Mythbusters banned from speaking about RFID chip by Visa and Mastercard

Host Adam Savage of Mythbusters tells how Visa, Mastercard, and Discover had the Discovery Channel put the kibosh on an episode that would have revealed just how “trackable and hackable” the RFID chips found in many credit cards are. It’s a telling example of how corporate advertisers serve as the gatekeepers of mainstream media/entertainment. (Gizmodo)

Activists Demand That Christine Quinn De-Fund Stop-And-Frisk

Quinn pressed on NYPD frisk policy

From The New York Post :

Dozens of activists blasted the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk program yesterday and called on City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to reform it.

“We expect her to share the sensibility that people in this community have when they are being targeted based on the color of their skin and who they are and their identity,” Louis Flores said before a march in Jackson Heights, Queens.

Quinn, a leading Democratic hopeful for mayor next year, has called on Mayor Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to reform the controversial practice. She has not yet taken a position on the four bills before the council to curtail it.

The group called on Quinn to cut the NYPD’s budget in order to do away with stop-and-frisk.

Although she negotiates and must approve the city budget every year, she can’t tell Kelly which programs to drop for lack of funds.

Critics decry as racist the practice of cops searching individuals they deem suspicious; Bloomberg and Kelly insist it has led to the city’s dramatic drop in murders.

#OWS Ustream of Stop Stop and Frisk March in Jackson Heights

#stopstopandfrisk march
Video streaming by Ustream
Video streaming by Ustream

Protesters March Against City Funding Of NYPD Stop-And-Frisks

Video streaming by Ustream

The artist and blogger Suzannah B. Troy dressed up as New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and marched with activists.

Protesters March Against City Funding Of NYPD Stop-And-Frisks

Approximately 40 protests gathered in the Jackson Heights plaza for a speak-out against the city budget that fully funds the NYPD program called stop-and-frisk.

Activists from several groups worked in collaboration to demand that if the New York City Council does not pass the Community Safety Act, then the City Council Speaker Christine Quinn should defund the NYPD of the resources that go to pay for the continuation of stop-and-frisk.

After activists denounced stop-and-frisk, activists then marched from 73rd Street and Roosevelt Avenue all the way to 90th Street and Roosevelt Avenue, and then activists marched back to 74th Street.

In the time that Christine Quinn has been Speaker of City Council, over 3.7 million New Yorkers have been stopped-and-frisked.

Push-Pull Relationship With NYPD In Jackson Heights

There's a push-pull relationship going on with the NYPD in Jackson Heights. Some neighborhoods are policed to the satisfaction of business owners, like along 82nd Street, but others not, like along 73rd Street.

Some neighborhoods are over-policed, because so many innocent people are being subjected to stop-and-frisk, like along Roosevelt Avenue, but others not, like along 34th Avenue.

It seems that prejudice is what drives these disparities, and, for some unmentionable reason, this situation is acceptable by decision-makers. I'm only mentioning the few blocks around where I live. I wonder what the experience is like on the other side of 74th Street, on the other side of Roosevelt Avenue, and on the other side of 82nd Street ?

Join us on Sunday at 1 pm in Jackson Heights for a protest against one of the chief political enablers of the "stop-and-frisk" policy : March Against Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk.

Each and every year, @chriscquinn approves the #NYPD budget without defunding #stopandfrisk facebook.com/events/2573144… @endstopfrisknow

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 24, 2012

Dr. Andrew Fagelman Receptionist Office Mgr Assaults Suzannah B. Troy

The blogger and artist Suzannah B. Troy was assaulted by Delita Hooks, and the NYPD made the assault disappear by coercing Ms. Troy into dropping the charges. This is how the NYPD fixes the crime statistics into creating an illusion that New York City is becoming a safer city under Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

March Against Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk Featured On NYCGA.NET

The March against Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk is being featured on NYCGA.NET.

Join us on Sunday, Dec. 30 at 1 p.m. at 74th Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights.

View March Against Christine Quinn/Stop-And-Frisk in a larger map

A Failure of Leadership

Nothing has come of the proposed law known as the Community Safety Act, and, under New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, probably nothing ever will. We need to defund the NYPD of the resources that go into allowing the police force to carry out the practise of stop-and-frisk.

If the City Council won't pass the Community Safety Act, then it needs to begin to defund the NYPD of our tax money. How can tax money be legally used to discriminate against citizens ? Title III of the Civil Rights Act prohibits state and municipal governments from denying access to public facilities on grounds of race, color, religion or national origin. Yet, isn't that exactly what the NYPD are doing ? Are they not denying us peaceful access and peaceful enjoyment to public spaces solely based on prejudices about race, color, religion or national origin ?

Christine Quinn Spokesman Josh Isay Spin Described As ''Silliness'' By The New York Times

''Fast One'' comment by @joshisay described as ''silliness'' by @powellnyt nytimes.com/2012/12/25/nyr… @chriscquinn @suzannahbtroy @donnymossnyc

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 26, 2012

Mental Healthcare Crisis In New York Caused By Spree Of Hospital Closings

Still no holiday wishes from New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn to the communities affected by all the hospital closings in New York City, but here's an update from The New York Times : Hurricane Shows Fragility of City’s Mental Health System

Fantasy on scottish melody "Auld Lang Syne" by Ambroise Thomas with Joseph Smith as Pianist

Fantasy on the scottish melody "Auld Lang Syne" written in 1835 by Ambroise Thomas (1811 - 1896). Just in time for the holiday season.

Put A Little Love In Your Heart - Jackie DeShannon

Chinese: Choral Tribute to Lily Allen by Capital Children's Choir

Grumpy Cat Christmas Meme

The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Oh Happy Day (1969)

The Edwin Hawkins Singers - Oh Happy Day (1969)

Yule Log with Holiday Music

Dalida - Noël Blanc

Même si la qualité d'image laisse à désirer, "Noël Blanc" interprètée par Dalida dans l'émission Belge "La Bonne Etoile", accompagnée de Jean Vallée et de Toto Cutugno. Joyeux Noël à tous.

Les Grilles De Ma Maison

It is believed that Dalida sang this song in 1967, shortly after her lover, Luigi Tenco, committed suicide. This explains why Dalida wept during the song, which was most likely not performed live.

Dalida's cover was based on an old Country and Western/Gospel song. Porter Wagoner famously recorded the song in 1965. Can you believe that Dalida would interpret a Country and Western/Gospel song into French ?

Dalida was a supremely gifted singer. The song in its English version was about an imprisoned man singing with nostalgia about his family and his childhood home. The prisoner was reminiscing, because he was about to face execution. When Dalida sang the song, the French recomposition of lyrics had a slightly different literal meaning. The song was no longer about a death row inmate facing death, but about reaching the gates of one's home, an allusion to the Gates of Heaven, perhaps, because of Tenco's suicide. Still, it is a very powerful and emotional song.

Help us support a petition to bring the famous French singer Mylène Farmer to Carnegie Hall.

"We Are Santa's Elves" - IN STEREO

"Desk Set" : Mexington Avenue Bus Scene : Merry Christmas !

The hilarious Mexington Avenue Bus scene from Desk Set.

Merry Christmas to all !

PBA Run Advertisements So They Won't Have To Change NYPD Culture, Stop-And-Frisk, Ticket-Fixing

All of a sudden now, the NYPD are worried about their "public relations." They are worried enough to pay thousands of dollars for advertisements, but not worried enough to change the policies, which give them the bad reputation that they have.

Our demand is that the City Council defund the NYPD of the resources that allows police to carry on their unconstitutional and discriminatory policy of using "stop-and-frisk" unfairly and illegally towards minority communities.

Join us on Sunday at 1 pm in Jackson Heights for a protest against one of the chief political enablers of the "stop-and-frisk" policy : March Against Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk.

Each and every year, @chriscquinn approves the #NYPD budget without defunding #stopandfrisk facebook.com/events/2573144… @endstopfrisknow

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 24, 2012

Intentional Fire Set To Occupy Sandy Hub In Brooklyn

A two-alarm fire that started around 4:30 a.m. outside the Church of St. Luke And St. Matthew at 515 Clinton Avenue appears to have been deliberately set, NY1 reported. Occupy Sandy volunteers and members of the congregation were worried about hurricane relief supplies and Christmas gifts for New Yorkers affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Since Hurricane Sandy made landfall, thousands of volunteers, included members of the Occupy Sandy movement, have used the Church of St. Luke And St. Matthew as an important hub for hurricane relief efforts.

Here's a look at some of the compelling and heroic volunteer efforts of Occupy Sandy activists, which at times has been the only direct assistance available to hurricane survivors :

Rev. Christopher Ballard told The Wall Street Journal that two gas canisters, which had been being stored outside the church, might have been used to start the fire. The Rev. Ballard said he was told by police that it "appeared someone had taken gas and poured it on the entrance and all along the facade and lit it on fire."

"By Sunday afternoon, the fire at St. Luke And St. Matthew remained under investigation and a $1,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest," NY1 reported.

The suspicious fire at the church came just hours after it was revealed that the FBI was spying on the Occupy Wall Street movement. Redacted FBI information showed that there were reports, which the FBI kept confidential, that there were plans to use snipers to assassinate leaders of Occupy Houston. Because the Occupy movement continues to push for social, legal, and economic reforms, activists involved with Occupy obviously remain the target of harm.

Political Spouses, Gender Roles, And Heterosexism

From City & State :

Earlier this month, a miniscandal erupted over a story with a lurid headline: “The Lesbian Past of Bill de Blasio’s Wife.” The central thesis seemed to be that Chirlane McCray (a.k.a. Mrs. de Blasio) is somehow duplicitous, because as a married woman with two children, she once identified as a lesbian.

Anyone who lived through the sexual revolution or received a liberal arts degree in the last 30 years might have failed to grasp the inherent conflict. Nevertheless, the sensational article strongly implied the existence of a public fraud.

Read more : Mrs. De Blasio And The Pigeonholing Of Political Spouses

Political spouses and the roles some of us want them to play : @agrenell @hunterw cityandstateny.com/mrs-de-blasio-… #LGBT #sexism #bias @chirlane

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 23, 2012

FBI OWS Documents

On Page 61, redacted notes show that a sniper was being planned to take out leadership of OWS protesters in Houston, Texas. It is unclear who was planning the sniper attacks.

FBI Occupy Wall Street "OWS" Documents

On 22 November 2011, the FBI lied when it said that it had no documents on the Occupy Wall Street protests : FBI Claims It Does Not Have Any Documents on Occupy Wall Street (Truthout)

Christina Gonzalez, Occupy Wall Street 9/24/11

Occupy Wall Street. Dozens of people have been arrested and bullied by police officers as they were protesting against the financial system. Christina Gonzalez is one of these women arrested. Interview realised Saturday, Sept. 24 2011.

NYC Economic Development Corporation Demands Secrecy Pacts With Public Officials And Their Staff

Is the New York City Economic Development Corporation violating sunshine laws ?

In her holiday newsletter, Assemblymember Deborah J. Glick reveals that the New York City Economic Development Corporation asked her office to leave the Civic Center Taskforce, because the Hon. Assemblymember and her staff refused to sign "secrecy pacts."

The New York City Economic Development Corporation is now coercing confidentiality agreements from any public official, who takes part in some of its meetings, hearings, or discussions.

This includes the staff of public officials.

When the Hon. Assemblymember and her office declined to sign a confidentiality agreement with the EDC, the EDC asked that the office of the Hon. Assemblymember leave the ECD's Civic Center Taskforce !

The EDC puts on the pretense that it is a transparent quasi-government institution, which uses public resources to push economic plans that are creating major deals for giant corporate interests. The EDC takes credit for helping to keep JetBlue's headquarters in New York City. But if this institution is going to be using taxpayer money for its corporate deals, what is it doing ring-fencing information away from the public about the public's business ?

Here is a link (http://www.nycedc.com/nycida/financial-public-documents) to the ECD's "public documents" page. No where on this link does any information appear that the EDC demands confidentiality agreements from public officials.

How can we have a transparent government that is accessible to its citizens, if the government is demanding that public officials enter into "secrecy pacts" that deny voters and taxpayers information about our government's business ?

Were confidentiality agreements the tool used by those with vested financial interests in the billion-dollar luxury condo conversion deal for St. Vincent's to silence our politicians and their official staff ? We may never know.

Here is the portion of Assemblymember Glick's holiday newsletter, which addresses the EDC's demands for secrecy pacts :

That Which Must Not Be Mentioned In a shocking and anti-democratic move, New York City's Economic Development Corporation has required anyone participating in the Civic Center Taskforce, as well as the Seward Park Taskforce, to sign a confidentiality agreement that essentially serves as a gag order. Because I believe in open government and transparency, I along with my staff refused to sign this agreement, and my office was asked to leave a Civic Center Taskforce Meeting we were participating in and denied the ability to participate in any future meetings. I understand the importance of having local representation, such as members of the Community Board, in the room and why some Taskforce members felt compelled to sign the agreement. However, presenting members with the option of maintaining complete secrecy or being denied a place at the table is on its face coercive and outrageous. There may have been some who thought it was no problem, and the fact that after ten years under the Bloomberg administration these types of secrecy pacts are viewed as standard operating procedure is perhaps even more disturbing. My office will not be party to community taskforces that do not allow for conversation with the community, and we are hopeful that the City will resume its work as a democracy in the near future.

Read also : Editorial: City Must Bring Transparency Back to Seward Park development site (SPURA)

Grumpy Cat Won't Save New York City ; Neither Will Christine Quinn

The #GrumpyCat Wont Save #NYC From #HospitalClosings Neither Will @chriscquinn christine-quinn-sold-out.blogspot.com/2012/12/Grumpy… twitter.com/stopchrisquinn…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 21, 2012

What Influence Does Carolyn Ryan Have Over Metropolitan Political Articles That Are Biased Against Joe Lhota ?

After having gone on a spree of Tweets ridiculing Joe Lhota's campaign for mayor, The New York Times metropolitan editor Carolyn Ryan's metropolitan desk then publishes a critical article of Mr. Lhota's campaign. Coïncidence ? Probably not.

Oh, Lordy ! I think @carolynryan ought to cut back on that #eggnog ! @joelhota @mattfleg @grynbaum twitter.com/carolynryan/st…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 19, 2012

Ooo-wee ! I'll have some of them brownies that @carolynryan is eating !! @mattfleg @grynbaum twitter.com/carolynryan/st… @donnymossnyc

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 19, 2012

A movement has begun: RT @juliweiner: HILLARY CLINTON FOR MTA CHIEF

— carolynryan (@carolynryan) December 19, 2012

Well, maybe @joelhota has #statenisland strategy. But @chriscquinn has @nytimes strategy. @carolynryan twitter.com/stopchrisquinn…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 19, 2012

Notice how The New York Times article of Mr. Lhota's campaign did not disclose that Kathryn S. Wylde, the president of the Partnership for New York City, was editorialised as the "city’s premier business association," and how it was not disclosed that Ms. Wylde is invested in the campaign of New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Furthermore, the article allowed Josh Isay, Speaker Quinn's campaign consultant, to openly criticize Mr. Lhota over MTA fare hikes. “Joe Lhota announced his resignation the day before the Lhota fare hike gets voted on,” Mr. Isay, the told The New York Times. “He may think he’s pulled a fast one, but voters are too smart for that.”

But the article did not mention the litany of criticisms that Progressives have with Speaker Quinn's political ethics -- ranging from the change in term limits, the spree of hospital closings, including of St. Vincent's Hospital in Speaker Quinn's very own City Council district, the reckless approval of the expansion of New York University, and the disruptive zone-busting development plan for Chelsea Market. Meanwhile, The New York Times chose to portray Speaker Quinn as a "presumptive front-runner for the Democratic nomination," even though that editorial qualification was not attributed.

If you were not aware, an average voter would read this article and think that Mr. Lhota was not a viable candidate, instead of the fact that biased reportage was portraying Mr. Lhota as such, according to predetermined agendas of the people involved in this article.

Does Josh Isay Spread Lies For Christine Quinn ?

Quinn "makes decisions based on what she thinks is right policy 4 NY," said @joshisay. Is it worth the $ 2 lie 4 her? cny.bz/RAKMAJ

— Defeat Chris Quinn (@donnymossnyc) December 18, 2012

Mamie Van Doren at the Chateau Marmont

Mamie at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood for a Dita Von Teese party given by C Magazine, South Coast Plaza, and Cointreau.

Video by Thomas Dixon.

Lhota Entry Into Mayoral Race Upsets Carolyn Ryan Over Quinn Tumble From Grace

Now that Joe Lhota is running for mayor, Twitterverse is in apoplexy over Carolyn Ryan's nervous breakdown. That's right, Ms. Ryan is worried that her favourite candidate, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, now will not be such a shoe-in to become mayor. Ms. Ryan is concerned that the business community will abandon Speaker Quinn in favour of Mr. Lhota.

Ms. Ryan recently had lunch with former Mayor Ed Koch, to talk about Speaker Quinn's election strategy.

Wow wonder what @chriscquinn is doing now? RT @carolynryan: BREAKING: @joelhota to step down from MTA on Friday, preparing run for mayor.

— Emma Gilbey Keller (@emmagkeller) December 18, 2012

Indeed, Ms. Ryan has begun a schmear campaign against Mr. Lhota over Twitter. I wonder what her superior editorial bosses at The New York Times have to say about this ?

Lhota once called Mike Bloomberg an "idiot" and told an elderly Holocaust survivor to "be a man" in dispute at hearingnyti.ms/SESwj8

— carolynryan (@carolynryan) December 19, 2012

Whereas Ms. Ryan's reporting may be factual, it is not objective for an editor to be attacking a mayoral candidate over Twitter, when she must supervise and edit the reportage of objective reporters. How is that possible ?

For New Yorkers, Having a Job No Longer Guarantees a Paycheck

For employees of restaurants, even trendy ones, having a job doesn't mean that you will get paid.

In January 2010, The New York Times reported that the popular Vietnamese restaurant Saigon Grill was facing allegations of "harassing and firing workers who protested age discrimination and expressed support for joining a union." These were the second set of labour violations against Saigon Grill.

In 2008, "... Saigon was forced to pay $4.6 million to its deliver workers, after a federal judge found that the owners at the time, Simon and Michelle Nget, regularly violated minimum-wage and overtime laws, paying their employees as little as $1.65 an hour," reported the Columbia Spectator.

All across New York City, restaurant employees were not getting paid. Employees of Flor de Mayo, Tomo Sushi, Vine Sushi and Sake, and Ollies, a popular restaurant with multiple locations, had to resort to legal action to collect their due wages.

Many of the restaurants, which owed employees millions in unpaid wages, filed for bankruptcy.

Many restaurant employees were not paid overtime, and the hourly wages that they were paid were "well below legal limits."

It's not known, but it was suspected, that the bankruptcy filings were a way for the restaurants to try to avoid making full payment of the back wages rightfully owed to their employees. Bankruptcy reorganisations allow companies to continue operating whilst they try to restructure or renegotiate their debts.

Restaurant employees, who work as deliverymen, are often immigrants with low occupational skills or language barriers, and many probably believe that they have no choice but to put up with the wage fraud by their employers. Some of the employees were "required to work 11 to 13 hours a day, usually six days a week," The New York Times reported, for example. Deliverymen at Saigon Grill were found to have been paid approximately $2 an hour. In their work situation, it would be easy for unscrupulous employers to exploit vulnerable employees.

Employees at popular New York City restaurants are not the only ones, who are risk of not getting paid their due wages.

What would have happened to the wage dynamic in New York City, had Wal-Mart been allowed to set up some of its huge stores here ?

Recently, a new labour movement was launched around employees at fast food restaurants, too. All this talk brings us to the issue : what is a "living wage" ?

Just because you might have a restaurant job in some of New York City's most busiest restaurants, it doesn't necessarily mean that you can count on your rightfully complete paycheck, much less a living wage.

What does this say about our economy, if the success of some businesses are premised on finding ways to seriously underpay their employees ?

The information about Saigon Grill and Ollies was from 2008 to 2010. Earlier this year, five locations of East Japanese Restaurants agreed to a court settlement for underpayment of and backwages to 225 current and former waiters, runners, and bussers for $1.25 million.

Are service industry employees being routinely exploited ?

Protest Against Christine Quinn and Stop and Frisk

Since she became Speaker of City Council, over 3.7 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked. Why is this acceptable ?

This is a sign of leadership failure.

Join us as we march and make the demand that City Council defund the NYPD of the resources so that the police can no longer continue their unconstitutional practice of stopping and frisking mostly innocent people of color.

Bring whistles. We will meet at 74th Street and Roosevelt Ave. in Jackson Heights, Queens. We will then march along Roosevelt Ave. -- and blow our whistles on stop-and-frisk !

Speaker Quinn seems to play a budget game with Mayor Michael Bloomberg, which follows tactics that scare people into thinking that the mayor will cut the NYPD budget. But it is all a game to score political points with voters, and it has nothing to do with real public safety or protection of our civil liberties and civil rights.

U.S. Demands to Assassinate Assange

High-level U.S. government officials, including Clinton and Biden, demand for the assassination of Assange and to list WikiLeaks as a terrorist organization. In this country, do we prosecute whistleblowers ?

White House Petition : Investigate the IRS Tax Exemption Status of Westboro Baptist Church

Investigate the IRS Tax-Exempt Status of the Westboro Baptist Church

The Westboro Baptist Church is better-known for homophobic displays, suing people and picketing funerals than for providing Christian care to a community. Due to their harassment and politicking, their IRS tax-exempt status should be immediately investigated.

Created: Dec 16, 2012

Related : Anonymous - Message to the Westboro Baptist Church [english]

Blog Comment Questions Integrity Of NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau

The Devil is a Liar! has left a new comment on your post "Adrian Schoolcraft Whistleblower Retaliation Update - The Snake Pit":

"So says Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office conducted a criminal investigation of the incident together with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau."

"Together with NYPD's Internal Affairs Bureau"

And there is the problem. The NYPD Internal Affairs Bureau and the NYPD Investigations Bureau is as crooked as it gets. Their main role seems to be tormenting the members of their own department who have angered or annoyed the brass. Look closely at what agencies have busted REAL criminal cops, I.e. gun runners, drug dealers, etc. and it becomes very clear that these criminals are most often caught by outside agencies. State police departments, Federal law enforcement agencies, etc. Rarely does the NYPD's own internal agencies catch real criminals.

Anonymous - Message to the Westboro Baptist Church [english]

Hello, Westboro Baptist Church.

Allow us to introduce ourselves. We are Anonymous.

As you may not have acknowledged our existence, we, on the otherhand, have recognized yours. We have seen your depraved methods of disseminating your message of hate throughout The United States of America. We have witnessed you defaming the memories of those who sacrificed themselves for the security of our nation, disrupting the peace of the educational environment within high schools and universities, breeding hatred within the fragile minds of your own next of kin, desecrating the name of God by protesting in the proximity of churches and synagogues, and mangling the biblical text to conform in accordance with your malevolent cause.

Your pseudo-faith is abhorrent, and your leaders, repugnant. Your impact and cause is hazardous to the lives of millions and you fail to see the wrong in promoting the deaths of innocent people. You are self-appointed servants of God who rewrite the words of His sacred scripture to adhere to your prejudice. Your hatred supersedes your faith, and you use faith to promote your hatred.

Since your one-dimensional thought protocol will conform not to any modern logic, we will not debate, argue, or attempt to reason with you. Instead, we have unanimously deemed your organization to be harmful to the population of The United States of America, and have therefore decided to execute an agenda of action which will progressively dismantle your institution of deceitful pretext and extreme bias, and cease when your zealotry runs dry. We recognize you as serious opponents, and do not expect our campaign to terminate in a short period of time. Attrition is our weapon, and we will waste no time, money, effort, and enjoyment, in tearing your resolve into pieces, as with exposing the incongruity of your distorted faith.

Anonymous possesses a plethora of information within our network about the many divisions of Christianity and numerous other religious doctrines. Many of us are versed in the biblical text, and we can identify each and every of your violations of scripture. You abuse the Holy Bible which you do not fully comprehend and know not of the thousands of authors to impose upon other people when you can simply coalesce with your loved ones and live in the manner you deem plausible. You engage in reciprocal fornication with another man and preach adultery as a sin. You, Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper violated Deuteronomy 5:18. As a result, your son Sam is the living, breathing proof of your act of simple loneliness. Simply put, it takes not a genius to realize an arrogant woman's loose moral string, and its predilection to progressively wither and fray.

From the time you have received this message, our attack protocol has past been executed and your downfall is underway. Do not attempt to delude yourselves into thinking you can escape our reach, for we are everywhere, and all-seeing, in the same sense as God. We are a body of individuals who fight for a purpose higher than self, and seek to bring the malevolent intent of the malefactors to light.

We will not allow you to corrupt the minds of America with your seeds of hatred. We will not allow you to inspire aggression to the social factions which you deem inferior. We will render you obsolete. We will destroy you. We are coming.

Everyone is equal.

We are Anonymous.

We are Legion.

We do not Forgive.

We do not Forget.

Expect us.

Protesta contra parar y revisar -- y contra Christine Quinn

Desde que se hizo la presidenta del Concejo Municipal, más de 3,7 millones de neoyorquinos se han pasado por el programa de policía de "parar y revisar." ¿Por qué es esto aceptable?

Únase a nosotros para marchar y exigir que el Concejo Municipal reduce los recursos proporcionados a la policía de Nueva York que permite a la policía para continuar con su práctica inconstitucional de "parar y revisar" a personas inocentes.

Traiga pitos. Nos reuniremos en la calle 74 y la Avenida Roosevelt. Entonces, nos marcharemos a lo largo de la avenida Roosevelt. Y soplamos nuestros pitos contra la programa de "parar y revisar."

New Adrian Schoolcraft Blog Is Launched To Support NYPD Whistleblower

A new blog to help support NYPD whistleblower Adrian Schoolcraft has been launched by the blogger Suzannah B. Troy.

Adrian Schoolcraft Support Blog fight NYPD Corruption suzannahbtroy.blogspot.com/2012/12/adrain…

— Suzannah B. Troy (@suzannahbtroy) December 16, 2012

Madrid Protest To Save Healthcare

Madrid: Living streaming video of healthcare workers taking to the streets to demand saving a public healthcare system.

Thousands demanding "not to privatize" health care system Why sell something that works? #Madrid PIC via @ja_santoro twitter.com/acampadabcn_in…

— acampadabcn_int (@acampadabcn_int) December 16, 2012

Occupy Sandy Protest Near Mayor Mike Bloomberg's Mansion

Several hundred citizens affected by Hurricane Sandy, healthcare professionals, activists, and members of Occupy Sandy relief effort participated in a rally and march near Fifth Avenue and East 79th Street to protest what organisers said was a lack of care and concern by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Hospitals that were evacuated due to hurricane damage have not reopened, and hurricane survivors are dealing with mold, no heat, no hot water, and no electricity in the winter. Healthcare professionals describe conditions that could lead to a public healthcare crisis. Yet, rally participants kept asking, "Where is Mayor Bloomberg?"

It wasn't confirmed, but many people speculated that Mayor Bloomberg could be spending this weekend in his palatial compound in the tropical island of Bermuda.

This independent video was made in solidarity with rally organizers to educate the public about Mayor Michael Bloomberg's lack of care and concern for survivors of Hurricane Sandy, and this video includes information about Bill Rudin : another billionaire, who also bears responsibility for some of the issues raised by some rally participants.

Read also : Nurses Will Picket Mayor Bloomberg's Mansion

For more information about hurricane relief efforts, please visit : http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/

Christine Quinn and Stop-And-Frisk : How Am I Doing ?

NEW YORK (AP) — The police practice known as stop and frisk has been part of the New York Police Department's crime-fighting strategy since the early 1990s, but the number of stops shot up in the last decade. The vast majority of those stopped have been black or Hispanic.

Since she became Speaker of City Council, over 3.7 million New Yorkers have been stopped and frisked. Why is this acceptable ?

Take a 5 seconds to like us on Facebook : Queers Against Christine Quinn

A look at the numbers:

2002

Number of stops: 97,296

2003

Number of stops: 160,851

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 31 percent Hispanic.

2004

Number of stops: 313,523

Demographics: 55 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2005

Number of stops: 398,191

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2006

Number of stops: 506,491

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 29 percent Hispanic.

2007

Number of stops: 472,096

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 31 percent Hispanic.

2008

Number of stops: 540,302

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2009

Number of stops: 581,168

Demographics: 55 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

2010

Number of stops: 601,285

Demographics: 54 percent of those stopped were black, 33 percent Hispanic.

2011

Number of stops: 685,724

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 34 percent Hispanic.

2012 (first six months)

Number of stops as of June 30: 337,434

Demographics: 53 percent of those stopped were black, 32 percent Hispanic.

___

Source: New York Police Department and New York Civil Liberties Union

Related : Quinn Says Next Mayor Would Be ‘Lucky’ To Have Kelly Stay As Commish

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Suzannah B. Troy and Louis Flores In Front of Clayton Patterson's Door

A photo of me with Suzannah B. Troy, from 2010. Photo Copyright © 2010 by Clayton Patterson.

Christine Quinn Campaign Crisis Management Mode

Serious Questions About Electability Of Perceived Front-Runner In Mayor’s Race

Does @chriscquinn need #crisismanagement even b4 she declares her campaign to be mayor of #NYC in 2013 ? nytimes.com/2012/12/13/nyr…

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) December 13, 2012

From The New York Times :

After months of maintaining a cool, above-the-fray approach to the 2013 mayoral race, Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and presumptive candidate-to-beat next year, is enduring the first bumps of what may be a pockmarked road to the Democratic primary.

This week, Ms. Quinn was criticized for a campaign finance bill that opponents — including her most important ally, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg — said would tear a loophole in New York City’s election spending rules.

On television, there was Alec Baldwin, the temperamental actor, telling Piers Morgan’s national audience on CNN that Ms. Quinn had “blood on her hands” for supporting Mr. Bloomberg’s successful bid to circumvent term limits.

Read more : Hints at Steeper Road to Victory for Perceived Front-Runner in Mayor’s Race

Adrian Schoolcraft Whistleblower Retaliation Update - The Snake Pit

Queens District Attorney Rules That No Crime Took Place When NYPD Retaliated Against Whistleblower Cop Adrian Schoolcraft By Throwing Him In The Psych Ward Of Jamaica Hospital. Only In New York, Kids, Only In New York.

From NYPD Confidential :

Neither the NYPD nor Jamaica Hospital committed a crime when they forcibly took whistleblower cop Adrian Schoolcraft from his home and held him in the hospital’s psych ward against his will for three days.

If you are a whistleblower, how the NYPD treats you is by labeling you an emotionally disturbed person [EDP], and then, in a supreme act of retaliation and cruel and unusual punishment, by throwing you in the Snake Pit.

So says Queens District Attorney Richard Brown, whose office conducted a criminal investigation of the incident together with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau.

According to a draft report, which was obtained by NYPD Confidential, Brown concluded that both the police and the hospital doctors acted reasonably because they believed Schoolcraft to be an emotionally disturbed person [EDP]. ...

Read more : DA: No Crime to Throw Cop Whistleblower in Psych Ward

No word, yet, if New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn has an opinion about the injustice facing Mr. Schoolcraft. :'(

Oregon Mall Shooting

(CNN) -- Panicked customers rushed to the exits when a gunman opened fire Tuesday at a mall outside Portland, Oregon. Some people huddled behind store counters and hid behind racks of clothing. The mall's Santa dropped to the ground. Read more : 3 dead in Oregon mall shooting

[Oregon mall shooting] Sheriff's Department spokesperson: Gunman took lives of two people, another fighting for her life in hospital

— Matthew Keys (@TheMatthewKeys) December 12, 2012

Landfill Harmonic Documentary In Production

Landfill Harmonic is an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable musical orchestra in Paraguay, where young musicians play instruments made from trash. Producers have released an inspiring short video about their film, which is going viral on Facebook and over the Internet. For more information about the film, please visit facebook.com/landfillharmonicmovie.

Landfill Harmonic film teaser from Landfill Harmonic on Vimeo.

Favio Chavez, director of the orchestra of recycled instruments on a Paraguayan landfill, and his luthier Nicolas Gomez have just posted a photo of their latest visit to the landfill site in Catuera, where little children aspire through music to rise from a life of danger and misery. The film they are making is touching millions of hearts. Watch a trailer here. It could make you rethink your life in music. (Arts Journal)

Ramarley Graham Murder Trial - Pack The Courthouse

Tomorrow Pack The Courthouse in support of Ramarley Graham and his family @ 8:30am Bronx Criminal Courthouse 265 E 161st Street in The Bronx.

Grumpy Cat Hospital Closings Meme

Driver Attempts To Pull Over Cop

A Michigan man says a canine police officer was driving recklessly without a seatbelt.

Man Attempts To Pull Over Detroit Cop For Not Wearing Seat Belt (VIDEO)

Holyoke False Arrest USDC Massachusetts Ruling

Robert Levine vs Holyoke Massachusetts PD - St. Patricks Day Parade Arrest - First Amendment

Christine Quinn's Watergate ?

Will Quinn's Weaker Campaign Finance Bill Lead To Her Very Own Private Watergate ?

Finding loopholes to funnel unlimited amounts of unregulated campaign cash to influence elections was the scandal, along with the break-in and cover-up, that lead to Watergate and President Richard Nixon's resignation.

When given the chance, why does New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fight progressive campaign finance reforms ? Why is less campaign finance regulation better ?In the aftermath of the dangerous Citizens United court ruling, which unleashed unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, why would Speaker Quinn want to go down that route ? What role does campaign money play in her political decisions ?

From The New York Times :

Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and an expected candidate for mayor next year, is supporting a change to New York City’s campaign finance rules that would significantly expand the ability of unions, corporations and advocacy groups to spend money on behalf of local candidates. ...

Critics said the measure, introduced nine months ahead of what is expected to be a closely contested mayoral race, would effectively outsmart the city’s stringent campaign finance system, which tries to rein in spending by interest groups and candidates alike. ...

[C]ritics of the legislation said it would create a new and weaker definition of “coordination,” a change that the Campaign Finance Board says would make it virtually impossible to prove that a mailing was illegally coordinated with a candidate. ... (The New York Times : Quinn Supports Loosening Rules On Campaign Financing By Corporations)

From The Wall Street Journal :

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a likely contender for mayor next year, has riled the agency that administers the city's public campaign-financing system by pushing new legislation that opponents contend would significantly expand the power of unions, corporations and other groups in local elections. (The Wall Street Journal : Quinn Lashed On Campaign Legislation)

Remember, Speaker Quinn is the one, who, in spite of criticism, continues to use slush funds and lulus to thwart the democratic process in City Council.

Are self-serving choices, like supporting weaker campaign finance regulations, one of the reasons why Alec Baldwin said that Speaker Quinn is ''untrustworthy'' ?

Will Christine Quinn's Legislation Create Citizens United in New York City ?

Will Quinn's Weaker Campaign Finance Bill Lead To Her Very Own Private Watergate ?

Finding loopholes to funnel unlimited amounts of unregulated campaign cash to influence elections was the scandal, along with the break-in and cover-up, that lead to Watergate and President Richard Nixon's resignation.

When given the chance, why does New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn fight progressive campaign finance reforms ? Why is less campaign finance regulation better ?In the aftermath of the dangerous Citizens United court ruling, which unleashed unlimited corporate spending in political campaigns, why would Speaker Quinn want to go down that route ? What role does campaign money play in her political decisions ?

From The New York Times :

Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and an expected candidate for mayor next year, is supporting a change to New York City’s campaign finance rules that would significantly expand the ability of unions, corporations and advocacy groups to spend money on behalf of local candidates. ...

Critics said the measure, introduced nine months ahead of what is expected to be a closely contested mayoral race, would effectively outsmart the city’s stringent campaign finance system, which tries to rein in spending by interest groups and candidates alike. ...

[C]ritics of the legislation said it would create a new and weaker definition of “coordination,” a change that the Campaign Finance Board says would make it virtually impossible to prove that a mailing was illegally coordinated with a candidate. ... (The New York Times : Quinn Supports Loosening Rules On Campaign Financing By Corporations)

From The Wall Street Journal :

City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a likely contender for mayor next year, has riled the agency that administers the city's public campaign-financing system by pushing new legislation that opponents contend would significantly expand the power of unions, corporations and other groups in local elections. (The Wall Street Journal : Quinn Lashed On Campaign Legislation)

Remember, Speaker Quinn is the one, who despite criticism, continues to use slush funds and lulus to thwart the democratic process in City Council.

Are self-serving choices, like supporting weaker campaign finance regulations, one of the reasons why Alec Baldwin said that Speaker Quinn is ''untrustworthy'' ?

New York Politicians Close Hospitals, Endanger Public Health

Update On Hospital Activism In New York City Following Hurricane Sandy Aftermath, Berger Commission Scorched Earth Campaign, and Medicaid Redesign Team Destruction

The latest article about the hospital closings in New York City caused by Hurricane Sandy shows that the irresponsible Berger Commission and Medicaid Redesign Team actions to close down hospitals is endangering public health.

The math is unforgiving: people get sick, and they now have nowhere else to go, a problem exacerbated by the shutdown of St. Vincent’s hospital in the West Village. Last year, emergency rooms at the city’s Bellevue Hospital Center and the private NYU Langone Medical Center saw nearly 150,000 patients combined, according to state Department of Health data. In November alone, the third busiest month for both hospitals, more 14,000 patients received care. And the lion’s share are now being cared for by Beth Israel. (The New York World)

Note : the closing of St. Vincent's wasn't only tied to the attitude up in Albany to close hospitals under the severe safety net-shredding Berger/MRT austerity budget cuts, but also due to the self-seeking motivations by politicians, such as New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Some of the St. Vincent's activists have launched a letter-writing campaign to newspapers ; Gov. Cuomo ; and to Dr. Shah, the health commish.

Urgent care needed
Manhattan: Rep. Gregory Meeks and Anthony Weiner’s guest column on the need for a hospital to serve the Rockaways, especially after Sandy, points up the need for a safety net everywhere (“The Rockaways, on solid ground,” Nov. 28). The lower west quadrant of Manhattan has had no hospital since St. Vincent’s closed. In addition, several nearby hospitals were forced to shut down temporarily because of Sandy. We need well-constructed, full-service hospitals in good strategic positions to serve communities and avoid storm damage. -- Carol F. Yost

Despite Public Health Risks Caused By Hurricane Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo Is Still Dangerously Obsessed With Closing More Hospitals.

Meanwhile, given the dire hospital situation in Brooklyn (Interfaith Files For Bankruptcy ; Half of Brooklyn hospitals on life support), nobody knows if the healthcare money from Hurricane Sandy aid will be used to make sure that we equally meet the healthcare needs of patients across all five boroughs.

When Hurricane Sandy struck, NYU Langone was in the middle of fundraising for a $3 billion renovation/upgrade. Few hospitals have those kinds of resources.

But of the first $200 million in federal aid receive for hurricane relief, Langone received $114 million. (NY Daily News) * How are politicians prioritising which medical centers get funded ? Based on need, or based on the corruptive influence of special interests ?

No word yet on whether Gov. Andrew Cuomo will set aside some of the billions in hurricane relief aid to fund a healthcare system that will equally meet the healthcare needs of patients across all five boroughs of New York City, much less the resumption of operations at Bellevue and Coney Island hospitals.

Look for healthcare activists to escalate their protests, to push back on these irresponsible healthcare cuts that impact poor people. Research shows that because we do not have a truly universal, single-payer healthcare system, the network of fractured healthcare providers that we do have do not make available healthcare services to everybody, equally. One of the leading reasons that poor people rely on hospitals or emergency rooms for healthcare is because there are few physicians with medical practices in their neighborhoods, much less a true means for poor people to afford primary healthcare. Given that Gov. Cuomo is now targeting the less wealthy central neighborhoods of Brooklyn for hospital closings, the governor is gutting the few remaining safety net healthcare services still available to the uninsured and underinsured. How much can the governor cut healthcare before people start suffering for lack of emergency medical treatment ?

Alec Baldwin : Christine Quinn has "blood on her hands," because she changed term limits

Video: Alec Baldwin Says Christine Quinn Is "Untrustworthy," Has "Blood On Her Hands"

Alec Baldwin dropped by CNN's Piers Morgan program last night and he said that City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is "untrustworthy." Unfortunately, Mr. Baldwin didn't mention the post-Hurricane Sandy risk to public health following closing of St. Vincent's Hospital, but he did say that Speaker Quinn has "blood on her hands" from the over-turning of term limits. (read more : The Gothamist)

Piers Morgan : The last time we spoke, you were flirting with the idea of possibly running for mayor of New York. Are you still flirting with it ?

Alec Baldwin : No, because to do so - I mean, I was convinced, and people told me - although it was something that I would have loved to have done, truly, you would have to take about a year and a half of your life to do nothing but to raise money. And I didn't have time, because I'm doing the TV show now, and I have other commitments. But I'm very interested in what the post-Bloomberg New York will look like.

Piers Morgan : Who would you like to see of all the names you have heard in the frame outside of yours ?

Alec Baldwin : Probably Bill de Blasio. Right now, I'd have to say Bill de Blasio.

Piers Morgan : Why ?

Alec Baldwin : Well because, first of all, I start looking at the other candidates, all of whom have good qualities. The thing that concerns me most is obviously about Quinn. I've been very outspoken about Quinn, who's a lovely person. But she certainly is Bloomberg's hand-picked successor. And I resent that to some degree that Bloomberg feels he needs to control the fate of City Hall and of Gracie Mansion beyond his term. He already over-turned a voter-approved referendum that had term limits for two terms. Quinn has that blood on her hands. She was the one, who single-handedly killed the voter referendum at Bloomberg's behest and gave him a third term. And I was very, very upset about that. And I just don't think that Quinn is trustworthy. I think that she's a very, very - she's a very nice person, I've met her. But in terms of her political aspirations, she's a very untrustworthy person. She's very, very self-seeking.

Hunter Walker Responds To LGBTQ Critics ; Stays In Denial

Does Hunter Walker's response to LGBTQ critics reveals that he's a heterosexist in denial ?

@ddasilvacornell @jakebgoodman @lgbtcivilrights @maslowsneeds @gays4change @ljoywilliams @sarahrodeo @squarepeg_dem twitter.com/hunterw/status…

— Hunter Walker (@hunterw) December 6, 2012

Following a barrage of comments questioning the motivations and competency of Hunter Walker's article, Mr. Walker posted an inadequate response to his critics. Consider firstly how Mr. Walker claims that he wrote his story about Ms. McCray as a "political figure in her own right," but notice how Ms. McCray was subjugated as "Bill de Blasio's wife" in the original article's headline. Secondly, Mr. Walker avoids expressing any arguments as to why Ms. McCray's exploration of her sexual orientation should be political news in respect of the 2013 mayoral race. How did he intend to use "news" about Ms. McCray's sexual orientation ? What was his purpose to focus so much attention on Ms. McCray's marriage to Mr. de Blasio ? What do you think ?

Mr. Walker criticises the de Blasio-McCray marriage because of Ms. McCray's lesbian writings, but Mr. Walker never explains what kind of conforming wife a lesbian should be, to make her suitable for marriage ? Do you think that Mr. Walker comes across as a heterosexist in denial ?

From : "The Lesbian Past of Bill de Blasio's Wife" :

This article has generated many responses, including from some who have suggested it was inappropriate to cover this or that I have displayed a misunderstanding of human sexuality and the fluidity of sexual identity. One of the main issues raised by those who were not pleased with this story is that it is somehow not newsworthy and/or that family members of politicians should be "off limits."

There is no question in my mind that this story is news. Ms. McCray is a political figure in her own right. She is a top advisor on her husband's campaign, regularly speaks at his events, has taken a leading role on many political initiatives with him and writes regularly on the campaign site. Additionally, both Ms. McCray and Mr. de Blasio regularly write political columns together and have given several interviews about political aspects of their personal life. She has chosen to be a public, prominent figure on his campaign and in the New York City political world in general.

Furthermore, this story is not about digging into her private life. As outlined in this article Ms. McCray's past life as a lesbian involved being a fairly prominent lesbian activist. As this story notes, Combahee River Collective was a landmark group. It is incredibly interesting that Ms. McCray and her husband's campaign have (rather actively) omitted mentioning this aspect of her past including the characterization of the CRC as simply a "feminist" group. I do not think there is any question that identifying the past activism of a prominent political figure is news. It adds to her biography and raises interesting questions about why she and her husband's campaign have strenuously avoided noting this part of her past.

Critics of this story have cited the sentence where I said, "It is unclear how she transitioned from a self-described lesbian who was confident that she 'had always been more attracted to women, both emotionally and physically, than to men' to a political wife in a heterosexual marriage." It has been suggested that this displays some fundamental misunderstanding of the fact that people's sexual identities are often subject to change. That is not the case at all. Most people have evolving and individual concepts of their sexuality. I would have loved to discuss this with Ms. McCray and to have heard about how her identity evolved directly from her. I made many attempts to do this and would still be very interested in a conversation. Without speaking to Ms. McCray, making any definitive statements or assumptions about the evolution of her sexual identity would not have been respecting the fluid and changing nature of human sexuality. It would have been the exact opposite.

Lastly, and I debated whether to even dignify this with a response and give it further attention, some people have suggested this article is somehow "shaming" Ms. McCray and/or criticizing her and her husband. I defy anyone to point to any passages here that imply in any way that there is anything wrong about being homosexual. Those who would suggest that pointing her past activism and self-identification out is somehow "shaming" her are the ones implying being gay is something to be ashamed of, not me.

Many dissenting messages were also delivered to Mr. Walker via Twitter. Check out his @hunterw Twitter feed for the period of December 5-7, 2012.