Incoming police chief shoots woman while trying to kill her dog

"A woman in North Carolina says that the incoming police chief in one town did not react to provide immediate assistance after accidentally shooting her while trying to kill her allegedly aggressive dog. Tamara Whitt said that she couldn’t understand why Winston-Salem Assistant Chief Barry Rountree would take the chance of firing his weapon while she was standing so close to the 'very passive' dog. Doctors told Whitt that the 40 caliber bullet would have to remain in her leg because it was too dangerous to remove. Rountree was placed on administrative leave. The city, however, insisted that Rountree’s swearing-in would go on as scheduled on Sunday." Continue reading

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Florida man facing criminal charges after cooking and eating family dog

"A 25-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty on Thursday for allegedly killing his family’s dog, then cooking it and eating it. The Tampa Tribune reported on Friday that authorities picked up Thomas Huggins after being alerted by his his mother, Margie Huggins, that she had found the dog’s ribs inside a pot. She later showed officers more of the dog’s remains in the freezer, along with the dog’s head and innards, which were in a trash can. 'I don’t understand it. I’ve never been violent like that,' she said to the Tribune. 'I grew up in the church, in fear of Jesus Christ and the wrath that will be put on you. He doesn’t feel that.'" Continue reading

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Expansionist Madness in the House Regarding Israel

"I think every part of this is unconstitutional, stupid and crazy, but that's the nature of voting, politics and lobbying in this U.S. government. Everyone who voted 'Yes' on this should be voted out of office. The House of Representatives passed an amendment (315 to 108) to the National Defense Authorization Act that says 'It is the policy of the United States to take all necessary steps to ensure that Israel possesses and maintains an independent capability to remove existential threats to its security and defend its vital national interests.' This amendment provides Israel with important benefits that the 50 states get, but without paying any of the costs." Continue reading

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DEA Wages Hemp War Behind The Scenes In House

"The Drug Enforcement Administration has kicked its lobbying against legalizing industrial hemp into high gear, hoping to block an amendment in the House that would decriminalize the crop for research purposes. The Huffington Post has obtained a copy of talking points the DEA is circulating among members of Congress to press them to oppose the amendment -- raising the seemingly incongruous specter of the government using its resources to lobby itself. Hemp is legal to grow in many industrialized countries, including Canada, and is legal to import into the U.S. States such as Colorado and McConnell's Kentucky have legalized hemp growing, but await federal action." Continue reading

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International Bank Transfers: Banks’ Ugly Secret and Why Bitcoin Really Matters

"Working for the largest Bitcoin exchange with customers around the world gives us an insight that few, other than banks, may have on how international wire transfers work. The first misconception that many of us may have was that everyone could create a bank account in whatever currency he/she wanted in the country of their choosing and have control over it. Unfortunately, a currency does not really exist outside of its country, meaning that if you ever open a USD bank account in a European bank or Japanese one, any USD available in this account would, in fact, be held in the United States and not in your local/federal or national bank vault." Continue reading

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Fact checking NSA’s 9/11 claim: U.S. already knew identity of Saudi hijacker

"Those making the argument have ignored a key aspect of historical record. U.S. intelligence agencies knew the identity of the hijacker in question, Saudi national Khalid al Mihdhar, long before 9/11 and had the ability find him, but they failed to do so. Mihdhar is at the center of the well-known story of the failure of information sharing between the CIA and FBI and other agencies. Indeed, the Obama administration’s invocation of the Mihdhar case echoes a nearly identical argument made by the Bush administration eight years ago when it defended the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program." Continue reading

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Excerpt from Michael Hastings’ “The Operators” Re: Death Threats

"I was standing outside the circle. Dave came up to me. 'You’re not going to fuck us, are you?' I answered what I always answer: 'I’m going to write a story; some of the stuff you’ll like, some of the stuff you probably won’t like.' Jake came up to me. 'We’ll hunt you down and kill you if we don’t like what you write,' he said. 'C. will hunt you down and kill you.' I looked at Jake. He had what I’d heard people in the military call retired colonel syndrome. A certain inferiority complex and bitterness about not rising to the rank of general. 'Well, I get death threats like that about once a year, so no worries.'" Continue reading

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Rep. Peter King calls Rand Paul’s remarks on Snowden ‘absolutely disgraceful’

"'I think it is important for the American people to realize that this guy is a traitor, a defector, he’s not a hero,' the congressman added. 'And I heard Senator Rand Paul this morning actually compared Snowden to General Clapper. What’s happened to our country? This is a traitor, and for anyone to be comparing him to a U.S. military hero is absolutely disgraceful.' Speaking with CNN’s Candy Crowley, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said that National Intelligence director James Clapper 'lied in Congress in defiance of the law in the name of security,' while 'Snowden told the truth in the name of privacy.'" Continue reading

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The 14 Most Ridiculous Things Police Bought With Asset Forfeiture

"Hey, remember the police chief from #7? He’s back! The (former) police chief of Romulus, Mich. and five detectives were part of the town’s vice squad, investigating 'liquor license violations, prostitution and narcotics trafficking.' Thanks to those investigations, they allegedly spent more than $40,000 in asset forfeiture funds on marijuana, booze, and prostitutes. Now these cops face 22 felony counts…and just gave Nic Cage a new movie idea." Continue reading

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How a total n00b mined $700 in bitcoins

"There is a whirring, whining presence in my dining room. I notice it every time I walk through. Every day, it sucks down about one full kilowatt-hour of electricity. In a year, it will consume almost $100 worth of juice—and that's on top of the $274 it costs to buy the box in the first place. Oh, and it's hot, too. If I moved it into my office and could stand the noise, I could keep a cup of coffee comfortably warm on top of the thing. Why on earth would anyone want such a disagreeable little machine in their home? The short answer: every day, that machine magically generates something like $20 in bitcoins." Continue reading

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