hypocrisy

US Army vet charged with fighting alongside al-Qaida against Syrian government

"A U.S. Army veteran, who boasted on Facebook of his military adventures with Syrian rebels, was charged Thursday with firing rocket propelled grenades as part of an attack led by an al-Qaida group against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. According to an FBI affidavit, Harroun, who served three years in the Army before being medically discharged, was engaged in military action in Syria, siding with rebel forces against the Syrian government, from January to March of this year. Harroun is not charged with providing material support to a terrorist group, but instead conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction outside the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Army vet charged with fighting alongside al-Qaida against Syrian government

U.S. complains about ‘excessive’ business class travel by UN staff

"The United States is taking aim at 'excessive' business class air travel by UN staff as it presses a campaign to restrain the global body’s multi-billion dollar budget. The United Nations spent at least $769 million of its general budget of more than $5 billion in 2010-11 on moving officials and staff around the world, according to UN figures. The peacekeeping department, which has its own budget, spent another $200 million. Some $54 million of the $74 million of air tickets bought at the main headquarters in New York and Geneva were business class. Diplomats say the figure is probably much higher as no clear figures have been given." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. complains about ‘excessive’ business class travel by UN staff

French minister in charge of combating tax avoidance resigns over Swiss bank account

"Jérôme Cahuzac, French budget minister, resigned on Tuesday night following the opening of a judicial inquiry into a secret Swiss bank account allegedly held in his name but which he has repeatedly denied having. His resignation was announced by the Elysée Palace following weeks of mounting pressure on the Socialist politician. The move by prosecutors to open a full investigation into the Swiss UBS bank account he allegedly used to hide assets from the tax authorities, made Cahuzac's position untenable and deeply embarrassing for the Socialist government as he was the minister in charge of combating tax avoidance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench minister in charge of combating tax avoidance resigns over Swiss bank account

North Chicago cop charged with double homicide after drunken wrong-way crash

"A North Chicago police officer was charged on Saturday with two counts of reckless homicide and two counts of aggravated driving under the influence for his involvement in a three-car collision that killed two people. WMAQ-TV reported that Officer Terrel Garrett was been placed on administrative leave after the accident, in which Garrett was going the wrong way on on Lake Shore Drive on Friday morning when his SUV plowed into two other vehicles. Witnesses said Garrett was driving at more than 60 miles an hour at the time. Two college students, 25-year-old Joaquin Garcia and 27-year-old Fabian Torres, were killed at the scene." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Chicago cop charged with double homicide after drunken wrong-way crash

Lawmakers ‘unjustifiably focus’ on illicit drugs rather than alcohol: report

"Alcohol is at least as harmful as illicit drugs, according to Jan van Amsterdam of the Laboratory for Health Protection Research in the Netherlands and psychiatrist Wim van den Brink at the University of Amsterdam. In their report, van Amsterdam and van den Brink call for a 'more balanced drug policy' that focuses on harm reduction and doesn’t neglect alcohol abuse. Significant discrepancies exist between the scientifically-established harms associated with recreational drugs and their legal status. Two of the most harmful drugs, tobacco and alcohol, are legal, but less harmful drugs like marijuana and LSD are prohibited." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers ‘unjustifiably focus’ on illicit drugs rather than alcohol: report

One More Life Ruined By The Drug War

"Let’s recap what Gerson did not do. He didn’t murder, rob, burglarize, steal, or initiate any other type of force against other people. That is, he didn’t do anything to violate anyone else’s rights. If he were an alcoholic, there wouldn’t a problem. The hive masters say that while alcoholism is harmful, they’re not going to punish people for it. The reason is because mainstream Americans, including plenty of lawyers and judges, love their booze. The punishment of Marc Gerson illustrates the complete horror story that the drug war has become. Gerson no more belongs in jail than, say, President Obama, who himself has admitted to ingesting illicit drugs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOne More Life Ruined By The Drug War

Anti-marijuana New York assemblyman busted for weed possession

"A Republican lawmaker in New York who has a record of voting against medical marijuana legalization has been arrested and charged with possession of marijuana. State police said that a suspicious odor was noticed in Assemblyman Steve Katz’s vehicle when they pulled him over for driving around 80 mph in a 75 mph zone at around 10 a.m. Thursday morning. Katz was given an appearance ticket for having less than 25 grams and is scheduled to appear in Coeymans Town Court on March 8. He also faces charges for speeding." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnti-marijuana New York assemblyman busted for weed possession

The U.N.’s complicity in international human rights abuses

"Consider these numbers: Hundreds of thousands of people locked in detention centers and subject to violent punishments. Millions imprisoned. Hundreds hanged, shot or beheaded. Tens of thousands killed by government forces and non-state actors. Thousands beaten and abused to extract information, and abused in government or private 'treatment' centers. Millions denied life-saving medicines. The U.N.’s International Narcotics Control Board has refused to condemn torture or 'any atrocity' carried out in the name of drug control, claiming it was not its mandate to do so." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe U.N.’s complicity in international human rights abuses

UN: Human rights abuses increase in Iran in 2012

"Human rights violations in Iran spiralled in 2012, a United Nations monitor said Monday in a report spotlighting abuses including repression of freedom of speech, torture and secret executions. 'There has been an apparent increase in the degree of seriousness of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran,' Ahmed Shaheed said in his report to the UN Human Rights Council. Shaheed highlighted 'frequent and disconcerting' reports about 'punitive state action' against a number of groups, including the jailing of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights campaigners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN: Human rights abuses increase in Iran in 2012

Cop’s Free Speech Rights Violated for Supporting Cannabis Law Reform

"While the higher ups are going to try and argue that their permission to lobby was only revoked due to a technical violation (supposedly because he didn’t get a business license for his address), it is clear that they are only punishing the sergeant because of his support for cannabis law reform. It isn’t just a coincidence that the department allowed Sgt. Wiegert to lobby for the St. Louis Tea Party for a few years and only had a problem with his lobbying activity once he started working for Show-Me Cannabis Regulation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCop’s Free Speech Rights Violated for Supporting Cannabis Law Reform