Cannabis Hearings Featured on Peace News Now

derrick_cartoonDerrick J’s daily 5-minute newscast Peace News Now yesterday featured coverage of Free Concord’s footage from the cannabis legalization hearings Thursday at the legislative office building. The expertly produced video podcast features photo and video to illustrate audio overviewing the current state of peaceful resistance. The report also summarizes the latest developments with Bitcoin digital currency and the arrest of rapper 2 Chainz over an herb grinder. Check out more from Derrick J at PeaceNewsNow.com.

Talkback Tackles Robin Hooding

redlobster_robinhoodofkeeneWKBK Keene’s Talk Back hosted by Cynthia Georgina and featuring guest host councilor Jim Duffy discussed the recent uptick in the practice of Robin Hooding in the area. Illustrated in the following video is the first two minutes of the segment. A full sixteen minutes was spent on the subject with three callers phoning in their perspective. You can hear all sixteen minutes in a video at Fr33manTVraw (embedded below text).

CG: And, what’s going on with people plugging the meters for other people, have you heard about that?

JD: Oh, yes, I’ve seen it’s back. It was going on a while ago. Robin Hood, they call themselves the Robin Hoods, and what they do is, if they see an expired meter, they’ll plug it, and according to the videos they’ve posted, either with nickels or quarters. A nickel only gets you six minutes, so you know, you still might get a ticket if you’re depending on Robin Hood, if they’re only putting nickels…

CG: And, so what is the purpose of this?

(more…)

House Hears Various Cannabis Legalization Bills

Yesterday the house Criminal Justice and Public Safety committee heard not just one, but two cannabis legalization bills, in addition to a decriminalization proposal. The hearing was populated with the usual bureaucrats and law enforcement busybodies, as well as a number of professionals, activists, and entrepreneurs speaking in favor. HB 492 presents a controlled, “tax and regulate” schema for cannabis distribution in New Hampshire. HB 337, if passed, would result in a much simpler legalization, only removing prohibitions from state law, making the substance just as legal and tomatoes, basil, and other plants and herbs. A decriminalization proposal, HB 621, would make possession of under an ounce punishable by no more than a $100 fine.

The Union Leader has published a summary. Video and written coverage has also been published regarding HB 492 at adventuresinthefreestate.com, which also links to other mainstream coverage of the historic hearing.

Embedded below is the first of many Free Concord videos in a playlist from the public testimony during HB 492 and HB 337.

bud_2013_feb15

In the spirit of the Franklin Youth Initiative, government school programs turned out schoolchildren in opposition to any leniency upon the cannabis consumer plague.

Vice News: Information Liberation Prosecutions

2013_schwartz_manning_assangePosted hours ago to Vice News was an article connecting the zealous prosecutions of Aaron Schwartz and Bradley Manning. John Cornyn, a US senator from Texas authored a letter to current US attorney general Eric Holder inquiring as to whether Schwartz’s FOIA requests related to Manning’s treatment were a motivating factor for his own prosecution. See DJ Pangburn’s article Aaron Swartz and Bradley Manning: How the US Government Contains Those Who Would Free Information.

When Swartz walked into the MIT server room to liberate millions of academic papers (freeing knowledge in the process), he was unwittingly opening the door to his very own cell alongside Manning. One need not be in a tiny room to feel the walls closing in. The law does a great job of that—the shadow of America’s boot heel spreading all around, snuffing out the light. Defendants are forced to deal: plead guilty and serve a short sentence, or fight the system and serve much more time. Justice indeed.

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Below is the latest episode of Peace News Now. I usually include at least one story emanating from the Shire in each episode of PNN. This episode features James Cleaveland of FreeKeene’s Robin Hood fame. Enjoy!

When School Cops Go Bad, Should Your Kids Film?

An excellently produced video report by Dave Ridley. He addresses the need for students to be prepared to document the increasingly closed environment of the government school system.

When you lose with a camera rolling, you win. If the video survives to become public, some of the abuse you suffered is proven. If the authorities snatch the camera and the video doesn’t survive, they show themselves to be thieves…That camera might not save the student. It might get her into more trouble initially, but it should give her some ethical high ground she wouldn’t have had had she kept the camera in her pocket. Whipping out that camera forces the authorities to choose between censorship and openness. Whichever one they choose, you win, as long as the public is well informed of what happened.school_securitycam