Month: January 2016

Federally Funded Think Tank Explains How U.S. Government Could Attack Decentralized Digital Currencies

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Note: Since publishing this post, I have read through parts of the RAND Corporation report and have concluded that the Bitcoin Magazine article disparaging it was unfair. So much so, that I will exercise far greater caution in the future when quoting from this source.

While I will leave the post here for you to read, had I looked at the RAND Corporation report before publishing it, I probably never would have written anything on the subject.

When government devolves into little more than a Banana Republic-style oligarchy burgeoned by a cadre of media propagandists and corrupt politicians, the only objective of said government is to secure, protect and grow its wealth and power. In such circumstances, which are the historical norm not the exception, “the people” come to be seen as the enemy by government and the oligarchy that controls it. Indeed, this is the unfortunate state of affairs in which we find ourselves today.

Decentralized virtual currencies pose a clear threat to government control, which is why their deployment concerns the status quo so much. Some of these concerns were outlined in a recent RAND Corporation report titled, “National Security Implications of Virtual Currency.” Bitcoin Magazine covered some of its more troubling angles in an article published a couple of days ago.

First a little about RAND from Bitcoin Magazine:

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U.N. Peacekeepers Caught Paying 50 Cents for Sex with 13-Year-Old Girls in War Zones

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Investigators discovered this month that at least four U.N. peacekeepers in the Central African Republic allegedly paid girls as little as 50 cents in exchange for sex.

The most recent allegations involve at least four peacekeepers who are accused of paying girls as young as 13 for sex at a camp for the internally displaced next to the international airport in Bangui, the capital. The site, known as M’poko camp, is home to 20,000 people, mostly Christians. It is a vast agglomeration of white tents surrounding old, decaying airplanes, just yards from the airport runway.

The United Nations was also strongly criticized for failing to react to offenses by peacekeepers in the country. As many as 14 troops from France, Chad and Equatorial Guinea allegedly raped and sodomized six boys between the ages of 9 and 15 in 2013 and 2014, before the U.N. mission formally began. The United Nations took no action after learning about the cases until a whistleblower leaked an internal U.N. investigation to French authorities, according to U.N. officials.

– From the Washington Post article: U.N. Says Some of Its Peacekeepers Were Paying 13-Year-Olds for Sex 

I can’t say I’m surprised. After all, this is the same organization which just last year named Saudi Arabia to head up a human rights panel. Nevertheless, the following revelations are absolutely revolting.

From the Washington Post:

NAIROBI — The United Nations has been grappling with so many sexual abuse allegations involving its peacekeepers that Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recently called them “a cancer in our system.”

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Identity of Real Buyers to Be Required in Manhattan and Miami for Certain “All Cash” Real Estate Transactions

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The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today issued Geographic Targeting Orders (GTO) that will temporarily require certain U.S. title insurance companies to identify the natural persons behind companies used to pay “all cash” for high-end residential real estate in the Borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, and Miami-Dade County, Florida. FinCEN is concerned that all-cash purchases – i.e., those without bank financing – may be conducted by individuals attempting to hide their assets and identity by purchasing residential properties through limited liability companies or other opaque structures. To enhance availability of information pertinent to mitigating this potential money laundering vulnerability, FinCEN will require certain title insurance companies to identify and report the true “beneficial owner” behind a legal entity involved in certain high-end residential real estate transactions in Manhattan and Miami-Dade County.

– From today’s announcement: FinCEN Takes Aim at Real Estate Secrecy in Manhattan and Miami

Anyone with a pulse and more than a couple of functioning brain cells has been aware for years that corrupt foreign oligarchs, politicians and dictators have been using global high end real estate as their preferred means to launder billions if not trillions of funds collectively stolen from their host populations. While London seems to be the preferred venue, Manhattan is not that far behind.

To get a taste of the problem, here are a few excerpts from the 2014 post, Introducing Ghost Skyscrapers – NYC Real Estate Goes Full Retard:

“The Census Bureau estimates that 30 percent of all apartments in the quadrant from 49th to 70th Streets between Fifth and Park are vacant at least ten months a year.”

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Members of Congress Demand Investigation Into Predatory Practices at Warren Buffett’s Clayton Homes

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He walked them through Clayton-built homes on the lot, then into the sales center, passing a banner and posters promoting one subprime lender: Vanderbilt Mortgage, a Clayton subsidiary. Inside, he handed them a Vanderbilt sales pamphlet.

“Vanderbilt is the only one that finances on the reservation,” he told the women.

His claim, which the women caught on tape, was a lie. And it was illegal.

In minority communities, Clayton’s grip on the lending market verges on monopolistic: Last year, according to federal data, Clayton made 72% of the loans to black people who financed mobile homes.

The company’s in-house lender, Vanderbilt Mortgage, charges minority borrowers substantially higher rates, on average, than their white counterparts. In fact, federal data shows that Vanderbilt typically charges black people who make over $75,000 a year slightly more than white people who make only $35,000.

Through a spokesperson earlier this month, Buffett declined to discuss racial issues at Clayton Homes, and a reporter who attempted to contact him at his home was turned away by security…

She continued to raise concerns, writing in an email to Clayton’s director of marketing that when she spoke to new borrowers, “there were many things they were not made aware about during the sale.”

Managers and executives, she said, dismissed her concerns; she recalled one replying, “It doesn’t really matter as long as we get the money.”

– From the post: How Warren Buffet’s Clayton Homes Intentionally Targets & Preys Upon Minorities and Poor People

Yesterday, four members of Congress sent a joint letter to both Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and Loretta Lynch, Attorney General of the United States, demanding an investigation into predatory practices at Warren Buffett’s mobile home unit Clayton Homes.

Reuters reports:

A letter on Tuesday from Representative Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, and fellow committee members Michael Capuano, Emanuel Cleaver and Keith Ellison called on the Justice Department and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to “pursue appropriate corrective action” against Clayton.

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Liberty Links 1/12/16

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Below are links to some of the more interesting and important reads I came across today, but will not be publishing on in detail.

L.A. Times Reporter Cleared Stories with the CIA Before Publication (From 2014, but wow. The Intercept)

Juniper Drops NSA-Developed Code Following New Backdoor Revelations (Ars Technica)

A Deadline For Chinese Authorities to Comment on the Missing Hong Kong Publisher Is About to Lapse (Time)

At Supreme Court, Ominous Signs for Public-Sector Unions (National Journal)

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Banksters Win Again – “Audit the Fed” Bill Fails in the Senate

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When it comes to the Fed, Congress is mired in hypocrisy. The anti-regulation, de-regulation crowd on Capitol Hill shuts its mouth when it comes to the most powerful regulators of all – you and the Federal Reserve. Meanwhile, Congress goes along with the out-of-control, private government of the Fed—unaccountable to the national legislature. Moreover, your massive monetary injections scarcely led to any jobs on the ground, other than stock and bond processors.

– From the post: Ralph Nader Destroys the Federal Reserve in Open Letter – Calls it “Out of Control, Private Government”

Rand Paul’s signature “Audit the Fed” legislation failed to garner the 60 votes needed in the Senate to move the measure forward. Of course, this is merely the latest in a never-ending series of banker victories, and a truly devastating blow against liberty, free markets, transparency and any hope for government by the people and for the people. Ensuring that light is never shined on the Fed’s shady, corrupt and unaccountable bailout activities has always been a key goal of the American oligarchy, and they succeeded once again.

Kudos to Rand Paul for trying, and respect to Democrat Bernie Sanders for voting in favor. Elizabeth Warren voting against is inexplicable and indefensible.

More from MarketWatch:

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — A bill that would have allowed Congress to order reviews of Federal Reserve interest-rate policy decisions failed a procedural test in the Senate on Tuesday as supporters failed to come up with the 60 votes needed to cut off debate on the measures.

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Hillary “Feels the Bern” – Record Numbers of MoveOn.org Members Vote to Endorse Sanders by Massive Margin

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The recent member vote conducted by progressive organization MoveOn.org is downright devastating for Hillary Clinton. The numbers speak for themselves, and demonstrate in no uncertain terms that Hillary Clinton has absolutely zero grassroots support. There isn’t a person in this country who is genuinely excited about Hillary, while Bernie Sanders continues to pack rooms and, as we learned in December, broke the fundraising record for most contributions at this stage in a political campaign at 2.3 million.

The fact that Hillary is still seen as the inevitable nominee simply proves how completely lifeless and corrupt the Democratic establishment is. But don’t take my word for it.

From MoveOn:

More than 340,000 MoveOn members participated in our endorsement process. Sanders won with 267,750 votes, or 78.6 percent. “Fellow Democrat Hillary Clinton garnered 49,811 votes (14.6 percent). Martin O’Malley earned 2,949 votes (0.9 percent). There were also 20,155 MoveOn members, or 5.9 percent, who voted against MoveOn making an endorsement now.

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Aaron Swartz Died 3 Years Ago Today – In Remembrance of This Special Soul

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Three years ago humanity lost a brave, brilliant and kindhearted individual named Aaron Swartz. On that day, I composed a post expressing my outrage and sadness. Once again, I have decided to repost that piece on the anniversary of his death.

I would like to add that if you haven’t seen the Aaron Swartz documentary, The Internet’s Own Boy, I highly recommend you do.

Let us take inspiration from his life and his struggles in order to continue his very important and courageous work. What follows is the original post, Remembering Internet Prodigy and Activist Aaron Swartz (1986-2013): Your Life is an Inspiration:

Remembering Internet Prodigy and Activist Aaron Swartz (1986-2013): Your Life is an Inspiration

It takes a person like Aaron Swartz to remind you how little you are actually doing to bring forth social, political and economic justice in this increasingly insane and sick world.  I’m not exaggerating when I say his life was an inspiration. At 14 years old he helped start the RSS feed system, which so many now use to read content online. He also co-founded Reddit, and its sale to Conde Nast is what afforded him the resources to dedicate his life to the defense of a free and open internet.  His most remarkable success in this regard was the creation of the organization Demand Progress, which was instrumental in defeating the internet censorship bill know as SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Act).

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Meet “Beware” – The New Police Tool That Data Mines Your Life

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As officers respond to calls, Beware automatically runs the address. The searches return the names of residents and scans them against a range of publicly available data to generate a color-coded threat level for each person or address: green, yellow or red.

Exactly how Beware calculates threat scores is something that its maker, Intrado, considers a trade secret, so it is unclear how much weight is given to a misdemeanor, felony or threatening comment on Facebook. However, the program flags issues and provides a report to the user.

– From the Washington Post article: The New Way Police are Surveilling You: Calculating Your Threat ‘Score’ 

When it comes to life on planet earth in 2016, it increasingly feels as if we are all livestock constantly being monitored, prodded and surveyed by the oligarchy and its minions. The latest example revolves around a software program for police called Beware, developed by Intrado, which consists of a secret algorithm that determines an individual’s threat levels based on a multitude of unknown factors.

Does it work? Does it violate civil liberties? Is there any public debate? These questions and more are addressed in a recent Washington Post article. Here are a few excerpts:

FRESNO, Calif. — While officers raced to a recent 911 call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend, a police operator in headquarters consulted software that scored the suspect’s potential for violence the way a bank might run a credit report.

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Liberty Links – 1/11/16

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Below are links to some of the more interesting and important reads I came across today, but will not be publishing on in detail.

Audit the Fed Bill Gets a Congressional Vote Tomorrow (Time)

FBI Turns 18-Year-Old With An IQ Of 51 Into A Terrorist (Tech Dirt)

Public in Sweden Kept in the Dark About Sexual Harassment at Youth Festival (Radio Sweden)

Texas Governor Calls for Constitutional Convention to Curb Federal Power (National Journal)

The MIT Dropout Who Started an “Anti-College” (YouTube Video)

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