It seems as though marijuana isn't as bad as everyone thought. Last week the federal Minister of Justice Peter MacKay floated the idea of allowing police to give tickets to people in possession of marijuana rather than haul them through the criminal justice system. He told the Ottawa press gallery that he directed his ministry to look at the issue and possibly draft legislation because the pri...Read More

Ukraine may have to go nuclear, says Kiev lawmaker … Ukraine may have to arm itself with nuclear weapons if the United States and other world powers refuse to enforce a security pact that obligates them to reverse the Moscow-backed takeover of Crimea, a member of the Ukraine parliament told USA TODAY. The United States, Great Britain and Russia agreed in a pact "to assure Ukraine's...Read More

A showdown is developing between a sizable number of Connecticut state police officers and the politicians who passed into law highly restrictive gun control, gun bans, and bans on high capacity magazines. Gun rights legal expert and activist David Hardy reported Friday that 250 law enforcement officers in Connecticut have signed an open letter stating that they will not enforce the new anti-gun a...Read More

Wealth rises but economy still sputters … Americans are richer than ever and increasingly willing to take on a bit of extra debt and yet the overall atmosphere, and the economic recovery, are surprisingly flat. That's because the rise in wealth is highly concentrated, consumer debt is often going towards maintaining living standards in the absence of adequate income and, perhaps most imp...Read More

Kerry urges US envoys to make climate change a priority … US Secretary of State John Kerry has called on American ambassadors around the world to make the fight against climate change a top priority ahead of new UN talks next year. In his first department-wide policy guidance statement since taking office a year ago, he told his 70,000 staff: "The environment has been one of the central...Read More

Janet Yellen's Nemesis – The Great Moderation … New Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen has a great task ahead of her. How to combat the results of the Great Moderation, as it was called, that period of low inflation with moderate economic growth that prevailed from 1985 to 2007, according to Paul Krugman. But why, when lots of jobs were created, particularly the 22 million jobs created du...Read More

COLD SHOULDER: ABC, CBS Exclude Scientists Critical of Global Warming for More Than 1,300 Days … Like a simple parlor trick, the networks are able to make skeptical scientists vanish, at least from the eyes of their viewers. In some cases, the broadcast networks have failed to include such scientists for years, while including alarmist scientists within the past six months. ABC, CBS and NBC&...Read More

Government UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain recall their ambassadors from Qatar – Qatar says it will not withdraw its ambassadors from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain … The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain said on Wednesday they were withdrawing their ambassadors from Qatar because Doha had not implemented an agreement among Gulf Arab countries not to interfere in each others' internal...Read More

People Are Still Being Prosecuted for Legal Marijuana. Obama Hasn't Pardoned One of Them … When Robert Duncan got laid off from his job in T.V. production and a friend offered him a gig at a medical marijuana dispensary in northern California, he paid a lawyer $800 to review the company's operations and make sure the outfit was on the right side of state law. The lawyer told him he h...Read More

The New USA? Secession Movement Gains Steam … If you mention the word "secession" most people think of the South during the Civil War. But today, a new movement is gaining steam because of frustration over a growing, out-of-control federal government. A number of conservative, rural Americans are taking about seceding and creating their own states … A 51st state called Jeffer...Read More

Obama Budget Offers Tax Breaks From Child Care to College … U.S. President Barack Obama's budget will propose tax cuts for low-income families, a retirement savings plan and ask Congress to make permanent certain tax breaks to offset the cost of higher education. The Obama administration yesterday released excerpts of the president's $3 trillion-plus fiscal 2015 budget to be sent to...Read More

Ukraine crisis: Angry Angela Merkel questions whether Putin is 'in touch with reality' German newspaper claims that in a conversation between Angela Merkel and Barack Obama she was heard to question the Russian President's grip on reality … The German mass circulation Bild newspaper wrote on Monday that during a telephone conversation she held with US President Barack Obama to di...Read More

Apple's Tim Cook: Business isn't just about making a profit … He leads a company that some would consider the epitome of ruthless global capitalism. But Apple chief executive Tim Cook has shocked some in the US with an impassioned attack on the singleminded pursuit of profit – and a direct appeal to climate-change deniers not to buy shares in his firm. Eyewitnesses said Cook, w...Read More

Ukraine crisis tests Obama's foreign policy focus on diplomacy over military force … For much of his time in office, President Obama has been accused by a mix of conservative hawks and liberal interventionists of overseeing a dangerous retreat from the world at a time when American influence is needed most. The once-hopeful Arab Spring has staggered into civil war and military coup. Chin...Read More

In Search of a Stable Electronic Currency … Bitcoin, an experiment with a radically new kind of electronic money, has exhibited many of the characteristics of a speculative bubble. That was clear long before the collapse of the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox last week. Bitcoin's future is very much in doubt. Yet whatever becomes of it, something good can arise from its innovations – even...Read More

Here Is The FT's Gold Price Manipulation Article That Was Removed … Two days ago the FT released a clear, informative and fact-based article, titled simply enough "Gold price rigging fears put investors on alert" in which author Madison Marriage, citing a report by the Fideres consultancy, revealed that global gold prices may have been manipulated on 50 per cent of occasions be...Read More

U.S. Pivotal Point Is Seen as More States Consider Legalizing Marijuana … A little over a year after Colorado and Washington legalized marijuana, more than half the states, including some in the conservative South, are considering decriminalizing the drug or legalizing it for medical or recreational use. That has set up a watershed year in the battle over whether marijuana should be as avail...Read More

Rand Paul Is the GOP's Early Presidential Front-Runner. While the establishment hopes for a governor to emerge, he is quietly putting together a formidable operation. Democrats in Denial Over Obamacare … Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky would start out 2016 in ideal position for the GOP presidential nomination. Make no mistake: The Kentuckian scares the living daylights out of many Republicans...Read More

Presenting The #1 Financial Haven For Dictators & Criminals … Pop quiz: When really nasty criminals and dictators want to hide their illicit gains, which country do they go to? I'll make this easy for you – multiple choice: a) Switzerland b) British Virgin Islands c) Hong Kong … With all the drama, history, and stigma surrounding Switzerland, most people would choose (A)...Read More

Mt. Gox website says all transactions closed for the time being … Mt Gox CEO Karpeles says bitcoin exchange is at "turning point" … Prominent bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox posted an update on its website on Tuesday, saying a "decision was taken to close all transactions for the time being," citing "recent news reports and the potential repercussions on MtGox's o...Read More