Alternative News

Zero Tolerance Watch: Teen Faces Felony Charges for Science Experiment

"No one was hurt. There's no sign that Wilmot was up to something malevolent. The kid's own principal thinks this wasn't anything more than an experiment, and he says she didn't try to cover up what she had done. What punishment do you think she received? A stern talking-to? A day or two of after-school detention? Maybe she'll have to help clean up the lab for a week? Nope. The budding chemist has been kicked out of school and charged with a couple of felonies." Continue reading →

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France: Report Identifies Most Outrageous Speed Traps

"The report classified the testimony they collected under ten general types of speed trap. The first, as represented by the camera on the D338 between Tours and Le Mans, relies upon inconsistency. One side of the road has a 90km/h speed limit (55 MPH) the other side has a 70km/h (43 MPH) limit -- only the 70km/h side has a speed camera. The second type of trap is a camera placed where the speed limit is not appropriate. French motorists complained about cameras being stationed on four-lane, pedestrian free, well maintained highway with a limit of just 50km/h (31 MPH). The third trap is the camera stationed at the bottom of a downhill road." Continue reading →

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DIY Law Enforcement in Cash-Strapped Oregon County

"This year, Josephine County slashed its public safety budget from $20 million to less than $9 million. As a result, the county was forced to release 39 prisoners. Only three sheriffs patrol Josephine County, an area larger than Rhode Island, and those sheriffs only respond to life-threatening calls. The self-reliant folks who live in Josephine County aren't likely to raise their own taxes any time soon, but lots of citizens are willing to do their part to deter criminal activity. Sam Nichols and the other members of Citizens Against Crime strap on guns, turn on flashing lights mounted on their vehicles and keep an eye out for suspicious activity." Continue reading →

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The Next Head of Fannie and Freddie Gutted ‘Audit The Fed’ Legislation

"Now that GSEs Fannie and Freddie are basically government agencies, they are run by FHFA, the GSE regulator. And it looks like the next head of FHFA will be Mel Watt, the Congressman who gutted Ron Paul's Audit the Fed legislation. According to Bloomberg: 'Paul, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said Mel Watt, a Democrat from North Carolina, has eliminated 'just about everything' while preparing the legislation for formal consideration. Keith Kelly, a spokesman for Watt, declined to comment. Watt’s district includes Charlotte, headquarters of Bank of America Corp., the biggest U.S. lender.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Next Head of Fannie and Freddie Gutted ‘Audit The Fed’ Legislation

Madness of a Stimulating Fed

"It would be nice to read a real evaluation of central banking in the modern mainstream press. But perhaps this is as close as we can expect to get. The author explains that low interest rates and money manipulation have given rise to wild economic swings and questions about the current monetary easing. In fact, he does more than question it. He actively questions the central bankers' mental health. Of course, the Fed will set off another destructive boom and bust cycle. In fact, it's already a given. The trouble with central banking is that it simply doesn't yield up rational conclusions." Continue reading →

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Bubble, Bubble, Housing in Trouble

"It appears that the Fed’s zero-interest-rate and QE policies have finally achieved its insane goal of re-igniting a housing bubble. The Case-Schiller 20-City Index shows that housing prices increased by 1.2 percent in February and 9.3 percent year-over-year. All cities included in the index experienced substantial gains, which have been driven by staggeringly large increases in the bottom tier of the market. In Atlanta, bottom-tier home prices rose 36 percent year-over-year and at an annual rate of 70 percent in the past three months." Continue reading →

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Fincen’s New Regulations Are Choking Bitcoin Entrepreneurs

"More than a decade ago, regulators nearly suffocated PayPal. Now it looks like they’re trying to squelch another disruptive, innovative payments system. At least three exchanges in the U.S. that traded the digital currency Bitcoin have shut down, apparently as a result of guidance issued last month by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. That agency has emerged as the top threat, at least in in the United States, to the decentralized Bitcoin network – moreso than the widely reported price volatility and hacker attacks. The fact that bitcoin survives at all with so many powerful forces lined up against it is a testament to its resiliency and tenacity." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFincen’s New Regulations Are Choking Bitcoin Entrepreneurs

The history of the requirement that U.S. citizens use U.S. passports to travel

"This requirement traces its roots all the way back to the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952. However, it’s worth remembering two rather amusing facts about the law as it originally stood: it only required United States citizens to bear a 'valid passport' and not a 'valid United States passport', and it only applied in time of war or national emergency. In 1994, a 'technical amendment' added the requirement that the passport used by a U.S. citizen to enter the United States be a U.S. passport. The restriction that the harsh passport control laws would only apply in wartime was removed by the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1979." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe history of the requirement that U.S. citizens use U.S. passports to travel