Published

Former Navy Contractor Guilty of Bribery Scam

Originally published on August 15, 2014, at NationofChange.org

Seven men have been arrested in connection to a bribery scheme to collect roughly $5.5 million in government contracts. On August 12, Scott Miserendino, Sr. became the sixth man to plead guilty for his role in the crime. The former U.S. Navy contractor, Miserendino, pleaded guilty in federal court to accepting bribes and conspiring to commit bribery.

Scott Miserendino joined the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command in 1994. With a fleet of 110 ships posted around the world, the defense contractor is the leading provider of transportation for the U.S. Navy. On January 7, 1998, the Military Sealift Command published a press release awarding Miserendino for his cost-saving strategies. The press release has since been removed from the site.

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Enforce Stronger Laws Against Animal Cruelty

Originally published on August 14, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Elio Di Rupo, Prime Minister of Belgium

Goal: Create stronger laws to deter animal cruelty in Belgium

Instead of enforcing laws with tough sentences against purveyors of animal cruelty, the Belgian government chooses to turn a blind eye to animal abuse. Ignoring the problem will not make violence against animals simply disappear. The Belgian government must create and enforce laws protecting animals from physical abuse and mistreatment.

Numerous cases of malnourished, neglected, and abused animals have been reported with minimal punishment given to the perpetrators. Instead of deterring people who commit animal abuse, lenient sentences allow them to become repeat offenders with little to no consequence for their actions. Because these animals cannot stand up for themselves, they need us to protect them from harm.

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Demand an End to Rampant Police Brutality

Originally published on August 14, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, President of Yemen

Goal: Prosecute security officials guilty of torture, unlawful killings, and other human rights abuses

The government of Yemen has become complicit with human rights abuses taking place by law enforcement officials. Ignoring reports of arbitrary arrests, torture, and illegal executions, the government of Yemen refuses to investigate the perpetrators of these crimes. Such widespread corruption will only lead to further abuses if nobody takes action now.

Numerous reports exist documenting security forces committing unlawful killings. Government forces often utilize excessive force when dealing with protests or demonstrations. Innocent civilian bystanders have been killed as security forces attempt to suppress free speech.

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Save Zoo Animals from Severe Cruelty and Neglect

Originally published on August 13, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand

Goal: Improve the miserable living conditions of animals in Thailand’s Phuket Zoo

Animals in captivity at the Phuket Zoo in Thailand are barely surviving due to decrepit living conditions. Zoo officials have refused to address the fact that their animals live in filthy cages with dirty drinking water. Many of the animals appear malnourished and suffer from untreated wounds. Demand that the animals trapped in this zoo receive protection against further cruelty and mistreatment.

Phuket Zoo is most famous for allowing tourists to take pictures with a heavily sedated tiger that has been chained to the floor. Sadly, the mistreated tiger is one of the few animals allowed to rest in the shade all day. Most of the zoo’s inadequate enclosures do not provide the animals with protection from the elements, completely depriving overheated animals of shade and forcing them to remain uncovered during rain or thunder. With little food and no fresh water, most of the animals appear sickly and lethargic.

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Stop the Torture of Political Prisoners

Originally published on August 13, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Abdullah bin Abdulaziz, King of Saudi Arabia

Goal: End the heinous practice of torture and human rights abuses in Saudi prisons

Although the law prohibits the use of torture, many prisoners in Saudi Arabia are regularly beaten and humiliated by their jailors. Imposing degrading punishments on their prisoners, government officials in Saudi Arabia consistently break both Sharia law and statutory law by continuing these practices well into the 21st century. Instead of falsely claiming that inflicting torture prevents terrorist attacks, government officials simply torture prisoners to flaunt their abusive power.

According to the U.S. State Department, the Saudi Arabian government is guilty of kidnapping, torture, human trafficking, illegally detaining citizens without charges, and murder. By regularly committing human rights abuses against its own people, the Saudi Arabian government exerts its power through absolute fear and intimidation. Human rights activists are often secretly arrested without committing a crime, and then are imprisoned and tortured.

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FBI Investigates Rioting After Cop Kills Unarmed Teen

Originally published on August 12, 2014, at NationofChange.org

The FBI has joined the investigation into the police shooting of an unarmed teenager that incited rioting and looting this weekend in Ferguson, Missouri. As incidents of police brutality continue to escalate in violence, the residents of Ferguson retaliated by vandalizing stores and police cars while pelting officers with rocks, bricks, and bottles.

On the afternoon of August 9, Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson were walking in the street when a police car pulled up alongside them. According to the Ferguson Police Department, Brown shoved the officer as he was exiting the vehicle. A struggle ensued inside the car over the officer’s firearm. The officer fired a single shot, and Brown fled from the vehicle. Brown was roughly 35-feet from the police car when the officer fired multiple shots killing Brown, who was unarmed.

But Dorian Johnson and multiple witnesses disagree with the official version of events. According to Johnson, the officer pulled up next to them and ordered, “Get the eff onto the sidewalk.”

After exchanging a few words, the officer extended his arm out of the window and grabbed Brown’s neck. The officer allegedly choked Brown while pulling the 18-year-old into the car. As Brown managed to escape, the cop exited the vehicle and fired.

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Stop Fur Farming

Originally published on August 12, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Prime Minister of Denmark

Goal: Ban the brutal industry of fur farming in Denmark

Denmark continues to practice fur farming in its country even though it has been banned in many other countries for being too cruel to animals. In Denmark, 14 million minks are killed each year for their fur. This animal cruelty is no longer necessary for our survival and must come to an end.

The Netherlands, Croatia, Austria, and the U.K. have all banned fur farming in their countries. Norway and Sweden are also in the process of banning fur farms because of their cruelty to innocent animals. We are beyond the point where we need to slaughter animals and skin them for our survival.

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Don’t Weaken Protections for Indigenous People and the Environment

Originally published on August 12, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank

Goal: Reverse the World Bank’s decision to provide less protection to indigenous people and our ecosystems

The World Bank is weakening regulations that protect the environment and indigenous people in developing countries. By deregulating mining and logging corporations, the World Bank is endangering the lives of the residents and the ecosystems in which they inhabit. Do not allow corporate greed to trample the lives of innocent people.

A leaked draft of the World Bank’s new policies revealed that mining and logging corporations no longer have to consult with the indigenous people before taking over their land. The residents who are not violently removed will be subject to high levels of pollution in their air, water, and food. By stepping away and allowing the governments and corporations to make up their own rules, the World Bank has opened the door to historical human rights and environmental abuse.

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7th Suspect Indicted for Border Patrol Agent’s Murder

Originally published on August 10, 2014, at NationofChange.org

The seventh man charged with the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson. Rosario Rafael Burboa-Alvarez has been accused of assembling the crew responsible for robbing drug smugglers and killing a federal agent. Two of the guns found at the crime scene were identified as weapons involved in the ATF’s Operation Fast and Furious.

Already incarcerated in Tucson for immigration-related crimes and conducting surveillance on a target for drug robbers, Burboa-Alvarez now faces federal charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, robbery, and attempted robbery in connection with Agent Terry’s death. Although Burboa-Alvarez was not present during the shootout, he allegedly assembled the crew of armed thieves preying on marijuana smugglers along the border.

On the evening of December 14, 2010, Border Patrol Agents William Castano, Gabriel Fragoza, Timothy Keller, and Brian Terry encountered a group of five suspected illegal immigrants in a rural area north of Nogales, Arizona. According to an FBI report, a gunfight ensued in which the federal agents switched from nonlethal to lethal rounds after the suspects opened fire with assault weapons. Agent Terry was killed in the shootout.

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Release Peaceful Activists from Wrongful Imprisonment

Originally published on August 9, 2014, at ForceChange.com

Target: Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India

Goal: Free peaceful activists who were trying to protect forest from coal mining

Two Greenpeace activists have been arrested in India while protecting the Mahan forest from coal mining. Government officials detained two of the peaceful activists while confiscating several pieces of communication and power equipment. The activists have not been charged with an official crime, yet remain in detention.

In collusion with the coal mining industry, local government sent police officers into the forest of Mahan to arrest two Greenpeace activists working with local communities. Without a search warrant, the police entered their house at midnight and arrested the activists. The arresting officers accused them of being a general nuisance and disrupting the Mahan villagers.

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