for life and liberty

Nazi gold and currency wars – A full guide

"Nazi gold is a phrase that refers to the bullion looted by the Nazis in the run up to and during the Second World War. Gold clearly plays a strong role in history and features as both a political and economic weapon during the Wars of the 20th Century. Upon invasion Nazis would loot a country’s gold reserves, along with other valuable assets, and promptly work to devalue the sovereign currency. This pillage of the financial system is not well known but it served effectively as a weapon in their campaign to take-down whole nations. The Nazis consolidated their power by holding gold whilst their victims were consigned to weak paper currencies." Continue reading →

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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 →

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Senate edited Snowden’s Wikipedia page to change description from ‘dissident’ to ‘traitor’

"In a move sure to grind the gears of conspiracy theorists everywhere, a member of the US Senate recently edited Snowden’s Wikipedia page from describing him as a ‘dissident’ to a traitor, according to the entry’s changelog. The user’s IP address was quickly traced back to the US Senate. It is not clear if the person is an active Senator, a staffer or an intern, but the change certainly came from the Senate. The attempted edit, made August 2, was rejected by a moderator on the grounds it ‘seemed less than neutral,’ according to the posted rejection, which also listed the IP address and showed it was registered to the US Senate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate edited Snowden’s Wikipedia page to change description from ‘dissident’ to ‘traitor’

City Of Concord Confuses Concerned Residents With Domestic Terrorists

"A city that has had two homicides in the past decade needs an armored vehicle to protect itself against weapons of mass destruction, as well as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive attacks, according to City Manager Thomas Aspell. In an application for Homeland Security federal funding of a $258,024 BEARCAT tank, Aspell named three groups as presenting 'active and daily challenges': Occupy New Hampshire, Free Staters, and Sovereign Citizens. This information was only uncovered after a public records request from the ACLU, focusing on the trend of the militarization of police forces in peaceful, small-town communities." Continue reading →

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Israel’s Killer Robots

"Israel is the world's biggest exporter of military drones, used around the world for everything from surveillance to precision rocket attacks on speeding cars in remote locales. Israel's drone program hasn't stirred as much controversy as its American counterpart, but not because their targeted killings are any less fatal. VICE sent Simon Ostrovsky to a drone testing airfield in Israel to find out what their latest eye-in-the-sky can see." Continue reading →

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When Did U.S. Start Warring in Yemen?

"Quick research suggests that Bush authorized making war in Yemen around November of 2002. That was the time of the first drone strike. Obama intensified the war in 2011, following up on his earlier intensification in 2009. Even a CFR publication by Micah Zenko (Reforming U.S. Drone Strike Policies) is highly critical of drone warfare and recognizes that retaliation grows and anti-U.S. groups enlarge as the U.S. increases its violence. Today’s headlines say that the recent 'terror' warning applies specifically to Yemen. The U.S. has advised Americans to leave Yemen. Bush escalated the fighting, although the U.S. was unsure who bombed the Cole." Continue reading →

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Japan calls on U.S. to suspend military chopper operations in Okinawa

"Japan’s prime minister on Tuesday called on the US military to suspend helicopter operations in the country’s southern Okinawa island chain after a fatal crash. An American HH-60 helicopter with four personnel on board crashed at the Camp Hansen Marine base on Monday. The base is located on Okinawa, which is home to tens of thousands of US military personnel, with the latest incident stoking renewed concerns among many residents about the vast American presence there. Okinawans have mounted protests against both the US military and its deployment of the controversial Osprey aircraft on the island." Continue reading →

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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

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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