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theatlantic: Quietly, U.S. Moves to Block Lawsuits by Military Families While public officials are out waving the flag toward these families, federal lawyers in court are now quietly trying to expand the U.S. government’s legal immunity from exposure to medical malpractice claims brought by those very same military folks. Now, the feds want the courts to recognize a bold application of an old doctrine — an already heavily criticized old doctrine — that would bar many plaintiffs, whose loved ones serve their country, from exercising the right merely to be able to present the substance of their claims at trial. Read more. Image: Reuters
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brooklynmutt: @SenatorSanders
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theatlantic: Moderate Marijuana Use Less Damaging Than Tobacco METHODOLOGY: Researchers led by epidemiologist Mark J. Pletcher used a large national database with more than 5,000 respondents to compare the lung function of marijuana and tobacco smokers over a 20-year period. They looked closely at their use of marijuana and tobacco, and measured for airflow and lung volume at years 0, 2, 5, 10 and 20. (Airflow is the amount of air you can blow out of your lungs in one second while lung volume refers to the total amount of air you can blow out after taking the deepest breath possible.) RESULTS: Repeated inhalation of tobacco smoke causes loss of airflow and lung volumes. Marijuana smoke, however, had the opposite effect, increasing both airflow rates and capacity. CONCLUSION: Unlike cigarette smoke, use of marijuana does not result in lasting respiratory harm.
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npr: The United Nations says today symbolically marks the moment when the world’s population reaches 7 billion. A little more than two centuries ago, the global population was 1 billion. How did it grow so big so fast? With the help of a sound montage and video, it gets a little easier to see how the Earth can produce that kind of a crowd. Watch our video: 7 Billion: How Did We Get So Big So Fast Photo: Adam Cole, Maggie Starbard / NPR

"…why on earth would Congress advise violent militarised reactions against its own peaceful constituents? The answer is straightforward: in recent years, members of Congress have started entering the system as members of the middle class (or upper middle class) – but they are leaving DC privy to vast personal wealth, as we see from the “scandal” of presidential contender Newt Gingrich’s having been paid $1.8m for a few hours’ “consulting” to special interests. The inflated fees to lawmakers who turn lobbyists are common knowledge, but the notion that congressmen and women are legislating their own companies’ profitsis less widely known – and if the books were to be opened, they would surely reveal corruption on a Wall Street spectrum. Indeed, we do already know that congresspeople are massively profiting from trading on non-public information they have on companies about which they are legislating – a form of insider trading that sent Martha Stewart to jail."

On a smaller scale, San Diego has yet to prove this point.

(via diegueno)

(via diegueno)

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nationalpost: Twenty injured after woman pepper sprays L.A. Black Friday shoppers in act of ‘competitive shopping’Twenty people, including children, received minor injuries after a woman reportedly pepper sprayed other shoppers at a Los Angeles-area Walmart store on Thursday as late-night Black Friday sales began in the United States and Canada. Calling it an act of “competitive shopping,” a fire captain told the Los Angeles Times the woman had intentionally taken the pepper spray with her to the department store in Porter Ranch to get the edge on her fellow shoppers. She used the pepper spray in several areas of the store, Los Angeles Fire Capt. James Carson told the Times.  At least seven of the shoppers were receiving medical care; areas of the store were reportedly evacuated after the incident. Victims reported irritation of the skin, eye and throat. (Photo by Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) Oh the irony.
PHOTOSET See full set

"I was there to take down the names of people who were arrested… As I’m standing there, some African-American woman goes up to a police officer and says, ‘I need to get in. My daughter’s there. I want to know if she’s OK.’ And he said, ‘Move on, lady.’ And they kept pushing with their sticks, pushing back. And she was crying. And all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he throws her to the ground and starts hitting her in the head,” says Smith. “I walk over, and I say, ‘Look, cuff her if she’s done something, but you don’t need to do that.’ And he said, ‘Lady, do you want to get arrested?’ And I said, ‘Do you see my hat? I’m here as a legal observer.’ He said, ‘You want to get arrested?’ And he pushed me up against the wall."

Retired New York Supreme Court Judge Karen Smith, working as a legal observer after the raids on Zucotti Park this Tuesday, via Paramilitary Policing of Occupy Wall Street: Excessive Use of Force amidst the New Military Urbanism (via seriouslyamerica)

(via seriouslyamerica)

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rachelfershleiser: Police captain Ray Lewis from Phily protesting w #OccupyWallStreet (via Twitpic)

At 2.43am, the New York Observer reported that photographers with credentials were barred from Liberty Square. Seconds later the director of editorial operations at Gawker reported that a CBS news chopper were ordered out of the sky by the NYPD. New York Times journalist Jarid Malsin went to jail in zipties. And 20 minutes later, we heard the NYPD was cutting down trees in Liberty Square, and from our office space we could hear the deployment of a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD), a sound cannon. To be certain, we could see and feel that this operation had been planned carefully to exclude all media coverage, sending out a loud message about how dissent will be treated in this democracy.

(Source: spiers)

PHOTOSET See full set

"Using a baton to go through a nonviolent crowd is as inappropriate today as it was in the South when they used it to enforce segregation in the 1960s," said Jim Chanin, a Berkeley attorney who specializes in police misconduct issues.

wilwheaton:

“The individuals who linked arms and actively resisted, that in itself is an act of violence,” UC police Capt. Margo Bennett said. “I understand that many students may not think that, but linking arms in a human chain when ordered to step aside is not a nonviolent protest.

Following her logic…

“OPEN THE FUCKING SAFE RIGHT NOW OR WE’RE GOING TO LINK ARMS IN A HUMAN CHAIN, MOTHERFUCKER! SAY WHAT AGAIN! I DARE YOU! I DOUBLE DOG DARE YOU!”

“Police report that the battered woman, whose name is being withheld for her safety, was terrified that her husband would link arms in a human chain.”

“I am here today to stand up against bullying and violence in all its forms. Someone has to say ‘enough!’ Enough standing quietly in a line and linking arms.”

“Tonight, we have horrifying footage of police standing in a line and linking arms around motorist Rodney King…”

—-

If there was any justice in the world, this woman would have already been fired for having such a profoundly twisted concept of violence, non-violence, and protesting. She is unworthy of the public trust.

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sportsinstilettos: Take a good look at this photo, folks.  This is Mike McQueary, Penn State’s receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.  This is the man who witnessed Jerry Sandusky raping a 10-year-old in the PSU locker room shower in 2002 and did nothing to stop it. (Does he look like someone who could stop a rape from happening? He’s 6’4”, 200+ lbs., and was a strapping 28-year-old ex-football player at the time. He could’ve done something.) Joe Paterno and Graham Spanier were fired by the university for not doing enough after McQueary reported it to them. McQueary will not be on the sidelines this weekend because the university is concerned for his safety.  Is this for real?? McQueary saw a 60-some year old man raping a 10-year old child and he turned and walked away. And people are concerned with HIS safety??? The English language does not have words strong enough to express the absolute rage I feel about this. It is utterly unacceptable.  The school said it does not plan to fire him or to ask him to resign, but if he’s allowed to remain on staff, it undermines all the right Penn State did by firing Paterno and Spanier. Paterno and Spanier might’ve swept the accusations under the rug, but Mike McQueary witnessed a child being raped and literally walked away. That is inexcusable.  And it is inexcusable for Penn State to allow him to be anywhere near the university and the team. Not a good idea for him be on the sidelines this Saturday? Try not a good idea for him to be on the sidelines anywhere again, ever.  The administrators charged and/or fired as a result of this scandal heard about what happened and did nothing to prevent it from happening again. That’s bad. McQueary was the one who saw it happen, the only one who could’ve physically intervened and stopped a rape from happening - and he didn’t. He walked away. That’s even worse.  He saw Jerry Sandusky rape a child and he turned and ran. He allowed it to continue. I don’t understand how anyone isn’t completely, utterly disgusted even thinking about that.  If McQueary had been truly concerned about that child’s safety, he would’ve beaten the crap out of Sandusky right then and there. Instead, he fled the scene and called his father (who is also at fault for not telling his son to A. get his cowardly self back in that locker room and get the child out of harm’s way and B. call the cops). McQueary clearly wasn’t concerned enough about protecting that poor child.  How dare Penn State University go out of its way to protect him? 
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azspot: Something Is Rotten at Penn State Oh yeah,  let’s all completely disregard the fact that he let a pedophile/child molester get away, he does football good.

"

At last count, Steven Katz owed $80,000 on his six credit cards, and he has no intention of paying any of it off. In fact, he’d like to show you how to be like him—a “credit terrorist” in open revolt against the banking system.

Debtorboards.com (“Sue Your Creditor and Win!”), a five-year-old online forum where he’s collected countless tricks and tactics for evading and repelling persistent creditors. He’s written how-tos on shielding your assets from seizure, luring collection agencies into expensive lawsuits, and frustrating private investigators looking for debtors on the run. He’s even infiltrated the bill collectors’ forums, where he’s been tagged a “credit jihadist” and his site’s been called a “credit terrorist training camp,” a label he embraces. “Debtorboards is one of the biggest and most successful temper tantrums ever,” the 59-year-old Katz boasts. The site has more than 10,000 members—double what it had in 2009.

"

50 Ways to Leave Your Banker: What Happened When One Man Just Refused to Pay $80,000 in Credit Card Debt | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet (via alternet-working)

(via alternet-working)

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