Mainstream News

‘The Fight Over Medical Marijuana’

"Our federal marijuana policy is increasingly out of step with both the values of American citizens and with state law. The result is a system of justice that is schizophrenic and at times appalling. Consider the case of Chris Williams, who opened a marijuana grow house in Montana after the state legalized medical cannabis. Mr. Williams was eventually arrested by federal agents despite Montana’s medical marijuana law, and he may spend the rest of his life behind bars. While Jerry Sandusky got a 30-year minimum sentence for raping young boys, Mr. Williams is looking at a mandatory minimum of more than 80 years." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘The Fight Over Medical Marijuana’

Mexico says marijuana legalization in U.S. could change anti-drug strategies

"President-elect Enrique Peña Nieto and his team are scrambling to reformulate their anti-drug strategies in light of what one senior aide called 'a game-changing' referendum in the United States. Mexico spends billions of dollars each year confronting violent trafficking organizations that threaten the very security of the country but whose main market is the United States, the largest consumer of drugs in the world. With the Washington’s urging and support, Mexican soldiers roam the mountains burning clandestine plantations filled with marijuana on its way to the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexico says marijuana legalization in U.S. could change anti-drug strategies

District Heights officer indicted in shooting of handcuffed man

"A District Heights police officer who shot a handcuffed man in the back as he fled from the officer’s custody was indicted Thursday on attempted murder in connection with the shooting, Prince George’s County prosecutors said. Sgt. Johnnie Riley, an eight-year department veteran, also faces misconduct in office and assault charges stemming from the September shooting that paralyzed 26-year-old Kalvin Kyle from the chest down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDistrict Heights officer indicted in shooting of handcuffed man

Canadians call for marijuana referendum after two U.S. states legalize it

"The youth wing of Canada’s third-ranked Liberal Party said in a statement the result of the referendums in Tuesday’s US presidential election 'is an important first step and inspiration to activists in Canada who want to see Canada embrace a smart drug policy.' 'The citizens of Washington and Colorado are sending a clear message to the world today: prohibition isn’t working,' the group’s spokesman David Valentin said in a statement. Valentin and others argued that Canada was losing billions of dollars in potential revenue from taxing marijuana sales while 'wasting' money on enforcement of drug laws." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanadians call for marijuana referendum after two U.S. states legalize it

Taliban urge Obama to pull troops out now

"Taliban insurgents told re-elected President Barack Obama to admit that the United States has lost the war in Afghanistan and pull its troops out now. 'Obama must by now know that they have lost the war in Afghanistan,' spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid said on the Islamists’ website. 'So, without further lying and delays, they should leave our sacred land and focus on their own country instead.' Accusing Americans of committing war crimes, he added: 'The American administration should stop acting like police in the world and focus on solving their own people’s problems, and don’t make the world hate Americans even more.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTaliban urge Obama to pull troops out now

Obama May Levy Carbon Tax to Cut U.S. Deficit, HSBC Says

"Barack Obama may consider introducing a tax on carbon emissions to help cut the U.S. budget deficit after winning a second term as president, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. A tax starting at $20 a metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent and rising at about 6 percent a year could raise $154 billion by 2021, Nick Robins, an analyst at the bank in London, said today in an e-mailed research note, citing Congressional Research Service estimates. In China, the world’s biggest emitter, greenhouse gases from fuel use rose more than 9 percent in 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama May Levy Carbon Tax to Cut U.S. Deficit, HSBC Says

Welfare States: Federal Grants Now a Third of State Revenue

"The Pew Center on the States has a great new illustration of how dependent states have become on federal dollars since the recession. States now count on the federal government for $1 out of every $3 in revenue, according the 2010 Census, which offers the most recent finalized data. That’s your stimulus money at work. And $1 out of every $3 is just the national average: In Arizona, 46.9 percent of state revenue came from federal grants; in Louisiana, 48 percent; and in Mississippi, a whopping 49.6 percent." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWelfare States: Federal Grants Now a Third of State Revenue

Julian Assange says victorious Obama ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’

" WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange on Wednesday described re-elected President Barack Obama was a 'wolf in sheep’s clothing' and said he expected the US government to keep attacking the anti-secrecy website. Speaking to AFP by telephone from Ecuador’s London embassy, where he sought asylum in June in a bid to avoid extradition to Sweden over sex crime allegations, Assange said Obama’s victory was no cause for celebration. 'Obama seems to be a nice man, and that is precisely the problem,' the 41-year-old Australian told AFP, after the president defeated Republican Mitt Romney on Tuesday night." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJulian Assange says victorious Obama ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing’