CLibertyC

Court sides with lovers of boobies: School cannot ban breast cancer awareness bracelets

"A full U.S. appeals court ruled Monday that a Pennsylvania school district could not ban 'I (heart) Boobies!' bracelets under the First Amendment. With help from the American Civil Liberties Union, two middle schoolers filed a free-speech lawsuit against the Easton Area School District in 2010 after being suspended for wearing the breast cancer awareness bracelets on the school’s Breast Cancer Awareness Day. School officials said the 'I (heart) Boobies!' slogan was lewd and distracted students. The school district also argued the bracelets violated the Title IX right to be free from sexual harassment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCourt sides with lovers of boobies: School cannot ban breast cancer awareness bracelets

Why U.S. Policy in East Asia is Dangerous

"The United States contained the Soviets until the government collapsed because of economic stagnation and a plummeting price of oil—the only thing anyone ever wanted to buy from the USSR. Now, the United States’ latest pivot to East Asia is intended to reinforce the already existing containment policy towards China by building up U.S. military forces and augmenting Cold War alliances in the region. This is unlikely to stem China’s rise. While Russia was supposedly on the rise, their economy was sinking. In China’s case, their economy is largely the reason behind their new status as an international power broker." Continue reading →

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How Dare the Iranians Elect a Moderate!

"What did the Iranians do to warrant such deafening and dramatic saber-rattling? Test a nuclear device? Open a military base in Mexico? No. They voted for moderate Iranian politician, Hasan Rouhani, to be president. To punctuate his expressed desire to open to the West, the English-speaking Rouhani unveiled his cabinet today, which includes a PhD from the University of Denver as his new foreign minister and a PhD from the George Washington University as his chief of staff. Iran watcher and RPI advisor Prof. Flint Leverett observed that 'Rohani has appointed his A-team to do a deal with the U.S. It shows Iran is serious.'" Continue reading →

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When “Diplomats” Aren’t Suborning Another Country’s Rulers, They’re Killing Its Citizens

"US diplomat Joshua Walde killed Haji Hassan Ali Lukindo, 43, when his car crashed into the minibus carrying Mr. Lukindo. The deceased leaves his wife of fourteen years, now expecting their fourth child. 'We have been left destitute since Haji was killed,' the widow says. 'I have no means to support our three children, and have to depend entirely on a well wisher for rent, food, school fees and daily living expenses.' And the diplomat? 'He has left Kenya…he is a diplomat so had immunity and was free to go,’ a senior police officer said…” Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen “Diplomats” Aren’t Suborning Another Country’s Rulers, They’re Killing Its Citizens

Justice Department to review DEA’s mass surveillance program

"The Justice Department is reviewing a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration unit that passes tips culled from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, informants and a large telephone database to field agents, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday. 'It’s my understanding… that the Department of Justice is looking at some of the issues raised in the story,' Carney said during his daily briefing at the White House on Monday. Carney referred reporters to a Justice Department spokesman, who confirmed that a review was under way, but declined further comment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustice Department to review DEA’s mass surveillance program

DEA agents use NSA intercepts to investigate Americans

"The Drug Enforcement Agency has a secret unit that has been funneling information from intelligence intercepts, wiretaps, and a massive database of phone records. The unit has been passing this data to law enforcement agencies across the nation and assists in launching criminal investigations against American citizens. Matthew Feeney, assistant editor for Reason 24/7, joins us with more on the findings and how this affects people's Fourth Amendment rights." Continue reading →

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Amazon Billionaire Jeff Bezos’s Life Story

"Today, Jeff Bezos shocked the world by acquiring the Washington Post for $250 million. It's just the latest twist from Bezos, one of the world's richest men thanks to his founding of ecommerce giant Amazon. If you're unfamiliar with Bezos' story, we've put together an abridged version here." Continue reading →

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WaPo and Bezos: The Hope and the Reality

"The reality: Amazon to buy Washington Post fresh after $800M deal to host CIA servers — WikiLeaks (@wikileaks) August 5, 2013. The CIA has reportedly signed a massive cloud computing deal with Amazon, worth up to $600 million over the next 10 years. FCW reports that its sources have told it Amazon will build a private cloud infrastructure for the CIA, to help it 'keep up with emerging technologies like big data in a cost-effective manner not possible under the CIA's previous cloud efforts.' [..] Perhaps the single biggest item on Amazon’s legislative agenda is a bill that would empower all states to collect sales tax from online retailers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWaPo and Bezos: The Hope and the Reality

Are Police in America Now a Military, Occupying Force?

"Today, the SWAT team is largely sold to the American public by way of the media, through reality TV shows such as Cops, Armed and Famous, and Police Women of Broward County, and by politicians well-versed in promising greater security in exchange for the government being given greater freedom to operate as it sees fit outside the framework of the Constitution. Having watered down the Fourth Amendment’s strong prohibitions intended to keep police in check and functioning as peacekeepers, we now find ourselves in the unenviable position of having militarized standing armies enforcing the law." Continue reading →

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Visitors flock to Pakistani-controlled Kashmir valley in rare tourist boom

"Success stories can be rare in Pakistan, but business is booming in one Kashmir tourist spot as the region rebuilds after a devastating earthquake and shrugs off associations with violence. Hundreds of thousands of Pakistani tourists drawn to the lakes and glaciers of the Neelum valley are injecting desperately needed money into one of the poorest parts of the country. With a new road built by the Chinese after the 2005 earthquake killed 73,000 people and a ceasefire holding with India, Pakistanis are discovering the snow-capped peaks, glaciers, lakes and lush-green meadows of the Neelum valley." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVisitors flock to Pakistani-controlled Kashmir valley in rare tourist boom