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Ministry of Crime

Sunday 17 June 2012

Police study Murdoch's 'secret' iPhone account

Scotland Yard detectives investigating phone hacking at the News of the World are examining the call records of four newly discovered Apple iPhones issued to senior executives at News International. The smartphones, issued by O2 in a contract beginning in October 2009, included a handset given to James Murdoch, the former chairman and chief executive of News Corp Europe. Despite billing for the phones totalling nearly £12,000 between June last year and May this year, neither Operation Weeting nor the Leveson Inquiry was told of the existence of the smartphone accounts. Phone text messages and emails sent and received by News International executives and advisers have provided some of the most controversial evidence heard by Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry into press practices and ethics. It had been assumed that the email and text traffic from key News International executives was centred solely on their company BlackBerry account with Vodafone. In accounts seen by The Independent, issued through 02's corporate customer services at Arlington Business Park in Leeds, Mr Murdoch's iPhone account is listed as "active". Mr Murdoch is said to have told 02 that he specifically wanted a "white iPhone" when the smartphone was issued to him in the summer of 2009. Katie Vanneck-Smith, listed as News International's chief marketing officer, also has an active account. Two other NI executive numbers are described as disconnected. Between June last year – just before The Guardian revealed in July that the mobile phone of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler had been hacked into – and the beginning of the Leveson Inquiry in November, the NI iPhone accounts were billed for £9,650. Last night, Labour MP Tom Watson said people would be "shocked" to learn that the smartphones had been issued to key NI executives, while the company's disclosures focused only on the BlackBerry Vodafone accounts. Mr Watson said he hoped that News Corp's Management and Standards Committee, which is responsible for all matters relating to phone hacking, would enforce its own promise of full transparency and appropriate disclosure, by revealing all the data and logs held on the discovered phones to both the police and the Leveson Inquiry. Last night, a spokeswoman for News International, said: "Mr Murdoch fully co-operated with the Leveson Inquiry. It is ridiculous to suggest that James Murdoch keeps or kept a 'secret phone'." Meanwhile sources close to the Leveson Inquiry have denied that Lord Justice Leveson threatened to quit his judicial investigation following comments made in February by Michael Gove. The Education Secretary told a gathering of political journalists that the inquiry into press ethics and practices was creating a "chilling atmosphere" towards press freedom. During Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons the day after Mr Gove's lobby speech, David Cameron appeared to back his cabinet colleague's view. Concern that Mr Gove might be the Prime Minister's advance messenger prompted Lord Justice Leveson to call the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Jeremy Heywood. Whitehall sources say Lord Justice Leveson wanted to learn directly from Mr Cameron whether his inquiry was wasting public money on an ultimately futile exercise or whether his initial remit stood. Although the reassurances from No 10 took two days to arrive, sources claim there was no threat from the judge to resign from his own inquiry.

Monday 11 June 2012

shooting a cop dead is now legal in the state of Indiana.

Governor Mitch Daniels, a Republican, has authorized changes to a 2006 legislation that legalizes the use of deadly force on a public servant — including an officer of the law — in cases of “unlawful intrusion.” Proponents of both the Second and Fourth Amendments — those that allow for the ownership of firearms and the security against unlawful searches, respectively — are celebrating the update by saying it ensures that residents are protected from authorities that abuse the powers of the badge. Others, however, fear that the alleged threat of a police state emergence will be replaced by an all-out warzone in Indiana. Under the latest changes of the so-called Castle Doctrine, state lawmakers agree “people have a right to defend themselves and third parties from physical harm and crime.” Rather than excluding officers of the law, however, any public servant is now subject to be met with deadly force if they unlawfully enter private property without clear justification. “In enacting this section, the general assembly finds and declares that it is the policy of this state to recognize the unique character of a citizen's home and to ensure that a citizen feels secure in his or her own home against unlawful intrusion by another individual or a public servant,” reads the legislation. Although critics have been quick to condemn the law for opening the door for assaults on police officers, supporters say that it is necessary to implement the ideals brought by America’s forefathers. Especially, argue some, since the Indiana Supreme Court almost eliminated the Fourth Amendment entirely last year. During the 2011 case of Barnes v. State of Indiana, the court ruled that a man who assaulted an officer dispatched to his house had broken the law before there was “no right to reasonably resist unlawful entry by police officers.” In turn, the National Rifle Association lobbied for an amendment to the Castle Doctrine to ensure that residents were protected from officers that abuse the law to grant themselves entry into private space. “There are bad legislators,” the law’s author, State Senator R. Michael Young (R) tells Bloomberg News. “There are bad clergy, bad doctors, bad teachers, and it’s these officers that we’re concerned about that when they act outside their scope and duty that the individual ought to have a right to protect themselves.” Governor Daniels agrees with the senator in a statement offered through his office, and notes that the law is only being established to cover rare incidents of police abuse that can escape the system without reprimand for officers or other persons that break the law to gain entry. “In the real world, there will almost never be a situation in which these extremely narrow conditions are met,” Daniels says. “This law is not an invitation to use violence or force against law enforcement officers.” Officers in Indiana aren’t necessarily on the same page, though. “If I pull over a car and I walk up to it and the guy shoots me, he’s going to say, ‘Well, he was trying to illegally enter my property,’” Sergeant Joseph Hubbard tells Bloomberg. “Somebody is going get away with killing a cop because of this law.” “It’s just a recipe for disaster,” Indiana State Fraternal Order of Police President Tim Downs adds. “It just puts a bounty on our heads.”

Thursday 7 June 2012

Cambodia and Ecstasy Illegal factories in the deep jungle forests of Cambodia

Cambodia and Ecstasy Illegal factories in the deep jungle forests of Cambodia are increasingly important in the illicit production of precursor chemicals used to manufacture MDMA or ecstasy. The critically rare tree, Mreah Prew Phnom, contains relatively high levels of the safrole oil which is used in ecstasy manufacture. Although safrole oil has many legal applications such as for insecticides, cosmetics and fragrances, the Cambodian Government took steps to ban the use of the trees in 2004 as numbers were dwindling and illegal trade was increasing. As with other illegal drug manufacturing such as cocaine or opium, farmers, landholders, workers and manufacturers who are involved in the extraction of safrole oil consider the risks outweigh the potential rewards that can be made from being involved in the drug trade. Cambodia is one of Asia’s poorest nations with up to 26 percent of the population earning less than US$1.25 per day which is considered the international poverty line. Many rural farmers struggle with poverty, environmental disasters such as floods or droughts, increasing costs of produce and family needs. The lure of making enough money to support their family is difficult to resist. Despite laws protecting the mreah prew phnom tree, the Cambodian government has discovered a number of illegal factories in the country. In 2009, the Cambodian Government confiscated 33 tonnes of sassafras oil which was enough to be made into 245 million ecstasy tablets. Ecstasy aka MDMA Ecstasy, or MDMA, is a powerful psychoactive drug with hallucinogenic and stimulative properties. 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) is a white crystalline salt that produces feelings of euphoria, intimacy, self confidence and peacefulness. This chemical is produced through a complex processing of a number of substances which include safrole oil to make the powerful drug, MDMA. MDMA is one chemical that may be present in the street drug, ecstasy. On average, an ecstasy tablet will only contain 10 percent MDMA and some research suggests that less than 15 percent of ecstasy tablets contain MDMA as the sole active ingredient. Typically, ecstasy is made up of a mixture of MDMA, amphetamines, PCP, ketamine or methamphetamine plus binder ingredients such as chalk and glucose. The 2010 National Survey on Drug Use and Health in the United States estimated that 15.9 million people had taken ecstasy in their lifetime, with nearly 700,000 in the month prior to the survey. Ecstasy can range in potency, reactions, size, color and shape. Ecstasy is a popular drug among clubbers and young people who take the drug recreationally to enhance the experience of clubbing and dance music. Ecstasy is usually taken orally though some people inhale, inject or take it in suppository form MDMA has been dubbed an empathogen; a drug that encourages empathy. Users of MDMA report feelings of empathetic understanding, profound feelings of ease, calmness, loving and meditative. These effects can be invaluable in psychotherapy where sensitive, negative and painful memories are explored. Prior to the drug being listed as a schedule 1 drug, MDMA was successfully used by therapists and psychiatrists to treat patients who suffered from a range of conditions including depression, phobias, post-traumatic stress and anxiety. Environmental Destruction Due to Ecstasy Manufacturing Safrole extraction is the cause of significant destruction of sensitive natural environments in Cambodia. The sassafras trees are cut down to get to the roots that contain large amounts of safrole. Many of the illegal safrole oil distilleries are located in the Phnom Samkos Wildlife Sanctuary within the Cardamon Mountains. This is home to the aromatic tree known as Mreah Prew Phnom or Cinnamomum Parthenoxylon. This species is incredibly rare throughout Cambodia and on the critically endangered list in Vietnam. The Cardamon Mountains in South Western Cambodia is the site of much of the safrole production. This region is dense tropical rainforest that is relatively isolated but considered a very important ecological site. The region has not been extensively explored but is known to have a large number of wildlife. Up to 62 animals and 17 tree species are on the globally threatened list. The Cardamon Mountains includes the largest population of Asian elephants, Indochinese tigers, clouded leopard, Malayan sun bear and pilated gibbon. The rivers that are in the region are home to both Irrawaddy and Humpback, very rare Siamese crocodiles and the nearly extinct batagur baska, or the royal turtle. Manufacturers require four substantial mreah prew phnom trees to make one 40-gallon barrel of safrole oil. In addition to these trees, others are needed for fuel and housing for the workers. They may also rely on poaching wild animals such as wild cats, birds, monkeys, snakes and other mammals for food or to subsidise their incomes. The roots of the mreah prew phnom are shredded and boiled to extract the oil which is then distilled over heat for up to 12 hours. To heat the roots to boil, large amounts of forest wood is required and increasing mountain regions are being stripped of trees. Many of the sites are ad-hoc laboratories that leave toxic sites and damage the delicate ecosystems. Traditionally, safrole oil was used in remedies but on a much smaller scale. The increase in manufacture has contributed to massive deforestation of areas and erosion which is causing other natural disasters such as droughts and flooding.

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