Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
FOIA’d Documents Raise New Questions About Airport Body Scanner Radiation Risks
June 27th, 2011Cancer clusters… Via: Electronic Privacy Information Center: In a FOIA lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security, EPIC has just obtained documents concerning the radiation risks of TSA’s airport body scanner program. The documents include agency emails, radiation studies, memoranda of agreement concerning radiation testing programs, and results of some radiation tests. One document set […]
U.S. Government Launching Antitrust Investigation of Google
June 24th, 2011Oh sure. I bet Google is quivering with fear. Via: Wall Street Journal: Federal regulators are poised to hit Google Inc. with subpoenas, launching a broad, formal investigation into whether the Internet giant has abused its dominance in Web-search advertising, people familiar with the matter said. The civil probe, which has the potential to reshape […]
China: Central Bank Finds Officials Stole Billions
June 23rd, 2011Via: MarketWatch: Corrupt Chinese officials and employees of state-owned companies have absconded with about 800 billion yuan ($123.7 billion) of public money over 15 years through 2008, much of it making its way to the U.S., Canada, Australia and the Netherlands, according to Chinese news reports citing a central bank study. The 67-page report, completed […]
Sinister Public-Private Partnership to Spy on Web Users
June 23rd, 2011Via: Guardian: When President Eisenhower left office in 1960, he provided the American people with a warning. “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.” Sixty years later, […]
China Projecting Holographic Images of City Skylines, Mountains, Trees [???]
June 21st, 2011Uh… Via: ITN: Spectacular images of mountains, buildings and trees have appeared in a mirage in China.
Spying Devices Found on Thousands of Hong Kong Cars
June 20th, 2011Via: Discovery News: Note to drivers and passengers travelling through Hong Kong: Mum’s the word. Chinese authorities have allegedly been spying on Hong King motorists after a device installed on throusands of vehicles was discovered to contain hardware suitable for eavesdropping. According to a report in Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, recording devices were installed […]
Supreme Court: Individuals May Challenge Federal Law for Violating States’ Rights
June 20th, 2011Hmm. I didn’t think that such an apparently desirable decision would come about this late in the game. Am I missing something? This seems too good to be true. Via: Jurist: The US Supreme Court Thursday ruled in Bond v. United States that a private individual can challenge whether a federal criminal law passed to […]
Federal Judge Dismisses Third Party Environmental Claims Against Transocean and BP
June 19th, 2011Via: Courthouse News Service: Ruling in favor of Transocean and BP, a federal judge on Thursday dismissed third-party environmental claims in a giant pleading bundle in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill litigation, saying the fact that the oil flow has stopped makes those lawsuits irrelevant. “The injunction at this stage would be useless, as not […]
Eisenhower’s Worst Fears Came True: We Invent Enemies to Buy the Bombs
June 19th, 2011Via: Guardian: Why do we still go to war? We seem unable to stop. We find any excuse for this post-imperial fidget and yet we keep getting trapped. Germans do not do it, or Spanish or Swedes. Britain’s borders and British people have not been under serious threat for a generation. Yet time and again […]
Russia Orders Stalin-Era Leather Coats for Putin Guards
June 18th, 2011Via: AFP: Russia’s federal guard service, in charge of protecting President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, may soon sport black leather overcoats harking back to the era of Stalin’s purges. The elite service known by its Russian acronym FSO has launched a tender to purchase 60 leather trenchcoats on the official site for […]
