Free Republic

Police release pictures of Kenmore East theft; Ostanski pleads guilty by Mary B. Pasciak NEWS STAFF REPORTER Updated: September 17, 2009, 10:57 AM / For months, Town of Tonawanda police have said the proof that former Kenmore East High School Principal LuAnn E. Ostanski stole money from her school was in the photos. Wednesday, the reason they said that became as clear as the photos themselves. Shortly after Ostanski pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and agreed to pay a fine, Town of Tonawanda police granted The Buffalo News' long-standing request to release the photos that sealed the case against...

Seconds after BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant, police immediately began confiscating cell phones containing videos that have yet to see the light of day. [...] But the truth is, police had no legal right to confiscate a single camera. “Cops may be entitled to ask for people’s names and addresses and may even go as far as subpoenaing the video tape, but as far as confiscating the camera on the spot, no,” said Marc Randazza, A First Amendment attorney based out of Florida and a Photography is Not a Crime reader. Bert P. Krages II,...

Three Ethiopian exchange students 'vanish' during trip to Houses of Parliament By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 24th July 2009 Three African exchange students have vanished during a trip to the Houses of Parliament. The three Ethiopian men were among a group of nine visitors who were staying with families in Hartlepool as part of a three-month visit to the UK. But at the end of a day's tour in the Houses of Commons and Lords, the trio failed to turn up and organisers Global Xchange were forced to report them missing. Missing: Muluneh Tilahun Abera (left) and Habtamu Debela have not...

LOS ANGELES—In two separate cases, three men have been sentenced to federal prison for attempting to transport sensitive and advanced U.S. technology to the People's Republic of China (PRC). Two men were sentenced yesterday, and another man linked to one of the schemes was sentenced last week to five years in prison. William Chi-Wai Tsu, 61, a Beijing resident, was sentenced yesterday to 40 months imprisonment for his role in exporting high-tech integrated circuits with military applications to the PRC. In a separate case, Tah Wei Chao, 53, of Beijing, was sentenced yesterday to 20 months imprisonment after pleading guilty...

Captured on camera: The moment suicide bomber blew himself up in luxury Indonesian hotel killing eight DAVID WILLIAMS 17th July 2009 Terror group Jemmiah Islamiah blamed for first terror attack in Indonesia in four years CCTV images emerge of one of bombers planting explosive device inside hotel These are the last seconds in the life of one of the two suicide bombers today brought death and carnage to two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Captured on CCTV in the reception of the five-star Ritz Carlton hotel, the man in a baseball cap pulls a small wheelie-bag behind him...

WASHINGTON, July 9, 2009 – From the use of newspapers and pamphlets to stoke the American Revolution to embedded journalists in the War in Iraq, the media has played a major role in every American conflict. A story often lost in the mix is that of military journalists -- men and women in uniform whose weapon of choice isn’t an M4 carbine with a laser sight, but a D3 with a 17-to-200mm lens. Members of the Air Force’s Combat Camera team spoke in a July 7 “DoDLive” bloggers roundtable about their role in documenting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan....

TEL AVIV – The Huffington Post is serving as an Internet meeting place for the spread of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel propaganda, including wild conspiracy theories and vicious slurs, according to a new report. The Committee for Middle East Reporting in America, or CAMERA, monitored the Huffington Post for a brief period in March and May, finding the talkback threads that accompany the site's news articles and opinion columns routinely contained an alarming amount of hate material. The report said that while such talkbacks can also be found at other sites, such as Britain's Guardian and the Independent newspaper websites, CAMERA...

A national network of cameras and computers automatically logging car number plates will be in place within months, the BBC has learned. Thousands of Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras are already operating on Britain's roads. Police forces across England, Wales and Scotland will soon be able to share the information on one central computer. Officers say it is a useful tool in fighting crime, but critics say the network is secretive and unregulated. Kent's Chief Constable, Michael Fuller, commented: "We've seen an increase of some 40% of arrests since we've been using this technology. "I'm very confident that we're using...

Peter Hudler FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WASHINGTON- In an "off-the-record" conversation with reporters, President Barack Obama unveiled a plan to distribute traffic cameras in moderately populated residential and commercial areas in order to 'monitor' the people who live and work there. The conversation was leaked to the media this afternoon. "People drive fast, people drive poorly, and people die," the President said in the discussion. "We now have cameras at traffic lights to prevent this and catch those who break the law. But we could do so much more. "Think about the possibilities if we expand the traffic cameras. At every...

Taliban gunmen have been filmed executing a surprised couple whom they repeatedly shot for the alleged crime of adultery.Their deaths were squalid, riddled with bullets in a field near their home by Taliban gunmen as the execution was captured on a mobile telephone. In footage which is being watched with horror by Pakistanis, the couple try to flee when they realise what is about to happen. But a gunman casually shoots the man and then the woman in the back with a burst of gunfire, leaving them bleeding in the dirt.

Have you ever sat in front of a bowl of salted peanuts at a party? You have one, then another and pretty soon you don't want any more, but as long as their is one peanut left you just can't stop eating them. You never have them at home and you aren't really very hungry but you can't pass up the opportunity to eat them. That is what the BBC is like when it comes to Israel. They know their news reports are filled with lies, half-truths and other bull crap (when it comes to Israel BBC stands for Biased...

Private equity firm Patriarch Partners snapped up the assets of the photography pioneer with a cult following.New York-based private equity firm Patriarch Partners won the auction for bankrupt Polaroid Corp's assets, both companies said Thursday, with Patriarch winning over three rival bidders. The result of the auction, which ended Tuesday, is subject to court approval at an April 6 hearing. The assets Patriarch is buying include the company's name, intellectual property, and photography collection. It beat bids from PHC Acquisitions, Hilco Consumer Capital Corp and Ritchie Capital. Patriarch's bid totaled $59.1 million, the company said. "We look forward to reconnecting...

Police Report Says Priest Wielded Unknown Object; But Cop On Tape Knows It’s A Camera A Roman Catholic priest who monitors law enforcement treatment of minorities with a video camera released footage that appears to contradict the police account of his own arrest. A police report says the Rev. James Manship was confronted and arrested Feb. 19 because he was holding an "unknown shiny silver object" and struggled with an officer who was trying to take it from him. But a 15-second video released this week by Manship's attorneys shows East Haven police Officer David Cari asking Manship, "Is there...

Which YouTube ready cameras have you used and how do you like them?

Montana state lawmaker seeks to outlaw red light cameras. The Montana state House Transportation Committee yesterday held a hearing on legislation designed to thwart municipal attempts to install red light cameras. The city of Bozeman had hoped to have its automated ticketing machines operational by May, but state Representative Bill Nooney (R-Missoula) wants to cut the program off before it can begin. "An automated enforcement system designed to detect traffic violations that is attached to a traffic control device may not be used to enforce traffic laws," House Bill 531 states. The Bozeman City Commission voted 4-1 last October to...

Seconds after BART police officer Johannes Mehserle shot and killed Oscar Grant, police immediately began confiscating cell phones containing videos that have yet to see the light of day. In fact, the only videos that have been seen by the public were filmed by people who managed to leave the scene before police confronted them.In one instance, police chased after Karina Vargas after she stepped on the train, banging on the window after the doors closed and demanding her to turn over the camera. The train sped away with Vargas still holding her camera.Her video, which did not show the...

We've already seen the iSight indicator light "disappear" behind the bezel of Apple's MacBook and iMac computers. A recently published patent application could make the iSight itself not only disappear, but move to the middle of the screen. MacBooks, iMacs, and even iPhones and iPod touches could take advantage of the new technology. Submitted in July 2007, the filing details plans for a camera mounted behind a display that could capture an image "while the display elements are in an inactive state (in which the display elements are darkened and at least partially transparent)." According to the document, a similar, additional system...

As a prank, students from local high schools have been taking advantage of the county's Speed Camera Program in order to exact revenge on people who they believe have wronged them in the past, including other students and even teachers. Students from Richard Montgomery High School dubbed the prank the Speed Camera "Pimping" game, according to a parent of a student enrolled at one of the high schools. Originating from Wootton High School, the parent said, students duplicate the license plates by printing plate numbers on glossy photo paper, using fonts from certain websites that "mimic" those on Maryland license...

HUNTSVILLE, ONT. — ARTICLE SNIPPET: "On Friday, Aug. 8, a vehicle pulled into the Pow Wow parking lot and discharged six men, all dressed in what the locals would call "city clothes" - including dark slacks and leather-soled dress shoes. Without bothering to check with the office, they went down to the beach and began taking photographs of each other, each time with Deerhurst - including the cupola that rides over the main building - in the background." ARTICLE SNIPPET: "These six English-speaking men appeared to be of Middle-Eastern origin. But what really set them apart was their complete unfamiliarity...

Damn people, Reporting 101, you would think they would be camped outside of his home. If Ayers’ wife had disappeared wouldn’t Fox News and Greta/Geraldo be pitching a tent in his backyard. I mean Fox News is supposed to be conservative leaning, get someone over there and get Ayers on the record right now. What is your current relationship with Obama? What was your role in Obama getting on the Annenberg project board? How closely did you work together in the use of the 50 million dollars that Annenberg gave you? Did you know Obama when he was at Columbia...