This is an interview with Captain Mark Richards conducted at Vacaville Prison on November 2, 2013. This is the first time in the over 30 years of his incarceration, that any journalist has interviewed him. I was not allowed to document this face-to-face interview with camera or any recording devices or to take notes during the interview. Everything you are about to see has been recalled from memory immediately after my meeting with him. Just prior to the interview I spoke briefly with his wife Jo Ann who also was present during the interview.
Author: mediahitman
An Icelandic MP says Britain spied on Iceland while wrestling to rescue its citizens’ cash from collapsed Icelandic banks after the financial crisis. Birgitta Jónsdóttir claims she received a tip-off from WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. Jónsdóttir, who represents Iceland’s Pirate Party, maintains that the UK’s intelligence agencies systematically intercepted messages sent by Icelandic negotiators when Britain tried to recover savers’ cash held in the country’s banks that went bankrupt.
Alan Rusbridger, the editor of the Guardian, is to be questioned by British lawmakers next month over the publishing of intelligence files leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, after UK spy chiefs warned that it had damaged national security. “Alan has been invited to give evidence to the home affairs select committee and looks forward to appearing next month,” a Guardian spokesman said.
Two Navy admirals have been placed on temporary leave after their access to classified materials was suspended. This comes as part of a growing investigation into allegations that Naval officers illegally accepted bribes from a military contractor. Vice Adm. Ted Branch, director of naval intelligence, and Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, director of intelligence operations, were reported on Friday to be part of an ongoing probe after they were each accused of having illegal and improper relations with Leonard Francis, CEO of Glenn Defense Marine.
Russian cosmonauts have taken the Olympic torch for the Sochi 2014 Winter Games out for its first-ever spacewalk on Saturday. The “cosmic” torch will be the one to light the Olympic flame in February. Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazansky have taken the Olympics’ main symbol into space outside the station, handing it to one another in an imitation of a more down-to-earth torch relay.
By Judi McLeod Aloha Hawaiians! If you see what you think are soldiers from the Communist Peoples Republic of China Army wandering about in your neck of the woods Tuesday through Thursday next week, your imagination is not playing tricks on you. For the first time in history the U.S. Army will host the Communist Peoples Republic of China’s Army on American soil Nov. 12-14, 2013.
The White House is reportedly considering a structural change that would task two separate officials with overseeing the United States National Security Agency and the US Cyber Command when the man currently in charge of both operations retires next year. Gen. Keith Alexander has been the top ranking NSA official since he was appointed director of the controversial intelligence agency in 2005, and five years later he landed the job of heading the newly-created USCYBERCOM upon the Defense Department’s decision to launch a unit in charge of the military’s offensive and defensive hacking campaigns.
An Australian bitcoin bank holding over US$1 million of the crypto-currency has been hacked, leaving an unknown number of users with nothing – one of the largest thefts in the currency’s four-year history. The incident took place on October 26, when the bank was hacked, with 4,100 bitcoins valued at $1.3 million stolen, the service’s operator only known as ‘Tradefortress’ said.
A sect of the Mormon Church is poised to become the largest private landowner in the state of Florida after spending more than half a billion dollars to purchase hundreds of thousands of acres across three counties. Representatives from the Church of Latter Day Saints announced Thursday they had bought most of the real estate owned by the St. Joe development company for $565 million. Municipalities in Bay, Calhoun, Franklin, Gadsden, Gulf, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty and Wakulla counties are included in the nearly 400,000 acres of land.
by Michael Lotfi Citizens in counties around the country have taken their cases to court when it comes to red light cameras. More often than not, the cameras are found to be unconstitutional. When a driver currently gets a ticket from a red light camera in the city of Murfreesboro, TN, the tickets warn that if payment is not received then the driver registered to that vehicle will lose their license, be reported to the credit bureau, which will negatively impact their credit, and have points issued against their insurance.
An EU-funded research group is working on a project that could allow police to track bomb-making labs from below. The $6 million project involves sensors installed in sewers that detect chemical waste dumped in the production of explosives. Dubbed EMPHASIS, the project of the Swedish Defense Research Agency (FOI) will enable police to prevent terrorist acts carried out with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
Germans’ confidence in the US as a trustworthy partner has plummeted following the NSA scandal, while Edward Snowden, who exposed America’s spying on its allies, is considered a hero by 60 percent of the population, a poll shows. The recent chain of scandals over US global snooping has seriously damaged the opinion of Germans about their longtime ally.
By Michele Berger Scientists in 2011 discovered that reindeer have a built-in AC system to keep from overheating in their natural fur coats. Recently, researchers found these mammals also have a unique way of coping with extremely dark Arctic winters: Their eyes change color. During the sunny time in their habitat, reindeer have yellowish-gold eyes, but during the cold season, the eyes turn a noticeable hue of blue, a new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B reported.
By Mark Godsey Today in Texas, former prosecutor and judge Ken Anderson pled guilty to intentionally failing to disclose evidence in a case that sent an innocent man, Michael Morton, to prison for the murder of his wife. When trying the case as a prosecutor, Anderson possessed evidence that may have cleared Morton, including statements from the crime’s only eyewitness that Morton wasn’t the culprit. Anderson sat on this evidence, and then watched Morton get convicted.
Surrounded by about 100 police officers in riot gear and a helicopter circling above, more than 50 Walmart workers and supporters were arrested in downtown Los Angeles Thursday night as they sat in the street protesting what they called the retailer’s “poverty wages.” Organizers said it was the largest single act of civil disobedience in Walmart’s 50-year history. The 54 arrestees
By Joe Coscarelli NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, who everyone knows is on his way out the door, has requested a team of six NYPD detectives to keep him and his family safe when he transitions back into civilian life. According to DNA Info, each man would make about $120,000 a year and the taxpayers would pick up the bill. (If approved, the arrangement will be reconsidered in six months.)
By Katie Rucke Though Americans commonly believe law enforcement’s role in society is to protect them and ensure peace and stability within the community, the sad reality is that police departments are often more focused on enforcing laws, making arrests and issuing citations. As a result of this as well as an increase in militarized policing techniques
By Radley Balko Today’s story is part drug war, part police indifference and callousness, part police cover-up. It comes by way of a lawsuit filed by the family of Michael Saffioti. Saffioti failed to make a court date on a misdemeanor charge for pot possession. In July of last year, he surrendered himself to Snohomish County, Washington authorities, who promptly jailed him. (The streets of Snohomish County were a little safer that day.)