Land Of The Flea

DEA raids pot shops in Washington state, where marijuana is legal

"The Drug Enforcement Administration swooped in on several medical marijuana storefronts in Washington on Wednesday, despite the state’s law allowing marijuana possession. Raids took place in Pierce, King and Thurston counties. They were reportedly targeted by a two-year investigation into dispensaries thought to be laundering money and selling marijuana under the table to unlicensed buyers. Voters in Washington passed an initiative last November that legalized adult marijuana possession up to one ounce and directed the state to develop ways of regulating production and taxing sales of the drug." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDEA raids pot shops in Washington state, where marijuana is legal

Senate committee votes unanimously to sanction any country that takes Snowden

"The 30-member Senate Appropriations Committee adopted by consensus an amendment to a spending bill that would direct Secretary of State John Kerry to meet with congressional committees to come up with sanctions against any country that takes Snowden in. Bolivia, Nicaragua and Venezuela have said they could offer sanctuary to Snowden. Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham said he introduced the amendment to try to get the attention of any country that might take in Snowden, not Russia in particular, although he noted Moscow has lined up against the United States on other issues, including the civil war in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenate committee votes unanimously to sanction any country that takes Snowden

CIA displays Osama bin Laden’s personal AK-47 at ‘secret’ museum

"An AK-47 assault rifle once owned by terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is on display at a museum in Washington, D.C. Problem is, you’ll never get to see it up close. That’s because the weapon is stored inside a glass case at the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) 'secret' museum, according to NBC News, and visitors are strictly prohibited. 'I think for our people it’s an acknowledgment that the hard work over that 10 years and partnership with other members of the intelligence community and partnership with the military was a success,' a spokesperson said." Continue reading →

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Homeland Security’s Future Home: A Former Mental Hospital

"Chris Mills frequently gives tours of St. Elizabeths Hospital, a former mental institution where the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is building a $4.5 billion headquarters. It’s the largest construction project in the District of Columbia since the Pentagon was completed in 1943. The project is moving slowly, even by the geologic standards of the U.S. government. It’s been plagued by delays and mounting costs. People might not even remember Napolitano when the building is completed, which might be around 2026. Today, DHS has 240,000 employees and a yearly budget of $60 billion." Continue reading →

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Eminent Domain and the Decline of Detroit

"Detroit’s sixty year decline, culminating in its recent bankruptcy, has many causes. But one that should not be ignored is the city’s extensive use of eminent domain to transfer property to politically influential private interests. For many years, Detroit aggressively used eminent domain to promote 'economic development' and 'urban renewal.' The most notorious example was the 1981 Poletown case, in which some 4000 people lost their homes, and numerous businesses were forced to move in order to make way for a General Motors factory. The Poletown takings ended up destroying far more development than they ever created." Continue reading →

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Cheese shop owner on crusade to block FDA ban on mimolette

"The US fate of the bright-orange, mild-tasting French cheese has been in jeopardy for months and the Food and Drug Administration has blocked all further imports. Why? Because US regulators determined the cantaloupe-like rind of the cheese was covered with too many cheese mites, even though the tiny bugs give mimolette its unique flavor. 1.5 tonnes (3,300 pounds) of cheese were blocked from being imported. Benoit de Vitton of French import company Isigny says those 1.5 tonnes were eventually destroyed. Mmenus inform diners about the FDA decision, noting that mimolette has been 'the National Cheese of France since King Louis XIV.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCheese shop owner on crusade to block FDA ban on mimolette

McCain: $1 coin could lead to bigger tips for strippers

"Sen. John McCain has a wish for any exotic dancers who might feel the pinch from legislation he’s backing that would do away with the dollar bill and replace it with a dollar coin: Shake what your momma gave you and make more moolah. The Arizona Republican joined Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) and Mark Udall (D-Colo.) in introducing the COINS Act last month. Advocates for the measure contend that saying sayonara to George Washingtons in favor of coins would save the government billions of dollars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMcCain: $1 coin could lead to bigger tips for strippers

Police Ordered To Return $1 Million An Exotic Dancer Saved In $1 Bills

"A stripper just won a lawsuit against Nebraska police who confiscated over $1,000,000 in $10,000 bundles tied with hair ties after a routine traffic stop. Tara Mishra, 33, had stripped for 15 years and managed to save $1,074,000. So she gave the cash to friends to open a New Jersey nightclub. But when those friends were pulled over in Nebraska, the cops suspected the money was tied to drugs and confiscated all the cash. This week, a judge ruled that since the police failed to find evidence of drug activity, and since a canine search revealed only trace amounts of illegal drugs on the money, the cash had to be returned." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Ordered To Return $1 Million An Exotic Dancer Saved In $1 Bills

In Profit-Sharing Scheme, Oklahoma DA Used Contractor for Highway Drug Stops

"An asset forfeiture scheme that utilized a private security contractor to stop vehicles on Interstate 40 in Caddo County, Oklahoma, has been shut down after garnering strong criticism. Beyond paying the private operators to train police, the contract DA Hicks agreed to in January gave Desert Snow 25% of all assets seized during training days and 10% of all assets seized even on days the contractors were not present. Hicks told The Oklahoman he hired the contractors 'because his drug task force had little success on drug stops' and because 'he hoped to make money for his office from the drug stops because of a loss of federal funds.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIn Profit-Sharing Scheme, Oklahoma DA Used Contractor for Highway Drug Stops

The Creepy, Long-Standing Practice of Undersea Cable Tapping

"More than 550,000 miles of flexible undersea cables about the size of garden watering hoses carry all the world's emails, searches, and tweets. Together, they shoot the equivalent of several hundred Libraries of Congress worth of information back and forth every day. In 2005, the Associated Press reported that a submarine called the USS Jimmy Carter had been repurposed to carry crews of technicians to the bottom of the sea so they could tap fiber optic lines. The easiest place to get into the cables is at the regeneration points -- spots where their signals are amplified and pushed forward on their long, circuitous journeys." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Creepy, Long-Standing Practice of Undersea Cable Tapping