A Former U.S. Prison Chief Visits A Norwegian Jail. He Cannot Believe What He Sees. WRIST SLAP: No Jail Time For GOP Aide In Drunken Hit And Run Death (VIDEOS. Screen shot of Courtney Griffin memorial story; @KXAN At some point in our growing up we learn that life is not just. We want it to be; fairy tales and movies so often tell us it will be, but it is not. For the family of Courtney Griffin, whose hit and run killer, Gabrielle Nestande, 25, was just convicted of “criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon” yet walked away with the “wrist slap” of 10 years suspended with no jail time, there is no justice for their loved one’s death.
None at all. Before we look at the facts, I want to share this first paragraph of an article written back in May of 2011 in the OC Weekly: The apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree: former Orange County Supervisor and state Assemblyman Bruce Nestande served six months of house arrest and three years probation after pleading guilty in 2007 to driving drunk the wrong way on a one-way street and hitting a parked car.
Well, at least back in May of 2011 alcohol was not believed to be a factor. Major Update - Our Autistic Son was Handcuffed and Arrested in School, We Were Not Notified. The police action at the school was part of a "sting operation", which was secretly brought into local school district classrooms, with the assistance of key school administrators. Their goal was "identifying and purchasing illegal drugs from persons dealing". The problem is, our son is not and never was a drug dealer. There were plenty of news articles about how the sheriff's department heroically took down the 22-student "drug ring, with a picture of a kid being led away in handcuffs.
The kid in the picture is our son. And of course, the district was happy to tout their zero tolerance policy to the press, though zero tolerance has its fair share of critics, especially as relates to minorities and students with disabilities. Many have linked the growth of the pipeline to zero-tolerance policies that removed educators’ discretion over how to properly respond to student misbehavior. Persuading personnel at the detention center to allow us to speak on the phone with our son was a challenge. Earthquake scientists found guilty: Italian scientists get six years in prison for manslaughter - The Manitoban.
Three years after the earthquake in the town of L’Aquila, Italy, that killed 309 people, a group of Italian scientists and government officials have been sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter for allegedly carrying out a shoddy risk assessment and failing to communicate clearly with the public. The prosecutors argued that confusing and contradictory official statements led the people of L’Aquila to underestimate the risk of an earthquake and neglect safety measures, resulting in unnecessary deaths. As members of the National Commission for the Forecast and Prevention of Major Risks, they met on March 31, 2009 (six days before the earthquake struck in April) to discuss the swarm of seismic tremors that had been shaking L’Aquila for three months. In press conferences before and after the meeting, De Bernardinis said that the swarm posed “no danger” and that it helped to discharge energy, lessening the likelihood of a future earthquake.
ILLUSTRATION BY: Caroline Norman. Rapists Can Claim Custody, Visitation Rights for Victims' Babies. August 27, 2012|1:44 pm Akin suggested last Sunday that women's bodies could prevent pregnancies in cases of "legitimate rape," a statement for which he later apologized, but not before a large section of the GOP, including presidential candidate Mitt Romney, asked him to step down from his campaign for the Missouri Senate race. The remark stemmed from a debate on abortion, which Akin and many Republicans want to make illegal in most cases, including those of rape.
In response to Akin's statement, a woman who was raped and decided to give birth to her baby, and now works as a lawyer, revealed that rapists in 31 states retain the same custody and visitation rights over the children they conceive through rape as do regular fathers. "Eight years after my rape, I find myself on trial against ignorance again. Rep. Todd Akin's recent comments that 'legitimate rape' rarely results in pregnancy not only flout scientific fact but, for me, cut deeper. Follow us. Feds Wait Until Late Friday To Admit That, Yeah, They Ignored The 4th Amendment.
Jane Jacobs and the Problem of Monstrous Hybrids. The Organic Community Must Come Out Swinging at the Right Opponents « Stonyfield Farm: organic yogurt, organic living, & healthy food – BLOG. Dear Stonyfield friends, On Thursday, January 27, the USDA announced a policy that supports the interests of Monsanto and big biotech and deals a major blow to organic farming. They decided to “deregulate” genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa, meaning to allow its unrestricted use. In the months leading up to this decision, a coalition of us has been working ceaselessly to fight for any and all alternatives.
I’ve personally spent days, nights, weekends and vacations as we worked right though the holidays along with our colleagues to try to prevent this chemical giant from steamrolling over farmers, consumers and organic foods supporters. So, it is particularly sad for me to report to you that in this latest round, which is surely just one chapter, they won and we lost. Let me first state the obvious – leaving aside the fact that USDA’s own organic standards do not allow the use of genetically engineered crops, Stonyfield is absolutely and utterly opposed to the deregulation of GE crops. EU Officially Seizes The Public Domain, Retroactively Extends Copyright. Is the Better Business Bureau a protection racket? - By Timothy Noah.
Amy Goodman: ‘Food Terrorism’ Next Door to the Magic Kingdom. ‘Food Terrorism’ Next Door to the Magic Kingdom Posted on Jun 28, 2011 By Amy Goodman Think of “food terrorism” and what do you see? Diabolical plots to taint items on grocery-store shelves? If you are Buddy Dyer, the mayor of Orlando, Fla., you might be thinking of a group feeding the homeless and hungry in one of your city parks. That is what Dyer is widely quoted as calling the activists with the Orlando chapter of Food Not Bombs—“food terrorists.” Food Not Bombs is an international, grass-roots organization that fights hunger. Lately, the Orlando police have been arresting those who serve food there, like Benjamin Markeson. Attorney Shayan Elahi doesn’t know, either. At issue is a city law, the “Large Group Feeding” ordinance, that requires groups to obtain a permit to serve food, even for free, to groups of 25 or more. The Florida Civil Rights Association has called on Mayor Dyer to apologize for his designation of the Food Not Bombs group as terrorists.
. © 2011 Amy Goodman. Fraudclosure | Sunny Sheu Murdered? Judicial Corruption Activist Dead Weeks After Posting Video About His Fears | zero hedge. Walmart Allows Its Workers To Unionize In Other Countries, Just Not In The United States. By Travis Waldron on June 8, 2011 at 12:40 pm "Walmart Allows Its Workers To Unionize In Other Countries, Just Not In The United States" To complete its acquisition of Massmart, a chain of retail stores in South Africa, Walmart struck a deal that must seem extraordinary to the company’s American employees. To win government approval of the acquisition, Walmart made concessions to a South African labor union, agreeing to avoid worker layoffs, honor existing union contracts, and use local suppliers.
The idea that Walmart negotiated with and made concessions to a labor union in South Africa may seem odd to workers in the United States, where Walmart has developed a reputation as one of the country’s most virulent opponents of organization efforts. In Brazil, Argentina, China, the United Kingdom, and now South Africa, some Walmart employees are organized.
“We have a local philosophy,” Wal-Mart International Chief Executive Doug McMillon recently told reporters. Whistle-blowing witch grounded by TSA - Business - U.S. business. Photographing cows or other farm scenery could land you in jail under Senate bill | The Florida Tribune. Chase Madar: Why Bradley Manning Is a Patriot, Not a Criminal: An Opening Statement for the Defense of Private Manning. Crossposted with TomDispatch.com. Bradley Manning, a 23-year-old from Crescent, Oklahoma, enlisted in the U.S. military in 2007 to give something back to his country and, he hoped, the world. For the past seven months, Army Private First Class Manning has been held in solitary confinement in the Marine Corps brig in Quantico, Virginia. 25,000 other Americans are also in prolonged solitary confinement, but the conditions of Manning’s pre-trial detention have been sufficiently brutal for the United Nation’s Special Rapporteur on Torture to announce an investigation.
Pfc. Manning is alleged to have obtained documents, both classified and unclassified, from the Department of Defense and the State Department via the Internet and provided them to WikiLeaks. (That “alleged” is important because the federal informant who fingered Manning, Adrian Lamo, is a felon convicted of computer-hacking crimes. For bringing to light this critical but long-suppressed information, Pfc. U.S. Who is Pfc. Pfc. Journalists Killed in 2010. 44 Journalists Killed in 2010/Motive Confirmed Statistical Analysis All figures are rounded to the nearest full percentage point. * May add up to more than 100 percent because more than one category applies in some cases. Deadliest Countries in 2010 44 Journalists Killed in 2010/Motive Confirmed Terminology explained Alfrets Mirulewan, Pelangi Weekly December 17, 2010, in Kisar, Maluku Islands, Indonesia Omar Rasim al-Qaysi, Al-Anbar TV December 12, 2010, in Ramadi, Iraq Pervez Khan, Waqt TV December 6, 2010, in Ghalanai, Pakistan Abdul Wahab, Express News Carlos Alberto Guajardo Romero, Expreso Matamoros November 5, 2010, in Matamoros, Mexico Francisco Gomes de Medeiros, Radio Caicó October 18, 2010, in Caicó, Brazil Tahrir Kadhim Jawad, freelance October 4, 2010, in Garma, Iraq Luis Carlos Santiago, El Diario September 16, 2010, in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico Misri Khan, Ausaf and Mashriq September 14, 2010, in Hangu, Pakistan Paul Kiggundu, TOP Radio and TV Safa al-Din Abdel Hamid, Al-Mosuliya James P.
Nathan S. Quartzsite in an uproar, in 'state of emergency' due to video on YouTube. The Western Arizona town of Quartzsite was in a state of upheaval Monday after the Town Council ousted the mayor from power and declared a state of emergency, all because of an online video that shows a woman being arrested. Mayor Ed Foster told The Associated Press on Monday that the Town Council held a last-minute meeting that was closed to the public Sunday night, declaring a state of emergency in the town of 3,600 just east of the California city of Blythe. The council's declaration put Police Chief Jeff Gilbert in charge, making Foster the "deputy chief executive of nothing right now," he said.
It also allows the five-member council to meet without public notice and suspend all public comment at the meetings until the members declare the state of emergency over. "I'm going to tell you frankly, this council is out of control," Foster said. Cowell defended Quartzsite's leaders by saying the town is audited every year and that they're not corrupt. "Our people work so hard," she said. Family Farm Ordered to Destroy 50,000 Pounds of Cheese | Hartke Is Online! New York Appellate Judge James Catterson: “there is no longer any judicial oversight of eminent domain proceedings” Investing rules absent in Congress.