• humble peat digger
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    3718 hours ago

    Why not establish armed compounds where we the people keep whistleblowers safe?

    Some private rancho in Texas with armed guards and lots of cameras?

    Clearly gov is failing to protect them.

  • HexesofVexes
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    8521 hours ago

    It’s all about probabilities.

    Truth is proof, and the article contains no details to establish this absolutely. So, we are left with supposition.

    This wasn’t an isolated man with nothing to live for - while his career in AI was over, he’d left it to pursue a moral agenda. Suicide is not likely until AFTER he testifies and discharged this.

    The fact he supposedly had documents and a testimony that could heavily harm a company is enough to make it very likely his death was the cost of doing business - why pay a billion in a court case when you can pay a million for a professional hit?

    On the balance of probabilities, it looks more likely to be like foul play. As they say, Epstein didn’t kill himself.

    • humble peat digger
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      18 hours ago

      Can’t we try and fund our own armed compounds for whistleblowers?

      Especially the ones that benefit working class cause like this guy - because AI stealing our data is a threat to all of us.

      • @Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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        110 hours ago

        It’s so bad because people will happily cheer it on. But eventually it will just be used to go after political opponents and just classes of people that whoever is in charge doesn’t like. We have so, so many dumb and sometimes even conflicting crimes on the books that the average American unwittingly breaks a few federal laws and usually a myriad of state laws (most being outdated or blue book laws) every week. For some people near state borders it can be everyday.

    • Aatube
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      2151 day ago

      “no evidence of foul play”, so a long ways away

        • @Vespair@lemm.ee
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          1623 hours ago

          Dude that’s not fucking fair.

          I wanna see you try to look for evidence with all that bribery and police gang money obscuring your vision and see if you do any better.

        • @finitebanjo@lemmy.world
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          1 day ago

          Yeah, the victim likely shot himself three times and engraved words on every casing. /sarcasm

          Seriously, what kind of evidence are you expecting to find?

          EDIT: To be clear this is not an ironic question, if we’re accusing the police of willful ignorance we should at least present a decent argument. What do we look for?

          • @kreskin@lemmy.world
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            015 hours ago

            Its much safer to leave no evidence and use some tricks to lock the door behind you than to leave misdirecting evidence like a manifesto and fake weapon or something like that.

      • Gormadt
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        711 day ago

        “Looks like they slipped and shot themselves in the back if the head twice. Classic accidental death.” — The cops probably.

        • @Lost_My_Mind@lemmy.world
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          261 day ago

          Stuff like this happens all the time in Russia. People who live in 1 floor houses falling out of their 14th floor window for no understood reason. Windows are a mystery in Russia…Oh, this happened in America? Well THAT’S new…

        • Maeve
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          221 day ago

          You jest but medical examiners/coroners are paid off all the time.

            • @LengAwaits@lemmy.world
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              It’s an industry with a long and storied history of corruption, and it’s foolish to believe that that’s magically stopped somehow. It continues to happen to this day.

              You can peruse more cases by using your favorite search engine or ChatGPT to search “medical examiners found guilty of taking bribes”, or similar. The information on the cases is not always easy to turn up, and with ChatGPT in particular you need to be careful to verify the info, of course.

              Some ChatGPT provided examples:

              1. The Bronx Funeral Home Scandal (2015)

              In 2015, several funeral directors and medical examiners in the Bronx were arrested and accused of participating in a bribery scheme. Funeral directors allegedly paid bribes to officials at the New York City Medical Examiner’s Office to steer bodies to their funeral homes. In exchange for the payments, the medical examiner’s office would facilitate the release of bodies before proper investigations were completed, often in violation of legal and ethical procedures. This scandal raised concerns about the integrity of the system for handling deceased individuals and led to multiple arrests and charges. 2. Detroit Medical Examiner Corruption (2016)

              In 2016, a former assistant medical examiner in Detroit, Dr. L.J. Montague, was implicated in a bribery scheme involving the alteration of autopsy results. Dr. Montague had been involved in improperly handling body evidence and allegedly accepted bribes from funeral homes to provide favorable autopsy reports. In some cases, the reports were changed to cover up the real cause of death, potentially for financial gain or to protect individuals or institutions involved in the deaths. This case drew attention to issues of corruption within the Detroit Medical Examiner’s office. 3. The Pennsylvania “Body-Snatching” Scandal (2006)

              In 2006, it was revealed that a Pennsylvania medical examiner, Dr. Cyril Wecht, had been under investigation for charges related to body snatching and bribery. Dr. Wecht, who was known for performing controversial autopsies, was accused of taking bribes and improperly storing bodies for the purpose of selling them for medical research. Wecht was accused of improperly obtaining and retaining bodies for personal gain, and of offering favorable autopsy reports in exchange for compensation. Although Wecht was ultimately acquitted of the charges, the case raised concerns about the potential for bribery and unethical behavior in medical examiner practices. 4. The “Plastic Coffin” Case in New York (2000s)

              In the early 2000s, a New York medical examiner, Dr. Charles Hirsch, faced public scrutiny after it was revealed that his office was involved in a widespread bribery scheme linked to the sale of bodies for scientific research. Funeral directors were allegedly paying bribes to medical examiners in exchange for facilitating the release of bodies to be sold to research organizations or anatomical schools. The bodies were often not properly identified or studied for forensic purposes, leading to fears that the system was being exploited for profit. 5. The Georgia Medical Examiner Scandal (2017)

              In 2017, Georgia’s former **State Medical Examiner, Dr. Kendrick Brown, faced allegations of corruption and unethical practices. Dr. Brown was suspected of accepting bribes from law enforcement officers and other figures involved in criminal cases, in exchange for altering the results of autopsies to influence investigations. While no formal charges were filed against Brown, the case raised serious questions about the role of medical examiners in criminal justice proceedings and highlighted potential vulnerabilities to corruption.

              1. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner Scandal (2014)

              In 2014, Dr. Mark Fajardo, a prominent pathologist and deputy medical examiner at the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner, was implicated in a scandal where he allegedly falsified autopsy reports. Dr. Fajardo was accused of accepting bribes from a wealthy individual to alter the cause of death in the case of an overdose. The bribery was suspected to have been linked to an attempt to cover up a drug overdose death and turn it into an accident or natural causes, making it easier for the family to collect on insurance. Dr. Fajardo was eventually investigated, but the full scope of the bribery was never completely revealed in public records. 2. The “Foul Play” Investigation in Arkansas (2012)

              In 2012, Dr. Ronda Roebuck, a pathologist who worked as a deputy medical examiner in Arkansas, was involved in a case where her autopsy report was allegedly tampered with. The case involved the suspicious death of a woman, which Dr. Roebuck initially ruled a suicide. However, after the deceased’s family raised concerns and a private investigator brought attention to the possible foul play, it was suggested that Roebuck had altered her findings. The family believed that the death was a homicide and that the changes to the autopsy report were made to avoid further legal complications or investigations. Dr. Roebuck later faced scrutiny for her handling of multiple death investigations, and the Arkansas Medical Examiner’s Office faced pressure to overhaul its practices. 3. Corruption and Body-Handling Scandal in Georgia (2017)

              In 2017, allegations of corruption surfaced involving the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Medical Examiner’s Office. Several medical examiners and other officials were suspected of receiving bribes from funeral homes or third-party organizations in exchange for allowing bodies to be released without proper investigation or certification. Funeral directors and medical institutions were believed to have offered financial incentives for the swift release of bodies, avoiding standard procedures such as autopsies in cases where foul play was suspected. This scandal highlighted gaps in accountability within state-run medical examiner systems and raised concerns about the potential for bribery and abuse. 4. The “Death Investigation” Corruption Case in Ohio (2015)

              In 2015, it was reported that a Cuyahoga County, Ohio, medical examiner, Dr. Jan Gorniak, faced allegations of corruption and misconduct linked to her professional relationships with funeral homes. Several funeral directors were accused of paying bribes to medical examiner’s office staff to ensure that certain bodies were released without proper death investigations. The bribery was said to be financially motivated, with funeral homes attempting to quickly prepare bodies for burial without waiting for the completion of autopsy reports. Although investigations into the claims continued, Dr. Gorniak was forced to step down from her position as the head of the office amid mounting public pressure. 5. The “Body Broker” Scandal in Las Vegas (2009)

              In 2009, Dr. Elizabeth K. Pavlik, a forensic pathologist working for the Clark County Coroner’s Office in Las Vegas, became the focus of a controversial case involving the illegal selling of bodies and body parts. Investigations revealed that several medical professionals, including Dr. Pavlik, had engaged in “body brokering” — the practice of selling body parts for profit. The scheme allegedly involved bribing medical examiners or coroners to release bodies to brokers, who would then illegally distribute body parts for research or commercial purposes. While Pavlik was not directly accused of taking bribes, the scandal brought national attention to potential corruption within the coroner’s office. She was investigated for unethical conduct, and the case shed light on the potential for fraud and bribery in medical examiner offices when financial incentives intersect with body handling. 6. The Alabama Medical Examiner’s Office Scandal (2011)

              In Alabama, Dr. William A. “Bill” P. was suspected of taking bribes while working as a medical examiner in the early 2000s. Investigations into the office of the Montgomery County Medical Examiner found discrepancies in autopsy reports and irregularities in body handling. It was suspected that Dr. P. accepted bribes from various law enforcement officials and private individuals to alter cause-of-death reports in cases involving questionable deaths. There were even allegations that these altered reports were part of a larger conspiracy to cover up instances of police brutality. The case became a flashpoint for concerns over corruption in the state’s medical examiner system, but Dr. P. was never formally charged with bribery, though his actions raised serious ethical questions. 7. The “Organ Harvesting” Case in New York (2015)

              A major corruption case involving a medical examiner in New York centered on illegal organ harvesting. In 2015, authorities uncovered a scheme where a medical examiner’s office worker in New York City was accused of taking bribes from an organ transplant ring. The worker allegedly provided access to bodies that were meant to be examined for forensic investigations, allowing the bodies to be sold for organ transplants. The medical examiner or coroner allegedly accepted bribes to help facilitate the sale of organs. The corruption was linked to a broader criminal syndicate involved in illegal organ trade and led to significant investigations into the role of medical professionals in such illegal practices. 8. The “Body Mishandling” Scandal in South Carolina (2004)

              In South Carolina, Dr. Thomas O. Greene, a forensic pathologist, faced accusations of mishandling bodies and allegedly taking bribes from funeral home operators. The investigation started after a whistleblower reported that Dr. Greene had been

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              • morriscox
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                112 hours ago

                Some minor formatting issues. I noticed that none of the cases ended up with someone being arrested, which seems odd. Are they being protected somehow? Are those who are supposed to provide oversight worthless or corrupt themselves?

                • @LengAwaits@lemmy.world
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                  28 hours ago

                  Yeah, sorry about the formatting, I didn’t feel like dealing with it when I transferred the data over from ChatGPT.

                  Bribery, when done intelligently, can be extremely difficult to prove in court.

                  Many of the accused (on both sides of the transaction) have power, connections, and reputations to uphold. I don’t think it’s too conspiratorial to suggest that the US legal system delivers judgements, let’s say, “inconsistently”, based on factors such as the aforementioned.

                  Same as it ever was.

                • @LengAwaits@lemmy.world
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                  112 hours ago

                  Agreed. That’s why I said this in my post:

                  with ChatGPT in particular you need to be careful to verify the info, of course.

          • @orrk@lemmy.world
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            31 day ago

            why would anyone bother paying them off? they own the media, you think anyone will care about what the examiners say when no one hears about it?

            • Maeve
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              81 day ago

              Because people start asking questions. Bodies are exhumed for reasons.

    • @N0body@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      711 day ago

      Whistleblowers are automatically overcome with grief at disappointing the high and mighty Job Creators and shoot themselves in the back of the head twice in despair.

  • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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    1522 hours ago

    Idk everyone is doing the "he was killed but

    The medical examiner’s office determined the manner of death to be suicide and police officials this week said there is “currently, no evidence of foul play.”

    Isn’t it possible the guy was troubled and just actually killed himself?

    • @surewhynotlem@lemmy.world
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      2816 hours ago

      Can’t see the forest for the trees.

      The problem isn’t that this guy might have killed himself. The problem is that the death rate of whistleblowers is very high. That makes every individual case much more suspect, and should be held to higher standards of scrutiny. And they aren’t. So we complain.

      • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        216 hours ago

        I’m just saying assuming this was a murder seems premature. Thinking this is sus makes more sense

        • @xthexder@l.sw0.com
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          515 hours ago

          There’s also the possibility of him receiving threats so horrible he was coerced into suicide. “No foul play” just seems so incredibly unlikely.

    • NutWrench
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      716 hours ago

      When you consider the billions that are at stake in cramming “AI” into computers, cars, phones, agit-prop generation and military hardware, I there’s a non-zero chance that his death wasn’t accidental. Maybe a second coroner’s opinion is in order.

    • @reksas@sopuli.xyz
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      22 hours ago

      its most certainly possible. but its also possible it was not since billions of dollars are at stake.

      • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        -118 hours ago

        Yes I just mean that I wouldn’t consider it a murder without any indication of it being one

      • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        018 hours ago

        He was a king pedo going to prison for the rest of his life and had tried kill himself before. I definitely would’ve tried to kill myself given the chance tbh

        • @Furbag@lemmy.world
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          1017 hours ago

          If you read up on that incident though, so many things had to go wrong for him to have an opportunity to do it while locked up that it’s really hard to not consider foul play no matter what the prison or the government says about it.

          • TheLowestStone
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            517 hours ago

            Right. At best, he wasn’t killed, he was just intentionally given the tools and time to do so.

          • @Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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            -216 hours ago

            There’s a difference between him having been murdered and giving him the opportunity to kill himself. Second case would mean that he actually did hang himself

  • gon [he]
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    3301 day ago

    Oh, I see how it is. They keep killing and killing, but we hit ONE CEO and shit hits the fan. Alright, then.

  • Parculis Marcilus
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    1371 day ago

    suicide

    Nothing to see here bois. Always remember that US is a free country that is out of authoritarian hands. Nothing to see.

    • @TheObviousSolution@lemm.ee
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      In some countries some people prefer to suicide themselves alone in their rooms without warning. In other countries, they prefer to suicide themselves by shooting themselves multiple times in the back and/or throwing themselves off of multiple storey buildings. Who can say? It’s not like countries led by psychopaths who put profit margins above society, including people’s lives, would ever kill people to defend their bottom line.

      There’s two barriers to justice in today’s world: The first one is having enough money to hire lawyers. The second one is having enough money to hire bodyguards.

  • @designatedhacker@lemm.ee
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    1191 day ago

    You gotta set up a dead man’s switch (not literal give the evidence to a lawyer or do a deposition or whatever). Do that before you blow the whistle and announce that at the same time.

  • granolabar
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    2261 day ago

    Two bullets back of the head?

    A Boeing suicide…

    You know we all love a good laugh about russians falling out from a window but when we will start asking questions why whistle blowers “dying” is a normal occurrence in the US.

    • Redjard
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      117 hours ago

      The inputs of the model are full copies of copyrighted data, so the “amount used” is the entirety of the copyrighted work.

      If you want to apply current copyright law to the inner working of artificial networks, you run into the problem that it doesn’t work on humans either.

      A human remembering copyrighted works, be it memorization or regular memory, similarly is creating a copy of that copyighted work in their brain somewhere.
      There is no law criminalizing the knowledge or inspiration a human obtains from consuming media they did not have the rights to consume. (In many places it isn’t even illegal to aquire and consume media you don’t have rights to, only to provide it to others without those rights)

      Criminalizing knowledge, or brains containing knowledge, can’t possibly be a good idea, and I think neural nets are too close to the function of the brain to apply current regulation to one but not the other. You would at minimum need laws explicitly specifying to only apply to digital neural nets or something similar, and it apears this page is trying to work in existing regulation. (If we do create law only applying to digital neural nets, and we ever create intelligent enough ai it could deservedly be called a person, then I’m sure that ai wouldn’t be greatly happy about weird discriminatory regulation applying to only its brain but not that of all the other people on this planet.)

      A neural net is working too similarly to the human brain to call the neural net a copy but the human brain “learning, memorization, inspiration”. If you wanna avoid criminalizing thoughts, I don’t see a way to make the arguments this website makes.

    • Radioactive Butthole
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      471 day ago

      I was talking to my cousin (journalist) a while ago and she told me how she was supposed to interview a whistleblower for Anaheim PD. I snarkily commented something like, “yeah but let me guess he shot himself twice in the back of the head” and she alarmingly said “…yeah, how did you know?”

      • @ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml
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        217 hours ago

        I’m surprised that she would be surprised by that, it’s like the most obvious thing ever lol

  • @zephorah@lemm.ee
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    1021 day ago

    Bill Burr has this take that corporations are the mobsters of yore, they just kneecap or whack people in different ways because the law is on their side now. Until it’s not.

      • @Lucidlethargy@sh.itjust.works
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        216 hours ago

        Well… A successful CEO of a major corporation. I can only imagine there might be some decent CEO’s out there.

        …none come to mind, but I think they can exist.

        • @xthexder@l.sw0.com
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          215 hours ago

          Technically all it takes to be a CEO is to spend a couple hundred dollars to register a corporation. You don’t need employees or anything. Generally the focus has been on CEOs of publicly traded companies, since the “CEO” of some local business probably isn’t making millions of dollars.