Social Issues

El Monte, California is a city of roughly 100,000 residents in East Los Angeles, many of whom struggle to make ends meet with a median household income of ~$39,000 and nearly 25% of people living below the poverty line.  But while most of the people of El Monte struggle to meet monthly expenses, the city's public employees are living the high life courtesy of one of the most egregious taxpayer funded pension plans in the country.  Just ask the retired City Manager, James Mussenden, who told the LA Times that he gets paid $216,000 per year in retirement to tour the w

The German police are learning from their past mistakes: one year after last year's notorious New Year's Eve mass attacks by migrants on German women in the city of Cologne, security forces in the city said they screened hundreds of North Africans at the main railway station on the last day of 2016 to prevent a repeat of last year's events.

“Hundreds of Nafris [North Africans] screened at main railway station,” Cologne police tweeted.

Submitted by Michael Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

In the wake of the near collapse of the Dallas police and fire pension fund, a Dallas News editorial says Former Police, Fire Pension Managers Should Face Criminal Investigation.

Mayor Mike Rawlings is right to ask for a state criminal investigation into shady practices by the Dallas Police and Fire Pension System’s prior management.

 

Back in August Mikaela Kellner became Sweden's most famous police officer when she took a short break from sunbathing in the park to tackle and arrest a pickpocket.  Pictures of the event quickly rose to international fame and nearly broke the internet.

I bet this guy was trying to get caught. Bikini-clad Swedish cop makes arrest while sunbathing https://t.co/EuxnrYpis2

— Neil Combee (@NeilCombee) August 6, 2016

The passing of George Michael this week reminded many of the seemingly short life expectancy of musicians (and performers in general). In fact, as on study found, while blues, jazz, and country singers typically live as long as the average American; rock, techno, punk, metal, rap, and hip hop stars die significantly sooner.

“I hope I die before I get old,” The Who’s Roger Daltrey sang in “My Generation” in 1965. This didn’t happen for Daltrey, who is now a ripe 71, but it did to many other musicians.