Thursday, December 26

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Facebook bans Louis Farrakhan, Alex Jones for hate speech

The social media company also bans Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer. This combination of file photo shows Louis Farrakhan and conspiracy theorist Alex Jones [Files: AP Photo] Facebook has banned right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan and other far-right figures, saying they violated its ban against hate and violence. The company said on Thursday that it has also banned right-wing leaders Paul Nehlen, Milo Yiannopoulos, Paul Joseph Watson and Laura Loomer, along with Jones's site, Infowars. The latest bans apply to both Facebook's main service and to Instagram and extend to fan pages and other related accounts. Facebook previously suspended Jones from its flagship service temporar...
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U.S. Citizen Pleads Guilty for Leading $2 Million Counterfeit Currency Operation in Uganda

A United States national who is also the son in law of an ex-African dictator, was found guilty for his role in an international currency operation headquartered in the Republic of Uganda. The sentencing is scheduled for this summer and the American is currently facing 45 years behind bars, a fine of $1 million or both. Son of Missionaries Guilty for an International Criminal Operation 31-year-old Ryan Andrew Gustafson is an American citizen, son of missionaries and married to the granddaughter of Idi Amin, dictator of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Gustafson is also known to law enforcement by several other aliases such as WillyClock and Jack Farrel. The initial counterfeit currency operation began in Uganda, where Gustafson manufactured and distributed false Federal Reserve Notes. For...
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Drugs On Social Media vs. The Dark Web

The growth of advanced technology has gone hand in hand with the advancement of organized drug networks. Throughout history, drug syndicates have always relied on physical addresses to conduct business across numerous jurisdictions. The fact that these organizations relied on the already-existing geographical and legal boundaries meant that they were particularly exposed to a host of limitations. Low-level drug traders were categorized according to individual suburban establishments or cities that provided their needed demands—the tangibility of persons, spaces and areas was a key characteristic of such drug syndicates. Today, new internet developments have given rise to the establishment of e-commerce websites that have converted traditional “brick-and-mortar” models to a vast virtual...
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Lawsuit Notice Blames Tor Project & Postal Companies for Teen’s Fatal Overdose

A 2018 case involving darknet-sourced drugs in Park City, Utah has taken a new turn as a new lawsuit notice states its intent to levy responsibility to several parties if the case goes to trial. Park City residents James and Deborah Seaver first filed a wrongful death lawsuit in September directed towards the Tor Project, two postal companies and the estate of the late Alexandre Cazes, founder of AlphaBay. These parties, they claim, are held liable for the death of their son, Grant Seaver, who died in 2016 of a drug overdose involving U-47700. Seaver’s friend, Ryan Ainsworth, died two days later after ingesting the same substance. The pair had apparently ordered a supply of U-47700 from the dark web. An investigation into their deaths led to the implication of two other local teenagers...
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Georgia Couple Arrested for Allegedly Distributing Fentanyl on the Dark Web

Around 50,000 pills containing fentanyl were recently seized by a local task force in Cherokee County, Georgia in a major drug bust. The operation involved the arrest of a couple who authorities believe were pressing and distributing the pills from their home in Woodstock. Frederick Michelsen, 35, together with Elizabeth Ashley Michelsen, 28, were apprehended for their alleged role in a drug operation on the dark web. The Cherokee Country Sheriff’s Office said that agents found a pound of marijuana, 14 grams of heroin, 50,000 pills assumed to contain fentanyl and Xanax, and an ounce of cocaine. Month-Long Investigation Members of the Cherokee Multi-Agency Narcotics Squad were able to get trustworthy information that the Michelsens were involved in the manufacturing and distribution...
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Tattoo Business Owner Arrested for Underground Heroin Business

The owner of a tattoo business in Chandler was arrested for allegedly being connected to an illicit dark web drug business. According to the FBI, Jason Arnold conducted his legitimate business known as Damaged Ink Tattoo and Body Piercing on the ground floor of a building next to 4913 S Alma School Road and 2130 W Chandler Boulevard Road. A secret underground opening led to a room where he ran an illegitimate drug business. Arnold has, until now, maintained a clean record with his neighbouring business managers who describe him as someone kind, selfless and who is ready to help them if the need arises. Neighbouring workers reported that in April 2017, he hosted a fundraiser to cover for damages that occurred at the next-door barber shop after a shootout. This happened after a certain...
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Pair in Connecticut Sentenced for Selling Counterfeit Xanax & Steroids on the Dark Web

Jason Chen, a 34-year-old man in Norwich, Connecticut, pleaded guilty in a Hartford district court and received three years of probation for his position in scheming to manufacture fake Xanax pills and anabolic steroids, and use the dark web to sell the controlled substances. Furthermore, Chen likewise is to serve the initial three months of the judge’s ruling in house arrest. The fake Xanax pills and anabolic steroids were sold in AlphaBay, a dark web marketplace that was later seized in 2017. William Fusco, 34, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also pleaded guilty to his role in the operation and was sentenced to 20 months in prison with three years of supervised release. Manufacturing Fake Xanax & Steroids According to the Department of Justice, Fusco planned to have the chemicals n...
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So This Is How White Privilege Goes to College

The recent college cheating scandal surprises no one. The super rich have long relied on “legacy admissions” to get them into their elite college of choice. There are those who like to think the United States is a meritocracy, a place where all you need to do to get ahead is to be able and to work hard. Talent plus effort equals success. It’s bunk, of course, as anyone who grows up and looks around would tell you. Wealth and White privilege play an outsize role in determining who comes out on top. And if “on top” means more money, more opportunity, and more power, that trend has only become more pronounced in recent years. The rich continue to grow richer at the expense of everyone else. Which brings us to the unsurprising college admissions scandal this week, in which 5...
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High School Student Used the Dark Web to Research on How to Make a Bomb
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High School Student Used the Dark Web to Research on How to Make a Bomb

One of two high school students accused of plotting an attack on a Jacksonville private school campus reportedly used the dark web to research how to make a bomb. The two boys, who have since been expelled from the school, were caught up in a heated argument that resulted in a fight ending with both being hospitalized. After the fight, the school authorities looked into the teens’ earlier activities to learn what had caused the quarrel. The administration’s investigations resulted in the discovery of past conversations between the boys that indicated they had intentions of creating violence on the school campus. 17 year old Grant Shirley from Port St. Lucie and 15 year old Matthew Guey from Huston were resident students at the San Jose Campus of the Bolles School. Shirley and Guey were ...
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3 Things Schools Should Teach About America’s History of White Supremacy

Lesson plans tend to gloss over the U.S.’s deeply entrenched institutional racism. Here’s what should be added. When it comes to how deeply embedded racism is in American society, Black and White people have sharply different views. For instance, 70 percent of White people believe that individual discrimination is a bigger problem than discrimination built into the nation’s laws and institutions. Only 48 percent of Black people believe that is true. Many Black and White people also fail to see eye to eye regarding the use of blackface, which dominated the news cycle during the early part of 2019 because of a series of scandals that involve the highest elected leaders in Virginia, where I teach. The donning of blackface happens throughout the country, particularly on ...
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