NYPD officers have fun with racist Facebook group

30.11, 23:02

Call it martial law or call it a police state. Either one you chose isn’t too far off and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg knows it. At a speaking engagement Tuesday night, Bloomberg referred to the NYPD as his own army.

07.12, 03:02

The military-grade pepper-spray that’s been all the rage with law enforcement agencies is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to an advanced arsenal of weaponry made available to police departments across the country.

06.12, 02:09

Businesses that operate in the Big Apple are expected to pay a percent of their income on taxes that go to funding public projects in New York City. For the one percent, however, those pennies on the dollar are apparently too hard to part with.

Occupy Wall Street 22.11, 21:16

A protester in Seattle, Washington aligned with Occupy Wall Street says that an assault from a cop last week has caused a miscarriage, which if true marks the first loss of life from police brutality since the demonstrations began two months ago.

Occupy Wall Street 21.11, 21:59

During a press conference in New York this weekend, officials alleged that a Manhattan man has been plotting a series of terrorist attacks across the city using homemade bombs. The FBI, on the other hand, wants nothing to do with it.

Occupy Wall Street 18.11, 21:24

Arrests in the Occupy movement nationally have surpassed 1,000, with 177 being charged by the NYPD this Thursday in only the first few hours.

Occupy Wall Street

Published: 09 December, 2011, 02:27

NYPD officers have fun with racist Facebook group

TAGS: Crime, Scandal, Law, Corruption, USA

If you’re not too keen on the New York Police Department, don’t worry — the feeling is mutual.

Officers within the NYPD allegedly typed racist and revealing comments on a public Facebook page seemingly undetected until a New York attorney uncovered them.

Benjamin Moore was one of two attorneys from Brooklyn Defender Services representing a food-service worked named Tyrone Johnson in a gun possession trial that made it to the State Supreme Court last month. Curious about the arresting officer that first brought allegations against his client, Moore logged onto Facebook to see if the cop had a personal page. Digging through his profile, Moore quickly uncovered more than he ever thought imaginable.

Sgt. Dustin Edwards was one of around 150 Facebook users who belonged to a public group called “No More West Indian Day Detail.” On the page, NYPD officers voiced their hatred for having to patrol the annual event and its subsequent parade that has been marred with violence before.

To some of the officers, those acts of violence are just second nature to those West Indian “animals.”

“I say have the parade one more year and when they all gather drop a bomb and wipe them all out,” writes one commenter, Dan Rodney. The New York Times first broke the story and reached out to Rodney, who confirmed that he was a police officer and a user of Facebook but denied that he made that comment.

“I leave my phone around sometimes. Other than that I have no comment” said Officer Rodney.

Many of the users that posted messages in the group had names that matched those of NYPD officers, and are now being challenged over whether or not they made the comments. One such match was responsible for a post that reads, “Let them kill each other.” Another, claiming to be Officer Nick Virgilio, called the parade goers “filth” and defended himself by saying, “it’s not racist if it’s true.”

“I found it astounding,” Moore tells the New York Times. He made a digital copy of the archives and printed out the contents of the group, which accumulated to 70 pages. Days later, the group had vanished.

Sgt. Edwards admitted to joining the group but said it was only because he knew a lot of other officers in the force that were members. To Johnson’s attorneys, however, this connection could be enough to challenge the NYPD’s claims that their client had a gun. Johnson is black and lived in the parade area. He was arrested for allegedly unlawfully possessing a gun on the route of the parade hours before the celebration began in 2010. Although he denies knowledge of posts along the lines of “ethnic cleansing” in the neighborhood and having the parade “moved to the zoo,” Moore and his associate hope that this development will get charges dropped against their client, and could also cause some new ones against the officers themselves — NYPD cops are barred from “discourteous or disrespectful remarks” about race or ethnicity.

Today: 00:11

The next time you board a flight in the US, be prepared to hand over your luggage to government-hired rapists. Under the FBI’s updated definition of rape, agents with the TSA are as good as guilty of the crime.

Today: 02:32

If you’re looking to visit the sacred grounds where the remains of a love one lost at war is entombed, be sure to bring a hazmat suit. The military has been dumping the ashes of cremated soldiers in a suburban Virginia landfill.

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Petrov tired of being Lotus Renault scapegoat

13.11, 20:05

Lewis Hamilton was the first to see the checkered flag at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel retired on the first lap.

01.11, 15:30

The maiden Russian Grand Prix, scheduled to take place in Sochi in 2014, won’t gather enough audience, says Oksana Kosachenko, manager of Russia’s only Formula 1 driver Vitaly Petrov.

15.09, 19:39

Russia’s sole Formula One representative, Vitaly Petrov, was among the most notable guests at the Moscow Jet Expo 2011. RT caught up with the Lotus-Renault driver to get the latest news from the stable.

27.03, 13:04

Vitaly Petrov has become the first ever Russian to ascend the Formula 1 podium after finishing third at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 18:31

Lotus Renault GP's Russian driver Vitaly Petrov (AFP Photo / Dimitar Dilkoff)

TAGS: Scandal, Formula 1, Petrov

Vitaly Petrov’s communication with the media will be limited after the first Russian in F1 said in an interview that he has had enough of his Lotus Renault team putting all the blame for poor results on the drivers.

­Lotus Renault, who started the season with Petrov’s podium in Australia, now find themselves struggling for places in the Top 10. And the Russian says he keeps questioning his team about this downfall.

“We looked very strong during the first five or six races of the season,” he told Rossiya 2 channel. “We couldn’t compete with Ferrari, Red Bull or McLaren, but we were a lot faster than Mercedes.”

But then, according to Petrov, there were no improvements in his racing car because all the new parts just didn’t fit, while all of his rivals were moving forward.

“For the last ten races we’ve had nothing,” the 27-year-old stressed. “We’re driving practically the same car as at the beginning of the season.”

Petrov says the Lotus Renault team should acknowledge they weren’t at their best for many of this year’s races.

“Read my interviews, I never criticize the team, which lost so much on pit-stops and tactics,” he noted. “We’ve lost ten or more races because of this. Even without having a fast car, we still could’ve earned good points if we only had a good strategy.”

“I couldn’t say in the interviews that we lost because of the pits. I still can’t speak about it now, but I just can’t keep silent anymore,” the driver added.

Despite being quite slow in the track, Lotus Renault wasted no time in reacting to Petrov’s words as the Russian’s communication with the media is going to be limited from now on.

“This year both sides pitched it strong – from time to time the team wasn’t speaking flatteringly of their drivers, and this time Vitaly also crossed the line in his last television interview with Rossiya 2. I have to admit it," Oksana Kosachenko, Petrov’s mamager, told RIA-Novosti news agency. "Some steps on the matter have already been taken. The team’s management decided to limit Vitaly Petrov’s communication with the media."

Petrov, who last finished in points three races ago in Japan, currently sits ninth in the drivers’ championship, with 39 points in the bag.

13.11, 20:05

Lewis Hamilton was the first to see the checkered flag at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, while Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel retired on the first lap.

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Legal music for Russian Facebook

Published: 17 November, 2011, 18:56

Legal music for Russian Facebook

TAGS: Piracy, Corporate news, Prices

The Russian search engine and internet company Yandex has teamed up with the social networking site Facebook to offer users the chance to share music legally online for free. But will the Yandex.Music find many ears amongst Russian listeners?

­Music and the internet. Oh, what a stormy relationship they have. One minute they’re as madly in love as the latest sugary pop hit that’s sweeping the youth playlists. Then suddenly there’s more hatred in the air than at an apocalyptic death metal concert.

The makeups and breakups usually revolve around pirates. Yes pirates. Not the buccaneers of yesteryear but those who distribute copyrighted material for free. Russians have had many fewer chances to play music online than their counterparts in Europe and America because of fears over piracy.

‘Yandex.music’ was launched in September 2010 and gave users the chance to see which songs from its library others were playing. They could then play the songs themselves with the click of a button. Facebook also has its equivalent of this service but it didn’t offer it to Russian users, such is their fear copyright would be violated here in Russia. Facebook currently has 9.3 million users in Russia. Now it seems they see Yandex.Music, with 3.6 million users as a way into Russian music sharing, with both gaining more users as a result.

But it’s not quite as simple as that. Whilst many Russians have Facebook, far more popular is the Russian social networking site Vkontakte (which means ‘in contact’). It started sharing free music and video amongst all of its users a long time ago.

Internet analyst Ilya Rachenkov from Investcafe says ‘Yandex.music’ won’t do much to help Yandex. As he points out, “Russia’s audience is still predisposed to using illegally obtained content which gives us the reason to believe the Yandex music service is not going to gain much more popularity.” Many point to the fact users all over the world don’t want to pay for expensive downloads to record companies. Yandex music has far bigger competitors which offer much more content, Vkontakte being a prime example. Although, as Mr Rachenkov says, “this has been the reason for the significant amount of criticism it (Vkontakte) receives,” because of the potential for copyright infringement, it’s also the reason for its success. Most young people, whether listening to that sugary pop hit or that death metal don’t care where it comes from. They want it free and they want it now.

Today: 14:05

The Lake Baikal region wants to turn itself into the Alps of Central Asia with a billion dollar project to create a ski resort.

Today: 18:56

Russia is already calling 'foul' over Europe's energy policy even before it joins the WTO.The EU's Third Energy Package as it's called separates energy companies from owning the supply system. PM Vladimir Putin describes the EU policy as "robbery".

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League lock-out: neighbors sanction Syria

16.11, 20:00

The foreign ministers of the Arab League, consisting of 22 members, have confirmed the suspension of Syria from the group, blaming it for the violent suppression of anti-government rallies.

Arab world protests Today: 07:09

Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”

Syria unrest 15.11, 15:49

As violence continues unabated in this Arab Republic, members of the Syrian opposition are telling Russian diplomats they are against any foreign military intervention in the settlement of their country's conflict.

Syria unrest 14.11, 23:44

Syria is becoming increasingly isolated with its neighbors turning their backs on it. Some believe that the Arab League and especially the Gulf states are doing the bidding of the West by putting more pressure on Damascus.

Syria unrest 14.11, 17:02

The “illegitimate” decision to suspend Syria from the Arab League has received wide support from the EU and the US. Russia, however, has strongly opposed the measure, which is starting to look like another step on the road to a Libya-style scenario.

Arab world protests Syria unrest 13.11, 22:23

As massive pro-Assad demonstrations continue across Syria, Damascus has called for an emergency meeting of Arab League heads of state in an apparent attempt to avert its suspension from the regional bloc.

Syria unrest 12.11, 17:48

The Arab League has voted to suspend Syria from all meetings until Damascus ends its bloody crackdown against anti-government protesters.

Syria unrest 08.11, 15:44

With images of NATO’s use of excessive force in Libya in the rear-view mirror, Russia is calling for the international community to support a non-violent Syrian settlement plan put forward by the League of Arab States (LAS).

Arab world protests //

Published: 17 November, 2011, 10:37
Edited: 17 November, 2011, 22:50

A protestor uses a megaphone during a demonstration against the regime of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (AFP Photo / BEN STANSALL)

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TAGS: Conflict, Military, Religion, Protest, Politics, Human rights, Terrorism, Cary Johnston, Paula Slier, Opposition, War, Syria

Syria’s president has until Saturday to stop the violent crackdown on protesters and allow a monitoring team into the country, demands the Arab League, which threatens to tighten the financial noose around the regime by slapping down heavy sanctions.

­And while the drum-beat for international pressure against Bashar al-Assad gets louder, there are fears this may only make a bad situation worse.

On Thursday, governmental forces raided the restive Hama province, where Syrian Army defectors attacked an army checkpoint the previous day, protesters reported. The so-called “Free Syria Army” claims to have 25,000 members currently.

Earlier Assad’s supporters attacked several embassies in Damascus following country’s suspension by the Arab League. The risky situation prompted France to recall its ambassador from the country.

Turkey, which once supported Assad’s government, now says it plans to suspend joint oil exploration and is considering stopping electricity supplies to Syria.

As the international pressure on Syria rises, there are growing fears that it may follow the Libyan scenario.

London-based human rights group the Syrian Observatory wants both a buffer zone and a Libyan-style no-fly zone in Syria. The call, however, is so far unlikely to gain UN Security Council support. A previous draft resolution on Syria sponsored by Europe had been vetoed by Russia and China.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it is greatly concerned over the situation and the ongoing violence. But ministerial spokesman Liu Weimin stressed that any possible Security Council action regarding Syria would have to help ease tensions and solve the crisis through political means.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called on the Arab League to make it clear that it wants the violence stopped from both sides of the conflict.

“The violence in Syria comes not from the governmental structures only. There is an increasing amount of weaponry there smuggled from neighboring countries,” he said on Thursday. The Arab League’s members should “come up with a demand not only for the government, but also to the Syrian opposition to stop violence.”

He added that the League’s observers and the media, which Assad’s government agreed to allow into the country, will have to monitor both sides to see how this demand is met.

The pressure on Syria from the Arab League is being seen by some as little more than doing the West's bidding, says Russia's envoy to NATO, Dmitry Rogozin.

“Many countries that now call the shots in the Arab League are closely connected with top Western powers. Qatar, which actually hosted all the latest Arab League sessions, is a country that fought in Libya; it makes no secret of the fact that its special operations forces were among the rebels,” he pointed out.  

Likewise, former pentagon official Michael Maloof told RT that foreign attempts to shift the balance of power in the Syria had led to opposition to become increasingly militant.

“It’s quite clear that there’s quite an organized effort from outside to arm and to take advantage of what was popular discontent, and now, it has become much more of a militarized form of opposition from within,” he said. 

Even in Israel – Syria’s arch enemy – some would rather Assad stayed in power.

“The Alawites have been doing us a favor, doing Israel a favor, of course this is not understood this way commonly, but they’ve essentially been going us a favor by keeping this population under control and if they go, it’s going to be an explosion,” said Professor John Myhill from the University of Haifa.

While the Arab League has stopped short of calling for Syrian President’s departure, critics say their stance is nothing short of hypocrisy.

“They have no democracy or at least, some of them, they don’t have constitution, and at the same time they are asking Syria to modify constitution and to develop the democracy that they are having. It is ironic and paradox [sic] at the same time,” Ali Hamdan points out.

What is more, Assad has shown he is willing to conduct reforms. But it is not clear the Arab League has the patience to listen.

And neither do Western leaders, who decided a long time ago Assad needs to go. Without the option to do it through the United Nations, the Arab League is their next best option.

Today: 07:09

Russian lawmaker and foreign policy architect Konstantin Kosachev thinks that Russia is “probably one of the very few, or maybe the only country, which maintains dialogue both with Assad and with the opposition.”

Syria unrest Today: 11:43

Its hour has struck and the eurozone's second-most stable economy, the Netherlands, is beginning to feel the first hand effects of contagion, with the previous apathy among its taxpayers quickly giving way to animosity.

Eurozone crisis

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Millions dollars to create Alps in the heart of Siberia

Today: 01:12

Russia is planning to cancel fees for foreign airlines using airspace over Siberia, thus making flights from Europe to Asia cheaper.

Russia and WTO 02.11, 15:26

Russia and South Korea are teaming up to develop the emerging North Caucasus tourism hub – an exciting project which will create 20,000 local jobs.

03.01, 08:50

Russia will become the top European tourist market within the next ten years according to Europe’s second largest tour operator Thomas Cook. The market is expecting double-digit growth as the wealth of Russia's 142 million population increases.

Published: 17 November, 2011, 14:05

Millions dollars to create Alps in the heart of Siberia. Foto http://www.baikalresorts.com/

TAGS: Markets, Regional development, Roads, Infrastructure, Government Spending, Construction, Real Estate, Big deal

The Lake Baikal region wants to turn itself into the Alps of Central Asia with a billion dollar project to create a ski resort.

­Private equity fund EurAsia Capital Partners of Hong Kong is joining forces with Russia's Rusresorts to develop ski slopes along Bychya Mountain. 

"We have agreed that Eurasia Capital will purchase 35% in our project in Baikal for a price of $100 million,” Rusresorts," Director General Petr Shura says.

Shura says the total cost of the year-round resort will be $1 billion where “the stock investments will make $220 $250 million and the remaining financing will come from borrowed money or from sale of real estate at the resort itself.”

Petr Shura from Rusresorts believes partnership with Asian investors will “help to establish effective relations with Asian contractors, tourism operators and will assist with attraction of financing,” adding that for design and development of Baikal resort “the leading international companies have been invited.”

Shura believes the Baikal resort will attract Asian tourists. “The annual tourist flow may make 400-500 thousand guests, and we expect that 90% of them will come from Asia,” he added.

Sergei Man, Managing Partner at Eurasia Capital Partners, agrees the tourist footfall will grow “as over several past years land prices around Baikal grew by several times, and demand for ecology tourism is growing worldwide,” which is, according to his words, “could make 20-22% of annual yields from investments,”

The Baikal resort will be built in Buryatia in the territory of a special economic zone called Baikal Harbor.
Construction on the 2,300 hectare site begins in May next year with an official opening planned for 2020. There will be around 3,500 hotel rooms as well as 2,500 homes constructed as part of the project.

Today: 01:40

Meeting WTO standards may come as a heavy burden to some industries, but the Russian government is ready to help deal with it to provide a smooth transition.

Russia and WTO Today: 18:56

The Russian search engine and internet company Yandex has teamed up with the social networking site Facebook to offer users the chance to share music legally online for free. But will the Yandex.Music find many ears amongst Russian listeners?

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Yakutian Hachiko in bitter vigil for dead mate

06.12, 22:42

Moving your life to a new country is hard enough without leaving your pets behind. Whether you brought your four-legged friend with you or just plan to do so, all you will need is on hand in the capital.

16.11, 22:27

The head of Moscow City Hall's environment department says pet owners should put shoes on their animals.

24.10, 21:05

Animal rights activists in Moscow are outraged by a controversial plan that would see the capital’s stray dogs rounded up and sent to a new shelter more than 200 kilometres away from the capital.

20.09, 00:32

A long line of animal-rights activists has been queuing outside Moscow’s City Hall.

23.06, 17:10

A dog has guarded a three-month-old baby forgotten in the park for a whole night in the Russian city of Saratov. The baby had been left by a reckless mother, and was later found with the loyal dog sitting by the pram.

Published: 09 December, 2011, 17:18

Yakutian Hachiko in bitter vigil for dead mate

TAGS: Animals, Russia

A stray dog in Russia’s Far East stood on guard beside his dead mate in biting cold for over two weeks. The “Yakutian Hachiko” tried to warm her up with his own body.

The two stray dogs had been guarding local garages until one of them was allegedly poisoned. The other refused to leave his dead pal’s side even when the temperature dropped to -50 degrees Celsius.

He was nicknamed the "Yakutian Hachiko" after a Japanese dog remembered for his remarkable loyalty to his dead owner, waiting for him at a train station for seven years.

After the story was posted online, Yakutian animal lovers started bringing food to the dog.Later, they decided to take him to a shelter until new owners could be found, fearing he might die of cold.

However, after only a few hours, “Hachiko” broke free, pulling out a metal net barrier complete with nails. He was later found at the same very spot, beside his frozen mate, far from his temporary shelter.

Local residents then abandoned attempts to re-home the dog and built a warm kennel at the site. And buried his husky pal.

Soon afterwards, the dog started a slow recovery. He is now eating normally and plays eagerly with local puppies.

Meanwhile, a woman from Koeln (Cologne) in Germany has posted on a forum offering to adopt the dog, after reading about his astonishing loyalty.

Today: 16:44

Twenty-six countries have accepted EU-wide treaty changes. Only Britain remains opposed. The development is the biggest split in the European Union in 50 years, British MEP Nigel Farage says.

Eurozone crisis Today: 17:21

Central banks in eurozone countries are making contingency plans for the possible collapse of the euro.Demand for money-printing services is expected to soar as old national currencies prepare for a come-back.

Eurozone crisis

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