Police State

China ousts police chief ‘who owns hundreds of houses’

"A Chinese police chief has been sacked after reports he owned hundreds of houses and a false identity card, state media said Wednesday in the latest scandal to fuel public outrage over corruption. Zhao Haibin was stripped of his public offices for 'engaging in business deals using a fake identity card', the state-run Xinhua news agency reported, citing the Lufeng city government in the southern province of Guangdong. The case is the latest of a series involving officials owning multiple houses with different identity cards and residence permits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina ousts police chief ‘who owns hundreds of houses’

10 things the FBI won’t fire you for

"A year-in-review email recently circulated to employees at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that leaked online this week (PDF) reveals a series of disciplinary actions taken against agents during 2012. While some of the agents’ transgressions were entertaining for how out-of-line they got, it’s also particularly interesting to highlight what the bureau does and does not consider a fireable offense. While things like committing check fraud, spying on a supervisor and purchasing child pornography absolutely did trigger terminations in 2012, here are 10 other things the FBI apparently will not fire you for." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 things the FBI won’t fire you for

States step up fight against use of surveillance drones by law enforcement

"Lawmakers in at least 11 states are proposing various restrictions on the use of drones over their skies amid concerns the unmanned aerial vehicles could be exploited by local authorities to spy on Americans. Virginia lawmakers on Tuesday approved a two-year moratorium on the use of drones by police and government agencies. Proponents of the legislation say the unfettered use of drones could infringe on Virginians' privacy rights. In an attempt to address police concerns, legislators carved out exceptions for the use of drones in emergencies, or to search for missing children or seniors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStates step up fight against use of surveillance drones by law enforcement

Ben Swann Reality Check: Growing National Divide Over Guns and Gun Control

"t no time in recent history has the country been so dramatically divided over the issue of guns. Unprecedented new laws are being proposed across the nation and gun owners are taking very vocal stands. Ben Swann has a look at the growing divide in a Reality Check you won't see anywhere else." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBen Swann Reality Check: Growing National Divide Over Guns and Gun Control

Daniel Ellsberg: “We Are A Part of A Death Squad Country”

"Luke Rudkowski interviews Daniel Ellsberg on government harassment during the times that he released the Pentagon Papers and how government corruption from then compares to what we're seeing today. To find out more about Daniel Ellsberg check out his website here. http://www.ellsberg.net/ Daniel Ellsberg is currently involved in a lawsuit against the government (Hedges v Obama) to stop the indefinite detention provision of the NDAA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDaniel Ellsberg: “We Are A Part of A Death Squad Country”

When can your government kill you?

"The administration seems happy to answer whether or not anyone has been killed in a drone strike in the United States. No one has yet answered whether targeted killings, conducted via some means other than drones, have ever been carried out. And no one has yet answered whether either the Obama administration or the Bush administration before it ever has operated at the boundaries of what OLC says is possible within the United States. That’s important because people have died in counterterrorism operations within the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhen can your government kill you?

Paul Craig Roberts: Obama’s Expanding Kill List

"If the Obama regime is on the side of the government, as in Algeria, it will kill the rebels opposing the government. If the Obama regime is on the side of the rebels, as in Libya, it will kill the government’s leaders. Whether Washington sends a drone to murder Putin and the president of China remains to be seen. The elasticity of the Kill List and its easy expansion makes it certain that Washington will be involved in extra-judicial executions of those 'associated with terrorism' over much of the world. Americans themselves should be alarmed, because the term 'association with terrorism' is very elastic." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Craig Roberts: Obama’s Expanding Kill List

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Voters need ‘at least 50 rounds’ in magazines to take out drones

"'It’s pretty offensive to most of us. Most of us think if you’re going to use a drone and fly over our homes to analyze what’s going on in our backyard — not a lot of talk’s been given — but if you can fly over in the backyard, you can use all kinds of technology to see what’s happening inside the home as well. And I know there’s been a judge, and this former judge sure thinks you ought to have a warrant to do that kind of thing. But I had somebody last week in Washington that was saying, ‘Look, this goes back to we have got to have at least 50 rounds in our magazines because on average that’s about how many it takes to bring down a drone.’" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRep. Louie Gohmert: Voters need ‘at least 50 rounds’ in magazines to take out drones

Washington state bill would forgive all minor marijuana convictions

"Washington state Rep. Joe Fitzgibbon (D) has a novel idea: now that marijuana is legal in the state, he wants people convicted of minor, state-level marijuana offenses to get a clean slate. Fitzgibbon introduced H.B. 1661 on Feb. 5, a bill that he told Raw Story was inspired by Washington prosecutors who dropped all of their pending misdemeanor marijuana cases in December following legalization’s passage at the ballot box. Many times a marijuana conviction can disqualify one for numerous jobs, public housing opportunities and educational financing: harms Fitzgibbon hopes to undo by allowing prior offenders to petition for their charges to be vacated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWashington state bill would forgive all minor marijuana convictions

Drones, Assassinations, and the Drug War

"The Chinese military recently planned to assassinate by drone a suspected drug lord hiding out in Myanmar who was accused of having murdered 13 Chinese soldiers. While Chinese authorities ultimately decided not to carry out the assassination and ended up capturing the guy and having a court sentence him to death, the episode clearly points in the direction that both the Chinese communist regime and the U.S. government are taking their respective countries. After all, China could justify the assassination of the suspected drug lord in the same way that the U.S. government justifies the assassination of suspected terrorists." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrones, Assassinations, and the Drug War