Scammers gonna scam. And age is no barrier to scamming...
A woman gave her phone to some "lost kids" in NYC's Central Park so they could call home. Instead they "stole" $1,000 via her Venmo account.
The cops were not sympathetic, though they did - eventually - take a police report. (My guess: This is the end of the cops involvement.)
This is the Ruined Leon video for White Savior Scammed Out Of $1,000 For Helping Kids Pretending To Be BLM
But then I suspected that it was. Fatal shooting in Mallard Lakes neighborhood ruled self-defense
This is also an example of how people that you know can be a threat.
This incident took place on August 16th, so the DA was working at light-speed to issue this ruling this quickly. Some DAs would wait months. Others, like Manhattan's Alvin Bragg, would charge the guy in spite of the evidence.
Officers say the decision was made after the 11th Circuit Solicitor reviewed evidence from the shooting the Mallard Lake neighborhood on August 16.
Police say around 5 a.m. on that day, they got an emergency call of a home invasion in progress. they arrived they were met in the driveway by a man who'd been shot several times. The man's wife, who had been in the house during the shooting, was also there. Two children were at the home during the incident as well.
The guy who got shot was the man's brother-in-law. He came into the home with a weapon.
The Left - the part of it that hates guns, anyway - loves to go on at length about how if you own a gun, you are more likely to shoot someone you know. There is a reason for that. Namely, you are more at risk from people you know than random strangers.
In this case it was the man's brother-in-law, but "people you know" include the creep that hangs out in your favorite coffee shop, the co-worker who has decided you are his soul-mate, and a lot of other people. Just because you know them, doesn't mean they are harmless.
Self-defense is a human-right, and it appears to be your legal right in South Carolina.
Nothing good ever comes out of a burueacracy. Add in the government, and things get worse. B.C. woman with broken hip waits nearly 12 hours for ambulance
She fell, but could reach a phone. She called 911 at 7:11 p.m. An ambulance arrived at 6:44 a.m. 11 hours and change. lying on the floor. He son called 911 several times, and was assured that help was on the way.
“Throughout the evening, several ambulances were dispatched to this call, but while en route, the paramedic crews were subsequently diverted to other calls, which were triaged as potentially life-threatening,” the ambulance service said in a statement. It apologized for the delay and says a review will take place.
Why do I bring up bureaucracies?
It happened on a night where three in every 10 Metro Vancouver ambulances were left parked because of a shortage of paramedics.
Now I have not studied the paramedic situation in British Columbia, but in many cities and counties in the US there is a shortage of ambulance personnel because the pay doesn't live up to the stress. In some areas where the paramedic service is run by fire departments, paramedics have less career opportunity and make less money than fire fighters. They understandably switch careers to make more money. And some of them get out of the career because they get tired of being one of the first people to arrive at an accident, shooting, whatever. Add in low pay, and the high stress is very much not worth it.
So if you don't have enough paramedics, why not recruit more? Well you would need to pay more. Why not pay more? It's the government. And there are probably unions involved as well. Oh, and the government (especially in Canada) and the insurance companies LIMIT how much they will pay for an ambulance ride. This puts a hard limit on what the services can afford to pay. Bureaucracies as far as the eye can see.
The more governments and insurance companies squeeze, the more brittle the whole system becomes. Eventually it will shatter. More people will quit, forcing those who remain to work longer hours, which will result in more people quitting. Rinse. Repeat.
I also wonder what percentage of the shortage was a result of COVID-19 mandates.
But not today. Debit card fraud leaves Ally Bank customers, small stores reeling | Ars Technica
Anyone can have problems, and it looks like Ally Bank is elected this week. But then there are things companies do to shoot themselves in the foot.
First the bank doesn't know how the cancel a card.
On Monday, Grimes' canceled card was charged $1 by Langhofer's MyFamilyHandbook. Grimes called Ally to ask how this could have happened. A representative told Grimes that in "a different system," the charge was shown as being declined, Grimes said. As for how a charge on a canceled card happened, the Ally representative told Grimes it was "part of a recurring situation they're working on right now," Grimes said.
Then it is a problem just to communicate with the bank. Kevin (an Ally Bank Customer who works in financial services) had a problem.
Like others, Kevin was put off by a 90-minute wait time to report the charges. Two more charges arrived the next day for more than $350, but this time, Ally flagged them. Kevin, who works in financial services, said the whole experience was confusing. Verification texts and phone calls arrived from numbers he couldn't trace back to Ally; the links in Ally's fraud emails revealed confounding URLs without secure HTTPS addresses.
WHAT reason could ANY business, let alone a BANK, have for not using secure internet connections?
I know one reason: Executives. "You want us to spend money on what? Get lost! You Info Tech people are always complaining about something."
If I was an Ally Bank customer, I would be looking for a new bank.
Though Stripe - the card processing site in the middle of all of this - is also on the hook for some of the blame.
There is more, including how it is impacting one of the small online webstore owner - who was only ever trying to do the right thing, and got rolled over by the fraud juggernaught.
A somewhat abbreviated Link Roundup today. And better late than never... I hope everyone's week is going well.
Bacon Time!!!! - Sunday Linkage
The Intrepid Reporter - Enemy Action
Watts Up With That? - Aussie Triumph? Solar Briefly Overtook Coal, then Failed at Sunset
Pirate's Cove - Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup
- Pacific Pundit discusses a big shakeup coming to CNN
- Powerline covers the NY Times hating on the Constitution
Wombat-socho at The Other McCain - In The Mailbox: 08.22.22
Vox Popoli: The Canary Died, Knowing When to Walk Away, and The Cost of Broken Neutrality
Stoic Observations: Dabbling In Demonology
A View from the Beach - Trump Demand 'Special Master,' Blue Wave Faltering
Matt Margolis at PJ Media, REVEALED: Biden White House Directly Involved in Conspiracy to Entrap Trump in Criminal FBI Probe. 'Bonchie' at Red State also reports Memos Show Joe Biden Tried to Entrap Donald
EBL - Did Joe Biden Order The Mar-a-Lago Raid?
WSJ: The Trump warrant has no legal basis
Don Surber: FBI raid unites Republicans
Instapundit: Biden White House Lied
Pixy Misa at Ace of Spades HQ - Daily Tech News 23 August 2022
The Metaverse sucks. (The Register)
Sucks up huge quantities of cash, for one thing, but sucks in every other way as well. It's the signature of a programmed effort to create the Next Big Thing.
J.J. Sefton at Aace of Spades HQ - The Morning Report — 8/23/22
"Predicts they will become fashion accessories." World Economic Forum Suggests There Are “Solid, Rational” Reasons For Children to Be Microchipped
Maggie's Farm - Monday morning links
The Left talking nonstop about civil war: Victor Davis Hanson
The Criminal Case Against Trump is Another “Slam Dunk”
I leave you with Tuesday gifdump from Wirecutter, Sunday Funnies For 08-21-22 from Stately McDaniel Manor, and Quick Hits Of Wisdom, Knowledge And Snark #609 from 90 Miles From Tyranny.
More self-defense in California. Homeowner Shot and Killed Man Armed With Knife in His Front Yard
Just before 10 p.m. the homeowner was in his front yard when a man armed with a knife began charging at them.
The homeowner shot and killed the guy with the knife.
In Los Angeles are they likely to go after a homeowner for self-defense? I have no idea, but I would guess they treat self-defense the way it is treated in Manhattan; as a crime.
Self-defense is a human-right. It may or may not be your legal right in Los Angeles.
She didn't seem to understand the basics of what to do in a traffic stop. Chicago police recruit battered suburban cop during weekend stop, arrest report says; 'How else was I supposed to get away?' she allegedly asked - CWB Chicago
She was stopped for driving up on a curb. There was an open container in the vehicle. She was not cooperative and wouldn't even provide her license and insurance. She ended by striking and kicking the officer.
After the cops wrangled her into their patrol car, she “continuously yelled profanity against” the officer, who “sustained a laceration and an abrasion as a result of [her] fighting and resisting arrest,” the report said. Investigators took pictures of the cop’s injuries.
Cops discovered Balseca’s CPD recruit ID in her purse, and she told them she was about a month into her training at the academy, according to her arrest report. According to the report, Schiller Park police notified CPD’s internal affairs office about the arrest at 8 p.m. Saturday, about 18 hours after Balseca was arrested.
Chicago's Finest? Or Finest in training, anyway.
Sadly, felony stupidity is not a crime she can be charged with. Bets on whether or not she gets canned by Chicago PD?
Again from WXRT's Saturday Morning Flashback, we have a song from the 1997 movie Phenomenon, starring John Travolta.
This song was originally recorded by Wynonna Judd, but that version wasn't used in the movie.
This is "Change the World" as covered by Eric Clapton for the movie Phenomenon.
Due to technical difficulties in the Real World... I will be here, just not as frequently as usual for the next few days.
End of Watch - Suspect leads chase to Air Force base after allegedly shooting Oklahoma deputies, killing one
They were executing an eviction in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma.
In a 4:30 p.m. CT post to social media, the Oklahoma City Sheriff’s Office confirmed one of the deputies, Sgt. Bobby Swartz, had succumbed to his injuries.
I would not have approached things this way, but I understand her position. Woman shoots vehicle burglar to death in Arlington during fight over gun, police say
Arlington police said the woman told them that on Aug. 11 the man burglarized the vehicle and she and her son confronted the suspect and tried to detain him.
A physical altercation erupted, and the woman and the suspect fought over her handgun.
He ended up being shot in the head. It could have been her. (Maintain your distance people; you don't want to get into a hand-to-hand fight if you have a firearm.)
The woman has not been arrested, because this happened in Texas, not Manhattan. Though I believe it will go in front of a grand jury.
Self-defense is a human-right.
Law and Order are such 20th Century concepts. Along with Justice, and a few other things. Los Angeles 'flash mob' of looters caught on video ransacking 7-Eleven
A “flash mob” of looters were caught on camera ransacking a 7-Eleven in Los Angeles earlier this week — making off with handfuls of cigarettes, snacks and other goods, authorities said.
Police? You must be joking.
After exiting the store, the throngs of suspects quickly left the area before cops arrived, police said.
Suppose the cops had arrived and arrested 40% of the looters. Would any of them face any real consequences in Los Angeles? I mean, keeping criminals in jail is unfair.
It brings to mind "The Second Coming" by W. B. Yeats. Here is part of the first stanza:
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.
Five Finger Death Punch released an album on Friday, August 19th. So it seemed like a good idea to feature one of their songs from the album. It is a plus that this song is pretty good. (On Friday it was on the top of the Spotify Kickass Metal playlist, for whatever that's worth. It is how I discovered it.)
This song is "Times Like These" by Five Finger Death Punch. It was released in early July as a single ahead of the album release in August.
I wish there was more information about the incident in question. Not guilty: Jury acquits Amya Collington in Pisgah View murder trial
Facts established at trial, which began with jury selection Aug. 6, found that Collington shot Grant to death on June 21, 2021, a Monday night, at Pisgah View Apartments. But what jurors had to decide was whether it was murder or self-defense, with pieces of an AR-15 that Grant brought to the scene being a key piece of evidence for the defense at trial.
There was an argument earlier in the day, and the person who got shot had an AR-15. This leads me to believe that the DA in question (Ashville, NC) really, really hates self-defense.
"I thank the jury for their service and their careful consideration of the evidence presented in this case," District Attorney Todd Williams said in a message. "The Buncombe County DA's Office will continue to vigorously advocate for accountability for victims of violent crime, including victims who have no voice in court just as we did this week for Dexter Grant."
Which seems to be the sense I get from that statement. The feeling that the DA really hates self-defense.
The woman who was acquitted was in jail for the past year, on $1.5 million bail.
Still some amount of Justice seems to have been delivered. Again, I wish there were more details provided.
They aren't laughing now. ‘Germany is so dependent on Russia that they are now on the brink of recession,’ says Polish MEP.
“You should have listened to Donald Trump or the Polish government, who were right about Putin, Nord Stream 2, and Europe’s energy security,” stated [Dominik] Tarczyński [of the governing Law and Justice (PiS) party].
There isn't really much information in the article beyond the headline, but it is nice to know that some people in Europe are stating facts.
“I am not surprised that Russia is counting on Germany, because it is Germany that hopes that the buried European solidarity, that is Nord Stream 2, will come back after the war and they will conclude business with Russia as they previously did” [Also from Tarczyńs]
I'm not surprised, Germany seems to be slow-walking aid to Ukraine. I think they expected the war to be over by now, and business back to normal.
Who knew technology had musical taste. Old laptop hard drives will allegedly crash when exposed to Janet Jackson music | Ars Technica
It sounds like something out of an urban legend: Some Windows XP-era laptops using 5400 RPM spinning hard drives can allegedly be forced to crash when exposed to Janet Jackson's 1989 hit "Rhythm Nation."
But Microsoft Software Engineer Raymond Chen stands by the story in a blog post published earlier this week, and the vulnerability has been issued an official CVE ID by The Mitre Corporation, lending it more credibility.
This just struck me as funny. There is not a lot of specific info offered. But click thru if you want more of Ars Technica in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot mode.
Without Disney's cash, they would be broke. The CW Will Be A Profitable Network By 2025, With Broader And Cheaper Programming, New Owners At Nexstar Signal
“It’s no secret that the CW is not profitable,” [Nexstar Media Group CFO Lee Ann Gliha] said, “but this is not typical for fully-distributed broadcast or cable networks. In fact, according to SNL Kagan data, no other broadcast network operates at an ongoing loss.”
One key step on the path to profit will involve a significant reduction of expenses. “We expect to invest a low 9-figure amount over this 3-year period as we implement our plan,” Gliha said. “We view this amount as a proxy for a purchase price – or an investment made over time — rather than an ongoing drag on cash flow. You know us. We are profit and cash flow focused and expect this asset to achieve profitability.”
The continuing dumping of cash into The Arrowverse programs is one of the problems you get when you don't pay attention to your viewers. The people at CW were making the shows they wanted, not the shows their customers wanted.
The demographic focus of the CW will also change over time, [Nexstar President and COO Tom Carter] said. Historically, shows like Riverdale, All American, Arrow and Supernatural have focused on viewers in their teens through their 30s. The reality, though, is that the average CW viewer is 58 years old, and Carter said that schism explains why the CW is the lowest-rated broadcast network.
Say it again: "lowest-rated broadcast network."
When the CW finally cancelled Batwoman back at the end of April, Critical Drinker wondered how it managed to lurch on for 3 years in the face of abysmal ratings, and financial loss: Batwoman Cancelled - This Is The End! (That is a 6 minute video.)
But that is the beauty of the world, as seen through the rose-colored glasses of the Woke; profitability does not matter. They think that they should be paid for supporting what Drinker calls The Message™. Filthy capitalism should be ignored.
But reality is true, even if you don't want it to be, and profits do matter. And Batwoman was only one of their failures. And now that they have to stand or fall on their own, without the cash cushion provided by the Woke Scolds at Disney, things will change. Will they change for the better? I don't think things will get better, as Eric July notes in the video below, there is a question of whether anyone in Hollywood can write anymore. (There are exceptions - Nobody is great old-fashioned action movie, as is The Accountant. Both of those are exceptions to what is happening in Hollywood today.)
As Drinker says in the video:
Even the most stunning and brave shows can only ignore reality for so long.
And the same applies to Networks.
In this video Eric July states "I was right about The CW | Flat Broke". (He gets the hat tip.)
That is a post title I NEVER expected to type. Papa John’s worker attacked over missing pepperoncinis stabs customer, MD cops say.
And who puts pepperocini on pizza? As a side, certainly. As a topping... Just no.
And to be fair, while the headline talks about toppings, pepprocini and garlic sauce are usually provided as sides to pizza. It has been a long time since I gave up gluten, but if memory serves, Papa Johns included both of those items with every pizza.
It happened late Aug. 17 when Herbert Harris, 40, returned to the restaurant with a pizza he had recently purchased to complain about missing pepperoncinis and garlic sauce, according to a statement from the Harford County Sheriff’s Office.
He started an argument, then started chasing an employee, grabbed a metal pizza paddle (the real name for which is pizza peel), and got stabbed for his trouble.
After being chased, the employee grabbed a pizza spear and stabbed Harris in the stomach in an act of self-defense, investigators say.
And for the record, I have no idea what a pizza spear is. Some of the articles say it was another peel. (Pizza paddles at ten paces?) Whatevah.
Anyway, cops showed up and hauled him to the local hospital. He is facing assault charges.
If you really cannot live without pepperocini (those pickled peppers you find on salad bars - and apparently in Papa John's Pizza orders), you can buy them. I buy mine from That Pickle Guy in Illinois. I get no money from recommending that, but he has good stuff. The olive muffalata is particularly delicious. (Shipping is not free or cheap, unless you buy substantial quantities, which I do.) I'm sure you can find a more generic version in your local store near the olives. I'm not an expert on garlic sauce, but I'm guessing you can either buy it, or that there are recipes on the internet.
The moral of the story is, for self-defense use the weapon that is available. Also, don't go to jail over garlic sause.
Where was the Post's investigation when he was a dirt-bag masquerading as a Brooklyn DA? NYPD watchdog loses job over sexual harassment allegations
If you're breaking the law - or at least the rules - can you really be a DA? Apparently you can in Brooklyn.
The newly appointed NYPD inspector general “notoriously” sexually harassed women colleagues for more than a decade, The Post has learned — prompting his ouster from the plum position Thursday.
Charles Guria sexually harassed at least seven current and former prosecutors and interns during his tenure at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, according to nine former and current prosecutors who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
I can't find a reference to exactly how long he was a King's County prosecutor, but he started in 1990 and there is one incident in 2018 listed. So, a long damn time.
“It’s not even an open secret, it’s just open. He’s one of the most notorious harassers in any DA office in the city.”
He is denying, and his lawyer is in hyperbole mode, saying that the story at the Post will have "earth-shattering consequences." [Looks around the room. Yep still here... Earth not shattered even a little]
So how did this guy work for many, many years as a Brooklyn DA when he can't even manage to be a decent human being?
Guria’s reputation is based on what eight former colleagues described as “creepy,” “disgusting,” “weird” and “inappropriate” behavior that was primarily aimed at young, inexperienced staffers and that spans more than a decade.
How? Because The System™ takes care of its own. The Rules only apply to The Little People, not to those on the inside.
And why didn't anyone come forward in all that time? Because they would have had their careers destroyed for trying to apply The Rules on the inside.
