I so wish this guy had gotten his hands around their scrawny throats. But thanks to quick police work and paramedics, the next best thing happened. Somehow I don't think the perps will be farting any high notes after a little while.
A U.S. Marine veteran is recovering from a Craigslist transaction gone bad in which he was shot and then forced to plug the wounds with this fingers, benefiting from a military background that police say possibly saved his life.
"Thank God that I'm here," Lt. Col. Karl Trenker told ABC News' Miami affiliate WPLG-TV from his hospital bed in Florida. "I could very easily not have survived this."
Trenker, 48, had arranged to meet with a Craigslist buyer in Miramar under the name "Galven" who he believed was interested in buying a men's chain necklace his fiancee had posted on the online marketplace.
Trenker thought he was meeting the man in a well-populated plaza, but it turned out to be an apartment complex. He met two men outside on Dec. 21 and showed them the necklace.
"He just picked it up, looked at it and then just started running. I said, 'Listen, we can just drop this now. You set that thing on the ground, walk away, we're done. Police are going to be on their way in a minute,'" Trenker said.
Instead of dropping the necklace, the two men took off running and Trenker pursued them for several blocks before one of the suspects, Jeff Steele, "turned and fired several shots at him," according to a Broward County Sheriff's Office police report.
"I got shot. I didn't know I was shot as many times as I was shot," Trenker said. "I felt the one go into my chest and then one through my abdomen."
Trenker was hit three or four times and shot at four or five times, Broward County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella said.
"I put my finger in the bullet holes, the big ones, and then I ran back to the car and I made sure the kids were OK and I told them, 'Listen, Dad's been shot. There's an ambulance already on the way,'" Trenker said.
Police said four of Trenker's seven children were in the car and witnessed the alleged robbery and the chase, but not the alleged shooting.
"He called me and said, 'Honey, I've been shot,'" Trenker's fiancee, Tanya Saiz, told WPLG. "I nearly fainted. He saved my life. That would have been me."
Saiz had originally been the one who was planning to meet the purported customer. Somehow, I don't think Saiz would have gone all Alpha Male on them.
Trenker is amazed that after recently returning from a tour of duty in Iraq, he would be injured in his own hometown. "I can't believe this. I go to Iraq, I go to Afghanistan and here I am at home, shot," Trenker said. "It's inconceivable. I don't know how that they can put so little value on life." Well, hopefully FL still has some money left to incarcerate these sociopaths. Certain other states don't, you know, and you'd have to take care of them yourself after you get out of the hospital and back on your feet.
Fiancee Saiz told WPLG, "He's been shelled with artillery and survived that, so for this scrawny, skinny little kid to come in and take his necklace, he didn't know the guy was armed. Craigslist. Jewelry. Remote location. Bad combination.
"If there ever was a time to believe in miracles, this was it, because this was our miracle."
Moschella emphasized that authorities discourage people involved in robberies to pursue thieves. She said that is best left up to law enforcement. Or rounds from a .45 ACP.
"He could have been killed and that gold chain, of course, isn't worth your life," Moschella said. "This isn't your average victim. His good physical condition and military training may have helped save his life."
Within hours, police had arrested three suspects. Steele, 20, and James Flounory, 20, were each charged with one count of attempted murder and two counts of robbery with a firearm. The third suspect, Andre Gayle, 20, was charged with carrying a concealed weapon and possession of marijuana. Two years out of high school. If they even made it that far. I wonder what their next career move would have been.
Flounory and Steele are in jail without bond and Gayle is out of custody. Looking to join the priesthood, I'll bet.
#2
Trenker thought he was meeting the man in a well-populated plaza, but it turned out to be an apartment complex.
Problem right there.
Google "Craiglist robbery":
28 Dec: Clayton County police have arrested two Decatur-area men who allegedly robbed a couple that had responded to an advertisement for a car for sale on Craigslist, Channel 2 Action News reports.
About a week before Christmas: a St. Louis area family was lured to a location by an interested Craigslist buyer. The suspects pulled a gun on their 12-year-old child, threatening to kill him during the robbery.
29 Dec: A 22-year-old Akron man was robbed at gunpoint after advertising an Xbox on Craigslist.
Akron Police say it happened around 6 p.m when a suspect came inside the victim's home on Triplett Boulevard to see if the game system worked.
Police say the suspect called a friend to bring him money and within minutes, two other males came inside the house, armed with handguns, and robbed the victim of $85.00.
According to authorities, the victim turned the tables on the robbers and pulled his own handgun, firing several shots at the suspects.
22 Dec: Akron police report two men robbed a victim who planned on exchanging money for an iPad, that was posted for sale on Craigslist .
When the victim arrived to an East Exchange Street business Wednesday night to pick up the device, he described one of the suspects threatened to shoot him and had one hand in his pocket acting as if he had a gun.
The suspects ran to a black Chevy Bonneville and drove away.
23 Dec: Paige and McDowell were arrested in connection with the robbery of three men who arrived at a restaurant parking lot Nov. 30 in Fort Worth expecting to buy an iPad, a police report said.
When the three men met the sellers, the suspects refused to meet inside, the report said.
The men told police that the suspects pulled a gun on them and took cash and personal items and then drove away, the report said.
24 Dec: Trotwood police are looking for two men who shot a man in the face during a Craigslist purchase.The shooting happened near the intersection of Gardendale Avenue and Watkins Place around 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
A man and his girlfriend drove to Gardendale Ave. in Trotwood with plans to see a dirt bike to a Craigslist shopper.
But those shoppers, turned out to be shooters.
The woman called 911 and said, "He's shot in the face."
There are so many others. Do a Google search.
[Bangla Daily Star] The leaders of BNP and its allies last night decided to form a new alliance, keeping the old one intact.
A formal announcement will come after a few more meetings of the BNP Standing Committee and the party-led four-party alliance.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the alliance with BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... in the chair at her Gulshan office.
They also discussed a possible name for the new alliance and later empowered the leader of the opposition to finalise the matter.
"The alliance will be expanded but the announcement will come after two more meetings. Discussion is needed with those who will be included in the alliance," Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, BNP acting secretary general, said after the meeting that started at 9:30pm yesterday.
Bangladesh Jatiya Party (BJP) Chairman Andaleeve Rahman Partha said the new alliance would be the largest one in the country's political arena.
"We have placed a number of names for the new alliance. Khaleda Zia will fix it in consultation with her party's standing committee members."
Meeting sources said the new alliance would be something like the ruling Awami League-led grand alliance.
"The ruling grand alliance was formed keeping the Awami League led-14 party alliance intact, and hopefully we will form an alliance keeping the BNP-led four-party alliance untouched," said a leader who did not wish to be named.
Sources also said the Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... and BJP opposed the idea of an expansion of the alliance. They want to form a new alliance keeping the four-party alliance as it is.
But talking to news hounds, Foyez Ullah, Islami Oikya Jote ... a political party in Bangladesh. In the 2001 elections the party won 2 out of 300 elected members in an alliance with the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. It has a focus on building an islamic state, and has used the madrassas to gain support... joint secretary general, said the four-party alliance would be dissolved. "The new alliance will be formed based on the four-party alliance."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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Georgia, Tbilisi, Dec.29 -- 2011 has been an important year in Georgia's integration into NATO and the EU, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister Giorgi Baramidze said on Thursday. Baramidze said Georgia effectively uses such a tool as "NATO-Georgia Commission" and has already held about 20 meetings within it.
"NATO Secretary General's visit to Georgia and mentioning Georgia among countries - candidates for Alliance's membership were important," Baramidze said stressing that this happened for the first time. He also stressed that the decision of the NATO Bucharest summit that Georgia will be a NATO member remains in force.
"Our task in 2012 is maintaining high rate of integration into the NATO and EU," Baramidze stressed.
He said it is important that the negotiations with the EU on an association agreement continue. "Decision on simplifying visa regime, start of negotiations on free trade, which will allow Georgia to enter the 500-million market, which will strengthen the country's economy, was also important," Baramidze said.
He said next year is also important as the negotiations will continue on an association agreement, and the consultations on the abolition of the visa regime will start by late spring.
"Georgia expects clearer signal on which steps should be taken for closer approximation," Baramidze stressed. "We will continue reforms to reach progress in this regard," he added.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
I thought Georgia just like Alabama, Texeas or any other of the 57 states was already part of NATO.
(And for the record, I just figured out another use for the cleavage pic!)
The funeral procession for Kim Jong-Il was carried out with military precision and when a handful of dawdlers messed up those regimented lines, they were eliminated. From the photo, that is.
A photo released by the North Korea's state news agency and transmitted by the Germany-based European Pressphoto Agency is slightly different from a photo taken at nearly the identical moment and released by Japanese agency Kyodo News.
The Japanese picture captured a half-dozen men near a camera on a tripod lingering behind the line of mourners on the left side of the boulevard as the motorcade passed by.
In the photo by the North Korean Central News Agency, those men, their camera and their footprints have been digitally removed, restoring absolute order to the crowds lining the boulevard as the cortege passed by.
The alterations were discovered by the New York Times with the help of digital forensics expert Hany Farid of Dartmouth College.
The European Pressphoto Agency, which distributed the doctored North Korea photo, issued a "mandatory kill" for its clients, meaning they were not to use the picture.
The agency granted an exception to ABC News "for the sole purpose of being able to show and explain what had been altered before the picture was provided to international news agencies by KCNA [North Korean Central News Agency]. We consider this as part of a transparent and responsible clarification process."
A European Pressphoto Agency spokeswoman told ABC News, "Any kind of digital manipulation violates EPA's code of ethics." And apparently a moment of silence and flying the flags at half mast at the UN for a mass-murder isn't.
#2
I thought those mouners were in remarkably straight and eben lines, Much like theu'd been marched into position and told "Cry Like you Mean it, But don't break ranks".
So, staged, what else is new, in the Hermit Kingdom Image has always taken precidence over Fact.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
12/30/2011 11:49 Comments ||
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Hong Kong and China shares suffered their biggest annual loss since the 2008 financial crisis as mounting fears about China, worries about a global recession and heightened volatility in financial markets trumped cheap valuations.
Tight monetary policy in China, concerns about bad loans and corporate governance issues saw investors sharply pare exposure to China this year, particularly in the second-half.
The Hang Seng index ended 2011 down 20 percent, roughly in line with other Asian markets but significantly underperforming the S&P 500, which is poised to finish the year little changed.
The Shanghai Composite ended the year down 21.7 percent. Tom Friedman could not been reached for a comment.
Greek politicians reacted angrily on Monday following the admission by former Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz that Turkish secret agents intentionally started forest fires in Greece in the 1990s as part of state-sponsored sabotage.
According to Yilmaz, who served as premier three times in the 1990s, agents of the Turkish secret service set fire to Greek forests during the leadership of his archrival Tansu Ciller, from 1995 to 1998. During that period major forest fires caused huge damage on the islands of the eastern Aegean and in Macedonia.
The news sparked political outrage Greece on Monday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Grigoris Delavekouras said the claims were serious and must be investigated, adding that Athens was awaiting a briefing from Ankara.
Conservative New Democracys shadow foreign minister Panos Panayiotopoulos said the revelations cast heavy shadows over Greek-Turkish relations and called on Turkey recompense Greece for losses incurred.
Giorgos Karatzaferis, the leader of the right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally (LAOS), was indignant and triumphant, noting that he had been accused of extremism when as an MP he had accused Turkish secret agents of arson in Greece. Now, from the lips of former Turkish premier, we have an admission to the crime, he said.
#1
I remember getting stuck in a bar sitting next to a Greek officer, when a grinning Brit asked him a leading question about Turkey. I had been set up.
[Dawn] The Transparency International Pakistain (TIP), which is often criticised for its `divisive findings` has released yet another yearly survey report pertaining to what it terms corruption perception, with apprehension of deterioration in the fields of taxation, customs, tendering and contracting and courts.
According to TIP`s national corruption perception survey, 2011, a summary of which was released at a presser here on Wednesday, land administration and police were the two most corrupt and education and military least corrupt departments.
The military, included in the survey for the first time, was a rank above the education department.
Contrary to the past surveys, the latest, fifth since 2002, has been conducted by Gallup Pakistain with a cut-off date of October for field activities. One of the parties had pulled out of the survey job because of increased government pressure, a TIP office-bearer said.
The organization`s chairman Sohail Mirza and adviser Syed Adil Gilani spoke at the presser.
They said the most alarming was the increase in corruption ranks of income tax, customs and tendering and contracting to 3rd, 7th and 6th among the most corrupt from 8th, 9th and 10th in 2010.
The judiciary and courts became the 4th most corrupt sector from 6th recorded last year.
Mr Gilani said unwilling public prosecution in a number of alleged cases of major corruption, pending proceedings and delay in punishment had contributed to the development of a perception that the judicial system had also fallen prey to corruption.
Mr Muzaffar alleged that corruption had reached an unprecedented level in the country.
He said a lack of accountability was being witnessed because of delay in punitive action by state organs against corrupt elements in cases pertaining to Pakistain Steel, NICL, Punjab Bank, rental power plants, last year`s Haj, KESC, PIA, railways and Wapda.
He claimed that the judiciary was facing a deliberate defiance in implementing Supreme Court orders and an unwilling attitude of prosecution agencies. He said 26 of 40 posts of judges were vacant in the Sindh High Court. The judiciary ranked 4th in 2002 survey, 3rd in 2006 and 7th in 2009.
Tendering and contracting activities had remained at the 10th position for two years before jumping to 6th this year.
A TIP office-bearer alleged that the Public Procurement Regulatory Authority was being made dysfunctional by not appointing a managing director since October.
`The Sindh government issued a notification in June exempting the Sindh Bank from application of the Public Procurement Rules of 2010,` Mr Gilanisaid. The TIP filed a petition in the SHC and on Dec 15, the chief justice disposed of it because the chief secretary had cancelled the notification.
The federal government also issued a notification in July, with the approval of the Economic Coordination Committee, amending Rule 5 of the PPRA Rules.
`This would amount to exempting contracts based on 39 MoUs signed by the president and prime minister with foreign private parties from complying with the Public Procurement Rules of 2004 and competitive bidding.` The exempted matters include tenders for 150 railway engines from the US and 75 from China, purchase of PIA aircraft, the 7,000MW Binji Dam and 1,100MW from Kohala Dam. The TIP has filed a petition against the amendment.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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[C|NET] The Internet's most popular destinations, including eBay, Google, Facebook, and Twitter seem to view Hollywood-backed copyright legislation as an existential threat. ... which it is...
It was Google co-founder Sergey Brin who warned that the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act "would put us on a par with the most oppressive nations in the world." Craigslist founder Craig Newmark, Twitter co-founders Jack Dorsey and Biz Stone, and LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman argue that the bills give the Feds unacceptable "power to censor the Web." The internet is too big and too important to life in the 21st century for the politicians to be able to refrain from trying to wet their beaks, whether it be taxing or throttling or harnessing or -- their preference -- all three...
But these companies have yet to roll out the heavy artillery. "Ayn Rand to the white courtesy phone!"
When the home pages of Google.com, Amazon.com, Facebook.com, and their Internet allies simultaneously turn black with anti-censorship warnings that ask users to contact politicians about a vote in the U.S. Congress the next day on SOPA, you'll know they're finally serious.
True, it would be the political equivalent of a nuclear option--possibly drawing retributions from the the influential politicos backing SOPA and Protect IP--but one that could nevertheless be launched in 2012.
"There have been some serious discussions about that," says Markham Erickson, who heads the NetCoalition trade association that counts Google, Amazon.com, eBay, and Yahoo as members. "It has never happened before." (See CNET's SOPA FAQ.)
Web firms may be outspent tenfold on lobbyists, but they enjoy one tremendous advantage over the SOPA-backing Hollywood studios and record labels: direct relationships with users.
How many Americans feel a personal connection with an amalgamation named Viacom -- compared with voters who have found places to live on Craigslist and jobs (or spouses) on Facebook and Twitter? How would, say, Sony Music Entertainment, one of the Recording Industry Association of America's board members, cheaply and easily reach out to hundreds of millions of people?
Protect IP and SOPA, of course, represent the latest effort from the Motion Picture Association of America, the RIAA, and their allies to counter what they view as rampant piracy on the Internet, especially offshore sites such as ThePirateBay.org. It would allow the Justice Department to obtain an order to be served on search engines, Internet providers, and other companies forcing them to make a suspected piratical Web site effectively vanish, a kind of Internet death penalty.
There are early signs that the nuclear option is being contemplated. Wikimedia (as in Wikipedia) called SOPA an "Internet Blacklist Bill." Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales has proposed an article page blackout as a way to put "maximum pressure on the U.S. government" in response to SOPA.
The Tumblr microblogging site generated 87,834 calls to Congress over SOPA. Over at GoDaddyBoycott.org, a move-your-domain-name protest is scheduled to begin today over the registrar's previous--and still not repudiated--enthusiasm for SOPA. Popular image hosting site Imgur said yesterday it would join the exodus too.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/30/2011 00:00 ||
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#1
If Google really wanted to hit hard they could just prevent their search engines from coming up with hits for searches for a few key politicians' and special interest groups' web pages. How many politicians use their web pages as a vehicle to obtain donations? Or to get their message out?
#2
This is the kind of crap legalization that makes me want to wish Washington DC away in it's totality.
I AM sick and tired of these punks on capitol hill putting out sh!t like this every other day.
They think we bow to them.
I think they are counterproductive for our country entirely and the country would be far better off without this federal government anymore. This type of serfdom is almost worse than the original definition.
#3
You would think they were afraid of free speech or something.
Actually, if you control communications and control ownership of guns, you can turn the US into an oligarchy ruled by the One and his czars. I personally think that is the end game to all of this, they are in a race to the finish with the 2012 elections and I hope the elections come first.
Hopefully a Republican will spike this gun.
Posted by: Bill Clinton ||
12/30/2011 9:55 Comments ||
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#4
There are a lot of parallels between what happened in Germany in the 30's and what is happening here, in the USA, now.
Brownshirts (SEUI, OWS, etc...), Identification of scapegoats (the so called 1%), etc...
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Khaleda Zia
Punjab
