Yearly Archives: 2013

Justice Department facilitated anti-Zimmerman protests

"A division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was deployed to Sanford, Florida in 2012 to provide assistance for anti-George Zimmerman protests, including a rally headlined by activist Al Sharpton, according to newly released documents. The Community Relations Service (CRS), a unit of DOJ, reported expenses related to its deployment in Sanford to help manage protests between March and April 2012, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch." Continue reading →

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Will Adam Kokesh Face Charges of Armed Sedition?

"During the attack, Adam reports that the Park Police covered his chest with laser-sight red dots even when he had his hands up. A sheriff’s deputy informed Adam that charges of illegal transportation of a firearm, sedition and armed sedition are being considered against him, presumably by federal prosecutors. (Oxford defines sedition as 'conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.' Eyewitnesses to the attack on Adam and his companions Tuesday night report that US Park Police brought large brown paper evidence bags in with them before their search that appeared to be full." Continue reading →

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Mexican journalist acquitted of drug charges pens book on hellish prison experience

"'They handcuffed me, covered my face with a hood and kidnapped me for two days in a location unknown to police chiefs,' Lemus told AFP. 'I endured torture that I never imagined could exist,' he said. He said his captors wrapped plastic bags around his head to deprive him of oxygen, electrocuted his testicles and beat him with wooden boards. Still, he refused to sign a confession saying he was a member of a drug cartel. He later signed a document admitting he was detained alongside two drug traffickers, enough to get him sentenced to 20 years in prison." Continue reading →

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Snowden’s full statement from Moscow: ‘I did what I believed right’

"A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort. I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone’s communications at any time. That is the power to change people’s fates. It is also a serious violation of the law. The 4th and 5th Amendments to the Constitution of my country, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous statutes and treaties forbid such systems of massive, pervasive surveillance. My government argues that secret court rulings, which the world is not permitted to see, somehow legitimize an illegal affair." Continue reading →

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Hillary Clinton Starts to Cash in Big Time

"In the six months since stepping down as secretary of state, Clinton has addressed apartment-complex developers in Dallas, private-equity managers in Los Angeles and business executives in Grand Rapids, Mich. Still to come are travel agents, real estate brokers, clinical pathologists and car dealers — collecting more than $200,000 per appearance, according to one executive who arranges speaking tours.[...] Most of the trade groups Clinton has addressed actively lobby Congress on issues both substantial and mundane. Some audiences have many millions of dollars at stake in federal tax policies." Continue reading →

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Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano resigning to lead Univ. of California

"Reports on Friday revealed that an administration official said Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano will resign, according to reports from Reuters, the New York Times and the Associated Press. The AP reported that Napolitano is leaving to take a senior position in the University of California system and told senior staff about her departure at a meeting Friday morning. CNN confirmed that Napolitano will take over as president of the UC system. According to Foreign Policy magazine, Napolitano’s resignation means that now the top 15 posts at the Department of Homeland Security are now vacant." Continue reading →

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Documents reveal IRS put Occupy groups on ‘watch list’ too

"Documents to be released by Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD) on Friday reveal that the IRS targeted progressive groups — including groups associated with Occupy Wall Street — on its so-called 'watch list' alongside conservative tea party groups, according to USA Today and the Washington Post. The new information released, however, does reveal that conservative groups, including those affiliated with the 9/12 protests in 2010, were kept on a separate list from other groups." Continue reading →

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Microsoft Gave NSA Backdoor Access To Skype, Outlook, and SkyDrive (Default In Windows 8.1)

"The company has reportedly helped the NSA 'understand' certain alias and encryption features in its software, allowed it to intercept chats passing through the Outlook.com servers, and been so helpful that the NSA has described working with the company as a 'team sport.' Access to SkyDrive files is handled via PRISM and NSA documents praise Microsoft for simplifying this process over the past 12 months. This is particularly pertinent given that in Windows 8.1, SkyDrive is a default storage location for files and created documents. Now we know that the NSA has carte blanche to peer into Microsoft's servers virtually at will." Continue reading →

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Feds Shake Down Farmer For Free Raisins

"Marvin Horne, 68, stopped giving the government his raisins in 2002 and now 'owes the U.S. government at least $650,000 in unpaid fines,' in addition to '1.2 million pounds of unpaid raisins, roughly equal to his entire harvest for four years.' Horne violated Marketing Order 989, passed during the Truman administration, 'a federal regulation meant to solve a problem from the era after World War II, which created the national raisin reserve. The program gives the U.S. government a heavy-handed power to interfere with the supply and demand for dried grapes' and takes 'away a percentage of every farmer’s raisins' without paying for them." Continue reading →

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First Major Success in Lawsuit Challenging New Colorado Gun Control Laws

"The Independence Institute’s David Kopel is representing 55 elected Sheriffs and one retired police officer in lawsuit against the new anti-gun laws signed by Governor Hickenlooper last March. Tuesday night, on the eve of a federal court hearing, the plaintiffs and the Colorado Attorney General agreed on proposal to fix two problems with the magazine ban. The successful resolution of these issues was achieved by voluntary agreement with the Attorney General. With these two issues now resolved, we are beginning preparation for a full trial on the merits. The trial will be our challenge to the entirety of the unconstitutional anti-gun laws." Continue reading →

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