Supreme Court: Maybe It’s Not Okay for Guards to Rape Prisoners
A Pennsylvania inmate Kim Millbrook's handwritten petition for the right to sue over abuse reaches the highest authority of the land, and it is deemed just.
Senator rips Pentagon over contract with company arming Syrian regime
We're paying to arm both sides?
Supreme Court: Maybe It’s Not Okay for Guards to Rape Prisoners
A Pennsylvania inmate Kim Millbrook's handwritten petition for the right to sue over abuse reaches the highest authority of the land, and it is deemed just.
that is NEVER okay.
Two Women Claim Texas Jailers Ran a 'Rape Camp' Behind Bars
One of these women was being detained on a pot possession charge that was later dismissed when she was raped more times than she can count.
Someone remind how we don't really live in a police state again.
EDIT: Warning, the article is quite graphic.
that is NEVER okay.Supreme Court: Maybe It’s Not Okay for Guards to Rape Prisoners
A Pennsylvania inmate Kim Millbrook's handwritten petition for the right to sue over abuse reaches the highest authority of the land, and it is deemed just.
I concur, but it's been very difficult to get any kind of justice against the prison systems for the assaults that they commit and that they allow and facilitate.
Most people are indifferent to this issue or, worse yet, they think it's a joke.
Human rights violations in US prisons are widely ignored by both parties and virtually all major media.
(Props to Huff post for not ignoring this issue.)
Two Women Claim Texas Jailers Ran a 'Rape Camp' Behind Bars
One of these women was being detained on a pot possession charge that was later dismissed when she was raped more times than she can count.
Someone remind how we don't really live in a police state again.
EDIT: Warning, the article is quite graphic.
we don't, because if found guilty these guys are going away for a long long long time, where hopefully they will receive similar treatment.
we don't, because if found guilty these guys are going away for a long long long time, where hopefully they will receive similar treatment.Two Women Claim Texas Jailers Ran a 'Rape Camp' Behind Bars
One of these women was being detained on a pot possession charge that was later dismissed when she was raped more times than she can count.
Someone remind how we don't really live in a police state again.
EDIT: Warning, the article is quite graphic.
They were convicted which opens the door to the civil action, but prosecution is rare and civil justice is more rare still.
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we don't, because if found guilty these guys are going away for a long long long time, where hopefully they will receive similar treatment.Two Women Claim Texas Jailers Ran a 'Rape Camp' Behind Bars
One of these women was being detained on a pot possession charge that was later dismissed when she was raped more times than she can count.
Someone remind how we don't really live in a police state again.
EDIT: Warning, the article is quite graphic.
Actually, where they hopefully won't receive similar treatment. I get the just desserts angle, but any prison where they do receive similar treatment will also mete it out to prisoners we consider less deserving.
If you really think certain crimes deserve a punishment of regular rape, then lobby for such punishment to be part of the sentence and administered officially. Don't turn a blind eye and leave it up to other inmates and low level guards.
Holy crap! You said something I agree with.
EDIT: Of course this goes far beyond low level guards, and I reject rape as an acceptable punishment.
That article was about a civil suit. It wasn't clear to me if there was a criminal case as well. Or even internal disciplinary action. I'm less concerned about the right to sue, than about criminal penalties.Supreme Court: Maybe It’s Not Okay for Guards to Rape Prisoners
A Pennsylvania inmate Kim Millbrook's handwritten petition for the right to sue over abuse reaches the highest authority of the land, and it is deemed just.
While prosecuting the rapist and their co-conspirators criminally is vitally important to justice. Massive civil actions are vitally important to trying to reform a massively and pervasively corrupt system. The government's abuse of its immunity in so many cases is a major factor in the governments ability to perpetuate a culture of pervasive rape and terror at all levels of enforcement and punishment.
There are hundreds of assaults committed daily and successful criminal prosecution is very rare; successful civil action is even more rare. The system protects itself and its own.
we don't, because if found guilty these guys are going away for a long long long time, where hopefully they will receive similar treatment.Two Women Claim Texas Jailers Ran a 'Rape Camp' Behind Bars
One of these women was being detained on a pot possession charge that was later dismissed when she was raped more times than she can count.
Someone remind how we don't really live in a police state again.
EDIT: Warning, the article is quite graphic.
Actually, where they hopefully won't receive similar treatment. I get the just desserts angle, but any prison where they do receive similar treatment will also mete it out to prisoners we consider less deserving.
If you really think certain crimes deserve a punishment of regular rape, then lobby for such punishment to be part of the sentence and administered officially. Don't turn a blind eye and leave it up to other inmates and low level guards.Holy crap! You said something I agree with.
EDIT: Of course this goes far beyond low level guards, and I reject rape as an acceptable punishment.
Its important to note that there are some serous things we can all agreeon. That said, I was mostly joking about them recieving the same treatment, although it woud be good to see them get their just desserts. These men are scum, and they deserve to rot under the jail for what they did alongside their coconspirators. They have also soiled the fantasy behind my beloved Chained Heat.
More than understandable. If you want me to delete the post I will, it was in bad taste. But this sort of thing rubs me the wrong way.
Well, I guess Brazil has been blowing up while I've been wasting my time reading about the Bechdel Test.
Comrade Cardozo, I would love to hear if you've got anything to say.
Well, I guess Brazil has been blowing up while I've been wasting my time reading about the Bechdel Test.
Comrade Cardozo, I would love to hear if you've got anything to say.
Oh yes, here in Brazil thing are getting messy, though I think it is going to be a bit calmer next week. I'm going to write a lot here, might bore some people to death, here.
What happened basically is this:
Bus services in Brazil function by means of city government concessions: the service is privately run through a concession charter, which establishes, among other things, that the government can determine the maximum value for the fare. Recently the government lowered the taxes on bus companies, while at the same time increasing the maximum allowed fare, based on financial documents provided by the bus companies. The thing is, the bus companies exert strong influence over city politicians and they fiddle with numbers in order to offer an excuse for price hikes. For example, most of the bus companies here do not own buses or garages and have no demonstrable maintenance cost, basically because their partners open other fake companies which actually own buses and garages for them to "rent" at near zero cost. The combination of tax reduction and fare increase made a number of people decide to go to the streets to demand a return to the previous price and to pressure towards an investigation of the terms of the contract between the companies and the city governments. These protests were met with extreme violence from the police and our media corps lied about it. However, images from the protests captured by the protesters showed many instances of grievous police abuse. This, I guess, sparked a revolt, and now we have lots of people going to the streets to show that, yes we can protest and demand things and the government is not going to push us around. The protests managed to lower the fares, it is worth noting.
So, basically, this has become a protest against "business as usual" with people coming from very disparate places, demanding different things. It is a very important thing, since brazilians have been notably absent from the political sphere except by voting, which is part of the reason for some of the main problems in our country. And the police has continued attacking full force, as expected.
There is one thing though that started to worry some people: the protests are not demanding anything specific anymore and only generic "down with corrupt politicians". The media has suddenly turned 180 degrees and is pointing the merits of the protests, where before they called people "vandals" and ridiculed the protesters. And now they are trying to tell people why they are "actually protesting" and against whom they are protesting (e.g. the president and her political party)! There is a message being spread, where people from political parties are not welcome to the protests. The problem is, these things are resembling very much the climate before our US backed military coup in 1964. Though no one believes this could happen today in Brazil, there was a fear of a political coup coming from the opposition, using the protesters message as a justification, just as was done with Lugo in Paraguay. This fear has gone down, I guess, because things are looking calmer, and people are discussing things and starting to get more clear on "what's the actual message".
So, you see, the situation is a tad complicated. =/
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Thank you for the Paizo.com exclusive, Comrade Cardozo.
Thank you for the Paizo.com exclusive, Comrade Cardozo.
No sweat, Tovarisch!
I know this is completely off-topic, but I will be coming to Gen Con this year with a few friends. Is anyone here on the politroll forums planning to attend?
Not I, alas. Have fun!
Thank you for the Paizo.com exclusive, Comrade Cardozo.
+1
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I seriously doubt it.
Sounds a lot like my job. Don't give auditors a reason, they're good with coming up with one on their own.
China announces end date for taking prisoners' organs
Eh. If I was going to be executed anyway, I'd just as soon have my organs help someone else. If I said "No! They're all mine!" -- that's pretty stupid, because (a) I'd have no further use for them and (b) refusing to help others at no cost to myself "just because I don't wanna" is kind of a dick move. So the reason for not using them would be what, exactly?
(Note that this assumes these prisoners aren't being executed solely for their organs, as opposed to, say, letting them go in a year. But if you're executing people due for release, you've got bigger issues than whether you're using the organs afterwards.)
The TSA Investigated 9,622 Cases of Employee Misconduct Between 2010-2012
Thankfully, the bulk of the cases seem to be the TSA people slacking off, not the much-hyped "groping" or whatever:
Two offense categories accounted for about half of all cases—(1) attendance and leave, which accounted for 32 percent, and (2) screening and security, which accounted for 20 percent. Charges for screening and security related incidents pertain to violating standard operating procedures, including not conducting security or equipment checks, and allowing patrons or baggage to bypass screening.
In other words, a third of the cases were people coming in late or taking unauthorized smoke breaks, and another fifth of them consist of TSA people supposedly not being invasive enough.
That's pretty encouraging, overall.
Of the remaining cases, 16% consisted of "insubordination" or "disrespectful conduct," like failing to call a passenger "sir" or "ma'am."
Only 10% of cases fell under "Inappropriate or sexual misconduct, fighting, abusive language, or abusive use of authority." That's still something like 310 cases a year, but considering something like 800 million passenger flights per year, that's a 1 in 2.6 million chance of encountering that kind of thing at the TSA line. In contrast, the odds of dying in a plane crash are closer to 1 in 11 million, which is more or less on the same order of magnitude but a whole lot more permanent.
I'm not in any way suggesting that I actually think TSA is doing much good; I just don't think they're doing quite as much harm as people think, either.
The TSA Investigated 9,622 Cases of Employee Misconduct Between 2010-2012Thankfully, the bulk of the cases seem to be the TSA people slacking off, not the much-hyped "groping" or whatever:
Two offense categories accounted for about half of all cases—(1) attendance and leave, which accounted for 32 percent, and (2) screening and security, which accounted for 20 percent. Charges for screening and security related incidents pertain to violating standard operating procedures, including not conducting security or equipment checks, and allowing patrons or baggage to bypass screening.In other words, a third of the cases were people coming in late or taking unauthorized smoke breaks, and another fifth of them consist of TSA people supposedly not being invasive enough.
That's pretty encouraging, overall.
I have a friend who conducts TSA security audits as part of his job and a lot of those security screw ups are very egregious.
I also gather that a great deal of theft and other misconduct never gets documented so I tend to think that the situation is much worse than the TSA's internal documentation would suggest.
I have a friend who conducts TSA security audits as part of his job and a lot of those security screw ups are very egregious.
According to the document linked, the egregious ones actually get their own category ("neglect of duty"), comprising 4% of the cases. The 20% for "screening and security" is like when the computer tells them to pat down the next passenger, they see it's an old lady in a wheelchair, and they let her through without the full search. Granted, it's fairly absurd that a TSA agent would get audited for showing a bit of respect to a passenger despite the computer, but no one actually expects it to be reasonable, given the existence of such insanely massive TSA screening in the first place.
I also gather that a great deal of theft and other misconduct never gets documented so I tend to think that the situation is much worse than the TSA's internal documentation would suggest.
Yeah, that wouldn't shock me at all. Again, I'm no big fan of TSA, but I am sort of getting cynical of the whole myth that they're all perverts or whatever.
I have a friend who conducts TSA security audits as part of his job and a lot of those security screw ups are very egregious.According to the document linked, the egregious ones actually get their own category ("neglect of duty"), comprising 4% of the cases. The 20% for "screening and security" is like when the computer tells them to pat down the next passenger, they see it's an old lady in a wheelchair, and they let her through without the full search. Granted, it's fairly absurd that a TSA agent would get audited for showing a bit of respect to a passenger despite the computer, but no one actually expects it to be reasonable, given the existence of such insanely massive TSA screening in the first place.
I also gather that a great deal of theft and other misconduct never gets documented so I tend to think that the situation is much worse than the TSA's internal documentation would suggest.Yeah, that wouldn't shock me at all. Again, I'm no big fan of TSA, but I am sort of getting cynical of the whole myth that they're all perverts or whatever.
I probably don't do enough to convey the idea that I don't think every government employee is some fascist villain. Just because they work in a bad system doesn't mean that they are all bad people, but bad systems lead to bad outcomes and let bad people get away with bad things.
How have you been?
How have you been?
Pretty good. The state of liquor control and poor-to-nonexistent roads/transportation up here is making me think that, yes, not even an unethical corporation could possibly screw things up worse than the state government. But I'm employed, it's a gorgeous summer, and my wife loves the area, so pretty much good things all around. You?
bad systems lead to bad outcomes and let bad people get away with bad things.
Amen to that.