Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Meet the Prison Bankers Who Profit From the Inmates
October 1st, 2014Even by Cryptogon standards, this one is shocking. Via: Time: JPay and other prison bankers collect tens of millions of dollars every year from inmates’ families in fees for basic financial services. To make payments, some forego medical care, skip utility bills and limit contact with their imprisoned relatives, the Center for Public Integrity found […]
Los Angeles County Planning Massive Biometric Database
September 30th, 2014Via: KPCC: Without notice to the public, Los Angeles County law enforcement officials are preparing to widen what personal information they collect from people they encounter in the field and in jail – by building a massive database of iris scans, fingerprints, mug shots, palm prints and, potentially, voice recordings. The new database of personal […]
Hong Kong Protesters Stockpile Supplies, Prepare for Long Haul
September 30th, 2014Via: Reuters: Tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters extended a blockade of Hong Kong streets on Tuesday, stockpiling supplies and erecting makeshift barricades ahead of what some fear may be a push by police to clear the roads before Chinese National Day. Riot police shot pepper spray and tear gas at protesters at the weekend […]
Hong Kong: Streets Blocked as Pro-Democracy Protests Spread
September 28th, 2014Via: BBC: Thousands of people have remained on the streets of Hong Kong for another day of pro-democracy protests, defying tear gas and ignoring appeals to leave. Overnight, riot police advanced on crowds who ignored official warnings that the demonstrations were illegal. Protesters are angry at Chinese government plans to vet candidates in Hong Kong’s […]
School Districts Got Military Gear from Pentagon
September 26th, 2014Via: CBS: A CBS News review shows campus police across the country have received millions of dollars worth of military gear from the Pentagon. Now, there are calls to halt those transfers, even though some agencies say the weapons are necessary. CBS News correspondent Manuel Bojorquez reports from the University of Texas, Arlington, that the […]
Managing a Nightmare: The CIA Reveals How It Watched Over the Destruction of Gary Webb
September 25th, 2014Via: First Look: Eighteen years after it was published, “Dark Alliance,” the San Jose Mercury News’s bombshell investigation into links between the cocaine trade, Nicaragua’s Contra rebels, and African American neighborhoods in California, remains one of the most explosive and controversial exposés in American journalism. The 20,000-word series enraged black communities, prompted Congressional hearings, and […]
Entire Australian Web to be Monitored and Whistleblowers to be Jailed
September 25th, 2014In terms of the surveillance side of this, I guess that they want to be able to have a legal framework for what has been going on for decades. Via: Sydney Morning Herald: Australian spies will soon have the power to monitor the entire Australian internet with just one warrant, and journalists and whistleblowers will […]
China’s Tech Factories Turn to Student Labor
September 25th, 2014Via: Dow Jones: CHONGQING, China—On the outskirts of this southwestern Chinese hub lie the student factories. Schools send thousands of teenagers here to put together electronic devices for some of the world’s largest brands. Many students say they are given no choice. … Student interns have become increasingly entrenched in China’s labor force, especially among […]
FBI Plans Rapid DNA Dragnets
September 24th, 2014Via: Nextgov: The FBI is preparing to accelerate the collection of DNA profiles for the government’s massive new biometric identification database. Developers of portable DNA analysis machines have been invited to a Nov. 13 presentation to learn about the bureau’s vision for incorporating their technology into the FBI’s new database. So-called rapid DNA systems can […]
Strange New “2014” Addition to the Georgia Guidestones
September 24th, 2014Via: Vigilant Citizen: A recent addition to the monument- a block on which is inscribed 2014 – was placed inside an indent between the English and the Spanish slab.
