Yearly Archives: 2013

Glenn Greenwald: The personal side of taking on the NSA

"So that's the big discovery: a corporate interest in adult videos (something the LLC shared with almost every hotel chain), fabricated emails, and some back taxes and other debt. I'm 46 years old and, like most people, have lived a complicated and varied adult life. I didn't manage my life from the age of 18 onward with the intention of being a Family Values US senator. If journalists really believe that, in response to the reporting I'm doing, these distractions about my past and personal life are a productive way to spend their time, then so be it. None of that will detain me even for an instant in continuing to report on what the NSA is doing in the dark." Continue reading →

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Man Indicted In Scheme To Blackmail Romney Over Tax Returns

"The court document says that Brown never compromised the accounting firm's computer systems, 'and falsely stated that he had stolen tax documents for Willard M. Romney and Ann D. Romney for tax years prior to 2010.' Brown then 'demanded US$1 million converted to 'Bitcoin' and instructed that this sum be deposited in a Bitcoin account for which he provide the account number,' according to the document, to prevent the release of the documents. The letters were printed not on Brown's computer but on a friend's, according to the indictment, as Brown had emailed the person to ask to use their printer, using the excuse that his own printer was out of ink." Continue reading →

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U.S. boss held captive by angry Chinese employees, released

"Chinese factory workers on Thursday released their U.S. boss, held captive for a week, after a compensation dispute was resolved. Chip Starnes, president of Specialty Medical Supplies, in the Beijing suburb of Huairou, was allowed to leave the factory and was resting in a hotel, the company official said. The workers had demanded severance packages identical to those offered to 30 employees who were recently laid off, even though the firm planned no further layoffs. The workers’ demands followed rumors that the entire plant was being closed after the company’s plastic injection molding division began a move to India to lower production costs." Continue reading →

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A million engineers in India struggling to get placed in an extremely challenging market

"Somewhere between a fifth to a third of the million students graduating out of India's engineering colleges run the risk of being unemployed. Others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications in a market where there are few jobs for India's overflowing technical talent pool. India trains around 1.5 million engineers, which is more than the US and China combined. However, two key industries hiring these engineers -- information technology and manufacturing -- are actually hiring fewer people than before. Frustrated engineers are taking jobs for which they are overqualified and, therefore, underpaid. A few exceptions have even turned to crime." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA million engineers in India struggling to get placed in an extremely challenging market

Honduras Startup City Redux: from RED to ZEDE to … Freedom?

"The legislation triggered fierce opposition by municipalities, which feared competition. Those objections were answered in floor debate by the observation that municipalities could themselves convert to ZEDE, winning all the same advantages. On June 12, 2013, the ZEDE legislation passed by a vote of 102 to 26. In broad terms, the ZEDE legislation authorizes the creation of startup cities that will operate under the supervision, but not direct control, of the central government. The ZEDE might not sound much different from China’s special economic zones or Dubai’s International Financial Centre, but the Hondurans have authored a daring new approach to governance." Continue reading →

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Bitcoiniacs Bitcoin Store Opens In Vancouver

"Bitcoiniacs - The Bitcoin Store is Vancouver’s first physical bitcoin exchange. Our mission is to make the process of buying and selling bitcoins simple, safe, and secure for everyone. If you don’t quite understand how bitcoins work, don’t worry, all you need to do is get yourself down to the store and we’ll help you out. If you already have a bitcoin wallet, then please bring your wallet address or a mobile bitcoin wallet application with you. We have also partnered with BitPay, Bitcoin’s leading payment processor, to help merchants easily accept bitcoin payments from their customers. Bitcoiniacs is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 12 – 4." Continue reading →

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With New Initiative ‘Galactic,’ PayPal Wants To Own Payments And Commerce In Space

"In a slightly bizarre announcement today, PayPal is debuting PayPal Galactic, an initiative to own universal payments and commerce in space. Yes, outer space. PayPal is looking to address and solve the problems of what the standard currency looks like in a cash-free interplanetary society, and how banking, risk and fraud management systems will adapt to this. The company says that there is already the need for a galactic payment system. Astronauts inhabiting space stations still need to pay for life’s necessities—from their bills back on Earth to their entertainment, like music and e-books, while in space." Continue reading →

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Germany: Parliamentary inquiry declares Bitcoins tax-exempt after one year holding time

"Thus, the digital money from the Treasury treated differently than, for example, stocks, bonds or certificates. All of these asset classes are subject to withholding tax of 25 percent plus solidarity surcharge and church tax. In bitcoins falls after a holding period of one year on the other hand, no such tax. The tax exemption of capital gains in Bitcoins findings of a parliamentary inquiry that has provided to the federal government the FDP financial expert Frank Schaeffler and the 'world' exists. 'It is good that investments in Bitcoins is finally legal certainty. Private profits from the sale of Bitcoins are tax-free after one year,' said Schaeffler." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Exchange Berlin to Open on Saturday, June 29

"More and more people in Germany know that the Euro system will inevitably collapse, so they want to be prepared for what comes next. Germans are especially sensitive, as we went through two major monetary disasters in the last century, and the Euro will surely be the next one. So many people now think about getting their savings into gold, silver and Bitcoin. Platoon Kunsthalle is an ideal site for the Bitcoin Exchange Berlin as it serves as a communication consultancy specializing in mobilizing cultural movements and community events." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Black Market Competition Heats Up, With Pro Marketing And Millions At Stake

"Watch the cheery video ad for the latest dark-web drug marketplace today, and you’d be forgiven for thinking it was selling a service as mainstream as online dating or car insurance. Atlantis, which launched in March, is poised to take on the Silk Road, which remains by far the biggest drug sales site, with close to 60,000 unique visitors a day by one researcher’s rough measure and $22 million annual sales according to a study last year. Both run on the anonymity service Tor to hide the location of their servers and the identities of any visitors to their sites, and both accept Bitcoin to avoid having their transactions tracked through bank records." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Black Market Competition Heats Up, With Pro Marketing And Millions At Stake