Subject: Re: When the US Pulled off a Coup in Australia
Perhaps the USA should retire the bald eagle and name the coup coup bird as
our national feathered friend.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Tuesday, March 18, 2014 1:35 PM
Subject: When the US Pulled off a Coup in Australia
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
When the US Pulled off a Coup in Australia
________________________________________
AlterNet [1] / By John Pilger [2]
When the US Pulled off a Coup in Australia
March 17, 2014 |
Washington's role in the fascist putsch against an elected government in
Ukraine will surprise only those who watch the news and ignore the
historical record. Since 1945, dozens of governments, many of them
democracies, have met a similar fate, usually with bloodshed.
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries on earth with fewer people than
Wales, yet under the reformist Sandinistas in the 1980s it was regarded in
Washington as a "strategic threat." The logic was simple; if the weakest
slipped the leash, setting an example, who else would try their luck?
The great game of dominance offers no immunity for even the most loyal U.S.
"ally." This is demonstrated by perhaps the least known of Washington's
coups - in Australia. The story of this forgotten coup is a salutary lesson
for those governments that believe a "Ukraine" or a "Chile" could never
happen to them.
Australia's deference to the United States makes Britain, by comparison,
seem a renegade. During the American invasion of Vietnam - which Australia
had pleaded to join - an official in Canberra voiced a rare complaint to
Washington that the British knew more about U.S. objectives in that war than
its antipodean comrade-in-arms. The response was swift: "We have to keep the
Brits informed to keep them happy. You are with us come what may."
This dictum was rudely set aside in 1972 with the election of the reformist
Labor government of Gough Whitlam. Although not regarded as of the left,
Whitlam - now in his 98th year - was a maverick social democrat of
principle, pride, propriety and extraordinary political imagination. He
believed that a foreign power should not control his country's resources and
dictate its economic and foreign policies. He proposed to "buy back the
farm" and speak as a voice independent of London and Washington.
On the day after his election, Whitlam ordered that his staff should not be
"vetted or harassed" by the Australian security organisation, ASIO - then,
as now, beholden to Anglo-American intelligence. When his ministers publicly
condemned the Nixon/Kissinger administration as "corrupt and barbaric",
Frank Snepp, a CIA officer stationed in Saigon at the time, said later: "We
were told the Australians might as well be regarded as North Vietnamese
collaborators."
Whitlam demanded to know if and why the CIA was running a spy base at Pine
Gap near Alice Springs, ostensibly a joint Australian/U.S. "facility." Pine
Gap is a giant vacuum cleaner which, as the whistleblower Edward Snowden
recently revealed, allows the U.S. to spy on everyone. In the 1970s, most
Australians had no idea that this secretive foreign enclave placed their
country on the front line of a potential nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
Whitlam clearly knew the personal risk he was taking - as the minutes of a
meeting with the U.S. ambassador demonstrate: "Try to screw us or bounce
us," he warned, "[and Pine Gap] will become a matter of contention."
Victor Marchetti, the CIA officer who had helped set up Pine Gap, later told
me, "This threat to close Pine Gap caused apoplexy in the White House.
Consequences were inevitable . a kind of Chile was set in motion."
The CIA had just helped General Pinochet to crush the democratic government
of another reformer, Salvador Allende, in Chile.
In 1974, the White House sent the Marshall Green to Canberra as ambassador.
Green was an imperious, very senior and sinister figure in the State
Department who worked in the shadows of America's "deep state." Known as the
"coupmaster", he had played a played a central role in the 1965 coup against
President Sukarno in Indonesia - which cost up to a million lives. One of
his first speeches in Australia was to the Australian Institute of Directors
- described by an alarmed member of the audience as "an incitement to the
country's business leaders to rise against the government."
Pine Gap's top-secret messages were de-coded in California by a CIA
contractor, TRW. One of the de-coders was a young Christopher Boyce, an
idealist who, troubled by the "deception and betrayal of an ally", became a
whistleblower. Boyce revealed that the CIA had infiltrated the Australian
political and trade union elite and referred to the Governor-General of
Australia, Sir John Kerr, as "our man Kerr."
In his black top hat and medal-laden mourning suit, Kerr was the embodiment
of imperium. He was the Queen of England's Australian viceroy in a country
that still recognised her as head of state. His duties were ceremonial; yet
Whitlam - who appointed him - was unaware of or chose to ignore Kerr's
longstanding ties to Anglo-American intelligence.
The Governor-General was an enthusiastic member of the Australian
Association for Cultural Freedom, described by the Jonathan Kwitny of the
Wall Street Journal in his book, "The Crimes of Patriots," as, "an elite,
invitation-only group . exposed in Congress as being founded, funded and
generally run by the CIA." The CIA "paid for Kerr's travel, built his
prestige . Kerr continued to go to the CIA for money."
In 1975, Whitlam discovered that Britain's MI6 had long been operating
against his government. "The Brits were actually decoding secret messages
coming into my foreign affairs office," he said later. One of his ministers,
Clyde Cameron, told me, "We knew MI6 was bugging Cabinet meetings for the
Americans." In interviews in the 1980s with the American investigative
journalist Joseph Trento, executive officers of the CIA disclosed that the
"Whitlam problem" had been discussed "with urgency" by the CIA's director,
William Colby, and the head of MI6, Sir Maurice Oldfield, and that
"arrangements" were made. A deputy director of the CIA told Trento: "Kerr
did what he was told to do."
In 1975, Whitlam learned of a secret list of CIA personnel in Australia held
by the Permanent Head of the Australian Defence Department, Sir Arthur Tange
- a deeply conservative mandarin with unprecedented territorial power in
Canberra. Whitlam demanded to see the list. On it was the name, Richard
Stallings who, under cover, had set up Pine Gap as a provocative CIA
installation. Whitlam now had the proof he was looking for.
On Nov. 10, 1975, he was shown a top secret telex message sent by ASIO in
Washington. This was later sourced to Theodore Shackley, head of the CIA's
East Asia Division and one of the most notorious figures spawned by the
Agency. Shackley had been head of the CIA's Miami-based operation to
assassinate Fidel Castro and Station Chief in Laos and Vietnam. He had
recently worked on the "Allende problem."
Shackley's message was read to Whitlam. Incredibly, it said that the prime
minister of Australia was a security risk in his own country.
The day before, Kerr had visited the headquarters of the Defence Signals
Directorate, Australia's NSA whose ties to Washington were, and reman
binding. He was briefed on the "security crisis." He had then asked for a
secure line and spent 20 minutes in hushed conversation.
On Nov. 11 - the day Whitlam was to inform Parliament about the secret CIA
presence in Australia - he was summoned by Kerr. Invoking archaic vice-regal
"reserve powers", Kerr sacked the democratically elected prime minister. The
problem was solved.
See more stories tagged with:
Jonathan Kwitny [3],
The Crimes of Patriots [4],
australia [5],
U.S.-led coup [6],
Pine Gap [7],
cia [8],
Christopher Boyce [9],
whistleblower [10]
________________________________________
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/1970s-cia-backed-coup-australia
Links:
[1] http://alternet.org
[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/john-pilger
[3] http://www.alternet.org/tags/jonathan-kwitny
[4] http://www.alternet.org/tags/crimes-patriots
[5] http://www.alternet.org/tags/australia-0
[6] http://www.alternet.org/tags/us-led-coup
[7] http://www.alternet.org/tags/pine-gap
[8] http://www.alternet.org/tags/cia-0
[9] http://www.alternet.org/tags/christopher-boyce
[10] http://www.alternet.org/tags/whistleblower
[11] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
Published on Alternet (http://www.alternet.org)
Home > When the US Pulled off a Coup in Australia
AlterNet [1] / By John Pilger [2]
When the US Pulled off a Coup in Australia
March 17, 2014 |
Washington's role in the fascist putsch against an elected government in
Ukraine will surprise only those who watch the news and ignore the
historical record. Since 1945, dozens of governments, many of them
democracies, have met a similar fate, usually with bloodshed.
Nicaragua is one of the poorest countries on earth with fewer people than
Wales, yet under the reformist Sandinistas in the 1980s it was regarded in
Washington as a "strategic threat." The logic was simple; if the weakest
slipped the leash, setting an example, who else would try their luck?
The great game of dominance offers no immunity for even the most loyal U.S.
"ally." This is demonstrated by perhaps the least known of Washington's
coups - in Australia. The story of this forgotten coup is a salutary lesson
for those governments that believe a "Ukraine" or a "Chile" could never
happen to them.
Australia's deference to the United States makes Britain, by comparison,
seem a renegade. During the American invasion of Vietnam - which Australia
had pleaded to join - an official in Canberra voiced a rare complaint to
Washington that the British knew more about U.S. objectives in that war than
its antipodean comrade-in-arms. The response was swift: "We have to keep the
Brits informed to keep them happy. You are with us come what may."
This dictum was rudely set aside in 1972 with the election of the reformist
Labor government of Gough Whitlam. Although not regarded as of the left,
Whitlam - now in his 98th year - was a maverick social democrat of
principle, pride, propriety and extraordinary political imagination. He
believed that a foreign power should not control his country's resources and
dictate its economic and foreign policies. He proposed to "buy back the
farm" and speak as a voice independent of London and Washington.
On the day after his election, Whitlam ordered that his staff should not be
"vetted or harassed" by the Australian security organisation, ASIO - then,
as now, beholden to Anglo-American intelligence. When his ministers publicly
condemned the Nixon/Kissinger administration as "corrupt and barbaric",
Frank Snepp, a CIA officer stationed in Saigon at the time, said later: "We
were told the Australians might as well be regarded as North Vietnamese
collaborators."
Whitlam demanded to know if and why the CIA was running a spy base at Pine
Gap near Alice Springs, ostensibly a joint Australian/U.S. "facility." Pine
Gap is a giant vacuum cleaner which, as the whistleblower Edward Snowden
recently revealed, allows the U.S. to spy on everyone. In the 1970s, most
Australians had no idea that this secretive foreign enclave placed their
country on the front line of a potential nuclear war with the Soviet Union.
Whitlam clearly knew the personal risk he was taking - as the minutes of a
meeting with the U.S. ambassador demonstrate: "Try to screw us or bounce
us," he warned, "[and Pine Gap] will become a matter of contention."
Victor Marchetti, the CIA officer who had helped set up Pine Gap, later told
me, "This threat to close Pine Gap caused apoplexy in the White House.
Consequences were inevitable . a kind of Chile was set in motion."
The CIA had just helped General Pinochet to crush the democratic government
of another reformer, Salvador Allende, in Chile.
In 1974, the White House sent the Marshall Green to Canberra as ambassador.
Green was an imperious, very senior and sinister figure in the State
Department who worked in the shadows of America's "deep state." Known as the
"coupmaster", he had played a played a central role in the 1965 coup against
President Sukarno in Indonesia - which cost up to a million lives. One of
his first speeches in Australia was to the Australian Institute of Directors
- described by an alarmed member of the audience as "an incitement to the
country's business leaders to rise against the government."
Pine Gap's top-secret messages were de-coded in California by a CIA
contractor, TRW. One of the de-coders was a young Christopher Boyce, an
idealist who, troubled by the "deception and betrayal of an ally", became a
whistleblower. Boyce revealed that the CIA had infiltrated the Australian
political and trade union elite and referred to the Governor-General of
Australia, Sir John Kerr, as "our man Kerr."
In his black top hat and medal-laden mourning suit, Kerr was the embodiment
of imperium. He was the Queen of England's Australian viceroy in a country
that still recognised her as head of state. His duties were ceremonial; yet
Whitlam - who appointed him - was unaware of or chose to ignore Kerr's
longstanding ties to Anglo-American intelligence.
The Governor-General was an enthusiastic member of the Australian
Association for Cultural Freedom, described by the Jonathan Kwitny of the
Wall Street Journal in his book, "The Crimes of Patriots," as, "an elite,
invitation-only group . exposed in Congress as being founded, funded and
generally run by the CIA." The CIA "paid for Kerr's travel, built his
prestige . Kerr continued to go to the CIA for money."
In 1975, Whitlam discovered that Britain's MI6 had long been operating
against his government. "The Brits were actually decoding secret messages
coming into my foreign affairs office," he said later. One of his ministers,
Clyde Cameron, told me, "We knew MI6 was bugging Cabinet meetings for the
Americans." In interviews in the 1980s with the American investigative
journalist Joseph Trento, executive officers of the CIA disclosed that the
"Whitlam problem" had been discussed "with urgency" by the CIA's director,
William Colby, and the head of MI6, Sir Maurice Oldfield, and that
"arrangements" were made. A deputy director of the CIA told Trento: "Kerr
did what he was told to do."
In 1975, Whitlam learned of a secret list of CIA personnel in Australia held
by the Permanent Head of the Australian Defence Department, Sir Arthur Tange
- a deeply conservative mandarin with unprecedented territorial power in
Canberra. Whitlam demanded to see the list. On it was the name, Richard
Stallings who, under cover, had set up Pine Gap as a provocative CIA
installation. Whitlam now had the proof he was looking for.
On Nov. 10, 1975, he was shown a top secret telex message sent by ASIO in
Washington. This was later sourced to Theodore Shackley, head of the CIA's
East Asia Division and one of the most notorious figures spawned by the
Agency. Shackley had been head of the CIA's Miami-based operation to
assassinate Fidel Castro and Station Chief in Laos and Vietnam. He had
recently worked on the "Allende problem."
Shackley's message was read to Whitlam. Incredibly, it said that the prime
minister of Australia was a security risk in his own country.
The day before, Kerr had visited the headquarters of the Defence Signals
Directorate, Australia's NSA whose ties to Washington were, and reman
binding. He was briefed on the "security crisis." He had then asked for a
secure line and spent 20 minutes in hushed conversation.
On Nov. 11 - the day Whitlam was to inform Parliament about the secret CIA
presence in Australia - he was summoned by Kerr. Invoking archaic vice-regal
"reserve powers", Kerr sacked the democratically elected prime minister. The
problem was solved.
See more stories tagged with:
Jonathan Kwitny [3],
The Crimes of Patriots [4],
australia [5],
U.S.-led coup [6],
Pine Gap [7],
cia [8],
Christopher Boyce [9],
whistleblower [10]
Source URL:
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/1970s-cia-backed-coup-australia
Links:
[1] http://alternet.org
[2] http://www.alternet.org/authors/john-pilger
[3] http://www.alternet.org/tags/jonathan-kwitny
[4] http://www.alternet.org/tags/crimes-patriots
[5] http://www.alternet.org/tags/australia-0
[6] http://www.alternet.org/tags/us-led-coup
[7] http://www.alternet.org/tags/pine-gap
[8] http://www.alternet.org/tags/cia-0
[9] http://www.alternet.org/tags/christopher-boyce
[10] http://www.alternet.org/tags/whistleblower
[11] http://www.alternet.org/%2Bnew_src%2B
_______________________________________________
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Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Monday, March 10, 2014
LUV News march 10
Subject: Re: LUV News march 10
"...In this piece, President Maduro is identified as "The socialist leader"
more
than once. Corporate media do not call President Obama "The capitalist
leader..."
Actually, President Obama should be called by his rightful title, Mightiest
Emperor of the Corporate Capitalistic States of America and Beyond.
Some folks would like us to believe that Obama is too modest to assume such
a high and mighty title. But the truth is that his Masters do not want him
to get too big for his britches.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 7:08 AM
Subject: LUV News march 10
MOLOTOV COCKTAILS IN VENEZUELA: THE UKRAINIAN FORMULA
British news reports that "[E]very night, hooded opposition militants emerge
around a square in eastern Caracas brandishing rocks and Molotov cocktails,
clashing with riot police and turning one of the capital's most affluent
neighborhoods into a battlefield." Since they're throwing Molotov
cocktails, should they succeed the US government will declare them to be the
legitimate government, ignoring elections, as it did in Ukraine. And, just
as it did in the Ukraine, the US government is pumping a fortune into
dissidents in Venezuela. Anything the Venezuelan government does to quell
the violence is depicted in US mainstream press as heavy handed, just as
they depicted in Ukraine.
In this piece, President Maduro is identified as "The socialist leader" more
than once. Corporate media do not call President Obama "The capitalist
leader," but that's how the mainstream press work it, after demonizing
socialism for generations.
________________________________________
CLINTON CLOUT
Christopher Ruddy appeared on CNN's "Reliable Sources" yesterday saying he
is going to take over the conservative market from FOX News with his
Newsmax. He said he is friends with Hillary Clinton and might endorse her
for president, while attacking mainstream media as cuddling liberals. One
recalls Fox News chief Roger Ailes did a fundraiser for Hillary when she ran
against Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
One also recalls, when it looked like Hillary would get the Democratic
nomination for president in 2008, Bill Clinton saying he didn't know how
Hillary could run against a close friend like John McCain. The Democratic
faithful would question why the Clintons spend their time with conservative
and business friends if they had a clue about how the system works.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were both in the leadership of the corporate-funded
Democratic Leadership Council, which dragged the Democratic Party solidly
into the Republican economic realm in order to reap the heavyweight
corporate funding. These days, Democrats often raise more corporate bribes
than Republicans, in selling out the American people, and they owe much of
it to the Clintons.
________________________________________
CAN WE HOLD CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS?
"Advocacy and accountability groups are urging the U.S. Congress to enact
new mechanisms that would allow it to hold multinational corporations
accountable for rights infringements abroad," begins a piece at IPS News
this morning. With many transnational corporations more powerful than most
of the governments on the planet, and funding our elections, this may be a
longshot, but we always encourage activists to attempt a move toward
democracy.
________________________________________
Fareed Zakaria, CNN's master of propaganda, yesterday, while deceiving his
viewers with "invasion" stories about evil Russians, moved briefly to
claiming Russian tanks had moved in and took two territories from Georgia.
This distortion omits the fact that South Ossetians at the time were
claiming Georgia was attempting genocide against them, offering video (we
linked to them in LUV News at the time) showing homes being blown to bits by
an invading Georgian army (a previous truce had peaceful observers
separating South Ossetia from a Georgian military now armed by the USA and
Israel. Russia came in after this horror began, at the request of the
government of South Ossetia. Previously, at the breakup of the old USSR,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia fought wars with Georgia to secede, not having
historical ties to Georgia before Stalin, then running the USSR, forced them
into Georgia, his place of birth.
Although there's been no attempt for either Abkhazia or South Ossetia to
become part of Russia, the people of both are opposed to being part of
Georgia. Then Russian President Medvedev stated that "Western countries
rushed to recognize Kosovo's illegal declaration of independence from
Serbia. We argued consistently that it would be impossible, after that, to
tell the Abkhazians and Ossetians (and dozens of other groups around the
world) that what was good for the Kosovo Albanians was not good for them. In
international relations, you cannot have one rule for some and another rule
for others."
We think Americans should get the other side of these arguments as our
mainstream press push us ever closer to war with one side of events rallying
citizens based on half truths (recall those "weapons of mass destruction" in
Iraq).
I wrote an email to CNN host Brian Stelter yesterday saying "Reliable
Sources pretends to be fair and balanced, like FOX, but host Brian Stelter
today ridiculed Russia Today, which he called 'Putin TV.' He asked on Liz
Wahl to attack Russia Today, without mentioning Amy Martin's appearance on
his network lambasting the corporate media on Piers Morgan's program. It
would be impossible to be more biased than this in favor of corporate
viewpoint media against any who attempt to provide the public interest
viewpoint. I edit LUV News, which gives the public interest side, a
viewpoint Reliable Sources would never allow."
--Jack Balkwill
C'mon baby, light my (Crimean) fire
By Pepe Escobar
March 16 is C Day. The Crimean parliament - by 78 votes with 8 abstentions -
decided this is the day when Crimean voters will choose between joining the
Russian Federation or to remain part of Ukraine as an autonomous region with
very strong powers, according to the 1992 constitution.
Whatever "diplomatic" tantrums Washington and Brussels will keep pulling,
and they will be incandescent, facts on the ground speak for themselves. The
city council of Sevastopol - the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet -
has already voted to join Russia. And next week the Duma in Moscow will
study a bill to simplify the mechanism of adhesion.
Quick recap: this is a direct result of Washington spending US$5 billion - a
Victoria "F**k the EU" Nuland official figure - to promote regime change in
Ukraine. On the horizon, Crimea may be incorporated into Russia for free,
while the "West" absorbs that bankrupt back-of-beyond (Western Ukraine) that
an Asia Times Online reader indelibly described as the "Khaganate of
Nulands" (an amalgam of khanate, Victoria's notorious neo-con husband Robert
Kagan, and no man's land).
What Moscow regards as an illegal, neo-nazi infiltrated government in Kiev,
led by Prime Minister Arseniy "Yats" Yatsenyuk - an Ukrainian Jewish banker
playing the role of Western puppet - insists Crimea must remain part of
Ukraine. And it's not only Moscow; half of Ukraine itself does not recognize
the Yats gang as a legitimate government, now boasting a number of oligarchs
imposed as provincial governors.
Yet this "government" - supported by the US and the European Union - has
already declared the referendum illegal. Proving its impeccable "democratic"
credentials, it has already moved to ban the official use of the Russian
language in Ukraine; get rid of the communist party, which amassed 13% of
the votes in the last election, more, incidentally, than the
neo-nazi-infested Svoboda ("Freedom") party, now ensconced in key government
security posts; and ban a Russian TV station, which happens to be the most
popular on Ukrainian cable.
Amid all the hysteria from Washington and certain European capitals, what's
not explained to puzzled public opinion is that these fascists/neo-nazis who
got to power through a coup will never allow real elections to take place in
Ukraine; after all they would most certainly be sent packing.
This implies that "Yats" and his gang - on top of it reveling at their red
carpet welcome at a pompous yet innocuous EU summit in Brussels - won't
budge. For instance, they used heavy muscle to send pro-Russian protesters
in front of the Donetsk government building running. Heavily industrialized
Donetsk is very much linked commercially to Russia.
Then there's an even more sinister possible scenario looming in the horizon;
an instrumentalization of the lunatic jihadi fringe of the 10% of Tatars in
Crimea, from false flags to suicide bombings. The House of Saud, according
to a solid Saudi source, is immensely interested in Ukraine, and may be
tempted to do a few favors for Western intelligence.
Will our love become a funeral pyre?
Arguably, for Moscow, keeping Crimea inside the Ukraine, with large
autonomous powers plus the current signed agreement to keep the base in
Sevastopol, is a much better deal than annexing it. It's as if Russia was
annexing what for all practical purposes was already a Russian province.
Yet the Kremlin may always decide not to annex, and use the all but certain
result of the referendum as a key pawn in a complex negotiation with, not
the EU, but fundamentally Germany. The EU is a mess. The "government" in
Kiev is a mess. What matters is what Vladimir Putin is discussing over the
phone with Angela Merkel.
Much has to do with Pipelineistan - as in the 9 billion euro (US$12.4
billion) Nord Stream, the steel umbilical cord between Russia and Germany
via the Baltic Sea. Merkel, the then Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, and
former German chancellor and now Nord Stream chairman Gerhard Schroeder were
very close when the pipeline project carrying Russian gas to Germany went
online in 2011. The project was initially proposed in 2005 when Schroeder
was chancellor and Putin was Russia's president, first time round.
Schroeder, earlier this week, said that NATO should shut up.
Moreover, two-way trade between Russia and the EU was around a whopping
US$370 billion in 2012 (no 2013 data yet), with Russia exporting mostly oil,
gas and cereals, and the EU exporting mostly cars, medicine, machine parts.
Forget about sanctions, that sacrosanct Washington mantra; they are really
bad for business.
Moscow, though, has a real, tangible and very serious red line. It does not
even have to bother about Ukraine in the EU because the overwhelming
majority of Europeans don't want it as part of their club. The red line is
North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in Ukraine. Moscow might even
compromise on Ukraine remaining a sort of Finland between Russia and Europe.
With Crimea still inside the Ukraine, a NATO base side by side with the
Russian base in Sevastopol would be nothing short of psychedelic.
So a resolution in Crimea - whichever way it goes - does send a very clear
message from Moscow to the "West". Watch our red line. And unlike others, we
mean it, and we back it up with all we got.
No time to wallow in the mire
First US President Barack Obama solemnly declared that the referendum in
Crimea would "violate international law" (Kosovo, though, could merrily
secede from Serbia in 2008, to wild Washington fanfare.)
And this after he declared Crimea to be an "extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the US". What next - Crimean
nationalists invading Iowa? No, just a ploy for the White House to deploy
the usual financial war.
All that when the brilliant "strategy" of Team Obama - keep demonizing Putin
to Kingdom Come - was reaching its apex.
But then Obama - noticing Angela Merkel was stealing the spotlight - called
Putin and stayed on the phone for nearly a full hour trying to "engage" him.
Why the change of heart?
A possible response may be supplied by the inescapable Dr Zbigniew "The
Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski, former national security advisor to that
Hamlet hick Jimmy Carter; the man who gave the Soviets "their Vietnam"; the
man who always dreamed that the US should rule over Eurasia; and Obama's
"invisible" top foreign policy mentor.
As Dr Zbig told WorldPost's Nathan Gardels, "The strategy of the West at
this moment should be to complicate Vladimir Putin's planning." Well, that
didn't work so well, did it? Then Dr Zbig advances that "NATO should invite
the Russians to participate in its ongoing discussions". It's not happening.
Dr Zbig is adamant "we have to formally recognize the new government in
Ukraine, which I believe expresses the will of the people there". In fact,
the will of perhaps half of the nation, at best. "Interference in Ukrainian
affairs should be considered a hostile act by a foreign power." That was
Obama's rationale until his phone call to Putin.
Dr Zbig got even more apocalyptic, stressing, "We should put NATO
contingency plans into operation, deploying forces in Central Europe so we
are in a position to respond if war should break out and spread." No wonder
US corporate media went bananas.
But then Dr Zbig falls back into sanity; "The best solution for Ukraine
would be to become as Finland has been to Russia." So in the end he may have
suggested to Obama "a compromise solution that is acceptable for Russia as
well as the West". And that will involve "serious economic aid and
investment". And guess who should take the lead, as in footing the bill?
"Germany, the most prosperous and strongest economy in the EU."
So in the end we fall back, once again, on what Angela and Vlad have been
discussing. Is it Finlandization? Or is it about who's trying to set the
night on fire?
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/CEN-01-070314.html
________________________________________
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http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertyundergroundtalk/ if you would like to
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Tell your friends about LUV News because some people just don't get it
MOLOTOV COCKTAILS IN VENEZUELA: THE UKRAINIAN FORMULA
British news reports that "[E]very night, hooded opposition militants emerge
around a square in eastern Caracas brandishing rocks and Molotov cocktails,
clashing with riot police and turning one of the capital's most affluent
neighborhoods into a battlefield." Since they're throwing Molotov cocktails,
should they succeed the US government will declare them to be the legitimate
government, ignoring elections, as it did in Ukraine. And, just as it did in
the Ukraine, the US government is pumping a fortune into dissidents in
Venezuela. Anything the Venezuelan government does to quell the violence is
depicted in US mainstream press as heavy handed, just as they depicted in
Ukraine.
In this piece, President Maduro is identified as "The socialist leader" more
than once. Corporate media do not call President Obama "The capitalist
leader," but that's how the mainstream press work it, after demonizing
socialism for generations.
CLINTON CLOUT
Christopher Ruddy appeared on CNN's "Reliable Sources" yesterday saying he
is going to take over the conservative market from FOX News with his
Newsmax. He said he is friends with Hillary Clinton and might endorse her
for president, while attacking mainstream media as cuddling liberals. One
recalls Fox News chief Roger Ailes did a fundraiser for Hillary when she ran
against Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
One also recalls, when it looked like Hillary would get the Democratic
nomination for president in 2008, Bill Clinton saying he didn't know how
Hillary could run against a close friend like John McCain. The Democratic
faithful would question why the Clintons spend their time with conservative
and business friends if they had a clue about how the system works.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were both in the leadership of the corporate-funded
Democratic Leadership Council, which dragged the Democratic Party solidly
into the Republican economic realm in order to reap the heavyweight
corporate funding. These days, Democrats often raise more corporate bribes
than Republicans, in selling out the American people, and they owe much of
it to the Clintons.
CAN WE HOLD CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS?
"Advocacy and accountability groups are urging the U.S. Congress to enact
new mechanisms that would allow it to hold multinational corporations
accountable for rights infringements abroad," begins a piece at IPS News
this morning. With many transnational corporations more powerful than most
of the governments on the planet, and funding our elections, this may be a
longshot, but we always encourage activists to attempt a move toward
democracy.
Fareed Zakaria, CNN's master of propaganda, yesterday, while deceiving his
viewers with "invasion" stories about evil Russians, moved briefly to
claiming Russian tanks had moved in and took two territories from Georgia.
This distortion omits the fact that South Ossetians at the time were
claiming Georgia was attempting genocide against them, offering video (we
linked to them in LUV News at the time) showing homes being blown to bits by
an invading Georgian army (a previous truce had peaceful observers
separating South Ossetia from a Georgian military now armed by the USA and
Israel. Russia came in after this horror began, at the request of the
government of South Ossetia. Previously, at the breakup of the old USSR,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia fought wars with Georgia to secede, not having
historical ties to Georgia before Stalin, then running the USSR, forced them
into Georgia, his place of birth.
Although there's been no attempt for either Abkhazia or South Ossetia to
become part of Russia, the people of both are opposed to being part of
Georgia. Then Russian President Medvedev stated that "Western countries
rushed to recognize Kosovo's illegal declaration of independence from
Serbia. We argued consistently that it would be impossible, after that, to
tell the Abkhazians and Ossetians (and dozens of other groups around the
world) that what was good for the Kosovo Albanians was not good for them. In
international relations, you cannot have one rule for some and another rule
for others."
We think Americans should get the other side of these arguments as our
mainstream press push us ever closer to war with one side of events rallying
citizens based on half truths (recall those "weapons of mass destruction" in
Iraq).
I wrote an email to CNN host Brian Stelter yesterday saying "Reliable
Sources pretends to be fair and balanced, like FOX, but host Brian Stelter
today ridiculed Russia Today, which he called 'Putin TV.' He asked on Liz
Wahl to attack Russia Today, without mentioning Amy Martin's appearance on
his network lambasting the corporate media on Piers Morgan's program. It
would be impossible to be more biased than this in favor of corporate
viewpoint media against any who attempt to provide the public interest
viewpoint. I edit LUV News, which gives the public interest side, a
viewpoint Reliable Sources would never allow."
--Jack Balkwill
C'mon baby, light my (Crimean) fire
By Pepe Escobar
March 16 is C Day. The Crimean parliament - by 78 votes with 8 abstentions -
decided this is the day when Crimean voters will choose between joining the
Russian Federation or to remain part of Ukraine as an autonomous region with
very strong powers, according to the 1992 constitution.
Whatever "diplomatic" tantrums Washington and Brussels will keep pulling,
and they will be incandescent, facts on the ground speak for themselves. The
city council of Sevastopol - the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet -
has already voted to join Russia. And next week the Duma in Moscow will
study a bill to simplify the mechanism of adhesion.
Quick recap: this is a direct result of Washington spending US$5 billion - a
Victoria "F**k the EU" Nuland official figure - to promote regime change in
Ukraine. On the horizon, Crimea may be incorporated into Russia for free,
while the "West" absorbs that bankrupt back-of-beyond (Western Ukraine) that
an Asia Times Online reader indelibly described as the "Khaganate of
Nulands" (an amalgam of khanate, Victoria's notorious neo-con husband Robert
Kagan, and no man's land).
What Moscow regards as an illegal, neo-nazi infiltrated government in Kiev,
led by Prime Minister Arseniy "Yats" Yatsenyuk - an Ukrainian Jewish banker
playing the role of Western puppet - insists Crimea must remain part of
Ukraine. And it's not only Moscow; half of Ukraine itself does not recognize
the Yats gang as a legitimate government, now boasting a number of oligarchs
imposed as provincial governors.
Yet this "government" - supported by the US and the European Union - has
already declared the referendum illegal. Proving its impeccable "democratic"
credentials, it has already moved to ban the official use of the Russian
language in Ukraine; get rid of the communist party, which amassed 13% of
the votes in the last election, more, incidentally, than the
neo-nazi-infested Svoboda ("Freedom") party, now ensconced in key government
security posts; and ban a Russian TV station, which happens to be the most
popular on Ukrainian cable.
Amid all the hysteria from Washington and certain European capitals, what's
not explained to puzzled public opinion is that these fascists/neo-nazis who
got to power through a coup will never allow real elections to take place in
Ukraine; after all they would most certainly be sent packing.
This implies that "Yats" and his gang - on top of it reveling at their red
carpet welcome at a pompous yet innocuous EU summit in Brussels - won't
budge. For instance, they used heavy muscle to send pro-Russian protesters
in front of the Donetsk government building running. Heavily industrialized
Donetsk is very much linked commercially to Russia.
Then there's an even more sinister possible scenario looming in the horizon;
an instrumentalization of the lunatic jihadi fringe of the 10% of Tatars in
Crimea, from false flags to suicide bombings. The House of Saud, according
to a solid Saudi source, is immensely interested in Ukraine, and may be
tempted to do a few favors for Western intelligence.
Will our love become a funeral pyre?
Arguably, for Moscow, keeping Crimea inside the Ukraine, with large
autonomous powers plus the current signed agreement to keep the base in
Sevastopol, is a much better deal than annexing it. It's as if Russia was
annexing what for all practical purposes was already a Russian province.
Yet the Kremlin may always decide not to annex, and use the all but certain
result of the referendum as a key pawn in a complex negotiation with, not
the EU, but fundamentally Germany. The EU is a mess. The "government" in
Kiev is a mess. What matters is what Vladimir Putin is discussing over the
phone with Angela Merkel.
Much has to do with Pipelineistan - as in the 9 billion euro (US$12.4
billion) Nord Stream, the steel umbilical cord between Russia and Germany
via the Baltic Sea. Merkel, the then Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, and
former German chancellor and now Nord Stream chairman Gerhard Schroeder were
very close when the pipeline project carrying Russian gas to Germany went
online in 2011. The project was initially proposed in 2005 when Schroeder
was chancellor and Putin was Russia's president, first time round.
Schroeder, earlier this week, said that NATO should shut up.
Moreover, two-way trade between Russia and the EU was around a whopping
US$370 billion in 2012 (no 2013 data yet), with Russia exporting mostly oil,
gas and cereals, and the EU exporting mostly cars, medicine, machine parts.
Forget about sanctions, that sacrosanct Washington mantra; they are really
bad for business.
Moscow, though, has a real, tangible and very serious red line. It does not
even have to bother about Ukraine in the EU because the overwhelming
majority of Europeans don't want it as part of their club. The red line is
North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in Ukraine. Moscow might even
compromise on Ukraine remaining a sort of Finland between Russia and Europe.
With Crimea still inside the Ukraine, a NATO base side by side with the
Russian base in Sevastopol would be nothing short of psychedelic.
So a resolution in Crimea - whichever way it goes - does send a very clear
message from Moscow to the "West". Watch our red line. And unlike others, we
mean it, and we back it up with all we got.
No time to wallow in the mire
First US President Barack Obama solemnly declared that the referendum in
Crimea would "violate international law" (Kosovo, though, could merrily
secede from Serbia in 2008, to wild Washington fanfare.)
And this after he declared Crimea to be an "extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the US". What next - Crimean
nationalists invading Iowa? No, just a ploy for the White House to deploy
the usual financial war.
All that when the brilliant "strategy" of Team Obama - keep demonizing Putin
to Kingdom Come - was reaching its apex.
But then Obama - noticing Angela Merkel was stealing the spotlight - called
Putin and stayed on the phone for nearly a full hour trying to "engage" him.
Why the change of heart?
A possible response may be supplied by the inescapable Dr Zbigniew "The
Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski, former national security advisor to that
Hamlet hick Jimmy Carter; the man who gave the Soviets "their Vietnam"; the
man who always dreamed that the US should rule over Eurasia; and Obama's
"invisible" top foreign policy mentor.
As Dr Zbig told WorldPost's Nathan Gardels, "The strategy of the West at
this moment should be to complicate Vladimir Putin's planning." Well, that
didn't work so well, did it? Then Dr Zbig advances that "NATO should invite
the Russians to participate in its ongoing discussions". It's not happening.
Dr Zbig is adamant "we have to formally recognize the new government in
Ukraine, which I believe expresses the will of the people there". In fact,
the will of perhaps half of the nation, at best. "Interference in Ukrainian
affairs should be considered a hostile act by a foreign power." That was
Obama's rationale until his phone call to Putin.
Dr Zbig got even more apocalyptic, stressing, "We should put NATO
contingency plans into operation, deploying forces in Central Europe so we
are in a position to respond if war should break out and spread." No wonder
US corporate media went bananas.
But then Dr Zbig falls back into sanity; "The best solution for Ukraine
would be to become as Finland has been to Russia." So in the end he may have
suggested to Obama "a compromise solution that is acceptable for Russia as
well as the West". And that will involve "serious economic aid and
investment". And guess who should take the lead, as in footing the bill?
"Germany, the most prosperous and strongest economy in the EU."
So in the end we fall back, once again, on what Angela and Vlad have been
discussing. Is it Finlandization? Or is it about who's trying to set the
night on fire?
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/CEN-01-070314.html
If you wish to be removed from this list, please let us know
To join the Liberty Underground news service go here:
http://luvnews.info/Join.htm
You may also join our talk group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertyundergroundtalk/ if you would like to
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or join our Facebook group here:
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email: Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Tell your friends about LUV News because some people just don't get it
_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
"...In this piece, President Maduro is identified as "The socialist leader"
more
than once. Corporate media do not call President Obama "The capitalist
leader..."
Actually, President Obama should be called by his rightful title, Mightiest
Emperor of the Corporate Capitalistic States of America and Beyond.
Some folks would like us to believe that Obama is too modest to assume such
a high and mighty title. But the truth is that his Masters do not want him
to get too big for his britches.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2014 7:08 AM
Subject: LUV News march 10
MOLOTOV COCKTAILS IN VENEZUELA: THE UKRAINIAN FORMULA
British news reports that "[E]very night, hooded opposition militants emerge
around a square in eastern Caracas brandishing rocks and Molotov cocktails,
clashing with riot police and turning one of the capital's most affluent
neighborhoods into a battlefield." Since they're throwing Molotov
cocktails, should they succeed the US government will declare them to be the
legitimate government, ignoring elections, as it did in Ukraine. And, just
as it did in the Ukraine, the US government is pumping a fortune into
dissidents in Venezuela. Anything the Venezuelan government does to quell
the violence is depicted in US mainstream press as heavy handed, just as
they depicted in Ukraine.
In this piece, President Maduro is identified as "The socialist leader" more
than once. Corporate media do not call President Obama "The capitalist
leader," but that's how the mainstream press work it, after demonizing
socialism for generations.
________________________________________
CLINTON CLOUT
Christopher Ruddy appeared on CNN's "Reliable Sources" yesterday saying he
is going to take over the conservative market from FOX News with his
Newsmax. He said he is friends with Hillary Clinton and might endorse her
for president, while attacking mainstream media as cuddling liberals. One
recalls Fox News chief Roger Ailes did a fundraiser for Hillary when she ran
against Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
One also recalls, when it looked like Hillary would get the Democratic
nomination for president in 2008, Bill Clinton saying he didn't know how
Hillary could run against a close friend like John McCain. The Democratic
faithful would question why the Clintons spend their time with conservative
and business friends if they had a clue about how the system works.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were both in the leadership of the corporate-funded
Democratic Leadership Council, which dragged the Democratic Party solidly
into the Republican economic realm in order to reap the heavyweight
corporate funding. These days, Democrats often raise more corporate bribes
than Republicans, in selling out the American people, and they owe much of
it to the Clintons.
________________________________________
CAN WE HOLD CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS?
"Advocacy and accountability groups are urging the U.S. Congress to enact
new mechanisms that would allow it to hold multinational corporations
accountable for rights infringements abroad," begins a piece at IPS News
this morning. With many transnational corporations more powerful than most
of the governments on the planet, and funding our elections, this may be a
longshot, but we always encourage activists to attempt a move toward
democracy.
________________________________________
Fareed Zakaria, CNN's master of propaganda, yesterday, while deceiving his
viewers with "invasion" stories about evil Russians, moved briefly to
claiming Russian tanks had moved in and took two territories from Georgia.
This distortion omits the fact that South Ossetians at the time were
claiming Georgia was attempting genocide against them, offering video (we
linked to them in LUV News at the time) showing homes being blown to bits by
an invading Georgian army (a previous truce had peaceful observers
separating South Ossetia from a Georgian military now armed by the USA and
Israel. Russia came in after this horror began, at the request of the
government of South Ossetia. Previously, at the breakup of the old USSR,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia fought wars with Georgia to secede, not having
historical ties to Georgia before Stalin, then running the USSR, forced them
into Georgia, his place of birth.
Although there's been no attempt for either Abkhazia or South Ossetia to
become part of Russia, the people of both are opposed to being part of
Georgia. Then Russian President Medvedev stated that "Western countries
rushed to recognize Kosovo's illegal declaration of independence from
Serbia. We argued consistently that it would be impossible, after that, to
tell the Abkhazians and Ossetians (and dozens of other groups around the
world) that what was good for the Kosovo Albanians was not good for them. In
international relations, you cannot have one rule for some and another rule
for others."
We think Americans should get the other side of these arguments as our
mainstream press push us ever closer to war with one side of events rallying
citizens based on half truths (recall those "weapons of mass destruction" in
Iraq).
I wrote an email to CNN host Brian Stelter yesterday saying "Reliable
Sources pretends to be fair and balanced, like FOX, but host Brian Stelter
today ridiculed Russia Today, which he called 'Putin TV.' He asked on Liz
Wahl to attack Russia Today, without mentioning Amy Martin's appearance on
his network lambasting the corporate media on Piers Morgan's program. It
would be impossible to be more biased than this in favor of corporate
viewpoint media against any who attempt to provide the public interest
viewpoint. I edit LUV News, which gives the public interest side, a
viewpoint Reliable Sources would never allow."
--Jack Balkwill
C'mon baby, light my (Crimean) fire
By Pepe Escobar
March 16 is C Day. The Crimean parliament - by 78 votes with 8 abstentions -
decided this is the day when Crimean voters will choose between joining the
Russian Federation or to remain part of Ukraine as an autonomous region with
very strong powers, according to the 1992 constitution.
Whatever "diplomatic" tantrums Washington and Brussels will keep pulling,
and they will be incandescent, facts on the ground speak for themselves. The
city council of Sevastopol - the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet -
has already voted to join Russia. And next week the Duma in Moscow will
study a bill to simplify the mechanism of adhesion.
Quick recap: this is a direct result of Washington spending US$5 billion - a
Victoria "F**k the EU" Nuland official figure - to promote regime change in
Ukraine. On the horizon, Crimea may be incorporated into Russia for free,
while the "West" absorbs that bankrupt back-of-beyond (Western Ukraine) that
an Asia Times Online reader indelibly described as the "Khaganate of
Nulands" (an amalgam of khanate, Victoria's notorious neo-con husband Robert
Kagan, and no man's land).
What Moscow regards as an illegal, neo-nazi infiltrated government in Kiev,
led by Prime Minister Arseniy "Yats" Yatsenyuk - an Ukrainian Jewish banker
playing the role of Western puppet - insists Crimea must remain part of
Ukraine. And it's not only Moscow; half of Ukraine itself does not recognize
the Yats gang as a legitimate government, now boasting a number of oligarchs
imposed as provincial governors.
Yet this "government" - supported by the US and the European Union - has
already declared the referendum illegal. Proving its impeccable "democratic"
credentials, it has already moved to ban the official use of the Russian
language in Ukraine; get rid of the communist party, which amassed 13% of
the votes in the last election, more, incidentally, than the
neo-nazi-infested Svoboda ("Freedom") party, now ensconced in key government
security posts; and ban a Russian TV station, which happens to be the most
popular on Ukrainian cable.
Amid all the hysteria from Washington and certain European capitals, what's
not explained to puzzled public opinion is that these fascists/neo-nazis who
got to power through a coup will never allow real elections to take place in
Ukraine; after all they would most certainly be sent packing.
This implies that "Yats" and his gang - on top of it reveling at their red
carpet welcome at a pompous yet innocuous EU summit in Brussels - won't
budge. For instance, they used heavy muscle to send pro-Russian protesters
in front of the Donetsk government building running. Heavily industrialized
Donetsk is very much linked commercially to Russia.
Then there's an even more sinister possible scenario looming in the horizon;
an instrumentalization of the lunatic jihadi fringe of the 10% of Tatars in
Crimea, from false flags to suicide bombings. The House of Saud, according
to a solid Saudi source, is immensely interested in Ukraine, and may be
tempted to do a few favors for Western intelligence.
Will our love become a funeral pyre?
Arguably, for Moscow, keeping Crimea inside the Ukraine, with large
autonomous powers plus the current signed agreement to keep the base in
Sevastopol, is a much better deal than annexing it. It's as if Russia was
annexing what for all practical purposes was already a Russian province.
Yet the Kremlin may always decide not to annex, and use the all but certain
result of the referendum as a key pawn in a complex negotiation with, not
the EU, but fundamentally Germany. The EU is a mess. The "government" in
Kiev is a mess. What matters is what Vladimir Putin is discussing over the
phone with Angela Merkel.
Much has to do with Pipelineistan - as in the 9 billion euro (US$12.4
billion) Nord Stream, the steel umbilical cord between Russia and Germany
via the Baltic Sea. Merkel, the then Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, and
former German chancellor and now Nord Stream chairman Gerhard Schroeder were
very close when the pipeline project carrying Russian gas to Germany went
online in 2011. The project was initially proposed in 2005 when Schroeder
was chancellor and Putin was Russia's president, first time round.
Schroeder, earlier this week, said that NATO should shut up.
Moreover, two-way trade between Russia and the EU was around a whopping
US$370 billion in 2012 (no 2013 data yet), with Russia exporting mostly oil,
gas and cereals, and the EU exporting mostly cars, medicine, machine parts.
Forget about sanctions, that sacrosanct Washington mantra; they are really
bad for business.
Moscow, though, has a real, tangible and very serious red line. It does not
even have to bother about Ukraine in the EU because the overwhelming
majority of Europeans don't want it as part of their club. The red line is
North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in Ukraine. Moscow might even
compromise on Ukraine remaining a sort of Finland between Russia and Europe.
With Crimea still inside the Ukraine, a NATO base side by side with the
Russian base in Sevastopol would be nothing short of psychedelic.
So a resolution in Crimea - whichever way it goes - does send a very clear
message from Moscow to the "West". Watch our red line. And unlike others, we
mean it, and we back it up with all we got.
No time to wallow in the mire
First US President Barack Obama solemnly declared that the referendum in
Crimea would "violate international law" (Kosovo, though, could merrily
secede from Serbia in 2008, to wild Washington fanfare.)
And this after he declared Crimea to be an "extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the US". What next - Crimean
nationalists invading Iowa? No, just a ploy for the White House to deploy
the usual financial war.
All that when the brilliant "strategy" of Team Obama - keep demonizing Putin
to Kingdom Come - was reaching its apex.
But then Obama - noticing Angela Merkel was stealing the spotlight - called
Putin and stayed on the phone for nearly a full hour trying to "engage" him.
Why the change of heart?
A possible response may be supplied by the inescapable Dr Zbigniew "The
Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski, former national security advisor to that
Hamlet hick Jimmy Carter; the man who gave the Soviets "their Vietnam"; the
man who always dreamed that the US should rule over Eurasia; and Obama's
"invisible" top foreign policy mentor.
As Dr Zbig told WorldPost's Nathan Gardels, "The strategy of the West at
this moment should be to complicate Vladimir Putin's planning." Well, that
didn't work so well, did it? Then Dr Zbig advances that "NATO should invite
the Russians to participate in its ongoing discussions". It's not happening.
Dr Zbig is adamant "we have to formally recognize the new government in
Ukraine, which I believe expresses the will of the people there". In fact,
the will of perhaps half of the nation, at best. "Interference in Ukrainian
affairs should be considered a hostile act by a foreign power." That was
Obama's rationale until his phone call to Putin.
Dr Zbig got even more apocalyptic, stressing, "We should put NATO
contingency plans into operation, deploying forces in Central Europe so we
are in a position to respond if war should break out and spread." No wonder
US corporate media went bananas.
But then Dr Zbig falls back into sanity; "The best solution for Ukraine
would be to become as Finland has been to Russia." So in the end he may have
suggested to Obama "a compromise solution that is acceptable for Russia as
well as the West". And that will involve "serious economic aid and
investment". And guess who should take the lead, as in footing the bill?
"Germany, the most prosperous and strongest economy in the EU."
So in the end we fall back, once again, on what Angela and Vlad have been
discussing. Is it Finlandization? Or is it about who's trying to set the
night on fire?
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/CEN-01-070314.html
________________________________________
If you wish to be removed from this list, please let us know
To join the Liberty Underground news service go here:
http://luvnews.info/Join.htm
You may also join our talk group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/libertyundergroundtalk/ if you would like to
participate
or join our Facebook group here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/461619557192964/
email: libertyuv@hotmail.com
Tell your friends about LUV News because some people just don't get it
MOLOTOV COCKTAILS IN VENEZUELA: THE UKRAINIAN FORMULA
British news reports that "[E]very night, hooded opposition militants emerge
around a square in eastern Caracas brandishing rocks and Molotov cocktails,
clashing with riot police and turning one of the capital's most affluent
neighborhoods into a battlefield." Since they're throwing Molotov cocktails,
should they succeed the US government will declare them to be the legitimate
government, ignoring elections, as it did in Ukraine. And, just as it did in
the Ukraine, the US government is pumping a fortune into dissidents in
Venezuela. Anything the Venezuelan government does to quell the violence is
depicted in US mainstream press as heavy handed, just as they depicted in
Ukraine.
In this piece, President Maduro is identified as "The socialist leader" more
than once. Corporate media do not call President Obama "The capitalist
leader," but that's how the mainstream press work it, after demonizing
socialism for generations.
CLINTON CLOUT
Christopher Ruddy appeared on CNN's "Reliable Sources" yesterday saying he
is going to take over the conservative market from FOX News with his
Newsmax. He said he is friends with Hillary Clinton and might endorse her
for president, while attacking mainstream media as cuddling liberals. One
recalls Fox News chief Roger Ailes did a fundraiser for Hillary when she ran
against Obama for the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
One also recalls, when it looked like Hillary would get the Democratic
nomination for president in 2008, Bill Clinton saying he didn't know how
Hillary could run against a close friend like John McCain. The Democratic
faithful would question why the Clintons spend their time with conservative
and business friends if they had a clue about how the system works.
Bill and Hillary Clinton were both in the leadership of the corporate-funded
Democratic Leadership Council, which dragged the Democratic Party solidly
into the Republican economic realm in order to reap the heavyweight
corporate funding. These days, Democrats often raise more corporate bribes
than Republicans, in selling out the American people, and they owe much of
it to the Clintons.
CAN WE HOLD CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR ACTIONS?
"Advocacy and accountability groups are urging the U.S. Congress to enact
new mechanisms that would allow it to hold multinational corporations
accountable for rights infringements abroad," begins a piece at IPS News
this morning. With many transnational corporations more powerful than most
of the governments on the planet, and funding our elections, this may be a
longshot, but we always encourage activists to attempt a move toward
democracy.
Fareed Zakaria, CNN's master of propaganda, yesterday, while deceiving his
viewers with "invasion" stories about evil Russians, moved briefly to
claiming Russian tanks had moved in and took two territories from Georgia.
This distortion omits the fact that South Ossetians at the time were
claiming Georgia was attempting genocide against them, offering video (we
linked to them in LUV News at the time) showing homes being blown to bits by
an invading Georgian army (a previous truce had peaceful observers
separating South Ossetia from a Georgian military now armed by the USA and
Israel. Russia came in after this horror began, at the request of the
government of South Ossetia. Previously, at the breakup of the old USSR,
Abkhazia and South Ossetia fought wars with Georgia to secede, not having
historical ties to Georgia before Stalin, then running the USSR, forced them
into Georgia, his place of birth.
Although there's been no attempt for either Abkhazia or South Ossetia to
become part of Russia, the people of both are opposed to being part of
Georgia. Then Russian President Medvedev stated that "Western countries
rushed to recognize Kosovo's illegal declaration of independence from
Serbia. We argued consistently that it would be impossible, after that, to
tell the Abkhazians and Ossetians (and dozens of other groups around the
world) that what was good for the Kosovo Albanians was not good for them. In
international relations, you cannot have one rule for some and another rule
for others."
We think Americans should get the other side of these arguments as our
mainstream press push us ever closer to war with one side of events rallying
citizens based on half truths (recall those "weapons of mass destruction" in
Iraq).
I wrote an email to CNN host Brian Stelter yesterday saying "Reliable
Sources pretends to be fair and balanced, like FOX, but host Brian Stelter
today ridiculed Russia Today, which he called 'Putin TV.' He asked on Liz
Wahl to attack Russia Today, without mentioning Amy Martin's appearance on
his network lambasting the corporate media on Piers Morgan's program. It
would be impossible to be more biased than this in favor of corporate
viewpoint media against any who attempt to provide the public interest
viewpoint. I edit LUV News, which gives the public interest side, a
viewpoint Reliable Sources would never allow."
--Jack Balkwill
C'mon baby, light my (Crimean) fire
By Pepe Escobar
March 16 is C Day. The Crimean parliament - by 78 votes with 8 abstentions -
decided this is the day when Crimean voters will choose between joining the
Russian Federation or to remain part of Ukraine as an autonomous region with
very strong powers, according to the 1992 constitution.
Whatever "diplomatic" tantrums Washington and Brussels will keep pulling,
and they will be incandescent, facts on the ground speak for themselves. The
city council of Sevastopol - the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet -
has already voted to join Russia. And next week the Duma in Moscow will
study a bill to simplify the mechanism of adhesion.
Quick recap: this is a direct result of Washington spending US$5 billion - a
Victoria "F**k the EU" Nuland official figure - to promote regime change in
Ukraine. On the horizon, Crimea may be incorporated into Russia for free,
while the "West" absorbs that bankrupt back-of-beyond (Western Ukraine) that
an Asia Times Online reader indelibly described as the "Khaganate of
Nulands" (an amalgam of khanate, Victoria's notorious neo-con husband Robert
Kagan, and no man's land).
What Moscow regards as an illegal, neo-nazi infiltrated government in Kiev,
led by Prime Minister Arseniy "Yats" Yatsenyuk - an Ukrainian Jewish banker
playing the role of Western puppet - insists Crimea must remain part of
Ukraine. And it's not only Moscow; half of Ukraine itself does not recognize
the Yats gang as a legitimate government, now boasting a number of oligarchs
imposed as provincial governors.
Yet this "government" - supported by the US and the European Union - has
already declared the referendum illegal. Proving its impeccable "democratic"
credentials, it has already moved to ban the official use of the Russian
language in Ukraine; get rid of the communist party, which amassed 13% of
the votes in the last election, more, incidentally, than the
neo-nazi-infested Svoboda ("Freedom") party, now ensconced in key government
security posts; and ban a Russian TV station, which happens to be the most
popular on Ukrainian cable.
Amid all the hysteria from Washington and certain European capitals, what's
not explained to puzzled public opinion is that these fascists/neo-nazis who
got to power through a coup will never allow real elections to take place in
Ukraine; after all they would most certainly be sent packing.
This implies that "Yats" and his gang - on top of it reveling at their red
carpet welcome at a pompous yet innocuous EU summit in Brussels - won't
budge. For instance, they used heavy muscle to send pro-Russian protesters
in front of the Donetsk government building running. Heavily industrialized
Donetsk is very much linked commercially to Russia.
Then there's an even more sinister possible scenario looming in the horizon;
an instrumentalization of the lunatic jihadi fringe of the 10% of Tatars in
Crimea, from false flags to suicide bombings. The House of Saud, according
to a solid Saudi source, is immensely interested in Ukraine, and may be
tempted to do a few favors for Western intelligence.
Will our love become a funeral pyre?
Arguably, for Moscow, keeping Crimea inside the Ukraine, with large
autonomous powers plus the current signed agreement to keep the base in
Sevastopol, is a much better deal than annexing it. It's as if Russia was
annexing what for all practical purposes was already a Russian province.
Yet the Kremlin may always decide not to annex, and use the all but certain
result of the referendum as a key pawn in a complex negotiation with, not
the EU, but fundamentally Germany. The EU is a mess. The "government" in
Kiev is a mess. What matters is what Vladimir Putin is discussing over the
phone with Angela Merkel.
Much has to do with Pipelineistan - as in the 9 billion euro (US$12.4
billion) Nord Stream, the steel umbilical cord between Russia and Germany
via the Baltic Sea. Merkel, the then Russian president Dmitri Medvedev, and
former German chancellor and now Nord Stream chairman Gerhard Schroeder were
very close when the pipeline project carrying Russian gas to Germany went
online in 2011. The project was initially proposed in 2005 when Schroeder
was chancellor and Putin was Russia's president, first time round.
Schroeder, earlier this week, said that NATO should shut up.
Moreover, two-way trade between Russia and the EU was around a whopping
US$370 billion in 2012 (no 2013 data yet), with Russia exporting mostly oil,
gas and cereals, and the EU exporting mostly cars, medicine, machine parts.
Forget about sanctions, that sacrosanct Washington mantra; they are really
bad for business.
Moscow, though, has a real, tangible and very serious red line. It does not
even have to bother about Ukraine in the EU because the overwhelming
majority of Europeans don't want it as part of their club. The red line is
North Atlantic Treaty Organization bases in Ukraine. Moscow might even
compromise on Ukraine remaining a sort of Finland between Russia and Europe.
With Crimea still inside the Ukraine, a NATO base side by side with the
Russian base in Sevastopol would be nothing short of psychedelic.
So a resolution in Crimea - whichever way it goes - does send a very clear
message from Moscow to the "West". Watch our red line. And unlike others, we
mean it, and we back it up with all we got.
No time to wallow in the mire
First US President Barack Obama solemnly declared that the referendum in
Crimea would "violate international law" (Kosovo, though, could merrily
secede from Serbia in 2008, to wild Washington fanfare.)
And this after he declared Crimea to be an "extraordinary threat to the
national security and foreign policy of the US". What next - Crimean
nationalists invading Iowa? No, just a ploy for the White House to deploy
the usual financial war.
All that when the brilliant "strategy" of Team Obama - keep demonizing Putin
to Kingdom Come - was reaching its apex.
But then Obama - noticing Angela Merkel was stealing the spotlight - called
Putin and stayed on the phone for nearly a full hour trying to "engage" him.
Why the change of heart?
A possible response may be supplied by the inescapable Dr Zbigniew "The
Grand Chessboard" Brzezinski, former national security advisor to that
Hamlet hick Jimmy Carter; the man who gave the Soviets "their Vietnam"; the
man who always dreamed that the US should rule over Eurasia; and Obama's
"invisible" top foreign policy mentor.
As Dr Zbig told WorldPost's Nathan Gardels, "The strategy of the West at
this moment should be to complicate Vladimir Putin's planning." Well, that
didn't work so well, did it? Then Dr Zbig advances that "NATO should invite
the Russians to participate in its ongoing discussions". It's not happening.
Dr Zbig is adamant "we have to formally recognize the new government in
Ukraine, which I believe expresses the will of the people there". In fact,
the will of perhaps half of the nation, at best. "Interference in Ukrainian
affairs should be considered a hostile act by a foreign power." That was
Obama's rationale until his phone call to Putin.
Dr Zbig got even more apocalyptic, stressing, "We should put NATO
contingency plans into operation, deploying forces in Central Europe so we
are in a position to respond if war should break out and spread." No wonder
US corporate media went bananas.
But then Dr Zbig falls back into sanity; "The best solution for Ukraine
would be to become as Finland has been to Russia." So in the end he may have
suggested to Obama "a compromise solution that is acceptable for Russia as
well as the West". And that will involve "serious economic aid and
investment". And guess who should take the lead, as in footing the bill?
"Germany, the most prosperous and strongest economy in the EU."
So in the end we fall back, once again, on what Angela and Vlad have been
discussing. Is it Finlandization? Or is it about who's trying to set the
night on fire?
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/CEN-01-070314.html
If you wish to be removed from this list, please let us know
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Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Subject: Re: Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in
Washington
Detaining immigrants for fun and profit.
"...private correctional services company, GEO Group, currently
houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation pending
deportation..."
Privatization has now replaced most of what we once called Democracy.
Besides immigrants being sold to Privateers, we are selling our prisoners,
our public education, our college students, our public highways and public
buildings. About all that's left for these Privateers to steal from us is
our privacy and our independence.
And it's all coming about with the approval and support of many Americans.
What could be the greatest dream of an Empire than to have slaves willing to
be owned, lock, stock and barrel?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2014 7:32 PM
Subject: Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Published time: March 09, 2014 13:36
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Image from olyblog.net)
At least 750 detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington have
gone on hunger strike to protest against deportations. Activists gathered
outside the facility in a demonstration to show their solidarity for the
strikers
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
Saturday that 750 detainees had refused their meals on Friday at the
Northwest Detention Facility in Tacoma, saying they were on a hunger strike.
However, supporters of the strikers say up to 1,200 are currently
participating in the act of protest.
The center, which is run by private correctional services company, GEO
Group, currently houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation
pending deportation.
"People in detention can't wait any longer," said Seattle-based attorney,
Sandy Restrepo, to Reuters. "They are human beings, not criminals, and they
deserve better treatment."
According to an attorney who represents a number of the detainees, the
strike will continue for the next five days. The detainees are calling for
an improvement in conditions at the facility and an end to deportation.
Among their demands are better food, more money for the work they do and
better treatment from the personnel at the facility.
"They're not eating and not working-the detainees are paid $1 per day to
work in the kitchen and in cleanup crews. In response, those who are more
actively involved are getting their blankets, pillows, and clothes taken
away," said a post on rights organization, Latino Advocacy's, Facebook page,
citing one of the strikers' lawyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
Supporters of the strike have so far gathered outside Northwest every day
since the strike began and plan to do so until Tuesday.
In response to the strike, the ICE said that all of the strikers are under
close observation by the facility's personnel and medical staff.
"ICE fully respects the rights of all people to express their opinion
without interference," said the company in a statement released to Al
Jazeera.
'Deporter-in-Chief'
The Obama Administration has come under increasing fire from rights groups
over its hardline immigration policy. The President has set the record of
the amount of deportations since he entered office, with nearly 2 million
people ejected from the US.
Earlier this week President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Janet
Murguia slammed Obama's immigration policy and branded him
"Deporter-in-Chief" in a speech at the NCLR's annual Capital Awards dinner.
"He can stop tearing families apart. He can stop throwing communities and
businesses into chaos. He can stop turning a blind eye to the harm being
done. He does have the power to stop this. Failure to act will be a shameful
legacy for his presidency," she said.
President Obama defended himself following the comments, maintaining he
cannot amend immigration policy until Congress acts.
"I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said
during a press conference. "But what I've said in the past remains true,
which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of
what I am able to do."
Share on tumblr
Comments (39)
Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Published time: March 09, 2014 13:36
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Image from olyblog.net)
&&&&&&&&&&
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&winname=addthis&pub=unknown&source
=tbx-300&lng=en-US&s=tumblr&url=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fusa%2Fimmigration-hung
er-strike-us-746%2F&title=%E2%80%8BHundreds%20of%20immigrant%20detainees%20g
o%20on%20hunger%20strike%20in%20Washington%20%E2%80%94%20RT%20USA&ate=AT-und
efined/-/-/531d229f054c0d4f/2&frommenu=1&uid=531d229fedef675a&ufbl=1&ct=1&tt
=0&captcha_provider=recaptcha
Tags
Crime, Immigration, Law, Security, USA
At least 750 detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington have
gone on hunger strike to protest against deportations. Activists gathered
outside the facility in a demonstration to show their solidarity for the
strikers
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
Saturday that 750 detainees had refused their meals on Friday at the
Northwest Detention Facility in Tacoma, saying they were on a hunger strike.
However, supporters of the strikers say up to 1,200 are currently
participating in the act of protest.
The center, which is run by private correctional services company, GEO
Group, currently houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation
pending deportation.
"People in detention can't wait any longer," said Seattle-based attorney,
Sandy Restrepo, to Reuters. "They are human beings, not criminals, and they
deserve better treatment."
According to an attorney who represents a number of the detainees, the
strike will continue for the next five days. The detainees are calling for
an improvement in conditions at the facility and an end to deportation.
Among their demands are better food, more money for the work they do and
better treatment from the personnel at the facility.
"They're not eating and not working-the detainees are paid $1 per day to
work in the kitchen and in cleanup crews. In response, those who are more
actively involved are getting their blankets, pillows, and clothes taken
away," said a post on rights organization, Latino Advocacy's, Facebook page,
citing one of the strikers' lawyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
Supporters of the strike have so far gathered outside Northwest every day
since the strike began and plan to do so until Tuesday.
In response to the strike, the ICE said that all of the strikers are under
close observation by the facility's personnel and medical staff.
"ICE fully respects the rights of all people to express their opinion
without interference," said the company in a statement released to Al
Jazeera.
'Deporter-in-Chief'
The Obama Administration has come under increasing fire from rights groups
over its hardline immigration policy. The President has set the record of
the amount of deportations since he entered office, with nearly 2 million
people ejected from the US.
Earlier this week President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Janet
Murguia slammed Obama's immigration policy and branded him
"Deporter-in-Chief" in a speech at the NCLR's annual Capital Awards dinner.
"He can stop tearing families apart. He can stop throwing communities and
businesses into chaos. He can stop turning a blind eye to the harm being
done. He does have the power to stop this. Failure to act will be a shameful
legacy for his presidency," she said.
President Obama defended himself following the comments, maintaining he
cannot amend immigration policy until Congress acts.
"I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said
during a press conference. "But what I've said in the past remains true,
which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of
what I am able to do."
&&&&&&&&&&
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&winname=addthis&pub=unknown&source
=tbx-300&lng=en-US&s=tumblr&url=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fusa%2Fimmigration-hung
er-strike-us-746%2F&title=%E2%80%8BHundreds%20of%20immigrant%20detainees%20g
o%20on%20hunger%20strike%20in%20Washington%20%E2%80%94%20RT%20USA&ate=AT-und
efined/-/-/531d229f054c0d4f/3&frommenu=1&uid=531d229fdd8d2977&ufbl=1&ct=1&tt
=0&captcha_provider=recaptcha
Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Published time: March 09, 2014 13:36
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Image from olyblog.net)
&&&&&&&&&&
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&winname=addthis&pub=unknown&source
=tbx-300&lng=en-US&s=tumblr&url=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fusa%2Fimmigration-hung
er-strike-us-746%2F&title=%E2%80%8BHundreds%20of%20immigrant%20detainees%20g
o%20on%20hunger%20strike%20in%20Washington%20%E2%80%94%20RT%20USA&ate=AT-und
efined/-/-/531d229f054c0d4f/2&frommenu=1&uid=531d229fedef675a&ufbl=1&ct=1&tt
=0&captcha_provider=recaptcha
Tags
Crime, Immigration, Law, Security, USA
At least 750 detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington have
gone on hunger strike to protest against deportations. Activists gathered
outside the facility in a demonstration to show their solidarity for the
strikers
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
Saturday that 750 detainees had refused their meals on Friday at the
Northwest Detention Facility in Tacoma, saying they were on a hunger strike.
However, supporters of the strikers say up to 1,200 are currently
participating in the act of protest.
The center, which is run by private correctional services company, GEO
Group, currently houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation
pending deportation.
"People in detention can't wait any longer," said Seattle-based attorney,
Sandy Restrepo, to Reuters. "They are human beings, not criminals, and they
deserve better treatment."
According to an attorney who represents a number of the detainees, the
strike will continue for the next five days. The detainees are calling for
an improvement in conditions at the facility and an end to deportation.
Among their demands are better food, more money for the work they do and
better treatment from the personnel at the facility.
"They're not eating and not working-the detainees are paid $1 per day to
work in the kitchen and in cleanup crews. In response, those who are more
actively involved are getting their blankets, pillows, and clothes taken
away," said a post on rights organization, Latino Advocacy's, Facebook page,
citing one of the strikers' lawyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
Supporters of the strike have so far gathered outside Northwest every day
since the strike began and plan to do so until Tuesday.
In response to the strike, the ICE said that all of the strikers are under
close observation by the facility's personnel and medical staff.
"ICE fully respects the rights of all people to express their opinion
without interference," said the company in a statement released to Al
Jazeera.
'Deporter-in-Chief'
The Obama Administration has come under increasing fire from rights groups
over its hardline immigration policy. The President has set the record of
the amount of deportations since he entered office, with nearly 2 million
people ejected from the US.
Earlier this week President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Janet
Murguia slammed Obama's immigration policy and branded him
"Deporter-in-Chief" in a speech at the NCLR's annual Capital Awards dinner.
"He can stop tearing families apart. He can stop throwing communities and
businesses into chaos. He can stop turning a blind eye to the harm being
done. He does have the power to stop this. Failure to act will be a shameful
legacy for his presidency," she said.
President Obama defended himself following the comments, maintaining he
cannot amend immigration policy until Congress acts.
"I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said
during a press conference. "But what I've said in the past remains true,
which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of
what I am able to do."
http://rt.com/usa/immigration-hunger-strike-us-746/
_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
Washington
Detaining immigrants for fun and profit.
"...private correctional services company, GEO Group, currently
houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation pending
deportation..."
Privatization has now replaced most of what we once called Democracy.
Besides immigrants being sold to Privateers, we are selling our prisoners,
our public education, our college students, our public highways and public
buildings. About all that's left for these Privateers to steal from us is
our privacy and our independence.
And it's all coming about with the approval and support of many Americans.
What could be the greatest dream of an Empire than to have slaves willing to
be owned, lock, stock and barrel?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2014 7:32 PM
Subject: Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Published time: March 09, 2014 13:36
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Image from olyblog.net)
At least 750 detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington have
gone on hunger strike to protest against deportations. Activists gathered
outside the facility in a demonstration to show their solidarity for the
strikers
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
Saturday that 750 detainees had refused their meals on Friday at the
Northwest Detention Facility in Tacoma, saying they were on a hunger strike.
However, supporters of the strikers say up to 1,200 are currently
participating in the act of protest.
The center, which is run by private correctional services company, GEO
Group, currently houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation
pending deportation.
"People in detention can't wait any longer," said Seattle-based attorney,
Sandy Restrepo, to Reuters. "They are human beings, not criminals, and they
deserve better treatment."
According to an attorney who represents a number of the detainees, the
strike will continue for the next five days. The detainees are calling for
an improvement in conditions at the facility and an end to deportation.
Among their demands are better food, more money for the work they do and
better treatment from the personnel at the facility.
"They're not eating and not working-the detainees are paid $1 per day to
work in the kitchen and in cleanup crews. In response, those who are more
actively involved are getting their blankets, pillows, and clothes taken
away," said a post on rights organization, Latino Advocacy's, Facebook page,
citing one of the strikers' lawyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
Supporters of the strike have so far gathered outside Northwest every day
since the strike began and plan to do so until Tuesday.
In response to the strike, the ICE said that all of the strikers are under
close observation by the facility's personnel and medical staff.
"ICE fully respects the rights of all people to express their opinion
without interference," said the company in a statement released to Al
Jazeera.
'Deporter-in-Chief'
The Obama Administration has come under increasing fire from rights groups
over its hardline immigration policy. The President has set the record of
the amount of deportations since he entered office, with nearly 2 million
people ejected from the US.
Earlier this week President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Janet
Murguia slammed Obama's immigration policy and branded him
"Deporter-in-Chief" in a speech at the NCLR's annual Capital Awards dinner.
"He can stop tearing families apart. He can stop throwing communities and
businesses into chaos. He can stop turning a blind eye to the harm being
done. He does have the power to stop this. Failure to act will be a shameful
legacy for his presidency," she said.
President Obama defended himself following the comments, maintaining he
cannot amend immigration policy until Congress acts.
"I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said
during a press conference. "But what I've said in the past remains true,
which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of
what I am able to do."
Share on tumblr
Comments (39)
Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Published time: March 09, 2014 13:36
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Image from olyblog.net)
&&&&&&&&&&
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&winname=addthis&pub=unknown&source
=tbx-300&lng=en-US&s=tumblr&url=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fusa%2Fimmigration-hung
er-strike-us-746%2F&title=%E2%80%8BHundreds%20of%20immigrant%20detainees%20g
o%20on%20hunger%20strike%20in%20Washington%20%E2%80%94%20RT%20USA&ate=AT-und
efined/-/-/531d229f054c0d4f/2&frommenu=1&uid=531d229fedef675a&ufbl=1&ct=1&tt
=0&captcha_provider=recaptcha
Tags
Crime, Immigration, Law, Security, USA
At least 750 detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington have
gone on hunger strike to protest against deportations. Activists gathered
outside the facility in a demonstration to show their solidarity for the
strikers
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
Saturday that 750 detainees had refused their meals on Friday at the
Northwest Detention Facility in Tacoma, saying they were on a hunger strike.
However, supporters of the strikers say up to 1,200 are currently
participating in the act of protest.
The center, which is run by private correctional services company, GEO
Group, currently houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation
pending deportation.
"People in detention can't wait any longer," said Seattle-based attorney,
Sandy Restrepo, to Reuters. "They are human beings, not criminals, and they
deserve better treatment."
According to an attorney who represents a number of the detainees, the
strike will continue for the next five days. The detainees are calling for
an improvement in conditions at the facility and an end to deportation.
Among their demands are better food, more money for the work they do and
better treatment from the personnel at the facility.
"They're not eating and not working-the detainees are paid $1 per day to
work in the kitchen and in cleanup crews. In response, those who are more
actively involved are getting their blankets, pillows, and clothes taken
away," said a post on rights organization, Latino Advocacy's, Facebook page,
citing one of the strikers' lawyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
Supporters of the strike have so far gathered outside Northwest every day
since the strike began and plan to do so until Tuesday.
In response to the strike, the ICE said that all of the strikers are under
close observation by the facility's personnel and medical staff.
"ICE fully respects the rights of all people to express their opinion
without interference," said the company in a statement released to Al
Jazeera.
'Deporter-in-Chief'
The Obama Administration has come under increasing fire from rights groups
over its hardline immigration policy. The President has set the record of
the amount of deportations since he entered office, with nearly 2 million
people ejected from the US.
Earlier this week President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Janet
Murguia slammed Obama's immigration policy and branded him
"Deporter-in-Chief" in a speech at the NCLR's annual Capital Awards dinner.
"He can stop tearing families apart. He can stop throwing communities and
businesses into chaos. He can stop turning a blind eye to the harm being
done. He does have the power to stop this. Failure to act will be a shameful
legacy for his presidency," she said.
President Obama defended himself following the comments, maintaining he
cannot amend immigration policy until Congress acts.
"I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said
during a press conference. "But what I've said in the past remains true,
which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of
what I am able to do."
&&&&&&&&&&
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&winname=addthis&pub=unknown&source
=tbx-300&lng=en-US&s=tumblr&url=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fusa%2Fimmigration-hung
er-strike-us-746%2F&title=%E2%80%8BHundreds%20of%20immigrant%20detainees%20g
o%20on%20hunger%20strike%20in%20Washington%20%E2%80%94%20RT%20USA&ate=AT-und
efined/-/-/531d229f054c0d4f/3&frommenu=1&uid=531d229fdd8d2977&ufbl=1&ct=1&tt
=0&captcha_provider=recaptcha
Hundreds of immigrant detainees go on hunger strike in Washington
Published time: March 09, 2014 13:36
Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma (Image from olyblog.net)
&&&&&&&&&&
http://www.addthis.com/bookmark.php?v=300&winname=addthis&pub=unknown&source
=tbx-300&lng=en-US&s=tumblr&url=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fusa%2Fimmigration-hung
er-strike-us-746%2F&title=%E2%80%8BHundreds%20of%20immigrant%20detainees%20g
o%20on%20hunger%20strike%20in%20Washington%20%E2%80%94%20RT%20USA&ate=AT-und
efined/-/-/531d229f054c0d4f/2&frommenu=1&uid=531d229fedef675a&ufbl=1&ct=1&tt
=0&captcha_provider=recaptcha
Tags
Crime, Immigration, Law, Security, USA
At least 750 detainees at an immigration detention center in Washington have
gone on hunger strike to protest against deportations. Activists gathered
outside the facility in a demonstration to show their solidarity for the
strikers
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) announced on
Saturday that 750 detainees had refused their meals on Friday at the
Northwest Detention Facility in Tacoma, saying they were on a hunger strike.
However, supporters of the strikers say up to 1,200 are currently
participating in the act of protest.
The center, which is run by private correctional services company, GEO
Group, currently houses about 1,300 people who are under investigation
pending deportation.
"People in detention can't wait any longer," said Seattle-based attorney,
Sandy Restrepo, to Reuters. "They are human beings, not criminals, and they
deserve better treatment."
According to an attorney who represents a number of the detainees, the
strike will continue for the next five days. The detainees are calling for
an improvement in conditions at the facility and an end to deportation.
Among their demands are better food, more money for the work they do and
better treatment from the personnel at the facility.
"They're not eating and not working-the detainees are paid $1 per day to
work in the kitchen and in cleanup crews. In response, those who are more
actively involved are getting their blankets, pillows, and clothes taken
away," said a post on rights organization, Latino Advocacy's, Facebook page,
citing one of the strikers' lawyers who preferred to remain anonymous.
Supporters of the strike have so far gathered outside Northwest every day
since the strike began and plan to do so until Tuesday.
In response to the strike, the ICE said that all of the strikers are under
close observation by the facility's personnel and medical staff.
"ICE fully respects the rights of all people to express their opinion
without interference," said the company in a statement released to Al
Jazeera.
'Deporter-in-Chief'
The Obama Administration has come under increasing fire from rights groups
over its hardline immigration policy. The President has set the record of
the amount of deportations since he entered office, with nearly 2 million
people ejected from the US.
Earlier this week President of the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) Janet
Murguia slammed Obama's immigration policy and branded him
"Deporter-in-Chief" in a speech at the NCLR's annual Capital Awards dinner.
"He can stop tearing families apart. He can stop throwing communities and
businesses into chaos. He can stop turning a blind eye to the harm being
done. He does have the power to stop this. Failure to act will be a shameful
legacy for his presidency," she said.
President Obama defended himself following the comments, maintaining he
cannot amend immigration policy until Congress acts.
"I am the champion-in-chief of comprehensive immigration reform," Obama said
during a press conference. "But what I've said in the past remains true,
which is until Congress passes a new law, then I am constrained in terms of
what I am able to do."
http://rt.com/usa/immigration-hunger-strike-us-746/
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Sunday, March 2, 2014
this cranks my engine
Subject: this is evil: or is it just business as usual?
What really cranks my engine, if anyone still recalls actually hand cranking
an engine, what cranks it for me is how we have come to a place where we
will sell out our own people for the golden carrot on the end of the
government's stick.
These drug stings are conducted to gather large numbers of "offenders". The
more numbers, the more federal dollars. It has nothing at all to do with
solving our growing national drug abuse. Are we cracking down on the drug
companies for pushing all of their "over the counter" pills? Are we
cleaning out the Drug Czars who bring in and distribute illegal drugs?
Are we cleaning up our slums, providing safe housing and jobs to the folks
forced to live there?
Are we building and staffing "state of the art" public schools in All of our
neighborhoods, teaching sound values and responsibility to All of our youth?
Are we providing the incentive of a free college education to those children
who are faithful to their studies. Imagine, a reward instead of an iron
fist.
We've been sold a load of crap by the Empire. We are told over and over
that such improvements cost too much. And besides, we are told, the Low
Life would not take advantage of such improvements. They'd steal the doors
and toilets and sell them to support their crack habit.
We buy this garbage without demanding proof. And meanwhile our tax dollars
go into killing...murdering innocent as well as guilty folks, without so
much as a hearing.
And we allow that to happen. We can't afford a higher quality of medical
care or education, but we can keep them drones flying, and build more
weapons of mass murder.
Meanwhile some smug, boy faced cop struts around proud that he took down an
autistic kid and helped ruin many other young lives.
Sleep well stupid cop. Your day will come.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 7:25 AM
Subject: RE: this is evil
It was a terrible thing to do to a disabled child. However, it was also
terrible to do it to the others as well. Their lives were also very
negatively affected for no good reason except that the Police departments
receive money for these kinds of actions.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of joe harcz
Comcast
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 6:18 AM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: this is evil
That is what I found so cruel of these so called adults.
That sort of cruelty by the system is evil.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marsha" <marcatony@yahoo.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 4:18 AM
Subject: Re: this is evil
> Hi
> This is so scary. Since all three of my grand children are on the autism
> spectrum. Not nearly as severe as Jessie but still on the spectrum.
>
> Marsha
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
_______________________________________________
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Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
What really cranks my engine, if anyone still recalls actually hand cranking
an engine, what cranks it for me is how we have come to a place where we
will sell out our own people for the golden carrot on the end of the
government's stick.
These drug stings are conducted to gather large numbers of "offenders". The
more numbers, the more federal dollars. It has nothing at all to do with
solving our growing national drug abuse. Are we cracking down on the drug
companies for pushing all of their "over the counter" pills? Are we
cleaning out the Drug Czars who bring in and distribute illegal drugs?
Are we cleaning up our slums, providing safe housing and jobs to the folks
forced to live there?
Are we building and staffing "state of the art" public schools in All of our
neighborhoods, teaching sound values and responsibility to All of our youth?
Are we providing the incentive of a free college education to those children
who are faithful to their studies. Imagine, a reward instead of an iron
fist.
We've been sold a load of crap by the Empire. We are told over and over
that such improvements cost too much. And besides, we are told, the Low
Life would not take advantage of such improvements. They'd steal the doors
and toilets and sell them to support their crack habit.
We buy this garbage without demanding proof. And meanwhile our tax dollars
go into killing...murdering innocent as well as guilty folks, without so
much as a hearing.
And we allow that to happen. We can't afford a higher quality of medical
care or education, but we can keep them drones flying, and build more
weapons of mass murder.
Meanwhile some smug, boy faced cop struts around proud that he took down an
autistic kid and helped ruin many other young lives.
Sleep well stupid cop. Your day will come.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Miriam Vieni" <miriamvieni@optonline.net>
To: "'Blind Democracy Discussion List'" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 7:25 AM
Subject: RE: this is evil
It was a terrible thing to do to a disabled child. However, it was also
terrible to do it to the others as well. Their lives were also very
negatively affected for no good reason except that the Police departments
receive money for these kinds of actions.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of joe harcz
Comcast
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 6:18 AM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: this is evil
That is what I found so cruel of these so called adults.
That sort of cruelty by the system is evil.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Marsha" <marcatony@yahoo.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 4:18 AM
Subject: Re: this is evil
> Hi
> This is so scary. Since all three of my grand children are on the autism
> spectrum. Not nearly as severe as Jessie but still on the spectrum.
>
> Marsha
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Blind-Democracy mailing list
> Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
> http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
_______________________________________________
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Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
but they fire a pregnant teacher?
Subject: Re: but they fire a pregnant teacher?
Joe and All Curious Ones.
Well, I am not suggesting that there are curious looking people on this
list, merely referring to our collective sense of curiosity.
But here's the sad news. The pregnant teacher was not a member of the
Protected Group. The Church, as does any tight knit organization, takes
care of its own. Therefore, they naturally protect their errant priests by
shuffling them off to other Diocese, after lecturing them and extracting a
vow that they will mend their ways.
They could very well have done this for the teacher, told her she was
naughty and would have to move to Podunk to the little mission school in
order to continue teaching.
Which brings up another curious omission. Where are the scandalous stories
about Nuns who slipped and became pregnant? Are Nuns really that much more
Faithful than Priests?
If this is true, and I see no evidence that it is not, then it stands to
reason that Women should become the High Priests of the Church.
I don't know about you, but I'd far prefer my little sons in the company of
Mother Mary than off in a corner with Father Dick.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 4:08 AM
Subject: but they fire a pregnant teacher?
Here's a story about the Montana Diocese filing bancruptcy for decades of
child abuse which is in fact organized rape! Yet they allowed the firing of
a single teacher for becoming pregnant because supposedly she had sinned and
was a bad role model?
Now as someone who loves the idea of justice, including social justice,
which in large part were notions given to me through Catholic teachings and
upbringing I find this stand or stance indefenseable and more than
hypocritical. The saddest thing about it is the taint upon positive
teachings and the bulk of practioners who do good things, and bad, for that
matter, but who imo are good folks.
If the Catholic Church didn't have 1.2 billion members I wouldn't care so
much, but like it or not it is a global force. Thus imo it is everyone's
business.
Joe
NATIONAL BRIEFING ROCKIES Montana: Diocese Files for Bankruptcy. By THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena filed for bankruptcy
protection
on Friday as part of a proposed $15 million settlement for hundreds of
victims who say clergy members sexually abused them over decades while the
church
covered it up. Dan Bartleson, a spokesman for the diocese, said the Chapter
11 bankruptcy reorganization plan came after confidential mediation sessions
with the plaintiffs' lawyers and insurers, resulting in the deal to resolve
the abuse claims. Federal Bankruptcy Court in Montana would be responsible
for approving and supervising the disbursement of $15 million to compensate
the 362 victims identified in two lawsuits, and at least $2.5 million will
be set aside for others who come forward, Mr. Bartleson said. The church
expects to pay that $2.5 million, with the rest to be paid by insurers, he
said.
It does not expect to have to liquidate assets or close programs, he said..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Joe and All Curious Ones.
Well, I am not suggesting that there are curious looking people on this
list, merely referring to our collective sense of curiosity.
But here's the sad news. The pregnant teacher was not a member of the
Protected Group. The Church, as does any tight knit organization, takes
care of its own. Therefore, they naturally protect their errant priests by
shuffling them off to other Diocese, after lecturing them and extracting a
vow that they will mend their ways.
They could very well have done this for the teacher, told her she was
naughty and would have to move to Podunk to the little mission school in
order to continue teaching.
Which brings up another curious omission. Where are the scandalous stories
about Nuns who slipped and became pregnant? Are Nuns really that much more
Faithful than Priests?
If this is true, and I see no evidence that it is not, then it stands to
reason that Women should become the High Priests of the Church.
I don't know about you, but I'd far prefer my little sons in the company of
Mother Mary than off in a corner with Father Dick.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 02, 2014 4:08 AM
Subject: but they fire a pregnant teacher?
Here's a story about the Montana Diocese filing bancruptcy for decades of
child abuse which is in fact organized rape! Yet they allowed the firing of
a single teacher for becoming pregnant because supposedly she had sinned and
was a bad role model?
Now as someone who loves the idea of justice, including social justice,
which in large part were notions given to me through Catholic teachings and
upbringing I find this stand or stance indefenseable and more than
hypocritical. The saddest thing about it is the taint upon positive
teachings and the bulk of practioners who do good things, and bad, for that
matter, but who imo are good folks.
If the Catholic Church didn't have 1.2 billion members I wouldn't care so
much, but like it or not it is a global force. Thus imo it is everyone's
business.
Joe
NATIONAL BRIEFING ROCKIES Montana: Diocese Files for Bankruptcy. By THE
ASSOCIATED PRESS. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena filed for bankruptcy
protection
on Friday as part of a proposed $15 million settlement for hundreds of
victims who say clergy members sexually abused them over decades while the
church
covered it up. Dan Bartleson, a spokesman for the diocese, said the Chapter
11 bankruptcy reorganization plan came after confidential mediation sessions
with the plaintiffs' lawyers and insurers, resulting in the deal to resolve
the abuse claims. Federal Bankruptcy Court in Montana would be responsible
for approving and supervising the disbursement of $15 million to compensate
the 362 victims identified in two lawsuits, and at least $2.5 million will
be set aside for others who come forward, Mr. Bartleson said. The church
expects to pay that $2.5 million, with the rest to be paid by insurers, he
said.
It does not expect to have to liquidate assets or close programs, he said..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
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more catholic stuff
Subject: Re: more catholic stuff
So where are the multitude of examples demonstrating Forgiveness,
Compassion and Unrequited Love?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Ventura" <frank.ventura@littlebreezes.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 12:59 PM
Subject: RE: more catholic stuff
Miriam, more to the point the church feels it must teach children that sin
has consequences and her being fired (expelled from the garden, etc) is just
one example.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 10:59 AM
To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
Subject: RE: more catholic stuff
The school administration believes that having sexual relations when you're
not married is a sin. That baby is proof of the teacher sinned. If she is
allowed to teach, the administration believes that the lesson the children
will learn is that the church condones what she did. They believe that it is
their responsibility to teach children not to sin.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 10:10 AM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: more catholic stuff
First and foremost, where is the Christian love in this firing of a
soon-to-be mother? Not only will the school administration teach her better
manners, but their punishment also impacts the innocent little babe.
But the example is set before the Administration in the very beginning of
Scriptures.
It was Eve who disobeyed God, only once, by plucking the fruit of the Tree
of Knowledge and sweet talking Adam into taking a bite. Did God call the
couple together and discuss their grave error? Did He suggest that they
might do some community service to pay for their mistake? No, without so
much as a "how dee doo", He banned them from the Garden of Eden. Naturally
this not only had a negative impact upon their life style, but on their
children and upon all generations since then.
In our Fairy Tales, it is the wicked witch or wizard or evil step-mother who
treats others in such a harsh manner. But in the Bible, it is our Loving
Father.
How can the school's administration do differently?
We are railing against their Bible based actions, when we should be opposing
the Myth itself.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 5:00 AM
Subject: more catholic stuff
20,000 support Mont. teacher fired for pregnancy By John S. Adams USA TODAY
More than 20,000 people from across the USA have called on the Catholic
diocese
here to reverse its decision to fire an unmarried middle school teacher who
is pregnant. Supporters delivered a petition Thursday to Bishop George Leo
Thomas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, calling the Jan. 10 decision
to fire Shaela Evenson of Butte Central Elementary-Junior High School
hypocritical.
"Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and
hypocritical," said the petition from Faithful America, a social justice
group that says
it is dedicated to reclaiming Christianity from the religious right. "Give
Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis' words about love
and healing more seriously. The school fired Evenson, a literature and
physical education teacher for eight years, after the diocese received an
anonymous
letter informing administrators that she was having a child out of wedlock.
The Catholic Church teaches that sex between a man and a woman is reserved
for marriage and condemns abortion a grave evil. Aaron Viles, Faithful
America deputy director, said the organization did not consult Evenson
before taking
action on her behalf. "This petition came from the staff of Faithful
America," Viles said Thursday. "We saw her story and were inspired to take
action.
The organization's initial goal was 15,000 signatures; almost 22,000 were
recorded online Friday afternoon. MoveOn.org has a duplicate petition on its
website that has received almost 900 signatures. A friend on gofundme.com
also is raising money for Everson, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy.
Susan
Hawthorne, a friend of Evenson, and Margaret Rankin, a longtime member of
the Helena Diocese, delivered the petition to Thomas' office at the chancery
near the Cathedral of St. Helena. Rankin, a parishioner at St. Teresa's
Catholic Church in Whitehall, Mont., who also graduated from the diocese's
Carroll
College, said she didn't expect the petition to have much of an influence on
the church. "The only way that change could be made is if (Pope) Francis
himself
came and asked for that change to be made, and I doubt that would happen,"
she said. The diocese encompasses 21 counties and parts of two others in
western
Montana and ministers to almost 45,000 parishioners. More than 1,000
children are enrolled in a half dozen elementary and secondary schools in
Browning,
Butte, Kalispell and Missoula; Carroll College here has more than 1,500
students. The Helena Diocese filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 31 as part
of
a proposed $15 million settlement for more than 350 victims who say clergy
sexually abused them for decades while the church covered it up. Thomas was
not at his office to receive the petition about Evenson, but diocese
spokesman Dan Bartleson took the missive and signatures and said the bishop
would
take the matter under advisement. Bartleson said he did have time to discuss
the matter briefly with Thomas before Thursday's developments.
<! --iframe-->
"At this time it's unlikely, right now, that he would reverse the decision
that was made in Butte," Bartleson said. In a written statement handed out
to
reporters, Thomas said Pope Francis in January asked Catholic educators to
"give uncompromising and unambiguous witness to church teaching and defend
themselves
from all efforts to dilute their Catholic identity. "I am deeply saddened by
these recent events, and caught between the values of upholding the Catholic
identity of our schools while desiring to provide pastoral outreach and
understanding to the teacher," Thomas said. "At the end of the day, there
are no
easy answers or facile solutions. The diocese has declined to comment on
Evenson's firing, citing her right to privacy. Evenson declined to comment
and
referred questions to her lawyer, Brian Butler of Cincinnati. Butler said
Evenson is pursuing administrative relief and all employers, including
religious
organizations, have to follow state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
"There are state and federal laws that specifically protect women from
discrimination
because they are pregnant," Butler said. Evenson is not Catholic and never
has been, her lawyer said. "Besides being an outstanding educator and an
inspiration
to her young students, Shaela is in a long-term, committed relationship,
said Evenson's friend who is raising money on gofundme.com, Jen Hensley.
"This
pregnancy is hard fought and very much wanted. In June, in a case Butler
described as having "nearly identical" circumstances to Evenson's firing, a
federal
jury found the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati discriminated
against a Catholic school teacher fired after she became pregnant through
artificial
insemination. The jury awarded Christa Dias more than $170,000 in an
anti-discrimination lawsuit. Butler's firm represented Dias in that case.
"These cases
are nearly identical. She (Dias) was not Catholic, and she didn't teach any
religion," Butler said. "She decided to have a child, and when the school
found
out she was pregnant, she was terminated. John S. Adams also reports for the
Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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So where are the multitude of examples demonstrating Forgiveness,
Compassion and Unrequited Love?
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "Frank Ventura" <frank.ventura@littlebreezes.com>
To: "Blind Democracy Discussion List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 12:59 PM
Subject: RE: more catholic stuff
Miriam, more to the point the church feels it must teach children that sin
has consequences and her being fired (expelled from the garden, etc) is just
one example.
Frank
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Miriam Vieni
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 10:59 AM
To: 'Blind Democracy Discussion List'
Subject: RE: more catholic stuff
The school administration believes that having sexual relations when you're
not married is a sin. That baby is proof of the teacher sinned. If she is
allowed to teach, the administration believes that the lesson the children
will learn is that the church condones what she did. They believe that it is
their responsibility to teach children not to sin.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounces@octothorp.org] On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 10:10 AM
To: Blind Democracy Discussion List
Subject: Re: more catholic stuff
First and foremost, where is the Christian love in this firing of a
soon-to-be mother? Not only will the school administration teach her better
manners, but their punishment also impacts the innocent little babe.
But the example is set before the Administration in the very beginning of
Scriptures.
It was Eve who disobeyed God, only once, by plucking the fruit of the Tree
of Knowledge and sweet talking Adam into taking a bite. Did God call the
couple together and discuss their grave error? Did He suggest that they
might do some community service to pay for their mistake? No, without so
much as a "how dee doo", He banned them from the Garden of Eden. Naturally
this not only had a negative impact upon their life style, but on their
children and upon all generations since then.
In our Fairy Tales, it is the wicked witch or wizard or evil step-mother who
treats others in such a harsh manner. But in the Bible, it is our Loving
Father.
How can the school's administration do differently?
We are railing against their Bible based actions, when we should be opposing
the Myth itself.
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 5:00 AM
Subject: more catholic stuff
20,000 support Mont. teacher fired for pregnancy By John S. Adams USA TODAY
More than 20,000 people from across the USA have called on the Catholic
diocese
here to reverse its decision to fire an unmarried middle school teacher who
is pregnant. Supporters delivered a petition Thursday to Bishop George Leo
Thomas of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Helena, calling the Jan. 10 decision
to fire Shaela Evenson of Butte Central Elementary-Junior High School
hypocritical.
"Firing an unmarried teacher for becoming pregnant is cruel and
hypocritical," said the petition from Faithful America, a social justice
group that says
it is dedicated to reclaiming Christianity from the religious right. "Give
Shaela Evenson her job back, and start taking Pope Francis' words about love
and healing more seriously. The school fired Evenson, a literature and
physical education teacher for eight years, after the diocese received an
anonymous
letter informing administrators that she was having a child out of wedlock.
The Catholic Church teaches that sex between a man and a woman is reserved
for marriage and condemns abortion a grave evil. Aaron Viles, Faithful
America deputy director, said the organization did not consult Evenson
before taking
action on her behalf. "This petition came from the staff of Faithful
America," Viles said Thursday. "We saw her story and were inspired to take
action.
The organization's initial goal was 15,000 signatures; almost 22,000 were
recorded online Friday afternoon. MoveOn.org has a duplicate petition on its
website that has received almost 900 signatures. A friend on gofundme.com
also is raising money for Everson, who is in her eighth month of pregnancy.
Susan
Hawthorne, a friend of Evenson, and Margaret Rankin, a longtime member of
the Helena Diocese, delivered the petition to Thomas' office at the chancery
near the Cathedral of St. Helena. Rankin, a parishioner at St. Teresa's
Catholic Church in Whitehall, Mont., who also graduated from the diocese's
Carroll
College, said she didn't expect the petition to have much of an influence on
the church. "The only way that change could be made is if (Pope) Francis
himself
came and asked for that change to be made, and I doubt that would happen,"
she said. The diocese encompasses 21 counties and parts of two others in
western
Montana and ministers to almost 45,000 parishioners. More than 1,000
children are enrolled in a half dozen elementary and secondary schools in
Browning,
Butte, Kalispell and Missoula; Carroll College here has more than 1,500
students. The Helena Diocese filed for bankruptcy protection Jan. 31 as part
of
a proposed $15 million settlement for more than 350 victims who say clergy
sexually abused them for decades while the church covered it up. Thomas was
not at his office to receive the petition about Evenson, but diocese
spokesman Dan Bartleson took the missive and signatures and said the bishop
would
take the matter under advisement. Bartleson said he did have time to discuss
the matter briefly with Thomas before Thursday's developments.
<! --iframe-->
"At this time it's unlikely, right now, that he would reverse the decision
that was made in Butte," Bartleson said. In a written statement handed out
to
reporters, Thomas said Pope Francis in January asked Catholic educators to
"give uncompromising and unambiguous witness to church teaching and defend
themselves
from all efforts to dilute their Catholic identity. "I am deeply saddened by
these recent events, and caught between the values of upholding the Catholic
identity of our schools while desiring to provide pastoral outreach and
understanding to the teacher," Thomas said. "At the end of the day, there
are no
easy answers or facile solutions. The diocese has declined to comment on
Evenson's firing, citing her right to privacy. Evenson declined to comment
and
referred questions to her lawyer, Brian Butler of Cincinnati. Butler said
Evenson is pursuing administrative relief and all employers, including
religious
organizations, have to follow state and federal anti-discrimination laws.
"There are state and federal laws that specifically protect women from
discrimination
because they are pregnant," Butler said. Evenson is not Catholic and never
has been, her lawyer said. "Besides being an outstanding educator and an
inspiration
to her young students, Shaela is in a long-term, committed relationship,
said Evenson's friend who is raising money on gofundme.com, Jen Hensley.
"This
pregnancy is hard fought and very much wanted. In June, in a case Butler
described as having "nearly identical" circumstances to Evenson's firing, a
federal
jury found the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati discriminated
against a Catholic school teacher fired after she became pregnant through
artificial
insemination. The jury awarded Christa Dias more than $170,000 in an
anti-discrimination lawsuit. Butler's firm represented Dias in that case.
"These cases
are nearly identical. She (Dias) was not Catholic, and she didn't teach any
religion," Butler said. "She decided to have a child, and when the school
found
out she was pregnant, she was terminated. John S. Adams also reports for the
Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune.
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this is evil(so says Joe)
Subject: this is evil(so says Joe)
Remember Joe, if there is Evil, it was Created by God, who knows the
beginning and the end and who created All.
But that begs the issue. We have been sold a load of crap when it comes to
our War on Drugs. Just like our War on Terror, we are losing the very
people we proclaim to be "protecting".
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 11:44 AM
Subject: this is evil
The Entrapment of Jesse Snodgrass . How did an autistic teen loner get
targeted by an undercover cop? By Sabrina Rubin Erdely . Jesse snodgrass
plodded
around yet another stucco corner, searching for Room 254 in time for the
second-period bell, only to find he was lost yet again. Jesse felt a
familiar
surge of panic. He was new to Chaparral High School and still hadn't figured
out how to navigate the sprawling Southern California campus with its
outdoor
maze of identical courtyards studded with baby palm trees. Gripping his
backpack straps, the 17-year-old took some deep breaths. Gliding all around
him
were his new peers, chatting as they walked in slouchy pairs and in packs.
Many of their mouths were turned up, baring teeth, which Jesse recognized as
smiles, a signal that they were happy. Once he regained his composure, he
followed the spray-painted Chaparral Puma paw prints on the ground, his gait
stiff and soldierly, and prayed that his classroom would materialize. He was
already prepared to declare his third day of school a disaster. At last,
Jesse
found his art class, where students were milling about in the final moments
before the bell. He had resigned himself to maintaining a dignified silence
when a slightly stocky kid with light-brown hair ambled over and said, "Hi.
"Hi," Jesse answered cautiously. Nearly six feet tall, Jesse glanced down to
scan the kid's heart-shaped face, and seeing the corners of his mouth were
turned up, Jesse relaxed a bit. The kid introduced himself as Daniel Briggs.
Daniel told Jesse that he, too, was new to Chaparral - he'd just moved from
Redlands, an hour away, to the suburb of Temecula - and, like Jesse, who'd
recently relocated from the other side of town, was starting his senior
year. Jesse squinted and took a long moment to mull over Daniel's words.
Meanwhile,
Daniel sized up Jesse, taking in his muscular build and clenched jaw that
topped off Jesse's skater-tough look: Metal Mulisha T-shirt, calf-length
Dickies,
buzz-cut hair and a stiff-brimmed baseball hat. A classic suburban thug.
Lowering his voice, Daniel asked if Jesse knew where he might be able to get
some
weed. "Yeah, man, I can get you some," Jesse answered in his slow monotone,
every word stretched out and articulated with odd precision. Daniel asked
for
his phone number, and Jesse obliged, his insides roiling with both triumph
and anxiety. On one hand, Jesse could hardly believe his good fortune: His
conversation
with Daniel would stand as the only meaningful interaction he'd have with
another kid all day. On the other hand, Jesse had no idea where to get
marijuana.
All Jesse knew in August 2012 was that he had somehow made a friend. Though
it smacks of suburban myth or TV make-believe, undercover drug stings occur
in high schools with surprising frequency, with self-consciously dopey names
like "Operation DMinus" and, naturally, "Operation Jump Street. They're
elaborate
stings in which adult undercover officers go to great lengths to pass as
authentic teens: turning in homework, enduring detention, attending house
parties
and using current slang, having Googled the terms beforehand to ensure their
correctness. In Tennessee last year, a 22-year-old policewoman emerging from
10 months undercover credited her mom's job as an acting coach as key to her
performance as a drug-seekingstudent, which was convincing enough to have
14 people arrested. Other operations go even further to establish veracity,
like a San Diego-area sting last year that practically elevated policing to
performance art, in which three undercover deputies had "parents" who
attended back-to-school nights; announcing the first of the sting's 19
arrests, Sheriff
Bill Gore boasted this method of snaring teens was "almost too easy. The
practice was first pioneered in 1974 by the LAPD, which soon staged annual
undercover
busts that most years arrested scores of high schoolers; by the Eighties, it
had spread as a favored strategy in the War on Drugs. Communities loved it:
Each bust generated headlines and reassured citizens that police were
proactivelycombating drugs. Cops loved the stings, too, which not only
served as
a major morale boost but could also be lucrative. "Any increase in narcotics
arrests is good for police departments. It's all about numbers," says former
LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing, who now works with the advocacy group Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition and views these operations with scorn. "This
is not about public safety - the public is no safer, and the school grounds
are no safer. The more arrests you have, the more funding you can get
through
federal grants and overtime. Yet despite the busts' popularity, their inner
workings were shrouded in secrecy, with few details publicly released about
their tactics and overall effectiveness. And as time went on, officers and
school administrators became alarmed by the results they saw: large numbers
of kids arrested for small quantities of drugs - and who, due to "zero
tolerance" policies, were usually expelled from school. No studies appear to
exist
on the efficacy of high school drug stings, but the data on undercover
operations in general isn't encouraging. A 2007 Department of
Justice-fundedmeta-
analysis slammed the practice of police sting operations, finding that they
reduce crime for a limited time - three months to a year - if at all. "At
best,
they are a stopgap measure," and at worst, an expensive waste of police
resources, which "may prevent the use of other, more effective
problem-solving
techniques. The federal study concludes that sting operations reap little
more than one consistent benefit: "favorable publicity" for police. To be
sure,
public-relations speed bumps have appeared now and again, like when a female
LAPD narc allegedly romanced a high school football player, which surfaced
via her steamy love letters, or when a developmentally disabled child was
swept up in another Los Angeles bust after selling $9 worth of marijuana to
an
undercover. But until now, no department seems to have gone so far as to lay
a trap for an autistic kid. From his seat at a worktable in the art room,
Deputy Daniel Zipperstein observed his target and tablemate, Jesse
Snodgrass. Like all the other students, Deputy Zipperstein was busily
working on the
day's class assignment, building a sculpture using cardboard, paper and
wire, but Jesse was clearly flummoxed by the project's complexity. Their
ponytailed
teacher, James Taylor, paused by the boys' table. "Jesse, OK," Taylor
instructed, holding up a piece of cardboard. "Today's task will be to cut
out six
cardboard squares of this size. Taylor took pains to pare down each
assignment into bite-size chunks for Jesse, but even so, he'd need to keep
circling
back to remind Jesse to stay on his single small task. Zipperstein watched
Jesse slowly pick up the scissors and get to work. No one at Chaparral High
School knew that transfer student "Daniel Briggs" was in fact a cop in his
mid-twenties; as is typical in such an investigation, only a few top
district
administrators were aware of the operation. With Daniel's Billabong Tshirts,
camo shorts and Vans, "he looked just like an average kid," remembers
student
Jessica Flores, then 17. Handsome and quick to smile, Daniel was meeting new
friends with remarkable ease, though some students remained wary, due to his
habit of interrupting strangers' conversations whenever the subject of drugs
came up - for which he quickly acquired the nickname "Deputy Dan. Madalyn
Dunn, then 17, was startled while she chatted with friends during shop
class, and the new kid leapt right in: "Are you talking about ketamine? Dan
said,
then asked if she'd sell him some, which she declined. Nonetheless, the two
wound up walking to fourth period together, bonding over their fondness for
pot. After that, Madalyn says, Daniel wouldn't stop asking her for drugs.
"Oh, come on," he'd pester. Deputy Dan was just as aggressive with Jesse
Snodgrass,
pursuing the friendless boy outside the confines of school. Jesse's mom,
Catherine, and his dad, Doug, an engineer, had been delighted when Jesse had
come
home talking about his new friend from art class; they'd been even more
surprised when Daniel had started buzzing Jesse's otherwise-silent phone
with texts.
Jesse had only ever had one friend before, another special-ed kid who'd
recently moved to Alabama, leaving Jesse bereft. And now that Jesse had
switched
to a new school - a move foisted upon the Snodgrasses when their old house
had gone into foreclosure - he had been especially agitated lately. It was
only
the latest distress in a lifetime of everyday struggles, which Catherine and
Doug did their best to help Jesse navigate, fighting the constant battles
waged by the parents of children on the autism spectrum: sticking up for him
when he was ostracized from playgrounds or asked to leave restaurants as a
child; standing up to school districts to secure Jesse equal access to
education. Though the Snodgrasses also had two younger children at home,
Jesse's
needs had long made him a focal point. They were ready for his life to get
easier and were thrilled with the calming prospect of this new friendship.
"Why
don't you tell Daniel to come over? Catherine urged. "OK. Jesse hunched over
his phone as his mom drove him home through the clean streets of Temecula
- a planned suburban community northeast of San Diego, population 100,000 -
past the big-box strip malls and into their neighborhood of
Mediterranean-style
homes, where a man-made duck pond sparkled and joggers bounced past. Jesse's
phone vibrated. "He can't do it today, he's grounded," Jesse recited. Made
sense to him. Daniel had already told Jesse that he was always in trouble
with his strict mom, a conflict that left him superstressed - which was why
Daniel
"really needed" Jesse to hook him up with some pot. "Maybe another time. You
guys could order pizza, play video games, just hang out," Catherine said.
Forging friendships was normally so hard for Jesse, who had the cognitive
skills of an 11-year-old and was nearly oblivious to the facial expressions,
body language, vocal tones and other contextual cues that make up basic
social interactions. He was slow to draw inferences or interpret the casual
idioms
other kids used, like "catch you later," a phrase Jesse had initially found
startling, since it turned out to involve no catching whatsoever. As a
toddler,
he'd once been terrified for days after his preschool teacher told him,
"I'll keep my eye on you. Jesse had seemed typical enough until age two.
Then words
started disappearing from his vocabulary, and he spoke in a sporadic,
garbled language. His parents grew worried: Their young son made no eye
contact and
scarcely registered the presence of other people, but drew hundreds of
pictures of their vacuum cleaner and would spend hours waving a crayon in
front
of his face, entranced by the fan of color it etched in the air. When Jesse
was five, a neurologist diagnosed him with Asperger's syndrome, a variant of
autism; over the years, Jesse's diagnoses would expand to include
Tourette's, bipolar disorder and depression. An evaluator prepared the
Snodgrasses for
the possibility that Jesse might never speak again. Catherine quit her
advertising job to plunge Jesse into intensive autism therapies. Amazingly,
the
interventions got him back on track enough that he was able to attend
regular school, taking special-ed classes and mainstream electives, with a
counseling
team to help him manage. But Jesse's difficulties were hardly over. He was
bullied throughout middle school, mocked as a "retard. He lashed out at his
tormentors and, in doing so, developed a discipline record, with suspensions
for fighting and many a day penalized in "lunch club," scraping gum from
under
desks. Jesse rarely complained about his mistreatment; he was a boy who
didn't think to ask for help. Instead, he vented his frustrations with
episodes
of headbanging, scratching and punching himself, violent and bloody bursts
of selfinjury. It took Jesse years of therapy to wean himself from those
self-injurious
impulses and soothe himself instead with benign motor tics like wringing his
hands or snapping his fingers when he felt anxious. He also found another
way to cope. During his sophomore year of high school, Jesse shaved his
head, began lifting weights and developed a new persona his therapist Jason
Agnetti
came to call his "bro identity. Dressed in wife-beaters that showed off his
biceps, saggy jeans and baseball caps, Jesse would stomp around school,
dropping
f-bombs and calling other kids "retards. He talked about extreme sports like
motocross, offroading and skateboarding, even though in reality he couldn't
ride a bike or even tie his own shoelaces. In his junior year, Jesse drew a
bong on his notebook and called himself "Jesse Smokegrass," despite his
inexperience
with pot. By emulating the bad-boy swagger of his own bullies, Jesse was
putting on a suit of armor. Though his parents were a little concerned - and
irritated
with all his unnecessary posing - they saw it as a phase and, in that
regard, not unlike other powerful antagonistic personae Jesse had identified
with
in the past. "There was a period of time when he was really obsessed with
the Undertaker, the wrestler," says Doug. "And in fourth grade, he was
obsessed
with Bowser in Super Mario. To some extent, the bro disguise worked, making
Jesse less approachable and even, from a distance, menacing. Anyone who took
a closer look, however, could see past the facade. As he strode the halls of
Chaparral, with his robot walk and compulsive finger-snapping, it was clear
that something was amiss. "You could see right away that there's something
off about him," says Perry Pickett, who at the time was a Chaparral junior.
And as soon as Jesse spoke -with his flat affect, slow response time and
inability to follow any but the simplest instructions - his impairment was
obvious.
And yet Deputy Dan was unrelenting. As the weeks went by and Jesse continued
to stall, Daniel sent Jesse 60 text messages,hounding him to deliver on his
promise to get marijuana. "He was pretty much stalking me," remembers Jesse.
"With the begging for the drugs and everything, it was kind of a drag.
Already
anxious about his new home and new school, Jesse was conflicted. He knew he
didn't really want to get marijuana for Daniel - not that he even knew how
- and that the drug requests were ratcheting up his anxiety to an
intolerable level. But Jesse also desperately wanted Daniel to like him and
didn't want
to fail his new friend. Daniel's oft-stated plight that his home life made
him so unhappy that he needed to self-medicate struck a certain chord with
Jesse,
who also needed pharmaceuticals in order to function. "I take medication for
my own issues," Jesse confessed to Daniel, rattling them off: Depakote,
Lamictal,
Clonazepam. Burdened by his sense of obligation, frightened and helpless,
the pressure was too much for Jesse to handle. One day the turmoil had been
so
great that after art class, Jesse fled to the boys' bathroom and burned his
arm with a lighter. Three weeks into the school year, Doug and Catherine
Snodgrass
held a meeting with Jesse's educational-support team, in light of Jesse's
self-inflicted burn, to discuss their son's transition to Chaparral. "They
were
concerned about him building friendships at the school," attendee Delfina
Gomez, Jesse's behavioral-health specialist, would later testify. Unaware
that
Jesse was being befriended by a narc, the team assured the Snodgrasses that
overseeing Jesse was a priority for them, includingfinding him "a classroom
buddy, peer buddy or peer leader. Elsewhere in the building that same day,
Daniel pressed $20 into Jesse's hand. "I'll see what I can get you," Jesse
told
him. 'I 'm gonna meet daniel before class," Jesse told his father five days
later while on the drive to school. He bent to read the screen of his phone.
"Take me to the Outback Steakhouse. Jesse was jumpy. He'd asked Daniel to
come over to his house for the marijuana handoff, but Daniel was insisting
on
meeting at a strip mall adjacent to Chaparral's ball fields. Daniel's car
was already parked in the empty lot when Doug and Jesse arrived at 7:10 a.m.
Jesse leapt out of the station wagon. "Stay here," Jesse instructed his
father. Doug, proud of his son's social accomplishment, contented himself
with
a friendly wave at the young fellow before driving off. Daniel waved back.
The previous weekend, saddled with Daniel's $20 bill, Jesse had agonized
over
how to get his hands on some pot. At last, the answer hit him. The
medical-marijuana dispensary in downtown Temecula sold marijuana! Jesse
congratulated
himself on his logic. He and his family often spent leisurely afternoons
browsing downtown's pedestrian thoroughfare, where Jesse would branch off
for
an hour of solo exploration before reconnecting at the Root Beer Company for
sodas. Sure enough, that weekend Jesse wandered toward the dispensary and
approached a pale man with bad skin and longish hair - "he kind of had that
look of a junkie," Jesse says - who took his $20 and, to Jesse's infinite
relief,
handed him a clear sandwich baggie with weed inside. Now, standing with
Daniel beside his car and in a hurry to get this nerverackingerrand over
with,
Jesse thrust the precious stash into his hands. Daniel glanced at it. It was
a pathetic half-gram of dried-up flakes - about five dollars' worth of
marijuana,
maybe enough to roll a single skinny joint. Still, Daniel seemed satisfied.
He threw it in his glove compartment and suggested they get to class. Later
that day, Deputy Zipperstein handed off the baggie to another deputy, who
transported it to a police station, where the drugs were field-tested by yet
another officer, then ceremoniously weighed, photographed and tagged as
evidence: sus - snodgrass, jesse $20/.6 gram marijuana buy #1. The picture
was
transferred onto CD for posterity. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department
was becoming expert at this sort of thing. Over the previous two years, it
had staged two stings in other school districts, arresting 14 students at
Palm Desert High School in 2010, and 24 students from Moreno Valley and
Wildomar
high schools in 2011; in both cases, undercovers had bought marijuana,
Ecstasy and cocaine. So when in July 2012 the sheriff's department had
approached
the Temecula Valley Unified School District to report a suspicion of drug
sales in two high schools, Superintendent Timothy Ritter had granted
permission
for Operation Glasshouse. (All TVUSD personnel declined comment, citing
litigation.) His compliance seemed natural in conservative Temecula, a
former tiny
ranching town whose population had exploded over the past 20 years as people
seeking affordable homes moved inland - many of them military families from
Camp Pendleton - and where police maintained an aggressive presence, intent
on keeping it an oasis of order. Two young, attractive deputies were chosen
for Operation Glasshouse. Deputy Yesenia Hernandez was enrolled in Temecula
Valley High School. Petite and outgoing, she was an instant hit, especially
with the boys, who misread her attentions. Deputy Daniel Zipperstein was
dispatched to Chaparral, where, as the new kid constantly talking about
drugs,
he had to overcome some initial skepticism. "Ask him for his badge number!
some kids playfully called out, when at lunch time he asked to sit with a
bunch
of selfdescribed "happy stoners. Daniel laughed along, joking back in a
goofy voice, "Yeah, OK, you're all under arrest. But Zipperstein disarmed
kids
with his frank approach, explaining, "I'm new, I don't have any friends here
yet. He was quick to open up about his pretend personal life, telling kids
he'd had to move from his dad's in Redlands to live with his irritating
mother. "It's so hard to deal with my mom and shit," he said. "She's always
bitching.
To escape her tyranny, all he wanted to do was lock himself in his room and
get high. Remembers student Perry Pickett, "I dunno, I felt bad for the kid.
Girls thought it charming when Daniel said he still traveled to Redlands
each weekend to visit his girlfriend - whose favorite activity,
incidentally,
was getting high together. "We were like, 'OK, that's romantic, I guess,'"
says Jessica Flores, who sold him a gram or so of marijuana a half-dozen
times.
But although Daniel was in a relationship, that didn't stop him from
admiring other girls, like when, during one lunch period with a view into
the dance
room, Daniel exhorted about a 15-year-old in spandex, "Dang, look at the ass
on that one! Before long, kids accepted Daniel as one of their own, enough
that his unusual persistence in ferreting out drugs stopped raising red
flags, as well as his notably indiscriminate appetite. "If you mentioned
weed,
he wanted weed," says Madalyn, who sold him some of her marijuana, LSD and
molly. "If I brought up acid, that's what he wanted. He said he wanted to
get
coke. He had no limitation. Students also overlooked how odd it was for a
high schooler to have so much cash, giving it out with such abandon. Once,
when
he handed Perry $15, asking for weed, and Perry came back empty-handed,
Daniel told him to keep the money. "I felt like I owed him something," says
Perry,
who, due to his learning difficulties, was a special-needs student with an
individualized learning plan. He had felt especially bad because Daniel had
been so open and vulnerable about his lousy family situation. So when Perry
heard that a kid in his third-period class was selling Vicodin swiped from
his parents' medicine cabinet, he offered to introduce Daniel.Strangely
enough, he says, Daniel demurred, but instead handed Perry $14, instructed
him
to buy $10 worth of pills on his behalf - thus creating the transaction
necessary for a bust - and to keep the change. "I was like, 'All right, four
bucks!
That's a couple chicken sandwiches right there!' says Perry. Meanwhile,
Perry's 16-year-old friend Sebastian Eppinger, seeing how careless Daniel
was with
his money, thought he recognized an opportunity and agreed to act as a
middleman. "I ripped him off superbad," says Sebastian. "I sold him 20
bucks' worth
of weed for $80. Any skepticism about Daniel being a narc evaporated after
Perry delivered him his Vicodin. Grinning and thanking him profusely, Daniel
informed Perry and Sebastian he didn't swallow Vicodin, he smoked it. The
boys were dubious, so Daniel described how he'd rub off the pill's coating,
grind
it to powder, then freebase it off tinfoil. To demonstrate, Daniel popped
the pill into his mouth and sucked it, then spat it out and rubbed it on his
shirt, explaining that it was now ready for crushing and smoking. "I heard
you can do the same thing with heroin," Daniel said, dropping a hint about
his
next drug target. The boys didn't pick up on the bait; they were agog,
having learned a new drug-taking technique. As autumn drew to a close,
Daniel had
little contact with Jesse Snodgrass anymore. He'd managed to give Jesse
another $20, two weeks after the first sale - and, in return, got an even
skimpier
amount of marijuana than the first time, under a half-gram. But then Daniel
had asked Jesse to sell him some Clonazepam, Jesse's anxiety medication.
Jesse
was adamant in his refusal: That was his medicine - he needed it. When Jesse
wouldn't budge, Daniel completely lost interest in their friendship. The
rejection
stung. Jesse's parents would inquire about Daniel, and he'd shrug it off. He
tried to forget about it and focus on the things that mattered, like passing
algebra. Against all odds, Jesse was inching his way toward a high school
diploma. On the morning of December 11th, the door to Jesse's art classroom
burst
open, and five armed police officers in bulletproof vests rushed in, calling
his name. Jesse was handcuffed in front of his classmates. He thought maybe
he was asleep and dreaming. "I was confused," he remembers. "I didn't know
what was going on," and he didn't connect the events back to Daniel. Neither
did Madalyn or Jessica, who also were arrested in their classrooms; the
three of them, along with two other boys, were paraded in handcuffs out of
Chaparral
and into a police van. At the same time, in a classroom at nearby Rancho
Vista continuation high school, Perry - who'd transferred to get better
one-on-one
special-needs attention - was being shackled; and Sebastian, sick at home,
awoke to find his bedroom filled with cops. Fifteen students from Temecula
Valley
High School were also rounded up, bringing the number of students arrested
in Operation Glasshouse to an impressive 22. The scale of the takedown
operation
was enormous, from the swarming officers in tactical gear to the police
helicopter hovering overhead. Authorities announced they had seized
marijuana,
Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, meth and prescription drugs. Though it
declined to divulge the quantities, the sheriff's office insisted that the
amounts
collected were beside the point: "The program is not designed to recover
large amounts of drugs," it said in a statement to RS. "The program is
designed
to quell hand-to-hand narcotics transactions on campus. That evening, the
big drug bust would be the talk of Southern California, with newscasts
leading
with the story - prominently featuring a dramatic photograph of a tall boy
dressed in a gray hoodie and black Dickies, his hands cuffed behind his
back,
f lanked by armed officers. Jesse Snodgrass had just become Operation
Glasshouse's unlikely poster child. Why do you think you're here? "I don't
know,"
Jesse answered. "I was just called up and that's why I'm wondering. In a
plain-walled interrogation room at the Perris police station, near Temecula,
Jesse
sat stiffly in a chair, hands clenched. Across the table, hunched over a
clipboard, sat a lean man with stringy blond hair, a plaid shirt and a
police
badge hanging from his neck. Jesse was anxious to clear up this whole
misunderstanding and go home. For more than an hour, he'd been waiting in a
common
area in tense silence with 21 other kids, the vast majority of them Mexican-
American boys, desperately studying their downcast faces for clues. None had
been told the reason for their arrests and were forbidden to talk. Any time
they'd made a sound, officers barked, "You better shut your mouth. Jesse had
watched as one by one they'd been called into this little room, although one
key nuance had eluded him: Each had emerged looking shocked and terrified;
one girl had a fullblown panic attack. "All right," said the deputy from the
Riverside County Sheriff's Special Investigations Bureau, looking up from
his clipboard. "Have you ever sold drugs? "No. Jesse was resolute. "You
sure? "Yeah, I'm sure," answered Jesse. He'd been as compliant as possible
with
his answers, having waived his Miranda rights - though he hadn't entirely
understood what he was agreeing to, he had said "yes" anyway to demonstrate
his
cooperation - but he could tell he was bombing this quiz. In his
nervousness, Jesse already had been unable to recall his mom's phone number
and his home
address. He was, however, forthcoming when the officer asked if he'd ever
used drugs, truthfully admitting that he'd once smoked pot, but that he just
wasn't into it. "Have you ever sold drugs at Chaparral High School? the
deputy asked. "Nope. "You never sold drugs to any students there? "No, sir,"
Jesse
said respectfully. "Mm-kay. Then, in a theatrical flourish that would be
performed 22 times that day, the deputy crossed the interrogation room to
open
the door. "Do you know who this is? he asked, as a uniformed police officer
with short, neat hair walked in. Jesse did a double take. "Daniel? he asked
the officer uncertainly. Deputy Daniel Zipperstein didn't answer but simply
stood with his feet planted apart and his hands clasped in front of him,
staring
straight ahead. Jesse marveled at how different his friend appeared, nearly
unrecognizable in these clothes and in this pose, so proud and tall. It was
as though Daniel had grown up overnight, looking so markedly different that
when he made his dramatic entrance into Perry's interrogation, Perry
exclaimed,
"Do you have a younger brother at Chaparral? making the officers guffaw. And
yet even with Daniel standing over him like a statue and the interrogator
looking amused from across the table, Jesse's mind struggled to knit the
bits of information into a cohesive narrative. "Am I getting in any trouble?
Jesse
asked. "Well, what do you think? answered the deputy, snickering. With that,
the criminal-justice system intractably moved Jesse Snodgrass forward - even
though, before leaving the interrogation room, the deputy had to walk the
still-uncomprehending Jesse through the logic at play behind his crime: that
Jesse had not merely given Daniel drugs; because Daniel had paid him, Jesse
had, in fact, sold drugs. So confused was Jesse that upon leaving the
station,
he found himself loaded into a van with a half-dozen kids who'd admitted to
having done drugs within the past 24 hours, en route to the hospital to have
their vitals monitored. "Are you mentally retarded? a cop at the hospital
cautiously asked after Jesse droned down his list of psychiatric meds. When
Jesse
answered, "I have Asperger's," the officer groaned. Nonetheless, protocol
being protocol, Jesse was shuttled onward to Southwest Juvenile Hall, where
he
was placed in a holding cell to await booking - and where, by late
afternoon, his distraught mother was on the phone with an officer, trying to
reach her
son. "My son is self-injurious," Catherine pleaded. "If he hangs himself on
your watch, it is your fault. Incredibly, Jesse's parents were never
notified
of their son's arrest, but learned of it when he didn't surface after
school; a cascade of calls had finally put Doug in touch with the school
principal,
who informed him in a businesslike way that Jesse had been arrested hours
earlier. Both parents had been shocked, but like Jesse himself, they assumed
this was some sort of fixable error. And yet to their horror, they'd come to
discover that their son - a boy who scarcely left home - would now be
detained
for at least the next two days. "You know, Mama, the kids here love it," a
female officer told Catherine when she called the juvenile hall that first
evening
to make arrangements to drop off Jesse's meds. "They get three square meals
and a bed. They love it here, and they keep coming back. The implication
stung
Catherine: that the kids locked inside - including her son - were already
criminals, headed for a life of incarceration. That was also the message of
the
district attorney's office in the courthouse two days later. According to
Doug and Catherine, as all of the families somberly gathered to see their
children
for the first time since the arrest, Senior Deputy District Attorney Blaine
Hopp strode into the center of the crowd. "This should be a wake-up call to
all of you. Your children are drug dealers," he announced. "But this is an
opportunity to save them," he added, inviting parents to speak with him
before
the proceedings began. To the Snodgrasses' surprise, many did. That didn't
stop Hopp from arguing to the judge that each child posed a danger to the
community
and should therefore stay in custody longer - a frightening prospect to
parents and kids alike. When Jesse's turn came, he was charged with two
felonies,
one for each marijuana sale. Hopp argued that Jesse should remain locked up
for an additional month, until his next court date - even though the
probation
department, having reviewed his history, had recommended his release. From
their seats, the Snodgrasses listened aghast as Hopp lambasted their son as
a menace to society, and got their first glimpse of Jesse in his
prison-issued orange jumpsuit. He didn't return their gaze. Jesse had
regressed after
spending three days and two nights in the juvenile prison system. And while
incarcerated, he'd struggled to process Daniel's betrayal. "I thought we
were
really good friends," he kept mumbling to his fellow inmates, who had to
explain the situation to him. When Jesse had finally been escorted into
court,
his expression was blank. Although desperate to see his parents, his eyes
skipped right over them without recognition, a behavior they hadn't seen
since
his childhood. When the judge announced his immediate release, Jesse showed
no sign that he had heard or understood. At home, Jesse unraveled. For six
weeks, he could barely summon language to speak and simply sat motionless,
sometimes waving a hand in front of his face, much like when he was three
years
old. "I want to die," he managed to tell his parents at Christmastime, his
face buried in his pil low. There were emergency therapy sessions and
adjustments
to his medication. His parents stayed up all night to keep watch. And in the
midst of everything, the Snodgrasses received a letter from the Temecula
Valley
Unified School District, notifying them that in light of the allegations
against Jesse and that he had sold drugs near campus, it was suspending him,
and
moving forward with his expulsion. Few families in the snodgrasses'
situation fight back. Even fewer speak out. "There's a lot of shame for the
family,
for your kid to be involved with a drug case," says Lynne Lyman, California
state director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "The stigma is tremendous. But
Catherine and Doug Snodgrass were atypical parents. They'd been fighting
with school districts Jesse's entire life; in their younger days, they'd
been
union organizers. And the Snodgrasses were convinced they had no reason to
hide. "We have nothing to be ashamed of, Jesse has nothing to be ashamed
of,"
says Doug. "The people who do this, they're the ones who should be ashamed.
The criminal judge seemed inclined to agree, noting that Jesse's autism
amounted
to "unusual and exceptional circumstances. Jesse was sentenced to "informal
probation," wherein if he kept out of trouble for six months and did 20
hours
of community service, his record would be wiped clean. The Snodgrasses
accepted the quickie plea deal rather than put Jesse through the stress of a
trial
- and because they were already waging a battle on a second front. In an
effort to stop the Temecula Valley Unified School District from expelling
Jesse,
the Snodgrasses appealed to the state's Office of Administrative Hearings.
During a six-day hearing in February 2013, the school district dug in its
heels
on its right to expel Jesse for his crime, presenting a parade of
witnesses - including members of Jesse's trusted school support team - to
insist that
despite Jesse's autism, the boy knew right from wrong, and therefore should
have been able to resist the undercover cop's entreaties. The district's
director
of Child Welfare and Attendance, Michael Hubbard, who was one of only three
district administrators with foreknowledge of the sting, further testified
that his faith in Operation Glasshouse was so complete that he'd felt fine
about Jesse's arrest. "I didn't believe it was coercion or entrapment for
any
of the kids," Hubbard testified. In March last year, Judge Marian Tully's
19-page ruling excoriated the school district for setting Jesse up to fail.
"The
district placed Student in an extremely difficult social-problem scenario
that would have been difficult even for typical high school students," she
wrote,
much less a special-needs kid. Chastising the district for "leaving Student
to fend for himself, anxious and alone, against an undercover police
officer,"
she ordered that Jesse be returned to school immediately. Yet Jesse's
victories did little to ease his frayed mental state as he headed back to
Chaparral
High School. He shook with anxiety in the car on the drive there and hadn't
yet overcome his new habit of crumpling to the floor anytime they passed a
police car. During the three-month suspension since his arrest, Jesse had
been overwhelmed by paranoia so great that once when their doorbell rang, he
tackled his mother to the floor, begging, "Don't answer! Plagued by panic
attacks and nightmares - the back of his left hand was gouged by a deep
groove
where he'd anxiously scratched himself raw - Jesse had been diagnosed with
PTSD. He was frightened to be back at Chaparral, where the other kids stared
and counselors who'd testified against him now smiled at him, and where, to
his parents' disbelief, the school district had filed an appeal of the
administrative
ruling - it was still fighting to expel him. Despite all that, Jesse was
dimly aware that he had it pretty good compared to his fellow arrestees: Of
the
22 kids arrested, he's apparently the only one still getting a traditional
education. "Every one of us got expelled," says Perry, who now attends a
reform
school, along with most of the others caught in the sting. Others took their
expulsion as a cue to drop out, like Madalyn, who now lives in Los Angeles,
working as a receptionist for an HVAC company. She was only three classes
shy of a high school diploma. "So close," she says wistfully. But while less
than thrilled about their day-today lives, they're grateful to have escaped
worse fates, since Perry, Sebastian, Jessica and Madalyn, like many of the
kids, pleaded guilty in exchange for no further jail time; their juvenile
criminal records will be sealed. That puts them in a luckier boat than the
two
students who happened to have been 18 at the time of their crimes and were
treated as adults: One, charged with selling marijuana and meth, spent 30
days
in a men's jail, at which point he threw himself upon the mercy of the court
and was sentenced to residential rehab; the second boy, charged with three
marijuana sales, was sentenced to two years in county jail. Stings like
these can have a long-term impact on kids, sometimes in devastating ways.
Research
shows that juvenile arrests predict brushes with the law as adults. "These
kinds of practices push students out of school and toward the
criminal-justice
system," says state director Lyman, noting that minority, special-needs and
poor children are particularly at risk. "It's known as the school-to-prison
pipeline. Persuaded by the high potential for bad outcomes for kids, and by
the lack of evidence of good results for communities, the National
Association
of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officials has concluded that undercover
high school operations are usually a poor strategy. "We're more interested
in getting kids help that need it, rather than targeting kids to be locked
up," says former police chief Larry Johnson, president-elect of NASSLEO.
Even
the birthplace of these stings, Los Angeles, has backed off the tactic;
after the school district began openly questioning its efficacy in 2004, the
LAPD
abruptly shut down its 30-year-old undercover School Buy program.
Nevertheless, Riverside County is undeterred. This past December - one year
after the
raid that arrested Jesse Snodgrass - the sheriff 's department announced yet
another successful undercover operation: a semester-long sting that nabbed
25 high school students in the nearby cities of Perris and Meniffee, most
for small amounts of marijuana. Among the arrestees was reportedly a
15-year-old
special-ed student who reads at a thirdgrade level, arrested for selling a
single Vicodin pill for $3, which he used to buy snacks. Perris
Superintendent
Jonathan Greenberg has called the operation "an unqualified success. The
Snodgrasses don't want their experience to be in vain and are now suing the
Temecula
Valley Unified School District, accusing it of negligence for allowing their
son to be targeted despite his disabilities. "We think that we can make
these
operations stop," says Doug. "We want to use this to send a message to
administrators everywhere. When they're approached by police departments
about having
an undercover operation at their school, they'll remember a district got
sued. Reflecting on his experience as the target of an undercover drug
sting,
Jesse still doesn't know quite what to make of it. "They were actually out
to get us," Jesse says, sounding mystified as he swigs a protein shake;
because
of his PTSD, he still sometimes finds himself unable to eat and wants to
regain some of the weight he's lost. He managed to graduate this past
December
and has started a job in construction. In the meantime, he has gleaned a few
important lessons from the ordeal: "To not trust everyone you see," he says
thoughtfully. Through his friend's harsh betrayal, he has come to understand
that people aren't always what they appear to be, a cruel but necessary
lesson
that all children must learn sometime. He has realized that even adults are
capable of acting with terrible unkindness and duplicity. Jesse's insights
have made him wary of meeting new people, fearful of hidden motives, which,
as he now knows, his disabilities make him powerless to detect. And Jesse
learned
one more valuable lesson. "I mean, the Riverside County Sheriff's
Department, they taught me how to buy pot," he says, and breaks into a grin.
THE BUST
Snodgrass made the nightly news when he was arrested in Operation
Glasshouse. Contributing editor Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote "About a Girl" in
RS 1195.
TARGETED "The people who did this should be ashamed," says Jesse's dad, Doug
(with Jesse and mom Catherine). STUNG At the police station, Jesse (left)
was shocked to learn his only friend, Daniel (above left), was a cop..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
_______________________________________________
Blind-Democracy mailing list
Blind-Democracy@octothorp.org
http://www.octothorp.org/mailman/listinfo/blind-democracy
Remember Joe, if there is Evil, it was Created by God, who knows the
beginning and the end and who created All.
But that begs the issue. We have been sold a load of crap when it comes to
our War on Drugs. Just like our War on Terror, we are losing the very
people we proclaim to be "protecting".
Carl Jarvis
----- Original Message -----
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz@comcast.net>
To: "blind democracy List" <blind-democracy@octothorp.org>
Sent: Saturday, March 01, 2014 11:44 AM
Subject: this is evil
The Entrapment of Jesse Snodgrass . How did an autistic teen loner get
targeted by an undercover cop? By Sabrina Rubin Erdely . Jesse snodgrass
plodded
around yet another stucco corner, searching for Room 254 in time for the
second-period bell, only to find he was lost yet again. Jesse felt a
familiar
surge of panic. He was new to Chaparral High School and still hadn't figured
out how to navigate the sprawling Southern California campus with its
outdoor
maze of identical courtyards studded with baby palm trees. Gripping his
backpack straps, the 17-year-old took some deep breaths. Gliding all around
him
were his new peers, chatting as they walked in slouchy pairs and in packs.
Many of their mouths were turned up, baring teeth, which Jesse recognized as
smiles, a signal that they were happy. Once he regained his composure, he
followed the spray-painted Chaparral Puma paw prints on the ground, his gait
stiff and soldierly, and prayed that his classroom would materialize. He was
already prepared to declare his third day of school a disaster. At last,
Jesse
found his art class, where students were milling about in the final moments
before the bell. He had resigned himself to maintaining a dignified silence
when a slightly stocky kid with light-brown hair ambled over and said, "Hi.
"Hi," Jesse answered cautiously. Nearly six feet tall, Jesse glanced down to
scan the kid's heart-shaped face, and seeing the corners of his mouth were
turned up, Jesse relaxed a bit. The kid introduced himself as Daniel Briggs.
Daniel told Jesse that he, too, was new to Chaparral - he'd just moved from
Redlands, an hour away, to the suburb of Temecula - and, like Jesse, who'd
recently relocated from the other side of town, was starting his senior
year. Jesse squinted and took a long moment to mull over Daniel's words.
Meanwhile,
Daniel sized up Jesse, taking in his muscular build and clenched jaw that
topped off Jesse's skater-tough look: Metal Mulisha T-shirt, calf-length
Dickies,
buzz-cut hair and a stiff-brimmed baseball hat. A classic suburban thug.
Lowering his voice, Daniel asked if Jesse knew where he might be able to get
some
weed. "Yeah, man, I can get you some," Jesse answered in his slow monotone,
every word stretched out and articulated with odd precision. Daniel asked
for
his phone number, and Jesse obliged, his insides roiling with both triumph
and anxiety. On one hand, Jesse could hardly believe his good fortune: His
conversation
with Daniel would stand as the only meaningful interaction he'd have with
another kid all day. On the other hand, Jesse had no idea where to get
marijuana.
All Jesse knew in August 2012 was that he had somehow made a friend. Though
it smacks of suburban myth or TV make-believe, undercover drug stings occur
in high schools with surprising frequency, with self-consciously dopey names
like "Operation DMinus" and, naturally, "Operation Jump Street. They're
elaborate
stings in which adult undercover officers go to great lengths to pass as
authentic teens: turning in homework, enduring detention, attending house
parties
and using current slang, having Googled the terms beforehand to ensure their
correctness. In Tennessee last year, a 22-year-old policewoman emerging from
10 months undercover credited her mom's job as an acting coach as key to her
performance as a drug-seekingstudent, which was convincing enough to have
14 people arrested. Other operations go even further to establish veracity,
like a San Diego-area sting last year that practically elevated policing to
performance art, in which three undercover deputies had "parents" who
attended back-to-school nights; announcing the first of the sting's 19
arrests, Sheriff
Bill Gore boasted this method of snaring teens was "almost too easy. The
practice was first pioneered in 1974 by the LAPD, which soon staged annual
undercover
busts that most years arrested scores of high schoolers; by the Eighties, it
had spread as a favored strategy in the War on Drugs. Communities loved it:
Each bust generated headlines and reassured citizens that police were
proactivelycombating drugs. Cops loved the stings, too, which not only
served as
a major morale boost but could also be lucrative. "Any increase in narcotics
arrests is good for police departments. It's all about numbers," says former
LAPD Deputy Chief Stephen Downing, who now works with the advocacy group Law
Enforcement Against Prohibition and views these operations with scorn. "This
is not about public safety - the public is no safer, and the school grounds
are no safer. The more arrests you have, the more funding you can get
through
federal grants and overtime. Yet despite the busts' popularity, their inner
workings were shrouded in secrecy, with few details publicly released about
their tactics and overall effectiveness. And as time went on, officers and
school administrators became alarmed by the results they saw: large numbers
of kids arrested for small quantities of drugs - and who, due to "zero
tolerance" policies, were usually expelled from school. No studies appear to
exist
on the efficacy of high school drug stings, but the data on undercover
operations in general isn't encouraging. A 2007 Department of
Justice-fundedmeta-
analysis slammed the practice of police sting operations, finding that they
reduce crime for a limited time - three months to a year - if at all. "At
best,
they are a stopgap measure," and at worst, an expensive waste of police
resources, which "may prevent the use of other, more effective
problem-solving
techniques. The federal study concludes that sting operations reap little
more than one consistent benefit: "favorable publicity" for police. To be
sure,
public-relations speed bumps have appeared now and again, like when a female
LAPD narc allegedly romanced a high school football player, which surfaced
via her steamy love letters, or when a developmentally disabled child was
swept up in another Los Angeles bust after selling $9 worth of marijuana to
an
undercover. But until now, no department seems to have gone so far as to lay
a trap for an autistic kid. From his seat at a worktable in the art room,
Deputy Daniel Zipperstein observed his target and tablemate, Jesse
Snodgrass. Like all the other students, Deputy Zipperstein was busily
working on the
day's class assignment, building a sculpture using cardboard, paper and
wire, but Jesse was clearly flummoxed by the project's complexity. Their
ponytailed
teacher, James Taylor, paused by the boys' table. "Jesse, OK," Taylor
instructed, holding up a piece of cardboard. "Today's task will be to cut
out six
cardboard squares of this size. Taylor took pains to pare down each
assignment into bite-size chunks for Jesse, but even so, he'd need to keep
circling
back to remind Jesse to stay on his single small task. Zipperstein watched
Jesse slowly pick up the scissors and get to work. No one at Chaparral High
School knew that transfer student "Daniel Briggs" was in fact a cop in his
mid-twenties; as is typical in such an investigation, only a few top
district
administrators were aware of the operation. With Daniel's Billabong Tshirts,
camo shorts and Vans, "he looked just like an average kid," remembers
student
Jessica Flores, then 17. Handsome and quick to smile, Daniel was meeting new
friends with remarkable ease, though some students remained wary, due to his
habit of interrupting strangers' conversations whenever the subject of drugs
came up - for which he quickly acquired the nickname "Deputy Dan. Madalyn
Dunn, then 17, was startled while she chatted with friends during shop
class, and the new kid leapt right in: "Are you talking about ketamine? Dan
said,
then asked if she'd sell him some, which she declined. Nonetheless, the two
wound up walking to fourth period together, bonding over their fondness for
pot. After that, Madalyn says, Daniel wouldn't stop asking her for drugs.
"Oh, come on," he'd pester. Deputy Dan was just as aggressive with Jesse
Snodgrass,
pursuing the friendless boy outside the confines of school. Jesse's mom,
Catherine, and his dad, Doug, an engineer, had been delighted when Jesse had
come
home talking about his new friend from art class; they'd been even more
surprised when Daniel had started buzzing Jesse's otherwise-silent phone
with texts.
Jesse had only ever had one friend before, another special-ed kid who'd
recently moved to Alabama, leaving Jesse bereft. And now that Jesse had
switched
to a new school - a move foisted upon the Snodgrasses when their old house
had gone into foreclosure - he had been especially agitated lately. It was
only
the latest distress in a lifetime of everyday struggles, which Catherine and
Doug did their best to help Jesse navigate, fighting the constant battles
waged by the parents of children on the autism spectrum: sticking up for him
when he was ostracized from playgrounds or asked to leave restaurants as a
child; standing up to school districts to secure Jesse equal access to
education. Though the Snodgrasses also had two younger children at home,
Jesse's
needs had long made him a focal point. They were ready for his life to get
easier and were thrilled with the calming prospect of this new friendship.
"Why
don't you tell Daniel to come over? Catherine urged. "OK. Jesse hunched over
his phone as his mom drove him home through the clean streets of Temecula
- a planned suburban community northeast of San Diego, population 100,000 -
past the big-box strip malls and into their neighborhood of
Mediterranean-style
homes, where a man-made duck pond sparkled and joggers bounced past. Jesse's
phone vibrated. "He can't do it today, he's grounded," Jesse recited. Made
sense to him. Daniel had already told Jesse that he was always in trouble
with his strict mom, a conflict that left him superstressed - which was why
Daniel
"really needed" Jesse to hook him up with some pot. "Maybe another time. You
guys could order pizza, play video games, just hang out," Catherine said.
Forging friendships was normally so hard for Jesse, who had the cognitive
skills of an 11-year-old and was nearly oblivious to the facial expressions,
body language, vocal tones and other contextual cues that make up basic
social interactions. He was slow to draw inferences or interpret the casual
idioms
other kids used, like "catch you later," a phrase Jesse had initially found
startling, since it turned out to involve no catching whatsoever. As a
toddler,
he'd once been terrified for days after his preschool teacher told him,
"I'll keep my eye on you. Jesse had seemed typical enough until age two.
Then words
started disappearing from his vocabulary, and he spoke in a sporadic,
garbled language. His parents grew worried: Their young son made no eye
contact and
scarcely registered the presence of other people, but drew hundreds of
pictures of their vacuum cleaner and would spend hours waving a crayon in
front
of his face, entranced by the fan of color it etched in the air. When Jesse
was five, a neurologist diagnosed him with Asperger's syndrome, a variant of
autism; over the years, Jesse's diagnoses would expand to include
Tourette's, bipolar disorder and depression. An evaluator prepared the
Snodgrasses for
the possibility that Jesse might never speak again. Catherine quit her
advertising job to plunge Jesse into intensive autism therapies. Amazingly,
the
interventions got him back on track enough that he was able to attend
regular school, taking special-ed classes and mainstream electives, with a
counseling
team to help him manage. But Jesse's difficulties were hardly over. He was
bullied throughout middle school, mocked as a "retard. He lashed out at his
tormentors and, in doing so, developed a discipline record, with suspensions
for fighting and many a day penalized in "lunch club," scraping gum from
under
desks. Jesse rarely complained about his mistreatment; he was a boy who
didn't think to ask for help. Instead, he vented his frustrations with
episodes
of headbanging, scratching and punching himself, violent and bloody bursts
of selfinjury. It took Jesse years of therapy to wean himself from those
self-injurious
impulses and soothe himself instead with benign motor tics like wringing his
hands or snapping his fingers when he felt anxious. He also found another
way to cope. During his sophomore year of high school, Jesse shaved his
head, began lifting weights and developed a new persona his therapist Jason
Agnetti
came to call his "bro identity. Dressed in wife-beaters that showed off his
biceps, saggy jeans and baseball caps, Jesse would stomp around school,
dropping
f-bombs and calling other kids "retards. He talked about extreme sports like
motocross, offroading and skateboarding, even though in reality he couldn't
ride a bike or even tie his own shoelaces. In his junior year, Jesse drew a
bong on his notebook and called himself "Jesse Smokegrass," despite his
inexperience
with pot. By emulating the bad-boy swagger of his own bullies, Jesse was
putting on a suit of armor. Though his parents were a little concerned - and
irritated
with all his unnecessary posing - they saw it as a phase and, in that
regard, not unlike other powerful antagonistic personae Jesse had identified
with
in the past. "There was a period of time when he was really obsessed with
the Undertaker, the wrestler," says Doug. "And in fourth grade, he was
obsessed
with Bowser in Super Mario. To some extent, the bro disguise worked, making
Jesse less approachable and even, from a distance, menacing. Anyone who took
a closer look, however, could see past the facade. As he strode the halls of
Chaparral, with his robot walk and compulsive finger-snapping, it was clear
that something was amiss. "You could see right away that there's something
off about him," says Perry Pickett, who at the time was a Chaparral junior.
And as soon as Jesse spoke -with his flat affect, slow response time and
inability to follow any but the simplest instructions - his impairment was
obvious.
And yet Deputy Dan was unrelenting. As the weeks went by and Jesse continued
to stall, Daniel sent Jesse 60 text messages,hounding him to deliver on his
promise to get marijuana. "He was pretty much stalking me," remembers Jesse.
"With the begging for the drugs and everything, it was kind of a drag.
Already
anxious about his new home and new school, Jesse was conflicted. He knew he
didn't really want to get marijuana for Daniel - not that he even knew how
- and that the drug requests were ratcheting up his anxiety to an
intolerable level. But Jesse also desperately wanted Daniel to like him and
didn't want
to fail his new friend. Daniel's oft-stated plight that his home life made
him so unhappy that he needed to self-medicate struck a certain chord with
Jesse,
who also needed pharmaceuticals in order to function. "I take medication for
my own issues," Jesse confessed to Daniel, rattling them off: Depakote,
Lamictal,
Clonazepam. Burdened by his sense of obligation, frightened and helpless,
the pressure was too much for Jesse to handle. One day the turmoil had been
so
great that after art class, Jesse fled to the boys' bathroom and burned his
arm with a lighter. Three weeks into the school year, Doug and Catherine
Snodgrass
held a meeting with Jesse's educational-support team, in light of Jesse's
self-inflicted burn, to discuss their son's transition to Chaparral. "They
were
concerned about him building friendships at the school," attendee Delfina
Gomez, Jesse's behavioral-health specialist, would later testify. Unaware
that
Jesse was being befriended by a narc, the team assured the Snodgrasses that
overseeing Jesse was a priority for them, includingfinding him "a classroom
buddy, peer buddy or peer leader. Elsewhere in the building that same day,
Daniel pressed $20 into Jesse's hand. "I'll see what I can get you," Jesse
told
him. 'I 'm gonna meet daniel before class," Jesse told his father five days
later while on the drive to school. He bent to read the screen of his phone.
"Take me to the Outback Steakhouse. Jesse was jumpy. He'd asked Daniel to
come over to his house for the marijuana handoff, but Daniel was insisting
on
meeting at a strip mall adjacent to Chaparral's ball fields. Daniel's car
was already parked in the empty lot when Doug and Jesse arrived at 7:10 a.m.
Jesse leapt out of the station wagon. "Stay here," Jesse instructed his
father. Doug, proud of his son's social accomplishment, contented himself
with
a friendly wave at the young fellow before driving off. Daniel waved back.
The previous weekend, saddled with Daniel's $20 bill, Jesse had agonized
over
how to get his hands on some pot. At last, the answer hit him. The
medical-marijuana dispensary in downtown Temecula sold marijuana! Jesse
congratulated
himself on his logic. He and his family often spent leisurely afternoons
browsing downtown's pedestrian thoroughfare, where Jesse would branch off
for
an hour of solo exploration before reconnecting at the Root Beer Company for
sodas. Sure enough, that weekend Jesse wandered toward the dispensary and
approached a pale man with bad skin and longish hair - "he kind of had that
look of a junkie," Jesse says - who took his $20 and, to Jesse's infinite
relief,
handed him a clear sandwich baggie with weed inside. Now, standing with
Daniel beside his car and in a hurry to get this nerverackingerrand over
with,
Jesse thrust the precious stash into his hands. Daniel glanced at it. It was
a pathetic half-gram of dried-up flakes - about five dollars' worth of
marijuana,
maybe enough to roll a single skinny joint. Still, Daniel seemed satisfied.
He threw it in his glove compartment and suggested they get to class. Later
that day, Deputy Zipperstein handed off the baggie to another deputy, who
transported it to a police station, where the drugs were field-tested by yet
another officer, then ceremoniously weighed, photographed and tagged as
evidence: sus - snodgrass, jesse $20/.6 gram marijuana buy #1. The picture
was
transferred onto CD for posterity. The Riverside County Sheriff's Department
was becoming expert at this sort of thing. Over the previous two years, it
had staged two stings in other school districts, arresting 14 students at
Palm Desert High School in 2010, and 24 students from Moreno Valley and
Wildomar
high schools in 2011; in both cases, undercovers had bought marijuana,
Ecstasy and cocaine. So when in July 2012 the sheriff's department had
approached
the Temecula Valley Unified School District to report a suspicion of drug
sales in two high schools, Superintendent Timothy Ritter had granted
permission
for Operation Glasshouse. (All TVUSD personnel declined comment, citing
litigation.) His compliance seemed natural in conservative Temecula, a
former tiny
ranching town whose population had exploded over the past 20 years as people
seeking affordable homes moved inland - many of them military families from
Camp Pendleton - and where police maintained an aggressive presence, intent
on keeping it an oasis of order. Two young, attractive deputies were chosen
for Operation Glasshouse. Deputy Yesenia Hernandez was enrolled in Temecula
Valley High School. Petite and outgoing, she was an instant hit, especially
with the boys, who misread her attentions. Deputy Daniel Zipperstein was
dispatched to Chaparral, where, as the new kid constantly talking about
drugs,
he had to overcome some initial skepticism. "Ask him for his badge number!
some kids playfully called out, when at lunch time he asked to sit with a
bunch
of selfdescribed "happy stoners. Daniel laughed along, joking back in a
goofy voice, "Yeah, OK, you're all under arrest. But Zipperstein disarmed
kids
with his frank approach, explaining, "I'm new, I don't have any friends here
yet. He was quick to open up about his pretend personal life, telling kids
he'd had to move from his dad's in Redlands to live with his irritating
mother. "It's so hard to deal with my mom and shit," he said. "She's always
bitching.
To escape her tyranny, all he wanted to do was lock himself in his room and
get high. Remembers student Perry Pickett, "I dunno, I felt bad for the kid.
Girls thought it charming when Daniel said he still traveled to Redlands
each weekend to visit his girlfriend - whose favorite activity,
incidentally,
was getting high together. "We were like, 'OK, that's romantic, I guess,'"
says Jessica Flores, who sold him a gram or so of marijuana a half-dozen
times.
But although Daniel was in a relationship, that didn't stop him from
admiring other girls, like when, during one lunch period with a view into
the dance
room, Daniel exhorted about a 15-year-old in spandex, "Dang, look at the ass
on that one! Before long, kids accepted Daniel as one of their own, enough
that his unusual persistence in ferreting out drugs stopped raising red
flags, as well as his notably indiscriminate appetite. "If you mentioned
weed,
he wanted weed," says Madalyn, who sold him some of her marijuana, LSD and
molly. "If I brought up acid, that's what he wanted. He said he wanted to
get
coke. He had no limitation. Students also overlooked how odd it was for a
high schooler to have so much cash, giving it out with such abandon. Once,
when
he handed Perry $15, asking for weed, and Perry came back empty-handed,
Daniel told him to keep the money. "I felt like I owed him something," says
Perry,
who, due to his learning difficulties, was a special-needs student with an
individualized learning plan. He had felt especially bad because Daniel had
been so open and vulnerable about his lousy family situation. So when Perry
heard that a kid in his third-period class was selling Vicodin swiped from
his parents' medicine cabinet, he offered to introduce Daniel.Strangely
enough, he says, Daniel demurred, but instead handed Perry $14, instructed
him
to buy $10 worth of pills on his behalf - thus creating the transaction
necessary for a bust - and to keep the change. "I was like, 'All right, four
bucks!
That's a couple chicken sandwiches right there!' says Perry. Meanwhile,
Perry's 16-year-old friend Sebastian Eppinger, seeing how careless Daniel
was with
his money, thought he recognized an opportunity and agreed to act as a
middleman. "I ripped him off superbad," says Sebastian. "I sold him 20
bucks' worth
of weed for $80. Any skepticism about Daniel being a narc evaporated after
Perry delivered him his Vicodin. Grinning and thanking him profusely, Daniel
informed Perry and Sebastian he didn't swallow Vicodin, he smoked it. The
boys were dubious, so Daniel described how he'd rub off the pill's coating,
grind
it to powder, then freebase it off tinfoil. To demonstrate, Daniel popped
the pill into his mouth and sucked it, then spat it out and rubbed it on his
shirt, explaining that it was now ready for crushing and smoking. "I heard
you can do the same thing with heroin," Daniel said, dropping a hint about
his
next drug target. The boys didn't pick up on the bait; they were agog,
having learned a new drug-taking technique. As autumn drew to a close,
Daniel had
little contact with Jesse Snodgrass anymore. He'd managed to give Jesse
another $20, two weeks after the first sale - and, in return, got an even
skimpier
amount of marijuana than the first time, under a half-gram. But then Daniel
had asked Jesse to sell him some Clonazepam, Jesse's anxiety medication.
Jesse
was adamant in his refusal: That was his medicine - he needed it. When Jesse
wouldn't budge, Daniel completely lost interest in their friendship. The
rejection
stung. Jesse's parents would inquire about Daniel, and he'd shrug it off. He
tried to forget about it and focus on the things that mattered, like passing
algebra. Against all odds, Jesse was inching his way toward a high school
diploma. On the morning of December 11th, the door to Jesse's art classroom
burst
open, and five armed police officers in bulletproof vests rushed in, calling
his name. Jesse was handcuffed in front of his classmates. He thought maybe
he was asleep and dreaming. "I was confused," he remembers. "I didn't know
what was going on," and he didn't connect the events back to Daniel. Neither
did Madalyn or Jessica, who also were arrested in their classrooms; the
three of them, along with two other boys, were paraded in handcuffs out of
Chaparral
and into a police van. At the same time, in a classroom at nearby Rancho
Vista continuation high school, Perry - who'd transferred to get better
one-on-one
special-needs attention - was being shackled; and Sebastian, sick at home,
awoke to find his bedroom filled with cops. Fifteen students from Temecula
Valley
High School were also rounded up, bringing the number of students arrested
in Operation Glasshouse to an impressive 22. The scale of the takedown
operation
was enormous, from the swarming officers in tactical gear to the police
helicopter hovering overhead. Authorities announced they had seized
marijuana,
Ecstasy, LSD, heroin, cocaine, meth and prescription drugs. Though it
declined to divulge the quantities, the sheriff's office insisted that the
amounts
collected were beside the point: "The program is not designed to recover
large amounts of drugs," it said in a statement to RS. "The program is
designed
to quell hand-to-hand narcotics transactions on campus. That evening, the
big drug bust would be the talk of Southern California, with newscasts
leading
with the story - prominently featuring a dramatic photograph of a tall boy
dressed in a gray hoodie and black Dickies, his hands cuffed behind his
back,
f lanked by armed officers. Jesse Snodgrass had just become Operation
Glasshouse's unlikely poster child. Why do you think you're here? "I don't
know,"
Jesse answered. "I was just called up and that's why I'm wondering. In a
plain-walled interrogation room at the Perris police station, near Temecula,
Jesse
sat stiffly in a chair, hands clenched. Across the table, hunched over a
clipboard, sat a lean man with stringy blond hair, a plaid shirt and a
police
badge hanging from his neck. Jesse was anxious to clear up this whole
misunderstanding and go home. For more than an hour, he'd been waiting in a
common
area in tense silence with 21 other kids, the vast majority of them Mexican-
American boys, desperately studying their downcast faces for clues. None had
been told the reason for their arrests and were forbidden to talk. Any time
they'd made a sound, officers barked, "You better shut your mouth. Jesse had
watched as one by one they'd been called into this little room, although one
key nuance had eluded him: Each had emerged looking shocked and terrified;
one girl had a fullblown panic attack. "All right," said the deputy from the
Riverside County Sheriff's Special Investigations Bureau, looking up from
his clipboard. "Have you ever sold drugs? "No. Jesse was resolute. "You
sure? "Yeah, I'm sure," answered Jesse. He'd been as compliant as possible
with
his answers, having waived his Miranda rights - though he hadn't entirely
understood what he was agreeing to, he had said "yes" anyway to demonstrate
his
cooperation - but he could tell he was bombing this quiz. In his
nervousness, Jesse already had been unable to recall his mom's phone number
and his home
address. He was, however, forthcoming when the officer asked if he'd ever
used drugs, truthfully admitting that he'd once smoked pot, but that he just
wasn't into it. "Have you ever sold drugs at Chaparral High School? the
deputy asked. "Nope. "You never sold drugs to any students there? "No, sir,"
Jesse
said respectfully. "Mm-kay. Then, in a theatrical flourish that would be
performed 22 times that day, the deputy crossed the interrogation room to
open
the door. "Do you know who this is? he asked, as a uniformed police officer
with short, neat hair walked in. Jesse did a double take. "Daniel? he asked
the officer uncertainly. Deputy Daniel Zipperstein didn't answer but simply
stood with his feet planted apart and his hands clasped in front of him,
staring
straight ahead. Jesse marveled at how different his friend appeared, nearly
unrecognizable in these clothes and in this pose, so proud and tall. It was
as though Daniel had grown up overnight, looking so markedly different that
when he made his dramatic entrance into Perry's interrogation, Perry
exclaimed,
"Do you have a younger brother at Chaparral? making the officers guffaw. And
yet even with Daniel standing over him like a statue and the interrogator
looking amused from across the table, Jesse's mind struggled to knit the
bits of information into a cohesive narrative. "Am I getting in any trouble?
Jesse
asked. "Well, what do you think? answered the deputy, snickering. With that,
the criminal-justice system intractably moved Jesse Snodgrass forward - even
though, before leaving the interrogation room, the deputy had to walk the
still-uncomprehending Jesse through the logic at play behind his crime: that
Jesse had not merely given Daniel drugs; because Daniel had paid him, Jesse
had, in fact, sold drugs. So confused was Jesse that upon leaving the
station,
he found himself loaded into a van with a half-dozen kids who'd admitted to
having done drugs within the past 24 hours, en route to the hospital to have
their vitals monitored. "Are you mentally retarded? a cop at the hospital
cautiously asked after Jesse droned down his list of psychiatric meds. When
Jesse
answered, "I have Asperger's," the officer groaned. Nonetheless, protocol
being protocol, Jesse was shuttled onward to Southwest Juvenile Hall, where
he
was placed in a holding cell to await booking - and where, by late
afternoon, his distraught mother was on the phone with an officer, trying to
reach her
son. "My son is self-injurious," Catherine pleaded. "If he hangs himself on
your watch, it is your fault. Incredibly, Jesse's parents were never
notified
of their son's arrest, but learned of it when he didn't surface after
school; a cascade of calls had finally put Doug in touch with the school
principal,
who informed him in a businesslike way that Jesse had been arrested hours
earlier. Both parents had been shocked, but like Jesse himself, they assumed
this was some sort of fixable error. And yet to their horror, they'd come to
discover that their son - a boy who scarcely left home - would now be
detained
for at least the next two days. "You know, Mama, the kids here love it," a
female officer told Catherine when she called the juvenile hall that first
evening
to make arrangements to drop off Jesse's meds. "They get three square meals
and a bed. They love it here, and they keep coming back. The implication
stung
Catherine: that the kids locked inside - including her son - were already
criminals, headed for a life of incarceration. That was also the message of
the
district attorney's office in the courthouse two days later. According to
Doug and Catherine, as all of the families somberly gathered to see their
children
for the first time since the arrest, Senior Deputy District Attorney Blaine
Hopp strode into the center of the crowd. "This should be a wake-up call to
all of you. Your children are drug dealers," he announced. "But this is an
opportunity to save them," he added, inviting parents to speak with him
before
the proceedings began. To the Snodgrasses' surprise, many did. That didn't
stop Hopp from arguing to the judge that each child posed a danger to the
community
and should therefore stay in custody longer - a frightening prospect to
parents and kids alike. When Jesse's turn came, he was charged with two
felonies,
one for each marijuana sale. Hopp argued that Jesse should remain locked up
for an additional month, until his next court date - even though the
probation
department, having reviewed his history, had recommended his release. From
their seats, the Snodgrasses listened aghast as Hopp lambasted their son as
a menace to society, and got their first glimpse of Jesse in his
prison-issued orange jumpsuit. He didn't return their gaze. Jesse had
regressed after
spending three days and two nights in the juvenile prison system. And while
incarcerated, he'd struggled to process Daniel's betrayal. "I thought we
were
really good friends," he kept mumbling to his fellow inmates, who had to
explain the situation to him. When Jesse had finally been escorted into
court,
his expression was blank. Although desperate to see his parents, his eyes
skipped right over them without recognition, a behavior they hadn't seen
since
his childhood. When the judge announced his immediate release, Jesse showed
no sign that he had heard or understood. At home, Jesse unraveled. For six
weeks, he could barely summon language to speak and simply sat motionless,
sometimes waving a hand in front of his face, much like when he was three
years
old. "I want to die," he managed to tell his parents at Christmastime, his
face buried in his pil low. There were emergency therapy sessions and
adjustments
to his medication. His parents stayed up all night to keep watch. And in the
midst of everything, the Snodgrasses received a letter from the Temecula
Valley
Unified School District, notifying them that in light of the allegations
against Jesse and that he had sold drugs near campus, it was suspending him,
and
moving forward with his expulsion. Few families in the snodgrasses'
situation fight back. Even fewer speak out. "There's a lot of shame for the
family,
for your kid to be involved with a drug case," says Lynne Lyman, California
state director of the Drug Policy Alliance. "The stigma is tremendous. But
Catherine and Doug Snodgrass were atypical parents. They'd been fighting
with school districts Jesse's entire life; in their younger days, they'd
been
union organizers. And the Snodgrasses were convinced they had no reason to
hide. "We have nothing to be ashamed of, Jesse has nothing to be ashamed
of,"
says Doug. "The people who do this, they're the ones who should be ashamed.
The criminal judge seemed inclined to agree, noting that Jesse's autism
amounted
to "unusual and exceptional circumstances. Jesse was sentenced to "informal
probation," wherein if he kept out of trouble for six months and did 20
hours
of community service, his record would be wiped clean. The Snodgrasses
accepted the quickie plea deal rather than put Jesse through the stress of a
trial
- and because they were already waging a battle on a second front. In an
effort to stop the Temecula Valley Unified School District from expelling
Jesse,
the Snodgrasses appealed to the state's Office of Administrative Hearings.
During a six-day hearing in February 2013, the school district dug in its
heels
on its right to expel Jesse for his crime, presenting a parade of
witnesses - including members of Jesse's trusted school support team - to
insist that
despite Jesse's autism, the boy knew right from wrong, and therefore should
have been able to resist the undercover cop's entreaties. The district's
director
of Child Welfare and Attendance, Michael Hubbard, who was one of only three
district administrators with foreknowledge of the sting, further testified
that his faith in Operation Glasshouse was so complete that he'd felt fine
about Jesse's arrest. "I didn't believe it was coercion or entrapment for
any
of the kids," Hubbard testified. In March last year, Judge Marian Tully's
19-page ruling excoriated the school district for setting Jesse up to fail.
"The
district placed Student in an extremely difficult social-problem scenario
that would have been difficult even for typical high school students," she
wrote,
much less a special-needs kid. Chastising the district for "leaving Student
to fend for himself, anxious and alone, against an undercover police
officer,"
she ordered that Jesse be returned to school immediately. Yet Jesse's
victories did little to ease his frayed mental state as he headed back to
Chaparral
High School. He shook with anxiety in the car on the drive there and hadn't
yet overcome his new habit of crumpling to the floor anytime they passed a
police car. During the three-month suspension since his arrest, Jesse had
been overwhelmed by paranoia so great that once when their doorbell rang, he
tackled his mother to the floor, begging, "Don't answer! Plagued by panic
attacks and nightmares - the back of his left hand was gouged by a deep
groove
where he'd anxiously scratched himself raw - Jesse had been diagnosed with
PTSD. He was frightened to be back at Chaparral, where the other kids stared
and counselors who'd testified against him now smiled at him, and where, to
his parents' disbelief, the school district had filed an appeal of the
administrative
ruling - it was still fighting to expel him. Despite all that, Jesse was
dimly aware that he had it pretty good compared to his fellow arrestees: Of
the
22 kids arrested, he's apparently the only one still getting a traditional
education. "Every one of us got expelled," says Perry, who now attends a
reform
school, along with most of the others caught in the sting. Others took their
expulsion as a cue to drop out, like Madalyn, who now lives in Los Angeles,
working as a receptionist for an HVAC company. She was only three classes
shy of a high school diploma. "So close," she says wistfully. But while less
than thrilled about their day-today lives, they're grateful to have escaped
worse fates, since Perry, Sebastian, Jessica and Madalyn, like many of the
kids, pleaded guilty in exchange for no further jail time; their juvenile
criminal records will be sealed. That puts them in a luckier boat than the
two
students who happened to have been 18 at the time of their crimes and were
treated as adults: One, charged with selling marijuana and meth, spent 30
days
in a men's jail, at which point he threw himself upon the mercy of the court
and was sentenced to residential rehab; the second boy, charged with three
marijuana sales, was sentenced to two years in county jail. Stings like
these can have a long-term impact on kids, sometimes in devastating ways.
Research
shows that juvenile arrests predict brushes with the law as adults. "These
kinds of practices push students out of school and toward the
criminal-justice
system," says state director Lyman, noting that minority, special-needs and
poor children are particularly at risk. "It's known as the school-to-prison
pipeline. Persuaded by the high potential for bad outcomes for kids, and by
the lack of evidence of good results for communities, the National
Association
of School Safety and Law Enforcement Officials has concluded that undercover
high school operations are usually a poor strategy. "We're more interested
in getting kids help that need it, rather than targeting kids to be locked
up," says former police chief Larry Johnson, president-elect of NASSLEO.
Even
the birthplace of these stings, Los Angeles, has backed off the tactic;
after the school district began openly questioning its efficacy in 2004, the
LAPD
abruptly shut down its 30-year-old undercover School Buy program.
Nevertheless, Riverside County is undeterred. This past December - one year
after the
raid that arrested Jesse Snodgrass - the sheriff 's department announced yet
another successful undercover operation: a semester-long sting that nabbed
25 high school students in the nearby cities of Perris and Meniffee, most
for small amounts of marijuana. Among the arrestees was reportedly a
15-year-old
special-ed student who reads at a thirdgrade level, arrested for selling a
single Vicodin pill for $3, which he used to buy snacks. Perris
Superintendent
Jonathan Greenberg has called the operation "an unqualified success. The
Snodgrasses don't want their experience to be in vain and are now suing the
Temecula
Valley Unified School District, accusing it of negligence for allowing their
son to be targeted despite his disabilities. "We think that we can make
these
operations stop," says Doug. "We want to use this to send a message to
administrators everywhere. When they're approached by police departments
about having
an undercover operation at their school, they'll remember a district got
sued. Reflecting on his experience as the target of an undercover drug
sting,
Jesse still doesn't know quite what to make of it. "They were actually out
to get us," Jesse says, sounding mystified as he swigs a protein shake;
because
of his PTSD, he still sometimes finds himself unable to eat and wants to
regain some of the weight he's lost. He managed to graduate this past
December
and has started a job in construction. In the meantime, he has gleaned a few
important lessons from the ordeal: "To not trust everyone you see," he says
thoughtfully. Through his friend's harsh betrayal, he has come to understand
that people aren't always what they appear to be, a cruel but necessary
lesson
that all children must learn sometime. He has realized that even adults are
capable of acting with terrible unkindness and duplicity. Jesse's insights
have made him wary of meeting new people, fearful of hidden motives, which,
as he now knows, his disabilities make him powerless to detect. And Jesse
learned
one more valuable lesson. "I mean, the Riverside County Sheriff's
Department, they taught me how to buy pot," he says, and breaks into a grin.
THE BUST
Snodgrass made the nightly news when he was arrested in Operation
Glasshouse. Contributing editor Sabrina Rubin Erdely wrote "About a Girl" in
RS 1195.
TARGETED "The people who did this should be ashamed," says Jesse's dad, Doug
(with Jesse and mom Catherine). STUNG At the police station, Jesse (left)
was shocked to learn his only friend, Daniel (above left), was a cop..
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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