CLibertyC

Delay in Obamacare requirement puts onus on the honor system

"Delaying the 'employer mandate' already means the government is giving up potential revenue next year, as businesses whose employees buy subsidized coverage on an Obamacare exchange would be fined $3,000 per person. In addition, without the reporting requirements of the employer mandate in 2014, 'the exchanges and the IRS will not be able to verify whether someone’s coverage is unaffordable' and thus whether the person is eligible for subsidies, said law professor Timothy Jost of Washington and Lee School of Law in Lexington, Virginia. That leaves it up to individual consumers to be honest about what they do, or do not, qualify for." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDelay in Obamacare requirement puts onus on the honor system

Virginia: $10 Million Red Light Camera Caught With Short Yellow

"One of the most profitable red light camera intersections in Virginia Beach, Virginia has been pulling in millions based from faulty engineering. The automated ticketing machine at the corner of Great Neck Road and Virginia Beach Boulevard generated $10 million worth of red light camera tickets, only to see profits tumble 64 percent when the yellow signal timing was extended by half-a-second in January. The longer yellows provide only partial relief, as the city and its for-profit vendor Redflex Traffic Systems of Australia have issued 92 percent of the tickets to drivers turning right on red in a perfectly safe manner." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirginia: $10 Million Red Light Camera Caught With Short Yellow

Dot-Coms and Bonds Aren’t So Different after All

"In the late 1990s, stocks were the asset du jour. Every single year saw inflows and, at the time, it was the single biggest influx of investor cash into any asset class ever. That massive tsunami of investor dollars drove dot-coms to ridiculous valuations, setting the stage for the epic crash that followed. But guess what? It pales in comparison to the amount of cash that has poured into bond funds in the past few years. A stunning $1.15 trillion in investor money flowed into bond funds between 2009 and April 2013. Not one year showed an outflow from bonds. One could argue the bond bubble is at least 30 percent bigger than the late-1990s stock-market bubble." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDot-Coms and Bonds Aren’t So Different after All

The Real National Security Interest of America

"McCain thinks that our common good rests in deeply expanding U.S. government involvements in dozens of foreign countries. How such an indirect, tortuous, and demonstably dangerous path achieves the common good of Americans is a deep mystery. It is beyond belief that the McCains in the Senate think they can improve other countries when they cannot even identify America's common good and take steps domestically to improve that good. Can Senator McCain explain how the U.S. involvements in Vietnam, Iraq, Libya, Somalia and Afghanistan have furthered the common good of Americans?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Real National Security Interest of America

What Reasonable Person WOULDN’T Avoid the Cops?

"In 2000, the US Supreme Court ruled that warrantless narcotics checkpoints in Indiana were unconstitutional. Police in at least two states have responded by setting up fake checkpoints, and then stopping motorists who seek to avoid them. Police in Mayfield Heights, Ohio are now using the same tactic by placing 'Drug Checkpoint Ahead' signs in the express lanes of Interstate 271. Although such checkpoints are illegal, observes Professor Ric Simmons of Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law, lying about one is not, because police 'can lie to anybody.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Reasonable Person WOULDN’T Avoid the Cops?

Using Metadata to Find Paul Revere

"I have been asked by my superiors to give a brief demonstration of the surprising effectiveness of even the simplest techniques of the new-fangled Social Networke Analysis in the pursuit of those who would seek to undermine the liberty enjoyed by His Majesty’s subjects. This is in connection with the discussion of the role of 'metadata' in certain recent events and the assurances of various respectable parties that the government was merely 'sifting through this so-called metadata'. I will show how we can use this 'metadata' to find key persons involved in terrorist groups operating within the Colonies at the present time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUsing Metadata to Find Paul Revere

Estonia tells European Union to rely less on U.S.-based ‘cloud’ storage

"IT hub Estonia on Wednesday urged the European Union to rely less on US firms for 'cloud' data storage, amid tensions over claims of US spying and data surveillance. 'Recent months have proven once again that it’s very important for Europe to have its own data clouds that operate strictly under European legislation,' Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said in a statement. Dubbed E-stonia, the tiny state of just 1.3 million people is known for being a trailblazer in technology and is one of the most connected countries in the world. Tallinn is also home to the NATO cyber-defence centre." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEstonia tells European Union to rely less on U.S.-based ‘cloud’ storage

Apple Powering Nevada Datacenter with Solar Farm

"Apple’s Nevada data center has been in the works for quite some time: a 2,200-acre plot outside of Reno will host a 90,000-square-foot datacenter that, in turn, will support the tech giant’s cloud services. Apple will reportedly spend $1 billion over the next decade on the facilities, in return for significant tax abatements at the city, county and state levels. It will also fund and build a 137-acre solar farm, managed in conjunction with NV Energy, to power the datacenter (it will generate approximately 43.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity). The Reno datacenter will be the third Apple cloud facility in the U.S. that is powered largely or entirely by solar power." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingApple Powering Nevada Datacenter with Solar Farm

France revealed to be spying on its citizens’ phone calls, email and social media

"France’s external intelligence agency spies on the French public’s phone calls, emails and social media activity in France and abroad. It said the DGSE intercepted signals from computers and telephones in France, and between France and other countries, although not the content of phone calls, to create a map of 'who is talking to whom'. It said the activity was illegal. 'All of our communications are spied on,' wrote Le Monde, which based its report on unnamed intelligence sources as well as remarks made publicly by intelligence officials. 'Emails, text messages, telephone records, access to Facebook and Twitter are then stored for years,' it said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance revealed to be spying on its citizens’ phone calls, email and social media

Dates When PRISM Data Collection Began For Each Provider

"It looks like Apple didn't buckle and provide mass data to the USG until after the death of Steve Jobs. Microsoft, which is currently running an advertising campaign with the slogan 'Your privacy is our priority,' appears to be the first to have buckled, in December 2007. It was followed by Yahoo in 2008; Google, Facebook and PalTalk in 2009; YouTube in 2010; Skype and AOL in 2011; and Apple,which joined the program in 2012." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDates When PRISM Data Collection Began For Each Provider