Saturday, October 30, 2021

Effortlessly Cool: Sean Connery Is The Best James Bond Actor Of All Time According To New Study


For old school James Bond fans and Ian Fleming aficionados, like me, the late, great Sean Connery is the first and best film actor to portray Ian Fleming’s iconic character James Bond. 

Movieweb.com offers a piece on Sean Connery as the ultimate James Bond actor.

Is Sean Connery the greatest 007? For decades, this has been a subject of debate with James Bond fans, and while each actor has their fans, it's always been clear that Connery is among the most popular. There is now some data that backs that up as a new study crunches the numbers, from "the suits and watches to the movies and female admirers," to dub Connery as the ultimate 007. 

The study is published by Luxe Watches, and it does factor in the "watch value" of the different Bonds into consideration. Mason and Sons, the original tailor of James Bond, also helped British tailors Church and Clements analyze the functionality of the different suits each Bond would wear, seeing if they were the right fit for Bond to do his job as a superspy. The ratings of the movies on IMDb were also used along with the ratings typically given to them by female viewers. 

Low and behold, Sean Connery topped the list in the No. 1 spot. He ranks first as most popular James Bond ever based on online search terms, reaching around 135,000 per month on average. Connery's Bond was given a perfect score for his "expert style," with the data noting, "If you can make a towelling onesie look acceptable, then you will clearly have no problem looking the part in a bespoke suit tailored by Anthony Sinclair. Connery looked effortlessly cool in everything he wore as James Bond."  

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Sean Connery Is the Best James Bond of All Time According to New Study (movieweb.com)

You can also read an earlier post on Sean Connery via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: Sean Connery – James Bond Actor And Hollywood Icon – Dies, Aged 90

Note: The top photo shows Connery as Royal Navy Commander James Bond in You Only Live Twice.

The above photo is of Connery post-Bond. 

The below photos show Connery as Bond in Dr. No, Goldfinger, From Russia With Love, and Sean Connery with Ian Fleming on the set of Dr. No.  





Thursday, October 28, 2021

Police Funding , Force And Reform: My Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat Column On Scott L. Bohn, The Executive Director of The Pennsylvania Chiefs Of Police Association

Philadelphia Weekly published my Crime Beat column on Scott L. Bohn, the executive director of the Pennsylvania Chiefs of Police Association.

You can read the column via the below link or the below pages:

What’s up with the police? - Philadelphia Weekly    

You can click on the above and below to enlarge.


A Look Back At American Sailors And Scottish Hooligans

After serving two years on the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in 1970-1971 during the Vietnam War, I was separated from the Navy. I attended Penn State and majored in journalism, but left as I could afford to live on the G.I. Bill alone.

I took a civilian DoD clerk job at the Defense Personnel Support Center in South Philadelphia, known locally as the "Quartermaster," but I was bored with the job, and not seeing an immediate future as a writer, I decided to re-up and go back into the Navy in 1974. 

Did I mention alcohol was involved?

Having made a WESTPAC cruise to Southeast Asia aboard the Kitty Hawk, I had hoped to sail to the Med on another aircraft carrier. But my orders sent me to the Navy tugboat USS Saugus (YTB-780), which was assigned to the U.S. nuclear submarine base at Holy Loch, Scotland.

I went from serving on one of the largest warships in the U.S. Navy to one of the smallest boats.  

Although I regretted going back into the Navy, and I was not too thrilled with the Scottish winter, I liked the Scottish people, especially the Scottish lasses. Scotland was a peaceful place in those days, with low crime with little violence compared to Philadelphia and other American cities. 

But there were occasional incidents.   

A year before I arrived, in October 1973, the newspapers across the world reported that an angry mob of Black American sailors from Holy Loch went on a rampage in Dunoon, the small Scottish town near the Holy Loch base. 

According to newspaper accounts, the Black sailors broke store windows, beat up locals and brandished knives. I spoke to a sailor who was there, and he told me that the story was blown way out of proportion. The Scots were just not used to public street fights, he explained. 

Unless it involved soccer - or football, as they call it. 

Groups of loud, drunk and violent Scottish football fans supported their team by bashing the other team’s fans. They were, and are, known as football hooligans. 


I recall after one contentious game, a group of hooligans, having mixed it up with the opposing team’s fans, visited a Chinese restaurant in Glasgow. 

I was walking down the street that night towards my flat when a pile of screaming, brawling hooligans and Chinese waiters burst out of the restaurant’s door and began fighting in the street. 

As an aspiring reporter and crime writer, I stood across the street from the battle and watched. There appeared to be more hooligans than waiters, and the Scots were bigger men, but the Chinese men gave as good as they got. 

One waiter, like Bruce Lee in a karate movie, squared off against a big, drunk Scot. He launched into a short run and then leaped into the air and delivered a solid kick to the Scot’s chest. 

It looked good, but unlike the karate movies, the kick hardly moved the hooligan. The hooligan swung a wild roundhouse that laid out the would-be-Bruce Lee. 

The Scottish police arrived, and they broke up the fight by beating down both the hooligans and the waiters with their clubs. British police didn’t carry guns like American cops, but they could fight.  

As the combatants were rounded up and arrested, one of the cops came over to me and asked what I was doing. Just watching, I replied. I showed my U.S. Navy ID card and the cop, who sported a black eye and torn shirt, told me to move on. 

I moved on.

 

Sometime later, a Black sailor I knew, an affable young guy, asked me what a “nig-nog” was. 

“The Scottish equivalent to the N-word,” I told him. 

“I thought so,” he said. “I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it wasn’t a complement.” 

He told me how he was at a train station when a group of drunken football hooligans began calling him a nig-nog from across the platform. He had been drinking a bottle of soda, and he hurled the bottle at the hooligans. 

“You know how you throw a bottle and it just smashes near a group? Well, my bottle hit one the Scottish guys right in the head." 

He was promptly arrested.

 

In 1975, towards the end of my two-year tour, I was in a Glasgow pub with my Scottish girlfriend when I had my own encounter with football hooligans. 

While we were having a drink at the bar, I noticed a group of about a dozen hooligans looking over at me, pointing towards me, and grumbling. I told the girl to go across the street and wait for me. 

“Let’s go together,” she said. 

“I’m from South Philly. I don’t run,” I said with a sense of bravado.  

Although carrying a weapon in Scotland was a serious criminal offense, I had a small but sharp pocketknife, and my right hand went to my back pocket and held the knife. 

One of the hooligans staggered over to me. I took my hand off of my knife and balled a fist. I planned to “Sunday punch” this drunk if he got aggressive. 

“Are you English?” he asked. 

“No. I’m an American.” 

He stepped back, smiled at me, and turned towards his fellow hooligans and yelled, “He’s a fookin' Yank!” 

Everyone relaxed. The hooligan told me they thought I was English, and as Scotland had just defeated England in a football match, they planned to celebrate the win by beating the hell of a Englishman. 

I bought a round of drinks for the hooligans and the other patrons at the bar.

 

Over the years, I’ve read about and watched TV news coverage of wild hooligan violence at soccer games, which always makes me think of my days in Scotland. 

Note:  You can read my other sea stories, vignettes, short stories and humor pieces about my time in the U.S. Navy via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: Sea Stories: Vignettes, Short Stories And Humor Pieces About My Time In The U.S. Navy

Below are photos of the USS Saugus, me on the bow of the tugboat, the Holy Loch submarine base, a newspaper account of the Dunoon riot, me in Glasgow, and the USS Kitty Hawk.     




                                           






Wednesday, October 27, 2021

International Law Enforcement Operation Targeting Opioid Traffickers On The Darknet Results In 150 Arrests Worldwide And The Seizure Of Weapons, Drugs, And Over $31 Million

 The U.S. Justice Department released the below information: 

The Department of Justice, through the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team joined Europol to announce the results of Operation Dark HunTor, a coordinated international effort on three continents to disrupt opioid trafficking on the Darknet. 

The operation, which was conducted across the United States, Australia, and Europe, was a result of the continued partnership between JCODE and foreign law enforcement against the illegal sale of drugs and other illicit goods and services. Operation Dark HunTor builds on the success of last year’s Operation DisrupTor and the coordinated law enforcement takedown earlier this year of DarkMarket, the world’s then-largest illegal marketplace on the Darknet. At the time, German authorities arrested the marketplace’s alleged operator and seized the site’s infrastructure, providing investigators across the world with a trove of evidence. Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre (EC3) and JCODE have since been compiling intelligence packages to identify key targets. 

Following the DarkMarket takedown in January 2021, U.S. and international law enforcement agencies identified Darknet drug vendors and buyers, resulting in a series of complementary, but separate, law enforcement investigations. Operation Dark HunTor actions have resulted in the arrest of 150 alleged Darknet drug traffickers and other criminals who engaged in tens of thousands of sales of illicit goods and services across Australia, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Prior to, but in support of Operation Dark HunTor, Italian authorities also shut down the DeepSea and Berlusconi dark web marketplaces which boasted over 40,000 advertisements of illegal products. Four alleged administrators were arrested, and €3.6 million in cryptocurrencies were seized in coordinated U.S.-Italian operations. 

Operation Dark HunTor resulted in the seizure of over $31.6 million in both cash and virtual currencies; approximately 234 kilograms (kg) of drugs worldwide including 152.1 kg of amphetamine, 21.6 kg of cocaine, 26.9 kg of opioids, 32.5 kg of MDMA, in addition to more than 200,000 ecstasy, fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methamphetamine pills, and counterfeit medicine ; and 45 firearms. Darknet vendor accounts were also identified and attributed to real individuals selling illicit goods on active marketplaces, as well as inactive Darknet marketplaces such as Dream, WallStreet, White House, DeepSea, and Dark Market.

Operation Dark HunTor led to 65 arrests in the United States, one in Bulgaria, three in France, 47 in Germany, four in the Netherlands, 24 in the United Kingdom, four in Italy, and two in Switzerland. A number of investigations are still ongoing. 

“This 10-month massive international law enforcement operation spanned across three continents and involved dozens of U.S. and international law enforcement agencies to send one clear message to those hiding on the Darknet peddling illegal drugs: there is no dark internet. We can and we will shine a light,” said Deputy Attorney General Monaco. “Operation Dark HunTor prevented countless lives from being lost to this dangerous trade in illicit and counterfeit drugs, because one pill can kill. The Department of Justice with our international partners will continue to crack down on lethal counterfeit opioids purchased on the Darknet.”

“The men and women of the department’s Criminal Division, in close collaboration with our team of interagency and international partners, stand ready to leverage all our resources to protect our communities through the pursuit of those who profit from addiction, under the false belief that they are anonymous on the Darknet,” said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Only through a whole of government and, in this case, global approach to tackling cyber-enabled drug trafficking can we hope to achieve the significant results illustrated in Operation Dark HunTor.” 

“The FBI continues to identify and bring to justice drug dealers who believe they can hide their illegal activity through the Darknet,” said FBI Director Christopher A. Wray. “Criminal darknet markets exist so drug dealers can profit at the expense of others’ safety. The FBI is committed to working with our JCODE and EUROPOL law enforcement partners to disrupt those markets and the borderless, worldwide trade in illicit drugs they enable.” 

“Today, we face new and increasingly dangerous threats as drug traffickers expand into the digital world and use the Darknet to sell dangerous drugs like fentanyl and methamphetamine,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “These drug traffickers are flooding the United States with deadly, fake pills, driving the U.S. overdose crisis, spurring violence, and threatening the safety and health of American communities. DEA’s message today is clear: criminal drug networks operating on the Darknet, trying to hide from law enforcement, can no longer hide. DEA, the U.S. interagency, and our valued international partners, are committed to dismantling drug networks wherever they are, including on the Darknet.” 

“Illicit darkweb marketplaces represent a significant threat to public health, economic, and national security,” said Acting Director Tae Johnson of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “By working collaboratively and sharing intelligence across local, state, federal, and international law enforcement agencies, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and its partners are disrupting and dismantling transnational criminal organizations responsible for introducing dangerous narcotics and other contraband into our communities.”   

“The dark web has become an underground facilitator of illegal commerce,” said Chief Postal Inspector Gary Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). “Criminals use the dark web to sell and ship narcotics and other dangerous goods around the world, often relying on the postal system and private carriers to deliver these illegal products. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to finding and stopping these drug traffickers.” 

“The Darknet no longer provides a concealing cloak for criminals to operate,” said IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Chief Jim Lee. “The expertise of our agents and law enforcement partners helped uncover significant quantities of narcotics and money — both cash and virtual currency — derived from illicit means.” 

“The point of operations such as the one today is to put criminals operating on the dark web on notice: the law enforcement community has the means and global partnerships to unmask them and hold them accountable for their illegal activities, even in areas of the dark web,” said Europol’s Deputy Executive Director of Operations Jean-Philippe Lecouffe.

The extensive operation, which lasted 10 months, resulted in dozens of federal operations and prosecutions, including: 

Four search warrants were executed in furtherance of a multiagency investigation resulting in the seizure of approximately $1 million in drug proceeds (including approximately $700,000 in cryptocurrency), eight firearms, one vehicle, and various controlled substances including MDMA, LSD, and cocaine. The FBI, DEA, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and USPIS jointly conducted the investigation. According to court documents, the targets of the investigation were operating over multiple Darknet marketplaces to traffic methamphetamine, counterfeit pressed Adderall (containing methamphetamine), MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine to customers throughout the United States. The investigation revealed that the organization’s base of operations was in Houston, Texas, and the organization shipped to various cities throughout the United States. Six defendants are charged in a five-count indictment in the Southern District of Ohio with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, sale of counterfeit drugs, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. 

The FBI in conjunction with the USPIS, FDA, and DEA, had been investigating a criminal enterprise that operated two Darknet vendor accounts. One of the accounts was operated out of the Miami area and the other out of the Providence, Rhode Island, area. According to court documents, the vendors, Luis Spencer, 31, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Olatunji Dawodu, 36, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida; and Alex Ogando, 35, of Providence, Rhode Island, allegedly advertised and sold pressed fentanyl pills throughout the United States. Agents identified several other co-conspirators and obtained search and arrest warrants for each. During the execution of the warrants, agents seized approximately $770,000, one weapon and approximately 3.5 kilograms of pressed fentanyl. Spencer, Dawodu, and Ogando are charged in the District of Columbia with conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. 

Kevin Olando Ombisi, 32, and Eric Bernard Russell Jr, 36, both of Katy, Texas, are alleged to have participated in Darknet controlled substances trafficking activities using the moniker Cardingmaster and are charged in a 10-count indictment in the Western District of Tennessee with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, attempted unlawful distribution of controlled substances, sale of counterfeit drugs, money laundering conspiracy, and mail fraud.

 According to court documents, Ombisi and Russell are alleged to have used the moniker Cardingmaster and conspired and attempted to, and did unlawfully distribute the Schedule II controlled substance methamphetamine, which was falsely represented to be Adderall, through the mail in the Western District of Tennessee and elsewhere. In conjunction with their arrests, the government seized more than $5 million in assets alleged to be connected to the drug trafficking activity. The case was investigated by the DEA, HSI, USPIS, and the FDA, and is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee. 

An indictment and criminal complaint are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

Operation Dark HunTor was a collaborative initiative across JCODE members, including the Department of Justice; FBI; DEA; USPIS; ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); IRS-Criminal Investigation; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) and the FDA’s Office of Investigations. This operation was aided by non-operational supporting participation from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Local, state, and other federal agencies also contributed to Operation Dark HunTor investigations through task force participation and regional partnerships. The investigations leading to Operation Dark HunTor were significantly aided by support and coordination by the Department of Justice’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF), multi-agency Special Operations Division, the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section’s Digital Currency Initiative, Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, the Fraud Section, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the National Cyber Joint Investigative Task Force (NCJITF), Europol and its Dark Web team and international partners Eurojust, Australian Federal Police (AFP), Bulgaria’s General Directorate Combating Organized Crime (Главна дирекция Борба с организираната престъпност), France’s National Police (Police National - OCLCTIC) and National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale – C3N), Germany’s Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), Central Criminal Investigation Department in the German city of Oldenburg (Zentrale KriminaIinspektion Oldenburg), State Criminal Police Offices (Landeskriminalämter), State Criminal Police Office of Lower Saxony (LKA Niedersachsen), various police departments (Dienststellen der Länderpolizeien), German Investigation Customs ( Zollfahndungsämter), Italy’s Finance Corps (Guardia di Finanza) and Public Prosecutor’s Office Brescia, the Netherland’s National Police (Politie), Switzerland’s Zurich Canton Police (Kantonspolizei Zürich) and Public Prosecutor's Office II of the Canton of Zurich (Staatsanwaltschaft II), and the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA) and NPCC. 

Federal prosecutions are being conducted in more than 15 federal districts, including the Central District of California, the Eastern District of California, the Northern District of California, the District of Columbia, the Southern District of Florida, the District of Massachusetts, the District of Nebraska, the District of Nevada, the Western District of New York, the Southern District of Ohio, the Northern District of Texas, the Eastern District of Virginia, the Western District of Virginia, the District of Rhode Island, the Western District of Tennessee, and the Western District of Washington. 

JCODE is an FBI-led Department of Justice initiative, which supports, coordinates, and assists in de-confliction of investigations targeting for disruption and dismantlement of the online sale of illegal drugs, especially fentanyl and other opioids. JCODE also targets the trafficking of weapons and other illicit goods and services on the internet.

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

A Look Back At The Navy Firefighting School

“Always keep the hose’s stream of water between the fire and you,” I recall my Navy fire instructor telling me so many years ago.

If you let the flames get around you, I learned, they’ll reach out and hit you like a boxer’s jab. That’s what happened to me when I was an 18-year-old sailor attending the U.S. Navy Fire Fighting School in San Diego.

I’ve been thinking about my training and experience in Navy firefighting as I follow the story of the July 12th fire on the USS Bonhomme Richard while the ship was in San Diego Bay undergoing repair. A sailor was arrested and charged with arson and the ship was decommissioned due to the extensive damage from the fire.

In 1970 I was among a group of sailors from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk that attended the Navy firefighting school. After the deadly fire that killed 134 sailors and injured many more on the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal in 1967, all carrier sailors were ordered to attend firefighting schools. 

After all, one can't call the fire department while at sea. We were the fire department. 

At the school, we sat through flight deck footage of the Forrestal fire and watched bombs, missiles and jet fuel ignite, and we saw sailors die from the fire and explosions. I recall the gruesome images to this day.  

I liked that officers, chiefs and other senior enlisted people trained alongside junior teenage seamen like me at the firefighting school. All of us were assigned a part of the long hose and told that we had a certain number of seconds to put it together before the instructor turned on the water. The first two attempts failed, and we all were soaked and knocked down by the great force of the water. Laughing together, we were successful on the third attempt. We were wet but happy to have worked as a team.   

I recall the day when we were crowded into a square cement structure that simulated a ship’s compartment.

I held the nozzle of the long hose, and I began to wave the hose in short left to right movements. As I waved the hose too sharply to the left, I allowed the fire to slip past me on my right. The flicker of flame seemed almost human — perhaps even supernaturally evil — as it lashed out like a whip and struck my right arm.

The pain and shock of getting burned and seeing my arm on fire caused me to drop the hose’s nozzle and jump back. Fortunately, the instructor grabbed the discarded nozzle quickly and he ordered me out of the burning structure. To my further embarrassment, the heavy smoke and the hood of my poncho impaired my vision and I hit my head on the oval hatchway as I was exiting the structure. The other instructors rushed to me, as they believed I was seriously injured.

As it turned out, my burns were superficial and the head injury was only a bump, but my pride received some serious blows that day. I returned to the fire and completed the course without further incidents.

After graduating from firefighting school, I went on to serve on a Damage Control Team aboard the Kitty Hawk and fought some real fires, but thankfully those fires were nothing along the lines of the horrendous and deadly fire on the USS Forrestal.


I learned to respect the power and fury of fire at the Navy’s firefighting school and I came to truly respect firefighters in the Navy, in civilian fire departments, and those fighting the great forest fires.

Note: You can read my other sea stories, vignettes, short stories and humor pieces about my time in the U.S. Navy via the below link:

Paul Davis On Crime: Sea Stories: Vignettes, Short Stories And Humor Pieces About My Time In The U.S. Navy

Photos: The top U.S. Navy photo is of the Navy’s firefighting school in San Diego, circa 2007.

The above photo is of a Damage Control Team from the USS Kitty Hawk’s 1970-1971 WESTPAC cruise book.

Below is a photo of the USS Bonhomme Richard on fire, and a photo of the USS Kitty Hawk in 1970:


Sunday, October 24, 2021

Three Men Who Changed The Perception Of Vietnam Veterans


A delivery man recently handed me my ordered pizza and seeing my Navy dog tag hanging from a gold chain around my neck, smiled and said, “Thank you for your service.” 

That was something my late brother Ed and I did not often hear when we returned home from the Vietnam War. 

My brother served in the U.S. Army at Chu Lai in South Vietnam, and he returned home in 1969. 

I served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Kitty Hawk as the aircraft carrier performed combat operations on “Yankee Station” off the coast of North Vietnam. I retuned home in 1971. 

In the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, Vietnam veterans were portrayed mostly on TV and in films as drug addicts and homicidal maniacs. Although the vast majority of Vietnam veterans, like my brother and I, returned home from the war and adapted back into civilian life, the fictional portrayal of crazy Vietnam vets was prevalent and, sadly, many people thought it was an accurate portrayal. 

It was not. 

The negative attitude towards Vietnam veterans changed thankfully in the 1980s due to three people primarily, in my view.

One was President Ronald Reagan.

In 1980, President Reagan said, “Vietnam was, in truth, a noble cause and those who died in that cause fought as well and as bravely as any Americans have ever fought in any war. They deserve our gratitude and our continuing concern.”    

President Reagan often spoke up for Vietnam veterans, before, during and after his time as president.

The second person was actor Tom Selleck (seen in the above photo). Selleck, a fine actor and by all accounts, an intelligent and decent man, portrayed the character Thomas Magnum on the TV series Magnum, P.I.

In the series, Thomas Magnum was a former Navy SEAL and Vietnam veteran. His two best friends, TC and Rick, were former Marines. All three were well-adjusted Vietnam veterans. (Higgins, the majordomo of the Robin Master’s estate, was a well-adjusted WWII veteran).


The third person to change the perception of Vietnam veterans was Magnum, P.I.’s writer and producer, Donald Bellisario (seen in the above photo). Bellisario, a former Marine, died last year. 

You can watch Donald Bellisario discuss the portrayal of Vietnam veterans on Magnum, P.I. via the below link:

Donald Bellisario discusses the portrayal of Vietnam vets on "Magnum, P.I." - EMMYTVLEGENDS.ORG - YouTube

Magnum, P.I., along with President Reagan’s frequent speeches that praised Vietnam veterans, changed the perception of the Vietnam veteran, which endures today. 


Friday, October 22, 2021

O. Henry's Humor, Pathos, Drama And Irony: 'My Washington Times 'On Crime' Column On O. Henry's 101 Stories


 The Washington Times published my On Crime column on O. Henry’s 101 stories.

Every Christmas season, I watch about a dozen or so favorite holiday films. One of them is “O. Henry’s Full House.” The 1952 film offers five adaptations of O. Henry’s great short stories with Christmas themes. The film features fine directors for each story, such as Henry Hathaway, Howard Hawks, Henry King, and notable actors as Charles Laughton, Fred Allen, and Marilyn Monroe. Author John Steinbeck is the film’s narrator.

 

The film highlights O. Henry’s humor, drama, pathos, and irony. The stories presented in the film are “The Gift of the Magi,” “The Ransom of Red Chief,” “The Cop and the Anthem,” “The Last Leaf,” and my favorite, “The Clarion Call.” The story stars Dale Robinson as a cop who is indebted to a crook portrayed by Richard Widmark.

 

O. Henry, the pen name of William Sidney Porter, has many admirers, like me, and those admirers will enjoy a new collection of his stories published by the Library of America, called “O. Henry’s 101 Stories.” 

 

As crime is my primary interest and beat, I particularly love O. Henry’s short stories about crime. There are several crime stories in “O. Henry’s 101 Stories,” such as the classic “A Retrieved Reformation,” “After Twenty Years,” and “The Girl and the Graft.” 


“O. Henry’s 101 Stories” was edited by Ben Yagoda. He noted although that although O. Henry is mostly known for stories with a twist ending, such as “The Gift of the Magi,” the majority of his stories do not have surprise endings and are not sentimental.

 

You can read the rest of the column via the below link:


https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/oct/21/book-review-o-henry-101-stories/ 


My favorite O. Henry short story, The Clarion Call, was not included in O. Henry's 101 Stories, but you can read the story via the below link:


The Clarion Call (americanliterature.com)



You can also watch the film O. Henry's Full House free via the below link:


O. Henry's Full House (1952) - YouTube


Note: The above photo is of Dale Robinson and Richard Widmark from The Clarion Call in O. Henry's Full House. 

Thursday, October 21, 2021

National Police Week: FBI Director Wray Draws Attention To Dangers Facing Law Enforcement

The FBI offers an interview with FBI Director Christopher Wray on Police Week events last week. The director reflected on the sacrifices of the Bureau’s law enforcement partners, who risk their safety to protect the public. 

You can read the piece, watch a video of the interview and view photos via the below link: 

FBI Honors Fallen During 2021 Police Week Events — FBI 

Cash, Shredded Documents Found At Couple’s Home In Navy Spy Case

 The Navy Times offers a piece on what the FBI discovered at the accused spy couple’s home. 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI found a trash bag of shredded documents, thousands of dollars in cash, latex gloves and a “go-bag” when they searched the home of a Maryland couple accused of trying to sell information about nuclear-powered warships to a foreign country, an agent testified Wednesday.

Jonathan Toebbe, a Navy nuclear engineer, and his wife, Diana, were arrested this month on espionage charges. Prosecutors allege that Jonathan Toebbe tried to pass submarine secrets to someone he thought was a representative of a foreign government but who was actually an undercover agent. They accuse Diana Toebbe of serving as a lookout for her husband at several “dead drop” locations at which sensitive information was left behind.

You can read the rest of the piece via the below link:

Cash, shredded documents found at couple’s home in spy case (navytimes.com) 

FBI Releases 2020 Statistics For Law Enforcement Officers Assaulted In The Line Of Duty

 


The FBI released the below information:

According to statistics reported to the FBI, 60,105 law enforcement officers were assaulted while performing their duties in 2020. These assaults were reported to the FBI by 9,895 law enforcement agencies. Based on these reports, there were 4,071 more officers assaulted in 2020 than the 56,034 assaults reported in 2019. Data regarding these assaults were released today in the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA) portion of the FBI’s Law Enforcement Data Explorer.

Injuries and Weapons 

  • Of the 60,105 officers who were assaulted in 2020, 18,568 (30.9%) sustained injuries.
  • 44,421 officers were assaulted with personal weapons (e.g., hands, fists, or feet); 25.8% of these officers were injured.
  • 2,744 officers were assaulted with firearms; 6.1% of these officers were injured.
  • 1,180 officers were assaulted with knives or other cutting instruments; 9.7% of these officers were injured.
  • The remaining 11,760 officers were assaulted with other types of dangerous weapons; 16.8% of these officers were injured.

Circumstances 

Of all officers who were assaulted in 2020, agencies reported officers were involved in these circumstances at the scenes of the assaults: 

  • Responding to disturbance calls such as family quarrels or bar fights (29.6%)
  • Attempting other arrests (16.1%)
  • Handling, transporting, or maintaining custody of prisoners (12.6%)
  • Investigating suspicious persons or circumstances (8.8%)
  • Traffic pursuits or stops (8.4%)
  • Civil disorder, such as mass disobedience or riots (4.1%)
  • Handling persons with mental illness (3.9%)
  • Burglaries in progress or pursuing burglary suspects (1.3%)
  • Ambush situations (0.8%)
  • Robberies in progress or pursuing robbery suspects (0.8%)
  • All other types of circumstances (13.6%)

2020 assault data tables and companion documents are exclusively located on the FBI’s Law Enforcement Data Explorer (a subset of the Crime Data Explorer).

Data and statistics concerning officers feloniously killed, officers accidentally killed, and federal officers killed and/or assaulted in 2020 were previously released to the Law Enforcement Data Explorer in May 2021. With today’s release of assault data, all 2020 LEOKA data are now available.

Previous editions of the Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted publication contain data from 1996 to 2019

Wednesday, October 20, 2021

Babylon Bee: Arms Race Heats Up: Just As China Reveals Space Nukes, America Responds With Trans Admiral

 The Babylon Bee mocks President Biden and Dr. Levine in a clever and amusing piece:

WORLD—The arms race is heating up between the U.S. and China. Just last week, China revealed its brand new "space nukes", which are capable of easily nuking any country on the planet. The United States responded swiftly to the provocation by unveiling the world's first trans admiral.

"China, you've been warned," said Biden to a Chinese food delivery person he mistook for President Xi. "Our transgender admiral is fully armed and operational. If you cross us, we will unleash the full fire and fury of this deadly weapon upon you, make no mistake." 

Military experts say that while a space nuke is somewhat impressive, it pales in comparison to the awesome power of diversity. "With Rachel Levine serving as admiral, nations around the world will bow before the terrifying might of our transgender empowerment," said General Milley. "We must pursue peace through strength. Strength of inclusivity." 

Biden insisted that there is no weapon yet conceived that can top Admiral Levine and that he will gladly accept China's preemptive surrender. 

Admiral Levine was not available for comment as she was getting her prostate examined. 

You can read other satirical pieces via the below link:

 The Babylon Bee | Fake News You Can Trust

A Serious Note: Dr. Levine, a pediatrician, was commissioned an admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, not the U.S. Navy. It takes somewhat longer to become a four-star admiral in the Navy.

Tuesday, October 19, 2021

A South Philly Cop In Wyoming: My Philadelphia Weekly Crime Beat Column On ‘Longmire’ Author Craig Johnson’s Philadelphia Connection

Philadelphia Weekly published my Crime Beat column on Longmire author Craig Johnson's Philadelphia connection:

So what’s a nice South Philly girl doing way out in Wyoming?

As fans of the Netflix TV series “Longmire” and the Longmire crime novels know, the South Philadelphia character Victoria “Vic’ Moretti was created by Craig Johnson. She’s tough, resourceful, somewhat profane, and loyal to her friends. Sounds like a lot of Philly women I know. 

You can read the rest of the column via the below link or the below pages:

South Philly cop in Wyoming - Philadelphia Weekly 


You can click on the above and below to enlarge.