links for 2008-05-12

• ABUSE OF AUTHORITY: Lawsuit on behalf of man with no criminal record — cops allegedly searched his apartment with no warrant (he never was charged), ripped a catheter from his penis, and left without summoning medical help
  Absolutely disgusting. Child porn is used as an excuse to increase police powers — and police always exceed the power given to them. Just another painful example. I’ll be crossing my legs now.
  (tags: politics AbuseOfAuthority police brutality policeBrutality ripped catheter childPorn warrants illegalEntry medical AndrewGlover lawsuits PaulSpinella JamesWardwell assaults HaroldSpurling JeffreyBrisson WontSomebodyPleaseThinkOfTheChildren? 4thAmendment FourthAmendment searches Hartford Connecticut HeraldTribune news articles)
• OVERLY-HARSH PUNISHMENTS: Drink alcohol underage? Cop will jump up and down on you. Get your liver lacerated, kidney injuries, and broken ribs. If you’re not white, anyway. Remember — they tried to criminalize alcohol, and the people won.
  Officer Charles Porter of Denver, Colorada, is hopefully not getting away with this — he was arrested on 2nd Degree Assault charges. Of course, sustaining charges against a cop is really hard (Rodney King, anybody?)
  (tags: politics OverlyHarshPunishments AbuseOfAuthority police brutality policeBrutality assault arrests charges alcohol WarOnAlcohol Officers CharlesPorter victims JuanVasquez racism injuries liver kidney ribs lacerated laceratedLiver brokenRibs broken teenagers 16-year-old Denver Colorado news articles LatinoPeaceOfficersAssociation GerryWhitman CBS)
• OVERLY-HARSH PUNISHMENTS/NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED: Woman asks man for ride from grocery store; man gives her ride; arrested, fined $2K, car impounded - for “running an illegal taxi service”
  Corporatism over capitalism - only a corporation is allowed to take money for providing a ride. We have no actual rights to make money doing odd jobs. WTF? Selling isn’t legal. Driving isn’t legal. Selling driving casually is? WTF?
  (tags: politics OverlyHarshPunishments MiamiGardens Florida news articles Miami-DadeCounty Miami-DadeCountyConsumerServices ConsumerServices fines $2000 RoscoO’Neil NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished vehicles cars capitalism Taxis 78-year-old Winn-Dixie EllenNovodeletsky polie arrests charges IllegalTransportationForAFee IllegalTaxi IllegalTaxiService SonyaPerez)
• ABUSE OF AUTHORITY: *3* officers can’t take a knife from an 82-year-old man who has to carry oxygen apparatus at all times, lying in a hospital bed in a post-heart-bypass-surgery delerium — so they tase him 3 times instead.
  Tasers! Making the police’s job even easier than it already is.

  Corporal Scott Wilson — time to get a new job. You are obviously physically and mentally deficient if you can’t stop a man who is unable to get out of his hospital bed.

  (tags: politics AbuseOfAuthority incompetence police brutality policeBrutality tasers hospitals elderly delerium Kamloops BritishColumbia Canada CBC news articles RCMP RoyalCanadienMountedPolice victims FrankLasser 82-year-old surgery bypass bypassSurgery knife delusional ScottWilson heartSurgery OverlyHarshPunishments hearts medical patients)
• SCIENCE: Cell phones affect your brainwaves — even after you stop using them
  Likened to half a cup of coffee, you probably don’t want to use your cell phone before going to bed. Suddenly the horror movie “The Signal” doesn’t seem that far off.
  (tags: science articles ScientificAmerican hardware phones cellPhones studies health medical sleep brains brainwaves EEG Nokia Nokia6110 alphaWaves deltaWaves alpha delta)
• TECHNOLOGY WAR: US Lawmakers Propose New Net Neutrality Bill
  John Conyers does something good, right after doing something bad (the PRO-IP act) … Cognitive…dissonance…sizzling…my mind.
  (tags: politics technology TechnologyWar NetNeutrality internet legislation Democrats JohnConyers ISPs bills NYTimes Slashdot news articles Republicans broadband)
• DRUGS: ALCOHOL: Brewers Reformulate Beer to Cope With Hops Shortage
  Hops has gone to 10X the original price, and even Malt has doubled. This seems to be related to the global food crisis — maybe this will make people care a bit more.
  (tags: drugs alcohol drinks beer hops food shortages economics crisis brewers Wired news articles barley malt)
• SCIENTOLOGY IS A DANGEROUS CULT: London ANONYMOUS Protester Given Court Summons For Sign Declaring Scientology a Cult
  Only in the UK!
  Of course, a lot of UK shittiness shows up in the USA a few years later…. And let’s not forget Keith Hanson, finally out of jail for joking about a “Tom Cruise Missile” and protesting Scientology.
  (tags: politics religion cults Scientology censorship protestors signs London UK news articles)