Yearly Archives: 2013

Florida Sheriff Arrested, Charged With Felony, Suspended For Protecting Gun Owner

"Rick Scott, Florida governor, stepped in and had Finch arrested. Governor Scott then appointed a new sheriff. Finch says he did not vote for the Governor. 'I’m not a republican, or a democrat. Just a man who believes in the Constitution,' says Finch. 'I do not expect to be convicted of the crime. However, I’ll fight it all the way to the Supreme Court if I have to. The state already made me an offer that if I resign they will drop the charges. To me, this means they do not have a case and it seems there are political motives to push me out rather than seek justice.'" Continue reading →

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Lawmakers travel the world on lobbyists’ dime

"Lately, the number of privately financed trips offered by corporate interests, lobbyists, universities and foreign governments, including China, have been rising. Trips this year so far total 1,363, at a cost to the hosts of $3.2 million. Bill Allison, editorial director of the Sunlight Foundation, said the best arrangement would be to conduct all lawmaker travel 'on the taxpayer’s dime.' Lawmakers have traveled to a variety of locales this year on trips paid for by private groups and foreign governments, with Turkey the top destination so far, followed by Israel. Lawmakers stress the travel’s fact-finding nature." Continue reading →

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Saudi Arabia ready to replace Western military and economic aid to Egypt

"Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries welcomed Egypt’s ouster of Morsi, which infuriated supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood’s president and sent them to the streets. King Abdullah was the first leader to send a message of congratulations to caretaker president Adly Mansour, who was appointed shortly after the army deposed Morsi following nationwide protests. Saudi Arabia later announced an aid package of $5 billion to Egypt. Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates followed suit, bringing the pledges made by the three oil-rich Arab states of the Gulf to $12 billion. The Saudi monarch pledged on Friday the kingdom’s support for Egypt’s fight against 'terrorism'." Continue reading →

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Greenwald vows to release UK secrets after 9-hour detention of his partner

"The journalist who first published secrets leaked by fugitive former U.S. intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden vowed on Monday to publish more documents and said Britain will be 'sorry' for detaining his partner for nine hours. British authorities used anti-terrorism laws on Sunday to detain David Miranda, partner of U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald, as he passed through London’s Heathrow airport. Greenwald said the detention was an attempt to intimidate him for publishing documents leaked by Snowden disclosing U.S. surveillance of global internet communications. Snowden gave Greenwald from 15,000 to 20,000 documents." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Mining’s Inevitable Cloud Future

"In early 2013 bitcoin mining saw the start of the application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) revolution. As design efficiency approaches Moore’s Law production capacity and operating efficiency will drive profit margins. The natural evolution of this will be large data centers that can take advantage of economies of scale. There are three potential options for optimizing the location of the cloud mining data center: establish a facility near the production site, near cheap power, or near talented personnel. The best decision depends on the businesses’ unique advantages over the competition and all models could provide a competitive edge." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin: A Primer for Policymakers

"A new Mercatus Center at George Mason University study addresses many of the common misconceptions about Bitcoin and describes how the digital currency works. The study also analyzes current laws and regulations that may already cover digital currencies and warns against preemptively placing regulatory restrictions on Bitcoin that could stifle this new technology before it has a chance to grow. In addition, the paper gives policymakers several recommendations on how to treat Bitcoin going forward in a way that helps the free market and provides clarity for law enforcement." Continue reading →

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Caroline Kennedy discloses possible $500 million fortune

"Five years after Caroline Kennedy refused to release financial information during her bid to take over Hillary Clinton’s US Senate seat, newly filed documents reveal a personal fortune that could be as high as $500 million. Very private Kennedy declined to release the data in 2008. She subsequently withdrew her request for then-Gov. David Paterson to appoint her to Clinton’s seat. (If she had been running for office, Kennedy would’ve been required to report assets, credit card debt, mortgages and income from sources that total more than $5,000.) But now, Kennedy has had to file documents for her nominated role as Ambassador to Japan." Continue reading →

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A Colonial Gatekeeper That Hillary Would’ve Approved Of

"The year was 1998, when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke on The Drudge Report. Hillary Clinton famously lamented that the Internet lacked a 'gatekeeping function'. This mentality is nothing new. Here's a quote from way back in 1671, from Colonial Virginia. The Governor at the time was Sir William Berkeley, and he reported back to the British Crown: 'Thank God, there are no free schools nor printing and I hope we shall not have these hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy and sects in the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both!'" Continue reading →

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Unease at Clinton Foundation Over Finances and Ambitions

"The Clinton Foundation had become a sprawling concern, supervised by a rotating board of old Clinton hands, vulnerable to distraction and threatened by conflicts of interest. It ran multimillion-dollar deficits for several years, despite vast amounts of money flowing in. And concern was rising inside and outside the organization about Douglas J. Band, a onetime personal assistant to Mr. Clinton who had started a lucrative corporate consulting firm — which Mr. Clinton joined as a paid adviser — while overseeing the Clinton Global Initiative, the foundation’s glitzy annual gathering of chief executives, heads of state, and celebrities." Continue reading →

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Police ‘assessing credibility’ of claim Princess Diana murdered by British soldier

"New information which has been passed to the police relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed is thought to include an allegation that they were murdered by a member of the British military, it emerged tonight. Scotland Yard said it is 'scoping' the information and 'assessing its relevance and credibility'. It is understood the allegation was made by the former parents-in-law of a former soldier based on information that the ex-soldier talked about in the past, according to a military source. The Ministry of Defence said tonight it was not commenting on the matter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice ‘assessing credibility’ of claim Princess Diana murdered by British soldier