Police Beat Homeless Fullerton Man Kelly Thomas To Death

"A video has surfaced that documents Fullerton police beating a homeless man near the Fullerton Bus Depot in early July, reports Gawker. The video above does not show much of the fight, but you can hear a man's screams and people talking about a Taser. The man being beaten also cries out for his father.

On July 5, Fullerton police received reports of someone breaking into cars in the area around the bus depot, according to the LA Times. Police subsequently tried to arrest 37-year-old transient Kelly Thomas on suspicion of possessing the stolen items.

When Thomas resisted, it took several minutes for him to be subdued. Sgt. Andrew Goodrich told the OC Register that it took "an upwards of five, maybe six officers to subdue him."
ABC says that Thomas was unarmed during the incident. Thomas sustained severe injuries to the head and neck... He was hospitalized at UCI Medical Center, when he fell into a coma and died less than a week later." (Huffington Post)

Fullerton Police Altercation Death Protested by Hundreds

"Several hundred protesters descended on the Fullerton Police Department on Saturday morning, the latest in a series of public expressions of outrage over the death of a homeless man after an altercation with six police officers.

The death of Kelly Thomas, 37, has led two City Council members to call for the resignation of Police Chief Michael Sellers and a group of residents led by blogger Tony Bushala to launch a recall campaign against the other three council members." (LA Times)

I've never done anything like this before, but I felt that I had to attended the protest. Even the worst case of resisting arrest should never be fatal.

Good Riddance

It sure took long enough. I've heard conspiracy theories that our intelligence community knew exactly where he was for quite a while and was using him to covertly gather information about Al Qaeda.

Now that he's gone, we are in no way more safe than before. He was merely a high-profile figurehead, besides being a deranged, megaloma-hole.

Bin Laden founded the group, but the nature of the beast is such that we have always needed to change global attitudes about the US and the west in order to win, not just kill terrorist "leaders."

In sum, I think Mark Twain said it best - "I’ve never wished a man dead. But, I have read some obituaries with great pleasure.”

On To Number 2 Most Wanted

"Bert, whose notorious and well-documented roles in international terror, drug-dealing, and political repression have made him into one of the most-courted advisers by dictators, mafiosi, contract killers, and terrorists throughout the globe, has forged a hellish alliance with Osama bin Ladin to unleash their twisted evil brand of apocalyptic terror throughout the globe!" - WeeklyUniverse.com

Homeowner "Foreclosed" On Wells Fargo

"To get the levy, he presented the court clerk with his default judgment and got the Writ of Execution and the Instructions for Levy which he delivered to the sheriff's office. He paid them a $50 deposit to cover their administrative costs. A local sheriff then went into the Wells Fargo branch office and took an inventory and posted notice that nothing could be removed. The court also gave him several posters which he was expected to xerox and post around town." - Link (consumerist.com)

Frank W. Buckles

"President Obama paid tribute Monday to the last surviving American veteran of World War I who passed away on Sunday." - Link (CNN) and Link

Articles, Old and New

Haven't had a chance to update in a while. Here's a deluge that should keep my avid followers busy.

It’s the Economy, Girlfriend

Volcker’s Advice

Samsung Puts a Little Corn Into Its Cellphones

Congress Passes Wide-Ranging Bill Easing Bank Laws

Study Finds Activity in Brain That Seems to Be Shut Down

Real Americans, Please Stand Up

Santa Left a Forwarding Address: The North Pole

In the Clouds, Sitting Watch Over Paradise

Quebec Family Dies as Home Disappears Into Crater

Dear A.I.G., I Quit!

Lion opens family's car door with his teeth

Getting to know the Hitlers

Aquarium lowers water levels after feeding turtles brussel sprouts

'Midnight knitter' covers NJ town in yarn

Woman gives birth three hours after finding she was pregnant

Mother sets fire to her daughter's gloating rapist

Family who are 'too fat to work' say £22,000 worth of benefits is not enough

Tiger, lion and bear form unusual friendship

Sperm cells created from female embryo

Socks the cat survives 34 days trapped inside metal container by licking condensation

How a little old lady spent 23 years single-handedly dismantling her cottage brick by brick and rebuilding it 100 miles away

Daring mouse show who's boss as it scares off leopard and steals its lunch

Adventurer attaches 55 helium balloons to an office chair to soar to 15,000 feet

100-year-old celebrates her birthday by smoking 170,000th cigarette

Giant 'chicken droppings catapult' set up by businessman to protect premises from arsonists

Everest climber returns to mountain to bury woman he was forced to abandon 9 years ago

Barking but true: The touching bond between a Rottweiler and a wolf cub

Couple told they cannot have their children back after being wrongfully accused of abuse to take court battle to Europe

Rodent strikes a pose for budding fashion photographer

The mother who gets her 13-year-old to behave... by giving her cigarettes

Cheney curses senator over Halliburton criticism

Los Angeles approves Arizona business boycott

Oil inspectors took company gifts, watchdog group finds

Two arrested after Obama effigy found on campus

114-year-old U.S. woman to be world's oldest

Senate overrides Bush's water bill veto

Brothers share wife to secure family land

Galaxy may be full of 'Earths,' alien life

'DIY' kidney machine saves girl

Internet use 'good for the brain'

Kevin Connolly's guide to American culture

Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear'

Giving up my iPod for a Walkman

Pirates hit navy ship 'in error'

A Real Apology ... For Joe Barton's Grammar

Finding the Flexibility to Survive

Iran's Terrifying Facebook Police

Fundamentalism, Friends In High Places

Fluegel's 'B-Flat' Starts on a Good Note

Who owns Colorado's rainwater?

Ug99 Wheat Rust - A 'time bomb' for world wheat crop

Isolated by her appearance, she yearned for a place in the world

Hippopotamus on menu at Beijing zoo

Bush opens 3m acres of Alaskan forest to logging

Girl, 10, tasered by police officer

Fugitive worked for Homeland Security

British NASA hacker to face U.S. trial

Finnish patient gets new jaw from own stem cells

The Three Wise Men: Ancient Text Differs from Bible Tale of the Magi

Ex-Marine Kills 300-Pound Bear With Log

The Gay Mafia That's Redefining Liberal Politics

The Four-Day Workweek Is Winning Fans

Senator Dodd renews call against telecom immunity

Breaking News & Must-Read Stories

Man weds four brides on the same day

Class surprises lesbian teacher on wedding day

Butler who saw racial history being remade

Under the Needle: Building a foundation for future work

Japanese Man Certified as Double A-Bomb Victim

Pup May Have Saved Wandering Toddler's Life, Mom Says

Doctor saves boy's life with power drill

Wildlife photographer captures rare glimpse inside the kangaroo pouch

Heavy metal cure for constipation

PS3 Folding@home sets Guinness World Record

Microsoft's sex-obsessed RoboSanta spouts filth at children

Bush Acknowledges Existence Of Carbon Dioxide

FBI denies file exposing nuclear secrets theft

Man jailed in photo incident awarded $8,000

Arrested for wheel lock 'gun'

'Major Discovery' Primed To Unleash Solar Revolution

What I'm Reading

Here's a glance at some of the current Fōdor -

Giant List Of Data Brokers To Opt Out Of

The Yoshimoto Cube

Centipede shield offers 64 I/O pins

How do Mecanum wheels work?

Make a pogo pin testing jig

Swiveling Balcony Hoist

The Amazing Spider-Dog

coprophagy

Man Proposed in Sewer, Woman Flushed and As-Septic

Poof! 5 Magic Word Origins

Optimus Prime Out of Truck Parts

The Top 10 Canines of Science

Ebola Cured in Monkeys -- Are Humans Next?

15 Great Movies That Were Never Finished

How Dinosaurs Learned to Fly

Painting On The Human Form To Save Tigers

Clarke and Dawe Explain the Oil Spill

Nissan LEAF Electric Car Sounds Revealed

22 Fictional Characters Whose Names You Don’t Know

Eggs-straordinary! Harriet the hen could crack the record

12 animals mistaken for mythical creatures

Business card turns into brushless DC motor, is awesome

Algae-powered lamp

Wiimote Rubens' tube

The Ten Most Infamous Pirates

Photo captures couple together 15 years before they met

Squatters cozy up in mansion

Ten Days in a Mad-House by Nellie Bly

Wiltshire vicar revives ancient archery law

Did Bear Grylls Really Eat That?

Multiple Covers of The Legend of Zelda Theme Music

Blind Dog Has Her Own Seeing-Eye Dog - Paw Nation

Australian 'angel' saves lives at suicide spot

THE JOHNNY CASH PROJECT

The 10 Funniest Movie Credits Of All Time

Dwight Eschliman Photography

Webcast video now available: First steps with Arduino

Beautiful plumbing pipe lamps

Singing "The Flight of the Bumblebee"

13 Things Worth Knowing About Super Mario

Scientists Make Progress Toward Suspended Animation

The Not-So-Sunny Side of America's Island State

Things I Learned from Chuck Jones

Diverting the Mississippi Could Help Protect Marshlands

The Dog Who Saved the World Cup for England

Why Our Brains Are Fooled by Illusions

New Xbox 360 vs Xbox 360 Original... fight!

What's going on with the HP Slate?

Belkin Conserve lineup will make you feel even worse about all the electricity you're wasting

New Xbox 360 guide: Microsoft's slim console explained

Netflix for Xbox 360 adds search in November

Sprint to begin throttling data this summer? (update: not exactly)

Adobe expects Flash on 250 million smartphones by end of 2012

HTC EVO 4G's graphics capped at 30FPS?

Mozilla bundles WebM support into nightly Firefox builds

Samsung shocks the pico projector world with SP-H03

LuminAR robot finally shows us what pico projectors were meant for (video)

Michael Grätzel, inventor of the dye-sensitized solar cell, wins 2010 Millennium Technology Prize (video)

Strict Abortion Measures Enacted in Oklahoma

"The Oklahoma Legislature voted Tuesday to override the governor’s vetoes of two abortion measures, one of which requires women to undergo an ultrasound and listen to a detailed description of the fetus before getting an abortion."

"...Oklahoma’s law goes further, mandating that a doctor or technician set up the monitor so the woman can see it and describe the heart, limbs and organs of the fetus. No exceptions are made for rape and incest victims." - NYTimes

Youngest Mother

"Perhaps the most discomfiting record of this nature involves the youngest person ever to give birth, reputedly a five-year-old girl — not only because such a record posits that a child barely of kindergarten age (presumably involuntarily) underwent an experience we associate with physical and psychological maturity, but also because it implies the commission of an act now considered to be nothing less than child molestation."

"Lina's father was temporarily jailed on suspicion of incest, but he was released for a lack of evidence and authorities were never able to determine who fathered Lina's child." - Snopes.com