Missouri Voters to Consider State Privacy Amendment With National Implications

In a referendum that could ultimately have national implications, Missouri voters will go to the polls Aug. 5 with the opportunity to add protection for electronic communications to their state constitutionAmendment 9 would give “electronic data and communications” the same state constitutional protections as “persons, homes, papers and effects.” This would eliminate any constitutional ambiguity…

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More Universities Help NSA Spying: Time to Stop it

Did you know the NSA enters into partnerships with colleges and universities? Schools that partner with the NSA earn the Orwellian sounding designation of “Centers for Academic Excellence.” Depending on the nature of the partnership, these universities serve as either training and recruiting ground for future spies. Or they take on NSA funded research projects…

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Anti-Spying bill signed into law in New Hampshire

CONCORD, N.H., July 24, 2014 –  New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan has signed into law a bill that not only bans state and local law enforcement from searching an electronic device without a warrant, but also prohibits a small but important category of what the NSA has been doing with the warrantless data it collects. House Bill…

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Oregon Voters Can Nullify Federal Marijuana Prohibition this November

Oregon residents will once again have the opportunity to nullify the federal drug war as the Secretary of State officially authorized a measure that would fully legalize marijuana for adults aged 21 or older to be voted upon this fall. Members of the marijuana advocacy group New Approach Oregon turned in 145,710 signatures in June,…

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BRICS establish $100bn bank and currency pool to cut out West

"The group of emerging economies signed the long-anticipated document to create the $100 bn BRICS Development Bank and a reserve currency pool worth over another $100 bn. Both will counter the influence of Western-based lending institutions and the dollar. The new bank will provide money for infrastructure and development projects in BRICS countries, and unlike the IMF or World Bank, each nation has equal say, regardless of GDP size. Each BRICS member is expected to put an equal share into establishing the startup capital of $50 billion with a goal to reach $100 billion. The BRICS bank will be headquartered in Shanghai." Continue reading

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Cyprus: 16 months of capital controls, banks still pitifully capitalized

"It’s been over a year since the banking system in Cyprus officially went bust. On Friday, March 15, 2013, practically everyone in the country went to bed thinking that everything was just fine. Many had probably gone to the bank that very day to do business, or logged on to an Internet banking platform. Yet the very next morning, they woke to a completely new reality: the nation’s banks were broke, and the government was in no position to rescue them. All the promises they had been told about government guarantees and having a ‘well-regulated’, sound banking system turned out to be lies." Continue reading

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IMF pronounces Bulgaria’s banks safe, 2 weeks before bank run

"Earlier this summer, IMF bureaucrats went to Sofia, Bulgaria to study the country’s economic progress. And roughly a month ago, they released an official report which stated, among other things, that Bulgarian banks are 'stable and liquid.' Talk about epic timing. Because less than two weeks later, Bulgaria’s banking system was in the throes of a full-blown crisis. There was a run on two of the nation’s largest banks—several hundred million dollars had been withdrawn in a matter of hours. And the Bulgarian central bank had to step in and take over both of them or risk a collapse in the entire system." Continue reading

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Extreme Violations of Your Rights Call For Historic Resistance

Is the  OffNow strategy  too extreme? Does shutting off water and electricity to spy agency facilities go too far? Some people think so. I’ve had people tell me that they don’t really approve of NSA spying, but we should remember the agency also does some good things. We shouldn’t go too far in our efforts…

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New Drone Film Raises Important Questions

DRONES, a film available on demand from iTunes and Amazon, follows two drone operators on a remote location as they face moral dilemmas while tasked with killing suspected terrorist operatives. And while it focuses on the use of drones on the foreign battlefield, the film addresses issues that will soon face us right here at…

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