20score
20score's JournalPolice brutality/institutionalized aggression. A partial solution.
I'll propose one answer –and there are many, many things to be done - about police brutality, the drug war and its excesses, and institutionalized aggression.
Wearing cameras is great, but it won't solve everything. Many people in the country, unfortunately, can only be motivated by fear and or money. Empathy and doing the right thing eludes them. They're too dumb, too selfish or too callous to care. (Maybe too busy.) So, to get people involved will take informing the citizens about the costs to the taxpayer,s of employing the worst officers.
There are over two hundred SWAT raids a day in the USA. That number is staggering. Tens of thousands of raids per year, executed for trivial reasons. Property destroyed, innocent people wounded or killed, a mockery made of freedom and the country's values, etc. There are also four hundred people a year killed by cops. Germany fired 85 shots in 2011, British officers fired 3 in 2012. Nobody knows how many thousands of rounds were fired by our police last year, but over 400 people were killed. Yes, our country is larger and more violent. But not to that degree. Not even close. Those numbers in-and-of themselves are a criminal indictment of our system. It's sickening, embarrassing and shows a pathology that should not be allowed to continue.
My proposition is to educate the people on the billions of dollars spent defending the criminals in our employ. Demand the local politicians, whether in New York and Los Angeles, or in Bill Wyoming - if these officers do the wrong thing and cost the town, county, state or city money, they will lose their jobs. Immediately.
Listen to what the experts have to say on the subject. (This alone should be its own post.) Watch and learn:
http://digitalcommons.law.uga.edu/wipi/2014/Schedule2014/2/
Added on edit:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-04/nyc-police-abuse-joins-pothole-settlements-costing-735-million.html
Looking for advice, please. A job that matters.
Looking for advice, please. A job that matters.
There are a lot of smart and well informed people on this site, so I thought it couldn’t hurt to ask for a little help.
Background: I have a pretty good job now, one that pays and has benefits. (Actually took a few years to get into this position, as it’s a government job. It involves researching regulations and writing. ) And because of the large bills I have, even though I’m willing to take a pay cut, if I get a new job, it must pay well.
And here’s my question: My entire life I’ve cared about injustice, the environment, animals, overpopulation and the suffering of innocent people. Are there organizations that will hire full time workers, and pay enough to live on? (Live in a very expensive part of the country, btw.)
I’ve made a decision to change careers after 30 years. The sooner I get out, the better. Life is short. And yes, I know there are millions in a worse situation; my idea is to help some of them if I can. Thank you for your input!
DMV, TSA to Acquire Surface to Air Missiles and Tanks from Pentagon
In order for the 1033 and other programs to be more equitable, the Pentagon is equipping the Placerville, California DMV with five new M1 Abrams Tanks. Also, the TSA in Big Timber, Montana will be receiving an undisclosed number of laser guided, Starstreak surface to air missiles (SAM).
Pentagon spokesperson, Gail Griffith spoke to reporters about the expanded program. “Well, we really have more tanks and missiles than we know what to do with, so we thought this would be a win-win,” she said in a serious tone. “The idea is to protect small town DMV offices first, then eventually have tanks at every office in the country. You can’t be too safe, and people waiting in lines are already angry, and hence are potential terrorists. And TSA is incredibly unpopular now, so they need very heavy armament… I think that’s obvious.” Holding off questions with a raised hand, she continued, “After we have equipped the DMV and TSA offices, we will be making sure our water treatment plants are safe by equipping them with armed drones.”
Placerville, California DMV issued the following statement to the press: “When our office learned that the LA School District was receiving assault rifles, armored vehicles and grenade launchers, we of course agreed that all schools need that type of protection. But we also thought there isn’t a DMV office in the country that isn’t in desperate need of a few tanks. We are always looking for ways to make our driving citizens feel safer. So our office is proud to be the first of many DMV offices equipped for today’s dangerous circumstances.”
This paper tried to contact the TSA in Big Timber, Montana only to find that no office there exists. So, we contacted the TSA in Washington, DC. “That is posing a bit of a problem for us, to be honest” said media relations manager, Tim Nuenins. “But not an insurmountable one. We are confident that the office will be set up and staffed before the arrival of the surface to air missiles.”
“If I may,” asked this reporter. “If Big Timber was too small for the TSA and has no commercial flights, why are surface to air missiles a necessity now?”
“We like to be pro-active,” said Mr. Nuenins. “Safety and Security First, that’s our motto.”
“I think it’s, ‘not on my watch.’”
“Oh, right. But regardless, Big Timber will now have the safest airport in the country. I know your next question will be, ‘Sure the skies will be safe around Big Timber, but what if something happens on the ground?’ Well, we have thought of that, and that’s why we are also receiving one hundred grenades for each of our agents. We hope that will make everyone feel safe.”
SS songs and antisemitism: the week Golden Dawn turned openly Nazi
Source: The Guardian
It has been a bad week for democracy in Athens. All around this great Greek city, the politics of hate now lurk. On Friday I got a taste of it in the tiny Italian-style cafe I frequent off Syntagma Square.
It arrived in the form of two middle-aged men, both supporters of the neo-fascist Golden Dawn – and, by their own account, the holders of university degrees, well-travelled and well-informed. Over espressos, they began to engage in an animated discussion about all that is wrong with Greece.
The first, a self-described businessman decked out in designer suit, brogues and silk tie, blamed the country's economic collapse on malfeasance, corruption and uncontrolled immigration. "The only way to teach our filthy politicians is to bring in Golden Dawn," he trilled, his eyes locked in a fierce glare. "These gentlemen are patriots, proud Greek nationalists, and they know how to deal with the scum, the foreigners who never pay taxes, who steal our jobs, who have taken over our streets."
Dismissing charges that Golden Dawn is a criminal gang masquerading as a political group, the second – a self-described government employee – said the far right was the best response yet to the great Jewish conspiracy of an interconnected banking system that has come with globalisation. "Let's not forget all the faggots and the Jews, the wankers who control the banks, the foreigners who are behind them, who came in and fucked Greece," he insisted. "The criminals who have governed us, who have robbed us of our future, of our dreams, need a big thwack."
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/07/greece-golden-dawn-fascism-threat-to-democracy
Nazis anywhere, especially when gaining political power, are a threat to freedom, conscience and the safety of many people. I don't know what the answer is, except that like anything more complicated then a drink of water, there needs to be more than one answer; more than one way to fight them.
“National Whistleblower Appreciation Day" For Heroes such as Manning and Snowden
Last year senators Grassley and Levin introduced Senate Resolution 202 which, “Designates July 30, 2013, as National Whistleblower Appreciation Day.” It was agreed to by Unanimous Consent.
Taking into account the heroic actions of Chelsea Manning followed by the unconscionable treatment she received, then the dismissal by the media and those in power of the crimes she exposed. Considering the courage exhibited by Edward Snowden as those in power and in the media devote massive amounts of time and energy to character assassination – while shifting focus away from unconstitutional and power-abusing actions on a monumental scale – and the sacrifices he’s made to inform the public about ubiquitous spying. Thinking about honoring those such as William Binney and Russ Tice who warned the country in 2002 and 2005, respectively, about NSA spying. Giving thought to John Kiriakou, the CIA whistleblower who after exposing torture, was the only person to receive prison time for the torture scandal.
In 1777 two naval officers, Samuel Shaw and Richard Marven exposed the torture of British POWs during the Revolutionary War. The Continental Congress enacted the first whistleblower protection law on July 30, 1778 by unanimous vote. There have been dozens of others since then who risked their jobs, freedom, possessions, reputations and sometimes their lives in order to stop injustices and inform the public of wrong-doings. They deserve their own day. It’s time to make July 30th a holiday.
Today’s INCREDIBLY Easy to Make Predictions
(Not afraid to put this in writing due to my natural ability to see the future. John Edward - the psychic - has nothin’ on me!)
Future generations will look back at our time and the conventional wisdom will hold the following positions - or your money back.
1. The Iraq War was a moral and moronic failure.
2. Global warming should have been dealt with decades ago and the deniers of yesteryear sucked as humans.
3. Over-population is a very, very big problem. Biggest really.
4. George Bush was a humorous, criminal, embarrassment.
5. Edward Snowden was a hero. So was Glen Greenwald.
6. Taking care of the middle and working classes was a damned good idea. We should have kept up with it.
7. Making the ultra-wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes should have been carried on through the 21st century.
8. Mountaintop removal was just plain evil.
9. Solar and hydrogen power are far better than fossil fuels.
10. People attracted to the same sex are able to marry whomever they choose and the world kept spinning.
11. A few extremely wealthy people in a land filled with a majority that find it hard to take care of basic needs - does not a great country make.
12. Our ancestors gave up our rights far too easily. What was wrong with them?
My crystal ball needs to recharge its aura… or something. May be back later to add to this list.
Kevin O’Leary, Face of the Enemy? (It's great that 3.5 billion have as much wealth as 85 people.)
(Repost, with possibly a better title.)
Oxfam released a report on January 20, 2014 highlighting the income inequality gap and its associated problems. One fact from the report stands out as especially glaring. “The bottom half of the world’s population owns the same as the richest 85 people in the world.” This put some perspective on a problem that doesn’t get a lot attention in the main stream media. The full report can be read here.
While there was mostly outrage to this particular statistic, in some of the more callus corners of the planet the reaction was a little more surprising. While Ben Stein and Bill O’Reilly of Fox News agreed this was a moral issue and implied it may be wrong in some sense, they refused to say there was any connection to so much wealth being controlled by so few, and the destitution of so many. A problem with no obvious cause, and no ready solution. This take allows for a conscience to be soothed, while blocking the most obvious forms of correction, such as reversing the policies that made this inequality gap so vast in the first place. But so far, the prize for, as Keith Olbermann used to say, “The Worst Person in the World” would go to Kevin O’Leary, billionaire and horrible person. His reaction - “This is fantastic news. Of course, I applaud it. What could be wrong with this?... It inspires everybody to get some motivation to look up to the 1 per cent and say I want to become one of those people, I’m going to fight hard to get up to the top.” As if billions would stop starving and being lazy if they only knew they could be rich instead. That would be much better.
Society has a history of rallying around their heroes and rallying against their villains. Well, there is a villain ready-made to represent the worst of the incredibly wealthy, and his name is Kevin O’Leary. Greed, stupidity, cruelty, selfishness, you name it, and if it’s a bad quality representative of the worst of the powerful, Mr. O’Leary possesses it. If he had the power, he once said, he would throw union members in jail. This is a very bad thing for the wealthy if someone as easily detestable as Kevin O’Leary becomes the face the 1%. Because eventually something’s going to break and the scales will readjust. What form that readjustment will take is up to the powerful. Will it be peaceful or violent? Slow or abrupt? Sooner rather than later? We don’t know yet. But if the trends continue in the future as they have for the past few decades, it doesn’t bode well for those who have rigged the game in their favor.
When the economy gets bad enough and income inequality is obvious to those who are suffering, the people eventually demand action. In the United States during the Progressive Era and the 1930s, the action was relatively peaceful and political in nature. (With of course a smattering of strikers being killed and beaten by Pinkertons, National Guard and police in both eras, such as a 1902 coal strike in Pana, Illinois where 14 miners were killed and the 1937 Little Steel strike where police killed 10.) This of course is not always the case. The economy in Russia in the early 20th century was dismal and led (with other causes also playing a part) to revolutions in 1905 and 1917, which were much bloodier than what happened in the United States during the same time period. And the French Revolution is infamous for its bloodiness, also brought about by the many living without.
Hopefully the economy will become fairer in a peaceful, calm manner because people have woken up to the reality of what’s been happening. They will organize and demand political changes that brought about the emergence of the middle class during the 1930s and 1940s. We already know what to do; it’s just a matter of political will. That is by far the most preferred and likely outcome.
But if greed overtakes sense, (like it often does) and the few keep taking from the many the system will break violently. I really hope we’re smarter than that. But if we’re not, at least Kevin O’Leary will make us feel better about it.
http://crooksandliars.com/2014/01/kevin-oleary-extreme-income-inequality-0
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/oxfam-warns-davos-of-pernicious-impact-of-the-widening-wealth-gap-9070714.html
Kevin O’Leary Against the World. (You Say you Want a Revolution.)
Oxfam released a report on January 20, 2014 highlighting the income inequality gap and its associated problems. One fact from the report stands out as especially glaring. “The bottom half of the world’s population owns the same as the richest 85 people in the world.” This put some perspective on a problem that doesn’t get a lot attention in the main stream media. The full report can be read here.
While there was mostly outrage to this particular statistic, in some of the more callus corners of the planet the reaction was a little more surprising. While Ben Stein and Bill O’Reilly of Fox News agreed this was a moral issue and implied it may be wrong in some sense, they refused to say there was any connection to so much wealth being controlled by so few, and the destitution of so many. A problem with no obvious cause, and no ready solution. This take allows for a conscience to be soothed, while blocking the most obvious forms of correction, such as reversing the policies that made this inequality gap so vast in the first place. But so far, the prize for, as Keith Olbermann used to say, “The Worst Person in the World” would go to Kevin O’Leary, billionaire and horrible person. His reaction - “This is fantastic news. Of course, I applaud it. What could be wrong with this?... It inspires everybody to get some motivation to look up to the 1 per cent and say I want to become one of those people, I’m going to fight hard to get up to the top.” As if billions would stop starving and being lazy if they only knew they could be rich instead. That would be much better.
Society has a history of rallying around their heroes and rallying against their villains. Well, there is a villain ready-made to represent the worst of the incredibly wealthy, and his name is Kevin O’Leary. Greed, stupidity, cruelty, selfishness, you name it, and if it’s a bad quality representative of the worst of the powerful, Mr. O’Leary possesses it. If he had the power, he once said, he would throw union members in jail. This is a very bad thing for the wealthy if someone as easily detestable as Kevin O’Leary becomes the face the 1%. Because eventually something’s going to break and the scales will readjust. What form that readjustment will take is up to the powerful. Will it be peaceful or violent? Slow or abrupt? Sooner rather than later? We don’t know yet. But if the trends continue in the future as they have for the past few decades, it doesn’t bode well for those who have rigged the game in their favor.
When the economy gets bad enough and income inequality is obvious to those who are suffering, the people eventually demand action. In the United States during the Progressive Era and the 1930s, the action was relatively peaceful and political in nature. (With of course a smattering of strikers being killed and beaten by Pinkertons, National Guard and police in both eras, such as a 1902 coal strike in Pana, Illinois where 14 miners were killed and the 1937 Little Steel strike where police killed 10.) This of course is not always the case. The economy in Russia in the early 20th century was dismal and led (with other causes also playing a part) to revolutions in 1905 and 1917, which were much bloodier than what happened in the United States during the same time period. And the French Revolution is infamous for its bloodiness, also brought about by the many living without.
Hopefully the economy will become fairer in a peaceful, calm manner because people have woken up to the reality of what’s been happening. They will organize and demand political changes that brought about the emergence of the middle class during the 1930s and 1940s. We already know what to do; it’s just a matter of political will. That is by far the most preferred and likely outcome.
But if greed overtakes sense, (like it often does ) and the few keep taking from the many the system will break violently. I really hope we’re smarter than that. But if we’re not, at least Kevin O’Leary will make us feel better about it.
One Small Step. Should Scare the Hell Out of You.
(This is a repost from four years ago, when Democrats generally agreed that ubiquitous spying was a bad thing. The article is even more relevant today.)
From observation to restriction. Your every move, your every purchase, your every email can be and is being tracked. Sometimes by the government, sometimes by a corporation; and the line between the two entities becomes less distinct every day. The potential for abuse is tempting to those who want power, and the tendency toward apathy is great for those who want a false sense of security. But the problem isn’t with the technology; it’s with the laws. The technology is here and improving every day, to rail against the inevitable would be as futile as using a bucket to hold back the tide. There has always been the possibility and even a propensity for abuse, (in some) even in the pre-industrial world. But we can thank those like Jefferson and Madison who insisted that individuals have a right to remain unmolested, as long as they were innocent of any crime, and for the fact that we were not spied upon at all hours of the day in the past. It’s time to stop taking those rights for granted while letting them slip away.
We already have the PATRIOT ACT, National Security Letters, and AT&T turning over our records with no warrant. Now the Justice Department wants to be able to track anyone’s movements with no warrant. Why are these things so important when the system put in place in 1978 already favored law enforcement? Why are they necessary if they won’t really be used? When set against economic injustice, environmental devastation and wars, the assault on civil liberties may seem to pale in comparison. But without true civil liberties, our ability to address those other problems is non-existent. Once it is accepted by the citizens that it’s okay for the government to watch us all the time, as long as “I have nothing to hide” we will have set ourselves up to have a society where the word ‘freedom’ will have no real meaning.
There are many people rightly upset by the continued assault on unions and the middle class in general, myself included. At a time when our insurance companies should have been permanently reined in, they are swelling their profits and their power. Legal bribery of our politicians has been expanded at a time when it needed to be eliminated. Legal raiding of our treasury is obvious enough to sicken any who care, and we have a massive portion of our country fighting against their own interests. And to me these things are linked to potential future abuses that are possible by limiting long established rights. And with wealth being held by a smaller and smaller portion of the population, there will naturally be some who will insist on tighter controls. (The Stasi and the KGB didn’t need to spy on all people at all times, just enough of the population to let people know it was dangerous to step out of line. With advances in technology, almost total surveillance is possible.)
We have all seen first hand how quickly circumstances can change and how easily people can be manipulated. That alone should prod people into action. Some of the same people who ridiculed the burning of the Beatles albums in the 60’s, participated in the burning of the Dixie Chicks CD’s in 2003. In a matter of months, the media was able to convince about half the nation of a complete falsehood - that Iraq was involved in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Support for torture increased, just by changing its name. Many people were, and still are, ready to cede the power of the Legislative and Judicial branches to the President, and were/are claiming, against all evidence, that doing so is the Most American position.
By ignoring the slow encroachment of government and corporations melding, and ignoring the erosion of the need for probable cause before surveillance, we risk losing the most important thing there is about being American.
Years ago someone explained to me that he thought society was analogous to a rock suspended over the ground by a rope. The ground represented authoritarianism and that was where society had a natural predisposition to fall. But there were people who were on the other end of that rope that made it there job to keep society as just as possible. The more people on that rope, the better.
We need to heed the warnings from years ago, from Orwell, Huxley and others and realize the future is already here.
http://www.wider.unu.edu/events/past-events/2006-events/en_GB/05-12-2006/
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gjCPfFdmocBeGyr_-lqmLC_3CfcAD9DQS4Q84
http://people.reed.edu/~gronkep/TortureWhitePaperV2.pdf
http://www.aclu.org/national-security/internal-report-finds-flagrant-national-security-letter-abuse-fbi
http://atlanticreview.org/archives/726-More-Americans-Believe-that-Saddam-Was-Directly-Involved-in-911.html
Spying for Freedom! It’s Total Information American Goodness!
Spying has been with us for thousands of years. It predates the Hittites and has helped establish, maintain and even bring down empires. Joshua spied for Moses, which means one can say, “It’s in the Bible!” and be completely correct. It doesn’t get any more righteous than that! Obviously, a little spying is a necessary good for all governments. It just follows, that if a little spying is good, then complete, total spying is the best of all possible worlds! It’s practically a one way ticket to heaven.
I was critical of Total Information Awareness (by another name) at first, but have since seen the error of my ways. Sure, metadata can tell just as much or more about someone than listening to the actual phone calls. And maybe spying on everyone, all the time may seem like over-kill to stop something that kills fewer people than lightning. And giving our information to corporations so that they can harm people trying to hold them to account may look to some like the priorities of our government are misplaced. And sure, by spying on reporters we are kind of nullifying the First Amendment, and looking more and more like Eastern Europe used to all the time. And maybe it does look like those in power who are supporting the National Security State are really doing it for money, both by directly giving to security companies, and by spying for economic reasons. We are also treating whistleblowers like the traitors, which I used to believe was morally reprehensible. But not anymore! I have seen the light, and boy do I feel fine!
The point is that it’s the right thing to do, because our side is doing it. Just like those who can tell you that science is wrong about evolution and global warming, so too can the supporters of absolute surveillance tell you that it is not the minutia of facts and logic that matter, it’s that if the outcome is virtuous, the rest is inconsequential. Plus… Paulbots, libertarians and such! (Being on the same side as Cheney felt a little strange at first, but now I just embrace it as part of the Brotherhood of Man. If we could all jump on the Spy Bandwagon, we would all feel connected. Even if it’s just through the NSA.)
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