Free Talk Live - Published news - Incompetence

The Majority That Wasn't: When 50% of the Vote Just Isn't Good Enough

RottingNation — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:26:40 +0000

A man won - or so he thought - an election with 52 percent of the vote. But city bureaucrats won't let him take his seat because of the strange way they define a majority.

West Virginia spends $24 million on routers

Razor512 — Sun, 03 Mar 2013 19:58:27 +0000

Government sure knows how to efficiently spend money. West Virginia has spent $24 million on 1,164 Cisco model 3945 branch routers for their government offices (adding up to 1 high end enterprise level router per 13 government employees). Each router is able to handle hundreds (or even thousands) of simultaneous users depending on their bandwidth needs.

State set to takeover Detroit city government

Cyphase — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 05:50:18 +0000

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder announced Friday that the state will take over the operations of Detroit's city government due to its long-standing financial problems. The takeover is short of a formal bankruptcy, but it will include appointing an emergency manager who would have many of the same powers as a bankruptcy judge. It could mean throwing out contracts with public employee unions and vendors that the city can't afford, and could lead to further cutbacks in already depleted city services.

Half-finished $208-million DMV technology overhaul canceled

Cyphase — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 16:12:14 +0000

California's computer problems, which have already cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, have mounted as state officials cut short work on a $208-million DMV technology overhaul that is only half done. The project was intended to revamp the process for registering vehicles and issuing driver's licenses, with the entire overhaul scheduled to be finished this year. But state officials said they were canceling the vehicle registration component because little progress was being made. The decision is a setback for the Department of Motor Vehicles, which has a history of such stumbles.

Mexican vigilante groups provide security where government has failed

Jordan Viray — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:57:45 +0000

Mexicans in Guerrero provide for their own security in response to the government's failure to protect them from violence in the drug war. Although forced by the state's gang to use inadequate and outdated weapons, these groups have had real effect in reducing gang violence and extortion in their communities.

Sheriff makes policy changes after man shot 16 times in bed

wkth1 — Sat, 12 Jan 2013 16:05:49 +0000

Relations between the King County Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Corrections have been strained by the shooting of Dustin Theoharis, who last winter was shot multiple times, survived and plans to bring a civil suit.
The incident occurred inside an Auburn-area house Feb. 11. The man who was shot, Dustin Theoharis, now 29, survived multiple wounds to his arms, legs, torso and jaw, including fractures that required a series of surgeries.

"He is thankful to be alive, but he has a long way to go to recover," said his attorney, Erik Heipt, of Seattle.

People Are Talking About The Platinum Trillion Dollar Coin

Rodeen — Fri, 04 Jan 2013 19:04:31 +0000

An arcane idea that started on finance blogs in the summer of 2011-- that Tim Geithner should mint a trillion dollar platinum coin to avert the debt ceiling -- is now seriously taking off...

The 6 Most Embarrassing War Stories of All Time

Karrde188 — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 19:09:25 +0000

We've previously discussed some of the most hilarious ways grown adults, tasked with either the defense or expansion of their nation, have managed to dick things up so completely that it crosses into the realm of comedy. Here are a few more instances of people stepping onstage in the military theater and splitting their pants in front of everyone.

kids were stabbed in China yesterday; anyone care about that?

kristopher2505 — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 20:34:33 +0000

22 people were stabbed in China yesterday... There are no prayer messages on facebook for their families; the person who told it to me was trying to make a point about gun control... So I have to ask the question, are people's capacity for empathy limited to borders on a map in the statist world, or is it that the news focuses on things that only affect the United States in some way?

Entire Ukrainian govt resigns, will be replaced by "The Family"

phonon — Tue, 04 Dec 2012 16:45:03 +0000

Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov and the entire government resigned Monday in a surprise move after controversial elections as the economy teeters on the brink of recession. The presidency said President Viktor Yanukovych had accepted Azarov's request to give up his post and become an MP, a move expected to be repeated by several cabinet ministers. It remained unclear who would fill the powerful post of premier, with some analysts speculating it could go to a member of the elite close to Yanukovych known as the "Family".

Rotherham council holds inquiry after taking couple's foster children

Jking8767 — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 19:56:42 +0000

An urgent review is under way at Rotherham borough council of the decision to remove three young children from their foster parents because the couple were UK Independence party members.

5 Awesome Vigilantes Who Solved Crimes Better than the Cops

Karrde188 — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:52:05 +0000

When we hear about a nasty crime being committed, the most common reaction is saying, "Oh no, that's terrible!" and then going back to launching birds through the air on our iPhones. But, while most of us think that it's best to leave the crime fighting to those who are actually trained (and paid) for it, sometimes a normal citizen will decide to take the law into his or her own hands ... and end up doing a way better job than the cops.

Cop Trying To Shoot Dog In Drug Raid Shoots Fellow Officer

wtfk — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 02:51:58 +0000

They've gotten so trigger-happy that in their zeal to kill the animals on drug raids, they're taking each other as collateral damage.

Homeless man arrested for charging phone in park

srq_hiker — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 22:34:57 +0000

spends day in jail for charging his phone - charges were dropped

Italian Scientists Sent To Jail For Failing To Predict Earthquake

iambinarymind — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 18:50:23 +0000

A year and a half ago, we wrote about some Italian seismologists who were being tried for manslaughter after a risk assessment they wrote up, in which they concluded that a series of small earthquakes along a faultline wasn't that serious, and the risk of a big earthquake was not that high. About a week later, a 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck, destroying a bunch of buildings and killing over 300 people.

The serial killer who killed nobody

somsovjet — Sun, 21 Oct 2012 17:48:09 +0000

Sture Bergwall (a.k.a. Thomas Quick) confessed to several murders while drugged out of his mind by psychiatrists at a psychatric clinic. He was convicted of 8 murders without any technical evidence whatsoever. He was often led by interrogators to give "correct" answers about details in the murders so that he eventually got "close enough" for conviction. A sad story about the Swedish criminal justice system...