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Paul E Ester

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Member since: Tue Jan 13, 2009, 01:46 PM
Number of posts: 952

About Me

When I clicked this thread, I said to myself, \"I wonder who said the inevitable stupid thing.- You did not disappoint.\" - WilliamPitt Hmmm. Interesting…nt - SidDithers What the hell is going on here, anyway? -Hekate This is one of the most hilarious threads I have read on DU… - defacto7 \"That has got to be the stupidest thing I have ever read on DU.\" - AsahinaKimi

Journal Archives

2013 (222)
- April (114)
- March (108)

Berlin Jewish Museum’s ‘Jew in the Box’ Exhibit - Some people are not happy about this

To help educate postwar generations, an exhibit at the Jewish Museum features a Jewish man or woman seated inside a glass box for two hours a day through August to answer visitors’ questions about Jews and Jewish life. The base of the box asks: “Are there still Jews in Germany?”

“A lot of our visitors don’t know any Jews and have questions they want to ask,” museum official Tina Luedecke said. “With this exhibition we offer an opportunity for those people to know more about Jews and Jewish life.”

But not everybody thinks putting a Jew on display is the best way to build understanding and mutual respect.

Since the exhibit — “The Whole Truth, everything you wanted to know about Jews” — opened this month, the “Jew in the Box,” as it is popularly known, has drawn sharp criticism within the Jewish community — especially in the city where the Nazis orchestrated the slaughter of 6 million Jews until Adolf Hitler’s defeat in 1945.

http://www.tabletmag.com/scroll/128317/berlin-jewish-museums-jew-in-the-box-exhibit

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2301268/Outrage-Jew-box-exhibition-Berlin-museum-participant-sits-glass-cage-hours-answering-questions.html

Posted by Paul E Ester | Sat Mar 30, 2013, 12:19 AM (5 replies)

Meet Ahmed, 8-year-old Free Syrian Army soldier from Aleppo

It is one of the most shocking images from the Syrian war. An eight-year-old boy draws deeply on a cigarette, the small fingers of his other hand clutching a an AK-47 rifle that balances awkwardly against his chest.

His parents killed, he's adopted by the FSA who hand him an AK and put him on the front lines. The framed shot at the end was incredible, a thousand-yard stare from an 8 year old.

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 07:57 PM (6 replies)

Can you hear me now? Feds admit FBI warrantless cellphone tracking ‘very common’

Source: Washington Times.

FBI investigators for at least five years have routinely used a sophisticated cellphone tracking tool that can pinpoint callers’ locations and listen to their conversations — all without getting a warrant for it, a federal court was told this week.

The use of the “Stingray,” as the tool is called, “is a very common practice” by federal investigators, Justice Department attorneys told the U.S. District Court for Arizona Thursday, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

Installed in an unmarked van, Stingray mimics a cellphone tower, so it can pinpoint the precise location of any mobile device in range and intercept conversations and data, said Linda Lye, staff attorney at the ACLU of Northern California in a blog post about the case.

In a rare public discussion of federal electronic surveillance capabilities and authorities, Justice Department lawyers told the court hearing that, instead of a warrant, the FBI operates Stingray and other cellphone-mimicking technology under the authority of “pen register” orders. These court orders, also known as “tap and trace” orders, are generally issued to allow investigators to collect only so-called “metadata” — like all phone numbers calling to or called from a particular number.

Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/mar/29/feds-fbi-warrantless-cell-tracking-very-common/

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 05:37 PM (16 replies)

Iowa Newspaper Criticized For Publishing Map Showing Schools With No Security

The Des Moines Register is being criticized for publishing online a map that shows which public school districts in the state have security and which ones do not.

The interactive map, which has since been pulled down from the website, showed red dots indicating which schools did not have guards and green dots to show which schools did.

Security experts were shocked that a major newspaper would publish such a map.

“It is difficult to understand why the Des Moines Register would publish an interactive map that identifies names and locations of schools in which our children are most vulnerable to potential attack,” Charles Segars, a safety and security expert with OPSEC Alliance Partners, said in a press release.

http://stlouis.cbslocal.com/2013/03/29/iowa-newspaper-criticized-for-publishing-map-showing-schools-with-no-security/

http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/03/28/fiery-interview-megyn-kelly-presses-des-moines-register-editor-rick-green-to-take-responsibility-for-school-security-map/

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 03:53 PM (0 replies)

Thousands of armed vigilantes takeover Mexican town, arrest police

Thousands of armed vigilantes have taken over a town in Mexico and arrested police officers after their 'commander' was killed and dumped in the street.

The self described 'community police' and arrested 12 officers and the town's former director of public security, who they accuse of taking part in the killing of Guadalupe Quinones Carbajal, 28, on behalf of a local organised crime group.

The 1,500-strong force has also set up improvised checkpoints on the major road running through Tierra Colorado, which connects the capital Mexico City to Acapulco, a coastal city popular with tourists less than 40 miles away.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2300381/Vigilantes-seize-town-Mexico-shoot-tourists-commander-killed.html

Standing up for themselves against a corrupt system.

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 03:02 PM (38 replies)

Israel sets up 'field hospital' to treat injured Syrians

In light of the steady increase in the number of wounded Syrians Israel has been treating, the IDF has set up a "military field hospital" at army outpost 105 in the Golan Heights, AFP reported Thursday.

Israeli officials confirmed that the hospital was set up to treat injured Syrians near the border fence and avoid having to evacuate them to hospitals inside the country.

In the past month, several Syrians who were injured in the fighting between rebels and forces loyal to President Bashar Assad have been treated in northern Israel hospitals. According to AFP, eight of them were repatriated and three have remained in Israel for further treatment.

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4361748,00.html

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 02:51 PM (0 replies)

SAC hedge fund executive Michael Steinberg charged over insider trading

Source: Guardian UK

US authorities have arrested Michael Steinberg, a portfolio manager at SAC Capital and the most senior executive to date to be questioned in the investigation into the hedge fund giant.

Steinberg, 40, was led out of his Park Avenue apartment early Friday morning in handcuffs after returning from a family vacation in Florida. He has been charged with conspiracy and securities fraud.

Steinberg pleaded not guilty in federal district court in Manhattan on Friday and was freed on $3m bail.

The arrest comes amid a widening investigation into SAC, the Connecticut-based hedge fund founded by multi-billionaire investor Steven Cohen. At least nine current or former SAC employees have now been tied to allegations of insider trading. Four have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/mar/29/us-authorities-hedge-fund-sac

In the meantime, Cohen has been making headlines for other reasons. The hedge fund king added Picasso's Le Rêve to his $1bn art collection for $155m. Last week he paid $60m for an oceanfront home in the Hamptons.

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 02:40 PM (2 replies)

Conservatives Offer Jim Carrey Memorabilia for Gun Money on eBay

Jim Carrey's recent anti-gun Funny or Die video sparked outrage from conservatives, prompting one eBay user to sell paraphernalia of the star with the purpose of buying a gun with the proceeds.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, eBay user astrobuzz listed an item titled "Jim Carrey Autographed 8X10 Photo So I Can Afford a Gun!" in response to Carrey's video. The black-and-white autographed reprint of Carrey also had the inscription, "Spank you very much!" The Hollywood Reporter notes that while identical items sell for only $8 and attract few bids, astrobuzz's listing generated 103 bidders, raising the price up to $860 by Wednesday afternoon.

Late Wednesday night, all references to guns were purged from the item's description and the bids disappeared. "I'm selling this Jim Carrey autographed B&W photo (mint condition) for purposes I cannot explain because it might be against eBay's Terms & Conditions," the new description read.

Astrobuzz's original post spawned copycats, including eBayers who said that they would use the money to join the NRA or pursue classes and apply for a concealed-carry permit. But as of late Wednesday, the word "gun" was removed from all Carrey memorabilia on eBay.

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 02:19 PM (1 replies)

Ex-Nev. assemblyman Steven Brooks arrested hours after expulsion (watch video)

Source: AP

Former Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks has been arrested in California on charges including resisting arrest and throwing objects, just hours after he became the first lawmaker ever expelled from the Nevada Legislature.

Jail records show Barstow police arrested Brooks, 41, at about 7 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 15 at Stoddard Wells.

“We had started to discuss possible next steps,” Mitchell Posin, Brooks’ attorney, told The Associated Press Friday. “Next thing I know, I heard about this.”

Read more: http://www.rgj.com/viewint/article/20130329/NEWS07/303290040/Ex-Nev-assemblyman-Steven-Brooks-arrested-hours-after-expulsion-watch-video-

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 02:13 PM (18 replies)

The coming homeless die-off

A national study out of Pennsylvania says the median age of single adult homeless people is now 53 — and that without a big push toward getting older indigents into housing and medical care, huge swaths of them will be dying off in the next decade.

Social scientists say the median age has been steadily increasing for many years, supporting the “big bang” theory that many of today’s street people hit the gutter back in the 1980s era of recession and slashings of social programs.

Life expectancy on the street is about 64, and the new study, led by University of Pennsylvania social policy Professor Dennis Culhane, projects that without special attention, most of that “big bang” group of homeless people will die in the next 15 years.

http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2013/03/27/the-coming-homeless-die-off/

Posted by Paul E Ester | Fri Mar 29, 2013, 01:32 PM (19 replies)

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