statism

Ron Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

"Though it made for a sensational headline last week, the fact is these 2,776 'violations' over the course of one year are completely irrelevant. The millions and millions of 'authorized' intercepts of our communications are all illegal -- except for the very few carried out in pursuit of a validly-issued search warrant in accordance with the Fourth Amendment. That is the real story. Drawing our attention to the violations unfortunately sends the message that the 'authorized' spying on us is nothing to be concerned about." Continue reading →

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Who Gave Hollywood’s Representatives the Same Exact DMCA Question?

"The Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet (a part of the House Judiciary Committee) held hearings on the role of technology as it relates to content creation and copyright. In the span of less than 15 minutes, two separate representatives -- both representing parts of Los Angeles, asking questions one after the other asked THE IDENTICAL question to a panelist. Sure looks like someone is feeding them their questions, but next time they might want to keep track of who they told to ask their misleading question...." Continue reading →

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Jim Rogers: Why I’m shorting India

"Hedge fund manager Jim Rogers, who moved to Singapore in 2007 because he thought the centre of the world is shifting to Asia, says India is set to miss out on the Asian century. The chairman of Rogers Holdings says that if there is one country an individual must visit, it has to be India for its 'spectacular sensory feast, beautiful, food, colour and religions', but it is also the worst country to do business in. Rogers also slammed the Indian government’s recent curbs on gold imports, saying Indian citizens had no choice but to buy the metal because they had very little faith in investing in other sectors of its economy." Continue reading →

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Square Fined $507K In Florida For Operating Without A Money Transmitter License

"A little more state-specific financial regulatory hot water for Square, the hot mobile commerce startup: it has been fined $507,000 by Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation for operating a payment service without a money transmission license. This looks like the second time that a U.S. state financial regulator has gone after the company, after Square was served with a cease and desist order in Illinois in March 2013, also for failing to obtain a license before opening up for operations. According to the Florida payment order (embedded below), the $507,000 fine covers over two years of operation, from February 2010 to November 2012." Continue reading →

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Decoding Bitcoin

"Chances are you have never used a Bitcoin, but you’ve probably heard of it. The virtual currency is popping up more and more in the news and the government has been showing an increased interest in the subject. For instance, the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee this week told federal financial regulators and law enforcement officials to explain how they are keeping tabs on 'virtual' currencies, including the $1.2 billion market for Bitcoins. So what, errr, is a Bitcoin? What follows is guide to understanding the currency, why it’s used and why the government is paying attention." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin vs Gold: Getting the Most Bang For Your Buck

"There's a new Bitcoin sheriff in town. It's called the Digital Asset Transfer Authority -- or DATA. And it's not just limited to Bitcoins, it will self-govern most of the actors in the digital currency space, including Ripple. Again, this is on a purely voluntary basis. With regulators increasingly cracking down on various crypto-currencies, DATA is attempting to get ahead of the game -- and craft best practices to interact with regulators. Bob talks with Trace Mayer, entrepreneur, and Andreas Antonopoulos, internet security expert, and asks if the new regulatory authority, DATA, goes against the original purpose of Bitcoins -- namely anonymity." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Boom? US fears digital currency may hit dollar demand

"The US is becoming increasingly concerned over virtual currencies, launching broad investigations into Bitcoin and the likes. The online currency has won official recognition with a US federal judge ruling it is real money. A Texas man, being tried for laundering billions of dollars using the Bitcoin system, challenged the court by saying bitcoins were virtual and couldn't be the basis for a fraud charge. He failed. RT's Peter Oliver went to meet those who have no doubt bitcoin has real value." Continue reading →

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NSA abuses contradict Obama and congressional claims of oversight

"Government officials from President Obama on down have insisted the nation's surveillance programs are subject to layers of oversight. 'I am comfortable that the program currently is not being abused,' Mr. Obama said in a press conference last week, when he announced new efforts at increasing transparency. 'Part of the reason they're not abused is because these checks are in place.' However, the latest revelation that the NSA violated privacy rules thousands of times, as documented in an internal report -- an internal report withheld from at least one leader in Congress responsible for oversight -- proves they were wrong." Continue reading →

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Nearly Every Major Federal Agency Has Reduced Projected Furloughs

"When sequestration was about to kick in, the Obama administration began a nearly across-the-board campaign to discuss the devastating impact the automatic cuts would have on agency operations. Furloughs, combined with hiring freezes, would disrupt the proper functioning of government, agency chiefs said, as fewer employees working fewer hours could not accomplish the same amount as a fully staffed workforce. While many federal agencies have in fact moved forward with furloughs, most major departments have reduced furlough days, or eliminated them altogether." Continue reading →

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