NH House Overwhelmingly Votes to Block NDAA Indefinite Detention and Supports Hemp Freedom Act

by | Mar 14, 2013 | 0 comments

Pot LeafHB399 prohibits state cooperation with indefinite detention without due process under the National Defense Authorization Act. It has passed the NH house 337-15. With bipartisan support like that, it’s hard to imagine this not passing through the senate and being signed by the governor. Check the full report here at NH for Liberty.

The NH house also passed by a voice vote, the “Hemp Freedom Act”, HB153 as NH for Liberty also reports.

Please contact your local NH senator to encourage them to support both of these pieces of legislation.

$200,000 Settlement Acknowledged for Micklovich Beating

by | Mar 12, 2013 | 0 comments

christophermicklovichIt has been over three years since the face-fracturing beating of Christopher Micklovich by four off duty Manchester police officers, and today it was announced that there was ultimately an admission of culpability from the city. For $200,000, a federal civil rights lawsuit was withdrawn by the plaintiff, with city risk manager Harry Ntapalis revealing that the case was settled privately and was paid off in May of last year. The Union Leader has the story.

The Attorney General’s distasteful exoneration of the four officers, as well as the killing of James Breton in front of his daughter in May of 2011 was what inspired a police accountability rally at the former MPD station house on June 4 of that year. The demonstration against duchesne_chalking8police violence became a demonstration of petty police violence, as around a dozen cameras were confiscated and eight people were kidnapped for offenses such as chalking, standing near chalk, and not following illegal orders fast enough. The Chalking 8 incident only proved the protesters’ point.

How Micklovich’s search for justice in his case snaked through the law enforcement bureaucracy before being resolved by the city further illustrates how detached from responsibility individuals in law enforcement are. Taxpayers are the source of both police salaries and plaintiff payoffs, yet legal immunity shields those tax recipients who are directly culpable from any restitution obligation.

KHS Students Gather for a Free Tibet

by | Mar 11, 2013 | 0 comments

tibet_chinaprToday Keene High School’s Students for a Free Tibet chapter stood for hours after noon holding signs and flags in support of the rights of the people of Tibet. The Himalayan region has been occupied by the PRC since 1951, and was more militarized and repressed after an unsuccessful uprising in 1959. March 10 marks the fifty-fourth year since the deflected revolution. Al Jazeera reports that in neighboring Nepal, police have cracked down on Tibetan activists on the eve of the anniversary. On February 13, a Tibetan monk self-immolated at a restaurant in Kathmandu. A sign of the desperation of the people is the widespread practice of self-immolation, with over 100 instances since 2009, resulting in over 40 deaths. Literally around the corner from where today’s gathering was held, a New Hampshire father self-immolated over a custody dispute at the Cheshire Superior Court.

Anti-Photo-Freedom State Rep Cowers from Ridley’s Camera

by | Mar 11, 2013 | 15 comments

Republican state rep Neal Kurk’s “A-” liberty rating (as per the NH Liberty Alliance) should take a tumble this year with his awful “anti-drone” legislation that threatens all people with criminal charges for photographing houses from the sky. This would restrict anyone, private or government, from flying a camera-equipped drone or even taking photos by satellite, which would mean he’s even targeting Google Maps!

Kurk’s proposed legislation doesn’t even address drones with guns – only photography!

His behavior on-camera is as ridiculous as his legislation as he covers his face and escapes from Dave Ridley‘s questions: