So the schadenfreude around GameStop is the gift that keeps on giving.
So yeah, the hedge fund managers are pissed and when they get pissed they rip out their Bloomberg terminals and throw them through the wall of their $27 million penthouses and then yell for their maids to come clean everything up and also to make them a sandwich. Alternatively, they go on CNBC to complain that this is bullshit and unfair and not the way any of this is supposed to work.
Leon Cooperman did go on CNBC, and he threw a hissy-fit that people can do things he doesn't like. Entitled a-hole is the word that comes to mind.
Links to video at the article above. Hat tip to Wombat-socho.
Railway ballast is the crushed rock that holds railroad ties in place. It needs to be cleaned and regraded from time to time, as dirt can interfere with drainage, and the track has to be kept level. Sometimes new ballast must be added, but you cannot ignore weight limits on bridges.
A portion of a parapet (side wall) of a 180-year-old railway bridge in Scotland collapsed, stopping freight and commuter traffic on the line. It is expected that the collapse was in part due to excess weight from added ballast. The line in question will be closed at least until February 22nd.
Industry commentator Philip Haigh, writing in RAIL magazine, he said: “Over the years, the track engineer had dropped more and more ballast to keep the track level.
"It might be that this increased burden of ballast has increased pressure on parapets not designed for such a load.
If it that turns out be the case, then the railway has a lot of work to do, as there are any number of similar bridges, probably also overloaded with ballast.
"After three or four passes of this type of maintenance, the ballast is supposed to be renewed and the track level reset to its original position.
There are a lot of fascinating videos of railway maintenance machines. It has to be done regularly. Down time for maintenance is expensive. And so there are a lot of fairly fascinating machines that pull up track, pull up ties, collect and clean ballast, reset ties, bury with ballast and tamp, etc. Here is one such video, though it is a bit long at 7 minutes.
Everything needs maintenance. But you cannot congratulate yourself for maintaining your infrastructure and ignore the engineering limits of that infrastructure while you do. Sadly, this kind of thing isn't completely unheard of. The I-35 bridge collapse in Minneapolis in 2007 was apparently caused (in part) when a construction company getting ready to do maintenance placed materials and machines on the bridge that exceeded the designed weight limit by four times.
Engineering is hard. But necessary.
I tried to find an image of the impacted causeway that's in the Public Domain without any luck. The stock aerial photo of the collapse isn't very good, but you can find it as the article linked at the top of this post.
Entire city blocks in downtown Seattle and Portland have been commandeered with impunity by these criminals. They face no censure. From licentious city and state leaders, the rioters get not much more than mild rebuke and permissive gestures of goodwill (although Ted Wheeler, mayor of Portland, outrageously pepper-sprayed a BLM nasty when his own bodily integrity was threatened).
Riots have been a nightly happening in Oregon for eight straight months, including on the inauguration of Joe Biden, when more than 150 insurrectionists besieged "the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement building in Portland's south waterfront."
Punishing criminals is unfair. Protecting citizens is unfair. Western civilization was nice while it lasted.
Deputies found the suspect inside the house. They say that man attacked the homeowner before he was killed. Deputies aren’t saying how the homeowner killed the man.
Deputies aren't saying much. Two other people in the home at the time of the invasion were not hurt. The homeowner's wife and child? Why not say? The homeowner was injured but is expected to make a full recovery.
”We have no idea as to why this suspect chose the home or why he made unauthorized entry into the home. Hopefully we get to the bottom of it as our investigators continue to figure out what happened here this morning,” said Deputy Jason Winston with the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.
Encarnacion is the fourth person charged with murder or shooting someone in Chicago this year while on affordable bail for a serious felony.
It was a gang-related "incident." And he was on bail for being arrested last year as a felon in possession of a fireatrm, one other infraction this year, and he was on parole for another gun charge in 2018.
Jesus Lima, 21, testified during trial that he fired a shot after the victim, 20-year-old Deivi Zacarias-Lopez, and four others attacked him. Lima’s attorney argued to jurors that Lima had acted in self-defense, noting that he retreated 62 feet before bringing the gun from his waistband.
Prosecutors argued that Lima was the aggressor and had threatened a man in the other group before. Jurors deliberated for roughly two days before acquitting Lima of murder, manslaughter, and assault charges.
Prosecutors hate self-defense. Individual action? Individual responsibility? We can't allow that.
They were part of the British Invasion of the 1960s, even if they never hit the fame achieved by The Beatles, or The Who, or others.
Hilton Valentine, a founding member of British group The Animals, has died at the age of 77.
I'm sure most people will be focusing on "House Of The Rising Sun," in tributes, or even "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," but I never liked the first song, and I much prefer other versions of the 2nd. Here is "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place" by The Animals. It was a single in 1965, and was probably part of an album at some point.
The court also dismissed an appeal against the militants - including British-born Ahmad Saeed Omar Sheikh who had been on death row - by the Wall Street Journal reporter's family.
Sheikh, Fahad Naseem, Syed Salman and Muhammad Adil were found guilty of the abduction and murder of the journalist in 2012.
Videos: UK Police Harass and Arrest People for Going to Work, Shops
Two viral videos encapsulate the state of the UK at the moment with police abusing powers given to them to enforce lockdown laws.
Hogewash: Team Kimberlin Post of The Day, also, A Science Experiment
Hollywood In Toto: Ted Cruz Exposes Seth Rogen & Hollywood As Part Of Blacklist 2.0
A Motion To Dismiss For Lack Of Jurisdiction Should Swiftly End The Senate Impeachment Farce. Should and will being entirely different words. Sundance at CTH, Rand Paul Pushes Back Against Ridiculousness of Impeachment
Phony “conservatives” still working the Reagan grift
I’m now realizing that cancelling my roughly 10 year subscription to National Review wasn’t enough. Time to adopt The Radical Left’s tactic of pestering them and their sponsors on social media.
This Ain’t Hell: Pentagon Orders The Military To Fight Climate Change, also, Keyboard Warriors – Let The Purge Begin
Transterrestrial Musings: SN9, also, More Money Down The Drain
McConnell on Senate rules: A travesty of an absurdity - Bookworm Room
Climate change blamed on ‘systemic racism’: Biden climate advisor - 90 Miles From Tyranny
Former President Donald Trump is not interested in forming a third party and pledges to remain involved in Republican politics. Suck it, Lincoln Project.
BattleSwarm: LinkSwarm For January 29
Beyond The Black: Today’s Blacklisted Americans, also, Biden’s DOJ Investigating SpaceX For Refusing To Hire Foreigners
If Teachers Won’t Go Back To School, Why Are They Getting The Vaccine Ahead Of Others?
CDC: ‘Little Evidence’ That In-Person Schooling Contributes To Community Spread Of COVID
The Serial Failures of Dr. Fauci
"More and more, people taking common-sense steps to incorporate resiliency into their lives are being labeled 'insurrectionists' and incriminated in the latest right-wing witch hunt."
The Right-Wing Witch Hunt Makes it a Good Time to Keep Your Well-Stocked Pantry a Secret
A butterfly flaps its wings in Beijing and the stock market crashes: Spengler
Biden’s ‘Green Energy Jobs’ Really Means ‘No Energy Jobs’ And ‘Low-Paying Energy Jobs’: Mike Pasko
The hedge-fund managers took a bath, and they are not happy that other people can also influence the markets. (It is what the Hedge-Fund folks do. NOT YOU!)
Billions. B-I-L-L-I-O-N-S — these hedge fund wizards were so sure that GameStop was overpriced that they shorted the stock to the tune of something like $13 billion. And they got screwed. Bad.
Prison gang rape is the only metaphor that comes to mind for how badly the hedge funds got screwed on their GameStop shorts. How bad was it? So bad that NASDAQ intervened, so bad that Discord shut down the WallStreetBets chat channel, so bad that the Securities and Exchange Commission is now investigating the Reddit crew.
Liberals are actually claiming that disrupting the hedge-funds' manipulation of the markets is "white supremacy." And as Robert Stacy McCain points out, any disruption to the status quo - by which the rich and powerful get and stay rich and powerful - must be stamped out.
If you go through the Twitter feed that The Other McCain has linked, you will see that Ted Cruz says that he Totally Agrees with AOC's statement on the kerfuffle. If that isn't a sign of End Times, I don't know what is.
Surf Rock still remains one of my go-to choices in music in the evenening when I am reading, and don't want to be distracted by lyrics. Just because I don't want lyrics doesn't mean I don't want the music to be interesting.
Charles DeRaedt, who has served with the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing unit since 2012, said on social media Tuesday, “I’m going to drop my bags off, and I’m going to Chipotle,” WTVG reported.
The restaurant caught wind of DeRaedt’s goal and reached out to the airman, who was on his third deployment with the 180th. Officials surprised him with 52 entrees for a year, the television station reported.
That is very cool! Like I said. Time for a burrito!
OldAFSarge at Chant du Départ has Tanks! Taking a Personal Day A photo and some videos about the Panzerkampfwagen V, or Panther. You're welcome. (The AF stands for Air Force, not As F-)
[The rioters] believe that they can threaten to hurt, hurt, and possibly kill other people, but the people being attacked should and will cower and take it.
The Left loves to go on about how if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know, than a complete stranger. But then people you know are more likely to be a threat.
A 26-year-old Redford Township man was found dead inside the home, the report said. Police questioned a 27-year-old Harrison Township woman and a 27-year-old Inkster man who were in the home at the time of the incident. It was determined that the deceased man forced his way into the home and was shot by one of the occupants.
This guy was someone both occupants of the home knew. They don't say, but it sounds as though it may have been a domestic-violence incident that didn't go according to the dead-guy's plan.
The DA will pick up the investigation from here, but neither of the 2 residents were arrested. Self-defense is a human-right.
Virtual Mirage brings us the story of Louis Slotin, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Fiddling with Rufus
Gentleman, what we have here is the most powerful force ever created by mankind. Lets poke at it with a screwdriver. — Louis Slotin, Los Alamos Laboratory
Godzilla is providing a nuclear-level facepalm for this one.
Rufus was a sphere of plutonium. It was originally supposed to be used in a nucler weapons test, but it ended up being used for criticallity experiments.
On August 21st, 1945 physicist Harry K. Daghlian Jr., was conducting a criticality experiment with Rufus when he accidentally dropped a tungsten carbide brick on the core. The core went supercritical, releasing a burst of neutron and gamma radiation while bathing the room in a bright blue light.
Daghlian died 25 days later. That was when Rufus was renamed as The Demon Core. You would think that would mean "Be Careful!" Not so much, as it turns out.
The new procedure involved the core sitting between two beryllium half spheres. A screwdriver was jammed in between the two half spheres, creating a gap through which neutrons could escape.
Several people had called the whole thing insane, including Enrico Fermi and Richard Feynman.
On May 26th, 1946 Slotin was conducting a criticality experiment with the demon core when he lost control of his screwdriver, causing the beryllium sphere to close. The incident is almost perfectly re-enacted in the 1989 film “Fat Man and Little Boy.”
Slotin was dead nine days later. Two other people in the room would die from cancer years later.
At least it caused the Powers That Be to institute new safety rules, build remote-controlled machines, and melt Rufus down for reuse.
If you haven't studied radiation, you are probably underestimating exactly how awful a death from acute radiation poisoning is. I would not stick around for that end.
There is this myth propagating in the 21st Century that Scientists are dispassionate geniuses that can tell you everything about everything, including how to run your life. And while some of them are geniuses in their field of study, others should not be let out of the house without a keeper. Slotin knew Daghlian, and was at his side when he died, and still, less than one year later, this happened.
So the next time someone quotes that myth at you, tell them the story of Rufus.
The story in question is behind a paywall, but you can guess what it says...
Portland patrol sergeants last summer ignored dozens of calls for service placed to 911 dispatchers without sending an officer or contacting the callers to let them know not to expect a response.
38 calls is technically "dozens" but that statement still feels like it is trying to incite something.
It was roughly at the end of July and into August that the cops just stopped responding to some 911 calls. Gee, let me think... What was going on in Portland over the summer?
Not only is this poor procedure, it is in violation of policy established in 2016. But hey, you don't think the rules apply to the cops, do you? They certainly didn't seem to think this rule applied. (They were either supposed to respond to the call in person, or call back.)
Now on the cops' side of the ledger, 911 calls were off-the-charts in Portland in the summer. But it is worth reiterating. 911 is a system, built and operated by humans. That means it will not be perfect. That means that if your only plan is to call 911 and wait for rescue, you might want to consider a Plan B.
Also on the cops' side of the ledger is the fact that these were all "Low Priority" calls. That is, no one was in iminent danger. In one of the cases, the cops recommended to a woman that she get a restraining order. At least that is a first step.
Calling 911 is a fine thing to do. They can send all kinds of help to you. But it won't work out like that every time, and some of the time there may be no one available to respond.
I'm sure people will be talking about The Last Picture Show, and Frau Blücher from Young Frankenstein, but I still think of her as Phyllis Lindstrom from The Mary Tyler Moore show.
A questionably named site with the simple idea of illustrating “Chicago values”.
HeyJackass! is one of only two news organizations willing to tell the unvarnished truth about crime in Chicago. The rest are too happy to parrot whatever comes out of City Hall, and Chicago PD.
In the past eight years, we’ve recorded nearly 5,000 homicides (80 by cops), over 23,000 shot and wounded (134 by cops), hundreds of “death investigations” and nearly 250 mass shootings (4 or more victims in a single incident) which have resulted in over 400,000 stupidity-related, yet mostly peaceful data points.
A Mississippi homeowner reportedly shot and killed one of the two armed suspects trying to force their way inside his home.
The homeowner was injured after a shootout with the two men Sunday evening.
The cops found one guy in the street not too far from the home; the second guy is still on the run. The homeowner was treated for his wounds and released. A grand jury will decide if the homeowner faces charges, but self-defense is a human-right. And Mississippi is not New Jersey.
What’s a good way to ensure that Chicago’s legions of juvenile carjackers and auto thieves are steered in the right direction?
Did you say, “give them snacks and show them a movie?” Because that’s what’s been happening in the city’s “Criminal Trespass To Vehicle Workshops.”
Actual punishment for crime? This is the 21st Century. That wouldn't be nice. Or fair. Or something.
I would love to say "Only in Chicago," but I know that's not true.
On Monday the 25th, HeyJackass! had listed 137 carjackings in Chicago this year. That comes from CPD's own numbers. (HeyJackass! updates those stats intermittently.)
This is completely surreal given the meltdown by CNN and its fellows among the Democrat activist media over the events at the Capitol. Where’s the National Guard to protect businesses and lives destroyed (and ended) by these black bloc groups who are, according to their own speeches, chants, signs, and graffiti, literally trying to destroy the U.S. through violent revolution.
And since we can't have reporters actually reporting stuff that makes the Left look bad, Trudeau dispatched the nearest thing to bully-boys he has. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, who are rapidly morphing into the KGB or the Stasi.
To give some context, I recently published something that was deeply embarrassing to both Trudeau and China. Documents leaked to me by a senior member of the Canadian Armed Forces that show that the first people who were likely infected by the Wuhan Flu were military adversaries to the Chinese.
Actually that 2nd story is worth your time as well. How military participants in the 7th military world games in October 2019 were exposed to COVID-19. Those games happened in Wuhan, and it seems mostly adversaries of China were infected. Trudeau doesn't want those military personnel to have COVID tests, because that would reflect poorly on his Chinese masters.
The first story, at the top, is a video that Mr. Bexte recorded in his kitchen, together with recordings of his visit by the RCMP. The acknowledge that he has broken no laws, and that they are doing the bidding of their masters in Ottawa. His opinion of the quality of the bully-boys dispatched by Trudeau is worth the whole video.
Portland Antifa Scuffle With Police, Vandalize Democratic Party HQ
It’s a day ending in y so that’s cause for Antifa to riot in Portland. Actually today the mob clearly had a point to make: They aren’t celebrating the election of Joe Biden.
A Motion To Dismiss For Lack Of Jurisdiction Should Swiftly End The Senate Impeachment Farce – Former Congressman Bob Barr
If there was perhaps one mistake our Founders made in drafting the Constitution, it was presuming that future members of the Legislative Branch would be sufficiently competent
Las Vegas Schools Begin Reopening to Combat Surge in Student Suicides
A surge in student suicides has prompted Las Vegas schools, the country’s fifth-largest district, to begin a phased reopening from coronavirus-caused shutdowns.
If a conservative of any ethnicity shoots anyone for any reason, its “white supremacy”. But if what is likely a muslim goes on a stabbing rampage then its the fault of the knife.
Frankfurt knife attack: ‘Several injured’ after horror spree in German city centre
CA Gov. Newsom Hides Key Covid Data Used to Justify Endless Lockdowns, ‘Too Complex and Would Confuse the Public’
Elon Musk Now Wants To Drill For Natural Gas In Texas
"Democrats are falling all over themselves to deny they ordered the National Guard (who protected them), shunted away into an icy underground garage."
So, Who Ordered the national Guard Troops Stuffed Into the Icy Underground Parking Garage?
A property owner shot and killed a former resident in self-defense during an altercation in the unincorporated community of Lake Mathews, sheriff’s officials said Sunday.
It was clear they knew each other. The guy who got shot, showed up and threatened the people living in the house. The homeowner defended himself and his family.
People you know is a broad category, which the Left knows when they bring up the argument cited at the top of this post. People you know includes a violent ex, the creepy guy from the gym, or any number of other potential threats. Just because you know someone, doesn't make them a saint.
The investigation into this shooting continues, though the police did not arrest anyone. Self-defense is a Human-right.
From a statistical and analytical perspective, both of which appear remarkably absent in these UIC studies on race, one must ask the question: “why the disparity across the different demographic groups?” Armed with logic and supporting data, one might expect to see a list of potential causes and/or at a minimum, a list of variables that appear correlated to the divergent outcomes.
Math is hard, and statistics is a branch of math, so shut up and do what we tell you.
Everything that is bad that is happening in the black community is the result of systemic racism. They don't have any data to back that statement, but then they don't need data. Don't clutter the issue with facts!
Cash bail, drugs, everything is the result of the Eeeevil Republicans.
Progressivism is the process of replacing what works, with what sounds good.
Bond is one of the groups I can't decide if I like or not. They show up in some of the playlists I hear in the evenings when I am reading. They are instrumental, and they have a bit of energy. I am not really concentrating on the music, and yet somehow they captured my attention.
Polarizing critics since their 2000 inception, Bond have continued to perfect their fusion of pop, worldbeat, and classical instrumentation. Eos Chater (violin), Haylie Ecker (violin), Gay-Yee Westerhoff (cello), and Tania Davis (viola) were well-educated musically, having played their specific instruments since early childhood and accompanied acts like the Divine Comedy , Primal Scream , Embrace , and Mark Knopfler . But the quartet couldn’t find a happy medium. They raised the classical world’s ire with their short skirts and electronic programming, but Bond wasn’t purely pop or dance either, alienating them on most sides.
This is "Space" by Bond from their 2002 album Shine. I leave any further judgements up to you.
Sadly, it looks like they gave up on the group, as their YouTube channel has not seen a post in about 7 years.
1. Lives in Bali for a year on an overstayed tourist visa (not sure how you're nomadic when you live in one place)
2. Thinks she doesn't have to pay taxes, because she doesn't earn money in Rupiah
3. Makes money by promoting illegal behavior (visa fraud)
As for the taxes, try earning all of your money in Euros, and then not paying taxes to Uncle Sam. (Hint: It won't go well for you.)
There is more, including not taking responsibility for the consequences of their (illegal) activities and blaming prejudice for the outcome. Click thru.
Just three months ago, prosecutors charged Michael Sturdivant with robbery for allegedly beating and robbing a passenger who fell asleep on the Orange Line downtown. Judge Charles Beach allowed him to get out of jail by posting $500 bond.
Sturdivant, 26, was in bond court again Monday, charged with robbing two more passengers on CTA trains last week
There are no consquences for crime in Chicago, so of course there is more crime.
Milan Loncar was walking his dog in Philadelphia, when he was murdered. He didn't have his wallet, so the would-be armed-robbers didn't get any cash. It turns out there is an "affordable bail" aspect to the story. Because of course, keeping violent offenders in jail is unfair. In this case it was very unfair to Milan Loncar and his family.
During a news conference about the Jan. 13 slaying of Milan Loncar, authorities faced questions about the series of events that allowed Josephus Davis to go free on Dec. 29. That sequence involved judges dramatically lowering bail for Davis in two separate cases; prosecutors saying they are not sure if they had appealed those rulings; and no record of probation officials, prosecutors, or judges taking steps to try to keep him detained for potentially violating his probation on previous robbery convictions.
He was on probation for 2 robberies, and had been arrested for 2 other crimes. None of that was enough to keep him in jail, which would have been unfair. And then it was right before the New Year. You don't expect prosecutors to WORK over the holidays do you? (If you do, you should wise up.) They have important things to do, people to see, drinks to mix. Whatever.
Personally I think it was a foregone conclusion that this guy was going to kill someone. The judges and the prosecutors kept turning him loose. It didn't matter how many times the police arrested him, he posted 10 percent of an "affordable" amount and he was free to commit more crime. No consequences. No deterrent. No hope for the law abiding citizens of Philadelphia.
And this murder was not an isolated incident.
The case came as gun crimes in the city continued at a troubling rate, with authorities reporting 27 homicides in the first 18 days of 2021.
I had studiously ignored this story. I am not sure why. But I keep tripping over it. The last time was due to an editorial by Nancy Grace of Fox News. (No, I don't watch it.)
Dead bodies have to pile up before people revolt at the courthouse.
It seems even a broken clock is right once in a while.
Like one of the other defendants, Jalen Saulsberry has a violent juvenile history and was free on a recognizance bond for gun charges and for possessing a stolen motor vehicle at the time of Williams’ murder.
Saulsberry is at least the 34th person to be charged with shooting or killing someone in Chicago last year while on affordable bail
Because if you make something cheaper, you will get more of it, and right now there is little cost to committing crime in most of the major cities.
What I haven’t shared with you is that last year, I found out my 2nd Amendment rights have also been stripped without warning or explanation.
That’s right, I – a young woman who faces constant death threats – cannot own or possess a firearm for my own personal protection. My 2nd Amendment right has been BANNED.
The only group who can do this if you haven't been convicted of a felony or domestic violence, or been adjudicated mentally unfit by a judge is the FBI.
The FBI is morphing into the KGB as we watch. Or maybe the Stasi.
Rising rates of involuntary deplatforming and high speed lead poisoning are being overshadowed by even higher rates of forced confiscatory automotive lease agreements.
There was a more than doubling of murders over the same weekend last year. Woundings were up 53 percent compared to that 2020 weekend. Click thru for the stats, and the details, but I will warn you that the video linked about 2/3 of the way down the page is GRAPHIC. It is security camera video of a murder.
Battle Beast has any number of songs that sound like they would have been home on 1970s Top 40 Rock stations. Well, except for the female lead vocalist. I quite like them.
An interesting collection of headlines and news articles mostly from the late 1960s and 1970s, from Sacred Cow Slaughterhouse. Let's Destroy Another Myth
Some of the stuff that has been forecast....
Dire Famine by 1975. (Paul Ehrlich and The Population Bomb.)
Global Cooling. "New Ice Age Predicted by 21st Century." (Air Pollution was going to "obliterate" the sun.)
An early (1898) prediction that "In 50 years, the streets of London will be buried under 9 feet of horse manure.
But my favorite of the bunch comes from 1969, which again comes from Ehrlich.
We must realize that unless we are extremely lucky, everyone will disappear in a cloud of blue steam in 20 years.
I guess we were extremely lucky, because I don't remember anybody disappearing in a cloud of steam anytime between 1969 and today. I would have remembered!
The good part: It didn’t happen. The better part: I was right. The best part: They were wrong. Every. Fucking. Time.
Of course if you point this out, you are a denier. Or something.
So be it. I stopped being upset about people calling me names in high school. At work it went like this: It's "Ms. Bitch" to you. And also: That is "Witch" with a capital "B." Cancel culture of course is a problem.
The myth that needs destroying? That science has a liberal bent. Liberals may be bent, but it isn't due to science.
The litany of crimes, from burglary to attempted murder (later downgraded to assault with a deadly weapon) is amazing. Now armed home invasion is added to the list.
[Assistant State’s Attorney Lorraine Scaduto] told Judge Navarro that Allen had been sentenced to prison sixteen times: ten times for burglaries, four times for theft-related cases, and one time for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
But the aggravated assault case was originally charged as attempted murder after Allen shot at police officers who tried to intervene as he and others fired guns at each other at a Cabrini-Green housing complex in 1989, she said.
For shooting at a police officer, he was sentenced to 1 year.
He is held without bail both for the armed home-invasion, and while Illinois decides about his parole violation.
If you make something cheaper, you will get more of it, and from the criminal's point of view in Chicago, there is little cost to committing crimes.
Okay, so I'm not that shocked. Chicago politicians lie and cheat. It's what they do.
Chicago Police Supt. David Brown called a press conference Thursday evening to talk about the city’s carjacking problem. He opened his remarks with this claim:
“In 2020, there were 1,417 incidents of vehicular hijackings. Chicago police arrested 1,127 — that’s 1,127 — offenders for these crimes,” Brown said.
That’s false. Completely, off-the-charts not true.
The 178 number comes from Chicago PD. The other "arrests?"
The other 949 arrests that Brown lumped in with those were for criminal trespass to vehicles.
That is a misdemeanor. Chicago doesn't keep people locked up over felonies, what is the punishment for a misdemeanor?
There are no consequences for crime in Chicago. And the authorities are refusing to even admit the size of the problem of crime. I don't expect things will get better anytime soon.
While a cause of death has yet not been revealed, Straczynski [creator of Babylon 5] said the cast and crew of “Babylon 5” had “known for some time now that Mira’s health was fading.” “We kept hoping that she would improve,” he wrote. “In a group email sent to the cast a while back, I heard that she might be improving.”
However, Straczynski said he later got the call from “Babylon 5” co-star Peter Jurasik that Furlan’s husband, director Goran Gajić, was “bringing her home.”
Stephen Furst, Andreas Katsulas and Jerry Doyle went first. Probably more I don't know about. Now Mira Furlan.
I loved Babylon 5. It struggled because, as hard as it is to believe today, the idiots who ran television couldn't believe there was room for more than one Science Fiction show. And Star Trek: The Next Generation was sucking up all the oxygen in the room. Seems crazy today, with all of the SciFi shows available, but the suits are usually idiots. They were idiots in the 1990s, and they are idiots today.
Babylon 5 was among the best of Science fiction shows. I loved that show and never missed it. I go back and rewatch it periodically. It's that good. Mira Furlan helped make it so. She will be missed.
The Wuppertal Schwebebahn (suspension monorail in Wuppertal, Germany) is a bit of infrastructure that is NOT being left to decay.
The system has been maintained, and the technology updated periodically with several new varieties of rail cars. Old stations have been disassembled and completely rebuilt, including the addition of modern conveniences, such as elevators. The original design has been preserved as much as possible.
The railway was heavily damaged by air-raids during World War II, but the stations that were damaged were rebuilt and the system was open in 1946.
The rails and supports have had various problems over the years, they have been updated and maintained. Most recently a section failed in 2018, which caused the system to be closed for 8 months, but it reopened in the summer of 2019.
When running normally, the system moves 65,479 people per weekday, but it is only operating on the weekends at this time. Regular service should resume in August.
The photo above is of the suspension railway, taken on its morning test run. The image, by Max Grobecker, is from WikiMedia Commons. It shows the section of the line between the stations "Adlerbrücke" and "Alter Markt" in 2016. Click the image for a larger view. I like that photo because it clearly shows the new car, the support structure for the railway, and how the cars are suspended from the track.
The photo below, also from WikiMedia Commons, is of the Kaiserwagen. It was taken by Jürgen Götzke from Stuttgart, Germany. Click the image for a larger view and more information. It is named for Kaiser Wilhelm II and his consort Augusta Victoria, who rode in this carriage in 1900.
The Kaiserwagen is a preserved carriage built for the Wuppertal Schwebebahn in 1900, and which still periodically operates.
I included that 2nd photo because it is the style of car you find in the following video.
The video below is "The Flying Train" from Wuppertal, Germany. The film, originally silent and black & white, is from the Museum of Modern Art Collection. It was colorized and music/sound effects were added. The video was also slowed from the somewhat frenetic pace usually found in early 20th Century black & white films.
She grabbed a butcher knife and threatened a guy. He drew a gun and shot her.
Cynthia Denise Cole, 57, of River Drive, who was shot in the mouth and jaw area and airlifted for medical treatment, was arrested Wednesday after being released from the hospital, Cherokee County Sheriff Steve Mueller announced Friday.
So first she got shot, then she was arrested. She's been charged with "domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature and possession of a weapon during a violent crime."
The shooter has not been charged in releation to this incident, because South Carolina is not New Jersey.
Sullivan claimed to be a video journalist, but after his arrest, he apparently admitted to the FBI that he does not have press credentials, according to an arrest affidavit.
He's now facing federal charges of civil disorder, entering a restricted building and violent entry or disorderly conduct.
Amazon.com Inc. is asking the National Labor Relations Board to consider having workers vote in person -- rather than by mail -- on a proposal to form a union at an Alabama warehouse.
I wonder what their stance was - all those Amazon employees at Headquarters - about vote-by-mail for a Presidential election.
The world’s largest online retailer said that a mail election raised the risk of fraud and the coercion of workers. It also said the process would depress turnout, arguing that as many as 29% of its more than 5,800 employees eligible to vote wouldn’t do so or would return incorrectly completed ballots.
The people who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6 have been arrested on federal charges. Some of them may still be fugitives at large, but insofar as the riot was ever a threat to “our democracy” (a phrase endlessly repeated on CNN), the threat is long since ended. Yet Washington, D.C., was turned into an armed camp for Joe Biden’s inauguration, and tens of thousands of National Guard troops are still deployed. Why?
From Jan 16. Sundance at CTH, Homeland Security Committee Releases Report Outlining Biden Family Selling U.S. Policy for Personal, Financial Gain Better late than never, but not much.
According To Hoyt: Not Today! (Guest Post By Amie Gibbons)
Monster Hunter Nation: Book Giveaway From Seven Different Authors, also, A Farewell To Facebook
ADL Hails Big Tech Censors: CEOs Are ‘The 4th Branch of Govt, ‘ ‘They’re Trying to Hold the Country Together’
America is not held together by the people but by a cadre of CEOs who censor the interne
"The left is showing us who they are, and it is a distinct advantage to us."
Unity Watch: As Trump Leaves Office the Left Shows Us They're Miserable, Even in Victory
Biden’s Disbanding of 1776 Commission Shows Left’s War on US History: Mike Gonzalez
Antifa Vandalizes Democratic Party Office in Portland: Bronson Stocking
Trump Derangement Syndrome In A Post-Trump World
Get Ready – Another Four Years Of Trump Investigations Are About To Start…
Wow, Politico Is No Longer Covering Up Biden's Cognitive Decline
Almost the first thing he did was shoot the clerk. The first thing he did was act like he was buying something.
That's when police said Woodard demanded that Hightower open the register and shot him multiple times. Investigators said Hightower was trying to open to register but couldn't because of his injuries.
At that point, the suspect shot Hightower one more time and tried to open the register his own but was unsuccessful, according to officials.
So for a couple of items and some "tobacco items" he killed a man, and is facing a capital murder charge.
The Left and their "Just give them what they want" strategy in action. Ask them to explain what a woman should do when confronted with a rapist, and watch them start screaming obscenities. They never want to investigate that.
Personally I think that cooperating with criminals is a poor strategy, but this guy didn't even get that chance. He was shot as almost the first interaction. Being armed in your own defense would not really help much under those conditions. There are no guarantees in this life.
The story linked above is behind a paywall, but you can guess what it says...
So the authorites in Portland decided that defunding the police, and not prosecuting criminals was a good idea. At least one group of people agrees with them.
Downtown Portland business owners have been complaining for months about a sharp uptick in vandalism and other crime, often committed by people who have used protests for racial justice as a cover. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler promised to take a tougher stance on vandalism after more than a dozen businesses and buildings were damaged during back-to-back nights heading into the New Year, but admitted this week that the city and police are ill-equipped to crack down on the criminal destruction.
It isn't just the downtown area; businesses across Portland have been hit. Window replacement services are overwhelmed, though the backlog has reduced some because businesses have decided putting back windows is a losing proposition, and they are opting instead to go with the plywood in the long run, or at least for now. That will be a good look for Portland. I suppose eventually they will opt for brick or concrete in place of the windows. That should look just awful.
I don't think I have ever featured a song by Lynyrd Skynyrd. Southern Rock is apparently a thing, but I'm not sure that I can tell the difference, mostly, from regular Rock.
The band formed in 1964, but changed their name to Lynyrd Skynyrd in 1969. The band's plane crashed on October 20, 1977 killing Ronnie Van Zant (lead vocalist) and Steve Gaines (guitar) and Cassie Gaines (backing vocals).
This is "Simple Man" by Lynyrd Skynyrd from their 1973 debut album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd). The parentheses are part of the name of the album.
People have never heard of Kavalek. (He defected from Czechoslovakia after Soviet tanks rolled into that county. He was actually in Poland at the time competing in a tournament.) He eventually made his way to America.
It was the Cold War and the era of Bobby Fischer. But still, Americans don't care about chess.
When he returned to Czechoslovakia in early 1990 after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Kavalek would say: "I thought I was in some sort of reversed zombie movie because everyone was smiling all the time."
Surprise, Surprise – Literally one hour after Biden was sworn in, the World Health Organization admitted that PCR testing produces high amplification rates and results and a huge number of false positives.
Our Constitutional Republic died because a gaggle of corrupt Democratic politicians and election officials in Democrat cities in six states decided that they would work very hard to steal the presidential election for Joe Biden. These thieves were aided by the corrupt Democrat propaganda arm known as the mainstream media, their fascist thugs that crush descent by silencing conservatives on the social media sites that they control, and the company who made the voting machines.
In truth I think this has been coming for a long time. Congress no longer makes the laws. They are called "regulations" and they are made by the Administration. This basically started in the 1930s. When they wanted to outlaw alcohol, they needed a Constitutional Amendment. By the time they got around to other intoxicants, they just passed a law. Now the Environmental Protection Agency can declare the gasses you exhale to be illegal contaminants that must be controlled.
The courts have stopped interpreting the Constitution and have taken to making up laws as they go. That dates at least to the 1960s. Or look up the history of Qualified Immunity, or The Duty to Retreat.
Samizdata - Strange goings on in Scottish politics Scotland has been talking about independence from Britain since the days depicted in Braveheart. Brexit didn't make things better.
And finally from The Other McCain - The TV Show You Didn’t Watch. Is it strange that no one took a knee for the National Anthem at Biden's Inauguration? Or just par for the course?
