA warrant for my own personal edification. I need to know whether they provided probable cause to a judge to search a man’s computers and home,’’ said his attorney, Mark Werksman.
The FISA court, created in 1978 to hear government surveillance requests in foreign intelligence matters, remains shrouded in secrecy. Judges can order prosecutors to share FISA information with defendants if they deem it necessary for challenging a search’s legality, but courts have consistently said disclosing the material could expose sensitive intelligence secrets. In Gartenlaub’s case, then-Attorney General Eric Holder advised against disclosure.
A rare exception came in 2014, when a judge in Chicago ordered the disclosure of FISA materials in a bomb-plot case. A federal appeals court overturned the decision, and the Supreme Court declined to review it.
‘‘For defendants, access to this information is a matter of fundamental fairness, because without it they cannot meaningfully challenge whether the government’s secret searches were lawful in the first place,’’ American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Patrick Toomey said in an e-mail. ‘‘For the public, this information is crucial because it is the only way to know whether the law’s basic protections for Americans have been watered down in practice, behind closed doors.’’
The Justice Department noted that the judge, Christina Snyder, already ruled that the FISA warrant was lawfully issued and that the evidence was gathered properly.
‘‘When law enforcement lawfully obtains evidence of a serious crime, in this case a crime against children, we will pursue further investigation of that crime,’’ the department said in a statement.
The FBI interviewed Gartenlaub in 2013 after a Wired.com article revealed a resemblance between a new Chinese aircraft, the Xian Y-20, and the Boeing C-17, a military cargo plane, and suggested someone within Boeing may have been responsible.
An FBI affidavit described Gartenlaub as the ‘‘one engineer’’ who had access to C-17 data, intimate knowledge of Boeing’s computer systems, and family ties to China. His wife is from China with a family described as ‘‘well connected.’’ He traveled regularly to the country and expressed frustration that Boeing sought to limit his excursions there over security concerns, the affidavit says. The FBI also focused on dozens of deposits to the couple’s bank account that it deemed suspicious — transactions Gartenlaub says were legitimate.
A recent court filing obliquely suggested a connection to the prosecution of Su Bin, a Chinese businessman who pleaded guilty last month for his role in a Boeing hack that led to the theft of C-17 secrets.
Gartenlaub, for his part, maintains he wasn’t working on the C-17 program when the Su Bin theft is thought to have occurred and didn’t have access to the data in the first place — though, he says, thousands of other Boeing employees did.
The FBI accessed his computers in 2014 after obtaining a FISA warrant. Gartenlaub acknowledges the information presented to the court likely mirrors the FBI affidavit, but says there’s no way to know for sure without seeing the warrant application.
In its search the FBI says it found videos of prepubescent girls on multiple hard drives, and evidence that Gartenlaub maintained a ‘‘carefully curated and organized collection’’ that was copied multiple times.
But Jeff Fischbach, a forensic examiner who reviewed the evidence for the defense, said the images were intermingled in extensive folders with files from other computer users, raising the possibility someone else was responsible for the pornography. Defense lawyers say there was no proof the images were ever opened or accessed in the years since they’d been downloaded to an unknown source and placed onto his computer.
‘‘Either I’m this spy-slash-child pornographer, or I’m one of them, or I’m none of them,’’ Gartenlaub said. ‘‘I’m telling you, I’m none of them.’’
Prosecutors have recommended a 10-year prison term. ‘‘Defendant,’’ they wrote in a recent filing, ‘‘continues to deny any personal responsibility for his crimes of conviction.’’
--more--"
Getting Tufts to Blog
"The National Labor Relations Board dealt a blow to Tufts University medical school professors trying to unionize, ruling that the faculty members’ managerial duties preclude their right to organize. Despite the setback, unionization efforts among tenured faculty will continue, Local 509 said...."
"Tufts Medical Center recruits college grads as nurses’ aides" by Katie Johnston Globe Staff March 31, 2016
What’s a philosophy-biology double major doing changing bed pans?
I suppose it's better than babysitting.
It — is helping him figure out what he wants to do with his life.
Some question whether requiring a bachelor’s degree for a lower-level position is shutting out otherwise qualified candidates. But there is no shortage of jobs...."
I hope that let in some fresh air....
"A female Tufts University student told authorities she woke up early Saturday to find a strange man in her dorm room rubbing her arm, according to campus police. A police alert issued Sunday said the student, who lives in Wren Hall, reported that the incident took place at about 3:55 a.m. Saturday. Police are looking for a suspect who is approximately 5-foot-8, has short black hair, and was wearing a dark shirt. Tufts University police urge any one with information or who experienced similar incidents to contact them....
He was found dead.
A first-year Tufts University student died Saturday morning in downtown Boston, according to school officials. Alex Bhak was a first-year student in the school of arts and sciences, and the cause of his death remains under investigation, Tufts University President Anthony P. Monaco and other university officials said in a statement. “His parents and friends say he loved being at Tufts, and we know his sudden passing will be deeply felt by those who knew and loved this bright and talented young man,” said the statement, which was dated Saturday. The school held a gathering for students on Saturday evening, and provided counseling services on Sunday evening."
"Tufts Medical Center recruits college grads as nurses’ aides" by Katie Johnston Globe Staff March 31, 2016
What’s a philosophy-biology double major doing changing bed pans?
I suppose it's better than babysitting.
It — is helping him figure out what he wants to do with his life.
Some question whether requiring a bachelor’s degree for a lower-level position is shutting out otherwise qualified candidates. But there is no shortage of jobs...."
"A female Tufts University student told authorities she woke up early Saturday to find a strange man in her dorm room rubbing her arm, according to campus police. A police alert issued Sunday said the student, who lives in Wren Hall, reported that the incident took place at about 3:55 a.m. Saturday. Police are looking for a suspect who is approximately 5-foot-8, has short black hair, and was wearing a dark shirt. Tufts University police urge any one with information or who experienced similar incidents to contact them....
He was found dead.
A first-year Tufts University student died Saturday morning in downtown Boston, according to school officials. Alex Bhak was a first-year student in the school of arts and sciences, and the cause of his death remains under investigation, Tufts University President Anthony P. Monaco and other university officials said in a statement. “His parents and friends say he loved being at Tufts, and we know his sudden passing will be deeply felt by those who knew and loved this bright and talented young man,” said the statement, which was dated Saturday. The school held a gathering for students on Saturday evening, and provided counseling services on Sunday evening."
Texas Take Down
"Texas school police officer caught on video body-slamming girl" by Lindsey Bever The Washington Post April 07, 2016
Texas officials said a school police officer has been put on administrative leave after cellphone video surfaced on social media seemingly showing him body-slamming a sixth-grade girl to the ground.
The San Antonio Independent School District said it is investigating.
Video emerged on YouTube on Tuesday seeming to show the police officer, identified by the district as Joshua Kehm, struggling to hold the girl from behind as her schoolmates called out, ‘‘Janissa! Janissa, chill!’’
The officer then hurled 12-year-old student Janissa Valdez to the ground — and a loud crack can be heard as her head hit the brick pavement. The crowd gasped and then fell silent.
Judith Browne Dianis, co-director for Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, said the Texas incident ‘‘demonstrates the urgent need to take action to remove police officers from our schools.’’
I have bad news for you; they are being militarized even more.
--more--"
Related: San Antonio district fires officer who body-slammed girl
Texas officials said a school police officer has been put on administrative leave after cellphone video surfaced on social media seemingly showing him body-slamming a sixth-grade girl to the ground.
The San Antonio Independent School District said it is investigating.
Video emerged on YouTube on Tuesday seeming to show the police officer, identified by the district as Joshua Kehm, struggling to hold the girl from behind as her schoolmates called out, ‘‘Janissa! Janissa, chill!’’
The officer then hurled 12-year-old student Janissa Valdez to the ground — and a loud crack can be heard as her head hit the brick pavement. The crowd gasped and then fell silent.
Judith Browne Dianis, co-director for Advancement Project, a civil rights organization, said the Texas incident ‘‘demonstrates the urgent need to take action to remove police officers from our schools.’’
I have bad news for you; they are being militarized even more.
--more--"
Related: San Antonio district fires officer who body-slammed girl
Parent-Teacher Conference
"Brockton mother charged with threatening, assaulting daughter’s teacher" by J.D. Capelouto Globe Correspondent April 07, 2016
A Brockton mother stormed into a classroom at her daughter’s high school Wednesday afternoon, assaulting and threatening the teacher over an assignment that had not been completed, police and school officials alleged.
Carla Darosa was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and trespassing at her Brockton District Court arraignment Thursday morning. She was ordered held on $3,000 cash bail and instructed to stay away from Brockton High School.
The teacher told police the confrontation was over what credit should be given to the student, who had failed to finish an assignment.
She said the student was upset “about not getting credit for the work she did do,” according to a Brockton police report.
The schools superintendent said in a statement that Darosa had ignored security protocols.
“The unfortunate incident began when the parent entered the school in an agitated state during class time and demanded to see her child’s teacher,” said Superintendent Kathleen Smith.
Smith said Darosa slipped into the building after being denied access at the security desk.
According to the police report, Darosa found the teacher’s classroom and asked to speak with her. The teacher responded, “I can’t. I’m teaching a class,” the report said.
“The defendant tried to gain access into the room by opening the door,” the report stated. “At that point the victim tried to shut it.”
Darosa then starting pushing on the door, hitting the victim, and shouting obscene threats, according to the report.
“I’ll [expletive] you up!” Darosa shouted, according to the report.
The teacher eventually shut the door and called for help. Darosa was arrested at the school.
Smith said the teacher had responded appropriately by closing the door and calling for help.
Darosa did not immediately respond to phone messages left on Thursday at numbers listed in her name.
Smith said the school will review its security protocols.
“We welcome parents to our buildings and offer many opportunities for them to interact with teachers and staff at open houses, parent/teacher conferences and other events,” Smith said in the statement. “But no one is allowed to walk into the building without signing in, showing identification, gaining permission to be where they are asking to be, and then waiting for an escort to that area.”
Kind of like a prison visitation when you think about it.
--more--"
A Brockton mother stormed into a classroom at her daughter’s high school Wednesday afternoon, assaulting and threatening the teacher over an assignment that had not been completed, police and school officials alleged.
Carla Darosa was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, disturbing the peace, disorderly conduct, and trespassing at her Brockton District Court arraignment Thursday morning. She was ordered held on $3,000 cash bail and instructed to stay away from Brockton High School.
The teacher told police the confrontation was over what credit should be given to the student, who had failed to finish an assignment.
She said the student was upset “about not getting credit for the work she did do,” according to a Brockton police report.
The schools superintendent said in a statement that Darosa had ignored security protocols.
“The unfortunate incident began when the parent entered the school in an agitated state during class time and demanded to see her child’s teacher,” said Superintendent Kathleen Smith.
Smith said Darosa slipped into the building after being denied access at the security desk.
According to the police report, Darosa found the teacher’s classroom and asked to speak with her. The teacher responded, “I can’t. I’m teaching a class,” the report said.
“The defendant tried to gain access into the room by opening the door,” the report stated. “At that point the victim tried to shut it.”
Darosa then starting pushing on the door, hitting the victim, and shouting obscene threats, according to the report.
“I’ll [expletive] you up!” Darosa shouted, according to the report.
The teacher eventually shut the door and called for help. Darosa was arrested at the school.
Smith said the teacher had responded appropriately by closing the door and calling for help.
Darosa did not immediately respond to phone messages left on Thursday at numbers listed in her name.
Smith said the school will review its security protocols.
“We welcome parents to our buildings and offer many opportunities for them to interact with teachers and staff at open houses, parent/teacher conferences and other events,” Smith said in the statement. “But no one is allowed to walk into the building without signing in, showing identification, gaining permission to be where they are asking to be, and then waiting for an escort to that area.”
Kind of like a prison visitation when you think about it.
--more--"
Girls Rugby Game Cancelled
" A 73-year-old woman whose car collided head-on with a school bus Wednesday afternoon in Sudbury died from her injuries, according to the Middlesex County district attorney’s office. Patricia Metz was driving a sedan that crashed into a school bus carrying 25 players from Algonquin Regional High School’s girls’ rugby team in Northborough. None of the students or the bus driver were seriously injured, but Metz was trapped inside her car and had to be extricated using the Jaws of Life. She was taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, where she died from her injuries. Nine students and the bus driver were taken to area hospitals. Students were on their way to Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School for a game. Sudbury police and State Police assigned to the district attorney’s office are investigating."
Cherry-Picking This Post
"A tree worker died in Leominster Thursday after being knocked out of a bucket truck by a fallen branch, officials said. The 26-year-old man, who has not been identified, fell about 50 feet, Fire Deputy Chief Daniel Kirouac said. A worker at Affordable Landscaping and Tree Service, the man was hired to cut branches from a pine tree for a residence at 79 Flaggler Rd. One of the branches he was cutting fell on him around 12:22 p.m., said Police Lieutenant Richard Kinney. The victim was transported to HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster, where he was pronounced dead, Kirouac said. Police are investigating the possibility that the worker was not properly secured in the bucket truck...."
Having the Gaul to Post This
"A Mattapan man was ordered held on $200,000 bail after shooting a man Wednesday afternoon, officials said. Police say Saquan Gaul shot a 51-year-old man outside a store on Blue Hill Avenue. The victim was taken to Boston Medical Center for non life-threatening injuries, police said. Prosecutors said Gaul, 23, admitted to having a dispute with the victim and made statements incriminating himself in the shooting. Gaul was charged with being an armed career criminal because he had been previously convicted of crimes including assault and assault and battery on a police officer, Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement."
Mashing the Ma$$ Media
"Mashable announces personnel shifts and job cuts" by Ravi Somaiya and John Herrman New York Times April 08, 2016
The news website Mashable announced sweeping changes to its operations Thursday, replacing its executive editor, Jim Roberts, and its chief revenue officer, Seth Rogin, and making a round of job cuts.
In a memo to the staff, Mashable founder Pete Cashmore described a decision to “move away from covering world news and politics as stand-alone channels.” It will spend more time “focusing on our core coverage — technology, Web culture, science, social media, entertainment, business and lifestyle, all told through the digital lens. We’ll also develop our real-time news coverage, keeping our audience up to date on breaking news and cultural trends being discussed on social networks.”
The company did not comment on the specifics of the cuts, but two people with knowledge of the shift, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested that the job losses would be to areas Cashmore described as declining in significance, world news and politics.
Roberts, a former senior editor at The New York Times, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. He will be replaced by Greg Gittrich, formerly the chief content officer at Vocativ. Rogin will be replaced by Ed Wise, who had worked at the humor website and studio Funny or Die.
Mashable workers had come to work on Thursday expecting to hear about their company’s plans for the future. The news and entertainment site had just raised $15 million. But the memo came before a meeting: “Today we must part ways with some of our colleagues,” Cashmore wrote. By early afternoon, as many as a dozen editorial employees had been terminated.
Should have quit first.
--more--"
The news website Mashable announced sweeping changes to its operations Thursday, replacing its executive editor, Jim Roberts, and its chief revenue officer, Seth Rogin, and making a round of job cuts.
In a memo to the staff, Mashable founder Pete Cashmore described a decision to “move away from covering world news and politics as stand-alone channels.” It will spend more time “focusing on our core coverage — technology, Web culture, science, social media, entertainment, business and lifestyle, all told through the digital lens. We’ll also develop our real-time news coverage, keeping our audience up to date on breaking news and cultural trends being discussed on social networks.”
The company did not comment on the specifics of the cuts, but two people with knowledge of the shift, who spoke on condition of anonymity, suggested that the job losses would be to areas Cashmore described as declining in significance, world news and politics.
Roberts, a former senior editor at The New York Times, did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment. He will be replaced by Greg Gittrich, formerly the chief content officer at Vocativ. Rogin will be replaced by Ed Wise, who had worked at the humor website and studio Funny or Die.
Mashable workers had come to work on Thursday expecting to hear about their company’s plans for the future. The news and entertainment site had just raised $15 million. But the memo came before a meeting: “Today we must part ways with some of our colleagues,” Cashmore wrote. By early afternoon, as many as a dozen editorial employees had been terminated.
Should have quit first.
--more--"
N.N.J.U.
"Fed set up fake university, arrest 21 in bogus visa case" Associated Press April 05, 2016
NEWARK, N.J. — The University of Northern New Jersey fielded no sports teams, held no graduation ceremonies and had no instructors, classes or degree programs. It did have a very attractive website that promised an ‘‘exceptional’’ education for foreign students wishing to study in the U.S.
The school was a sham from beginning to end — and it was created by federal authorities, who used it to arrest 21 people on charges they conspired to help more than 1,000 foreigners fraudulently keep or obtain student or work visas over the past 2½ years.
Like with all the robocalls to the schools?
The defendants whose arrests were announced Tuesday knew the school was bogus, as did the foreigners, who pretended to be students there in order to stay in the U.S., authorities said. But they didn’t know it was set up as part of a sting by undercover agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Most of the foreigners who benefited from the scam were from China and India and were already in the U.S. on student visas, federal prosecutors said. Officials said they have been identified and will be dealt with by immigration authorities — meaning they could face deportation — but won’t be prosecuted.
The 21 people arrested were described as brokers, recruiters and employers. They were charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to harbor aliens for profit. The second charge carries up to 10 years in prison. The defendants awaited court appearances in Newark on Tuesday.
Most of the defendants are in the U.S. legally and live in New York, New Jersey and California. One lives in Illinois, and one in Georgia.
The University of Northern New Jersey’s elaborate website promised ‘‘a high quality American education to students from around the world.’’ The site contained links to academic programs; a message from the ‘‘president,’’ a Dr. Steven Brunetti, Ph.D.; and photos of attractive young people sitting around a library table or consulting with a faculty member.
The site, which was taken offline Tuesday afternoon, even had a school seal that appeared to have been modeled on Princeton University’s, except that the fake institution’s colors were bluish-purple and green instead of orange and black. The university listed as its address a real building in Cranford, about 15 miles outside New York City.
Have you seen their seal lately?
The middlemen under arrest paid the undercover agents running the school thousands of dollars to produce paperwork that made it look as if the foreigners were enrolled at UNNJ, federal prosecutors said. That enabled the ‘‘students’’ to maintain their visa status without having to go to class.
‘‘This was just another stop on the ‘pay-to-stay’ tour,’’ U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said.
Immigration officials have investigated hundreds of suspected fake schools, or ‘‘visa mills,’’ in recent years. Some have led to charges: Officials at two schools in California and one in Georgia received prison sentences, including one who got 16 years for visa fraud and other charges.
In this case, though, federal authorities set up their own bogus institution. And Fishman said that once word got out about the place, the middlemen descended.
--more--"
NEWARK, N.J. — The University of Northern New Jersey fielded no sports teams, held no graduation ceremonies and had no instructors, classes or degree programs. It did have a very attractive website that promised an ‘‘exceptional’’ education for foreign students wishing to study in the U.S.
The school was a sham from beginning to end — and it was created by federal authorities, who used it to arrest 21 people on charges they conspired to help more than 1,000 foreigners fraudulently keep or obtain student or work visas over the past 2½ years.
Like with all the robocalls to the schools?
The defendants whose arrests were announced Tuesday knew the school was bogus, as did the foreigners, who pretended to be students there in order to stay in the U.S., authorities said. But they didn’t know it was set up as part of a sting by undercover agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Most of the foreigners who benefited from the scam were from China and India and were already in the U.S. on student visas, federal prosecutors said. Officials said they have been identified and will be dealt with by immigration authorities — meaning they could face deportation — but won’t be prosecuted.
The 21 people arrested were described as brokers, recruiters and employers. They were charged with conspiracy to commit visa fraud and to harbor aliens for profit. The second charge carries up to 10 years in prison. The defendants awaited court appearances in Newark on Tuesday.
Most of the defendants are in the U.S. legally and live in New York, New Jersey and California. One lives in Illinois, and one in Georgia.
The University of Northern New Jersey’s elaborate website promised ‘‘a high quality American education to students from around the world.’’ The site contained links to academic programs; a message from the ‘‘president,’’ a Dr. Steven Brunetti, Ph.D.; and photos of attractive young people sitting around a library table or consulting with a faculty member.
The site, which was taken offline Tuesday afternoon, even had a school seal that appeared to have been modeled on Princeton University’s, except that the fake institution’s colors were bluish-purple and green instead of orange and black. The university listed as its address a real building in Cranford, about 15 miles outside New York City.
Have you seen their seal lately?
The middlemen under arrest paid the undercover agents running the school thousands of dollars to produce paperwork that made it look as if the foreigners were enrolled at UNNJ, federal prosecutors said. That enabled the ‘‘students’’ to maintain their visa status without having to go to class.
‘‘This was just another stop on the ‘pay-to-stay’ tour,’’ U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said.
Immigration officials have investigated hundreds of suspected fake schools, or ‘‘visa mills,’’ in recent years. Some have led to charges: Officials at two schools in California and one in Georgia received prison sentences, including one who got 16 years for visa fraud and other charges.
In this case, though, federal authorities set up their own bogus institution. And Fishman said that once word got out about the place, the middlemen descended.
--more--"
Kim Skim
Globe missed it....
"A Wellesley man has sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing $1 million from the Cambridge-based technology company where he worked. Federal prosecutors say 44-year-old Andy Kim was also sentenced Monday to a year of probation. He pleaded guilty in December to two counts of wire fraud. Authorities say while working as controller for the company, Kim stole $500,000 on two separate occasions. He disguised the transactions as capital transfers to the company's owner and then fabricated records to make it appear as if they were legitimate capital transfers. On both occasions, Kim wired the money to a bank account belonging to a real estate investment company, which in one case forwarded the funds to Kim's personal bank account and in another case, invested the funds on his behalf."
Also see: Cambridge tech executive charged with wire fraud
Related:
" West Springfield police have shot and killed a man who charged at them with a knife after he had fatally injured his wife. Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said police responded to an apartment building in the city just after 6 a.m. Tuesday after getting a 911 call from a woman in another unit who said she heard a commotion and a woman crying for help. Police entered the apartment with the help of building management. Gulluni says two officers saw a man holding a knife and an injured woman on the floor. He says the man "charged at the officers aggressively," and the officers opened fire. The man and the woman were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where they were pronounced dead. No names were immediately released."
"A woman’s body was found in a tent in the Lynn Woods Reservation Tuesday morning, officials said. The woman was most likely living in the tent, according to Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office said. The person who notified police at around 10 a.m. also lived there. No foul play is suspected, according to Blodgett’s office. State Police assigned to the district attorney’s office are investigating the woman’s death. The identity of the woman has not been released pending next-of-kin notification and positive identification."
"A Wellesley man has sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing $1 million from the Cambridge-based technology company where he worked. Federal prosecutors say 44-year-old Andy Kim was also sentenced Monday to a year of probation. He pleaded guilty in December to two counts of wire fraud. Authorities say while working as controller for the company, Kim stole $500,000 on two separate occasions. He disguised the transactions as capital transfers to the company's owner and then fabricated records to make it appear as if they were legitimate capital transfers. On both occasions, Kim wired the money to a bank account belonging to a real estate investment company, which in one case forwarded the funds to Kim's personal bank account and in another case, invested the funds on his behalf."
Also see: Cambridge tech executive charged with wire fraud
Related:
" West Springfield police have shot and killed a man who charged at them with a knife after he had fatally injured his wife. Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said police responded to an apartment building in the city just after 6 a.m. Tuesday after getting a 911 call from a woman in another unit who said she heard a commotion and a woman crying for help. Police entered the apartment with the help of building management. Gulluni says two officers saw a man holding a knife and an injured woman on the floor. He says the man "charged at the officers aggressively," and the officers opened fire. The man and the woman were taken to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield where they were pronounced dead. No names were immediately released."
"A woman’s body was found in a tent in the Lynn Woods Reservation Tuesday morning, officials said. The woman was most likely living in the tent, according to Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett’s office said. The person who notified police at around 10 a.m. also lived there. No foul play is suspected, according to Blodgett’s office. State Police assigned to the district attorney’s office are investigating the woman’s death. The identity of the woman has not been released pending next-of-kin notification and positive identification."
Girl Geeks
"It’s hip to be a nerd at Geek Girl conference" by Sarah Shemkus Globe Correspondent April 05, 2016
More than 200 nerds – both aspiring and accomplished, most of them women – will be flocking to Cambridge Thursday for the Geek Girl Tech Conference.
The daylong event, to be held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, features panels and workshops that cover tech-heavy topics from industry hiring practices and the basics of launching a business to coding essentials and advanced digital marketing. In the afternoon, five local women-led startups will compete in a business pitch competition known as the Sharkette Tank.
“Any time you can get women who are starting companies out to pitch, it’s a good thing,” said Geek Girl founder Leslie Fishlock.
Men are welcome, and make up as much many as 25 percent of attendees at some events. However, while many conferences have come under fire lately for failing to include many women on panels, 90 percent of Geek Girl presenters are women.
“I was excited to participate in a program that gave woman a special opportunity to ask whatever questions they wanted and feel comfortable and get that sense of camaraderie,” said Meghan Blair-Valero, owner of Fogged In Accounting of Cape Cod and Boston, and a presenter for the past six years.
The seeds of Geek Girl were planted in the early 2000s, when Fishlock was working in Boston’s startup scene and realized how few of her tech colleagues were women.
A few years later, living on Cape Cod and running her own Web development company, she started hosting informal meet-ups at the local coffee shop to answer questions about anything related to tech. As these gatherings quickly grew from five women to 40, Fishlock realized she was on to something.
In 2008, she held the first official Geek Girl event, an evening of short educational presentations in a Hyannis hotel function room. Thirty women were expected; 100 showed up. The next year, the evening event turned into an all-day conference.
“Then we started expanding to different cities,” Fishlock said.
Today Fishlock lives in San Diego and manages Geek Girl events full-time. The organization runs tech conferences in Boston, San Diego, and Charlotte, as well as returning to Cape Cod every year. Fishlock is looking at expanding into Austin and Portland, Ore. as well.
Tickets are still available for Thursday’s event; prices range from $75 for students to $169 for general admission...."
I can't afford those.
Time to pump up the jam, pump it up....
"Boston TechJam will make networking fun and games come June 16" by Amanda Burke Globe Correspondent March 30, 2016
Boston TechJam, the combination block-party-meets-networking event for the Boston tech scene, will descend on City Hall Plaza for the fourth time on June 16.
The annual event brings together thousands of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, students, tech companies, developers and more for what has become the city’s largest gathering of the tech-obsessed.
TechJam has grown steadily over the years and is expected to attract record numbers this year.
One big change coming this year: the event is no longer 21-plus. TechJam cofounder Mark Lorion said lowering the age of entry to 18 was aimed at attracting college-age tech talent.
Lorion, the chief marketing and products officer of Boston software company Apperian, said Boston continues to lose talented young developers and entrepreneurs to New York or Silicon Valley after graduation.
Lorion says TechJam is meant to make networking “second-nature and natural,” with an assist from games, live music, and street food. (Fear not: Craft beer will be on tap for the of-age set.)
Tickets are $16.37. TechJam last summer donated its profits to the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s Education Foundation. This year, two-thirds of profits will go to the foundation, a nonprofit that supports computing education in Massachusetts...."
"Neighbors tell 9-year-old reporter covering a murder to go ‘play with dolls’" by Kristen De Groot Associated Press April 05, 2016
A 9-year-old reporter who wrote about a suspected murder in her small Pennsylvania town is defending herself after some locals lashed out about a young girl covering violent crimes.
Hilde Kate Lysiak got a tip Saturday afternoon about something untoward happening on 9th street in Selinsgrove, about 150 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
She went to the scene to get the details and posted a story and video clip on her website the ‘‘Orange Street News’’ later that day.
Soon after, her Facebook page and YouTube channel were clogged with negative comments urging her to ‘‘play with dolls’’ and have a tea party, and questioning her parents’ judgment in letting her do such work.
‘‘It kind of gets me angry because, just because I’m 9 doesn’t mean I can’t do a great story,’’ she said Tuesday. ‘‘It doesn’t mean I can’t be a reporter.’’
Hilde has run the ‘‘Orange Street News’’ since 2014. She gets some help from her father Matthew Lysiak, a former reporter for the New York Daily News, and her 12-year-old sister, Isabel Rose, who handles videos and photos.
What started out as a newspaper for her family, written in crayon, has become a community news source complete with website and Facebook page.
Matthew Lysiak said Tuesday the comments on his daughter’s stories are usually positive.
‘‘She was embraced when she was doing cuter stories, but about six months into writing the paper, she got more confident and started stepping outside the box,’’ Lysiak said.
The debate is all about whether it’s appropriate for a girl her age to be covering such news.
Lysiak said Hilde caught the journalism bug back when he worked for the Daily News and would occasionally take her along on the job.
‘‘She found journalism really interesting, and my older daughter, too. They would ask lots of questions,’’ Lysiak said.
She’s normally unfazed by comments and normally doesn’t even read them, he said.
‘‘The tea party comment really lit a fuse under her,’’ her father said. ‘‘She was pretty annoyed by it all.’’
Hilde hit back with a video on her news site, posted Sunday, first reading some of the comments aloud, including ‘‘I am disgusted that this cute little girl thinks she is a real journalist. What happened to tea parties?’’ and ‘‘Nine-year-old girls should be playing with dolls, not trying to be reporters.’’
She then defended her hard work.
‘‘I know this makes some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m 9. But if you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computer and do something about the news. There, is that cute enough for you?’’
Anne Carter, a licensed practical nurse in Selisgrove, was among those who commented disapprovingly on Facebook of Hilde’s involvement in the story.
‘‘I think she’s very talented and her aspirations are great, but it’s probably a bigger case than a 9-year-old should handle,’’ Carter said. ‘‘Adults in the community are having trouble wrapping their heads around what happened. I can’t imagine how a 9-year-old can cover a story like that.’’
Hilde is undeterred. When asked if she has a follow-up story in the works on the suspected homicide Hilde replied: ‘‘You’ll have to find out what happens in the next issue of the Orange Street News.’’
--more--"
More than 200 nerds – both aspiring and accomplished, most of them women – will be flocking to Cambridge Thursday for the Geek Girl Tech Conference.
The daylong event, to be held at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center, features panels and workshops that cover tech-heavy topics from industry hiring practices and the basics of launching a business to coding essentials and advanced digital marketing. In the afternoon, five local women-led startups will compete in a business pitch competition known as the Sharkette Tank.
“Any time you can get women who are starting companies out to pitch, it’s a good thing,” said Geek Girl founder Leslie Fishlock.
Men are welcome, and make up as much many as 25 percent of attendees at some events. However, while many conferences have come under fire lately for failing to include many women on panels, 90 percent of Geek Girl presenters are women.
“I was excited to participate in a program that gave woman a special opportunity to ask whatever questions they wanted and feel comfortable and get that sense of camaraderie,” said Meghan Blair-Valero, owner of Fogged In Accounting of Cape Cod and Boston, and a presenter for the past six years.
The seeds of Geek Girl were planted in the early 2000s, when Fishlock was working in Boston’s startup scene and realized how few of her tech colleagues were women.
A few years later, living on Cape Cod and running her own Web development company, she started hosting informal meet-ups at the local coffee shop to answer questions about anything related to tech. As these gatherings quickly grew from five women to 40, Fishlock realized she was on to something.
In 2008, she held the first official Geek Girl event, an evening of short educational presentations in a Hyannis hotel function room. Thirty women were expected; 100 showed up. The next year, the evening event turned into an all-day conference.
“Then we started expanding to different cities,” Fishlock said.
Today Fishlock lives in San Diego and manages Geek Girl events full-time. The organization runs tech conferences in Boston, San Diego, and Charlotte, as well as returning to Cape Cod every year. Fishlock is looking at expanding into Austin and Portland, Ore. as well.
Tickets are still available for Thursday’s event; prices range from $75 for students to $169 for general admission...."
I can't afford those.
Time to pump up the jam, pump it up....
"Boston TechJam will make networking fun and games come June 16" by Amanda Burke Globe Correspondent March 30, 2016
Boston TechJam, the combination block-party-meets-networking event for the Boston tech scene, will descend on City Hall Plaza for the fourth time on June 16.
The annual event brings together thousands of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, students, tech companies, developers and more for what has become the city’s largest gathering of the tech-obsessed.
TechJam has grown steadily over the years and is expected to attract record numbers this year.
One big change coming this year: the event is no longer 21-plus. TechJam cofounder Mark Lorion said lowering the age of entry to 18 was aimed at attracting college-age tech talent.
Lorion, the chief marketing and products officer of Boston software company Apperian, said Boston continues to lose talented young developers and entrepreneurs to New York or Silicon Valley after graduation.
Lorion says TechJam is meant to make networking “second-nature and natural,” with an assist from games, live music, and street food. (Fear not: Craft beer will be on tap for the of-age set.)
Tickets are $16.37. TechJam last summer donated its profits to the Massachusetts Technology Leadership Council’s Education Foundation. This year, two-thirds of profits will go to the foundation, a nonprofit that supports computing education in Massachusetts...."
"Neighbors tell 9-year-old reporter covering a murder to go ‘play with dolls’" by Kristen De Groot Associated Press April 05, 2016
A 9-year-old reporter who wrote about a suspected murder in her small Pennsylvania town is defending herself after some locals lashed out about a young girl covering violent crimes.
Hilde Kate Lysiak got a tip Saturday afternoon about something untoward happening on 9th street in Selinsgrove, about 150 miles northwest of Philadelphia.
She went to the scene to get the details and posted a story and video clip on her website the ‘‘Orange Street News’’ later that day.
Soon after, her Facebook page and YouTube channel were clogged with negative comments urging her to ‘‘play with dolls’’ and have a tea party, and questioning her parents’ judgment in letting her do such work.
‘‘It kind of gets me angry because, just because I’m 9 doesn’t mean I can’t do a great story,’’ she said Tuesday. ‘‘It doesn’t mean I can’t be a reporter.’’
Hilde has run the ‘‘Orange Street News’’ since 2014. She gets some help from her father Matthew Lysiak, a former reporter for the New York Daily News, and her 12-year-old sister, Isabel Rose, who handles videos and photos.
What started out as a newspaper for her family, written in crayon, has become a community news source complete with website and Facebook page.
Matthew Lysiak said Tuesday the comments on his daughter’s stories are usually positive.
‘‘She was embraced when she was doing cuter stories, but about six months into writing the paper, she got more confident and started stepping outside the box,’’ Lysiak said.
The debate is all about whether it’s appropriate for a girl her age to be covering such news.
Lysiak said Hilde caught the journalism bug back when he worked for the Daily News and would occasionally take her along on the job.
‘‘She found journalism really interesting, and my older daughter, too. They would ask lots of questions,’’ Lysiak said.
She’s normally unfazed by comments and normally doesn’t even read them, he said.
‘‘The tea party comment really lit a fuse under her,’’ her father said. ‘‘She was pretty annoyed by it all.’’
Hilde hit back with a video on her news site, posted Sunday, first reading some of the comments aloud, including ‘‘I am disgusted that this cute little girl thinks she is a real journalist. What happened to tea parties?’’ and ‘‘Nine-year-old girls should be playing with dolls, not trying to be reporters.’’
She then defended her hard work.
‘‘I know this makes some of you uncomfortable, and I know some of you just want me to sit down and be quiet because I’m 9. But if you want me to stop covering news, then you get off your computer and do something about the news. There, is that cute enough for you?’’
Anne Carter, a licensed practical nurse in Selisgrove, was among those who commented disapprovingly on Facebook of Hilde’s involvement in the story.
‘‘I think she’s very talented and her aspirations are great, but it’s probably a bigger case than a 9-year-old should handle,’’ Carter said. ‘‘Adults in the community are having trouble wrapping their heads around what happened. I can’t imagine how a 9-year-old can cover a story like that.’’
Hilde is undeterred. When asked if she has a follow-up story in the works on the suspected homicide Hilde replied: ‘‘You’ll have to find out what happens in the next issue of the Orange Street News.’’
--more--"
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Sunday Globe Special: Checking at My Watch
I hadn't realized it had gotten so late:
"The two Penn State grads also discovered a rich and largely forgotten heritage of American watch manufacturing: the Waltham Watch Co., a once-pioneering, now-defunct company that for 100 years supplied the nation with pocket watches...."
I put it down as soon as I saw the price.
Who needs a watch when you have a phone?
What time did that say?
"One way to think of virtual reality is that it’s similar to going to the movies or playing a console video game — it’s an immersive experience that asks you to tune other things out.... "
I'm tuning out something, all right.
Welcome to the matrix, folks.
Time for me to disappear through a hole in the hedge....
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
I appear to have run out of time and thus there will be no blog posts today.
"The two Penn State grads also discovered a rich and largely forgotten heritage of American watch manufacturing: the Waltham Watch Co., a once-pioneering, now-defunct company that for 100 years supplied the nation with pocket watches...."
I put it down as soon as I saw the price.
Who needs a watch when you have a phone?
What time did that say?
"One way to think of virtual reality is that it’s similar to going to the movies or playing a console video game — it’s an immersive experience that asks you to tune other things out.... "
I'm tuning out something, all right.
Welcome to the matrix, folks.
Time for me to disappear through a hole in the hedge....
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
I appear to have run out of time and thus there will be no blog posts today.
Slow Saturday Special: Under the Table at Harvard
"Harvard Law students say they found recording device hidden under table" by Steve Annear Globe Staff April 08, 2016
A group of Harvard Law School students who have been occupying a room on campus to host conversations about inequality and racial diversity say they discovered a recording device this week secretly attached to the bottom of a table.
Activists from the group Reclaim Harvard Law School said Friday that they fear the device, which can be voice-activated, was being used to pick up sensitive conversations about sexual assault and race that was held between students who thought they were in a “safe space.”
Since February, the group has been occupying the Haas Lounge of the law school’s Caspersen Student Center, which they renamed Belinda Hall, a reference to a woman enslaved by the family of Isaac Royall, whose fortune was used to help establish a law professorship at Harvard.
The goal of the occupation is to create an Office of Diversity and Inclusion, where students and staff can come together to “combat our school’s systemic racism and exclusion,” says the group, which also hosts events and lectures in the space.
The group members said they do not know who may have hidden the recorder beneath the table. But they believe it was put there specifically “to surveil our movement.”
Law school officials said Friday that they have referred the matter to the Harvard University Police Department. The incident is under investigation.
Titilayo Rasaki, a second-year law student and one of the group’s members, said that since the recorder was discovered, members of the group and outside visitors have felt on edge, and have been hesitant to continue having personal conversations of a sensitive nature at the hall.
Members of the group plan to do a “sweep” of the hall to look for any additional devices, she said.
“This was a safe space for us to have candid conversation, where people could be honest with each other and figure out a way to move forward,” said Rasaki. “It has had a chilling effect on the purpose of why we took over the space in the first place.”
The discovery of the recording device comes as the law school is grappling with complaints about its handling of issues of diversity....
See: Letter From College
Signed, God.
Also see:
Sex assault prevention report highlights Harvard ‘final clubs’
Harvard names new public health school dean
She said it is a great honor to be the housemother.
--more--"
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Princeton will keep Woodrow Wilson name on buildings, but expand diversity efforts" by Nick Anderson Washington Post April 05, 2016
WASHINGTON — Princeton University will keep President Woodrow Wilson’s name on its school of public and international affairs and on a residential college, despite calls to expunge his name from the Ivy League campus because of his staunch support of racial segregation.
Of course, his foisting enslavement upon us via the Federal Reserve isn't a topic of conversation.
Keep it under your hat, but I'm sick of all the agenda-pushing garbage in my jew$paper.
But the university’s board of trustees on Monday pledged to expand Princeton’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and to be transparent ‘‘in recognizing Wilson’s failings and shortcomings as well as the visions and achievements that led to the naming of the school and the college in the first place.’’
Wilson was president of Princeton from 1902 to 1910, reshaping the university significantly at the outset of the 20th century. A Democrat born in Virginia before the Civil War, he was elected 28th president of the United States in 1912 and reelected in 1916.
His two terms in the White House, as a leader of the progressive movement, put a lasting stamp on the nation’s domestic institutions. He was a key international leader during and after World War I. But Wilson also espoused views on racial segregation that led to significant setbacks for African-Americans in their quest for civil rights.
Yeah, he lied us into that war, too -- so the merchants of death could get rich.
In November, student protesters occupied the office of Princeton’s president, Christopher Eisgruber. They demanded that the university take steps to improve the racial climate on campus, including removing the Wilson name from important buildings. Eisgruber agreed to refer the issue to the board of trustees.
So nice to see the pre$$ finally picking up the gauntlet for Occupy, huh?
To those who questioned the uprising over the Wilson legacy, students in a group called the Black Justice League wrote in December that Princeton for too long had papered over Wilson’s faults.
‘‘We have demanded that the university not just remove his name but also take responsibility for its history by formally recognizing Wilson’s racist legacy, either with a plaque or with a web page,’’ they wrote. ‘‘To continue to honor such a man in the present manner is to spit in the face of students whose presence on this campus Wilson would have abhorred.’’
Eisgruber, who took office in 2013, said Monday that he had learned from the debate over Wilson’s record. Too often, he said, the university has spoken ‘‘almost hagiographically’’ about Wilson, trumpeting his virtues without exploring his faults.
Hey, that's the history I was taught. Never a mention of his racism in those books, nor the name Rothschild.
Eisgruber acknowledged he had contributed to that problem. He recalled a 2014 commencement speech in which he discussed in uplifting terms Wilson’s time as a student at Princeton — when he went by the name ‘‘Tommy’’ — without considering his divisive racial legacy.
‘‘I would never give that speech now in the way I gave it then,’’ Eisgruber said. ‘‘I was not sufficiently sensitive to what his racism would have meant to some of the students and families in my audience.’’
Let the politically-correct inculcation and self-censorship continue at Princeton, 'eh?
Eisgruber said it is high time for the university to present Wilson in a more balanced light. As an example, he pointed to a new historical exhibit on Wilson that opened at the university’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Princeton trustees decided to name the school for Wilson in 1935, or 11 years after his death. The university’s first residential college was named for him on the recommendation of students in the 1950s and 1960s.
Brent Henry, an African-American, lived in the Wilson College and attended the Wilson School before graduating from Princeton in 1969. Henry, now a Princeton trustee, chaired a committee that was formed last fall to review Wilson’s legacy.
‘‘Despite his racist attitudes, we felt it was more important to maintain the name and make sure everybody was aware of his flaws,’’ Henry said.
The views on the committee on the name question were not unanimous.
Still racists at Princeton.
--more--"
Related: Rick Scott says Yale should move to Florida
Ever notice race and gender take the discussion of cla$$ and Jewish supremacism off the agenda in my jew$paper??
"Duke University official apologizes to parking attendant" Associated Press April 05, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. — A Duke University administrator at the center of a sit-in outside the office of the school president apologized Monday, saying his behavior was neither civil nor respectful.
The statement from Tallman Trask III about a dispute two years ago with a parking attendant was posted on the school’s website Monday.
‘‘While the details of what happened are a matter of disagreement and subject of civil litigation, I recognize that my conduct fell short of the civility and respectful conduct each member of this community owes to every other,’’ the statement reads.
A lawsuit filed last month by Shelvia Underwood, a contract traffic control officer, accuses Trask of using a racial slur against her.
Trask has said Underwood refused to let him park in his usual spot and stepped in front of his car. He has denied making any racial comment.
Protesters camped outside the office of school president Richard Brodhead for a fourth day Monday, demanding the firing of Trask and two other administrators.
--more--"
UPDATE: Harvard unveils plaque in memory of slaves
A group of Harvard Law School students who have been occupying a room on campus to host conversations about inequality and racial diversity say they discovered a recording device this week secretly attached to the bottom of a table.
Activists from the group Reclaim Harvard Law School said Friday that they fear the device, which can be voice-activated, was being used to pick up sensitive conversations about sexual assault and race that was held between students who thought they were in a “safe space.”
Since February, the group has been occupying the Haas Lounge of the law school’s Caspersen Student Center, which they renamed Belinda Hall, a reference to a woman enslaved by the family of Isaac Royall, whose fortune was used to help establish a law professorship at Harvard.
The goal of the occupation is to create an Office of Diversity and Inclusion, where students and staff can come together to “combat our school’s systemic racism and exclusion,” says the group, which also hosts events and lectures in the space.
The group members said they do not know who may have hidden the recorder beneath the table. But they believe it was put there specifically “to surveil our movement.”
Law school officials said Friday that they have referred the matter to the Harvard University Police Department. The incident is under investigation.
Titilayo Rasaki, a second-year law student and one of the group’s members, said that since the recorder was discovered, members of the group and outside visitors have felt on edge, and have been hesitant to continue having personal conversations of a sensitive nature at the hall.
Members of the group plan to do a “sweep” of the hall to look for any additional devices, she said.
“This was a safe space for us to have candid conversation, where people could be honest with each other and figure out a way to move forward,” said Rasaki. “It has had a chilling effect on the purpose of why we took over the space in the first place.”
The discovery of the recording device comes as the law school is grappling with complaints about its handling of issues of diversity....
See: Letter From College
Signed, God.
Also see:
Sex assault prevention report highlights Harvard ‘final clubs’
Harvard names new public health school dean
She said it is a great honor to be the housemother.
--more--"
NEXT DAY UPDATE:
"Princeton will keep Woodrow Wilson name on buildings, but expand diversity efforts" by Nick Anderson Washington Post April 05, 2016
WASHINGTON — Princeton University will keep President Woodrow Wilson’s name on its school of public and international affairs and on a residential college, despite calls to expunge his name from the Ivy League campus because of his staunch support of racial segregation.
Of course, his foisting enslavement upon us via the Federal Reserve isn't a topic of conversation.
Keep it under your hat, but I'm sick of all the agenda-pushing garbage in my jew$paper.
But the university’s board of trustees on Monday pledged to expand Princeton’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and to be transparent ‘‘in recognizing Wilson’s failings and shortcomings as well as the visions and achievements that led to the naming of the school and the college in the first place.’’
Wilson was president of Princeton from 1902 to 1910, reshaping the university significantly at the outset of the 20th century. A Democrat born in Virginia before the Civil War, he was elected 28th president of the United States in 1912 and reelected in 1916.
His two terms in the White House, as a leader of the progressive movement, put a lasting stamp on the nation’s domestic institutions. He was a key international leader during and after World War I. But Wilson also espoused views on racial segregation that led to significant setbacks for African-Americans in their quest for civil rights.
Yeah, he lied us into that war, too -- so the merchants of death could get rich.
In November, student protesters occupied the office of Princeton’s president, Christopher Eisgruber. They demanded that the university take steps to improve the racial climate on campus, including removing the Wilson name from important buildings. Eisgruber agreed to refer the issue to the board of trustees.
So nice to see the pre$$ finally picking up the gauntlet for Occupy, huh?
To those who questioned the uprising over the Wilson legacy, students in a group called the Black Justice League wrote in December that Princeton for too long had papered over Wilson’s faults.
‘‘We have demanded that the university not just remove his name but also take responsibility for its history by formally recognizing Wilson’s racist legacy, either with a plaque or with a web page,’’ they wrote. ‘‘To continue to honor such a man in the present manner is to spit in the face of students whose presence on this campus Wilson would have abhorred.’’
Eisgruber, who took office in 2013, said Monday that he had learned from the debate over Wilson’s record. Too often, he said, the university has spoken ‘‘almost hagiographically’’ about Wilson, trumpeting his virtues without exploring his faults.
Hey, that's the history I was taught. Never a mention of his racism in those books, nor the name Rothschild.
Eisgruber acknowledged he had contributed to that problem. He recalled a 2014 commencement speech in which he discussed in uplifting terms Wilson’s time as a student at Princeton — when he went by the name ‘‘Tommy’’ — without considering his divisive racial legacy.
‘‘I would never give that speech now in the way I gave it then,’’ Eisgruber said. ‘‘I was not sufficiently sensitive to what his racism would have meant to some of the students and families in my audience.’’
Let the politically-correct inculcation and self-censorship continue at Princeton, 'eh?
Eisgruber said it is high time for the university to present Wilson in a more balanced light. As an example, he pointed to a new historical exhibit on Wilson that opened at the university’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
Princeton trustees decided to name the school for Wilson in 1935, or 11 years after his death. The university’s first residential college was named for him on the recommendation of students in the 1950s and 1960s.
Brent Henry, an African-American, lived in the Wilson College and attended the Wilson School before graduating from Princeton in 1969. Henry, now a Princeton trustee, chaired a committee that was formed last fall to review Wilson’s legacy.
‘‘Despite his racist attitudes, we felt it was more important to maintain the name and make sure everybody was aware of his flaws,’’ Henry said.
The views on the committee on the name question were not unanimous.
Still racists at Princeton.
--more--"
Related: Rick Scott says Yale should move to Florida
Ever notice race and gender take the discussion of cla$$ and Jewish supremacism off the agenda in my jew$paper??
"Duke University official apologizes to parking attendant" Associated Press April 05, 2016
DURHAM, N.C. — A Duke University administrator at the center of a sit-in outside the office of the school president apologized Monday, saying his behavior was neither civil nor respectful.
The statement from Tallman Trask III about a dispute two years ago with a parking attendant was posted on the school’s website Monday.
‘‘While the details of what happened are a matter of disagreement and subject of civil litigation, I recognize that my conduct fell short of the civility and respectful conduct each member of this community owes to every other,’’ the statement reads.
A lawsuit filed last month by Shelvia Underwood, a contract traffic control officer, accuses Trask of using a racial slur against her.
Trask has said Underwood refused to let him park in his usual spot and stepped in front of his car. He has denied making any racial comment.
Protesters camped outside the office of school president Richard Brodhead for a fourth day Monday, demanding the firing of Trask and two other administrators.
--more--"
UPDATE: Harvard unveils plaque in memory of slaves
Slow Saturday Special: ISIS™ in Indonesia
"Islamic State militants claim deadly attack in Jakarta" by Niniek Karmini and Ali Kotarumalos Associated Press January 14, 2016
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The scene had echoes of the Paris attacks: A bustling shopping area shaken by the blasts of suicide bombers and gunfire as onlookers fled in terror.
The false flags never quit waving, and I had questions from the start.
But when Thursday’s assault in central Jakarta was over, the death toll was far lower. Of the seven killed, five were the attackers themselves and only two were civilians — a Canadian and an Indonesian. Another 20 people were wounded.
I'm thinking one of three things each time I see these propaganda psyops these days:
1) everything is as reported (nearly impossible these days)
2) it's a Gladio-style false flag (long history of those if you care to research)
3) it's a staged and scripted crisis drill that has either gone live, is being reported as such, and/or is a mix of the two (like Boston Marathon piggyback event)
Still, authorities and analysts believe the violence that left the city of 10 million on edge for hours was a loud announcement of the Islamic State’s presence in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Supporters of the Islamic State circulated a claim of responsibility on social media. Jakarta’s police chief, Tito Karnavian, said the attackers had links with the Islamic State and were part of a group led by Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian militant who is now in Syria.
‘‘We have identified all attackers,’’ Major General Anton Charliyan, the spokesman of Indonesia’s national police, said. ‘‘We can say that the attackers were affiliated with the ISIS group,’’ he added, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
The claim of responsibility was shared on Twitter late Thursday, and the United States-based SITE Intelligence Group said it also was circulated among pro-Islamic State groups on other media.
Meaning this is all war agenda garbage and an excuse to have a beefed up military presence in Indonesia. In all likelihood, this involves more force projection against China.
Isn't it interesting how ISIS™shows up all across the eastern hemisphere where there are important resource areas or shipping routes?
Cui bono?
The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and planted several bombs with timers. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four. It said they wore suicide belts and carried light weaponry.
The statement could not be independently verified by the Associated Press, though it resembled previous claims made by the Islamic State, which controls territory in both Iraq and Syria.
Jakarta is no stranger to terrorism, with the 2009 bombings of two hotels that killed seven people and injured more than 50. The bloodiest attack by Islamic extremists in Indonesia — and in all of Asia — was in 2002, when a nightclub bombing on the resort island of Bali killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
That last one was a CIA job.
Those and others were blamed on Al Qaeda-inspired Jemaah Islamiyah.
That's Al-CIA-Duh for those not in the know.
Following a crackdown by security forces, militant strikes in recent years have been smaller and less deadly, and have targeted government authorities, mainly police and antiterrorism forces. Terrorism experts say Islamic State supporters in Indonesia are drawn from the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah.
Charliyan said police had received information in late November about a warning from the Islamic State that ‘‘there will be a concert’’ in Indonesia, meaning an attack. Last month, antiterror police arrested nine suspected militants and said they had planned attacks ‘‘to attract international news coverage of their existence here.’’
Indonesian authorities deployed 150,000 security personnel, made arrests and said they foiled a plot to kill government officials, law enforcement officers, and others. The heightened security ended Jan. 6.
And then a week later.... ?
Not a sniff or clue of this thing, huh?
C'MON!
Southeast Asian terrorism specialist Sidney Jones wrote in November that Bahrum Naim has been urging his Indonesian audience to study the Paris attacks.
‘‘While the police and army have been focused on going after Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist, Santoso, in the hills of Central Sulawesi, ISIS has succeeded in building a network of supporters in the suburbs of Jakarta,’’ Jones wrote.
--more--"
"Old militants with new brand behind Jakarta attack" by Stephen Wright Associated Press January 15, 2016
JAKARTA, Indonesia — In the course of six years without a major terrorist attack, Indonesia had grown more and more confident that it had stayed on top of any threat from Islamic militants.
This week, that conviction was punctured by a bold, daylight attack in the heart of Jakarta’s busy commercial district.
Suicide bombers and gunmen struck a Starbucks and a traffic police post Thursday, killing two people and wounding 20 before the five assailants themselves were slain.
It's always the same script!
The style of the attack, and the people who appear to be behind it, suggest that remnants of the networks responsible for the notorious 2002 Bali bombings and other assaults are trying to regroup under the banner of the Islamic State group.
There had been warning signs of a possible emerging threat for months, including the government’s acknowledgement that hundreds of Indonesians had traveled to Syria to fight for the IS group. At the same time, pro-IS rallies in Indonesia were attracting small crowds.
Some experts say an IS network was developing in the suburbs of Jakarta, the capital, while counterterrorism efforts were focused on hunting down the country’s most-wanted militant in far-off Sulawesi. The blog of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant in Syria, urged his followers to study the methods of the Paris attackers who had killed 130 people in November.
Police quickly tied the IS group to Thursday’s attack, labeling Bahrun Naim as its instigator and funder, but they’ve given scant details beyond saying that an IS flag was found in one attacker’s home. Supporters of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility online.
Experts say that while it’s difficult to know how much of a foothold IS has established in Indonesia, the attack achieved two things: It showed that domestic militant groups are still capable of violence despite being fragmented by the government’s counterterrorism campaign; and gave at least the impression that IS now has the ability to launch attacks in Southeast Asia.
Both IS and any affiliate ‘‘have an interest in being seen as part of a larger network because it fits with their scare tactics,’’ even if they are tied only by sympathies, said Carool Kersten, an expert in Islam at King’s College London.
In Western capitals, Indonesia has long been a kind of poster child for progress: a developing nation with the world’s largest Muslim population that has embraced both democracy and moderate Islam.
One begins to wonder what they have done to piss off the powers that be then.
Its reputation for tolerance took a battering from the Bali bombing that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, and from other high-profile attacks on Western targets by Jemaah Islamiyah militants who wanted to replace civilian government with a caliphate.
Pardon me, but I've absolutely had it with the hateful Jewish war agenda.
But the violence also unleashed a sustained government effort — aided by the U.S. and Australia — to break up militant cells. There were hundreds of arrests and the killing of key figures able to mastermind devastating attacks.
The atomization of militant networks was evident in Thursday’s attack, with its low death toll, basic weapons and unsophisticated execution that betrayed limited resources and capacity.
‘‘It was a simple attack. Their arms were pretty limited,’’ said Scott Stewart, a tactical analysis expert at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm. The main impact, he said, is from the ‘‘hype and fear that it conjures.’’
Must be why this attack is receiving so much print.
Stewart considers the association with IS a ‘‘rebranding’’ effort by militants who previously identified with al-Qaida, rather than a sign of a new and rising radical movement.
Well, yeah. It's the CIA's rolodex of agents and assets, and they like to change the names a lot. Keeps the people confused and provides cover for more war making.
He said Indonesia will continue to see a persistent and low-level threat of violence, a situation not different from the past six years when there were no major attacks but several thwarted plots.
‘‘It’s basically the same people,’’ he said.
That's what I said.
National police chief Gen. Badrodin said one of the men killed, known as Sunakim, was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in Jemaah Islamiyah-orchestrated military-style training in Indonesia’s Aceh province. He was released early.
Still, the IS link in Indonesia is likely to raise concern in other Southeast Asian nations, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, which have both thwarted plots.
Where my print threat warning ended.
Along with Indonesia, they recently agreed to boost their joint efforts to combat radicalism and share intelligence. Some Malaysians are also believed to have traveled to Syria to join IS.
Southeast Asia’s fairly open societies, easy travel and Muslim-majority populations in Indonesia and Malaysia make it vulnerable, said Vikram Singh, a former Obama administration defense official on South and Southeast Asia.
The Jakarta attack, following the extremist assaults in San Bernardino, Paris and Istanbul, suggests that the ability of IS to direct or inspire attacks around the world is building, he said.
‘‘They are sending the message that ‘we are not going to be just a Syria-Iraq issue. We’re going to reach far,’’’ Singh said.
Got it, loud and clear.
--more--"
Related: 1 man killed in Jakarta was civilian, not bomber
8-minutes of videos: ISIS = Israeli Secret Intelligence Service, just like OIL = Operation Iraqi Liberation; joke’s on We the People until .01% arrests
Also see:
ISIS: Made in Washington, Riyadh – and Tel Aviv
ISIS Is A Fake US/Israeli Created "Terrorist" Group
ISIS is a US-Israel creation to demonize Islam
The Islamic State (ISIS) and Israel are Allies
Why Does ISIS Fit In So Perfectly With The PNAC Plan?
ISIS in Iraq stinks of CIA/NATO ‘dirty war’ op
US-NATO Proxy War in Iraq and Syria: US Financing and Training of “Moderate” ISIS Rebels in Syria
What?
What do you mean "covert CIA/FSA training facilities that have ties to ISIS [are] in both Jordan and Turkey?"
US Created The Islamic State (ISIS) for Sake of Israel and Military Industrial Complex: Ex-CIA contractor
Others are trying to get in:
"Indonesian boat sinks, leaving 80 missing, 3 dead" Associated Press December 21, 2015
MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Rescuers Sunday pulled out 39 survivors and three dead from a passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and battled bad weather to try to reach about 80 others missing.
The fiberglass ferry was on its way from Kolaka in Southeast Sulawesi province crossing the Gulf of Bone to Siwa town when it was overwhelmed by waves more than 10 feet high during stormy weather Saturday, said Roki Asikin, head of the search and rescue agency in Makassar.
The boat was carrying 110 passengers and 12 crew members, Asikin said. The passengers included 14 children.
Six rescue boats and ships were dispatched after they received a distress call from the crew, who reported that the vessel was starting to take on water about 13 miles southeast of Siwa port, Asikin said.
Fishermen found four people who had been on the boat, including a woman and a child. They told authorities that the boat sank hours after being hit by high waves.
--more--"
Those migrants receiving far less attention than the Syrian refugees.
"Indonesian sailors kidnapped by pirates in Philippines" New York Times March 29, 2016
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Hijackers are holding 10 Indonesian crew members from a tugboat that they seized in waters off the Philippines, in the latest high-profile case of piracy in the region, officials from both countries said on Tuesday.
That's the first I've heard of such a thing, and it reminds me of the now long gone and memorialized in film Somali pirates.
Turns out they were an excuse so that western powers (and others) could patrol the vital shipping lanes of the horn of Africa. Just across the Gulf of Aden is Yemen. You do the math.
This newly-developing crisis being brought to my attention in the paper appears to be directed at more force projection in the South China Sea, that's all.
The tugboat, an Indonesian-flagged ship named the Brahma 12, was eventually set adrift, but the hijackers kept a barge it was hauling that held 7,000 tons of coal, as well as the entire crew, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The Philippine military said the hijacking occurred on Saturday evening.
Someone claiming to represent Abu Sayyaf, a militant Islamist group based in the southern Philippines, twice called the Indonesian company that owns the ship, demanding a ransom for the 10 captive sailors, the Indonesian statement said.
Abu Sayyaf has a long history of kidnappings for ransom and terrorist attacks in the Philippines. It has received support from al-Qaida in the past, but security analysts and the Philippine military have said that it operates mainly as a nonideological, for-profit criminal organization. The United States designated it a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
The tugboat had been sailing from the town of Sungai Puting in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province on Borneo island — which has a large coal port — to Batangas, which lies on the island of Luzon in the southern Philippines, when it was hijacked, the Indonesian statement said. It said the Indonesian government was coordinating with the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond to what it called an act of piracy.
Only Israel is allowed to get away with piracy on the high seas.
Col. Restituto Padilla, a spokesman for the Philippine military, did not confirm that Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the hijacking. He said that the tugboat was seized by an unidentified group using small motorized boats, and that the hijackers had stripped the vessel of valuables before setting it adrift. The Philippine coast guard recovered the vessel, he said.
--more--"
I'm sure it had nothing to with with joint US-Philippine combat drills in the area.
UPDATE:
"Australia quells riot after refugee dies" New York Times November 11, 2015
SYDNEY — Australian authorities on Tuesday used tear gas and force to quell rioting at a detention center on Christmas Island that began after an Iranian refugee died there during the weekend.
The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, said tear gas and some force were used on a small number of detainees who had built barricades.
Five men were injured, but it was unclear whether they were hurt during the riot or after the police arrived to retake control of the center, which was extensively damaged.
The unrest began Monday after the refugee, Fazel Chegeni, escaped from the center and police found his body at the base of a cliff. Human rights advocates said Chegeni had been severely affected by his detention on the remote Indian Ocean island.
--more--"
JAKARTA, Indonesia — The scene had echoes of the Paris attacks: A bustling shopping area shaken by the blasts of suicide bombers and gunfire as onlookers fled in terror.
The false flags never quit waving, and I had questions from the start.
But when Thursday’s assault in central Jakarta was over, the death toll was far lower. Of the seven killed, five were the attackers themselves and only two were civilians — a Canadian and an Indonesian. Another 20 people were wounded.
I'm thinking one of three things each time I see these propaganda psyops these days:
1) everything is as reported (nearly impossible these days)
2) it's a Gladio-style false flag (long history of those if you care to research)
3) it's a staged and scripted crisis drill that has either gone live, is being reported as such, and/or is a mix of the two (like Boston Marathon piggyback event)
Still, authorities and analysts believe the violence that left the city of 10 million on edge for hours was a loud announcement of the Islamic State’s presence in the world’s largest Muslim-majority nation.
Supporters of the Islamic State circulated a claim of responsibility on social media. Jakarta’s police chief, Tito Karnavian, said the attackers had links with the Islamic State and were part of a group led by Bahrum Naim, an Indonesian militant who is now in Syria.
‘‘We have identified all attackers,’’ Major General Anton Charliyan, the spokesman of Indonesia’s national police, said. ‘‘We can say that the attackers were affiliated with the ISIS group,’’ he added, using an acronym for the Islamic State.
The claim of responsibility was shared on Twitter late Thursday, and the United States-based SITE Intelligence Group said it also was circulated among pro-Islamic State groups on other media.
Meaning this is all war agenda garbage and an excuse to have a beefed up military presence in Indonesia. In all likelihood, this involves more force projection against China.
Isn't it interesting how ISIS™shows up all across the eastern hemisphere where there are important resource areas or shipping routes?
Cui bono?
The message said attackers carried out the Jakarta assault and planted several bombs with timers. It differed from Indonesian police on the number of attackers, saying there were four. It said they wore suicide belts and carried light weaponry.
The statement could not be independently verified by the Associated Press, though it resembled previous claims made by the Islamic State, which controls territory in both Iraq and Syria.
Jakarta is no stranger to terrorism, with the 2009 bombings of two hotels that killed seven people and injured more than 50. The bloodiest attack by Islamic extremists in Indonesia — and in all of Asia — was in 2002, when a nightclub bombing on the resort island of Bali killed 202 people, mostly foreigners.
That last one was a CIA job.
Those and others were blamed on Al Qaeda-inspired Jemaah Islamiyah.
That's Al-CIA-Duh for those not in the know.
Following a crackdown by security forces, militant strikes in recent years have been smaller and less deadly, and have targeted government authorities, mainly police and antiterrorism forces. Terrorism experts say Islamic State supporters in Indonesia are drawn from the remnants of Jemaah Islamiyah.
Charliyan said police had received information in late November about a warning from the Islamic State that ‘‘there will be a concert’’ in Indonesia, meaning an attack. Last month, antiterror police arrested nine suspected militants and said they had planned attacks ‘‘to attract international news coverage of their existence here.’’
Indonesian authorities deployed 150,000 security personnel, made arrests and said they foiled a plot to kill government officials, law enforcement officers, and others. The heightened security ended Jan. 6.
And then a week later.... ?
Not a sniff or clue of this thing, huh?
C'MON!
Southeast Asian terrorism specialist Sidney Jones wrote in November that Bahrum Naim has been urging his Indonesian audience to study the Paris attacks.
‘‘While the police and army have been focused on going after Indonesia’s most wanted terrorist, Santoso, in the hills of Central Sulawesi, ISIS has succeeded in building a network of supporters in the suburbs of Jakarta,’’ Jones wrote.
--more--"
"Old militants with new brand behind Jakarta attack" by Stephen Wright Associated Press January 15, 2016
JAKARTA, Indonesia — In the course of six years without a major terrorist attack, Indonesia had grown more and more confident that it had stayed on top of any threat from Islamic militants.
This week, that conviction was punctured by a bold, daylight attack in the heart of Jakarta’s busy commercial district.
Suicide bombers and gunmen struck a Starbucks and a traffic police post Thursday, killing two people and wounding 20 before the five assailants themselves were slain.
It's always the same script!
The style of the attack, and the people who appear to be behind it, suggest that remnants of the networks responsible for the notorious 2002 Bali bombings and other assaults are trying to regroup under the banner of the Islamic State group.
There had been warning signs of a possible emerging threat for months, including the government’s acknowledgement that hundreds of Indonesians had traveled to Syria to fight for the IS group. At the same time, pro-IS rallies in Indonesia were attracting small crowds.
Some experts say an IS network was developing in the suburbs of Jakarta, the capital, while counterterrorism efforts were focused on hunting down the country’s most-wanted militant in far-off Sulawesi. The blog of Bahrun Naim, an Indonesian militant in Syria, urged his followers to study the methods of the Paris attackers who had killed 130 people in November.
Police quickly tied the IS group to Thursday’s attack, labeling Bahrun Naim as its instigator and funder, but they’ve given scant details beyond saying that an IS flag was found in one attacker’s home. Supporters of the Islamic State group claimed responsibility online.
Experts say that while it’s difficult to know how much of a foothold IS has established in Indonesia, the attack achieved two things: It showed that domestic militant groups are still capable of violence despite being fragmented by the government’s counterterrorism campaign; and gave at least the impression that IS now has the ability to launch attacks in Southeast Asia.
Both IS and any affiliate ‘‘have an interest in being seen as part of a larger network because it fits with their scare tactics,’’ even if they are tied only by sympathies, said Carool Kersten, an expert in Islam at King’s College London.
In Western capitals, Indonesia has long been a kind of poster child for progress: a developing nation with the world’s largest Muslim population that has embraced both democracy and moderate Islam.
One begins to wonder what they have done to piss off the powers that be then.
Its reputation for tolerance took a battering from the Bali bombing that killed 202 people, mostly foreigners, and from other high-profile attacks on Western targets by Jemaah Islamiyah militants who wanted to replace civilian government with a caliphate.
Pardon me, but I've absolutely had it with the hateful Jewish war agenda.
But the violence also unleashed a sustained government effort — aided by the U.S. and Australia — to break up militant cells. There were hundreds of arrests and the killing of key figures able to mastermind devastating attacks.
The atomization of militant networks was evident in Thursday’s attack, with its low death toll, basic weapons and unsophisticated execution that betrayed limited resources and capacity.
‘‘It was a simple attack. Their arms were pretty limited,’’ said Scott Stewart, a tactical analysis expert at Stratfor, a global intelligence and advisory firm. The main impact, he said, is from the ‘‘hype and fear that it conjures.’’
Must be why this attack is receiving so much print.
Stewart considers the association with IS a ‘‘rebranding’’ effort by militants who previously identified with al-Qaida, rather than a sign of a new and rising radical movement.
Well, yeah. It's the CIA's rolodex of agents and assets, and they like to change the names a lot. Keeps the people confused and provides cover for more war making.
He said Indonesia will continue to see a persistent and low-level threat of violence, a situation not different from the past six years when there were no major attacks but several thwarted plots.
‘‘It’s basically the same people,’’ he said.
That's what I said.
National police chief Gen. Badrodin said one of the men killed, known as Sunakim, was previously sentenced to seven years in prison for his involvement in Jemaah Islamiyah-orchestrated military-style training in Indonesia’s Aceh province. He was released early.
Still, the IS link in Indonesia is likely to raise concern in other Southeast Asian nations, particularly Singapore and Malaysia, which have both thwarted plots.
Where my print threat warning ended.
Along with Indonesia, they recently agreed to boost their joint efforts to combat radicalism and share intelligence. Some Malaysians are also believed to have traveled to Syria to join IS.
Southeast Asia’s fairly open societies, easy travel and Muslim-majority populations in Indonesia and Malaysia make it vulnerable, said Vikram Singh, a former Obama administration defense official on South and Southeast Asia.
The Jakarta attack, following the extremist assaults in San Bernardino, Paris and Istanbul, suggests that the ability of IS to direct or inspire attacks around the world is building, he said.
‘‘They are sending the message that ‘we are not going to be just a Syria-Iraq issue. We’re going to reach far,’’’ Singh said.
Got it, loud and clear.
--more--"
Related: 1 man killed in Jakarta was civilian, not bomber
8-minutes of videos: ISIS = Israeli Secret Intelligence Service, just like OIL = Operation Iraqi Liberation; joke’s on We the People until .01% arrests
Also see:
ISIS: Made in Washington, Riyadh – and Tel Aviv
ISIS Is A Fake US/Israeli Created "Terrorist" Group
ISIS is a US-Israel creation to demonize Islam
The Islamic State (ISIS) and Israel are Allies
Why Does ISIS Fit In So Perfectly With The PNAC Plan?
ISIS in Iraq stinks of CIA/NATO ‘dirty war’ op
US-NATO Proxy War in Iraq and Syria: US Financing and Training of “Moderate” ISIS Rebels in Syria
What?
What do you mean "covert CIA/FSA training facilities that have ties to ISIS [are] in both Jordan and Turkey?"
US Created The Islamic State (ISIS) for Sake of Israel and Military Industrial Complex: Ex-CIA contractor
Feeling a little snakebite?
"Alleged terror plot foiled in Indonesia" Associated Press December 21, 2015
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian police said Monday they have foiled a plot to kill government officials, law enforcement officers, and others by suspected Muslim militants arrested over the weekend.
Security was raised at airports, the presidential palace, foreign embassies, and shopping malls, and the government said it will deploy more than 150,000 personnel to safeguard public places and churches across the country.
Information from the United States, Australia, and Singapore helped Indonesian police discover that the attacks were planned for the year-end holiday season, said the national police chief, General Badrodin Haiti.
‘‘This is the result of sharing intelligence to combat international evil,’’ Haiti said. ‘‘There is a possibility of other groups, and we will continue to pursue them.’’
Hoover used to share intelligence with congressmen, letting him know he was looking out for their best interests (as well as subtly blackmailing them).
Antiterror police arrested nine men over the weekend in five cities on Indonesia’s main island of Java. Those arrested included several linked to Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
--more--"
Related:
ALERT ON JAVA'S VOLCANO RAISED
INDONESIAN BLAST
Indonesian Inferno
Those were photographs that appeared in my printed paper.
Ford pulling out of Indonesia
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indonesian police said Monday they have foiled a plot to kill government officials, law enforcement officers, and others by suspected Muslim militants arrested over the weekend.
Security was raised at airports, the presidential palace, foreign embassies, and shopping malls, and the government said it will deploy more than 150,000 personnel to safeguard public places and churches across the country.
Information from the United States, Australia, and Singapore helped Indonesian police discover that the attacks were planned for the year-end holiday season, said the national police chief, General Badrodin Haiti.
‘‘This is the result of sharing intelligence to combat international evil,’’ Haiti said. ‘‘There is a possibility of other groups, and we will continue to pursue them.’’
Hoover used to share intelligence with congressmen, letting him know he was looking out for their best interests (as well as subtly blackmailing them).
Antiterror police arrested nine men over the weekend in five cities on Indonesia’s main island of Java. Those arrested included several linked to Islamic State and Al Qaeda.
--more--"
Related:
ALERT ON JAVA'S VOLCANO RAISED
INDONESIAN BLAST
Indonesian Inferno
Those were photographs that appeared in my printed paper.
Ford pulling out of Indonesia
Others are trying to get in:
"Indonesian boat sinks, leaving 80 missing, 3 dead" Associated Press December 21, 2015
MAKASSAR, Indonesia — Rescuers Sunday pulled out 39 survivors and three dead from a passenger boat that sank in central Indonesia after being buffeted by high waves, and battled bad weather to try to reach about 80 others missing.
The fiberglass ferry was on its way from Kolaka in Southeast Sulawesi province crossing the Gulf of Bone to Siwa town when it was overwhelmed by waves more than 10 feet high during stormy weather Saturday, said Roki Asikin, head of the search and rescue agency in Makassar.
The boat was carrying 110 passengers and 12 crew members, Asikin said. The passengers included 14 children.
Six rescue boats and ships were dispatched after they received a distress call from the crew, who reported that the vessel was starting to take on water about 13 miles southeast of Siwa port, Asikin said.
Fishermen found four people who had been on the boat, including a woman and a child. They told authorities that the boat sank hours after being hit by high waves.
--more--"
Those migrants receiving far less attention than the Syrian refugees.
"Indonesian sailors kidnapped by pirates in Philippines" New York Times March 29, 2016
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Hijackers are holding 10 Indonesian crew members from a tugboat that they seized in waters off the Philippines, in the latest high-profile case of piracy in the region, officials from both countries said on Tuesday.
That's the first I've heard of such a thing, and it reminds me of the now long gone and memorialized in film Somali pirates.
Turns out they were an excuse so that western powers (and others) could patrol the vital shipping lanes of the horn of Africa. Just across the Gulf of Aden is Yemen. You do the math.
This newly-developing crisis being brought to my attention in the paper appears to be directed at more force projection in the South China Sea, that's all.
The tugboat, an Indonesian-flagged ship named the Brahma 12, was eventually set adrift, but the hijackers kept a barge it was hauling that held 7,000 tons of coal, as well as the entire crew, Indonesia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The Philippine military said the hijacking occurred on Saturday evening.
Someone claiming to represent Abu Sayyaf, a militant Islamist group based in the southern Philippines, twice called the Indonesian company that owns the ship, demanding a ransom for the 10 captive sailors, the Indonesian statement said.
Abu Sayyaf has a long history of kidnappings for ransom and terrorist attacks in the Philippines. It has received support from al-Qaida in the past, but security analysts and the Philippine military have said that it operates mainly as a nonideological, for-profit criminal organization. The United States designated it a foreign terrorist organization in 1997.
The tugboat had been sailing from the town of Sungai Puting in Indonesia’s South Kalimantan province on Borneo island — which has a large coal port — to Batangas, which lies on the island of Luzon in the southern Philippines, when it was hijacked, the Indonesian statement said. It said the Indonesian government was coordinating with the Philippine Ministry of Foreign Affairs to respond to what it called an act of piracy.
Only Israel is allowed to get away with piracy on the high seas.
Col. Restituto Padilla, a spokesman for the Philippine military, did not confirm that Abu Sayyaf was responsible for the hijacking. He said that the tugboat was seized by an unidentified group using small motorized boats, and that the hijackers had stripped the vessel of valuables before setting it adrift. The Philippine coast guard recovered the vessel, he said.
--more--"
I'm sure it had nothing to with with joint US-Philippine combat drills in the area.
UPDATE:
"Australia quells riot after refugee dies" New York Times November 11, 2015
SYDNEY — Australian authorities on Tuesday used tear gas and force to quell rioting at a detention center on Christmas Island that began after an Iranian refugee died there during the weekend.
The immigration minister, Peter Dutton, said tear gas and some force were used on a small number of detainees who had built barricades.
Five men were injured, but it was unclear whether they were hurt during the riot or after the police arrived to retake control of the center, which was extensively damaged.
The unrest began Monday after the refugee, Fazel Chegeni, escaped from the center and police found his body at the base of a cliff. Human rights advocates said Chegeni had been severely affected by his detention on the remote Indian Ocean island.
--more--"
Slow Saturday Special: Octopus on Ice
Serving it for breakfast.
Enjoy!
"Man arrested at Bruins game for chucking octopus onto ice" by Steve Annear and Reenat Sinay Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent April 08, 2016
A Detroit Red Wings fan was arrested at TD Garden Thursday night after he tossed an octopus onto the ice during the third period of the Bruins game.
According to a police report, Jeffrey Farrugia, 32, was charged with disturbing a public assembly, a misdemeanor.
An officer on detail at TD Garden said that at 9:31 p.m. he observed Farrugia “walk down to the front row and throw what appeared to be an eight-legged creature” onto the ice during the hockey game against the Red Wings.
It was “later determined to be an octopus,” police said in the report.
Farrugia, who was wearing a Red Wings jersey at the time, was placed into custody and escorted out of TD Garden, police said.
The Bruins were up 5-1 over the Red Wings when the octopus came sailing over the glass partition. The game ended in a 5-2 victory for Boston.
Crews in Bruins gear skated out onto the ice and scooped up the octopus using a shovel and a bucket, a video shows.
There was reportedly a second instance of an octopus being chucked onto the ice during the game Thursday.
That didn't get as much attention? Why?
The tradition of Red Wings fans tossing octopi onto the ice began in 1952, during a Stanley Cup playoff run, according to the team’s website.
“Each tentacle of the octopus was symbolic of a win in the playoffs,” according to the website. “Back then, the NHL boasted only six teams, and eight wins (two best-of-seven series) were needed to win the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings swept the series that year, and the Octopus has come to be the good luck charm ever since.”
It’s not a custom in Boston, however.
Pictures shared on social media and captured by photographers covering the game show one of the grey-colored octopi splayed out on the ice.
People on Twitter wondered how he was able to bring the octopus into the arena.
Farrugia drove down from his Cumberland, Maine, home Thursday afternoon and bought the octopus on the way, putting it on ice in a cooler, according to his wife Sarah, who attended the game with him.
They let it thaw out in the hotel room before setting out for the game, she said.
Well, at least they contributed to the economy. Doubt they will be back.
Farrugia employed some creative methods in getting the dead sea creature past security at the TD Garden.
“I Saran-wrapped it to my thigh,” he said.
Thankfully, he wasn't an IS terrorist with a bomb.
Toward the end of the game, he walked down to the front and threw the octopus onto the ice as part of a long-running Red Wings tradition in important games.
“I just wanted to show my team pride,” said Farrugia, who is originally from Detroit. “I would never have thought in a million years that I would get arrested for throwing an octopus at a sporting event.”
He obviously doesn't know Bo$ton.
Farrugia said this was the first time he had attempted to join in the tradition, which usually takes place at the Red Wings’ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
“It wasn’t a malicious thing, it was all just for fun,” he said. “It’s a celebration thing in Detroit.”
Farrugia said he felt compelled to reach out to the Globe and tell his side of the story to let Boston fans know that he meant no disrespect.
“The fans were great about it in the end,” he added. “They didn’t want me to get in trouble.”
Yeah, the people are fine; it's authority that are the assholes.
--more--"
Also see: Bruins’ collapse complete, eliminated from playoff contention
Looks like karma to me.
Related:
Scalping Bruins Tickets
Chewing the Fat
You have your ticket yet or are you going to virtually watch the game?
Got a game of my own to play this morning.
Enjoy!
"Man arrested at Bruins game for chucking octopus onto ice" by Steve Annear and Reenat Sinay Globe Staff and Globe Correspondent April 08, 2016
A Detroit Red Wings fan was arrested at TD Garden Thursday night after he tossed an octopus onto the ice during the third period of the Bruins game.
According to a police report, Jeffrey Farrugia, 32, was charged with disturbing a public assembly, a misdemeanor.
An officer on detail at TD Garden said that at 9:31 p.m. he observed Farrugia “walk down to the front row and throw what appeared to be an eight-legged creature” onto the ice during the hockey game against the Red Wings.
It was “later determined to be an octopus,” police said in the report.
Farrugia, who was wearing a Red Wings jersey at the time, was placed into custody and escorted out of TD Garden, police said.
The Bruins were up 5-1 over the Red Wings when the octopus came sailing over the glass partition. The game ended in a 5-2 victory for Boston.
Crews in Bruins gear skated out onto the ice and scooped up the octopus using a shovel and a bucket, a video shows.
There was reportedly a second instance of an octopus being chucked onto the ice during the game Thursday.
That didn't get as much attention? Why?
The tradition of Red Wings fans tossing octopi onto the ice began in 1952, during a Stanley Cup playoff run, according to the team’s website.
“Each tentacle of the octopus was symbolic of a win in the playoffs,” according to the website. “Back then, the NHL boasted only six teams, and eight wins (two best-of-seven series) were needed to win the Stanley Cup. The Red Wings swept the series that year, and the Octopus has come to be the good luck charm ever since.”
It’s not a custom in Boston, however.
Pictures shared on social media and captured by photographers covering the game show one of the grey-colored octopi splayed out on the ice.
People on Twitter wondered how he was able to bring the octopus into the arena.
Farrugia drove down from his Cumberland, Maine, home Thursday afternoon and bought the octopus on the way, putting it on ice in a cooler, according to his wife Sarah, who attended the game with him.
They let it thaw out in the hotel room before setting out for the game, she said.
Well, at least they contributed to the economy. Doubt they will be back.
Farrugia employed some creative methods in getting the dead sea creature past security at the TD Garden.
“I Saran-wrapped it to my thigh,” he said.
Thankfully, he wasn't an IS terrorist with a bomb.
Toward the end of the game, he walked down to the front and threw the octopus onto the ice as part of a long-running Red Wings tradition in important games.
“I just wanted to show my team pride,” said Farrugia, who is originally from Detroit. “I would never have thought in a million years that I would get arrested for throwing an octopus at a sporting event.”
He obviously doesn't know Bo$ton.
Farrugia said this was the first time he had attempted to join in the tradition, which usually takes place at the Red Wings’ Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.
“It wasn’t a malicious thing, it was all just for fun,” he said. “It’s a celebration thing in Detroit.”
Farrugia said he felt compelled to reach out to the Globe and tell his side of the story to let Boston fans know that he meant no disrespect.
“The fans were great about it in the end,” he added. “They didn’t want me to get in trouble.”
Yeah, the people are fine; it's authority that are the assholes.
--more--"
Also see: Bruins’ collapse complete, eliminated from playoff contention
Looks like karma to me.
Related:
Scalping Bruins Tickets
Chewing the Fat
You have your ticket yet or are you going to virtually watch the game?
Got a game of my own to play this morning.
Slow Saturday Special: Polakowski’s Pokes
" A 65-year-old woman is recovering after being stabbed three times early Friday morning in Townsend, police said. The stabbing happened after she knocked on a neighbor’s door to ask the tenant to keep the noise level down, Townsend police said in a statement...."
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