Land Of The Flea

Pixar inspires graphic comment on NSA surveillance

"Living in the emotional Switzerland of my blissful neutrality, as I do, it's warming when people are inspired to create art to express dissent. So here is a very simple piece of animation, designed to emote a certain frustration with goings-on in the secret areas of government. It was delivered to me in an anonymous e-mail -- address snowdenhatesrussianfood@gmail.com -- that seemed to have been encrypted by goats. However, I understand it was first posted to Reddit and has now taken on a life of its very public own, with almost 1 million views on YouTube. It depicts the alleged regress of morning in America to night." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPixar inspires graphic comment on NSA surveillance

Wyoming teen builds nuclear reactor in dad’s garage, gets kicked out of science fair

"A Wyoming high school student who built a nuclear reactor in his dad's garage was disqualified from the International Science and Engineering Fair this month on a technicality. His crime: competing in too many science fairs. The infraction was reported by the former director of Wyoming State Science Fair, who later did not have her contract renewed. Officials at the University of Wyoming, the fair's sponsor, said the director acted outside her authority." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWyoming teen builds nuclear reactor in dad’s garage, gets kicked out of science fair

Facebook Billionaire Sean Parker Fined $2.5 Million For His $10 Million Wedding

"New government documents show just how over-the-top Sean Parker's extravagant $10 million wedding in the Big Sur forest really was. The state of California actually fined the Facebook billionaire $2.5 million over it. That's because he built a cottage, fake ruins, waterfalls, staircases and a huge dance floor in an ecologically sensitive area near ancient redwoods and a stream with endangered steelhead trout. Parker even created an LLC company, Neraida, to run his wedding, reports The Atlantic's Alexis Madrigal. But he didn't get permission from the Coastal Commission, which regulates the area." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFacebook Billionaire Sean Parker Fined $2.5 Million For His $10 Million Wedding

Glenn Greenwald: U.S. should be ‘on its knees begging’ that nothing happens to Snowden

"'Snowden has enough information to cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had,' said Greenwald. “The U.S. government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare.' Snowden is currently working with Russian authorities to secure temporary asylum in that country. He said Friday that U.S. officials are blocking every effort he makes to seek safe passage to any place that will not extradite him into U.S. custody." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald: U.S. should be ‘on its knees begging’ that nothing happens to Snowden

Justice Department backs off on secret seizure of reporters’ records

"Under heavy criticism from media organizations and others, the Obama administration has pulled back on one important aspect of its crackdown on government leaks: the ability of prosecutors to secretly seize reporters' records while investigating leaks to the media. In an announcement Friday, the Justice Department said it is toughening the guidelines for subpoenaing reporters' phone records while also raising the standard the government needs to meet before it can issue search warrants to gather reporters' email." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJustice Department backs off on secret seizure of reporters’ records

Parents now face hard consequences for leaving kids in car

"By the time Christina Moon pulled up to her local J.C. Penney to make a return after a morning of errands, her 4-year-old daughter was engrossed in a film in the back of the family’s SUV. So when it came time to go inside the store, the girl protested. The mom has since been investigated by Child Protective Services and faces a $500 fine and 93 days in jail. Moon has pleaded guilty in the case, so she has to pay $2,000 in court costs in addition to any fine. Jail time is a possibility, though she is hoping she will get probation when she is sentenced on July 23." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingParents now face hard consequences for leaving kids in car

$20 Million Claim Against Dept. Of Corrections By Man Shot In Bed 16 Times

"Thirty-year-old Dustin Theoharis is in Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, recovering from his twelfth surgery - this one to reconstruct his jaw. It’s unlikely he will ever fully recover from the barrage of bullets fired by police on Feb. 11, 2011. His attorney, Erik Heipt said that Theoharis suffered 'a broken shoulder, 2 broken arms, broken legs, he had a compression fracture to his spine, damage to his liver and spleen.' Theoharis wasn’t the guy police were after. The King County Sheriff’s deputy and Washington Department of Corrections officer who shot him were at the house to arrest a man who’d violated his parole." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$20 Million Claim Against Dept. Of Corrections By Man Shot In Bed 16 Times

Could the Government Force You to Tell Your Deepest Darkest Secrets?

"It can… at least when it wants to ensure you’re paying your taxes. And while the 5th Amendment still stands in principle, the Feds have found a loophole that can force you to incriminate yourself… so long as it’s written down. And because of this technicality, in 1984, the Supreme Court decided: 'The Fifth Amendment provides absolutely no protection for the contents of private papers of any kind.' And believe it or not, it gets worse. Any of your personal records held by a third party (like a bank) aren’t protected either. Prosecutors can issue very broad summonses forcing these 3rd parties to hand over ALL personal and financial records." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCould the Government Force You to Tell Your Deepest Darkest Secrets?

The Fleeting Beauty of Bubbles and Bonds

"The political calculus is simple: the bottom half of households don't vote, don't contribute to political campaigns and don't have enough income to borrow huge sums of money to enrich the banks. They are thus non-entities in the fiscal-monetary project of maintaining the power structure of the Status Quo. All the Status Quo needs to do is borrow enough money to fund social programs that keep the masses passive and silent. Unfortunately for the Powers That Be, the cost of placating the rapidly increasing marginalized populace is rising much faster than tax revenues." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Fleeting Beauty of Bubbles and Bonds