Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Russia: Ex-Minister Kudrin Warns of ‘Full-Fledged Crisis’
December 22nd, 2014Via: Reuters: Russia’s government has pushed the country into an economic crisis by not tackling its financial problems fast enough, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin said on Monday, as evidence mounted of trouble spreading through the economy. The central bank bailed out its first victim of the collapsing currency, authorities announced a tax on grain […]
Hardship on Mexico’s Farms, a Bounty for U.S. Tables
December 21st, 2014This Los Angeles Times series looks and reads like distopian sci-fi. High tech green houses stretch across the land to the horizon. Workers exist in abject squalor. Or are they slaves? It depends on the the facility and the arbitrary whims of the crooks in charge. (View the image galleries, if you dare.) And when […]
Russians Flock to Stores to Pre-Empt Price Rises
December 17th, 2014Via: AP: Russian consumers flocked to the stores Wednesday, frantically buying a range of big-ticket items to pre-empt the price rises kicked off by the staggering fall in the value of the ruble in recent days. As the Russian authorities announced a series of measures to ease the pressure on the ruble, which slid 15 […]
Obama to Announce Easing in U.S.-Cuba Relations
December 17th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: President Barack Obama will end the U.S. isolation of Cuba that has persisted for more than a half century, initiating talks to resume diplomatic relations, opening a U.S. embassy in Havana and loosening trade and travel restrictions on the nation. The steps effectively end an embargo that has been one of the most […]
Most Politically Active Corporations Receive $760 from U.S. Government for Every Dollar Spent on Influencing Politics
December 17th, 2014Via: Sunlight Foundation: Between 2007 and 2012, 200 of America’s most politically active corporations spent a combined $5.8 billion on federal lobbying and campaign contributions. A year-long analysis by the Sunlight Foundation suggests, however, that what they gave pales compared to what those same corporations got: $4.4 trillion in federal business and support. That figure, […]
Russia Tries Emergency Steps for Second Day to Stem Ruble Plunge
December 17th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: Russia tried for a second straight day to reverse a rout in the ruble with emergency measures, narrowing President Vladimir Putin’s options in confronting the country’s deepest financial crisis since 1998. The ruble rose after the Finance Ministry announced that it bought the currency. The rebound came after a plunge yesterday in the […]
Verizon’s “End to End” Encryption Includes Backdoor for Law Enforcement and Intelligence Agencies
December 17th, 2014Via: Businessweek: Verizon is the latest big company to enter the post-Snowden market for secure communication, and it’s doing so with an encryption standard that comes with a way for law enforcement to access ostensibly secure phone conversations. Verizon Voice Cypher, the product introduced on Thursday with the encryption company Cellcrypt, offers business and government […]
Russia Defends Ruble With Biggest Rate Rise Since 1998
December 15th, 2014Via: Bloomberg: Russia took its biggest step yet to shore up the ruble and defuse the currency crisis threatening its stricken economy. In a surprise announcement just before 1 a.m. in Moscow, the Russian central bank said it would raise its key interest rate to 17 percent from 10.5 percent, effective today. The move was […]
Australia: Hostage Situation in Sydney
December 14th, 2014Update: Hostage-Taker Was Dropped From Watch List Via: Reuters: A gunman responsible for a deadly siege in a Sydney cafe was once on the national security agency’s watch list — but was dropped off it years ago for reasons that remain unclear, Australia’s prime minister said Wednesday. — Update: Gunbattle, Three People Confirmed Dead Including […]
Afghanistan War: One Trillion Dollars
December 14th, 2014Hope + Change we can believe in = Priceless Via: Financial Times: The Afghanistan war, the longest overseas conflict in American history, has cost the US taxpayer nearly $1tn and will require spending several hundred billion dollars more after it officially ends this month, according to FT calculations and independent researchers. Around 80 per cent […]
