February 7, 2014

Is the frequency of police brutality increasing?

http://www.naturalnews.com/038346_police_brutality_frequency_trends.html#

Is the frequency of police brutality increasing?

Friday, December 14, 2012 by: J. D. Heyes

(NaturalNews) Some observers think police brutality may be on the rise, as a pair of recent court cases would appear to indicate, but more than anything, the cases - and a pattern of police behavior since the so-called "war on terror" began - definitely project a growing police state mentality among civil servants charged with serving the public.

Perhaps the most famous instance of police misconduct in recent history is the L.A.P.D. beating of the late Rodney King. A construction worker who was on parole for robbery, he became known nationally after a video showing him being beaten by several officers following a late-night car chase on March 3, 1991 made headlines.

But there have been a number of cases since then, and while the vast majority are not nearly as high profile, when taken together, they could be the foundation of darker days ahead.

Case in point

Such concerns are rooted in cases like this recent one in near Rockford, Ill., a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. There, police have been accused of using a taser on a suspect before beating him for telling a friend she could refuse to take a field sobriety test, then allegedly accusing the man of assaulting an officer.

According to federal court papers, the plaintiff, Craig Clark, has named the Village of Pecatonica, which is west of Rockford, and Officer Douglas Hendricksen, as well as Winnebago County Sheriff's Deputy Joseph Broullard, in a suit.

Clark has claimed that he was leaving a bar in the town of Durand, which is also west of Rockford, with a female friend when his car was stopped by Broullard. While the deputy ran the female friend's identification and called for back-up, Clark went back into the bar, court papers said.

"Plaintiff was standing on the rear porch of the bar when defendant-Officer Broullard-started administering the field sobriety test to Colleen," the female friend, the papers said. "Plaintiff yelled out to Colleen that she could refuse the field sobriety test."

When he did so, the deputy allegedly began to yell at Clark. "At this time, defendant-Officer Hendricksen approached plaintiff on the porch and pointed his taser at plaintiff." The papers say that Clark was not taking an aggressive stance towards the officers, but that Hendricksen told Clark he was placing him under arrest.

"Really?" Clark said, according to the papers. "Defendant-Officer Hendricksen then fired his Taser at plaintiff," says the complaint, which then said Hendricksen drew his asp from his belt and began striking Clark - an act that Broullard allegedly did nothing to stop.

The complaint says that Hendricksen told Broullard that Clark had taken his Taser, though Broullard had allegedly dropped it.

"Defendant-Officer Broullard struck plaintiff in the face with his fists and elbow," according to the complaint before Hendricksen used a Taser on Clark once again.

Did Clark get beaten, tased and arrested because he really deserved it, or because the officers involved just didn't think he had a right to speak his mind? And if what he said was against some statute, did it warrant the violent treatment?

Patterns of behavior

Those questions, and others, scream for answers, as you read about other recent cases of alleged police brutality:

-- In Nashville, two brothers recently filed suit in federal court against officers they say assaulted them; one brother says he was assaulted by the officers for videotaping them assaulting his brother.

-- An officer assigned to a Dolton, Ill., school physically assaulted a 15-year-old special needs child in 2010, all of which was caught on surveillance camera, ostensibly because the boy's shirt was not tucked in. That same officer was later accused of rape.

-- Officers in St. Paul, Minn., maced a 30-year-old suspect then kicked him, apparently for asking why he was being arrested, earlier this month.

-- An undercover Greenville County officer tased and punched an 18-year-old in the face 13 times. Though at a known drug house, it did not appear as though the suspect was giving the officer much grief prior to his beat down.

-- A security camera from a nearby Del Taco restaurant caught L.A.P.D officers (a pattern here in and of itself?) roughly handling Michelle Jordan, after being pulled over on a routine traffic stop (she was texting on her cell phone while driving). Post-arrest images showed bruises on her face and body after being mishandled by police.

-- From the March 6, 2012, edition of the Chicago Tribune: "Eugene Gruber was drunk, hostile and uncooperative when he walked into the Lake County Jail, but a day later, he was paralyzed, had a broken neck and barely registered a pulse after an encounter with guards, records show." He died four months later.

Sources:

http://www.courthousenews.com/2012/12/11/52999.htm

http://www.policebrutality.info

http://www.counterpunch.org

http://articles.chicagotribune.com

http://www.sonomacountyfreepress.com/police/brutality.html

http://policebrutalitycases.blogspot.com/2012/07/police-brutality-on-rise.html

February 6, 2014

Cop Breaks Leg of 10-Year-Old Who Filmed Him

Courtney Silvera, age 10, was eating cereal at 7 a.m. on Jan. 30, 2013, when the police knocked on the door. They were looking for his mother's ex-boyfriend, who had possibly violated an order of protection. His grandmother, who is suffering from brain and lung cancer, answered the door but had difficulty understanding the cops' reason for being there, New York's Daily News reports. So Courtney grabbed his mom's cellphone and began recording the conversation.

One cop didn't like that, so he kicked the boy in the shin, breaking his leg, according to a complaint filed in Brooklyn Federal Court and seen by the Daily News.

"The police had come to our house before [due to the domestic violence complaint], and he's fascinated by the police; he looks up to them," Courtney's mom, Krystle Silvera, 30, a nursing student at Long Island University, told the Daily News in an exclusive interview.

<snip>

According to the suit, Silvera's pierced breast popped out of her bra while she was being restrained.

"The officer flicked the piercing. he flicked the ring up with his finger on my right breast," she told the Daily News. "He said, 'Is this what mothers look like these days?' My neighbors saw me naked. It was degrading. I can deal with the embarrassment of what [the police] did to me in front of my neighbors, but the hardest thing is explaining to my kids that not all police are bad."

Silvera was charged with assaulting the cops and was released two days later on $1,500 bail. She would later plead guilty to disorderly conduct, the Daily News reports.

Once she returned home, she noticed that her son's leg was bruised and swollen. Courtney was taken to the hospital, where an X-ray showed that his leg was fractured.

<snip>

An NYPD spokeswoman told the Daily News that the Internal Affairs Bureau has opened an investigation based on the allegations in the suit.

Although Courtney's leg was fractured, his dream of one day being a detective hasn't been broken. "I told my mom being a detective would be cool," he told the Daily News. "I want to be a better detective than the one who did this."

Read more at the Daily News.

http://www.theroot.com/articles/culture/2014/02/cop_breaks_10_year_old_s_leg_for_filming_him.html?wpisrc=newstories

February 4, 2014

TED Talk:Watch The Video That Coca-Cola And McDonald's Hope You Never See

#t=665

Big Sugar is worse than you thought!

February 4, 2014

State senator pleads not guilty to pushing wife

http://www.azcentral.com/news/free/20140203state-senator-pleads-not-guilty-pushing-wife.html?odyssey=obinsite



HELENA, Mont. — A state senator pleaded not guilty Monday to allegations that he pushed his wife and then fought a police officer who tried to arrest him.

Sen. Jason Priest posted a $1,500 bond after the Red Lodge City Court hearing, in which he appeared by video conference, and was released from the Yellowstone County Detention Facility.

The 45-year-old Republican was booked into the jail on suspicion of partner or family assault and resisting arrest at a Red Lodge residence Saturday night.

A police citation says Priest pushed his wife away and fought an officer who was attempting to arrest him. The officer identified himself several times and told Priest to stop resisting, the citation said.

City Attorney Hope Freeman said she did not know whether anybody had been injured. She said officials were investigating whether Priest also pushed another family member.

She could not provide additional details, and Priest did not return a call for comment. He said in court he had retained Billings attorney Vern Woodward, who also did not return a call for comment.

Red Lodge Police Chief Richard Pringle did not return calls for comment.

Along with setting the bond, Judge Steve Muth ordered Priest to have no contact with his wife and to stay away from firearms, Freeman said.

Montana Senate President Jeff Essmann said Monday the allegations are a matter of serious concern and he intends to speak with Priest soon.

“I will ask Sen. Priest to step back from his legislative duties and discuss his continued participation in the business of the Montana Senate from the perspective of what is in the best interests of his family, himself, and his constituents,” the Billings Republican said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Priest was elected in 2010 to a four-year term and is the chairman of the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee, though he is not on any of the interim committees that are meeting between legislative sessions.

He has not yet filed with the Secretary of State’s office to run for re-election this year, though he has until March 10 to do so.

Priest was one of the leaders of a conservative faction in the Senate last year that split with more moderate Republican legislators.

Priest also is a founder of a nonprofit group called Montana Growth Network that champions conservative causes and helps like-minded candidates.

February 2, 2014

Clark County, Ind., Drug Court Held Inmates without Due Process

http://downtrend.com/jaye-ryan/clark-county-ind-drug-court-held-inmates-without-due-process/

Clark County, Ind., Drug Court Held Inmates without Due Process
By Jaye Ryan on February 1, 2014 Subscribe to Jaye Ryan's Feed@wordsmithworker
CCDC Vic #1

Clark County, Ind., Drug Court sentenced at least two people to longer-than-allowed stays in the Clark County jail, only to have lost track of them. In total, 32 days were unlawfully required between the two victims, but their stays equaled 369 days — all because the court failed to keep them on the court’s agenda and the County Sheriff failed to follow procedures in tracking inmates’ incarceration times and statuses.

Both victims, Destiny Hoffman and Jason Ray O’Connor live in Jeffersonville and were independently held by order of District Court No. 2 Judge Jerry Jacobi who declared they both be held

“until further notice from the court.”

The incarceration errors were found during a routine examination of old case files. Clark County Deputy Prosecutor Michaelia Gilbert wrote and submitted two separate court motions for immediate hearings, but Jacobi ordered their release instead.

Hoffman and O’Connor reportedly were denied a hearing and legal representation but incarcerated simply on the judge’s whim. When asked by the court why she didn’t question her status and lengthy stay, Hoffman declined responding, possibly because of a possible civil suit against the court, the county and potentially the corrections officers involved.

Of O’Connor, Gilbert’s motion stated:

“As of Jan. 24, 2014, the defendant has remained in the custody of the Clark County Jail without due process hearing as the Clark County Drug Treatment Court has failed to bring the defendant to court for any hearings regarding the status of his case and has failed to notify the Clark County Jail that the defendant is eligible for release.”

At least one employee has been fired over the incidences, and at least one employee was placed on unpaid suspension, pending further investigation.

The suspended employee claimed he was merely following the court’s orders. [Ed: Please remember that the 'following orders' defense didn't work at the Nurenberg trials and will, no doubt, be an issue in the probable civil suit.]

One county employee to have been fired was Susan Knoebel, the director of the Clark County Drug Court Program.

Judge Jacobi declined comment on these Constitutional violations, stating only that there is an ongoing investigation.

Indiana State Police confirmed that and admitted that some court employees may be facing criminal charges.

February 2, 2014

Ann Coulter: Democrats “Well on Their Way to a Permanent Majority”

http://downtrend.com/james/ann-coulter-democrats-well-on-their-way-to-a-permanent-majority-with-republican-help-on-immigration/?utm_source=Outbrain_RSS

In usual form, Ann Coulter has come out swinging against House Republicans’ plan to advance amnesty. She claims to have been slipped a report on how immigration is changing the United States and she certainly makes her opinions on the situation known in her latest writing on the matter.

Coulter explains that the report “overwhelmingly demonstrates that merely continuing our current immigration policies spells doom for the Republican Party.” She explains, “Immigrants — all immigrants — have always been the bulwark of the Democratic Party. For one thing, recent arrivals tend to be poor and in need of government assistance. Also, they’re coming from societies that are far more left-wing than our own. History shows that, rather than fleeing those policies, they bring their cultures with them. (Look at what New Yorkers did to Vermont.)”

She’s right. Most people seem to move elsewhere for economic, not political reasons. In addition to Vermont, check out what has happened to Colorado, Florida and Virginia, which have all moved left presumably due to migration from other states. Transplants never seem to realize the policies they voted for back home were a big reason they decided to leave in the first place since liberal agendas usually result in a higher cost of living and less freedom.

Coulter continues, “At the current accelerated rate of immigration — 1.1 million new immigrants every year — Republicans will be a fringe party in about a decade.” She justifies this statement by explaining that, in poll after poll, immigrants reveal Democratic leanings such as believing international law trumps the U.S. Constitution as well as support for gun control and ObamaCare.

Commenting on House Republicans’ odd support for relaxed immigration laws, the hard-hitting conservative ponders “…why on Earth are they bringing in people sworn to their political destruction?” She then answers her own question, explaining that liberal immigration laws are great for ethnic lobbyists, politicians and the wealthy. She also states, “And it’s fantastic for the Democrats, who are well on their way to a permanent majority, so they can completely destroy the last remnants of what was once known as ‘the land of the free’.”

Maybe House Speaker John Boehner (R – Ohio) and his colleagues know they’ll be long gone by the time that happens so they’re willing to sell out their constituents for their own gain. But then again, that’s what politicians do.

It’s up to Republican voters to demand better from their Representatives or kick them out in the mid-term elections. Otherwise, their ideals may go the way of the dinosaur in national politics.





When you're right, you're right.......<snicker>

January 29, 2014

Texas woman in Grimm fundraising case set to be arraigned

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2014/01/texas_woman_in_grimm_fundraisi_1.html

Texas woman in Grimm fundraising case set to be arraigned in Brooklyn federal court on Jan. 30



Rep. Michael Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) on Tuesday declined to answer questions about arrest of Texas friend Diana Durand. (Staten Island Advance/Anthony DePrimo)

By Tom Wrobleski/Staten Island Advance
Follow on Twitter
on January 20, 2014 at 8:50 PM, updated January 20, 2014 at 9:18 PM

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - The Texas woman arrested by the FBI for allegedly making more than $10,000 in illegal contributions to the 2010 campaign of Rep. Michael Grimm is set to be arraigned on the charges in Brooklyn federal court.

<snip>

And on Monday, Grimm (R-Staten Island/Brooklyn) shot down a report that he and Ms. Durand engaged in "donor swapping" during the 2010 campaign, and new details emerged about Grimm's relationship with the celebrity rabbi at the heart of the FBI investigation of Grimm's own 2010 campaign fundraising.

FEC records show that Barbara Durand Clem gave Grimm $1,000 on Nov. 13, 2009, and Montgomery Durand gave Grimm's campaign $1,000 on Nov. 19, 2009.

Like Ms. Clem and Ms. Durand, Montgomery Durand lists Monmouth, Ill., roots on his Facebook page, but it is not known for certain if the three are related.

The FBI complaint against Ms. Durand said an unnamed relative of hers, called "Straw Donor #3," donated $1,000 to Grimm on Nov. 19, 2009.

Ms. Clem was listed as president of the Houston-based MCG Transportation company, where Ms. Durand was CEO, and the two also have an address in common, public records show.

Ms. Clem was also an owner of Austin Refuel Transport. Grimm is the former owner and CEO of the firm's parent company, Austin Refuel.

Ms. Durand was arrested by the FBI on Jan. 10 and accused of using straw donors to donate illegally to Grimm's campaign.

On Monday, Grimm declined to discuss Ms. Durand's arrest.

"I'm not going to comment on anything else," he told reporters after an event with borough Cub Scouts in his New Dorp district office.

Stuart Kaplan, the former FBI agent representing Ms. Durand, did not respond to a request for comment.

Grimm on Monday also slammed a published report that said he and Ms. Durand may have engaged in "donor swapping" in order to get around campaign contribution limits.

In a donor swap, a contributor who gave the maximum donation to Candidate 1 then donates to Candidate 2. In return, a donor of Candidate 2 gives that same amount to Candidate 1.

The Daily News highlighted a $4,800 donation to Grimm from a Washington, D.C., attorney who had already given the maximum amount to GOP Virginia congressional candidate Bert Mizusawa. On the same day, Ms. Durand and another Grimm donor each gave $4,800 to Mizusawa.

Grimm and Ms. Durand also each gave $2,400 to Republican Michael Curb, running in South Dakota, the same day that an accountant in a South Dakota firm headed by Curb donated $4,800 to Grimm, the paper said.

A Houston couple who had given the maximum to Grimm then gave $4,800 to Illinois GOP Rep. Aaron Schock on the same day that an Illinois couple who had maxed out to Schock gave $4,800 to Grimm, the paper said.

Ms. Durand also gave $2,400 to Schock, records showed.

The News said that 20 transactions suggested that Grimm supporters, including Ms. Durand, and candidates swapped donations totaling more than $75,000.

In a statement to the Advance, Grimm called the story a "one-sided hit piece."

He said the transactions cited "are completely legal and common, and would be frequently seen in the vast majority of [congressional] Members' filings."

Separately, in a 2010 interview that aired on Israeli television, Grimm said he met Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto after doing a "mitzvah," or good deed, for a member of New York's Jewish community at the end of an undercover case Grimm worked while with the FBI.

The FBI is investigating allegations that Grimm, working with Pinto aide Ofer Biton, illegally raised money from the rabbi's Upper East Side congregation in 2010. Grimm has denied the charges and has been accused of no wrongdoing.

Grimm said in the interview that when the Jewish community learned he was running for Congress, they invited him to get a "very special blessing" from Pinto. The two then began to meet regularly, he continued. Grimm said Pinto appreciated Grimm's strong support of Israel, and that his House campaign was going well "due to the inspiration of the rabbi."

"It's amazing," Grimm said in the interview. "I'm not Jewish, I'm Catholic. But the very first time that I met Rabbi Pinto, I can't really explain it, it's hard to articulate, but it was a very special meeting. You could almost feel the positive energy when he holds your hand."

Also part of the interview was Ben Zion Suky, a real estate developer and top Pinto aide. Suky has been identified as a witness in an Israeli case where Pinto is alleged to have bribed top police officials. Suky has also been tied to the porn industry.

January 28, 2014

Bendy Chinese paper art stuns New Yorkers

Bendy Chinese paper art stuns New Yorkers

27/01 14:39 CET
smaller_text larger_text

Amazing video at the website http://www.euronews.com/2014/01/27/bendy-chinese-paper-art-stuns-new-yorkers/

Just stretch your imagination for a moment – Li Hongbo’s surprising sculptures go to show that in the world of art, what you see is not always what you get.

His surprising accordeon-like works are inspired by Chinese paper-based folk art and the traditional paper toys he grew up with.

“In the beginning, I discovered the flexible nature of paper through Chinese paper toys and paper lanterns. Later, I used this to make a gun. A gun is solid, used for killing, but I turned it into a toy or for decoration. In this way, it lost both the shape of a gun, and the inherent meaning of a gun. It was turned into a game,” says Li Hongbo.

To make his sculptures the artist uses a stencil to paste glue in narrow strips across large pieces of paper which he then sticks together to form a block. He stacks up the blocks, before cutting, chiselling and sanding them down to the desired shape.

“‘Strange’ and ‘unsettling’ are just words used by some people to describe my work. In fact, people have a fixed idea of what a human should look like, so when you transform a human shape, people will reconsider the nature of objects and the motivation behind the creation. This is what I care about,” says the artist.

‘Tools of Study’, Li Hongbo’s first solo exhibition in the United States, is on at the Klein Sun Gallery in New York until early March.

Copyright © 2014 euronews

January 27, 2014

Is there a pot bubble?

http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/marijuana-laws-investment-colorado-pot-bubble-102381.html?ml=po_r

When stocks in marijuana-related businesses soared as much as 1,700 percent one week after Colorado’s legalized shops opened, the exuberance reminded some observers of the heady days of the dot-com boom. And, indeed, industry insiders seem swept up in a sky's-the-limit optimism that's reminscient of the late 1990s, with ArcView Market Research—"the definitive source for cannabis industry analysis, trends, and statistics"—forecasting that legal marijuana could expand into a $10.2 billion market by 2018, with 64 percent growth expected just this calendar year, a rate higher than the global smartphone market.

<snip>

At the same time, entirely new businesses have emerged, hawking insurance, advertising support, software, even pot vending machines. And with Colorado’s legal cannabis shops hitting $1 million in revenue on the first day of legal use, the stampede of capitalists into this new market should only accelerate. “There’s no desk of analysts at Goldman Sachs vetting this industry,” Kenndy says, “but there will be.”

Yet if this is a gold rush, it’s one where the gold has, for 80 years, been either dismissed as fodder for hippies or demonized as actively harmful—a legacy that creates growing pains no other business sector has to tolerate, as marijuana entrepreneurs struggle to be taken seriously and get around a host of roadblocks arising from the fact that the federal Controlled Substances Act still lists marijuana as a prohibited Schedule I drug.

Lawmakers from the states where pot just became legal have stepped in to push for regulatory relief. Reps. Denny Heck (D-Wash.) and Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) have introduced legislation that would give legal clearance for financial transactions with marijuana-related businesses—you could call it a form of constituent service to the small business community. And when Attorney General Eric Holder said last week that the Obama administration would soon roll out guidance to allow banks to work with pot sellers, Heck and Perlmutter's efforts got a notable boost. But “Congress doesn’t lead on this stuff,” Heck says. “It’s going to take Colorado and Washington having a successful regulatory environment to make everyone comfortable.”

<snip>

But this need to convince skeptics, along with the residue of selling what the federal government still considers an illegal drug, has led to barriers that can appear almost insurmountable. “Some check-the-box items that should take a couple of hours take a month,” Kennedy says. Lining up payroll services or security or lawyers or even a bank can be arduous, as many of those companies fear legal ramifications. The Colorado Bar Association recently prohibited attorneys from working with marijuana-related businesses for just this reason—which means that, for now at least, pot businesses can’t hire a lawyer to draw up a contract or close a deal. And even Privateer, with its multimillion-dollar investment deals, was turned down by 16 different banks for a simple checking account.

So far, Privateer has used the money it’s raised to invest in or set up ancillary businesses on the edges of the marijuana supply chain that do not handle the leaf, reducing the firm’s legal risk and regulatory requirements. The company established a Canadian subsidiary called Lafitte Ventures to build a 1.8-acre cultivation site in British Columbia, for example, and a similar American firm called Arbormain, planning 24 warehouses across Washington State for growing, testing and processing a range of products. Privateer also recently acquired Leafly, which is a kind of Yelp for pot, with user reviews of businesses and the products they sell.

Meanwhile, an astonishing amount of this fast-growing industry is still conducted in cash—a situation that can leave businesspeople a little jittery. “I’ve been in rooms with a million dollars,” Kennedy says. “It’s not a good feeling.” Companies have to pay for security to prevent robberies, and getting loans is a headache. “We wanted to build a farm on a piece of property where anyone with a credit score over 700 could get it,” Cooley says. “Mine is over 800, but I couldn’t get a loan. Last year, when we were jumping through hoops becoming permitted, instead of a line of credit, we stopped taking salary.”

David Dayen is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and a contributor to Salon.

January 26, 2014

Jimmy Fallon and guest slow jam the news

#t=1