Fascism

U.S. gives big, secret push to Internet surveillance

"Senior Obama administration officials have secretly authorized the interception of communications carried on portions of networks operated by AT&T and other Internet service providers, a practice that might otherwise be illegal under federal wiretapping laws. The secret legal authorization from the Justice Department originally applied to a cybersecurity pilot project in which the military monitored defense contractors' Internet links. Since then, however, the program has been expanded by President Obama to cover all critical infrastructure sectors including energy, healthcare, and finance starting June 12." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. gives big, secret push to Internet surveillance

Glenn Greenwald: Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government?

"The real capabilities and behavior of the US surveillance state are almost entirely unknown to the American public because, like most things of significance done by the US government, it operates behind an impenetrable wall of secrecy. But a seemingly spontaneous admission this week by a former FBI counterterrorism agent provides a rather startling acknowledgment of just how vast and invasive these surveillance activities are." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: Are all telephone calls recorded and accessible to the US government?

Florida Increases Red Light Camera Fines To $408 Instead Of Banning Right-On-Red Tickets

"The Florida Legislature on Thursday gave final approval to legislation limiting the due process available to recipients of red light camera tickets and increasing the potential penalty for those challenging a fine to $408. The changes were included in a 220-page omnibus transportation bill which saw more than sixty amendments considered. The final package was adopted unanimously in the state Senate. Earlier in the day, the House had approved language that would have entirely banned right turn on red tickets, which remain a major source of revenue for municipalities. This was stripped out and replaced with a less significant provision." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida Increases Red Light Camera Fines To $408 Instead Of Banning Right-On-Red Tickets

Authors, composers want 3.4% of every Belgian’s Internet bill

"Content owners in nearly every country have tried various strategies to get compensation for losses due to piracy. But copyright owners in Belgium have a bold new tactic: go after Internet service providers in court, demanding 3.4 percent of the fees their customers pay for Internet service. The lawsuit has been brought by the Belgian Society of Authors, Composers, and Publishers, known as Sabam. The group's claim is similar to the blank-media levy that exists in Canada. It seems to be based on the assumption that a particular medium is used to break copyright law, and therefore all the users of that media should rightly be required to pay a tax." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAuthors, composers want 3.4% of every Belgian’s Internet bill

The case against cronies: Libertarians must stand up to corporate greed

"In the age of crony capitalism, libertarians must declare that some means of pursuing profit are immoral and call on executives to reject them. This would create a positive case for capitalism -- arguing that the pursuit of profit, in the context of fair and open competition, helps the whole society. The new corporate social responsibility, redefined for libertarians, must stand athwart crony corporatism yelling 'stop.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe case against cronies: Libertarians must stand up to corporate greed

Do You Want the Government Buying Your Data From Corporations?

"Our government collects a lot of information about us. Tax records, legal records, license records, records of government services received-- it's all in databases that are increasingly linked and correlated. Still, there's a lot of personal information the government can't collect. Either they're prohibited by law from asking without probable cause and a judicial order, or they simply have no cost-effective way to collect it. But the government has figured out how to get around the laws, and collect personal data that has been historically denied to them: ask corporate America for it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDo You Want the Government Buying Your Data From Corporations?

Companies That Protect Your Data From the Prying Eyes of Government

"The winners, that is those who require a warrant before giving up information and who also inform you of government requests, are: Dropbox; Foursquare; LinkedIn; Sonic.net; SpiderOak; Twitter; WordPress. The companies that roll over and immediately give up information and also don't notify you that you are the subject of a government request: Amazon; Apple; AT&T; Comcast; MySpace; Verizon; Yahoo. Google and Microsoft require a warrant before they provide information about you, but don't notify you that you are the subject of a government request." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCompanies That Protect Your Data From the Prying Eyes of Government

Judge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for “Selling” Kids to Private Prisons

"Accused of perpetrating a 'profound evil,' former Pennsylvania judge Mark Ciavarella Jr. has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for illegally accepting money from a juvenile-prison developer while he spent years incarcerating thousands of young people. Prosecutors said Ciavarella sent juveniles to jail as part of a 'kids for cash' scheme involving Robert Mericle, builder of the PA and Western PA Child Care juvenile detention centers. The ex-judge was convicted in February of 12 counts that included racketeering, money laundering, mail fraud and tax evasion. In addition to his prison sentence, Ciavarella was ordered to pay nearly $1.2 million in restitution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge Sentenced to 28 Years in Prison for “Selling” Kids to Private Prisons

Rand Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties

"Citing privacy concerns about Americans' tax data, Paul, a Republican and libertarian, has single-handedly blocked Senate action on treaties with Hungary, Switzerland and Luxembourg that have been signed by authorities on both sides, but have been awaiting Senate review since 2011. Major U.S. businesses such as IBM Corp and Fluor Corp are lobbying for Senate action on tax treaties, according to Senate lobbying disclosure documents. The U.S. Treasury in 2012 began signing new tax pacts with countries as part of implementation of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a 2010 anti-tax-evasion law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRand Paul stirs business ire over blocking of U.S. tax treaties

Central Banks Load Up on Equities

"Central banks, guardians of the world’s $11 trillion in foreign-exchange reserves, are buying stocks in record amounts as falling bond yields push even risk- averse investors toward equities. Managers of banks’ assets are looking for alternatives to holding government bonds after efforts to stimulate growth from the Federal Reserve, the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England helped send yields near to record lows. Central banks’ foreign- exchange holdings have increased by about $8.5 trillion globally in the past decade, exceeding levels needed for day-to-day currency administration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCentral Banks Load Up on Equities