#Alcatraz Penitentiary

[xtruss]

Alcatraz Island still draws tourists for its history as a federal penitentiary. But it also has a rich past as little-known military base, erected to guard against foreign invasion. Image Credit: Mbprojekt Maciej Bledowski, iStock

Ground-Penetrating Radar Reveals Military Structures Buried Beneath Alcatraz Penitentiary

Using non-invasive techniques, archaeologists have confirmed the presence of a coastal fortification beneath what was once the prison’s recreation yard.

— By Katherine J. Wu, Published March 4, 2019 | August 02, 2023

Alcatraz might be best known as a popular tourist destination, the site of the former high-security prison that once held Al Capone. But a team of archaeologists has now unveiled new evidence of this San Francisco Bay island’s often overlooked military history.

In the study, published last Thursday in the journal Near Surface Geophysics, researchers used non-invasive technologies to pull back the curtain on a stunningly well-preserved 19th century coastal fortification that lies beneath the ruins of this infamous federal penitentiary. The work confirms that while prison construction in the early 1900s destroyed much of the former military installation, several structures were buried more or less intact, enshrining a critical sliver of Alcatraz’s colorful past.

“This really changes the picture of things,” says study author Timothy de Smet, an archaeologist at Binghamton University. “These remains are so well preserved, and so close to the surface. They weren’t erased from the island—they’re right beneath your feet.”

Study author Timothy de Smet used non-invasive techniques to create a subsurface map of remains of Alcatraz Island's former military fortification. Image Credit: Timothy de Smet, Binghampton University

Prior to the mid-1800s, Alcatraz Island was a barren strip of land capable of supporting little more than a raucous population of seabirds. But in the wake of the California Gold Rush, the United States government looked to the rocky outcrop as a potential military base to protect the newly bustling city from foreign invasion. Over the next several decades, a stone- and brick-based fortification was erected, then rebuilt as earthen structures better equipped to handle erosion. But Alcatraz struggled to keep pace with the rapid changes in artillery during and after the Civil War era, and by the late 1800s, the island’s defenses were essentially obsolete. Military pursuits on Alcatraz were abandoned shortly thereafter.

When the island’s prison was erected around the turn of the 20th century, little physical evidence of its former architecture remained—or so many thought. The new study, led by de Smet, says otherwise. To look beneath the surface, the researchers deployed ground-penetrating radar, which pulses electromagnetic waves into the earth, returning signals that can visualize remains without excavation. The strategy uncovered a labyrinth of subterranean structures, including an earthwork traverse, a kind of defensive trench, running beneath the penitentiary’s former recreation yard.

“Below the Surface, Alcatraz is Still Full of Mysteries”

“This really reinforces what several historians and archaeologists had long suspected,” says study author and Alcatraz historian John Martini. “Up until this point, we had nothing to go on except for a few visible trace remains and maps—and a lot of suspicion.”

In a way, Martini says, the findings reflect just how limited real estate was on Alcatraz, which clocks in at less than 50 acres. “On a small island, there’s only so many places you can build,” he says. “And it’s unlikely they went to the trouble of demolishing all this stuff.”

A 15-inch Rodman cannon and its gun crew, 1869. These were the largest guns mounted on Alcatraz. Image Credit: National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Because they’re both sensitive and non-destructive, techniques like ground-penetrating radar are crucial for these kinds of investigations, and can complement historical records that survived the era, says Jolene Babyak, an Alcatraz historian who was not involved in the study.

With these results in hand, de Smet and his colleagues plan to continue archaeological investigations under Alcatraz. Going forward, only time will tell what this rock will reveal, Martini says. “Below the surface, Alcatraz is still full of mysteries,” he says. “There’s still a whole lot to be learned.”

Soldiers posing in the island’s ordnance yard. A brick Citadel capped the summit of Alcatraz. 1869. Image Credit: National Park Service, Golden Gate National Recreation Area

#NOVA | PBS #Ground-Penetrating Radar #Military Structures #Alcatraz Penitentiary #Non-invasive Techniques #Archaeologists #Coastal Fortification #Tourist Destination #High-Security Prison #Al Capone #San Francisco Bay #Military History #Near Surface Geophysics #Timothy de Smet #Binghamton University #California Gold Rush #Civil War Era

[rabbitcruiser]

The City of San Francisco was incorporated on April 15, 1850.

#Yerba Buena Gardens #Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary #San Francisco #USA #United States Penitentiary Alcatraz Island #Transamerica Pyramid #architecture #Powell Street #Golden Gate Bridge #Chinatown #Telegraph Hill #Coit Tower #incorporated #15 April 1850 #anniversary #US history #original photography #summer 2017 #2012 #cityscape #tourist attraction #landmark #street scene #travel #vacation #Pacific Ocean

[dailyoverview]

Alcatraz is a small island 1.25 miles (2 km) offshore from San Francisco, California. Originally developed in the mid-19th century with a lighthouse and military fortifications, Alcatraz was converted into a federal prison in 1934. Strong currents around the island and cold water temperatures made escape nearly impossible, earning Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary a reputation as one of the most notorious prisons in American history. The prison closed in 1963, and the island is now a major tourist attraction.

37.826667°, -122.422778°

Source imagery: Nearmap

[cartermagazine]

“The subconscious psychology that you use against me… If I lose control will send me to the penitentiary… Such as Alcatraz, or shot up like al Hajj Malik Shabazz… High class get bypassed while my ass gets harassed… And the fuzz treat bruh's like they manhood never was… And if you too powerful, you get bugged like Peter Tosh and Marley was… And my word does nothing against the feds, so my eyes stay red as I chase crazy bald heads, word up!” - Lauryn Hill, “The Beast” CARTER™️ Magazine carter-mag.com #wherehistoryandhiphopmeet #historyandhiphop365 #cartermagazine #carter #laurynhill #hiphop #mc #50thanniversaryofhiphop #staywoke https://www.instagram.com/p/CoCfVM8rQTE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#wherehistoryandhiphopmeet #historyandhiphop365 #cartermagazine #carter #laurynhill #hiphop #mc #50thanniversaryofhiphop #staywoke

[myhauntedsalem]

The Birdman of Alcatraz

Robert Stroud’s life story was first told in a book in 1955 and then in a movie starring Burt Lancaster in 1962 both entitled “Birdman of Alcatraz.” Both portrayed his life story while he served time for murder first at Leavenworth and then later at Alcatraz. Both portrayed him as a ‘kindly’ reformed prisoner who spent years studying bird diseases and how to cure them. But as usual this Hollywood glossy version reflected only small parts of the real truth.

Robert Stroud was far from a ‘model’ prisoner.

In 1909 Stroud shot and killed a man in Juneau, Alaska. Stroud pimped for a prostitute who was cheated by a “john”. This “john” had paid her $2.00 instead of the expected $10.00. Stroud angry, because he didn’t get his usual cut, went to this man’s residence and shot him five times and then took his wallet. He was tried and convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to serve twelve years at McNeil Island prison in Washington State.

Two years later at McNeil Island he stabbed a fellow inmate for being a ‘snitch’. He was tried for assault and six months were tacked on to his sentence. During this time he also viciously attacked a prison hospital orderly. This man had reported him for using intimidation and threats in an attempt to procure narcotics. In 1912 he was transferred to the U.S. Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas—due partially to his ceaseless threats to other inmates.

At Leavenworth, in the spring of 1916 Stroud refused to give a guard his “number’’ which was a minor infraction. The next day a long awaited visit with his brother was cancelled because of this infraction. Stroud during the noon meal that same day in the prison mess hall asked this guard if he had reported him. When the guard refused to respond, Stroud pulled out a concealed knife and stabbed and killed him in front of hundreds of other inmates.

For this crime, he was convicted of first-degree murder. He was to be hanged in 1918. But his mother who had moved to Kansas to be close to him, desperately pleaded for his life. In 1920 President Woodrow Wilson commuted his death sentence to life in prison. The Leavenworth warden because of Stroud’s unpredictable and violent outbursts ordered that he be permanently placed in a segregation unit.

Stroud was an enigma because he had an IQ of 134, but he ate with his fingers, hunched over like an animal. His horrible personal hygiene presented a problem for fellow inmates and prison officials alike. It wasn’t until 1934 that he was formally diagnosed as a psychopath.

While at Leavenworth, he found an injured sparrow in the yard; he took it back to his cell and nursed it back to health. This started his interest in birds. This interest was his one and only redeeming feature.

The warden at Leavenworth used Stroud’s interest in birds to present a model of “progressive rehabilitation” to the public. Shroud played along because he had found a way to raise some money for his mother who was fighting for his release.

Over the next years he raised over 300 canaries, which he sold to visitors at the prison. Stroud’s scientific observations of the canaries he kept did later benefit the research on the canary species. He wrote two books on this subject. He also made a contribution to avian pathology. All of this endeared him to people in the field.

In contrast to this he allowed his birds to fly freely in his cell, which resulted in quite a mess, which he never cleaned up. The massive correspondence he began to receive also became a burden for the prison for each letter coming in and going out had to be screened—a full-time secretary had to be hired just for this purpose.

Prison officials finally fed up with Stroud’s bird business tried to shut him down. He had Delle Mae Jones, a bird researcher in Indiana, which he had corresponded with alert the newspapers and start a petition drive. A 50,000-signature petition was sent to the President. This worked for the prison even gave Stroud an adjourning cell for his birds and his research.

Jones became so close to Stroud; she moved to Kansas and formed a business in 1931 with him where they sold his bird medicines under the name “Stroud’s Specific.” It was widely debated at the time if these remedies were actually effective.

In 1933 Stroud discovered that there were plans to move him to Alcatraz, he knew he would no longer be permitted to keep birds. Stroud however discovered a Kansas law that forbade the transfer of prisoners if they were married in Kansas. He arranged to marry Delle Mae Jones by proxy, which infuriated the prison officials, who would not let him correspond with his new wife.

The first irony here was Stroud was a violent prisoner —this is one reason that the prison officials kept him from the general prison population.

The second irony was Stroud lost his business and birds when it was discovered that some of the equipment he had requested for his lab he had actually used to build a homemade alcohol still.

The third irony is his mother didn’t like Delle—she believed all women were bad for her son. Where once she had been a strong advocate for him, helping with legal battles etc., she now argued against her son’s application for parole, in fact, she became a major obstacle in his attempts to be released. She moved away from Leavenworth and had no further contact with him.

Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz in December of 1942. When he was transferred this note was placed upon the warden’s notebook page with his mug shot. Reason for transfer:

“In view of this man’s homicidal traits and impulsivity dangerous tendencies, he cannot be released in the general population…they feel that it would be possible to confine this man safely at Alcatraz…also wishes to call attention to need for eliminating the insanitary condition…from this man’s bird breeding activities here…Recommend transfer to Alcatraz.”

At Alcatraz, Stroud spent six years in segregation where he did have some contact with other prisoners, but as things worsened he was placed in solitary confinement in an isolated area of the hospital wing for the last eleven years he was at Alcatraz.

This double cell had no toilet so Stroud used a bedpan. One priest who visited the prison stated he went out of his way to avoid being seen as he passed Stroud’s prison door—even going as far as to duck down. He stated if Stroud spotted him he would endlessly babble on and on.

Stroud having access to the prison library began studying law. He petitioned the government stating that his long prison term amounted to “cruel and unusual punishment”.

Another contrast—Stroud was a fan of child pornography. He received many letters from people who were fans of his bird knowledge. Some of these fans were children. Prison officials confiscated a few letters from Stroud in response to these children that contained suggestive remarks.

In 1959, Stroud in poor health was transferred to the Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri. In 1963 he died at the age of 73, the day before John F. Kennedy was assassinated.

To this day Alcatraz, a very haunted place, has one cell that is more active than all the rest—this is the double cell that Stroud lived in for eleven years in solitary confinement. Full-body apparitions are spotted in this area.

So Robert Stroud was a cold-blooded killer, but the general public because of the book and film “Birdman of Alcatraz” had a totally different picture of him. I remember seeing this film as a child myself and thinking how cruel it was they never released him. The public in general felt the same because after the release of this film, which Burt Lancaster won an Oscar for best actor, many people protested for the release of Robert Stroud.

One fellow prison inmate who heard about the public outcry for Stroud’s release stated: “They want Burt Lancaster to be set free not Robert Stroud.”

#The Birdman of Alcatraz #robert stroud #paranormal #ghost and hauntings #ghost and spirits #ghosts #spirits #haunted prisons #haunted locations #alcatraz #haunted salem #myhauntedsalem

[letsgethaunted]

Haunted Alcatraz Prison Island

Just 1.25 miles off the shore of San Francisco, an abandoned prison island with a macabre history of human suffering calls out to curious onlookers. Even before the famous Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary was built in 1933, the island served as a military prison for unfortunate souls. Deep underneath the solitary confinement cells in "D-Block", there are dungeons decorated with the carvings of inmates gone mad one hundred years ago. Just how haunted is "The Rock"? Listen and find out!

#Haunted Alcatraz Prison Island #Let's Get Haunted #Alcatraz #Haunted Prison #Prison Island #Spotify

[sleepythug]

movies i plan to try n watch this week

penitentiary

escape from alcatraz*

high and low

amarcord

throwdown

brighter summer day

#*=rewatch

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 3.21

537 – Siege of Rome: King Vitiges attempts to assault the northern and eastern city walls, but is repulsed at the Praenestine Gate, known as the Vivarium, by the defenders under the Byzantine generals Bessas and Peranius. 630 – Emperor Heraclius returns the True Cross, one of the holiest Christian relics, to Jerusalem. 717 – Battle of Vincy between Charles Martel and Ragenfrid. 1152 – Annulment of the marriage of King Louis VII of France and Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine. 1180 – Emperor Antoku accedes to the throne of Japan. 1556 – On the day of his execution in Oxford, former archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Cranmer deviates from the scripted sermon by renouncing the recantations he has made and adds, "And as for the pope, I refuse him, as Christ's enemy, and Antichrist with all his false doctrine." 1788 – A fire in New Orleans leaves most of the town in ruins. 1800 – With the church leadership driven out of Rome during an armed conflict, Pius VII is crowned Pope in Venice with a temporary papal tiara made of papier-mâché. 1801 – The Battle of Alexandria is fought between British and French forces near the ruins of Nicopolis near Alexandria in Egypt. 1804 – Code Napoléon is adopted as French civil law. 1814 – Napoleonic Wars: Austrian forces repel French troops in the Battle of Arcis-sur-Aube. 1821 – Greek War of Independence: Greek revolutionaries seize Kalavryta. 1844 – The Baháʼí calendar begins. This is the first day of the first year of the Baháʼí calendar. It is annually celebrated by members of the Baháʼí Faith as the Baháʼí New Year or Náw-Rúz. 1861 – Alexander Stephens gives the Cornerstone Speech. 1871 – Otto von Bismarck is appointed as the first Chancellor of the German Empire. 1871 – Journalist Henry Morton Stanley begins his trek to find the missionary and explorer David Livingstone. 1918 – World War I: The first phase of the German Spring Offensive, Operation Michael, begins. 1919 – The Hungarian Soviet Republic is established becoming the first Communist government to be formed in Europe after the October Revolution in Russia. 1921 – The New Economic Policy is implemented by the Bolshevik Party in response to the economic failure as a result of war communism. 1925 – The Butler Act prohibits the teaching of human evolution in Tennessee. 1925 – Syngman Rhee is removed from office after being impeached as the President of the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea. 1928 – Charles Lindbergh is presented with the Medal of Honor for the first solo trans-Atlantic flight. 1935 – Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran. 1937 – Ponce massacre: Nineteen unarmed civilians in Ponce, Puerto Rico are gunned down by police in a terrorist attack ordered by the US-appointed Governor, Blanton C. Winship. 1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion. 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma. 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians. 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes. 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933. 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio. 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180. 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary (in California) closes. 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of unmanned lunar space probes. 1965 – Martin Luther King Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO. 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco. 1970 – San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop and culture festival in the world, hosts its inaugural event. 1980 – Cold War: U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War. 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic. 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships 1989 – Transbrasil Flight 801 crashes into a slum near São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, killing 25 people. 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule. 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force. 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon. 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel. 2006 – The social media site Twitter is founded. 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others. 2022 – China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing 132 people.

#Events

[reptiles-and-other-stuff]

US Battle Royale Post 4

Nine are gone, and soon will twelve. Which is really close to 9/11.

And what's also close to 9/11 (technically) is Ohio, who got eliminated.

New York snuck in and got their own fair share of the state that greets people named "O"

And it looks like California is going to greet the release from this mortal coil. (Don't mind the wheel looking like that, I forgot to screenshot it before I closed it so I made a separate wheel just to keep it fair)

The prison that's now a museum now belongs to the Silver State, formerly owned by the Golden State. Fun Fact: contrary to Mob of the Dead, Alcatraz never had any electric chairs, let alone chambers for death sentences. Those who served a death sentence were sent to the San Quentin State Penitentiary for execution via gas chamber.

And the last state to get executed for today is Idaho

Indeed, you are a ho.

Also what the fuck is going on in the west?

#united states #united states of america #us #usa #battle royale #br

[whitepolaris]

Institutional Apparitions

Prisons are places where the living experience emotional extremes, whether by their own hand or by fate. Inmates are subject to anger, regret, occasionally inhumane conditions (especially in solitary), and on-site executions that create the perfect environment in which a life might be extended into the afterlife. It should therefore come as no surprise that spirits of the dead are sometimes encountered on the premises, regardless of whether the ghost in question died on-site or lingers because of a particularly horrid experience.

Then there are hospitals, mental asylums, and nursing homes. By their very nature, these institutions see death as a regular and expected occurrence. Barbaric experimental treatments and the misery of being misunderstand are among the reasons certain patients may return to the world of the living.

Most of the institutions in which the stories in this chapter are set were converted into something else-an apartment house, perhaps, or a school. Real estate is simply too valuable to leave such places to squatters and curious explorers. But that doesn't any spirits necessarily deserted the buildings. In California, Al Capone's banjo still echoes through the corridors of Alcatraz, and at the former Camarillo State Mental Hospital a patient apparently prefers picking on female employees over going into the light. In an old Arizona penitentiary, the unexplained activity in a much-feared dark cell may in fact be that of a little girl.

In the meantime, the trend to convert imposing abandoned institutional buildings into apartments and condos continues apace. Of course, most new tenants are rarely aware that their mortgage or rental payments also might be going toward housing a former occupant or two-occupants who may or not choose to make their presence known. Sweet dreams!

#type read #weird ghosts

[rabbitcruiser]

Yerba Buena was renamed San Francisco on January 30, 1847.  

#Yerba Buena Gardens #Yerba Buena #renamed #San Francisco #anniversary #30 January 1847 #US history #California #original photography #summer 2017 #2012 #tourist attraction #architecture #cityscape #Pacific Ocean #San Francisco Bay #Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary #Powell Street #Chinatown #Grant Avenue #cable car #Golden Gate Bridge #Presidio of San Francisco #landmark #travel #vacation #USA #Ferry Building #San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge

[dailyoverview]

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in San Francisco Bay, California, plans to reopen as a functioning prison for the first time since 1963. Having served as a tourist attraction in recent decades, the facility will soon undergo significant renovations to meet modern requirements for maximum security incarceration. As reported in the SF Chronicle, the California Department of Corrections expects to receive its first new inmates by summer of next year.

37.826667°, -122.422778°

Source imagery: Nearmap

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Harshness Does Not Pay," Toronto Star. July 20, 1943. Page 6. ---- The discussions at the convention of the Police Constables Association of Canada call to mind the reports of the various penal commissions that were appointed in the past twenty years. The most recent was the Archambault commission in 1932. In its 418-page report it detailed how Canadian prisons subjected the inmates to the utmost severity mingled with cruelty, that practically no "sob sister sentimentality" was being shown them, and that the rate of repeaters in Canada was nevertheless the highest among civilized countries. At the time of the commission's investigations there were in the Dominion's institutions 181 prisoners who had been convicted 3,434 times, at a cost to the taxpayers of nearly $5,000,000.

Successive royal commissions on prison conditions in Canada have assembled collections of deplorable facts. Most of them were found unchanged by each commission. With continuous repetition, the commissions have recommended: reform of prison routine, occupational and vocational guidance for prisoners, the abolition of cruel severity, the reform of the parole system, the establishment of a "Canadian Alcatraz," that is, a special institution for habitual offenders, with suitable treatment; the segregation of youths from older prisoners and the segregation also of the criminal insane and drug addicts, with proper treatment for these unfortunates.

The commissions have also sharply criticized the antiquated buildings, the inadequate heating, diets for the prisoners, the lack of adequate workshops and employment system, the lack of trained personnel, the lack of physical exercise for prisoners and the "gruesome and humiliating restrictions" on the prisoners. They have called for more juvenile courts. for adequate court facilities and modernization of the laws, and for the appointment of qualified probation officers and the establishment of Borstal institutions for youthful offenders.

These recommendations have practically all been ignored. The only time that reforms were made, slight ones, was when prisoners have rioted. Riots are more expensive to the taxpayers than sensible and humane prisons.

The chief lesson to be learned from the pile of commission reports is that harsh treatment of lawbreakers does not pay. Canadian prison authorities have ignored recommendations to modernize our institutions. And the repeater rate in Canada was found by the most recent commission to be the highest of any country in the world, and the rate is going up. The commission found that the number of thrice-convicted offenders for indictable offences had quintupled in a decade. In the year 1936-7, 72 per cent. of the inmates in Dominion penitentiaries were repeaters. Seventy-seven per cent. of the prisoners went to prison before they were 23 years of age. Seventeen per cent. were drug addicts. The criminal insane in Canada had increased over 50 per cent, in 1937 over the year 1936, and there was no policy for their treatment.

All royal commissions have stressed the costliness of this antiquated prison system. The Archambault commission estimated that it cost taxpayers $744.60 a year - more than $2 a day - to keep an adult offender in prison. This is a large sum to spend for treatment that experts have shown to be largely inadequate.

#tough on crime #chief of police #chief constables' association of canada #reactionary reform #toronto #editorial #penal reform #royal commision to investigate the penal system of canada #prison riots #causes of prison riots #criminal statistics #failure of rehabilitation #utopia of classification #dominion penitentiaries #canada during world war 2 #crime and punishment in canada #history of crime and punishment in canada

[ailtrahq]

The US SEC has been denying Bitcoin ETFs without good reason and targeting crypto tokens, NFTs, and the celebrities around every turn. Yet, they’ve seemingly turned a blind eye to the hundreds of rug pulls that have occurred right under their noses. These scams remain prolific in crypto, while the SEC prevents safe investment guardrails via an ETF and fails to provide proper guidance for the modern era. This week, a guerrilla art exhibit from famed “American mathematical artist” and former hedge fund manager, Nelson Saiers, was set up outside of the SEC’s headquarters in lower Manhattan in protest. The Warhol of Wall Street And His Campaign Against Corruption Nelson Saiers has been referred to as the Warhol of Wall Street, and for plenty of reason. The hedge fund manager turned artist has a Ph.D. in mathematics and produced a number of one-of-a-kind pieces art pieces that include snippets of code from his former hedge fund’s algorithm. His art has been featured in galleries at Harvard University’s Leverett House and the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Before becoming an artist, Saiers worked as the Managing Director of Deutsche Bank AG and held a role at UBS. Related Reading: Nelson Saiers’ Inflatable Bitcoin Rat Is Back To Take On The Fed More recent and familiar art installations have had significant meaning behind them, with Saiers making bold statements that take on corrupt American institutions such as the Federal Reserve. Within the Bitcoin community, Saiers is perhaps best known for his inflatable Bitcoin rat that was adorned with cryptographic code. In 2021 when inflation was running rampant, Saiers put $10 bills for sale for just 50 cents inside a gumball machine with a sign stating “out of order.” “The “out of order” sign raises fundamental questions about the Fed over the last several years both economically and ethically. It also relates to the Fed’s hawkish turn (Jerome Powell’s remark about retiring “transitory”, and tapering), which means it may soon be harder to get cheap cash.” Nelson Saiers’ Latest Exhibit: Selling Rug Pulls Under The SEC’s Nose Saiers was right. The days of cheap cash are essentially gone, propelling cryptocurrencies into the spotlight as an alternative to the existing, corrupt financial system. The SEC, however, appear to be doing all it can to stifle innovation, adoption, and growth in the nascent asset class. Had a Bitcoin ETF been approved years prior by the SEC, there might not have been an FTX collapse. Once again, Saiers has had enough and set out to make another statement, this time targeting the SEC. The artist chose the SEC’s headquarters in lower Manhattan, just blocks away from the Southern District Courthouse where financial crimes are prosecuted in the SEC’s own backyard. In their front yard, Saiers has set up a vendor stand offering onlookers cheap access to rug pulls. And he’s doing it right under the SEC’s nose, just like each new exotic crypto project of the week. The regulatory entity continues to selectively enforce against whatever actors it deems as the most splashy, versus those that most protect consumers from crime and fraud. Furthermore, the SEC is the sole regulator standing in the way of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval, which would offer safe and secure access to BTC for institutional and mainstream investors alike. Source

[himalayantrend]

#alcatraz #san fransisco 49ers

[brookstonalmanac]

Events 3.21 (after 1940)

1943 – Wehrmacht officer Rudolf von Gersdorff plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler by using a suicide bomb, but the plan falls through; von Gersdorff is able to defuse the bomb in time and avoid suspicion. 1945 – World War II: British troops liberate Mandalay, Burma. 1945 – World War II: Operation Carthage: Royal Air Force planes bomb Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark. They also accidentally hit a school, killing 125 civilians. 1945 – World War II: Bulgaria and the Soviet Union successfully complete their defense of the north bank of the Drava River as the Battle of the Transdanubian Hills concludes. 1946 – The Los Angeles Rams sign Kenny Washington, making him the first African American player in professional American football since 1933. 1952 – Alan Freed presents the Moondog Coronation Ball, the first rock and roll concert, in Cleveland, Ohio. 1960 – Apartheid: Sharpeville massacre, South Africa: Police open fire on a group of black South African demonstrators, killing 69 and wounding 180. 1963 – Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary closes. 1965 – Ranger program: NASA launches Ranger 9, the last in a series of uncrewed lunar space probes. 1965 – Martin Luther King Jr. leads 3,200 people on the start of the third and finally successful civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. 1968 – Battle of Karameh in Jordan between the Israel Defense Forces and the combined forces of the Jordanian Armed Forces and PLO. 1970 – The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by Joseph Alioto, Mayor of San Francisco. 1970 – San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop and culture festival in the world, hosts its inaugural event. 1980 – Cold War: American President Jimmy Carter announces a United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow to protest the Soviet–Afghan War. 1983 – The first cases of the 1983 West Bank fainting epidemic begin; Israelis and Palestinians accuse each other of poison gas, but the cause is later determined mostly to be psychosomatic. 1986 – Debi Thomas became the first African American to win the World Figure Skating Championships 1989 – Transbrasil Flight 801 crashes into a slum near São Paulo/Guarulhos International Airport, killing 25 people. 1990 – Namibia becomes independent after 75 years of South African rule. 1994 – The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change enters into force. 1999 – Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones become the first to circumnavigate the Earth in a hot air balloon. 2000 – Pope John Paul II makes his first ever pontifical visit to Israel. 2006 – The social media site X (former Twitter) is founded. 2019 – The 2019 Xiangshui chemical plant explosion occurs, killing at least 47 people and injuring 640 others. 2022 – China Eastern Airlines Flight 5735 crashes in Guangxi, China, killing 132 people.

#Events