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tagged w/ Extortion
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As the Mayo Turns: Blackmail!
Dr. H.Mann has to resort to extortion to save himself.-
- TonyDiGerolamo
- added this
- 4 months ago
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- 0 comments
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Hacker YamaTough Accuses Symantec of Bribery
Anonymous-aligned hacker YamaTough, the spokesperson for the hacktivist group “The Lords of Dharmaraja”, is accusing Symantec of attempting to bribe the group in order to prevent the release of source code for the company's PCanywhere product...
http://www.infosecisland.com/blogview/20014-Hacker-YamaTough-Accuses-Symantec-of-Bribery.htmlAnonymous-aligned hacker YamaTough, the spokesperson for the hacktivist group... more -
Best Damned Government That Money Can Buy
People always whinin bout politics, some say the president's a fool,
Most folks complain about taxes and how they have to follow all the rules,
Everybody's crabbin bout congress, judges are corrupt, no doubt,
Still, when election time comes around, ain't too many gettin' voted out,
Rich folks keep gettin higher, poor folks sinkin lower down,
Middle class runnin on a treadmill, lotsa homeless people in the town,
Everybody's waitin for a miracle, thinkin someone else'll pull the switch,
'Stead of standin up and askin for better, most folks just sit and bitch,
That's 'cause the sun comes up and the day begins for the lion and the wolf and the lamb,
And the wind don't care who's in charge today or who's gonna rule in the land,
The plain fact is when you're talkin power there are some folks that reach for the sky,
And because we let them walk on us we got the best damned government that money can buy.
Next time you're walkin down the sidewalk or drivin down the highway in your car,
Pay some attenton to the scenery, get a better idea where you are,
Is this the place that you wanted to be when you were just an innocent kid,
Are you doin the things that you wanted to do, Are you proud of the things you did?
'Cause time's movin on, it ain't stoppin, Now's the only time to make your mark,
Maybe it's okay to ask a question, bring a little light into the dark,
Oh, are you waitin' round for a miracle, thinkin someone else'll pull the swtich,
'Stead of standin up and askin for better, do you just sit around and bitch?
That's 'cause the sun comes up and the day begins for the lion and the wolf and the lamb,
And the wind don't care who's in charge today or who's gonna rule in the land,
You see, the plain fact is when you're talkin power there are some folks that reach for the sky,
And because we let them walk on us we got the best damned government that money can buy.People always whinin bout politics, some say the president's a fool, Most folks... more-
- Progresshiv
- added this
- 7 months ago
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- 10 comments
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Police torture in Ukraine
The Ukrainian authorities must act immediately to deal with endemic police criminality, widespread torture, extortion, and arbitrary detention.
The Amnesty International report, No evidence of a crime: Paying the price for police impunity in Ukraine, reveals how police are rarely punished for these crimes because of high levels of corruption, non-existent or flawed investigations, harassment and intimidation of complainants, and a low level of prosecutions for such crimes.
"Twenty years after the demise of the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian police are still serving the state instead of the public. Ordinary Ukrainians are paying the price, many of whom have become victims of bribery and forced confessions," said Heather McGill, Amnesty International's expert on Ukraine.
"It is high time the Ukrainian authorities set up an independent agency to investigate all allegations against police officers and tackled the culture of impunity and corruption that prevails.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QseiZlDz5AIThe Ukrainian authorities must act immediately to deal with endemic police... more-
- AmnestyInternational
- added this
- 7 months ago
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- 0 comments
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Wall Street protestors disgusted with both parties
Although their main concern is Wall Street practices and economic inequality, some demonstrators in New York and across the U.S. say politicians from both major parties are to blame for policies they say protect corporate America at the expense of the country's middle class.
"At this point I don't see any difference between George Bush and (Barack) Obama. The middle class is a lot worse than when Obama was elected," said John Penley, an unemployed legal worker from Brooklyn.
The Occupy Wall Street movement, which began last month with a small number of young people pitching a tent in front of the New York Stock Exchange, has expanded nationally and drawn a wide variety of activists, including retirees, union members and laid-off workers. As new groups continue to organize, demonstrators Thursday marched in Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles and Anchorage, Alaska, carrying signs with slogans such as "Get money out of politics" and "I can't afford a lobbyist."
The protests are in some ways the liberal flip side of the tea party movement, which was launched in 2009 in a populist reaction against the bank and auto bailouts and the $787 billion economic stimulus plan.
But while tea party activists eventually became a crucial part of the Republican coalition, the Occupy Wall Street protesters are cutting President Barack Obama little slack. They say Obama failed to crack down on the banks after the 2008 mortgage meltdown and financial crisis.
"He could have taken a much more populist, aggressive stance at the beginning against Wall Street bonuses, and exacting certain change from bailing out the banks," said Michael Kazin, a Georgetown University history professor and author of "American Dreamers," a history of the left. "But ultimately, the economy has not gotten much better, and that's underscored the frustration on both the right and the left."
Obama on Thursday acknowledged the economic insecurities fueling the nearly 3-week-old Wall Street protests. But he pinned responsibility on the financial industry and on congressional Republicans he says have blocked his efforts to kick-start job growth.
"I think people are frustrated and the protesters are giving voice to a more broad-based frustration about how our financial system works," he said at a nationally televised news conference. "The American people understand that not everybody has been following the rules, that Wall Street is an example of that ... and that's going to express itself politically in 2012 and beyond."
He said the U.S. must have a strong and effective financial sector for the economy to grow, and that the financial regulation bill he championed ensures tougher oversight of the financial industry.
The president also has been pushing for a $443 billion jobs plan to be paid for in part through a tax on the wealthy. Republicans have resisted such tax increases.
GOP presidential candidates Mitt Romney and Herman Cain have criticized the anti-Wall Street protests. All the Republican contenders have also pushed back against the demonization of Wall Street. They accuse the Obama administration of setting regulatory policies that have stifled job creation and say his health care overhaul will prevent many businesses from hiring new workers.
In Zuccotti Park, the center of the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York, activists expressed deep frustration with the political gridlock in Washington. While some blamed Republicans for blocking reform, others singled out Obama.
More at the linkAlthough their main concern is Wall Street practices and economic inequality, some... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 8 months ago
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- 155 comments
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Tell Bank of America to drop its $5 bank card fee-hit them where it hurts
ABC News heard that 135,000 Change.org members signed Molly Katchpole's petition against Bank of America's new $5 monthly fee to use a debit card. So the network tracked down CEO Brian Moynihan and forced him to respond to the petition. (Thanks, ABC News!)
The CEO was flustered and couldn't give a coherent explanation -- an embarrassing moment on national TV for the big bank (and the second night in a row that Molly's petition was a featured story on the newscast).
Bank of America is feeling the pressure from Change.org members. As more people speak out, Bank of America will be forced to cancel its new fee -- and other banks will be too scared to create their own new fees.
Add your name to Molly's petition demanding Bank of America cancel its new $5 debit card fee.
While you're signing, check out the amazing video from ABC News. It's inspiring to see one person's petition can make a bank CEO squirm on TV! Watch it here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-bank-of-america-no-5-debit-card-feesABC News heard that 135,000 Change.org members signed Molly Katchpole's petition... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 8 months ago
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- 83 comments
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Rep. Tierney Says Contracting Corruption in Afghanistan Still Rampant. What Now?
A major U.S. trucking contract in Afghanistan fueled a widespread extortion scheme where warlords and criminals extracted payment for safe passage—but the military still hasn't adequately addressed the problem, according to a House Democrat's hearing today.
Rep. John Tierney (D-Mass.) questioned Department of Defense (DoD) officials today during a hearing for the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on contracting corruption in Afghanistan. The hearing was intended to follow-up on the investigation Tierney spearheaded in 2010, which showed the U.S. Army’s $2.16 billion Afghanistan host nation trucking contract was actually funding criminal networks.
The results of that investigation pressured the DoD to establish two task forces intended to address the problem. However, in a recent letter to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Tierney criticized the DOD’s response, writing: “This summer, in a stunning reversal of course, Army officials inexplicably stopped the debarment proceedings and settled…for nothing more than a slap on the wrist.” (For an analysis of this, check out the AP report.)
Today's heated hearing was a look at how effectively DOD is holding contractors in Afghanistan accountable for fraud, bribery and corruption. For example, Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) took the opportunity to question officials about specific failures in transporting supplies.
“I recognize in the theater of war, there’s an added degree of pressure. But one of our reports said often [shipping] containers were never counted or reopened when they got to their destination. How are you solving this problem?” Chaffetz asked.
A witness for DOD responded that while the vast majority of containers are opened, there is bound to be a percentage that doesn’t get received or inspected, by virtue of the sheer number of shipments.
Tierney said that according to his investigation, 1,100 trucks delivering oil in Afghanistan had been pilfered. He also pointed out the penalty for failing to deliver a full load of supplies is $25,000—but the value of a load is $40,000 on the street.
“We cannot afford to fail at getting a handle on contracting corruption in Afghanistan. It is utterly unacceptable for any U.S. taxpayer dollars to ever make their way into the hands of those who would use them as a means to harm our brave men and women in uniform” said Tierney in his opening statement.A major U.S. trucking contract in Afghanistan fueled a widespread extortion scheme... more-
- dliebelson
- added this
- 9 months ago
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- 0 comments
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Monsanto's failure to provide binding legal covenant to protect family farmers threatened by GMO contamination necessitates amended complaint
NEW YORK - New threats by Monsanto have led to the filing of an amended complaint [link] by the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT) in its suit on behalf of family farmers, seed businesses, and organic agricultural organizations challenging Monsanto's patents on genetically modified seed. Twenty-three new plaintiffs have joined with the original 60 in the amended complaint, bringing the total number represented in the case to 83. The plaintiffs in the suit, titled Organic Seed Growers and Trade Association (OSGATA), et al. v. Monsanto and pending in the Southern District of New York, now include 36 family farmer, food, agricultural research, food safety, and environmental organizations representing hundreds of thousands of members including several thousand certified organic, biodynamic, or otherwise non-transgenic family farmers.
"Our clients don't want a fight with Monsanto, they just want to be protected from the threat they will be contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified seed and then be accused of patent infringement," said PUBPAT Executive Director Daniel B. Ravicher. "We asked Monsanto to give our clients reassurance they wouldn't do such a thing, and in responsethey chose instead to reiterate the same implicit threat to organic agriculture made in the past."
Soon after the March filing of the lawsuit, Monsanto issued a statement saying they would not assert their patents against farmers who suffer "trace" amounts of transgenic contamination. In response, and in the hope the matter could be resolved out of court, PUBPAT attorneys wrote Monsanto's attorneys asking the company to make its promise legally binding. Monsanto responded to PUBPAT's request by hiring former solicitor general, Seth P. Waxman, a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of WilmerHale, who rejected PUBPAT's request and instead confirmed Monsanto may indeed make claims of patent infringement against organic farmers who become contaminated by Monsanto's genetically modified seed. Copies of both letters are available as exhibits at the end of the amended complaint.
"Monsanto's letter was an empty, indefensible, and self-evident evasion showing theyare only interested in spinning propaganda without taking serious steps to resolve the problem created for organic and non-transgenic agriculture," said one of the co-plaintiffs in the suit, Don Patterson of Virginia. "With the Monsanto letter signed by Waxman, the company rolled out their biggest legal cannon, but they fired off only fluffy wadding and smoke," as he views it. "The letter shows Monsanto wanting to protect their freedom to threaten farmers with patent infringement suits," he states; "Both the threats and the lawsuits are clearly important to their marketing strategy and business model."
"Despite their empty propaganda to the contrary, they plainly do not want to give up these tactics," Patterson asserts. "Monsanto has collected multiple millions of dollars in settlements often from family farmers without the resources to defend themselves," he reports; "Too many have had to settle because they could not afford to fight."
"The serious issues being engaged in this case require a constructive and socially-acceptable response from the defendant in the public interest," adds Maine farmer Jim Gerritsen, President of OSGATA, the lead plaintiff in the suit. "In the absence of that, we reassert the essential importance of the arguments stated in March and reinforced now by the additional evidence of the Monsanto intransigence. Monsanto's utter failure to act reasonably to address our concerns has only reaffirmed the need for our lawsuit."
"We don't think we are asking too much to want assurance that if Monsanto's transgenic genes contaminate our crops we will not be sued by Monsanto," adds Iowa organic dairy farmer Francis Thicke, owner of plaintiff Radiance Dairy; "It is bad enough that we face the threat of contamination of our organic and non-transgenic crops. The least Monsanto can do is give us assurance that they won't sue us for their own genetic trespass."
The amended Complaint elaborates a fear tangibly vexing many family farmers: "Monsanto continued in the statement to perversely characterize this suit as an 'attack,' when Plaintiffs seek no money from and no injunction against them. All Plaintiffs seek is peace of mind if they are ever contaminated by Monsanto's transgenic seed, the company could never sue them for patent infringement. This is not an attack by the Plaintiffs and to characterize it that way only further evidences Monsanto's aggressive and threatening attitude with respect to its patents. Thus, the statement made by Monsanto in response to this suit has only served to heighten Plaintiff's fear that Monsanto will seek to enforce its patents against them should they ever be contaminated by Monsanto's transgenic seed."
"It is outrageous that our entire farm, family business, and livelihood could be at risk because of Monsanto's backward and oppressive response and enforcement towards farmers in regards to transgenic pollen drift, unasked for and unwanted-and the subsequent results in fields and farms," says Ruth Chantry of Common Good Farm in Nebraska; "Any transgenic pollen drift that would ever come onto our farm is of great detriment to us, and as such, it is an invasion upon and a contamination of our crops, the multi-species habitat we are assisting and creating here-and to the integrity of how we are farming organically & Biodynamically." - The request for court protection through a declaratory judgment is a primary objective of the case. The suit also argues the invalidity of Monsanto's transgenic Roundup Ready patents under both statute and case law precedent requiring patented products to demonstrate clear social utility and not be dangerous to health.
cont.NEW YORK - New threats by Monsanto have led to the filing of an amended complaint... more-
- JanforGore
- added this
- 12 months ago
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- 12 comments
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Divided loyalties or attempted frame job? Hidden link on the website of a company(Amateur Allure) that is suing for copyright infringement guides visitors to free full length adult videos
(Digiprotect, a German Copyright Trolling company,admitted to intentionally uploading copyrighted material to Bittorrent in order to catch(entrap) infringers, so a frame job is a real possibility
http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090831/0250256053.shtml)
Hard Drive Productions, the owners of Amatuer Allure, is currently a client of copyright troll John Steele. The company is using his services to attempt to demand thousands of dollars out of unsuspecting internet users for allegedly downloading one of their movies via Bittorrent. Since the company is supposedly taking a stand against porn piracy, I was shocked to come across a link on their main website that guides people to free adult content.
The link, screen captured in the included image, is still live at the time of this post. However, for some reason, there does not appear to be a direct link to the site on the company's page. Rather, I had to check the files on the server to find it
Highlights from the page(in case it goes down):
Sinpub Free Porn link in the lower left corner has been manually reset to redirect back to the Amateur Allure's adult link exchange. Sinpub recently changed its name to Wankerhut and contains streaming videos that max out at a length of 7 min 30 sec
The Free Bukkake tube link used to go to xget. Xget suddenly changed from being an adult content site that allowed one to watch and download free streaming content to a site that apparently points to checkdent.com. So it went from providing free full length videos, to a site about dentists
The Free B Amateurs link appears to be for an incomplete website. The page is filled with listings for "Test url blah blah blah"
The Free porn videos link towards the middle of the page links to sex2ube, which is a video sharing website that allows people to upload and download entire movies. Not sure why a company involved in copyright trolling would want to direct people to a video sharing site.
Lastly, the All Amateur Blog link is still active and contains a massive list of free full length video sites at the bottom.
If one follows any of the "friendly links" on the All Amateur Blog link one can find an endless supply of free full length streaming, though potentially copyrighted, adult content. I am attempting to determine why a company involved with the likes of copyright troll John Steele maintains an "adult link exchange". Isn't the whole point of the copyright troll's campaign to destroy the free porn market? Or is he merely interested in calling up random companies, offering his services for free, and then blackmailing as many people as humanly possible?
Hopefully this article doesn't get killed by Mr. Steele's clients(it would be the 4th to be flagged to death) because I sincerely believe the link in the image is something both the judge and jury for Mr. Steele's case would find to be very intriguing.(Digiprotect, a German Copyright Trolling company,admitted to intentionally uploading... more-
- 4thePeoplesrights
- added this
- 1 year ago
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- 2 comments
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Copyright troll John Steele uses "flawless" software he paid $250k to create in order to generate evidence to sue 1000s in Torrent lawsuits
(No pic from the web because John would probably try to find the copyright owner and sue me)
The article discusses the porn copyright lawsuits that are being filed by John Steele of wefightpiracy .com Steele | Hansmeier PLLC. Mr. Steele is best known for his 1-800-DIVORCE ads and family law firm in Chicago. What I find interesting about the article is how it mentions that Steele and his partner spent $250,000 developing software to track illegal Bittorrent activity. He also assures people in the article that his software appears to be flawless as it has never had a false positive so far. I guess that this is just the digital age, but I find it strange how an attorney is being allowed to sue people based on data coming from software that he needs to work so he can get a return on his investment. Seems like a conflict of interest. Or rather, a blatant violation of due process. Mr. Steele does not charge for his services, which means he needs the software he paid to make to consistently produce evidence that will result in a payday. The accuracy of the evidence is irrelevant, since he and his employees maintain exclusive control over it.
The "evidence" he sends to people is a printout which lists one's IP address and ISP. The same evidence is what was placed into a spreadsheet and submitted to ISPs to get the mailing addresses of subscribers. One's IP address and ISP name is publicly available information, so the evidence he submitted is half verifiable and half potentially made up. I contacted him and requested the name of his software and explanation of how it works. He said he is not required to prove anything to anyone. I have a feeling he is using proprietary software so he can try to toss out trade secret arguments in hopes of avoiding an investigation into his spreadsheet producing software.
An IP address can be manipulated and/or hijacked but he does not want to explain whether or not his software takes that into consideration. Alot of bad software can end up on a person's computer when searching the web, especially free porn sites. So what we have is a guy using his custom unproven software to sue people for $3,000 or more dollars for allegedly downloading a single porn film. I'm not sure how he justifies that price, especially since a person could sign up for pay sites that offer full access to 1000s of videos for usually about $1 per day. I realize that porn studios are struggling, but suing people for choosing to watch your video over the plethora of free porn on the internet is no way to attract customers. If someone rips an entire site, that could justify the fine. However, if a person happens to come across one of your films, watches it, and then decides that the chance to get hundreds more videos just like it for $20 a month....you have a new customer. A ten second clip will never win a person over. (You might be losing members, but that is probably because a lot of people are struggling and a porn membership simply is not as important as the electric bill or food or water or rent.) Or, you can go with John Steele who can generate a list of IP addresses who he can demand thousands of dollars from. He said his software has never been wrong. Trust him, he's a lawyer
http://www.koreaherald.com/lifestyle/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20101124000596
An individual disputing Mr. Steele's claim that his software has never had a false positive.(The use of flawless in the title should not be considered a direct quote.). He/she states that his mother is being falsely accused. In the above article, Mr. Steele even tries to joke about the possibility of a false positive: "“All you have to do is sue a priest who’s never owned a computer and this is a major PR problem,” he said. (the link to the article is directly above this so don't try to sue me John):
http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/es6uw/my_mom_got_a_letter_from_an_attorney_today_about/
I would think that if the reddit article information is accurate, then threatening someone into paying you $3000 in order to make "evidence" from software you claim is flawless in terms of producing the desired result(guilty every time....I mean it always catches actual criminals[sarcasm in case someone needs clarification])(why pay $250k for it if it wasn't? You would lose money that way) disappear would mean you are committing blackmail. Of course, lawyers have their own rules sometimes.....
(One last important point I forgot to point out:
"
Steele said the porn industry is trying to avoid the highly publicized mistakes the music industry trade group, the Recording Industry Association of America, known as RIAA, made in its fight against piracy. Among other things, he said his firm’s software has so far had no “false positives” like those that gave the recording industry black eyes."[In my opinion, what he probably really means is that everyone has cracked under his threats so far.]
-from the fully cited KoreaHerald article
Take note of the fact that the article states that the RIAA's methods utilized for searching for pirates occasionally resulted in false accusations. The RIAA spent $58 million going after pirates and only made 2% back(http://gizmodo.com/#!5587306/the-riaa-spent-58-million-suing-file-sharers-got-2-back)
Mr. Steele and his partner spent about $250k in developing the software that is the basis for their evidence. They must have quite the programming team to be able to make flawless software for .004% of the cost of the RIAA's lengthy campaign)
I should point out that Mr. Steele's settlement letters tend to start out with "our agents noticed illegal activity on an IP address associated with you(not exact quote since there might be a copyright on the letter)." Our agents is the equivalent of saying our employees. People he pays to find evidence for him, have apparently never made a mistake so far. Mr. Steele even includes an assumption of guilt towards the bottom: "While it is too late to undo the illegal file sharing associated with your IP address, we have prepared an offer to enable our client to allow both parties to avoid the expense of a lawsuit."
Basically, we have a lawyer who is saying you are guilty because my employees say you are, so pay me or else
In the comment section below are some links and information about the tactics of Mr. Steele and other attorneys engaged in mass letter "blackmail" campaigns. Before anyone decides to settle, I recommend reading some of it. Unfortunately, there are lawyers looking for a quick pay day on both sides of many cases so informing oneself is often times the best route. The courts seem to be protecting Mr. Steele and his extremely questionable methods, so I sincerely suggest requesting a jury trial if you have the means. Despite Mr. Steele's client demanding one in one of his complaints, Mr. Steele would have quite the uphill battle arguing any of these cases based on merit
Lastly, it is worth mentioning that Mr. Steele files the exact same complaint every time. I just reviewed Lightspeed Media Corporation v. Does and the wording and formatting is identical to Hard Drive Productions v. Does. He uses a form settlement letter and a form complaint, and then tries to pretend like he isn't just fishing for cas h
NOTE1: Anyone can PM me anytime if you would like some suggestions as to how to address issues with Mr. Steele.
NOTE2: New John Steele address:
Prenda Law Inc.------------Prenda Law of Chicago---Steele Law(John's divorce firm)
1111 Lincoln Rd----------- 161 N Clark St.-------------161 N Clark St.
Suite 400---------------------Suite 3200------------------Suite 3200
Miami Beach-----------------Chicago-----------------------Chicago
33139-------------------------60601-------------------------60601
Phone: 305-748-2102-----Ph.:312-880-9160-----------Ph.:312-893-5888(No pic from the web because John would probably try to find the copyright owner and... more-
- On2ndthought
- added this
- 1 year ago
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- 250 comments
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Republicans Want Your Blood
Not interested in any semblance of rational or just governance, Republicans will see us living in the streets before allowing working people a break.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/22/opinion/22krugman.html?em&exprod=myyahooNot interested in any semblance of rational or just governance, Republicans will see... more-
- Progresshiv
- added this
- 1 year ago
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- 3 comments
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Northern Ireland: IRA dissidents find new cause in drug war
Republican movement splinter groups are emerging as Ireland's new mafia and are fuelling the gangland feuds besetting Dublin
'They're Celtic supporters with guns,' says a senior republican. 'They don't know any rebel songs, only Celtic songs'
Since it began reporting on the activities of terrorist groups in Ireland in 2003, the Independent Monitoring Commission has tracked the activities of the self-styled 'dissident' terror groups such as the 'Real' IRA and the 'Continuity' IRA.
In all its reports in the last few years, the Commission has repeated that the 'dissidents' are heavily involved in crime, primarily tiger kidnapping, armed robbery, extortion and smuggling. In its 21st report, issued earlier this year, the Independent Monitoring Commission also said the 'Continuity' IRA was involved in "brothel keeping".Republican movement splinter groups are emerging as Ireland's new mafia and are... more-
- Flare_Network
- added this
- 1 year ago
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- 0 comments
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Nigeria's police told to share bribes with superiors
Corruption in Nigeria's police has become institutionalised and junior officers are expected to share bribes, US-based Human Rights Watch says
Their report describes a system of "paying returns" when officers are expected to pay up the chain of command a share of extortion money.
It says officers have to pay bribes within the force to get posts and are expected to meet monetary targets. A police spokesman said the study had "largely embellished innuendoes".
"The Nigeria Police Force has come a long way from its colonial era of oppression and has survived many years of neglect and under-funding," Emmanuel Ojukwu said in a statement.
Buying justice
The BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos says extortion of civilians and bribery of police is a fact of life in Nigeria - often taking place in public and in broad daylight.
Motorists at checkpoints, traders, businessmen, sex workers and those under arrest are extremely likely to encounter threats and demands for money. There are also numerous cases of shootings and deaths at checkpoints when civilians refuse to pay, she says.
The Human Rights Watch report - running to 102 pages - says often victims of crime unable to pay will not get justice. Meanwhile, wealthy criminals are able to bribe officers to drop a case or influence an investigation.Corruption in Nigeria's police has become institutionalised and junior officers... more-
- Flare_Network
- added this
- 1 year ago
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- 1 comment
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Japan: first Yakuza arrests in sumo scandal
Three members of organized crime groups affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the largest criminal organization in the nation, have been arrested on suspicion of extorting 6 million yen from a middleman in illegal gambling operations.
The three are the first gang members to be arrested over the gambling scandal that has involved many sumo wrestlers and stablemasters.
On Monday, the Metropolitan Police Department searched offices in Osaka and Fukuoka of the Yamaguchi-gumi affiliate organizations to which the three arrested men belong.
Arrested Sunday were Yoshihiko Yasuda, 45, a senior member of a gang based in Fukuoka; Satohiro Mantani, 37, a senior member of a gang based in Osaka Prefecture; and Katsuhito Tahara, 34, a member of the same gang as Mantani. The police also rearrested Mitsutomo Furuichi, 38, a former low-ranking sumo wrestler and self-described former member of a crime group, on Sunday for alleged extortion.
Furuichi has already been indicted on charges of extorting money from former ozeki Kotomitsuki. The police suspect the three gang members may have also been involved in Furuichi's attempts to extort hush money from Kotomitsuki.Three members of organized crime groups affiliated with the Yamaguchi-gumi, the... more-
- Flare_Network
- added this
- 1 year ago
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- 0 comments
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How Pot Prohibition Promotes Bad Science — And Even Worse Policies « SpeakEasy
One of the indirect though no less serious consequences of marijuana prohibition is the mischaracterization of clinical research in order to support the federal government’s bankrupt policy.
For example, last week the Obama administration called for the expansion of states to enact laws criminalizing motorists who drive with the residual presence of drug or inactive drug metabolites in their body. In the case of marijuana, these policies are especially egregious because its metabolites may remain present in urine for weeks or months after past use. Further, studies have consistently reported that the presence of marijuana metabolites is not associated with psychomotor impairment or an elevated risk of motor accident — a result that should be self-evident given that cannabis metabolites only form in urine after the drug’s primary psychoactive compound, THC, has been broken down and converted by the body over a period of several hours.
So how does the federal government justify its call for implementing such an inane and discriminatory policy? Simple. By claiming that supposed ‘marijuana and driving menace’ is so prevalent and severe that lawmakers have no other choice but to enact such inflexible and nonsensical policies to halt it.
Now I’ve written on the subject of cannabis use and psychomotor performance numerous times, including recently authoring the white paper Cannabis and Driving: A Scientific and Rational Review. In short the science says this: there appears to be a positive association between very recent cannabis exposure and a gradually increased risk of vehicle accident; however, this elevated risk is below the risk presented by drivers who have consumed even small (read ‘legal’) quantities of alcohol.
Does this conclusion support the blanket criminalization of marijuana or the enactment of the sort of zero-tolerant per se driving laws outlined above? No more so than such a conclusion advocates for a return to alcohol prohibition.
So what’s the administration to do? That’s easy — just fund more research. And what to do when that federally funded research fails to produce the results they were looking for? That’s even easier: just claim that they do anyway.
Such is the case with a just-published study in the Journal of Psychoactive Drugs assessing the psychomotor skills of subjects on a battery of off-road driving simulator tests both before and after smoking marijuana (and/or placebo).
During the course study, subjects were asked to respond to various simulated events associated with automobile crash risk — such as avoiding a driver who was entering an intersection illegally, deciding to stop or go through changing traffic lights, responding to the presence of emergency vehicles, avoiding colliding a dog who entered into traffic, and maintaining safe driving during a secondary (in-the-car) auditory distraction. Subjects performed these tests sober, and then shortly (30 minutes) after smoking a single marijuana cigarettes (or placebo).
So how did the subjects perform? Much to the apparent chagrin of the investigators, just fine.
“No sex differences or interactions of sex and marijuana were observed for any of the driving tasks. Participants receiving active marijuana decreased their speed more so than those receiving the placebo cigarette during a distracted section of the drive. An overall effect of marijuana was seen for the mean speed during the distracted driving (PASAT section). [N]o other changes in driving performance were found.”
In short, subjects had no greater likelihood of responding adversely to any of the simulated events after smoking marijuana than they had prior to consuming cannabis.
Of course, these are not the sort of results that NIDA — who provided funding for the study — or the Drug Czar’s office are looking for. Therefore, the authors are required find some outcome — any outcome — supporting the administration’s claim that driving under the influence of cannabis is a serious and significant threat. How do they do that in this case? Simple; by stating subjects lack of impairment was, in fact, implicit evidence of their impairment!
“Persons smoking the placebo cigarette showed an improvement in performance of the PASAT during the driving task, likely attributable to practice effects. Under the influence of marijuana, however, no differences were found between PASAT performance during practice testing and while driving. Participants who smoked active marijuana decreased their speed during this section of the drive, suggesting additional compensatory skills were used.”
In other words, the authors are claiming that because subjects on one specific test (the auditory distraction test) drove more slowly when completing the task after smoking marijuana than they did prior to consuming cannabis, but otherwise manifested no difference in the outcome of said test — or on any other test for that matter — that this is somehow strong evidence that marijuana has a significant and adverse impact on driving.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
Under the influence of active marijuana, participants exhibited increased drowsiness, although this did not appear to affect their driving [emphasis mine]. Participants under the influence of marijuana failed to benefit from prior experience on a distracter task [what the authors want the reader to emphasize] as evidenced by a decrease in speed and a failure to show expected practice effects. This study supports the existing literature that marijuana does affect simulated driving performance [ditto], particularly on complex tasks such as divided attention. It is anticipated that many teenagers and young adults driving under the influence of marijuana are doing so while conversing with friends in the car, listening to music, talking on the cell phone and/or text messaging others. These behaviors divide the driver’s attention and are particularly dangerous under the influence of marijuana [what the authors really, really want the reader to emphasize].”
And that, my friends, is just the latest example of how marijuana prohibition corrupts, and how absolute marijuana prohibition corrupts absolutely.One of the indirect though no less serious consequences of marijuana prohibition is... more-
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AT&T doubles early termination fees
This isn’t good for people trying to leave the clutches of AT&T. They have decided to double their early termination fees.This isn’t good for people trying to leave the clutches of AT&T. They have... more-
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Fred E. Bunney (Brother of Easter Bunny) confronts Lexington, Ky Mayor on elitist statement
Lexington, KY Mayor, Jim Newberry, recently made the statement that some people live their lives and nobody notices...their lives don't matter much. This offended the little known brother of the Easter Bunny, Fred E. Bunney.
Fred E. Bunney heard that the mayoral candidates would be debating at the Clear Channel radio station on Leland Conway's show. The already upset hare, Mr. Bunney, decided to confront Mayor Newberry there at the radio station.
Mayor Newberry had a change of heart and said that Fred's life mattered. However, Fred wanted the mayor to investigate the murder of a woman in 1999 possibly done by police officers. She was the subject when Mayor Newberry said...some people live their lives and nobody notices...their lives don't matter much. Mayor Newberry assured that he would 'try' to watch the 4 minute video after nine months of knowing about it and the issue being in the local news.
Teresa Isaac, Jim Gray and Skip Horine all talk with Fred E. Bunney and give their take on the worthiness of each of our lives.
At the end of the video Dave Wilson asks if a janitor, like himself, is a worthy life. "The Lab Named Lloyd" (His stage name) also asked whether his life was a worthy one in Mayor Newberry's eyes.
This video is done as a comedy and political satire however the issue raised is valid and one we should all be aware of as we meet people from all walks of life and all wealth backgrounds whom are EQUAL to us in every way.
Christopher Hignite
Copyright Monkey Press 2010
Photographers: Brandon Hignite/Christopher Hignite
Produced and edited by: Christopher HigniteLexington, KY Mayor, Jim Newberry, recently made the statement that some people live... more-
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Lexington Kentucky Mayor, Jim Newberry, says a lot of your lives don't matter!
I asked in an e-mail to the entire city council and the mayor's office why a recording of an escort agency owner naming police officers that threatened her life just days before her murder hadn't been investigated and the murder was committed in 1999...
Lexington KY. Mayor Jim Newberry states, in reference to the tragic loss of one of our finest, at Broadway Baptist Church, "I thought as the night progressed that the reason why we pay that kind of tribute to this kind of folks is they do things with their lives that really matters. They do not...
You know a lot of people come into this world; they do their life; and when the time comes to check out, nobody notices. A lot of lives don't matter in a major way.
Police officer's lives matter. They take great care of us. The same can be said about a while assortment of folks in public safety." WHAT?
So, in essence he was telling me that he wasn't going to investigate police officers in the murder of an escort agency owner because her life didn't matter and theirs does.
This is exactly the attitude that is destroying our entire government.
Christopher Hignite
Candidate Lexington City Council At Large
Monkey Press 2010I asked in an e-mail to the entire city council and the mayor's office why a... more-
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An American Dream: Christopher Hignite’s Story / Scratch a child support case and solve a murder
Prepared for Ky State Representative Stan Lee
By Christopher Hignite with the assistance of Henry Schankula
November 6, 2007
corrected, with emmendations and additions
November 28, 2007
I: Introduction
On April 26, 2007 Lt. Keith Stevens of the Lexington-Fayette County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the home of my mother, Jane Hignite, with whom I live. My mother was there as was my youngest sibling, Brandon, a 27 year old man who was born with Downs Syndrome. Lt. Stevens told my mother that he had a summons to serve me in a child custody case. The County Attorney’s Office had been looking for me for quite a while, he said. Now that they had caught up with me I was in big trouble. To my brother Brandon, Lt. Stevens said “What do you think of your brother now. You are an uncle and he didn’t even tell you. We’re going to put him in jail for a long time.” My mother told Lt. Stevens that I was at work delivering pizzas and that he would find me downtown at my place of employment, A Slice of Chicago.
Lt. Stevens left his business card with my mother. He then came to Slice of Chicago, marched into the back of the building where the pizzas are made and loudly demanded to know where I was, stating again for all to hear that Chris Hignite was in a lot of trouble. Stevens was told by the owner of Slice that I was on a delivery and that he, Stevens, could wait outside for me to return. When I did return, Stevens handed me a copy of a Civil Summons issued for me on November 11, 1997 and signed by Robert M. True and Amy Fowler, a Summons to appear in the case of Michelle Brizendine and her daughter, Madison. Later I would learn that this Civil Summons had been occasioned by a Court Complaint pursuing child support issued on November 4, 1997, and signed by Fayette County. Margaret Kannensohn and her assistants Byron L. Ockerman, Christopher E. Hutchison, R. Barry Minton.
On April 27, 2007 I called family court attorney Jenny Scott and on May 1, 2007 my mother and I met with her. Ms. Scott had already collected copies of papers from the County Attorney’s office, and after some discussion of the case, I signed a contract with her, for an initial fee of $750, to represent my interests in the upcoming case. I pointed out to Ms. Scott that, in the upper right corner of the original of the copy with which I had been served someone, at some time, had written by hand ‘07-17-06’. Ms. Scott noted with interest that the section entitled ‘Proof of Service’ had not been filled in or signed by either Stevens or myself, thus making the document appear as if it had never been served at all. “But,” she said, “I do not want to make a deal out of it”.
A further set of facts is even more remarkable. On April 26, 2007 Lt. Keith Stevens told my mother that the County Attorney’s Office had been looking for me “for quite a while”. On June 28, 2007 The DNA nurse told me, in the presence of Michelle and Madison Brizendine, that her paperwork showed that three attempts had been made to serve the summons. [The DNA nurse stated, by the way, that she “didn't work for the city but for the testing facility”; nevertheless, her office has doors adjoining those of both the County Attorney and the Family Court Judge, and she also has access to their mutual conference room.] On May 1, 2007 my attorney, Jenny Scott also told me that three attempts had been made to serve the summons and she showed me a copy of a piece of stenographer’s notebook paper bearing three signatures and three dates. Ms. Scott noted, again with considerable interest, that she had never seen the summons attempts listed on a separate piece of paper; furthermore, that in every other case she had known the dates of attempts to serve a summons and the names of the servers were written on the back of the summons itself. “But,” she said, “I do not want to make a deal out of it”. Finally, in the last week of October, my attorney, told me that nobody now remembered the note listing three attempts to serve the Summons, but that the County Attorney’s office claims it can produce a carbon copy of a note on scrap paper of one attempt to serve it. And, yes, you guessed it, my own attorney, Jenny Scott, did not want to make a deal out of it.
I, however, did want to make a deal of it. It was Wednesday, October 31. There was a hearing of the case scheduled for November 1 at 9 a.m. The County Attorney was asking the judge for a summary ruling that my attorney Ms. Scott called “devastating”. I had cleared the fact that I could not be at this hearing and we had agreed that Ms. Scott would act in my interest. Both Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning I tried unsuccessfully to reach Ms. Scott by phone and in person. I then hand-delivered and slid under her office door a letter of instructions containing the specific wording of several motions which I wished to have entered into the court record. That evening my mother, Jane, and my brother, Cory visited Michelle Brizendine at her home. And on Thursday morning, Ms. Jenny Scott sold me down the river.
Ms. Scott had decided to settle the matter herself. She said that she didn’t want to cause ill relations with anyone in the County Attorney’s office. She said that my motions would be have been ignored by the Judge. I told her I didn’t care if the judge ignored or denied the motions; the very fact that the record showed that an attempt had been made to enter them would have done the trick. Ms. Scott said she had taken what she thought was the best offer and that she didn’t want to do battle.
Today, on November 6, 2007 at 4:29 p.m. my attorney, Jenny Scott finally returned a number of calls that I had made to her. She said again that she had read my motions, she said there were “valid points” in all of them. Nevertheless, she would be the laughing stock of family court if she had attempted to file them, she was a family court lawyer, she did not sign on with me to take on the County Attorney’s office, and perhaps I needed to see a criminal lawyer. To put the matter as she herself had put it at our very first meeting: “My daddy told me not to shit where I eat.”
The motions, “the valid points” that would make Ms. Scott “the laughing stock of family court” were based on these following six claims:
Please go to link for full story:http://www.higgyforcity.com/News.htmlPrepared for Ky State Representative Stan Lee By Christopher Hignite with the... more-
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An American Dream: Christopher Hignite’s Story / Scratch a child support case and solve a murder
Prepared for Stan Lee
By Christopher Hignite with the assistance of Henry Schankula
November 6, 2007
corrected, with emmendations and additions
November 28, 2007
I: Introduction
On April 26, 2007 Lt. Keith Stevens of the Lexington-Fayette County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the home of my mother, Jane Hignite, with whom I live. My mother was there as was my youngest sibling, Brandon, a 27 year old man who was born with Downs Syndrome. Lt. Stevens told my mother that he had a summons to serve me in a child custody case. The County Attorney’s Office had been looking for me for quite a while, he said. Now that they had caught up with me I was in big trouble. To my brother Brandon, Lt. Stevens said “What do you think of your brother now. You are an uncle and he didn’t even tell you. We’re going to put him in jail for a long time.” My mother told Lt. Stevens that I was at work delivering pizzas and that he would find me downtown at my place of employment, A Slice of Chicago.
Lt. Stevens left his business card with my mother. He then came to Slice of Chicago, marched into the back of the building where the pizzas are made and loudly demanded to know where I was, stating again for all to hear that Chris Hignite was in a lot of trouble. Stevens was told by the owner of Slice that I was on a delivery and that he, Stevens, could wait outside for me to return. When I did return, Stevens handed me a copy of a Civil Summons issued for me on November 11, 1997 and signed by Robert M. True and Amy Fowler, a Summons to appear in the case of Michelle Brizendine and her daughter, Madison. Later I would learn that this Civil Summons had been occasioned by a Court Complaint pursuing child support issued on November 4, 1997, and signed by Fayette County. Margaret Kannensohn and her assistants Byron L. Ockerman, Christopher E. Hutchison, R. Barry Minton.
On April 27, 2007 I called family court attorney Jenny Scott and on May 1, 2007 my mother and I met with her. Ms. Scott had already collected copies of papers from the County Attorney’s office, and after some discussion of the case, I signed a contract with her, for an initial fee of $750, to represent my interests in the upcoming case. I pointed out to Ms. Scott that, in the upper right corner of the original of the copy with which I had been served someone, at some time, had written by hand ‘07-17-06’. Ms. Scott noted with interest that the section entitled ‘Proof of Service’ had not been filled in or signed by either Stevens or myself, thus making the document appear as if it had never been served at all. “But,” she said, “I do not want to make a deal out of it”.
A further set of facts is even more remarkable. On April 26, 2007 Lt. Keith Stevens told my mother that the County Attorney’s Office had been looking for me “for quite a while”. On June 28, 2007 The DNA nurse told me, in the presence of Michelle and Madison Brizendine, that her paperwork showed that three attempts had been made to serve the summons. [The DNA nurse stated, by the way, that she “didn't work for the city but for the testing facility”; nevertheless, her office has doors adjoining those of both the County Attorney and the Family Court Judge, and she also has access to their mutual conference room.] On May 1, 2007 my attorney, Jenny Scott also told me that three attempts had been made to serve the summons and she showed me a copy of a piece of stenographer’s notebook paper bearing three signatures and three dates. Ms. Scott noted, again with considerable interest, that she had never seen the summons attempts listed on a separate piece of paper; furthermore, that in every other case she had known the dates of attempts to serve a summons and the names of the servers were written on the back of the summons itself. “But,” she said, “I do not want to make a deal out of it”. Finally, in the last week of October, my attorney, told me that nobody now remembered the note listing three attempts to serve the Summons, but that the County Attorney’s office claims it can produce a carbon copy of a note on scrap paper of one attempt to serve it. And, yes, you guessed it, my own attorney, Jenny Scott, did not want to make a deal out of it.
I, however, did want to make a deal of it. It was Wednesday, October 31. There was a hearing of the case scheduled for November 1 at 9 a.m. The County Attorney was asking the judge for a summary ruling that my attorney Ms. Scott called “devastating”. I had cleared the fact that I could not be at this hearing and we had agreed that Ms. Scott would act in my interest. Both Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning I tried unsuccessfully to reach Ms. Scott by phone and in person. I then hand-delivered and slid under her office door a letter of instructions containing the specific wording of several motions which I wished to have entered into the court record. That evening my mother, Jane, and my brother, Cory visited Michelle Brizendine at her home. And on Thursday morning, Ms. Jenny Scott sold me down the river.
Ms. Scott had decided to settle the matter herself. She said that she didn’t want to cause ill relations with anyone in the County Attorney’s office. She said that my motions would be have been ignored by the Judge. I told her I didn’t care if the judge ignored or denied the motions; the very fact that the record showed that an attempt had been made to enter them would have done the trick. Ms. Scott said she had taken what she thought was the best offer and that she didn’t want to do battle.
Today, on November 6, 2007 at 4:29 p.m. my attorney, Jenny Scott finally returned a number of calls that I had made to her. She said again that she had read my motions, she said there were “valid points” in all of them. Nevertheless, she would be the laughing stock of family court if she had attempted to file them, she was a family court lawyer, she did not sign on with me to take on the County Attorney’s office, and perhaps I needed to see a criminal lawyer. To put the matter as she herself had put it at our very first meeting: “My daddy told me not to shit where I eat.”
The motions, “the valid points” that would make Ms. Scott “the laughing stock of family court” were based on these following six claims:
Please go to link for full story:http://www.higgyforcity.com/News.htmlPrepared for Stan Lee By Christopher Hignite with the assistance of Henry Schankula... more-
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