Wednesday, February 18, 2015
Protecting Marijuana's $2.7 Billion Cash Industry When Banks Won't
Thanks to recreational legalization in Colorado and Washington, the U.S. marijuana industry exploded from $1.5 billion to $2.7 billion in one year. But now, businesses making hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars a week are facing a serious problem: There's nowhere to stash all the money.
Brandon R. Davis ― Ferguson the Latest Front in the State’s War on Black Community
Brandon R. Davis, a young black libertarian tries to offer some context to the backlash happening in Ferguson, Missouri.
Time and time again, instances of police brutality against ethnic minorities have gone unquestioned and unpunished. In 2013, some 169,252 entirely innocent people were “stopped and frisked” in New York City, 85 percent of which were minorities. This is down from the 605,328 innocent people who were “stopped and frisked” in 2011. In Illinois, Representative Monique Davis asked the governor to deploy the state National Guard to assist with law enforcement in Chicago. Davis believes that the National Guard would be better able to subdue inner-city neighborhoods — an unprecedented show of state power.
Beginning with the failed “war on drugs,” the creation of the police state has been fueled by the federal funding of local law enforcement. The police state is directly connected with the disproportionate number of minorities coming into contact with police. The Sentencing Project reports that there are currently over 2.2 million people incarcerated in the United States, with an additional 4.8 million under the control of the criminal justice system through parole and probation.
There are roughly six African Americans to every one white person incarcerated in the United States. Far too often, this increased contact equals increased use of lethal force, such as in the case of Michael Brown. Unfortunately, there is no good source of data on police use of deadly force. However, a 2012 comparison study of extrajudicial killings in major cities found staggering results.
Read complete article here
Beginning with the failed “war on drugs,” the creation of the police state has been fueled by the federal funding of local law enforcement. The police state is directly connected with the disproportionate number of minorities coming into contact with police. The Sentencing Project reports that there are currently over 2.2 million people incarcerated in the United States, with an additional 4.8 million under the control of the criminal justice system through parole and probation.
There are roughly six African Americans to every one white person incarcerated in the United States. Far too often, this increased contact equals increased use of lethal force, such as in the case of Michael Brown. Unfortunately, there is no good source of data on police use of deadly force. However, a 2012 comparison study of extrajudicial killings in major cities found staggering results.
Read complete article here
Saturday, February 7, 2015
Temba A Nolutshungu — Big Government and Big Labour: the unholiest of alliances
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA
Labour unions have played an important economic, political and social role in the transition from apartheid to democracy. When black South Africans were barred from political participation during the apartheid years and the apartheid government explicitly and forcefully denied black South Africans a voice, labour unions effectively assumed a decidedly political role in the broader anti-apartheid struggle.
In post-apartheid South Africa, labour unions continue to play an intricate role in the political makeup. But, given their role – to represent vested interest groups, namely the organised employed – and considering the chronic unemployment problem in South Africa, is their on-going participation in the tri-partite alliance justifiable?
According to the latest quarterly labour force survey (QLFS), approximately 5.151 million working aged adults were officially unemployed. This equates to an official unemployment rate of 25.4%. However, a further 3.285 million did not actively search for work in the month prior to the survey but indicated they would work if there were jobs available. If we include these discouraged work seekers, the total number of unemployed increases to 8.436 million and the unemployment rate shoots to the more sombre but realistic rate of 35.8%.
Read complete article here
In post-apartheid South Africa, labour unions continue to play an intricate role in the political makeup. But, given their role – to represent vested interest groups, namely the organised employed – and considering the chronic unemployment problem in South Africa, is their on-going participation in the tri-partite alliance justifiable?
According to the latest quarterly labour force survey (QLFS), approximately 5.151 million working aged adults were officially unemployed. This equates to an official unemployment rate of 25.4%. However, a further 3.285 million did not actively search for work in the month prior to the survey but indicated they would work if there were jobs available. If we include these discouraged work seekers, the total number of unemployed increases to 8.436 million and the unemployment rate shoots to the more sombre but realistic rate of 35.8%.
Read complete article here
Do Video Games Make You Violent?
While there’s a great deal of controversy around video games and their potential link to violence behavior in youth, statistics show something a little bit different. The studies done by Professor Michael Ward and other researchers argue that video games don’t make today’s youth violent. Still, lawmakers and congressmen are making decisions that could curb the creative liberty of video game designers.
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