D.S. Wood's Posts - 12160 Social Network2024-03-28T09:13:28ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWoodhttps://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1961400666?profile=RESIZE_48X48&width=48&height=48&crop=1%3A1https://12160.info/profiles/blog/feed?user=3vg7j88zjhoof&xn_auth=noJersey City cop admits to extorting FBI and stealing 600,000 cigarettestag:12160.info,2014-05-31:2649739:BlogPost:14729772014-05-31T01:27:01.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
(NJ.com) A veteran Jersey City police officer pleaded guilty today to stealing some 600,000 cigarettes from a trailer parked at a Secaucus warehouse by federal agents who were watching as the crime played out.<br />
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The officer, Mario Rodriguez, 39, also admitted extorting $20,000 from an FBI agent posing as a drug courier who was robbed of cash from a cocaine deal, Newark federal prosecutors say.<br />
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Rodriguez, who used the nickname “Mad Dog,” faces up to 30 years in prison following his guilty plea…
(NJ.com) A veteran Jersey City police officer pleaded guilty today to stealing some 600,000 cigarettes from a trailer parked at a Secaucus warehouse by federal agents who were watching as the crime played out.<br />
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The officer, Mario Rodriguez, 39, also admitted extorting $20,000 from an FBI agent posing as a drug courier who was robbed of cash from a cocaine deal, Newark federal prosecutors say.<br />
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Rodriguez, who used the nickname “Mad Dog,” faces up to 30 years in prison following his guilty plea today in U.S. District Court to charges of extortion and transporting stolen goods.<br />
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Rodriquez remains suspended from the Jersey City Police Department where he had worked for nearly nine years.<br />
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(See how busy these cops are keeping me; governmentondrugs.blogspot.com)<br />
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His attorney, Brian Neary, could not immediately be reached for comment.<br />
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Federal prosecutors say that on July 3, 2013, Rodriguez and a confidential informant working for the FBI drove to a Secaucus warehouse where they used bolt cutters to cut the lock off a trailer packed with cigarettes that had been left there by law enforcement agents.<br />
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Together, they unloaded 50 cases containing 600,000 cigarettes and six televisions into their car and drove to a parking lot in Staten Island where Rodriguez called potential buyers for the TVs, prosecutors say.<br />
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There, they also met an undercover officer pretending to be the informant’s partner who paid $5,000 for the load of cigarettes, prosecutors say. Rodriguez kept $3,000 and three of the televisions, they say.<br />
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The following week, Rodriguez, the informant and an undercover officer, hatched a plan to rob a drug courier after he delivered cocaine to the officer and the informant, prosecutors say.<br />
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Rodriguez suggested a Jersey City mall parking lot that did not have surveillance cameras, prosecutors say.<br />
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Later that same day, Rodriguez and an alleged accomplice, Anthony Roman, drove to the mall lot where the informant and the drug courier – also an undercover officer -- were parked, according to a statement issued by New Jersey U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman.<br />
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Rodriguez and Roman, identifying themselves as police officers, pretended to arrest the informant and took $20,000 that was stuffed into a plastic bag, prosecutors say.<br />
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All the while, law enforcement officers were watching, prosecutors say.<br />
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Rodriguez, the informant and the undercover officer later met up in a Pennsylvania casino to divvy up the cash, prosecutors say.<br />
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Roman 48, of Jersey City, has been charged with extortion. That charge is pending.<br />
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Rodriguez’s sentencing has been scheduled for Sept. 26, 2014 before U.S. District Judge Anne Thompson.Dish Network To Accept Bitcoin Paymenttag:12160.info,2014-05-29:2649739:BlogPost:14723932014-05-29T16:45:58.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
(Reuters) - Satellite TV operator Dish Network said it would accept bitcoin payments from customers from the third quarter, joining companies such as Overstock.com Inc and Zynga Inc in accepting the digital currency.<br />
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Dish said it selected Coinbase as the payment processor for bitcoin transactions with customers who choose to pay their bills online with the bitcoin wallet of their choice.<br />
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(Read: Hacker wrongfully imprisoned wants the US government to pay him in bitcoins)<br />
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Bitcoin is a digital…
(Reuters) - Satellite TV operator Dish Network said it would accept bitcoin payments from customers from the third quarter, joining companies such as Overstock.com Inc and Zynga Inc in accepting the digital currency.<br />
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Dish said it selected Coinbase as the payment processor for bitcoin transactions with customers who choose to pay their bills online with the bitcoin wallet of their choice.<br />
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(Read: Hacker wrongfully imprisoned wants the US government to pay him in bitcoins)<br />
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Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not backed by any government or central bank and is bought and sold on a peer-to-peer network independent of central control.<br />
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Users can transfer bitcoins to each other online and store the currency in digital "wallets".<br />
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Coinbase, funded by venture fund Andreessen Horowitz, Union Square Ventures and Y Combinator, is one such digital wallet.<br />
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In March, it launched its Instant Exchange feature, which will be used by Dish to convert bitcoins to U.S. dollars. Dish's third quarter starts on July 1.<br />
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While bitcoins may not be an alternative to established currencies, they can cut the cost of moving money around.<br />
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PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that credit card companies charge around 3 percent in transaction fees and PayPal's commission can go as high as 4 percent. The same transactions via bitcoin firms such as Coinbase and BitPay are likely to be free.<br />
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However, there's skepticism about the future of bitcoin, with critics pointing to recent setbacks such as the Mt. Gox bankruptcy.<br />
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Mt. Gox, at one time the biggest bitcoin exchange, abruptly stopped trading in February after it lost nearly half a billion dollars worth of the virtual coins due to hacking into its faulty computer system.<br />
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Dish shares closed at $59.19 on the Nasdaq on Wednesday.<br />
Derek Wood at 9:40 AMJohn Kerry should "man down."tag:12160.info,2014-05-29:2649739:BlogPost:14721802014-05-29T03:50:22.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
John Kerry sounded much like a football coach chastising a rookie, who gets laid out at midfield by a 255 pound linebacker. "Man up Nancy, my momma can take a hit better than you."<br />
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On Wednesday, State Secretary Kerry, told the Today Show( you know that show that can never get enough of a cat getting tangled up in yarn), that Edward Snow den should "man up, and come back to the United States."<br />
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Essentially daring Ed to come on back, "we'll have you on a flight today," and face your maker.…
John Kerry sounded much like a football coach chastising a rookie, who gets laid out at midfield by a 255 pound linebacker. "Man up Nancy, my momma can take a hit better than you."<br />
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On Wednesday, State Secretary Kerry, told the Today Show( you know that show that can never get enough of a cat getting tangled up in yarn), that Edward Snow den should "man up, and come back to the United States."<br />
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Essentially daring Ed to come on back, "we'll have you on a flight today," and face your maker. According to John, 'a patriot doesn't run away.' Uh, they do when they face espionage charges for simply exposing government corruption. But hey, at least Kerry called him a "patriot," and not a "29 year old hacker." I guess they are willing to scramble a jet for a 29 year old patriot.<br />
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While Americans are starting to warm up to the idea, that "hey Edward is not a traitor - Washington leadership is," the real pressure should be from the voters to tell these tyrants to offer Snowden clemency. But, you know as well as Snow den...probably not happening. I just don't see that conversation coming up at the white house dinner table.<br />
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Then as the rookie is pulled off the field by way of a stretcher, Kerry like the Mike Ditka he is challenged Snowden to; " trustthe American system of justice." Whoa, now I'm starting to begin to wonder if Kerry's botox treatments are starting to affect his thoughts and lip service.<br />
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Is he talking about the same system that kidnaps people from around the world without charge and tortured without end?<br />
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It's time to "man down" the rhetoric. The real damage done to the country are the endless wars, expensive interventions, hard earned tax dollars fueling bloodshed around the globe. Americans are tired of being broke, while supporting globalist war addictions. Americans are fed up with the erosion of civil liberties all under the guise of "keeping us safe."<br />
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It's time for Americans to embrace the whistleblower and criminally prosecute the real enemies... the war criminals.<br />
Derek Wood at 7:08 PMVeteran detective fired for shooting partner while drunktag:12160.info,2014-05-29:2649739:BlogPost:14719872014-05-29T03:46:12.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
You might have a drinking problem if you accidentally shoot and wound your partner after a night of downing beers.<br />
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NYPD veteran detective Jay Poggi received the pink slip just as he was due to retire in a month. According to the New York Post, Poggi and his partner Matt Sullivan were going to track down a robbery in East New York, when the two instead felt like having an early retirement by downing 11 beers a piece.<br />
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After leaving a Queens diner in a haze, the 31 year veteran, Poggi, decided…
You might have a drinking problem if you accidentally shoot and wound your partner after a night of downing beers.<br />
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NYPD veteran detective Jay Poggi received the pink slip just as he was due to retire in a month. According to the New York Post, Poggi and his partner Matt Sullivan were going to track down a robbery in East New York, when the two instead felt like having an early retirement by downing 11 beers a piece.<br />
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After leaving a Queens diner in a haze, the 31 year veteran, Poggi, decided to show and tell his revolver to Sullivan.<br />
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As bad as an idea as it was, it gets progressively worse. The gun goes off, striking Sullivan in the hand. The fun doesn't stop there. Poggie then drives his partner to a Jamaica hospital. Sullivan needed surgery, Poggi was charged with a DWI after blowing what looked like a judge scoring a figure skater; .113.<br />
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As if police commissioner, William Bratton hasn't been busy enough as of later, he was recommended by a trial commisioner to lay Poggi off.<br />
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Poggi gets his license suspended but will collect his pension. He'll have time to share in AA circles about his one crazy night that led to his partner being shot, his career cut short and his license suspended.<br />
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You might find interesting crap here: governmentondrugs.blogspot.com<br />
Source link :<a href="http://nypost.com/2014/05/28/veteran-detective-fired-for-shooting-partner-while-drunk/">http://nypost.com/2014/05/28/veteran-detective-fired-for-shooting-partner-while-drunk/</a>Canada Gets Its First Marijuana Vending Machinetag:12160.info,2014-05-08:2649739:BlogPost:14661212014-05-08T17:20:39.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
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<div><a href="http://maps.google.com/?q=Vancouver%2C+BC%2C+Canada&z=4" target="_blank" title="Vancouver, BC, Canada">Vancouver</a> - Let's do away with the suspense created by the title: Canada has its first marijuana vending…</div>
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<div><a href="http://maps.google.com/?q=Vancouver%2C+BC%2C+Canada&z=4" target="_blank" title="Vancouver, BC, Canada">Vancouver</a> - Let's do away with the suspense created by the title: Canada has its first marijuana vending machine in, naturally, Vancouver. The city's a haven for the pot movement but this vending machine is strictly about medical marijuana. <br/><div class="body">The marijuana vending machine is in the offices of the B.C. Pain Society, a recently opened Vancouver medical marijuana dispensary on Commercial Drive, an avant-garde area of the city that is the most associated with marijuana. <br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a>The catch is you can only use the machine, which has a variety of marijuana brands (the National Post <a href="http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/05/07/vancouver-pain-society-opens-canadas-first-marijuana-vending-machine/" target="_blank">noted</a> the vending machine has from "Cotton Candy to Lemon Haze to MK Ultra") if you are a licensed medical marijuana user, with a card to prove it. Indeed, you must have your card to even get into the area where the vending machine and various other pot products are kept. <br/><div class="related-articles clearfix"><div class="related-articles-content"></div>
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<b>Canada and medical marijuana production</b> The law in Canada now says pot medical marijuana users purchase must only come from approved companies licensed by the government. The B.C. Pain Society, and other operations doing similar business in the city, are not approved but police have essentially said that when it comes to pot they have bigger fish to fry. They do not intend, they say, to raid establishments openly selling marijuana to licensed medical marijuana users from unapproved sources. B.C. Pain Society director Chuck Varabioff told media that the product they are selling comes from "confidential sources." Mr. Varabioff said that they inspect their pot and that it comes from legitimate sources, not from drug dealers. It's the first marijuana vending machine in Canada and may be the first up and running in North America. A business in Colorado <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/101598793" target="_blank">announced</a> in April that their marijuana vending machine, the Zazzz, will soon be open for use, and in California there's been marijuana vending machines <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marijuana_vending_machine" target="_blank">developed</a>, but it's unclear if they are available for use yet. Incidentally, before coming to work in the medical marijuana business, the B.C. Pain Society's Mr. Varabioff had a job working with, you guessed it — vending machines.</div>
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</div>Fewer California Police Are Completing Mentaltag:12160.info,2014-05-08:2649739:BlogPost:14656162014-05-08T14:30:22.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
Many cops in California are not completing a state-certified program that focuses on the training in dealing with mental illness, suicide behavior, and drug use.<br />
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San Jose Mercury News released a report that shows fewer are completing an additional 40 hours of the Crisis Intervention Training courses.<br />
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Perhaps this could explain the rash of headlines we read about involving police officers and the mentally ill either being wrongfully treated or beaten. However, with the training or not, it…
Many cops in California are not completing a state-certified program that focuses on the training in dealing with mental illness, suicide behavior, and drug use.<br />
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San Jose Mercury News released a report that shows fewer are completing an additional 40 hours of the Crisis Intervention Training courses.<br />
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Perhaps this could explain the rash of headlines we read about involving police officers and the mentally ill either being wrongfully treated or beaten. However, with the training or not, it can't begin to excuse or even justify violent and excessive behavior by those sworn to uphold the law and not abuse it.<br />
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California Healthline outlines the following:<br />
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12% of police officers in Oakland are CIT-certified;<br />
15% of officers in San Francisco are CIT-certified;<br />
24% of officers in Santa Clara are CIT-certified; and<br />
37% of officers in San Jose are CIT-certified. <br />
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Examples<br />
For instance, a man suffering from Down-syndrome, was beaten by the San Diego Sheriffs Department, after, Antonio Martinez, did not stop for the deputy and subsequently pepper spraying, and slamming his face into the pavement. Lawsuit. Again, explains but doesn't excuse.<br />
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Most of us are familiar with the high profiled Kelly Thomas case. A mentally-ill homeless man, that was beaten to his death by Fullerton police officers. In the Thomas case, few can argue that CIT would help, as he was clearly provoked by officers, who should be undergoing some form of mental counseling themselves.<br />
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Whatever the problem is in California and its cops, it needs to be fixed. Perhaps we are living in such a police state that the demand for quantity is greater than quality. Perhaps, California needs a better mental screening of current and future police officers. Regardless, police officers are in the purview of cell phone cameras, and the internet, that can quickly expose police misconduct with a few clicks.<br />
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Source:<br />
few-calif-police-have-undergone-state-mental-health-training \<br />
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Derek Wood at 9:43 AMNH DMV wrong to deny "COPSLIE" license platetag:12160.info,2014-05-08:2649739:BlogPost:14658162014-05-08T14:27:22.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
Here's an interesting article on the 1st amendment. A man who wanted to display on his license plate "COPSLIE" was wrongfully denied by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Well, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the DMV acted unconstitutionally in denying the man his right in political free speech.<br />
Courtesy of Union Leader<br />
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CONCORD - "COPSLIE" may soon be gracing a vehicle owned by David Montenegro, now known as "human," after the state…
Here's an interesting article on the 1st amendment. A man who wanted to display on his license plate "COPSLIE" was wrongfully denied by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Well, the state Supreme Court has ruled that the DMV acted unconstitutionally in denying the man his right in political free speech.<br />
Courtesy of Union Leader<br />
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CONCORD - "COPSLIE" may soon be gracing a vehicle owned by David Montenegro, now known as "human," after the state Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the DMV regulation cited for rejecting his vanity license plate request was unconstitutional and violated his right to free speech.<br />
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The state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) disapproved Montenegro's request for the plate four years ago because, it said, the phrase was "insulting."<br />
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"human," 35, who lists his mailing address in Durham and who legally changed his name to "human," contended his vanity plate selection is an expression of political speech protected under the Constitution.<br />
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Gilles Bissonnette, staff attorney with the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union - which filed an amicus brief in the case, said the NHACLU believes human should receive a plate since the Supreme Court struck down the DMV regulation cited to deny it.<br />
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The court remanded the case back to Strafford County Superior Court, "presumably to address whether he will get the plate but we believe he should get it," Bissonnette said.<br />
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Attorney Anthony J. Galdieri with Nixon Peabody LLP argued the case on behalf of the NHCLU.<br />
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The Attorney General's Office, which filed a brief on behalf of the DMV, argued in its brief that a vanity license plate is government property and the state's rule "is reasonable in light of the government's intended purpose of identifying individual vehicles in a manner which does not imply that the government approves of combinations of letters that are offensive."<br />
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The court, however, sided with human, ruling the state regulation prohibiting vanity registration plates that are "offensive to good taste" on its face "authorizes or even encourages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement," (see MacElman, 154 N.H. at 207) and is, therefore, unconstitutionally vague.<br />
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"Accordingly, we hold that, on its face, this restriction violates the right to free speech guaranteed by Part I, Article 22 of the State Constitution."<br />
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human, who argued the case before the high court, wanted the vanity plate to protest state government corruption. The DMV, however, bans plates that "a reasonable person would find offensive to good taste." The New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, which joined in the appeal, argued that the regulation is unconstitutionally vague.<br />
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Senior Assistant Attorney General Richard Head, who argued the case before the Supreme Court, maintained state employees denied the plate because it disparages an entire class of people - police officers.<br />
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The case began on May 4, 2010, when human, as Montenegro, applied for the "COPSLIE" vanity plate. He stated on the application that the intended meaning was "cops lie." That same day, the DMV rejected the application because several DMV employees believed the text to be "insulting."<br />
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Montenegro appealed to the director of the DMV in writing on May 5, 2010. Two days later, the director denied the appeal concluding that "a reasonable person would find COPSLIE offensive to good taste." State administrative rule, Saf-C 514.61(c)(3) says a vanity plate shall not be "ethnically, racially or which a reasonable person would find offensive to good taste."<br />
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On Aug 30, Montenegro again applied for the COPSLIE vanity plate - his first choice - but also requested alternate plates, in order of preference: GR8GOVT; LUVGOVT; GOVTSUX; SEALPAC, and GOVTLAZ. The DMV again denied his first choice as "insulting" but issued him a vanity registration plate for the alternative choice of "GR8GOVT." That same day human obtained a regular issued plate.<br />
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Bissonnette said the DMV rejecting COPSLIE, but approving GR8GOVT is the definition of a "government official using a vague regulation to discriminate against the message of the speaker and engage in viewpoint discrimination.<br />
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He sought an injunction directing the DMV to issue him the COPSLIE vanity plate, as well as a permanent injunction enjoining the DMV from recalling it. He also argued the state regulation violated his right to free speech. On July 3, 2012, then Strafford County Superior Court Judge John Lewis ruled in favor of the DMV, finding no federal or state violation of human's freedom of speech rights.<br />
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The court agreed with human that the state regulation is unconstitutionally vague because it is "so loosely constrained" that it "authorizes or even encourages arbitrary and discriminatory enforcement."<br />
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The court also turned to the dictionary to define what the words "offensive" "good" and "taste" means. Taken together, the court said the definitions lead to various potential interpretations of what that phrase means.<br />
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"For example, one such interpretation could be that no vanity registration plates are allowed that are 'insulting to the standard of morality or virtue of individual preference,'" the court said. "This reading alone demonstrates the arbitrariness of determining whether a vanity registration plate is ' offensive to good taste.' "<br />
Derek Wood at 10:01 AMBanker Deaths, Zohydro Mania, Drones And Moretag:12160.info,2014-04-08:2649739:BlogPost:14459632014-04-08T18:20:29.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<p>Check out some of these stories</p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/banker-financial-industry-deaths-are.html" target="_blank">Banker (Financial Industry) Deaths Are Nearly As Much As Soldiers Killed In Afgahistan And Iraq For 2014</a></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/zohydro-mania-another-medical-facility.html" target="_blank">Zohydro-Mania : Another Medical Facility Bans The…</a></h3>
<p>Check out some of these stories</p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/banker-financial-industry-deaths-are.html" target="_blank">Banker (Financial Industry) Deaths Are Nearly As Much As Soldiers Killed In Afgahistan And Iraq For 2014</a></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/zohydro-mania-another-medical-facility.html" target="_blank">Zohydro-Mania : Another Medical Facility Bans The Powerful Narcotic</a></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/no-drone-strikes-in-pakistan-in-over.html" target="_blank">No Drone Strikes In Pakistan In Over 100 Days</a></h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/why-are-americans-paying-to-be-searched.html" target="_blank">Why Are Americans Paying to Be Searched, Spied On, Shot At and Robbed Blind by the Government?</a></h3>You Must Read These Articlestag:12160.info,2014-04-04:2649739:BlogPost:14439202014-04-04T22:44:52.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<p></p>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/fda-approves-evizo-drug-device-to-help.html" target="_blank">FDA approves drug/device to save opiate/heroin overdosers</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/common-core-junk-alert-this-teachers.html" target="_blank">Common Core Alert: Teacher Explains Why She Left The School System</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/vermonts-largest-hospital-wont-stock.html" target="_blank">Largest…</a></p>
<p></p>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/fda-approves-evizo-drug-device-to-help.html" target="_blank">FDA approves drug/device to save opiate/heroin overdosers</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/common-core-junk-alert-this-teachers.html" target="_blank">Common Core Alert: Teacher Explains Why She Left The School System</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/vermonts-largest-hospital-wont-stock.html" target="_blank">Largest Vermont Hospital Denies Stocking Zohydro</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/senator-attends-wrong-hearing-blames.html" target="_blank">Idiot: senator goes to the wrong hearing, blames it on the Russian</a></p>
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/nj-transit-sued-for-suspending-employee.html" target="_blank">Medical Marijuana Patient Sues N.J. Transit Company After They Suspend Him and Try Forcing Him Into Rehab.</a></p>Vietnam's Solution For Shady Bankers: Firing Squadstag:12160.info,2014-04-03:2649739:BlogPost:14436182014-04-03T23:48:00.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Vietnam's Solution for Corrupt Bankers: Firing Squads</h3>
<p>I also Read This Today: <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/pollamericans-say-us-should-mind-its.html" target="_blank">Poll: Majority of Americans Think U.S. Should Mind Its Own Business</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/1000-day-miracle-drug-shocks-us-health.html" target="_blank">$1,000-a-day miracle drug shocks U.S.…</a></p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Vietnam's Solution for Corrupt Bankers: Firing Squads</h3>
<p>I also Read This Today: <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/pollamericans-say-us-should-mind-its.html" target="_blank">Poll: Majority of Americans Think U.S. Should Mind Its Own Business</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/1000-day-miracle-drug-shocks-us-health.html" target="_blank">$1,000-a-day miracle drug shocks U.S. health care system</a></p>
<div class="ember-view"><br/><div class="ember-view" id="ember947">BANGKOK — For the most part, American bankers whose rash pursuit of profit brought on the 2008 global financial collapse didn’t get indicted. They got bonuses.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember948">Odds are that scandal would have played out differently in Vietnam, another nation struggling with misbehaving bankers.</div>
<div class="ember-view ad-location" id="ember953"><div class="ad-container"><div class="ad-content" id="moceanTop-news-world-n70716-ember953"></div>
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<div class="ember-view" id="ember954">The authoritarian Southeast Asian state doesn’t just send unscrupulous financiers to jail. Sometimes, it sends them to death row.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember955">Amid a sweeping cleanup of its financial sector, Vietnam has sentenced three bankers to death in the past six months.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember956">One duo now on death row embezzled roughly $25 million from the state-owned Vietnam Agribank. Their co-conspirators caught decade-plus prison sentences.</div>
<br/> In March, a 57-year-old former regional boss from Vietnam Development Bank, another government-run bank, was sentenced to death over a $93-million swindling job.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember961">According to Vietnam’s Tuoi Tre news outlet, several of his colluders were sentenced to life imprisonment after they confessed to securing bogus loans with a diamond ring and a BMW coupe. And last week, in an unrelated case, charges against senior employees from the same bank allege $47 million in losses from dubious loans."<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a></div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember962">None of this would impress <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/madoff-victims-could-get-another-349-million-proposed-payout-n61926">Bernie Madoff, mastermind of America’s largest ever financial fraud scheme</a>. The combined amount from all three Vietnamese cases adds up to less than 1 percent of his purported $18-billion haul.</div>
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<div class="ember-view" id="ember968">But these death sentences nevertheless are high profile scandals in Vietnam.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember969">That’s the point. Human rights watchdogs contend that splashy trials in Vietnam are acts of political theater with predetermined conclusions. The audience: a Vietnamese public weary of state corruption. But these sentences also sound loud alarm bells to dodgy bankers who are currently running scams.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember970">“It’s a message to those in this game to be less greedy and that business as usual is getting out of hand,” said Adam McCarty, chief economist with the Hanoi-based consulting firm Mekong Economics.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember971">“The message to people in the system is this: Your chances of getting caught are increasing,” McCarty said. “Don’t just rely on big people above you. Because some of these [perpetrators] would’ve had big people above them. And it didn’t help them.”</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember972">Like most nations that crush dissent and operate with little transparency, Vietnam is highly corrupt.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember973">According to a World Bank study, half of all businesses operating within the communist state expect that gift giving toward officials is required “to get things done.” Transparency International, which publishes the world’s leading corruption gauge, contends Vietnam is more corrupt than Mexico but not quite as bad as Russia.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember974">Unlike in America, where judges can’t sentence white-collar criminals to death, Vietnam can execute its citizens for a range of corporate crimes.</div>
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<div class="ember-view" id="ember980">Amnesty International reports that death sentences in Vietnam have been handed down to criminals for running shady investment schemes, counterfeiting cash and even defaulting on loans. This is unusual: United Nations officials have condemned death for “economic crimes” yet Vietnam persists with these sentences — as does neighboring China.</div>
<blockquote class="ember-view pullquote" id="ember981">"You’ve got to improve accountability and transparency in the entire system"</blockquote>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember982">Though statistics on Vietnam’s opaque justice system are scarce, a state official conceded that more than 675 people sit on death row for a range of crimes, according to the Associated Press.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember983">It’s still unclear how the bankers will be killed. Vietnam’s traditional means of execution involves binding perpetrators to a wooden post, stuffing their mouths with lemons and calling in a firing squad. The nation wants to transition to lethal injections. But European nations refuse to export chemicals used in executions (namely sodium thiopental) to governments practicing capital punishment.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember984">Fraudulent bankers are receiving heavy sentences at a moment when Vietnam is enacting major financial reforms.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember985">For decades, Vietnam has been slowly transforming its communist-style, state-run market into a more open and competitive arena. In the post-reunification era, the government owned every bank in Vietnam. Today, state-run banks control only 40 percent of all assets.</div>
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<div class="stack-l-figure-container-img"><img alt="Image: Employees count money at a branch of the BIDV in Hanoi" class="ember-view" src="http://media4.s-nbcnews.com/j/newscms/2014_14/298896/140403-gp-vietnam-bank-930a-2_64f2c6cf5fbcd52ac364ee44668508a8.nbcnews-ux-400-240.jpg" id="ember1024" height="240" width="400" name="ember1024"/> <small class="stack-credit-art-figcaption">KHAM / Reuters, file</small></div>
Stacks of 100,000 Vietnamese Dong notes (about $4.70) are pictured as employees count money at a branch of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam in Hanoi on January 20.<br />
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<div class="ember-view" id="ember995">This push to bank in a more Western style has ushered in improvements as well as temptations to swindle. According to the UN economist Vu Quang Viet, Vietnamese credit laws passed in 2010 “simply copied the lax US law now widely believed to be at least partially responsible for the financial debacle in 2008.”</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember996">Campaigns to root out corruption are promoted as a way to entice foreign investment, which could help prop up Vietnamese banks whose growth has slowed from a sprint to a jog.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember997">But the recent death sentences aren’t really intended to prove the reformers’ sincerity to the outside world, according to McCarty.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember998">“They don’t care about foreigners. It’s all internal politics,” McCarty said. Foreign banking honchos wouldn’t be impressed by a few executions anyway. “If you really want to want to resolve the problem, you can’t just arrest people,” he said. “You’ve got to improve accountability and transparency in the entire system.”</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember999">A leading Vietnamese newspaper, Thanh Nien, is also pushing for system-wide cleanup in lieu of showcase trials against a few corporate criminals.</div>
<div class="ember-view" id="ember1000">An op-ed in the paper recently compared death sentences for corruption to fighting fire with fire. The preferred approach would be dousing corruption before it burns through public funds. “It is better to prevent corruption,” the paper opined, “than deal with it after the fact.”</div>Newtown residents want Sandy Hook shooter's house torn downtag:12160.info,2014-04-03:2649739:BlogPost:14432652014-04-03T10:57:59.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><span class="authorLocation">HARTFORD, Conn. —</span>Some Newtown residents are calling for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter's home to be torn down and replaced with a park or nature preserve, according to a new community survey.</h3>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/newtown-residents-want-sandy-hook.html" target="_blank">Residents Call For Adam Lanza's Home To Be Demolished…</a></p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title"><span class="authorLocation">HARTFORD, Conn. —</span>Some Newtown residents are calling for the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooter's home to be torn down and replaced with a park or nature preserve, according to a new community survey.</h3>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/newtown-residents-want-sandy-hook.html" target="_blank">Residents Call For Adam Lanza's Home To Be Demolished</a></p>
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The Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation received more than 1,600 responses to the survey it released Monday on town residents' unmet needs in the wake of the December 2012 shootings. The foundation has been deciding how to distribute more than $11 million in donations made in response to the shootings, which left 20 first-graders and six educators dead.<br/> <br/> While most of the survey responses said money for mental health counseling and other family expenses are top priorities, a small percentage of community members mentioned funds to buy and tear down Adam Lanza's home, said Jennifer Barahona, the foundation's executive director. She said several people who live near the Lanza house said in the survey that it should be razed.<br/> <br/> "That's not something we're considering at this time," Barahona said. "It's really outside of our scope."<br/> <br/> The house in Newtown is where Lanza, 20, lived with his mother, Nancy Lanza, and shot her to death before the school killings. It's about 5 miles from the school, which has been demolished as part of the plan to build a new building on the same property. Adam Lanza killed himself at the school as police arrived.<br/> <br/> Nancy Lanza's property remains tied up in probate court proceedings. After her death, it was turned over to her ex-husband, Peter Lanza, and their other son, Ryan, according to court documents. Town records show the 3,200-square-foot colonial home and 2-acre property has an appraised value of about $524,000.<br/> <br/> Lawyers in the probate case didn't immediately return messages Wednesday seeking comment.<br/> <br/> "There really is nothing we can do," Barahona said. "The estate is in probate and it's likely to be there for years to come. I also imagine there would be lawsuits against the estate at some point."<br/> <br/> There have been no talks among town officials about buying the property or doing anything with it, First Selectman Pat Llodra's office said.<br/> <br/> The Newtown-Sandy Hook Community Foundation has about $4 million left after giving more than $7 million to the 40 families most affected by the shootings.<br/> <br/> The foundation recently approved $200,000 in spending. That includes $75,000 for out-of-pocket mental health costs for families, $75,000 for a "financial needs fund" for those affected by the shootings, $40,000 for public education and training on how to respond to signs of trauma and other mental health concerns, and $10,000 for community-wide educational programming.</div>Washington plans for pot-shop license lotterytag:12160.info,2014-04-03:2649739:BlogPost:14431572014-04-03T09:37:55.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-9164804919079522007"><i>(Ugh, government doings. Why does there need to be a lottery? Shouldn't any good standing individual be able to get into the business?)</i> <br></br> <br></br> OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington state will hold lotteries this month for its coveted legal marijuana retail licenses.<br></br> The state Liquor Control Board on Wednesday adopted a plan for the lotteries,…</div>
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-9164804919079522007"><i>(Ugh, government doings. Why does there need to be a lottery? Shouldn't any good standing individual be able to get into the business?)</i> <br/> <br/> OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Washington state will hold lotteries this month for its coveted legal marijuana retail licenses.<br/> The state Liquor Control Board on Wednesday adopted a plan for the lotteries, which will be held for any cities or counties where there are more pot-shop applicants than licenses allotted.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> The board says the lotteries, to be held April 21-25, will be double-blind to ensure security, and the board itself will play no role in picking winners. Instead, a random order will be generated by Washington State University, with the assistance of the accounting firm for the Washington Lottery.<br/> The winners will be given priority in the issuance of licenses, but they'll still have to pass financial investigations and meet other requirements before the board actually issues any licenses. The first retail sales are expected to begin in July.<br/> <br/> Originally more than 2100 people filed for the state's 334 retail licenses.<br/> Wednesday the Liquor Control Board said as many as half of the applicants were no longer being considered.<br/> Hundreds failed to properly submit required paperwork.<br/> Courtney Slater, who owns Tacoma's "Left Coast Cannabis", applied for licenses to open stores in Tacoma, Renton and Kent.<br/> "All I can do is wait," said Slater.<br/> Slater said if he gets a license for a store in Tacoma he will be able to shutdown his medical store and turn it into a recreational shop in about a week.<br/> "Everything's already in place," said Slater, "It's just a matter of moving out the medical product and moving in the recreational product."<br/> Slater said he would change the name of his store to "Happy Daze" and would likely need to raise his prices to cover state taxes.<br/> "It's going to change dramatically," said Slater, "But we gotta roll with the punches."</div>
<p><span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn"><a class="g-profile" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08451118883998408584" rel="author" title="author profile"><span>D.S. Wood</span></a></span></span> <span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/washington-plans-for-pot-shop-license.html" rel="bookmark" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" title="2014-04-02T17:31:00-07:00">5:31 PM</abbr></a></span></p>New bill would force Obama administration to reveal drone strike casualtiestag:12160.info,2014-04-03:2649739:BlogPost:14430882014-04-03T09:36:56.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">New bill would force Obama administration to reveal drone strike casualties</h3>
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-850688249895071481"><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph0">(<i>Good luck getting this bill through the gates</i>) <br></br> <br></br> (The Verge) - Two members of Congress have introduced a bill that they hope will force the White House to disclose how many people a year are killed by drones. Today,…</div>
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title">New bill would force Obama administration to reveal drone strike casualties</h3>
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<div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-850688249895071481"><div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph0">(<i>Good luck getting this bill through the gates</i>) <br/> <br/> (The Verge) - Two members of Congress have introduced a bill that they hope will force the White House to disclose how many people a year are killed by drones. Today, Representatives Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) announced the Targeted Lethal Force Transparency Act, which would mandate an annual report of everyone killed or injured in strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles. It would take effect retroactively, requiring the Obama administration to produce data for the last five years in the interest of tracking trends.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a></div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph1">For years, the American targeted killing program has taken place under cover of secrecy, although leaked documents and external reporting have provided details about drone strike casualties. Debate has often focused on the killing of American citizens, particularly the 16-year-old son of alleged top al-Qaeda member Anwar al-Awlaki, who was not specifically targeted but died in a 2011 strike. Since 2009, Anwar al-Awlaki is the only known citizen known to have been killed intentionally, although officials are reportedly debating whether to authorize the killing of <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/10/5397306/us-officials-struggle-with-possible-drone-strike-on-american-citizen">another American member</a> of al-Qaeda. But the overall cost of the targeted killing program is much higher. In 2013, a Council on Foreign Relations report estimates, <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/31/5260910/covert-us-drone-strikes-killed-253-people-in-2013-report-estimates">253 people were killed</a> in Yemen and Pakistan, 31 of them civilians. A total of several thousand casualties are estimated since the program began in 2004, around 500 of them civilians.</div>
<div class="pgh-paragraph" id="paragraph2">In mid-2013, President Obama promised to <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/5/23/4359408/obama-promises-drone-strike-oversight-progress-on-guantanamo">establish tighter accountability</a> for drone strikes, creating clearer guidelines for when lethal force could be used. But officials have justified secrecy on the grounds that more public information is more hints for America's enemies. A plan to shift operations from the CIA to the less covert Department of Defense <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2013/11/7/5073412/why-activists-want-the-pentagon-to-control-americas-drones-and-why">fizzled late last year</a>. In order to allay concerns, Schiff and Jones' bill explicitly excludes strikes that took place in Afghanistan and other active conflict zones. "We're just asking for raw numbers — not where the strikes took place or when," Schiff <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2014/04/02/a-new-proposal-to-force-transparency-on-drones/" target="_blank">tells <i>The Washington Post</i></a>. "This would give very little to our adversaries. In fact, to the degree that it helps debunk their propaganda — every time there is a drone strike it's at a wedding - it would be useful for us to be more public. This would allow us to hold ourselves accountable."</div>
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<p><span class="post-author vcard">Posted by <span class="fn"><a class="g-profile" href="http://www.blogger.com/profile/08451118883998408584" rel="author" title="author profile"><span>D.S. Wood</span></a></span></span> <span class="post-timestamp">at <a class="timestamp-link" href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/new-bill-would-force-obama.html" rel="bookmark" title="permanent link"><abbr class="published" title="2014-04-02T17:41:00-07:00">5:41 PM</abbr></a></span> <span class="post-icons"><span class="item-control blog-admin pid-574132463"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=7440449396086946769&postID=850688249895071481&from=pencil" title="Edit Post"><img alt="" class="icon-action" src="http://img2.blogblog.com/img/icon18_edit_allbkg.gif" height="18" width="18"/></a></span></span></p>Majority Of Doctors Believe Marijuana Should Be Legaltag:12160.info,2014-04-03:2649739:BlogPost:14431532014-04-03T09:35:27.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" id="yui_3_13_0_9_1396517408010_25"><br></br> <br></br> <br></br> <img class="rg_i" id="T98RnaCL3DYj_M:" name="T98RnaCL3DYj_M:" style="height: 168px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -4px; margin-top: 0px; width: 252px;"></img> <br></br> There's plenty of "buzz" ( pun intended) as of late in the arena of medical marijuana. The latest is a poll conducted by WebMD, that polled 1,544 doctors and a majority believe that marijuana should be legal for medical purposes.<br></br> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" id="more" name="more"></a><br></br> <br></br> 56 percent of the doctors believe that it should be legal nationwide.<br></br> <br></br> 50…</h3>
<h3 id="yui_3_13_0_9_1396517408010_25" class="post-title entry-title"><br/> <br/> <br/> <img class="rg_i" name="T98RnaCL3DYj_M:" style="height: 168px; margin-left: -3px; margin-right: -4px; margin-top: 0px; width: 252px;" id="T98RnaCL3DYj_M:"/><br/> There's plenty of "buzz" ( pun intended) as of late in the arena of medical marijuana. The latest is a poll conducted by WebMD, that polled 1,544 doctors and a majority believe that marijuana should be legal for medical purposes.<br/> <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="more" id="more"></a><br/> <br/> 56 percent of the doctors believe that it should be legal nationwide.<br/> <br/> 50 percent of the doctors surveyed in states where it's not legal believe that it should be.<br/> <br/> 67 percent believe it should be an option for medical patients.<br/> <br/> This poll confirms the opinion of the people who believe marijuana should be legal but also it is <a href="http://inevitable./">inevitable.</a> The Pew research group released findings that <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/poll-nationwide-marijuana-legalization.html" target="_blank">75 percent of those polled believe that the use and sale of marijuana will likely be legal nationwide.</a><br/> <br/> That same poll (Pew) concluded that 76 percent surveyed don't believe people should be jailed for using small amounts.<br/> <br/> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/lawmaker-predicts-marijuana-will-be.html" target="_blank">Lawmakers</a>, <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/parents-of-epileptic-child-hope-iowa.html" target="_blank">parents,</a> and professionals everywhere believe the use of marijuana (especially for medicinal purposes) <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/dc-decriminalizes-possession-of.html" target="_blank">should be legal and decriminalized.</a> The use of medical marijuana can be beneficial in the treatment of epilepsy, pain, and other medical conditions.<br/> <br/> So the question isn't really about, should marijuana be legal for medical or recreational purposes? It's a matter of when will the non legal states legalize marijuana for either recreational or medical purposes?<br/> <br/> <br/> (sources are linked)</h3>B.C. Civil Liberties Assn. sues national spy agency over eavesdroppingtag:12160.info,2014-04-02:2649739:BlogPost:14427022014-04-02T16:24:48.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<div class="imagetext"><h3><img alt="B.C. Civil Liberties Assn. sues national spy agency over eavesdropping" border="0" class="thumbnail tabClick" id="storyphoto" name="storyphoto" src="http://www.theprovince.com/news/cms/binary/9464337.jpg" title="Michel Columbe (left), Head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(CSIS)and John Forster (right), Chief of Communications Security Establishment Canada(CSEC)prepare to appear before the Senate National Security and Defence committee in Ottawa, Monday February 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand"></img></h3>
<h3 id="photocaption">Michel Columbe (left), Head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(CSIS)and John Forster (right), Chief of Communications Security Establishment Canada(CSEC)prepare to appear before the Senate National Security and Defence committee in Ottawa, Monday February 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand</h3>
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<div id="page1">(The Province) - Civil rights advocates are calling for payments or other remedies for anyone…</div>
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<h3 id="photocaption">Michel Columbe (left), Head of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service(CSIS)and John Forster (right), Chief of Communications Security Establishment Canada(CSEC)prepare to appear before the Senate National Security and Defence committee in Ottawa, Monday February 3, 2014. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Fred Chartrand</h3>
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<div id="page1">(The Province) - Civil rights advocates are calling for payments or other remedies for anyone who has used a laptop, cellphone, smartphone or tablet in Canada over the past 13 years. <br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> The B.C. Civil Liberties Association has filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Canada’s national electronic spy agency on behalf of anyone who used a wireless device in the country since 2001.<br/> The suit targets Communications Security Establishment Canada, or CSEC, which the association claims has been violating the constitutional rights of millions of Canadians.<br/> The association says money or other tangible fixes are the remedy if it proves in court that laws allowing the agency to collect Canadians’ private conversations should be struck down.<br/> The association filed a primary lawsuit in October arguing CSEC has been violating the charter rights of Canadians by reading emails and text messages and listening to calls with people outside Canada.<br/> Association president Lindsay Lyster says that Canadians put misplaced trust in the government, believing they could communicate without being spied upon.</div>
<div> What's Going On Today?</div>
<div> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/poll-nationwide-marijuana-legalization.html" target="_blank">75 percent say marijuana legalization is inevitable</a></div>
<div> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/homeless-people-in-us-are-demonized.html" target="_blank">Homeless people in U.S. are demonized says analyst</a></div>
<div> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/one-in-25-patients-infected-in-us.html" target="_blank">1 in 25 people infected at hospitals</a></div>
<div> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/liberty-county-sheriffs-deputy-imposter.html" target="_blank">sheriff imposter barges into home</a></div>
<div> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/dc-decriminalizes-possession-of.html" target="_blank">D.C. decriminalizes marijuana possession</a></div>
<div> </div>Son of Fairfax County officer arrested for taking Dad's cruiser for a ride, wearing uniformtag:12160.info,2014-04-01:2649739:BlogPost:14423982014-04-01T20:01:23.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/son-of-fairfax-county-officer-arrested.html" target="_blank">Son of Fairfax County officer arrested for taking Dad's cruiser for a ride, wearing uniform</a></p>
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<p>FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. (WJLA) - The son of a Fairfax County police officer has been arrested for taking his father's police cruiser out for a joyride - and borrowing his uniform while he was at it.…</p>
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<p><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/son-of-fairfax-county-officer-arrested.html" target="_blank">Son of Fairfax County officer arrested for taking Dad's cruiser for a ride, wearing uniform</a></p>
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<p>FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA. (WJLA) - The son of a Fairfax County police officer has been arrested for taking his father's police cruiser out for a joyride - and borrowing his uniform while he was at it.</p>
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<div id="continue">Authorities Tuesday confirmed a report <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/son-of-fairfax-officer-arrested-after-taking-cruiser-firing-shots-state-police-say/2014/04/01/b5c4ed36-b90e-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html">by the</a> <i><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/crime/son-of-fairfax-officer-arrested-after-taking-cruiser-firing-shots-state-police-say/2014/04/01/b5c4ed36-b90e-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html">Washington Post</a></i> that James Michael Puebla Berling, 27, of Centreville, along with a friend, took Berling's father's cruiser out for a "high-speed drive," including activating the emergency lights, wearing the shirt from his father's uniform and even firing a gun.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a></div>
<p>Berling and his friend were reportedly arrested by Fairfax County police after a Virginia State police officer saw the vehicle speeding down Route 29 in Centreville with the lights blaring shortly after 1 a.m. on March 16.<br/> After the state trooper followed the vehicle, it pulled over into a parking lot and Berling and his friend, identified as 18-year-old Caitlyn Lee of Centreville, fled on foot. Police reported set up a perimeter in the area and were able to catch Berling, who was wearing his father's uniform's shirt when they caught him.<br/> The <i>Post</i> reports that Berling's father was out of town at the time and was not aware his son had taken his vehicle and uniform.<br/> Berling is facing charges of unauthorized use of vehicle, reckless handling of a firearm and impersonating a law enforcement officer.<br/> Lee is facing charges of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance and possession of marijuana.</p>IRS Targeting Scandaltag:12160.info,2014-04-01:2649739:BlogPost:14426182014-04-01T17:39:44.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">IRS Targeting Scandal</h3>
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<div class="itemFullText">(New American) -When the IRS began targeting conservatives and conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, it didn’t count on people like Catherine Engelbrecht. In the summer of 2010, Engelbrecht made the request for tax-exempt status for the organization True the Vote, a non-profit election integrity organization, and King Street Patriots, which she describes as a…</div>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">IRS Targeting Scandal</h3>
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<div class="itemFullText">(New American) -When the IRS began targeting conservatives and conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, it didn’t count on people like Catherine Engelbrecht. In the summer of 2010, Engelbrecht made the request for tax-exempt status for the organization True the Vote, a non-profit election integrity organization, and King Street Patriots, which she describes as a “citizen-led liberty group.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a>”<br/> After filing for tax-exempt status, Catherine and her husband, Bryan, found themselves targeted by a myriad of government agencies, including law enforcement, for what Engelbrecht would later conclude was simply having a difference of political opinion from that of the Obama administration. Ultimately, the couple and the organizations endured 15 different instances of audit or inquiry into their affairs.<br/> <br/> :Other Good Reads: <br/> -<a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/school-tells-boy-he-cant-read-bible-and.html" target="_blank">School Tells Boy He Cant Read Bible</a><br/> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/poll-79-percent-in-illinois-say-federal.html" target="_blank">79 percent think Feds Are Corrupt - Poll from Illinois</a><br/> <br/> King Street Patriots (KSP) and True the Vote share space in an upscale warehouse in Houston, Texas. KSP, a local Houston group, meets to discuss topics across the political spectrum, and was host to filmmaker Ami Horowitz in October 2012 when TNA interviewed Horowitz about his film that points out the flaws of the UN entitled <i>UN ME</i>. True the Vote has grown to a national organization with presence in all 50 states, training poll workers, providing research and education for citizens to launch informed citizen challenges about voter status, and providing a basis for advocacy of election reform.<br/><div style="float: left; margin: 6px 15px 15px 2px;"></div>
Almost immediately after her requests for tax-exempt status had been made, Catherine told TNA that the organizations began receiving visits from the FBI. The agency’s Domestic Terrorism Unit informed her that they were watching one person who had attended one of KSP’s public meetings. The visits continued, eventually totaling six different occasions.<br/> Next, the Engelbrechts, owners of Engelbrecht Manufacturing, a manufacturer of oilfield component parts in Rosenberg, Texas, were subjected to an IRS audit of their business, followed by an audit of their personal tax returns.<br/> Then other agencies began to show up at their business, including the BATF, and OSHA, who found no violations but their visits eventually resulted in fines upward of 20K. Engelbrecht said there was no real apparent reason for the inquiries and visits made by the agencies.<br/> Meanwhile, the IRS continued its intrusive demands, including inquiries into every Facebook or Twitter posting Engelbrecht had ever made, her political aspirations, places she had spoken or intended to speak, the content of her remarks, and other abusive questions. It didn’t take long before Englebrecht decided that the statistical probability of her requests for tax-exempt status and the tyrannical actions of government agencies being unconnected was slim to none, and she decided to act.<br/> After the second visit of the BATF, Engelbrecht called her attorney, asking, “Who do we sue, and how do we do it?” Lawsuits were filed against the IRS on several counts, including one to compel the agency to either grant the tax-exempt status, or refuse the request. In December 2013, the status was granted, but portions of the lawsuits have not yet been resolved.<br/> Engelbrecht told us that she has copies of a letter from Obama’s general counsel demanding investigation of any organization claiming to be involved with election integrity, and another specifically targeting True the Vote, designating it as a threat to the administration.<br/> On February 6, 2014, she testified before the House Oversight and Government Reform Subcommittee on Regulatory Affairs, stating in <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=589797007761126" target="_blank">her testimony</a> about the IRS inquiries into her personal life that “these answers are not of interest to the typical IRS analyst, but they are certainly of interest to a political machine that would put its own survival against the civil liberties of a private citizen.”<br/> Engelbrecht said the events have taken a great toll on her life, but she won’t stop. “We should all be very concerned about the implications of a federal government singling out and targeting individual citizens for a difference of opinion. It has only doubled my resolve to stand for principles and go beyond the rhetoric of being an American. I had to ask, What am I willing to put on the line?”<br/> The Boston Massacre, marches of the Sons of Liberty, routings of the Tea Party, and the ride of Paul Revere all unfolded on King Street in Boston. King Street Patriots takes its name from the original group of Boston patriots who demonstrated in the streets in response to tyrannical British policies against the colonists. King Street was known as the hub of political activism. Catherine Engelbrecht demonstrated the spirit of a modern patriot when she told the House Subcommittee, “I will not ask permission to exercise my constitutional rights.”</div>School Tells Boy He Can't Read The Bible And Five Other Examples Of Schools Behaving Badlytag:12160.info,2014-04-01:2649739:BlogPost:14424742014-04-01T14:33:11.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">School Tells Boy He Can't Read The Bible And Five Other Examples Of Schools Behaving Badly</h3>
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<p><br></br> <img class="rg_i" name="6lGNMtpSY4TftM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTuTRp2Z6r83OS4aYlj3FgykWEP7A6YM87A6Due_4OKcG94eUlZrQ" style="height: 179px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 272px;"></img> <br></br> <br></br> "<i>Hey teachers... leave them kids alone.</i>" <br></br> <br></br> After reading the article about an <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/school-tells-elementary-student-he-cant.html" target="_blank">elementary boy who was told that he couldn't read…</a></p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">School Tells Boy He Can't Read The Bible And Five Other Examples Of Schools Behaving Badly</h3>
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<p><br/> <img class="rg_i" name="6lGNMtpSY4TftM:" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTuTRp2Z6r83OS4aYlj3FgykWEP7A6YM87A6Due_4OKcG94eUlZrQ" style="height: 179px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; width: 272px;"/><br/> <br/> "<i>Hey teachers... leave them kids alone.</i>" <br/> <br/> After reading the article about an <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/04/school-tells-elementary-student-he-cant.html" target="_blank">elementary boy who was told that he couldn't read the bible</a>, I felt the need to compile a list of other absurd incidents at schools. It doesn't take long to gather what you need when it comes to outrageous school occurrences. Seems like a new story tops the other every day even when you thought it to be impossible. So here you are...<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> <br/> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/seriously-effed-up.html" target="_blank"><u><b>Teacher Gives Non Alcoholic Beer To Students</b></u></a><br/> A class of fifth graders in Michigan sure got a good taste of colonial- era drink, when a teacher allowed students to sip up on some O'Douls.<br/> <i>"We talked to the teacher and said this was an inappropriate choice," Koledo said. "There were a lot better choices to represent a colonial-era drink than what was chosen here."</i><br/> The school official also said the students weren't forced to try the non-alcoholic drink (well, that's good enough for me) and that it was meant to be a lesson because in the 1700's the water was at times dirty or unhealthy. I guess I better break what's in my cabinet and bring it to school for the kiddo's. <br/> <i> </i> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/school-bans-9-year-olds-my-little-pony.html" target="_blank"><u>School Bans 9 Year Old's My Little Pony Backback</u></a><i><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/school-bans-9-year-olds-my-little-pony.html" target="_blank"><br/></a></i><br/> So it's not as "sobering" as the non-alcoholic treat. Anyways, you might remember this story, a young boy who was subject to bullying because he wore the "cheerful" My Little Pony backpack. The principle then told his parents that he wouldn't be wearing that backpack anymore and that he had any right to ban whatever he deemed a distraction (what about Ms.Wallace's mole?). Of course, the parents were outraged, a national "firestorm" followed, and a massive Facebook petition did as well.<br/> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/minnesota-school-district-to-pay.html" target="_blank"><b><u>Snooping School Must Pay Student $70k For Violating Rights</u></b></a> <br/> Girls love to gossip, I have two of them. So, when a girl found out that her school hacked into her Facebook account because of things she said about a teacher's aid, and that they expected her and a boy were talking about sex - she was angry. The girl made the comments on her Facebook account on her home computer. The ACLU got involved, said constitutional rights were violated, and now the taxpayers have to cough up $70k to pay Riley Stratton and the ACLU. Being nosy doesn't pay, school admins. <br/> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/parents-are-outraged-teachers-make-1st.html" target="_blank"><u><b>Teacher Makes First Grader Clean Up Urine</b></u></a><br/> The parents of an elementary boy, claim a first- grade Maine teacher made their boy clean up urine that wasn't his (Even so, shouldn't they have a janitor?). The parents filed a formal complaint, the school returned with a non disclosure letter citing they dealt with the matter, but wouldn't get into what was done because of "personal issues." Of course, this outraged the parents even further. The school claims the rents' are sensationalizing the matter, but the parents want some type of discipline for the teacher.<br/> <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/news/christian-school-complains-8-year-old-girl-isnt-girly-enough/" target="_blank"><u><b>Christian School Complains 8-Year-Old Isn't "Girly Enough"</b></u></a><br/> This might be the most absurd story on the list. A letter was sent home to the student's grandmother (also her legal guardian) reminding the student and grandmother of the school's religious affiliations and policy on refusing students who contradict a "biblical lifestyle." The girl has short hair, likes to do boy "stuff" such as hunting, collecting coins and playing baseball. When the girl was five, she cut off her long hair to give to a cancer patient.<br/> Well, the school doesn't accept transgender lifestyles and believes that the girl should dress more feminine.<br/> The girl now attends a public school.<br/> <br/> Well, there you have it, a few outrageous, egregious, preposterous school cases. I'm sure I'm leaving out a score of others. So, feel free to submit any that I didn't get to below this article in the comments section.</p>SWAT Targets Family For Drinking Teatag:12160.info,2014-04-01:2649739:BlogPost:14424442014-04-01T07:01:29.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">SWAT Targets Family For Drinking Tea</h3>
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<p><span class="title">(<i>The war on drugs is so embarrassing and ineffective that look what it's doing. Knocking down the wrong doors, throwing people in jail and wasting tax dollars on a plant being smoked. And, as this article points out, take a look at how many more SWAT operations are being carried out. It's absurd. Anything to knock down the door of liberty)…</i></span><br></br></p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">SWAT Targets Family For Drinking Tea</h3>
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<p><span class="title">(<i>The war on drugs is so embarrassing and ineffective that look what it's doing. Knocking down the wrong doors, throwing people in jail and wasting tax dollars on a plant being smoked. And, as this article points out, take a look at how many more SWAT operations are being carried out. It's absurd. Anything to knock down the door of liberty)</i></span><br/> <span class="title"><i> </i></span></p>
<div class="post-86836 post type-post status-publish format-standard hentry category-drug-war category-quick-takes category-strange-news tag-demilitarize-the-police body-text">(The American Interest) -In 21st-century America, the most innocent of activities could have a SWAT team busting down your door. <i>Reason</i> <a href="http://reason.com/blog/2014/03/26/if-you-dont-want-a-swat-team-at-your-doo">profiles</a> the Harte family, who were the victims of a SWAT home invasion after police raided their garbage cans (h/t Ben Domench). An unreliable field test falsely identified Addie Harte’s trashed teabags as marijuana, and SWAT leapt into action. The Hartes didn’t just suffer the trauma of the raid—they had to spend $25,000 just to find out why they were targeted.<!--more-> <br/> America has seen an alarming, and under-reported, increase in SWAT teams doing routine police work, as Radley Balko <a href="http://www.the-american-interest.com/articles/2013/10/10/swatted-the-militarization-of-americas-police/">pointed out</a> in a piece for <i>The American Interest:</i><br/> <br/> <i> <b>:</b></i><b>What I'm Reading Today:</b><br/> <b> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/more-technical-problems-on-obamacare.html" target="_blank">Obamacare Site Down, Again. </a></b> <i><a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/more-technical-problems-on-obamacare.html" target="_blank"></a></i><br/> <i> -</i> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/facebooks-flying-drones.html" target="_blank"><b><u>Facebook's Flying Drones</u></b></a><br/> <i> - <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/why-is-homeland-security-paying-to-put.html" target="_blank"><u><b>Homeland Security Paying Cities To Put Them Under Surveillance</b></u></a></i><br/><blockquote>In the early 1970s, there were just a few hundred SWAT operations per year in America. By the early 1980s, there were about 3,000. By the year 2000, there were 45,000. And by 2005, it was 50,000. Kraska’s last survey was in 2005, but he estimates that the number could be as high as 80,000 today. The vast majority of these raids, [criminologist Peter] Kraska found, are to serve warrants on people suspected of drug crimes. SWAT teams once used violence to defuse already violent situations and to save lives at immediate risk. Today they are primarily used in a way that <i>creates</i> violence and confrontation where neither needs to exist. They were once used to confront a suspect or suspects in the process of committing a violent crime. Today, they’re used as an investigative tool to search the homes of people only suspected of crimes, and not particularly serious or violent crimes at that.</blockquote>
Balko is quoted in a comprehensive <a href="http://www.economist.com/news/united-states/21599349-americas-police-have-become-too-militarised-cops-or-soldiers">feature</a> on the subject in the current issue of the <i>Economist</i>, which explains how SWAT units rose to such forbidding prevalence.<i> </i>The article recounts a particularly disturbing 2006 case in which a SWAT team, having falsified information they used to obtain a “no-knock” warrant, killed a 92-year-old-woman who thought the people breaking into her house were robbers and shot at them accordingly. They later planted marijuana in her house to justify the incursion. We’re glad to see this issue pushed to the forefront of our national discourse. Perhaps a bipartisan effort to demilitarize our police will emerge, perhaps stemming from the bipartisan enthusiasm for <a href="http://www.the-american-interest.com/blog/2013/06/21/are-republicans-the-new-heroes-on-prison-reform/">prison reform</a>.</div>Idaho Sued for Alleged 'License-Plate Profiling' (Boise Weekly)tag:12160.info,2014-03-30:2649739:BlogPost:14417452014-03-30T22:05:49.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<p>(Boise Weekly) - A Colorado man has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Idaho, alleging that he was a target of what he calls "license-plate profiling." <br></br> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br></br> <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25449678/colorado-man-sues-idaho-police-over-license-plate"><i>The Denver Post</i> reports</a> that 69-year-old Darien Roseen says he was unlawfully detained and searched for marijuana by Idaho State Police because he had Colorado plates. …<br></br></p>
<p>(Boise Weekly) - A Colorado man has filed a federal lawsuit against the state of Idaho, alleging that he was a target of what he calls "license-plate profiling." <br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> <a href="http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_25449678/colorado-man-sues-idaho-police-over-license-plate"><i>The Denver Post</i> reports</a> that 69-year-old Darien Roseen says he was unlawfully detained and searched for marijuana by Idaho State Police because he had Colorado plates. <br/> Roseen, a retired vice president of Weyerhauser Real Estate, says his vehicle was stopped in January 2013, shortly after Colorado voters had passed the sale of recreational marijuana. Roseen said he had just pulled off I-84, just inside the Idaho/Oregon border, to use the toilet at a rest stop. That's where he said ISP told Roseen hadn't properly signaled before exiting. Roseen said an ISP trooper asked, "When is the last time you used any marijuana?" Roseen said he had never used marijuana. <br/> Ultimately Roseen was driven to the Payette County Sheriff's Office, was issued a citation for careless driving, and after law enforcement searched Roseen's vehicle, no drugs were found. <br/> Roseen's lawsuit is seeking general and punitive damages. A representative for ISP said the department would issue a statement on the litigation later this week.</p>Drone Alert: New larger Army drone expected in Alaska next yeartag:12160.info,2014-03-30:2649739:BlogPost:14414782014-03-30T21:56:01.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Drone Alert: New larger Army drone expected in Alaska next year</h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">(NewsMiner) - The Army has plans to supplement Army units worldwide with about 17 Gray Eagle companies, each with 12 aircraft, said Lt. Col. Alan Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Army Alaska. The Pentagon has proposed putting one of these companies in Alaska, he said.</h3>
<p> More Drone Stories:…</p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Drone Alert: New larger Army drone expected in Alaska next year</h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">(NewsMiner) - The Army has plans to supplement Army units worldwide with about 17 Gray Eagle companies, each with 12 aircraft, said Lt. Col. Alan Brown, a spokesman for U.S. Army Alaska. The Pentagon has proposed putting one of these companies in Alaska, he said.</h3>
<p> More Drone Stories: <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/congress-blocks-plan-to-transfer-drone.html" target="_blank">Congress block drone program being transfer.</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/international-consensus-emerging.html" target="_blank">International Consensus Against Drones</a></p>
<p> <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/anti-drone-activists-say-government-is.html" target="_blank">Anti Drone Activists Claim Feds Are Denying Them A Jury Trial</a></p>
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<div class="p4">No final decision for the specific basing location within Alaska has been made, but it is expected to be announced in the next few months.</div>
<div class="p4">Regardless of where it goes, the new Gray Eagle company is forecast to come online fairly quickly, arriving sometime in the 2015 fiscal year. That’s much sooner faster the other main Pentagon aviation decision the Interior is waiting on. The Air Force’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which Eielson Air Force Base is a candidate to host, isn’t expected to arrive until 2018, though the Army drone program is much smaller than the manned-aircraft operation. </div>
<div class="p4">The Gray Eagle companies are each expected to employ about 120 soldiers, according to Brown. The 48 F-35s the Air Force plans to station in the Pacific region would employ more than 3,000 people.</div>
<div class="p4">Drones still are banned in most civilian airspace in the United States, but they’re becoming more common. In Alaska, soldiers have used much smaller drones for more than a decade. Drones took a step toward legitimacy in civilian airspace in December when the Federal Aviation Administration named Alaska one of six testing sites to study adding drones to the national airspace. </div>
<div class="p4">But even among the growing variety of unmanned aircraft in Alaska skies, the Gray Eagle would stand out as the largest unmanned aerial vehicle to operate in the state. With a length of 28-feet and a wingspan of 56-feet it’s larger than some manned aircraft. </div>
<div class="p4">The Gray Eagle also could be the first armed drone to operate in Alaska. The aircraft is built to carry four Hellfire missiles, but the configuration that would be used in Alaska has not yet been determined, Brown said. </div>
<div class="p4">Like other military drones, the Gray Eagle would only be used for training above military lands, he said.</div>
</div>Anti Drone Activists Say Government Is Deny Them A Jury Trialtag:12160.info,2014-03-30:2649739:BlogPost:14413152014-03-30T17:18:10.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Anti Drone Activists Say Government Is Deny Them A Jury Trial</h3>
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<p>(Modesto Bee) -Before dawn on Tuesday, Shirley Osgood and her colleagues manned their posts outside the Wheatland gate to Beale Air Force Base east of Marysville.<br></br> In a ritual they have followed for nearly four years, they crisscrossed the four-way intersection near the gate, laying out the tools of their trade: anti-war banners, an American flag with a…</p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Anti Drone Activists Say Government Is Deny Them A Jury Trial</h3>
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<p>(Modesto Bee) -Before dawn on Tuesday, Shirley Osgood and her colleagues manned their posts outside the Wheatland gate to Beale Air Force Base east of Marysville.<br/> In a ritual they have followed for nearly four years, they crisscrossed the four-way intersection near the gate, laying out the tools of their trade: anti-war banners, an American flag with a peace symbol instead of 50 white stars, a series of cardboard squares adorned with bright purple, battery-powered LED lights that spelled out the message “No Drones.”<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> “It’s hard to see you guys when you cross the road,” the driver of a pickup truck headed into Beale shouted at them through the dark. “Be careful.”<br/> That could be their mantra: Be careful while you break the law.<br/> They have been demonstrating since 2010 against unarmed surveillance drones based and operated at Beale that are used to pinpoint targets for armed killer drones in war zones and elsewhere overseas.<br/> The protesters run the gamut from ministers and rabbis to longtime peace activists and military veterans.<br/> At least 18 have been arrested for trespassing since Oct. 30, 2012, some more than once. One was an 88-year-old Lutheran minister, arrested nearly three weeks ago on Ash Wednesday, who was also a U.S. Marine Corps veteran – he served on the honor guard aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, where the treaty was signed marking Japan’s surrender and the end of World War II.<br/> “I call it divine obedience,” the minister, Jerry Pedersen, said in a recent interview at his South Land Park home. “I’m not breaking the law, I’m following the law that’s written in our hearts.”<br/> The federal government has a different point of view, and has begun filing misdemeanor charges of unauthorized penetration of a military installation. The charge carries the potential of up to six months in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, although federal prosecutors have assured judges they have no intention of trying to put any of the protesters behind bars.<br/> But that is where the charity stops. The government has succeeded so far in persuading two judges to deny protesters jury trials, something the defendants contend deprives them of their Sixth Amendment rights and the chance to have their civil disobedience judged by their peers instead of the third branch of the federal government – the very establishment they are targeting. <br/> Osgood, a retired social worker and 66-year-old grandmother from Grass Valley, is facing trial before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dale A. Drozd, who will be hearing her pleas for a jury trial and the opportunity to present a “necessity defense” on Tuesday.<br/> Despite arguments that the Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a jury trial, the federal government adamantly opposes a panel in these prosecutions.<br/> “They are not entitled to a jury,” Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, said in an interview last week. “I understand that they are interested in maximum publicity for their cause, but we don’t have an interest in accommodating that.<br/> “Our business is promoting respect for the law. We have tried to be as light-handed and reasonable as possible. But, in these cases, a jury is not an effective nor efficient use of our resources, or the court’s resources for that matter.”<br/> Wagner argues, as do his assistant prosecutors in court, that the U.S. Supreme Court has made clear that defendants facing six months or less time in prison have no right to be judged by a jury.<br/> “These defendants don’t qualify for special treatment just because they are motivated by ideology,” Wagner said.<br/> Lawyers for the protesters and some constitutional experts dispute that, saying the right to be judged by your peers is a bedrock of the nation’s justice system.<br/> “The (Supreme) Court has concluded, based on ‘historical practices,’ that trial courts may dispense with a jury when the maximum punishment is less than six months incarceration,” said Gabriel “Jack” Chin, a professor at the UC Davis School of Law and a nationally recognized expert in criminal procedure.<br/> “That is a highly questionable conclusion,” added Chin, whose work has been cited twice in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. “The court has decided the Sixth Amendment doesn’t mean what it says, that it means something else.<br/> “That’s highly dubious. One of the reasons we had a revolution was that some practices were not acceptable. A trial without a panel of the defendant’s peers was one of them.”<br/> <span class="ng_subhead">Arrests for a cause</span><br/> The protesters have no illusions as to whether they are subject to arrest and prosecution. Some have gone out of their way to cross the base’s boundary with the intent of being arrested – a practice in civil disobedience, which has played a significant role in many social reforms. <br/> Pedersen, the World War II veteran cited on Ash Wednesday, said he and others knelt in prayer on the other side of a white line painted across South Beale Road that marks the base border about 100 yards out from the gate. They were arrested, cited and released.<br/> “My hope was always that I would be in jail on Easter Sunday, and they would have to announce at church, ‘Sorry, Dr. Pedersen is in jail,’ ” he said.<br/> Among those cited with Pedersen was the Rev. Elizabeth Griswold, pastor of Sacramento’s Parkside Community Church, who said protesters carried white crosses adorned with the images of children reportedly killed in drone attacks.<br/> “We basically trespassed onto the base,” Griswold, 35, said. “We all just walked across and knelt down.”<br/> The unabashed goal of the protests is to draw attention to the demonstrators’ ardent belief that U.S. drones, a much-used weapon in the Obama administration’s war on terror, kill more innocent people, including children, than bona fide terrorists. They also insist that, for every terrorist killed, the drone strikes, which have stirred strong negative passions worldwide, create an untold number of new American enemies. <br/> The administration has consistently defended the use of drones to combat terrorists and says every effort is made to limit civilian casualties.<br/> The protests are designed to be nonviolent and follow a regular script. Word of a planned demonstration goes up on the Internet and the more adventurous members of the group show up for an afternoon protest, then camp overnight in tents, sleeping bags or “habitats” that fit the rear compartments of the many Toyota Priuses in evidence.<br/> Around 5 a.m., they move to a location for the morning’s action, which for last Tuesday’s demonstration was just down the way from the Wheatland gate, where hundreds of vehicles carrying military and civilian personnel converge on the four-way stop at South Beale and Ostrom roads.<br/> Typically, the protesters stand at the side of the road waving their placards, banners and signs and flashing the peace sign to uniformed airmen driving in for their morning shifts.<br/> Sometimes a group will intentionally march toward the gate and step over the white line, sparking a polite but firm response from Air Force security personnel, who detain and fingerprint the protesters, then cite and release them.<br/> Protesters say the military personnel have been solicitous at times, warning them to be careful when particularly cold weather is on its way, but officials at Beale said they would have no comment about the ongoing demonstrations.<br/> “There’s really nothing to say,” said Msgt. Eric Petosky from Beale’s public affairs office. “We support the right to protest, but when protesters cross the base boundary, we cite them for trespassing and release them.” What’s happening in court, he added, “is a decision of the federal prosecutor.”<br/> <span class="ng_subhead">The protest ritual</span><br/> Tuesday’s protest, held amid a cold, unrelenting breeze sweeping across the isolated plain where the base sits, was more confrontational than some others.<br/> At about 6:30 a.m., the protesters launched what they refer to as a “soft blockade,” marching into the roadway and physically blocking cars from proceeding past the South Beale-Ostrom intersection and into the base.<br/> This did not go over well with some morning commuters sitting in an ever-growing line of stopped vehicles while the activists blocked access to the base for more than 20 minutes.<br/> Some vehicles and a school bus gave up and turned around. Some angry drivers, including two behind the wheels of large pickups, drove onto a shoulder of the road and, spitting gravel and squealing tires, roared around demonstrators standing within inches of their path.<br/> “What makes this right?” bread truck driver Ray McDonald asked the group after he grew impatient and drove around other waiting vehicles and up to the picket line.<br/> “Your bread is going to get there, you’re just going to be late,” a protester told him.<br/> “My job is on the line,” countered McDonald, who said this was his first visit to the base from the Bay Area. “Is he going to believe me when I tell him what was going on?”<br/> Within half an hour, three California Highway Patrol units rolled up and the officers had traffic moving again, with drivers staring straight ahead and expressionless as they passed the activists flashing the peace sign.<br/> No one was arrested, and the CHP officers, veterans of the routine from past blockades, chatted pleasantly with members of the group until everybody packed up just before 8 a.m.<br/> Barry Binks, a veteran from Sacramento who showed up in his Army field jacket with a peace sign stitched to the left shoulder, said some motorists are less understanding than others.<br/> On one occasion he sustained a bloodied elbow when a car nicked him as it barreled past, he said. Another protester once ended up on the hood of a car that carried him about 100 feet down the road toward the base before it stopped and let him slide off.<br/> The protesters shrug off such incidents, saying they are as devoted to their mission as the Beale workers are to theirs. And they maintain that giving up is not an option, even if they see no evidence that the government or much of the public is paying attention.<br/> “Hard to say whether it makes any difference,” said Pamela Osgood, Shirley’s older sister. “I know for sure that not being here wouldn’t make a difference.”</p>
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<p>If you like this you might want to check out: <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/85-year-old-man-arrested-at-anti-drone.html" target="_blank">http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/85-year-old-man-arrested-at-anti-drone.html</a></p>Study: Anti Anxiety Drugs Linked To An Increase Risk of Deathtag:12160.info,2014-03-30:2649739:BlogPost:14415302014-03-30T17:08:57.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Study: Anti Anxiety Drugs Linked To An Increase Risk of Death</h3>
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<div class="story-body-text">(New York Times) -A large study has linked several common anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills to an increased risk of death, although it’s not certain the drugs were the cause.</div>
<div class="story-body-text">For more than seven years, researchers followed 34,727 people who filled prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications like…</div>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Study: Anti Anxiety Drugs Linked To An Increase Risk of Death</h3>
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<div class="story-body-text">(New York Times) -A large study has linked several common anti-anxiety drugs and sleeping pills to an increased risk of death, although it’s not certain the drugs were the cause.</div>
<div class="story-body-text">For more than seven years, researchers followed 34,727 people who filled prescriptions for anti-anxiety medications like Valium and Xanax, or sleep aids like Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta, comparing them with 69,418 controls who did not.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a></div>
<div class="story-body-text">After adjusting for a wide variety of factors, the researchers found that people who took the drugs <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/348/bmj.g1996" target="_blank">had more than double the risk of death</a>. The study appears online in BMJ.</div>
<div class="story-body-text">The researchers tried to account for the use of other prescribed drugs, age, smoking, <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/specialtopic/alcohol-use/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Alcohol use.">alcohol use</a>, socioeconomic status, and other health and behavioral characteristics. Most important, the investigators also controlled for <a href="http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/disease/sleep-disorders/overview.html?inline=nyt-classifier" target="_blank" title="In-depth reference and news articles about Sleep disorders.">sleep disorders</a>, anxiety disorders and other psychiatric illnesses, all of which are risk factors for mortality.</div>
<div class="story-body-text">The lead author, Dr. Scott Weich, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Warwick, said that while he and his colleagues were careful to account for as many potential risks as possible, they were not able to control for the severity of the illnesses suffered by the study participants.</div>
<p>Still, he said, the research “adds to an accumulating body of evidence that these drugs are dangerous.” He added: “I prescribe these drugs, and</p>Massachusetts Bans Zohydrotag:12160.info,2014-03-29:2649739:BlogPost:14410852014-03-29T18:48:39.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Massachusetts Bans Zohydro</h3>
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<p>(Reuters) - Officials in Massachusetts have blocked sales of Zogenix's controversial but U.S.-approved painkiller Zohydro, prompting the drugmaker to criticize what it called an "unprecedented action.<br></br> <a id="more" name="more"></a>"<br></br> <span id="midArticle_2"></span>The state's ban "only serves to unfairly restrict patient access," the company said in a statement late Thursday.…</p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Massachusetts Bans Zohydro</h3>
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<p>(Reuters) - Officials in Massachusetts have blocked sales of Zogenix's controversial but U.S.-approved painkiller Zohydro, prompting the drugmaker to criticize what it called an "unprecedented action.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a>"<br/> <span id="midArticle_2"></span>The state's ban "only serves to unfairly restrict patient access," the company said in a statement late Thursday. "Ultimately, the ban on the prescription medication will add to patient suffering in the state," it added.<br/> <span id="midArticle_3"></span>Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced the Zohydro ban in a speech on Thursday, formally declaring a public health emergency resulting from the abuse of opioids in the New England state.<br/> <span id="midArticle_4"></span>It is the latest salvo in the ongoing battle over Zohydro's launch as the U.S. grapples with a wave of abuse of opioids, a class of drugs that includes not only powerful prescription painkillers but also heroin.<br/> <span id="midArticle_5"></span>On Friday, shares of the San Diego, California-based company were down 4 percent in early afternoon trade on the <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" href="http://reuters.com/finance/markets/index?symbol=us%21comp&lc=int_mb_1001">Nasdaq</a></span>.<br/> <span id="midArticle_6"></span>The federal Food and Drug Administration approved Zohydro last year over the objections of its advisory panel, which expressed concerns about the potential for abuse.<br/> <span id="midArticle_7"></span>The drug has since come under further scrutiny from members of Congress, dozens of state attorney generals, medical groups and drug treatment experts seeking to block the drug even as the FDA's top official has defended its action.<br/> <span id="midArticle_8"></span>While the FDA approves drugs for sale in the United States, it does not guarantee their availability. For example, <span class="mandelbrot_refrag"><a class="mandelbrot_refrag" href="http://www.reuters.com/sectors/industries/overview?industryCode=139&lc=int_mb_1001">health insurance</a></span> companies can exclude certain medications from their formularies.<br/> <span id="midArticle_9"></span>Zohydro is a form of hydrocodone that, unlike rival products such as AbbVie Inc's Vicodin or UCB's Lortab, does not contain acetaminophen.<br/> <span id="midArticle_10"></span>The company has defended the drug as a necessary option for pain patients who cannot tolerate acetaminophen, a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug linked to liver damage and stomach bleeding.<br/> <span id="midArticle_11"></span>But critics worry that with no built-in abuse deterrents, Zohydro will be a draw for addicts looking for an easy fix. Rival Purdue Pharma has said it is working on a hydrocodone-only drug that will be resistant to abuse, something Zogenix has also pledged to do.<br/> <span id="midArticle_12"></span>"Once/if the Purdue product is approved, possibly in 2015, FDA could then rule that Zohydro is not as safe as the abuse-deterrent product and either pull the drug's approval or ask Zogenix to withdraw it voluntarily," Rob Smith, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners, said earlier this week.<br/> <span id="midArticle_13"></span>Zogenix, in its statement, said it would "review the safe use measures already in place" with Massachusetts officials. (Reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by <a href="http://blogs.reuters.com/search/journalist.php?edition=us&n=bernard.orr&">Bernard Orr</a>)<br/> <br/> If you like this, try these two: <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/zohydro-hasnt-even-hit-market-and-ohio.html" target="_blank">Ohio Zohydro Ban</a> and <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/zohydromania-americans-sure-love-pills.html" target="_blank">Zohydromania</a></p>Parents Are Outraged: Teachers Make 1st Grader Clean Up Urinetag:12160.info,2014-03-29:2649739:BlogPost:14410792014-03-29T18:33:35.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
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<p><span class="story">SCARBOROUGH (WGME) -- Two parents from Scarborough are outraged after they say their child was mistreated by a teacher. Now, those parents want answers from the school district.</span><br></br> <a id="more" name="more"></a><span class="story"><br></br><br></br>Donna and Charlie Caruso say their son, a first grader at Blue Point Primary School came home Tuesday with a story that stunned them.<br></br><br></br>They say a student had an accident in the…</span></p>
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<p><span class="story">SCARBOROUGH (WGME) -- Two parents from Scarborough are outraged after they say their child was mistreated by a teacher. Now, those parents want answers from the school district.</span><br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><span class="story"><br/><br/>Donna and Charlie Caruso say their son, a first grader at Blue Point Primary School came home Tuesday with a story that stunned them.<br/><br/>They say a student had an accident in the bathroom, and the teacher blamed their son. That teacher allegedly made him clean up the urine on the toilet and the floor. The Carusos say their son cleaned someone else's urine, because they say their son didn't do it.<br/><br/>The Carusos took action right away, sending a formal complaint to the school.<br/><br/>The school principal brought their son in for a meeting where they investigated what happened, and whether the boy was telling the truth.<br/><br/>"He sat right there with the principal, and the school counselor, and myself, and God to tell the same story again, ten times, the same way," said Donna Caruso.<br/><br/>On Thursday, they got a letter from the school saying they wouldn't be disclosing what, if any, action was taken because it's a personnel issue.<br/><br/>"We're furious," said Charlie Caruso.<br/><br/>The superintendent sent CBS 13 a statement writing, "This matter has been fully investigated and any follow-up that was needed has been done."<br/><br/>The superintendent says the parents have sensationalized what happened, and offered to meet with them again.<br/><br/>The Carusos say they believe their son and want the teacher disciplined.<br/><br/>In the meantime, they say the teacher is still working and their son is still in her class</span></p>Outrageous: Mother Who Advocates Medical Marijuana Under CPS Investigationtag:12160.info,2014-03-29:2649739:BlogPost:14413212014-03-29T18:08:38.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Outrageous: Mother Who Advocates Medical Marijuana Under CPS Investigation</h3>
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<p>(Derek Wood) - I just received an email from a pro medical marijuana group and the story is of a Florida mother, who advocates for the use of medical marijuana - as her son suffers from a rare form of pediatric epilepsy called FIRES, is now under child protective services investigation. <br></br> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br></br> <br></br> Apparently,…</p>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Outrageous: Mother Who Advocates Medical Marijuana Under CPS Investigation</h3>
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<p>(Derek Wood) - I just received an email from a pro medical marijuana group and the story is of a Florida mother, who advocates for the use of medical marijuana - as her son suffers from a rare form of pediatric epilepsy called FIRES, is now under child protective services investigation. <br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> <br/> Apparently, the state received an anonymous tip that Renee Petro wasn't administering his anti-seizure medicine and instead treating his epilepsy with Cannabis extract. Petro denies these allegations, according to LadyBug magazine.<i> </i><br/> <br/> <i>“I’ve never used Cannabis medicine for Branden,” says Renee. “I know fully well that Cannabis would help him, but because I live in an “illegal” state we have never tried it. I have not broken any laws.”</i><br/> <br/> Because the Cannabis medicine is illegal, the state feels the need to tell a parent how to raise their kid, how to treat their child, and what's best for their child. This is complete nonsense, as one state (Utah) just recently passed legislation legalizing medical marijuana use for epilepsy treatment. <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/mississippi-house-passes-medical.html" target="_blank">Mississippi's</a> House just passed a bill for a similar situation.<br/> <br/> Why should any government tell and prevent a parent from treating their kid in how they see fit? Especially, in a non big-pharma ,medicine that is showing very <a href="http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/817701" target="_blank">promising results</a> leading to many states jumping on the wagon for passing legislation as noted above.<br/> <br/> So what's the hold up? Opponents say "it sends the wrong message," and that it will lead to higher crime but it doesn't according to studies. Medical marijuana could actually reduce crime, <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/study-medical-marijuana-may-reduce.html" target="_blank">according to a Huffington Post story.</a><br/> <br/> It's time to stop the drug war and the war against parent's rights in the treatment of their own children. Send the right message and urge your lawmakers to pass marijuana legislation that could help end the suffering of children and encourage the alternative to a big pharma medication.</p>Google Claims 84 Percent percent of online news sites are hacked by governmentstag:12160.info,2014-03-28:2649739:BlogPost:14407302014-03-28T14:30:35.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
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<div><b>(Inquirer) -THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS</b> of news media organisations are a key target for state-sponsored hacking, according to a Google report.<br></br> The study found that 21 of the world's top 25 news organisations have been the targets of attacks by hackers within or working for governments.<br></br> <a id="more" name="more"></a><br></br> Shane Huntley and Morgan Marquis-Boire revealed the information as their paper was…</div>
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<div><b>(Inquirer) -THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS</b> of news media organisations are a key target for state-sponsored hacking, according to a Google report.<br/> The study found that 21 of the world's top 25 news organisations have been the targets of attacks by hackers within or working for governments.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> Shane Huntley and Morgan Marquis-Boire revealed the information as their paper was presented at a conference in Singapore on Friday.<br/> Speaking to Reuters, Huntley explained, "If you're a journalist or a journalistic organisation <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/03/28/us-media-cybercrime-idUSBREA2R0EU20140328" target="_blank" title="Reuters">we will see state-sponsored targeting and we see it happening regardless of region</a>, we see it from all over the world both from where the targets are and where the targets are from."<br/> Over the past year, the Syrian Electronic Army has hacked a number of major news organisations including <a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2324968/syrian-electronic-army-claims-cnn-as-its-latest-victim" target="_blank" title="CNN SEA">CNN</a>, <a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2268933/syrian-electronic-army-goes-after-the-financial-times-in-latest-hacking-attack" target="_blank" title="Financial Times">the Financial Times</a> and the New York Times.<br/> Huntley also explained that the attacks are not limited to corporate servers but also target the accounts and computers used by bloggers and citizen journalists.<br/> Even in the UK, where we are more used to the <a href="http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2033823/murdoch-s-news-world-obtained-hacked-private-emails" target="_blank" title="Inquirer">news media being the hackers rather than the hackees</a>, many news organisations are only now beginning to accept that this is an issue that they need to address.<br/> "A lot of news organisations are just waking up to this," said Marquis-Boire, but countering that he then added, "We're seeing a definite upswing of individual journalists who recognise this is important." µ</div>Do As I Say Not As I Do: The Long Laundry List Of Government Hypocritestag:12160.info,2014-03-28:2649739:BlogPost:14406582014-03-28T14:22:41.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Do As I Say Not As I Do: The Long Laundry List Of Government Hypocrites</h3>
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title" id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1396016411862_3169"><br></br> (Derek Wood) -The arrest of a pro gun control state senator, <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/another-california-democrat-arrested.html" target="_blank">Leland Yee</a> (D-San Fransico), on charges involving a conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms, is…</h3>
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Do As I Say Not As I Do: The Long Laundry List Of Government Hypocrites</h3>
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<h3 id="yui_3_13_0_ym1_1_1396016411862_3169" class="post-title entry-title"><br/> (Derek Wood) -The arrest of a pro gun control state senator, <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/another-california-democrat-arrested.html" target="_blank">Leland Yee</a> (D-San Fransico), on charges involving a conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms, is just another rain drop in the bucket when it comes to politicians who talk "a good game," but nonetheless don't walk it.<br/> <a name="more" id="more"></a><br/> This bucket of hypocrisy is overflowing with politicians who claim that civil liberties should take a beat seat, however, those same civil liberties politicians look to squash doesn't apply to their self-interests.<br/> Yee, may be the latest but of course he isn't the first politician to be caught saying, or voting for one thing and doing another. <br/> Recently, as covered thoroughly by alternative news websites, privacy violating advocate, Dianne Feinstein, an arrogant proponent for violating civil liberties, and a chairwoman on the Senate Intelligence Committee, who has supported <a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/dianne-feinstein-on-nsa-its-called-protecting-america-92340.html" target="_blank">NSA spying on private citizens</a>- asked for an apology from the CIA, when she learned that the agency had removed classified documents from her staff's computers. Isn't she pulling on your heart strings? Instant Karma is going to get you, senator, it's going to knock you on your head and please do. Feinstein was also staunch about taking guns out of private citizens hands and stomping the 2nd amendment into the ground as we know it. Again, where's that bucket? Feinstein has no problem <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/03/dianne-feinstein-guns_n_3010058.html" target="_blank">owning one herself</a> for self protection and even sponsoring a firearms ban that exempts government officials. Oh, how nice, the very people Americans can't stand, less popular than a cockroach, North Korea, and my in-laws. Yet, you should be allowed exemption, you are important, your life is of more value than us "private citizens." You see, to conclude Feinstein's boiling water of hypocrisy, the difference between her and the people, is that she's a paid employee, that works for the American people but wants more rights than the American people, that she's supposed to be protecting constitutionally. <br/> Growing this list to its peak are politicians such as senator Chuck Schumer (D NY), former first lady Hillary Clinton, current president Barack Obama, mainstream mayor Michael Bloomberg. These are just four examples but they all have something in common, which was duly noted during the gun control debate after the Newtown shooting, they all have tax-paid armed protection. Get another bucket out, we'll need it.<br/> Guns were certainly part of the Davidian ranch and Ruby Ridge raids. Hillary Clinton believes we should shore up and enact tough gun legislation for our children, just as long as their last name isn't Weaver.<br/> Barack Obama stands on stage with a line of children and preaches the same hogwash sentiment that Clinton does, but how many <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/80-days-and-counting-since-us-has.html" target="_blank">Pakistani or Yemeni children photos</a> has he seen after one of his own authorized drone strikes resulting in their deaths? Just as long as those children are out of sight, out of mind - and are not politically significant. Cowards.<br/> The vile stench airing out from the laundry list of hypocrisy is unfathomable when it comes to the "Drug war." In the particular case of Marijuana legalization, for years governors and senators, and they are still saying it, have said that legalizing it sends the wrong message to the kids. Governor of New Hampshire, where I reside, Maggie Hassan, repeats those lines, <a href="http://dswoodopines.blogspot.com/2014/03/new-hampshire-house-passes-law-for.html" target="_blank">and promised to veto</a> a law allowing recreational use. Yet, where is she on the use of prescription drugs? What about the state regulated liquor agencies she governs over? Cross the country to Colorado and meet governor John Hickenlooper. Heavily against marijuana, which is heavily favored and now legal, but when it wasn't he would echo the same lines, "sends the wrong message to the kids." Hickenlooper is in the alcohol business, and has bragged about being the "first governor brewer." So who's sending the message to these kids anyways? And why do we need these loud mouth hypocrites to send it? Busy body hypocrites need to start regulating the foot in their mouth before they involve themselves in our private lives. Lastly, legalizing something medicinally that could end the suffering of children who suffer from epilepsy and other chronic illnesses would be sending the right message.<br/> Steve Katz, an Assemblyman in New York, voted against the legalization of Marijuana in 2012. That same assembly man and his "unfortunate incident" was caught smoking the same green he voted against. <br/> Representative Trey Radal (R-Florida) arrested for buying cocaine from an undercover agent.<br/> Idaho senator, Mike Crapo (yes, it's real) pushed the war against meth and then subsequently arrested for a DUI offense. What a load of crap, Crapo. <br/> And what about the last three presidents? Obama, Bush, and Clinton fought and fight the good fight in the war against drugs. All three admitted to using either marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and cigars on staffers. <br/> War hypocrites: Obama, no more stupid wars, but plenty of stupid interventions.<br/> Newt Gingrich was plenty pissed and lead the charge against Bill Clinton for his extramarital affairs, and then he, of course, had an affair. <br/> Mitt Romney is against government healthcare and still to this day can't explain why his state government healthcare is any different.<br/> Anti gay politicians busted in restrooms performing or soliciting homosexual acts. Larry Craig.<br/> The list is long, the list will get longer. So, the next time a politicians tries to tell you what is good for you and what isn't, just print off this article, do a Google search and refer it back to them and then tell them to "shut the hell up."</h3>Canadian border guards ask info from telecoms 19,000 times a yeartag:12160.info,2014-03-28:2649739:BlogPost:14404082014-03-28T10:05:48.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Canadian border guards ask info from telecoms 19,000 times a year</h3>
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<div><div class="body"> Digital Journal - In just one year Canadian border guards asked telecommunication companies for information about customers almost 19,000 times. In most cases the information was handed over without leaving behind any paper trail to trace what was given.</div>
<div class="body">Statistics about these transactions between the…</div>
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<h3 class="post-title entry-title">Canadian border guards ask info from telecoms 19,000 times a year</h3>
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<div><div class="body"> Digital Journal - In just one year Canadian border guards asked telecommunication companies for information about customers almost 19,000 times. In most cases the information was handed over without leaving behind any paper trail to trace what was given.</div>
<div class="body">Statistics about these transactions between the government and telecommunication corporations are almost never made public. However, the Canada Border Service Agency broke rank and released some information on its requests. It said that over 99 per cent of the requests were for basic subscriber information(BSI). These records would reveal who controlled a cellphone or Internet account. While this information is not necessarily public it does not require a warrant to obtain. Although these disclosures raise privacy concerns the telecoms seem to have adapted to receiving huge numbers of requests and almost always approving them. Of the 19,000 requests received in 2012 only 25 were refused and only 13 customers were actually notified that the government was snooping on them. The companies charge from one to three dollars to carry out each BSI request.</div>
</div>Pentagon explores hiding war-fighting gear on the sea bottom for yearstag:12160.info,2014-03-28:2649739:BlogPost:14406402014-03-28T10:04:43.000ZD.S. Woodhttps://12160.info/profile/DSWood
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<span class="caption">(Time) -This Pentagon rendering shows two underwater nodes on the sea floor, a third rising to the surface, and a fourth, having launched into the sky, monitoring a ship and submarine below.<!--more-- ></span> <span class="credit">DARPA</span><br />
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<h2 class="article-excerpt">Pentagon explores hiding war-fighting gear on the sea bottom for years</h2>
<p>The Navy’s endless push to build cheaper ships alarmed Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., at a House…</p>
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<span class="caption">(Time) -This Pentagon rendering shows two underwater nodes on the sea floor, a third rising to the surface, and a fourth, having launched into the sky, monitoring a ship and submarine below.<!--more-- ></span> <span class="credit">DARPA</span><br />
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<h2 class="article-excerpt">Pentagon explores hiding war-fighting gear on the sea bottom for years</h2>
<p>The Navy’s endless push to build cheaper ships alarmed Rep. Pete Visclosky, D-Ind., at a House <a href="http://appropriations.house.gov/calendararchive/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=373116" target="_blank">hearing</a> Tuesday. “You mention that we’re hitting a cost target,” he told the Navy brass about one class of vessels. “But if the ship’s not survivable, I don’t care if I meet my cost target if it’s in the bottom of the ocean.” <br/> <i>Bingo</i>! <br/> That’s exactly where the Pentagon is looking to build underwater mini-depots for the U.S. Navy. In fact, only hours after Visclosky grumbled about sunken ships sitting on the bottom of the ocean, the Pentagon <a href="https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=234431690a8c824d7b67a24d95596e7c&tab=core&_cview=0" target="_blank">said</a> it’s moving closer to making that cold and forbidding place a base for U.S. military hardware. It’s planning to test the concept in the Western Pacific, conveniently close to China, starting next year. <br/> “The approach centers on pre-deploying deep-ocean nodes years in advance in forward areas which can be commanded from standoff to deliver a wide range of unmanned and distributed systems to the sub-surface, surface, and air,” the Pentagon says. “The node must survive at greater than 6 km [3.7 miles] of depth, last up to 5 years, and operate in less than two hours after commanded to launch from the seafloor.” The system is designed for the world’s maritime hotspots, where cost and complexity limit how many ships the Navy can deploy. <br/> In a nutshell, the Pentagon wants to seed potential hotspots with equipment—including small drones and other reconnaissance gear—in capsules rooted on the ocean floor under at least 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) of water. That’s nearly 50% of the world’s oceans, and “provides a vast area for concealment and storage,” according to the Defense Department. These nodes would “hibernate”—that’s the word the Pentagon uses—until roused from their “dormancy” by signals from the U.S. military. They would then rise to the surface, which is why the Pentagon calls it the “<a href="http://www.darpa.mil/Our_Work/STO/Programs/Upward_Falling_Payloads_%28UFP%29.aspx" target="_blank">Upward Falling Payloads</a>” program. Then their payloads would deploy into the sky or water. <br/> Pentagon engineers believe “the cost to an adversary to retrieve a properly designed UFP node is asymmetric with the cost to produce and distribute them on the seafloor,” making it a bargain for the deployer. It’s the ultimate in “cheap stealth,” according to the Defense Advanced Projects Research Agency, the Pentagon office in charge. “The trick is to show how these systems offer lower-cost alternatives to traditional approaches, and that they scale well to large open-ocean areas,” DARPA program manager Andy Coon said Wednesday. <br/> Early node designs contained “risers” made of metal, ceramic or plastic, capable of handling payloads up to four feet long and 17 inches in diameter and 200 pounds. “Some risers were multi-launch systems whereas others were single-launch units,” DARPA says. The Pentagon plans on awarding several contracts totaling $38 million to develop and demonstrate the technologies involved. There are no details available on how many nodes the Pentagon might want, where they might be planted, how much they might cost and how they would be put into place. <br/> DARPA said the nodes’ payloads would be used for “operational support and situational awareness” when it said it was exploring the concept more than a year ago. <br/> “To make this work, we need to address technical challenges like extended survival of nodes under extreme ocean pressure, communications to wake-up the nodes after years of sleep, and efficient launch of payloads to the surface,” Coon said at the time. “We are simply offering an alternative path to realize these missions without requiring legacy ships and aircraft to launch the technology, and without growing the reach and complexity of unmanned platforms.” <br/> Payloads could include “waterborne or airborne cameras, sensors, decoys, network nodes, beacons, jammers, [and] obscurants,” DARPA said in its initial January 2013 outline:</p>
<blockquote><i>Depending on the specific payload, systems would provide a range of non-lethal but useful capabilities such as situational awareness, disruption, deception, networking, rescue, or any other mission that benefits from being pre-distributed and hidden. An example class of systems might be small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that launch to the surface in capsules, take off and provide aerial situational awareness, networking or decoy functions.</i></blockquote>
<p>That original summary of the program repeatedly declared the nodes’ payloads would be “non-lethal.” Details on the second and third phases of the effort, released Tuesday, do not contain that restriction. That omission was inadvertent, not ominous, Coon said</p>