by Dave Hodges

Bakersfield, CA. resident, David Silva, was executed for being drunk in his own home. He was executed by the Kern County Sheriff’s Department. What happened to Silva was clearly an abuse of power but is representative of what the federal government has in store for all of America in which the people are the enemy of law enforcement and will treated accordingly.

The Tenth Amendment provides for the division of power and law enforcement between the federal, state and local governments. Unfortunately, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is changing the face of local law enforcement. Read More

Are you prepared to meet your robot overlords?

The idea of superintelligent machines may sound like the plot of “The Terminator” or “The Matrix,” but many experts say the idea isn’t far-fetched. Some even think the singularity - the point at which artificial intelligence can match, and then overtake, human smarts – might happen in just 16 years.

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By David Sherfinski

Former Rep. Ron Paul of Texas called the recent IRS fiasco troubling — but writes that the only way Congress can protect the freedoms of Americans from a long pattern of suspected IRS abuse is to “shutter the doors” of the agency “once and for all.”

The longtime GOP congressman writes that IRS agents in the 1930s were essentially “hit squads” against opponents of the New Deal, and that allegations of IRS abuse spanned the administrations of Presidents Kennedy, Nixon, Clinton and George W. Bush. Read More

(Couldn’t find a chart from last year)

#1 United States

The United-States of America remains the largest exporter of conventional weapons in the world, according to the latest study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The U.S account for 30% of global arms sales, or about $7 billion per year, for the period 2005-2009, SIPRI statement says. From 2005 to 2009, the U.S. sold one-third of its arm exports to South Korea (15%), Israel (13%) and the United Arab Emirates (11%)

#2 Russia

Russia remains the second largest supplier, with 23% of the global arms exports, or about $4.5 billion per year, the SIPRI data indicates. Russia’s main clients are China (40%) and India (20%), which belong to the top five of the largest conventional weapons importers from 2005 to 2009, SIPRI says. Russian exports of fighter planes included 82 Sukhoi fighters for India and 24 MI-17 helicopters for China.

#3 Germany

Germany, whose exports doubled over the past five years, has become the world’s third-largest arms dealer, SIPRI reports. Germany now makes up 10% of the global volume. Most of Germany’s arms are sold to other European countries, such as Turkey (15%) and Greece (13%). German Leopard 2A4 tanks delivered to Turkey cost over 365 million Euros.

#4 France

France is ranked fourth, while it used to be considered as the third largest weapons exporter until 2006, the SIPRI study shows. The French arms exports are estimated at 8% of the total sales. United Arab Emirates (32%), Singapore (13%) and Greece (12%) are the largest of France’s clients. Among its top sales, France delivered Mirage Combat Aircrafts to the UAE in the last five years.

#5 United Kingdom

United Kingdom is the fifth-largest exporter of arms, although its exports volume has declined by 13%, comparing with the previous period, from 2000 to 2004. The U.K.’s arms sales make up 4% of the global market, SIPRI says. 21% of the U.K.’s weapons exports went to the U.S., including MP aircraft radars. The U.S. is the largest of UK’s recipients, followed by India (14%) and Chile (9%), SIPRI reports

Source

The president of the Associated Press has lashed out at the United States government in his first interview since it was revealed that the AP was being investigated by the US Department of Justice.

More than one week after the AP announced that the Justice Department subpoenaed two months of phone records in an apparent attempt to discover the source of an intelligence leak, the president and CEO of the news agency attacked US President Barack Obama and his administration for what he considers an unconstitutional intrusion on the way journalism is conducted. Read More

The biggest thing to come out of Texas may turn out to be a blow to Internet freedoms: legislators there are considering a bill that would compromise privacy on the Web for all residents of the Lone Star State.

Lawmakers in the State Senate are expected to vote Monday on a bill that, if passed, would compel Internet Service Providers (ISPs) anywhere in the world to fork over private Web records if that information could aid in a criminal investigation. Read More

By Ben Quinn

WikiLeaks founder uses subject access request to access British agency chatter, which allegedly calls extradition ‘a fit-up’

Authorities at GCHQ, the government eavesdropping agency, are facing embarrassing revelations about internal correspondence in which Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is discussed, apparently including speculation that he is being framed by Swedish authorities seeking his extradition on rape allegations. Read More

Officials within the United States government say hackers from China have renewed their assault on US targets only three months after a highly-touted investigation linked the People’s Liberation Army to a series of cyberattacks waged at American entities.

According to the New York Times, computer security experts and US officials alike say the PLA’s sophisticated cyber squadron is attempting to hack American businesses after a brief hiatus. Read More

Several casualties including children have been reported after a historic tornado swept through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore, devastating hundreds of buildings including two schools. Meteorologists reported winds up to 200 miles per hour. Read More

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