Bankocracy

Government works to make federal agencies appear as protagonists on TV

"Many agencies, including U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), actually staff an 'entertainment and multimedia liaison' in order to coordinate the agencies starring roles. Brandon A. Montgomery is such a liaison for ICE. In a news release from his agency, he is described as 'actively working to generate an agency presence in film and TV.' 'It’s important to get (ICE) on TV because it ensures we are on the top of the mind to the American public and our stakeholders,' Montgomery said, noting that it was 10 times as effective as putting an agency in a news blurb. Montgomery touts his influence at acquiring ICE features in TV shows." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

"Though it made for a sensational headline last week, the fact is these 2,776 'violations' over the course of one year are completely irrelevant. The millions and millions of 'authorized' intercepts of our communications are all illegal -- except for the very few carried out in pursuit of a validly-issued search warrant in accordance with the Fourth Amendment. That is the real story. Drawing our attention to the violations unfortunately sends the message that the 'authorized' spying on us is nothing to be concerned about." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

Feds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder For Shutting Down His Service

"The saga of Lavabit founder Ladar Levison is getting even more ridiculous, as he explains that the government has threatened him with criminal charges for his decision to shut down the business, rather than agree to some mysterious court order. The feds are apparently arguing that the act of shutting down the business, itself, was a violation of the order. That same article suggests that the decision to shut down Lavabit was over something much bigger than just looking at one individual's information -- since it appears that Lavabit has cooperated in the past on such cases. Instead, the suggestion now is that the government was seeking a tap on all accounts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder For Shutting Down His Service

Glenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

"The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro. The 28-year-old was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual. Miranda was released, but officials confiscated electronics equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

Who Gave Hollywood’s Representatives the Same Exact DMCA Question?

"The Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet (a part of the House Judiciary Committee) held hearings on the role of technology as it relates to content creation and copyright. In the span of less than 15 minutes, two separate representatives -- both representing parts of Los Angeles, asking questions one after the other asked THE IDENTICAL question to a panelist. Sure looks like someone is feeding them their questions, but next time they might want to keep track of who they told to ask their misleading question...." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Gave Hollywood’s Representatives the Same Exact DMCA Question?

Administration Can’t Let Go: Felony Streaming Provisions Of SOPA Are Back

"We've been working our way through a paper released last week by the Commerce Department, concerning copyright reform, and will have a much more detailed post about it soon (there's a lot in there), but over at the Washington Post, they're highlighting the silly recommendation to bring back the plan to make unauthorized streaming a felony. This was a part of SOPA and was widely discussed. This got a fair amount of attention when Justin Bieber was asked about the law, and said that Senator Klobuchar should be locked up. It's no surprise that this is coming back. It's one of the points that's been raised a few times since the death of SOPA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAdministration Can’t Let Go: Felony Streaming Provisions Of SOPA Are Back

Bloomberg’s Public Housing Fingerprinting Idea Stuns, Infuriates Residents

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s latest crime-fighting idea had a lot of people riled up on Friday. The mayor wants to fingerprint more than 600,000 people who live in public housing. He said it would be done to make the projects safer. 'The people that live there, most of them, want more police protection. They want more people. If you have strangers walking in the halls of your apartment building, don’t you want somebody to stop and say, ‘Who are you, why are you here?'' But residents who live within the confines of NYCHA buildings said the mayor’s fingerprinting idea goes too far." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBloomberg’s Public Housing Fingerprinting Idea Stuns, Infuriates Residents

Living on Bitcoin is a real challenge for newlywed couple

"Groceries at home have not been too much of a problem, since one of the first merchants they convinced to accept bitcoins was a local community-supported agriculture operation,La Nay Ferme. They’ve even ordered fertilized chicken eggs using bitcoins, in the hopes of producing some of their own food. And they just announced a special trial run of bitcoin payment with a large grocery store. But on the road, they may have to resort to brown-bagging it between bitcoin-friendly restaurants. Buying gas will probably be the biggest challenge on the road, since it has been tough at home." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLiving on Bitcoin is a real challenge for newlywed couple

Brooklyn family accuses NYPD of causing father’s fatal heart attack

"The Brooklyn District Attorney will launch an investigation into a botched raid by New York City police following accusations by the Brooklyn family involved that it led to their father suffered a fatal heart attack. WABC-TV reported that 43-year-old Carlos Alcis died early Thursday morning after police entered his family’s home allegedly looking for a suspect in a street attack in the area.Alcis’ family said he collapsed and went into seizures shortly after police entered. One of the victim’s sons, Imaunel alcis, told NY1 that one officer started pumping his heart and asked him to perform CPR, which runs counter to police reports saying officers assisted him." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrooklyn family accuses NYPD of causing father’s fatal heart attack