I was a subscriber to the daily Christian Science Monitor. After a couple of trials, I judged their reporting to be from a neutral viewpoint. Religion appeared in every issue, but did not color the news. The coverage, although U.S.-centered was truly global. And the lighter features were usually interesting (they had great, brief film reviews).

My full-time subscription began around the time the world was preparing to invade Iraq in 2003. I let it lapse after a couple of years because I wasn’t finding the time to read all the coverage they packed into a daily paper. I still followed the website regularly (it’s offered in NRR’s news rack).

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Minnesota Vikings running back Chester Taylor has signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Bears. Taylor struck me as an ideal all-around back. He may not have any single superstar skill, but he can run, catch and block effectively in any situation. As I’ve said hundreds of times as everyone else seemed obsessed with Adrian Peterson, there’s nothing wrong with Chester Taylor.

I wish him the best, and hope he earns the starting job with the Bears. From the StarTribune story, the Vikings wanted to keep him, but the Bears were willing to pay millions more. There is apparently no ill will on either side.

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I was curious how atheists determine right and wrong. Without a command from G-d, isn’t good and evil just a matter of taste?

The google led me to a wealth of argument and testimony. Although they seem to spend far too much time berating non-atheists (mostly Christians), I saw an essential similarity in all the discussion.

Good, or right conduct, works out to be the same as what the faithful subscribe to. By culture and tradition, or for species survival, atheist morality seems to be rooted in the Golden Rule: Do on to others as you would have them do on to you.

The atheists seem very proud that they can reason their way to this shared conception without invoking a deity. They assure the audience that rape and murder are still wrong, and atheism is not (necessarily) just nihilistic hedonism. There are problems in the arguments I saw, but I expect those are issues of logical formality that somebody from Team Atheist has worked out.

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As righties and lefties argue about the merits of “drill, baby, drill”, the domestic energy industry has quietly been drilling here, now. For natural gas:

production hit a new record level in 2009, breaking the previous record set in 2008. The 2.2% increase in 2009 follows increases of 4.4% in 2008, 4.8% in 2007, and 0.33% in 2006, bringing last year's production to a level 12.2% above the output in 2006.

This surge in domestic natural gas production over the last three years has enabled the United States to overtake Russia as the world's No. 1 producer of natural gas, and is all due to advanced drilling methods now being used to drill for gas through a type of rock known as shale.

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Trains are pretty impressive beasts. But we saw a while back that snow can stop them in their tracks.

What happens when a tornado and a freight train cross paths?

Nature - 2 ; Trains - 0.

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I’ve been watching a replay of last Friday’s health care forum. Lefty Senator Jay Rockefeller has been blathering about evil insurers cancelling coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. Separate from debating the truth of the characterization, is this really a big problem?

I figure the Failed Obama Administration™’s own website, HealthReform.gov, should provide data well-suited to support a perspective that this practice, called “recission”, is a widespread horror:

A recent Congressional investigation into this practice found nearly 20,000 rescissions from three large insurers over five years, saving them $300 million in medical claims – $300 million that instead had to come out of the pockets of people who thought they were insured, or became bad debt for health care providers.

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Story from KSTP. Happened at 53rd and Humboldt in North Minneapolis at 10:30 PM last night.

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - Two shot aboard Metro Transit bus in Minneapolis

More catching up to do. Last week's highlights.

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4th PRECINCT HIGHLIGHTS-WEEK 630—FEB 16—FEB 22, 2010



MPD provides this public safety information as a public service. These highlights are not reflective of all incidents handled or investigated by MPD during this time. All persons are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.



ASSAULTS:

ASSLT 2/w/Dangerous Weapon

46th & Lyndale Ave N Tuesday 2/16/10 1630 hrs 10-043692

V1/Mixed Race F, 29 yrs, was sitting in a vehicle w/W1, when S1/BM, unknown age, dark complexion, braided hair, wearing a blk hoodie & blue t-shirt, shot V1. Officers interviewed W1 since V1 was in surgery for the shot to her leg. W1 had no further info on the suspect. HCMC Dr. said the shot was from a large caliber handgun. Wound non-life threatening.



ASSLT2/w/Dangerous Weapon

32XX Thomas Ave N Tuesday 2/16/10 2204 hrs 10-043996

V1/BF, 41 yrs, & V2/BF, 17 yrs, (V1’s daughter), were sitting in their home when they heard gunshots fired by unknown suspects. V1 phoned police, who located numerous bullet holes in the siding on the rear of the house & one bullet hole in the upper part of the rear dining room window. No injuries.



ASSLT2/w/Dangerous Weapon

Dowling Ave N & Fremont Ave N Thursday 2/18/10 1620 hrs 10-045970

V1/BM, 28 yrs, & V2/BM, 38 yrs, were standing in the parking lot near the bus shelter when unknown S1/BM, 20-25 yrs, 5’8-6’, light build, black dreadlocks, wearing a yellow & black jacket; shot at victims, hitting V1 in the left forearm. S1 is a stranger to victims. V1 transported to NMMC via ambulance.



ASSLT2/w/Dangerous Weapon

6XX Lowry Ave N Friday 2/19/10 1650 hrs 10-047099

V1/BM, 24 yrs, was hanging out at the above location when 2 BM’s (suspects)…no further description, drove by in a Red Monte Carlo-type vehicle. S2 shot at the victim, w/what appeared to be a Glock. Three .25 caliber casings were recovered. OT1/BF, 21 yrs, V1’s ex-girlfriend, told V1 she would have her brother shoot at him. V1 not injured.



ASSLT2/w/Dangerous Weapon

Broadway Ave W/Penn Ave N Friday 2/19/10 1809 hrs 10-047186

V1/Mixed Race M, 39 yrs, was waiting at the bus stop, when a BM, no further info, threw a bottle at a passing squad car. V1 asked this male & AP1/Patrick NMN Addy, BM, 32 yrs, 3/6/77, what they were doing. AP1, who was DK, then threw punches at V1, striking him on the side of his head. V1 attempted to back away when AP1 produced a knife, following the victim. AP1 did not drop it until he saw a security guard. AP1 booked in HCJ.



ASSLT2

8XX Morgan Ave N Saturday 2/20/10 2004 hrs 10-048284

V1/BM, 25 yrs, was entering his home when unknown S1/WM, 5’6-5’8, medium build, 18-30 yrs, light complexion, sandy hair & goatee, wearing a blk hoodie; & S2/BM, 5’8-5’10, medium build, 18-30 yrs, medium complexion, wearing a black hoodie & blk pants, approached V1 & one of them shot V1 in the leg. No known motive. V1 received gunshot wound to his upper right leg. Suspects fled.

















ROBBERY:

ROBPAG (Attempt)

29th Ave & Queen Ave N Tuesday 2/16/10 1950 hrs 10-043890

V1/AM, 49 yrs, stated he attempted to help a BF in distress. AP1/Deontay Tramel Duffy, BM, 3/12/86, 23 yrs, a Transsexual, feigning distress, got into V1’s vehicle, supposedly produced a knife, & demanded money. V1 fled & was able to ID AP1 in a show up after S1 was located . No injuries, no loss. AP1 used aliases to police until his real ID was discovered at HCJ. AP1 admitted the incident involved prostitution. No knife found.



ROBPAG

32XX Girard Ave N Thursday 2/18/10 0017 hrs 10-045324

V1/Hispanic M, 31 yrs, stepped out of his vehicle in the alley when S1/BM, 25-30 yrs, 6’5”-7’, light build, dark complexion, wearing all blk clothing, demanded his wallet at gunpoint. S2/BM, 20-25 yrs, 5’11”, medium build, dark complexion, wearing dark clothing, wrapped his arm around V1’s neck, while S1 went through victim’s pockets & took the loss. When suspects let V1 go, S1 hit V1 w/the handgun on the left side of the face, causing minor injury. Suspects fled on foot.



ROBPER (Green & White Taxi)

4th St N & Dowling Ave N Thursday 2/18/10 0515 hrs 10-045447

V1/BM, 60 yrs, taxi driver, picked up 3 fares (suspects) in St. Paul and transported them to the area of Fremont & Dowling, where V1 and suspects argued. At 4th & Dowling, S1/Mike, BM, 20-25 yrs, 5’10-6’, medium build, dark complexion, hit V1, grabbed the fare he had given him, and took the key to the taxi.

S1, S2/BF, 20-25 yrs, dark complexion, 5’6-5’10 heavy build, & S3/BF, 25-30, then fled, leaving V1 and

Taxi stranded in the intersection. V1 not injured.



ROBPAG

Broadway Ave W & James Ave N Friday 2/19/10 1615 hrs 10-047079

V1/BM, 48 yrs, had his car at this location (a car wash) when S1/BM, 18 yrs, 5’10-6’, light build, dark complexion, short afro, wearing a red & black jacket & blue jeans, demanded cash from V1 after washing his car for him. S1 then pulled out an old revolver, pushing V1 to the ground, & taking $5 from him. S1 fled, putting the gun behind a tree at the rear of the car wash. Old revolver located, not in working condition. V1 was not injured.



ROBPER

16TH Ave N. & Penn Ave N Saturday 2/20/10 0015 hrs 10-047986

V1/BM, 53 yrs, was walking home when S1/BM, 20-25 yrs, 5’8”, medium build, medium complexion, blk braids, wearing dark clothes, yelled something to V1. S1 then approached V1 & pushed him down, punching V1 about 7 times, & demanding V1’s cell phone. V1 is disabled, walking is difficult, so he gave S1 his cell phone. S1 fled. V1 walked home. V1 refused EMS.



ROBPAG

41ST Ave N & Washington Ave N Saturday 2/20/10 0230 hrs 10-047773

V1/BM, 48 yrs, at a party, was told he left his car lights on. When V1 checked his vehicle, S1/BM, 22 yrs, 5’9, dark complexion, moustache, got in the car, pointed a black semi-auto pistol at V1, & demanded his property. Four other suspects, all BM’s, approx. 22 yrs, no further info, joined in & removed V1’s mink coat, wallet, cash, & jewelry. S5 attempted to put a blanket over V1’s head, then struck him in the back of the head several times & wrestled w/him on the ground. Suspects fled in a green Chevy pick-up truck, & also took V1’s vehicle. V1 refused ambulance.



ROBPAG/Discharge Weapon

33XX Irving Ave N. Sunday 2/21/10 0229 hrs 10-048650

Officers responded to shot spotter activation at this location. V1/BM, 16 yrs, stated he & the witnesses were at a party. While there, S1/BM, 16-25 yrs, stocky build, wearing blk shoes, a gray hoodie & pants, & S2/BM, 16 yrs, no further info, argued with party goers. When V1 & witnesses left the party, S1 & S2 went to a red & gray truck (SUV). Each pointed a handgun at V1 & V1’s brother, taking V1’s shoes & cell phone. Suspects fired shots at V1 as he went to his vehicle. No injuries. V1 uncooperative.



ROBPAG

Golden Valley Rd & Russell Ave N Sunday 2/21/10 1410 hrs 10-048918

V1was walking home, using his cell phone, when S1/BM, 17-20, 5’7”, light build, light brown complexion, wearing a blk jacket w/red trim, & a hat, demanded to use his phone. When V1 said no, S1 reached into V1’s clothes. V1 fled, S1 chased him and pointed a blk semi-auto handgun at V1, telling V1 to drop the phone. V1 did so & S1 fled on foot. No injuries.



ROBPAG

16XX Hillside Ave Sunday 2/21/10 2315 hrs 10-049314

V1/BM, 21 yrs, knocked on the door to visit a friend. No answer, so V1 began walking away when S1/BM, 20-22 yrs, 5’7, medium build, dark complexion, short blk braided hair, wearing all blk clothing, gold grill teeth, pointed a long blk gun in V1’s face, demanding money. V1 gave S1 his wallet & after taking the cash, S1 threw the wallet & took V1’s cell phone & jacket. S2/BM, 20-22 yrs, 5’8, medium build, dark complexion, short afro, acted as a lookout. Both suspects left on foot. Victim not injured, refused medical.





WEAPONS RECOVERED :



4th Pct: Week-to-Date: 2, Year-to-Date: 28, City wide: Year-to-Date: 101









Darlene Witthans

4th Pct MPD-PST

I'm a little late posting this. It happened last night. Star Tribune Story is here.

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Shooting outside party results in homicide



February 27, 2010 (MINNEAPOLIS) At 11:45 tonight officers in the Fourth Precinct responded to a shooting outside of a party in the vicinity of 35th Avenue North and Humboldt Avenue North. When officers arrived they found a female, age 17, with a gunshot wound to the neck. She was taken to North Memorial Hospital by EMS where she later died.



The Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit is investigating this case. There are no suspects in custody at this time. The Minneapolis Police Homicide Unit is asking that anyone with information about this case call the TIPS Line at 612-692-TIPS (8477).



The identification of the victim and the cause of death are in the purview of the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.



The PIO contact for this case is Sgt. William Palmer. There is PIO availability by phone regarding this case until 2:45 a.m. and then again after 10 a.m. There will also be PIO availability for on-camera interviews in the afternoon hours today.



The CCN is 10-054524.

FYI on the discussion on Level III Sex Offenders


244.052 PREDATORY OFFENDERS; NOTICE.

Subd. 4a.Level III offenders; location of residence.

(a) When an offender assigned to risk level III is released from confinement or a residential facility to reside in the community or changes residence while on supervised or conditional release, the agency responsible for the offender's supervision shall take into consideration the proximity of the offender's residence to that of other level III offenders and proximity to schools and, to the greatest extent feasible, shall mitigate the concentration of level III offenders and concentration of level III offenders near schools.

(b) If the owner or property manager of a hotel, motel, lodging establishment, or apartment building has an agreement with an agency that arranges or provides shelter for victims of domestic abuse, the owner or property manager may not knowingly rent rooms to both level III offenders and victims of domestic abuse at the same time. If the owner or property manager has an agreement with an agency to provide housing to domestic abuse victims and discovers or is informed that a tenant is a level III offender after signing a lease or otherwise renting to the offender, the owner or property manager may evict the offender.

My neighborhood email list is still hotly debating the apparent deluge of level sex offenders that have moved into the area. Since the last time I posted, 2 more showed up in North Minneapolis' 55411 for a total of 19.

Here is the breakdown of the rest of Minneapolis zipcodes that somebody posted.

55370 through 55402= 0 (zero)

55403= 10

55404= 8

55405= 10

55406= 0

55407= 7

55408= 3

55409= 1

55410= 0

55411= 19

55412= 6

55413= 3

55414= 0

55415= 11

55416= 0

55417= 1

55418= 1

55419,20,21= 0

55422= 1

55423 through 55428= 0

Johnny Northside has begun a campaign to get the exact addresses of these individuals in order to post them. Obviously, there is the potential for these people to be harassed or worse and generally the only info that the neighborhood gets is a block, not an address. In Johnny's case, I think his point is to draw attention to slumlords who rent to Level III sex offenders. Indeed, they probably make better tenants than drug dealers or pimps, from a slumlord's perspective since they don't want to draw attention to themselves and since moving is such a hassle, they probably pay their rent on time.

Also, the Governor's Moose Lake Sex Offender prison expansion was axed in the latest version of the bonding bill. The final round of negotiations are taking place over the weekend, to end with either the Governor vetoing the bill, the legislature overriding it or the Governor signing some new version of the bill by Monday.

Finally, in my earlier post, Jon L posted a comment about another sex offender who apparently has been on a vendetta to infect gay men with HIV. He has some additional info about the perp in his comment.

(please click image—nothing bad will should happen)

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A vintage ad from NRR’s left sidebar caught my eye:

From the ad copy, we learn that, in 1956, buying a week’s worth of food at one time and storing it at home was a new trend. It was clearly seen as a convenience to have all the food at hand. In the 50s, the big benefit was reducing the time spent making trips to the grocer. Today we might include saving the energy and pollution those trips generate, too.

This work-saving (and planet-saving) appliance, available in decorator colors, was priced at $229.95. In today’s dollars, that’s $1,852.89.

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Mayor Dave Bing deserves some credit for acknowledging economic reality:

The city plans to save some neighborhoods and encourage residents to move from others, he said.

"If we don't do it, you know this whole city is going to go down. I'm hopeful people will understand that," Bing said. "If we can incentivize some of those folks that are in those desolate areas, they can get a better situation."

"If they stay where they are I absolutely cannot give them all the services they require."

Cities exist because the benefits of having people close together outweigh the costs of crowding. In today’s Detroit, there is not so much crowding:

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The popular tone seems to be that banks are not lending to small businesses. There are counter-examples, and bankers insist they are making loans to those who can offer both some decent collateral and a reasonable prospect of making payments. I conclude that the problem—if it is a problem—is that banks have tightened their underwriting standards.

Banks have to do this because they can’t afford more bad loans. The Federal Reserve requires bankers to hold some small fraction of real assets against all the promises of payment (loans) they hold.

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This is pretty brazen.
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U of M Police Bulletin


On Tuesday, February 23 at approximately 2:00 p.m., a University of Minnesota employee was the victim of a robbery in the Carlson School of Management building on the West Bank.

The victim was in her office when two suspects entered, threatened her, and demanded money. The victim complied and the suspects fled out of the building on the 19th Avenue side of the building. The victim was not injured, and the suspects did not show or imply a weapon of any kind.

The first suspect is described as a black male between the ages of 18 and 20 years old, approximately five feet, seven inches tall with a light build and a small patch of facial hair below the lip and above the chin. The suspect was wearing a black baseball cap with white emblems and a black winter jacket with white on the sleeves.

The second suspect is described as a black male between the ages of 18 and 20 years old, approximately five feet, nine inches tall with a medium build and short black hair. The suspect was wearing a black puffy jacket.

Both suspects spoke with an east African accent and were carrying newspapers.

A possible third suspect was seen running down the stairs with the suspects. He is described as a black male wearing a grey jacket with dark sleeves.

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the University of Minnesota Police Department at 612-624-COPS.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The University of Minnesota Police Department asks that you remember the following:

When threatened with a weapon, it's best not to resist. Your personal safety is more important than a lost wallet or cell phone.
Always be aware of your surroundings.
Walk in well lit areas and don't walk alone. If you can't find someone to walk with, call the Campus Escort service at 612-624-WALK for a free security escort.
Carry minimal amounts of valuables.
Keep written records of valuables, including model and serial numbers, in a safe place.
Call 911 immediately if you are the victim or witness to a crime.
Document information about the suspect for police (i.e. clothing descriptions, facial features, piercings or tattoos, speech, etc.).
This Crime Alert is sent in compliance with the federal Clery Act which requires universities to alert the campus community of crimes that may pose an ongoing threat to students and employees. For updates on any developments in this case, please visit the Crime Alerts page on the UMPD website.

For more on campus safety and security, and for a list of campus safety resources available to you, visit the University's Emergency Preparedness Web site.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This message was sent by the University Police Chief Greg Hestness to all Twin Cities students, faculty, and staff.




For questions, contact:

Renee Allen, Crime Prevention Specialist
Minneapolis Police Department, First Precinct
renee.allen@ci.minneapolis.mn.us
(612) 673-5163

To Protect With Courage
To Serve With Compassion

Maxed Out Mama, who always looks deep into the data, sees cause for optimism:

If one tried, one could make a case that the economy will continue decent growth in 2010, or one could make the case that the economy would subside once more in the later part of 2010. There are indications both ways. Usually, that is an encouraging sign.

I won't try to make any case. In my view this is somewhat fragile and the final trajectory for 2010 depends most on government policy and fuel prices (which will control a lot about spending power).

Income tax withholdings (WIET) are up compared to this period last year. But, last year was horrible. It appears Main Street is no longer collapsing. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that Main Street is still in a fragile condition:

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Assistant Village Idiot considers himself to have a skeptical nature:

Progressives, freethinkers, 60's liberals, granolas, and alternative medicine adherents think they agree with me on this skeptical approach, seeing themselves as the ones willing to challenge received wisdom. (There is overlap among those groups, but folks usually tend to specialise in one skepticism.)

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There has been a lot of chatter lately in the news, blogs and email lists in my neck of the woods about Level III Sex offenders.

The MPD has a good explanation on its website on what a Level III sex offender is. Basically, this is the portion of felony sex offenders most likely to re-offend. This is not the guy convicted once 10 years ago for having sex with his 16 year old girl friend when he was 18. Not to downplay any sex crime but we are talking about the level of danger to the general public today.

First, there is the Level III sex offender mega prison in Moose Lake (expansion of the current "treatment facility") that Governor Pawlenty made the centerpiece of his bonding bill this session to accommodate his desire to lock up Level IIIs for longer.

Next, is the fact that some of my neighbors documented that Level III sex offenders appear to be concentrated in the 55411 zip code (in North Minneapolis). To date, there are 17 of them. One of the emails I got had someone complaining that 6 of them lived within a 3 block radius of her house. That's worse than living in a community with the sex offender prison since presumably, they are contained there rather than moving about freely.

Finally, there is now a Level III sex offender suing neighborhood activists for publicizing the information that is required to be disseminated every time a Level III sex offender moves into a neighborhood. A defamation suit brought by somebody wears the already constitutionally upheld scarlet letter of L3SO? I would guess it would be thrown out. But you can read what some of the parties who are being sued have to say about it at Hillside Chronicles.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 67% (pdf) of owner-occupied American homes have mortgages against them. According the the Mortgage Bankers Association, 15.02% of those mortgages are at least one payment late. That works out to be 10%, a record high.

Since 3.63% of mortgages are only one payment behind, that leaves about 11.4% of mortgage holders (7.6% of all homes) who can’t just be dismissed as having lost a payment slip.

In the third quarter of 2009, 1.2% of mortgages began foreclosure. That’s “only” .8% of all homes, and “just” in one quarter. Multiplying by four quarters puts 3.2% of all owner-occupieds in foreclosure. How many on your block?

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