Society's ChildS


Handcuffs

New federal sentencing guidelines, 6,000 inmates to be released


RT
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 02:50 UTC
hands in jail
© Shutterstock.com
The US Department of Justice is preparing to release roughly 6,000 inmates from federal prisons later this month under new sentencing guidelines. The inmates' crimes were predominantly nonviolent drug offenses, but under mandatory minimum sentencing laws enacted during the crack and cocaine epidemic of the 1980s and '90s, they were sentenced to many years behind bars, according to federal law enforcement officials.

"The inmates from federal prison nationwide will be set free by the department's Bureau of Prisons between October 30 and November 2," according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to the Washington Post. "Most of them will go to halfway houses, and home confinement before being put on supervised release."

The release will be the largest one-time discharge of inmates in American history. It comes as the result of new sentencing guidelines issued by the US Sentencing Commission in April. In July 2014, the Commission voted to retroactively apply an amendment lowering federal guidelines for sentencing persons convicted of drug trafficking offenses.


Comment: About time something was done in regards to criminal justice reform. "The US incarcerates a quarter of the world's prison population"...so many, in fact, it has turned to private prison hell holes to accommodate the overflow, more self-serving and corrupt in their operation than the inmates that occupy them.See also:

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Stock Down

Global financial meltdown coming? Clear signs that the great derivatives crisis has now begun

Michael Snyder
The Economic Collapse
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 00:03 UTC
derivatives
Warren Buffett once referred to derivatives as "financial weapons of mass destruction", and it was inevitable that they would begin to wreak havoc on our financial system at some point. While things may seem somewhat calm on Wall Street at the moment, the truth is that a great deal of trouble is bubbling just under the surface. As you will see below, something happened in mid-September that required an unprecedented 405 billion dollar surge of Treasury collateral into the repo market.

I know - that sounds very complicated, so I will try to break it down more simply for you. It appears that some very large institutions have started to get into a significant amount of trouble because of all the reckless betting that they have been doing. This is something that I have warned would happen over and over again. In fact, I have written about it so much that my regular readers are probably sick of hearing about it. But this is what is going to cause the meltdown of our financial system.

Many out there get upset when I compare derivatives trading to gambling, and perhaps it would be more accurate to describe most derivatives as a form of insurance. The big financial institutions assure us that they have passed off most of the risk on these contracts to others and so there is no reason to worry according to them.

Well, personally I don't buy their explanations, and a lot of others don't either. On a very basic, primitive level, derivatives trading is gambling. This is a point that Jeff Nielson made very eloquently in a piece that he recently published...

Comment: Perhaps these derivatives (bets) will ignite or be allowed to ignite a new series of financial and economic problems due to the severe downturn in the commodities and other markets. If they do or are allowed to finally start a meltdown, then they will be igniting a system already being held up with the glue and bubble gum of systemic lies and manipulation. The situation has only gotten worse since 2008. Due to this fact, when the system does finally let go the impacts are going to be felt worldwide by every man, woman and child.

It is also reasonable to consider the Western elites fostering such events in order burn the system down in their desperation to somehow maintain control. Russia and Putin's moves in the Middle East, perhaps wider ambitions to counteract the influence and damage done by the West, and revelations of truth starting to take hold in the general public must be putting extraordinary pressure on the elites. Only time will tell what their reaction will be, yet planned economic collapse has to be one of the plays they are considering, especially if Putinmania spreads.

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Snakes in Suits

California judge refuses to throw out Bill Cosby sexual assault of 15-year old; seals deposition until December


Yahoo! News
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 23:39 UTC
Image
© AFP
A California judge on Wednesday refused to throw out a lawsuit filed by a woman who claims comedian Bill Cosby sexually assaulted her when she was 15.

Attorneys for the 78-year-old disgraced actor had sought to have Judy Huth's lawsuit tossed, alleging her lawyers had failed to follow proper procedure and arguing that the suit should not have included Cosby's name. Attorney Martin Singer said that naming Cosby in the suit that was filed in December 2014 had harmed his client and encouraged other allegations by women who claim he drugged and sexually assaulted them decades ago.

However, Superior Court Judge Craig Karlan said that while the case may have been improperly filed, he did not believe it would prevent Cosby from getting a fair trial. Huth alleges Cosby sexually assaulted her at the Playboy Mansion in 1974, when she was 15 years old, and that she had suffered "psychological damage and mental anguish" as a result.

Cosby is scheduled to be deposed in the case on Friday and had requested that his testimony be sealed to the public. But Karlan ruled on Wednesday that the deposition would be sealed for at least 60 days and set another hearing in the case for December 22.

On Tuesday, another woman filed suit against Cosby, alleging he sexually assaulted her in 2008, also at the Playboy Mansion, when she was 18.

Comment: Bill Cosby wore a mask for the world. He created a reputation and a persona of a kindhearted, fatherly human being via the media. When the mask came off, we saw the predatory creature underneath. A man with no remorse, no feeling for the damage he has done to these women. Does that sound like a psychopath to you?

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Syringe

Montana judge blocks state's lethal injection drug, but not 'ultra-fast' enough


RT
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 04:24 UTC
lethal injections
© listverse.comThe line up. Three strikes an you're out.
A Montana judge ruled that one of the drugs planned for use in a lethal injection mix for executions violated the law, effectively halting all executions in the state until the legislation is changed. There are currently two inmates on death row.

"The State of Montana is hereby enjoined from using the drug pentobarbital in its lethal injection protocol unless and until the statute authorizing lethal injection is modified in conformance with this decision," District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock wrote on Tuesday.

Under Montana law, one of the drugs used in its lethal injection combination must be an "ultra-fast acting barbiturate," in order to put the inmate into a coma, followed by a paralytic agent called pancuronium. The state's execution protocol lists sodium pentothal as the barbiturate, with pentobarbital as a substitute.

Sodium pentothal is no longer manufactured in the US, however, and it can't be imported. Meanwhile, pentobarbital is used for lethal injections in other states and, while the drug does act quickly, Sherlock ruled it does not meet the "ultra-fast" classification.

Comment: Electrocution, lethal gas, lethal injection, firing squad, hanging...some inmates have a choice. People die all the time with less particularity, some at the hands of these inmates.

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Birthday Cake

Happy Birthday President Putin! The good wishes keep pouring in on social media


Sputnik
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 14:10 UTC
Image
© Sputnik/ Aleksey Nikolskyi

Today, President Vladimir Putin is celebrating his 63rd birthday. As expected, the leader's special day has caused a ruckus on social media, with supporters both inside and outside Russia already coming up with some clever ways to congratulate the leader.

The president is reported to be celebrating his birthday in a rather reserved manner, spending it as just another day at work. However, he does have plans to play some hockey with famous veteran hockey players and members of the Night Hockey League later today.

As expected, the president has already received some traditional birthday greetings from foreign leaders. The presidents of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Belarus have sent their best wishes. Putin was also congratulated by Narendra Modi, who offered a more up-to-date form of greeting, wishing Putin "long life, good health & happiness" in a tweet. The prime minister's tweet has already received 1,000 retweets.

Comment: The world of informed, thinking and caring people of good will are on their feet for this Man and True Leader.

Happy Birthday and Best Wishes from all of us at SOTT.net too!! Keep up the Good Work!!!



And if you haven't already, you can add your name to the tens of thousands who have signed a letter in thanks and acknowledgment for all that he is doing.

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Arrow Down

Glass walkway in China cracks beneath tourist

Luxiao Zou
People's Daily Online
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 23:24 UTC
Yuntaishan glass path
© People's Daily OnlineFilePic of Yuntaishan glass path in Central China's Henan province.
Yuntaishan glass path was seen cracked in Central China's Henan province on October 5, 2015, causing panic among the holidaymakers.

"I heard a bang from under...Everybody is screaming. I cried, 'It's really cracked! It's really cracked!' And pushed the people in front of me to get away." A netizen posted thus on weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. He later deleted the post, saying he was too much bothered by media.

Reporter from cnr.cn contacted the staff of the Yuntaishan resort, who confirmed that the path had indeed been broken and that it has been closed for the time being. Tourists have been evacuated on scene.
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Heart - Black

Rapist cop cleared of charges after defense attorneys use old photo of victim posed in 'similar' position

Bethania Palma Markus
Raw Story
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 17:08 UTC
Image
© Screengrab/YouTubeStephen Maiorino
A former Florida police officer walked out of court a free man after a jury cleared him Tuesday of raping a woman on the hood of his patrol car, the Sun Sentinel reports. The defense had presented a photograph of the woman in high school posing with a car and argued it was a "strikingly similar position" to her alleged rape.

Stephen Maiorino, 36, a former Boyton Beach police officer, had been accused of forcing the woman to have oral sex with him then taking her to an abandoned field where he raped her on the hood of his car while on duty. The jury deliberated for 10 hours before clearing him, prompting the victim to leave the court room in tears, saying, "No, no!"

The Sentinel reports the case hinged on the credibility of the 21-year-old woman. Maiorino's defense said he simply had the bad judgment to have consensual sex with the woman while on duty. Maiorino is married with two small children and had been on the police force for eight years before resigning.

Michael Salnick, Maiorino's attorney, used as evidence a picture of the woman in high school, where she posed bent over the hood of a car with her hands behind her back which he said was "strikingly similar" to the one the woman found herself in at the alleged crime scene. The woman said the photo didn't have any sexual overtones and didn't hint at any cop car sex fantasy, the Sentinel reports.

The woman had reportedly been hanging out with a man at a bar before he drove through a DUI checkpoint and was arrested after a brief pursuit. This left the woman stranded. Maiorino offered to take the woman to the police station where she could call her mother and get picked up.

The woman said that while parked at the police station, Maiorino threatened to arrest her for underage drinking unless she performed oral sex. She accused him of unzipping the fly of his uniform and holding her head down. He then drove to a secluded area, forced her to take her clothes off and raped her on the car while he was holding his gun to her head, the Sentinel reports.

Comment: There is a huge systematic problem with how rape is handled in the legal system. That problem starts at the top with our psychopathic 'leaders'. See also:

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Sheriff

California mother sues police for retaliatory beating in front of her children during 'bogus traffic stop'


RT
Tue, 06 Oct 2015 21:18 UTC
Image
A California mom is suing local police for "egregious police brutality." She says officers pulled her over for a "bogus" traffic violation and beat her in front of her two young kids in immediate retaliation for complaining about a cop's behavior.

Hahn's interaction with Carlsbad police began when she came across a car with its doors wide open and the alarm blaring. Officer Kenyatte Valentine was standing next to the car, "doing nothing," the lawsuit said.

"What's going on here?" she asked. "Is this your car?" he replied. "No, sir," she said. Valentine then said: "Mind your f****** business."

Hahn, the daughter of a reserve police officer, decided to call the non-emergency police hotline to report the officer's behavior "since she felt harassed and intimidated" and that "Valentine appeared mentally unstable."

She then got back into the car with her 11-year-old and 7-year-old children. Valentine followed her and "immediately pulled her over on the pretextual grounds" that she had a seatbelt violation. The lawsuit notes as an aside that Hahn was "not cited for any purpose."

Valentine asked Hahn to get out of the car, and "began attacking her in front of her children"in the back seat. "While she was being beaten and pummeled, Ms. Hahn was crying out for help."

Shortly after, another Carlsbad patrol car arrived "at a high and reckless rate of speed, traveling in reverse."

"The next thing I know, I'm on the ground and he's attacking me and then the other officer comes and I'm thinking he's going to help me and he ratcheted it up," Hahn told KFMB.


Comment: A terrifying glimpse into the growing police state in the U.S.

We are the government: Tactics for taking down the police state

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Quenelle

'The people are livid': 100,000 march against 'pick-pocket' austerity in Brussels

Nadia Prupis
Common Dreams
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 17:24 UTC
Image
© Reuterssters march in Brussels on October 7, 2015.
Anti-austerity demonstrations in Belgium on Wednesday drew tens of thousands of people—some of whom clashed with police and were sprayed by water cannons as they marched through Brussels demanding an end to new measures which they say unfairly target workers and favor corporations.

Organized by Belgium's three largest unions, the protests came in response to new rules pushed through by the country's center-right coalition government, led by Prime Minister Charles Michel, in its first month in office, including wage freezes amid rising inflation, an increase in the retirement age, cuts to social services, and punitive taxes on lower-wage earners.

"The signal is clear. People are angry, livid. This government's policies are totally unbalanced," Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (ACV-CSC) chief Marc Leemans told Reuters.
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Book 2

The right idea! Lawmakers seek to throw the book at executives who hide deadly defects from the public


RT
Wed, 07 Oct 2015 01:37 UTC
Image
© Rebecca Cook / ReutersGeneral Motors Executive Vice President Global Product Development Mark Reuss (L), GM CEO Mary Barra and GM President Dan Ammann were not prosecuted for the deadly ignition switch scandal.
Two Democratic lawmakers think that corporate executives who conceal deadly defects in their companies' products should be jailed. They have introduced the Hide No Harm Act in the wake of a General Motors scandal that killed over 120 people.

Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) and Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania) introduced the bill on Tuesday. If passed, it would make failing to inform federal regulators about faulty and dangerous products a crime punishable by five years in prison. It would also safeguard whistleblowers who reveal that information from criminal liability.

The bill is a reaction to a "deferred prosecution agreement" reached between GM and the Department of Justice in September that found no officers criminally liable for knowingly concealing information about a lethal safety defect in the car manufacturer's ignition switches. The auto maker eventually recalled about 2 million cars. The faulty part, which caused cars to shut off abruptly or disable airbags, caused 124 deaths - 10 times more than GM originally believed - and 275 injuries, 17 of them serious.

Comment: Well its about time! For decades, many corporations based their informing the public of defects on pathological reasoning: Using a cost-benefit analysis they quite often determined that they would save more money by allowing injury and death to occur - and being sued for it - than they would by recalling their products and losing out on the bottom line. At a time where when fascist ideals are the norm, the proposed legislation is certainly a positive thing to see.

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