The Bitch Police

A Virtual Weimar: Hyperinflation in a Video Game World

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:58:14 -0600

A Virtual Weimar: Hyperinflation in a Video Game World:

laliberty:

Fascinating.

I can’t say that I didn’t see it coming because I did as I wrote 15 days after its release.

I also wrote about the collapse of the currency in its predecessor, Diablo 2, as I eagerly awaited the release of Diablo 3.

Diablo III and Hyperinflation

Our government admitted for the first time today to killing 4 U.S. citizens with drone strikes.

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:55:32 -0600

Our government admitted for the first time today to killing 4 U.S. citizens with drone strikes.:

hipsterlibertarian:

The Obama administration Wednesday for the first time acknowledged killing four U.S. citizens in “counterterrorism operations” abroad.

The deaths of three of the Americans — Anwar al-Awlaki, his 16-year-old son Abd al-Rahman Anwar al-Awlaki, and Samir Khan, all of whom were killed in drone strikes in Yemen in 2011 — had been previously reported. The death of the fourth, Jude Kennan Mohammad, a Florida native apparently killed in Pakistan, had not been.

It seriously took them this long?

theartofanimation: Zzjimzz

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:54:17 -0600

theartofanimation:

Zzjimzz

thefrogman: Evolution[imgur] [h/t: togifs]

Thu, 23 May 2013 01:48:56 -0600

thefrogman:

Evolution
[imgur] [h/t: togifs]

"On one hand it seemed almost funny that we would be considered a threat to national security, but..."

Tue, 21 May 2013 13:12:32 -0600

“On one hand it seemed almost funny that we would be considered a threat to national security, but it’s very scary, because what we are engaging in is free speech, and free speech by ordinary citizens and journalists is now being considered a threat to national security and they don’t have to prove it because the government has the ability to suppress information and not disclose any of their activities”

- Eric Garris, founder of Antiwar.com, which is suing the FBI after a memo revealed that the agency was spying on the website’s staff to determine if they posed a national security threat.

The ACLU is filing a request with the FBI surrounding the same controversy after its repeated FOIA submissions have returned empty.

(via hipsterlibertarian)

Washington gets explicit: its 'war on terror' is permanent

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:45:20 -0600

Washington gets explicit: its 'war on terror' is permanent:

In yesterdays Senate Armed Services Committee hearing an assistant secretary of defense Michael Sheehan stated that the war on terrorism will likely last ‘10 to 20 years more’.

“It is hard to resist the conclusion that this war has no purpose other than its own eternal perpetuation…it is precisely this endless war - justified in the name of stopping the threat of terrorism - that is the single greatest cause of that threat.”

Check out Glenn Greenwald’s analysis of how ‘endless war’ is becoming reality.

finepoints: http://vimeo.com/63749370

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:52:57 -0600

finepoints:

http://vimeo.com/63749370

Sheriff's estranged wife mauled by Bakersfield police K-9

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:51:41 -0600

Sheriff's estranged wife mauled by Bakersfield police K-9:

While sleeping in her bed, the estranged wife of Kern County Sheriff is mauled by a police dog whom the cops turned loose inside her home with an order to engage.
…This is the same police department that beat David Silva to death last week.

Cotati, California Police Tase Man as He Films Them For Breaking In Without a Warrant

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:51:03 -0600

Cotati, California Police Tase Man as He Films Them For Breaking In Without a Warrant:

laliberty:

A [couple] recently captured police, who were outside his home answering a call about a domestic violence complaint, in what can only be described as a very bizarre video.

The unidentified Cotati, Calif., man and woman tell the police from inside their home that “there is no domestic violence, just an argument with yelling.”

They also inform police that they have one child in the house and one playing outside.

When the police ask the couple “why” they are not coming out, the man inside tells police: “Because we don’t live in a police state, sir. Martial law has not been established in this country.”

The man insists that police do not have a warrant or probable cause. Seconds later, the police tell the people inside to get down on the floor.

Police then break down the door and enter armed.

The woman is tased first and screams, then the man is tased and the recording ends.

They suspect domestic violence so they respond by disregarding any semblance of due process and tase the woman who is the alleged victim of domestic violence.

A powerful use for spoiled food

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:25:20 -0600

A powerful use for spoiled food:

What happens to the 40% of food produced but never eaten in the U.S. each year, the mounds of perfect fruit passed over by grocery store shoppers, the tons of meat and milk left to expire?

At Ralphs, one of the oldest and largest supermarket chains on the West Coast, it helps keep the power on.

The technology that helps transform moldy chicken and stale bread into clean electricity is known as an anaerobic digester system. At the 59-acre Compton site, which serves 359 Southern California stores, more than 100 onlookers gathered Wednesday to watch the system go to work.

The 13 million kilowatt-hours of electricity they produce per year could power more than 2,000 California homes over the period, according to Kroger.

theartofanimation: Rtil

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:58:19 -0600

theartofanimation:

Rtil

luchadoreofliberty: Mr. Popo. Dragonball Z 90s

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:24:34 -0600

luchadoreofliberty:

Mr. Popo.

Dragonball Z

90s

Actually, We Think You Do Need a Warrant, Bipartisan Team of Congresscritters Tells Administration

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:21:45 -0600

Actually, We Think You Do Need a Warrant, Bipartisan Team of Congresscritters Tells Administration:

Usually, when Republicans and Democrats link hands and sing “Kumbaya,” I grab my wallet and look for someplace to hide. But donkeys and elephants alike — at least, some of them — have found something truly worthy of agreement: They think the federal government should get a warrant before it goes snooping through Americans’ email. As noted by Reason 24/7, Sen. Mo Udall (D-CO) and a flock of House membersfrom both parties are pushing legislation that would essentially point to the Fourth Amendment and say, “we really mean it.”
According to CNet’s Declan McCullagh:

Now Udall, a Colorado Democrat, is taking aim at the Justice Department, which has claimed the right to conduct warrantless searches of Americans’ e-mail, Facebook chats, and other private communications.

“I am extremely concerned that the Justice Department and FBI are justifying warrantless searches of Americans’ electronic communications based on a loophole in an outdated law that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled was unconstitutional,” Udall said in a statement sent to CNET Thursday.

Udall’s statement cites a CNET article yesterday that was the first to disclose the Justice Department and the FBI’s electronic search policies. The article was based on internal government documents obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The senator’s statement urges Congress to move quickly to update the 1986 Electronic Communications Privacy Act — enacted during an era of dialup modems and the black and white Macintosh Plus — that currently does not require search warrants for all e-mail messages. The 6th Circuit ruled in 2010, however, that the privacy protections enshrined in the Fourth Amendment require police to obtain search warrants signed by a judge first.

As the ACLU notes, that Sixth Circuit decision, United States v. Warshak, technically only applies in four states, so prosecutors and agents elsewhere have blissfully carried on, hoping the ruling and its search and seizure restrictions don’t become contagious. In fact, the FBI continues to provide national guidance to its employees that ignores Warshak.

Members of the House are also on the case, says Politico’s Alex Byers:

Four Republican congressmen introduced a pair of bills this week that would require government investigators to score a warrant before obtaining someone’s email content. Arizona Reps. Matt Salmon and Trent Franks are partnering on a House version of ECPA reform; Kansas Rep. Kevin Yoder and Georgia Rep. Tom Graves are teaming up on the Email Privacy Act.

Both bills are companion measures to legislation from Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) that cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee last month. Leahy has long been pushing to update the rules. This week’s Republican bills were an exclamation point after Lee officially signed on to Leahy’s push and Republican Rep. Ted Poe of Texas joined an ECPA reform measure by California Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren.

Byers speculates that recent revelations about the Internal Revenue Service — never a public favorite — snooping on private communications may have helped spark widespread interest in privacy protections that’s motivating general reform. The IRS has since promised that, uh uh, it would never, ever do that again. But it seems to be game over.

Frankly, it doesn’t matter what gets Republicans and Democrats working together on something that actually limits the government, so long as they do it.

jewwario: emmyc: danieltflynn: Nice to see you too, dog. o m...

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:18:04 -0600

jewwario:

emmyc:

danieltflynn:

Nice to see you too, dog.

o m g

Points to the left: “Hey there, you.”
Points to the right:”What’s up, good lookin?”
Last: “HEY EVERYBODAAAAY!”

weaselchu: PRETTY PATTIES

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:28:59 -0600

weaselchu:

PRETTY PATTIES

BREAKING: The DOJ didn't just tap the AP; they also wiretapped the House of Reps cloak room.

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:23:48 -0600

BREAKING: The DOJ didn't just tap the AP; they also wiretapped the House of Reps cloak room.:

hipsterlibertarian:

It’s important to note that the cloak room isn’t what it sounds like, namely a place to drop of your coat. It’s more of a private lounge or sitting area which is exclusive to the representatives and a handful of high level staff. Think break room, not closet.

So yesterday, Rep. Devin Nunes of California went on the Hugh Hewitt show and revealed that the Department of Justice has wiretapped the House of Representatives’ cloak room:

HH: The idea that this might be a Geithner-Axelrod plan, and by that, the sort of intimation, Henry II style, will no one rid me of this turbulent priest, will no one rid me of these turbulent Tea Parties, that might have just been a hint, a shift of an eyebrow, a change in the tone of voice. That’s going to take a long time to get to. I don’t trust the Department of Justice on this. Do you, Congressman Nunes?

DN:No, I absolutely do not, especially after this wiretapping incident, essentially, of the House of Representative. I don’t think people are focusing on the right thing when they talk about going after the AP reporters. The big problem that I see is that they actually tapped right where I’m sitting right now, the Cloak Room.

HH: Wait a minute, this is news to me.

DN: The Cloak Room in the House of Representatives.

HH: I have no idea what you’re talking about.

DN:So when they went after the AP reporters, right? Went after all of their phone records, they went after the phone records, including right up here in the House Gallery, right up from where I’m sitting right now. So you have a real separation of powers issue that did this really rise to the level that you would have to get phone records that would, that would most likely include members of Congress, because as you know…

HH: Wow.

Wow, indeed.

"There are people who think that plunder loses all its immorality as soon as it becomes legal...."

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:53:37 -0600

“There are people who think that plunder loses all its immorality as soon as it becomes legal. Personally, I cannot imagine a more alarming situation.”

- Frédéric Bastiat (via thinksquad)

whatisthiswitchery: desertdeagle: kids these days Choo choo...

Wed, 15 May 2013 22:52:33 -0600

whatisthiswitchery:

desertdeagle:

kids these days

Choo choo on this dick.

Feds Seize Funds of Largest Bitcoin Exchange

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:55:05 -0600

Feds Seize Funds of Largest Bitcoin Exchange:

priceofliberty:

The US government has shutdown a key source of dollar funding for MtGox, the largest bitcoin exchange.

Dwolla, a Paypal clone popular among bitcoin users, confirmed that the online payment network had received a seizure warrant from the Department of Homeland Security.

“The Department of Homeland Security and US District Court for the District of Maryland issued a ‘Seizure Warrant’ for the funds associated with Mutum Sigillum’s Dwolla account (a.k.a. Mt. Gox),” a Dwolla spokesperson told BetaBeat. “Dwolla has ceased all account activities… for Mutum Sigillum while Dwolla’s holding partner transferred Mutum Sigillum’s balance, per the warrant.”

Dwolla didn’t say why the seizure happened. MtGox seems to be even more in the dark.

“Like many who have contacted us, MtGox has read on the Internet that the United States Department of Homeland Security had a court order and/or warrant issued from the United States District Court in Maryland which it served upon the Dwolla mobile payment service with respect to accounts used for trading with MtGox,” the company stated in a post on Facebook.

In other words, they have no idea what’s going on. “However, as of this time we have not been provided with a copy of the court order and/or warrant, and do not know its scope and/or the reasons for its issuance.”

We can only assume that the US believes some sort of crime is being committed.

This fresh development comes two weeks after CoinLab, another bitcoin exchange, sued MtGox for $75 million over a breached partnership agreement announced just three months ago. According to the contract, MtGox was supposed to transition all North American customers onto CoinLab’s systems by March 22, a deadline the company missed. CoinLab founder Peter Vessenes, who is also the executive chairman and treasurer of the Bitcoin Foundation, defended the suit in a company statement.

“Bitcoiners have, on average, lost more money due to technology difficulties, frozen / lost banking relationships and shady characters like pirateat40 than due to any part of Bitcoin’s fundamental economics,” Vessenes wrote. “I hate this fact, passionately. I have a vision in which high quality service and technology and ethics can be delivered to you, me, my kids, everyone who has a stake in Bitcoin.”

Vessenes was less polite in an interview last week. “You’ve got to remember that just six to nine months ago there were just people living in their basements who were running, essentially, banks,” he told Wired, ignoring the fact that numerous successful startups have had similarly humble beginnings. (Apple comes to mind.)

“And they’re kinda like ‘my brother and my people, let’s do this thing together,’ and then they’re like ‘oh, I erased the file,’ or, ‘oh, I don’t know what happened to those coins, sorry I’m leaving now — you never knew my real name.’ I feel terrible that that happens, even though it’s not me that does it, or it’s not me that sends those guys money. Someone gullible sent them money and I fucking hate that.”

Vessenes is, of course, biased, but MtGox has done itself few favors.

MtGox stands for Magic the Gathering Online Exchange. That’s right, the company was initially created to trade Magic cards online. The current infrastructure still relies on this outdated platform and it’s why the exchange has struggled to deal with rising volume. When the most recent bubble popped, MtGox was forced to suspend trading for an entire day, adding to the chaos of the crash. The company has never been known for its customer service.

Still, the very public squabble is a bad look for bitcoin as two of the community’s biggest power players fight for marketshare. This is pure greed. The CEOs of both firms are board members of the Bitcoin Foundation.

Ironically, if MtGox had followed the partnership agreement, this latest government seizure could have been avoided. With CoinLab managing US and Canadian exchanges, the Tokyo-based MtGox may have skirted US jurisdictions. But such disputes are never black and white. We don’t yet know MtGox’s side of the story.

In any case, this one-two punch could prove a bitter blow for a company that, at last check, handles 66 percent of all bitcoin trades with estimated revenues of $22 million a year, according to the Verge’s estimates. Now that it’s lost it’s largest conduit of American dollars, MtGox’s days could be numbered, pending an investigation by the DHS — not that many within the community would complain too loudly. Given its spotty service record, MtGox’s demise could help pave the way for mainstream adoption, as more professional companies ultimately take its place.

buttart: animals-riding-animals: wombat riding turtle the...

Wed, 15 May 2013 17:53:23 -0600

buttart:

animals-riding-animals:

wombat riding turtle

the animal kingdom is a strange and beautiful place