Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hurricane Sandy Bloomberg Nursing Home Evacuation Scandal

Rockaway Beach Nursing Homes Told Not To Evacuate Ahead Of Hurricane Sandy, Officials Say

Five nursing homes in floods zones in New York City were told by officials not to evacuate before Hurricane Sandy made landfall, The Huffington Post reported.

Residents of the nursing homes, which were located just blocks off the New York City coastline with the Atlantic Ocean, experienced the horror of Hurricane Sandy's destructive winds, rains, and storm surge.

"It was like Niagara Falls," said an employee, who asked to remain anonymous, about the four foot flooding on the first floor of Rockaway Care Center.

"The New York Office of Emergency Management did not return multiple calls or emails about the condition of the nursing homes, the status of the residents, or the decision not to evacuate prior to the storm," reported The Huffington Post.

While politicians, such as Mayor Michael Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, and Queens Borough President Helen Marshall tour some of the areas devastated by Hurricane Sandy, politicians are using the emergency with the subway system and the power outages to cover up for the hospital evacuation crisis, this nursing home crisis, and the upcoming Election Day voting crisis.

Gary Tilzer, the political journalist, posted a blog post in which he asked, "Why Is the Media Silent On the Board of Elections Lack of A Plan to Allow People to Vote in the Black Out Areas ?"

Hurricane Sandy - Bellevue, NYU, and Coler Hospital Evacuations - Political Accountability

Who is politically accountable for the failure of the emergency management plan in response to Hurricane Sandy that lead to infrastructure failure at New York City hospitals ?

Following the infrastructure failure of critical hospitals in New York City because of flooding and storm surge associated with Hurricane Sandy and related power failures, some healthcare activists began to demand answers for the failure of New York City's emergency management planning. The fault does not lie with the doctors and medical staff at the impacted hospitals ; rather, the politicians in charge of the city's emergency management plan must account for this irresponsible and dangerous situation. How could it be that New York City's resources would prioritise reopening business when critical hospitals could be left in the dark ? One activist has posted a new YouTube video requesting political accountability for the dangerous risks posed to public health by Mayor Michael Bloomberg's lack of real emergency planning.

Video Link : http://youtu.be/ggjOOjbTKZs

Background

In the community effort to demand a replacement hospital for St. Vincent's, politicians imposed on the community the burden of participating in a needs assessment to determine if a full-service hospital was required in the Lower West Side of Manhattan.

"The hospital evacuations following the destruction by Hurricane Sandy expose the risks of the Rudin Condo Conversion Plan approved for St. Vincent's Hospital," said Louis Flores, an activist who produced this YouTube video. "New York City needs a Level I Trauma Center and full-service hospital in the Lower West Side for disaster recovery efforts. And New York City needs real resources to improve the infrastructure of all of our hospitals, including Coler Hospital on Roosevelt Island and SUNY Downstate Hospital in Brooklyn."

Hurricane Irene

In 2011, St. Vincent's activists organized a mass civilian trauma event exercise to demonstrate what grassroots community activists described was a major risk to public health : where would sick and injured patients receive emergency and trauma care in the event of a major national disaster under conditions that had created an irresponsible geographic distribution of hospital beds in Manhattan.

See related link : http://thevillager.com/villager_443/traumadrama.html

Hurricane Sandy

In the time leading up to and following the landfall of the effects of Hurricane Sandy, the infrastructure of full-service hospitals on the East Side of Manhattan has failed. Hospital patients were forced to be evacuated from NYU Langone and Bellevue Hospitals.

To Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Speaker Christine Quinn, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, to City Planner Amanda Burden, Brad Hoylman, Bill Rudin, and to the Partnership for New York, where are New Yorkers supposed to go now, in case of a medical emergency ?

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Risks of Closing of St. Vincent's Hospital

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Risks Of Closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

The New York City Fire Department is helping Bellevue Hospital evacuate some of it patients, the Associated Press has reported.

Bellevue Hospital lost power during the blackout created by the storm surge, flooding, and damage from Hurricane Sandy.

Even with backup power operating, the Associated Press reported that the power outage had left many sections of Bellevue Hospital in the dark and rendered major medical equipment unusable without access to electricity.

After St. Vincent's Hospital was closed, activists had demanded that politicians explain how mass trauma events would be handled with the irresponsible geographical distribution of hospital beds in Manhattan created by the Rudin Luxury Condo Conversion plan approved by New York City Council Christine Quinn.

After St. Vincent's Hospital closed, a Gross Imbalance in the Distribution of Hospital Beds in Manhattan

Verizon Headquarters Flooded Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Verizon-Headquarters-NYC-Hurricane-Sandy-Flood, Verizon corporate headquarters  lobby at 140 West Street in Manhattan, filled with three feet of water at about 9:30 PM ET on October 29, 2012.

Superstorm Sandy may have done damage to all the major phone services, more or less. But for Verizon, there was another price to pay: damage to its New York corporate headquarters.

The picture above, tweeted by the company itself, shows the Verizon lobby at 140 West Street in Manhattan, filled with three feet of water at about 9:30 PM ET last night. It isn’t just an administrative building — it also serves hundreds of thousands of voice and data circuits in New York.

Says Verizon director of media relations Bill Kula: “We’ll continue to work safely and quickly to pump out the storm water, re-route traffic from non working central office to others, get backup generator power operating, and hope that the local power company can restore commercial power as quickly as possible.”

Read more : Hurricane Sandy floods Verizon's corporate headquarters in New York City

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Salt Water Corrosive Damage NYC Hurricane Sandy

Salt water damage is expected to damage the fragile, ancient electrical and switching systems of the New York City subway system. The Wall Street Journal published examples of some ways that salt water can damage the subway system :

Salt can eat at motors, metal fasteners and the electronic parts, some many decades old, that keep the system running. Salt water, and the deposits it leaves behind, degrades the relays that run the signal system, preventing train collisions.

Salt water also conducts electricity, which can exacerbate damage to signals if the system isn't powered down before a flood.

But the engineering risks don't just exist for the New York City subway system, but also to the construction materials of buildings, which were exposed to storm surge flooding.

Construction materials made of iron or steel that are exposed to water will rust and alter its shape and size. Building interiors, especially basements, when exposed to water, must be dried, otherwise constructions materials, such as metal fasteners or iron or steel beams, may continue to corrode long after the storm surge flooding subsides. If long-term moisture continues untreated, or if the ground becomes over-saturated by salt water, creating , the oxidation and rusting may cause construction materials made of iron and steel to fail.

Just like consumer affairs agencies advise drivers to avoid buying flood-damaged cars, what is the New York City Department of Buildings doing to secure the integrity of buildings and construction sites, which were exposed to the corrosive salt water storm surge flooding from Hurricane Sandy ?

JetBlue La Guardia Hurricane Sandy Update

Photographs showing the state of flooding on the runways and taxi areas at La Guardia Airport were posted by JetBlue on its blog today. One alarming photograph shows that the taxi areas around La Guardia Airport are underwater.

Jackson Heights Hurricane Sandy Initial Damage Photographs

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Initial Jackson Heights - Hurricane Sandy Damage Photographs

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Closed-Starbucks-37th-Avenue

On Tuesday morning, residents of Jackson Heights, Queens, tried to assess the damage to their neighborhood from the rain and wind gusts from Hurricane Sandy. The local Starbucks was closed, and local people looked disoriented and desperate for over-priced coffee.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Downed-Tree-37th-Avenue

There were some downed trees.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Closed-Subway-Station

Nobody knows when the New York City subway system will re-open. Many subway tunnels are flooded from the storm surge.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Down-Tree-37th-Avenue

The seemingly minor damage in some parts of Jackson Heights was met with gratitude by residents. People in other parts of Queens and the rest of New York City were not so fortunate.

Jackson-Heights-Hurricane-Sandy-Downed-Tree-on-SUV-77th-Street

Now that Hurricane Sandy has moved on, the recovery efforts will get underway.

NYC MTA Subway Flooding Disaster Update : Worst Disaster in Subway History

Joseph J. Lhota, Chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, issued a statement, describing the flooding from Hurricane Sandy as the worst "disaster" in the New York City subway system's history, The New York Times reported.

Mr. Lhota's statement included details of some of the worst damage to the mass transit system :

  • As of last night, seven subway tunnels under the East River flooded. Metro-North Railroad lost power from 59th Street to Croton-Harmon on the Hudson Line and to New Haven on the New Haven Line.
  • The Long Island Rail Road evacuated its West Side Yards and suffered flooding in one East River tunnel.
  • The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel is flooded from end to end and the Queens Midtown Tunnel also took on water and was closed. Six bus garages were disabled by high water.

NYC East River Subway Tunnels Flooded

Updated ! NYC MTA Subway Flooding Disaster Update : Worst Disaster in Subway History

Hoboken PATH Subway Station Flooded

Emergency Situation At Oyster Creek Nuclear Plant in Toms River, NJ

From The New York Times :

Dangerous Water Levels at Nuclear Plant

Rising water threatened the cooling system at the Oyster Creek nuclear plant, in Toms River, N.J., on Monday night. The plant declared an alert at 8:45 p.m., which is the second-lowest level of the four-tier emergency scale established by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The water level was more than six feet above normal. At seven feet, the plant would lose the ability to cool its spent fuel pool in the normal fashion, according to Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

The plant would probably have to switch to using fire hoses to pump in extra water to make up for evaporation, Mr. Sheehan said, because it could no longer pull water out of Barnegat Bay and circulate it through a heat exchanger, to cool the water in the pool.

If ordinary cooling ceased, the pool would take 25 hours to reach the boiling point, he said, giving the operators ample time to take corrective steps. The reactor itself has been shut since Oct. 22 for refueling, so it is relatively cool.

Alerts are declared a handful of times every year among the 104 power reactors around the country.

So far, no reactors in Sandy’s path have been forced by the hurricane to shut down, although one in Waterford, Conn., Millstone 3, has lowered its power output to 75 percent. The operator said this was done to assist the New England grid, which would be destabilized if the reactor shut down suddenly from full power, and also to reduce the chance that it would automatically shut down; at 75 percent, Millstone 3 could withstand the loss of a pump without having to close.

Several other reactors in the region are now closed for refueling, which is ordinarily carried out in the spring or fall, when electricity demand is low.

Separately, FOX News reported about safety concerns with the nuclear power plant at Indian Point.

Monday, October 29, 2012

NYU Langone Hospital Evacuated

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Risks Of Closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

From 1010 WINS : NYU Langone Hospital being evacuated after backup generator dies.

Patients are being taken down manually down flights of stairs and are expected to be transferred to Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan.

Because NYU Langone Hospital has no electricity or phone service, they cannot notify the relatives or emergency contact persons of the NYU Langone Hospital's patients until the patients are received by a new hospital, WNBC has reported.

Bellevue Hospital Taking On Water

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Risks Of Closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Murray Hill Flooded Near Bellevue Hospital Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Hurricane Sandy Exposes Risks Of Closing of St. Vincent's Hospital.

Bellevue Hospital Without Power ; Backup Generators Failing Due to Floods ; No Level I Trauma Center Below Midtown Since St. Vincent's Hospital Was Converted Into Luxury Condos By Rudin Family.

The area near Bellevue Hospital in Murray Hill neighborhood of Manhattan is flooded. According to this Twitter posting, 34th Street and First Avenue is under water.

Murray Hill Flood 34th Street First Avenue NYC Hurricane Sandy Credit : m166-owace

East Village Explosion Hurricane Sandy

A transformer possibly exploded in the East Village of Manhattan during the landfall of Hurricane Sandy.

911 ECTP Tech System Overwhelmed During Hurricane Sandy

WNBC reports that the 911 tech system is overwhelmed, that people are being discouraged from calling 911 unless it is truly a real emergency. This hurricane is doing a lot of damage. Would not all the damage taking place during a massive natural disaster be considered a real emergency (911 Call System Overloaded As City Urges People to Stay Off the Roads * DNAinfo New York)

Trees are falling, the façade of one building has collapsed, one fatality has been reported, and blackouts and massive floods have been widely reported. What isn't an emergency ?

Con Edison Cuts Power to 6,500 Lower Manhattan Customers

Apparent explosion of Con Edison substation or electrical equipment due to destruction from Hurricane Sandy.

According to WCBS News, Con Edison has cut electricity to 6,500 customers in Lower Manhattan.

Chelsea Building Collapse Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Fire and rescue personnel respond to a partial building collapse in Chelsea on Eighth Avenue, between 14th and 15th Streets. On local news reports, the building was shown to be missing the front façade of the building.

The building collapse took place less than five blocks from the former St. Vincent's Hospital. If people were hurt, they no longer have a Level I Trauma Center or full-service hospital at St. Vincent's since New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn approved the luxury condo conversion plan by the Rudin Family.

Crane Expert : Evacuate People And Let Crane Fall

WABC Eyewitness News interviewed Thomas Barth, a crane engineering expert, who said recommended that people living near the damaged crane attached to One57 luxury condominium should evacuate the area. Should the crane collapse, Mr. Barth said, that officials should allow the crane to collapse and focus on controlling the damage -- basically to prevent injuries and casualties.

Crane Collapse 911 Emergency Call System

Will the Hurricane Sandy crane collapse at the One57 luxury condo trigger a test of the 911 emergency call technology system ?

The 911 call system has failed before.

Crane Collapse One57th Lux Condo At 57th Street NYC Hurricane Sandy

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Related : Related : Hurricane Sandy - Political Accountability For Hospital Evacuations

Wind gusts from Hurricane Sandy bent and folded over a construction crane attached to the tall luxury condominium building going up on West 57th Street. The construction crane is folded over and is now dangling in the sky.

A large presence of FDNY, ambulances, and police have closed the streets around the high-rise. Hurricane Sandy has not yet made landfall, so weather conditions will continue to worsen. Wind speeds and gusts will make it impossible for rescue workers to stabilise or secure the dangling construction crane until after Hurricane Sandy has past and weather conditions have subsided.

Officials with NYC Office of Emergency Management issued a text alert, advising people who live in nearby buildings to relocate to lower floors.

Elites Demand Voter Identification, But Enable Citizens United Secrecy

Voter ID Double-Standard Hypocrisy Citizens United Secrecy Identity Cloaking

Axis of evil” : voter suppression, gerrymandering, Citizens United, Electoral College. These ensure political influence for elites.

Battery Park Now Under Water Hurricane Sandy

Updated ! George Takei posted a photograph on Facebook at about 11:38 a.m. of Battery Park under water, which WNYC reposted on Facebook. Officials warn the public that the next high tide will be worse.

Photobucket

At 8:32 a.m., WABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News reports that the storm surge associated with Hurricane Sandy have now pushed sea levels along Battery Park in New York City above the concrete sea wall.

Meanwhile, Suzannah B. Troy posted a new video about the weather conditions.

Read also : Lower Manhattan Flooded in 1960 After Hurricane Donna

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Lower Manhattan Flooded in 1960 After Hurricane Donna

Related : NYC Hurricane Sandy - Hospital Evacuations and Berger Commission #EPICFAIL

Related : New Hurricane Sandy Danger : Flood-Risk Nursing Homes Told Not To Evacuate

1960 Flooding Photograph Lower Manhattan Hurricane Donna New York City

In 1960, Lower Manhattan was flooded in the aftermath of Hurricane Donna. Will the same thing happen to New York City after Hurricane Sandy makes landfall ? The risk of flooding is being compounded by the high tides and the Full Moon on Monday, October 29, 2012.

From The New York Times :

The hurricane center said through the day on Sunday that Hurricane Sandy was “expected to bring life-threatening storm surge flooding to the mid-Atlantic Coast, including Long Island Sound and New York Harbor.”

Read also : Battery Park Now Under Water Hurricane Sandy

Saturday, October 27, 2012

Protest Banned By French Police ; Security Zone Created Around Moroccan King Mohammed VI Castle

The police in the Oise Department in France have banned a long-term demonstration planned to begin Saturday and to end on Friday, November 2, in front of a castle belonging to the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI.

Organizers of the protest, set to take place in front of the King's castle in Betz, a small village north-east of Paris, were requesting that Moroccans denounce “all injustices and indignities” committed by the current dictatorship in Morocco, reported RFI.

“The chief has banned the protests as a preventative measure” confirmed the Oise police department. “He believes that this area, in conjunction with what was planned for the demonstration and with protesters wanting to camp day and night, that it would only lead to incidents of public disorder. This would go against the purpose of the protest.”

French police officers have created a "security zone" around the castle, RFI reported.

Terry Rakolta and Mitt Romney in ''Married ... With FOX'' ?

Mitt Romney's "Married ... With Children" Connection

GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is a former brother-in-law to Terry Rakolta. Ms. Takolta's relationship with Mr. Romney stems from her sister, Ronna Romney, who is the ex-wife to Mitt's brother, G. Scott Romney. This complex relationship matters.

Ms. Rokolta launched a one-woman letter writing campaign against the Fox Broadcasting Company sitcom, Married... with Children.

In the late 1980's, "Married ... With Children" was the most successful series on the FOX Broadcasting Company, and the controversy over the show's content attracted viewers once word about Ms. Takolta's morality campaign spread. Not only did the ratings of the sitcom "Married ... With Children" benefit from Ms. Takolta's boycott, but so did the situation of the FOX Broadcasting Company, when the company was still struggling.

The link between FOX and Mr. Romney's family was first brought to my attention by Russ DiBello, who posted this information on Facebook.

How does Mr. Romney or his family figure into this scenario ? Some people are questioning why does Rupert Murdoch sometimes express indifference or even disdain toward Mr. Romney, for example, Mr. Murdoch has opposed some elements of Mr. Romney's financial and investment strategy.

But no matter that Mr. Murdoch had to personally "evolve" on Mr. Romney's campaign. Mr. Murdoch nonetheless owes some major gratitude to Mr. Romney's family. For, without Ms. Rakolta's morality campaign, "Married ... With Children" might not have been such a success, much like FOX Broadcasting Company.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Yankee Stadium Bailout But Not For St. Vincent's Hospital

Early this morning, Tom McDonald was hosting Sports on 1 on NY1, when a gentleman called into the sports TV show. The caller complained about how governments gave the owners of the new Yankee stadium complex hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks and subsidies, but yet found no money to bail out St. Vincent's Hospital.

Mr. McDonald brushed off the criticism, saying that the new Yankee Stadium was good for tourism and that funding healthcare or keeping hospitals solvent were not important uses of taxpayer money.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Quinn Skips Chelsea Market Hearing ; Angers Chelsea Voters

Quinn Skips Chelsea Market Expansion Hearing ; Angers Core Chelsea Supporters

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was absent from a City Council Hearing about the zone-busting real estate development expansion project for Chelsea Market by its owner, Jamestown Properties. Speaker Quinn's decision to blow off the hearing angered some of her core supporters.

“It’s her council district. She was elected from a district, even though she’s now got citywide ambitions, and she should be here to hear testimony about a project that’s going to destroy her community,” Michael McKee told The Wall Street Journal. Mr. McKee once worked with Speaker Quinn back in 1989, when she was an organizer with the Housing Justice Campaign.

“She was a great community organizer. She was one of the best I’ve ever met,” Mr. McKee added, “but I don’t know where that Chris Quinn is.”

Also from The Wall Street Journal :

Quinn spokesman Justin Goodman said the speaker doesn’t always appear at hearings, even for projects in her own district. The spokesman noted that she also missed a hearing last year on the closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital.

Sunday, October 21, 2012

Frank Rich and Fran Lebowitz - A Review of the Town Hall Conversation

A State of the Union Conversation : An Evening With Frank Rich and Fran Lebowitz

Two plush chairs sat empty on an area rug in the middle of the stage last night at the Town Hall, near Times Square in New York City. The setting was meant to be cozy, but early on the anticipation and tension was already palatable.

Some people who bought tickets were so late taking their seats that, twice, the early birds amongst the audience made noise to bring out the stars of the evening, who eventually took to the stage about 8:15 p.m. or so.

Frank Rich, the former op-ed columnist and drama critic for The New York Times, and Fran Lebowitz, the author and social critic, took to their chairs and shared a conversation about the 2012 presidential election with the audience.

"The whole United States is a protest zone," said Ms. Lebowitz.

Recording devices were banned, so I live-Tweeted some of the more memorable remarks of their conversation.

The Town Hall offered an intimate setting for the conversation. At many times, Mr. Rich and Ms. Lebowitz received loud cheers in recognition of their especially brilliant observations from the audience. A few people even shouted affirmations or retorts, whenever the conversation touched a nerve. At one point, when the same gentleman in the audience made two loud comments in reply to Ms. Lebowitz's witticisms, she said, "Let us know where you are appearing tomorrow, so we can attend." Lots of people wanted to dive into the luxury of taking part in this conversation, because just sitting in their wise presence just wasn't enough.

Mr. Rich and Ms. Lebowitz spoke about the tour that their "conversation" was taking them : they had recently appeared in Las Vegas and in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Rich began their conversation on a sick and twisted (my words, not his) puff piece published by The Times in which Mayor Michael Bloomberg criticised President Barack Obama and GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Ms. Lebowitz offered a simple explanation for Mayor Bloomberg's interloping : he is envious that he could not become president.

Ms. Lebowitz said that when she saw Mayor Bloomberg get all involved up in Albany over last year's push for marriage equality in New York State, she said she hoped that Mayor Bloomberg would inspect Park Avenue for potholes as he was driven up to Albany, because potholes in New York City was his elected responsibility as a municipal administrator. This hilarious comment elicited many laughs from the audience.

At some point, Mr. Rich observed how none of the debates have touched on issues of LGBT equality. And Ms. Lebowitz observed that she was left confused by the LGBT equality movement's focus on getting married and joining the military, because, she said, when she was young, the two advantages of being gay was that you didn't have to get married, and you didn't have to go fight in any wars. There was also the obligatory joke about baby strollers. Her dry wit makes Ms. Leibowitz so attractive to people, who are sick and tired of the political spin of the talking heads on television news.

Mr. Rich circled back to the Bloomberg article in The Times and the observations were made about the shortcomings of the mainstream media.

Ms. Lebowitz couldn't resist making a joke about Jim Leher getting rolled over in the first presidential debate between President Obama and former Mass. Governor Mitt Romney.

The conversation by Mr. Rich and Ms. Lebowitz was very current, you could not tell if any parts of their talk had already been shared at prior speaking events, but Ms. Lebowitz and Mr. Rich did touch on some very basic concerns among progressive voters.

Eventually, the moment of glory : the conversation was opened up to questions from the audience.

Ms. Lebowitz's wisdom and humor was praised by many people in the audience, she is such an insightful thinker and speaker.

Her use of humor must have been an embarrassment to many politicians, and Ms. Lebowitz was bipartisan in her criticisms of Mayor Bloomberg, who she called the #Moncarchofminutiae, and of the New York City Council, who did not do anything to keep the NYPD in check as it set out to deliberately crush the #OccupyWallStreet movement. Ms. Lebowitz made the observation that when Mayor Bloomberg shut down efforts by protesters to demonstrate against the invasion of Iraq and against the Republican National Convention in 2004, he did so by trying to designate restricted areas, where activists could hold their protests. Ms. Lebowitz was infuriated. She said that the mayor did not know how the U.S. Constitution worked. Mayor Bloomberg could not restrict areas where protesters could hold their demonstrations. "The whole United States is a protest zone," said Ms. Lebowitz.

Ms. Lebowitz said at one point in the conversation that she didn't believe that voters were interested enough to hear the truth and facts in the news. She said that she thought that people were more interested in hearing lies. She made this observation in connection to some of the salacious political television ads now being aired in the Las Vegas television market. (Her observation was no doubt informed by other experiences.) She said that our whole culture is geared toward fantasy. No child asks their parent, "Daddy, tell me some more statistics before I go to sleep," or some outlandish request along those lines, is what she said. And she is correct. Ms. Lebowitz has rightly tuned into the fact that people are interested in hearing fabrication and lies -- a story of pure make believe. Early on, Ms. Lebowitz also expressed criticisms about the style of reporting in newspapers that placed an emphasis on elaborate literary descriptions of quaint village settings over just reporting facts, which, she said, normally showed up in the third paragraph.

Many people in the audience deliberately took seats that put them closer to the stage, which was a hassle to the staff at the Town Hall, who had to check tickets and move people back to their rightful seats.

For my part, I would like to register a complaint : even though I bought and paid for my ticket online from Ticketmaster to sit in the second row, for which I paid a fee of $12.55 for that "convenience," and another $1.00 fee for the "facility," the Town Hall still saw fit to charge me $5.00 to pick up my tickets at the Box Office. When I demanded a receipt, the box office assistant refused to give me a receipt.

Our lives are at the mercy of all these fucking fees ! In the "Twilight Zone" that is our political reality in the United States, they can nickel and dime people trying to access a little bit of REAL TALK about the State of the Union. Note how the controversial issues discussed during last night's conversation never seems to take place right on the front pages of The New York Times, not even the issue of race, which, both Mr. Rich and Ms. Lebowitz claimed is the motivation behind the GOP hatred of President Obama. I had to pay an unfair extra $5 for the privilege of hearing Mr. Rich and Ms. Lebowitz, but I wonder what is the real price society-at-large pays for being shut out of this critical conversation ?

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Romney Uses Job Intimidation To Extort Votes ?

In a leaked audio recording, GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney is heard telling employers to bully their employees to vote against Barack Obama.

I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope — I hope you pass those along to your employees. Nothing illegal about you talking to your employees about what you believe is best for the business, because I think that will figure into their election decision, their voting decision and of course doing that with your family and your kids as well.

Friday, October 19, 2012

Romney Ohio Voting Machine Scandal

Updated 20 October 2012 : 3:40 p.m. Forbes Magazine Article : Romney Family Investment Ties To Voting Machine Company That Could Decide The Election Causing Concern

From Politicol News :

The new owners of Ohio’s voting machines under the brand name HART Intercivic is none other than Tagg Romney the son of one of the candidates Mitt Romney. In recent weeks Tagg has taken a more “active role in his father’s campaign management” but when you look further, he also has a major problem with that role.

By virtue of conflict of interest alone, this role should be investigated by the DOJ preferably involving the addition of the FBI, Homeland Security and the CIA to ensure this connection will not endanger the vote in Ohio and other states.

Protest at Al Smith Dinner Against Budget Cuts

Hundreds of activists comprised of members of Healthcare for the 99% Working Group of Occupy Wall Street, PNHP, ACT UP, the Granny Peace Brigade, Occupy Queens, OCCU EVOLVE, and other groups protest against impending budget cuts to Medicare and healthcare across the street from the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where President Obama and Mitt Romney were participating in the annual Al Smith Wall Street fundraiser.

ACT UP activists also rallied in support of a Financial Transaction Tax to raise money to pay for healthcare and treatments to break the HIV infection curve and end AIDS.

Activists first started a moving picket on the sidewalk in front of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, but police closed the public sidewalk to only registered guests of the hotel and to persons paying at least $2,500 to have dinner at the annual Al Smith Wall Street fundraiser.

Inside the hotel, President Obama and Mitt Romney dined on a luxurious menu that included poached lobster tail and dark chocolate tropical fruit cadeau ; meanwhile, due to the fact that Democrats and Republicans refuse to raise taxes on the top 1% of income earners, the federal government faces draconian budget cuts to core programs, such as Medicare, Social Security, and Medicaid.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Stein, Honkala Denied Entry To Presidential Debate; Arrested

Democratic and Republican Parties Shut Out Third Party Candidates

Green Party running mates Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala denounced the Commission on Presidential Debates as an "unfair entity" set up by Democratic and Republican leaders to lock third party candidates out of the democratic process, reported Gawker.

From Huffington Post :

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was arrested outside of Hofstra University on Tuesday after attempted to enter debate grounds.

According to Stein's campaign press statement, Stein and running mate Cheri Honkala joined supporters outside the Hofstra campus at 2pm, where Stein declared, "We are here to bring the courage of those excluded from our politics to this mock debate, this mockery of democracy." When they started to walk onto the debate grounds, they were stopped by police officers, and then the two women sat down on the ground. ...

Green Party Candidates Get Arrested Outside Hofstra Debate

Jill Stein, Cheri Honkala Arrested Before Hofstra Debate

Jill Stein And Cheri Honkala Were Arrested Before Hofstra Debate

From Huffington Post :

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was arrested outside of Hofstra University on Tuesday after attempted to enter debate grounds.

According to Stein's campaign press statement, Stein and running mate Cheri Honkala joined supporters outside the Hofstra campus at 2pm, where Stein declared, "We are here to bring the courage of those excluded from our politics to this mock debate, this mockery of democracy." When they started to walk onto the debate grounds, they were stopped by police officers, and then the two women sat down on the ground. ...

Jill Stein and Cheri Honkala protest and get arrested at Hofstra Debate

Jill Stein And Cheri Honkala Were Arrested Before Hofstra Debate

From Huffington Post :

Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was arrested outside of Hofstra University on Tuesday after attempted to enter debate grounds.

According to Stein's campaign press statement, Stein and running mate Cheri Honkala joined supporters outside the Hofstra campus at 2pm, where Stein declared, "We are here to bring the courage of those excluded from our politics to this mock debate, this mockery of democracy." When they started to walk onto the debate grounds, they were stopped by police officers, and then the two women sat down on the ground. ...

Sunday, October 14, 2012

Felix Baumgartner Space Jump Video

Watch Felix Baumgartner leap from a stratospheric helium balloon at more than 120,000 feet and freefall at the speed of sound before opening his parachute and returning to Earth. (October 14, 2012)

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Blogger Investigates Espada Corruption Case

The blog True News From Change published by Gary Tilzer is giving credit to Rafael Martinez Alequin for helping to investigate the corruption by Pedro Espada, Jr..

Watch this video by Mr. Alequin :

NYPD Deny FOIL Request by Louis Flores

NYPD denies FOIL request by Louis Flores, even though NYPD Captain Jack Jaskaran contacted Louis Flores after Louis Flores filed a complaint with CCRB after Officer Lamonica used excessive force to thwart First Amendment rights of Louis Flores.

Captain Jack Jaskaran was asked to contact me after Officer Lamonica used excessive force against me. I sent the standard FOIL request letter template made available by the NYCLU on their website, only filling in my name and a brief description about me, and the NYPD denied having any records, which is a lie not correct. Note how Captain Jaskaran said that he had watched my YouTube video and read my blog, according to my notes of our telephone call. If Captain Jaskaran was only "investigating" the complaint I filed with CCRB, did CCRB give him my phone numbers ? And if Captain Jaskaran was indeed "investigating" the CCRB complaint, where are those records ?

2012 09 28 NYPD FOIL Response and Jack Jaskaran Notes Louis Flores

Paul Ryan Joe Biden Gaydar Internet Meme

Many photo illustrations have been being created since last week's vice presidential debate between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden. Many focused on Vice President Biden's smile and his laughter, and on Mr. Ryan's widow's peak. Leading up to the debate, many LGBT activists made fun of Mr. Ryan's workout photoshoot for Time magazine. Below is an Internet meme of the debate participates in what has become known as the "death stare" by some. In this photo, a political parody of the intensity of the stare between the two men alludes to the blockbuster gay movie, "Brokeback Mountain."

Joe-Biden-Paul-Ryan-Brokeback-Mountain-Debate-Meme, Joe-Biden-Paul-Ryan-Brokeback-Mountain-Debate-Meme

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Help us to Increase Diversity at Occupy Queens (Jackson Heights)

Help us to increase diversity at Occupy Queens (Jackson Heights).

Join us Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at the QueensPride House.

RSVP on Facebook : Help us to increase diversity at Occupy Queens (Jackson Heights)

O17 Occupy Queens Spanish Flyer

Saturday, October 6, 2012

Mylene Farmer Timeless Concert Petition To Carnegie Hall

Friendly Cultural-Exchange and French Music Appreciation Petition to Carnegie Hall to Host Mylène Farmer's "Timeless" Concert in 2013.

Mylene Farmer Carnegie Hall Petition Photo Illustration Timeless Concert Tour

Mylène Farmer is a famous European singer, and, in 2013, she is launching a tour called "Timeless." Let's get everybody excited, so she will bring her tour to Carnegie Hall in New York City !

Sign the Change.org petition : Clive Gillinson, Executive and Artistic Director, Carnegie Hall: Bring Mylène Farmer in Concert to Carnegie Hall in 2013

In 2013, Mylène Farmer is launching a concert tour to promote her upcoming album, "Monkey Me." Mylène Farmer has many English-speaking fans, but she has yet to bring any of her concerts to the United States. If Carnegie Hall would host a concert for Mylène Farmer, it would be a United States exclusive. Win for her fans, win for Carneige Hall !

For this album, Mylène Farmer is reuniting with her long-time composer and artistic director, Laurent Boutonnat. She is known for artistic, high-concept music videos, and her music appeals to a wide cross section of fans given her long and successful career. She has many active internet fan clubs and a growing global fan base.

We ask Carnegie Hall to invite Mylène Farmer to host a concert for her American fans !

Interview with Bruce Afran NDAA Counsel to Plaintiffs

Bruce Afran, one of the counsel to the NDAA Plaintiffs, in the case : Hedges v. Obama was interviewed by livestreamer Recai Iskender in this undated video, which was updated onto YouTube on August 7, 2012.

Here is the May 15, 2012 court order issued by Judge Katherine Forrest.

2012-05-16-93845584-NDAA-Hearing-Decision

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Mylène Farmer Timeless Tour 2013

Friendly cultural-exchange petition to Carnegie Hall to Bring Mylène Farmer's concert to New York City in 2013.

The French superstar pop singer Mylène Farmer will release a new studio CD called "Monkey Me" in December 2013, and she will launch a tour in 2013.

European fan sites are buzzing with excitement and anticipation of Mylène's new tour.

And one U.S. fan has started a petition on Change.org addressed to the executive director of Carnegie Hall to host Mylène Farmer in 2013.

Here's a brief promotional video posted on YouTube last week :

For her "Timeless" tour, Mylène will be playing in the Bercy indoor stadium, unlike when, in 2009, she chose to play in the humongous Stade de France for two sold-out night during her tour to promote her studio album, "Point de suture." The last time Mylène performed in Bercy was in 2006, during her "Avant que l'ombre" tour.

Concert tickets for "Timeless" are moving fast !

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Obama Romney Budget Deficit Tax Reality Check

It's untruthful for both President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney to be running away from having some responsibility in the horrible federal budget deficits.

President Obama signed an extension of the Bush era tax cuts, and the GOP rigged it to be that way.

Austerity is in our future, because both the Democrats and Republicans in Washington are afraid to raise taxes on the 1%. And nobody gets pressed on the Robin Hood tax.

Instead, watch the livestream by Democracy Now. Democracy Now is expanding the debates and letting alternative candidates (like Jill Stein) participate in the presidential debates in real time.

Watch live streaming video from democracynow at livestream.com