sound money

Florida Official: “Abandon Jesus if You Want to Feed the Poor.”

"The Department of Agriculture goes to a lot of trouble getting Congress to tax Americans. This is necessary so that the USDA can buy food from farmers at above-market prices. This reduces the amount of affordable food available to the poor. The USDA gives it away to state agencies. These agencies then give it away to charitable groups. They in turn give food to the hungry. One non-profit outfit in Florida has given away free food for 31 years. But not any longer. It turns out that this group — Christian — mentions Jesus to the poor people it ministers to. It took 31 years for some low-level government bureaucrat to put two and two together. 'What’s this? They talk about Jesus? Well, that’s got to stop.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida Official: “Abandon Jesus if You Want to Feed the Poor.”

Man gets drunk randomly because his own body brews beer from carbs

"A Texas man who was struggling with episodes of sudden and unexplained drunkenness was found to have alcohol-producing microbes in his gut, which were busily making beer. Health care workers were baffled. Initially they assumed that the man was being dishonest and was drinking on the sly. They checked the patient in to a hospital room for 24 hours and made absolutely sure that he had not smuggled in any alcohol. They fed him foods rich in carbohydrates. Sure enough, his blood alcohol content began to spike on its own. The man, who was an avid home brewer, had an abundance of brewer’s yeast in his gut, making his intestines act as their own small brewery." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan gets drunk randomly because his own body brews beer from carbs

Officer named in lawsuit for knocking teen off mini-bike when off-duty

"A St. Paul Park teen’s family alleges that an off-duty St. Paul police officer who lives in the city intentionally knocked the teen off his mini bike and verbally assaulted him. A civil suit has been filed against officer Ronald Himes by Jessica Heroux on behalf of her son Mica Franke, 16, who was involved in a May altercation with Himes and was left scraped, bruised and with a handprint on his chest. Franke told police Himes ran out into the road, hit him in the chest and knocked him off the mini bike. Franke said Himes then stood over him and proceeded to yell at him, the police report said. The lawsuit claims Franke was not given a warning and he was subjected to a 'profanity-laced tirade' from Himes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficer named in lawsuit for knocking teen off mini-bike when off-duty

Deaf man claims police laughed at him, denied interpreter during arrest

"A deaf Oregon man has filed a lawsuit claiming that police violated his civil rights when they laughed at his request for a sign language interpreter during his arrest. According to the site, Updike used sign language to ask officers what he’d done to result in his arrest, and he also tried to speak the words, 'What did I do?' The suit claims officers pushed him roughly into a patrol car and laughed at him. An interpreter was assigned when Updike appeared again two days after his arrest. He was released from jail, and all charges were dropped against Updike eight days after his arrest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDeaf man claims police laughed at him, denied interpreter during arrest

Police officer researched romantic rivals using criminal justice databases

"A former Tucson police officer who pleaded guilty to computer tampering for using criminal justice databases to check up on romantic rivals has been sentenced to probation. Pima County prosecutors say Andrea Middleton was given three months of probation Friday. She pleaded guilty to two counts of computer tampering last month. Middleton resigned in June from the police department, where she had worked for seven years." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice officer researched romantic rivals using criminal justice databases

NSA Efforts Damaged U.S. Cryptography Standard

"The fix may not be all that difficult—the tainted part of the standard is a highly inefficient algorithm that security experts identified as a problem long ago. In fact, the biggest mystery, those experts say, is why the NSA thought any company or government agency would willingly use that particular algorithm to protect their data. Despite Dual_EC_DRBG’s known flaws, prominent tech companies including Microsoft, Cisco, Symantec and RSA include the algorithm in their product’s cryptographic libraries primarily because they need it to be eligible for government contracts, cryptographer Bruce Schneier says." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNSA Efforts Damaged U.S. Cryptography Standard

Fmr. NSA chief: ‘Morally arrogant’ Snowden will probably become alcoholic

"Gen. Michael Hayden, a former NSA and CIA chief, shared a lot of opinions during a discussion at a Washington church Sunday, beyond his thoughts on terrorists' love for Gmail and the U.S. government's approach to the Internet. Discussing the 'tension between security and liberty' at St. John's Episcopal Church near the White House, Hayden criticized the reporting of NSA surveillance programs, argued that society must make a choice between security and liberty, and took personal shots at NSA leaker Edward Snowden." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFmr. NSA chief: ‘Morally arrogant’ Snowden will probably become alcoholic

China Broadcasts “Confession” of Chinese-American Blogger

"Chinese state television on Sunday broadcast a startling video of a famous blogger in handcuffs, renouncing his Web posts and saying how dangerous the Internet would be if left uncontrolled by the government. The 10-minute news report featuring Charles Xue — a Chinese American businessman and one of China’s most popular bloggers — was the latest step in what appears to be asystematic campaign to intimidate online opinion leaders against speaking too freely or critically of the government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChina Broadcasts “Confession” of Chinese-American Blogger

Barrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail

"Encountering Barrett Brown's story in passing, it is tempting to group him with other Anonymous associates who have popped up in the news for cutting pleas and changing sides. Brown's case, however, is a thing apart. Although he knew some of those involved in high-profile 'hacktivism,' he is no hacker. His situation is closer to the runaway prosecution that destroyed Aaron Swartz, the programmer-activist who committed suicide in the face of criminal charges similar to those now being leveled at Brown. But unlike Swartz, who illegally downloaded a large cache of academic articles, Brown never broke into a server; he never even leaked a document." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBarrett Brown Faces 105 Years in Jail