Society's ChildS


Chart Pie

Study shows the cruel values of the super rich and their desire to destroy the public's economic safety net

Steven Rosenfeld
AlterNet
Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:00 UTC
Filthy rich carictature
© jumpingsack/Shutterstock.com
Researchers trace the super rich's biases and political values.

The richest Americans increasingly are taking over the levers of power and shaping the political debate, despite opposing views held by a majority of Americans, a new and unprecedented academic study of the top 1 percent has confirmed.

The super-rich are more politically active than average Americans, financing and contacting elected officials and knowing many on a first-name basis. Their agenda, which is often cited by public officials across the country, emphasizes private profit-making and is skeptical of almost every public program to address economic inequality, the study by Chicago-based university researchers found. The top 1 percent's social agenda, while "more liberal than others on religious and moral issues, including abortion, gay rights, and prayer in school," is still "much more conservative than the non-affluent on issues of taxes, economic regulation, and social welfare," the researchers found.

Comment: The super-rich, whether they have become wealthy by legal or illegal means, are quite out of touch with the struggles and hardships of everyday working class people. And this may be understating things quite a bit! They are simply so short-sighted that they cannot see how connected they are to everyone else. But there well may be a day when these attitudes come back to bite them in a very big way.

See also: and

Read More...
Vader

FBI accessed personal web history, location data without warrant - court docs


RT
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:29 UTC
DoJ / FBI
© Pawel Kopczynski / Reuters / RT
A document released by the courts over the FBI's use of National Security Letters (NSLs) and gag orders show the agency used secret interpretations of the Patriot Act to demand extensive access to sensitive web history and location data - without a warrant.

"For more than a decade, the FBI has been demanding extremely sensitive personal information about private citizens just by issuing letters to online companies like mine," Nicholas Merrill, former owner of Calyx Internet Access and a plaintiff in the case, said in a statement. The document released on Monday, in which the agency had demanded access to user data, was sent to Merrill by the FBI over a decade ago.
Read More...
Dollars

Prison officials file lawsuits against inmates with over 10K in assets

Andrew Emett
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 18:00 UTC
pay for prison
With the ability to read their mail and record their phone conversations, state prisons have increasingly been filing lawsuits against inmates with over $10,000 in assets. In cases of blatant retaliation, prison officials have also been targeting inmates who won civil suits against the departments for prison beatings and denying medication.

In 1846, Michigan introduced the first correctional fee law authorizing counties to charge prisoners for the cost of medical care. According to a report released earlier this year from the Brennan Center for Justice, at least 35 states are currently authorized to charge inmates for medical treatment. And at least 43 states allow officials to charge prisoners for the cost of their own imprisonment.

While incarcerated on a drug conviction, Johnny Melton received a $31,690 settlement over the wrongful death of his mother. After learning of the settlement, the Illinois Department of Corrections sued Melton and won nearly $20,000 to cover the cost of his "care, custody, treatment or rehabilitation" during his 14 months served at the state's Logan Correctional Center.

Comment: 'Pay to stay': U.S. inmates charged per night to stay in jail

Read More...
Apple Red

Mexico wants to boost agricultural exports to Russia following Turkey ban


Sputnik
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 17:02 UTC
Russian Supermarket
© Sputnik/ Alexandr Kryazhev
Mexico intends to increase its exports of agricultural products to Russia, the Mexican envoy to Moscow told Sputnik Tuesday.

The comments come as new niches for food suppliers emerged in the Russian market after earlier in the day the Russian government banned the import of a range of fruit and vegetables as well as chicken and chicken products from Turkey, effective from January 1, 2016.

"We've always wanted to increase our trade, it is not a short-term aim and is not dependent on the political situation at the moment," Ruben Beltran said.

Beltran added that Mexico expects Russia's agricultural watchdog to clear the way for its agricultural products.

Comment: Nice move Mexico!

Read More...
Stormtrooper

Dirty cops didn't know this camera caught them deleting video of the murder of Laquan McDonald

Andrew Emett
Free Thought Project
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:16 UTC
Laquan McDonald
Accused of deleting the surveillance video of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald's death, several officers appeared in recently released screenshots tampering with Burger King's computers before the footage mysteriously disappeared. Although 86 minutes of the surveillance video have gone missing, including the moment that McDonald was gunned down, Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez claims no one tampered with the footage.

Surrounded by officers and suspected of breaking into cars on October 20, 2014, Laquan McDonald, 17, was attempting to walk away from a group of Chicago cops when Officer Jason Van Dyke exited his patrol car. According to initial reports, McDonald was armed with a knife and lunged at Officer Van Dyke. Fearing for his life and the lives of his fellow officers, Van Dyke shot the teen in the chest out of self-defense.

But according to witness statements and police dashcam video, McDonald was walking away when Van Dyke opened fire. After McDonald had collapsed to the ground in a near-fetal position, Van Dyke continued firing his weapon until emptying his clip. As Van Dyke began reloading his gun, a fellow officer had to order him to cease firing at the dying teen.

Comment: From the video above it's clear that Laquan McDonald was walking away from Van Dyke and posed no threat at the time. So with no real threat, Van Dyke still empties his entire clip into McDonald, killing him. And then Van Dyke and his fellow officers try to cover up the murder. These acts of carnage have now become standard operating procedure for US cops.

Read More...
Airplane

White House tightens visa waiver program and appoints new 'ISIL adviser'


RT
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:31 UTC
Airport travelers
© Brendan McDermid / Reuters
The Obama administration has announced stricter regulations for 20 million travelers from countries in its visa waiver program, and also appointed a new adviser to deal with Islamic State militants to bolster security following the terror attacks in Paris.

Citizens of the 38 nations participating in the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) will now be screened for past travel to countries the US considers terrorist safe havens, the White House has said.

The US government will also move up the deadline for all VWP travelers to begin using passports with embedded security chips and seek to establish customs checkpoints in seven VWP countries, where passengers and their baggage could be inspected before entering the US.

Comment: Who Is Rob Malley?
Malley was appointed in October 1998 by then-President Bill Clinton to help oversee Arab-Israeli talks. He was later attacked by some pro-Israel critics for saying that Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat was not solely to blame for the failure of the 2000 Camp David talks hosted by Clinton.

Before returning to the White House to work with the Obama administration, Malley directed the Middle East Program at the International Crisis Group in New York between 2001 and 2014. He was criticized while at the think tank for meeting multiple times with Hamas officials.

Earlier this month, Malley conceded that the administration would not work toward a Palestine-Israel settlement during the remainder of Obama's term. He said that for the first time in two decades, an American administration "faces the reality" that a solution to the intractable conflict "is not in the cards."


Read More...
Attention

Breaking news: Explosion heard at Istanbul metro station


Telegraph
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 03:51 UTC
train station explosion
© unknownEvacuation out of Bayrampasa metro station after series of explosions.
Blast heard at Bayrampaşa station believed to have been caused by power transformer.

A loud explosion has been heard at a major train station in Istanbul, according to local reports.

The blast was reported at Bayrampaşa metro station, which has suspended all trains.

Turkish station Haberturk repored one person was killed and speculated the explosion may have been caused by a power transformer.

Comment: Reports indicate more than one explosion heard. No reasons have been forthcoming as yet.

Read More...
Heart

Express Scripts partners to distribute Daraprim for $1


CNN
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:05 UTC
pills
© Cheryl Frazier
Drug maker Imprimis Pharmaceuticals just found a backer to distribute its $1 alternative to Daraprim, the infection-fighting drug whose price was hiked 5,000% by Turing Pharmaceuticals.

Express Scripts (ESRX), a major manager of prescription drugs, announced Tuesday that it will offer patients the low-cost Imprimis drug, instead of Daraprim, starting as soon as this week.

Comment: A happy ending to the insatiable greed of Valeant - the company that hiked the price of this drug by 5000%.

Read More...
Airplane

Flight attendant accused of attacking crew, air marshals; spoke of 'nonsensical things'

Michael Gordon
The Bellingham Herald
Tue, 01 Dec 2015 01:02 UTC
Image
© Fox News
An American Airlines flight attendant faces federal charges after she began attacking fellow crew members and U.S. marshals on both legs of an international flight from Charlotte.

Joanne Snow is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants, and assault on an officer or employee of the United States, according to court documents related to the case. Snow's erratic behavior disrupted both legs of American flight 704 from Charlotte to Frankfurt, Germany, on Nov. 23 and 24, according to a federal affidavit.

According to the affidavit by federal Air Marshal Joseph D. Fialka, who was assigned to the round trip, Snow slapped other flight attendants and shoved, punched or kicked at marshals. Fialka says that other flight attendants told him before takeoff from Charlotte that they had tried to have Snow removed from duty but that American did not replace her. American spokeswoman Katie Cody released this statement midday Monday:

"We are aware of the incident, along with the subsequent criminal complaint, and take this matter very seriously. We are cooperating fully with federal law enforcement in their investigation, and are working directly with our employees. The safety and security of our customers and employees is always the top priority."

In his affidavit, Fialka said Snow confessed to him several times before takeoff that she was "crazy" or a "train wreck." Once the doors closed, another attendant told Fialka that Snow had slapped her in the middle galley of the airport. Some 45 minutes later, Fialka says, Snow shoved him several times. "She was quite irrational at this time," the marshal said in his affidavit. "She proceeded to the back of the plane, I learned that, while in the back of the plane, she grabbed the collar of the clothing (of another marshal) ... and spoke nonsensical things."
Read More...
Clock

California man imprisoned 16 years for rape cleared by DNA testing

Nicole Rojas
International Business Times
Tue, 24 Nov 2015 15:34 UTC
Image
© Reuters/Francine Orr/PoolLuis Lorenzo Vargas breaks down in court as he is exonerated for three sexual assaults that he was convicted of and spent 16 years in jail.
A man who served 16 years in prison had his conviction for three sexual assaults thrown out after DNA testing proved that he was not the suspect. Luis Lorenzo Vargas broke down in court on 23 November when a Los Angeles County judge exonerated him from the crimes he was convicted of in 1999.

The Los Angeles Times reported that DNA testing in 2014 on evidence from one of the attacks excluded the 46-year-old as a suspect and instead led to an unidentified serial rapist nicknamed the "teardrop rapist". Lawyers for the California Innocence Project at the California Western School of Law in San Diego reported in court documents that prosecutors argued that the same suspect must have committed all attacks Vargas was accused of.

"The evidence now shows the prosecution's case against him was demonstrably false," the attorneys wrote, adding it "points unerringly to Vargas's innocence." According to the Times, the Los Angeles County district attorney's office joined the innocence project in asking Superior Court Judge William C Ryan to release Vargas since it "no longer has confidence in the convictions."

Vargas received the support of his daughter and his mother, who cried as the judge tossed out his case. "It's a relief because I believed that my father was innocent the day he told me he was innocent," daughter Crystal Vargas said outside the courthouse. Despite being ordered to be released, Vargas will be placed in federal custody due to an immigration hold, authorities said. He also previously served time for forcibly raping a girlfriend, the Times noted.

Comment: He lost 16 years of his life in prison due to a broken, ponerized, dead-end U.S. legal system.

Read More...