Network Archives

California man could face a decade in jail for chalking ‘no thanks big banks’

"A California man’s protest against banking excess could put him in jail for more than a decade, while apparently landing him in the middle of the ongoing feud between the mayor of San Diego and the city attorney. KFMB-TV reported on Tuesday that Jeff Olson has been charged with 13 counts of vandalism by City Attorney Jan Goldsmith for writing statements including 'No thanks big banks' and 'Shame on Bank of America' on the sidewalk outside a Bank of America location between February and August 2012. If convicted, Olson could spend up to 13 years in jail and be forced to pay the bank $13,000 in restitution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCalifornia man could face a decade in jail for chalking ‘no thanks big banks’

Obama promises he won’t ‘scramble jets’ to get Snowden

"US President Barack Obama said Thursday he would not 'scramble jets' to intercept any flights carrying fugitive leaker Edward Snowden and scoffed at spending political capital to win him back from Russia. His comments came as Snowden remained in Russia, where he fled from Hong Kong, stuck in the transit zone of a Moscow airport, apparently unable to travel on to possible asylum in Ecuador after Washington cancelled his passport. Obama, who has been embarrassed by the refusal of first China and then Russia to expel Snowden, insisted the real damage to the United States lay not in international humiliation, but in the exposure of key spying programs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama promises he won’t ‘scramble jets’ to get Snowden

Glenn Greenwald: The personal side of taking on the NSA

"So that's the big discovery: a corporate interest in adult videos (something the LLC shared with almost every hotel chain), fabricated emails, and some back taxes and other debt. I'm 46 years old and, like most people, have lived a complicated and varied adult life. I didn't manage my life from the age of 18 onward with the intention of being a Family Values US senator. If journalists really believe that, in response to the reporting I'm doing, these distractions about my past and personal life are a productive way to spend their time, then so be it. None of that will detain me even for an instant in continuing to report on what the NSA is doing in the dark." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: The personal side of taking on the NSA

Man Indicted In Scheme To Blackmail Romney Over Tax Returns

"The court document says that Brown never compromised the accounting firm's computer systems, 'and falsely stated that he had stolen tax documents for Willard M. Romney and Ann D. Romney for tax years prior to 2010.' Brown then 'demanded US$1 million converted to 'Bitcoin' and instructed that this sum be deposited in a Bitcoin account for which he provide the account number,' according to the document, to prevent the release of the documents. The letters were printed not on Brown's computer but on a friend's, according to the indictment, as Brown had emailed the person to ask to use their printer, using the excuse that his own printer was out of ink." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan Indicted In Scheme To Blackmail Romney Over Tax Returns

U.S. boss held captive by angry Chinese employees, released

"Chinese factory workers on Thursday released their U.S. boss, held captive for a week, after a compensation dispute was resolved. Chip Starnes, president of Specialty Medical Supplies, in the Beijing suburb of Huairou, was allowed to leave the factory and was resting in a hotel, the company official said. The workers had demanded severance packages identical to those offered to 30 employees who were recently laid off, even though the firm planned no further layoffs. The workers’ demands followed rumors that the entire plant was being closed after the company’s plastic injection molding division began a move to India to lower production costs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. boss held captive by angry Chinese employees, released

A million engineers in India struggling to get placed in an extremely challenging market

"Somewhere between a fifth to a third of the million students graduating out of India's engineering colleges run the risk of being unemployed. Others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications in a market where there are few jobs for India's overflowing technical talent pool. India trains around 1.5 million engineers, which is more than the US and China combined. However, two key industries hiring these engineers -- information technology and manufacturing -- are actually hiring fewer people than before. Frustrated engineers are taking jobs for which they are overqualified and, therefore, underpaid. A few exceptions have even turned to crime." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA million engineers in India struggling to get placed in an extremely challenging market

Honduras Startup City Redux: from RED to ZEDE to … Freedom?

"The legislation triggered fierce opposition by municipalities, which feared competition. Those objections were answered in floor debate by the observation that municipalities could themselves convert to ZEDE, winning all the same advantages. On June 12, 2013, the ZEDE legislation passed by a vote of 102 to 26. In broad terms, the ZEDE legislation authorizes the creation of startup cities that will operate under the supervision, but not direct control, of the central government. The ZEDE might not sound much different from China’s special economic zones or Dubai’s International Financial Centre, but the Hondurans have authored a daring new approach to governance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHonduras Startup City Redux: from RED to ZEDE to … Freedom?

Bitcoiniacs Bitcoin Store Opens In Vancouver

"Bitcoiniacs - The Bitcoin Store is Vancouver’s first physical bitcoin exchange. Our mission is to make the process of buying and selling bitcoins simple, safe, and secure for everyone. If you don’t quite understand how bitcoins work, don’t worry, all you need to do is get yourself down to the store and we’ll help you out. If you already have a bitcoin wallet, then please bring your wallet address or a mobile bitcoin wallet application with you. We have also partnered with BitPay, Bitcoin’s leading payment processor, to help merchants easily accept bitcoin payments from their customers. Bitcoiniacs is open to the public Saturday and Sunday from 12 – 4." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoiniacs Bitcoin Store Opens In Vancouver

With New Initiative ‘Galactic,’ PayPal Wants To Own Payments And Commerce In Space

"In a slightly bizarre announcement today, PayPal is debuting PayPal Galactic, an initiative to own universal payments and commerce in space. Yes, outer space. PayPal is looking to address and solve the problems of what the standard currency looks like in a cash-free interplanetary society, and how banking, risk and fraud management systems will adapt to this. The company says that there is already the need for a galactic payment system. Astronauts inhabiting space stations still need to pay for life’s necessities—from their bills back on Earth to their entertainment, like music and e-books, while in space." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWith New Initiative ‘Galactic,’ PayPal Wants To Own Payments And Commerce In Space

Germany: Parliamentary inquiry declares Bitcoins tax-exempt after one year holding time

"Thus, the digital money from the Treasury treated differently than, for example, stocks, bonds or certificates. All of these asset classes are subject to withholding tax of 25 percent plus solidarity surcharge and church tax. In bitcoins falls after a holding period of one year on the other hand, no such tax. The tax exemption of capital gains in Bitcoins findings of a parliamentary inquiry that has provided to the federal government the FDP financial expert Frank Schaeffler and the 'world' exists. 'It is good that investments in Bitcoins is finally legal certainty. Private profits from the sale of Bitcoins are tax-free after one year,' said Schaeffler." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGermany: Parliamentary inquiry declares Bitcoins tax-exempt after one year holding time