Tuesday, January 6, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.aol.com/article/2015/01/05/live-coverage-of-joint-announcement-from-nyc-mayor-bill-de-blasio/21124933/

NYC Mayor, NYPD Commissioner condemn 'selfish' cops turning backs at slain officers' funerals
By RYAN GORMAN
AOL Jan 5th 2015

New York officials blasted the "selfishness" of cops who turned their backs on Mayor Bill de Blasio as he eulogized slain officers during a press conference discussing reduced crime numbers.

De Blasio, flanked by NYPD officials including Commissioner Bill Bratton, called the NYPD the "world's greatest" after touting a 4.6 percent reduction in crime, but both men condemned the lack of decorum shown by thousands of officers.

"This is the world's greatest police department. I have no doubt about it," said the mayor, in praise of "New York's Finest." He would repeat the mantra several times during the Monday press conference.

The insistence came despite Bratton calling out the thousands turning their backs on de Blasio during funerals for detectives Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

"I am very disappointed in those who did not comply with my request," to not turn their backs on de Blasio, said Bratton. "You don't put on a uniform and go to a funeral and perform a political act."

De Blasio added: "They were disrespectful to the people of this city.

"At a time when a people of the city felt respect to the NYPD, some individual officers showed disrespect to those families."

When asked about the widely-reported slowdown in arrests over the past two weeks, both de Blasio and Bratton dismissed the notion, saying that recent protests and the extended period of mourning after the murder of two officers has lowered the department's morale, but not its resolve.

"I certainly don't think a few aberrant days suggest anything," de Blasio insisted.

"At this time I'd not use the word slowdown," said Bratton. "We are not in a public safety crisis."

Both men assured the public that every step is being taken to gauge whether there is an organized job action and said it would be "dealt with forcefully"....

The slowdown was first called for December 20 in the hours after the murders of Liu and Ramos in a police union memo first obtained by AOL News.

Bratton also refuted the memo's claim that de Blasio has blood on his hands for the officer's deaths.

"I do not believe [de Blasio] is responsible," said the commissioner.

Murders dropped to only 332 in 2014 after approaching 600 as recently as 2006, according to Deputy Commissioner Dermot Shea. Robberies dropped to 16,534.

Both numbers are the lowest recorded in the "modern" Comstat era introduced by Bratton
in 1993 during his first term as police commissioner.

The mayor repeatedly praised police, saying the NYPD is "envied around the world" and that other departments often look to the 35,000-strong police force to learn how to better police citizen.

"People of this city appreciate our police, appreciate how hard the work is and see the progress we are making," said de Blasio.

Transit-related crime is down 14.8 percent, said Shea. There were only two murders on city subways.

De Blasio insisted that 2014's "record setting" year is only the beginning, and that he envisions 2015 as an opportunity to not improve on these numbers.

"Is this as low as it can go, I don't think so, and we're certainly going to strive to get it lower," said Bratton.

The mayor also expressed his hopes for a closer relationship between police and citizens.

"When you bring police and community closer together ... it's an act of safety for all," he insisted. "I see a New York where citizens and police officers are partners ... working together."


Go to this website for a long analytical article about changes in police philosophy since the beginnings of policing in America, written by two criminal justice professors at the University of Nevada, Reno.

http://www.policechiefmagazine.org/magazine/index.cfm?fuseaction=display_arch&article_id=1968&issue_id=122009

Community Policing and CompStat: Merged, or Mutually Exclusive?
By Ken Peak, Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Reno; and Emmanuel P. Barthe, Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice, University of Nevada, Reno
The Police Chief, January 2015




"I am very disappointed in those who did not comply with my request," to not turn their backs on de Blasio, said Bratton. "You don't put on a uniform and go to a funeral and perform a political act."... "At this time I'd not use the word slowdown," said Bratton. "We are not in a public safety crisis." Both men assured the public that every step is being taken to gauge whether there is an organized job action and said it would be "dealt with forcefully".... The slowdown was first called for December 20 in the hours after the murders of Liu and Ramos in a police union memo first obtained by AOL News.... Bratton also refuted the memo's claim that de Blasio has blood on his hands for the officer's deaths. "I do not believe [de Blasio] is responsible," said the commissioner.”

Are the NYPD police beyond the control of Bratton and others who should be their supervisors? How conscious of their violence are they when they perform their duty with greater than necessary force? Police are needed in a society like ours, but they should be controlled better than they are. The article on policing styles in the Police Chief magazine mentioned above shows that a good deal of what goes on is not random or the misbehavior or rogue cops, but planned and sanctioned from the top. Of course, there is no command for them to be rougher on black people than on whites and on other outside groups like the homeless and mentally deranged.



http://news.yahoo.com/police-union-pushes-for-cops-to-be-included-in-federal-hate-crimes-law-183729328.html

Police union pushes for cop killings to be included in federal hate crimes law
Bias attacks against police should be prosecuted more harshly, union argues
by Liz Goodwin
January 5, 2015

In the wake of the murder of two New York City police officers and a national debate about policing, the National Fraternal Order of Police is asking for the Congressional hate crimes statute to be expanded to include crimes against police officers. The union has more than 300,000 members.

Violence against police officers that is motivated by anti-police bias should be prosecuted as a hate crime, the nation’s largest police union is arguing in a letter to President Barack Obama and Congressional leaders this week.

“Right now, it’s a hate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their skin, but it ought to be a hate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their uniform as well,” said Jim Pasco, the executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police.

“Enough is enough! It’s time for Congress to do something to protect the men and women who protect us,” Chuck Canterbury, the president of the union, said in a statement Monday. The group has long lobbied for harsher punishment for those who harm law enforcement officers. The organization argues that “ambush attacks” — like the one in which NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed last month — are frequently motivated by hatred of the police. According to FBI statistics, about 21.7 percent of non-accidental law enforcement deaths since 2004 were ambush attacks.

In general, the number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty has declined since the 1970s, reflecting the fall of violent crime in the United States in general. It’s not clear who in Congress would take up the union’s call to introduce such legislation. In the past, Democrats such as Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Republicans such as Peter King of New York have sponsored union-backed bills.

Asked about the push today, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the initiative is "something that we'll have to consider." Earnest said the task force on policing convened by President Barack Obama would consider the hate crimes idea.

A hate crime is defined by Congress as a “criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, ethnic origin or sexual orientation.” If local authorities decline to prosecute a hate crime, the federal government can take over, making hate crime offenders more likely to face prosecution. 

Ismaaiyl Brinsley, who shot himself after killing the NYPD officers last month, posted anti-police messages on social media before carrying out the ambush.  His is the kind of crime the union hopes to prevent by classifying it as a hate crime.

The 1969 federal hate crimes statute has been expanded before. Sexual orientation and disability were added to the law by Congress in 2009 after lengthy lobbying efforts by LGBT groups.

According to FBI statistics, the majority of hate crimes are motivated by racial bias.



“Right now, it’s a hate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their skin, but it ought to be a hate crime if you attack someone solely because of the color of their uniform as well,” said Jim Pasco, the executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police.... The group has long lobbied for harsher punishment for those who harm law enforcement officers. The organization argues that “ambush attacks” — like the one in which NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu were killed last month — are frequently motivated by hatred of the police. According to FBI statistics, about 21.7 percent of non-accidental law enforcement deaths since 2004 were ambush attacks.... It’s not clear who in Congress would take up the union’s call to introduce such legislation. In the past, Democrats such as Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona and Republicans such as Peter King of New York have sponsored union-backed bills. Asked about the push today, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the initiative is "something that we'll have to consider." Earnest said the task force on policing convened by President Barack Obama would consider the hate crimes idea.... The 1969 federal hate crimes statute has been expanded before. Sexual orientation and disability were added to the law by Congress in 2009 after lengthy lobbying efforts by LGBT groups.”

It seems to me that this may be a fair and appropriate way to deal with such crimes. They aren't the simple response to a conflict situation, as when a criminal responds with force to a police attempt at arrest, which may be reprehensible, but it's a very human thing to do. A certain number of people whenever they are accosted will choose fighting over flight. These ambush killings are premeditated murder, and in this recent case particularly, the man had strongly expressed his hatred of police on Facebook just a few days before. The so-called militia groups in the western states take it a step farther – they hate government in general, as in the Branch Davidian group's standoff against federal police sent in against them.

I do believe in more strongly punishing hate crimes of all kinds, and I think expanding the law to include politically based attacks or the assaults on our First Responders, which have become more common in the last few years, is the right thing to do. It's not just police officers who are attacked, but oddly enough, firemen and ambulance drivers as well. Firefighters a few years ago were shot when coming into a poverty neighborhood to put out a fire there. There's really no excuse for that.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/albuquerque-journal-wboc-websites-twitter-feeds-hacked-with-pro-isis-message/

News websites, Twitter feeds hacked with pro-ISIS message
CBS NEWS
January 6, 2015

A group calling itself the "CyberCaliphate" took over the Twitter feeds of two American news outlets Tuesday, in addition to the website of a Maryland-based TV news station.

The banner over both the hacked Twitter feeds showed someone's face covered in a kaffiyeh with the message "I love isis" in white letters on a black background, in an apparent reference to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.

CBS affiliate WBOC-TV, based in Salisbury, Maryland, says on its site that both its Twitter feed and website were hacked late Tuesday morning by an individual or a group.

"WBOC has since taken back control of WBOC.com and removed the pro-ISIS propaganda but the WBOC Twitter page remains compromised," the station posted in a message to readers Tuesday. "WBOC has reached out to Twitter to resolve this issue. Law enforcement agencies have also been contacted to investigate the matter."

The Twitter account of the Albuquerque Journal newspaper also appeared hacked by the
same group Tuesday.

On their Twitter feed, the group posted pro-Islamic extremist messages, as well as what looked like personal information from individuals and organizations in a database.

WBOC reports it reached out to the editors there, who said their website was hacked on New Year's Eve, apparently by the same group.

See this CBS website for the image which was hacked into the Albuquerque Journal. It states : “There is no law but Sharia. We are already here, we are in your PCs, in each house.”




"WBOC has since taken back control of WBOC.com and removed the pro-ISIS propaganda but the WBOC Twitter page remains compromised," the station posted in a message to readers Tuesday. "WBOC has reached out to Twitter to resolve this issue. Law enforcement agencies have also been contacted to investigate the matter."... On their Twitter feed, the group posted pro-Islamic extremist messages, as well as what looked like personal information from individuals and organizations in a database.”

See this CBS website for the image which was hacked into the Albuquerque Journal. It states : “There is no law but Sharia. We are already here, we are in your PCs, in each house.” Spooky. That reminds me that some new computers have webcams built in. Malware sometimes takes control of those cameras and spies on you while you're changing your clothes or worse. See the article on http://lifehacker.com/disable-your-laptops-built-in-webcam-to-protect-your-p-1596983247 on disabling those. I saw on TV, though, that the camera has a lens through which it sees, and all you have to do is put duct tape over it. Read the article for more information. It is also possible to find the command that controls the camera setup and disable it. I'm due to get a second hand computer soon, and I will have my computer geek disable any cameras that it may have into it.




http://www.cbsnews.com/news/england-farmer-forced-to-cull-aggressive-nazi-cows/

U.K. farmer forced to cull "aggressive" Nazi cows
CBS NEWS
January 6, 2015

LONDON -- Dubbed the "Nazi cows," some members of a rare cattle breed bought more than a decade ago by a British farmer have been slaughtered and turned into sausages because they were too aggressive to keep, according to the U.K.'s Independent newspaper.

The cows were bred by a pair of sibling scientists under Hitler's Third Reich; part of a Nazi effort to revive an extinct European breed known as the Auroch, which was recognized for its musculature and fierce demeanor.

The Heck cattle, named after the brothers who helped breed them, were used as a symbol of strength in Nazi propaganda, the newspaper reports.

"The ones we had to get rid of would just attack you any chance they could," English farmer Derek Gow told The Independent.

He said about half of his small herd was "incredibly aggressive," putting himself and his staff at risk.

"They would try to kill anyone. Dealing with that was not fun at all. They are by far and away the most aggressive animals I have ever worked with," he told the British newspaper.

"When the Germans were selecting them to create this animal they used Spanish fighting cattle to give them the shape and ferocity they wanted," said Gow, who farms the breed in Devon, England. His herd is now reduced to just six cattle.

"We just couldn't handle them" the farmer said.

Despite his being the only herd in the U.K., the farmer isn't worried about the breed's future, noting that with the more ferocious members now gone, "peace reigns supreme on the farm." As an added bonus, he told The Independent he now has some "very tasty" sausages.

A European biodiversity group, the European Wildlife organization, has plans to produce their own version of the Auroch, which they intend to allow to roam semi-wild in the mountainous regions of central Europe.

The new breed will be bred from different cows than those the Nazi's chose to use in the 1920s and 30s.



http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/aurochs-how-hitler-goering-resurrected-extinct-species-make-nazi-super-cows-1482161

Aurochs: How Hitler and Goering resurrected extinct species to make 'Nazi super cows'
By Hannah Osborne
January 6, 2015

A breed of cow that went extinct in the 1600s but was brought back to life by Hitler has made the headlines across the UK.

Devonshire farmer Derek Gow had to slaughter most of his herd of Heck because of their "incredibly aggressive" behaviour. Some of the animals would try to kill anyone that approached and, as a result, have been turned into sausage meat.

Gow killed all but two bulls and four cows of the herd. "The ones we had to get rid of would just attack you any chance they could. They would try to kill anyone. I have worked with a range of different animals and they are far and away the most aggressive I have ever dealt with."

Origins

Aurochs, or Bos primigenius, died out in 1627 in Poland. They were a large breed of cattle, standing up to 1.8m in height, and was ancestor to modern domestic breeds. Aurochs had huge curved horns that characterised the breed – in some the horns could reach 80cm in length – and their legs were longer than modern cattle.

Historical accounts suggests the beasts were fast and very aggressive. They were not afraid of humans, and if they were hunted would attack back in response.
Evidence suggests the wild species began to be domesticated around 8,000 years ago. 
By the 13th century, populations of wild aurochs had fallen dramatically with their range restricted from human expansion. They had disappeared from Britain by 2,000 BC, but remained in eastern Europe until the 17th century.

Rise of Nazi super cows

In the 1930s, Nazi second in command Hermann Goering asked geneticists Heinz and Lutz Heck to re-create the extinct species. A keen hunter, Goering instructed them to develop a genetically engineered species by back-breeding from auroch descendants.
The Heck brothers – working independently - crossed Spanish fighting bulls with Highland cattle, along with primitive breeds from Corsica and Hungary. The result – Nazi super cows. They were used for propaganda material during WWII – their bodies were huge and muscular, with massive horns – an illustration of the strength of the party.

Gow said: "There was a thinking that you could selectively breed animals – and indeed people – for 'Aryan' characteristics, which were rooted in runes, folklore and legend. What the Germans did with their breeding programme was create something truly primeval.

"The reason the Nazis were so supportive of the project is they wanted them to be fierce and aggressive. When the Germans were selecting them to create this animal they used Spanish fighting cattle to give them the shape and ferocity they wanted."
Problems and downfall
While resembling aurochs, Heck cattle never matched the size and stature of the extinct species. The brothers only ever managed to breed the cattle to the size of domestic cows. However, the physical resemblance was strong – as was the aggressive temperament.

Neither of the Heck brothers is believed to have survived WWII, with Lutz Heck's breed of cattle also dying out before 1945. As a result, all modern Heck breeds are descendants of Heinz Heck's experiments, with breeds including Hungarian Grey, Highland, Corsican and Murnau-Werdenfels.

Modern Hecks

Heck bulls today measure about 1.4m in height and weight up to 600kg. Their horns, while present, are not as uniform as aurochs, curving up or out more than the original species. However, the breed is very well suited to life in the wild, able to withstand cold temperatures and nutrient-poor food.

Currently there are about 2,000 Heck cattle in Europe, with the species found roaming free in nature reserves in Barvaria and the Netherlands.

Gow said that since he slaughtered the aggressive animals, the rest of the herd is no longer murderous.

"Since they have gone it is all peaceful again. Peace reigns supreme on the farm. Despite these problems, I have no regrets at all. It has been a good thing to do and the history of them is fascinating," he said, adding that the sausages tasted a bit like venison.




“Historical accounts suggests the beasts were fast and very aggressive. They were not afraid of humans, and if they were hunted would attack back in response. Evidence suggests the wild species began to be domesticated around 8,000 years ago. By the 13th century, populations of wild aurochs had fallen dramatically with their range restricted from human expansion. They had disappeared from Britain by 2,000 BC, but remained in eastern Europe until the 17th century.”

“Moooove over!!” This is just like Jurassic Park – as interesting and as dangerous. Better we just stick to movies on the subject than proceeding with scientific experiments of this kind. Several years ago a whole frozen woolly mammoth was excavated from permafrost in Siberia, and some scientists were planning to do some cloning from its cells with a modern day elephant female. I've always been fascinated with mammoths, but I think we don't need those roaming the woods behind our houses, either. I would be interested to know what those people in 8,000 BC did with such a dangerous breed. I doubt if they milked them.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/01/06/375385153/germany-turns-off-the-lights-to-protest-growing-anti-islam-movement

Germany Turns Off The Lights To Protest Growing Anti-Islam Movement
Krishnadev Calamur
JANUARY 06, 2015

Photograph – Supporters of the right-wing group PEGIDA hold a banner that reads "Against religious fanaticism and any kind of radicalism — Together without violence" as they march during a rally Monday in Dresden, Germany.

Germany has turned off the lights at some of its most famous monuments. It's part of a counterdemonstration against recent marches nationwide by a group protesting what its supporters see as the "Islamization of Europe."

Here's the background: A group calling itself PEGIDA — Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West — has protested since October against Germany's asylum and immigration policies, which it views as lax. Germany takes in more refugees and asylum-seekers than other European Union countries.

PEGIDA's views aren't in the political fringe. One German journalist told the BBC that many of its supporters felt "hard done-by" by the media and politicians. And a recent poll in Stern magazine showed 1 in 8 Germans would join an anti-Islam march.

PEGIDA says it is not racist or xenophobic, says it opposes extremism and calls for the preservation of the country's Judeo-Christian culture. One demonstration organized by the group in Dresden before Christmas drew 17,500 people; another one on Monday in the same city attracted 18,000 people.

But attempts to replicate that turnout elsewhere have been met with counterprotests.

Counterdemonstrations that drew thousands of people were held in Berlin, Cologne, Dresden and Stuttgart. Efforts by PEGIDA supporters to march in Berlin on Monday were thwarted by counterdemonstrators who blocked their way. About 80 German politicians, celebrities and athletes signed a petition — headlined "No to PEGIDA" — in the newspaper Bild. They include former Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder, as well as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Family Minister Manuela Schwesig.

And in her New Year's Day speech, Chancellor Angela Merkel called on her fellow Germans to be wary of groups such as PEGIDA.

"Do not follow people who organize these, for their hearts are cold and often full of prejudice, and even hate," Merkel said.

In some of most striking images of the counterprotests, Germany turned off the lights at its most famous landmarks, including Berlin's Brandenburg Gate and Cologne Cathedral.

"We don't think of it as a protest, but we would like to make the many conservative Christians [who support PEGIDA] think about what they are doing," Norbert Feldhoff, the dean of the cathedral, told the BBC.

Kathrin Oertel, one of PEGIDA's main organizers, told a rally in Dresden that there was "political repression" once again in Germany.

"Or how would you see it when we are insulted or called racists or Nazis openly by all the political mainstream parties and media for our justified criticism of Germany's asylum-seeker policies and the non-existent immigration policy?" she asked, according to the BBC.




“PEGIDA's views aren't in the political fringe. One German journalist told the BBC that many of its supporters felt "hard done-by" by the media and politicians. And a recent poll in Stern magazine showed 1 in 8 Germans would join an anti-Islam march. PEGIDA says it is not racist or xenophobic, says it opposes extremism and calls for the preservation of the country's Judeo-Christian culture. One demonstration organized by the group in Dresden before Christmas drew 17,500 people; another one on Monday in the same city attracted 18,000 people. But attempts to replicate that turnout elsewhere have been met with counterprotests.... Efforts by PEGIDA supporters to march in Berlin on Monday were thwarted by counterdemonstrators who blocked their way. About 80 German politicians, celebrities and athletes signed a petition — headlined "No to PEGIDA" — in the newspaper Bild. They include former Chancellors Helmut Schmidt and Gerhard Schroeder, as well as Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Family Minister Manuela Schwesig. And in her New Year's Day speech, Chancellor Angela Merkel called on her fellow Germans to be wary of groups such as PEGIDA. "Do not follow people who organize these, for their hearts are cold and often full of prejudice, and even hate," Merkel said.... Kathrin Oertel, one of PEGIDA's main organizers, told a rally in Dresden that there was "political repression" once again in Germany. "Or how would you see it when we are insulted or called racists or Nazis openly by all the political mainstream parties and media for our justified criticism of Germany's asylum-seeker policies and the non-existent immigration policy?" she asked, according to the BBC.”

I'm not a conservative Christian, but I think if thousands of ultra-conservative fundamentalist religious people of any group tried to come here and settle I would be uncomfortable – not because I don't like other cultures, but because this particular group of people are proving how dangerous they are in Iraq and other Middle Eastern areas, and it's not just ISIS either. Al-Qaeda has fallen under the radar of news coverage lately, but their desire to do us harm remains unchanged. Palestinians have caused trouble, and the recent bombers from Kyrgyzstan as well. They are all still sworn enemies of western society, and espouse some really terrible cultural ideals against women.

I don't want the US to keep all Islamic people out – not all of them are radicals or even fundamentalist groups – but on the basis of passport inspection and individual background searches we should weed those bad guys out. We don't need them. They don't need to come here on a student visa and then disappear in one of our big cities like New York. If there were as many Islamic people in this country as there are in Germany, by population percentage, and especially settled in culturally pure neighborhoods together where radical preachers can hide, and so that they can vote in some of their consarned Sharia Law, there would be a similar outcry against them here, too.

The Hispanic people who have come here from Central and South America are not in a declared war against the US. They just want a piece of the pie, and our citizens are very often against them for their brown skin and Spanish language. The fact that they are mainly Catholic works against them, too, as most of our population are Protestants. We would have a real mess if too many Islamic radical fundamentalists moved here. So far, they haven't.