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Babes of the Day - This is 18 and older. Rest assured I will offend you and rest assured I don't give a fuck! If you don't like crude hum or and think you will report me don't like my page. For those with the ability to laugh and take a joke welcome.
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MOTORCYCLE BABES OF THE DAY
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NSA Blasted for 'Flagrant Violation' of Privacy
OFF THE WIRE
(CN) - A Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court judge slammed the National Security Agency in 2009 for an apparent "flagrant violation" of the privacy rights of U.S. citizens through nearly three years of unauthorized searches of telephone records, according to newly declassified documents.
The Director of National Intelligence released the top-secret documents on Tuesday in response to a California lawsuit filed after details of a massive surveillance program were leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The newly revealed documents include a furious Jan. 28, 2009 top-secret order signed by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Judge Reggie Walton slamming government lawyers for "what appears to be a flagrant violation" of a court order to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens.
This refers to an "alert list process" that the NSA developed to pull up telephone identifiers believed to have met a "reasonable articulable suspicion" standard, the documents show.
Violations of that standard continued from May 2006 to January 2009 on a "daily basis," the judge found.
In the five-page order, Walton demands that someone with the "authority to speak on behalf of the Executive Branch" answer what caused the violations and how long they had been happening.
The government submitted a 110-page report on Feb. 12, 2009 acknowledging that it lacked a "shared understanding" of the program.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the digital privacy group that filed the case that led to these documents' disclosure, released a statement calling that a "breathtaking admission: the NSA's surveillance apparatus, for years, was so complex and compartmentalized that no single person could comprehend it."
Judge Walton's order responding to the government's lengthy report on March 2, 2009 summarizes that only 1,935 of the 17,835 identifiers on the alert list met the reasonable suspicion standard.
"The government has compounded its non-compliance with the court's orders by repeatedly submitting inaccurate descriptions of the alert process to the FISC," he wrote.
Walton allowed the program to continue, however, based on "the government's repeated representations" that the metadata collection "is vital to national security."
The American Civil Liberties Union's staff attorney Alex Abdo said in a statement, "The documents provide further evidence that secret and one-sided judicial review is not an adequate check on the NSA's surveillance practices."
He is one of the lawyers fighting a separate lawsuit in Manhattan for an injunction curbing the NSA's massive telephone data collection.
"The so-called 'compliance incidents' are troubling, but this is a program that should never have been authorized to begin with," Abdo said. "The NSA should end the bulk collection of information about Americans."![]()
The Director of National Intelligence released the top-secret documents on Tuesday in response to a California lawsuit filed after details of a massive surveillance program were leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.
The newly revealed documents include a furious Jan. 28, 2009 top-secret order signed by Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Judge Reggie Walton slamming government lawyers for "what appears to be a flagrant violation" of a court order to protect the privacy rights of U.S. citizens.
This refers to an "alert list process" that the NSA developed to pull up telephone identifiers believed to have met a "reasonable articulable suspicion" standard, the documents show.
Violations of that standard continued from May 2006 to January 2009 on a "daily basis," the judge found.
In the five-page order, Walton demands that someone with the "authority to speak on behalf of the Executive Branch" answer what caused the violations and how long they had been happening.
The government submitted a 110-page report on Feb. 12, 2009 acknowledging that it lacked a "shared understanding" of the program.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, the digital privacy group that filed the case that led to these documents' disclosure, released a statement calling that a "breathtaking admission: the NSA's surveillance apparatus, for years, was so complex and compartmentalized that no single person could comprehend it."
Judge Walton's order responding to the government's lengthy report on March 2, 2009 summarizes that only 1,935 of the 17,835 identifiers on the alert list met the reasonable suspicion standard.
"The government has compounded its non-compliance with the court's orders by repeatedly submitting inaccurate descriptions of the alert process to the FISC," he wrote.
Walton allowed the program to continue, however, based on "the government's repeated representations" that the metadata collection "is vital to national security."
The American Civil Liberties Union's staff attorney Alex Abdo said in a statement, "The documents provide further evidence that secret and one-sided judicial review is not an adequate check on the NSA's surveillance practices."
He is one of the lawyers fighting a separate lawsuit in Manhattan for an injunction curbing the NSA's massive telephone data collection.
"The so-called 'compliance incidents' are troubling, but this is a program that should never have been authorized to begin with," Abdo said. "The NSA should end the bulk collection of information about Americans."
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It’s Time to Accept that America is a Police State
OFF THE WIRE
This post by Andrea Dantzer was originally published at TheStateWeekly.com. I think the article speaks for itself. -Kate
These days, it doesn’t seem to take too long to find yet another example of the rising police state in America. However, that assertion is often met with resistance and the claims that calling the US a police state is just fear-mongering, and after all, we are still the freest nation in the world. But, are we? Is calling the United States a police state just anti-government rhetoric used to incite fear against the government or are there legitimate signs and warning signs that the police state is here and only going to get worse?
So, that there is no confusion in looking at the signs and so that everyone is on the same page, here are some definitions that will shed light on the way in which the police state is defined.
The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a police state as one in which a political unit characterized by repressive governmental control of political, economic, and social life usually by an arbitrary exercise of power by police and especially secret police in place of regular operation of administrative and judicial organs of the government according to publicly known legal procedures.
Arbitrary: 1: depending on choice or discretion; specifically : determinable by decision of a judge or tribunal rather than defined by statute. 2 a: (1) : arising from unrestrained exercise of the will, caprice, or personal preference : given to expressing opinions that arise thus (2) : selected at random or as a typical example b : based on random or convenient selection or choice rather than on reason or nature.
From Wikipedia: The term police state describes a state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.
Totalitarianism means: 1 a : of or relating to centralized control by an autocratic leader or hierarchy …
b : of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life ….
b : of or relating to a political regime based on subordination of the individual to the state and strict control of all aspects of the life ….
Often times, people think of a police state as one in which martial law as been declared, or that a 24-hour lockdown in place. Many others think of Nazi Germany when they hear the term, but think it can’t happen in a modern-day ‘democratic’ country (just for clarification, the Founding Fathers designed this country to be a Constitutional Republic, not a democracy). However, police states do not just happen overnight, a country does not go from being free, or relatively free, to a police state in a day. The noose just gets tighter and tighter slowly enough until one day, you run out of air and realize you are at the mercy of a totalitarian regime.
But, is that really happening in America? Here are just some, but certainly not all, of the many signs and warning signs that indicate we may be approaching full police statehood.
Sign: Whistleblowers are killed, jailed or have to seek asylum in non-extradition countries
Occurrences in the USA: Here are just six of the many whistleblowers that have been charged with violating the espionage act since Obama has taken office.
- Thomas Drake – Drake is a former senior executive of the National Security Agency (NSA), and was charged with violating the Espionage Act after going through the proper legal channels to disclose widespread domestic illegal surveillance, mismanagement of funds in the billions, gross waste of taxpayer money and massive corruption. Drake, at one point was facing up to 35 years in prison. The government ended up dropping all of the charges against Drake and in return for Drake’s agreement to plead guilty to a misdemeanor of misusing the agency’s computer system, agreed not to seek any jail time. Drake was sentenced to one year of probation and community service. The judge hearing the case called the actions of the government “unconscionable”.
- Stephen Jin-Woo Kim – In 2010, Kim was indicted on charges of making false statements and disclosing unauthorized information on matters of national defense. Kim is accused of violating the Espionage Act when he worked for the State Department as an adviser on nuclear proliferation and gave classified information about North Korea to Fox News reporter James Rosen. He has been indicted by a federal grand jury, but his case is still currently pending.
- James Hitselberger – Hitselberger, a Navy contract linguist, was charged under 18 USC 793(e) with unauthorized retention of national defense information while serving in Bahrain. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison, and is currently in jail as his trial continues.
- Bradley Manning – Pfc Manning is a US soldier who was accused of leaking over 700,000 classified documents, battlefield videos, files and cables. Manning was found guilty of 20 criminal counts in July, and sentenced to 35 years in prison on August 21, 2013.
- Shami K. Leibowitz – Leibowitz is a former FBI employee who worked as a Hebrew translator and was charged with leaking approximately 200 pages of classified documents of transcribed conversations that the FBI had obtained through wiretaps of the Israeli embassy in Washington to blogger Richard Silverstein. Silverstein noted in an interview with the New York Times that Leibowitz released the information because “of concerns about Israel’s aggressive efforts to influence Congress and public opinion, and fears that Israel might strike nuclear facilities in Iran.” He was sentenced to twenty months in 2010.
- Edward Snowden – Snowden is a computer specialist who worked for the NSA and CIA; Snowden revealed several top secret government programs of the US and the UK, such as the NSA’s PRISM program to the press. Snowden has been charged with two counts of the Espinonage Act and theft of government property. Snowden fled first to Hong Kong and then went on to Russia where he received asylum for at least one year and was offered employment there as well. If found guilty, he faces up to 30 years in prison if the United States can get their hands on him long enough for a trial.
Sign: Increased Surveillance of Citizens…i.e…Big Brother is Watching You
Occurrences in the USA: While the fourth amendment of the Constitution states: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized. – Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution , there are so many examples of the violation of this to name here, there are a few glaringly obvious ones that have to be called out.
- NSA Teams up with DEA to Prosecute Citizens – Reuters recently broke the story that the Drug Enforcement Administration is being hand-fed information obtained by the NSA and used in the arrest and prosecution of American citizens.
- NSA programs PRISM and BLARNEY – While many people have heard about PRISM being talked about on the news, few have heard of BLARNEY, a clandestine program that is being run concurrently and alongside PRISM. BLARNEY is NSA’s phone surveillance program which captures communicative metadata; PRISM retrieves the actual content within the communication.
- Internet Monitoring – From the Wall Street Journal: “The National Security Agency—which possesses only limited legal authority to spy on U.S. citizens—has built a surveillance network that covers more Americans’ Internet communications than officials have publicly disclosed, current and former officials say. The system has the capacity to reach roughly 75% of all U.S. Internet traffic in the hunt for foreign intelligence, including a wide array of communications by foreigners and Americans. In some cases, it retains the written content of emails sent between citizens within the U.S. and also filters domestic phone calls made with Internet technology, these people say. The NSA’s filtering, carried out with telecom companies, is designed to look for communications that either originate or end abroad, or are entirely foreign but happen to be passing through the U.S. But officials say the system’s broad reach makes it more likely that purely domestic communications will be incidentally intercepted and collected in the hunt for foreign ones.”
- Drones will be used for domestic surveillance – from RT News: The FBI uses drones for domestic surveillance purposes, the head of the agency told Congress early Wednesday. Robert Mueller, the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI owns several unmanned aerial vehicles, but has not adopted any strict policies or guidelines yet to govern the use of the controversial aircraft. “Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on US soil?” Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) asked Mr Mueller during an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Yes,” Mueller responded bluntly, adding that the FBI’s operation of drones is “very seldom.” From a recent GOA report:
“Domestically, state and local law enforcement entities represent the greatest potential users of small UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] in the near term because they can offer a simple and cost effective solution for airborne law enforcement activities”
5. RFID Chips being used to monitor students – From US News: A public school district in Texas can require students to wear locator chips when they are on school property, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday in a case raising technology-driven privacy concerns among liberal and conservative groups alike. U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia said the San Antonio Northside School District had the right to expel sophomore Andrea Hernandez, 15, from Jay High School because she refused to wear the device, which is required of all students at the magnet school.6. Automated License Plate Readers – From the ACLU: A little noticed surveillance technology, designed to track the movements of every passing driver, is fast proliferating on America’s streets. Automatic license plate readers, mounted on police cars or on objects like road signs and bridges, use small, high-speed cameras to photograph thousands of plates per minute. The information captured by the readers – including the license plate number, and the date, time, and location of every scan – is being collected and sometimes pooled into regional sharing systems. As a result, enormous databases of innocent motorists’ location information are growing rapidly. This information is often retained for years or even indefinitely, with few or no restrictions to protect privacy rights.
Sign: Increased Militarization of Police and Police Brutality
Occurrences in the USA – Again, while there is way too many to list here, here are ten examples of increasingly brutal behavior from the boys in blue.
- Police taser man to get him off a roof, choke & drag him face-down across a staircase, killing him
- Two Davenport Officers Beat Down Woman Shoplifting Suspect Caught on Camera
- Officers Kill Mentally Disabled Men, Get Away With It Due to Lack of Training
- Police Taser a Pregnant Woman
- 95 Yr Old Vet Refuses Medical Treatment, Cops Kill Him
- Cop Punches 14 Yr Old Mentally Disabled Girl
- Cop Shoots Man in Back, Claims Self-Defense
- Defenseless Man Beaten To Death By Cops, Witnesses Said
- GRAPHIC: Officer Shot a Unarmed Man 11 Times, Cleared of Any Wrong-Doing
- The Beating Death of Kelly Thomas
Sign: Powerful And Continuing Nationalism – Totalitarian regimes love their slogans, symbols and images to drill in nationalism into their subjects.
Occurrences in the USA: From praising Obama in schools to a small child praying to Obama, it seems like nationalism is one step away from a recognized national salute. Sieg heil, anyone?
Sign: Increased Restrictions Against Natural Rights -
Occurrences in the USA:
- Can get prosecuted for Raw Milk
- “Free” Speech Zones
- Judge Can Force Porn Stars to Wear Condoms as its “Constitutional”
- Arkansas Senate Trying to Ban Certain Tattoos and Body Piercing
- State Threatens Jail for Nutritional Blogger
- San Francisco Law Fines $500 for Incorrect Recycling
- Happy Meal Toys – BANNED (thankfully, McD’s showed how easy it is to sidestep such a ludicrous ban by charging ten cents for the toy in banned areas)
- State Forced Vaccines and Increasingly Difficult to Opt Out
- Illegal to Collect Rain Water on Own Property in some states
- Illegal to Grow Gardens; Gardens Destroyed
Sign: Increasing Dictatorial Behavior of Leaders
Occurrences in the USA:
- Third Term for Obama? – From the leftist apologist site The Daily Kos: There is a scenario — a nightmare scenario for RWNJs — under which President Obama can legally and constitutionally win a third term as President of the United States. Of course, we should know that Barack Obama is too honest and honorable a person to pursue this course of action. But do the RWNJs know that?
- No Term Limits for President – From Fox News Latino: Democratic Congressman José Serrano has reintroduced legislation to repeal the 22nd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which would end term limits for U.S. presidents and pave the way for President Barack Obama to stay in the White House for a third time. While some claim that this will never happen and will never get passed, it should be noted that the same thing was once said about bills like the Patriot Act, NDAA and ObamaCare.
- President Bypassing Congress and Traditional Means of Legislation – From BenSwann.com: Obama is sidestepping Congress once again. This time, the unconstitutional act is in an effort to raise $6 Billion in new taxes to put WiFi in public schools across America. Rather than waste his time with the Constitution and Congress, Obama is going straight to the FCC to lobby for the new taxes. The new tax will apply to every American who uses a cellphone.
While there are many, many, many more examples, this does give anyone pause to reflect on how many personal freedoms are being stripped away on a daily basis. With just the few examples given here, which are really just the tip of the iceberg, are you convinced America is or is quickly becoming a police state? Do you have other examples you think should be added?
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Sons Of Anarchy Season Six
OFF THE WIRE
agingrebel.com
It is common now, in biker racketeering cases, for prospective jurors to be interrogated about the basic cable soap opera Sons of Anarchy. “Do you now, or have you ever watched the television show Sons of Anarchy? Do you understand it is fiction? Do you understand the difference between fantasy and reality?”
The juror questions are ironic because the television show bears little likeness to even the most corrupt chapters of any of the brand name motorcycle clubs. The club in the show is an unabashed crime syndicate that derives its money and status through the shared commerce of guns, drugs and women. The characters, presumably, are all zillionaires. They only dress down. None of them even tries to hide his criminality – although it might be a more interesting show if one of them, now and then, did. But none of them ever do, so defense attorneys must go through the motions of trying to convince jurors that the show is written in the sky in smoke like an expensive and fleeting Valentine.
Jurors always believe what the show’s creators claim over and over – which happens to be exactly what prospective jurors wish was true – which is that Sons of Anarchy is an artistic vision, not the commercial hallucination of liars and fools
The federal trial of George Christie early this year got as far as the second day of voir dire– and the questions about the television show – before Christie agreed to plead guilty. In the last five years the show has prejudiced jury pools all over the country. And, that is ironic because the show knows nothing about and has nothing to say about the motorcycle club world. The show seems to have evolved into something that doesn’t even need motorcycles. All it needs now is Charlie Hunnam, a dozen or so beautiful and crazy women and some bang-bang. Hunnam could play an IRS agent who moonlights as an accountant for whores and the show would still be a hit.
The Masculinity Crisis
In the beginning, SOA was the recollections of some adventures that producer John Linson had with the Hells Angels and it was obviously conceived to appeal to disaffected men – the kind of men who wish they were Hells Angels or who like to daydream about being motorcycle outlaws. It is hardly news, except maybe in Hollywood and Washington, that American masculinity is in crisis and that outlaw motorcycle clubs suggest a cure.Outlaw clubs are outposts of what the late Tim Hetherington called “Man Eden.” James Brabazon, who collaborated with Hetherington and Sebastian Junger on the documentary Restrepo thinks, “War is the only opportunity that men have in society to love each other unconditionally and it’s understanding the depth of emotion of men at war that Tim was fascinated with.” Motorcycle clubs simulate the emotions and values of men at war. They manifest what William James called “The Moral Equivalent of War.”
During its first couple of seasons SOA seemed to pander to the emotions of otherwise competent and proud men who could no longer survive, let alone raise a family, by selling only their labor. Modern men are compelled to feminize themselves to either earn a living or secure the credentials that now symbolize an education. And, some percentage of American men and boys, probably around 20 percent, simply find that feminization to be too humiliating to endure. For whatever reasons of class or psychology or macroeconomics that big fraction of all men long to be what James called “hunting men, and to hunt a neighboring tribe, kill the males, loot the village and possess the females, was the most profitable, as well as the most exciting, way of living.” In the same brief essay, written in response to the horrors of the Russo-Japanese War, James went on to describe the virtues all motorcycle outlaws embrace today: “Martial virtues…intrepidity, contempt of softness, surrender of private interest, obedience to command….”
Authenticity
This eagerness to speak to real and potential outlaws everywhere probably explains the show’s self-proclaimed authenticity. Over and over for half a decade the producers and the stars of this show business confection have insisted that they are not portraying characters but rather revealing their own, true, edgy, dangerous, free, hyper-masculine selves. That illusion of authenticity was the premise of a couple of SOA knockoffs, particularly the ludicrous The Devils Ride. Kurt Sutter even complained that The Devils Ride had stolen its opening from his show and he got into a bitchy twitter war with some of that knockoff show’s cast.SOA has also striven to sell its purported authenticity to the disaffected and clueless by hiring Hells Angels in need of a showbiz boost. Sonny Barger has appeared in the show and has spoken glowingly about it. Last year, after former New York Angel Chuck Zito lost a lawsuit in which he claimed Sutter had stolen the idea for Sons of Anarchy from him, Sutter gave Zito a recurring role. The Devils Ride responded by hiring former Mesa Angel Ralph Randolph as one of its stars. In last night’s SOA premier, current Hells Angel, and so much more, Rusty Coones appeared as the club’s official refrigerator mover. Coones previously played himself in The Devils Ride.
There were outbreaks of primitive masculinity in last night’s episode. A club brother named Tig Trager, played by the actor Kim Coates, beat a bad Iranian pornographer to death then pissed on his body. It was a manifestation of primitive masculinity stolen from the headlines.
In September 2012 United States Marines were widely described as “inhuman” for urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban. All combat veterans, and virtually every man who has lived in the last 200,000 years, would have found the conduct of those Marines to be at least understandable. Some percentage of men would find pissing on the bodies of their enemies to be laugh out loud hilarious.
But Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the Chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, a member of Congress and a rising political star, speaking on Bill Maher’s television show on HBO, condemned the men fighting her war for not fighting it correctly. The same week a Marine Staff Sergeant was being court-martialed for “desecration of human remains,” “posing for unofficial photographs with human casualties,” “failing to properly supervise junior Marines” and not reporting misconduct, Shultz, speaking very obtusely, said “Let’s remember that this is the United States of America. The greatest country in the world that is the country that we hold ourselves up as a shining example. That conduct, and I represent a lot of wonderful 18-year-old kids in the Twenty-Third District in South Florida, and I wouldn’t expect that conduct out of any of them no matter what their level of maturity is and it’s unacceptable in any way shape or form.” The entire population of the television studio, which might not have contained a single combat veteran, enthusiastically cheered.
A Woman’s Show
The Iranian villain in last night’s show might as well have called himself the Iron Sheik. He was so loathsome that even Debbie Wasserman Schultz might have been tempted to piss on him. And, his most grievous sin was his exploitation of women.Sons of Anarchy is now blatantly a chick show. Even Wasserman Shultz might like it. There is still much cartoon violence in SOA but to say it is a show about motorcycle clubs is like saying China Beach was a show about Vietnam.
While men strut around in their flannels and cuts, the central characters in scene after scene are women. There are long scenes of women talking, sharing their feelings and watching their adorable children. Jax Teller, the show’s lead character portrayed by the English actor Charlie Hunnam, is constantly surrounded by and fussed over by adoring women. The show should be called Jax And His Bitches. An entire subplot was devoted to Jax and his boys rescuing whores from the evil Iranian porno kings. Obviously, FX has some research that indicates that women viewers long to be possessed by the males from the neighboring porno studio. Those beautiful whores live lives of leisure in whorehouses that look like Victorian mansions.
Shakespeare Yo
Into its sixth season, the show retains both its artistic pretensions – this is, after all, a show that unabashedly compares itself to the best of William Shakespeare – and its gutless acquiescence to political correctness. The sixth season premiere opened with a long soliloquy of self-reverential blather as Jax, the dreamboat no woman will ever resist, writes in his “journal” to his son. These journal entries are obvious plays by Sutter for some critic somewhere to laud his narrative skill but they don’t do much to advance either character or plot. Unless all these pretentious reveries embarrassingly surface in a future RICO trial what they all amount to is Kurt Sutter showing off.The dramatic climax last night occurred just after a creepy, little blonde boy pulled a fully automatic TEC-9 out of his back pack. Then, off camera, the boy blew away some unknown number of his innocent schoolmates. The gun, of course, will be traced back to the Sons of Anarchy and much soul searching and philosophizing are sure to result.
On the way to this epic shark jump many fearsome male characters were punked or allowed themselves to be punked. Clay Morrow, the ruthless former club president, a Vietnam combat veteran and an outlaw for 40 years, betrayed his life long friends because he was afraid he would be raped and murdered by black inmates. There were racial and sexual incidents throughout the show that suggested at least masochism, if not some darker and weirder corner of the postmodern soul, like cuckold fetishism. The dramatic tension in last night’s Sons of Anarchy was indivisible from the neurotic terrors of the American middle class.
After the creepy kid went postal there was a long, sad song so we could all mourn and heal, each in our own way, for a full three minutes, over a clip montage that was sure to provide closure.
The blessed anticlimax arrived after an hour and a half, as Jax rode one of his many women. The camera pulled back to frame his full patch tattoo. The shot suggested that this season Jax will be endlessly sandwiched between his club and his bitches – between his primitive masculinity and his domesticity. Very many people, particularly women, will watch to learn which way his heart will go.
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DISTRESS CALL:
OFF THE WIRE
DISTRESS CALL: To all of my Soldiers, family members or anyone that can help, I am seeking combat boots, new or used any type and colors by mid-October. This is for a charity event; each pair of boots will have an American Flag and a picture of every single fallen solider since 2001. These boots will line the streets for miles and miles. If you have a pair that you can donate they can be shipped to the following address:
Crystal Kincade or Harold Bargeron
701 W. Church Street, ST. Mary’s GA 31558.
If you have the boots in bulks and you live within 10 hours from Jacksonville, FL. they will be picked up by a solider. I thank you all for your help with this meaningful event. Thanks for your help and spreading the word!
DISTRESS CALL: To all of my Soldiers, family members or anyone that can help, I am seeking combat boots, new or used any type and colors by mid-October. This is for a charity event; each pair of boots will have an American Flag and a picture of every single fallen solider since 2001. These boots will line the streets for miles and miles. If you have a pair that you can donate they can be shipped to the following address:
Crystal Kincade or Harold Bargeron
701 W. Church Street, ST. Mary’s GA 31558.
If you have the boots in bulks and you live within 10 hours from Jacksonville, FL. they will be picked up by a solider. I thank you all for your help with this meaningful event. Thanks for your help and spreading the word!
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Wisconsin - Dave Zien | Eau Claire Chippewa Herald
OFF THE WIRE
http://chippewa.com/news/
Zien: Road signs serve as important reminders
Dave Zien | Eau Claire Chippewa Herald
September 12, 2013
• Dave Zien | Eau Claire(0) CommentsU.S. Harley Davidson Heritage of Honor Highway 45 could be the 45th designated highway/ bridge in Wisconsin. From the Bristol, Ill. border to Land O‘Lakes near Michigan, there are Harley stories to tell and messages to share, as there are for all of the Wisconsin-named highways and bridges.
Currently, 32 highways and 12 bridges are recognized through state statute. Only 13 of the 44 have a total 33 signs. Several have multiple signs, including Korean Hwy. 51 and Hwy. 32 – 32nd Division with five each.
Many of these 44 highways/bridges of honor cherish veterans, military and other proud patriots. Through groups, businesses, families and individuals, each community can reflect its own prominence by recognizing historic, cultural, ethnic and religious preservation.
Revealing exceptional facts and feats, legends, tall stories and mysteries can honor local pride on the interpretative signs. Educating our youth, visitors and ourselves is paramount.
Groups, patriots, veterans posts/auxiliary, etc., can initiate interpretative signs for approximately $900 per sign. This includes two sign posts, construction, paint and installation fees. The Wisconsin DOT helps with the verbiage and process.
The state of Wisconsin and the federal government prefer sign locations off the roadway. This can be negotiated according to state statute. Taxpayer dollars cannot usually pay for these highway signs.
People traveling Wisconsin roadways must be reminded of the sacrifice and freedom Americans have made. We can spearhead progress toward installing road signs for all the highways and bridges. This should be done under the direction of our state Legislature, clubs, veterans and patriotic groups.
To those of us present, those passed on and all we represent, let us again lead the charge to properly recognize our heroes, military, firefighters, law enforcement and freedom-loving Americans by getting these road signs installed.
Dave Zien is a former state senator.
Zien: Road signs serve as important reminders
Dave Zien | Eau Claire Chippewa Herald
September 12, 2013
• Dave Zien | Eau Claire(0) CommentsU.S. Harley Davidson Heritage of Honor Highway 45 could be the 45th designated highway/ bridge in Wisconsin. From the Bristol, Ill. border to Land O‘Lakes near Michigan, there are Harley stories to tell and messages to share, as there are for all of the Wisconsin-named highways and bridges.
Currently, 32 highways and 12 bridges are recognized through state statute. Only 13 of the 44 have a total 33 signs. Several have multiple signs, including Korean Hwy. 51 and Hwy. 32 – 32nd Division with five each.
Many of these 44 highways/bridges of honor cherish veterans, military and other proud patriots. Through groups, businesses, families and individuals, each community can reflect its own prominence by recognizing historic, cultural, ethnic and religious preservation.
Revealing exceptional facts and feats, legends, tall stories and mysteries can honor local pride on the interpretative signs. Educating our youth, visitors and ourselves is paramount.
Groups, patriots, veterans posts/auxiliary, etc., can initiate interpretative signs for approximately $900 per sign. This includes two sign posts, construction, paint and installation fees. The Wisconsin DOT helps with the verbiage and process.
The state of Wisconsin and the federal government prefer sign locations off the roadway. This can be negotiated according to state statute. Taxpayer dollars cannot usually pay for these highway signs.
People traveling Wisconsin roadways must be reminded of the sacrifice and freedom Americans have made. We can spearhead progress toward installing road signs for all the highways and bridges. This should be done under the direction of our state Legislature, clubs, veterans and patriotic groups.
To those of us present, those passed on and all we represent, let us again lead the charge to properly recognize our heroes, military, firefighters, law enforcement and freedom-loving Americans by getting these road signs installed.
Dave Zien is a former state senator.
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Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Motorcycle Helmets
OFF THE WIRE
Regarding new helmet standard effective a few months ago.....what are the feds pulling with this little gem?
Regarding new helmet standard effective a few months ago.....what are the feds pulling with this little gem?
"Agency Response—NHTSA is granting MIC's petition and is including a provision in the DATES section of this document permitting voluntary early compliance with the amended requirements of 49 CFR 571.218established by the May 13, 2011 final rule. We emphasize that a helmet manufactured to meet the amended requirements of FMVSS No. 218 before the effective date must meet all of the amended labeling and performance requirements."
Doesn't this wording effectively make every helmet in existence illegal if manufactured before the amend date of May 2013?
from:
New labeling rules
ACTION
Final Rule; Grant Of Petition For Reconsideration.
SUMMARY
This document responds to a petition for reconsideration of a final rule issued by this agency on May 13, 2011. The final rule amended the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard for motorcycle helmets. Specifically, the final rule amended the helmet labeling requirements and compliance test procedures in order to make it more difficult to misleadingly label novelty helmets and to aid the agency in enforcing the standard. This document addresses issues raised in a petition for reconsideration relating to early compliance with the amended requirements.
Regulations.gov Docket Info
TABLE OF CONTENTSBack to Top
DATES:Back to Top
Effective date: The effective date of the final rule amending 49 CFR part 571 published at 76 FR 28132, May 13, 2011, is May 13, 2013.
Compliance date: Voluntary early compliance with the final rule amending 49 CFR part 571 published at 76 FR 28132, May 13, 2011, is permitted as of August 13, 2012 if all of the amended requirements of the final rule are met.
Petitions for reconsideration must be received by September 27, 2012.
ADDRESSES:Back to Top
Petitions for reconsideration must be submitted to: Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:Back to Top
For policy and technical issues: Mr. Check Kam, Office of Rulemaking, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-7002.
For legal issues: Mr. William H. Shakely, Office of the Chief Counsel, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE., Washington, DC 20590. Telephone: (202) 366-2992.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:Back to Top
Table of ContentsBack to Top
I. Background
II. Petition for Reconsideration and Agency's Response
I. BackgroundBack to Top
On May 13, 2011, NHTSA published a final rule amending the helmet labeling requirements and compliance test procedures of FMVSS No. 218, Motorcycle helmets, in order to make it more difficult to misleadingly label novelty helmets and to aid the agency in enforcing the standard. [1] Specifically, the final rule required a single, enhanced certification label that the agency believes will discourage the production, sale, and attachment of labels that misleadingly resemble legitimate certification labels. The final rule further required that the size label state the helmet size in discrete, numerical terms in order to facilitate compliance testing. Additionally, the final rule amended the retention and impact attenuation test procedures and adopted helmet conditioning tolerances.
Two petitions for reconsideration, each dated June 23, 2011, were received from the Motorcycle Industry Council (MIC), a not-for-profit national trade association representing manufacturers and distributors of motorcycles and motorcycle parts and accessories, as well as members of allied trades. The first petition requested that the agency include in the preamble a statement permitting voluntary early compliance prior to the effective date of May 13, 2013. This document responds to that petition.
The second petition requested that the definition of “discrete size” in FMVSS No. 218 be amended by adding language requiring that this value reflect the actual size of the helmet. MIC also submitted a clarification of its second petition, which noted various issues regarding the measurement of “discrete size.” The agency will respond to this petition in a separate, forthcoming document.
II. Petition for Reconsideration and Agency's ResponseBack to Top
MIC requested that the agency include in the preamble a statement permitting voluntary early compliance prior to the effective date of May 13, 2013, stating that such a provision is usually included in final rules with safety benefits. MIC asserted that allowing immediate voluntary compliance would serve to accelerate the goals of the rule and would provide needed flexibility to motorcycle helmet manufacturers seeking to introduce helmets complying with the amended requirements on a gradual basis, rather than having to stockpile inventory until the effective date.
Agency Response—NHTSA is granting MIC's petition and is including a provision in the DATES section of this document permitting voluntary early compliance with the amended requirements of 49 CFR 571.218 established by the May 13, 2011 final rule. We emphasize that a helmet manufactured to meet the amended requirements of FMVSS No. 218 before the effective date must meet all of the amended labeling and performance requirements.
Issued on: August 6, 2012.
Christopher J. Bonanti,
Associate Administrator for Rulemaking.
[FR Doc. 2012-19763 Filed 8-10-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-59-P
FOOTNOTESBack to Top
1. Final Rule, Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards; Motorcycle Helmets, 76 FR 28132 (May 13, 2011).
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Oh, Those Wacky Chicago Cops
OFF THE WIRE
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CHICAGO (CN) - A Chicago cop shook down a motorist for $5,000 after ticketing him for driving without a seat belt, the man claims in court.
Jermaine Jordon sued Chicago and its police Officers H. Rodriguez and A.E. Ohlson, in Federal Court.
Jordon claims Rodriguez solicited, and took, a $5,000 bribe to "help him" with his traffic ticket, which was bogus in itself.
Jordon claims the defendant officers pulled him over on Sept. 13, 2011, without cause.
"During the traffic stop, Mr. Jordon asked the defendant officers if he could remove his seat belt. Defendant Rodriguez gave Mr. Jordon permission to remove his seatbelt and then charged Mr. Jordon with driving without a seatbelt. The defendant officers later learned that Mr. Jordon was driving on an expired license and arrested Mr. Jordon. Mr. Jordon was released on bond," he says in the lawsuit.
Jordon says he acquired a valid driver's license in January 2012.
In September 2012, Jordon claims, Rodriguez pulled him over again, in the same part of town.
"At that time, defendant Officer Rodriguez told Mr. Jordon he would 'help him' with his case in exchange for $5,000.00. Officer Rodriguez then gave Mr. Jordon his cell phone number and released Mr. Jordon without further charges," the complaint states.
It continues: "Mr. Jordon notified the Internal Affairs Division of the Chicago Police Department who orchestrated a controlled exchange of the bribe money. While undercover detectives watched and listened, Defendant Rodriquez accepted $5,000.00 in marked bills that were passed to him by Mr. Jordon in a Dunkin' Donuts bag. Defendant Rodriguez was arrested and charged with bribery and official misconduct."
Jordon seeks punitive damages for civil rights violations, unlawful seizure and malicious prosecution.
He is represented by Jon Erickson with Erickson & Oppenheimer, who did not respond to a request for comments.
The Chicago Tribune reported in September 2012 that Rodriguez was suspended without pay after the bribe sting.
The newspaper reported that Rodriguez pulled over Jordon's Bentley for a seat belt violation, found he was carrying $7,000 in cash, that his license had been revoked in 2003 for a reckless homicide conviction, and that he had two previous arrests for driving without a license. Jordon faced up to 15 years in prison for driving on the revoked license, the Tribune reported.![]()
CHICAGO (CN) - A Chicago cop shook down a motorist for $5,000 after ticketing him for driving without a seat belt, the man claims in court.
Jermaine Jordon sued Chicago and its police Officers H. Rodriguez and A.E. Ohlson, in Federal Court.
Jordon claims Rodriguez solicited, and took, a $5,000 bribe to "help him" with his traffic ticket, which was bogus in itself.
Jordon claims the defendant officers pulled him over on Sept. 13, 2011, without cause.
"During the traffic stop, Mr. Jordon asked the defendant officers if he could remove his seat belt. Defendant Rodriguez gave Mr. Jordon permission to remove his seatbelt and then charged Mr. Jordon with driving without a seatbelt. The defendant officers later learned that Mr. Jordon was driving on an expired license and arrested Mr. Jordon. Mr. Jordon was released on bond," he says in the lawsuit.
Jordon says he acquired a valid driver's license in January 2012.
In September 2012, Jordon claims, Rodriguez pulled him over again, in the same part of town.
"At that time, defendant Officer Rodriguez told Mr. Jordon he would 'help him' with his case in exchange for $5,000.00. Officer Rodriguez then gave Mr. Jordon his cell phone number and released Mr. Jordon without further charges," the complaint states.
It continues: "Mr. Jordon notified the Internal Affairs Division of the Chicago Police Department who orchestrated a controlled exchange of the bribe money. While undercover detectives watched and listened, Defendant Rodriquez accepted $5,000.00 in marked bills that were passed to him by Mr. Jordon in a Dunkin' Donuts bag. Defendant Rodriguez was arrested and charged with bribery and official misconduct."
Jordon seeks punitive damages for civil rights violations, unlawful seizure and malicious prosecution.
He is represented by Jon Erickson with Erickson & Oppenheimer, who did not respond to a request for comments.
The Chicago Tribune reported in September 2012 that Rodriguez was suspended without pay after the bribe sting.
The newspaper reported that Rodriguez pulled over Jordon's Bentley for a seat belt violation, found he was carrying $7,000 in cash, that his license had been revoked in 2003 for a reckless homicide conviction, and that he had two previous arrests for driving without a license. Jordon faced up to 15 years in prison for driving on the revoked license, the Tribune reported.
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Google Can't Get Creative With Wiretap Law
OFF THE WIRE
(CN) - Google cannot use a broad definition of "radio communication" to escape claims that its Street View cars violated federal privacy laws, the 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday.
Street View cars, which travel the world taking photographs and capturing data for Google, inadvertently collected some 600 gigabytes of private data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. The company collected the data, which included "personal emails, usernames, passwords, videos, and documents," between 2007 and 2010, after which it purportedly corrected the issue, the court noted.
Upon admitting the mistake, however, Google faced a number of potential class actions. The complaints were eventually consolidated in California, where lead plaintiff Benjamin Joffe and others sought to certify a class of "all persons whose electronic communications were intercepted by Google Street View vehicles since May 25, 2007."
The plaintiffs claimed that Google had violated various points of the federal Wiretap Act, which prohibits the interception of "wire, oral, or electronic communication," except in a few instances. The law provides an exemption for "electronic communication made through an electronic communication system" that is "readily accessible to the general public." Unscrambled radio and television broadcasts fall under this exemption.
In a motion to dismiss the proposed class action, Google had argued that all data transmitted over any Wi-Fi network is an electronic "radio communication," and thus exempt, just as any other radio broadcast, from the prohibition on interception the same. It supported this argument by defining radio communication as "any information transmitted using radio wave." Google also justified the interception of unencrypted WiFi networks because they are "readily accessible to the general public."
U.S. District Judge James Ware in San Jose disagreed on all points and refused to dismiss the complaint, and Google took the issue to the 9th Circuit.
At oral argument before a three-judge panel in June, the proposed class's attorney, Elizabeth Cabrader, warned that Google's interpretation of the law could open a "loophole ... big enough for massive government intrusion."
Affirming the lower court unanimously on Tuesday, the appellate judges said that Google's "expansive" definition could bring "absurd" results, as it would apply to "Bluetooth devices, cordless and cellular phones, garage door openers, avalanche beacons, and wildlife tracking collars" - all of which use the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
"Google's proposed definition is in tension with how Congress- and virtually everyone else - uses the phrase," Judge Jay Bybee wrote for the court. "In common parlance, watching a television show does not entail 'radio communication.' Nor does sending an email or viewing a bank statement while connected to a Wi-Fi network. There is no indication that the Wiretap Act carries a buried implication that the phrase ought to be given a broader definition than the one that is commonly understood."
Bybee added that, under Google's contention that unsecured WiFi networks are accessible to public, "the protections afforded by the Wiretap Act to many online communications would turn on whether the recipient of those communications decided to secure her wireless network."
"Lending 'radio communication' a broad definition that encompasses data transmitted on Wi-Fi networks would obliterate Congress's compromise and create absurd applications of the exemption for intercepting unencrypted radio communications," the panel concluded.
A Google spokesperson called the decision disappointing and said the company is considering its "next steps."![]()
Street View cars, which travel the world taking photographs and capturing data for Google, inadvertently collected some 600 gigabytes of private data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks in more than 30 countries. The company collected the data, which included "personal emails, usernames, passwords, videos, and documents," between 2007 and 2010, after which it purportedly corrected the issue, the court noted.
Upon admitting the mistake, however, Google faced a number of potential class actions. The complaints were eventually consolidated in California, where lead plaintiff Benjamin Joffe and others sought to certify a class of "all persons whose electronic communications were intercepted by Google Street View vehicles since May 25, 2007."
The plaintiffs claimed that Google had violated various points of the federal Wiretap Act, which prohibits the interception of "wire, oral, or electronic communication," except in a few instances. The law provides an exemption for "electronic communication made through an electronic communication system" that is "readily accessible to the general public." Unscrambled radio and television broadcasts fall under this exemption.
In a motion to dismiss the proposed class action, Google had argued that all data transmitted over any Wi-Fi network is an electronic "radio communication," and thus exempt, just as any other radio broadcast, from the prohibition on interception the same. It supported this argument by defining radio communication as "any information transmitted using radio wave." Google also justified the interception of unencrypted WiFi networks because they are "readily accessible to the general public."
U.S. District Judge James Ware in San Jose disagreed on all points and refused to dismiss the complaint, and Google took the issue to the 9th Circuit.
At oral argument before a three-judge panel in June, the proposed class's attorney, Elizabeth Cabrader, warned that Google's interpretation of the law could open a "loophole ... big enough for massive government intrusion."
Affirming the lower court unanimously on Tuesday, the appellate judges said that Google's "expansive" definition could bring "absurd" results, as it would apply to "Bluetooth devices, cordless and cellular phones, garage door openers, avalanche beacons, and wildlife tracking collars" - all of which use the radio frequency portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
"Google's proposed definition is in tension with how Congress- and virtually everyone else - uses the phrase," Judge Jay Bybee wrote for the court. "In common parlance, watching a television show does not entail 'radio communication.' Nor does sending an email or viewing a bank statement while connected to a Wi-Fi network. There is no indication that the Wiretap Act carries a buried implication that the phrase ought to be given a broader definition than the one that is commonly understood."
Bybee added that, under Google's contention that unsecured WiFi networks are accessible to public, "the protections afforded by the Wiretap Act to many online communications would turn on whether the recipient of those communications decided to secure her wireless network."
"Lending 'radio communication' a broad definition that encompasses data transmitted on Wi-Fi networks would obliterate Congress's compromise and create absurd applications of the exemption for intercepting unencrypted radio communications," the panel concluded.
A Google spokesperson called the decision disappointing and said the company is considering its "next steps."
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NEW YORK - Rick's Cabaret Strippers to Get Minimum Wage
OFF THE WIRE
MANHATTAN (CN) - Strippers deserve the minimum wage, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, citing their boss's admission that, "without the girls, we're just selling overpriced beers at a sports bar with bad TVs."
Sabrina Hart and Reka Furedi had filed the class action in 2009 on behalf of more than 1,900 current and former "entertainers" at Rick's Cabaret, a strip club in Midtown Manhattan.
Three corporate entity owners - Rick's Cabaret International, RCI Entertainment (New York) and Peregrine Enterprises - were named as defendants.
The dancers claimed that the club wiggled out of its obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law by treating them as independent contractors instead of employees.
Rick's insisted that it gave the women a fair shake by letting them keep so-called "performance fees," starting at $20 for lap dances, table dances and semi-private room encounters. While the women keep all money paid to them in cash, Rick's had a different way of handling its earnings from credit cards.
Customers who pay by credit card can purchase vouchers as "Dance Dollars." Though the voucher is worth $20, it comes at a $24 price tag. When Rick's cashes out a used voucher, it gives the dancer $18 and keeps the remaining $6.
The court heard that more than 87 percent of Rick's strippers come home from work earning less than federal minimum wage during at least one week of their employment. One unidentified plaintiff claimed that she made less than minimum wage for 39 of the weeks she danced there.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer found Tuesday that the "performance fees" were actually "tips," which were no substitute for wages.
Far from being independent, Rick's "entertainers" fell under "tight control, indeed, control fairly described as micromanagement" by the club, the 65-page opinion states.
The club's written guidelines dictated "the length of a dancer's dress, the height of her shoe, the meetings she was required to attend, the entrances she was allowed to enter, the amount of money she was required to tip-out at the end of each night, or her use of chewing gum or stiletto heels, and many more," according to the ruling.
These strippers were no day traders, Engelmayer continued.
"In this respect, the court agrees with the Fifth Circuit that exotic dancers are 'far more closely akin to wage earners toiling for a living, than to independent entrepreneurs seeking a return on their risky capital investments,'" he wrote.
Engelmayer also noted: "Courts have further consistently held that there is limited genuine skill required to be an exotic dancer."
Rick's pointed out that their dancers do not tend to stay at the club too long: Nearly 60 percent of their strippers dance 20 or fewer times, around 15 percent perform just once, and nearly 50 percent grace the stage 10 or fewer times.
The judge noted, however, that this does not make them different from waiters, ushers and bartenders, who are also employees under labor law.
Although his lawyers called the strippers one aspect of the club's business, Rick's president Eric Langan stated the obvious by calling the "entertainers" the "most important thing" for the cabaret. He spoke about his club's "overpriced beer" and "bad TVs" later in his testimony, according to the ruling.
Although Engelmayer found Peregrine liable for wage violations, he will have a jury untangle which of Rick's other corporate entities must pay, and whether they operated in bad faith.
The parties will meet on Sept. 23 to discuss whether to settle the remaining claims or take them to trial.
Meanwhile, Michelle Drake, a lawyer for the dancers, said that she was "thrilled" with the decision, a culmination of four years of litigation.
"This ruling is particularly important for women who work in the world of adult entertainment, where workers are often vulnerable and willing to work in illegal circumstances out of desperation," Drake said in a statement.
In a follow-up phone interview, Drake noted that this decision falls in a "long line" of state and federal court opinions upholding the salary rights of exotic dancers, which she traced to President Bill Clinton's former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
"It's my sincere hope that cases that address this issue will inform women in this industry of this issue," and cause the clubs to voluntarily reform their policies, Drake added.
Rick's lawyers did not respond to a request for comment by press time.![]()
Sabrina Hart and Reka Furedi had filed the class action in 2009 on behalf of more than 1,900 current and former "entertainers" at Rick's Cabaret, a strip club in Midtown Manhattan.
Three corporate entity owners - Rick's Cabaret International, RCI Entertainment (New York) and Peregrine Enterprises - were named as defendants.
The dancers claimed that the club wiggled out of its obligations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and New York Labor Law by treating them as independent contractors instead of employees.
Rick's insisted that it gave the women a fair shake by letting them keep so-called "performance fees," starting at $20 for lap dances, table dances and semi-private room encounters. While the women keep all money paid to them in cash, Rick's had a different way of handling its earnings from credit cards.
Customers who pay by credit card can purchase vouchers as "Dance Dollars." Though the voucher is worth $20, it comes at a $24 price tag. When Rick's cashes out a used voucher, it gives the dancer $18 and keeps the remaining $6.
The court heard that more than 87 percent of Rick's strippers come home from work earning less than federal minimum wage during at least one week of their employment. One unidentified plaintiff claimed that she made less than minimum wage for 39 of the weeks she danced there.
U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer found Tuesday that the "performance fees" were actually "tips," which were no substitute for wages.
Far from being independent, Rick's "entertainers" fell under "tight control, indeed, control fairly described as micromanagement" by the club, the 65-page opinion states.
The club's written guidelines dictated "the length of a dancer's dress, the height of her shoe, the meetings she was required to attend, the entrances she was allowed to enter, the amount of money she was required to tip-out at the end of each night, or her use of chewing gum or stiletto heels, and many more," according to the ruling.
These strippers were no day traders, Engelmayer continued.
"In this respect, the court agrees with the Fifth Circuit that exotic dancers are 'far more closely akin to wage earners toiling for a living, than to independent entrepreneurs seeking a return on their risky capital investments,'" he wrote.
Engelmayer also noted: "Courts have further consistently held that there is limited genuine skill required to be an exotic dancer."
Rick's pointed out that their dancers do not tend to stay at the club too long: Nearly 60 percent of their strippers dance 20 or fewer times, around 15 percent perform just once, and nearly 50 percent grace the stage 10 or fewer times.
The judge noted, however, that this does not make them different from waiters, ushers and bartenders, who are also employees under labor law.
Although his lawyers called the strippers one aspect of the club's business, Rick's president Eric Langan stated the obvious by calling the "entertainers" the "most important thing" for the cabaret. He spoke about his club's "overpriced beer" and "bad TVs" later in his testimony, according to the ruling.
Although Engelmayer found Peregrine liable for wage violations, he will have a jury untangle which of Rick's other corporate entities must pay, and whether they operated in bad faith.
The parties will meet on Sept. 23 to discuss whether to settle the remaining claims or take them to trial.
Meanwhile, Michelle Drake, a lawyer for the dancers, said that she was "thrilled" with the decision, a culmination of four years of litigation.
"This ruling is particularly important for women who work in the world of adult entertainment, where workers are often vulnerable and willing to work in illegal circumstances out of desperation," Drake said in a statement.
In a follow-up phone interview, Drake noted that this decision falls in a "long line" of state and federal court opinions upholding the salary rights of exotic dancers, which she traced to President Bill Clinton's former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich.
"It's my sincere hope that cases that address this issue will inform women in this industry of this issue," and cause the clubs to voluntarily reform their policies, Drake added.
Rick's lawyers did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
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Help Inform People on How To Fight Non Conforming Helmets
OFF THE WIRE
igeon Forge Police Department
P.O. Box 1350
225 Pine Mountain Road
Pigeon Forge, TN 37868
Phone: 865-453-9063 (non-emergency)
Fax: 865-453-7211
pd@cityofpigeonforge.com
P.O. Box 1350
225 Pine Mountain Road
Pigeon Forge, TN 37868
Phone: 865-453-9063 (non-emergency)
Fax: 865-453-7211
pd@cityofpigeonforge.com
Welcome to the Pigeon Forge Police Department Web Site. Whether you live or work in Pigeon Forge, or are one of our millions of visitors each year, this is an excellent opportunity for you to learn more about the operations of our department as well as the talented men and women who make up the organization.
Applying technology to law enforcement has been a primary goal of the Pigeon Forge Police Department, second only to the application of the community policing philosophy. The advent of the Internet has given us an opportunity to combine technology with community policing and allows us to be more effective in communicating with our citizens and employees.
The success of the Pigeon Forge Police Department cannot be credited to technology and special programs; our success is due to the hard working and talented men and women that make up the Pigeon Forge Police Department. From the uniformed patrol officer to the criminal investigators; from crime prevention officers to Tactical Rescue Unit members; from crime scene technicians and accident reconstructionists to communications officers and our civilian support personnel, they can take a piece of the credit for our success. We demand a lot of our employees and I am proud of the quality of work that is consistently delivered. As in any organization, we encounter problems and controversy from time to time; however, it is our goal to be responsive to those issues and become a better department as a result.
The Pigeon Forge Police Department is primarily charged with the preservation of the peace and order of the City of Pigeon Forge, the enforcement of all criminal ordinances and laws of the City of Pigeon Forge, the State of Tennessee, and the United States. Specific division responsibilities include:
The Pigeon Forge Police Department is primarily charged with the preservation of the peace and order of the City of Pigeon Forge, the enforcement of all criminal ordinances and laws of the City of Pigeon Forge, the State of Tennessee, and the United States. Specific division responsibilities include:
The prevention of crime.
The repression of crime.
The investigation of crime.
The apprehension of criminal offenders.
The recovery of stolen property.
The regulation of non-criminal conduct.
The repression of crime.
The investigation of crime.
The apprehension of criminal offenders.
The recovery of stolen property.
The regulation of non-criminal conduct.
The Police of Pigeon Forge Tennessee are issuing tickets to motorcycle riders who are wearing what They consider Non – DOT Helmets.
We know these tickets can be beat in court. In most cases it is cost prohibited for those ticketed to return to do so. The police know this and it seems they have found a way to rip off visiting riders.
Scott Cochran of U.S. Rider News had some of the people attending an event he was putting on in Maryville ride through Pigeon Forge and get ticketed.
He is interested in doing an article on what happened. This would be a good opportunity for BOLT members to write something on the issue and send it to him.
Scott is a good publisher and has printed many articles on rights issues and would be a good contact for anyone to have.
He can be reached at scottc@usridernews.com . The business phone is (478) 237-3761
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The Man…
Subject: The Man…
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CA - Santa Monica Police To Conduct Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Saturday
OFF THE WIRE
http://www.smmirror.com/
Santa Monica Police To Conduct Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Saturday
The Santa Monica Police Department will conduct a motorcycle safety enforcement operation this weekend.
Posted Sep. 11, 2013, 9:13 am Brenton Garen / Editor-in-Chief
A specialized motorcycle safety enforcement operation will be held in Santa Monica this Saturday.
The Santa Monica Police Department will conduct the operation in an effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries involving motorcyclists.
SMPD Lt. Richard Lewis said extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where accidents commonly occur.
"Officers will be looking for violations commonly made by drivers of passenger vehicles and motorcyclist, which lead to many motorcycle collisions such as, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, making illegal turns, stop sign violations or any other dangerous violation," Lewis said.
Lewis said motorcycle fatalities saw a phenomenal drop of 37 percent from 2008 to 2010, but rose nearly 18 percent in 2011.
"Operations like this are aimed at curbing any more rises in motorcycle deaths and sending the numbers back downward," he said.
California collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs.
The SMPD is also reminding all motorists to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning and changing lanes.
Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
http://www.smmirror.com/
Santa Monica Police To Conduct Motorcycle Safety Enforcement Saturday
The Santa Monica Police Department will conduct a motorcycle safety enforcement operation this weekend.
Posted Sep. 11, 2013, 9:13 am Brenton Garen / Editor-in-Chief
A specialized motorcycle safety enforcement operation will be held in Santa Monica this Saturday.
The Santa Monica Police Department will conduct the operation in an effort to reduce the number of deaths and injuries involving motorcyclists.
SMPD Lt. Richard Lewis said extra officers will be on duty patrolling areas frequented by motorcyclists and where accidents commonly occur.
"Officers will be looking for violations commonly made by drivers of passenger vehicles and motorcyclist, which lead to many motorcycle collisions such as, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, speeding, making illegal turns, stop sign violations or any other dangerous violation," Lewis said.
Lewis said motorcycle fatalities saw a phenomenal drop of 37 percent from 2008 to 2010, but rose nearly 18 percent in 2011.
"Operations like this are aimed at curbing any more rises in motorcycle deaths and sending the numbers back downward," he said.
California collision data reveals that primary causes of motorcycle-involved crashes include speeding, unsafe turning and impairment due to alcohol and other drugs.
The SMPD is also reminding all motorists to always be alert and watch out for motorcycles, especially when turning and changing lanes.
Funding for this operation is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
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TENN - State troopers mount motorcycles for enforcement on 'The Dragon'
OFF THE WIRE
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/
State troopers mount motorcycles for enforcement on 'The Dragon'
By Don Jacobs Knoxville News Sentinel September 10, 2013 at 7:40 p.m.
State troopers on motorcycles will saturate U.S. Highway 129, especially the section called “The Dragon” in the upcoming weekend because of two events expected to bring a deluge of riders to the area.
Motorcycle riding troopers from Tennessee Highway Patrols districts in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Cookeville and Fall Branch will converge on the federal highway during Sept. 13-15, according to the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
A $71,116.79 grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, which covers a period from Oct. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013, will pay overtime funds to the motorcycle officers
The decision to saturate “The Dragon” with motorcycle officers was prompted by two events this weekend expected to bring heavy motorcycle traffic to the challenging road. In Maggie Valley, N.C., the “Thunder in the Smokies” event will be under way and in Pigeon Forge the “Fall Rod Run” will be held.
The Dragon is an 11-mile section of U.S. Highway 129 that attracts motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world because of its 318 curves. According to the state, one motorcyclist has died so far this year on U.S. Highway 129.
Officials said the state troopers will especially be alert for aggressive and reckless driving, speeding, impaired driving and seat belt use for four-wheel vehicles. Authorities expect to have a sobriety checkpoint established on U.S. Highway 129 on Saturday
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/
State troopers mount motorcycles for enforcement on 'The Dragon'
By Don Jacobs Knoxville News Sentinel September 10, 2013 at 7:40 p.m.
State troopers on motorcycles will saturate U.S. Highway 129, especially the section called “The Dragon” in the upcoming weekend because of two events expected to bring a deluge of riders to the area.
Motorcycle riding troopers from Tennessee Highway Patrols districts in Knoxville, Chattanooga, Cookeville and Fall Branch will converge on the federal highway during Sept. 13-15, according to the state Department of Safety and Homeland Security.
A $71,116.79 grant from the Governor’s Highway Safety Office, which covers a period from Oct. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013, will pay overtime funds to the motorcycle officers
The decision to saturate “The Dragon” with motorcycle officers was prompted by two events this weekend expected to bring heavy motorcycle traffic to the challenging road. In Maggie Valley, N.C., the “Thunder in the Smokies” event will be under way and in Pigeon Forge the “Fall Rod Run” will be held.
The Dragon is an 11-mile section of U.S. Highway 129 that attracts motorcycle enthusiasts from around the world because of its 318 curves. According to the state, one motorcyclist has died so far this year on U.S. Highway 129.
Officials said the state troopers will especially be alert for aggressive and reckless driving, speeding, impaired driving and seat belt use for four-wheel vehicles. Authorities expect to have a sobriety checkpoint established on U.S. Highway 129 on Saturday
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Another MC Checkpoint CA , NORWALK
O
Norwalk, sheriff’s department to hold motorcycle safety patrols
09/11/13,
The city of Norwalk and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department will hold a special motorcycle safety patrol on Sept. 19 to try to lower the number of motorcycle-related injuries and deaths in the city.
Extra deputies will patrol areas known for motorcycle traffic and where crashes occur.
The officers will look for driving violations, signs of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, illegal turns and other traffic violations, according to a Norwalk press release.
Motorcycle deaths dropped by 37 percent from 2008-2011 but rose by about 18 percent in 2011, according to the release.
There were 16 motorcycle-involved collisions in 2011, with one fatality and 15 injuries, the release said. In 2012, the number of collisions rose to 21, but injuries dropped to 13 and there were no deaths.FF THE WIRE
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ALL ABOUT THE BUTTS TUESDAY
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FLORIDA - Wounded Warrior PTSD..
O ALL: Please review this VERY important information and attend. This is for an amazing cause and means a lot to my fellow coworker that lost his son overseas. If you have any combat boots, police boots or fire fighters boots that you can donate that would be greatly appreciated. Also, I will need any bikers that are willing to lead this event to please contact me. If you are within 10 hours from Jacksonville, FL. the boots can be picked up (IN BULKS) or mailed, inbox me!
https://www.facebook.com/crystal.kincade.3
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Is the IRS Fishing for Lists of Veterans?
OFF THE WIRE
This is disturbing.
If the president wants to get angry about something, how about getting mad about the IRS leaping on the American Legion, requiring individual Legion posts to provide proof of their members’ eligibility, virtually accusing the veterans organization of being a cover for and sanctioning tax fraud?As the Daily Caller has learned, this targeting of the American Legion is happening under a 13-part section of Part 4, Chapter 76 of the Internal Revenue Manual pertaining to “veterans’ organizations.” The section falls under “Exempt Organizations Examination Guidelines,” which was the jurisdiction of Exempt Organizations head Lerner.“The American Legion has recently learned of the so-called IRS ‘audit manual’ and is concerned that portions of it attempt to amend statutes passed by Congress and approved by the president,” American Legion legal counsel Philip Onderdonk Jr. told The Daily Caller.“The IRS now requires American Legion posts to maintain dates of service and character of service records for all members. …The penalty for not having the required proof of eligibility is, apparently, $1,000 per day,” the American Legion stated.
The American Legion, of which I’ve been a member on and off since leaving the Air Force, is a non-partisan organization chartered by Congress in 1919 that provides benefits and discounts to veterans while representing us as a group on veterans issues. It has existed for nearly a century, has never been partisan, and has never been required to furnish the information that the Obama administration is now demanding. The Obama IRS is treating this organization of veterans as if it has engaged in some wrongdoing, when it has not.
In isolation this might not be so profoundly unsettling, but it’s not happening in isolation. The Obama administration in 2009 identified veterans as potential terrorist threats in a Homeland Security report. This year, a Pentagon training guide identifies the American Founding Fathers and conservatives as “extremists.” The IRS has become a weapon against the president’s opponents, as the agency itself admitted, on May 10. Additionally, the Obama government has developed a consistent pattern of tilting toward those it perceives as its friends, while punishing those it perceives as its enemies. It could be using the Internal Revenue Service to obtain comprehensive lists of veterans around the country. If that’s the case, then a question must follow: For what purpose?
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Bumper sticker now probable cause?
OFF THE WIRE
Thomas Paine
Not one fucking word about a lack of probable cause. If these cops had pulled me over for a bumper sticker, shit would have gotten real ugly.
"Bonnie Jonas-Boggioni, 65, and her husband were driving home to Plano, Texas from Columbus after attending her mother-in-law’s funeral when a pair of black police SUV’s stopped the couple a few miles outside of Memphis.
“Knowing I wasn’t speeding, I couldn’t imagine why,” Jonas-Boggioni told the Columbus Dispatch. “They were very serious. They had the body armor and the guns.”
On the back of Jonas-Boggioni’s car was a Buckeye leaf decal, similar to the one players’ have on their helmets, and cops mistakenly thought it was marijuana leaf.
Yes, really.
“What are you doing with a marijuana sticker on your bumper?” one of the cops asked Jonas-Boggioni."
http://www.latimes.com/news/
"If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace."
Thomas Paine
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