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===Cliven Bundy=== ===Cliven Bundy===
-Armed Resistance A new report links Utah legislator to patriot groups http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/armed-resistance/Content+Armed Resistance A new report links Utah legislator to patriot groups http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/armed-resistance/Content?oid=2957325
Associated Press Leaves Out Racism Controversy While Reporting On Meeting Between Rand Paul And Cliven Bundy. AP Ignores That Paul Had Previously Condemned Bundy's "Offensive" Commentary. Bundy said of Paul to the AP, "In general, I think we're in tune with each other." http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/30/associated-press-leaves-out-racism-controversy/204217 Associated Press Leaves Out Racism Controversy While Reporting On Meeting Between Rand Paul And Cliven Bundy. AP Ignores That Paul Had Previously Condemned Bundy's "Offensive" Commentary. Bundy said of Paul to the AP, "In general, I think we're in tune with each other." http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/30/associated-press-leaves-out-racism-controversy/204217

Revision as of 03:05, 29 August 2015


Contents

Environment

Fracking

With a bevy of fellow senators and natural gas industry experts angling to jack up profits by boosting gas exports, Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) had a reminder for them in a Senate hearing Thursday: You didn't build that gas boom -- taxpayers did. Natural gas prices have plummeted since 2005, as firms across the nation have aggressively deployed hydraulic fracturing technologies to extract gas from shale formations deep underground. That boom started with the work of George Mitchell's Mitchell Energy and Development Corp., which proved in Texas in the 1990s that fracking could work. But Franken wanted his colleagues to at least reflect on what it would mean for the people who made it all possible -- the taxpayers. "I want everyone here to understand who developed that technology, and who's responsible for that, and it's the taxpayers of the United States," Franken said in the Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. "We're hearing senators talk about discoveries of reserves of natural gas in their states as if this is just a discovery that happened out of nowhere," Franken said. "This is because of the taxpayers doing investments in research into three-dimensional microseismic imaging, done in Sandia National Labs." Indeed, while Mitchell is widely credited with sparking the natural gas resurgence, a number of researchers have pointed out that his efforts were made possible by decades of research that cost billions of dollars and were led by the federal government. "This whole renaissance in natural gas is due to research done by the Department of Energy paid for by the United States taxpayers," Franken said. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/29/al-franken-natural-gas_n_6573154.html

On Left Right and Center http://www.kcrw.com/news-culture/shows/left-right-center/2014-the-year-that-was Rich Lowry started off with the most consequential story of the year the drop in oil prices which he credits to fracking. Rich Lowry (1:51): I think the most consequential story of the year is the continued fracking revolution. That is utterly transforming the global oil market that is collapsing the price of gas and what will be an enormous benefit to American consumers and making the lives very uncomfortable for nasty little dictatorships around the world Venezuela and especial Vladimir Putin’s Russia which is in a free-fall and couldn't happen to a nicer person. Matt Miller: And now it seems before I get Bob into this also it does seem Rich this is one of those things that kind of came out of even though people knew about the US everywhere seems to have caught everybody who is smart by surprise Rich Lowry: Absolutely and this is just a phenomenon that just goes to the continued and this is very encouraging vitality and dynamism of the American economy. We owe this basically to very shrewd and ambitious people who pioneer these new methods of getting energy out of the ground and ten years ago no one would have predicted or very few people would have predicted it and it's utterly transformed the landscape.

Climate Change

What’s Really Warming the World? Climate deniers blame natural factors; NASA data proves otherwise. http://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2015-whats-warming-the-world/

Go and Pollute No More. How the pope’s climate-change message is playing in pews. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2015/06/how_priests_are_responding_to_the_pope_s_climate_change_encyclical.html

Wisconsin Agency Bans Activism on Climate. A small Wisconsin agency that manages thousands of acres of state land has banned its 10 employees from working on climate change issues while on the job. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/10/us/wisconsin-agency-bans-activism-on-climate.html

A Shameful Climate Witch Hunt. By RICH LOWRY http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/02/opinion-rich-lowry-climate-change-115518.html

California’s Drought

Eyes Look To Carlsbad's Desalination Plant https://youtu.be/0SiTgpHV7J8

Santa Barbara City Council members on Tuesday unanimously approved spending $55 million to reactivate a mothballed desalination plant that could provide the city with nearly a third of its drinking water. The Charles E. Meyer Desa0lination Facility was built during a drought in the 1990s but closed in 1992 when desperation for water subsided. The plant was never utilized beyond a testing period, but the city maintained it in the event that a severe water shortage might once again threaten the city. “Desalination has been a last resort,” Mayor Helene Schneider told The Times Tuesday night after the vote. “The way the drought has continued these last four years, we are really getting at that last resort.” http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-santa-barbara-reactivating-desalination-plant-20150721-story.html

Huge lack of Water in California means Big Business for Desalination industry and their Lobbyist. - See more at: http://www.dcbureau.org/20110308780/natural-resources-news-service/huge-lack-of-water-in-california-means-big-business-for-desalination-industry-and-their-lobbyist.html

Desalination plants aren't a good solution for California drought. The San Diego County Water Authority has committed to purchasing the plant's entire output for 30 years — a deal that was crucial for Poseidon's financing — for about $2,100 to $2,300 per acre-foot, plus inflation. An acre-foot is 325,851 gallons, or about a year's usage for one or two five-member families. The county agency, therefore, will be paying at least $110 million a year, whether it needs the plant's water or not. San Diego water bills are projected to rise by an average of $5 to $7 a month to cover the cost. The county judged that it might pay about that much in the future for other imported water, which makes the commitment look like a long-term hedge against a continuing water crisis. But desalinated water is far more expensive than other existing sources. San Diego currently pays $923 per acre-foot for treated water from the Metropolitan Water District. The Pacific Institute reported in 2012 that San Diego could obtain recycled water for as little as $1,200 per acre-foot, and that the marginal cost of water obtained through conservation and efficiency measures was as little as $150. San Diego is making a risky bet that may be ill-advised in a crisis. "Investing in desalination is not a good way to address a drought," says Henry J. Vaux Jr., an emeritus water economist at UC Berkeley, "because by the time you finish it the drought is over." That's what happened to Santa Barbara, which began building a $34-million desalination plant during the drought-stricken 1980s. By the time it was completed in 1992, the rains had returned; the facility went through a few weeks of pilot testing, then was mothballed and partially dismantled. The city is now contemplating restarting it at a cost of $40 million, plus $5 million a year in operating costs. That would place the cost of desalinated water at about $3,000 an acre-foot and drive up average monthly household water bills to $108 from $78 today. Santa Barbara's experience has been replicated on a much larger scale by Australia, which after 2006 invested more than $12 billion in six desalination plants — the largest of them twice the capacity of Carlsbad's — only to mothball four in 2012, after returning rains overfilled the country's reservoirs. http://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-hiltzik-20150426-column.html

Aided by the Sea, Israel Overcomes an Old Foe: Drought. As California and other western areas of the United States grapple with an extreme drought, a revolution has taken place here. A major national effort to desalinate Mediterranean seawater and to recycle wastewater has provided the country with enough water for all its needs, even during severe droughts. More than 50 percent of the water for Israeli households, agriculture and industry is now artificially produced. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/world/middleeast/water-revolution-in-israel-overcomes-any-threat-of-drought.html

Water From The Sea: The Risks And Rewards Of Israel's Huge Bet On Desalination, By Meredith Mandell on July 14 2012 http://www.ibtimes.com/water-sea-risks-and-rewards-israels-huge-bet-desalination-723429

Republicans Are Saying Environmentalists Caused California’s Drought. Here’s Why They’re Wrong http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/04/09/3643879/the-backwards-way-of-approaching-californias-drought/

Recycling

American recycling is stalling, and the big blue bin is one reason why. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/american-recycling-is-stalling-and-the-big-blue-bin-is-one-reason-why/2015/06/20/914735e4-1610-11e5-9ddc-e3353542100c_story.html

Economy

Infrastructure

America's transport infrastructure. Life in the slow lane. Americans are gloomy about their economy’s ability to produce. Are they right to be? We look at two areas of concern, transport infrastructure and innovation. http://www.economist.com/node/18620944

Homeless

Where are the county's homeless people? Highest concentrations found downtown San Diego near Petco Park and Midway District http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/aug/26/homeless-downtown-sports-arena/

Behavior

Protest

Pussy Riot for President? Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been jailed, whipped, beaten, gassed, and serially arrested. But she’s only getting started. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/17/pussy-riot-for-president.html

Pussy Riot releases new video in support of Moscow protest. http://www.avclub.com/article/pussy-riot-releases-new-video-support-moscow-prote-213372

San Diego City Council Staffer Suspended Without Pay After Shooting Comment. A staffer for Councilwoman Lorie Zapf referred to police brutality protesters as “fucking idiots” and said “I wanted to shoot them” http://www.kpbs.org/news/2014/dec/12/city-council-staffer-calls-inauguration-protesters/

Propaganda

How Fox News Made My Dad Crazy. A new film produced by Golden Globe-winning actor Matthew Modine fires shots at Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the right-wing media machine. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/31/how-fox-news-made-my-dad-crazy.html

Open Carry

open carry walk Royal Oak/Madison Heights short version. https://youtu.be/ZaXQbcACnbU?t=5m25s

Religion

There is only one time when it is essential to awaken. That time is now.

The idea behind this sort of Moral Majority-era politics was clear, Moore writes in his new book, Onward. “Most Americans agreed on certain traditional values: monogamous marriage, the nuclear family, the right to life, the good of prayer and church attendance, free enterprise, a strong military, and the basic goodness of the American way of life. The argument was that this consensus represented the real America.” Presumably, everyone else—gays, divorcees, pacifists, socialists—lived outside the “real America.” http://news.yahoo.com/freakishness-christianity-100700294.html

"Every golden Buddha in your city is a statue to Satan, as well as every Hindu idol," Barber, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Farmersville, Texas, wrote. "So, the fact that this statue is dedicated to Satan adds nothing new and only serves to make what God has seen all along obvious to everyone. There are satanic idols all around us." http://www.bpnews.net/45237/satanist-statue-prompts-michigan-bapt-response

“Don’t Make Me Go Back, Mommy” : A Creepy Children’s Book About Satanic Ritual Abuse. http://vigilantcitizen.com/latestnews/dont-make-go-back-mommy-creepy-childrens-book-satanic-ritual-abuse/

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http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/07/26/to-weed-out-protesters-at-last-nights-event-the-satanic-temple-had-attendees-transfer-their-souls-to-satan/

Feds urge local faith leaders to beef up security. In the wake of a horrific shooting that killed nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church last month, federal and local authorities urged metro Detroit faith leaders at a summit Monday to become more vigilant and improve security at their houses of worship. "It's a sad reality that we have to do it but when people are prepared, they are more successful in the outcome," said U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade. "Here in metro Detroit, we want to do everything we can to prevent an attack like that and share information on anything that might pose a threat." McQuade's office, in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Homeland Security, Detroit Police Department, Dearborn Police Department and other law enforcement leaders, held a security summit at the Wayne State University Law School. McQuade said the summit was a result of a conversation with the Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony of Fellowship Chapel, who was concerned about safety at metro Detroit churches in light of the fatal attack in Charleston, S.C. http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2015/07/27/feds-security-summit-churches/30738395/

Inside the Satanic Temple's Secret Baphomet Monument Unveiling. http://www.vice.com/read/inside-the-satanic-temples-secret-baphomet-monument-unveiling-666

Satanic monument in Detroit unveiled: Is it disrespectful? (+video) The Satanic Temple of Detroit unveiled an enormous bronze Baphomet statue Saturday night despite protests from the local community. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/0726/Satanic-monument-in-Detroit-unveiled-Is-it-disrespectful-video

The Satanists and a push for true religious freedom. http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/columnists/nancy-kaffer/2015/07/24/satanic-temple-detroit/30621161/ Protesters: Don't turn Detroit over to Satanists http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2015/07/25/baphomet-satanic-temple-detroit-preachers-prayers/30682409/

That's Baphomet? Masons. Chick Tracts http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/1074/1074_01.asp

“What this is really about is bigotry”: Atheist guest shreds Fox News panel’s “religious freedom” argument. "There's nobody out there trying to get Christian preachers to marry people against their will" he said. “If a priest does not want to marry a gay or lesbian couple because they’re following their religious belief, is Senator Rubio right?” he asked. “Are we at the water’s edge?” Not surprisingly, Pastor Jeffress said Rubio “is absolutely correct,” and proceeded to rattle off what he called a “fact” — an interaction at last month’s Supreme Court hearing about same-sex marriage. Jeffress claimed that U.S. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr.’s answer to Justice Samuel Alito’s question about the legal difficulties that states with same-sex marriage bans might face if the Court deems such bans unconstitutional proves that “the Obama administration is sending us a signal that they are going to come after those who believe in traditional marriage.” http://www.salon.com/2015/05/28/“what_this_is_really_about_is_bigotry_atheist_guest_shreds_fox_news_panels_religious_freedom_argument/

All Charges Dropped Against Woman Who Vandalized Satanic Display in Florida Capitol. Read more: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2015/03/22/all-charges-dropped-against-woman-who-vandalized-satanic-display-in-florida-capitol/

Herbert and Catherine Schaible are members of the First-Century Gospel Church, a faith healing group in northeast Philadelphia that relies on the advice given in James 5:14–15: Is anyone among you sick? Let him call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well. After Kent died, Herbert said, “We tried to fight the Devil, but the Devil won.” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/16/faith-based-medicine-is-snake-oil.html

Arkansas Legislator Justin Harris Performed Exorcisms On Adopted Daughters Before Giving Them Away: Report. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/13/justin-harris-exorcisms-arkansas_n_6861114.html

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The Satanic Temple launches petition for 'discrimination transparency'. http://www.metrotimes.com/Blogs/archives/2015/03/12/the-satanic-temple-launches-petition-for-discrimination-transparency
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The idea that “In God We Trust” isn’t meant to convey an exclusive religious message is insulting to the intellect. Surely, Mielke and the crusading IGWT zealots wouldn’t be eager to display in “In Allah We Trust,” though they might disingenuously argue that Allah is but another name for the same heavenly tyrant. Also, it shows an incomprehensible amount of ignorance to completely disregard the presence of non-believers, polytheists, and others who can’t possibly imagine the IGWT plaque to represent their religious opinions in any way. Fortunately, the Seattle chapter of The Satanic Temple, headed by one Lilith Starr, took note of the general discontent Mielke’s disgraceful idiocy has engendered, and is offering an alternative, or complementary, plaque that better reflects our American secular constitutional values of plurality and legal equality. The proposed plaque displays a border of symbols representing a diversity of religious views, centered with the phrase “E Pluribus Unum,” followed by its translation, “from the many, one”. If the IGWT plaque is truly believed, by those who endorse it, to reflect a broad range of religious opinions, surely nobody will object to more appropriate display of inclusion.

7 Satanic Strategies to Distract From Christianity. http://www.christianpost.com/news/7-satanic-strategies-to-distract-from-christianity-135044/

“HAIL SATAN! Let us stand now, unbowed and unfettered by arcane doctrines born of fearful minds in darkened times. Let us embrace the Luciferian impulse to eat of the Tree of Knowledge and dissipate our blissful and comforting delusions of old. Let us demand that individuals be judged for their concrete actions, not their fealty to arbitrary social norms and illusory categorizations. Let us reason our solutions with agnosticism in all things, holding fast only to that which is demonstrably true. Let us stand firm against any and all arbitrary authority that threatens the personal sovereignty of One or All. That which will not bend must break, and that which can be destroyed by truth should never be spared its demise. It is Done. Hail Satan.” http://youtu.be/bfNcpInSthk

The theft of a Celtic sea god sculpture from a mountainside in Northern Ireland must be labeled as a religious hate crime, a local pagan priest believes. The statue, made by a ‘Game of Thrones’ set creator, prompted a media stir after it was vandalized. The six-foot statue of Manannán Mac Lir, a sea deity in Irish mythology, was stolen from Binevenagh Mountain near Limavady in County Derry in January and replaced with a crucifix bearing the words “you shall have no other gods before me.” http://rt.com/news/228771-pagan-statue-theft-religion-crime/

Iceland to build first temple to Norse gods since Viking age. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/02/iceland-temple-norse-gods-1000-years

Glenn Beck Praises Woman Who Tore Down Satanist Display: 'I'm Glad At Least Somebody Is Standing Up' - See more at: http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/glenn-beck-praises-woman-who-tore-down-satanist-display-im-glad-least-somebody-standing

It occurs to me that my history of taking on religion might led to my murder. Oh, well. It’s worth it. http://rall.com/2015/01/14/will-i-be-killed-by-religious-fanatics

January 16 http://religiousfreedomday.com

After Paris shooting, Irish say it’s time to finally ditch their blasphemy law. In 2009, a new defamation law was adopted that included a definition of blasphemy and said it could be punished with a fine of up to 25,000 euros (almost $30,000). Blasphemy was hence defined as “publishing or uttering matter that is grossly abusive or insulting in relation to matters sacred by any religion, thereby intentionally causing outrage among a substantial number of adherents of that religion, with some defenses permitted." The new law and definition had been criticized by atheists and free speech advocates before they even went into force. Shortly before it passed, Michael Nugent, chairman of Atheist Ireland, argued that it "incentivizes outrage," while Eoin O'Dell, a senior lecturer in law at Trinity College Dublin, later told The Post that it was "literally medieval." "Under this proposed law," Nugent wrote in 2009, "if a person expresses one belief about gods, and other people think that this insults a different belief about gods, then these people can become outraged, and this outrage can make it illegal for the first person to express his or her beliefs." http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2015/01/13/after-paris-shooting-irish-say-its-time-to-finally-ditch-their-blasphemy-law/

Watchdog: Do tax breaks for churches favor believers over nonbelievers? Religious organizations in America are largely exempt from income, sales, property and other taxes – perks worth at least $71 billion a year in the U.S., according to a recent study that was quite conservative in its methodology. That translates into a break of some $7 billion a year for religious institutions in California, and some $700 million a year for those in Orange County. The totals are likely higher, as real estate (and nearly everything else) in California is more expensive than almost anywhere in the nation. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/tax-647039-churches-church.html

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla., Dec. 24 (UPI) -- A woman wearing a "Catholic Warrior" T-shirt was arrested on accusations of damaging the Satanic Temple's holiday display in the Florida Capitol, police said. Authorities said Susan Hemeryck, 54, a Tea Party activist, told a pair of Florida Department of Law Enforcement Capitol Police officers she was "sorry and had to take down the Satanic display" about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday because it was "not right." Police said the officers told Hemeryck not to remove the Satanic Temple's "Happy Holidays" display, and she responded by saying she "could not take it anymore" and started ripping the display apart. Read more: http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2014/12/24/Police-Catholic-Warrior-damaged-satanic-display/2601419432415/#ixzz3ONienoMq

Photos: Township orders zombie Nativity scene removed. http://www.wlwt.com/news/30369258

Racism

The South Seemed Pretty Sure It Was Fighting for Slavery. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-womack/south-civil-war-slavery_b_7946604.html

“Heritage of Hate” http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/08/05/heritage-not-hate-sorry-white-south-they-go-together.html

Rolling rally held in Lapeer area to show support for Confederate flag. LaFrance argued the symbol was used "as a battle flag fighting for states' rights. That's it." She decided to take part in the rally after spotting a Facebook post. Police in Lapeer came to the event in the parking lot outside the Walmart store on West Genesee Street. But 26-year-old resident Jay Casas called the gathering "a peaceful event" and "we had no intentions to disrespect anyone at all." Lapeer police did not immediately respond to a call for comment. "Some people did not like it and told the manager at (Walmart)," he said. "She came out and talked with us and she let us know she contacted the police. When the police got there, everyone left. We didn't burn anything or destroy anything. We met peaceful, as it is our right to do, so that's all it really was." Rather than being divided by the subject of the flag and race, Casas said people need to come together. "I say that we the people of the United States need to unite and understand that," he said. "I believe our government is trying to start a race battle. No one cared about the Confederate flag until the shooting in Charleston." He added with the flag now being taken out of stores due to some people finding offensive, "In that case, do you think in time the red and blue bandanas will stop being sold in stores because it represents gang violence? The flag to me is a part of our history. A lot of people died for the battle flag." Casas, who offered his condolences to the shooting victims in Chattanooga, Tenn., said, "I would like them to know that the American flag was used more by the KKK rather than the Confederate battle flag." http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/07/rolling_rally_held_in_lapeer-a.html

Here’s why America’s national parks are so white. Many prospective visitors worry about park employees’ disparate treatment and implicit racial bias. As part of our event, eight female academics — four of them white or Hispanic and four African-American — drove into the park. The organizers told participants not to pay the entrance fee and to inform gate agents that their fees were waived because they were visiting the research station. The white and Hispanic drivers gave the agents the information as directed and were welcomed and waved through. The four African-American scholars entered the park at different times and entrances and gave the same information. In all four cases, the African-American professors were extensively questioned, made to fill out a superfluous form, which required extra and unnecessary effort and a check-in with the research center staff, and reluctantly let into the park. One of the black professors was questioned about her college degrees, the title of her research project and her university affiliation and was asked to provide a faculty ID. The agents appeared incapable of imagining that a black woman could hold a Ph.D. and visit a research station for a scholarly event. (The Yosemite National Park Service has since opened an investigation into the incidents.) This is heartbreaking, not least because Buffalo Soldiers, members of all-African-American regiments of the U.S. Army, were among the nation’s first park rangers and built the first marked trail at Yosemite. Today only 1 percent of the park’s visitors are black. http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/7/heres-why-americas-national-parks-are-so-white.html

'Still a racist nation': American bigotry on full display at KKK rally in South Carolina. More than 50 protesters brandished Confederate flags and yelled racial epithets in rally that overlapped with black activists’ protest on the statehouse steps. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/19/kkk-clashes-south-carolina-racism

Confederate Madness Then and Now. A British consul witnessed the cynical process that plunged the United States into civil war in the 1860s. His observations can teach us a lot today. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/07/14/confederate-madness-then-and-now.html

Why do people believe myths about the Confederacy? Because our textbooks and monuments are wrong. False history marginalizes African Americans and makes us all dumber. http://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/01/why-do-people-believe-myths-about-the-confederacy-because-our-textbooks-and-monuments-are-wrong/

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The Confederate Flag Was Always Racist. Modern-day racists who brandish Confederate symbols are not distorting their meaning. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/06/confederate-flag-always-racist-119481.html#ixzz3eNg8fJSb

Ted Rall LAPD LAT

Fired Los Angeles Times cartoonist hits back at newspaper for siding with LAPD Department used inaudible recording against award-winning journalist Ted Rall after he drew cartoon alleging police misconduct in 2001 jaywalking incident http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/15/ted-rall-los-angeles-times-lapd-police-cartoon

Cartoonist fired by LA Times after LAPD arrest says evidence 'spliced and edited' As Ted Rall’s book on Edward Snowden hits shelves this week, parallels are visible between his own story – involving a police encounter over jaywalking – and that of his subject, the NSA whistleblower http://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/aug/24/los-angeles-times-cartoonist-ted-rall-fired-edward-snowden-book

Danny Hellman https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/15244381 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Hellman#Ted_Rall_lawsuit

Controversial author Ted Rally debuts his book Snowden this week, and its unveiling could not come at a stranger time. In Snowden, Rall discusses the rise of Edward Snowden as he begins to realize the huge state tapping into our private lives at the exact same moment when the secret state surveillance on Rall’s past life would bring a forceful stop to his work at the LA Times. If you missed Bill's interview with Ted, you can hear it here: Read more: http://www.kfiam640.com/onair/bill-carroll-37820/cartoonist-fired-by-la-times-cries-13891621/#ixzz3jyXKqoQI

For downtown L.A.'s pedestrians, citations send a 'don't walk' signal http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-walkability-downtown-20150412-story.html

Readers outraged by L.A.'s pedestrian ticket 'muggings' Steve Lopez an April 24 story by Times reporter Catherine Saillant, who saw Eduardo and seven others get ticketed by an LAPD motorcycle officer near the 7th Street Metro station over a two-hour period. Councilman Mike Bonin. Councilman Jose Huizar State Sen. Bob Hertzberg of Van Nuys http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-0503-lopez-ticket-20150506-column.html

Controversial cartoonist Ted Rall fights for his professional life after being fired by the LA Times By Kevin Uhrich 08/20/2015 http://www.pasadenaweekly.com/cms/story/detail/rall_s_deal/14860/

Ted Rall: The LAPD Told The LA Times To Fire Me [Cartoon Exclusive] http://anewdomain.net/2015/08/11/ted-rall-cartoon-so-the-lapd-told-the-la-times-to-fire-me/ http://anewdomain.net/2015/08/02/ted-rall-lapd-la-times-scandal-timeline/

This week, CounterPunch Radio host Eric Draitser welcomes two more outstanding guests to the program. In the first half of the episode, Eric chats with award winning syndicated political cartoonist and author Ted Rall about the controversy surrounding his recent firing by the LA Times on bogus charges made by the LAPD. Eric and Ted discuss the circumstances of his firing, the LAPD's lies, and the stupidity and arrogance of LA Times management in siding with the cops. Eric and Ted examine the larger context of this story, including how it is an indictment of the corporate media which, once again, reveals itself as a servant of power. Ted also talks about his brand new book about NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, scheduled for release in a few days. http://store.counterpunch.org/rall-hunziker-episode-15/

Washington Post reporter charged with trespassing, interfering with a police officer. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/08/10/washington-post-reporter-charged-with-trespassing-interfering-with-a-police-officer/

AAEC Calls for Independent Investigation of LAPD's Rall Tape http://news.editorialcartoonists.com/aaec/2015/08/aaec-calls-for-independent-investigation-of-lapds-rall-tape.html

And here's the topper, one that pushes this from a sorry case of a gullible editor into a full-blown conspiracy. The publisher of the LA Times, Austin Beutner, ran for mayor in 2012 and is rumored to be making another attempt in 2016. That's right. The paper that is all about "integrity" is run by a guy who wants to be mayor! This is a HUGE ethical violation in the newspaper world, especially since the guy was publisher, then mayoral candidate, then publisher AGAIN. Maybe that's ok at shithole infotainment media like FoxNews, but at a major newspaper? I'm not aware of any other case like this. How's that going to work, exactly? How'd you like to be a reporter covering your boss' campaign? What happens if he wins the job? Will he step down, or order the paper to print glowing editorials and columns about what a great job the new mayor is doing? It is completely plausible that Ted was given the boot on orders from Beutner, who wants to smooth things over with the LAPD to enhance his political ambitions. Here's another tidbit. A large chunk of the LA Times now belongs to a large investment firm which is tied to the LA police union pension fund. So ownership and the guy running the paper have clear motives for muzzling Rall. This stinks in SO many ways. I call bullshit. http://derfcity.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-la-times-tries-to-destroy-ted-rall.html

Los Angeles Fire & Police commits $110 million to 8 funds http://www.pionline.com/article/20120823/ONLINE/120829933/los-angeles-fire-amp-police-commits-110-million-to-8-funds

http://cartoonistsrights.org/did-l-a-police-break-the-law-to-get-ted-rall-fired/

Radio interviews with Ted Rall talking about getting a “burn notice” from the L.A. Times: http://bradblog.com/audio/bradcast_bradfriedman_tedrall_drtucker_080415.mp3 http://archives.kpfa.org/data/20150805-Wed1700.mp3

A woman walking down the street in West Hollywood saw a police officer roughing up and handcuffing a man, whom he accused of jaywalking. Appalled, she challenged the officer. “Take off his handcuffs!” she demanded. Noticing the commotion, more passersby approached. Soon a small crowd of people had gathered around. Some people shouted at the officer to stop. Others mocked his aggressiveness, sarcastically suggesting that his unfulfilled sexual desires explained his behavior. Surrounded by pissed-off citizens, the cop replied with a smirk: “I’m SO scared.” Others stood and watched, witnessing. This happened 14 years ago. The man was me. None of us knew that the cop, Officer Will Durr, was secretly capturing the audio of my arrest on a tape recorder — some of it, anyway. http://rall.com/2015/08/05/woman-shout-cop

The sporty little car with the red paint and racing stickers was caught. Parked beside a Granada Hills road and its handcuffed driver, the Toyota Supra sat with its big modified exhaust hanging just above the ground, like a dog with its tail between its legs. “Remember me?” Officer Will Durr said to the driver — an embarrassed college student he’d pulled over days before in the same illegally modified car. Durr grinned as he stood beneath the car’s popped hood, ogling the turbo-charged engine, shining his flashlight over the modified air intake that allowed the vehicle to breathe in more power-giving air. Parked beside a Granada Hills road and its handcuffed driver... “Remember me?” Officer Will Durr said to the driver... Durr grinned ... http://ktla.com/2015/05/10/lapds-aggressive-driving-detail-trying-to-put-the-brakes-on-illegal-street-racing/ http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-racing-20150511-story.html http://tinyurl.com/pocbwru

http://rightwingnews.com/john-hawkins/was-the-la-times-right-to-fire-ted-rall-for-supposedly-lying-about-a-2001-encounter-with-the-police/

http://observer.com/2015/08/former-la-times-cartoonist-mulls-lawsuit/

http://rall.com/2015/08/03/my-letter-to-la-times-editorial-page-editor-nick-goldberg

http://lapd.com/blog/lappl_applauds_la_times_firing_of_cartoonist_ted_rall/

Ted Rall-LAPD Scandal: Rall Vindicated; LAPD, LA Times Under Fire. http://anewdomain.net/2015/08/01/ted-rall-lapd-la-firing-scandal-rall-vindicated-lapd-under-fire-exclusive/ http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-rall-lapd-crosswalk-tickets-20150511-story.html

Police State

Sheriffs Want Popular Police-Tracking App Disabled. "I do not think it is legitimate to ask a person-to-person communication to cease simply because it reports on publicly visible law enforcement, she said. She said a bigger concern among privacy advocates is how much information about customers Waze shares with law enforcement, since the service necessarily monitors their location continually as long as it's turned on. Brown and Kopelev raised concerns during the meeting of the National Sheriffs Association winter conference in Washington. They pointed to the Instagram account of the man accused of shooting two NYPD officers last month. Ismaaiyl Brinsley posted a screenshot from Waze on his Instagram account along with messages threatening police. Investigators do not believe he used Waze to ambush the officers, in part because police say Brinsley tossed his cellphone more than two miles from where he shot the officers. Kopelev said he hadn't heard about the Waze app until mid-December when he saw his wife using it. Afterward, Kopelev said he couldn't stop thinking about the app and was motivated to act by the NYPD shooting. While attending the funeral of one of the officers in New York, he spoke with Brown, his former boss. Brown asked Kopelev to discuss Waze at the upcoming sheriffs' association conference. Kopelev refers to his efforts as his "personal jihad. http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Sheriffs-Want-Popular-Police-Tracking-App-Disabled-289755401.html

Bullying and Sexism

Racketeering suit is filed against anti-abortion group that released undercover videos. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/racketeering_suit_is_filed_against_anti_abortion_group_that_released_underc

Exposed: The Faces and Fake Names of the People Behind Planned Parenthood Attack Videos. http://m.democracynow.org/stories/15400

What the push to defund Planned Parenthood is really about. Its 2011 fact sheet says it performed 332,278 abortion procedures in 2009. http://www.freep.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/07/30/planned-parenthood-abortion/30906967/ http://www.factcheck.org/2011/04/planned-parenthood/

Dude Catcalls Women During Anti-Catcalling Report. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/20/dude-catcalls-women-during-anti-catcalling-report-buzz60_n_7099966.html

Holy. Crap. A week in the tweet reply feed of @femfreq. Holy. Crap. http://t.co/KlouggcNYV https://t.co/eufMOpsHJn

In hindsight, Bill Cosby’s old books on love, sex and family are incredibly creepy. As a boy, Cosby liked to hurt little girls, because they deserved it. “If a girl wandered on to a football field where I was playing,” he writes of his sports-obsessed childhood, “I might make knocking her down part of my fly pattern, for a girl was only an honorary human being; and if my roller skating assumed a certain grand sweep, a girl or two might hit the cement, not an unfitting position for such a lesser part of humanity.” Cosby makes no apology for this violence. Girls were a “kind of dopey enemy,” he explains, and boys like him simply “practiced the violence that was so essential to their becoming men.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/book-party/wp/2015/01/27/in-hindsight-bill-cosbys-old-books-on-love-sex-and-family-are-incredibly-creepy/

War

My Daddy/brother/grandfather/buddy died fighting for this flag and I will too.

Crime

Gun Violence

In 2012, there were 8,855 criminal gun homicides in the FBI's homicide database, but only 258 gun killings by private citizens that were deemed justifiable, which the FBI defines as "the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen." That works out to one justifiable gun death for every 34 unjustifiable gun deaths. Or, look at it this way. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that in 2012 there were 20,666 suicides by gun. That works out to one self-defense killing for every 78 gun suicides. CDC data show that there were more than twice as many accidental gun fatalities as as justifiable killings. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/06/19/guns-in-america-for-every-criminal-killed-in-self-defense-34-innocent-people-die/

51 officers killed in the line of duty last year, nearly double 2013’s historic low: FBI. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/51-officers-killed-line-duty-year-fbi-article-1.2217901

Killed by Police, which documents the names, age, gender, and race of people killed by police every day, as well as the circumstances leading up to officers’ use of lethal force, recorded more than 90 people who died at the hands of officers in April. Indeed, Freddie Gray’s death was one of many egregious use of force cases in April. Here’s a recap of some of the police encounters that gained national attention. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/05/01/3652999/police-killed-90-people-april/

Gun Threats and Self-Defense Gun Use. http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hicrc/firearms-research/gun-threats-and-self-defense-gun-use-2/

The Myth Behind Defensive Gun Ownership. Guns are more likely to do harm than good. http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/01/defensive-gun-ownership-myth-114262.html

ARLINGTON A woman accused of shooting her husband and his adult daughter called a friend Wednesday and told him she did it, according to a search warrant affidavit obtained Thursday by the Star-Telegram. Veronica Dunnachie, 35, was arrested Wednesday in the deaths of Russ Dunnachie, 50, and Kimberly Dunnachie, 20. They were found in Russ Dunnachie’s home in the 2500 block of Edinburgh Street in Arlington by patrol officers who were making a welfare check, according to the affidavit. The suspect has been involved in area open-carry activities and has this quotation on her Facebook page: “Sometimes removing some people out of your life makes room for better people.” Her profile photo shows her aiming a gun. Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/crime/article4428614.html#storylink=cpy

Rethinking Gun Control. Surprising findings from a comprehensive report on gun violence. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/human_nature/2013/06/handguns_suicides_mass_shootings_deaths_and_self_defense_findings_from_a.html

Cliven Bundy

Armed Resistance A new report links Utah legislator to patriot groups http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/armed-resistance/Content?oid=2957325

Associated Press Leaves Out Racism Controversy While Reporting On Meeting Between Rand Paul And Cliven Bundy. AP Ignores That Paul Had Previously Condemned Bundy's "Offensive" Commentary. Bundy said of Paul to the AP, "In general, I think we're in tune with each other." http://mediamatters.org/blog/2015/06/30/associated-press-leaves-out-racism-controversy/204217

It’s time to hold Bundy accountable for standoff. http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/it-s-time-hold-bundy-accountable-standoff http://www.reviewjournal.com/opinion/it-s-time-hold-bundy-accountable-standoff

Protesters gathered to illegally dredge for gold on Tuesday in an Idaho river where such mining is banned, in an open challenge to the U.S. government's authority to regulate public waters and lands in Western states, an organizer said. Six of nearly 60 miners at the rally were using portable pumps and hoses to collect gravel and sand from the streambed of a stretch of the federally protected Salmon River, which is closed to suction dredging and other mining by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to protect imperiled fish. "It's a matter of states' rights," Organizer John Crossman, head of the Southwest Idaho Mining Association in Boise, said in a telephone interview in which he described as overreach a recent rule by the EPA requiring permits to mine rivers in mostly Western states. "This is the United States of America, not the 'United State' of America. The feds can't come in here like storm troopers and start running our lands and rivers," he added. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/07/01/us-usa-mining-idaho-idUSKBN0F65KN20140701

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Wednesday she is confident that Bunkerville rancher Cliven Bundy, who with armed supporters faced down federal officials over grazing cattle on public land, will be held accountable. “Cliven Bundy has had multiple court orders to remove his cattle from federal public lands and he has not paid his grazing fees and he has not abided by the law,” Jewell told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “We will continue to pursue that.” http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/bundy-blm/interior-chief-bundy-will-be-held-accountable

Shots Fired Near Nevada BLM Surveyors Could Be Related to Bundy Standoff. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2015/06/12/shots-fired-near-nevada-blm-surveyors-could-be-related-to-bundy-standoff/

“We’ve had enough of you guys telling us what to do. I’m not a violent man, but I’m getting to the point where I’ll blow up bridges, ruins, and vehicles. We’re going to start a revolution. We’re going to get back our lands. We’re going to sabotage your vehicles. You had better start going out in twos and threes because we’re going to take care of you BLMers.” — Calvin Black, then San Juan County Commissioner, to Bureau of Land Management officials in an April 12, 1979 meeting (as reported in HCN's "Reopening of the Western Frontier"). On paper, Phil Lyman, Commissioner of San Juan County, Utah, comes across a bit like a standard libertarian do-away-with-federal-land extremist. He speaks of “first principles,” praises Cliven Bundy, the Nevada rancher who illegally grazes his cattle on public land, and he organized a May 10 ATV ride down a trail in Recapture Canyon, which is rich with archaeological sites and closed to motorized travel, to try to assert some local say over public lands. Lyman’s plans for a protest ride were made public shortly after the fracas at Bundy's Bunkerville ranch, in which armed militia members faced down Bureau of Land Management officers trying to round up Bundy’s cows. The ride was then touted as the “next showdown” between the feds and Sagebrush Rebels, Western anti-federal activists who have been agitating over public land management issues since the 1970s. Lyman was cast as the Bundy character; ATVs would stand in for Bundy’s trespassing cattle. https://www.hcn.org/articles/is-san-juan-countys-phil-lyman-the-new-calvin-black http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/05/14/how-cliven-bundy-and-the-land-rights-movement-are-screwing-native-americans.html

POLICE VIOLENCE

Once again: police work is NOT getting more dangerous. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/10/02/once-again-police-work-is-not-getting-more-dangerous/

US police kill more than two people a day, report suggests. Data collected by the Washington Post newspaper suggests that the number of people shot by US police is twice as high as official figures claim. The paper said that during the first five months of this year, 385 people - more than two a day - were killed. The number of black people was disproportionately high among the victims, especially unarmed ones. Official statistics rely on self-reported figures from law enforcement agencies. They suggest about 400 people have been killed each year since 2008. The US has seen a number of controversial cases where unarmed black people have been killed by white police officers. http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-32950383

Orozco is one of 14 officers shot and killed in the line of duty by suspects since January, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page, a nonprofit organization that tracks all line-of-duty fatalities. While protesters have demonstrated over the past year about the use of deadly force by police, Orozco’s death highlighted the lethal threats that officers face. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/for-police-officers-fewer-deaths-but-increased-tension/2015/05/30/499da608-0650-11e5-8bda-c7b4e9a8f7ac_story.html

Fatal police shootings in 2015 approaching 400 nationwide. About half the victims were white, half minority. But the demographics shifted sharply among the unarmed victims, two-thirds of whom were black or Hispanic. Overall, blacks were killed at three times the rate of whites or other minorities when adjusting by the population of the census tracts where the shootings occurred. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/fatal-police-shootings-in-2015-approaching-400-nationwide/2015/05/30/d322256a-058e-11e5-a428-c984eb077d4e_story.html

In attempt to capture a fuller picture of police killings in the U.S., citizen and activist groups have started compiling their own statistics through crime and media reports. One of the most comprehensive projects to date is a website called Killed By Police. The site logged nearly 1,500 police-involved deaths between January 1, 2014 and April 30, 2015 and included documentation for each incident. http://www.vocativ.com/news/190536/what-16-months-of-police-killings-in-the-u-s-looks-like/ http://killedbypolice.net

That Higher Count Of Police Killings May Still Be 25 Percent Too Low http://fivethirtyeight.com/datalab/that-higher-count-of-police-killings-may-still-be-25-percent-too-low/

Over 100 People Were Killed by Police in March. https://www.aclu.org/blog/criminal-law-reform-free-speech-racial-justice/over-100-people-were-killed-police-march-have-po

Cop Crime and Harassment

NYPD Cop Sentenced to Two Years for Role in Motorcycle Mob Attack on Driver. An NYPD cop who infiltrated Occupy Wall Street, encouraging activists to break the law, only to later be part of the motorcycle mob that chased down a family in a Range Rover, pulling the father out of the car to beat him, was sentenced today to two years in jail. Wojciech Braszczok, who shattered the SUV’s back window with his fist during the 2013 attack, said he did so because somebody from inside the car had thrown something at him, which somehow made it through the closed window, making him fear for his life. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/08/nypd-cop-sentenced-to-two-years-for-role-in-motorcycle-mob-attack-on-driver/

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2015/07/san-diego-paramedic-attacks-photojournalist-for-recording-game-of-thrones-actress-on-gurney/

How the DEA Harasses Amtrak Passengers A mathematician describes how his rights were apparently violated during a trip to Washington, D.C. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/05/how-the-dea-harasses-amtrak-passengers/393230/

CHP officer pleads no contest to sharing explicit photos of female arrestees, avoids jail. Disgraced former California Highway Patrol officer Sean Harrington pleaded no contest Tuesday to two felony counts of secretly copying and sharing explicit photos of female DUI suspects, but he will avoid serving any time in jail. Contra Costa Superior Court Judge Terri Mockler said she struggled with his punishment but in the end gave him a 180-day suspended jail sentence for the two felony computer theft charges. As long as he follows the terms of his probation and attends violence-prevention classes, Harrington will not spend time behind bars. However, his law enforcement career is almost certainly over. Mockler read a quote from Elizabeth Cady Stanton, the early women’s rights activist: “Women’s degradation is in man’s idea of his sexual rights. Our religion, laws, customs, are all founded on the belief that woman was made for man.” “To me, that sums up what happened here,” the judge said. http://www.dailynews.com/general-news/20150127/chp-officer-pleads-no-contest-to-sharing-explicit-photos-of-female-arrestees-avoids-jail

Washington Cop Attempts to Incite Photographer by Invading Personal Space. One tactic we occasionally see is when a cop stands directly in your personal space, close enough where he can kiss you, claiming he has the right to stand where he pleases – when you know if you would do the same to him, he would fear for his life and kill you. What they’re really doing is hoping the citizen pushes the cop off or punches him in the face, which you will see is very tempting in this video where a smug Tacoma cop named Barry Paris does his best to incite photographer Scott Shimek, not only standing in his personal space, but brushing up against him for no reason. Paris is a veteran cop who shot an innocent man in 1996, resulting in a $538,000 settlement for the victim with no disciplinary action against him, so he learned early on he can get away with anything. The latest incident took place Tuesday as Shimek aka Rogue Reflections was photographing a union protest in front of a hospital. As he was photographing the protest, he noticed undercover Tacoma cops following and video recording him, so he turned his camera on them. After 45 minutes, he crossed the street and was issued a jaywalking citation, even though several cops and protesters were also crossing the street in the same area. http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/11/tacoma-cop-incite-photographer-barry-paris/

Cops, CIA Share a Culture of Lawlessness. From Ferguson to Staten Island to Langley, we need to get our security forces under control. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/12/cops-cia-share-a-culture-of-lawlessness.html

California

Ex-LAPD detective suspected of being Snowbird Bandit was a heavy gambler, FBI says. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-snowbird-bandit-was-heavy-gambler-20150724-story.html

Mystery of dead man and his 1,200 guns deepens. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lapd-guns-20150720-story.html

Drones, cameras seized in bizarre kidnapping tied to Harvard-educated ex-lawyer http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-kidnapping-harvard-attorney-20150714-story.html

FBI Arrests Suspect in "Gone Girl" Kidnapping Cops Thought Was a Hoax. After police in Dublin, Calif., arrested a man for a home invasion June 5, the FBI noted similarities between that crime and the alleged kidnapping of Denise Huskins. They now believe that the alleged home invader, former Marine and Harvard Law graduate Michael Muller, was behind the elaborate abduction plot. Muller then allegedly got financial account numbers from Quinn and information from the victim’s WiFi router, his laptop and other Internet accounts. Quinn was placed on the couch where he fell asleep. When he woke up his was able to free himself. He found that Huskins, his laptop and his car were missing. Huskins was located two days later. Muller was arrested in June after a botched home invasion in Dublin at the beginning of the month. He allegedly entered the home and fought with the homeowner for about four minutes and ran away. He reportedly left his cell phone at scene, which allowed detectives to track him down to South Lake Tahoe, where he was arrested. Police also found Huskins’ stolen vehicle that had evidence inside from the kidnapping and a GPS device that showed a trip to Huntington Beach. According to Huskins, other suspects were also involved in the incident. Muller, a former U.S. Marine, attended Harvard University where he also taught, according to the official affadavit. He was admitted to the California state bar in 2011, and was disbarred in 2015. http://gawker.com/fbi-arrests-suspect-in-gone-girl-kidnapping-cops-thou-1717585741 http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2015/07/13/orangevale-man-accused-of-kidnapping-denise-huskins/

San Diego

EL CAJON (CNS) - Three men, one of them hospitalized, were arrested after an attempted home invasion robbery in El Cajon Monday. The break-in attempt occurred around 4:30 p.m. in the 8200 block of Limon Lane in an unincorporated area bordering El Cajon, San Diego County Sheriff's Department Sgt. Tim Chantler said. The three men had gone to the home to collect a debt from the homeowner, then forced their way into a garage and confronted the homeowner, Chantler said. The homeowner fired at least one shotgun round, striking a man in a leg, Chantler said. The wounded man was hospitalized. Two other suspects were later stopped by deputies in a vehicle, in which a small amount of methamphetamine and a clown mask were recovered, Chantler said. The two vehicle occupants and the man with the gunshot wound were arrested on suspicion of home invasion robbery, Chantler said. http://www.cbs8.com/story/29436674/three-men-arrested-one-injured-in-attempted-home-robbery-in-el-cajon

Trolley Cops Mostly Swarm These Two Areas. http://voiceofsandiego.org/2015/01/13/trolley-cops-mostly-swarm-these-two-areas/

Violent Online Threats

The Cops Don't Care About Violent Online Threats. What Do We Do Now? http://jezebel.com/the-cops-dont-care-about-violent-online-threats-what-d-1682577343/+tcberman

Sex Crimes

Conservative Scold Ken Starr Got a Billionaire Pedophile Off. Many believe Jeffrey Epstein could have been jailed for life for violating scores of underage girls, but Ken Starr and the rest of his legal team got him a deal. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/30/conservative-scold-ken-starr-got-a-billionaire-pedophile-off.html

War

Cyber War

The FBI told their story about North Korea attacking Sony. Before we retaliate, read what they didn’t tell you. http://fabiusmaximus.com/2014/12/20/rebuttal-holes-fbi-north-korea-sony-attack-74873/

Police War

Here is every officer killed on duty in the US so far this year. The 19 deaths at the hands of suspects run the gamut -- veterans and rookie officers -- and span the nation -- from Georgia to California. http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/nation-and-world/here-every-officer-killed-duty-the-us-so-far-year

In Iraq, I raided insurgents. In Virginia, the police raided me. https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-iraq-i-raided-insurgents-in-virginia-the-police-raided-me/2015/07/24/2e114e54-2b02-11e5-bd33-395c05608059_story.html

Police trying to control the Ferguson protests and riots responded with an uncoordinated effort that sometimes violated free-speech rights, antagonized crowds with military-style tactics and shielded officers from accountability, the Justice Department says in a document obtained Monday by the Post-Dispatch. “Vague and arbitrary” orders to keep protesters moving “violated citizens’ right to assembly and free speech, as determined by a U.S. federal court injunction,” according to a summary of a longer report scheduled for delivery this week to police brass in Ferguson, St. Louis County, St. Louis and Missouri Highway Patrol. They already have the summary, still subject to revision, that was obtained by the newspaper. It suggests that last year’s unrest was aggravated by long-standing community animosity toward Ferguson police, and by a failure of commanders to provide more details to the public after an officer killed Michael Brown. “Had law enforcement released information on the officer-involved shooting in a timely manner and continued the information flow as it became available, community distrust and media skepticism would most likely have been lessened,” according to the document. http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/justice-department-faults-ferguson-protest-response/article_32d55f9f-0bf4-51e4-93d6-71b873cb8038.html

Just as Our Cops Are Becoming Soldiers, Our Soldiers Are Becoming Cops http://phasezero.gawker.com/just-as-our-cops-are-becoming-soldiers-our-soldiers-ar-1711724208

Terror

THE EDUCATION OF A LONE WOLF. The available evidence of the Dylann Roof case indicates that we are witnessing a much broader trend than the metasizing cancer of organized racial hatred and intolerance: the rise of the troubled lone wolf allied to no group. Emboldened by the anonymity of the internet, this new Terrorist 2.0 is unique to the digital age. The fractured, angry young man that is the emerging portrait for the new terrorist that pulled the trigger in the June massacre is on closer analysis, far from being yet another foot soldier of extremist armies of the past. Rather he is a distinctly more Millennial phenomena where one can hop from forum to random internet forum at ease via cyberspace without attracting attention. Roof is a poster boy for many who embrace the emerging 21st century violent extremist. http://www.marxrand.com/archives/1281

A joint state and federal investigation into the activities of accused Charleston church shooter Dylann Storm Roof has widened to include other people of interest, according to sources familiar with the investigation. The expanded scope of the investigation now includes people with whom Roof associated in the weeks before the June 17 shootings of nine African-Americans at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, the sources said. Roof, 21, of Columbia, is white. Also on Friday, The New York Times, citing sources with knowledge of the investigation, said federal and state authorities have found that Roof had been in contact with white supremacists online, although it does not appear that they encouraged him to carry out the massacre. http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2015/07/04/probe-of-church-shooting.html

The Rise of Violent Right-Wing Extremism, Explained. Experts say attacks like the mass shooting in Charleston have been a growing threat. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/06/right-wing-extremism-explainer-charleston-mass-shooting-terrorism

Dylann Roof’s eerie tour of American slavery at its beginning, middle and end. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/07/01/dylann-roofs-eerie-tour-of-american-slavery-at-its-beginning-middle-and-end/

It appears that the Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof may have been even more immersed in the online white supremacist movement than previously thought. In an attempt to verify the authenticity of a manifesto that was uncovered Saturday morning on “The Last Rhodesian,” a website owned by Roof, Hatewatch ran the document’s full text through Grammarly, a piece of software with plagiarism detection capabilities. Despite the fact that only 2% of the document was identified as “unoriginal” by the software, a key 18-word passage in the section labeled “Blacks” bemoaning the alleged appropriation of white culture by the rest of the world, was identified as almost identical to a comment left on an article titled “Former Swedish PM Fredrik Reinfeldt: Sweden Belongs to the Hordes, Not the “Uninteresting” Ethnic Swedes” by the user “AryanBlood1488” at The Daily Stormer. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2015/06/22/dylann-roof-may-have-been-a-regular-commenter-at-neo-nazi-website-the-daily-stormer/

The shooting at a black church in South Carolina is raising new concerns about domestic terrorism, a threat that some say has been given short shrift by the government. While Islamic terrorists have overshadowed anti-government militias and white supremacists since the 9/11 attacks, the groups have actually grown more active in recent years, according to experts. http://thehill.com/policy/national-security/245623-charleston-shooting-puts-focus-on-the-rising-fringe

The first time I flew after 9/11was October 31, 2001. I flew out of San Diego to Portsmouth VA. The airport was almost deserted. I was the only passenger walking through a glass hallway leading to the gates. There was a National Guardsman in the hallway with a rife, an assault type rifle. I remember thinking that the bullets would rip through me and tear up the glass walls.

CIA sometimes overlooks Islamic extremists, Vegas intelligence expert says http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/military/cia-sometimes-overlooks-islamic-extremists-vegas-intelligence-expert-says

Perpetual War

Operation Desert Storm was the beginning of perpetual war. At 6:28 p.m. EST on Jan. 16, 1991 (that’s 24 years ago tomorrow), the U.S. launched the beginning of perpetual war when it attacked military targets in Iraq — specifically around Baghdad — and Kuwait with helicopters, warplanes and Tomahawk missiles to begin Operation Desert Storm. http://personalliberty.com/operation-desert-storm-beginning-perpetual-war/

Iraq IS Daesh

Islamic State's army powered by crossover of Saddam-era commanders. http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2015/08/islamic_states_army_powered_by.html

Retired Army Gen. Mike Flynn, a top intelligence official in the post-9/11 wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, says in a forthcoming interview on Al Jazeera English that the drone war is creating more terrorists than it is killing. He also asserts that the U.S. invasion of Iraq helped create the Islamic State and that U.S. soldiers involved in torturing detainees need to be held legally accountable for their actions. Flynn, who in 2014 was forced out as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, has in recent months become an outspoken critic of the Obama administration’s Middle East strategy, calling for a more hawkish approach to the Islamic State and Iran. https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/16/retired-general-drones-create-terrorists-kill-iraq-war-helped-create-isis/

Islamic State militants are deploying the signature weapon of the Iraq war — the homemade, roadside bomb — in novel ways, including the use of drones to spot targets, a top Pentagon official says. The tactics used by Islamic State fighters in Iraq and Syria have evolved rapidly with improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Lt. Gen. John Johnson, director of the Joint IED Defeat Organization, told USA TODAY in an interview. Militants around the world continuously share best-practice tips online, Johnson said. The IEDs used by the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, have been cobbled together with homemade- and military-grade explosives and munitions seized from Iraqi and Syrian security forces. "They're using everything they can get their hands on," Johnson said. ISIL also has used chlorine as a chemical weapon, he said. Meantime, ISIL fighters have been modifying their tactics to exploit holes in the defenses of friendly forces, Johnson said. Some of their adaptations, according to Johnson:

  • Drones. To date, the drones have been used to direct drivers of car bombs to their targets inside Iraqi-held territory, Johnson said. He noted that the unmanned aircraft "can deliver some sort of payload," meaning the drones could be turned into a new form of IED. "That's a question," he said.
  • Bigger bombs. Seized military vehicles have been jammed with explosives to produce huge explosions that can penetrate even fortified structures. ISIL's initial assault on Ramadi on May 17 included the use of 30 massive car bombs, prompting Iraqi security forces to flee despite outnumbering the militants.
  • Tunnels. In Syria, ISIL fighters have been burrowing beneath their targets to avoid detection before setting off IEDs. http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/roadside-bombs-remain-insurgents-top-gun-1.357515

A secret to Islamic State's success: Shock troops who fight to the death. http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/a-secret-to-islamic-state-s-success-shock-troops-who-fight-to-the-death-1.356876

Rumsfeld admits Bush was wrong pushing democracy on Iraq. http://rt.com/usa/265630-rumsfeld-bush-wrong-iraq/

ANALYSIS: Islamic State's apparent expansion may be deceptive. By Laura King Los Angeles Times Published: April 1, 2015 http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/islamic-state-s-apparent-expansion-may-be-deceptive-1.337873

Hagel dismisses usefulness of body counts in Islamic State fight. http://www.stripes.com/hagel-dismisses-usefulness-of-body-counts-in-islamic-state-fight-1.325289

Don’t believe the U.S. military when it says it doesn’t keep body counts. http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2015/01/22/dont-believe-the-u-s-military-when-it-says-it-doesnt-keep-body-counts/

Secretary of State John Kerry is a distinguished diplomat with impeccable manners -- but that doesn't mean he's above lobbing a well-placed insult when it comes to enemies of the United States. Kerry made clear earlier this week that he is committed to referring to the Islamic State as "Daesh," a name that the group considers so degrading that it has threatened to kill anyone under Islamic State rule who uses it. The Islamic State's opponents in the Muslim world have already embraced the name. "Daesh" is an acronym for the Arabic phrase meaning the "Islamic State in Iraq and Syria" (though the last word can also be translated as "Damascus" or "Levant"), and it is thought to offend the extremist group because it sounds similar to an Arabic word for crushing something underfoot. Daesh in Arabic "sounds like something monstrous. ... It's a way of stigmatizing [the Islamic State], making it something ugly," Joseph Bahout, a visiting scholar at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told The Huffington Post. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/12/11/kerry-daesh-isil_n_6309664.html

Iraq Bush War

Though former governor of Florida and presidential candidate Jeb Bush was not mentioned by name, a reporter asked about a narrative Bush advanced a day earlier in public remarks: That the Obama administration, after a successful troop surge, abandoned Iraq to renewed sectarianism and the Islamic State. Asked if he agreed with the narrative, Odierno said, "I don't think it's black and white, I think it's gray. I think the military operations we conducted provided an opportunity for us to be successful. "I remind everybody that us leaving in 2011 was negotiated in 2008 by the Bush administration, and that was always the plan," Odierno said. "We said we would respect their sovereignty, and so that was always our plan." http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/leaders/2015/08/12/odierno-reviews-iraq-islamic-state-final-briefing/31554817/

Rumsfeld admits Bush was wrong pushing democracy on Iraq. http://rt.com/usa/265630-rumsfeld-bush-wrong-iraq/

“The truth is unspeakable”: A real American sniper unloads on “American Sniper” "The truth is unspeakable," says real-life American sniper who wants nothing to do with a dangerous propaganda film Take Garett’s first hit, the one he described as giving him a feeling of ecstasy. The feeling did not last long. His target was not dead. “I remember looking back and he was down in the middle of the road arching his body, spinning on his back and screaming and pulling on his stomach as if I shot him with an arrow and he was trying to pull it out. All the sense of satisfaction just washed away and this horror filled it — this sadness, anger and frustration. I was mad at him that he just didn’t die. I ended up putting another three rounds down and he finally stopped moving. That was the first time I took another life.” There is a long pause on the other end of my phone. “He looked like he could have been my father. Who knows why he was out there fighting. A lot of people were fighting us because they did not want to be occupied or because they had family members who were hurt or killed and they wanted to get some sort of vengeance. By the end of my tour, it was really hard to justify killing them. We should not have been there in the first place.” While in Iraq, Garett was told by an army chaplain that a stronger belief in God would alleviate the guilt he was feeling. God was on America’s side, and Garett was fighting for God and country. Get over it, soldier. Once home, he sought treatment for his PTSD from a Veterans Administration hospital and heard the same message delivered in a different way. “I was taken aside more than once at the VA [during group therapy] and told that the VA is not a platform to express my political views. My recovery hinged on the fact that I felt guilt and shame over committing atrocities against an occupied country. We went over there and brutalized and oppressed, and that is part of my psychological and moral injuries. If I can’t talk about it at the VA, then the VA can’t help me.” http://www.salon.com/2015/02/04/this_american_sniper_didnt_keep_track_of_his_kills_and_hates_that_i_ask_him/

CIA job interview leads to criminal investigation of Green Beret Maj. Mathew L. Golsteyn was investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Command for an undisclosed violation of the U.S. military’s rules of engagement in 2010 that resulted in the death of a known enemy fighter and bombmaker in Helmand province, Afghanistan, according to the officials. The Army closed a lengthy investigation last summer without charging Golsteyn with any crime, but Army Secretary John McHugh revoked a Silver Star that Golsteyn had been awarded for heroism on Feb. 20, 2010, during the iconic Battle of Marja. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/02/06/cia-job-interview-led-to-criminal-investigation-of-green-beret/

Average Soldiers Don’t Trust Their Generals and They Have a Point. A survey last year showed only 27% of the military felt senior leaders looked out for their best interests. To fix the morale crisis generals need to stop acting like politicians. The instances Mr. Hunter documents are the kind of maddeningly stupid, petty bureaucratic abuses that have been a part of military life for years. What's new, and what is far more politically detestable and damaging to morale, is the growing recognition that our armed forces have become military proxies for Saudi Arabia and the other Sunni nations, (a.k.a. our Muslim "allies"), and that our middle eastern "friends" are directly responsible for the funding and encouragement of the worst terrorists on the Planet. In other words, the U.S. military is fighting as a Sunni proxy against other Sunni proxies who've now gone rogue and want to destroy their benefactors, our "allies." I can't imagine anything sapping the morale of the troops more than the knowledge that almost 7,000 troops have been killed and tens of thousands have been maimed fighting to (allegedly) liberate people who wouldn't squat and piss on them if they were in flames, and have little if any interest in democratic governance or western values. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/03/average-soldiers-don-t-trust-their-generals-and-they-have-a-point.html

U.S. gunfire kills two Reuters employees in Baghdad By David Finkel http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/06/AR2010040601368.html

Afghanistan Bush War

Task Force Violent http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/military/2015/03/19/task-force-violent-part-3/24309667/

Ukraine

Threat of new Russian incursion as violence flares in Ukraine. http://www.stripes.com/news/threat-of-new-russian-incursion-as-violence-flares-in-ukraine-1.325166

Troops and Veterans

The Infidels Motorcycle Club, a group made up of troops, veterans and military contractors in Colorado Springs, drew attention recently with its pig roast to protest the holiest of Muslim holidays. While some people decried the club's gathering as tantamount to a KKK cross-burning, the group is not classified as an outlaw motorcycle group by authorities. But other, less-law-abiding motorcycle gangs are actively recruiting troops in the Pikes Peak region and worrying federal agents, a federal report obtained by the Gazette says. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Denver spokesman Chris Amon said his agency's concern over the interaction of troops and outlaw motorcycle gangs is obvious. "It always concerns us when people with specialized training in weapons and explosives is involved in a criminal enterprise," he said. Other experts say outlaw motorcycle life appeals to some troops. "I think it makes a natural draw for them," said Steve Cook, who heads the Midwest Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association. "You have to look at people in the military and fresh back from deployment — they are into a warfare mentality." "Infidels Motorcycle Club is a veteran-formed and -based MC for patriotic Americans and our supporting allies," the group says on its website. Sources familiar with the club say its leaders include several prominent Air Force Space Command contractors and a soldier from Fort Carson's 4th Combat Aviation Brigade — people in positions of trust who carry security clearances. The group advertised the June barbecue as "in defiance of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan" on a flier that included comparisons of Muslim men to pedophiles. The anti-Islam rhetoric coming from people who appear to be on the Pentagon's payroll upsets Ibrahim Hooper, spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations, the nation's largest Muslim rights group. "It would be great concern if these were members of the military or contractors, not because of the barbecue, but because of the extremist views it represents," Hooper said. http://www.stripes.com/news/us/outlaw-motorcycle-groups-efforts-to-recruit-military-troops-is-worrisome-officials-say-1.356600

Irregular Army: How the US Military Recruited Neo-Nazis, Gang Members, and Criminals to Fight the War on Terror, Matt Kennard Just weeks before the hardcover edition of Irregular Army came out in September 2012, a neo-Nazi US Army veteran walked into a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and shot dead six worshippers. A topic that had never managed to hold the interest of the American media during the War on Terror—the extremists being trained by the country's military—suddenly moved front and center. Many Americans wondered how this white supremacist could have survived in the military for so long; surely something must have gone wrong. But the Wisconsin shooter, Wade Michael Page, was merely one of many far-right radicals who have used the US military over the past two decades to gain access to the highest-grade weaponry in the world, alongside attendant training. The Springfield semiautomatic 9mm handgun used by Page in Oak Creek was, for instance, very similar to the Beretta M9, the civilian version of the pistol issued by the US military. And neo-Nazi veterans, like Page, were explicit about wanting to use their new military skills in the coming race war they hoped would ignite in the US. Page's heavy-metal white-power band, called End Apathy, was itself a call to arms. According to a 2010 interview he gave to a white supremacist website, he wanted to "figure out how to end people's apathetic ways"; the band was meant to "be the start towards moving forward." http://www.vice.com/read/american-isis-the-domestic-terrorist-fallout-of-the-iraq-war-213

Army cites investigation in revoking Green Beret's Silver Star. http://www.armytimes.com/story/military/2015/02/05/green-beret-matt-golsteyn-silver-star-stripped-investigation/22930207/

Ventura won't see 'American Sniper'; says Kyle is no hero. https://www.yahoo.com/movies/s/ventura-wont-see-american-sniper-says-kyle-no-214839865.html

Female vet harassed for parking in reserved spot resonates with other servicewomen (+video). In a recent incident in North Carolina, a female veteran received a nasty note after pulling into a veterans-only parking space at a grocery store. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2015/0123/Female-vet-harassed-for-parking-in-reserved-spot-resonates-with-other-servicewomen-video

Muslim sailor sues for right to reenlist and wear beard. Berts, an African American and native of San Francisco, served on the dock landing ship Fort McHenry at Whidbey Island, Wash., and with a beachmaster unit in Coronado before being assigned as a military history and physical education instructor at the Navy training site at Great Lakes, Ill. At Great Lakes, he was allegedly subjected to a “barrage of derogatory terms, anti-Islamic slurs, and inappropriate lines of questions about his religious beliefs and loyalty to the United States,” according to the lawsuit. Among other things, a senior noncommissioned officer repeatedly used slurs involving race and religion when addressing Berts, the lawsuit contends. Backed by Navy chaplains, Berts was seeking permission to wear a beard, which was permitted under Navy rules. The rules give commanders discretion to grant such permission. Berts’ request and appeal were denied, according to the lawsuit. After his “religious accommodation” appeal was denied, he was “removed from his teaching duties…and stationed in an abandoned roach-infested building” guarding obsolete office equipment, the lawsuit contends. He became depressed and had difficulty sleeping, the lawsuit adds. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-muslim-sailor-beard-20150110-story.html

The real American Sniper was a hate-filled killer. Why are simplistic patriots treating him as a hero? Chris Kyle, a US navy Seal from Texas, was deployed to Iraq in 2003 and claimed to have killed more than 255 people during his six-year military career. In his memoir, Kyle reportedly described killing as “fun”, something he “loved”; he was unwavering in his belief that everyone he shot was a “bad guy”. “I hate the damn savages,” he wrote. “I couldn’t give a flying fuck about the Iraqis.” He bragged about murdering looters during Hurricane Katrina, though that was never substantiated. He was murdered in 2013 at a Texas gun range by a 25-year-old veteran reportedly suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jan/06/real-american-sniper-hate-filled-killer-why-patriots-calling-hero-chris-kyle

A worsening morale crisis AFTER 13 YEARS OF WAR, TROOPS FEEL BURNED OUT AND WITHOUT A SENSE OF MISSION. MORE DOUBT THEIR LEADERS AND THEIR JOB SECURITY. http://www.militarytimes.com/longform/military/2014/12/07/americas-military-a-force-adrift/18596571/

Christian War

Why 'Have a blessed day' greeting rattled the Air Force. When some airmen complained, gate guards at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia were told to stop saying 'Have a blessed day.' A minor uproar caused the Air Force to again allow the greeting. http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Military/2015/0313/Why-Have-a-blessed-day-greeting-rattled-the-Air-Force

Crime and Corruption

The F.B.I. and Justice Department prosecutors have recommended bringing felony charges against retired Gen. David H. Petraeus for providing classified information to his former mistress while he was director of the C.I.A., officials said, leaving Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to decide whether to seek an indictment that could send the pre-eminent military officer of his generation to prison. The Justice Department investigation stems from an affair Mr. Petraeus had with Paula Broadwell, an Army Reserve officer who was writing his biography, and focuses on whether he gave her access to his C.I.A. email account and other highly classified information. F.B.I. agents discovered classified documents on her computer after Mr. Petraeus resigned from the C.I.A. in 2012 when the affair became public. Mr. Petraeus, a retired four-star general who served as commander of American forces in both Iraq and Afghanistan, has said he never provided classified information to Ms. Broadwell, and has indicated to the Justice Department that he has no interest in a plea deal that would spare him an embarrassing trial. A lawyer for Mr. Petraeus, Robert B. Barnett, said Friday he had no comment. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/10/us/politics/prosecutors-said-to-recommend-charges-against-former-gen-david-petraeus.html

Navy Commander Pleads Guilty In Massive Bribery Case. Jose Luis Sanchez entered the plea at a Tuesday hearing in San Diego federal court. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when he is sentenced March 27. A judge agreed to let Sanchez remove a GPS monitor while free on bond. Sanchez was accused of accepting bribes, including prostitutes and travel, for steering Navy ships to Leonard Glenn Francis, chief executive of a Singapore-based company that provided services to vessels at ports. Francis has pleaded not guilty. http://www.kpbs.org/news/2015/jan/06/navy-commander-pleads-guilty-massive-bribery-case/

Weapons, Ships and Equipment

http://sploid.gizmodo.com/neat-visualization-shows-which-country-has-the-most-nuk-1715140359

2015 SHIPS AND SUBMARINES OF THE UNITED STATES NAVY http://www.raytheon.com/capabilities/rtnwcm/groups/ids/documents/content/rtn_242005.pdf

Torture

Alvin Bernard “Buzzy” Krongard, who was the CIA’s executive director from 2001 to 2004 — the number-three position at the agency — was asked on a BBC news program if he thought waterboarding and putting a detainee in painful stress positions amounted to torture. “Well, let’s put it this way, it is meant to make him as uncomfortable as possible,” he said. “So I assume for, without getting into semantics, that’s torture. I’m comfortable with saying that.” He added: “We were told by legal authorities that we could torture people.” https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/08/05/new-campaign-rebut-torture-allegations-undermined-former-official-admits-obvious/

Torture Is Bad. So Psychologists Helped the US Redefine It. AFTER THE 9/11 attacks, the US government was willing to do anything to catch the perpetrators. “Anything” included subjecting detainees to simulated drowning, sleep deprivation, and fear-inducing tactics like letting attack dogs snarl and bark inches from their faces. To some, these tactics looked like torture. But the US doesn’t torture—so the government rewrote its definitions of torture. Not all the necessary revisions came from within, though. A new report says that the nation’s largest professional organization of psychologists colluded with government officials to make its own rules more permissive, allowing health professionals to do what had formerly been ethically off limits. The Hoffman report (so named because the principal investigator is a lawyer named David Hoffman) was commissioned by the American Psychological Association to examine a 2005 APA publication called the Psychology Ethics in National Security document (PENS). This document, voted into policy by APA leadership at the time, outlined the conditions in which a psychologist could ethically work alongside military and intelligence interrogators. Critics from within and without the APA had—since the document’s inception—suspected foul play. The Hoffman report lays those accusations bare, by showing that the APA’s head of ethics had been directly working with the military to create a back-scratching policy. http://www.wired.com/2015/07/torture-bad-psychologists-helped-us-redefine/

US torture doctors could face charges after report alleges post-9/11 'collusion' Following repeated denials that its members were complicit in Bush administration-era torture, leading group of psychologists faces a reckoning. http://www.theguardian.com/law/2015/jul/10/us-torture-doctors-psychologists-apa-prosecution

he Senate commendably passed an amendment “outlawing” torture by a wide margin on Monday, but given that torture is already against the law - both through existing US statute and by international treaty - what does that really mean? The bill, a response by lawmakers to last year’s devastating CIA torture report that exposed the agency’s rampant illegal conduct and subsequent cover-up in the years after 9/11, would force all US agencies - including the CIA, finally - to comply with the Pentagon’s rulebook on interrogations. It would also forbid any of the Pentagon’s interrogation rules from being secret and give the Red Cross access to all detainees held by the US, no matter where. One would’ve thought pre-9/11 that it would be hard to write the current law prohibiting torture any more clearly. Nothing should have allowed the Bush administration to get away with secretly interpreting laws out of existence or given the CIA authority to act with impunity. The only reason a host of current and former CIA officials aren’t already in jail is because of cowardice on the Obama administration, which refused to prosecute Bush administration officials who authorized the torture program, those who destroyed evidence of it after the fact or even those who went beyond the brutal torture techniques that the administration shamefully did authorize. http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jun/17/torture-war-government-treats-policy-debate

Amendment Number: S.Amdt. 1889 to S.Amdt. 1463 to H.R. 1735 (Military Construction Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2016) Statement of Purpose: To reaffirm the prohibition on torture. http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=114&session=1&vote=00209#position

CIA director George Tenet approved waterboarding and ordered medical staff to be present. Experts say the agency and its doctors violated its own limits on ‘human subject research’. http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/15/cia-torture-human-experimentation-doctors

After five decades in politics, Senator Feinstein calls the Intelligence Committee’s investigation of interrogation techniques the most important work of her career. http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/06/22/the-inside-war

BUSH WHITE HOUSE’S REPEATED TORTURE DENIALS LED CIA TORTURERS TO SEEK REPEATED REASSURANCES https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/03/02/bush-white-houses-repeated-torture-denials-led-cia-torturers-seek-repeated-reassurance/

MEET ALFREDA BIKOWSKY, THE SENIOR OFFICER AT THE CENTER OF THE CIA’S TORTURE SCANDALS https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/12/19/senior-cia-officer-center-torture-scandals-alfreda-bikowsky/

They Said ‘No’ to Torture: The Real Heroes of the Bush Years. The opposition to torture within the CIA was so strong, Mayer reports, that the CIA Inspector General, John Helgerson, “conducted a serious and influential internal investigation.” That led the Justice Department to “ask the CIA to suspend the torture program”—at least “until it could be reconciled with the law.” The heroes in the torture report include Ali Soufan, former FBI agent and interrogator of terrorists who, according to Lawrence Wright in The Looming Tower, came closer than anyone to preventing the 9/11 attacks. Soufan has argued publicly against torture and in favor of “rapport-building” as the best technique to get information from suspects. The CIA heavily censored his memoir The Black Banners in what Wright called an effort “to punish a critic and to obscure history.” He was featured in a Frontline documentary made by Martin Smith and James Gilmore. Another hero: Alberto Mora. As general counsel of the Navy in 2004, Jane Mayer reported, he tried to stop the torture program. He told his superiors at the Pentagon that the Bush torture policy violated the Geneva Conventions’ prohibition of torture and “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment.” He described the Bush program as “unlawful” and “dangerous,” and warned that the torturers could face criminal prosecution. He was featured in the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side by Alex Gibney (which won the Best Documentary Oscar in 2007). Some of the heroes were ordinary soldiers, like Sgt. Joe Darby, who first revealed the Abu Ghraib abuses. As a result,” Luban points out, he “had to live under armed protection for six months.” Others were high officials, like Philip Zelikow, an adviser to Condoleezza Rice, who, Luban reports, wrote an “anti-torture memo” that the White House “attempted to destroy.” And there was Ian Fishback, an army captain who reported that his own unit was abusing Iraqi prisoners. Eventually he wrote an open letter to Senator John McCain, asking, “Do we sacrifice our ideals in order to preserve security?” His answer: “I would rather die fighting than give up even the smallest part of the idea that is ‘America.’ ” http://www.thenation.com/blog/192873/they-said-no-torture-real-heroes-bush-years#

Imprisoned Former CIA Agent John Kiriakou Speaks About Torture, Prison, and the Future. A jailhouse interview with the man whose disclosures prompted this week’s damning torture report. http://www.washingtonian.com/blogs/capitalcomment/national-security/imprisoned-former-cia-agent-john-kiriakou-speaks-about-torture-prison-and-the-future.php

CIA morale 'deeply hurt' following Senate report. The US Senate report on the CIA's interrogation methods has unleashed a fierce debate about America's intelligence services. CIA director John Brennan has defended his agency's program, in contrast to President Obama. With a reference to history, Ullman said he expects little to change in the future. "We had the attempted assassination of Fidel Castro by two administrations. We had Jack Kennedy working with the Mafia. I mean, it's absurd. But the fact of the matter is this is unfortunately the way governments operate." Bamford called it outrageous that there will apparently not be any legal consequences for the perpetrators of the murder and torture. Ullman, however, sees things differently. "They had the findings of the president, the authorization of the president, and the findings of the attorney general that this was legal," he said. "If anybody is to be prosecuted, it seems to me it should be the president." http://www.dw.de/cia-morale-deeply-hurt-following-senate-report/a-18124389

Those still searching for their moral compass after being confronted by the repulsive facts in the Senate’s report on torture should take a cue from the one man in Washington who actually knows what it is like to be beaten, humiliated, starved, and isolated — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). When the controversial report was released Tuesday, McCain broke with his own party and spoke passionately on the Senate floor in favor of the release of the report. McCain said that the use of torture, “did much harm and little practical good,” adding that it “stained our national honor.” http://news.usni.org/2014/12/12/opinion-john-mccain-senate-torture-report-revolutionary-war

FLOOR STATEMENT BY SENATOR JOHN McCAIN ON SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE REPORT ON CIA INTERROGATION METHODS http://www.mccain.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=1a15e343-66b0-473f-b0c1-a58f984db996 http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/DC-Decoder/2014/1210/Torture-John-McCain-s-unique-brutal-perspective-video

Americans are deeply divided about torture. http://theconversation.com/americans-are-deeply-divided-about-torture-35350

Who would Jesus torture? If it was conclusively proven that torture is not effective in intelligence gathering would you still torture?

Competing claims of torture effectiveness http://bigstory.ap.org/article/67fea22c39e84ce5b210347a676fa499/competing-claims-torture-effectiveness

Dianne Feinstein leaving intelligence job amid clash on tactics report. http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-feinstein-intel-20141207-story.html#page=1

Spying

William Binney spent more than 30 years at the National Security Agency designing programs that enabled mass surveillance of foreign terrorists. Weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Binney retired in disgust when he saw the agency using that technology to spy on every American. Since then, he has agitated for reining in unconstitutional invasions of privacy. At first he worked behind the scenes. Binney decided to go public after his actions resulted not in reform but retaliation, including being accosted at gunpoint by an FBI agent raiding his Maryland house. He began telling his story to journalists in 2011, two years before the stunning revelations of NSA contractor Edward Snowden. http://www.stripes.com/news/us/nsa-whistleblower-warns-of-surveillance-state-1.351131

Petraeus must be prosecuted. The Broadwell affair capped an ignoble history of betraying those he was sworn to serve. http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/1/david-petraeus-felonychargespaulabroadwell.html

DIANNE FEINSTEIN, STRONG ADVOCATE OF LEAK PROSECUTIONS, DEMANDS IMMUNITY FOR DAVID PETRAEUS https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/01/12/dianne-feinstein-advocate-whistleblower-prosecutions-demands-immunity-david-petraeus/

Border

Immigration

CNC Report Details Collusion Between Anti-Immigrant Groups and Immigration Agents. An important new report by the Chicago-based civil rights organization Center for New Community (CNC), released yesterday, documents collusion between the leadership of U.S. Border Patrol Unions and the organized anti-immigrant movement in the United States. The report, “Blurring Borders: Collusion between Anti-Immigrant Groups and Immigration Enforcement Agents” documents numerous examples of this collusion, and notes how extremely problematic it is when you consider the fact that Border Patrol agents are entrusted to carry out the country’s immigration policies as instructed by Congress and the Executive branch. The report reveals that the anti-immigrant movement is actively engaged in developing sources within these agencies and unions who are willing to leak data directly to them, and cultivating spokespersons from within these unions who are willing to echo their messaging and to advocate for their policy goals. One year ago today, anti-immigrant protesters in the town of Murrieta, Calif., blocked busses carrying some of the thousands of women and children who were fleeing violence in Central America. As the report notes, the activists would not have known about the busses coming to Murrieta if it were not for Border Patrol agents leaking the information to anti-immigrant leaders. http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2015/07/01/cnc-report-details-collusion-between-anti-immigrant-groups-and-immigration-agents/

Smuggling

Drone Carrying Meth Crashes Near San Ysidro Port of Entry. Source: http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Drone-Carrying-Meth-Crashes-Near-San-Ysidro-Port-of-Entry-289353601.html

Checkpoints

Incidents at Border Patrol checkpoints spur complaints. http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/immigration/2015/01/30/teacher-legal-guns-triggers-cbp-checkpoint-incident/22634247/

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