Yearly Archives: 2013

3-D-printed gun available for download after firing first shots

"The nonprofit group that created the world’s first 3-D-printed gun on Sunday proved that the weapon could be fired. In a YouTube video published by Defense Distributed, 3-D-printed gun creator Cody Wilson fires a single shot from 'the Liberator,' which features interchangeable barrels to handle different caliber bullets. On the first attempt, the pistol showed no damage after firing a single standard .380 round. A second attempt misfired due to a misalignment. A Computer-aided design (CAD) file that would allow others with 3-D printers to create their own handguns was made available for free on Monday." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3-D-printed gun available for download after firing first shots

Dave Gold dies at 80; entrepreneur behind 99 Cents Only chain

"Dave Gold launched his 99 Cents Only Stores empire in Los Angeles at age 50 after mulling over the idea for over a decade. The thrifty entrepreneur took the dollar store concept and introduced it to middle-class and upscale neighborhoods. In the process, he created a chain that has become a mainstay for families squeezed during hard times or those who simply love a good bargain. Long before dollar stores dotted many street corners, Gold opened the first 99 Cents Only store in Los Angeles in 1982. It was the beginning of a chain that would exceed 300 stores in California, Texas, Arizona and Nevada." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDave Gold dies at 80; entrepreneur behind 99 Cents Only chain

Botched Kim Dotcom case spurs New Zealand to allow domestic spying

"New Zealand unveiled plans Monday to allow its foreign intelligence agency to spy on local residents, to fill a loophole exposed when Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom was illegally snooped upon. Prime Minister John Key said the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) needed additional powers because the challenges facing intelligence agencies had changed enormously in the past decade. Existing legislation says the GCSB is supposed to focus on foreign intelligence and cyber-security, explicitly forbidding it from spying on New Zealand citizens or residents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBotched Kim Dotcom case spurs New Zealand to allow domestic spying

Amsterdam forced Jews to pay rent while in WWII concentration camps

"Amsterdam council has vowed to probe revelations that it forced Jews returning from World War II concentration camps to pay rent arrears, even if their homes had been destroyed or occupied by Nazis. The scandal, involving an unknown number of Jews and non-Jews living in city-owned properties, was uncovered by a young art history student in Amsterdam’s archives. Less than a quarter of Amsterdam’s Jewish population survived the war, with the Netherlands occupied by the Nazis from 1940 to 1945. The council even issued fines for late rent payments for homes that were confiscated and occupied by Nazi forces or members of the Dutch collaborationist NSB movement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmsterdam forced Jews to pay rent while in WWII concentration camps

Dutch chemical trader ordered to pay victims of Saddam Hussein’s gas attacks

"A Dutch businessman who sold Iraq’s former regime chemicals that were used in deadly gas attacks against Kurds in Iraq and in Iran was ordered on Wednesday to pay 400,000 euros ($520,000) in compensation to some of the victims. The court ruled that Frans van Anraat must pay 25,000 euros plus interest to each of the 16 plaintiffs in the case. Van Anraat is currently serving a 17-year prison sentence on charges of complicity to war crimes in relation to the chemicals he sold to Saddam Hussein’s regime between 1985 and 1989. The substances enabled the production of mustard gas used notably to massacre 5,000 Kurds in 1988 at Halabja, northwest Iraq." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDutch chemical trader ordered to pay victims of Saddam Hussein’s gas attacks

UN Commission Investigator: It Was The Syrian Rebels Who Used Sarin

"It made all the sense in the world for the insurgents to release some sarin here and there, make some videos of the victims, and email the links to some very willing Israeli generals and McCainian rabid warhawks in the US and their absurd poodles in the UK and France. The question is, whence came the chemical weapons? Perhaps the Syrian government was not lying when it asserted at the end of last month that the chemical weapons used by the Syrian rebels originated in Turkey. The Syrian official's claim was reported in the Western press as an example of mendacity, laughed at by the US administration. But it seems he may well have been telling the truth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN Commission Investigator: It Was The Syrian Rebels Who Used Sarin

Leirion Gaylor Baird’s Tax-Raising Petition Story Tough to Swallow

Leirion Gaylor Baird City of Lincoln, Nebraska City Council Campaign logo May 2013On April 15, 2013, Nebraska Watchdog published “Lincoln council candidate mistakenly signed petition to raise taxes”, reporting that Gaylor Baird signed a document calling on the City Council to raise the property tax levy by 5-cents in 2011. The candidate responded to Watchdog’s inquiry by explaining that when she’d been […]

Continue ReadingLeirion Gaylor Baird’s Tax-Raising Petition Story Tough to Swallow

Police in Springfield, Mass. adopt Iraq-style ‘counterinsurgency’ tactics

"Police in Springfield, Massachusetts have adopted Iraq-style 'counterinsurgency' tactics and are applying them to gang busting with amazing results. U.S. counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq focused on keeping militants at bay while creating stable space for a community to come together and begin resolving issues that create violence. To officer Mike Katone, freshly home from a war zone and working for the Springfield police force, that strategy made more and more sense the longer he looked at his city’s gang problems." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice in Springfield, Mass. adopt Iraq-style ‘counterinsurgency’ tactics

Obama To College Grads: Reject Voices That Warn About Government Tyranny

"Unfortunately, you've grown up hearing voices that incessantly warn of government as nothing more than some separate, sinister entity that's at the root of all our problems. Some of these same voices also do their best to gum up the works. They'll warn that tyranny always lurking just around the corner. You should reject these voices. Because what they suggest is that our brave, and creative, and unique experiment in self-rule is somehow just a sham with which we can't be trusted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama To College Grads: Reject Voices That Warn About Government Tyranny

NYPD Police Sergeant Calls For Crackdown On Social Media Dissent

"Using a zero tolerance approach to track domestic terrorists online is the only reasonable way to analyze online threats these days, especially after the Boston Marathon bombing and news that the suspects had subsequently planned to target Times Square in Manhattan, Mullins says. The way law enforcement agencies approach online activity that appears sinister is this: 'If you’re not a terrorist, if you’re not a threat, prove it,' he says. 'This is the price you pay to live in free society right now. It’s just the way it is,' Mullins adds. That method can result in arrests of teenagers whose online activity may be more aptly characterized as stupid pranks." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNYPD Police Sergeant Calls For Crackdown On Social Media Dissent