"New Hampshire is one step closer to becoming the 19th state to legalize medical marijuana. On Wednesday, the state House voted 286-64 to approve legislation that would allow patients with chronic or terminal diseases to use medical marijuana if their doctors recommended it. The bill allows for state-licensed marijuana dispensaries to open, and grants patients or caregivers the right to grow up to three cannabis plants." Continue reading →
"The move is an abrupt shift in New Hampshire, where just last year the legislature had considered a bill to send its entire male prison population to private prisons. The problems with private prisons are too numerous to spell out in full, but here are a few highlights. At its core, the entire private prison industry profits when people are imprisoned, meaning stricter drug and immigration laws produce larger profits. Private prison operators know this, and have spent more than $45 million on lobbying federal and state lawmakers over the past decade, including top Republicans influencing the immigration debate." Continue reading →
"In other words: If a cop seeks to abduct you without legal justification, you should submit in the serene confidence that your deprivation of liberty will be temporary and trivial. I have referred to this as the 'Rapist Doctrine,' since rapists and police officers are the only assailants whose victims are encouraged to submit. One hundred years after the New Mexico State Supreme Court published that ruling, the case of New Mexico resident Stephen Slevin demonstrates that this assurance is a cynical lie." Continue reading →
"Gonzalez was allegedly riding a dirt bike with no license plate and no helmet when Officer McClain spotted him and swerved towards his bike. Knocked onto the sidewalk, Gonzalez fled on foot and then jumped on the back of Fernandez's dirt bike, also unregistered. The officer chased them in his cruiser before slamming into the back of them. Gonzalez broke his leg in the collision. He faces charges of resisting arrest and reckless endangerment when his trial begins Mar. 13 in Bronx Criminal Court." Continue reading →
"They threatened to arrest the woman numerous times as well as screamed at her in rage and made her get out of her vehicle and sit on the cement. They also were not familiar with CVC 40502(b). In addition, the cops did not like being filmed. Within literally 40 seconds of the supervisor arriving on the scene, the unhinged boy-in-blue lost complete control and began screaming at the woman in a fury. As the shortened-version video reveals, after detaining the driver for nearly 40 minutes while arguing, shouting at and threatening her, the two jackboot cops finally gave in and gave her the County Seat. That didn't have to be so difficult now, did it?" Continue reading →
"Years ago, before the militarization on the police state and the installment of omnipotent confiscatory governments in America's cities, these things were 'make work' for the government employees and unions. In the era of No Freedom, they have become revenue centers for municipalities. Cities where parking is scarce, like Long Beach, conduct scheming ticket sweeps because people have no where else to park, and the city adds $9M per year to the city coffers by pulling off this extortion tactic. Long Beach's Dictatorial Staff even went so far to suggest the use of 'automated license plate recognition technology' on its convoy of street sweepers." Continue reading →
"An formerly abandoned warehouse in Chicago is now home to the nation’s largest hydroponic vertical farm. FarmedHere LLC opened the 90,000-square-foot farm in Bedford Park on Friday. The facility utilizes aquaponics, a sustainable system that combines raising fish with growing soil-free plants. The vertical farm is expected to produce more than 1 million pounds of basil, arugula and mixed greens. Thanks to a partnership with Windy City Harvest, an urban agriculture training program, the unique farm is also expected to create 200 jobs for young adults in Chicago." Continue reading →
"Many people claim the Federal government and Federal Reserve are trying to inflate a new housing bubble to trigger a new 'wealth effect,' i.e. people seeing their home equity rising once again will feel encouraged to borrow and blow money like they did in 2001-2008. But if we look at current income (down) and debt levels (still high), there is little hope for a renewed wealth effect from housing. That leaves us with this conclusion: The Federal government and Federal Reserve are trying to inflate another housing bubble to save the 'too big to fail' banks from a richly deserved day of reckoning." Continue reading →
"Are you in the market for a 22-tonne bridge? Is there an 82ft gap that you’re aching to span? If so, and assuming you like to play fast and loose with the law, you might want to get over to the Kocaeli province of Turkey where, earlier this month, audacious thieves stole an entire bridge overnight. It’s thought the miscreants intended to sell it for scrap metal; now villagers wanting to reach their orchards have to paddle across barefooted. It’s not the first time thieves have displayed such ambition. Earlier this year half a bridge in India was stolen over the course of three days." Continue reading →
"Cyprus and its institutional lenders have reached a bailout deal, according to reports citing European Union officials. As part of the agreement the country will impose a 40% haircut on Bank of Cyprus depositors holding more than 100,000 euros ($129,760) in their accounts, Agence France Presse reported. The deal will now be put to the Eurogroup in Brussels for approval, the reports said. The weekend saw tense meetings between Cyprus and the Troika -- the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund -- to reach a deal before a Monday evening funding deadline." Continue reading →