Some quick afternoon links. Video is below.
UPDATE: IRS Denies Reading Private Emails to Target Americans
ACLU - New Documents Suggest IRS Reads Emails Without a Warrant
Royal Bank of Scotland VP arrested in Moscow on $10 million fraud charge
German Man Caught Trying To Sneak Half-Ton Of Gold & Silver Out Of Greece
Portugal’s elder statesman calls for 'Argentine-style' default, exit from Euro
Hijacking a plane: There's an app for that - NYPOST.com
Sheila Bair: Too Big To Fail May Be Over - Taxpayers Could Be Off The Hook
Big banks 'more dangerous than ever', IMF's Christine Lagarde says - Telegraph
MF Global Trustee Wins More Cash From JPMorgan Settlement - Forbes
Obama to collect all-time record $2.7 Billion in taxes in 2013
Cyprus forced to find extra $10 billion for bailout, leaked analysis shows
Judge Orders Pink Slime Silence to Protect Food Company (Infuriating...)
6 ways to avoid an IRS audit - MarketWatch
PC sales plunge dramatically as Windows 8 flops
Inside Apple's Plans for Its Futuristic, $5 Billion Headquarters - Businessweek
IRS Email Snooping Without Warrants: Stay Out Of Our Stuff!
The day after federal taxes are due, the Internal Revenue Service is denying claims that it wants to snoop on taxpayers by reading their emails and monitoring other forms of electronic communication without a warrant.
“Respecting taxpayer rights and taxpayer privacy are cornerstone principles for the IRS,” the agency said in a statement. “Our job is to administer the nation’s tax laws, and we do so in a way that follows the law and treats taxpayers with respect.” It continued: “Contrary to some suggestions, the IRS does not use emails to target taxpayers. Any suggestion to the contrary is wrong."
The statement comes after the American Civil Liberties Union said this week that internal documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request revealed that agents were told they didn’t need a warrant to root through emails, texts or Facebook pages of people it is investigating. The ACLU and other privacy groups disagreed with that rationale and say by bypassing warrants, the Tax Man is violating the Fourth Amendment.
According to a 2009 IRS employee handbook, the tax agency says the Fourth Amendment does not protect emails because Internet users don’t “have a reasonable expectation of privacy in such communications.”
A lawyer for the agency reiterated the policy in 2010. And despite the IRS' latest statement, the current online version of the IRS manual says that no warrant is required for emails that are stored by an Internet storage provider for more than 180 days.
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A Profound Violation Of Natural Rights
Judge Napolitano on IRS reading emails.