The Freedom Watch

French cops caught on video beating and tear-gassing women at traffic stop

"The driver allegedly refused to take a breathalizer exam and swung at the officers. As the video opens, one of the women can be seen behind one of the officers, while the apparent driver lies on the ground. At one point, he hits her with his baton. Radio France Internationale reported that, according to police sources, the woman was biting the officer. After the two separate, the officer grabs a can of tear gas and sprays it in her face before apparently admonishing a man standing at the scene to walk away. The officer later sprays another woman in the face. The video later shows the driver and the first woman being arrested." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench cops caught on video beating and tear-gassing women at traffic stop

Oakland citizen activist says city worker assaulted him

"The resident, 36-year-old Joshua Daniels, is recovering from a black eye and broken eye socket that required 10 stitches at Highland Hospital to close a wound that he said he suffered when a city worker, who was cleaning up the plaza, attacked him during a confrontation. Daniels, a regular activist at Oakland City Council meetings and no stranger to many city officials, said the confrontation began about 8:30 a.m. as he was walking through the plaza and spit his gum into a trash bin that was being used by city workers. [..] 'Truthfully, when I pulled out my phone and started filming, that's when it escalated,' Daniels said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOakland citizen activist says city worker assaulted him

Peter Schiff: The GDP Distractor

"Over eons, small creeks can carve large canyons through solid rock. The same phenomenon may be at work in our economy. A minor, but persistent under bias in the inflation gauge used in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) may have created a wildly distorted picture of our economic health." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Schiff: The GDP Distractor

Bitcoin could be a boon for porn and other high-risk merchants

"The adult industry is known for its technological innovation. It was among the first to stream video commercially, for example. 'I’m convinced that once the big players go in the underground world, the mainstream guys will follow,' said Spagaris, who used to work for adult entertainment giant Manwin, which owns several huge porn brands. 'They’ll see that people are making money off this.' But it hasn’t happened in significant numbers yet and one of the biggest reasons, other than the concern about regulatory issues and the general lack of awareness, has been bitcoin’s lack of support for recurring payments." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin could be a boon for porn and other high-risk merchants

Groklaw Shuts Down Over U.S. Internet Surveillance

"My personal decision is to get off of the Internet to the degree it's possible. I'm just an ordinary person. But I really know, after all my research and some serious thinking things through, that I can't stay online personally without losing my humanness, now that I know that ensuring privacy online is impossible. I find myself unable to write. I've always been a private person. That's why I never wanted to be a celebrity and why I fought hard to maintain both my privacy and yours. Oddly, if everyone did that, leap off the Internet, the world's economy would collapse, I suppose. I can't really hope for that. But for me, the Internet is over." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGroklaw Shuts Down Over U.S. Internet Surveillance

Federal Drug Agency Denies Marijuana Is Less Toxic Than Alcohol

"The National Institute on Drug Abuse released an eyebrow-raising statement to PolitiFact on Monday, denying that marijuana is less toxic than alcohol. 'Claiming that marijuana is less toxic than alcohol cannot be substantiated since each possess their own unique set of risks and consequences for a given individual,' wrote the institute. NIDA, part of the National Institutes of Health, funds government-backed scientific research and has a stated mission 'to lead the nation in bringing the power of science to bear on drug abuse and addiction.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Drug Agency Denies Marijuana Is Less Toxic Than Alcohol

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches

"If the police arrest you, do they need a warrant to rifle through your cellphone? Courts have been split on the question. Last week the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to resolve the issue and rule that the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless cellphone searches. But as the storage capacity of cellphones rises, that position could become harder to defend. Our smart phones increasingly contain everything about our digital lives: our e-mails, text messages, photographs, browser histories and more. It would be troubling if the police had the power to get all that information with no warrant merely by arresting a suspect." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches

U.S. survey data casts doubt on classification of psychedelics as ‘dangerous’

"The study, published online Tuesday in PLoS One, used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey to investigate psychedelic drug use and mental health problems. The survey is administered annually by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The researchers found psychedelic use was not associated with a higher rate of mental health problems. In fact, the use of psychedelic drugs appeared to reduce the risk of mental illness, though only slightly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. survey data casts doubt on classification of psychedelics as ‘dangerous’