Alternative News

Maryland: Another City Forced To Refund Illegal Photo Tickets

"Hagerstown, Maryland announced Wednesday that it would refund 808 illegally issued speed camera tickets. Brekford Corporation mailed the citations between the end of December and January using three automated ticketing machines that failed to meet the certification requirements of state law. A motorist who intended to fight a photo ticket requested the calibration certificate for use at trial in January, but the city responded with a March 5 letter denying the request, despite the law's requiring calibration documents be kept on file." Continue reading →

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Hundreds of inmates released early in Colorado prison sentencing mess

"Colorado Department of Corrections officials are contacting state judges alerting them that an audit of the state’s prison system has revealed errors in the sentencing of more than 8,000 inmates, including hundreds who were released from prison early. According to the Denver Post, judges are currently reviewing the case files in an attempt to determine what individuals need to be returned to jail, and who among the individuals facing imminent release needs to have their sentence extended. The audit is still in its early stages. Some 8,415 people’s sentences need to be reviewed in all with an estimated 2,500 requiring intensive study and revision." Continue reading →

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LinkedIn’s anti-prostitution policy angers legal Nevada brothel owner

"The recent decision by professional networking site LinkedIn to bar sex workers from posting profiles has led to a disagreement between brothel owners in Nevada, where escorts can legally ply their trade, the Huffington Post reported on Wednesday. 'Are you then going to shut down Steve Wynn’s casino in Vegas, where gambling is legal?' asked Dennis Hof, owner of the Moonlight Bunny Ranch. 'Don’t paint me the same as the people who are doing things illegally.' LinkedIn, which informed users of the new policy on Monday, now forbids escorts from using the site to look for business." Continue reading →

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Is Underwear a Legitimate Function of the Federal Government?

"Why is Uncle Sam wasting $400,000-plus on ugly and clunky underwear? The excuse for this boondoggle is that it will help monitor whether people smoke. I fail to see how this would promote smoking cessation. I assume 99.99 percent of smokers are aware that they smoke. Or are we going to have some sort of nanny-state program with the government forcing people to wear the underwear so the snoops in DC can monitor our private lives. But even if that type of intrusive system would work, why is smoking any business of the federal government? It’s certainly not one of the enumerated powers in Article I, Section VIII." Continue reading →

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The IRS War on Medical Marijuana Providers

"The IRS employs Section 280E, a 1982 addition to the tax code that was a response to a drug dealer's successful effort to claim his yacht, weapons purchases, and even illicit bribes as business expenses. Under 280E, individuals involved in the illicit sale of controlled substances -- including marijuana, even medical marijuana in states where it is legal -- cannot claim standard business expenses on their federal taxes. Oakland's Harborside Health Center was hit with a $2 million IRS assessment in 2011 after the tax agency employed Section 280E against it. Similarly, when the feds raided Oaksterdam University, it wasn't just DEA, but also IRS agents." Continue reading →

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Peter Thiel & Founders Fund lead $2m funding round in BitPay

"Apart from ex-PayPal boss Peter Thiel, the fund’s advisers include Napster founder and Facebook adviser Sean Parker along with ex-Google and SpaceX staff. The company was started in May 2011 by two graduates from Georgia Tech. Their aim is to make taking bitcoin payments as easy as credit card transactions for businesses. It takes a set fee of 0.99 per cent on automated transactions. BitPay claimed 1,900 new merchants signed up in April and it continues to sign up over 100 new customers every day. It is currently processing around $5m of Bitcoin transactions per month." Continue reading →

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11 Governments Are Meeting in Peru to Figure Out How They Can Control the Internet

"It appears that it’s going to be even easier for international copyright offenders to be tried in court by the interests–and lobbying power–of Hollywood. Starting today, 11 countries—Canada, America, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Brunei, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand—are having a secret (no members of the public and no press) meeting in Lima, Peru to figure out what can be done about copyright offenders who transmit Hollywood’s precious content over the interweb’s tubes without paying for it. he meeting is held under the banner of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement." Continue reading →

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Florida deputy rehired, awarded back pay, despite checkered police past

"Sanchez was fired in July 2008 following accusations by a 21-year-old woman booked on drug charges that he tried to look down her shirt, asked for her phone number and asked her out on a date upon her release. He had received three written reprimands for propositioning a defendant’s pregnant girlfriend; allowing jury deliberations to be overheard in a courtroom, nearly causing a mistrial; and he received a two-day suspension without pay for allegedly using his status to intimidate a woman during a 'traffic incident.' Sanchez was also forced to resign in 1989 following allegations from four prostitutes that he would have sex with them while on duty." Continue reading →

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More On Silva Murder By Police

"Mr. Silva’s murderers are back from the vacation to which we treated them and once again swaggering the streets of Kern County, hunting their next victim. Residents may want to 'shelter' indoors for protection from these sadists. Many have sent me articles on the ghastly crimes against serfs at least two of Mr. Silva’s assailants have previously committed. And you can see why they continue to exterminate us: 'The deputies did not face criminal charges in the death of [Jose Lucero]' -- though his family received $4.5 million in a civil suit. This was a particularly heartrending butchery as his parents watched uniformed killers beat and Taser their boy to death." Continue reading →

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Gitmo-izing Air Passengers

"Sometimes the most unpleasant and important truths are disclosed in unintended ways. Speaking on behalf of military officials at Guantanamo, Lt. Col. Samuel House denied that the searches are abusive. According to House, the searches imposed on Gitmo detainees 'are conducted with clothes on, similar to pat-down searches conducted by an airport security screener.' Doesn’t this mean that it is standard operating procedure for TSA screeners to treat innocent American air travelers as if they were Gitmo detainees?" Continue reading →

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