Net neutrality petition gets a million signatures →

The advocacy group Free Press, along with a broad coalition of organizations, has delivered the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) a petition with a million signatures asking to restore the federal protections for net neutrality that were struck down in court two weeks ago.

Net neutrality is a huge boon for commerce. But ISPs don't want to just be dumb pipes, so they fight it, in a bid to extract as many rents as possible. Let's hope the FCC has the guts to properly address the common carrier issue this time around.

Huge swath of GCHQ mass surveillance is illegal, says top lawyer →

In a 32-page opinion, the leading public law barrister Jemima Stratford QC raises a series of concerns about the legality and proportionality of GCHQ's work, and the lack of safeguards for protecting privacy.

It makes clear the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (Ripa), the British law used to sanction much of GCHQ's activity, has been left behind by advances in technology...

Turkey’s Central Bank Declares a Shock-and-Awe Rate Hike →

Just one of several countries which fighting a "market sell-off":

The sharp slide in the lira was one of the triggers for the latest bout of selling of emerging-market assets last week. Emerging-market currencies in Turkey, Argentina, Russia and India sold off sharply, sparking two types of reactions: central banks to intervene and politicians to blamed outsiders.

Mirabile Dictu! Post Office Bank Concept Gets Big Boost →

One of the stunning parts in reading the document is to see how wildly successful this program could be, precisely because traditional banks are withdrawing from many of the neighborhoods in which moderate and lower-income people live, and non-banks offer targeted, richly priced services, too often designed to take advantage of desperation or simple lack of alternatives. Even though most of us are aware of this general picture, the USPS IG, dimensions the scale of this problem and the costs to the affected households.

Huh. Smart. Sounds like a win-win. I'm really impressed how creative the USPS has been to make itself "profitable" in the face of a hostile Congress.

Cambodia's 'Tahrir Square' →

In response to the sustained anti-government campaign, the government on Jan. 4 banned all public gatherings of more than 10 people. For three weeks, the square sat largely empty, its perimeters attended by heavily armed police in lawn chairs playing cards.

Peace Prospects for the Philippines →

Over the weekend, a historic peace agreement was finalized between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group and the Philippine government. In short, the agreement will cede autonomy of governance and resource revenues to a large region called Bangsamoro on the southern island of Mindanao. It is too early to get a clear read about the deal’s prospects since it hasn’t even been officially approved or implemented yet, but for the moment, one can point to several reasons for both concern and optimism: ...