Mainstream News

U.S. to meet with Taliban ‘within days’

"The United States on Tuesday welcomed the Taliban’s decision to open an office in Qatar and senior US officials said they hoped to meet with their Afghan foes within days. The Taliban opened a political office in Doha on Tuesday, planning to hold talks with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai’s government on ending the conflict that erupted when the Islamist group was ousted from power in 2001 by US troops sent in after the September 11 terror attacks. Confirming that the United States will also use the office to communicate with the guerrillas, who are still battling US-led NATO and Afghan troops on the ground, the official said the road ahead would be difficult." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to meet with Taliban ‘within days’

Iran’s Ahmadinejad meets successor after being ousted in election

"Iran’s outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met his successor Hassan Rowhani on Tuesday for the first time since the moderate conservative was elected, in talks centred on political and economic issues. Rowhani, a 64-year-old cleric who is scheduled to take office on August 3, won an outright victory in Friday’s presidential election, ending Ahmadinejad’s eight years of hardline leadership. Reinforced by UN Security Council sanctions, punitive measures have cost Iran’s economy billions in vital oil revenues and foreign investment, leaving the country struggling with raging inflation, high unemployment and a depreciated currency." Continue reading →

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Ron Paul: NSA head ‘fudged the figures’

"The Texas Republican was referencing the House Intelligence Committee hearing Tuesday where National Security Agency Director Keith Alexander said communication surveillance programs have thwarted more than 50 'potential terrorist events'. Paul also wasn’t amused by the NSA trying to pass the intrusions off as an attempt to save Americans and the American way of life. 'It’s sort of like the old story about you have to burn the village to save the village. They want to burn the Constitution to save the Constitution,' he said. 'And even today, [James] Cole, the Deputy Attorney General says, the Fourth Amendment doesn’t apply to this.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: NSA head ‘fudged the figures’

Ex-NSA official Thomas Drake on Snowden and the U.S. spy leviathan

"Thomas Drake, who was prosecuted for allegedly disclosing National Security Agency secrets years before Edward Snowden surfaced, says the U.S. government has an 'industrial-scale' surveillance system that 'the Stasi in East Germany would have drooled over.' Drake speaks with Reuters defense correspondent Andrea Shalal-Esa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-NSA official Thomas Drake on Snowden and the U.S. spy leviathan

Bitcoin In IRS Crosshairs, Says Government Report

"There is confusion whether transactions in Bitcoin should be treated as property, barter, foreign currency, or a financial instrument. How you see it can determine the tax treatment. Barter transactions may be the most logical treatment, but not everyone agrees. Besides, even without Bitcoins or other exotica, bartering transactions are inherently under-reported. And then there is tax basis. If you sell something for less than you paid, you shouldn’t have gain. That’s true in U.S. dollars or in Bitcoin. If you sell something at a garage sale, you may or may not have income. Brave new world? GAO and IRS don’t think so." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin In IRS Crosshairs, Says Government Report

Google reveals top-secret plan to beam Internet to developing world from balloons at the edge of space

"Google revealed top-secret plans Saturday to send balloons to the edge of space with the lofty aim of bringing Internet to the two-thirds of the global population currently without web access. Scientists from the technology giant released up to 30 helium-filled test balloons flying 20 kilometres (12.4 miles) above Christchurch in New Zealand Saturday, carrying antennae linked to ground base stations. While still in the early stages, Project Loon hopes eventually to launch thousands of balloons to provide Internet to remote parts of the world, allowing the more than four billion people with no access to get online. It could also be used to help after natural disasters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoogle reveals top-secret plan to beam Internet to developing world from balloons at the edge of space

Canada’s Harper gives up on Russia assisting Syrian rebels, labels G8 summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

"At least one official at the G-8, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, suggested that Russia shouldn’t even be at the table with other world leaders. He blasted Russian President Vladimir Putin and all but dismissed Russia from meaningful involvement in this week’s talks. The G-8 includes the U.S., Canada, Russia. Great Britain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. The group is holding its annual meeting this week at a resort in Northern Ireland, with the Syrian civil war expected to dominate the agenda. The recent U.S. decision to arm Syrian rebel forces has been met with approval from Great Britain, France and other nations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCanada’s Harper gives up on Russia assisting Syrian rebels, labels G8 summit ‘G-7 plus 1’

G8 to clamp down on tax avoidance

"On Thursday, a U.K. parliamentary committee said that Google Inc. has aggressively avoided paying corporate taxes in Britain, and criticized the U.K. tax authority for failing to challenge the Internet giant about its tax arrangement. Late last month, U.S. lawmakers blasted Apple for failing to pay U.S. taxes on billions of dollars in overseas income. Google said that it complies with all U.K. tax rules, and Apple’s CEO Tim Cook told senators that his company pays all the taxes it owes. The problem for companies like Apple is the U.S.’s tax system. Cook made it plain that the 35% corporate rate is too high to bring some profits back from overseas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingG8 to clamp down on tax avoidance

3 NSA veterans speak out on whistle-blower: We told you so

"When a National Security Agency contractor revealed top-secret details this month on the government's collection of Americans' phone and Internet records, one select group of intelligence veterans breathed a sigh of relief. Thomas Drake, William Binney and J. Kirk Wiebe belong to a select fraternity: the NSA officials who paved the way. For years, the three whistle-blowers had told anyone who would listen that the NSA collects huge swaths of communications data from U.S. citizens. They had spent decades in the top ranks of the agency, designing and managing the very data-collection systems they say have been turned against Americans." Continue reading →

Continue Reading3 NSA veterans speak out on whistle-blower: We told you so

America Falls Behind in Creating Rich Entrepreneurs

"The creation myth of American wealth is almost always rooted in the entrepreneur. It's the two kids who start a computer company in their garage or dorm room. Or the former standup comic who creates form-shaping undergarments, or the South African immigrant who creates a new electric car and private space program. But despite the high-profile examples, America may actually be falling behind the rest of the world when it comes to creating entrepreneurial wealth. A new study from Barclays, 'Origins and Legacy: the Changing Order of Wealth Creation,' finds developing countries now lead the U.S. when comes to wealth creation by entrepreneurs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica Falls Behind in Creating Rich Entrepreneurs