Land Of The Flea

Man tries to float from Mexico to U.S. on duffel bag filled with pot

"Border Patrol agents arrested a man who they said tried to float from Mexico to the U.S. on a duffel bag filled with marijuana. Agents said Monday the man was stopped about a mile north of the border near San Diego after they heard reports Sept. 19 of someone swimming late at night in the Pacific Ocean. The agents said the 55-year-old man was floating about 600 yards from shore. The man told agents he was from Mexico, and he was taken into custody. Agents said they found a little more than 52 pounds of pot inside the bag. The marijuana was worth more than $23,000, agents said." Continue reading →

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Second California county joins push to form state of ‘Jefferson’

"A second county in rural northern California voted on Tuesday to explore the possibility of seceding and joining a new state. Modoc County’s board of supervisors voted 4-0 for the move, which was supported by the majority of the 40 attendees at the meeting, including a spokesperson for the Jefferson Declaration Committee, the group hoping to compel at least six counties in the area to sign on before asking state lawmakers for approval. If the state assembly approves Jefferson’s formation, it would then go to Congress for consideration. The board’s vote came 21 days after officials in neighboring Siskiyou County signaled their intention to break away in a 4-1 vote." Continue reading →

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Gun registry ‘scheme’ among concerns over US signing of UN arms treaty

"The treaty would regulate the $70 billion global trade in conventional arms. The U.S. is the largest arms exporter in the world, and Kerry's signature was seen as a significant step in pushing it forward. Supporters say the treaty sends a bold global message advocating the first-ever moral standards on the cross-border trade linked to human rights violations around the world. But to some on U.S. soil, the treaty treads into dangerous territory and could step on the constitutional rights of Americans. They point in part to language, at the very beginning of the document, that includes 'small arms and light weapons' and worry this could cover firearms owned by Americans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGun registry ‘scheme’ among concerns over US signing of UN arms treaty

17% Would Vote to Secede and Form New State

"Some residents in Maryland, California, Michigan and Colorado are looking to secede from their respective states, and nearly one-out-of-five Americans think that's a good idea. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 17% of American Adults say they would vote for their section of their state to secede and form a new state. Seventy percent (70%) would vote to keep things the way they are, but another 13% are undecided. Just 22% believe sections of individual states have the right to secede and form a new state. Fifty-five percent (55%) disagree, but a sizable 23% are not sure. Only 17% of voters believe the federal government today has the consent of the governed." Continue reading →

Continue Reading17% Would Vote to Secede and Form New State

Declassified Documents: NSA Spied On MLK Jr., Senators, Journalists

"The six-year spying program, dubbed 'Minaret,' had been exposed in the 1970s but the targets of the surveillance had been kept secret until now. The documents were published after the government panel overseeing classification ruled in favor of researchers at George Washington University who had long sought the release of the secret papers. The intensity of anti-war dissent at home led President Lyndon Johnson to ask US intelligence agencies in 1967 to find out if some protests were fueled by foreign powers. The NSA worked with other spy agencies to draw up 'watch lists' of anti-war critics to tap their overseas phone calls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeclassified Documents: NSA Spied On MLK Jr., Senators, Journalists

How I Learned to Stop Feeling Safe in My Own Country

"Earlier this month, OTM producer Sarah Abdurrahman, her family, and her friends were detained for hours by US Customs and Border Protection on their way home from Canada. Everyone being held was a US citizen, and no one received an explanation. Sarah tells the story of their detainment, and her difficulty getting any answers from one of the least transparent agencies in the country." Continue reading →

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Libyan-American Rapper Khaled M Removed From Plane, Detained

"Rapper Khaled Ahmed has drawn attention to airport security and detention practices after he tweeted about his experience of being removed from a connecting flight by unidentified security officials on Monday. Khaled says he was detained, questioned, and had his belongings confiscated without explanation. Khaled is a Libyan-American hip-hop artist who performs under the moniker 'Khaled M.' He first rose to prominence in the hip-hop community with his songs about the Arab spring and events in his ancestral homeland of Libya. After the incident, Khaled M described the experience and expressed his frustration with his repeated run-ins with flight security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLibyan-American Rapper Khaled M Removed From Plane, Detained

Greenwald: NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’

"Under the title 'adversary propaganda themes', the document lists what it calls 'examples of potential propaganda themes that could be employed against UAV operations'. It states: 'Attacks against American and European persons who have become violent extremists are often criticized by propagandists, arguing that lethal action against these individuals deprives them of due process.' In the eyes of the US government, 'due process' – the idea that the US government should not deprive people of life away from a battlefield without presenting evidence of guilt – is no longer a basic staple of the American political system, but rather a malicious weapon of 'propagandists'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreenwald: NSA’s view of drone opponents as ‘threats’ and ‘adversaries’

Fund to Let Investors Bet on Price of Bitcoins

"The upstart stock exchange SecondMarket has made a name for itself allowing investors to buy shares of hot private companies like Twitter. Now that those companies are going public, SecondMarket is turning its attention to the next new thing — bitcoin. On Thursday, SecondMarket is expected to begin raising money for an investment fund — the first of its kind in the United States — that will hold only bitcoins, giving wealthy investors exposure to the trendy but controversial virtual currency. The fund, the Bitcoin Investment Trust, aims to provide a reliable and easy way to bet on the future price of bitcoin, a currency generally traded on unregulated, online exchanges based overseas." Continue reading →

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Media Seeks Answers To General Solicitation

"The SEC, on the same day it issued the final rules on general solicitation that become effective September 23, issued proposed rules that would substantially complicate the general solicitation process. We don’t know when and if the proposed rules will go into effect, but if they are adopted in the form in which they were proposed, they will substantially change the landscape in an unfavorable way for companies that want to generally solicit. In other words, the proposed rules are a take away, a retrenching of the statutory work that Congress did in the JOBS Act." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMedia Seeks Answers To General Solicitation