Law and Disorder – Page 149

The CIA Assassination Program

There is a saying, “Where the CIA goes bodies aren’t far behind.” OK it’s not really a saying since I just made it up but it certainly is descriptive of the actions taken by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). A long history of bloodshed lies in the shadows of the CIA’s history and Bruce Schneier has found a great interview with John A. Rizzo, the former CIA general council . The article is mainly about the selection process used by the CIA to determine who they are going to off in the name of national security. Here’s the base logic the CIA uses:

How CIA staffers determine whether to target someone for lethal operations is a relatively straightforward, and yet largely unknown, story. The president does not review the individual names of people; Rizzo explains that he was the one who signed off. People in Washington talk about a “target list,” as former undersecretary of state Richard Armitage described the process at a recent event in Washington. In truth, there is probably no official CIA roster of those who are slated to die. “I never saw a list,” says a State Department official who has been involved in discussions about lethal operations, speaking without attribution because of the nature of the subject. Officials at the CIA select targets for “neutralization,” he explains. “There were individuals we were searching for, and we thought, it’s better now to neutralize that threat,” he says.

Emphasis mine. Basically the CIA likes to kill people before they could potentially threaten the United States. This logic sounds good on paper but is nothing more than a justification for conniving murder. If you or I were to use such logic to kill somebody we would be brought up on charges of murder and tossed into the klink. Yet when the state decides to commit preemptive murder without any form of public trial it’s considered justified and for the good of the American people.

Put into perspective this would be akin to you killing your neighbor because you are reasonably sure he may cause harm to you in the future. This isn’t considered self-defense as your neighbor hasn’t actually initiated violence against you. Anybody who has to be considered a future or potential threat hasn’t initiated violence and thus their murder shouldn’t be justifiable. If the CIA believes a person to be a threat or or that somebody has initiated violence against the United States why don’t they put that person on trial? Allow the public to determine whether or not the potential target is a threat instead of a few people who are just a wee bit biased.

Wait I forgot, if people were to know who was a threat they would… do something I guess because this information is always classified super top secret. Um mere serfs aren’t allowed to know who is a potential threat to us because… well because the state said so. Shut up slave!

Brazilian School Shooting

12 children are dead after a crazed fuckwit went through a Brazilian school. Of course like most of these lunatics this pussy offed himself as soon as opposition showed up. This demonstrates two other reasons I’m such a proponent of carry laws and against so-called gun-free zones; these shootings always happen in gun free zones and the shooter almost always offs himself the second he meets any form of resistance. If school faculty were allowed to carry while at work they could present this resistance sooner than the police could arrive which would likely cause the shooter to off himself earlier on thus potentially saving lives.

I’m sure this event will be used by the anti-gunners in Brazil to further restrict what can and can’t be owned by the mere serfs but after looking up Brazil’s gun laws I have to say they’re not as bad as expected but certainly are restrictive.

All firearms must be registered, a person must be 25 years-old before purchasing a firearm, and in order to keep a firearm you must pay a registration tax every three years. I’ll also mentioned the scumbag shooter broke Brazilian law as it is apparently almost impossible to get a carry permit there. I also found it interesting that there was a referendum in 2005 to ban all civilian firearm and ammunition sales in Brazil. It failed but the following got my attention:

The ban also had the backing of the federal government (which wanted a government monopoly on gun possession), the Roman Catholic Church, and Rede Globo. The anti-gun lobby received vast support and free coverage from the press.

It would seem that the Brazilian government is in favor of disarming the serfs and was willing to give anti-gunners free coverage in order to accomplish it’s goal of disarming the public. I’m not at all shocked by this though.

Another thing that is interesting about this story are the weapons chosen by the scumbag shooter:

At least 12 others were wounded when the man entered the school with two revolvers and began shooting.

It would seem a ban on standard capacity magazines wouldn’t have done jack shit here. I’m not at all surprised.

Carry Permits Used as Justification for Deploying the SWAT Team

Here’s another chapter for my future book on police abuse (which will never be released because a no-knock raid will be performed shortly before publishing due to the fact I hold a carry permit). A Mr. Bellotte made the mistake of getting photographs contained *gasp* nudity developed at Wal-Mart. This is always a mistake because any nudity can be contrived as being child pornography which is what the Wal-Mart employee claimed when he called the police. The Frederick County police responded in kind by deploying their SWAT team to perform a no-knock raid on Mr. Bellotte’s residence because he held a carry permit:

In order to execute the warrant, Detective Edwards sought and received approval from the ranking Jefferson County law enforcement officer for the assistance of the Jefferson County Special Operations Team (“SORT Team”). The SORT Team leaders decided that their involvement was justified due to the possibility of a violent reaction from Mr. Bellotte and the concealed carry permits held by both Mr. and Mrs. Bellotte. After the three SORT squads were assembled and briefed, they arrived at the Bellotte residence around 10:15 p.m.

I’m certainly no expert on tactics in storming peoples’ homes but it seems to me knowing somebody has a carry permit would be grounds to perform a knock and announce entry. By busting down the door and storming into a residence a home defense situation has been created by the fact unknown assailants have entered the building. As the police never announced the fact that they were police and that you can’t know if the police actually are police without at least some kind of proof (a warrant) it would be a valid reaction for a home owner to take measures to defend himself in a no-knock raid.

Of course when the accusation of child pornography is being made absolutely any tactic the police wish to use is considered valid by most of the populace. When this accusation comes from a photo developer who can’t reasonably be assured a person in a picture is a child though, then there is no grounds for anything beyond a cursory investigation. Can you guess what the police found after storming the residence and performing an investigation?

Mr. Bellotte, it turns out, had spent that night in his hunting cabin in Hampshire County, West Virginia. The next morning, when his wife told him what happened, he went to see Detective Edwards at the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. He gave a recorded statement and later produced a passport and birth certificate showing that the female in the photo was not a child, but in fact a 35-year-old woman who lived in the Philippines. Thus Mr. Bellotte did not in fact possess any child pornography, and no charges were ever filed against him.

Apparently our potential child was 35 years-old. The police created a potential home defense situation for people whom have had no history of violence because some punk at Wal-Mart said a carry permit holder may have produced child pornography. Just thinking about the fact that the police took action that could have caused a peaceful and innocent person to need the use of violence in apparent self-defense just makes my head spin.

If Mr. Bellotte had shot one of the police thinking they were generic cooks you can guarantee he’s be in prison for murder while the police officers would be off scot-free.

Child Abduction Services Knows Best

You know what’s great? Using Child Abduction” Services to bar parents from taking their newborn baby home. It’s nice to know that the state has this kind of power to protect our children from those evil little serfs we call parents. Take this instance:

“They said, ‘Well, if you leave the hospital I’ll have to arrest you and your husband.'”

Cecilia is referring to the police officer who was sent to her room just hours after giving birth, all because she and her husband told the nurse they didn’t want to keep Lilia overnight in the NICU to be treated for jaundice.

I guess I don’t really have grounds to make a complain if the parents if the parents were going to put the child’s life in danger. It would be crazy to let the parents go against the wishes of the doctor… oh wait:

The couple says it got a second opinion and spoke with a pediatrician at Summerlin Hospital, who agreed that it would be okay if the couple took the baby home with minor jaundice as long as they signed a medical release form.

What the Hell? The doctor signed off on the parents taking the baby home and yet Child Abduction Services were still called? Who the Hell called them?

But the nurse they originally worked with called Child Protective Services to report these new parents for not agreeing with the recommended hospital care.

Oh, it seems the nurse knew more than the doctor. Likewise the goons send by abduct the child also knew better than the doctor. I must have missed when they changed the curriculum for nurses and government stooges. At what point did the required education for becoming either involve heavy training in pediatrics?

Yes this is yet another case of the state coming in and imposing its will against the slaves… er, citizens, of the United States. It’s also frightening to see that the recommendations of a doctor will be completely ignored by the very goons who are supposed to protect children from abusive situations.

More Zero Tolerance Stupidity

Zero tolerance is synonymous with zero common sense. I like to think of zero tolerance rules as the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoints at airports. Much time an is dumpt into enforcing TSA and zero tolerance rules but neither has lead to any instances where people were protected but wouldn’t have been had the checkpoints of rules not been in place. Well here’s another one for the record books:

Harassment, Disorderly Conduct – On March 24 police charged a student they say is responsible for writing a note that referenced a gun. “Gun 25 Love It” was found written in a girls bathroom at Saucon Valley Middle School, and police subsequently compared students’ handwriting samples with the handwriting found in the bathroom, reviewed surveillance video and confronted an 11-year-old female suspect, who they say admitted to writing the note. The juvenile has been charged with both misdemeanor harassment and disorderly conduct, police said. Several other incidents involving the discovery of notes referencing a gun and specific days or dates have been reported at both the middle school and high school since February.

I could see the kid being made to clean the writing off whatever wall she wrote it on. Hell in a twisted sort of way I could see some validity in a charge of vandalism. But harassment? Who did she harass? Why were the police even involved in this situation? This sounds like something a school administrator should have taken care of. Oh, yeah I forgot the word gun appears which instantly means we need to call in the police and charge the kid with some kind of crime. I guess you need to start charing children with trumped up crimes early so they get used to the police state when they’re adults.

Something You Don’t See in Minnesota

What happens when you’re a criminal who just robbed an Apple Store? In Minnesota you probably will get away scot-free. In Chula Vista, California although the citizenry aren’t allowed to carry firearms private security guards are then thus robbing an Apple store is likely to get you shot:

Three people attempted to burglarize an Apple Store in Chula Vista Monday morning, leading to a shootout with a private security guard and a getaway car crash that left one of the burglars dead, police said.

This is yet another California thing that baffles me. The state is so dead set against firearms owned by the peasantry but allowing private security guards to have them while Minnesota is more than happy to give firearms to the peasants but reluctant to allow private security to carry them. The correct thing to do would be allow both to carry a means of self-defense but that sadly isn’t the case.

Can Anybody Say Conflict of Interest

There has been a lawsuit going on between i4i and Microsoft over a claimed patent involving XML editing. Microsoft started using XML as the basis for their Office document file formats partially due to urges by world governments for a more open format. That last sentence has no bearing on this story, I just like pointing out irony.

The lawsuit has finally reached the Supreme Court where Microsoft will argue to the federal court against i4i. Unfortunately for Microsoft the government has failed an amicus brief against them:

The U.S. government is backing i4i in its case against Microsoft that the Supreme Court is expected to hear in April.

Acting Solicitor General Neal Kumar Katyal filed an amicus brief supporting a U.S. Court of Appeal decision and i4i’s position on Friday. The brief represents the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

This is a major argument I have against the court systems in this country, they are loaded with conflict of interest. Ultimately the Supreme Court represents the federal government thus having other agencies of the federal government file amicus briefs creates a conflict of interest. That’s not to say the Supreme Court hasn’t ruled against federal legislation in the past, they certainly have, but the potential exists.

The Supreme Court shouldn’t have been made as an arm of the federal government but instead as a completely separate entity. If i4i wins this case a claim of conflict of interest would be valid but alas could not be appealed. It certainly becomes an interesting scenario when you think about it.

That’s Clever

I have to agree with Bruce Schneier that this is just plain clever:

The thieves glue down the “enter,” “cancel” and “clear” buttons on the keypad and wait until the customer goes into the bank for help before withdrawing money from their account.

The robbed customers have already punched in their PINs when they realize the keypad buttons are stuck. The unwitting customers either do not know that they can use the ATM touchscreen to finish their transaction, or become nervous when the keypad isn’t working and react by leaving the ATM unattended, Richmond Station police Capt. Richard Corriea said.

Since January, there have been four such thefts in the Richmond District alone, Corriea said.

Take note when you use an ATM check to make sure the keys are all in proper working order. Most of the time the simplest hacks are the most effective.

Wisconsin Shootout

There was a shootout this weekend in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The shooter being a coward, as is par for the course in these situations, took his own life although unfortunately not before killing one officer and wounding both another officer and a police dog:

A Wisconsin man opened fire on police during a six-hour standoff at a house, killing one officer and critically wounding another, authorities said.

Police in Fond du Lac were called to the house around 6:30 a.m. Sunday to investigate a sexual assault. Shortly after they arrived, the suspect started shooting at the officers, a news release said.

Needless to say there isn’t a lot of information being released about this at the moment as an investigation is still ongoing.

Let’s Piss Them Off More

How can we piss off a nation we’re not technically at war with even more? By sending drones into their country to kill their people. It seems Pakistan is pretty pissed about the 40 people will killed in a drone attack and not surprisingly have vowed revenge. If I were a leader in a country where unmanned drones were be flown in to kill my people I’d be wanting revenge as well.

So who were the 40 people we killed? Obviously top officials in terrorist organizations right? Not exactly:

Thursday’s attack has caused fury – most of the dead were tribal elders and police attending an open-air meeting.

Yup the United States fucked up and that fuck up killed innocent people. That’s a great way of bolstering foreign relations if I’ve ever seen one. When people say the Middle East hates us because of our freedom they’re wrong, they hate us because of shit like this.