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Boston’s Top Cop Warns Against “Police State”

“Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis warned against creating a ‘police state’ in the aftermath of the marathon bombings during testimony in front of a congressional hearing today. ‘We do not, and cannot, live in a protective enclosure because of the actions of extremists who seek to disrupt our way of life,’ Davis told lawmakers, adding ‘I do not endorse actions that move Boston and our nation into a police state mentality, with surveillance cameras attached to every light pole in the city.’ However, he did call for more surveillance cameras as well as more undercover officers to increase security around big events.” Continue reading →

Spain refuses to extradite Swiss bank data ‘thief’

“A Spanish court refused on Wednesday to extradite a former HSBC bank employee to Switzerland where he is wanted for allegedly stealing data that exposed thousands of suspected tax dodgers. Hervé Falciani, a 40-year-old French-Italian, was arrested in Barcelona in July 2012 after he arrived by boat from France. Switzerland asked for Falciani to be extradited to face charges of violating Swiss banking secrecy laws and revealing industrial secrets. Spanish prosecutors had opposed Falciani’s extradition on the grounds that he was helping authorities investigate tax fraud and because banking secrecy was abolished in Spain in 1977.” Continue reading →

IRS says hundreds of thousands of US citizens are not reporting Canadian trusts

“This week the IRS released statistics on the number of returns it received in 2010 from US citizens with foreign trusts. In all of Canada only 324 returns were filed that report ownership in a non-US trust, which likely means hundreds of thousands of US citizens residing in Canada had not filed the appropriate returns. This is important for two reasons: first, the penalties for not filing are draconian (but waivable); and second, last week the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report that encouraged IRS to pursue those taxpayers who file late returns using a technique known as ‘quiet disclosure.'” Continue reading →

Cyber thieves steal $45 million from debit card companies in a matter of hours

“Cyber thieves around the world stole $45 million by hacking into debit card companies, scrapping withdrawal limits and helping themselves from cash machines, US authorities said Thursday. The massive heist unfolded ‘in a matter of hours,’ said the US prosecutor’s office for Brooklyn, New York. Prosecutors unveiled charges against eight people accused of forming the New York cell of the plot, which stretched across 26 countries. In their case, they allegedly lifted $2.8 million in cash and now face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and money laundering.” Continue reading →

Colorado passes laws for the legal sale of marijuana beginning Jan. 1

“Lawmakers in Colorado voted Wednesday night to approve a historic, first-ever regulatory framework for the production, taxation and sales of marijuana. Four bills awaiting the governor’s signature Thursday morning — SB 283, HB 1317, HB 1318 and HB 1325 — will convert the state’s medical marijuana regulatory agency into a body governing all marijuana sales and establish legal limits for driving while under the influence of marijuana. Voters will also be given the chance to approve a series of taxes on marijuana in November, starting at 10 percent sales tax at retail and 15 percent excise tax at wholesale, with additional local taxes to be set by each municipality.” Continue reading →

Glenn Greenwald: U.S. oligarchs focused on military and surveillance state to put down unrest

“You can do one of two things in response to that discontent: You can try to placate it, whether symbolically placate it or substantively placate it so you avoid that kind of extreme income disparity… [and] even things out a just little bit more, however much you need to calm people down; or you consolidate your own power so that even if people become discontent, there’s nothing they can do to you because you’ve created this massive militarized state, this massive surveillance state. Our elite appears to be doing the later, and very little of the former, if any.” Continue reading →

“Butt Out,” 60% of 18 to 34-Year Olds Tell Federal Government

“Despite a horrendous unemployment rate of 45% for this age group — almost as bad as Spain’s and Greece’s — about 60% of America’s young adults believe that the government should get out of their lives. Even more amazing, half believe that the government is not helping the economy. Two-thirds are favorable to entrepreneurship. These opinions were made clear in a recent poll sponsored by the Young America Foundation. Unfortunately, only 44% think that free markets are positive.” Continue reading →

Mao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million

“Kong Dongmei, now in her early 40s, and husband Chen Dongsheng ranked 242th with personal wealth estimated at five billion yuan ($815 million) on a rich list released this month by New Fortune, a Chinese financial magazine. Kong is the grand-daughter of Mao and his third wife He Zizhen. In 2001 she founded a book store in Beijing selling publications about Mao and promoting ‘Red Culture’ after studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the US. The couple have two daughters and a son, said New Fortune — likely to be a violation of China’s one-child policy.” Continue reading →