Wanker of the Day

David Frum.  Meritocracy!

David Frum Axes Evil (or So He Thought)

"As I noted elsewhere, Michael Shaw's always-excellent BagNewsNotes today took apart David Frum's multiple claims--eight times, I think--that the NYT and Reuters had faked photos showing some severe suffering in Gaza.  Frum now says he is looking into, and sure to apologize any minute.  I pointed out earlier that Frum's source was same clown I exposed a few days back for claiming that the viral video showing a young Gaza man shot by a sniper was totally faked.  The young man's father had claimed his body at the morgue.  Now read this piece based on an interview with the perp.  Almost feel sorry for him, he is a kind of tragic figure.  Almost."

http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2014/07/david-frum-axes-evil-or-so-he-thought.html

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High Times

It's long past due. 

The New York Times Endorses Legal Weed

"In addition to pointing out that pot is fairly harmless, especially when compared to alcohol or tobacco, the editorial cited "the social costs" of today's hundreds of thousands of marijuana arrests — which, it noted, "[fall] disproportionately on young black men" — as the main reason to change the law. "There are no perfect answers to people's legitimate concerns about marijuana use. But neither are there such answers about tobacco or alcohol, and we believe that on every level — health effects, the impact on society and law-and-order issues — the balance falls squarely on the side of national legalization," the Times declared."

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2014/07/new-york-times-endorses-legal-weed.html

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Weekend Subway Service Advisories, G-pocalypse Edition

The G-pocalypse begins.  

The local:

From 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 26 to 5:00 a.m. Monday, July 28, F trains will run local in Queens due to CPM signal modernization at Forest Hills-71 Av and Kew Gardens-Union Tpke, and CPM track tie renewal at 65 St

Beginning 10:30 p.m. Friday, July 25, until 5:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 2, G trains are suspended between Long Island City-Court Sq and Nassau Av due to MOW Fix & Fortify Sandy Recovery Work in the Greenpoint Tube. Transfer out-of-system (with MetroCard) between the Broadway G station and Lorimer St JM stations. Free shuttle buses provide alternate service along two routes:

• Via Manhattan Av between Nassau Av and Court Sq, stopping at Greenpoint Av and 21 St.
• Via McGuinness Blvd between Lorimer St L and Court Sq, stopping near G stations at Nassau Av, Greenpoint Av, and 21 St.

And the big picture:

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2014/07/25/g-train-shutdown-beings-as-weekend-work-affects-xx-subway-lines/

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Common Sense

Lost in the militarization of police work: common sense.

Tasers are part of the problem not the solution

"The thrust of this piece is the fact that too many police officers are losing their common sense. A good cop will know when to exert her authority and will understand that it's not necessary in every interaction. It's not the only thing they have to work with --- psychology, patience and compassion are also necessary tools in their arsenal. The militarization of police departments --- this us against them attitude --- is turning them from public servants into occupying soldiers. It's a problem. "

http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2014/07/tasers-are-part-of-problem-not-solution.html

Tasing people, pepper-spraying people, the indiscriminate corralling and detainment of protesters - all these are part of the problem.

The Worst Place In NYC

The Port Authority Bus Terminal.  A soul-crushing pit of despair that gradually saps the life from all those who pass through its halls, with an absurdly Byzantine layout that is the polar opposite of user friendly.  This $90M is certainly welcome, but the functional equivalent of Bactine on a Komodo dragon bite.

At PABT, a $90 million bandaid for a gaping wound

"The exact details of the investments will be unveiled at a Port Authority board meeting in September, but PA officials let slip some details surrounding the plans. According to Foye, the bus terminal will see an improved heating and air conditioning system, better cellphone and wireless service and a more aggressive outreach program for the homeless New Yorkers who, for better or worse, call the bus terminal home. The bathrooms too may see some upgrades. Ultimately and unfortunately, it's insulting to pigs to say this is putting lipstick on a pig. The Port Authority Bus Terminal, simply speaking, is an embarrassment and likely an impediment to more transit service in New York City. People eschew buses because trying to travel through the terminal is a singularly unpleasant experience. But something is better than nothing. At some point, the Port Authority will have to make some tough decisions with regards to its bus terminal. The agency estimates that it could take 10-15 years and at least $1 billion to replace the thing (though a future replacement could include lucrative air rights and development upward). For now, we get air conditioning and some better cell service. I guess that's forward progress, but it sure ain't reinventing something that sorely needs to be reinvented."

http://secondavenuesagas.com/2014/07/24/at-pabt-a-90-million-bandaid-for-a-gaping-wound/

I love this city, and I hate every moment I ever have to spend in the PABT.  Fortunately those moments come very infrequently.

The Death Penalty Is Institutionalized Brutality

Let's not pretend otherwise.

Executions Should Be by Firing Squad, Federal Appeals Court Judge Says

"Using drugs meant for individuals with medical needs to carry out executions is a misguided effort to mask the brutality of executions by making them look serene and beautiful — like something any one of us might experience in our final moments," U.S. 9th Circuit Court Chief Judge Alex Kozinski wrote in a dissent in the Arizona death penalty case of Joseph Rudolph Wood III. "But executions are, in fact, brutal, savage events, and nothing the state tries to do can mask that reality. Nor should we. If we as a society want to carry out executions, we should be willing to face the fact that the state is committing a horrendous brutality on our behalf."

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-na-nn-arizona-execution-kozinski-20140723-story.html

I'm opposed to the death penalty.  To the extent we still have one, this business of lethal drug cocktails is sophistry.  Institutional, state-sponsored murder is murder.  There is more dignity and humanity in a gunshot to the back of the head than in this falsely clinical approach.  Putting on scrubs does not turn an executioner into a medic, nor does it change poison into medicine.  Who are we trying to kid?

Decriminalizing Sex Work

It's the least bad option for the worlds oldest profession.  Legalize, regulate and recognize that these are people too.  The current state of affairs is not good for anybody.

The Scientific Case for Decriminalizing Sex Work

"Arguments in favor of decriminalizing prostitution often rely on empathy for sex workers themselves: Activist and journalist Melissa Gira Grant contends, for example, that criminalizing sex work implicitly condones violence against sex workers, who are often afraid to go to the police to report violence and are frequently ignored when they do. Current laws (sex work is illegal in 116 countries) require that sex workers render themselves largely voiceless and invisible — which makes their interests easy to ignore. But new research suggests that existing legislation against sex work may also be harming society at large — and that decriminalizing sex work could help slow the spread of HIV. On Tuesday, scientists at the annual International AIDS Conference in Melbourne, Australia, recommended decriminalizing sex work across the globe — arguing that legalization is the most effective way to reduce global HIV infection rates. According to new research — a series of seven studies recently published in the Lancet medical journal — scientists estimate that HIV infection rates among sex workers could be reduced by between 33 and 46 percent if the activity were not illegal. "Governments and policymakers can no longer ignore the evidence," asserted Kate Shannon, an associate professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia and the lead author of the study. "

http://nymag.com/thecut/2014/07/scientific-case-for-decriminalizing-sex-work.html

People operating on the margins of society are vulnerable to predators.  Legalizing and regulating the more benign criminal enterprises e.g., marijuana and sex work eliminates attractive targets for violent criminals, e.g. extortionists, pimps, stick-up crews.

So in addition to the other benefits from this approach, we should expect to see a reduction in violent crime from legalizing, regulating (and taxing) what are currently underground cash businesses.