Daily Archives: August 19, 2013

Summers vs. Yellen: Tweedledumb vs. Tweedledee

"The media are doing their best to create interest in who will be Bernanke’s replacement: Lawrence Summers or Janet Yellen. Summers is a dove. The media have re-defined 'exit.' Any reference to an exit these days means merely a reduction of the rate of increase in the present rate of $85 billion a month. The FED is buying over $500 billion of the Treasury’s estimated annual deficit of $650 billion. It is buying almost $500 billion in Fannie-Freddie bonds. What happens to interest rates if the FED stops buying? What happens to Wall Street? What happens to the housing recovery? No one asks Yellen what she thinks would happen. No one asks Summers." Continue reading →

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Germany recognizes Bitcoin as a “private money,” subject to capital gains tax

"In response to a query by a member of parliament, the German Finance Ministry has declared that it accepts bitcoins as a 'unit of account.' The Ministry added that bitcoins are a sort of 'private money' and that mining bitcoins constitutes 'private money creation.' The Ministry also clarified that if a German taxpayer holds bitcoins for more than a year, then she is exempt from paying the 25 percent capital gains tax. Such a tax would ordinarily be paid after profiting from the sale of a stock, bond, or other security. A taxpayer would be expected to declare them as part of her assets and income as part of her annual tax return." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany recognizes Bitcoin as a “private money,” subject to capital gains tax

Bitcoin Bites: Germany recognizes digital currency as ‘private money’

"Bitcoin is slowly joining the big league of currencies. Germany has become the first country to accept the digital money - recognized in law and for tax purposes. Katie Pilbeam from RT's Venture Capital program explains." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Bites: Germany recognizes digital currency as ‘private money’

The Internet: We’re Doing It Wrong

"This week Facebook’s ban-bot went berserk; Github went down; and all Google services collapsed for a few minutes, taking 40% of the Internet with them. Just another week on the Internet, then. We love our centralized services, until they let us down. Bruce Sterling calls them “the Stacks”: Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft. They don’t want much, those Stacks. Just your identity, your allegiance, and all of your data. Just to be your sole provider of messaging, media, merchandise, and metadata. Just to take part in as much of your online existence as they possibly can, and maybe to one day mediate your every interaction with the world around you." Continue reading →

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The Hookah Lounge War Is On

"There are hundreds of hookah lounges in the U-S, mostly in college towns and urban areas. The lounges have enjoyed an exemption to clean indoor air laws because they have defined themselves as 'tobacco shops.' No more. The front line is here in Boston. After allowing a few lounges to open, the city has clamped down and passed a law that forces all of the city’s hookah lounges to shut down by 2019. 'There’s a risk that people who are non-smokers will [..] find themselves addicted to nicotine and needing to buy packs of Marlboros,' says Mark Gottlieb, executive director at the Public Health Advocacy Institute." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Hookah Lounge War Is On

Free Staters Tell Concord Police: Tanks, But No Tanks

"To his credit, Concord police chief John Duval apologized for calling these groups domestic terrorists, but the point was and is clear. The biggest concern and fear of any political system are those that seek to undermine state authority and its institutionalized plunder masked in law, badges, and costumes. If terrorism is defined as the threat or use of violence against the innocent to achieve political ends, then who really are the domestic terrorists? The groups of people with the radical notion that other people are not their property, or the institution that claims the right, duty and moral imperative to initiate aggressive violence?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFree Staters Tell Concord Police: Tanks, But No Tanks

Government works to make federal agencies appear as protagonists on TV

"Many agencies, including U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), actually staff an 'entertainment and multimedia liaison' in order to coordinate the agencies starring roles. Brandon A. Montgomery is such a liaison for ICE. In a news release from his agency, he is described as 'actively working to generate an agency presence in film and TV.' 'It’s important to get (ICE) on TV because it ensures we are on the top of the mind to the American public and our stakeholders,' Montgomery said, noting that it was 10 times as effective as putting an agency in a news blurb. Montgomery touts his influence at acquiring ICE features in TV shows." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

"Though it made for a sensational headline last week, the fact is these 2,776 'violations' over the course of one year are completely irrelevant. The millions and millions of 'authorized' intercepts of our communications are all illegal -- except for the very few carried out in pursuit of a validly-issued search warrant in accordance with the Fourth Amendment. That is the real story. Drawing our attention to the violations unfortunately sends the message that the 'authorized' spying on us is nothing to be concerned about." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

Feds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder For Shutting Down His Service

"The saga of Lavabit founder Ladar Levison is getting even more ridiculous, as he explains that the government has threatened him with criminal charges for his decision to shut down the business, rather than agree to some mysterious court order. The feds are apparently arguing that the act of shutting down the business, itself, was a violation of the order. That same article suggests that the decision to shut down Lavabit was over something much bigger than just looking at one individual's information -- since it appears that Lavabit has cooperated in the past on such cases. Instead, the suggestion now is that the government was seeking a tap on all accounts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder For Shutting Down His Service

Glenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

"The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro. The 28-year-old was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual. Miranda was released, but officials confiscated electronics equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours