This is Your Security Force

by Scott Horton | Sep 8, 2019 | Blog

After brutal beating of now-paralyzed Florida inmate, women take to social media to protest

On Saturday morning, a vigil was held outside the compound, the second in recent weeks, in part to protest the beating of Cheryl Weimar, a 51-year-old inmate who was slammed to a concrete floor, kicked and dragged by guards on Aug. 21. The attack left her paralyzed from the neck down. She remains hospitalized, hooked to a breathing apparatus, her lawyer, Ryan Andrews, told the Miami Herald.

One former inmate, Jordyn Cahill, also used YouTube to voice her disgust over the attack, detailing the sexual abuse Cahill herself said she had been subjected to during her eight years at the facility, ending in 2013. She named at least 11 correctional officers, including supervisors, alleging in graphic detail that they had groped, sexually attacked and extorted her for sex. In one incident, she said, an officer with a foot fetish refused to give her toilet paper unless she allowed him to play with her feet.

“For Cheryl, or any other incarcerated woman who has physically abused or sexually abused by any officer, or any male inmate who is physically or sexually abused, I am going to tell my story, I’m going to promote others to tell their story and I’m going to share the f— out of it,’’ Cahill said, vowing that she would pass a lie detector test about her experiences at Lowell.

Picture 1.jpg — Cheryl Weimar suffered a broken neck in a beating by staff at Lowell Correctional Institution, according to her lawyer. This photograph preceded her current incarceration. (I bet she was just in there on a drug charge in the first place.)

One of several Lowell activist groups, Change is Now, also produced an emotional video that was online, posted on Facebook, that includes photographs of women who have died at the prison, through abuse or medical neglect.

“Lowell Correctional family, friends and formerly incarcerated have sat silent long enough while our daughters, sisters, mothers, aunts, grandmothers and other women incarcerated in Lowell Correctional Institution have been harmed in one way or another,’’ the group said in a press announcement about Saturday’s protest.

“We will stand together united in silence as we scream for help for the women who remain incarcerated inside of Lowell Correctional Institution.’’

Read the rest here.

Trump Cancels Secret Meeting With Taliban and President of Afghanistan

by Steven Woskow | Sep 7, 2019 | Blog

President Trump tweeted that a secret meeting with Taliban negotiators and the President of Afghanistan that was supposed to occur at Camp David on Sunday has been cancelled because of the Taliban attacks in Kabul that killed an American soldier. In his tweet, he states that he has “cancelled the meeting” and “called off the peace negotiations”. This entire Afghan peace process has been strange from the start. The US negotiators made it appear that a deal was eminent and only Trump’s signature was required. Yet the Taliban continued to conduct attacks including suicide bombings in Kabul. The Daily Beast reported that the Taliban had not agreed to anything.

But Taliban officials and diplomats here in the capital of Qatar, where the talks have been held, told The Daily Beast that after Round 9 last week, there was still no deal the Taliban would sign.

Now we have Trump tweeting this.

Why Iran Hates Israel, if it’s NOT their land?!

by HypocriteTwins | Sep 7, 2019 | Blog

Iran is a thousand miles away from Israel. And unlike the Palestinians, Iran doesn’t claim Israeli land.

So why does Shiite Iran arm Sunni Palestinians, when their enemies are Sunni? The Palestinians are predominately Sunni Muslim, which is the Arab group that Iran is at war with!

If you are confused, then this episode is for you. We’ll dive into the history of Israel arming Iran secretly during the Iran-Contra scandal. And how that transitioned into modern relations.

This is based on the book, Treacherous Alliance: The Secret Dealings of Israel, Iran, and the United States by Trita Parsi:
You can find the schedule of upcoming episodes (Topics & Dates) here:
Please help fund future episodes:
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/HypocriteTwins

Anarcho-Libertarianism Is Insanely Relevant Internationally

by Zack Sorenson | Sep 6, 2019 | Blog

History has been dominated by the stories of great powers diplomacy. American hegemony is grounded in this notion, and in the mind of the Pentagon, the entire post-war consensus is based on full spectrum American dominance.

What if America declines? Must China, for example, step in? Or is the anarchic world of international relations in need of a paradigm that does not require great power bullying to provide order?

With crypto-currencies and interconnected economies, I suggest that the world is eager for peaceful, objective, arbitrative solutions to disputes. Anarcho-capitalism, between states.

So which society has never had a realistic need for anarchism again? More apropos, who will step up and create the systems that lead to peaceful conflict resolution? Entrepreneurs of course, not politicians.

Judge Declares Federal Terror Watchlist Unconstitutional

by Steven Woskow | Sep 5, 2019 | Blog

Judge Anthony Trenga of the Eastern District of Virginia ruled that the government has unconstitutionally failed to provide watchlisted persons with notice and an opportunity for individuals to challenge their status. The judge granted CAIR’s motion for summary judgment in the case of 23 American Muslims who were unjustly labeled as suspected terrorists by their government, causing extensive harm to their families, careers, and ability to travel.

The judgement is here

Background information here

The reaction from Council On American-Islamic Relations

When Two Tribes Go To War

by Zooey Greif | Sep 5, 2019 | Blog

Year Zero: Collapse for Liberty

by Tommy Salmons | Sep 5, 2019 | Blog, Year Zero

In Episode 63 Tommy explores why the Status Quo Wins out over liberty. Is total financial collapse the only chance to have a possibility of liberty?

Listen to Year Zero

Wokus Group

by Arlo Pignotti | Sep 4, 2019 | Blog

I attended a focus group to give feedback about a series of commercials that will air nationally. I think I experienced “snowflakes” in the flesh for the first time. They were offended by something in every one of those commercials. Saying, “The female manager in the first commercial was too dominating. I’m sick and tired of seeing the stereotype that women are bossy.” “The woman in the second commercial was too wimpy. It’s a stereotype to portray women as weak.” “Only one of the three characters in this commercial was a black woman.” Another commercial was simply a man by himself, looking at the camera, describing a feature of the product and a participant referred to it as “mansplaining.”

Then they get around to two commercials portraying Italian-Americans as mobsters. I was probably the only Italian-American in the room, it certainly crossed my mind to complain, but I’m not going to play that game. I didn’t say a word. So if you see an uptick in Italian stereotypes in commercials in the near future, you can blame me for that.

There was also an ad showing two men doing yoga, and a woman was reading homoerotic innuendos that I swear were not there and saying instead of two men it should be a man and a woman so the LGBT community wouldn’t be offended. Everyone else in the room had quizzical looks on their faces for that one, it wasn’t just me. If she had really been up to date on her wokeness she would have said “LGBTQIA+” (and sometimes Y).

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