New Mexico Bill Would Give Voters Chance to Legalize Marijuana, Nullify Federal Prohibition

SANTA FE, N.M. (Jan. 5, 2018) – A bill pre-filed in the New Mexico Senate would give voters the opportunity to amend the state constitution and legalize marijuana, setting the foundation to nullify the unconstitutional federal prohibition on cannabis in practice. Senate Joint Resolution 4 (SJR4) is scheduled to be introduced on Jan. 16 by…

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USAF General: Nobody’s Ready for the Killer Robot

“If you go back to Aquinas and to St. Augustine, they talk about things like ‘right intention.’ Does the person who is doing the killing have right intention? Is he even authorized to do it? Are we doing things to protect the innocent? Are we doing things to prevent unnecessary suffering? And with autonomy and artificial intelligence, I don’t believe there’s anybody even in the business who can actually demonstrate that we can trust that those systems are doing what they should be doing.”

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Florida Bill Would Ban Warrantless Stingray Spying

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Jan 4, 2018) – A bill introduced in the Florida Senate would ban warrantless location tracking and the use of stingray devices to sweep up electronic communications in most situations. The new law will not only protect privacy in Florida, but will also hinder one aspect of the federal surveillance state. Sen. Jeff Brandes (R-St. Petersburg) introduced…

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Sessions rescinds Obama-era directive that eased federal marijuana enforcement

“In a memo sent to U.S. attorneys Thursday, Sessions noted that federal law prohibits the possession and sale of marijuana, and he undid four previous Obama administration memos that advised against bringing weed prosecutions in states where it was legal to use for recreational or medical purposes.”

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Bitcoin Adoption Rate In Iran Surges Despite Censorship And Protests

“The government has blocked popular messaging services like Telegram and Signal, in addition to several internet networks. Yet despite censorship and civil unrest, the Iranian bitcoin community is growing rapidly. Iranian customers protested outside local branches in 2017, demanding deposits because they worry some of the country’s largest credit institutions are on the verge of collapse. Meanwhile, Iranians remain politically ostracized from most international businesses and financial institutions. Part of the inspiration behind the Iranian revolution in 1979 was a belief that the Shah’s regime perpetuated economic inequality.”

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French president announces ‘fake news’ law

“French President Emmanuel Macron has announced plans for a new law to combat so-called fake news. He said that during elections social media would face tougher rules over the content that they put online. Speaking at a new year reception for the media, Mr Macron said it was possible now at a cost of just a few thousand euros to propagate untruths over social media. In response, he proposed imposing tougher rules on social media about revealing the sources of apparent news content.”

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New German hate speech law tested as Twitter blocks satire account

“A German satirical magazine’s Twitter account was blocked after it parodied anti-Muslim comments, the publication said on Wednesday, in what the national journalists association said showed the downside of a new law against online hate speech. Twitter, Facebook and other social media platforms are scrambling to adapt to the law, and its implementation is being closely watched after warnings that the threat of fines could prompt websites to block more content than necessary.”

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