This entire debacle has been a travesty of self-interest by a low-grade pol in a racially-charged election race. He should be disbarred and drained of all wealth. F*cker. Read KC Johnson's blog and you'll get as pissed as I am. Nifong is an evil man
The North Carolina bar filed ethics charges Thursday against the prosecutor in the Duke lacrosse case, accusing him of saying misleading or inflammatory things to the news media about the athletes under suspicion.
The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment.
Among the four rules of professional conduct that District Attorney Mike Nifong was accused of violating was a prohibition against making comments "that have a substantial likelihood of heightening public condemnation of the accused."
The charges will be heard by an independent body called the Disciplinary Hearing Commission, made up of both lawyers and non-lawyers.
In a statement, the bar said it opened a case against Nifong in March 30, a little more than two weeks after the party where a 28-year-old student at North Carolina Central University hired to perform as a stripper said she was raped.
Nifong did not immediately return a call for comment.
Another of the rules Nifong was charged with breaking forbids "dishonesty, fraud, deceit and misrepresentation." The bar said that when DNA testing failed to find any evidence a lacrosse player raped the accuser, Nifong told a reporter the players might have used a condom.
According to the bar, Nifong knew that assertion was misleading, because he had received a report from an emergency room nurse in which the accuser said her attackers did not use a condom.
Defense attorney Joseph Cheshire, who represents one of the three lacrosse players charged with sexual offense and kidnapping, declined to comment.
Last week, Nifong dropped the rape charges against the athletes after the stripper wavered in her story.
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/28/2006 18:23 ||
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#1
Losing his job as DA due to disbarment is just the start of the payback for Nifong's stupidity.
#2
This is not stupidity, it is how far too many Prosecutors work. Let's start with the governor elect of New York. The difference is the Duke Lacrosse players can't get off the hook by making extortion payments.
After watching this, Spitzer, Fitzgerald, and the clown in Miami who ransacked Rush's doctor's office, as a juror, I'll be a lot more receptive to defence charges of prosecutorial malfeasance.
#3
This is Huge for Duke lacrosse Students, Nifong is toast and so is his case. I can't believe the judge will give this asstard much more than the time 0 day.
If justice is served Nifong will do time and be sued for everything he owns.
#4
According to this thread at Volokh Conspiracy, it looks like disbarment may be the max he pulls. But this little development doesn't help him at all. Especially if he is disbarred before the case comes to trial. Notice, Joseph Cheshire, who represents one of the three lacrosse players charged with sexual offense and kidnapping, declined to comment.
#5
Prosecutors, even more than judges, are above the law. Removing NiFong from office would encourage the rest. Jailing him for a few years would be even better. Abuse of power is worse than accepting a bribe.
That's what these Knoxville Fire Department investigators figured when they turned the tables on a suspect in a rash of bogus reports of emergencies.
With only a cellular phone number as a clue, KFD Capts. Brent Seymour, Jeff Stooksbury and Doug Conard came up with a ruse to ferret out the identity of the felonious prankster. "I left a message that the phone's owner had won a gift card from a major retailer," Seymour testified Wednesday in Knox County General Sessions Court. "I said I needed a name and address to send the gift card to."
Continued on Page 49
#2
...Not too shabby- a combination of One For the Good Guys(TM) AND Idiot Of the Day (TM)...
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
12/28/2006 14:15 Comments ||
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#3
I live about 90 miles from Knoxville but I'm so far out in the sticks I never heard about it. I did hear that Wade's heifer calved two days ago and Scott saw a bear in the field behind his house. Seriously, good job by the Knoxville FD.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
12/28/2006 14:57 Comments ||
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Anthony Andrew Atkins, 20, spent part of Christmas Day allegedly trespassing at the San Andreas Fire Department where he smoked marijuana and munched the firefighters candy bars, according to a Calaveras County Sheriffs Department report.
Firefighters called the Sheriffs Department about 11 p.m. Monday to say that they saw a man exit the building just as they were returning from a call, the report said. Inside, the firefighters said they found evidence that someone had eaten their candy bars, consumed several bottles of Gatorade and smoked marijuana, the Sheriffs Department said.
Deputies said they found Atkins a few blocks away and took him to the Fire Department on Church Hill Road for identification by the firefighters. They noticed that he was wearing a San Andreas Fire Department shirt which had been allegedly stolen from the station, according to deputies, who said they also found Atkins to be in possession of a small amount of marijuana.
Atkins was booked into the Calaveras County Jail on charges of trespassing, petty theft and possession of marijuana.
Three men who broke into homes in the Albuquerque, N.M., area in the last month were shot dead by homeowners, and police say they hope would-be robbers take the hint. or take a bullet, one as good as the other.
The latest incident eliminated involved Raymond Gabaldon, 40, a repeat offender, who, police say, stole a car and then tried to break into a home in southwest Albuquerque.
"Hopefully this is going to send a message to people who are breaking into homes," Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman told the Albuquerque Tribune. "They're engaging in very dangerous behavior, not only to the people they're robbing, but to themselves."
None of the three homeowners involved in the shootings has been charged, though the cases are still under review by law enforcement.
An armed homeowner in Charlotte, N.C., also foiled a break-in Tuesday, police there report. A man told police he was preparing to take out the trash at his home when he realized an intruder was in his house. and he proceeded to take out some serious trash.
The resident told police he went to get a handgun and as he turned around, the attacker struck him in the back of the head. That triggered a fight between the attacker and the resident of the house. During the scuffle, the victim said, he fired his gun once, with the bullet striking the refrigerator. The assailant then fled on foot. In some haste, no doubt. How'd the refrigerator make out?
In Kingsport, Tenn., an armed convenience store clerk yesterday pulled a handgun on a knife-wielding robber, fired once and drove him off with one shot. Another quick exit.
And, in Seattle, an armed homeowner fatally shot an intruder Tuesday, according to a police report. Seattle? And the shooter isn't in the re-education facility for violating the rights of the alternately ethical?
The homeowner was roused from sleep by an intruder. The 31-year-old homeowner grabbed his shotgun and killed Justin Hercyk. That case is still under investigation. Ah, not out of the woods yet.
#2
police say they hope would-be robbers take the hint.
Notice the take of police in the Old West? Its not about procedures or power of the local authorities. Goes back to the principle that power derives from the people, not some weenies who believe that government is the only solution and that people who actually protect themselves are as much a threat to their power as any offender is to society.
None of the three homeowners involved in the shootings has been charged, though the cases are still under review by law enforcement.
In other words, theyre doing their Do you think theres a snowballs chance in hell that any jury in New Mexico would convict? paperwork. I think theyre actually trying to grade the effectiveness of each trigger pull. Probably arent any Olympic 9-9 moments here.
#4
P2K, I think they are being very careful in processing their report so the family of the intruder will not have a civil case against the homeowner.
The poor guy in Seattle is just plain screwed, he needs to sign over all his property to his best friend and claim to be bankrupt. The civil couts there will eat him alive.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
12/28/2006 10:14 Comments ||
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#5
Note to intruders; Don't get shot with a shotgun.
If it's close, it's a big hole, if it's farther, it's a bigger hole. You will bleed.
Cops say spa's hidden cameras may have broadcast sex acts over the Internet
Duh.
Patrons of a Northwest Side massage parlor may have had their visits with prostitutes broadcast over the Internet, police said.
Based on statements from a woman who worked there and the sophistication of computer equipment seized from V.I.P. Salon & Day Spa, police believe sex acts might have been transmitted from small, curtained cubicles onto the Web, said Jefferson Park District Cmdr. Ralph Price.
Officers found tiny cameras mounted in the ceiling of several rooms at V.I.P.
V.I.P. = Video Internet Productions?
"It's gone beyond just prostitution," Price said. "What you think may be private could be all over the place."
Investigators with the Vice Control Section said they had not heard of any similar computer set-up at other places of prostitution in the city. "Really, this is kind of unchartered territory for us," said Lt. Paul Kusinski.
I'd say the territory's rather well known.
Price said the V.I.P. Salon at 4422 N. Milwaukee -- where customers have to be buzzed in -- has been a longtime problem for the neighborhood.
Chicago vice officers have raided the business seven or eight times over the past 18 months, and the city has filed complaints against the business, police said. The landlord of the business also filed a lawsuit in January 2006 seeking to evict the business owner, according to Cook County records.
The owner could not be reached for comment.
Charges stemming from the police raids were typically never more than misdemeanors. But now Chicago Police and the Cook County state's attorney's office are seeking more serious charges against the owner and manager for the alleged unlawful videotaping.
Price -- who has done premise checks himself on the business because of complaints -- said he hopes this latest raid will rid the neighborhood of V.I.P. for good. "Finally, we can shut this guy down," Price said. "This could be the nail in the coffin."
Price's officers got their break on Dec. 20 when someone placed a 911 call to report that a woman at the business was screaming.
When officers arrived, a sergeant pulled back a curtain on two cubicles to find men having sex with women. But officers then spotted something else -- a pinhole camera in the ceiling.
Oh my! They're having sex! Whoda thunk it? Hold on, what have we here, eh?
"We followed all the wires," Price said. "They all went to a central computer."
Sheesh. Shoulda used wireless stuff. Amateurs, er amateur pros, uh, pro amateurs, lol.
"Let this be a lesson to all greedy multinational corporations who don't respect ecosystems. The elves are watching."
And this is not terrorism? That's the freaking definition of terrorism, right there.
Things started to go wrong, they contend, when humans first domesticated plants and animals.
Oh, yeah...let's go back to being hunter-gatherers. It's always strange how the rest of us are supposed to adopt this lifestyle, and the ecoterrorists never seem to want to do it themselves.
A US Airways passenger faced charges of interfering with a flight crew Thursday after he apparently unknowingly slapped an undercover federal air marshal, said an official familiar with the case. Sort of reminds me of that "No baby on board - OK to hit" bumper sticker.
The man, who'd been drinking liquor, threw a mid-air temper tantrum Wednesday night after attendants refused to serve him any more alcohol during his flight from Washington's Reagan National Airport and Fort Myers, Florida, the official said. Oh please, oh please . . .
The passenger then slapped a fellow passenger, who happened to be an undercover air marshal assigned to the flight, said the official. Yes!
"He had a bad night last night," said the official, who asked to remain anonymous and isn't authorized to reveal specifics of the case. The passenger is expected to be arraigned Thursday. I doubt the whole night was bad. It just got worse and worse as the realization of what he had done crept over him.
The air marshal detained the man for the remainder of the flight and arrested him after the aircraft arrived in Fort Myers. The man is expected to be charged with interfering with a flight crew. Dork. Would you do it again if you knew it was an air marshal? Or are you an equal opportunity kind of guy?
The biggest swells of the winter season are expected to hit north and west shores early this morning through late this afternoon, bringing with it a high surf warning that's in effect until 6 p.m. Friday.
The National Weather Service surf forecast is calling for surf along north and west shores to rise to 30 to 40 feet by daybreak on Kaua'i and to hit 30 to 35 feet on O'ahu's North Shore by this afternoon.
Surf will be slightly smaller on Molokai and Maui.
The high surf is being generated by a large northwest swell generated by a passing storm north of the islands a couple of days ago.
A high surf warning means that coastal residents need to make preparations to protect life and property from large waves that could result in coastal flooding.
Surf heights are forecast heights of the face or front of waves. The surf forecast is based on the significant wave height in the zone of maximum refraction. Some waves may be more than twice as high as the significant wave height. Expect to encounter rip currents in or near any surf zone.
#2
Rip tide advise: swim sideways to the tide. That is the quickest way to get out of the effected zone. Don't swim with the tide or try to wait it out. Swimming against it won't work, because it is strongest close to shore.
(CBS 11 News) Euless, TX - A Euless man is suing the city because, he says, they're trying to restrict his religious freedom. Jose Merced is an oba, a priest of the Santeria Temple.
According to an affidavit, Santeria is an Afro-Caribbean religion that considers animal sacrifice "essential" because, they believe, "spiritual forces manifest themselves in the world via the energy in blood."
Merced practices this religion in his home, and says that his Euless congregation sacrifices chickens and sometimes goats. According to court documents, the police appeared at his home earlier in the year and told him that he could no longer perform sacrificial ceremonies.
Merced's lawyer, John Wheat Gibson, says that the city of Euless is limiting his constitutional rights, and sites a 1993 Supreme Court case from several Santeria adherents in Hialeah, Florida that struck down a prohibition against animal sacrifice. The Euless city attorney said that he had not yet been served with a federal lawsuit, and would not be able to comment even if he had been.
A supermarket Santa Claus has been forced by his employers to wear a hard hat after he was pelted with mince pies. Youths threw the pastry missiles from the upper level of a shopping centre as he was handing out treats to customers. Officials at the centre have now issued him with a builder's hard hat, in case of further attacks.
Andrew MacKinnon, manager of the Paisley Centre in Renfrewshire, said: "We are a multi-level centre, and have taken this somewhat drastic action to protect Santa from possible injury. The incident does give rise to health and safety concerns, and we take the safety of our staff very seriously." He added that the hard hat had been decorated with reindeer antlers to "Christmas it up a bit".
The police were not involved in the incident, and it is understood that the unnamed Santa Claus involved was not injured by the flying pies. Derek Mackay, the local council leader, said the mince pie attack did the city's reputation no favours, adding: "Santa's visits to Renfrewshire have normally been controversy-free. It may not be in the spirit of Christmas, but I am sure it was just a one-off moment of madness."
Violence against Santas has also been reported from Tipton, in the Black Country, after a series of attacks on a sleigh that has been collecting money for charity.
#1
For some yet unknown reason, the quality of mince pies in Britain went down starting during the early Clinton years - instead of tasty and fresh, it got hard as lard. Whether Islamists or not, its the duty of every Brit to find these destroyers of mince and hang 'em high.
BEIJING (Reuters) - China has come up with an earthquake prediction system which relies on the behaviour of snakes, state media said on Thursday, two days after two quakes struck off neighbouring Taiwan.
The earthquake bureau in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi autonomous region in southern China, had developed its system using a combination of natural instinct and modern technology, the China Daily newspaper said.
Experts at the bureau monitor snakes at local snake farms via video cameras linked to a broadband Internet connection. The video feed runs 24 hours per day. "Of all the creatures on Earth, snakes are perhaps the most sensitive to earthquakes," bureau director Jiang Weisong was quoted as saying.
Or dragons. Dragons are purdy sensitive, too.
Jiang said snakes, a popular restaurant dish in the south in the winter, could sense an earthquake from 120 km (70 miles) away, three to five days before it happens. They respond by behaving strangely. "When an earthquake is about to occur, snakes will move out of their nests, even in the cold of winter," Jiang was quoted as saying. "If the earthquake is a big one, the snakes will even smash into walls while trying to escape."
Do they jump outta the wok?
China is struck by frequent earthquakes, with most hitting remote rural areas.
China, the World's epicenter of hard-hitting folklore science and technology.
#2
"Even smash into walls" > IMO this is true. Here in Guam, I've seen captured, normally docile or contented Rat Snakes try hell-bent to break out of sealed plastic/glass containers just before the occurrence of quakes or minor tremors. They'd take the container wid them iff they could, and ya can't blame the Snake Babes becuz none were around.
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.
Knoxville, TN - One good prank deserves another.
Cops say spa's hidden cameras may have broadcast sex acts over the Internet
The owner could not be reached for comment.
