Archive for March 2011
Judge slams former LA gang leader with 8 consecutive life sentences for 1990s killing spree
Marvin Mercado is shown in court during sentencing in his murder trial with his attorney, Donald Calabria, Wednesday, March 30, 2011, in Los Angeles. Mercado, a former Asian Boyz gang member was sentenced Wednesday to eight consecutive life prison terms without the possibility of parole.
A judge guaranteed the founder of the Asian Boyz gang will spend the rest of his life in prison, slamming him Wednesday with eight consecutive life sentences for a mid-1990s crime spree that included eight murders in a quest to make his gang the most feared in Los Angeles.
Superior Court Judge Robert J. Perry called 37-year-old Marvin Mercado a clear danger to society and said only two of his victims were rival gang members while the rest were law-abiding citizens.
“He deserves the greatest sentence this court can impose,” Perry said. “The amount of pain and senseless hurt this defendant and his associates have caused is enormous and incalculable.”
The bespectacled Mercado, who did not address the court, was stone-faced as Perry sentenced him to the life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murders.
He also was given 10 consecutive 15-year-to-life sentences for 10 attempted murders, and 50 years on weapons and other charges, also to be served consecutively.
Sheriff looks to counter rising gang influence
Barnstable County Sheriff’s Deputy Kimberly Saladino works on an exercise with Mashpee Middle School student Moises Barros, 13, on Monday.
“Why do you think people join gangs?” Barnstable County Sheriff’s Deputy Kevin Brace asked a Mashpee Middle School science classroom filled with seventh-grade students Monday.
Family issues, one student said. Power, said another.
“Why do you think they want you?” Brace asked. Money, the students said.
Brace roamed the classroom with two other sheriff deputies, prompting the teenagers for more answers during the third of 13 weekly classes of the Gang Resistance Education and Training (GREAT) course, a pilot program on the Cape to teach students how to avoid gangs, drugs, crime and violence.
Middle-class youngsters barred from applying for internships at Whitehall and in the police… because they are white
Barred: White middle-class students are no longer able to apply for internships at Whitehall or in the Metropolitan Police, with the roles instead going to ethnic minorities
White middle-class students have been banned from applying for internships with Britain’s biggest police force and in Whitehall.
The temporary jobs, which offer thousands of pounds for work in the summer, are billed as the internships ‘that could change your life’.
They provide students with invaluable work experience at a time of soaring graduate unemployment.
But critics yesterday told of their anger at the decision by the Civil Service and the Metropolitan Police to exclude all but certain ethnic minorities from applying.
They say the schemes cause resentment among staff and are discriminating against white people ‘via the back door’.
The Metropolitan Police, which employs more than 50,000 people, publicly offers only one work experience programme. The 12-week Diversity Internship will pay six interns more than £3,000 to work in a range of departments. While there is no guarantee of a post at the end, it gives students a head start in the battle for police jobs.
America’s Third War: American Teens Recruited by Mexican Drug Cartels
A Mexican police officer guards packages of seized marijuana during a presentation for the media in Tijuana, Mexico. American teenagers are being recruited by Mexican drug cartels to carry drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border.
American teenagers are being recruited by Mexican drug cartels to carry drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border, Texas law enforcement officials say.
Over the past 10 years, 476 juveniles have been caught with drugs at a port of entry in El Paso County and 302 of them were U.S. citizens, according to the El Paso County attorney’s office.
It’s a scary trend authorities are trying to stop.
“They’re being presented with this in the high schools now as a viable option for making money, ” said Border Patrol Agent David Zapp.
Authorities say cartel members, who are blamed for thousands of deaths in Mexico, will pay American teens several hundred dollars to carry a backpack full of marijuana across the border.
Amazing Video Emerges of China‘s ’Ghost Cities’
If you‘re not familiar with China’s “ghost cities,” they are some of the most fascinating images you will see.
“It’s estimated that 10 new cities are being built every year,” Australian news program SBS Dateline says. That may sound impressive, until you realize that many of the cities remain vacant long after they’re built.
NJ triple murder defendant tells of using machete
One of six people charged in the 2007 murders of three college-bound young people at a playground described the attack in chilling detail on a tape played for jurors Wednesday, including the order he got from another suspect to slash the victims with a machete.
The taped statement from Alexander Alfaro, who said his half-brother called him to come to the playground that night with the machete, was the most detailed description yet of the crime that made national headlines and prompted numerous anti-crime initiatives in New Jersey’s largest city.
“My brother tells them to get on the wall, and he looks at me and tells me, ‘You know what you have to do. You know what’s going to happen.’ I had to take out the machete and I cut her a couple times.”
His words were part of a taped statement played by prosecutors at his trial. Alfaro was a 16-year-old at the time of the murders of Dashon Harvey and Iofemi Hightower, both 20, and 18-year-old Terrance “T.J.” Aeriel in the playground of Newark’s Mount Vernon School on Aug. 4, 2007.
James O’Keefe Inspires Activists at Providence College
This past Wednesday members of the Providence College Chapter of Youth for Western Civilization attended a presentation by the Providence College Republicans with the famous activist/journalist James O’Keefe. As President of the College Republicans in addition to my role as the head of Youth for Western Civilization, this was one of the most exciting events I have ever had a hand in organizing on campus.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be hosting one of the most sought after interviews in America when I first invited James O’Keefe to Providence College. Although I was well aware of his famous livewire brand of muckraking journalism, I did not expect ot have the good fortune of bringing in Mr. O’Keefe right after his recent NPR expose.
Given this timing, I did not even need to utilize the press release skills I learned in the Leadership Institute’s Youth Leadership School , as the press started contacting me as soon as I made the Facebook event. Despite the posturing from local antifa who made overtures to shut down the event, their threats turned out to be as empty as their beliefs, as none were brave enough to make an appearance on the Providence Campus.
Fresh off illustrating to the American public that the executives at NPR have a vicious disdain for middle Americans, O’Keefe delivered a memorable and amusing presentation to a supportive crowd of 50+ students, community members, and other local activists. Replete with clips from some of his most famous sting operations, including the New Jersey Teachers Union, Planned Parenthood, ACORN, and even a throwback to his college days of having Lucky Charms banned from Rutger’s cafeteria, Mr. O’Keefe inspired the entire audience to take action within their own communities by employing creative activism.
New York Times follow-up on Cleveland, Texas, rape story corrects, repeats original mistakes
Authorities say an 11-year-old girl was sexually assaulted in this abandoned trailer in Cleveland, Texas.
In a follow-up story, The New York Times has offered new context while also repeating some of the same mistakes it made in its previous coverage of an 11-year-old Texas girl who was allegedly raped by 19 young men.
The story published Tuesday features an exclusive interview with the girl’s father and provides details of the six attacks authorities say occurred over several months.
The report also describes the sixth-grader’s home and family environment. It identifies the ethnicity of the girl but not the race or ethnicity of the suspects, who were described in the story as “an eclectic group of young men.” Some say the men have been targeted because they are African-American.
People quickly criticized the Times for its initial story, saying it blamed the victim. Executive Editor Bill Keller called it “ham-handed.” In a petition, 47,000 people asked the news organization to apologize for its coverage.
Several days later, Times Public Editor Arthur Brisbane weighed in. In his piece, headlined “Gang Rape Story Lacked Balance,” Brisbane wrote that the story was seriously flawed:
“The story dealt with a hideous crime but addressed concerns about the ruined lives of the perpetrators without acknowledging the obvious: concern for the victim. …
“I hope it [the follow-up story] delves more deeply into the subject because the March 8 story lacked a critical balancing element.”
‘Kill Them, Bury Them’: The Rise Of Fannie And Freddie
Before the financial crisis, many Americans had never heard of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Today, we own them.
The federal government took over Fannie and Freddie after bailing them out in 2008. The bailout cost taxpayers more than the bailouts of GM, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Citigroup combined.
By 2010, roughly 90 percent of all new mortgages issued in this country went through the U.S. government. For all intents and purposes, the $1.5 trillion U.S. mortgage market is now a government-run industry.
