Alt/Indie News

How police used a traffic stop to take $91,800 from an innocent man

"He only got a $25 ticket for improperly wearing his seat belt and a warning for 'lane use.' But Wyoming law enforcement officers found and eventually seized the $91,800 in cash, as it was hidden in a speaker cabinet — by getting Parhamovich, under what he claims was duress, to sign away his interest in the money through a waiver. He has since tried to get his money back. But state law enforcement officials have rejected his pleas. Responding to a request for records related to Parhamovich’s case, state officials said they consider the cash 'abandoned.' The state has even moved to forfeiture the money without notifying Parhamovich of the relevant court hearing until after it happened."

Continue ReadingHow police used a traffic stop to take $91,800 from an innocent man

Fed Official Decries Bitcoin as “Not Backed”

"With one unit of Bitcoin now worth 10,000 times the US dollar, it makes sense that the Fed would begin to feel a bit defensive. Indeed, the speech comes to the defense of the central bank, the existing money, and payment system networks, and calls for the pace of innovation to be controlled by regulators in the interest of 'prudence.'"

Continue ReadingFed Official Decries Bitcoin as “Not Backed”

With Gun and Medical Marijuana Registries, Hawaii Starts Disarming Patients

"Hawaii is one of 29 states that allow medical use of marijuana, but it is the only state that requires registration of all firearms. If you are familiar with the criteria that bar people from owning guns under federal law, you can probably surmise what the conjunction of these two facts means for patients who use cannabis as a medicine, which Hawaii allows them to do only if they register with the state. Some of them recently received a letter from Honolulu Police Chief Susan Ballard, instructing them to turn in their guns."

Continue ReadingWith Gun and Medical Marijuana Registries, Hawaii Starts Disarming Patients

NSA Secretly Helped Convict Defendants in U.S. Courts

"The undisclosed use of warrantless surveillance to win prosecutions is also troubling from a constitutional standpoint, foreclosing a rare opportunity to discover Section 702 abuses and challenge the law, which civil liberties advocates have argued is unconstitutional."

Continue ReadingNSA Secretly Helped Convict Defendants in U.S. Courts

U.K. Pressured Over Secret Base’s Role in Trump’s Drone Strikes

"The U.K. Government is facing fresh calls to clarify its role in U.S. drone strikes after acknowledging that there are potentially hundreds of British spy agency personnel working inside a U.S.-controlled surveillance base that has played a key role in so-called targeted killings."

Continue ReadingU.K. Pressured Over Secret Base’s Role in Trump’s Drone Strikes

Occupational Licensing Is Just Another Form of Cronyism

"Special interests argue that occupational licensing somehow protects people, yet we have real-world examples for all 102 professions of states that have zero licensing restrictions and we don’t have examples of people dying or being harmed because of unregulated florists or rogue cosmetologists."

Continue ReadingOccupational Licensing Is Just Another Form of Cronyism

Cubans Are Starting Small Businesses, but the U.S. Is Hurting Them

"The embargo is a failed foreign policy that’s only served to punish the Cuban people and isolate the United States internationally. And rolling back Obama’s opening there is a major blow for diplomacy, people-to-people ties, and — most of all — Cuba’s new private businesses."

Continue ReadingCubans Are Starting Small Businesses, but the U.S. Is Hurting Them