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Mississippi sued over 'hellish' conditions in for-profit prison

Sarah Lazare
Common Dreams
Fri, 26 Sep 2014 21:01 UTC
Lawyers say incarcerated men with severe psychiatric disorders face medical neglect, insufficient food, solitary confinement, and abuse at "special needs" facility.
Prison Fires
© ACLU
At the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, sometimes incarcerated people are forced to resort to starting fires to get attention from negligent staff.
Denial of food and medical care. Cells and floors soiled with blood, urine, and feces. Excessive force by prison guards. Weeks, months, and years in solitary confinement.

These are the conditions found at a "special needs" for-profit prison, the East Mississippi Correctional Facility, which is tasked by the state's department of corrections with incarcerating 1,200 people, approximately 1,000 of whom have severe psychiatric disorders, according to a legal motion filed Friday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, American Civil Liberties Union, Law Office of Elizabeth Alexander, and Covington & Burling LLP filed the motion in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, asking the federal court to approve a 2013 complaint as a class-action suit against the state officials in charge of the East Mississippi Correctional Facility (EMCF). They say they hope this move will help protect all of the people who are subject to the facility's "inhumane" and "torturous" conditions.
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Arrow Down

Is the U.S. Forest Service proposing rules requiring permits for photography in the wilderness?


Snopes.com
Fri, 26 Sep 2014 20:45 UTC
Forest
© www.snopes.com
Claim: The U.S. Forest Service is proposing new rules that would require permits for commercial filming and photography in federally designated wilderness areas.

TRUE.
THE U.S. FOREST SERVICE WANTS TO FINE YOU $1,000 FOR TAKING PICTURES IN THE FOREST
Origins: On 25 September 2014, a new rule proposed by the U.S. Forest Service pertaining to photography and film permits sparked internet outrage. According to circulating posts about the issue, the agency would like to charge fees of up to $1,500 beforeallowing "commercial filming and photography in federally designated wilderness areas." When the proposal is finalized in November 2014, commercial photographers who do not obtain permits could face fines of up to $1,000. (Tourists and park visitors snapping photographs for personal, non-commercial use would not be affected by the proposed regulations.)

The U.S. Forest Service manages public forests, grasslands, and wilderness throughout the United States. It administers areas ranging from boat ramps in Indiana to a volcano observatory in Washington to campsites in New Hampsire, and the proposed regulations would affect over 200 million acres under Forest Service jurisdiction.
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Books

FBI says mass shootings nearly tripled in last 7 years, mostly at schools


RT
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 17:16 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Neal Hamberg
SWAT officers patrol the Copley Square area after explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in Boston, Massachusetts April 15, 2013.
Shootings in which a gunman wounds or kills multiple people have nearly tripled in the US in recent years, according to a new FBI report. The majority of those shooting incidents have occurred at businesses or schools, the report found.

The study concentrated on 160 "active shooter incidents" between 2000 and 2013. Such incidents are defined as cases in which an attacking gunman shoots or attempts to shoot people in a populated area. The FBI excluded shootings that were gang- or drug-related.

The report found that during the first seven years involved in the study, an average of 6.4 "active shooter incidents" occurred each year. That average increased to 16.4 per year in the final seven years studied.

The largest portion of such incidents - 73 total, or 45.6 percent of all examined attacks - took place at a business, or "commercial environment," the FBI found. Just over 24 percent, or 39 incidents, occurred at schools. The rest of the attacks studied happened at other locations, including military and other government properties, residential properties, open spaces, places of worship, and health care outlets.
Image
© Reuters/Eduardo Munoz
Street artist Mark Panzarino, 41, prepares a memorial as he writes the names of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims during the six-month anniversary of the massacre, at Union Square in New York, June 14, 2013.
All in all, the incidents yielded a total of 1,043 casualties - 486 killed and 557 wounded, not including the shooters. Researchers found these totals and other data for the report "using official police records, after action reports, and shooting commission documents as well as FBI resources and open source information."

Comment: There is another factor at play in these statistics - psy-ops courtesy of the psychopathic elite:
  • SOTT Talk Radio: The Sandy Hook Massacre, What Really Happened?
  • Man pointed as Sikh temple shooter had been involved in military psyops
  • Mind-controlled? Colorado shooting suspect appears in court
  • Programmed to Kill? Dark Knight gunman: 'Evil therapist programmed me to commit mass slaughter at Aurora cinema'

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Arrow Up

Disintegration of society: Congressman says legislation needed to keep federal employees from watching porn at work


RT
Fri, 26 Sep 2014 03:01 UTC
porn
© Reuters/Claro Cortes IV
Viewing pornography on the job is presumably something that employees most anywhere are frowned upon for doing, in the least, but one American lawmaker says legislation is needed to keep federal workers from browsing X-rated material on the clock.

United States Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) introduced a law last week that aims to ensure something that many may already assume is against the rules when it comes to basic workplace etiquette, especially with regards to government jobs. Rep. Meadow's bill, the Eliminating Pornography from Agencies Act, would officially prohibit workers on Uncle Sam's payroll from browsing adult content on federal computer and devices.

Meadows said in a statement last week that he was provoked to push for such a law after learning that an employee at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continued to receive paychecks from the government after an internal report reviewed that the individual had watched upwards of 6 hours of pornography a day while on the job.

"It's appalling that it requires an act of Congress to ensure that federal agencies block access to these sites at work," Meadows said in a statement.

Comment: It is a sad statement to the depravity of a country where legislation must be instigated to stop what would be considered disgusting in a normal society. What is worse, it will be surprising if this legislation gets off the ground, as Washington, D.C. ranked No. 1 for the most online porn videos viewed per person in 2012.

Regulators watch porn and literally sleep with industry they're supposed to rein in ... instead of protecting the public

Child porn "epidemic" among Pentagon officials and US government employees

EPA employee downloaded 7,000 files of porn, watched 2 to 6 hours daily and is still on government payroll

US: Government pedophiles let off the hook

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Bacon n Eggs

Green Lake, WI latest in long line of school districts dissatisfied with Michelle Obama's lunch program

Kyle Olson
Eagnews.org
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 20:03 UTC
Image
© Eagnews.org
The Green Lake School District is the latest the join a number of schools reevaluating their participation in the National School Lunch Program.

The Ripon Press reports the district is dissatisfied with the new school lunch and snack rules championed by First Lady Michelle Obama. "When I walk through the school cafeteria, I see multi-colored fruits and vegetables and whole-grain pasta or wraps on the trays of our students. The food looks really good, but the students aren't eating it," principal Mary Allen says, according to the paper. "... The limited salt, whole-grains, vegetable substitutes for meat, and unfamiliar foods such as 'quinoa' and 'jicama' are not being embraced. Although the food looks good and is undeniably healthy, it is unflavored and tasteless."

Students reportedly gave the school board a 31-page report produced in math class, which studied the question: "Will the Green Lake School District better serve its students without the National School Lunch Program?" Green Lake isn't alone.

The Windham and Salem school districts - both in New Hampshire - are also mulling opting out.
"It has been much more restrictive and prescriptive than in the past with the intention of serving healthy snacks and food," Windham superintendent Winifried Feneberg says, according to the Eagle-Tribune. Opting out would mean more flexibility and local decision-making, the superintendent tells the paper. "We're considering opting out because of the program rules and a decline in participation," Salem finance director Deborah Payne says. "There's not a lot of choice for students."

Comment: Low salt intake, eating grains (gluten), and high carb diets in general are not healthy.

10 proven health benefits of low-carb and ketogenic diets
Shaking Up The Salt Myth: Healthy Salt Recommendations
The Dark Side of Wheat - New Perspectives on Celiac Disease and Wheat Intolerance
Opening Pandora's Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease
Gluten: What You Don't Know Might Kill You

      Read More...
Chess

Russia threatens gas supply disruptions if the EU continues to re-export Russian gas to Ukraine

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 18:26 UTC
re-export Russian gas

Russia's Energy Minister Alexander Novak has told a German newspaper that European countries cannot re-export Russian gas to Ukraine due to contract reasons, and hinted those that do could face gas cuts.
It appears Vladimir Putin is willing to hit'em while they're down. Early European equity weakness (and safe-haven flows) on asset-freeze threats have accelerated as Bloomberg reports, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak threatens gas supply disruptions if the EU continues to re-export Russian gas to Ukraine. 3Y German bond yields have plunged to -4.1bps, a record low close and European stocks are closing on their lows of the day.

Comment: It seems the Russians have a more objective view of what is in store this coming winter and the EU gas stores may not be sufficient. Unfortunately, the European economy is already suffering from the sanctions and gas shortages and rising prices will add to the suffering.

Russian national television film warns of cooling...Scientist calls Arctic model runs "Far from ideal"!
Sacrificing the world economy to bring down Russia
Russian Council Speaker to EU: Sanctions are counterproductive and more damaging to EU than Russia

      Read More...
Ambulance

More than 3,000 Gazan children wounded in war, some in critical condition or had limbs amputated

Mohammed Othman
Al-Monitor
Fri, 19 Sep 2014 18:44 UTC
Image
© Mohammed Othman
The ravages of war: Wissam and Ibrahim lay in the Hilal al-Ahmar Hospital, Khan Yunis, Sept. 15 2014

He moves around the hospital, the smile never leaving his face. His boyish attitude is translated by his spontaneous hand gestures. When he gets tired, he rests on his bed, near his older brother who was also wounded during the same airstrike. He finally returns to his wheelchair. Ibrahim Khattab, 9, has lost his left leg.

During Israel's 51-day war on the Gaza Strip, which ended on Aug. 28, Ibrahim and his brother Wassim, who lived in Deir al-Balah in the center of Gaza, left their house and were wounded by an Israeli airstrike, causing the loss of Ibrahim's left leg and critical injuries to Wassim's legs.

Wassim, 15, the eldest, was always passionate about soccer, until Israeli drones launched rockets and shattered his dreams with a permanent disability.

Despite his severe injuries, Wassim told Al-Monitor with eyes full of hope, "I wish things would go back the way they were. I wish I could play with my friends again, especially football because I love it so much. I cannot wait to go back to school and resume class in 10th grade."

Comment: What can one say to these children and all the children in the world that have to endure tremendous suffering? Our world is inhabited by ruthless and soulless psychopaths, who couldn't care less.

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Health

Waste company's refusal to clean up toxic leak caused cancer and sickness in Missouri family

David Edwards
Raw Story
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 03:53 UTC
Image
© KSHB
Lee Spence suing BFI for toxic waste contamination
A company's lies and refusal to clean up toxic waste caused cancer and deaths, one Missouri family said this week.

The Spence family told KSHB that BFI Waste Systems insisted that "nothing bad" was on their property when they bought 80 acres to retire on in Clay County 20 years ago.

The family maintained a small farm with vegetables, fruits and cattle. About three years ago, the Spences began to notice that they were getting sick and that their animals were dying.

Lee Spence has had cancer of the lymph nodes, neurological problems, cognitive impairments and severe pain. He showed the station video of cramping in his legs that looks like "worms crawling under his skin."

Alice Spence also began having neurological problems, seizures, cognitive impairments and tremors. Their son and daughter both face similar neurological issues. Doctors have said that daughter Julia Spence would never be able to have children.

Attorney Ken McClain, who is representing the Spence family, has filed a lawsuit on their behalf, but it could be another year before it goes before a jury.

"My clients were told there was nothing on the site at the very point in time this site had nothing but bad materials in it," McClain explained.
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Bandaid

U.S. to pay the Navajo Nation $554M in landmark settlement


RT
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 15:55 UTC
Navajo man
© www.davidrsmith.com
Navajo Indian Reservation stripped of resources and polluted.
The Obama administration will pay the Navajo Nation a record $554 million to settle claims by the most populous Native American tribe that funds and natural resources on its reservation were mismanaged by the US government for decades.

The agreement will be formally signed on Friday at Window Rock, Arizona, the capital of the Navajo reservation, the largest in the US by land mass.

The accord was borne from litigation that accused the government of mishandling Navajo funds and natural resources on its more than 14 million acres across Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, all held in trust for the tribe and leased out for purposes of farming, energy development, logging, and mining. The Navajo claims date back as far as 50 years.

In return for $554 million, the Navajo have agreed to drop its lawsuit and forego any future litigation over past US management of Navajo funds or resources held by the federal government, Reuters reported.

The deal does not, though, negate future trust claims or any other claims over water and uranium pollution on the reservation, Navajo Attorney General Harrison Tsosie said. Based on non-disclosure clauses, he could not say how much the Navajo had claimed it was owed ahead of the settlement.


Comment: Congratulations to the Navajo Nation for their hard-won success in getting the U.S. government to "pony up" a settlement for its ravages, destruction and insatiable greed. But will $554M bring back fresh water, and pristine lands? Will it remove deadly radiation, replace stollen resources and restore hazardous waste sites? As in all U.S. treaties and restitutions...what hidden strings are held by the PTB? The hubris of Manifest Destiny...so far, unchecked and unending, gone global.

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Heart - Black

Missouri Highway Patrol caught wearing 'I am Darren Wilson' bracelets

David Ferguson
Raw Story
Thu, 25 Sep 2014 03:44 UTC
Image
© Instagram
Missouri Highway Patrol personnel acknowledged on Wednesday that officers wore rubber bracelets declaring "I am Darren Wilson" to a protest in the racially divided city of Ferguson on Tuesday night.

Buzzfeed reported that Capt. Ron Johnson confirmed at a press conference that an Instagram post by user MediaBlackoutUSA is real and that the officers in question wore the bracelets as and "individual statement" of solidarity with the white Ferguson Police Department officer who gunned down unarmed black teen Michael Brown in August.

"I think that was not a statement of law enforcement," Johnson said. "I think wearing that was an individual statement" by law enforcement officers.

Wilson has become something of a folk hero to some hardline conservatives. A fund dedicated to defraying his legal expenses raised more than $197,000 before it was suspended for possible legal issues.
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