When The S*** Hits the Fan

Federal Court Rules You Can Be Arrested Simply for Filming the Police

by

Derrick Broze
February 24, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Philadelphia, PA — A federal appeals court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled that filming the police without a specific challenge or criticism is not constitutionally protected.

The cases of Fields v. City of Philadelphia, and Geraci v. City of Philadelphia involve two different incidents where individuals were arrested for filming the police. Richard Fields, a Temple University student, was arrested after stopping to take a picture of a large group of police outside a house party. Amanda Geraci, a legal observer with CopWatch Berkeley, attended a large protest against fracking in September 2012 and was arrested while filming the arrest of another protester. [Read more…]

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These Cops Are so Fed Up with Corruption They’re Suing Their Own Department

by

Derrick Broze
February 23, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Maricopa County, Arizona — On February 17, 20-year law enforcement veteran Charles Cornfield, as well as five other police officers, filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Court against the the Arizona Board of Regents, former ASU Police Chief John Pickens, current Police Chief Michael Thompson, and 10 other ASU employees. Cornfield is supported by fellow officers Benjamin R. Flynn, Bernard Linser, Patrick Murphy, William J. O’Hayer, and Matthew V. Parker.

The officers claim ASU Police attempt to make the university seem more safe by misreporting crime statistics. Courthouse News reports:

“The officers claim they were ordered ‘to change crime statistics or otherwise falsify the crime statistics to make ASU appear safer, and supervisors directed employees to change crime classification to avoid the community from seeing the crime that occurred on or around the campus.’

“This ‘culture of corruption’ violates the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1990, (20 U.S.C. § 1092(f), and 34 C.F.R. 668.46), the officers say.”

The court filing also states that after the officers reported the corruption, they were investigated by internal affairs. They also allege they were harassed. The plaintiffs claim that former Police Chief Pickens suspected the officers were contributing to a local blog that details corruption in the ASU police department. In response, Pickens “singled them out for interrogations and demoted them, denied them promotions, defamed them with false reports, and/or fired them.”

Cornfield also filed a separate claim alleging he was targeted because he was older than 40. Cornfield says the department forced him into retirement “based on the harassment he felt with this incredibly dysfunctional group of people that are supposed to ‘serve and protect.’“
The officers claim the ASU Police Department is run by a clique of cronies that “discriminates against those who were felt to be threats.” The officers are seeking punitive damages for civil rights violations, civil conspiracy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, falsification of records, and age discrimination (on behalf of plaintiff Cornfield only).

Unfortunately, the law enforcement’s practices of altering crime statistics is likely fairly common. Police officers often want to make their police departments look strong and their cities safe, so they may under-report certain crimes and statistics that make the department look bad. On the flip side, a department’s officers might attempt to paint themselves as vulnerable — and therefore in need of funding — to properly handle crimes that might not even exist. This situation becomes even more problematic in light of the fact that the FBI relies upon “self-reporting” from police departments to compile its annual report on national crime statistics.

How can the federal government accurately analyze crime statistics if the departments are improperly reporting them in the first place? It cannot. This should make every member of the public weary of official government data regarding police abuse, corruption, and violent crimes. The people are no longer able to trust the “authorities” to be transparent and accountable, so it is up to each of us to educate ourselves about the corruption that surrounds us, and then take action against in whatever ways are most appropriate to our lifestyles and needs. Together we can turn the tide of police corruption and put the power back in the hands of the people.

This article (These Cops Are so Fed Up with Corruption They’re Suing Their Own Department) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Derrick Broze and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article at edits@theantimedia.org.

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Sacred Native American Lands Could Become Nuclear Waste Dump

by

Derrick Broze
February 22, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Nye County, Nevada — During the 1970s and 80s, a large movement of antinuclear and anti-war activists protested the growing acceptance of nuclear power and the possibility of an impending global nuclear war. The protesters were not only concerned with the Cold War breaking down into a hot war, but also with the dangers that nuclear technology presented to the environment and the health of the public.

When nuclear power is used to provide electricity or create nuclear weapons, a radioactive byproduct known as spent nuclear fuel is created. Disposing of this waste requires a very difficult and dangerous process. To deal with concerns over storing nuclear material, Congress passed the federal Nuclear Waste Policy Act in 1982, which tasked the Department of Energy (DOE) with finding a place to build and operate a geologic repository, or underground nuclear waste disposal facility.

One of the proposed waste sites was the Yucca Mountain, located 100 miles northwest of Las Vegas.The DOE’s plan is to tunnel into the Yucca Mountain and store the radioactive waste for thousands of years until the material is no longer harmful. This plan, known as the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository, enjoyed the support of President George W. Bush, but was opposed by Native communities, anti-nuclear activists, and officials in Nevada. The opposition continued after President Obama was elected.

MintPress News reports:

“In 2009, environmental and anti-nuclear organizations, including Beyond Nuclear, Greenpeace, Center for Health, Environment & Justice, and the International Society for Ecology, sent a letter to President Barack Obama calling the selection of the Yucca Mountain site ‘a purely political decision.’ They argued that it has been been evident since 1992 that the site ‘could not meet the EPA’s general radiation protection standard for repositories.’”

Obama also opted to end funding for the project in 2009, setting off an ongoing legal battle. In August 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ordered the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to approve or reject the DOE application for the proposed waste storage site at Yucca Mountain.

Vernon Lee, a Southern Paiute with the Moapa Band of Paiute Indians, says the dangers associated with storage of nuclear waste are disproportionately foisted upon Native communities. Lee has lived on the Moapa River Reservation, located about three hours from the planned Yucca Mountain Waste Repository, since 1973.

“There are multiple problems. Moving the waste is a problem. High risk, unnecessary risk. If the company is ever going to benefit from nuclear power they should process it and store it themselves. Stop shipping it across the country and exposing the population to a potential disaster,” he told MintPress.

Unfortunately, Native communities in the region are not new to this type of exposure to radiation. From 1951 to 1992, the U.S. government used a 1,300-square mile patch of land known as the Nevada Test Site for nuclear weapons testing. 928 American and 19 British nuclear tests were conducted at the Nevada Test Site. Although no official tests have been conducted to examine the health effects on the Paiute and the Shoshone, the communities believe the radiation has affected their health — and the health of the land.

“We hope that that [radiation] went up in the air and blew over us,” Vernon Lee told MintPress. “We know that we got some because we are just east of the testing, but we hope we got less.”

The DOE is currently accepting public comment from communities, states, tribes, and other stakeholders regarding how to establish a nuclear waste repository with respect to the community. The DOE says it aims “to establish an integrated waste management system to transport, store, and dispose of commercial spent nuclear fuel and high level defense radioactive waste.” The public comment period ends on June 15, and the DOE and Nuclear Regulatory Commission will likely issue statements shortly after.

Ian Zaparte, representative of the Western Shoshone government, says the NRC and the DOE are ignoring the possibilities for danger in the area.

“There are 26 faults, seven cinder cone volcanoes, 90 percent of the mountain is saturated with 10 percent water,” Zaparte told MintPress. “If you heat the rock, it will release that water. If the water comes up and corrodes the canisters, it will take whatever is in storage and bring it into the water and into the valley.”

However, Ian Zaparte takes his criticism of the project even further. He believes the actions taken by the U.S. government constitute acts of genocide against the Western Shoshone and other tribal nations who have been subject to the effects of nuclear testing and power. He is determined to fight for his people’s way of life and the land that his ancestors fought for.

“We have a deliberate act by the United States to systematically dismantle my living life ways for the profit of the nuclear industry and the benefit of the United States,” Zaparte said. “At the worst, this is genocide under the U.N. Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide.”

This article (Sacred Native American Lands Could Become Nuclear Waste Dump) is free and open source. You have permission to republish this article under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Derrick Broze and theAntiMedia.org. Anti-Media Radio airs weeknights at 11 pm Eastern/8 pm Pacific. If you spot a typo, please email the error and name of the article at edits@theantimedia.org.

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