Yearly Archives: 2013

NYC To Hike Cigarette Age To 21 in Apparent Effort To Boost Black Market

"Let's say you're an official in a jurisdiction that has raised cigarette taxes so high that the majority of smokes consumed in the state come from the black market — either smuggled in from lower-tax jurisdictions or else outright counterfeits sold as the real deal to consumers trying to avoid being mugged as they enjoy their chosen vice. Assuming that your goal is to get everybody to go to the black market, what else can you do to nudge retailers and smokers to deal with the guys selling off the back of trucks? Well, how about raising the smoking age — effectively imposing prohibition on some existing smokers so that they have to go underground to get their smokes?" Continue reading →

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Jay Leno’s Gitmo Solution

“President Obama held a press conference earlier today, and he said he still wants to close the Guantanamo Bay prison facility, but he doesn’t know how to do it. He should do what he always does: declare it a small business and tax it out of existence. It will be gone in a minute. Be gone in a minute! One month! Be out of there!” Continue reading →

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High school student facing terrorism charge over Boston Marathon rap

"An 18-year-old high school student from Methuen, Massachusetts was arrested on Wednesday and charged with making a terroristic threat for a rap song he sent in a text message and on social media referencing the Boston Marathon bombing and the White House. It is not clear what exactly Cameron D’Ambrosio said that upset authorities so much, but footage published to his YouTube account (embedded below) features him wearing a hoodie and calling himself 'Killa Cam,' rapping about how he got into a fight and didn’t care." Continue reading →

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Pentagon considers arming Syrian rebels again

"The United States is taking a fresh look at whether to provide weapons to Syria’s rebels after having rejected the idea previously, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Thursday. At a news conference with his British counterpart Philip Hammond, Hagel was asked if the US government was rethinking its opposition to arming the rebels and replied: 'Yes.' After the White House acknowledged last week that US intelligence agencies believe the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons on a small-scale, speculation has mounted that President Barack Obama could reverse his opposition to arming the rebels." Continue reading →

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Suicide rate among the middle-aged rises sharply in U.S.

"Suicide rates among US adults aged 35-64 are on the rise — with more Americans now taking their lives than dying in car accidents, according to official statistics released Thursday. Motor vehicle accidents killed 33,687 people in 2010 — well below the 38,364 who died from suicide in the same year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. The spike in suicides was seen exclusively among US adults aged 35-64, who saw a 28 percent rise over the last decade, the CDC added. And the numbers were even more stark for those in their 50s, who saw a nearly 50 percent jump in suicide rates." Continue reading →

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Yes, They Are Coming For People’s Guns in California

"The state will send dozens of new agents into California neighborhoods this summer to confiscate nearly 40,000 handguns and assault rifles from people barred by law from owning firearms, officials said Wednesday. The plan received the green light Wednesday, when Gov.Jerry Brown signed legislation providing $24 million to clear the backlog of weapons known to be in the hands of about 20,000 people who acquired them legally. They were later disqualified because of criminal convictions, restraining orders or serious mental illness." Continue reading →

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Do You Want the Government Buying Your Data From Corporations?

"Our government collects a lot of information about us. Tax records, legal records, license records, records of government services received-- it's all in databases that are increasingly linked and correlated. Still, there's a lot of personal information the government can't collect. Either they're prohibited by law from asking without probable cause and a judicial order, or they simply have no cost-effective way to collect it. But the government has figured out how to get around the laws, and collect personal data that has been historically denied to them: ask corporate America for it." Continue reading →

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Companies That Protect Your Data From the Prying Eyes of Government

"The winners, that is those who require a warrant before giving up information and who also inform you of government requests, are: Dropbox; Foursquare; LinkedIn; Sonic.net; SpiderOak; Twitter; WordPress. The companies that roll over and immediately give up information and also don't notify you that you are the subject of a government request: Amazon; Apple; AT&T; Comcast; MySpace; Verizon; Yahoo. Google and Microsoft require a warrant before they provide information about you, but don't notify you that you are the subject of a government request." Continue reading →

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Tiny Device Will Detect Domestic Drones

"A Washington, D.C.-based engineer is working on the 'Drone Shield,' a small, Wi-Fi-connected device that uses a microphone to detect a drone's 'acoustic signatures' (sound frequency and spectrum) when it's within range. The company's founder, John Franklin, who has been working in aerospace engineering for seven years, says he hopes to start selling the device sometime this year. He is using the Kickstarter-like IndieGoGo to finance the project. The device will cost $69 and will be about the size of a USB thumb drive. He says he imagines that people will attach the Drone Shield to their fences or roofs to protect their home from surveillance." Continue reading →

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IRS Takes A Bite Out Of Bitcoin

"Bitcoin is virtual currency much in the news these days. It’s peer-to-peer so there’s no central bank or government. But if you think that means the IRS won’t get a piece, think again. The IRS already gets a piece where you swap one product or service for another, as the IRS explains at its Bartering Tax Center. Soon the IRS may have a Bitcoin Center too. The Treasury unit called FinCEN, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, already has rules about Bitcoin and the IRS is likely to follow. In the meantime, the tax rules seem pretty clear. If you provide services or sell goods for Bitcoin, you have income." Continue reading →

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