Alternative News

Thousands of US Troops Arrive Near Syrian Shore on USS Eisenhower

"The USS Eisenhower, an American aircraft carrier that holds eight fighter bomber squadrons and 8,000 men, arrived at the Syrian coast yesterday in the midst of a heavy storm, indicating US preparation for a potential ground intervention. While the Obama administration has not announced any sort of American-led military intervention in the war-torn country, the US is now ready to launch such action 'within days' if Syrian President Bashar al-Assad decides to use chemical weapons against the opposition, the Times reports." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Not Bombs

"In the beginning I pretty much only used it to buy baklava. Now I’m buying gold and silver bullion with Bitcoin, and accepting it as payment for the various things that I sell. So, I have a pretty good sense of how the system works and I’m just starting to really get the economic ramifications of a digital peer-to-peer currency. I theoretically understand the impact it could have politically, at least domestically, but I’m just starting to get the first inkling of what the international political ramifications of Bitcoin might be. This rabbit hole begins with US sanctions against Iran." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Not Bombs

Bitcoin Not Bombs

"In the beginning I pretty much only used it to buy baklava. Now I’m buying gold and silver bullion with Bitcoin, and accepting it as payment for the various things that I sell. So, I have a pretty good sense of how the system works and I’m just starting to really get the economic ramifications of a digital peer-to-peer currency. I theoretically understand the impact it could have politically, at least domestically, but I’m just starting to get the first inkling of what the international political ramifications of Bitcoin might be. This rabbit hole begins with US sanctions against Iran." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Not Bombs

Glenn Greenwald: Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job

"Whatever one's views on Obamacare were and are: the bill's mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry. More amazingly still, when the Obama White House needed someone to oversee implementation of Obamacare after the bill passed, it chose a former health insurance industry executive. Now, Liz Fowler is once again passing through the deeply corrupting revolving door as she leaves the Obama administration to return to the loving and lucrative arms of the private health care industry." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job

Glenn Greenwald: Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job

"Whatever one's views on Obamacare were and are: the bill's mandate that everyone purchase the products of the private health insurance industry, unaccompanied by any public alternative, was a huge gift to that industry. More amazingly still, when the Obama White House needed someone to oversee implementation of Obamacare after the bill passed, it chose a former health insurance industry executive. Now, Liz Fowler is once again passing through the deeply corrupting revolving door as she leaves the Obama administration to return to the loving and lucrative arms of the private health care industry." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Obamacare architect leaves White House for pharmaceutical industry job

Crony America: Goldman Sachs Settles with CFTC Run by Former Goldman Partner

"Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle charges that it failed to supervise the activities of a former trader who in 2007 was able to amass an $8.3 billion trading position without detection. The head of the CFTC, Gary Gensler, is a former Goldman partner, who was recruited by Goldman right out of Wharton. CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton said the settlement did not go far enough. Chilton dissented in part from the agreement and said the starting point for penalties should have been $7.8 million." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCrony America: Goldman Sachs Settles with CFTC Run by Former Goldman Partner

Bitcoin going mainstream? Exchange approved to operate as a bank

"Bitcoin Central, a Bitcoin exchange that is popular in the eurozone, says it has secured approval from regulators to operate as a bank under French law. Users will be able to deposit funds in either euros or bitcoins, and to easily convert between the two. Euro-denominated funds will be insured by the Garantie des dépôts, the French equivalent to the US FDIC. The accounts will also be integrated with the French banking system, so users can have their paychecks automatically deposited into their accounts and converted to bitcoins." Continue reading →

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US Small Business Owners’ Hiring Intent Plunges to 2008 Lows

"U.S. small-business owners expect to add fewer net new jobs over the next 12 months than at any time since the depths of the 2008-2009 recession, according to this November's Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index survey. Small-business owners' net hiring intentions for the next 12 months plunged to -4 in November, down from +10 in July and matching the previous record low recorded by the Wells Fargo/Small Business Index of -4 in November 2008." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Small Business Owners’ Hiring Intent Plunges to 2008 Lows

Glenn Greenwald: Laptop seizures by US government highlight 9/11-era climate of fear

"A nation in which liberties are systematically abused - in which limitations on state power are ignored without consequence - is one which gives rise to a climate of fear. This climate of fear, in turn, leads citizens to refrain from exercising their political rights, because they know the government can act against them without real constraints. This morning, the New York Times reports on the US government's practice of targeting US dissidents - or those whom it believes to be engaging in dissent - with extremely invasive border searches, including seizing (and sometimes keeping for months) their laptops and other electronic data, all without any warrants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Laptop seizures by US government highlight 9/11-era climate of fear

Ninth Circuit Gives the A-OK For Warrantless Home Video Surveillance

"Can law enforcement enter your house and use a secret video camera to record the intimate details inside? On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals unfortunately answered that question with 'yes.' On suspicion of nothing more than the benign misdemeanor of selling eagle feathers, the government got to intrude inside the home and record every intimate detail it could: books on a shelf, letters on a coffee table, pictures on a wall." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNinth Circuit Gives the A-OK For Warrantless Home Video Surveillance