Stupid Criminals: Let's Play Name That Party

So Jabran "Jim" Manna, a West Bloomfield Township Truastee is alleged to have placed cameras and spied on some women in their bedrooms and sent the feeds from the cameras allegedly to his cell phone.

Rather creepy and criminal behavior, that.

MSN/The Detroit News: West Bloomfield trustee hid spy cams in women's bedrooms, prosecutors say

Board of Trustees member Jim Manna has been charged with seven felonies after Oakland County prosecutors said Thursday he hid spy cameras in smoke detectors in two women's bedrooms.

Manna, 65, is charged with two counts of capturing an image of an unclothed person, a five-year felony, and five counts of installing a device for eavesdropping, which carries up to two years in prison.

Two adult women discovered surveillance cameras hidden in smoke detectors in their bedrooms, according to a release from the prosecutor's office....

Nowhere in the article is his political affiliation mentioned. 

Click on Detroit:   West Bloomfield Township trustee faces 7 felony charges over alleged hidden cameras, nude videos

Nor in this article is his political affiliation mentioned, but it does have a great mugshot photo.

WXYZ Detroit: West Bloomfield Township trustee charged, accused of planting hidden cameras

No mention here either, but the mugshot photo is still a great feature.

The Detroit Free Press:  Why a West Bloomfield trustee is facing felony charges for spying

Nor here.

As one might suspect from the rather uniform omission of his political affiliation as an elected official, this is indeed a case of a (D) thinking with his d. 

Yep, he's a proud member and trustee of the Democrat party.

Terrorist Supporters Adopt A Road

Right along the way where, just a few months ago, a Hezbollah affiliated terrorist did a vehicle ramming attack at Temple Israel, a group that was until now unknown has apparently "adopted a road" and got the Road Commission to put up these signs:

 

Purely an attempt to intimidate, with the sign being placed right in the central area of the Jewish community here, right by a synagogue that had recently been attacked by an Arab terrorist.

There is no filed assumed name for the group in Oakland County, nor is there a state-level entity actually formed on record for this group. It does not legally exist as an organization.

We will have to see if the "group" whoever they are,  ever show up to do the required twice per year cleanups as required for this propaganda stunt.  My bet is they're not showing up as simply getting the signs up was the point.

So, in addition to the myriad of potholes, it seems we may now need to worry about IEDs on this stretch of road.

Update:  The signs were taken down as of this morning (Monday June 15) and the Oakland County Road Commission is promising to review its "process" as to how the signs were ever approved to be issued and placed in the first place to a non-existent group. 

Temple Israel Attack Aftermath

There's now videos online of the various police agencies clearing the synagogue and rescuing children from the school that were there at the time of the attack. 

Unlike the Cowards of Broward or the Unqualified of Uvalde, they went about aggressively clearing the building and rescuing everyone, and ensuring everyone was taken out of the burning building. While they knew the attacker was dead at that time, having been pinned by the security guards leading him to shoot himself,  the police didn't know if there were any other attackers still there and they searched and cleared the entire building. 

They did a great job, got everyone out at serious risk to themselves, with quite a number of them suffering from smoke inhalation as they put their lives on the line to save innocents,  and  make sure everyone was out.

In short, the responding police agencies did their jobs, and did them well.

The pictures of the interior show the extensive damage from the fire.

The Detroit News:  Temple Israel shows inside of synagogue in aftermath of attack.

It's going to be quite some time before the synagogue can be used again and it needs to be extensively repaired and renovated. 

Active Shooting Attack At Temple Israel In West Bloomfield

So far details are sketchy, but police are warning that there has been an active shooting  and vehicle ramming attack at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield.

Schools in the area went into lock-down and there is a heavy police response, as it should be.

The Detroit News:  Active shooter incident at West Bloomfield Twp. synagogue

 Waiting on more details, but its unlikely to be the Amish, just saying.

Update 2:36pm:  A fire was caused by the vehicle ramming attack, and the shooter has now apparently been effectively engaged and is now deceased. 

Update 8:46pm:  Attacker was stopped and killed by Armed security.

And, exactly as predicted it was not the Amish.

Attacker is Ayman Ghazali of Dearborn Heights and he's an expatriate from Lebanon, likely with ties to Hezbollah. 

FBI has described it as a targeted attack against the Jewish community. No kidding. 

Yesterday 4.5 Miles and 45 Lbs

Yesterday I hit the trail once again. I increased the ruck weight again to 45 pounds for this one.

Yet again, the same trail had a difference appearance as fall is really putting on a show and leaves cover the ground.

 Makes your footing a little bit more interesting as you can't see the rocks, ruts, and tree roots waiting beneath the leaves to make you do the Don't Fall Dance. 

I did multiple laps around the trail, keeping an average pace of just under 20 minutes a mile per lap.

Interestingly, I did not see a single deer this time. As it was Opening Day for firearms deer season, they may have decided to make themselves scare, even as there is no hunting allowed in the township, and the deer seem to know that.

Fewer people were on the trail than the last time, and that number will keep declining as fall falls into winter.

 Not a bad ruck of 4.5 miles.

6 Miles

It was a chill 40 degrees outside as I got to the trail today.

Time to up my rucking game a bit.

 Since the Group 10-mile ruck is coming up on November 22, it was time to increase the mileage.

For additional difficulty, I added 5 pounds to the pack, bringing it to 40 pounds.

First three miles were done in just under an hour at an average 19.55 minutes a mile pace. 

The nature trail is different every time I ruck it now.

Can you spot the three deer in this photo? 

In addition to deer, many ducks were hanging out.

Not a ton of people on the trail,  as the cooler weather reduces people showing up, but still quite a few.   But most of the time I pretty much had a good portion of the trail all to myself, occasionally passing others or them passing me from the other direction.  All good and the solitude and quiet while moving through the woods was rather nice. The noisiest thing, aside from passing people talking on their phones, was the squirrels running through the brush.

By mile five, I could definitely feel the hike, and my feet were informing me that they were no longer enjoying the process, and why did I add another five pounds to the pack, anyway? 

But I pressed on, and completed my 6 mile goal.

 Pretty much achieved 6 miles in 2 hours which was the plan.

Not a bad way to spend a beautiful morning. 

Is The Detroit Free Press Using AI To Write Headlines?

Here's the headline for the story: The Detroit Free Press: Township of 65,000 people elects new top official by 5-1 landslide vote

Except the "Township of 65,000 people didn't vote 5-1 for a replacement supervisor, the Township Board did.

Legions of fact-checkers and all that.

Not that there's anything wrong with that, and there isn't, but the headline and later the article implies it was the voters of the township that did it, making it appear a lot more impressive a landslide than it was. 

And then he was sworn in. But two days later, Supervisor Steve Kaplan resigned to take another job. What to do?

Following the state constitution, West Bloomfield, a community of about 65,000 residents, elected a new supervisor on Monday afternoon – by a vote of 5-1.

Board members held an unscheduled special meeting, heard comments for an hour, and then elected two-term trustee Jonathan Warshay to the full-time job of running the big, affluent township that's 27 miles northwest of Detroit.

 Even the article is written implying it was a community-wide vote rather than the Board voting 5-1 to appoint one of its members as the new interim supervisor. 

In any case I certainly wish the new Supervisor success, and wish the prior one had not run for re-election if he had no intention of actually serving for another term.  But, Kaplan's running as an incumbent certainly blocked any challengers to the spot, keeping it in Democrat control (which to be fair it likely would have in any case), so that was likely simply politics and gamesmanship on his part to block competitors from the slot.

The article headline and content is still rather misleading as the citizens of West Bloomfield did not get an opportunity to vote for their new Supervisor, much less endorse him by a landslide 5-1 vote.

Dumb Clowns Getting Closer

The Detroit News: Armed clown allegedly chases teen in West Bloomfield

A panicked 17-year-old thought he was being chased by an armed clown in West Bloomfield Township when he banged on a stranger’s door to ask for help, police said.

. . .

“He said he was running from a clown that was chasing after him with a knife,” Lawson said.

The teen told investigators he was jogging along Pontiac Trail when he heard someone run through the woods toward him.

Pontiac Trail is getting a little too close for comfort, considering I've walked along there myself and often drive over there as there's a very nice nature trial good for walking the dog and enjoying a long walk outdoors.

Apparently that's the 4th clown incident in West Bloomfield.

Monday’s incident was the fourth clown encounter in the township in about two weeks, Lawson said.

“Although it appears most of these incidents are pranks, there’s a potential that there’s going to be a negative outcome and someone is going to feel threatened and feel the need to defend themselves,” Lawson said. “That’s our biggest concern right now.”

No kidding. Nothing good is going to come out of masked clowns threatening people with knives, whether the knives are real or not.

Sunday Up In The Trees

On Sunday we woke, had breakfast and then headed out on our next adventure - At the Adventure Park.

After filing out waivers for this year we geared up and headed into the trees.

First I went with Abby on a green course and she absolutely tore it up with skill and confidence and more guts than the teenagers that were just ahead of us. The teens were freaking out and Abby was quite unimpressed that they couldn't hack it and kept freezing at obstacles.

While the obstacles on the green course were challenging, there was no stopping her.

Abby worked through each obstacle with skill and aplomb and launched herself off the zip-line at the end of the course:

Next, Natasha took Abby and I paired up with Leah and her friend Emmy and we did a yellow and a pink course.

 Leah also had no issue with leaping into space on a zip line, and she added a turn for style while doing so:

Interestingly enough, the easier pink course was actually harder than the higher rated yellow course.

 The obstacles were more challenging. They were harder to maneuver on, and with it being kid-sized I had to squat and crawl through a few of the obstacles.

Leah didn't like this chain obstacle as each chain was spaced pretty far apart for her, and they would swing around out of her reach, but she did it anyways,

We made it and then Abby took Leah on a yellow while Natasha and I did a Blue course.

The Blue course was a complete butt-kicker.

 It wasn't just that it was a lot higher than the other courses.
 It wasn't just that each obstacle was longer than on the prior courses.
 It wasn't just that this course demanded both balance and upper body strength to spare with some very tricky obstacles that waved around like a ship at sea.
 It also wasn't just that the ending obstacle was literally a leap of faith - you jumped off the platform 30 feet in the air with nothing below you, secured only by a descending strap contraption that slowed your descent down to a safe speed.

It was all those things put together, and they made it quite the challenge indeed.  Quite a few of the people on the course with us stated it was harder than the black diamond courses, and a few had to be rescued off the course by the staff, but we completed it. 

The long zip line on the blue course was awesome - the longest one in the park made for a rush of a ride. Stepping off into thin air at the end was cool indeed - I'd do that one again. 

It was a heckuva good workout and just about every muscle is nice and sore, and I've got serious bruises on the inside of my arms from brushing against the cables and muscling my way through the obstacles, but it's all good.

The family had a great time and we used every minute of our allotted time on the courses. Next time, some Black Diamonds await for the adults to conquer.

Now That Was A Fun Way To Spend A Saturday

Just back from taking the kids to The Adventure Park in West Bloomfield.

Best way to describe it - think challenging aerial obstacle courses and zip-lining. Did I mention it's all up in the air?

Take a look at their promo video:

If you had a fear of heights, this course helped you get over it. If you needed a workout, this park gave you one, in spades.

Lots of upper body work was involved, lots of balance work, lower body strength, and plenty of gut-checks.

Since you can't show any reluctance or fear in front of the kids, you go and get on the obstacles, no matter what. So I did.

Now I'm all sorts of sore along with the bruises to prove a good time was had. A beer or two is definitely in order

One problem was that Leah could only go on the Purple, Yellow and Green trails, and on the Green only with an adult. The Purple one is more designed for kids so fitting my 5"8 frame through some of the obstacles was interesting at times. Again, lots of interesting muscle soreness is developing from that.

I took Leah on both purples, both yellows (twice each) and one green, and the green required adult accompaniment due to her age, and in a couple spots a little help was needed for her to reach some areas. Otherwise, once should got the hanging of Tweezing (watch the video to understand), she ran the courses like a boss.

By the time we got to the Green course, it was very backed up, mainly due to a lot of people freezing up at the zip-line and causing a backlog all the way to the start. This simply disgusted Leah as she showed no fear whatsoever and suggested those people go to the purple courses so they could find some more their speed. She couldn't believe adults were both punking out and holding up the line while doing so. The Green course was also starting to get a little tall for her with some of the obstacle becoming a little hard for her to reach, and the amount of waiting on them was getting ridiculous, so we did just one and went back to the yellow courses.

Abby and Tash paired up and did the purple, yellow and green ones. Abby then came to me and Leah and Tash did a blue one while I we were on the green course with Leah and Abby so I unfortunately missed it. So we'll see if Murph is up for it when he comes to town sometime as there's some blue courses waiting to be done.

To say it was an awesome time is an understatement. The zip-lining high in the air was way cool, the obstacles where you felt like you would fall off at any minute were great for building confidence and faith in yourself and your capabilities. The kids ate it up and now know they can do things they never would have thought they could do before getting up and stepping out into the air.

West Bloomfeld JCC Evacuated Due To Suspicious Bags

Fox Detroit: Jewish Community Center in West Bloomfield evacuated

The Jewish Community Center of Metropolitan Detroit has been evacuated while police investigate several suspicious bags that were found on Tuesday.

No updates since the initial report. Here's hoping its just a precaution and an overreaction regarding some duffel bags, but considering the owners can't be found they're not taking any chances.

Such precautions sadly seem quite reasonable these days.

Update: According to The Detroit News, the two bags, now describes as suitcases left in the shrubs outside the building were found to be empty. This is rather curious, as who leaves two empty suitcases in shrubs beside a building?

West Bloomfield Forks Over $12K In An Electrifying Greendogle

It's free, but it costs $12,000 to install and asphalt and electricity are extra.

West Bloomfield Patch: Township, Library to Share Cost of New Electric Vehicle Charging Station

The West Bloomfield Board of Trustees and the West Bloomfield Library have agreed to share the cost of a new electric vehicle charge station. The station will be the first of its kind in the township, and will be located on the Civic Center campus near township hall and the library.

"We are always looking at ways to become as green as possible," Trustee Howard Rosenberg said. "I think it's critical that the township takes this step, and hopefully it will inspire other places in the township to do the same."

Treasurer Teri Weingarden agreed, "We were the first to have a windmill and I think we need to continue the trend of being a green community. I think it will attract businesses and if we can show this is a success others will want to follow suit."

I somehow doubt that the presence of a charging station by city hall, a pretty far walk from most businesses, is going to attract much in the way of business development. Generally low taxes, and positive business environment will get you a lot farther than a single windmill-powered streetlight and an isolated electric charging station.

The township will have until next year to install the station that's being offered free to the township. The township and the library will split the cost of installing the station - approximately $7,000 to $12,000 total.

The township has yet to report if they've broken even on the windmill, so I'm glad to see they've apparently got the money to burn on this latest SWPL trend.

There's allegedly 200 electric-type vehicles in the township, so it'll take a long time to recoup this expense, assuming that is correct and people stop plugging in at home. Noted in the article, the township will charge 25 cents for 15 charging minutes up to two hours.

The library's share of $6,000 would sure have bought a whole lot of reading and audio-visual materials, and educational programs which is kinda the whole mission of a library after all.

Aside form this misguided flirtation with a township-level Solyndra, I must say the Library really is top rate with lots a great materials, a great learning environment and great staff. So we'll forgive this one misstep.

That is assuming they finally get with it and get some books by Tom Kratman, Larry Correia and Michael Z. Williamson on the shelves and while you're at it, update the John Ringo collection as you're just not keeping up.

You could get all of these authors on the shelves for under $200 and they'd actually be read - considering they've just gone and spend six grand on something the vast majority of their patrons will never use, what's the excuse for not buying that which their patrons will read?

West Bloomfield Officer Down

The Detroit News Suspected gunman in officer's death had just gotten divorced, faced eviction

I won't say much about the scumbag killer, who is apparently still holed up in his house after his cowardly assault and ambush. He killed Officer O'Rourke who had been coming to help him, responding to the call that there was a suicidal occupant in the house.

Instead, let's talk about the officer:

Described as "a model police officer and a good family man," O'Rourke was a Fenton resident who went to Wayne County Regional Police Training Center at Schoolcraft College and became an officer in 2000. He grew up in Hartland.

He was 39, a father of four kids. Darn.

I think, but am not sure, that Officer O'Rorke may have been the second responding officer in the Kia hitting the RAV incident as he looks familiar. If so, he was an observant and courteous officer with a professional demeanor.

West Bloomfield just lost a credit to our community.

RIP Officer Patrick O’Rourke, and thank you for your service.

Arab Caught With Explosives And Buying Grenades In West Bloomfield "It's Just A Hobby".

From JewintheD:Jewish Lawyer Claims Alaa Qasawa Of West Bloomfield Was Collecting Explosives As A Hobby

Relatives of a West Bloomfield Township man were tearful Thursday as the father of four appeared in federal court on allegations he attempted to illegally obtain and manufacture explosive materials.

Alaa Manuel Qasawa was arrested Wednesday after the FBI raided his home and the Tubby’s sub shop he owns in Lake Orion.

U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge Laurie Michelson scheduled a detention hearing for 1 p.m. Monday. Until then, Qasawa will remain in the custody of U.S. Marshals.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Mulcahy told Michelson that more than 100 items were taken from Qasawa’s home, including computer evidence, when the search warrant was executed Wednesday.

A criminal complaint unsealed Thursday charges Qasawa with violating federal laws by seeking to obtain stolen explosive material — including fuses and grenades — and manufacture the materials without a license.

In a federal affidavit, FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Jacobs alleged a “cooperating witness” spoke with Qasawa, a self-described collector, on various occasions between Aug. 3 and Aug. 23.

Mitch Ribitwer, an attorney repressing Qasawa, said his client is a collector who makes replicas and has “no evil intent.”

“It’s a hobby,” Ribitwer said Thursday, adding Qasawa’s wife of 21 years is “distraught, upset and concerned.”

However, as the Oakland Press reports, it certainly looks like Mr. Qasawa was trying to manufacture live grenades, and quite a few of them:

Agents concluded from the calls that Qasawa already possessed explosives, including an M228 — which is a pyrotechnic delay igniting fuse used in conjunction with an M69 grenade body — and was in need of blasting caps without holes, or he was attempting to build a fully functional M228 fuse assembly.

On Aug. 23, the witness made another FBI-monitored call to Qasawa, letting him know the shipment was ready but that the witness wanted to make sure the items being sent were correct. The witness offered to sell Qasawa an entire grenade assembly, which are illegal to sell to the public.

Qasawa agreed to pay $25 for the assembly. Qasawa also asked for blasting caps to go with the M228 fuse. The witness said they were hard to get. They discussed how the grenade would be handled and shipped. Qasawa asked if the witness could get four or five a month, and the witness said he would try.

The FBI said they concluded Qasawa — who is not licensed to have explosives by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office — is attempting to manufacture explosive devices.

Court officials with the Eastern District Court in Detroit expected Qasawa would be arraigned this week.

Four or five live grenades per month is quite a hobby habit, now isn't it? It will certainly be interesting to see how this particular case develops.

WBPD officers, unlike the IMPD, don't drive drunk, but do chaffeur some who do

Unlike Tam's IMPD, West Bloomfield Officers don't drive impaired.

However, under some circumstances, they give those who are allegedly impaired rides home rather than arrest them.

At least they do if you happen to be the Township Supervisor's husband.

The Detroit Free Press: Officer suspended, West Bloomfield in uproar over lenient traffic stop of supervisor's husband

A West Bloomfield Township police officer was suspended Monday as officials investigate a traffic stop in which the officer pulled over the husband of Supervisor Michele Economou Ureste, performed a blood-alcohol test and drove him home.

The PBT at the roadside allegedly showed he was at .11, however no blood test or station test was done and he was driven home.

The Township Supervisor was also in the car, and I'm sure that had nothing at all to do with the results of the stop being a ride home rather than a ride to a cell.

Average Joes, or even Jalen Rose don't receive such lenient treatment.

In West Bloomfield, some impaired are more equal than others, and now that this has come to light the officer gets all of a five day suspension.

The plot further thickens when it turns out the reason for the officer lettign this one slide was that he worried about a millage for the police not being approved if he arrested the Supervisor's husband. Now, I wonder who gave him that concern?

The officer was suspended Monday, the same day the Township board -- including the supervisor -- voted to approve a three-year police department contract. The department had been working without a contract since December.

Earlier in the summer, the board agreed to place a millage request on the November ballot, asking for 2.85 mills to fund public safety.

Patton said the officer cited that millage when confronted about the traffic stop.

"He was worried about the millage," the chief said the officer stated.

The officer has been on the force for three years, Diamond said today.

I suspect that this officer got placed in a no-win situation and the five day suspension was a wrist slap for getting caught out.

Meanwhile, the prosecutors have decided that Mr. Economou can't be charged due to a lack of evidence as conveniently no blood test or station test was performed.

The Economous deny he was drunk and claim he was just tired and are now claiming they've been defamed by the incident.

Who is this Jalen Rose person and why should I care?

So I was going to the 48th District Court this morning on a motion and as I entered the parking lot I found it packed, complete with three TV crew vans and camerman and reporters milling about.

One would think there was a high profile murder arraignment or something similar going on.

It turns out that the focus of the feeding frenzy, Jalen Rose is a former University of Michigan and NBA star who was involved in a single-vehicle accident after drinking 6 martinis and veering off the road in the snow. He plead guilty and was set to be sentenced today.

So I did my motion and left the circus behind.

Given that Mr. Rose is set to come in front of Judge Kimberly Small, a judge well known for hammering drunk drivers, I expect he's going to be looking at some jail time and heavy fines, not to mention being an example pour encourager les autres.

Some people's lives are lived as an example to others of what not to do, and drunk driving in West Bloomfield tends to be heavily penalized, unlike Detroit for example.

Drinking 6 martinis and then getting into an automobile is behavior to be avoided not emulated.

Update: And he gets 20 days in jail after having 73 days of the 93 day sentence suspended Not a bad amount of time, considering the pressure the judge was under to be lenient on him from such luminaries as Detroit Mayor David Bing and the Detroit Free Press with its uncannily timely coverage of the differences in sentencing for drunk driving around the southeast Michigan / Detroit area.