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FreakinDJ

FreakinDJ's Journal
FreakinDJ's Journal
September 20, 2015

Calif: Does water district’s dam blocking salmon violate state law?

Does water district’s dam blocking salmon violate state law?

Gary Flanagan is a retired sheriff’s deputy, so he knows all too well what’s supposed to happen when someone breaks the law.

This spring, state fisheries officials sent a letter to the Nevada Irrigation District alleging it was in violation of two sections of the state’s Fish and Game Code over a small dam near Lincoln that blocks fall-run Chinook salmon as they migrate up Auburn Ravine Creek.

After years of trying to pressure the irrigation district to build a fish passageway at Hemphill Dam so the Chinook could pass upstream to spawn, Flanagan and other salmon advocates saw the letter as confirmation of what they long suspected: The Department of Fish and Wildlife was taking it easy on the water district – to the salmon’s peril.

At a public meeting in August, the Placer County fish and game commissioner let his frustrations be known as he confronted a state wildlife official. “Where is the teeth other than saying, ‘Pretty please’ … year after year after year after year?” Flanagan said. “You’ve got a Fish and Game Code violation that’s either a criminal violation or a civil violation. When do you take enforcement action … for not showing good faith?”

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/the-public-eye/article35835900.html#storylink=cpy




September 20, 2015

Video captures Sacramento County deputy beating prone suspect with flashlight

Source: Sam Stanton and Denny Walsh - Sacramento Bee

Sacramento County sheriff’s Deputy Paul “Scotte” Pfeifer has been hailed as a hero cop.

The 14-year veteran has won numerous awards in his career, including the department’s highest honor – the Sheriff’s Gold Medal of Valor – for helping save a baby from a three-day hostage situation on Arden Way.

He has been lauded for bravery, honored by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and the Carmichael Elks Lodge for helping address the transient problem in the area, feted by the Sacramento chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution and recognized by the California Peace Officers’ Association.

He also has been accused in court of using excessive force at least three times since 2009, each time over his use of a flashlight as a weapon, and captured on video in two separate incidents beating a suspect with a long, metal flashlight. Video of one of those incidents began circulating in December. The Sacramento Bee this month obtained exclusive video of the second incident – shot from the dashboard cameras of two patrol cars.




Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/news/investigations/article35847090.html



Yea for the "Hero Cop" who demands immunity when he savagely beats people up with his "Department Issued Flashlight"

Watch the video - its a brutal beating for absolutely no reason




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September 20, 2015

Nazi soldiers were high on meth-like drug, new book claims

Nazi soldiers were high on meth-like drug, new book claims


It's no secret Adolf Hitler relied heavily on drugs, and now it looks as if the Nazis' interest in pharmacological helpers resulted in the mass drugging of German soldiers before major attacks.

In a new book, "The Total Rush," author Norman Ohler says that soldiers were given Pervitin, which contained a form of methamphetamine, similar to today's crystal meth.

Pervitin was invented in 1937 and used in a German energy drink intended to rival Coca-Cola before the war.

In an interview with Deutsche Welle. Ohler says the German army put it to mass use when the war came.


http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Nazi-soldiers-were-high-much-of-the-time-new-6508806.php
September 19, 2015

Woman accused of faking kidnapping, boyfriend file claim against Vallejo

Woman accused of faking kidnapping, boyfriend file claim against Vallejo


Citing a “continuous pattern of malicious and unlawful conduct,” the Vallejo woman whom police accused of faking her March kidnapping has filed a claim against the city.

The claim, seeking unspecified damages, was filed Thursday and accuses the Vallejo Police Department of negligence, injury to reputation and other charges. If the claim is rejected by the city, the couple represented by Kerr & Wagstaffe LLP, would be free to file a lawsuit. The city, citing the likelihood of a lawsuit, declined to comment.



In July, the FBI revealed that Orangevale attorney Matthew Muller was in custody for Huskins’ kidnapping and was suspected in at least one other incident.

Also named in the 22-page claim is Denise Huskins’ boyfriend Aaron Quinn. The claim alleges police took DNA samples from Quinn, forced him to take a lie detector test and interrogated him for several hours.







Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article35742624.html#storylink=cpy
September 16, 2015

Climate Change vs: Population Growth

Does anyone think we can reduce one without controling the other

September 9, 2015

The Politics of Income Inequality

The Politics of Income Inequality









The years from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were not the most egalitarian in American history. Robber barons roamed the economy, living off lavish rents generated by powerful cartels and industrial monopolies.

The richest 1 percent of Americans reaped nearly one in five dollars generated by the economy and amassed almost half its wealth; at the other end of the scale, wage earners lost ground to inflation. It was the era of the Haymarket riots and Upton Sinclair’s “The Jungle.” Workers staged 1,500 strikes in 1886 alone.

Ultimately, though, the disparities in wealth and income led to an age of ferment that came to be known as the Progressive Era.

Women got the right to vote. Congress passed the Sherman Act. Chicago’s Beef Trust and John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil were taken down. In 1914, Henry Ford decided to raise wages to $5 a day, doubling at a stroke most of his workers’ pay.


http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/14/business/economy/the-politics-of-income-inequality.html?_r=0
September 9, 2015

Don't blame the Fed for widening inequality. Blame Congress

Don't blame the Fed for widening inequality. Blame Congress


Yes, income inequality is a major problem, one that was worsened by the Great Recession and the sluggish recovery


And yes, the Fed's response to the crisis -- unprecedented amounts of easy money -- did boost the stock market. That, in turn, made many rich Americans even better off.

But those arguing that the Fed intensified inequality miss the boat: The Fed was the only game in town in 2008 because Congress didn't act more forcefully to save the U.S. economy. And if the Fed didn't step up to the plate, income inequality would likely be far worse today.

"Given the fiscal policy we had, what could the Fed do? I think they did the best thing they could," said Dean Baker, co-head of the left-leaning Center for Economic Policy and Research. "We wouldn't be happier with fewer jobs and a lower stock market."

http://money.cnn.com/2015/06/02/news/economy/income-inequality-federal-reserve/

September 7, 2015

Amid drought, thousands of Californians cancel their flood insurance

Amid drought, thousands of Californians cancel their flood insurance







State and local officials have preached for months that California’s historic drought could be “the new normal,” the precursor to more frequent yearslong episodes of hotter temperatures, less rainfall and lower Sierra snowpack.

Californians across the state have responded en masse to the call for lifestyle changes, curtailing water use, particularly when it comes to watering their lawns.



And some have responded in a manner more concerning to government officials: They canceled their flood insurance.

The number of federal flood insurance policies active in California has fallen by 30,000, or 12 percent, since the drought began in 2012, according to data from the National Flood Insurance Program.



Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/news/state/california/article34117461.html#storylink=cpy

September 7, 2015

About 100 demonstrate against Nazis, police in downtown Olympia

About 100 demonstrate against Nazis, police in downtown Olympia


http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/4mlmf9/picture34227531/ALTERNATES/FREE_960/protest


About 100 demonstrators marched through downtown Olympia Saturday evening chanting "Nazis out of Oly" as well as anti-police slogans.

Many in the crowd wore black and had bandanas covering their faces. A few were carrying bats. They passed out fliers saying they were there to counter a Nazi gathering that had been called for Saturday night in Olympia.



The group gathered about 7 p.m. near the Harbor Days vendor tents on Percival Landing then set out up Fourth Avenue about 8 p.m., carrying a banner that read “All Cops are Bastards.” They marched past City Hall, then back to Percival Landing. Some were lighting fireworks; others knocked over trash cans, but passersby picked them up.

One young man who was watching the crowd remarked, “We do need the police. Otherwise, I’d have to be down here. I’m in the Army, by the way.”

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/article34227534.html#storylink=cpy




September 7, 2015

JBLM soldier who beat Afghan man over child’s rape faces Army discharge

JBLM soldier who beat Afghan man over child’s rape faces Army discharge


A Green Beret and his allies say the fact that he “stood up to a child rapist” while serving in Afghanistan with an elite Joint Base Lewis-McChord unit shouldn’t be grounds for kicking him out of the Army.

Sgt. 1st Class Charles Martland says he beat up an Afghan police commander he was supposed to be mentoring because he was fed up with the commander’s “brutal” sexual abuse of a village boy.

Now Martland’s case is being championed by a California congressman and several veteran Green Berets who contend he shouldn’t be punished further.

Martland, 33, was awarded two Bronze Star medals, including one for valor, during his time at JBLM. He likely will be discharged in November because the discipline handed to him for assaulting the Afghan made him a target for Army downsizing. Veteran soldiers with negative performance reviews in their service records are being culled from the ranks as part of the post-Iraq War drawdown.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/military/article32969865.html#storylink=cpy

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