Yearly Archives: 2013

Young Americans may dodge health law

"Young Americans may have been among the biggest supporters of Obamacare, but they may also be the least likely to comply with the law. In 2014, benefits experts say, the cheapest option for 20-somethings will be to pay the penalty for not buying health insurance, rather than paying for any health insurance at all—that is, provided they don’t get sick. And as more young people do the math, more seem to be deciding the Affordable Care Act isn’t such a good deal for them: Support for a national health-care plan dropped nearly 11% among American college freshmen between 2008 to 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingYoung Americans may dodge health law

Obamacare could eat up your raise

"Expecting to get a raise next year? It could be eaten up by your health care bill. In an effort to meet the affordability requirement of the Affordable Care Act, which kicks in next year and requires that workers spend no more than 9.5% of their income on premiums, more employers are turning to insurance plans in which premiums vary based on a person’s salary, rather than having all workers pay a flat rate. That way, employees who make more money pay bigger premiums. While the strategy, which some employers have been using for decades, is still not mainstream, more companies are adopting the system as a way to prepare for the health reform law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObamacare could eat up your raise

Bitcoin Exchange Makes Apparent Move to Play by U.S. Money-Laundering Rules

"FinCen in March started applying traditional money-laundering rules to 'virtual currencies' amid growing concern that new forms of digital cash are being used for illicit activities. Those rules mandate that exchanges register with FinCen, follow stricter bookkeeping requirements and report transactions of more than $10,000. About a month after the edict, the Department of Homeland Security seized an account tied to Mt. Gox, alleging the company and a subsidiary were conducting transactions 'as part of an unlicensed money service business.' According to FinCen's website, the agency received Mt. Gox's registration on Thursday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Exchange Makes Apparent Move to Play by U.S. Money-Laundering Rules

U.S. Flag Recalled After Causing 143 Million Deaths

"Millions of U.S. flag–related injuries and fatalities have been reported over a 230-year period in locations as far flung as Europe, Cuba, Korea, Gettysburg, PA, the Philippines, and Iraq. In addition, the company found that U.S. flag exports to Vietnam during the late 1960s and early 1970s resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, a clear sign that there was something seriously wrong with its product. Despite fears about the flag's safety—especially when improperly used or manipulated in ways not originally intended—sales continued unabated over the years, potentially putting billions of unsuspecting people in danger." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Flag Recalled After Causing 143 Million Deaths

Jordanians ‘suspicious’ about U.S. troop movements

"Jordanians are suspicious about US weapons and troops being deployed to the kingdom, even if Washington seeks to help its ally protect itself from a possible spillover of Syrian violence, experts say. The United States has kept F-16 warplanes and Patriot missiles in the country since a joint military exercise ended on June 20. A US defence official said Washington has expanded its military presence in the country to 1,000 troops. MP Khalil Atiyeh says lawmakers reject the presence of foreign forces. 'As deputies representing Jordanian people, we do not accept US or any other foreign troops in Jordan. Jordanians do not think there are threats from Syria.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJordanians ‘suspicious’ about U.S. troop movements

The best second passport for Edward Snowden…

"If Mr. Snowden had been able to procure a second passport prior to stepping into the limelight, he would likely not be in this predicament as he could have been traveling on his other passport. This is one of the hidden virtues of having a second passport. You might never ‘need’ one. But should such a need ever arise, it can really be a life saver. In Mr. Snowden’s case, the best option on the table would have been Brazil. If Snowden had become a Brazilian (which anyone can do– via 2-4 years of residency, or marriage, or even having a child), he could be happily living out his days on the beach in Fortaleza, rather than being stuck in a Russian transit zone." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe best second passport for Edward Snowden…

Homeland Security Is A Racket Twice Over

"Since the government has created the problem of terrorism while fraudulently denying that it has, and then in building up the DHS has fraudulently offered a non-solution to solve the problem of its own making, the DHS is a racket twice over. Actually, since the DHS's activities actively invade everyone's rights, it is a racket thrice over. None of us would have any expectation of systematic terrorism against Americans in America if there were not a U.S. empire that systematically intrudes in lands where it doesn't belong. Retaliations from these places take time, sometimes decades. The U.S. is breeding new terrorists all the time and in more and more places." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security Is A Racket Twice Over

Edward Snowden and Joshua Glover

"The comparisons to Edward Snowden are obvious: 'why did Glover flee Missouri? Why didn't he stay in Missouri and 'work within the system' to gain his liberty?' Yeah, the same way so many other slaves had secured their freedom! With the help of its lapdog media - with which neither Booth nor Glover had to contend - the federal government demands of Russia what it demanded of Wisconsin in the mid-19th century: the return of one of its subjects." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEdward Snowden and Joshua Glover

Marine’s 11-year war crimes conviction overturned

"Sergeant Lawrence Hutchins, 29, was jailed six years ago after a court martial found him guilty of orchestrating the murder of a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the town of Hamdania. Hutchins was convicted of leading an eight-strong squad which kidnapped the father of 11 from his home in a night-time raid, frogmarched him to a ditch and shot him. The group then placed an AK-47 and a shovel beside the dead man’s corpse to make it look as if he had been shot while planting a roadside bomb. Lawyers for Hutchins argued investigators had erred when the Marine was held in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer for seven days." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarine’s 11-year war crimes conviction overturned

UN Releases 2013 World Drug War Report

"I found this paragraph absolutely stunning: 'We have to admit that, globally, the demand for drugs has not been substantially reduced and that some challenges exist in the implementation of the drug control system, in the violence generated by trafficking in illicit drugs, in the fast evolving nature of new psychoactive substances, and in those national legislative measures which may result in a violation of human rights. The real issue is not to amend the Conventions, but to implement them according to their underlying spirit.' Read that again and realize the enormity of what he is saying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN Releases 2013 World Drug War Report