Animal rights group asks court to declare a chimpanzee is "a cognitively complex autonomous legal person with the fundamental legal right not to be imprisoned"
No, this is not from The Onion, it’s for real. And I’m one with my cousins, the chimps.
NEW YORK LAWSUIT SEEKS ‘LEGAL PERSONHOOD’ FOR CHIMPANZEES
Thomson/Reuters
December 2, 2013
An animal rights group on Monday filed what it said is the first lawsuit seeking to establish the "legal personhood" of chimpanzees.
The non-profit Nonhuman Rights Project asked a New York state court to declare a 26-year-old chimp named Tommy "a cognitively complex autonomous legal person with the fundamental legal right not to be imprisoned."
The lawsuit seeks a declaration that Tommy's "detention" in a "small, dank, cement cage in a cavernous dark shed" in central New York is unlawful and demands his immediate release to a primate sanctuary.
Chimpanzees "possess complex cognitive abilities that are so strictly protected when they're found in human beings," Steven Wise, the president of Nonhuman Rights Project, told Reuters.
"There's no reason why they should not be protected when they're found in chimpanzees," he added.
The lawsuit on Tommy's behalf is among three the group is filing this week on behalf of four chimps across New York. The other chimps are Kiko, a 26-year-old chimp living on a private property in Niagara Falls, and Hercules and Leo, two young male chimps used in research at Stony Brook University on Long Island, the group said.
Tommy's owners, Patrick and Diane Lavery, and Stony university did not immediately return requests for comment. Kiko's owners could not be reached on Monday.
The Nonhuman Rights Project used its own research to find the chimps, and Wise first visited Tommy in October after reading a local newspaper article about exotic animals kept at the Laverys' used trailer lot in Gloversville, N.Y., about 50 miles northwest of Albany.
"He looked terrible," said Wise, who previously observed healthy, wild chimps in Uganda. "Hey looked like a caged chimpanzee - they don't move, they don't look at you. They look depressed."
The lawsuit states that chimps are entitled to a "fundamental right to bodily liberty," which Wise told Reuters is the basic right to be left alone and not held for entertainment or research.
The lawsuit was filed at "the earliest point at which we have some reasonable chance at winning," said Wise, a well-known animal rights activist and author of books including the 2000 title "Rattling the Cage: Toward Legal Rights for Animals."
"These are the first cases in an open-ended, strategic litigation campaign," he said. "We're just going to keep filing suits."
Tuesday, December 03, 2013
BIZARRE SCI-FI NOVEL POSITS WORLD WHERE NATIVES INHABITED AMERICA BEFORE EUROPEANS
The Onion
December 2, 2013
NEW YORK—In a riveting, if slightly far-fetched, work of alternate history that fans of science fiction are bound to enjoy, author Judith Nies’ novel Native American History: A Chronology Of The Vast Achievements Of A Culture And Their Links To World Events imagines a strange fictional world where, prior to its 15th-century colonization by Europeans, North America was actually inhabited by millions of indigenous peoples.
“Numerous Paleoamerican groups inhabited vast expanses of land along modern-day Canada and the United States as early as 1400 C.E., including what would later become the Navajo, Iroquois, Cherokee, and Ojibwe peoples,” reads an excerpt from Nies’ wildly bizarre science-fiction tale, positing a sweeping alternate reality in which vast tribes of “Native Americans”—each fleshed out with their own names, rich cultural backstories, and even strange foreign languages invented by the author—roamed the Americas for thousands of years before any European explorers set foot on the continent. “These indigenous populations eventually established successful dryland farming practices, allowing for the cultivation of crops in the arid midwest and corn-based agriculture from Mesoamerica. Other tribes, however, lived as nomads, utilizing hunting and gathering methods to survive off the likes of buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope.”
Sources confirmed that science-fiction fans are sure to be especially thrilled by the shocking conclusion to Nies’ expansive sci-fi tale, in which settlers from Europe, upon reaching America, massacre and drastically marginalize these native inhabitants over the next several centuries.
December 2, 2013
NEW YORK—In a riveting, if slightly far-fetched, work of alternate history that fans of science fiction are bound to enjoy, author Judith Nies’ novel Native American History: A Chronology Of The Vast Achievements Of A Culture And Their Links To World Events imagines a strange fictional world where, prior to its 15th-century colonization by Europeans, North America was actually inhabited by millions of indigenous peoples.
“Numerous Paleoamerican groups inhabited vast expanses of land along modern-day Canada and the United States as early as 1400 C.E., including what would later become the Navajo, Iroquois, Cherokee, and Ojibwe peoples,” reads an excerpt from Nies’ wildly bizarre science-fiction tale, positing a sweeping alternate reality in which vast tribes of “Native Americans”—each fleshed out with their own names, rich cultural backstories, and even strange foreign languages invented by the author—roamed the Americas for thousands of years before any European explorers set foot on the continent. “These indigenous populations eventually established successful dryland farming practices, allowing for the cultivation of crops in the arid midwest and corn-based agriculture from Mesoamerica. Other tribes, however, lived as nomads, utilizing hunting and gathering methods to survive off the likes of buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope.”
Sources confirmed that science-fiction fans are sure to be especially thrilled by the shocking conclusion to Nies’ expansive sci-fi tale, in which settlers from Europe, upon reaching America, massacre and drastically marginalize these native inhabitants over the next several centuries.
Monday, December 02, 2013
STATE APPEALS LENIENT 30-DAY RAPE SENTENCE BY JUDGE WHO THOUGHT VICTIM WAS ‘OLDER THAN HER CHRONOLOGICAL AGE’
The judge came in for an awful lot of flack for his politically incorrect statement, but I would have to say that the 30-day sentence for a teacher having sex with a 14-year-old girl was a royal screw-up.
MONTANA APPEALS TEACHER’S RAPE SENTENCE
Associated Press
December 1, 2013
The Montana attorney general's office has asked the state Supreme Court to throw out a 30-day sentence given to a teacher who raped a 14-year-old girl, saying the punishment was illegally lenient.
The state formally filed its arguments on Friday in the appeal of the highly criticized sentence for Stacey Rambold, who was released from Montana State Prison in September.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh sparked outrage when he commented in August that victim Cherice Moralez was "older than her chronological age." Moralez killed herself before the case went to trial.
The judge later apologized and said the comments were based on videotaped interviews with Moralez that have not been publicly released.
The state argues the child was not legally capable of consent and that the judge's sentence was illegal.
The brief argues the minimum legal sentence would have been two years in prison. But prosecutors said they still believe a sentence of 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, would be appropriate.
Baugh relied on a different section of the same law cited by prosecutors when he gave the defendant 15 years with all but 31 days suspended and a one-day credit for time served.
Rambold's attorney, Jay Lansing, has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the case. His office said Wednesday that he had no plans to do so.
The attorney general's office said Rambold's sentence should be vacated and remanded for sentencing.
Prosecutors said that "there is no legitimate hypothetical that allows blame to be placed on a 14-year-old student who has been victimized by her 47-year-old teacher."
Recently, several advocacy groups asked the Supreme Court to be allowed to file supporting arguments in the appeal. They argued they can provide expertise in legal and social advocacy for women's rights.
The judge's statements reflected "stereotypical, prejudicial, and generally false beliefs regarding sexual assault," the groups say.
Rambold has registered as a level 1 sex offender, meaning he's considered a low risk to reoffend. He will remain on probation through 2028 unless the original sentence is overruled.
MONTANA APPEALS TEACHER’S RAPE SENTENCE
Associated Press
December 1, 2013
The Montana attorney general's office has asked the state Supreme Court to throw out a 30-day sentence given to a teacher who raped a 14-year-old girl, saying the punishment was illegally lenient.
The state formally filed its arguments on Friday in the appeal of the highly criticized sentence for Stacey Rambold, who was released from Montana State Prison in September.
District Judge G. Todd Baugh sparked outrage when he commented in August that victim Cherice Moralez was "older than her chronological age." Moralez killed herself before the case went to trial.
The judge later apologized and said the comments were based on videotaped interviews with Moralez that have not been publicly released.
The state argues the child was not legally capable of consent and that the judge's sentence was illegal.
The brief argues the minimum legal sentence would have been two years in prison. But prosecutors said they still believe a sentence of 20 years in prison, with 10 years suspended, would be appropriate.
Baugh relied on a different section of the same law cited by prosecutors when he gave the defendant 15 years with all but 31 days suspended and a one-day credit for time served.
Rambold's attorney, Jay Lansing, has not responded to repeated requests for comment on the case. His office said Wednesday that he had no plans to do so.
The attorney general's office said Rambold's sentence should be vacated and remanded for sentencing.
Prosecutors said that "there is no legitimate hypothetical that allows blame to be placed on a 14-year-old student who has been victimized by her 47-year-old teacher."
Recently, several advocacy groups asked the Supreme Court to be allowed to file supporting arguments in the appeal. They argued they can provide expertise in legal and social advocacy for women's rights.
The judge's statements reflected "stereotypical, prejudicial, and generally false beliefs regarding sexual assault," the groups say.
Rambold has registered as a level 1 sex offender, meaning he's considered a low risk to reoffend. He will remain on probation through 2028 unless the original sentence is overruled.
NEWLYWED FIREFIGHTER GETS KILLED ATTACKING COP
Bob Walsh says, “If I had to venture a guess I would say there was some alcohol involved in this situation.” I believe Bob was referring to the firefighter, not the cop.
KANSAS CITY FIREFIGHTER SHOT BY OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER HOURS AFTER WEDDING
By Mara Rose Williams
The Kansas City Star
December 1, 2013
A firefighter was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer early Sunday morning in downtown Kansas City after the firefighter’s Saturday night wedding.
Kansas City Fire Department spokesman James Garrett confirmed that six-year veteran firefighter Anthony Bruno of Fire Station 17 was shot about 2:30 a.m.
The officer who shot him was in uniform but working another job off-duty when he responded to a reported assault on a cab driver at 12th and Wyandotte streets, Kansas City police said. The officer found a suspect near 13th Street and Baltimore Avenue. When the officer approached, the man started to attack him, police said.
The officer, who was not immediately identified, told investigators that he feared for his life. He shot Bruno in the chest.
Police said the officer performed CPR on Bruno, who was a third-generation member of the fire department. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The officer also was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Garrett said Fire Chief Paul Berardi had been with Bruno’s family since the incident.
“Although specific details of the incident are still being gathered,” Berardi said in a statement Sunday afternoon, “KCPD Chief Forte and I have already spoken a number of times and will continue to remain in contact.”
Berardi said “friends and family of the Kansas City Fire Department remember Anthony Bruno as a courageous and dedicated firefighter who had been with the department since 2008.”
Bruno leaves behind a father who is a retired deputy fire chief, his mother, two sisters and his new wife.
Police are investigating the incident.
KANSAS CITY FIREFIGHTER SHOT BY OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER HOURS AFTER WEDDING
By Mara Rose Williams
The Kansas City Star
December 1, 2013
A firefighter was shot and killed by an off-duty police officer early Sunday morning in downtown Kansas City after the firefighter’s Saturday night wedding.
Kansas City Fire Department spokesman James Garrett confirmed that six-year veteran firefighter Anthony Bruno of Fire Station 17 was shot about 2:30 a.m.
The officer who shot him was in uniform but working another job off-duty when he responded to a reported assault on a cab driver at 12th and Wyandotte streets, Kansas City police said. The officer found a suspect near 13th Street and Baltimore Avenue. When the officer approached, the man started to attack him, police said.
The officer, who was not immediately identified, told investigators that he feared for his life. He shot Bruno in the chest.
Police said the officer performed CPR on Bruno, who was a third-generation member of the fire department. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
The officer also was taken to a hospital with serious injuries.
Garrett said Fire Chief Paul Berardi had been with Bruno’s family since the incident.
“Although specific details of the incident are still being gathered,” Berardi said in a statement Sunday afternoon, “KCPD Chief Forte and I have already spoken a number of times and will continue to remain in contact.”
Berardi said “friends and family of the Kansas City Fire Department remember Anthony Bruno as a courageous and dedicated firefighter who had been with the department since 2008.”
Bruno leaves behind a father who is a retired deputy fire chief, his mother, two sisters and his new wife.
Police are investigating the incident.
MEXICO REAPING THE FALLOUT FROM SOCIAL EXCLUSION AND ECONOMIC INEQUALITY
The criminal cartels flourish because Mexican society has been and continues to be dominated by poverty, inequality, social exclusion, lack of opportunity and corruption
As I’ve said several times before, when a country is dominated by an elite wealthy class in a society suffering from mass poverty, an insurgency will rise up. In many countries that insurgency is carried out by Marxist rebels. In Mexico that insurgency is carried out by the drug cartels.
AT WHAT MOMENT DID OUR COUNTRY BECOME WHAT IT IS TODAY?
By Simón Vargas Aguilar
Borderland Beat
November 30, 2013
At what moment did our country become what it is today? Why has organized crime acquired such power and influence, factors that have permitted it to become the law and the authority in some regions? Why has violence increased exponentially over the last years, reaching levels of sadism and cruelty never before seen?
Why has this savagery succeeded in robbing us of public places, changing our lives, and taking our loved ones from us? When exactly did the youth decide to follow the path of organized crime to live the fast life and die early? Why is our society eroding so rapidly?
Siddharta Guatama said: “If you want to know the past, look to the present, which is its result. If you want to know the future, look to the present, which is its cause.”
Our present country is the summation of a great number of errors and poor decisions made over the course of our history. This history has almost always been—and likely, will continue to be—determined by the interests of certain developed countries, international organizations, and those who unlawfully hold extensive resources.
And although between the aforementioned forces some exceptions exist, promoting alternative agendas, the hegemony and the power of the majority is such that the development and well-being of our society has rarely been their priority.
Today, our outlook is dominated by poverty, inequality, social exclusion, lack of opportunity, corruption, impunity, weak institutions, and meager economic growth. Thanks to these variables, the violence associated with organized crime and drug trafficking found favorable footholds to flourish and obtain million-dollar earnings at the cost of the destruction of forward-looking perspectives and the development of the entire country.
The family ceased to be the cornerstone of society, social ties became increasingly fragile, and our values—which once distinguished us in the world—were replaced by anti-values such as hatred, intolerance, and individualism.
In this sense, violence in all its forms has become part of our lives: the drug-trafficking cartels fight bloody battles amongst themselves to control territories. A report from Stratfor [security analysis firm in the U.S.] published last October predicted that during the last trimester of the year violence would increase due to this phenomenon. Radical groups have emerged and selected violence and confrontation to express their dissatisfaction, and have already communicated that their force will grow with increasingly aggressive groups.
Our children practice bullying in school, which has already taken several lives. Orphans of drug trafficking harbor a deep resentment towards those hitmen who, following orders on threat of death themselves, ended the lives of their families. Many of this second generation, motivated by vengeance and a lack of other opportunities, themselves become assassins, which feeds the vicious circle of violence.
At the same time, we have also seen how demonstrations and protests have increased, and how some demonstrators have discharged their ire and frustration against police who safeguard a partial, selective, and deliberate “state of law.” This status quo permits those who have misappropriated political, economic, social, and religious power to continue to make decisions that directly affect the people, who then form their own police forces.
The Polish philosopher and sociologist Zygmunt Brauman states in his book Collateral Damage: Social Inequalities in a Global Age:
“When an electric circuit is overloaded the first part to burn is the fuse… The effectiveness and the duration of the entire circuit—and as a consequence, the electricity that it is capable of absorbing and the work that it is capable of performing—cannot be greater than the resistance of the fuse. Once the fuse blows, the entire circuit fails.”
Today Mexicans—grandmothers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sons—all those who strive to stoically continue the daily fight to make a living and satisfy needs through sacrifice, are facing corruption, manipulation, repression, and violence. We citizens, who seek a better future for coming generations but find neither understanding nor support from the majority of our government, are that fuse which is at the overloaded point of failure.
As I’ve said several times before, when a country is dominated by an elite wealthy class in a society suffering from mass poverty, an insurgency will rise up. In many countries that insurgency is carried out by Marxist rebels. In Mexico that insurgency is carried out by the drug cartels.
AT WHAT MOMENT DID OUR COUNTRY BECOME WHAT IT IS TODAY?
By Simón Vargas Aguilar
Borderland Beat
November 30, 2013
At what moment did our country become what it is today? Why has organized crime acquired such power and influence, factors that have permitted it to become the law and the authority in some regions? Why has violence increased exponentially over the last years, reaching levels of sadism and cruelty never before seen?
Why has this savagery succeeded in robbing us of public places, changing our lives, and taking our loved ones from us? When exactly did the youth decide to follow the path of organized crime to live the fast life and die early? Why is our society eroding so rapidly?
Siddharta Guatama said: “If you want to know the past, look to the present, which is its result. If you want to know the future, look to the present, which is its cause.”
Our present country is the summation of a great number of errors and poor decisions made over the course of our history. This history has almost always been—and likely, will continue to be—determined by the interests of certain developed countries, international organizations, and those who unlawfully hold extensive resources.
And although between the aforementioned forces some exceptions exist, promoting alternative agendas, the hegemony and the power of the majority is such that the development and well-being of our society has rarely been their priority.
Today, our outlook is dominated by poverty, inequality, social exclusion, lack of opportunity, corruption, impunity, weak institutions, and meager economic growth. Thanks to these variables, the violence associated with organized crime and drug trafficking found favorable footholds to flourish and obtain million-dollar earnings at the cost of the destruction of forward-looking perspectives and the development of the entire country.
The family ceased to be the cornerstone of society, social ties became increasingly fragile, and our values—which once distinguished us in the world—were replaced by anti-values such as hatred, intolerance, and individualism.
In this sense, violence in all its forms has become part of our lives: the drug-trafficking cartels fight bloody battles amongst themselves to control territories. A report from Stratfor [security analysis firm in the U.S.] published last October predicted that during the last trimester of the year violence would increase due to this phenomenon. Radical groups have emerged and selected violence and confrontation to express their dissatisfaction, and have already communicated that their force will grow with increasingly aggressive groups.
Our children practice bullying in school, which has already taken several lives. Orphans of drug trafficking harbor a deep resentment towards those hitmen who, following orders on threat of death themselves, ended the lives of their families. Many of this second generation, motivated by vengeance and a lack of other opportunities, themselves become assassins, which feeds the vicious circle of violence.
At the same time, we have also seen how demonstrations and protests have increased, and how some demonstrators have discharged their ire and frustration against police who safeguard a partial, selective, and deliberate “state of law.” This status quo permits those who have misappropriated political, economic, social, and religious power to continue to make decisions that directly affect the people, who then form their own police forces.
The Polish philosopher and sociologist Zygmunt Brauman states in his book Collateral Damage: Social Inequalities in a Global Age:
“When an electric circuit is overloaded the first part to burn is the fuse… The effectiveness and the duration of the entire circuit—and as a consequence, the electricity that it is capable of absorbing and the work that it is capable of performing—cannot be greater than the resistance of the fuse. Once the fuse blows, the entire circuit fails.”
Today Mexicans—grandmothers, mothers, fathers, brothers, sons—all those who strive to stoically continue the daily fight to make a living and satisfy needs through sacrifice, are facing corruption, manipulation, repression, and violence. We citizens, who seek a better future for coming generations but find neither understanding nor support from the majority of our government, are that fuse which is at the overloaded point of failure.
MOTHER SUPERIOR’S DEATH BED WISDOM
The Unconventional Gazette
December 1, 2013
The 98-year-old Mother Superior from Ireland was dying. The nuns gathered around her bed trying to make her last journey comfortable.
They gave her some warm milk to drink but she refused.
Then one of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen. Remembering a bottle of Irish whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened and poured a generous amount into the warm milk.
Back at Mother Superior's bed, she held the glass to her lips. Mother drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, she had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop.
"Mother," the nuns asked with humility, "please give us some wisdom before you die."
She raised herself up in bed and with a pious look on her face said, "Don't sell that cow."
December 1, 2013
The 98-year-old Mother Superior from Ireland was dying. The nuns gathered around her bed trying to make her last journey comfortable.
They gave her some warm milk to drink but she refused.
Then one of the nuns took the glass back to the kitchen. Remembering a bottle of Irish whiskey received as a gift the previous Christmas, she opened and poured a generous amount into the warm milk.
Back at Mother Superior's bed, she held the glass to her lips. Mother drank a little, then a little more and before they knew it, she had drunk the whole glass down to the last drop.
"Mother," the nuns asked with humility, "please give us some wisdom before you die."
She raised herself up in bed and with a pious look on her face said, "Don't sell that cow."
Sunday, December 01, 2013
NEW TRIAL FOR JUDICIALLY-LYNCHED GEORGE STINNEY?
After a two-hour trial in 1944, the 14-year-old black boy became and remains the youngest person ever executed in the U.S.
In March 1944, two little white girls aged 7 and 11 were picking wildflowers when they were brutally beaten to death in Alcolu, South Carolina. Sheriff’s deputies acting on a tip that George Stinney had been seen talking to the girls, arrested the 14-year-old black boy. The cops said Stinney gave them an oral confession. The authorities had no evidence that the boy murdered the two girls other than the alleged confession.
Stinney was put on trial. His court appointed attorney did not present any defense. After a two-hour trial, the case went to an all-white jury. After only 10 minutes of deliberations, the jury came back with a guilty verdict. Stinney was executed in South Carolina’s electric chair just 84 days after the girls were murdered. He remains the youngest person ever executed in the U.S.
Supporters of the boy are now seeking a symbolic acquittal and have asked a South Carolina judge to grant Stinney a new trial. Legal experts say it is unlikely the request for a new trial will be granted. South Carolina does not allow the introduction of new evidence once a trial is over unless the information had been impossible to discover before the trial and would likely have changed the outcome had it been introduced. Lawyers have also filed a request to pardon the boy with the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services in case a new trial is not granted.
It seems incredulous that a murder defendant, regardless of his age, could have been executed after a two-hour trial with no evidence other than an alleged oral confession and with no defense offered by his court appointed lawyer. Stinney may or may not have murdered the two girls but in either case, the trial and execution was nothing more than the shameful judicial lynching of a young black boy by a whites-only Jim Crow era justice system.
In March 1944, two little white girls aged 7 and 11 were picking wildflowers when they were brutally beaten to death in Alcolu, South Carolina. Sheriff’s deputies acting on a tip that George Stinney had been seen talking to the girls, arrested the 14-year-old black boy. The cops said Stinney gave them an oral confession. The authorities had no evidence that the boy murdered the two girls other than the alleged confession.
Stinney was put on trial. His court appointed attorney did not present any defense. After a two-hour trial, the case went to an all-white jury. After only 10 minutes of deliberations, the jury came back with a guilty verdict. Stinney was executed in South Carolina’s electric chair just 84 days after the girls were murdered. He remains the youngest person ever executed in the U.S.
Supporters of the boy are now seeking a symbolic acquittal and have asked a South Carolina judge to grant Stinney a new trial. Legal experts say it is unlikely the request for a new trial will be granted. South Carolina does not allow the introduction of new evidence once a trial is over unless the information had been impossible to discover before the trial and would likely have changed the outcome had it been introduced. Lawyers have also filed a request to pardon the boy with the S.C. Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services in case a new trial is not granted.
It seems incredulous that a murder defendant, regardless of his age, could have been executed after a two-hour trial with no evidence other than an alleged oral confession and with no defense offered by his court appointed lawyer. Stinney may or may not have murdered the two girls but in either case, the trial and execution was nothing more than the shameful judicial lynching of a young black boy by a whites-only Jim Crow era justice system.
MEDIEVAL TIMES IN TEXAS JUSTICE SYSTEM
Black inmate with low IQ still in prison 33 years after the courts overturned his murder conviction and ordered a new trial
I’m proud to be a Texan, but not in this case! This case really sucks!
12,000 DAYS LATER, TEXAS STILL WON’T RELEASE JERRY HARTFIELD FROM CUSTODY
In 1980, the Texas courts determined that Hartfield deserved a new trial. Instead, he got another 33 years in prison without a valid conviction. Today, state lawyers still say he merits no relief
By Andrew Cohen
The Atlantic
November 25, 2013
You may or may not remember the remarkable story of Jerry Hartfield. He is the Texas man who has been languishing in prison now for nearly 12,000 days—more than 33 years—even though his murder conviction and life sentence were overturned and a new trial was ordered in his case in 1980. He is the man who fell through the cracks of a justice system still struggling to rectify its monumental error—and who is still falling.
In June, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, with a great deal of prodding from the federal courts, confirmed that Hartfield was currently in custody for no good reason—under penalty of no "conviction or sentence," the state judges ruled. And yet he still has not been released. Instead, prosecutors intend to retry him and are fighting to keep him in prison pending that retrial. What kind of trial? A trial at which there is likely to be precious little physical evidence against the defendant because, his attorneys say, it may have been lost over time.
Facing a retrial he could win, Hartfield says he is entitled to get help now, today, because his constitutional right to a speedy trial has long since been violated. If the Sixth Amendment means anything anymore, the defense says, it means that the state must try a man at some point before he has spent a third of a century behind bars for no legitimate reason. He should be immediately released from custody, they say, even if prosecutors want to re-try him for a murder they say he committed in 1977.
Texas cannot—and thankfully does not—dispute that Hartfield has a right to argue that his speedy trial right has been violated. But state lawyers are blocking an immediate review of that issue by arguing that the must make his claim by filing a regular motion in his newly pending retrial case—and that he cannot appeal such a ruling until after that retrial. Having been chastised in this case by the state's highest criminal court, that is to say, Texas wants to make Hartfield wait another year or two before he gets to even ask a higher court to be freed.
In its new court filings, the state cites case after case for the proposition that Hartfield's lawyers have made the wrong procedural path to help their client. But there is no case in Texas—or evidently anywhere else—that any lawyer has cited that even remotely tracks the egregious facts of this case. Texas has screwed up so royally, has so long violated the constitutional rights of this man, that there is literally no dispositive legal precedent state lawyers can cite to help them justify his continuing confinement.
On Tuesday, nearly six months after the highest criminal court in Texas acknowledged the wrong done to Hartfield, there will be a hearing in the case held by the trial judge who presumably will write the next chapter of this sad story. Eventually he will issue a ruling, which the losing side then will appeal, which will generate a new round of briefing and many more months (or even years) of delay. And every new day this man spends in custody pending his retrial, every new day the state lags in remedying this manifest error, represents a new violation of law.
If Jerry Hartfield were a rich man, or a white man, or a savvy man, or a man living near the nation's media centers, he long ago would have become an international cause celebre. There would be public protests and earnest letters to Texas officials from civil libertarians and concerned politicians. There would be emergency federal court motions. There would be television coverage. There would be a constant clamoring to fix this mistake. Hartfield now is 57 years old and had his original sentence been upheld he could have been paroled by now.
But Jerry Hartfield is a poor man, a black man, a man with an IQ once registered at 51, and he is stuck in the middle of a criminal justice system in a state that still can be medieval in its treatment of such men. And so the same authority that has imprisoned him unlawfully for 33 years can argue in court with a straight face that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals didn't mean what it wrote when it wrote that Hartfield could seek the relief he has requested in the manner in which his attorneys have chosen.
I’m proud to be a Texan, but not in this case! This case really sucks!
12,000 DAYS LATER, TEXAS STILL WON’T RELEASE JERRY HARTFIELD FROM CUSTODY
In 1980, the Texas courts determined that Hartfield deserved a new trial. Instead, he got another 33 years in prison without a valid conviction. Today, state lawyers still say he merits no relief
By Andrew Cohen
The Atlantic
November 25, 2013
You may or may not remember the remarkable story of Jerry Hartfield. He is the Texas man who has been languishing in prison now for nearly 12,000 days—more than 33 years—even though his murder conviction and life sentence were overturned and a new trial was ordered in his case in 1980. He is the man who fell through the cracks of a justice system still struggling to rectify its monumental error—and who is still falling.
In June, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, with a great deal of prodding from the federal courts, confirmed that Hartfield was currently in custody for no good reason—under penalty of no "conviction or sentence," the state judges ruled. And yet he still has not been released. Instead, prosecutors intend to retry him and are fighting to keep him in prison pending that retrial. What kind of trial? A trial at which there is likely to be precious little physical evidence against the defendant because, his attorneys say, it may have been lost over time.
Facing a retrial he could win, Hartfield says he is entitled to get help now, today, because his constitutional right to a speedy trial has long since been violated. If the Sixth Amendment means anything anymore, the defense says, it means that the state must try a man at some point before he has spent a third of a century behind bars for no legitimate reason. He should be immediately released from custody, they say, even if prosecutors want to re-try him for a murder they say he committed in 1977.
Texas cannot—and thankfully does not—dispute that Hartfield has a right to argue that his speedy trial right has been violated. But state lawyers are blocking an immediate review of that issue by arguing that the must make his claim by filing a regular motion in his newly pending retrial case—and that he cannot appeal such a ruling until after that retrial. Having been chastised in this case by the state's highest criminal court, that is to say, Texas wants to make Hartfield wait another year or two before he gets to even ask a higher court to be freed.
In its new court filings, the state cites case after case for the proposition that Hartfield's lawyers have made the wrong procedural path to help their client. But there is no case in Texas—or evidently anywhere else—that any lawyer has cited that even remotely tracks the egregious facts of this case. Texas has screwed up so royally, has so long violated the constitutional rights of this man, that there is literally no dispositive legal precedent state lawyers can cite to help them justify his continuing confinement.
On Tuesday, nearly six months after the highest criminal court in Texas acknowledged the wrong done to Hartfield, there will be a hearing in the case held by the trial judge who presumably will write the next chapter of this sad story. Eventually he will issue a ruling, which the losing side then will appeal, which will generate a new round of briefing and many more months (or even years) of delay. And every new day this man spends in custody pending his retrial, every new day the state lags in remedying this manifest error, represents a new violation of law.
If Jerry Hartfield were a rich man, or a white man, or a savvy man, or a man living near the nation's media centers, he long ago would have become an international cause celebre. There would be public protests and earnest letters to Texas officials from civil libertarians and concerned politicians. There would be emergency federal court motions. There would be television coverage. There would be a constant clamoring to fix this mistake. Hartfield now is 57 years old and had his original sentence been upheld he could have been paroled by now.
But Jerry Hartfield is a poor man, a black man, a man with an IQ once registered at 51, and he is stuck in the middle of a criminal justice system in a state that still can be medieval in its treatment of such men. And so the same authority that has imprisoned him unlawfully for 33 years can argue in court with a straight face that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals didn't mean what it wrote when it wrote that Hartfield could seek the relief he has requested in the manner in which his attorneys have chosen.
CHINA’S SPACE PROGRAM TO ATTEMPT ROVER LANDING ON MOON
The Chinese have made great strides in their space program but have a very long way to go before catching up to the U.S. They need the help of the European Space Agency to carry out the moon rover mission. Except for the space station where we now depend on the Russians to supply the station and shuffle astronauts back and forth, all our space missions have been carried out without any help from other countries. And the only way the Chinese will ever catch up to us is if we keep cutting NASA’s budget to the bone.
CHINA TO LAUNCH MOON ROVER MISSION TO SCOUT OUT LOCATIONS FOR A LUNAR BASE THAT WILL ONE DAY BE USED FOR A MISSION TO MARS
The rover has been nicknamed Jade Rabbit in honor of a Chinese folklore character and can roam the lunar surface for up to 90 days
Mail Online
November 30, 2013
China will tomorrow become the first country in almost 40 years to soft-land a probe on the moon, in a huge step forward for its ambitious space programme.
The nation will become the third in history to launch a lunar probe when the device, named 'Jade Rabbit' after a Chinese folklore character, launches at 5.30pm on Sunday evening, which is 1.30am local time.
The mission forms part of a plan in which China hopes to build a permanent lunar base in order to launch future missions to Mars within the next 15 years.
The probe, which can climb inclines of up to 30 degrees and travel up to 200 metres per hour, is targeted to land within a huge volcanic crater known as Sinus Iridum, which means the Bay of Rainbows, on about December 14.
'Apart from launching astronauts into space, this is probably the most complex space mission attempted by China,' Australian space analyst Morris Jones told AFP.
Yutu is designed to roam the lunar surface for at least 90 Earth days – three Lunar days – covering an area of about five square kilometres.
It will send probes beneath the surface as well as taking high-resolution images of the rock, a flat area formed from the molten basalt released by lunar volcanoes several billion years ago.
The journey of the Chang’e-3 probe and its final landing will be closely monitored by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is cooperating closely with China. ESA’s own launch station in Kourou, French Guiana, will immediately start receiving signals from the mission after take-off and it will upload commands to the probe on behalf of the Chinese control centre.
'Whether for human or robotic missions, international cooperation like this is necessary for the future exploration of planets, moons and asteroids, benefitting everyone,' said Thomas Reiter, director of ESA’s human spaceflight operations.
In recent years, China has made considerable progress in its space programme.
In June, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked their craft with an experimental space laboratory.
In 2007, the country despatched an unmanned spacecraft called Chang'e to orbit the Moon.
The craft stayed in space for 16 months before being intentionally crashed on to the Moon's surface.
The name Jade Rabbit was chosen after an online poll in which millions took part.
Ouyang Ziyuan, head of the moon rover project, told Xinhua earlier this week that the ancient beliefs had their origins in the marks left by impacts on the lunar landscape.
'There are several black spots on the moon's surface. Our ancient people imagined they were a moon palace, osmanthus trees, and a jade rabbit,' he said.
China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third country after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently.
The military-backed space programme is a source of national pride.
China is one of only three countries to have managed to independently send humans into space, the others being Russia and the US.
CHINA TO LAUNCH MOON ROVER MISSION TO SCOUT OUT LOCATIONS FOR A LUNAR BASE THAT WILL ONE DAY BE USED FOR A MISSION TO MARS
The rover has been nicknamed Jade Rabbit in honor of a Chinese folklore character and can roam the lunar surface for up to 90 days
Mail Online
November 30, 2013
China will tomorrow become the first country in almost 40 years to soft-land a probe on the moon, in a huge step forward for its ambitious space programme.
The nation will become the third in history to launch a lunar probe when the device, named 'Jade Rabbit' after a Chinese folklore character, launches at 5.30pm on Sunday evening, which is 1.30am local time.
The mission forms part of a plan in which China hopes to build a permanent lunar base in order to launch future missions to Mars within the next 15 years.
The probe, which can climb inclines of up to 30 degrees and travel up to 200 metres per hour, is targeted to land within a huge volcanic crater known as Sinus Iridum, which means the Bay of Rainbows, on about December 14.
'Apart from launching astronauts into space, this is probably the most complex space mission attempted by China,' Australian space analyst Morris Jones told AFP.
Yutu is designed to roam the lunar surface for at least 90 Earth days – three Lunar days – covering an area of about five square kilometres.
It will send probes beneath the surface as well as taking high-resolution images of the rock, a flat area formed from the molten basalt released by lunar volcanoes several billion years ago.
The journey of the Chang’e-3 probe and its final landing will be closely monitored by the European Space Agency (ESA), which is cooperating closely with China. ESA’s own launch station in Kourou, French Guiana, will immediately start receiving signals from the mission after take-off and it will upload commands to the probe on behalf of the Chinese control centre.
'Whether for human or robotic missions, international cooperation like this is necessary for the future exploration of planets, moons and asteroids, benefitting everyone,' said Thomas Reiter, director of ESA’s human spaceflight operations.
In recent years, China has made considerable progress in its space programme.
In June, three Chinese astronauts spent 15 days in orbit and docked their craft with an experimental space laboratory.
In 2007, the country despatched an unmanned spacecraft called Chang'e to orbit the Moon.
The craft stayed in space for 16 months before being intentionally crashed on to the Moon's surface.
The name Jade Rabbit was chosen after an online poll in which millions took part.
Ouyang Ziyuan, head of the moon rover project, told Xinhua earlier this week that the ancient beliefs had their origins in the marks left by impacts on the lunar landscape.
'There are several black spots on the moon's surface. Our ancient people imagined they were a moon palace, osmanthus trees, and a jade rabbit,' he said.
China sent its first astronaut into space in 2003, becoming the third country after Russia and the United States to achieve manned space travel independently.
The military-backed space programme is a source of national pride.
China is one of only three countries to have managed to independently send humans into space, the others being Russia and the US.
IRONY LESSONS FOR THE DAY
The Unconventional Gazette
November 30, 2013
Irony 1
We are told not to judge all Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics.
Then on the other hand, we are also expected to judge all Gun Owners by the actions of a few lunatics.
Irony 2
The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing this year the greatest amount of free Meals and Food Stamps ever … to 47.5 million people, according to the most recent figures released in April 2013.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed the Animals." Their stated reason for the policy is because "The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."
Irony 3
Actor Paul Walker and co-star Vin Diesel starred in six Fast and Furious movies and have been working on a seventh one. In the films they were driving different makes of cars at breakneck speeds and survived spectacular crashes with nary a scratch.
In real life, Paul Walker died about 3:30 p.m. today as a passenger in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT that was speeding in Valencia, California when it crashed into a light pole and tree and burst into flames. Death for both occupants was fast and furious.
Thus ends today's lessons in irony
November 30, 2013
Irony 1
We are told not to judge all Muslims by the actions of a few lunatics.
Then on the other hand, we are also expected to judge all Gun Owners by the actions of a few lunatics.
Irony 2
The Food Stamp Program, administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is proud to be distributing this year the greatest amount of free Meals and Food Stamps ever … to 47.5 million people, according to the most recent figures released in April 2013.
Meanwhile, the National Park Service, administered by the U.S. Department of the Interior, asks us to "Please Do Not Feed the Animals." Their stated reason for the policy is because "The animals will grow dependent on handouts and will not learn to take care of themselves."
Irony 3
Actor Paul Walker and co-star Vin Diesel starred in six Fast and Furious movies and have been working on a seventh one. In the films they were driving different makes of cars at breakneck speeds and survived spectacular crashes with nary a scratch.
In real life, Paul Walker died about 3:30 p.m. today as a passenger in a 2005 Porsche Carrera GT that was speeding in Valencia, California when it crashed into a light pole and tree and burst into flames. Death for both occupants was fast and furious.
Thus ends today's lessons in irony
Saturday, November 30, 2013
HIGHWAY TO WORK NEITHER STRAIGHT NOR NARROW
By Bob Walsh
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
November 30, 2013
The city of Oakland, CA. has a program called Highway To Work. It is run by the city and by Alameda County and provides, at least in theory, a work program for “young criminal offenders.”
The city is pulling out of the program and will reevaluate it after Christian Leonard, 19, was busted on the program with a gun (for protection) and some coke for sale (his “regular” job is a street pharmaceutical salesman). Leonard was in the program as a weed abatement worker for the Public Works Agency.
Christian had a semi-auto with the serial numbers filed off and 17 twists of coke on him when he was arrested. His most recent prior beef was carrying a gun. I guess selling drugs pays better, and is more emotionally rewarding, than $10 an hour weedwacking.
PACOVILLA Corrections blog
November 30, 2013
The city of Oakland, CA. has a program called Highway To Work. It is run by the city and by Alameda County and provides, at least in theory, a work program for “young criminal offenders.”
The city is pulling out of the program and will reevaluate it after Christian Leonard, 19, was busted on the program with a gun (for protection) and some coke for sale (his “regular” job is a street pharmaceutical salesman). Leonard was in the program as a weed abatement worker for the Public Works Agency.
Christian had a semi-auto with the serial numbers filed off and 17 twists of coke on him when he was arrested. His most recent prior beef was carrying a gun. I guess selling drugs pays better, and is more emotionally rewarding, than $10 an hour weedwacking.
LIKE THE MAFIA AND THE HELLS ANGELS, MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS EXPANDING INTO LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES
If the U.S., the main consumer of cartel drugs, were to legalize drugs, the cartels would simply find other criminal enterprises and continue to invest their ill begotten gains in legitimate businesses
In its heyday, the Mafia took its ill begotten gains and invested them in food companies, trucking companies, garment companies, garbage disposal companies and other legitimate businesses. The Profaci family invested heavily in Progresso Foods and in the Colavita olive oil company, becoming the largest importer of olive oil into this country. (Colavita also makes my favorite red wine vinegar.) The Lucchesi family owned the original Bertolli food company.
The Hells Angels have invested money from illegal meth operations in Monterey’s Cannery Row and other businesses.
So it should come as no surprise that the Mexican cartels are expanding into legitimate businesses as well.
MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS MAKE MONEY EXPORTING IRON ORE TO CHINA
Associated Press
November 29, 2013
MEXICO CITY — Mexican drug cartels looking to diversify their businesses long ago moved into oil theft, pirated goods, extortion, and kidnapping, consuming an ever larger swath of the country's economy. This month, federal officials confirmed the cartels have even entered the country's lucrative mining industry, exporting iron ore to Chinese mills.
Such large-scale illegal mining operations were long thought to be wild rumor, but federal officials confirmed they had known about the cartels' involvement in mining since 2010, and that the Nov. 4 military takeover of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico's second-largest port, was aimed at cutting off the cartels' export trade.
That news served as a wake-up call to Mexicans that drug traffickers have penetrated the country's economy at unheard-of levels, becoming true Mafia-style organizations.
The Knights Templar cartel and its predecessor, the La Familia drug gang, have been stealing or extorting shipments of iron ore, or illegally extracting the mineral themselves and selling it through Pacific coast ports, said Michoacan residents, mining companies, and current and former federal officials.
The cartel had already imposed demands for "protection payments" on many in the state, including shopkeepers, ranchers, and farmers.
But so deeply entrenched was the cartel connection to mines, mills, ports, export firms and land holders that it took authorities three years to confront the phenomenon head-on. Federal officials said they are looking to crack down on other ports where drug gangs are operating.
"This is the terrible thing about this process of [the cartel's] taking control of and reconfiguring the state," said Guillermo Valdes Castellanos, the former head of the country's top domestic intelligence agency. "They managed to impose a Mafia-style control of organized crime, and the different social groups like port authorities, transnational companies and local landowners, had to get in line."
Valdez Castellanos said that even back in 2010, the La Familia cartel would take ore from areas that were under concession to private mining companies, sometimes with the aid or complicity of local farmers and land owners, then sell the ore to processors, distributors and even, apparently, foreign firms.
Mexico's Economy Department said the problem was so severe that it prompted the government to quietly toughen rules on exporters in 2011 and 2012 and make them prove they received their ore from established, recognized sources.
Many exporters couldn't. In 2012, the department denied export applications from 13 companies, because they didn't meet the new rules. And the problem wasn't just limited to Michoacan, or the Knights Templar cartel.
"Since 2010, evidence surfaced of irregular mining of iron in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan and Colima," the department said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"That illegal activity was encouraged by the great demand for iron by countries such as China, to develop their industries," according to the department. "Many trading companies began to build up big stockpiles of legally and illegally obtained iron [ore], that was later shipped out for export."
A Mexican federal official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cartels would use a combination of threats and outright theft to get the ore from mines. He said the nexus between the cartels and export companies was key.
"They extort the merchandise from mining companies and then export it through legal companies, or they rob trucks full [of ore] that later turn up in a legal manner, through a distributor, and export it," said the official. "The incredible thing is that they export it, these guys are exporting to South America and Asia."
Ofelia Alcala, a resident of the Michoacan mining village of Aquila, said that since 2012, the Knights Templar cartel demanded residents hand over part of the royalty payments from a local iron ore mine operated by Ternium, a Luxembourg-based consortium.
Alcala, a member of a self-defense group that rose up in arms in Aquila this summer to kick the cartel out, said the cartel also had been hiring people to extract the ore without permits, and then exporting it through another Pacific coast port, Manzanillo.
"They weren't content with getting our money and robbing our trucks, so they began secretly extracting our minerals," Alcala said.
Ternium said in a statement that it has received reports of irregular mining near its operations in Aquila.
"Those have been passed on to the appropriate authorities," the company said in a statement.
Government figures show the amount of iron ore being exported to China quadrupled between 2008 and the first half of 2013, rising to 4.6 million tons per year, precisely during the period the La Familia cartel and later the Knights Templar cemented their control over Michoacan.
In 2008, Lazaro Cardenas handled only 1.5 percent of Mexico's iron ore exports to China; by mid-2013, the seaport was shipping out nearly half.
In 2010, the attorney general's office estimated the cartels shipped 1.1 million tons of illegally extracted iron ore abroad that year.
Officials said the export scheme may have involved other sea ports, and that more military takeovers may be necessary.
The cartel mining issue also resurfaced last year in the coal-mining state of Coahuila bordering Texas. The former governor, Humberto Moreira, called a press conference to claim that Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the Zetas cartel, was running illegal coal mining ventures and partnering with legitimate ones. So far, none of the accusations have been proven.
The only known arrests related to cartel mining operations occurred in Michoacan in 2010, when Ignacio Lopez Medina, an alleged member of La Familia, was accused of selling ore illegally to China, the federal Attorney General's Office said at the time.
But the arrest apparently came to little; the Attorney General's Office could not say whether Lopez Medina had been tried or convicted of that crime, nor could The Associated Press determine if he is represented by a lawyer or is still in custody.
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for information on companies that have been involved in buying ore from cartels, knowingly or otherwise.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on whether China had any measures in place to ensure the legal provenance of such imports.
The iron ore, meanwhile, has both swelled the cartels' bankrolls, giving them more money to buy guns and bribe officials, and fed the hunger of Asian steel mills.
And it may be a two-way trade: Precursor chemicals the cartel uses to make methamphetamines often arrive from China at both the Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo ports.
In its heyday, the Mafia took its ill begotten gains and invested them in food companies, trucking companies, garment companies, garbage disposal companies and other legitimate businesses. The Profaci family invested heavily in Progresso Foods and in the Colavita olive oil company, becoming the largest importer of olive oil into this country. (Colavita also makes my favorite red wine vinegar.) The Lucchesi family owned the original Bertolli food company.
The Hells Angels have invested money from illegal meth operations in Monterey’s Cannery Row and other businesses.
So it should come as no surprise that the Mexican cartels are expanding into legitimate businesses as well.
MEXICAN DRUG CARTELS MAKE MONEY EXPORTING IRON ORE TO CHINA
Associated Press
November 29, 2013
MEXICO CITY — Mexican drug cartels looking to diversify their businesses long ago moved into oil theft, pirated goods, extortion, and kidnapping, consuming an ever larger swath of the country's economy. This month, federal officials confirmed the cartels have even entered the country's lucrative mining industry, exporting iron ore to Chinese mills.
Such large-scale illegal mining operations were long thought to be wild rumor, but federal officials confirmed they had known about the cartels' involvement in mining since 2010, and that the Nov. 4 military takeover of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico's second-largest port, was aimed at cutting off the cartels' export trade.
That news served as a wake-up call to Mexicans that drug traffickers have penetrated the country's economy at unheard-of levels, becoming true Mafia-style organizations.
The Knights Templar cartel and its predecessor, the La Familia drug gang, have been stealing or extorting shipments of iron ore, or illegally extracting the mineral themselves and selling it through Pacific coast ports, said Michoacan residents, mining companies, and current and former federal officials.
The cartel had already imposed demands for "protection payments" on many in the state, including shopkeepers, ranchers, and farmers.
But so deeply entrenched was the cartel connection to mines, mills, ports, export firms and land holders that it took authorities three years to confront the phenomenon head-on. Federal officials said they are looking to crack down on other ports where drug gangs are operating.
"This is the terrible thing about this process of [the cartel's] taking control of and reconfiguring the state," said Guillermo Valdes Castellanos, the former head of the country's top domestic intelligence agency. "They managed to impose a Mafia-style control of organized crime, and the different social groups like port authorities, transnational companies and local landowners, had to get in line."
Valdez Castellanos said that even back in 2010, the La Familia cartel would take ore from areas that were under concession to private mining companies, sometimes with the aid or complicity of local farmers and land owners, then sell the ore to processors, distributors and even, apparently, foreign firms.
Mexico's Economy Department said the problem was so severe that it prompted the government to quietly toughen rules on exporters in 2011 and 2012 and make them prove they received their ore from established, recognized sources.
Many exporters couldn't. In 2012, the department denied export applications from 13 companies, because they didn't meet the new rules. And the problem wasn't just limited to Michoacan, or the Knights Templar cartel.
"Since 2010, evidence surfaced of irregular mining of iron in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan and Colima," the department said in a statement to The Associated Press.
"That illegal activity was encouraged by the great demand for iron by countries such as China, to develop their industries," according to the department. "Many trading companies began to build up big stockpiles of legally and illegally obtained iron [ore], that was later shipped out for export."
A Mexican federal official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cartels would use a combination of threats and outright theft to get the ore from mines. He said the nexus between the cartels and export companies was key.
"They extort the merchandise from mining companies and then export it through legal companies, or they rob trucks full [of ore] that later turn up in a legal manner, through a distributor, and export it," said the official. "The incredible thing is that they export it, these guys are exporting to South America and Asia."
Ofelia Alcala, a resident of the Michoacan mining village of Aquila, said that since 2012, the Knights Templar cartel demanded residents hand over part of the royalty payments from a local iron ore mine operated by Ternium, a Luxembourg-based consortium.
Alcala, a member of a self-defense group that rose up in arms in Aquila this summer to kick the cartel out, said the cartel also had been hiring people to extract the ore without permits, and then exporting it through another Pacific coast port, Manzanillo.
"They weren't content with getting our money and robbing our trucks, so they began secretly extracting our minerals," Alcala said.
Ternium said in a statement that it has received reports of irregular mining near its operations in Aquila.
"Those have been passed on to the appropriate authorities," the company said in a statement.
Government figures show the amount of iron ore being exported to China quadrupled between 2008 and the first half of 2013, rising to 4.6 million tons per year, precisely during the period the La Familia cartel and later the Knights Templar cemented their control over Michoacan.
In 2008, Lazaro Cardenas handled only 1.5 percent of Mexico's iron ore exports to China; by mid-2013, the seaport was shipping out nearly half.
In 2010, the attorney general's office estimated the cartels shipped 1.1 million tons of illegally extracted iron ore abroad that year.
Officials said the export scheme may have involved other sea ports, and that more military takeovers may be necessary.
The cartel mining issue also resurfaced last year in the coal-mining state of Coahuila bordering Texas. The former governor, Humberto Moreira, called a press conference to claim that Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the Zetas cartel, was running illegal coal mining ventures and partnering with legitimate ones. So far, none of the accusations have been proven.
The only known arrests related to cartel mining operations occurred in Michoacan in 2010, when Ignacio Lopez Medina, an alleged member of La Familia, was accused of selling ore illegally to China, the federal Attorney General's Office said at the time.
But the arrest apparently came to little; the Attorney General's Office could not say whether Lopez Medina had been tried or convicted of that crime, nor could The Associated Press determine if he is represented by a lawyer or is still in custody.
The Chinese Chamber of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for information on companies that have been involved in buying ore from cartels, knowingly or otherwise.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on whether China had any measures in place to ensure the legal provenance of such imports.
The iron ore, meanwhile, has both swelled the cartels' bankrolls, giving them more money to buy guns and bribe officials, and fed the hunger of Asian steel mills.
And it may be a two-way trade: Precursor chemicals the cartel uses to make methamphetamines often arrive from China at both the Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo ports.
ISRAEL WILL HAVE TO ACCEPT OBAMA’S DIPLOMATIC SOLUTION TO IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM
Netanyahu might as well resign himself to letting the Obama administration settle the Iranian nuclear problem through the use of diplomacy, rather than by a military strike.
OBAMA ASKS NETANYAHU FOR ‘A BREATHER ‘ FROM IRAN CRITICISM
By Cathy Burke
Newsmax
November 29, 2013
President Obama has asked Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "take a breather" from his "clamorous criticism" of an interim deal with Iran over its nuclear program while the United States starts talks on a comprehensive pact, the Washington Post reported.
Obama and Netanyahu spoke on the phone Sunday, in a conversation meant to calm the prime minister's concerns about the "first stage" deal between Tehran and the P5+1 countries — the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
"A wild card in these negotiations is Israel," Post columnist David Ignatius wrote Wednesday about the next stage of the talks with Iran.
"Obama has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a breather from his clamorous criticism and send to Washington a team that can explore with U.S. officials a sound end-state strategy. Perhaps the United States and Israel need a back channel, outside the bombastic pressure campaign by Israeli advocates."
After weeks of Israeli officials publicly condemning the deal, Netanyahu and Obama have agreed to send an Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss strategy for a permanent agreement with the Obama administration, in a clear shift to backroom diplomacy, the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Last Sunday’s accord with Iran is a six-month agreement with an option to extend, meant to limit the Iranian nuclear program as the P5+1 try to hammer out a comprehensive accord with Iran. In return, Iran received some sanctions relief.
"Now that the Obama administration has won its breakthrough first-step nuclear deal with Iran, officials are planning strategy for the decisive second round that, over the next six months, will seek a broader and tougher comprehensive agreement," Ignatius wrote.
"This 'end state' negotiation, as officials describe it, promises to be more difficult because the United States and its negotiating partners will seek to dismantle parts of the Iranian program, rather than simply freeze them. Another complication is that negotiators will be fending off even more brickbats from hard-liners in Israel, Congress and Tehran.
"If the interim deal was reached largely in secret, through a back channel provided by Oman, this one will have to be negotiated in the diplomatic equivalent of a circus ring, with hoots and catcalls from bystanders."
OBAMA ASKS NETANYAHU FOR ‘A BREATHER ‘ FROM IRAN CRITICISM
By Cathy Burke
Newsmax
November 29, 2013
President Obama has asked Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to "take a breather" from his "clamorous criticism" of an interim deal with Iran over its nuclear program while the United States starts talks on a comprehensive pact, the Washington Post reported.
Obama and Netanyahu spoke on the phone Sunday, in a conversation meant to calm the prime minister's concerns about the "first stage" deal between Tehran and the P5+1 countries — the permanent five members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.
"A wild card in these negotiations is Israel," Post columnist David Ignatius wrote Wednesday about the next stage of the talks with Iran.
"Obama has asked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to take a breather from his clamorous criticism and send to Washington a team that can explore with U.S. officials a sound end-state strategy. Perhaps the United States and Israel need a back channel, outside the bombastic pressure campaign by Israeli advocates."
After weeks of Israeli officials publicly condemning the deal, Netanyahu and Obama have agreed to send an Israeli delegation to Washington to discuss strategy for a permanent agreement with the Obama administration, in a clear shift to backroom diplomacy, the Jerusalem Post reported Thursday.
Last Sunday’s accord with Iran is a six-month agreement with an option to extend, meant to limit the Iranian nuclear program as the P5+1 try to hammer out a comprehensive accord with Iran. In return, Iran received some sanctions relief.
"Now that the Obama administration has won its breakthrough first-step nuclear deal with Iran, officials are planning strategy for the decisive second round that, over the next six months, will seek a broader and tougher comprehensive agreement," Ignatius wrote.
"This 'end state' negotiation, as officials describe it, promises to be more difficult because the United States and its negotiating partners will seek to dismantle parts of the Iranian program, rather than simply freeze them. Another complication is that negotiators will be fending off even more brickbats from hard-liners in Israel, Congress and Tehran.
"If the interim deal was reached largely in secret, through a back channel provided by Oman, this one will have to be negotiated in the diplomatic equivalent of a circus ring, with hoots and catcalls from bystanders."
YOUNG GIRLS STRUNG UP BY GULF CARTEL IN ITS WAR WITH THE ZETAS
A banner bearing a narco message was left with the two hanging bodies daring the Zetas to retaliate
Hmm, there had to be witnesses to the hanging from a pedestrian overpass and I wonder why none of them have come forward to describe what they observed when the two girls were strung up.
GULF CARTEL HANGS TWO YOUNG GIRLS WITH MESSAGE TO ZETAS
Borderland Beat
November 29, 2013
On November 25, 2013 a horrific scene unfolded early in the morning in Fresnillo Zacatecas when two bodies were seen ganging on a pedestrian bridge. A narco message was left in a banner hanging on the bridge next to the bodies and was signed by the Gulf Cartel (CDG).
The victims were both young females that are not named here at BB as requested by the family for fear of retaliation. Both young girls were ages 15 and 16 and had been reported missing since November 20, 2013. They were held by members fo the CDG in order to gather information of Los Zetas. Both of the victims were students and were known to associate with members of organize crime.
The general public and vehicles that were travelling under the bridge were witness to the scene as the two bodies were dangling from the bridge. The authorities quickly arrived and they attempted to secure the scene.
The bodies were hanging from what appeared to be yellow plastic chords.
One of the massages on the narco banner (manta) read: "Fucking Z Juan Bandido don't be a faggot, confront us whore, come and pick up your trash, so you know whore here is the CDG, under the command of M3. Respond for your people, don't be a coward."
The other banner on the other side of the bridge had a similar message but the exact words were not available.
Los Zetas are fighting to regain control of Fresnillo, they have sent messages in the past declaring that Fresnillo will never be territory of CDG. In the last few weeks CDG has been abducting people in Fresnillo, and warning that they are going after Los Zetas. This has open full wage war in Zacatecas, especially in the region of Fresnillo. Young girls have been the hardest hit, where at least 25 girls have been abducted in the last month alone.
The bodies and banners were hanged before sunrise and there were no witnesses that came forward.
Hmm, there had to be witnesses to the hanging from a pedestrian overpass and I wonder why none of them have come forward to describe what they observed when the two girls were strung up.
GULF CARTEL HANGS TWO YOUNG GIRLS WITH MESSAGE TO ZETAS
Borderland Beat
November 29, 2013
On November 25, 2013 a horrific scene unfolded early in the morning in Fresnillo Zacatecas when two bodies were seen ganging on a pedestrian bridge. A narco message was left in a banner hanging on the bridge next to the bodies and was signed by the Gulf Cartel (CDG).
The victims were both young females that are not named here at BB as requested by the family for fear of retaliation. Both young girls were ages 15 and 16 and had been reported missing since November 20, 2013. They were held by members fo the CDG in order to gather information of Los Zetas. Both of the victims were students and were known to associate with members of organize crime.
The general public and vehicles that were travelling under the bridge were witness to the scene as the two bodies were dangling from the bridge. The authorities quickly arrived and they attempted to secure the scene.
The bodies were hanging from what appeared to be yellow plastic chords.
One of the massages on the narco banner (manta) read: "Fucking Z Juan Bandido don't be a faggot, confront us whore, come and pick up your trash, so you know whore here is the CDG, under the command of M3. Respond for your people, don't be a coward."
The other banner on the other side of the bridge had a similar message but the exact words were not available.
Los Zetas are fighting to regain control of Fresnillo, they have sent messages in the past declaring that Fresnillo will never be territory of CDG. In the last few weeks CDG has been abducting people in Fresnillo, and warning that they are going after Los Zetas. This has open full wage war in Zacatecas, especially in the region of Fresnillo. Young girls have been the hardest hit, where at least 25 girls have been abducted in the last month alone.
The bodies and banners were hanged before sunrise and there were no witnesses that came forward.
YOGA TO MAKE INMATES COMPASSIONATE?
Can't you just see the mellowing effects of Yoga on Charlie Manson, Phillip Garrido, Sirhan Sirhan and, of course, on all the hunger-striking inmates at Pelican Bay.
JIM FREEMAN: FORMER LAWYER WANTS TO BRING YOGA TO PRISONS
By Craig Malisow
Houston Press Hair Balls | November 29, 2013
Prison must be a stressful environment -- especially if you're innocent! Sure, you can blow off steam with weights, or by the occasional shiv fight, but non-practicing Austin attorney, but practicing Buddhist, Jim Freeman wants to take inmates to a higher level -- through the power of yoga.
Freeman told the Texas Lawyer's wonderful Tex Parte Blog about his goal to launch a yoga program in every Texas prison, saying "The people I want to help are the ones who have been thrown away, the ones that are in there forever. It's a desire to improve life inside that pushes my button."
Freeman founded Conviction Yoga (whose website mysteriously wasn't working for us earlier this week) and plans for it to be a non-profit that, through fundraising, "will support prison yoga teachers across Texas," according to the blog. "For now, three days per week, he drives around the state to towns with 'clusters' of prisons. He can visit three prisons in one 16-hour day."
Sessions usually kick off with "Sun Salutation," which "starts with a person extending his arms to the side and overhead before bowing to touch his toes."
Of course, this can be a tight fit for inmates in the more economy-size cells.
Freeman told Tex Parte that he always asks the inmates "'What does your cell look like?' Some of them have big cells; some of them have very small cells. The front of your yoga mat is bars, and the back of your yoga mat is where the sink and toilet is."
He said that yoga could potentially be an emotional release for the prisoners, and help them build "the ability to have compassion."
Kudos to Freeman for thinking outside the box. We wish him the best of luck. Now we must go practice our downward-facing dog.
JIM FREEMAN: FORMER LAWYER WANTS TO BRING YOGA TO PRISONS
By Craig Malisow
Houston Press Hair Balls | November 29, 2013
Prison must be a stressful environment -- especially if you're innocent! Sure, you can blow off steam with weights, or by the occasional shiv fight, but non-practicing Austin attorney, but practicing Buddhist, Jim Freeman wants to take inmates to a higher level -- through the power of yoga.
Freeman told the Texas Lawyer's wonderful Tex Parte Blog about his goal to launch a yoga program in every Texas prison, saying "The people I want to help are the ones who have been thrown away, the ones that are in there forever. It's a desire to improve life inside that pushes my button."
Freeman founded Conviction Yoga (whose website mysteriously wasn't working for us earlier this week) and plans for it to be a non-profit that, through fundraising, "will support prison yoga teachers across Texas," according to the blog. "For now, three days per week, he drives around the state to towns with 'clusters' of prisons. He can visit three prisons in one 16-hour day."
Sessions usually kick off with "Sun Salutation," which "starts with a person extending his arms to the side and overhead before bowing to touch his toes."
Of course, this can be a tight fit for inmates in the more economy-size cells.
Freeman told Tex Parte that he always asks the inmates "'What does your cell look like?' Some of them have big cells; some of them have very small cells. The front of your yoga mat is bars, and the back of your yoga mat is where the sink and toilet is."
He said that yoga could potentially be an emotional release for the prisoners, and help them build "the ability to have compassion."
Kudos to Freeman for thinking outside the box. We wish him the best of luck. Now we must go practice our downward-facing dog.
Friday, November 29, 2013
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN GOING DOWNHILL FAST (UPDATE)
Arrested November 18 after his new girlfriend alleged he threatened her with a shotgun
Newly released court documents reveal that when Zimmerman was arrested, he had five guns and more than 100 rounds of ammo at his girlfriend’s house. The guns were a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 assault rifle, and three handguns. The handguns did not include the gun he used when he shot Trayvon Martin. That gun is being held by the feds who are still investigating whether to charge him with violating Martin’s civil rights.
Zimmerman has turned into a head-case and become a poster boy for the gun control crowd. He’s clearly giving the Second Amendment a bad name.
The wannabe cop has gone from being a dumb jerk who disregarded a police dispatcher’s instructions to remain in his car before he confronted Martin, to a gun-threatening nutjob. While I still believe Zimmerman was justified in shooting Martin, I also think he has reached a dangerous state of mind and should no longer be allowed to possess any firearms because it will likely be only a matter of time before he’ll shoot someone else.
Newly released court documents reveal that when Zimmerman was arrested, he had five guns and more than 100 rounds of ammo at his girlfriend’s house. The guns were a 12-gauge shotgun, an AR-15 assault rifle, and three handguns. The handguns did not include the gun he used when he shot Trayvon Martin. That gun is being held by the feds who are still investigating whether to charge him with violating Martin’s civil rights.
Zimmerman has turned into a head-case and become a poster boy for the gun control crowd. He’s clearly giving the Second Amendment a bad name.
The wannabe cop has gone from being a dumb jerk who disregarded a police dispatcher’s instructions to remain in his car before he confronted Martin, to a gun-threatening nutjob. While I still believe Zimmerman was justified in shooting Martin, I also think he has reached a dangerous state of mind and should no longer be allowed to possess any firearms because it will likely be only a matter of time before he’ll shoot someone else.
BIENVENIDO DE VUELTRA A ESTADOS UNIDOS EL PONCHIS
Cartel sicario El Ponchis is sent to the U.S. after serving three years in a Mexican prison for beheading four men when he was only 14 years old
Edgar Jimenez Lugo, 17, aka El Ponchis, is back in the U.S. where he was born. He was arrested in December 2010 by Mexican authorities and convicted of beheading four men and kidnapping three others as a 14-year-old sicario (hit man) for the South Pacific Cartel. At the time of his arrest, Lugo admitted to participating in kidnappings, tortures and beheadings as ordered by the cartel.
The 14-year-old had been accused of abduction, torture by beheading, transportation of drugs, possession of military use-only weapons, and military use of weapons during his membership in the South Pacific Cartel. El Ponchis was later linked to 300 killings in Morelos, Mexico where his job was to behead and mutilate his victims. He has just been released from prions because his three-year sentence had expired. Under Mexican law, three years was the maximum sentence Lugo could have received for someone his age.
El Ponchis was just one of a growing number of child sicarios who are paid by the cartels to carry out kidnappings and murders.
Although he was born in the U.S., Lugo spent much of his young life in Mexico where his sisters and an aunt live. His mother now lives in San Diego, but he was sent to San Antonio where an aunt said she would be responsible for him. Lugo is supposed to enter a rehabilitation center where it is hoped he will be cured of his criminal ways.
Welcome back to the United States El Ponchis. And have a Happy Thanksgiving too.
Edgar Jimenez Lugo, 17, aka El Ponchis, is back in the U.S. where he was born. He was arrested in December 2010 by Mexican authorities and convicted of beheading four men and kidnapping three others as a 14-year-old sicario (hit man) for the South Pacific Cartel. At the time of his arrest, Lugo admitted to participating in kidnappings, tortures and beheadings as ordered by the cartel.
The 14-year-old had been accused of abduction, torture by beheading, transportation of drugs, possession of military use-only weapons, and military use of weapons during his membership in the South Pacific Cartel. El Ponchis was later linked to 300 killings in Morelos, Mexico where his job was to behead and mutilate his victims. He has just been released from prions because his three-year sentence had expired. Under Mexican law, three years was the maximum sentence Lugo could have received for someone his age.
El Ponchis was just one of a growing number of child sicarios who are paid by the cartels to carry out kidnappings and murders.
Although he was born in the U.S., Lugo spent much of his young life in Mexico where his sisters and an aunt live. His mother now lives in San Diego, but he was sent to San Antonio where an aunt said she would be responsible for him. Lugo is supposed to enter a rehabilitation center where it is hoped he will be cured of his criminal ways.
Welcome back to the United States El Ponchis. And have a Happy Thanksgiving too.
INGENIOUS COCAINE SMUGGLING TECHNIQUE UNCOVERED
17 kilos of pure cocaine were concealed inside plastic pouches containing 16,000 tropical fish of which only 34 survived
Among the surviving fish were four giant arowanas from the Amazon now on display in a British zoo’s aquarium.
FOUR GIANT SOUTH AMERICAN TROPICAL FISH SURVIVED BEING USED TO SMUGGLE LIQUID COCAINE ON FLIGHT FROM COLOMBIA TO LONDON
Smugglers caught as investigators intercepted 25 boxes containing 16,000 fish and liquid cocaine
By Anna Edwards
Mail Online
November 28, 2013
Smugglers used bags of giant tropical fish to conceal a huge haul of liquid cocaine worth £4.5milllion they were sneaking into the country,
Investigators intercepted 25 boxes containing 16,000 fish that arrived on an American Airlines flight from Colombia to Heathrow Airport in July 2011.
Olaf Urlik, 33, and Norbert Jarzabek, 32, both of Poland attempted to smuggle 17 kilos of pure cocaine, worth millions, into the UK using bags containing live tropical fish. Both were jailed for 11 years for drug smuggling.
The cocaine was dissolved in fluid inside plastic pouches and stitched into an inner bag holding the live fish, including sting rays and catfish.
The consignment was tracked by investigators as the men collected it from the airport.
The court heard that the consignment was tracked by investigators to a house at Wollaton, which had been rented by Jarzabek two months earlier.
The men collected the cargo from the airport and brought it back to Nottingham to be unpacked, unaware it had been bugged.
Prosecutor Robert Davies said: 'There were various jokes about the state of health of the fish, some flapping about on the floor, and some were put in the bath.'
The pair were arrested surrounded by dead fish.
Staff from London Zoo's Aquarium rushed to Nottingham and saved 41 fish.
The court had heard there had been a dummy run in the previous April, when 16,000 tropical fish had been imported and stored in a lock-up garage in Islington.
Confident of success, they plotted the shipment which would contain the cocaine, unaware investigators were on to them.
The investigation was carried out by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the UK Border Agency and Nottinghamshire Police.
Urlik and Jarzabek were each jailed for 11 years at Nottingham Crown Court last year.
Now the four freshwater arowanas, who are four of just 34 fish that survived the trip from Colombia to Heathrow Airport, have found a new home.
The arowanas, who usually inhabit the Amazon, were initially looked after by staff at London Zoo before several were transferred to Bristol Zoo.
Earlier this week the South American fish, along with eight pacus and a large catfish, were transported from the zoo to a new home at Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.
Blue Planet Aquarium curator David Wolfenden said: 'The arowanas are part of a truly amazing story and we were only too pleased to offer them a permanent new home.
'Clearly the smugglers did not care at all about the fishes' welfare and the fact that nearly all of them perished during the smuggling operation is extremely sad.
'It's something of a miracle that any managed to survive the ordeal and we're glad they can now live out their time here with us in a large, purpose-built display.
'The fish were transported with the help of aquarists from our sister Bristol Aquarium and they did a great job in catching and transporting them safely,' he added.
The fish will join other re-homed species in the aquarium's giant new 'Flooded Forest' display.
Among the surviving fish were four giant arowanas from the Amazon now on display in a British zoo’s aquarium.
FOUR GIANT SOUTH AMERICAN TROPICAL FISH SURVIVED BEING USED TO SMUGGLE LIQUID COCAINE ON FLIGHT FROM COLOMBIA TO LONDON
Smugglers caught as investigators intercepted 25 boxes containing 16,000 fish and liquid cocaine
By Anna Edwards
Mail Online
November 28, 2013
Smugglers used bags of giant tropical fish to conceal a huge haul of liquid cocaine worth £4.5milllion they were sneaking into the country,
Investigators intercepted 25 boxes containing 16,000 fish that arrived on an American Airlines flight from Colombia to Heathrow Airport in July 2011.
Olaf Urlik, 33, and Norbert Jarzabek, 32, both of Poland attempted to smuggle 17 kilos of pure cocaine, worth millions, into the UK using bags containing live tropical fish. Both were jailed for 11 years for drug smuggling.
The cocaine was dissolved in fluid inside plastic pouches and stitched into an inner bag holding the live fish, including sting rays and catfish.
The consignment was tracked by investigators as the men collected it from the airport.
The court heard that the consignment was tracked by investigators to a house at Wollaton, which had been rented by Jarzabek two months earlier.
The men collected the cargo from the airport and brought it back to Nottingham to be unpacked, unaware it had been bugged.
Prosecutor Robert Davies said: 'There were various jokes about the state of health of the fish, some flapping about on the floor, and some were put in the bath.'
The pair were arrested surrounded by dead fish.
Staff from London Zoo's Aquarium rushed to Nottingham and saved 41 fish.
The court had heard there had been a dummy run in the previous April, when 16,000 tropical fish had been imported and stored in a lock-up garage in Islington.
Confident of success, they plotted the shipment which would contain the cocaine, unaware investigators were on to them.
The investigation was carried out by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), the UK Border Agency and Nottinghamshire Police.
Urlik and Jarzabek were each jailed for 11 years at Nottingham Crown Court last year.
Now the four freshwater arowanas, who are four of just 34 fish that survived the trip from Colombia to Heathrow Airport, have found a new home.
The arowanas, who usually inhabit the Amazon, were initially looked after by staff at London Zoo before several were transferred to Bristol Zoo.
Earlier this week the South American fish, along with eight pacus and a large catfish, were transported from the zoo to a new home at Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire.
Blue Planet Aquarium curator David Wolfenden said: 'The arowanas are part of a truly amazing story and we were only too pleased to offer them a permanent new home.
'Clearly the smugglers did not care at all about the fishes' welfare and the fact that nearly all of them perished during the smuggling operation is extremely sad.
'It's something of a miracle that any managed to survive the ordeal and we're glad they can now live out their time here with us in a large, purpose-built display.
'The fish were transported with the help of aquarists from our sister Bristol Aquarium and they did a great job in catching and transporting them safely,' he added.
The fish will join other re-homed species in the aquarium's giant new 'Flooded Forest' display.
TOM AND MAUREEN OGLETHORPE’S PRAYERS WERE ANSWERED
The Unconventional Gazette
November 28, 2013
During a Sunday morning church service, the Baptist preacher asked if anyone in the congregation would like to bear witness for answered prayers.
Maureen Oglethorpe stood and walked to the pulpit. She said, "I can bear witness. Two months ago, my husband, Tom, had a terrible bicycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if surgery would succeed in restoring the crushed scrotum."
You could hear a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagine the pain that poor Tom must have experienced with his crushed balls.
"Tom was unable to hold me or the children," she went on, "and every move caused him unbearable pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and it turned out they were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Tom's scrotum, and wrap wire around it to hold it in place."
Again, the men in the congregation cringed and squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Tom’s balls.
"Now," she announced in a quivering voice, "thanks to the Lord, Tom is out of the hospital and the doctors say that with time, his scrotum should recover completely. Praise the Lord, our prayers were answered."
All the men sighed with unified relief.
The preacher rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had something to say. A man stood up and walked slowly to the pulpit.
He said, "I'm Tom Oglethorpe."
The entire congregation held its collective breath.
"I just want to tell my wife the word is sternum."
November 28, 2013
During a Sunday morning church service, the Baptist preacher asked if anyone in the congregation would like to bear witness for answered prayers.
Maureen Oglethorpe stood and walked to the pulpit. She said, "I can bear witness. Two months ago, my husband, Tom, had a terrible bicycle wreck and his scrotum was completely crushed. The pain was excruciating and the doctors didn't know if surgery would succeed in restoring the crushed scrotum."
You could hear a muffled gasp from the men in the congregation as they imagine the pain that poor Tom must have experienced with his crushed balls.
"Tom was unable to hold me or the children," she went on, "and every move caused him unbearable pain. We prayed as the doctors performed a delicate operation, and it turned out they were able to piece together the crushed remnants of Tom's scrotum, and wrap wire around it to hold it in place."
Again, the men in the congregation cringed and squirmed uncomfortably as they imagined the horrible surgery performed on Tom’s balls.
"Now," she announced in a quivering voice, "thanks to the Lord, Tom is out of the hospital and the doctors say that with time, his scrotum should recover completely. Praise the Lord, our prayers were answered."
All the men sighed with unified relief.
The preacher rose and tentatively asked if anyone else had something to say. A man stood up and walked slowly to the pulpit.
He said, "I'm Tom Oglethorpe."
The entire congregation held its collective breath.
"I just want to tell my wife the word is sternum."
Thursday, November 28, 2013
OJ: BUM ATTORNEY APPEAL DID NOT WORK
Simpson’s appeal might have worked had his name been O.J. Skakel with the Kennedy money working for him
“All grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently are denied…..[Simpson] failed to demonstrate that counsel experienced an actual conflict of interest that substantially impacted counsel’s performance at trial … that the State withheld exculpatory evidence … that appellate and trial counsel were ineffective or that any deficient performance by counsel resulted in prejudice…..Mr. Simpson has failed to pinpoint significant errors that either alone or combined would have changed the outcome of his case. Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, neither the errors in this case, nor the errors collectively, cause this court to question the validity of Mr. Simpson’s conviction.”
So ruled Clark County District Judge Linda Bell on Simpson’s request for a new trial of his 2007 robbery case. In 2008, O.J. was convicted and received a 9 to 33 year in prison sentence on ten counts, including robbery and kidnapping. Simpson, accompanied by armed thugs in a Las Vegas hotel, claimed he was only trying to retrieve items from some memorabilia dealers that rightfully belonged to him.
In his appeal, Simpson claimed that his trial attorney had been ineffective, had financial and legal conflicts, and had given him bad advice. Unless a higher Nevada court overturns the ruling handed down Tuesday by Judge Bell, the murderer of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman has 4 to 18 years left on his prison term for nine remaining counts in his conviction.
Now if Simpson’s name had been O.J. Skakel, he might have had better luck with his bum attorney appeal. Then he would have had millions of Kennedy dollars working for him. All that money did work for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in his conviction for the murder of 15-year-old Martha Moxley.
O.J. SIMPSON DENIED NEW TRIAL FOR 2007 ROBBERY CASE
By Francis McCabe
Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2013
O.J. Simpson has lost his bid for a new trial, a Clark County district judge ruled Tuesday.
The Review-Journal has learned that Judge Linda Bell rejected the notorious former football player’s contention that his trial lawyer in his 2007 robbery case, Yale Galanter, was ineffective, had financial and legal conflicts and misadvised the 66-year-old inmate.
Bell’s ruling comes six months after a week-long hearing where Simpson testified Galanter told him he could legally take his property back and would represent him for free.
Simpson is in the midst of serving a nine- to 33-year prison term after he was convicted of 10 charges for robbing two men of sports memorabilia in September 2007. He argued he was simply recovering his own property, including photographs, when he went to the Palace Station hotel room.
In a 100 page decision, Bell said, “All grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently are denied.”
Bell ruled Simpson “failed to demonstrate that counsel experienced an actual conflict of interest that substantially impacted counsel’s performance at trial … that the State withheld exculpatory evidence … that appellate and trial counsel were ineffective or that any deficient performance by counsel resulted in prejudice,” the ruling stated.
In her ruling, Bell said the evidence was overwhelming against Simpson and there was no indication that it was close verdict.
“Mr. Simpson has failed to pinpoint significant errors that either alone or combined would have changed the outcome of his case,” Bell said.
The judge added, “Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, neither the errors in this case, nor the errors collectively, cause this court to question the validity of Mr. Simpson’s conviction.”
Simpson’s post conviction petition for a new trial made 22 separate arguments.
“We’re definitely going to appeal,” said Simpson’s lawyer Patricia Palm. “We will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court and seek federal relief.”
Palm said she spoke briefly with Simpson late Tuesday. Simpson, who is imprisoned at Lovelock Correctional Center, which is about 130 miles north of Carson City, called her after learning about the decision.
“He wants us to go ahead with an appeal,” Palm said.
Palm, who was still reviewing the lengthy ruling, remained confident Simpson would be vindicated.
“This decision is going to be overturned once we get to the right court,” Palm said.
District Attorney Steve Wolfson, whose wife, former Judge Jackie Glass, presided over the robbery trial, told the Review-Journal, “I think the judge was conscientious and thorough in her review of the record. And her decision was appropriate in taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case.”
During the May hearing, Simpson said he began to question Galanter’s motivation for representing him following his 2008 conviction and rejected appeal in the Las Vegas robbery.
According to testimony, Galanter pocketed $572,000 from Simpson while representing him in the robbery case. The lawyer was supposed to use part of the money to provide for a proper defense, which included hiring investigators and experts.
Testimony has shown that Galanter didn’t hire experts or investigators or fully pay his Las Vegas-based co-counsel, Gabe Grasso, who is suing Galanter in federal court over nonpayment for his work in the case.
Simpson testified that Galanter had told him he’d work for free in the case.
Galanter, who won an acquittal for Simpson in a 2001 road rage incident in Florida, denied that.
“No, I don’t do anything for free,” he testified.
Grasso wanted to work for free, Galanter said, but he insisted on paying him $25,000 plus costs. Grasso testified that he was only paid $15,000.
Galanter said that there was no need to hire investigators to profile witnesses because he had cross-examined them during a preliminary hearing.
An intoxication defense wasn’t considered because “Mr. Simpson wasn’t intoxicated,” Galanter said.
Simpson testified that he had consumed enough alcohol before the incident that he wouldn’t consider driving a car.
He also said Galanter never informed him of plea deal discussions with prosecutors. Simpson said he would have considered those deals.
But Galanter refuted that claim, explaining that Simpson was fully aware of the discussions with prosecutors.
Galanter testified that he never told Simpson that he could legally take his property back. Instead, Galanter said, he advised Simpson to call the police.
The Miami-based defense attorney added that Simpson knew his cohorts were armed when they went to Palace Station to recover his family heirlooms and sports memorabilia.
Meanwhile, Simpson is in the midst of serving one to six years on a weapons enhancement for the kidnapping count. He has four to 18 years left on his prison term on the remaining counts.
In July, Simpson won parole on one of the 10 counts he was convicted of in 2008.
Inmate #1027820 has had a “positive record,” the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners said in July, which included his participation in parole programs.
Following his Hall of Fame professional football career, Simpson became one of the most popular former athletes in America, regularly hawking products in humorous TV commercials or starring in movies, such as The Naked Gun.
That is, until Simpson was acquitted by a Los Angeles jury in 1995 of the 1994 deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman in what was dubbed “the trial of the century.”
Testimony at the May hearing revealed that most of the items taken in the 2007 robbery were found to be the football player’s. The items were returned to Simpson and, unless sold, were not subject to satisfy a $33.5 million civil judgment against him for the deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman.
“All grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently are denied…..[Simpson] failed to demonstrate that counsel experienced an actual conflict of interest that substantially impacted counsel’s performance at trial … that the State withheld exculpatory evidence … that appellate and trial counsel were ineffective or that any deficient performance by counsel resulted in prejudice…..Mr. Simpson has failed to pinpoint significant errors that either alone or combined would have changed the outcome of his case. Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, neither the errors in this case, nor the errors collectively, cause this court to question the validity of Mr. Simpson’s conviction.”
So ruled Clark County District Judge Linda Bell on Simpson’s request for a new trial of his 2007 robbery case. In 2008, O.J. was convicted and received a 9 to 33 year in prison sentence on ten counts, including robbery and kidnapping. Simpson, accompanied by armed thugs in a Las Vegas hotel, claimed he was only trying to retrieve items from some memorabilia dealers that rightfully belonged to him.
In his appeal, Simpson claimed that his trial attorney had been ineffective, had financial and legal conflicts, and had given him bad advice. Unless a higher Nevada court overturns the ruling handed down Tuesday by Judge Bell, the murderer of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman has 4 to 18 years left on his prison term for nine remaining counts in his conviction.
Now if Simpson’s name had been O.J. Skakel, he might have had better luck with his bum attorney appeal. Then he would have had millions of Kennedy dollars working for him. All that money did work for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in his conviction for the murder of 15-year-old Martha Moxley.
O.J. SIMPSON DENIED NEW TRIAL FOR 2007 ROBBERY CASE
By Francis McCabe
Las Vegas Review-Journal
November 26, 2013
O.J. Simpson has lost his bid for a new trial, a Clark County district judge ruled Tuesday.
The Review-Journal has learned that Judge Linda Bell rejected the notorious former football player’s contention that his trial lawyer in his 2007 robbery case, Yale Galanter, was ineffective, had financial and legal conflicts and misadvised the 66-year-old inmate.
Bell’s ruling comes six months after a week-long hearing where Simpson testified Galanter told him he could legally take his property back and would represent him for free.
Simpson is in the midst of serving a nine- to 33-year prison term after he was convicted of 10 charges for robbing two men of sports memorabilia in September 2007. He argued he was simply recovering his own property, including photographs, when he went to the Palace Station hotel room.
In a 100 page decision, Bell said, “All grounds in the petition lack merit and, consequently are denied.”
Bell ruled Simpson “failed to demonstrate that counsel experienced an actual conflict of interest that substantially impacted counsel’s performance at trial … that the State withheld exculpatory evidence … that appellate and trial counsel were ineffective or that any deficient performance by counsel resulted in prejudice,” the ruling stated.
In her ruling, Bell said the evidence was overwhelming against Simpson and there was no indication that it was close verdict.
“Mr. Simpson has failed to pinpoint significant errors that either alone or combined would have changed the outcome of his case,” Bell said.
The judge added, “Given the overwhelming amount of evidence, neither the errors in this case, nor the errors collectively, cause this court to question the validity of Mr. Simpson’s conviction.”
Simpson’s post conviction petition for a new trial made 22 separate arguments.
“We’re definitely going to appeal,” said Simpson’s lawyer Patricia Palm. “We will appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court and seek federal relief.”
Palm said she spoke briefly with Simpson late Tuesday. Simpson, who is imprisoned at Lovelock Correctional Center, which is about 130 miles north of Carson City, called her after learning about the decision.
“He wants us to go ahead with an appeal,” Palm said.
Palm, who was still reviewing the lengthy ruling, remained confident Simpson would be vindicated.
“This decision is going to be overturned once we get to the right court,” Palm said.
District Attorney Steve Wolfson, whose wife, former Judge Jackie Glass, presided over the robbery trial, told the Review-Journal, “I think the judge was conscientious and thorough in her review of the record. And her decision was appropriate in taking into account all the facts and circumstances of the case.”
During the May hearing, Simpson said he began to question Galanter’s motivation for representing him following his 2008 conviction and rejected appeal in the Las Vegas robbery.
According to testimony, Galanter pocketed $572,000 from Simpson while representing him in the robbery case. The lawyer was supposed to use part of the money to provide for a proper defense, which included hiring investigators and experts.
Testimony has shown that Galanter didn’t hire experts or investigators or fully pay his Las Vegas-based co-counsel, Gabe Grasso, who is suing Galanter in federal court over nonpayment for his work in the case.
Simpson testified that Galanter had told him he’d work for free in the case.
Galanter, who won an acquittal for Simpson in a 2001 road rage incident in Florida, denied that.
“No, I don’t do anything for free,” he testified.
Grasso wanted to work for free, Galanter said, but he insisted on paying him $25,000 plus costs. Grasso testified that he was only paid $15,000.
Galanter said that there was no need to hire investigators to profile witnesses because he had cross-examined them during a preliminary hearing.
An intoxication defense wasn’t considered because “Mr. Simpson wasn’t intoxicated,” Galanter said.
Simpson testified that he had consumed enough alcohol before the incident that he wouldn’t consider driving a car.
He also said Galanter never informed him of plea deal discussions with prosecutors. Simpson said he would have considered those deals.
But Galanter refuted that claim, explaining that Simpson was fully aware of the discussions with prosecutors.
Galanter testified that he never told Simpson that he could legally take his property back. Instead, Galanter said, he advised Simpson to call the police.
The Miami-based defense attorney added that Simpson knew his cohorts were armed when they went to Palace Station to recover his family heirlooms and sports memorabilia.
Meanwhile, Simpson is in the midst of serving one to six years on a weapons enhancement for the kidnapping count. He has four to 18 years left on his prison term on the remaining counts.
In July, Simpson won parole on one of the 10 counts he was convicted of in 2008.
Inmate #1027820 has had a “positive record,” the Nevada Board of Parole Commissioners said in July, which included his participation in parole programs.
Following his Hall of Fame professional football career, Simpson became one of the most popular former athletes in America, regularly hawking products in humorous TV commercials or starring in movies, such as The Naked Gun.
That is, until Simpson was acquitted by a Los Angeles jury in 1995 of the 1994 deaths of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman in what was dubbed “the trial of the century.”
Testimony at the May hearing revealed that most of the items taken in the 2007 robbery were found to be the football player’s. The items were returned to Simpson and, unless sold, were not subject to satisfy a $33.5 million civil judgment against him for the deaths of his ex-wife and Goldman.
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