A breakthrough speech on monetary policyWednesday night may have marked the “emperor’s new clothes” moment of the Great Recession, in which the world suddenly realizes its rulers are suffering from a delusion that doesn’t have to be humored.
Living in a Constitution-Free Zone | MichaelMoore.comTodd Miller Todd Miller has researched and written about U.S.-Mexican border issues for more than 10 years. Drones, Surveillance Towers, Malls of the Spy State, and the National Security Police on the Northern Border Crossposted from TomDispatch Before September 11, 2001, more than half the border crossings between the United States and Canada were left unguarded at night, with only rubber cones separating the two countries.
The American Lockdown State: Post-Legal Drones, the Bin Laden Tax, and Other Wonders of Our American World | MichaelMoore.comCrossposted from TomDispatch Consider Inauguration Day, more than two weeks gone and already part of our distant past. In its wake, President Obama was hailed (or reviled) for his “liberal” second inaugural address.
Do Wall Street Insiders Expect Something Really BIG To Happen Very Soon?Why are corporate insiders dumping huge numbers of shares in their own companies right now? Why are some very large investors suddenly making gigantic bets that the stock market will crash at some point in the next 60 days? Do Wall Street insiders expect something really BIG to happen very soon?
Rebooting Computer Crime Law Part 1: No Prison Time For Violating Terms of ServiceSenate Committee Agrees That Violating Terms of Service Shouldn’t Be a Crime
How To Rewire Your Brain for Positivity and Happiness – The Buffer blog: productivity, life hacks, writing, user experience, customer happiness and business.The following post is a guestpost by Walter Chen, founder of a unique new project management tool IDoneThis. More about Walter at the bottom of the post. Ever go through a phase where you feel like every day is a Monday? You wake up, you hit snooze.
BofA settlement questioned by Federal Home Loan Banks – Boston Business JournalIn court documents filed Friday, a trio of Federal Home Loan Banks and a fourth institution reportedly take issue with Bank of America’s $8.5 billion agreement to settle claims related to mortgages issued by its Countrywide unit, saying the amount is not enough.
Chilling legal memo from Obama DOJ justifies assassination of US citizensThe most extremist power any political leader can assert is the power to target his own citizens for execution without any charges or due process, far from any battlefield. The Obama administration has not only asserted exactly that power in theory, but has exercised it in practice.
Why Police Officers Lie Under OathTHOUSANDS of people plead guilty to crimes every year in the United States because they know that the odds of a jury’s believing their word over a police officer’s are slim to none.
Justice Department memo says it is legal for the government to kill U.S. citizens abroad
Memo sets rationale to kill Qaida-linked citizensWASHINGTON (AP) – An internal Justice Department memo says it is legal for the government to kill U.S. citizens abroad if it believes they are senior al-Qaida leaders continually engaged in operations aimed at killing Americans. The document provides a legal rationale behind the Obama administration’s use of drone strikes against al-Qaida suspects.
Anonymous posts over 4000 U.S. bank executive credentials | ZDNetSummary: Anonymous appears to have published login and private information from over 4000 American bank executive credentials its Operation Last Resort, demanding US computer crime law reform. Following attacks on U.S. government websites last weekend, Anonymous seems to have made a new ” Operation Last Resort” .gov website strike Sunday night.
Swartz’s Girlfriend Shares Intimate Details Of His Last Days, Explains ‘Why Aaron Died’In a heartfelt tumblr, the girlfriend of fallen Internet activist, Aaron Swartz, explained why she thinks he committed suicide. After revealing intimate details of his seemingly chipper, curious lifestyle, Taren Stinebrickner-Kauffman argues that “I believe Aaron’s death was caused by exhaustion, by fear, and by uncertainty.
For First Time, Most Americans Believe Federal Government Threatens Personal FreedomsFor First Time, Most Americans Believe Federal Government Threatens Personal Freedoms Distrust of the U.S. government has reached an all-time high among Americans, a majority of whom now say Washington represents a threat to their personal freedoms. According to a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 53% of respondents said the federal government threatens their own personal rights and freedoms. Those disagreeing numbered 43%.
National and World — GazetteXtraSEATTLE (AP) — An effort is building in Congress to change U.S. marijuana laws, including moves to legalize the industrial production of hemp and establish a hefty federal pot tax. While passage this year could be a longshot, lawmakers from both parties have been quietly working on several bills, the first of which Democratic Reps.
The Future According To Google’s Eric Schmidt: 7 PointsWe’ve been taking a look through unreleased galleys of Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt ‘s new book, “The New Digital Age”, to be released this April. In our main post we looked at how the book, co-written with Google Ideas chief Jared Cohen, had some tough words to say about China and its history of internet censorship and cyber espionage.
Iceland denies aid to FBI in WikiLeaks investigation – RTReuters / Toru Hanai Iceland refused to cooperate with an FBI investigation into WikiLeaks two years ago. The Icelandic Interior Minister said he ordered police to cease contact with the FBI, and made it clear their presence was not “well-seen” in Iceland.
‘US a police state, Obama consciously allows torture’ – CIA veteran John Kiriakou – RTTen years ago, the idea of the US government spying on its citizens, intercepting their emails or killing them with drones was unthinkable. But now it’s business as usual, says John Kiriakou, a former CIA agent and torture whistleblower.