Friday, May 22, 2009. 7pm to 8:45pm. Robert Wallace, co-author of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA’s Spytechs from Communism to al-Qaeda, will be speaking at the City University of New York Graduate Center. It should be interesting. I hear Bob is a great public speaker and the topic is naturally interesting. It’s free…
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Justin Fenton reportsin the Sun: A city police commander has been reinstated for active duty after being cleared of wrongdoing in a probe into text messages he exchanged with a community activist who was being sought on a warrant and later allegedly stabbed his wife to death. … The Police Department intends to address “procedural…
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Now I haven’t witnessed this first hand, but it’s no great secret in the police world that every now and then somebody very troublesome may be picked up and dropped off far from home. Alas, this glorious police tradition may be on the way out, at least in Baltimore. Such is the usual fate in…
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This time in New York. The fallacy of gun-control (and I say this as a supporter of gun control) is that it never answers the question: how do you get the gun out of the hands of the criminal? Passing more feel-good laws is not the answer. Laws don’t make you safer. You need observanceof…
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Can I just say I can’t believe that we have a president of the United States who dares to say, even in jest:, “In the Heezee. Waz’ up!” I love it. And if you think Obama is “unpresidential,” go back and look at Bush looking under the table [at 5:10 and 5:55] for non-existent weapons…
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Sometimes they do. Hey, I’m just trying to be fair and balanced. It’s one of those nasty character flaws of liberals like me–the desire to see all sides of a issue even if it doesn’t support their position. The story from WSBTV in College Park, Georgia: Bailey said he thought it was the end of…
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If you have an hour-plus to spare, listen to Glenn Greenwald talk about Portugal’s experience with drug decriminalization since 2001. Here’s a link to the video and also a downloadable audio podcast. Under Portugal’s new regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are sent to a panel consisting of a psychologist, social…
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A man at a concert, probably tripping, is naked. He ends of getting tased. I’m generally against the use of tasers. And I particularly oppose the use of tasers as a compliance device. Especially when the suspect is unarmed. Even more so when the suspect is unarmed, naked, and there are three burly officers involved.…
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I think all employees should be paid to put on work clothes, if it’s part of the job. Here’s the story in the L.A. Times. I wonder if I’m eligible for back pay from my time in Baltimore?
I just finished reading Maximum City by Suketu Mehta. Best book I’ve read in a while. Non-fiction book about the city of Bombay. Great arm-chair traveling. But some good deep insight, too (and a fair amount about the Mumbai police, too). I loved it.