Hey, cyclists: why are you still bicycling on asphalt like chumps when there’s this (totally safe-looking, not at all super-dangerous) flying bicycle?
Just kidding! You’re not allowed to pilot this just yet, actually. The helicopter-bike is a prototype developed by a team of three Czech companies, which just took it for a five-minute test flight inside a Prague exhibition hall.
That’s actually a lightweight dummy in the driver’s seat, since those massive propellers make this thing weigh over 200 pounds, meaning it’s not yet flyable with the weight of a human on board.
But please, please make this for humans soon, somebody. Going to make for an interesting Tour de France.
Weiner resigned in disgrace from congress two years ago after it was discovered he texted and twittered several lewd messages and photos of himself to several women.
Although its likely he’ll have to go through the fire quite a few times as voters decide whether they can forgive his past libidinous behaviour or not, Mr. Weiner should keep in mind that New Yorkers — and most folks for that matter — love a good comeback story.
And there’s certainly a need for his brand of fire to stir the pot of an already dull-as-dishwater mayoral debate, Christine Quinn notwithstanding.
Back in July 2010, I remember watching Weiner rip a new one for House Republicans after they successfully defeated a bill that was to provide up to $7.4 billion in aid to those first responders who became sick after being exposed to toxins following the 9/11 attacks;
That’s the kind of passionate debate I’m talking about.
Iran Becton, a mail carrier whose route is on the University of Chicago campus, recently delivered 79 packages to 5625 S. University, a Phi Delta Theta fraternity house. The 79 packages were to be delivered to “Reggin Toggaf”. Spelled backwards they reveal a racist and gay slur. Becton, who is black believes the post office should track down the culprits and hold them accountable.
U.S. Postal carrier Iran Becton doesn’t take kindly to being the butt of a frat joke.
He’s insulted that members of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at the University of Chicago were involved in a racist prank that had him needlessly dragging postal supply boxes up to doors of their frat house at 56th and University.
This new Gallop poll finds that Congress has the lowest ratings for any institution ever recorded.
Americans’ confidence in Congress as an institution is down to 10%, ranking the legislative body last on a list of 16 societal institutions for the fourth straight year. This is the lowest level of confidence Gallup has found, not only for Congress, but for any institution on record. Americans remain most confident in the military, at 76%.
Now I’m just guessing here, but I believe that Congress still has some lowering to go. Why you may ask? Because it is still saturated by a do-nothing Republican party whose main objective is the destruction of Congress and the destruction of government itself.
Mark my words…
I’m amazed that some people consider Edward Snowden a hero for exposing America’s national security secrets to the world. And I wonder if these same people would still consider him a hero, now that he is spilling these secrets to the Chinese government.
American spying snitch Edward Snowden ingratiated himself to Chinese hosts, singing like a canary about US hacking efforts aimed at Hong Kong and mainland institutions, according to published reports today.
Snowden spilled his guts to the South Morning China Post and said the National Security Agency has been regularly targeting Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China since at least 2009.
He showed the English-language daily documents that allegedly chronicled his hacking claims.
“Last week the American government happily operated in the shadows with no respect for the consent of the governed, but no longer,” Snowden said in editions of today’s paper. “Every level of society is demanding accountability and oversight.”
The Chinese University of Hong Kong, public-office holders, businesses and students were among NSA targets in the semi-autonomous city, according to the American turncoat
The footage above shows the chaotic moments as the rapper and his crew desperately ran for their lives.
According to police, the bad guys jacked 2 Chainz for his cell phone and wallet. Towards the end of the video, you can see a man running back up the street with what appears to be the loot stuffed under his clothes.
So far no arrests have been made in the case.
He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. He knows if you’ve been good or bad… mostly by checking your Facebook status updates and by screening your calls. Because these days, it seems that Santa’s working for the National Security Agency. Or at least that’s where public opinion seems to be going, with more alleged revelations appearing of secret programs allowing the government to spy on its own citizens. And though these findings are polarizing the nation—with some finding shades of totalitarian overreach where others see a yawn-worthy media blowup—the true consequences of these allegations remain to be known.
Media Matters
A quick rewind first. Before exploring where this latest scandal is going, we need to know where it began. Mainly: the media. Or rather, media reports of documents leaked by a whistleblower (and more on that in a minute). The ball started rolling June 6 when British newspaper “The Guardian” published the first in a series of major scoops alleging that the NSA—America’s largest intelligence-gathering agency—has been collecting million of phone records from mega communication corporation Verizon’s US customers. Classified documents then showed that this exchange had been going on for seven years, and that AT&T and Sprint Nextel were also part of the massive observation program. Further reporting from “The Guardian” uncovered the existence of an Internet surveillance system called PRISM, tasked with monitoring private user data from key tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Microsoft. Since then, reports of more alleged government prying have been bubbling over the Internet, with “The Guardian” and other newspapers leading the charge. It’s no wonder that a reader’s first reaction might be to go sell your iPhone 4 or other piece of tech that could serve as a window for the seeming peeping Tom that is the government. But as with any allegation, the back story is only the tip of the iceberg.
Consequences
Now that the charges of creepy Big Brotherism have been publicly levied against the government (with all three branches seemingly in cahoots), the next part of this long saga is figuring out what will happen to all the players, and what policy changes will spring from this. First up on the list is the man who leaked the incriminating documents, 29-year-old former CIA employee Edward Snowden. After publicly outing himself as the secret source behind “The Guardian’s” reports, Snowden fled the country and hid in Hong Kong… which may not have been the smartest first choice, as pundits were quick to find that the Chinese territory’s extradition policies almost always allow for the deportation of wanted criminals. This, of course, would depend on the whistleblower actually being branded a criminal. As of early June, no formal charges have been filed, though the chances are high that a warrant will be issued for Snowden’s arrest under a 1917 anti-espionage law. Snowden himself has acknowledged as much, as has famed informant Daniel Ellsberg—of Pentagon Papers fame—who referred to Snowden as a hero while recognizing his chances of being prosecuted are pretty high.
And then there’s the matter of the policies that have caused all these problems. While the president himself has publicly defended them, saying the agencies are not actually reviewing citizen data, public opinion on the subject remains mixed. A recent poll by “The Washington Post” found that 56 percent of Americans believed the NSA’s collection of phone records to be acceptable, while 41 percent saw the practice as unacceptable. Pundits are equally divided, with an odd coalition of Obama-detracting conservatives, freedom-first libertarians and privacy-protecting liberals all raging against the NSA programs. Others (especially long-time Obama supporters and, oddly enough, security minded neoconservatives) have begun their own media campaigns against the scandal, swapping away at Orwellian accusations of a surveillance state and refusing to call Snowden’s actions heroic.
More to Come?
As the more emotional aspects of the fiasco settle, it’ll be up to either Congress or the courts to review what’s perceived as the most troubling aspects of the policies. Individual suits against the telephone companies or the government itself may lead to the further declassification of secret documents, as could any possible congressional inquest resulting from the leaks. Once this treasure trove of information is made public, there’s no knowing what new scandals will erupt, and whose careers will be ruined. Only time—and more transparency—will tell.
As the Brooklyn homicide detective Louis Scarcella told it, the suspect in a ruthless home invasion that left one man dead and two more people in a coma started talking after just a few minutes of questioning.
“You got it right,” the suspect, Jabbar Washington, said. “I was there.”
The phrase was straightforward and damning, introducing the central piece of evidence that sent him to prison for 25 years to life. At the 1997 trial, Mr. Scarcella told the jury that it was the easiest confession he had obtained in more than two decades working for the Police Department.
But if the interrogation was unique for him, the wording was not. In at least four more murder cases, suspects questioned by Mr. Scarcella began their confessions with either “you got it right” or “I was there.”
Mr. Scarcella, 61, was a member of the Brooklyn North Homicide squad who developed a reputation for eliciting confessions when no other detective could. But questions about his credibility have led the Brooklyn district attorney’s office to reopen all of his trial convictions.
The similarity of the confessions, which was discovered in a review of cases by The New York Times, raises new doubts about the statements that Mr. Scarcella presented and that the prosecutors used to win convictions in dozens of murder cases. One of the men, David Ranta, who had spent more than two decades arguing that he never made the confession attributed to him that began “I was there,” has already been released from prison.
Defense lawyers fighting the convictions say the resemblance of statements attributed to inmates who shared nothing in common makes it more likely that Mr. Scarcella fabricated evidence, laying the groundwork for cases to be dismissed and millions to be paid in wrongful conviction lawsuits.
“It’s sort of beyond belief that it would be coincidental,” said Steven Banks, chief lawyer for the Legal Aid Society, which is reviewing 20 cases handled by Mr. Scarcella.
A confession by Jabbar Washington in his 1997 murder trial uses phrases found in other confessions recorded by Mr. Scarcella.
Mr. Scarcella, a 26-year veteran who retired in 1999, stood by his record, saying he was one of the best detectives in the department. As for the similarities, he said: “I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about. I will say this again: I have never fabricated a confession in my life.”
