Land Of The Flea

Community organizers train to enroll the masses in Obamacare

"Their work is key to the success of the new law in its first year, when the Obama administration seeks to enroll as many as 7 million people, including 2.7 million young and healthy people who are cheaper to insure, for 2014. Oregon and Vermont have already begun training their enrollment advisers, while Connecticut and Washington are just starting up and other states, including Illinois and New York, will commence later this summer. The playbook for these ambassadors focuses on two main points: First, tell people how they will benefit from Obamacare; second, stay away from divisive political talk." Continue reading →

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Manchester officials nab five illegal taxis in sting operation

"With most taxis grounded over maintenance issues, city police and licensing officials nabbed five gypsy or otherwise illegal cabs Friday in a sting operation, officials said. The culprits included an airport limousine service and a young woman who used her personal car as a taxi, said Kevin Kincaid, director of licensing and enforcement for the city Clerk's Office. As part of the sting, police used websites such as Craigslist and telephone searches to find a cab. But the owner of Amoskeag Airport Service said he was doing nothing wrong and has hired a lawyer to fight the $200 citation he received, as well as regain the Honda Accord that authorities confiscated." Continue reading →

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The Silver Lining as Banks Say “No More Americans”

"Independent asset managers are entrepreneurs at heart. Many have started their own businesses after gaining deep experience in private banks or large investment houses. They recognize that those two business models don’t properly serve those looking for lower account minimums with the superior service found at smaller firms. Most Swiss independent asset managers feature tight, professional teams of four to five deeply experienced members. These managers are going about it the right way. They are registered with the SEC and they work with the very same private banks that decided to say good-bye to American clients." Continue reading →

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How to Safely Internationalize your Domain Name

"Purchasing the domain name for your international internet business is an important step, one which will help support your brand and identify your business to your customers. Much attention is paid to the first part of the domain name, because it is generally assumed that the domain name will end in .com. This is a terrible mistake. As I have written before, where you register your domain name may land you in jail. The US has used the fact that a US-based company acts as the administrator for all .com domains to claim jurisdiction over all websites ending in .com, regardless of where the actual website is located. Here is the good news." Continue reading →

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Internet Society Statement on the Importance of Open Global Dialogue Regarding Online Privacy

"The Internet Society has noted recent revelations regarding the apparent scope of U.S. government efforts to gather large amounts of end user information from U.S. Internet and telecom service providers for intelligence purposes. We are deeply concerned that the unwarranted collection, storage and potential correlation of user data will undermine many of the key principles and relationships of trust upon which the global Internet has been built. The Internet Society strongly believes that real security can only be realized within a broader context of trust and the respect of fundamental rights, such as privacy.." Continue reading →

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Paul Craig Roberts: How the US Became the USSR

"The communists had a Julian Assange and an Edward Snowden of their own. His name was Cardinal Jozef Mindszenty, the leader of the Hungarian Catholic Church. Mindszenty opposed tyranny. For his efforts he was imprisoned by the Nazis. Communists also regarded him as an undesirable, and he was tortured and given a life sentence in 1949. Freed by the short-lived Hungarian Revolution in 1956, Mindszenty reached the American Embassy in Budapest and was granted political asylum by Washington. However, the communists would not give him the free passage that asylum presumes, and Mindszenty lived in the US Embassy for 15 years, 79% of his remaining life." Continue reading →

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Holder promises not to pursue death penalty against Snowden

"Former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden would not face the death penalty or be tortured and would have all the protections of the U.S. civilian court system if he were sent home, the chief U.S. prosecutor wrote in a letter to his Russian counterpart this week. In the letter dated July 23 and released on Friday, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder wrote that he sought to dispel claims about what would happen to Snowden if Russia handed him over to face charges of illegally disclosing government secrets about surveillance programs." Continue reading →

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Even who we’re in a drone war with is classified

"Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., asked the Defense Department to provide him with a current list of Al Qaeda affiliates. The Pentagon responded - but Levin’s office told ProPublica they aren’t allowed to share it. Kathleen Long, a spokeswoman for Levin, would say only that the department’s 'answer included the information requested.' A Pentagon spokesman told ProPublica that revealing such a list could cause 'serious damage to national security.' 'Because elements that might be considered 'associated forces’ can build credibility by being listed as such by the United States, we have classified the list,' said the spokesman, Lt. Col. Jim Gregory." Continue reading →

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Army plans switch to ‘green’ bullets containing copper

"The Army has been looking to 'green' small caliber ammo for some time now. In 2010, the Army switched to the greener 5.56 mm M855A1 Enhanced Performance Round. 'The EPR replaces the lead slug with a copper slug,' said Lt. Col. Phil Clark, product manager for small caliber ammunition in the Program Executive Officer Ammunition. 'This makes the projectile environmentally-friendly, while still giving soldiers the performance capabilities they need on the battlefield. So far we have eliminated 1,994 metric tons of lead from 5.56 ammunition production.'" Continue reading →

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Bush Presidential Library Misleads Visitors On WMDs In Iraq

"If you go to war based on what’s later shown to be a lie, how does a museum dedicated to your legacy address it? That’s the overarching question as you set foot into the George W. Bush Presidential Center, which opened last month on Southern Methodist University’s campus. The answer: uncomfortably. In at least eight separate instances, the library offers displays, audio, or video designed to give the impression that Saddam Hussein either possessed weapons of mass destruction, or was on the verge of getting them. It’s the Beetlejuice approach: say 'weapons of mass destruction' enough times and they will appear." Continue reading →

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