Land Of The Flea

Canadian regulators welcome US Bitcoin refugees with open arms

"The Register has seen a letter from the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) which was sent to several prominent Bitcoin exchanges in the country, explaining they are exempt from strict money-laundering laws. US police used similar laws to freeze the accounts of Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, last week after claiming it was operating as an 'unlicensed money service business.' But in a letter to the Canadian exchanges, FINTRAC confirmed the exchanges were not actually money service businesses and were therefore exempt from laws governing this type of firm." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanadian regulators welcome US Bitcoin refugees with open arms

Bitcoin Comes To SWIFT

"The dichotomy between EU and U.S. approaches to e-money becomes even more apparent when one looks at the uniformity of the EU e-Money and Payment Services Directives versus the almost hostile FinCEN guidance on virtual currencies and the incomprehensible patchwork of state money transmitter laws. Because of this, I estimate that the EU currently enjoys at least a five-year head start over its U.S. brethren in accommodating evolving payments efforts. The U.S seems content to extinguish innovations like e-Gold in an effort to maintain complete control over money businesses and to project dollar hegemony within its borders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Comes To SWIFT

Ron Paul: The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties

"'What do you expect when you target the President?' This is what an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) agent allegedly said to the head of a conservative organization that was being audited after calling for the impeachment of then-President Clinton. Recent revelations that IRS agents gave 'special scrutiny' to organizations opposed to the current administration's policies suggest that many in the IRS still believe harassing the president's opponents is part of their job. As troubling as these recent reports are, it would be a grave mistake to think that IRS harassment of opponents of the incumbent president is a modern, or a partisan, phenomenon." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: The IRS’s Job Is To Violate Our Liberties

Florida parent says ‘religious zealots’ got teen daughter arrested for lesbian relationship

"An 18-year-old girl was arrested for statutory rape over a same-sex relationship in Florida because of bigoted parents, according to the mother of the arrested teen. Kaitlyn Ashley Hunt was arrested February 16 by the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office on two counts of lewd or lascivious battery on child. Her mother, Kelley Hunt Smith, explained on Facebook that Kaitlyn began a 'mutual consenting' relationship with a girl at Sebastian River High School who was about three years younger. The parents of the younger girl were upset by the situation and contacted police, she wrote." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida parent says ‘religious zealots’ got teen daughter arrested for lesbian relationship

Armed Bounty Hunters Storm Fancy Miami Beach Gym

"Six to eight bounty hunters busted into the locker rooms with guns and bullet proof TAC vests, witnesses told CBS Miami. The bounty hunters did not explain why they were at the gym until after they scared the members. Amazingly, it was all legal under Florida law where bounty hunters have more legal rights than the police. 'They work under whole different set of rules than police,' explained Sgt. Bobby Hernandez with the Miami Beach Police Department. 'They can go into third party residences or this case a gym and take custody of the subject, but a police officer can’t go into a private establishment, a private home without a warrant.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArmed Bounty Hunters Storm Fancy Miami Beach Gym

An open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

"I keep hearing from your side that you have noble motives for your opposition to marijuana legalization. I hear that all you care about is using scientific inquiry to determine what is best for the people. However, I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but you keep talking about things in ways that aren’t scientific, or that are meaningless without the proper context. That kind of thing may have worked once, but in general, people are a little more sophisticated about scientific knowledge — they no longer uncritically accept 'Here be dragons' for cartography or 'If she floats, she’s a witch' as a judicial system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAn open letter to marijuana prohibitionists and so-called third-way-ers

Does This Make America Less Free Than Slovakia?

"Would your grandparents have ever said that Slovakia is freer than America? Most likely not, but today the story is a little different. Decent Americans have their lives ruined, their business closed, their property confiscated, and often wind up in jail simply because they want to produce clean milk for people who realize what a load of rubbish pasteurized 'milk' is. In Slovakia, a country that has been little more than two decades out of authoritarian rule, we see a very different picture and boy does that make me scratch my head, because the country I grew up considering the freest country in the world really doesn’t sound like it in this example." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDoes This Make America Less Free Than Slovakia?

James Kaleda ejected from gun control hearing by NJ State Troopers

"James Kaleda explains that the proposed NJ Gun Bills will not save any lives but will endanger them. He is ejected by Committee Chair Senator Norcross. This took place at the NJ Senate gun control hearings in Trenton on April 30, 2013." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJames Kaleda ejected from gun control hearing by NJ State Troopers

Adam Kokesh Arrested At Pro-Marijuana Rally, Currently Held At Federal Detention Facility

"Details are still emerging regarding the arrest of liberty activist Adam Kokesh who was apprehended by police at a Pro-Marijuana rally in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on May 18th, 2013. Multiple eye-witness reports have stated that Adam Kokesh was not using and did not posses any drugs at the event." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAdam Kokesh Arrested At Pro-Marijuana Rally, Currently Held At Federal Detention Facility

Drones are cheaper and more powerful. In US, that’s a problem, lawmakers told

"With much of Capitol Hill riveted by IRS audits, AP phone records, and Benghazi e-mails, top US scholars gathered to testify in a little-watched congressional hearing that unmanned aircraft carrying cameras raise the specter of a 'significant new avenue for surveillance of American life,' as Christopher Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, characterized it for lawmakers Friday. 'Many Americans are familiar with these aircraft – commonly called drones – because of their use overseas in places like Afghanistan and Yemen. But drones are coming to America,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrones are cheaper and more powerful. In US, that’s a problem, lawmakers told