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Of Course! No indictment for Darren Wilson, Ferguson cop who killed Michael Brown


RT
Tue, 25 Nov 2014 02:26 UTC
'hands up, don't shoot'
© ustin Sullivan/Getty Images/AFP
Demonstrators chant 'hands up, don't shoot' as they protest in front of the Ferguson police department on November 24, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri.
Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson will not be indicted on any charges for shooting and killing unarmed African American teenager Michael Brown, a St. Louis grand jury has decided.

The grand jury's decision was announced Monday evening by Bob McCulloch, the prosecuting attorney for St. Louis County. He said that "no probable cause exists" to file any charges against Wilson.

Officer Wilson potentially faced charges of first- or second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, or involuntary manslaughter. At least nine of the 12 people on the jury needed to agree to bring charges in order to indict Wilson. It's unclear exactly how that vote unfolded.

In the wake of the decision, the Brown family released a statement saying:

"We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions. While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen."

Comment: Brown was unarmed. He taunted the cop. The cop shot him dead. That's about the height of it.



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Light Saber

It's "an extortion racket:" Police Chief moved to tears after exposing corruption in his department

Mike Sawyer
The Free Thought Project
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 03:23 UTC
"Exactly like the Mafioso in New York. That's exactly how they are operating," Calexico Police Chief Mike Bostic said in regards to his own department.


Calexico, California - A border town east of San Diego fired their own police chief last month "in the interest of their own citizens," and on Oct. 13 Former Police Chief Pompeyo Tabarez was replaced with Mike Bostic.

When Bostic took over the department he found it rife with corruption. "The council members in conjunction with the police officers association and members of that association have used city funds and city resources to run what I would call an extortion racket," said the newly-appointed police chief as he publicly accused his predecessor, members of his own department and city officials of illegally trying to undermine a criminal investigation, comparing their actions to those of the New York mafia.

"Exactly like the Mafioso in New York. That's exactly how they are operating," the chief said.
According to NBC San Diego, after he was on the job for three or four days, Bostic discovered the investigations unit was not working any active cases. The same was true with the narcotics and internal affairs units.

He was unable to find any reports on an alleged kidnapping and assault of a juvenile that took place in October.

"The former chief and his investigative unit were so busy trying to save his career and his job rather than focus on that investigation, they completely botched it," Bostic alleged.
Bostic immediately placed several officers on paid leave and demoted others.

Bostic said that he even witnessed detectives using professional burglary tools, that no officer should carry, to break into cars.

"There's a thing called search warrants in the state of California," he said. "These were clearly tools for violating people's rights and we're trying to get to the bottom of that."
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Handcuffs

Prosecutor: Boston bombing witnesses afraid to testify (d'uh!)

Joseph L. Flatley
WhoWhatWhy
Tue, 18 Nov 2014 22:49 UTC
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
© AFP Photo / FBI
Dzhokhar Tsarnaev
The Boston Marathon bombing is much more important than has been acknowledged, principally because it is the defining domestic national security event since 9/11 - and has played a major role in expanding the power of the security state. For that reason, WhoWhatWhy is continuing to investigate troubling aspects of this story and the establishment media treatment of it. We will be exploring new elements of the story regularly as the January trial of the accused co-conspirator Dzhokhar Tsarnaev approaches.
***

The defense witnesses in the Boston Bombing trial certainly have reason to be afraid to testify, given the long official intimidation campaign against them.

Yet, ironically, it is now the government that is claiming its witnesses are scared and even unwilling to testify. Unsurprisingly, the judge overseeing the trial against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has agreed with the prosecutors.

Since the Boston Marathon bombing last year, WhoWhatWhy has reported on a pattern of intimidation towards people associated with the accused bombers, Dzhokhar and his late elder brother, Tamerlan. Those connected to the case have been intimidated, deported, jailed, and even killed.

Comment: From James Henry's piece on witness harassment linked in the article:
One of these targets was Tatiana Gruzdeva, Todashev's 20-year-old girlfriend. She was deported to Russia on October 11. ... She had described for the magazine in vivid detail what happened when several FBI agents back in May had showed up at the Orlando apartment she and Todashev shared and accused him of involvement in the Boston bombing. Days of harassment and interrogation followed, she said, as the FBI tried to get Todashev to confess to involvement in the Boston bombing, and to get her to make statements implicating her boyfriend, but she continued to insist Todashev had been in Orlando with her when the bombing occurred.

Then, she said, the government agents surprised her with a new accusation: Todashev, they alleged, had been involved in a gruesome, drug-related, 2011 triple murder in Waltham, Massachusetts. The agents tried, without success, to force her to implicate Todashev in that crime. Then, while she was still in shock from that latest assertion, they demanded she tell them what further criminal activities he had in store.
That's just one: add to that list Ashurmamad Miraliev, Khusn Taramiv, and Ibragim Todashev, who was murdered in cold blood by FBI agents. Apparently the FBI has been trying to 'turn' these witnesses into 'informers' and get them to spy on local mosques and restaurants. For SOTT's coverage of the bombing, see Joe Quinn and Niall Bradley's book: Manufactured Terror.

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Pistol

Utah police now responsible for more killings than street gangs and drug dealers


RT
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 18:38 UTC
Image
© AFP Photo / Justin Sullivan
Police officers have been responsible for more homicides in the state of Utah since 2010 than gangs or drug dealers, a new report has revealed.

Of the nearly 300 homicides in the state in the past five years, from the beginning of 2010 through October 2014, Utah police have killed 45 of those victims, or 15 percent, according to a review of records - ranging from media reports and crime statistics to medical-examiner and court documents - by the Salt Lake Tribune. Police account for more killings than gangs, drug dealers or from child abuse, the newspaper reported, but less than spouse or dating-partner fatalities.

A fatal police shooting that occurred on Saturday was not counted and remains under investigation, the Tribune reported.

"The numbers reflect that there could be an issue, and it's going to take a deeper understanding of these shootings," said Chris Gebhardt, a former police lieutenant and sergeant who worked in Washington, DC and Utah. "It definitely can't be written off as citizen groups being upset with law enforcement."


Comment: There is no "could be", it definitely is an issue.


In addition, almost all uses of deadly force by police have gone unpunished by county prosecutors across the state. Only one fatal police shooting since 2010 was ruled unjustified - but that criminal charge was later dropped by a judge.

Comment: Goon cops have gone wild all over America.

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V

"Why they need us": Terror attack on Britain 'inevitable'


RT
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 15:11 UTC
Image
© Reuters / Stringer
Britain faces an "almost inevitable" terror attack by radicalized fanatics who have recently been "militarized" by the Islamic State (formerly ISIS), top security and police officials warn.

In separate speeches on Monday, both Home Secretary Theresa May and senior Metropolitan Police officials said the terror threat posed by jihadists who have returned to Britain from Iraq and Syria is the most serious the nation has ever faced.


Comment: Call it blowback from NATO's own terrorist activity. But the threat of terrorism is required to keep the wars going.


Speaking to MPs, May warned Britain faces the most serious threat to its security from prospective terrorists since before or after the September 11 attacks on the US in 2001.

Possible terror attacks could manifest as a 'lone wolf' beheading in a public street or crowded shopping center - or as a crude, homemade bomb made from fertilizer.


Comment: Interesting scenarios. Could practice drills be in the planning?


These most recent warnings echo the cautionary words of top security personnel, who earlier this month told parliament the state's levels of terrorist activity are so acute that a terror attack in the near future is almost certain.

Comment: If the increased security measures fail to be as strong as the powers-that-be want them, you can be sure there will be a "terrorist attack" to hammer home why these security measures are needed.

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Network

#TangoDown: Anonymous closes Cleveland City government website over 12yo shooting death


RT
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 14:44 UTC
Image

Screenshot from YouTube user Anonymous AMCF
The Hacktivist collective Anonymous have launched an attack on the official site for the City of Cleveland after 12-year-old Temir Rice was shot dead by local police for carrying a BB gun.

In a video released on Monday, Anonymous lambasts Cleveland City Police, whose alleged inability to train their officers properly is said to have led to the tragedy.

"This rookie officer apparently was not trained. The police department he works for is to blame for this lack of appropriate training. Officers are equipped with many non-lethal options such as Taser guns. Why did he not use a Taser on this child? Shooting him in cold blood was not necessary with these non-lethal options available," a statement from the collective said.


Comment: This shooting is another tragic incident involving police use of excessive force. Will shutting down Cleveland's website change anything?

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Arrow Down

Sydney mother charged with trying to kill baby left in drain


The Associated Press
Mon, 24 Nov 2014 11:36 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/NSW Police
This photo released by New South Wales Police shows a newborn baby who was found Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014 abandoned in a drain in the Sydney suburb of Quakers Hill, Australia.
A 30-year-old Sydney mother has been charged with trying to kill her newborn son by abandoning him in a roadside drain for five days before passers-by heard his cries, police said Monday.

The week-old baby was in serious but stable condition in Westmead Children's Hospital a day after cyclists found him in a 2.5-meter (8-foot) deep drain beside the M7 Motorway in the suburb of Quakers Hill, police said in a statement.

His mother, Saifale Nai, did not appear in court to answer the attempted murder charge. Her lawyer did not enter a plea and the magistrate formally refused her bail.

Nai will remain in custody until her next court appearance on Friday. She would face a potential maximum sentence of 25 years in prison if convicted.

"Police will allege the baby, believed to have been born on Monday (Nov. 17), was placed into the drain on Tuesday," the police statement said.

Andrew Pesce, a gynecologist, obstetrician and former president of the Australian Medical Association, said such an ordeal could leave a newborn with long-term problems such as brain damage.

"There would still have to be some concerns about the baby," Pesce said.
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Eye 2

Classic psychopathic thinking: Michael Eric Dyson exposes Giuliani

Trey Sanchez
Truth revolt
Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:15 UTC
Image

Michael Eric Dyson and Rudy Giuliani appear on NBC (screen grab)
During Sunday's Meet the Press, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Georgetown Professor Michael Eric Dyson got into a racially charged shouting match over black-on-black crime statistics, culminating with charges of "white supremacy" by Dyson.

The conversation centered around race relations, crime, and police officers' actions in light of the situation in Ferguson. Host Chuck Todd showed an infographic noting various U.S. cities that have a disproportionate number of white police officers to black citizens and remarked how that could lead to many of those cities becoming "future Fergusons."

Giuliani took exception to the focus of this report and pointed out the pink elephant in the room. "I find it very disappointing," he said, "that you are not discussing the fact that 93 percent of blacks in America are killed by other blacks... I would like to see the attention paid to that that you are paying to this and the solutions to that."

Comment: Maybe not so much "white supremacy" but rather a case of psychopathic thinking by blaming the victim in order to carry out the militarization of the police force. Also notice Giuliani refuses to address the discussion topic directly but deflects the focus to a different topic.

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Megaphone

Vox Populi: Anti-Putin propaganda not working; just read the reader comments!

Mike Whitney
Counterpunch
Sun, 23 Nov 2014 23:14 UTC
Image

There's a reason people love Putin. In fact, there are many! See below for just a few.
Anyone who follows the news regularly, knows that the media has done everything in its power to smear Vladimir Putin and to demonize him as a tyrant and a thug. Fortunately, most people aren't buying it.

Yes, I've seen the polls that say that Putin and Russia are viewed "less favorably" than they were prior to the crisis in Ukraine. In fact, here's a clip from a recent PEW survey which seems to prove that I'm wrong:
"Across the 44 countries surveyed, a median percentage of 43% have unfavorable opinions of Russia, compared with 34% who are positive.

Negative ratings of Russia have increased significantly since 2013 in 20 of the 36 countries surveyed...

Americans and Europeans in particular have soured on Russia over the past 12 months. More than six-in-ten in Poland, Germany, Italy, Spain, France, the U.S. and the UK have an unfavorable image of Russia. And in all but one of these countries negative reviews are up by double digits since last year, including by 29 percentage points in the U.S., 27 points in Poland, 24 points in the UK and 23 points in Spain." (Russia's Global Image Negative amid Crisis in Ukraine: Americans' and Europeans' Views Sour Dramatically, PEW Research)
These results strongly suggest that the public blames Moscow for the fighting in Ukraine and (presumably) agrees with the prevailing storyline that Putin is a vicious aggressor who seized Crimea in order to rebuild the Soviet Empire. The problem with the PEW survey is that the results are based random samples of nationwide face-to-face or telephone interviews.

Why is that a problem?

Comment: It's heartening to know that people are seeing through the anti-Putin bullshit that's everywhere these days. For people with a conscience, it's hard not to feel responsible for the dirt and slime thrown at Putin daily. So show your support: comment, write, talk. Show the lying bastards we're not going to take it anymore. And if you feel like we do, take a moment to show your support for what Putin's doing by signing: Dear Putin.

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Arrow Down

U.S. rapper faces life in prison for album cover

Daniel Nussbaum
Breitbart
Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:00 UTC
Album Cover
© breitbart.com
Like countless artists before him, San Diego-based rapper Brandon Duncan's new album features a picture of a gun and bullets on its front cover. However Duncan, who raps under the name Tiny Doo, could be the first artist to go to jail for his choice of album art.

Duncan faces 25-years-to-life on gang conspiracy charges brought against him this week, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Prosecutors will reportedly look to prove that the album art "willfully promotes, furthers, or assists in any felonious criminal conduct by members of that gang."

"That gang" refers to the San Diego Lincoln Park gang, of which Duncan is a member, according to San Diego police. According to the Times, at least 15 Lincoln Park gang members have been charged in a recent string of shootings in the city.

Yet Duncan's attorney, Brian Watkins, told the paper that his client is innocent and the evidence against him insufficient.

"It's no different than Snoop Dogg or Tupac," Watkins said. "It's telling the story of street life. If we are trying to criminalize artistic expression, what's next, Brian DePalma and Al Pacino?"
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