Archive for the 'Law and Justice' Category

Charges Dropped Against Alleged ‘20th Hijacker’

By BEN FOX, The Associated Press

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantanamo who was alleged to have been the so-called “20th hijacker” in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said Monday.

Mohammed al-Qahtani was one of six men charged by the military in February with murder and war crimes for their alleged roles in the 2001 attacks. Authorities say al-Qahtani missed out on taking part in the attacks because he was denied entry to the U.S. by an immigration agent.

But in reviewing the case, the convening authority for military commissions, Susan Crawford, decided to dismiss the charges against al-Qahtani and proceed with the arraignment for the other five, said Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, the Saudi’s military lawyer.

Crawford dismissed the charges Friday without prejudice, meaning they can be filed again later, but the defense only learned about it Monday, Broyles told The Associated Press.

Al-Qahtani in October 2006 recanted a confession he said he made after he was tortured and humiliated at Guantanamo.

The alleged torture, which he detailed in a written statement, included being beaten, restrained for long periods in uncomfortable positions, threatened with dogs, exposed to loud music and freezing temperatures and stripped nude in front of female personnel.

U.S. authorities have acknowledged that al-Qahtani was treated harshly at Guantanamo. More

Judge: Woman’s rape case against Halliburton can go to trial

From RawStory:

 A woman who said she was raped by co-workers while employed by a contractor in Iraq can take her claims to trial, a federal judge ruled Friday.

 

 Jamie Leigh Jones filed a federal lawsuit last year, saying she was attacked while working for a Halliburton Co. subsidiary at Camp Hope, Baghdad, in 2005. Her lawsuit claims that after she endured harassment from some of the men where she lived in coed barracks, she was drugged and raped by Halliburton and KBR firefighters.

 

Jones, a former Conroe resident, said a KBR representative imprisoned her in a shipping container for a day so she wouldn’t report the assault.

 

Attorneys for Halliburton, KBR and other subsidiaries that have been sued have disputed Jones’ allegations. KBR split from Halliburton last year.

 

Washington-based attorney Stephanie Morris said her client is pleased that she will have the opportunity to bring attention to the case.

 

“We are extremely excited we can now go forward and present the case in the public arena and make the public aware of what been going on overseas in Iraq. Halliburton has ratified gross sexual conduct by their failure to act,” Morris said.

 

Article Continues @ Sourced Site.

Nat’l Guardsman Charged With Selling Metal From Border Fence

By CARLI BROSSEAU, Tucson Citizen

An Air National Guardsman was arrested Wednesday in Phoenix on suspicion of stealing metal from the border fence and selling it, a U.S. Attorney’s Office spokeswoman said.

Master Sgt. Robert J. Kelley, 48, of the Wyoming Air National Guard was charged in Phoenix with theft of government property, Sandy Raynor said.

He sold at least five loads of metal for more than $8,000, which he later spent on a pistol, a garage door opener, cowboy boots and tools, she said.

If convicted, he could face up to 10 years in federal prison, a $250,000 fine or both, she said. More

Plame seeks to resurrect lawsuit in CIA leak case

By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - Former CIA operative Valerie Plame is trying to resurrect a lawsuit against those in the Bush administration she says illegally disclosed her identity.

A federal judge dismissed Plame’s lawsuit last year, saying there was no basis to bring a case. Plame’s lawyers asked a federal appeals court Friday to send the case back before the judge and force him to consider its merits.

Plame and her husband, former Ambassador Joseph Wilson, sued Vice President Dick Cheney; his former chief of staff, I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby; former White House political adviser Karl Rove and former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage.

Plame’s CIA position was revealed in a syndicated newspaper column in 2003, during a time when her husband was criticizing the march to war in Iraq. Armitage and Rove were the original sources for that story, which Plame believes was retribution for Wilson’s criticism. More

Criminal Probe Ordered In Crandall Canyon Mine Disaster

By Thomas Burr, The Salt Lake Tribune

WASHINGTON - Crandall Canyon Mine operators may have “willfully misled” federal officials about deteriorating conditions inside the mine, and the Justice Department should launch a criminal probe against the mine’s general manager, a congressional committee report says.

House Education and Labor Chairman George Miller said Thursday he has asked the Justice Department to investigate whether mine general manager Laine Adair, “individually or in conspiracy with others, willfully concealed or covered up” or made “false representations” to federal officials about the conditions in the mine, a violation of federal law.

A Justice Department spokesman says the request has been turned over to Brett Tolman, the U.S. Attorney for Utah.

Adair’s attorney, Gregory L. Poe, said in a statement that Adair finds the call for a criminal investigation “deeply disappointing and utterly unjustified.”

Adair, along with mine co-owner Bob Murray and several other Murray Energy officials declined to be deposed by committee investigators, asserting their constitutional right against self-incrimination, the report says.

The president and a former principal of Agapito Associates, the engineering firm that advised Murray Energy on the mine plan, also were subpoenaed to testify but invoked their Fifth Amendment right as well, according to the report.

The report also says that mine officials did not properly notify federal authorities about a March collapse, called a bump, and that Adair may have “significantly downplayed” the extent of the damage. Six miners were trapped - and ultimately entombed - in the mine after a collapse on Aug. 6, and three would-be rescuers were killed and six others injured 10 days later.

An independent engineering consultant hired by the House committee says the mining plan submitted by Murray Energy subsidiary UtahAmerican Energy would have been successful if the pillars in the area were in pristine condition. However, the analysis shows it was “unlikely” the pillars were strong enough to hold up the ceiling, and notes from the Bureau of Land Management indicated deterioration in the pillars as far back as 2004.

The House committee is the third scathing report about the operations at the Crandall Canyon Mine. The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee also called for a criminal probe and the Labor Department’s independent Inspector General said the Mine Safety and Health Administration was negligent in its responsibility to oversee safety of miners there. More

Gee, not one mention about toilet paper violations. Must suck to be you, Bob Murray! Kudos again to The Salt Lake Tribune, for their wonderful, in depth coverage! -Sue

House Panel Votes to Authorize Subpoena of VP Cheney’s Top Aide

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Democratic-led U.S. congressional panel voted on Tuesday to authorize its chairman to subpoena Vice President Dick Cheney’s chief of staff in its probe of possible U.S. torture of suspected terrorists.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler, a New York Democrat, may issue a subpoena as early as Wednesday for David Addington, who maintains he is immune from being required to testify before Congress. A court fight is likely if he refuses to show up.

The subcommittee authorized the subpoena shortly before beginning a hearing into what Nadler describes as the role of administration lawyers in creating abusive interrogation techniques after the September 11 attacks. More

Judge rules for Taser in cause-of-death decisions

From AZCentral:

 Taser International has fired a warning shot at medical examiners across the country.

 

The Scottsdale-based stun gun manufacturer increasingly is targeting state and county medical examiners with lawsuits and lobbying efforts to reverse and prevent medical rulings that Tasers contributed to someone’s death.

 

That effort on Friday helped lead an Ohio judge’s order to remove Taser’s name from three Summit County Medical Examiner autopsies that had ruled the stun gun contributed to three men’s deaths.

 

“We will hold people accountable and responsible for untrue statements,” Taser spokesman Steve Tuttle said earlier this week. “If that includes medical examiners, it includes medical examiners.”Many medical examiners, who are charged with determining the official causes of death, view the Scottsdale-based company’s efforts as disturbing, the spokesman for the National Association of Medical Examiners says.

 

“It is dangerously close to intimidation,” says Jeff Jentzen, president of the National Association of Medical Examiners. “At this point, we adamantly reject the fact that people can be sued for medical opinions that they make.”

 

In the Ohio case, the judge said the county offered no medical, scientific or electrical evidence to justify finding the stun gun was a factor in the deaths of two men in 2005 and another in 2006. Taser and the City of Akron sued the medical examiner, saying examiners in the case lacked the proper training to evaluate Tasers.

 

Chief Medical Examiner Lisa Kohler said that her examiners rightly concluded Taser contributed to the deaths and said county lawyers will appeal the judge’s ruling.

 

“I would not be going forward with this if I did not believe in the rulings,” she said.

 

The judge’s order could have an immediate impact on criminal cases against five Summit County sheriff’s deputies who were charged in the 2006 “homicide” of a jail inmate. Instead of homicide, the judge ordered the cause of death changed to “undetermined.”

 

Laying a foundation

 

Before Friday’s verdict, legal experts said Taser’s victory could lay the foundation for other cases against dozens of medical examiners who have ruled that shocks from the 50,000-volt stun gun can be fatal.

 

Medical examiners say they’re concerned that Taser’s aggressive moves could have a chilling effect on doctors, preventing them from blaming Tasers for deaths even when evidence exists.

 

Taser still faces lawsuits from family members of victims who claim the stun gun is deadly and the company has not done proper medical research. They allege police officers are using the weapon as a compliance tool against people who do not pose significant threats.

 

But the company has won an impressive number of legal victories and said it has only paid out settlements in a few cases involving police officer injuries. To date, the company says more than 60 cases have been dismissed.

 

Taser stun guns are a fixture among police. It is used by more than 12,000 police agencies across the country, and by every major law enforcement agency in the Valley. Many police agencies credit the gun with preventing deaths and injuries to officers and suspects.

 

Taser maintains they are safe 

 

Article Continues @ Sourced Site

K-9 cop trainer fired for kicking dog wants his job back - Video

RALEIGH (WTVD) — Former Trooper Charles Jones, seen in a video kicking his K-9 partner, was fired for mistreating his dog named Ricoh.

At a hearing in Raleigh Monday, the trooper was trying to get his job back.

In a training video from last summer, the dog is seen hanging by its leash from a deck railing. But according to testimony, what got the former Highway Patrol Sergeant fired was leaving the dog hanging too long.

After seeing the video Highway Patrol Captain Ken Castelloe recommended Jones be fired.

“There is no training value in leaving the dog hanging,” Castelloe said.

Castelloe also told the judge that he knew Jones to be a good and respected trainer.

“I can understand what Charles was trying to do. He was trying to gain compliance from his dog,” Castelloe said. “I don’t believe Charles Jones would ever hurt that dog.”

Jones’ attorney said he believes his client was fired because the governor’s office feared the video would be released to the public amid adverse publicity about misdeeds by several other State Troopers. More


Soldier Aquitted In Shooting Death Of Unarmed Iraqi

WHEELER ARMY AIR FIELD, Hawaii — A court-martial panel on Friday found a Schofield Barracks-based soldier not guilty of killing an unarmed Iraqi last year.

The court-martial panel started deliberating on Friday morning. After seven hours, Sgt. 1st-Class Trey Corrales was acquitted of all charges.

A panel of soldiers and officers from Schofield Barracks and Wheeler acquitted Corrales of three charges, including pre-meditated murder. Corrales of San Antonio, Texas, would have faced a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole if he had been convicted.

Prosecution witnesses said Corrales told them to kill military-aged men at a suspected insurgent house in Iraq last year. Witnesses claimed the sergeant shot an unarmed Iraqi to death.

The defense argued Corrales was acting on reflexes in the heat of war.

His wife and two children were in court, and the family is planning a trip to Disneyland. More

Groundbreaking New Book Documents Widespread Election Fraud

by Jason Leopold

http://www.opednews.com

Earlier this month, at a conference in San Francisco, several renowned computer scientists warned that electronic voting machines remain vulnerable to computer hackers due to serious security flaws in the operating software, calling into question the integrity of a presidential election that is still seven months away, and all other elections in the U.S. where paper ballots have been replaced by these paperless electronic machines.

There wasn’t anything particularly new in the scientists’ revelations other than the fact that the magazine PC World covered the issue and several other mainstream news organizations.

Arguably, any mainstream coverage these days of election fraud, a topic of such national significance that it literally affects anyone who has ever cast a ballot, can be credited to a handful of hard core voting rights activists and muckraking citizen journalists who have made it their life’s mission to overhaul the way people vote and restore much needed integrity to the process.

The scientists’ warnings that this year’s historic presidential election can be tinkered with came on the heels of the publication of a groundbreaking new book, “Loser Take All,” click here a collection of eye-opening investigative reports into past issues of election fraud authored by voting rights experts, activists, and journalists, who used old-fashioned gumshoe reporting to expose the seedy side of the business of counting votes.

Unlike the reportage leading up the invasion of Iraq, which relied heavily on anonymous sources who spoon fed mainstream reporters wild tales of Iraq’s vast weapons cache, lapped up by Pulitzer Prize winning journalists and printed as fact, the reports about stolen elections, the massive purge of minorities and poor people from voter rolls, in “Loser Take All” is backed up by smoking gun evidence in the form of documents and on the record accounts from public officials and behind-the-scenes executives employed by e-voting companies.

Perhaps no one has been passionate about this issue or has worked as hard to attract mainstream attention to the cause than bestselling author Mark Crispin Miller and blogger Brad Friedman, who co-authored an essay for the book with voting rights advocate Michael Richardson.

Well before anyone understood what election fraud meant, Miller, also a professor at New York University, and Friedman, whose BradBlog website is the go-to place on the Internet for comprehensive coverage on voting issues, were sounding early warning alarms and educating the public about voting machines plagued with software bugs, the ease at which hackers can bust into the system and change the vote count for candidates, such as George W. Bush, and place him ahead of Democratic challenger John Kerry in states such as Ohio.

Miller, who wrote extensively in his book “Fooled Again” click here about the theft of countless votes cast during the 2004 presidential election–in Ohio and many other states– were stolen from Kerry and handed to Bush, said in an interview that the 2008 election can be stolen “through pre-emption of innumerable votes, as well as through the use of e-voting machines, both paperless touch-screen machines and op-scans.”

“It’s safe to say that the entire federal government, insofar as it’s controlled by BushCo’s appointees, has been diligently working to suppress all but those votes that will support the [Republican] party,” Miller said. “The [Veterans Administration], for example, has announced that it will not help badly injured veterans register to vote since those who’ve been thus damaged by Bush/Cheney’s war aren’t likely to be big McCain supporters.” MORE




  • Support The H.O.R.N.

    Monthly Subscriptions
    Rock ($10 USD)
    Paper ($25 USD)
    Scissors ($50 USD)
    Hammer! ($100 USD)
  • To donate by mail

On Air!



Streaming and Archives made possible by
The White Rose Society

Chatroom


  • One Billion Bulbs The Head On Radio Network Bulbs Change Statistics

  • H.O.R.N. Widgets




  • Subscribe

    Subscribe to my RSS Feeds

    Categories


    Close
    E-mail It