Corruption Corner – Page 28

California Senator Who Fought for Gun Control Charged with Conspiracy to Traffic Arms

California state Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) — one of the state’s strongest advocates for gun control — was arrested Wednesday on charges that include scheming to defraud citizens of honest services and conspiracy to illegally traffic firearms.

[…]

Yee was reportedly at least $70,000 in debt following his defeat in the mayor’s race, and needed to settle his accounts to run for California secretary of state in 2014. To do so, Yee agreed to perform “certain official acts” for an undercover FBI agent in exchange for donations, according to the affidavit.

During one exchange, Jackson and Yee arranged a meeting between the FBI agent and an illegal arms dealer to organize the sale of a large number of weapons to be imported through the Port of Newark in New Jersey, the affidavit said. Yee discussed details about the weapons during the meeting, according to the document.

I believe Mr. Yee’s mistake in this matter was attempting to enter the arms black market. We know that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is the game in town for illegal arms trafficking. It wouldn’t surprise me if Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) was simply doing a favor for the FBI by going after Yee.

This story is reminiscent of those stories of neoconservatives men who fought tooth and nail against legalized same-sex marriages getting caught having sex with another man. Based on his voting record it appears that Yee thinks nongovernmental individuals are incapable of owning firearms so he decided to traffic arms to, what he believed to be, nongovernmental individuals.

As Yee is a member of the oligarchy I doubt much will happen to him. He’ll probably avoid cage time and may even be able to run for office again. But this case will still be fun to watch for the irony aspect alone.

How the Government Buys Corporate Cooperation

Some people wonder why private companies cooperate with the state’s surveillance apparatus. Doesn’t such cooperation hurt a company’s bottom line? Haven’t technology companies traditionally been protecting of customer data? Well it’s pretty hard to hurt a company’s bottom line when they’re being paid by the state to snitch on customers:

The documents consist of what appear to be invoices and emails between Microsoft’s Global Criminal Compliance team and the FBI’s Digital Intercept Technology Unit (DITU), and purport to show exactly how much money Microsoft charges DITU, in terms of compliance costs, when DITU provides warrants and court orders for customers’ data.

In December 2012, for instance, Microsoft emailed DITU a PDF invoice for $145,100, broken down to $100 per request for information, the documents appear to show. In August 2013, Microsoft allegedly emailed a similar invoice, this time for $352,200, at a rate of $200 per request. The latest invoice provided, from November 2013, is for $281,000.

That’s not bad money when you consider Microsoft doesn’t have to do any real work. But that still leaves the second question unanswered. Why would Microsoft, like most technology companies, put any effort into protecting customer data if they’re just going to sell it? The answer is in the question. The reason technology companies have traditionally been protective of their customer data is because they sell that data. If you don’t protect customer data then anybody can get it for free, which would be a damn shame to explain at the quarterly shareholder meeting.

The state has found a way to gain the cooperation of the private sector by appealing to its financial interest. As this is the case one cannot assume that any data they put on third-party servers is safe from the prying eyes of the state.

Rules Are For Thee, Not For Me: Part XXII

It must be nice being a police officer. In addition to a snazzy costume that causes people to kneel before their feet on sight (so they don’t get beaten) they are also allowed to break the very laws they’re tasked with enforcing. Hawaii has to have one of the funniest legal exceptions for police officers though and, unsurprisingly, the police are fighting the potential repeal of this exception:

Honolulu police officers have urged lawmakers to keep an exemption in state law that allows undercover officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations, touching off a heated debate over the provision.

Authorities say they need the legal protection to catch lawbreakers. Critics, including human trafficking experts and other police, say it’s unnecessary and can further victimize sex workers, many of whom have been forced into the trade.

This exemption is necessary. After all police officers have such a difficult job and they deserve a way to unwind. Isn’t that the standard go to excuse given by police apologists?

Comcast is the Government

The upcoming merger between Comcast and Time Warner has many people demanding the government step in and prevent it. Such demands are amusing to me because anybody demanding the government stop the merger is really demanding that Comcast stop the merger. Comcast is the government. It bought its shares fairly through some amazing lobbying effort:

On the first night of the Olympics, Comcast (CMCSA) threw a big party at the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue, a short walk from the U.S. Capitol. About 700 guests, including congressional aides and administration officials, drank chilled vodka, made s’mores over indoor fire pits, and had their photos taken with former Olympic athletes.

[…]

As Comcast, the largest U.S. cable company, seeks the federal government’s approval for a $45.2 billion deal to buy No. 2 Time Warner Cable (TWC), the company, and Cohen, are everywhere in Washington—pressing their case with members of Congress and their staffs by day and entertaining them by night. In 2013, Comcast spent $18.8 million on lobbying, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, more than any company except defense contractor Northrop Grumman (NOC).

When a company throws around money like that they usually get whatever they want. Even if the government prevents a direct merger between Comcast and Time Warner (which they probably won’t) there will be some form of backdoor deal that allows the two companies to effectively act as one.

Many people mistakenly believe that the United States government is of the people and for the people. In reality it is more like a giant corporation. Members of Congress are the shares and anybody can buy in through the lobbyist firms that are political stock exchanges. When an organization wants political favor it merely buys enough shares to make it happen.

Zero Accountability

The Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) has a colorful history involving a lot of abuses of power. Police departments abusing power isn’t something that surprises people these days as it’s incredibly common, especially in larger cities. But people often wonder why so much abuses takes place in modern police departments. I believe the answer lies in the lack of accountability modern police officers face. One of Minneapolis’s finest has a habit of beating people while off duty and two lawsuits filed against the department for his behavior have turned into payouts for the victims:

A judge’s order in a Minneapolis police brutality suit last week pushed the city’s bill to $410,653.33 for two lawsuits filed against police officer Michael Griffin.

The suits, one stemming from a 2010 incident and the other from 2011, both involve cases in which Griffin was off-duty and at downtown bars when he allegedly punched or kicked people who did not want to fight him. Three people were hospitalized as a result of the incidents, including one man who was unconscious and bleeding for more than five minutes, according to one of the lawsuits.

Griffin remains a patrol officer in the Fourth Precinct on the city’s North Side, according to a department spokesman. The status of an internal affairs review of the incidents was not immediately available Friday.

Notice two important points. First, the city is footing the bill. Although officer Griffin was the attacker in both cases the tax victims of Minneapolis are left paying for his violence. Mr. Griffin should be the one who has to pay his victims as he was the one who wronged them. Second, Mr. Griffin is still on active duty. The man has been found at fault for assaulting two people. He should not be allowed to remain in his position of authority.

But cases like this aren’t uncommon. Police officers are generally insulated from the consequences of their misdeeds. Cities often pay the bills of lawsuits stemming from police abuses cases and officers found guilty of wrongdoing often remain employed by the department. This insulation from wrongdoing means officers often face no consequence when they abuse their power. If one doesn’t suffer consequences for abusing power they are more likely to abuse power.

I believe making officers personally responsible for their actions would do a lot to reduce abuses of power performed by police in this country.

Without Cops Who Would Run the Prostitution Rings

Time and time again we see the supposed upholders of the law breaking the law. Oftentimes these violations of law are merely acts of violence against innocent people. Other times they involved an officer operating a prostitution ring from his home:

WASHINGTON (WJLA) – A D.C. police officer is alleged to have been pimping a number of teenage girls from his Southeast D.C. apartment, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court Wednesday.

The unnamed officer is the one whose apartment was searched throughout Wednesday, a search during which sources say police were able to locate a teenage girl who had been reported missing by her family.

According to documents, the girl who was discovered was part of a prostitution ring being run by the cop, who sources say works Washington’s 7th District.

I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for this. After all, it’s not like a member of Washington DC’s finest would be renting teenage girls to older men and pocketing the profit:

During the early morning search of the officer’s home, MPD officers discovered the girl in a back bedroom. She told officers that she had met the suspect about two weeks ago, and after several meetings, the suspect told her that he had made a “date” for her with an older man.

That “date” was of to be a sexual nature, documents say. The teenage girl, whom the suspect told the victim that her prostitution name was to be “Juicy” – was told she’d be paid $80 for performing sexual acts on the man and that she was supposed to give $20 of that to the suspect.

Never mind. At least the officer in question has been arrested by his less corrupt upholders of the law:

On Friday, community leaders in Southeast D.C. told us there is outrage in the area over why the D.C. police officer has yet to be charged with misconduct.

“They may be protecting one another,” said Sandra Seegars. “I’ve heard people say that if it was an ordinary citizen, they would have been arrested by now.”

In response, Police Chief Lanier said: “We are actively trying to determine if there is anything criminal in nature that we can charge the officer with.”

Fuck.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, comes out of this. The police seem to have a you-watch-my-back-I’ll-watch-yours attitude. If one of their own commits a heinous crime other officers seem to either be unwilling to arrest and prosecute them or move to actively assist them is weaseling out of any possible consequences. What’s even more worrisome is that this attitude seems to be getting more prevalent every day.

If charges are filed, which I’m doubtful they will be, it will be interesting to hear the officer’s defense. I’m certain he will come up with a perfectly reasonable explanation of why a teenage girl was in his back bedroom.

The United States Government’s Partnership with the Sinaloa Drug Cartel

During the tail end of 2012 evidence came to light that showed the United States government had partnered with the Sinaloa drug cartel. Investigations based on that evidence show that the partnership existed at least from 2000 to 2012:

An investigation by El Universal found that between the years 2000 and 2012, the U.S. government had an arrangement with Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel that allowed the organization to smuggle billions of dollars of drugs while Sinaloa provided information on rival cartels.

Sinaloa, led by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, supplies 80% of the drugs entering the Chicago area and has a presence in cities across the U.S.

[…]

But the El Universal investigation is the first to publish court documents that include corroborating testimony from a DEA agent and a Justice Department official.

If the United States government wanted to take down the Mexican drug cartels you would think it would partner with several of the small ones, organize them into a force that can combat the Sinaloa cartel, and then play them against each other after toppling the biggest player. By partnering with the biggest cartel the United States effective empowered both the biggest player in the drug trade as well as the biggest threat to the Mexican government. That leads one to question whether the partnership was about hurting the drug trade or making a profitable arrangement that would also cause instability in Central America. Let’s not forget that this partnership also involved the United States providing arms to the Sinaloa cartel.

It amazes me that people still believe the United States government has any real interest in fighting the drug “problem”. All evidence is to the contrary. Even if it is interested in fighting the drug “problem” it is going about it in a manner that makes the “problem” much worse. Instead of having people who are addicted to various substances we have people who are addicted to various substances and a large number of dead bodies. I would argue that addicts and dead bodies is much worse than just addicts.

Increasing the Flow Through the School-Prison Pipeline

The 13_th Amendment of the United States Constitution didn’t abolish slavery regardless of what many believe. What it did was change the rules. Criteria for who can and cannot be used as a slave is no longer based entirely on skin color, although it often plays out that way. Instead the primary criteria is whether or not an individual has been given the arbitrary label of criminal. With the slave labor pool dropping something has to be done to keep Federal Prison Industries and Corrections Corporation of America stocked with workers.

Schools in Minnesota, and most likely their slave labor employing partner MINNCOR, are looking at an innovative new way to get those numbers back up. The experiment involves drug testing children in schools:

School administrators in Duluth are talking about testing students randomly for drugs.

Educators say parent and student input would be gathered if the idea moves forward.

Parent Deb Johnson tells KSTP’s sister station WDIO-TV she’s in favor of the tests because it would likely curb the drug problem in the high schools. Johnson is president of the Duluth East Parent-Teacher-Student Association. She expects some resistance to the idea.

Since every activity an adult can possible consider doing is effectively illegal in this country the only way to increase the flow of laborers into the prison system is to either increase enforcement or criminalize children. Increasing enforcement costs money and requires more badged thugs. Criminalizing children is much easier because the population is mostly captive. This is probably why more states have been trying to open the school-prison pipeline wider. Testing adults for drugs is slightly more difficult than testing children for drugs because adults have the right to refuse. Children, on the other hand, are given no legal opportunity to refuse any order given by a school administrator.

I’m sure many people, like Deb Johnson, will approve of drug testing children. They will approve of this because they perceive that a drug problem exists and believe drug testing will fix that problem. In reality this is a case where the “fix” is worse than the “problem”. In all likelihood any kid who tests positive for drug use will find him or herself brought up on charges. What may have been a youthful indiscretion would turn into a lifelong punishment.

Finding a job is extremely difficult when you have anything on your criminal record. It’s one of the reasons I believe the recidivism rate is so high in the United States. After getting out of prison an individual has a difficult time getting a job so they return to crime in order to survive. By charging children with a drug offense they are effectively guaranteed a lifetime of hardship in regards to finding a job. While many people may claim that this is a good reason for kids not to do drugs we need to be honest and admit that children suck at long term planning. That’s part of the reason we don’t trust them with real responsibility. So hitting them with a lifelong punishment is nothing short of absurd. But that’s most likely what will come of these drug tests.

I find it sick that the schools are even thinking about doing this and I find it even sicker that many people will actually approve of this.

Why Police Departments Fight Cannabis Legalization

Legalizing cannabis is a fight that has been ongoing here in Minnesota for many years. The current governor, Mark Dayton, has stated numerous times that he would only sign a legalization bill if law enforcement signed off on it. That’s a great cop out because law enforcement agencies are unlikely to support any effort to legalize cannabis. Their reasoning is simple, legalizing cannabis would cut into their revenue:

MILL CREEK, Wash.—A drug task force in Washington’s Snohomish County has historically been funded in part by cash, cars, houses and other assets seized from marijuana purveyors. But with recreational pot becoming legal in the state, this funding is going up in smoke.

Snohomish’s 22-officer drug-fighting operation, one of 19 such task forces in the state, brought in about $200,000 from forfeitures in marijuana cases in 2012—15% of its funding that year; the haul has exceeded $1 million in years past. The task force has a piece of land, seized from a pot grower, where it stores seized vehicles awaiting auction and trims with a riding mower confiscated in a drug bust.

The county’s task force has already slashed its projected funding for this year by more than 15%, partially because of a decline in revenue from asset forfeitures in pot cases, said task force Commander Pat Slack. That will mean less money for overtime, training and new equipment, said Mr. Slack, a vocal opponent of legalization.

With marijuana legalized for those at least 21 years old in Washington later this year and in Colorado as of Jan. 1, law-enforcement agencies in those states expect to lose millions in revenue gained from assets seized from growers and dealers.

Cannabis prohibition is a racket. Through civil forfeiture laws police departments make large amounts of money off of the war on unpatentable drugs. The incentive of revenue ensures police departments will generally oppose any form of cannabis legalization.

Government decrees tend to have an air of permanency to them. Nobody should find this surprising because most government decrees become revenue generators for the state. Whether violating decrees result in direct extortion (fines and confiscation of property), enslavement (prison), or coercion (being forced to work as a snitch for the state) the state always manages to turn its decrees into profit. Once something becomes a revenue generator it’s difficult to convince those profiting from it to destroy it.

NSA Intercepts Electronics in Transit to Install Malware

Today is one of those days that ends in a “y”. That must mean the National Security Agency (NSA) is doing something dickish again. The NSA has been intercepting electronic devices during delivery to install malware on them:

Take, for example, when they intercept shipping deliveries. If a target person, agency or company orders a new computer or related accessories, for example, TAO can divert the shipping delivery to its own secret workshops. The NSA calls this method interdiction. At these so-called “load stations,” agents carefully open the package in order to load malware onto the electronics, or even install hardware components that can provide backdoor access for the intelligence agencies. All subsequent steps can then be conducted from the comfort of a remote computer.

These minor disruptions in the parcel shipping business rank among the “most productive operations” conducted by the NSA hackers, one top secret document relates in enthusiastic terms. This method, the presentation continues, allows TAO to obtain access to networks “around the world.”

Even in the Internet Age, some traditional spying methods continue to live on.

There are no words to describe the absolute insanity that is the NSA. What’s even worse is that many people are perfectly fine with the surveillance apparatus it has established. A lot of people have actually fallen for the “If you’ve got nothing to hide, you’ve got nothing to fear” line. Fortunately the NSA’s actions have garnered more disapproval overseas. But that disapproval is unlikely to accomplish much.

At this point it’s pretty obvious that proprietary platforms are a liability. With a completely open platform one has the ability to verify if any additional hardware has been added to a device or if the software has been modified in any way. That’s not to say open platforms are a magic bullet, but they do offer the ability to more closely scrutinize the hardware and software while adding a way to verify if alternations have been made. Without our reliance on closed platforms we lack this ability entirely.