EPIC Posts TSA Documents on Body Scanners

The Electronic Privacy Information Center has posted more than 250 pages of documents it obtained in  a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit concerning body scanners. The documents, released by the Department of Homeland Security, reveal that Whole Body Imaging machines can record, store, and transmit digital strip search images of Americans. This contradicts assurances made by [...]

Venezuelan President Chavez’s Popularity Steady at 60%

According to a study carried out by the Venezuelan Institute of Data Analysis (IVAD), Venezuelan president Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías‘s approval has dropped slightly, to 60.3%, from 62.4% last October.IVAD performed the study from 12 to 20 December, interviewing 1,200 people directly in their homes. IVAD selected the interviewees at random but also reflecting a [...]

Officials Hid Truth of Immigrant Deaths in Jail

Silence has long shrouded the men and women who die in the nation’s immigration jails. For years, they went uncounted and unnamed in the public record. Even in 2008, when The New York Times obtained and published a federal government list of such deaths, few facts were available about who these people were and how [...]

Time for full disclosure of DNA databases

Editorial: Time for full and frank data disclosure WHEN a defendant’s DNA appears to match DNA found at a crime scene, the probability that this is an unfortunate coincidence can be central to whether the suspect is found guilty. The assumptions used to calculate the likelihood of such a fluke – the “random match probability” [...]

NIST-certified USB Flash drives with hardware encryption cracked

Kingston Technology Company, SanDisk Corporation and Verbatim Corporation all sell quite similar USB Flash drives with AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) 256-bit hardware encryption that supposedly meet the highest security standards. This is emphasized by the FIPS 140-2 (Federal Information Processing Standard) Level 2 certificate issued by the US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), [...]

Long Island corrections officer charged with rape, sexual abuse

MINEOLA, N.Y. (AP) — A Long Island corrections officer is being accused of extorting sexual favors from female inmates. Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Maura Rice says 47-year-old Mark Barber, of Levittown, was arrested Wednesday and charged with multiple counts of rape, sexual abuse, and forcible touching. Rice says Barber used his position as a [...]

ACLU warns of possible legal action if HUSD opens meetings with prayer

The American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California is warning the Hesperia Unified School District that a proposal to open meetings with a prayer opens the district to “a strong likelihood of being sued.” At Monday’s meeting, the board is scheduled to vote on a policy outlining how invocations should be conducted. But the district [...]

Teacher at Fontana school is arrested for allegedly touching students inappropriately

A teacher at Date Elementary School was arrested Jan. 4 for allegedly touching students inappropriately at the school, according to the Fontana Police Department. The fourth-grade teacher, Clark Mahoney, 43, a resident of Loma Linda, was charged with committing lewd acts with a child, police said. Mahoney was booked at West Valley Detention Center. Police [...]

Ex-Police Official Backs Car Into Pregnant Woman, Drives Away

Howard Safir, a New York City police commissioner during the Rudolph William Louis “Rudy” Giuliani administration, backed his sport utility vehicle into a pregnant woman on the Upper East Side on Friday afternoon and then drove away, the police said. The woman, Joanne M. Valarezo, 30, of the Bronx, was not knocked down and was [...]

Last son of Pancho Villa dies in Hayward at 94

HAYWARD — Ernesto Nava, the last living son of Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa (José Doroteo Arango Arámbula), died of natural causes Dec. 31. He was 94. Nava, a Hayward-area resident since moving to Russell City in 1942, was born in Mexico but moved with his mother to New Mexico when he was very young. Nava [...]

iePolitics.com back on line

Sharon Gilbert’s iePolitics is back on line with a new address: http://www.iePolitics.com Welcome back!

Meth Method Madness

Early on the morning of July 30, Sally Harpold and her husband were awakened by police banging on the door of their home in Parke County, Indiana. The officers hauled Harpold away in handcuffs, charging the grandmother with a Class C misdemeanor. Her mug shot appeared on the front page of the local paper, under [...]

Welcome To The NORML Women’s Alliance

Attention, Big Bear Ladies:  Let’s Rock!  The Secret to Legal Marijuana? Women The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), the nation’s oldest and most well respected grassroots marijuana law reform organization, is pleased to announce the launch of the NORML Women’s Alliance. Click image for details

First Appearance of Oscar Grant murderer in Los Angeles Court

LOS ANGELES — Protesters have gathered outside a downtown Los Angeles courthouse where a former Bay Area Rapid Transit Police officer charged with killing an unarmed man at an Oakland train station is scheduled to make his first appearance. Dozens of demonstrators lined the street, awaiting the arrival of 27-year-old Johannes Mehserle, who was scheduled [...]

Mexican Who Tried to Stop Cop from Fondling Woman May Be Deported

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina – An undocumented Mexican immigrant is facing possible deportation after he was arrested for trying to defend his girlfriend from a Charlotte police officer accused of sexual assault on three women, two of them Hispanic. Police in North Carolina’s largest city revealed on Wednesday that a third victim, a 37-year-old Mexican woman [...]

THREADS Cell Phone Analysis

THREADS, the flagship product for Direct Hit Systems, combines patented techniques in cell phone forensics, phone analysis, text mining, and visualization to provide focused leads and actionable intelligence. Although THREADS software incorporates many powerful analytical tools, it’s straight-forward interface makes solving cases easier for all levels of investigators, from the trained tactical analyst down to [...]

Cocaine Vaccine Leads Users to Take 10 Times More Cocaine

Over the last decade, the advances in neuroscience that led doctors to view addiction as a disease, rather than a desire or personal failing, raised the natural question of whether or not addicts could be vaccinated against drug use as if it were a virus. While the theory remains valid, the recent clinical trial of [...]

Minnesota monitoring prescription drugs

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Starting this week, Minnesota residents who fill prescriptions for addictive drugs like Vicodin and OxyContin are going into a new state database. The aim is to stop drug abusers and dealers from shopping around for prescriptions. Pharmacies were required to start reporting to the Minnesota Prescription Monitoring Program on Monday. [...]

Right-wing radio host, Hal Turner, was an FBI informant

The New Jersey Record reports that ultra-right-wing radio host/blogger Harold Charles “Hal” Turner worked for over five years for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Turner was tried last month for threatening three federal appellate judges in Chicago: Judges Richard Allen Posner, Frank Hoover Easterbrook, and William Joseph Bauer. Turner’s case ended in a mistrial and [...]

Ronald Reagan’s grandson arrested

LOS ANGELES — The grandson of former president Ronald Reagan was arrested Thursday at the home of his father, police in Los Angeles said. Police apprehended 31-year old Cameron Reagan shortly after midnight at the home of his talk show host father, Michael Reagan. Celebrity website TMZ.com said police were called when an alarm at [...]

New Study Released on Homegrown Terrorists

Anti-Terror Lessons of Muslim-Americans A recent report funded by the National Institute of Justice analyzes homegrown terrorists in the United States. According to the report: “Although the vast majority of Muslim-Americans reject radical extremist ideology and violence, a small number of Muslim-Americans have radicalized since 9/11. In the eight years following 9/11, according to our [...]

Jury selection begins in trial of Ohio DEA agent

CLEVELAND — Jury selection began Wednesday in the trial of a federal drug agent charged with framing 17 people in a case that could influence the way confidential informants are handled. Prospective jurors crowded the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. for the opening of the government’s case against Lee Lucas, 41. Lucas, [...]

Former Bush counsel charged in Conn. with trying to kill wife after she sought divorce

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — An attorney who worked in both Bush administrations was charged Thursday with trying to kill his wife by beating her with a flashlight and choking her two days after she delivered divorce papers. John Michael Farren, 57, was arraigned on charges of strangulation and attempted murder and ordered held on [...]

Memphis police recruit tried to make sex tape with minor

Gregory Marshall, 26, was fired this week following an investigation that began Monday when a supervisor at the academy got a complaint about Marshall’s X-rated activities. “It was open-and-shut,” said Memphis Police Department spokeswoman Karen Rudolph. The Sex Crimes Bureau “did a great job, and it led not only to a criminal charge, but he [...]

Another City Shows Increased Accidents from Red Light Cameras

Peoria would like you to believe that they are alone in experiencing an increase in accidents due to red light cameras, but they are not. They join Los Angeles, Grande Prairie (Canada), Clarksville, TN, Temple Terrace, FL, and now Spokane, WA in recent announcements about the failure of RLC’s to make intersections safer. The Seattle [...]

White House Review of Christmas Terror Attempt Now Available

Unclassified Summary of December 25, 2009 Terror Plot The Obama White House has just released this unclassified review of the events leading to the attempted bombing on board a commercial airliner en route from Amsterdam to Detroit on December 25, 2009. This event, widely reported in the domestic and international press, made clear to Americans [...]

Stupid Soldier accidentally kills self with own gun

CRESTVIEW, Fla. — Sheriff’s investigators say an Army paratrooper on leave from Iraq accidentally shot and killed himself while showing his family his new handgun. Army Spc. Andrew Steven Faulkner, 21, died Friday in Crestview. Investigators say he was showing his mother, aunt, young cousin and others a Glock .40 caliber handgun when he accidentally [...]

Police: Master sgt. committed murder-suicide

An Air Force master sergeant killed his wife, fired a shot at his teenage stepdaughter, and then turned his .45-caliber handgun on himself and pulled the trigger, according to Alabama police. Master Sgt. Ronald Zaremba Jr. and his wife, Jenni Zaremba, were found dead by police in their master bedroom early on Jan. 3 at [...]

Lejeune policeman charged in death of son

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — A Camp Lejeune civilian law enforcement officer has been charged in the November 2009 accidental shooting death of his young son. Robert John Lewis, 27, of Jacksonville, N.C., was charged Wednesday morning with involuntary manslaughter, possession of a weapon of mass destruction, contributing to the delinquency of a juvenile and failing to [...]

In the last year 75 people were killed by Neo-Nazi in Russia

In 2009 218 aggressive xenophobia assaults were registered in Russia that resulted in 75 killed and at least 284 injured people, Antiracism.Ru reports. The most popular targets were Uzbeks (14 murdered and 12 injured), Kyrgyz (8 murdered, 10 injured), Tajiks (7 murdered, 18 injured), Russians (7 murdered, 13 injured); the list of injured victims also [...]

Federal Agencies Need Not Confirm or Deny Electronic Surveillance under FOIA

The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed that the National Security Agency and the Department of Justice do not need to confirm or deny the existence of electronic surveillance records under the Freedom of Information Act. The appellate court found that federal agencies are allowed to file “Glomar” responses, which were [...]

FBI investigating corruption allegations at Bexar Sheriff’s narcotics unit

Over the holidays, the SA Express News reported on a possible brewing corruption scandal at the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office narcotics division. According to reporter Guillermo Contreras (“Bexar narcotics deputies probed,” Dec. 27): The FBI is investigating the Bexar County sheriff’s narcotics unit over allegations that some of its deputies might have been unlawfully taking [...]

Ex-Air Force spouse gets 30 years for killing boy

A former U.S. Air Force spouse convicted of beating his 8-year-old stepson to death while living near Kadena Air Base in 2007 has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by a federal judge. Roberto DeLeon, 28, was found guilty in October of murdering Jordan Peterson and had faced a maximum of life in prison. [...]

“… the murder of pregnant 23-year-old Megan Touma does not warrant capital punishment”

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. — Prosecutors say an Army sergeant accused of killing a pregnant soldier will not face the death penalty if convicted. The Fayetteville Observer reported Thursday that prosecutors determined the murder of 23-year-old Spc. Megan Touma of Cold Spring, Ky., did not warrant capital punishment. Sgt. Edgar Patino of Hope Mills is charged with [...]

BAH Opens The Persia House, Provides Detailed Analysis On Events In Iran And Persian Gulf (Persia-house.com)

Booz Allen Hamilton has just announced the opening of its online analytic resource, the Persia House. The Persia House focuses on events in Iran, specifically, and the Persian Gulf in general. It covers a wide variety of topics including economics, security, domestic and international politics and nuclear proliferation among others. It even covers culture and [...]

Army specialist jailed for threats against fellow soldiers, commanders

ARLINGTON, Va. — An Army specialist is in jail, accused of making threats against fellow soldiers, including in a vulgar, violent rap song that describes shooting those responsible for his stop-loss orders. Spc. Marc Hall, an Iraq veteran based at Fort Stewart, Ga., has been in custody since early December. He’s been charged with “conduct [...]

2 Lejeune Marines charged in triple shooting

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — Two Camp Lejeune-based Marines have been charged in a triple shooting here earlier this week. Sgt. Michael Sabestian Haridat, 28, and Lance Cpl. Erwin J. Rodriguez Jr., 21, both riflemen with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines, were charged Thursday with one count each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill [...]

More than 12% of youths in juvenile prisons are sexually abused while in custody

More than 12% of youths in juvenile prisons are sexually abused while in custody there, according to a Justice Department study out Thursday, and the vast majority of cases involve female staff and boys under their supervision. In the worst facilities surveyed — in Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina and Texas — more than 30% of [...]

Some of SB cop, Adam Affrunti’s, violent past allowed in criminal trial for teen

SAN BERNARDINO – It has become a battle of the backgrounds.Attorneys on Thursday continued their struggle to keep jurors from hearing about past violent conduct for two key players in a criminal trial scheduled to start next week. The players are Terrell Markham, an 18-year-old man accused of pulling a stolen gun on a police [...]

Woman files $1.5 million claim against San Bernardino County DA

A Redlands woman whose sexual harassment complaint against San Bernardino County District Attorney Mike Ramos triggered an investigation is seeking $1.5 million in a claim filed Wednesday. Cheryl Ristow, an investigative technician with the district attorney’s office, states that she was involved in a 17-month intimate relationship with Ramos that ended in 2005. She claims [...]

Lawmakers Say No To Higher Alcohol Taxes

California — State lawmakers have a rejected the idea of raising fees on alcoholic beverages to help mitigate some of the effects of alcohol abuse. It’s the second time in a year the proposal has died in the California Assembly Committee on Health. The assembly bill would have raised fees about 10 cents a drink. [...]

Here comes “Pinky” for his final disgrace

[ Before making a big mistake, insist that "Pinky" Stout debate Mike Ramos in public and make a recording available on the Internet.  This jerk can hardly tie his shoes.  He was put into office by the military/prison-industrial complex mafia bosses, in an era of secrecy and censorship.  He was chosen for his ignorant obedience.  [...]

Miramar Marine Held for Murder of his Wife

SAN DIEGO — The body of an 18-year-old woman was found inside a Mira Mesa apartment Tuesday morning, and a 21-year-old Marine believed to be her husband was arrested less than four hours later in San Bernardino County on suspicion of murder, authorities said. San Diego police found the body shortly before 9 a.m. in [...]

Harris County, Texas, Jail Nurse Watches Boyfriend Beat Kids

A nurse at the Harris County jail was arrested Tuesday, accused of watching her boyfriend whip her 19-month-old daughter with a wire clothes hanger and her 12-year-old son with an extension cord. Lois Renee Wiltz, 32, was charged with child abuse by omission and injury to a child. Carlton Prejean, 31, who lived with Wiltz [...]

Cuba ends 2009 with the second lowest child mortality rate in the Americas

HAVANA – Cuba ended 2009 with 4.8 infant mortality rate per 1000 live births, the second lowest child mortality in the Americas, amid a pandemic scourge, caused by the Influenza A (H1N1) virus virus. Such result is backed up by the efficient work of the health system and the political will of the Cuban administration, [...]

Rival Gangs Doing Business Together in L.A.

LOS ANGELES — Some neighborhoods in Southern California are experiencing a kind of truce between rival gangs that used to fight each other. The decrease in gang violence in recent years has led some experts to theorize that gangs are now working together. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Los Angeles told La Opinión [...]

NYC Government Releases Guide To Heroin Use

The New York City Health Department and Mental Hygiene has released a 16-page pamphlet that, among other things, teaches the city’s citizens how to shoot heroin. Also useful for tourists who need to learn these things fast during their visit. From the New York Post: The city spent $32,000 on 70,000 fliers that tell you [...]

Wife of slain El Monte civic leader didn’t think drug war would touch her family

[ When you live in a democratic society, you are equally responsible for the crimes you allow your "po-po" to commit.  Take back control of your life from him  Stop the drug war. See Law Enforcement Against Prohibtion. ] Betzy Salcedo cited an old Mexican saying: He who doesn’t owe anything has nothing to fear. [...]

Sub sailor accused of strangling children

A sailor from the attack submarine USS Pittsburgh (SSN-720) was arrested in Connecticut on New Year’s Eve and accused of strangling and assaulting two children, police said. Electronics Technician 2nd Class (SS) Charles Youngberg, 24, was charged with third-degree assault, strangulation, disorderly conduct, reckless endangerment and two counts of risk of injury to a minor, according [...]

Small Town Illinois Sheriff Charged With Pot Dealing And Murder-For-Hire

Raymond Martin had been sheriff in tiny Gallatin County, Illinois, for 20 years. So when he was arrested on federal drug and gun charges last May for allegedly running a large-scale marijuana dealing operation out of his police SUV, residents were shocked. But that was only the beginning. On Saturday, when Martin’s wife Kristina Martin [...]