Republican-Dominated Alabama House Kills Bill to Help Encourage Use of Gold and Silver as Currency

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (Jun. 9, 2017) – Alabama’s Republican-dominated House killed a bill that would have removed sales taxes from the sale of gold and silver, encouraging their use and taking the first step toward breaking the Federal Reserve’s monopoly on money. Rep. Lynn Greer (R-Rogersville) introduced House Bill 238 (HB238) in February. The legislation exempted the…

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Massachusetts Committee Holds Hearing on Bill to Ban Warrantless Stingray Spying

BOSTON, Mass. (June 9, 2017) – Earlier this week, a Massachusetts committee held a hearing on a bill that would generally prohibit the warrantless use of stingray devices and the collection of electronic data stored by service providers. Final passage of the bill would not only protect privacy in Massachusetts, but would also hinder at…

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U.K. report on terrorism and Saudi Arabia ‘too sensitive’ to be made public

"The results of a government-sponsored inquiry into the sources of funding for Islamist militant groups operating in the U.K. may be kept hidden forever due to the nature of its findings, the U.K.'s Home Office has said, according to local media. A Home Office spokesperson told the publication that a decision may be made on the inquiry after the nation's next government is elected, but the article provided no further details." Continue reading

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Forget Terrorism: The Real Reason Behind The Qatar Crisis Is Natural Gas

"Bloomberg also debunks the 'official narrative' behind the Gulf crisis and suggests that Saudi Arabia’s isolation of Qatar, 'and the dispute’s long past and likely lingering future are best explained by natural gas.' The reasons for nat gas as the source of discord are numerous and start in 1995 'when the tiny desert peninsula was about to make its first shipment of liquid natural gas from the world’s largest reservoir. The offshore North Field, which provides virtually all of Qatar’s gas, is shared with Iran, Saudi Arabia’s hated rival.'" Continue reading

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The New Gold Rush Is All About Vaults

"A rush into haven assets that began during the financial crisis is getting a new lease on life from an upsurge in populist politics and a quickening of inflation. Two firms say they’re planning to open vaults in Europe capable of holding more than 100 million euros ($112 million) in gold, offering customers lower costs than exchange-traded products and protection from rising prices." Continue reading

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Podcast: The Preamble to the Constitution

In this episode of Thoughts from Maharrey Head, I talk about the preamble to the U.S. Constitution – what it tells us and what it doesn’t. If you’re an American, you’re probably familiar with the preamble to the Constitution. In fact, you may well have memorized it at some point in your school years. But…

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San Francisco P.D. Severs Partnership with Feds Over Lax Surveillance Guidelines

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Jun. 8, 2017) – In February, the San Francisco Police Department suspended its participation with the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), a local/federal partnership that engages in broad-based surveillance in the name of national security. According to the FBI, JTTFs operate in more that 100 cities across the U.S. They “chase…

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