Land Of The Flea

Police need warrants to track cell-phone data, N.J. Supreme Court rules

"The state Supreme Court ruled today that law enforcement agencies must get warrants if they want to track crime suspects by tracing the signals from their cell phones. 'Cell phones are not meant to serve as tracking devices to locate their owners wherever they may be,' Chief Justice Stuart Rabner wrote in the 7-0 decision. The state’s high court is the first in the country to impose such a ruling, and former state justices and legal experts said the decision could ripple throughout the states and in federal courts wrestling with the same questions on the collection and use of electronic data." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice need warrants to track cell-phone data, N.J. Supreme Court rules

Nasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

"The missile killed him, his teenage cousin and at least five other civilians on Oct. 14, 2011, while the boys were eating dinner at an open-air restaurant in southern Yemen. I visited the site later, once I was able to bear the pain of seeing where he sat in his final moments. Local residents told me his body was blown to pieces. They showed me the grave where they buried his remains. I stood over it, asking why my grandchild was dead. Nearly two years later, I still have no answers. The United States government has refused to explain why Abdulrahman was killed. A country that believes it does not even need to answer for killing its own is not the America I once knew." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNasser Al-Awlaki: The Drone That Killed My Grandson

Adam Kokesh Interviewed from Jail: “I’ll Run For President To Abolish The U.S. Government”

"Anti-government activist Adam Kokesh, who is currently jailed on drug charges and is facing a firearms charge in D.C., says he will someday run for President on a platform of abolishing the federal government. Since July 9th, 31-year old Adam Kokesh has been incarcerated in a cell in the Fairfax County jail which measures seven by seven-and-a-half feet. Adam Kokesh believes the U.S. military is more harmful than helpful to American security, and the government -- as a whole -- has burdened its citizenry with debt." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAdam Kokesh Interviewed from Jail: “I’ll Run For President To Abolish The U.S. Government”

For NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

"'Rather than look for a single needle in the haystack, his approach was, ‘Let’s collect the whole haystack,'' said one former senior U.S. intelligence official who tracked the plan’s implementation. 'Collect it all, tag it, store it. . . . And whatever it is you want, you go searching for it.' Alexander, 61, has quietly presided over a revolution in the government’s ability to scoop up information in the name of national security. And, as he did in Iraq, Alexander has pushed hard for everything he can get: tools, resources and the legal authority to collect and store vast quantities of raw information on American and foreign communications." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor NSA chief, terrorist threat drives passion to ‘collect it all,’ observers say

Jimmy Carter Defends Edward Snowden, Says NSA Spying Has Compromised Nation’s Democracy

"Former President Jimmy Carter announced support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden this week, saying that his uncovering of the agency's massive surveillance programs had proven 'beneficial.' Speaking at a closed-door event in Atlanta covered by German newspaper Der Spiegel, Carter also criticized the NSA's domestic spying as damaging to the core of the nation's principles. 'America does not have a functioning democracy at this point in time,' Carter said, according to a translation by Inquisitr. No American outlets covered Carter's speech." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJimmy Carter Defends Edward Snowden, Says NSA Spying Has Compromised Nation’s Democracy

Snowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality

"At least five cases have been filed in federal courts since the government’s widespread collection of telephone and Internet records was revealed last month. The lawsuits primarily target a program that scoops up the telephone records of millions of Americans from U.S. telecommunications companies. Such cases face formidable obstacles. The government tends to fiercely resist them on national security grounds, and the surveillance is so secret that it’s hard to prove who was targeted. Nearly all of the roughly 70 suits filed after the George W. Bush administration’s warrantless wiretapping was disclosed in 2005 have been dismissed." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSnowden’s surveillance leaks open way for challenges to programs’ constitutionality

Ex-Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta fined $13.9 million for insider trading

"A federal judge Wednesday ordered former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta to pay a $13.9 million penalty related to insider trading. The SEC’s case against Gupta concerns alleged civil violations stemming from his communications with former Galleon hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam. In a parallel criminal case, a New York jury in June 2012 convicted Gupta of spilling boardroom secrets to Rajaratnam. In addition to his spot on the Goldman Sachs board, Gupta had been head of the renowned consultancy McKinsey & Co and a director of Procter & Gamble, making him one of the most successful Indian immigrants in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta fined $13.9 million for insider trading

$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire

"Since the brief blunder, Reynolds, who works at the PR firm he co-founded with his wife (Reynolds Ink), says he has had some time to think about what he would have done with $92 quadrillion. The first thing he would have spent the money on was not a sports car, a vacation home, or even an early retirement. 'I’d want to pay down the US’ national debt. That’s been really bugging me,' Reynolds says." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$92 quadrillion: PayPal accidentally makes man a quadrillionaire

10 things Social Security won’t tell you: The truth about the agency’s bottom line

"About a third of workers in their 50s expect Social Security benefits to be their primary source of income in retirement. The Social Security Administration itself has said that unless something is done to reform the system, it will have to reduce benefit payments to retirees within the next few decades. Less talked about, perhaps, is the concern that the program is having a hard time paying its bills today. In 2010, the Social Security Administration began collecting less revenue in taxes than it needs to cover benefit payments, forcing the agency to tap its $2.7 trillion trust fund sooner than some had expected." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 things Social Security won’t tell you: The truth about the agency’s bottom line

10 things baby boomers won’t tell you: The aging Me generation is still putting itself first

"Boomers are expected to live longer than any previous generation. At the same time, many haven’t saved nearly enough for retirement. More than 44% of early boomers (defined as those born between 1948 and 1954) and 43% of late boomers (born between 1955 and 1964) may not be able to afford basic living expenses in retirement. [..] Nearly one in six people ages 45 to 64 say that paying for their kid’s college tuition got in the way of saving for their own retirement. That’s not surprising, given that the typical middle-income family will spend more than $230,000 to raise a child from birth to age 18, up 23% (in today’s dollars) since 1960." Continue reading →

Continue Reading10 things baby boomers won’t tell you: The aging Me generation is still putting itself first