Sunday, June 30, 2013

General Wesley Clark: Whistleblower, Warrior


June 30, 2013
 

general wesley clark


Once a warrior, always one. Clark hasn’t forgotten. His credentials are notorious. He’s a war criminal. He’s also a whistleblower. More on that below.
He formerly commanded NATO. From March 24 – June 19, 1999, he led naked aggression against Yugoslavia. For 78 days, hundreds of warplanes attacked mercilessly. About 3,000 sorties were flown.
Thousands of tons of ordnance were dropped. Hundreds of ground-launched cruise missiles were used.
Nearly everything was struck. Massive destruction and disruption followed. An estimated $100 billion in damage was caused. A humanitarian disaster resulted. Environmental contamination was extensive.
Many thousands were killed, injured or displaced. Two million people lost livelihoods. Homes and communities were destroyed.
Lawless aggression was called humanitarian intervention. It was prelude for worse to come.
An avenue to Eurasia was opened. A permanent US military presence was established. America’s imperium claimed another trophy. It had many others in mind.
It did so at the expense of mass killing and destruction. Clark’s a retired four-star general. He’s a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient. He received numerous other awards. They include honorary knighthoods. America and complicit allies honor their worst.  MORE
From:  TED

TALKSTED PARTNER SERIES

Peter Attia: Is the obesity crisis hiding a bigger problem?



California Sheriff Strips Forest Service Agents of Law-enforcement Powers


Written by  

The CBS affiliate in El Dorado County, California,expressed surprise when it reported that County Sheriff John D’Agostini stripped agents of the U.S. Forest Service of their law-enforcement powers in his county. 
Wrote D’Agnostini:
I take the [standard of] service that we provide to the citizens of El Dorado County and the visitors to El Dorado County [which includes Lake Tahoe] very seriously, and the style and manner of service we provide.
The U.S. Forest Service, after many attempts and [having been] given many opportunities, has failed to meet that standard.
The writer covering the story, Laura Cole, asked law professor John Myers if D’Agostini could actually do this. Said Myers: “It looks to me as though the sheriff can do this.”
This isn't the first time D’Agostini has written such a letter. Back in January, when the Senate was considering bills that would restrict gun ownership, he sent a letter to Vice President Joe Biden, saying:
The purpose of this letter is to go on record of re-affirming my oath of office and making it clear that I and my staff will never violate [our oath of office] by being pressured into enforcing any unconstitutional provision, law or executive order.
It is well-known and proven with facts … that gun control of any kind has no effect on the reduction of crime anywhere.
Don’t pass any laws where you are going to confiscate firearms and turn my law-abiding citizens into criminals.
The same writer for CBS, Laura Cole, quizzed D’Agostini about his intent if any Senate bill were actually signed into law:
Cole: Are you prepared to not follow federal law if it were to pass?
D’Agnostini: If it’s a clear violation of the United States Constitution, absolutely.
The path for D’Agostini has been made easier by another county sheriff, Richard Mack, who took a stand against federal imposition in Printz v. United States, and won. In his own words, Sheriff Mack said:  MORE


Saturday, June 29, 2013

Government report reveals encryption actually thwarted wiretaps for the first time on record



image credit:
ideonexus/Flickr

Madison Ruppert

According to an official U.S. government report, four wiretaps have been thwarted by encryption, something which has never happened since such records have been collected.

This comes after as it was revealed that the National Security Agency’s massive surveillance program evenspied on European diplomats. Meanwhile, the Army has blocked the Guardian over security concerns related to the information being put out about the surveillance program.

This latest revelation came in a report from the U.S. Administrative Office of the Courts, the agency that oversees federal courts.

“Encryption was reported for 15 wiretaps in 2012 and for 7 wiretaps conducted during previous years,” the report states, highlighting the fact that more people are turning to encryption over privacy concerns.

“In four of these wiretaps, officials were unable to decipher the plain text of the messages,” the report continues. “This is the first time that jurisdictions have reported that encryption prevented officials from obtaining the plain text of the communications since the AO began collecting encryption data in 2001.”  MORE

DoD Blocks Millions of Computers From Viewing Alternative News

From:  Activist Post 


Eric Blair
Activist Post

After the initial surge of web traffic to alternative news websites following The Guardian breaking the NSA spying story, traffic has slowed considerably despite the continued interest in the NSA story as well as other alternative headlines.

This dramatic drop in traffic may be due to broad censorship by the Department of Defense on "millions of computers". 

What began as a rumor that the military brass was ordering soldiers not to view news about the whistleblower revelations that the NSA is spying on all Americans has swelled into a confirmed military-wide censorship campaign using a high-tech computer filtering system.

The US News and World Report is reporting that the DoD is blocking access to all articles related to the NSA scandal from all DoD computers. The filter reportedly effects millions of computers and potentially thousands of alternative news and civil liberties websites.

According to U.S. News:

The Department of Defense is blocking online access to news reports about classified National Security Agency documents made public by Edward Snowden. The blackout affects all of the department's computers and is part of a department-wide directive.
"Any website that runs information that the Department of Defense still considers classified" is affected, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Damien Pickart told U.S. News in a phone interview.  
According to Pickart, news websites that re-report information first published by The Guardian or other primary sources are also affected
"If that particular website runs an article that our filters determine has classified information... the particular content on that website will remain inaccessible," he said.
Pickart said the blackout affects "millions" of computers on "all Department of Defense networks and systems."

This is perhaps one of the most shocking displays of blatant censorship in the history of the United States. The idea that classified information should still be treated as "off limits" to regular military personnel after its broad release to the public makes no sense.

Unless, of course, they don't want soldiers learning the truth about what their government is doing for fear that they may recognize who the true enemies of the Constitution are.

Or this may simply be a beta test of the government's technical capability to filter Internet traffic away from certain news stories and the websites that carry them. 

In either case, this should be a HUGE story in itself.  Draconian Internet censorship has finally arrived in a big way.

Read other articles by Eric Blair Here

International Levels of Concern Expressed

From JOHN CLEESE
 
The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent events in Syria and have therefore raised their security level from "Miffed" to "Peeved."  Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to "Irritated" or even "A Bit Cross."  The English have not been "A Bit Cross" since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies nearly ran out.  Terrorists have been re-categorized from "Tiresome" to "A Bloody Nuisance."  The last time the British issued a "Bloody Nuisance" warning level was in 1588, when threatened by the Spansih Armada.
 
The Scots have raised their threat level from "Pissed Off" to "Let's get the Bastards."  They don't have any other levels.  This is the reason they have been used in the front lines of the British army for the last 300 years. 
 
The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from "Run" to "Hide."  The only two higher levels in France are "Collaborate" and "Surrender."  The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France's white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country's military capability. 
 
Italy has increased the alert level from "Shout Loudly and Excitedly" to "Elaborate Military Posturing."  Two more levels remain:  "Ineffective Combat Operations" and "Change Sides." 
 
The Germans have increased their alert state from "Disdainful Arrogance" to "Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs."  They also have two higher levels:  "Invade a Neighbour" and "Lose." 
 
Belgians on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual;  the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels....  
 
The Spanish are all excited to see their new submariens ready to deploy.  These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy. 
 
Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from "No Worries" to "She'll be right, Mate."  Two more escallation levels remain:  "Crikey!  I think we'll need to cancel the barbie this weekend" and "The barbie is cancelled."  So far no situation has ever warranted use of the last final escalation level.
 
Regards, 
 
John Cleese,
British writer, actor and tall person...........
 
And as a final thought -  Greece & Cyprus are collapsing, the Iranians are getting aggressive, and Rome is in disarray. 
Welcome back to 430 BC..

Wednesday, June 26, 2013

Before his death, father of ADHD admitted it was a fictitious disease


Tuesday, June 25, 2013 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer


(NaturalNews) If you or someone you know has a child that has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), chances are the child is actually just fine. At least this is what the "father" of ADHD, Leon Eisenberg, would presumably say if he were still alive. On his death bed, this psychiatrist and autism pioneer admitted that ADHD is essentially a "fictitious disease," which means that millions of young children today are being needlessly prescribed severe mind-altering drugs that will set them up for a life of drug addiction and failure.

As explained by The Sons of Liberty host Bradlee Dean, who also writes for The D.C. Clothesline, ADHD was merely a theory developed by Eisenberg. It was never actually proven to exist as a verifiable disease, despite the fact that Eisenberg and many others profited handsomely from its widespread diagnosis. And modern psychiatry continues to profit as well, helping also to fill the coffers of the pharmaceutical industry by getting children addicted early to dangerous psychostimulant drugs like Ritalin (methylphenidate) and Adderall (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts).

"ADHD is fraud intended to justify starting children on a life of drug addiction," said Dr. Edward C. Hamlyn, a founding member of the Royal College of General Practitioners, back in 1998 about the phony condition. Adding to this sentiment, psychiatrists Peter Breggin and Sami Timimi, both of whom oppose pathologizing the symptoms of ADHD, say that ADHD is more of a social construct than it is an objective "disorder."


Psychiatric profession all about generating obscene profits for Big Pharma


The purpose all along for pathologizing ADHD symptoms, of course, was to generate more profits for the drug industry. According to the citizen watchdog group Citizens Commission on Human Rights International (CCHRI), roughly 20 million American children today are taking dangerous, but expensive, psychiatric drugs for made-up behavioral conditions like ADHD. And another one million or so children have been blatantly and admittedly misdiagnosed with phony behavioral conditions for which psychiatric medications are being prescribed.

"Remember, there are two ways drug companies can make money: Invent new drugs, and invent new diseases already invented drugs can treat," writes Dr. Jay Parkinson, M.D., M.P.H., about the fake disease-creation industry. "In the past decade or so, Big Pharma has created no less than 10 new novel drugs per year," he adds, noting that many of the people who have been told they suffer from ADHD actually suffer from "the consequence of bad design," meaning a conventional social and educational system that is unable and unwilling to recognize unique individuality.

This is definitely true for Jacob Barnett, the 14-year-old autistic genius whose mother was told that her son would probably never read or write. Today, Jacob is already working on his Master's Degree in quantum physics while most of his peers are still in junior high. He is also currently developing his own original theory in astrophysics, according to recent reports.

"The psychiatric/pharmaceutical industry spends billions of dollars a year to convince the public, legislators and the press that psychiatric disorders such as Bi-Polar Disorder, Depression, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD/ADHD), Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc. are medical diseases on par with verifiable medical conditions such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease," explains CCHRI. "Yet unlike real medical disease, there are no scientific tests to verify the medical existence of any psychiatric disorder."

Sources for this article include:







EPA Now Won’t Finalize Its Study That Showed Fracking May Have Contaminated Groundwater



In this April, 8, 2013 photo, Lucy Childers, 6, plays on the rock formations at Ferne Clyffe State Park in Goreville, Ill. Southern Illinoisans have hopes and fears surrounding the high-volume oil and gas drilling that may be starting in the Shawnee National Forest. BEN NEARY and MEAD GRUVER June 21, 2013, 7:31 AM 6718

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has dropped plans to have outside experts review its theory that hydraulic fracturing may have played a role in groundwater pollution in Wyoming, and the agency no longer plans to write a final report on its research that led to the controversial finding a year and a half ago.
Instead, the EPA announced Thursday that state officials will lead further investigation into pollution in the Pavillion area in central Wyoming, including ways to make sure people there have clean drinking water.
“We think this is the most pragmatic, quickest way to help the residents of Pavillion. We’re going to work hand in hand with the state to make sure this investigation moves forward,” said EPA spokesman Tom Reynolds in Washington, D.C.
Industry officials who have been doubtful about the EPA’s findings since they were announced praised the change as confirmation of their view that the science wasn’t sound.
“EPA has to do a better job, because another fatally flawed water study could have a big impact on how the nation develops its massive energy resources,” Erik Milito, from the Washington, D.C.-based American Petroleum Institute, said in a news release.
EPA officials insisted they’re not backing away from their draft report on Pavillion. They said they reserve the right to resume the study and an assessment by independent experts, known as a peer review, at any point.
Even so, EPA efforts to find potential pathways for pollutants from deeper areas where gas is extracted to shallower areas tapped by domestic water wells have been inconclusive.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, boosts the productivity of oil and gas wells by pumping pressurized water mixed with sand and chemicals into well holes to crack open fissures in the ground.
Richard Garrett, energy and legislative advocate with the Wyoming Outdoor Council in Lander, said he believes Thursday’s announcement shows the EPA is finding it more difficult than originally expected to come to grips with the full environmental effect of fracking. He noted that the EPA is pushing back other work aimed at gauging the how energy production may pollute groundwater.
“It’s not surprising to me that they’re kind of taking a secondary role in rural Pavillion,” Garrett said. “It looks to me like it might be a resource issue. That goes to the federal budget I suppose, and EPA administration.”

New study links over 7,000 cancer deaths to cell phone tower radiation exposures


Saturday, June 22, 2013 by: Lloyd Burrell


(NaturalNews) Could exposure to radiation from cell phone towers really responsible for over 7,000 cancer deaths? According to research findings from Brazil, the facts speak for themselves. The study established a direct link between cancer deaths in Belo Horizonte, Brazil's third largest city, with the cell phone network.


What does this direct link stem from?


Over 80 percent of those who succumbed to certain types of cancer resided approximately a third of a mile away from one of the hundreds of cell phone antennae that populate the city.

These cancers, primarily found in the prostate, breasts, lungs, kidneys, liver, are the ones associated with exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs).

This is a real concern for cell phone users and even non- cell phone users. Those who shun mobile phone technology still suffer the consequences of cell phone tower radiation.


Is the Brazilian study an isolated study?


Cell phone tower studies which examined the relationship between radiation exposure and cancer rates were conducted in the city of San Francisco in addition to cities in Austria, Germany, and Israel, dating as far back as the 1970s. All the studies shared similar findings: living within a certain proximity to a cell phone tower increased the risk of cancer anywhere from two to 121 times depending on what type of cancer was detected.

Adilza Condessa Dode, PhD, one of the engineering researchers as well as the coordinator of the Brazilian study, addresses those who are concerned about cell phone tower radiation and explains the Brazil study does not stand alone. Dode elaborates, "these levels (EMFs), are already high and dangerous to human health. The closer you live to an antenna, the greater the contact with the electromagnetic field."

The Brazilian study covers just one city in Brazil. Residents of the United States are vulnerable too as America is home to hundreds of thousands of these radiation emitting towers. In the U.S., with the proliferation of cell phones and the growing needs of cell phone users in recent years, there has been an explosion in cell towers.


Overwhelming evidence


A growing number of organizations and many more studies support the conclusions of the Brazilian study. The International Association for Research on Cancer (IARC), based upon findings from research conducted by an international think tank, came to the conclusion that radio frequency radiation, including the radiation spewing from cell towers, is a possible carcinogen.

The BioInitiative 2012 Report written by a group of leading independent international scientists has put out an unequivocal health warning against exposure to EMFs. This includes exposures from cell phone towers.


Why are cell phone towers particularly dangerous?


The threat comes from the constant nature of the activity of the towers; they emit pulsed radio frequency radiation. This radiation has been shown in thousands of studies to cause biological damage to the body and to be a precursor to disease.

What are some of the dangers (besides cancer), which result from this damage and are associated with EMFs and cell phone antennae?

• Genetic mutations
• Memory disruptions
• Hindered learning
• ADD
• Insomnia
• Brain disorders
• Hormonal imbalances
• Infertility
• Dementia
• Heart complications

These dangers clearly make it imperative to take action.

Cell towers are here to stay but their implantation needs effective regulation in terms of location and radiation levels. The 1996 Telecommunications Act (TCA), does not qualify the public's right to protest cell tower locations based on health hazards. Cell towers should be located away from residential areas and far away from schools and day care centers.

Sources:


About the author:
Lloyd Burrell is the author of a new ebook entitled "How To Beat Electrical Sensitivity" which offers a solution to the growing number of people whose health is being compromised by exposure to wireless and similar technologies, see www.electricsense.com/3-free-chapters.html

Since falling prey to a violent reaction to his cell phone in 2002 he has spent the last 10 years researching the effects of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) on health. He now offers a complete solution on how to live a healthy life in our increasingly electromagnetic world.

You can download his free EMF Health Report and subscribe to his newsletter by visiting his website http://www.electricsense.com/. You can also follow him on Facebook , Twitter and Youtube.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/040905_cell_phone_towers_radiation_cancer.html#ixzz2XLCt75kO

If carbon dioxide is so bad for the planet, why do greenhouse growers buy CO2 generators to double plant growth?

From:  Natural News


Saturday, June 22, 2013
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger



(NaturalNews) For only "pennies a day," any greenhouse owner can produce CO2 to help increase plant yields in their greenhouses. That's the message on CO2 generators sold by greenhouse supply companies across the United States and Canada. "1,500 ppm [of carbon dioxide] can be achieved... these generators automatically provide the carbon dioxide needed to meet maximum growing potential for only pennies a day," the ad says.

View it yourself in this picture taken from a greenhouse supply magazine:

CO2 generators "improve plant quality" and "increase production." They're made in the USA and run on propane or natural gas, turning fossil fuels into carbon dioxide.

Why does this work to radically improve plant growth, health and yields? Because -- are you ready for the truth? -- CO2 is a plant NUTRIENT.

Nope, it's not a pollutant that threatens human civilization as has been ridiculously claimed by global warming doomsday pushers. CO2 actually increases plant yields, accelerates "re-greening" and improves reforestation of the planet. And while today's atmosphere contains only 400 ppm of carbon dioxide, CO2 generators can help raise that level to 1500 ppm inside greenhouses, thereby accelerating plant growth and food production.

Here's the ad so you can see it for yourself:



Is CO2 is so bad for the planet, why do greenhouses pay to produce it?


If CO2 was so terrible for the planet, then installing a CO2 generator in a greenhouse would kill the plants. But scientists and even governments actually recommend supplementing CO2 in greenhouses in order to boost plant growth and food production.

"The benefits of carbon dioxide supplementation on plant growth and production within the greenhouse environment have been well understood for many years," says the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food.

"CO2 increases productivity through improved plant growth and vigour. Some ways in which productivity is increased by CO2 include earlier flowering, higher fruit yields, reduced bud abortion in roses, improved stem strength and flower size. Growers should regard CO2 as a nutrient... increasing the CO2 level to 1,000 ppm will increase the photosynthesis by about 50% over ambient CO2 levels."

In fact, as recent scientific studies have shown, the slight rise in CO2 levels of the atmosphere has actually helped re-green deserts and arid areas, accelerating the growth of trees, shrubs and grasses which produce the oxygen human needs to breathe.


Attacking carbon dioxide is hate speech against Mother Nature


The more you really examine the scientific truth about carbon dioxide rather than the politically-charged "hate speech" against Mother Nature being spewed by people like Al Gore, the more you realize CO2 is a crucial nutrient for the Earth's environment and ecosystem. In fact, the vast majority of all the CO2 released into the atmosphere is produced by Mother Nature via animals in the ocean. Anyone who criticizes CO2 is attacking ocean life and condemning trillions of aquatic creatures who exhale carbon dioxide as part of their natural respiration. (Should they all be fined?)

As a society interested in reforestation, expanding the diversity of plant life, nourishing trees and re-greening deserts, we should no longer tolerate anyone engaged in hate speech against Mother Nature and CO2. Those who attempt to demonize this critical nutrient for the planet are engaged in a kind of hate-motivated racism against plants.

If it's not okay to condemn someone for being black, why is it okay for people like Al Gore to engage in endless hate speech against all the living beings that are green?

Besides, all those people who keep sounding the alarm on CO2 are being too negative all the time. Nobody spews more doom and gloom than Al Gore and the global warming crowd who paint apocalyptic pictures of Earth's future if we all don't start paying carbon taxes to the super rich. Stop being so negative!

They need to practice more positivity and repeat to themselves affirmations like:

"CO2 is a nutrient for forests."

"CO2 is produced by ocean life."

"CO2 brings balance to the global ecosystem."

"CO2 is to plants as oxygen is to humans."

"CO2 can help transform barren deserts into sustainable forests."

Perhaps by staying positive, the global warming fearmongers and doom-and-gloomers can calm down, take a few breaths (with extra CO2) and recognize that what's good for plants is good for the planet.

In fact, I'm going to hyperventilate after writing this article just to generate a little extra CO2 for the world. It's my gift to Al Gore.


For the record: NO, I don't support burning fossil fuels


The No. 1 criticism of this story by the brainwashed hoards of Al Gore cult worshippers will be that I must have been paid big bucks by the coal industry to write this article.

Don't be ridiculous. I'm the record -- for at least a decade -- having exhaustively condemned the burning of fossil fuels. Even though the CO2 they release into the atmosphere is actually a nutrient, they release many other pollutants such as sulfur and mercury (from coal). Scrubbers in the USA make U.S. coal plants the cleanest in the world, but China's coal plants are truly sickening pollution factories.

I also believe it's time to get humanity off the petrochemical habit and onto something cleaner and more renewable such as low-energy nuclear reactions (LENR), formerly called "cold fusion." Recent analysis has confirmed, yet again, that cold fusion is real and practical. Cold fusion could be harnessed and used in place of coal to heat large quantities of water that drive steam turbines which generate electricity.

In time, all of America's coal power plants could be switched over to cold fusion. Similarly, if improved battery technology comes along, gasoline-powered vehicles could be switched over to electricity, and if that electricity is powered by cold fusion, then it's clean all the way through the energy supply chain.

Fossil fuels are dirty business: they're dirty to extract from the ground, dirty to transport and dirty to burn. But the CO2 they produce is not a pollutant; it's a nutrient that's desperately needed by trees, grasses and shrubs all around the world. So while there are lots of reasons to oppose the burning of fossil fuels around our planet, CO2 is not legitimately one of them.

If all this talk makes you hyperventilate, then feel free to experience a hefty dose of self-inflicted guilt that you can alleviate only by sending all your money to Al Gore for all the carbon dioxide you're generating.

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Duke Study Links Fracking to Water Contamination As EPA Drops Study on Fracking Water Contamination

From:  DeSmogBlog


Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) kicked the can down the road on a key study designated to examine the connection betweenhydraulic fracturing ("fracking") and groundwater contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming. 
A study originally scheduled for release in 2014 and featured in Josh Fox's "Gasland 2," it will not be complete until 2016 in a move that appears to be purely politically calculated by the Obama Administration, akin to the EPA's dropped and censored groundwater contamination study in Weatherford, TX.
Now, just days later, a damning study conducted by Duke University researchers published in theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences again links shale gas fracking to groundwater contamination. The Duke researchers did so by testing samples of 141 drinking water samples of Pennsylvania's portion of the Marcellus Shale basin. 
This is the Duke professor's third study linking fracking to groundwater contamination, the source of drinking water for hundreds of thousands of citizens in the Keystone State. The industry is likely to come out with the familiar chorus that the contaminated water is "naturally occuring," but the latest Duke study shows otherwise. 
"They found that, on average, methane concentrations were six times higher and ethane concentrations were 23 times higher at homes within a kilometer of a shale gas well," a Duke University press release explains. "Propane was detected in 10 samples, all of them from homes within a kilometer of drilling."
Robert Jackson, a professor of environmental sciences at Duke’s Nicholas School of the Environment and one of the study's co-authors, pointed to the the fact that some of the contaminated water samples exhibited the chemical signature of Marcellus Shale gas. 
"The methane, ethane and propane data, and new evidence from hydrocarbon and helium content, all suggest that drilling has affected some homeowners’ water,” said Jackson. "In a minority of cases the gas even looks Marcellus-like, probably caused by poor well construction." 
The Duke study offers food-for-thought in the hours leading up to President Obama'sforthcoming announcement of a climate change legislative plan at Georgetown University, just a month after his Bureau of Land Management adopted the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) model bill for fracking chemical fluid disclosure on public lands.

What Cop T-Shirts Tell Us About Police Culture


Posted: 06/21/2013 3:00 pm EDT  |  Updated: 06/22/2013 10:55 pm EDT

cop t-shirts
Earlier this week, an anonymous public defender sent Gothamist this photo of an NYPD warrant squad officer wearing a t-shirt with a pretty disturbing quote from Ernest Hemingway:
queens cop shirt



The Village Voice reports that the quote was also printed on t-shirts worn by NYPD's infamous Street Crimes Unit, which was disbanded after shooting unarmed immigrant Amadou Diallo 41 times in 1999 as Diallo reached for his wallet. The Voice also reports that at least two NYPD police commissioners have used the phrase "hunter of men" to describe police work -- Bernard Kerik and Howard Safir.
There have been a number of other incidents over the years in which cops have donned t-shirts that reflect a mentality somewhat less lofty than "protect and serve." Most recently, a Northern California union for school police officers came under fire for printing up and selling these shirts as a fundraiser:
raisecage



The head of the union later apologized and stopped selling the shirts. In 2008, the Denver police union was caught selling these shirts in advance of the Democratic National Convention, and the accompanying protests the city was expecting:
beatcrowds



Charming, no? Police were spotted wearing similar shirts at the 2012 NATO summit in Chicago.
Just before the 1996 DNC in Chicago, a local printer made up a batch of shirts that read, "We kicked your father's ass in 1968 . . . Wait 'til you see what we do to you." The front read: "Chicago Police," and then, "Democratic National Convention Chicago--1996." The shirt wasn't endorsed by Chicago PD or the police union, but it became so popular with city cops that Chicago Mayor Richard Daley issued a warning that any officer seen wearing one would be disciplined. And not just in Chicago. The Chicago Tribune reported at the time that the shirts were also a huge hit at "Police Week," the annual convention of cops in Washington, D.C. They were such a hit in fact, that when "a Washington newspaper tried to do a story on them, the only shirt the paper could find [for sale] to photograph was a bootleg version."
In a 2011 investigative series on police shootings, the Las Vegas Review-Journal revisited a 2003 case in which LVPD Officer Brian Hartman shot and killed a man named Orlando Barlow. Hartman shot Barlow in the back, as he was on his knees, unarmed, and attempting to surrender. According to the Review-Journal, Hartman and the other officers in his unit celebrated the shooting by printing up t-shirts "depicting Hartman's rifle and the initials B.D.R.T. (Baby's Daddy Removal Team), a racially charged term and reference to Barlow, who was black and who was watching his girlfriend's children before he was shot."
That phrase, "Baby Daddy Removal Team," lives on in police culture. In 2011, officers with the Panama City, Florida, Police Department adopted the acronym as the name for their police league kickball team. You can still buy a t-shirt with the slogan from a number of online stores that sell police-themed clothing.
In 1997, police in East Haven, Connecticut, called their own softball team "Boys on the Hood," a cop-ified take on the 1991 John Singleton film. According to the New York Times, the shirts included an image of "officers pressing the heads of two grimacing gang members onto a car hood." The shirts became a source of controversy after a white officer with the department shot black motorist Malik Jones four times at close range, killing him. The officer said Jones' car was rolling backward toward him, and he feared for his life. The department has had a slew of racially-tinged incidents since, most notably in 2009, when a video of police harassment taken by a Hispanic priest was posted online and went viral. Latinos in the area had been reporting frequent incidents of police abuse, and the priest was trying to capture one such incident on camera. Instead, he was arrested. The charges were dropped when his video directly contradicted the officers' account of the incident. Meanwhile, "Boys on the Hood" continues to be a popular slogan for cop-themed t-shirts.
In 2003, officers with the Kern County, California ,Sheriff's Department went beyond t-shirts and put the slogan "We'll Kick Your Ass" directly on the department's squad cars. The sheriff later had them removed. That department too has frequently been in the headlines over the years, most recently in March after deputies beat an unarmed man to death, then attempted to seize the cell phones of witnesses who recorded the beating. It has since been alleged that they deleted some of the captured footage.
In the late 2000s, Daytona Beach, Florida, Police Chief Mike Chitwood sold t-shirts depicting his department as a "scumbag eradication team." Proceeds from the shirts went to fund a mentor program for teens who want to become cops. That department too has had its problems, including questionable dog shootings, a cop accused of shaking down a local Starbucks, and a highly-publicized incident in which an officer Tased a woman at a Best Buy store. In 2012, Florida Circuit Judge Joseph Will called Daytona Beach officers "liars" in dismissing evidence obtained during a drug search.
scum
It's no coincidence that the same departments and units caught wearing shirts displaying this sort of attitude tend to also get caught up in controversial beatings, shootings, and other allegations of misconduct and excessive force. The "us vs. them" mindset has become so common in U.S. police culture that we almost take it for granted. In my new book, I argue that this is the result of a generation of incessant rhetoric from politicians who treat cops as if they were soldiers, and policies that train and equip them as if they were fighting a war. The imagery and language depicted on the shirts in these stories are little different than the way pop culture, the military, and government propaganda have depicted the citizens of the countries we've fought in wars over the years.
Within the more militarized units of police departments, the imagery can be even stronger. Former San Jose, California police chief Joseph McNamara told National Journal in 2000 that he was alarmed when he attended a SWAT team conference the previous year and saw “officers . . . wearing these very disturbing shirts. On the front, there were pictures of SWAT officers dressed in dark uniforms, wearing helmets, and holding submachine guns. Below was written: ‘We don’t do drive-by shootings.’ On the back, there was a picture of a demolished house. Below was written: ‘We stop.’” In his 1999 ethnography on police culture, criminologist Peter Kraska writes that one SWAT team member he spent time with "wore a T-shirt that carried a picture of a burning city with gunship helicopters flying overhead and the caption Operation Ghetto Storm."
More recently, the San Jose, California PD's tactical unit (McNamara retired in the 1990s) has received criticism for printing up shirts with this logo:
sanjose



The message gets even more disturbing in the broader police culture with the gear that's marketed to cops. The police-gear retailer Bullet-50, which according to its out-of-date information page is run by San Fransisco PD officer Joseph Salazar, features shirts that label the wearer a "death dealer," and a "thug hunter."

deathdealer





This shirt is for sale at a number of online shops that cater to police, although it's unclear if it actually originated with anyone from the Chicago Police Department:

chicagonarcs




As I've reported here at HuffPost, the shirt isn't wrong -- Chicago cops will indeed blow down your door for smoking pot. And at the same time, it can be difficult to get them interested in, say, investigating an actual assault.

This comment thread at the online police forum PoliceLink has more examples of t-shirts the law enforcement commenters found amusing. Among the comments:
-- "In God we trust, all others get searched,"
-- "A picture of an electric chair with the caption: JUSTICE: Regular or Crispy"
-- "B.D.R.T Baby Daddy Removal Team on the back and the initials on front with handcuffs. You should see peoples faces when I wear it....HAHAHAHA"
-- "Human trash collector. ( above a pair of handcuffs )"
-- "Take No Guff, Cut No Slack, Hook'em, Book'em and Don't Look Back!"
-- "'Boys on the Hood' Pic had two gangbangers jacked up on the hood of a patrol car with two officers."
-- "SWAT T-shirt: 'Happiness is getting the green light!'"
-- "I have one that sates "SWAT SNIPER" on the front and on back it has a picure of a "terrorist" with a shell ripping through his skull and the "pink mist" spraying from the back of his head. Below the picture it reads, "Guerillas in the mist".
-- "Save the police time, beat yourself up"
-- "An ounce of prevention is fine and dandy........ But we prefer 168 grains of cure."
-- "Be good or you might get a visit from the bullet fairy."
-- "Sniper - When you only have 1 shot at an opportunity......We'll make it count"
-- "Law Enforcement......Helping perps slip down stairs since 1766"
-- "Math for Cops.........2 to the chest + 1 to the head = problem solved"
-- "I had a couple of 'em a loooong time ago....1 showed a cop leaning on his rather long nightstick, saying "Police Brutality....the fun part of policework."......obviously not very PC....another was a picture of a LEO with smoke coming from the muzzle of his pistol, with a badguy falling backwards (lookin' like swiss cheese) with the caption.....The best action is OVERREACTION....also not very PC...."
-- "Cops make good roommates...they're used to taking out the trash."
-- "There was also one I saw where there was a big burly looking Sarge behind his desk and the cation read 'It doesn't say kindness and sympathy on the badge.'"
-- "happiness is a confirmed kill"
-- "Park Ranger T-shirt: One of funniest I ever saw: Picture of Smokey the Bear with Riot Gear and he's just poked a protester in the chest with a riot baton. The Caption Reads: "Smokey Don't Play That". Funny!"
-- "My Daddy can Taser your Daddy"
-- "School Patrol - You fail em, we jail em"
-- "Got one that says, "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted and used against you."

It's worth noting that policing is a high-stress job, and one that often puts officers in contact with some pretty awful things, and in some dangerous situations. Like other high-stress professions, and professions that encounter difficult subject matter -- defense attorneys, medical examiners, emergency room doctors and nurses -- cops often develop a morbid sense of humor. It's a coping mechanism. But it's one thing to crack jokes inside the department, or at the bar after work. It's quite another to openly advertise and promote a culture of abuse. As with most police abuse issues, the real failure here is on the part of the elected officials. They're the ones who can't resist the urge to incessantly declare "war" on things, who are responsible for setting the policies that have given rise to this culture, and who have done little to nothing to rein it in.

Radley Balko is author of the forthcoming book, Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces.