Network Archives

Can Bitcoin make a good first impression with top federal agencies?

"The discussions are to involve many of the country’s top law enforcement and financial agencies, including the FBI, the Secret Service, the IRS, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Department of Homeland Security. Also attending will be officials from the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, National Credit Union Administration, Money Transmitter Regulators Association and the Conference of State Bank Supervisors would also be in attendance, a Treasury official confirmed. Congress has also asked the Obama administration for information on its plans for regulating digital currencies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCan Bitcoin make a good first impression with top federal agencies?

Arab-American Group Asks Government to Intervene in Bank Account Closures

"A Dearborn-based Arab-American advocacy group is asking the federal government to investigate banks in southeastern Michigan for closing accounts of community members. Abbas said since the Bank Security Act (BSA) went into effect in 2001, Arab Americans have been increasingly targeted with account closures. The act requires financial institutions to monitor and report certain transactions to the FBI. 'Banks are misinformed and they are using their discretion to close accounts as a preemptive strike. If they are in doubt, they shut it down,' he said." Continue reading →

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Mike Gogulski: We Need Freedom of Speech in our Financial Commerce

"Financial privacy has almost completely disappeared, except for the very wealthiest. Cash transactions larger than $10,000, €5,000, €2,500,€1,500, €1,000 and now even €500 are being or have been outlawed in some places. And on and on. The suppression of financial speech is being used as a weapon of war against the people of this planet just as surely as drone strikes, pervasive surveillance and land mines are and have been. The time has come to begin separating money and currency from state, irrevocably and irretrievably. Free people and a free world deserve currencies that they control directly." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMike Gogulski: We Need Freedom of Speech in our Financial Commerce

Snapchat market value hits $800 million

"The startup behind a Snapchat application for sharing self-destructing smartphone photos and messages got a dizzying valuation on Monday in a new funding round. Reports that the company launched in late 2011 had raised $60 million from investors hit the Internet along with word that people are sharing more than 200 million ‘snaps’ daily. The startup said that it has been operating on a tight budget and will use the infusion of cash from investors to beef up its engineering team and server capacity. Snapchat has stirred controversy for its potential to be used to share risque pictures that are automatically deleted, like any ‘snaps,’ within ten seconds of receipt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnapchat market value hits $800 million

How can you buy illegal drugs online?

"Imagine if there were an Amazon.com for drugs. That, roughly, is what the Silk Road, a mail-order drugs service hidden in the dark parts of the internet, tries to be. Many drug users cannot wait two or three days for delivery of their next hit. But it is all a lot easier than waiting for the man. The police may not agree. Still, there is probably less chance of a drug deal on the Silk Road turning into a murder scene, and customer reviews may be a better guide to quality—and so the risk of overdose and death—than a street-corner salesman’s patter. Buying a line online has never been easier." Continue reading →

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Southern California Cities Further Reject Red Light Cameras

"Embattled red light camera vendor Redflex Traffic Systems has lost another contract. The Escondido, California city council voted unanimously Wednesday to allow the Australian company's right to issue near $500 tickets expire on December 12, and ticketing will cease even sooner. Councilmen were swayed by the $89,000 cost per intersection to run cameras compared to $2400 to coordinate signal timing and $5000 per year to add protected left-hand turns. Escondido loses $177,000 a year on the program while Redflex and the county and state governments profit from it. That turned out to be too high a financial cost for other city officials who otherwise support photo ticketing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouthern California Cities Further Reject Red Light Cameras

NY’s SAFE Act Imperils Yet Another Victim

"David Lewis is a librarian who lives in Amherst, New York, and owns several pistols. He once swallowed some anti-anxiety medication -- allowing cops to grab his guns pursuant to the SAFE Act's cruel discrimination against people with 'mental-health issues.' Turns out cops had the wrong 'David Lewis.' ''I was extremely shocked and saddened and immediately just felt embarrassed knowing that someone had thought negatively of me and wrongly. I had absolutely no idea how this could have happened,' said Lewis...' He also 'hoped his health record would be confidential. 'It's not right. i always thought people could expect more privacy than that,' said Lewis.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNY’s SAFE Act Imperils Yet Another Victim

Papers Please: TSA-Style Checkpoints at UK Bus & Train Stations

"‘Airport-style’ security checkpoints are being rolled out at local bus and train stations up and down the UK after local pilot schemes conducted over the last two years were deemed a success by police. The checkpoints comprise metal detector arches, drug-sniffing dogs, police pat-downs and bag searches. The reason? To 'help people who use public transport feel safer.' Over the last couple of years more and more of these ‘security’ checkpoints have been quietly introduced at local bus and train stations across the UK under a number of pretexts that simply don’t bear scrutiny." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPapers Please: TSA-Style Checkpoints at UK Bus & Train Stations

Dealing with Cops These Days

"In a word – don’t. You are dealing with perhaps the worst possible tag-team combination: Someone with legal power over you who is held to a different – and far more lenient – standard than you are. A cop can: Commit assault with near-impunity. He can draw his firearm and point it at you – even shoot at you – without fear of life-altering consequences – such as a felony record for brandishing and reckless endangerment. He can rely on his cronies and the system to cover up or minimize his errors of judgment, even when they involve serious harm to innocent people such as yourself. His word will be treated as legal tender in court – while yours is considered suspect. His very person is anointed." Continue reading →

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Arbitrary enforcement, secrecy, self-interest, and the loss of government legitimacy

"The drug war and the national security scandals have overlapped in so many ways, not the least of which is a growing sense of the erosion of the very foundation of legitimacy of government. There are laws you must follow, but we’re not going to tell you what they are, or our interpretation of what they mean, but you must follow them anyway, and we’re going to gag you so you can’t talk about these laws you must follow, and if you try to take it to court, we’re going to invoke national security and say that the courts can’t be allowed to discuss it, plus since it’s secret it doesn’t exist anyway." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArbitrary enforcement, secrecy, self-interest, and the loss of government legitimacy