Liberal_in_LA
Liberal_in_LA's JournalChristie faces mounting lawsuits over public records, fights the most basic requests
NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took into office promising “a new era of accountability and transparency.” Yet after he won a second term last year and as he explores a run for president, his administration stands accused of routinely stonewalling even the most basic requests for public records.
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The lawyers, along with media organizations and watchdog groups, also say they have received more arbitrary justifications for the denial of requests made under New Jersey’s open records law, as well as an increased willingness by the state attorney general’s office to fight such requests in court.
“The quality of the denials are getting dumber,” said lawyer Walter Luers, who specializes in such cases. “They’re just kind of making reasons to not give us stuff.”
Christie on Friday insisted that his administration was as transparent as he said it would be. “You guys want everything. You’re not entitled to everything. So we give you what you’re entitled to under the law. And I think that’s fair.”
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/christie-faces-mounting-lawsuits-public-records/
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Those asking for copies of Christie’s calendar – a record routinely disclosed by other governors – receive copies of his public event advisories instead of details about his travel and meetings.
Media outlets have sued over access to visitor logs at the governor’s mansion, out of state travel records and details about public contracts.
westboro baptist to protest at Robin's funeral because he played gay man in 'the birdcage'
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726702/Westboro-Baptist-Church-planning-anti-gay-protest-outside-Robin-Williams-funeral-late-actors-role-The-Birdcage.htmlof the controversial Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church are planning a protest at tragic actor Robin Williams' funeral over his portrayal of a gay man in the movie The Birdcage.
The Good Will Hunting star passed away on Monday and while details of his funeral have not been made public, members of the church have already announced plans to picket the memorial.
A message posted on the group's official Twitter.com page reads: 'Westboro Baptist Church Hopes To Preach In Lawful Proximity To Robin Williams' Funeral - To Warn The Living: Repent Or Likewise Perish.'
failing upwards - Gregory paid 4 million to exit 'meet the press' graciously, may go to 'crossfire'
The Post reports that Gregory isn't likely to be out of work long. CNN is eyeing him to became moderator of its political debate show 'Crossfire.'
Gregory endured months of humiliating speculation that NBC executives were planning to fire him as moderator of 'Meet the Press.' When he finally got the boot last week, he left with nary a bad word to say about the network - telling his Twitter followers that he is leaving NBC 'humbled and grateful.'
The New York Post reports that Gregory's gracious exit from NBC was ensured thanks to a $4million payoff he received before he was kicked off the Sunday talk show and replaced with chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd.
Gregory's contract dictated that he had to be paid into next year. The network also paid a severance package after he signed a non-disparagement contract, sources tell the newspaper.
Gregory wasn't even allowed to host one final episode of 'Meet the Press' after he was given the boot. NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell sat in the moderator's chair today. Todd will take over next month.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727219/David-Gregory-s-4MILLION-payoff-NBC-shelled-buy-fired-Meet-Press-moderator-s-silence.html
Marine who urinated on corpses in Afghanistan dies at age 28
http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Marine-who-urinated-on-corpses-in-Afghanistan-dies-5691196.phpwho urinated on corpses in Afghanistan dies
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A decorated retired Marine whose career as a sniper was derailed by a video that showed him urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters has died, his attorney said Friday.
Cpl. Robert Richards, 28, was found dead Wednesday by his wife at their Jacksonville home, Attorney Guy Womack said. Neither foul play nor suicide is suspected.
The death was most likely from Richards changing medications he took because of injuries he suffered in a roadside bomb during one of his three tours in Afghanistan, Womack said.
Richards was demoted from sergeant after a video showed four Camp Lejeune Marines — in full body armor — urinating on three Afghans in 2011. One Marine looks down at the bodies and jokes, "Have a good day, buddy."
The video was posted on YouTube in early 2012. It was condemned internationally and caused outrage in the Middle East.
woman describes recent run in with Ferguson cop Darren Wilson: "shut the f*** up"
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726349/Officers-begins-lift-weeklong-mystery.html
woman said that she went inside the QuickTrip grocery store in Ferguson about a month ago to get help after being pepper-sprayed in the face under unknown circumstances.
Employees at the store let the woman use their sink to clean her eyes and suggested that she use milk.
As she was pouring the dairy product in her eyes, the woman said police officers walked into the convenience store and ordered her to get out.
‘I came outside and I was trying to pour milk in my eyes and Wilson told me if I poured milk in my eyes, I was going to be arrested,’ she said on CNN.
In cop's defense: Wilson's friend Jake Shepard told CNN he is certain the officer was in fear for his life when the pulled the trigger
‘And I was trying to tell him that my eyes were burning because I was maced, but he told me to “shut the F up.”’
The officer then allegedly made the woman sit on concrete as he took down her information.
When she renewed her efforts to treat her eyes with milk, she said Wilson again told her to 'shut the f*** up and sit the f*** down.'
‘I was looking at his name tag and I was telling myself that I would never forget who he was and what he did to me,’ said the woman. ‘And I prayed on it and I asked God to get revenge on him.’
actress who played spock's fiance dies
Http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/14/showbiz/obit-star-trek-arlene-martel/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Angeles (CNN) -- Actress Arlene Martel, who "Star Trek" fans know as Spock's bride-to-be, died in a Los Angeles hospital Tuesday of complications from a heart attack, her son said. Martel was 78.
Martel's ethnic ambiguity earned her the nickname "The Chameleon" among Hollywood casting directors in the 1960s, son Jod Kaftan told CNN.
It gained her diverse roles, including as a Russian spy on "The Monkees" and "I Dream of Jeannie," a French Underground operative in "Hogan's Heroes," a Native American woman in a "Gunsmoke" episode and as a Vulcan on "Star Trek."
Trekkies still lined up at sci-fi conventions to meet Martel and pay for autographs because of her role as T'Pring, the Vulcan priestess engaged to Spock in the first episode of the iconic show's second season.
Leonard Nimoy, who was the original Spock, tweeted his tribute to her: "Saying goodbye to T'Pring, Arlene Martel. A lovely talent."
anyone need a tuxedo cat? same person dumps more than 100 at animal shelter
HTTP://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/08/15/100-plus-tuxedo-cats-dumped-at-marin-shelter/
In the wee hours of Monday morning, a car pulled up to the Marin Humane Society in Novato, leaving behind three boxes.
Inside were 24 so-called tuxedo cats, named for their distinctive black and white markings. It was the fourth such occurrence in the last 18 months, said spokeswoman Lisa Bloch, leaving the shelter to care for more than 100 felines.
All the cats, which range in age from kitten to full-grown, appeared to be in good health, with no fleas or diseases. The humane society is simply overrun with animals and is having trouble housing the abandoned felines.
“Every cage is full and our staff is overloaded trying to care for them all,” Bloch said. “It’s putting a big strain on us.”
The person who’s responsible for leaving the cats has been caught on surveillance tape — and Bloch said it appears to be the same person every time. The shelter isn’t looking to punish the person, however, but instead wants to offer information about getting pets fixed.
viral photo - young publix employee helps older man with his shoelaces
http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthis/this-publix-employee-went-viral-on-facebook-after-someone-to?s=mobile
I shopped at Publix tonight at Ormond Towne Square and saw this random act of kindness by a Publix employee. I took it quickly and I found out the employee's name later from his manager. An old man could not reach down to tie his shoe so not only did Gage tie the one but he did the other as well; all with a smile. I thought he should be recognized for his actions. Here is the picture I snapped on my iPhone.
cop saves a life
http://mobile.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/ce94ccb16ed5a40c7c720c81f71fa94e8087dbbc/c=242-0-1678-1079&r=x483&c=640x480/local/-/mhttp://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/13/choking-motorist-helped/13994685/
Traffic stop turns into rescue from choking
Gates asked if she were OK, according to a Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety statement. Kalamazoo is a city of about 75,000 people 150 miles west of Detroit.
When the woman, whose name was not released, couldn't respond, he fleetingly thought that she might be trying to get out of a ticket but then realized that she might be choking. So he hit her on the back a couple of times in the encounter of less than a minute.
When that didn't work, Gates pulled the woman out of the driver's seat and used the Heimlich maneuver to give three thrusts to her abdomen, Capt. Jim Mallery said.
A piece of sausage and biscuit dislodged, and the woman threw herself into Gates' arms, thanking him for saving her life.
males - 20% of suicide attempts, 80% of completed suicides
Men account for only about 20 percent of suicide attempts but represent about 80 percent of completed suicides, statistics show, almost certainly because they choose more lethal methods: guns and leaps from high places instead of drug overdoses, Ongur said.
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If you tried to create a profile of someone at high risk of committing suicide, one likely example would look like this: A middle-aged or older white male toward the end of a successful career, who suffers from a serious medical problem as well as chronic depression and substance abuse, who recently completed treatment for either or both those psychological conditions and who is going through a difficult period, personally or professionally.
In short, that person would look a lot like Robin Williams, the 63-year-old actor and comedian who, authorities said Tuesday, hanged himself with a belt in the bedroom of his San Francisco Bay-area home a day earlier.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/robin-williams-in-a-group-facing-higher-risk-of-suicide-older-white-men-with-depression/2014/08/12/8e1164d6-225e-11e4-86ca-6f03cbd15c1a_story.html?tid=pm_national_pop
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