Author: Joe from MassPrivateI

Daily Mail

A 70-year-old man in Washington D.C. has spent more than 40 years locked away in a D.C. hospital for the criminally insane. His crime: stealing a necklace worth $20.

Franklin H. Frye was sent to the psychiatric wing of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in 1971 after he was found not guilty by reason of insanity for stealing the necklace.

Six years ago, a public defender filed a motion asking a federal court to grant Mr. Frye an unconditional release. In the motion, attorneys for Mr. Frye cited his recovery over the last four decades he spent in psychiatric captivity as grounds for his release.     Continue reading “Thief, 70, has spent 43 YEARS locked up in psychiatric hospital for stealing a necklace worth $20”

Tech Dirt – by Tim Cushing

from the we’ll-let-you-know-what-your-rights-are-once-we’ve-finished-violating-th dept

Cops vs. cameras: the apparently never ending battle continues. A student photojournalist at Purdue found himself on the receiving end of a little extra “attention” while attempting to cover Tuesday’s on-campus shooting.    Continue reading “Purdue Cops Throw Student Journalist To Ground, Seize His Camera And Detain Him For Three Hours”

Knowledge Ecology International – by James Love

Today health advocates were shocked by the direct and appalling statements attributed to Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers. Published in Businessweek on January 21, 2014 and written by Bloomberg reporter Ketaki Gokhale, a news story about disputes over drug patents (link here) ended with an account of the India compulsory license on the cancer drug Nexavar, and practically exploded. Dekker is quoted as saying Bayer did not intend the cancer drug to be sold to cancer patients in India, adding “We developed it for western patients who can afford it.” From the Bloomberg/Businessweek story:   Continue reading “Bayer CEO Marijn Dekkers explains: Nexavar cancer drug is for “western patients who can afford it.””

MassPrivateI

NY – Senator John DeFrancisco says he has been quietly pushing Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Syracuse University in past months to put the nation’s first college focused on emergency management and homeland security on the SU campus. 

Cuomo mentioned the creation of a new state-run College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity in his State of the State speech today in Albany. The governor didn’t say where the college could go, but DeFrancisco said afterward he’s met with Cuomo’s staff and SU officials about the possibility of creating a joint SUNY/SU campus in Syracuse.   Continue reading “Police state Amerika plans to open a DHS college”

MassPrivateI

The second-ranking U.S. military commander in Afghanistan said on January 23 that Afghan forces overmatched the insurgency during the last fighting season, adding that the Taliban is on the “edge of strategic defeat.” (Ask yourself,  if they’re on the edge of defeat why do we need DHS? Fear mongering is at an all-time high, Wake up America!)

However, speaking live from Afghanistan, U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Mark Milley, commander of the U.S./NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Joint Command (IJC), told Pentagon reporters that there is more to be done.    Continue reading “War on terror is a lie: U.S. commander tells world Taliban on ‘edge of defeat’”

ABC News Au

A lawyer for two police officers says the court cannot rule out the possibility that a man was screaming with joy when he was being repeatedly tasered at the Perth Watch House more than five years ago.

Aaron Strahan and Troy Tomlin are on trial accused of assaulting Kevin Spratt by repeatedly tasering him in August 2008.

Sergeant Strahan, who was a Senior Constable at the time, had arrested Mr Spratt in Bayswater.   Continue reading “Australia: Lawyer argues Kevin Spratt may have been screaming in “joy” while being tasered by police”

Daily Mail – by ALEX GREIG

Philadelphia police have launched an internal investigation after a teenager allegedly suffered a ruptured testicle during a pat-down.

Darrin Manning, 16, was with a group of teammates on their way to an after-school basketball game at 15th and Girard Streets when he was stopped by police officers.

Manning says he was handcuffed and patted down by a female police officer, who grabbed and pulled his genitals. He underwent emergency surgery the following day.   Continue reading “Boy, 16, suffers ruptured testicle after rough ‘pat down’ by police woman and now faces infertility”

NJ.com – by Michaelangelo Conte/The Jersey Journal, January 20, 2014

Residents in northern New Jersey and New York City will see a low-flying helicopter in the upcoming days as it surveys naturally occurring background radiation as a security measure for the upcoming Super Bowl, officials said today.

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration will use a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter equipped with radiation sensing technology, flying in a grid covering about 10 square miles at altitudes of 150 feet or higher at about 80 miles per hour, according to the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.   Continue reading “Choppers to scan background radiation as Super Bowl security measure”

MassPrivateI

The type and amount of personal, family, and non-academic data collected by the schools, reported in state longitudinal databases and used for research by the federal government was stimulated by the passage of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) and has grown rapidly since then.  Loss of student and family data privacy has been accelerated by the proliferation of education programs funded by the federal government, especially in the early childhood realm and including home visiting programs that collect a plethora of medical, psychological, and family data and the effort to integrate standards, programs and data literally from “cradle to career” through P-20W education program integration.   Continue reading “Common Core creates a womb-to-tomb dossier on kids and families”

Washington Post- by Brian Fung

Apple Insider – by Shane Cole

Plaintiffs Adam Christensen, Jeffrey Scolnick, and William Farrell claim that they were forced to provide their zip code when making credit card purchases at Apple retail stores in Massachusetts, a practice that the suit contends is illegal under the Massachusetts Unfair Trade Practices Act. That statute makes it unlawful to compel customers to provide personally identifiable information beyond that which is required by credit card issuers to verify the transaction.    Continue reading “Massachusetts lawsuit accuses Apple of misusing customers’ personal info”

The Common Sense Show – by Dave Hodges

“Everything for the state, nothing outside the state, nothing above the state”  Benito Mussolini

“We‘ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”   Barack Obama

“America: From Freedom to Fascism”  Aaron Russo   Continue reading “None Dare Call It Genocidal Fascism”

The Daily Caller – by Grae Stafford

Hillsdale professor Terrence Moore, author of  “Story Killers: A Common Sense Case Against Common Core,”  exposed some of the more distressing aspects of the controversial Common Core education standards program, saying that all teachers must tell young students that all right-wing groups are fascist.

Moore highlights how it is not just the reading lists and course materials — which have already attracted a large amount of criticism — that need to be examined by parents. It’s also the teaching notes and standard curriculum; the notes and standards come as part of a comprehensive package. Moore noted through his research that a distinctly political slant is introduced, one which dictates not only what children are taught, but also how they should be taught.   Continue reading “Teachers ‘instructed’ to teach ‘all right wing extremist groups’ are fascist”

MassPrivateI

Border Patrol agents at southern Arizona checkpoints routinely violate the constitutional rights of U.S. citizens with illegal searches and other actions despite the agency’s mandate that stops be limited to immigration enforcement, according to a complaint.

The letter from the American Civil Liberties Union to the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General seeks an investigation into 12 specific cases and a review of checkpoint policies to determine if agents are complying with constitutional guidelines.   Continue reading “Border patrol “tactical” checkpoints a violation of Americans rights”

RINF – by Yuri Skidanov

The United States, an example of public and social order for the countries of the “golden billion,” has a unique history. In the 237 years of its existence, it has been either at war, or preparing for a new attack, looking for victims. During the period from 1798 to 2012 Washington used military force abroad 240 times, more frequently than annually.

The results of this military – aggressive development are impressive. Five percent of the world’s population who are lucky enough to be U.S. citizens consume, according to various estimates, from 25 to 30 percent of the planet’s resources. How did the country manage to achieve such prosperity for its 320 million people?   Continue reading “240 Wars in 237 Years: USA Wages War More Often than Just Annually”

Bloomberg – by Elisa Martinuzzi 

Trust in governments fell, making them the world’s least-trusted institutions for a third year, according to a survey published before policy makers and executives gather for the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Faith in governments fell to 44 percent from 48 percent in 2013, according to the 2014 Trust Barometer survey published by Edelman, a public-relations firm. Trust in business held steady at about 58 percent, bringing its lead over government to the widest in the 14 years the poll has been taken.   Continue reading “Trust in Governments Slides to Record Low Amid U.S. Spy Programs”