Even stranger, Philip K. Dick thought that a visit by the feds was triggered because he had gotten too close to the truth in one of his stories. That's what it feels like here. A story about a paranoid schizophrenic whose paranoid imaginings reveal a truth few suspected and no one believed it's magnitude. What a fictionally fitting result it would be if the Patriot act is overturned because of his lawsuit.
Dick himself wrote letters to the FBI about a Moscow directed plot to control science fiction. He got the feeling from the first responses that the FBI was brushing him off. He ended up writing more letters but not sending them. Instead, he put them in an addressed and stamped envelope and threw them in the trash. His reasoning was that "The authorities will receive the letter if, and only if, they are spying on him."
Yes, my reply wasn't responding to your post, a habit of mine that doesn't work well in social situations. But there it was, the awkward Google translation of "Tauschbörse" and I had just learned that "trading post" was less awkward.
"swap meet" is what comes out of Google translate. My German wife has translated that as "trading post". I am trying to get her to do some more translations.
Most interesting! It's possible that Redtube, itself, was using this forced redirect method to increase traffic to their porn site. That does seem to be the whole purpose of trafficholder.com to increase traffic to adult sites. If so, Redtube would do it for many of their other videos as well. It does seem odd to me that the redirect is to a specific video. If they don't do this I expect Redtube would announce it publicly quite soon.
The other odd thing is that article show increased traffic to what was titled "Miriam's adventures". The graphic shows the Redtube file number. That file still exists on Redtube. Although it does not have the same title it is clearly the same video. That video has been sitting there for at least 3 years. If there was a real copyright infringement concern why was Redtube not notified and why do the copyright holder's not complain about the video still being available on Redtube? As the evidence comes out it is becoming more clear this whole U+C scheme is not about copyright but an extortion scam.
"Porn sites have historically proven to be sources of malware"
Historical is the keyword here as this is no longer true. I wish I could remember where I read the article that said that church websites are now more risky for malware than other websites while porn websites are some of the safest now. Porn purveyors were early adopters of the web. They were also some of the first targeted by malware. They learned quickly that user input can be messy and dangerous so it's the porn sites that were some of the first to ramp up security by restricting user input (not the semi-liquid kind, but XML scripts sneaking past simplistic text barriers).
I believe that U+C placed an Advertisement on Redtube. Ads are placed by Traffic Junky and it looks like the buyer can place it at a specific website. I suspect the Ads can even be placed on a particular webpage. Alternatively, if an ad can contain a script it might be able to tell it is on a page for the particular videos. I am not positive that an ad is served from an advertiser's website, but if so, the IP address of the viewer can be harvested. I am checking on this (It's challenging work but somebody should do it).
That is the easiest scenario except for commenting. If a comment on a page can contain XML code that returns the IP of the viewer. Porn sites are, now counter-intuitively, some of the safest sites on the web from malware because the porn purveyors have learned how to restrict user input.
The 3rd alternative is for U+C to upload a honeypot video containing code that, again identifies viewer's IP addresses. That is riskiest, because if the courts find this out...
The fact that Google indicates the site is hacked is more likely coincidental. Google may have tagged one of their advertiser's as a source of spam or malware.
The hoodwinking of the court was not just being vague about the nature of Redtube. They are claiming that the software tool gladii 1.1.3 was used to identify the IP addresses. Since that software is particular to identifying IP addresses in a peer-to-peer files sharing context rather than a streaming video context, that claim seems to be a lie.
From this Stern article article it appears that after the existence of these demand letters became public news, some witty clown took advantage of this to send fake demand letters containing malware.
So, the Swiss firm "The Archive" got a court order to obtain account details for thousands of IP addresses. The mystery is how they obtained those IP addresses of alleged streamers of the copyright protected porn that was uploaded to Redtube.com. Now, it's possible that those uploaded porn files were a honeypot that contained an exploit that harvested the IP address of any streamer. That seems risky to me because analysis of the video file could reveal such an exploit. Are any of these video files still available on Redtube? There are a couple of other possibilities:
1) If a webpage with the video in question can contain user comments or located ads, then a script can report back the IP address of anyone visiting the page
2) Suppose that "The Archive" put an ad anywhere on Redtube or on any website that they think such serious users of porn portals [that lovely phrase is from a lawyer looking to defend users] might frequent. This ad could contain a script that is used to query various websites. Suppose the webpages queried are the ones on Redtube for the videos in question. The timing of the response to the query can determine whether that webpage is cached in the users browser. One aspect I am unsure about is the difference between viewing the webpage and actually viewing the streamed video.
I hope Ms. McPherson is reading this because it is directed towards her. I like wildlife photography and I have a number of my own photos. I like Mia McPherson's work. The SomethingAwful transformation of her photo strikes me as just stupidly juvenile and I really have no interest in looking at it. My reaction is precisely why the altered photo is not infringing. It shows that the existence of a butt-altered bird photo will not affect the market for her unaltered photos. Just as importantly, it shows that the photo has been transformed in a way that provokes a completely different response than that of the original. It is a fair use transformation of the original photo.
Mia, don't waste your time pursuing fair use postings of your images. You will lose in court. Arne Olav was being pretty accommodating in not challenging the DMCA takedown. In his letter to you he even said he would have removed the altered photos if you had requested him directly. Don't mistake his accommodation as confirming that your understanding of copyright law is correct. His transformations were also fair use and he does not need your permission to make them or post them. That may annoy you to no end, as a photographer, but copyright does have limitations. You write in response to his letter:
"I do sell my images to editors and publishers for book, magazines and other publications so have my image misused this way can devalue them."
Neither Olav's transformations or Miller's is going to devalue your photos. In a comment you write:
"Only The owner of the Tapir image and I own the right to make derivative works from our files."
You are ignoring fair use transformations so that statement is incorrect. They author of an unauthorized derivative work does not get a copyright to the transformed work, but they may escape liability via fair use.
Don't let your emotional reactions to the alterations cloud your mind to the business aspects. Focus on real infringement that affects your bottom line and don't limit that focus to just running around the web endlessly filing DMCA notices or sending out C&D letters.
What may be more interesting to you is that Ms. McPherson is getting together a class-action lawsuit against Google for "hot linking" to photos on its image search results. She did talk to a lawyer about that back in February. If that hasn't gone anywhere it may be that providing direct links to the images posted on the copyright owner's own website is hardly an infringing act. She seems to think that this is contrary to Google's own stated policy as specified in their blogger.com rules. Specifically:
"Also, please don’t provide links to sites where your readers can obtain unauthorized downloads of other people’s content."
There is some ambiguity in that statement but I am pretty sure that Google intended it to mean links to sites that infringed on copyright and not links to the copyright owner's website.
Re: Tiny fraction of the corporate story. What does Google tell its shareholders?
Ok, I'll bite. On a technical basis how is that string of characters supposed to prevent someone else from using your screen name? As far as I can see the only thing it does is prove to you, yourself, that a post is your own. If you can't tell that already you have far more problems than a ridiculous obsession with the nefarious ways of Google.
If you're concerned about proving the authenticity of your posts, I suggest digitally signing them. That, of course, means we readers must know your previously authenticated PGP or GPG public key.
Alexis Artwohl is a psychologist who has been a law enforcement consultant for many years. She wrote an article in 2002 titled "Perceptual and Memory Distortion During Officer-Involved Shootings" that was published as an FBI law enforcement bulletin. In that article she write:
"These researchers pointed out, and the author agrees, that officers may make more thorough and accurate statements if they wait at least 24 hours, during which time they should get some sleep, before participating in their formal interview with investigators."
The publication she cites is: D. Grossman and B.K. Siddle, Critical Incident Amnesia: The Physiological Basis and Implications of Memory Loss During Extreme Survival Stress Situations (Millstadt, IL: PPCT Management Systems, Inc., 1998).
Siddle was the founder of PPCT Management Systems (PMS?) which has been the contracting company that has provided TSA with passenger screener training.
Grossman, among many other publications, co-authored this book: "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence"
Both authors are now part of Warrior Science Group. It does not appear that any of these people have written articles for a peer reviewed academic journal. That, in itself, does not invalidate what they write about in articles that are self-published or published by law enforcement related agencies or groups. What it does mean is that one has to dig a bit deeper to find any original research that their articles are based on.
"But cops are trained to be extra-observant in these situations already. There's no reason for them to need the "buffer" if they're doing their job correctly."
Cops are humans and the studies that Alexis Artwohl did, and the ones she reviewed show that, under the stressful situation where the officer fired a gun they, like all people, experience perceptual and memory distortions. Given that, the police chief's pronouncement that he was willing to trust his officer's statement over the video evidence makes no sense at all. He is referencing Artwohl's research in one sentence and ignoring it in the next. Anyway, the question becomes, what can be done about memory distortions if training can't eliminate them?
I am rather skeptical about the claim that memories of a stressful event becomes more accurate over 3 days. Firstly, Artwohl's 2002 article states that, based on a 1998 publication by someone else, that officers should wait at least 24 hours before participating in a formal interview. Why did the DPD choose 3 days, rather than 1 day? After a stressful event memory can be fragmented such that you remember certain portions of the incident vividly and the order of the fragments may be inverted. After a day, details that weren't recalled initially may become clear. These additional details makes a later debriefing valuable. Over this short time a fragmented memory will be replayed and woven into a narrative sequence that makes more sense to the officer and the interviewer. That doesn't mean the narrative is becoming more accurate and this is where I think Artwohl's analysis is lacking. You have two potential sources of distortion. One is the person's own alterations due to emotion or presumptions as to what makes sense. That sort of distortion may not be consciously done. The other source comes from talking or listening to others about the incident. Already, there will be an immediate, if limited, discussion that is needed for the investigation to continue. Beyond that, how is the officer supposed to avoid discussion with his colleagues, family, or friends over a 3 day period? I wonder if the DPD is willing to state that no such discussions will take place with the officer(s) in question until the formal debriefing 3 days after the incident.
This is what I suggest: 1). As soon as possible after the incident the officer records his impressions which should not be expected to follow a sequential narrative. (I am not sure how an officer's legal rights would influence such an initial statement or recording.)
2). 1 day after the incident, the officer is formally interviewed, one on one, by someone who has been trained to elicit a sequential narrative. If we are interested in accurate memory, the officer should not be discussing the incident or watching any video before this interview.
3). a group debriefing with all the officers involved in the incident. This is more useful to the police themselves rather than being used in court as part of any official police testimony.
The only reason I see that the DPD should adopt 3 days rather than 1 day is, as many suspect, to coordinate any official testimony with whatever outside evidence arises in that period. An important aspect of policing is gaining the trust of the community. This policy that DPD is adopting undermines that trust.
I should note that the incident took place in a Walmart parking lot across the street from the elementary school some time after the child had left the car, crossed the street, and entered the school grounds.
It was a Keystone cops incident. The ICE agent accidentally fires his handgun while exiting his vehicle. After that single shot, Noriega takes off in fear. At the point where he makes a call to 911 at a gas station he knows they were law enforcement but does not know why they shot at him. That agent, and the other ICE agents present, are complicit in covering up the mistake.
There are multiple agents in more than one car. Ice agent Justin Weissner screeches to a halt right in front of Noriega's GMC Yukon. Agent Weissner is wearing a bulletproof vest with a patch that said "POLICE" across the front and is wearing a badge hanging from his neck. As Weissner exits his car he fires a shot through the windshield just below his rear view mirror. None of the other agents see what happened (sure). Only Weissner claims that Noriega tried to ram him. A law enforcement agent is legally allowed use his gun when a person suspected of a violent crime is fleeing. The man Noriega was suspected of being, was wanted for drug trafficking. The ICE agent is not claiming Noriega was suspected of a violent crime probably because the real suspect was not wanted for a violent crime. Weissner's excuse for firing was that Noriega was threatening his own safety by ramming him, yet Weissner was not yet out of his vehicle. There is only a single shot fired and we all know that given a real threat officers usually fire multiple shots. Also, neither Noriega nor his massive GMC Yukon are hit. For a trained agent, that is not very good marksmanship. Finally, agent Weissner does not pursue Noriega. He stays in the parking lot while the other agents attempt pursuit. The DA is not pressing charges against Weissner because "there are no independent witnesses to the moment of the shooting". It is not clear how many other ICE agents are present but you would think that at least one of them would be watching the suspect and his vehicle at this critical moment.
A friend of mine is a DA and once told me that prosecutors do not like to have engineers, software engineers in particular, because they require too much proof. During the recent jury selection I was involved in, I told this to a Google engineer who was also in the jury pool. He was desperate not to be chosen because the estimated trial length was 2 months. What was odd was that the defense attorney was the one who dismissed him on a peremptory challenge.
I think the main reason that lawyers are dismissed early is because attorneys on both sides and the judge do not want someone on the jury who can act as an expert on law and sway other jurors contrary to only the presented evidence or to the judges precise instructions.
A potential juror who has expertise in a field applicable to the trial will probably be dismissed because they are less malleable to presented evidence. Worse, they may influence other jurors who may look to them as an unofficial expert witness. I am a software engineer but it was my knowledge and my other degree in psychobiology which led to my dismissal as a juror in that recent 1st degree murder trial. A few years back, I had watched videos comprising many hours of lectures by one of the scheduled expert witnesses, Robert Sapolski. The defendant was 17 at the time he stabbed someone in front of many witnesses. (after I was dismissed I read the appeals court decision which overturned his previous conviction based on the fact that the judge did not allow the jury to properly consider the defense testimony from a psychologist.) I pretty much knew what Sapolski's testimony would be and I knew his personal opinions based on what he said in this interview in the NYT about being an expert witness and how the legal system always lags behind the advances of science and technology: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/magazine/11Neurolaw.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The most important issue to me involved studies that showed that the development of the human brain's pre-frontal cortex is not complete until around the age of 25. The result is that the amygdala tends to dominate and young people end up being more impulsive without thinking through and weighing consequences. No big surprise here except for the fact that brain maturation completes at a later stage than most people think and the cause is organic. This was the main rationale behind the Roper V. Simmons Supreme Court decision in 2005 that eliminated the death penalty for those who committed crimes while 16 or 17. I talked about this in a very vague way so as not to sway other jurors before any expert testimony. I even mentioned Roper V. Simmons while explaining how I could not disregard my own knowledge. A juror isn't supposed to consider potential penalties but my knowledge, outside of expert witness testimony, would have influenced my decision to convict for either 2nd degree murder or manslaughter. This isn't absolute as Sapolski himself has noted that criminal behavior can be the result of a "broken machine", with no chance of resolving itself.
I was not terribly interested in serving on a jury for 2 months but I was also being very honest. If I had really wanted to serve on the jury I wouldn't have mentioned any of this. The prosecutor stopped calling on me after that including questions made to the entire group of prospective jurors. I was absolutely the first one dismissed out of that group and left the courtroom, relieved, but also deeply disillusioned about the jury system. I am still disillusioned and the decision for this patent case only reinforces that.
On the post: Lawsuit Claims Accidental Google Search Led To Years Of Government Investigation And Harrassment
Re:
Dick himself wrote letters to the FBI about a Moscow directed plot to control science fiction. He got the feeling from the first responses that the FBI was brushing him off. He ended up writing more letters but not sending them. Instead, he put them in an addressed and stamped envelope and threw them in the trash. His reasoning was that "The authorities will receive the letter if, and only if, they are spying on him."
On the post: Lawsuit Claims Accidental Google Search Led To Years Of Government Investigation And Harrassment
Re: total bullshit
Tim, Does it bother you that the cranks don't always credit you?
On the post: RedTube Smacks Down German Copyright Troll For Attempting To 'Blackmail' Its Viewers
Re: Re: Re:
On the post: RedTube Smacks Down German Copyright Troll For Attempting To 'Blackmail' Its Viewers
Re: Re:
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2012/05/malware_and_computer_viruses_they_ve_ left_porn_sites_for_religious_sites_.html
On the post: RedTube Smacks Down German Copyright Troll For Attempting To 'Blackmail' Its Viewers
Re:
On the post: RedTube Smacks Down German Copyright Troll For Attempting To 'Blackmail' Its Viewers
Re:
The other odd thing is that article show increased traffic to what was titled "Miriam's adventures". The graphic shows the Redtube file number. That file still exists on Redtube. Although it does not have the same title it is clearly the same video. That video has been sitting there for at least 3 years. If there was a real copyright infringement concern why was Redtube not notified and why do the copyright holder's not complain about the video still being available on Redtube? As the evidence comes out it is becoming more clear this whole U+C scheme is not about copyright but an extortion scam.
On the post: RedTube Smacks Down German Copyright Troll For Attempting To 'Blackmail' Its Viewers
Re:
Historical is the keyword here as this is no longer true. I wish I could remember where I read the article that said that church websites are now more risky for malware than other websites while porn websites are some of the safest now. Porn purveyors were early adopters of the web. They were also some of the first targeted by malware. They learned quickly that user input can be messy and dangerous so it's the porn sites that were some of the first to ramp up security by restricting user input (not the semi-liquid kind, but XML scripts sneaking past simplistic text barriers).
On the post: RedTube Smacks Down German Copyright Troll For Attempting To 'Blackmail' Its Viewers
That is the easiest scenario except for commenting. If a comment on a page can contain XML code that returns the IP of the viewer. Porn sites are, now counter-intuitively, some of the safest sites on the web from malware because the porn purveyors have learned how to restrict user input.
The 3rd alternative is for U+C to upload a honeypot video containing code that, again identifies viewer's IP addresses. That is riskiest, because if the courts find this out...
The fact that Google indicates the site is hacked is more likely coincidental. Google may have tagged one of their advertiser's as a source of spam or malware.
The hoodwinking of the court was not just being vague about the nature of Redtube. They are claiming that the software tool gladii 1.1.3 was used to identify the IP addresses. Since that software is particular to identifying IP addresses in a peer-to-peer files sharing context rather than a streaming video context, that claim seems to be a lie.
10:55:36[l-530-5]
On the post: German Copyright Troll Sends Thousands Of Shady Demand Letters To Users Of Streaming Porn Site, Redtube
Re: harvesting IP addresses
Für Nutzer seriöser Erotikportale
translated by Google translate as:
for users serious erotic portals
which can be modified for better understanding to be:
for serious users of erotic portals
On the post: German Copyright Troll Sends Thousands Of Shady Demand Letters To Users Of Streaming Porn Site, Redtube
harvesting IP addresses
From this Stern article article it appears that after the existence of these demand letters became public news, some witty clown took advantage of this to send fake demand letters containing malware.
So, the Swiss firm "The Archive" got a court order to obtain account details for thousands of IP addresses. The mystery is how they obtained those IP addresses of alleged streamers of the copyright protected porn that was uploaded to Redtube.com. Now, it's possible that those uploaded porn files were a honeypot that contained an exploit that harvested the IP address of any streamer. That seems risky to me because analysis of the video file could reveal such an exploit. Are any of these video files still available on Redtube? There are a couple of other possibilities:
1) If a webpage with the video in question can contain user comments or located ads, then a script can report back the IP address of anyone visiting the page
2) Suppose that "The Archive" put an ad anywhere on Redtube or on any website that they think such serious users of porn portals [that lovely phrase is from a lawyer looking to defend users] might frequent. This ad could contain a script that is used to query various websites. Suppose the webpages queried are the ones on Redtube for the videos in question. The timing of the response to the query can determine whether that webpage is cached in the users browser. One aspect I am unsure about is the difference between viewing the webpage and actually viewing the streamed video.
On the post: Photographer Sends C&D To Something Awful Over Photo 'Shopped To Add A Butt To A Bird
Mia, don't waste your time pursuing fair use postings of your images. You will lose in court. Arne Olav was being pretty accommodating in not challenging the DMCA takedown. In his letter to you he even said he would have removed the altered photos if you had requested him directly. Don't mistake his accommodation as confirming that your understanding of copyright law is correct. His transformations were also fair use and he does not need your permission to make them or post them. That may annoy you to no end, as a photographer, but copyright does have limitations. You write in response to his letter:
"I do sell my images to editors and publishers for book, magazines and other publications so have my image misused this way can devalue them."
Neither Olav's transformations or Miller's is going to devalue your photos. In a comment you write:
"Only The owner of the Tapir image and I own the right to make derivative works from our files."
You are ignoring fair use transformations so that statement is incorrect. They author of an unauthorized derivative work does not get a copyright to the transformed work, but they may escape liability via fair use.
Don't let your emotional reactions to the alterations cloud your mind to the business aspects. Focus on real infringement that affects your bottom line and don't limit that focus to just running around the web endlessly filing DMCA notices or sending out C&D letters.
On the post: Photographer Sends C&D To Something Awful Over Photo 'Shopped To Add A Butt To A Bird
Re: Link's wrong (in the repro of the C&D)
this is the correct link:
http://www.somethingawful.com/photoshop-phriday/put-butts-things/4/
On the post: Photographer Sends C&D To Something Awful Over Photo 'Shopped To Add A Butt To A Bird
Re: Link's wrong (in the repro of the C&D)
On the post: Photographer Sends C&D To Something Awful Over Photo 'Shopped To Add A Butt To A Bird
Re: MY GAWD! Another C and D ANOMALY!
"Also, please don’t provide links to sites where your readers can obtain unauthorized downloads of other people’s content."
There is some ambiguity in that statement but I am pretty sure that Google intended it to mean links to sites that infringed on copyright and not links to the copyright owner's website.
On the post: AT&T Tells Shareholders To Mind Their Own Business Concerning Its Relationship With The NSA
Re: Tiny fraction of the corporate story. What does Google tell its shareholders?
If you're concerned about proving the authenticity of your posts, I suggest digitally signing them. That, of course, means we readers must know your previously authenticated PGP or GPG public key.
On the post: Dallas Police Rule Change Gives Officers 72 Hours To Get Their Stories Straight After Shooting Citizens
source of the psychological research on memory
During Officer-Involved Shootings" that was published as an FBI law enforcement bulletin. In that article she write:
"These researchers pointed out, and the author agrees, that officers may make more thorough and accurate statements if they wait at least 24 hours, during which time they should get some sleep, before participating in their formal interview with investigators."
The publication she cites is:
D. Grossman and B.K. Siddle, Critical Incident Amnesia: The Physiological Basis and Implications of Memory Loss During Extreme Survival Stress Situations (Millstadt, IL: PPCT Management Systems, Inc., 1998).
Siddle was the founder of PPCT Management Systems (PMS?) which has been the contracting company that has provided TSA with passenger screener training.
Grossman, among many other publications, co-authored this book: "Stop Teaching Our Kids to Kill: A Call to Action Against TV, Movie and Video Game Violence"
Both authors are now part of Warrior Science Group. It does not appear that any of these people have written articles for a peer reviewed academic journal. That, in itself, does not invalidate what they write about in articles that are self-published or published by law enforcement related agencies or groups. What it does mean is that one has to dig a bit deeper to find any original research that their articles are based on.
On the post: Dallas Police Rule Change Gives Officers 72 Hours To Get Their Stories Straight After Shooting Citizens
Re:
Cops are humans and the studies that Alexis Artwohl did, and the ones she reviewed show that, under the stressful situation where the officer fired a gun they, like all people, experience perceptual and memory distortions. Given that, the police chief's pronouncement that he was willing to trust his officer's statement over the video evidence makes no sense at all. He is referencing Artwohl's research in one sentence and ignoring it in the next. Anyway, the question becomes, what can be done about memory distortions if training can't eliminate them?
I am rather skeptical about the claim that memories of a stressful event becomes more accurate over 3 days. Firstly, Artwohl's 2002 article states that, based on a 1998 publication by someone else, that officers should wait at least 24 hours before participating in a formal interview. Why did the DPD choose 3 days, rather than 1 day? After a stressful event memory can be fragmented such that you remember certain portions of the incident vividly and the order of the fragments may be inverted. After a day, details that weren't recalled initially may become clear. These additional details makes a later debriefing valuable. Over this short time a fragmented memory will be replayed and woven into a narrative sequence that makes more sense to the officer and the interviewer. That doesn't mean the narrative is becoming more accurate and this is where I think Artwohl's analysis is lacking. You have two potential sources of distortion. One is the person's own alterations due to emotion or presumptions as to what makes sense. That sort of distortion may not be consciously done. The other source comes from talking or listening to others about the incident. Already, there will be an immediate, if limited, discussion that is needed for the investigation to continue. Beyond that, how is the officer supposed to avoid discussion with his colleagues, family, or friends over a 3 day period? I wonder if the DPD is willing to state that no such discussions will take place with the officer(s) in question until the formal debriefing 3 days after the incident.
This is what I suggest:
1). As soon as possible after the incident the officer records his impressions which should not be expected to follow a sequential narrative. (I am not sure how an officer's legal rights would influence such an initial statement or recording.)
2). 1 day after the incident, the officer is formally interviewed, one on one, by someone who has been trained to elicit a sequential narrative. If we are interested in accurate memory, the officer should not be discussing the incident or watching any video before this interview.
3). a group debriefing with all the officers involved in the incident. This is more useful to the police themselves rather than being used in court as part of any official police testimony.
The only reason I see that the DPD should adopt 3 days rather than 1 day is, as many suspect, to coordinate any official testimony with whatever outside evidence arises in that period. An important aspect of policing is gaining the trust of the community. This policy that DPD is adopting undermines that trust.
On the post: Lawsuit Claims ICE Officers Shot At, Arrested Wrong Man
Re:
On the post: Lawsuit Claims ICE Officers Shot At, Arrested Wrong Man
http://www.orangecountyda.com/docs/daniel_noriega_ois_letter.pdf
It was a Keystone cops incident. The ICE agent accidentally fires his handgun while exiting his vehicle. After that single shot, Noriega takes off in fear. At the point where he makes a call to 911 at a gas station he knows they were law enforcement but does not know why they shot at him. That agent, and the other ICE agents present, are complicit in covering up the mistake.
There are multiple agents in more than one car. Ice agent Justin Weissner screeches to a halt right in front of Noriega's GMC Yukon. Agent Weissner is wearing a bulletproof vest with a patch that said "POLICE" across the front and is wearing a badge hanging from his neck. As Weissner exits his car he fires a shot through the windshield just below his rear view mirror. None of the other agents see what happened (sure). Only Weissner claims that Noriega tried to ram him. A law enforcement agent is legally allowed use his gun when a person suspected of a violent crime is fleeing. The man Noriega was suspected of being, was wanted for drug trafficking. The ICE agent is not claiming Noriega was suspected of a violent crime probably because the real suspect was not wanted for a violent crime. Weissner's excuse for firing was that Noriega was threatening his own safety by ramming him, yet Weissner was not yet out of his vehicle. There is only a single shot fired and we all know that given a real threat officers usually fire multiple shots. Also, neither Noriega nor his massive GMC Yukon are hit. For a trained agent, that is not very good marksmanship. Finally, agent Weissner does not pursue Noriega. He stays in the parking lot while the other agents attempt pursuit. The DA is not pressing charges against Weissner because "there are no independent witnesses to the moment of the shooting". It is not clear how many other ICE agents are present but you would think that at least one of them would be watching the suspect and his vehicle at this critical moment.
On the post: Insanity Rules In East Texas: Jury Finds Newegg Infringes On Ridiculous Encryption Patent
Re: Re: Re:
I think the main reason that lawyers are dismissed early is because attorneys on both sides and the judge do not want someone on the jury who can act as an expert on law and sway other jurors contrary to only the presented evidence or to the judges precise instructions.
A potential juror who has expertise in a field applicable to the trial will probably be dismissed because they are less malleable to presented evidence. Worse, they may influence other jurors who may look to them as an unofficial expert witness. I am a software engineer but it was my knowledge and my other degree in psychobiology which led to my dismissal as a juror in that recent 1st degree murder trial. A few years back, I had watched videos comprising many hours of lectures by one of the scheduled expert witnesses, Robert Sapolski. The defendant was 17 at the time he stabbed someone in front of many witnesses. (after I was dismissed I read the appeals court decision which overturned his previous conviction based on the fact that the judge did not allow the jury to properly consider the defense testimony from a psychologist.) I pretty much knew what Sapolski's testimony would be and I knew his personal opinions based on what he said in this interview in the NYT about being an expert witness and how the legal system always lags behind the advances of science and technology:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/11/magazine/11Neurolaw.t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
The most important issue to me involved studies that showed that the development of the human brain's pre-frontal cortex is not complete until around the age of 25. The result is that the amygdala tends to dominate and young people end up being more impulsive without thinking through and weighing consequences. No big surprise here except for the fact that brain maturation completes at a later stage than most people think and the cause is organic. This was the main rationale behind the Roper V. Simmons Supreme Court decision in 2005 that eliminated the death penalty for those who committed crimes while 16 or 17.
I talked about this in a very vague way so as not to sway other jurors before any expert testimony. I even mentioned Roper V. Simmons while explaining how I could not disregard my own knowledge. A juror isn't supposed to consider potential penalties but my knowledge, outside of expert witness testimony, would have influenced my decision to convict for either 2nd degree murder or manslaughter. This isn't absolute as Sapolski himself has noted that criminal behavior can be the result of a "broken machine", with no chance of resolving itself.
I was not terribly interested in serving on a jury for 2 months but I was also being very honest. If I had really wanted to serve on the jury I wouldn't have mentioned any of this. The prosecutor stopped calling on me after that including questions made to the entire group of prospective jurors. I was absolutely the first one dismissed out of that group and left the courtroom, relieved, but also deeply disillusioned about the jury system. I am still disillusioned and the decision for this patent case only reinforces that.
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