statism

Retirement Savings Accounts Draw U.S. Consumer Bureau Attention

"The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is weighing whether it should take on a role in helping Americans manage the $19.4 trillion they have put into retirement savings, a move that would be the agency’s first foray into consumer investments. The bureau’s core concern is that many Americans, notably those from the retiring Baby Boom generation, may fall prey to financial scams. Americans held $19.4 trillion in retirement assets as of Sept. 30, 2012, according to the Investment Company Institute, an industry association; about $3.5 trillion of that was in 401(k) plans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRetirement Savings Accounts Draw U.S. Consumer Bureau Attention

The price of copyright crime in New Zealand? Only $617

"In the US, when illegal downloaders have actually gone to trial, they have faced massive six-figure penalties, like the damages figures against Joel Tenenbaum ($675,000) and Jammie Thomas-Rasset (first $1.92 million, down to $222,000). Now New Zealand is starting to see results from the copyright tribunals it set up under a controversial 2011 law, which allows for copyright owners such as RIANZ (the New Zealand equivalent of the RIAA) to go after users, but for a maximum of $15,000. Turns out, it's going to be very tough for them to get even that amount in New Zealand." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe price of copyright crime in New Zealand? Only $617

Military judge orders government to stop censoring 9/11 hearings

"A military judge ordered the US government Thursday to stop censoring September 11 pre-trial hearings from outside his courtroom. Judge James Pohl said the government must 'disconnect the outside feed or ability to suspend the broadcast' from outside his court. Proceedings are heard in the press room, and in a room where human rights groups and victims families sit, with a 40 second delay. This is done so that a security officer sitting next to the judge can block anything deemed classified. The ruling means classified information could still be blocked, but only by order of the judge and not from outside the courtroom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary judge orders government to stop censoring 9/11 hearings

Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged in probe

"Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges were charged with conspiracy and fraud Thursday, capping a three-year FBI probe into what authorities said was rampant ticket-fixing and pervasive corruption on the bench. The charges, outlined in a 77-count indictment, described 'a well-understood conspiracy of silence' that created two distinct courts: one where typical citizens paid for their infractions, and a second where offenders with the right connections won acquittals or saw their fines or cases disappear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged in probe

Severe Disaffection: Seventy-five Percent of US Citizens Don’t Trust Government

"It is a manifestation of a larger disaffection that has been exacerbated by what we call the Internet Reformation. The Internet allows people to understand their world in ways they didn't before and tends to put discontent into a larger perspective. Whereas before, people might have been more apt to blame themselves or their circumstances for their troubles, now they may see their dilemmas as part of a larger systemic issue. But the nation's media gatekeepers like PBS continue to focus on such issues as they have in the past, mainly through the lens of the two-party political system. This in a sense trivializes the growing discontent and misinterprets it, as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSevere Disaffection: Seventy-five Percent of US Citizens Don’t Trust Government

NASA knew Columbia crew would die but chose not to tell them

"A NASA flight director has revealed that personnel on the ground knew in 2003 that the Space Shuttle Columbia would not survive re-entry, but chose not to inform the vessel’s crew. According to an ABC News report from Thursday, when faced with the choice of letting the astronauts die trying to come home or leaving them to orbit until their air ran out, high-ranking NASA officials chose to let the Columbia crew die in ignorance of what was to befall them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNASA knew Columbia crew would die but chose not to tell them

Hackers use Xbox 360 to send SWAT team to family’s home

"A family living near Orlando was awakened by a SWAT team early Thursday morning, apparently sent to the home as a hoax after hackers accessed a neighbor boy’s Xbox 360 and obtained an address from his account. Police said the address on the account was out of date, sending officers to a home where they were told one person had been killed and the rest of the family was being held hostage. Fortunately, the owner of the Xbox had already contacted police to say his game console had been hacked, according to Orlando’s Channel 9 News." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHackers use Xbox 360 to send SWAT team to family’s home

6 year old expelled over toy gun allowed back into school

"A 6-year-old South Carolina girl will be allowed back in school after being expelled early in January for bringing a toy gun for 'show and tell,' school officials said Thursday. Naomi McKinney was expelled from Alice Drive Elementary in Sumter, S.C. on Jan. 7, according to a Wednesday report WLTX-TV. Her father Hank objected to the decision as well, saying that pencils are more dangerous than the clear, plastic water gun Naomi brought to school. 'I know there is a lot going on with guns and schools and that is tragic, but a six year old bringing a toy to school doesn’t know better,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue Reading6 year old expelled over toy gun allowed back into school

Study: Drugged Driving Laws Have Little Or No Impact On Traffic Deaths

"Since 1990, 11 states have passed so-called zero-tolerant per se drugged driving laws which make it illegal for one to drive with detectable levels of a controlled substance in his or her system. Five additional states have passed similar laws specifying non-zero limits for controlled substances or their metabolites. Using state-level data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the period 1990-2010, authors examined the relationship between the adoption of controlled substance per se thresholds and overall incidences of traffic fatalities. They found that the relationship is statistically indistinguishable from zero." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy: Drugged Driving Laws Have Little Or No Impact On Traffic Deaths

FDA panel pushing for new limits on access to Vicodin

"Citing concern over increasing reports of addiction and overdoses, a FDA safety panel has recommended new restrictions on access to the commonly-used painkiller Vicodin and other products. The panel voted 19-10 to suggest that Vicodin and other products containing hydrocodone be reclassified as Schedule II, placing it alongside narcotic painkillers like cocaine and percocet. The proposed change would mean that hydrocodone — currently a Schedule III substance — would be subject to stricter regulation regarding access, storage and prescribed dosage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA panel pushing for new limits on access to Vicodin