Yearly Archives: 2013

U.S. Navy Petty Officer arrested in California for pimping 17-year-old girl

"A Navy Petty Officer stationed in Lemoore, California is charged with sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl and forcing her to have sex with multiple men. A Porterville Police Department spokesperson told the Bee that Benavidez met the teenager on a social networking site and, knowing that she was underage, traveled to Porterville, California to have sex with her. He made a second visit for similar purposes and on a third, forced the girl to have sex with a second man. Benavidez later transported the girl to his home in Lemoore where she was forced to perform sexual acts with multiple men. Benavidez reportedly filmed and distributed via the Internet." Continue reading →

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New York City considers allowing non-citizens to vote in local elections

"New York City could be the first city in the U.S. to grant non-citizens the right to vote in municipal elections. According to Talking Points Memo, a measure currently before the New York City Council would allow qualifying non-citizens to vote in certain local elections. 'This bill violates the State constitution and the administration does not support it,' said spokesperson Evelyn Erskine. The New York Daily News said that the constitution only grants the New York State Legislature the authority to confer voting rights to state residents." Continue reading →

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League City, Texas Red Light Cameras Bagged

"Red light cameras in League City, Texas were covered with bags this week, but not by vigilantes. Australian camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems had no choice but to shut down the devices. Last November, 77 percent of voters approved a measure banning the use of automated ticketing machines -- the fifth city in the Lone Star State to do so. City officials last year re-wrote the immediate ban initiative circulated by citizens and replaced it with a measure that would only take effect on October 29, 2014, when the city's contract with Redflex expired. The change proved politically untenable, so on April 23, the council voted to pay Redflex $350,000 to end the contract on July 1." Continue reading →

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Reality Check Special: Tea Party Groups vs. IRS

"We are following a story that is just breaking on Friday. Ben Swann first told you on March 1, 2012 that Tea Party and Liberty Groups in seven states claimed they were being targeted by the IRS. On Friday, the IRS apologized. In a Reality Check special, Ben Swann goes in-depth on the IRS vs. Tea Party and Liberty groups." Continue reading →

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The Persecution of Rita Hutchens

"Sandpoint, Idaho resident Rita Hutchens is an opinionated 57-year-old quilt artist whose work has earned her international notoriety. Given that Hutchens is also an outspoken proponent of constitutionalist views, it’s possible that some people have taken issue with her political opinions. Hutchens has never harmed or threatened another human being. Yet local officials, led by Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Shane Greenbank -- an inventively dishonest official -- are trying to make a criminal out of her. Failing that, they might simply seek to have her imprisoned indefinitely in a psych ward." Continue reading →

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California Medical Marijuana Crackdown Ramps Up As More Dispensaries Targeted For Closure

"Several dozen protesters gathered in downtown Berkeley Wednesday afternoon to fight federal action against one of California's oldest medical marijuana dispensaries, targeted for closure by the Justice Department. U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag on Friday served pot shop Berkeley Patients Group with a lawsuit that attempts to seize the property and ultimately shut the business. Dispensaries throughout northern California have received similar legal threats from the U.S. attorney over the past few weeks." Continue reading →

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Fast-food worker wage protests spread to Detroit and St. Louis

"On Friday in Detroit organisers were expecting at least 400 workers from at least 60 stores to come out and protest. The action comes a day after two days of similar protest in St Louis, Missouri, which saw 100 workers walk off their jobs at chains like Wendy’s, Domino’s and Jimmy John’s. It also follows similar actions in Chicago and New York earlier this year in what labour experts call the largest such disputes to ever hit the industry. The demonstrations are aimed at highlighting a demand for a $15-an-hour wage and the right to form a union without fear of employer intimidation." Continue reading →

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Peter Schiff: Symptoms Don’t Lie

"According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis data, in 2002 Americans spent about 17.8% of income on food and energy. In the first quarter of 2013 the share had risen by a factor of 20% to 21.3% of income. Increased share of spending on necessities like food and energy is consistent with falling living standards. In the poorest countries almost all of income is devoted to such things. If consumer inflation data were reported more accurately, it would be revealed that much of the apparent growth is an illusion. The patient is getting sicker, but the doctors are too distracted to notice." Continue reading →

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U.S. Currently Fighting 74 Different Wars … That It Will Publicly Admit

"By mid-2010, the Obama administration had increased the presence of Special Operations forces from sixty countries to seventy-five countries. [A]mong the countries where [Joint Special Operations Command] teams had been deployed under the Obama administration were: Iran, Georgia, Ukraine, Bolivia, Paraguay, Ecuador, Peru, Yemen, Pakistan (including in Baluchistan) and the Philippines. These teams also at times deployed in Turkey, Belgium, France and Spain. JSOC was also supporting US Drug Enforcement Agency operations in Colombia and Mexico." Continue reading →

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Does Innovation Require the Patent Office?

"Most patent holders cling to them as a source of life and defend them against all encroachment. Some businesses build up their war chests with patents as purely defensive measures. The more you own, the more you can intimidate your competitors to stay out of your territory. So how important are patents in generating innovation? The answer is not much, according to four economists from the Technical University of Lisbon. Their findings are remarkable: Nine in 10 of the innovations were never patented. They were just created and marketed, and changed the world." Continue reading →

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