Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

City Pages – by Susan Du

Jay Nygard thought he was in the clear after a Hennepin County judge ruled last October that state law upheld his right to keep his four DIY wind turbines, which his home city of Orono vowed to take down.

Now Judge Susan Robiner says Orono cops can drag him off to jail if he doesn’t disassemble the turbine in his front yard by February 19. She’s wanted him to do that since June 2014, saying the turbine produces an “intense flashing light and sound” that “no person should be expected to endure.”   Continue reading “Minnesota man will go to jail for 6 months if he doesn’t remove a windmill from his own property”

RT

Award winning whistleblower William Binney says his new job is to make the US government honest, make them face the truth publically, and to prevent further violation of the rights which America has never intended to stand for.

The Sam Adams Award for Integrity and Intelligence is to be given in Berlin this Thursday. This is an annual ceremony where intelligence professional are rewarded for their contribution in sharing light on governments’ wrongdoings. Such whistleblowers as Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning have got this award in the past. This year the prize goes to William Binney, retired NSA technical director. He left his high profile job in order to try to bring the NSA to account.   Continue reading “‘US government was subverting entire US constitution’ – NSA whistleblower”

Mother Jones – by Jaeah Lee

When police officers kill unarmed citizens they are rarely charged, let alone convicted of a crime. The victims’ families often turn to civil complaints against the police, as is currently the case in New York City, Cleveland, and Los Angeles, where wrongful death and other civil rights claims filed in the wake of officer-involved killings could result in payouts tallying in the millions of dollars. Still, the police officers involved are likely to suffer no financial pain. That’s because in the vast majority of such cases, whether they are settled or go to court, the officers don’t pay a dime.   Continue reading “The Cop Who Choked Eric Garner to Death Won’t Have to Pay a Dime in Damages”

Ars Technica – by David Kravets

The Justice Department is agreeing to pay $134,000 to a New York woman to resolve an incident in which the Drug Enforcement Agency created a counterfeit Facebook profile and posted risqué personal pictures the agency obtained from her mobile phone without consent, according to federal court documents [PDF] filed Tuesday.

The woman, who at the time went under the name Sondra Prince, eventually was sentenced to probation and six months of home confinement. The DEA created a phony Facebook profile in her name and maintained it for at least three months in 2010 in a bid to nab other suspects connected to an alleged drug ring. At one point in the litigation, the government said the counterfeit account was for “legitimate law enforcement purposes.”   Continue reading “DEA settles fake Facebook profile lawsuit without admitting wrongdoing”

ABC News

Investigators say a police officer who killed a man while patrolling a ruralColorado community shot him in the back after stopping him on the street and following him home even though the man wasn’t an imminent threat.

The Colorado Bureau of Investigation found James Ashby aggressively pursued Jack Jacquez, 27, after stopping him Oct. 12, according to court documents released Thursday.

The bureau’s investigation concluded Ashby fatally shot Jacquez even as Jacquez was moving away.   Continue reading “Records: Officer Charged With Murder Shot Man in Back”

Reason – by Jacob Sullum

Last week Attorney General Eric Holder scaled back the Equitable Sharing Program, which enables local law enforcement agencies to evade state limits on civil asset forfeiture. But he did not end that program, and the fine print in the new policy seems to leave a lot of leeway for continued abuses.

In the order describing the new policy, Holder says “federal adoption of property seized by state or local law enforcement under state law is prohibited, except for property that directly relates to public safety concerns, including firearms, ammunition, explosives, and property associated with child pornography.” Continue reading “The Fine Print in Holder’s New Forfeiture Policy Leaves Room for Continued Abuses”

Syracuse – by Tim Knauss

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Greater Syracuse Land Bank is expected to announce a new program Tuesday that will allow Syracuse police officers, firefighters and school teachers to buy land bank houses in the city for half price as long as they live in them for at least five years.

The land bank’s board of directors is expected to approve the new policy during its meeting Tuesday, said Katelyn Wright, executive director. The board’s governance committee has already signed off on the idea, she said.   Continue reading “Syracuse land bank expected to offer half-price homes to cops, firefighters, teachers”

Breitbart – by AWR Hawkins

Following the deaths of two French police officers during the January 7 Charlie Hebdoattack and another officer death during an attack the following day, French police are demanding more guns and guns that are more powerful.

The situation during the Charlie Hebdo attack was very lopsided–in favor of the terrorists–because of current policing and arms policy. Breitbart News reported that “unarmed Paris police officers” were forced to flee when confronted with the armed attackers. UK’s Independent reported that “three policemen arrived [at the scene of the attack] on bikes but had to leave because [the attackers] were armed.” A policeman assigned to the duty of body guard to Charlie Hebdo editor Stephane Charbonnier was killed, and an officer on a mountain bike was gunned down.   Continue reading “French Police: Gun Control Isn’t Working for Us”

NJ.com – by Craig McCarthy

A South Jersey cop was indicted today on charges that he sicced his police dog on a 58-year-old woman while she was in custody, according to authorities.

Justin M. Cherry, of the Tuckerton Police Department, was charged with aggravated assault, two counts of official misconduct and falsifying police reports among other charges, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office said in a release.   Continue reading “N.J. cop sicced police dog on woman while she was in custody, indictment alleges”

KTAR News

Prescott Valley Police Department commander Arthur Askew has resigned after video evidence showed him removing prescription drugs that had previously been turned in by the public for destruction from the department’s drug storage vault.

According to a release from the department, information was received regarding suspicious activity in the department’s property and evidence room, prompting the Chief of Police to direct that a motion activated still camera and a covert video surveillance camera be placed in the drug vault.   Continue reading “Prescott Valley police commander resigns after video evidence shows misconduct”

NOLA – by Helen Freund

Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson is launching a probe into allegations that New York City police officers have been planting weapons on suspects, the New York Daily News reported Thursday (Jan. 15).

The probe was announced after Thompson’s office dropped a weapons case in which the defendant was accused of having a gun outside his East Flatbush home in 2013, the report said.  When prosecutors were asked to produce a confidential informant who police said aided their investigation, they were unable to produce him, according to the story.   Continue reading “Brooklyn DA to probe allegations of NYPD officers planting guns, newspaper reports”

Telegram – by Samantha Allen

WORCESTER — In a classroom filled with former Guantanamo guards, Sgt. Richard Cipro spoke about the responsibility of a police officer to connect with the community and recognize conflict.

Touching on recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, and beyond, the Worcester police sergeant, who also serves as a major and instructor with the Massachusetts Army National Guard, spoke to about 35 soldiers of both the Massachusetts Air and Army National Guards who serve as military police.    Continue reading “Former GITMO prison guards look to become cops in Massachusetts”

Washington’s Blog – by David Swanson

Since Tuesday and continuing for the coming three weeks, an amazing trial is happening in U.S. District Court at 401 Courthouse Square in Alexandria, Va. The trial is open to the public, and among the upcoming witnesses is Condoleezza Rice, but — unlike the Chelsea Manning trial — most of the seats at this somewhat similar event are empty.

The media is mostly MIA, and during lunch break the two tables at the cafe across the street are occupied, one by the defendant and his lawyers, the other by a small group of activists, including former CIA officer Ray McGovern, blogger Marcy Wheeler (follow her report of every detail at ExposeFacts.org), and Norman Solomon who has organized a petition at DropTheCharges.org — the name of which speaks for itself.   Continue reading “CIA on Trial in Virginia for Planting Nuke Evidence in Iran”

The Washington Post – by Donna St. George

It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.

Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.   Continue reading “Parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone”