Minneapolis "serious" crime up 13%

It took until the last day of the year, but someone at the Red Star has finally been paying attention to Rambix and the Red Star. Hundreds of posts since April of 2005 have documented violent and vicious crimes in the Twin Cities in general, and Minneapolis in particular. The Red Star has discovered the trend on this day, December 31, 2005: "Serious crimes up in Twin Cities; They have increased 13 percent in Minneapolis and 6 percent in St. Paul, and police are planning changes in 2006."

Reports of the most serious crimes in Minnesota's two largest cities rose last year due in large part to robberies and aggravated assaults in Minneapolis and auto thefts and commercial burglaries in St. Paul, according to preliminary statistics released this week.

If the trend dictated by the St. Paul figures holds true, it will be the first rise in serious crime there since 2001.

In Minneapolis, while homicides fell, aggravated assaults jumped 23 percent and robberies rose 22 percent.

These figures reveal a significant rise in violent crime, which, by the way, appears to be escalating even throughout the usually slow winter season. What does this foretell about spring, when the weather warms? We saw the explosion of robberies in the spring of 2005 by armed gangs of thugs. There is no indication those people have been put away; at least the Red Star hasn't reported so.

If the thugs of 2005 haven't yet been caught and punished, that means they're still out there, somewhere. It also mean other criminals will see Minneapolis as easy pickings.

Rmabix remains very pro-police, but the upsurge in violence indicates problem with how we are approaching crime-solving. While the officers on the street "get it", the brass, starting with Minneapolis Chief McManus, are hesitant, unwilling, or unable to crack down on criminals. This may be due to a variety of reasons. They will likely blame funding cuts, or liberal judges. While the latter has validity, the former is a cop-out (no pun intended).

Or could it be a police mindset? Keep in mind the headline above, while recalling 5th Precinct Commander Kris Arneson's response to Rambix' concerns over violent crime [in this case, the Uptown area] earlier this month:

"I’m not sure what you mean by violent crime, but I have addressed this issue recently on the news...In the last three months there have been three robberies in the Uptown area. One of them was the TCF Bank, another was an intoxicated man and he could only guess that is where he was, and the third was the unfortunate incident where a woman had her car taken at gunpoint. We have solved the TCF Bank robbery so far."

The crime statistics may tell inspector Arneson that there were only several robberies in the Uptown area for a recent 3 month period, but the news reports, much of it documented on Rambix and the Red Star, point to much more. So is there a problem with how the statistics are kept, in other words, how crime trends are categorized? Are we missing the overall trends? Well, the end of the year story in the Red Star finally reveals the "big picture".

Authorities in Minneapolis, where police have worked hard to crack down on drug activity, believe that criminals have turned to robbery to make a quick buck.

Here's the question Rambix would ask - Where are all these criminals coming from? Does anyone believe they are all home-grown? Are we importing everyone else's criminals? Conservatives have held that theory for a long time now. If someone would study the origin of the criminals arrested for violent crimes, the findings could be very enlightening.

More on this later.

Minneapolis robberies off the charts

Minneapolis will finish the year as it started - with another spike in violent crime. Channel 5 Eyewitness News reports a series of armed robberies on businesses, including the one on Christmas Eve Rambix wrote about that resulted in an attempted murder of the store clerk at the Longfellow Family Food grocery store, "Minneapolis searches for 3 serial robbers".

The Minneapolis Police Department is asking for the public’s help in identifying suspects in a series of business robberies. Robbers with similar descriptions, method of operation, and weapons, have hit at least eleven businesses over the last month, according to police.

No fooling around here, folks, these are very bad men.

Police say the suspects have fired their guns in several other robberies and are considered to armed and extremely dangerous. The three suspects are described as:

- Black Male, 17-22, light complexion, thin build, clean-shaven, 5-8 to 5-9, black clothing and a black bandana.

- Black Male, 20-25, dark complexion, medium build, 5-10 to 6-0, clean-shaven, black hat, white, pantyhose-like face covering, black hat and black clothing.

- Black Male, 18-22, 5-8, medium build, dark complexion, clean-shaven.

The following vehicle descriptions have been seen at or near the scene of several of these robberies. The vehicles are described as:

-Red or maroon, 2-dr. vehicle, possibly a Honda-type vehicle.

-Maroon Chevrolet Caprice, MN license similar to PME-621.

Anyone with any information is encouraged to call Minneapolis Police.

Call the police, call Rambix, or call mayor Ryback out from under his desk, but call someone.

Here's the WCCO TV report, "Police: Serial Armed Robbers Targeting Stores".

Police believe the same three suspects have been holding up businesses since Dec. 4, targeting mostly mom-and-pop grocery stores located between Central Avenue NE and 42nd Avenue South.

These criminals act as if they have nothing to lose, which brings the danger to a new level:

"It's almost a takeover-type robbery that's going on," said Mike Fossum of the Minneapolis Police Department. "They come in hard. Sometimes they fire their guns just for added effect."

People are worried and considering arming up:

Izzy Sallam said he's considering getting a gun after his store, Market Express, was held up for about $300 on Dec. 11.

"We're working hard to make our money here," Sallam said. "It's not easy for us just to step in (over) a few hundred bucks. That's not fair."

Hang in there, Mr. Sallam. We'll get these guys.



Here are two security camera photos from the WCCO TV web site:

Savage Milwaukee beating

No suspect descriptions are given other than their ages, but the police have 5 juveniles in line to be charged for the horrific and savage beating of a motorist who had the nerve to try to drive down the street in his own town last Monday night. Breitbart has the update: "5 Juveniles May Be Charged in Mob Beating".

MILWAUKEE - A prosecutor began reviewing possible charges Thursday against five juveniles in the brutal mob beating of a man yanked from his car while driving through a north side neighborhood. Two are 17 years old, two are 16 and one is 14, according to a police statement that did not give the genders of the suspects in the attack on Samuel McClain, a 50-year-old father of 12. Police continue to seek more suspects, the release said.

By all accounts, there was tremendous violence involved:

A group of as many as 15 youths punched, kicked and jumped on McClain after he honked for them to move out of the street Monday night, witnesses said.

McClain was in satisfactory condition Thursday at Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in suburban Wauwatosa, just three days after he arrived there, unable to breathe on his own.

Karen Brasel, a trauma surgeon and critical care specialist at Froedtert, said McClain was essentially in a coma after he was brought to the hospital.

He was "very lucky to be alive," Brasel said.

Now there are some who object to calling these criminals savages and animals because of racial overtones. You know who you are. Well, in this case the suspects have not been identified, other than by their ages. For all we know, this could have been a mob of white skinheads that beat a black man nearly to death. It could have been a group of boyscouts, or girlscouts (the news release specifically said the gender was not to be released at this time), or bible students.

So now that its clear that the perpetrators of this crime have not yet been identified in any meaningful way, Rambix will posit this: They are savages who have acted as if they were feral beasts. They need to be held to account, and crushed if they resist.

This should satisfy those that read more into the descriptions than is there. In other words, the criminals have been described by their actions, not by what or who they are.

Fill your crack pipe, Ma'am?

This guy may have squeaked under the wire for Idiot of the Year: "Hastings man arrested for selling drugs from gas station". He's been arrested for dealing meth from the local Shell Gas Station.

Apparently, everyone knew the law was sitting on the station, yet the dealing continued. He even sold drug paraphernelia in the open, as part of the store inventory, which is like flypaper for the cops. This seems to be prima facia evidence of a drug-addled brain.

For months, law enforcement officers in Hastings knew customers were buying drug paraphernalia from a local gas station. They couldn't do anything about it until, they say, the station manager sold meth to an undercover agent. "One of our undercover agents has purchased methamphetamines on four occasions from the shell gas station from Mr. Haugen," said Sgt. John Grant of the Dakota Co. Drug Task Force. Mr. Haugen is Michael Haugen, a store manager and former corrections
officer.

Now this former corrections officer will join his former charges behind bars, where he belongs. But he also may gain notoriety as Idiot of the Year.

Upper midwest "wilding"?

Fellow blogger Peter Swanson of Swanblog reminded Rambix of a phenomenon of the late 1980's known as "wilding", in which groups of thugs would descend upon an innocent person and beat or kill them for fun. Ann Coulter wrote about the aftermath of the Central Park [New York] jogger case, which brought "wilding" into the mainstream, and struck fear into the hearts of vulnerable citizens everywhere.

Rambix has written about two recent egregious cases locally, one in Minneapolis and one in St. Paul, both of which could reasonably be called "wilding". As with the New York attack, the local wildings appear to have a racial component - in all cases black on white: "St. Paul bus stop beating - racially motivated?".

The media virtually ignored the Minneapolis beating, while the St. Paul crime had more coverage.

While viscious crime has escalated over the past year in the Twin Cities, our neighbor to the east has problems of its own, "Several Questioned in Milwaukee Beating".

MILWAUKEE (AP) - At least 15 young people dragged a motorist out of his car and kicked and punched him after he honked his horn to get them to move out of the street, police said.

This is a classic case of a "perceived slight", or a pretext for response. The victim innocently does what any normal person would do - alert people blocking his way to move. The thugs in the street are simply looking for trouble, and the honking is the pretext. If it wasn't honking, it would have been looking at them wrong, wearing the wrong colors, or just about anything.

So offended were the animals that they resorted to "wilding":

MILWAUKEE (AP) - A motorist who was kicked, punched and left alone in the street after honking at a group of people suffered severe head trauma and may not survive, police said.

Several people were questioned by detectives after police and city officials asked for the public's help in finding the assailants, believed to be between 16 and 23 years old. It was the latest in a string of mob beatings in the city since 2002.

The thugs turned to feral, animalistic behavior, as was the case in the Central Park "wilding":

A group of people surrounded McClain's vehicle after he honked at them because they were in the middle of the street, said police spokeswoman Anne E. Schwartz.

The assailants, thought to be between 16 and 23 years old, yanked him from the car, beat and kicked him, she said.

Witnesses said they saw some attackers climb on cars and jump on the victim's head.

Unfortunately, Milwaukee has been here before:

Milwaukee's inner city had a string of mob beatings last year, but the most famous case was that of Charlie Young, who was beaten by more than a dozen people, mostly young boys, in September 2002. They chased him through the streets and beat him to death on a porch.

Then on July 4, 2004, 54-year-old David Rutledge, a schizophrenic, was robbed
and beaten and later died. Six teens were charged. One has been convicted, four had charges dropped when their confessions were ruled inadmissible and one is awaiting trial.

Four days after the attack on Rutledge, a 14-year-old boy was kicked, punched and hit in the head with a piece of lumber after he had exchanged words with a girl on a playground. She summoned older relatives, who allegedly beat the boy.

Two weeks after that, a Milwaukee man was beaten by a group of men after a girl in the neighborhood falsely accused him of indecently touching her.

And on July 29, 2004, a 16-year-old boy and his three brothers were beaten by a group armed with bats, bottles, sticks and socks stuffed with canned food, after someone with the victims called someone a derogatory term.

What civilized society would allow such behavior? Why are we allowing this to happen in our cities, or anywhere for that matter?

Minneapolis and St. Paul may not yet have reached the depths of depravity of some cities like Milwaukee, but they are making a vigorous run for it.

Where are our leaders? What say you Hennepin County Attorney Amy Klobuchar and Minneapolis Mayor Ryback? We know what Minneapolis Police Chief McManus has to say, but it's not comforting: "Doing right on safety downtown".

It's unfortunate that former police Sgt. Jim Kaju (Opinion Exchange, Dec. 19) feels unsafe in downtown Minneapolis just as we're hearing the opposite from those who live, work and shop in downtown.

In a September meeting, downtown businesses overwhelmingly told us that their employees and customers feel safer now than they did a year ago.

It's all relative, Chief. Rambix has documented the mayhem of nearly a year ago. If it's better now, it's not noticeable.

Our downtown is a vibrant hub of activity day and night, and I'm confident that we're taking the right steps and making the right innovations to keep downtown safe.

The "vibrant activity" is crime. Just ask the survivors of Thomas Dahl, for example, a family man beaten and killed for the offense of hanging out with friends in your fine city.

Look for the Rambix year-end roundup, then tell me, Chief, if citizens have reason to worry.

Talkin' 'bout a revolution

Are the United Kingdom and Europe turning right?

One of the myriad problems of those that practice liberalism is that when they come to power, they don't know when to stop (Unfortunately, conservatives are not immune to this disease, though on a much smaller scale). Encroachments on freedom in general, restricted speech in particular, government over the individual are hallmarks of liberal secular policy.

In light of the excesses, liberal governments have reached somewhat of a critical mass of failed policies "on the Continent", particularly in light of the foothold of radical Islamic terrorists throughout the more "tolerant" countries of Europe and the UK. Many have discovered that if you give the malcontents an inch, they'll take a mile (see: France).

While Spain buckled and threw up the white flag to the terrorists after the train bombings, other countries have developed nascent spines. Britain has reformed some laws to allow them to crack down on Islamic radicals who foment hatred and refuse to assimilate (see also: France). The Netherlands are finally becoming proactive after discovering that liberalism, hedonism, sodomy, and diversity and inclusion are not barriers to terrorism on their soil.

In addition to the countries that are set on a path of reform mostly through necessity, some countries, as yet unscathed by Islamic terrorists, are experiencing some "pre-emptive" reform. Scotland is one example where the youth have seen the failure of liberalism and socialism, and are looking for an alternative world view. By growing numbers, they are turning right:

Students 'line up to join Tories'

Scottish Conservatives have claimed the party has more student members than any other political party in the country.

The party said it had about 400 paid-up members across seven of the main Scottish
universities.

The secretary of Glasgow University Conservative Association said students had lined up to join during a freshers' fair at the start of term.

Deputy Tory leader Murdo Fraser said it proved the Tories were a real alternative for young people.

He said this was underlined by figures that dated from before the election of David Cameron as UK party leader.

Learning the historical failures of the left seems to have galvanized the leaders of tomorrow:

"Students in Scotland today face all kinds of problems which previous generations have not had to deal with," said Mr Fraser.

"These figures show that the Conservatives are the party to solve these problems and we all look forward to working towards the 2007 elections to do just that."

Gordon Wilson, Glasgow University Tory secretary, said: "We are by far the most active political group in the university and there is a real feeling of resurgence throughout the party."

We welcome them!

Bloggers are locked and loaded for 2006

Congrats to fellow MOB members Gary Miller, of Kennedy vs. The Machine and Craig Westover, of craigwestover.blogspot.com for getting interviewed for an AP story via Channel 5 Eyewitness News on blogging the 2006 elections: "Minnesota bloggers prepare for '06 elections".

"I'm crazy enough to think we can make a small difference in this race," said Gary Miller of Kennedy v. the Machine, a pro-Republican blog devoted to the Senate race.

Blogger Craig Westover says the diarists can shower time and attention on the races, allowing them to scoop newspapers, television and radio.

Like reporters, bloggers get tips and access to events. "They're going to eat the newspapers' lunch," said Westover, of craigwestover.blogspot.com.

Dozens of political blogs in Minnesota represent wide-ranging points of view, but more are conservative than liberal.

And there's more:

The cream of the crop is Power Line, Time magazine's blog of the year in 2004 after the conservative blog publicized problems with a "60 Minutes" report about President Bush's military record. Contributor Scott W. Johnson says 120,000 people read Power Line regularly, with 60,000 to 80,000 checking it daily.

Another Minnesota blogger is Ed Morrissey, also known as Captain Ed of Captain's Quarters, who writes for publications including the Washington Post and the Weekly Standard. The Minnesota Democrats Exposed blog scored a scoop in September, beating other media with the news that developer Kelly Doran would switch his campaign from Senate to governor.

2006 is going to be a fun year for conservative bloggers!

How low can you go?

Anti-Strib has the "Star Tribune is a socialist commie culture-of-death propaganda organ" angle covered here on this story.

Rambix will take the "Driver of the crashed vehicle who left a woman and her unborn baby to die awaits the burning fires of Hell" angle.

Police are searching for the driver of a green Ford Explorer that crashed into a tree in south Minneapolis on Christmas morning, leaving a 21-year-old pregnant woman, who was a passenger, to die. "The woman was taken by ambulance to Hennepin County Medical Center, where she and her fetus died," said Officer Ron Reier, a department spokesman.

Why is it that the wrong people die in these accidents? The driver should be in the morgue, not the innocent mother and her child.

The Explorer was facing northbound on the west side of 3rd Avenue S. It struck a large elm tree on the passenger side, leaving scrape marks on the tree and broken windshield glass more than six feet up the tree's trunk. Reier said the crash did severe damage to the sport-utility vehicle.

Yet the perp walks. Here's hoping the boys in blue find this criminal fast.

UPDATE from the WCCO News web site; a photo of the victim:

Crime you don't read about

Yet more thanks to a fellow blogger, this time for a tip from OctaneBoy of Ravenscroft Dog Farm.

I tend to repeat this a bit, mostly for newer readers, but this blog will focus not necessarily on the big headline-grabbing crimes (because those are high profile and well-covered already), but on the no-less-serious, but under-reported crimes that affect "normal" people in the course of their normal lives. In other words, other than the gangster on gangster.

OctaneBoy received a leaflet recently, which documented a violent gun-crime which occurred in a neighborhood previously thought to be safe. Here is the content of the leaflet:

"I am asking if you could keep your eyes open for a brown antique looking leather purse that was stolen from me last night around 2am. I was parked in the lot behind Gobys [at Snelling and Randolph in St. Paul, MN] and was held up at gun point, and was forced to give the man my purse. The purse contained two single sets of keys, which are of a high value. If you see the purse, perhaps in you alley or even trash area, please contact me. Also, if you could spread the word to other neighbors in the area, I would really appreciate the help.

612-XXX-XXXX [ed. - the number is scratched because worldwide distribution may be beyond the scope the victim intended. If you have information, you can notify the St. Paul Police]

Thanks."

There are a couple of considerations here which remain unknown. Is the armed robbery a trend, or an isolated incident? Is it considered high[er] risk behavior to park behind a bar at 2:00 am? Should that be considered high risk?

The area of Snelling and Randolph isn't bad, but St. Paul is funny in that there are pockets of high-crime areas alongside some very expensive real estate. In other words, the criminals don't have to travel far.

In any event, you won't read this in the Pioneer Press or the Red Star, even though your safety may be at risk.

St. Paul bus stop beating - racially motivated?

Hat Tip to Peter Swanson of Swanblog, who managed to dig up the story referred to in this previous Rambix post: "St. Paul bus stop beating - haven't we been here before?". Peter answered a solicitation to find a link for the story on the St. Paul bus stop beating in which a (reverse) hate crime was inferred.

Here is the story on the KARE 11 News website from 12/21/05, "Police investigating brutal beating of teen".


Here's the opening quote, which has been scrubbed from subsequent reports:

Saint Paul Police say they are investigating a beating Tuesday night that might have been racially motivated.

Barely a block away from the State Capitol, near the bus stop at the intersection of Rice and University, police say an 18-year-old man was severely beaten.

Around 10:20 p.m. a witness called 911 and said the man had been attacked by four or five teenagers.

Police say the 18-year-old [victim] is white and his attackers are black.

Very interesting, no? You didn't see that angle in the Red Star.

Crime doesn't take a holiday

Although it's not yet the new year, Rambix feels refreshed and well-fed, and looks forward to electronically pursuing and exposing the criminal scum and hapless politicians who allow the criminal element to thrive in Minnesota's largest metro area.

Let's get right to it.

2005 years after 3 wise men set forth to a manger to bring gifts to the One who would die for out sins, a criminal who did not learn the lesson chose to rob the Longfellow Family Food grocery store on the 3400 block Minnehaha Avenue S., on Christmas Eve, as reported by Sue Turner of WCCO News:

Police said the robber demanded money from the register at Longfellow Family Foods and then demanded an employee for their personal money. At that point, the two got into a fight and the worker was shot in the stomach.The suspect escaped with the money. The victim was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center and was listed in serious, but stable, condition.

This is why robbery is a violent crime - when you bring a weapon to the table, you should expect violence, and violence in fact was the result at the Longfellow Family Food grocery store on Christmas Eve. Because of this criminal's chosen path, a store clerk spent Christmas in the hospital.

Enjoy your measly take while you can, you evil sewer-rat, because they're coming to get you.

Rambix says. . .

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Twice victimized?

Acting with the urgency of the U.N. Security Council in the face of nuclear threats, the Minneapolis School District is "awaiting police reports" before deciding how to act in response to an in-school molestation of a little girl. Here's Rambix' original report: "Sickness in the Minneapolis Public Schools". And here's the Red Star report by Steve Brandt: "Police examining girl's claim of molestation".

Meanwhile, the mother is forced to keep her 2nd grader victim home from school to keep her out of harms way (still thinking of sending your kid to Minneapolis Public Schools?).

Vanessa Freeman said she has kept her daughter home for more than two weeks to shield her from the classmates the girl says molested her. Freeman said that, first, one boy, and then, in a separate incident, two boys, held her daughter down and fondled her. She said that all three boys are in her daughter's class. She said her daughter told a doctor of the abuse on Dec. 6, some time after it occurred.

Freeman reported the incidents to police but said that she was told that because the boys are younger than 10, the matter would be referred to child protection officials if the allegations are substantiated.

Does a referral to "child protection officials" sound like something that's going to be acted upon quickly? The mother/daughter need help now, and the animals that allegedly did this need to be quarantined until the public can be assured of safety.

Freeman said she asked Monday at a meeting with Hintz and other officials that the boys be shifted to another class, that her daughter be escorted when she leaves class and that the school designate a contact for her daughter. She said a district lawyer quashed a tentative deal.

How will this help other potential victims?

Earlier this week, she [the mother] posted her complaint [that the district wasn't responding] that the district was not responding on an electronic discussion list.

Interesting. She's always welcome to contact Rambix!

Shots ring out in Minneapolis

Patrons of Wendys on Lake St. in Minneapolis celebrate the pre-Christmas hours Minneapolis-style; the Red Star reports:

Two people were shot Thursday night in Minneapolis after one or more suspects fired several rounds from a semiautomatic weapon into a Wendy's restaurant on the 200 block of W. Lake Street.

Guns and gangs rule the streets in South Minneapolis along Lake Street. Most folks just want to survive and get home safely at night, but the bad elements come from far and wide to make things very uncomfortable. Just pray you're not sitting next to some homie at Wendys who is a target of a gang hit.

This shooting may not have been random, according to the Red Star:

It is unclear how many shooters there were or whether the victims were their intended targets, though it did appear that the shooting was not random, Reinhardt said.

[Photo courtesy CBS/WCCO]

The criminals are at large at the time of this posting.

WCCO Channel 4 also weighs in.

St. Paul bus stop beating - haven't we been here before?

The St. Paul bus stop beatdown is sickeningly reminiscent of a crime in the spring of 2005 in Minneapolis, covered ably by Swanblog. Here's a sample:

The Star Tribune finally covered the story of the 15 year-old boy who was dragged from a Minneapolis Metro Transit bus, beaten and robbed. There are a number of interesting twists to the media coverage, as well as the story itself.

The Strib used the word "riot" in a story about North Minneapolis, albeit quoting from the formal charges filed by authorities. This is noteworthy because "melee" was the term of art to describe racial unrest in 2002. The Star Tribune coverage of the 2002 riot was similar in that the state's largest newspaper was late with the story.

None of the coverage (here, here, and here) mentions this as a "hate crime." The local Fox/UPN affiliates did describe the taunts of "white boy."

The St. Paul case is frighteningly similar:

Five teenagers have been charged for an apparent random beating Tuesday at a St. Paul bus stop and police say they videotaped the entire thing.

Police say the 18-year-old man was beaten at the intersection of Rice St. and University Ave. in the shadow of the state capitol.

Police say six teens--who are between the ages of 14- and 17-years-old-- assaulted the man. Police have made five arrests, but the investigation is ongoing and more arrests are possible.

There was an early report that the criminals in this case, like the previous case, are black, and the victim a caucasion. This raises the spector of "reverse" hate crime, as with the Minneapolis incident. News reports with that angle seem to have been scrubbed, and that information no longer appears.

If anyone has a cite for early news reports on this matter which mention "hate crime", please email the URLs to: rambix@ix.netcom.com. Thank you.

Violent death...at the hospital?

This is one of those stories that one generally accepts as relatively routine - a death at a hospital. This story, however, seems to have a sinister undercurrent: "Police investigating St. Paul hospital death".

ST. PAUL (AP) - Police were investigating the death of a 79-year-old female patient who died of apparent head injuries at St. Joseph's Hospital.

Olivia Geller was being treated at the hospital for pneumonia. Last month, her body was found on the floor of her hospital room.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary. She's an elderly woman, after all, in a weakened state due to illness. The story takes a twist though:

According to an affidavit filed Wednesday in Ramsey County District Court, Geller sustained injuries in a fall, but she also had cuts on her face and bruises on her hand that could be possible defensive wounds.

There were signs of violence:

On Nov. 11, a nurse checked on Geller about 3 a.m. and found her drowsy, but awake, in bed wearing her hospital gown and an oxygen mask, the affidavit said.

About 20 minutes later, the nurse found Geller naked on the floor of her room - her gown, still tied in the back and snapped at the sleeves, was on a chair across the room. Geller was wearing the oxygen mask, which had blood in it, the affidavit said.

Geller had apparently struck the floor and an IV stand. She had a "bad bleed" in her brain, the affidavit said. She died the next morning.

Perhaps some of these things could be explained away, but here's where the story takes another ominous twist. And this was particularly shocking, considering the setting is a hospital, after all:

In the weeks surrounding Geller's death, there were "numerous reports" of people trespassing at the hospital, the affidavit said. Three days after the death, two people suspected of trespassing fought with hospital security and were arrested.

Sonnee said trespassers are not a chronic problem at the hospital.

So the trespassers are not chronic - are they acute? What's going on at St. Josephs, and why haven't those "incidents" been reported? Who are the people who were arrested, and why were they fighting authorities. . .in a hospital?

Is there more to the story? It appears this poor woman may have met a violent end in a place of healing and up until now, safety.

We need answers.

Minneapolis Po Po and the politician

City Pages weekly, the socialist rag of the Twin Cities that used to have a shred of decency back in the day, takes yet another opportunity to bash "the man", in this case the Minneapolis police:

"To Serve and Disrespect" The MPD strikes again, this time detaining a legislator's son for hours

Can you tell by the headline where this one is going? You know, it's odd how in neighborhoods infested with criminals, in many cases black criminals when in North Minneapolis or Phillips and it's environs, that sometimes police, in the course of crime investigation, scoop up suspects for questioning or holding until questions get resolved.

It seems that the son of Rep. Neva Walker (DFL-Minneapolis), Shea Walker, got himself caught up in such a predicament. He was seen in the company of named suspect emerging from a residence for which the police had a warrant, and were sitting on and looking for, well, mopes like the two that were there - Shea and Brysan Ali Rogers.

City Pages admits that since charges were ultimately not filed, the police report is non-public, but they nevertheless draw the conclusion that young Shea was held for investigative purposes "despite the absence of evidence" that he may have had a role in a neighborhood robbery.

The police, however, had a warrant to search a residence from which Shea Walker and Brysan Ali Rogers emerged. Is it possible there is probable cause to detain subjects who were exiting an address under surveillance and under search warrant?

To her credit, Rep Walker is keeping relatively quiet while the noise emanates from City Pages and Police Community Relations Council member Ron Edwards, NVS (ed. - "NVS" hereinafter denoting No Visible Means of Support).

This is a non-story, published for sensationalist purposes by cop-hating liberals at City Pages. Rambix asks: Where's the beef?

What our children learn in school

Tracy from Anti-Strib has written an insightful and thought-provoking post titled "Intelligent Design, Freedom and the Schools". Here are two paragraphs that get to the crux of why conservatives either leave their children in, or pull their children out, of a given school in many cases:

We all need to consider what and “education” is. I’d prefer to have my child exposed to a variety of ideas and opinions. People may disagree with ID, but why prohibit the discussion at all? I can count numerous things that are currently taught that I’d rather not have my kid deal with, but the liberals have jammed their agenda onto the curriculum.

I’d prefer that my kids learn the “homeless people are bums that made bad choices. They are not unlucky people that society owes an apology and endless handouts. I’d prefer to teach them that gay people are fine, but their lifestyle is non-ideal and should not be emulated. I’d rather have them learn that the Unites States is a greatest nation on earth, not that we are a global bully. I’d want them to know that hard work pays off and that many people are poor because they make poor choices. I want them to know that Communism and Socialism have never worked and are responsible for more deaths than Hitler, the black plague or even war.

Well said.

North Side Minneapolis robbery crime alert

The Minneapolis Police have issued a crime alert for some North Side neighborhoods in Minneapolis. As you may know, the North side is infested with crime and gangsters, and all sorts of social ills. So when the police issue a crime alert, it's probably bad:

Cleveland, Folwell, Hawthorne, Jordan and McKinley Neighborhoods (12-15-2005)

Since November 1, there has been a substantial increase in robberies reported in Sector 2 of the 4th Precinct. Although there have been arrests in some of the robberies, the incidents continued to occur. The robberies have been occurring at all hours during the day and night. Suspect descriptions vary and involve one or more suspects.

In the majority of the incidents, suspect(s) threatened victim(s) with a gun, or a knife was used. Some of the victims were just outside their homes at the time of the robbery. Suspects wore ski masks in several of the robberies. In all the robberies, suspect(s) demanded the victims' purses, wallets, money and/or cell phones.

Suspect information:
There is more than one suspect and information is limited and general. If you have any information on these robberies, please call 4th Precinct Investigations at
612-673-5713.

[ed. - Remember Rambix' theory - when it's obvious there are suspect descriptions, but it's not printed in the MSM, it involves black males.]

What you can do:

Call 911 immediately if you see anything suspicious. Be extra cautious about your surroundings. Be aware of strangers loitering in your area or near you.

Stay away from isolated, dark areas such as alley ways. Be visible.

Light up your property! It's not that expensive and the lighting eliminates any hiding places especially around your garage.

Avoid carrying large amount of cash or other valuables. Be observant of your surroundings when using cash machines (ATMs). If anyone is loitering around the ATM, don't use it. Go to another one or come back later.

Keep your wallet in an inside or front pocket. Most suspects have been asking for the victim's wallet and then leave the scene. It would be wise not to carry all of your valuables in your wallet. Women, consider not carrying a purse but if you do, keep it next to your body with the flap or clasp toward you.

Avoid going out alone. If possible walk with a friend. Two people together are much less likely to be targeted than one person.

If someone is following you, turn around and look at your attacker. This gives you time to think and lets the person know that you are aware of them. Walk to the nearest public place where there are other people.

If you are a victim of a robbery, don't argue or fight with the robber. You are more likely to be injured if you resist.

If you are a victim of a robbery, report it immediately by calling 911. Try to remember as much as possible about the suspect(s).

They accidentally forgot the most important tip: Arm yourself with a large weapon and strap on your Kevlar.

What do you expect for only $715,000,000.00?

It seems our $715,000,000.00 light rail train system has some problems; one big problem, in particular:

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) This is the time of year for ice dams, and the Hiawatha light rail is no exception. Water that runs into the rail tunnel near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is freezing into huge ice dams.

They've dispatched Metro Transit engineers, who have a novel solution:

Metro Transit engineers hope to fix it with a fan.

Should you worry about riding the train?

The photos showed what appeared to be a glacier moving down the tunnel walls and onto the track, filling up the space like an ice-cube tray, with only the top portion of the rails above the ice.

No worries, the fan will fix it. What do you expect for $715,000,000.00?

Red Star settles lawsuit

The Red Star "admits no wrongdoing", but has settled a lawsuit, which Star Tribune President and Publisher Keith Moyer called a "nuisance settlement."

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Star Tribune has settled an advertiser lawsuit that had claimed the newspaper inflated circulation so it could charge more for ads. The paper, which is the largest owned by The McClatchy Co., agreed to pay $55,000 to settle the case. Of that, $40,000 will cover legal fees and $15,000 will be paid as advertising credits to the plaintiffs, said Joe Snodgrass, an attorney for one of the advertisers.

Here is Rambix' original June 29, 2005 post on the matter: "This might explain it - like many liberals, the Red Star (allegedly) cheats".

Here we go. Rambix lives for these kind of revelations. It seems the Red Star has been (allegedly) cheating on their circulation numbers, and they're being called out in a court of law.

A month or so ago, the circulations numbers for many of the major US newspapers were printed and reported upon. A lot of the large papers showed dwindling circulation numbers. Here were the Red Star numbers according to the Pioneer Press:

"According to the circulation bureau, the Star Tribune's Monday through Saturday circulation for the six months ending March 31 was 378,316, up 0.3 percent from the same period last year. Its Sunday circulation was 655,198, down 2.4 percent."

At the time, we recall how it seemed unusual that decent papers were losing circulation, and a lesser paper like the Red Star would have even a slight gain in circulation for Monday through Saturday. Now we understand why. It appears the Red Star is (allegedly) inflating their circulation numbers, and the advertisers are none too happy. It means they have been paying inflated advertising rates, which means that the Red Star (allegedly) has been stealing from them. Thus the lawsuit.

The anecdotes have been flying about the paper giving away multitudes of free copies to various organizations, and even to people who were not subscribers, to inflate the circulation numbers. While the Red Star didn't admit fault, they've paid out money - we can decide if their hands are clean.

Sickness in the Minneapolis public schools

A disturbing report from Kare 11, "Girl says she was sexually assaulted at school", if true, would add to a long, long list of reasons to keep your children out of the Minneapolis Public Schools.

A disturbing report from a child at a Minneapolis grade school. A second grade girl at Parkview Montessori in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis claims she was sexually assaulted earlier this month. The seven-year-old told her teacher, her family doctor, parents and police investigators she was sexually assaulted by three classmates in the bathroom. The boys are between seven and eight years old.

What kind of young children would commit such an assault? More importantly, where do they learn this behavior? We have to be careful rushing to judgment, especially because of the very young age of these children, but if the story is valid, then there is a sickness in our society that needs immediate attention.

Because the boys are under ten they can't be criminally charged. So if police find probable cause the sexual assault occurred, the matter would be turned over to Hennepin County Child Protection. They could seek to have the boys and their families placed under court supervision. That could result in the boys being ordered into treatment or in the extreme case, removed from their homes and placed in foster care.

This will be one to follow.

Cars and murder

In Minneapolis more people have been killed by vehicles and light rail trains than they have by legally permitted weapon carriers (this may cause Nick Coleman's head to explode). You may recall this post "Another run-down criminal arrested" which was a follow up to this crime involving a vehicle-as-weapon: "Red Star reports yet another heinous Minneapolis crime ".

Now we find a report of another crime, not involving a legal gun carrier, but a vehicle-as-weapon: "18-Year-Old Charged With Murder In Hit-And-Run".

(AP) Minneapolis An 18-year-old man was charged with murder Monday in the death of a woman he allegedly backed into while stealing her sister's car.

When will Nick Coleman write about the evils of cars as weapons?

Minneapolis crime stats on Republican Minnesota

See some disturbing FBI crime stats for Minneapolis at Republican Minnesota.

Where are the Minneapolis leaders?

Even some liberals are hip to Minneapolis violence

This, from a leftie blog called Driver2165, 12/14/05:

Minneapolis is the single worst-run city I've ever been in. . .It's a small little city with a 2:1 residents:cops ratio with an out of control violent crime problem.

So if conservatives are concerned about violence in Minneapolis, and now some liberals are concerned about violence in Minneapolis, and still little is being done, can we conclude that the incompetents that run the city just don't care?

Sergeant Kaju on Minneapolis crime

If you don't believe Rambix, here's one from the front lines in this commentary piece in the Red Star by retired sergeant Jim Kaju:

The statistics do not lie. Minneapolis citizens continue to vote for people who do not care about public safety. The Minneapolis Police Department spends more time on paperwork to justify hitting someone, establishing a policy on when to hit someone, and having weekly meetings on statistics with more than 50 cops in attendance on why someone got hit.

Police work is not that difficult. The cops are supposed to stop the bad guys. I never got a complaint in my entire career; I just did it with a smile and said, Thank you, you're now going to jail.

Best Buy, your store will be robbed, assaults will take place, and most of all you will lose money due to a lack of support and the incompetence of the city of Minneapolis. That is a guarantee with no restocking fee.

Rambix couln't have said it better.

Minneapolis: "Worrisome jump in crime rates"

John Dewitt, an at-large board member of the Midtown Greenway Coalition, notes the escalating violence in Minneapolis and blames. . . the police: "Should Minneapolis grow up?".

Yes, Minneapolis should grow up, Mr. Dewitt, but so should you. The police are an easy target. How about blaming the failed social policies that create criminals faster than we can keep up with? How about blaming the dysfunctional Minneapolis City Council, or the impotent mayor's office, or the oddly detached police chief?

Minneapolis' "waning influence at our State Legislature" is not due to funding cuts, but rather because the liberals in the city have elected politicians and have brought in administrators who don't know what they're doing. They're anti-business, and they're anti-middle class, and are well on their way to driving both out of the city.

How is some low-level Green Party hack as a City Council member going to relate the the CEO of one of the remaining Minneapolis based corporations? They're more concerned with throwing more good dollars after bad on the North side, to the detriment of Southwest and downtown. Have you seen some of the projects they've funded on the North side? You'll see glittering palace-like schools, for example, that turn out "D" students, if they show up for class at all.

Here's the answer for Minneapolis, Mr. Dewitt - add ideological balance to the city government for starters. That's what we call "diversity" (a word you can relate to). Put someone in who can allocate resources in a meaningful way, and hire someone to come in and clean up failed programs, cutting the fat along the way. Move the pork to the police department, where it's needed, and let them use it to crush the criminal element.

It'll never happen, of course, but there's your answer.

The city needs a strong dose of common sense, and people who are willing to crack down on crime and the proliferation of criminals. The rest will take care of itself.

Have you seen this in the Red Star?

Burglaries are skyrocketing in South Minneapolis, according to a report by WCCO Channel 4 News:

There have been 36 burglaries in the first two weeks of December in the third precinct of Minneapolis. Fifteen of them happened in the Powderhorn area.

36 burglaries in two weeks? Sounds like news fit to print in the Red Star, so why isn't it there? And where are you, Mayor Ryback?

Minneapolis - perverts on the payroll?

Midwest Jay of Anti-Strib points out an interesting tidbit involving the hiring of Steven Bosacker by Minneapolis mayor R.T. Ryback for the powerful position of City Manager. Mr. Bosacker apparently has a history of problems with civilized behavior in public.

The link provided by Midwest Jay requires registration, but if you do a Google search using "Bosacker" and "health club sauna", you should be able to find the story.

Macalester College - keeping the white man down?

Locals know that Macalester College in St. Paul, MN is ground zero for liberalism, activism, and other "isms" which aren't appropriate to mention in a polite setting. It's also the alma mater of our good friend, Kofi Annan.

A former faculty member, Nathaniel Longley, recently filed a claim with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), claiming the school denied him a tenure-track position because he had complained that the college discriminated against white men. Macalester denied guilt, but had such certainty in their position that they paid Mr. Longley $125,000.

And thus the spin began:

Macalester "strongly denied" Longley's claim, said the school's attorney, Dan Wilczek of Minneapolis. Wilczek said the school sought a mediated agreement after it became apparent that "the cost of defending the claim, in terms of money, time and distraction, would exceed the amount that was at issue in the case." He said the college "is glad the matter is resolved so it can focus its entire energy on its students and on its academic programs."

Apparently white men need not apply at Macalester. The only question is: Why would they want to?

Southwest Journal discovers the Lake Harriet mugging

On 11/22/05, Rambix reported on the Lake Harriet, Minneapolis, savage beat-down of an innocent park user which happened on 11/17/05. The local Southwest Minneapolis newspaper, the Southwest Journal, just now reports the story in its 12/16/05 edition. As is typical, the Red Star has yet to discover the news.

Here's Rambix' original post: "ALERT - Man beaten at Lake Harriet, Minneapolis"

Here's the Southwest Journal story: "Mugging near Lake Harriet unnerves residents" [ed - I'll bet it does!]

By Sarah McKenzie

Violent attacks in park areas very rare Minneapolis park officials say they are taking steps to improve safety near Lake Harriet after three teens reportedly assaulted a 57-year-old man near the Bandshell late November.

Park Police are stepping up patrols, clearing buckthorn in the area and working with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board officials on improving lighting along the lake's pedestrian paths, said Brad Johnson, park police chief.

Liberals really have no idea what to do with crime. Should we install lighting? Should we raise taxes? How about midnight basketball? The conservative answer, of course, is simply to upgrade your weapon of choice.

Park Board Superintendent Jon Gurban said city officials are hoping Tillemans' attack was an “isolated” incident.

Three teens approached Tillemans from behind and attacked him near the Bandshell at 8:10 p.m., Johnson said.

The teens looked for money, but Tillemans told him he didn't have any on him. He was thrown to the ground and suffered a broken left femur. He has been recovering
from his injuries at home.

Tillemans did not get a good look at his attackers and hasn't been able to provide police with detailed descriptions, Johnson said.

The assailants have been described as three teen-age males, two white and one black. They appeared to be 14 to 18 years old, he said.

These animals must not be allowed to continue to roam freely. A real mayor and police chief would throw a lot of resources at this crime, not only because justice delayed is justice denied, but the chain of lakes in Minneapolis is a huge visitor and tourist draw. And if the mayor isn't interested in justice, we know he's interested in money - those vistors and tourists spend money in the city.

Meanwhile, the liberals want to install lights:

The Park Board has endorsed a new light fixture for the parkways but is waiting on approval from city officials, he said.

That'll scare 'em.

Murderous thief arrested

Let's be thankful this latest piece of garbage is 18 years old. Criminal penalties in Minnesota are not too substantial for adults, but even less so for minors: "Man arrested for killing woman with car".

Minneapolis Police have arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with the death a woman that was ran over last with her own car after someone tried to steal it. Keith Allen Bruce has been arrested by investigators and has been booked into the Hennepin County jail on murder charges.

If you're a criminal, its in for a penny, in for a pound, no?

Here's the Hennepin County jail charge details:

Full Name:
BRUCE, KEITH .ALLEN
Booking Number:
2005036068
Date of Birth:
11/12/1987
Sheriff's Custody:
IN CUSTODY . .
Housing Location:
PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITY Address
Received Date/Time:
12/16/2005.. 13:43
Arrested By:
MINNEAPOLIS PD

1/1
MURDER
MINNEAPOLIS PD
PROBABLE CAUSE
PROB CAUSE
$0HOLD W/O BAIL
..
2/1
FAMILY/JUVENILE COURT
HC FAM/JUV CT
HOLD
OTHER
$0HOLD W/O BAIL

Red Star manipulation

There are two ways readers of the Red Star were manipulated today.

The first instance comes on what should be a momentous news day, with the overwhelmingly successful conclusion of elections in Iraq. The MSM, including the Red Star, knew that today would likely be a day of celebration for the Iraqi people, as well as the Bush administration, following yesterday's voting.

The MSM and the Red Star, however, have a different agenda than those who want freedom for Iraq. By all appearances, they saved this story for today in order to attack the administration and spoil their party (The story appears on the front page of the paper, but for some reason is not currently linked on the website): "Bush Secretly Lifted Some Limits on Spying in U.S. After 9/11, Officials Say". The Red Star heeadline is: "Bush secretly Ok'd spying in the U.S. without warrants".

The MSM attacks on the Bush administration and their disdain for the growing success of the Iraq operation is something to behold. The headline in the Red Star should have been a full- width banner, but instead shared space with the Vikings sex-cruise charges story.

[UPDATE - Michelle Malkin agrees:
"RED ALERT: CHICKEN LITTLES ON THE LOOSE"]

The second way the Red Star manipulated its readers today comes from the "Scene" section in which they printed a 3/4 page photo of a smiling cowboy, which accompanies an article on, and review of the movie Brokeback Mountain, "Heath Ledger finds a Hollywood ending" and "Movie review: 'Brokeback Mountain' a spellbinding story". Quote: "The so-called "gay cowboy movie" is really a classic romantic melodrama, flawlessly executed, that happens to feature two men."

When the Red Star is not busy attacking the Bush administration, they are preoccupied with winning the hearts and minds of our children, in an insidious manner, by "normalizing" the homosexual lifestyle.

If your family has values contrary to those promoted in the movie "Brokeback Mountain", then what are you going to tell your child when they pick up the newspaper and see the cowboy and want to see the movie with their friends?

Australia suffers from political correctness fallout

Hat tip to readers Greg and Kris for alerting Rambix and the Red Star to this transcript of a speech by Tim Priest, a retired Australian detective, in Quadrant Magazine, titled "The Rise of Middle Eastern Crime in Australia".

The text illuminates the potentially dangerous consequences of kowtowing to certain groups by virtue of their "minority" status and political correctness, and it's instructional given the ethnic tension between the native population of France, Australia, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, etc, and their immigrant Muslim communities.

Australia is currently experiencing some upheaval as cultures clash in the south; Mr. Priest's speech is foretelling of the current troubles.

Mr. Priest has a sobering prediction:

I BELIEVE that the rise of Middle Eastern organised crime in Sydney will have an impact on society unlike anything we have ever seen.

He details how the development of the crime is insidious - it starts with belligerence, nuisance crimes, unwillingness to assimilate, followed by an escalation of level of crime:

IT WAS ABOUT 1995 to 1996 that the emergence of Middle Eastern crime groups was first observed in New South Wales. . . The one crime that did appear organised before this period was insurance fraud, usually motor vehicle accidents and arson. . . But from these insurance scams, a generation of young criminals emerged to become engaged in more sophisticated crimes, such as extortion, armed robbery, organised narcotics importation and supply, gun running, organised factory and warehouse break-ins, car theft and conversion on a massive scale including the exporting of stolen luxury vehicles to Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries.

The criminal organizations were allowed to morph over time into substantial adversaries:

The Lebanese groups were ruthless, extremely violent, and they intimidated not only innocent witnesses, but even the police that attempted to arrest them.

And here is the genesis of the problem:

In many of the key areas that were experiencing rapid rises in Middle Eastern crime, these new [police] leaders became more concerned with relations between the police and ethnic minorities than with emerging violent crime. . . Police began to use selective law enforcement. They selected targets that were unlikely to use their ethnic background and cultural beliefs to hinder police investigations or arrests. It was mostly Anglo-Saxons and Asians that were the targets, because they were under-represented by religious leaders and the media.

Starting to sound familiar? This is of course what happened in France, and what is developing in many major urban areas of the US. America has not quite reached the critical mass necessary for wide-scale unrest by Muslim minority groups at present (with the exception of places like Dearborn, MI, which have attracted relatively large numbers of Muslims). But this doesn't mean we should have blinders as it relates to policy on internal national security.

Prophetic words from Mr. Priest:

I wonder whether the inventors of the racial hatred laws introduced during the golden years of multiculturalism ever took into account that we, the silent majority, would be the target of racial violence and hatred.

The issues are assimilation, or lack thereof; multiculturalism in lieu of common sense, and "tolerance" for some enemies of society.

Coming soon to a neighborhood near you.

In honor of the Iraqi vote today...

Here's something you won't see in the Red Star:


“Anybody who doesn’t appreciate what America has done and President Bush, let them go to hell”

– Iraqi Citizen, voter Betty Dawisha

Ford capitulates to homosexual lobby

Ford folded like a house of cards in the face of pressure from homosexual interest groups, and will reinstate their advertising targeted to homosexuals, "Ford resumes ads in gay publications".

WASHINGTON (AP) - Ford Motor Co. said Wednesday it would reinstate and expand the scope of its advertising in gay publications after criticism from gay rights groups.

The decision to remove the ads lasted about a week. Talk about the courage of conviction!

Last week, Ford had said it would no longer advertise its luxury vehicles in several gay publications, citing a need to reduce its marketing costs across the board.

Gay groups asked Ford to restore the advertising - and suggested a connection between the cutback and pressure from conservative groups. Ford said there was no connection.

In late November, the American Family Association had canceled a boycott of Ford vehicles, which had been announced in May when the organization criticized the nation's No. 2 automaker for making contributions to gay rights groups, offering benefits to same-sex partners and recruiting gay employees.

Expect some blowback from conservative groups, although it's clear which side is calling the shots for Ford.

Public implosion

Duluth, Minnesota mayor Herb Bergson allowed the city's Ten Commandments monument to be removed from the city in early 2004, and things have gone downhill since. To wit:

A high profile DWI arrest isn't great for the political career. And it appears he's ducking his responsibilities in the aftermath:

DULUTH -- Duluth Mayor Herb Bergson, whose reputation and leadership ability were tarnished by a drunken-driving arrest last weekend, is compounding the damage by refusing to explain the incident, cloistering himself at home and missing important city meetings, officials and pundits said Tuesday.

You really hate to see a guy implode in public, but he did take the down the monument after all.

Even Mayor Bergson was inclined to stand up to the MCLU, but chose not to oppose the Council’s vote [to remove the monument].

That really shows some spine.

Mayor Bergson has had quite an interesting history so far. First the Ten Commandments fiasco, then he fires Duluth's chief administrative officer, Mark Winson, by taping a letter to Winson's office door [See a nice roundup by Minnesota Democrats Exposed]. And now the drunk driving episode:

Conversely, Minnesota newspapers Sunday were focused on his arrest in Wisconsin after he totaled a car Friday evening in a single-vehicle accident while traveling to Chicago on city business.

Duluthians are scratching their heads over the amount of alcohol involved -- Bergson's blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.161 percent, or twice Wisconsin's legal driving limit -- as well as the time of the accident, 6:25 p.m., and the fact that Bergson was headed to Chicago three days before a two-hour conference he was to attend.

They're also troubled by police reports that say Bergson -- a former police officer and mayor of Superior, Wis. -- asked others to refrain from calling the police and instead help him push his car free from a guardrail.

In a scathing editorial Tuesday, the Duluth News Tribune said the jail booking photo of Bergson's bleary and battered face was the "worst mug shot since Glenn Campbell['s]."

"If ever there was an illustration," the editorial said, "of just how far, and how quickly, needlessly foolish and irresponsible behavior can sink someone from the heights of achievement to the gutter of embarrassment, this was it."

Embarrassing, ugly, sad.

Bullets fly in North Minneapolis

[Photo courtesy of Kare 11 News website]

In an incident that has drug deal written all over it, four people were shot in a house on the North Side last night, "Quadruple Shooting In N. Mpls. Leaves Four Injured".

According to officials, four people were found shot at a house in the 3900 block of Colfax Avenue N. about 9 p.m.

Police said two of the victims were taken to North Memorial Medical Center -- one with a chest wound and another with a wound not considered life-threatening.

Police said the other two victims were taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with non-life-threatening wounds.

Officials said they have no motive and no suspects in the shooting. At least one person was a resident of the house.

This is reportable crime on Rambix and the Red Star, but it's important to distinguish between crime on the North Side as opposed to where we typically focus: Southwest Minneapolis. The reality is that, despite all the good people, there are a lot more criminals per capita on the North Side than in Southwest. There is a lot of criminal-on-criminal crime, which, though interesting, is not the focus of this blog.

One of the main goals for Rambix is to expose incidents of violent crime that affect the average person that the local MSM covers up - like the Quagmire at Block E, for example.

So while a quad shooting on the North Side is interesting, it is, frankly, business as usual in that area.

Block E patrons - Can we bring Moby Dick's back?

Back in the day block E was all about criminals, pimps and ho's, drug dealers, bums, and the underclass of Minneapolis in general.

For a decade, the Minneapolis City Council, led by Jackie Cherryhomes and the gang, and mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, thought and thought and thought and tried to figure out a way to scrape down the blighted Block E and "revitalize" the area and downtown Minneapolis, and thus preserve their legacy as visionaries.

After years of haggling, planning, throwing money around, and a lot of wheel spinning, they settled on a hodgepodge design in which preformed panels of bricks were slapped up to look like the old buildings they replaced. While there wasn't a rush to fill the place, the developer managed to find some retailers to move in. There was some immediate noise about street level access, and pass-throughs and foot-traffic flow. Some changes were made, and we have what we have today.

The result of 10 years work? Today, Block E is all about criminals, pimps and ho's, drug dealers, bums, and the underclass of Minneapolis in general.

Today, Darcy Pohland of WCCO reports with an understated headline: "Some Patrons Concerned About Safety At Block E".

(WCCO) Minneapolis Block E was built to rid Minneapolis of a seedy, crime-ridden area, but some visitors don't think it worked all that well.

"When I'm around here during the daytime I don't have any fear of any kind, but at night it's a completely different situation," said Phillip Pottratz of St. Louis Park. "I have to be a lot more careful."

You won't see any of this in the Red Star.

It was 5 p.m. last Wednesday when police followed a man they suspect of having a gun into the Block E Borders bookstore.

Police frisked the man, who was a convicted felon, and took the weapon away.

Early the next morning, in the Block E parking ramp, shots rang out.

Police said a fist fight between two men over another man's wife led both sides to draw their guns.

And these are just a sample of reported incidents. This gives you an idea of the kind of people that hang out at Block E. Do you want to take your family there?

Maybe they ought to turn Block E into a jail facility. That way we won't have to transport criminals across town.

Crime beat

Hat tip to Tracy at Anti-Strib for the additional Minneapolis crime info, "Alert the Boy-Mayor, we have a crime wave!". It's hard to keep up with everything that is going on in Minneapolis, and apparently the police chief doesn't even try: "Council support of McManus is tepid".

Many City Council members say they barely know McManus.

"He's not around City Hall much so I'm not sure what he's doing," Council Member Scott Benson said. "I think he's got a lot of explaining to do."

Are all cities really this dysfunctional? Remember a previous post on the Minnesota Democrat criminals list? It included several Minneapolis City Criminal Council members, "Minnesota Democrat criminal list grows". Crooks and incompetents are not going to get Minneapolis back on it's feet again.

Then there was the opinion piece of July of 2005, in which Chief McManus and the mayor vowed to crack down on crime, "Chief McManus and mayor Ryback read Rambix!", but we can now grade their effort given the ongoing violence: D-. They're only saved from an "F" because the body count is lower than it was in the mid-1990's. In other words, they have failed miserably. (Ok Gary at KvM, we'll blame Klobuchar too!).

Here's a little snippet from a 6/23/05 Rambix post on McManus:

If the Red Star staff had any moral compass or common sense, they'd be flogging McManus in writing about the egregiously poor job he's done since he's taken the helm. Rambix' 6/12/05 post goes into detail on the curious timing of the crime wave that has coincided with the chief's tenure. McManus isn't wholly responsible, of course, but what is the mission of the chief of police? Is is to celebrate diversity?

"The review found that McManus, who started in February 2004, has improved relations in the community, made himself visible in the neighborhoods and diversified the upper ranks of the department. He also was praised for developing an office of professional standards to improve training and the culture among officers."

Yes, indeed. The violent crime wave has suspiciously coincided with Chief McManus' tenure.

And then there was the Minneapolis Schools Superintendent Peebles debacle (another out-of-stater the libs brought in), "Got Her Mind Right, She Did..."

The libs brought in Peebles to run the schools, and a year or so later, when she was, well, running the schools, the lefties wanted her out of there!

Bob Davis of AM1500 KSTP told a story this morning about going to a movie at Block E recently. This is a guy who will go anywhere, but he said he felt unsafe. There were a lot of closed stores and menacing street people around; not a family-friendly environment.

Has Minneapolis become mini-Detroit?

The Magnificent Tony Blair

That's right, magnificent.

Tony Blair has been a friend of America through adversity that would have toppled a lesser man long ago. A liberal, yes, but a liberal with steadfast loyalty to his friend George W. Bush, who suffers similar vitriol from the worst elements of his own countrymen. A liberal who understands the nature of the enemy from without, and because of this has faced the wrath of the enemy within. A liberal who in the worst of times has risen to the occasion, much like our president. A liberal who we will not agree with all of the time, but one who holds to principles when they're most needed.

Tony Blair understands that the perversion of justice and capitulation to the dark elements will shake the foundation of society and threaten a nation. Once again, the Prime Minister takes a courageous stand in the face of bitter opposition: "Our citizens should not live in fear".

Those who criticise the new criminal justice measures, such as ASBOs (Anti-Social Behaviour Orders), fail to understand that the most important freedom is that of harm from others.

Britain's troubles mirror those we face in America. Tony Blair's defense of the proposals is compelling, bold, and inspiring:

In advance of the publication of new proposals on anti-social behaviour and organised crime, we will once again, as a government, be under attack for eroding essential civil liberties. It is right to set this argument within a more coherent intellectual and political framework. It is not just about tough versus soft but about whose civil liberties come first.

Britain, by 1997, had undergone rapid cultural and social change in recent decades. Much of this was necessary and good. Rigid class divisions and old-fashioned prejudices were holding Britain back. But some social change had damaging and unforeseen consequences.

Family ties were weakened. Communities were more fractured, sometimes as a result of desirable objectives like social mobility or diversity, sometimes as the consequence of mass unemployment and failed economic policies. Civil institutions such as the church declined in importance. At the start of the 20th century, communities shared a strong moral code. By the end of the century this was no longer as true.

Spoken, actually, like a true conservative.

As society changed, so do did the nature of crime. There was an explosion in crime and, in particular, violence fuelled by drug abuse. There were far more guns in circulation and far less reluctance to use them. We saw the growth of new crimes such as people trafficking, computer fraud and mobile phone theft. Organised crime became a major international operation.

But while the world had moved on, the criminal justice system was stuck. By 1997, it was failing every reasonable test that could be applied. Crime had doubled. Trials were ineffective, witness protection was poor and the courts were very inefficient. There were huge delays, for example, between young criminals being charged and coming to court.

We thus inherited a system which was increasingly unable to deal with the problems it faced. Anti-social behaviour was becoming a very serious problem on some estates but the courts were too cumbersome a process to deal with it expeditiously. The system was failing.

He could easily be talking about America; we'll take a liberal who talks like this! Where is our Tony Blair?

On the left, by the 1980s, we had bent our argument too far in the opposite direction. We had come to be associated with the belief that the causes of crime are entirely structural. In defiance of our own traditions of thought we had eliminated individual responsibility from the account. We had lost sight, too, of the fact that it was those who depended most on a Labour Government to improve their lives who suffered most from crime and anti-social behaviour and were most insistent that we do more to help them.

Conservatives have been talking about these ideas for years. Sometimes the threshold for liberals to take notice is very high. Britain has suffered much pain at the hands of the underclass and criminal elements in the post-Thatcher years (Read Theodore Dalrymple for some firsthand accounts). Likewise, America has suffered, and continues to suffer. Unfortunately, even our most courageous politicians don't have the fortitude to tackle social problems at the street level in a tough and comprehensive way.

Our critics [ed.- liberals], who usually do not live in the communities most affected by crime and anti-social behaviour, often describe these measures as overly punitive and a threat to basic legal principles. We are criticised for introducing rough justice and removing courts from the sentencing process. In fact, we are very sensitive to the need to preserve accountability. Authority always has to be exercised with due restraint. We will ensure that good appeals processes are always built into new structures. The powers we have extended to the authorities can, and do, come under legal challenge.

But this is not a debate between those who value liberty and those who do not. It is an argument about the types of liberties that need to be protected given the changing nature of the crimes that violate them. And it is an attempt to protect the most fundamental liberty of all - freedom from harm by others.

To email the Prime Minister go to Pm.gov.uk

Britain's thought police & America's future

Creeping and insidious political correctness in America, particularly in the MSM, is a subtle and growing danger. Stories that have been filtering out of Britain (and Europe in general) for the last few years may give up a glimpse of our future, when free speech potentially becomes a crime. Read about the plight of Lynette Burrows: "Police warn author over gay comments".

Lynette Burrows, an author on children's rights and a family campaigner, took part in a discussion on the Victoria Derbyshire show on Radio Five Live about the new civil partnerships act.

During the programme, she said she did not believe that homosexuals should be allowed to adopt. She added that placing boys with two homosexuals for adoption was as obvious a risk as placing a girl with two heterosexual men who offered themselves as parents. "It is a risk," she said. "You would not give a small girl to two men."

A member of the public complained to the police and an officer contacted Mrs Burrows the following day to say a "homophobic incident" had been reported against her.

By all accounts, Ms. Burrows was merely expressing an opinion. In a free society, citizens have the right to express themselves without fear of persecution. The list is long of countries that don't allow their citizens to speak freely, and those countries are not ones we wish to emulate. So is British intolerance of true free speech a step toward a totalitarian state?

A spokesman said it was policy for community safety units to investigate homophobic, racist and domestic incidents because these were "priority crimes".

It is standard practice for all parties to be spoken to, even if the incident is not strictly seen as a crime. "It is all about reassuring the community," said the spokesman. "We can confirm that a member of the public brought to our attention an incident which he believed to be homophobic.

Controlling speech is controlling the very essence of freedom. Rambix has recently posted an example from America, "Indoctrination, thy name is corporate America". As Americans, we see our free speech rights encroached upon incrementally. Ask any author or columnist who publishes views in opposition to the left, particularly when it comes to homosexuality or race. The venom and accusations of intolerance and "hate speech" are an almost automatic response from the left.

Canada is another country on the British road to restriction of speech, as Robert Tracinski notes in "Permission to Speak: The End of Free Speech".

Earlier this year, a professor at McGill University in Quebec, opposing a proposed chair in philosophy devoted to Ayn Rand's ideas, denounced Rand as a "fascist" and compared her to Hitler. In fact, Ayn Rand was a philosophic defender of individual rights and a fiery opponent of all forms of oppressive government; she was the polar opposite of a fascist. But under the Canadian "hate speech" law, such smears and misrepresentations can be used -- and were, briefly, in this case -- to suppress unpopular ideas.

Canadian Christians have been brought up on charges, and have faced legal action, in Canada for preaching the sins of homosexuality, "Police investigating Christian activist for hate crimes":

Two thousand leaflets attacking gays and lesbians have put a Christian activist in western Canada under investigation by Edmonton police for hate crimes.

The flyers by Bill Whatcott of Regina refer to gay marriage as "sodomite marriage" and use graphic language to describe the alleged sex practices of homosexuals.

The handouts also used derogatory terms to describe federal Defence Minister Bill Graham.

Whatcott stuffed his pamphlets into mailboxes in the riding of Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan, and some recipients complained to police.

"The material is offensive and it's an affront on the basic tenets of our society, which is about multiculturalism, tolerance and peaceful co-existence," Const. Steve Camp, of the Edmonton police hate crimes unit, said.

Here you'll see the leftist code words: multiculturalism and tolerance. But the accusers aren't showing much tolerance, are they?

Take heed, because it's coming our way.

Shootout at Block E, Minneapolis

There was a shootout early this morning at what Minneapolis considers to be its "Crown Jewel", the gaudy, contrived Block E entertainment district. See the news report before its buried (sorry, there's no written report yet, only video) from KSTP Channel 5 Eyewitness News:

http://kstp.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=164402

The police brass, the mayor, and the Minneapolis city council have been telling us that all is well in Minneapolis. Well, all is not well, and Rambix will continue to shed the light of truth.

Minneapolis smash-and-grabs, double murder, University conceal and carry

The Minneapolis Quagmire continues today with a KSTP Channel 5 Eyewitness News report about smash-and-grab burglaries hitting the upscale Linden Hills Neighborhood in Southwest Minneapolis near Lake Harriet [ALERT - Man beaten at Lake Harriet, Minneapolis 11/22/05].

As a matter of perspective, the area is very nice, despite it being virtual ground zero of liberalism. You'll find your hard core Wellstone worshipers, as well as the "alternate lifestyle" crowd, and a hippie co-op for good measure. The "downtown" part of Linden Hills is very well traveled, and has small shops, an ice cream shop, a hardware store, and so on, all amidst usually quiet neighborhoods of single family homes.

This story is actually quite stunning, much like the beating at Lake Harriet referenced above - these things really don't (or didn't) happen here. Please watch the video:

http://kstp.dayport.com/viewer/viewerpage.php?Art_ID=164396

Things have changed mayor Ryback - get control of your city.

Speaking of control, 2 more corpses turn up in mayor Ryback's city: "Many Questions, Few Answers In Double Homicide". Granted this happened on the north side, where your chance of getting smoked is pretty high on a day-to-day basis. Nevertheless, it's generally considered distasteful when bodies start piling up behind the local grocery store.

And finally, if you want to defend yourself against the Minneapolis crime contingent, well, you can't on campus of the University of Minnesota: "Conceal and carry privileges don’t extend to U property".

So if you're a criminal, do your crimes on campus. Or do them in Minneapolis, where you'll find like-minded savages running amok.

Minneapolis Quagmire crime stats

We've been hearing about the rise in number of robberies in Minneapolis, as documented in this prior Rambix post: "Minneapolis crime - It's a Quagmire!". Sometimes it also helps to go right to the Source: "MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT UNIFORM CRIME REPORT SUMMARY October 2005". The latest stats are from October 2005.

The media published the 21% increase in robberies for the year (through October 2005), but there are other interesting numbers. Consistent with Rambix' reports of escalating crime, robberies in the City of Minneapolis in October were 25% higher than the comparable period in 2004. Overall Part 1 crimes (Homicide, robbery, rape, agg. assault, burglary, larceny, MVT, arson) increased 23% in the October 2005 vs. October 2004 period.

Moreover, in the 5th Precinct, which includes Uptown, robberies increased 7% in the January to October 2005 vs. 2004 period, but in October 2005 vs. October 2004, robberies increased 11%, and total Part 1 crimes increased 32% for the same period!

Great job, mayor Ryback!