0 Another busy month

It has been another busy month at Keeping Stock HQ. Numbers-wise, it wasn't quite an outright record month, but we had the most traffic we've ever had in a 30-day month. Here's our most recent metrics, via Statcounter:

And Ken Perrett from Open Parachute has been busy all morning uploading Sitemeter and Statcounter data for the 300-plus blogs he ranks. Here are the June 2014 Open Parachute rankings:

It's pleasing to still be ranked inside Open Parachute's Top 10 New Zealand blogs. It makes the effort we put into blogging (which often comes at the expense of other, more productive things we could be doing) worthwhile.

As the General Election draws nearer, politics will be our primary, but not our exclusive focus. James Stephenson emerged from hibernation this morning to blog, and we're hoping Nookin will make regular contributions so you don't just have to endure our thoughts. And Curly Sue has promised to keep her creative juices flowing, even though she's been a bit quiet of late!

A blog would be a lonely place if no one visited or commented, so thanks to those of you who take the time to do just that. You encourage us to keep going on days when we could easily flag it.

0 Diplomatic name suppression lifted

We were sent a link this morning which identified the diplomat who invoked diplomatic immunity and fled New Zealand after an alleged sexual assault. Unlike some, including Labour Party MP Clare Curran, we did not share the link because there was a court-ordered suppression order in force.

However this afternoon, a Wellington District Court Judge has lifted the suppression order, and the diplomat's identity and nationality are now known; the Herald reports:

The diplomat at the centre of an alleged sexual assault case can now be named after media organisations challenged a judge's decision to grant permanent name suppression.
He is Mohammed Rizalman Bin Ismail and worked at the Malaysian High Commission in Wellington.
Ismail, who claimed diplomatic immunity, could not initially be identified because of a suppression order imposed by a Wellington District Court judge on May 30.
However, Malaysian media were now reporting the case, and its Foreign Affairs Ministry planned to hold a press conference about it today.
An urgent hearing to overturn the suppression ruling was held in the High Court at Wellington today, where the name suppression was overturned.
Media organisations, including the New Zealand Herald, challenged the decision to grant name suppression.
Foreign Affairs Minister Murray McCully earlier said the Solicitor-General had advised the Government abide by the suppression ruling while it was in place.
"I can't see any good public policy reason why you'd want to protect someone from publicity given there won't be a trial."
Ismail, in his 30s, left the country after being charged by Wellington police with burglary and assault with intent to rape.
He had followed a 21-year-old woman to her Brooklyn home on May 9 when the alleged assault occurred.
The Ministry for Foreign Affairs formally asked for Malaysia to waive diplomatic immunity, but it declined.

It is unfortunate that the Malaysian Foreign Affairs Ministry would not waive diplomatic immunity in Ishmail's case. He has been charged with serious criminal offences in New Zealand, and ought to have faced charges here. However as a signatory to the Vienna Convention, New Zealand authorities had to accept Malaysia's decision.

It is to be hoped that Ishmail will face sanctions in his home country which would be as severe as those likely to be imposed by a New Zealand court. No one, as John Banks discovered recently, is above the law. The Malaysian Government will be making a statement in the next couple of hours, and it will be interesting to hear what action they plan to take.

0 Photo of the Day - 1 July 2014

Some people clearly have too much time on their hands. This just arrived in our in-box:

#TeamMoa; yeah, that might catch on!

0 Tweet of the Day - 1 July 2014

The New Zealand Cricket Museum at the Basin Reserve in Wellington does a marvellous job in preserving the history of the sport. But they also have an excellent grasp of social media:

We add our congratulations to the New Zealand side, which is developing into a very useful test outfit. Kane Williamson was deservedly awarded Player of the Series. Tom Latham and Jimmy Neesham have taken to test cricket like ducks to water. And in Mark Craig, Mike Hesson has unearthed a very handy off-spinner who is also no mug with the bat. 

This is New Zealand's first three-test series win in the Carribean, and Bangladesh apart, the first overseas test series win since 2002. There is a lot to like about the way this team is developing.

0 Is Mallard seeking de-extinction?

What's Trevor Mallard up to? The Dom-Post reports:

With nine terms in Parliament under Trevor Mallard's belt, critics might say he is a political dinosaur. But no-one could say his latest idea is old-school thinking.
With "the science of de-extinction advancing quickly", as he put it, the Hutt South MP has laid down a challenge for Lower Hutt and for scientists: Let's work towards the possibility of moa one day striding again through the bush of Rimutaka Forest Park.
While admitting it sounded "a bit Jurassic Park", Mallard said scientists had been making progress on techniques for using recovered DNA from extinct animals to reconstruct new life.
Fifty to 100 years from now, Wainuiomata could again be home to the moa, which would make an enormous difference to the environment, community and economy, he said.
"It would certainly give us international focus and, frankly, I can't think of a better place. Those valleys [behind Wainuiomata] are accessible without helicopter, with a one-hour walk."
The 30 or so businesspeople at the Development Wainuiomata breakfast were expecting election-year fare from Mallard - and they got it. In particular, he had points to make about housing affordability.
But he caught everyone out when he started talking about mammoths being found encased in ice - "effectively quick frozen" - and being so well preserved that in at least one case, blood flowed as the beast defrosted.

We reckon that this is more a not-too-subtle plot from Trevor Mallard to delay his own political extinction, which is what's going to happen if he loses the Hutt South electorate. We guess he'll put his own DNA into storage whilst he's at it, so that he can be reincarnated at some time for another 27 years in Parliament.

But why stop there? Surely someone in Labour thought to store the DNA of Norman Kirk or Michael Joseph Savage.

The last time there was a moa sighting in New Zealand, it turned out to be an elaborate hoax by a West Coast publican. Perhaps that's Trevor Mallard's new career direction; when he is defeated by Chris Bishop in September, he can manage a pub somewhere, and regale people with tall stories about his political career. 

We hear the Chatham Islands are nice at this time of year...

0 Hypocrisy of the day.

A post from James Stephenson:

According to Stuff, the President of the NZEI, Julie Nowotarski has labelled ACT's education policy "crackpot nonsense" and her equivalent at the PPTA, Angela Roberts, has said that children could become "political pawns" of the ACT party, under their plan to allow Schools to opt out of Ministry control.

Children as political pawns? Sounds dreadful, I wonder what that would look like? Maybe something like this:

The message to parents, that schools and children are the property of the Unions to control, is very clear. My old Secondary School in the UK went "Grant Maintained" way back in 1993, has gone from strength to strength and is now an Academy (the UK's term for Charter School) with a recently-added Sixth Form.

Far from being "crackpot nonsense" this policy from ACT is tried, tested, successful and popular. More like this please Jamie.

0 Rolf Harris guilty

Australians will wake to the news this morning that Rolf Harris is a sexual predator. The entertainer has been found guilty of all 12 charges against him; the BBC reports:

Veteran entertainer Rolf Harris has been found guilty of 12 counts of indecently assaulting four girls in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

One of the victims was a childhood friend of his daughter, while another was aged seven or eight.
The court heard Harris, 84, was a "Jekyll and Hyde" character, and he will be sentenced on Friday.
Police also said they were considering fresh allegations against Harris which did not form part of his recent trial.
Scotland Yard said if the claims meet the force's threshold for investigation they will be looked into further.
The judge, Mr Justice Sweeney, said a custodial term was "uppermost in the court's mind", but he wanted to see a medical report before sentencing.
Harris, who was granted bail, faced a mass of photographers and reporters as he left court in the company of his wife Alwen and daughter Bindi, who had both attended most of the trial at Southwark Crown Court.

The allegations against Rolf Harris were in complete contrast to his jovial public persona, and his status as an icon of the Australian entertainment industry. People within the industry had their doubts about him however, and they have been proved right. It begs the question though as to whether his offending could or should have been stopped.

The BBC continues:

Prosecutors said Harris used his "status and position" to abuse his victims, and he had a dark side to his personality.
The central allegation concerned a friend of Harris's daughter, whom the court heard he groomed and molested from the age of 13 until she was 19.
The other victims told the court they were touched or groped by Harris, sometimes at his public appearances.
The jury deliberated for 37 hours and 45 minutes before reaching their unanimous verdicts.
Harris was found guilty of all 12 charges he was prosecuted on. They were:

• Count one: A woman said Harris touched her inappropriately when she was just seven or eight while he was signing autographs in Hampshire in the late 1960s

• Count two: Harris was accused of groping a teenage waitress's bottom at a charity event in Cambridge in the 1970s

• Counts three to nine: A childhood friend of Mr Harris' daughter said he repeatedly indecently assaulted her between the ages of 13 and 19, including once when his daughter was asleep in the same room. He admitted a relationship with the woman, but said it began after she turned 18

• Counts 10 to 12: Australian woman Tonya Lee, who has waived her right to anonymity, said he fondled her three times on one day while she was on a theatre group trip to the UK at the age of 15.

Six other women also told the court about indecent assaults Harris had carried out against them. The entertainer was not prosecuted over those incidents but the evidence was introduced by the prosecution as an added illustration of his behaviour.

We've been reluctant to comment during the course of the trial, as Harris was entitled to the presumption of innocence, even though the evidence against him was compelling. Of particular disgust were the charges relating to a childhood friend of Harris' daughter, with whom Harris later had a consensual adulterous relationship. 

The Judge in the case has indicated that a prison term is likely, although Harris' health will be taken into account. Unless there are compelling reasons not to imprison him, Harris should serve a term in prison; his offending is an appalling breach of the most fundamental of rights; the right of women not to be sexually abused by a predator.

0 Une citation gentillesse trahison

Des jolies citations sur gentillesse parmi nos citations en image. Voici une belle citation en photo sur gentillesse trahison:

« La trahison ne réussit jamais, car, lorsqu'elle réussit, on lui donne un autre nom. » Proverbes américain

« Si la trahison pour certain est signe de forte personnalité et confiance en soi, je préfère être faible de caractère et ne jamais avoir confiance en moi! » Amine Gharbaoui

« Je peux me défendre contre la méchanceté; je ne peux pas me défendre contre la gentillesse. » Francis Blanche

« Une certaine qualité de gentillesse est toujours signe de trahison. » François Mauriac

« On fait parfois des efforts considérables pour souffrir d'une trahison ; et l'on y parvient. » Etienne Rey

« Agis avec gentillesse, mais n'attends pas de la reconnaissance.  » Confucius

« Nécessité abaisse gentillesse ; nécessité n'a loi, foi, ni roi.» Gabriel Meurier

« Chez n'importe quel homme, il reste toujours une part de gentillesse et de pureté. Ce n'est que quand il a perdu ça qu'il a tout perdu.  » Francis Ford Coppola 

« L’on fait plus souvent des trahisons par faiblesse que par un dessein formé de trahir. » François De La Rochefoucauld

« L'amabilité est la gentillesse des gens qui n'ont pas de coeur. » Philippe Bouvard

« La justice et l'ordre valent mieux que la gentillesse secouant de la poudre aux yeux. » Henri-Frédéric Amiel

« La gentillesse est la forme la plus aboutie et la plus efficace de la malice. Serge Uzzan

0 Neighbors Complain - Dallas City Councilwoman Vonciel Hill’s swimming pool is a CESSPOOL!

Why bes one if you can't act and live like one???

I was outside yesterday for a little bit, trying to put in a basil garden for maybe an hour. Came in and was so bitten up I had to get out the cortisone cream. I cannot recall mosquitos biting in mid-day! No doubt they are way more than vicious this year, and we are taking every pre-caution, including stocking cans of insect repellant at every door to ward off West Nile Virus.

So I see this morning, thanks to Eric Nicholson at The Dallas Observer, that some of our intrepid city leaders are doing their best to HOST West Nile. Make it feel as welcome as the contingent of mayors who visited recently. (Who I hope used mosquito repellant!) Eric posts a photo of Dallas City Councilwoman Vonciel Hill’s swimming pool which is, bluntly, a cesspool. Here’s what he says:

“To mosquitoes, there’s no sexier place to conceive and hatch an extremely large brood of bloodsucking parasites than a rank, slimy puddle of the kind that might collect in, say, an empty pool after a good rain or two. That sort of thing is supposed to yield a prompt visit from city code inspectors and, often, an order to comply with city rules against standing water. So serious is the issue that the Texas Legislature gave cities permission to go onto private property to treat standing water with larvacide if a property appears to be abandoned.”

Click on over to his article to see for yourself, and see the photo of Hill’s pool taken from the public alley behind her home. Can you believe this belongs to a Dallas City Council member? Even more, Hill is the head of the powerful Trinity and Transportation Committee, as well as Dallas’ lone rep to the NCTCOG executive board. Here is a Google Earth image proving this is not a one-time deal.

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0 CHICAGO POLICE SUPT. GARRY MCCARTHY CONTINUES RECOVERY FROM HEART ATTACK

Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy offered some insight Sunday to his recent health scare and his recovery.

"Today is the best I've felt since I had the heart attack," McCarthy said. "What's been killing me is the medication has been banging me up with all sorts of physical ailments."

McCarthy, who attended Sunday's Chicago Pride Parade, says he's been "losing my mind sitting around."

He said he's been keeping in touch with the department by phone and blackberry and has even gone in to the office to work a few half days.

0 Shooting at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards Party - What would be a Negro get together without a traditional shooting? Surprise it wasn't the LINK CARD E.B.T. Party!

1 dead, 4 hurt after BET Awards party shooting in East Hollywood

One Negro was killed and four others injured after a colored man opened fire at an overnight party early Sunday in East Hollywood to celebrate the upcoming Black Entertainment Television Awards.

The assailant was a lone gunman who is still at large, said Officer Drake Madison of the Los Angeles Police Department.

The shooting occurred at 5:17 a.m., when the gunman fired several rounds, Madison said. Ambulances transported three victims to a local hospital, where one died. The two others arranged their own hospital transportation.

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0 More good news

It may be a lousy day outside today, but there's still good news in abundance; the Herald reports:

Employment confidence is at its highest level in nearly six years and Auckland has overtaken Canterbury as the most confident region in the latest Westpac McDermott Miller Employment Confidence Index survey.
The index rose to 109.9 in the June quarter from 108.4 in the March quarter. The June quarter level is the highest since September 2008, when the global financial crisis was affecting sentiment. A number over 100 indicates optimists outnumber pessimists.
Still, the index remains considerably below the 135.9 peak in September 2007, a year prior to the global financial crisis.
Employment confidence was net positive for ten out of 11 regions, and Auckland overtook Canterbury as the most confident region.
"Auckland's unemployment rate deteriorated by more than the rest of the country during the recession, and has been slow to improve since then," Westpac chief economist Dominick Stephens said. "In that light, the latest survey suggests the region's job market is no longer underperforming."

This is great news, especially the increase in confidence in the Auckland job market, which is New Zealand's biggest by far. With the March Household Labour Force Survey confirming there were more people in the workforce in New Zealand than ever before, it is another sign that employers are confident that the economic recovery is not a flash in the pan.

Doubtless the opposition parties will try to talk these figures down, because a narrative of economic success does not suit them going into an election campaign. At the moment however, we would suggest that one of the biggest threats to employment (for Labour MP's at least) is Labour's continued poor polling which makes it increasingly likely that several current MP's will be looking for a new gig after September 20th.

But the numbers don't lie; employment is growing, and there is a growing level of optimism with regards to future employment growth. That's something we all should be celebrating.

 

0 Take a good look at this gang banging illegal beaner's face - Sergio Garcia - No Bail for Chicago shooter

This tattooed up piece of shit illegal beaner is where are fucking tax dollars are going. The liberal puke elected officials in Illinois pander to these illegal aliens every day as these same elected officials threaten to cut your pensions, social security and city services......

If I am king for a day - here is a simple law - you tattoo up your face and neck with gang tattoos - you can not receive any government benefits of any kind!

We are paying these assholes to be gang bangers! Our tax dollars paying these assholes to commit crimes and to murder and wound people!

DO WE HAVE AN ELECTED OFFICIAL WITH THE BALLS TO INTRODUCE SUCH A LAW?

A judge today denied bail for a 19-year-old Indiana charged in connection with a June 17 shooting in the city’s East Side neighborhood, police said.

Sergio Garcia was in court Sunday where a judge denied bail.

According to a release from the Chicago Police Department’s Office of News Affairs, Garcia, of the 1800 block of La Porte Avenue in Whiting, is facing aggravated battery and attempted first degree murder charges in connection with the shooting, which occurred about 12:19 p.m. in the 9800 block of South Avenue J.

Police said Garcia shot at two men in the incident, with both shots coming from a light-colored sedan.

A 25-year-old man was shot in the back and taken in serious condition to Advocate Christ Medical Center; according to News Affairs Officer Janel Sedevic, he is still hospitalized.

The second man, a 20-year-old, was not injured, Sedevic said.

Garcia was arrested June 26, police said.

0 Rahm Emanuel's McPier is taking you for a ride - it's as corrupt as can be! Just like everything in Chicago and Cook County!

We really need to start PUBLIC HANGINGS of all these assholes who are ripping all of us off blind!

From the fricken Daleys, Madigans, Emanuels and every other corrupt asshole! 

There's a new attraction at Navy Pier — “The Big Spin” — and we’re not talking about a Ferris wheel that goes around at $7 a pop.

This is a verbal fantasy ride, courtesy of Navy Pier officials, but we’re not hopping on, and you shouldn’t either.

Here’s the background, courtesy of last week’s Sun-Times “Watchdog” story by Tim Novak:

A government agency — the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, better known as “McPier” — oversees Navy Pier and the McCormick Place convention center.

In 2011, McPier created a nonprofit — Navy Pier Inc. — to operate the Pier, but now they’re refusing to release any meaningful information about the Pier’s operation on the grounds that, as a nonprofit, it’s not a government agency and therefore exempt from the state’s open records law — the Freedom of Information Act.

CLICK FOR MORE 

0 Police: Body found in Lake Michigan is woman lost when boat sank May 31, 2014

The body of a woman who has been missing in Lake Michigan since a boat accident late last month was found Saturday night by Police Marine Unit officers in the water about five miles east of Navy Pier, according to a police source.

The woman, in her 20s, was one of four people aboard a 33-foot cabin cruiser that sank several miles off the coast of Chicago the night of May 31.

She was not wearing a life preserver.

A 29-year-old man who was found about 12 hours after the ship sank was the only survivor of the accident. Shortly after he was pulled from the water, the body of 26-year-old Chicago attorney Ashley Haws, who was also wearing a life preserver, was found floating in the lake. An autopsy attributed her death to hypothermia.

Police Marine Unit boats have been searching the lake daily for the woman’s body, as well as the body of the boat’s owner, Orest Sopka, a 30-year-old Chicago trader. He is the only person from the boat who remains missing.

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0 Chicago Police: Two people shot at Montrose Beach as BLACK thugs, gang bangers and their breeders destroy the Chicago Downtown, Gold Coast and Beaches

Two people were shot near Montrose Beach in the North Side Uptown neighborhood Sunday evening, police said. The incident happened about 6:20 p.m. near the 4500 block of North Simonds Drive, police said. A witness at the scene said she heard five shots fired.

0 Tweet of the Day - 30 June 2014

You'd think that the Internet Party, its founder Kim Dotcom and its leader Laila Harre would stand for openness and free speech on the internet. But despite their name, it seems they don't:

Free speech and all that nice sounding stuff is apparently for other people. But not for the Internet Party, it's founder and visionary, and its leader. They are far too important to worry about that kind of thing!

0 World Cup Tweet of the Day - 30 June 2014

There may be another one of these after this morning's second match. But for now, let's look at the way KLM has bid farewell to the Mexicans:

We're not sure whether KLM flies in to Mexico City, but we suspect that if they do, patronage will be down over the next few months!

0 The latest poll cycle

The most recent poll cycle ended last night with the One News/Colmar Brunton poll. And for the first time for a while, there are either no rogue polls, or there are five of them. 

Colmar Brunton, Roy Morgan, Reid Research, Ipsos and DigiPoll are all saying the same thing; John Key is set to win a third term as prime Minister based on the results in the back half of June. And to make matters even worse for Labour, only the Herald-DigiPoll has Labour ranking in the 30's, and even that's within the margin of error at 30.5%. The other four polls all have Labour with a 2 in front of its number.

Here's the One News-Colmar Brunton result, via TVNZ:

A ONE News poll/Colmar Brunton has found Labour has dropped below 30% support for the first time in two years.
The poll results come after supposed donations from Donghua Liu have dogged Labour leader David Cunliffe this week and taken a toll on the party.
The poll found 29% of respondents supported Labour - the party's lowest polling result since the aftermath of the its disastrous election campaign in March 2012.
"We've had a sustained smear campaign against us for the last couple of weeks. The poll has hardly moved and we're not that concerned about it," says Mr Cunliffe.
The poll also found National dropped one point to 50% popularity and could govern alone with 64 seats.
New Zealand First also dropped one point to 3.8% - below the 5% threshold.
The big winner was Internet-Mana Party on 2.8%.
Internet leader Laila Harre would be likely to return to Parliament on Hone Harawira's coat tails according to the poll.
"We've formed the alliance with Mana that's giving people the confidence to know that their party votes will count and so I think a result over 5% is certainly attainable," says Ms Harre.
The poll also found 10% of respondents choose Mr Cunliffe as their preferred Prime Minister while John Key won 47% of the vote.

David Cunliffe is blaming this result on a "sustained smear campaign" from National. He should not be so quick off the mark, and we'll see who was smearing whom when Donghua Liu gets his financial records from China and passes them to Paul Davidson QC. 

Labour has attacked Mr Liu's credibility, causing him to lose face. The Chinese businessman has every motivation to save face, and prove his allegations now, and David Cunliffe will have only himself to blame for throwing down the gauntlet to him.

The National Party conference at the weekend was a positive affair, with the only negatives being repeated warnings about complacency. With party membership in great heart, we are sure that National will succeed in mobilising its vote on September 20th, and Labour may just find that it does not have a mortgage on the so-called "missing million" on which it seems to be basing its chances.

Now attention shifts to the Labour Party "congress" next weekend, although we will hear little from that because the media has been excluded.

The June polls have been truly dreadful for Labour with less than three months remaining until the General Election. There must be some very nervous backbenchers at the moment, watching their jobs and taxpayer-funded salaries wafting away in the winds of public opinion. 

0 Fat Nasty White Mudshark Ashley Conrade, 24 and her colored career criminal black boyfriend Shavelle Chavez-Nelson, 32 charged with murdering college student Anarae Schunk, 20, nine months after her naked body bearing 22 knife wounds was found dumped in a corn field

Mudshark women are 1750 times more likely to be killed and 2325 times more likely to be imprisoned for lengthy sentences.

Ex-convict and his girlfriend charged with murdering college student nine months after her naked body bearing 22 knife wounds was found dumped in a corn field 

• Shavelle Chavez-Nelson, 32, and Ashley Conrade, 24, both charged with second-degree intentional murder
• Anarae Schunk, 20, was found dead in a ditch next to a cornfield in rural Minnesota last September a week after she went missing 
  
• Nelson, Schnuk's ex-boyfriend, also faces murder charges in the shooting death of Palagos Jobi the same night she was stabbed 
• Police say they found UMN student's bloody clothing, suspects' DNA evidence and 8-inch knife used as murder weapon
• Autopsy showed Anarae likely died within 20 seconds of having her jugular vein and carotid artery slashed 

A nasty looking inter-racial couple have been charged in connection to the savage murder of a white Minnesota college student whose body bearing 22 knife wounds was found dumped in a field last fall.

Shavelle Chavez-Nelson, 32, and Ashley Marie Conrade, 24, were both charged Friday with second-degree intentional murder in the slaying of 20-year-old University of Minnesota student Anarae Schnuk.

The victim was reported missing September 23, 2013. A week later, her naked body turned up in a ditch next to a cornfield in Rice County.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

0 BLACK VIOLENCE EVERYWHERE - Bourbon Street shooting injures 7 in New Orleans a.k.a. The Chocolate City

Gunfire erupted on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street early on Sunday, wounding seven people, including one critically, police said. The victims were transported to nearby hospitals, authorities said.

The shooting happened around 2:45 a.m. local time in front of two famous New Orleans' haunts, the bar Pat O'Brien's and jazz venue Preservation Hall, according to the Times-Picayune newspaper.

It was unclear what led to the shooting or whether police had a suspect.

Bourbon Street runs through the heart of New Orleans' oldest neighborhood, the French Quarter, a prime tourist destination packed with bars, restaurants, clubs and souvenir shops.

0 THE MENTAL ILLNESS PARADE also known as Pride Parade expected to draw 1 million participants - (BULLSHIT) Over inflated numbers!

When the annual Pride Parade steps off at noon today on the North Side, more than 1 million people are expected to be there, according to organizers.

CLICK FOR MORE

• Live from Pride: Tweets, pictures and more

• Photos: Chicago Pride Fest 2014

• Map: 2014 Pride Parade route

• Cubs take Sunday off for Pride

• Pride Parade celebrates 45 years

0 Andrew Sadek murdered by SMILEY FACE KILLER - Body of Wahpeton college student found in Red River identified as college student missing nearly two months

BRECKENRIDGE, Minn. – A body found Friday in the Red River near Breckenridge has been identified as Andrew Sadek, a 20-year-old student missing since May 2.

The body was identified by the University of North Dakota Department of Forensic Pathology using dental records, according to a statement issued Saturday by the Wilkin County Sheriff’s Office. The cause of death has not yet been determined.

Sadek’s disappearance led to days of public searching, with teams searching areas along the river as well as aerial surveys. Federal authorities joined the investigation as more and more clues pointed at the possibility that the "Smiley Face Killer" may have be involved. 

A warrant for Sadek’s arrest for two felony charges and one misdemeanor charge involving drugs was issued three days after his disappearance. Sadek allegedly had sold marijuana to a police informant at the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, where he was a student.

All follow-up investigation will be coordinated with the college, the sheriff’s office said in the statement.

0 TOUPEE WEARING RADIO TEAM - Eddie & Jobo BLOW 6 FIGURE CONTRACT at WLS FM

Photo: Handjob Eddie and Blowjob JoBo

An apparent rift between Ed Volkman and Joe Colborn has dashed hopes for another comeback by the long-running Chicago radio duo known as Eddie & Jobo.

“Well, that’s all, folks,” Volkman declared on Facebook and Twitter Saturday. “There will be no Eddie & Jobo anymore. The offer was there, but only one of us wanted it. Hope he finds happiness.” For the first time in more than 25 years, Volkman is seeking work solo.

Sources confirmed the duo had been offered a 2½-year deal to host mornings on classic hits WLS FM 94.7. As first reported here last week, talks began in May when the two met with John Dickey, co-chief operating officer and executive vice president of Cumulus Media.

As eager as Volkman was to accept the deal, he couldn’t convince his longtime partner to agree. The two have been off the air since December 2012 when CBS Radio dropped them from classic hits WJMK FM 104.3. Since then, Colborn sold his Gold Coast condo and moved full-time to Freeport, Illinois. Volkman continues to live in Chicago.

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0 Rollin King, who helped start Southwest Airlines, dies at 83

DALLAS — Rollin King, a San Antonio businessman who helped start Southwest Airlines Co. and create a new age of competition in the airline industry, has died at 83.

King died Thursday in Dallas of the effects from a major stroke about a year ago, his son, Edward King, told The Associated Press.

Longtime Southwest CEO Herb Kelleher praised King for coming up with the idea of a discount airline that would serve Texas travelers. Kelleher said in a statement issued by Southwest on Friday that the notion of a low-cost, low-fare airline with quality service became a model not only in the U.S. but worldwide.

“The people of Southwest Airlines grieve with Rollin’s family, mourn his absence, and thank him for his vision,” Kelleher said.

The airline’s current CEO, Gary Kelly, said King helped democratize air travel by making it more affordable.

Interstate air service was heavily regulated by the federal government in 1967, when King sat down with Kelleher, his lawyer, to map out the idea for a no-frills airline that would fly between Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. Edward King said his father got the idea for a Texas-only carrier by studying the success of Pacific Southwest Airlines, which operated within California.

The fledgling carrier had to survive several legal challenges by Braniff International and other airlines before its first flight in 1971. It began flying outside Texas in 1979, after deregulation, and is scheduled to begin international flights next week. Southwest is the nation’s fourth-biggest airline company, with 2013 revenues of $17.7 billion.

King served on the board of directors from 1967, when the company was incorporated as Air Southwest, until 2006. He also flew as a Southwest pilot for a few years in the 1970s.

King was born in Cleveland, attended Case Western Reserve University and received a master’s in business administration from Harvard, according to his son. He moved to Texas and was working in investment banking and acquired a small air-taxi service in South Texas before starting Southwest, according to the Texas State Historical Association.

0 Clinton Tucker, a Fired Black Employee Sues Benjamin Moore Paints Company Over Racist Paint Names

Here's a real easy way to stop these bullshit lawsuits.... STOP HIRING BLACKS!

A black man in New Jersey has filed a lawsuit against his former employer, Benjamin Moore Paints, which he says named one of its paint colors after him and then fired him when he complained.

Clinton Tucker, who managed online sales for Benjamin Moore, which is owned by the conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway, said that he was bothered by the names of several of the company’s paint colors, “Clinton Brown,” “Tucker Chocolate,” and “Confederate Red.”

“Being a black man named Clinton Tucker, the plaintiff found this to be extremely racially offensive,” reads the complaint, filed in Essex County Court.

Tucker claims that the company’s executive management were aware of his displeasure with the color names, but failed to take his complaints seriously and then terminated — allegedly unlawfully — him in March 2014.

Tucker worked on a project to create a new line of paint colors. One of the shades was given the name “Tucker Chocolate.”

The company already had a color named “Clinton Brown.” A co-worker pointed out the names of the two paint colors, which together contained Tucker’s first and last name, and thought it was funny, according to the lawsuit.

“Tucker found it to be repulsive,” the complaint reads.

“Coupled with ‘Tucker Chocolate,’ it was racially offensive and demeaning to Clinton Tucker.”

Tucker claims that in a meeting in which employees were asked about their favorite Benjamin Moore colors, he turned to a supervisor and said “well you know my least favorite colors.”

A colleague then spoke up, saying “if you think that is bad, what about Confederate Red?”

Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/28/fired-black-employee-sues-paint-company-over-racist-paint-names/#ixzz361skcihU

0 Chicago Board of Education paid their full pension contribution to the Chicago Teacher's Pension Fund...$612.5 Million dollars this year...this is the first time since 2010

Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund Receives Full 2014 Payment from CPS

CHICAGO - June 27 , 2014 - The Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund (CTPF) received more than $585 million earlier today, completing the $612.5 million required contribution from the Chicago Board of Education (BOE) for the 2014 fiscal year.  

"This is an important step.  This payment marks the first time since 2010 that the BOE has made a full payment of its pension obligation," said Jay C. Rehak, CTPF president of the board of trustees and interim executive director. "Our members pay their pension obligations in full with every paycheck - every month, every year - and have never missed a payment. We appreciate the employer doing the same."

"CTPF is a well-managed plan that has generated an 8.86 percent average return over the last 35 years," said Rehak. "Our financial situation has deteriorated because our employer and the state underfunded this plan for decades.  As a result, our plan's funded ratio has fallen from 100 percent in 2002 to our current 49.5 percent."

Before 1995, CTPF collected a property tax levy directly from the city of Chicago to fund pensions. Legislation passed in 1995 allowed CPS to divert the property tax levy into its operating budget. Between 1996 and 2005, the BOE collected $2 billion in property tax revenue but did not make actuarially required contributions to support the fund. At the same time, the state of Illinois - which had agreed, in principle, to fund CTPF at 20 to 30 percent of the amount it funded the downstate Teachers' Retirement System (TRS) - has never seen fit to honor that commitment.

CTPF's fiscal situation was exacerbated in 2010 when the Illinois General Assembly passed PA 96-0889 which allowed the BOE to reduce its payments from 2011 to 2013. This pension "holiday" cost CTPF an additional $1.2 billion.

 "Our fund has had an actuarially based funding schedule in place for many years, but without a consistent, reliable source of revenue - it means nothing," said Rehak. "Our teachers who do not contribute to Social Security depend on their pensions for financial security in retirement. We hope that this payment is the first of many as our fund pursues full funding."

ABOUT CTPF

Established by the Illinois state legislature in 1895, the Chicago Teachers' Pension Fund manages members' assets and administers benefits. The $9.7 billion pension fund serves approximately 63,000 active and retired educators, and provides pension and health insurance benefits to more than 27,000 beneficiaries.

0 Career Negro Criminal COREY MOSLEY attacked a young white girl shopping at WalMart with a baseball bat because he HATES WHITIE - But news refuses to discuss race at all in this attack caught on security tape

One can only hope that Corey Mosley gets anally tortured by the Aryan Nation in prison and then shank to death SLOWLY!

 

 

0 RAMADAN: Reason #120 for NEVER hiring a Muslim or Islamic applicant

CAIR TO MUSLIMS: Know your rights in the workplace this Ramadan. And this is in addition to all the other Muslim “rights” CAIR demands from every employer:

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0 Fire Chief Ronald Craig Mulford of Shreveport, Louisiana, indicted for cover-up of firehouse homosexual prostitution, abuse of mentally disabled men

The fire chief of Shreveport, Louisiana, was indicted on Wednesday for allegedly obstructing state and federal authorities looking into accusations of prostitution and abuse of mentally disabled men at one of the fire stations under his command.

Fire Chief Ronald Craig Mulford surrendered to authorities Thursday morning after a grand jury handed down five counts of malfeasance while in office, reports the Shreveport Times.

Mulford is accused of failing to report the abuse of one mentally disabled man at the hands of firefighters. Those same firefighters  are also accused of allegedly hiring a prostitute to have sex with a man described as “severely mentally disabled,” in Fire Station no.8.

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0 Choking Texas Until It Turns BLUE

Texas is the only state left to Republicans that gives them a chance to continue winning national elections.  Without the Lone  Star State, we may never see a Republican president again – and certainly not a conservative one.

This truth is the essence of the current and manufactured immigration crisis in America.  The vast majority of this allegedly “sudden”wave of  immigrants are being housed on the Texas/Mexico border. Those numbers intend to choke the life out of Texas until finally, the electoral powerhouse finally turns blue…

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0 Unwed White Trash Welfare Breeders Rachel E. Angotti, 25, and Charles A. Messer, 28, shot up heroin in front of 4-year-old, prosecutors say

PHOTO: Rachel E. "Bushy Treasure Trail" Angotti, 25, and Charles A. "Needles" Messer, 28

A couple from Whiting, Ind. shot up heroin in an SUV in front of their 4-year-old daughter in the South Deering neighborhood, prosecutors said today.

Rachel E. Angotti, 25, and Charles A. Messer, 28, were arrested Friday around 4:40 p.m. in a parking lot at 10300 S. Torrence Ave., according to court documents.

They were each charged with drug possession, possession of hypodermic syringe needles and neglect of a child.

Police discovered the couple in a Chevy Blazer, shooting up heroin “in direct view” of their 4-year-old child, according to court documents.


Officers discovered three needles and a spoon with heroin inside the truck’s center console, according to court documents.  On Angotti, they discovered five needles in a bag and heroin in another small bag. Messer told officers that he had recently bought the heroin.

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0 Chicago 64 year old Hiker William Pierce tumbles to his death in Utah fall - Sent his family a text photo of the mountain top view before smashing down thousands of feet to his painful and horrible death!

Authorities have recovered the body of a 64-year-old tourist from Chicago who apparently fell to his death while hiking near a mountain resort in the Twin Peaks southeast of Salt Lake City.

Unified police said Saturday that William Pierce took the tram up the mountain at the Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort on Wednesday and texted his family a photo of the view about 7:45 that evening.

That’s the last the family heard from him. They reported him missing Friday morning when he missed a flight home.

Investigators tracked Pierce’s rental car to a parking lot at Snowbird. Unified police detective Ken Hansen said the photo that Pierce texted helped them locate his body. “It’s steep terrain and I think that based on the picture, we knew it was steep terrain and it gave us a place to look. It’s open terrain and if you lose your footing it’s a tough recovery,” Hansen said.

A state public safety helicopter spotted Pierce’s body in an area where it apparently fell about 400 feet down a steep, rocky grade.

0 A fine surprise: City of Chicago may owe millions possibly billions of dollars in refunds to corporations previously fined at administrative hearings who were not represented by an attorney judge rules

Chicago taxpayers could be on the hook to refund millions of dollars in fines levied by administrative hearing officers over the years because the city did not require corporate defendants to be represented by licensed attorneys.

The surprise liability stems from a May 20 Illinois Appellate Court ruling in a case filed by Stone Street Partners, a limited liability corporation that owned Gold Coast real estate.

A caretaker had appeared before an administrative hearing officer to contest a 1999 building code violation, triggering a $1,000 judgment.

Eleven years later, the partners got notice of a default judgment and moved to vacate it on grounds they had not been properly served and that the city had allowed the corporation to be represented by a person who was not authorized to practice law.

The Appellate Court agreed.

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0 BOMBSHELL REPORT!! Elijah Cummings Heavily Involved in IRS Scandal…Could Face Prosecution

Elijah Cummings has been trying to kill the investigation into the IRS scandal, making ridiculous claims and calling it a witch hunt.  Well, it caught a big witch by the name of Elijah Cummings.  Emails that have been released, shows that Cummings was eyeball deep in the scandal, asking for and receiving information on the conservative group, True the Vote, from Lois Lerner.  His office illegally received confidential tax records from the group.  Cummings is denying his involvement, despite his email asking for the same information that he received.

On Wednesday, committee chairman , Rep Darrel Issa accused Cummings of being complicit in the IRS targeting of conservative groups.  In an email turned over to the House Oversight Committee, Cummings asked for dirt from the IRS (which is a felony since taxpayer information is private) on True the Vote.  Within days of that email, Lerner sent out a questionnaire to True the Vote asking them all sorts of private questions.  Days after receiving those answers, Lerner sent the information to Elijah Cummings.

Catherine Engelbrecht, founder of True the Vote, has testified to Congress that her group was targeted by the IRS and the emails fit into the timeline perfectly.  True the Vote spent years trying to get their tax exempt status approved.  Recently we learned that despite the cries from the liberals that their groups were targeted too, agents at the IRS testified under oath that all progressive applications were approved.

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