April 12, 2015

Lol at the Saudis trying to get Pakistan to fight the Yemenis.

They thought they could use them like contract labor for war like they do to manage their infrastructure. Saudis like to hang out in Europe and have no desire to die protecting the house of saud. Time to smell the coffee or is it tea?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2015/04/10/6dc494fc-df62-11e4-a500-1c5bb1d8ff6a_story.html

April 7, 2015

New income streams that could be initiated by law enforcement

A group of experts in the fields of city government, business, real estate, and entrepreneurship assembled in April 2008 to identify possible new income streams that could be initiated by law enforcement.2 Their suggested new revenue streams serve as an example of ideas that can be generated in a short period of time. Each idea must be weighed against the feasibility of implementation, profit potential, and appropriateness for law enforcement involvement. Their most prominent recommendations were

fees for sex offenders registering in a given jurisdiction,

city tow companies,

fine increases by 50 percent,

pay-per-call policing,

vacation house check fees,

public hours at police firing range for a fee,

police department-run online traffic school for minor traffic infractions,

department-based security service including home checks and monitoring of security cameras by police department,

a designated business to clean biological crime scenes,

state and court fees for all convicted felons returning to the community,

allowing agency name to be used for advertisement and branding,

triple driving-under-the-influence fines by the court,

resident fee similar to a utility tax,

tax or fee on all alcohol sold in the city,

tax or fee on all ammunition sold in, the city,

public safety fees on all new development in the city,

9-1-1 fee per use,

police department website with business advertisement for support,

selling ride-a-longs to the public, and

police department–run firearm safety classes.

http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display&article_id=2108&issue_id=62010

April 7, 2015

There’s a massive, illicit bust of edward snowden stuck to a war monument in brooklyn

While most people slept, a trio of artists and some helpers installed a bust of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden in Brooklyn on Monday morning. The group, which allowed ANIMAL to exclusively document the installation on the condition that we hide their identities, hauled the 100-pound sculpture into Fort Greene Park and up its hilly terrain just before dawn. They fused it to part of the Prison Ship Martyrs Monument, a memorial to Revolutionary War soldiers. As of press time, the sculpture was still there. UPDATE: Parks Department put a tarp over the bust and removed it this afternoon.

The idea for the Snowden tribute was conceived about a year ago by two New York City-based artists with a history of pulling off notable public interventions. They linked up with a renowned sculptor on the West Coast who was sympathetic to their cause.

http://animalnewyork.com/2015/theres-a-massive-illicit-bust-of-edward-snowden-stuck-to-a-war-monument-in-brooklyn/

April 3, 2015

Israel applies to become founding member of China development bank

Source: Telegraph UK

The Israeli government has submitted its application to become a founding member of a controversial Chinese-led development bank, in a move that is likely to cause consternation in Washington.

Newly re-elected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed a letter to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) by the March 31 deadline, according to the country's foreign ministry.

Israel would become the latest country to join the 40-nation bank, which already includes the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Australia.

"Israel's membership in the Bank will open opportunities for integration of Israeli companies in various infrastructure projects, which will be financed by the bank," said an Israeli government statement.

Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/11509242/Israel-applies-to-become-founding-member-of-China-development-bank.html

April 1, 2015

Trevor Noah defends self in backlash to old tweets

Trevor Noah, the newly announced host of "The Daily Show," rejected the backlash over his graphic tweets targeting Jews and women as an unfair reflection of him and his comedy.

"To reduce my views to a handful of jokes that didn't land is not a true reflection of my character, nor my evolution as a comedian," Noah posted Tuesday on his Twitter account, the same one that included past tweets others deemed offensive.

Comedy Central also came to his defense, calling Noah a "provocative" comedian who "spares no one, himself included."

"To judge him or his comedy based on a handful of jokes is unfair," the network said in a statement, adding that he has "a bright future at Comedy Central."

http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/television/article/Questionable-tweets-by-new-Daily-Show-host-Noah-6170519.php