Yearly Archives: 2013

US drugs prosecutors switch sides to defend accused Colombian traffickers

"US prosecutors and other senior officials who spearheaded the war against drug cartels have quit their jobs to defend Colombian cocaine traffickers, saying their clients are not bad people and that United States drug policy is wrong. Senior former assistant US attorneys and Drug Enforcement Administration agents are turning years of experience in investigating, indicting and extraditing narcos to the advantage of the alleged traffickers they now represent. Feitel and Klapper spoke of recognising the humanity of their clients and called for alternatives to a four-decade-old 'war on drugs' which costs billions of dollars and incarcerates thousands." Continue reading →

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Texas proposes one of nation’s “most sweeping” mobile privacy laws

"Privacy experts say that a pair of new mobile privacy bills recently introduced in Texas are among the 'most sweeping' ever seen. If passed, the new bills would establish a well-defined, probable-cause-driven warrant requirement for all location information. That's not just data from GPS, but potentially pen register, tap and trace, and tower location data as well. Such data would be disclosed to law enforcement 'if there is probable cause to believe the records disclosing location information will provide evidence in a criminal investigation.' Further, the bills would require an annual transparency report from mobile carriers to the public and to the state government." Continue reading →

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2 Miami police officers arrested on ID- theft, tax-refund charges

"Malinsky Bazile, a young Miami police officer, pocketed about $140,000 over the past two years — but not in salary for his patrol duties, authorities say. While on duty, Bazile ran the names of more than 1,000 people in the state driver’s license database, according to a criminal complaint. Then he took their personal information and filed bogus federal income-tax returns, all to score stolen refunds. Bazile and fellow officer Vital Frederick, separately accused of tapping into the same database, were both arrested Thursday." Continue reading →

Continue Reading2 Miami police officers arrested on ID- theft, tax-refund charges

Scam City – 2012 TV Series

"Every year, hundreds of millions of tourists head off in pursuit of adventure in foreign lands - and each year, millions of them get a little more adventure than they bargained for. Anyone can be a victim of a crime but it seems to come naturally to tourists. But while you try to avoid the thieves and con artists, economist and author Conor Woodman actively seeks them out. Travelling to the world’s great cities with an undercover team and hidden cameras, Conor exposes the ruthless ploys used to steal your hard-earned holiday cash by getting himself scammed, robbed and conned so you won’t." Continue reading →

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Air Force erases drone strike data amid criticisms

"Quietly and without much notice, the Air Force has reversed its policy of publishing statistics on drone strikes in Afghanistan as the debate about drone warfare hits a fever pitch in Washington. In addition, it has erased previously published drone strike statistics from its website." Continue reading →

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With Italy’s Election, the EU Chasm Grows

"Italians went to the polls and rejected the EU's faux austerity program but former premier Mario Monti doesn't accept the new course and has proposed new elections instead. This has happened before. When Ireland voted against the wishes of the Eurocrats, Ireland was made to vote again. Now perhaps it is Italy's turn. The European experiment was supposed to bring peace to Europe. How ironic if it would be responsible instead for a rise in political intolerance, authoritarianism and even, eventually, renewed nationalism and militarization." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith Italy’s Election, the EU Chasm Grows

French and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

"The proposal - now in the hands of working groups - is to come into force in early 2014. It will raise a fee of 0.1pc for shares and bonds, and 0.01pc for derivatives. These rates are far higher than the Swedish tax in 1989 that led to an 85pc crash in bond sales, a 98pc fall in bond futures, and shut-down of options trading, before the experiment was abandoned. The Chancellor, George Osborne, said the FTT scheme would amount to a tax on pensioners and cost up to 1m jobs across the EU 'without costing bankers a penny'. The traders would migrate to the US or Asia, taking the financial industry with them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench and Italian debt chiefs warn on EU Tobin Tax

‘Troika’ offers Cyprus bailout in exchange for tax hikes

"Cyprus needs up to 17 billion euros - almost as much as its annual gross domestic product - in emergency loans, mostly to recapitalise its oversized banking sector, hit by a Greek debt restructuring, but also to service debt and government expenses. The capital gains tax could be introduced only temporarily, for three years, and provide the government with an extra revenue of 200-300 million euros. The nominal corporate tax, which now stands at 10 percent, could be raised to 12.5 percent. The introduction of the financial transaction tax would be set at 0.01 percent of the value of trades for derivatives and 0.1 percent for stocks and bonds." Continue reading →

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