Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

11 Alive – by Brendan Keefe and Michael King

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WXIA) – The Georgia Legislature has a message for voters: don’t ask us about our meetings with corporate lobbyists behind closed doors.

The 11Alive Investigators tracked lawmakers to a resort hotel in Savannah last week, where we observed state legislators and lobbyists mingling in the hotel bar the night before they gathered in private rooms to decide what new laws would best serve the corporations.   Continue reading “Legislators and corporate lobbyists meet in secret at Georgia resort”

Courthouse News – by LORRAINE BAILEY

(CN) – Civil libertarians cannot force a full disclosure of the nearly 7,000-page Senate report on the CIA’s use of torture in interrogations, a federal judge ruled Thursday.

The 6,963-page “Final Full Report” by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) has been in a quasi-limbo since Republicans took control of Congress at the beginning of this year.   Continue reading “Judge Won’t Give Public Access to Senate Report on CIA Torture”

Lew Rockwell – by William Norman Grigg

Scott Boyler, a resident of Evans, New York, is a low-level registered sex offender who was convicted of attempting to receive child pornography. He was recently arrested and jailed for several days not for something he had received, but rather something he had posted online – comments critical of the local police in a website entitled “Lackawanna Police Corruption.”

One of Boyler’s recent posts described an illegal cell phone search conducted by an officer he identified as “Joseph `Pig Face’ Leo.” Leo filed a complaint against Boyler, who was arrested for “aggravated harassment.” That charge was quickly dismissed, as the officer most likely knew it would be. But it did lead to Boyler being incarcerated for several days as summary punishment for “contempt of cop,” which was the objective. Boyler has filed a $1.25 million lawsuit.   Continue reading “In a Police State, People are Punished for Criticizing the Police”

MassPrivateI

Drunk driving has decreased by one-third since 2007 and three-quarters since 1973, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) 2013-2014 Roadside Survey of Alcohol and Drug Use by Drivers.

The NHTSA used FORCIBLY collected oral fluid or blood samples from 11,100 drivers at 60 locations across the country to make the determination that drunk driving is decreasing.   Continue reading “Homeland Security is paying police to set up DUI checkpoints”

New York Post – by Josh Saul and Laura Italiano

Two Manhattan DEA employees secretly owned a low-rent strip club in South Hackensack, NJ, that employed illegal immigrants from Brazil and Russia as dancers, the feds say in a new criminal complaint.

The dive, called the Twins Plus Go-Go Lounge, has repeatedly been cited by state regulators for lewdness because the dancers over-exposed themselves — and also took money for sex in the private lap dance rooms, the complaint says.   Continue reading “DEA staffers secretly owned strip club with illegal immigrant dancers: feds”

Reuters – by David Dekok

A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday barred the release of a video that allegedly shows a Hummelstown police officer shooting a traffic-stop suspect to death earlier this year as the man lay face down on the ground.

Judge Deborah Curcillo of Dauphin County Court of Common Pleas said making the video public before trial was “highly unusual” and would jeopardize the ability of Officer Lisa Mearkle to receive a fair trial for criminal homicide.   Continue reading “Pennsylvania judge bars release of police shooting video before trial”

Helping Alex – New Braunfels Texas

A 9 year old boy named Alex was found in tears, confined, and shivering in a small empty room today at Carl Schurz Elementary School. Alex’s mom was taken to this room after being denied five times by the vice principal to accompany her to retrieve Alex. Immediately Alex’s mom pulled out her phone and started taking pictures as the vice principal tried to block her.    Continue reading “The “Focus Room” Horror”

MassPrivateI

A D.C. appeals court ruled DHS can shutdown cellphone service anywhere for any reason and there’s NOTHING we can do about it!

In Feb. 2015 the appeals court agreed with the government’s contention that the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) allows DHS to withhold documents if their exposure could “endanger” public safety. Continue reading “Court: DHS can use it’s cellphone kill switch anytime, anywhere”

CBS Philadelphia – by Diana Rocco

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., (CBS) – A mother says her son was suspended over a Nerf bullet in New Jersey.

This Styrofoam Nerf bullet with a toothpick stuck in it is what Atlantic City educators call a weapon.

“From their lookings that the quote unquote weapon looked like it was an imitation of a shank,” said mother Michelle Moody.   Continue reading “Mother Says Son Suspended Over Nerf Bullet In New Jersey”

Courthouse News – by VICTORIA PRIESKOP

ALBUQUERQUE (CN) – Albuquerque police responded to a report of a man throwing rocks with a tank, robots, flash bangs and 150 rounds of tear gas, the dead man’s family claims in court.

Santiago Chavez killed himself after a 12-hour standoff that began when officers were dispatched to investigate a report of someone throwing rocks, his estate claimed Wednesday in Federal Court.   Continue reading “Police Answered Rocks With Tank, Mom Says”

MassPrivateI

Random checkpoints are being set up by U.S. Customs [DHS] agents in the northeast within 100 miles of the Canadian border.

The Border Patrol operates a national network of internal checkpoints, illegally stopping motorists up to 100 miles inside our border! These illegal checkpoints allow DHS to stop and search law-abiding American citizens without justification.   Continue reading “Warning: You WILL be interrogated for driving within 100 miles of the Canadian border”

CNS News – by Susan Jones

Melvin Carraway, the acting administrator of the Transportation Security Agency (TSA), refused a  request to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday to discuss persistent flaws in airport security, including passenger and baggage screening.

Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) indicated that ego had something to do with it: The Homeland Security Department, which oversees TSA, objected to having Carraway sit on a panel that included Rafi Ron, an ordinary citizen who runs a private security company.   Continue reading “Transparency? Acting TSA Chief Refuses to Discuss Airport Security Flaws With Congress”

MassPrivateI

A Calif. Appeals Court issued a modified opinion rejecting the ACLU lawsuit against law enforcement agencies in the Los Angeles area. The civil rights group had joined the Electronic Freedom Foundation in seeking to force disclosure of a week’s worth of actual ALPR records to demonstrate how the systems are used to monitor the public.

A three-judge panel decided to shield the program that scans about three million license plates every week from any further scrutiny. The Los Angeles Police Department retains the records for FIVE years, and the sheriff’s department retains them for TWO years Continue reading “Judge: Police are conducting 3 MILLION “investigations’ of motorists every week!”