Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Research Firm Correlates Spending on Lobbying with Stock Market Performance
July 23rd, 2012Via: Breakout: While this financial connection, in and of itself, is hardly a great revelation, new analysis from Strategas Research Partners shows irrefutable evidence that companies are getting a real bang for their buck on the money they spend trying to influence lawmakers. By tracking the 50 companies that spend the most money — as […]
Marine Corps Creates Law-Enforcement Battalions
July 23rd, 2012If you think that this is exclusively for deployment abroad, I’ve got a bridge to sell ya. Via: AP: The Marine Corps has created its first law-enforcement battalions — consolidated units of military police officers trained to investigate a variety of crimes. Combat in Iraq and Afghanistan has underscored the relevance of such a force, […]
Apple Yanks Privacy App From The App Store
July 19th, 2012Via: Security Week: Back in May of this year, Internet security firm Bitdefender launched an App and service designed to help iOS users get a grip on what the apps installed on their mobile devices may be up to. Dubbed “Clueful” by Bucharest, Romania-based Bitdefender, the App tells owners of iOS devices which applications may […]
IARPA Contracting for Quiet Surveillance Drone
July 19th, 2012Via: Aviation Week: Now small firm D-Star Engineering has received what appears to be the first contract (for $4.8 million) awarded under the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (IARPA) Great Horned Owl (GHO) program to develop a new class of quiet small unmanned aircraft. … Sound is the number one signature that gives away the […]
U.S. Military Purchasing Combat Equipment for Domestic Contingency Planning
July 19th, 2012Via: Public Intelligence: For the last two years, the President’s Budget Submissions for the Department of Defense have included purchases of a significant amount of combat equipment, including armored vehicles, helicopters and even artillery, under an obscure section of the FY2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for the purposes of “homeland defense missions, domestic emergency […]
Syria: Assad Brother-in-Law, Syria Defense Minister Killed in Damascus Blast
July 18th, 2012Via: Wall Street Journal: Three top military and security leaders in the Syrian regime including President Bashar al-Assad’s brother-in-law and the defense minister were killed in a bombing in Damascus on Wednesday in the biggest blow to the country’s rulers since the start of the uprising. State television said Mr. Shawkat, Defense Minister Maj. Gen. […]
Pentagon, CIA Sued for Lethal Drone Attacks on U.S. Citizens
July 18th, 2012Via: Wired: Survivors of three Americans killed by targeted drone attacks in Yemen last year sued top-ranking members of the United States government, alleging Wednesday they illegally killed the three, including a 16-year-old boy, in violation of international human rights law and the U.S. Constitution. “The government has killed three Americans. It should account for […]
NSA Building Dossiers on Every American
July 18th, 2012Are They building electronic dossiers on as many of us as they can? I don’t know, but it sure looks that way. —NSA, AT&T and the NarusInsight Intercept Suite (2007) Via: Network World: Binney was at HOPE and while his entire keynote is not yet posted, journalist Geoff Shively and Livestreamer Tim Pool had an […]
The Lily-Pad Strategy
July 18th, 2012Via: Tom Dispatch: Disappearing are the days when Ramstein was the signature US base, an American-town-sized behemoth filled with thousands or tens of thousands of Americans, PXs, Pizza Huts, and other amenities of home. But don’t for a second think that the Pentagon is packing up, downsizing its global mission, and heading home. In fact, […]
Treasury Officials Cited for Soliciting Prostitutes, Accepting Gifts
July 17th, 2012Hookers and bribes. Just another day at the office. Via: The Hill: Treasury Department officials have been cited for soliciting prostitutes, breaking conflict-of-interest rules and accepting gifts from corporate executives, according to the findings of official government investigations. The revelations of unethical behavior at Treasury are detailed in little-noticed documents posted this month on governmentattic.org, […]
