statism

TSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

"Compared to NSA’s confiscation of U.S. citizens’ phone records, however, Americans can take some comfort that TSA’s PreCheck program is voluntary—at least for now. Yet in the past, government experimentation has oft become permanent policy, which, in this case, would then require every American to undergo fingerprinting and a background check to be eligible to fly commercially. In other words, as government’s thirst for security mounts, its 'no-fly' list, which includes names of suspected terrorists, could eventually be replaced by an 'OK to fly' list. Do you think this scenario is outlandish and would never happen?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTSA: Ask the Fed for Relief…From the Fed?

What Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

"What do Angola, Cambodia, Chad, Haiti, Laos, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Yemen and Zimbabwe have in common? They all receive U.S. foreign aid and, according to Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, boast some of the most corrupt governments in the world—strong-arm governments in most cases. If money can’t buy the United States influence, it’s also not buying America a lot love. According to a recent Pew poll, in Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan only 16, 14 and 11 percent of their respective populations have a favorable view of the United States. Egypt is a clarion call to stop throwing good money after bad." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat Egypt Tells Us About U.S. Foreign Aid

Diamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

"In January, jeweler Vihari Sheth was publicizing a ritzy new line of diamond-encrusted designs. Last week, she was arrested at Mumbai airport with nearly $400,000 of gold jewelry in her underwear and on her person. The 27-year-old has a store in Singapore and is married to a director of Mumbai-based Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd (SIYA), a suit maker that is a household name in the country. Her arrest offers a glimpse into how even the wealthy may be joining small jewelers and organized gangs to skirt new government taxes on bullion imports that have made gold about 9 percent more expensive in Indian stores." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDiamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

Gold replaces narcotics as the most valued smuggled item in India

"The Bombay Bullion Association has stated that the tighter import curbs by the government have resulted in a huge gap between supply and demand for the precious metal. This huge gap is being partly filled by the illegal traffickers who buy the gold overseas at a cheaper rate and sells it to domestic jewelers or bullion agents by evading tax. Revenue authorities seized gold worth Rs 598 million during April-June quarter this fiscal, an increase of nearly 365% in comparison with the same quarter last year. Smuggled gold pours into the country mainly from Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold replaces narcotics as the most valued smuggled item in India

Serial Offender: Miami Fed. Prosecutor Called on Misconduct in Drug Cases

"Dr. Ali Shaygan has nothing to do with Colombian drug trafficking conspiracies, but his case is yet another example of Hoffman's prosecutorial overreach. Shaygan was charged with overprescribing narcotics as part of the federal government's campaign against prescription drug abuse, but later acquitted. After his acquittal, Shaygan won a $600,000 judgment, with the judge in the case finding the prosecutors' conduct in attempting to influence witnesses and deny potentially exculpatory evidence to the defense so 'profoundly disturbing that it raises troubling issues about the integrity of those who wield enormous power over the people they prosecute.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSerial Offender: Miami Fed. Prosecutor Called on Misconduct in Drug Cases

Four Centuries of Surveillance: From Privy Councils to FISA Courts

"Letters to or from England were carried by private ship captains, who often hung a bag in the local coffeehouse to receive letters for shipment. The price was generally a penny for a single letter and two pence for a double letter or parcel. In 1591 the Crown had issued a proclamation granting itself the monopoly of all foreign mail, and in 1609 the Crown’s proclamation extended its own monopoly to all mail foreign or domestic. The purpose of this postal monopoly was quite simple: to enable governmental officials to read the letters of private citizens in order to discover and suppress 'treason' and 'sedition.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFour Centuries of Surveillance: From Privy Councils to FISA Courts

America’s Emerging Police State: A Brief History

"As Congress and the American people grapple with the fallout from Edward Snowden’s stunning revelations, we are hearing a kind of defense coming from the authoritarians in our midst: none of this is new, they argue, so what’s all the fuss about? In a sense, they are right: the 'legal' and political outlines of an American police state have been emerging from the fulcrum of war and the turbulence of our domestic politics since World War II. The only difference now is the technology, which has developed far beyond the imagination of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI’s first director, who widely deployed the earliest wiretapping capabilities of government snoops." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s Emerging Police State: A Brief History

1974 PSA Warned of High Tech Surveillance State for Behavior Control

"The clip below is of a public service message warning the public on the growing use of technology and surveillance by government and corporations (though who can really tell the difference these days) to control our lives. Sure, you say. We know all about that. Snowden has conclusively shown us with leaked documentation what our government is doing to us. Ah. But the film was not made last week or even last decade; it was filmed in 1974. Watch and listen. No, really listen. This message isn’t just to warn us about the coming technological surveillance state itself, but how its construct is to be used as a form of behavioral control on a mass scale." Continue reading →

Continue Reading1974 PSA Warned of High Tech Surveillance State for Behavior Control

Get Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

"It didn’t take long for the pushback following outrage over revelations that we live in an all-encompassing high-tech Stasi police state. Edward Snowden made his revelations known exactly two months ago today . The government has responded by concocting yet another vague and unsubstantiated terror threat it describes as the most serious since the September 11 attacks. The latest terror alert is a precursor of things to come." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Endless Bogus Terror Alerts

Australian Safety Official Seeks Refund Of 987 Speed Camera Tickets

"On June 30, electronic speed limit signs were used to reduce the speed limit to 80km/h (50 MPH) and then once again to 40km/h (25 MPH) through a construction zone in front of the tunnel. Drivers were tricked into thinking after the end of the highway work zone, the limit would have returned to 80km/h or 100km/h. They may also have been unable to see the electronic speed limit signs, distracted by traffic merging from three lanes to one. 269 vehicle owners received serious penalties that included a license suspension, plus fines of up to $722 (which rises to $1660 for heavy vehicles). Another 718 received fines of up to $289 each." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAustralian Safety Official Seeks Refund Of 987 Speed Camera Tickets