Land Of The Flea

Holocaust survivor and US tax fugitive Marc Rich dies at 78 in Switzerland

"Billionaire Marc Rich, who invented oil trading and was pardoned of a life sentence by President Bill Clinton over the then-biggest tax evasion case in U.S. history and busting sanctions with Iran, died on Wednesday from a stroke in Switzerland at 78. Rich fled the Holocaust with his parents for America to become the most successful and controversial trader of his time and a fugitive from U.S. justice, enjoying decades of comfortable privacy at his sprawling Villa Rosa on Lake Lucerne. Belgian-born Rich, whose trading group eventually became the global commodities powerhouse Glencore Xstrata, died in hospital from a stroke, spokesman Christian Koenig said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHolocaust survivor and US tax fugitive Marc Rich dies at 78 in Switzerland

States Put Heat on Bitcoin

"State regulators are warning virtual-currency exchanges and other companies that deal with bitcoin that they could be closed down if their activities run afoul of state money-transmission laws. According to people familiar with the situation, banking regulators in California, New York and Virginia in recent weeks have issued letters telling the companies that they need to follow the state rules or prove that the rules don't apply to them. Similar actions are expected from other states in coming weeks and months, according to people familiar with the matter. States typically require companies to put up a bond that could run as high as several million dollars." Continue reading →

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Privacy groups push back against Sheriff’s Department license plate database

"The massive storage of license plate and vehicle data by law enforcement agencies across Southern California is sparking a debate over the privacy rights of citizens in their cars. On average, a cruiser equipped with an ALPR camera can collect data on 10,000 cars in a single shift, according to industry reports. A lawsuit filed by two privacy rights groups says each of the 7 million registered cars in greater Los Angeles has had its license plate scanned an average of 22 times since the program launched. The curation of so much information on personal vehicles has raised the ire of privacy groups, which are beginning to push back against the data mining efforts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPrivacy groups push back against Sheriff’s Department license plate database

Juan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

"US television news is a danger to the security of the United States. First, it is so oriented to ratings that it cannot afford to do unpopular reports. Second, it is so oriented toward the halls of power inside the Beltway that it is unable to examine government allegations critically. US television news was an unrelieved cheering section for the launching of the illegal and disastrous Iraq War. Now, corporate television news is repeating this shameful performance with regard to the revelations by Edward Snowden of massive, unconstitutional government surveillance of Americans’ electronic communications. The full failure to do proper journalism was on display on Sunday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJuan Cole: Top Ten Ways US TV News are Screwing us Again on NSA Surveillance Story (Iraq Redux)

Two Thirds of Americans Support Drones for ‘Homeland Security’ Missions

"The survey also canvassed law enforcement officers, 72% of whom supported the use of unmanned drones for surveillance purposes and 66% supported their use for 'emergency response'. Initial testing of robotic spy drones for 'public safety' applications was conducted by the DHS’ Science and Technology directorate at Fort Sill, Oklahoma last year. The DHS has also been giving grants worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to police departments across the country enabling them to purchase unmanned surveillance drones such as the Shadowhawk drone, a 50lb mini helicopter that can be fitted with an XREP taser with the ability to fire four barbed electrodes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo Thirds of Americans Support Drones for ‘Homeland Security’ Missions

How did America’s police become a military force on the streets?

"How did we evolve from a country whose founding statesmen were adamant about the dangers of armed, standing government forces to a country where it has become acceptable for armed government agents dressed in battle garb to storm private homes in the middle of the night—not to apprehend violent fugitives or thwart terrorist attacks, but to enforce laws against nonviolent, consensual activities? How did a country pushed into a revolution by protest and political speech become one where protests are met with flash grenades, pepper spray and platoons of riot teams dressed like RoboCops?" Continue reading →

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Edward Snowden – A Real American Hero

"When you make a mistake, usually there is a negative feedback loop, which lets you know you're headed in the wrong direction. You borrow too much money, for example, and your creditors begin trailing you with court orders or baseball bats. But in a major public policy disaster, the feedback loop is twisted. The feds spend too much money, for example... and give the bill to the next generation. The poor youngsters can't vote. Many are not even born yet. A police state is a disaster. It has its own ways of bending the feedback loop. Every public policy disaster produces zombies. And armed zombies protect themselves... with arms, naturally." Continue reading →

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A patent on watching ads online? No problem, says top patent court

"The Electronic Frontier Foundation started fighting against the Ultramercial patent in 2011, filing a brief with the appeals court stating that '[m]erely filing a patent application covering an idea that takes place on the Internet (especially without explaining any of the programming steps) does not somehow make an abstract idea (which is unpatentable) somehow not abstract (so it is patentable).' In its reaction to the ruling Friday, the EFF said, 'It's time for the Supreme Court to step in and tell the Federal Circuit once and for all that abstract ideas—such as a process for viewing ads before accessing copyrighted content—are unpatentable.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingA patent on watching ads online? No problem, says top patent court

Bifurcation Nation

"Many observers focus on the economic causes of the widening wealth inequality, but the divide appears to be both cultural and financial. Author Charles Murray describes a cultural divide that informs the political and economic divides that are obvious to all. What Murray suggests is not that upward social mobility has ceased, but that it's become more difficult for the have-nots to join the haves, not necessarily for lack of opportunity but for the values-based reasons he describes. The resentment toward the privileged class that is bubbling up suggests people don't need to read a lengthy sociological study to sense the divide is widening." Continue reading →

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The Land of the Blind: The Illusion of Freedom in America

"Consider how quickly the government’s attack dogs went from defending the NSA’s warrantless mass surveillance of Americans’ phone calls to targeting and punishing any and all parties involved in the 'leak' of sensitive information, including labeling Snowden a traitor, charging him with espionage and warning foreign governments against giving him refuge. President Obama has begun preaching about the need for Americans to 'trust' their government, insisting that the NSA’s surveillance is perfectly legal with no acknowledgment of the fact that the leak shed much-needed light on government corruption, illicit programs and treachery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Land of the Blind: The Illusion of Freedom in America