CLibertyC

Pelosi booed at Netroots while defending espionage charges against Snowden

"A man identified by Politico as 57-year-old Marc Perkel can be heard shouting, 'It’s not a balance. It’s not constitutional! No more secret laws!' Perkel was ejected from the room by security, while other audience members shouted for him to be left alone. Shortly thereafter, loud boos can be heard coming from the audience after she said former NSA contractor Edward Snowden 'did violate the law' in releasing details about NSA programs like PRISM. Pelosi also defended President Barack Obama against charges that the surveillance of private residents’ phone and internet use constituted a 'fourth term' for his predecessor, George W. Bush." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPelosi booed at Netroots while defending espionage charges against Snowden

NSA controversy boosts interest in ‘private’ Internet search engines

"While Google’s market share has not seen a noticeable dent, privacy search engines like US-based DuckDuckGo and European-based Ixquick have seen jumps in traffic from users seeking to limit their online tracks. The stored data has become a concern following revelations of a massive surveillance program run by the secretive National Security Agency, with access to data from Google, Yahoo! and other Internet firms. US officials say the information gathered is vital in the fight against global terrorism. The same data and profiles can be used by the search engine to deliver ads and sold to outside marketers as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA controversy boosts interest in ‘private’ Internet search engines

Snowden spy squabble deepens as U.S. is accused of hacking China

"Within hours of news breaking that the US had filed charges against Snowden, the South China Morning Post reported that the whistleblower had handed over a series of documents to the paper detailing how the US had targeted Chinese phone companies as part of a widespread attempt to get its hands on a mass of data. Text messaging is the most popular form of communication in mainland China where more than 900bn SMS messages were exchanged in 2012. As Snowden made his latest disclosures, he appeared to be gaining support from politicians in Hong Kong who said China should support him against any extradition application from the US." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden spy squabble deepens as U.S. is accused of hacking China

Nashville restaurant raided by swarms of armed officers to randomly check alcohol permits

"An 'army' of armed officers raided a family-owned restaurant late one night to check alcohol permits. Although 'The Family Wash' had done nothing wrong and broken no laws, the agents still raided their establishment, shut down the band that was playing, scared away all the customers, and harassed the owner. They chose to do this raid on a busy Friday night, when people were eating, drinking, and listening to music. The joint task-force of permit-checkers from multiple different jurisdictions and agencies collectively was out performing random raids on restaurants." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNashville restaurant raided by swarms of armed officers to randomly check alcohol permits

GCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications, shares with NSA

"Britain's spy agency GCHQ has secretly gained access to the network of cables which carry the world's phone calls and internet traffic and has started to process vast streams of sensitive personal information which it is sharing with its American partner, the National Security Agency (NSA). The sheer scale of the agency's ambition is reflected in the titles of its two principal components: Mastering the Internet and Global Telecoms Exploitation, aimed at scooping up as much online and telephone traffic as possible. This is all being carried out without any form of public acknowledgement or debate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGCHQ taps fibre-optic cables for secret access to world’s communications, shares with NSA

Email from Michael Hastings before crash mentions FBI probe

"In an email sent hours before his death in a single-car L.A. crash, journalist Michael Hastings wrote that his 'close friends and associates' were being interviewed by the FBI and he was going to 'go off the radar for a bit.' According to the email, Hastings wrote he was working on a 'big story' and was going to disappear. He told his colleagues that if the FBI came to interview them, they should have legal counsel present. Hastings was researching a story about a privacy lawsuit brought by Florida socialite Jill Kelley against the Department of Defense and the FBI. The FBI said Hastings was never under investigation by the agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEmail from Michael Hastings before crash mentions FBI probe

IRS cracks down on family land gifts not declared at tax time [2011]

"The Internal Revenue Service is looking at land-transfer records state-by-state for evidence of people neglecting to report within-family real-estate gifts. This year, large family land gifts were popular because of a new tax rule that established $5 million as the amount someone can give in a lifetime before having to pay a gift tax. However, any property worth more than $13,000, gifted to one person, is still supposed to be reported to the IRS. To be precise, Form 709 reports U.S. gifts and generation-skipping transfer taxes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS cracks down on family land gifts not declared at tax time [2011]

“You’re Sick, Fatso. I’m Billing Your Insurance Company.”

"Physicians are not paid by health insurance companies to treat people with behavior 'problems.' They get paid only to treat diseases. So, understanding where their bread is buttered, and by whom, the American Medical Association has now identified obesity as a disease. The Los Angeles Times had spotted the economic nature of the re-definition. You know what an incurable disease is, don’t you? A permanent stream of income. The patient does not die, so he keeps coming back for 'treatment.' Treatment means billable procedures. Think of this as lowering the bar. People who are over a BMI of 30 are now called fat." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“You’re Sick, Fatso. I’m Billing Your Insurance Company.”

Survey Finds that 41 Percent of Small Business Owners Have Frozen Hiring Because of Obamacare

"Forty-one percent of the businesses surveyed have frozen hiring because of the health-care law known as Obamacare. And almost one-fifth—19 percent— answered 'yes' when asked if they had 'reduced the number of employees you have in your business as a specific result of the Affordable Care Act.' The poll was taken by 603 owners whose businesses have under $20 million in annual sales. Another 38 percent of the small business owners said they 'have pulled back on their plans to grow their business' because of Obamacare. More than half—55 percent—said they expected Obamacare to result in higher health care costs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSurvey Finds that 41 Percent of Small Business Owners Have Frozen Hiring Because of Obamacare

The top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant

"Top secret documents submitted to the court that oversees surveillance by US intelligence agencies show the judges have signed off on broad orders which allow the NSA to make use of information 'inadvertently' collected from domestic US communications without a warrant. The previously revealed bulk collection of domestic call records takes place under rolling court orders issued on the basis of a legal interpretation of a different authority, section 215 of the Patriot Act. On Thursday, two US congressmen introduced a bill compelling the Obama administration to declassify the secret legal justifications for NSA surveillance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe top secret rules that allow NSA to use US data without a warrant