Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
And Now… China Is Building A Huge Eco-City
November 3rd, 2012Will there be room for the Chinese elite’s secret organic gardens? Via: Business Insider: Outside Chengdu, in central China, a 78 million square foot site has been determined for an unconventional sort of construction project. It will be a city built from scratch, for 80,000 people, none of whom will need a car to get […]
‘Given Tablets but No Teachers, Ethiopian Children Teach Themselves’
November 2nd, 2012“For to win one hundred victories in one hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.” —Sun Tzu, The Art o War Update: Nicholas Negroponte Is the Brother of John Negroponte Reader DW tipped me off to something pretty remarkable that I hadn’t noticed […]
Court OKs Warrantless Use of Hidden Surveillance Cameras
November 1st, 2012Via: Cnet: Police are allowed in some circumstances to install hidden surveillance cameras on private property without obtaining a search warrant, a federal judge said yesterday. CNET has learned that U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled that it was reasonable for Drug Enforcement Administration agents to enter rural property without permission — and without a […]
Green Party Presidential Candidate Jill Stein Arrested Again
November 1st, 2012This piece below says that this was Stein’s first arrest, but she was also (apparently) arrested while trying to take part in a one of the presidential debates. You know, land of the free, where legitimate presidential candidates aren’t allowed to participate in presidential debates. Via: Washington Post: Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein was […]
The Servile Media and the President
October 31st, 2012Via: Guardian: Last month, Vanity Fair featured a major profile of President Obama by Michael Lewis, who was given what the New York Times called “rare” and “extraordinary access”. Lewis “conducted multiple interviews with the president”; “rode in the official presidential limousine”; “was given a special lapel pin that identified him to the Secret Service […]
Temporal Analytics: Turning Protest Noise Into Intelligence
October 31st, 2012Sign wavers should read this. Via: AOL: While it’s true, it’s hard to predict what people will do, it’s also increasingly true that people worldwide do emit and discuss their behavior through online social media and that can be monitored and analyzed in nearly real-time. Companies such as intelligence analysis contractor Recorded Future, which is […]
Cop Tasered 10-Year-Old Child on a Playground Because the Boy Refused to Clean His Patrol Car
October 31st, 2012Via: Courthouse News Service: A New Mexico policeman Tasered a 10-year-old child on a playground because the boy refused to clean his patrol car, the boy claims in court. Guardian ad litem Rachel Higgins sued the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and Motor Transportation Police Officer Chris Webb on behalf of the child, in […]
Me and My Censor
October 30th, 2012Via: Foreign Policy: Every legally registered publication in China is subject to review by a censor, sometimes several. Some expat publications have entire teams of censors scouring their otherwise innocuous restaurant reviews and bar write-ups for, depending on one’s opinion of foreigners, accidental or coded allusions to sensitive topics. For example, That’s Shanghai magazine once […]
Most U.S. Drones Openly Broadcast Secret Video Feeds
October 30th, 2012Via: Wired: Four years after discovering that militants were tapping into drone video feeds, the U.S. military still hasn’t secured the transmissions of more than half of its fleet of Predator and Reaper drones, Danger Room has learned. The majority of the aircraft still broadcast their classified video streams “in the clear” — without encryption. […]
Moscow Police Discover Brothel on Monastery Premises
October 30th, 2012Via: Telegraph: Moscow police have discovered a brothel on the premises of a monastery whose abbot is thought to be President Vladimir Putin’s spiritual adviser. Two women were arrested on suspicion of prostitution after seven rooms were found in a building close to Sretensky Monastery where sexual services were offered from 1,750 roubles (£35) per […]
