Category: Law

bookmark_borderArrests for 90-Year-Old Man Who Feeds Homeless Myth

Posted on by admin

By Daniel Brouse

There have been many false posts about the arrests of a “90-Year-Old Man Who Feeds Homeless” in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. For the most part, everything in the posts is not true.

1. The man has not been arrested
2. It is not against the law to feed the homeless in Fort Lauderdale

Screen Shot of a False and Misleading Post
Screen Shot of a False and Misleading Post

The Sun Sentinel:

“Most people think we’ve banned feeding and we haven’t,” Mayor Seiler of Ft. Lauderdale said. “We’ve set up clear rules and regulations, and they’re reasonable and consistent. We got a lot of input on this from the social service community.”

The New York Times reports:

“This year, Fort Lauderdale, despite a reputation for being more progressive than most Florida cities on homelessness, passed a series of measures that surprised and drew the ire of homeless activists. The latest one, passed last month, made food distribution in public places difficult by requiring toilets, written consent from property owners and feeding sites located 500 feet away from each other.

But the law also relaxed the rules on feeding the homeless in houses of worship and on private property, an attempt to steer food distribution away from parks. On Wednesday, a police officer recommended two nearby sites to Mr. Abbott, an offer the mayor said Mr. Abbott had refused earlier in the day.”

The Mayor released a statement regarding the issue:

On Nov. 5, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler issued a statement in which he said he wanted to “set the record straight” about the city’s services for homeless. He said that the media had misrepresented the facts.

“Contrary to reports,” Seiler wrote, “the City of Fort Lauderdale is not banning groups from feeding the homeless.”

“At two recent outdoor food distributions, citations were rightly issued for non-compliance with the process enacted to ensure public health and safety. Contrary to what was reported in the media, no one was taken into custody. …”

Many cities in the United States have laws against serving prepared food without Health Department certifications, proper garbage disposal, sanitary hand washing and other safety measures that apply to serving any body.

Other problems we found at Occupy Philly while feeding 500 people on a regular basis:
1) Excrement. It is a cruel and unusual punishment to bring homeless people together, feed them and then not let them go to the bathroom. In fact, taking a shower and going to the bathroom are much greater concerns than getting fed. Fortunately, there are many places to get three meals a day. Unfortunately, there are few places for basic human hygiene.
2) Med’s go with feeding. People needing medications for mental illness went untreated. After the first week or two, things got ugly. I was assaulted on more than one occasion by the people we were helping. Also, issues like seizure medication. While embedded as a journalist, I started an Occupy Philly houseband. It was made-up of great musicians. Many were homeless. One (nicknamed “Church”) ended up not getting his seizure med’s. He had a seizure, fell down the concrete steps and had all his front teeth knocked out. If you’re going to feed people, you need to make sure they get their medications.
3) Safety. Once we established a regular feeding, the element of society that preys on the vulnerable arrived. The homeless were robbed, cheated, raped and victimized in almost anyway imaginable.
4) Estate plan. There needs to be a plan for when you can not feed them any longer. We created a large group of people that became dependent on our three meals a day. When the plug was pulled, it was very unfair to the homeless.

Sources:
Tampa Bay Times / Miami Herald “Jack Seiler says Arnold Abbott, 90-year-old, wasn’t taken into custody for feeding homeless”
The New York Times “Florida Finds Tricky Balance Over Feeding of the Homeless”

bookmark_borderWar Declared

Posted on by admin

Washington DC — On September 10, 2014 between 9PM and 9:15PM, President Obama declared war on the Islamic State (ISIS).

“Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy.”

Critics raised debate on the irony of Obama going into Iraq after his position on getting out of Iraq.

President Obama Declaring War on ISIL
President Obama Declaring War on ISIL

bookmark_borderWritten In Stone

Posted on by admin

In the early 1950’s a Canadian wrote a four-letter word in stone:

Between 1950 and 1952, a bored weatherman, stationed north of Hudson
Bay, left a monument that neither government nor time can eradicate.
Using a bulldozer abandoned by the Air Force, he spent two years and
great effort pushing boulders into a single word.

It can be seen from 10,000 feet, silhouetted against the snow.
Government officials exchanged memos full of circumlocutions (no Latin
equivalent exists) but failed to word an appropriation bill for the
destruction of this cairn, that wouldn’t alert the press and embarrass
both Parliament and Party.

It stands today, a monument to human spirit. If life exists on other
planets, this may be the first message received from us.
— The Realist, November, 1964.

bookmark_borderColorado Water Rights

Posted on by admin

Colorado is one of the states with the most restrictive water rights. Similar to how mineral rights can be sold separately then the other property rights, water rights in Colorado are often owned by someone other than the property owner. This means it is illegal to even capture rain water. Colorado has it’s own government department devoted to water rights.

The Colorado Division of Water Resources strives to be a leader in the water community of Colorado and the western United States. This is accomplished by focusing on the following areas: people, water and stewardship. People, because we recognize that the business of water involves our employees and the public. Water, because the administration, safety and use of the State of Colorado’s water resources is something we are committed to and care deeply about. Stewardship, because we understand and accept our obligation to the taxpayers and ourselves, in using and protecting the resources in the most effective manner possible.

Our Mission is:

  • To provide competent and dependable distribution of water in accordance with statutes, decrees and interstate compacts.
  • To ensure public safety through safe dams and properly permitted and constructed water wells.
  • To maintain and provide accurate and timely information concerning water.
  • To promote stewardship of all human, fiscal and natural resources.
  • To serve the public through the generation of creative solutions to problems.
  • To help the public understand complex water issues.
  • To promote stability in the use of the state’s limited water resources.
  • To apply modern technology to its greatest advantage.

These Principle statements will guide our actions:

  • Treating each other and the public with dignity, respect, honesty and fairness.
  • Assuming personal responsibility for individual and organizational actions.
  • Fostering continuous improvement, innovative thought, learning and shared leadership.
  • Promoting an open and honest communication environment that builds trust, respect and loyalty among ourselves and the diverse community in which we live and work.
  • Recognizing our employees and the water community for the professional, competent services they provide.

bookmark_borderClimate Change and the Presidental Action Plan

Posted on by admin

The President’s Plan to Cut Carbon Pollution in America

Reducing Carbon Pollution from Power Plants

Power plants are the largest major source of emissions in the U.S., together accounting for roughly one-third of all domestic greenhouse gas pollution.

PROGRESS:

In September 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced proposed carbon pollution standards for new power plants.

PROGRESS:

The EPA has met with more than 300 stakeholder groups from across the country to gather information on standards for existing power plants. In June 2014, the EPA issued proposed carbon pollution standards for existing power plants.

Continuing the momentum for the future:

 

Accelerating Clean Energy Leadership

During the President’s first term, the United States more than doubled generation of electricity from wind and solar energy.

PROGRESS:

Since President Obama took office, the U.S. increased solar generation by more than ten-fold and tripled electricity production from wind power.

PROGRESS:

The Department of the Interior (DOI) announced permitting the 50th utility-scale renewable energy project on public lands. The projects could support more than 20,000 jobs and generate enough electricity to power 4.8 million homes.

PROGRESS:

In May 2014, the DOE’s Solar Instructor Training Network announced it will support training programs at community colleges across the country that will assist 50,000 workers to enter the solar industry by 2020.

PROGRESS:

In May 2014, President Obama announced more than 300 commitments private and public sector commitments to create jobs and cut carbon pollution by advancing solar deployment and energy efficiency — representing enough energy to power nearly 130,000 homes.

Continuing the momentum for the future:

Building a 21st Century Clean Energy Infrastructure

Heavy-duty vehicles (commercial trucks, vans, and buses) are currently the second largest source of greenhouse gas pollution within the transportation sector.

PROGRESS:

In January 2014, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum establishing the federal government’s first Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) process, with an initial focus on our nation’s energy infrastructure.

PROGRESS:

In February 2014, President Obama directed EPA and DOT to develop and issue the next phase of heavy-duty vehicle fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas standards by March 2016.

PROGRESS:

In 2011, the Administration finalized fuel economy standards for Model Year 2014-2018 for heavy-duty trucks, buses, and vans. This will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 270 million metric tons and save 530 million barrels of oil.

PROGRESS:

The Administration has already established the toughest fuel economy standards for passenger vehicles in U.S. history. These standards require an average performance equivalent of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Continuing the momentum for the future:

Cutting energy waste in homes, businesses, and factories

Energy efficiency is one of the clearest and most cost-effective opportunities to save families money, make our businesses more competitive, and reduce greenhouse gas pollution.

PROGRESS:

Since June, 75 new partners have joined the President’s Better Buildings Challenge. More than 190 organizations, together representing over 3 billion square feet of building space, have now committed to energy savings.

PROGRESS:

In President Obama’s first term, DOE and HUD completed efficiency upgrades in nearly two million homes, saving many families more than $400 on their heating and cooling bills in the first year alone.

PROGRESS:

In December 2013, the Department of Agriculture announced it will provide up to $250 million to help businesses and residential customers in rural areas cut their energy bills through energy efficiency and renewable energy use.

PROGRESS:

Since June, DOE has issued nine proposed and seven final energy conservation standards for appliances and equipment. If finalized and combined with rules already issued, the energy savings will help cut consumers’ electricity bills by hundreds of billions of dollars.

Continuing the momentum for the future:

Reducing other greenhouse gas emissions

Emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) — which are potent greehouse gases — are expected to double by 2020 and nearly triple by 2030 in the U.S.

PROGRESS:

Since 1990, methane emissions have decreased by 11% in part through partnerships with industry.

PROGRESS:

In March 2014, the Administration released a Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions from landfills, coal mining, agriculture, and oil and gas systems through voluntary actions and common-sense standards.

Continuing the momentum for the future:

Federal leadership

Since 2008, federal agencies have reduced greenhouse gas pollution by more than 17 percent — the equivalent of permanently taking 1.8 million cars off the road.

PROGRESS:

Expanded energy performance contracts from $2 billion to $4 billion to provide energy efficiency upgrades for Federal buildings, at no net cost to the taxpayer.

PROGRESS:

On December 5, President Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the federal government to buy at least 20% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

bookmark_borderUSA Drone Strike War Crimes

Posted on by admin

Amnesty International has released a statement:

New evidence indicates that the USA has carried out unlawful killings in Pakistan through drone attacks, some of which could even amount to war crimes, Amnesty International said in a major new report released today.

The report, “’Will I be next?’ US drone strikes in Pakistan”, is one of the most comprehensive studies to date of the US drone program from a human rights perspective.

It documents recent killings in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal areas and the almost complete absence of transparency around the US drone program.

“Secrecy surrounding the drones program gives the US administration a license to kill beyond the reach of the courts or basic standards of international law. It’s time for the USA to come clean about the drones program and hold those responsible for these violations to account,” said Mustafa Qadri, Amnesty International’s Pakistan Researcher.

“What hope for redress can there be for victims of drone attacks and their families when the USA won’t even acknowledge its responsibility for particular strikes?”

The report was released in a joint news conference with Human Rights Watch, which issued its own report on drone and other air strikes in Yemen.

Amnesty International reviewed all 45 known drone strikes that took place in North Waziristan in northwestern Pakistan between January 2012 and August 2013. The region that has seen more strikes than any other part of the country.

The organization conducted detailed field research into nine of these strikes, with the report documenting killings, which raise serious questions about violations of international law that could amount to war crimes or extrajudicial executions.

In October 2012, 68-year-old grandmother Mamana Bibi was killed in a double strike, apparently by a Hellfire missile, as she picked vegetables in the family’s fields while surrounded by a handful of her grandchildren.

In July 2012, 18 laborers, including a 14-year-old boy, were killed in multiple strikes on a impoverished village close to the border with Afghanistan as they were about to enjoy an evening meal at the end of a long day of work.

Contrary to official claims that those killed were “terrorists”, Amnesty International’s research indicates that the victims of these attacks were not involved in fighting and posed no threat to life.

“We cannot find any justification for these killings. There are genuine threats to the USA and its allies in the region, and drone strikes may be lawful in some circumstances. But it is hard to believe that a group of labourers, or an elderly woman surrounded by her grandchildren, were endangering anyone at all, let alone posing an imminent threat to the United States,” said Qadri.

International law prohibits arbitrary killing and limits the lawful use of intentional lethal force to exceptional situations. In armed conflict, only combatants and people directly participating in hostilities may be directly targeted. Outside armed conflict, intentional lethal force is lawful only when strictly unavoidable to protect against an imminent threat to life . In some circumstances arbitrary killing can amount to a war crime or extrajudicial execution, which are crimes under international law.

Amnesty International also documented cases of so-called “rescuer attacks” in which those who ran to the aid of the victims of an initial drone strike were themselves targeted in a rapid follow-on attack. While there may have been a presumption that the rescuers were members of the group being targeted, it is difficult to see how such distinctions could be made in the immediate and chaotic aftermath of a missile strike.

The USA continues to rely on a “global war” doctrine to attempt to justify a borderless war with al-Qa’ida, the Taliban and those perceived to be their allies.

The USA’s promise to increase transparency around drone strikes, underscored by a major policy speech by President Barack Obama in May 2013, has yet to become a reality, and the USA still refuses to divulge even basic factual and legal information.

This secrecy has enabled the USA to act with impunity and block victims from receiving justice or compensation. As far as Amnesty International is aware, no US official has ever been held to account for unlawful killings by drones in Pakistan.

In addition to the threat of US drone strikes, people in North Waziristan are frequently caught between attacks by armed groups and Pakistan’s armed forces. The local population lives under constant fear of inescapable violence by all sides.

The US drone program has added to local suffering, with people in the region now also living in terror of death from US drones hovering in the skies day and night.

“The tragedy is that drone aircraft deployed by the USA over Pakistan now instill the same kind of fear in the people of the tribal areas that was once associated only with al-Qa’ida and the Taliban,” said Qadri.

As the report documents, local men and women have little control over the presence of groups like the Taliban and al-Qa’ida in their villages and districts.

Al-Qa’ida-linked groups have killed dozens of local villagers they accused of being spies for US drone strikes. Residents of Mir Ali told Amnesty International that bodies are routinely seen dumped by the side of streets with written messages warning that anyone accused of spying for the USA will meet the same fate.

Residents also told Amnesty International they could not report abuses by armed groups to local authorities for fear of retaliation. Many residents were also fearful of talking about drones strikes to Amnesty International. Some of those who did speak openly received threats afterwards.

While the Pakistan government maintains it opposes the US drone program, Amnesty International is concerned that some officials and institutions in Pakistan and in other countries including Australia, Germany and the UK may be assisting the USA to carry out drone strikes that constitute human rights violations.

“Pakistan must provide access to justice and other remedies for victims of drone strikes. The authorities of Pakistan, Australia, Germany and the UK must also investigate all officials and institutions suspected of involvement in US drone strikes or other abuses in the tribal areas that may constitute human rights violations,” said Qadri.

“The Pakistani authorities must disclose information on all US drone strikes they have documented and what measures they have taken or will take to assist victims of these strikes.”

The report also documents the failure of the Pakistan state to protect the human rights of people in North Waziristan. This ranges from deaths, injuries and displacement of residents due to bombardment by the military, to the absence of justice mechanisms and lack of adequate medical assistance.

The Pakistani authorities have a very poor record in bringing al-Qa’ida, Taliban and other perpetrators of human rights abuses from the region to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are jointly calling on the US Congress to fully investigate the cases the two organizations have documented and other potentially unlawful deaths, and to disclose any evidence of human rights violations to the public.

Amnesty International is calling on:

The US authorities to:

Publicly disclose the facts and legal basis for drone strikes carried out in Pakistan and information about any investigation into killings by US drones.
Ensure prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations into all cases where there are reasonable grounds to believe that drone strikes resulted in unlawful killings.
Bring those responsible for unlawful drone strikes to justice in public and fair trials without recourse to the death penalty.
Ensure that victims of unlawful drone strikes, including family members of victims of unlawful killings, have effective access to justice, compensation and other remedies.

The Pakistani authorities to:

Provide adequate access to justice and reparations for victims of US drone strikes and attacks by Pakistan forces, and seek reparations and other remedies for drone strikes from the US authorities.
Bring to justice, in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty, individuals responsible for unlawful killings and other human rights abuses in North Waziristan. This should include US drone strikes, attacks by the Pakistan armed forces, or groups like the Taliban and al-Qa’ida.
Publicly disclose information on all US drone strikes that the Pakistani authorities are aware of, including casualties and all assistance provided to victims.

The international community to:

Oppose US drone strikes and other killings that violate international law and urge the USA and Pakistan to take the measures outlined above. States should officially protest and pursue remedies under international law when lethal force is unlawfully used by the USA or other states.
Refrain from participating in any way in US drone strikes that violate international law, including by sharing intelligence or facilities.

bookmark_borderWar: Syria, Russia, Al-Qaeda and Afghanistan

Posted on by admin
Syria
Syria

Does the impending war with Syria leave you with a feeling of deja vu? Perhaps it is because we are about to repeat our mistake.

In the 1980’s, Russia was fighting Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan. The CIA aided Al-Qaeda:

“During the anti-Soviet jihad Bin Laden and his fighters received American and Saudi funding. Some analysts believe Bin Laden himself had security training from the CIA.” — Wikipedia

Now, the U.S. wants to assist Al-Qaeda rebels in Syria despite opposition from Russia.

RELATED ARTICLE:
Is Saudi Arabia linked to al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden?

bookmark_borderWorld Uprising

Posted on by admin

There are protests going on around the world in Brazil, Turkey and Egypt. Many thousands of people are rising up against their governments.

In Brazil, it started as a protest against a 10% rise in the bus fare.  Then, it turned into hundreds of thousands of people protesting the World Cup, Olympics and political corruption.

On the anniversary of the Arab Spring revolution in Egypt, protestors are protesting the new government and are calling for new elections.  The current politicians are thought to be too extreme in their religious views.

Similarly in Turkey, the population is upset over the religious extremism of the government.

Now Brazil has hit turbulence. Since the middle of June, its biggest cities have been convulsed by rolling street protests. The initial spark was a 9¢ rise in bus fares, but the protests have since become wider, more clamorous expressions of anti-establishment anger. The day after the government backed down on the bus fare hike, 1 million demonstrators turned out in more than 100 cities to voice frustration with corruption, the inefficiency of the health-care and public transport systems, and runaway costs of hosting the World Cup. Some protests have turned violent, with mobs vandalizing banks and attempting to break into the Ministry of Foreign Relations. Police responded with pepper spray and rubber bullets. The uprising is Brazil’s biggest since 1992, when a student revolt against then-President Fernando Collor de Mello led to his resignation. — Business Week

Tens of thousands of opponents of Egypt’s Islamist president massed in Cairo’s Tahrir Square and in cities around the country Sunday, launching an all-out push to force Mohammed Morsi from office on the one-year anniversary of his inauguration. Fears of violence were high, with Morsi’s Islamist supporters vowing to defend him. — CBS News

Protests started in Turkey on 28 May 2013. The protests were sparked by outrage at a brutal eviction of a sit-in at Istanbul’s Taksim Gezi Park protesting the park’s demolition. Subsequently, supporting protests and strikes took place across Turkey protesting a wide range of concerns, at the core of which were issues of freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of assembly, and the government’s encroachment on Turkey’s secularism. — Wikipedia

bookmark_borderBig Brother Is Watching: FBI and NSA Spying on You

Posted on by admin

Two newspapers, The Washington Post and the Guardian (UK), have published articles about the United States government invading the civil rights of its own citizens. The information was obtained from a “top secret” document and states that the National Security Agency and the FBI are collecting information directly from the servers of Microsoft, Yahoo, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, AOL, Skype, YouTube, Apple.

 

The National Security Agency and the FBI are tapping directly into the central servers of nine leading U.S. Internet companies, extracting audio and video chats, photographs, e-mails, documents, and connection logs that enable analysts to track foreign targets, according to a top-secret document obtained by The Washington Post.

 

Find out about connecting to the Internet through a secure private server.

More on cyber security and privacy.