Can Software that Predicts Crime Pass Constitutional Muster?

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Photo Credit: APTypically, police arrive at the scene of a crime after it occurs. But rather than send cops to yesterday’s crime, a new trend in law enforcement is using computers to predict where tomorrow’s crimes will be — and then try to head them off.

The software uses past statistics to project where crime is moving. Police in Los Angeles say it’s worked well in predicting property crimes there. Now Seattle is about to expand it for use in predicting gun violence.

It all started as a research project. Jeff Brantingham, an anthropologist at UCLA, wanted to see if computers could model future crime the same way they model earthquake aftershocks. Turns out they can.

“It predicts sort of twice as much crime as any other existing system, even going head-to-head with a crime analyst,” Brantingham says…

Brantingham and his colleagues are now selling the predictive system to police departments with the name PredPol. At this point, you may be thinking about the sci-fi movie Minority Report. But this is different. No psychics sleeping in bathtubs, for one. More to the point, this doesn’t predict who will commit a future crime, just where it is likely to happen.

Read more from this story HERE.

The McWeiners of the World

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Most news accounts treated these as two separate scandals: Anthony Weiner, the disgraced Democratic congressman and would-be mayor of New York, had been exposed again as a digital flasher, sending “selfie” pictures of his privates to women. Bob McDonnell, the Republican governor of Virginia, was found to be taking gifts and loans from a businessman McDonnell had helped…

By coincidence, both men found themselves apologizing for their misdeeds on the same day, July 23. McDonnell’s was cowardly, done via Twitter while he was out of the country; Weiner’s was handled in yet another bizarre news conference. But both were reluctant, their statements less expressions of contrition than naked efforts to make the problems go away. These were the apologies of narcissists…

Their offenses are similarly pointless: Weiner threw away a promising career by exchanging smut with women he claims he never met. McDonnell, once mentioned as a possible presidential candidate, undid his reputation by accepting sums — a $6,500 Rolex, a $15,000 splurge at Bergdorf Goodman — that were trivial compared to those he could have earned after leaving office.

Both men seem to have the condition that afflicts so many officeholders who get into trouble, from Clinton to Foley to Sanford to Spitzer: a sense of invincibility, and a belief that the usual rules don’t apply to them. They take ever bigger risks, as if it is a form of thrill-seeking, or they can no longer gauge risk…

The narcissistic strain is common, and it predates the rise to power. It takes a certain personality to believe that one is meant to lead. This is reinforced once in power by sycophantic staffers. The problem has become worse as congressional redistricting leaves more lawmakers with safe seats, but the phenomenon is not Washington’s alone: McDonnell honed his invincibility in Richmond, and Weiner continued his behavior after resigning his House seat.

Read more from this story HERE.

Polygamy Foes Look to Amend Constitution

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Photo Credit: WNDThe American Family Association is urging support for a proposed amendment to the U.S. Constitution by Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., that would define marriage as one man and one woman.

The proposal comes after a legal scholar admitted that the arguments used to justify same-sex marriage will pave the way for legalization of polygamy and incest.

“We have a reached a frightening impasse,” said AFA President Tim Wildmon. “I fear the day just years from now when marriage has absolutely no definition at all.”

He cited a recent commentary by Kent Greenfield, a Boston College law school professor and Law Fund Research Scholar…

“As a matter of constitutional rationale, there is indeed a slippery slope between recognizing same-sex marriages and allowing marriages among more than two people and between consenting adults who are related,” Greenfield, a professor of law at BC, said in a recent online column.

Read more from this story HERE.

Over 1000 Inmates Escape Libyan Jail Near Benghazi

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Photo Credit: David Holt LondonMore than 1,000 detainees escaped from a prison near the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi in a massive jailbreak Saturday, as protesters stormed the offices of political parties in Libya’s main cities.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the jailbreak at the Koyfiya prison came as part of the protests or if inmates received outside help. Protesters had massed across the country angry over the killing of an activist critical of the country’s Muslim Brotherhood group.

Those who escaped either face or were convicted of serious charges, a security official at Koyfiya prison said, confirming the jailbreak. He spoke on condition of anonymity as he wasn’t authorized to speak to journalists.

There also was confusion initially about how many prisoners broke out, with numbers of escapees ranging as high as 1,200.

Benghazi’s security situation is among the most precarious in post-revolution Libya. Last year, the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans were killed in an attack there.

Read more from this story HERE.

Australia Adopts Draconian Policy Against Illegal Aliens (+video)

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Photo Credit: Immigration DepartmentPrime Minister Kevin Rudd says asylum seekers who arrive by boat will have no chance of being settled in Australia as refugees.

Mr Rudd has confirmed a deal that will see asylum seekers sent to Papua New Guinea for assessment, and if they are found to be refugees, they will be resettled there…

“I understand this is a very hard-line decision. I understand the different groups in Australia and around the world will see this decision in different ways,” he said.

“But our responsibility as a government is to ensure we have a robust system of border security and orderly migration on the one hand, as well as fulfilling our legal and compassionate obligations under the Refugees’ Convention on the other.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Horror as Swarm of 30,000 Bees Attack Couple and Kill Two Horses and Five Hens in North Texas

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Photo Credit: CorbisA swarm of about 30,000 bees attacked a North Texas couple as they exercised their miniature horses, stinging the animals so many times they died.

Kristen Beauregard, 44, was stung about 200 times, and her boyfriend about 50 times, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported Saturday.

But the horses, Chip and Trump, were so covered in bees they shimmered. Neither could be saved.

‘They were chasing us down, they were following us,’ Beauregard said of the incident Wednesday evening. ‘We swept up piles and piles of them … it was like a bad movie.’

The bees are being tested to see whether they are Africanized or ‘killer’ bees. It is unclear what prompted them to leave the hive.

Read more from this story HERE.

Dear President Obama, the Loss of Glen Doherty’s Life is Not a Fake Scandal, America Doesn’t Take it Lightly

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Photo Credit: Irish CentralThe President referred to scandals that are plaguing his administration as “fake scandals” in his speech the other day … as if by denigrating them they will lose their gravity and importance.

But many Americans are incensed by the cuffing aside by the President, to what they believe are attacks on the very foundation of what our country stands for.

Using powerful and feared tools of the government to attack political opponents is a gross abuse of power by the executive branch.

As each day rolls by, it is becoming evident the IRS was unleashed on groups and individuals that politically oppose the President. Evidence so far goes right up to the White House’s political appointees having full knowledge of this abuse.

The wiretapping and snooping of email accounts by the Justice Department of members of the press who write unfriendly pieces about the administration, is an astounding abuse of power and the Attorney General still has not been held accountable for this.

There are many other scandals simmering and being dragged out because the administration fights investigators trying to get to the truth…every step of the way.

But what is particularly galling to many Americans, is President Obama’s brushing aside the tragic death and injury of Americans during the attack on our consulate in Benghazi Libya.

No, these deaths and injuries are not just a “fake scandal” and cannot be swept under the rug.

America wants answers as to why Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, Sean Smith and Ambassador Stevens were killed that night in Benghazi.

Americans want to know exactly how many Americans were wounded as a result of this attack and simply, what are their names? Even that information is being withheld from the public. Why are you forcing everyone connected with the attack to sign non disclosure agreements?

Glen Doherty’s friends and family loved him and miss him very much and want to know why he heroically gave his life. A new video with him in it was just released to the public by his family… Perhaps this will personalize it for you Mr. President. See the video courtesy of Fox News.

Something smells bad in Benghazi Mr. President…Step up and be a leader, give us the truth, don’t hide behind underlings, executive privilege and the letter of the law. We demand answers and so do the family members of the dead and wounded.

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Ed Farnan is the conservative columnist at IrishCentral, where he has been writing on the need for energy independence, strong self defense, secure borders, 2nd amendment, smaller government and many other issues. His articles appear in many publications throughout the USA and world. He has been a guest on Fox News and a regular guest on radio stations in the US and Europe.

Undercover Informant Plants Crack Cocaine In Store of NY Businessman (+video)

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A New York business owner was targeted by local police after they became suspicious of his store. As a result, they sent in an undercover informant on two separate occasions who ultimately hurt them a lot more than he helped.

On the second visit, the informant allegedly planted and photographed crack cocaine, which led to the arrest of store owner Donald Andrews Jr.

Andrews operates a “smoke shop” in Scotia that sells incense and other smoking paraphernalia that can easily be used for other illicit activities.

Andrews’ attorney, Kevin Luibrand, narrated a video that was shot by in-store surveillance cameras that appears to show the informant planting and photographing the crack.

Read more from this story HERE.

Accused Fort Hood Shooter Releases Statement Saying US at War With Islam

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Acting as his own attorney, accused Fort Hood shooter Major Nidal Hasan has released a statement to Fox News claiming that the U.S. military is at war with his religion.

However, he does not directly address the shooting at the Texas Army Base in November 2009 that killed 13 and injured more than 30 others.

“My complicity was on behalf of a government that openly acknowledges that it would hate for the law of Almighty Allah to be the supreme law of the land,” the 42-year-old Army psychiatrist said. Hasan then apparently asked if this was a war on Islam. “You bet it is,” he said. “I participated in it.”

The statement, which begins “In the name of Almighty Allah, the most gracious and the most merciful, my name is Nidal Hasan, Major Nidal Hasan, and I would like to convey a message to the world,” runs more than six pages.

Hasan also says he regrets his years in the Army, claiming that his service was inconsistent with his religious beliefs. “I would like to begin by repenting to Almighty Allah and apologize to the (Mujahideen), the believers, and the innocent. I ask for their forgiveness and their prayers. I ask for their forgiveness for participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, their religion and their lands,” he said.

Read more from this story HERE.

IRS Workers Want Out of Obamacare (+video)

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photo credit: fibonacci blueBy Todd Beamon. The federal employees who will be responsible for administering Obamacare for the American people don’t want it for themselves.

The National Treasury Employees Union, which represents workers at the Internal Revenue Service, is asking its members to write letters to Capitol Hill saying they are “very concerned” about legislative efforts requiring IRS and Treasury employees to enroll in the Obamacare exchanges.

“I am a federal employee and one of your constituents,” one letter begins, Forbes blogger Avik Roy reported on Friday. “I am very concerned about legislation that has been introduced by Congressman Dave Camp to push federal employees out of the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP) and into the insurance exchanges established under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).”

Camp, the Michigan Republican referred to in the letter, is chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, whose members oversee tax legislation in the House of Representatives. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year that Obamacare’s insurance subsidies are technically tax credits, falling under the authority of the IRS.

Camp introduced legislation in April to put all federal employees on the healthcare exchanges in response to news reports that members of Congress and their staffs were seeking to be exempt from the Obamacare requirement that they enroll in the exchanges. Read more from this story HERE.

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Krauthammer: Effort to defund Obamacare ‘really dumb’

By Jeff Poor. On Friday’s “Special Report,” Washington Post columnist Charles Krauthammer went against the conventional wisdom of some in the conservative movement by arguing efforts to defund President Barack Obama’s 2010 health care legislation at the expense of shutting down the federal government was “really dumb.”

“Never issue a threat you’re not prepared to in the end honor and deliver on,” Krauthammer said. “And if the Republicans imagine they’re going to either stop the funding of the government or refuse the raising of the debt ceiling, they’re out of their minds. It would be a catastrophe in the end. All the president has to do is wait and they’re going to cave. This happened on January 1 of this year. It happened with the debt ceiling. We know the end game. Why would you threaten something and demand in return something you know the president will never do? It’s his signature legislation. It would be repudiation of his entire first term. The only alternative is to go over a cliff. It is really dumb.” Read more from this story HERE.