http://www.today.com/money/photo-sad-joe-biden-staring-out-window-sparks-hilarious-memes-1D80342655

right at the 30 second mark. for no good reason

#t=24

The incident began about 8:30 p.m. Monday when police were dispatched to the 300 block of Paloma Street west of Highway 101 to investigate reports that a woman was living in her car. The city’s municipal code makes it illegal to live in one’s vehicle.

Mathis and Graham contacted the woman and learned that “she had been struggling through some significant hardships,” Fink said. Besides her illness and homelessness, her son was also going through a hard time, yet “provided the car for his mother to sleep in because she had no other options for shelter,” Fink said.

The officers discussed ways to get her off the street and to someplace warm, but their options were limited because of the late hour. Apparently, though, someone who lives nearby heard the discussion, either directly or second-hand, and called San Rafael police dispatch, saying he wanted to help.

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“He offered to pay for the lady to stay in a local hotel for two nights,” Fink said. “The SRPD dispatcher attempted to get the caller’s name, but he declined and insisted on remaining anonymous.”

The officers took the woman to the hotel, which Fink declined to name because he didn’t want the woman to be subjected to any unwanted attention. She was given a room for two nights “with a complimentary breakfast,” Fink said.

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/San-Rafael-cops-and-good-Samaritan-help-woman-in-5945424.php

‘Michael Brown Special’ at Missouri bar draws public ire
Mug Shots Pub in St. Joseph, Mo., offered six shots of Jose Cinge for $10 in a special in the dead Ferguson teen's name. The bar has since renamed the deal to make fun of its mistake, calling it the 'A*****e Special.'

Michael Brown's death sparked protests around the country — and a Missouri bar special that drew public ire.

The "Michael Brown Special" at Mug Shots Pub doled out six shots of Jose Cinge for $10 Friday night in in St. Joseph, Mo., leading to protests outside the bar and anger on social media.

The deal offered the same number of cinnamon-flavored tequila shots as the number of gun shots that authorities say killed the unarmed black teen about 300 miles away in Ferguson.

Demonstrators hung outside the bar over the weekend with signs, calling on the establishment to "leave his name in peace."

The bar's co-owner, who did not want to be identified, told Fox4 he heard other bars in the area had offered a similar special with good results.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/michael-brown-special-missouri-bar-draws-public-ire-article-1.2038284

Applying 'Broken Windows' to the Police
In poorer neighborhoods, overly aggressive officers are too often a source of community anxiety. Their misbehavior contributes to disorder.

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[J]ust as neighborhood thugs could once break windows with impunity, police can generally kill with impunity. They can shoot unarmed men and lie about it. They can roll up and execute a child with a toy as casually as one might in Grand Theft Auto. They can bumble around opening doors with their gun hand and kill bystanders, like a character in a dark farce, with little fear of serious consequences. They can choke you to death for getting a little mouthy about selling loose cigarettes. They can shoot you because they aren't clear on who the bad guy is, and they can shoot you because they're terrible shots, and they can shoot you because they saw something that might be a weapon in your hand—something that can be ... any fucking thing at all, including nothing.

... We're not pursuing the breakers of windows. If anything, we are permitting the system ... to entrench their protected right to act that way. We give them ... third and fourth chances. We pretend they have supernatural powers of crime detection even when science shows that's bullshit. We fight desperately to support their word even when they are proven liars. We sneer that "criminals have too many rights," then give the armed representatives of our government stunning levels of procedural protections when they abuse or even kill us.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2014/12/applying-broken-windows-to-the-police/383490/

Simpkins, 41, admitted that he started drinking beer after a softball tournament, went to a bar and drank some more, then went to another tavern and kept drinking before heading to the Wendy’s in Stoughton, where he was found asleep at the wheel, according to the arrest report.

He was so groggy that when a state trooper asked him for his driver’s license, he handed over his Visa card instead.

But the Massachusetts State Police kept Simpkins, who earns roughly $130,000 a year, on paid administrative duty even after he lost his license for a year for refusing a breath test and couldn’t go out on patrol. And with no alcohol test results, a judge acquitted him of the criminal charges after tossing much of the other evidence on legal technicalities. Now, he’s back on patrol out of the Boston barraSimpkins is one of at least 30 Massachusetts law enforcement officials who have been charged with drunken driving while off-duty since the start of 2012, a Globe review has found. The crashes collectively killed three people and injured more than a half-dozen others.

Though some officers resigned or were placed on unpaid leave after the charges, a majority kept their jobs, sometimes after a short suspension.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/06/off-duty-police-face-drunken-driving-charges-and-lenient-treatment-with-surprising-frequency/KaH7EiTyoWx88dsLZpIaHM/story.html

LeBron James leads the way in 'I Can't Breathe T-Shirt' as hundreds of anti police protesters mob NBA game attended by British Royals William and Kate

Hundreds of protesters staged a die-in outside Barclays Center, Brooklyn
William and Kate watching the Brooklyn Nets play the Cleveland Cavaliers
It is one of many events packed into their three-day visit to New York City
LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and others wore 'I Can't Breathe' t-shirts


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2866333/LeBron-James-leads-way-t-Breathe-T-Shirt-hundreds-anti-police-protesters-mob-NBA-game-attended-British-Royals-William-Kate.html#ixzz3LMU7fkoY

http://nypost.com/2014/12/07/luxury-bulding-fences-off-rent-stabilized-tenants-terraces/

Erin McFadzen chose her middle-income — and rent-stabilized — corner apartment at Long Island City’s new Q41 building because of its wrap-around terrace.

But when she moved in, half of it was fenced off by what she calls a “Jurassic Park”-style barricade.

The ugly 6-foot-high wire barrier also interferes with views from every window of her sixth-floor, $2,186-a-month pad.

“We’re caged in,” McFadzen told The Post.

“Every time someone comes over, I have to explain why the fence is there . . . and tell them we’re rent stabilized, like it’s a badge I have to wear,” she said.

I write this in praise of every coffee shop where staff serve compassion as well as coffee.



In Redwood City, California, in the heart of Silicon Valley, a woman sits in Starbucks. She has no drink, no snack, no electronic device she’s working on, nothing to read. Her focus is inward. Her gaze, distant. Gray light falls on her shoulders from a picture window behind her. She fills the armchair as fallen leaves fill a hollow.


Beyond her child-bearing years, she wears op-shop clothes in layers and a knit hat curled up in the front like it was made out of dough. Her lined and weathered face bears a heavy frown.

Then she hears an electronic beep.

She comes alive, standing and scuttling over to check a mobile phone plugged into the wall. She nods, her eyes bright with a task accomplished. She gathers her charger and phone and walks straight out the door.

The staff, who said nothing to her as she waited without buying anything for more than an hour, do not look up.

Their inattention is deliberate. It is also a gift.

When you have no place to rest and little money, a coffee shop that permits you to visit its warm premises, use its free power or free Wi-Fi, that hands out cups of cold or hot water, is more than a resource. It’s a temporary sanctuary.

Along with public libraries, community centers and some museums, these cafes can provide a democracy of place for people who share our communities but simply do not have enough to live comfortable, secure lives.

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I also like how Starbucks staff dealt – or didn’t deal – with the woman in Redwood City. They didn’t ask her to leave. Instead, there was recognition that no harm was being done and some good could be achieved with no effort from staff and tiny expense for the company. I have seen other baristas in other cafes deal with similar patience and wisdom as they serve needy customers.

http://stevenscottcrandell.tumblr.com/post/104431056002/room-at-the-inn

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lindsay-ferrier/this-is-what-happens-when-you-order-ridiculously-cheap-clothing-from-singapore_b_6249572.html.



this was my kind of coat! But… NastyDress? What the heck was NastyDress?

Intrigued, I clicked on the link– Yep. It was pretty nasty, all right. Most of the dresses would get a girl arrested for indecent exposure if she were to wear one of them in public.

But when I looked at the coats and sweaters, I found plenty of options I loved. And the prices were AH-MAZ-ING.

Tops were $10 – $15! Sweaters were $15-$20! And coats were all under $40!