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<channel>
	<title>Boing Boing &#187; justice</title>
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		<title>Ex-CIA officer Kiriakou, who fought torture, sentenced in leak&#160;case</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2013/01/25/ex-cia-officer-kiriakou-who-f.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2013/01/25/ex-cia-officer-kiriakou-who-f.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 25 Jan 2013 18:14:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[leaks]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[torture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[war on terror]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[whistleblowers]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=208291</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[John C. Kiriakou, a former CIA officer whom the government spent five years trying to convict for disclosing classified information, was today sentenced to 30 months in jail. He is the first CIA officer in history to face prison for a leak. From the NYT report by Michael S. Schmidt: The judge, Leonie M. Brinkema, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/john6.gif" alt="" title="-john6" width="400" height="266" class="alignright size-full wp-image-208307" />John C. Kiriakou, a former CIA officer whom the government spent five years trying to convict for disclosing classified information, was today sentenced to 30 months in jail. <p>
He is the first CIA officer in history to face prison for a leak.  <p>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/us/ex-officer-for-cia-is-sentenced-in-leak-case.html?hp&#038;_r=1&#038;">From the NYT</a> report by Michael S. Schmidt: <p>
<span id="more-208291"></span>
<blockquote>The judge, Leonie M. Brinkema, said that in approving the sentence, she would respect the terms of a plea agreement between the former C.I.A. agent, John C. Kiriakou, and prosecutors, but “I think 30 months is way too light.”
<p>
The judge said “this is not a case of a whistle-blower.” She went on to describe the damage that Mr. Kiriakou had created for the intelligence agency and an agent whose cover was disclosed by Mr. Kiriakou. Before issuing the sentence she asked Mr. Kiriakou if he had anything to say. When he declined, Judge Brinkema, said, “Perhaps you have already spoken too much.”</blockquote>
<p>


And the Justice Department's War on Whistleblowers steamrolls ever forward. 

<p>


On the <a href="http://www.defendjohnk.com/">support website</a> for Kiriakou, who has also worked <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57363994/ex-cia-officer-accused-of-terror-leaks/">as a consultant for CBS News</a>, a statement explaining the guilty plea:

<p>

<blockquote><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/fam2.jpg" alt="" title="fam2" width="320" height="240" class="alignright size-full wp-image-208302" />Last month I decided to plead guilty to one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act in exchange for the government dropping all other charges against me. The decision to plead guilty was the most difficult decision of my life. I am glad to now have the certainty of being home with my children in 30 months. Thank you for your support at this difficult time for me and for my family. I wish I could thank each and every one of you individually, as your support has meant the world to me. Knowing I had supporters like you saved me at the most difficult times.

</blockquote><p>




<a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/us/ex-officer-for-cia-is-sentenced-in-leak-case.html?hp&#038;_r=1&#038;'>Ex-Officer for C.I.A. Is Sentenced in Leak Case - NYTimes.com</a> <em>(HT: @<a href="https://twitter.com/kgosztola/status/294831703669755904">kgosztola</a>.)</em></p>

<div class="previously2">
<em>&nbsp;</em><ul><li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2013/01/09/nyt-profile-of-john-kiriakou.html#previouspost">NYT profile of John Kiriakou: first CIA officer to face prison for leaks</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>22</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Fred Willard avoids going to trial following his lewdness arrest in&#160;July</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2013/01/03/fred-willard-avoids-trial.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2013/01/03/fred-willard-avoids-trial.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 03 Jan 2013 16:24:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jamie Frevele</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Short]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Fred Willard]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[masturbation]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=203838</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[After getting caught in the act -- specifically, the act of masturbating at Hollywood's Tiki Theater (for adults) -- Fred Willard has avoided trial after completing a "diversion program for minor sexual offenses" in September. I'm going to pretend that this program was conducted by a Christopher Guest character to make this story extra fun, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[After getting caught in the act -- specifically, <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/07/19/fred-willard-arrest.html">the act of masturbating at Hollywood's Tiki Theater (for adults)</a> -- Fred Willard has avoided trial after completing a <a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/12/fred-willard.html">"diversion program for minor sexual offenses"</a> in September. I'm going to pretend that this program was conducted by a Christopher Guest character to make this story extra fun, now that it looks like it's over. (via <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/02/fred-willard-lewdness-charges-trail-diversion-program_n_2397636.html">Huffington Post</a>)]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>19</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Pennsylvania police post perp pix on&#160;Pinterest</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/09/28/pennsylvania-police-post-perp.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/09/28/pennsylvania-police-post-perp.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Sep 2012 18:54:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Funny]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=184194</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Pottstown Mercury, a newspaper in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently started posting police mugshots of wanted criminals on Pinterest. Sounds crazy, right? Well, the novel use of a social networking site known best for nail art, cupcakes, and motivational posters with bad typography has become quite a success for local law enforcement. As you can see [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Screen-Shot-2012-09-28-at-11.44.jpg" alt="" title="Screen-Shot-2012-09-28-at-11.44" width="900" height="593" class="bordered aligncenter size-full wp-image-184196" /><p>The <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/"><em>Pottstown Mercury</em></a>, a newspaper in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, recently started posting police <a href="http://pinterest.com/themercury/wanted-by-police/">mugshots of wanted criminals on Pinterest</a>. Sounds crazy, right? Well, the novel use of a social networking site known best for nail art, cupcakes, and motivational posters with bad typography has become quite a success for local law enforcement. As you can see by scrolling <a href="http://pinterest.com/themercury/wanted-by-police/">through the board</a>, users are sharing comments on where police might look for each wanted man or woman. <a href="http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2012/09/28/pottstown-mercurys-wanted-poster-style-pinboard-is-resulting-in-arrests/">Here's an interview</a> with one of the paper's "Pinners," and more <a href="http://www.poynter.org/latest-news/mediawire/189941/arrests-increase-after-newspaper-posts-criminal-mugshots-on-pinterest/">context on Poynter</a>. According to <a href="http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20120907/NEWS01/120909663/mercury-readers-help-police-find-wanted-persons&#038;pager=full_story">an interview with police</a> in the <em>Pottstown Mercury</em>, the project has resulted in a 58% increase in arrests.]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>21</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>In the NYT, a judge who has cancer argues for the legalization of medical&#160;marijuana</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/in-the-nyt-a-judge-argues-for.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/17/in-the-nyt-a-judge-argues-for.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 17 May 2012 17:28:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cancer]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[drug war]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=161482</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Admittedly, I am biased, but New York state supreme court judge Gustin L. Reichbach speaks for me when he writes in a New York Times op-ed today that medical marijuana "is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and a human rights issue." Like me, justice Reichbach has cancer. He has pancreatic cancer, and [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Admittedly, <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7023088">I am biased</a>, but New York state supreme court judge <a href="http://www.nycourtsystem.com/applications/judicialdirectory/Bio.php?ID=7023088">Gustin L. Reichbach</a> speaks for me when he <a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/opinion/a-judges-plea-for-medical-marijuana.html?_r=3'>writes in a <em>New York Times</em> op-ed</a> today that medical marijuana "is not a law-and-order issue; it is a medical and a human rights issue." <p><a href="http://boingboing.net/2011/12/09/the-diagnosis.html">Like me</a>, justice Reichbach has cancer. He has pancreatic cancer, and a prognosis that involves a short window of survival, and great pain and suffering during treatment. <p> "Medical science has not yet found a cure," he writes, "but it is barbaric to deny us access to one substance that has proved to ameliorate our suffering."<p> Read it and demand change: <a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/17/opinion/a-judges-plea-for-medical-marijuana.html?_r=3'>A Judge’s Plea for Medical Marijuana</a>.</p><em>(NYT, via <a href="http://claytoncubitt.com">Clayton Cubitt</a>)</em>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>50</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Reflections on the acquittal of Byron&#160;Sonne</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/16/reflections-on-the-acquittal-o.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/16/reflections-on-the-acquittal-o.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 15:06:28 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cory Doctorow</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[security theater]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=161122</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Yesterday, Byron Sonne was acquitted of all charges against him. Sonne is the Toronto-area security researcher who pointedly demonstrated the inadequacy and incoherence of the heavy-handed, $1.2B security arrangements for the G20 summit in 2010. Denise Balkissoon has done some of the best reporting on the bizarre trial that followed (after Sonne spent nearly a [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[

<p>
Yesterday, <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/05/15/byron-sonne-is-an-innocent-man.html?utm_source=feedburner&#038;utm_medium=feed&#038;utm_campaign=Feed%3A+boingboing%2FiBag+%28Boing+Boing%29">Byron Sonne was acquitted</a> of all charges against him. Sonne is the Toronto-area security researcher who pointedly demonstrated the inadequacy and incoherence of the heavy-handed, $1.2B security arrangements for the G20 summit in 2010. Denise Balkissoon has done some of the best reporting on the bizarre trial that followed (after Sonne spent nearly a year in jail), and now she's got good commentary on the acquittal:

<blockquote>
<p>
“Byron Sonne, you’re a free man,” said one of his lawyers, Joe DiLuca, as Sonne stood outside the courthouse.
<p>
“I can be a moron again on the internet,” Sonne said, as he ripped up court documents that listed the bail conditions—including a curfew and not using a cellphone—that he has lived with since May 2011...
<p>
Later on the day of the verdict, in Kensington Market, Sonne stood having a cigarette and discussing Anonymous and Gandhi with Alex Hundert, who pled guilty to counselling to commit mischief during the G20. “They took a somewhat radical person like me and said, ‘Let’s put the guy in jail with real radicals,'” said Sonne, who was not involved with organized activists in advance of the summit. “I’m not interested in playing by the rules anymore.”
<p>
Sonne said he intends to help non-technologically savvy activists learn to encrypt their computers and online communications. Police were unable to unencrypt one of Sonne’s hard drives, which led the Crown to argue that it must contain nefarious plans. “There’s nothing on there that wasn’t on my other computers,” said Sonne, who said he encrypted it for travelling over the U.S. border. “But it’s good to know that the technology works.”
<p>
Sonne aims to get back the computer security certification that was suspended during his arrest, and wants to start rebuilding his professional network.
</blockquote>

Sounds like he needs a job. Toronto-area readers, take note! 
<p>
<a href="http://boingboing.net/?s=sonne">Here's our previous Sonne posts</a>.

<p>
<a href="http://toronto.openfile.ca/toronto/text/byron-sonne-found-not-guilty-all-charges-has-plans-future">Byron Sonne, found not guilty on all charges, has plans for the future
</a>

(<i>Thanks, <a href="http://www.balkissoon.com/">Denise</a>!</i>)

]]></content:encoded>
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		</item>
		<item>
		<title>War Crimes trial for Ratko Mladic begins in The&#160;Hague</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/16/war-crimes-trial-for-ratko-mla.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/16/war-crimes-trial-for-ratko-mla.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 16 May 2012 14:27:11 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Jasmina Tesanovic</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human rights]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[yugoslavia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=161211</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Photo: Jasmina in a former prison. "Despite the scale of the facility, it was densely crowded once." Shot by Bruce Sterling. This morning, The Hague tribunal commenced the trial of Ratko Mladic, ex commander of the army of the Serbian republic in Bosnia. Mothers of the slain gathered in front of the court. Twenty years [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>

<img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/808155154_3ad5d77ab7_b.jpg" alt="" title="808155154_3ad5d77ab7_b" width="600" class="bordered" 
style="margin-bottom:0px;"/></p>
<p class="caption">Photo: Jasmina in a former prison. "Despite the scale of the facility, it was densely crowded once." Shot by Bruce Sterling.
</P><br clear="all"><p>

<p>This morning,  The Hague tribunal commenced the trial of Ratko Mladic, ex commander of the army of the Serbian republic in Bosnia.  Mothers of the slain gathered in front of the court.
<p>
Twenty years ago, Mladic started his criminal activities, while still an officer of the army of disintegrating Yugoslavia.  A year ago, Mladic was arrested, after years of concealment, mostly within Belgrade. Today Mladic, aged 70,  is sitting in the court neatly dressed as a civilian, without his legendary military cap.
<p>
As the judge reads the indictment, Mladic cheerily waving to the audience and even applauds certain parts of the recitation.  "The wolf loses his hair but not his character," as the  Serbian proverb puts it.   
<p>
The indictment precisely proceeds as a short elementary lesson of the bloody fall of Yugoslavia.
<p><span id="more-161211"></span><p>
Ratko Mladic is facing 11 charges:  ethnic cleansing, genocide, crimes against humanity, torture, sexual violence,  the wanton destruction of the urban fabric of Sarajevo, and so forth.
<p>
The maps of the indictment are a trail of blood. The borders of these maps were the major outcome of  the Dayton peace treaty of 1995, signed a couple of months after the genocide of Srebrenica.
<p>
A witness appears to describe the concentration camp where she was systematically raped.  I didn't even look at their faces when they would enter the room or go out. They had killed my whole family:  I was the only survivor.  I was just asking the same question day after day: why?
<p>
   These people lived together for centuries, and then, in a burst of bloody disaster, some became criminal nationalists when their neighbors, now demonized as Others, had to be annihilated at their hands.   There is little going in the Hague courtroom that wasn't described by Hannah Arendt during Eichmann’s trial in Jerusalem in 1963.
<p>
  It outdoes Hollywood, though.  Angelina Jolie’s  recent movie, "In the Land of Blood and Honey," is a pale replica of this horror reality-show, live from the Hague.
<p>
   This trial of this soldier is haunted by the conspicuous absence of the late Slobodan Milosevic, the civilian leader.  It was Milosevic who transformed General Mladic's Yugoslav army into an instrument of ethnic cleansing. 
<p>
   This much-respected people's army, which had defeated the Nazi genocide and the Fascist occupation,  had stabilized Yugoslavia for decades.  But, thanks to the machinations of Milosevic, the remnants of this once honorable force, now a micro-state Serbian militia,  were liquidating civilians en masse in Srebrenica. Eight thousand ex-Yugoslav men and boys were executed there in three days. The UN protected enclave fell, Mladic raved, lied, and had the Moslems rounded up, confined and shot,  while the "international community"  turned its attentions elsewhere.
<p>
     A host of movies, books, and heaps of material evidence didn’t bring justice to that dismal place, which today is a tourist center of crime, but also, still, an ethnic-Serb  territory within the Dayton maps.  Those who were killed there dwell only within the vast cemetery, so to that extent, Srebrenica was a lasting Mladic victory.
<p>
   The JNA, once a popular national army, became experts at black operations. Special forces of paramilitary killers, the shadow forces of intelligence services and the mafia, took on themselves the worst burdens of cruelty.   Their policy was raiding, arson, robbery, killing, expulsion and rape -- to terrorize all civilian populations that weren't Serbian, leaving a Greater Serbian nation to expand where the victims had fled for their lives.
<p>
   The capital of this expansionary scheme  was Belgrade, but the Bosnian Serb militias headed by Mladic were always formally autonomous and plausibly deniable.

  <p>   In Belgrade, I lived in the same street with a couple of those notorious criminals: we shopped at the same bakers, and our children went to the same schools.   In Belgrade, we were not sniped-at, shot or shelled, we looked peaceful; and the covert war did not touch our streets until it fell from distant jets in the air,  in the NATO bombing.
<p>
    Twenty years later, today, I can ponder the dreadful fates of people I knew, or saw, or lived with, who ripped their country apart to march to power over the bones of their neighbors.   
<p>
   The central mastermind died behind the bars in the Hague.   Two major stars are under trial now.  A bunch of minor ones are serving sentences.  My neighbor, the professor turned war profiteer, committed suicide as a Shakespearean antihero.   But there were thousands of others whose activities were just as bloody and sinister, who still live in Belgrade, shopping, sometimes reminiscing over the bad old days.   
<p>
    The Serbian population is still living in denial, and other nations have learned to let this new nation do that.   Twenty years have passed, a period longer than the distance between Eichman's Nazi crimes and Eichman's  trial.   There are other wars nowadays, other covert, armed operations, in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, the Sudan, where the lessons of destabilization, pioneered in the Balkans, have been fully modernized.
<p>
     Even the political party of Milosevic has managed to rehabilitate itself nowadays.  They did well in the recent Serbian elections, mostly through ignoring their heritage and talking about Serbia's modern troubles, which are many.   
<p>
As for me,  I follow the trials, and <a href="http://jasminatesanovic.wordpress.com/the-scorpions/">I sometimes write about them</a>.

<p>
After twenty years, a new generation has arisen on the bloodily divided ground.   They are innocent, but to live in peace with each other in the region will require an understanding of the past.
<p>
That past lives in the details of the Hague court's indictment: the snipers in Sarajevo, civilians  mortar-blasted in the marketplaces,  women raped, children killed, and much of this mayhem cynically described by the killers in their own documents, a host of private conversations and public interviews exposed to the world.
<p>
  In the dock, Mladic is industriously taking notes as his prosecutor describes his war-crime strategies.  I wonder what Mladic has to say to himself? His diaries have been published and translated: his daughter committed suicide during her father's battles. What does this 70 year old have to say to history?  One of his favorite quotes is well-known in the record:
“Whenever I  come to Sarajevo, I kill.”
<p>
The word is power and the silence of the dead is loud.<p>

&mdash;<a href="http://jasminatesanovic.wordpress.com/">Jasmina Tesanovic</a>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>14</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Byron Sonne is an innocent&#160;man</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/15/byron-sonne-is-an-innocent-man.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/05/15/byron-sonne-is-an-innocent-man.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 15 May 2012 17:23:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cory Doctorow</dc:creator>
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		<category><![CDATA[war on terror]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=160997</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Twitter's #freebyron hashtag is alive with the news that Byron Sonne, the Toronto-area security expert who was incarcerated and treated as a terrorist for pointing out and making fun of the security flaws in the $1.2B security scheme for the Toronto G20 summit, has been found Not Guilty on all counts. A moment of sanity [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
Twitter's <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23freebyron">#freebyron</a> hashtag is alive with the news that Byron Sonne, the Toronto-area security expert who was incarcerated  and treated as a terrorist for pointing out and making fun of the security flaws in the $1.2B security scheme for the Toronto G20 summit, has been found Not Guilty on all counts.
<p>
A moment of sanity from the Canadian judicial system, and all it cost was Sonne's marriage, house, and freedom. 
<p>
<a href="http://boingboing.net/?s=%22byron%20sonne%22">Here's our earlier Sonne pieces</a>.


<p>
<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/search/%23freebyron">#freebyron</a>

]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>41</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Police officer in fatal shooting of Marine vet ID&#039;d, was sued in 2008 racism and brutality&#160;case</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/04/06/police-officer-in-fatal-shooti.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/04/06/police-officer-in-fatal-shooti.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 06 Apr 2012 14:48:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Kenneth Chamberlain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[law]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police brutality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[racism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=153315</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Democracy Now has a big update in the homicide of 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain, a black Marine vet shot dead at his home by police in White Plains, New York, last November after he accidentally set off his wearable medical alert device. A previous BB post on the story is here. The victim's son and other [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe width="600" height="320" src="http://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2012/4/5/exclusive_cop_in_fatal_shooting_of" frameborder="0"></iframe>

<p><a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/5/exclusive_cop_in_fatal_shooting_of">Democracy Now has a big update</a> in the homicide of 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain, a black Marine vet  shot dead at his home by police in White Plains, New York, last November after he accidentally set off his wearable medical alert device. A previous BB post on the story <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/04/03/black-marine-veteran-68-shot.html#previouspost">is here</a>. The victim's son and other advocates have been pressuring authorities to release the name of the officer involved:

<p>

<blockquote><p>Documented in audio recordings, the White Plains police reportedly used a racial slur, burst through Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, then shot him dead. "The last time I actually really saw my father, other than the funeral, was at the hospital, with his eyes wide open, his tongue hanging out his mouth, and two bullet holes in his chest," said Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr. "And I’m staring at my father, wondering, 'What happened?'"
<p>
The alleged shooter, Officer Anthony Carelli, is due in court later this month in an unrelated 2008 police brutality case. He is accused of being the most brutal of a group of officers who allegedly beat two arrestees of Jordanian descent and called them "rag heads." <p></blockquote><P>
<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/4/5/exclusive_cop_in_fatal_shooting_of">Video, audio, and transcript here</a>.<p>

<div class="previously2">
<em>&nbsp;</em><ul><li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/04/03/black-marine-veteran-68-shot.html#previouspost">Black Marine veteran, 68, shot dead by police after wearable ...</a></li>
</ul>
</div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>42</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Black Marine veteran, 68, shot dead by police after wearable medical alert gadget went off in&#160;error</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/04/03/black-marine-veteran-68-shot.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/04/03/black-marine-veteran-68-shot.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 03 Apr 2012 18:51:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[human rights]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police brutality]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[racism]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=152758</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Trayvon Martin story remains in national headlines this week, but little media attention has been paid to a similarly troubling case: that of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old Marine vet killed in his home last November by police officers in White Plains, NY. The officers were responding to a false alarm accidentally triggered by [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><iframe width="600" height="400" src="http://www.democracynow.org/embed/story/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/162033_318146358232189_1054362285_n.jpg" alt="" title="162033_318146358232189_1054362285_n" width="180" height="283" class="alignleft size-full wp-image-152767" /><P>The <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/03/20/the-murder-of-trayvon-martin.html">Trayvon Martin story</a> remains in national headlines this week, but little media attention has been paid to a similarly troubling case: that of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old Marine vet killed in his home last November by police officers in White Plains, NY. <p>The officers were responding to a false alarm accidentally triggered by Chamberlain's medical alert pendant while he slept. Instead of helping the man, who had a heart condition, they broke down his front door, tasered him, reportedly called him the "n-word" and mocked him, then shot him dead. <p>Audio throughout the incident was recorded by his medical alert device. 
<p><span id="more-152758"></span>
<a href="http://www.democracynow.org/2012/3/29/killed_at_home_white_plains_ny#.T3rl2s3_X-E.twitter">Democracy Now has an extensive segment on the case</a>, including an interview with the deceased man's son, Kenneth Chamberlain Jr. The <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/06/nyregion/fatal-shooting-of-ex-marine-by-white-plains-police-raises-questions.html?_r=1">New York Times ran a story on the case</a> a few weeks ago.
<p>
The police department has so far <a href="http://www.thedailywhiteplains.com/news/son-asks-white-plains-release-name-officer">refused to release the name of the officer</a> who killed the elderly man: 
<p>



<blockquote><p>“In the other incidents that you have out here of questionable shootings, the officers' names were given out. So it only makes my family and I wonder why isn’t this officer’s name released?” said Chamberlain Jr. “Had that been myself or any other citizen inside here that shot and killed someone, our whole life history would be on television, on the radio and in the newspaper. I feel that it’s only right, it’s only fair that that officer’s name be released.”<p></blockquote>

<p>


The officer is believed to currently be on duty, still working for the White Plains police. After <a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/318146358232189">public outcry</a>, local protests, and an online campaign for case review, the local DA this week promised that <a href="http://www.thedailywhiteplains.com/news/white-plains-shooting-going-grand-jury">a grand jury will hear the case</a>. The family <a href="http://www.thedailywhiteplains.com/news/chamberlain-family-sue-white-plains-police">intends to sue</a>.<p>
<em>(via @<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/embeedub/status/187147023466766338">emeedub</a>)</em><p>

<div class="previously2">
<em>&nbsp;</em><ul><li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/03/20/the-murder-of-trayvon-martin.html#previouspost">The murder of Trayvon Martin</a></li>
<li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/03/21/million-hoodie-march-for-tayvo.html#previouspost">Million Hoodie March for Trayvon Martin under way in NYC</a></li>
</ul>
</div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>62</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Maher Arar on Canada&#039;s pro-torture&#160;policy</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/03/07/maher-arar-on-canadas-pro-to.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/03/07/maher-arar-on-canadas-pro-to.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 08 Mar 2012 05:23:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cory Doctorow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[canada]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[intelligence]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security theater]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[torture]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=147618</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Maher Arar, a Canadian who was rendered to Syria for years of brutal torture on the basis of bad information from Canada's intelligence agencies, writes in Prism about the revelation that Canadian public safety minister Vic Toews has given Canadian intelligence agencies and police the green light to use information derived from torture in their [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
Maher Arar, a Canadian who was rendered to Syria for years of brutal torture on the basis of bad information from Canada's intelligence agencies, writes in <em>Prism</em> about the revelation that Canadian public safety minister Vic Toews has given Canadian intelligence agencies and police the green light to use information derived from torture in their work. Arar cites examples of rendition and torture based on the "Hollywood fantasy that underlines the 'ticking bomb' scenario that minister Toews was apparently contemplating when he wrote this directive."

<blockquote>
<p>
<img src="http://craphound.com/images/4139726952_e3f042f058.jpg" class="bordered" align="right">
What makes this direction even more alarming is that the fat annual budgets devoted to enhancing national security have not been balanced by a similar increase in oversight. In fact, the government chose to ignore the most important recommendation of Justice O’Connor which is to establish a credible oversight agency that has the required powers to monitor and investigate the activities of the RCMP and those of other agencies involved in the gathering and dissemination of national security information. Unlike the powerless Commission for Public Complaints Against the RCMP (CPC) or the Security Intelligence Review Committee (SIRC) this agency would also be granted subpoena power to compel all agencies to produce the required documents.
<p>
Coming back to the directive one can only cite two examples here which I believe are sufficient to illustrate the hollowness of the argument presented in the directive. The first relates to the invasion of Iraq which we now know was based on false intelligence (see this video) that was extracted from Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi while he was being tortured in Egypt. Al-Libi was later found dead inside his prison cell. Some human rights activists believe the Gaddafi regime liquidated him three years after he was rendered to Libya by the CIA.
</blockquote>

<p>
<a href="http://prism-magazine.com/2012/03/torture-directive-2-0/">Torture Directive 2.0 </a>

(<i>Thanks, <a href="http://prism-magazine.com/">Richard</a>!</i>)
<p>
(<i>Image: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/nanpalmero/4139726952/">Rothenburg Germany Torture Museum</a>, a Creative Commons <a href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en">Attribution (2.0)</a> image from nanpalmero's photostream</i>)

(<i>Thanks, <a href="http://prism-magazine.com/">Richard</a>!</i>)]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>18</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>One more response to Boing Boing post on &quot;Police Pad&quot; gadgets in Georgia, by Some Guy from&#160;Georgia</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/one-more-response-to-boing-boi.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/one-more-response-to-boing-boi.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:36:33 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Some Guy From Georgia</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Wide]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cops]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[former soviet union]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[georgia]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[global]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=139588</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[People walk past graffiti on a street in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Jan. 13, 2012. (REUTERS) Editor's Note: In response to an anonymously-sourced wisecrack we published about police corruption in former Soviet states, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs responded with a statement, which we published in full. A Boing Boing reader from Georgia also [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/grafftbi.jpg" alt="" title="grafftbi" width="970" height="609" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-139592" />

<em><small>People walk past graffiti on a street in the Georgian capital Tbilisi, Jan. 13, 2012. (REUTERS)</small>
</em>
<p><em>
<strong>Editor's Note</strong>: In response to an <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html">anonymously-sourced wisecrack we published</a> about police corruption in former Soviet states, the <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/response-to-boing-boing-post-o.html">Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs responded with a statement</a>, which we published in full. A Boing Boing reader from Georgia also asked to respond to the anonymously-sourced wisecrack, with which he takes issue. Like the wisecracker, this person requests anonymity. <p>

</em><p>
<hr /><p>

The police in Georgia are <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html">definitely not fat or lazy</a>. They are not corrupt on the street level, either. But the whole system still retains elements of corruption  (in enforcement, in the judiciary, and in the legislative realm). The problem lies more in the definition of corruption: the fact that you can no longer bribe the policeman in the streets or at the sovereign borders does not mean everything is crystal-clean.
<p>
The fact that citizens are still afraid  of police in Georgia as if they were monsters is still an expression of the damage of corruption. The fact that you can be imprisoned for smoking pot weeks before actually being tested by cops (because you might seem suspicious to them, not because you've been caught smoking pot) is a kind of corruption, I believe.
<p>
There is a terrible feeling of vulnerability in Georgia. Police are still used as a tool to terrorize people and make money, but these days, paying bribes to individual policemen is no longer normal.
<p><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/tbispol.jpg" alt="" title="tbispol" width="970" height="590" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-139593" /><Br>
<em><small>Georgian policemen stand to attention during a daily shift change at the Interior Ministry in Tbilisi, Jan. 12, 2012. (REUTERS)</small>
</em>
<p>

There are lots of pros and cons about the reforms in Georgia, but still, no—the "fat lazy cops" comment was not fair. The police have changed greatly for the positive.<p> At least you don't have to pay mandatory bribes to drive around any more; the government fought very effectively against organized crime and turned Georgia into what is almost a drug-free country. In the past, the city was covered in used syringes. You could buy heroin as easily as bread. <p>Now, the city is clean, and it is very hard to buy any kind of drugs. I really appreciate this, as may of my friends have stopped using heavy drugs over the past two or three years.
<p><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/policepad2.jpg" alt="" title="policepad2" width="970" height="668" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-139594" />

<br />

<em><small>An employee assembles a "Police Pad" at the production line of the Algorithm factory in Tbilisi January 11, 2012. Five thousand police officers will receive portable field computers assembled at this factory, according to local media. (REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili)</small>
</em><p>



<div class="previously2">
<em>&nbsp;</em><ul><li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html#previouspost">In former Soviet state of Georgia, an iPad knockoff for police</a></li>
<li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/response-to-boing-boing-post-o.html">Response from Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia</a></li></ul>
</div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>9</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>Response to Boing Boing post on &quot;Police Pad&quot; gadgets in Georgia, from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of&#160;Georgia</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/response-to-boing-boing-post-o.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/response-to-boing-boing-post-o.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Jan 2012 17:57:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[corruption]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Eastern Europe]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=139520</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Editor's Note: In response to an anonymously-sourced wisecrack we published about police corruption in former Soviet states, the Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs has responded with a statement, which we are more than happy to publish in full. Georgian Police: Model for Successful Transformation The article published on [Boing Boing on] January 12, 2012, about [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
<center><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Greater_coat_of_arms_of_Georgia.gif" alt="" title="Greater_coat_of_arms_of_Georgia" width="556" height="485" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-139521" /></center><p>
<em>
<strong>Editor's Note</strong>: In response to an <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html">anonymously-sourced wisecrack we published</a> about police corruption in former Soviet states, the <a href="http://www.police.ge/?lng=eng">Georgian Ministry of Internal Affairs</a> has responded with a statement, which we are more than happy to publish in full.<p>

</em><p><a href="http://www.police.ge/?lng=eng"><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/mobanner.jpg" alt="" title="mobanner" width="600" height="112" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-139534" /></a>
<p>
<strong>Georgian Police: Model for Successful Transformation
</strong><p>
<a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html">The article published on [Boing Boing on] January 12, 2012</a>, about the initiative by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia to introduce new portable field computers (so called “Police Pads”) ends with an anonymous quote declaring that "100% guaranteed those crooked, fat, lazy cops will be using these devices primarily for porn and Russian gambling services."
<p>
<img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/miagad.jpg" alt="" title="miagad" width="325" height="333" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-139532"  align="left"/>

<p>
Stereotypes like this are easy to toss out&mdash;but are quite simply incorrect. This quote does not reflect the productivity, effectiveness, transparency, and reliability of the police force in Georgia today, but rather the bygone era of the 1990s, a reality that has drastically changed thanks to an ambitious and successful reform process.<p>

The reform process in Georgia began immediately after the 2003 Rose Revolution. The new government inherited a completely corrupt and bloated law-enforcement system. The systemic corruption and the high level of crime throughout the country resulted in a very low level of public trust: fewer than 10% of Georgians had confidence in the police, according to 2003 polls. And the very low average policeman's salary (approximately $68 per month) made the soliciting of bribes routine. <p>

Georgia has since made the creation of an efficient and modern police force a national priority, undertaking a series of reforms that sought to rebuild the national police force literally from the ground up. The entire national police force was fired, and a new force hired, trained and deployed with the aim of meeting the highest international standards of professionalism.
<p>
These reforms are widely regarded as an unqualified success. Having reduced corruption and bribe taking to levels comparable to those in Europe, the police in Georgia have earned the trust and respect of the public they serve:<p><span id="more-139520"></span>
&bull;According to Transparency International’s latest Global Corruption Barometer, in terms of public perception Georgia has the world’s 5th least-corrupt police force, placing it ahead of Germany or even the United States;<p>
&bull;According to the survey conducted by the International Republican Institute (IRI) in November 2011, 87% of population have confidence in Police;<p>
&bull;According to a survey funded by the EU and conducted by GORBI Institute in 2011, Georgia has one of the lowest "victimization coefficients," a measure that reflects public perceptions of crime and individual security. 
<p>
On the subject of the so-called "Police Pads," reforms have transformed what was once an antiquated backlog of paper files for car imports, registries, and customs. They have been replaced with new, cutting-edge technology capable of streamlining requests and filing paperwork in record time.<p>

Georgia has much work to do in shaking off the vestiges of nearly a century of Soviet occupation, but the transformation of our police force into a modern and professional service is an achievement that Georgians are deeply proud of, and a symbol of our commitment to retake our rightful place in the European community.<p>

<strong>January 16, 2012<br />
Press Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia</strong><p><p>
<hr />
<p>
<p><em>
Photo: An employee demonstrates a "Police Pad" at the Algorithm factory in Tbilisi, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)">Georgia</a>, on January 11, 2012. Five thousand police officers will receive portable field computers, equipped with features that will assist them with their work, assembled at this factory, according to local media. </em>
<p>





<div class="previously2">
<em>&nbsp;</em><ul><li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html#previouspost">In former Soviet state of Georgia, an iPad knockoff for police</a></li>
<li><a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/one-more-response-to-boing-boi.html">One more response, by Some Guy from Georgia</a></li></ul>
</div>]]></content:encoded>
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		<slash:comments>23</slash:comments>
		</item>
		<item>
		<title>In former Soviet state of Georgia, an iPad knockoff for&#160;police</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2012/01/12/in-former-soviet-state-of-geor.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Jan 2012 19:20:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=138683</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[An employee demonstrates a "Police Pad" at the Algorithm factory in Tbilisi, Georgia, on January 11, 2012. Five thousand police officers will receive portable field computers, equipped with features that will assist them with their work, assembled at this factory, according to local media. Update: An official response to this blog post from the government [...]]]></description>
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<img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/RTR2W4XB.jpg" alt="" title="An employee demonstrates a &quot;Police Pad&quot; at the Algorithm factory in Tbilisi" width="970" height="592" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-138684" /><p>
An employee demonstrates a "Police Pad" at the Algorithm factory in Tbilisi, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(country)">Georgia</a>, on January 11, 2012. Five thousand police officers will receive portable field computers, equipped with features that will assist them with their work, assembled at this factory, according to local media. 
<p>

<em><strong>Update</strong>: An official <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/response-to-boing-boing-post-o.html">response to this blog post from the government of Georgia is here</a>. And a response from a <a href="http://boingboing.net/2012/01/17/one-more-response-to-boing-boi.html">Boing Boing reader who is a Georgian native is here</a>.<p><hr />
</em><p>
From the Tbilisi-based <a href="http://rustavi2.com/news/news_text.php?id_news=44286&#038;im=main&#038;ct=25">Georgian language news organization <em>Rustavi 2</a>:</em>

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<blockquote><img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/59600.jpg" align="left" alt="" title="59600" width="300" height="225" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-138689" /><p>Five thousand police officers will be handed over portable computers. New police pads were produced in Georgia by the Algorithm Company. Minister of Interior Vano Merabishvili observe the process of police pad production in the factory personally.
`I have an honor to inform Georgian society and the officers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, that in a few days five thousand police officers will be equipped with such field computers, which will allow the citizens and the police officers to provide services offered by the ministry to our citizens more comfortably,` Minister said adding Georgian police would soon become the most developed and modernized police in the world.<p>
</blockquote>
<p>


Says a friend who travels to the region often: "100% guaranteed those crooked, fat, lazy cops will be using these devices primarily for porn and russian gambling services."<p>

<strong>Update</strong>: A counselor from the Georgian embassy to the United States has contacted Boing Boing to express disappointment that the quote above was included in this article. The remark is unfair, the official says, and it's something of a sore point for a country that has done so much to address the issue in recent years. They direct our attention to the Georgian government's efforts to reform police and fight corruption&mdash;with results, they say, that are a global example of success for an emerging democratic state. We've invited the government of Georgia to share those comments in longer form, and we'll gladly post them here as a guest opinion piece in entirety. It should also be noted that the source of the critical quote in this article loves Georgia, its people, and its culture, and travels there frequently to this day. Some who applaud the success of reforms still argue there's more work left to do.
<p>
<em>(photo: REUTERS/David Mdzinarishvili)</em>]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Open letter from an Army vet to military servicepeople: what will you do when they send you to fight&#160;Occupy?</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2011/11/22/open-letter-from-an-army-vet-t.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2011/11/22/open-letter-from-an-army-vet-t.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 22 Nov 2011 19:59:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Cory Doctorow</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[authoritarianism]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civil disobedience]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[military]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[occupy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=131061</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Mitch Green, a US Army vet and economics PhD candidate, has written an open letter to members of the US armed forces, who, he believes, will soon be called upon to put down the Occupy movement in America: Those that take this oath seriously are faced with a terrible conflict. You must battle internally between [...]]]></description>
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<p>
Mitch Green, a US Army vet and economics PhD candidate, has written an open letter to members of the US armed forces, who, he believes, will soon be called upon to put down the Occupy movement in America:

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<p>
Those that take this oath seriously are faced with a terrible conflict. You must battle internally between the affirmation that you will place your body between the social contract embedded in the Constitution and those that seek its destruction, while maintaining your loyalty to the government you serve and the orders issued by its officers. Sadly, society has placed a twin tax upon you by asking that you sacrifice both your body and your morality. This tax has been levied solely upon you overseas, and soon they’ll come to collect domestically. Your government in its expression of corporate interests relies upon your tenacity to endure, and your relentless willingness to sacrifice. And so you do.
<p>
Now, more than ever we need your sacrifice. But, I’m asking you to soldier in a different way. If called upon to deny the people of their first amendment right to peaceably assemble and petition their government for a redress of grievance, disregard the order. Abstain from service. Or if you are so bold, join us. Make no mistake: The consequences for such decisions are severe. You will be prosecuted under the full extent of the law. But sacrifice is your watch word. 
</blockquote>


<p>
<a href="http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/11/an-open-letter-to-the-winter-patriot.html">An Open Letter to the Winter Patriot</a>

]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Why is Portland Police Dept. posting mugshots of Occupy Portland arrestees to&#160;Facebook?</title>
		<link>http://boingboing.net/2011/11/01/why-are-portland-police-posting-mugshots-of-occupy-portland-arrestees-to-facebook.html</link>
		<comments>http://boingboing.net/2011/11/01/why-are-portland-police-posting-mugshots-of-occupy-portland-arrestees-to-facebook.html#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:28:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Xeni Jardin</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Post]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Action]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[demonstration]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[newyorkist]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[occupy portland]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[occupy wall street]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[surveillance]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://boingboing.net/?p=127265</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[UPDATE: I spoke with a sergeant from the Portland Police department today. I will post a longer update on the story soon, with notes from our conversation. The short version: yes, they do have a long history of posting mugshots in cases of high public and media interest, online. They're not only doing this with [...]]]></description>
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<img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/portlandpolice.jpg" alt="" title="portlandpolice" width="600" class="bordered" />
<p>
<strong>UPDATE</strong>: <em>I spoke with a sergeant from the Portland Police department today. I will post a longer update on the story soon, with notes from our conversation. The short version: yes, they do have a long history of posting mugshots in cases of high public and media interest, online. They're not only doing this with Occupy arrests. And Occupy arrests are of high media and public interest. The PD's news releases (some of which are lists of arrests, with photos) are all auto-posted to Twitter and Facebook now and not just to the PD's website. Apart from that, I do think it's fair to say that the prevailing character of their response to the local Occupy has been respectful and mellow compared to other cities (Oakland, yes, I'm looking at you). I told the sergeant that some BB readers had written in from Portland to say they are proud of the lack of tear gas or rubber bullets. "So are we," he replied. <br />&mdash;XJ</em>
<p><hr />
<p>
As inadvisable police tactics around Occupy Wall Street go, this feels like it's right up there with tear gassing people in wheelchairs: <a href='http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150325893010904.337000.65391820903&#038;type=1'>The Portland, Oregon police department is posting mugshots  to Facebook</a> of people arrested at <a href="http://occupyportland.org/">Occupy Portland</a>.<p> @<a href="http://www.nyctheblog.blogspot.com/">newyorkist</a> has been dogging them about it <a href="http://twitter.com/Newyorkist ">on Twitter</a>, and the Portland Police replied publicly via <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/portlandpolice">Twitter</a> and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/portlandpolice/posts/257248470992694">Facebook</a> that they do this with any "arrests in cases of a significant public or media interest," as part of the department's "efforts to be continually transparent." <p>
 Is that a violation of the arrestees' civil rights? Some of the demonstrators arrested were minors (and I am not sure if their photos were among the ones published). How does the fact that they are not adults change this story? Remember, these people aren't convicted pedophiles, they're just participants in a peaceful protest <em>who were arrested</em>, and haven't yet seen their day in court.<p>

There is some precedent to police departments posting mugshots <em>on a police department website</em>, but the fact that it's Facebook just feels weird. As BB reader <a href="https://twitter.com/chen_mingi/status/131394144731004929">Bryan Coffelt tweeted</a>, "I feel like the next step would be for the PDX PD to start 'poking' the arrestees or inviting them to play FarmVille."
<p>


<a href="http://twitpic.com/795hf2">Below, a response to the practice</a> by <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/joeyplaid">Joey B'Shalom</a> of Portland, identified as a US Air Force veteran "Airman of the Year" whose son Benji and daughter Hannah were arrested there.<p><span id="more-127265"></span><p>
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<img src="http://boingboing.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/438635630-1.jpg" alt="" title="438635630 (1)" width="499" class="bordered" /></center>
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<em>(via <a href="http://youngmanhattanite.tumblr.com/post/12186134118/portland-mom-air-force-veteran-american-via">Young Manhattanite</a>)</em>]]></content:encoded>
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