Yearly Archives: 2013

Digital Currency Firms’ Sites Have Been Shut Down.

"One of the companies involved in digital currency transfers is Perfect Money. It just got a lot less perfect. The screws are tightening on digital money sites. Bottom line: the U.S. government reserves the right to shut down any website on earth, at any time — no appeal. Meaning: you can put your legal digital money into these sites. Then, without warning, these sites are defined by the U.S. government as money-laundering sites. They mysteriously go offline. Think of them as roach motels: your money goes in. It does not come out." Continue reading →

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Members Of LAPD SWAT Team Caught Selling Department Guns

"The FBI is investigating whether members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s elite SWAT and Special Investigations Section units violated the law by purchasing large numbers of custom-made handguns and reselling them for profit, according to interviews. The move comes after an earlier LAPD investigation found no wrongdoing on the part of officers. But on Friday, Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck acknowledged that that probe was 'clearly lacking' and said the department has opened a second investigation of the weapons transactions that is still ongoing." Continue reading →

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IRS Official Lois Lerner Refuses To Resign – Gets Paid Leave Of $3,557.69 A Week

"First she refused to testify. Now Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the tax agency scandal, is refusing to resign, according to a top Republican senator. Sources confirmed to Fox News earlier Thursday that Lerner, the head of the IRS division that oversaw the unit targeting conservative groups, had been placed on administrative leave, with pay. But Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, claimed she was only put in that status after refusing to step down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Official Lois Lerner Refuses To Resign – Gets Paid Leave Of $3,557.69 A Week

Julius Bär bank clients now targeted in US tax probe

"American clients of private bank Julius Bär were told recently that they are the focus of a US tax evasion probe, a Zurich-based daily reported on Tuesday. US tax authorities had requested administrative assistance from their Swiss counterparts to investigate a number of US citizens suspected of having undeclared funds at the Zurich-based bank. The United States has launched investigations into the dealings of around a dozen Swiss banks, including Julius Bär, prompting Switzerland to try to reach an overarching settlement with Washington to provide legal closure for its financial sector." Continue reading →

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FOLLOW THE MONEY: Common Core, the States and GOP Backers

“This notion that the children belong to the state, that their education must be provided for by the state … is inimical at every step to liberty.” – J. Gresham Machen As the battle against Common Core continues in Michigan this week during the Ominbus budget bill talks, Common Core pusher former Florida Gov. Jeb …

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Google wants blimps to bring wifi access to sub-Saharan Africa

"Google is planning to develop high-speed wireless networks in sub-Saharan Africa with the help of high-altitude balloons that can transmit signals across hundreds of square miles. The internet search giant wants to connect one billion more people to the internet in emerging markets such as Africa and south-east Asia, and is ready to team up with telecoms firms and equipment providers to build networks that will improve speeds in cities and bring the internet to rural areas. Google is considering a mix of technologies, broadcasting signals from masts, satellites and even remote-controlled balloons known as blimps." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle wants blimps to bring wifi access to sub-Saharan Africa

Cuba plans to expand public Internet access

"Cuba will expand limited public access to the Internet next month by opening up another 118 places where people on this communist-run island can surf the Web for a fee, authorities said Tuesday. Set to start June 4, the extension takes advantage of an undersea fiber-optic cable from Venezuela and will gradually be rolled out further — but not to homes, according to a Communications Ministry resolution published in the Official Gazette and local media. There are now more than 200 public Internet rooms in hotels on the island that sell connection cards that cost between $7 and $10. Post offices also provide access to email." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCuba plans to expand public Internet access

Google no longer able to pay Android developers in Argentina, pulling apps on July 27th

"Developers in Argentina have begun receiving letters from Google informing them that 'Google Play will no longer be able to accept payments on behalf of developers registered in Argentina starting June 27, 2013.' The change applies to both paid apps and apps that use in-app purchases. The move appears to be related to new, restrictive regulations the Argentine government has imposed on currency exchanges, which The Telegraph detailed this past September. Twitter has quite a few developers complaining about the changes, but it's not clear how many people will be affected." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle no longer able to pay Android developers in Argentina, pulling apps on July 27th

Linden Lab Changes ToS Around Second Life Currency to Comply With US Treasury?

"Linden Lab has updated Second Life's Terms of Service regarding Linden Dollars, the world's official currency, in a way that will impact third party sites which exchange L$ for real money or other virtual currency, including Bitcoin. In the new Terms of Service, however: '[T]o better protect Second Life users against fraud, the updated Terms of Service make it clear that trading of Linden dollars (L$) on exchanges other than the LindeX, Second Life’s official L$ exchange, is not authorized or allowed.' The given reason seems strange on its face, because Second Life users have been able to exchange Linden Dollars for real currency on third party sites since 2004." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLinden Lab Changes ToS Around Second Life Currency to Comply With US Treasury?

U.S. Government Seizes LibertyReserve.com, Arrests Founder

"The news comes four days after libertyreserve.com inexplicably went offline and newspapers in Costa Rica began reporting the arrest of the company’s founder Author Bodovsky, 39-year-old Ukrainian native who moved to Costa Rica to start the business. As noted by the BBC, many users — principally those outside the United States — simply viewed the currency as cheaper, more secure and flexible alternative to PayPal. But according to the Justice Department, Liberty Reserve enabled the use of its services for criminal activity by offering a shopping cart interface that merchant Web sites could use to accept Liberty Reserve as a form of payment." Continue reading →

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