Chicago Tribune

LEADVILLE, Colo. (AP) — Before her daughter disappeared last fall, Christina Mott recalls that the 31-year-old who had been held in connection with an alleged assassination plot announced she had converted to Islam and told them they’d go to hell if they didn’t follow in her steps.

Jamie Paulin-Ramirez also began talking about Jihad with her Muslim stepfather and spent most of her time online as she withdrew from her family, Mott said.

“We were enemies,” Christine Mott, 59, said. “We couldn’t even speak to each other.”

Paulin-Ramirez left Leadville, Colo., an old mining town west of Denver, on Sept. 11, and took her 6-year-old son with her, her mother said. A U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Saturday that Paulin-Ramirez had been detained in Ireland in connection with an alleged plot to kill cartoonist Lars Vilks, whose 2007 sketch depicted the head of the Prophet Muhammad on a dog’s body, offending many Muslims and provoking terror front Al-Qaida in Iraq to offer a $100,000 bounty for his slaying.

Irish police said later Saturday that they had released an American woman and three others arrested in Ireland over an alleged plot to assassinate Swedish artist Lars Vilks had been freed without charge. Three others remained in custody and were being questioned. Irish police refused to confirm whether Paulin-Ramirez is the woman in custody, and have declined to release the identities of any of those arrested.

Smoking as she sat on her living room couch in Leadville, Christine Mott said she hadn’t eaten in days. She described her daughter as troubled single mother who had the “mentality of an abused woman” and who, in trying to escape her loneliness, may have spiraled into the depths of Islam extremism. Her reported arrest came hours before U.S. authorities unveiled a terror indictment against another American woman, Colleen LaRose, of Pennsylvania.

U.S. authorities on Tuesday unsealed terror charges against the 46-year-old LaRose, who allegedly went by the name “Jihad Jane” to recruit others online to kill the cartoonist.

Mott told The Associated Press that she learned of her daughter’s arrest in the case from the FBI and other federal law enforcement agencies.

Denver FBI officials said Saturday they couldn’t confirm that the FBI had contacted Mott about the case.

Mott said that Paulin-Ramirez told her family after she left in September that she went to Ireland with her 6-year-old son and married an Algerian whom she met online. Before abruptly leaving Colorado, Paulin-Ramirez had been a straight-A nursing student and worked at a clinic in Edwards, about 40 miles west of Leadville, her mother said. She moved to Leadville from Denver six years ago. Phone calls to the clinic in Edwards went unanswered Saturday.

Mott tells the AP that her daughter told her family during Easter last year that she converted to Islam, and renamed her son. Mott said her daughter was teaching him to hate Christians as she grew more distant from her family.

When she discussed Jihad with her stepfather, George Mott, who has been a Muslim for more than 40 years, she told him “she’d strap a bomb for the cause,” Christine Mott said.

“To go blow somebody up?,” said Paulin-Ramirez’s mother, who is not Muslim. “That’s never been Islam.”

Mott said her Paulin-Ramirez spent much of her time on the computer but she didn’t always know what her daughter was doing. “I’d yell at her, ‘Get off the damn computer, do something with your son,” Christine Mott said.

She said her Paulin-Ramirez liked going on fishing and camping trips but grew distant before her departure.

She said her daughter was married three times before she left for Ireland, and that her first husband used to beat her. Her second husband, the 6-year-old’s father, was an illegal immigrant from Mexico and was deported years ago, Christine Mott said.

She said she believes her daughter was lonely and she “got sucked in” and brainwashed by other people. Growing up, her mother said Paulin-Ramirez was “the kid in the class everyone picked on and made fun of.”

George Mott said the family had not been in touch with Paulin-Ramirez since news of her release and did not know where she might be or if her son was with her.

“That baby is my heart, he is my reason to breathe,” Christine Mott said crying, later recalling her weekly phone conversations with him. Her last phone call with him was Monday.

“When we talk,” she recalled, “We give each other hugs and kisses on the phone,” she said, putting her arms across her chest.

During a recent phone call, Christine Mott said, her grandson told her that “all Christians will burn in hellfire.”

But during another phone call, her grandson was excited to hear about a new kitten at the Motts’ home in Leadville.

“When I told him about that he said name the kitten my name, Christian,” Christine Mott said. “He knows who he is. I don’t care how many times they call him this Muslim name, he knows his name is Christian.”

Among the people Paulin-Ramirez had also communicated with online was a man from Pakistan who told her he wanted to come to the U.S. to learn how to fly, the Motts said.

“She lost her mind,” Christine Mott said. “I told her, ‘That should be a red flag right there.’”

Christine Mott said Ramirez began calling her 6-year-old son “Walid,” or “Wahid.”

Paulin-Ramirez grew up in Blue Springs, Mo., and few people in Leadville appear to know her. The mayor of Leadville, Bud Elliott, said Saturday that he knew the Motts casually but wasn’t well acquainted with Pailin-Ramirez.

“She’s a lady that appears to have had a very sad and troubled life,” Elliott said.

An early silver mining camp, Leadville was once Colorado’s second-largest city.

George Mott said the FBI seized a desktop computer in late September but did not tell the family what they found.

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I smell a rat.  This family is lying to cover their rears.

Daily Mail

Ministry of Defence chiefs face embarrassment after a picture of a combat soldier wearing equipment bearing a racially offensive remark was printed in its official magazine.

The image published in Soldier magazine shows his left legpad with the words ‘Get some Paki’ scrawled on it.

Officials airbrushed the online version, but the 90,000 printed copies had already been put on sale, with 70,000 sent to serving British troops – many in Afghanistan.

The picture was printed in January’s edition alongside an article about new rations packs for troops.

The publication, which aims to portray a positive impression of the British Army, is funded, printed and run completely by the MoD.

The soldier in the photograph was identified last night as a private in the 2nd Battalion, The Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters).

Sources said that he had been disciplined and ordered not to repeat any similar racist offence in future.

Last night Army officials admitted the mistake, but said the magazine had not been recalled.

However, Colonel Richard Kemp, former commanding officer of British forces in Afghanistan, said: ‘This sort of thing is not acceptable. Racist humour is far from typical of the Army. This type of thing is not the norm.’

The phrase ‘Get Some’ originated during the Vietnam War when US troops were preparing to open fire on the Vietcong. It meant that the Vietcong were about to be killed. Since then, it has become common in the British Army after a long series of joint operations with US forces.

It is not the first time troops have been in trouble for offensive language. In January 2009 Prince Harry, who is a Lieutenant with the Blues and Royals, was caught on camera calling an Asian squaddie ‘our little Paki friend’ and telling another officer cadet ‘you look like a raghead’.

An MoD spokesman said last night: ‘We are aware of a photograph featured in Soldier magazine which shows an inappropriate remark on a soldier’s uniform. The Army does not tolerate racist behaviour.’

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They’re making an overly large issue out of nothin’.

And another thing: When Prince Harry is held to the same standards as the lowly private, then, alrighty! Otherwise, bullshit it is!

By Daily Mail Reporter

He has been deserted by many of his sponsors, and his wife has yet to decide if she wants a divorce.

But Tiger Woods has been able to count on the support of President Barack Obama as he struggles to overcome his sex addiction.

Mr Obama, an avid golfer, made a personal telephone call to Woods to offer him encouragement as he attempts to rebuild his life.

Support: Tiger Woods was personally called by President Barack Obama who offered the shamed golfer support in rebuilding his life after his sex scandal

Former president Bill Clinton, himself no stranger to humiliating and public exposure over his affairs, has also called to offer his support.

It is thought both men called Woods, 34, following his astonishing TV public apology in which he said sorry for his “irresponsible and selfish” behaviour.

The 14-minute statement, which was broadcast around the world and seen by millions, was his first public appearance since being linked to 12 mistresses.

His wife Elin Nordegren,30, was not at the public confession in front of a hand picked audience of 40 people at the PGA HQ in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.

Woods confessed to cheating on his wife Elin and admitted he was undergoing treatment for sex addiction.

Drive: Obama is himself a golf player

According to golf writer Jamie Diaz, Obama and Clinton both contacted Woods.

He said Clinton’s own experience in dealing with allegations of infidelity were said to be “particularly instructive”.

Clinton faced public humiliation over his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky and was also linked to other women during his two terms in office.

Writing in Golf Digest magazine, Diaz claims that Woods’s wife Elin spent several days with her husband at a sex addiction clinic in Hattiesburg, Missississpi.

He also said, contrary to published reports, that the couple were together at their California home over Christmas with their two young children.

Kindred spirits: Former U.S. President Bill Clinton – himself no stranger to sex scandals – also called Tiger Woods to offer support

Woods’s mother Tida, who is quoted in the article, is thought to be the source of the information about Obama’s call.

Tida revealed that shortly before the golf star’s 34th birthday she accompanied her son to visit a Buddhist monk.

‘I tell him, “Tiger, right now you are in a dark hole, and I know it’s hard, but you can do it”,’ Tida is quoted as saying.

‘You know Mom is strong, and you have my blood. You are strong, too. You made a big mistake, but now you know the cost. So you are going to be much better and stronger, a good husband and a good father. Just go to work like you do.’

Woods said in his press conference that he would be leaning on his Buddhist religion to help get his life back on track.

He is now thought to be at clinic in Arizona for continuing treatment but has not revealed when he plans to return to Golf.

Sports drinks maker Gatorade announced three days ago that they were severing all links with Woods.

Telephone giant AT&T and razor manufacturer Gillette were among the first sponsors to drop Woods after his many extra-marital affairs became known.

Woods’s affairs are said to have so far cost him over £50m in sponsorship deals.

Hani Khan, who did not want her face shown, said she was fired from the Hollister store at Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo because she refused to remove her headscarf.

SAN MATEO –CBS 5

A Muslim employee of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. alleges she was fired for not removing her headscarf.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said Wednesday it filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint on behalf of Hani Khan.

Khan had worked for the company’s Hollister outlet in San Mateo’s Hillsdale Mall. A call to the Ohio-based company was not immediately returned.

Khan says she was initially told she could wear a hijab, or headscarf, but a visiting district manager said scarves were not allowed during work hours. Khan said she was fired when she refused to take it off.

A 2009 suit filed in Oklahoma against the store for refusing to hire a Muslim woman wearing a headscarf is pending.

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In the VIDEO Khan says she was a part-timer working in the back stockroom for four months when she was allegedly fired and that if she were offered her job back, she would not take it.  

She goes on to say that what she wants from the company is for them to be tolerant of her beliefs.

What’s she going to do if they’re not tolerant—strap a bomb to her waist?

Unlicensed puppy

Yahoo News

LOS ANGELES – Cash-strapped Los Angeles is going to the dogs — literally.

The City Council voted Tuesday to have two departments share information in order to track down people who haven’t licensed their pets.

Council President Eric Garcetti estimates two-thirds of the city’s dogs are unlicensed. Licenses cost $15 for a sterilized dog and $100 for an unaltered pet.

Getting all dogs licensed would mean at least an additional $3.6 million in fees to the city.

The Department of Animal Services has eight full-time people whose job is to find and license dogs. The Department of Water and Power keeps a meter-reader database of homes with dogs. The council ordered the departments to coordinate to find the pooches.

“Unlicensed” lyin’ thievin’ parasitic non-tax payin’ Mexicans  runnin’ loose in LA.

By DEB RIECHMANN and HEIDI VOGT
Associated Press Writers

KABUL (AP) — The commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan went on national television Tuesday to apologize for a deadly airstrike, an extraordinary attempt to regain Afghans’ trust while a mass offensive continues against the Taliban in the south.

Two U.S. Marine battalions, accompanied by Afghan troops, pushing from the north and south of the insurgent stronghold of Marjah finally linked up after more than a week, creating a direct route across the town that allows convoys to supply ammunition and reinforcements.

In a video translated into the Afghan languages of Dari and Pashto and broadcast on Afghan television, a stern Gen. Stanley McChrystal apologized for the strike in central Uruzgan province that Afghan officials say killed at least 21 people. The video was also posted on a NATO Web site.

“I pledge to strengthen our efforts to regain your trust to build a brighter future for all Afghans,” McChrystal said in the video. “I have instituted a thorough investigation to prevent this from happening again.”

Sunday’s attack by NATO jets on a convoy of cars was the deadliest attack on civilians in six months and prompted a sharp rebuke from the Afghan government. McChrystal apologized directly to President Hamid Karzai shortly after the incident. The video is another sign of the military coalition’s intense campaign to win public backing for the Marjah offensive with a strategy that involves taking all precautions possible to protect civilians.

NATO said McChrystal made a similar apology via video this past fall when U.S. pilots bombed two hijacked fuel tankers near the northern town of Kunduz. Afghan leaders estimated that 30 to 40 civilians were killed.

The civilian deaths occurred as 15,000 NATO, U.S. and Afghan soldiers were in their 10th day of fighting insurgents in the town in Helmand province. A Romanian soldier was killed Tuesday and another was wounded in a bombing in southern Afghanistan unrelated to the offensive, Romanian officials said.

At least 919 U.S. service members have died in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001, according to an Associated Press count. The figure does not include Americans based in other countries in support of the Afghan mission who did not die as a result of combat.

Although the airstrike was not related to the Marjah offensive, civilian casualties undermine NATO’s goal of turning back the Taliban and restoring the Afghan people’s confidence in their own government – one of the main objectives of the southern operation that hopes to rout the Taliban, set up a local government and rush in aid.

In Berlin, Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, said civilian casualties were “great tragedies,” but stressed that Gen. McChrystal has done the utmost to avoid civilian deaths, noting especially the new guidelines restricting airstrikes. Holbrooke added that the insurgents have no qualms in using civilians as shields.

Meanwhile, a Tuesday morning explosion in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand, left eight people dead and at least 16 others wounded, according to the Interior Ministry. Police chief Gen. Asadullah Sherzad said explosives in a parked motorbike were detonated by remote control in front of the traffic department.

The alliance said its planes fired on what was thought to be a group of insurgents in Uruzgan province on their way to attack NATO and Afghan forces. Interior Ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary said the airstrike hit three minibuses of civilians, which were traveling on a major road near Uruzgan’s border with Day Kundi province.

In Marjah on Tuesday, U.S. Marines from the 1st and 3rd Battalions, 6th Marines Regiment finally managed to link up after more than a week of hard marches through insurgent fire and mined poppy fields.

“This is a very important step,” said Lt. Col. Brian Christmas, commander of the 3rd Battalion, explaining that NATO forces now control a continuous north-to-south route through town that hinders insurgents’ ability to move freely.

Sporadic fighting continued Tuesday as strongly entrenched Taliban units appeared to have regrouped in a heavily defended stronghold to the north. But other areas were calm enough that police were able to hand out aid to residents. The provincial governor joined Afghan officers in piling bags of rice and tea onto blankets and distributing them in central Marjah.

On Monday, Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters at the Pentagon that the efforts against the Taliban were “messy” and “incredibly wasteful,” as was war in general. “But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth the cost.”

The incident in Uruzgan “reminds us of just how fragile and how tragic any move we can make, any move we make can ultimately be,” he said.

“These are split-second decisions that commanders in combat on the ground have to make,” he added.

Mullen said the troops in Marjah are making “steady, if perhaps a bit slower than anticipated, progress.” He cited the prevalence of planted bombs and the care taken to avoid civilian casualties for the slow pace.

Karzai has repeatedly called on NATO to do more to protect civilians during stepped-up military operations.

In recent months, NATO has limited airstrikes and tightened rules of engagement on the battlefield to try to protect the Afghan people and win their loyalty from the Taliban.

It was the second time in nine days that NATO has apologized for killing civilians. On Feb. 14, two U.S. rockets slammed into a home outside Marjah, killing 12 people, including six children. According to NATO, at least 16 civilians have been killed so far during the offensive; human rights groups say the figure is at least 19. Though NATO is working hard to reduce civilian casualties, it has acknowledged that completely eliminating them is difficult.

Bashary said investigators had recovered 21 bodies from the Uruzgan airstrike and that two other people were missing.

The Afghan Cabinet reported a higher death toll, saying 27 civilians were killed, including four women and a child, and 12 other people were injured. The ministers urged NATO to “closely coordinate and exercise maximum care before conducting any military operation” to avoid further civilian casualties.

The toll was the highest involving civilians since last September, when U.S. pilots bombed two hijacked fuel tankers in a German-ordered airstrike near the northern town of Kunduz. Up to 142 people are believed to have died or been injured, German officials said. Afghan leaders estimated that 30 to 40 civilians were killed.

The controversy about the Uruzgan strike came as a suicide bomber detonated explosives at a community meeting Monday in eastern Afghanistan, killing 15 civilians including a prominent tribal leader widely criticized for failing to prevent Osama bin Laden’s escape at Tora Bora after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States.

Haji Zaman was one of the two principal Afghan warlords who went after bin Laden after the Taliban fled Kabul in 2001. The suicide bombing occurred outside Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.

On Tuesday, a second bombing targeting a police convoy near Jalalabad left two civilians dead and two others injured, the Interior Ministry said. No police were injured in the incident.

NATO reported that one service member died Tuesday after being hit by a roadside bomb but gave no details on nationality. Romania’s Defense Ministry reported that a Romanian soldier had been killed and another injured when their convoy was hit by a roadside bomb. Romania has 1,035 troops in Afghanistan as part of NATO forces.

 Source

Pathos-laden open borders disingenuous tripe LA Times

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s latest proposals to close California’s budget shortfall would end public assistance for most new legal immigrants, eliminating emergency cash, food and medical aid for those who don’t yet qualify for federal welfare.

The proposal would represent an about-face for the state. In 1996, Congress denied access to welfare for most legal immigrants who weren’t citizens. California and other states established programs to fill the gap.

Now, officials say the state can’t afford the price tag. Schwarzenegger’s plan would save $304 million but leave tens of thousands of elderly, disabled and impoverished people with no safety net in a deep recession.

“How are we going to live?” asked 70-year-old Yong Hak Cho, who emigrated from Korea four years ago and is raising two grandchildren in Los Angeles. “Immigrants pay taxes like anybody else. So why do they want to eliminate programs for us? It is unfair and it is un-American.”

State officials say the cuts are painful but necessary, and there was no attempt to single out any population group in the proposed budget.

“The fact that we have to close a $20-billion budget gap, on the heels of a $60-billion gap last year, means that we have had to make the difficult decision to propose curtailing or eliminating many state-only programs, and these fall into that category,” said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the Finance Department.

When families petition to bring relatives to the U.S., they are required to sign affidavits agreeing to support them financially for up to 10 years. But many of these families have fallen on hard times. Affidavits are not required for people entering the country under various other programs.

Federal benefits have been restored to some recent arrivals, but most are not eligible for supplemental security income, food stamps, transitional assistance for needy families or Medi-Cal until they have lived legally in the U.S. for five years. Exceptions are made for refugees and a few other categories.

Only a few other states still provide cash or food aid to new, legal arrivals. Advocates for stricter immigration controls say that a waiting period to receive benefits is appropriate.

“Five years is a legitimate time to ensure that people who have come here the right way are willing to assimilate and be loyal tax-paying Americans,” said Barbara Coe of the California Coalition for Immigration Reform.

The proposed cuts include:

* Cash Assistance Program for Immigrants, serving about 8,500 low-income elderly and disabled people. The projected savings is $107.3 million.

* California Food Assistance Program, which provides benefits to about 37,000 low-income immigrants, for savings of $56.2 million.

* Calworks benefits for about 24,000 new legal immigrants, for savings of $22.5 million. The program provides cash, job training, child care and other services to help families transition from welfare to work.

* Full-spectrum Medi-Cal services for 48,570 new legal immigrants and 65,000 undocumented people who tell the state they are known to immigration officials and their deportation is not being sought. The projected savings is $118 million. Pregnant women and children would still be covered.

The Legislature last year rejected proposals to eliminate some of the same programs, but many recipients have seen their benefits reduced.

UCLA professor of public health Alex Ortega said immigrants are frequently targeted in tough economic times because they can’t yet vote, do not speak English well and are often poor.

“They have all the factors that contribute to being vulnerable,” Ortega said.

Community activists say the budget proposals will leave many without a lifeline.

“These are elderly, often frail individuals who rely on this support to buy their medicines, pay rent and eat a basic diet,” Hala Masri, a policy advocate for the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, said in an e-mail.

Cho is so worried that he has considered returning to Korea. But he said, “I have no roots there . . . I am American now.”

The $835 in aid the family receives each month doesn’t even cover rent.

After working 21 years at a U.S. military base in South Korea, Cho went back to school to learn how to repair computers. When that did not yield a job, he enrolled in English classes and became certified as a security guard. Then his son-in-law died of cancer. His daughter works long hours at a Chinese restaurant, so he took in his two grandchildren, 11 and 8.

Cho now works part-time at a community center, advising other immigrants. His wife works for a program providing in-home care to the frail and disabled, but that too is slated for cuts.

“I will have to find some other work,” Cho said, staring at his tea cup on a chilly morning in Koreatown. “What company would hire an old person like me?”

The California Immigrant Policy Center argues in a new report that the savings from the proposed cuts would be offset by increased homelessness and costly emergency room use.

“Not only are these cuts not fair, they are not smart,” said Reshma Shamasunder, who runs the advocacy group. “They are not going to save us money in the long run.”

Teddy Lechadores, 70, who emigrated legally from the Philippines in 2007, relies on Medi-Cal to pay for dialysis. He also sees doctors for his prostate cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure, and needs eight prescription medicines.

“If I were in the Philippines I would have been dead now,” Lechadores said.

He was laid off last month from a security guard job. He now makes $160 a week for doing maintenance and office workat the Pilipino Workers Center west of downtown. His bank account is overdrawn, he sleeps at the center and keeps most of his belongings in his 1996 Acura, which was damaged recently when someone rear-ended him.

“I’m down to nothing,” he said as he looked through his Medi-Cal forms on a recent afternoon. “Medi-Cal is very, very important.”

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• Full-spectrum Medi-Cal services for 48,570 new legal immigrants and 65,000 undocumented people who tell the state they are known to immigration officials and their deportation is not being sought. The projected savings is $118 million. Pregnant women and children would still be covered.

My gawd! It’s bad enough the 48 thousand legal blood sucking immigrants, but 65, 000 illegal aliens on the tax payer teat. And that’s 65, 000 known to ICE, but aren’t being sought for deportation. For fuck sake!

“Immigrants pay taxes like anybody else. So why do they want to eliminate programs for us? It is unfair and it is un-American.”

These ‘no-income’ immigrants do not pay state/federal taxes.

Those that do work and pay taxes get the Earned Income Tax Credit. That means they get back much more than they ever paid in.

Had enough yet?

OAKLAND (CBS 5)

Film producer and director Kevin Smith was removed from a Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to Los Angeles after crew members determined that he was too overweight and insisted he would have to purchase two seats instead of one in order to fly.

Smith made the accusation in a posting on his Twitter account on Saturday evening.

A Southwest spokesperson at Oakland International Airport confirmed the incident to CBS 5 and said the airline was in contact with Smith.

The spokesperson indicated that Southwest flight crews are empowered to make the determination as to whether a passenger can be required to purchase two seats.

Smith later tweeted that he was allowed to board another Southwest flight without a problem, but he didn’t indicate whether he had to buy a second seat.

Smiths directing credits include the movies ”Clerks,” “Dogma,” “Chasing Amy” and “Zack and Miri Make a Porno.”

PHOENIX (Absolute Propaganda) — A federal judge has found grounds for sanctioning an Arizona sheriff’s office for its acknowledged destruction of records in a lawsuit that accuses deputies of racially profiling countless Hispanics in immigration patrols.

U.S. District Judge Murray Snow held off on imposing the sanctions against the office of Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio in the Friday ruling, but indicted he would do so at a later date once related issues were ironed out.

Since early 2008, Arpaio has run 13 immigration and crimes sweeps consisting of deputies and posse volunteers who flood an area of a city – in some cases heavily Latino areas – to seek out traffic violators and arrest other offenders.

The handful of Latinos who filed the lawsuit against Arpaio’s office alleged that officers based some traffic stops on the race of Hispanics who were in vehicles, had no probable cause to pull them over and made the stops so they could inquire about their immigration status.

Arpaio is known for tough jail policies, including housing inmates in canvas tents, and pushing the bounds for how local law enforcement agencies can confront illegal immigration.

The U.S. Justice Department said it’s investigating his office for alleged discrimination and for unconstitutional searches and seizures, but won’t provide any details of its examination. The sheriff believes the inquiry is focused on his immigration efforts.

Arpaio has repeatedly denied the racial profiling allegations, saying people pulled over in the sweeps were approached because deputies had probable cause to believe they had committed crimes. It was only afterward that deputies found many of them were illegal immigrants, he has said.

Some sheriff’s officials have acknowledged deleting their e-mails about the patrols and throwing away and shredding officers’ records of traffic stops made during the sweeps.

Snow said the sheriff’s office was negligent for not holding onto the documents and that the failure to preserve them is enough to justify sanctions. The judge asked plaintiff’s attorneys to suggest unspecified “adverse inferences” that could be drawn from the destruction of officers’ records of traffic stops made during the sweeps.

Peter Kozinets, one of those attorneys, said Saturday that the document destruction deprived his clients of records that would have shown deputies were selective in whom they approached during the sweeps.

The sheriff’s office said the destruction was an honest error that sprung from a top official not telling others in his office to preserve the documents.

The office also said the traffic-stop records were thrown away after supervisors tabulated statistics from them and that thousands of other documents have been handed over.

“We thought the ruling was extremely fair and we are pleased to cooperate,” said Dave Hendershott, chief deputy of the sheriff’s office. “It clearly shows that the judge understood that it was an unintentional oversight. We are very pleased with the ruling.”

Snow also said that plaintiff’s attorneys can again depose Arpaio to question him about his own 800-page immigration file, which was covered by a documents request but wasn’t handed over before his first deposition in mid-December.

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“The handful of Latinos who filed the lawsuit against Arpaio’s office alleged that officers based some traffic stops on the race of Hispanics who were in vehicles, had no probable cause to pull them over and made the stops so they could inquire about their immigration status.”

What this article neglects to mention is that those Latinos that were stopped, are indeed illegal aliens. The majority of illegal aliens in the U.S. are Latino and most are Mexican. That’s an undisputable fact. Being a border state Arizona is over-flowing with illegal aliens and like it or not profiling, and in this case the tan clan–does work. These parasitic whiny illegal aliens who are use to getting their way are pissed off because at least one law enforcement agency in the whole of the U.S. of A. actually has the gonads to do their sworn job.