Synder may result in fewer prosecutions of state and local officials under federal law for gratuities After an official act. When cases are brought, the focus will necessarily be on proving that there was an agreement to provide a gift before the official act.

18 U.S. Code § 666 - Theft or bribery concerning programs receiving Federal funds

Bribe or Gratuity? New Supreme Court Ruling Limits Anti-Corruption Law July 25, 2024

Over the last few years, the U.S. Supreme Court has limited the scope of anti-corruption laws, arguably making it harder to convict public officials. The recent decision in Snyder v. United States continues this trend, addressing a federal law prohibiting state and local officials from accepting bribes. The Court found that the payment made to the official was a gratuity, which was not prohibited. How this may impact other cases remains to be seen.

Facts of the Case

The mayor of Portage, Indiana, was convicted of bribery under 18 U.S. Code § 666, which prohibits corruptly soliciting, demanding, or accepting anything of value from any person with the intention of being influenced or rewarded. Synder had received a $13,000 check from a trucking company awarded two city contracts the previous year. He claimed it was payment for consulting services he provided, but that was contradicted by other evidence. On appeal, Snyder argued that § 666 only criminalizes bribes, not gratuities, and the prosecution failed to show an agreement was made in exchange for the payment before the contract was awarded.

The Supreme Court Decision

The Court found that § 666 prohibits bribes made or agreed to before an official act but not gratuities given after the official act with no agreement beforehand. Part of the rationale was that § 666 didn’t address gratuities given to state and local officials; it only covered bribes. In a similar law that prohibits bribery of federal officials, a separate section applies to gratuities. In addition, gratuities given to state and local officials are typically regulated under state laws. Reading § 666 to apply to gratuities would subject those officials to a new federal regulatory regime. The federal law could also potentially expose them to high penalties for even small gifts.

Impact of the Decision

Synder may result in fewer prosecutions of state and local officials under federal law for gratuities After an official act. When cases are brought, the focus will necessarily be on proving that there was an agreement to provide a gift before the official act.

Because of the danger of having a gift perceived as an illegal bribe, individuals and businesses considering giving a gratuity should always take care to comply with federal, state, and local laws. That includes adopting clear policies and providing training to any employees interacting with government officials to avoid any appearance of bribery.

State and local officials must also stay abreast of the restrictions that apply to them regarding accepting gifts to avoid legal problems.

If you have questions about how the Synder case may apply to your situation, contact us for a consultation.

Police officers have repeatedly been accused of using Flock Safety’s license-plate surveillance network for personal reasons. Now Flock says new safeguards will make that abuse harder—but would they have stopped the cases we already know about?

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Haines City Police Officer Christopher Goodson allegedly searched for his estranged wife’s vehicle 717 times using Flock. Former Pasadena Police Sgt. Michael Palitz was accused of using the system to track a female coworker before resigning. Similar concerns have emerged elsewhere, including the previously reported Coweta County audit.

Flock has announced new safeguards, including:

🧾 Required case codes 🤖 Automated auditing and proactive lockouts ⏳ Seven-day default data retention 🔐 New data-sharing controls

But requiring an officer to enter a justification is not the same as verifying it. Shorter retention does not prevent current monitoring. Sharing controls do not necessarily stop an insider who already has access.

In this story, we test each safeguard against the alleged misuse cases and ask the question Flock’s announcement does not fully answer:

Cross posted from https://lemmy.wtf/post/47568469

Why does becoming your truest self often mean ending up with almost no friends left? In this video, we explore Carl Jung's rarest personality type — the introverted intuitive — and why solitude isn't a failure of connection, but the final stage of psychological individuation. Learn why the people who seem "distant" or "hard to reach" may actually be the most whole.

If this resonates with a season you're living through right now, leave a comment below — and subscribe for more deep dives into Jungian psychology, the shadow self, and the path to becoming who you truly are.

Why does becoming your truest self often mean ending up with almost no friends left? In this video, we explore Carl Jung's rarest personality type — the introverted intuitive — and why solitude isn't a failure of connection, but the final stage of psychological individuation. Learn why the people who seem "distant" or "hard to reach" may actually be the most whole.

If this resonates with a season you're living through right now, leave a comment below — and subscribe for more deep dives into Jungian psychology, the shadow self, and the path to becoming who you truly are.

American Culture lacks vigor and vitality. Every realm of creative activity is sterile producing nothing but poor grade material meant for rapid consumption and even quicker removal from one’s system.

In this video I discuss why America lacks the ingredients necessary to birth a truly explorative, multi-layered, fantastically colorful, intellectual and profound culture.

The Milgram Experiment is, in the early 1960s, a series of social psychology experiments that were conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram, who intended to measure the willingness of study participants to obey an authority figure who instructed them to perform acts conflicting with their personal conscience. Participants were led to believe that they were assisting in a fictitious experiment, in which they had to administer electric shocks to a "learner". These fake electric shocks gradually increased to levels that would have been fatal had they been real.

baptism dunk tank?

Cross posted from https://lemmy.blahaj.zone/post/46645870

Cross posted from https://lemmy.wtf/post/47534799

Police union releases new body camera video from Parma PD incedent with 13-year-old

Police union releases new body camera video from Parma PD incedent with 13-year-old

Cross posted from https://lemmy.ca/post/69246170

In this second installment of the series Andy Boreham’s RED CHINA, I take you on an immersive journey through Jinggangshan, the misty mountain stronghold on the Jiangxi-Hunan border famously known as the Cradle of the Chinese Revolution.

WATCH PART ONE HERE: • Shanghai: The Surprising Birthplace of the...

After the failure of urban uprisings in 1927 (see part one, link above), a small band of exhausted revolutionaries retreated into these rugged peaks and dense bamboo forests. Here they established China’s first rural revolutionary base, eventually controlling surrounding counties and supporting half a million people at its peak.

The episode follows Mao’s exact path, visiting key sites including the Octagonal Building—where he wrote lasting party strategies under oil-lamp light—and the former Fourth Red Army headquarters in Ciping.

I experience life as a Red Army soldier: carrying heavy loads up steep trails, attending political classes, and tasting classic dishes like pumpkin soup. Dramatic history comes alive at Huangyangjie, where just 500 defenders held off 5,000 enemy troops using terrain, bamboo spikes, and sheer will.

This episode also explores the land revolution that redistributed farmland to peasants, turning ordinary villagers into the backbone of the movement.

Today, red tourism drives over half of Jinggangshan’s economy, drawing millions who walk the same trails, stay in revolutionary homestays, and keep the Jinggangshan spirit alive.

Military analyst Andrei Martyanov joins former CIA analyst Larry Johnson to examine Russia’s battlefield advances, the transformation of drone warfare and command systems, the widening industrial gap with the United States and what the next five months could bring for Ukraine and NATO.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.wtf/post/46917546

Prescott Flock Cameras | March 26, 2024 Worksession

Piggie says oink oink oink

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A mom called the cops on her 16 year old son because she was allegedly having trouble controlling him. Officers from the Melbourne (Florida) Police Department (my hometown) arrive on scene. They see a kid… One of the cops jumps out of his cruiser, threatens the kid, runs towards him and basically tackles him to the ground. The other cops then pile on. They pull the kid’s arm behind his back, dislocating his elbow. Only after they do this, do the cops bother to identify the kid. As it turns out, they just tackled and injured the wrong kid. So then they start to lie about it. One officer has already resigned. But should there be more?

Cross posted from https://lemmygrad.ml/post/12374718

More revelations about Ukraine’s army have emerged. This time it’s the 225th assault regiment, the 10,000 troop unit whose commander Zelensky awarded the medal Hero of Ukraine. It turns out that the 225th, which so often came into the news for its role in the 2024 Kursk operation or liberating x village, also regularly executes deserters. There are reports it rapes violators of discipline with sticks. Others are beaten to death, or left amidst feces in a ‘pit’. Some commanders say it loses 1,000 men a week. Its commander, Oleg Shiraev, has a long and remarkable history in both ultranationalist and pro-Russian paramilitary groups, as well spending time in jail for extortion and organized crime. He does not dispute the veracity of an audio file in which he orders subordinates to shoot deserters.

Over the past day, some events have transpired indicating that the assault forces, which count 50,000 men in their ranks, may be less privileged under the new commander-in-chief, Mikhailo Drapaty. However, those expecting a total deconstruction of this branch of the army are likely to be disappointed. After all, the western media consumers are just delighted when they hear about all the grand successes achieved by these ‘ultra-motivated’ units.

100s or 1000s

“I am a hero of Ukraine! I put a thousand people under the ground in one week!” - a phrase that was uttered at a banquet of generals and ‘respectable’ individuals.

These are the approximate losses of the 225th assault regiment on one of the fronts.

This was tweeted yesterday by Oleksandr Shirshin, former battalion commander in the 47th brigade. He fought alongside the 225th assault regiment during Ukrainian attempts to gain territory in Russia’s Belgorod oblast in early 2025. The counterattacks were entirely fruitless, and Shirshin recently told journalists that assault units often lost 90% of their troops in endless, poorly-planned and unsuccessful offensive operations.

Stories of the massive losses taken by the assault units aren’t new. In late 2025, the prominent (former) commander of the 12th Azov Brigade Bohdan Krotevych complained about how assault units lose far more men than Azov, but are also given far more men:

Officers from various units say that some commanders of these regiments don't hesitate to say things like: 'I'll put 100 in the ground today, and tomorrow they'll give me another 100.’

We learned even more about the methods of the assault forces in a long article by texty .org yesterday. This publication represents the liberal nationalist, western-grant-fed sector of Ukrainian politics. Texty supports Mikhailo Fedorov, the defense minister Zelensky recently fired, and often criticizes Oleksandr Syrsky, who was commander-in-chief until his dismissal last week.

Texty’s new article wasn’t about the now-infamous 425th assault regiment, whose systematic torture and executions were covered recently by Babel, a publication closely allied to Texty. Texty’s article was about the 225th. While the 425th is the largest assault units, with 13,000 troops, the 225th, has around 10,000 troops and 15 battalions under its command.

Killing the deserters

The centrepiece of the article was an audio recording of General Oleg Shiraev, commander of the 225th regiment.

"Commanders, attention. Regarding our own troops, let me remind you: there is no such thing as 'our own.' The only thing that exists is a specific radio request for 'permission to move.' Everything else is the enemy. Anyone who is moving is the enemy. Anyone running from positions—deserters—is also the enemy. Stick to this rule. As for our own men, anyone moving without authorization... And, for fuck's sake, hold the line, because otherwise you could end up retreating all the way to Kyiv. So stop retreating, removed."

Shiraev sent this to subordinate officers during the later phases of Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk oblast, when the Ukrainians were constantly taking losses, ultimately forced to flee in the spring of 2025. Shiraev, as you can see, was never a big fan of retreating.

In his public response to the recording, Shiraev did not dispute the veracity of the file. Instead, he ‘contextualized’ it by claiming that Russian troops often infiltrated Ukrainian lines dressed as civilians or Ukrainian troops. Not many believed his justification.

Just a few hours ago, ex-commander Oleksandr Shirshin of the 47th wrote about his experience of the 225th’s blocking detachments:

Shirshin April 2025. Night.

I was jolted awake by frantic calls over the operations radio.

The 225th was directing our artillery onto a group moving quickly from our positions toward the exit route.

I asked what had happened. I asked whether they were certain it was the enemy. I tried to explain that the enemy could not possibly be moving that confidently, in such a group, at night, in that sector. Everything indicated that they were our own soldiers.

Nothing got through. All I heard were shouting and the continued artillery strikes against the group.

Dawn began to break...

And I saw that the dead were my men, along with soldiers from the 225th.

For a long time I tried to determine whether it had really been a mistake, because that does happen in war, unfortunately. But the more I analyzed and verified the information, the more convinced I became that it had been the deliberate elimination of “retreaters.”

A month and a half after the incident, I received a recording saying:

The term ‘our own’ doesn’t exist.”

Shyriaiev would go on to repeat this principle several more times, in veiled form, during interviews and meetings. And those around him would continue to look the other way—and that has continued to this day.

P.S. After my men were killed, their sergeants and comrades demanded answers and justice—justice that I was unable to provide under those circumstances. The sergeants then had to endure the curses and tears of the families as they tried to tell them the story of their loved one’s “heroic death.”

Texty assembles testimony from a number of veterans of the 225th who confirm that deserters were often shot. Transported to the front under the barrel of a gun, the troops of the 225th were constantly verbally abused and told that any attempts to retreat would lead to their death.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.wtf/post/46553893

Associate Professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University & author of Black Scare Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States, Charisse Burden-Stelly, returns to Bad Faith to discuss the new 100 page State Department report accusing American leftist groups of being part of a "sustained campaign of subversion" against the United States. This new Red-Scare blacklist names Code Pink, the DSA, Hasan Piker, Ben Cohen, Zohran Mamdani, and even Maxine Waters. What does this mean for left movements, & does the liberal response to these accusations, which is largely to distance "Communism" from Scandinavian-style social democracy, help or hurt the cause of the socialist left? We examine a series of Red-Scare articles, including a viral Atlantic Piece titled "The DSA Is a Parasite," along with clips from Jon Stewart, Abdul El-Sayed, & more.

Cross posted from https://lemmy.wtf/post/46553893

Associate Professor of African American Studies at Wayne State University & author of Black Scare Red Scare: Theorizing Capitalist Racism in the United States, Charisse Burden-Stelly, returns to Bad Faith to discuss the new 100 page State Department report accusing American leftist groups of being part of a "sustained campaign of subversion" against the United States. This new Red-Scare blacklist names Code Pink, the DSA, Hasan Piker, Ben Cohen, Zohran Mamdani, and even Maxine Waters. What does this mean for left movements, & does the liberal response to these accusations, which is largely to distance "Communism" from Scandinavian-style social democracy, help or hurt the cause of the socialist left? We examine a series of Red-Scare articles, including a viral Atlantic Piece titled "The DSA Is a Parasite," along with clips from Jon Stewart, Abdul El-Sayed, & more.