[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] A Marine veteran accused of fatally choking a homeless man on a train will face a jury this week in an effort to fight charges that could land him in prison for 19 years.
And when Daniel Penny's high-powered legal team mounts his defense, the eyes of the nation will be watching: were his actions a selfless act of heroism, or a cruel show of violence that left a relatively harmless man dead?
The 24-year-old launched at Michael Jackson impersonator Jordan Neely,
...a homeless schizophrenic who had 40 prior arrests including violent attacks, and was loudly working himself up to attack riders in that car, in part because of the apparently interesting drugs in his bloodstream...
30, as the homeless man went on a wild rant on the train car in New York City on May 1, 2023.
Witnesses testified that Neely was behaving erratically, screaming and threatening people. Penny held a squirming Neely in a chokehold for six minutes until he lost consciousness.
Police who were first to the scene performed CPR - but only after several minutes had gone by and they had first administered a shot of Narcan, it emerged in court during a pretrial hearing earlier this month.
Neely was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Penny pleaded not guilty to second-degree manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide, and his legal team attempted to have the charges dismissed back in January.
A jury trial kicks off on October 21, and Penny's defense will argue he intervened to protect himself and other passengers from Neely's 'insanely threatening' actions amid a rash of subway assaults and other crimes in the subway system over the past two years.
Neely, who was homeless, was a former Michael Jackson impersonator and had been battling mental illness in the years leading up to his death. Well, he really had the MJ thing down, then
The case itself has divided the public. Some agree that Penny acted heroically in the best interest of himself and fellow passengers' safety, while others say it was a blatantly excessive show of force toward a mentally ill, homeless black man.
KEY FOOTAGE MISSING FROM EVIDENCE
A tourist couple who were on the train and witnessed the incident are reportedly unwilling to turn over footage which Penny's lawyers believe would be 'incredibly favorable' for the former marine.
Back in September, the judge revealed the couple 'declined to testify in the Grand Jury, having gone back to their home in Europe someplace' and have also 'so far refused to share the video that they took.'
'They refused to share it with the DA, or with anyone else, and they are so far refusing to come back to testify,' Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Maxwell Wiley said.
NARCAN OVER CPR
During a pre-trial hearing on October 3, one of the officers who was first on the scene revealed that CPR was not performed on Neely right away, despite indications he was still alive.
Instead, they administered a dose of Narcan, the medication used to reverse opioid overdoses.
Prosecutors have been at pains to argue that Neely's past conduct and substance issues are not relevant to the case, but the admission gave the defense ammunition to argue that drug use played a factor in how he was treated by officials in his dying moments.
STATE ACCUSES PENNY OF EXCESSIVE FORCE
While prosecutors have previously accepted that Neely's behavior made some passengers fearful, they argue Penny held him down for significantly longer than was necessary.
Assistant district attorney Joshua Steinglass wrote in an earlier court filing that at least one witness described Neely's ramblings as 'like another typical day in New York.'
He argued that the F train they were traveling on arrived at the Broadway-Lafayette station and the door opened less than 30 seconds after the chokehold started.
'Passengers who had felt fearful on account of being trapped on the train were now free to exit the train,' Steinglass said.
'The defendant continued holding Mr Neely around the neck.'
Steinglass said second degree manslaughter only requires prosecutors to prove Penny acted recklessly, not intentionally.
LINKS BETWEEN DA AND PENNY'S DEFENSE
Penny's defense attorney has personal history with Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
Thomas Kenniff was the Republican nominee campaigning for the DA job against Bragg back in 2021, following the retirement of Cyrus Vance Jr.
Kenniff was always a long shot given the Democrats significantly outnumbered Republicans in Manhattan.
He attempted to argue that Bragg was too soft on crime for the office, and was concerned he would implement 'lenient' policies which could ultimately worsen the crime rate.
Related: there is a GiveSendGo for Mr. Penny here.
#2
Given Vt's gun rights, I'm surprised the problem hasn't been corrected... must be all the migrants from NYC and Boston over the past 40 years are too timid to deal with it.
[KhaamaPress] An amateur Irish historian named Brian Cleary has discovered a short story by Bram Stoker, the author of the famous novel "Dracula," after it had been missing for 134 years.
The story, titled "The Gibb’s Hill," was last seen in 1890 at the National Library of Ireland before it disappeared.
Bram Stoker, the Irish writer best known for creating the horror novel "Dracula," wrote this story early in his writing career. In this work, he explored themes central to his later works, such as the battle between good and evil.
The story was written during the early stages of Stoker’s work on "Dracula" and also deals with the struggle between good and evil. The discovery of this lost work offers readers new insights into Stoker’s development as a writer and his path towards creating his famous novel.
"The Gibb’s Hill" is set to be published alongside artworks by Irish artist Paul McKinley. The proceeds from its sale will be donated to a fund dedicated to researching infant deafness.
This remarkable discovery will also be featured at the Bram Stoker Festival in Dublin, further celebrating the life and works of the iconic Irish author.
The story’s rediscovery highlights the ongoing fascination with Stoker’s legacy and adds a new chapter to his literary contributions.
The discovery will also be highlighted at the city’s Bram Stoker Festival later this month.
#1
There are only two hits for a search on "The Gibb's Hill" and "Bram Stoker", and the Khaama Press site is one of them. The BBC says it's titled "Gibbet Hill".
#2
I was just really impressed that a little English-language news site in Afghanistan thought it worth reporting, Cochiti. Thank you for the correction.
[Conspiracy Sarah] "I’ve been fighting and been saying that that company was going to explode. No one listened. " Whistleblower Kenny Johnson walked out of his testimony and promptly died on the steps of the capital.
I’d like to thank Ryan Christian from TLAV and Sage Hana for being some of the only people continuing to cover this catastrophic event.
That is still happening.
Right here.
Where I live.
The following 4 minute video is the October 8 testimony of Rockdale County Soil and Water Supervisor, Kenny Johnson, 62. He collapsed and died shortly after giving this testimony, while still at the capitol building. Cause of death has still not been released as of this writing (October 19).
#2
Interesting how the Media, Biolabs and the various government agencies played down or outright avoid the Mustard Gas it generated.
Then there is a Epstein solution and missing Biolabs donations reports.
Either the list of acknowledged chemicals from the fire.
Primarily Chlorine. Chlorine is a chemical that is used in disinfectants or cleaning products (such as bleach) and is used to disinfect things such as drinking water and swimming pools.
At one EPA testing station on Tue, 10/01/24, testing data showed chlorine levels in the air were over 62 times the EPA limit.
Georgia Tech professor Sally Ng reported a peak 1,400-times increase compared to regular levels.
Other Chemicals in the plume include:
* Chloramine, a disinfectant used to treat drinking water,
* Chlorine compounds,
* Hydrogen Chloride,
* Hydrogen Sulfide,
* Bromine, an alternative chemical used in spa/pool treatments,
* Trichloroisocyanuric acid,
* PM2.5 – category of fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller,
* E2I2 stated they were seeing rates of PM2.5 that were almost 650% greater than the recommended EPA level for humans,
* Chloramine, a disinfectant used to treat drinking water.
* Various Chlorine compounds,
* Hydrogen Chloride,
* Hydrogen Sulfide Bromine,
* Trichloroisocyanuric acid,
* PM2.5 – category of fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.
* and E2I2 stated they were seeing rates of PM2.5 that were almost 650% greater than the recommended EPA level for humans.
#6
I love Brookhaven, the convenience, walk to Dresden and eat well at Arnette’s restaurants and then there’s Buford Hwy, the greatest gastronomical experience in the country, BuHi’s farmers market is incredible
The city police are looking for stuff to do, this spring an “arborist”, kept putting me off after our down payment, 3 weeks of no shows and excuses. I go to city hall show them the texts, he’s in the hoosgow that day, the next I have money orders refunding my deposit
[NYPOST] A man in Greece was given a suspended one-month prison sentence for sneaking into his neighbors' homes at night and smelling their shoes. Rex Ryan?
The 28-year-old sniffer, who told the Thessaloniki court he couldn't explain his foot fetish, was in essence put on probation and ordered to seek therapy.
He went on to explain that the unusual act did cause him plenty of embarrassment — and it was not his intention to harm anyone or break the law.
Neighbors testified to the fact that he never showed any signs of hostile behavior.
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[Breitbart] A record number of businesses are “on the edge of collapse” in Britain as the left-wing Labour Party government in Westminster is reportedly set to impose the largest tax hike in modern history.
According conducted by the Begbies Traynor business advisory firm , 632,756 companies in the UK are experiencing significant financial difficulties that may force them to close down their operations.
This represents a 32 per cent increase over this time last year, and a 5.1 per cent jump since the leftist government of Sir Keir Starmer came into power in July.
The research found that the construction, property, and support services sectors were struggling the most under the current economy, the Daily Mail reports.
It comes as Chancellor Rachel Reeves is reportedly set to unveil the biggest tax hikes in her autumn budget. Part of her plan may potentially include an increase in the contributions bosses have to pay the state in National Insurance for employees.
The mere threat of large tax increases have already seen many wealthy people decide to leave the country for more business destinations such as Dubai or Swetz.
Meanwhile, in an apparent bid to sure up union support the government is also looking to push through a new “worker’s rights” bill, which business owners fear will make the hiring process more difficult.
The impending legislation has faced criticism for a controversial clause which free speech campaigners warn could force businesses to hire “banter police” with the leftist government seeking to make it a requirement that businesses be held responsible if a third party claims to have been offended.
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/20/2024 00:00 ||
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[FoxBusiness] Of the top 12 insurance companies in CA, only five are still writing new policies.
Wildfires have burned more than one million acres in California so far this year. That is larger than the entire state of Rhode Island.
Natural disasters like that have insurance companies abandoning some areas entirely, not just in California, but also in states including Texas, Florida, Oregon and Colorado.
"Our premiums more than doubled, but our coverage was cut in half. So, this was the perfect storm of bad," said Steve Archer, president of the HOA for his community in La Cañada Flintridge, California.
Of the top 12 insurance companies in the state, only five are still writing new policies. One local insurance company blames California’s regulations.
Archer says folks in his community have tried to protect the area from disaster.
"We have new roofs on every one of our buildings here. We've done a lot of extensive tree trimming. We have inspected every fireplace …to install spark registers. We've installed seismic shut-off valves that are tripped by an earthquake in order to stop the gas flow," said Archer.
Farmers Insurance has covered the community for two decades. But in July, the company called it quits. That left the community scrambling for coverage.
"After an intensive search, we ended up with a California Fair Plan, which is kind of the last resort for people who can't get insurance elsewhere…So our premiums went from 70,000 to 170,000. Our coverage was $45 million -- liability coverage and wildfire insurance for our homeowner's association, common area and our buildings. And…the fair plan has a maximum coverage of 20 million," said Archer.
This means less coverage for more money.
"We've seen some people's insurance go from $2,000 to $6,000 a year for their homeowner's policy, some to eight. And these aren't big houses. These are kind of normal," said Rick Dinger, president of Crescenta Valley Insurance.
Of the top 12 insurance companies in the state, only five are still writing new policies. One local insurance company blames California’s regulations.
Right now there's a ton of regulations for an insurance carrier. If they want to raise the rates, they submit the rates. The Department of Insurance, it can take three years. Well, those rates, they're worthless. But, you know, they're outdated. They're not really where they need to be. And a lot of times, the insurance commissioner would come back and wouldn't give them the rate they need," said Dinger.
Looking ahead, the National Interagency Fire Center projects parts of Southern California and Texas to have an above normal risk for November.
[Breitbart] Former President Donald Trump told Breitbart News in an exclusive interview on Sirius XM that his rally at Madison Square Garden next weekend sold out in mere hours.
Trump joined Breitbart News Washinton Bureau Chief Matthew Boyle for a 25-minute-long special report interview Saturday. When asked what Americans can expect at Sunday’s rally in the Big Apple, Trump emphasized that it will be a sold-out event.
“We sold it out in less than three hours. But people are going to come anyway. We have big screens outside. It’s going to be unbelievable. So come anyway. I mean, come, maybe you get in, I don’t know, but it sold out very quickly,” Trump said. “It’s fantastic. It’s going to be fantastic.”
Madison Square Garden has a vibrant history with American sports, entertainment, and politics. It was the sight site of the “Fight of the Century” between Muhammid Ali and Joe Frazier in March 1971, the historic game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals, and the 1994 New York Rangers’ Stanley Cup victory.
Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, and the Rolling Stones are some of the music titans who have graced the new Garden with their talents, while it has hosted several Democrat National Conventions and one Republican National Convention in 2004. And, of course, the old Madison Square Garden, which closed in 1968, was where Marilyn Monroe sang the most memorable iteration of “Happy Birthday” in world history to President John F. Kennedy in 1962.
Trump first told Breitbart News back in December 2023 that he was considering renting the Garden for a rally.
“I may rent Madison Square Garden, and that’s the belly of the beast, right?” he said.
And while Trump looks forward to a magical night on New York’s biggest stage, he has plenty of other big rallies in store, including Saturday in Pennsylvania.
[FoxNews] Nearly one-quarter of adults over 50 have used cannabis in the past year, a poll found.
While cannabis has historically been more popular with younger groups, a growing number of older adults are turning to the drug for a variety of reasons — but are the potential benefits worth the risk?
A recent poll by the University of Michigan National Poll on Healthy Aging found that among people 50 years of age and older, around 21% said they have used a form of cannabis that contains the psychoactive compound THC at least once in the past year, and 12% use it on a monthly basis.
Dr. Barbara Krantz, medical director of Older Adults Program, Withdrawal Management and Chronic Pain for Caron Treatment Centers in Florida, said her practice has seen a "significant uptick" in the use of cannabis by individuals over the age of 50.
"In our patient population at Caron, nearly all patients in our Older Adult Program have admitted to trying cannabis in some form," she told Fox News Digital. "So, it is very common."
Krantz outlined the following 10 potential dangers associated with cannabis use for older adults.
Increased risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack, stroke, increased hypertension and tachycardia
Interaction with other medications, which can increase their toxicity or decrease their effectiveness
Worsening of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
Accidental poisoning from ingestion
Balance issues that can lead to falls and breaks
Delayed reaction times that impair driving and cause accidents
Increased confusion or cognitive impairment
Psychosis
Increased anxiety, depression or anger
Surgery-related risks, including complications due to anesthesia and delays in healing
#1
In my state it is legal. I get up a lot at night due to IBD. But yet I sleep pretty good with a couple of gummies. Much safer than prescription or otc sleep aids.
[SpaceNews] Intelsat 33e has lost power in geostationary orbit and the satellite is no longer providing communications for customers across Europe, Africa and parts of Asia Pacific, its operator announced Oct. 19.
Intelsat said it is working with satellite maker Boeing to address the anomaly, but “believe it is unlikely that the satellite will be recoverable.” An Intelsat spokesperson said the satellite was not insured at the time of the issue.
Those Jews. Giving something good and useful to the world, distilled from the utter viciousness they survived.
[IsraelTimes] Sheba Medical Center, Ben-Gurion University researchers surprised to find alcohol caused more psychological problems than psychedelics on survivors of Hamas’s Oct. 7 rave massacre
Researchers at Sheba Medical Center and Ben-Gurion University say that being under the influence of alcohol — and not drugs — worsened the psychological impact of Hamas ..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... ’s horrific attack at the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023.
On October 7, 2023, about 4,000 civilians were attending the open-air music and dance festival near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel when hundreds of Hamas-led gunnies burst through the border from Gazoo and rampaged murderously, slaughtering 364 people amid other atrocities, including gang rape and mutilation of victims.
That was just at the festival. More were killed and kidnapped elsewhere.
During the Hamas ambush on the outdoor rave, festival attendees were forced to act quickly; some escaped by running away, while others hid for hours to survive. At the time of the attack, a significant proportion of the participants were under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
"Alcohol consumption led to increased anxiety, stress and depression," said Dr. Nitza Nakash, Director of the Clinic for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy at Sheba Medical Center, who conducted the study with Prof. Mark Weiser, Prof. Joseph Zohar, Prof. Raz Gross and medical student Tal Malka.
The research was co-authored by Ben-Gurion University Prof. Hagit Cohen with contributions by BGU students Gal Levi and Yarden Dejorno of the psychology and pharmacology departments.
"The people who were under the influence of alcohol had higher rates of post-traumatic symptoms, depression, anxiety and disassociation," Weiser told The Times of Israel.
The findings were published in the prestigious peer-reviewed World Psychiatry around the first anniversary of the attack.
HOW DID ALCOHOL AND DRUGS IMPACT THE STRESS OF SURVIVORS?
October 7 saw some 1,200 Israelis killed and 251 taken captive into Gaza. Some of those kidnapped were dragged away from the music festival, with their abductions shared on social media.
Sheba Medical Center treated 232 survivors from one week to two months after the festival. The researchers sought to identify how alcohol and recreational drugs impacted the cognitive and stress response to the horrific event.
Researchers chose 126 survivors who met certain criteria, ruling out additional traumas and previous history of mental health disorders. The average age of the participants was 28; more than half were men. Additionally, 57.7 percent reported using psychoactive drugs at the festival, including MDMA, cannabis and LSD in various combinations.
"We hypothesized that psychedelic drugs would cause higher levels of anxiety among the survivors," Cohen told The Times of Israel. "But alcohol affected people’s memory motor skills and increased the risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)."
Weiser said the researchers also expected people who used drugs to be hyper-vigilant, more alert and more aware of their surroundings so that the attack would "hit them more directly."
"But we were wrong," Weiser said. "Alcohol and not drug use was associated with higher rates of post-traumatic symptoms, depression and anxiety."
Alcohol also caused survivors to have a greater sense of dissociation, which is when people become detached from their feelings or report feeling numb.
The researchers believe that disassociation disrupts the processing and integration of traumatic memories. It could increase the probability of developing PTSD because trauma-related memories persist in a fragmented and unprocessed state.
"You have a memory of what happened, and you’ve got to process and internalize this," Weiser said. "You don’t forget about it because it happened, but you have to find a way to give it a place in your mind so that you can move on with your life."
The researchers hypothesize that alcohol interferes "in the normative, healthy consolidation of memories to keep them in the place that they should be," he said.
People at the festival who did not use any drugs or alcohol had significantly less difficulty coping with the trauma, the researchers said.
’PROGRAMMED TO SURVIVE’
Israelis are concerned about young people in the aftermath of October 7 and the war, Weiser said.
"These unfortunate young people were exposed to a very severe trauma," Weiser said. "Many of them do need our help, but the majority are not psychiatrically impaired, even though they’ve been exposed to the most horrible traumas you can imagine."
He emphasized that research shows that most people who are exposed to trauma, no matter how severe, will be okay.
"We’re programmed in our DNA to survive," he said.
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.
..a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
