"The group? Come and Take it Houston – a group of gun owners that gather publicly to 'educate Texans on their right to openly carry shotguns and rifles in a safe manner.' Even in front of a police station. 'It’s Independence Day – where it all started,' said shotgun toting Jenn Kroll, to the Houston Chronicle. 'What better day to show our rights?' Can’t argue with that." Continue reading →
"Henderson police arrested a family for refusing to let officers use their homes as lookouts for a domestic violence investigation of their neighbors, the family claims in court. The Mitchell family's claim includes Third Amendment violations, a rare claim in the United States. The Third Amendment prohibits quartering soldiers in citizens' homes in times of peace without the consent of the owner. Police took Anthony and Michael Mitchell to jail and booked them for obstructing an officer. They were jailed for at least nine hours before they bailed out, they say in the complaint." Continue reading →
"The sexual assault epidemic plaguing the military is getting quite a bit of attention—but what's not getting much attention is the fact that 53% of all sexual assault cases last year involved male victims, the New York Times reports. 'It’s easy for some people to single out women and say there’s a small percentage of the force having this problem,' says one soldier who was raped by a superior. 'No one wants to admit this problem affects everyone.' Most attacks involve hazing or bullying, and have more to do with 'humiliation or torture,' a prosecutor explains." Continue reading →
"The officer orders me to pull over and get out of my car, bullies me around, gets the drug sniffing K-9, lies about me having 'Illegal Drugs' in the car, searches without consent, and tells me that it is ok to take away my freedom. All while not being detained. All this harassment because my window was not lowered enough to his preference. I broke no laws whatsoever. All of this on a day that we are supposed to be celebrating freedom and liberty. At the end of the encounter, the officer did not want to give me his name when I asked him. After I repeatedly asked him, he finally gave it to me." Continue reading →
"Security guards for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu strip searched an Arab journalist working for the U.S.-funded Alhurra network at the the U.S. ambassador’s Fourth of July celebration in Tel Aviv, the network said on Thursday. The AP report said that Jallad was forced to remove his shoes and sit in the sun for half an hour. He was then taken to a room and ordered to remove his pants and submit to a body inspection. After 90 minutes, he was allowed to enter the event. The network said that Jallad had previously covered Netanyahu on many occasions and had a government-issued press card." Continue reading →
"Police had probable cause to arrest a Marine Corps veteran in the Supreme Court building for wearing a jacket that said 'Occupy Everywhere,' a federal judge ruled. Deputy Chief Timothy Dolan approached him and told Scott that he could not wear the jacket in the building because it was comparable to a sign or demonstration. Dolan told Scott he must either take off the jacket or leave the building. When Scott refused to do either, Dolan instructed another officer to place Scott under arrest for unlawful entry. Scott was released the same day, and charges against him were later dropped." Continue reading →
"Coke products no longer contain 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI), whereas Pepsi has only changed the products it sells in California. Research showed that 10 out of 10 Pepsi products purchased outside of California during the month of June 2013 still contain 4-MEI at levels 'four to eight times higher than the safety thresholds set by California.' Pepsi assured NPR reporter Allison Aubrey that there is nothing dangerous about their products. 'The FDA and other regulatory agencies around the world, including the European Food Safety Authority and Health Canada, consider our caramel coloring safe for use in foods and beverages,' a spokesperson insisted." Continue reading →
"Are slowly climbing milk prices evidence that price inflation is not a threat? Far from it, it is another example of Krugman thinking only one or two steps deep. The fact of the matter is that milk consumption is crashing in America. This change in milk consumption patterns is having the effect that one would expect, falling milk sales. In 2011, total U.S. beverage milk sales were 53 billion pounds - about 6 billion gallons - the lowest level since 1984, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture. Whole milk beverage sales in 2011 were less than half their level from the early 1980s. Got that? Milk sales are crashing, and it is across all age groups." Continue reading →
"Western law is a plaything in the hands of the powerful. First, laws should apply to everyone. Congress, for instance, routinely exempts itself from laws applicable to others. When the legislative body constantly exempts itself from obeying the Law of the Land (no matter how irrational it might be) then lawlessness and corruption have reached the highest levels of society. Second, a legislative body (or law enforcement agency) shouldn't single out certain individuals or groups with specific lawmaking. From what we can tell, this is happening more and more. Even the targeting of Edward Snowden seems representative of this sort of activity." Continue reading →
"The Bitcoin world is a lovely place graced by anonymity and (almost) zero government interference. However, a while ago – when people didn’t know Bitcoin so well and security was less important – these characteristics made the currency prone to scams and theft. Here we unearth some of the greatest scams that have hit our favorite digital currency and hope that users will avoid suspicions situations in the future. Stay safe!" Continue reading →