3 Stories That Show Big Brother is Alive and Well

Via The Daily Bell

Getting Clever with Fear to Restrict the Internet.

Representatives from the seven countries (UK, USA, Germany, Italy, France, Canada, and Japan) known as the G7 which form the Council on Foreign Relations met to discuss what to do about extremist jihadi content on the internet. They want to work with tech giants to make sure anything that could recruit or train terrorists is taken down within two hours.

The United Kingdom actually proposed jailing anyone who even views extremist content online for up to 15 years! Of course, the governments will define “extremist content.” And as most things go, their definition will likely get looser over time.

For instance, when SWAT teams were introduced in America, the government claimed they would only be used in hostage situations. Today SWAT teams are used thousands of times a year, even for small-scale drug raids on non-violent suspects.

 

Prosecutors Pick a Target, THEN Find a Crime.

Practically anybody could be indicted for a crime if enough investigation went into their lives. There are so many laws, that we can’t go a day without breaking some statute.

Of course, most of us are not popular enough to draw the attention of U.S. prosecutors. But that is how they keep “the little guy” in line, by making examples out of the government’s enemies.

Reports indicate that Robert Mueller is on a fishing expedition to indict members of Trump’s team. If he can’t find any crimes, he will twist the law until something fits. Mueller and his team have done this in the past.

That’s the state of “justice” in America.

Fitbit and Pacemaker Info Used to Catch Criminals

Here’s the tough thing about Big Brother technology. In the beginning, it really is just used against actual criminals.

In one instance, a woman’s Fitbit, a watch monitoring her activity, cast doubt on her husband’s story. He said she was murdered by an intruder. He told the police a story about when she came home, what she did in the time before the supposed intruder showed up, and that she ran down into the basement. Based on information from the device, they could see the story was a fabrication.

In another case, prosecutors successfully subpoenaed information from a man’s heart rate monitor which proved he was awake when he claimed to be asleep before a fire started. He is going to trial for the arson, and a judge ruled that the evidence will be allowed to be presented.

The problem is the precedent it sets. Much like the SWAT raids in the example above, this information may at first be used to solve arsons and murders.

But what happens when it is used to fish for crimes instead? Or to frame someone in the wrong place at the wrong time?

U.S. Wants Shkreli Jailed After Offer Of Clinton Hair Bounty

Martin Shkreli might not be able to sell that Wu Tang Clan album after Federal prosecutors late Thursday moved to revoke his bail, claiming that the former pharmaceutical company CEO and purported “most hated man in the world” repeatedly threatened and harassed former secretary of state Hillary Clinton on line.

Specifically, the Feds were incensed by what Shkreli says was intended to be a humorous post on his Facebook page offering a $5,000 bounty to anyone who could “grab” some of Clinton’s hair for him during her upcoming book tour.

"Shkreli"s latest threat is concerning not only because it has required a significant expenditure of resources by the United States Secret Service, which is charged with protecting Secretary Clinton, but also because there is a significant risk that one of his many social media followers or others who learn of his offers through the media will take his statements seriously — as has happened previously — and act on them," prosecutors wrote in a legal motion.”

US District Court Judge Kiyo Matsumoto, who presided over Shkreli’s trial which ended in him being convicted on three of eight counts of securities fraud-related offenses, ordered his legal team to file a response. She scheduled a Sept. 14 hearing for legal arguments on the issue.

Here"s the post in question:

True to form, Shkreli trolled prosecutors in response published to his Facebook page: "Hillary Cliinton"s presumptive agents are hard at work. It was just a prank, bro! But still, lock HER up. Spend your resources investigating her, not me!!"

According to USA Today, prosecutors also said Shkreli had continued to harass journalist Lauren Duca.

Shkreli had previously been banned from Twitter earlier this year, allegedly for harassing Duca, a freelance writer who had authored an opinion essay that criticized President-elect Trump. The day before his verdict, Shkreli wrote in a Facebook post: "trial"s over tomorrow, b****. Then if I"m acquitted, I get to f*** Lauren Duca."

Secret Service agents sought to question Shkreki about his post, but he declined to meet with them, prosecutors wrote.

In what sounds to us like they’re reaching for justification, prosecutors cited a USA Today story recounting how a graduate student solved a complex mathematical proof after Shkreli offered a $40,000 scholarship to anyone who could.

"Shkreli"s own prior actions, and his influence over others who have previously acted in reliance on his statements, demonstrate why the government views his latest actions with concern," prosecutors concluded in their bail revocation motion.

According to Bloomberg, Shkreli edited the Facebook post, saying it was "satire, meant for humor” after it was reported in the media.

His lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, said that while Shkreli’s posts may have been “inappropriate,” his client didn’t intend to harm anybody.

“We take the matter seriously and intend to address the issue responsibly,” Benjamin Brafman, a lawyer for Shkreli, said in an email Thursday night. “However inappropriate some of Mr Shkreli’s postings may have been, we do not believe that he intended harm and do not believe that he poses a danger to the community.”

Is it really any surprise that federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, where Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign was based and where Clinton friend (co-conspirator?) and former Attorney General Loretta Lynch once served as US attorney, are unwilling to let a joke about Clinton slide? Even if Shkreli remains free, the complaint is sure to cost him tens of thousands more in legal fees. Perhaps that"s the ultimate goal.
 

Judge Approves Warrant For "Antifa" User Data From Anti-Trump Website

A District of Columbia Federal Judge has approved a government warrant seeking information about users and subscribers to an anti-Trump website which has been linked to rioting during the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C., but he added protections to safeguard "innocent users."

Chief Judge Robert Morin ruled that DreamHost, an LA-based web-hosting company, must turn over data about visitors to the website disruptj20.org, which is a home to political activists who organized protests at the time of Donald Trump"s inauguration as U.S. president in January, many of whom have since morphed into the controversial "antifa" movement.

Morin, who will oversee review of the data, also said the government must explain what protocols it will use to make sure the data of "innocent users" is not seized by prosecutors, according to Reuters. Bloomberg adds that prosecutors would have to tell the judge which data it intended to seize.

“I’m trying to balance the First Amendment protections and the government’s need for this information,” Morin said. “My view here is that this best protects both legitimate interests.”

In the closely watched case, which could have a material chilling effect on similar activist website, the DOJ said it sought the records connected to the site amid concerns that it helped facilitate the planning of protests on Inauguration Day in which more than 200 people were arrested for rioting and vandalizing businesses in downtown Washington.

DreamHost resisted the original July 12 warrant, saying the scope of the warrant was too broad and trampled on the rights of 1.3 million visitors to the site, many of whom were simply exercising their First Amendment rights to express their political views. It also said the warrant would expose the identities of the 1.3 million people who had visited the site.

The Justice Department last week proposed amending the scope of its warrant to exclude the IP addresses of website visitors and limit the search only to records from July 1, 2016 to Jan. 20, 2017.

But DreamHost argued that the warrant was still too broad, as it could sweep in people who sent emails to disruptj20 addresses. The company objected to the two-step process that would require it to turn over data in bulk and let prosecutors search for and seize evidence of criminal involvement in the riots.

At Thuesday"s hearing, Judge Morin said that he recognized the tension between free speech rights and law enforcement"s need to search digital records for evidence. He said he added safeguards to his order granting the government"s request for information in an effort to balance those two concerns.

According to Bloomberg, the warrant initially sought all data and records pertaining to disruptj20.org, including information about site visitors. Prosecutors said details on subscribers -- including names, addresses, phone numbers and the contents of email accounts within the disruptj20.org domain -- would help identify those who organized and participated in the riots.

Privacy advocates raised concerns that the warrant was an attempt by the Trump administration and the Justice Department under Attorney General Jeff Sessions to cast a “digital dragnet” to identify the president’s critics. As a result, on Tuesday, prosecutors amended their request, saying in part that while the government wants information on subscribers, it’s not interested in data logs containing information about visitors. Prosecutors also say they will set aside any information that doesn’t involve rioters and have it sealed.

“We are sensitive to the idea that the website has a dual purpose,” Assistant U.S. Attorney John Borchert told Morin during Thursday’s hearing. That didn’t assuage DreamHost, which told Morin that the government’s revised warrant would still give it access to membership lists and content from multiple email accounts in violation of the First Amendment.

“That in and of itself will have a chilling effect,” said Raymond Aghaian, a lawyer for DreamHost.

The U.S. attorney’s office in Washington told Morin that the website, disruptj20.org, was used to recruit and organize hundreds of people who rioted on Inauguration Day. The rioters, armed with hammers, crow bars and wooden sticks, also injured police and others, according to prosecutors. So far, 19 people have pleaded guilty among the almost 200 people who were charged, prosecutors said in court papers.

The website wasn’t just a way to disseminate information “but was also used to coordinate and privately communicate among a focused group of people whose intent included planned violence,” prosecutors said in a court filing. Organizers of the riot used the website to verify the identity of people who would take part by requiring attendees to log in and provide their credentials, the government has alleged.

Govt Exposed for ‘Ignoring’ Child Rape Cases — Prosecuting Pot Instead

Cleveland, OH — In the land of the free, those tasked with ‘protecting’ society — often and with extreme prejudice — fall far short of providing anything resembling actual safety. Instead, law enforcement in America often chooses profit over people. An outrageous case out of Cleveland Ohio proves this point by illustrating that authorities are more interested in making pot busts than they are prosecuting those who rape children.

When prosecutor Michael O’Malley first took office last month, he began looking into hundreds of cases marked ‘inactive’ in the computer system. As he began reviewing those cases, he found dozens of instances of rape and sexual assault cases involving children that he said prosecutors “ignored.”

“There was a conscious decision (by prosecutors) to make some of these cases inactive,” O’Malley said. “It’s outrageous.”

O’Malley has discovered around 70 cases so far, but because there are more than 1,900 cases in the system, he expects to find even more.

The incompetence and sheer failure of prosecutors to close these cases are more glaring than the thousands of rape kits that are collecting dust in police departments across the state as many of these cases involve an actual confession from the suspect. 

According to the Associated Press, some of the victims in the 70 cases were as young as 3 years old. And some of the cases, which date back three years, would have been easy to prosecute because suspects confessed, O’Malley said.

“We’re peeling the layers of an onion,” O’Malley said of the investigation into the disgusting act of ignoring child rape. “And every day there are more revelations.”

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Amid the despicable dereliction, or possibly worse, at least three prosecutors have been forced to resign and four others have been disciplined.

It’s not clear why prosecutors failed to act on the cases or to enter them into the office’s case-management system, reports the AP. O’Malley said he finds it “hard to believe” that his predecessor, Tim McGinty, would have allowed prosecutors to ignore cases.

However, if there is one thing we know about Tim McGinty, it’s that he has no problem ignoring crimes against children — up to, and including, murder.

McGinty gained national attention over past years for being the prosecutor who stalled the investigation of Tamir Rice’s shooting, fought against charging Rice’s killer, and launched a smear campaign against Rice’s mother.

As the Free Thought Project has reported countless times, as long as the drug war exists, police have little incentive to investigate actual crimes involving actual victims. However, when it comes to going after people who may be in possession of a substance deemed illegal by the state — authorities are chomping at the bit.

While Cleveland authorities have been ignoring child rape and child murdering cops, they have been active in pursuing those who’d dare grow, sell, or possess a beneficial medicinal plant.

Last year, Cleveland police and prosecutors had no problem letting child rapists walk while actively pursuing marijuana cases. In the first month of 2016, police raids on marijuana grow operations filled the headlines as cops clamped down on dangerous pot farmers.

In every one of these marijuana busts, exorbitant amounts of cash were seized from the dealers and growers.

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Had these child rapists had $700,000 cash in their pockets when confessing to raping children, perhaps the authorities could’ve found the time to actually remove them from society.

The good news, however, is that O’Malley seems like he wants to put an end to this madness and actually prosecute these sickos. However, it is unlikely that he will stop arresting people for pot as a large portion of his salary is probably tied to the revenue generated from the drug arrests.

And so they turn, the greasy violent gears of the American war on drugs.

Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter and now on Steemit

Tens of Thousands of Drug Convictions to be Overturned After State Caught Falsifying Lab Tests

After years of injustice, thousands of people wrongfully convicted on drug charges in Massachusetts will finally have their convictions overturned. The ruling centers on drug lab tests that were falsified by a state-employed chemist named Annie Dookhan.

“The state’s highest court on Wednesday ordered prosecutors to drop a large portion of the more than 24,000 drug convictions affected by the misconduct of former state drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan, issuing an urgent call to resolve a scandal that has plagued the legal system since 2012.”

Dookhan was imprisoned in 2013 after being charged with a suite of crimes relating to her years-long career of deceit, where she falsified tens of thousands of reports to jail innocent people. She would mark results as ‘positive’ for illegal substances without actually testing them, even adding cocaine to samples when no cocaine was present.

At sentencing, Judge Carol S. Ball stated, “Innocent persons were incarcerated, guilty persons have been released to further endanger the public, millions and millions of public dollars are being expended to deal with the chaos Ms. Dookhan created, and the integrity of the criminal justice system has been shaken to the core.”

After the shocking revelations, some of the ‘Dookhan-tainted’ convictions were overturned, but when 2017 came around, 24,391 of those convictions still remained. Most of these people were poor and charged simply with possession. Many remained in prison or on parole, and many more were denied jobs and housing due to their criminal records.

The Massachusetts high court ruled that each defendant had a right to a hearing, but the cost and logistics of doing so would be unfeasible. Prosecutors sent cryptic, confusing letters to the defendants to supposedly inform defendants of their rights, which prompted the ACLU to get involved.

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Incredibly, state prosecutors were fighting to keep the convictions in place, despite justices saying these cases involved “egregious government misconduct.” Despite being victimized by a serial liar under an immoral war on drugs, each defendant had to appear their case individually.

“It’s as though the state is almost addicted to prosecuting its way out of the problem of drug abuse,” said Mathew Segal, legal director at the ACLU of Massachusetts. “The addiction is so strong that the state won’t even walk away from convictions tainted by fraud. And they could walk away. Prosecutors could walk away from these cases right now.”

But prosecutors didn’t walk away, and the state’s high court finally put an end to most of the injustice.

“The court said district attorneys across the state must “exercise their prosecutorial discretion and reduce the number of relevant Dookhan defendants by moving to vacate and dismiss with prejudice all drug cases the district attorneys would not or could not reprosecute if a new trial were ordered.” The cases affected by the ruling include people who pleaded guilty, were convicted, or admitted that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict them. By vacating the cases, the convictions would effectively be erased…

The court said defendants whose cases aren’t dismissed should receive a notice that their cases had been affected by Dookhan’s misconduct. Then, any indigent defendants would receive public counsel to explore requests to vacate their pleas or get new trials.”

Almost all of the defendants convicted of simple possession have already served their jail sentence. Being locked in a cage for a non-crime is enough to scar a person for life, but at least they will not be hindered the rest of their life by a conviction.

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This scandal demonstrates one way in which the war on drugs provides opportunity for the State to ruin lives for the victimless behavior of possessing a substance deemed illegal by arbitrary, baseless means. When control of the drug lab was transferred to the Massachusetts State Police, several red flags on Dookhan were ignored by superiors, and the lab silenced whistleblowers who reported Dookhan.

It all points to an insidious obsession by government to attack citizens – especially the less fortunate who have no means to fight the system – by treating drug use as criminal behavior instead of a health issue. It’s past time to end the war on drugs, which will prevent the kind of abuse carried out by Dookhan and her superiors.