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Fri, 05 Nov 2021
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Civil Rights Lawsuit Filed Against Arizona Sheriff

Joe Arpaio
© The Associated Press/Matt York
Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio
US, Phoenix - As defiant as ever, get-tough Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio faces a federal court showdown over charges that deputies on his trademark immigration patrols racially profiled Latinos in violation of civil rights law.

After months of negotiations failed to reach a settlement over the allegations, the U.S. Justice Department took the rare step Thursday of suing.

"We have invariably been able to work collaboratively with law enforcement agencies to build better departments and safer communities," Assistant U.S. Attorney General Thomas Perez said.

Arpaio and his department "have been a glaring exception," said Perez, who heads the civil rights division.

The main issue that caused talks to break down last month was federal officials' insistence that Arpaio agree to a court-appointed monitor for the department. Arpaio objected, saying it would undermine his authority.

"I am not going to surrender my office to the federal government," a visibly angry Arpaio said at an afternoon news conference. "I will fight this to the bitter end."

The lawsuit means that a federal judge will decide the escalating, long-standing dispute.

Question

First newly built Russian passenger jet since 1990 crashes mysteriously in Indonesia

Image
© Achmad Ibrahim/AP
Indonesian soldiers in the search for the missing Russian plane.
Wreckage of Sukhoi Superjet-100 found on the side of a mountain in Indonesia after it disappeared on Wednesday

Search and rescue teams have found the wreckage of a Russian-made passenger plane on a mountain after it disappeared during a demonstration flight in western Indonesia. The fate of the 48 people on board is not known.

Helicopters had resumed a search halted earlier because of bad weather. They saw the wreckage of the plane along a cliff on the mist-shrouded mountain, Major Ali Umri Lubis, of Atang Sanjaya air base, told Metro TV.

"The helicopter just informed us that they spotted the wreckage about 10 minutes ago," Lubis said. "It was at about 5,000ft. The condition of the wreckage is still unclear."

The Sukhoi Superjet-100, Russia's first new passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago, left Halim Perdanakusuma airport in Jakarta on Wednesday afternoon for what was supposed to be the second demonstration flight of the day. Potential buyers and journalists were on board.

Attention

Corporate Corruption Is a Global Epidemic

Money
© Dreamstime
U.S. businesses aren't alone in their struggle to curb corruption in the workplace. A new poll shows nearly two in three adults worldwide believe fraudulent activity is widespread in their country's businesses.

The study by Gallup revealed that while 60 percent of U.S. and Canadian residents consider corruption common in the workplace, the numbers are even higher in developing nations, such as sub-Saharan Africa, where 76 percent of residents feel nefarious activity is going on in their business community.

The research shows developing nations may suffer more because corruption can stymie financial development and foreign investments while also fostering income inequality.

In several regions, results vary widely across countries that are in different stages of development. In Asia, just 13 percent of residents in highly developed Singapore perceive corruption as widespread, while nearly nine in 10 in neighboring Indonesia believe it's a problem.

Bizarro Earth

Military Training Jolts Miami Residents Out of Bed

T
urban military training
© n/a
he Grand Bay Hotel was attacked! Wait, never mind, it was just a military training exercise.


No, there was no smell of napalm in the morning.

But there was the thunderous whump whump of low-flying helicopters, and even the jarring blast of explosions at the abandoned Grand Bay Hotel in Coconut Grove early Tuesday during a military training exercise that jolted many unsuspecting residents from their beds.

"It was quite a shocking experience," said Jane Muir, who was awakened around 1:45 a.m. by the sound of military choppers that later dropped rappelling soldiers onto the Grand Bay's rooftop. "It was kind of that bizarre feeling that you were surrounded by wind."

From her third-floor balcony, Muir then watched the soldiers fire off flares and smoke bombs before searching floor by floor through the darkened hotel, their paths marked by flashlights and the pop-pop-pop of gunshots. "The show of force was so overwhelming," she said.

Bad Guys

Pedophile Babysitter Streams Abuse on Internet

Image

Jennifer Mahoney
A New Jersey woman admitted Wednesday to sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl she was allegedly babysitting and putting a video of the assault on the Internet.

Jennifer Mahoney, 33, of Manalapan pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sexual exploitation of a child.

She faces between 15 and 30 years in prison when she is sentenced Aug. 22, and will have to pay restitution to the victim. She had been charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of a child.

As part of the plea, Mahoney agreed 30 years is the appropriate sentence, although the judge will have the final say. She would be under supervised release for anywhere between five years and life after her sentence is completed. She also agreed not to appeal.

Mahoney has been in custody since December after prosecutors said three pornographic videos showing assaults on the child were found on the computer of Robert Ramos Jr. of Austin, Texas.

Comment: Mahoney is just one predator tapping into a huge market - a market created by psychopaths who indulge in pedophilia. It seems as if the current surge of news on this issue is intended to manipulate people into thinking these crimes are done by either lone pedophiles or small groups of individuals. More than likely, the roots of it lie with the psychopathic elite and their international child sex rings. For more information, see these Sott.net stories:

International Sex Ring Exposed, Thousands of Children and Infants Raped

Child sex trafficking, 'epidemic' in US

Dutroux Cover-up Protected Pedophile Networks

Beyond the Dutroux Affair: The reality of protected child abuse and snuff networks in a world ruled by psychopaths

The Pedophocracy

Pedophile Rings Trending on Facebook


Handcuffs

America's Top Prison Corporation: A Study in Predatory Capitalism and Cronyism

Image
© Jared Rodriguez / Truthout
Last week I wrote about the private prison company The GEO Group and how allowing private businesses to operate prisons can affect our justice system, our laws and the fate of our prison population. This week, I will tackle the largest private prison company, the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and its unprecedented proposal to buy prisons from money-strapped states, as well as how CCA has gamed the system with trips through the revolving door, self-dealing and influence peddling.

Just to set the stage as to how large the prison population is in the United States: our prison population is the highest in the world; one out of 100 US residents are in prison. This number has grown dramatically since 1990, due to tighter crime laws and longer sentences. According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), "Between 1970 and 2005, the number of people incarcerated in the United States grew by 700 percent. Today, the United States incarcerates approximately 2.3 million people."

Compass

Purple Hearts for war at home? Lawmakers eye changing criteria

Image
© USA
Should the Pentagon be allowed to award Purple Hearts not only to service members in battle abroad but to those who are victims of terror attacks at home? Legislation announced on Wednesday would allow that, and it has strong backing from both parties.

"Military personnel here in the U.S. have become a target-of-choice for the Islamist terrorists we have battled since 9/11," Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., one of the bill sponsors, said in a statement. "There have been at least 34 domestic terrorism threats, plots, or attacks against U.S. military communities since 2001."

"This bill provides a long-overdue update to the eligibility criteria for the Purple Heart that acknowledges the threat of domestic terrorism," said Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., the other bill sponsor.

Pentagon policy currently considers attacks on U.S. service members at home as criminal matters, not a hazard of combat.

While the bill is not yet scheduled for a vote, NBC News' Luke Russert said it has "strong backing from a bipartisan group of legislators.

"If it were to go to the House or Senate floor it would most likely pass," he added.

King and Lieberman held a joint hearing last December on the terror threat to military communities in the U.S. In their statement Wednesday, they noted that testimony included that of Daris Long, whose son, Army Pvt. William Long, was killed in the 2009 attack on the Army's recruiting center in Little Rock, Ark. William Long was denied a Purple Heart.

Later that year, 12 soldiers and one civilian were killed, as well as 32 people wounded, in the shooting attack at Fort Hood, Texas. None of the service members in that attack are currently eligible for a Purple Heart.

Comment: This will make many socio/psychopathic individuals within the armed forces more prone to violence. Further: Imagine a new bill that states if you fight against an armed services person, you are directly attacking the Government of the United States. So, if some drunken sailor were to get in a fist fight, any person engaging them in hand to hand, or perhaps even breaking up a fight, would be considered a terrorist. And of course the drunken sailor might feel more like a man, brandishing his shiny new medal.

"..We're all in it for the slap on the back and the gold watch. The hip-hip-hoo-fuckin' rah. Look at the clever boy with the badge, polishing his trophy. Shine on you crazy diamond, because we're just monkeys wrapped in suits, begging for the approval of others." -Movie: Revolver


Attention

Fake Tweets Get Dr. Jack Kruse Booted Off Ship

Tweets
© Minyanville
Yesterday, we talked about the launch of the new Costa Fascinosa, a sister ship to the ill-fated Costa Concordia and the largest boat in the Costa fleet. The launch came along with the company's announcement of some very good booking news.

Along with a bevy of new onboard safety features, travelers on the new Costa ship will now undergo a rigorous, pre-launch safety-training program. It will be conducted in six languages and led by uniformed personnel.

Not to be outdone, Costa parent company Carnival Cruise Lines recently kicked Nashville neurosurgeon and diet guru Jack Kruse off a ship after some unfortunate tweets issued in his name. Kruse had been scheduled to speak on the 5th annual Jimmy Moore Low-Carb Cruise.

The tweets were issued from the totally real and professional sounding @shitkrusesays account (you know like that TV show with William Shatner). Kruse denies any involvement in the account and claims competitors set it up.

According to USA Today, Kruse was questioned by authorities and removed from the ship after a tweet that claimed he had a "vial of Legionnaires for an epic biohack." The cruise line also received an email warning about Kruse.

Handcuffs

The Revolving Door of Insanity or From the Frying Pan Into The Fire

"I freed a thousand slaves - I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves." - Harriet Tubman

Image
© n/a
Are we hamsters running endlessly on a spinning wheel, oblivious to the fact that we are substantively going nowhere but backwards? Or, are we reasoning, critically thinking human beings who have enough sense to comprehend the enormous difference between being on a perpetually spinning wheel, and making real systemic change that serves the needs and aspirations of ordinary people? The time is here and now for everyday, ordinary Black, White, Brown, Red, and Yellow people to address and honestly answer this question. We must take responsibility for our collective destinies.

The political system of the United States really is one wherein the following words, attributed to Charlie King, so thoroughly apply: "America is a melting pot, the people at the bottom get burned while all the scum floats to the top." The obvious question is why? Why is this allowed to continue? The answer is not complicated. It is the denial, self delusion, lethargy, and hypocrisy on the part of far too many people in this nation -- stoked and perpetuated -- by the corporate-owned Democratic and Republican parties, the corporate-stream 'news' media, and their concomitant systemic 'educational' institutions. The scum does not float to the top by osmosis. It is quite deliberate.

Bad Guys

Neurosurgeon Jack Kruse booted from Carnival ship over fake tweet

jack kruse
© Unknown
Nashville neurosurgeon Jack Kruse says he's the victim of cyber sabotage.

Kruse was scheduled as a guest speaker Monday for Jimmy Moore's 5th Annual Low-Carb Cruise on the Carnival Magic out of Galveston, Texas.

But before the ship departed Sunday afternoon, the cruise line learned of a Twitter message from an account containing quotes allegedly from Kruse.

The account - @s...krusesays, which contains an expletive - contained messages claiming Kruse had a "vial of Legionnaires for epic biohack." The Twitter account has since been disabled.

When Carnival learned of the tweet, it contacted authorities, and Galveston police, the FBI and U.S. Coast Guard boarded the ship to investigate.