“Arizonans will vote next month on a ballot proposal to give the state control over the Grand Canyon – the latest move in the so-called ‘sagebrush revolt’ in which western states are trying to reclaim federal land. The issue was put on the ballot after the proposal passed the Republican-controlled legislature. It would amend the state constitution to give Arizona sovereignty and jurisdiction over not just the Grand Canyon but all the ‘air, water, public lands, minerals, wildlife and other natural resources’ within its boundaries.”
Monthly Archives: October 2012
Voters in Three States Take on Traffic Cameras
“Residents in in five cities in California, Texas and Washington state have battled for the right to have a say in whether automated ticketing machines are installed in their community. The November 6 results could raise to 25 the total number of municipalities nationwide that prohibit cameras. Anaheim and Newport Beach are unique in having councils propose the charter amendment. Elsewhere, photo ticketing companies and city leaders fought the ballot measures at every step of the way.”
Georgia Man Holding Pepper Spray Killed in Drug Raid
“Sheriff’s spokesman Cpl. Ashley Henson said before the shooting, officers knocked on the door of the residence in Hiram and announced who they were. They then entered the home — although Henson didn’t make clear how they did so — and encountered Hammett in a darkened hallway. ‘It was then that agents opened fire on Mr. Hammett, fatally striking him once,’ Henson explained. ‘It was later determined that Hammett had raised a canister of pepper spray toward the agents.’ Cpl. Henson said evidence related to drug trafficking was later found in the home, but didn’t specifiy exactly what had been found.”
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2012/oct/22/georgia_man_holding_pepper_spray
Chicago cop: No memory of bartender beating, 110 phone calls
“Abbate says he doesn’t remember much about the February 2007 night he was caught on videotape beating up bartender Obrycka. In the civil trial against the fired Chicago cop, Abbate testified that was ‘on a mission to get totally inebriated’ because he was upset his dog had just been diagnosed with cancer. Obrycka accuses Abbate and the Chicago Police Department of trying to cover up and downplay the beating. Obrycka’s attorney Terry Ekl says the alleged cover-up was evident by the more than 110 phone calls Abbate made within 24 hours after the beating. Abbate said the calls were nothing more than ‘drunk dialing.'”
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local&id=8856718
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R9sas7mVNI
Video Shows San Antonio Police Beating Pregnant Woman
“Did San Antonio Police Officers use excessive force on a pregnant woman? That’s what the Department is looking into tonight, after a Fox San Antonio viewer shot video of three officers holding down a pregnant woman. One of those officers hits her repeatedly. According to a police report, 21-year-old Destiny Rios was arrested for prostitution and resisting arrest. ‘Whether it was four or five or whether it was 8, it’s really irrelevant if the officer felt he needed to strike her 8 times in order to get her to comply and put handcuffs on, then that’s how many times he struck her,’ said Chief William McManus, San Antonio Police.”
A Chance to Live Like a Soros
“Andrea Soros Colombel and her husband, Eric Colombel, have put their Greenwich Village townhouse at 10 W. 10th St. on the market for $29.5 million. The fully renovated, seven-bedroom home is a four-story Greek revival-style townhouse that dates back to 1844. It comes with an elevator, three wood-burning fireplaces and a state-of-the-art sound system.”
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/10/a-chance-to-live-like-soros.html
Craigslist mob steals nearly everything from foreclosed family’s home
“A mob of people showed up at a home in Woodstock, Georgia on Wednesday, responding to a Craigslist ad that promised free items in the home’s small driveway. But when the man who posted the ad arrived at the sale, he discovered that the mob had barged inside the home and was taking everything the family owned. Michael Vercher, whose family lived there for 20 years before recently losing the home to foreclosure, looked like he hardly knew what hit him. ‘They came in and just tore the place up. Everyone was inside the house; they were taking out items. There were cars around the block. It was like ants in and out of the house.'”
Sales Prices on Existing Family Homes and What It Means for 2013
“Keep in mind that it is a Bernanke manipulated climb in prices. The capital goods sector (including housing) get the money first, but then it works its way to the consumer sector. Translation: As long as Bernanke continues to print aggressively, housing prices will continue to climb, eventually translating into higher prices for everyday consumer goods. 2013 is likely to be a very bad year for the economy—with tax hikes on top of it.”
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/10/sales-prices-on-existing-family-homes.html
What Atlantic Magazine Forgot to Tell You About Mayor Bloomberg
“What the profile doesn’t tell you is that at the time, Bloomberg was able to provide the ‘inside quote’ at which the Fed’s chosen Primary Dealers traded with the Fed. This quote was of utmost importance to traders at the time, especially bond traders. They needed Bloomberg’s access to this inside quote to understand what the Fed was doing (The Fed didn’t announce interest rate targets at the time). It remains to this day unclear why Bloomberg was allowed to provide the inside quote on his machines, when others were denied the ability to do so. I know this for a fact, since I was at the time a consultant to a major firm that was denied the right to publish the quote.”
http://www.economicpolicyjournal.com/2012/10/what-atlantic-magazine-forgot-to-tell.html
‘Liberty Dollar’ Creator Awaits His Fate Behind Bars
“His name is Bernard von NotHaus, and he is a professed ‘monetary architect’ and a maker of custom coins found guilty last spring of counterfeiting charges for minting and distributing a form of private money called the Liberty Dollar. Described by some as ‘the Rosa Parks of the constitutional currency movement,’ Mr. von NotHaus managed over the last decade to get more than 60 million real dollars’ worth of his precious metal-backed currency into circulation across the country — so much, and with such deep penetration, that the prosecutor overseeing his case accused him of ‘domestic terrorism’ for using them to undermine the government.”