WTF....????.

    Empty About 3 Decades, Pool From the Depression Era Reopens to Cool Off Brooklyn

    Lifeguards Attacked at McCarren Pool

By THE NEW YORK TIMES
June 29, 2012

An unruly crowd at McCarren Pool in Brooklyn attacked the lifeguards Friday evening, leading the city?s parks department to close the pool early just one day after its reopening.

A fight broke out shortly after 6 p.m., about an hour before closing on what had been a sweltering day, when some teenagers doing back-flips into the pool refused to follow the lifeguards? command to stop, said Vickie Karp, the department spokeswoman. The teenagers then attacked the lifeguards.

There were no serious injuries, Ms. Karp said, but the episode soured what was supposed to be a celebration, with the pool, on the Williamsburg-Greenpoint border, filled with swimmers for the first time in 28 years.

The city spent 30 months and $50 million to restore the pool to its former glory.
The pool is expected to open on time Saturday.
 
Cop Punched in Face at McCarren Park Pool, Another Sustains Wrist Injury: Police
In a separate incident Monday, two teenagers were arrested and charged with inciting a riot against an officer


Days after an unruly crowd attacked lifeguards at Brooklyn's newly renovated McCarren Park pool, a police officer was punched in the face and another hurt his wrist in a confrontation with swimmers, authorities said.

Police said the officers, who were assigned to the pool, were injured Monday when trying to enforce the "No Dive" rule. A 20-year-old swimmer punched one of the officers in the side of the face. The second officer hurt his wrist while trying to handcuff the swimmer, police said.

Both officers were taken to Bellevue Hospital. Charges are pending against the 20-year-old suspect.

In a separate incident at the pool Monday, police say a 17-year-old man and an 18-year-old man were arrested and charged with inciting to riot against an officer and disorderly conduct.

Both incidents happened at about 5:30 p.m. The pool remained open.

Authorities heightened security at the public Olympic-sized pool after swimmers attacked a lifeguard who told them not to do backflips into the water on Friday.

No arrests were made in that incident.

"Every day since opening, the pool has operated at full 1,500-person capacity throughout the day," said Michael Dockett, Assistant Commissioner of Urban Park Service. "Parks Enforcement Patrol is present at all large city pools, and visitors who repeatedly violate the rules lose their right to use them."

The pool had been used as concert site in Williamsburg before the $50 million renovation. The pool was first opened in 1936 by then-Parks Commissioner Robert Moses.


 
NICE JOB by FF Cheney.....did the PFD admin ever fight a Fire ? ...................................http://www.myfoxphilly.com/story/1896272....&clipId=7473543

A Philadelphia firefighter who saved a woman from a burning home Wednesday morning says he was criticized by a department official for letting the victim use his mask during the rescue.

Firefighter Fran Cheney told WTXF-TV that he just did what he believes any other firefighter would do.

The fire victim, Mary Jackson, says she couldn't see or breathe and that if it wasn't for the actions of Cheney, she wouldn't be alive to talk about it.

"(She was) just smoky, heaving, trying to catch her breath," Cheney said. "I mean it was just, you could hear it; she was in distress."

That's when he took a quick breath, took his helmet off, gave her the mask and said "Let's go."

He carried her down the stairs and outside to safety.

Not only did Cheney rescue the woman, he donate the $500 he earned working overtime to Jackson and her family as they pick up the pieces following the fire.

Cheney suffered smoke inhalation and spent the night at Temple University Hospital for observation and planed to be back on the job at Ladder 10 on Friday

What confused Cheney, however, was that when a department administrator paid him a visit at the hospital, he was chided for his actions.

He was told that letting Jackson use his mask "wasn't smart" and the department plans to investigate whether proper procedures were followed.

He told the news station that regardless of the outcome, he'd do it again in an instant.

"(In that moment) I'm not worrying about directives. I'm not worrying about paperwork. I'm worrying about this woman and a family worrying about her, whether she's alive in that house right now."

This Brother is member of Ladder 10, who just lost a member and an officer in a factory fire in Kensington in April of this year



 
Administrators go to college, spend 4 years in a safe world ang get a gob in the real world. I have one FUCKING question! It was YOUR mother who gave his airway to safe her. Come  on dickhead, you going to press charges, she would kick your ass for being stupid. I ain't religious, except for combat ops in SEA but what you reap, well I guess you will sow. And PS Payback can be a mother/***ker, better check ALL your exits if you are lucky to get a date and go out for dinner. I am sure she would get the air peice!!
 
Web whiz snared with NYPD cop in drug and gun bust

By LAURA ITALIANO, LARRY CELONA and DAN MANGAN

Last Updated: 10:11 AM, July 14, 2012



She threw it all away.

A Manhattan woman who sold her Internet company for tens of millions of dollars then blew through all her cash was reduced to pulling ?large-scale drug deals? with a Queens low-life ? who was himself buying guns stolen from police lockers by a painkiller-addicted cop, authorities charged yesterday.

Jennifer Sultan ? who lives in a Flatiron District penthouse apartment listed for sale at more than $6 million ? also tried to sell accused drug and gun dealer Ivan Chavez a .357-caliber Magnum handgun for $850, referring to it as a ?toy? in text messages, prosecutors allege.

?What an idiot!? Sultan?s dad, David Sultan, fumed to The Post after her Manhattan Supreme Court arraignment yesterday with Chavez, 24, and accused NYPD gun thief Police Officer Nicholas Mina, 31.

?She had a great life, and she just f--ked it up,? David Sultan said, adding the charges against his 38-year-old daughter came as a ?total, total, total shock.?

?I don?t know what the hell she?s doing,? he said.

In 2000, Jennifer and her live-in boyfriend, Adam Cohen, had sold their Web streaming-media company Live On Line for a reported $70 million and spent $400,000 that summer renting a Hamptons house.

But her dad said, ?They?re now penniless.?

The couple ? who live in a 10-room, four-bedroom penthouse on East 17th Street with a private elevator and a roof deck ? have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Manhattan federal court.

They were recently held in contempt for repeatedly misleading judges, in one instance falsely claiming to be married.

The couple, who one lawyer said ?live lavishly,? are staggering under debt that includes millions of dollars in mortgages and an annual $84,000 property-tax bill.

Prosecutors said cops found at least 60,000 pain pills that Sultan had sold in Chavez?s Woodhaven apartment when they raided it on Thursday.

They also found $61,000 in counterfeit cash, a ballistics vest that had been stolen from the locker room in Mina?s Ninth Precinct, a TEC-9 machine pistol, a sawed-off shotgun, two other guns and equipment for defacing gun serial numbers, prosecutors said.

Chavez is ?a prolific and daily drug dealer? of heroin, oxycodone and other prescription drugs, as well as at least 10 guns, Assistant District Attorney Chris Prevost said.

Mina allegedly stole four of those guns, which belonged to other cops, from a locker room in the precinct he was assigned to guard, Prevost said.

Sources said his past carnival work earned him the nickname ?Carny? at the station house.

Sources said one of those guns belong to Officer Paul Jurgens, who with Mina received a community award for apprehending an East Village burglar in 2010.

The four-year NYPD cop and Queens resident Mina also sold Chavez a Glock pistol Mina had bought but not yet registered with the NYPD, prosecutors said.

Sources said Mina has a serious addiction to painkillers such as oxycodone.

He has ?confessed to the crimes, blaming it on his drug use and his debts to his drug dealer, Mr. Chavez,? Prevost said.

Mina and the rest of the defendants were busted after the guns that he allegedly sold Chavez ended up being sold to undercover cops, Prevost said.

Despite the guns? serial numbers being defaced, cops were able to trace them to the Ninth Precinct ? and allegedly caught Mina on wiretaps talking about future gun sales.

?It was immediately recognized as so important to ferret out the gun dealer in their midst, who was wearing an NYPD uniform,? Prevost said.

?It shocks the conscience that the . . . undercovers had to put their lives in danger in order to stop another officer from putting guns out of on the street,? Prevost said.

As the prosecutor laid out the allegations against him, the slightly built Mina sat slumped in court at the defense table in a baggy white T-shirt, his hair mussed.

Sources said that when he was busted Thursday, Mina went into such a frenzy that he was forced to undergo a psychiatric screening.

A source said he was ?not surprised at all? about the arrest of Mina, who he said was widely disliked in the precinct.

Sultan was snared after investigators heard her on recorded phone calls with Chavez discussing deals to both buy and sell drugs.

The petite Sultan, her long brown hair pulled into a ponytail, slouched as Prevost described her ?explicit, almost daily? phone conversations with Chavez about drug deals, the prosecutor said.

?She acts as some sort of supplier for Mr. Chavez in various large-scale drug deals she arranged for him for their mutual benefit so she could supply her own drug business with pills and drugs,? Prevost said.

Sultan allegedly text-messaged Chavez offering a ?.357 mag for 850? ? a .357 Magnum pistol for $850, the indictment alleges. The duo also referred to guns in messages as ?toys,? court papers allege.

Sultan was arrested at gunpoint Thursday night, according to her dad, David, who said he showed up at her plush apartment to find cops ?ransacking? it, telling him they were looking ?for anything and everything incriminating.?

Also arrested Thursday was Meryl Liebowitz, a 64-year-old woman who lives below Chavez ? and who allegedly was ?a daily runner for Mr. Chavez?s drug business and a runner for the gun business as well,? Prevost said in court.

All the defendants were ordered held without bail, except for Sultan, who was ordered held in lieu of $150,000 bond, or $45,000 cash bail.

 
50 Million to rehab a pool unused for 28 years & now it needs 40 NYPD a day to try & keep order among the "patrons" who get in for free & abuse everyone on our taxpayer dime ? .....Charge a fee & use the $$ to hire some security "guards" who are not bound by any Rules & Regs or the CCRB otherwise shut it down !................. QUOTE...... The deep end: Confessions of a McCarren lifeguard
Last Updated: 4:36 AM, July 15, 2012

When the McCarren Park Pool in Williamsburg reopened last month after 28 years of dormancy, it was hailed as a civic achievement and summer oasis for Brooklynites. But the city?s largest public pool has been plagued by violent brawls that pit teens against lifeguards and even forced the NYPD to shut it down on June 29. Lifeguards are forbidden to talk to the media, but one spoke to the The Post?s Annie Karni about life in the aquatic war zone.

Every morning when I wake up, I pray for rain.

Because if it?s sunny and 90 degrees at 11 a.m., when my shift starts, there will be 1,500 people lined up around the block to get in and just 30 lifeguards to watch over them. And a lot of them are coming in drunk and high.

Every day, at least three people get kicked out of the pool. And that?s when there?s not an all-out brawl.

The first major fight happened on our second day of work, and we had to shut the pool after people got arrested. Three kids were doing flips in the pool, and we were trying to get them to stop. One of my fellow lifeguards was standing on the edge of the deck.

I turned around and saw one of the kids push him into the pool and start fighting him. I jumped into the pool and tried pulling the kids off and they started jumping on me. It was really intense. It turned into a brawl with three lifeguards in the water fighting off about 15 high-school kids.

We train for rescuing people from drowning or breaking their necks ? we don?t train for being jumped by a group of teenagers, or how to defend ourselves in an attack. I was running on pure adrenaline.

Our supervisor told us after that incident that if we were scared to work at McCarren, we could get moved. But not a single one of us signed papers to get transferred. The 30 of us are like a family. We all work six days a week and basically live here at the pool together all summer and share this tiny back room during breaks.

A lot of us are kind of short, and we have to back each other up. They hired all rookie lifeguards for McCarren, and most of the lifeguards are high-school students, and six of them are girls. But we all wanted to stick it out together.

On hot days, I can have my eyes on more than 75 people at once. I sit in a tall chair under a big umbrella wearing bright orange shorts, looking out over a 37,950-square-foot pool, alert all the time. The afternoons are the hardest because teenagers come in to act stupid and are looking for a fight, and I have to keep my eyes on people who aren?t in the water.

After the lunch break, a lot of people come in who look like they don?t work. I don?t think any of the roughhousing is gang-related. It?s just teenagers acting stupid, trying to be cool in front of people.

If I blow my whistle, people just give me the finger and ask why they can?t do what they?re doing. Sometimes they won?t stop until there are five of us on them, blowing our whistles and telling them to stop.

The other day, I was standing a couple feet from a cop who told this kid to get out of the water after he wouldn?t listen to the lifeguards.

?I?m not scared of no cop,? the kid said to him, and stood on the edge of the pool deck. The cop gave him a shove to get him to move, and the kid pushed him back then punched the cop in the face. That?s when we got more cops. On a typical day, there are about 40 cops around the pool.

It makes me feel safer because, in the end, we?re just people with whistles. Nobody has to listen to us.
We get paid $13.55 an hour, plus overtime. So far, I?m sticking it out, and it?s not bad pay, but it?s a hard job. There?s something going on every day, and it?s not just violence.

One of the lifeguards called me over while I was watching the baby pool the other day. ?There?s poop in the pool,? he said. ?It?s scattered everywhere.? I saw one kid step on a piece. I tried to tell the parents to get out, but no one listened to me. I had to yell at them that there was feces in the pool.

We cleared out the pool and made everyone stand on the sides. The rule is five minutes for poop and 25 minutes for throw-up. Luckily, there were two new lifeguards, so we made them clean it up.

akarni@nypost.com ......UNQUOTE.
 
Street fairs benefit dubious charities ? yet city OKs ?em

By ISABEL VINCENT, MELISSA KLEIN and SUSAN EDELMAN

Last Updated: 9:37 AM, July 15, 2012

Posted: 12:57 AM, July 15, 2012

Four-foot piles of discarded corn husks, guys selling bedsheets, the stench of street meat and traffic backed up for blocks. It?s another summer street fair in the city ? and it?s supposed to be in the name of charity.

Every one of this year?s 250 street fairs is required to have a nonprofit or community-based sponsor that gets a cut of the cash paid by the sunglasses vendors and pashmina peddlers.

But The Post found that some of these organizations are dubious at best and, according to authorities, fraudulent at worst. Even when community boards question the legitimacy of such groups, the city bulldozes ahead and rubber-stamps them.

In the end, shady charities get cash but the real winners are the for-profit promoters of the fairs who use the charities as cover.

The city gets a 20 percent cut of the fees vendors pay to participate, which start at about $225 a booth for food sellers. The city took in $1.4 million in 2011. But there?s no rule as to how much the promoter gives to the charities, which could wind up getting a pittance. The city says that?s ?a private contract entered into by the sponsor and the producer.?

The Post found:

* The International Immigrants Foundation was able to close 14 blocks of Sixth Avenue last summer, despite being sued in 2010 by then-state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for fraud. Cuomo accused the organization and its leader, Edward Juarez, of defrauding immigrants of hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to support Juarez?s extravagant lifestyle. Juarez was accused of using money from a related nonprofit to pay for a Midtown rental apartment, luxury car, car insurance, parking space, cellphone and travel and meal expenses.

* The city?s Street Activities and Permit Office gave the OK to a nonprofit called the International AIDS Prevention Initiative for a July 7 SoHo street fair despite concerns raised by Community Board 2 over the organization?s viability. In fact, the group lost its tax-exempt status, has no phone number, has not updated its Web site since 2005 and failed to file required paperwork with the attorney general. The charity now comprises one man who travels the world displaying pieces of the AIDS quilt.

* The Brazilian Day festival draws thousands of people to Sixth Avenue every September for food and music. But the nonprofit sponsor, the Brazilian American Cultural Center, exists solely to put on the fair. There is no cultural center ? just a for-profit travel agency owned by the director of the nonprofit.

* Community Board 2 turned down the Stonewall Veterans? Association ? made up of those who participated in the famed 1969 gay-rights demonstrations ? in February, questioning ?the size and viability of this organization and the uses of the money raised by this fair.? But the city gave it the permit anyway. Williamson Henderson, the head of the group, said it gets about $3,500 from the street fair and raises awareness of the start of the gay-rights movement.

* The Global Role Models Fund had its tax exemption revoked by the IRS on June 9, 2011, because it failed to follow federal filing rules. It?s unclear what cause the organization is supposed to support. The group has no Web site and is not registered with the state attorney general, but still got a permit to hold a street fair.

Brad Hoylman, the ex-chairman of Community Board 2, said when it comes to the city?s approval process, ?nobody seems to be minding the store.?

?There seems to be very little scrutiny, if any, at the city administration level of organizations that sponsor street fairs, many of whom are legitimate but some are questionable,? said Hoylman, who is running for state Senate.

The charities ?provide a rationale for maintaining a flawed system,? said Jonathan Bowles, executive director of the Center for an Urban Future, a think tank that has studied street fairs. He said the cookie-cutter events have very little to do with the neighborhoods they?re in and whose streets they clog.

The city says it?s trying to reduce the impact of the street fairs by combining events and not giving out permits for new fairs. Promoters were asked last year to reduce the number of fairs by 25 percent.

The city requires only the barest of documentation to prove an organization is a nonprofit and qualifies for a permit. The groups need only to be registered with the state Department of State. But the department does not monitor whether a nonprofit is still in business.

So charities such as the International AIDS Prevention Initiative, even if they never file tax forms or other paperwork, can slide by. The group, once a viable charity with an office on Varick Street, has reaped the proceeds of an annual street fair for 19 years. This year?s event occupied four blocks of SoHo on July 7.

Jeff Bosacki, who says he heads the organization, manned a booth and distributed violet-colored fliers with a nonworking phone number.

Bosacki, who now lives in California, insisted to The Post that he conducted the charity?s work by traveling the world and showing the AIDS-quilt panels as a form of ?art therapy? for people with the disease.

He says he gets about $5,000 from the fair, which was produced by Mardi Gras Festival Productions. The organization, in business since 1975, is one of the city?s three major street-fair promoters.

Mardi Gras, which will put on 60 street fairs this year, also produced the June 4, 2011, fair along 14 blocks of Sixth Avenue for the International Immigrants Foundation.

Joe Giovanni, the head of Mardi Gras, refused to talk to The Post.

The court case against the immigrant organization is ongoing and it?s unclear if the charity is still open. Its Midtown office is shuttered. Community Board 5 recommended that the group receive a permit, which was granted by the city. The Mayor?s Office said the charity showed proof of ?active nonprofit status.?

?The courts have ruled street fairs are a form of protected free speech, so there?s no discretion to disapprove if a nonprofit group meets all rules, as this group did,? said mayoral spokeswoman Evelyn Erskine.

Meanwhile, residents in neighborhoods plagued by street fairs question why the city is allowing fairs benefitting bogus charities to continue.

?If it?s a bona fide group, we can suck it up,? Pete Davies of the Broadway Residents Coalition in SoHo. ?If it?s not going to a worthy cause, I would say it?s totally incorrect. It?s wrong.?

Bowles said the entire street-fair system should be remade with better oversight of nonprofits and more diversity in the events.

?I think it?s a shame that we?re perpetuating a system that the vast majority of New Yorkers feel is very flawed,? he said.

melissa.klein@nypost.com


Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/apple_street_fairs_run_afoul_yjHMYC6LfkqqTjSHXqY5RL#ixzz20k2Mrvtl
 
b'bag says RETRO-NO.....STRIKE-YES............Hey b'bag ....LOST & FOUND just checked in...they still have not found that mind that you lost a long time ago.......No retro $$ for hours already worked but you want to encourage someone to violate the taylor law cause you are scared of guns ? WTF...........................................................Story by Erin Durkin AND Kenneth Lovett
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, July 23, 2012, 11:39 PM

Mayor Bloomberg suggested Monday that cops should go on strike to spur the nation?s leaders to get serious about cracking down on guns.

?I don?t understand why the police officers across his country don?t stand up collectively and say, ?We?re going to go on strike. We're not going to protect you unless you, the public, through your legislature, do what's required to keep us safe,? Bloomberg said on CNN?s ?Piers Morgan Tonight.?

The mayor?s surprising comments were in reaction to the Colorado massacre that left 12 dead and 58 wounded. He prodded President Obama and his GOP rival Mitt Romney to lead the charge against the proliferation of guns.

?After all, police officers want to go home to their families and we're doing everything we can to make their jobs more difficult,? the mayor said.

Earlier Monday, Bloomberg urged gun-weary New Yorkers to threaten to hold their Congressional reps responsible for not renewing the federal ban on assault weapons.

?You can call your congressman, you can call your senator and say, ?I don't care, I'm holding you responsible even if you say you're going to vote for rationality with guns. I'm going to hold you responsible because you're the only one I can vote for. It's your problem how you convince the others,?? Bloomberg said.

Hizzoner has stepped up his rhetoric in the days since last week?s Colorado movie theater massacre.

But records show that Bloomberg over the last decade has also financially supported some senators and congressmen who drew high ratings from the gun industry he has aggressively chided as mayor.

And Bloomberg is also the biggest supporter of the state Senate Republicans, who have blocked his push for microstamping in recent years.



 
Six people confirmed shot in Brooklyn
Updated at 10:09 PM today
The shooting took place in the Brownsville section just after 7 p.m. on Sunday. One of the victims is a 2-year-old female.



BROWNSVILLE (WABC) -- Six people have been confirmed shot in Brooklyn.

The shooting took place in the Brownsville section on Rockaway Ave. and Riverdale Ave. just after 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Related Photos
6 confirmed shot in Bronwsville shooting
View all 6 photos
One of the victims is a two-year-old female who was shot in the leg. Another victim is a 13-year-old boy. Both are expected to be okay.

The rest of the victims are described as black males. Police have not released their ages yet.

Two victims were taken to Kings County Hospital. The other four were taken to Brookdale Hospital. All are expected to survive.

Police are looking for a White Nissan Altima with Florida plates that they think may have been involved.

The motive for the shooting is unknown, and police hope to have more information available soon.


 
GIVE IT UP LAMEDUCK ...YOU ARE REALLY PUSHING IT JUST TO SEE YOUR NAME IN PRINT.........
Mayor Bloomberg pushing NYC hospitals to hide baby formula so more new moms will breast-feed

By MARY KAY LINGE

Last Updated: 11:38 AM, July 29, 2012

Posted: 11:19 PM, July 28, 2012

The nanny state is going after moms.

Mayor Bloomberg is pushing hospitals to hide their baby formula behind locked doors so more new mothers will breast-feed.

Starting Sept. 3, the city will keep tabs on the number of bottles that participating hospitals stock and use ? the most restrictive pro-breast-milk program in the nation.

Under the city Health Department?s voluntary Latch On NYC initiative, 27 of the city?s 40 hospitals have also agreed to give up swag bags sporting formula-company logos, toss out formula-branded tchotchkes like lanyards and mugs, and document a medical reason for every bottle that a newborn receives.

While breast-feeding activists applaud the move, bottle-feeding moms are bristling at the latest lactation lecture.

?If they put pressure on me, I would get annoyed,? said Lynn Sidnam, a Staten Island mother of two formula-fed girls, ages 4 months and 9 years. ?It?s for me to choose.?

Under Latch On NYC, new mothers who want formula won?t be denied it, but hospitals will keep infant formula in out-of-the-way secure storerooms or in locked boxes like those used to dispense and track medications.

With each bottle a mother requests and receives, she?ll also get a talking-to. Staffers will explain why she should offer the breast instead.

?It?s the patient?s choice,? said Allison Walsh, of Beth Israel Medical Center. ?But it?s our job to educate them on the best option.?

Lisa Paladino, of Staten Island University Hospital, said: ?The key to getting more moms to breast-feed is making the formula less accessible. This way, the RN has to sign out the formula like any other medication. The nurse?s aide can?t just go grab another bottle.?

Some of the hospitals already operate under the formula lockdown.

?New York City is definitely ahead of the curve,? said Eileen DiFrisco, of NYU Langone Medical Center, where the breast-feeding rate has surged from 39 to 68 percent under the program.

Breast-feeding in the first weeks gives a baby a critical healthy start, many medical experts say. It helps the digestive system develop and protects the baby with the mother?s immunities. Nursing also helps the mother recover from childbirth.

But not everyone is convinced.

?They make formula for a reason, and the FDA makes sure it?s safe,? said Roxanne Schmidt, whose 14-month-old twins were fed with formula from birth. ?Locking it up is just wrong.?

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/mayor_knows_breast_WqU1iYRQvwbEkDuvn0vb1H#ixzz2278MuLBF
 
Political Correctness: Olympic Committee Wants to Give Every Country a Medal

by AWR Hawkins 30 Jul 2012, 7:30 AM PDT 48post a comment
As the U.S. women's gymnastic team competed in the Olympics on Sunday, the encroaching egalitarianism of the international games was readily apparent. The rules committee has decided only two members of each team can advance to the all-around, meaning that even if one team is predominant above all others it can only have equal representation in the all-around at best.

What this also means is that Jordyn Wieber, "the reigning world champion in the all-around and a favorite to win Olympic-gold," will not be allowed take part in that round because she finished 3rd among the U.S. women's team on Sunday.

But what if Wieber's 3rd place score was higher than the first place score received by a team member from another country? Technically it could happen, but the rules committee guards against it by erasing the scores of each individual gymnast once the two advancing team members have been decided.

To put it as one of the Olympic correspondents did on Sunday night, "it's like it never even happened."

This is not just an issue for Americans. Rather, it's an issue for any team that might have three or perhaps even four members excel instead of just two. As such, it is a perfect microcosm of the problems posed by political correctness, and particularly by egalitarianism. For in a bid to be sure every country gets to advance, some of the best gymnasts will be forced to sit this one out.

TOTAL BULLSHIT...LET THE WINNERS WIN...F%$K P.C.....HOW ABOUT FOR P.C. WE MAKE THE NYC MARATHON FOR NYERS & NO MEN OR WOMENS CHAMPS JUST TOP FINISHERS .
 
Sportsmanhip ?........ The way to represent the USA ?.....No F%$king way !....... THE SAD STORY READS........QUOTE............................. You've been served! Serena Williams celebrates Olympic gold by bringing the crip walk to Wimbledon
By ASSOCIATED PRESS and DAILY MAIL REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 09:05 EST, 4 August 2012 | UPDATED: 05:51 EST, 5 August 2012
Comments (122)
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After securing a career Golden Slam by defeating Maria Sharapova on the famous grass courts of Wimbeldon, Serena Williams then proceeded to perform the world's first Olympic Crip Walk..
After routing Sharapova 6-0, 6-1, Williams showed off some impressive dancing skills on Wimbledon's grass centre court.
'I don?t think I?ve ever danced like that,' Williams said. 'I don?t even know where the dance came from.'
However, the U.S. champion certainly had plenty to dance about - today's medal was her first Olympic gold in a singles match and means she has achieved a career Golden Slam.
Scroll down for video


Crip walk: Serena Williams performs an impressive crip walk, right, and poses with her gold medal after beating Maria Sharapova in the women's singles

After securing the Olympic Gold at Wimbledon, Serena Williams launched into a Crip Walk


The famous dance originated from gangs in Compton, Los Angeles and was popularised by Hip Hop stars such as Snoop Dogg
Originating in the 1970's and performed by the Crip gang members of Williams' native Compton suburb of Los Angeles, the C-Walk was once synonmous with urban violence.
Made popular by hip hop stars, the Crip Walk can be seen in the video for Snoop Dogg's 'Drop It Like It's Hot.'
But the sight of one of the most recognised and celebrated athletes in the world performing the move would have gone a long way to reminding everyone watching where she grew up.
The U.S. champion defeated Sharapova easily and finished off the match by serving two aces. She jumped for joy before performing her little victory dance as her sister, Venus, watched on grinning.
'I didn't think it could get better than winning Wimbledon,' an elated Williams said as she came off the court.
In an incredible display of prowess, Williams served three aces in the opening game, broke Sharapova?s serve in the second game before racing on to win the match.

Snoop Dogg would no doubt have been proud to see the world's first Olympic C-Walk at Wimbledon when Serena Williams won gold
Williams, the fourth seed, beat the third-seeded Russian on the same Centre Court where she took home her fifth Wimbledon championship last month.

More...
How golden girl Missy inspires her own team-mates with sunny demeanour and nerves of steel as teen wins third gold
Astonishing comeback of U.S. sprinter running in 400m three years after being SHOT in the legs three times and told he'd never run again
Since losing to a 17-year-old Sharapova at the 2004 Wimbledon final, 30-year-old Williams has now beaten Sharapova eight consecutive times.

Podium: Serena Williams poses along with silver medallist Maria Sharapova and bronze medallist Victoria Azarenka of Belarus. Williams defeated Azarenka on Friday to make today's final


Career Grand Slam: Serena Williams routed Russia's Maria Sharapova to claim her first Olympic gold in a singles match
Williams and Sharapova have won all four Grand Slam titles during their careers but both were going for their first Olympic gold in singles today.
Williams is scheduled to play a doubles semifinal match with her sister Venus on Saturday. The two won Olympic doubles gold in 2000 and 2008.


Going for gold: Serena Williams, right, has won her first Olympic gold in singles, beating Russia's Maria Sharapova 6-0, 6-1
"Whether I win or lose, that's not the big deal," Williams said before today's game. She defeated world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-1, 6-2 on Friday.
"The big deal for me, USA is guaranteed another medal. I'm guaranteed to just go out there tomorrow and have fun. That's all I can do."
Roger Federer, who has won 17 majors, also has a chance at a career Golden Slam when he plays for the gold against Andy Murray on Sunday. He beat Juan Martin del Potro in the longest best-of-three set match of the Open era, at 4 hours, 26 minutes, while Murray ousted Novak Djokovic.
"Roger, me and Maria. The odds are good," Williams said about the opportunities to get a career Golden Slam. Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal, who withdrew from the London Olympics because of a knee injury, won all four Grand Slam titles as well as Olympic gold in different years.


Ecstatic: Williams admires her first Olympic gold medal for women's singles, left, and jumps for joy with a huge grin on her face after storming to victory

Dominated: Serena Williams served three aces in the opening game and won the first nine games of the match

Game over: Williams has now beaten Sharapova eight consecutive times. She lost the Wimbledon final to then 17-year-old Sharapova in 2004
In 1988, Steffi Graf won a Grand Slam - all four titles in the same calendar year - as well as a gold medal at the Seoul Olympics, which reinstated tennis as a sport in those games for the first time in 64 years.
Williams said she felt no pressure or sense that she had to achieve anything else in an extraordinary career in which she first rose to the top of the rankings a decade ago.
"I don't feel like I'm missing anything. I feel like if I were to retire last week, I would be fine," she said.
Serena has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, the most of any active woman; Sharapova has won four majors, sinking to her knees and raising her arms skyward when she won the French Open this year.
A shoulder injury took Sharapova out of the game for an extended period several years ago and deprived her of the chance to compete at the 2008 Beijing games.

Victorious: Serena Williams easily beat Maria Sharapova in a straight set and then conceded just one game in the second set

Missed out: Third seed Maria Sharapova struggled to come back from her 6-0 defeat in the first set and was defeated 6-0,6-1 by Williams

All to play for: Russia's Maria

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.u...ledon.html#ixzz22fmyYoxI
 
CUT FDNY MANNING BUT SPEND $$ TO WIDEN A BRIDGE FOR HIPSTERS ??
Bridge Traffic On Walkway Stirs Concern
By TED MANN and TANIA KARAS
[image] Andrew Hinderaker for The Wall Street Journal

A view of the Brooklyn Bridge pedestrian path in New York.

The walkway over the Brooklyn Bridge has long been a hectic crosscurrent of picture-taking tourists bumping up against joggers and bicyclists using the bridge to shuttle between boroughs for leisure or work.

But the iconic passage may have become too popular for its own good, said a trio of City Council members who on Tuesday proposed significantly widening the path so it can handle the burgeoning numbers who cross it every day.

Council members Brad Lander, Stephen Levin and Margaret Chin called for a new bike-only lane on one side and a new pedestrian lane to help handle the crush of pedestrians and bicyclists who now commingle on the wooden walkway.

It is often packed at rush hour and on weekends, with about 4,000 pedestrians and 3,100 bicyclists using it each day, according to the city Department of Transportation.

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City officials and alternative transportation advocates have said bicycle use has surged in recent years, as have the number of tourists who annually visit New York City. Mr. Lander said the council members hope to launch a debate about accommodating the iconic span's growing crowds.

"We've been hearing steadily about it over the last couple of years," he said about concerns the walkway was over capacity. "It's just an investment that we'll need to make if we want people to continue to use it safely."

Mr. Lander, a Brooklyn Democrat, and Transportation Alternatives, an advocacy group that endorsed the proposal, said any expansion would take years. They offered no cost estimate, don't have funding, and would need voluminous regulatory approvals to make changes to the bridge, which has numerous historical landmark designations.

"It would be a long and very complicated process because of the extraordinary significance of this landmark," said Vin Cipolla, president of the Municipal Art Society of New York, a nonprofit advocate for historic preservation and urban planning.

A walkway of some kind has existed on the Brooklyn Bridge since its completion in 1883. The current walkway sits above the center of six lanes of automobile traffic.

The proposal would extend the existing decking out over the innermost vehicle travel lanes, preserving the same space for car traffic and adding new width for bikes and walkers. That could be harder than it sounds, said Sam Schwartz, a former city traffic commissioner in the 1980s.

Engineers would have to determine that the bridge could support the added weight of a fully loaded pedestrian crossing, Mr. Schwartz said. He noted that densely packed pedestrian traffic loads can weigh more than those of passenger cars.

"I agree with them it's time to expand capacity," said Mr. Schwartz, who has proposed new pedestrian and bike bridges for the East River. "One would have to look at the cost to see if it's more feasible. It's not a $10 million job, it's probably a much larger job than that."

"We share the interest in enhancing safety and accommodating the growing number of people crossing this iconic transportation hub and tourist destination," said Seth Solomonow, a spokesman for the Department of Transportation, which maintains the bridge. "The designs that come from this process would be part of a long-term look at improving bridge access and safety."

For users of the bridge on Tuesday, the expansion sounded like a godsend.

"It's like an obstacle course," Frankie Acosta, a 33-year-old bicyclist, said shortly after a pedestrian swiped his shoulder. "You got to dodge people."

Mr. Acosta said he rides his bike daily across the bridge to work in downtown Brooklyn, and last week hit a pedestrian on the bridge. (Neither man was hurt, he said.)

"You scream, 'Bike lane, bike lane!' but then they get all shook and stand there," Mr. Acosta said, noting that he sees bike-pedestrian collisions "all the time."

Reyes Malave, visiting New York from Spain, said she was disappointed by her visit to the crowded landmark, pronouncing the pathway "too narrow."

Wendy Germain, 31, of the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn, runs over the bridge twice a week, and said he supported the expansion. "It's very congested," Mr. Germain said. "You got to dodge people going both ways, and the bikes on the other side. And tourists stop a lot right in the middle to take pictures."

Write to Ted Mann at ted.mann@wsj.com and Tania Karas at Tania.Karas@dowjones.com

A version of this article appeared August 8, 2012, on page A19 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Bridge Traffic On Walkway Stirs Concern.
 
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