statism

Facebook Billionaire Sean Parker Fined $2.5 Million For His $10 Million Wedding

"New government documents show just how over-the-top Sean Parker's extravagant $10 million wedding in the Big Sur forest really was. The state of California actually fined the Facebook billionaire $2.5 million over it. That's because he built a cottage, fake ruins, waterfalls, staircases and a huge dance floor in an ecologically sensitive area near ancient redwoods and a stream with endangered steelhead trout. Parker even created an LLC company, Neraida, to run his wedding, reports The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal. But he didn't get permission from the Coastal Commission, which regulates the area." Continue reading →

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How to Use Sex Like a Russian Spy

"If a Romeo wants to recruit women, Wolf told Melton once, 'you don't go to them, have them come to you. You become the center of the party, you buy the drinks, you tell the jokes. You're the life of the party. She will come to you. And then naturally that will make it easier.' The next step in East Germany's playbook was to escalate the relationship. The agent would propose marriage and later reveal to his wife that he was a spy -- but for a friendly country (like Canada!). The finishing touch was for the agent to explain that he would have to be recalled, ruining their precious relationship, unless the wife could cough up some information to satisfy the bosses back home." Continue reading →

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Parents now face hard consequences for leaving kids in car

"By the time Christina Moon pulled up to her local J.C. Penney to make a return after a morning of errands, her 4-year-old daughter was engrossed in a film in the back of the family’s SUV. So when it came time to go inside the store, the girl protested. The mom has since been investigated by Child Protective Services and faces a $500 fine and 93 days in jail. Moon has pleaded guilty in the case, so she has to pay $2,000 in court costs in addition to any fine. Jail time is a possibility, though she is hoping she will get probation when she is sentenced on July 23." Continue reading →

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Could the Government Force You to Tell Your Deepest Darkest Secrets?

"It can… at least when it wants to ensure you’re paying your taxes. And while the 5th Amendment still stands in principle, the Feds have found a loophole that can force you to incriminate yourself… so long as it’s written down. And because of this technicality, in 1984, the Supreme Court decided: 'The Fifth Amendment provides absolutely no protection for the contents of private papers of any kind.' And believe it or not, it gets worse. Any of your personal records held by a third party (like a bank) aren’t protected either. Prosecutors can issue very broad summonses forcing these 3rd parties to hand over ALL personal and financial records." Continue reading →

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The Department of Energy Is About to Mess With Computer Power

"The Energy Department signaled Friday it intends to order new efficiency standards for all computers and servers in the United States, reports The Hill. A pair of documents published in the Federal Register said the DOE has 'tentatively' ruled that a federal law designed to curtail consumer energy use, created in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis, also covers computer and servers." Continue reading →

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He Could Bear Arms for the Government — But Not For Himself

"Before he retired from the Army in 1993, Houston resident Ron Kelly spent decades firing machine guns, tanks, and other high-performance weapons. Kelly estimates that during his military career he fired 100,000 rounds of ammo. Yet when he recently tried to purchase a .22-caliber rifle at a local Wal-Mart, Kelly was denied – because a computerized background check turned up a misdemeanor marijuana conviction from 1971. As a teenager, Kelly was arrested with a baggie of pot at High School and given a year of probation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHe Could Bear Arms for the Government — But Not For Himself

South Korean court orders Japanese steel company to pay for forced labor in WWII

"A South Korean court on Wednesday ordered a Japanese steel giant to pay compensation over forced wartime labour in what was described as the first ruling of its kind, a report said. The decision marked the latest chapter in a 16-year legal battle launched by four South Koreans, now aged in their eighties and nineties, who were drafted to work for the predecessor of Nippon Steel before World War II. The forced labour issue and wartime sexual slavery remain key points of contention between Seoul and Tokyo after Japan’s brutal colonisation of the Korean peninsula from 1910 to 1945." Continue reading →

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Justice Department facilitated anti-Zimmerman protests

"A division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) was deployed to Sanford, Florida in 2012 to provide assistance for anti-George Zimmerman protests, including a rally headlined by activist Al Sharpton, according to newly released documents. The Community Relations Service (CRS), a unit of DOJ, reported expenses related to its deployment in Sanford to help manage protests between March and April 2012, according to documents obtained by the watchdog group Judicial Watch." Continue reading →

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Will Adam Kokesh Face Charges of Armed Sedition?

"During the attack, Adam reports that the Park Police covered his chest with laser-sight red dots even when he had his hands up. A sheriff’s deputy informed Adam that charges of illegal transportation of a firearm, sedition and armed sedition are being considered against him, presumably by federal prosecutors. (Oxford defines sedition as 'conduct or speech inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch.' Eyewitnesses to the attack on Adam and his companions Tuesday night report that US Park Police brought large brown paper evidence bags in with them before their search that appeared to be full." Continue reading →

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Mexican journalist acquitted of drug charges pens book on hellish prison experience

"'They handcuffed me, covered my face with a hood and kidnapped me for two days in a location unknown to police chiefs,' Lemus told AFP. 'I endured torture that I never imagined could exist,' he said. He said his captors wrapped plastic bags around his head to deprive him of oxygen, electrocuted his testicles and beat him with wooden boards. Still, he refused to sign a confession saying he was a member of a drug cartel. He later signed a document admitting he was detained alongside two drug traffickers, enough to get him sentenced to 20 years in prison." Continue reading →

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