"Helen Clark, the head of the United Nations Development Program, has publicly slammed global strategies to combat drugs, claiming there is increasing evidence that 'the war on drugs' has failed. The former prime minister of New Zealand urged Latin American leaders to develop new policies to tackle drugs, which she says should be addressed as a public health problem rather than criminalized." Continue reading →
"Today the U.S. Attorney's Office in Boston said it will not appeal a ruling that blocked the federal government's attempt to seize and sell a family-owned motel in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, based on drug offenses committed by a tiny fraction of the people who stayed there. The government conceded that the owner, Russell Caswell, did not participate in those crimes and was not aware of them at the time, but it argued that he was 'willfully blind' to them." Continue reading →
"California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom on Tuesday called on politicians to be honest about legalizing marijuana, claiming many lawmakers and officials secretly opposed the drug’s outlaw status. He noted that drug prohibition had been particularly harmful to racial minorities, who are imprisoned at a disproportionately high rate for drug offenses. Newsom opposed Proposition 19 in 2010, which would have legalized the recreational use of marijuana in California. Last December, however, he declared he no longer supported the prohibition of cannabis." Continue reading →
"In nine states you can be jailed and your driver's license suspended for 'DUI' even if you were not in the least bit high. THC is the chemical compound in marijuana that makes you high, but there are others as well that have no such effect. These latter chemicals can remain in your bloodstream for a month or so after smoking a single joint. Nine states now have laws that if such chemicals are detected by the police, then you can be jailed and fined and have your driver's license suspended, even if you are not accused of driving 'under the influence' of alcohol or any other substance. Call it revenge of the drug warriors over the inevitable national legalization of pot." Continue reading →
"U.S. consumer prices rose 0.7% in February for the largest gain since June 2009. Gasoline prices rose 9.1%, also making the largest jump since June 2009. The indexes for electricity, natural gas, and fuel oil also increased, leading to a 5.4 percent rise in the energy index. Among major grocery store food group indexes, the fruits and vegetables index rose 1.4 percent, with both the fresh fruits and fresh vegetables indexes increasing 1.8 percent. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs also rose in February, increasing 0.5 percent." Continue reading →
"World's largest gold consumer India enacted a law making it mandatory for jewellers to collect a KYC (know your customer) document from every customer purchasing jewellery worth Rs 50,000. India made an amendment to extend the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering (PML) Act to enforce Know Your Customer norms for retail purchases of gold and precious stones. Indian authorities hope this move will eventually cut down gold imports which is responsible for country's staggering current account deficit (CAD)." Continue reading →
"The IMF today took an unprecedented step to grab bank depositor money. In a new plan to bailout the government of Cyprus, under the watchful eye of the IMF, depositors in Cypriot banks will be hit with a one-time tax on their savings, as part of a €10 billion ($12.96 billion) bailout. In a deal, announced early Saturday, accounts with more than €100,000 will be taxed at 9.9%, those with less at 6.75%, raising an expected €5.8 billion for the near-bankrupt nation. Cypriot Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said the Cypriot Parliament would adopt the taxes over the weekend and the money would be extracted from accounts before banks take up business Tuesday." Continue reading →
"The U.S. military spent about $3 billion on drone programs last year, according to the Wall Street Journal. And as government spending cuts threaten to pinch some of that money, defense contractors are looking for ways to expand the drone market domestically to law enforcement agencies, universities and border patrols. According to HuffPo, here are 12 major corporations making money off of drones." Continue reading →
"The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals held in a 3-0 vote on Friday that the CIA must reveal whether it has any 'involvement' or 'interest' in the U.S. drone program, saying its refrain that the agency cannot acknowledge the program’s existence is undermined by officials’ public statements. Those public statements came from President Barack Obama, newly-minted CIA director John Brennan and former CIA Director Leon Panetta, all of whom have confirmed that some agency of the U.S. government uses drone aircraft to drop bombs." Continue reading →
“The US administration believes it can actually determine who is or is not a radical Islamist and kill those people by drone, leaving only smiling democrats ready to welcome Western NGOs to help them write a nice new constitution. It is a delusion. It has never worked yet. It probably means the US is planning to enter a much more active phase in the conflict. In preparation for a US invasion of Syria, which will no doubt continue on into Iran, some of the more dangerous and difficult to control elements must be gotten rid of.” Continue reading via LRC blog https://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/thanks-for-your-help-sorry-about-the-drone-2/ ----- Summary via FreedomWatch →