The U.S. Prison Population - By The Numbers (w/Infographic) Joe WrightActivist Post It has been well documented that despite the platitudes suggesting that the United States is the beacon of freedom, it is actually the location with the most filled cages of human beings. The capital of this Gulag is currently Louisiana, where the incarceration rate is nearly 5 times Iran's, 13 times China's and 20 times Germany's. (Source) America holds 25% of the world's prison population and only 5% of its overall population. The U.S. prison business has become the essence of predatory corporatism: it privatizes profits and socializes losses. One statistic to note is that actual violent crime and property crimes have been declining, but the prison population continues to explode. Boston University Online Masters in Criminal Justice The numbers are the numbers, but I personally would take issue that the #1 solution would be treatment programs as intimated above -- many of these inmates never should have arrived in the first place.
DEVELOPING: Top NSA and DOJ Officials Have Fled the U.S. – Obama Admin. Files Espionage Charges In that meeting, both Inglis and Cole revealed that the depth of NSA spying far surpassed anything that whistleblower Edward Snowden has made public to date. The unauthorized leaks to Congress by Inglis and Cole, which exposed more about NSA spying than anything Snowden has revealed, shook congressional leaders to their core. The National Security Agency revealed to an angry congressional panel on Wednesday that its analysis of phone records and online behavior goes exponentially beyond what it had previously disclosed.[...]John C Inglis, the deputy director of the surveillance agency, told a member of the House judiciary committee that NSA analysts can perform “a second or third hop query” through its collections of telephone data and internet records in order to find connections to terrorist organizations.“Hops” refers to a technical term indicating connections between people. “The national security of the United States has been damaged by those leaks. Updates (EST):
The Debtors Prison System Resurrected From The Grave Update about the revival of the debtors prison in America Michael EdwardsActivist Post Debtors prisons have a sordid history that was thought to be best left behind in Medieval Europe and in Charles Dickens' fictionalized accounts of the 19th-century hellholes of Victorian England. However, debtors prisons were also widespread in the United States, and stories of the conditions in New York's debtors prisons could make one question if repayment of debts was really the purpose; violent criminals were much better clothed and fed. In fact, history shows that terror and slavery have always had a close relationship with debt, and it follows a path from the Romans right through to 17th-century England, and into America from English common law. However, America chose to abolish her debtors prisons a full 36 years before England - first in New York in 1831, and by 1833 most of America had followed.(1) But now they are back. Reform advocates are proposing the following solutions: 1.
Rep. Issa calls out Justice inaction on tax snooping, sees dangers in health care law House oversight committee Chairman Darrell E. Issa said Thursday he’s baffled that the Justice Department declined to prosecute a government employee who apparently knowingly pried into tax records of a political candidate or donor, and said there should be a way for victims to know their rights have been violated. He also said letting state officials have access to federal tax records can be dangerous, and that’s one reason to try to rein in the health care law, which will expand access to states that plan on running their own insurance exchanges. SEE ALSO: IRS IG: Audit never labeled groups ‘conservative’ or ‘liberal’ Mr. In one case, the investigator said the violation was willful and referred it to the Justice Department, which declined to pursue the case — a move Mr. “We are not just disappointed, but dismayed,” Mr. Investigators for Sen. SEE ALSO: Amid delays, Obama pitches benefits of health law Ms. At Thursday’s hearing, Mr. Mr. The decision didn’t sit well with Mr.
Land of the Free? Half of Black Males, 38% of White Males Arrested by Age 23 Activist Post Nearly half of black males and almost 40 percent of white males in the U.S. are arrested by age 23, which can hurt their ability to find work, go to school and participate fully in their communities. A new study released Monday (Jan. 6) in the journal Crime & Delinquency provides the first contemporary findings on how the risk of arrest varies across race and gender, says Robert Brame, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina and lead author of the study. The study is an analysis of national survey data from 1997 to 2008 of teenagers and young adults, ages 18, and their arrest histories, which run the gamut from truancy and underage drinking to more serious and violent offenses. The study excludes arrests for minor traffic violations. Most striking are the race differences revealed in the study, Brame says. The negative impacts can be great, he says. The study's key findings include:
Beware “Underwear 2″: TSA Chief Offers Rare al Qaeda Bomb Details For many Americans, airline security is an onerous and even excessive burden. But in remarks at a national security forum on Friday, Transportation Security Administration chief John Pistole illustrated why the federal government is still on high alert. Speaking in unusual detail, Pistole offered specifics about an underwear bomb devised by a master al Qaeda bomb-maker in Yemen meant to be exploded in an airliner over the United States last year. The plot was foiled thanks to a double-agent inside al Qaeda’s Yemen branch, in a case that has also become the subject of a controversial Justice Department leak investigation. In an exchange with ABC News reporter Brian Ross at the 2013 Aspen Security Forum, Pistole described the bomb as “Underwear 2,” a successor to the underwear bomb worn Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab tried to detonate on Northwest Flight 253 near Detroit on Christmas Day 2009. “So you really have a twisted genius in Yemen,” Ross observed.
“We don’t have time for this”: Officer Shoots and Kills Teen With Schizophrenia Lily DaneActivist Post A North Carolina family is mourning the loss of their 18-year-old son after he was shot and killed by a police officer. Mark Wilsey called 911 for police assistance with his son Keith, who was having a schizophrenic incident and threatened his mother with a small screwdriver. Wilsey said two police officers showed up and were able to subdue Keith, but the arrival of a third officer caused the teen to become agitated, and the officers used a Taser on him. Wilsey told WECT that officers had his son down on the ground after the teen was tased a few times and an officer said, “We don’t have time for this.” That’s when Wilsey says one of the officers stepped between the two who were holding Keith down and fired, killing his son: “There was no reason to shoot this kid,” Wilsey said. Both parents said they had to watch their son die in front of them. “Where is the justice, why did they shoot my son? Lily Dane is a staff writer for The Daily Sheeple, where this first appeared.
Justice Department places 'hold' on Trayvon Martin trial evidence, including George Zimmerman's gun - which Florida law says must be returned to him By David Martosko Published: 21:34 GMT, 18 July 2013 | Updated: 13:54 GMT, 19 July 2013 The U.S. Sanford police confirmed on Thursday that the DOJ asked the agency not to return any pieces of evidence to their owners. The development is a sign that the criminal section of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division is seriously investigating Zimmerman to determine if federal civil rights charges should be filed. Assistant state attorney Bernie de la Rionda showed the jury George Zimmerman's gun during his closing argument on July 11. Sighs of relief: Jurors found George Zimmerman not guilty of second-degree murder in the 2012 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin. Zimmerman was acquitted of murder and manslaughter on Sunday in a Florida courtroom, but civil rights violations provide an exception to the U.S. That's because if Zimmerman were tried in federal court, he would be charged with violating Trayvon Martin's civil rights, not causing his death.
Police Beat Mentally Ill Homeless Man to Death – and Get Away With It Lily DaneActivist Post Today two ex-police officers were found not guilty in the 2011 beating death of a mentally ill homeless man. Kelly Thomas, a 37-year-old homeless man with schizophrenia, was approached by Fullerton police who were responding to a vandalism call on the night of July 5. A 33-minute surveillance camera video caught the entire confrontation. WARNING: This video contains graphic and disturbing content. The altercation began when Officer Manuel Ramos approached Thomas and engaged him in conversation. You see my fists? Thomas, while sitting on the ground, told the officer, “Start punching, dude!” He stood up to walk away, and that’s when a second officer started beating him with a baton. Thomas can be heard pleading for the officers to stop hitting him: I’m sorry, dude! About 16 minutes into the altercation, two officers are seen on top of Thomas, who protested: I can’t breathe dude, I can’t breathe! Dad! The video footage seems to tell a completely different story. Chilling.
Oh My: Journalist For Progressive Publication Salon Asks If Eric Holder Is Obama’s “Inner Nigger” (SALON) -- [...] When people hold their breath for your imminent words, isn’t it exasperating when you open your mouth, but don’t say much? Finally the president has spoken about George Zimmerman’s acquittal. Even as the country waited for his singular response – the nation’s leader and a law professor who once looked like Trayvon Martin – the president danced around the issues. And what a dramatic anti-climax, listening to the president refuse to say anything insightful or profound about the acquittal. In signature professorial style, the president gave us the “context” to the episode and to black people’s “pain.” Meanwhile, Attorney General Eric Holder delivered trenchant thoughts on the acquittal, demanding action. “We must stand our ground,” he told supporters. Some of us have an Inner Child. Is Holder the president’s aggressive internal mind and voice — willing to speak truth to power, but unbothered with appearing like an angry black man?
Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison For Shooting Police Dog Meanwhile, pet-killing officers nationwide enjoy freedom... Cassius MethylActivist Post In South Carolina, a man committing an armed robbery shot and killed a police dog while being chased, and now he has been sentenced to 35 years in prison. There is certainly no moral justification for armed robbery or killing animals in cold blood, yet there is hypocrisy in the ‘justice system’ that should be taken note of. If a man is forced to spend nearly the rest of his life rotting inside the largest prison system in the world for killing a dog belonging to an officer of the police state, why are officers who shoot animals without a second thought getting away with no charge? One doesn’t have to think hard to recall instances of officers executing canines, such as the incident in Hawthorne, California in 2013 where they killed a non-threatening dog while the owner was handcuffed and had to watch. Or how about police going on a rampage and killing a pet parakeet? Recently by Cassius Methyl:
Boston Bomb Hoax? Phoney Leg Bone Prosthetic Falls Off? (Mirror)