Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Feds Want to Digitize Records
November 30th, 2011Transparency? Oh sure. Alternative explanation: It would be nice to be able to disappear documents down the memory hole as easily as it is to print money. Via: Computer World: President Obama this week gave government agencies four months to come up with a plan to improve records management by moving to electronic records management […]
U.S. Settles Suit Over Anthrax Attacks
November 30th, 2011Via: New York Times: The federal government has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the widow and children of the first person killed in the anthrax letter attacks of 2001, settling a lawsuit claiming that the Army did not adequately secure its supply of the deadly pathogen. The settlement with the family of Robert Stevens, […]
Egypt Imports 21 Tons Of Tear Gas From U.S., Port Staff Refuses To Sign For It
November 30th, 2011Via: Bikyamasr: CAIRO: The arrival of 7 and half tons of tear gas to Egypt’s Suez port created conflict after the responsible officials at the port refused to sign and accept it for fear it would be used to crackdown on Egyptian protesters. The shipment has been moved by the ministry of interior to its […]
The One About Growing Food Becoming Illegal in New Zealand
November 30th, 2011Lots of people are submitting NZ Food Security, a site that focuses on fascist elements of the Food Bill. I’m posting this mainly to let people know that, yes, I know about this and to ask others to please stop submitting it. A couple of comments: First, there are so many insane laws in New […]
‘On a scale of China’s food safety issues, pollution-tainted rice might just be the biggest problem of all.’
November 30th, 2011Via: Global Post: Rice is responsible for feeding half the world, or more than 3.5 billion people. In other words, rice is important. A tweak to how the grain is grown, sold or eaten can send ripples through the world economy. Take Thailand, which supplies 30 percent of the world’s rice. Government subsidies there threaten […]
Iranian Students Storm British Embassy in Tehran
November 29th, 2011Via: AP: Dozens of hard-line Iranian students stormed the British Embassy in Tehran on Tuesday, bringing down the Union Jack flag and throwing documents from windows in scenes reminiscent of the anger against Western powers after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The mob moved into the diplomatic compound two days after Iran’s parliament approved a bill […]
Comfortably Numb
November 29th, 2011Fill it to the rim with grim! Via: The Burning Platform: The system has been captured by an oligarchy of moneyed interests from the financial industry, mega-corporations, and military industrial complex, protected by their captured puppets in Washington DC and sustained by the propaganda peddling corporate media. The differences in political parties are meaningless as […]
Senate Bill 1867: U.S. Military Would Be Able to Indefinitely Detain American Civilians Without Charge or Trial Anywhere in the World
November 28th, 2011Update: Senate Rejects Effort to Ease Terrorist Detainee Policy in Defense Bill Via: The Hill: The Senate rejected an amendment on Tuesday that would have removed a provision from the pending Defense spending bill to toughen U.S. policy towards suspected terrorists captured on the battlefield or on the home front. —End Update— Via: ACLU: The […]
New Zealand: 1 Million Didn’t Bother to Vote
November 28th, 2011Update: National Almost Beaten by The Abstention Party Via: New Zealand Herald: Voter turnout in the general election was an historic low of 68.8% of eligible voters. An argument can be made that the National Party was almost beaten by The Abstention Party, which won 31.2% of the (non)-vote. Once you take into account the […]
The Future of Airport Security: Thermal Lie-Detectors and Cloned Sniffer Dogs
November 27th, 2011Via: CNN: After the EU’s announcement that it will ban “backscatter” x-ray body scanners, airports may have to look harder at alternative security measures. From Bluetooth tracking to thermal lie-detector cameras, we take a glimpse into the weird and wonderful future of airport security. The check-point of the future Earlier this year, the International Air […]
