Network Archives

Two Thirds of Americans Support Drones for ‘Homeland Security’ Missions

"The survey also canvassed law enforcement officers, 72% of whom supported the use of unmanned drones for surveillance purposes and 66% supported their use for 'emergency response'. Initial testing of robotic spy drones for 'public safety' applications was conducted by the DHS’ Science and Technology directorate at Fort Sill, Oklahoma last year. The DHS has also been giving grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to police departments across the country enabling them to purchase unmanned surveillance drones such as the Shadowhawk drone, a 50lb mini helicopter that can be fitted with an XREP taser with the ability to fire four barbed electrodes." Continue reading →

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How did America’s police become a military force on the streets?

"How did we evolve from a country whose founding statesmen were adamant about the dangers of armed, standing government forces to a country where it has become acceptable for armed government agents dressed in battle garb to storm private homes in the middle of the night—not to apprehend violent fugitives or thwart terrorist attacks, but to enforce laws against nonviolent, consensual activities? How did a country pushed into a revolution by protest and political speech become one where protests are met with flash grenades, pepper spray and platoons of riot teams dressed like RoboCops?" Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: What We Have Learned From Afghanistan

"Last week the Taliban opened an office in Doha, Qatar with the US government's blessing. They raised the Taliban flag at the opening ceremony and referred to Afghanistan as the 'Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan' − the name they used when they were in charge before the US attack in 2001. For years many of us had argued the need to get out of Afghanistan. We cannot leave, we were told for all those years. If we leave Afghanistan now, the Taliban will come back! Well, guess what? After 12 years, trillions of dollars, more than 2,200 Americans killed and perhaps more than 50,000 dead Afghan civilians and fighters, the Taliban is coming back anyway!" Continue reading →

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Edward Snowden – A Real American Hero

"When you make a mistake, usually there is a negative feedback loop, which lets you know you're headed in the wrong direction. You borrow too much money, for example, and your creditors begin trailing you with court orders or baseball bats. But in a major public policy disaster, the feedback loop is twisted. The feds spend too much money, for example... and give the bill to the next generation. The poor youngsters can't vote. Many are not even born yet. A police state is a disaster. It has its own ways of bending the feedback loop. Every public policy disaster produces zombies. And armed zombies protect themselves... with arms, naturally." Continue reading →

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Exante Adds Share Trading To Global Bitcoin Hedge Fund

"Exante is the king of bitcoin funds. The tradeable fund shares are distributed exclusively through the Exante Hedge Fund Marketplace platform. Authorized and regulated by the Malta Financial Services Authority, Exante offers the Bitcoin Fund with an initial minimum subscription of $100,000 and a 0.5% fee for subscriptions and redemptions (1 Bitcoin Fund share = 1 bitcoin). The fund carries a 1.75% annual fee (payable in bitcoin to preserve the ratio) for managing the intricate security necessary to safeguard the bitcoin private keys. Current assets under management in the Bitcoin Fund are $9.76 million (93,000 BTC) and there is no performance-based fee." Continue reading →

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Bitcoiners donate to WikiLeaks to support Edward Snowden

"Bitcoin donations to WikiLeaks increased 1,894% yesterday after Julian Assange pledged his support to whistle-blower Edward Snowden. 'I have personal sympathy with Snowden having gone through similar personal experiences,' Time Magazine reports Assange as saying during the 75-minute call. Assange said yesterday that Snowden was 'healthy and safe', but would not offer any further insight into where the 29-year-old was or when and how they had spoken. 'If we lived in a better world we would be able to go into those details. Unfortunately, we live in a world, as illuminated by Mr Snowden, where most communications are intercepted unlawfully.'" Continue reading →

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A patent on watching ads online? No problem, says top patent court

"The Electronic Frontier Foundation started fighting against the Ultramercial patent in 2011, filing a brief with the appeals court stating that '[m]erely filing a patent application covering an idea that takes place on the Internet (especially without explaining any of the programming steps) does not somehow make an abstract idea (which is unpatentable) somehow not abstract (so it is patentable).' In its reaction to the ruling Friday, the EFF said, 'It's time for the Supreme Court to step in and tell the Federal Circuit once and for all that abstract ideas—such as a process for viewing ads before accessing copyrighted content—are unpatentable.'" Continue reading →

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Bifurcation Nation

"Many observers focus on the economic causes of the widening wealth inequality, but the divide appears to be both cultural and financial. Author Charles Murray describes a cultural divide that informs the political and economic divides that are obvious to all. What Murray suggests is not that upward social mobility has ceased, but that it's become more difficult for the have-nots to join the haves, not necessarily for lack of opportunity but for the values-based reasons he describes. The resentment toward the privileged class that is bubbling up suggests people don't need to read a lengthy sociological study to sense the divide is widening." Continue reading →

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The Land of the Blind: The Illusion of Freedom in America

"Consider how quickly the government’s attack dogs went from defending the NSA’s warrantless mass surveillance of Americans’ phone calls to targeting and punishing any and all parties involved in the 'leak' of sensitive information, including labeling Snowden a traitor, charging him with espionage and warning foreign governments against giving him refuge. President Obama has begun preaching about the need for Americans to 'trust' their government, insisting that the NSA’s surveillance is perfectly legal with no acknowledgment of the fact that the leak shed much-needed light on government corruption, illicit programs and treachery." Continue reading →

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The Military May Drive You to Suicide

"The simple truth is this: During my first deployment, I was made to participate in things, the enormity of which is hard to describe. War crimes, crimes against humanity. Though I did not participate willingly, and made what I thought was my best effort to stop these events, there are some things that a person simply can not come back from. I take some pride in that, actually, as to move on in life after being part of such a thing would be the mark of a sociopath in my mind. These things go far beyond what most are even aware of. To force me to do these things and then participate in the ensuing coverup is more than any government has the right to demand." Continue reading →

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