"In what can only be described as a posthumous victory for raging asshole Tamerlan Tsarnaev, Williams-Sonoma, the (absolutely amazing) kitchen-stuff company, has pulled pressure cookers--which the Tsarnaevs built into bombs--from shelves in Massachusetts. Pressure cookers will still be available on the Williams-Sonoma website." Continue reading →
"There is no question of anyone giving on-the-spot consent to a search when an occupant is facing a dozen men with rifles and guns pointing at him or her. The reporter describes the police searches as 'terrifying', as in police terror. Such searches are non-consensual. These police have all been trained to act robotically to control the people and intimidate them. They have been programmed. They will point the guns at a woman with a baby as readily as at someone who looks like their suspect. They will make everyone obey. The reporter says that people were not allowed back into their homes but left on the street for 14-15 hours." Continue reading →
"Corine Mauch, 52, a member of the Socialist Party born in Iowa City, Iowa, returned her passport to the U.S. Embassy as she regards Switzerland as her home and doesn’t want to deal with IRS paperwork. 'My relationship with the U.S. is limited to my very early youth,' said Mauch, who retains Swiss citizenship. 'Neither the double taxation or any new directives on the taxation of U.S. citizens outside the U.S. have affected this decision. But I won’t miss the U.S. tax bureaucracy either.' The U.S. is the only nation in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that taxes citizens wherever they reside, including an estimated six million expatriates." Continue reading →
"Police in Port St. Lucie, Florida announced on Wednesday that they had arrested a couple on charges related to a 'weapons manufacturing warehouse' and a marijuana growing operations, according to TCPalm. WPTV reported that a traffic stop made by the Martin County Sheriff’s Office earlier in the week led to a marijuana grow house, which then led to a warehouse facility where 'high-end' weapons were being manufactured. At a warehouse on Northwest Settle Avenue, investigators found about 150 marijuana plants and ten guns, including an AK-47 military-style assault rifle." Continue reading →
"Beginning sometime between May 7 and May 29, local, state and top level federal authorities will respond to simulated weapons of mass destruction attacks in three cities — Denver, Portsmouth, N.H., and the Washington, D.C.-area. Volunteers and professional actors will play the roles of victims, who will be rescued, diagnosed, decontaminated and treated over the 10-day period. A 'virtual news network' will be created that will broadcast on the exercises every hour on the hour. This marks the first time that an exercise of this scope, with the participation of top-level federal, state and local officials, has ever been conducted." Continue reading →
"Tsarnaev’s case may prove to be the game-changer. Yet as journalist Emily Bazelon points out for Slate: 'Why should I care that no one’s reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights? When the law gets bent out of shape for him, it’s easier to bend out of shape for the rest of us.' This continual undermining of the rules that protect civil liberties, not to mention the incessant rush to judgment by politicians, members of the media and the public, will inevitably have far-reaching consequences on a populace that not only remains ignorant about their rights but is inclined to sacrifice their liberties for phantom promises of safety." Continue reading →
"Tsarnaev’s case may prove to be the game-changer. Yet as journalist Emily Bazelon points out for Slate: 'Why should I care that no one’s reading Dzhokhar Tsarnaev his Miranda rights? When the law gets bent out of shape for him, it’s easier to bend out of shape for the rest of us.' This continual undermining of the rules that protect civil liberties, not to mention the incessant rush to judgment by politicians, members of the media and the public, will inevitably have far-reaching consequences on a populace that not only remains ignorant about their rights but is inclined to sacrifice their liberties for phantom promises of safety." Continue reading →
"Back in the Clinton days, people who lived in crime-ridden apartment complexes in Chicago and other places wanted the police to conduct warrantless sweeps or searches. This kind of ignorance like that from those who applaud the Watertown search is a compelling argument against being forced into a society whose rules one must obey or whose guns one must obey when its people decide to tear up the rules. The authorities are supposed to know the rules and follow them and to protect against intrusions against them. Of course, this is a pipe dream when fewer and fewer people, in and out of office, either know their rights or feel them in their hearts." Continue reading →
"Tell a person that it's a big beautiful world, full of fresh opportunities and a sense of freedom that is just not available by staying put and you will inevitably be treated to a litany of reasons why expanding your life into more than one country just isn't practical. Let's consider some of those commonly stated reasons, and why they might be unjustified. While largely directed at Americans, these are also applicable to pretty much anyone from any country." Continue reading →
"Boston-based civil liberties attorney Harvey Silverglate told Reason.com he is very troubled by the measures taken by law enforcement officials during the manhunt for alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. His views contrasted greatly with what this reporter came across during dozens of man-on-the-street interviews conducted across the greater Boston area last week, where residents voiced overwhelming support for the actions of local, state, and federal officials." Continue reading →