Looks Like Class Action Time is Comin'

That plant owned by Peanut Corporation of America? the one in Blakely, Georgia? The one that produced Lord knows how many tons of salmonella-laced peanut butter? The one responsible for more than 500 people falling ill and eight people dying? Turns it it's not such a clean place, and it hasn't been for a while. Apparently the plant,

"has a history of sanitation lapses and was cited repeatedly in 2006 and 2007 for having dirty surfaces and grease residue and dirt buildup throughout the plant, according to health inspection reports. Inspection reports from 2008 found the plant repeatedly in violation of cleanliness standards" (NYT).

If you want some queasy details on what health inspectors found in 2007, and 2008, head for this New York Times article. One thing to wonder about: if the place consistently violated health codes, why the heck did Georgia, which "performs inspections on behalf of the FDA,"allow it to continue processing foods?

I smell a lawsuit in the works. . . .

Update: A class action lawsuit is most certainly in the works, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear of criminal action as well. According to Newsday, the Peanut Corporation of America "received tests from private labs revealing salmonella contamination in 2007, but then got further sampling showing the facility to be salmonella-free"Further, a federal inspection team "identified approximately 12 instances in 2007 and 2008 where the firm identified some type of salmonella ... in environmental samples," even so, "PCA still sent peanut butter and paste to unwitting customers." So the Peanut Corporation of America (which, by the way, has a second plant in Texas that continues to produce and ship peanut butter products) was aware of salmonella contamination two years ago, "did nothing to improve its manufacturing and sanitation practices after salmonella was found in its plant" (MSNBC), and continued to distribute their products for public consumption.

Read The Monster of Florence?

So you haven't read Preston and Spezi's big bestseller?

Do so. It's quite a story. Probably not the best prose, but it sure beats those Dan Brown-style thrillers-and this one is a true story: an American novelist and an Italian journalist investigating the murders committed by the "Monster of Florence," but they attract the attention of the local police, who decide that the two men might just be involved in the murders (for a synopsis of the book's events, see this Boston Globe article from 2006, or this piece from The Atlantic).

Anyway, it's an easy, fast read, and it's certainly an intriguing tale.

Aside: You might recall the moniker "Monster of Florence" from the novel Hannibal; the monster was in action while the good doctor was hanging out in Firenze.

Sinclair and Racism: It's Confirmed.

Hal Turner. Hal freaking Turner.

Call me gullible. Call me a soft touch, but I am dumbfounded by Larry Sinclair's most recent actions, which seem to confirm the underlying motivation in his six month assailing of Senator Obama.

Larry Sinclair has announced that he will appear on Hal Turner's radio show on Wednesday, 16 July.

Hal Turner: The white nationalist and anti-Semite. The Holocaust denier. The supporter of National Vanguard and other supremacist groups. The man whose website, "Whitelandia," features posts on the "dismantling of white culture" and "breaking news for white folks." the man who advocates shooting immigrants. The man who called for murdering judges.
A man who has offered up these pearls of wisdom, compassion, and concern for the public welfare, as cited by the SPL:

[Turner] rants about a "Portable Nigger Lyncher" machine, "faggots," "savage Negro beasts," "bull-dyke lesbians" and "lazy-ass Latinos ... slithering across the border."

He's been honored with his very own page at the ADL. Enjoy.

Mr. Sinclair, if you'd ever truly hoped for mainstream media's attention, you've certainly gone about it in a strange way. If MSM journalists covered your tale now, it would only follow along the lines of "Larry Sinclair, a frequent guest of such fringe broadcasters as Jeff Rense, has also associated with Hal Turner, the noted anti-Semite and Aryan nationalist." You took such pains to distance yourself from Hillary Clinton's supporters' groups and being portrayed as politically motivated, so I admit, I cannot comprehend your reasoning. You say you just want to get the "truth" out there. Look at who you're offering that "truth" to.

The man is rabidly anti-gay, yet you--a self-proclaimed gay man--are willing to commune with him. Now your motivation will be framed as pure and simple racism. I've resisted the rages that "he's just out to bring down the first black presidential nominee." Now, I'm not so sure. This seems to be precisely your goal.

You can forget dreams of anything more than widespread public disgust.

In the words of Mr. Welch,

You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?

Aside: Yes, the Goya's ugly; it's appropriate.

Added: oh, the American Nazi Party is loving the Turner interview, according to the website Ivory Power (get it? Ivory power, That's pretty clever!). No links provided, but if you Google it, I'm sure it will pop up.

Sinclair Delaware Warrant Mystery [solved?]

Well we know that Larry Sinclair was arrested today. Initially, I thought it was due to his outstanding warrant in Colorado. However, according to someone who posts as Sinclair's "Moma" on his Wordpress site, he was actually arrested on a warrant from the state of Delaware.

In his statement to the press today, Sinclair claimed that he left a number of phone numbers with the Obama campaign when trying to contact Obama in autumn, 2007. One of these numbers, 302-685-7175, is listed as a Wilmington, Delaware land line. It's currently "unpublished or unavailable." Was it Sinclair's number or a "friend's"?

We do know, from a statement Sinclair posted at Big Head DC, that he was issued a credit card from a Wilmington, DE bank in 1999.

It's seems that Sinclair was a Delaware resident, perhaps periodically, at least between 1999 and 2007. What event in Delaware led to Sinclair's being hauled off in handcuffs this afternoon, and when did it occur?

UPDATE 6/19/08: The Mitch and Nan Show has done some investigating on the Delaware warrant, and their results suggest an addition to his history of fraud.

UPDATE 6/22/08: Sinclair's still in jail. There's been no confirmation of charges.

UPDATE 6/24/08 Sinclair's out. See new post on his release.

UPDATE 6/29/08 and 7/12/08

Sinclair's Blogger Lawsuit: Motions Denied

Larry Sinclair's lawsuit against three bloggers--he wants $ 3,000,000 for defamation--has suffered a setback. Per The Mitch and Nan Show:

"Plantiff’s Motion to disqualify counsel for TubeSock Ted……DENIED" [Sinclair claimed that, because he'd approached TubeSock Ted's attorney, James Klimaski, regarding his early lawsuit against Obama, Axelrod, et. al, the attorney should be disqualified].

Plantiff’s Motions # 15, 18 21…….DENIED [15 and 18 were motions to sanction Democratic Underground's and MzMolly's attorney, Paul Allen Levy of Public Citizen Litigation Group. I can't locate information on motion 21]

Plantiff’s Motion to compel defendant MzMolly to confer for the purpose of preparing a joint scheduling report…….DENIED

Defendants’ Motion to Substitute Filing # 19…….GRANTED! [Removes MzMolly's personal identifying information from court documents].

Whoa there--while good news for the bloggers and for freedom of speech, this only means that Sibley's attempts to derail the defendants have backfired. The lawsuit remains before Judge Henry Kennedy.

Aside: Read PCLG's April press release, which asserts that Sinclair's suit has no legal basis, here.

Update: on 10 February, 2009, the courts dismissed Sinclair's lawsuit.

Confirmed: Montgomery Blair Sibley suspended in DC and FLA

It's been confirmed.
Montgomery Blair Sibley, that "unending source of vexatious and meritless litigation," was given an official order of suspension from the Washington DC Bar. The order went into effect on 12 May, 2008. Overlawyered has located and posted the official order of suspension. In a post written earlier today, the site's Ted Frank wrote:

We had earlier held off pronouncing that Sibley was suspended in DC (in addition to Florida), because the DC Bar website was not updated, but we now have a copy of the May 8 suspension order, which was effective May 12, pending final disposition of the reciprocal disciplinary proceeding. Sibley had been representing Barack Obama-accuser Larry Sinclair in litigation against anonymous Democratic Underground blog commenters.

What are the chances that conspiracy theorists are going to hop all over this one? People unfamiliar with Sibley's history will claim that this is an effort by Dick Cheney / Barack Obama / the CIA to silence him due to his work for Deborah Palfrey or Larry Sinclair--anything rather than admit that the man has a problem with paying his child support, abusing the bar, or suing U S Supreme Court justices. Nope. It's more reasonable to claim Sibley's issues are all part of a cover up.

Larry Sinclair's "War": It Ain't Done Yet

The Lawrence W. (Larry) Sinclair debacle continues as he bravely battles against conspiracy, hypocrisy, and, well, bloggers.

Sinclair claims to have been intimate (while high on cocaine) with a presidential candidate. If you're not familiar with his story, which has actually been out there for a while now, just Google his name and plenty of sites will emerge that support Sinclair's claims (despite his lack of evidence).

For the opposition's point of view, visit The Mitch and Nan Show. They're as interested in questioning and disproving Sinclair's allegations as he is bent on destroying said presidential candidate. He's got a gang of supporters, including the notorious white supremacist-affiliated Vanguard News Network (and that is pretty telling), who have been occupying themselves with sending out mass emails to private citizens and to news media. They've also been creating and distributing flyers that repeat the sordid, kind of creepy, claims.

Despite all of the pro-Larry efforts, the Sinclair debunkers--Mitch and Nan et. al. seem to have been more successful at proving their case than Sinclair is at proving his. Rather than present evidence that supports his assertions, Sinclair simply piles accusation onto accusation; when challenged, he accuses people of working for politicians or he threatens lawsuits. Mitch and Nan, on the other hand, have been posting documents that either (further) undermine Sinclair's credibility or provide examples of contradictory statements or outright falsehoods that Sinclair has posted on his, and other, sites.

Unfortunately, some people have gone a little crazy with the Sinclair-directed hostility. Then again, he's given as good as he's got. Without the added excitement of the presidential element, this would be just another online pissing contest / flame war.