Month: December 2017

Last year, we reported on the case of a ghoulish Michigan couple who were busted by federal authorities for trafficking in black market body parts, some which were diseased and were then rented and sold to medical students. In some cases, the pieces were infected with HIV.

The charming couple – Arthur and Elizabeth Rathburn of Gross Pointe – were indicted on multiple counts for their body shop operation where they sold and rented out bits and pieces of cadavers, some which they dismembered using a chainsaw, a band saw and a reciprocating saw.

According to a 2016 Detroit Free Press story on the raid:

In February 2012, the Rathburns delivered a package of eight fresh human heads using a Delta cargo airplane to a customer. None of the heads were embalmed, even though Rathburn claimed they were. One of those heads came from someone who had sepsis and pneumonia.

“This alleged scheme to distribute diseased body parts not only defrauded customers from the monetary value of their contracts, but also exposed them and others to infection,” U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade said in announcing the indictment. “The alleged conduct risked the health of medical students, dental students and baggage handlers.”

Rathburn, a former University of Michigan morgue attendant, has long been the central figure in a years-long investigation dubbed “Body Brokers.” The FBI and border officials were on his trail for years, but it wasn’t until December 2013 that they zeroed in on him and raided his warehouse in Detroit, seizing more than a thousand body parts — heads, hands, legs, torsos — that were then stored in a deep freezer at the Wayne County Morgue.

According to the indictment, rather than use industry-standard sterilized autopsy equipment, Rathburn used chainsaws and other types of saws to cut up the bodies. He bought his body parts from cadaver centers in Arizona and Illinois, and got discounts on parts that were infected, the indictment said. He faces wire fraud, aiding and abetting, and making false statements charges. If convicted, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

Feds: Cadaver dealer rented out infected legs, headshttps://t.co/e67slty5h0 http://pic.twitter.com/iRl4ox9UaT

— Detroit Free Press (@freep) January 30, 2016

An additional development in this macabre case is being reported by Reuters and it isn’t for the weak of stomach. In addition to the diseased and poorly stored pieces of bodies, the feds also found a number of fetuses.

The new details have emerged as Rathburn’s trial approaches.

Exclusive: Federal agents found fetuses in body broker’s warehouse (Warning: Graphic Images) https://t.co/xbXu4JTIy7 http://pic.twitter.com/tONUxnYGYR

— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) December 26, 2017

Via Reuters “Exclusive: Federal agents found fetuses in body broker’s warehouse”:

Federal agents discovered four preserved fetuses in the Detroit warehouse of a man who sold human body parts, confidential photographs reviewed by Reuters show.

The fetuses were found during a December 2013 raid of businessman Arthur Rathburn’s warehouse. The fetuses, which appear to have been in their second trimester, were submerged in a liquid that included human brain tissue.

Rathburn, a former body broker, is accused of defrauding customers by sending them diseased body parts. He has pleaded not guilty and his trial is set for January.

How Rathburn acquired the fetuses and what he intended to do with them is unclear. Rathburn’s lawyers did not respond to requests for comment, and neither the indictment nor other documents made public in his case mention the fetuses.

“This needs to be reviewed,” said U.S. Representative Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee who recently chaired a special U.S. House committee on the use of fetal tissue.

Blackburn recoiled when a Reuters reporter showed her some of the photographs, taken by government officials involved in the raid.

In four of the photos, a crime scene investigator in a hazmat suit uses forceps to lift a different fetus from the brownish liquid. In three other photos, a marker that includes a government evidence identification number lies beside a fetus.

“The actions depicted in these photos are an insult to human dignity,” said U.S. Representative Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. A Republican from Virginia, Goodlatte said that if individuals “violate federal laws and traffic in body parts of unborn children for monetary gain,” they should be “held accountable.”

Blackburn said the discoveries in Rathburn’s warehouse raise questions about the practices of body brokers across America. Such brokers take cadavers donated to science, dismember them and sell them for parts, typically for use in medical research and education. The multimillion-dollar industry has been built largely on the poor, who donate their bodies in return for a free cremation of leftover body parts.

The buying and selling of cadavers and other body parts — with the exception of organs used in transplants — is legal and virtually unregulated in America. But trading in fetal tissue violates U.S. law.

In most states, including Michigan, public health authorities are not required to regularly inspect body broker facilities. As a result, it’s impossible to know whether body brokers who deal in adult donors are acquiring and profiting from fetuses.

The fetuses are a particularly grisly detail in this utterly disgusting story of a bizarre and morbid business that flies under the radar – until now. More disturbing than the fetuses in Rathburn’s freezer is the prospect that someone sold them to him and is likely profiting from the murders of the unborn.

The trial is set to begin next month.

Donald Trump is known for “going big” when it comes to ambition and projects… and now he’s doing exactly that for a military tradition that is familiar to nearly everyone who has served.

According to Fox News, the president has completely revamped his “challenge coin” and given it some noticeably “yuuuge” upgrades.

Military challenge coins are special tokens that feature a unit designation and are carried as a morale item by military members. During a “challenge,” every serviceman present must show the coin, and anyone who is not carrying one is expected to buy a round of drinks for the others.

Coins from a high-ranking officer can also “beat” lower-ranking coins and earn the holder a drink during the good-natured game. For example, someone who has received a coin from an admiral or general has a good chance of beating the other tokens in a group, and can win a round of refreshment.

As you might have guessed, no token can “trump” one from the commander in chief of the United States armed forces, which makes the president’s challenge coin particularly valuable to men and women in uniform.

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The coin carried and given out by Barack Obama was fairly basic, with the White House on one side and the presidential seal on the other. There was previously not much difference between the president’s and vice president’s challenge coins, and at first glance they could easily be mixed up.

Not anymore. Trump has stepped up his challenge coin game, and made sure that receiving the token will be a memorable occasion for our troops.

Featuring “Make America Great Again” in embossed letters, Trump’s coin is dramatically thicker and heavier than Obama’s — and has received the gold treatment, making it significantly more valuable.

The presidential coin gets a makeover.

Out: “E pluribus unum.”
In: “Make America Great Again.”https://t.co/MhgMYQnM4D

— Washington Post (@washingtonpost) December 22, 2017

“In addition to his signature, Trump’s name appears three times on the coin, which is nearly twice as thick as its predecessors, while the traditional subdued silver and copper coloring is replaced with gold,” Fox explained.

The Washington Post reported that Trump was directly involved in the design of the new coin, and a White House aide claimed that the president “wanted to weigh in on it.”

Predictably, some people managed to find fault with the upgrade. CNN whined about the hefty gold coin being “gaudy,” while others complained that including the phrase “Make America Great Again” went too far.

“For the commander in chief to give a political token with a campaign slogan on it to military officers would violate the important principle of separating the military from politics, as well as diminishing the tradition of the coin,” protested Trevor Potter, a former chairman of the Federal Election Commission.

Of course, the coin is not issued by the government but by the president himself. The hand-wringing over Trump including his famous pro-American outlook on a token that he will be personally giving out seems like a very fussy complaint.

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A spokesperson for Secretary of Defense Mattis — who also gives out challenge coins — explained that the tradition is about boosting morale.

“It’s not about him. It’s about the person whose hand he is shaking,” Mattis’ office told The Washington Post.

The complaints about “gaudiness” miss the point: Meeting the president of the United States is a rare and special event for most members of the military. The challenge coin should be rare and special as well, and the 45th president’s token will no doubt be a unique keepsake for troops who receive it.

President Trump has shown his genuine admiration and respect for the military many times. He could have simply ignored the challenge coin tradition or re-used the design from his predecessor.

Instead, he took the time to make the tradition truly special, and ensure that troops he meets walk away with great stories… and with a gold coin in their pocket that guarantees they’ll probably never have to buy a round of drinks again.

Please like and share on Facebook and Twitter if you believe Donald Trump supports our military!

What do you think of the new coin? Scroll down to comment below!

For Donald Trump, making America great again doesn’t just stop with the lower 48.

According to Fox News, a permit application has been filed with the Trump administration to move forward with the Pebble Mine, a mining project that was nearly buried under the regulatory heft of the Obama administration.

The Pebble Limited Partnership, which is a subsidiary of Northern Dynasty Minerals, has filed a wetlands-fill permit request with the Army Corps of Engineers for the proposed gold and copper mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

The permit application was a major step in a plan that was thought to be dead under the Obama administration, but has seen new life since Trump took office.

“At the outset of 2017, we established three ambitious corporate objectives for Northern Dynasty and the Pebble Project,” a statement from  Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ron Thiessen read.

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“We committed to reaching a resolution with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restore the Pebble Project to normal course permitting, to re-partnering on the Pebble Project and to initiating permitting under (National Environmental Policy Act).

“As we approach the end of the year, I’m proud to report that we will hit our mark on all three important milestones.”

In 2014, the Pebble Mine was blocked under Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency even before Northern Dynasty submitted plans for it.

The decision was based around Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act, which allows the EPA to “restrict, prohibit, deny or withdraw the use of an area as a disposal site for dredged or fill material if the discharge will have unacceptable adverse effects on municipal water supplies, shellfish beds and fishery areas, wildlife or recreational areas.”

In this case, the EPA said it was concerned that the mine would affect salmon fisheries and and local Native American tribes whose culture is based around them.

However, the switch in administrations made backers of the mine more comfortable going forward with plans.

In May, the EPA reached a settlement with Northern Dynasty that allowed the company to restart the permitting process.

“We are committed to due process and the rule of law, and regulations that are ‘regular,’” Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement at the time, according to Fox News.

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“We understand how much the community cares about this issue, with passionate advocates on all sides.  The agreement will not guarantee or prejudge a particular outcome, but will provide Pebble a fair process for their permit application and help steer EPA away from costly and time-consuming litigation.”

Earlier this month, according to the Anchorage Daily News, Northern Dynasty got a new investor in the plan in the form of First Quantum Minerals, which became a partner by investing $1.5 billion in the project.

After the application, according to the stock market news site Seeking Alpha,  Northern Dynasty stock went up 6 percent, another sign that investors expect the plan to go through.

However, many environmentalists and those in Alaska’s salmon industry are still vehemently opposing the plan.

“My family has been here for generations and we rely on the salmon to feed our families and to have a livelihood,” said Kimberly Williams, executive director of Nunamta Aulukestai, a Bristol Bay nonprofit associated with 10 corporations that operate in Bristol Bay.

“Salmon fishing is not just part of my culture and history, but it provides jobs for everyone in the community and helps send people to college. The mine puts all that at risk.”

Company officials insist that environmental damage will be minimal, however.

“The project design we’re taking into permitting includes a substantially reduced development footprint and meaningful new environmental safeguards that respond directly to the priorities and concerns we’ve heard from stakeholders in Alaska,” a statement from Pebble Partnership CEO Tom Collier read.

“Not only are we confident that Pebble as currently envisaged will secure development permits from federal, state and local regulatory agencies, we are confident it will co-exist with the world class fisheries of Bristol Bay and earn the support of the people of the region and the state.”

Please like and share on Facebook and Twitter if you think that this gold mine should go forward.

What do you think of the changes at the EPA since Donald Trump took over the White House? Scroll down to comment below!