Search Results for “https:” – Page 882

Holocaust survivor and US tax fugitive Marc Rich dies at 78 in Switzerland

“Billionaire Marc Rich, who invented oil trading and was pardoned of a life sentence by President Bill Clinton over the then-biggest tax evasion case in U.S. history and busting sanctions with Iran, died on Wednesday from a stroke in Switzerland at 78. Rich fled the Holocaust with his parents for America to become the most successful and controversial trader of his time and a fugitive from U.S. justice, enjoying decades of comfortable privacy at his sprawling Villa Rosa on Lake Lucerne. Belgian-born Rich, whose trading group eventually became the global commodities powerhouse Glencore Xstrata, died in hospital from a stroke, spokesman Christian Koenig said.” Continue reading →

Prepaid Card Can Be Funded by Bitcoins

“Bitcoin has been making huge strides in the news lately, with more stores and customers using it every day. The latest development in the Bitcoin world is a new prepaid debit card available in the United Kingdom. This card can be purchased with and funded by Bitcoins, and it can be used in stores like any other prepaid card. Surprisingly, the Bitcoins you put into the card do not come out as Bitcoins. They come out as Euros, British pounds and other forms of currency. This means that you do not have to only use it at stores that accept Bitcoins. You can use it anywhere MasterCards are accepted.” Continue reading →

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 →

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 →

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 →

Bulgarian protesters: ‘Even if we are smiling, we are angry’

“The spark that ignited this latest crisis in the EU’s poorest country was the Socialist-backed government’s decision earlier this month to appoint a 32-year-old media mogul to head a powerful state security authority. For the protesters, this showed that the new administration was in cahoots with the same old powerful business interests and that its promises of a new era of transparency and accountability were lies. Even though the government quickly reversed the security chief decision, between 7,000 and 10,000 people have taken part in daily demonstrations since June 14 – marching and dancing, shouting and singing along Sofia’s boulevards every evening.” Continue reading →

Sen. Lindsey Graham: Support immigration bill since with it “we’ve practically militarized the border”

“Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday encouraged Republicans to support comprehensive immigration reform because a recent amendment ‘practically militarized the border.’ According to Roll Call, a so-called ‘border surge’ amendment would double the number of border agents to 40,000, complete 700 miles of new border fencing, deploy drones and other sensors, fully implement E-Verify and increase tracking on visas. ‘I’ve been hearing for years, let’s secure the border, let’s regain our sovereignty.’ ‘This whole border security amendment, I think, is the most aggressive attempt to control the southern border and regain our sovereignty.'” Continue reading →

Ghana arrests 124 Chinese citizens for illegal Gold mining

“Local police arrested the suspected illegal miners in the country’s capital, Accra. Many of them are likely to face deportation. Ghana, the continent’s second-largest gold producer, has forbidden foreigners from working in its small-scale mines since the 1980s. Locals have criticised Chinese miners for taking local jobs, polluting lakes and rivers, and wielding weapons such as AK-47 rifles to ward off robbers. More than 50,000 Chinese gold miners have been to Ghana since 2005. Two-thirds of them come from Shanglin, an impoverished county in southern Guangxi province where news of the gold rush spread by word of mouth.” Continue reading →