Yearly Archives: 2013

Police Charge Mother With Murder After 5-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shoots Self

"Police say a 5-year-old girl fatally shot herself when her mother locked her inside their home and went to the store. The New Orleans Police Department said in a news release the girl was home alone Sunday, somehow found her mother's revolver, and accidentally shot herself in the head. The mother, 28-year-old Laderika Smith, will be booked on a charge of second-degree murder. Police say her negligence resulted in the death of her daughter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Charge Mother With Murder After 5-Year-Old Girl Fatally Shoots Self

Russia defiant as U.S. raises pressure over Snowden

"The White House said it expected the Russian government to send Snowden back to the United States and lodged 'strong objections' to Hong Kong and China for letting him go. But the Russian government ignored the appeal and President Vladimir Putin's press secretary denied any knowledge of Snowden's movements. Asked if Snowden had spoken to the Russian authorities, Peskov said: 'Overall, we have no information about him.' Other Russian officials said Moscow had no obligation to cooperate with Washington, after it passed legislation to impose visa bans and asset freezes on Russians accused of violating human rights." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia defiant as U.S. raises pressure over Snowden

Homeland Security Admits Backpack Explosive Drill Planned Before Boston Marathon

"The Department of Homeland Security has gone public with an admission that an exercise was planned months before the Boston Marathon bombings that involved backpacks being used to detonate explosives by rogue terrorists. According to the DHS documents acquired by the Boston Globe, the agents were planning on conducting training exercises centered around a fictitious terrorist group called ‘Free America Citizens’, a group that would plant backpacks full of explosives around Boston that the detectives would be forced to track down. Ultimately, of course, this ended up happening at the Boston Marathon itself with precise accuracy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHomeland Security Admits Backpack Explosive Drill Planned Before Boston Marathon

“Homelanders” To U.S. Expatriates: Don’t Come Back… Ever

"The 2008 amendments levy an 'exit tax' applies to both U.S. citizens and long-term U.S. residents—green card holders who have resided in the United States for at least eight of the 15 years prior to expatriation. The tax is predicated on the legal fiction that you sell all of your worldwide property at its fair market value on the day before you expatriate. But that’s only the beginning. In 1996, Congress enacted the 'Reed Amendment' to the Immigration and Nationality Act. The amendment gives the US Attorney General the discretion to deny entry into the United States to a former US citizen who renounced US citizenship in order to avoid US taxation." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“Homelanders” To U.S. Expatriates: Don’t Come Back… Ever

What Currency Controls Mean for You

"Many in the First World are predicting that we are on the verge of an economic collapse that will bring about the destruction of wealth, but this is not so. Yes, there will most certainly be a collapse, but, historically, wealth is not destroyed in such situations, it merely changes hands. It is likely that the reader is already well aware that small jurisdictions, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, are attracting a share of wealth that is beyond what their size would naturally dictate. The amount of wealth per resident in these jurisdictions is high. Its presence means that opportunities abound in these havens. For every door that closes, another opens." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Currency Controls Mean for You

Obama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.

"President Barack Obama’s unprecedented initiative, known as the Insider Threat Program, is sweeping in its reach. It has received scant public attention even though it extends beyond the U.S. national security bureaucracies to most federal departments and agencies nationwide, including the Peace Corps, the Social Security Administration and the Education and Agriculture departments. It emphasizes leaks of classified material, but catchall definitions of 'insider threat' give agencies latitude to pursue and penalize a range of other conduct." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s crackdown views leaks as aiding enemies of U.S.

U.S. Seemingly Unaware Of Irony In Accusing Snowden Of Spying

"At a press conference to discuss the accusations, an N.S.A. spokesman surprised observers by announcing the spying charges against Mr. Snowden with a totally straight face. 'These charges send a clear message,' the spokesman said. 'In the United States, you can’t spy on people.' Seemingly not kidding, the spokesman went on: 'The American people have the right to assume that their private documents will remain private and won’t be collected by someone in the government for his own purposes.' 'Only by bringing Mr. Snowden to justice can we safeguard the most precious of American rights: privacy,' added the spokesman, apparently serious." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Seemingly Unaware Of Irony In Accusing Snowden Of Spying

State Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

"The former National Security Agency contractor who disclosed a highly classified surveillance program has had his U.S. passport revoked. A U.S. official on Sunday said Edward Snowden's passport was annulled before he left Hong Kong for Russia. Snowden's travel plans could be complicated — but not thwarted — by a lack of passport. The U.S. official said that if a senior official in a country or airline ordered it, a country could overlook the withdrawn passport. The former contractor is said to be in Moscow and his allies at anti-secrecy WikiLeaks say Snowden is bound for Ecuador. The foreign minister there says he has requested asylum." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department revokes NSA leaker Snowden’s passport

Glenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’

'I think it’s very surprising to accuse someone of espionage who hasn’t worked for a foreign government, who didn’t covertly pass information to an adversary [or] enemy of the United States, who didn’t sell any top secret information,' Greenwald told Hayes, arguing that Snowden 'asked newspapers to very carefully vet the information to make sure that the only thing being published are things that informed his fellow citizens but doesn’t harm national security.' 'This is a 1917 statute enacted under Woodrow Wilson to criminalize opposition to World War I. It has been used very, very sparingly throughout American history until the Obama administration.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Snowden’s revelations ‘not espionage in any real sense of the word’