Alternative News

Snowden reportedly has ‘blueprint’ on how NSA operates

"Snowden has 'literally thousands of documents' that constitute 'basically the instruction manual for how the NSA is built' that could aid in duplicating or evading NSA surveillance tactics, The Guardian's Glenn Greenwald told the news agency on Sunday. Greenwald said the NSA 'blueprints' don't represent a threat to U.S. national security, but could be embarrassing to the government. 'I think it would be harmful to the U.S. government, as they perceive their own interests, if the details of those programs were revealed,' Greenwald told the AP." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden reportedly has ‘blueprint’ on how NSA operates

Customs & Border Protection Logged Eight-Fold Increase in Drone Surveillance for Other Agencies

"Daily flight logs from Customs & Border Protection (CPB) show the agency has sharply increased the number of missions its 10 Predator drones have flown on behalf of state, local and non-CPB federal agencies. Yet, despite this increase—eight-fold between 2010 and 2012—CBP has failed to explain how it’s protecting our privacy from unwarranted drone surveillance. CBP already appears to be flying drones well within the Southern and Northern US borders, and for a wide variety of non-border patrol reasons. The agency is planning to increase its Predator drone fleet to 24 and its drone surveillance to 24 hours per day / 7 days per week by 2016." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCustoms & Border Protection Logged Eight-Fold Increase in Drone Surveillance for Other Agencies

States with toughest gun laws have triple the amount of gun deaths

"The ten states given the highest ratings by the Brady Campaign for having the most stringent gun control legislation have about triple the amount of gun deaths compared to the ten states that have the least restrictive gun legislation, according to data compiled by the Examiner. Using data from Slate, the Examiner also found that the Brady Campaign's highest rated state for having the most restrictive gun legislation, California, also had the highest number of gun deaths(677) since the Sandy Hook shooting. The state with the fewest restrictions on firearms (and therefore the lowest scored), Utah, has had 29 gun deaths since Sandy Hook." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStates with toughest gun laws have triple the amount of gun deaths

Amidst Detroit Banktruptcy, Spontaneous Order and Market Anarchy Flourish

"One needs to look no further than the city of Detroit to find the spontaneous order, civic cooperation, and peaceful market forces that take over when government simply isn’t around. Dale Brown and his organization, the Threat Management Center (TMC), have helped fill in the void left by the corrupt and incompetent city government. Law enforcement isn’t the only 'essential government service' that the private sector is taking over and flourishing in. The Detroit Bus Company (DBC) is a private bus service that began last year and truly shows a stark contrast in how the market and government operates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmidst Detroit Banktruptcy, Spontaneous Order and Market Anarchy Flourish

A Rare – and Encouraging – Glimpse at How a Free Market Could Work in the Health Sector

"I’ve already cited the case of a North Carolina doctor who decided to use market-based pricing, and I’ve shared a very powerful video from Reason TV about a hospital in Oklahoma that’s doing the same thing. Now we have a free market revolution by a doctor in Maine: Dr. Michael Ciampi took a step this spring that many of his fellow physicians would describe as radical. The family physician stopped accepting all forms of health insurance. In early 2013, Ciampi sent a letter to his patients informing them that he would no longer accept any kind of health coverage, both private and government-sponsored. He posted his prices on the practice’s website." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Rare – and Encouraging – Glimpse at How a Free Market Could Work in the Health Sector

Ohio Dept. Of Insurance: Obamacare To Increase Premiums By 88 Percent

"Last week, the Ohio Department of Insurance announced that, based on the rates submitted by insurers to date, the average individual-market health insurance premium in 2014 will come in around $420, 'representing an increase of 88 percent' relative to 2013. 'We have warned of these increases,' said Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor in a statement. 'Consumers will have fewer choices and pay much higher premiums for their health insurance starting in 2014.' According to actuarial firm Milliman, the two biggest drivers of the increase are (1) risk pool composition changes and (2) Obamacare’s required expansion of insurance benefits." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOhio Dept. Of Insurance: Obamacare To Increase Premiums By 88 Percent

Realty Mogul Review: Fractional Investment Property Ownership, Hard Money Lending

"Realty Mogul is a new 'crowdfunding' start-up that lets you invest in residential investment property for as little as $5,000. You either take a partial ownership position in a property, or you become a lender to (experienced) house flippers. The new thing here is that you can do it completely online with a few mouse clicks (no mortgage brokers, real estate agents, or tenants) and again that low minimum $5,000 investment. Taking an equity ownership position means that you own a little slice of a single-family home or multi-unit complex while a professional does the buying, fixing up, renting out, and eventual selling." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRealty Mogul Review: Fractional Investment Property Ownership, Hard Money Lending

Marc Faber: Even QE99 won’t help US; India best in Asia

"Despite quantitative easing (QE) not really bearing any fruit for the common man, the Federal Reserve is likely to continue with it and go 'up to QE99,' says investment guru Marc Faber. He strongly feels easy money has not boosted employment for the ordinary people; instead it has given a philip to asset prices owned by very small portion of the population. Property prices over the last 12 months are up 35 percent, but all this has not helped the man on the street, he says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMarc Faber: Even QE99 won’t help US; India best in Asia

A Frontrunner for the 2013 Bureaucrat-of-the-Year Award?

"A former official of the Bay Area Rapid Transit raked in more than $333,000 last year without working a single day after she resigned under pressure in May 2011. Dorothy Dugger, the BART’s former general manager, quietly stayed on the payroll, burning off nearly 80 weeks of unused vacation time, drawing paychecks and full benefits for more than 19 months after she agreed to quit more than two years ago, San Jose Mercury News reported. The months of extra pay were in addition to the $920,000 Ms. Dugger was paid to leave after the BART’s board botched an effort to fire her by violating public meetings laws, San Jose Mercury News reported." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA Frontrunner for the 2013 Bureaucrat-of-the-Year Award?

DOE Green Energy Loans: $11.45 million per job and a rounding error’s worth of averted carbon emissions.

"Green energy jobs and DOE loans are tallied under programs 1703 and 1705 on this list. Permanent jobs created: 2,298; Taxpayer financed loan guarantees: $26.33 billion. 19 of the projects cost more than $10 million per permanent job. Even if you use the Obama maldaministration’s accounting methods and include temporary employment, the totally idiotic 'jobs created/saved' category and include the 33,000 Ford Motor Company jobs 'saved', you get ~60,000 jobs at a cost of $34.5 billion –> $580,000 per job." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDOE Green Energy Loans: $11.45 million per job and a rounding error’s worth of averted carbon emissions.