Animal Farm

Obama’s abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism

"President Obama has been unprecedented in his use of the Espionage Act to prosecute those whose whistleblowing he wants to curtail. The purpose of an Espionage Act prosecution, however, is not to punish a person for spying for the enemy, selling secrets for personal gain, or trying to undermine our way of life. It is to ruin the whistleblower personally, professionally and financially. It is meant to send a message to anybody else considering speaking truth to power: challenge us and we will destroy you. Only ten people in American history have been charged with espionage for leaking classified information, seven of them under Barack Obama." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s abuse of the Espionage Act is modern-day McCarthyism

Illinois: Unconstitutional No-Taping-Cops Law Will Be Prosecuted on “Case by Case Basis”

"Morgan County State’s Attorney Robert Bonjean said Monday that he is not anticipating prosecuting an eavesdropping charge against Randy Newingham — at least not at this time. For the public at large, this does not mean that recording on-duty officers will never be prosecuted in Morgan County. 'We’ll review those reports and we’ll continue to monitor the decision from the 7th Circuit court,' Bonjean said. 'I don’t foresee myself making any blanket decision, just taking it on a case by case basis.' Newingham had his cellphone confiscated after he showed police a recording he had made of himself having a conversation with an on-duty officer on a golf cart." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIllinois: Unconstitutional No-Taping-Cops Law Will Be Prosecuted on “Case by Case Basis”

Britain considers life in prison for owners of ‘killer dogs’

"Owners of dogs that kill people could face life imprisonment if an online consultation run by the government demonstrates public support for more severe penalties. Public response will be one – but not necessarily the decisive – factor in shaping changes that the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) plans to make to the 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act. Some 16 people have been killed by dangerous dogs since 2005. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents postmen and women and telecoms engineers, who suffer around 5,000 dog attacks each year, welcomed the consultation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritain considers life in prison for owners of ‘killer dogs’

China Is Ending Its “One-Child Policy” – Here Are The Implications

"The one-child-policy is very unpopular. [..] Currently, a second child is permitted if both parents are singletons. Rural families can have a second child if the first-born is a girl. Some provinces have even looser policies for rural families. There are also other exceptions for a second child, and minority ethnic groups are allowed to have two or even more children. Families which have more children than the policy allows are subject to fines under the name of social maintenance fees. The fee amount varies across the nation, but usually is at least 2-6 times of the higher of annual family income and average local household disposable income." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Is Ending Its “One-Child Policy” – Here Are The Implications

Taken: The Use And Abuse Of Civil Forfeiture

"Hundreds of state and federal laws authorize forfeiture for cockfighting, drag racing, basement gambling, endangered-fish poaching, securities fraud, and countless other misdeeds. In general, you needn’t be found guilty to have your assets claimed by law enforcement; in some states, suspicion on a par with 'probable cause' is sufficient. Nor must you be charged with a crime, or even be accused of one. Unlike criminal forfeiture, which requires that a person be convicted of an offense before his or her property is confiscated, civil forfeiture amounts to a lawsuit filed directly against a possession, regardless of its owner’s guilt or innocence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaken: The Use And Abuse Of Civil Forfeiture

Jacob Hornberger: More Judicial Deference on National-Security State Murder

"Continuing the long tradition of deference to the national-security state by the U.S. federal judiciary, a federal judge recently dismissed a lawsuit by the sons of a man named Frank Olson seeking damages for the CIA’s murder of their father. The excuses that the judge used to dismiss the case were the statute of limitations and a previous settlement that had been entered into regarding the case. The CIA confessed to its LSD experiment on Olson, but the confession, along with all the remorse and regret, were nothing more than a highly sophisticated way to cover up the fact that the CIA had actually murdered Olson by pushing him out of that high-rise New York City hotel room." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJacob Hornberger: More Judicial Deference on National-Security State Murder

Should insider trading be legal? Insiders say yes

"Perhaps the folks at hedge fund SAP Capital Advisors, who have recently pleaded guilty to insider-trading charges, should have run for Congress. Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission served the firm with a criminal indictment and continues pressing civil charges against its founder Steven Cohen. The agency hasn’t done much about accounting fraud, or other shenanigans that lead to the 2008 financial crisis, but insider trading remains a priority. Over the past three years, the SEC boasts of filing 168 insider trading cases, more than any three-year period in the agency’s history." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingShould insider trading be legal? Insiders say yes

Did cops need to kill a 95-year-old veteran with a Taser, riot shield and shotgun?

"When John Wrana was a young man, fit and strong and fighting in World War II with the U.S. Army Air Corps, did he ever think he'd end this way? Just a few weeks shy of his 96th birthday, in need of a walker to move about, cops coming through the door of his retirement home with a Taser and a shotgun. The old man, described by a family member as 'wobbly' on his feet, had refused medical attention. The paramedics were called. They brought in the Park Forest police.First they tased him, but that didn't work. So they fired a shotgun, hitting him in the stomach with a bean-bag round. Wrana was struck with such force that he bled to death internally." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDid cops need to kill a 95-year-old veteran with a Taser, riot shield and shotgun?

Lawyers: Illegal body cavity searches of women standard policy at Texas traffic stops

"A lawyer representing women who faced 'unconstitutional' cavity searches of their genitals at traffic stops in Texas last year have said that the practice is essentially standard practice in many jurisdictions. In two separate cases last year, four women said that they were humiliated with illegal cavity searches on the side of Texas highways. Angel Dobbs, 38, and her 24-year-old niece, Ashley Dobbs were searched after a trooper saw them throw a cigarette butt out the car window. And Brandy Hamilton, 27, and Alexandria Randle, 26, were searched after a trooper claimed he smelled marijuana." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawyers: Illegal body cavity searches of women standard policy at Texas traffic stops

The NSA is giving your phone records to the DEA. And the DEA is covering it up.

"DEA officials in a highly secret office called the Special Operations Division are assigned to handle these incoming tips. Tips from the NSA are added to a DEA database that includes 'intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a massive database of telephone records.' Because the SOD’s work is classified, DEA cases that began as NSA leads can’t be seen to have originated from a NSA source. So what does the DEA do? It makes up the story of how the agency really came to the case in a process known as 'parallel construction.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe NSA is giving your phone records to the DEA. And the DEA is covering it up.