Cato Video

Follow the link to view the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/catodigital-high-tech-how-burgeoning-legal-cannabis-industry-harnessing-technology. Entrepreneurs are pouring into the cannabis industry, starting new stores, testing labs and myriad of other businesses spurred by a booming cannabis economy. The industry is harnessing the power of technology as the trend towards legalization continues. Betty Aldworth is the Executive Director at Students for sensible Drug Policy. She spoke at a recent Cato event, discussing how technology can solve prohibition problems in the newly (and increasingly) legal cannabis industry.

Follow the link to view the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/newburgh-sting-fbis-production-domestic-terrorism-threat. Since 2001, the FBI has led various hunts for domestic terrorists and arguably, manufactured even more. "The Newburgh Sting" is a documentary detailing how an undercover informant induced four men to join a plot to blow up a Bronx synagogue and attack a nearby U.S. military base. John Mueller is a Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute. He spoke at a Cato event this April providing insight on the harm these FBI investigations may cause.

Follow the link to view the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/can-we-end-poverty The federal and state governments have spent more than $19 trillion fighting poverty. But what has really been accomplished with all of that funding? This special half-day conference brings together a wide range of experts from across the political spectrum to discuss whether the War on Poverty succeeded in reducing poverty in the United States, what remains to be done, and whether private charitable efforts would be a better alternative to government welfare programs. John McWhorter teaches linguistics at the Center for American Studies at Columbia University.

Follow the link to view the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/pentagon-budget-prospects-reform During the Cold War, annual Pentagon spending averaged about $458 billion in today’s prices; over the next decade, its projected budget will average over half a trillion dollars per year. There is broad agreement that reforms are needed. But what reforms? And are they possible? Our panel of experts will seek to answer these questions, highlighting the changes they believe are necessary to cure the Pentagon’s spending ills, and debating whether such reforms are politically viable.

Julie Stewart is the president and founder of FAMM (Families Against Mandatory Minimums), a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization fighting for smart sentencing laws that maintain public safety.

Emma Ashford's new paper: http://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/friends-these-why-petrostates-make-bad-allies Cato Podcast: Syria and the U.S.-Saudi Relationship: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/daily-podcast/syria-us-saudi-relationship In what the Obama administration describes as a “years-long” coalition effort to “degrade and destroy” ISIS, the United States has reentered conflict in the Middle East. The White House heralds its close cooperation with Arab allies, including a number of petrostates such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, describing their cooperation as vital to the success of the campaign. But petrostates are unlikely to be good allies for the U.S. campaign in Iraq and Syria. The reliance of those countries on oil and gas revenues distorts both foreign policy decisions and their implementation. First, petrostates have weak foreign policy institutions, producing policy that is of poor quality and strongly driven by personalities. Second, the vast flow of oil income enables the states to back nonstate actors in conflicts, but their weak civil service cannot control the flow of arms or funds. Third, oil income also enriches private citizens, some of whom directly fund terrorist organizations such as ISIS. Thus, largely through ineptitude, those states have helped to foster Syria’s civil war, indirectly facilitating the rise of ISIS. The idiosyncrasies of oil-rich states make them poor partners for the United States in this instance and in future conflicts. As allies, petrostates are especially likely to draw America into unnecessary and intractable conflicts. In particular, Washington should largely disentangle itself from the Saudi alliance and from reliance on Saudi intelligence and diplomatic services. Keeping Saudi Arabia at arm’s length will help to minimize involvement in Middle East conflicts that are not vital to U.S. interests. Video produced by Caleb O. Brown and Austin Bragg.

Follow the link to watch the full event: Follow the link to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/multimedia/events/future-nato-transatlantic-security-framework Is NATO best positioned to address transatlantic security concerns? Should the organization be reformed? Or is it time to create a new framework for European security concerns? What should be the U.S. role in this process? Doug Bandow discusses the future of the transatlantic security framework from various points of view.

Brian Aitken is a media consultant and web entrepreneur. He is the author of the book "The Blue Tent Sky: How the Left's War on Guns Cost Me My Son and My Freedom." Why Liberty is a series of short personal stories emphasizing the value of liberty. Create your own Why Liberty video and SHARE using #WhyLiberty. Produced by Tess Terrible.

Anastacia “Stacia” Cosner is the Deputy Director for Students for Sensible Drug Policy. Why Liberty is a series of short personal stories emphasizing the value of liberty. Create your own Why Liberty video and SHARE using #WhyLiberty. Produced by Tess Terrible.

Follow the link to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/toward-new-era-us-cuba-relations President Barack Obama’s announcement that the United States will seek to ease the embargo on, and normalize relations with, Cuba marks the beginning of the end of more than 50 years of failed efforts by Washington to improve human rights or achieve political or economic reform on the island through economic sanctions and diplomatic isolationism. Further moves to end the embargo depend on Congress.

Follow the link to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/religious-liberties-corporations-hobby-lobby-affordable-care-act-constitution In an engaging new book, David Gans and Ilya Shapiro provide a comprehensive analysis of the issues in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, the blockbuster legal challenge to the Obamacare regulation that required employer-sponsored health plans to provide “free” contraceptive coverage. The Court’s decision will be discussed for years and this spirited debate will provide fascinating and informative food for thought for scholars, students, and the public as they grapple with fundamental questions of corporate personhood, religious liberty, and health care policy.

Michael F. Cannon exposed an illegal and ongoing attempt to expand Obamacare outside of the legislative process, leading to King v. Burwell case at the Supreme Court.

Follow the link to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/2014-cato-institute-surveillance-conference This inaugural Cato Institute Surveillance Conference will explore these questions, guided by a diverse array of experts: top journalists and privacy advocates; lawyers and technologists; intelligence officials … and those who’ve been targets of surveillance. Most notably is Edward Snowden, a former NSA Contractor and renowned whistleblower who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency to the mainstream media starting in June 2013.

Follow the link to watch the full event: http://www.cato.org/events/how-should-ridesharing-be-regulated The rise of ridesharing in the U.S. and abroad has been accompanied by complaints and concerns related to the regulation of rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft. Reports of rideshare drivers assaulting passengers as well as worries about insurance coverage and vehicle inspections have all prompted discussion about the safety of ridesharing. In addition, market incumbents have complained that rideshare companies are unfairly flouting existing regulation.

Major Neill Franklin (Ret.) is a 34-year veteran of both the Maryland State Police and the Baltimore Police Department who oversaw 17 separate drug task forces and is now Executive Director of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP), an organization of police, prosecutors, judges and other law enforcement officials who want to end the war on drugs. Create your own Why Liberty video and SHARE using #WhyLiberty.