statism

Not Speedy + Not Public = Not Legal

"Colonel Denise Lind, 'judge' of the court martial of PFC Bradley Manning, infamously and illegally ruled that the US government could proceed with its show trial despite the fact that it had held Manning for more than four times the absolute legal maximum time prior to arraigning him. Then she infamously and illegally ruled that the government could change the charges and introduce new witnesses after both prosecution and defense had rested. Now, she has infamously and illegally overruled the defense’s objections to the use of illegal secret testimony against Manning. Question: If Manning isn’t allowed to violate the law, why is Lind?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNot Speedy + Not Public = Not Legal

President’s Spy Review Commission Provides Unintended Comedy

"President Obama announced to great Beltway fanfare late last week that he was setting up a commission to review the policies and procedures of the NSA. This was announced as part of a larger reform of NSA surveillance that the president promised, including inserting an adversarial 'privacy rights' voice in the secret FISA Court proceedings. And…who has the president tasked with setting up this NSA spying review group? The same guy who lied to Congress about NSA spying in the first place! We can only guess who might be appointed as the FISA Court’s 'privacy rights' advocate — maybe Diane Feinstein?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPresident’s Spy Review Commission Provides Unintended Comedy

Intelligence director introduces group to review NSA privacy issues

"US intelligence director James Clapper introduced a review group Monday that will assess whether the right balance is being struck between national security and personal privacy. The group will assess whether the US 'optimally protects our national security and advances our foreign policy while appropriately accounting for other policy considerations,' the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said in a statement. The body is required to brief the president on its findings within 60 days and provide a final report with recommendations no later than December 15, according to ODNI." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIntelligence director introduces group to review NSA privacy issues

Man Released After Spending 9 Years In Jail For Possessing “Al Qaeda Literature”

"Omar Altimimi has been released from prison after 9 long years. His crime? Simply possessing digital literature relating to Al Qaeda and unfortunately being Muslim at the same time. Altimimi a Dutch national – who resided in Bolton – was alleged to have had a 'vast' terror library, but actually possessed just 'six computer files connected with the preparation or instigation of an act of terrorism under the Terrorism Act 2000.' The infamous 'Al Qaeda training manual' that has resulted in other men being locked up for its possession, was actually written by an informant for the CIA. So is that Al Qaeda material, or American Government material?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan Released After Spending 9 Years In Jail For Possessing “Al Qaeda Literature”

Bitcoin Goes to Washington

"The Committee understands that Bitcoins and other forms of peer-to-peer digital currency are a potential means for criminal, terrorist or other illegal organizations and individuals to illegally launder and transfer money. News reports indicate that Bitcoins may have been used to help finance the flight and activity of fugitives. The Committee directs the FBI to provide a briefing on the nature and scale of the risk posed by such ersatz currency, both in financing illegal enterprises and in undermining financial institutions. The briefing should describe the FBI efforts in the context of a coordinated Federal response to this challenge." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Goes to Washington

India raises import duty on gold, silver to 10 per cent

"India hiked import duty on refined gold bars for a third time in eight months to 10 per cent from the earlier 8 per cent, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday. The government also raised the import duty on silver to 10 per cent from the earlier 6 per cent, and the factory gate duty on gold bars to 9 per cent from 7 per cent. India, the world's biggest buyer of gold, has been trying to curb imports of the yellow metal, which is the second biggest imported item after crude oil. On July 22, the RBI required a fifth of all gold imports to be used for export, usually in the form of jewellery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia raises import duty on gold, silver to 10 per cent

The Myth of the Free-Market American Health Care System [2012]

"In 2009, according to these statistics, which come mostly from the OECD, U.S. government entities spent $3,795 per person on health care, compared to $3,100 per person in France. Note that these stats are for government expenditures; they exclude private-sector health spending. If anything, the U.S. figures understate government health spending, because they exclude the $300 billion a year we 'spend' through the tax code by making the purchase of employer-sponsored health insurance tax-exempt. So: if we measure by the dollar amount of government involvement in health spending, the French system is actually meaningfully freer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Myth of the Free-Market American Health Care System [2012]

300 Tons a Day of Radioactive Water From Fukushima Pours Into Ocean

"Officials in Japan hid the fact that the Fukushima nuclear plant has been pouring hundreds of tons of nuclear waste water into the ocean every day and that a containment barrier has been breached. There is no credibility from TEPCO or the Japanese government on the extent of the real disaster, its effects, the ultimate cleanup costs, or how many years fish in the area will be contaminated. In addition, contaminated fish may turn up anywhere within their normal swimming range with obvious implications." Continue reading →

Continue Reading300 Tons a Day of Radioactive Water From Fukushima Pours Into Ocean

Greek police report riot at immigrant detention camp

"Riot police were dispatched on Saturday to put down a riot at Greece’s main migrant detention camp where detainees hurled stones at officers and set fire to their living quarters, authorities said. Television footage showed fires blazing at the Amygdaleza detention camp outside Athens, where some 1,200 mainly Asian migrants are kept under police guard. Amygdaleza is one of several detention camps set up since last year to assist in the repatriation of thousands of undocumented migrants. The police spokesman said rioting began when the detainees were told that their maximum stay in the camp would be extended to 18 months from a year previously." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGreek police report riot at immigrant detention camp

State Of Mind: The Psychology of Control

"Are we controlled? To what extent and by whom? What does it mean for humanity's future? From cradle to grave our parents, peers, institutions and society inform our values and behaviors but this process has been hijacked. State Of Mind examines the science of control that has evolved over generations to keep us firmly in place so that dictators, power brokers and corporate puppeteers may profit from our ignorance and slavery. From the anvil of compulsory schooling to media and entertainment, we are kept in perpetual bondage to the ideas that shape our actions." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Of Mind: The Psychology of Control