Alternative News

Obama delivers ‘full-throated defense’ of Larry Summers to House Democrats

"President Barack Obama defended Larry Summers’ credentials during a meeting with House Democrats on Wednesday. Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) told The Hill that Obama had given a 'full-throated defense' of Summers during the meet at the Capitol. Obama is rumored to be considering nominating Summers to replace Ben Bernanke as chairman of the Federal Reserve. Obama described Summers as a loyal and important adviser during the 2008-2009 financial crisis. Summers had served as director of the U.S. National Economic Council under President Barack Obama. He resigned in 2010." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama delivers ‘full-throated defense’ of Larry Summers to House Democrats

TD Waterhouse Bank begins FATCA Hunt and embraces role as IRS deputy

"Its compliance department seized upon my Canadian Passport showing a US place of Birth…That it turn triggered them to FREEZE my accounts until I signed a 'W9' and a 'Limitations of Benefits' form. I immediately told them I had no SSN and wasn’t a US Citizen and they had no right to provide any information on my accounts to the US as this would be a breach of the client confidentiality act…(besides it would include my CANADIAN born wife’s affairs as well). They explained to me that the TD Waterhouse was required to do this as they were REGISTERED in the US and were subject to substantial US penalties under FATCA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTD Waterhouse Bank begins FATCA Hunt and embraces role as IRS deputy

Think your password is secure from the NSA? Try this.

"Seven minutes. That’s how long it would take to crack one of the passwords I had been using for more than ten years, according to the crypto experts at Silent Circle. I’ve been using eight or ten different passwords for several years, some of them going back to my days as an intelligence officer. I had always thought they were secure– letters and numbers that I’ve been typing so long, they’re committed to muscle memory. But a few months ago when I signed up for my Silent Circle account, I was surprised to see the results when I tested one of my passwords against their crypto analysis tool. You can try it for yourself here." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThink your password is secure from the NSA? Try this.

Alabama’s becomes ‘shall issue’ concealed carry state

"Starting tomorrow, Aug. 1, Alabama’s new comprehensive gun law takes effect, which among other things will make the Heart of Dixie a ‘shall issue’ state as opposed to a ‘may issue’ state with respect to concealed carry and will allow law-abiding gun owners to store firearms in their vehicles while they’re at work. However, there’s way more to it than that and given the fact that there has been so much uncertainty about the new law and how it impacts gun owners, businesses, colleges, universities and the non-gun owning public, below is arguably the best explanation of the new law on the Web." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAlabama’s becomes ‘shall issue’ concealed carry state

Concealed Guns Are Now Legal in Illinois (But Not Chicago)

"If you have a gun and want to carry it without being bothered by local law enforcement, you will have to travel a bit outside of metro Chicago. But not too far. Even though Illinois’ new concealed carry law is on the books, the actual state permitting process is not ready to go and won’t be for months. Regardless, the I-Team has identified 14 counties where authorities say you may not be arrested for carrying a gun. With this week’s override action by the General Assembly, Illinois was the 50th state to allow concealed carry." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingConcealed Guns Are Now Legal in Illinois (But Not Chicago)

US Wants Its Police in Canada and Exempt from Canadian Law

"The United States wants its police officers to be exempt from Canadian law if they agree to take part in a highly touted cross-border policing initiative, an internal RCMP memo says. … The debate over whose laws would apply to U.S. officers working in Canada raises important questions of sovereignty and police accountability, says the briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson. Does this have implications for anyone who winds up in trouble/penalties over tax issues? Is Canada a sovereign country or the 51st State?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Wants Its Police in Canada and Exempt from Canadian Law

Cops Can Track Cellphones Without Warrants, Federal Appeals Court Rules

"A divided federal appeals court ruled today that the government does not need a probable-cause warrant to access mobile-phone subscribers’ cell-site information, a decision reversing lower court decisions that said the location data was protected by the Fourth Amendment. The 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the third federal appeals court to decide the privacy issue. All the while, two federal appellate courts have now taken the government’s position that court warrants are not required for the location data. And a third federal appellate court said judges had the option to demand warrants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops Can Track Cellphones Without Warrants, Federal Appeals Court Rules

Bitcoin Is Not Quantum-Safe, And How We Can Fix It When Needed

"Given what is currently public knowledge, quantum computers are still far away; the most powerful quantum computer to date managed to use Shor’s algorithm to factor the number 21. However, we always need to have a plan of what we can do if Edward Snowden decides to leak out that the NSA has fully functional quantum computers hiding in a secret data center. We probably cannot handle such a sudden event, but we certainly can handle cases where we get even a month of advance warning. From there, we lick our wounds, pick up our losses and move on to enjoy some of the more wonderful things that quantum computing has to offer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Is Not Quantum-Safe, And How We Can Fix It When Needed

Building Bitcoin into the Core Architecture of the Web

"At the Inside Bitcoins NYC conference, Manu Sporny shared his answer to accelerate growth and provided a vision of adding 2.4 billion people to the Bitcoin ecosystem within the next five years. Where might one find a market that large that can be on-boarded that quickly? To Sporny, the answer lies in the 2.4 billion people with access to the web and in the sheer global dominance of four popular web browsers: IE, Safari, Firefox and Chrome. The challenge that naturally follows is how to integrate Bitcoin into the browser. Sporny is tackling this challenge by pushing for new W3C standards for the browser that will allow for more simplified transactions over the web." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBuilding Bitcoin into the Core Architecture of the Web

Bank of England refuses comment on huge discrepancy in custodial gold reports

"The Bank of England refuses to explain what appears to be a huge discrepancy in its accounting of the gold it holds in custody, a difference of as much as 1,200 tonnes between the total reported in the bank's annual report in February and the total reported in a 'virtual tour' of the bank posted this month at the bank's Internet site. The discrepancy was noted by GoldMoney research director Alasdair Macleod last week during an interview with Max Keiser on the 'Keiser Report' program on the Russia Today television network." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBank of England refuses comment on huge discrepancy in custodial gold reports