Yearly Archives: 2013

Texas teen charged with making terroristic threat after online joke

"'LOL' stands for 'laughing out loud,' and 'jk' means 'just kidding,' but police didn’t think it was funny. Neither did a woman from Canada who saw the posting. Justin’s dad says the woman did a Google search and found his son’s old address was near an elementary school and she called police. Justin Carter was arrested the next month and has been jailed since March 27. He’s charged with making a terroristic threat and is facing eight years in prison, according to his dad. 'These people are serious. They really want my son to go away to jail for a sarcastic comment that he made,' added Carter." Continue reading →

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More Details Emerge on the Death of Michael Hastings

"Our friend and colleague Michael Hastings died early Tuesday morning in a one-car crash in Los Angeles. Wikileaks' Twitter account is now reporting that hours before his death, Hastings contacted Wikileaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson saying he was being investigated by the FBI. Some establishment media outlets have taken care to try and assault Hasting's character and achievements as a journalist. Cenk Uygur breaks it down." Continue reading →

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Envoy says U.S. loses trust in Hong Kong after Snowden

"The top U.S. diplomat in Hong Kong warned on Thursday of a 'big struggle' ahead to repair Washington’s trust in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Speaking publicly for the first time since Snowden flew from Hong Kong to Moscow on Sunday despite a U.S. request to hold him to face charges of espionage, Consul General Stephen Young told Reuters that Washington’s confidence was 'shaken'. Young did not specify how any deterioration in ties would play out but added: 'I’ll say specifically in law enforcement co-operation – where we have a whole series of agreements, and protocols and practices – our confidence has been shaken.'" Continue reading →

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Ecuador’s Correa rips into Snowden coverage; U.S. threatens trade sanctions

"US officials are mounting pressure on Ecuador over its stance in the leaker debacle. Senator Robert Menendez, who heads the Foreign Relations Committee in the Senate, said such a move would hurt Ecuador’s international trade, which is highly dependent on export to the US. Menendez said he would lead the effort to prevent the renewal of Ecuador's duty-free access to US markets under the Generalized System of Preferences program. He also said he would block renewal of the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). Both programs expire at the end of next month." Continue reading →

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NSA collected US email records in bulk for more than two years under Obama

"The Obama administration for more than two years permitted the National Security Agency to continue collecting vast amounts of records detailing the email and internet usage of Americans, according to secret documents obtained by the Guardian. The documents indicate that under the program, launched in 2001, a federal judge sitting on the secret surveillance panel called the Fisa court would approve a bulk collection order for internet metadata 'every 90 days'. The collection of these records began under the Bush administration's wide-ranging warrantless surveillance program, collectively known by the NSA codename Stellar Wind." Continue reading →

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How to Survive When Prices Double Every Day and a Half

"At a 2011 Casey Research Summit, I met and heard the firsthand accounts of three gentlemen from Zimbabwe, Argentina, and Yugoslavia, who had survived hyperinflation in their home countries. Although these may sound like exotic locales with foreign problems, their terrifying histories have a lesson to teach us. Hyperinflation is like fire. We all install smoke alarms, keep fire extinguishers handy, and buy insurance to protect our homes, but most of us will never fall victim to an unplanned fire. However, when a fire does ignite, it can be catastrophic – which is why prudent people simply plan ahead." Continue reading →

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American Bar Association: Some basic rules for using ‘bitcoin’ as virtual money

"Techies know that 'bitcoin' is a virtual currency generated by predetermined computers and recognized on traditional currency exchanges as BTCs. Of interest to investors and business owners, bitcoins have skyrocketed into mainstream popularity, as has their price. No government is involved in creating bitcoins, and they are insulated from Cyprus-style bank lockouts. But before joining the BTC revolution, here are seven fundamentals to consider." Continue reading →

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Civil Forfeiture Of Cash: It Could Happen To You

"Owners of property subject to civil forfeiture find themselves in an Alice-in-Wonderland legal landscape where the property seized is accused of a crime, rather than the owner. The owners must follow obscure rules that originate in Admiralty law, with which most attorneys aren’t familiar. Fortunately, you can reduce the likelihood that law enforcement agencies will try to confiscate your cash. The most important precaution is to insure the cash you hold contains no narcotics residues. If you insist on withdrawing new bank-wrapped bills from your bank account, the likelihood of contamination drops considerably. Also, keep a bank withdrawal slip with the cash." Continue reading →

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