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Nazi hunters call on Twitter to crack down on terrorists

“A Nazi-hunting group has urged Twitter and other social media to step up efforts to remove online ‘hate speech,’ citing a surge in incitement to attacks like the recent Boston bombings. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said Twitter has spawned nearly 20,000 hashtags and handles this year that are linked to terrorism and extremism, up 30 percent in the past year. A Twitter spokesman said in a statement sent to AFP that the company does not ‘mediate content or intervene in disputes between users.’ Twitter’s TOS state that it is not responsible for content posted, but that users ‘may not publish or post direct, specific threats of violence against others.'” Continue reading →

Gun Violence in the USA Has Declined for 20 Years

“Gun violence has been falling in the United States for two decades. Between 1993 and 2010, the gun homicide rate fell by 49%. The public does not perceive this, thanks to media attention to specific cases of gun violence. Rates for all categories of violence have fallen. This includes gun violence. The same study revealed that 56% of those surveyed believe that gun violence is worse today than in 1993. Another 26% think it is about the same. Only 12% think it has declined. What about mass shootings? These account for 1% of all homicides. But stories about them attract readers. The public is uninformed. This comes as no surprise.” Continue reading →

Chinese Women Aren’t Taking Buffett’s Advice on Gold

“In China, where gold has long been a national obsession, a mid-April record crash in global gold prices has been seen as an unprecedented buying opportunity. According to reports in China, Chinese have purchased 300 tons of gold worth more than $16 billion since the crash. Photos of crowds packing jewelry shops and emptying their shelves are now regular features in the news media. China’s voracious appetite for gold is long-standing. At Chinese jewelry stores, the spot price for gold is always prominently displayed. Calculators and scales are never out of a customer’s reach.” Continue reading →

China Opens New Front in Currency War as Yuan Speculation Distorts Export Data

“The move came as April exports blew past expectations, which appeared on the surface to indicate that both China’s economy and global demand were on the mend. But economists were quick to suspect the figures were artificially inflated by investors who were disguising speculative bets on the yuan currency as trade payments. Faced with the risk that such inflows could cause the yuan to appreciate so quickly that it destabilizes exports and the broader economy, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has begun intervening heavily in the domestic currency market this year, buying up dollars and selling yuan.” Continue reading →

Eric Holder defends prosecution against Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom

“US Attorney General Eric Holder on Thursday denied allegations from Kim Dotcom that the prosecution against the Internet tycoon was launched to appease Hollywood moguls concerned about online piracy. Holder rejected the accusation, saying intellectual property theft was ‘something that we take very seriously’. ‘That’s not true,’ he told Radio New Zealand when asked if the administration was pressing the prosecution to keep Hollywood on side.” Continue reading →

Senate bill would offer college students the same interest rates as banks

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) introduced a bill on Wednesday that would give college students the same interest rates on their federal student loans as banks do when borrowing from the Federal Reserve. ‘If the Federal Reserve can float trillions of dollars to large financial institutions at low interest rates to grow the economy, surely they can float the Department of Education the money to fund our students, keep us competitive, and grow our middle class,’ Warren said. The Student Loan Fairness Act would call for the Fed to ‘float the money’ to the department for one year, giving Congress enough time to enact a long-term agreement on student loan rates.” Continue reading →

Obama may back FBI proposal for expansive Internet wiretapping powers

“The United States may soon require Internet companies to build in the capacity to let federal investigators wiretap their users, according to The New York Times. The Obama administration is weighing a proposal that would fine companies that do not comply with wiretap orders. An earlier proposal by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) would have required all companies to build in this capacity from the outset — a costly mandate that critics worried would stifle tech innovation and small businesses. Attorney Albert Gidari Jr., who specializes in representing technology companies, told the Times: ‘We’ll look at lot more like China than America after this.'” Continue reading →

Young people are three times as likely to be unemployed in global economy

“Global youth unemployment has risen to close to its crisis peak and will climb higher as the economic recovery falters, a report by a UN agency has warned. The International Labour Office said the youth unemployment rate had been falling since hitting 12.7% in 2009, but this year had climbed again to stand at 12.6%. The rate is forecast to reach 12.8% by 2018. The ILO paints a grim picture for school leavers and graduates across large parts of the world, saying young people continue to be almost three times more likely than adults to be unemployed.” Continue reading →