Saturday, April 2nd, 2011
- I’ve always wondered this, too.
- Practical!
- Newark cops illegally arrest, detain, and cuff a 17-year-old honor student for using her cell phone to record them in public. They then illegally deleted the video, destroying evidence. The student is suing. That isn’t enough. This crap isn’t going to stop until the cops who engage in it are criminally charged.
- “Every Member of Seattle’s Legislative Delegation Goes on the Record in Favor of Legalizing Pot”
- Lots of you have sent me this segment of This American Life on a draconian Georgia drug court. And you’re right. The court is insane, and run contrary to everything drug courts are supposed to be about.
- Judging from the speeches of the protectionists in this article, you’d think that state interior design licensing is the only thing keeping us from plague, pestilence, and a civilization-ending collision with a meteor.
- Speaking of Obama sycophants, Ed Schultz does his best Sean Hannity impersonation. Only unknowingly. Note the “Is Obama *your* president” mantra. You have expect Schultz to announce that he’s boycotting the Dixie Chicks.
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TheAgitator.com
“By not allowing interior designers to be specialists and focus on the things they do, what you’re basically doing is contributing to 88,000 deaths every year,” she said.
Wow, I had no idea. That’s just terrible. There OUGHTTA be a LAW!
Oh, wait, that’s stupid. My bad.
Ed Schultz clip had me laughing out loud.
ACLU cellphone case makes me wonder about the practicality of an iphone app that dumps the video over the cell link immediately, instead of storing it on the device.
‘”Do you know the color schemes that affect your salivation, your autonomic nervous system?” she said. “You don’t even have correct seating. And somebody chose that for you.”
I was envisioning Jack Nicholson indignantly spewing this at Tom Cruise or Al Pacino getting ready to ‘take a flamethrower to this place!’…
there should be an awards ceremony for overwrought political speeches- call ‘em Hueys or Ronnies or Barrys… give the cretins another reason to celebrate each other, but it wouldn’t result in any new laws or taxes.
perhaqr,
qik is what you are looking for.
the politicians in Seattle are hoping that legalizing weed will help the cops mellow out and stop shooting people…
the ‘This American Life’ article has officially freaked me out for the day. If my kid gets called to drug court, I’m helping her run away. Maybe I’ll join her.
Chris @ #4
It’s been a while since I’ve used Qik but it used to work in such a way that unless you ended the video session properly it did not get saved on the internet. So if a cop grabbed your phone and turned it off for example the recording would not be saved.
Has that been fixed?
Ken
Ok, that design article is dated 1-April. So I’m choosing to take it with a lot of salt.
But geez. If it IS real… holy crap. My wife works with decorators. She’s an artist. I think a *good* decorator is also an artist. It’s important that they know what they’re doing because otherwise folks won’t buy it and, uh, they don’t sell their services. But that’s their problem. What’s next, legislate who can be an artist? I can see it now. “You can’t buy canvas and paints unless you’re an approved licensed artist.” What’s the difference, really? Next thing you know, the neighbor’s kid sculpts something out of play-doh and gets sent up the river to reform school with a lifelong “art-offender” registry offense on his record…
perlhaqr, the app you’re looking for is called Qik.
http://qik.com/
“The court is insane, and run contrary to everything drug courts are supposed to be about.”
I thought drug courts were all about hurting innocent people and violating their rights and keeping them from exercising their rights. How is this contrary to that?
A little OT, but this was on the front page of USA Today yesterday, regarding more Americans driving more but traffic fatalities down despite the drug czar’s campaign: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2011-04-01-1Atrafficdeaths01_ST_N.htm
Front page.
In re inappropriate arrest for recording cops: What criminal charges could be brought against the police?
@12 Nancy,
I don’t know, tampering with evidence? Obstruction of justice? Kidnapping? Illegal arrest? PIck one.
“Sean Hannity impersonation”? Would Sean Hannity, or anyone on Fox, have the balls to debate Jeremy Scahill? Regardless of Schultz’s views, at least he is willing to invite someone like Scahill, who can go toe to toe with anyone.
Im ambivalent about the concept of drug courts. They do provide services to people with addictions who would otherwise get no help, and in many cases the charges are eventually dismissed.
OTOH, the defendants charged with consensual crimes (e.g. most of them in drug courts) shouldn’t be there in the first place because they havent’ harmed anyone except maybe themselves. The outcome studies I am aware of don’t show drug courts to be particularly successful (compared to voluntary treatment, or no treatment at all for that matter). My thought is that consensual activities should not be criminalized. If an addict harms someone else then they should be treated like anyone else in terms of prosecution and sentencing. If they want to get help for their addiction on their own, then they are free to do so.
[...] Saturday Links | The Agitator [...]
the opinions were mixed at policeone:
http://www.policeone.com/legal/articles/3467737-Teen-ACLU-sue-police-over-cop-filming-arrest/
Ed Schulz is not getting pounded in that video, he’s reading from a script that is designed to make Jeremy the teacher. Round about 3:30 Ed’s facial expression and manner is pretty much “…and how do you spell that?” Ed knows he can’t compete, so he tailors his words to get the most out of Jeremy, who doesn’t get asked onto shows enough, probably because he can’t be beaten down by any host.
[...] Saturday Links | The Agitator [...]
#12 Nancy Lebovitz and #13 Anthony:
I don’t know about the NJ statute, but here in IL, I believe the appropriate charge might be “unlawful restraint” (at least that would be the applicable charge if a private citizen did this). This would be in addition to an official misconduct charge. Well, that is if IL didn’t try to get people for wiretapping when they record police, as Radley has documented previously.
This is key:
“After the officers finally acknowledged they could not continue their prolonged detention, they dropped off a crying Fitchette at her mother’s workplace.”
In doing so, these idiots proved that they did not have the right to cuff and stuff this kid in the first case. No probable cause or even reasonable suspicion, based on my reading of the incident. This should be an open and shut case. Case closed. Bye bye police career. Hello sentencing date.
I throw great punches in my dreams. Problem is that my arms do it in real life at the same time and I end up hitting things for real. I hate waking up with a sore hand from hitting the headboard.
Dear Ed Schultz: I don’t have a president and I never wanted one. There is nothing that you can do about that, so take your pious assertions and jam them straight the fuck up your fat useless ass.
Have an ice day, ungulate.
RE: Ed Schultz
Actually, I think Schultz is more like the progressive Rush Limbaugh. He sounds and even looks a bit like him. The Left has always wanted an answer to Rush, and Ed might be it. I will agree with Sinchy that Schultz is more likely to interview people that disagree with him than Hannity (or Limbaugh), but he is still pretty much a hack for the Democrats.
Second straight day that the esteemed members of the religion pf peace killing over that nutty pastor in FL burning a Koran.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/03/world/asia/03afghanistan.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss
Nine people were killed and 81 injured in the disturbances, all from bullet wounds, said Abdul Qayoum Pakhla, head of the provincial health department. One of the dead was a police officer. Kandahar has long been the heartland of the Taliban insurgency but has been relatively quiet in recent months since a surge of additional American troops arrived here.
The protests here came a day after a mob overran the headquarters of the United Nations in Mazar-i-Sharif, killing 12 people, 7 of them international staff members. The mob gathered after three mullahs at Friday Prayer urged action in response to the Koran burning by a pastor, Terry Jones, in Florida on March 20.
Now I’m generally not a Muslim hater or anything, but what I’m wondering is how is it that we expect to “bring democracy” to a place that can’t even grasp the concept of free speech in any way (and I don’t mean the all-inclusive “we” here)? The foundation of democracy is free speech. They cannot exist separately of one another in any meaningful way, yet still after 10 years of occupation, a nutty pastor in FL (who should never have been given an audience by the international media) sets off the killing of 2 dozen innocents and dozens injured because he expressed an opinion (albeit an ignorant one).
I just don’t get it.
I live in Camden County and the reason Judge Williams is the C hair she is, is because her daughter is a former addict and i believe had at least one overdose. She blamed everyone but her sweet precious daughter for the problem and is now out for revenge.
Got caught dealing? You can kiss yourself goodbye. Got caught using? Well if it wasn’t for all your peer pressure her daughter would have never gotten addicted to hard drugs.
“Blaming the victim” rant…
ACLU Wrong, Police Right In Holding of Videotaping Teen
The guy from The Nation is NOT the one being a partisan drone?
I-I don’t understand.
@18 Why wouldn’t it be kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, theft and unlawful conversion?
Thanks for the link, CharlesWT.
From the article:
“So maybe there isn’t a universal ‘right’ to videotape anything you feel like. Maybe Fitchette ought to re-think her actions. Maybe Fitchette ought to apologize to the Newark police. Maybe she ought to apologize to the man she videotaped.”
Well, the incident occurred IN PUBLIC, so the author misses the point. If I were Fichette, I probably would not have recorded the scene out of sensitivity to the victim. However, the victim was IN PUBLIC, so she should not have been charged with a crime. Had she done this in a healthcare facility (In other words, on private property in an institution that must protect patient privacy due to HIPPA and basic decency) she could have been asked to put away her cell phone or asked to leave (under threat of a tresspassing charge). But, Fichette was IN PUBLIC, so none of that applies. The author is just making a lame attempt to defend indefensible actions by NPD.
#25 Croaker:
“@18 Why wouldn’t it be kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, theft and unlawful conversion?”
I was just naming two of the applicable statutes in IL. Now that you mention it, it could have been assault & battery (since the girl was focibly removed, cuffed and menaced; unwanted touching constitutes battery, after all). I think “false imprisonment” and unlwaful restraint are basically synonymous, but I could be wrong. Kidnapping could be a possibility, though it is highly unlikely it would be used in a case against police making an arrest, even if the arrest is shit. Not sure about theft and conversion. They took her phone without consent and altered its contents so maybe.
Licensed Interior designers are psychopaths who have been booby trapping our buildings. Look at where electrical outlets are put in any home or any office, on the ground where they are inaccessible to adults (but not toddlers). This requires the use of long cords for anything (except for lamps) which are tripping and fire hazards. Nobody other than a licensed professional would hide outlets where they can’t be accessed safely. Try the lot of them for attempted murder.
The comments on the PoliceLink article are authoritarian gold:
This teen needs to LEARN RESPECT TO OTHERS. Yes, video taping like that is not against the law, but the teen should know when and when not to video tape. The officer was not hurting the man, he was trying to help/save the man. The teen also needs to learn to listen to officers when when they say to do something. When people don’t listen to LEO’s, then officer needs to do some thing. Because know they think there life is in danger. The LEO did nothing wrong, it’s common sense, why did the teen not listen. If it was me I would have done the same thing. This teen needs to GROW UP AND LISTEN TO THE LEO’s. It sounds like all the teen is, is selfish and has no respect. With that all said LEO did correct.
Teh po-po is teh po-po. Respect my authoritay! Even you aren’t breaking he law, you must RESPECT MY AUTHORITAY BECUZ I AM TEH LAW!!!!!!
God bless the ACLU…. with fleas from a camels back side. In my moment of need I really would not want some teenager videoing me. The officers did the right thing by giving her a morale lesson. Her parent on the other hand is the one who is missing the morale lesson. (Emphasis added)
The police giving moral lessons? That’s so funny I can’t even muster a laugh.
Confiscate the phone and use it for evedance. That would really make the person’s day.
Great. confiscate’s someone’s private property without any authority or reasoning whatsoever other than to “show her”.
Too bad this girl doesn’t realize the cops saved her from a large lump sum settlement that would have resulted from the lawsuit brought against her by that poor man’s family if that video had made the rounds. Her mother should be thanking the police for saving her all that effort and money. Oh well, we all know the war on cops is being fought on every front…violent and otherwise.
But there’s TEH WAR ON COPZZZZ!!!!
Would have been nice if the Officer, while asking her to get back, accidentally bumped into her knocking the phone from her hand. And then accidentally stomped, I mean stepped on it.
More flagrant property destruction because WE IZ TEH LAW!!!
Radley: I am wondering what you think about the report that the DOJ is investigating the Seattle PD for its excessive force.
Also: I wanted to note that in the prosecutorial misconduct case at SCOTUS, Ginsberg took the very unusual positions of reading her dissent in court. I take this as trying to get Congress to take note.
My article made it in! My article made it in! I’m SOMEBODY!
I followed a link in the comments of the Policelink article, and was surprised to find that as far as the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Federal Court is concerned, there is a first amendment right to videotape police officers.
Link: http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/05D0847P.pdf
Money Quote: “Videotaping is a legitimate means of gathering information for public dissemination and can often provide cogent evidence, as it did in this case. In sum, there can be no doubt that the free speech clause of the Constitution protected Robinson as he videotaped the defendants on October 23, 2002.”
The policelink article is pure gold. The police protect the moral virtue of society and do so by roughing up, arresting and detaining a girl for videotaping.
Puppycide, officer resigns in disgrace:
http://www.kfvs12.com/Global/story.asp?S=14362367#
Link via the always excellent Injustice Everywhere blog.
@35 I have a better quote:
“There was no justification for the actions of defendants in violating Robinson’s right to free speech and his right to be secure in his person against an unreasonable seizure. Defendants’ misconduct caused him real injury and involved reckless or callous indifference to his federally protected
rights. To defendants, Robinson was a gadfly. In their view, he was annoying them. The unfortunate events of October 23, 2002 arose out of this one undeniable fact. It is fundamental that persons such as Robinson may not be deprived of their constitutional rights simply because they are unpopular or
disliked or are resented by the police.”
Time to move to Seattle and the judge in Georgia should go to prison. Is there anyone left in government with integrity? Me thinks NOT.
http://mindhacks.com/2011/04/02/reflecting-on-a-psychopath/
Professionals are more likely to diagnosis psychopathy if they’re on the side of a legal case which would benefit from that and/or if the professional lacks empathy and doesn’t like risk-taking.
#31 johnl;
The National Electric Code is what says convenience outlet are to be located @ 18″ above finish floor. Interior designers are the ones who specify a certain product for say countertops that doesn’t even meet their own performance specification and the product they specified burns like gasoline and fills a room with black smoke. Perfect product for a nurse station in an Emergency Department.
I really do think that Washington, especially here in Seattle, may be the first to go full legalization of weed. I swear, it would already be legal if they weren’t worried about the Feds. The interesting thing is that the vicious territoriality of the Seattle PD could work in legal weed’s favor, because the SPD hates even King County Sheriffs (except for picking up prisoners for county lockup) or WA Highway Patrol coming into Seattle; I doubt they’d take kindly to Feds trying to operate.
Especially now that the DOJ is investigating them, too.
With regards to the cellphone video one:
If the girl was interfering with police, then the video is evidence of the crime, and may only be deleted if a judge signs a court order permitting it; Deleting the video without such a court order is destruction of evidence, a felony.
If however, the girl did not interfere with police, then seizing the phone is armed robbery (police carry weapons, theft by force is robbery). In addition, there’s a federal crime, under Title 18, Sections 241 & 242 of the US Code, which read literally, seems to be saying the cop is guilty of a capital crime here.
“When people don’t listen to LEO’s, then officer needs to do some thing. Because know they think there life is in danger.”
What a wonderful job to have, where you get to handcuff, beat down, tase, or shoot anyone who doesn’t listen to you*. Because, you know, anytime someone doesn’t listen to someone else, they put that person in fear for their lives.
*Or at the very least you’ll have most people making up bullshit excuses for your doing so.
Can you imagine the internal world of a person who thinks that if someone is not obeying a police officer, that means the police officer’s life is in danger from that moment? No wonder they’re freaked out.
That woman whose father has her arrested for testing positive for drug use is a moron. But he’s also a victim of hysterical government propaganda that drugs will inevitably kill you. Parents who have their children hospitalized or imprisoned simply because they have used drugs are harming their children, not helping them. The government of this country has done so much injury through its policy of absolute prohibition that we will look back on this period in the same way we look back on Jim Crow, the witch hunts, and, oh let’s say, Prohibition. We are creating a generation of criminals simply because we don’t like to think that people might do something that feels good.
Buddy: That story plays well but the county has a population of 12,000. Likely it was shame for having shot a chihuahua 3 times (and needing all three shots) in Petticoat Junction, rather than legal worries. All of her friends now know the story, so she might as well just open a bakery now or move away.
Wanna get depressed? Read this taking the side of the police.
I should have said, the father is a moron. Not the woman.
So, it looks like 4G cell service allows for upload speeds on the order of 30 megabit/second. DVDs are 8 Mbit/s, and HDTV (which I am presuming to mean 1080p) is 27 Mbit/s. Which means that realtime upload of semicompressed 720p video/audio signal over a cell connection is not outside the realm of the state of the art.
I found this: http://tinyurl.com/3lsywuf (product sales website) which is capable of generating 720×480 MiniDV video (as opposed to 1280×720 “720p” HD video signal) from a package half an inch wide, an inch tall, and 2.5 inches long, which is (I believe) on par with some bluetooth headsets.
Speaking of, there’s a new Bluetooth spec coming down the pike (Class 3, 1 meter range, does 24 Mbit/s) that would allow enough bandwidth to transmit that signal from your earpiece to the phone with no need for wires, even.
So, I’m pretty sure we’re within a year of the hardware for doing 720p video/audio uploads from an ear-mounted bluetooth headset via 4G cellphone being completely within our technical capacity.
And what the fuck are the cops going to do then? Arrest everyone who looks at them while wearing a bluetooth headset?
@50 And what makes you think these clowns won’t?
Only if there was a death as a result, but it’s still a federal felony punishable by (IIRC) up to ten years in prison. However, federal law that doesn’t reflect current federal policy tends to fall prey to prosecutorial discretion, and it doesn’t look like the feds are all that interested in abusive police behavior at the moment.
croaker: Only that bluetooth headsets tend to be popular among a more affluent crowd. Cops might get away with terrorising a black teenager over having the temerity to video them on her phone, but if they start bringing in a bunch of 50 year old white guys in suits, heads will roll. Just look at how much more traction Calvo’s puppycide incident has gotten due to him being a mayor and all.
I love how, in the article about Seattle’s official support for legalization, the journalist actually CALLED San Francisco to, essentially, see if we beat them. We are in this perpetual, absolutely ridiculous contest with San Fran about which city is more liberal… and it’s RARELY a good thing. Sure, yay for legalization support! I’m glad we beat them on that count. But, thanks to said contest, we have an even more inflexible smoking ban than they do, more severe “sin” taxes, and our officials have tried for a more draconian plastic bag ban among other things. And let’s not forget that the overwhelmingly liberal Seattle City Council attempted to kill the strip club industry in the city with an initiative that would mandate hospital-bright lighting and a 4-ft buffer between dancers and patrons (goodbye, lap dances! thankfully, the voters overturned the initiative by a landslide – our strip clubs might suck, but at least we still have some).
As a Seattle native, I really, really, REALLY want to be done with one-upping San Francisco crap. After we legalize pot, that is.
@52 Actually kidnapping is also one of the crash landings under the 18 USC 241/242. But you are right in that it will take the death of the victim for the death penalty to even be considered by the prosecution.