Police officers ambushed a man in his family"s backyard and fired several rounds into his back, killing him because they claimed the phone in his hand was a gun.
The post Cops Shoot Unarmed Dad In The Back, Kill Him For Holding a Phone in His Grandparents’ Backyard appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
Silicon Valley is the home to tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Google. It’s also home to a surging working homeless population who live in dilapidated RV’s, tents, and their own cars, all thanks to the policies Democrats love to implement.
The surging number of those working in Silicon Valley and still unable to afford adequate housing should be a warning about big government, but it sure doesn’t seem like anyone is taking notice as their taxes continue to rise. As governments creep toward socialism though, poverty becomes the norm, not the exception. Silicon Valley has the highest median income in the nation. But a soaring tax burden and expensive regulations have caused housing prices to increase which has also caused homelessness to surge.
More than 10,000 people were living without shelter across San Jose and Santa Clara Counties on any given night in 2016, though that figure is probably low. Thanks to big government, the cost of living is not low. An influx of tech workers along with decades of under-building (thanks again to the regulations of big government) has created a historic homelessness in the Bay Area.
The governments in California continue to attempt to control deadly Hepatitis A outbreaks caused by a booming homeless population and usually do so by taking even more from those who actually work. The cycle will continue: socialists governments will put a cheap band-aid on the gaping wound they created themselves.
Rather than freeing poor people from dependence on benefactors and bosses, they merely transfer the dependence to the state, leaving the least politically connected people at the mercy of the political process. – FEE
The one thing government has are programs to help those in poverty. But those have proven ineffective. And the one thing that will work is the very thing government refuses to do: Climb off the backs of those they pretend they want to help.
Progressives routinely deplore the “affordable housing crisis” in American cities. But it is the very laws that Progressives favor—land-use policies, zoning codes, and building codes—that ratchet up housing costs, stand in the way of alternative housing options, and confine poor people to ghetto neighborhoods. Historically, when they have been free to do so, poor people have happily disregarded the ideals of political humanitarians and found their own ways to cut housing costs, even in bustling cities with tight housing markets. – FEE
Imagine just how much more money the working poor would have if the big government in California wasn’t stealing over half their income to implement the very rules and laws that continue to make “scraping by” even more expensive.
Silicone Valley is the home to tech giants like Facebook, Apple, and Google. It’s also home to a surging working homeless population who live in dilapidated RV’s, tents, and their own cars, all thanks to the policies Democrats love to implement.
The surging number of those working in Silicone Valley and still unable to afford adequate housing should be a warning about big government, but it sure doesn’t seem like anyone is taking notice as their taxes continue to rise. As governments creep toward socialism though, poverty becomes the norm, not the exception. Silicon Valley has the highest median income in the nation. But a soaring tax burden and expensive regulations have caused housing prices to increase which has also caused homelessness to surge.
More than 10,000 people were living without shelter across San Jose and Santa Clara Counties on any given night in 2016, though that figure is probably low. Thanks to big government, the cost of living is not low. An influx of tech workers along with decades of under-building (thanks again to the regulations of big government) has created a historic homelessness in the Bay Area.
The governments in California continue to attempt to control deadly Hepatitis A outbreaks caused by a booming homeless population and usually do so by taking even more from those who actually work. The cycle will continue: socialists governments will put a cheap band-aid on the gaping wound they created themselves.
Rather than freeing poor people from dependence on benefactors and bosses, they merely transfer the dependence to the state, leaving the least politically connected people at the mercy of the political process. – FEE
The one thing government has are programs to help those in poverty. But those have proven ineffective. And the one thing that will work is the very thing government refuses to do: Climb off the backs of those they pretend they want to help.
Progressives routinely deplore the “affordable housing crisis” in American cities. But it is the very laws that Progressives favor—land-use policies, zoning codes, and building codes—that ratchet up housing costs, stand in the way of alternative housing options, and confine poor people to ghetto neighborhoods. Historically, when they have been free to do so, poor people have happily disregarded the ideals of political humanitarians and found their own ways to cut housing costs, even in bustling cities with tight housing markets. – FEE
Imagine just how much more money the working poor would have if the big government in California wasn’t stealing over half their income to implement the very rules and laws that continue to make “scraping by” even more expensive.
Taxation is theft. But I’ve seen some people defend taxes with typical arguments like, “It’s not theft because you get something for your money.”
Perhaps the confusion lies in the fact that not all thieves act the same. There are at least three different types of theft in which the government engages.
1. The Con
The con artist cheats you out of your money. He makes you think you are getting something of value, or he tricks you into being robbed without your knowledge. Most people are conned into supporting taxation, assuming taxes are the price of civilization. They assume that is the way it has to be, and that taxes are justified because people get government services in return.
So when someone argues that taxes aren’t theft because you are getting something for your money, this is a con. Yes, the government maintains the roads, but both the price and delivery are the con. You must use the government to get the roads, you have no choice. The con artist convinces you roads could be built in no other way, and for no lower cost. The same goes for security, education, food safety, and so on.
And of course sometimes long after the government has taken your money, you realize that they never delivered on whatever promise they made: to keep you safe, to create more jobs, to strengthen the economy, to reduce crime etc. Think you’ll get your money back? Think again, you’ve been conned.
2. Extortion.
Maybe you see the con coming, as many of us do, and refuse to pay taxes. Well, then comes the extortion.
“You’ve got a nice home here, it would be a shame if someone seized it for back taxes. Come on man, don’t make us come back here, we’re not gonna be as nice next time around. You don’t have health insurance? What’s gonna happen if someone breaks your kneecaps? Pony up buddy.”
Those of us who aren’t conned into thinking taxes are necessary or proper generally pay because we don’t want the government to ruin our lives. It’s the classic mafia style, being forced to pay protection money, even though they are your largest threat. Sure they might keep other thugs off the block, but then again, they might not. Either way, you are going to pay, or they will hurt you in any way they can.
Ultimately, all taxes are collected under the threat of violence. Obtaining something through threats or force is extortion.
3. Armed Robbery.
Finally, if you refuse to play into the con, and you refuse to be extorted, you will face a home invasion, which is really the final phase of extortion. When your home is invaded you will either be kidnapped or killed, depending on your reaction to the assault, and the mood of your attackers.
Then they will take everything of value until the original amount they said you owed is paid, plus some extra for not cooperating. If they claimed you owed them an especially high figure, they will keep you caged as an example to others who refused to be extorted.
So yes, taxation is theft, and most people that disagree have been so easily conned that they simply think they haven’t been robbed. But they never bother to think about what would happen next if they didn’t accept the sham products and overprices services!
Being conned is theft: we are tricked into letting go of our money, or having it taken while we aren’t looking (like inflation). Extortion is clearly theft as well: the “alternative” of having your kneecaps broken or business burned down is no alternative at all, it is simply a method of having you turn over your money in order to avoid a violent attack. And armed robbery is clearly theft. You are in the midst of the violence and can no longer avoid it. You must turn over your money, or see the violence escalate until ultimately you are killed.
No matter how you slice it, taxation is theft.
A new email scam is making the rounds and this one appears to be targeting Netflix’s millions of subscribers. The email threatens to shut down the users account if they fail to update their billing information.
According to ABC News, the email asks its readers to click the link, leading them to a fake Netflix homepage and prompting them to enter their private information. According to MailGuard, an Australian cybersecurity firm, that includes billing information, so the scammers can access debit or credit card numbers.
The well-designed, individualized, and fake email convinces customers to update their account information to avoid suspension. This results in stolen personal and credit card information.
Action Fraud has enclosed an image of the scam email so it can be easily spotted.
A well designed Netflix email targets some of the 110 million Netflix subscribers worldwide! Check out the steps: https://t.co/kUK2o4WR3S pic.twitter.com/LBV6WLuSbP
— Action Fraud (@actionfrauduk) November 6, 2017
“Unfortunately, scams are common on the internet and target popular brands such as Netflix and other companies with large customer bases to lure users into giving out personal information,” Netflix said in a statement to ABC News. Netflix says that the company will never ask for personal information in an email and advises its subscribers to be careful of any phishing emails that lead to false websites, according to its security page.
“Scammers can make their fake emails and bogus websites look pretty convincing, so it’s always a good idea to check carefully that the email comes from the actual company domain and not a scammer,” advised MailGuard on their company blog.
Never click on links in an email or text message. Go directly to the company’s website to check on your account. Scams such as this one are not new by any means, but a lot of people are falling victim to this one.
Jennifer Wertz was fired from her position at a Circle K gas station in Albuquerque after shooting Ferron Mendez as he attempted to rob her. The community has now banded together to donate money to Wertz to help cover for her lost wages.
Mendez pointed a gun towards Wertz during an attempted robbery, making Wertz realize “it was either shoot or be shot.” When asked, Wertz said that she would rather be alive and without a job than dead. Sentiments shared by most human beings. It was later discovered to be an airsoft gun missing the orange tip, but in the heat of the moment, Wertz did what almost any other would have done to preserve their life.
Wertz’s mother responded to her firing by creating a GoFundMe page. After recalling the case, Wertz’s mother explained that her daughter was in need of financial help. The GoFundMe page says:
On 09-18-2017 my daughter was faced with something no person should have to face. That was shoot or be shot. Two armmed robbers came into her work and pointed a gun in her face. She had her gun in her pocket and protected herself and her friends. As a result of saving peoples lives and her own she has now been put out of work for 2 weeks and will most likly lose her job she has had for 5 years. My daughter has 3 kids to care for and needs help now. The kids are 8, 6, and 2 and with no income she isnt sure what to do. She wont ask for help herself so im doing this for her. She is torn apart emotionally and is in need of time to recover from this ordeal. She has always been a good person, mom, and daughter. She is in need of dire help to support her family. She was already living pay check to pay check and now has no savings or nothing to fall back on. Please help as much as you can to support her and her family until she can find a new job.
The mother of three has now earned over $71,000, which is well over the original goal of $20,000.
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Author: Mac Slavo
Views: Read by 0 people
Date: September 28th, 2017
Website: www.SHTFplan.com
Copyright Information: Copyright SHTFplan and Mac Slavo. This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.shtfplan.com. Please contact us for permission to reproduce this content in other media formats.
The burdensome and regulation filled tax system on those living in the “land of the free” is more than likely on the verge of collapse. The IRS can’t collect enough money, and the government spends too much. But the left is fighting to ensure the government continues to steal as much as possible.
If the tax system collapses, it’ll be leftists we should worry about. If one in America even suggests to a leftist that they don’t want to pay taxes (have the IRS steal their hard earned money) they are ridiculed, chastised, and accused of not wanting to help the poor. For now, the IRS has bigger fish to fry, but that won’t last, as left-leaning rags everywhere suggest harsher and more aggressive means of taking from others. The IRS is ratcheting up their tax collecting and going after anyone who may have tried to keep some of their own money.
In March, federal agents raided the headquarters of equipment giant Caterpillar Inc, as part of a long-running investigation into whether the company owes $2 billion in back taxes and penalties for a scheme that allegedly shifted profits to Switzerland. Caterpillar isfighting the charges. –Vice
But what the left doesn’t understand is the moral hypocrisy in their need to help the less fortunate. It isn’t morally superior to steal from someone else (no matter how much more they have than you) in order to fund things you find righteous. Which is reason number one why someday human thinking will evolve beyond the idea of taxation and government. Tax experts even say the system could be on the road to collapse after years of “neglect.”
Leaders and experts from both parties say the IRS is losing its ability to carry out core functions. “I am concerned about the staffing of the IRS. It is an important part of fixing the tax gap,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told Congress in January during his confirmation hearings. “[If] we add people, we make money.” In late 2015, six former tax commissioners—including from the last three Republicans administrations—wrote a letter lambasting the ongoing cuts. “Over the last fifty years, none of us has ever witnessed anything like what has happened to the IRS appropriations over the last five years,” they said.
And leftists are incredibly concerned that no one will be around to steal their money and use it to oppress them. Several articles have been written coming from a place of fear that there are not enough tax collectors out there to help keep the government around. At this point, the propaganda which demands one pays taxes is being shattered by the rational humans who know taxation is theft. People are slowly realizing what a racket taxation actually is, well, most people; the left is still confused.
Simply put, the power of propaganda to distort and control the mass mind is more powerful than all the armies and military technology of history combined.
The “income tax” as it is called is both immoral and illegal. The IRS was formed in 1913 following the adoption (it was never properly ratified) of the 16th Amendment. It is one of the greatest frauds ever perpetrated upon the American people. Now no one questions it.
The income tax was enacted even though the U.S. Supreme Court had only recently ruled in Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. that certain taxes on direct income were unconstitutionally unapportioned direct taxes and violated Article I, Section 9 of the U.S. Constitution. Not covered in Pollockis the fact that the income tax also violates the 5th Amendment: No person shall… be deprived of life, liberty or property… nor shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation. –Personal Liberty
So what is the left so afraid of? Most loathe president Donald Trump with a passion, so why would they even want to prop up this government? The fact that most people already live paycheck to paycheck doesn’t phase a leftist. The single thing that the government could do to help a family in need is to let them keep all of their money and pay their bills themselves. But this rationale is lost on those who can’t envision their life without someone else ruling over them and telling them what to do and how to live.
So what happens when the tax system does collapse? Will they all of a sudden take the side of the government, who they claim to hate to try to steal that money from people themselves? Or will they finally realize that the government doesn’t just steal from the “rich”, they steal from the poor too -and everyone in between. Abolishing the IRS and the income tax would give Americans freedom that no one has ever dreamed of. They would be able to pay their bills with extra money left to spend and boost the economy.
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Author: Mac Slavo
Views: Read by 226 people
Date: August 24th, 2017
Website: www.SHTFplan.com
Copyright Information: Copyright SHTFplan and Mac Slavo. This content may be freely reproduced in full or in part in digital form with full attribution to the author and a link to www.shtfplan.com. Please contact us for permission to reproduce this content in other media formats.
Image: KRQEValencia County, NM — A tech savvy New Mexico farmer says he caught a Valencia County Sheriff’s deputy stealing from his farm, and is now demanding justice. Matthew Chavez told KRQE News 13 he knows who the police officer is who’s been stealing from him because he caught him on camera and says he used to purchase hay from him but has resorted to stealing it now.
Chavez told reporters he had given Deputy Fred Torres many opportunities to come clean and admit he was stealing from Chavez but the officer did not. So, the farmer took the surveillance photos to the police department and filed a criminal complaint against him.
The mild-mannered farmer set a trap for the police officer by setting up a wildlife camera in an area where he says he noticed his hay disappearing.
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I noticed a little bit of hay each time missing so that’s what made me go put up the camera and it was right there in plain sight.
He says he was shocked after downloading the images to learn the thief was wearing a police uniform and says he immediately recognized Torres because the officer had purchased hay from him in the past.
When confronted with the indisputable facts the farmer said Torres owned up to taking some bales of hay back in late 2016, but the farmer knew even that was a lie. He said:
He admitted to taking 20 [bales] but that was back in December and I had him on camera in April so it’s been ongoing.
Chavez explained his deep seeded frustrations not only with the theft of fruits of his labor, but also with the fact the dishonest person was supposed to be locking up the very type of individual he himself had become. He remarked:
This is the way you make a living and you’ve already got mother nature against you as it is so for someone to be stealing from you and for it to be a sheriff’s deputy, that is where it gets interesting.
The hay farmer estimates the value of the bales of hay Torres stole from him is at least $1500 but admits he’s not exactly sure how much he has taken from him and for how long.
READ MORE: Graphic New Video Backs Up Witness Accounts, Police Allow K-9 to Tear Apart Unconscious Man
It’s unclear if Chavez fears retaliation for speaking out against a police officer. But in all fairness, it seems Chavez gave Torres many opportunities to make right his wrongs. He confronted him before taking his concerns to the officer’s employer.
And even when he was speaking with the local news media, Chavez devalued the total amount of stolen goods below what would have been considered a felony. It seems clear to us at TFTP that he only wants the stealing to stop.
But we have a message for Valencia police. If you retaliate against Mr. Chavez for turning in someone you should already have arrested, we will make sure the whole world knows how you conduct official police business. Bring charges against Torres if he refuses to pay back all that he has allegedly stolen, or become just like the criminals you say you are committed to apprehending.
The Valencia Sheriff’s Department told KRQE it cannot comment on Chavez’ claims one of their own is a crook. They say the investigation is ongoing. But the likely truth is they are probably waiting until the press gets distracted with another story, so they can make the whole ordeal disappear.
The U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, has just promised to increase the federal government’s civil asset forfeiture programs. In an address at the National District Attorney’s Association conference in Minneapolis, MN this week, Sessions laid out his prosecutorial plans for the nation.
The gathering of district attorneys from all across the nation to meet with America’s top law enforcement official was revealing, to say the least. Sessions addressed many legitimate and pressing issues facing the nation; opioid epidemic, increasing murder rate, and human trafficking. But Sessions’ comments on planned confiscation of possessions of private citizens has many taking notice.
In addition, we hope to issue this week a new directive on asset forfeiture—especially for drug traffickers. With care and professionalism, we plan to develop policies to increase forfeitures. No criminal should be allowed to keep the proceeds of their crime. Adoptive forfeitures are appropriate as is sharing with our partners.
Sessions has long-since considered marijuana a drug and not a plant, and his comment specifying “drug traffickers” as his primary target, has many in the medical marijuana (MMJ) industry more than a bit nervous. The DEA still classifies cannabis as a Schedule I narcotic even though 29 U.S. states have defied the DEA’s definition as well as federal law and enacted MMJ laws allowing for cannabis to be used as medicine and in a few states, recreationally.
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Now, it seems, Sessions wants to not only increase seizures of property by federal agents belonging to citizens of subordinate states but he may be able to legally transpose the broad definition of “criminal” to include dispensary owners, growers, and distributors alike in states where weed is already legal. After all, each actor involved is breaking federal law with every plant cultivated or sold.
READ MORE: Video Exposes Crisis Actors Faking an ISIS Car Bombing -- Media Reports it as REAL
In June, 62 people were arrested for trafficking marijuana in Colorado, a state where not only is marijuana offered through the state’s medical marijuana board, but is also available for recreational uses. Several of those arrested were licensed members of the state’s program.
One operation, known as “Toker Poker,” targeted unlicensed marijuana growers and distributors who allegedly sold weed across state lines into surrounding states. According to the Denver Post:
The indictment, filed June 9, resulted in the seizure of nearly 2,500 illegally cultivated marijuana plants and 4,000 pounds of marijuana.
But what started out as a targeted investigation of growers and distributors quickly morphed into in related businesses, including at least one supply store.
A dozen businesses operated by the ring, including a marijuana grow supply store and purported property management companies, are also named in the indictment.
Members did not get licensing needed to grow and sell legally in Colorado, and then they sold the marijuana in states where pot is illegal, including Texas, Kansas, Nebraska and Ohio, the indictment said.
With the Attorney General’s new directive to increase civil asset forfeiture operations at the federal level, some states are prepared to push back.
In Colorado, HB17-1313 recently became the newest law concerning civil asset forfeitures. Amid a torrent of protest by sheriffs all across the state, lawmakers wrote into law new legislation requiring all state-level law enforcement agencies to forego receipt of federally seized liquid assets unless the amount of money seized exceeded $50,000.
Presumably, the law was meant to prevent police from seizing assets from those who could least afford to have their belongings confiscated. As TFTP has often reported, law enforcement agencies all across the U.S. are actively engaging in taking things that belong to the citizens to fund their policing activities. In other words, LEAs could become compromised into seizing more assets to fund themselves.
READ MORE: Homeland Security Snipers Terrorize Residents During Raid
Here’s how it works according to Reason:
The Justice Department plays a huge role in asset forfeiture through its Equitable Sharing Program, which allows state and local police to have their forfeiture cases “adopted” by the federal government. The feds take over the case, and the seized money is put into the equitable sharing pool. In return, the department gets up to 80 percent of those funds back. The equitable sharing program distributes hundreds of millions of dollars a year to police departments around the country.
Seizures of property and goods, including cash, happen so frequently that LEAs’ civil asset forfeiture programs are becoming highly controversial.
For example, in Cook County, Illinois, for the past several years, police have seized property and cash an average of 5,000 times per year. That’s a total of over 25,000 seizures in the past five ears alone.
Many, if not all of the people who lost their property were not yet proven guilty in a court of law, and just as many never went to court before the assets were taken. In other words, police are taking innocent people’s property at will, requiring defendants to expend additional resources (money) to recover their goods.
Many believe civil asset forfeitures programs and operations are a form of legal theft. Now, it seems, even Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions wants in on the game and is putting all his drug war chips on the table.
The Sleuth Journal is an independent alternative media organization comprised of individuals and groups working to shed the light on truth in government, politics, world and local news, civil liberties, natural health and medicine and other important topics that the mainstream media fails or refuses to expose. This information is being presented to you in an effort for advancement in the understanding of our economic and political corruption and the New World Order. It is our intent to connect, educate, motivate and inspire those who are interested in alerting our fellow humans to the pertinent issues that are affecting our lives and future, each and every day. We are a community of truth-seekers and who share a commitment to action and resistance- to push back against those who wish to suppress and control our lives and take away our God-given freedoms and civil liberties. We bring you real news from around the world, without the synthetics. Together in sharing the truth, we can challenge the abuses of the establishment.
With vehicle thefts believed to have risen last year at the fastest pace in more than a decade, Albuquerque, New Mexico rose from the number-two spot to claim the title of car-theft capital of the US, according to the National Insurance Crime Board"s annual "HotSpots" report.
As Bloomberg noted, Albuquerque unseated Modesto, Calif., the number-one seed from 2015, which fell to the No. 4 spot last year. Car thefts are believed to have risen 6.6% in 2016 - the largest annual increae in at least a decade, according to preliminary figures from the FBI"s uniform crime report. However, despite the increase, theft totals remain well below peaks seen in the early 1990s. The historic peak year for vehicle theft was 1991, with 1,661,738 reported thefts. In 2015, the total was 707,758. That is a 57.4 percent reduction since 1991.
The Albuquerque metropolitan statistical area logged 10,011 vehicle thefts last year, for a rate of 1,114 thefts per 100,000 residents – the highest in the country. Pueblo, Colo came in second, with 899 thefts per 100,000, even though it only recorded 1,325 vehicle thefts in 2016.
The NICB published an interactive map with its report that breaks down the data by state.
New to the top 10 this year are the metro areas of Anchorage, Alaska (No. 6) and Billings, Mont. (No. 10). As a population-based survey, an area with a much smaller population and a moderate number of thefts can—and often does—have a higher theft rate than an area with a much more significant vehicle theft problem and a larger population to absorb it.
The rate would be even lower if more people followed simple security practices like not leaving keys in an unlocked car.
For the years 2013 through 2015, a total of 147,434 vehicles were reported stolen with the keys left in them—57,096 in 2015 alone. With the debut of “smart keys” in 1997 and all of the improved anti-theft technology since, it is worthless if drivers continue to leave their keys in the car or leave their vehicles running, unattended, while they make a quick stop at a convenience store.
For a country that generates roughly 10% of its GDP from tourism, mostly from Americans, Mexico"s surging violent crime rates, courtesy of its notoriously brutal drug cartels, is quickly becoming a "yuge" economic issue. As we recently noted, more Americans have been killed while traveling abroad in Mexico than any other country, by a staggering margin, no less.
Source: data.world
And while Mexico would love to shake it"s bad rap when it comes to violence, the negative datapoints just continue to pile up. The latest such data comes courtesy of Mexico"s car insurance association Amis, which found that auto thefts spiked in March 2017 by over 20% and current stand at multi-year highs. Per Bloomberg:
In March, the number of auto thefts rose 21 percent from the same month a year earlier, according to numbers from the car insurance association known as Amis. Meanwhile, the recovery rate -- the percentage of stolen cars that police were able to recover -- dropped to its lowest since at least 2005.
The car-theft trend “will continue throughout the second quarter which will, in turn, have an impact on first-half returns," Francisco Uriostegui, an analyst at Moody’s who helped write the report, said in an interview. “In the end, it’s the customer that will have to pay more, for a higher premium and it’ll be due to a drop in the recovery rate for these vehicles."
And while auto thefts may not seem all that threatening, it is just another datapoint that suggests an alarming trend in overall violence in a country that already leads the U.S. State Department"s ranking for most travel warnings.
Source: data.world
Oddly enough, no amount of State Department warnings have yet caused Americans to curb their appetite for those cheap Cabo vacations...
Source: data.world
Though we suspect it"s only a matter of time.
There’s a lot to worry about when a disaster strikes your community. You have to make sure that your friends and neighbors are going to be okay. You have to make sure that you have plenty of food, water, and medical supplies. You may even have to prepare to evacuate your home and leave most of your valuables behind. And while you’re focused on making sure that you and your loved ones are prepared to ride out that disaster, you can rest assured that there will always be some predatory person in your community who is preparing to take advantage of your situation.
That’s the ugly truth about disasters, natural and man-made, that everyone needs to understand. When everyone else is panicking or gathering supplies or hunkering down or running away, there’s always someone watching the chaos and thinking “there’s an opportunity for me here.”
And that’s a pretty good lesson to be learned from the Oroville evacuation that occurred last week. While every sane person was fleeing the city, a few were busy screwing over their neighbors. Most notably, a 33-year-old man was severely injured after his truck was hijacked at gunpoint.
Authorities are looking for two people accused of carjacking and running over a man preparing to flee from Oroville when authorities ordered nearly 200,000 people to evacuate.
Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea says the victim was loading his vehicle with the engine running when a man and woman armed with a shotgun jumped in, running him over as he attempted to stop them.
Honea says the victim was flown to a hospital with serious injuries. Authorities said they are seeking 27-year-old Cody Bowles and 31-year-old Lucia Ripley.
As bad as that is, at least it makes sense. It’s possible that these criminals heard the evacuation order and stole a car to escape. What’s more surprising are the incidents that involved criminals who decided to completely ignore the evacuation order, and stay behind to steal from their neighbors and local businesses.
According to the Oroville Mercury register, there were multiple looting incidents which have led to the arrests of five different people. Several hours after the evacuation order was given, two people were arrested for breaking into a Dollar General store. Another two individuals were arrested for looting a local market, one of whom was a 16-year-old carrying a shotgun. A fifth individual was arrested after he tried to steal a gun safe from a residence, and drive off with it in a four wheeler. During the evacuation there were a total of 240 911 calls, many of which were for crimes in progress.
Perhaps the most tragic incident happened in nearby Yuba City. A highly decorated Vietnam veteran left the city with his wife when the evacuation order was issued. When they returned his house was ransacked. Whoever was responsible made off with his purple heart and 23 medals; items that would be pretty much worthless for the thief.
During any disaster, there are almost always an abundance of stories involving compassion and sacrifice between strangers caught a desperate situation. But never forget, there are always a few animals out there who will take the clothes off your back on a whim, even when they should be busy running for their lives.
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Author: Daniel Lang
Views: Read by 450 people
Date: February 19th, 2017
Website: http://www.SHTFplan.com
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Detroit, MI – Disgraced Michigan State Trooper Seth Swanson was charged with embezzlement this week for pocketing thousands in false fees.
The 31-year-old trooper allegedly stole $170,100 in vehicle fees through an inspections scheme that he ran, where he would forge documentation on potentially stolen vehicles.
The Michigan Attorney General’s Office issued the following statement detailing Swanson’s theft operation:
“Police officers are given great trust and responsibility, and for that reason are held to a higher standard. When you break the trust you are given and in the process break the law, there are consequences, no matter who you are or what your profession. I want to thank the Michigan State Police and FBI’s Detroit Area Public Corruption Task Force for their hard work on this investigation.”
According to investigators, Swanson was a state-certified salvage vehicle inspector since 2011. As an inspector, Swanson was responsible for overseeing salvage vehicle inspections, during which a $100 fee is collected. For over a year, Swanson allegedly pocketed these fees and forged the forms that authorized the salvage.
Swanson is accused of applying this scam to 1,701 vehicles, bringing in a total of $170,100.
After he was charged, Swanson was forced to resign from the police department.
Police spokesperson Andrea Bitely told reporters that “Our office, in conjunction with the Michigan State Police and Secretary of State, are working together to make sure that all vehicles involved in this case have, actually have a proper salvage vehicle inspection, and we’ll contact the registered owners of the vehicles to make sure we arrange for now inspection in a timely manner.”
Prior to his crimes as an inspector, Swanson was praised in the media as a “hero” in 2013 for being one of the first responders to a large pile-up.
Swanson and his lawyers are attempting to use his past media fame as a defense in this most recent case, despite the fact that it is entirely irrelevant.
Defense attorney John Freeman said that Swanson is still a “hero.”
“These charges don’t detract from the fact that Trooper Swanson was a real-life hero and was a good trooper. It’s easy for people to lose sight of that fact,” Freeman said.
Swanson was released on $10,000 bond and is currently awaiting trial.
Below is a video from 2013 in which Swanson was hailed as a hero.
New York, NY — NYPD Officer Josanne Hernandez, 27, was forced to resign last week after she was caught stealing a credit card from another officer. According to NY Daily News, Hernandez was caught in the act on video at several stores using a co-workers credit card throughout the week.
The victim reported that her card was stolen and that Hernandez was in the room at the time, so the authorities knew to keep an eye on Hernandez.
After stealing the card, Hernandez spent $38.98 at a Walgreen’s where she was caught on video, but then went on an online shopping spree on the Bloomingdales website, spending $1,088.79. She then spent $57.07 at a local Target, which was also caught on video.
She then went online again and spent $1,783.30 on Nordstrom’s website and $484.50 from Missguided.com.
In total, it was reported that she stole $3,452.64 worth of items during her shopping spree.
Hernandez was hired at the NYPD, and, in less than a year, made a salary of $42,819.
Since Hernandez was still within her two-year probationary period it was very easy for the department to force her to resign. However, if she was with the NYPD for any length of time, she would have likely been able to keep her job.
Hernandez was charged with possession of stolen property and petty larceny and was released without bail.
This is not the first time that we have reported on NYPD cops stealing from one another and going on shopping sprees.
Last year, 46-year-old NYPD veteran Elisha Duncan was found by officers after he disappeared for 2 days with $40,000 in cash that belonged to his co-workers.
Duncan and a group of other officers had planned to travel to Seattle over the weekend for a Giants football game. Duncan was responsible for $40,000 in cash that his co-workers had entrusted him with for the trip. Oddly, Duncan disappeared just before the group was about to leave town and didn’t come into work for two days.
What Duncan was doing all weekend also remains a mystery. However, a source told the New York Times that Duncan was spotted on security footage at the Empire Casino in Yonkers before he was found.
