Monthly Archives: January 2013

Two Cheers for the Coming Collapse of the U.S. Economy!

"'At some point, holders of Treasury securities are going to recognize that these unfunded liabilities are going to affect the fiscal capabilities of the government and then you're going to have the same situation that happened in Greece happening in the U.S.,' says Jeffrey Rogers Hummel, who is a professor of economics at San Jose State University and the author of a recent paper on the consequences of a U.S. government default. 'In the short run it's going to be painful, but in the long run it'll be a good thing.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo Cheers for the Coming Collapse of the U.S. Economy!

The perils of overseas tax disclosure: An immigrant’s story

"When Andrew Winfield applied to become a U.S. citizen in 2011, he realized he owed taxes on accounts he had left behind in his native England. So he paid what he believed he owed — $2,800 in back taxes, plus the estimated interest and penalties - and entered the IRS's overseas disclosure program. But when the IRS assessed its penalty in November, Winfield was stunned to learn that it would be $28,000 — 10 times the amount of tax he owed from 2003 to 2010. Because the penalty is based on balances when the exchange rate favored the British pound, paying that amount would mean giving up virtually everything he now has in the accounts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe perils of overseas tax disclosure: An immigrant’s story

U.S. military plans to build drone base in North Africa

"The US military plans to set up a base for drones in northwest Africa to bolster surveillance of Al-Qaeda’s affiliate in the region as well as allied Islamist extremists, a US official told AFP on Monday. The base for the robotic, unmanned aircraft would likely be located in Niger, on the eastern border of Mali, where French forces are currently waging a campaign against Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. If the plan gets the green light, up to 300 US military service members and contractors could be sent to the base to operate the drone aircraft, according to the New York Times." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. military plans to build drone base in North Africa

State Department abandons effort to close down Guantanamo Bay

"The State Department has shut down the office of its special envoy for the closure of Guantanamo Bay, a US official said Monday, in a sign of the fading hopes of shuttering the jail. Daniel Fried, the special envoy in charge of the dossier, will now move to coordinate the State Department’s sanctions policy, including for Iran and Syria. Of the 779 inmates who passed through Guantanamo only nine were ever convicted or brought to trial, and of the 166 who remain, 55 are considered safe to be released by the US military, but have nowhere to go." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department abandons effort to close down Guantanamo Bay

Pentagon planning massive cybersecurity increase

"The US Department of Defense has approved a fivefold expansion of its cybersecurity force over the coming years in a bid to increase its ability to defend critical computer networks, The Washington Post reported. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the Defense Department’s Cyber Command, which currently has a staff of about 900, will expand to about 4,900 troops and civilians. The decision to expand the Cyber Command was made by senior Pentagon officials late last year in recognition of a growing threat in cyberspace, the report said." Continue reading →

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Will Grigg: Why is it a “Crime” to Disarm a Uniformed Aggressor?

"Sheriff Terry Maketa of Colorado’s El Paso County has promised his constituents that he 'will actively oppose any effort that infringes upon your second amendment rights.' That promise apparently doesn’t apply to the right of an unarmed citizen to defend himself against acts of criminal violence committed by one of Maketa’s deputies. If it did, Maketa would have urged the local prosecutor to drop all charges against Calhan, Colorado resident David Goss, a sod farmer who is now serving an unjustified four-year prison sentence for the supposed crime of trying to avoid being shot in the stomach by Deputy Jeff Schulz." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWill Grigg: Why is it a “Crime” to Disarm a Uniformed Aggressor?

When Police Violate the Constitution

"The federal courts are bearing down on the New York City Police Department’s constitutionally suspect stop-and-frisk program, under which hundreds of thousands of citizens are stopped on the streets each year, often illegally and for no discernible reason. The department’s patently illegal strategy, the judge said, encouraged officers to 'stop and question first, develop reasonable suspicion later.' The ruling focuses on detentions that occurred as people were entering or leaving one of many residential buildings in the Bronx whose managers had simply asked the department to patrol the area and arrest trespassers." Continue reading →

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NYPD Comissioner Ray Kelly: Police to use Tera-Hertz scanners within six months

"The New York Police Department will begin using scanner technology that can see through a person’s clothes within the year, according to Commissioner Ray Kelly. 'We’ve been looking at it for several years, looking at it with the Department of Defense, and also Metropolitan Police in London,' he said on CBS News’ Face the Nation. New technology called Tera-Hertz scanners or T-Ray machines can be used to detect whether a person is carrying a concealed firearm. The new device utilizes T-rays, which pass through fabric and paper, but not cannot pass through metals." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD Comissioner Ray Kelly: Police to use Tera-Hertz scanners within six months

LAPD Spied on 21 Using StingRay Anti-Terrorism Tool

"A secretive cellphone spy device known as StingRay, intended to fight terrorism, was used in far more routine LAPD criminal investigations 21 times in a four-month period during 2012, apparently without the courts' knowledge that the technology probes the lives of non-suspects who happen to be in the same neighborhood as suspected terrorists. StingRay, which allows police to track mobile phones in real time, was tapped for more than 13 percent of the 155 'cellular phone investigation cases' last year. LAPD purchased StingRay technology sometime around 2006 with federal Department of Homeland Security funds." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLAPD Spied on 21 Using StingRay Anti-Terrorism Tool

Obamacare Layoffs Begin In Health Care Services; Insurers, Hospitals Set To Profit

"It looks like Obamacare is having some negative effects on the industry it was intended to help. Dr. Nick Turkal, CEO of Wisconsin-based non-profit health care provider Aurora Health Care, announced job cuts due to Obamacare. Orlando Health, a Florida network of community and specialty hospitals, said it would be laying off 400 employees due to new Obamacare costs. Likewise, small medical device company ADM Tronics says Obamacare will mean the company will have to lay off employees for the first time in over a decade. Hospitals and insurance companies alike are expected to receive a large influx in payments due to the new health law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamacare Layoffs Begin In Health Care Services; Insurers, Hospitals Set To Profit