This is nuts

This video is a sad example of what people in America think is a priority.

Now there's something you don't see every day

From the Daily News:

Talk about a crazy commute. A reckless rider was spotted on top of a Long Island Rail Road train in Queens Sunday morning.

Boruch Nemtzov, 28, was waiting at the Forest Hills station for a ride to his job in Manhattan when he saw the man on top of an eastbound train and snapped a picture with his iPhone.

“What was he doing up there? Maybe he was trying to beat a $20 fare,” Nemtzov said.

Nemtzov called 911, but officials could not confirm if the nut was apprehended.

New way to report crime

From the Daily News:

A new smartphone app developed by a Brooklyn politician allows New Yorkers to report crimes — without going to the NYPD.

Sen. Eric Adams (D-Brooklyn) plans to unveil an app Sunday that goes around cops, letting users snap a picture of suspected criminal activity or make a voice recording describing what they’ve seen and submit it anonymously. A team of retired law enforcement volunteers will share it with investigators through a private Facebook page.

The program, available as a Google or Apple app or a mobile website, also sends out alerts to users about emergencies.

App developer Garth Naar, owner of Mobile App Depot, added the program makes it easier to send in photos and audio recordings. “This is a great supplement [to call cops], because with 911, of course, you can’t pass on an image or a video,” he said.

Scores busted in I-thefts

From Metro:

Scores of newsstand, deli, barbershop and convenience store workers were arrested Friday as part of a five-borough NYPD sting to stop the sale of stolen Apple products.

Police said employees at the targeted locations were allegedly selling stolen iPad2s and iPhone4s for between $50 to $200 a piece.

Those same employees were also eager to buy devices they knew to be stolen, hawked by undercover officers, according to police.

Police worked as both undercover sellers and buyers in the sting.

One-hundred and forty one people were charged in the sting — 42 in Brooklyn, 41 in Manhattan, 31 in the Bronx, 21 in Queens and six on Staten Island.

That's so dope(y)!

From NY1:

If you need help busting a thief, there's definitely an app for that.

Police say Brian Chattoo, 23, was arrested Friday after allegedly stealing an iPhone from a woman.

Investigators say he bumped into the woman on a Queens street Monday night and stole her phone.

However, the phone was equipped with an app called "iGotYa," which automatically took this photo of Chattoo when he tried to unlock it.

The photo was then e-mailed to the woman who gave it to police.

Chattoo is charged with grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

A lesson for Nussie

From the Daily News:

Asian women are everywhere. We rank No. 11 on the blog "Stuff White People Like" and star in a host of iPhone apps: "Cute Asian Girls" promised; "If you have yellow fever, this app is the cure!" "Asian Boobs," which heralds our modest-sized racks, was a top seller for the App Store in October.

Now, we're playing peek-a-boo in "Puff!" In this app, the user selects a photo from a scrolling selection of Japanese women, then blows into the iPhone microphone to lift the woman's skirt and reveal her undergarments.

I'm infuriated at the thought of sitting next to some pervert on the subway furiously blowing and touching a woman who giggles adorably in response. But what I hate most about this app is that it feeds into an old and tired stereotype. The image of the voiceless, passive Asian woman is a common form of racism in visual media. She's the "Puff!" woman - cutesy and obedient, she'd never kick a creep to the curb. She's not too different from that saccharine Hello Kitty, the infantilized mail-order bride who promises to "love you long time" or the hypersexualized character in anime porn.

Passing off sexual stereotypes that reduce women as objects of so-called harmless fetishes is socially irresponsible. And it's not harmless. By fostering a culture of behavior that denigrates one group of women, all women are denigrated. And that is unacceptable.