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Russia: U.S. demands to hand over Edward Snowden are ‘ravings and rubbish’

“President Vladimir Putin confirmed on Tuesday a former U.S. spy agency contractor sought by the United States was in the transit area of a Moscow airport but ruled out handing him over to Washington, dismissing U.S. criticisms as ‘ravings and rubbish’. In his first public comments since the fugitive flew in on Sunday, he appeared to make light of the affair around Edward Snowden, whose flight from U.S. authorities is becoming an increasing embarrassment for President Barack Obama.” Continue reading →

British inventor of the World Wide Web scolds ‘insidious’ Western governments over spying

“The British inventor of the World Wide Web accused Western governments of hypocrisy in spying on the Internet while lecturing repressive leaders across the world for doing exactly the same. Tim Berners-Lee, a London-born computer scientist who invented the Web in 1989 as the Berlin Wall crumbled, said the West was involved in ‘insidious’ online spying that could change the way normal people use their computers. Berners-Lee said the revelations about U.S. and British spying could alter the way people use the internet, especially for younger generations who can use it in intimate ways. He also questioned whether the governments could safeguard sensitive data once collected.” Continue reading →

Supreme Court rules in favor of Florida property owner over denied development permit

“The Supreme Court said a Florida property owner may be owed compensation from a government agency that refused to award him a development permit for his land. The legal issue was whether the agency’s action constituted a ‘taking’ subject to compensation, under the so-called takings clause of the Fifth Amendment, in a more than 18-year battle by Koontz and his late father over their nearly 15-acre parcel of land. After Florida designated much of the parcel as protected wetlands, Koontz proposed to develop about a quarter of it and dedicate the rest for conservation, only to have local officials insist that he pay money to protect wetlands elsewhere.” Continue reading →

National Lawyers Guild Report Supports Further Marijuana Legalization Initiatives

“As the nation waits for a response from the White House, the NLG joins other organizations and individuals in calling for the end to marijuana prohibition. ‘Marijuana legalization will create new jobs, generate millions of dollars in tax revenue, and allow law enforcement to focus on serious crimes,’ said Brian Vicente, NLG member and one of the primary authors of Colorado’s legalization amendment. ‘It would be a travesty if the Obama administration used its power to impose marijuana prohibition upon a state whose people have declared, through the democratic process, that they want it to end.'” Continue reading →

U.S. Conference of Mayors asks Obama for flexibility on marijuana

“The United States Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a historic, bipartisan resolution calling on the Obama administration to stop interfering with state and local efforts to deal with the problems caused by marijuana prohibition. ‘This resolution will amplify the voices of local officials and voters who are sick and tired of President Obama’s administration doing the exact opposite of what candidate Obama said he was going to do, which was respect state marijuana laws,’ a spokesperson for drug reform advocacy group Marijuana Majority said. The resolution, co-sponsored by mayors from 18 cities, lays out a long list of grievances against marijuana prohibition.” Continue reading →

Feds, Anaheim Try to Seize $1.5M Building . . . With No Charges Against the Owner

“Anaheim small business owner Tony Jalali faces the loss of his office building, which is worth $1.5 million, even though he has committed no crime. The city of Anaheim is colluding with federal prosecutors to do an end-run around state laws to take away Jalali’s building because he rented space to medical marijuana dispensaries, even though they operated legally under California law. Jalali is fighting back. Represented by the Institute for Justice, he is challenging the constitutionality of the taking of his land to put an end to the civil forfeiture in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Santa Ana, Calif.” Continue reading →

Bill Bonner: The Bear Market in Bonds

“Get out now. You can ask all the questions you want later. Everyone saw (or still sees) a turn in the bond market coming. Bonds have been going up for 33 years. They can’t go up forever. What can’t last forever has to stop sometime. This seems like as good a time as any. But everyone cannot get out of their bond investments at the same time in a calm, orderly way. Some will hesitate… wait too long… and then, every bounce will encourage them to wait longer, hoping to recover their losses. Others will stumble and be crushed underfoot, selling their bonds at panic prices. Is the panic happening already? No. We’ve only smelled the first faint whiffs of fear.” Continue reading →

McCain: We’ll make border with Mexico look like ‘the Berlin Wall’

“Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said Tuesday that the Senate should include an amendment for increased border security in its new bipartisan immigration reform bill. In video featured by Talking Points Memo, McCain said that the amendment, proposed by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and John Hoeven (R-ND) would make the border between Mexico and the U.S. into ‘most militarized border since the fall of the Berlin Wall.'” Continue reading →