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Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

"Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the assault by armed militants last September 11 in eastern Libya. Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret. Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings. The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

Now We Know Why Googling Pressure Cooker Bombs Gets a Visit from Cops

"Michele Catalano was looking for information online about pressure cookers. Her husband, in the same time frame, was Googling backpacks. Wednesday morning, six men from a joint terrorism task force showed up at their house to see if they were terrorists. Which prompts the question: How'd the government know what they were Googling? Because the Googling happened at work. One hundred times a week, groups of six armed men drive to houses in three black SUVs, conducting consented-if-casual searches of the property perhaps in part because of things people looked up online." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow We Know Why Googling Pressure Cooker Bombs Gets a Visit from Cops

Ticket quota whistleblower cop loses NYPD suit

"A Manhattan federal judge yesterday tossed a hero cop’s lawsuit against the NYPD, rejecting the officer’s claims that his First Amendment rights were violated by superiors after he was punished for speaking up about alleged quotas for arrests and tickets. NYPD Officer Craig Matthews claimed that he had suffered workplace retaliation for speaking up about quotas for arrests, stop-and-frisks and summonses that were allegedly ordered by his commanders in The Bronx’s 42nd Precinct. But US District Judge Paul Engelmayer said that while Matthews’ comments served a purpose, his beef amounts to a workplace disagreement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTicket quota whistleblower cop loses NYPD suit

Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Sends SWAT Team To Gun Down a Fawn

"The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources sent an armed SWAT team to kill a fawn in an animal shelter. People at the DNR know their jobs. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it. Nine DNR personnel. Four deputy sheriffs. When you need force, use it! These people earn their keep. They leave no stone unturned. They even used aerial reconnaisance to spot the fawn. This was a major case. At $200 a day, times 13 men, that’s $2,600. Plus it took days of planning. Maybe another $2,000. That was an expensive fawn." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWisconsin Department of Natural Resources Sends SWAT Team To Gun Down a Fawn

Santa Ana Police Officer Shot, Killed Unarmed Homeless Man

"Santa Ana police confirmed Wednesday that an officer shot and killed an unarmed 22-year-old homeless man after a short foot pursuit at a shopping center 24 hours ago. Hans Kevin Arellano was shot once in the chest when he got into a confrontation with a female 13-year veteran officer in a juice shop parking lot near South Harbor Boulevard and McFadden Avenue, according to Santa Ana interim Police Chief Carlos Rojas. The officer involved in the shooting is currently on paid leave. She could be back to work in a few days after she’s cleared by a department psychologist." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSanta Ana Police Officer Shot, Killed Unarmed Homeless Man

Hedging Bitcoin Mining Investments with Network Difficulty Futures

"One of the primary risks for a bitcoin miner is the time required to obtain hardware and the notion that with an exponentially growing bitcoin network, every extra delay dramatically affects the ROI of the would-be miner. Entering into a futures contract could mitigate a significant amount of that risk. One place to find such products is iCBIT, a bitcoin and bitcoin derivatives exchange. Those who buy a contract would benefit if the network difficulty increases more than expected by the expiration date and those who sell a contract would benefit if the network difficulty increases less than expected." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHedging Bitcoin Mining Investments with Network Difficulty Futures

Khan Academy now accepts bitcoin donations

"Khan Academy is a non-profit aimed at providing a free, world-class education for people everywhere. They offer free online educational materials (e.g., instructional videos, practice exercises, dashboard analytics, teacher tools) that support personalized education for users of all ages. They have lessons on topics including math, science, finance, history, and even bitcoin. When you donate, you’ll even earn a special badge on your Khan Academy profile." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKhan Academy now accepts bitcoin donations

The True Value of Bitcoin

"As a digital asset, the first widely adopted use of bitcoin was as a safe and secure store and transfer mechanism for fiat currency value. This is how most people think of and use Bitcoin today, as a substitute for money, but it is an inadequate classification. Bitcoin replaces the traditional chain of title in property law. The bitcoin protocol secures a party’s interest in an asset in an identifiable and secure manner, and provides a transparent set of rules and enforcement mechanisms so that all parties are held equally accountable. It does all this without any reliance on financial, regulatory, or judicial authorities. Truly, bitcoin is code as law." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe True Value of Bitcoin

On The Road Again: Customize Your Life with Location Independence

"Then there’s Life Remotely, which got me thinking about the topic. Basically, that site’s done by three people who have found gigs they could do on the road and then spent a decade doing them, mostly on the road. In the process, they’ve also developed a suite of skills and information that can bring this kind of life that much closer to other people. Theirs is also an entrepreneurial response in that it fits together needs, desires, and resources in a novel way that offers people a way to assemble their own happiness. It relies on the alertness to spot what can be made from things that haven’t been combined quite this way before." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOn The Road Again: Customize Your Life with Location Independence

It is capitalism, not democracy, that the Arab world needs most

"Hernando de Soto, a Peruvian economist, travelled to Egypt to investigate the causes of the Arab Spring. His team of researchers found that Bouazizi had inspired 60 similar cases of self-immolation, including five in Egypt, almost all of which had been overlooked by the press. The narrative of a 1989-style revolution in hope of regime change seemed so compelling to foreigners that there was little appetite for further explanation. But de Soto’s team tracked down those who survived their suicide attempts, and the bereaved families. Time and again, they found the same story: this was a protest for the basic freedom to own and acquire ras el mel, or capital." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt is capitalism, not democracy, that the Arab world needs most