Queens Carwash Employees Vote To Unionize

Employees at Astoria Car Wash and Hi-Tek 10 Minute Lube Inc., a carwash in Queens, overwhelmingly voted to form a union, The New York Times reported. Union organizers said the union vote was the "first major victory in a six-month effort in New York City to unionize workers in an industry the organizers say is rife with labor law violations," in the words of The NYTimes.

Gary Tilzer Follows JCOPE Implosion

New York State Government In Crisis Mode : "The Wheels Are Coming Off State Government"

The political blogger Gary Tilzer continues to relentlessly post updates about the impact that the investigation into the settlement payments to claimants of sexual harassment against Assemblyman Vito Lopez has now spread and engulfed many politicians in Albany.

Just one recent example was the resignation of a critical member of the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE). The member resigned last Friday after having issued a scathing critique about the political machinations that interferes with the commission's due process and with its general operational independence.

"Without personal integrity, there can be no real public ethics ; only the farce of appearing ethical," wrote former JCOPE commission member Ravi Batra.

According to Mr. Tilzer, The New York Times minimised reporting about Mr. Batra's resignation from the JCOPE, which has now become widely viewed as politically-manipulated by the politicians, who make appointments to the ethics panel. If JCOPE is so compromised as to be rendered ineffective, then the state's governor, Andrew Cuomo, may exercise powers given him under the Moreland Act to investigate or appoint officials to a "Moreland Commission" to investigate corruption.

"NYT Also Buried the Batra Resignation With Only 38 Words . . . The NYT Did Not Report Any of the Charges Batra Made Is His Letter of Resignation," wrote Mr. Tilzer.

Why do horses work in dangerous traffic in Times Square ?

From Elizabeth Forel :

Horses are allowed to work in Times Square in the evenings until 3:00 am. Take a look at these pictures and this video :

These horses do not belong on the streets of New York City. What possible attraction could there be to riding in a carriage on crowded, filthy, smelly streets with bright lights and excessive noise led by a dispirited horse whose vision and probably hearing are impaired?

Where is our humanity? How can we continue to allow this inhumane and unsafe business to exist in New York City? Luckily, many people want it to end – all polls since 2006 have shown that between 75 and 80 percent of respondents want this business to be shut down.

This is why we ask you to join us in supporting the health and wellbeing of horses : please sign a petition endorsing the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the NYS legislature to prohibit the use of horse-drawn carriages in New York City.

VIDEOS : Tornados Hit Queens and Brooklyn in NYC

Videos made by average citizens and posted onto YouTube show the dangerous storm clouds and show one tornado that caused damage on the ground in Queens, New York.

WABC : Tornadoes confirmed in Brooklyn and Queens

2 tornadoes strike in NYC; no injuries reported (Houston Chronicle)

Bloomberg Quinn Handschu Agreement Violations ?

Note how NYPD filmed the evacuation of Liberty Square/Zuccotti Park :

Are NYPD Intelligence Division violating terms of the Handschu Agreement ?

On September 6, 2012, activists against the Fracking Pipeline that is proposed to run through the West Village organised a demonstration along the West Side Highway. At that protest, a white shirt police officer was caught video taping lawful political activities of the protesters. If the protesters were only engaged in lawful political activities on September 6, as it surely does appear, then does the monitoring of the protesters by the NYPD not violate the Handschu Agreement ?

The Handschu agreement is a court ruling from the case Handschu v. Special Services Division, 605 F.Supp. 1384, affirmed 787 F.2d 828, that brought about guidelines that regulate police behavior in New York City with regard to police monitoring of citizens' political activity (Wikipedia).

A large coalition of activist groups accused police of compiling information to punish and repress lawful dissent, according to Wikipedia.

For the last year, the NYPD and the Bloomberg administration have been monitoring the Occupy Wall Street movement since before activists began their occupation in Liberty Square. In 2011, NYPD used camcorders to videotape protesters during a march against the execution of Troy Davis. On one occasion in 2012, Occupy activists caught the NYPD engaged in monitoring the lawful political activities by #OWS.

Because New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg gives direct orders to NYPD, what kind of approval has he made about any illegal monitoring acts by the New York Police Department ? Does this video appear to show that NYPD Intelligence Division assault reporters, block news cameras, and attack the Freedom of the Press to benefit Mayor Bloomberg ?

For her part, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn is one of the handful of city politicians, who can give orders to NYPD. What kind of oversight, approval, or objections has she made about any illegal monitoring acts by the New York Police Department ? Would it be considered surprising if word began to spread that Speaker Quinn is now using officers from the NYPD Intelligence Division for security at protests ?

See also : The NYPD'S Intelligence Division: Has It Gone Rogue ?

Commission Member Quits JCOPE ; Calls For Federal Investigation

Ravi Batra, a commissioner on the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics, has resigned due to reasons related to lax oversight by the JCOPE. Mr. Batra said he hoped that his resignation would force JCOPE to focus on "honest and independent ethics enforcement so as to actually restore public confidence in government and public service."
(True News From Change NYC)

Mr. Batra made a request for a federal investigation into wrongdoings at JCOPE. Because of strict confidentiality rules, which oppress whistleblowers, Mr. Batra said he could not provide details about his claims of shady dealings.

• RELATED : JCOPE Member Says “Au Revoir” And Resigns
• RELATED : Ravi Batra To JCOPE: Shape Up Or I Quit

CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer Reacts To Romney Felony Accusations

Cenk Uygur breaks down CNN Anchor Wolf Blitzer's reaction to Stephanie Cutter (Obama campaign representative) accusing Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney of a felony. Blitzer's reaction is a perfect representation of how the main stream media has reacted to this charge, Mr. Uygur said.

Save Bradley Manning Rally Outside Obama NYC Campaign Headquarters

On the Evening of President Obama's Acceptance Speech at the Democratic National Convention, Activists Demand Freedom and Liberty for PFC Bradley Manning.

A coalition of activists and members of groups, like World Can't Wait, Veterans For Peace, and others, showed up for a rally outside of President Barack Obama's NYC campaign headquarters to demand freedom for LGBT service member and whistleblower PFC Bradley Manning. PFC Manning faces 22 charges in an unjust court martial, which denies him due process and other basic civil rights. PFC Manning faces government accusations that he released government documents and videos to WikiLeaks.

For more information, please visit : BradleyManning.org or CourageToResist.org or WorldCantWait.net

If you believe that whistleblowers should not be prosecuted, please ask President Obama to release PFC Manning -- send Tweets to the White House at : @whitehouse and @BarackObama

Has NYPD Become A Lawless Unit, Making NYC A Police Dictatorship ?

The New York Police Department may be involved in some unlawful activities, reported Jason Leopold and Matthew Harwood on Truthout. (If the NYPD has become lawless, then are social movement activists being targeted for silence and arrest to prevent government reforms that would hold police accountable ?)

According to an e-mail that was leaked by Anonymous, a high-ranking FBI official repeated information on a what appears to be an official listserv :

I keep telling you, you and I are going to laugh and raise a beer one day, when everything Intel (NYPD's Intelligence Division) has been involved in during the last 10 years comes out - it always eventually comes out. They are going to make [former FBI Director J. Edgar] Hoover, COINTEL, Red Squads, etc look like rank amatures [sic] compared to some of the damn right felonious activity, and violations of US citizen's rights they have been engaged in.

During the last 10 years, Michael Bloomberg has been mayor and Raymond Kelly has been commissioner of the police department.

Are citizens living under laws of order that do not apply to police ? These and other important questions are raised from the information, which was contained in an e-mail sent to Fred Burton, a former counterterrorism official at the State Department, who is now an intelligence officer at Stratfor.

Read more : Hacked Intel Email: NYPD Involved in ''Damn Right Felonious Activity''

Whatever Happened to Baby Jane ? Sung By Bette Davis

The song "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane ?" sung by Bette Davis for television on the Andy Williams show.

Aaron Schock Denies He Is Gay Again

Republican Congressman Aaron Schock of Illinois has been running away from rumors that he is gay ever since he took office in 2009, and last week he denounced new questions into his sexual orientation as “inappropriate and ridiculous” and not “worthy of further response,” the writer Michelangelo Signorile wrote in The Huffington Post.

Read more : GOP Rep. Aaron Schock Responds To Gay Rumors, Anti-Gay Voting Record

Never thought a pic of me w/ my shirt on would go viral.Learned my lesson and burned the belt.

— Aaron Schock (@repaaronschock) June 14, 2010

NYPD Cops secretly meet man with Assault Rifle !

From a video posted to YouTube by http://nycresistance.blogspot.com :

I come across what I thought was about to be a Stop and Frisk but turned out to be a secret meeting between a group of NYPD cops and a Latino male with an assault rifle.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg claims he wants to get guns off the street when NYC has sold 28,000 pounds of spent shell casings to a Georgia ammunition store to be turned into new bullets. The Mayor is a hypocrite and will do anything to disarm you and turn a profit for himself. ...

John Catsimatidis Supports Stop And Frisk

In video posted to YouTube by http://nycresistance.blogspot.com, John Catsimatidis is interviewed by Channel 7 Eyewitness News :

After just falling short of telling how much money current Mayor Michael Bloomberg was going to spend to usurp a 3rd term as mayor of New York City, Bloomberg's lackey John Catsimatidis chokes when Eyewitness News reporter asks him a question about Raymond Kelly's Stop & Frisk policy.

He desperately tries to defend the illegitimate policy as he fumbles with words to justify the unconstitutional and racist program that overwhelmingly targets young men of color and the poor. If all politicians were this stupid, America wouldn't be the fascist police state it is today.

New e-Book Says Navy Seal Wrote "No Easy Day" Book After a Slight

Matt Bissonnette, who wrote about the military operation to assassinate Osama bin Laden in the book, “No Easy Day,” broke the commando "code of silence” because of “bad blood” with his former unit, according to a new e-book written by other Special Operations veterans. Mr. Bissonnette was a former member of the elite SEAL Team 6, was the object of retaliation and "effectively pushed out of SEAL Team 6 after he expressed interest last year in leaving the Navy and starting a business," reported The New York Times. Mr. Bissonnette's book has triggered a legal backlash from the Pentagon, which has threatened to take legal action against Mr. Bissonnette for writing "No Easy Day."

Related : NYTimes : Books of The Times Review : ‘No Easy Day’ (September 3, 2012

"Illusions" author Richard Bach Survives Airplane Crash

Richard Bach, author of bestselling books, has survived an airplane crash that took place last Friday, the Associated Press reported. Mr. Bach is recovering in a hospital in Seattle after his single-engine amphibian airplane clipped power lines Friday, according to the AP report. Mr. Bach's son, James, said that his father was improving, even though his medical condition is described as "serious." It was described that the elder Mr. Bach received a head injury and broken shoulder as a result of the airplane crash. Mr. Bach is the author of the novels Jonathan Livingston Seagull, a parable about a seagull, who makes his own way in life, and Illusions, another parable about a pair of biplane pilots.