Greenwald vows to release UK secrets after 9-hour detention of his partner

"The journalist who first published secrets leaked by fugitive former U.S. intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden vowed on Monday to publish more documents and said Britain will be 'sorry' for detaining his partner for nine hours. British authorities used anti-terrorism laws on Sunday to detain David Miranda, partner of U.S. journalist Glenn Greenwald, as he passed through London’s Heathrow airport. Greenwald said the detention was an attempt to intimidate him for publishing documents leaked by Snowden disclosing U.S. surveillance of global internet communications. Snowden gave Greenwald from 15,000 to 20,000 documents." Continue reading

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Bitcoin Mining’s Inevitable Cloud Future

"In early 2013 bitcoin mining saw the start of the application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) revolution. As design efficiency approaches Moore’s Law production capacity and operating efficiency will drive profit margins. The natural evolution of this will be large data centers that can take advantage of economies of scale. There are three potential options for optimizing the location of the cloud mining data center: establish a facility near the production site, near cheap power, or near talented personnel. The best decision depends on the businesses’ unique advantages over the competition and all models could provide a competitive edge." Continue reading

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Bitcoin: A Primer for Policymakers

"A new Mercatus Center at George Mason University study addresses many of the common misconceptions about Bitcoin and describes how the digital currency works. The study also analyzes current laws and regulations that may already cover digital currencies and warns against preemptively placing regulatory restrictions on Bitcoin that could stifle this new technology before it has a chance to grow. In addition, the paper gives policymakers several recommendations on how to treat Bitcoin going forward in a way that helps the free market and provides clarity for law enforcement." Continue reading

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Caroline Kennedy discloses possible $500 million fortune

"Five years after Caroline Kennedy refused to release financial information during her bid to take over Hillary Clinton’s US Senate seat, newly filed documents reveal a personal fortune that could be as high as $500 million. Very private Kennedy declined to release the data in 2008. She subsequently withdrew her request for then-Gov. David Paterson to appoint her to Clinton’s seat. (If she had been running for office, Kennedy would’ve been required to report assets, credit card debt, mortgages and income from sources that total more than $5,000.) But now, Kennedy has had to file documents for her nominated role as Ambassador to Japan." Continue reading

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A Colonial Gatekeeper That Hillary Would’ve Approved Of

"The year was 1998, when the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke on The Drudge Report. Hillary Clinton famously lamented that the Internet lacked a 'gatekeeping function'. This mentality is nothing new. Here's a quote from way back in 1671, from Colonial Virginia. The Governor at the time was Sir William Berkeley, and he reported back to the British Crown: 'Thank God, there are no free schools nor printing and I hope we shall not have these hundred years; for learning has brought disobedience, and heresy and sects in the world, and printing has divulged them, and libels against the best government. God keep us from both!'" Continue reading

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Unease at Clinton Foundation Over Finances and Ambitions

"The Clinton Foundation had become a sprawling concern, supervised by a rotating board of old Clinton hands, vulnerable to distraction and threatened by conflicts of interest. It ran multimillion-dollar deficits for several years, despite vast amounts of money flowing in. And concern was rising inside and outside the organization about Douglas J. Band, a onetime personal assistant to Mr. Clinton who had started a lucrative corporate consulting firm — which Mr. Clinton joined as a paid adviser — while overseeing the Clinton Global Initiative, the foundation’s glitzy annual gathering of chief executives, heads of state, and celebrities." Continue reading

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Police ‘assessing credibility’ of claim Princess Diana murdered by British soldier

"New information which has been passed to the police relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed is thought to include an allegation that they were murdered by a member of the British military, it emerged tonight. Scotland Yard said it is 'scoping' the information and 'assessing its relevance and credibility'. It is understood the allegation was made by the former parents-in-law of a former soldier based on information that the ex-soldier talked about in the past, according to a military source. The Ministry of Defence said tonight it was not commenting on the matter." Continue reading

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‘Safe haven’ Chicago schoolhouse demolished despite community opposition

"Supporters of a Chicago community schoolhouse were arrested Saturday morning while protesting the facility’s demolition, as residents vowed to continue pressuring city leaders to live up to financial commitments. According to WLS-TV, the building had become a focal point for a neighborhood group, the Whittier Parents Committee, who used the facility to offer free workshops, computers and a library, and staged a 43-day sit-in in 2010 to keep it. 'They talk about safe passage, they talk about the violence,' committee member Gema Gaete said. 'We were an answer. We were providing an answer for free at no cost to CPS, and this is how they repay us.'" Continue reading

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‘Missing’ French tourists found safe at home after prompting a manhunt

"The discovery of an empty canoe floating in the Lac de Sainte-Croix in the heart of Provence triggered fears for a couple and two children believed to have rented it on Thursday. About 40 rescuers, backed up by a helicopter, divers and sniffer dogs, had been scouring the picturesque emerald lake and its surrounds ever since, in a rescue operation closely followed by local media. Gendarme Captain Frederic Del Aguila said the tourists explained that their boat had been overturned by a small wave after the sluices were opened on a hydroelectric dam. However they would be fined 35 euros for entering a part of the lake forbidden to tourists." Continue reading

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The Drug War Murders a Toddler

"Joshua Hill didn’t know that his July 25 visit with his daughter Alexandria would be the last he would enjoy. Four days later the two-year-old child was killed by the state-licensed foster mother who had been given custody after Joshua’s daughter was seized by the Texas Child Protective Service. Why was this child taken away from loving and capable parents? Last November, the state confiscated the infant from her home because the parents admitted to using marijuana on occasion. This was described as 'neglectful supervision,' a charge that permitted the child-snatchers to deliver the infant into the hands of an aggressively abusive individual." Continue reading

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