Month: December 2016

Whoever, owing allegiance to the United States, levies war against them or adheres to their enemies, giving them aid and comfort within the United States or elsewhere, is guilty of treason and shall suffer death, or shall be imprisoned not less than five years and fined under this title but not less than $10,000; and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.

(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 807; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(2)(J), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2148.)

Business Insider – by Matt Turner

There is a lot of talk out there about the auto-loan market right now.

Hedge fund manager Jim Chanos has said the auto-lending market should “scare the heck out of everybody,” while the auto-lending practices of some used-car dealerships has been given the John Oliver treatment on TV.

It’s a topic we’ve been paying attention to as well. In a presentation in September at the Barclays Financial Services Conference, Gordon Smith, the chief executive for consumer and community banking at JPMorgan, set out some eye-opening statistics on the market.   Continue reading “6 million Americans have stopped paying their car loans, and it’s becoming a ‘significant concern’”

MassPrivateI

I’ve written numerous articles about how police use ‘junk science‘ to arrest people. ‘The war on terror’, and the ‘war on drugs’ also use junk science to justify illegal spying. Unfortunately, ‘hate crimes’ are no different. Alleged ‘hate crimes’ are being used as an excuse to let police spy on us in shocking new ways.

A Boston Police Department (BPD) proposal titled, “Acquiring Technology and Services of Social Media Threats” reveals, a disturbing social media surveillance network.   Continue reading “Police make “value judgments” about hate crimes and use it as an excuse to spy on everyone”

Zero Hedge – by Tyler Durden

So much for that much anticipated rebound in the participation rate.

After it had managed to post a modest increase in the early part of the year, hitting the highest level in one year in March at 63%, the disenchantment with working has returned, and the labor force participation rate had flatlined for the next few month, ultimately dropping in November to 62.7%, just shy of its 35 year low of 62.4% hit last October. This can be seen in the surge of Americans who are no longer in the labor force, who spiked by 446,000 in November, hitting an all time high of 95.1 million.    Continue reading “Americans Not In The Labor Force Soar To Record 95.1 Million: Jump By 446,000 In One Month”

Lancing City Post – by Todd Heywood

Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero’s proposal aimed at regulating homegrown marijuana raises legal concerns and may even be unconstitutional, critics say.

The ordinance the mayor has called for would require the city-owned Lansing Board of Water & Light to monitor customers’ monthly electrical usage and report those using more than 5,000 kilowatts a month to enforcement agencies.   Continue reading “City wants mandatory home inspections for high energy users”

Lowering the Bar – by Kevin Underhill

That’s Adam Nobody, a Canadian who was beaten by police in 2010 during the G20 protests in Toronto. One of the officers who beat him was convicted of assault, and Nobody complained to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission about the others. A hearing officer found those officers not guilty of misconduct, something Nobody wanted to appeal, but the officers claimed he filed too late. On Nov. 21, a judge held that Nobody has the right to appeal.

It won’t surprise you to learn that “Nobody” is not Nobody’s real name, or at least not the name Nobody was born with. According to the Globe and Mail in 2010, “Mr. Nobody … said he changed his name from Adam Trombetta about two years ago because it made for better puns. He suggested the headline for his story should be ‘Nobody hurt at Queen’s Park.’” The Globe and Mail didn’t take him up on that idea, but far be it from me to turn down the opportunity. So here we are.   Continue reading “Court: Nobody Has the Right to Appeal”

Politico – by ALEX ISENSTADT

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is expressing serious interest in the job of Republican National Committee chairman — and he’s getting an audience to make his case.

Christie told senior members of Donald Trump’s presidential transition team on Thursday morning that he is interested in the post, according to three sources familiar with the talks. One person said the governor had embarked on an aggressive, “full-court press” in hopes of getting the chairmanship.   Continue reading “Christie throws his hat in the ring for RNC chair”

Daily Sheeple – by Melissa Dykes

People who truly believed a billionaire reality TV star was going to get into the White House and “drain the swamp” are getting a pretty clear picture now of just how full that swamp is going to be under a Donald J. Trump presidency.

When he isn’t considering neocons and appointing die hard establishment Republican top brass, he’s busy filling up the ranks with Wall Street.   Continue reading “Hedge Fund Manager on Trump’s Wall Street-Filled Swamp: ‘I can take glee in that — Donald Trump Conned Voters’”

Reuters

U.S. military veterans were arriving on Thursday at a camp to join thousands of activists braving snow and freezing temperatures to protest a pipeline project near a Native American reservation in North Dakota.

However, other veterans in the state took exception to the efforts of the group organizing veterans to act as human shields for the protesters, saying the nature of the protests reflected poorly on the participants.   Continue reading “U.S. veterans arrive at pipeline protest camp in North Dakota”

RT

Energy minister Yuval Steinitz said Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas represents the top ideological threat to the Jewish state after Abbas vowed to withdraw recognition of Israel if it keeps refusing to reciprocate.

Speaking at a Fatah party congress on Wednesday, Abbas noted that although Palestine recognized Israel, Israel is not poised to do the same, adding that Palestine’s commitment “is not free” and eventually comes down to Israel’s decision to recognize Palestine in return.      Continue reading “Israeli minister calls Abbas ‘#1 foe’ after Palestinian leader calls for mutual recognition”

Off the Grid News

HILLSBORO, Ore. – An Oregon school district is asking staff not to use Santa Claus or other Christmas-themed images in their decorations out of fear they might offend students and visitors who don’t celebrate the holiday.

The letter from the human resources office of Hillsboro School District to staff announced that there would be no door decorating contest this year.   Continue reading “School Bans Santa Because He’s Too ‘Religious’”

Natural News – by Isabelle Z.

When the Center for Environmental Health released test results showing that Pepsi intentionally covered up the presence of high levels of 4-Mel in its popular soft drinks in 2013, the company denied both the presence of this chemical in its beverages and the fact that it was dangerous. 4-Mel, which is short for 4-Methylimidazole, is a compound that is formed in the manufacturing of caramel coloring, and is a known carcinogen.

Since then, the drinks maker has fought against complying with California state requirements to place a cancer warning label on the beverages that contain the ingredient, which include not only Pepsi, but also Diet Pepsi and Pepsi One.   Continue reading “Pepsi admits its soda contains cancer-causing ingredients”

Sent to us by Cleatus.

WPXI 11 News – by Brianna Chambers

The decision to remove “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” by Mark Twain and “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee came after a parent filed a complaint, WAVY reported. The parent cited excessive racial slurs as the reason for wanting the books banned, Superintendent Warren Holland told the news station.   Continue reading “Virginia schools ban ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ ‘Huckleberry Finn’ for racial slurs”