Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police board

Moderators: Elvis, DrVolin, Jeff

Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Mon Jul 17, 2017 3:52 pm

Link du jour

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3332780


https://www.americanswhotellthetruth.or ... sha-mayers

http://www.occurrencesforeigndomestic.c ... o-fencing/

https://www.vera.org


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/gam ... -1.3331258


http://www.slcgov.com/civilianreview


http://www.occurrencesforeigndomestic.c ... ning-life/





http://ticklethewire.com/2017/07/16/sec ... book-post/

Secret Service Investigating Lawmaker over ‘Aggressively Sarcastic’ Anti-Trump Facebook Post



By Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com

The Secret Service is investigating a state lawmaker in Maine after causing alarm over a Facebook post about President Trump.

Rep. Scott Hamann called Trump a “half-term president, at most, especially if I ever get within 10 feet.”

The Democrat later said he regretted the social media post, describing his comments as “aggressively sarcastic and inappropriate.”

A Secret Service spokesman confirmed the investigation to Fox News.






http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3331723


Australian woman living in US fatally shot by Minneapolis police after she called 911 to report a 'possible assault


Monday, July 17, 2017, 4:08 AM

A 40-year-old Australian woman who was engaged to be married was fatally shot by a Minneapolis police officer after she called 911 to report a possible assault in the alley behind her home.

One of the two officers who responded to the scene shot and killed Justine Damond, the Star Tribune reported.

Police arrived in a squad car and the officer seated in the passenger seat shot the Sydney, Australia, native through the driver's side window, sources familiar with the incident told the media outlet.

The two officers involved have been placed on paid administrative leave.

Minn. cop shoots two dogs while investigating canceled alarm
"Two Minneapolis police officers responded to a 911 call of a possible assault just north of the 5100 block of Washburn Avenue S, just before 11:30 p.m. Saturday," the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a news release.

"At one point, an officer fired their weapon, fatally striking a woman," it adds.

"The BCA's investigation is in its early stages. More information will be available once initial interviews with incident participants and any witnesses are complete. ... The officers' body cameras were not turned on at the time and the squad camera did not capture the incident. Investigators are attempting to determine whether any video of the incident exists."

The woman was not named by police but people at the scene confirmed her identity, according to the Tribune.

NYPD may use body camera vids to fight false claims against cops
Justine Damond was fatally shot by police Saturday after she called 911 to report a possible assault in an alley behind her home.
Justine Damond was fatally shot by police Saturday after she called 911 to report a possible assault in an alley behind her home. ( INSTAGRAM )
No video of the incident has been released, and investigators are working to determine whether any exists.

The officers' body cameras were not turned on and the squad camera did not capture the incident.

Police didn't say why the body cameras were turned off.

Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges also questioned the circumstances.

KING: Seattle-area officers killed man wielding pen for no reason
"I have questions about why the bodycams weren't on," she said in a press conference Sunday.

Minneapolis police officers are required to activate their cameras during "critical incidents," according to department policy.

A "critical incident" includes "any action by an officer that causes or is intended to cause Death or Great Bodily Harm."

The 40-year-old's death was not captured on police body camera.

Justine Damond was engaged to Don Damond, 50, whose 22-year-old son, Zach Damond, was at the scene Sunday morning.

"Basically, my mom's dead because a police officer shot her for reasons I don't know," he told the Tribune. "I demand answers. If anybody can help, just call police and demand answers. I'm so done with all this violence," he said.

Zach said Justine called police after she "heard a sound in the alley," which neighbors described as being well-lit at night.

They also described Justine as "a beautiful light" who was "so in love" with her fiance.





https://www.reviewjournal.com/news/poli ... imination/


FBI agent was Ex-Las Vegas prosecutor, key player in Russia probe, cited for sex discrimination

Greg Bower, a former top prosecutor who currently is the FBI’s top liaison with Congress during its investigation in Russian election meddling, has been cited for misconduct in an 8-year-old sex discrimination case.

While Bower was in charge of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Nevada from January 2008 to October 2009, a former female prosecutor was subjected to sexual discrimination and retaliation, according to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

An administrative judge said Brower acted hostilely toward a prosecutor after she alleged he had made a sexist comment.

“While acts of discrimination and retaliation are no doubt common within the federal service, it is extremely rare to see such a finding against the U.S. attorney’s office, which is charged with upholding the laws of this country,” said Las Vegas attorney Adam Levine, who has represented clients in the federal equal employment opportunity process. “If any agency should be aware of the prohibition against retaliation, it is the U.S. attorney’s office.”




http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc ... -1.3330069

Off-duty correction officer arrested for fondling himself in front of Staten Island neighbor


Sunday, July 16, 2017, 3:44 AM






https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... les-killed

Seattle insists it's a model for progressive policing – so why was Charleena Lyles killed?
On 18 June, two white police officers shot dead a black pregnant mother of four, in a city where, family members say, police are ‘trained to kill’




http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3331683

Cops in truck run over two beachgoers on Long Island
BY LEONARD GREENE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, July 17, 2017, 3:03 AM




http://richmondfreepress.com/news/2017/ ... rimes-fbi/


Federal agencies fail to report hate crimes to FBI

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from ProPublica

In violation of a long-standing legal mandate, scores of federal law enforcement agencies are failing to submit statistics to the FBI’s national hate crimes database, ProPublica has learned.

The lack of participation by federal law enforcement represents a significant and largely unknown flaw in the database, which is supposed to be the nation’s most comprehensive source of information on hate crimes. The database is maintained by the FBI’s Criminal Justice Information Services Division, which uses it to tabulate the number of alleged hate crimes occurring around the nation each year.

The FBI has identified at least 120 federal agencies that aren’t uploading information to the database, according to Amy Blasher, a unit chief at the CJIS division, an arm of the bureau that is overseeing the modernization of its information systems.

The federal government operates a vast array of law enforcement agencies — ranging from Customs and Border Protection to the Drug Enforcement Administration to the Amtrak Police — employing more than 120,000 law enforcement officers with arrest powers. The FBI would not say which agencies have declined to participate in the program, but the bureau’s annual tally of hate crimes statistics does not include any offenses handled by federal law enforcement. Indeed, the problem is so widespread that the FBI itself isn’t submitting the hate crimes it investigates to its own database.

“We truly don’t understand what’s happening with crime in the U.S. without the federal component,” Ms. Blasher said in an interview.



https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... ign-policy

War with Iran is back on the table – thanks to Trump
Trita Parsi
Obama knew the only way to avoid conflict was to agree on the nuclear deal. Now its future is in question
Trita Parsi is the author of Losing an Enemy - Obama, Iran and the Triumph of Diplomacy and president of the National Iranian American Council.



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3329709

Indiana bride-to-be cancels wedding and throws party for the homeless instead
BY MEGAN CERULLO
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Saturday, July 15, 2017, 10:51 PM







https://www.theguardian.com/inequality/ ... -cri-index

Trump's tax proposal would push US below Greece on inequality index
Researchers say tax reform plan would increase gap between rich and poor
US already does ‘very badly’ on global inequality index




Sunday 16 July 2017 19.01 EDT Last modified on Monday 17 July 2017 09.36 EDT

Donald Trump’s tax reform plans would, if enacted, increase the gap between rich and poor Americans and see the US slip below Greece on a new global index of inequality.

According to the Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) index, developed by researchers at Oxfam and Development Finance International, the US already distinguishes itself among wealthy countries by doing “very badly” at addressing inequality.


Which countries are the most (and least) committed to reducing inequality?
Read more
But it would fall a further six places from its ranking of 23rd overall if Trump’s tax reform effort is successful, with the US’s specific rating on tax policies plummeting 33 places from 26th to 59th – just below Peru, Chile and Sri Lanka.

“When you already have countries like Portugal and Slovenia ranking higher than the United States on the overall index, we think that’s a concern considering the wealth of the US,” Paul O’Brien, Oxfam America’s vice-president for policy and campaigns, told the Guardian.

If the White House passes its budget, which would slash social service spending and could leave millions of Americans without health insurance, the US would fall behind Greece, which is crippled by a debt crisis; Spain, which for 10 months in 2016 did not have a government; and Argentina, which has been plagued by high inflation, according to the report.

O’Brien said global understanding of inequality has grown significantly in the past decade, but this awareness has not led to the creation of pervasive government policies. Compilers of the index spent a year looking at policies around taxation, social service spending and labor in 152 countries.



“The reason we did this comparative index,” O’Brien said, “is in large part to challenge policymakers like President Trump to look to other economies and other societies, to give people smarter ways to give everyone an opportunity to lift themselves from poverty.”

The US performance on the index is strikingly bad compared to other wealthy countries, including the 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). These countries account for 63% of the world GDP. The US is ranked 21st among them in the inequality index, despite being the wealthiest country in the history of the world.

Threaded through the new report are stark facts that explain some of the ways the US has earned its low ranking. In 2012, 43.3% of corporations in the US paid no federal income tax. US employers are required to provide zero days of paid maternity leave, while Sweden offers 480 days. The US federal minimum wage of $7.25 is well below the $10.60 an hour needed for a family of four to stay above the federal poverty line.

The report makes clear that inequality in the US could get worse if efforts to reform tax and repeal the Affordable Care Act are successful. If, instead, Trump decided to attack inequality in the US, O’Brien said he would need to create a more progressive tax system that lessens the burden on the poorest people, improve labor laws, and “ensure that investments in healthcare, education and social protection gave all Americans an equal shot at the American






https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... l-election

Member of India's lowest caste expected to be elected president
Ram Nath Kovind, nominee of Narendra Modi’s party, is from dalit (Untouchable) community, the country’s most oppressed


Monday 17 July 2017 06.33 EDT Last modified on Monday 17 July 2017 09.32 EDT

A member of India’s poorest and most oppressed caste is expected to be elected president.

Ram Nath Kovind, the governor of Bihar until last month, was announced as the nominee of Narendra Modi’s government in June, in what was widely seen as part of a decades-long strategy by Hindu nationalists to win over members of the dalit (Untouchable) community.

Nearly 5,000 Indian state and federal members of parliament took part in a secret nationwide ballot on Monday to decide the next president using specially designed violet ink pens with unique serial numbers.

The five-year post has significant responsibility under India’s constitution, but similar to other Westminster-style governments, it is largely ceremonial in practice.


India's caste system: ‘They are trying to erase dalit history. This is a martyrdom, a sacrifice’
Read more
The result of the collective parliamentary votes will not be known until Thursday, but Kovind, 71, has secured wide cross-party support and is expected to comfortably beat Meira Kumar, the former diplomat and MP nominated by the opposition Congress party and its allies.




https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780842023382/U ... ion-System

Unlocking the Files of the FBI
A Guide to Its Records and Classification System
DAVID A. LANGBART AND GERALD K. HAINES
This volume is the first comprehensive guide to the records of the FBI. At last historians have clear descriptions of the FBI's documents and how to gain access to them.
Dr. Gerald Haines, who was a... more »

Book Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Pages: 352 • Trim: 6 1/2 x 9 1/4
978-0-8420-2338-2 • Hardback • January 1993 • $111.00 • (£75.00)
Subjects: History / United States / General




http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/eri ... -1.3332952



Eric Garner’s daughter blasts de Blasio’s talk of ‘progress’ on third anniversary of chokehold death
BY ERIN DURKIN LEONARD GREENE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, July 17, 2017, 2:58 PM


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3332373

Bernie Sanders’ wife Jane slams ‘sexist’ attack behind federal bank fraud probe
BY MEERA JAGANNATHAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, July 17, 2017, 10:30 AM
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:46 pm
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Wed Jul 19, 2017 10:57 pm

Students Are the Newest U.S. Weapon Against Terrorist Recruitment
By RON NIXONJULY 18, 2017


Homeland Security’s battle to stop the radicalization and recruitment of young people has tapped American college students for help.

The program, called Peer to Peer: Challenging Extremism, gives students at 50 to 75 universities up to $2,000 each to counter online recruiting efforts by developing social media campaigns, the New York Times reports.

Homeland Security and other national security officials judge a competition by students to develop online tools to counter recruiting efforts of terrorist groups like ISIS.

The University of Maryland placed first in the competition with a project, which was built around a video game and social media campaign, that teaches friends and neighbors to identify signs of radicalization.








https://robertscribbler.com/2017/07/18/ ... for-globe/


June of 2017 Was Third Hottest on Record for Globe
According to NOAA, June of 2017 was the third hottest such month in the global climate record since temperature tracking began in 1880. For NASA, June was also the third hottest on record with June of 2016 settling in at 1st hottest, and 2015 and 1998 tied as second hottest. Overall, global temperatures were about 0.91 degrees Celsius warmer than late 19th Century averages in the NASA record and about 1.02 degrees Celsius warmer than the same time period in the NOAA record.






Link du jour
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/califor ... -1.3338757

http://www.taosnews.com/stories/lama-at-50,41339


https://books.google.com/books?id=Ppjvu ... ab&f=false


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/f ... -1.3338079

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainmen ... -1.3339339

http://planetark.org

http://www.truthdig.com/avbooth/item/mu ... s_20170714

http://www.metro.us/president-trump/tru ... -coal-jobs

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/uruguay ... -1.3339008






http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3338858


SEE IT: Baltimore cop accused of planting drugs after body cam footage surfaces
BY CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, July 19, 2017, 1:58 PM







https://skepticalscience.com/fear-broug ... trump.html



Surrendering to fear brought us climate change denial and President Trump

Posted on 17 July 2017 by John Abraham
This story picks up where an earlier post left off a few weeks ago. Then, I discussed some of the political realities associated with inaction on climate change. In that post, I said I would revisit the question of why so many people deny the evidence of a changing climate. Now is the time for that discussion.

What continually befuddles people who work on climate change is the vehement and indefensible denial of evidence by a small segment of the population. I give many public talks on climate change, including radio and television interviews and public lectures. Nearly every event has a few people who, no matter what the evidence, stay in a state of denial. By listening to denialist arguments, I find they fall into a few broad categories. Some of them are just plain false. Examples in this category are ones like:

There was a halt to global warming starting 1998.

Humans are only responsible for a tiny fraction of the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Scientists are colluding to create this fraud.

Others are not false but are completely irrelevant. For example:

Climate is always changing.

We didn’t have thermometers a million years ago to measure global temperatures.

Cities are hotter than their surroundings.

Why would people think things or repeat statements that are known to be false or irrelevant? I am convinced that for the vast majority of people, they are not intentionally being incorrect. Something must be forcing them to be wrong. What could that be? Why are people so willing to believe and repeat lies?

That brings me to the connection with President Trump. His sheer number of falsehoods and flip-flops is so great, you lose track of them all. For instance, let us take the so-called wall to stop illegal immigration. First he said Mexico will pay for it and it will be “so tall;” now, he wants it to be paid by the US taxpayer. He falsely exaggerated the number of jobs that have been created since he came into office. He made false statements about the size of his electoral win. He made false statements about President Obama’s birthplace. He has made false and unsupported claims about voter fraud. He has made false claims about climate scientists.

Finally, there is the current investigation into his and his administration’s potential collusion with Russia and obstruction of justice. I could go on and on and likely will get complaints from readers that I forgot this or that falsehood, but I have to limit the length of this post.

In a sane world, everyone would understand the threat of climate change and our ability to take meaningful action to handle it. In a sane world, no one would believe a president who has misled them time and time again.

So that raises the question - what is the reason people still discount the incontrovertible climate change evidence? What is the reason a persistent minority still support this dishonest president? I think I have figured it out, and if I’m right, it makes it much easier to reconcile the generally logical people I know with their seeming indefensible belief systems.

In a certain respect, this reason is something we as humans are nearly powerless to counteract. Before I give the reason, I want to be clear that I am sure others have noticed this too. I am sure others have written learned papers articulating this much more clearly than I can. My discovery is just a personal observation; something I should have recognized long ago. I am also not a psychologist so this is just my observations as a physical scientist.

The reason isn’t religion, it isn’t political ideology, it isn’t lack of scientific knowledge, it isn’t politics, it isn’t tribal identification. It’s none of those things.

The reason is fear.

Whether people are reciting a litany of falsehoods about climate change or whether they are contorting themselves to justify support for this president, they are doing so because they have to. They have to, because they are afraid of what happens if they accept reality.

With climate change, people are afraid for two reasons. First, they are afraid there is nothing they can do about it. Humans hate to have threats that are beyond our control. We are more afraid of Ebola than heart disease. We are more afraid of flying than driving, we are more afraid of sharks than toasters. We afraid of things we feel we cannot directly control.

Secondly, we are also afraid of bad news. How often have you not checked your bank account because you don’t want the bad news? Have you ever known someone who didn’t go to a doctor because they just didn’t want to know what their ailment was? It is so much easier to pretend a problem doesn’t exist. In fact, I’ll go a step further and say that people like to be lied to when it quiets their fear.

So with respect to climate change, that puts the population into two groups. The first group (which I am part of) knows that there is a problem, wants to face it head on, and solve it together. The second group cannot bear to look the problem honestly in the face and finds it easier to deny its existence.




http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3339307


SEE IT: Police pursue drunken off-duty cop who led them on car chase
BY MEGAN CERULLO
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Wednesday, July 19, 2017, 4:48 PM







https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ544189


A Quantitative Description of FBI Public Relations.
Gibson, Dirk C.
Public Relations Review, v23 n1 p11-30 Spr 1997
States that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had the most successful media relations program of all government agencies from the 1930s to the 1980s. Uses quantitative analysis to show why those media efforts were successful. Identifies themes that typified the verbal component of FBI publicity and the broad spectrum of mass communication channels that were tapped. (PA)
Descriptors: Federal Government, Mass Media Use, Media Research, Public Relations, Statistical Analysis, United States History




http://www.smartbrief.com/original/2017 ... career-fbi

July 19, 2017 Leadership Careers


I loved being an FBI agent because there was a sense of meaning and purpose every time I walked into the office. The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States. There was a sense of meaning and purpose every time I walked into the office.
I worked hard to solve complex problems. You might be imaging movies, gunbattles, and running down bad guys. In truth, a lot of what I did as an agent wasn’t all that different from many of the challenges you face as entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners.
I was good with a gun, I admit, but most of my time was spent working with people who had different opinions and a conflict of interest. This created problems I couldn’t just shoot. Instead, they required people skills; I suspect many of you can relate.
Today's business world is volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous. If you want to move your career or company forward, you have to know how to lead yourself and those around you.
The FBI does not hire new agents based on their skills. Instead, they hire by the traits and values exhibited by applicants and then train new agents with the skill sets they will need. If an agent has the right values, traits, and abilities, they can learn anything.
This is where most businesses have it backward. Instead of hiring people because of their traits and values, they hire skill sets and then try to backload the company’s culture and values.
If the goal of leadership is to empower people to make their own decisions, then here are seven FBI traits that will make you a better leader:
1. Confidence

Boosting confidence is the primary goal of the FBI Academy -- before they send agents out with a gun and badge.
As a new agent, there were days when my heart raced and my palms sweat just thinking about the new challenges that faced me. But I learned that success would not make me confident; rather, confidence in myself and my abilities would make me successful.
If you don’t believe in yourself, how can others believe in you? It took a bit of acting on my part in the beginning, but the more I acted confident, the more confident I became. Feedback from others was positive, which in turn, gave me more confidence!
Tip: Cultivate ways you can signal your confidence to others, especially using body language. When our brain receives a clear image of confidence and competence, it takes that good impression and makes a snap judgment. This allows the brain to move on to other issues.
2. Humility

A few years back, my squad was set to arrest a fugitive known to be armed and dangerous. Since I was the case agent, everyone assumed I would be the one to make the arrest. The fugitive was a big guy with broad shoulders and sure to resist arrest, but defensive tactics had never been my strong point.
It is humbling to admit to yourself, or others, that you are not the best person for the job. It’s OK to admit it and turn to another person more experienced or better prepared and ask for their help.
You may not need help in arresting a fugitive, but you may need to surround yourself with people who are more experienced or better prepared and ask for their help. The best leaders are confident enough to surround themselves with people who are smarter and more talented.
They are also humble enough to learn from these people because they understand they will get a better outcome as a result of their involvement. Such leaders are willing to listen to, but not be dominated by, the talent around them.
Tip: If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.
3. Good values

For insiders, FBI also stands for "Fidelity, Bravery, and Integrity." These are the values that drive the organization.
Leadership is not a skill set; it is rooted in who we are and what matters to us. Our values are defined by what we are willing to struggle for when the chips are down. It’s doing the right thing and doing the best we can because that is who we are.
Ultimately, our values define our struggles. When we choose better values, we get better problems to solve. We need to be motivated by something more important and greater than our own happiness. If we are not driven to take our life to the next level by something more than our own selfish desires, we are the definition of a narcissist.
Tip: When you prioritize good values, it produces true confidence and genuine humility. Decisions are easier because the answer is always “do the right thing.”
4. Kindness

Not all FBI negotiations involve the barrel of a gun. The most successful agents find ways to get along with people, pure and simple. It is rare that an agent can dictate how a relationship is going to unfold.
In the movies, we hear lines like, “OK, this is what you’re going to do for me.” In reality, we need to look for what’s mutually beneficial if we’re looking to cut a deal or negotiate.
The best way to accomplish this is to find common ground, and this is accomplished by being sensitive to the needs of the other person. Bullying, extortion or browbeating rarely gets constructive results.
Tip: Mentally tough leaders who are kind know how to inspire their people in a way that, in turn, creates a commitment for their mission.
5. Tough

It may seem that kindness and toughness are contradictions, but they are actually very compatible. There are times when a leader needs to hold people accountable and draw a clear line that differentiates between acceptable and unacceptable behavior.
Great leaders don’t worry about being unpopular or making everyone happy. They’re always reminding themselves that their job is to improve the organization.
While rules and standards provide structure for people, tough leaders are not afraid to buck the system to get what they want. They know how to interpret the cultural norms of the office or company and are respectful, yet persistent, in presenting new ideas for projects.
It is the mixture of toughness and kindness that opens doors without alienating the standard-bearers who have calcified in their corner offices.
Tip: Successful leaders stumble and make mistakes as much as anyone, but they are tough enough to take control of their reputations and manage the ways they are perceived.
6. Listening skills

I didn’t know what to expect when the FBI sent me to a training course on hostage negotiation. As an unassuming man stood in front of the class and welcomed everyone in dulcet tones, I was looking around for the hardass who had talked down a terrorist in New York the week before. The man spoke politely, but I didn’t listen because I wanted to hear from the hostage negotiator!
Guess what? He was the hardass hostage negotiator. That week I learned the key to agreements, whether you are negotiating with a kidnapper or a client, is that they happen only when both sides are willing to listen.
When we listen, we get insight into how other people think, feel, and behave. It is counterproductive to be aggressive, pushy, and demanding. Instead, good listeners are likable and create an environment that feels both safe and comfortable. They are secure enough that they are not threatened by listening to someone who may have more talent or experience.
Tip:: It’s a good idea to repeat what you think you heard the other person say. It lets them know you really are listening and gives you an opportunity to let their words soak in.
7. Emotional intelligence

The FBI is not a touchy-feely organization; agents prefer terms like competence and persistence to explain their success. The words emotional intelligence rarely escape their lips. Yet face-to-face interviews remain the FBI’s top investigative technique.
Emotional intelligence is an ability to walk into a room and understand what others might be feeling, and through that insight, communicate to them in effective ways. Awareness and curiosity about their own emotions, as well as those of others, place leaders in a stronger position to not only recognize the negative ones but to anticipate how they could spin out of control.
Tip: Emotional intelligence allows us to build on relationships with others and then use those relationships to accomplish our goals.
“I actually have come to learn that the way to evaluate leaders is not from skills through abilities to values but to actually start the other way. If a leader has the right values and the right abilities, they can learn anything. If you hire and promote backwards and start with, ‘so what are their skills? What jobs have they had?’ you may miss the fact that they don't have the abilities you need and the values you need.” ~ James Comey, former FBI director, in 2016

LaRae Quy was an FBI undercover and counterintelligence agent for 24 years. She exposed foreign spies and recruited them to work for the U.S. government. As an FBI agent, she developed the mental toughness to survive in environments of risk,




http://www.post-gazette.com/frontpage/2 ... 0707110253


Wecht investigator's discipline file opened
U.S. judge orders FBI records unsealed


11:00 PM JUL 11, 2007
A federal judge yesterday unsealed records revealing that the lead FBI agent in the criminal case against Dr. Cyril H. Wecht was disciplined elsewhere for forging other agents' names and initials on chain-of-custody forms, evidence labels and interview forms.


Related documents
See more information about the disciplinary reports of FBI agent Bradley W. Orsini.


Further, in September 2001 Special Agent Bradley W. Orsini was demoted and received a 30-day suspension without pay for a series of policy violations that occurred from 1993 through 2000, which included having an inappropriate relationship with a subordinate; making improper vulgar and sexual comments; threatening a subordinate with violence; and improperly documenting the seizure of a weapon and ammunition from a search.

"We're pleased this information is now available to the public for its own analysis and understanding of its impact on the case," said Dr. Wecht's defense attorney, Jerry McDevitt. "The report speaks for itself."

The U.S. attorney's office filed Agent Orsini's records under seal on April 7, 2006, asking U.S. District Judge Arthur J. Schwab to determine if it was required to turn them over to Dr. Wecht's defense attorneys.

What followed was a 15-month legal battle that ended this week when the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a final order in the case, making the disciplinary reports public.

Judge Schwab unsealed the records late yesterday afternoon. He also vacated a previous decision in which he'd ordered a contempt hearing for the defense attorneys for their failure to follow his orders.

He wrote "this Court considers the 'time-out' caused by the interlocutory appeal to the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit as providing an opportunity for a 'fresh start.'"

He also ordered a hearing in Dr. Wecht's case on Sept. 18 that will allow the defense to use the Orsini reports in their examination of him.

Agent Orsini has been an agent for more than 18 years, and he has spent much of that time, including in Pittsburgh, working public corruption cases. All of the allegations included in the two disciplinary reports occurred while he was working in the FBI's Newark, N.J., office.

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan would not comment on the reports' release. It was unclear if she was aware of Mr. Orsini's background before he became the lead agent in the case against Dr. Wecht, who is charged with 84 counts of misusing his public office for private gain.

( Dr Cyril Wecht has been a prominent researcher into the JFK assassination and has now become a target
of the FBI )

The first time Agent Orsini was disciplined was Nov. 2, 1998. He received a five-day suspension without pay for signing other agents' names to evidence labels and custody forms from May 1995 to January 1997.

He explained that he and another agent, on limited occasions, signed each other's names on evidence "to save time."

Though the investigator from the Office of Professional Responsibility found that Agent Orsini did not intend to jeopardize the evidence or cases involved, his actions could have called the integrity of the bureau into question, he wrote in his report.

A 28-page report issued Sept. 24, 2001, by the assistant director of the Office of Professional Responsibility described additional transgressions.

The first violation listed dated to Nov. 2, 1993. Agent Orsini failed to obtain the proper consent form while searching a man's home for illegal firearms and failed to properly document the ammunition seized.

Agent Orsini was found to have falsified at least six FBI interview forms in 1993 and 1994 by writing other agents' initials on them.

He said in a statement that he didn't believe there would be a problem with that provided the information in the body of the interview form was accurate.

"I have no idea how many times I may have done so," he said. He said he did so for "convenience and a shortcut."

Throughout the Wecht case, defense attorneys have argued that the government based part of the charges against their client -- that he exchanged unclaimed bodies from the county morgue for lab space from Carlow University -- on a single interview form filled out by Agent Orsini.

The disciplinary report next goes into great detail about a relationship Agent Orsini had with a subordinate agent, from April 1998 through early 2000.

The document indicates that other agents in his squad believed Agent Orsini was favoring the woman and gave her premium assignments. It also details gag gifts exchanged at the squad's Christmas parties in 1998 and 1999. One, given to the woman, was a pet collar, with a note that said, "If found, return to Brad Orsini."

"By their very nature, the public notoriety attached to the gag gifts would have put even the most insensitive person on notice of this perception of favoritism," the assistant director wrote.

By January 2000, when supervisors in the Newark office learned of the relationship, Agent Orsini was reassigned.

But before that, he approached one of the agents in his squad and accused him of revealing the relationship. During the meeting, Agent Orsini threatened to hit his subordinate but quickly added that he was kidding.

Newark's assistant agent in charge reported that Agent Orsini "has an aggressive personality, and I would characterize him as a bully."

Other substantiated allegations in the report included that Agent Orsini punched at least one hole in the wall in the Newark office, and threw and broke chairs. He also jokingly called fellow supervisors "homosexuals," and even used a bullhorn to make his comments.

For those actions, the Office of Professional Responsibility said he failed to prevent the development of a "locker room atmosphere" in his squad that repressed professional conduct.

In addition to the suspension and demotion, Agent Orsini was ordered to serve 12 months' probation and to attend mandatory sensitivity training.

Ray Morrow,






https://www.ksl.com/index.php?sid=45090 ... signed-too

FBI looking into Ephraim police situation; ex-officer says he would have resigned, too
| Posted Jul 19th, 2017 @ 7:31pm


EPHRAIM — The attorney representing three Ephraim police officers who resigned after calling out their longtime chief for failing to properly complete hundreds of incident report said Wednesday that the FBI is now involved.

"I am pleased to learn that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into this matter," said Bret Rawson, legal counsel for former officers Larry Golding, Jared Hansen and Darren S. Pead.







http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/unseal ... wood-four/

Unsealed FBI report alleges police fed statements to ‘Englewood Four’
CHICAGO NEWS 07/19/2017, 08:09pm


CHICAGO NEWS 07/19/2017, 08:09pm
Terrill Swift sits next to his mother, Carleane Swift, on Nov. 16, 2012, in Woodridge. He was a member of the so-called Englewood 4, who were exonerated two years ago, and has sued the city of Chicago for wrongful conviction. | Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times






https://www.engadget.com/2017/07/18/isp ... stigation/

Story image for fbi from Engadget
ISPs barred from telling users they're under FBI investigation
Engadget-Jul 18, 2017
Back in 2013, a federal judge ruled that the FBI couldn't force ISPs to hand over a users' private data without the suspect being informed first.




https://www.google.com/search?q=fbi&prm ... 24&bih=672


Trump: Jeff Sessions Should Have Muzzled the FBI
Mother Jones-
I can only assume that Donald Trump barely even knows what he's saying anymore. Here he is during an interview with the New York Times, ...




http://www.afro.com/feds-reviewing-ohio ... am-dubose/

FBI Reviewing Ohio Police Shooting of Unarmed black Sam DuBose
Afro American
The Justice Department said investigators analyzed store surveillance video using resources at the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Virginia; interviewed witnesses ...






http://articles.latimes.com/2001/may/01/news/mn-57894

FBI Settles Black Agents' Discrimination Lawsuit
Law: Bureau must overhaul procedures and permit an outside mediator to review individual cases. But the director could overrule damage awards.


WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Monday approved a sweeping settlement in a 10-year-old lawsuit between the FBI and some 500 current and former agents who contend they were systematically discriminated against because they are black.

The agreement requires the FBI to overhaul its promotion, evaluation and disciplinary procedures by 2004 to address the concerns of African American agents. It could also result in the awarding of monetary damages to individual agents who prove their claims of discrimination to an outside mediator.

Black FBI agents, who supported their claims with statistical models, argued that white agents were much more likely to gain promotions, win high-profile assignments with units such as the SWAT team, earn positive evaluations and avoid disciplinary action for misconduct.

The FBI has condoned a dual-track system that "allowed people to be promoted based on who they knew and not how they did their job," David J. Shaffer, a Washington attorney who is representing the black agents, said in an interview.



"This goes all the way back to J. Edgar Hoover," who headed the FBI for nearly half a century until 1972, Shaffer said. "White people promoted people who were white, who promoted people who were white, and so on. . . . Hopefully, this type of behavior will now be put behind us."

FBI officials declined to discuss the discrimination claims. But the agency said the settlement "reaffirms the FBI's commitment to reform of key aspects of its personnel system." It agreed to the settlement mainly to avoid the cost and time of trying a case that has already proved a major distraction, FBI officials and Justice Department lawyers said.

The black agents first sued the FBI in 1991. They reached a settlement three years later after a federal judge found that there was "statistical evidence of discrimination."

The FBI was supposed to institute a new personnel system by 1998, but the agents said it failed to do so. They went back to court that year and began a new round of negotiations.

The most significant difference between the pact--approved Monday by U.S. District Judge Thomas Hogan--and the initial agreement is that it requires the FBI for the first time to bring in an outside mediator to assess discrimination complaints.

That provision could open up the FBI to millions of dollars in liability. Black agents who can persuade a mediator that they were denied promotions or discriminated against because of their race are eligible for up to $300,000 apiece under federal law, plus any lost wages, the attorneys said.

"It is really unprecedented for the FBI to allow an outsider to decide a personnel issue within the agency," said Ron Schmidt, another attorney for the agents.

The agreement gives the FBI director the authority to overrule a mediator's decision.

The agreement also requires the FBI to change the way it selects bureau supervisors within the next three years and to pay the agents' legal fees to date, $230,000.

About 12% of the more than 10,000 current FBI agents are African American, the agents' attorneys said. A handful of black agents have pressed individual claims against the FBI in recent years.

In the most notorious case, former FBI agent Donald Rochon won a $1-million settlement from the government in the early 1990s. He said that when he worked in FBI offices in Chicago and Omaha, white agents pasted photographs of apes over the family pictures at his desk and subjected him to other racist treatment. Eight FBI employees were disciplined.



The discrimination alleged by the 500 black agents--most of whom are still working at the bureau--is more subtle, their lawyers said.

"There weren't any claims of a racially hostile environment," Schmidt said. "You have a situation here where it's not overt, but from the numbers we saw, we were convinced that there was a [racial] disparity in treatment. There was a substantial shortfall in the number of black promotions, for instance, and the government had no explanation for that."

Federal law-enforcement agencies have been hit with repeated claims of racial discrimination in recent years. In 1988, hundreds of Latino FBI agents won a discrimination suit against the bureau after alleging that they were routinely given demeaning assignments on the "Taco Circuit."






http://www.workers.org/2017/05/18/the-f ... XAY8bEpChA

The FBI is a racist sewer
By Stephen Millies posted on May 18, 2017
Longtime FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover hated the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and wanted him dead. Hoover called Dr. King “the most notorious liar in the country” at a Nov. 18, 1964, news conference. Hoover was furious the Black leader had just won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The FBI boss organized a slander campaign and had his No. 3 man, William Sullivan, write a letter to King urging him to commit suicide. (New York Times, Nov. 11, 2014)

“There is abundant evidence of a major high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr.,” said Coretta Scott King in 1999. She spoke after a Memphis jury found the U.S. government guilty of conspiring to assassinate Dr. King. (newsone.com, 2014)

The campaign against Dr. King was part of Cointelpro, the FBI’s terror program against the Black liberation movement and communists. Anti-war activists were also targeted by the FBI.

Cointelpro coordinated the deadly campaign against the Black Panther Party in which at least 28 Panthers were killed. Among them were Fred Hampton and Mark Clark, who were murdered in Chicago on Dec. 4, 1969. Decades later, Dr. Mutulu Shakur and other Black Panther Party members are still imprisoned.

Hoover died in 1972, and the FBI claims Cointelpro was terminated in 1971. But the agency’s railroading of dissidents to prison never ended.

American Indian Movement leader Leonard Peltier was framed by the FBI in 1976, and is still in jail. The FBI helped jail Puerto Rican liberation fighter Oscar López Rivera, who has just been released after 35 years in prison.

On May 13, 1985, the FBI worked with Philadelphia police to drop a bomb on the MOVE house. Six adults and five children were killed.

The FBI was no different under Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump on May 9. Comey continued the racist entrapment of Muslims and Palestinians.

Comey even claimed that police were hindered by a “viral video effect” because they were being filmed while brutalizing people. Comey was endorsing the bogus “Ferguson Effect,” which blames the Black Lives Matter movement for a supposed increase in street crime since 2014. (New York Times, May 11, 2016)

Frame-up agency

From its inception the FBI was used to crush any resistance to capitalism. William J. Burns — head of the strikebreaking Burns Detective Agency — was FBI director from 1921 to 1924.

At the time, judges were issuing union-busting injunctions. A 1922 strike of workers in railroad shops was crushed. But Burns had to be dropped because he was tied to the corrupt Warren G. Harding administration’s Teapot Dome scandal.

Burns’ No. 2 man, J. Edgar Hoover, took over. Hoover had helped carry out the roundups and deportations of communists in the 1919-1920 “Palmer raids,” named after President Woodrow Wilson’s attorney general, Alexander Palmer.

Just like today, immigrant workers were under attack. Among them were the Italian-born anarchist labor organizers Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. They were framed for a payroll robbery in which a guard was killed in Massachusetts.

Despite affidavits by ex-FBI agents Lawrence Letherman and Fred J. Weyand stating that the bureau knew that Sacco and Vanzetti were innocent, the two were executed on Aug. 23, 1927.

The first struggle that Sam Marcy, founding chairperson of Workers World Party, participated in was to stop these Italian-American heroes from being murdered. Although the worldwide movement wasn’t able to stop their execution, it was an inspiration for the successful effort to save the lives of the African-American Scottsboro defendants in the 1930s.

Hoover helped instigate the anti-communist witch-hunt that dominated U.S. political life in the late 1940s and throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. Thousands of activists lost their jobs and dozens were jailed, including Ben Davis, the communist New York City councilperson from Harlem.

The height of the “red scare” was the execution of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg on June 19, 1953. Framed on phony charges of giving “atomic secrets” to the Soviet Union, the FBI used perjured testimony to convict them. In his eulogy at the Rosenbergs’ funeral, W.E.B. Du Bois declared these martyrs died because “they would not lie.”

The FBI has been







http://www.idsnews.com/article/2017/07/ ... s-2020-bid

EDITORIAL: Candice Jackson should resign from the Department of Education








https://ktar.com/story/1662421/charges- ... city-jail/

Charges mount in corruption probe at Kansas City jail


JULY 19, 2017 AT 2:10 PM
UPDATED: JULY 19, 2017 AT 2:38 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo

A federal crackdown on alleged bribery-related smuggling of such contraband as cigarettes, cell phones and prescription drugs into the county jail in Kansas City, Missouri, has expanded with indictments accusing a fifth person and adding more charges against the previous four suspects.

A criminal complaint last month had accused Jackson County Detention Center corrections officers Andrew Dickerson and Jalee Fuller, inmate Carlos Hughley, and Fuller and Hughley’s friend Janikkia Carter of one count of telephone use to further unlawful activity, in this case corruption.

But a federal indictment Tuesday accuses those four of conspiracy and charges Carter and Hughley with three counts each of the unlawful telephone use charges. The indictment added Marion Byers — another Fuller and Hughley acquaintance — and charges him with two telephone-related counts.

A separate indictment accuses Dickerson of conspiracy and three more counts involving telephone use to further criminal activity.

Hughley, who prosecutors have said is the father of Fuller’s recently born child, had been awaiting trial on charges of domestic assault, armed criminal action, resisting arrest and multiple counts of distributing controlled substances. Dickerson no longer is employed with the county, and Fuller is on unpaid administrative leave.

Messages left Wednesday by The Associated Press with the defendants’ attorneys were not immediately returned.

Last month’s original charges related to a raid of the jail by roughly 200 law enforcers, including the FBI. An FBI investigation that began two years ago focused on excessive use of force by guards on prisoners before expanding to other areas, with previous searches having uncovered drugs, weapons and other contraband.

Authorities have said in court filings that an inmate’s relative who was acting as an informant paid bribes and provided cellphones and cigarettes that Dickerson and Fuller smuggled into the facility in May and June. The contraband then was delivered to an inmate who also was acting as an informant, the affidavit said.

Tuesday’s indictment alleges that Dickerson took part in a bribery and contraband-smuggling plot from May 2 to June 26, promoting the scheme through telephone calls and texts. Authorities allege Dickerson smuggled cell phones and other contraband to the lockup’s inmates, telling one of them that he would ensure that inmate was the only one on the floor to get bootleg cigarettes, narcotics, drugs and telephones if the inmate paid him $2,500 a month.

During that same time, the indictment alleges, Fuller, Carter, Hughley and Byers engaged in a separate, similar bribery and smuggling scheme. At one time, according to the indictment, Fuller — with help from Carter and Byers — smuggled a cell phone, charger and 15 anti-anxiety medications to an inmate for $300.
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Sat Jul 22, 2017 11:25 am

Link du jour
https://animalliberationpressoffice.org ... n-the-u-s/



http://copwatch505.blogspot.com



http://sharkhunters.com/NEWS.htm

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/s ... -1.3345978


https://animalliberationpressoffice.org/NAALPO/archive/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... i-spam-jam


https://books.google.com/books?id=-EsTD ... bi&f=false

http://morrisyachts.com




video just released today
I have been trying to contact Greer for over 1 year

this man is the real deal

US government dealing heroin and cocaine
is about 1/4 of the way in 25 minutes or so

google title if link is changed

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PeITXfEh5bQ


title

steven greer ufo truth forbidden knowledge july 21 2017



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... d-shooting


'Never been about race': black activists on how Minneapolis reacted to Damond shooting
Some questioned whether activists had protested less over the death of a White Australian woman. Friday night’s anger at mayor Betsy Hodges and the departure of the city’s police chief answered that





http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20170 ... e-lawsuits


San Bernardino County settles for $2.75 million in 3 jail abuse lawsuits

POSTED: 07/21/17, 7:40 PM PDT
On July 11, the county settled for $2.5 million with 32 plaintiffs represented by Victorville attorneys Jim Terrell, Sharon Brunner and Stanley Hodge and Woodland Hills attorney Dale Galipo.

On June 27, the county settled with plaintiff Eric Smith, one of the first inmates to report the alleged abuse, for $175,000.



And on June 21, the county settled with plaintiff Armando Marquez for $70,000.

Among the allegations, inmates claimed they were subject to Taser gun torture and brutal pat-down searches their attorneys characterized as sodomy.

The allegations prompted the terminations of seven sheriff’s deputies and sweeping reforms and security upgrades at the jail, one of four in the county operated by the Sheriff’s Department.

“Back in March of 2014, Sheriff John McMahon went public and made it clear that he was not going to tolerate any misconduct by department personnel when this incident broke out,” sheriff’s Lt. Sarkis Ohannessian said in a statement. “The department and the FBI fully cooperated to ensure a comprehensive investigation was completed.”

Within a month of the investigation, rookie deputies Brock Teyechea, Andrew Cruz and Nicholas Oakley were no longer employed by the department. As the investigation continued into October 2014, deputies Robert Escamilla, Russell Kopasz, Robert Morris and Eric Smale were placed on paid administrative leave. They are no longer with the department, Ohannessian said.

“The clients were glad that the major people involved are no longer in law enforcement,” said Terrell, who along with Brunner and Hodge were among the first to file lawsuits after the allegations surfaced.

Terrell said the criminal backgrounds of his clients posed challenges with putting the case in front of a jury. He said the settlement moved forward quickly when his team brought on board Galipo, a veteran trial attorney specializing in police excessive-force cases.

Galipo said in a telephone interview his clients could have possibly received a bigger jury award at trial, but it would have been a gamble.

“Hopefully this is a wake-up call for the detention center that has had a host of inmate abuse problems in the past,” Galipo said. “I can tell you, if it continues to go on, it’s going to be hard for them to say, ‘Gee, we didn’t know this was going on.’ It’s going to be more difficult for them to defend themselves.”


Sheriff’s officials maintain the abuse by deputies was an isolated incident and not suggestive of an institutional problem. The department attributed the problems to prison realignment, which was implemented in 2011 and shifted many inmates serving longer sentences into county jails instead of state prison. Sheriff’s officials said it led to sharp increases in both inmate-on-inmate violence and confrontations between inmates and deputies.

“Today, our deputies in our corrections bureau continue to receive training in the proper procedures for dealing with inmates who have a higher criminal sophistication today than ever before due to the state prison realignment,” Ohanessian said.

Since 2014, more than 350 security cameras have been installed at the jail, which Ohanessian said will hold deputies and inmates more accountable for their actions. Additionally, he said the jail has added more medical staff and sergeants to provide better care and supervision.

Brunner, one of the defense attorneys, also said the process for inmates filing grievances at the jail has improved.

She said in a telephone interview she hopes that the substantial number of inmates who sued sends a message to the county and its Sheriff’s Department that such abuses cannot, and will not, be tolerated.

“We hold out hope and faith that the FBI will come back and there will be some indictments and charges against these deputies,” Brunner said.

FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said its more than three-year investigation, which prompted the impaneling of a federal grand jury, continues.

Attorneys for Eric Smith and Armando Marquez, the other two inmates whose lawsuits were settled, did not return telephone calls and emails seeking comment.

Meanwhile, other lawsuits are ongoing or pending.

Riverside attorney Robert McKernan is representing four inmates: Daniel Vargas, Anthony Gomez, Mario Villa and Keith Courtney.

McKernan said all four plaintiffs have agreed to a settlement offer by the county, and the paperwork is being forwarded to County Counsel for execution.

The case of inmate Cesar Vasquez, whose lawsuit was filed in August 2014 and was amended July 7, is currently scheduled for trial on July 10, 2018, his attorney, Scott Eadie, said in a telephone interview Friday.

Vasquez, a former food server at the jail, was among a bevy of inmates who alleged deputies engaged in a hazing ritual of Taser gun torture with “chow servers,” who received special privileges at the jail including more food and the ability to move more freely through their cell blocks.

Among Vazquez’s allegations is that fired Deputy Oakley had inmate Lamar Graves use his phone to shoot video of Oakley stunning Vazquez with his Taser in a utility closet, away from view of security cameras.

Eadie said he has subpoenaed the FBI for the video.





https://www.desmogblog.com


Saturday, July 22, 2017 - 07:36 • BEN JERVEY
Koch Front Group, Fueling US Forward, Bashes Electric Car Tax Credits in Latest Misleading Video
screenshot of electric car in Fueling US Forward video
Hot on the heels of its deceptive “Dirty Secrets of Electric Cars” video (which we debunked thoroughly, and others did too), the Koch-funded front group Fueling U.S. Forward has released a new video criticizing electric vehicle (EV) tax credits as a “massive wealth transfer from poor to rich.” It's time for another debunking!
READ MORE



Thursday, July 20, 2017 - 08:11 • MAT HOPE
New Lobby Group Tied to Brexit Climate Science Deniers and Koch Industries Pushes for Deregulation in Europe
Eu flag in front of statues
A new lobby group has appeared in Europe claiming to represent ‘consumers’. But a closer look reveals it is actually backed by some familiar groups known for their efforts to weaken climate and environmental regulations.

The Consumer Choice Centre (CCC) was set up in March 2017 and was promoted as “a grassroots-led movement” that “empowers consumers across the globe”.

But an investigation by Brussels think tank Corporate Europe Observatory suggests the CCC is actually working as a lobby group for a network pushing deregulation, while working closely with high-profile organisations including London-based think tank the Institute for Economic Affairs (IEA) and US oil billionaire Charles Koch.

READ MORE



http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/opinio ... -is-no-act


Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan: For actor Cromwell, the fight against fossil fuels is no act
POSTED: 07/21/17, 3:43 PM PDT | UPDATED:
By Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan

Democracy Now

Actor James Cromwell was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the hit movie “Babe,” and throughout his career for numerous Emmys. But on a cold December day in 2015, the drama he participated in was no act. Cromwell and five others were arrested in upstate Wawayanda, New York, protesting against the construction of a 650-megawatt fracked gas power plant. He and two others refused to pay their fines and were sentenced to a week behind bars. On Friday, July 14, the 77-year-old actor, along with Pramilla Malick and Madeline Shaw, a grandmother, surrendered themselves to the Orange County jail.


Cromwell is no stranger to protest. He was inspired by Southern civil-rights activists, and joined the anti-Vietnam War movement. He provided direct support for Black Panther activists targeted by the FBI’s illegal COINTELPRO program in the 1960s. A vegan, he has been arrested protesting the mistreatment of animals. This latest action and subsequent jailing, however, mark an escalation in his commitment to bring about revolutionary change.

“We are, all of us, engaged in a struggle, not to protect a way of life, but to protect life itself,” Cromwell told us on the “Democracy Now!” news hour the day before he was to report to jail. “Our institutions are bankrupt. Our leaders are complicit. And the public is basically disillusioned and disenchanted with the entire process.”

The Wawayanda gas-fueled power plant is owned by Competitive Power Ventures (CPV), which touts itself as a leader in “clean energy.” CPV is, in turn, owned by the multinational Global Infrastructure Partners, which has fossil-fuel projects around the globe. The Wawayanda plant is not complete yet, and Cromwell and others want to make sure it never is.

“We chained ourselves together with bicycle locks, and we blocked the entrance to the plant for — according to the prosecution, about 27 minutes. The judge and the prosecution seemed to imply that it made absolutely no difference. ... But it does make a difference,” Cromwell told us. “We’re trying to get out the message that this is one instance, but it is happening all around this country and all around the world.” The image of their arrest is chilling, with Cromwell surrounded by New York state troopers, one of whom is applying a massive bolt cutter to the lock around Cromwell’s neck.

“There is a direct link between that plant and the Middle East,” Cromwell said. “We’re at war not only with Iraq and Syria and Afghanistan and Yemen. We’re at war with Dimock, Pennsylvania, where the gas comes from, with Wawayanda, that uses the gas, with Seneca Lake, where it was to be stored, and with Standing Rock.” Cromwell explained why he risked arrest that day: “Most people can’t put their finger on the cause of it, but everybody perceives the threat. Capitalism is a cancer. And the only way to defeat this cancer is to completely, radically transform our way of living and our way of thinking about ourselves. And I call that radical transformation revolutionary. So this is the revolution.”


If the revolution Cromwell describes comes, it will erupt, in part, from the work of the countless local grass-roots groups that are springing up around the globe to address the growing catastrophe of climate change. Protect Orange County, founded by Pramilla Malick, is one of those groups, and is the organizing hub against the CPV plant.

Malick joined Cromwell in our studio, and described their strategy: “We actually can stop this. There’s one permit left. ... We are calling on everybody to demand of our governor, Governor Cuomo, to be a real climate leader and reject the permit for that last pipeline, the lateral pipeline, and to pull the plug on this plant.”

The protesters were released from jail on Monday, after three days of their seven-day sentence. “Going to jail is a statement about how we have to lift our game. It’s no more good enough just to picket and to petition, because nobody is listening. The way people get the message out is you do an act of civil disobedience,” Cromwell told us. “We have to change our relationship both to the planet and to the people who live on this planet, including the people who are opposing us.” James Cromwell has a commanding presence on the big screen, and will certainly continue practicing his craft. But the primary stage for this towering actor will be the streets, in what will likely be his life’s most demanding role.







http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc ... -1.3346390


Off-duty NYPD cop arrested after plowing into car, leaving scene of accident six months ago in Midtown
BY SHAYNA JACOBS THOMAS TRACY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Friday, July 21, 2017, 11:12 PM







https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2017/ ... nd/534555/


Postcards From Fantasyland

6:19 PM / July 21, 2017

Listening Closely to the Conspiracy-Theorist-in-Chief

The big hard-news takeaways of President Trump's interview with The New York Times this week were his trashing of his attorney general for being insufficiently corrupt, and the threats he made in the direction of the special counsel investigating him and his circle.

But I'm more interested in examining his mental tics, parsing how he thinks out loud, lying and fantasizing. In September I'm publishing Fantasyland: How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History—which concludes with an explanation of how Trump is the ultimate embodiment of several deep strains in America’s national character. So my reading of his conversation with the Times reporters focuses on his specifically Fantasyland traits—the insistence on blamelessness and imaginary conspiracies, the insecurity and braggadocio and narcissism, the ignorance and incoherence, how he's bedazzled by spectacle and show.

The core of his elaborate excuse for failing to pass health-care legislation, for instance, was that it had been impossible for the Clintons a quarter-century ago and hard for Obama in 2010. "Hillary Clinton was in there eight years and they never got Hillarycare, whatever they called it at the time. I am not in here six months, and they’ll say, 'Trump hasn’t fulfilled his agenda.'" In fact, the Clinton administration gave up on health care after a year and a half. "I say to myself, wait a minute, I’m only here a very short period of time compared to Obama. How long did it take to get Obamacare?" Fourteen months, he was informed. "So he was there for more than a year."

Embedded in the health-care apologia was a perfectly incoherent Trumpian digression: "Obama worked so hard," he said. "I mean, ended up giving away the state of Nebraska. They owned the state of Nebraska. Right. Gave it away. Their best senator did one of the greatest deals in the history of politics. What happened to him?" Apparently somebody informed the president that in 2009, Nebraska's Democratic Senator Ben Nelson made a pork-barrel deal to vote yes on an Obamacare procedural vote. But Trump's retelling of the story is both entirely incoherent and wrong: In no sense have Democrats "owned" Nebraska, Nelson's deal was rescinded, and he had scant influence or seniority and decided left the Senate three years later.

Again and again in the conversation Trump defaulted to conspiracy theories. When he was asked about Donald Trump Jr.'s email exchange setting up the June 2016 meeting with the four or five well-connected Russians, Trump replied with a tale that Fox News had sluiced into the right-wing media stream just the day before. "Well, Hillary did the reset. Somebody was saying today, and then I read, where Hillary Clinton was dying to get back with Russia. Her husband made a speech, got half a million bucks while she was secretary of state. She did the uranium deal, which is a horrible thing, while she was secretary of state, and got a lot of money. She was opposing sanctions. She was totally opposed to any sanctions for Russia … I just saw it. I just saw it. She was opposed to sanctions, strongly opposed to sanctions on Russia."

After the takeover of Crimea in 2014, Clinton supported and the Obama administration enacted sanctions on Russia. "This is post-Crimea?" one of the reporters asked. In reply, Trump simply babbled.

"I don’t really know. … But in that time. And don’t forget, Crimea was given away during Obama. Not during Trump. In fact, I was on one of the shows, I said they’re exactly right, they didn’t have it as it exactly. But he was—this—Crimea was gone during the Obama administration."

When one of the interviewers returned to Trump Jr.’s email exchange about Russian election help, the president alluded to a different conspiracy theory.

"Well, I thought originally it might have had to do something with the payment by Russia of the D.N.C. Somewhere I heard that. Like, it was an illegal act done by the D.N.C., or the Democrats. That’s what I had heard. Now, I don’t know where I heard it, but I had heard that it had to do something with illegal acts with respect to the D.N.C. Now, you know, when you look at the kind of stuff that came out, that was, that was some pretty horrific things came out of that. But that’s what I had heard. But I don’t know what it means."

And right after that, when he brought up the intelligence "dossier" about Trump and Russia, the president introduced yet another paranoid theory, this time about why the FBI director briefed him about the dossier before it became public. "I think he shared it so that I would—because the other three people left, and he showed it to me … in my opinion, he shared it so that I would think he had it out there." As leverage? "Yeah, I think so."

Concerning James Comey he also illustrated how his astounding narcissism untethers him from the simplest empirical realities.

"You know," Trump said, out of the blue, "when he wrote me the letter, he said, 'You have every right to fire me,' blah blah blah. Right? … I said, that’s a very strange—you know, over the years, I’ve hired a lot of people, I’ve fired a lot of people. Nobody has ever written me a letter back that you have every right to fire me."

In fact, the letter, in which Comey wrote that he'd "long believed that a President can fire an FBI Director for any reason," was his exit memo to FBI colleagues.

When the Times reporters softly corrected the president, he resisted—"I thought it was to me, right?"—and never fully accepted the reality: "It might have been [to his staff]—It might have been. It was just a very strange letter to say that. What was the purpose in repeating that? Do you understand what I mean? Why would somebody say, 'He has every right to fire me,' bah bah bah. Why wouldn’t you just say, “Hey, I’ve retired …” In other words: Why would he refer to some principle that cut against his self-interest? And why wouldn't he just lie?

In Fantasyland I write about how America invented and dominated show business and mixed it into everything else, including presidential politics—even before we elected a president who was a WWE character and played himself for 15 years on reality TV. His minute-long reverie to the Times about this year's Bastille Day parade in Paris was telling in this regard.

"[I]t was one of the most beautiful parades I have ever seen … the Bastille Day parade was—now that was a super-duper—O.K. I mean, that was very much more than normal. They must have had 200 planes over our heads. Normally you have the planes and that’s it, like the Super Bowl parade. And everyone goes crazy, and that’s it. That happened for—






http://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/4- ... 0e0ecf7f51


4 Puerto Rico police officers indicted in corruption case

July 21, 2017
5:51 PM
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Four former or current Puerto Rico police officers have been indicted on allegations they stole more than five kilograms of cocaine from a man and then sold the drugs for profit.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday that the suspects brandished their weapons and told the man they had a search warrant as they arrived at his house in an official vehicle and an unmarked one. Authorities said the man’s family witnessed the 2013 incident.

Three of the suspects are former officers and one of them was still working for the police department’s drug and narcotics division. Th





https://www.courthousenews.com/fbi-orde ... s-request/


FBI Ordered to Work Faster on Filmmaker’s Records Request



July 21, 2017
WASHINGTON (CN) – A federal judge hastened completion of a documentary decades in the making about the FBI’s role in the Vietnam anti-war movement Thursday by ordering the agency to churn out nearly 3,000 pages of documents a month.


According to an internal policy, the FBI was only releasing requested records in chunks of 500 at a time to Nina Gilden Seavey, a filmmaker and professor at George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs.

At that rate, it would have taken nearly 17 years for the agency to hand over all 102,385 documents it says it found in response to numerous Freedom of Information Act requests she started filing in 2013.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler’s ruling issued Thursday called the FBI’s policy “untenable.”

For Seavey, the prospect of waiting nearly two decades for the information needed to complete her film was daunting.

“I’m 60 years old,” Seavey said in a phone interview. “I mean, let’s be real,” she added, trailing off with laughter.

Seavey had asked the FBI for information on “individuals, organizations, events, publications, and file numbers” relating to the agency’s involvement in the anti-war movement, looking particularly at St. Louis in the 1960s and 1970s.

She will use the records to complete “My Fugitive,” a film she’s already been working on for decades.

The FBI had argued that its policy is ideal, fair and necessary to meet the growing demands of FOIA requests, which are increasing in number, size and complexity.

It also said its 500-page-per-month policy prevented large requests from monopolizing its limited resources, which the agency said would hamper its ability to process smaller ones.

But these arguments failed to persuade Judge Kessler, who said they lacked merit.

“In the name of reducing its own administrative headaches, the FBI’s 500-page policy ensures that larger requests are subject to an interminable delay in being completed,” she wrote in a 12-page ruling. “Under the 500-page policy, requestors must wait 1 year for every 6,000 potentially responsive documents, and those who request tens of thousands of documents may wait decades.”

Based on the number of documents the FBI said it could process, Kessler found that the agency failed to show that handling large requests more expediently would prevent it from fulfilling smaller ones.

“If the FBI truly has the capacity to process 17,000,000 pages per year, it is hard to understand how a request for 100,000 pages (or even several such requests) could monopolize its workload,” the opinion states. “If that is the case, then the FBI’ s steadfast determination to make Professor Seavey wait decades for documents to which she is statutorily entitled is simply incomprehensible.” (Parentheses in original.)

Kessler ordered the FBI to start processing Seavey’s request at a rate of at least 2,850 pages per month.

Seavey said she believes Kessler’s willingness to tackle the FBI’s 500-page-per-month processing policy head-on will benefit other FOIA requesters.

“Yesterday’s ruling is precedent for all of these future cases,” Seavey said.

In a prior ruling in May, Kessler had granted Seavey’s request for a fee waiver. Without that, she would have been on the hook for thousands of dollars to get the documents.

“I kind of thought that was our big win,” Seavey said. “Where would I get thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to pay the government for documents that should be readily available to the American public.”

Seavey said that she is thrilled with the latest ruling, which will enable her to get her hands on all of the documents in three years instead of 17.

“It was literally the shot of adrenaline that the film needed,” Seavey said. “This is the hastening that a filmmaker needs. If we had continued with the 500 pages a month, it literally would have brought production to a halt.”

On a daily basis, Seavey said she pours over the documents the FBI has already given her.

“Literally every day I am finding things that are gobsmacking about the government’s activities,” she said, adding that some of what she’s found relates to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. However, she declined to give specifics.

The FBI declined to comment on




http://deadline.com/2017/07/bellum-ente ... 202133386/



Crime Experts On Bellum Entertainment Shows Halt Work Until Back ...
Deadline
Former FBI special agent Tim Clemente and his associates at XG Productions have worked on more than 100 true-crime shows for Bellum Entertainment, ...




https://www.barnesandnoble.com/p/brandi ... kid=3x2782

Branding Hoover's FBI: How the Boss's PR Men Sold the Bureau to America
by Matthew Cecil

"Branding Hoover’s FBI is a path-breaking assessment of former FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover’s public relations initiatives. Cecil’s brilliantly researched study documents Hoover’s success in transforming the image of the FBI from a minor and suspect to a powerful and autonomous agency, in the process reshaping American politics in the twentieth century. His thoughtful monograph has particular contemporary relevance highlighting how control over information undermined a constitutional system based on accountability and transparency." —Athan Theoharis, author of The FBI and American Democracy: A Brief Critical History





http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/t ... -1.3347128

Texas deputy charged with murder along with her husband in strangulation death has been fired: officials


Saturday, July 22, 2017, 8:52 AM


HOUSTON - A Texas sheriff's deputy who was indicted along with her husband on murder charges in the death of a man they confronted outside a restaurant has been fired, authorities announced Friday.

Harris County Sheriff's Deputy Chauna Thompson's firing came after the conclusion of an internal affairs probe which followed complaints by the victim's family that the investigation into the man's death was mishandled.





http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/21/91 ... hs-police/

Minnesota police shooting isn’t only death of 911 caller


Hundreds march from the site of ...
Aaron Lavinsky, Star Tribune via AP Hundreds march from the site of Justine Damond’s shooting to Beard’s Plaissance Park during a march in honor of Damond Thursday, July 20, 2017, in Minneapolis. Damond, of Australia, was shot and killed by a Minneapolis police officer on Saturday, July 15 after calling 911 to report what she believed was a possible assault.

July 21, 2017 at 11:51 pm
WASHINGTON — The fatal shooting of an unarmed Australian woman in Minnesota isn’t by any means the first-time police in the U.S. have mistakenly killed someone who called them for help or to report a crime.

Officers around the nation have mistakenly slain or wounded people in other cases, including a pregnant Seattle mother shot to death earlier this year after reporting a break-in and a Georgia man who in 2014 reported that his girlfriend had been stabbed and was fatally shot by the responding officer.

The death of Justine Damond, who was white, comes after several years of public debate about police use of force following the video-recorded deaths of black men at the hands of officers.

“Mainstream America is now looking at this and saying, ‘Wow, we’ve got a problem,’ and yet it’s been going on over and over,” said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens.






http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/u ... -1.3346848

U.S. friendly-fire bombing kills 12 Afghan police
fruhmenschen
 
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Wed Jul 26, 2017 1:26 am

http://www.madcowprod.com/2017/07/24/ex ... more-14606

EXCLUSIVE: “8th Man was part Putin-Bush ‘Oligarch’s Ball’
Posted on July 24, 2017


When Russian Irakly “Ike” Kaveladze became the eighth and last participant identified last week attending Donald Trump Jr.’s June 2016 meeting with Russians in Trump Tower, many wondered if there might be a reason he’d been fingered last.

Turns out, there is. His “legend,” or cover story, cannot withstand close scrutiny. Kaveladze’s lawyer Scott Balber said last week his client attended the Trump Junior meeting with the Russians “just to make sure it happened.”




That would have been an odd mis-use of his talents. Because when Ike Kaveladze attended Donald Trump’s Jr’s meeting with the Russians last year, he brought to the table with him abundant experience with putting together oligarch-to-oligarch deals.

Was that why he was at Trump Towers?



Fake news is not just what gets reported, but what gets left out

In dozens of media profiles of Kaveladze which have appeared since he was identified last Tuesday, a big chunk of his known activity while in the U.S. has somehow been redacted.

Stories profiling Kaverladze begin with the extraordinary tale of congressional investigators discovering his money laundering in 2000.

“Seventeen years ago congressional investigators looking into money laundering stumbled upon an obscure Soviet-born financier who offered ‘special services’ to his Russian clients.”



That’s Ike. Citing a November 2000 Government Accountability Office report, the reports indicated that Kaveladze laundered $1.4 billion through more than 2,000 bank accounts he opened at two U.S. banks for Russian oligarchs.

Back in 2000, Kaveladze had blasted away at investigators using the same “Russian witch hunt” characterization President Trump uses 17 years later.

Now here’s the ‘tricky part. The timeline of Kaveladze’s history in the U.S leaps directly and inexplicably ahead from 2000 to the present. But there is something wrong here.

Kaveladze’s timeline doesn’t match his tick-tock.

“On Tuesday that man, Irakly Kaveladze, resurfaced as the latest foreign ‘guest’ on the ever-expanding list of participants to last year’s June 2016 meeting where Donald Trump Jr was hoping to get damaging information about Hillary Clinton.”

We don’t pretend to know why, but news report to date about the last man identified as being in the room with Donald Trump Jr and Russians and folders with TOP SECRET stickers on them, have all left out Kaveladze’s attendance at The Oligarch’s Ball.



The part they left out

Three years after successfully laundering $1.4 billion for the Russian Mob, Ike Kaveladze surfaced again in 2003. This time he was playing an important role in the sale of a U.S. company, Stillwater Mining, to Russia’s huge Norilsk Mining, which produces nickel, palladium, platinum, copper and cobalt.

In November 2002, Norilsk of Siberia, which is apparently located at the back-end of nowhere, even though its listed as one of the world’s most polluted places, announced its intention to buy Stillwater Mining of Montana—the U.S.’s only producer of palladium, used in catalytic converters, and found in only three places on the planet: the U.S. Russia, and South Africa— for $341 million.

Surprisingly, they were very quickly successful in purchasing controlling interest in the company.

The Norilsk-Stillwater deal was unprecedented in its scope and significance. It required strong lobbying in the U.S. with the Federal Trade Commission, and with an inter-agency body called the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which reviews foreign transactions which may have an effect on U.S. national security.



To help make it happen, President Bush flew to St Petersburg Russia on June 3, 2003 to help his friend Vladimir Putin celebrate his hometown’s 300th birthday. In a lunch in the Konstantin Palace the two men huddled over the terms of the deal.

Along with former Bush officials in the Carlyle Group, the sweetheart deal Kaveladze helped put together nearly passed unnoticed, because of the Iraq War.

But it outraged many industry observers. One of them, Andrew Meier, writing in Harpers magazine in April 2004, called what transpired “The Oligarch’s Ball.”

The subhead: “Washington’s plutocrats court their Russian counterparts.”



Thirst for oil, etc etc.

Washington-based private equity fund Carlyle Group, which boasted former Bush alumni like James Baker, as well as the former President himself, lost Arab investors after the 9/11 attack, who either withdrew their money or saw it returned when it became impolitic to hang on to.

Among them, Meier explained, was Shafiq Bin Laden, one of Osama’s numerous brothers.

America’s thirst for non-Arab oil was increasing exponentially at the same time. It prompted a fundamental shift in U.S. policy towards Russia. The oligarchs came alive, and quickly learned to thrive.

“They need the oligarchs now more than ever,” said a Moscow financier who has had longtime dealings with Carlyle. “They’re replacing the Bin Laden’s with the Potanin’s and the Khodorkovsky’s.”

The “Potanin’s” refers to the Kremlin’s favorite oligarch at the time, Vladimir Potanin, a 42-year old banker who, with a second Russian billionaire, Mikhail Prokhorov, jointly controlled the Norilsk metals empire.



Speaking as one oligarch to another

Mikhail Prokhorov has gone on to become the most famous Russian in Brooklyn, no mean feat. He currently owns the NBA’s also-ran Nets.

Donald Trump’s oligarch-to-oligarch deals may be more brazen, but oligarch-to-oligarch collusion under cover of government diplomacy has apparently been going on longer than many suspected.

“On the subject of oligarchs—the clutch of Russian ‘entrepreneurs’ who had seized the spoils of the Soviet state and become preposterously rich overnight—the governor of Texas railed against their contributions to Russia’s twin epidemics of crime and corruption,” Meier writes in the Oligarch Ball.

“The real fundamental question for Russia,” Bush told Jim Lehrer in 2000, “is what will Russian look like? A market economy? Or one of those economies where a favored few elite are able to put money in their own pockets? And it’s something that we need to be concerned about; something we need to watch very carefully.”

“That approach to the Bush Administration’s dealings with the oligarchs seems not to have lasted long. The administration, its corporate proxies, and even the president’s own father have been waging a campaign to charm the oligarchs, the same “favored few elite” candidates Bush had earlier discerned were the clear and present danger in the Russian morass.”



“Out of an abundance of caution.”

To ensure the historic union, Norilsk hired Baker Botts, the Houston-based law firm run by James A. Baker III. Andrew Meier called it “an instructive example of the oligarch’s new clout in Washington.”

Norilsk engaged two U.S. lobbyists to smooth the way for federal approval of the deal in the U.S. The men became two of the five nominees to the new Stillwater board of directors.

Atop the list was Craig Fuller, former chief of staff to George H.W. Bush, co-chair of the presidential transition team, and chairman of the 1992 Republican convention.

Largely unknown outside Washington, D.C. Fuller has been called one of the “most important Republicans alive.”

In addition to Fuller, the others were former Democratic Senator Donald W. Riegle Jr., Jack E. Thompson, Vice Chairman of Barrick Gold Corporation; and two experienced lawyers, Steven S. Lucas and Todd D. Schafer.

But not Ike Kaveladze. A Russian language press release headlined “Norilsk offers Steve Lucas to replace Ike Kaveladze on Stillwater Board” explained why.

“US citizen Irakly Kaveladze, a former classmate of the general director of Norilsk, Mikhail Prokhorov, was mentioned in 2000 in connection with money laundering through the Bank of New York. Therefore the Company decided not to take risks.”



“It’s a theater of financiers.”

Norilsk and Stillwater controlled over 50% of the palladium in the world. Yet U.S. Federal agencies rolled over and immediately signed off on the deal. The FTC even granted early termination of the waiting period for the transaction, and it closed on June 23, 2003.

About the only disgruntled parties were locals in Montana, where the Stillwater mines were located, along with many mining industry analysts. “Just ten years after the Cold War ended, our once-mortal enemy now stands to control half of the world’s supply of palladium with its foot right in America’s heartland,” wrote one.

In The Oligarch’s Ball” Meier wrote, “Since the days of the Romanov’s trade and commerce, Russia has followed a patriarchal model, in which courtiers who wish to succeed must “kiss the ring,” as Russians like to say.”

“The success of the Russian oligarchs abroad delivers a bitter and familiar lesson. Business and politics have always been inseparable in Russia…

“In America these days, things are not so very different.”



“Ecoutez and repetez!”

Since Kaveladze is a name we’ll be hearing often, getting it’s pronunciation right— it’s Kah-veh-LAHD’-zeh—may well separate the cognoscenti from those occupying cheaper seats in the coming circus.

Kaveladze’s lawyer Scott Balber said last week that his client attended the Trump Junior meeting with Russians “just to make sure it happened.”

Attorney Balber also said his client was “cooperating fully with investigators.”

But there is reason to doubt both statements. Ike himself was incommunicado. Or maybe he’d already fled the country. And attorney Balber often works for Donald Trump. He threatened to sue, on Donald’s behalf, HBO host Bill Maher for likening Trump to an orangutan. Cooler head prevailed.

As to the wheraqbouts of Ike, it certainly sounds as if he left town in a hurry.



“No one answered the door or the phone at Kaveladze’s three-story home in Huntington Beach,” reported the L.A. Times. “A dresser and other small pieces of furniture sat on the front lawn.”








Link du jour


http://www.davidyoungpoet.com/page8.html


http://www.latimes.com/business/technol ... story.html


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3354224

http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/07/19/ ... s-at-miff/


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3354740

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ntering-us



https://robertscribbler.com/2017/07/25/ ... f-warming/

More Fire and Anthrax for the Arctic: Study Finds 21 to 25 Percent of Northern Permafrost Will Thaw at Just 1.5 C of Warming
In the far north, the land is rippling, trembling, subsiding, and blowing up as greenhouse gasses are released from thawing frozen soil. Meanwhile, old diseases are being released from thawing carcasses and presenting a health hazard to locals. Strange processes that are likely to accelerate soon as global warming approaches 1.5 degrees Celsius and between 21 and 25.5 percent of all the vast region of Northern Permafrost thaws out.



(More methane blowholes like this one in Yamal are likely as permafrost thaw accelerates in the coming years and pockets of methane explosively remove the land above. How extensive permafrost thaw becomes is directly dependent on how much fossil fuel human societies decide to burn. Image source: The Siberian Times.)

Arctic Carbon Feedbacks Accelerating

Carbon feedbacks from the thawing permafrost are a serious concern. And they should be. There’s about 1,400 billion tons of carbon locked away in that massive region of frozen ground. More than twice the amount humans have already emitted into the atmosphere. And though frozen permafrost carbon stays locked away, thawed permafrost carbon tends to become biologically active — releasing into soils, the water and the air.

Already, this thawing has generated a worrying effect. During the 20th Century, it was estimated that about 500,000 tons of methane were released from the Siberian land-based permafrost region. By 2003, as this permafrost zone warmed, the annual rate of release was estimated to be 3.8 million tons per year. And by 2013, with still greater warming, the rate of release had grown to 17 million tons per year. This compares to a global emission of methane from all sources — both human and Earth System-based — of about 500 million tons per year.


(Megaslump craters like the one at Batagaika, formed by subsidence, are also a result of permafrost thaw. Such features are likely to grow and proliferate as the Earth warms and permafrost thaw expands.)

That’s a thirty-fold acceleration in the rate of Siberian permafrost methane emission over a little more than one generation. One that occurred as temperatures rose to about 1 C above 1880s averages and into a range not seen for about 150,000 years. It’s a warming that has produced visible and concerning geophysical changes throughout the Arctic permafrost environment. In Siberia, lands are subsiding even as more and more methane and carbon dioxide are leeching out. And in the Yamal region of Arctic Russia, temperatures warming into the upper 80s (30 C+) during summer appear to have set off a rash of methane eruptions from the soil even as ancient reindeer carcasses release anthrax spores into the environment as they thaw. From a report this week in The Guardian:

Long dormant spores of the highly infectious anthrax bacteria frozen in the carcass of an infected reindeer rejuvenated themselves and infected herds of reindeer and eventually local people. More recently, a huge explosion was heard in June in the Yamal Peninsula. Reindeer herders camped nearby saw flames shooting up with pillars of smoke and found a large crater left in the ground. Melting permafrost was again suspected, thawing out dead vegetation and erupting in a blowout of highly flammable methane gas.

21 to 25.5 Percent of Northern Permafrost Set to Thaw over Next Two Decades

In total, 14 methane blow out craters are now identified throughout the Yamal region. A testament to the growing carbon feedback coming from previously frozen and inactive stores.



(Permafrost losses are likely to be quite considerable over the coming decades — which is likely to produce serious knock-on effects for local and global environments. But continued fossil fuel burning through end Century produces more catastrophic results. Image source: Responses and changes in the permafrost and snow water equivalent in the Northern Hemisphere under a scenario of 1.5 C warming.)

But, unfortunately, these kinds of weird, disturbing, and often dangerous changes to northern environments are just a foreshadowing of more to come. For a recent scientific study has found that just 1.5 degrees Celsius worth of warming will force between 21 and 25.5 percent of the northern permafrost to thaw. A process that is already underway, but that will continue to accelerate with each 0.1 degree Celsius of additional warming. The study found that the faster human atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions build up, the more rapidly permafrost would thaw once the 1.5 C threshold was reached. Under a rapid human reduction of greenhouse gasses (RCP 2.6 scenario), permafrost thaw was reduced to 21 percent in the study. But under worst case human fossil fuel emissions (RCP 8.5 scenario), the accelerated rate of warming resulted in 25.5 percent permafrost thaw.

Perhaps more concerning was the fact that the study found that this 1.5 C temperature threshold was reached by as early as 2023 under the worst case fossil fuel burning scenario even as it was held off only to 2027 if rapid fossil fuel burning reductions were achieved. A broader sampling of studies and natural variability hold out some hope that 1.5 C might be pushed back to the early to mid 2030s in the absolute best case. However, considering the amount of human emissions already released and in the pipeline even under the best cases, it appears that crossing the 1.5 C threshold sometime in the near future is unavoidable at this time (barring some unforeseen massive global response and mobilization).



(Permafrost losses under different human emissions scenarios through 2100 show that continued fossil fuel burning results in between 47 and 87 percent loss of permafrost area by 2100 [RCP 4.5 and 8.5]. Image source: Responses and changes in the permafrost and snow water equivalent in the Northern Hemisphere under a scenario of 1.5 C warming.)

Overall, the study found that surface permafrost losses lagged the crossing of the 1.5 C threshold by only about 10 years. And that the lowest emissions scenarios (RCP 2.6) resulted in a leveling off of permafrost losses to 24 percent by 2100. Meanwhile, the worst case human greenhouse gas emissions scenarios (RCP 8.5) resulted in 87 percent permafrost area reductions by 2100.

Risk of Serious Carbon Feedback Far Worse With Fossil Fuel Burning

With so much carbon locked away in permafrost, heightened rates of thaw present a risk that longer term warming might eventually run away as millions and billions of tons of carbon are ultimately liberated. Under moderate to worst case human fossil fuel burning scenarios, it is estimated that permafrost carbon emissions could approach 1 billion tons per year or more. At about 10 percent or more of the present human emission, such a rate of release to the atmosphere is about equivalent to that achieved during the last hyper-thermal event of 55 million years ago (the PETM). Moreover, a heightened response by large methane stores could result in a more immediate warming effect as methane is 28 to 36 times more potent a heat trapping gas than carbon dioxide over Century time scales.

A risk of serious carbon feedbacks that accelerate rates of warming this Century and over the longer term is not inconsiderable even with a 24 percent loss of Permafrost under the best case scenario identified by this study. However, the likelihood of a much more serious feedback under continued fossil fuel burning is far more apparent.

(UPDATED)

Links:

Responses and changes in the permafrost and snow water equivalent in the Northern Hemisphere under a scenario of 1.5 C warming

All Hell Breaks Loose as Tundra Thaws

Permafrost Thaw to Blow Carbon Budget Faster Than We Would Expect

PETM Hyperthermal

Arctic Methane Emissions

RCP Scenarios

Hat tip to Spike





see link for full story




http://www.madcowprod.com/2017/07/21/ex ... mining-co/


EXCLUSIVE: ‘8th Man’ in mystery purchase of U.S. Mining Co.
Posted on July 21, 2017
It’s been widely reported that Irakly “Ike” Kaveladze, the “8th man” who attended the June 2016 meeting where Donald Trump Jr. was promised dirt on Hillary Clinton, had years earlier laundered $800 million through Citibank.



What’s remained unknown until now is that Citibank ALSO loaned the exact same amount, $800 million, to Kaveladze’s Russian oligarch boss at the time.



An itinerary that refuses to come into the light

At the now-famous confab in Trump Towers, Kaveladze was representing Russian billionaire Aras Agalarov, who was paid $20 million to bring Trump’s Miss Universe Pageant to his family’s Moscow concert hall in 2013.

Reports stated Kaveladze began working for Agalarov in the early 1990s. Federal investigators were said to believe he began laundering money shortly thereafter.

However Ike Kaveladze’s U.S. itinerary is far more mysterious than what’s been so far reported. Here’s what’s already known:

In 2000, Kaveladze incorporated 2000 shell companies in Delaware, then ran their deposits through either Citibank, which investigators concluded had laundered $800 million for unknown Eastern European and Russian “clients,” or Commercial Bank of San Francisco, which laundered an additional $600 million.

Kaveladze’s actions— caught laundering hundreds of million of dollars for the Russian Mob— became the subject of a Congressional investigation into how Russians were able to so easily launder billions through U.S. banks.



Overnight a bank disappears

According to a report from the Government Accountability Office, Kaveladze was a central figure in a near decade-long effort to launder $1.4 billion of Russian and Eastern European money through U.S. banks.

A Government Accountability Office report—requested by then-Sen. Carl Levin (D-Mich.)— concluded it was “relatively easy” for foreigners to use shell companies to open U.S. bank accounts and route hidden money through the American financial system.

When U.S. authorities discovered the scam, Commercial Bank immediately disappeared from existence.

Citibank, being somewhat larger (assets of S1.7 trillion), did not have that option. The bank was forced to scrape their feet in the dust, admitting a few “lapses” in deliberately vague press releases.

Sen. Levin, who retired in 2014, issued a statement on Tuesday calling Kaveladze a “poster child” for the practice of using shell companies to launder dirty money.

Disquieting news: Neither Kaveladze nor either of the two U.S. bank were ever charged with any crime. “Lapses” allowing the laundering of $800 million of unknown money apparently don’t even rise to the level of nuisance crime.



Citibank “dances with bears”

Kaveladze surfaced again several years later. The Mining Journal, a trade publication, reported on April 11, 2003:

“Metals producer MMC Norilsk Nickel of Russia has named five nominees to the board of Stillwater Mining Co. in respect of its proposed acquisition of a 51% interest in the US-based company.”

Kaveladze was working in the U.S. for another Russian oligarch, Vladimir Potanin, when he engaged two U.S. lobbyists, one a prominent Republican, the other a former Democratic Senator, to smooth the way for federal approval of the purchase of U.S. mining company Stillwater by Potanin’s Norilsk Mining, Russia’s largest, producing nickel, palladium, platinum, copper and cobalt.



One month before that purchase, in February 2003, Citibank loaned Norilsk Nickel $50 million, tightly secured by the export sale of nickel, and already the object of due diligence over many months by no less than ten other banks.

Eyebrows were raised a year later Citibank loaned Potanin’s Norilsk $800 million. Several years earlier, while head of Russian bank Uneximbank, Potanin had “defaulted” on billions of dollars of obligations, which is not a usual resume item for someone finding himself at the center of one of the largest Russian offshore transactions to date, and the largest-ever Russian borrowing from Citibank at that time.



Collateral is out. Kompromat is in

“Citibank’s credit committee and legal department wouldn’t readily approve lending $800 million to Potanin without trusting him,” said Moscow business journalist John Helmer, whose “Dances with Bears” website covers the Russian mining industry.

“Citibank had never loaned Norilsk more than $50 million before. That loan, in February 2003, was tightly secured by the export sale of nickel. Also, it had been the object of a due diligence effort over many months by no less than ten other banks.”

Citibank executives privately admitted to Helmer that they secured the $800 million loan from Citibank only with Norilsk’s guarantee to repay out of metal sales.

“Potanin’s intentions were plain,” Helmer reported. “He was trying to move the mining assets he secured by rigged privatization in the 1990’s beyond the reach of the Russian government.”



“The Perestroika 5K”

Ike Kaveladze first surfaced in American life during the summer of 1989, when he ran in a race in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania named “The Perestroika 5k” in his honor. Judith Ann Flinchbaugh from Gettysburg’s second husband was the director of the Gettysburg 5k race program.

When she died four years later, she named her two sons as her survivors, as well as Irakly Kaveladze, listed as her adopted son.

A few years later, on July 6, 1993, Kaveladze made news again. This time it was because it was hot in New York City. “As the city plunges into another heat wave this week, New Yorkers are seeking refuge from the sauna-like weather wherever they can find it,” reported Newsday.

“Nearby, in Central Park yesterday, some park-goers found shaded spots, under trees and on the grass. Others escaped the heat on the deck of the Boathouse Café, sipping a cool drink.

“But yesterday’s heat didn’t seem to deter the cyclists, joggers and roller-bladers roller-blading in Central Park. “For me, it’s a better workout,” said a breathless Ike Kaveladze, 28, who was roller-blading past the Great Lawn. “The hotter the day, the more weight I lose.”

Early on Kaveladze was involved with classic nested Russian dolls, called Matryoshkas, that reflect something of the nature of the Trump-Russia scandal itself. Billionaire Aras Agalarov set up a company to manufacture the dolls in Moscow and export them to the U.S.

Today it seems an odd coincidence—or something worse—that Citibank in 2004 loaned Ike Kaveladze’s Russian oligarch boss the exact same amount that Kaveladze had years earlier laundered through the bank.

Kaveladze has been under a harsh public spotlight before, but never one this incandescent. Is there something in Ike Kaveladze’s background that made Citibank’s $800 million loan in 2004 less risky?

It’s time to take a closer look at the two American political operatives who worked with the money laundering team to win quick federal approval of the Russian purchase of Stillwater Mining, a strategic U.S. mining company.

NEXT: MEET THE BOYS BEHIND THE BORSCHT BOYS






http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3352488


'Police Easily Startled' warning signs pop up around Minneapolis after Justine Damond shooting


BY CHRISTOPHER BRENNAN
Monday, July 24, 2017, 8:43 PM




http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html

Bill Cosby accuser arrested on heroin charge at San Diego County jail







http://www.guns.com/2017/07/25/former-p ... -vehicles/



police chief gets 2 months for stealing impounded guns ...
Guns.com-
He also admitted to lying to an FBI special agent conducting an investigation into the missing property, claiming he had bought one of the impounded vehicles ...




FBI Octopus

http://www.statesman.com/news/local/clo ... qvhnhqLSK/

'A Closer Walk with Patsy Cline' tops Lake Travis area events
Austin American-Statesman-
Aug. 16. Lakeway Men's Breakfast Club meeting: 7 a.m. at the Lakeway Activity Center, 105 Cross Creek. Robert Baker, FBI agent, will be the featured speaker.



http://www.whec.com/news/retired-fbi-sp ... n/4552844/

Retired FBI Special Agent named Grand Marshal Watkins Glen race
News 10NBC-2
WATKINS GLEN, N.Y. (July 25, 2017) – Zippo Manufacturing Company has named retired FBI Special Agent Wesley Wong grand marshal of the NASCAR ...

During a 30-year career with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Wong was involved in the investigations of John Gotti, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, TWA 800, the 2000 Millennium bomb plot, and 9/11, where he was the senior FBI on-scene commander at Ground Zero and subsequently set-up the largest fusion center in the Bureau’s history.



https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/ ... l-obituary


Clancy Sigal obituary
US journalist, novelist and political activist blacklisted in Hollywood during the 1950s who fled to London, where he became a darling of the left



Tuesday 25 July 2017 08.06 EDT Last modified on Tuesday 25 July 2017 12.19 EDT

The work of the American novelist, journalist and essayist Clancy Sigal, who has died aged 90, was much admired and discussed – particularly in leftwing circles – over the course of six decades. His best known book, the novel Going Away (1961), featured a politically blacklisted Hollywood agent on a cross-country journey from Los Angeles to New York, observing with sagacity the experiences both of ordinary people and of the protagonist himself.

The novel was largely autobiographical: Clancy himself had been blacklisted in Hollywood, where he worked as a talent agent, and, in the 1950s, had spent a period on the run from J Edgar Hoover’s FBI agents. At the end of that decade he fled to London, where he began a relationship with the novelist Doris Lessing and became a darling of the London left.

Thereafter, with periods spent between the UK and the US, he wrote novels, aligned himself with political causes, became involved with the radical psychiatrist RD Laing, contributed comment pieces, columns and book reviews to various newspapers, including the Guardian and the New York Review of Books, and wrote screenplays, notably for the 2002 film Frida.


Clancy acquired his chutzpah and resilience in 30s Chicago, where he was born as the result of an illicit affair between Leo Sigal and Jennie Persily, both labour organisers. Leo was almost entirely absent from Clancy’s upbringing and he was raised by his tough Jewish mother, who managed to earn a precarious living from union activities in a neighbourhood blighted by gangsters, poverty and violence.

After school he was drafted into the US Infantry, where he trained to fight in the Battle of the Bulge and retrained after VE Day for the expected invasion of Japan that never happened. He was then posted as a sergeant to occupied Germany, attending the Nuremburg war trials and determined (he insisted later) to shoot Hermann Göring.



After being demobbed Clancy returned home to become an organiser for the Detroit auto workers’ union, only to find himself expelled during one of the early cold war purges of communists and fellow travellers. He hitchhiked to Los Angeles, attracted by the promise of golden age Hollywood, where he attended UCLA and found success working as a talent agent, hustling in the day and, in his own words, playing the radical Scarlet Pimpernel by night. However, he was fired when Harry Cohn, president of Columbia Pictures, discovered him using the studio mimeograph to run off subversive leaflets.

Now blacklisted and under the shadow of FBI surveillance, he travelled to Britain via Paris, where he had dug his sharp elbows into the set around Simone de Beauvoir and Jean-Paul Sartre and dived headlong into the violent street politics whipped up by the Algerian war of independence.



http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/co ... 64501.html


Judge to rule on 'calm' 911 call made by Martens to report death
Independent.ie-Jul 24, 2017
Molly Martens-Corbett (33) and her father, retired FBI agent Thomas Michael Martens (67), both deny the killing of Irish businessman Jason Corbett (39) two ...






http://www.wnyc.org/story/nj-assemblyma ... us-breach/



A New Jersey Democrat is drafting a bill in response to a WNYC report about the unusual arrangement between Governor Chris Christie and his Bridgegate attorney, Christopher Wray, who President Trump has nominated to lead the FBI.

Documents obtained by WNYC show that Wray secretly started representing Christie, at a $2 million cost to taxpayers, in September 2014. But it wasn't until 11 months later, in August 2015, that Wray and Christie signed a legally-required retainer agreement.

Legal experts said that lag time is unusual and unethical.

New Jersey Assemblyman John Wisniewski questions why Christie, who was preparing to run for president at the time, hid Wray's public job as the governor's criminal attorney.



http://dailycaller.com/2017/07/25/wasse ... e-country/


Wasserman Schultz’s IT Aide Arrested At Airport After Transferring $300k To Pakistan From House Office

5:41 PM 07/25/2017

Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s top information technology (IT) aide was arrested attempting to leave the country just a few hours after The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group revealed that he is the target of an FBI investigation.

The employee, Imran Awan, had wired $283,000 from the Congressional Federal Credit Union in a House office building to two individuals in Pakistan. Credit union officials permitted the wire to go through, and his wife has already fled the country to Pakistan, after police confronted her at the airport and found $12,000 in cash hidden in her suitcase but did not stop her from boarding.

“On January 18, 2017 at 12:09 pm, an international wire transfer request form was submitted [at the Congressional Federal Credit Union] at the Longworth House Office Building in the District of Columbia, in the amount of $283,000.00, to two individuals in Faisalabad, Pakistan,” according to an affidavit obtained by TheDCNF.

Imran Awan, a Pakistani-born IT aide, had access to all emails and files of dozens of members of Congress, as well as the password to the iPad that Wasserman Schultz used for Democratic National Committee business before she resigned as its head in July 2016.

––




In March, his wife Hina Alvi, who also was on the House payroll, withdrew her children from school and left the country, the affidavit says. The Capitol Police confronted her at the airport but could not stop her. “U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted a search of Alvi’s bags immediately prior to her boarding the plane and located a total of $12,400.00 in U.S. cash inside. Alvi was permitted to board the flight to Qatar and she and her daughters have not returned to the United States,” the affidavit says. “Alvi had numerous pieces of luggage with her, including cardboard boxes… Your affiant does not believe that Alvi has any intention to return to the United States.”
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Fri Jul 28, 2017 7:21 pm

scroll down


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/liv ... ouse-fired


Police laugh as Trump condones police brutality




http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing- ... s-with-fbi

Watchdog group calls for probe of Scaramucci's contacts with FBI, Justice Dept.
BY MAX GREENWOOD - 07/28/17 04:22 PM EDT 54



http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-plot-t ... er/5544005

MLK Day: The Plot to Kill Martin Luther King: Survived Shooting, Was Murdered in Hospital

Martin Luther King was murdered in a conspiracy that was instigated by then FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. Review of William Pepper's Book




http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/tim ... k_20170727



Time to Reassess the Roles Played by Guccifer 2.0 and Russia in the DNC ‘Hack’

Posted on Jul 27, 2017

By Scott Ritter



Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, D.C., in June 2016. (Paul Holston / AP)

Editor’s note: The writer is a member of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), but he was not a signer of the July 24 memorandum that figures prominently in this article.

The current American political canonical theology holds as an incontrovertible truth that Russia meddled in the 2016 presidential election. According to this dogma, which has been actively promulgated by former and current government officials and echoed by an unquestioning mainstream media, Russian intelligence services, directed by President Vladimir Putin, conducted cyber-operations against targets associated with the U.S. election for the purpose of denigrating the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, to help her opponent, Donald Trump.

Adherence to this conclusion is mandatory, lest one be accused of challenging the gospel according to the U.S. intelligence community. “Russia did it,” Rep. Ted Lieu, a California Democrat who serves on the House Judiciary and the Foreign Affairs committees, has declared. “There’s no rational person who looked at evidence and concluded otherwise.”




While Rep. Lieu himself is not on the House Intelligence Committee and, as such, has not seen the evidence he cites, his fellow representative, Adam Schiff, the Democratic co-chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has. When President Trump dared question the findings of the U.S. intelligence community on Russia, Schiff lashed out. “The president’s comments … casting doubt on whether Russia was behind the blatant interference in our election and suggesting—his own intelligence agencies to the contrary—that nobody really knows, continue to directly undermine U.S. interests.”
It was with some interest, therefore, that I read a memorandum published earlier this week by a group of retired intelligence professionals who, like the president, dare to challenge the conventional wisdom of attributing to Russia the cyberattacks against the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2016 and the subsequent release of information obtained for the ostensible purpose of harming the candidacy of Clinton. This group, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), used a portion of its collective experience to closely examine a forensic analysis of metadata-related information that the U.S. intelligence community and its supporters in Congress claimed was “hacked” by Russia. Documents from the DNC were copied by the persona Guccifer 2.0 on July 5, 2016, collated on Sept. 1 and released to select members of the press on Sept. 13.

The men and women who compose VIPS have, in their prior lives, briefed U.S. presidents and members of Congress. They have served as national intelligence officers, FBI special agents, CIA case officers, National Security Agency (NSA) technical directors, Defense Intelligence Agency and State Department analysts, and more. Their expertise is drawn from decades of highly sensitive work within the three agencies—the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the NSA—responsible for preparing the U.S. intelligence communities’ assessment of Russian meddling and within most, if not all, of the other agencies that make up the U.S. intelligence community.

These are rational people whose collective body of work has always been in direct support of the national interest and never against it. They cut across the American political spectrum, holding views that are liberal, conservative and moderate—sometimes simultaneously, as is fitting those intellects that have been conditioned to be open to considering all sources of information. Since 2003, VIPS has published 50 memorandums similar to the one published this week, all addressing current issues on which the intelligence background of its collective membership could weigh in credibly. Like any intelligence collective, the group strives for accuracy but is susceptible to the all-too-human trait of fallibility. The retired professionals of VIPS, like their active counterparts, sometimes get it wrong.

I agree with the argument of the July 24 VIPS memorandum that takes issue with the Jan. 6, 2017, Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) on Russian meddling. This NIA evaluation assessed “with high confidence that Russian military intelligence (General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate or GRU) used the Guccifer 2.0 persona … to release U.S. victim data obtained in cyber operations publicly and in exclusives to media outlets and relayed material to WikiLeaks.” The assessments contained within the Russia ICA, which lies at the very heart of the ongoing controversy surrounding accusations of collusion by people affiliated with the Trump presidential campaign and Russia, is demonstrably wrong. The VIPS memorandum to President Trump is a valuable contribution to a larger discussion of the intelligence community’s erroneous assessment that is, otherwise, lacking.

The heart of the VIPS memorandum can be found in two paragraphs that relate to Guccifer 2.0 and his alleged involvement in the cyberattack against the DNC:

After examining metadata from the “Guccifer 2.0” July 5, 2016 intrusion into the DNC server, independent cyber investigators have concluded that an insider copied DNC data onto an external storage device, and that “telltale signs” implicating Russia were then inserted.

Key among the findings of the independent forensic investigations is the conclusion that the DNC data was copied onto a storage device at a speed that far exceeds an Internet capability for a remote hack. [Boldface in original.] Of equal importance, the forensics show that the copying and doctoring were performed on the East Coast of the U.S.

Two issues emerge from these passages. First, the ICA contends that Guccifer 2.0 accessed data from the DNC through a “cyber operation.” Technically, this could mean anything involving computers, including remote hacking and/or direct data removal using an external storage device, such as a thumb drive. However, Guccifer 2.0 has claimed he accessed the DNC server through remote hacking, and an investigation of unauthorized intrusions into the DNC server conducted by a private cybersecurity company, CrowdStrike, has attributed the theft of data to a hacking operation ostensibly overseen by Russian military intelligence, or the GRU. The FBI has endorsed the findings of CrowdStrike when it comes to the cyber-intrusion into the DNC server. As such, there is little doubt that the NIA is referring to a remote hack when it speaks of a “cyber operation” involving the DNC.

The analysis contained in the VIPS memorandum contradicts such an assertion. Unfortunately, this conclusion is not supported by the data. I reached out to the forensic analysts who conducted the analysis of the metadata in question. They have stated that there is no way to use the available metadata to determine where the copying of the data was done. In short, one cannot state that this data proves Guccifer 2.0 had direct access to the DNC server or that the data was located in the DNC when it was copied on July 5, 2016. These same analysts also note that the July 5 date that is pervasive on the metadata probably overwrote all prior modification times, meaning it is impossible to ascertain if there were any prior copy operations.

The VIPS memorandum also speaks of the insertion of “telltale” signs into data copied from the DNC server designed to implicate Russia. I have reached out to the analysts responsible for this assertion, and it appears that they mistakenly attributed actual document manipulation from an earlier date to the July 5 data transfer event. This in no way minimizes the seriousness of the underlying charge—other credible cyber-investigators have proved such data insertion on documents previously published by Guccifer 2.0 on June 15, 2016. Metadata analysis of several Word documents related to that release clearly shows that the contents of at least four documents were cut from the original document and then pasted into a Word template specifically set up for the Cyrillic alphabet, and which showed document attribution, in the Cyrillic alphabet, to “Felix Edmundovich,” the first name and patronymic of the founder of the Soviet intelligence service.

This cut-and-paste activity was conducted after the documents were accessed by Guccifer 2.0, which means Guccifer 2.0, for no practical reason whatsoever, manipulated documents in a way that created the impression of a Russian connection at the same time he was denying any such link. While the July 5 event cannot be used to argue a continuation of the document manipulation that transpired on June 15, it is clear that the false Russian attribution that arose from this manipulation carried over when the July 5 data was finally released, on Sept. 13. “The DNC is the victim of a crime—an illegal cyberattack by Russian state-sponsored agents who seek to harm the Democratic Party and progressive groups in an effort to influence the presidential election” Donna Brazille, the interim chair of the Democratic Party at the time, proclaimed in an official statement after the documents were released by Guccifer 2.0.

The implications of the conclusions reached in the VIPS memorandum (if not the actual technical analysis it relied on) are staggering: The DNC “hack” was actually a cyber-theft perpetrated by an insider with direct access to the DNC server, who then deliberately doctored documents to make them look as if they had been accessed by a Russian-speaking actor prior to releasing them to the public. This is not the narrative being pushed by the U.S. intelligence, Congress and the mainstream media. Moreover, if true, the conclusions reached by VIPS point to a broader conspiracy within the United States to undermine the credibility of an admittedly unpopular, yet legitimately elected president that borders on sedition.

These are serious allegations that should not be made lightly. Indeed, if I were acting solely on the information contained within the VIPS memorandum, I would hesitate to make them—the issue of download rates for a data set dated July 5, 2016, seems irrelevant for a cyber-intrusion alleged to have taken place in April-May of 2016. Either Guccifer 2.0 regained access to the DNC server in an as-of-yet-unreported (and unclaimed) cyber-operation, or the download involved data previously removed from the DNC server, and, as such, is apropos of nothing. The VIPS memorandum does not provide any technical data that would sustain a finding that the information in question was physically in the possession of the DNC on July 5, 2016—the day Guccifer 2.0 supposedly oversaw the transmission from its point of origin. Indeed, the analysts say that assertion cannot be derived from the data.

Such attention to detail, normally the signature of solid intelligence analysis, is not needed in this case. The VIPS memorandum serves a larger purpose here: It questions a premise that has become de rigueur in the national narrative—that Guccifer 2.0 was a Russian actor. “Guccifer 2.0 is known to be the Russians,” Brian Fallon, the press secretary for Hillary Clinton, opined in September 2016. Democratic operatives made similar statements throughout the summer and fall of 2016.

On Oct. 6, 2016, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Department of Homeland Security published a joint statement that noted that the “recent disclosures of alleged hacked e-mails” by Guccifer 2.0 (and others) “are consistent with the methods and motivations of Russian-directed efforts,” without further elaboration beyond declaring that “the Russians have used similar tactics and techniques across Europe and Eurasia, for example, to influence public opinion there.”

Rep. Schiff, the aforementioned Democratic co-chair of the House Intelligence Committee, stated in March 2017 that “a hacker who goes by the moniker, Guccifer 2.0, claims responsibility for hacking the DNC and giving the documents to WikiLeaks. … The U.S. intelligence community also later confirmed that the documents were in fact stolen by Russian intelligence, and Guccifer 2.0 acted as a front.”

The problem is that there simply isn’t any hard data in the public domain to back up these statements of fact. What is known is that a persona using the name Guccifer 2.0 published documents said to be sourced from the DNC on several occasions starting from June 15, 2016. Guccifer 2.0 claims to have stolen these documents by perpetrating a cyber-penetration of the DNC server. However, the hacking methodology Guccifer 2.0 claims to have employed does not match the tools and techniques allegedly uncovered by the cybersecurity professionals from CrowdStrike when they investigated the DNC intrusion. Moreover, cyber-experts claim the Guccifer 2.0 “hack” could not have been executed as he described.

What CrowdStrike did claim to have discovered is that sometime in March 2016, the DNC server was infected with what is known as an X-Agent malware. According to CrowdStrike, the malware was deployed using an open-source, remote administration tool known as RemCom. The malware in question, a network tunneling tool known as X-Tunnel, was itself a repurposed open-source tool that made no effort to encrypt its source code, meaning anyone who gained access to this malware would be able to tell exactly what it was intended to do.

CrowdStrike claimed that the presence of the X-Agent malware was a clear “signature” of a hacking group—APT 28, or Fancy Bear—previously identified by German intelligence as being affiliated with the GRU, Russian military intelligence. Additional information about the command and control servers used by Fancy Bear, which CrowdStrike claims were previously involved in Russian-related hacking activity, was also reported.

The CrowdStrike data is unconvincing. First and foremost, the German intelligence report it cites does not make an ironclad claim that APT 28 is, in fact, the GRU. In fact, the Germans only “assumed” that GRU conducts cyberattacks. They made no claims that they knew for certain that any Russians, let alone the GRU, were responsible for the 2015 cyberattack on the German Parliament, which CrowdStrike cites as proof of GRU involvement. Second, the malware in question is available on the open market, making it virtually impossible to make any attribution at all simply by looking at similarities in “tools and techniques.” Virtually anyone could have acquired these tools and used them in a manner similar to how they were employed against both the German Parliament and the DNC.

The presence of open-source tools is, in itself, a clear indicator that Russian intelligence was not involved. Documents released by Edward Snowden show that the NSA monitored the hacking of a prominent Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, by Russian intelligence, “deploying malicious software which is not available in the public domain.” The notion that the Russians would use special tools to hack a journalist’s email account and open-source tools to hack either the DNC or the German Parliament is laughable. My experience with Soviet/Russian intelligence, which is considerable, has impressed me with the professionalism and dedication to operational security that were involved. The APT 28/Fancy Bear cyber-penetration of the DNC and the Guccifer 2.0 operation as a whole are the antithesis of professional.

Perhaps more important, however, is the fact that no one has linked the theft of the DNC documents to Guccifer 2.0. We do not know either the date or mechanism of penetration. We do not have a list of the documents accessed and exfiltrated from the DNC by APT 28, or any evidence that these documents ended up in Guccifer 2.0’s possession. It is widely assumed that the DNC penetration was perpetrated through a “spear-phishing” attack, in which a document is created that simulates a genuine communication in an effort to prompt a response by the receiver, usually by clicking a specified field, which facilitates the insertion of malware. Evidence of the Google-based documents believed to have been the culprits behind the penetration of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) and John Podesta’s email servers have been identified, along with the dates of malware infection. No such information has been provided about the DNC penetration.

Which brings up perhaps the most curious aspect of this entire case: The DNC servers at the center of this controversy were never turned over to the FBI for forensic investigation. Instead, the FBI had to rely upon copies of the DNC server data provided by CrowdStrike. The fact that it was CrowdStrike, and not the FBI, that made the GRU attribution call based upon the investigation of the alleged cyber-penetration of the DNC server is disturbing. As shown here, there is good reason to doubt the viability of the CrowdStrike analysis. That the FBI, followed by the U.S. Congress, the U.S. intelligence community, and the mainstream media, has parroted this questionable assertion as fact is shocking.

The Guccifer 2.0 story is at the center of the ongoing controversy swirling around the Trump White House concerning allegations of collusion with Russia regarding meddling in the 2016 presidential election. While APT 28/Fancy Bear is not the only alleged Russian hacking operation claimed to have been targeting the DNC, it is the one that has been singled out as “weaponizing” intelligence—employing stolen documents for the express purpose of altering public opinion against Hillary Clinton. This act has been characterized as an attack against America, and was cited by President Barack Obama when he imposed sanctions on Russia in December 2016 and expelled 35 Russian diplomats. Congress has also referred to this “attack” as the principal justification for a bill seeking new and tougher sanctions targeting Russia.

This issue is likely to be front and center before the American public in the coming days. President Trump is facing a decision on whether to veto the aforementioned congressional bill sanctioning Russia. Trump has expressed doubts as to the veracity of the intelligence linking Russia to the hacks, contradicting the conclusions of Congress and the U.S. intelligence community. A presidential veto, or strong signing statement in opposition, could trigger a constitutional crisis between the president and Congress over the issue of executive power.

The stakes could not be higher. The American people would do well to demand a proper investigation into what actually transpired at the DNC in the spring of 2016. To date there has been no examination worthy of the name regarding the facts that underpin the accusations at the center of the American argument against Russia—that the GRU hacked the DNC server and used Guccifer 2.0 as a conduit for the release of stolen documents in a manner designed to influence the American presidential election. The VIPS memorandum of July 24, 2017, questions the veracity of these claims. I believe these doubts are well founded.







Blink Tank

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tfPtNtQLaVk


Link du jour


https://www.ramdass.org/not-our-bodies/

http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/28/ph ... -building/


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/he ... fa38052a17


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3362989



http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/sneed- ... i-vehicle/


https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics ... 160c636628


http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/ar ... e-trooper/

Arapahoe County deputy faces charges in collision with state trooper
The deputy and a state trooper were injured in the June 19 accident




http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/ro ... ettlement/

Rocky Ford to pay $1.3 million to family of man murdered by on-duty police officer in 2014
Officer James Ashby is serving a prison sentence for killing Jack Jacquez






http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/pe ... o-request/

BLM weighing request to mine 4.1 million more tons of coal in northwest Colorado under Trump’s energy policies
Peabody has applied to lease 640 more acres of federal coal west of Steamboat Springs has part of its Foidel Creek Mine operations



http://www.denverpost.com/2017/07/27/fr ... als-court/


Appeals court asked to put off decision on fracking rule that Trump administration wants to undo
The nation’s stalled rule to protect public land against harm from fracking faced multiple threats Thursday after the oil and gas industry and states, including Colorado, asked a federal appeals court to hold off indefinitely on deciding whether it is legal.




http://www.heatisonline.org/contentserv ... ethod=Full


UCS: Prepare for inevitable and repeated inundations
When Rising Seas Hit Home:

Hard Choices Ahead for Hundreds of US Coastal Communities

The Union of Concerned Scientists, July 13, 2017

If saltwater regularly soaked your basement or first floor, kept you from getting to work, or damaged your car, how often would it have to happen before you began looking for a new place to call home?

This national analysis identifies when US coastal communities will face a level of disruptive flooding that affects people's homes, daily routines, and livelihoods. It identifies hundreds of communities that will face chronic inundation and possible retreat over the coming decades as sea levels rise.

The findings highlight what’s at stake in our fight to address sea level rise and global warming. They also provide affected communities a measure of how much time they have to prepare.

Chronic inundation

Each community has a threshold for sea level rise and chronic flooding beyond which sustaining normal routines becomes impossible.

For this national analysis, that chronic inundation threshold is defined as flooding that occurs 26 times per year (on average, once every other week) or more. Communities where more than 10 percent of usable land exceeds this threshold are deemed chronically inundated.

Three different sea level rise scenarios were assessed through 2100:

* A “high scenario,” in which emissions rise through the end of the century and ice sheets melt faster to yield about 6.5 feet of sea level rise.

* An “intermediate scenario” that projects carbon emissions peaking around mid-century and about 4 feet of sea level rise globally, with ice melting at a moderate rate that increases over time.

* A “low scenario” that assumes carbon emissions decline steeply and warming is limited to less than 2 degrees Celsius—in line with the primary goal of the Paris Climate Agreement. Sea level rise is driven primarily by ocean warming with very little ice loss.

Key findings

* By 2035, about 170 communities—roughly twice as many as today—will face chronic inundation and possible retreat from affected areas under the intermediate or high scenarios, with more than 100 seeing at least a quarter of their land chronically flooded.

* By 2060, about 270 communities will face chronic inundation with intermediate sea level rise. This number jumps to 360 under the high scenario. About 40 percent of chronically inundated communities in either scenario would see at least half of their land flooded.

* By 2100, about 490 communities—including roughly 40 percent of all oceanfront communities on the East and Gulf Coasts—will face chronic inundation and possible retreat with intermediate sea level rise, with nearly 300 seeing at least a quarter of their land chronically flooded. The number of communities jumps to about 670—including roughly 60 percent of all oceanfront communities on the East and Gulf Coasts—under the high scenario.

* If we act today to achieve the temperature and emissions reductions goals outlined in the Paris Climate Agreement, and succeed in slowing the acceleration of sea level rise, about 380 communities could avoid chronic inundation this century.

Preparing for impacts

The solutions that can help protect individual communities from increased flooding fall into three broad categories: defending against the sea, accommodating rising water, and retreating from flood-prone areas. In practice, many communities will seek to combine these approaches. Not all approaches will work everywhere. Many are costly to sustain, and rising seas may simply preclude some options.

Robust federal and state-level policies and resources will be vital to help communities understand their risks, assess their choices, and implement adaptation plans. To effectively prepare, the country must take bold measures commensurate with the scale of the coastal risks.

The wise choice

As we look ahead to the end of this century, we have a choice. If we take aggressive action to address climate change, and succeed in slowing the acceleration of sea level rise, many communities—nearly 400 identified by this analysis—could avoid chronic inundation this century. If, however, sea levels rise along the high scenario, those communities face the risk of chronic inundation by 2100.

At this crossroads, reducing global warming emissions must be a national priority. The US can still make deep cuts in heat-trapping emissions and contribute to global efforts to limit climate change. We can still avoid some of the most serious human consequences and losses that our coasts face this century.

We have time to respond. We must use it wisely.

The methodology and assumptions used for this analysis are published in the peer-reviewed journal, Elementa. Download the PDF.

For additional information, please see the full report.

http://www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/gl ... WePcOmQxPY





http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html

Majority of civilian oversight body wants L.A. County sheriff to stop flying drone





http://www.wnd.com/2017/07/investigatin ... is-mccabe/

'WATCHING THE WATCHERS': LAWSUITS TARGET FBI'S MCCABE
Group seeks info on Comey's replacement, wife's ties to Democrats



The FBI, of course, is the federal agency that carries out some of the nation’s most important investigations.



But of late, there have been raised questions about the agency’s chiefs. After all, fired director James Comey was the lead player in the FBI’s announcement not to prosecute Hillary Clinton, even though he explained her national security-related actions exhibited extremely poor judgment.

Then there has been the ongoing investigation into claims that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia during the 2016 presidential race, a rumor-filled nest that has yet to produce anything more than some decisions political insiders would describe as unwise.

And of course after Comey was fired, he released government documents to a friend to give to the media in his desire to manipulate the Washington bureaucracy to trigger an outside counsel’s investigation of “Russia,” which he got.

Now questions are being raised about his close friend, Andrew McCabe, who became acting FBI chief when Comey was removed.

They come in the form of three lawsuits filed by officials with Judicial Watch seeking information about McCabe’s activities.

Get “Trump’s War: His Battle for America” by talk radio icon Michael Savage, from the WND Superstore.

“There are numerous questions about the ethics and judgment of the FBI’s top leadership, particularly acting FBI director Andrew McCabe,” said Tom Fitton, the Judicial Watch chief.

“These new lawsuits will help Americans ‘watch the watchers’ at the powerful FBI.”

The actions, under the federal Freedom of Information Act, address McCabe’s “political activities, travel vouchers, and employment status.”

The first two address his wife’s failed campaign for political office, and interactions with Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, Judicial Watch explained.

The first requests records of communications between McCabe and others in the FBI or the Department of Justice on the topic of his involvement in political campaigns, or his wife’s involvement.

President Trump raised some related questions in just the last few days.

He was on social media to say, “Problem is that the acting head of the FBI & the person in charge of the Hillary investigation, Andrew McCabe, got $700,000 from H for wife!”

He continued, “Why didn’t A.G. Sessions replace Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, a Comey friend who was in charge of Clinton investigation but got big dollars ($700,000) for his wife’s political run from Hillary Clinton and her representatives. Drain the Swamp!”

The facts are that Common Good VA, McAuliffe’s PAC, gave almost $468,000 to McCabe’s wife’s campaign. Then the Virginia Democrat Party gave almost another $208,000.

Judicial Watch said its first FOIA action seeks “records of communication between FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and other FBI or Department of Justice (‘DOJ’) officials regarding, concerning or relating to ethical issues concerning the involvement of Andrew McCabe and/or his wife, Dr. Jill McCabe, in political campaigns” and “records related to ethical guidance concerning political activities provided to Deputy Director McCabe by FBI and/or DOJ officials or elements.”

The second related case seeks records of communications between McCabe and any official in the Virginia governor’s office, anyone in the DNC, or the Democratic Party of Virginia.

“In 2015, a political action committee run by McAuliffe, a close friend and political supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton, donated nearly $500,000 to Jill McCabe, wife of McCabe, who was then running for the Virginia State Senate,” Judicial Watch confirmed. “Also, the Virginia Democratic Party, over which McAuliffe had significant influence, donated an additional $207,788 to the Jill McCabe campaign. In July 2015, Andrew McCabe was in charge of the FBI’s Washington, D.C., field office, which provided personnel resources to the Clinton email probe. The Hatch Act prohibits FBI employees from engaging ‘in political activity in concert with a political party, a candidate for partisan political office, or a partisan political group.'”

The third case seeks travel voucher and other information from McCabe.

McCabe’s elevation to the acting director’s post earlier earned the ire of Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who said McCabe’s own political baggage was too much.

“He’s got political problems, because of [Virginia Gov.




https://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/becomi ... ent-part-2

Becoming an Agent
An Inside Look at What It Takes

July 28, 2017
Part 2: Inside the Classroom
Just beside Hogan’s Alley, the mock town and training facility at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia, there’s a cluster of modern two-story buildings with several classrooms. Inside one of the classrooms, new agent trainees are forming their squads for the morning when they receive word that an “explosion” has occurred in a nearby city.

Over the previous few weeks, the squad has been using the skills they’ve learned to investigate a simulated hotel bombing and track down the criminals responsible for the attack. With this new report, trainees suspect that the events could be linked to terrorist activity. But before they can identify subjects, the squad needs to gather intelligence, conduct interviews, and dig up more clues.

The agents’ partners in this effort are new FBI intelligence analysts who are training right alongside them. Analysts—the men and women who help gather, share, and make sense of information and intelligence from all corners of the globe—have never been more vital to the Bureau’s mission in this post-9/11 world. By integrating their training, the FBI is replicating what agents and analysts will experience in their coming cases and ensuring that seamless collaboration is part of their DNA from day one.





http://stevehochstadt.blogspot.com

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Conversations About Health Care


Everybody’s talking about health care. But it’s not because of the incompetent ideological circus playing in Congress. That offers a fascinating look into the Republican soul, but few of my conversations about health care mention politics. Talk about health care is mostly about the health of my family, my friends, and my friends’ families, and the care they need.

As a healthy youngster, my input to health care discussions at home was usually, “I’m fine.” I probably said that to my mother while I was soaking in a tub full of hot water after playing touch football. She didn’t believe me, so I got on the operating table soon enough to stop the bleeding from my ruptured spleen.

In college, I remember a lot of conversations about whether we should do something that was obviously bad for our health. I leaned toward caution, not popular then, but looking better in retrospect.

Then my parents and my friends’ parents got old. Then we got old. Now most conversations with friends and family begin right after “hello” with talk about health care. “How are you?” is not a meaningless greeting, it’s an earnest question.

There’s no cure for old age, and I don’t care. I do care about how many people close to me are dealing with forgetfulness, blood tests, pain, and walkers; with health problems of mothers and fathers and ourselves; with nurses, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies.

Longer-lived women are taking care of men who are sinking, along with many but fewer cases the other way around. Baby boomers like me turn into caregivers, managing doctors’ visits and prescription drugs, making nursing homes a second home.

Times have changed, too. The earnest TV commercials for cough medicine, and aspirin and “Preparation H” have turned into ubiquitous ads for medicines that might make you sick or kill you; for lawyers who will sue your doctor; for hospitals that will treat you, and insurance companies that might pay them.

It’s hard not to think constantly about health. Those thoughts can be difficult, sad, perplexing, and inconclusive. Joys are recovery from illness, the kindness of health care professionals, health scares that are false alarms. The sad stuff can last a long time, changing into something different but permanent at the end.

And we talk about money. It costs money to live and maybe more to die. Whose money will pay for the health care of people I love? That’s not the first thing we talk about. It’s not the most important thing most of the time. But it’s one of the most perplexing.

When I get a bill from a doctor, I have no idea who is going to pay what. Will Medicare pick up the tab? Will my insurance company pitch in and for how much? What will I pay at the end? How much of my deductible have I used up?

Should I get long-term care insurance? Or should I have gotten it 10 years ago? Should I save money on insurance premiums by taking a high deductible? Or is that a risky bet?

Nobody can take away such worries. Ignorance doesn’t help, either from those who shouted “Keep your government hands off my Medicare,” or from our President, who says he doesn’t care what happens to the rest of us, now that he didn’t get his way.

I believe that we have a right to get help with our health care from our government. We all need that help, every day, to prevent con artists from lying to us about miracle cures, to prevent the pharmaceutical industry from selling untested drugs, to prevent insurance companies from kicking the sickest off their rolls, to sponsor research which can save lives.

Our government got into the health care business to save lives, and it has been doing that, more or less successfully, for nearly two centuries. In my home town, Jacksonville, the state of Illinois long ago created institutions to care for people with health problems: a school for the deaf in 1839, a school for the blind in 1849, a hospital for the mentally ill in 1851.

Progressives around Teddy Roosevelt advocated for universal health coverage before World War I, at the same time that our government began to try to prevent disease by inspecting meat packing plants, and prohibiting adulterated drugs and false therapeutic claims.

The creators of our nation believed that “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” were the most important universal rights to be protected by government. It’s not clear what led Thomas Jefferson to elevate the pursuit of happiness to an inalienable right. If that phrase means anything, it must include government participation in our efforts to stay healthy. How can anyone be happy who can’t pay for health care they need?

There’s no such thing as a right to good health. But as Americans, we have a right to get collective help, if we need it, to stay healthy. That means government protection from poisons in our food, air, and water (see Flint, Michigan), from false claims by drug producers, and from medical malpractice. In today’s world, it must also mean assistance in paying for medical treatment for those without resources.

So says the Declaration of Independence.

Steve Hochstadt
Springbrook, WI




https://www.muckrock.com/foi/washington ... ing-17309/

From: CJ Ciaramella
04/09/2015
Subject: None
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the District of Columbia Freedom of Information Act of 1974, D.C. Code Ann. § 2-531 et seq. ("D.C. Act"), I hereby request the following records:
All firearm discharge reports, incident reports regarding an officer-involved shooting, and citizen complaints against the following MPD officers:
- Chad Leo
- Curtis Sloan
- Jeremy Sharpton
- Guillermo Rivera
Please note that under D.C. public record law, if some record contained in a request are exempt from disclosure, other non-exempt information is considered segregable and must be released.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public free of charge as part of the public information service at MuckRock.com, and is not being made for commercial usage.
In the event that fees cannot be waived, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 15 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
CJ Ciaramella
From: Quon Hyden, Teresa
04/20/2015
Subject: None
Dear Mr. Ciaramella: This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for “a ll firearm discharge reports, incident reports regarding an officer-involved shooting, and citizen complaints against the following MPD officers:” - Chad Leo
- Curtis Sloan
- Jeremy Sharpton
- Guillermo Rivera After due consideration, we can neither admit or deny your request. The requested records are exempt from disclosure under D.C. Official Code §§ 2-534(a)(2) as their release would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. Please know that, under D.C. Official Code § 2-537 and 1 DCMR § 412, you have the right to appeal this letter to the Mayor or to the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. If you elect to appeal to the Mayor, your appeal must be in writing and contain “Freedom of Information Act Appeal” or “FOIA Appeal” in the subject line of the letter as well on the outside of the envelope. The appeal must include (1) a copy of the original request; (2) a copy of any written denial; (3) a statement of the circumstances, reasons, and/or arguments advanced in support of disclosure; and (4) a daytime telephone number, an e-mail and/or U.S. mailing address at which you can be reached. The appeal must be mailed to: The Mayor’s Correspondence Unit, FOIA Appeal, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Suite 316, Washington, D.C. 20004. Electronic versions of the same information can instead be e-mailed to The Mayor’s Correspondence Unit at foia.mayor@dc.gov. Further, a copy of all appeal materials must be forwarded to the Freedom of Information Officer of the involved agency, or to the agency head of that agency, if there is no designated Freedom of Information Officer there. (mailto:foia.mayor@dc.gov) Failure to follow these administrative steps will result in delay in the processing and commencement of a response to your appeal to the Mayor. Sincerely, Teresa Quon Hyden
Acting FOIA Officer Metropolitan Police Department
From: Amare, Genet
09/09/2015
Subject: Ten-Day Extension for FOIA Request No. 2015-FOIA-04398
Dear Mr. CJ Ciaramella,
We are unable to process your request within the time allotted, we are now invoking the ten (10) day extension that is provided under the FOIA statute. Pursuant to D.C. Official Code § 2-532(d) and 1 DCMR §§ 405.2 and 405.3, we are providing you with written notice of our intent to extend the deadline for our response to the above-referenced FOIA request by ten (10) business days. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Regards,
Genet Amare
From: Amare, Genet
01/15/2016
Subject: Final Response Documents of Request 2015-FOIA-04398


2015-FOIA-04398_5054
Download
From: Amare, Genet
07/20/2016
Subject: Follow-Up Email: FOIA Request No. 2016-FOIA-02107
Good afternoon, Mr. Ciaramella, This email serves as a follow-up email to your request, to provide with an update on your FOIA request with the Metropolitan Police Department FOIA Office. We apologies for the delay in providing a response to your request within the statutory time allotted and we apologies for any inconvenience this delay has caused you. However, our office is experiencing a backlog due to the number of requests we have received prior to your request and the voluminous nature of such requests. I am the FOIA Specialist assigned to your case and I would like to assure you that I am working diligently to provide a response to your request. Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Regards,
Genet Amare
From: MuckRock.com
08/04/2016
From: Amare, Genet (MPD)
08/05/2016
Subject: RE: DC Freedom of Information Act Request: MPD discharge reports for officers re: Briscoe shooting
Good afternoon, Mr. Ciaramella,
Thank you for your email. As previously stated, our office is experiencing a backlog due to the number of requests we have received prior to your request and the voluminous nature of such requests. I am working diligently to provide a response to your request and I apologies for the delay in providing a response to your request within the statutory time allotted. Thank you for your patience and understanding, I apologies for any inconvenience this delay has caused you.
Regards,
Genet Amare
FOIA Specialist
Metropolitan Police Department
202-724-2437
genet.amare2@dc.gov<mailto:genet.amare2@dc.gov>
From: MuckRock.com
08/22/2016
From: Amare, Genet (MPD)
08/25/2016
Subject: RE: DC Freedom of Information Act Request: MPD discharge reports for officers re: Briscoe shooting
Good morning, Mr. Ciaramella,
Thank you for your email. As previously stated, our office is experiencing a backlog due to the number of requests we have received prior to your request and the voluminous nature of such requests. I am working diligently to provide a response to your request and I apologize for the delay in providing a response to your request within the statutory time allotted. Thank you for your patience and understanding, I apologize for any inconvenience this delay has caused you.
Regards,
Genet Amare
FOIA Specialist
Metropolitan Police Department
202-724-2437
genet.amare2@dc.gov<mailto:genet.amare2@dc.gov>
From: Metropolitan Police Department
01/17/2017
Subject: None
A copy of documents responsive to the request.

3rd File As Released - Final Redactions_Redacted.pdf
View Embed Download

1-17-17 MR17309 RES-C ID#2015-82.pdf
View Embed Download
From:
07/28/2017
Subject: 2016-FOIA-02107 (Email 1)
Dear CJ Ciaramella,
Attached find a response to your FOIA Request. You will receive several emails with the documents attached.
Regards,
Ms. Branch
FOIA Specialist

FOIA Response 2 letter2
View Embed Download
From: Branch, Tara (MPD)
07/28/2017
Subject: 2016-FOIA-02107 (Email 2)
Dear CJ Ciaramella,
Attached find a response to your FOIA request. This is the second email.
Regards,
Ms. Branch
FOIA Specialist
Metropolitan Police Department
300 Indiana Avenue NW
Room 4153
Washington, DC 20001
We are here to help.
Just like our city, Sustainable DC is evolving! Help us update the plan by telling us what you care about most in this easy 3-minute survey.<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAD451htG6I4GqSTucXRHhrupb4E-3kpZfE2R-XHBJt47PqQ/viewform?c=0&w=1> Learn more and get involved by visiting http://www.sustainabledc.org/in-dc/sdc2-0/.

FOIA Response 3
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FOIA Response 5
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FOIA Response 2
View Embed Download
From: Branch, Tara (MPD)
07/28/2017
Subject: FW: 2016-FOIA-02107 (Email 3)
Dear CJ Ciaramella,
Attached find a response to your FOIA request. This is the last and final email.
Regards,
Ms. Branch
FOIA Specialist
Metropolitan Police Department
300 Indiana Avenue NW
Room 4153
Washington, DC 20001
We are here to help.
Just like our city, Sustainable DC is evolving! Help us update the plan by telling us what you care about most in this easy 3-minute survey.<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdAD451htG6I4GqSTucXRHhrupb4E-3kpZfE2R-XHBJt47PqQ/viewform?c=0&w=1> Learn more and get involved by visiting http://www.sustainabledc.org/in-dc/sdc2-0/.

FOIA Response 4 docs
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FOIA Response 1 docs
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fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:46 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Mon Jul 31, 2017 10:44 pm

http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencen ... story.html



You can predict how many blacks are killed by police by measuring the racism of whites, research finds

Some of the stereotypes that prevail in a given geographic area go unrecognized by the people who hold them, and even more often, they’re not acknowledged. But psychologists know that such bias is widespread.

New research finds that when more white people in a community hold African Americans in greater suspicion, that prevailing view may influence police behavior in ways that drive the outsize use of lethal force against African Americans by cops.

It’s a finding likely to stir controversy and spark new interest in the phenomenon of implicit bias — the beliefs and prejudices we hold beneath our level of awareness.

Studied and measured by psychologists since the early 1990s, these unconscious views, which sometimes conflict with the opinions we explicitly embrace, are thought to shape our behavior every day. That influence may be subtle, psychologists say. But it’s never more powerful than when we are under extreme stress or time pressure, as police officers often are.

In a study published Thursday, a trio of psychologists built a map of the racial bias and stereotypes that prevail among whites across the United States. They gathered individuals’ answers to a pair of online tests that measure implicit bias and stereotypes about black and white people. The, they arranged them in geographical clusters according to the recorded location of the test-taker.

When the researchers overlaid those maps with their hot spots of white racial bias and presumption of violent intent against African Americans, they discerned a strong correlation with a very different map: one showing where, in the first nine months of 2015, African Americans were killed by police in disproportionate numbers.

The study, published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science, was conducted by psychologists Eric Hehman and Jessica K. Flake of Ryerson and York universities, respectively, in Toronto, and by UC Davis social psychologist Jimmy Calanchini.







Link du jour

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GUK7c1phhnQ

https://www.courthousenews.com/environm ... -plant/aqq

http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la ... story.html


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.1567978

http://www.occurrencesforeigndomestic.c ... time-soon/

http://www.latimes.com/travel/la-tr-cal ... story.html

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3371580




Two border patrol agents’ dangerous method of checking for drugs killed a teen, lawsuit say





Cruz Velazquez Acevedo began convulsing shortly after he drank the liquid methamphetamine he'd brought with him from Tijuana, Mexico.

The 16-year-old had just crossed the U.S.-Mexico border to San Diego and was going through the San Ysidro Port of Entry. He was carrying two bottles of liquid that he claimed was apple juice. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers told him to drink it to prove he wasn't lying, court records say.

A surveillance video published by ABC Friday, about 3 1/2 years after Acevedo's death, shows the teen taking a sip of the liquid after one of the two officers, Valerie Baird, motioned for him to drink. He took another sip after the other officer, Adrian Perallon, made a gesture with his hand, appearing to tell him to drink more.

The teen took four sips.


Then, he began sweating profusely. He screamed and clenched his fists.

In a matter of minutes, his temperature soared to 105 degrees, his family's attorney said. His pulse reached an alarming rate of 220 beats per minute - more than twice the normal rate for adults.

"Mi corazón! Mi corazón!" Acevedo screamed, according to court records - "My heart! My heart!"

He was dead about two hours later.

The United States has since agreed to pay Acevedo's family $1 million in a wrongful-death lawsuit brought against two border officers and the U.S. government.



Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/latest-news/a ... rylink=cpy




http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-cia ... story.html

Suit against 2 psychologists over torture used in CIA interrogations appears headed for trial




https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... -election/

CIA’s Guide To Other Country’s Elections: Why Jamaican “National Hero” Michael Manley worried the Agency

July 31, 2017
Michael Manley, who served as Prime Minister of Jamaica for a total of 11 years, is considered by nearly half of Jamaicans as the best Prime Minister the country ever had. 68% say that he should considered a national hero. However, as a 1980 Agency memo in the middle of a tough re-election battle shows, the CIA had a much more negative view of Manley, fearing he would resort to illegal means to stay in power.
Read More



http://wiat.com/2017/07/31/birmingham-f ... dquarters/


Alabama's News Leader-
Birmingham Fire & Rescue personnel investigate a package discovered to have a suspicious substance at the FBI Headquarters in downtown Birmingham, July ...




https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... oia-karao/



How to host your own FOIA Karaoke

July 28, 2017
FOIA and public records are vital to holding our government accountable - but that doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun with the results, too. Here’s how you can host your own FOIA Karaoke - and if you do, let us know how it goes!



https://www.courthousenews.com/study-fi ... ate-heats/


Study Finds Aardvarks Suffering as African Climate heats up

July 31, 2017

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Little is known about Africa’s elusive aardvarks, but new research says they are vulnerable to climate change like many other species.

Hotter temperatures are taking their toll on the aardvark, whose diet of ants and termites is becoming scarcer in some areas because of reduced rainfall, according to a study released Monday.

Drought in the Kalahari desert killed five out of six aardvarks that were being monitored for a year, as well as 11 others in the area, said researchers at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg.

The aardvarks’ body temperatures plummeted during the night because they were not getting enough energy from diminished food sources, said physiology professor Andrea Fuller. She said they tried to conserve energy by looking for insects during the warmer daytime, but their efforts to adapt could not save them.

The body temperatures of the ones that died had dropped to as low as 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit), compared to a normal temperature of a little below 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit).

Researchers, who monitored the aardvarks with tiny sensors attached to implanted computer chips, said some birds, reptiles and other animals use aardvark burrows to escape extreme temperatures, reproduce and hide from predators. They could have fewer refuges available if aardvark populations shrink because of rising temperatures, they said.

The aardvark, which lives in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, is identified as an animal of “least concern” on an international “red list” of threatened species. The list, compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said



https://www.courthousenews.com/eu-launc ... er-plants/

EU Regulator Launches Probe
of Fuel-Burning Power Plants

The European Commission said Monday that it will review operating permits of the EU’s 3,500 large combustion plants by 2021, with an eye to moving the continent to low-emissions energy production and compliance with the international Paris climate agreement.




https://www.courthousenews.com/agricult ... lf-mexico/


Agriculture-Caused ‘Dead Zone’ Threatening Gulf of Mexico
July 31, 2017


Ocean life and our supply of clean drinking water will decrease unless more is done to limit farmland runoff of nitrogen-based fertilizer and livestock waste, according to a study published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The nitrogen that washes into rivers and eventually out to sea is necessary for the growth of plant life, but excessive amounts found in the Gulf of Mexico and other places create areas known as dead zones. Excess nitrogen leads to exponential algae growth, which in turn causes an increase of bacteria that decomposes the algae and exhausts all the nearby oxygen. These dead zones choke off all other oceanic life and form algae blooms that are toxic to humans.

Scientists and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been working on ways to cut down on nitrogen runoff, but Monday’s study suggests such actions aren’t enough. The Gulf of Mexico is expected to form a dead zone this summer the size of New Jersey, about 8,000 square miles, according to NOAA. An intergovernmental panel wants to reduce it to the size of Delaware, about 1,950 square miles, by 2035.

Researchers estimate nitrogen runoff into the Gulf of Mexico needs to be reduced by 59 percent.

“The bottom line is that we will never reach the action plan’s goal of 1,950 square miles until more serious actions are taken to reduce the loss of Midwest fertilizers into the Mississippi River system,” University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Don Scavia said.

The study reveals that hardly any progress has been made to reduce the amount of nitrogen runoff. Concentrations of the nitrogen compound nitrate found in rivers are the same today as in the 1980s. Despite more than $28 billion in government spending to reduce nitrogen runoff, there has been no significant reduction in the amount of nitrate washing away to the Gulf of Mexico.

“Clearly something more or something different is needed,” Scavia wrote in the study. “It matters little if the load-reduction target is 30 percent, 45 percent or 59 percent if insufficient resources are in place to make even modest reductions.”

Researchers suggest that the agriculture sector needs to make significant changes in order to protect ocean life, including the pursuit of alternatives to corn-base biofuels since corn requires a lot of nitrogen and other soil nutrients.

“It is time to ask what is preventing more extensive implementation of some or all of these strategies,” the researchers said.






https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-ni ... rls-trial/

Judge Nixes Alabama Law Putting Pregnant Girls Through Trial


July 31, 2017


MONTGOMERY, Ala.A federal judge has struck down Alabama’s one-of-a-kind law that enabled judges to put minors seeking abortions through a trial-like proceeding in which the fetus could get a lawyer and prosecutors could object to the pregnant girl’s wishes.

Alabama legislators in 2014 changed the state’s process for girls who can’t or won’t get their parents’ permission for an abortion to obtain permission from a court instead. The new law empowered the judge to appoint a guardian ad litem “for the interests of the unborn child” and invited the local district attorney to call witnesses and question the girl to determine whether she’s mature enough to decide.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Russ Walker sided Friday with the American Civil Liberties Union of Alabama , writing that the law unconstitutionally and impermissibly imposes “an undue burden on a minor in Alabama who seeks an abortion through a judicial bypass,” and violates the girl’s privacy rights by enabling a prosecutor to call witnesses against her will.

Both the judge and the ACLU said they were aware of no other state with such a law.

Every state requiring parental consent for abortions involving minors must also have a “judicial bypass” procedure so that girls can get a judge’s approval in a way that is effective, confidential, and expeditious, the ACLU said.

The state had argued that the law was intended to allow a “meaningful” inquiry into the minor’s maturity and the process was still a “confidential, and expeditious option for a teenager who seeks an abortion without parental consent.”

The civil rights organization said it had the opposite effect, by enabling lawyers for the state or the fetus to subpoena the minor’s teacher, neighbor, relative or boyfriend to testify she’s too immature to choose an abortion, or that continuing the pregnancy would be in her best interest.

It is unclear how many such proceedings have happened since the law was enacted. Walker noted that a district attorney this summer opposed the abortion request of a 12-year-old girl who had been impregnated by a relative.

The girl was 13 weeks pregnant and had just completed fifth grade when she went before a family court judge, according to a court record. The judge approved the abortion on June 27, and the district attorney appealed the same day, arguing that the girl was too immature to make an informed decision. The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals on July 12 ruled in favor of the girl.

The ACLU filed the lawsuit in federal court in Montgomery on behalf of Reproductive Health Services, a Montgomery





http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3371912


Ex-Arizona sheriff Joe Arpaio found guilty in criminal contempt case
BY ELIZABETH ELIZALDE
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Monday, July 31, 2017, 9:37 PM




https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... e-identity

'Young white guys are hopping mad': confidence grows at far-right gathering
‘Race realism’ and call for a white ‘ethnostate’ among themes at the American Renaissance conference in Tennessee
fruhmenschen
 
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Thu Aug 03, 2017 12:30 am

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/cap ... 66cff858c9

Pacific Northwest threatened by hottest weather ever recorded; Seattle could hit 100
By Jason Samenow August 2 at 4:19 PM


Excessive heat warnings blanket the western third of Northern California, Oregon and Washington state. High temperatures just inland from coastal locations are forecast to soar to between 100 and 110 degrees.

“We are talking about one of the major sustained heat waves in a long time around here,” writes Cliff Mass, professor of meteorology at the University of Washington. He said that “there is a lot of confidence” temperatures will at least reach the mid-90s in Seattle and notes the GFS model projects a high of 100 on Thursday — a reading he can’t “remember ever seeing”.





http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mis ... -1.3379167


Mistrial declared for Long Island cops accused of shoving bullet in man’s rectum


Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 8:33 PM






http://www.badgeoflife.com/about-badge-of-life/



Each year, more law enforcement officers die by suicide than from gunfire and traffic accidents combined, according to Badge of Life, a nonprofit group that tracks police suicides in the United States. The group, which has conducted periodic surveys between 2008 and 2016, found that the national rate of police suicides last year was just slightly lower than the rate of civilian suicides. And law enforcement suicides



Link du jour

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/pos ... 1cbca803a8


http://www.occurrencesforeigndomestic.c ... enezuelan/

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/trum ... -1.3378494

http://www.newsreel.us

http://www.latimes.com/world/africa/la- ... story.html


http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/rem ... -1.3378246

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ife-crisis

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... ts-say-yes



http://ticklethewire.com/2017/08/02/hom ... rder-wall/

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... e-1.337728



NAACP issues travel advisory for Missouri in wake of police brutality incidents, passage of ‘Jim Cr

Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 8:18 AM


The NAACP has adopted a travel advisory for Missouri, the first of its kind issued in the organization’s 108-year history.

The warning to travelers comes after several high-profile police brutality assaults on black residents in the last few years as well as a new “Jim Crow Bill” that makes it harder to sue for discrimination.

“The advisory is for people to be aware, and warn their families and friends and co-workers of what could happen in Missouri,” Rod Chapel, president of the Missouri NAACP, told the Kansas City Star. “People need to be ready, whether it’s bringing bail money with them, or letting relatives know they are traveling through the state.”

Chapel’s state chapter first issued the advisory in early June, and the national organization adopted it last week. The advisory will be ratified in October.

Missouri inmate sexually, physically abuses cellmate for days
Advisories typically come from the State Department and warn about visiting other countries with unsettled political conditions or health hazards.

But the Missouri NAACP crafted its warning in part because of recent incidents that included racist statements to University of Missouri students, a hot glue gun attack on black teens in St. Louis and the May death of Tory Sanders.

Sanders, 28, suffered from depression and lived in Nashville when he went for a drive on May 5, the Riverfront Times reported at the time. A wrong turn landed him in Mississippi County in southeast Missouri, where the married father of eight ran out of gas.



http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-m ... story.html

LAPD officer accused of sexually abusing teen cadet took girl to Six Flags on day of assaults, sources say




http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/mta ... -1.3378397

SEE IT: MTA cop repeatedly punches drunken man in the face during rough Midtown arrest
BY THOMAS TRACY
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Updated: Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 3:22 PM



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3375851

Video shows a second group of Baltimore cops allegedly planting evidence in drug bust



Tuesday, August 1, 2017, 7:37 PM




bodycam video showing a second group of Baltimore cops apparently planting evidence has been uncovered, the Maryland public defender’s office announced Monday.

The video shows seven officers “working together to manufacture evidence,” according to The Baltimore Sun.

Police said the video includes “two arrests and the recovery of drugs from a car during a traffic stop.”

The footage released by the public’s defender’s office and obtained by ABC News shows the officers searching through the driver’s car before turning their body cameras off and on. An officer allegedly plants something in the car, and then the others discover the drugs, the video shows.

SEE IT: Baltimore cop suspended after 'drug planting' footage
Charges against the driver in the November arrest were dropped, according to the network.

The same office released a video last month depicting an officer apparently planting drugs in an alley filled with trash. Officer Richard Pinheiro was suspended as a result, and two other cops, Hovhannes Simonyan and Jamal Brunson, were placed on administrative duty.



http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/b ... -1.3377557

Tennessee bride arrested for pulling gun out of wedding dress, pointing it at new husband

Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 10:19 AM


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3378647

Pennsylvania police chief defends officer who shot and killed man’s pet pig


Wednesday, August 2, 2017, 4:02 PM







http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3379322

Disgraced Staten Island FBI agent /Congressman Michael Grimm wants his job back after going to prison for tax fraud
BY JILLIAN JORGENSEN

Grimm represented Staten Island and a part of Brooklyn as a Republican from 2011 to 2015. In 2014, the feds indicted the pol, once an FBI agent, on multiple charges.

He won reelection — despite being under indictment — before he gave up his seat after pleading guilty.

Grimm copped to helping prepare a false tax return.

When he pleaded guilty, he admitted to concealing more than $900,000 in receipts from Healthalicious, a Manhattan restaurant he owned.
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Fri Aug 04, 2017 2:26 am

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... n-fbi-jfk/

August 2, 2017
Jim Garrison’s incendiary JFK probe protected him from fraud charges
New Orleans DA’s accusations against the U.S. government temporarily inoculated him against an FBI investigation

One of the documents released by the FBI is both redacted and very blurry, making it difficult to read. For clarity and ease of reading, some excerpts below instead reference an original, unredacted and far more legible copy of the same document.

While popular media has often portrayed Jim Garrison, the New Orleans District Attorney behind the infamous Clay Shaw trial, as having been targeted by the federal government for retribution, a look at his FBI file reveals the exact opposite - according to the documents, Garrison’s investigation was considered so toxic and aggressive that Director J. Edgar Hoover ordered no agents have any contact with him. When third parties began providing the FBI with evidence that Garrison had engaged in fraud against the government, the Bureau cautioned against investigating him, precisely because of how Garrison would inevitably frame it.

As early as February 1967, the FBI Director had ordered the Bureau’s agents to avoid all contact with Garrison and his investigators. Just days before a KGB planted story would appear in the Italian newspaper Paese Sera and redirect Garrison’s investigation to obsess over CIA connections, Hoover identified Garrison as “a person not to be contacted without prior Bureau approval.” This was the explicit result of Garrison’s already inflammatory investigation and accusations.



The next day, the Special Agent in Charge for New Orleans dutifully passed on the instructions, adding that no member of his investigation’s staff was to be contacted nor were any Bureau personnel to respond to the media with anything more than “no comment.”



Aaron Kohn, who headed the Metropolitan Crime Division in New Orleans, was positioned to keep his ear to the ground and report to the FBI. According to an FBI document dated May 5, 1967, Kohn provided the Bureau with information about Garrison’s activities, his wrongdoings and a heads up about pending publications. The day before the document was written, Kohn had informed the Bureau that Newsweek was going to publish an article about Garrison’s investigation, detailing attempts by Garrison’s staff to intimidate witnesses. Kohn’s information was completely correct with only one minor error - the Newsweek article was published a week later than he predicted.



According to Kohn, whose version of events would be confirmed by other investigators and an audio recording, Garrison’s investigators’ had attempted to bribe a potential witness into providing false testimony. As on part of their effort to get what would appear to be incriminating evidence against David Ferrie included an attempt to bribe Alvin Beaubouef, “a close friend of Ferrie” to provide false testimony.



When the investigators were tricked into allowing themselves to be recorded while repeating their offer, they apparently returned to threaten Beaubouef into signing a statement that the offer was not a bribe.



The tape recording, the contents of which would be confirmed by multiple witnesses, leaves little doubt, however. “Well, he can’t fill in the missing links if … he doesn’t know. And that is what the deal is predicated on.” In that investigator’s own words, “we could put $3,000 on him just like that [snaps his fingers], you know … I’m sure we would help him financially and I’m sure … real quick we could get him a job … Al said he’d like a job with an airline and I feel the job can be had, you know.”

Regardless, the issue was not a federal one and the tape was provided to another local District Attorney who would later confirms its contents to the Bureau. According to Kohn, however, this was not the only threat that Garrison had apparently responsible for. Carlos Quiroga had apparently reported that Garrison had told him his life would be in danger if he didn’t testify for Garrison. When called to testify before the Grand Jury, Quiroga repeatedly stated he’d been threatened with perjury if he testified.



Quiroga’s accusations were similarly out of the Bureau’s federal jurisdiction - but one accusation relayed by Kohn wasn’t. According to Kohn, Garrison claimed to have resigned from the National Guard as an alternative to facing military charges. Garrison had reportedly falsified his drill duty certifications for roughly six months, resulting in fraudulent pay from the government.



This, as noted by an earlier memo, fell fully within the FBI’s jurisdiction.



Nor was Kohn the first person to provide them with this type of information. The Bureau had previously received similar reports from the district director of the U.S. Customs Service in New Orleans.



After the Bureau received the initial report from Huff, they referred the matter to the Assistant Attorneys General of the Criminal Division and the National Security Division, apparently without highlighting the possible fraud violation. The only comment the Bureau apparently offered was that any investigation of Garrison was likely to be presented by Garrison as the FBI attempting to interfere with his investigation.



When the Bureau received a second report that seemed to corroborate their initial source, they decided that nothing had changed. If they attempted to investigate Garrison, it was inevitable that it would become known in the area and word would leak to Garrison. “Rightly or wrongly, the Bureau would be accused of trying to intimidate Garrison and engaging in the same tactics which are currently being charged to Garrison himself.” As a result, the Bureau concluded that it wouldn’t be in their best interest “to voluntarily institute a fraud investigation of Garrison at this time.” Instead, they simply referred the matter to the Assistant Attorneys General again.



Years later, Garrison would be swept up in an organized crime and gambling probe. Unlike the prior fraud allegations, these didn’t center on Garrison exclusively. Two New Orleans police officers “and seven other persons” were arrested as a result of a months long investigation which was summarized in a 113-page affidavit and supported by tape recordings. For his part, Garrison had long argued that there was no such as the mafia and nothing wrong with him receiving gifts from those associated with the Marcello crime family.

You can read part of the FBI’s release below, or the rest on the request page.








http://goodlife.org

Welcome to the Historic Homestead
of Scott & Helen Nearing
The mission of the Good Life Center is to perpetuate the legacy of Helen and Scott Nearing. The Good Life Center, through its programming and preservation of the historic Forest Farm homestead, advocates for simple and sustainable living skills, social and economic justice, organic gardening and the non-exploitation of animals.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GOOD LIFE CENTER





https://books.google.com/books?id=mj4rD ... le&f=false

Stalking Sociologists: J. Edgar Hoover's FBI Surveillance of American Sociology
By Renee C. Fox



Book Description Taylor Francis Inc, United Kingdom, 2003. Paperback. Book Condition: New. New.. Language: English . Brand New Book. Until recent years, the Federal Bureau of Investigation enjoyed an exalted reputation as America s premier crime-fighting organization. However, it is now common knowledge that the FBI and its long-time director, J. Edgar Hoover, were responsible for the creation of a massive internal security apparatus that undermined the very principles of freedom and democracy they were sworn to protect. While no one was above suspicion, Hoover appears to have held a special disdain for sociologists and placed many of the profession s most prominent figures under surveillance. In Stalking Sociologists, Mike Forrest Keen offers a detailed account of the FBI s investigations within the context of an overview of the history of American sociology. This ground-breaking analysis history uses documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. Keen argues that Hoover and the FBI marginalized sociologists such as W. E. B. Du Bois and C. Wright Mills, tried to suppress the development of a Marxist tradition in American sociology, and likely pushed the mainstream of the discipline away from a critique of American society and towards a more quantitative and scientific direction.He documents thousands of man-hours and millions of dollars dedicated to this project. Faculty members of various departments of sociology were recruited to inform on the activities of their colleagues and the American Sociological Association was a target of FBI surveillance. Keen turns sociology back upon the FBI, using the writings and ideas of the very sociologists Hoover investigated to examine and explain the excesses of the Bureau and its boss. The result is a significant contribution to the collective memory of American society as well as the accurate history of the sociological discipline. This ground-breaking book documents in meticulous detail decades of harassment and surveillance of major American sociologists by the FBI. The misuse of power.will outrage all Americans and raise significant professional issues within the social sciences. --Mary Jo Deegan, professor of sociology, University of Nebraska.



"Keen raises important questions about academic freedom and whether the fear of "subversive" ideas shaped the direction of American sociology, leading to the marginalization of Marxism and to the hegemony of quantitative and statistical analyses."-Choice

Keen raises important questions about academic freedom and whether the fear of "subversive" ideas shaped the direction of American sociology, leading to the marginalization of Marxism and to the hegemony of quantitative and statistical analyses.?-Choice

"Based on research of FBI files on some of America's most eminent sociologists, Mike Keen's Stalking the Sociological Imagination extends our understanding of the politics of FBI surveillance, the social costs of Cold War anti-communism, and the origins of McCarthyism."-Athan Theoharis Professor of History Marquette University

"This ground-breaking book documents in meticulous detail decades of harassment and surveillance of major American sociologists by the FBI. This misuse of power, public funds, and national trust will outrage all Americans and raise significant professional issues within the social sciences."-Mary Jo Deegan Professor of Sociology University of Nebraska

"Mike Keen has published a stimulating book that adds new grist to the mill of sociological theory and history of American sociology....[H]e has produced a book that is of interest to students of social theory and the experts who teach them. Students will find his clear and comprehensive discussion informative and engagingly written, and professors will glean new insights into topics and theorists that they know well....Because of the novelty of the information and the quality of prose, this book will have wide appeal."-Barry V. Johnston Professor Department of Sociology Indiana University Northwest

Read more
About the Author
MIKE FORREST KEEN is Associate Professor and Chairperson of the Department of Sociology at Indiana University South Bend. He teaches classical and contemporary social theory, sociology of science, and environment and society. His previous work includes numerous scholarly articles and Eastern Europe in Transformation: The Impact on Sociology (Greenwood, 1994) edited with Janusz L. Mucha.






Link du jour


http://kneadingconference.com


https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/he ... cb1632c15c



http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/03/ch ... iser-poll/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... tack-herat

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/n ... c9d16131c3



http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/02/se ... rice-hike/


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... ths-russia


https://openlibrary.org/books/OL5446450 ... _good_life


https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyl ... cf8b5e5236



http://www.denverpost.com/2017/08/03/ri ... drugs-fda/


Senate passes “right to try” bill to help terminally ill patients get experimental drugs


http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2017/08/ ... hree-hours



https://robertscribbler.com/2017/08/02/ ... ransition/


A Beautiful Machine to Change the World — Model 3 to Transform Global Automobile Markets, Open Pathway For Rapid Energy Transition
“The Tesla Model 3 is here, and it is the most important vehicle of the century. Yes, the hyperbole is necessary.” — Motor Trend.

“The arrival of Tesla’s Model 3 signals a new chapter in automotive history, one that erases 100-plus years of the gas engine and replaces it with technology, design, and performance hot enough to make electric vehicles more than aspirational – to make [electric vehicles (EVs)] inspirational.” — Wired.

“[T]here isn’t anybody who’s going to sit in the driver’s seat of this car and not want it. The Model 3 stokes immediate desire, and the lust lingers. That truly changes everything.” — Business Insider.



(The Tesla Model 3 entered low rate initial production in July of 2017. There has likely never been a more anticipated, desired, or better reviewed automobile. Image source: Tesla. )

*****

More than half a million.

That’s the number of pre-orders Tesla’s Model 3 has racked up since its 2016 product announcement and through its July 2017 launch. And it’s possible that there’s never been a car that’s so anticipated, so desired by the public. People are literally clamoring for this best-in-class, long-range, all-electric vehicle. Elon Musk is getting harassed on twitter by followers anxious to know when their Model 3 will be ready for purchase. And it’s questionable if Elon’s plan to go through ‘mass production hell’ to reach 500K per year annual production rates by end 2018 will ever come close to satiating demand for what is far more than just an amazing automobile (Tesla reports it is still accumulating reservations at a rate of 1,800 per day net, or more than 12,000 per week).

If we were to tap into what drives Model 3 customers, what fuels this particularly virulent brand of Tesla-mania, we’d probably find a dynamic combination of desire, aspiration, and fear. Desire for what is hands-down an absolutely awesome vehicle. Aspiration to contribute to a public good through a meaningful purchase. And a growing fear that we need to move very swiftly away from fossil fuels to confront the rising crisis that is human-caused climate change.

Beautiful Machines

The vehicle itself is just simply extraordinary. For 35,000 dollars you can get a car with a 220 mile all-electric range. For 44,000, the car’s renewable legs lengthen still further to 310 miles. This graceful beast can rocket from 0-60 in less than six seconds. And her interior is wrapped in the kind of bubble cockpit, due to glass roofing, that most fighter pilots would envy. She’s a vehicle that gives a nod to the simplicity of earlier times with her gadget-less dash board. Her liquid exterior a reflection-in-form of the plasma-producing energy of a futuristic, but quietly purring, all-electric drive train.



(Tesla’s beautiful machine launches. Top down view shows iconic glass roof. Image source: Tesla.)

Elon Musk has delivered to us the exact opposite of a clunky automobile made up of all the worst excesses of a stinking smokestack civilization. The Model 3 comes across as a bold and proud creature of air and light. A hopeful machine designed in the pursuit of a better future day, a better way forward.

Changing the World for the Better

And this is what brings us to the heart of the matter. The crux of the reason why hunger for the Model 3 is quite possibly without cure, without limit. People in advanced civilizations these days are tired of being the butt of blame. And they are more than a little worried about what may be coming down the Keystone XL pipeline of climate change. They don’t want to contribute to the great death and harm that is worsening climate disruption with their purchases. They no longer want to be consumers captive to the unforgiving, smog-belching yoke of fossil fuels. They want the vehicular equivalent of the paladin’s white horse. They want to buy into a liberation from an age of pain and heartbreak and endless bad choices with no visible way out. And with each Model 3 purchase — that’s exactly what they are doing.



(Tesla aims for 5,000 vehicle per week Model 3 production ramp by late fall. Image source: Tesla.)

For if Tesla is able to meet this visceral demand for a truly renewable vehicle, if the company is able to ramp up to 20,000 + vehicle per month production rates, it will, by itself, more than double the size of the U.S. Electrical vehicle market in just 1-2 years. The batteries the elegant Model 3 relies on will form a basis for extending the reach of already affordable wind and solar energy (as we are seeing this week in a new wind + battery deal off Massachusetts). And the seismic ground wave produced by the Model 3 will drive a major spike in demand for other, similar electrical vehicles from an expanding array of automakers.

The Model 3 is thus the tip of the spear for speeding an energy transition in the U.S. and in many other countries. And she couldn’t have come at a better time.



https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... -life-raft

A second Brexit referendum? It’s looking more likely by the day



https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... jones-fcc/

August 1, 2017
You can’t make this up, folks! InfoWars fans take to the FCC to defend Alex Jones
“If Infowars is considered conspiracy theory news or propagandist, then what is Washington Post, CNN, New York Times, and Fox News considered?”
Written by Caitlin Russell
Edited by JPat Brown
There are so many hilarious, red faced, shirt tearing, pants-on-head-crazy Alex Jones moments that of course there should be a treasure trove of outraged FCC complaints about him.

But of course, dreams are made to be broken, and the world is a terrible place.

A request for FCC complaints for normal website InfoWars turned up a handful of indignant Jones fans furious that their fearless leader was so rudely disrespected by the hosts of other shows.

There’s death threats against “legitimate” news networks …



unfounded accusations of racism …



which, while we’re on the subject, white people are the real victims of …



and this somewhat salient point …



that’s undercut by the fact that while mainstream media is far from perfect, but none of the outlets mentioned above ever claimed to have evidence of Hillary Clinton birthing an alien lifeform out of her mouth.

Read the full complaints embedded below, or on the request



The planet edges closer to a major tipping point
Climate change will almost certainly heat the world so much it can never recover, major study finds

There's only a 10 per cent chance we'll avoid widespread drought, extreme weather and dangerous increases in sea level

The Independent (U.K.), Aug. 1, 2017
The scientists looked at 50 years of data on world population and economic activity to come up with their forecast. One factor taken into account was "carbon intensity", the amount of carbon emitted for each dollar of economic activity.

The approach is different from that taken by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), whose most recent report included future warming rates based on four carbon emission scenarios.

Professor Adrian Raftery, who led the University of Washington team, said: "The big problem with scenarios is that you don't know how likely they are, and whether they span the full range of possibilities or are just a few examples. Scientifically, this type of storytelling approach was not fully satisfying.

"Our analysis is compatible with previous estimates, but it finds that the most optimistic projections are unlikely to happen. We're closer to the margin than we think.

"Overall, the goals expressed in the Paris Agreement are ambitious but realistic. The bad news is they are unlikely to be enough to achieve the target of keeping warming at or below 1.5 degrees."

The findings are published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

A separate study in the same journal found that even if all fossil fuel emissions were halted this year, global temperatures were very likely to be 1.3C higher than pre-industrial levels by the end of the century.

There was a 13% chance that the Earth was already committed to 1.5C warming by 2100, said the authors led by Dr Thorsten Mauritsen, from the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany.



http://www.independent.co.uk/environmen ... 69641.html



We only have a 5 percent chance of avoiding ‘dangerous’ global warming, a study finds

The Washington Post, July 31, 2017

In recent years, it has become increasingly common to frame the climate change problem as a kind of countdown — each year we emit more carbon dioxide, narrowing the window for fixing the problem, but not quite closing it yet. After all, something could still change. Emissions could still start to plunge precipitously. Maybe next year.

This outlook has allowed, at least for some, for the preservation of a form of climate optimism in which big changes, someday soon, will still make the difference. Christiana Figureres, the former head of the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change, recently joined with a group of climate scientists and policy wonks to state there are three years left to get emissions moving sharply downward. If, that is, we’re holding out hope of limiting the warming of the globe to below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial temperatures, often cited as the threshold where “dangerous” warming begins (although in truth, that’s a matter of interpretation).

Yet a battery of recent studies call into question even that limited optimism. Last week, a group of climate researchers published research suggesting the climate has been warming for longer than we thought due to human influences — in essence, pushing the so-called “preindustrial” baseline for the planet’s warming backwards in time. The logic is clear: If the Earth has already warmed more than we thought due to human activities, then there’s even less remaining carbon dioxide that we can emit and still avoid 2 degrees of warming.

Two new studies published Monday, meanwhile, go further towards advancing this pessimistic view which asserts that there’s little chance of the world will stay within prescribed climate limits.

The first new study calculates the statistical likelihood of various amounts of warming by the year 2100 based on three trends that matter most for how much carbon we put in the air. Those are the global population, countries’ GDP (on a per capita basis), and carbon intensity, or the volume of emissions for a given level of economic activity.

The research finds that the median warming is likely to be 3.2 degrees Celsius, and further concludes that there’s only a 5 percent chance that the world can hold limiting below 2 degrees Celsius and a mere 1 percent chance that it can be limited below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit). That will come as bad news for vulnerable small island nations in particular, which have held out for a 1.5 degree target, along with other particularly vulnerable nations.

“There is a lot of uncertainty about the future, our analysis does reflect that, but it also does reflect that the more optimistic scenarios that have been used in targets seem quite unlikely to occur,” said statistician Adrian Raftery of the University of Washington, Seattle. Raftery conducted the study, which was just published in Nature Climate Change, alongside colleagues at the University of California, Santa Barbara and Upstart Networks.

The research is significant because 2 degrees Celsius has often been regarded as the threshold for so-called “dangerous” climate change. Figueres herself put it this way in an interview with CBS News: “Science has established for quite a while that we need to respect a threshold of 2 degrees, that being the limit of the temperature increase that we can afford from a human, economic and infrastructure point of view.”

The second new study, meanwhile, takes a different approach, analyzing how much global warming the world has already committed to, since the warming due to some emissions has not yet arrived. Nonetheless, with the planet at a so-called energy imbalance, that warming is inevitably coming, and the study — conducted by Thorsten Mauritsen of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Germany and Robert Pincus of the University of Colorado, Boulder — finds that it probably pushes us several slivers of a degree beyond where we are now.

The upshot is that we may already have firmly committed to 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming even if emissions were to stop immediately and entirely (which is not going to happen). One scenario presented in the study finds a 13 percent chance that 1.5 degrees is already baked in; another finds a 32 percent chance. And again, the margin for avoiding 2 degrees C narrows accordingly.

Glen Peters, a climate policy expert at the Center for International Climate Research in Oslo, is on the record stating that he thinks there’s little chance of holding warming to 2 degrees Celsius unless we come up with so-called “negative emissions” technologies that allow us to actively withdraw carbon dioxide from the atmosphere later in the century.

Somewhat surprisingly, though, Peters actually felt that the first new study, finding only a 5 percent chance of staying below 2 degrees, might be a tad too negative. It takes into account past climate policies, he notes, but not the possibility of a major upsurge in global climate action in coming years, unlike what we’ve seen previously. Indeed, the study notes that “Our forecasting model does not explicitly incorporate future legislation that could change future emissions.”

“Less than 2 degrees of warming is unlikely if we don’t try,” said Peters. “I’m one that says that 2 degrees is not likely anyway — but if we try, at least it’s an option that we can get to 2 degrees.”

(Raftery, speaking about this aspect of his study, noted to me that “I think it’s possible that the future might be completely different, and there’ll be a sudden big jump forward, but past data would suggest that’s being a bit optimistic.”)

However, at the same time Peters also admitted that the study about committed warming reinforced a troubling conclusion, since “it’s in a sense impossible that we’re not going to emit any more.” The upshot is that “We’re starting from 1.5 and going up from there in the future emissions that we have,” he said.

This again means that negative emissions, based on technologies that don’t exist yet at the relevant scale, would probably be required at some point in the future. The new research “emphasizes the importance of removing carbon from the atmosphere,” said Peters.

The upshot of all the latest research, however, is that while limiting warming to 2 degrees is seeming unlikely, and 1.5 degrees nearly impossible, staying within something like 2.5 degrees still seems quite possible if there’s concerted action. And who knows whether in thirty years, negative emissions may appear much more feasible than they do now, providing the option of cooling the planet back down again at some point.

In sum, climate pessimism has indeed had a strong run lately — but you have to keep in context. It’s pessimism that we’ll hit our current goals. It’s not fatalism, or the idea that we’ll accomplish nothing, or that present momentum doesn’t matter.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/ene ... 87271d4a1a





https://www.theguardian.com/technology/ ... ined-in-us

Briton who stopped WannaCry attack arrested over separate malware claims
Marcus Hutchins arrested over his alleged role in creating Kronos malware targeting bank accounts



https://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/ ... layers-mlb

The long decline – and possible revival – of the African American baseball star
Players such as Jackie Robinson and Willie Mays helped shape baseball, and America. So why has the number of black players halved since the 1980s?






https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... ropaganda/

August 3, 2017
Former House Majority Leader worked with the CIA to use a Congressional investigation for propaganda - and it backfired
Agency felt investigation into Soviet war crimes might have led to charges of U.S. biological warfare in Korea
Written by Emma Best
Edited by JPat Brown
Declassified CIA documents describe the Agency’s agreement to work with a Senator’s plan to use a 1952 Congressional investigation into Soviet war crimes for propaganda purposes. Congress was looking into the Katyn massacre in which the KGB’s predecessor’s, the NKVD, murdered thousands of Polish prisoners of war and which the Soviet Union denied responsibility for until 1990. In 1952, the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives sought to use the investigation of very real Soviet war crimes as a propaganda opportunity, and while it may have worked in the short run, documents indicate that both CIA and State Department personnel believe it may have backfired, and led to charges the U.S. was using biological weapons in Korea.

According to the formerly TOP SECRET CIA document describing the February 28, 1952 Director’s Meeting, then Deputy Director Allen Dulles was approach by John Mitchell, the Counsel of the Committee which was investigating Katyn (no relation to Nixon’s John Mitchell). Mitchell, who discussed the matter with Congressman McCormack, hoped the Agency would be cooperative with the probe to their mutual benefit.

However, those attending the Director’s Meeting had some concerns -someone whose name is redacted, likely Mitchell or McCormack, was seen as “unreliable” and not worth trusting with Agency operational details. Previously, the Agency had expressed concern that Mitchell would ask them to provide a lot of assistance with the probe. Regardless, the Agency’s senior staff decided they couldn’t let the opportunity go by “in view of its propaganda value.” As a result, Deputy Director of Plans Frank Wisner agreed to “follow through” on the matter. While a memo was apparently written from Dulles to Wisner memorializing the conversation with Mitchell, it has not yet been declassified.



Wisner had earlier recommended against working with Mitchell or any Congressional investigation. Several months earlier, Mitchell had approached Wisner when he first became the Counsel for the Committee investigation. According to a formerly SECRET memo from Wisner to the Department of State, Mitchell had approached Wisner about cooperating on the probe with no apparent mention of propaganda except a desire to avoid investigating “government officials (presumably of G-2)” who had been accused of “having suppressed certain highly relevant documents.” Wisner appropriately referred him to the Office of Legislative Counsel without commenting. In his memo, Wisner added that he did “not consider it appropriate for this Agency to become involved in Congressional investigations” - Wisner felt that was this was the Department of State’s jurisdiction.

According to another formerly SECRET memo, which had curiously been referenced two days before it was written, Congressman McCormack followed up with CIA’s Legislative Counsel when the hearings had all but concluded, with only two days and five of eighty-one witnesses still to testify, to discuss the Katyn propaganda effort. While he wanted to know how CIA evaluated the overseas propaganda value of the Congressional Committee investigating the Katyn Massacre, he felt that it “had been extremely successful from the standpoint of favorable United States propaganda.”



While neither the hearings nor Mitchell’s liaising with CIA had come to an end, Congressman McCormack already his eye on the future. To his view, the effort had been more than successful enough to warrant considering doing the same thing again. McCormack openly speculated “as to whether it might not be helpful if other Congressional investigations might be undertaken with a view towards utilizing them for psychological warfare purposes.” Where the cooperation over the Katyn investigation had coalesced around an already existing effort on the part of Congress, McCormack now suggested forming new committees with that explicit expectation. In particular, he was considering “a special Congressional Committee to investigate atrocities against American soldiers in Korea, with broad enough authority to include examining into [sic] the germ warfare charges.”



In response, CIA Director General Walter Bedell Smith responded that the Agency “should have no interest in this matter.” The Director’s refusal to cooperate may have had several motivations. The first may have simply been a refusal to create Congressional investigations for propaganda purposes - using an existing investigation into war crimes as an opportunity for propaganda was one thing, but creating Congressional investigations with that purpose in mind was something altogether different.



Assuming that McCormack had meant investigating Communist use of biological weapons in Korea, then the Agency had a major obstacle to pursuing that propaganda angle. According to the formerly TOP SECRET record of another Director’s Meeting held soon after, the Agency already had a proposed propaganda plan involving Communist bacteriological warfare in Korea. The problem was that the State Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff had disapproved of the plan since the Agency had been unable to prove there was a Communist bacteriological warfare unit in Korea.



There was another reason for the Agency to “show no interest” in the matter - some staff members of CIA and the State Department believed that the propaganda relating to the Katyn investigation had backfired. According to a formerly SECRET issue of the Current Intelligence Digest from April 12, 1952, the Italian Embassy reported that the Communist press was “continuing an intensive propaganda campaign” that alleged U.S. use of biological warfare in Korea. The Embassy believed that the campaign may have been designed “in part to draw public attention away from the investigation of the Katyn massacre.”



The Embassy and the CIA analysts reviewing their information weren’t the only ones to see such a link as plausible. A declassified Psychological Strategy Board memo written several months later describes an October 1952 conversation between John Elliott and Charles Bohlen, who was then the Counsellor to the State Department and would be named, several months later, as the Ambassador to the Soviet Union. In their discussion, Bohlen brought up the U.S.’s past propaganda against the Soviet Union. In Bohlen’s mind, the propaganda tended to be “too strident and shrill.” Bohlen believed that this resulting in alarming the U.S.’s allies more than any intimidation to the Kremlin. Worse, the “sharp attacks” reinforced the “incipient impression lurking in the minds of the peoples of the democratic world that the U.S. was a warmongering nation trying to incite hostilities with the Soviet Union.” Creating this image, Bohlen noted, was a goal of Soviet propaganda - one that the U.S. had inadvertently been helping them with.



Bohlen cited that Katyn massacre investigation as a specific example of this. He felt that the barrage of propaganda released in connection with the investigation had backfired. Like the Embassy staff members several months earlier, Bohlen felt that it “may have been responsible for the launching of the Communist bacteriological warfare charges against the United States in reprisal.”



Perhaps the Agency should have listened to Frank Wisner in 1951.

You can read additional CIA documents discussing Katyn here, the seven volumes of Congressional hearings here, the interim report here and the final report here. The Director’s Meeting memo is embedded below.

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the ... 3cac6fb1fc

Deputy AG announces new Forensic Science Working Group but still doesn’t grasp the extent of problem


August 7 at 6:13 PM

Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein on Capitol Hill in June. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)
In a speech at the International Association for Identification on Monday, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced the creation of a Forensic Science Working Group within the Justice Department. Recall that one of the first moves by Attorney General Jeff Sessions was to end the National Commission on Forensic Science (NCFS), which brought in independent scientists to evaluate the credibility of forensics fields used in U.S. courtrooms.

The new group will be housed within the Justice Department, which will inevitably make it less independent and less transparent than the NCFS. It will be led by Ted Hunt, a longtime prosecutor. Though Hunt worked with the NCFS, putting a prosecutor in charge of forensic reform doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in the new working group’s impartiality.

For that matter, neither does Rosenstein’s speech. It’s been striking to see prosecutors and law enforcement groups react to the critiques of forensics that have come from the scientific community. Those critiques didn’t come out of nowhere. They came from commissions and panels formed after DNA testing, crime lab scandals and exonerations showed us that for decades prosecutors have been presenting juries with “scientific” evidence that is anything but. The FBI’s hair fiber analysis scandal alone tainted thousands of cases. And yet the reactions from prosecutors to these critiques — that experts are overstating their findings, wrongly implicating suspects, or practicing fields utterly lacking in any scientific principles at all — have been utterly devoid of any humility
Rosenstein’s speech Monday is less strident than others I’ve seen, but it’s still preachy and didactic.

Those disciplines have been around for a long time. When subjected to informed cross examination, expert testimony can be tremendously probative and helpful to the jury.

Nevertheless, some critics have sought to limit the forensic evidence and testimony that can be presented in court. These critics suggest that unless a forensic discipline has a “known error rate,” evidence derived from that discipline should not be admitted in court. Under that standard, trusted and reliable forensic evidence would be excluded simply because the discipline is not susceptible to an easy-to-calculate error rate.

The folly of that approach is clear when critics question fingerprint analysis. They admit that it usually works. Their objection is that it requires judgment.

This isn’t quite true. Few are suggesting fingerprint evidence be barred from the courtroom. The criticism is that experts have been overstating the certainty of fingerprint evidence, particularly when it comes to partial prints. Fingerprinting has long been touted as the “gold standard” in forensics. It’s been touted as foolproof and definitive. The criticism here is that if we don’t actually know how unique a fingerprint is in a given population, we can’t tell jurors that they’re unique. If prosecutors want to present fingerprint evidence, jurors should be made aware of this. And if experts want to testify about “matches” and levels of “certainty,” let’s give them regular competency tests arranged by outside entities.



FBI agent allowed to take a medical retirement after he broke the law.
This allows him to collect a tax payer funded pension of over $50,000.00
a year.



http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/loca ... ty/438355/

Prosecutor: Suspended FBI agent didn't mention mistress was investigator

An FBI agent who ran a "To Catch a Predator"-style task force in North Georgia pleaded guilty Thursday to disclosing confidential information.

According to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice, Special Agent Ken Hillman let Emerson Russell and his wife, Angela, observe agents chatting undercover with potential child predators. He also let them ride along for meet ups and arrests of the task force's targets.

In addition, Hillman let Angela Russell chat with suspects on an FBI laptop, as if she were an agent herself.


Hillman pleaded guilty in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Walter Johnson. District Court Judge Harold Murphy will sentence Hillman, though the release does not say when that will be. He faces a penalty of up to 1 year in prison, plus a fine of up to $100,000.

The Northwest Georgia Internet Crime and Child Exploitation Task Force, spearheaded by Hillman, also consisted of officers from multiple local agencies, including the Catoosa County Sheriff's Office. The investigators would post on websites like Craigslist or Backpage.com, pretending to be fathers and uncles willing to pawn off children for sex.

The task force disbanded after Hillman's relationship with Angela Russell became public in February 2013. According to an internal Ringgold police investigation, Officer Tom Evans stopped Hillman and Angela Russell in the parking lot of a local bar, after the staff called 911 to report a couple that might be driving away drunk.

According to the investigation, the officer drove them to an apartment in the Chattanooga area. The officer also said that Hillman told him he was having an affair with Angela Russell. Emerson Russell later said he watched his estranged wife chat with the task force's targets while they were still together.

Angela Russell is not a trained officer. According to the Department of Justice release, Hillman did not receive clearance from his bosses to include her in his investigations.

Hillman was given a "medical retirement" from the FBI, his sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 22 at 1 p.m.



Agent admits to letting untrained woman serve as undercover officer in sting to stop child molesters
Read more






http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingne ... 01165.html

'Jason Corbett can't speak to you but his blood speaks the truth and ...
Irish Examiner-
In closing arguments, Davidson County prosecutors alleged that former FBI agent Thomas Martens and his daughter Molly brutally bludgeoned Irish ...





https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... n-per-year

Fossil fuel subsidies are a staggering $5 tn per year
A new study finds 6.5% of global GDP goes to subsidizing dirty fossil fuels

Monday 7 August 2017 06.00 EDT

Fossil fuels have two major problems that paint a dim picture for their future energy dominance. These problems are inter-related but still should be discussed separately. First, they cause climate change. We know that, we’ve known it for decades, and we know that continued use of fossil fuels will cause enormous worldwide economic and social consequences.

Second, fossil fuels are expensive. Much of their costs are hidden, however, as subsidies. If people knew how large their subsidies were, there would be a backlash against them from so-called financial conservatives.

A study was just published in the journal World Development that quantifies the amount of subsidies directed toward fossil fuels globally, and the results are shocking. The authors work at the IMF and are well-skilled to quantify the subsidies discussed in the paper.

Let’s give the final numbers and then back up to dig into the details. The subsidies were $4.9 tn in 2013 and they rose to $5.3 tn just two years later. According to the authors, these subsidies are important because first, they promote fossil fuel use which damages the environment. Second, these are fiscally costly. Third, the subsidies discourage investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy that compete with the subsidized fossil fuels. Finally, subsidies are very inefficient means to support low-income households.

With these truths made plain, why haven’t subsidies been eliminated? The answer to that is a bit complicated. Part of the answer to this question is that people do not fully appreciate the costs of fossil fuels to the rest of us. Often we think of them as all gain with no pain.

So what is a subsidy anyway? Well, that too isn’t black and white. Typically, people on the street think of a subsidy as a direct financial cost that result in consumers paying a price that is below the opportunity cost of the product (fossil fuel in this case). However, as pointed out by the authors, a more correct view of the costs would encompass:


Link du jour
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... urne-beach

http://www.neonnettle.com/features/890- ... chemtrails

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertai ... abd5d1601a


https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesig ... n-pictures

http://sharkhunters.com/NEWS.htm

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... xtra-money

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3389548

http://www.kilowattlabs.com/about-us.html


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -gun-video







http://www.theadvocate.com/new_orleans/ ... 75afe.html

Suspended FBI agent accuses bureau of retaliation, violating his rights in Harry Morel case


AUG 7, 2017 - 1:53 PM (…)


A New Orleans-based FBI agent filed a federal lawsuit Monday claiming the bureau violated his First Amendment rights last year when it suspended him without pay for sending an unusual letter to the judge who presided over criminal proceedings involving former St. Charles Parish District Attorney Harry Morel.

The agent, Michael S. Zummer, accused the FBI of retaliating against him for sending a 31-page letter to U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt that criticized the way federal prosecutors handled allegations that Morel demanded sexual favors from women who were caught up in the criminal justice system.

Zummer, who served as lead agent in the Morel case, outlined a host of what he considered improprieties in his letter, claiming Morel received favorable treatment and that his plea agreement had been tainted by prosecutorial misconduct within the local U.S. Attorney's Office.

The agent disregarded bureau directives by sending the document to the judge on the eve of Morel's sentencing.

In a written order at one point, Engelhardt said he shared Zummer's concerns about whether the Justice Department "is either unable or unwilling to self-police lapses of ethics, professionalism and truthfulness in its ranks."

The judge declined to make the letter public, but Zummer ultimately released portions of it after the FBI, following a lengthy review, blacked out entire pages of the document, in which Zummer apparently implicated a list of government officials he said acted improperly in the Morel case.

Federal authorities publicly accused Morel of being a "sexual predator" and of committing a host of crimes, including sexual assault, dating back decades, but they never pursued charges on those offenses.

Morel ultimately faced just one count of obstruction of justice, a charge that stemmed from his efforts to derail a long-running FBI investigation. The former district attorney is serving a three-year prison term.

The new lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, asserts that Zummer's decision to send the letter to Engelhardt was protected by his right to freedom of speech. It offers new details about his suspension and says Zummer initially took pains to send the letter in accordance with FBI protocol.

Before being stripped of his security clearance and escorted out of the bureau's New Orleans field office, Zummer first was suspended from conducting any investigative activity and told that he "was to move his desk to the empty nurse's office on the second floor" of the FBI's lakefront office, the lawsuit says.


He received an email from a supervisor saying his new role was "not a punishment," but adding that he could not be assigned to cases anymore "because you have taken the position that information you personally gather in the performance of your duties as an FBI special agent may be disclosed by you as a private citizen ... despite being instructed not to do so without authorization."

An FBI spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit.

A former Marine and a Stanford-educated attorney, Zummer has been prohibited by Justice Department rules from practicing law for compensation during his indefinite suspension and has been told he can take another job only with the FBI's permission, the lawsuit says.

In the suit, Zummer is asking the court for his old job back at the bureau, as well as back pay, damages and an order allowing him to make public the full letter he sent to Engelhardt about the Morel case.

Zummer wrote in the letter that he had encountered "systemic corruption" within the Justice Department and that he came under pressure at times to cover up the misconduct of federal prosecutors.



http://www.nwitimes.com/news/local/crim ... b7263.html

UPDATE: Assistant US attorney says Lake County Sheriff John Buncich put money 'in his back pocket' as public corruption trial opens


Aug 7, 2017




http://presidentialufo.com


Grant Cameron: The Government's UFO Disclosure Plan
Written by Grant Cameron
Thursday, 23 March 2017 15:48


There has been a lot of discussion in the UFO community lately about disclosure. There has been so much, in fact, that many people don't want to hear the word anymore. The word disclosure has become almost as unpopular as the word UFO. The disclosure word became unpopular, perhaps because there have been many predictions of imminent disclosure with nothing happening. People now either believe that it won't happen, or they share the position taken by John Alexander and repeated by former Senior CIA officer Jim Semivan, which is that "disclosure has already happened, it is confirmation that we are after."

What needs to be clarified is that there are two types of disclosure. Most researchers, when they refer to UFO disclosure, mean the President stands at the podium and says "ETs are here." That would be full disclosure. Disclosure is defined as "the action of making new or secret information known or a fact, especially a secret, that is made known."

Government UFO disclosure is someone who has a need-to-know revealing information about the UFO mystery that we didn't know before they started talking. An example of this might be Hillary Clinton saying "They (aliens) may already be here." This is a big departure from government officials who have maintained that none of the UFO evidence shows any indication of an ET presence. Disclosure is also officials admitting there is probably life out there in outer space. Saying they may already be here is to me a disclosure. Saying aliens may be here is a big deal, especially when the same Hillary Clinton and her campaign manager John Podesta state that if elected they will disclose what they can about the government's secret UFO knowledge.

When George W. Bush is asked if he reviewed the government UFO files when he got to the White House says, "maybe," that is disclosure. He could have said "No" but he didn't. He is revealing something we didn't know as the official government position is that there are no unreleased UFO files. Seconds later, Bush responds as to whether he can talk about what he saw, and that too is disclosure.

Assuming there is a non-human intelligence interacting with mankind, and assuming the United States government has dealt with that mystery, there are three possibilities:

Plan 1: A Government Cover-up - The government plan might be to cover-up and bury the UFO story. If that were the case, their actions would be to simply shut up about the subject and never talk about it again. Canada, as an example, released all their UFO sighting files in 1967, announced they would no longer investigate UFOs, and then completely shut up. Unlike the United States, in Canada, there have been no whistleblowers, government rumors about underground bases, or leaked documents. Government UFO researchers in Canada have nothing to research or research. The lack of any discussion on the part of the Canadian government makes it look like they might, in fact, not be involved anymore. If there is a cover-up, it is a cover-up of what the Canadians described in a 1950 Top Secret memo to be the "most highly classified subject in the United States." The release of that information is punishable by ten years in jail for every item leaked. The amount of "seemingly" leaked material that I will point out in this book strongly indicates that there is no full cover-up going on. There have been no UFO prosecutions, and it is very evident that officials are aware of the UFO leaks, and where they originate.

Plan 2: The Disclosure Plan - The second idea is that the United States government is preparing for full disclosure. This theory is flawed from the start because they would not be leaking bits and pieces of unsupported stories into the public domain. If the plan were to disclose, the president would just stand in front of the White House press corps and announce whatever the truth is behind the UFO mystery. If the government wanted full disclosure, they would take the editor of the The New York Times and The Washington Post to an underground base and show them a downed saucer and alien bodies. Then they would provide whatever statements, photos, and documents required to do a front-page article with the truth. What has been going on for 70 years does not fit this scenario.

Plan 3: An Acclimatization Plan - The third possibility is that they are preparing the population over an extended period for the knowledge that we are not alone in the universe. Other such as Bob Bigalow have termed this confirmation. When the evidence gets a fair review, it seems apparent that there is some long-term acclimatization plan going on. The burning question is what government is doing to reveal the UFO story to the public, why it is being done the way that it is, and what was the final plan. The United States government has not shut up and remained quiet as in Plan 1. They have not made a disclosure announcement as in Plan 2, so they are obviously doing something in between. Seen in this light, the statements of Hillary Clinton and George Bush now make sense. They are playing a gradual disclosure game. Don't lie, but don't reveal classified information. It is a difficult road they have to walk. If Clinton was doing full disclosure she would say ETs are here and I will produce the documents. If she were covering up, she would not have brought up the subject. She did something in between. If Bush was doing full disclosure, he would have brought documents and alien pictures to Jimmy Kimmel's interview. If he were covering up, he would have said he didn't look at the UFO documents instead of saying "maybe." He would have said I don't know anything, instead of "I'm not saying nothin'!" He did something in between. Once the actions of the United States government are seen as gradual disclosure or acclimatization event, the things they have done, and continue to do, start to make sense.

I will shortly release a book called Managing Magic: The United States Government Disclosure Plan, which is a historical look of what the government did, and perhaps why they did it. In the book I tried to look at the 64 possible reasons that prevented the President of the United States from telling the true and complete story, even when some like Ford and Carter were pro-disclosure when took the presidency. I tried to recount 50 odd stories of efforts made to get out the UFO story, while at the same time protecting the classified UFO secrets. Included among these is Tom DeLonge and his ten high level government sources, five of them who have been identified and confirmed to be key government figures. What most people don't know or forget is that some of these officials were dealing with people in the UFO community long before they ever joined DeLonge's team of advisors. I had written about Podesta's UFO interest twenty years ago, and I knew of his CIA advisor Jim Semivan long before he made contact with DeLonge in April 2016.

The other thing that becomes evident when all 50 stories are put together is that these acclimatization leaks of UFO information go right back to the beginning when Kenneth Arnold was given 8 x 11 photos of flying saucers by the 4th Air Force along with the assurance that they were legitimate. The stories include the 1975 UFO documentary called "UFOs, Past, Present, and Future" that was made and paid for under contract to the Pentagon at a time when the Pentagon said they were not involved in the UFO topic. This must have gone well because the same producers were contacted in 1985. During the negotiation for that documentary the producers were told that the government wanted another documentary as there was film in the vault that they wanted to get out. Then there was the 1988 documentary called "UFO Cover-up ...Live" that appeared on TV in the final couple of weeks of the Reagan administration. Among the things leaked in that documentary was Area-51, first leaked six months before it became public. The documentary introduced the idea of the live alien, which had never been mentioned, and identified the remote viewing program at the DIA, which remained Top Secret till it was revealed seven years later.

From history I gathered together 14 men who I refer to as magicians. They were CIA and their job over the last 70 years was to get the story out via five men that I refer to as the Messiahs. These Messiahs included researchers such as Bill Moore, Steven Greer, and Tom Delonge, who each saw themselves as the person picked to bring disclosure to the American public.

My conclusion is there is no plan to fully disclose, no matter how loud the demands inside the UFO community are. The plan is to continue to drop stories till people are so acclimatized that when full disclosure does happen by those in power, it will surprise no one.

When all the evidence is gathered, it is pretty clear what is happening, but like every good story there is one story that refuses to fit in. This story deals with the election of Donald Trump, and his UFO briefing. I have watched this story for months and was actually contacted by people who thought Trump would not be told the truth. Within this Trump world is a story of a briefing, and a president who was picked by intelligence to be /the disclosure president. It involves a portal/pod. It involves a "goodie bag" which is like an instant replay of the 1997 Corso filing cabinet or the 2012 Chase Brandon Roswell box story. The story also claims that the new president is "open to disclosure and against disinformation." The story is full disclosure and is tied into an identifiable member of the CIA.

I will do a presentation on as many as six UFO disclosure initiatives and the government disclosure process April 22nd from 10AM - 11:30AM Pacific Standard Time for the Portal to Ascension Full Disclosure On-Line Conference:

http://portaltoascension.org/

Grant Cameron
- See more at: http://portaltoascension.org/article/gr ... p3Npv.dpuf



Last Updated on Thursday, 23 March 2017 16:12

Trump and the ETs



Written by Grant Cameron
Tuesday, 22 November 2016 23:55
They may be anticipating some action. I have been waiting for President-Elect Trump to take office before taking more serious actions. He is very "pro-disclosure" and very anti "disinformation." Dr. Ronald Pandolfi who ran the UFO weird desk at the CIA.

Now that Hillary Clinton has been defeated at the polls, her promise to get to the bottom of the government secrecy on UFOs has ended. The stories of some sort of imminent raising of an ET awareness by the government has not.

There is a group of people inside the Pentagon who have come forward, in the last couple of days, who are willing to come forward if they are given the green light by those in the government who control the issue.

If Hillary were asked to elaborate on her knowledge of what happened on UFOs during the Clinton administration, and how the system has kept the secret, it might stir enough controversy to turn the light green.

There is also another move to move the government to open up further on the UFO issue. The famous rocker Tom DeLonge is a big part of this.

I have a source inside the huge number of people that are part of this openness effort. I am aware of the person in Washington who is running it.

When the election was over I asked if the light was still green or if it had turned red. I was told it was still green and bigger than ever, with big names and big money behind it. I was once again pointed to January where there would not be disclosure but a big event.

Sadly, there seems to be no clear intent by any reporter to go down this road for various reasons, so we may just be heading back into the dark ages of knowledge about the UFO subject.

As the researcher who has invested 30 years of research into the relationship between the United States President and UFOs, I have worked a lot to find how Trump fits into the UFO story. Now that he has won the election, the time has come to write about what I have found.

The first thing to mention is that there is very little reliable material that shows a link to Trump and the UFO story, aliens, or extraterrestrial life. All we have is a tweet that indicates he has no interest in the subject.Â






https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/ ... n-minerals

'This Is Nuts': Trump Fumes to Generals That US Should Plunder Afghan Minerals


Thursday, August 03, 2017

'This Is Nuts': Trump Fumes to Generals That US Should Plunder Afghan Minerals
The president also compared military strategy to renovating a restaurant

In a recent situation room meeting with generals and top national security advisors, President Donald Trump reportedly compared war policy to renovating a restaurant and complained that the U.S. isn't doing enough to exploit Afghanistan's mineral wealth.

This is according to senior administration officials who leaked details of the "tense" meeting to NBC News.

Trump also complained that the U.S. is "losing" the war in Afghanistan—which is approaching its 16th year—and said he was contemplating firing Gen. John Nicholson, the commander of American forces in the country, who he has not met.

Here's how NBC summarized the conversation:

Over nearly two hours in the situation room, according to the officials, Trump complained about NATO allies, inquired about the United States getting a piece of Afghanistan's mineral wealth, and repeatedly said the top U.S. general there should be fired. He also startled the room with a story that seemed to compare their advice to that of a paid consultant who cost a tony New York restaurateur profits by offering bad advice.

As Common Dreams reported last week, Trump has long been enticed by the prospect of plundering Afghanistan's untapped mineral reserves. In the meeting with his national security advisors, NBC noted, Trump reiterated his wishes and fumed that China is "making money off of Afghanistan's estimated $1 trillion in rare minerals while American troops are fighting the war."

Trump also "expressed frustration that his advisers tasked with figuring out how the U.S. can help American businesses get rights to those minerals were moving too slowly," NBC reported.

Commentators have in the past argued that Trump's desire to exploit a war-torn country's mineral reserves amounts to a longing for






https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/08 ... ntion.html

How Serious Is The Possibility of a Constitutional Convention?
Posted on August 6, 2017 by Lambert Strether
By Lambert Strether of Corrente.

Let’s start with Article V of the United States Constitution:

The Congress, whenever [A] two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on [B] the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when [C] ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by [D] conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress; provided that no amendment which may be made prior to the year one thousand eight hundred and eight shall in any manner affect the first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article; and that no state, without its consent, shall be deprived of its equal suffrage in the Senate.

(This language — “The first and fourth clauses in the ninth section of the first article” — protects the slave trade.[1]) So amending the Constitution is not easy, and by design. Federalist Papers 39 (which, honestly, reads like a Vox explainer tap-dancing through a heavily contested policy issue, except in 18th Century prose), ALL CAPS as in the original:

The difference between a federal and national government, as it relates to the OPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT, is supposed to consist in this, that in the former the powers operate on the political bodies composing the Confederacy, in their political capacities; in the latter, on the individual citizens composing the nation, in their individual capacities….

But if the government be national with regard to the OPERATION of its powers, it changes its aspect again when we contemplate it in relation to the EXTENT of its powers. ….

(The “EXTENT” of the government’s powers being indeed the key issue, as we shall see.)

If we try the Constitution by its last relation to the authority by which amendments are to be made, we find it neither wholly NATIONAL nor wholly FEDERAL. Were it wholly national, the supreme and ultimate authority would reside in the MAJORITY of the people of the Union; and this authority would be competent at all times, like that of a majority of every national society, to alter or abolish its established government. Were it wholly federal, on the other hand, the concurrence of each State in the Union would be essential to every alteration that would be binding on all. The mode provided by the plan of the convention is not founded on either of these principles. In requiring more than a majority, and principles. In requiring more than a majority, and particularly in computing the proportion by STATES, not by CITIZENS, it departs from the NATIONAL and advances towards the FEDERAL character; in rendering the concurrence of less than the whole number of States sufficient, it loses again the FEDERAL and partakes of the NATIONAL character.

The proposed Constitution, therefore, is, in strictness, neither a national nor a federal Constitution, but a composition of both. In its foundation it is federal, not national; in the sources from which the ordinary powers of the government are drawn, it is partly federal and partly national; in the operation of these powers, it is national, not federal; in the extent of them, again, it is federal, not national; and, finally, in the authoritative mode of introducing amendments, it is neither wholly federal nor wholly national.

I’m glad that’s sorted. Suffice to say that Amendments are hard.[2] If we return to the text of Article V, we see two modes for proposing Amendments (at [A] and [B]) and two modes for ratifying them ([C] and [D]). All amendments, so far, have taken the path from [A] through [C]: Proposed by both houses of Congress; ratified by state legislatures (except for the Twenty First Amendment, abolishing Prohibition, which was passed by state conventions). However, given the current composition and polarization of Congress, it’s very hard to see how path [A], proposal through Congress, can be followed by either party. There remains path [B], “the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states,” followed by whichever of the two ratification modes[3]. The magic number for an “Amending Convention” is 34 (two-thirds of 50) and until very recently I would have thought that path to a Constitutional convention implausible, too. As indeed it has been: “There have been hundreds of applications for an amending convention over the years from virtually every state [but] no amending convention has ever occurred.” But then I see maps like this:


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3390605

President Trump, who dodged Vietnam War service, blasts Sen. Richard Blumenthal as ‘phony Vietnam con artist’ in Twitter rant

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, August 7, 2017, 10:27 AM




FBI Octopus

http://www.sierrasun.com/news/sports/ne ... ing-match/

Nevada Athletic Commission head former FBI agent, takes heat for Mayweather-McGregor boxing match




https://www.cjr.org/watchdog/how-buzzfe ... rspace.php



How BuzzFeed News revealed hidden spy planes in US airspace
Columbia Journalism Review
Surveillance aircraft often keep a low profile: The FBI, for example, registers its .... with Mexico, there is a chance that a CBP agent flying overhead is listening.




http://kcbx.org/post/slo-county-refuses ... h#stream/0

SLO County refuses to release video related to restraint chair jail ...
KCBX
Holland's death is one of 11 county inmate deaths that the FBI is investigating. Neal said the county is exempt under section 6254F under the Public Records Act ...






http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm- ... story.html

Suspect in terrorism sting was 'set up' by FBI informant accused of ...
Sun Sentinel-
Federal charges against a Palm Beach County man who was arrested in a terrorism sting should be thrown out because of 'outrageous conduct' by the FBI and ...




http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Ex-chie ... 70953.html

Miller police chief is charged for missing evidence
KY3-
The FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol arrested Joshua Bruce at his home in Christian County. Investigators say they found two guns in his home that ...






https://www.theguardian.com/environment ... hip-emails



US federal department is censoring use of term 'climate change', emails reveal
Exclusive: series of emails show staff at Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service advised to reference ‘weather extremes’ instead

Among the ‘intense weather events’ qualifying as climate change under the advice in the email chain is drought.
Monday 7 August 2017 11.43 EDT Last modified on Monday 7 August 2017 13.25 EDT

Staff at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been told to avoid using the term climate change in their work, with the officials instructed to reference “weather extremes” instead.

A series of emails obtained by the Guardian between staff at the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), a USDA unit that oversees farmers’ land conservation, show that the incoming Trump administration has had a stark impact on the language used by some federal employees around climate change.




http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc ... -1.3392007


Woman allegedly pimped by former NYPD detective at 13 years old gets OK to sue



Monday, August 7, 2017,


A 13-year-old runaway allegedly forced into prostitution by a detective could have been spared the nightmare if NYPD brass had properly disciplined him for a series of complaints — including allegations he'd had sex with hookers, a judge ruled.

Brooklyn Federal Judge Nina Gershon said the woman — now in her 20s and identified only as “H.H.” — sufficiently showed a potential jury could reasonably buy the argument that police brass should've known former Detective Wayne Taylor was a problem before his 2008 conviction.

"A reasonable jury could find that, had Taylor been adequately investigated and disciplined, he would not have felt empowered to force H.H. into prostitution," Gershon said Monday, letting the case against the city go forward.

Taylor was convicted of attempted kidnapping, but Gershon noted "it is undisputed that Taylor kidnapped H.H. and forced her into prostitution."

Pimp found minors online for music teacher's alleged sex meetups
Taylor, a 14-year member of the department, racked up 25 complaints in his nine years with the Narcotics Division, the judge said. Complaints generally had to do with misusing police authority, sexual relations with prostitutes and other criminal activity.

Taylor got cleared on three complaints, but the remainder were either unsubstantiated — meaning they couldn’t be proven or disproven — or pending at the time of his termination.

"Though many of the allegations against Taylor were never proven, investigators never found them to be false either," Gershon said.


The city shouldn't be on the hook for what happened to the victim, its lawyers argued.

Alleged pimp raped 14-year-old for months, prosecutors say
Queens prosecutors said Taylor and a woman claiming to be his wife, Zelika (Mommy Z) Brown, brought the girl to parties in January 2008 and forced her into sex acts with men.

The girl, once a ballet dancer, got snared when Brown's relative invited her to "dance" for money. Court papers said the relative "sold" the girl to Brown for $500.

Brown, Taylor and others held her against her will. H.H. remembered Taylor saying he was a detective "and if you don't do what I say, I will put you out on the street and arrest you for prostitution."

After days of beatings and forced sex, H.H. said she was "sold" to another pimp, prostituted again, and then transferred to another who released her.

Brooklyn couple indicted for pimping out two 14-year-old girls
When Taylor was first busted in 2008, he told the Daily News he was "100% innocent of all the charges."

But in a 2015 jailhouse affidavit, Taylor said that working undercover at the Narcotics Division, he was trained how to blend in with prostitutes, pimps and johns.

Taylor said various police units occasionally looked at him "but little or nothing came of these investigations." This all led to him "being trained in how to function as a criminal, empowered to believe I could get away with unlawful activities."

Officials said Taylor, 45, completed his full sentence and supervised release in July 2016.




http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politic ... -1.3392268

Scientists fear Trump administration will silence latest climate change data: report


Monday, August 7, 2017, 10:28 PM




http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc ... -1.3392069

Off-duty NYPD cop charged with DWI after flipping SUV with 8-year-old son in back seat on Long Island


Monday, August 7, 2017, 8:08 PM







http://www.latimes.com/politics/essenti ... story.html

AUG. 7, 2017, 12:32 P.M.
REPORTING FROM CHICO
'May you die in pain': California GOP congressman gets an earful at town hall


“May you die in pain.”

That was the nastiest moment of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa's early morning town hall in the Northern California town of Chico on Monday.

The wish was uttered by an older man who criticized LaMalfa for voting for the House GOP plan to replace the Affordable Care Act. He was also holding a pink sign that read “Lackey for the Rich!"

The open hostility and intransigence inside the Chico Elks Lodge came as the political divide in the country has grown more inflamed, with Trump’s election unleashing a wave of both liberal activism and conservative empowerment.

As a result, Washington’s deeply partisan fights over issues such as health care, immigration and environmental protections have followed members of Congress home, turning once sedate town halls into in-your-face venting sessions that in left-leaning California have Republican House members on the defensive.

LaMalfa stood his ground on stage as person after person ripped into him for his votes and positions on healthcare and climate change, as well as for his unyielding support for President Trump.

A few speakers asked LaMalfa to resign, including one dressed up as the “Wicked Witch of the West Coast.”

Most comments and questions during the hour-long town hall were fairly cordial, although they were laced with plenty of boos and catcalls.

Norma Wilcox, a retired nurse who lives in Chico, also questioned LaMalfa’s healthcare vote. Wilcox told LaMalfa the House plan would take away healthcare for millions of Americans while providing tax breaks to the rich.

“I am open to new ideas,” LaMalfa told her, describing the House GOP bill as a placeholder that everyone expected to be improved during negotiations with the Senate. (The Senate's healthcare efforts now appear dead.)

But the Richvale congressman, who represents California’s massive 1st Congressional District in the northeast corner of the state, said he will support only a new healthcare program that provides affordable coverage to middle-class Americans.

LaMalfa said Obamacare is quickly become unaffordable and unsustainable, with premium costs rising and the number of insurance companies offering coverage declining.

“People across the board are being hurt by this,” LaMalfa said.

When shouts and boos rained down on him, he chastised the crowd saying, “I have the mic folks. Yep, boo away.”

Ann Sisney of Chico told LaMalfa that her son, William, died of an opioid overdose two years ago. She held up a picture of the 19-year-old, asked the congressman to take it, and told him more people will die if GOP leadership in Congress gets its way on healthcare.

“These are life-and-death decisions that you are making,” Sisney told him.

LaMalfa assured her that Congress was working to find funds to address the nationwide opioid epidemic.

The Republican congressman also raised the ire of the crowd when he was asked about climate change and the degraded air quality in this stretch of Northern California.

“I don’t buy the idea that man-made activity is responsible,” LaMalfa said bluntly.

The crowd of several hundred did include some LaMalfa supporters, though most stayed silent.

Ron Jones, 67, of Paradise said he’s been to a few of LaMalfa’s town halls and all have been dominated by his critics.

“Most of the time people want to ... complain,” said Jones, a self-described conservative, after the event ended. “The people who support him are quietly in the background.”

LaMalfa does indeed have a lot of support in the district that also overwhelmingly voted for Trump over Hillary Clinton in last year's presidential election. LaMalfa won his last election by almost 15%, and though he has attracted a few Democratic challengers, the district is not considered a battleground for 2018.

Unlike many California Republican members of Congress, LaMalfa hasn't shied away from holding town halls, though it's rarely a pleasant experience for him. He held one in Nevada City in March and another in April in Oroville. No other California Republicans are scheduled to hold town halls during their August recess.






http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nationa ... -1.3391300


Toilet paper featuring Donald Trump’s tweets reportedly sells out on Amazon — at $12 per roll


, August 7, 2017, 1:18 PM
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Mon Dec 03, 2018 6:04 pm

https://evanstonnow.com/story/public-sa ... panel-says

Hire independent auditor, police panel says



https://pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/4136 ... ce-future-


Immigration arrests tied to Portland's FBI Task Force future 


Conrad Wilson/OPB 

Sunday, December 02, 2018 

The questions around immigration could be important to the future of the JTTF in Portland, as the city weighs whether it wants a relationship with any federal agency that participates in immigration-related arrests. But it's not clear whether any of the arrests mentioned in the staffer notes happened in Oregon.


https://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsaf ... -20181129/

Former FBI agents seek reduced sentence in Tampa drug smuggling case


https://www.wnd.com/2018/11/fbi-raids-h ... oundation/



16 FBI AGENTS RAID WHISTLEBLOWER'S HOME
Case involves Clinton Foundation, Russia-Uranium One deal

Read more at https://www.wnd.com/2018/11/fbi-raids-h ... smp49F7.99



https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la- ... story.html

* L.A. NOW 
* LOCAL
Numerous top L.A. County sheriff's officials will be fired or relieved of duty once Alex Villanueva is sworn in; new staff named

By MAYA LAU

NOV 28, 2018 | 6:40 PM 





https://www.nydailynews.com/news/nation ... story.html
Trump labor secretary under microscope for underage sex abuse case


By MICHAEL GARTLAND

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 28, 2018 | 6:00 PM 




https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
Man who chomped off piece of a cop's finger is acquitted and set free in time to greet newborn son

By THOMAS TRACY

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 28, 2018 | 4:00 AM 





https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/ ... linsenmeir


Family of Madelyn Linsenmeir sues Springfield police and city for records on her arrest and death
“Our family is heartbroken to have lost our beloved Madelyn. We are also deeply troubled both by her death in custody and the Springfield Police Department’s lack of transparency about what happened to her.”
https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
Prison advocates call for massive parole board reforms

By REUVEN BLAU

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 27, 2018 | 2:45 PM 



https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ ... story.html
Florida police chief who pleaded guilty to framing innocent black residents for burglaries sentenced to three years in prison

By KATE FELDMAN

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 27, 2018 | 4:15 P





https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
Ousted head of NYPD's sex crimes unit retires after he's reassigned to Staten Island

By ROCCO PARASCANDOLA  and JOHN ANNESE

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
NOV 27, 2018 | 6:00 AM 




https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la- ... story.html
L.A. County sheriff's deputy at fault — but not criminally negligent — in 2017 crash that killed 2 children

By JAMES QUEALLY

NOV 27, 2018 | 9:55 AM 




https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va ... e9deeb8a29

A black man helped his drunk neighbor get home — and got arrested
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Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Fri Dec 14, 2018 5:17 pm

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/12/us/p ... eport.html




Slow Police Response and Chaos Contributed to Parkland Massacre, Report Finds





https://www.theguardian.com/australia-n ... ils-leaked

Queensland police charge officer with hacking after domestic violence victim's details leaked
Exclusive: Senior Constable Neil Punchard, disciplined for sending woman’s address to her violent former husband, faces nine charges




https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/mi ... er-n947281


Miami Beach officer caught on camera punching suspect in face, incident under investigation 
In the video, the suspect walks around and utters expletives before coming in close to the officer who then suddenly punches the man's face.


https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/n ... 302243002/
Edison Police Officer Nicholas Lunetta charged with witness tampering, evidence obstruction
Nick Muscavage, Bridgewater Courier NewsPublished 1:37 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2018 | Updated 2:27 p.m. ET Dec. 13, 2018


https://cleantechnica.com/2018/12/13/bi ... temptible/

Bill McKibben Calls FBI Tracking Of Environmental Activists “Contemptible”


December 13th, 2018 by Steve Hanley 



https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-mi ... lower-raid

FBI misses deadline to provide docs to Judiciary Committee probing whistleblower raid


https://thefederalist.com/2018/12/13/fe ... bombshell/

The Federal Judge Overseeing Michael Flynn’s Sentencing Just Dropped A Major Bombshell


The sentencing memorandum reveals for the first time concrete evidence that the FBI created multiple summaries of Michael Flynn’s questioning, which may indicate they’re hiding the truth.


By Margot Cleveland
DECEMBER 13, 2018

On Tuesday, attorneys for Michael Flynn filed a sentencing memorandum and letters of support for the former Army lieutenant general in federal court. The sentencing memorandum reveals for the first time concrete evidence that the FBI created multiple 302 interview summaries of Flynn’s questioning by now-former FBI agent Peter Strzok and a second unnamed agent, reported to be FBI Special Agent Joe Pientka.
Further revelations may be forthcoming soon following an order entered late yesterday by presiding judge Emmet Sullivan, directing the special counsel’s office to file with the court any 302s or memorandum relevant to Flynn’s int



https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/20 ... agent.html

Police ID teen killed in crash with FBI agent





https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justic ... on-n947521

No evidence FBI tried to destroy text messages in Clinton email investigation
An inspector general report examined a gap in messages from the phones of former agent Peter Strzok and ex-agency lawyer Lisa Page.


https://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepavl ... e-n2537436


The DOJ Inspector General Found 19,000 'Lost' Strzok and Page Texts

Katie Pavlich
|
 @KatiePavlich
|
Posted: Dec 13, 2018 11:30 AM



https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ma ... story.html



Lawsuit accuses white police in Maryland suburb of D.C. of racist behavior

By ASSOCIATED PRESS

DEC 12, 2018 | 4:05 PM 
| COLLEGE PARK, MD.





https://www.lobster-magazine.co.uk/articles/9-11.htm
9/11's Trainer in Terrorism Was an FBI Informant
(Peter Dale Scott Talk in Palo Alto, October 27, 2006)

If I had an hour, I would talk to you about how the 9/11 Report failed to reconcile Dick Cheney's conflicting accounts, which cannot all be true, of what he did on the morning of 9/11 in the bunker beneath the White House. But that story takes two whole chapters of my forthcoming book, The Road to 9/11. So instead I will expand on what I spoke about a month ago in Berkeley, concerning Ali Mohamed, Washington's double agent inside al-Qaeda, and also a chief 9/11 plotter.(1) I want to add important new material tonight. Ali Mohamed, an Egyptian, was a close ally of Osama bin Laden. As he later confessed in court, he also aided the terrorist Ayman al-Zawahiri, a co-founder of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad, and by then an aide to bin Laden, when he visited America to raise money.(2) It is now generally admitted that Ali Mohamed worked for the FBI, the CIA, and U.S. Special Forces. 
Patrick Fitzgerald, who testified to the 9/11 Commission about Ali Mohamed, knew him well. In 1994 he had named him as an unindicted co-conspirator in the New York landmarks case, yet allowed him to remain free. This was because, as Fitzgerald knew, Ali Mohamed was an FBI informant, from at least 1993 and maybe 1989.(3) Thus, from 1994 "until his arrest in 1998 [by which time the 9/11 plot was well under way], Mohamed shuttled between California, Afghanistan, Kenya, Somalia and at least a dozen other countries."(4)



https://www.denverpost.com/2018/12/13/r ... ce-search/

Nothing has changed”: Investigations into Denver police officers’ controversial search of Rise Up Community School find no wrongdoing
Police and school system have not implemented any concrete changes beyond discussions with Rise Up staff.
*
*
*





https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... -in-a-mall

Three bullets from behind: why did police kill a black man in a mall?
After the killing of EJ Bradford, questions remain: Had police simply killed a bystander? Was Bradford actually shepherding others to safety as gunfire erupted?


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... veillance-


Revealed: FBI kept files on peaceful climate change protesters
A protest at a BP plant in Indiana landed three sixtysomething campaigners in a federal surveillance report, documents released to the Guardian under the Freedom on Information Act show







https://www.telegram.com/news/20181212/ ... rd-slaying

FBI informant takes stand in ’91 Worcester guard slaying



https://www.greensboro.com/news/crime/w ... ff8af.html

Wrongful-death lawsuit reportedly settled in the brutal beating death of Irish businessman Jason Corbett in Davidson County by retired FBI agent
* By Michael Hewlett Winston-Salem Journal 5 hrs ago 



https://www.theepochtimes.com/lt-gen-mi ... 37335.html

Flynn Sentencing Memo Details Unusual FBI Questioning, Asks for Probation

BY PETR SVAB
December 12, 2018 Updated: December 12, 2018
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Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is re

https://www.greatfallstribune.com/story ... 283904002/

Senators press FBI, BIA for answers to Ashley HeavyRunning Loring's disappearance and the crisis of missing, murdered Native women
Kristen Inbody, Great Falls TribunePublished 5:10 p.m. MT Dec. 12, 2018 | Updated 6:53 p.m. MT Dec. 12, 2018


https://www.politico.com/states/florida ... upt-742989

'He got screwed': Gillum absent from indictment after DeSantis bashed him as corrupt

By MARC CAPUTO 12/12/2018 09:09 PM EST

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
Accused cop-briber courted mistress at NYPD headquarters


By STEPHEN REX BROWN

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
DEC 12, 2018 | 4:52 PM

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/loc ... story.html
DEA agent in Chicago charged with conspiring to traffic guns and drugs with international gang
Jason Meisner and John KeilmanContact Reporters
Chicago Tribune


https://www.nydailynews.com/news/nation ... story.html
North Carolina deputy under investigation after video shows him slamming teenage girls to the ground

By GOLDENE BROWN

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
DEC 12, 2018 | 10:35 A



https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la- ... story.html


L.A. County sheriff’s deputy charged with voluntary manslaughter in first on-duty shooting prosecution in nearly 20 years




https://www.al.com/news/birmingham/2018 ... -jail.html

Protest leader Carlos Chaverst Jr. arrested on 4 warrants during demonstration outside Hoover jail
Updated Dec 11, 11:04 PM; Posted Dec 11,



https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-ne ... rs-firing/

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the city of Seattle to produce broad information on the Police Department’s disciplinary procedures in the wake of an arbitrator’s decision to reinstate a Seattle police officer fired for punching a handcuffed woman.



https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-12-12/ ... s/10610726

BAC investigates alleged 'serious misconduct' by police during Silk-Miller murder investigation 
Posted about 2 hours ago





https://www.abc15.com/news/region-phoen ... es-article

Phoenix police chief Jeri Williams responds to New York Times article
Max Walker
6:52 PM, Dec 11, 2018
3 hours ago




https://patch.com/new-york/whiteplains/ ... k-stepinac



M. Quentin Williams To Speak At Stepinac 
A renowned public speaker, Williams is an author, attorney and former FBI agent, federal prosecutor and NFL and NBA executive.
By News Desk, News Partner | Dec 11, 2018 12:03 pm ET | Updated Dec 11, 2018 12:10 pm ET



https://www.postregister.com/news/state ... 7770c.html

Third ex-IDOC officer pleads guilty after massive FBI drug sting
* By IDAHO PRESS STAFF newsroom@idahopress.com Dec 11, 2018 Updated 9 hrs ago 
*






http://www.burlingtoncountytimes.com/ne ... me-charges

Judge: Former Bordentown Twp. police chief must stand trial on hate crime charges
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https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
NYPD declines to intervene as welfare client attacks city peace officer, shouting about Brooklyn incident where baby was snatched from mother




By GREG B. SMITH
| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
DEC 19, 2018 | 11:30 AM




https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-me ... retirement
FBI memos suggest Rosenstein expedited normal review process to fire McCabe before retirement




https://www.nj.com/passaic-county/2018/ ... probe.html



Paterson cop admitted pulling over motorists to rob them, FBI says
Updated 2:18 PM; Posted 11:18 AM

https://www.duq.edu/assets/Documents/fo ... 18/jfk.pdf

THE LEGACY OF THE SIXTIES: Military Industrial Complex killed Kennedy to prevent him from ending the Cold War

On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at American University calling for an end to the nuclear arms race. This speech got more coverage in the Soviet Union than in the USA.
On September 20, 1963, at the United Nations General Assembly, JFK offered to convert the “Moon race” into a cooperative effort with the Soviet Union.
JFK’s change of approach on the Moon race was part of an effort to end the Cold War, the reason the military industrial intelligence media financial complex removed him from office.
What would “The Sixties” have been if JFK’s order on October 11, 1963 to start the withdrawal from Vietnam had been implemented? What would the world be if the Cold War had ended in JFK’s second term, as planned, freeing up resources for peaceful purposes? What society would we live in today if we had chosen global cooperation instead of endless warfare? Would we have used our creative talents for something better? Would warnings about ecological destruction have been heeded? What positive lessons can we learn from this missed opportunity, as nations fight over finite resources?
We need a South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the National Insecurity State, starting with their coup in Dallas. — Mark Robinowitz

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ed-release

Former Black Panther, in prison for 47 years, denied release for the ninth time


Jalil Muntaqim’s release had been opposed by the families of the two police officers he was convicted of murdering in 1971


https://buffalonews.com/2016/03/17/book ... fbi-probe/
Bookstore owner turns tables, questions why he was target of FBI probe
By Phil Fairbanks | Published March 17, 2016


https://www.latimes.com/politics/essent ... story.html


California police union seeks state Supreme Court review of new law disclosing internal investigation records


A police union is asking the California Supreme Court to block the release of internal officer investigations before a new state law takes effect next year.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Assn. filed a petition Tuesday asking justices to rule that only investigations of incidents that occur after Jan. 1 would be available under the law — and not those the department has on file from years prior.

The litigation comes after this year’s passage of Senate Bill 1421, which opens to the public for the first time internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The



documents about thr FBI
“ Fruhmenschen “ program

http://www.topix.com/forum/detroit/T3NR ... en-program







http://www.madcowprod.com/2018/12/10/je ... e-big-man/
Jerome Corsi: RussiaGate’s ‘Little Big Man’
BY DANIEL HOPSICKER · PUBLISHED DECEMBER 10, 2018 · UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2018
Salome_with_the_Head_of_John_the_Baptist-Caravaggio_(1610)
Before there was Jesus, there was John the Baptist.
And before there was Donald Trump, there was Jerome Corsi.
Jerome Corsi briefly made news last week when he launched a salvo in a well-coordinated Trumpland counterattack, rejecting a plea deal with the the Special Counsel’s office, and calling Mueller’s team ‘thugs.’
Even without the overheated rhetoric, Corsi has become an increasingly-intriguing figure in RussiaGate. His career has made him an expert in ‘weaponized’ propaganda.
Disinformation and propag







Justice Department stole PROMIS software from
Hamilton Associates
https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... s-81-memo/
Memo shows the CIA was offered PROMIS software in 1981
by Emma Best
December 18, 2018
A recently unearthed Central Intelligence Agency memo highlights the difficulties with investigating the sprawling “Inslaw affair” and the case of the stolen PROMIS software, showing that the Agency was offered a copy of PROMIS as early as 1981.

what happens when you protest Police Racism

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... nthers-nfl

Carolina Panthers
'No way that's random': anthem protester Eric Reid on sixth drug test in 11 weeks
Safety was first player to kneel alongside Colin Kaepernick
Chances of six random tests in 11 weeks are 0.17%















































https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html

NYPD declines to intervene as welfare client attacks city peace officer, shouting about Brooklyn incident where baby was snatched from mother



By GREG B. SMITH



| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |

DEC 19, 2018 | 11:30 AM









https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fbi-me ... retirement

FBI memos suggest Rosenstein expedited normal review process to fire McCabe before retirement











https://www.nj.com/passaic-county/2018/ ... probe.html


Paterson cop admitted pulling over motorists to rob them, FBI says

Updated 2:18 PM; Posted 11:18 AM





https://www.duq.edu/assets/Documents/fo ... 18/jfk.pdf







THE LEGACY OF THE SIXTIES: Military Industrial Complex killed Kennedy to prevent him from ending the Cold War



On June 10, 1963, President John F. Kennedy gave a speech at American University calling for an end to the nuclear arms race. This speech got more coverage in the Soviet Union than in the USA.

On September 20, 1963, at the United Nations General Assembly, JFK offered to convert the “Moon race” into a cooperative effort with the Soviet Union.

JFK’s change of approach on the Moon race was part of an effort to end the Cold War, the reason the military industrial intelligence media financial complex removed him from office.

What would “The Sixties” have been if JFK’s order on October 11, 1963 to start the withdrawal from Vietnam had been implemented? What would the world be if the Cold War had ended in JFK’s second term, as planned, freeing up resources for peaceful purposes? What society would we live in today if we had chosen global cooperation instead of endless warfare? Would we have used our creative talents for something better? Would warnings about ecological destruction have been heeded? What positive lessons can we learn from this missed opportunity, as nations fight over finite resources?

We need a South Africa style Truth and Reconciliation Commission about the National Insecurity State, starting with their coup in Dallas. — Mark Robinowitz





https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... ed-release



Former Black Panther, in prison for 47 years, denied release for the ninth time

Jalil Muntaqim’s release had been opposed by the families of the two police officers he was convicted of murdering in 1971





https://buffalonews.com/2016/03/17/book ... fbi-probe/

Bookstore owner turns tables, questions why he was target of FBI probe

By Phil Fairbanks | Published March 17, 2016







https://www.latimes.com/politics/essent ... story.html



California police union seeks state Supreme Court review of new law disclosing internal investigation records

A police union is asking the California Supreme Court to block the release of internal officer investigations before a new state law takes effect next year.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Employees’ Benefit Assn. filed a petition Tuesday asking justices to rule that only investigations of incidents that occur after Jan. 1 would be available under the law — and not those the department has on file from years prior.

The litigation comes after this year’s passage of Senate Bill 1421, which opens to the public for the first time internal investigations of officer shootings and other major uses of force, along with confirmed cases of sexual assault and lying while on duty. The



documents about thr FBI
“ Fruhmenschen “ program


http://www.topix.com/forum/detroit/T3NR ... en-program








http://www.madcowprod.com/2018/12/10/je ... e-big-man/

Jerome Corsi: RussiaGate’s ‘Little Big Man’
BY DANIEL HOPSICKER · PUBLISHED DECEMBER 10, 2018 · UPDATED DECEMBER 10, 2018

Salome_with_the_Head_of_John_the_Baptist-Caravaggio_(1610)
Before there was Jesus, there was John the Baptist.

And before there was Donald Trump, there was Jerome Corsi.

Jerome Corsi briefly made news last week when he launched a salvo in a well-coordinated Trumpland counterattack, rejecting a plea deal with the the Special Counsel’s office, and calling Mueller’s team ‘thugs.’

Even without the overheated rhetoric, Corsi has become an increasingly-intriguing figure in RussiaGate. His career has made him an expert in ‘weaponized’ propaganda.

Disinformation and propag








Justice Department stole PROMIS software from
Hamilton Associates

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... s-81-memo/

Memo shows the CIA was offered PROMIS software in 1981
by Emma Best
December 18, 2018
A recently unearthed Central Intelligence Agency memo highlights the difficulties with investigating the sprawling “Inslaw affair” and the case of the stolen PROMIS software, showing that the Agency was offered a copy of PROMIS as early as 1981.





what happens when you protest Police Racism





https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... nthers-nfl



Carolina Panthers

'No way that's random': anthem protester Eric Reid on sixth drug test in 11 weeks

Safety was first player to kneel alongside Colin Kaepernick
Chances of six random tests in 11 weeks are 0.17%
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:46 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Mon Jan 07, 2019 5:01 pm

https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ ... story.html
Navy SEAL to plead not guilty to murdering ISIS teen, other war crimes

By ELLA TORRES

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
JAN 04, 2019 | 10:40 AM





http://ticklethewire.com/2019/01/04/sin ... apo-trial/

Sinaloa Cartel Paid $1M a Month to Bribe Mexican Officials, Ex-Trafficker Testifies in El Chapo Trial
‘El Chapo’ Guzman
By Steve Neavling
Ticklethewire.com
How much did it cost



https://tyt.com/stories/4vZLCHuQrYE4uKa ... cIQmgoAkOG

FBI Formed New Media-Leaks Unit, Internal Documents Show
* By: Ken KlippensteinJan 2, 2019comments
The FBI last year established a new unit to counter “media leak threats,” according to internal documents obtained by TYT under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).


http://www.madcowprod.com/2018/12/31/th ... po-guzman/

ARCOS / NEWS
DECEMBER 31, 2018
THE SECRET TRIAL OF ‘EL CHAPO’ GUZMAN
The government’s star witness in the trial of El Chapo Guzman was trying to buy information from a man who was instrumental in the purchase of the DC-9 — dubbed “Cocaine One” for its resemblance...

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... age-voice/
The FBI investigated The Village Voice and RCFP for espionage in 1976
by Emma Best
January 02, 2019
Documents obtained by MuckRock reveal both what triggered the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s espionage investigation of The Village Voice, and what caused it to expand to include the Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Read More

https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... t-feature/
The community’s needs above all: Lessons from the Providence External Review Authority’s struggle for police accountability
by Lucas Smolcic Larson
January 03, 2019
Driven by movements for police accountability, civilian oversight agencies have become commonplace across the county. But often politically weak and under-resourced, they fail to live up to the aspirations of the activists that fight for them. In Providence, Rhode Island, a civilian oversight agency works to reestablish its legitimacy.
Read More

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
NYPD sergeant busted for dealing heroin, feds say

By ROCCO PARASCANDOLA , JOHN ANNESE and STEPHEN REX BROWN

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS|
JAN 03, 2019 | 5:00 PM





https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html

Black off-duty cop beaten by brothers in blue






awarded $5 million settlement from NYC
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:46 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Tue Jan 22, 2019 7:11 pm

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/0 ... k-j21.html


Agents: The FBI and GPU Infiltration of the Trotskyist Movement
By Mehring Books 
21 January 2019
The World Socialist Web Site and Mehring Books are pleased to announce the publication of Agents: The FBI and GPU Infiltration of the Trotskyist Movement, by Eric London.




http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/judge- ... 2019/01/21


Judge claims FBI refused information on police corruption probe after pressure from LVMPD
JANUARY 21, 2019 · 
LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas Township Judge Melanie Andress-Tobiasson told the Baltimore Post-Examiner that in 2017  FBI agent Kevin White told her he was ordered not to talk to her about Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department police corruption.
The judge was providing information on dirty cops and prostitution.
White said Special Agent-in-Charge Patrick Brodsky ordered him not to take the information, she said.
The FBI agent said Brodsky claimed Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Assistant Sheriff, Todd Fasulo, contacted Brodsky and wanted the agent to stop talking to her, she said.
Brodsky was the second in command of the FBI Las Vegas Division at the time. His boss was Aaron Rouse, the Special Agent-In-Charge.
Fasulo retired from the LVMPD in December of 2017 and went to work for Wynn Resorts Las Vegas, as an executive in security. Brodsky retired in April 2018 and he also went to work at Wynn Resorts as an executive in security.


https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html

DOC official allegedly misled City Council on statistics about inmates' missed medical appointments: source


By STEPHEN REX BROWN

JAN 20, 2019 | 8:34 PM 



https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
N.Y. parole commissioners travel the state to conduct video hearings and rarely step inside prisons, Daily News analysis shows

By STEPHEN REX BROWN , TREVOR BOYER  and REUVEN BLAU



https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
NYPD grills cops over leaving suspect's firearm on sidewalk for someone else to grab

By ROCCO PARASCANDOLA , ELLEN MOYNIHAN  and THOMAS TRACY

|




https://www.rt.com/usa/449274-fbi-offic ... es-russia/

#Resistance heroes? Ex-FBI official says bureau tried to keep ‘progressives out of office’ (VIDEO



For liberals swept away by Russiagate mania, the FBI is worshipped as a fearless protector of democracy. According to a former FBI official, however, the bureau has actively worked to keep “progressives” out of office.
Terry Turchie, a former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, appeared on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s program to discuss congressional investigations into Donald Trump’s alleged ties to Russia. Criticizing the Democrat-controlled House for seizing on factually dubious news reports about Trump’s alleged Kremlin collusion, Turchie nonchalantly disclosed that part of his “mission” at the FBI was to try to keep “progressives” and “socialists”out of office.
“The electorate in some places is putting more and progressives and self-described socialists in positions,” Turchie told Carlson. “And, ironically, years ago – when I first got into the FBI – one of the missions of the FBI in its counterintelligence efforts was to try to keep these people out of office.”




http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com/new ... t-movement



Federal agents blamed Martin Luther King's nonviolent movement for violence in cities across the country
By Doug Donovan

The Baltimore Sun
POSTED:   01/20/2019 02:45:37 PM MST




https://dailycaller.com/2019/01/20/seri ... gs-smiley/

RETIRED DETECTIVES SAY GANG OF SERIAL KILLERS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR AT LEAST 70 ‘ACCIDENTAL’ DROWNINGS




http://infosurhoy.com/cocoon/saii/xhtml ... ler-staff/

DOJ official Bruce Ohr shared intel from file creator in 2016 with prosecutors now on Mueller staff
by Denis Bedoya | Jan 20, 2019 | News Summary



ANYONE WISHING TO CONTACT GARY CAN DO SO AT   www.garypowers.com  


From: GARY POWERS JR.
Sent: Thursday, January 17, 2019 5:58 PM
To: 'Ed'
Subject: Spy Pilot, Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy
 
Ed,
 
Hope all is well. I have a new book coming out January 22.
 
The title of my book is: Spy Pilot, Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 Incident, and a Controversial Cold War Legacy.
 
This link will take you to an overview of my new bookwww.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/576973/spy-pilot-by-francis-gary-powers-jr-and-keith-dunnavant/9781633884687/
 
This link will provide you with video and my remarks from my father's posthumous Silver Star Ceremony in June 2012 www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9BwCKfSKk.
 
Below is a list of my current speaking venues for 2019.
 
Anything you can do to help spread the word would be appreciated.
 
Gary
 
Francis Gary Powers, Jr.
PO Box 1356
Midlothian, VA 23113
 
January 9 – Life Time Learning Institute, Annandale, VA
 
January 25 – National Archives, Washington, D.C.
 
January 31 – The Little Book Store, Midlothian, VA
 
February 2 – Private Organization, Henrico, VA 
 
February 4 – Lockheed Martin, Fort Worth, TX
 
March 5 – George H. W. Bush Presidential Library, College Station, TX
 
March 6 – Westminster, Austin, TX March 7
 
March 7 – The Headliners Club, Austin, TX
 
March 13 – Central Intelligence Retirees Association, Ashburn, VA
 
March 13 – Georgetown Clinical Society, Washington, DC
 
April 1 – Historical Society, Amelia Island, FL 
 
April 4 – Bay Village, Sarasota, FL 
 
April 4 – St. Mark’s Church, St Petersburg, FL 
 
April 5 – Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College, St Petersburg, FL
 
April 8-11 – The Benjamin School, West Palm Beach, FL (Visiting Scholar)
 
April 12 – Treasure Coast CIRA, Jensen Beach, FL 
 
April 14 – The Villages, FL 
 
April 15 – Live Oak Public Library, Live Oak, FL 
 
April 18 – LULU, Morrisville, NC 
 
May 1 – Private Cold War Tour of Washington, DC
 
May 23 – George C. Marshall Foundation, Lexington, VA
 
June 13 – South East Pennsylvania Cold War Historical Society, Warminster, PA
 
July 22 - 28 – EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI (Tentative)
 
October 5 – San Juan Air Show, San Juan, PR (Tentative)
 
October 30 – Private Pentagon Tour and Old Guard Tour
 
Nov 13 – Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, WI








https://midnightwriternews.com/mwn-epis ... on-debate/

MWN Episode 107 – Douglas Horne on the Zapruder Film Alteration Debate
7 January 2019 by S.T. Patrick 19 Comments




From: Denton, David <dentond@iecc.edu>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2019 4:52 PM
To: Ed Tatro
Subject: Updated JFK Conference Information - April 4th - 8th - Olney Central College
 



One of our many, excellent speakers that will be presenting at our conference entitled “Political Assassinations of the 1960s,” is Lisa Pease, who is an outstanding JFK and RFK assassination researcher. Lisa has just released an important, ground-breaking book on the RFK assassination, “A Lie too Big to Fail.” She will be one of our keynote speakers at our banquet Saturday night, and will be giving presentations on Friday and Saturday, as well.

Our conference will be held in an academic setting at Olney Central College in Olney, Illinois and features an outstanding array of authors, researchers, historians, and college professors. Please consider joining us! For more information about the conference, including information about registration, travel, and lodging please visit our website;https://www.jfkhistorical.com/.
 
David Denton 
Olney Central College 
JFK Historical Group


https://midnightwriternews.com/mwn-epis ... on-debate/


MWN Episode 107 – Douglas Horne on the Zapruder Film Alteration Debate
7 January 2019 



like







Douglas Horne joins S.T. Patrick on the first episode of 2019 to discuss the debate over Zapruder Film alteration. Horne is the author of the five-volume Inside the Assassination Records Review Board: The U.S. Government’s Final Attempt to Reconcile the Conflicting Medical Evidence in the Assassination of JFK, JFK’s War with the National Security Establishment: Why Kennedy Was Assassinated, and the two-volume Deception, Intrigue, and the Road to War, which discusses FDR’s actions leading up to Pearl Harbor. This was the subject of episode 007 of the Midnight Writer News Show. Mr. Horne’s article for the first issue of Deep Truth Journal is entitled “August 1941: The Key to Understanding FDR’s Design for American Entry into World War II.” It can be purchased at the Alibris website.
The following outline and supporting evidence have been supplied by Mr. Horne for this presentation:
Douglas Horne’s Zapruder Film Presentation Outline:
I.    The REAL Chain-of-Custody of the Zapruder Film
II.   The Zapruder Film Research of Sydney Wilkinson and Thom Whitehead
III.  The False Claims Made by Robert Groden about their work, and the rebuttals of those false claims.
IV.  More (Indirect) Evidence of Alteration: the Physical Appearance of Today’s First Generation Copies
V.   Other Possible Evidence of Alteration
VI.  Perfidy and Deceit

“Zapruder film 2K and 6K scans courtesy of Sydney Wilkinson and Thom Whitehead, for private research purposes only.”



The link to the documentary short subject “The Zapruder Film Mystery” is in the public domain free of charge, and was placed there by the film maker, Shane O’Sullivan.
http://vimeo.com/e2films/zapruder

The link to the Hany Farid article (in which he attempts to debunk frame 317 as a normal shadow), which is in the public domain.
https://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/down ... /tr10a.pdf

Transcript of Sworn Testimony of Robert Groden at the O.J. Simpson Civil Trial in Dec of 1996
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/groden2.htm

The Cronkite-Clark Audio Clip (Note: This is only the Cronkite-Clark clip. The full interview with Mr. Horne is at the bottom of this page)


Douglas Horne can be followed at his “Inside the ARRB” blog:
https://insidethearrb.livejournal.com/







Audio Player



00:00



00:00
Podcast: Play in new window | Download





https://www.denverpost.com/2019/01/18/a ... ting-dead/


Off-duty Adams County sheriff’s deputy shot by police has died
Deputy Jesse Jenson was removed from life support Friday afternoon.

http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/ ... aring.html

Home » News » Local
Former FBI agent faints while testifying at Christensen hearing

Fri, 01/18/2019 - 12:29pm | Ben Zigterman




https://www.timesleader.com/opinion/op- ... te-thyself

Their view: FBI, investigate thyself




https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/d ... r-problem/



Trump’s FBI Problem Is a Character Problem
By JONAH GOLDBERG
* 



January 18, 2019 3:14 PM
*
*
*
*
*




https://www.history.com/news/nixon-wate ... t-kalmbach

AN 18, 2019
Nixon’s Personal Lawyer Paid Hush Money to Watergate Burglars




https://www.theepochtimes.com/transcrip ... 71370.html

Transcripts of Former Top FBI Lawyer Detail Pervasive Abnormalities in Trump Probe



http://ticklethewire.com/2019/01/16/rig ... nt-of-fbi/
Right-Wing Media Gets Whackier, Calling for Abolishment of FBI








https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrew ... 925476e11b

26,813 viewsJan 16, 2019, 09:10am
Massive Oklahoma Government Data Leak Exposes 7 Years of FBI Investigations


Thomas Brewster
Forbes Staff
https://www.muckrock.com/news/archives/ ... ied-archi/
The strangest thing we’ve found in the CIA’s declassified archives (so far)
by JPat Brown
January 17, 2019
Today is the second anniversary of the Central Intelligence Agency’s declassified archives being published online after a lengthy legal battle. While we’ll be examine some of the larger impact the release has had in a little bit, we also wanted to share what’s hands down the weirdest thing we’ve found so far.
Read More

https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la- ... story.html


Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy to plead guilty in robbery of marijuana warehouse


By JOEL RUBIN

JAN 17, 2019 | 6:35 PM 


https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
Brooklyn DA wants special prosecutor in case of two cops accused of rape

By GRAHAM RAYMAN  and JOHN ANNESE

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
JAN 17, 2019 | 9:45 PM 




Arizona Activists Face Jail Time for Providing Life-Saving Aid to Migrants Crossing Sonoran Desert
Staff, Democracy Now!
Despite denials, documents reveal U.S. training UAE forces for combat in Yemen
Nick Turse, Yahoo
Experts: Alabama's Mask Law is Outdated
 Janae Pierre. WBHM
Free Expression, Free Assembly and Free Association Aren't Just Rights; They're Tools
Sue Udry, Dissent NewsWire

1/16/2019
Attorney general nominee William Barr doesn't reject the possibility of jailing journalis
 Li Zhou, Vox  
Booker presses Barr on impact of mass incarceration on black Americans
Jacqueline Thomsen, The Hill
William Barr's 'Deep State' resume: Cover-ups, covert ops, and pardons
Jefferson Morley, AlterNet  
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's Insult to Angela Davis Has Boomeranged
Mairav Zonszein, The Nation
Court Decision Likely Win for Mumia, Says his Former Lawyer
Staff, The Real News Network  
1/15/2019
Defending Rights & Dissent Raises Troubling Issues with William Barr's Views on War Powers
Chip Gibbons, Dissent NewsWire
6 Questions William Barr Must Answer Before the Senate Weighs Confirming Him as Attorney General
John Nichols, The Nation 
William Barr May Be Worse on Immigration Than Jeff Sessions
John Washington, The Intercept 
Groups to Tech Companies: Don't Sell Face Surveillance Tech to Government
Staff, Dissent NewsWire
The FBI's Investigation of Trump as a "National Security Threat" is Itself a Serious Danger. But J. Edgar Hoover Pioneered the Tactic
Glenn Greenwald, The Intercept 
1/14/2019
Activists decry abuse at Guantanamo, 10 years after Obama ordered it shut
Ali Harbd, Middle East Eye 
Americans Have a Right to Boycott, Even If It's Wrong
Senator Rand Paul, The American Conservative   
If Trump Declares a National Emergency, He'll Be Breaking the Law
Majorie Cohen, Truthout
Judge Recommends Overturning California Terror Conviction
Don Thompson, Associated Press



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... eo-detroit

Moodymann: police aim rifles at Detroit DJ in encounter caught on video
In Instagram post from inside car, house music pioneer says police confronted him in his own backyard



http://ticklethewire.com/2019/01/16/rig ... nt-of-fbi/


Right-Wing Media Gets Whackier, Calling for Abolishment of FBI

Never mind that most of the top FBI officials who have been accused of a running a rogue bureau are lifelong Republicans. Or that fired FBI Director James Comey may have cost Hillary Clinton the presidency by suggesting he was reopening the investigation into her email server just days before the election.



https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ ... story.html


14 year old Arizona teen toting airsoft gun shot dead by Tempe cop

By STORM GIFFORD

JAN 16, 2019 | 7:07 PM
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:46 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

Re: Reasons for creating volunteer civilian review police bo

Postby fruhmenschen » Wed Feb 06, 2019 5:38 pm

https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2019/02/0 ... dan-depew/

The Fatal Ensnaring of Dan DePew
Laura Kipnis



https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-inve ... ed-2443672


New investigation suggests James Brown might have been murdered

 


Feb 5, 2019 7:21 pm
*  

Read more at https://www.nme.com/news/music/new-inve ... bv0OyyX.99



https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states ... estigation


Ex-FBI Agent Is Out in Flint Water Investigation
The former head of the FBI in Detroit has been removed from the state's Flint water criminal investigation.

Feb. 5, 2019, at 4:43 p.m. 




More




https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/fbi-s ... -1-8796910

FBI spy’s emails ‘warned Omagh was target for bombers’ 

Read more at: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/fbi-s ... -1-8796910


https://www.boston.com/news/national-ne ... oeb-aliens

Harvard’s top astronomer says an alien ship may be among us — and he doesn’t care what his colleagues think
"It changes your perception on reality, just knowing that we're not alone," Avi Loeb said.



https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la- ... story.html


Vallejo officer on leave after video shows him pulling a gun, detaining a man filming him



https://www.denverpost.com/2019/02/04/m ... t-lawsuit/

Bystander paralyzed in deadly Colorado Springs shootout sues law enforcement agencies, estate of slain Deputy Micah Flick
Thomas Villanueva’s lawsuit alleges poor training led to his injuries, 2 deaths in officer-involved shootout

https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
NYPD cops forced to pump breast milk in bathrooms, cars, filthy locker rooms - lawsuit

By THOMAS TRACY

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 05, 2019 | 10:27 AM 






https://www.nydailynews.com/news/nation ... story.html


Cop justified in fatal shooting of Emantic Bradford Jr. at Alabama mall, state official says


By JESSICA SCHLADEBECK

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 05, 2019 | 1:20 PM 


https://www.nydailynews.com/news/nation ... story.html
Man's leg catches fire after being hit by police stun gun outside Philadelphia cheesesteak shop

By KATE FELDMAN

| NEW YORK


https://www.nydailynews.com/news/photos ... llery.html
A look back at the fatal shooting of Amadou Diallo


https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/ ... story.html
Two Colorado deputies charged with manslaughter after drunk man died following transport to addiction center

By KATE FELDMAN

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 04, 2019 | 6:25 PM 




https://theintercept.com/2019/01/31/arr ... f-justice/


SOMEONE IS ARRESTED in the United States every three seconds. While arrests are the first entryway into a






https://www.fbi.gov/news/pressrel/press ... eld-office

February 4, 2019
Joseph R. Bonavolonta Named Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Office



https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurit ... e-official


FBI taps veteran special agent as new top counterintelligence official
BY OLIVIA BEAVERS - 02/04/19 03:15 PM EST



https://www.denverpost.com/2019/02/04/m ... t-lawsuit/

Bystander paralyzed in deadly Colorado Springs shootout sues law enforcement agencies, estate of slain Deputy Micah Flick
Thomas Villanueva’s lawsuit alleges poor training led to his injuries, 2 deaths in officer-involved shootout



https://www.al.com/news/2019/02/fbi-may ... -says.html


FBI will invest $1 Billion



https://www.rocketcitynow.com/news/sena ... 1754423430

Senator Richard Shelby pushing for further FBI expansion in Huntsville

* By:  Kelly Kennedy 
Posted: Feb 04, 2019 02:34 PM CST
Updated: Feb 04, 2019 02:38 PM CST

https://www.themonitor.com/2019/02/01/e ... ng-feds-2/
DEA task force officer pleads guilty to lying to feds
Man also worked for McAllen police; sentencing hearing in April
Lorenzo Zazueta-Castro - 
February 1, 2019


https://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/ny ... story.html
NYPD detective arrested for stealing girlfriend's cellphone

By GRAHAM RAYMAN

| NEW YORK DAILY NEWS |
FEB 04, 2019 | 9:33 AM



https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la- ... story.html

Author of California police transparency law says it was meant to open up past records

By BEN POSTON

FEB 03, 2019 | 5:35 PM 


POLICE MAKE MORE THAN 10 MILLION ARRESTS A YEAR, BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE SOLVING CRIMES
Alice Speri
January 31 2019, 12:32 p.m.

https://theintercept.com/2019/01/30/pri ... s-securus/
PRISONS ACROSS THE U.S. ARE QUIETLY BUILDING DATABASES OF INCARCERATED PEOPLE’S VOICE PRINTS
George Joseph, Debbie Nathan

January 30 2019, 11:00 a.

ROUGHLY SIX MONTHS ago at New York’s Sing Sing prison, John Dukes says he was brought out with cellmates to meet a corrections counselor. He recalls her giving him a paper with some



https://www.vladtv.com/article/251863/j ... e-indicted


EXCLUSIVE: J-Diggs Says Crewmember PSD Turned FBI Informant, Got 30 People Indicted
Feb 02, 2019 10:30 AM
1,953 views  •  comments

Kevin Morris




https://thegrio.com/2019/02/02/chicago- ... ers-money/

Chicago to pay $168.5K after police forced man to sit in own waste, stole another’s money
The accused officers were also charged last May in federal court with using anonymous informants who offered up false information
By Melanie Eversley -
February 2, 2019




http://instinctmagazine.com/post/south- ... lgbt-pride




South Florida City Wraps Police Car To Show Their LGBT Pride
Adam Dupuis | February 2, 2019




LIFE WITH BIG BROTHER
GENEALOGY COMPANY ALLOWING FBI TO USE PRIVATE DNA DATABASE
Report, Family Tree has been voluntarily granting access to its trove of information


Read more at https://www.wnd.com/2019/02/genealogy-c ... zXkXHFP.99



https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... es-dropped


Charges dropped for deputies accused of forcing inmates into 'fight club'
San Francisco prosecutors say they had to dismiss charges because sheriff’s department destroyed evidence in investigation



https://www.denverpost.com/2019/02/01/p ... 19-ballot/

It’s official: Psychedelic mushrooms are on a trip to Denver’s 2019 election ballot
Get ready for another drug de





https://theintercept.com/2019/02/02/sho ... apitalism/ 


“A FUNDAMENTALLY ILLEGITIMATE CHOICE”: SHOSHANA ZUBOFF ON THE AGE OF SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM
Sam Biddle
February 2 2019, 8:00 
fruhmenschen
 
Posts: 5704
Joined: Thu Aug 12, 2010 7:46 pm
Blog: View Blog (0)

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