This video has been doing the rounds across all the major news outlets, but News Speak loves this so much it deserves to be shown again…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g6UXyCIx0Js
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
Martial Law?
The following article is an editorial from the ‘Chicago Tribune’ and focuses on two politician’s call for the National Guard to be deployed in Chicago to deal with the threat of gun crime. Most of us are aware of the high levels of gun crime in the US and subsequently that there is a direct correlation between this and the fact that the US has the highest murder rate within the Western world.
However, it is also common knowledge that the murder rate has dropped significantly within the last 20 years with New York being a prime example; attributed to a range of factors including the NYPD’s focus on cutting minor crime, CompStat and the direction from Mayors David Dinkins, Giuliani and Bloomberg.
However, the murder rate in Chicago is extremely high with at least 117 murders this year alone, and yet the Chicago Police adopt many of the community based incentives that the NYPD use. The article does not attempt to explore and analyze the numerous reasons regarding the issue, instead it provides a back-drop and highlights why bringing the National Guard onto the streets on America to deal with crime is not the way forward.
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State Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford have called for the governor to send in the Illinois National Guard to help quell violence in Chicago. It's tempting to dismiss the Chicago Democrats' proposal as political grandstanding — and it is — but let's also recognize a sincere cry for help.
Chicago's homicide rate is roughly double that of Los Angeles and triple that of New York. Nearly 1,000 Chicagoans were slain over the last two years, including 129 before their 18th birthday. 2010 is shaping up as another deadly year, with 113 victims as of Monday morning, 16 of them children. The homicide rate here has been trending downward during this decade, and crime experts point out that it's far from the worst in the U.S. But to say it was worse before, or worse elsewhere, does not excuse the violence here and now.
City and community leaders are fighting to stop the bleeding. Under Superintendent Jody Weis, the Chicago Police Department, a pioneer of community policing principles in the 1990s, is improving its information systems to target resources in the most dangerous neighborhoods. Likewise, Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman is using data analysis to identify those youths most at risk of violence — as victim or perpetrator.
"These two initiatives make a lot of sense," says Jens Ludwig, director of the Crime Lab policy institute at the University of Chicago, "based on what the research tells us about what's promising." Time and again, criminologists have found that resources are best used when targeted at the highest-risk people and places.
But in a budget crisis, those resources are stretched thin. That makes a federally funded option like the National Guard appealing to local lawmakers. Harold Pollack, a colleague of Ludwig's at the Crime Lab, gets that. But a better solution, he says, would be another shot in the arm for local police forces, through boosted federal COPS grants to put more officers on streets. Research suggests that every dollar spent putting police on the street returns $4 to $8 in benefits to the public.
As for the National Guard? No serious public safety expert has backed that idea. (Gov. Rod Blagojevich suggested something similar in 2008 — but we did say "serious public safety expert.") The Guard plays vital and heroic roles in natural disasters and, recently, in overseas wars. Its record suppressing civil unrest ranges from spotty to — quoting Supt. Weis — "disastrous." And it is not a police force whose members are trained in the fine points of constitutional law as they play out in street settings.
Let us assume that Fritchey, a former assistant attorney general, and Ford, once a social studies teacher, know that the Guard is not the solution. Still, their brash proposal grabbed headlines and — for a moment, at least — shined a national spotlight on Chicago's failure to protect its own.
However, it is also common knowledge that the murder rate has dropped significantly within the last 20 years with New York being a prime example; attributed to a range of factors including the NYPD’s focus on cutting minor crime, CompStat and the direction from Mayors David Dinkins, Giuliani and Bloomberg.
However, the murder rate in Chicago is extremely high with at least 117 murders this year alone, and yet the Chicago Police adopt many of the community based incentives that the NYPD use. The article does not attempt to explore and analyze the numerous reasons regarding the issue, instead it provides a back-drop and highlights why bringing the National Guard onto the streets on America to deal with crime is not the way forward.
---------
State Reps. John Fritchey and LaShawn Ford have called for the governor to send in the Illinois National Guard to help quell violence in Chicago. It's tempting to dismiss the Chicago Democrats' proposal as political grandstanding — and it is — but let's also recognize a sincere cry for help.
Chicago's homicide rate is roughly double that of Los Angeles and triple that of New York. Nearly 1,000 Chicagoans were slain over the last two years, including 129 before their 18th birthday. 2010 is shaping up as another deadly year, with 113 victims as of Monday morning, 16 of them children. The homicide rate here has been trending downward during this decade, and crime experts point out that it's far from the worst in the U.S. But to say it was worse before, or worse elsewhere, does not excuse the violence here and now.
City and community leaders are fighting to stop the bleeding. Under Superintendent Jody Weis, the Chicago Police Department, a pioneer of community policing principles in the 1990s, is improving its information systems to target resources in the most dangerous neighborhoods. Likewise, Chicago Public Schools CEO Ron Huberman is using data analysis to identify those youths most at risk of violence — as victim or perpetrator.
"These two initiatives make a lot of sense," says Jens Ludwig, director of the Crime Lab policy institute at the University of Chicago, "based on what the research tells us about what's promising." Time and again, criminologists have found that resources are best used when targeted at the highest-risk people and places.
But in a budget crisis, those resources are stretched thin. That makes a federally funded option like the National Guard appealing to local lawmakers. Harold Pollack, a colleague of Ludwig's at the Crime Lab, gets that. But a better solution, he says, would be another shot in the arm for local police forces, through boosted federal COPS grants to put more officers on streets. Research suggests that every dollar spent putting police on the street returns $4 to $8 in benefits to the public.
As for the National Guard? No serious public safety expert has backed that idea. (Gov. Rod Blagojevich suggested something similar in 2008 — but we did say "serious public safety expert.") The Guard plays vital and heroic roles in natural disasters and, recently, in overseas wars. Its record suppressing civil unrest ranges from spotty to — quoting Supt. Weis — "disastrous." And it is not a police force whose members are trained in the fine points of constitutional law as they play out in street settings.
Let us assume that Fritchey, a former assistant attorney general, and Ford, once a social studies teacher, know that the Guard is not the solution. Still, their brash proposal grabbed headlines and — for a moment, at least — shined a national spotlight on Chicago's failure to protect its own.
Thursday, 15 April 2010
Man, I'll snake you!
A man and his snake have a close relationship. And by all accounts a snake will act as its master’s protector, fending off people who dare pass judgement. News Speak is of course taking a flippant view of the following story taken from the Herald. Serious or not, it’s still a damn good read!------
A man “deathly afraid” of reptiles was attacked by a snake-wielding man using the six-foot long python as a weapon, police say.
Tony Smith, 29, of 1920 Corwin Drive, Rock Hill was charged with assault and battery after an altercation at the Executive Inn on North Anderson Road Tuesday night, according to a Rock Hill police report.
Smith is accused of hitting Jeffery Culp, 47, in the head with the snake on the balcony of the motel, police said.
“I almost had a heart attack,” Culp said. “I dropped to my knees and actually crawled back into my room.”
Culp, who has been staying at the inn until his housing comes open, said he had contact with Smith and the snake earlier in his stay.
“He was out there running up and down the sidewalk with it,” Culp said. “I told him I don’t do snakes. I’m deathly afraid of them.”
But that didn’t stop Smith from tapping Culp on the shoulder and putting the python in his face, he said.
Culp said he asked the man with the snake to turn down music around 9 p.m. Smith was with others racing down the hallway in chairs, Culp said, and he had to work the next day.
A couple hours later, Culp went out for a smoke with his wife and a neighbor when he says Smith tapped him on the shoulder.
“And he said, ‘here look at this,’” Culp said. “He had the snake’s head squeezed so its mouth was open. He ran it across my face and it tried to crawl in my mouth.”
The snake grabbed him on the upper lip, and Culp has a few scratches from the encounter. Culp said he didn’t need medical treatment.
That night, Culp said he took a three-hour shower and couldn’t sleep.
Culp said animals shouldn’t be used to hurt or scare others.
“I have a dog. Some people are afraid of dogs,” he said. “I keep my dog away from them. I don’t use the dog as a weapon.”
Culp said he didn’t know Smith’s name until he saw the police report.
Based on Culp’s description, officers found Smith on the second-floor balcony of the inn with the python in his arms, the report said. He was arrested, and the snake was released to a family member.
Smith was released Wednesday afternoon on a $1,092 bond. Read more:
Sunday, 4 April 2010
Stepsister sold for sex.
At times, News Speak will feature stories that highlight the extreme perverted nature of human behaviour. This is one such story. It is hard to provide any real insight into this story. We can make assumptions regarding the social and family make-up of the subjects and to the extent to which it could have been prevented by the authorities, but past that, this is a disturbing account of what can happen in this world.
The article is from the Toronto Sun; however, the location of the story is New Jersey.
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It started with a party invitation to a 15-year-old girl from some men she knew. She took her 7-year-old stepsister to an apartment down the street from their home near the Statehouse, where the girls had been hanging around outside on a Sunday afternoon.
For the younger girl, police say it quickly descended into a horrifying ordeal in which she was gang-raped by as many as seven men as her sister not only watched but got paid by those who did it. Their parents, none the wiser, thought maybe they had run away.
"We're talking about a kid who told her sister to go into an apartment and let people rape her," said Trenton police Capt. Joseph Juniak. "It's unfathomable."
The teen has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. Her name was not released because of her age, but the county prosecutor plans to ask the court to try her as an adult. In the meantime, she is being held at the Mercer County Youth Detention Center.
The 7-year-old had wanted to tag along because she was worried about the 15-year-old's safety, Mayor Doug Palmer said.
When the girls didn't return home by 4:30 Sunday afternoon, their parents called police, believing the older one had run away from home and taken her younger sister with her.
In fact, they were down the street inside a 13th-floor apartment at Rowan Towers, a high-rise complex so dangerous that police are hired as security guards at night.
"They keep it clean on the outside, but it's what's on the inside that you have to worry about," said neighbour William Johnson, who says police are coming out of the building all the time.
Inside apartment 13-C, police said, the 7-year-old was soon left alone as her sister headed to a back bedroom to sell sex to several men. When she came out into the living room, she handed her 7-year-old sister money and encouraged her to let the men touch her.
"It went from touching to straight out assault and rape," Juniak said. "They threatened to kill her if she screamed or told anyone."
Afterward, the child put on her clothes and left. Her sister stayed behind with the men.
Two women found the child crying outside the apartment and walked her home, where police were waiting.
The child told them what happened and was treated at a hospital. When police located the 15-year-old later that night, she also told them what happened and was arrested.
Palmer said the crimes are among the worst he's seen in 20 years as mayor.
"It's sickening," he said. "The police are taking this personal. I know there's a place in hell for all the people that participated in this and I'm sure they will get there."
"Personally, as a father with a 7-year-old daughter, I can't imagine the horror," Palmer added.
Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for New Jersey's Children and Families department, said state and federal confidentiality laws prohibit the agency from commenting about possible prior involvement with the family. But Juniak indicated the department may have had previous contact with the older girl.
Police are now scouring video surveillance from lobby and elevator cameras to try to identify everyone at the party. They believe there were about a dozen people in the apartment, mostly teenage boys and men who police say likely broke in -- a fairly common occurrence in the crime-plagued neighbourhood that sits in the shadow of the Statehouse's golden dome.
Last week, police responded to a home invasion there and a shooting just outside the lobby.
Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. said the building's management company, Interstate Realty Management Co., has been working with police to curb the violence.
"This is incredibly disturbing," said Laura Zaner, a spokeswoman for IRM.
Two private security guards man the lobby doors during the day. At 5 p.m., two police officers take over.
Bradley said the company is installing more cameras and had just hired a third officer to work the night shift to allow two officers to do hourly hallway patrols. He said Sunday may have been the first day they were supposed to have started the patrols.
Chalia Johnkins, who lives around the corner from the Towers, said gatherings of men are commonplace and police should have known something unsavoury was happening.
"The police who were supposed to be on patrol should be held responsible," she said. "They could have prevented this. These weren't regular guards. They were police and they still didn't see the baby crying?"
Annette Lartique, the city councilwoman who represents the area where the crime occurred, said the community would expect nothing less than the prosecution of everyone involved to the fullest extent of the law.
"I know we are going to send a message on this one," she said. "Everybody will pay a price -- from the person who opened the door to the person who pushed the elevator button."
The article is from the Toronto Sun; however, the location of the story is New Jersey.
--------
It started with a party invitation to a 15-year-old girl from some men she knew. She took her 7-year-old stepsister to an apartment down the street from their home near the Statehouse, where the girls had been hanging around outside on a Sunday afternoon.
For the younger girl, police say it quickly descended into a horrifying ordeal in which she was gang-raped by as many as seven men as her sister not only watched but got paid by those who did it. Their parents, none the wiser, thought maybe they had run away.
"We're talking about a kid who told her sister to go into an apartment and let people rape her," said Trenton police Capt. Joseph Juniak. "It's unfathomable."
The teen has been charged with aggravated sexual assault, promoting prostitution and other crimes. Her name was not released because of her age, but the county prosecutor plans to ask the court to try her as an adult. In the meantime, she is being held at the Mercer County Youth Detention Center.
The 7-year-old had wanted to tag along because she was worried about the 15-year-old's safety, Mayor Doug Palmer said.
When the girls didn't return home by 4:30 Sunday afternoon, their parents called police, believing the older one had run away from home and taken her younger sister with her.
In fact, they were down the street inside a 13th-floor apartment at Rowan Towers, a high-rise complex so dangerous that police are hired as security guards at night.
"They keep it clean on the outside, but it's what's on the inside that you have to worry about," said neighbour William Johnson, who says police are coming out of the building all the time.
Inside apartment 13-C, police said, the 7-year-old was soon left alone as her sister headed to a back bedroom to sell sex to several men. When she came out into the living room, she handed her 7-year-old sister money and encouraged her to let the men touch her.
"It went from touching to straight out assault and rape," Juniak said. "They threatened to kill her if she screamed or told anyone."
Afterward, the child put on her clothes and left. Her sister stayed behind with the men.
Two women found the child crying outside the apartment and walked her home, where police were waiting.
The child told them what happened and was treated at a hospital. When police located the 15-year-old later that night, she also told them what happened and was arrested.
Palmer said the crimes are among the worst he's seen in 20 years as mayor.
"It's sickening," he said. "The police are taking this personal. I know there's a place in hell for all the people that participated in this and I'm sure they will get there."
"Personally, as a father with a 7-year-old daughter, I can't imagine the horror," Palmer added.
Lauren Kidd, a spokeswoman for New Jersey's Children and Families department, said state and federal confidentiality laws prohibit the agency from commenting about possible prior involvement with the family. But Juniak indicated the department may have had previous contact with the older girl.
Police are now scouring video surveillance from lobby and elevator cameras to try to identify everyone at the party. They believe there were about a dozen people in the apartment, mostly teenage boys and men who police say likely broke in -- a fairly common occurrence in the crime-plagued neighbourhood that sits in the shadow of the Statehouse's golden dome.
Last week, police responded to a home invasion there and a shooting just outside the lobby.
Police Director Irving Bradley Jr. said the building's management company, Interstate Realty Management Co., has been working with police to curb the violence.
"This is incredibly disturbing," said Laura Zaner, a spokeswoman for IRM.
Two private security guards man the lobby doors during the day. At 5 p.m., two police officers take over.
Bradley said the company is installing more cameras and had just hired a third officer to work the night shift to allow two officers to do hourly hallway patrols. He said Sunday may have been the first day they were supposed to have started the patrols.
Chalia Johnkins, who lives around the corner from the Towers, said gatherings of men are commonplace and police should have known something unsavoury was happening.
"The police who were supposed to be on patrol should be held responsible," she said. "They could have prevented this. These weren't regular guards. They were police and they still didn't see the baby crying?"
Annette Lartique, the city councilwoman who represents the area where the crime occurred, said the community would expect nothing less than the prosecution of everyone involved to the fullest extent of the law.
"I know we are going to send a message on this one," she said. "Everybody will pay a price -- from the person who opened the door to the person who pushed the elevator button."
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