NYPD provides hard proof that no-bail law is causing a crime spike

Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie keeps insisting, “Nobody has given me real hard data” on why the no-bail law is a menace. Well, the NYPD on Thursday dropped a trove of statistical evidence showing how it has led to a crime spike in the city.

Mayor Bill de Blasio looked on approvingly as Commissioner Dermot Shea and top police brass shared the proof:

Since Jan. 1, 482 suspects busted for serious felonies were released without bail only to commit another 846 new crimes. Over a third were arrested for one of the seven most serious crimes: murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and grand larceny auto.

As if speaking directly to Heastie and his pro-crime caucus, Shea said, “Each number represents a victim.”

In addition, more than 11 percent of felony arrests didn’t go forward because district attorneys declined to prosecute, a rise of 34 percent from the same period last year. That’s almost certainly a result of another “reform” passed in the no-bail law, which drastically increases DAs’ workload for simply charging a suspect.

Crime in January jumped 30 percent from January 2019. Crime in February spiked 20 percent over last year. In all, the first two months of 2020 saw 803 more serious crimes committed than Jan.-Feb. 2019.

We’ve been warning about the impact of this law for much of the last year, but it’s rare indeed to have a prediction so thoroughly borne out.

Heastie has accused The Post and other news outlets of highlighting “cherry-picked stories” to deceive the public about the new law. But the NYPD stats show it’s far more than just anecdotes.

Sorry, Mr. Speaker: As a self-proclaimed “math guy” who’s just been handed solid statistical proof, you have a moral duty to get this law fixed pronto — now, before it can claim hundreds more victims.

https://nypost.com/2020/03/05/nypd-provides-hard-proof-that-no-bail-law-is-causing-a-crime-spike/

Blowout: U.S. Economy Added 273,000 Jobs

Blowout: U.S. Economy Added 273,000 Jobs in February

John Carney6 Mar 2020

US President Donald Trump gives a thumbs up during a Make America Great Again rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin, April 27, 2019. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images

1:57

The great American jobs creation machine is firing on all cylinders, with February’s jobs figures showing far more strength than expected and both January and December being raised higher than previously reported.

The U.S. economy added 273,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5 percent, the government said Friday.

Economists had forecast 175,000 nonfarm payroll growth and the unemployment rate to tick down slightly to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent the prior month.

Average hourly earnings were up by 3 percent compared with a year ago. The average workweek climbed a bit to 34.4 hours.

December’s estimate of payroll growth was revised upward by 37,000 to 184,000. January’s number was revised up by 48,000 to 273,000. That adds a total of 85,000 more jobs than had previously been reported putting the three-month moving average at 243,000 jobs

The labor market has been a bright spot for the American economy in recent months, with unemployment at or near 50-year lows and the economy continuing to add hundreds of thousands of jobs month after month. The strength of the labor market has boosted consumer sentiment and consumer spending, keeping the pace of economic growth stronger than in many of the other major economies around the world.

The coronavirus is widely expected to slow economic growth this year, although the impact may be short-lived if the outbreak is contained or fizzles out after a few months. The Labor Department said there was no sign that the outbreak had hurt employment in February. The strength of the labor market, however, may bolster the economy’s ability to withstand the pressure.

https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2020/03/06/february-jobs/

Lawsuit: Twitter Blacklisted Data Analyst Who Researched Fake Accounts

Twitter is facing another lawsuit from a former user, data analyst Geoff Golberg, who alleges that Twitter engages in “deceptive practices” as defined by New York consumer protection laws. Golberg was investigating the problem of “bot” accounts on the social media platform, and had spent $35,000 in advertising before his blacklisting.

The lawsuit also alleges that Twitter failed to honor its terms of service in good faith, by its consistent failure to provide users with “meaningful appeal rights upon suspension and termination, in spite of the fact that the contract specifically states that such rights will be afforded.”

The lawsuit also argues that Twitter’s position in its terms of service granting itself the right to ban or suspend users “for any reason at all” renders its broader contract with users unenforceable, particularly in the case of users who have used Twitter’s paid advertising service, which Golberg has — the data analyst says he paid over $35,000 to Twitter for promoted tweets.

Golberg had his account terminated last year, after calling another Twitter account, which he believed to be a bot, a “moron” several times. The lawsuit notes that many other accounts are allowed to use such language without having their accounts suspended.

Prior to his ban, Golberg was investigating the problem of bot networks on Twitter, for example an alleged botnet used to create artificial enthusiasm for the XRP cryptocurrency. Golberg also investigated alleged bots used by the MEK, an Iranian Islamist-Marxist organization supported by some U.S. interventionists, like disgraced former National Security Advisor John Bolton, as allies of regime change.

Golberg seeks a maximum in $50,000 in damages from Twitter. His lawsuit is the latest in a string of legal headaches for the tech company — numerous individuals have sued the company over alleged unfair bans in the past few years, and the number is growing. In the past few years, the company has faced lawsuits from Jared Taylor, Canadian feminist Meghan Murphy, and an FEC complaint from Laura Loomer.

While Twitter, like other tech platforms, is protected by the liability shield of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, it would take just one sympathetic ruling from a court to unleash a wave of similar lawsuits.

https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2020/03/06/lawsuit-twitter-blacklisted-data-analyst-who-researched-fake-accounts/

March 05, 2020 - 07:20 PM EST

==BLM exodus: Agency loses half of

DC staff slated for relocation==

And that’s a good thing

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has lost more than half of its Washington-based employees who were slated to move out West as the agency pushes ahead with a controversial plan to relocate staff.

New internal numbers from the Interior Department obtained by The Hill show 69 employees have left the agency rather than accept the new assignment. Another 18 left after the plans were announced but before they could be reassigned.

The figures are at odds with the ones referenced in December by acting BLM Director William Perry Pendley, who said in an email that roughly two-thirds of staffers had agreed to move.

“This is a huge brain drain,” said Steve Ellis, who retired from BLM’s top career-level post in 2016. “There is a lot of really solid expertise walking out the door.”

The Interior Department, which oversees BLM, did not immediately respond to request for comment.

https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/486237-blm-exodus-agency-loses-half-of-dc-staff-slated-for-relocation