- If it’s been said once, it hasn’t been said nearly enough.
A convicted cop killer who has learned to play a member of the woodwind family
of instruments is clearly a man or woman who has become a new person and shown
their journey of redemption to be complete. That person is clearly ready to
re-enter society….according to that convicted murderer and his or her
attorneys, of course. It’s a legal defense that isn't used nearly often enough,
but former Black Panthers member Herman Bell is putting it to use as he
seeks parole after serving 42 years in prison for murdering two police officers
on patrol in New York City in 1971. Bell isn't denying his guilt, but he is
rejecting the parole board’s repeated refusal to set him free. The story of how
Bell ambushed NYPD officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones as they were on
foot patrol in Harlem is well-known and so is his long-running quest for a
return to society. At the center of his claim is that he has….wait for it….learned
to play the flute while behind bars. “Mr. Bell presented the Board with an
extraordinary record of achievements while incarcerated, a positive
psychological evaluation, a strong release plan, and numerous letters of
support from all walks of society,” his legal team wrote in its court filing. “On
his own initiative, Mr. Bell has studied music theory and learned to play the
flute.” Great, now he has something to do to entertain himself behind bars for
the rest of his life, along with being thankful that he didn’t receive the
death penalty, which some cop killers do. Many, including Piagentini’s wife,
oppose parole on any grounds. “He should never, ever get out of prison,” Diane
Piagentini said. Sounds like she won't be attending the prison flute
recital when Bell gets his big solo………
- The bell of the ball smashed one and all at the box office
this weekend. “Cinderella” opened to $70 million in domestic dollars, bringing
in as much money as every other movie out this weekend to rout the field. It
was one of two new movies to top the field, as Liam Neeson’s “Run All Night”
ranked second in its first weekend of release with $11 million. “Kingsman:
The Secret Service” actually rose one spot back to third place for the frame,
adding $6.3 million to its coffers for a five-week domestic haul of $107.3
million. “Focus” fell back two spots to fourth place with a $5.8 million
weekend, adding $5.9 million to an overall domestic earnings total that stands
at a modest $44 million in three weeks. The biggest free fall of the top 10 was
“Chappie,” which tumbled from the top spot all the way down to fifth place as
its earnings dipped 56 percent to a scant $5.8 million in its second weekend. The
tightly bunch middle of the top 10 pack included “The Second Best Exotic
Marigold Hotel” in sixth place with $5.7 million as the critical favorite has
churned out $18 million in its first two weeks. “The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out
of Water” stayed in the top 10 for the sixth straight week with a so-so $4.1
million. The animated not-so-epic has cartooned its way to $154.7 million so
far, but could be on its way out of the top 10 soon. Eighth place belonged to “McFarland,
USA,” which sprinted to $3.7 million this weekend and has done solid,
unspectacular business for four weeks to the tune of $34.9 million overall. “American
Sniper” shot back into the top 10 after a week away, banking $3 million to make
its hulking 12-week take $341.5 million and counting. “The DUFF” claimed the
final top 10 spot with $2.9 million, giving the teen comedy $8.5 million
through four weeks. “Fifty Shades of Grey” (No. 11) and “The Lazarus Effect”
(No. 12) both lost their top 10 spots from last week……….
- Perfectly plated, Maldives President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
When one of your biggest political rivals is charged with a crime, railroaded
in court in a sham trial and sentenced to 13 years in prison and the
international community is enraged to the point of demanding intervention,
simply tell everyone to respect the legal process and all will be fine. Gayoom
trying to shut up the rest of the world by insisting that it respect the court
verdict that sentenced his political opponent to 13 years in prison against an
outcry of enraged human rights supporters is equal parts hilarious and
delusional. Nothing screams “secure in my power” quite like a written statement
telling "international partners to engage constructively, based on mutual
respect and dialogue." The outrage came after a decision late last week
convicting former President Mohamed Nasheed of having a senior judge arrested
illegally when he was president three years ago. The court deemed the arrest to
be akin to an abduction, but if you believe the angry nations and human rights
groups who raised concerns over the judicial procedure, this trial and its
result are the true crime. Nasheed became the first democratically elected
president of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation in 2008 and in a plot twist
that just might have something to do with why he was on trial at all, he ended a
30-year autocratic rule by the current president's half-brother Maumoon Abdul
Gayoom. Payback served by others so you can keep your hands clean while also
imprisoning your enemy for more than a decade, all under the guise of a fair
legal process, is the best………
- Getting fired for being fat and unreliable is no fun. Former Indianapolis Colts running back Trent
Richardson is asking an arbitrator to take some of the sting out of his release
by the Colts, specifically by restoring the $3.184 million he was to make
during the 2015 season. The cherubic, perennially disappointing former
University of Alabama star has filed a grievance against the team for voiding
the money he was due next season in the hopes of recouping at least some of
that cash. A clause in his contract allowed the Colts to avoid paying the final
year of Richardson's rookie contract because he was suspended for two games the
day before the AFC Championship Game, a ban enforced because he failed to
notify the team he would be missing a walk-through practice the day before the
New England game when his wife was in the hospital for pregnancy complications.
That incident came at the end of a season in which Richardson also missed
making weight 14 times, an issue that also dogged him during his stint in
Cleveland before being traded to Indianapolis. "We had made an agreement
where I'd weigh 230 pounds, but it turns out that I was supposed to be 227
pounds and they didn't tell me that," Richardson said. "We've got a
list of things we can use against the Colts where I can get my money back. They
were fining me for failing to meet conduct code. Not making weight is not conduct
code." Late last week, Richardson characterized his tenure with the Colts
as “a bad marriage” and with one partner failing to take care of themselves,
packing on the pounds and not being where they were supposed to be and the
other cutting them off financially, it looks like a very apt description. What
no one is disputing is that Richardson boasts a pathetic average of 3.3 yards
per carry for his career and has a grand total of three rushing touchdowns the
past two seasons……….
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