The Cafe' [Think Tank]

WASHINGTON — The number of young black men and teenagers who either killed or were killed in shootings has risen at an alarming rate since 2000, a new study shows. The study, to be released Monday by criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, comes as FBI data is showing that murders have leveled off nationwide. Not so for black teens, the youngest of whom saw dramatic increases in shooting deaths, the Northeastern report concluded.   Last year, for example, 426 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 were killed in gun crimes, the study shows. That marked a 40 percent increase from 2000. Similarly, an estimated 964 in the same age group committed fatal shootings in 2007 _ a 38 percent increase from seven years earlier. The number of offenders is estimated because not all crimes are reported, said Northeastern criminologist James Alan Fox, who co-authored the study. "Although the overall rate of homicide in the United States remains rela...

Hottest mugshot ever? A picture of 30-year-old convicted felon Jeremy Meeks on the Stockton Police Department Facebook page has gone viral because it's so "dreamy."  Meeks was arrested Wednesday on felony weapons charges during a sweep of the Western Ranch area of Stockton, police said. Stockton Police Department Dreamy mugshot photo of convicted California felon goes viral While Stockton police posted his mugshot to share information about his arrest with the public, his chiseled features and piercing blue eyes proved to be a big hit with women.  A few seemed smitten by his eye teardrop tattoo.  As of Thursday afternoon, Meeks' photo had received more than 23,000 likes and nearly 6,000 comments, most of them describing him as "gorgeous," "dreamy," 'hot" and "incredibly handsome." "I am in love with a criminal!" one woman ...

Philadelphia Police Dept. August 24, 2012: Philadelphia Police release pictures of the two men they say are responsible for the murder of Officer Moses Walker, Jr. One of two men charged in the slaying of an off-duty Philadelphia police officer has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder and robbery. Chancier McFarland, 21, also agreed to testify against his co-defendant, Rafael Jones, 25, who could face the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the August 2012 shooting death of 40-year-old officer Moses Walker Jr., prosecutors said. Authorities said Walker was in street clothes and walking to a north Philadelphia bus stop after an overnight shift when two men crossed the street and tried to rob him. Police said the 19-year veteran was able to draw his gun but was shot in the chest, stomach and arm.  McFarland pleaded guilty Thursday. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that he gave one-word answers during the one-hour hearing. Judge Glenn Bronson told t...

Police in Philadelphia are searching for the gunman who shot and killed one of their own early Saturday morning. Authorities say Officer Moses Walker Jr. had just finished his shift at the 22nd district at 17th Street and Montgomery Avenue, when he said shot to death on a North Philly street a few blocks from her police station. The 19 year veteran, who was in street clothes, was found face down lying on his gun by fellow officers around 6:30 a.m. Saturday.  He was rushed to Hahnemann Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.  It is believed he was walking to a bus stop when he was murdered on Cecil B. Moore Street. Forty-year old Walker, who was not married and had no children, was also a deacon at Deliverance Evangelist Church at 20 th  and West Lehigh Avenue. No  arrests have been made Case updates: Mother sentenced, 2 men face trial Mayor Michael Nutter says goodbye to fallen Philadelphia police officer Moses Walker Jr. during a...

 Ronald Davis said he and family members are displeased that the man who shot their son has not yet been placed in prison. The father of Jordan Davis said he and his family are dismayed that Michael Dunn, the man who shot the 17-year-old teenager in November 2012 after an argument over loud music, has not yet been sentenced to serve time in prison. Dunn was convicted in February of three counts of attempted murder for shooting at a vehicle with several teenagers. But a mistrial was declared on the first-degree murder charge in the shooting death of Davis, after the jury couldn't agree on a verdict. The state of Florida said it will retry Dunn on the first-degree murder charge. A judge in Jacksonville has delayed the second trial after Dunn’s attorneys said they needed addition time to prepare. Meanwhile, Dunn faces up to 60 years in prison for the attempted murder convictions. “It’s very disturbing that he has not been sentenced yet,” said Ronald Davis, in an in...

Edward Snowden (Video still from The Texas Tribune)   Published time: March 10, 2014 18:10 Edited time: March 10, 2014 22:30 Speaking remotely from Russia on Monday, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden told attendees at the SXSW Interactive conference in Austin, Texas that encryption is still a powerful deterrent against government surveillance. Nearly nine months to the day after he revealed himself to be the source responsible for a cache of leaked NSA documents, Snowden participated via video link in a conversation with two representatives from the American Civil Liberties Union to discuss encryption and surveillance at one of the largest tech conference in the United States. Snowden, 30, said he chose the SXSW Interactive conference to make remarks because the event attracts “the folks who can really fix things” on a technical level as ...

Though it might be hard to believe, Chrysler has ordered 93 original Dodge Vipers that were donated to schools and community colleges around the country for educational purposes to be destroyed. A handful of these rare American icons have already been crushed, as evidenced in the videos below, and it looks like Chrysler is determined to see the rest end up the same way. MUST SEE:  Transformers 4 Extended Trailer Released: Video Perhaps one of the rarest is this blue 1992 Viper pre-production unit with VIN #4, which was donated to South Puget Sound Community College in Olympia, Washington. Yes, we’re talking about one of the very first Vipers to ever be built, and Chrysler wants it flattened like a pancake. This, despite it having an estimated $250,000 value and some of the most avid  car  collectors keen for it, including Jay Leno who reportedly had an offer for it turned down by Chrysler during the 1990s. South Puget Sound College Professor Norm Chapman...

Reuters / Amir Cohen Share on tumblr Tags Army ,  Conflict ,  History ,  Human rights , Israel ,  Politics ,  Protest ,  Religion A group of Israeli teenagers has sent an open letter to Prime Minister Netanyahu declaring their opposition to being drafted into the military because of Israel’s policies surrounding West Bank settlements, which they view as “human rights violations.” The letter was signed by 50 teens and published on the Facebook page of an Israeli pacifist group called Yesh Gvul, which means  ‘There is a Limit.' “ The main reason for our refusal is our opposition to the occupation of the Palestinian territories by the army,”  the teenagers wrote, as quoted by AFP. The teenagers pointed out that the army plays a huge role in what Israel does in the West Bank, adding that it has a negative effect on both Palestinians and Israeli society. “There are actions that are considered war crimes according to in...

Flags fly at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels during a NATO ambassadors meeting on the situation in Ukraine and Crimea region, March 2, 2014 (Reuters / Yves Herman) Share on tumblr Trends Ukraine turmoil Tags Conflict ,  NATO ,  Politics ,  USA ,  Ukraine The US and NATO are ready to overlook the nationalism and racism of many of the groups that make up the Ukrainian opposition in Ukraine in order to have a pro-NATO and pro-US government installed in Kiev, foreign policy columnist Conn Hallinan told RT. The neoconservative view of the world is driving US and even European foreign policy in Ukraine. This includes a deliberately aggressive foreign policy that involves pushing NATO right up to the Russian border, explained Hallinan. “There is a bloc of political elites, economic elites in the US that pretty much have a kind of un-reconstructed view of the world that's really like the Cold War. And a group of them are neoconserv...

F-16 Fighting Falcon (AFP Photo) hare on tumblr The US is sending a dozen F-16 fighter jets and nearly 300 service personnel to Poland by Thursday as part of a training exercise in response to the crisis in neighboring Ukraine, the Polish defense ministry confirmed. The agreement to deploy US military forces in Poland was made between US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, and Poland’s Minister of National Defense Tomasz Siemoniak during a telephone conversation on Sunday, March 9, 2014, according to a statement on the official website of the Polish Ministry of National Defense. "The squadron will number twelve F-16 planes and will transport 300 soldiers,"  Polish Defense Ministry spokesman, Jacek Sonta, confirmed to AFP. Initially, the training exercise was planned to be smaller but was increased and pushed forward because of the  “tense political situation”  in neighboring Ukraine, added Sonta. The ministry also said that the aim of sending th...