Website and automated forms processes, Copyright
2007, Matthew August LeFande.
All
rights reserved. No claim to original government forms
Website and automated forms processes, Copyright
2007, Matthew August LeFande.
All
rights reserved. No claim to original government forms
Secrecy and the Saudis / Disclose any information about a 9/11 link
If the U.S. Congress thought it was doing Saudi Arabia a favor by deleting information about that country from a congressional report on the Sept. 11 attacks, it was mistaken. The removal of that information from the published results of the congressional investigation of pre-9/11 intelligence failures has set off a round of Saudi-bashing that risks clouding the reality of U.S. relations with that country.
Yesterday President Bush indicated that he would not use his authority to declassify the information deleted from the report, which apparently included discussion of the role of Saudis in the affair. He should reconsider.
There is widespread suspicion that some Saudis -- perhaps even some individuals within Saudi Arabia's ruling hierarchy or even its government -- provided support to the Sept. 11 terrorists and withheld information that could have been useful to U.S. intelligence. That issue cannot be evaded.
http://www.post-gazette.com/forum/20030730edsaudi0730p1.asp
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:00 PM
matt@lefande.com
Motorola Launches Security Measures to Protect Emergency Services Radio Communications
Motorola today announced the introduction of a new range of security products for TETRA (TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) digital radio systems that will further protect emergency services' communications. The new suite of software products, named Dimetra SecureNet(TM), provides an important new level of protection against criminal eavesdropping on communications, impersonating officers on the air and deliberate clogging of radio systems at crucial times.
Motorola, which was the first company to deploy TETRA encryption three years ago, have achieved another milestone by being the first to have Class 3 encryption on trial with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland, who already have highly secure digital radio communications systems, have upgraded the protection of their new TETRA communications to Class 3 encryption. A spokesperson at the Police Service of Northern Ireland explains: "Security of communications is essential to our operations and this upgrade to our system which is currently undergoing installation is part of a programme to give us the most secure wide area police communications system in the British Isles."
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=SVBIZINK3.story&STORY=/www/story/07-28-2003/0001989841
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:55 PM
matt@lefande.com
Website tells how to paralyse nation
Terrorists could cut the nation's telecommunications and electricity links, crash bank computers and disable Defence Force communications using a "how-to" handbook available on the Internet.
All the information they need is supplied in an official report on a Federal Government website detailing how vulnerable Australia is to attack.
Officials have allowed public access to the site even though it amounts to a "blueprint" for terrorism.
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6828683%5E911,00.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:51 PM
matt@lefande.com
The Qur’an has been mistranscribed and promises raisins, not virgins
In a note of encouragement to his fellow hijackers, September 11 ringleader Muhammad Atta cheered their impending “marriage in Paradise” to the 72 wide-eyed virgins the Qur’an promises to the departed faithful. Palestinian newspapers have been known to describe the death of a suicide bomber as a “wedding to the black-eyed in eternal Paradise.” But if a German expert on Middle Eastern languages is correct, these hopes of sexual reward in the afterlife are based on a terrible misunderstanding.
Arguing that today's version of the Qur’an has been mistranscribed from the original text, scholar Christoph Luxenberg says that what are described as “houris” with “swelling breasts” refer to nothing more than “white raisins” and “juicy fruits.”
http://www.msnbc.com/news/940974.asp?cp1=1
Osama gets his reward.
http://www.lefande.com/weblog/BinLaden.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 5:29 PM
matt@lefande.com
Hormel Fights to Defend Spam Name
The canned-meat company filed two legal challenges with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to try to stop SpamArrest from using the decades-old name Spam, for which it holds the trademark.
SpamArrest, which specializes in blocking junk e-mail or "spam," filed papers to trademark its corporate name early this year. Hormel then sent the company a warning to drop the word "Spam." SpamArrest refused.
"If you ask most people on the street, they're going to say junk e-mail as opposed to the luncheon meat as their first description of what spam is. I think they're overstepping their bounds," said Brian Cartmell, SpamArrest's chief executive.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SPAM_LAWSUIT
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:12 PM
matt@lefande.com
Memo Warns Of New Plots To Hijack Jets
Terrorists operating in teams of five may be plotting suicide missions to hijack commercial airliners on the East Coast, Europe or Australia this summer, possibly using "common items carried by travelers, such as cameras, modified as weapons," according to an urgent memo sent last weekend to all U.S. airlines and airport security managers.
"The plan may involve the use of five-man teams, each of which would attempt to seize control of a commercial aircraft either shortly after takeoff or shortly before landing at a chosen airport," the Transportation Security Administration memo said. "This type of operation would preclude the need for flight-trained hijackers."
The threat comes just as the federal government has started to trim the nation's new airport security agency, by cutting the number of security screeners and other resources. Just one day before the memo was distributed, an official with the undercover Federal Air Marshal Service canceled what are considered some of the most vulnerable flight missions because they required marshals to spend nights in hotels, as well as cut training for Washington-area agents next month. The official cited "monetary considerations," according to an e-mail obtained by The Washington Post.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64871-2003Jul29.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:34 AM
matt@lefande.com
Hung Jury in Calif. Police Brutality Case
A judge declared a hung jury Tuesday in the police brutality case against a white former officer who punched and slammed a handcuffed black teen onto a squad car during a videotaped arrest.
The jury deliberated more than three days without reaching a verdict in the case of former Inglewood officer Jeremy Morse, whose violent arrest of Donovan Jackson at a gas station last July raised racial tensions and brought back painful memories of the Rodney King beating.
The jury, which included only one black member, was deadlocked 7-5 in favor of conviction against Morse. His partner, Bijan Darvish, 26, was found innocent of falsifying a police report. They both could have received as much as three years in prison if convicted.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&e=3&u=/ap/20030729/ap_on_re_us/police_video
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:14 PM
matt@lefande.com
MPD Strategic Business Plan 2004-2005
http://www.lefande.com/weblog/MPD_businessplan_0603.pdf
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:52 PM
matt@lefande.com
Proof the Uday and Qusay Death Photos are Forgeries
http://www.pixelbombs.com/Uday/Uday.html
Staged puppet show should further prove the deaths of Uday and Qusay, says the US
http://thewiredpress.com/archives/culture/udayqusay.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 4:44 PM
matt@lefande.com
THE PENTAGON’S NEW MAP
Since the end of the cold war, the United States has been trying to come up with an operating theory of the world—and a military strategy to accompany it. Now there’s a leading contender. It involves identifying the problem parts of the world and aggressively shrinking them. Since September 11, 2001, the author, a professor of warfare analysis, has been advising the Office of the Secretary of Defense and giving this briefing continually at the Pentagon and in the intelligence community. Now he gives it to you.
The problem with most discussion of globalization is that too many experts treat it as a binary outcome: Either it is great and sweeping the planet, or it is horrid and failing humanity everywhere. Neither view really works, because globalization as a historical process is simply too big and too complex for such summary judgments. Instead, this new world must be defined by where globalization has truly taken root and where it has not.
Show me where globalization is thick with network connectivity, financial transactions, liberal media flows, and collective security, and I will show you regions featuring stable governments, rising standards of living, and more deaths by suicide than murder. These parts of the world I call the Functioning Core, or Core. But show me where globalization is thinning or just plain absent, and I will show you regions plagued by politically repressive regimes, widespread poverty and disease, routine mass murder, and—most important—the chronic conflicts that incubate the next generation of global terrorists. These parts of the world I call the Non-Integrating Gap, or Gap.
So how do we distinguish between who is really making it in globalization’s Core and who remains trapped in the Gap? And how permanent is this dividing line?
Understanding that the line between the Core and Gap is constantly shifting, let me suggest that the direction of change is more critical than the degree. So, yes, Beijing is still ruled by a “Communist party” whose ideological formula is 30 percent Marxist-Leninist and 70 percent Sopranos, but China just signed on to the World Trade Organization, and over the long run, that is far more important in securing the country’s permanent Core status. Why? Because it forces China to harmonize its internal rule set with that of globalization—banking, tariffs, copyright protection, environmental standards. Of course, working to adjust your internal rule sets to globalization’s evolving rule set offers no guarantee of success. As Argentina and Brazil have recently found out, following the rules (in Argentina’s case, sort of following) does not mean you are panicproof, or bubbleproof, or even recessionproof. Trying to adapt to globalization does not mean bad things will never happen to you. Nor does it mean all your poor will immediately morph into stable middle class. It just means your standard of living gets better over time.
In sum, it is always possible to fall off this bandwagon called globalization. And when you do, bloodshed will follow. If you are lucky, so will American troops.
http://www.nwc.navy.mil/newrulesets/ThePentagonsNewMap.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:54 PM
matt@lefande.com
Pentagon Prepares a Futures Market on Terror Attacks
The Pentagon office that proposed spying electronically on Americans to monitor potential terrorists has a new experiment. It is an online futures trading market, disclosed today by critics, in which anonymous speculators would bet on forecasting terrorist attacks, assassinations and coups.
Traders bullish on a biological attack on Israel or bearish on the chances of a North Korean missile strike would have the opportunity to bet on the likelihood of such events on a new Internet site established by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The Pentagon called its latest idea a new way of predicting events and part of its search for the "broadest possible set of new ways to prevent terrorist attacks."
According to descriptions given to Congress, available at the Web site and provided by the two senators, traders who register would deposit money into an account similar to a stock account and win or lose money based on predicting events.
"For instance," Mr. Wyden said, "you may think early on that Prime Minister X is going to be assassinated. So you buy the futures contracts for 5 cents each. As more people begin to think the person's going to be assassinated, the cost of the contract could go up, to 50 cents.
"The payoff if he's assassinated is $1 per future. So if it comes to pass, and those who bought at 5 cents make 95 cents. Those who bought at 50 cents make 50 cents."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/29/politics/29TERR.html?hp
http://www.policyanalysismarket.org/pam_home.htm
Plan to demonstrate efficent markets beaten down by left.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/07/29/terrorist.market.ap/index.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:50 AM
matt@lefande.com
D.C. Police Trainees Flunking
About one in five recent D.C. police recruits has flunked the final exam at the end of their training, a rate of failure that is far higher than in other jurisdictions, according to police records.
Academic records at the city's police academy show that 61, or 21 percent, of the last 289 recruits who have taken the final exam failed it the first time they took it.
Nationally, police recruits who take final exams generally have much lower failure rates. In Montgomery County, only one or two recruits typically flunk out of a class of 80. In Virginia, which just installed a statewide certification exam for police, early returns show that about 5 percent fail.
Some current and former staff members at the academy said they have seen unqualified recruits pass through and graduate. One cited a recruit who failed the test of police driving skills 12 times.
Others complained about watered-down physical fitness requirements, now that men and women are held to different standards on some of the tests.
Some of the staff members, who all spoke on the condition that their names not be used, compared the recent recruits to those in 1989 and 1990. In those years, the academy greatly increased capacity, and background checks and training became lax or nonexistent. The result was classes with high levels of corrupt or incompetent officers.
"You're getting people here that are just as bad as '89 or '90," one former staff member said. "You give them a couple of years, and these people are going to start surfacing."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51288-2003Jul26.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 11:22 PM
matt@lefande.com
Marshals Searching For Child Molester
U.S. marshals are conducting a nationwide search for a former traveling evangelist and convicted child molester who fled a hotel in Roanoke, where he was serving supervised parole.
Law enforcement officials say Mario "Tony" Leyva vanished July 14 from his room at the Jefferson Lodge, where he had been staying since his release from prison April 30.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48985-2003Jul26.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:09 PM
matt@lefande.com
Gun control maneuvers
Democrats hope gun control won't be an issue in next year's presidential election. Gun control is a loser at the polls, and Democrats know it, even if they are loath to admit it publicly. Now, along comes Sen. Orrin Hatch, Utah Republican, to put a fly in the ointment by introducing a bill that puts gun control back in the spotlight and Democrats on the spot. Mr. Hatch's bill would repeal the District of Columbia's gun-control law, one of the nation's toughest.
Mr. Hatch's bill has Democrats sputtering about "home rule" since it would overturn a city law, but they would rather not talk about gun control per se so close to an election year. I don't blame them. There's no correlation between tough gun laws and lower crime. Indeed all the liberal prognostication on Florida's "right to carry" law, the first in the nation in 1987, proved wrong. Not only did Florida's streets not turn into public shooting galleries, as liberals predicted, but 24 other states have followed suit. There has been no discernible increase in violence as a result and not a single conviction of a permit-holder for killing an innocent party.
Mr. Hatch has the right idea. Treat D.C. residents like responsible grownups — and citizens entitled to Second Amendment protection.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20030724-075510-1729r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:49 PM
matt@lefande.com
Have you Forgotten?
http://ispnetweb.com/liberty/email.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:55 AM
matt@lefande.com
9-11 Report by the House and Senate Committees on Intelligence
This is the declassified version of the Final Report of the Joint Inquiry into the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that was approved and filed with the House of Representatives and the Senate on December 20, 2002.
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/24jul20031400/www.gpoaccess.gov/serialset/creports/pdf/fullreport_errata.pdf
858 Pages
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:52 AM
matt@lefande.com
Armed Citizen of the Week
Artelia Withers, a 72-year-old Little Rock, Ark., resident, returned from a church service one night to discover her home had been burglarized. The living room window was broken, and several items, including a cell phone and a television, had been stolen. Police investigating the burglary suggested Withers, who is affectionately known as “Big Momma,” stay with relatives overnight. But Withers said she was not afraid to stay in her own home, even though she suspected the burglar might return for her other television sets and VCR.
Her suspicions were validated at 6:20 the following morning when a man climbed through her living room window. Withers shot the intruder twice with a .25-cal. pistol, and police arrived shortly thereafter to arrest the man, identified as Dennis Smith, a former boarder in Withers’ home.
Lieutenant Hayward Finks said Smith would be charged with burglary and that the shooting appeared to be justified as Withers had felt threatened. “She had every right to defend herself,” Finks said.
Withers reiterated that she is not afraid to stay in her home alone. “I’ve got another pistol,” she said.
http://www.ardemgaz.com/
Registration and Payment required.
Read Full Text of Article Here
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:24 AM
matt@lefande.com
What To Do In An Emergency
After exposure to radiation it is important to consider that you may have mutated to gigantic dimensions: watch your head.
If you are trapped under falling debris, conserve oxygen by not farting.
If you hear the Backstreet Boys, Michael Bolton or Yanni on the radio, cower in the corner or run like hell.
http://www.twin-towers.net/what_to_do_in_an_emergency.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:14 AM
matt@lefande.com
Matrix Style Ping Pong
http://www.ntv.co.jp/channel/asx/hkzkt10.asx
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:37 AM
matt@lefande.com
Matt's Flash Animation is Featured on Webdesigners Showcase
As if I had nothing else to do this week besides fighting the incompetence and corruption of the Metropolitan Police Department, I entered a competition on praktica.net, a website featuring the newest and coolest work of webdesigners of the world.
The competition starts with a photograph offered by the site each month. This photograph must then be used as the basis for an animation or photo collage made by the webdesigner. Each week, an entry is selected as the best and is featured on the main page of the website.
In my entry, I used a fake clock I coded into Flash, and then ran transformations of the brightness and contrast of the photo over the period of a "day" to simulate a time lapse film. The film ends with animated windows in the building being illuminated at nightfall and then dimmed in intervals. Its a little different than some of the site's more hyperactive works.
http://www.praktica.net/fr/intro/intro.php
posted by Matthew LeFande 10:09 PM
matt@lefande.com
Ramsey Opposes Lifting of D.C. Gun Ban
Washington (AP) - Some strong words from D.C. Police Chief Charles Ramsey when it comes to a movement to do away with the city's ban on handguns
Ramsey says that's the last thing the city needs - adding that more than 1,000 handguns have been recovered in the city so far this year, including seven last night.
Ramsey says he would like to see stricter handgun restrictions in Virginia and Maryland, where he says most of the handguns are coming from.
Full article
posted by Tony 11:59 AM
Public Version of FBI Report on 9-11 Will Omit Saudi Ties to Terrorists
The FBI is expected to bear much of the criticism from the joint congressional committee investigating the September 11 attacks, which is to release its final report Thursday, according to sources.
Members of the panel have criticized U.S. government officials for classifying too much material as national security sensitive and thereby keeping it out of the public version of the final report. It took congressional and government authorities seven months to come to agreement on what could be released in the declassified report.
Sources said much of the information about Saudi Arabia and its alleged support of terrorism will be redacted from the version of the report released publicly. There will be no mention, a government official tells CNN, of the FBI investigation of whether charitable contributions made by the wife of Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States may have inadvertently gotten into the hands of hijackers Alhazmi and Almihdhar. One of the women who received money was the wife of Omar al-Bayoumi, the man who helped two 9-11 hijackers settle in San Diego.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/07/21/9.11.report/index.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:24 AM
matt@lefande.com
Judge dismisses suit against gun makers
Judge Weinstein's decision follows a trial in May in which an advisory jury cleared 45 gun manufacturers and distributors of negligence for illegal, violent acts carried out with handguns.
The NAACP's suit accused major gun makers of not acting to prevent dealers from selling firearms to criminals in black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
Judge Weinstein wrote in his ruling that the NAACP proved its members suffered "relatively more harm from the nuisance created by the defendants through illegal availability of guns in New York." But, he added, the civil rights group did not "show that its harm was different in kind from that suffered by other persons in New York."
Supporters of a pending Senate bill that would protect gun manufacturers from class-action suits said Judge Weinstein's ruling demonstrates the need for congressional action.
Lawrence Keane, general counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said the judge "slapped the jury in the face" by blaming gun makers.
"This ruling is the poster child for what Congress must act to stop," Mr. Keane said. "The fact is that the jury listened to all the evidence and rejected the NAACP's case."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20030721-113731-5952r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:36 AM
matt@lefande.com
Cerulean MDT Computer System User Guide
Here is a PDF file User's Guide for the Cerulean MDT computer system in most of the MPD cars.
http://www.aethersystems.com/webfiles/_downloads/PCP%20UserGuide.pdf
posted by Matthew LeFande 11:37 AM
matt@lefande.com
Backlog of Whistleblower Cases Growing
Hundreds of whistleblower complaints about waste, fraud and abuse in government are going unexamined, with the backlog of cases at the Office of Special Counsel more than doubling in the past 18 months, according to newly obtained figures.
Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER, warned that the delays might deter future disclosures. He stressed that complaints often called attention to serious risks to public health and safety or the mismanagement of substantial sums of money.
"It's like calling 911 and being put on hold," he said.
"Hundreds of federal employees risk their careers to blow the whistle, only to find that no one is home to hear it.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A20368-2003Jul20.html?nav=hptoc_p
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:47 AM
matt@lefande.com
A Brief Reminder to Men About the Dangers of Drinking Beer
http://members.aol.com/matt999h/beer.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 3:06 PM
matt@lefande.com
Judge Opposes $20 Life Sentence
ORLANDO, Fla. -- A judge reluctantly gave a man life in prison after a $20 burglary, saying he had no choice under a state law that requires such terms for repeat offenders.
Circuit Judge Bob Wattles called the punishment unjust and unfair.
"I don't have the authority or the power to not sentence you to life," Wattles told Maurice Leonard Reed, 37, of nearby Apopka, at his Tuesday sentencing.
Prosecutors had designated Reed a "prison release re-offender" under a state law that requires harsher penalties for some repeat offenders.
http://www.local6.com//news/2337839/detail.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:18 PM
matt@lefande.com
If I HYPOTHETICALLY killed a bunch of people, what should I do with the bodies?
miligram(13)(not a registered user)
Apr-01-99 07:20:40 PST Praise: I do not like him, Sam I am. I do not like green eggs and ham.
Response by miligram - Lay off my green eggs you prick! As for the ham, well, you can jam it!
Follow-up by andy46477 - Sam does not jam ham. Not a pound. Not a gram.
A Truly Touched EBay'er
http://cgi2.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewFeedbackMemberLeft&memberId=andy46477&items=250
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:52 PM
matt@lefande.com
Armed Citizen of the Week
On Sunday, July 13, 2003, a man trying to rob the Orient Express restaurant in the 14700 block of Baltimore Avenue in Laurel, Maryland was shot and killed by an employee.
No charges are pending against the robber.
http://www.washtimes.com/metro/20030714-105642-1703r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 2:08 PM
matt@lefande.com
BANG, BANG... You're ALIVE!
On the Metropolitan Police Department's Web page, Chief Ramsey states that his policing strategy is to work with the community to prevent crime. "Sometimes the first step can be as simple as picking up a broom to clean the streets and sidewalks in front of your home," he says. "One person with a broom can set the example for the whole neighborhood." This might be true, but it is hardly relevant to the violence on city streets. A broom will not deter an armed attacker. If Chief Ramsey and the D.C. Council appreciate the trickle down effect of beautifying the block, they should also understand that word will get around pretty fast when a homeowner legally shoots a criminal breaking into his house.
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20030717-081253-2773r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:59 PM
matt@lefande.com
Global Homeland Security (GHS III)
September 24-26, 2003
Marriott Wardman Park Hotel, Washington DC
A two-day (UNCLASSIFIED) intensive conference with workshops led by leading international experts from government and industry.
"An explosion possibly laced with chemicals occurs: Do you know where and how to access resources at the local, state, and Federal level?"
WMD Preparedness Executive Workshop (Optional)
Presented by: Edgewood Chemical, Biological Center, U.S. Army
http://www.bioterrorism-defense.com/
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:42 PM
matt@lefande.com
In homeland-security era, a market for bulletproof cars
If you thought the Hummer was the closest thing to a tank on the roads of America, think again.
Lincoln's new Ballistic Protection Series Town Car looks like a regular, if portly sedan, but it's equipped with 1,800 pounds of bullet-resistant armor. The limited-edition version of the Town Car also comes with "blast blankets" that cover the undercarriage and are able to absorb the force of an explosion, the gas tanks are coated in rubber to minimize leaks, and its run-flat tires maintain the ability for a speedy getaway even if pierced by bullets.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/0714/p02s01-usgn.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:34 PM
matt@lefande.com
Department of Justice MOA
I now have an HTML version of the June 13, 2001 MPD/DOJ Memorandum of Agreement on this website. Once I update the search engine, search queries will also include references contained within the MOA.
http://www.lefande.com/moa.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:26 PM
matt@lefande.com
SURVEY: MAJORITY OF WEB USERS ARE FBI AGENTS POSING AS TEENAGE GIRLS
According to the survey, which tracked online usage from January through July, 50.4 percent of U.S. Web users -- or nearly 38 million -- are FBI agents posing as teenage girls. That's still below the percentage of FBI agents posing as teenage girls in the overall population, which according to U.S. Census figures is 55.7 percent. However, the report noted that FBI agents posing as teenage girls represent the fastest growing segment of Web users, increasing 185 percent in the past 12 months.
Web sites catering to teenage girls corroborated the findings. "At least half" of Gurl.com's 1.3 million unique monthly visitors are FBI agents posing as teenage girls, said Gurl.com spokesperson Helen Kattrall. "It's easy to tell the difference," she said. "Real teens chat with each other about boys and school and celebrities. But FBI agents posing as teenage girls are never interested in girl-talk. They tend to write things like, 'Hi, I'm Emily. I'm almost 13, and I'm looking for a father figure willing to cross state lines.'"
http://www.satirewire.com/news/0008/satire-fbiteens.shtml
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:27 AM
matt@lefande.com
High-Tech System Helps End Chase Of Stolen SUV Carrying 2 Toddlers
Maraie Plaia lay crying on the side of River Road just seconds after a man dragged her from her vehicle, jumped in and sped away with her two children inside.
"The only thing she was worried about was her kids," recalled Jim Beckett, a passing motorist who pulled over to help.
When Beckett overheard her tell police she had been driving a 2002 Mercedes-Benz SUV, he knew how to help. He realized that the stolen car, like his own Mercedes, would have a piece of equipment that could help police track it: a satellite-based system that can pinpoint a vehicle's location down to the intersection.
Beckett pulled a police sergeant aside and told him authorities could reach the system using his own car. "It was providence that I was right behind her," said Beckett, 52, an Annapolis resident who manages a hardware store in Bethesda.
The global-positioning and communications device helped police track the carjacker during a wild high-speed chase Tuesday night and eavesdrop indirectly inside the vehicle, authorities said. Company officials monitoring the device told police they could hear the driver talking to himself. And they also heard the two children -- 3-year-old Paul and 19-month-old Edie -- well enough to know they were unharmed.
Police charged Carl E. Jones, 31, of Chesapeake Beach with carjacking, two counts of kidnapping and related crimes following the car chase that roamed as far as the Baltimore Beltway and the Chesapeake Bay Bridge at speeds in excess of 100 mph, authorities said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2862-2003Jul16.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:41 AM
matt@lefande.com
Cop Carry Bill Acquires 60 Senate Cosponsors to Block Possible Kennedy Filibuster
Legislation that would allow qualified off duty and retired law enforcement officers to carry their firearms concealed nation-wide reached a milestone recently, when it gathered the 60 Senate cosponsors needed to block any potential Senate filibuster. S. 253, like the House version, H.R. 218, has a strong majority of bi-partisan cosponsors. The bill was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee in March, where it was backed by Chairman Hatch and ranking Member Leahy.
Introduced by Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, S. 253 is the companion to H.R. 218 (Cunningham-R-Calif.), which has been the number one legislative priority of rank and file law enforcement organizations for several years. Law Enforcement Alliance of America (LEAA) Executive Director and retired police officer James Fotis, who with Congressman Cunningham helped draft the original cop carry bill over a decade ago, hailed the Senate achievement as a milestone. "This legislation is the top priority for America's rank and file law enforcement officers, now it has the overwhelming support of Senators and Members of Congress -- it deserves an up or down vote on the floor of both Chambers".
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=104-07152003
The bill now needs to get to the floor for a full vote by the Senate. You can help by contacting the office of Majority Leader Frist and asking them to bring S. 253 to the floor.
This bill has strong bipartisan support among leaders in both parties and deserves a vote. Fax or email Senator Frist today at the number and email listed below. Be sure to include your peace officer status and mailing address, in order for your input to be counted properly.
Majority Leader Frist
Email (web form)
http://www/frist.senate.gov/contact.cfm
Fax: (202) 224-4639
Due to security precautions, regular mail is significantly delayed. Faxes, with your name, address and title will have the most impact.
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:27 AM
matt@lefande.com
Hatch Introduces Legislation to Repeal District's Handgun Ban
The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee wants District residents to be able to own handguns, reviving the pitched debate over gun control in a city with some of the toughest restrictions in the nation.
The D.C. Personal Protection Act, introduced Tuesday by Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (R-Utah), would repeal the District's ban on handguns, end strict registration requirements for ammunition and other firearms and lift prohibitions on the possession or carrying of weapons at homes and workplaces. The legislation would also loosen the District's definition of machine guns, possession of which is now subject to additional sanction.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2003-2003Jul16.html?nav=hptop_tb
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:03 PM
matt@lefande.com
DWI suspects offers bribe of Dunkin' Donuts coupons to cop.
Meet Michael Matakaetis. The 23-year-old Florida man was arrested last week after cops pulled him over for suspicion of drunk driving. Matakaetis, who had an open bottle of Captain Morgan Rum in his Lexus, apparently realized he was plastered and would be headed to the slammer. So, according to this Martin County Sheriff's report, Matakaetis decided to try and bribe his way out of the can. But instead of cash, Matakaetis actually offered the cop a stack of Dunkin' Donuts coupons. He noted, without irony, "You can have these if you just let me park the car and I'll walk home."
Read the Arrest Report...
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/donutbribe1.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:41 PM
matt@lefande.com
Lock and load....
Capitol Hill (CNSNews.com)- A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has denied a motion by the National Rifle Association (NRA) to consolidate two lawsuits against D.C.'s virtual ban on civilian ownership and possession of firearms.
As CNSNews.com previously reported, the NRA's lawsuit - brought on behalf of Sandra Seegars, Gardine Hailes, Absalom Jordan, Jr., Carmela Brown and Robert Hemphill - claims that the D.C. gun ban violates the Second Amendment. But the Seegars suit also names four additional "causes of action" for the court to consider.
Full article
posted by Tony 5:27 PM
Joy Riders Suspected In Fatal SE Crash
A 60-year-old grandmother and recent employee of the month died yesterday morning in Southeast Washington after her car was broadsided by young men in a stolen Ford -- the second death in a month in the area linked to joy-riding car thieves.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56277-2003Jul14.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 5:56 AM
matt@lefande.com
Bioterror Self-Triage Hopes to Avert Panic
Bioterrorism experts are developing a do-it-yourself triage system in an attempt to prevent panicky crowds from overwhelming Washington area hospital emergency rooms during an epidemic or terror attack.
The idea is to get the public to use a sophisticated electronic questionnaire that would get an instant medical risk assessment and to help persuade those who seem not to be at risk to stay away and give medical professionals time to focus on patients who are.
After the computer leads someone through the questions, either online or over the telephone, the patient would be advised according to what the symptoms seem to be. The options the system might offer include: stay home in voluntary quarantine, go to a designated site for follow-up care, move to an isolation facility or just relax.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51644-2003Jul13.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 10:48 PM
matt@lefande.com
New Show Takes off from Matt's Experience in the GLLU
Get the right man for the job -- the right GAY man. That's the premise of a Bravo series in which style-challenged straight men like Matt are overhauled by experts whose credentials include being gay.
Bravo has assembled what it calls the Fab 5: "an elite team of gay men who have dedicated their lives to extolling the simple virtues of style, taste and class."
The straight men are a group of sad sacks in need of rehab, Eliza Doolittles one and all. They don't know how to dress or groom themselves properly, make their homes comfortable or entertain for business or family.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/12/bravo.show.ap/index.html
http://www.bravotv.com/Queer_Eye_for_the_Straight_Guy/
posted by Matthew LeFande 8:24 PM
matt@lefande.com
VIOLENCE
For those of you without enough violence in your lives, here is some more, courtesy of the United Colors of Benetton.
http://www.benetton.com/colors/
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:52 PM
matt@lefande.com
Armed Citizen of the Week
David Franklin’s crime spree through a Milwaukee, Wisc., neighborhood was cut short when one of his intended victims produced a gun and shot him. Milwaukee police said Franklin was suspected in six break-ins within blocks of his home. He apparently chose to break into homes where women lived; and if he caught a woman alone, he raped her. If the woman was not home, he would burglarize the house. Women in three of those cases were raped at gunpoint. The tables were turned on Franklin when he broke into a house and the woman resident shot him in the arm. He was arrested at a local hospital after police interrogated him as to how he had been shot.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/Metro/mar03/129455.asp
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:44 AM
matt@lefande.com
Auto theft at 6-year high
Drug trafficking and a rash of juvenile joy riding have increased car thefts in the District, raising the city's auto-theft statistics to the highest level in six years, Metropolitan Police say.
According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Report, 9,168 auto thefts were reported in the District last year, compared with 7,970 in 2001.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20030709-093320-1095r.htm
posted by Matthew LeFande 5:56 PM
matt@lefande.com
Show me the Money.....
Ramsey Says He Wants to Stay Put
Chief Answers Speculation
By Arthur Santana and David A. Fahrenthold
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, July 10, 2003; Page B01
Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey said yesterday that he wants to remain in Washington for "a long time," brushing off suggestions that he might depart because the D.C. Council has held up a portion of his new contract.
"I'm not job-hunting, if that's the question," Ramsey told reporters at police headquarters. "I'll put that to rest right now." He added, "As far as I'm concerned, I'm going to be the police chief in Washington, D.C., for a long time."
Click here for the full article
posted by Tony 9:38 AM
Ramsey gets money, citizens got......
Metropolitan Police Chief Charles H. Ramsey refused to divulge his plans yesterday for remaining in the District after the D.C. Council narrowly approved a $25,000-a-year pay raise for him.
The council's 7-6 vote did not extend the chief's 5-year-old contract with the city and did not address his retirement benefits package, which includes a $60,000-a-year pension.
After a contentious, hourlong debate yesterday, the council authorized increasing Chief Ramsey's annual pay to $175,000. The vote came a day after council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, at-large Democrat, withdrew emergency legislation for the chief's retirement benefits because of a lack of support for it.
Council members have sought to tie the chief's benefits to his department's performance, saying he has deployed too few officers on city streets and citing an increase in homicides.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20030708-094831-9401r.htm
posted by Tony 10:51 AM
LeFande v. District of Columbia, Et al.
On July 7, 2003, I filed a civil complaint (lawsuit) in DC Superior Court against the District of Columbia, and five individual defendants.
I will try to maintain each of the documents on line as they become a matter of public record.
http://www.lefande.com/MPDlawsuit/
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:51 PM
matt@lefande.com
Shaved Legs
A few people have asked about Matt's hairless legs. It really has nothing to do with his previous assignment in the GLLU.
Lance Armstrong explains...
Dial-up:
http://mfile.akamai.com/332/asf/cocacola.download.akamai.com/332/racingfamily/_media/shavelegs_59.asx
Cable/DSL:
http://mfile.akamai.com/332/asf/cocacola.download.akamai.com/332/racingfamily/_media/shavelegs_124.asx
Broadband:
http://mfile.akamai.com/332/asf/cocacola.download.akamai.com/332/racingfamily/_media/shavelegs_295.asx
posted by Matthew LeFande 6:04 PM
matt@lefande.com
Driver of Stolen Car Shot by Police in Southeast
Washington (AP) - Authorities are revealing more details about a shooting Tuesday morning involving a D.C. police officer and an armed suspect.
It happened shortly before 6 a.m. on the 2,700 block of Minnesota Avenue in Southeast, when a stolen Dodge Intrepid crashed into another vehicle.
Shortly after the accident, police say an officer arrived at the scene to check on the victims. At that point, investigators say the suspect in the stolen vehicle pointed a handgun at the officer and fired it. The officer then ran for cover before returning fire and hitting the suspect in the finger, abdomen and knee.
http://www.news8.net/news/stories/0703/93897.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 5:42 PM
matt@lefande.com
Just 2 Years for Shooting a Cop
On the night of March 25, a criminal named Bernard Johnson did his best to kill D.C. Police Detective Anthony McGee. Then, on June 4, a judge named Susan Winfield did her best to avoid punishing Johnson for his attack.
This is a true story of how justice in the District can be a crime.
Back in March, Johnson was already a two-time loser on gun charges. When McGee and I confronted Johnson in a Northeast Washington alley during an investigation, he was a convicted felon facing the risk of yet another arrest.
So he did what came naturally: He pulled out his unlicensed .380 semiautomatic handgun, fired three high-velocity rounds into McGee and ran.
McGee survived.
Johnson was hunted, was arrested and pleaded guilty.
And that's when the next crime occurred.
Thanks to the remarkable generosity of D.C. Superior Court Judge Winfield, Johnson will serve only two years in prison for shooting a cop. It's far less time than it will take McGee to recover fully from his wounds.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10662-2003Jul4.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 7:24 PM
matt@lefande.com
District Auto Thieves Downsize
A screwdriver is important. So is a shaved-down key. But the most crucial tool for some car thieves in the nation's capital is a stack of phone books -- so they can see over the steering wheel.
About two of every three cars stolen in the District are swiped by joy riders, most of them younger than 18. Juveniles are contributing to a 20 percent increase in auto thefts this year in the District, with nearly 2,800 vehicles stolen in the first four months, according to a report this spring by the D.C. police department's auto theft unit.
"Ten. That's about as young as I've locked them up. I'll see them sitting behind the steering wheel of a car on a stack of phone books while another one is down there working the pedals," said D.C. police investigator Kevin Rachlin, a street officer who has spent more than eight years patrolling east of the Anacostia River.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10583-2003Jul4.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 5:21 PM
matt@lefande.com
Why do we have Gersteins?
Richard Gerstein was a Florida State Attorney back in the 1970's when a group of defendants sued the state for their pre-trial detention without a probable cause hearing.
In March of 1971 two suspects, Pugh and Henderson were arrested in Florida without warrants on different felony charges. Florida law permitted, but did not require, a probable cause hearing. The two defendants did not receive a hearing, sued and were joined by other class members. The case came to Federal jurisdiction under 42 USC §1983. The defendants only sought relief in a probable cause hearing.
The District Court found that the defendants had a right to a hearing and the State appealed. In the process of appeal, various procedural rules within the State were changed but the end result was the rules still provided a defendant who was charged by indictment or "information" (a complaint by the prosecutor's office) was not entitled to a probable cause hearing. The Court of Appeals found this unconstitutional and the state petitioned the US Supreme Court for review.
In Gerstein v. Pugh, 420 US 103, affirming in part, reversing in part and remanding, the Court said that a hearing to determine probable cause was required, but that it not need to have the same "adversarial" qualities of a full blown trial, "counsel, confrontation, cross-examination, and compulsory process for witnesses" 420 US at 119.
The Court also said that the determination of probable cause could be determined based on written testimony, i.e. an affidavit of a police officer and did not require the officer's presence in court.
"The sole issue is whether there is probable cause for detaining the arrested person pending further proceedings. This issue can be determined reliably without an adversary hearing. The standard is the same as that for arrest. [Footnote omitted] That standard-- probable cause to believe the suspect has committed a crime--traditionally has been decided by a magistrate in a non-adversary proceeding on hearsay and written testimony, and the Court has approved these informal modes of proof." 420 US at 120.
Thus, the purpose of the Gerstein affidavit is to provide evidence to the judge at the probable cause hearing (the arraignment) that the officer had probable cause to arrest the defendant. We do so many Gersteins because we arrest so many people without warrants and we don't have a magistrate system (the impartial judicial officer who can sign
off on a warrant or determine to hold a defendant prior to trial). We differ from most of the country in that respect. Go to Virginia or Maryland, and you have the Magistrate sitting inside the police station, 24 hours a day. In DC, the officer is making the probable cause determination up until papering.
If we make the initial probable cause determination, we need to justify our determination to the court, or they will release our defendant. The Supreme Court permits this to be done with an affidavit rather than requiring us to appear in court for the arraignment.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?navby=case&court=us&vol=420&page=103
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:15 AM
matt@lefande.com
Armed Citizen of the Week
Joseph McDaniel Duke heard a knock at his door early one morning, but decided not to answer it. When a man started to pry open his back door, he decided he should respond to that and held suspect Todd Suer at gunpoint until authorities could arrive. Suer was charged with felony burglary.
http://www.augustachronicle.com/
posted by Matthew LeFande 1:25 PM
matt@lefande.com
License-plate spray foils traffic cameras
Motorists have litigated against them, fired bullets at them and thrown garbage on them — all to get back at the traffic cameras that have caught them in the act of running a red light or speeding.
Now they have a new weapon in their arsenal, and it comes in a can for $29.99. A clear spray called Photoblocker can be applied to license plates to make them hyper-reflective and unreadable when the camera flashes.
http://www.phantomplate.com/
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:53 PM
matt@lefande.com
Fourth of July Security May Be More Muted
The nation spent last Independence Day in the shadow of Sept. 11 and under the heavily armed guard of police. This year, Americans probably will see fewer police officers, bomb-sniffing dogs and security fences in what law enforcement officials say is a return to a more normal holiday.
Strained budgets will limit police presence and security tactics in many jurisdictions. Other cities are not bringing in extra officers because the federal terror level is expected to stay at code yellow.
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/J/JULY_4TH_SECURITY
posted by Matthew LeFande 9:36 PM
matt@lefande.com
U.S. Develops Urban Surveillance System
Police can envision limited domestic uses for an urban surveillance system the Pentagon is developing but doubt they could use the full system which is designed to track and analyze the movement of every vehicle in a city.
Dubbed "Combat Zones That See," the project is intended to help the U.S. military protect troops and fight in cities overseas.
The project's centerpiece would be groundbreaking computer software capable of automatically identifying vehicles by size, color, shape and license tag, or drivers and passengers by face.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61389-2003Jul2.html
posted by Matthew LeFande 3:57 PM
matt@lefande.com
