Monthly Archives: March 2013

Appeals Court Ruling Throws Wrench in Maritime Drug Prosecutions

"Four foreign nationals were arrested after their fishing vessel with 760 kilos of cocaine was seized off the Panamanian coast three years ago. The ruling reversing their convictions has called into question current US war drug tactics on foreign territory and territorial waters. If upheld, the decision in US v. Bellaizac-Hurtado, could prevent the US from prosecuting suspected smugglers caught within the 12-mile territorial waters of South and Central America countries, and it may hinder US authorities from entering the 12-mile limit themselves while carrying out anti-narcotics operations. That would wreak havoc with US drug enforcement offensives." Continue reading →

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Stopping Common Core: What You Can Do NOW!

What spectacle can be more edifying or more seasonable, than that of Liberty & Learning, each leaning on each on the other for their mutual and surest support? ~ James Madison     Grassroots in Michigan will be bringing you information on education in Michigan and educational topics from grassroots activists and experts nationwide. The …

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The Will Of The People Doesn’t Mean Jack To Drug Warriors

"The Associated Press reports that eight former DEA administrators are urging the Obama administration to sue Washington and Colorado over their voter-approved moves toward marijuana legalization. Hopefully the administration will choose to ignore this thuggish recommendation. But if they do decide to litigate, this will be another sign that the feds don’t give a damn about the will of the people. Liberty-loving Americans should respond to this federal intrusion with a massive wave of civil disobedience. Let’s publicize the efforts of these authoritarians to undermine the voters of Colorado and Washington." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Will Of The People Doesn’t Mean Jack To Drug Warriors

North Chicago cop charged with double homicide after drunken wrong-way crash

"A North Chicago police officer was charged on Saturday with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence for his involvement in a three-car collision that killed two people. WMAQ-TV reported that Officer Terrel Garrett was been placed on administrative leave after the accident, in which Garrett was going the wrong way on on Lake Shore Drive on Friday morning when his SUV plowed into two other vehicles. Witnesses said Garrett was driving at more than 60 miles an hour at the time. Two college students, 25-year-old Joaquin Garcia and 27-year-old Fabian Torres, were killed at the scene." Continue reading →

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Euro Minister Doesn’t Rule Out Taxes on Bank Deposits Beyond Cyprus

"Anxious depositors drained cash from automated teller machines in Cyprus over the weekend, hours after European officials in Brussels required that part of a new €10 billion bailout be paid for directly from the bank accounts of ordinary savers. The decision — a first in the three-year-old European financial crisis — raised questions about whether bank runs could be set off elsewhere in the euro zone. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the president of the group of euro area ministers, declined Saturday to rule out taxes on depositors in countries beyond Cyprus, although he said such a measure was not currently being considered." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEuro Minister Doesn’t Rule Out Taxes on Bank Deposits Beyond Cyprus

What to Keep in Mind about the Tax on Cyprus Bank Deposits

"Those who lent money to Cyprus’s banks by buying their debt rather than by depositing money at the banks, will suffer no losses at all. Those who lent money to the insolvent Cypriot government, will be paid off at 100 cents on the euro. In other words, the banksters are protected. Only depositors with banks will suffer losses in this International Monetary Fund engineered plan. It's as blatant example of who the IMF really works for. This is not the liquidation of a bad system. It is an attempt to protect the crony system and the banksters who are part of it. It is a tax on the 'little people' who keep their funds in the form of deposits, rather than bonds." Continue reading →

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Totally Disinterested Drug Warriors Demand That Holder Stop Marijuana Legalization Before It’s Too Late

"In an open letter released today, eight former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), four former drug czars, and assorted anti-drug groups urge the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is scheduled to hear testimony from Attorney General Eric Holder tomorrow, to grill him about why he is not stopping Colorado and Washington from legalizing marijuana." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTotally Disinterested Drug Warriors Demand That Holder Stop Marijuana Legalization Before It’s Too Late

Sell a gun to someone who smokes a joint, get 20 years in jail

"The bill would impose a 20-year prison term if you planned ('conspired') to purchase a firearm in order to give or raffle it to a person who, unbeknownst to you, is a 'prohibited person.' Who is a prohibited person? Well, there are the 150,000 law-abiding veterans who are 'prohibited persons' –- for no other reason than that a psychiatrist appointed a fiduciary to oversee their financial affairs. But probably the biggest category of 'prohibited persons' is persons who smoke marijuana. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(d)(3) and (g)(3), you cannot possess a firearm in America if you are 'an unlawful user of ... any controlled substance...'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSell a gun to someone who smokes a joint, get 20 years in jail

Scientist calls for caffeine to be a regulated substance

"Jack E. James argued in an editorial published Monday that researchers and lawmakers alike need to take a look at caffeine-related deaths and near-deaths. 'Armed with improved knowledge of caffeine toxicity and faced with extensive evidence of substantial harm to public health, today’s authorities appear more perplexed and less decisive than their counterparts of more than a century earlier,' James continued. 'In light of current international befuddlement and inaction, legislators, policy makers, and regulators of today confront a stark question — how many caffeine-related fatalities and near-misses must there be before we regulate?'" Continue reading →

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Lawmakers ‘unjustifiably focus’ on illicit drugs rather than alcohol: report

"Alcohol is at least as harmful as illicit drugs, according to Jan van Amsterdam of the Laboratory for Health Protection Research in the Netherlands and psychiatrist Wim van den Brink at the University of Amsterdam. In their report, van Amsterdam and van den Brink call for a 'more balanced drug policy' that focuses on harm reduction and doesn’t neglect alcohol abuse. Significant discrepancies exist between the scientifically-established harms associated with recreational drugs and their legal status. Two of the most harmful drugs, tobacco and alcohol, are legal, but less harmful drugs like marijuana and LSD are prohibited." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers ‘unjustifiably focus’ on illicit drugs rather than alcohol: report