Chad's News

Several national governments are taking exception to the high level of security provided to Blackberry users. These governments want to be able to intercept and read messages from their citizens, but the Blackberry security protocols are just too good. And the manufacturer, Research In Motion (RIM), isn’t willing to degrade the security. As a result, the United Arab Emirates has decided to suspend several Blackberry services within its borders, and other countries are considering following suit, including India and Lebanon. An imminent shutoff in Saudi Arabia was averted only after RIM agreed to set up a local server in that country.

All I can say is that I’m grateful the founders of our country insisted on the First Amendment.

Link #1: http://arstechnica.com/…

Link #2: http://dailycaller.com/…

Last month I filled out the census form sent by the US government. Mandated by the Constitution and used to determine things like the number of Congressional members for each state and the division of federal funds, it’s important to get as many people counted as possible. (In fact, based on the 2000 census, my home state of Colorado qualified for an extra House member, bringing our total up to nine.)

But some people refused to fill out the form, citing privacy concerns. The requested information was minimal, but it still goes beyond the “Enumeration” required by the Constitution, asking for such things as your name and ethnicity. When responding to privacy issues, census officials always refer to the laws prohibiting release of census data until 70 years have passed. But these officials seem to forget it’s the government that made those laws, and the government can always change them should the need arise. The Constitution has no provisions for the privacy of census data.

In fact, something along these lines occurred in 1941. Four days after the Pearl Harbor attack, the government used Census data to help round up Americans of Japanese descent, who were placed in internment camps. More recently, the Census Bureau compiled reports of Americans of Arab descent for use by Homeland Security. (They gave population by city and ZIP code.)

So the net result is that census privacy can be broken, given sufficient cause. Does this mean you shouldn’t fill out the form? You’ll have to determine the answer for that one yourself.

Link: http://yro.slashdot.org/…

Health reform is now law in the United States, but it’s a far cry from the government-run healthcare that exists in the United Kingdom and Canada. It boils down to this:

• Private insurance companies are restricted in their ability to discontinue or deny care.
• Employers must offer health insurance.
• Medicare and Medicaid are expanded.
• Everyone is required to have health insurance.
• Taxes are increased.

Link #1: http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/…

Link #2: http://www.salon.com/…

June 12^th is the US government’s official cutoff date for wireless microphones that transmit in the 700MHz band. Turns out that these microphones, employed by quite a few churches, schools, and sporting venues, have been “squatting” in the upper regions of the UHF television spectrum (specifically channels 52 through 69). As part of the whole DTV transition, those channels are no longer being used for broadcast television, and rights to that part of the spectrum have been sold to various telecom companies. Starting June 12^th it will be illegal to use the old microphones, forcing many organizations to purchase new equipment.

Link: http://arstechnica.com/…

I was pleasantly surprised to learn of a new tax credit of up to $400 ($800 for married filing jointly). It’s called “Making Work Pay,” and pretty much everyone is eligible. The thing about this credit is that it’s easy to miss—you have to claim it on the main tax form and fill out Schedule M. And keep in mind that this is a tax credit, not a deduction. You calculate the amount you owe and then subtract $400.

Link: http://taxes.about.com/…

From the article: “North Korea’s New Year’s wish of seeing the destruction of a massive concrete wall dividing the Korean peninsula never seems to come true — mostly because there is no such barrier.”

Link: http://www.reuters.com/…

Despite the many attempts to cash million-dollar bills and the availability of fakes, the largest banknote ever printed by the US government was a mere $100,000. The linked article has this and other interesting facts about obscure and large-denomination bills.

Link: http://www.mentalfloss.com/…

Astute Chad’s News readers already know that the State of California has severe financial problems, and that its politicians are desperately looking for ways to make ends meet. Their latest idea is to increase tax withholding by about 10 percent. Note that they’re not actually increasing the tax rate, just the amount that is withheld by employers. In essence, this forces California citizens to give short-term, interest-free loans to the state.

Here in Colorado, our finances, while a bit strained, are not even close to being as bad as California’s—primarily because of the TABOR amendment which put serious curbs on the expansion of government spending.

Thanks to Ciro for this link.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/business/…

Chad’s News has no opinion on political issues, but given the controversy surrounding the US government’s proposed health care legislation, I thought the linked article would be helpful. It provides basic information about the existing programs in various countries (including the US).

Link: http://www.mentalfloss.com/…

Remember that election back in November 2008, the one where Barack Obama became President? Ancient history, right? Well there was also a very close senate race in Minnesota that was only resolved yesterday (June 30^th). It was between incumbent Norm Coleman and Al Franken of Saturday Night Live fame. After a recount, ballot challenges, and multiple court appeals, the Minnesota Supreme Court has certified Franken as the winner, by 312 votes out of 2.8 million cast.

This is an important event for US politics, because it gives Senate Democrats the 60 votes needed to override a Republican filibuster. Thus, the Democrats no longer have to compromise with the Republicans and can pass whatever laws they desire.

I just find it amazing how several highly significant elections in the past decade have been decided by a few hundred votes out of millions.

Link #1: http://www.reuters.com/…

Link #2: http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/…
(via digg)

Amazon has an affiliate program where members refer traffic to Amazon for specific products. The members get a percentage of sales made by the referrals. Regular Chad’s News readers will recall that New York state recently decided that an in-state affiliate was sufficient cause to require Amazon to collect state sales taxes on purchases by New York residents. Amazon is challenging this in court as being unconstitutional, but is collecting the tax in the meantime.

Now North Carolina is in the process of changing its tax laws, such that anything purchased through Amazon affiliates in that state would be subject to sales tax. Amazon has preemptively responded to this by shutting down its affiliates in North Carolina. This is an overreaction on the part of Amazon, but the company is very serious about not having to collect sales tax for states in which it doesn’t have a physical presence. State legislatures, however, are reasonably upset over the loss of significant tax revenue to internet retailers. Residents are supposed to voluntarily pay “use taxes” on internet purchases, but that rarely happens.

How this will all end is anyone’s guess. Amazon is up for the fight, however, and the final outcome will be decided in court.

Link #1: http://www.news-record.com/…
(via Slashdot)

Link #2: http://www.news-record.com/…
(via The Consumerist)

Update: Amazon has banned Rhode Island affiliates as well.

This was discussed on a local radio station. As part of the annexation of Texas into the United States, Texas was allowed the option of dividing itself into smaller states at an unspecified future date. As the linked article notes, however, any state can split up, provided it follows proper procedures.

Link: http://www.snopes.com/…