NYPD Suicides: 4 officers take their own lives in last month

What’s going on? Why are cops killing themselves? On the surface, there’s no relationship between four recent suicides. Each had a different story, but with the same sad ending. The only commonality I can see is that they were all from the same police department.

Perhaps that’s the one clue to solving these suicides: is something wrong within the force itself? Are cops who admit to having depression summarily canned? Despite what the NYPD website says about the counseling all officers have available to them, there’s a reason why very few take advantage it. That reason is fear. Fear that word will get out to their superiors they can’t handle their jobs. So, they remain silent.

One of the four deaths fits the scenario I’m suggesting. That’s Officer Terrence Dean. The 29-year old killed himself while on duty after receiving a call from his fiancée, who reportedly told him she called his precinct about the depression he was struggling with.

One last observation on the subject of law enforcement officers killing themselves: NYPD is not alone when it comes to officers having to hide their depression to protect their jobs. It’s happening nationwide. I can give examples from all over the country. The point is, something has to change in the crime-fighting culture or these senseless deaths will continue.

Valentine’s Day: Kiss your honey and go on a special date

             Good Day Humboldt County!

We’re going down Lover’s Lane today. A road that stretches back to antiquity. A road traveled by lovers worldwide. So what do to for Valentine’s Day? 

“On this Valentine’s Day, one of the more unorthodox activities available to lovebirds is the ability to take that special someone for a tour of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn.

“New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection is offering a tour of the sewage treatment facility that lasts just under two hours and culminates in an expansive view of the Manhattan skyline and the 53-acre Newtown plant from 130 feet up.

“To celebrate the occasion, guests will each be given a Hershey kiss candy while they tour a plant that is responsible for breaking down toxic waste into harmless sludge. They also get a Valentine’s Day story that will almost certainly be unique among their friends.” via Today

Pizza Hut also has you covered for Valentine’s Day, especially if you plan on making a marriage proposal to your date and want to do it over a medium one-topping pizza with some breadsticks and cinnamon sticks. The pizza chain has 10 packages available to ‘tie the knot” in which it offers a $10 dinner box, a red ruby and diamond engagement ring, limo service, flowers, a fireworks show, a videographer and a photographer for a mere $10,010 plus tax.

For those who just want to go right to dessert, Cupcakes Gourmet in Philadelphia has a $55,000 cupcake featuring an eight-carat diamond ring perched on top of the frosting.

My honey will have to settle for a kiss, a nice dinner, and my company today, unless the MCKinleyville Water District is offering a Valentine Day tour of their wastewater treatment plant!

Time for me to walk on down the road…

 

Washington govenor signs gay marriage bill: group seeks to overthrow it before it’s signed into law this June

Gov. Chris Gregoire has signed into law a bill that legalizes gay marriage in Washington state, making it the nation's seventh to allow gay and lesbian couples to wed. Before she even put pen to paper anti-homosexual groups were girding for war. A holy war in their narrow minds. But who are THEY in this case?

Who thinks homosexuals don’t deserve the same treatment as the rest of the population? Who thinks gays and lesbians will ruin the sanctity of       marriage?                                                                                         Who are “They????”

“They” are members of organizations like the Family Policy Institute of Washington who are already organizing a campaign to overturn the new law that is set to go into effect on June 7th. Check out their web site. Look at the smiling, fresh faces that think Jesus hates homosexuals and denies them the key to Heaven.

God and Politics have become a quasi-religion where stiff-necked religious hypocrites judge everyone that doesn’t believe as “They” do. Read the “alerts” and calls for donations on FLI’s website, which is a thinly disguised effort to marginalize their fellow Americans in the name of God and man-made moral values that “They” don’t even keep.

“They” don’t think all Americans should have the same opportunities. Even when it comes to their own love life. “They” can’t seem to respect anyone that doesn’t believe the way “They” do. In conclusion; “They” have a different view of the Constitution that assures us all equality. “They” are the reason why more people are leaving churches today.

“They” are religious extremists, and one of their many missions is to keep same-sex marriage illegal…because they say, the Bible says it so.

As It Stands, “They” won’t give up trying to take other’s rights away because “They” are heavily funded, and on a crusade to clean up Amerika.

One Rotten Apple: bad press forces company to look into labor issues while shares rise to an all time high

You wouldn’t be reading this right now if The New York Times hadn’t exposed Apple’s blind eye towards it’s supplier’s inhumane treatment of workers.

“Apple said Monday that it had hired a non-profit labor group to examine working conditions at some of its suppliers in China, as the company tries to calm a growing storm over how the workers who build iPads and iPhones are treated.

“One particular supplier, Foxconn, has come under fire for working conditions at its facilities including alleged child labor violations and unsafe work environments. Labor advocates have long noted the problems. The Foxconn plants have seen a rash of suicides in the past year.”

Shares of Apple Inc. are at an all time high right now. Management must deal with this labor controversy in order to keep those shares viable. Combine that and The New York Time’s well-researched story and it’s just what it took to motivate Apple bigwigs into some sort of action.So they contacted a non-profit group - The Fair Labor Association (FLA). 

The FLA’s job will be to conduct what Apple calls, “special voluntary audits” of Foxconn’s plants in Shenzhen and Chengdu, China. I think it’s obvious these “inspections” will be dog-n-pony shows. Think about it. Apple and the Chinese like their business arrangement. It’s going to take more than one article to really change things. 

"The entry of Apple to FLA is a welcome development," said Mary Gallagher, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Chinese Studies, and associate professor for political science. "However, I'm not optimistic that conditions in Apple's supplier factories will change if we only rely on occasional inspections from an overseas group."

Chinese workers, she continued, "are increasingly aware of their legal rights at the workplace but they often lack the proper tools to realize enforcement of those rights, such as the right to strike and the right to organize collectively."

Li Qiang, director of China Labor Watch based in New York, said "FLA speaks on behalf of the companies, not workers. If Apple wants the inspections be accurate and trustworthy, it should have labor advocacy groups who speak for the workers involved in the inspection process."

And there you have it. The inspector (FLA) is cozy with companies…not workers. This harsh reality (inhumane treatment of workers)is a reflection of what’s happening across the country, as we mindlessly continue to outsource work to countries with little (or no) labor laws. Keep one thing in mind, we’re also outsourcing our worker’s future.

As It Stands, Apple management made it clear years ago that profit was everything and providing jobs for American workers was not in their best interests.

 

Humboldt’s Dirty Little Secret: We’re always the Nation’s Leader when it comes to paying the highest gas price in the land

               Good Day Humboldt County!

Our path today is one that keeps changing as we walk the energy highway. Factors, often a mystery to the common American, cause the price of gasoline to go up every year. This annual rape of our wallets usually starts in the Spring, but this year we’re having a false Spring so what what the heck? Why not jack the prices up earlier than planned?

“The average price for a gallon of gasoline in the United States rose nearly 12 cents in the past three weeks to about $3.51, due in part to higher prices for North Sea crude oil, according to the nationwide Lundberg Survey.” Reuters

Let me see now, we’re paying more at the pump because North Sea crude prices are going up? Why don’t I believe that crap? The same reason you don’t believe it. Oil speculators are the real culprits why we’re paying more at the pump. Can’t forget regional greed. 

“Among cities covered by the survey, the lowest average price was in Denver at $3.01 per gallon. The price was highest in Long Island suburbs of New York, at $3.82.” Reuters

No! The highest price for gasoline in the nation is here in Humboldt County. Try $4.09 a gallon! We’d be happy to have it at only $3.82!

Where do these news services get that their stats anyway? No one every seems to notice anything about our county except that it’s famous for quality pot. Humboldt County also constantly leads the nation in gasoline prices. That’s our dirty little secret.

Don’t believe me? You check it out. It’s a fact of life for motorists behind the Redwood Curtain. Bicycles, and walking, have never looked better.

Time to go on down the road…

 

As It Stands: Why Nigeria became the scam capital of the world

                                By Dave Stancliff/for The Times-Standard
 If you’ve ever received an e-mail from someone asking you to help them claim a fortune, chances are that someone was in Nigeria. They hoped you were greedy and stupid enough to go along with their bogus offer.

                                        Why Nigeria?

How did this African nation become scam central for the entire planet? I looked into that question and here’s what I found: 
Not all scams originate in Nigeria. They just seem to be more persistent there. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa (158,423,180 as of 2010). International population estimates say 65 percent of Nigeria’s citizens live on less than $1 a day. If that isn’t incentive for crime, nothing is. It’s a “short con”  that can be carried out cheaply with limited Internet access.
  The Nigerian Scam, or the “419 Advanced Fee Fraud,” as it’s known to the Internet savy, came from the Nigerian criminal code for such a crime (419), according to Wikipedia.

The modern 419 scam originated in the early 1980s as the oil-based Nigerian economy declined. During this chaotic time, several unemployed university students first used this scam, spawned from shady deals in the Nigerian oil sector.
It’s very simplicity, someone willing to share part of a fortune for a large sum of money given by the victim, has made it a success.     
Businessmen in the west had targets painted on their check books. The scam was so successful it grew wings and flew around the world. Greed, being what it is, assured these scammers of a long haul with a short scam.
The spread of e-mail and easy access to email-harvesting software significantly lowered the cost of sending scam messages. According to Insa Nolte, a lecturer of University of Birmingham's African Studies Department, "The availability of e-mail helped to transform a local form of fraud into one of Nigeria's most important export industries."

During the 1900s, the Nigerian Scam spurred imitations from other locations in Africa, Philippines, Malaysia, Russia, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom, and the United States.
Here we are decades later and just about every American who owns a computer has been contacted by someone using the Nigerian Scam. The thing that gets me is the bad English used in the scam letters. It seems to me they should take more notice of such an important detail.
Then again, it’s a formula that has worked for decades and scammers might be nervous about messing with success. The fact that practically any person, educated or not, can make money with very little effort using the Nigerian Scam, assures it’s continuance.
For the record, the Nigerian Scam, also known as an “Advance-fee fraud” is similar to a much older scam known as the Spanish Prisoner Scam in which the trickster told the victim that a rich prisoner promised to share treasure with the victim in exchange for money to bribe prison guards.
An older version of this scam existed by the end of 18th century, and is called "the Letter From Jerusalem" by Eugène François Vidocq, in his memoirs. I point this out not only to show the evolution of the Nigerian Scam, but to prove that greed has always opened doors for those willing to use it for their personal advantage.

I think it’s only fair to point out that not all Nigerians are criminals and the honest ones are probably fed up with the reputation their country has because of the scammers.
Disclaimer: this column is not a master’s thesis on why Nigeria is “scam central” in today’s world. I’ve only outlined why I think it is, based upon the facts presented. I have nothing against Nigerians. I do have an insatiable desire to explore why things are the way they are.
If you’d like to know more about the Nigerian Scam and others similar to it, I recommend going to Scambaiter at http://www.419eater.com/  There’s a lot of good current information available there.
As It Stands, knowledge is power, and the more articles you read warning about internet scams, the safer you and your bank account will be.

Websites carrying this column:

1) All Voices – Mainstream News

2) Nigeria ‘70

3) Nigeria Live Music

4) Counter Fraud

5) Fraud Blog

6) SiloBreaker News

7) News Blogged

8) The Daily Breeze

9) Scam Central

10) Christian Money

11) Baltimore Daily Deals

12) Nigerian Newsline

13) Lost Coast Outpost

14) The North Coast Journal – Humboldt Blog watch

15) Neizer

16) Scam Blog

17) Crime Seen

18) One World New Media – A Unity Broadcasting Company

19) The Willits News

20) Latest News about Nigeria

21) United Kingdom Newswire - Comprehensive Real-Time News Feed for United Kingdom

22) Scammer List Malaysia

 

 

 

Goodbye Whitney Houston: you had a beautiful voice

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I just heard that Whitney Houston, who reigned as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, has died. She was 48.

Publicist Kristen Foster said Saturday that the singer had died, but the cause and the location of her death were unknown.

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There’s car lovers….and then there’s REALLY CAR LOVERS!

In my ongoing travels, I particularly enjoy meeting people who take little detours in life and don’t always go down the same road as others.

Meet Nathaniel (photo), a true car lover if ever there was one -- literally. "My Strange Addiction," viewers will get a chance to see his love affair with a candy-apple red ride. Is it a need for speed? A passion for inanimate objects with bright colors? Heck, I don’t know. Guess we’ll have to view the show to find out..

Guest Blogger Post: What happens when we die?

                         Good Day Humboldt County!

Today we travel a path seeking enlightenment. The age old question is asked: “What happens when I die?”  

                                  By Eric Allen Bell

“In order to answer the question, "What happens when I die?" I feel it is important to take a look at something a bit less speculative and that is the question of what happens when we live.
There is no way to understand death if you don't know what life is. What happens between the moment you take your first breath and the moment you draw your very last?
Who is it that is looking out through your eyes?
Is it not the same quality of awareness that existed right before you read these words? Is that quality of awareness not the same quality that existed yesterday and the day before?
And that awareness, the pure state of awareness was there before you could form words or even knew your name. It is independent of personal history, of labels, of nationality of ethnicity of religion of political orientation or even a gender. This is the essential self. And the awareness of this self, even if momentary, is what is often referred to as "Self Realization".

Art by Alex Grey
The essential self is not contained within the boundaries of worldly identification, although it plays in those fields.
The essential self is not limited in perception by the five senses, although it enjoys experiencing them.
The self that is eternal is not limited by space and time, although it uses space and time to creatively express its essence.

The Realized Self came from nowhere and is going nowhere, but may choose different manifestations perhaps throughout the birth-life continuum.
The brain that tells the lungs to breathe will die with the body, but the Awareness that animates the organ called the brain is eternal.
You are not your thoughts. You are not your story. You are not your body.
Experience your thoughts, experience your story, experience your body, as none of it will last.
That which experiences remains constant. We can call that constant the "Self" - the real self and not that which masquerades as you.
So when you ask the question, "What happens when I die?" I would have to ask you a question in return...
Who is asking?”

Time to head on down the road…

For the last time folks! Nicolas Cage is NOT a Vampire!

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A Civil War-era photograph featuring a man with more than a passing resemblance to Nicolas Cage had the Internet buzzing last year when it appeared on eBay. On Thursday night's "Late Show With David Letterman," the actor chimed in on the image and addressed the ridiculous rumor that the man in the photo might actually be him.

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It’s an odd, odd world of facts and I have 20 of them for you

1. Henry Ford forgot to put a reverse gear in his first automobile.

2. Cut flowers become sleepy and wilt in the presence of Apples.

3. In 1913, the tax on a $4000 annual income was one penny.

4. Ninety Seven percent of all people offered a new pen to try, write their own name.

5. A dog is as old at 12 years as a man at 84.

6. Saturday is the most dangerous day to drive a car.

7. In the U.S. a person dies every 14.5 seconds.

8. If a color blinded woman marries a man with normal vision, all of their sons will be color blind,the daughters will have normal vision.

9. It cannot be proved by the bible that Christ ever smiled.

10. 60 days are required for a housefly to become a grandmother.

11. A mans beard grows about an inch in 8 weeks.

12. 7 suicides are recorded in the bible.

 13. Theodore Roosevelt was the only president not sworn in on the bible.

14. 72 muscles are used in speaking 1 word.

15. The eggs of a water flea hatch 10 years after they are laid.

16. During WW2 it cost the US $225,00 to kill an enemy soldier.

17. Mosquitoes prefer children to adults and blonds to brunettes.

18. When reduced to dust a diamond is as black as carbon.

19. The nine most useful words: and,be,it,of,the,will,I,have,you.

20. A normal person can lose as much as 1/3 his blood without fatality.