by Simon Black via Sovereign Man

Happy Friday everyone. Here’s our weekly roll-up of some of the most bizarre (and often disturbing) stories from around the world that we’re following:

Apparently it’s a crime to sit down in public

A dangerous criminal in the United Kingdom has been sentenced to 20 weeks in prison after an egregious crime spree.

This psychopath admitted to the heinous crime of SITTING in public THREE TIMES, without a valid excuse.

The homeless man had already been given a “criminal behavior order” which banned him from sitting on the ground. But this social deviant just went ahead and did it anyway.

The Ministry of Justice says the average price of incarceration in Great Britain is around £32,500 per year.

So now instead of sitting on the ground in public, taxpayers will spend about £12,500 over 20 weeks for him to sit in a jail cell.

Click here for the full story.

A US Congressman wants to ban Bitcoin for threatening the Federal Reserve

A US Congressman, Brad Sherman, is worried that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies will threaten US foreign policy, tax collection, and traditional law enforcement.

So his solution is to ban it.

Last week he urged his colleagues to make it illegal to mine, sell, or use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in the United States.

The problem, he says, is that the US currently gains much of its power from the fact that most international money moves in US dollars, through the Federal Reserve.

“It is the announced purpose of the supporters of cryptocurrency to take that power away from us… the advantage of crypto over sovereign currency is solely to aid in the disempowerment of the United States and the rule of law.”

His version of “rule of law” includes things like civil asset forfeiture, just straight up stealing cash from people without even charging them with a crime.

So yes, if that is the type of “traditional law enforcement” Congressman Sherman fears will be undermined, he is correct.

And since US foreign policy involves funding endless wars with an inflationary fiat currency… well, he’s right again.

The aim of cryptocurrency is to hand the power of the purse back to the people.

Which is why it is comical that he thinks the cryptocurrency movement even could be nipped in the bud if they tried.

Click here for the full story.

Maine wants to void its citizens’ Presidential votes

If a bill passed by the Maine Senate becomes law, the state will join 15 other states which have nullified their citizens’ choice for President.

These states have pledged to ignore their own voters, and just hand the state’s Electoral College votes to whichever candidate can scoop up the majority of the national ballots.

So if this passes, votes in Maine will no longer count– the state’s delegates will just automatically be cast for whoever people in the other 49 states choose.

For a country that prides itself on representative democracy, this is a truly bizarre trend.

Click here for the full story.

Eminent domain takes now, pays later

The Supreme Court long ago decided in Kelo v. New London that the government can use eminent domain to steal your property.

Of course they still have to give you “just compensation.” But now they can take your land, and delay payment for several years. Here’s how it works:

When a company (often a company that builds oil pipelines) wants your land, they’ll petition the government to seize it under eminent domain authority.

The pipeline company then makes a ridiculous, lowball offer to compensate you for your land. But before you even accept, the government has already awarded them your property.

So you either have to accept their pitiful offer, or battle them in court for years to seek more appropriate compensation (let alone the fact that your land was seized without your consent).

This system is obviously an enormous disadvantage to people who are having their property seized, and the Institute for Justice is now helping affected landowners take this to the Supreme Court.

We’re following this one very closely to see how the Court votes.

Click here for the full story.

Taxpayers pay for defense contractor’s 9400% profit margin

A $4,300 half-inch steel pin worth about $46 is just one of the products TransDigm supplies to the Pentagon.

This isn’t unusual for them– nearly all of the company’s products earn them between 95% to 9400% profits.

Now they are being brought in front of Congress to answer for these prices. But it takes two to tango.

Undoubtedly this company is taking advantage of government incompetence and bureaucracy, and they’re making a fortune. But the government is just as much to blame for being incompetent and bureaucratic in the first place.

Now Congress wants to show that they’re ‘doing something’ by chewing out these contractors in public. But it’s not like the system will really change. And the taxpayers will keep paying for it.

Click here for the full story.