Sister Wives, Gay Divorce and a Chimp's Day in Court

From the Wired article linked below

 A little over two years ago I wrote "Sister Wives and 'The Next Step'..." about how polygamists were busy building on the gateway Lawrence v. Texas (sodomy laws - linked in the article above) built for the establishment of gay marriage.

The implication was, and is, that if gay marriage is recognized then polygamists will claim that their marital practices should be accepted as well.

Of course supports of gay marriage appear, for some odd reason, opposed to polygamy (and all the other poly's like andry).  See, for example, "After Gay Marriage, Why Not Polygamy" and "A Simple Point on Polygamy".

(Not that, in my opinion, the road to gay marriage was well thought out either.  For example, apparently it never occurred to anyone that getting a divorce might be involve a legal issue.  There are, in fact, no laws (or few) that support it so to get a "gay divorce" according to the article is a non-trivial matter.)

Turns out I was wrong about predicting the success of the Sister Wives.

The gay and poly blocks have apparently been caught off guard by yet another group seeking "rights."

Chimps (as in Chimpanzee).

That's right, chimps.

So while all the bickering and fighting and filing of lawsuits has been going on so that each special group can have its needs made into "rights" the chimps have been busy working on rights of their own.

And not only "rights" - but "human rights."

They are, after all, besides being cute, intelligent and thoughtful.

In any case the chimps are set for their day in court already as described in "A Chimp’s Day in Court: Inside the Historic Demand for Nonhuman Rights."

Just as in the precursors of Lawrence v. Texas chimps are wisely starting out small.  In this case for "bodily liberty," i.e., the freedom of being caged.

Of course, we can all see where this goes next.

I think the Sister Wives should be worried - the chimps may scoop their first place finish.

After all chimpanzee mating habits are certainly not gay or straight but instead fall more along the "poly" line of thinking from what I can tell at a distance.

I mean, gee, once freed of their cages there will be little to prevent them from practicing their on unique brand of "poly" openly around the country side for all to see.

Clearly its a race to the bottom.

Why not grant fish rights as well.

Deep ocean dwellers will, after all, deserve "bodily liberty."

While everyone seems quite certain that there is no "slippery slope" its sure is hard to describe this chimp-based turn of events as anything but.

Good thing for the deep ocean dwellers though.

(Hang in there guys, "rights" on on their way...)

Epigenetics, Smoking and Addiction

Epigenetics is the process by which some trait of a parent is transmitted to an offspring through non-genetic and non-social means (Wikipedia: "...anything other than DNA sequence that influences the development of an organism.")

Over at National Geographic we see this article: "Mice Inherit Specific Memories, Because of Genetics?" by Virginia Huges. (You can find the original article here but you'd have to pay $32 to read it even though its quite likely your tax dollars paid for its research, content and writing.)

Epigenetics has been somewhat "out of fashion" for a number of years but this paper brings it back to the fore.  Basically the idea is that mice taught that a certain smell is bad somehow seem to pass this on to subsequent generations through a reproductive process, i.e., with all the possibility of social and environmental transmission removed, that transcends DNA, i.e., the DNA itself is not directly altered, yet the offspring still avoid the bad smell.

The article is straight forward and an easy read.

The same topic is also covered here at ArsTechnica.

Of course, modern science never stops to think about the implications of this.

What about a positive reward rather than a negative one (in the paper above mice are given a specific smell and a corresponding shock - the fear of the specific smell is what's passed on to the subsequent generation)?

Could there be, perhaps, a propensity to smoke, for example, based on a similar process?

By the same line of reasoning, again, as an example, your parents might smoke and indirectly pass a preference for smoking on to you, their offspring, through a similar process.

One might argue that there was a epigenetic reason for being a smoker (or drinker, and so on).

So your parents biology is somehow responsible for the reason you are now a social outcast.

Someone whom is picked on, bullied, and ridiculed for smoking.

Yet what if the very reason you smoke is biological - just like hair color, skin color, and all the other myriad of things that people are bullied for...?

Everyone agrees that its "bad" to bully someone of, for example, another race than your own.

But what about bully for epigenetic traits?

The mice, for example, bullying their cousins for fearing a certain smell.  (In this case you'd demonstrate the effect of the Nature article on one "branch" of the family but not another, e.g., one cousin is so trained but not another.

Now mouse cousin A can ridicule mouse cousin B for a seemingly unexplainable fear of a smell.

Now imagine how this might translate into children...

Well, actually, we don't have to.

We can see that those who smoke, despite decades of put down, ridicule, and "re-education" continue to smoke.

And, at least to my mind, smoking tends to run in families (and yes, maybe its all social), but the point of this post is that we don't know.

The mere possibility of epigenetics having a roll in the outcome of our children really says that there may, in fact, be biological reasons that people smoke other than addiction.

Of course, this could apply to many other things as well, drug use, drinking, abusive behavior, fearful behavior, the list is endless.

The point is simple: science understands very little about why things occur, yet, just like Facebook, is happy to assist in the bullying and ridicule of what may in fact be something over which an individual has no control.

Bullying - The New Definition

So I go over to http://www.stopbullying.gov/what-is-bullying/definition/ to see what bullying involves:

• An Imbalance of Power: Kids who bully use their power—such as physical strength, access to embarrassing information, or popularity—to control or harm others. Power imbalances can change over time and in different situations, even if they involve the same people.
  
  
• Repetition: Bullying behaviors happen more than once or have the potential to happen more than once.

Now let's just eliminate "Kids" from the first bullet point because there is certainly no limitation as to age where bullying is concerned.

Now let's take a look at this article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette.  It says in part:

"The region's biggest health care system announced Wednesday that its new no-smoking policy would take effect July 1, 2014. UPMC will continue to hire smokers but it will not allow them to smoke during their shifts or their breaks."

It goes on:

"... The policy also forbids snuff, smokeless tobacco -- and even electric cigarettes, which deliver nicotine via water vapor and are used by many as a smoking cessation tool."

Hmm, bans electronic "cigarettes" as well - specifically for those wanting to quit smoking.

(Note: Electronic cigarettes do not use, for the most part, water vapor.  In fact, they use things like Propylene Glycol (PG) - just like the inhaler technology UPMC and its doctors has its patients use for things like breathing problems.  So this is really interesting.  I can breath PG if UPMC tells me its okay but not if I decide to, for example, quit smoking by using it because my doctor tells me too.

Electronic cigarettes are far more closely tied to the UPMC breathing treatments than cigarettes.

Doctors do, in fact, tell people to use electronic cigarettes instead of smoking.

But since they make you look like a smoker you're going to get a whack on the head from the bully...)

Isn't that in fact promoting smoking, i.e., banning a means to quit.

This ban includes "time that is paid, and unpaid breaks, including lunch that is taken on or off campus. ..."

So, lets see here.  I can no longer do what I want on my break off the job.  Even on an "unpaid break" from work - hmm - unpaid break?  I imagine only slaves to have those - but who knows...

Clearly, by the www.stopbullying.gov description, this is BULLYING. (Note: The Propylene Glycol part is particularly sad because its just like the bully telling you its okay to carry his books for him but not your own, i.e., he knocks them out of your hands.  I can prescribe PG for you to breath but God-forbid you inhale it on your own or even if your doctor tells you to in order to stop smoking...,)

Why?

Well, suppose I engage in risky sexual behavior.

Obviously I can become infected and transmit a disease to a patient.

But the policy does not affect all risky behavior on the part of employees - only smokers and smoking. I guess no one minds if the Hep C or AIDS guy cuts himself during a surgery or while patching up your wound.

But having Hep C or AIDS is socially cool so there's apparently no need to deal with that.

So they are singling out smokers to control them.

After all, smoking is not socially cool.

Sounds to me like it fits the definition of bullying to me.

(Remember the 12 and 14 year old girls who were arrested for bullying?  All they did is make Facebook posts about the victim.  Not like, for example, threatening their livelihood as does UPMC.)

Especially after the last sentence in the article: "Violations will be reported to a UPMC supervisor, [who] will then attempt to resolve the problem, and progressive corrective action will be used."

Corrective action - wonder what that means?

So if some UPMC employee off's themself due to the stress of not smoking during the day its not UPMC's fault, right?  No one will arrest them or their parents (as in the case of the 12 and 14 year old girls).

Why not?

Because smoking is not socially cool...

So let's take a look at what "social bullying" is about according to the government (again from the "stop bullying" site): 

Social bullying, sometimes referred to as relational bullying, involves hurting someone’s reputation or relationships. Social bullying includes:

• Leaving someone out on purpose
• Telling other children not to be friends with someone
• Spreading rumors about someone
• Embarrassing someone in public

Hmm...  "Leaving someone out on purpose." - Like someone who "smokes?"

An electronic cigarette need not even contain nicotine but should your coworker see you using one no doubt you will be subjected to "corrective action" as described above.

Certainly, if I were a smoker, this would be embarrassing to me - to be singled out for a specific behavior.

I suppose this means that if you are addicted to, say, Oxy Contin, its okay - we'll hire you - but not if you smoke.

This is social bullying to an extreme.

Certainly there are many things someone might do that are "dangerous" and affect their jobs - like take drugs, or be mentally ill, or have a bad attitude, or whatever.

But only the "smokers" are to be singled out.

No one will follow you around to see if you are shooting up on your break.

None of this should be surprising when you consider that UPMC makes quite a bit of money treating - you guessed it - smokers!

Prescribing Medicaid and Medicare treatments to patients and billing the government.

Imagine the effect on these big companies and industries if people suddenly stopped smoking.
 

Ars Technia and Ruiu's Questionable Results

I am fascinated by this article at ArsTechnica.

It describes a computer security researcher named Drago Ruiu studying what he calls "BadBIOS."  BadBIOS is supposedly some kind of virus that lives in a computer's BIOS (the BIOS is a low level memory where basic instructions on startup, accessing the disk, display, etc. are stored).

BadBIOS supposedly allows computers with no internet or wired or wireless connection to become infected by, supposedly again, mysterious means, e.g., audio data transfer, and so on.

A subsequent Ars article here describes how others are unable to duplicate Ruiu's results.

What interesting is not this information per se but rather how this reflects on today's notion of "science" and credibility.

Unlike, for example, "climate science" a laptop is a closed system.  A device without access to the internet that is supposedly exhibiting problems with self infection of computer viruses.

No one so far can "duplicate" Ruiu's results.

But Ars can still write articles about these results even though there are basically nonsense.

If we (or they) can't reliably decode what a laptop is doing how can we decode, for example, the climate?

The laptop is a closed environment that sits on your lap.  The climate represents a planet-wide phenomena.

What the fascination is here is that no one at Ars questions the ineptitude of Ruiu.  Computers are based on boolean logic and deterministic electronics.  Yet Ruiu is unable to demonstrate actual results.

This is a common phenomena when debugging large, complex software systems.  Its easy to fool yourself (as I wrote about here in "Through the Keyhole") about what's going wrong.  Perhaps Ruiu (and the editors at Ars) should read my posts regarding this phenomena before publishing articles.

Yet Ars still writes about this nonsense - and climate science as well.  If we can't understand a laptop how can we understand climate?

I wrote here about how 1 in 20 scientific studies are basically bogus - I think that the modern notion of science is flawed and guys like Ruiu are really just lost.

Yet Ars represents a world where we can talk about intermediate results of scientific efforts as if they are news.

The "Madoff" Point...

There comes a point in every Ponzi scheme (and other government and business fraud) where a decision must be made:

- Do "we" come clean, confess and repay.

- Or are the consequences to "us" so grave that we must continue on with the fraud regardless.

(Edit: Note, for those with a modern "education" or advanced college degree a Ponzi scheme is, according to Wikipedia "... a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation.")

I call this, in honor of Bernard Madoff, the Madoff Point.

Now I am not an economist nor would it matter if I was.  But I have seen the rise and fall of many businesses and governments in my time.

The Madoff Point is the point in the fraud where a conscious decision is made to move forward with wrong doing.  Of course, in most criminal cases this was the idea from the start.

With government and business, though, usually not.

In each and every case, particularly from the perspective of hind site, you can almost always identify the point where things "went south" and should have been stopped and also where "management" continued on regardless.

Businesses where the mail room guy would mumble "this is insane;" yet those above him continued on with some fallacy that the business was viable run up until the brick wall.

Last night we saw this with Dianne Reidy, the US House stenographer whose outburst was recorded as follows:  “He will not be mocked. He will not be mocked The greatest deception here is this is not one nation under God. It never was. It never was. Had it been, it would not have been — the Constitution would not have been written by Freemasons. They go against God. You cannot serve two masters. You cannot serve two masters. Praise be to God, lord Jesus Christ.”

Interesting, eh?

There is little doubt in my mind that today you need look no further than the "cloak room" for Satan.

When you reach the Madoff Point its always the true believers at the bottom who crack first.

So today the good old US Government crosses the Madoff Point.

The point were the consequences of stopping the fraud and Ponzi operations exceed the cost of coming clean.

Imagine borrowing 4-6 billion a day while your pals a the Federal Reserve print another two or three.

Personally I have seen with the government shut down how smoothly traffic flows at rush hour - I wonder why?  With all those who consume our countries resources sidelined those that are left merely go about their business in an efficient and effective manner.

It would probably be beneficial to shut down the government for the traffic benefits alone.

Our government is addicted to debt as I have written here before.

And now, with the crossing of the Madoff Point, there is little hope the "right thing" will ever happen...

If you run a casino the government requires you to say:  "This ad brought to you by Little Joe's Casino.  Got a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLING."

So what should the federal government do, call 1-800-BAD-DEBT?

Our should the people be calling this number?

Oh wait, someone at the government is answering...

Just ask Dianne Reidy.

The Agony of Android Development...

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I used Eclipse for software development.

I can't even remember why.

Its awful.  Mostly its not precisely deterministic.  Things that you do once don't work unless you restart it or fool around in some way. 

It hasn't changed.

Three or four sub-menus off of "File" to open an existing Android project.

The emulator comm goes off into the weeds randomly and you have to reset things.  The debug window spews crap from all the local app garbage collections running the emulator; really?

This as opposed to XCode or VisualStudio; of course these have their problems as well but they are deterministic relative to Eclipse.

So I am working on a cross-platform app: Windows, OS X, Android, iOS.  I know how to write the others so I figured I'd an Android version up and running.

To do this I decided to write a basic app with the following properties: threads, some images that can detect touches, actions based on touches, dynamic transparency and color, background stuff, basic stuff to build my app.

(The idea is to get everything you need in one place...)

So, after agonizing hours here is the core of what you need all in one place (I will incrementally add to this as I uncover more nasties, like dynamic image transparency, etc.)

Create a new Eclipse project using defaults and use this code.  You also need this image:

There is transparency.


Put the image in res/drawable-mdpi.  Paste the code into the editor.   You will get some log output in the "LogCat" window - good luck finding this if its not already visible.

Activities appear to be like iOS Views, but we'll see...

package com.foobar.basicsuface1;

import android.app.Activity;
import android.content.Context;
import android.os.Bundle;
import android.util.Log;
import android.view.MotionEvent;
import android.view.SurfaceHolder;
import android.view.SurfaceView;
import android.view.Window;
import android.view.WindowManager;
import android.graphics.BitmapFactory;
import android.graphics.Canvas;
import android.graphics.Bitmap;

public class BasicSufaceActivity extends Activity {

    private static final String TAG = BasicSufaceActivity.class.getSimpleName();

    public class mainSurface extends SurfaceView implements SurfaceHolder.Callback {

        private mainThread thread;        // This thread does all the display updating.

        public class mainThread extends Thread {
           
            Bitmap bmp;

            // Surface holder that can access the physical surface
            private SurfaceHolder surfaceHolder;
            // The actual view that handles inputs
            // and draws to the surface

            // flag to hold game state
            private boolean running;
           
            public void setRunning(boolean running) {
                this.running = running;
            }

            public mainThread(SurfaceHolder surfaceHolder) {
                super();
                this.surfaceHolder = surfaceHolder;
               
                // You have to use Finder to "copy" android1test.pngand then "paste" it into
                // res/drawable-mdpi using Eclipse for Eclipse to actually find it.
                // Don't use spaces in the name or Eclipse/ADT creates problems.
                //
                bmp = BitmapFactory.decodeResource(getResources(), R.drawable.android1test);
            }

            public void display(Canvas canvas) {
                canvas.drawBitmap(bmp, 10, 10, null);
            }

            @Override
            public void run() {
                Canvas canvas;
               
                Log.d(TAG, "Starting display loop...");
               
                while (running) {
                    canvas = null;
                    try {
                        canvas = this.surfaceHolder.lockCanvas();
                        if (canvas != null)
                        {
                            synchronized (surfaceHolder) {
                                display(canvas);
                            }
                        }
                    } finally {
                        if (canvas != null)
                        {
                            surfaceHolder.unlockCanvasAndPost(canvas);
                        }
                    }
                }
                Log.d(TAG, "Display loop terminates...");
            }
        }

        public mainSurface(Context context) {
            super(context);
           
            // adding the callback (this) to the surface holder to intercept events
            getHolder().addCallback(this);

            // create the display loop thread
            thread = new mainThread(getHolder());

            // make this surface focusable so it can handle events
            setFocusable(true);
        }

        @Override
        public void surfaceChanged(SurfaceHolder holder, int format, int width,
                int height) {
        }

        @Override
        public void surfaceCreated(SurfaceHolder holder) {
            // at this point the surface is created and
            // we can safely start the display loop
            //
            thread.setRunning(true);
            thread.start();
        }

        @Override
        public void surfaceDestroyed(SurfaceHolder holder) {
            Log.d(TAG, "Surface is being destroyed");
            // tell the thread to shut down and wait for it to finish
            // this is a clean shutdown
            boolean retry = true;
            thread.running = false;
            while (retry) {
                try {
                    thread.join();
                    retry = false;
                } catch (InterruptedException e) {
                    // try again shutting down the thread
                }
            }
            Log.d(TAG, "Thread was shut down cleanly");
        }

        @Override
        public boolean onTouchEvent(MotionEvent event) {
            if (event.getAction() == MotionEvent.ACTION_DOWN) {
                if (event.getY() > getHeight() - 50) {
                    thread.setRunning(false);
                    ((Activity)getContext()).finish();
                } else {
                    Log.d(TAG, "Coords: x=" + event.getX() + ",y=" + event.getY());
                }
            }
            return super.onTouchEvent(event);
        }

    }

    @Override
    public void onCreate(Bundle savedInstanceState) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState);
        // requesting to turn the title OFF
        requestWindowFeature(Window.FEATURE_NO_TITLE);
        // making it full screen
        getWindow().setFlags(WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN, WindowManager.LayoutParams.FLAG_FULLSCREEN);
        // set our MainGamePanel as the View
        setContentView(new mainSurface(this));
        Log.d(TAG, "View added");
    }

    @Override
    protected void onDestroy() {
        Log.d(TAG, "Destroying...");
        super.onDestroy();
    }

    @Override
    protected void onStop() {
        Log.d(TAG, "Stopping...");
        super.onStop();
    }

}

Google Glass = Borg

Watch this "Google Glass" video on the Mirror API.  The first thing he talks about are people at events holding up their phones to record things.

I'm sure you've seen it - just watch the first few minutes of the video.

So I guess when you don't like things like this:

You'd rather go with something like this:

Nice, eh?

Rather than put down your stupid phone and actually watch or listen to what's on stage let's let technology do it for us...

More Monsanto Roundup Problems: Its in Your Urine.

As if my last post wasn't enough we now find Roundup (glyphosate) in the urine of city dwellers.

(See this link for full details - posted October 23, 2012.)

From the link: "Now, results from a German study shows that people who have no direct contact with agriculture have significant concentrations of glyphosate in their urine. It's becoming quite apparent that genetically engineered crops are a source of multiple toxins, in addition to having been found to contain far lower levels of nutrients. So much for saving the world from starvation. "

The study is here (as a Google QuickView).

Glyphosate is sloshed over crops, its in the dirt, on the equipment, etc. etc.

Its not real good for you (from the link at the top):

Glyphosate works by inhibiting an enzyme called EPSP synthase that is necessary for plants to grow, causes birth defects in frogs and chicken embryos at far lower levels than used in agricultural and garden applications.5 The malformations primarily affected the:

•     Skull
•     Face
•     Midline and developing brain
•     Spinal cord

...

The journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, the highest MRL for glyphosate in food and feed products in the EU is 20 mg/kg. Genetically engineered soybeans have been found to contain residue levels as high as 17 mg/kg, and malformations in frog and chicken embryos occurred at 2.03 mg/kg6 – that's 10 times lower than the MRL!

Glyphosate also has been linked to a variety of other problems such as destroying necessary pathogens in the soil, causing treated crops to use too much water, and other problems.

Just more reasons I don't consume soybean oil in any form.

Monsanto: Weaponizing GMO DNA Against You

A few years ago I wrote "Weaponized Intellectual Property" and "Genetic Engineering: It's What's for Dinner."

These were articles about how patent trolls (like Monsanto) could create situations where you could be sued for something they owned that ended up in your possession through a means outside your control.

But today Monsanto has one-upped the trolls.

Their game is to ensure that self replicating items like seed that contain their patented DNA remain their property no matter what.

This includes if someone sells them to others.

This also includes the case where your non-Monsanto seeds are "inoculated" by winds carrying DNA from Monsanto seeds in a nearby field.

The case is in the Supreme court (see this at the NY Times).

Some shlub thought he could escape Monsanto's grip by going to a grain elevator and buying some random soybeans.

He reasoned that neighbors had signed Monsanto contracts (as had he) to use the seeds as had he.

(The contract prohibits you from "saving" the seeds to replant next year as they are Monsanto's property.)

So the neighbors sold the seeds to a grain elevator.

Who sold them to this schlub.

Who planted them and found that low and behold some Round Up Ready soybeans survived.

Now Monsanto is suing the schlub for what amounts to theft of their "patented property."

So how are those who sold the seeds to the grain elevator in the first place not guilty.

They signed a contract not to save seeds - but they did.

Then they sold them to a third party who could not identify what seeds were Monsanto seeds and what seeds were not - the Monsanto GMO seeds look the same as the those which are not.

So this guy bought them.

Oops!

The schlub is holding the bag even though he did not violate his contract by saving seeds.

Should Monsanto win this case it will open the floodgates of "intellectual property" troll lawsuits.

Today IP trolls have been largely squashed by the judicial system - in part because they are wrong for what they are trying to do but also because there is no case law supporting their idea.

But a wrong decision here by the Supreme Court will seal your fate.

The current troll notion is that no matter how it got there if your computer contains someone else's IP then you can be sued regardless of intent.

Now this is truly nonsense.

Criminal law, for the most part, requires that you have intent when you do something wrong.

For example:  If there is an item in your car that was stolen it matters if you bought it in good faith at a yard sale or bought it off a known thief.  (There are exemptions for deals that are "too good to be true" but if you are paying a reasonable fee for something that in no way appears to be stolen then intent is on your side.)

But today's Monsanto lawyers want this swept away.

If you possess "it" - whatever "it" is - and "it" contains their IP (copyrighted or patented) then you're guilty.

Now imagine the fun.

Opt-in emails or bit coins or diddly bunks from some computer game are infused with weaponized IP - perhaps a snippet of a copywritten song or some patented code.

The emails or bit coins or diddly bunks happily store themselves in the "cloud" and subsequently install themselves on your iPads, andriod phones, Apple TV, etc.

Shazzam!

An IP lawyer sues you because you have "stolen" their client's IP.  Even though the emails, bit coins or diddly bunks installed themselves without your direction on your devices.

This idiot Roberts is worried about how much money you can make - not about what's right or wrong:

“Why in the world would anybody spend any money to try to improve the seed if as soon as they sold the first one anybody could grow more and have as many of those seeds as they want?” 

In the past hybrid seeds were created by university ag departments for the benefit of the community and the world.

If the seed DNA escaped and made the world a better place so much the better.  (Generally since these were hybrids bred from standard seed stock there was no real downside.)

But Monsanto's DNA can now be anywhere: in soybean oil, in your food, in your body, anywhere.

Yes, people do eat soybeans directly: Edamame.

And if it integrates itself into your body (in your DNA, in your gut, in the bacteria that live inside you) this potential new law will say you have stolen their intellectual property (something like this is just one mutation away...).

Perhaps I can integrate some of my patented computer code into a seed and release it into the wind.

Then I can sue anybody that has that seed growing in their yard.

What insanity!

Do you think Monsanto will claim "ownership" of this GMO DNA if it does something bad somewhere along the line?

I can hear the lawyers now: "Oh no, your honor, its a natural seed in a natural world - we have no control over it."

Patenting things which control themselves is insane.

So is messing with their DNA - look up how "Round Up Ready" was done in the lab via "cut and paste" - the potential for a bad downside is I think significant.   No study, no analysis of risk, just get that patented shit out their so we can make our investment back ASAP!

Soybean seeds are alive.  No one knows how or why they are soybeans - they just exist as part of nature.

They reproduce themselves as part of nature.

From what I can tell the Surpreme court is full of idiots.  Idiots who cannot see the implications of what is before them.

Certainly I agree that Monsanto created the seeds and their magic DNA in the first place.

That's not the problem.

The problem is what the seeds do on their own outside the control of Monsanto.

But you can bet Monsanto won't be taking responsibility for that if it turns out badly...

Its also been argued that this case is like acquiring a song and then giving a copy to all your friends for free.

Wrong.

Its like downloading a song that then replicates itself like a virus onto all your computer and through the network to other peoples houses.

Big difference.

But one that escapes the idiots at the US Supreme Court.

Too bad.

The Supreme Court got the decisions about Promethius Laboratories right - no patenting natural processes.

So the question here is this.

Is the seeds reproduction a natural process?  After all soybeans were reproducing long before the 1980's when Monsanto's GMO work came along.

Or does the funky new DNA Monsanto injected into them somehow trump natural reproduction?

The seeds existed before Monsanto so my guess is that this fact should/would have to trump everything else.

GMO Monsanto "Round Up Ready" soybean DNA is in virtually everything you eat that's manufactured in some way.

Is this really a good idea?

PS: If you read the accounts of how it was created Monsanto exposed some living organism (bacteria I think) to ever-increasing doses of glyphosate over time.  After the organisms could "tolerate" high levels they cut and pasted until they had soybeans doing the same.

Did they really invent this?

No - the organism evolved a tolerance on its own.

I think there are some links to the original patents on some of my related posts.

The Bread Comes in the Mail...

In the mid 1930's the US population was about 125 million people.

Unemployment was, at its peak, about 12 million people or slightly less than 10%.

Today unemployment in the US is much less than 10% - more like 7.8%.

But with 48 million on food stamps we have 15% of the population on government assistance.

Worse than the Great Depression.

Bu we see no food lines today.

Why?

Because food stamps come in the mail (or on your ACCESS card)...

No waiting in line.

Problem solved.

Everything is just wonderful because we don't see the problem!

Urine: Transmitting Pharmaceuticals Via Our Water Systems

A few years ago I wrote "Sharks on Birth Control?"  It describes how modern birth control medications are found in wild sharks from the open ocean.

It turns out that many medications we consume do not get fully processed in our bodies and they are often excreted via urine unchanged (our bodies simply do not use them all).

Modern sewage treatment plants do not use any processes to remove or neutralize these medications - most of these medical compounds where invented after the modern sewage treatment mechanisms we use today were put into large scale use - so they simply pass on through and into the environment.

Virtually all sewage plants emit effluent into waterways - either a river, lake or ocean - so that's were these compounds end it.

An individual can excrete only a tiny amount which would normally be inconsequential - but with what I'd estimate to be at least a half a billion women peeing out birth control compounds each day the micrograms of medication start to add up (from this I estimated a half billion women - 20% of the women on all continents save Africa and Antartica use these products).

It would seem today that indeed fish exposed to things like anxiety medications in fact have measurably altered behavior (see this from the Washington post).

Birth control medications enter the water systems via urine.  Other compounds, such as anxiety medications, enter these systems via disposal via from unglamorous means such as being "flushed down the toilet."

Like cell phones used by teens to "sext" it would seem the consequences of these modern medications are only now coming to light.

Since these compounds have been in our water systems for decades even experiments described in the article by the Washington Post are suspect because no one knows how long the fish being used in the experiments described have been exposed to these drugs.

Little wonder the big pharma companies want nothing to do with the environmental consequences of these medications.

Science, the Divine, Dogma and Mystery

Becher - Phlogiston Theory - Wikipedia

We start off with Missouri House Bill #291 introduced by representatives Brattin (Sponsor), Koenig and Bahr (Cosponors) - link via this Ars Technica article by John Timmer.

The bill outlines some interesting definitions:

Scientific Theory - an inferred explanation of incompletely understood phenomena about the physical universe based on limited knowledge, whose components are data, logic, and faith-based philosophy. The inferred explanation may be proven, mostly proven, partially proven, unproven or false and may be based on data which is supportive, inconsistent, conflicting, incomplete, or inaccurate. The inferred explanation may be described as a scientific theoretical model;

Scientific Law - a statement describing specific phenomena about the physical universe which has been verified by observation or experimentation and has no exceptions of verified empirical data. The statement may be described by formula;

Standard Science - knowledge disclosed in a truthful and objective manner and the physical universe without any preconceived philosophical demands concerning origin or destiny. Knowledge is based upon verified empirical data obtained through observation and experimentation and serves as the factual basis for formulae, events, processes, principles, and laws and may be a component of theory, hypothesis, conjecture and extrapolation. Knowledge growth as a result of human endeavor serves as the foundation for the continuous reevaluation of theory, hypothesis, conjecture, and extrapolation to determine their correctness based on supporting or conflicting verified empirical data.

Timmer objects to these definitions, the "Scientific Theory" in particular, and serves up the Wikipedia definition of "scientific theory" as a more proper definition (from Wikipedia):

The United States National Academy of Sciences (USNAS) defines scientific theories as follows:

    The formal scientific definition of theory is quite different from the everyday meaning of the word. It refers to a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence. Many scientific theories are so well established that no new evidence is likely to alter them substantially. For example, no new evidence will demonstrate that the Earth does not orbit around the sun (heliocentric theory), or that living things are not made of cells (cell theory), that matter is not composed of atoms, or that the surface of the Earth is not divided into solid plates that have moved over geological timescales (the theory of plate tectonics)...One of the most useful properties of scientific theories is that they can be used to make predictions about natural events or phenomena that have not yet been observed.
 The Ars author Timmer, who according to his bio, spent "15 years doing research at places like Berkeley and Cornell" dislikes the Brattin definition of "scientific theory" presumably because later on Brattin uses it as a means of injecting "Intelligent Design" into Missouri text books.

So let's look at the USNAS version.

Its explicitly says that definition of a (presumably) scientific theory is "a comprehensive explanation of some aspect of nature that is supported by a vast body of evidence."

The Brattin definition is to me much clearer and does not conflict with the Academy of Sciences version.

What I think Timmer does not like is that Brattin's version explicitly lays bare the truth about science: its incomplete and the best explanation we have based on limited knowledge made up of "data, logic, and faith-based philosophy."

The USNAS version implies the notion of a "vast body of evidence" makes science right.  It then goes on to provide examples.

One I find particularly interesting is "matter is composed of atoms."

While this is "true" at a certain level it is no more true than matter is "earth, air, fire and water."

The "earth, air, fire and water" explanation acceptable to ancients who had no notion of atoms.

The atom explanation acceptable to those without apparent knowledge of quarks and quantum mechanics.

Timmer's world would have us believe that "atoms" are an acceptable notion for what things are made of because its supported by a "vast body of evidence" I suppose.

But Brattin's explanation of scientific theory is much more flexible and correct: it admits that some elements of explanation, quarks, quantum mechanics might be unclear (for example, what quantum mechanics means when you think about things like the "Observer Effect," entanglement, faster-than-light communication, and the implications of quantum mechanics as they apply to the macro (non-quantum) world).

Would Timmer have us believing still in "phlogiston theory?"

Apparently the USNAS version of theory doesn't account for new ideas replacing old ones.

The real problem is that quantum things like the Observer Effect makes it clear that we, as the observers in science, can and do affect what we observe.  And there is also the domain of theories of "consciousness" which are, by nature, observer dependent because the only observer of a conscious mind is the person who inhabits it.

Another problem is one of "scope" - yes, at some level - perhaps 1965 third grade science atoms make up the entire universe.  But only from the third grade perspective.  Simultaneously someone in graduate school in 1965 might have been advancing quantum theory or the understanding of quarks.

Is the third grader wrong?  Or is the third grader just working at a level of scope commensurate with his mental capability?  Does that make him wrong?

These things and others make at least some of what is called science today, at least by USNAS, fall outside the simple observation/hypothesis/theory model.  (For example, there is no known reason why macro objects cannot and/or do not behave like quantum objects.)

Over all I reject the Timmer model of constrained science.

Science is about truth.

Science is about mystery.

Science is also about "scope."

So who is to say that, at some level of scope, a religious perspective of the universe is wrong?

Certainly this is no different than trying to wrap up the notion of an "observer" in quantum mechanics.

Today's scientists certainly don't seem qualified to address these larger issues.

Instead it seems like "they" have a vested interest in keeping the definition narrow in order to keep the dogma where it is.

I think that we do a disservice to our children when we boil the world down to standard scientific "dogma" for them.

What does this do to their sense of wonder (I wonder)?

Quantum physics shows us that the standard scientific model is not going to hold up in the long run.

So how can anyone rule Divinity out of science - is it any more mysterious than quantum physics?

Today's science is not science.

Its "Facebook" - let's all click "Like" if we think this should be standard dogma.

But the Timmer's of the world should take a lesson from Facebook.

Just because everyone "Like's" something doesn't mean that its true...

Mother May I... Have a Flu Shot

Joseph Gobbels - Wikipedia

 I constantly receive random 1-800 calls at work.

Here's one...  (transcribed by the voice mail system)

Date    : Feb 13 2013 03:47:07 PM
From    : Name Unavailable (1800555____)
To    : The Lone Wolf  (1724555____)

"This UPMC health plan calling with an important health message for season is upon us. Make sure to cover your mouth when you sneeze, wash your hands frequently and most importantly prevent the flu by getting a flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that every one age 6 months and older get a flu shot. You can get your flu shot at your doctor's office, pharmacy or at a local flu clinic. Thank you"

The ministry of propaganda is at it again.

Flu shots, as I wrote here recently, are scientifically useless (have no measurable effect).   Basically they are magical thinking by the CDC (as I wrote in "Flu Shots and Magical Thinking" a few years ago).  Their own web sites and statistics don't even make logical sense.

I pay a good bit each month (and soon I will be forced to pay each month) for what used to be called "health insurance."

And these very idiots are calling me, with my money, to tell me that some idiot or idiots in my government want me to "conform" to their model of useless treatment even though their treatment is proven to be useless.

(Of course, there may be some placebo effect from the vaccine but that's hard to measure.  I could take a sugar pill and convince myself of the same thing and receive the same effect...)

How about using my money to get the CDC to stop with the flu shot nonsense entirely.

How about some actual research on the flu?

How about you stop nagging me to do something useless.

And no one questions this stupidity...  No, not at all. 

Flu shots are good for you!

Just like gas ovens.

Personally I've found proper health and nutrition much more effective than anything else I have done in my life to make me healthy.

Doctors today don't receive nutritional training in medical school.

The Case of Christopher Dorner...

Thich Quang Duc - Self Immolation - 1963

I am deeply troubled by the incident described, among other places, in this Huffington Post article.

There was stake-out for Christopher Dorner (a large black male with a silver pickup truck) and two hispanic women (47 and 71) in a aqua blue pickup drove up delivering newspapers.

The police involved in the stake-out opened fire on the truck with the hispanic women inside.

Wrong truck.

Wrong truck color.

Wrong number of occupants.

Wrong gender of occupants.

Wrong sized occupants.

Further one imagines that if the women are delivering papers by "throwing them onto the driveway and front walks" someone involved in the police stake-out would have noticed this before opening fire.

But either no one noticed or no one cared.

In either case this is quite troubling.

However, it happens again.  This time (according to the LA Times) a police cruiser rams a guy in a pickup truck on his way to the beach after work.  Apparently the driver was fired upon as well.

The LA Times seems to be making excuses for this behavior (from the above article):

"Nobody trains police officers to look for one of their own," said Maria Haberfeld, a police training professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. "I wouldn't want to be in their shoes and I don't think anybody else would."

Dorner killed people - but somehow, like with hate crimes, the reasons apparently matter more to everyone than Dorner's actual acts.

(Clearly these two incidents could have killed people as well - my guess is that Dorner is better trained than the individuals involved in these incidents.)

I say this because clearly in both cases no one was attacking the police involved, the vehicles didn't match, and from what anyone can see there was absolutely no reason to suspect the victims in these two incidents had anything to do with Dorner.

Yet they were attacked.

The police, according to the article, are jumpy.

(How is this any different than Dorner???)

And with good reason because Dorner has a vendetta against some of them.

It took some looking below is Dorner's "manifesto" - read it for yourself and decide why everyone is LA is jumpy (reproduce from this LA new site) - note that actual names from the original manifest have been "redacted."

To me this manifesto reads like the plot for many of the "shooter" video games I have seen.

Dorner's is "you" and whether its the "Umbrella Corporation" or evil aliens or an evil bureaucracy the script is the same.  Read the "narrative" (here the first part of Dorner's manifesto) and then engage in your "mission" to right a wrong.

I have no idea if what is said here is true or not - I only know about the LAPD from "The Closer" - so I will not comment.

Is Dorner crazy?  I doubt it very much.

Is Dorner dangerous?  To the people he mentions below absolutely.  To anyone else I would bet not.

The LAPD's $1 million USD reward does not make me feel any better.  (Personally upon reading the "manifesto" a conversation with anyone who hasn't would likely be pointless.  Decide for yourself - is he nuts or crazy?)

I would hope that someone with real credibility beyond the LAPD itself investigate what is alleged here.

Dorner's fate (a "self immolation" by bullets no doubt) will take care of itself I am sure...

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable."
-- John F. Kennedy

(I recall from childhood the image of Thich Quang Duc...  I still think about it this day.)

----------------------- Manifesto -----------------------

From: Christopher Jordan Dorner /7648
To: America
Subj: Last resort
Regarding CF# 07-004281



I know most of you who personally know me are in disbelief to hear from media reports that I am suspected of committing such horrendous murders and have taken drastic and shocking actions in the last couple of days. You are saying to yourself that this is completely out of character of the man you knew who always wore a smile wherever he was seen. I know I will be vilified by the LAPD and the media. Unfortunately, this is a necessary evil that I do not enjoy but must partake and complete for substantial change to occur within the LAPD and reclaim my name. The department has not changed since the Rampart and Rodney King days. It has gotten worse. The consent decree should never have been lifted. The only thing that has evolved from the consent decree is those officers involved in the Rampart scandal and Rodney King incidents have since promoted to supervisor, commanders, and command staff, and executive positions.

The question is, what would you do to clear your name?

Name;

A word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known, addressed, or referred to.
Name Synonyms;

reputation, title, appellation, denomination, repute.

A name is more than just a noun, verb, or adjective. It’s your life, your legacy, your journey, sacrifices, and everything you’ve worked hard for every day of your life as and adolescent, young adult and adult. Don’t let anybody tarnish it when you know you’ve live up to your own set of ethics and personal ethos.

In 8/07 I reported an officer (Ofcr. XXXX/now a Sergeant), for kicking a suspect (excessive force) during a Use of Force while I was assigned as a patrol officer at LAPD’s Harbor Division. While cuffing the suspect, (XXXX), XXXX kicked the suspect twice in the chest and once in the face. The kick to the face left a visible injury on the left cheek below the eye. Unfortunately after reporting it to supervisors and investigated by PSB (internal affairs investigator Det. XXXX), nothing was done. I had broken their supposed “Blue Line”. Unfortunately, It’s not JUST US, it’s JUSTICE!!! In fact, 10 months later on 6/25/08, after already successfully completing probation, acquiring a basic Post Certificate, and Intermediate Post Certificate, I was relieved of duty by the LAPD while assigned to patrol at Southwest division. It is clear as day that the department retaliated toward me for reporting XXXX for kicking Mr. XXXX. The department stated that I had lied and made up the report that XXXX had kicked the suspect. I later went to a Board of Rights (department hearing for decision of continued employment) from 10/08 to 1/09. During this BOR hearing a video was played for the BOR panel where XXXX stated that he was indeed kicked by Officer XXXX (video sent to multiple news agencies). In addition to XXXX stating he was kicked, his father XXXX, also stated that his son had stated he was kicked by an officer when he was arrested after being released from custody. This was all presented for the department at the BOR hearing. They still found me guilty and terminated me. What they didn’t mention was that the BOR panel made up of Capt. XXXX, Capt. XXXX, and City Attorney XXXX had a significant problem from the time the board was assembled. Capt. XXXX was a personal friend of XXXX from when he was her supervisor at Harbor station. That is a clear conflict of interest and I made my argument for his removal early and was denied. The advocate for the LAPD BOR was Sgt. XXXX. XXXX also had a conflict of interest as she was XXXX friend and former partner from Harbor division where they both worked patrol together. I made my argument for her removal when I discovered her relation to XXXX and it was denied.

During the BOR, the department attempted to label me unsuccessfully as a bully. They stated that I had bullied a recruit, XXXX, in the academy when in reality and unfounded disposition from the official 1.28 formal complaint investigation found that I was the one who stood up for XXXX when other recruits sang nazi hitler youth songs about burning Jewish ghettos in WWII Germany where his father was a survivor of a concentration camp. How fucking dare you attempt to label me with such a nasty vile word. I ask that all earnest journalist investigating this story ask Ofcr. XXXX about the incident when Ofcr. XXXX began singing a nazi youth song about burning jewish ghettos.
The internal affairs investigation in the academy involving XXXX was spurned by a complaint that I had initiated toward two fellow recruit/offifcers. While assigned patrol footbeat in Hollywood Division, Officers XXXX and XXXX (both current LAPD officers) decided that they would voice their personal feelings about the black community. While traveling back to the station in a 12 passenger van I heard XXXX refer to another individual as a nigger. I wasn’t sure if I heard correctly as there were many conversations in the van that was compiled of at least 8 officers and he was sitting in the very rear and me in the very front. Even with the multiple conversations and ambient noise I heard Officer XXXX call an indivdual a nigger again. Now that I had confirmed it, I told XXXX not to use that word again. I explained that it was a well-known offensive word that should not be used by anyone. He replied, “I’ll say it when I want”. Officer XXXX, a friend of his, also stated that he would say nigger when he wanted. At that point I jumped over my front passenger seat and two other officers where I placed my hands around XXXXs’ neck and squeezed. I stated to XXXX, “Don’t fucking say that”. At that point there was pushing and shoving and we were separated by several other officers. What I should have done, was put a Winchester Ranger SXT 9mm 147 grain bullet in his skull and Officer XXXX’s skull. The Situation would have been resolved effective, immediately. The sad thing about this incident was that when Detective XXXX from internal affairs investigated this incident only (1) officer (unknown) in the van other than myself had statements constistent with what actually happened. The other six officers  all stated they heard nothing and saw nothing. Shame on every one of you. Shame on Detective XXXX (same ethnicity as XXXX) for creating a separate 1.28 formal complaint against me (XXXX complaint) in retaliation for initiating the complaint against XXXX and XXXX. Don’t retaliate against honest officers for breaking your so-called blue line. I hope your son XXXX, who I knew, is a better officer than you, Detective XXXX. The saddest part of this ordeal was that Officer XXXX and XXXX were only given 22 day suspensions and are still LAPD officers to this day. That day, the LAPD stated that it is acceptable for fellow officers to call black officers niggers to their face and you will receive a slap on the wrist. Even sadder is that during that 22 day suspension XXXX and XXXX received is that the LAPPL (Los Angeles Police Protective League) paid the officers their salaries while they were suspended. When I took a two-day suspension for an accidental discharge, I took my suspension and never applied for a league salary. Its called integrity.

Journalist, I want you to investigate every location I resided in growing up. Find any incidents where I was ever accused of being a bully. You won’t, because it doesn’t exist. It’s not in my DNA. Never was. I was the only black kid in each of my elementary school classes from first grade to seventh grade in junior high and any instances where I was disciplined for fighting was in response to fellow students provoking common childhood schoolyard fights, or calling me a nigger or other derogatory racial names. I grew up in neighborhoods where blacks make up less than 1%. My first recollection of racism was in the first grade at Norwalk Christian elementary school in Norwalk, CA. A fellow student, XXXX if I can recall, called me a nigger on the playground. My response was swift and non-lethal. I struck him fast and hard with a punch an kick. He cried and reported it to a teacher. The teacher reported it to the principal. The principal swatted XXXX for using a derogatory word toward me. He then for some unknown reason swatted me for striking XXXX in response to him calling me a nigger. He stated as good Christians we are to turn the other cheek as Jesus did. Problem is, I’m not a fucking Christian and that old book, made of fiction and limited non-fiction, called the bible, never once stated Jesus was called a nigger. How dare you swat me for standing up for my rights for demanding that I be treated as an equal human being. That day I made a life decision that i will not tolerate racial derogatory terms spoken to me. Unfortunately I was swatted multiple times for the same exact reason up until junior high. Terminating me for telling the truth of a Caucasian officer kicking a mentally ill man is disgusting. Don’t ever call me a fucking bully. I want all journalist to utilize every source you have that specializes in collections for your reports. With the discovery and evidence available you will see the truth. Unfortunately, I will not be alive to see my name cleared. That’s what this is about, my name. A man is nothing without his name. Below is a list of locations where I resided from childhood to adulthood.

Cerritos, CA.
Pico Rivera, CA.
La Palma, CA.
Thousand Oaks, CA.
Cedar City, UT.
Pensacola, FL.
Enid, OK.
Yorba Linda, CA.
Las Vegas, NV.

During the BOR an officer named, Sgt. XXXX, from Los Angeles Port Police testified on behalf of the LAPD. XXXX stated for the BOR that he arrived at the location of the UOF shortly before I cuffed the suspect. He also stated that he assisted in cuffing the suspect and that’s old the BOR he told me to fix my tie. All of those statements were LIES!!! XXXX, you arrived at the UOF location up to 30 seconds after I had cuffed Mr.XXXX. All you did was help me lift the suspect to his feet as it was difficult for me to do by myself because of his heavy weight. You did not tell me to fix my tie as the BOR members and everyone else in the room know you lied because the photographic evidence from the UOF scene where XXXX’s injuries were photographed clearly shows me wearing a class B uniform on that day. A class B uniform is a short sleeved uniform blouse. A short sleeved uniform blouse for the LAPD does not have a tie included. This is not Super Troopers uniform, you jackass. Why did you feel the need to embellish and lie about your involvement in the UOF? Are you ashamed that you could not get hired on by any other department other than port police? Do you have delusions of grandeur? What you did was perjury, exactly what XXXX did when she stated she did not kick XXXX.

What they failed to mention in the BOR was XXXX own use of force history during her career on the LAPD. She has admitted that she has a lengthy use of force record and has been flagged several times by risk management. She has a very well known nickname, Chupacabra, which she was very proud to flaunt around the division. She found it very funny and entertaining to draw blood from suspects and arrestees. At one point she even intentionally ripped the flesh off the arm of a woman we had arrested for battery (sprayed her neighbor with a garden water hose). Knowing the woman had thin elastic skin, she performed and Indian burn to the woman’s arm after cuffing her. That woman was in her mid-70’s, a mother and grandmother, and was angry at her tenants who failed to pay rent on time. Something I can completely understand and I am sure many have wanted to do toward tenants who do not pay their rent. XXXX was also demoted from a senior lead officer rank/position for performance issues. During my two months of working patrol with XXXX, I found her as a woman who was very angry that she had been pulled from patrol for a short time because of a domestic violence report made by Long Beach Police Department because of an incident involving her active LAPD officer boyfriend, XXXX, and herself. XXXX is the same officer investigated for witness tampering. She also was visibly angry on a daily basis that she was going to have to file for bankruptcy because her ex-husband, a former LAPD officer and not XXXX, who had left the department, state, and was nowhere to be found had left her with a tax bill and debt that she was unable to pay because of a lack of financial means. XXXX, you are a POS and you lied right to the BOR panel when XXXX asked you if you kicked XXXX. You destroyed my life and name because of your actions. Time is up. The time is now to confess to Chief Beck.

I ask that all journalist investigating this story submit request for FOIA with the LAPD to gain access to the BOR transcripts which occurred from 10/08 to 2/09. There, you will see that a video was played for the BOR members of Mr. XXXX who suffers from Schizophrenia and Dementia stating that he was kicked by a female officer. That video evidence supports my claim that XXXX kicked him twice in the upper body and once in the face. I would like all journalist to also request copies of all reports that I had written while employed by LAPD. Whether in the academy, or during my 3 years as a police officer. There are DR#’s attached to each report (investigative report) that I have ever written so they all exist. A FOIA request will most likely be needed to access these at Parker center or at the Personnel/Records. Judge my writin/grammar skills for yourself. The department attempted to paint me as an officer who could not write reports. Even though Sgt. XXXX a training officer who trained me stated for the BOR panel that there was nothing wrong with my report writing and that I was better than all rookie/probationer officers he has ever trained. Officer XXXX stated the same but refused to testify as he did not want to “get involved” with the BOR’s. Contact Sgt. XXXX ,(now a Captain at Lompoc PD), Sgt. XXXX, and Sgt. XXXX. All will state that my report writing was impeccable. I will tell you this, I always type my reports because I have messy handwriting/penmanship. I never had a single kickback/redlined report at Southwest division and Sgt. XXXX and Sgt. XXXX can testify to that. I never received an UNSATISFACTORY on any day or week. The same can be said within the U.S. Naval Reserves. All commanders will state that my report writing was always clear, concise, and impeccable. Even search my AAR (after action reports),chits, Memorandum’s, IIR’s (Intelligence Information Reports) which were written in the Navy. All were pristine.

I had worked patrol at LAPD’s Harbor Division from 2/06 until 7/06 when I was involuntarily recalled back to active duty (US Navy) for a 12 month mobilization/deployment to Centcom in support of OIF/OEF. I returned back to LAPD’s Harbor division on 7/07 and immediately returned to patrol. I worked at Harbor division until 11/07 where I then transferred to Southwest Division. I worked At Southwest division until 6/25/08 when I was relieved of duty.
I have exhausted all available means at obtaining my name back. I have attempted all legal court efforts within appeals at the Superior Courts and California Appellate courts. This is my last resort. The LAPD has suppressed the truth and it has now lead to deadly consequences. The LAPD’s actions have cost me my law enforcement career that began on 2/7/05 and ended on 1/2/09. They cost me my Naval career which started on 4/02 and ends on 2/13. I had a TS/SCI clearance(Top Secret Sensitive Compartmentalized Information clearance) up until shortly after my termination with LAPD. This is the highest clearance a service member can attain other than a Yankee White TS/SCI which is only granted for those working with and around the President/Vice President of the United States. I lost my position as a Commanding Officer of a Naval Security Forces reserve unit at NAS Fallon because of the LAPD. I’ve lost a relationship with my mother and sister because of the LAPD. I’ve lost a relationship with close friends because of the LAPD. In essence, I’ve lost everything because the LAPD took my name and new I was INNOCENT!!!  XXXX, XXXX, XXXX , and XXXX all new I was innocent but decided to terminate me so they could continue Ofcr. XXXX. I know about the meeting between all of you where XXXX attorney, XXXX, confessed that she kicked XXXX (excessive force). Your day has come.

I’m not an aspiring rapper, I’m not a gang member, I’m not a dope dealer, I don’t have multiple babies momma’s. I am an American by choice, I am a son, I am a brother, I am a military service member, I am a man who has lost complete faith in the system, when the system betrayed, slandered, and libeled me. I lived a good life and though not a religious man I always stuck to my own personal code of ethics, ethos and always stuck to my shoreline and true North. I didn’t need the US Navy to instill Honor, Courage, and Commitment in me but I thank them for re-enforcing it. It’s in my DNA.
Luckily I don’t have to live everyday like most of you. Concerned if the misconduct you were apart of is going to be discovered. Looking over your shoulder, scurrying at every phone call from internal affairs or from the Captains office wondering if that is the day PSB comes after you for the suspects you struck when they were cuffed months/years ago or that $500 you pocketed from the narcotics dealer, or when the other guys on your watch beat a transient nearly to death and you never reported the UOF to the supervisor. No, I don’t have that concern, I stood up for what was right but unfortunately have dealt with the reprocussions of doing the right thing and now losing my name and everything I ever stood for. You fuckers knew XXXX was guilty of kicking (excessive force) XXXX and you did nothing but get rid of what you saw as the problem, the whistleblower. XXXX himself stated on video tape ( provided for the BOR and in transcripts) he was kicked and even his father stated that his son said he was kicked by XXXX when he was released from custody. The video was played for the entire BOR to hear. You’re going to see what a whistleblower can do when you take everything from him especially his NAME!!!

Look what you did to Sgt. XXXX (now lieutenant) when he exposed the truth of your lying, racism, and PSB cover-ups to frame and convict an innocent man. You can not police yourselves and the consent decree was unsuccessful. Sgt. XXXX, I met you on the range several times as a recruit and as an officer. You’re a good man and I saw it in your eyes an actions.

Self Preservation is no longer important to me. I do not fear death as I died long ago on 1/2/09. I was told by my mother that sometimes bad things happen to good people. I refuse to accept that.
From 2/05 to 1/09 I saw some of the most vile things humans can inflict on others as a police officer in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the streets of LA. It was in the confounds of LAPD police stations and shops (cruisers). The enemy combatants in LA are not the citizens and suspects, it’s the police officers.

People who live in glass houses should not throw stones. How ironic that you utilize a fixed glass structure as your command HQ. You use as a luminous building to symbolize that you are transparent, have nothing to hide, or suppress when in essence, concealing, omitting, and obscuring is your forte.

Chief Beck, this is when you need to have that come to Jesus talk with Sgt. XXXX and everyone else who was involved in the conspiracy to have me terminated for doing the right thing. you also need to speak with her attorney, Rico, and his conversation with the BOR members and her confession of guilt in kicking Mr. XXXX. I’ll be waiting for a PUBLIC response at a press conference. When the truth comes out, the killing stops.

Why didn’t you charge me with filing a false police report when I came forward stating that XXXX kicked Mr. XXXX? You file criminal charges against every other officer who is accused and terminated for filing a false police report. You didn’t because you knew I was innocent and a criminal court would find me innocent and expose your department for suppressing the truth and retaliation, that’s why.

The attacks will stop when the department states the truth about my innocence, PUBLICLY!!! I will not accept any type of currency/goods in exchange for the attacks to stop, nor do i want it. I want my name back, period. There is no negotiation. I am not the state department who states they do not negotiate with terrorist, because anybody with a Secret or TS/SCI has seen IIR’s on SIPR and knows that the US state department always negotiates by using CF countries or independent sovereign/neutral country to mediate and compromising.

This department has not changed from the Daryl Gates and Mark Fuhrman days. Those officers are still employed and have all promoted to Command staff and supervisory positions. I will correct this error. Are you aware that an officer (a rookie/probationer at the time) seen on the Rodney King videotape striking Mr. King multiple times with a baton on 3/3/91 is still employed by the LAPD and is now a Captain on the police department? Captain XXXX is now the commanding officer of a LAPD police station (West LA division). As a commanding officer, he is now responsible for over 200 officers. Do you trust him to enforce department policy and investigate use of force investigations on arrestees by his officers? Are you aware XXXX has since promoted to Sergeant after kicking Mr. XXXX in the face. Oh, you Violated a citizens civil rights? We will promote you. Same as LAPD did with the officers from Metro involved in the May Day melee at MacArthur Park. They promoted them to Sergeant (a supervisor role).

No one is saying you can’t be prejudiced or a bigot. We are all human and hold prejudices. If you state that you don’t have prejudices, your lying! But, when you act on it and victimize innocent citizens and fellow innocen officers, than that is a concern.

For you officers who do the job in the name of JUSTICE, those of you who lost honest officers to this event, look at the name of those on the BOR and the investigating officers from PSB and XXXX and ask them, how come you couldn’t tell the truth? Why did you terminate an honest officer and cover for a dishonest officer who victimized a mentally ill citizen.

Sometimes humans feel a need to prove they are the dominant race of a species and they inadvertently take kindness for weakness from another individual. You chose wrong.
Terminating officers because they expose a culture of lying, racism (from the academy), and excessive use of force will immediately change. PSB can not police their own and that has been proven. The blue line will forever be severed and a cultural change will be implanted. You have awoken a sleeping giant.

I am here to change and make policy. The culture of LAPD versus the community and honest/good officers needs to and will change. I am here to correct and calibrate your morale compasses to true north.

Those Caucasian officers who join South Bureau divisions (77th,SW,SE, an Harbor) with the sole intent to victimize minorities who are uneducated, and unaware of criminal law, civil law, and civil rights. You prefer the South bureau because a use of force/deadly force is likely and the individual you use UOF on will likely not report it. You are a high value target.

Those Black officers in supervisory ranks and pay grades who stay in south bureau (even though you live in the valley or OC) for the sole intent of getting retribution toward subordinate caucasians officers for the pain and hostile work environment their elders inflicted on you as probationers (P-1′s) and novice P-2’s. You are a high value target. You perpetuated the cycle of racism in the department as well. You breed a new generation of bigoted caucasian officer when you belittle them and treat them unfairly.

Those Hispanic officers who victimize their own ethnicity because they are new immigrants to this country and are unaware of their civil rights. You call them wetbacks to their face and demean them in front of fellow officers of different ethnicities so that you will receive some sort of acceptance from your colleagues. I’m not impressed. Most likely, your parents or grandparents were immigrants at one time, but you have forgotten that. You are a high value target.

Those lesbian officers in supervising positions who go to work, day in day out, with the sole intent of attempting to prove your misandrist authority (not feminism) to degrade male officers. You are a high value target.

Those Asian officers who stand by and observe everything I previously mentioned other officers participate in on a daily basis but you say nothing, stand for nothing and protect nothing. Why? Because of your usual saying, ” I……don’t like conflict”. You are a high value target as well.
Those of you who “go along to get along” have no backbone and destroy the foundation of courage. You are the enablers of those who are guilty of misconduct. You are just as guilty as those who break the code of ethics and oath you swore.

Citizens/non-combatants, do not render medical aid to downed officers/enemy combatants. They would not do the same for you. They will let you bleed out just so they can brag to other officers that they had a 187 caper the other day and can’t wait to accrue the overtime in future court subpoenas. As they always say, “that’s the paramedics job…not mine”. Let the balance of loss of life take place. Sometimes a reset needs to occur.

It is endless the amount of times per week officers arrest an individual, label him a suspect-arrestee-defendant and then before arraignment or trial realize that he is innocent based on evidence. You know what they say when they realize an innocent man just had his life turned upside down?. “I guess he should have stayed at home that day he was discovered walking down the street and matching the suspects description. Oh well, he appeared to be a dirtbag anyways”. Meanwhile the falsely accused is left to pick up his life, get a new, family, friends, and sense of self worth.

Don’t honor these fallen officers/dirtbags. When your family members die, they just see you as extra overtime at a crime scene and at a perimeter. Why would you value their lives when they clearly don’t value yours or your family members lives? I’ve heard many officers who state they see dead victims as ATV’s, Waverunners, RV’s and new clothes for their kids. Why would you shed a tear for them when they in return crack a smile for your loss because of the impending extra money they will receive in their next paycheck for sitting at your loved ones crime scene of 6 hours because of the overtime they will accrue. They take photos of your loved ones recently deceased bodies with their cellphones and play a game of who has the most graphic dead body of the night with officers from other divisions. This isn’t just the 20 something year old officers, this is the 50 year old officers with significant time on the job as well who participate.

You allow an officer, XXXX, to attempt to hack into my credit union account and still remain on the job even when Det. XXXX shows the evidence that the IP address (provided by LAPFCU) that attempted to hack into my account and change my username and password leads directly to her residence. You even allow this visibly disgusting looking officer to stay on the job when she perjures (lies) in court (Clark County Family Court) to the judge’s face and denies hacking into my personal credit union online account when I attempted to get my restraint order extended. Det. XXXX provided the evidence and you still do nothing.

How do you know when a police officer is lying??? When he begins his sentence with, “based on my experience and training”.

No one grows up and wants to be a cop killer. It was against everything I’ve ever was. As a young police explorer I found my calling in life. But, As a young police officer I found that the violent suspects on the street are not the only people you have to watch. It is the officer who was hired on to the department (pre-2000) before polygraphs were standard for all new hires and a substantial vetting in a backround investigation.

To those children of the officers who are eradicated, your parent was not the individual you thought they were. As you get older,you will see the evidence that your parent was a tyrant who loss their ethos and instead followed the path of moral corruptness. They conspired to hide and suppress the truth of misconduct on others behalf’s. Your parent will have a name and plaque on the fallen officers memorial in D.C. But, In all honesty, your parents name will be a reminder to other officers to maintain the oath they swore and to stay along the shoreline that has guided them from childhood to that of a local, state, or federal law enforcement officer.

Your lack of ethics and conspiring to wrong a just individual are over.

Suppressing the truth will leave to deadly consequences for you and your family. There will be an element of surprise where you work, live, eat, and sleep. I will utilize ISR at your home, workplace, and all locations in between. I will utilize OSINT to discover your residences, spouses workplaces, and children’s schools. IMINT to coordinate and plan attacks on your fixed locations. Its amazing whats on NIPR. HUMINT will be utilized to collect personal schedules of targets. I never had the opportunity to have a family of my own, I’m terminating yours. XXXX, XXXX, XXXX, and BOR members Look your wives/husbands and surviving children directly in the face and tell them the truth as to why your children are dead.

Never allow a LAPPL union attorney to be a retired LAPD Captain,(XXXX). He doesn’t work for you, your interest, or your name. He works for the department, period. His job is to protect the department from civil lawsuits being filed and their best interest which is the almighty dollar. His loyalty is to the department, not his client. Even when he knowingly knows your innocent and the BOR also knows your innocent after XXXX stated on videotape that he was kicked and XXXX attorney confessed to the BOR off the record that she kicked XXXX.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants-TJ. This quote is not directed toward the US government which I fully support 100%. This is toward the LAPD who can not monitor itself. The consent decree should not have been lifted, ever.
I know your TTP’s, (techniques, tactics, and procedures). Any threat assessments you generate will be useless. This is simple, I know your TTP’s and PPR’s. I will mitigate any of your attempts at preservation. ORM is my friend. I will mitigate all risks, threats and hazards. I assure you that Incident Command Posts will be target rich environments. KMA-367 license plate frames are great target indicators and make target selection even easier.

I will conduct DA operations to destroy, exploit and seize designated targets. If unsuccessful or unable to meet objectives in these initial small-scale offensive actions, I will reassess my BDA and re-attack until objectives are met. I have nothing to lose. My personal casualty means nothing. Just alike AAF’s, ACM’s, and AIF’s, you can not prevail against an enemy combatant who has no fear of death. An enemy who embraces death is a lose, lose situation for their enemy combatants.
Hopefully you analyst have done your homework. You are aware that I have always been the top shot, highest score, an expert in rifle qualifications in every unit I’ve been in. I will utilize every bit of small arms training, demolition, ordnance, and survival training I’ve been given.

Do you know why we are unsuccessful in asymmetrical and guerrilla warfare in CENTCOM theatre of operations? I’ll tell you. It’s not the inefficiency of our combatant commanders, planning, readiness or training of troops. Much like the Vietnam war, ACM, AAF, foreign fighters, Jihadist, and JAM have nothing to lose. They embrace death as it is a way of life. I simply don’t fear it. I am the walking exigent circumstance you created.

The Violence of action will be HIGH. I am the reason TAC alert was established. I will bring unconventional and asymmetrical warfare to those in LAPD uniform whether on or off duty. ISR is my strength and your weakness. You will now live the life of the prey. Your RD’s and homes away from work will be my AO and battle space. I will utilize every tool within INT collections that I learned from NMITC in Dam Neck. You have misjudged a sleeping giant. There is no conventional threat assessment for me. JAM, New Ba’ath party, 1920 rev BGE, ACM, AAF, AQAP, AQIM and AQIZ have nothing on me. Do not deploy airships or gunships. SA-7 Manpads will be waiting. As you know I also own Barrett .50′s so your APC are defunct and futile.

You better have all your officers radio/phone muster (code 1) on or off duty every hour, on the hour.
Do not attempt to shadow or conduct any type of ISR on me. I have the inventory listing of all UC vehicles at Piper Tech and the home addresses of any INT analyst at JRIC and detachment locations. My POA is always POI and always true. This will be a war of attrition and a Pyrrhic and Camdean Victory for myself. You may have the resources and manpower but you are reactive and predictable in your op plans and TTP’s. I have the strength and benefits of being unpredictable, unconventional, and unforgiving. Do not waste your time with briefs and tabletops.

Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/02/07/read-christopher-dorners-so-called-manifesto/#ixzz2KihJe0a9

Read more at http://ktla.com/2013/02/07/read-christopher-dorners-so-called-manifesto/#E7SZH0EmR0CR6mdk.99