Tag Archives: crime

International, U.S.

United Police States of America meets United Police Kingdom: Scots horrified that U.S. prison contractor GEO will now run Scottish prison

“The decision to give control of an immigration center in Scotland to a company with so many allegations against them in relation to human rights shows a staggering lack of judgment.  The Scottish people will be horrified by this decision.”-Anas Sarwar, Glasgow Central MP

The GEO Group, a corporation that manages part of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp (GITMO), and manages several private prisons throughout the U.S., has won a contract to run the Dungavel immigrant removal center, in Scotland.

GEO has a record of sexual assaults against prisoners, and their own employees.

Recently guards at South Texas Detention Complex have been accused of forcing women prisoners to have sex with them, or they will be deported.

In 2007, Texas canceled a $9 million contract with GEO, and closed the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, after it was revealed that the children were sexually abused.

One prisoner at GEO’s Willacy County prison, also in Texas, was beaten to death last year.

In October, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against GEO, claiming the company permitted sexual harassment of female employees at their Central Arizona Correctional Facility.

Even Australia stopped doing business with GEO. Contracts were canceled after a series of scandals over rioting, racial abuse of detainees, and sexual assaults on women and children.

Dungavel immigrant removal center was established in 2001, to hold asylum seekers whose applications were rejected. The U.K. Border Agency overseas the operation of the center.  Amazingly British officials are happy with GEO’s track record: “We are satisfied that GEO have delivered this as a tried and tested formula.”-U.K. Border Agency spokesman

GEO officials say their track record has nothing to do with their performance: “No custodial or detention system is immune to incidents and challenges inherent in the management of offender populations, and it would be unfair to judge an organization’s record based on individual incidents rather than its overall record.”-Walter MacGowan, Managing director of GEO UK

 

 

U.S.

United Police States of America: NYPD using CIA tactics to spy on non-white Americans, NYPD officials call it “fiction”

“Some in the department, including lawyers, have privately expressed concerns about the program.”-Associated Press

The Associated Press (AP) revealed that the New York Police Department is using spy tactics “that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government” and “does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying.”

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne says the report is “marked by outright fiction.”

The AP says their months long investigation included interviews with more than 40 current and former members of the NYPD, as well as Federal officials.

CIA veteran David Cohen, was hired in 2002 by NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.  The anti-terrorist program targeted non-white communities.  Cops detained people based solely on how they looked.

The NYPD even asked New York taxi companies to spy on their employees.

Police attorneys told AP that when they warned police officials they were breaking the law, on the grounds that many of the people rounded up were innocent, the cops started shredding their files.

A possible reason why federal cops ratted on the NYPD, to the Associated Press, is because the NYPD overstepped their bounds.  New York cops launched operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, possibly interfering with federal operations.  That made federalis like the FBI mad.

International, Technology, U.S.

United Police Kingdom: British Bobbies taser to death another man, at least three police killings in 8 days

For the third time in eight days British Bobbies have killed using a taser, and pepper spray.

August 23, Greater Manchester Police officers tasered to death a 53 year old truck driver. They say they were trying to stop him from killing himself!

August 22, a 25 year old amateur rugby player, died after he was hit in the face with pepper spray and subdued by up to 11 cops.

August 16, a professional bodybuilder, and father of two, was pepper sprayed and then tasered three times with 50,000 volts, before dying.  He became the first Brit to be killed with a taser.

Until last week no one in United Kingdom had been killed by the use of a taser. In United States, Amnesty International says that since 2001, more than 460 people have been killed with a taser.

 

Business/Economics, Fukushima

Japan Megadisaster boosts Insurance sales!

The Non-Life Insurance Rating Organization of Japan said insurance companies gained more than 2.51 million new earthquake contracts, since the 11 March 2011 megadisaster.

Not surprisingly the biggest gains were in the areas hardest hit: Fukushima Prefecture saw a 49.6% increase.  Iwate Prefecture 26.4% increase.  Miyagi Prefecture up 22.3%.

Fukushima

Radiation decontamination in Japan will be complicated

The Japanese government is about to vote on a standardized decontamination plan.

Here’s a list of suggested decontamination procedures for cities and towns:

High pressure washing of homes and buildings, including rain gutters.

Trimming of outer leaves and branches on bushes and trees.

Pulling up smaller plants and removal of top soil.

Washing roads, including flushing joints on asphalt and concrete roads, removing mud and dirt along roadsides.

All removed soil and plant material must be treated as nuclear waste.

The Japanese government will vote on a standardized plan on 26 August 2011.  The amazing thing is that it’s been more than five months since the start of the ongoing nuclear disaster, and they’re just now coming up with a standardized national government decontamination plan.

Idaho, U.S.

United Police States of America: Idaho man accuses Oregon cop with Road Rage, cop threatened him with a gun, cop gets reasigned to a more violent police position

Idaho State Police confirmed that an off duty Oregon cop threatened an Idaho man in a case of Road Rage.  The Portland, Oregon, police captain threatened the Idaho man with his gun.

Here’s the thing, ISP let the Oregon cop go!  The Portland police said they assigned the gun happy police captain to a new job; the drugs and vice division!

Fukushima, U.S.

Nuclear plant shut down by Viginia Earthquake, 9 other nuke plants affected

The North Anna nuclear power plant, outside Richmond, Virginia, has shut down.

The plant is on the coastline, just seven miles from the epicenter of the 5.9 quake (earlier reports said it was 5.8).

Diesel generators are supplying power to basic systems at the plant.

Nine nuke plants from New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania to Maryland have declared unusual events.  They have not shut down.

U.S.

United Police States of America: Cop tasers waiter, for the fun of it, official police investigation calls tasers “toys”

A former police officer from Gwinnett County, Georgia, will serve a year of probation after pleading no contest to tasering a waiter for the fun of it.

The incident happened in February 2009, and it took this long for the case to go to court.

The waiter said the Georgia cop always intimidated and harassed  restaurant employees.  It took place in front of other police officers, who did nothing.

Then one night in February 2009, while the waiter was talking with the other cops, he was tasered from behind.  Not only that, but the Georgia cop that tasered him did so for a full minute.

The cop feels not regret.  The Gwinnett County News reported that the cop stated: “Who says I did it by accident?”

The restaraunt’s security camera recorded the whole thing, but it took attorney’s several months to get the video.

The official police investigation concluded that the rogue cop liked to use his taser “like a toy.”

Two years later the now former cop gets only probation for his fun.  Apparently the other cops who were present resigned from their jobs.

 

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Japan government now realizes contamination too high to cancel evac orders!

When orders were finally given to evacuate areas around Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, government officials led people to believe it would only be a few months.

It’s more than five months, and now the government realizes the level of contamination is so bad that it will be “…a long, long time…” before some city and towns can be considered safe for people to live in.

A meeting is being arraigned with local officials to explain the severity of the situation, and to better explain to evacuees why they might never be able to return home.

Fukushima

Government Incompetence: Japan announced beef was safe to eat, then once again, more cesium contaminated cows!

The day after the Japanese government announced it was lifting the contaminated cattle ban on Fukushima cows, four cows tested for cesium levels above safe limits.

Then, the very next day five more cows showed up with cesium contamination.

The contaminated cows had already been shipped to a slaughter house in Yokohama.  It was there that the beef was found to be highly contaminated.

To make matters worse, the cow farmers swear they were not feeding the cows local rice hay, but more expensive imported hay.  The imported hay had been stored indoors.

This means that the cows could be getting contaminated on their way to the slaughter house.  Officials are trying to figure it out.

And yes, the Japanese government suspended the lifting of the contaminated cattle ban.