"The FBI has released its latest report on Active Records in the NICS Index as of 31 July 2013. NICS now contains the records of 22,908 renunciants who have been stripped of the right to purchase firearms in the United States. This is an increase of 298 since last month and 2,254 since December last year; this compares to 1,184 renunciants recorded by the FBI in January–July 2012." Continue reading →
"The poverty rate among blacks is 36 percent. Most black poverty is found in female-headed households. Among black married couples it has been in single digits since 1994 and is about 8 percent today. The black illegitimacy rate is 75 percent, and in some cities, it's 90 percent. But if that's a legacy of slavery, it must have skipped several generations, because in the 1940s, unwed births hovered around 14 percent. Though blacks are 13 percent of the nation's population, they account for more than 50 percent of homicide victims. Nationally, the black homicide victimization rate is six times that of whites, and in some cities, it's 22 times that of whites." Continue reading →
"Everything from employment applications to telephone surveys to the Census—all contain the following question: 'Check which of the following best describes your hair color: 1) Blonde, 2) Brown, 3) Black, 4) Gray/Silver/White, 5) Red, 6) Of mixed hues, 7) Bald or Decline to answer'. Imagine it had always been this way. Would it surprise anyone that in such a society, there might crop up animosity among the different groups in certain situations? That a gray-on-bald crime might raise hostilities? That entire organizations would crop up, like the National Association For The Advancement Of Redheads?" Continue reading →
"'Every single embassy' was affected, said Undersecretary of State for Management Patrick Kennedy, who warned about long-term consequences of Manning’s 2010 leaks to the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. The unauthorized releases made foreign diplomats, business leaders and other information sources 'reticent to provide their full and frank opinions and share them with us,' he said. Most of the leaked diplomatic cables originated after 2005, when a new information-sharing system was adopted to address intelligence failings exposed by the attacks of September 11, 2001." Continue reading →
"A Washington state man was arrested over the weekend after he allegedly killed his dog by attaching a bomb to the animal and then detonated it. The Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms and the metro area’s bomb squad assisted in the investigation. Dillingham was charged with second-degree malicious mischief, reckless endangerment and possession of an explosive device. Officials declined to give a motive for the crime, citing an ongoing investigation." Continue reading →
"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 →
"Amash cautions that you need to have actual facts to support allegations, and in the meanwhile, he'd favor focusing on what previously unknown information is now known to Americans. 'Members of Congress were on the whole not aware of what these programs were being used for,' he says, and in that respect, he considers him a 'whistleblower' for the time being. 'He may be doing things overseas that we'll find to be problematic or dangerous, we'll find those facts out over time,' he says, 'but as far as Congress is concerned, sure, he's a whistleblower. He told us what we needed to know.'" Continue reading →
"It’s official, every single American can now be classified as a terrorist by the US government. The label of ‘terrorist’ no longer applies to members of al-Qaeda of ‘extremists’, but the average citizen of this nation. And I can show you how literally 100% of the population can be classified as a terrorist under the truly outrageous Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FBI characteristics that define a terrorist or terrorist activity. These broad qualifications of ‘terrorism’ that have spawned a new wave of absolute paranoia within the population regarding their fellow citizens, who the nightly news says may be sleeper cell terrorists." Continue reading →
"Over the last two decades, forfeitures have evolved into a booming business for police agencies across the country, from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration to small-town sheriff’s offices. In 2000, officials racked up $500 million in forfeitures. By 2012, that amount rose to $4.2 billion, an eightfold increase. Often the victims are minorities like Bing without the financial resources or legal know-how to protect their assets. And prosecutors typically prevail. Of nearly 2,000 cases filed against Philadelphia houses from 2008 through 2012, records show that only 30 ended with a judge rejecting the attempt to seize the property." Continue reading →
"Reuters has uncovered previously unreported details about a separate program, run by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, that extends well beyond intelligence gathering. Its use, legal experts say, raises fundamental questions about whether the government is concealing information used to investigate and help build criminal cases against American citizens. The DEA program is run by a secretive unit called the Special Operations Division, or SOD. Here is how NSA efforts exposed by Snowden differ from the activities of the SOD." Continue reading →