Yearly Archives: 2013

Brussels fights US data privacy push

"Europe’s most senior justice official is adamant she will fight US attempts to water down a proposed EU data protection and privacy law that would force global technology companies to obey European standards across the world. Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for justice, said that the EU was determined to respond decisively to any attempts by US lobbyists to curb the EU data protection law. Ms Reding’s firm approach is likely to spark a diplomatic battle between Brussels and Washington, which has actively been trying to water down the EU’s tough new privacy legislation by handing US companies a de facto exemption from it." Continue reading →

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Lithuania turns Google Street View on tax cheats

"Lithuanian tax authorities said Thursday they would use the Baltic state’s recently launched Google Street View platform to track tax cheats by identifying the real value of property holdings. 'It will help ascertain which property is ‘hiding’ under the entry recorded in the real-estate register and provide a preliminary assessment of whether the value corresponds to the declared value,' Lithuanian deputy state tax inspector Arturas Klerauskas told AFP. Google Street View was launched in Lithuania a week ago, after Google overcame initial reluctance on the part of the authorities that stemmed from privacy and security concerns." Continue reading →

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Pakistan hatches biometric ID scheme to claw back unpaid taxes

"Pakistan's National Data Base and Registration Authority (NADRA) aims to put every Pakistani adult into one of the world's largest multi-biometric databases. 'We have 452 static centers where people are coming and giving this data, we have 250 mobile vans, we have a motorcycle service, and we (even) have people up in the mountains -- skiers and mountaineers with man-pack units,' says chairman Tariq Malik whose mission it is to log every potential taxpayer in Pakistan. 'We are going to block their ID cards, and we are going to block their bank accounts, and we are going to block their foreign travels until the either pay or file an appeal,' says Hakeem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPakistan hatches biometric ID scheme to claw back unpaid taxes

Families Need Medicaid Like Fish Need Bicycles

Author’s Note: This is the sixth in a series of articles about Nebraska’s Medicaid program, the Unicameral’s apparent intent to expand it, and the many reasons why expansion is an uncommonly bad idea. Although they don’t have to be read in order, here are links to the previously-published articles in the series: NE Medicaid Expansion:… more

Continue ReadingFamilies Need Medicaid Like Fish Need Bicycles

Raytheon secret software tracks social media and ‘predicts’ people’s future behavior

"A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an 'extreme-scale analytics' system created by Raytheon, the world’s fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. The Massachusetts-based company has acknowledged the technology was shared with US government and industry as part of a joint research and development effort, in 2010, to help build a national security system capable of analysing 'trillions of entities' from cyberspace." Continue reading →

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America’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

"Behind closed doors, President Obama had given his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, carte blanche to run operations in North Africa and the Middle East. In 2012, a secret war across North Africa was well underway. With JSOC, Brennan waged his own unilateral operations in North Africa outside of the traditional command structure. The aftermath of one of these secret raids into Libya would have grave consequences for all of them. SOFREP believes the Benghazi attack on 9/11/12 was blowback from the late-summer JSOC operations that were threatening the Al Qaeda-aligned militant groups (including Ansar Al-Sharia) in Libya and North Africa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Secret War in North Africa Behind Benghazi Attack

Iranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

"Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday in Tehran and other cities chanting 'Death to America' as Iran marked the 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed shah. Tehran is currently under a series of international sanctions aimed at curbing its controversial nuclear programme of uranium enrichment. The sanctions have led to a severe economic crisis, choking Iran’s banking system and limiting its oil exports, the country’s main foreign revenue earner. According to a recent survey by the US polling firm Gallup, Iran’s nuclear programme is supported by a large majority of its population." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

Watch Iran’s $40-Million Oil Rig Collapse Into The Sea

"An Iranian oil rig that cost $40 million and weighs more than 4 million pounds sank in the Persian Gulf last week, news.com.au reports. Workers rushed to get off the rig—which belongs to Iran's Revolutionary Guard and took 30 months to build—as it disappeared into Iran's South Pars gas field in about 10 seconds. Last month Iran’s oil minister acknowledged in a report that oil sales were down 40 percent and income dropped 45 percent in the previous nine months, largely because of U.S. sanctions aimed at curbing the country's disputed nuclear program. Nevertheless, China has been purchasing more in recent months." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWatch Iran’s $40-Million Oil Rig Collapse Into The Sea

Putin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World

"When Vladimir Putin says the U.S. is endangering the global economy by abusing its dollar monopoly, he’s not just talking. He’s betting on it. Not only has Putin made Russia the world’s largest oil producer, he’s also made it the biggest gold buyer. His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China, according to IMF data compiled by Bloomberg. The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World