Monthly Archives: September 2013

Obama’s Syrian Allies Bombard Christian Village

"Obama’s allies in Syria — those who will directly benefit from the coming US airstrikes — stepped up their genocide against Syrian Christians today, attacking Maaloula, a Christian village, indiscriminately using mortar shells fired from a hilltop above the village. According to the press report: 'Maaloula, a mountain village some 40 miles (60 kilometers) northeast of Damascus, is home to about 2,000 residents, some of whom still speak a version of Aramaic, the ancient language of biblical times believed to have been spoken by Jesus.' Will American Christians support a war for the genocide of Christians in Syria?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s Syrian Allies Bombard Christian Village

Pentagon in 2012: 75,000 troops needed to secure Syria chemical weapons

"Securing Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles and the facilities that produced them would likely require the U.S. to send more than 75,000 ground troops into the Middle Eastern country, MailOnline learned Wednesday. That estimate comes from a secret memorandum the U.S. Department of Defense prepared for President Obama in early 2012. U.S. Central Command arrived at the figure of 75,000 ground troops as part of a written series of military options for dealing with Bashar al-Assad more than 18 months ago, long before the U.S. confirmed internally that the Syrian dictator was using the weapons against rebel factions within his borders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPentagon in 2012: 75,000 troops needed to secure Syria chemical weapons

Reporter Asks Obama if Nobel Peace Prize ‘Dilemma’ on Syria Attack

"President Barack Obama flew to Sweden on Wednesday for a diplomatic meeting ahead of a two-day G20 summit in St. Petersburg, Russia. Obama held a wide-ranging press conference in Sweden relating to the White House's effort to build support for a strike on Syria in the wake of that government's use of chemical weapons on civilians. One Swedish reporter cornered Obama on the contradictions contained in the fact that a Nobel Peace Prize winner is planning to launch his second war against a sovereign nation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReporter Asks Obama if Nobel Peace Prize ‘Dilemma’ on Syria Attack

Senators Authorizing Syria Strike Got More Cash From Military-Industrial Complex

"Senators voting Wednesday to authorize a Syria strike received, on average, 83 percent more campaign financing from defense contractors than lawmakers voting against war. Overall, political action committees and employees from defense and intelligence firms such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, United Technologies, Honeywell International, and others ponied up $1,006,887 to the 17 members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee who voted yes or no on the authorization Wednesday, according to an analysis by Maplight, the Berkeley-based nonprofit that performed the inquiry at WIRED’s request." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenators Authorizing Syria Strike Got More Cash From Military-Industrial Complex

Who is the real big bucks bully in the gun control debate?

"For many years, the gun ban lobby has portrayed the National Rifle Association as the big money bully in the gun control debate, but stories published today and yesterday suggest that the real big spender is anti-gun New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has dumped a wad of cash into thwarting a Coloradorecall election in defense of two Democrats who could get the boot for backing that state’s new gun control laws. Today’s reports say Bloomberg has spent $350,000 against an estimated $100,000 put up by the NRA in the Colorado battle." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho is the real big bucks bully in the gun control debate?

Drug use doubles among U.S. baby boomers and seniors

"For adults aged 50 to 54, the rate more than doubled from 3.4 percent in 2002 to 7.2 percent last year. For those aged 55 to 59, it more than tripled from 1.9 percent to 6.6 percent. 'Among those aged 60 to 64, the rate increased from 1.1 percent in 2003 to 3.6 percent in 2012,' the report added. Marijuana — ranked on par with heroin under federal law, despite a trend towards legalization at the state level — was the most commonly used illegal drug. Current use between 2007 to 2012 grew from 5.8 percent to 7.3 percent of the overall population, and the number of Americans who used marijuana daily or almost daily grew from 5.1 million in 2007 to 7.6 million in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrug use doubles among U.S. baby boomers and seniors

Mexico’s Vicente Fox pushes marijuana debate to forefront

"Former President Vicente Fox grew up on a farm here in rural Guanajuato, one of Mexico's most conservative states. He is the kind of guy who wears big belt buckles, collects hand-tooled saddles and worships the free market. Fox has always fancied himself a policy maverick. And these days, the former standard-bearer of Mexico's conservative National Action Party, or PAN, has emerged as one of Latin America's most outspoken advocates of marijuana legalization. This summer he has significantly ramped up his efforts. In June, he declared that he would grow the plant if it were legalized and added that he'd like to see marijuana sold in Mexican convenience stores." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexico’s Vicente Fox pushes marijuana debate to forefront

Can the Police Go to the Front Door of a Home With “No Trespassing” Signs?

"The Supreme Court indicated that a police officer’s right to walk up to a front door of a person’s home is subject to an implied license based on existing social norms. Going on to the property and approaching the front door is a physical intrusion onto the curtilage, Jardines holds. But there is an implied license to approach a front door with the intent to knock and try to speak to the homeowner. Jardines holds that the implied license does not extend to bringing a dog to the front porch of a house with the intent to search the home. One question that arises from Jardines is whether the police can go up the front door when a homeowner puts up 'no trespassing' signs or something similar." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCan the Police Go to the Front Door of a Home With “No Trespassing” Signs?

Pennsylvania man pays $7,143 school tax bill in $1 bills

"Fed up with having to pay $7,143 in school taxes for a district his children don’t attend, a Forks Township man paid that portion of his tax bill last week in single dollar bills. And it's all on YouTube. 'We don't even use the public system, yet I am being forced to pay all this money into a public school system,' he said. 'I don't think that's really either fair or just or even ethical. It would be the equivalent if McDonald's were to force vegetarians to pay for their cheeseburgers.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPennsylvania man pays $7,143 school tax bill in $1 bills

Kentucky agriculture head: Grow hemp, we’ll see what Justice Department does

"Kentucky’s Commissioner of Agriculture James Comer said Attorney General Eric Holder’s announcement last week of changes in the Justice Department’s marijuana policy could mean that the state can move ahead with industrial hemp farming. Comer intends to forge ahead with industrial hemp in hopes that federal policy will continue to mellow with regards to marijuana. 'This is going to happen sooner than many of us thought,' said Comer. Comer is sanguine enough about the outcome that he is already courting hemp processing companies in hopes that they will do business in the state. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (R) issued a statement supporting Comer on Wednesday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKentucky agriculture head: Grow hemp, we’ll see what Justice Department does