Introducing The American Party
Dear Friends, Countrymen, Freethinking Radicals and Brainwashed Monkeys,
Thank you for coming. Thank you for showing your support. Thank you all for making The American Party happen. If this is your first time learning of us then an introduction is in order.
We’re responsible for creating the petition to free Patricia Marilyn Spottedcrow. A mother of four sent to ten years in prison for selling $31 of marijuana. On April 20th, 2011 we’re going to march on Washington D.C. and petition President Obama to pardon her of all criminal charges and penalties.
But I got to let you in on a little secret. This isn’t entirely about Patricia or getting her out of prison. This is bigger than that. This movement is about the fact that everything in this country is fucked up on every level: top to bottom, large to small. Patricia was just the straw that broke the camels back. And…
Matt Taibbi: Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail?
I have been a fan of Matt Taibbi’s work for quite some time, looks like he is asking the really “big” question in his most recent article (one that Danny Schechter, who Disinformation has worked with, has focused his work upon). I encourage you to read this article in Rolling Stone. Matt Taibbi writes:
Over drinks at a bar on a dreary, snowy night in Washington this past month, a former Senate investigator laughed as he polished off his beer.
“Everything’s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail,” he said. “That’s your whole story right there. Hell, you don’t even have to write the rest of it. Just write that.”
I put down my notebook. “Just that?”
“That’s right,” he said, signaling to the waitress for the check. “Everything’s fucked up, and nobody goes to jail. You can end the piece right there.”
Nobody goes to jail. This is the mantra of the financial-crisis era, one that saw…
“Invisible Beam” Weapon To Be Used In Prisons (Video)
Amy Dusto writes on Discovery News:
Prison guards could soon stop fights with a harmless tool that shoots a laser-like beam, video game-style, down into a room where trouble is brewing. The Assault Intervention Device (AID), funded by the National Institute of Justice, is still large and unrefined but will soon be installed for trial in at least one prison, the Pitchess Detention Center in Los Angeles County.
The AID directs an energy beam, which is in the invisible millimeter wavelength, that penetrates just deep enough beneath the skin to make the target’s pain receptors shout. The sensation is a burn like touching a hot stove or an iron. It only lasts up to 3 seconds — the AID controls automatically shut the beam off to prevent shooting for longer without resetting the trigger finger. The beam can hit a target about 100 feet away, and is about as wide as a CD.
According to Raytheon, the device’s manufacturers, it causes no actual damage to nerves or skin. This video shows the sharp reflex caused by an AID hit, and the unscathed hit receivers.
Marijuana Arrests in New York City Skyrocket
Alice Speri writes in the NY Times’ City Room:
More people were arrested last year in New York City on charges of marijuana possession than during the entire 19-year period from 1978 to 1996, according to an analysis released this morning by the Drug Policy Alliance.
Last year, the sixth year in a row that marijuana possession arrests increased, 50,383 people were arrested, according to a report recently released by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services and obtained by the policy alliance, which advocates for reform of drug laws.
The figure adds up to 140 arrests a day, making marijuana possession the leading reason for arrest in the city, and represents an 8 percent increase over 2009 and a 69 percent increase since 2005, the alliance reported in a statement issued Thursday.
From 1978 to 1996, there were 49,326 marijuana possession arrests, according to an analysis for the alliance done by Harry…
Why Legalizing Drugs — All of Them — Is the Only Forward Path For Black America
Interesting article from John McWhorter in the New Republic:
This should change, as I have argued frequently over the past year (listen to part of a speech I did on this here). Of the countless reasons why this revival of this Prohibition that looks so quaint in Boardwalk Empire should be erased with all deliberate speed, one is that with no War on Drugs there would be, within one generation, no “black problem” in the United States. Poverty in general, yes. An education problem in general — probably. But the idea that black America had a particular crisis would rapidly become history, requiring explanation to young people. The end of the War on Drugs is, in fact, what all people genuinely concerned with black uplift should be focused on, which is why I am devoting my last TNR post of 2010 to the issue. The black malaise in the U.S. is currently like a…
Pat Robertson Says Legalize Marijuana (Video)
Maybe Robertson realized that a substantial portion of his audience consists of insomniac potheads. Amen, Preacher. Pass the doobies like collection plates. From LA Times blog:
WikiLeaks Revelation: The U.S. Tortured an Innocent Man and Threatened Germany to Not Prosecute the Torturers
While the U.S. media simultaneously wrings its hands over whether Julian Assange should get life imprisonment or the death penalty and claims WikiLeaks revealed nothing important except about Iran’s WMD ambitions, Scott Horton reports at Harper’s:
Over the Christmas-New Year’s holiday in 2003, Khaled El-Masri traveled by bus to Skopje, Macedonia. There he was apprehended by border guards who noted the similarity of his name to that of Khalid al-Masri, an Al Qaeda agent linked to the Hamburg cell where the 9/11 attacks were plotted. Despite El-Masri’s protests that he was not al-Masri, he was beaten, stripped naked, shot full of drugs, given an enema and a diaper, and flown first to Baghdad and then to the notorious “salt pit,” the CIA’s secret interrogation facility in Afghanistan.
At the salt pit, he was repeatedly beaten, drugged, and subjected to a strange food regime that he supposed was part of an experiment that his captors were performing on him. Throughout this time, El-Masri insisted that he had been falsely imprisoned, and the CIA slowly established that he was who he claimed to be. Over many further weeks of bickering over what to do, a number of CIA figures apparently argued that, though innocent, the best course was to continue to hold him incommunicado because he “knew too much.”…
WikiLeaks Revelation: The U.S. State Department Obstructed Spanish Torture Investigations
More from Scott Horton at Harper’s:
In Spain, the WikiLeaks disclosures have dominated the news for three days now. The reporting has been led by the level-headed El País, with its nationwide competitor, Público, lagging only a bit behind. Attention has focused on three separate matters, each pending in the Spanish national security court, the Audiencia Nacional: the investigation into the 2003 death of a Spanish cameraman, José Cuoso, as a result of the mistaken shelling of Baghdad’s Palestine Hotel by a U.S. tank; an investigation into the torture of Spanish subjects held at Guantánamo; and a probe into the use of Spanish bases and airfields for extraordinary renditions flights, including the one which took Khaled El-Masri to Baghdad and then on to Afghanistan in 2003.
These cables reveal a large-scale, closely coordinated effort by the State Department to obstruct these criminal investigations. High-ranking U.S. visitors such as former Republican Party Chair Mel Martinez,…
Schwarzenegger Decriminalizes Pot in California
Nicholas Pell writes in the Examiner.com
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Friday morning that decriminalizes possession of marijuana in the state.
Those caught with less than an ounce of marijuana will still receive a maximum penalty of $100. However, Senate Bill 1449 reduces the legal categorization of marijuana possession from a misdemeanor to a civil infraction. This means that those caught will not have to appear in court, pay court fees or receive a criminal record.
Schwarzenegger opposes Proposition 19, a pending referendum that will provide a legal framework for the sale, cultivation and taxation of marijuana. However, despite this opposition, Schwarzenegger signed the bill into law. In a letter to the California Senate, Schwarzenegger stated that “less than an ounce of marijuana is an infraction in everything but name. The only difference is that because it is a misdemeanor, a criminal defendant is entitled to a jury trial and a…
All Drugs Have Been Legal in Portugal Since 2001: Did Decriminalization Work?
Interesting article in TIME from last year. Maia Szalavitz writes:
Pop quiz: Which European country has the most liberal drug laws? (Hint: It’s not the Netherlands.)
Although its capital is notorious among stoners and college kids for marijuana haze–filled “coffee shops,” Holland has never actually legalized cannabis — the Dutch simply don’t enforce their laws against the shops. The correct answer is Portugal, which in 2001 became the first European country to officially abolish all criminal penalties for personal possession of drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine.
At the recommendation of a national commission charged with addressing Portugal’s drug problem, jail time was replaced with the offer of therapy. The argument was that the fear of prison drives addicts underground and that incarceration is more expensive than treatment — so why not give drug addicts health services instead? Under Portugal’s new regime, people found guilty of possessing small amounts of drugs are sent to a…
Charles Bronson for President
Via the First Church of Mutterhals:
I’ve been watching the Death Wish movies all week on AMC. Quake loves them dearly for the wet explosions and hand cannons. I am amazed that these films ever saw the light of day.
The story goes as follows: Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) is forced into violence by so many thugs and cretins, who run roughshod over New York city like a band of vikings. Kersey never really wants to spill blood, it’s just that the aforementioned thugs will not stop killing and raping his loved ones. The cops are no help either. They are either woefully incompetent or believe Kersey to be just as bad as those he hunts. Paul Kersey has to be the unluckiest man in the history of film.
These are laughably bad films and in no way do they represent reality. But something about them struck me as being fairly accurate, and that…
What’s Wrong With How We Punish Criminals
Mark Kleiman, professor of Public Affairs at the UCLA, talks to ReasonTV about the overriding flaw in the U.S. criminal justice system: it’s “randomized draconianism” — that is, punishments are both too severe, and are applied irregularly, unfairly, randomly, etc., in different cases. For example, get caught violating your drug probation, and most likely nothing will happen, but there’s a small chance you will be hit with a twenty-five-year prison sentence. The solution? Modeling penalties on parenting techniques, in which punishment should be swift and certain, but not cruel or too drastic.
Smile! Aerial Images Being Used To Enforce Laws
Google Earth aerial view of downtown Los Angeles.
Benign, or Big Brother? Report from AP/Yahoo News:
On New York’s Long Island, it’s used to prevent drownings. In Greece, it’s a tool to help solve a financial crisis. Municipalities update property assessment rolls and other government data with it. Some in law enforcement use it to supplement reconnaissance of crime suspects.
High-tech eyes in the sky — from satellite imagery to sophisticated aerial photography that maps entire communities — are being employed in creative new ways by government officials, a trend that civil libertarians and others fear are eroding privacy rights.
“As technology advances, we have to revisit questions about what is and what is not private information,” said Gregory Nojeim, senior counsel at the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Democracy and Technology.
Online services like Google and Bing give users very detailed images of practically any location on the planet. Though some images are months old,…
In Case Anything Happens To WikiLeaks … They Have Posted A Mysterious ‘Insurance’ File
The plot thickens … Excellent story from Kim Zetter on the always interesting WIRED’s Threat Level:
In the wake of strong U.S. government statements condemning WikiLeaks’ recent publishing of 77,000 Afghan War documents, the secret-spilling site has posted a mysterious encrypted file labeled “insurance.”
The huge file, posted on the Afghan War page at the WikiLeaks site, is 1.4 GB and is encrypted with AES256. The file’s size dwarfs the size of all the other files on the page combined. The file has also been posted on a torrent download site as well.
WikiLeaks, on Sunday, posted several files containing the 77,000 Afghan war documents in a single “dump” file and in several other files containing versions of the documents in various searchable formats.
Cryptome, a separate secret-spilling site, has speculated that the file may have been posted as insurance in case something happens to the WikiLeaks website or to the organization’s founder, Julian…
Real-Life Superhero Defends Tennessee Town
Via NBC News:
COLUMBIA, TN (NBC) — In a town where they’ve engraved “justice” and “honor” on the public square, a new word, a new name is the talk of Columbia.
Bike shop owner A.C. Howell said, “The Viper, I believe. Isn’t he the Masked Viper?”
Yes, the Viper. He’s a man police found patrolling the public square with an arsenal of equipment, including plastic sticks and ninja throwing stars. His goal? Find crime and report it to police. Officers spotted him outside the wheel last week.
The bike shop’s owner couldn’t help but chuckle.
“I don’t know. He needs something to do. Probably needs a job. I hope he’s looking out for my benefit. I hope he’s guarding my store,” said Howell.
31-Year-Old Woman Poses As 14-Year-Old Boy to Become 16-Year-Old Girl’s “Boyfriend”
Patricia Dye, 31
Lawrence Budd of the Dayton Daily News writes:
A Franklin woman pretended to be a 14-year-old boy named Matt Abrams to get close to a Springboro girl, authorities said.
Patricia Dye, 31, of Franklin, remained in the Warren County Jail on Tuesday, July 6, charged with unlawful sexual conduct with and corruption of a 16-year-old Springboro girl in late May at the girl’s home. Dye, who used the alias Matt Abrams, is 4 feet 11 inches tall, smaller than the 5-foot-5 victim, according to police reports.
“They were boyfriend-girlfriend,” Sgt. Bob Marchiny said. “(Dye) looks just like a boy.” Police began investigating Dye after the girl ran away from a hotel where they had been living together for three days in June. The girl did not realize Dye was a woman, Marchiny said.
“We realized the person she was with wasn’t who we thought she was,” Marchiny said. Dye, arrested on June 30…
Man Arrested for Photographing Cop Who Followed Him Into His Home
Rosa Golijan writes on Gizmodo:
We’ve discussed the legality of recording on-duty police officers in the past, but that was in the context of public streets. What if the officer you’re photographing followed you into your home — without just cause?
A man named Francisco Olvera found out what happens when he was arrested for “illegal photography” by an officer in Sealy, Texas:
Olvera says the trouble started when Alderete responded to a complaint of loud music coming from his home. In front of the home, Alderete asked Olvera to show identification and as Olvera walked into his house to get it, Alderete followed him in.
“Olvera did not believe that Alderete had the authority to enter Olvera’s residence and, therefore, took a picture of Alderete using his cell phone,” the complaint states.
Olvera claims that Alderete saw a can of beer on a kitchen counter, next to Olvera’s wallet, and immediately handcuffed him.
Nebraska Man: Hitler Made Me Grow Marijuana
Steve Elliott writes at Toke of the Town:
Sieg High? Just when you think you’ve heard every possible reason for cultivating cannabis, some imaginative farmer comes along to prove you wrong.
A 42-year-old Nebraska man told police “Adolf Hitler made me grow it,” after they discovered marijuana plants in his West Omaha home, reports Jodi Baker at WOWT.
The Omaha Police Department’s narcotics unit served a court-ordered search warrant on Darin Badami’s home near 114th and West Center Road on Wednesday morning. The man’s unique excuse didn’t get him out of being arrested on felony charges.
For those of a historical bent, Hitler, despite being born on April 20, was a non-smoker who initiated the first anti-smoking campaign in modern history.
Drunken Mugshots Are Nothing New: Here Are Some British DUIs From 1904
Caught drunk driving a steam engine? Via the Daily Mail:
James Doyle, a labourer, was convicted of being drunk and disorderly in a public house in 1904.
Angry, bewildered and shame-faced these Edwardian drunks stare into the lens of the police camera.
They were ‘habitual drunkards’ whose offences included being caught while in charge of a horse, carriage and even a steam engine.
Issued a century ago, the drunks were given the equivalent of modern-day Asbos in that they were banned from being served in pubs because of their past behaviour.
Information was compiled by the Watch Committee of the City of Birmingham, which was set up by the police to enforce the Licensing Act of 1902.
The act was passed in an attempt to deal with public drunks, giving police the power to apprehend those found drunk in any public place and unable to take care of themselves.
Read More and see lots of photos in the…
When Twitter Can Make You A Jailbird
RICHARD LARDNER writes on the AP via Yahoo News
Maxi Sopo was having so much fun “living in paradise” in Mexico that he posted about it on Facebook so all his friends could follow his adventures. Others were watching, too: A federal prosecutor in Seattle, where Sopo was wanted on bank fraud charges.
Tracking Sopo through his public “friends” list, the prosecutor found his address and had Mexican authorities arrest him. Instead of sipping pina coladas, Sopo is awaiting extradition to the U.S.
Sopo learned the hard way: The Feds are on Facebook. And MySpace, LinkedIn and Twitter, too.
Law enforcement agents are following the rest of the Internet world into popular social-networking services, even going undercover with false online profiles to communicate with suspects and gather private information, according to an internal Justice Department document that surfaced in a lawsuit.
The document shows that U.S. agents are logging on surreptitiously to exchange messages with…
