[sunnykerr]

Well, we can hope that his resignation's been nixed so as to deny him a severance package, but that's not usually the way it goes with police, is it?

Gross incompetence alone isn't enough to get them good and fired.

Though, again, 99.9% of police officers are good people who do honest civil work.

There's a just a few rotten apples who unfortunately seem to give the lot a bad name.

[Cristofle]

Speaking of, since between the Trayvon Martin, Kenneth Chamberlain, and Cisco the dog cases there's been so much press about lousy cops lately, I thought I'd post this as a refreshing reminder that a lot of cops are good people:

U.S. News - Police buy cemetery plots to block Josh Powell from being buried next to his boys

As the article says, this is the guy who murdered his sons with a hatchet before committing suicide. Good for the police officers- this man has no right to be buried beside the children he butchered. Given that he in all likelihood killed his wife before all this went down, that poor woman's parents should be able to go visit their grandchildren's graves without seeing his marker right beside them.

[MyzButterfly]

^Thanks for posting that. He shouldn't be laid to rest next to the kids he murdered.

[sunnykerr]

There's something very touching in that, as well.

In that they're forming a perimeter around these poor children.

Symbolically giving the protection in death that they didn't get in life.

[sunnykerr]

Civil case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn to go ahead A hotel maid's civil lawsuit alleging sexual assault by Dominique Strauss-Kahn can proceed to trial, a New York judge has said. The judge rejected the former International Monetary Fund (IMF) head's bid to have the case dismissed on the grounds of diplomatic immunity. The woman, Nafissatou Diallo, says Mr Strauss-Kahn tried to rape her in his hotel suite in May 2011. He denies it. Prosecutors dropped criminal charges in the case last summer. 'Shaped by agenda' Bronx Supreme Court Justice Douglas McKeon said diplomatic immunity did not apply to Mr Strauss-Kahn at the time of the 14 May encounter at a Sofitel Hotel in New York City. "Confronted with well settled law that his voluntary resignation from the IMF terminated any immunity which he enjoyed... Mr Strauss-Kahn, threw (legally speaking, that is) his own version of a 'Hail Mary pass'," Judge McKeon wrote. Ms Diallo, 33, has said Mr Strauss-Kahn, 63, forced her to perform oral sex; he says the encounter was consensual. DNA evidence suggests that a sexual encounter did take place between the two. Ms Diallo's defence lawyers praised the judge's ruling. "Strauss-Kahn's desperate plea for immunity was a tactic designed to delay these proceedings and we now look forward to holding him accountable for the brutal sexual assault that he committed," they said in a statement on Tuesday. Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers said: "He is determined to fight the claims brought against him, and we are confident that he will prevail." Criminal charges against the French economist were dropped in August, after prosecutors said Ms Diallo had changed her account of her actions immediately after the incident. At the time of the incident, Mr Strauss-Kahn had been viewed as a potential candidate for the French presidency. In the wake of the incident another woman, a French writer, claimed Mr Strauss-Kahn had attempted to rape her during an interview in 2003. Prosecutors in France decided the claims were too old to bring to trial. Separately, French authorities alleged that Mr Strauss-Kahn had been involved with a hotel prostitution ring that also implicated city officials and police in the town of Lille.

Source

You know, for someone who's supposed to be very smart, DSK has made some really, really stupid moves in defending his own behaviour, hasn't he?

It seems he got to a point where he believed he was above the law. I expect he's in for a rude awakening on that front...

Though, honestly, I feel the French case has more merit. If the criminal courts dismissed the U.S. case, the civil courts can't have much more to go on.

[Cristofle]

That guy just makes me shake my head. What a tool, lol. I really have such little expectations for politicians, and still sometimes their arrogance can still blow my mind.

This CNN alert on my phone woke me up this morning- check out these shining examples of humanity:

5 arrested in alleged plot to blow up Cleveland-area bridge - CNN.com

(CNN) -- A mohawk-wearing anarchist nicknamed "Cyco" was among five men arrested after allegedly conspiring to blow up a bridge about 15 miles south of Cleveland, according to court documents released Tuesday. Douglas L. Wright, 26, joined alleged co-conspirators Brandon L. Baxter, 20, a.k.a. "Skabby," and Anthony Hayne, 37, a.k.a. "Tony" and "Billy," in a plot authorities say homed in on the Brecksville-Northfield High Level Bridge, which spans the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and carries a four-lane highway. The men were arrested Monday evening in an FBI sting, but posed no real danger to the public because the explosives they had were inert and were controlled by an undercover FBI employee, the bureau said in a news release. The men have been charged with conspiracy and attempted use of explosive materials to damage physical property affecting interstate commerce. Connor C. Stevens, 20, and Joshua S. Stafford, 23, also were arrested, though their charges remain pending. Authorities say at least three of the men are self-proclaimed anarchists who had considered "a series of evolving plots over several months." "The defendants stand charged based not upon any words or beliefs they might espouse, but based upon their own plans and actions," U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach said in a statement. They allegedly conspired to acquire plastic explosives (C-4) and build two bombs, affixing them to the bridge's support columns to be remotely detonated on Monday. Wright, Baxter and a man referred to as C.S. allegedly agreed to pay $900 for the devices, as well as separate riot gear, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court. At first, they'd considered using smoke grenades to distract local law enforcement in an effort to "topple financial institution signs atop high rise buildings," the complaint says.

Let's post the pictures because they're just that special:



I'm sorry, this could have turned very ugly and I'm glad they were caught, but LOLOLOL. "Cyco."

[sunnykerr]

Yes, I saw that as well.

It was a choice between posting that story and the DSK one.

I didn't really know what to say about the plot to bomb the bridge because there's just so little that's been published. I mean, I presume they had some reason of doing this, however flimsy that reason might be.

It just seems like a bizarre thing to do, really.

[Cristofle]

I've heard they wanted to stop people from going to work, which...okay.

In news that surely stuns us all, George Zimmerman's My Space page has been found and he's racially disparaging (although who he's racially profiling this time are Hispanics, which is interesting given that he IS half-Hispanic):

Old George Zimmerman MySpace page surfaces with apparent disparaging ethnic comments - The Washington Post

Okay, #1, I'm from that area as I've said before (the DC/Northern VA area)- most of the Hispanics are not Mexican American. They're there, but the majority of Hispanics are of Salvadoran, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Guatemalan, or Peruvian descent (you'd think he'd know that since his mother is Peruvian, but whatever). It's like saying every white person is of British descent. #2, both sides are saying this is admissible evidence and as such it's pretty damaging- it shows a clear pattern of racial profiling and paranoia (he thinks they're all going to stab him, etc). And he seems to relish getting off of his legal charges on claims of self defense- he was defending himself against his girlfriend he reportedly assaulted, he was defending himself against the cop he assaulted, and so on.

[sunnykerr]

A solid political or ideological platform for the bridge bombers then.

As to Zimmerman, he seems troubled. In a mental sort of way. At this point, if something doesn't happen, it won't just be Trayvon Martin's who being let down by the justice system but Zimmerman himself as well.

I'm not kidding. This isn't about feeling bad for the guy, it's about needing to address his behaviour.

[Cristofle]

I do think he is disturbed, although not legally crazy. He clearly has issues with paranoia and he seems to consider himself above the law- it's in everyone's best interest if he's shown that he is not.

[sunnykerr]

I very much agree with that.

[Avatar]

As do I, though from reading those MySpace comments it's clear he isn't the sharpest knife in the drawer...

[sunnykerr]

No suspects yet in killing at Kentucky Derby track Detectives have no suspects in the slaying of a track worker at Churchill Downs just hours after the Kentucky Derby, but investigators stressed Monday that the killing had no apparent connection to the iconic horse race. Louisville Police Lt. Barry Wilkerson said investigators are asking witnesses to come forward with information in the slaying of 48-year-old Adan Fabian Perez. Perez's body was found Sunday morning in the back portion of Barn No. 8, just a few barns away from where Derby winner I'll Have Another was stabled. There were several altercations in that area of Churchill Downs on Saturday night, and police are trying to determine if Perez's death is connected to any of them, Wilkerson said. Authorities were conducting an autopsy and planned to release the results Monday afternoon. Perez was a native of Guatemala and lived at the track's quarters for workers, according to Jo-Ann Farmer, chief deputy coroner for Jefferson County. But few other details about the man were immediately known. "Our investigation is ongoing as to why he would have specifically been at this location," said Alicia Smiley, spokeswoman for Louisville Metro Police. Churchill Downs security called police at 4:50 a.m. EDT, Smiley said. The body was found in a barn used by Louisville trainer Angel Montano Sr. Montano did not have a horse running Saturday either in the undercard or the Derby, which saw a record attendance of more than 165,000. A telephone call, text and Twitter message left for Montano were not immediately returned. About 200 people live at Churchill Downs at any given time -- either in dormitories on the edge of the property or in small apartments above some of the barns themselves. Although Montano's barn is near where this year's Derby winner is kept, there was little talk of the incident Sunday in the stable area. Instead, I'll Have Another's trainer and owners were participating in the usual post-Derby media interviews and speculating about the next race in the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, in three weeks. About a week after last year's Kentucky Derby, jockey Michael Baze's body was found in a vehicle near the stables at the famed Louisville track. His death was ruled an accidental drug overdose.

Source

Very shocking and mysterious, isn't it?

It doesn't sound like it was connected to the race at all, but still... the timing is creepy.

Or maybe that's just me?

[Avatar]

Certainly not just you, but let's now fall into the post-hoc trap... just because it happened just after the Derby doesn't mean it's connected to it.

[sunnykerr]

I don't actually think it's connected.

It's just an odd coincidence.

It's just a VERY odd coincidence, that's all.

I'm struck with the weirdness of it all.