No bullets shot from Jose Guerena before demise

A 26 year old previous Marine, Jose Guerena, was killed in front of his spouse and child by SWAT officers, who later found nothing illegal in his home. Guerena is a veteran of two tours in Iraq. He had a gun, but the safety on his rifle was off and he did not fire on the police officers that entered his house. The incident is raising lots of questions over law enforcement conduct.v

SWAT shoots bullets at Marine veteran multiple times

On May 5, SWAT officers of the Pima County Sheriff’s office arrived at the house of Jose Guerena to serve out a search warrant. Officers started to fire on him as they entered the home, states CNN. This was because he was holding an AR-15 rifle when they entered. The number of times he was hit is being disputed; CNN states he was shot 22 times, but other sources such as ABC is reporting he was shot 60 times. Guerena hadn’t terminated a shot and the safety on his rifle was on. The police wouldn’t let paramedics to come into the home until after he passed away even though they were called by his wife, Vanessa Guerena.

Arrest not needed

Law enforcement thought that Guerena was part of a robbery ring and drug smuggling ring. This was how the police got a warrant. Supposedly, he had assault weapons and paramilitary clothing on while doing some house invasions. In the home, there were several things found to go along with this possibly, reports the Arizona Daily Star. This integrated body armor, “piece of law enforcement-style clothing” and guns. KGUN Tucson states that SWAT team officers’ attorney Mike Storie was quoted saying that Guerena had nothing to warrant arrest in his house. The Pima County Sheriff, Clarence Dupnik, has been critical of the press for asking questions about the shooting and whether it was legal. As soon as the shooting was over, Dupnik said that officers were shot at by Guerena. Later he said Guerena really did not shoot at them.

Not allowing in paramedics to help

Within two minutes of the shooting of Guerena, paramedics arrived on the scene. However, the officers at the scene prevented emergency medical personnel from entering the house and experiencing Guerena for more than an hour, long after he was dead. The house also had a portrait of Jesus Malverde, considered a “patron saint” of narcotic runners. Just like American outlaws for instance Billy the Kid and Jesse James, Malverde has become a hero of sorts even though he may have never really existed, states Wikipedia. Whether or not there were drugs in the house is unknown. The original search did not discover any. There were children ages 4 and 6 that belonged to Guerena. The Asarco copper mine is his employer.

Citations

CNN

cnn.com/2011/CRIME/05/27/arizona.marine.death/index.html?hpt=T2

Arizona Daily Star

azstarnet.com/news/local/article_47d3b9b2-8345-11e0-a48d-001cc4c03286.html

KGUN Tuscon

kgun9.com/story/14682200/guerena-family-attorney-responds-to-swat-lawyer

ABC

abcnews.go.com/US/tucson-swat-team-defends-shooting-iraq-marine-veteran/story?id=13640112

Firefighters and police officers watch as individual dies

A man drowned in cold waters in San Francisco Monday as firefighters and about 75 spectators viewed. The first responders were strictly forbidden by police to attempt a rescue, which was regarded as too unsafe in the frigid water.

Guy supposedly wished to die

The individual walked up to his neck in the water at 11:30 a.m. on Memorial day. The water was 54 degrees although the man, Raymond Zack, was 52 or 53 years old. He lost consciousness and drowned eventually. The U.S. Coast Guard could not rescue him in a boat due to the shallow waters.

Evidently Zack’s stepmother told witness Sharon Brunetti to call the law enforcement. Zack supposedly told the stepmother that he wished to kill himself. Zack “gradually inched out farther and farther” although glancing back at shore regularly, according to Brunetti.

Rescue workers and spectators together

For around an hour, police, Coast Guard and around 75 other individuals watched what happened. Zack’s lifeless body was brought back to shore by a 20-year-old woman that got in the water. There was speculation that she was a nurse. She was just not on duty.

Alameda police Lt. Sean Lynch said law enforcement officers lacked the gear for the cold water and could not risk being pulled under. “Certainly this was tragic, but police officers are tasked with ensuring public safety, including the safety of personnel who are sent to try to resolve these kinds of situations.”

Water rescues cut from spending budget

Water rescue training and water rescues themselves were cut from the budget in the Alameda Fire Department. This happened two years ago.

”The incident yesterday was deeply regrettable,” Interim Fire Chief Mike D’Orazi said. “But I can also see it from our firefighters’ perspective. They’re standing there wanting to do something, but they are handcuffed by policy at that point.” Now, D’Orazi wants to change things. He is planning on putting water rescue back in.

Several complain

After receiving a flood of complaints Tuesday, the city of San Francisco appropriated $20,000 to $40,000 to train 16 firefighters in land-based water rescue training.

Citations

Newser

newser.com/story/119849/man-dies-in-sf-bay-while-firefighters-police-watch.html

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/43233984/ns/us_news-life/

Huliq

huliq.com/3257/man-dies-hypothermia-san-francisco-bay-authorities-watch

Mayor in Portland believes city staff deserves sex change coverage

Portland, Ore., Mayor Sam Adams has stood up for transgender city employees, claiming that city insurance should cover sex change operation. As stated by Adams, it is only right that community health insurance cover the treatment. The Portland Area Council is expected to vote on Adams’ proposition as early as June.

’Fair, common sense,’ Adams thinks

Mayor Adams told The Oregonian newspaper the transgender medical operation bill amounts to “fair, common sense.” The previous year, the committee decided that gender change surgery charges should not be covered in the Portland self-insurance fund, which would be overridden if the legislation makes it. Since the committee could not decide for sure to change the city policy, the denial occurred.

According to Adams’ estimates, transgender operation benefits for Portland city employees would cost around $32,000 per year. There would be about a .08 percent increase in the self-insurance plan budget for the area.

Anything ‘medically necessary’ is covered

The American Medical Association made a decision in 2008. It decided that transgender health care is “medically necessary.” Under the AMA resolution, withholding coverage for procedure of gender identity disorder when such treatment has been prescribed by a physician isn’t allowed.

“As Mayor, it is important to me that we attract and retain the best and brightest employees to the City of Portland,” writes Adams in a press statement. “Covering basic, medically-necessary care is a matter of fairness, and it’s the right thing to do.”

Picking an insurance

Currently, the Community of Portland provides two health insurance opportunities to its employees: insurance through Kaiser or a self-insurance plan called CityCore. If Adams’ proposal is approved, CityCore would cover the gender change operation, bringing the city’s plan in line with that of 22 percent of Fortune 100 Companies and many Oregon businesses that already cover such a medical operation.

It all started in San Francisco

Transgender operation benefits became covered in 2001 in San Francisco. This made it the first U.S. community to do so. Sex change operations and hormone treatments were available to area employees after a bill was passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and then-Mayor Willie Brown.

At that time, male-to-female operation cost $37,000, while the reverse cost $77,000. The San Francisco ordinance capped fees at $50,000 per person for life, requiring the patient to pay 15 percent if the surgeon is on the city health plan.

Sam Adams at a rally for same-sex marriage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BMPgHIrjKA

Citations

Basic Rights Oregon

basicrights.org/

OregonLive.com

blog.oregonlive.com/portlandcityhall/2011/05/mayor_sam_adams_to_push_sex-ch.html

Portland Online

portlandonline.com/mayor/?a=350579&c=49278

SF Gate

sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2001/02/16/MN202072.DTL

Have a look at the NBA Heat vs. Mavs end game during the finals

On Tuesday, May thirty-first at Miami’s American Airlines Arena, basketball fans will enjoy the kickoff of what will hopefully be a fantastic 2011 NBA Finals between the Miami Heat and the Dallas Mavericks. The Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat will hold the home-court advantage. Get ready for the tournament with this NBA Finals schedule and a look at these giants of the court.

ESPN and Sirius to play NBA Finals, or you can watch on ABC

ESPN Radio and Sirius XM will both broadcast the 2011 NBA Finals game on the radio while it could be seen on television at ABC. The games have been scheduled. They go like this:

Game 1: Tuesday, May 31 in Miami, 9 p.m. ET
Game 2: Thursday, June 2 in Miami, 9 p.m. ET
Game 3: Sunday, June 5 in Dallas, 8 p.m. ET
Game 4: Tuesday, June 7 in Dallas, 9 p.m. ET
Game 5 (if necessary): Thursday, June 9 in Dallas, 9 p.m. ET
Game 6 (if necessary): Sunday, June 12 in Miami, 8 p.m. ET
Game 7 (if necessary): Tuesday, June 14 in Miami, 9 p.m. ET

Competitors at Heat

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade are the dynamic duo for the Miami Heat that can scare any defense. The individuals are both known for how well they’re able to score, and they have learned to play together very well recently.

”King” James ends up with the ball when the Heat is in danger though. He is huge and athletic. He also has a great basketball IQ which helps a ton. Dallas will have to work a lot on his teammates which may be hard with Wade. Udonis Haslem needs to keep Dirk Nowitzki scared while Chris Bosh needs to play fantastic games. If this occurs, the 2011 NBA Finals will be won by the Miami Heat with five games.

Hard for the newbie Nowitzki

Careful passing and a commitment to challenging James and Wade on the offensive end will not only ensure that the Dallas Mavericks remain in the series, but it should spell victory against the less experienced Heat. Dirk Nowitzki is on fire in the playoffs (28.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game), and his increased lower body strength has enabled him to muscle his way to his favorite spots on the floor more easily, as Haslem will discover. The veterans Kidd and Terry, both Jasons, will help a lot too. Shawn “The Matrix” Marion also will be a large help.

Considering the championship window is almost closed for Kidd, Terry and Marion, their sense of urgency is palpable. The “soft” Nowitzki has finally toughened up too. Even with injuries, the Dallas Mavericks could beat the Miami Heat in seven games. Jose Barea and Tyson Chandler could do this very easily.

Wait until next year, LeBron.

Information from

Huffington Post

huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/27/nba-finals-schedule-2011-_n_867972.html

Yahoo! Sports

sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ycn-8546101

Call of Duty: Elite to premier monthly membership program

Online multiplayer first-person shooter fans that love the “Call of Duty” games should expect to pay much more for their full metal carnage, reports GamePro. “Call of Duty: Elite,” a monthly subscription program, is currently getting ready for beta testing phase and is accepting summer applicants. By the end of 2011, Activision might offer “CoD: Elite” to gamers for $7.99 or for even less per month.

The ‘CoD: Elite’ moneymaker good for Activision

Massively multi-player online role-playing games, or MMORPGs, such as “World of Warcraft,” have been very popular. It just makes sense for Activision to get in on the money by doing a model for the online multi-player FPS which is an extremely popular game on the console and PC. Most games now and day will lock gamers into their worlds just like “Call of Duty” is preparing, states Jamie Berger. Berger is the Activision VP of Digital Business.

“In an always-on world, the competition for our players’ time has exploded,” he told Wired. “Online interactivity and community is critical for us to face that world. It’s what sets apart games with growing audiences from really great games struggling to find an audience.”

The US that loves ‘Black Ops’ will go ‘Elite’

”Call of Duty: Black Ops” will be featured in “Call of Duty: Elite.” Black Ops was the best-selling game in U.S. history in February, NPD research confirms. Over 30 million people play one of the “Call of Duty” games online each year, spending over 170 hours each year doling out hot video lead.

The beauty of “Elite,” suggests Activision, is that “Call of Duty” supporters will not have to run out and buy another $60 game. On the contrary, “Call of Duty: Elite” isn’t a new game at all, but an online social network extraordinaire that allows players to use various chapters from the “Call of Duty” saga. Activision will use the game as a “Holy Grail” of sorts, says the blog Dubious Quality’s analyst Bill Harris. It should also get many FPS online multi-player followers very interested.

How ‘Call of Duty: Elite’ works

GamePro explained that “CoD: Elite” will be awesome. More than player-versus-player battle will occur. The “Elite” site will reportedly break down into four categories:

Career: Where total analysis of your play style and weapon choices occurs, as well as intensive play map details. If you think you are an FPS pro but haven’t seen what ‘Elite’ can do, reconsider your professional status.

Connect: Social media for “Call of Duty” fanatics. Go crazy with it in chats and groups.

Compete: The way eHarmony match makes was copied for FPS matchmaking. A ton of firepower should be anticipated.

Improve: Pump up your “Call of Duty” game with loads of tips.

Information from

Call of Duty: Elite

callofduty.com/elite

Dubious Quality

dubiousquality.blogspot.com/

GamePro

gamepro.com/article/previews/219778/call-of-duty-elite-full-details/

Wired

wired.com/gamelife/2011/05/call-of-duty-elite/

‘Call of Duty: Elite’ Legend of Karl trailer (Note: Contains video game violence)

youtube.com/watch?v=s3Ixz7pHXdg