Man pulled over for expired license plates on his rental vehicle sues over attack by Los Angeles county sheriff’s deputies. “… things soon turn took a violent turn when he could not find the registration and the deputies asked him step out of the vehicle. [Andre] Olivas said in the interview that when he responded by asking to speak to a supervisor the deputies attacked him. His suit says he was hit several times and restrained him to the point that he couldn’t breathe. ‘After slamming me on the hood of his vehicle, he started to Mace me near my face,’ Olivas said, noting that at times he almost lost consciousness.” https://atlantablackstar.com/2021/12/15/oh-my-god-im-scared-new-york-mans-request-for-supervisor-quickly-turned-into-violent-traffic-stop-caught-on-video-now-hes-suing-los-angeles-county-sheriffs-department/
Truck driver who caused multi-fatality traffic accident after his brakes failed is sentenced to a mandatory 110 years in prison. “… many will balk at the idea that a man has been sentenced to die in prison for a crime that the state admits was not maliciously intentioned. Among those detractors: Judge A. Bruce Jones, who sentenced Aguilera-Mederos. ‘I will state that if I had the discretion, it would not be my sentence,’ he said Monday, noting that Colorado law requires Aguilera-Mederos to serve some of his sentences consecutively instead of concurrently. ‘This is not the first time we’ve seen or heard a judge say, “I’m bound by a mandatory sentence that I wouldn’t give if I had discretion,”‘ says Kevin Ring, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. ‘I think that should bother everybody.'” https://reason.com/2021/12/15/he-was-sentenced-to-110-years-in-prison-for-causing-fatal-traffic-accident-colorado-judge-mandatory-sentencing/
Former CIA agent Bob Baer implicates possible Nazi agent in JFK assassination. “HUNTING HITLER: THE FINAL CHAPTER is a 2-hour [History Channel] special that puts Bob back in the war room to investigate the true scope of Hitler’s 4th Reich plans, and explore how the Nazis infiltrated and specifically targeted America after World War II.” https://www.history.com/specials/hunting-hitler-the-final-chapter Spoiler alert! Baer’s investigation finds evidence that significant numbers of Nazi’s fled Europe after the fall of the Third Reich and established a network of facilities in South American countries ruled by sympathetic, far right governments. Their initial plan was to attack the U.S. using weapons of mass destruction (chemical and nuclear), but with the outbreak of the Cold War they decided to bide their time instead, hoping a war between the U.S. and USSR that would weaken both of their major adversaries. Nazi agents allegedly infiltrated the U.S. with the goal of destabilizing the country and provoking a war with the USSR. Lee Harvey Oswald’s mentor George de Mohrenschildt was possibly one of these agents. de Mohrenschildt also reportedly had connections with the oil industry, the FBI, CIA, far right groups, the family of JFK’s wife Jackie and the Bush family. My take on this is that even if Nazi agents were involved, it doesn’t rule out the possibility that a coalition of forces targeted Kennedy, each with their own motive. U.S. ‘deep state’ anti-communists in the CIA and military were opposed to co-existence with the USSR and Cuba. These individuals and the CIA’s Cuban exile army blamed Kennedy for not intervening militarily during the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Organized crime wanted both JFK and RFK out due to a federal crackdown on their activities. And Lyndon Johnson, also no fan of the Kennedys, was only ‘a heartbeat away’ from becoming president. If the Nazis had acted alone, they wouldn’t have had the ability to misdirect the investigation and cover up what actually happened. It’s also been alleged that Kennedy was killed because he wanted to know everything about alien activity on earth, and work with the Soviet Union on ‘space exploration’.
Hundreds of thousands lose power after high winds damage infrastructure across the plains and midwest. “More than 400,000 homes and businesses were without electricity in Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa and Kansas, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports…. ‘I can say with some confidence that this event (the heat and tornadoes) is among the most (if not THE most) anomalous weather event ever on record for the Upper Midwest,’ [The Weather Company historian Chris] Burt wrote in a Facebook post.” https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/12/16/at-least-five-dead-as-us-midwest-gets-more-abnormal-weather
Man who burst into flames when he was tasered by Catskill, New York police, after covering himself with hand sanitizer, dies after being disconnected from life support. “Jason Jones was taken off a ventilator at a Syracuse hospital on Wednesday evening, The Times Union reported Thursday…. Jones had walked into the Catskill village police department in late October and had gotten into a confrontation with officers.” https://pix11.com/news/man-who-burst-into-flames-from-police-taser-dead-after-weeks-in-new-york-hospital/
Meta bans seven surveillance companies targeting its users. “The parent company of Facebook and Instagram has banned seven firms it says used its platforms to spy on some 50,000 unsuspecting targets, including human rights activists, government critics, celebrities, journalists and ordinary people in more than 100 countries.” https://www.npr.org/2021/12/16/1064628654/facebook-bans-surveillance-firms-that-spied-on-50000-people
Senate parliamentarian nixes Build Back Better provision that would have granted work permits to illegal migrants. “Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough said a plan to allow 6.5 million immigrants living in the U.S. without legal status to apply for work permits and protections from deportation could not be passed through the budget reconciliation process.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/senate-parliamentarian-rejects-democrats-latest-immigration-plan-in-budget-bill/
Senate passes bill that would ban imports from Xinjiang region of China, unless companies can prove no forced labor was used. “The U.S. cites raw cotton, gloves, tomato products, silicon and viscose, fishing gear and a range of components in solar energy as among goods alleged to have been produced with the help of [Uighur] forced labor.” https://apnews.com/article/science-business-china-asia-beijing-d73f6a5b82a58209480f5aa010895100
California hospital’s software reportedly marking up medical supplies by 575% to 675%. “For example, one screenshot is for sutures — that is, medical thread, a.k.a. stitches. Scripps’ system put the basic “cost per unit” at $19.30. But the system said the “computed charge per unit” was $149.58. This is how much the patient and his or her insurer would be billed. The system helpfully included a formula for reaching this amount: $149.58 = $19.30 + ($19.30 x 675%).” https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-12-10/column-healthcare-billing-markups According to my calculations, that would be a 675% mark up PLUS an additional $19.30. If it was a 675% mark up the cost to the patient would be $130.28.
Crackdown on corruption and drug trafficking may have been motive for assassination of Haiti’s former president. “In interrogations, some of the captured hit men confessed that retrieving the list [Jovenel] Moïse had been working on — with the names of suspected drug traffickers — was a top priority, according to three senior Haitian officials with knowledge of the investigation. The document was part of a broader series of clashes Mr. Moïse had with powerful political and business figures, some suspected of narcotics and arms trafficking. Mr. Moïse had known several of them for years, and they felt betrayed by his turn against them, his aides say.” https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/12/world/americas/jovenel-moise-haiti-president-drug-traffickers.html
Group targets ‘PINOS’ for primary challenges. “… a new report out Thursday claims that despite the [Congressional Progressive Caucus’s] overhaul, a number of House Democrats who are ‘progressive in name only’ (PINOs) remain part of the nearly 100-member strong caucus…. Topping the list is Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.), who ‘scored a full 100% wrong on core progressive issues’, according to the new analysis, which judges lawmakers based on their support for Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, a patent waiver for Covid-19 vaccines, and other measures.” https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/12/16/group-urges-primary-challenges-progressive-caucus-members-who-are-progressive-name
Los Angeles ballot measure would fund affordable housing by taxing real estate deals over $5 million. “Organizers say the United to House LA initiative would raise roughly $800 million a year to create 26,000 units of affordable and supportive housing. If passed, the initiative would also establish a new rental assistance program aimed at helping 475,000 people struggling to stay housed.” https://www.courthousenews.com/la-groups-propose-new-ballot-measure-to-combat-homelessness/
ACLU sues governor of Iowa for stonewalling press inquiries. “The ACLU’s suit filed in Polk County District Court asks the court to issue an order that the governor’s office violated the Open Records Act, that the governor’s office must turn over the requested records to the news organizations, and that the governor’s office comply with future requests in a timely manner.” https://www.courthousenews.com/aclu-sues-iowa-governor-for-ignoring-records-requests-from-news-media/ I can beat that – I’ve been waiting more than six years for information from the State Department on the death of an American in Tokyo after being detained by police.
Lawyer for St. Louis police officers argues for qualified immunity in connection with attack on journalist. “The officers used a controversial technique called ‘kettling’, a tactic used for controlling large crowds in which officers surround a group of protesters before arresting them. The officers never gave an order to disperse, [St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Mike] Faulk claims, and there was no way for the peaceful protesters to leave. Caught in the ensuing melee, Faulk says officers violently threw him to the ground and arrested him even though he was not resisting and had identified himself as a reporter. He says he was left with injuries to his limbs, neck and shoulders.” https://www.courthousenews.com/st-louis-cops-argue-for-immunity-over-journalists-arrest-at-protest/
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