Biden: Clinton never figured out why she was running

Vice President Biden believes Hillary Clinton lost the presidential election in part because she never figured why she was running for the nation’s highest office.

“I don’t think she ever really figured it out,” Biden told the Los Angeles Times in an interview published Thursday. “And by the way, I think it was really hard for her to decide to run.”

As evidence, the vice president pointed to similar concerns raised privately by Clinton allies in hacked emails that were published by WikiLeaks in the midst of the campaign .... http://thehill.com

WATCH: Crowd Cheers Clinton's Call To 'Raise Taxes On The Middle Class'

Hillary Clinton called for raising taxes on the “middle class” while campaigning on Monday in Omaha, NE. Joined by left-wing Democrat billionaire Warren Buffett, she received applause from those in attendance.

“Because while Warren is standing up for a fairer tax code, Trump wants to cut taxes for the super-rich,” said Clinton. “Well, we’re not going there, my friends. I’m telling you, right now - we’re going to right fairer rules for the middle class and we are going to raise taxes on the middle class!”.

Presumably a slip of the tongue, Clinton’s comment came amid broader Marxist-themed demagoguery about forcing “the wealthy” to “pay their fair share” of taxes .... http://www.dailywire.com

Donald Trump on waterboarding: “I like it a lot”

Hours after the attack on Istanbul’s Ataturk International Airport that killed at least 41 people and injured at least 239, presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump reemphasized his support for torture tactics.

In a speech in Ohio on Tuesday, Trump said he wanted to fight "fire with fire." He told the crowd that waterboarding is "peanuts" compared with the tactics used by terrorist organizations. He then asked the crowd what they thought about waterboarding, and through the cheers he said, "I like it a lot. I don’t think it’s tough enough" .... http://www.vox.com

British surveillance state ‘worse than Orwell’s 1984’ – UN privacy chief

UN Special Rapporteur on Privacy Joseph Cannataci has described Britain’s oversight of surveillance as a “bad joke” and said the situation is worse than anything author George Orwell imagined in his dystopian novel “Nineteen Eighty-Four.”

Cannataci said the UK has the weakest oversight of surveillance in the western world. He called for a Geneva Convention-style law for the internet to safeguard privacy and combat the threat of digital surveillance.

Speaking to The Guardian, the Professor of Technology Law at University of Groningen in the Netherlands said he does not use Facebook or Twitter because of privacy concerns .... http://www.rt.com/uk

San Diego police used facial recognition over 20,600 times in 33 days this year & only 25% matched criminal records

Law enforcement officers say the technology is much faster than fingerprinting at identifying suspects, although it is unclear how much it is helping the police make arrests.

When Aaron Harvey was stopped by the police here in 2013 while driving near his grandmother’s house, an officer not only searched his car, he said, but also took his photograph and ran it through the software to try to confirm his identity and determine whether he had a criminal record.

Eric Hanson, a retired firefighter, had a similar experience last summer. Stopped by the police after a dispute with a man he said was a prowler, he was ordered to sit on a curb, he said, while officers took his photo with an iPad and ran it through the same facial recognition software. The officers also used a cotton swab to collect a DNA sample from the inside of his cheek .... http://www.nytimes.com

UC Cop Who Killed Sam Dubose Already Out of Jail On $1 Million Bail

After spending one day in jail, University of Cincinnati police officer Ray Tensing has already been released from custody on bail following his indictment for the murder of Samuel DuBose. Meanwhile, two UC Cincinnati police officers have now been placed on leave in the fallout of the fatal shooting of Sam DuBose by officer Ray Tensing.

Tensing was indicted for murder by a grand jury on Wednesday and officers Phillip Kidd and David Lindenschmidt testified that “[t]hey didn’t see anything,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters .... http://theantimedia.org

Revealed: Secret plan to put 5,000 heavily-armed troops on streets of Britain to fight jihadis in event of a terror attack

A top secret plan for the mass deployment of armed troops on the streets of Britain in the wake of a major terrorist attack can be revealed for the first time today.

More than 5,000 heavily armed soldiers would be sent to inner cities if Islamic State or other fanatics launched multiple attacks on British soil – an unprecedented military response to terrorism.

The plan, codenamed Operation Temperer, would see troops guard key targets alongside armed police officers, providing ‘protective security’ against further attacks while counter-terror experts and MI5 officers hunted down the plotters .... http://www.dailymail.co.uk

UN criticizes ‘excessive’ French spy law as it goes into effect

Numerous human right organization voiced strong criticism of the new law.

“The surveillance measures authorized by this law are wildly out of proportion”, Gauri van Gulik, Amnesty International’s Deputy Director for Europe and Central Asia, said on Friday. “Large swathes of France’s population could soon find themselves under surveillance on obscure grounds and without prior judicial approval”, he added.

“The French Constitutional Council legalizes mass surveillance and endorses a historical decline in fundamental rights,” La Quadrature du Net, a French digital rights groups, said in a statement.

The controversial law gives intelligence services the power to tap the mobile phones and e-mails of anyone linked to a “terrorist” inquiry without the permission of a court. It also obliges internet providers and mobile companies to provide spy agencies with information upon request.

Intelligence services can also place cameras and other recording devices in private homes and can monitor every action of computer users .... http://www.rt.com

'1984' Comes To Europe - The End Of Freedom Of Speech In Spain

Spain has shown that it is fully on board with the Brussels authoritarian direction of ending democracy. Those in power have simply convinced themselves that the people do not understand what is good for them so they must impose their will upon the people but raw force.How does this differ in any what from the justification of imposing communism? This is the death of all freedom and it is upon our doorstep.

Here are the new laws in Spain:

1. If you photograph security personnel and then share these images on social media: up to €30.000 fine (particularly if photo exposes violence used against a member of the public). This fine could increase depending on the number of Instagram or social media followers you have .... http://www.zerohedge.com

Spain Officially Becomes a Police State

On July 1st, 2015, Spain officially became a police state. There’s simply no other way to put it. The “gag law” passed late last year went into effect on that date, and if you still have any doubt about how extreme and oppressive these laws are, let’s take a quick look at a summarypublished by The Local.

The above measures are so overtly authoritarian, the only conclusion one can possibility come to is this move simply represents the last desperate gasp of a completely discredited and terrified status quo. As such, there is no way these laws will succeed in the way the government intends .... http://libertyblitzkrieg.com

Children who say homosexuality is ‘wrong’ could be viewed as extremist threat – Education Secretary

Children who speak out in class against homosexuality could be viewed as potential extremists under Government guidelines intended to prevent Islamist terrorism, Nicky Morgan, the education secretary, has suggested.

Mrs Morgan said comments by children that they consider homosexuality to be “wrong” or “evil” could “trigger” concerns from teachers under guidance designed to help schools detect possible radicalisation.

Traditionalist Christians said Mrs Morgan’s remarks implied that anyone who raised their children in line with conservative religious teaching on sexuality would now be viewed with suspicion .... http://www.telegraph.co.uk

Police Shut Down Girls’ Lemonade Stand for Ridiculous Reason

Sisters who set up a lemonade stand to fund a Father’s Day gift on Monday were shut down by the police due to a lack of permit.

Andria Green, 8, and her sister, Zoey, 7, set up the lemonade stand to raise the $105 they needed for tickets to the Texas waterpark Splash Kingdom. They were selling lemonade for 50 cents and kettle corn for one dollar on their street in the town of Overton, but about an hour after opening, police showed up and told the girls they needed a permit to sell the lemonade.

Police agreed to waive the fee of the permit, which normally would cost $150. “The officer told them they had to go to city hall to get a permit,” Overton Police Chief Clyde Carter tells Yahoo Parenting. “Then the city told them they had to check with the health department, which they didn’t do.” .... https://www.yahoo.com

How obeying the law will no longer be enough to protect you from the police

Obeying the law will no longer be enough to guarantee you are able to live peacefully in the UK without harassment from the state.

David Cameron is set to announce a string of new powers that are seen by many as a challenge to our basic civil liberties.

This sentence from the Tory leader is particularly chilling:

“For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens ‘as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone’.” .... http://www.mirror.co.uk

Cop Says Killing Black People Is Okay Because ‘It’s Not Against The Law To Put An Animal Down’

As many as seven officers involved in the violent racist messages (full messages provided below) have been suspended and now recommended for termination, according to USA Today:

San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr has recommended the firing of seven officers who sent or received text messages that spoke of lynching African-Americans and burning crosses.

It turns out that the officers who expressed the violent desires about blacks were working in neighborhoods composed mostly of minorities.

One can only imagine the kind of abuse that blacks might have been subjected to when they were confronted by these cops — unfortunately, cops cover up most of their abuse and lie in their “police reports.” .... http://filmingcops.com

Scotland: The Most ‘Nannying’ of Europe’s Nanny States

Many Americans, when they hear the word Scotland, will think of Mel Gibson in blue facepaint yelling: “FREEDOM!” That’s how Scotland is viewed by non-Scots the world over: as a plucky, liberty-loving nation that sits atop snooty England and longs to be free and wild and beer-soaked in a kilt.

Well, if that’s how you see Scotland, you urgently need to update your mind’s image bank. For far from being a land of freedom-yearning Bravehearts, Scotland in the 21st century is a hotbed of the new authoritarianism. It’s the most nannying of Europe’s nanny states.

It’s a country that imprisons people for singing songs, instructs people to stop smoking in their own homes, and which dreams of making salad-eating compulsory. Seriously. Scotland the Brave has become Scotland the Brave New World .... http://reason.com

Spanish parliament approves controversial security laws

The Spanish lower house of parliament has approved new controversial security laws which are likely to restrict the right to protest and freedom of the press.

The country’s ruling conservative Popular Party got the bills, which will come into force on July 1, 2015, passed with absolute majority in the assembly on Thursday.

One law will change Spain’s criminal code by reviving the possibility of life imprisonment for heinous crimes, such as acts of terrorism, and murder of a child or handicapped person.

According to the second law, dubbed the Citizens’ Security Law by the government, up to 600,000 euros (USD 655,000) in cash fine may be handed down to those charged with public order offenses, even without standing a trial .... http://www.presstv.ir

It is actually illegal in Colorado to collect the rain that falls on your home​

Do you live in Colorado? Does it rain on your house? Do the drops patter off the roof, compose romantic puddles on your porch?

Guess what: That water isn’t yours. You can’t have it. And you most certainly cannot set out a tank to catch what falls from the sky, you thief.

Water laws are so strict in Colorado that rainwater collection is virtually prohibited. The doctrine is written into the state’s Constitution. All the rain is already spoken for. It belongs to someone, and that someone probably isn’t you. So don’t you touch it.

“The rain barrel is the bong of the Colorado garden,” local columnist Dave Philipps wrote in 2007. “It’s legal to sell one. It’s legal to own one. It’s just not legal to use it for its intended purpose.” .... http://www.washingtonpost.com

Police condemned for using stop and search powers on 300 children aged under five

Nearly 300 children under the age of five have been stopped and searched by police over the last five years, it has emerged.

Officers across the UK have been condemned for using their powers to stop and search toddlers on suspicion of a host of offences including drug or knife crime, possession of weapons and terrorism.

Police said that in nearly all cases, officers had carried out the searches after believing the child had been an innocent party who had been used by adults to conceal drugs, weapons or stolen goods .... http://www.dailymail.co.uk

The Shocking Finding From the DOJ’s Ferguson Report That Nobody Has Noticed

In the city of Ferguson, nearly everyone is a wanted criminal.

That may seem like hyperbole, but it is a literal fact. In Ferguson — a city with a population of 21,000 — 16,000 people have outstanding arrest warrants, meaning that they are currently actively wanted by the police. In other words, if you were to take four people at random, the Ferguson police would consider three of them fugitives.

That statistic should be truly shocking. Yet in the wake of the Department of Justice’s withering report on the city’s policing practices, it has gone almost entirely unmentioned .... http://www.huffingtonpost.com

How DNA Is Turning Us Into A Nation Of Suspects

Having already used surveillance technology to render the entire American populace potential suspects, DNA technology in the hands of government will complete our transition to a suspect society in which we are all merely waiting to be matched up with a crime. No longer can we consider ourselves innocent until proven guilty.

Every dystopian sci-fi film we’ve ever seen is suddenly converging into this present moment in a dangerous trifecta between science, technology and a government that wants to be all-seeing, all-knowing and all-powerful. 

By tapping into your phone lines and cell phone communications, the government knows what you say. By uploading all of your emails, opening your mail, and reading your Facebook posts and text messages, the government knows what you write. By monitoring your movements with the use of license plate readers, surveillance cameras and other tracking devices, thegovernment knows where you go.

By churning through all of the detritus of your life—what you read, where you go, what you say—the government can predict what you will do. By mapping the synapses in your brain, scientists—and in turn, the government—will soon know what you remember. And by accessing your DNA, the government will soon know everything else about you that they don’t already know: your family chart, your ancestry, what you look like, your health history, your inclination to follow orders or chart your own course, etc .... http://www.zerohedge.com