Woman Frisked, Jailed, for Not Doing This

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A western Michigan woman heads to court Tuesday after being arrested for failing to renew her dog’s license.

Becky Rehr says she drove to the Kalamazoo County sheriff’s office June 23 to prove that she’s recently renewed the license for the family’s 11-year-old dog, Dexter. Rehr’s 14-year-old daughter waited in the car as her mother was arrested, fingerprinted and held for three hours, The Kalamazoo Gazette said.

“They frisked me and put me in this intake cell with all these inmates in orange jumpsuits,” Rehr said. “I was pretty nervous.” (Read more from “Woman Frisked, Jailed, for Not Doing This” HERE)

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Thanks to This Supreme Court Decision, the Government Could Seize Your Living Room

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Take a look around your living room. There’s a risk that it could become part of a food court in a mall or an assembly line in a factory.

This is possible because of a decision handed down 10 years ago this month by the U.S. Supreme Court. In Kelo v. City of New London, the court ruled that private property can be seized and transferred to another private party for economic development. In the case, the city of New London, Conn., seized the homes of Susette Kelo and other property owners in order to revitalize the city.

A decade later, Congress still has not taken meaningful action to address this attack on property rights—despite overwhelming bipartisan support to do so. This failure by Congress needs to end this year.

Under the Fifth Amendment, private property may be seized only for a public use. Kelo effectively deleted “public use” from the Fifth Amendment. As Justice Sandra Day O’Connor famously said in her dissent, “The specter of condemnation hangs over all property. Nothing is to prevent the State from replacing any Motel 6 with a Ritz-Carlton, any home with a shopping mall, or any farm with a factory.”

While the threat of economic development takings can impact everyone, lower-income individuals are the most at risk, victims of a “reverse Robin Hood effect”—taking from the poor and giving to the rich. After all, cities typically seek out inexpensive properties that are not generating the desired economic benefits and transfer those properties to private parties that government officials think will help with economic development. (Read more from “Thanks to This Supreme Court Decision, the Government Could Seize Your Living Room” HERE)

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After Amazon Stops Selling Confederate Flags, California Rabbi Tells Amazon to Stop Selling Holocaust Denial-Books

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A week after Amazon stopped selling Confederate flags in the wake of a deadly shooting, Jewish organizations are calling on Amazon to ban books denying the Holocaust.

Sacramento Rabbi Mendy Cohen is leveling serious charges against Amazon for selling books denying the Holocaust.

Blatant anti-Semitism,” he said. “To deny the Holocaust is another mask of blatant anti-Semitism.”

The books say the stories of gas chambers and ovens in World War II Nazi Germany are made up . . .

Amazon has a list of offensive products it refuses to sell, which they say includes products that promote or glorify hatred, violence, racial, sexual or religious intolerance. But Amazon officials did not respond to CBS13 for the story. (Read more from “California Rabbi Calls on Amazon to Cease Selling Holocaust Denial Books” HERE)

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Leading Evolutionist Demonstrates Why Most People Believe in Intelligent Design

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Forget Little Green Men – Aliens Will Look Like Humans, Says Cambridge University Evolution Expert

By Paul Gallagher. They are often portrayed on screen as little green men with elongated limbs and saucer-like eyes.

From E.T to the X-Files, aliens from outer space have captured our imagination for decades.

Yet a new book from a leading evolutionary biologist argues that if they exist and we ever encountered them, they would look very similar to us.

Professor Simon Conway Morris said extra-terrestrials that resemble human beings should have evolved on at least some of the many Earth-like planets that have been discovered by astronomers.

In his new book published on 2 July, The Runes of Evolution, the University of Cambridge academic builds on the principle of convergent evolution – that different species will independently evolve similar features, with the comparison of the camera eye of an octopus and a human eye a favourite example – and argues it will not just took place on Earth. (Read more from “Forget Little Green Men – Aliens Will Look Like Humans, Says Cambridge University Evolution Expert” HERE)

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MOD to Release UK’s Top Secret UFO ‘X-Files’ That ‘Could Prove Aliens Exist’

By Jon Austin. The major boost for alien hunters can be exclusively revealed by Express.co.uk on World UFO Day, which campaigners are using to call for the release of all such records globally.

UFO researchers, backed by House of Lords peer, have been fighting for the release of 18 top secret Ministry of Defence (MoD) files about UFO sightings from more than 30 years ago.

The Government faced claims of a cover-up from conspiracy theorists when their release was stalled at the end of 2013.

Some investigators claim the files could provide key evidence of extra-terrestrial life visiting the UK and of specific information about famous controversial sightings such as the Rendlesham Forest incident – a series of reported sightings of unexplained lights and the alleged landing of one or more craft in Suffolk in late December 1980.

Lord Black of Brentwood, who asked the Government for an update through a Parliamentary question, was assured yesterday – the day before World UFO day – the files would be released by the MoD to the National Archives by March next year. (Read more from this story HERE)

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TV Land Pulls Dukes of Hazzard Episodes Amid Confederate Flag Uproar

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TV Land has pulled reruns of Dukes of Hazzard in light of the recent uproar over the Confederate flag, which is emblazoned on the roof of the show’s iconic General Lee 1969 Dodge Charger, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.

The show has faced criticism over the depiction of the controversial flag in the wake of the June 17 shooting in Charleston, S.C., that left nine dead, and what many viewed as South Carolina’s delayed decision to take the flag down.

Confederate merchandise has since been dropped by Walmart, Target, Amazon and other businesses after the shooting, which took place at a historic black church.

Shortly after the attack, photos surfaced showing alleged shooter Dylann Roof burning one American flag and stepping on another, while waving and posing provocatively with Confederate banners.

In a recent interview with THR, Dukes of Hazzard star John Schneider defended the series’ use of the flag. “Labeling anyone who has the flag a ‘racist’ seems unfair to those who are clearly ‘never meanin’ no harm,'” he said. His co-star Ben Jones has also come out in defense of the flag, saying it represents the “indomitable spirit of independence.” (Read more from “TV Land Pulls Dukes of Hazzard Episodes Amid Confederate Flag Uproar” HERE)

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7-Foot Shark Pulls Man Under Water Ocracoke Island in NC, Victim Airlifted to Hospital

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Photo Credit: Stephen Lee A 68-year-old man was pulled under the water by a shark Wednesday in the Outer Banks — this time on Ocracoke Island.

The man was swimming outside the first breaker about 25 feet offshore, directly in front of the lifeguard stand, when he encountered a gray shark about 7 feet long, Hyde County officials said. A lifeguard saw the shark pull the man under the water. He suffered several bites to his rib cage, hip, lower leg and both hands . . .

The victim was able to swim out of the water, where a doctor who happened to be in the area was able to stabilize him, said Justin Gibbs with Hyde County EMS. The man, who was visiting from Massachusetts, was then airlifted off the island to Vidant Medical Center in Greenville, N.C. The man was stable and alert, officials said . . .

Wednesday’s attack marks the seventh incident on North Carolina beaches in June and July. Last year, there were only four reported in the state through the summer. George Burgess, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research, told FOX8 recently that there are several environmental factors that make North Carolina appear to be a “perfect storm” for shark activity this summer . . .

On Friday, a 47-year-old man was bitten by a shark in the leg and back while trying to get children and another adult out of the water near Avon. (Read more from “7-Foot Shark Pulls Man Under Water Ocracoke Island in NC, Victim Airlifted to Hospital” HERE)

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This State Has More Marijuana Shops Than Starbucks

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Starting Wednesday, adults in Oregon will be able to legally possess and consume marijuana. But the state already has more ganja shops than Golden Arches or places to buy Grande Frappuccinos.

There are currently 269 medical marijuana dispensaries open for business in Oregon, according to the state’s health authority, which started issuing permits in March 2014. The Oregonian newspaper in Portland, by the way, has mapped nearly all of them. Medical weed is legal is 23 states, but very of few of them have licensed dispensaries. Oregon already has the second-highest number of medical marijuana patients per capita in the country, behind only Colorado.

Weed shops in Oregon are so plentiful that they top the total number of McDonald’s or Starbucks in the state. (Read more from “This State Has More Marijuana Shops Than Starbucks” HERE)

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Threat From Artificial Intelligence Not Just Hollywood Fantasy

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From the dystopian writings of Aldous Huxley and HG Wells to the sinister and apocalyptic vision of modern Hollywood blockbusters, the rise of the machines has long terrified mankind.

But it now seems that the brave new world of science-fiction could become all too real.

An Oxford academic is warning that humanity runs the risk of creating super intelligent computers that eventually destroy us all, even when specifically instructed not to harm people.

Dr Stuart Armstrong, of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University, has predicted a future where machines run by artificial intelligence become so indispensable in human lives they eventually make us redundant and take over . . .

Dr Armstrong envisages machines capable of harnessing such large amounts of computing power, and at speeds inconceivable to the human brain, that they will eventually create global networks with each other – communicating without human interference. (Read more from “Threat From Artificial Intelligence Not Just Hollywood Fantasy” HERE)

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Incredible Discovery: Secret Tunnel Near Dracula’s Dungeon Uncovered

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Archaeologists still aren’t entirely sure where a secret passageway beneath a castle in Turkey leads, but visitors can now explore it for themselves. Not far from where Vlad the Impaler—the inspiration for Dracula—was reportedly held in one of two dungeons inside Tokat Castle, the tunnel stretches for about 100 feet before the path is blocked, reports Hurriyet Daily News.

“We have made progress. Since it has an angle of 45 degrees, it is hard to remove stones and earth,” culture and tourism director Abdurrahman Akyuz says of the tunnel, found during restoration efforts in 2009.

“We think that this tunnel was closed in the past to prevent possible danger.” Earlier this year, Akyuz told the Daily Sabah that “the history books record that this passage comes down to Pervane Public Bath with a stairway of 360 steps.” But for now, “it is a total mystery to where this passage leads.” Experts previously said the king’s daughters may have used the passage to access the bath, but all that’s known for certain is that the tunnel, known as Ceylanyolu or Gazelle Passage, stretches into Tokat’s city center, Akyuz says.

It wasn’t the only finding that popped up during the restoration, which is ongoing. Food preparation areas, a military shelter, and the two aforementioned dungeons have also been found over the years. (Read more from “Incredible Discovery: Secret Tunnel Near Dracula’s Dungeon Uncovered” HERE)

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Parking Your Car by Backing It Into Your Driveway Could Soon Be Illegal in This State

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The city council in Jacksonville, Florida, has taken up a proposal that, if approved, would make it illegal for residents to park their cars in any manner that prevents law enforcement from seeing their rear license plates from the street.

For those who live in single-family homes with off-street parking, such a law would make backing into the driveway to park an illegal act. Florida is among a handful of states that don’t require car owners to display license plates at the front of their cars.

The proposed local bill would also require people who use car covers to figure out a way to make the license plates of covered cars similarly visible.

According to The Florida Times-Union, local officials attribute the need for such a law to code enforcers’ inability to cite owners of abandoned vehicles . . .

The bill doesn’t refer to other law enforcement endeavors that might require an unobstructed street view of parked cars — such as the use of license plate scanners. The American Civil Liberties Union asked the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office in 2012 whether it uses such devices — and what it does with any data it collects — but has not indicated any response. (Read more from “Parking Your Car by Backing It Into Your Driveway Could Soon Be Illegal in This State” HERE)

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