statism

Crooked Judges Want Your Kids for Cash

"In what has been coined in the media as the 'Kids for Cash Scandal,' Ciarvarella and Judge Conahan have since been exposed as having made deals with the developer of the for-profit juvenile detention facilities co-owned by Robert Powell of PA Child Care and another company, Western Pennsylvania Child Care. While both judges were sentenced in 2011 and are now serving time, it makes one wonder just how many similar judicial branches are insidiously entangled with for-profit juvenile detention facilities and just how many people working for the system saw red flags and remained silent. Just how deep does the rabbit hole go?" Continue reading →

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Why It’s So Hard For Scientists To Study Medical Marijuana

"Both the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians have called for more research into the therapeutic uses of marijuana and for the U.S. government to reconsider its classification as a Schedule I substance. The University of Mississippi grows and harvests cannabis for studies funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, yet because NIDA's congressionally mandated mission is to research the harmful effects of controlled substances and stop drug abuse, the institute isn't interested in helping establish marijuana as a medicine." Continue reading →

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Gene wars: the last-ditch battle over who owns the rights to our DNA

"US biotechnology giant Myriad Genetics is demanding that the US supreme court back the patents it has taken out on the BRAC genes. The company believes it should be the only producer of tests to detect mutations in these genes, a business it has carried out in the United States for more than a decade. On the other side, a group of activists, represented by lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union, argues that it is fundamentally absurd and immoral to claim ownership of humanity’s shared genetic heritage and demands that the court ban patents." Continue reading →

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Peter King calls for “increased surveillance” of Muslims after Boston

"Rep. Peter King, the Chair of the House subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence and the mastermind behind hearings on the radicalization of Muslim-Americans, argued Friday that in the wake of the Boston bombings, law enforcement should increase surveillance in Muslim communities. 'We can’t be bound by political correctness,' he continued. 'I think we need more police and more surveillance in the communities where the threat is coming from, whether it’s the Irish community with the Westies [an Irish-American gang in New York City], or the Italian community with the mafia, or the Muslim community with the Islamic terrorists.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter King calls for “increased surveillance” of Muslims after Boston

Military Judge Took 4 Days To Determine Torture Is Legal

"Here is a gem on page 38 from Lt Col Diane Beaver, Staff judge Advocate for the man in charge of interrogation at Guantanamo: 'Concerning the use of techniques that technically were considered torture by the UCMJ that she approved. Her excuse was that she was only given 4 days to think about it, didn’t have access to much in terms of books or research, and wanted to get something in writing.'" Continue reading →

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John Kerry says North Korea conditions for talks ‘unacceptable’

"US Secretary of State John Kerry Thursday dismissed a set of pre-conditions laid out by North Korea for talks as 'unacceptable,' calling them an opening 'gambit' from Pyongyang. The isolated North on Thursday responded for the first time to an offer from Kerry during his weekend visit to the Korean peninsula to return to the negotiating table in a bid to defuse heightened nuclear tensions. The demands by the North’s main military body included the withdrawal of UN sanctions and a permanent end to South Korea-US joint military drills." Continue reading →

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Iraq executes 21 men in one day on ‘terror’ charges

"Iraq put 21 men to death on Tuesday, a senior justice ministry official told AFP, the latest in a series of mass executions that have drawn international condemnation. All of the men were Iraqis and had been convicted on anti-terror charges, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The latest executions brought to 50 the number of times Baghdad has carried out the death penalty so far this year, despite widespread calls for a moratorium on the country’s use of capital punishment. Justice Minister Hassan al-Shammari insisted last month that Baghdad would continue to implement the death penalty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIraq executes 21 men in one day on ‘terror’ charges

David Koresh’s Revenge: Waco and 20 Years of State Terror

"About once a day police kill an American, often a marginalized person like the homeless Kelly Thomas, beaten in July 2011 by five officers in Southern California, dying of complications five days later. Or they are veterans like Jose Guerena, at whom Tuscon police fired 71 rounds in the middle of the night in May 2011 – innocent of any crime, just in his own house at the wrong time. The state saves most of its killing for abroad, where killing is its very policy. And now, thanks to the war on terror, Obama calls America his battlefield and the world his jurisdiction. He has made it official doctrine that the president can order anyone’s death." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Koresh’s Revenge: Waco and 20 Years of State Terror

Hunt for Dollars Sends Argentines Into the ‘Cave’

"As the government restricts access to foreign currencies, Argentines seeking hard-to-get dollars have been pushed into cuevas, or caves—clandestine operations where customers pay dearly to exchange pesos for greenbacks. Buying dollars for savings is banned, and authorities make only small amounts of foreign currency available for travel abroad. Travelers must submit an online request to the national tax authority just days before leaving. Businesses need government approval to import equipment and materials at the cheap official exchange rate. Dollar-sniffing dogs are posted at border crossings to catch those traveling with undeclared currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHunt for Dollars Sends Argentines Into the ‘Cave’