Redacted Copy

Inferior Morality of Westboro Baptist Church

2010-10-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Bringing together family and friends at a funeral to celebrate the life of a loved one is one of our society’s most sacred and solemn milestones. So it is with the utmost surprise and revulsion that we learn of a church, of all entities, that would choose to demonstrate with placards and loud voices at the site of the funeral for Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder who gave his life in service to his country.

Regardless of your politics, an individual military service member did not cause whatever turmoil we find ourselves in, and to have the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas show up at Snyder’s funeral with signs proclaiming “Thank God For Dead Soldiers” and other equally disturbing slogans is disgraceful, repugnant, and in the poorest of taste.

The irony of such a protest is that were it not for those who fought for the freedoms we enjoy, people like Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, and his congregation would not enjoy the liberties of assembling in public, pontificating their beliefs, or demonstrating freely.

The United States Supreme Court is currently considering whether or not the demonstration violated any free speech laws, but notwithstanding the decision of the highest court in the land, protesting at a funeral demonstrates an inferior morality worthy of only the scum of the earth.

US Used Guatemalans As Guinea Pigs For STD Experiments

2010-10-01T16:40:00.000-07:00

I have to admit that I was totally in the dark until this week over US experiments on Guatemalan people during the 1940’s where they were intentionally inflicted with sexually transmitted diseases. For a country to profoundly condemn the Nazi’s in Germany for similar abhorrent research on unwitting subjects, and then during the years of 1946-1948 to essentially continue identical practices smacks of the highest form of hypocrisy.

We are all likely more familiar with the Alabama experiments where 400 poor African American men were infected with syphilis between 1932 and 1972. Interestingly enough, the doctor who conducted the Guatemala experiments was also involved in the Alabama experiments.

While the United States has offered official apologies to the Guatemalan people, I have little faith that governments and major corporations will cease using disadvantaged people as guinea pigs to further their bottom line.

14,400 Years In Prison

2010-09-24T08:26:00.000-07:00

Advocates for victim’s rights would be thrilled to learn of justice recently meted out in the Philippines against a man who was convicted of the near daily raping of his then 12 year old daughter over a period of a year. His sentence? A whopping 14,400 years in prison.

His original sentence in March 2006 was execution, but the Philippines repealed the death sentence in June of that year. Since that time, the Court of Appeals in Manila has been considering his sentence and on September 08, 2010, confirmed his conviction but lowered the sentence to 40 years in prison for each of the 360 counts.

Prison in the Philippines is not exactly the Club Fed it is in Canada or United States, so maybe this incestuous rapist and child abuser might have wished for his original sentence to be fulfilled. Now, the daily hell he perpetrated on his young daughter can be visited on him as he decays slowly amid the filth and violence of the Philippine justice system.

Iran Sasses Back

2010-09-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s speech to the United Nations General Assembly struck a nerve with American delegates when he announced that the 9/11 attacks were perpetrated by Americans themselves. A bold statement indeed, and possibly the first time a sitting foreign diplomat has made this accusation publically. The American delegation walked out of the speech.

Readers of my Op/Ed articles on my blog would not be surprised that I have affirmed the same for some time, but to hear the leader of a nation firmly in the crosshairs of the United States include in his speech such revelations was a shock to me.

Canada boycotted the speech.

Ahmadinejad seems to enjoy poking the bear. It is difficult to ascertain whether his UN General Assembly speech was political posturing, or if he truly believes that agents of America planned and carried out an attack on United States soil as a pretext to invading Afghanistan and Iraq.

Either way, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. It’s been said. Now it must be dealt with.

Teamsters Organize Pot Growers

2010-09-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

Given the notorious history of the Teamsters, perhaps it shouldn’t come as too much of a shock that they have become the first union to organize a new wave of agriculture workers, pot growers. Okay, maybe that was too easy to say.

Only in California.

It is still a federal crime to possess marijuana, although cops rarely enforce pot laws in general, unless its possession or use is tied to another crime. Therein lays the juxtaposition, as California embraces the use of medical marijuana. So do the Teamsters represent criminals, or not?

Teamsters Local 70, based in Oakland, California represents the 40 members of medical marijuana growers of Marjyn Investments LLC, a company formed to grow marijuana on behalf of patients.

Without a doubt, this is groundbreaking in terms of society and organized labor. The initial two year collective agreement provides for a starting wage of $18 an hour, rising to $25.75 per hour after 15 months, paid vacation, pension, and (get this) health insurance.

Maybe they can just pocket a few leaves for their health insurance. There is no word on if workers also enjoy paid ‘joint breaks’ in place of the ubiquitous coffee breaks.

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

Iraq Has Money To Burn Apparently

2010-09-16T12:36:00.001-07:00

The Iraqi cabinet approved a US$ 400 million dollar fund to compensate victims of abuse at the hand of Saddam Hussein. What first appears as a step forward in a country ravaged by war and all its siblings, soon becomes jaw dropping shock when I discover the fund was approved, not for Iraqi citizens, but for Americans, including a CBS journalist.

Perhaps, some Americans who suffered abuse at the hand of Saddam Hussein and his regime deserve compensation, but it seems awfully one sided that these few Americans will be receiving a jackpot when some 1.5 million Iraqi citizens have been killed by Americans and their co-invaders. Too, there have been abuses suffered by Iraqis at the hand of American-led forces, including those made very public via video.

The other aspect that strikes me about this fund is the painful burden it places on the people of Iraq. Four hundred million bones is huge in a country desperately trying to make it day to day. The Iraqi parliament has yet to approve the establishment of the fund, although it seems to be a foregone conclusion.

White Collar To Orange Jumpsuit

2010-09-13T12:29:00.001-07:00

It certainly is a rarity that we learn of high powered white collar criminals serving time, but former IBM executive Robert Moffat was just sentenced to six months of jail for his key role in the biggest hedge fund insider trading case in history. Moffat was a high flyer at Big Blue, often cited as successor to the CEO position.

The insider trading scheme apparently netted 50 million dollars in profits.

All that money to hire a legal dream team and he still gets prison time? Absolutely stunning!

Six months really isn’t that long, especially since Moffat will likely spend that time in some posh Club Fed facility sporting all the comforts of his mansion’s guest house. And while wearing his very fashionable orange jumpsuit designed by the likes of Martha Stewart, Moffat can be schooled by fellow inmates on how to commit his crimes with more stealth next time, to avoid a return to the Big House.

Building A Mosque So Close To American Hearts

2010-09-08T15:08:00.000-07:00

Most people would not be offended to have a house of worship built in their neighborhood, unless it was a behemoth facility, or if it was a fringe religion with ‘off the wall’ beliefs, or if it was at Ground Zero in New York City. To be clear, however, the location of the proposed mosque is not actually at Ground Zero. It is almost three blocks away, but close enough in some people’s mind to make its construction an issue.

With a reported development price tag of 100 million dollars, consisting of 120,000 square feet over 11 stories, the Park 51 project will replace the 1850’s-built Cordoba House, and would consist of a 500 seat auditorium, theater, performing arts center, fitness center, swimming pool, basketball court, and other cultural and educational facilities. Oh yeah, 8% of the building would be dedicated to a mosque.

It seems like everyone has an opinion about this mosque and culture center, undoubtedly because of its proximity to the hallowed ground of the iconic World Trade Center buildings. What is curious to me is that those who live in Manhattan generally favor the construction of Park 51, while residents of New York State generally oppose its development.

Is it insensitive that a mosque be purposely built so close to the hearts of the nation? Or, is it a bridge to peace being built to foster relations between a religion widely regarded responsible for 9/11 and a country still tender from the bruising of the painful blow to a way of life?

You Are Cordially Invited To A Book Burning

2010-09-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

Out of the blue, the previously unknown Gainesville, Florida based Dove World Outreach Center church has garnered considerable infamy calling for a burning of the Quran on September 11, 2010 to mark the ninth anniversary of 9/11. A more irresponsible and dispassionate position could not be contemplated.

For an American of any stripe to call for a book burning, or to trample on the right to worship freely, or to exploit for personal gain a tragic event to which they have little association, smacks of the greatest irony I can imagine. Shame on them for attacking a religion and their neighbors.

Not all Muslims are terrorists and not all terrorists are Muslim.

While I understand not everybody shares my beliefs about the events surrounding 9/11, and most people find it easier to blame elements of a group they barely understand than to think that equally radical individuals within their own corporate and government elite could have conspired to create the panic scenario that lubricated the game plan that subsequently unfolded, I would also like to think that a breakaway church would first have educated itself better during the nine years it had to take such an idiotic and antagonistic position. Apparently I am wrong to believe that those entrusted with our spiritual guidance would be more tactful and truthful in their teachings.

Yet another reason why I stand by my proclamation that organized religion is the root of all violence.

French Take To The Streets

2010-09-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Massive public rallies and labor actions continue to plague France, challenging President Nicolas Sarkozy’s heavy handed attempts to maintain some decorum. Tens of thousands of demonstrators took to the streets throughout the country to protest Sarkozy’s unpopular political and social reforms. The man with the impossibly gorgeous wife, Sarkozy has embarked on major changes to immigration and pensions in a country widely known for its generous social programs.

It’s nice to see the French out protesting in public. Often seen as meek during times of great challenge, such as World War One, World War Two, and the ‘war’ on terrorism, the international community tends to write the French off as spineless mice.

Europeans are becoming very vocal with their displeasure of their leadership, and it will be interesting to see if these protests in France will manifest themselves into change agents that cause Sarkozy to revamp his tactics, or if they are a lit fuse burning toward a repeat of Bastille.

Live from a sidewalk café near the Eiffel Tower, enjoying a baguette and brie while sipping on a hearty Bordeaux, this is Curtis Sagmeister reporting for Redacted Copy.

Fidel Is Back

2010-09-03T16:25:00.000-07:00

Emerging from seclusion this week, Fidel Castro was his defiant, albeit diplomatic self as he addressed students during a speech at the fabled University of Havana. He looked great, especially when compared to his gaunt appearance while on death’s door in 2006.

No matter what your politics, you really have to admire a guy like Castro who has stood toe to toe with the leaders of superpower nations for decades, outliving and outshining them all.

I’ve been to Cuba and absolutely loved it there. I experienced the tourist traps, and I found passage to places off the beaten path to be closer to the people. Without exception, every Cuban citizen treated me well and many even shook my hand with gratitude, thanking me just for visiting their country. It was unexpected given the suspicious stereotype I had been taught.

There is much speculation surrounding the motivation for Castro’s speech, dressed in his olive drab military uniform sans medals and hardware. His deteriorated health had led to him handing the presidency of the island nation over to his younger brother Raul. Fidel, however, always maintained his position as leader of the Communist Party in Cuba.

It will be interesting to watch the immediate future of Cuba’s international and domestic direction. Both Fidel and Raul are of advanced age. Cuba’s economy has struggled for decades. And, the United States is talking about normalizing relations with its nemesis. Ah, decisions, decisions.

Can't Catch A Break In The Gulf

2010-09-02T12:02:00.000-07:00

Oh goodness! The Gulf of Mexico just can’t seem to catch a break. Another drilling platform has exploded, this time causing no deaths but has exposed a small slick on the water.

Located about 100 miles off the coast of Louisiana, the Vermilion Oil Platform 380 is located in about 350 feet of water, considered shallow in the industry, and far less than the more than 5000 feet of the notorious BP Deepwater Horizon rig. Vermilion Oil 380 was reportedly producing approximately 59,000 gallons of oil and 900,000 cubic feet of gas per day. The thirteen workers on the drilling platform were all rescued.

I find it compelling that two drilling operations exploding in the same body of water can be anything but poor regulations and insufficient monitoring of compliance. Lessons should have been learned in April, but at this early stage of the incident, it appears all the chutzpah being bantered about was just that, bravado and posturing for the eager cameras.

Don’t be putting that spill containment equipment in storage just yet.

How Leaving Iraq Is Like Going To The Prom

2010-09-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

With US President Barak Obama going on live television to officially announce the end of the American war/invasion/aggressions/liberation (insert your preferred euphemism here) of Iraq, his words carefully chosen by spin doctors, I was waiting with all the gleeful anticipation of a horned up adolescent on his prom date with the school nymphomaniac for words of apology, or perhaps sorrow over the great human and financial cost, or even the fabricated reasoning for the instigation to ‘visit’ Iraq in the first place.

And like that very same adolescent who discovered what Mother Nature’s first 'special' gift to a girl means to any notion of his satisfaction, I too suffered the rejection and disappointment early in to the evening.

So what did we learn from the lies that led us to Iraq?

Firstly, more than any other administration in the history of the presidency of the United States, we learned that we cannot trust our government. We learned that corporate friends of government are awarded multi-billion dollar contracts without following a bidding process. And we learned that with the right complexion of smoke and mirrors, we shall willingly surrender personal liberties under the guise of battling phantom forces.

Without a doubt, there are more lessons, but we only have so much space here.

But before you go and praise Obama for bringing home the troops, remember that he is maintaining a contingent force of ‘advisors’ in Iraq. Not unlike that spurned horny teen, sometimes the girl next door is the better bet. And her name is Iran.

Drive-In Sex

2010-08-31T00:44:00.000-07:00

The oldest profession in the world is getting a helping hand in Switzerland with the construction of drive-in cubicles so that acts of prostitution can be transacted out of sight and in an environment safer for both hookers and johns.

Modeled on programs in Germany, police in Zurich are endorsing the concept and so are residents who live around the city’s unofficial red light district.

Picture a car wash bay with those tarp sided dividers, but located outside, and you have the basic concept for this novel approach to the prostitution issue facing every major city in North America.

There are many serious social and health care concerns surrounding the prostitution issue, and certainly creating sex bays is not the be all to end all solution to such an enormous quagmire, but doing so would at least confine the street walkers to a manageable area and assist in reducing some of the ancillary activities that plague red light districts.

Coming soon to an abandoned car wash near you?

Long Gun Registry In Canada

2010-08-30T16:49:00.000-07:00

Ownership and registry of guns is a hot button issue in both Canada and United States, and like abortion and religion, nobody will be changing their mind any time soon.

In Canada, the long gun registry report was just released by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the federal agency that not only provides law enforcement throughout the country but also operates the gun registry program. So, it can hardly be a surprise that the report stated that the long gun registry was cost effective, efficient and an important tool for law enforcement and public safety. A clearer conflict of interest could not be possible.

Let’s face the facts. The criminal element has not registered their guns and never will, so the only reason to have a gun registry is suspect. Beyond that, the phrase ‘cost effective’ can in no way be attributed to this government program, and could be the very reason the Canadian Parliament had to fight hard to get a glimpse of the secretive document.

I am no fanatic NRA nut job that thinks the average person needs large bore armor piercing automatic weapons to ‘hunt deer’, but I do think any gun registry is nothing but a government cash grab designed to know where the weapons are when the junta invade us when Marshal Law is invoked.

No Warrant? Apparently That's Okay.

2010-08-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

Where will the violation of our rights stop?

In a brazen move by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, it ruled that it was perfectly legal for police to place a secret GPS device on a vehicle without first obtaining a warrant. This ruling flies in the face of the personal rights and freedoms we are supposed to enjoy and to a contrary ruling by a Washington, DC federal appeals court upholding the US Constitution and chastising police for not first obtaining a warrant.

The particular case that sparked this controversy involved the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) in Oregon and their investigation into a suspect. The DEA needed to follow the movements of its target suspect over a period of time to establish patterns of behavior and locations of the suspect’s alleged drug operations. Sure enough, according to the DEA, they obtained what they needed to prefer charges on their suspect.

Now maybe you could argue that the ends justified the means in this case. But, what you must remember is that there was no immediate need to place the GPS on the suspect’s vehicle that very day. A warrant would likely have been granted for this particular case, so why jeopardize the investigation by violating the Constitution? And what about next time? Will it be your movements being monitored by some agent of the government?

With the two opposing rulings by federal appeals courts, there is certain to be an escalation to the US Supreme Court. What a waste of money and precious time before the Supreme Court to argue for upholding this clear violation of the Constitution. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which judicially governs the federal appeals court for 60 million people in nine western states, made a troubling ruling that places future police conduct into question as well as flames a growing concern among citizens that its society is becoming more Orwellian.

Rogue Private Refuses Service To Army

2010-08-26T17:10:00.000-07:00

It is confusing to me how someone could voluntarily enlist in the United States Army in 2009 being a Muslim, and then refuse to serve his country on deployment to Iraq. Such is the case of PFC. Naser Abdo who has filed a service exemption claim as a conscientious objector.

I can appreciate those drafted for military service having grounds as a conscientious objector, however, I am lost to find any empathy for someone who has willingly drawn a salary and benefits from an employer who is neck deep in military actions in largely Muslim nations, knowing full well that the likelihood of deployment to those war zones would be extremely high.

Had PFC. Naser Abdo been drafted, or had he enlisted at some point prior to the US invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan, my sentiments would be clearly on his side. But he took training, money, and benefits upfront before he was asked to honor his part of the agreement to utilize his specialized training to serve his country.

It is a rare occasion indeed where you would ever see me side with the United States military industrial complex, however this is a case where the Army is owed the services of its rogue private, Naser Abdo.

Topless Women At Venice Beach, California

2010-08-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

For the past three years in Venice Beach, California, there has been an annual demonstration called National Topless Day to allow women to be topless at the beach. Other participants seek to expand on that notion and permit women to be topless wherever a man can be shirtless framing their argument as a gender equality issue.

The issue is not a new one. But it is a curious one that brings smiles to perplexed faces and, believe it or not, elicits male protesters. For me, the men picketing the demonstration is one of those stereotype-breaking images that was previously given nary a thought.

The female breast is a focus of male fascination to the point of being a common fetish, so it is difficult for me to view men as being offended by a topless woman. In fact, I welcome the opportunity. My bad.

We do not impose restrictions on the exposed male torso at beaches despite there being men that should never be without a shirt. To be fair, there are also women in the same boat, but perhaps this illustrates the debate best as a gender equality issue.

The Mysterious Vanishing Oil Trick

2010-08-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

No longer the subject of front page news, British Petroleum must be absolutely thrilled that our eyes have been purposely diverted by the usual dribble of celebrity gossip, political lies, and Apple technology releases that pass for news these days. But I have a lingering question. Where has all that oil gone?

I know what the spin doctors have told us to accept as fact. Somehow, after spewing hundreds of millions of barrels of oil over a period of several months, a few skimmers siphoning from the surface and a few airplanes spreading chemical aerosol miraculously managed to cleanse the Gulf of Mexico of North America’s worst environmental disaster.

Now, I admit that I am no professor of any of the sciences, but I do have an advanced degree in bullshit detection. And the stink-o-meter is showing epic dung proportions!

Not even BP, with all its financial and political clout, can perform geological magic. If a chemical agent was indeed able to displace or ‘eat’ the globs of black gold, then either the dispersed oil had to go somewhere else, or the now well fed chemicals have to be swimming effortlessly in a transparent glee. Either way, my muse remains.

Half A Billion Not What It Used To Be

2010-08-24T19:35:00.000-07:00

Los Angeles is about to welcome students to a brand new 578 million dollar high school. This, at a time when education is grossly underfunded and the economy is in the tank. Seems highly inappropriate.

Built on the site of the former Ambassador Hotel where Robert Kennedy was assasinated, the new Taj Mahal of municipal education carries the presidential candidate's namesake as a supposed tribute.

It's not often a municipal school opening makes international news, but with a whopping price tag exceeding half a billion dollars, you can just imagine the collective eyebrows being raised as Superintendent Raymond Cortines coyly smiles while he proudly proclaims his new palatial center for dropouts to be the "costliest school in the United States". The Los Angeles Unified School District recently laid off 3000 staff and has an abysmal 50 per cent drop out rate.

Even though the expenditure was voted on and approved by taxpayers a few years ago, it is barely conceivable they could have envisioned the luxurious amenities incorporated into the building.

I think the responsible thing to do at some point earlier in the construction phase would have been to go back to the electorate to propose a new mandate on the mammoth costs that would include scaling back the project until the economy rebounds, rethink the 5 star amenities in design and construction, and use the money to weather the storm of layoffs.