Mainstream News

Dow hits 15000, but percentage of Americans owning stocks hits a low

"Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed for the first time above 15000 Tuesday, a new poll finds that the percentage of Americans who own stocks stands at a 15-year low point. Barely half of Americans, 52 percent, now say they own stock outright or as part of a mutual fund or self-directed retirement account, the polling group Gallup reported Wednesday. The level has been falling for six straight annual surveys, even though US stocks have more than doubled in value since hitting a recession low point in 2009. The decline in stock investing has been largest among middle-aged and middle-income Americans, the poll found." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDow hits 15000, but percentage of Americans owning stocks hits a low

Cyber thieves steal $45 million from debit card companies in a matter of hours

"Cyber thieves around the world stole $45 million by hacking into debit card companies, scrapping withdrawal limits and helping themselves from cash machines, US authorities said Thursday. The massive heist unfolded 'in a matter of hours,' said the US prosecutor’s office for Brooklyn, New York. Prosecutors unveiled charges against eight people accused of forming the New York cell of the plot, which stretched across 26 countries. In their case, they allegedly lifted $2.8 million in cash and now face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and money laundering." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyber thieves steal $45 million from debit card companies in a matter of hours

State Department Demands Takedown Of 3D-Printable Gun Files For Export Control Violations

"On Thursday, Defense Distributed founder Cody Wilson received a letter from the State Department Office of Defense Trade Controls Compliance demanding that he take down the online blueprints for the 3D-printable 'Liberator' handgun that his group released Monday, along with nine other 3D-printable firearms components hosted on the group’s website Defcad.org. Wilson compares his new legal troubles to the widely-followed case in the mid-1990s of Philip Zimmermann, the inventor of the cryptography software PGP who was threatened with indictment under ITAR for putting his military-grade encryption software online." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingState Department Demands Takedown Of 3D-Printable Gun Files For Export Control Violations

3D-Printed Gun’s Blueprints Downloaded 100,000 Times In Two Days (With Some Help From Kim Dotcom)

"That’s the number of downloads of the 3D-printable file for the so-called 'Liberator' gun that the high-tech gunsmithing group Defense Distributed has seen in just the last two days, a member of the group tells me. The gun’s CAD files have been ten times more popular than any component the group has previously made available, parts that have included the body of an AR-15 and the magazine for an AK-47. 'This has definitely been our most well-received download,' says Haroon Khalid, a developer working with Defense Distributed. 'I don’t think any of us predicted it would be this much.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading3D-Printed Gun’s Blueprints Downloaded 100,000 Times In Two Days (With Some Help From Kim Dotcom)

Federal Europe will be ‘a reality in a few years’, says commission president

"The president of the European Commission has fanned the flames of British debate over EU membership by insisting that fiscal union in the eurozone will lead to 'intensified political union' for all 27 member states. 'This is about the economic and monetary union but for the EU as a whole,' he said. 'The commission will, therefore, set out its views and explicit ideas for treaty change in order for them to be debated before the European elections.' 'We want to put all the elements on the table, in a clear and consistent way, even if some of them may sound like political science fiction today. They will be reality in a few years' time.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFederal Europe will be ‘a reality in a few years’, says commission president

FDA May Have Age Restrictions On Cups Of Coffee

"If you are a teenager, soon you may not be able to order a cup of Joe. Or a can of Red Bull. The Food and Drug Administration is considering putting an age limit on products containing caffeine, ranging from energy drinks to a simple cup of coffee. FDA Deputy Commissioner Michael Taylor said enforcing age restrictions would be challenging, the more fundamental questions is whether 'we should place limits on the amount of caffeine in certain products.' According to the government, a person should have a maximum of 400 milligrams of caffeine per day." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA May Have Age Restrictions On Cups Of Coffee

Mao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million

"Kong Dongmei, now in her early 40s, and husband Chen Dongsheng ranked 242th with personal wealth estimated at five billion yuan ($815 million) on a rich list released this month by New Fortune, a Chinese financial magazine. Kong is the grand-daughter of Mao and his third wife He Zizhen. In 2001 she founded a book store in Beijing selling publications about Mao and promoting 'Red Culture' after studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the US. The couple have two daughters and a son, said New Fortune — likely to be a violation of China’s one-child policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMao Zedong’s grand-daughter worth more than $815 million

2 Virginia Boys Suspended For Using Pencils As Guns

"Two Suffolk second graders have been suspended for making shooting noises while pointing pencils at each other. Media outlets report the 7-year-old boys were suspended for two days for a violation of the Suffolk school system’s zero-tolerance policy on weapons. They were playing with one another in class Friday at Driver Elementary. 'When I asked him about it, he said, ‘Well I was being a Marine and the other guy was being a bad guy,’' said Paul Marshall, one of the boys’ fathers. Suffolk Public Schools spokeswoman Bethanne Bradshaw said a pencil is considered a weapon when it’s pointed at someone in a threatening way and gun noises are made." Continue reading →

Continue Reading2 Virginia Boys Suspended For Using Pencils As Guns

World Jewish Congress: World Must Outlaw ‘Holocaust Denial’ And Ban Neo-Nazi Parties

"The World Jewish Congress approved on Tuesday a resolution that calls on countries around the world, 'in particular those whose Jewish populations were decimated in the Shoah,' to outlaw the public denial of the Holocaust, and where appropriate constitutional provisions exist, to consider banning neo-Nazi parties. The resolution also urges Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and other national leaders and legislators in Europe to join the 125 legislators from more than 40 countries in signing the 2009 London Declaration on Combating Anti-Semitism." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorld Jewish Congress: World Must Outlaw ‘Holocaust Denial’ And Ban Neo-Nazi Parties

Nazi hunters call on Twitter to crack down on terrorists

"A Nazi-hunting group has urged Twitter and other social media to step up efforts to remove online 'hate speech,' citing a surge in incitement to attacks like the recent Boston bombings. The Simon Wiesenthal Center said Twitter has spawned nearly 20,000 hashtags and handles this year that are linked to terrorism and extremism, up 30 percent in the past year. A Twitter spokesman said in a statement sent to AFP that the company does not 'mediate content or intervene in disputes between users.' Twitter's TOS state that it is not responsible for content posted, but that users 'may not publish or post direct, specific threats of violence against others.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNazi hunters call on Twitter to crack down on terrorists