If the Democrats are not defeated in the run for the White House in November, their party will not reassess its shift to radicalism and reconsider its increasingly hostile stance on Israel
By Caroline Glick
Jerusalem Post
February 6, 2016
On Wednesday the US media interrupted its saturation coverage of the presidential primaries to report on President Barack Obama’s visit to a mosque in Maryland. The visit was Obama’s first public one to a mosque in the US since entering the White House seven years ago. The mosque Obama chose to visit demonstrated once again that his views of radical Islam are deeply problematic.
Obama visited the Islamic Society of Baltimore, a mosque with longstanding ties to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. During Operation Protective Edge, the leaders of the mosque accused Israel of genocide and demanded that the administration end US support for the Jewish state.
According to The Daily Caller, the mosque’s former imam Mohammad Adam el-Sheikh was active in the Islamic American Relief Agency, a charity deemed a terror group in 2004 after the US Treasury Department determined it had transferred funds to Osama bin Laden, Hamas, al-Qaida and other terrorist groups.
El-Sheikh left the Baltimore mosque to take over the Dar el-Hijra mosque in northern Virginia. He replaced Anwar al-Awlaki as imam after Awlaki moved to Yemen in 2003. In Yemen Awlaki rose to become a senior al-Qaida commander.
Awlaki radicalized many American jihadists both through direct contact and online. He radicalized US Army major Nidal Malik Hasan, and inspired him to carry out the 2009 massacre of 13 US soldiers and civilians at Fort Hood in Texas. Awlaki was killed by a US drone strike in 2011.
In 2010, a member of the Islamic Society of Baltimore was arrested for planning to attack an army recruiting office. According to the Mediaite news portail, the mosque reportedly refused to cooperate with the FBI in its investigation.
Obama’s visit to the radical mosque now is a clear signal of how he intends to spend his last year in office. It tells us that during this period, Obama will adopt ever more extreme positions regarding radical Islam.
Obama’s apologetics for radical Islamists is the flipside of his hostility for Israel. This too is escalating and will continue to rise through the end of his tenure in office.
The US Customs authority’s announcement last week that it will begin enforcing a 20-yearold decision to require goods imported from Judea and Samaria to be labeled “Made in the West Bank,” rather than “Made in Israel,” signals Obama’s intentions. So, too, it is abundantly clear that France’s plan to use the UN Security Council to dictate Israel’s borders was coordinated in advance with the Obama administration.
Part of the reason Obama is acting with such urgency and intensity is that he knows that regardless of who is elected to replace him, the next president will not be as viscerally hostile to Israel or as emotionally attached to Islam as he is.
On the Democratic side, neither candidate is a particularly energetic supporter of Israel or counter- jihad warrior. Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton’s recently released email discussions of Israel with her closest advisers indicate that all of Clinton’s closest counselors are hostile to Israel.
For his part, Vermont’s socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders harbors the far Left’s now standard anti-Israel attitudes. Not only did Sanders – like Clinton – support Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. He boycotted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before the Joint Houses of Congress where Netanyahu laid out Israel’s reasons for opposing the deal. Sanders gave television interviews condemning Netanyahu for making the speech, accusing him of electioneering on the back of the US Congress. Sanders criticized Israel during Operation Protective Edge and supports decreasing US military aid to Israel.
For all their anti-Israel sensibilities, though, neither Clinton nor Sanders gives the impression that they are driven by them as Obama is.
Unlike Obama, neither appear to be animated by their hostility toward Israel. Neither seem to be passionate in their support for Muslim Brotherhood- affiliated groups or in their desire to realign the US away from Israel, from its traditional Arab allies and toward Iran. This lack of passion makes it safe to assume that if elected president, while they will adopt anti-Israel policies, they will not seek out ways to weaken Israel or strengthen its sworn enemies.
On the Republican side, the situation is entirely different. All of the Republican presidential candidates are pro-Israel. To be sure, some are more pro-Israel than others. Sen. Ted Cruz, for instance, is more supportive than his competitors. But all of the Republicans candidates are significantly more supportive of Israel than the Democratic candidates. So it is simply an objective fact that Israel will be better off if a Republican is elected in November no matter who he is and no matter who the Democratic candidate is.
It hasn’t always been this way. And it doesn’t have to remain this way.
Back in 1992 when Bill Clinton was running against George H.W. Bush, if Israel was your issue, you voted for Clinton because he was rightly viewed as more pro-Israel than Bush.
Twenty-four years ago, supporting Israel carried no cost for Clinton. According to Gallup, in 1992, 52 percent of Democrats were pro-Israel.
On the other hand, Bush was probably harmed somewhat for the widespread perception that he was anti-Israel. In 1992, 62% of Republicans were pro-Israel.
Over the past 15 years, the situation has altered considerably.
Today, Republicans are near unanimous in their support for Israel. According to a Gallup poll from February 2015, 83% of Republicans support Israel.
Only 48% of Democrats do. From 2014 to 2015, Democratic support for Israel plunged 10 points.
The cleavage on Israel is particularly acute among partisan elites.
Last summer, pollster Frank Luntz conducted a survey of US elite partisan opinion on Israel. His data were devastating. According to Luntz’s data, 76% of Democratic elite believe that Israel has too much influence over US foreign policy. Only 20% of Republicans do.
Nearly half (47%) of highly educated, wealthy and politically active Democrats think that Israel is a racist country. Thirteen percent of their Republican counterparts agree.
And whereas only 48% of Democrats believe that Israel wants peace, 88% of Republicans believe that Israel wants peace with its neighbors.
These trends affect voting habits. According to Luntz, while only 18% of Democrats say they would be more likely to vote for a politician who supports Israel, 31% said they are less likely to vote for a pro-Israel candidate. In contrast, 76% of Republicans say they want their representatives to support Israel.
Forty-five percent of Democrats said they would be more likely to vote for a politician who is critical of Israel and 75% of Republicans said they would be less likely to vote for an anti-Israel candidate.
These data tell us two important things. Today Democratic candidates will gain nothing and may lose significant support if they support Israel.
In contrast, a Republican who opposes Israel will have a hard time getting elected, much less winning a primary.
Partisan sensibilities aren’t the only reason that Israel is will be better off if a Republican wins in November. There is also the issue of policy continuity.
Even though neither Clinton nor Sanders share Obama’s anti-Israel passion, their default position will be to maintain his policies. Traditionally, when an outgoing president is replaced by a successor from his own party, many of his foreign policy advisers stay on to serve his successor.
Moreover, if American voters elect a Democrat to succeed Obama, their decision will rightly be viewed as a vote of confidence in his policies.
Obama has radicalized the Democratic Party in his seven years in office. When Obama was inaugurated, the Blue Dog caucus of conservative Democratic members of the House of Representatives had 54 members. Today only 14 remain.
Obama’s Democratic Party is not Bill Clinton’s party.
A party that isn’t forced to pay a price for its policies isn’t likely to change them. If the Democrats are not defeated in the run for the White House in November, their party will not reassess its shift to radicalism and reconsider its increasingly hostile stance on Israel.
That then brings us to the state of the presidential race following the Iowa caucuses and ahead of next Tuesday’s primary in New Hampshire. The Iowa caucuses showed a significant gap in enthusiasm among partisan voters. Participation rates in the Republican caucuses were unprecedented.
Cruz shattered the record for vote getting in the state that saw participation rates up 30% from 2012. On the Democratic side, participation rates were below the 2008 level.
On the Republican side, the three top candidates – Cruz, businessman Donald Trump and Sen. Marco Rubio – are all backed by committed, fervent supporters. On the Democratic side, Clinton’s supporters are reportedly diffident about her. And while Sanders enjoys enthusiastic support from voters under 45, he can’t seem to convince people who actually know what socialism is to support him.
If Sanders wins the Democratic nomination, on the face of it, it is difficult to see his path to victory in the general election. Whereas Obama was elected by hiding his radical positions, Sanders is running openly as a socialist and attacks Obama from the Left. Whether America is a center-right or center-left country, the undisputed truth is that it is a centrist country.
As for Clinton, the likelihood grows by the day that by the general election, her inability to inspire her base will be the least of her problems.
The FBI’s ongoing probe of her use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state is devastating her chances of getting elected.
The State Department’s revelation last week that 22 of Clinton’s emails were too classified to be released, even with parts blacked out, makes it impossible to dismiss the prospect that she will be indicted for serious felony offenses. Yet, as Jonah Goldberg argued Wednesday in National Review, with her narrow victory in Iowa, Clinton blocked the opening for a less damaged candidate – like Vice President Joe Biden or former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg – to step into the race.
In other words, the Republican nominee will have an energized base and will face either a legally challenged or openly socialist Democratic opponent.
According to terrorism expert Steven Emerson, before Obama visited the Islamic Society of Baltimore, he asked the FBI for its opinion of the mosque. FBI investigators informed Obama of the mosque’s ties to terrorism. They urged him not to confer it with the legitimacy that comes with a presidential visit.
Obama ignored the FBI’s advice.
The next 11 months will be miserable for Israel.
But we should take heart. By all accounts, next year will be better. And judging by the way the presidential race is shaping up, next year may be a much, much better year.
Saturday, February 06, 2016
Friday, February 05, 2016
KOOKY CALIFORNIA PROGRAM THAT PAYS CRIME-PRONE MEN UP TO $9,000 A YEAR NOT TO COMMIT CRIMES IS ADOPTED BY DC
The D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve a bill that includes a proposal to pay crime-prone residents a stipend of up to $9,000 if they don't commit any crimes for a year
In 2007, to keep them from committing crimes, Richmond, California instituted a program in which they paid a stipend of up to $9,000 a year to men who were considered at risk of committing violent crimes. According to the Daily Mail, Richmond’s authorities report the program has been an overwhelming success, claiming that 79 per cent of those participating in the program have not been suspected of involvement in any gun crimes since joining the program. They also cite that the city had experienced a 77 per cent drop in homicides between 2007 and 2014.
In order to receive any stipends, program participants must participate in behavioral therapy and other programs. They are paid the stipends only if they do not commit any crimes while in the program.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve Richmond’s program for the nation’s capital.
D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie argued that spending $9,000 a year in stipends “pales in comparison” to the cost of someone being victimized, along with the costs of imprisoning the offender.
Richmond says that 79 per cent of those participating in the program have not been suspected of involvement in any gun crimes. But I wonder how many crimes they committed, with or without a gun, for which they have not been caught? And there is no way to determine whether the drop in homicides can be attributed to the stipend program.
To me this looks like just another kooky idea from Kookfornia. But there is one thing the D.C. Council Members have shown – they are just as kooky as their Richmond counterparts.
In 2007, to keep them from committing crimes, Richmond, California instituted a program in which they paid a stipend of up to $9,000 a year to men who were considered at risk of committing violent crimes. According to the Daily Mail, Richmond’s authorities report the program has been an overwhelming success, claiming that 79 per cent of those participating in the program have not been suspected of involvement in any gun crimes since joining the program. They also cite that the city had experienced a 77 per cent drop in homicides between 2007 and 2014.
In order to receive any stipends, program participants must participate in behavioral therapy and other programs. They are paid the stipends only if they do not commit any crimes while in the program.
On Tuesday, the D.C. Council voted unanimously to approve Richmond’s program for the nation’s capital.
D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie argued that spending $9,000 a year in stipends “pales in comparison” to the cost of someone being victimized, along with the costs of imprisoning the offender.
Richmond says that 79 per cent of those participating in the program have not been suspected of involvement in any gun crimes. But I wonder how many crimes they committed, with or without a gun, for which they have not been caught? And there is no way to determine whether the drop in homicides can be attributed to the stipend program.
To me this looks like just another kooky idea from Kookfornia. But there is one thing the D.C. Council Members have shown – they are just as kooky as their Richmond counterparts.
JOHNNY MANZIEL ABOUT OUT OF TIME AFTER ANOTHER DOMESTIC INCIDENT
Now, the debate has nothing to do with football. It's about whether or not he can make it as a human being, a far more depressing and serious debate
By Sean Pendergast
Houston Press
February 1, 2016
In the movie Pulp Fiction, there's a scene where the gangster Marcellus Wallace warns boxer Butch (played by Bruce Willis) that he'd better get the hell out of Los Angeles because he's "lost all of his L.A. privileges." In that movie, Butch had truly stabbed Wallace in the back by reneging on the promise of throwing a fight to where Wallace lost millions of dollars because of the backstabbing.
Now, Johnny Manziel hasn't inflicted that type of fiscal or emotional harm on any of the 32 NFL football teams, except for the Cleveland Browns, who pay him 17 times a year. However, it appears that Manziel is awfully close to running out his string with the NFL and losing his "L.A. privileges" not only in L.A. but in the other 29 NFL cities (two teams in L.A., two in New Jersey) after his latest escapades in Fort Worth over the weekend.
Early Saturday morning, police in Fort Worth were notified of a domestic incident involving Manziel, which, in some sense, wasn't anything new with Johnny Manziel, considering it was only a few months ago that he and his now-believed-to-be-ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley were involved in an incident alongside a road in Avon, Ohio, in which Crowley said that Manziel slammed her face against the glass window of his car.
However, Saturday's was another disturbing incident, piled on top of several other disturbing incidents in the past several months, that would lead us to believe that the NFL should be the furthest thing from Johnny Manziel's mind. The dude needs serious help.
On Saturday, Fort Worth officers were called to an apartment building around 2 a.m. about a possible assault. Reportedly, police spoke with a 23-year-old woman who said she'd been involved in an incident earlier that evening with her ex-boyfriend in Dallas. A preliminary investigation determined that there may have been an assault earlier in the evening, though it should be noted that the woman refused to cooperate with officers.
That woman also told officers she was concerned about her ex-boyfriend's welfare. It was determined the ex-boyfirend was indeed Manziel and they made an effort to locate him, including through use of a helicopter. Fort Worth police said they are working with Dallas police to determine whether any criminal offenses occurred, which Dallas police confirmed in a statement.
If you're keeping track at home, here's Manziel's rap sheet over the past few months:
The aforementioned incident with Crowley in which Manziel told police in Ohio that he'd had a few drinks earlier in the day as he was arguing with Crowley on the side of the road. Worth mentioning here, Manziel spent ten weeks in rehab during the 2015 offseason.
Just days after he was named the team's starter in mid-November, video of Manziel with a bottle in his hand at an Austin bar surfaced. Manziel lied and said it was an old video, and was immediately demoted to third string.
A little more than a month later, Manziel suffered a concussion and was ruled out of the team's final game of the regular season. However, instead of remaining in Cleveland to live out the rest of the season with his teammates, Manziel was reportedly in Las Vegas for the weekend in disguise (a yellow wig and mustache; can't make that up).
Since the season ended, Mike Pettine has been relieved of head coaching duties with the Browns and replaced by Hue Jackson, who reportedly wants no part of Manziel as a Brown going forward. Honestly, football should be the least of Manziel's worries. When Manziel was Johnny Football at A&M and oversleeping the Manning Passing Academy, we laughed off these peccadilloes as those of a kid who just needed to grow up. When he had a tumultuous rookie season, we chalked it up to rookie adjustments.
There's no more rope left for Manziel now, though. He's fixing to go down hard, and worse, he seems to be the last one to be realizing this. It's a shame. It was a far more interesting football world when the Manziel debate centered around football reasons concerning whether or not he could make the NFL. Now, the debate has nothing to do with football. It's about whether or not he can make it as a human being, a far more depressing and serious debate.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was reported that in 2014 Manziel signed a 4 year, $8,248,596 contract with the Cleveland Browns, including a $4,318,980 signing bonus, $7,998,596 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $2,062,149.
The future quarterback of the Browns tanked out early. In his two seasons, Manziel started only eight games and played in only 15. He got far more attention for his presence at drunken parties than he did on the playing field.
The Browns have had their fill of Johnny Football’s off-field shenanigans. They announced Tuesday that his ass will be booted off the team just as soon as the NFL rules allow it, which will be next month. Manziel may as well kiss his football career goodbye because even the Dallas Cowboys will be unlikely to touch this playboy.
By Sean Pendergast
Houston Press
February 1, 2016
In the movie Pulp Fiction, there's a scene where the gangster Marcellus Wallace warns boxer Butch (played by Bruce Willis) that he'd better get the hell out of Los Angeles because he's "lost all of his L.A. privileges." In that movie, Butch had truly stabbed Wallace in the back by reneging on the promise of throwing a fight to where Wallace lost millions of dollars because of the backstabbing.
Now, Johnny Manziel hasn't inflicted that type of fiscal or emotional harm on any of the 32 NFL football teams, except for the Cleveland Browns, who pay him 17 times a year. However, it appears that Manziel is awfully close to running out his string with the NFL and losing his "L.A. privileges" not only in L.A. but in the other 29 NFL cities (two teams in L.A., two in New Jersey) after his latest escapades in Fort Worth over the weekend.
Early Saturday morning, police in Fort Worth were notified of a domestic incident involving Manziel, which, in some sense, wasn't anything new with Johnny Manziel, considering it was only a few months ago that he and his now-believed-to-be-ex-girlfriend Colleen Crowley were involved in an incident alongside a road in Avon, Ohio, in which Crowley said that Manziel slammed her face against the glass window of his car.
However, Saturday's was another disturbing incident, piled on top of several other disturbing incidents in the past several months, that would lead us to believe that the NFL should be the furthest thing from Johnny Manziel's mind. The dude needs serious help.
On Saturday, Fort Worth officers were called to an apartment building around 2 a.m. about a possible assault. Reportedly, police spoke with a 23-year-old woman who said she'd been involved in an incident earlier that evening with her ex-boyfriend in Dallas. A preliminary investigation determined that there may have been an assault earlier in the evening, though it should be noted that the woman refused to cooperate with officers.
That woman also told officers she was concerned about her ex-boyfriend's welfare. It was determined the ex-boyfirend was indeed Manziel and they made an effort to locate him, including through use of a helicopter. Fort Worth police said they are working with Dallas police to determine whether any criminal offenses occurred, which Dallas police confirmed in a statement.
If you're keeping track at home, here's Manziel's rap sheet over the past few months:
The aforementioned incident with Crowley in which Manziel told police in Ohio that he'd had a few drinks earlier in the day as he was arguing with Crowley on the side of the road. Worth mentioning here, Manziel spent ten weeks in rehab during the 2015 offseason.
Just days after he was named the team's starter in mid-November, video of Manziel with a bottle in his hand at an Austin bar surfaced. Manziel lied and said it was an old video, and was immediately demoted to third string.
A little more than a month later, Manziel suffered a concussion and was ruled out of the team's final game of the regular season. However, instead of remaining in Cleveland to live out the rest of the season with his teammates, Manziel was reportedly in Las Vegas for the weekend in disguise (a yellow wig and mustache; can't make that up).
Since the season ended, Mike Pettine has been relieved of head coaching duties with the Browns and replaced by Hue Jackson, who reportedly wants no part of Manziel as a Brown going forward. Honestly, football should be the least of Manziel's worries. When Manziel was Johnny Football at A&M and oversleeping the Manning Passing Academy, we laughed off these peccadilloes as those of a kid who just needed to grow up. When he had a tumultuous rookie season, we chalked it up to rookie adjustments.
There's no more rope left for Manziel now, though. He's fixing to go down hard, and worse, he seems to be the last one to be realizing this. It's a shame. It was a far more interesting football world when the Manziel debate centered around football reasons concerning whether or not he could make the NFL. Now, the debate has nothing to do with football. It's about whether or not he can make it as a human being, a far more depressing and serious debate.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It was reported that in 2014 Manziel signed a 4 year, $8,248,596 contract with the Cleveland Browns, including a $4,318,980 signing bonus, $7,998,596 guaranteed, and an average annual salary of $2,062,149.
The future quarterback of the Browns tanked out early. In his two seasons, Manziel started only eight games and played in only 15. He got far more attention for his presence at drunken parties than he did on the playing field.
The Browns have had their fill of Johnny Football’s off-field shenanigans. They announced Tuesday that his ass will be booted off the team just as soon as the NFL rules allow it, which will be next month. Manziel may as well kiss his football career goodbye because even the Dallas Cowboys will be unlikely to touch this playboy.
US IGNORES IMPRISONMENT OF US CITIZEN HELD ON TRUMPED UP CHARGES SINCE AUGUST 2013
A UN panel has ruled that Nestora Salgado is a political prisoner and should be freed, but the United States ignores her plight even though she is a US citizen
The family of former FBI Agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and is presumed to be held by the Iranian government, complains that the U.S. government has done little to secure his release and return home.
Levinson is not the only US citizen imprisoned in a foreign country on dubious or no charges. Nestora Salgado has been imprisoned in Mexico since August 2013 because she established and led a police force in the town where she was born and raised, to protect the people there from the drug cartels and from corruption. What she did was perfectly legal under Mexican law.
But when her police force arrested some girls for selling dope, she was arrested for kidnapping and has been imprisoned without a trial ever since. While a UN panel has declared Salgado a political prisoner who should be feed, the government of the United States has turned a blind eye to her plight. I guess it’s because the Obama administration does not want to antagonize the government of Mexico.
UN PANEL RULED THAT NESTORA SALGADO IS A POLITICAL PRISONER
Borderland from El Daily Post
February 3, 2016
The United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva, Switzerland has ruled that the detention and continued imprisonment Nestora Salgado by Mexican authorities was and is illegal and arbitrary. The ruling was made in December, over a month ago, but only communicated to her lawyers Tuesday. No explanation was given for the delay.
El Daily Post, reported today that the UN group said;
“In the first place, there is no doubt that the arrest and detention without charges is illegal and thus arbitrary." Not only did the panel call the arrest arbitrary it said Mexico "should not only free her but also compensate her for the violation of her human rights.Furthermore, the military arresting civilians for presumed crimes when national security is not at risk is worrying.”
Salgado grew up in Olinalá, a mountainous town of farmers and artisans in Guerrero. She legally migrated to the US when she was 20 years old and settled in the Seattle area, married a US citizen, and ultimately applied for and was granted US citizenship.
After making several trips back home to visit family in Olinala she became increasingly concerned about the lawlessness and cartel domination that her hometown was experiencing. That concern and anguish reached a boiling point a taxi driver was killed for not paying a "piso" (protection money) to a cartel.
She organized and led a community police force, (completely legal for indigenous communities under state and federal law) with mounted patrols to protect residents from organized crime and corruption. She was viewed as a local hero much the same as Dr. Mireles was in Michoacan.
But she was to meet much the same fate as Dr. Mireles when she was arrested in August 2013 by federal and state authorities for "kidnapping". A federal judge cleared her of those charges but she has continued to be held in prison on related state charges even though Guerrero’s governor called for her release last year.
Salgado was accused of kidnapping in connection with the arrest of several teenage girls on suspicion of drug dealing, and of a town official who was allegedly trying to steal a cow at the scene of a double killing.
Even though state law allows Olinalá and Guerrero’s other indigenous communities to organize their own police forces and make arrests, the families of the detained girls complained to state and federal officials who then said the arrests were illegal and constituted kidnapping.
In her first interview in June of 2015 (nearly 2 years after her arrest) with the international press since her imprisonment Nestora told the Guardian she was guilty of nothing more than helping her community stand up to the narcos and their corrupt political allies, and called on the Mexican government to release her and drop all the charges.
“I have no regrets about what I did, and I never will have any regrets,” she told the Guardian. “I am not a person who likes to confront the authorities, but in a place where dialogue is not possible, what else can you do?”
In the Guardian interview:
Sitting on her prison hospital bed in white and blue flannel pyjamas, Salgado, 43, said she had never underestimated the risks involved in taking a stand.
“The government is against people who want to do the right thing and protect their communities,” she said. “I know I have made my family suffer, but it is a sacrifice that had to be made.”
“I knew that when I started to expose the municipal government that there was a risk I would be arrested or killed,” she said. “I didn’t care. It was necessary.”
Government officials ignored her US passport. She was denied contact with her lawyers and family for almost year. Since imprisonment she has been denied adequate medical care and access to clean water, although recently she was moved to another prison ostensibly so she could get better medial care.
The ruling by the 5 person UN panel is not binding on Mexico but her supporters are hopeful that it will increase the pressure on EPN to release her from prison. Since she is a US citizen her supporters also plan to use this UN ruling to again demand the US Department of State to press Mexico for her release.
As reported in El Daily Post, The International Human Rights Clinic at Seattle University Law School has been pursuing her case at the U.N.’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva, Switzerland, for about two years.
Thomas Antkowiak, the law clinic’s director. said of the report;
“This is a very important channel for political pressure: We have an impartial, international panel that says she’s detained illegally. I think it’s kind of a breakthrough,” he said. “We’ve been in ongoing negotiations with the government in Mexico, the federal government mainly, and those have gone nowhere. We’re hoping this is going to inject new life into those negotiations.”
The family of former FBI Agent Robert Levinson, who disappeared in Iran in 2007 and is presumed to be held by the Iranian government, complains that the U.S. government has done little to secure his release and return home.
Levinson is not the only US citizen imprisoned in a foreign country on dubious or no charges. Nestora Salgado has been imprisoned in Mexico since August 2013 because she established and led a police force in the town where she was born and raised, to protect the people there from the drug cartels and from corruption. What she did was perfectly legal under Mexican law.
But when her police force arrested some girls for selling dope, she was arrested for kidnapping and has been imprisoned without a trial ever since. While a UN panel has declared Salgado a political prisoner who should be feed, the government of the United States has turned a blind eye to her plight. I guess it’s because the Obama administration does not want to antagonize the government of Mexico.
UN PANEL RULED THAT NESTORA SALGADO IS A POLITICAL PRISONER
Borderland from El Daily Post
February 3, 2016
The United Nation's Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva, Switzerland has ruled that the detention and continued imprisonment Nestora Salgado by Mexican authorities was and is illegal and arbitrary. The ruling was made in December, over a month ago, but only communicated to her lawyers Tuesday. No explanation was given for the delay.
El Daily Post, reported today that the UN group said;
“In the first place, there is no doubt that the arrest and detention without charges is illegal and thus arbitrary." Not only did the panel call the arrest arbitrary it said Mexico "should not only free her but also compensate her for the violation of her human rights.Furthermore, the military arresting civilians for presumed crimes when national security is not at risk is worrying.”
Salgado grew up in Olinalá, a mountainous town of farmers and artisans in Guerrero. She legally migrated to the US when she was 20 years old and settled in the Seattle area, married a US citizen, and ultimately applied for and was granted US citizenship.
After making several trips back home to visit family in Olinala she became increasingly concerned about the lawlessness and cartel domination that her hometown was experiencing. That concern and anguish reached a boiling point a taxi driver was killed for not paying a "piso" (protection money) to a cartel.
She organized and led a community police force, (completely legal for indigenous communities under state and federal law) with mounted patrols to protect residents from organized crime and corruption. She was viewed as a local hero much the same as Dr. Mireles was in Michoacan.
But she was to meet much the same fate as Dr. Mireles when she was arrested in August 2013 by federal and state authorities for "kidnapping". A federal judge cleared her of those charges but she has continued to be held in prison on related state charges even though Guerrero’s governor called for her release last year.
Salgado was accused of kidnapping in connection with the arrest of several teenage girls on suspicion of drug dealing, and of a town official who was allegedly trying to steal a cow at the scene of a double killing.
Even though state law allows Olinalá and Guerrero’s other indigenous communities to organize their own police forces and make arrests, the families of the detained girls complained to state and federal officials who then said the arrests were illegal and constituted kidnapping.
In her first interview in June of 2015 (nearly 2 years after her arrest) with the international press since her imprisonment Nestora told the Guardian she was guilty of nothing more than helping her community stand up to the narcos and their corrupt political allies, and called on the Mexican government to release her and drop all the charges.
“I have no regrets about what I did, and I never will have any regrets,” she told the Guardian. “I am not a person who likes to confront the authorities, but in a place where dialogue is not possible, what else can you do?”
In the Guardian interview:
Sitting on her prison hospital bed in white and blue flannel pyjamas, Salgado, 43, said she had never underestimated the risks involved in taking a stand.
“The government is against people who want to do the right thing and protect their communities,” she said. “I know I have made my family suffer, but it is a sacrifice that had to be made.”
“I knew that when I started to expose the municipal government that there was a risk I would be arrested or killed,” she said. “I didn’t care. It was necessary.”
Government officials ignored her US passport. She was denied contact with her lawyers and family for almost year. Since imprisonment she has been denied adequate medical care and access to clean water, although recently she was moved to another prison ostensibly so she could get better medial care.
The ruling by the 5 person UN panel is not binding on Mexico but her supporters are hopeful that it will increase the pressure on EPN to release her from prison. Since she is a US citizen her supporters also plan to use this UN ruling to again demand the US Department of State to press Mexico for her release.
As reported in El Daily Post, The International Human Rights Clinic at Seattle University Law School has been pursuing her case at the U.N.’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in Geneva, Switzerland, for about two years.
Thomas Antkowiak, the law clinic’s director. said of the report;
“This is a very important channel for political pressure: We have an impartial, international panel that says she’s detained illegally. I think it’s kind of a breakthrough,” he said. “We’ve been in ongoing negotiations with the government in Mexico, the federal government mainly, and those have gone nowhere. We’re hoping this is going to inject new life into those negotiations.”
A MOSOUE AS EXTREMIST MEGAPHONE
Even in leading Islamic institutions like Al Aqsa in Jerusalem, praising Islamist radicalism is common
By Steven Stalinsky
The Wall Street Journal
February 2, 2016
President Obama on Wednesday will visit a U.S. mosque for the first time in his presidency. According to the White House, during this visit he will “celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life.” Over the past two years, in the president’s efforts to counter violent extremism, he has emphasized the responsibility of Muslim “scholars and clerics” to help ensure that mosques are not used as a platform to preach Islamist extremism.
Such extremism isn’t limited to out-of-the-way mosques where radical clerics operate in the shadows. It is occurring in mainstream and leading mosques world-wide, including at one of the most important religious institutions in Islam, the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Consider a Jan. 16 sermon at Al Aqsa by Sheikh Abu Taqi Al-Din Al-Dari, a Palestinian cleric who called for jihad against the West and Europe, and for the burgeoning Islamic State to “conquer Rome, Washington and Paris.”
Despite Al Aqsa’s importance to Islam—it is considered the religion’s holiest site outside Saudi Arabia—few Westerners are aware of the content of the sermons, lectures and lessons offered there. Many of these sermons are posted on the mosque’s two official YouTube channels and have been translated from the Arabic by my organization, the Middle East Media Research Institute.
What we have found at Al Aqsa is a steady stream of calls for jihad and martyrdom, venomous attacks on Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims, and praise for al Qaeda, Islamic State, or ISIS, and other jihadist groups.
Calls for the destruction of the U.S. and the West, including promises that Islam will take over the world, are other common themes. On July 24 last year, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dweik—a frequent lecturer at the mosque and Palestinian cleric, like the other religious leaders quoted here—said: “The caliphate will come to be, and the nuclear bomb will be produced,” adding that this future Islamic caliphate—will “fight the U.S. and will bring it down” and “eliminate the West in its entirety.”
On July 6, 2015, Sheikh Muhammad Abed, known as “ Abu Abdallah,” declared that from “the land of the Prophet’s nocturnal journey”—a reference to Jerusalem—“armies will set out to conquer Rome, to conquer Constantinople,” and then he added to the list “Washington and London.”
In an Oct. 27 address at Al Aqsa, Sheikh Khaled Al-Maghrabi called for the annihilation of the Jews all over the world, providing justification by quoting the well-known hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) of the stone and the tree: “Oh Muslim there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.” Earlier at the mosque, on May 29, Sheikh Al-Maghrabi explained why Jews were killed in the Holocaust. “On Passover,” he said, the Jews “would knead the dough for these matzos with children’s blood. When this was discovered, the Israelites were expelled across Europe . . . It got to the point where they were burned in Germany.”
Such anti-Semitism is familiar at Al Aqsa. In another sermon there, on Nov. 28, 2014, cleric Omar Abu Sara called the Jews—to whom he said “every single vile trait has been attributed”—the “most evil creatures to have walked this Earth.” He added that “it was the Jews whom Allah turned into apes and pigs.”
If incendiary sermons such as those at Al Aqsa were being delivered in any Western city, authorities would not tolerate them. Over the past year in Europe, several sheikhs have been prosecuted or expelled for similarly extremist rhetoric. In Germany, an imam from Denmark who spoke in 2014 at the Al Nur mosque in Berlin faced criminal charges after calling for the killing of Jews, saying: “Count them and kill them to the very last one.” Two months ago, he was fined €1,300 ($1,420). Italian, Spanish and Danish authorities have handled similar matters involving hateful sermons.
At Al Aqsa, support is also strong for jihadist groups. On June 26 last summer, Palestinian cleric Issam Amira praised an ISIS-inspired attack in the small French town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, southeast of Lyon, after an Islamist radical decapitated his employer and then crashed his vehicle, causing an explosion. “The Muslims have given rise to ISIS, and to vehicular attackers,” the cleric said. “They are courageous.” He added his wish that “Allah soon reward the Islamic nation with a second rightly guided caliphate.” Destroying “the Jewish entity”—Israel—could then be achieved, he said.
Al Qaeda also comes in for praise at Al Aqsa. The day Osama bin Laden was killed, May 2, 2011, an unnamed preacher eulogized him. In an Al Aqsa video uploaded to YouTube, the speaker vowed that despite bin Laden’s death, the “nation of one billion Muslims will give birth to hundreds of millions” of bin Ladens. Then came a threat to President Obama: “You personally gave the order to kill Muslims. . . . The day will soon come when you find yourself hanging from the gallows.”
Our research at Memri indicates that the hateful rhetoric on display at Al Aqsa is hardly unique to that institution—similar incitements can be found at prominent mosques and Islamic institutes throughout the world. Our video archive at memritv.org contains thousands of examples.
A year ago in Washington, D.C., at the opening of the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, President Obama urged Muslims to “push back” against extremism in mosques. He will have an opportunity to restate that message on Wednesday in Baltimore. Acknowledging the Islamist threat, and those who support it, must be part of any realistic attempt at countering violent extremism.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think you have to be very careful here no to stigmatize all mosques as spewing out sermons of hatred. I suspect that most Mosques in America do not do so. When Stalisky says Islamic radicalism is common, I believe that is a reflection of visiting guest Imams, and not a daily occurrence. Of course, Mosques established around the world by the Saudis, including in the U.S., are ‘radical’ to begin with.
By Steven Stalinsky
The Wall Street Journal
February 2, 2016
President Obama on Wednesday will visit a U.S. mosque for the first time in his presidency. According to the White House, during this visit he will “celebrate the contributions Muslim Americans make to our nation and reaffirm the importance of religious freedom to our way of life.” Over the past two years, in the president’s efforts to counter violent extremism, he has emphasized the responsibility of Muslim “scholars and clerics” to help ensure that mosques are not used as a platform to preach Islamist extremism.
Such extremism isn’t limited to out-of-the-way mosques where radical clerics operate in the shadows. It is occurring in mainstream and leading mosques world-wide, including at one of the most important religious institutions in Islam, the Al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem.
Consider a Jan. 16 sermon at Al Aqsa by Sheikh Abu Taqi Al-Din Al-Dari, a Palestinian cleric who called for jihad against the West and Europe, and for the burgeoning Islamic State to “conquer Rome, Washington and Paris.”
Despite Al Aqsa’s importance to Islam—it is considered the religion’s holiest site outside Saudi Arabia—few Westerners are aware of the content of the sermons, lectures and lessons offered there. Many of these sermons are posted on the mosque’s two official YouTube channels and have been translated from the Arabic by my organization, the Middle East Media Research Institute.
What we have found at Al Aqsa is a steady stream of calls for jihad and martyrdom, venomous attacks on Jews, Christians and other non-Muslims, and praise for al Qaeda, Islamic State, or ISIS, and other jihadist groups.
Calls for the destruction of the U.S. and the West, including promises that Islam will take over the world, are other common themes. On July 24 last year, Sheikh Ahmad Al-Dweik—a frequent lecturer at the mosque and Palestinian cleric, like the other religious leaders quoted here—said: “The caliphate will come to be, and the nuclear bomb will be produced,” adding that this future Islamic caliphate—will “fight the U.S. and will bring it down” and “eliminate the West in its entirety.”
On July 6, 2015, Sheikh Muhammad Abed, known as “ Abu Abdallah,” declared that from “the land of the Prophet’s nocturnal journey”—a reference to Jerusalem—“armies will set out to conquer Rome, to conquer Constantinople,” and then he added to the list “Washington and London.”
In an Oct. 27 address at Al Aqsa, Sheikh Khaled Al-Maghrabi called for the annihilation of the Jews all over the world, providing justification by quoting the well-known hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) of the stone and the tree: “Oh Muslim there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.” Earlier at the mosque, on May 29, Sheikh Al-Maghrabi explained why Jews were killed in the Holocaust. “On Passover,” he said, the Jews “would knead the dough for these matzos with children’s blood. When this was discovered, the Israelites were expelled across Europe . . . It got to the point where they were burned in Germany.”
Such anti-Semitism is familiar at Al Aqsa. In another sermon there, on Nov. 28, 2014, cleric Omar Abu Sara called the Jews—to whom he said “every single vile trait has been attributed”—the “most evil creatures to have walked this Earth.” He added that “it was the Jews whom Allah turned into apes and pigs.”
If incendiary sermons such as those at Al Aqsa were being delivered in any Western city, authorities would not tolerate them. Over the past year in Europe, several sheikhs have been prosecuted or expelled for similarly extremist rhetoric. In Germany, an imam from Denmark who spoke in 2014 at the Al Nur mosque in Berlin faced criminal charges after calling for the killing of Jews, saying: “Count them and kill them to the very last one.” Two months ago, he was fined €1,300 ($1,420). Italian, Spanish and Danish authorities have handled similar matters involving hateful sermons.
At Al Aqsa, support is also strong for jihadist groups. On June 26 last summer, Palestinian cleric Issam Amira praised an ISIS-inspired attack in the small French town of Saint-Quentin-Fallavier, southeast of Lyon, after an Islamist radical decapitated his employer and then crashed his vehicle, causing an explosion. “The Muslims have given rise to ISIS, and to vehicular attackers,” the cleric said. “They are courageous.” He added his wish that “Allah soon reward the Islamic nation with a second rightly guided caliphate.” Destroying “the Jewish entity”—Israel—could then be achieved, he said.
Al Qaeda also comes in for praise at Al Aqsa. The day Osama bin Laden was killed, May 2, 2011, an unnamed preacher eulogized him. In an Al Aqsa video uploaded to YouTube, the speaker vowed that despite bin Laden’s death, the “nation of one billion Muslims will give birth to hundreds of millions” of bin Ladens. Then came a threat to President Obama: “You personally gave the order to kill Muslims. . . . The day will soon come when you find yourself hanging from the gallows.”
Our research at Memri indicates that the hateful rhetoric on display at Al Aqsa is hardly unique to that institution—similar incitements can be found at prominent mosques and Islamic institutes throughout the world. Our video archive at memritv.org contains thousands of examples.
A year ago in Washington, D.C., at the opening of the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism, President Obama urged Muslims to “push back” against extremism in mosques. He will have an opportunity to restate that message on Wednesday in Baltimore. Acknowledging the Islamist threat, and those who support it, must be part of any realistic attempt at countering violent extremism.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I think you have to be very careful here no to stigmatize all mosques as spewing out sermons of hatred. I suspect that most Mosques in America do not do so. When Stalisky says Islamic radicalism is common, I believe that is a reflection of visiting guest Imams, and not a daily occurrence. Of course, Mosques established around the world by the Saudis, including in the U.S., are ‘radical’ to begin with.
NYPD COP BUSTED FOR RUNNING PROSTITUTION RING
By Selim Algar and Kate Sheehy
New York Post
February 2, 2016
A Brooklyn cop moonlighted as a pimp with a stable of 11 hookers — sometimes heading straight from work at his NYPD precinct to his seedy side gig, authorities said Tuesday.
Eduardo Cornejo, an ex-Marine whose wife is a cop, used his personal car to ferry the prostitutes to hot-sheets motels around the area — charging johns $100 for 15 minutes and $150 for 30 minutes, officials said.
The 11-year veteran was well aware of the risks he was taking, according to a wiretap made while Cornejo was talking with several women in a car Jan. 21.
“That might make it hot though, standing outside with a bunch of girls. … [The cops] are going to know what’s up real quick,” he allegedly warned them.
Cornejo, 33, had been fired from the department last month after smoking pot and failing a drug test — and busted for prostitution Tuesday at the Nissan dealership where he had just taken a job.
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the FBI were first alerted to his alleged shenanigans after getting a tip in the spring that he was pimping out a woman.
In July, undercover officers saw Cornejo bringing young women to motels from Long Island to New Jersey and actively negotiating with customers, Brooklyn federal-court documents state.
Sources said Cornejo worked at the 67th Precinct before being transferred to the 79th Precinct around 2012. He was transferred because he had gotten into a dustup with a security guard during a Mets game at Citi Field over changing seats.
In October 2015, cops stopped Cornejo in his personal car for erratic driving after seeing him pimping several women at an East Meadow, LI, motel, officials said.
“During the car stop, members of law enforcement observed female attire including thong underwear inside the Cornejo vehicle,” papers state.
A judge authorized agents to install a bug in Cornejo’s car last month, and he was caught on tape explicitly discussing prostitution activity, according to the complaint.
He was arraigned and held without bail Tuesday. His estranged wife was in court but declined comment.
His brother told The Post that Cornejo was being framed.
“ He’s always been a good guy, he’s former military. I don’t know where all of this stuff came from,’’ said the sibling, who declined to be named.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shit, didn’t the NYPD brass and the feds realize that Cornejo was just moonlighting to make some extra bucks? Party Poopers!
New York Post
February 2, 2016
A Brooklyn cop moonlighted as a pimp with a stable of 11 hookers — sometimes heading straight from work at his NYPD precinct to his seedy side gig, authorities said Tuesday.
Eduardo Cornejo, an ex-Marine whose wife is a cop, used his personal car to ferry the prostitutes to hot-sheets motels around the area — charging johns $100 for 15 minutes and $150 for 30 minutes, officials said.
The 11-year veteran was well aware of the risks he was taking, according to a wiretap made while Cornejo was talking with several women in a car Jan. 21.
“That might make it hot though, standing outside with a bunch of girls. … [The cops] are going to know what’s up real quick,” he allegedly warned them.
Cornejo, 33, had been fired from the department last month after smoking pot and failing a drug test — and busted for prostitution Tuesday at the Nissan dealership where he had just taken a job.
The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the FBI were first alerted to his alleged shenanigans after getting a tip in the spring that he was pimping out a woman.
In July, undercover officers saw Cornejo bringing young women to motels from Long Island to New Jersey and actively negotiating with customers, Brooklyn federal-court documents state.
Sources said Cornejo worked at the 67th Precinct before being transferred to the 79th Precinct around 2012. He was transferred because he had gotten into a dustup with a security guard during a Mets game at Citi Field over changing seats.
In October 2015, cops stopped Cornejo in his personal car for erratic driving after seeing him pimping several women at an East Meadow, LI, motel, officials said.
“During the car stop, members of law enforcement observed female attire including thong underwear inside the Cornejo vehicle,” papers state.
A judge authorized agents to install a bug in Cornejo’s car last month, and he was caught on tape explicitly discussing prostitution activity, according to the complaint.
He was arraigned and held without bail Tuesday. His estranged wife was in court but declined comment.
His brother told The Post that Cornejo was being framed.
“ He’s always been a good guy, he’s former military. I don’t know where all of this stuff came from,’’ said the sibling, who declined to be named.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Shit, didn’t the NYPD brass and the feds realize that Cornejo was just moonlighting to make some extra bucks? Party Poopers!
Thursday, February 04, 2016
DELTA AIRLINES CREW ENTERTAINS PASSENGERS WITH BOXING MATCH AT 37,000 FEET
A Delta flight from LA to Minneapolis was diverted to Salt Lake City after two women flight attendants got into a fistfight while the plane was flying at 37,000 feet
Talk about in-flight entertainment, you can’t beat what happened January 22 on Delta Flight 2598. About 40 minutes after leaving LA on the way to Minneapolis, two women flight attendants got into an argument over some work issues. The argument escalated into a bare-knuckled boxing match. Another flight attendant tried to break up the fistfight but she got punched for her efforts.
Upon learning of the unscheduled in-flight entertainment, the pilot diverted the Boing 757 to Salt Lake City where the two combatants and the intervening attendant were kicked off the plane. The plane took off about 80 minutes later after replacements for the three were found.
A fistfight over work issues? I don’t think those two flight attendance need worry any more about Delta’s work issues. I am sure by now they have picked up their final paychecks.
Now maybe they can get a job fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization as mixed martial arts fighters.
Talk about in-flight entertainment, you can’t beat what happened January 22 on Delta Flight 2598. About 40 minutes after leaving LA on the way to Minneapolis, two women flight attendants got into an argument over some work issues. The argument escalated into a bare-knuckled boxing match. Another flight attendant tried to break up the fistfight but she got punched for her efforts.
Upon learning of the unscheduled in-flight entertainment, the pilot diverted the Boing 757 to Salt Lake City where the two combatants and the intervening attendant were kicked off the plane. The plane took off about 80 minutes later after replacements for the three were found.
A fistfight over work issues? I don’t think those two flight attendance need worry any more about Delta’s work issues. I am sure by now they have picked up their final paychecks.
Now maybe they can get a job fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) organization as mixed martial arts fighters.
GEORGIA EXECUTION: BETTER LATE THAN NEVER
After nearly 40 years on death row, man is finally executed just 10 days before his 73rd birthday
On June 17, 1979, Brandon Astor Jones and Van Roosevelt Solomon burglarized a suburban Atlanta convenience store, shooting a man inside to death. As luck would have it, a police officer happened to be outside the store and heard four shots. He went inside and saw Jones and Solomon standing over the body. He managed to arrest both perps. Jones and Solomon were both sentenced to death later that year.
Solomon was electrocuted on Feb. 20, 1985. Jones lingered on death row for 37 years while the courts heard numerous appeals. On one occasion he was ordered retried because the jury that sentenced him to death had a bible in the jury room while they deliberated his fate. He was again sentenced to death.
The end finally came at 12:46 a.m. Wednesday, when Jones croaked after receiving a single dose of pentobarbital. Jones had been the oldest man on Georgia’s death row, the execution taking place just 10 days before his 73rd birthday.
A flurry of last minute appeals challenging Georgia’s secrecy over who compounded the pentobarbital failed.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
It took more than an hour to prepare Jones for his lethal injection. According to a media witness who monitored the setup, it appeared they had to insert an IV into his groin area, which is protocol if the nurses cannot find accessible veins in the inmate’s arms.
Jones fought death. His eyes closed within a minute of the warden leaving the execution chamber, but 6 minutes later his eyes popped open. He looked at a clock on the wall, and then appeared to look at the man who prosecuted him in 1979, former Cobb County District Attorney Tom Charron, who was sitting on the front row.
37 years on death row? Jones was there so long that the veins in his arms had all collapsed. Ah well, better late than never.
On June 17, 1979, Brandon Astor Jones and Van Roosevelt Solomon burglarized a suburban Atlanta convenience store, shooting a man inside to death. As luck would have it, a police officer happened to be outside the store and heard four shots. He went inside and saw Jones and Solomon standing over the body. He managed to arrest both perps. Jones and Solomon were both sentenced to death later that year.
Solomon was electrocuted on Feb. 20, 1985. Jones lingered on death row for 37 years while the courts heard numerous appeals. On one occasion he was ordered retried because the jury that sentenced him to death had a bible in the jury room while they deliberated his fate. He was again sentenced to death.
The end finally came at 12:46 a.m. Wednesday, when Jones croaked after receiving a single dose of pentobarbital. Jones had been the oldest man on Georgia’s death row, the execution taking place just 10 days before his 73rd birthday.
A flurry of last minute appeals challenging Georgia’s secrecy over who compounded the pentobarbital failed.
According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
It took more than an hour to prepare Jones for his lethal injection. According to a media witness who monitored the setup, it appeared they had to insert an IV into his groin area, which is protocol if the nurses cannot find accessible veins in the inmate’s arms.
Jones fought death. His eyes closed within a minute of the warden leaving the execution chamber, but 6 minutes later his eyes popped open. He looked at a clock on the wall, and then appeared to look at the man who prosecuted him in 1979, former Cobb County District Attorney Tom Charron, who was sitting on the front row.
37 years on death row? Jones was there so long that the veins in his arms had all collapsed. Ah well, better late than never.
SENATOR JOHN CORNYN AIMS TO SWAY FELLOW REPUBLICANS ON CRIMINAL JUSTICE
Some analysts have suggested that it could help Republicans by broadening their appeal to independents, Democrats and minorities who believe that the criminal justice system is unfairly tilted
By Carl Hulse
The New York Times
January 29, 2016
WASHINGTON — Senator John Cornyn, a former Texas judge and attorney general, is a devoted believer in the criminal justice overhaul awaiting its moment in the Senate. Now, he just has to convert doubting Republican colleagues.
Mr. Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican and a main author of the criminal justice legislation, which would cut some sentences and ease re-entry after prison, is working to address fears from fellow Republicans that passage of the bill could set loose some dangerous offenders and diminish the party’s law-and-order image.
Acknowledging the deep skepticism, Mr. Cornyn said in an interview that his job was to educate Republicans who were only beginning to focus on the legislation and to make clear that it would not throw open the gates of federal prisons.
“Nobody is getting out of jail free, which is some of the characterization that is out there,” said Mr. Cornyn, who describes himself “as conservative as they come.”
For months, momentum has been building for a comprehensive criminal justice package aimed at easing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders. The effort has been driven by an unusual right-left alliance that includes the conservatives Charles G. and David H. Koch and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved its plan on a strong bipartisan vote in October, and companion legislation is moving in the House. But Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has not committed to bringing the legislation to the floor. Mr. McConnell has been cautious on the issue, and other Republicans have expressed increasingly vocal opposition, with the latest resistance coming from Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas.
Mr. Cornyn’s primary role in writing the legislation, combined with his spot near the top of the Republican leadership ladder, has made him a critical player in determining whether the legislation advances this year.
“He is the reason it is happening, in my opinion,” said Mark Holden, the general counsel for Koch Industries and the company’s point man on criminal justice issues. “He is the driving force.”
But it is unclear how far that drive will go. In a development first reported by Politico, opposition to the legislation boiled up at a closed party lunch last week, with Mr. Cotton taking a strong position against the bill. Mr. McConnell, one attendee said, reminded senators of the case of Willie Horton, the Massachusetts felon who committed violent crimes while on furlough and became an issue in the 1988 presidential race.
“I don’t believe we should allow thousands of violent felons to be released early from prison, nor do I believe we should reduce sentences for violent offenders in the future,” Mr. Cotton said in an interview. He said that the criminal justice legislation was being driven by a “myth” of mass incarceration of low-level, nonviolent offenders in federal prisons, and that most prisoners had already cut their sentences under plea bargains.
Some senators said Mr. Cornyn and other Republican backers of the legislation may have misread the willingness of their colleagues to embrace the criminal justice movement and had too much faith that others would be swayed by the support of conservatives such as Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Mike Lee of Utah.
“John has some work to do, big-time work,” to secure enough support to persuade Mr. McConnell to go forward, said one Republican senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters.
Mr. Cornyn, who became enthusiastic about the issue after successful changes to the criminal justice system in Texas, where he was a judge for 13 years, said discussions had begun on the staff and senator-to-senator levels to clear up misconceptions. He noted that sentencing provisions in the measure would apply to about 5,000 offenders — far fewer than in earlier sentencing proposals — and that those now serving time would have to reappear before the same judge and prosecutor to win a reduction in time served.
“Some people are now realizing for the first time that they may have to vote on this thing, so they need more information,” said Mr. Cornyn, who added that he would be asking colleagues what changes might be needed to win their backing.
He said that Mr. McConnell would like to lessen the party divisions before deciding to devote weeks of scarce Senate floor time to the criminal justice proposition.
“This is all part of his calculation, and we are trying to work with him and all my colleagues and figure a way to get this done,” Mr. Cornyn said. “It is not the kiss of death if you don’t do this in 2016, but I would like to. I think we have a window here.”
Another part of the calculation is the 2016 battle for the Senate and the vulnerability of some Republican incumbents in swing states.
Some analysts have suggested that it could help Republicans by broadening their appeal to independents, Democrats and minorities who believe that the criminal justice system is unfairly tilted.
Mr. Cornyn said he agreed. “It doesn’t hurt to show that you actually care,” he said. “This is a statement that is not just symbolic, but actually shows that you care about people. It doesn’t hurt to show some empathy.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The crime rate in the state has risen steadily in the aftermath of the “successful changes to the criminal justice system in Texas.”
Let me add that today’s non-violent offender could very well be tomorrow’s violent criminal. And a non-violent offender locked up is one less criminal on the street.
By Carl Hulse
The New York Times
January 29, 2016
WASHINGTON — Senator John Cornyn, a former Texas judge and attorney general, is a devoted believer in the criminal justice overhaul awaiting its moment in the Senate. Now, he just has to convert doubting Republican colleagues.
Mr. Cornyn, the No. 2 Senate Republican and a main author of the criminal justice legislation, which would cut some sentences and ease re-entry after prison, is working to address fears from fellow Republicans that passage of the bill could set loose some dangerous offenders and diminish the party’s law-and-order image.
Acknowledging the deep skepticism, Mr. Cornyn said in an interview that his job was to educate Republicans who were only beginning to focus on the legislation and to make clear that it would not throw open the gates of federal prisons.
“Nobody is getting out of jail free, which is some of the characterization that is out there,” said Mr. Cornyn, who describes himself “as conservative as they come.”
For months, momentum has been building for a comprehensive criminal justice package aimed at easing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenders. The effort has been driven by an unusual right-left alliance that includes the conservatives Charles G. and David H. Koch and the American Civil Liberties Union.
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved its plan on a strong bipartisan vote in October, and companion legislation is moving in the House. But Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, has not committed to bringing the legislation to the floor. Mr. McConnell has been cautious on the issue, and other Republicans have expressed increasingly vocal opposition, with the latest resistance coming from Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas.
Mr. Cornyn’s primary role in writing the legislation, combined with his spot near the top of the Republican leadership ladder, has made him a critical player in determining whether the legislation advances this year.
“He is the reason it is happening, in my opinion,” said Mark Holden, the general counsel for Koch Industries and the company’s point man on criminal justice issues. “He is the driving force.”
But it is unclear how far that drive will go. In a development first reported by Politico, opposition to the legislation boiled up at a closed party lunch last week, with Mr. Cotton taking a strong position against the bill. Mr. McConnell, one attendee said, reminded senators of the case of Willie Horton, the Massachusetts felon who committed violent crimes while on furlough and became an issue in the 1988 presidential race.
“I don’t believe we should allow thousands of violent felons to be released early from prison, nor do I believe we should reduce sentences for violent offenders in the future,” Mr. Cotton said in an interview. He said that the criminal justice legislation was being driven by a “myth” of mass incarceration of low-level, nonviolent offenders in federal prisons, and that most prisoners had already cut their sentences under plea bargains.
Some senators said Mr. Cornyn and other Republican backers of the legislation may have misread the willingness of their colleagues to embrace the criminal justice movement and had too much faith that others would be swayed by the support of conservatives such as Senators Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and Mike Lee of Utah.
“John has some work to do, big-time work,” to secure enough support to persuade Mr. McConnell to go forward, said one Republican senator who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters.
Mr. Cornyn, who became enthusiastic about the issue after successful changes to the criminal justice system in Texas, where he was a judge for 13 years, said discussions had begun on the staff and senator-to-senator levels to clear up misconceptions. He noted that sentencing provisions in the measure would apply to about 5,000 offenders — far fewer than in earlier sentencing proposals — and that those now serving time would have to reappear before the same judge and prosecutor to win a reduction in time served.
“Some people are now realizing for the first time that they may have to vote on this thing, so they need more information,” said Mr. Cornyn, who added that he would be asking colleagues what changes might be needed to win their backing.
He said that Mr. McConnell would like to lessen the party divisions before deciding to devote weeks of scarce Senate floor time to the criminal justice proposition.
“This is all part of his calculation, and we are trying to work with him and all my colleagues and figure a way to get this done,” Mr. Cornyn said. “It is not the kiss of death if you don’t do this in 2016, but I would like to. I think we have a window here.”
Another part of the calculation is the 2016 battle for the Senate and the vulnerability of some Republican incumbents in swing states.
Some analysts have suggested that it could help Republicans by broadening their appeal to independents, Democrats and minorities who believe that the criminal justice system is unfairly tilted.
Mr. Cornyn said he agreed. “It doesn’t hurt to show that you actually care,” he said. “This is a statement that is not just symbolic, but actually shows that you care about people. It doesn’t hurt to show some empathy.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: The crime rate in the state has risen steadily in the aftermath of the “successful changes to the criminal justice system in Texas.”
Let me add that today’s non-violent offender could very well be tomorrow’s violent criminal. And a non-violent offender locked up is one less criminal on the street.
TEXAS ABUSE VICTIMS’ ADVOCATE ACCUSED OF BEING A CREEP
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Wednesday, February 03, 2016
A DYING PRIEST’S FINAL REQUEST
An old priest lay dying in a hospital. He had served the people of the nation's capital for many years.
He motioned for the nurse to come near.
"Yes Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama before I die," whispered the priest.
"I will see what I can do," said the nurse.
The nurse sent the request to the White House and waited for a response. Soon an answer came back. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would be delighted to visit the priest.
As they were being chauffeured to the hospital, Obama commented to Hillary, "I don't know why this old priest wants to see us, but it certainly will help our images and may even help your election prospects." Hillary agreed it would help their images and could help her win the presidency.
When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Hillary's hand in his right hand and Obama's hand in his left hand. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face.
Finally Obama spoke. "Father, of all people you could have chosen, why did you chose us to be with you at this time when your end is so near?"
The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life and behavior after our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
"Amen" said Hillary. "Amen" said Obama.
The old priest continued. "Jesus Christ, our Savior, died between two lying, thieving bastards, and I would like to do the same!"
He motioned for the nurse to come near.
"Yes Father?" said the nurse.
"I would really like to see Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama before I die," whispered the priest.
"I will see what I can do," said the nurse.
The nurse sent the request to the White House and waited for a response. Soon an answer came back. Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would be delighted to visit the priest.
As they were being chauffeured to the hospital, Obama commented to Hillary, "I don't know why this old priest wants to see us, but it certainly will help our images and may even help your election prospects." Hillary agreed it would help their images and could help her win the presidency.
When they arrived at the priest's room, the priest took Hillary's hand in his right hand and Obama's hand in his left hand. There was silence and a look of serenity on the old priest's face.
Finally Obama spoke. "Father, of all people you could have chosen, why did you chose us to be with you at this time when your end is so near?"
The old priest slowly replied, "I have always tried to pattern my life and behavior after our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ."
"Amen" said Hillary. "Amen" said Obama.
The old priest continued. "Jesus Christ, our Savior, died between two lying, thieving bastards, and I would like to do the same!"
BIG OOPS, MURDEROUS GANG MEMBER ACCIDENTALLY RELEASED FROM LA COUNTY JAIL
A member of the Altadena Block Crips being held for murderer was given a free ‘Get Out Of Jail’ card by mistake
Shit happens! Steven Lawrence Wright, 37, has been roosting in LA County jail since April 2011. Wright, a member of the Altadena Block Crips, is charged with the 2011 gang-related shooting death of a 47-year-old man in Pasadena.
Oops, big oops, it seems as though jailers gave Steve a free ‘Get Out Of Jail’ card Saturday evening by mistake. He was allowed to walk out of jail and the mistake was not discovered until 24 hours later.
Now the LA County Sheriff’s Department and the Pasadena Police department have formed a joint task force to find Steve and return him to his roosting box in LA County jail.
I suggest the joint task force form a chorus and sing:
Won't You Come Home Steve Wright
Won't You Come Home
Our Home Is Open The Whole Night Long
We’re Gunna Do Your Cookin' Honie
Forget Any Worry About Paying Rent
Won't You Come Home Steve Wright
You don’t think that will work? Probably not, but I think it’s worth giving it a try.
Shit happens! Steven Lawrence Wright, 37, has been roosting in LA County jail since April 2011. Wright, a member of the Altadena Block Crips, is charged with the 2011 gang-related shooting death of a 47-year-old man in Pasadena.
Oops, big oops, it seems as though jailers gave Steve a free ‘Get Out Of Jail’ card Saturday evening by mistake. He was allowed to walk out of jail and the mistake was not discovered until 24 hours later.
Now the LA County Sheriff’s Department and the Pasadena Police department have formed a joint task force to find Steve and return him to his roosting box in LA County jail.
I suggest the joint task force form a chorus and sing:
Won't You Come Home Steve Wright
Won't You Come Home
Our Home Is Open The Whole Night Long
We’re Gunna Do Your Cookin' Honie
Forget Any Worry About Paying Rent
Won't You Come Home Steve Wright
You don’t think that will work? Probably not, but I think it’s worth giving it a try.
UNDER NEW LAW, COPS CARRYING OVERDOSE DRUG ARE SAVING LIVES
A handful of California law enforcement agencies are issuing Narcan (naloxone) to officers for use in overdose emergencies
By Chris Richard
KQED News
February 1, 2016
The call to a Glendora emergency dispatcher one night last October had the grim details that, officials say, have become all too familiar: a woman had found her brother unconscious on his bathroom floor. She feared he’d overdosed on drugs.
When Glendora Police Corporal Bill Lee and his partner, Jon Drake, responded to the call, they found a scrap of aluminum foil beside the man, holding a little bead of heroin. They noted the man’s sluggish heartbeat, faltering respiration and pinpoint pupils associated with opiate poisoning.
But unlike similar experiences in the past, this time Lee and Drake had a tool authorities credit with saving the man’s life: they administered a nasal spray containing the potent opioid blocker naloxone.
In less than 90 seconds, the man’s breathing returned to normal. He was taken to the hospital, and when Drake checked on him shortly afterwards, he was conscious, Lee said.
Like other communities across California, Lee’s small town in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles has seen a surge in heroin abuse.
When there’s an overdose call, it’s often a police officer — like Lee — who is the first to arrive on the scene.
In the past, he said, he would do whatever he could. “Then you wait for fire to get there, and unfortunately, sometimes things don’t work out,” he said. Now he’s hoping the naloxone spray “will provide us with a means of changing that pattern.”
Some advocates call it the “overdose antidote.”
Last year, California lawmakers authorized police officers to carry naloxone, also commonly known by a brand name, Narcan. Now, a handful of law enforcement agencies are issuing the emergency medication to officers.
Glendora’s tiny police department – which also was a pioneer two decades ago in equipping officers with defibrillators to help heart attack victims – issues naloxone to its emergency medical technicians.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department recently moved beyond a test program to equip all deputies. San Francisco also has a pilot project underway. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department expects to expand its initial program to include all deputies in the first quarter of this year, said Lt. Jeff Hallock, a department spokesman.
San Diego sheriff’s Capt. James Bovet, who oversaw his department’s pilot program, said the naloxone spray clearly met a need. From 2000 to 2014, the county saw the death rate from opioid overdose increase by 50 percent, “and the trend was just increasing upward,” he said.
During the pilot program to test whether naloxone could help, sheriff’s deputies frequently arrived at the scene of an overdose before paramedics, Bovet said. He said the San Diego Sheriff’s Department has successfully revived 28 people with naloxone since the pilot program began. Orange County Sheriff’s and Glendora officers have each recorded one save as well.
Opioids depress brain functions that regulate breathing, and during an overdose, respiration slows, then stops. Naloxone kicks the opioids off those crucial brain receptors so an overdose victim can breathe again. While naloxone is non-addictive and generally considered safe, it pushes addicts into immediate withdrawal, sometimes triggering side effects such as a rapid increase in in blood pressure or seizures.
At the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition –- a leading advocate of broadening naloxone availability –- advocacy and communications coordinator Tessie Castillo calls such adverse reactions “extremely rare.”
Still, some law enforcement agencies have balked at the $52-per-dose cost of the remedy, Castillo said.
“Sometimes there’s a reluctance to institute yet one more program and have officers train on yet one more thing,” she said. “They’ll argue that the ambulance crews already get there soon enough.”
Meanwhile, California has broadened access to the antidote further with a new law permitting pharmacies to sell naloxone without a prescription.
“The evidence shows very clearly that the most effective way to make sure that naloxone is at the scene of an overdose is to get it into the hands of people who use drugs and their friends and family members,” said Laura Thomas, California deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
Bertha Madras, who served as deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy in the George W. Bush administration, said she’s gained confidence in naloxone’s usefulness since it first came to her attention.
Madras said that while serving as a deputy drug czar, she questioned whether widespread access to the antidote might lead addicts to “a sense of confidence that they could push the envelope with higher doses.”
She said she now strongly supports public safety personnel having ready access to naloxone. But the uninformed may be misled by the antidote’s seeming ability to provide a miracle cure, she said. The body stores some opiates in fat for long periods, and an overdose could recur after the naloxone wears off, Madras said.
By Chris Richard
KQED News
February 1, 2016
The call to a Glendora emergency dispatcher one night last October had the grim details that, officials say, have become all too familiar: a woman had found her brother unconscious on his bathroom floor. She feared he’d overdosed on drugs.
When Glendora Police Corporal Bill Lee and his partner, Jon Drake, responded to the call, they found a scrap of aluminum foil beside the man, holding a little bead of heroin. They noted the man’s sluggish heartbeat, faltering respiration and pinpoint pupils associated with opiate poisoning.
But unlike similar experiences in the past, this time Lee and Drake had a tool authorities credit with saving the man’s life: they administered a nasal spray containing the potent opioid blocker naloxone.
In less than 90 seconds, the man’s breathing returned to normal. He was taken to the hospital, and when Drake checked on him shortly afterwards, he was conscious, Lee said.
Like other communities across California, Lee’s small town in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains east of Los Angeles has seen a surge in heroin abuse.
When there’s an overdose call, it’s often a police officer — like Lee — who is the first to arrive on the scene.
In the past, he said, he would do whatever he could. “Then you wait for fire to get there, and unfortunately, sometimes things don’t work out,” he said. Now he’s hoping the naloxone spray “will provide us with a means of changing that pattern.”
Some advocates call it the “overdose antidote.”
Last year, California lawmakers authorized police officers to carry naloxone, also commonly known by a brand name, Narcan. Now, a handful of law enforcement agencies are issuing the emergency medication to officers.
Glendora’s tiny police department – which also was a pioneer two decades ago in equipping officers with defibrillators to help heart attack victims – issues naloxone to its emergency medical technicians.
The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department recently moved beyond a test program to equip all deputies. San Francisco also has a pilot project underway. The Orange County Sheriff’s Department expects to expand its initial program to include all deputies in the first quarter of this year, said Lt. Jeff Hallock, a department spokesman.
San Diego sheriff’s Capt. James Bovet, who oversaw his department’s pilot program, said the naloxone spray clearly met a need. From 2000 to 2014, the county saw the death rate from opioid overdose increase by 50 percent, “and the trend was just increasing upward,” he said.
During the pilot program to test whether naloxone could help, sheriff’s deputies frequently arrived at the scene of an overdose before paramedics, Bovet said. He said the San Diego Sheriff’s Department has successfully revived 28 people with naloxone since the pilot program began. Orange County Sheriff’s and Glendora officers have each recorded one save as well.
Opioids depress brain functions that regulate breathing, and during an overdose, respiration slows, then stops. Naloxone kicks the opioids off those crucial brain receptors so an overdose victim can breathe again. While naloxone is non-addictive and generally considered safe, it pushes addicts into immediate withdrawal, sometimes triggering side effects such as a rapid increase in in blood pressure or seizures.
At the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition –- a leading advocate of broadening naloxone availability –- advocacy and communications coordinator Tessie Castillo calls such adverse reactions “extremely rare.”
Still, some law enforcement agencies have balked at the $52-per-dose cost of the remedy, Castillo said.
“Sometimes there’s a reluctance to institute yet one more program and have officers train on yet one more thing,” she said. “They’ll argue that the ambulance crews already get there soon enough.”
Meanwhile, California has broadened access to the antidote further with a new law permitting pharmacies to sell naloxone without a prescription.
“The evidence shows very clearly that the most effective way to make sure that naloxone is at the scene of an overdose is to get it into the hands of people who use drugs and their friends and family members,” said Laura Thomas, California deputy director of the Drug Policy Alliance.
Bertha Madras, who served as deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy in the George W. Bush administration, said she’s gained confidence in naloxone’s usefulness since it first came to her attention.
Madras said that while serving as a deputy drug czar, she questioned whether widespread access to the antidote might lead addicts to “a sense of confidence that they could push the envelope with higher doses.”
She said she now strongly supports public safety personnel having ready access to naloxone. But the uninformed may be misled by the antidote’s seeming ability to provide a miracle cure, she said. The body stores some opiates in fat for long periods, and an overdose could recur after the naloxone wears off, Madras said.
SAN FRANCISCO PD TO GET COLLECTIVE FEDERAL COLONOSCOPY
By Bpb Walsh
The U. S. Justice Department announced Monday that they intend to investigate the San Francisco Police Department for bad practices and being mean to people, especially non-white people.
The SFPD is lucky in that, so far at least, the feds say that their investigation will result only in recommendations, not court-mandated “reforms.”
The noise from the local hug-a-thug community came to a head after armed whacko Mario Woods, 26, was shot to death by the most interracial group of police officers imaginable. All five officers, only one of who is white, determined that Woods, who was black, was a threat and fired on him.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It looks as though Loretta Lynch is taking up where Eric Holder left off in his harassment of police agencies accused by rabble-rousers of singling out blacks for mistreatment.
SFPD happens to be the country’s most diverse law enforcement agency, much more diverse than the FBI, Secret Service, DEA and ATF. You name ‘en and SFPD’s got ‘em: women, blacks, Latinos, Asians, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists and you name ‘em.
SFPD singles out blacks for mistreatment? I don’t think so. But they do single out criminals for apprehension.
The U. S. Justice Department announced Monday that they intend to investigate the San Francisco Police Department for bad practices and being mean to people, especially non-white people.
The SFPD is lucky in that, so far at least, the feds say that their investigation will result only in recommendations, not court-mandated “reforms.”
The noise from the local hug-a-thug community came to a head after armed whacko Mario Woods, 26, was shot to death by the most interracial group of police officers imaginable. All five officers, only one of who is white, determined that Woods, who was black, was a threat and fired on him.
EDITOR’S NOTE: It looks as though Loretta Lynch is taking up where Eric Holder left off in his harassment of police agencies accused by rabble-rousers of singling out blacks for mistreatment.
SFPD happens to be the country’s most diverse law enforcement agency, much more diverse than the FBI, Secret Service, DEA and ATF. You name ‘en and SFPD’s got ‘em: women, blacks, Latinos, Asians, gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, agnostics, atheists and you name ‘em.
SFPD singles out blacks for mistreatment? I don’t think so. But they do single out criminals for apprehension.
HOLY COW, MEXICAN COPS ACTUALLY MADE A HUGE DRUG BUST
Mexico’s federal police stopped a truck carrying 828 kilos of cocaine
Hey, what’s going on south of the border? The federal cops actually seized 828 kilos of cocaine that was being transported in a truck. Somebody must not have gotten paid off.
The truck was stopped because the driver was weaving all over the road, even crossing into the opposite lane. This leads me to suspect that the driver had snorted some of the product he was transporting. Or maybe he had smoked a joint or two of pot. In any event, that driver’s life is not worth a plug nickel now.
CIUDAD VICTORIA TAMAULIPAS: 828 KILOS OF COCAINE DISCOVERED IN TRANSPORT TRUCK
Borderland Beat from Reforma
January 31, 2016
The Federal Police (PF) said 828 kilograms of cocaine was discovered in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, where the load was being transported in a truck. Sources said that two individuals, identified as Christian David Pizaña Aquilar, 30, and Jorge Nájera MartĂnez, 23, were arrested.
The drug was hidden in containers with double bottom.
In conducting patrols, members of the PF noticed that a truck was driving recklessly, even wandering into the opposite lane. At kilometer 53 of 1085 Ignacio Zaragoza Road, at the junction with the road Victoria-Monterrey (La Aurora), the officers pulled over the vehicle for review.
When the police asked the driver, Pizaña Aguilar, where he was going and what was he transporting, he appeared shaky and nervous. He replied that he was coming from Veracruz carrying empty containers, on route to Monterrey.
The vehicle and its crew, were moved to the premises of the Federal Police in Ciudad Victoria. In presence of authority ministerial the containers were inspected and found that 20 were empty.
However, upon further inspection, they found 734 packages of cocaine, under the false bottoms, wrapped with plastic duct tape, about 828 kilos 998 grams of cocaine in total.
Hey, what’s going on south of the border? The federal cops actually seized 828 kilos of cocaine that was being transported in a truck. Somebody must not have gotten paid off.
The truck was stopped because the driver was weaving all over the road, even crossing into the opposite lane. This leads me to suspect that the driver had snorted some of the product he was transporting. Or maybe he had smoked a joint or two of pot. In any event, that driver’s life is not worth a plug nickel now.
CIUDAD VICTORIA TAMAULIPAS: 828 KILOS OF COCAINE DISCOVERED IN TRANSPORT TRUCK
Borderland Beat from Reforma
January 31, 2016
The Federal Police (PF) said 828 kilograms of cocaine was discovered in Ciudad Victoria, Tamaulipas, where the load was being transported in a truck. Sources said that two individuals, identified as Christian David Pizaña Aquilar, 30, and Jorge Nájera MartĂnez, 23, were arrested.
The drug was hidden in containers with double bottom.
In conducting patrols, members of the PF noticed that a truck was driving recklessly, even wandering into the opposite lane. At kilometer 53 of 1085 Ignacio Zaragoza Road, at the junction with the road Victoria-Monterrey (La Aurora), the officers pulled over the vehicle for review.
When the police asked the driver, Pizaña Aguilar, where he was going and what was he transporting, he appeared shaky and nervous. He replied that he was coming from Veracruz carrying empty containers, on route to Monterrey.
The vehicle and its crew, were moved to the premises of the Federal Police in Ciudad Victoria. In presence of authority ministerial the containers were inspected and found that 20 were empty.
However, upon further inspection, they found 734 packages of cocaine, under the false bottoms, wrapped with plastic duct tape, about 828 kilos 998 grams of cocaine in total.
Tuesday, February 02, 2016
POOR OJ
A neuropathologist says that because of all the hits he took during his football playing days, murderer O.J. Simpson is suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)
Pardon me, I am besides myself. Give me a moment to wipe the tears from my face. Poor OJ! Now we finally know why our hero O.J. Simpson had to go through that horrible trial ordeal. Forget Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Poor OJ couldn’t help himself when he murdered his ex-wife and Goldman. According to Dr. Bennet Omalu, a prestigious neuropathologist, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was behind the killings. Oh my God, poor OJ!
Dr. Omalu, played by Will Smith in the movie ‘Concussion’, discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in football players. The neuropathologist believes that O.J. Simpson has been suffering from CTE because of all the hits he took during his football playing days in college and in the NFL. Here is what Dr. Omalu told ESPN and ABC:
"O.J. Simpson is more likely than not to suffer from CTE. I would bet my medical license on it."
Thank God we now have a scientific explanation for OJ’s behavior. The poor man couldn’t help himself when he snuffed his ex-wife and Goldman, and when he robbed those memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas. CTE is the real culprit.
While Omalu’s ‘medical license bet’ brought a stream of tears pouring down my face, I am overjoyed to learn that poor OJ is not responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Al these years OJ has been maligned as a murderer and imprisoned for robbery in Nevada, while all along CTE has been the real culprit!
And that mostly-black jury has also been maligned for acquitting OJ and taking only four hours to do so after an eight-month long trial. Now it looks like they got it right without even knowing it.
Kudos are in order for Judge Lance Ito and for prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden for doing their best to nudge the jury into acquitting poor OJ. Marcia spent more time preening herself for the TV cameras than preparing her case, while Chris made sure that if the glove did not fit the jury must acquit. And Judge Ito helped F. Lee Bailey paint detective Mark Fuhrman as a racist. Dr. Omalu’s ‘medical license bet’ has vindicated Lance, Marcia and Chris.
As for the Goldmans, they should now apologize to Simpson and just shut up with their now obviously unfounded complaints. And since a prestigious neuropathologist has determined that OJ could not help himself when he killed their son, those greedy Jews should return whatever money or possessions they took from our hero as a result of the civil case they won against him.
I herewith demand that poor OJ be released from prison forthwith! ….. Like hell I do!
Pardon me, I am besides myself. Give me a moment to wipe the tears from my face. Poor OJ! Now we finally know why our hero O.J. Simpson had to go through that horrible trial ordeal. Forget Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Poor OJ couldn’t help himself when he murdered his ex-wife and Goldman. According to Dr. Bennet Omalu, a prestigious neuropathologist, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) was behind the killings. Oh my God, poor OJ!
Dr. Omalu, played by Will Smith in the movie ‘Concussion’, discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in football players. The neuropathologist believes that O.J. Simpson has been suffering from CTE because of all the hits he took during his football playing days in college and in the NFL. Here is what Dr. Omalu told ESPN and ABC:
"O.J. Simpson is more likely than not to suffer from CTE. I would bet my medical license on it."
Thank God we now have a scientific explanation for OJ’s behavior. The poor man couldn’t help himself when he snuffed his ex-wife and Goldman, and when he robbed those memorabilia dealers in Las Vegas. CTE is the real culprit.
While Omalu’s ‘medical license bet’ brought a stream of tears pouring down my face, I am overjoyed to learn that poor OJ is not responsible for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Al these years OJ has been maligned as a murderer and imprisoned for robbery in Nevada, while all along CTE has been the real culprit!
And that mostly-black jury has also been maligned for acquitting OJ and taking only four hours to do so after an eight-month long trial. Now it looks like they got it right without even knowing it.
Kudos are in order for Judge Lance Ito and for prosecutors Marcia Clark and Christopher Darden for doing their best to nudge the jury into acquitting poor OJ. Marcia spent more time preening herself for the TV cameras than preparing her case, while Chris made sure that if the glove did not fit the jury must acquit. And Judge Ito helped F. Lee Bailey paint detective Mark Fuhrman as a racist. Dr. Omalu’s ‘medical license bet’ has vindicated Lance, Marcia and Chris.
As for the Goldmans, they should now apologize to Simpson and just shut up with their now obviously unfounded complaints. And since a prestigious neuropathologist has determined that OJ could not help himself when he killed their son, those greedy Jews should return whatever money or possessions they took from our hero as a result of the civil case they won against him.
I herewith demand that poor OJ be released from prison forthwith! ….. Like hell I do!
UNIFORMED COP KICKED OUT OF CLASS FOR BEING ARMED
By Bob Walsh
Yes, it was bound to happen sometime. A teacher at Darton State College in Georgia was so offended by the mere presence of a FIREARM in his class that the officer, who was in uniform at the time, was “escorted” out of class on January 27.
What authority the teacher had to do so, and what mechanism was in place to “escort” the officer out of class was unstated. It is also IMHO a little strange for a uniformed officer to be attended class in uniform, but that is neither here nor there.
The school issued a statement apologizing for the incident. I don’t know if the teacher is still teaching, or what else may be going on in beautiful Darton State College.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I hope this educated idiot of a college academician will get fired, but I seiously doubt her dumb ass will be removed from the faculty.
Yes, it was bound to happen sometime. A teacher at Darton State College in Georgia was so offended by the mere presence of a FIREARM in his class that the officer, who was in uniform at the time, was “escorted” out of class on January 27.
What authority the teacher had to do so, and what mechanism was in place to “escort” the officer out of class was unstated. It is also IMHO a little strange for a uniformed officer to be attended class in uniform, but that is neither here nor there.
The school issued a statement apologizing for the incident. I don’t know if the teacher is still teaching, or what else may be going on in beautiful Darton State College.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I hope this educated idiot of a college academician will get fired, but I seiously doubt her dumb ass will be removed from the faculty.
A PERFECT COMMAND OF TEMPER
BY Bob Walsh
Sir Robert Peel was the founder of the first modern police force in the world. He
once remarked that the best attribute a police officer could have is a perfect command
of his temper. The problem is the police must recruit from the human race, and
humans are imperfect creatures.
On November 12 of last year several Alameda County deputies chased a suspect
for 38 miles, into the Peoples Republic of San Francisco. The bad guy rammed the
cops a couple of times during the course of the chase. That is ADW on a police
officer by any reasonable definition. They managed to stop him in an alley there
and, based on surveillance footage and medical reports, it seems that the cops beat
the dogshit out of the bad guy.
Stanley Petrov, 29, fled the cops in a stolen car. They found meth and a gun in the
car. OK, so far so good. The surveillance images SEEM to show Petrov
attempting to surrender. The cops broke both his arms with baton strike and in
general thumped him pretty good. The SF DA is now alleging that other deputies
at the scene may have stolen things from the bystanders (cell phones?) in the alley.
The two deputies that thumped Petrov are on paid administrative leave. The SF
DA has said through a back-door announcement that he will announce whether or
not the two cops will be charged criminally after the Super Bowl is over. He also
may charge the deputies who may have stolen from the bystanders.
It looks like five Alameda County deputies are in for a rough time. It also looks
like maybe they deserve it.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In several of my posts on the use of excessive force by cops, I have referred to Sir Robert Peel’s golden rule: “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.”
I venture to say that in more than 90 percent of those cases wherein the police used excessive force, loss of temper was the cause.
And that appears to be the case with Stanley Petrov.
Sir Robert Peel was the founder of the first modern police force in the world. He
once remarked that the best attribute a police officer could have is a perfect command
of his temper. The problem is the police must recruit from the human race, and
humans are imperfect creatures.
On November 12 of last year several Alameda County deputies chased a suspect
for 38 miles, into the Peoples Republic of San Francisco. The bad guy rammed the
cops a couple of times during the course of the chase. That is ADW on a police
officer by any reasonable definition. They managed to stop him in an alley there
and, based on surveillance footage and medical reports, it seems that the cops beat
the dogshit out of the bad guy.
Stanley Petrov, 29, fled the cops in a stolen car. They found meth and a gun in the
car. OK, so far so good. The surveillance images SEEM to show Petrov
attempting to surrender. The cops broke both his arms with baton strike and in
general thumped him pretty good. The SF DA is now alleging that other deputies
at the scene may have stolen things from the bystanders (cell phones?) in the alley.
The two deputies that thumped Petrov are on paid administrative leave. The SF
DA has said through a back-door announcement that he will announce whether or
not the two cops will be charged criminally after the Super Bowl is over. He also
may charge the deputies who may have stolen from the bystanders.
It looks like five Alameda County deputies are in for a rough time. It also looks
like maybe they deserve it.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In several of my posts on the use of excessive force by cops, I have referred to Sir Robert Peel’s golden rule: “No quality is more indispensable to a policeman than a perfect command of temper.”
I venture to say that in more than 90 percent of those cases wherein the police used excessive force, loss of temper was the cause.
And that appears to be the case with Stanley Petrov.
BROWN’S PAROLE PLAN WOULD LIKELY REDUCE PROSECUTORS’ PLEA-BARGAIN LEVERAGE, EXPERTS SAY
By Maura Dolan and Marisa Gerber
Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to give more inmates a chance for early release would probably reduce prosecutors' leverage in negotiating plea bargains, legal experts said Thursday.
But it remains far from clear that his proposed ballot measure would result in droves of inmates winning their freedom, they said.
Santa Clara law professor W. David Ball called the proposed revisions "very striking," though he cautioned that its effect is still not fully clear. The proposed state constitutional amendment would affect only inmates whose base crime was nonviolent.
"Just because you can get a parole hearing doesn't mean you can be released," said Ball, co-chair of the corrections committee of the American Bar Assn. "The incentive for a parole board to release someone is not that great, and the incentive to keep someone in is pretty severe."
A governor still would be able to override a parole board and block early releases, which Brown's predecessors did with regularity. Brown changed the tide. Under his administration, the number of inmates granted parole has risen dramatically, Ball said.
A statewide prosecutors group is expected to oppose the proposal, according to Yuba County Dist. Atty. Patrick McGrath, president of the California District Attorneys Assn. Advocates for juvenile offenders endorse it, and several law professors called the proposal a needed step to reducing mass incarceration.
The most significant provision in Brown's proposal allows for a parole hearing after inmates complete their sentences for their base crime, regardless of whether so-called enhancements might have even doubled that term.
California allows for all sorts of sentencing enhancements. Years can be added to a person's sentence if he or she used a gun in a crime or was a gang member or had prior convictions. Sometimes, the years added or the "enhancements" can exceed the sentence for the crime that brought a defendant to court.
"Enhancements have become a very large part of sentencing in California," said Kent Scheidegger, a lawyer for a pro-law enforcement group based in Sacramento.
Brown's plan, he added, would be "major change."
By permitting early release for someone with consecutive sentences or enhancements, prosecutors would lose some power in the negotiation of pleas with defendants, Ball said.
At least 95% of criminal cases in California are resolved by plea bargain, a negotiation that typically leads to a guilty plea to some crimes in consideration of a prosecutor's decision to drop other charges.
Most California prisoners are now ineligible for early release on parole. That means inmates with extremely long sentences have "no incentive" to try to address the problems that led them to commit crimes in the first place, Ball said.
The proposal also would take away prosecutors' power to charge some minors in adult court. A judge would have to make that call, the practice in most states.
Though advocates for juvenile offenders hailed the change, some experts said it would be unlikely to have a major effect. Of about 120,000 arrests of juveniles in 2012, only 604 faced charges directly filed by prosecutors in adult court, according to Ball.
Brown's proposal represents a major shift from a measure he signed in 1977 to create fixed sentences for crimes. Subsequent laws expanded those sentences, fueling a ballooning prison population and creating crowding that federal judges are now requiring the state to reduce.
"The public's insatiable quest for more punishment resulted in sentences becoming unreasonable," said UC Hastings law professor Michael Salerno, who as a legislative consultant wrote the law that effectively ended indeterminate sentencing.
Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said the governor's proposal shows how far the pendulum has swung, beginning with recent successful ballot measures to reduce some felonies to misdemeanors and revise the three-strikes sentencing law.
"We're back to the future," she said. "It is like we periodically try new things in California — many to make the criminal justice system harsher, and we realize it isn't really solving anything. Then we go back to some version of a prior approach."
Former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley described Brown's proposal as the "road to perdition."
"You're dismantling a system that was carefully put together over time," he said.
Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, agreed. He said he feared the defense bar would even try to use the measure to gut the three-strikes law.
"When we have a huge crime problem, we do something about it," he said. "And when crime rates drop, people forget about it and we go back to the old fallacies."
Scheidegger predicted most of law enforcement would oppose the measure, though some leaders, including Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and San Diego County Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis, joined Brown in announcing it.
"I think it will be a hard fight," Scheidegger said. "I don't think defeating it will be easy given the history and the amount of money the other side has."
Los Angeles Times
January 29, 2016
SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Jerry Brown's plan to give more inmates a chance for early release would probably reduce prosecutors' leverage in negotiating plea bargains, legal experts said Thursday.
But it remains far from clear that his proposed ballot measure would result in droves of inmates winning their freedom, they said.
Santa Clara law professor W. David Ball called the proposed revisions "very striking," though he cautioned that its effect is still not fully clear. The proposed state constitutional amendment would affect only inmates whose base crime was nonviolent.
"Just because you can get a parole hearing doesn't mean you can be released," said Ball, co-chair of the corrections committee of the American Bar Assn. "The incentive for a parole board to release someone is not that great, and the incentive to keep someone in is pretty severe."
A governor still would be able to override a parole board and block early releases, which Brown's predecessors did with regularity. Brown changed the tide. Under his administration, the number of inmates granted parole has risen dramatically, Ball said.
A statewide prosecutors group is expected to oppose the proposal, according to Yuba County Dist. Atty. Patrick McGrath, president of the California District Attorneys Assn. Advocates for juvenile offenders endorse it, and several law professors called the proposal a needed step to reducing mass incarceration.
The most significant provision in Brown's proposal allows for a parole hearing after inmates complete their sentences for their base crime, regardless of whether so-called enhancements might have even doubled that term.
California allows for all sorts of sentencing enhancements. Years can be added to a person's sentence if he or she used a gun in a crime or was a gang member or had prior convictions. Sometimes, the years added or the "enhancements" can exceed the sentence for the crime that brought a defendant to court.
"Enhancements have become a very large part of sentencing in California," said Kent Scheidegger, a lawyer for a pro-law enforcement group based in Sacramento.
Brown's plan, he added, would be "major change."
By permitting early release for someone with consecutive sentences or enhancements, prosecutors would lose some power in the negotiation of pleas with defendants, Ball said.
At least 95% of criminal cases in California are resolved by plea bargain, a negotiation that typically leads to a guilty plea to some crimes in consideration of a prosecutor's decision to drop other charges.
Most California prisoners are now ineligible for early release on parole. That means inmates with extremely long sentences have "no incentive" to try to address the problems that led them to commit crimes in the first place, Ball said.
The proposal also would take away prosecutors' power to charge some minors in adult court. A judge would have to make that call, the practice in most states.
Though advocates for juvenile offenders hailed the change, some experts said it would be unlikely to have a major effect. Of about 120,000 arrests of juveniles in 2012, only 604 faced charges directly filed by prosecutors in adult court, according to Ball.
Brown's proposal represents a major shift from a measure he signed in 1977 to create fixed sentences for crimes. Subsequent laws expanded those sentences, fueling a ballooning prison population and creating crowding that federal judges are now requiring the state to reduce.
"The public's insatiable quest for more punishment resulted in sentences becoming unreasonable," said UC Hastings law professor Michael Salerno, who as a legislative consultant wrote the law that effectively ended indeterminate sentencing.
Loyola Law School professor Laurie Levenson said the governor's proposal shows how far the pendulum has swung, beginning with recent successful ballot measures to reduce some felonies to misdemeanors and revise the three-strikes sentencing law.
"We're back to the future," she said. "It is like we periodically try new things in California — many to make the criminal justice system harsher, and we realize it isn't really solving anything. Then we go back to some version of a prior approach."
Former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley described Brown's proposal as the "road to perdition."
"You're dismantling a system that was carefully put together over time," he said.
Scheidegger, legal director of the Criminal Justice Legal Foundation, agreed. He said he feared the defense bar would even try to use the measure to gut the three-strikes law.
"When we have a huge crime problem, we do something about it," he said. "And when crime rates drop, people forget about it and we go back to the old fallacies."
Scheidegger predicted most of law enforcement would oppose the measure, though some leaders, including Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck and San Diego County Dist. Atty. Bonnie Dumanis, joined Brown in announcing it.
"I think it will be a hard fight," Scheidegger said. "I don't think defeating it will be easy given the history and the amount of money the other side has."
ISRAEL ‘NOT SURPRISED’ BY REPORTS OF US, UK SPYING
Israeli government is expected to seek clarifications from the U.S. and U.K. in the wake of reports that those two countries have monitored secret communications by the Israeli Air Force in a hacking operation dating back to 1998
Israel Hayom
January 31, 2016
The Israeli government is expected to seek clarifications from the U.S. and U.K. in the wake of reports published on Friday that those two countries have monitored secret communications by the Israeli Air Force in a hacking operation dating back to 1998.
Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said, "If the information is true, this is a severe blow to Israel's security. This requires an investigation and lessons must be learned."
National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz said, "We are not surprised -- we know that the Americans spy on every country in the world and on us as well, on their friends. It is nevertheless disappointing because, among other reasons, we haven't been spying or collecting intelligence or cracking codes in the United States for decades.
"I do not think that this is the deepest kingdom of secrets, but it is certainly something that should not happen, which is unpleasant. We will now have to look and consider changing the encryption, certainly."
The White House declined to comment on alleged U.S. intelligence activities but said the U.S. commitment to Israel's security remained "sacrosanct."
"We do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
Britain's Foreign Office said: "We don't comment on intelligence matters."
EDITOR’S NOTE: What are friends for if they can’t spy on each other?
Israel Hayom
January 31, 2016
The Israeli government is expected to seek clarifications from the U.S. and U.K. in the wake of reports published on Friday that those two countries have monitored secret communications by the Israeli Air Force in a hacking operation dating back to 1998.
Transportation and Intelligence Minister Yisrael Katz said, "If the information is true, this is a severe blow to Israel's security. This requires an investigation and lessons must be learned."
National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Minister Yuval Steinitz said, "We are not surprised -- we know that the Americans spy on every country in the world and on us as well, on their friends. It is nevertheless disappointing because, among other reasons, we haven't been spying or collecting intelligence or cracking codes in the United States for decades.
"I do not think that this is the deepest kingdom of secrets, but it is certainly something that should not happen, which is unpleasant. We will now have to look and consider changing the encryption, certainly."
The White House declined to comment on alleged U.S. intelligence activities but said the U.S. commitment to Israel's security remained "sacrosanct."
"We do not conduct any foreign intelligence surveillance activities unless there is a specific and validated national security purpose," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
Britain's Foreign Office said: "We don't comment on intelligence matters."
EDITOR’S NOTE: What are friends for if they can’t spy on each other?
HUMAN TRAFFICKING CONCERNS ARE SUPER BOWL’S DARK UNDERBELLY
The Freedom Summit, an anti-human trafficking event, is being put on by the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition in Santa Clara at Levi's Stadium on Saturday
By Ann Killion
San Francisco Chronicle
January 30, 2016
This week will be a collision of two dark secrets.
The Bay Area is one of the nation’s largest hubs for human trafficking. And the Super Bowl is an event that is a hotbed for human trafficking.
That dark underbelly of America’s biggest sporting event is in sharp contrast with the parties and celebrities, the glamour and fun that are the usual trappings of the Super Bowl.
“You can be a sports fan but not turn a blind eye to the some of the worst things going on around a sporting event,” said Betty Ann Boeving, the executive director and founder of the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition.
Boeving has been frustrated in recent days by published reports that throw doubt onto the premise that the Super Bowl generates a significant uptick in human trafficking. Some of those reports rely on anecdotal evidence of professional sex workers.
“I don’t know who they’re trying to defend,” Boeving said. “Less than 10 percent of the sex industry is represented by those choosing to sell themselves. Most are being forced against their will. Many are underage girls. This is the business of rape for profit.”
Bay Area a hub
It is hard to get quantifiable statistics to measure an industry that is very mobile and hidden. One of the reasons the Bay Area is a hub is that it has three international airports and a major port: Trafficked victims can be moved through quickly.
The Super Bowl is similar to other large events that bring in a mostly male, cash-rich clientele with the desire to party. Trade shows and conventions bring in a similar group. And Super Bowl week, with its festivities, is one of the biggest, most bloated conventions in the world.
“High-profile special events which draw large crowds become lucrative opportunities for sex trafficking and criminal activity,” said Michele Ernst, a spokesperson for the FBI. “It’s market and demand.”
The FBI will open a Human Trafficking Operation Center on Monday in conjunction with the start of Super Bowl week. A trial run for the program in October resulted in six children being rescued in the Bay Area. The youngest victim was 12 years old.
“This goes on in our neighborhoods 365 days a year,” Boeving said. “The Super Bowl is a catalytic event with a global spotlight that can put more eyes on this issue.”
Last week, an underage girl walked into San Francisco’s Mission Station and reported to police that she had been kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Three adults were arrested on charges that included human trafficking. Last summer, a couple in Danville were arrested for running a prostitution ring, using multiple trafficking victims between the ages of 18 and 25.
Those are just some of the incidents that occur in our community. In August, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Task Force on Human Trafficking reported that 291 victims of human trafficking were helped in the final six months of 2014. The majority were young women.
Online element
Boeving points out that most of the business of prostitution is done online. At past Super Bowls, online ads for sex sales spiked dramatically right before the game.
Boeving wishes that more athletes would speak up about the exploitation that takes place around major sporting events. Former Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt is one of the few who has adopted the cause. He works with the group Not For Sale, and has been a vocal advocate and fundraiser on the issue of human slavery.
“It’s a huge deal,” Affeldt said last season. “The stories are horrifying.”
Law enforcement agencies and nonprofits from around the Bay Area have spent significant energy in recent months working to raise awareness on the issue. The Freedom Summit, held in May at Levi’s Stadium, also elevated the issue. The National Trafficking Hotline is (888) 373-7888.
“We are using this as a flashpoint,” Boeving said. “To put the community’s eyes and ears on this. To let potential buyers know we are watching you.”
The Super Bowl isn’t only a fun time. It also can hold a very dark secret.
EDITOR’S NOTE: What secret? At least not for Law Enforcement. It is well known that major sporting events – and the Super Bowl is the most major of all – attract prostitutes in droves. With many ‘Stupid’ Bowl tickets costing several thousand dollars, the buyers of those tickets can well afford to spend an hour or so with a lady of the evening, and the prostitutes and their handlers well know it.
I remember there were always prostitutes working the golf tournaments in the Palm Springs area. They would be brought to the golf clubs in limousines. The limos had dark curtains covering the rear windows and the prostitutes would turn their tricks inside those cars. And from my vantage point, there was never a time when those limos weren’t rocking and rolling.
By Ann Killion
San Francisco Chronicle
January 30, 2016
This week will be a collision of two dark secrets.
The Bay Area is one of the nation’s largest hubs for human trafficking. And the Super Bowl is an event that is a hotbed for human trafficking.
That dark underbelly of America’s biggest sporting event is in sharp contrast with the parties and celebrities, the glamour and fun that are the usual trappings of the Super Bowl.
“You can be a sports fan but not turn a blind eye to the some of the worst things going on around a sporting event,” said Betty Ann Boeving, the executive director and founder of the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition.
Boeving has been frustrated in recent days by published reports that throw doubt onto the premise that the Super Bowl generates a significant uptick in human trafficking. Some of those reports rely on anecdotal evidence of professional sex workers.
“I don’t know who they’re trying to defend,” Boeving said. “Less than 10 percent of the sex industry is represented by those choosing to sell themselves. Most are being forced against their will. Many are underage girls. This is the business of rape for profit.”
Bay Area a hub
It is hard to get quantifiable statistics to measure an industry that is very mobile and hidden. One of the reasons the Bay Area is a hub is that it has three international airports and a major port: Trafficked victims can be moved through quickly.
The Super Bowl is similar to other large events that bring in a mostly male, cash-rich clientele with the desire to party. Trade shows and conventions bring in a similar group. And Super Bowl week, with its festivities, is one of the biggest, most bloated conventions in the world.
“High-profile special events which draw large crowds become lucrative opportunities for sex trafficking and criminal activity,” said Michele Ernst, a spokesperson for the FBI. “It’s market and demand.”
The FBI will open a Human Trafficking Operation Center on Monday in conjunction with the start of Super Bowl week. A trial run for the program in October resulted in six children being rescued in the Bay Area. The youngest victim was 12 years old.
“This goes on in our neighborhoods 365 days a year,” Boeving said. “The Super Bowl is a catalytic event with a global spotlight that can put more eyes on this issue.”
Last week, an underage girl walked into San Francisco’s Mission Station and reported to police that she had been kidnapped and forced into prostitution. Three adults were arrested on charges that included human trafficking. Last summer, a couple in Danville were arrested for running a prostitution ring, using multiple trafficking victims between the ages of 18 and 25.
Those are just some of the incidents that occur in our community. In August, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s Task Force on Human Trafficking reported that 291 victims of human trafficking were helped in the final six months of 2014. The majority were young women.
Online element
Boeving points out that most of the business of prostitution is done online. At past Super Bowls, online ads for sex sales spiked dramatically right before the game.
Boeving wishes that more athletes would speak up about the exploitation that takes place around major sporting events. Former Giants pitcher Jeremy Affeldt is one of the few who has adopted the cause. He works with the group Not For Sale, and has been a vocal advocate and fundraiser on the issue of human slavery.
“It’s a huge deal,” Affeldt said last season. “The stories are horrifying.”
Law enforcement agencies and nonprofits from around the Bay Area have spent significant energy in recent months working to raise awareness on the issue. The Freedom Summit, held in May at Levi’s Stadium, also elevated the issue. The National Trafficking Hotline is (888) 373-7888.
“We are using this as a flashpoint,” Boeving said. “To put the community’s eyes and ears on this. To let potential buyers know we are watching you.”
The Super Bowl isn’t only a fun time. It also can hold a very dark secret.
EDITOR’S NOTE: What secret? At least not for Law Enforcement. It is well known that major sporting events – and the Super Bowl is the most major of all – attract prostitutes in droves. With many ‘Stupid’ Bowl tickets costing several thousand dollars, the buyers of those tickets can well afford to spend an hour or so with a lady of the evening, and the prostitutes and their handlers well know it.
I remember there were always prostitutes working the golf tournaments in the Palm Springs area. They would be brought to the golf clubs in limousines. The limos had dark curtains covering the rear windows and the prostitutes would turn their tricks inside those cars. And from my vantage point, there was never a time when those limos weren’t rocking and rolling.
HOLDER’S HORSESHIT
The former Attorney General attacks congressional Republicans for blocking a civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and for failing to pass gun controls
Eric Holder, one of the most political attorney generals in our history, is attacking congressional Republicans for blocking a civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and for failing to pass gun controls.
Holder stands out in my book for siding with Michael Brown against Darren Wilson and the Ferguson police. He tried hard to make a civil rights violation case against Wilson but had to give up because, hard as they tried, the FBI and the U.S. attorneys could not come up with any evidence of wrongdoing by Wilson.
Holder was quick to have his Justice Department investigate alleged police racism but did absolutely nothing about black-on-black killings.
What frightens me is that as president, Hillary Clinton will appoint Holder to the Supreme Court.
HOLDER, FREE TO SPEAK HIS MIND, TAKES ON CONGRESS, AND MORE
The former Attorney General says that whites should accept the fact that by 2043 they will be the minority
By Daniel Klaidman
Yahoo News
January 30, 2016
Former Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. yesterday used a criminal justice conference in New York City to settle some scores with political rivals with whom he’d clashed during his six and a half years of service in the Obama administration. In a series of comments heavy with scorn, Holder took on congressional Republicans for their role in blocking gun control measures in the wake of the Newtown massacre and for obstructing Obama’s efforts to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
But Holder reserved his most stinging comments for those who opposed his decision to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in federal court in New York, a decision that the White House reversed under bipartisan pressure from members of Congress and New York politicians. “I was mad then, I’m mad now. … I was damn right and the people who opposed me were damn wrong,” Holder told Tina Brown, who interviewed him at the American Justice Summit.
Holder singled out Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., for placing politics above national security and implored New Hampshire voters to ask her about the issue on the campaign trial where she is engaged in a tight re-election race. Without naming names, Holder said that multiple Republicans have said that they received their “biggest applause lines” in calling out Holder for affording the same due process rights enjoyed by all Americans to the 9/11 defendants. But Holder said the fact that KSM’s case remains mired in the military justice system with no signs of going to trial after more than six years proves that he was right, and his critics were wrong. If the decision to try the 9/11 defendants in civilian court had stood, Holder told Brown, “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his confederates would be on death row right now instead of waiting for their first pre-trial hearing.”
Holder was equally caustic about Congress’s lack of action in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting that left 20 school children and six adults dead. He called his visit to the Connecticut school, where he saw the blood-spattered walls directly below the art work of first-graders, “the worst day” of his tenure as attorney general. He added that if the American people had seen the what he had seen, “even the cowards in our Congress would have been forced to do the right thing.”
But Holder also acknowledged that the Obama administration should shoulder some of the blame for its failure to achieve meaningful gun-safety legislation. “I do think in retrospect we should have pushed harder,” Holder said in response to a question about why the administration did not make guns a priority during President Obama’s first term. And Holder called the issue “my biggest failure … especially in light of the mass shootings we saw all the time.”
Holder also spoke out passionately about the need to bolster voter protections in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder decision, which struck down key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Holder put the trend toward instituting voter ID laws in starkly political terms. “It’s an attempt to retard the growth of, let’s be honest, the Obama coalition, which is very scary to some people.” He observed that elements of the country are unsettled by the major demographic changes taking place, pointing out that the United States will no longer be majority white by 2043.
Eric Holder, one of the most political attorney generals in our history, is attacking congressional Republicans for blocking a civilian trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and for failing to pass gun controls.
Holder stands out in my book for siding with Michael Brown against Darren Wilson and the Ferguson police. He tried hard to make a civil rights violation case against Wilson but had to give up because, hard as they tried, the FBI and the U.S. attorneys could not come up with any evidence of wrongdoing by Wilson.
Holder was quick to have his Justice Department investigate alleged police racism but did absolutely nothing about black-on-black killings.
What frightens me is that as president, Hillary Clinton will appoint Holder to the Supreme Court.
HOLDER, FREE TO SPEAK HIS MIND, TAKES ON CONGRESS, AND MORE
The former Attorney General says that whites should accept the fact that by 2043 they will be the minority
By Daniel Klaidman
Yahoo News
January 30, 2016
Former Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. yesterday used a criminal justice conference in New York City to settle some scores with political rivals with whom he’d clashed during his six and a half years of service in the Obama administration. In a series of comments heavy with scorn, Holder took on congressional Republicans for their role in blocking gun control measures in the wake of the Newtown massacre and for obstructing Obama’s efforts to close the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
But Holder reserved his most stinging comments for those who opposed his decision to try 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed in federal court in New York, a decision that the White House reversed under bipartisan pressure from members of Congress and New York politicians. “I was mad then, I’m mad now. … I was damn right and the people who opposed me were damn wrong,” Holder told Tina Brown, who interviewed him at the American Justice Summit.
Holder singled out Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., for placing politics above national security and implored New Hampshire voters to ask her about the issue on the campaign trial where she is engaged in a tight re-election race. Without naming names, Holder said that multiple Republicans have said that they received their “biggest applause lines” in calling out Holder for affording the same due process rights enjoyed by all Americans to the 9/11 defendants. But Holder said the fact that KSM’s case remains mired in the military justice system with no signs of going to trial after more than six years proves that he was right, and his critics were wrong. If the decision to try the 9/11 defendants in civilian court had stood, Holder told Brown, “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his confederates would be on death row right now instead of waiting for their first pre-trial hearing.”
Holder was equally caustic about Congress’s lack of action in the wake of the Sandy Hook mass shooting that left 20 school children and six adults dead. He called his visit to the Connecticut school, where he saw the blood-spattered walls directly below the art work of first-graders, “the worst day” of his tenure as attorney general. He added that if the American people had seen the what he had seen, “even the cowards in our Congress would have been forced to do the right thing.”
But Holder also acknowledged that the Obama administration should shoulder some of the blame for its failure to achieve meaningful gun-safety legislation. “I do think in retrospect we should have pushed harder,” Holder said in response to a question about why the administration did not make guns a priority during President Obama’s first term. And Holder called the issue “my biggest failure … especially in light of the mass shootings we saw all the time.”
Holder also spoke out passionately about the need to bolster voter protections in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Shelby v. Holder decision, which struck down key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Holder put the trend toward instituting voter ID laws in starkly political terms. “It’s an attempt to retard the growth of, let’s be honest, the Obama coalition, which is very scary to some people.” He observed that elements of the country are unsettled by the major demographic changes taking place, pointing out that the United States will no longer be majority white by 2043.
Monday, February 01, 2016
‘GAY FOR THE STAY’ – YES, BUT MAGGOT-FILLED MEALS – NO
Reality TV star Teresa Giudice has co-authored a book about her one-year confinement in a federal prison, revealing that lesbian lovemaking was rampant and that inmates were served ‘maggot-filled’ meals
Teresa Giudice, a star in The Real Housewives of New Jersey reality TV series, was convicted together with her husband of conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud charges. She spent one-year as an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. Giudice, together with co-author K.C. Baker, wrote a book about her experiences at FCI Danbury.
In the book, “Turning The Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again,” Giudice, 43, describes how horrified she was at being ordered to open her mouth and cough while standing naked during strip searches. She revealed that lesbian lovemaking was rampant throughout the prison. And she claimed that inmates were served ‘maggot-filled’ meals.
I’ve made several visits to the California Institution for Women (CIW) for the purpose of interviewing inmates for information concerning various criminal investigations. During those visits I personally observed inmates having lesbian sex right out in the open. When I sked the warden why they allowed this, she replied that by allowing lesbian lovemaking, they were less likely to have a restive inmate population.
So Giudice’s revelation of lesbian sex at FCI Danbury came as no surprise to me.
In her book, Giudice talks about straight inmates who became “gay for the stay” behind bars. Within the correctional community that is common knowledge.
I’ve also interviewed former women prisoners from California, Florida and Texas, and in each case they said that although they were straight, while in prison they engaged in lesbian sex. Some of them also said they were bisexual since their release, while others said they remained strictly straight on the outside.
But maggot-filled meals? There is no surer way to start an inmate riot than by serving them lousy meals. And meals couldn’t get any lousier than maggot-filled meals!
I’ve also been to a couple of federal prisons. I’ve made about a dozen field trips with my students to the federal lockup in Bastrop, Texas. I’ve seen and eaten the same meals served to FCI Bastrop inmates, meals that were prepared in a spotless kitchen. I can assure everyone that under no circumstances will there be any maggots in meals served to federal inmates.
Giudice is flat-out lying when she says that inmates at FCI Danbury were fed maggot-filled meals.
Teresa Giudice, a star in The Real Housewives of New Jersey reality TV series, was convicted together with her husband of conspiracy and bankruptcy fraud charges. She spent one-year as an inmate at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut. Giudice, together with co-author K.C. Baker, wrote a book about her experiences at FCI Danbury.
In the book, “Turning The Tables: From Housewife to Inmate and Back Again,” Giudice, 43, describes how horrified she was at being ordered to open her mouth and cough while standing naked during strip searches. She revealed that lesbian lovemaking was rampant throughout the prison. And she claimed that inmates were served ‘maggot-filled’ meals.
I’ve made several visits to the California Institution for Women (CIW) for the purpose of interviewing inmates for information concerning various criminal investigations. During those visits I personally observed inmates having lesbian sex right out in the open. When I sked the warden why they allowed this, she replied that by allowing lesbian lovemaking, they were less likely to have a restive inmate population.
So Giudice’s revelation of lesbian sex at FCI Danbury came as no surprise to me.
In her book, Giudice talks about straight inmates who became “gay for the stay” behind bars. Within the correctional community that is common knowledge.
I’ve also interviewed former women prisoners from California, Florida and Texas, and in each case they said that although they were straight, while in prison they engaged in lesbian sex. Some of them also said they were bisexual since their release, while others said they remained strictly straight on the outside.
But maggot-filled meals? There is no surer way to start an inmate riot than by serving them lousy meals. And meals couldn’t get any lousier than maggot-filled meals!
I’ve also been to a couple of federal prisons. I’ve made about a dozen field trips with my students to the federal lockup in Bastrop, Texas. I’ve seen and eaten the same meals served to FCI Bastrop inmates, meals that were prepared in a spotless kitchen. I can assure everyone that under no circumstances will there be any maggots in meals served to federal inmates.
Giudice is flat-out lying when she says that inmates at FCI Danbury were fed maggot-filled meals.
I NEVER MET A PIMP THAT WAS WORTH A DAMN
But Oscar Wilde said, “Every editor should have an elder brother who is a pimp so he will have someone to look up to”
By Bob Walsh
I have known a fair number of pimps. A few were in my basic training company at Fort Ord on the “three years in the army or five years in prison” plan. Two or three of them went over the hill during basic. I met more than a few during my employment with the California state prison system. I have never met one that was worth the powder to blow him to hell.
Troy Brewer, 30, is facing life in prison in Richmond (CA) for pimping out a 17-year old girl. He is also looking at human trafficking charges as well as ADW, possession of a firearm by an ex-felon and kidnapping for ransom. That last charge could get him life without parole. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving fellow.
In the interest of fairness and balance, Oscar Wilde once remarked “Every editor should have an elder brother who is a pimp so he will have someone to look up to.” It is, of course, hard to say whether Oscar was that fond of pimps or that unfond of editors. I am inclined to think it is the latter, but it is a great line nevertheless.
By Bob Walsh
I have known a fair number of pimps. A few were in my basic training company at Fort Ord on the “three years in the army or five years in prison” plan. Two or three of them went over the hill during basic. I met more than a few during my employment with the California state prison system. I have never met one that was worth the powder to blow him to hell.
Troy Brewer, 30, is facing life in prison in Richmond (CA) for pimping out a 17-year old girl. He is also looking at human trafficking charges as well as ADW, possession of a firearm by an ex-felon and kidnapping for ransom. That last charge could get him life without parole. It couldn’t happen to a more deserving fellow.
In the interest of fairness and balance, Oscar Wilde once remarked “Every editor should have an elder brother who is a pimp so he will have someone to look up to.” It is, of course, hard to say whether Oscar was that fond of pimps or that unfond of editors. I am inclined to think it is the latter, but it is a great line nevertheless.
FREEDOM OF RELIGION … EXCEPT IN PHOENIX
By Bob Walsh
The members of the Phoenix City Council are seeking an emergency rule change because they got a result they didn’t like.
The Satanic Temple of Tucson submitted a request to the city clerk back in December to get put on the rotation of the groups that do the opening prayer at city council meetings. Under the proposed new rule the mayor and council members would select the prayer leader on a rotating basis, presumably from a list that they do not find objectionable.
Satanic Temple leader Stu De Haan has complained that this move is discriminatory and a constitutional violation. You never know, he could be right. I expect they are sniveling to the ACLU right now to get somebody with deeper pockets to underwrite a legal challenge.
That is the trouble when you announce that you have a rotation list and allow people to turn in their request. You can get Rastafarians, Pastafarians, Unitarians, Satanists, Druids, Witches, Muslims, Moonies, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholics, all sorts of undesirable people.
Maybe they should do something REALLY radical and leave religion at home.
The members of the Phoenix City Council are seeking an emergency rule change because they got a result they didn’t like.
The Satanic Temple of Tucson submitted a request to the city clerk back in December to get put on the rotation of the groups that do the opening prayer at city council meetings. Under the proposed new rule the mayor and council members would select the prayer leader on a rotating basis, presumably from a list that they do not find objectionable.
Satanic Temple leader Stu De Haan has complained that this move is discriminatory and a constitutional violation. You never know, he could be right. I expect they are sniveling to the ACLU right now to get somebody with deeper pockets to underwrite a legal challenge.
That is the trouble when you announce that you have a rotation list and allow people to turn in their request. You can get Rastafarians, Pastafarians, Unitarians, Satanists, Druids, Witches, Muslims, Moonies, Seventh Day Adventists, Catholics, all sorts of undesirable people.
Maybe they should do something REALLY radical and leave religion at home.
FAMILY OF WOMAN SHOT BY POLICE IN DEARBORN MICHIGAN: ‘SHE WAS MURDERED’
Police say that instead of a gun, Janet Wilson was “armed with a three-ton vehicle”
By Erika Erickson
WJBK
January 28, 2016
DEARBORN, Mich. --An independent investigation underway into the death of a Detroit woman shot and killed by Dearborn police Wednesday night. Janet Wilson allegedly tried to run over officers with her car outside Fairlane Mall on Hubbard Drive near the Southfield freeway.
But some are questioning how police handled it. "She was murdered," said Daryl Burke, a close family friend. "That's how I feel. She was murdered."
That's the same word used Thursday by the family of Wilson, 31.
"She didn't have any reason to die," Burke said. "Not like that."
Michigan State Police is now investigating the shooting and says Wilson was seen inside Fairlane mall acting belligerent.
Security called police, but Wilson, almost hitting a security guard, drove off. She eventually was chased down and stopped on Hubbard by Dearborn Police.
Michigan State Police called Wilson's car - her weapon. Lt. Michael Shaw said Thursday that Wilson was not armed with a gun but was “armed with a three-ton vehicle.”
"They actually got one of her doors open and were attempting to arrest her," said Shaw. "When traffic cleared, she accelerated almost striking another Dearborn officer that was out on foot.
"At which time one of the officers on scene discharged their duty weapon."
On Thursday the Wayne County Medical Examiner ruled Wilson's death a homicide. Sources say she was shot at least twice in the torso.
"There could've been a prevention of her being murdered," said friend Lorraine Bell.
FOX 2: "You're using the word murder?"
"Yes, because that's the way I feel," Bell said. "I feel like she was murdered."
Wilson's family is planning her funeral, says she was schizophrenic and was prescribed medication, calling her harmless. Friends say she always kept to herself.
FOX 2: "You weren't afraid of her?"
"No," Bell said.
Now activists are rallying around Wilson's family, demanding answers from Dearborn police, recalling the officer-involved shooting of Kevin Matthews just last month.
"We see now with this pattern in less than 40 days two people killed," said Chris White of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. "And both are mentally challenged. That's unacceptable."
Some activists are asking for police training to deal with the mentally ill and for Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad to resign.
Michigan State Police is assuring a thorough and transparent investigation will be conducted.
"It's totally unfair to look at this and say No. 1 that the driver is at fault," Shaw said. "It is unfair to say that because we don't know. But it is equally unfair at this point to say that the officer is at fault."
Haddad added the department is deeply saddened by the two shootings and is examining their policies. In a release, he said:
"We will closely examine all of our policies and procedures to ensure that we are employing the latest training and following national best practices in all of our responsibilities to the community."
Although the autopsy is complete, a toxicology report may take up to a month for results.
By Erika Erickson
WJBK
January 28, 2016
DEARBORN, Mich. --An independent investigation underway into the death of a Detroit woman shot and killed by Dearborn police Wednesday night. Janet Wilson allegedly tried to run over officers with her car outside Fairlane Mall on Hubbard Drive near the Southfield freeway.
But some are questioning how police handled it. "She was murdered," said Daryl Burke, a close family friend. "That's how I feel. She was murdered."
That's the same word used Thursday by the family of Wilson, 31.
"She didn't have any reason to die," Burke said. "Not like that."
Michigan State Police is now investigating the shooting and says Wilson was seen inside Fairlane mall acting belligerent.
Security called police, but Wilson, almost hitting a security guard, drove off. She eventually was chased down and stopped on Hubbard by Dearborn Police.
Michigan State Police called Wilson's car - her weapon. Lt. Michael Shaw said Thursday that Wilson was not armed with a gun but was “armed with a three-ton vehicle.”
"They actually got one of her doors open and were attempting to arrest her," said Shaw. "When traffic cleared, she accelerated almost striking another Dearborn officer that was out on foot.
"At which time one of the officers on scene discharged their duty weapon."
On Thursday the Wayne County Medical Examiner ruled Wilson's death a homicide. Sources say she was shot at least twice in the torso.
"There could've been a prevention of her being murdered," said friend Lorraine Bell.
FOX 2: "You're using the word murder?"
"Yes, because that's the way I feel," Bell said. "I feel like she was murdered."
Wilson's family is planning her funeral, says she was schizophrenic and was prescribed medication, calling her harmless. Friends say she always kept to herself.
FOX 2: "You weren't afraid of her?"
"No," Bell said.
Now activists are rallying around Wilson's family, demanding answers from Dearborn police, recalling the officer-involved shooting of Kevin Matthews just last month.
"We see now with this pattern in less than 40 days two people killed," said Chris White of the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality. "And both are mentally challenged. That's unacceptable."
Some activists are asking for police training to deal with the mentally ill and for Dearborn Police Chief Ronald Haddad to resign.
Michigan State Police is assuring a thorough and transparent investigation will be conducted.
"It's totally unfair to look at this and say No. 1 that the driver is at fault," Shaw said. "It is unfair to say that because we don't know. But it is equally unfair at this point to say that the officer is at fault."
Haddad added the department is deeply saddened by the two shootings and is examining their policies. In a release, he said:
"We will closely examine all of our policies and procedures to ensure that we are employing the latest training and following national best practices in all of our responsibilities to the community."
Although the autopsy is complete, a toxicology report may take up to a month for results.
CLINTON OMINOUSLY TELLS IOWAN SUPPORTERS TO MARK FRONT DOORS WITH CAMPAIGN LOGO BEFORE SUNDOWN
The Onion
January 31, 2016
DES MOINES, IA—Declaring that all voting-age citizens who took the measures would be spared, Hillary Clinton ominously instructed her supporters throughout Iowa to mark their front doors with her campaign logo before sundown, sources confirmed Sunday.
“All those residing in Iowa take heed: Your home shall bear the mark of my campaign this eve, or may God help you,” said the Democratic candidate after dispatching a phalanx of campaign staffers to all four corners of the state to spread the message of her directive. “Be within your dwellings with the doors closed and locked before nightfall, and do not cross the threshold before the sun rises again in the sky. The emblem of the red-and-blue H will protect my true voters.”
At press time, Clinton issued a statement ordering all Iowan supporters who remain on Monday morning to bring forth their progeny between 18 and 34 years of age to the polls.
January 31, 2016
DES MOINES, IA—Declaring that all voting-age citizens who took the measures would be spared, Hillary Clinton ominously instructed her supporters throughout Iowa to mark their front doors with her campaign logo before sundown, sources confirmed Sunday.
“All those residing in Iowa take heed: Your home shall bear the mark of my campaign this eve, or may God help you,” said the Democratic candidate after dispatching a phalanx of campaign staffers to all four corners of the state to spread the message of her directive. “Be within your dwellings with the doors closed and locked before nightfall, and do not cross the threshold before the sun rises again in the sky. The emblem of the red-and-blue H will protect my true voters.”
At press time, Clinton issued a statement ordering all Iowan supporters who remain on Monday morning to bring forth their progeny between 18 and 34 years of age to the polls.
LICENSE PLATE READERS USED TO FIGHT CRIME
Long Island law enforcement officials are increasingly using license plate readers — once just a device to go after unregistered drivers and traffic scofflaws — as an intelligence tool, mining the data for crime trends and using it to solve homicides and robberies, police said
By Nicole Fuller
Newsday
January 31, 2016
The Nassau and Suffolk County [New York] police departments, as well as police in villages such as Freeport, use an expansive network of more than 100 license plate reader cameras, some visible to the public and others intentionally obscured.
The license plate readers capture the image of millions of license plates and vehicles each year across the [Long] Island and have emerged as the pre-eminent tool for police solving pattern crimes, such as burglaries and bank robberies, officials said. Other police departments such as Hempstead, Glen Cove, Port Washington, Kings Point, Long Beach and Lynbrook have license plate readers.
Nassau Det. Sgt. Patrick Ryder, commanding officer of the department’s Asset Forfeiture and Intelligence Unit, said the department, which has about 50 cameras, moves them to different locations based on crime trends and then carefully examines the data for clues about a potential suspect.
“It is the No. 1 tool that we use here,” Ryder said. “If I could put them on every block in Nassau County, I would. We data mine through it, to try to figure out: Who’s the anomaly here? Who’s the outlier that’s entering our area of crime? Do you live here? Are you in the time of our pattern? Could you be an outside resident, a visitor or an employee? Or could you be a bad guy?”
License plate readers have been used by local police departments for several years — many fixed on police vehicles — to root out traffic ticket dodgers and unregistered cars, but advances in the technology have transformed the once-grainy pictures to sharp digital images.
In several recent cases cited by police, a witness has had only scant details; for example, telling police a green car was seen leaving the scene of a homicide. Investigators then scoured the license plate reader footage in that time period and location and made a break in the case, police said.
Looking to solve a pattern of about 20 burglaries in New Hyde Park a few years ago, Ryder said, police set up covert license plate readers in the area and analyzed the data and made an arrest.
“We were able to take 20,000 plates down to four people that did not belong there,” Ryder said. “And one of the four people, when we checked the four people, he was a burglar. He was from Queens and had a history of burglaries.”
The Suffolk County Police Department has about 30 cameras — the vast majority affixed to marked patrol cars, Chief of Department Stewart Cameron said.
The department got its first cameras in 2006 and they were primarily used for traffic enforcement, Cameron said. But with technology advancements, “They’ve become a useful investigative tool as well,” he said.
Police agencies across the region — including the county, village and state police, as well as federal agencies — share the data, officials said. And police say they’d like to buy more license plate readers. Each camera costs about $30,000.
They don’t come without controversy. The American Civil Liberties Union in 2013 issued a report raising concerns about their usage, citing, for example, the NYPD’s use of license plate readers on unmarked police cars outside of mosques in order to record attendees.
“Increasingly, they are capturing drivers’ locations outside church, the doctor’s office, and school, giving law enforcement and private companies that run the largest databases the ability to build detailed pictures of our lives,” the report said. “Location data can reveal extremely sensitive information about who we are and what we do.”
Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said license plate readers capture the plates and vehicles, which are publicly visible and offer no expectation of privacy.
“The ACLU is fighting this, but meanwhile they want to have like all the cops wear body cams and now everyone will be on video,” Giacalone said. “So you can’t pick and choose your battles. And when you’re out in public, you have no right to privacy anyway. You don’t have an absolute right to privacy in your car. Licenses and registrations are not rights, they’re privileges and they can be revoked at any time.”
Long Island police officials said they have access rules to prevent abuses. Nassau keeps its license plate reader data for five years, as recommended by a state panel, officials said.
“We go to great lengths to maintain the privacy of people when it comes to cameras and everything else,” said Ryder, who said the system is audited and that access to the system is restricted to certain police personnel. “People think that we sit there and stare at cameras all day watching the video. We don’t. We watch them when the crime occurs. The reason the video’s there is to capture that forensic evidence. . . . It’s capturing potential forensic evidence that will be used down the road, but in the meantime, it captures it, it stores it and we only look at it when we need to look at it for a crime or a certain plate already captured.”
Officials used license plate reader, or LPR, data to solve a rash of smash-and-grab commercial robberies last year. Three Brooklyn men were eventually arrested and charged in connection with stealing cash and more than $200,000 worth of jewelry at nine Nassau businesses, police said.
The break in the case, which was investigated by Nassau police and the district attorney’s office, came after cops pulled the LPR data after a Massapequa jewelry store burglary.
“We went to the plate reader data . . . we captured that plate, tied it to the car, which tied it to the girlfriend of the bad guy,” Ryder said. “The DA’s squad was on the car the next day. Two days later they ended up arresting him doing another burglary and closed the case.”
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, in a statement Saturday, called license plate readers “an emerging addition to a broad set of investigative tools used to solve crimes; they are most effective with the combination of proper targeting and good traditional investigative practices.”
The city of London famously installed a so-called “Ring of Steel” — including surveillance cameras and license plate readers — in the 1990s, intended both as a counterterrorism measure and an intended foil for common criminals. The system was replicated about a decade ago in lower Manhattan.
Freeport, New York’s second-largest village with a population of about 50,000 in 4.3 square miles, has erected its own “Ring of Steel,” putting the license plate readers at every entrance to the village, investing about $750,000 for the system.
Since early November, when its 34 license plate readers were installed — perched on light poles around the village — Freeport police have used the technology to catch an alleged killer, a trio of robbery suspects and a church burglar.
Freeport resident David Spencer, 37, of High Place, had burglarized churches in Baldwin, Freeport and Roosevelt by breaking a window and swiping “Yamaha keyboards, cash, a mountain bike, assorted jewelry and ceremonial chalices,” police said.
And this month, Freeport police spotted a 2001 Chevy Tahoe that was reported stolen entering the village on a license plate reader. The driver, Tremain Williams, 36, was arrested as a suspect in a Virginia homicide and the vehicle he stole belonged to the murder victim. In the Tahoe, Freeport cops found a loaded M4 assault rifle, police said.
For the homicide arrest, officials said, the village spent $5,000 in police overtime.
Freeport police have gotten so many hits for expired car registrations that they can’t keep up with the volume. Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said with increased overtime expenditures due to the system, he wants to hire another 10 officers.
“We’re really becoming overwhelmed with doing the job for the entire Nassau County because all these cars are coming through — we’re arresting them,” Kennedy said. “So I’m putting men on overtime every day, every day, every day, for all these stolen vehicles, stolen plates, hit-and-runs that we’re picking up that nobody would have ever picked up before.”
Since Freeport began using its license plate cameras on Nov. 2, police have made 25 arrests, impounded 328 vehicles, and issued 1,290 summonses overall, officials said. The department has also assisted other agencies with 15 significant investigations. Overall, the cameras have scanned 14.6 million license plates, officials said.
Of the 25 arrests from Nov. 2 to late January, 15 were for stolen vehicles. In the same time period the previous year, the department made only one stolen car arrest, according to department statistics.
Freeport Police Chief Miguel Bermudez said the village’s system, run with fiber optic cable powered by the village’s power plant, is impenetrable.
“We’re looking at every major and secondary road coming into Freeport and it’s giving us that information,” Bermudez said. “We don’t have to have a police officer assigned to that location. We’re gathering that data strictly through this technology. And then from there the officers are free to utilize that information, including our operators in the room, also our crime analysts, to help us, and then that information is passed on to our detectives or our officers for investigation.”
Bermudez said the department actively monitors the system about five hours a day, looking at the previous 24 hours of data to look for patterns.
“This stolen car’s been in town three times in five days,” Bermudez said. “That’s what we’re looking at.”
Giacalone said the license plate readers, especially the way Freeport has deployed them, have a huge deterrent factor.
“That million bucks that they spent could be paid back 10 times more if they don’t have to hire extra police officers and the pension benefits and everything else that goes with it.”
Kennedy, the Freeport mayor, said: “I want the criminals to know: Don’t come to the Village of Freeport. You come into Freeport and you commit a crime, we’re gonna get you.”
How license plate readers work in Freeport:
The camera snaps images of every passing vehicle and its license plate.
The plates are simultaneously cross-referenced against information from the DMV and criminal databases, including warrant information.
The system sends an automatic alert on violations, which can be viewed in police squad cars and in the department’s emergency operations center.
By Nicole Fuller
Newsday
January 31, 2016
The Nassau and Suffolk County [New York] police departments, as well as police in villages such as Freeport, use an expansive network of more than 100 license plate reader cameras, some visible to the public and others intentionally obscured.
The license plate readers capture the image of millions of license plates and vehicles each year across the [Long] Island and have emerged as the pre-eminent tool for police solving pattern crimes, such as burglaries and bank robberies, officials said. Other police departments such as Hempstead, Glen Cove, Port Washington, Kings Point, Long Beach and Lynbrook have license plate readers.
Nassau Det. Sgt. Patrick Ryder, commanding officer of the department’s Asset Forfeiture and Intelligence Unit, said the department, which has about 50 cameras, moves them to different locations based on crime trends and then carefully examines the data for clues about a potential suspect.
“It is the No. 1 tool that we use here,” Ryder said. “If I could put them on every block in Nassau County, I would. We data mine through it, to try to figure out: Who’s the anomaly here? Who’s the outlier that’s entering our area of crime? Do you live here? Are you in the time of our pattern? Could you be an outside resident, a visitor or an employee? Or could you be a bad guy?”
License plate readers have been used by local police departments for several years — many fixed on police vehicles — to root out traffic ticket dodgers and unregistered cars, but advances in the technology have transformed the once-grainy pictures to sharp digital images.
In several recent cases cited by police, a witness has had only scant details; for example, telling police a green car was seen leaving the scene of a homicide. Investigators then scoured the license plate reader footage in that time period and location and made a break in the case, police said.
Looking to solve a pattern of about 20 burglaries in New Hyde Park a few years ago, Ryder said, police set up covert license plate readers in the area and analyzed the data and made an arrest.
“We were able to take 20,000 plates down to four people that did not belong there,” Ryder said. “And one of the four people, when we checked the four people, he was a burglar. He was from Queens and had a history of burglaries.”
The Suffolk County Police Department has about 30 cameras — the vast majority affixed to marked patrol cars, Chief of Department Stewart Cameron said.
The department got its first cameras in 2006 and they were primarily used for traffic enforcement, Cameron said. But with technology advancements, “They’ve become a useful investigative tool as well,” he said.
Police agencies across the region — including the county, village and state police, as well as federal agencies — share the data, officials said. And police say they’d like to buy more license plate readers. Each camera costs about $30,000.
They don’t come without controversy. The American Civil Liberties Union in 2013 issued a report raising concerns about their usage, citing, for example, the NYPD’s use of license plate readers on unmarked police cars outside of mosques in order to record attendees.
“Increasingly, they are capturing drivers’ locations outside church, the doctor’s office, and school, giving law enforcement and private companies that run the largest databases the ability to build detailed pictures of our lives,” the report said. “Location data can reveal extremely sensitive information about who we are and what we do.”
Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said license plate readers capture the plates and vehicles, which are publicly visible and offer no expectation of privacy.
“The ACLU is fighting this, but meanwhile they want to have like all the cops wear body cams and now everyone will be on video,” Giacalone said. “So you can’t pick and choose your battles. And when you’re out in public, you have no right to privacy anyway. You don’t have an absolute right to privacy in your car. Licenses and registrations are not rights, they’re privileges and they can be revoked at any time.”
Long Island police officials said they have access rules to prevent abuses. Nassau keeps its license plate reader data for five years, as recommended by a state panel, officials said.
“We go to great lengths to maintain the privacy of people when it comes to cameras and everything else,” said Ryder, who said the system is audited and that access to the system is restricted to certain police personnel. “People think that we sit there and stare at cameras all day watching the video. We don’t. We watch them when the crime occurs. The reason the video’s there is to capture that forensic evidence. . . . It’s capturing potential forensic evidence that will be used down the road, but in the meantime, it captures it, it stores it and we only look at it when we need to look at it for a crime or a certain plate already captured.”
Officials used license plate reader, or LPR, data to solve a rash of smash-and-grab commercial robberies last year. Three Brooklyn men were eventually arrested and charged in connection with stealing cash and more than $200,000 worth of jewelry at nine Nassau businesses, police said.
The break in the case, which was investigated by Nassau police and the district attorney’s office, came after cops pulled the LPR data after a Massapequa jewelry store burglary.
“We went to the plate reader data . . . we captured that plate, tied it to the car, which tied it to the girlfriend of the bad guy,” Ryder said. “The DA’s squad was on the car the next day. Two days later they ended up arresting him doing another burglary and closed the case.”
Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas, in a statement Saturday, called license plate readers “an emerging addition to a broad set of investigative tools used to solve crimes; they are most effective with the combination of proper targeting and good traditional investigative practices.”
The city of London famously installed a so-called “Ring of Steel” — including surveillance cameras and license plate readers — in the 1990s, intended both as a counterterrorism measure and an intended foil for common criminals. The system was replicated about a decade ago in lower Manhattan.
Freeport, New York’s second-largest village with a population of about 50,000 in 4.3 square miles, has erected its own “Ring of Steel,” putting the license plate readers at every entrance to the village, investing about $750,000 for the system.
Since early November, when its 34 license plate readers were installed — perched on light poles around the village — Freeport police have used the technology to catch an alleged killer, a trio of robbery suspects and a church burglar.
Freeport resident David Spencer, 37, of High Place, had burglarized churches in Baldwin, Freeport and Roosevelt by breaking a window and swiping “Yamaha keyboards, cash, a mountain bike, assorted jewelry and ceremonial chalices,” police said.
And this month, Freeport police spotted a 2001 Chevy Tahoe that was reported stolen entering the village on a license plate reader. The driver, Tremain Williams, 36, was arrested as a suspect in a Virginia homicide and the vehicle he stole belonged to the murder victim. In the Tahoe, Freeport cops found a loaded M4 assault rifle, police said.
For the homicide arrest, officials said, the village spent $5,000 in police overtime.
Freeport police have gotten so many hits for expired car registrations that they can’t keep up with the volume. Freeport Mayor Robert Kennedy said with increased overtime expenditures due to the system, he wants to hire another 10 officers.
“We’re really becoming overwhelmed with doing the job for the entire Nassau County because all these cars are coming through — we’re arresting them,” Kennedy said. “So I’m putting men on overtime every day, every day, every day, for all these stolen vehicles, stolen plates, hit-and-runs that we’re picking up that nobody would have ever picked up before.”
Since Freeport began using its license plate cameras on Nov. 2, police have made 25 arrests, impounded 328 vehicles, and issued 1,290 summonses overall, officials said. The department has also assisted other agencies with 15 significant investigations. Overall, the cameras have scanned 14.6 million license plates, officials said.
Of the 25 arrests from Nov. 2 to late January, 15 were for stolen vehicles. In the same time period the previous year, the department made only one stolen car arrest, according to department statistics.
Freeport Police Chief Miguel Bermudez said the village’s system, run with fiber optic cable powered by the village’s power plant, is impenetrable.
“We’re looking at every major and secondary road coming into Freeport and it’s giving us that information,” Bermudez said. “We don’t have to have a police officer assigned to that location. We’re gathering that data strictly through this technology. And then from there the officers are free to utilize that information, including our operators in the room, also our crime analysts, to help us, and then that information is passed on to our detectives or our officers for investigation.”
Bermudez said the department actively monitors the system about five hours a day, looking at the previous 24 hours of data to look for patterns.
“This stolen car’s been in town three times in five days,” Bermudez said. “That’s what we’re looking at.”
Giacalone said the license plate readers, especially the way Freeport has deployed them, have a huge deterrent factor.
“That million bucks that they spent could be paid back 10 times more if they don’t have to hire extra police officers and the pension benefits and everything else that goes with it.”
Kennedy, the Freeport mayor, said: “I want the criminals to know: Don’t come to the Village of Freeport. You come into Freeport and you commit a crime, we’re gonna get you.”
How license plate readers work in Freeport:
The camera snaps images of every passing vehicle and its license plate.
The plates are simultaneously cross-referenced against information from the DMV and criminal databases, including warrant information.
The system sends an automatic alert on violations, which can be viewed in police squad cars and in the department’s emergency operations center.
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