Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
“Extreme and Unlawful” Bush-Era Policies Becoming the “New Normal” Under Obama
July 30th, 2010Via: ACLU: Indeed, on a range of issues including accountability for torture, detention of terrorism suspects, and use of lethal force against civilians, there is a very real danger that the Obama administration will enshrine permanently within the law policies and practices that were widely considered extreme and unlawful during the Bush administration. There is […]
GE to Pay $23 Million to Settle Bribery Allegations
July 29th, 2010Mmm hmm. Via: AFP: US industrial titan General Electric has agreed to pay over 23 million dollars to settle allegations that it bribed Iraqi officials, a US financial watchdog said on Tuesday. GE had been accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of being part of “a 3.6 million dollar kickback scheme with Iraqi government […]
Citigroup to Pay $75 Million to Settle SEC Subprime Case
July 29th, 2010Another one for your Pocket Lint file folder. Via: Bloomberg: Citigroup Inc., which got a $45 billion taxpayer bailout, will pay $75 million to settle U.S. regulatory claims that it understated investments linked to subprime mortgages as the housing crisis unfolded, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said.
CIA and Google Fund Same Web Surveillance Startup
July 29th, 2010Via: Wired: The investment arms of the CIA and Google are both backing a company that monitors the web in real time — and says it uses that information to predict the future. The company is called Recorded Future, and it scours tens of thousands of websites, blogs and Twitter accounts to find the relationships […]
Land Of The Free: Never In The Civilized World Have So Many Been Locked Up For So Little
July 28th, 2010And not a word about the profit incentive to lock people up! America’s Private Gulag is over a decade old, but worth reading if you’re new to the concept of the prison industrial complex: To be profitable, private prison firms must ensure that prisons are not only built but also filled. Industry experts say a […]
H.R. 5741: Two Year Conscription for Americans Between Ages 18 and 42 for “National Service”
July 27th, 2010Conscription typically means compulsory military service. That’s not necessarily the case here, but it’s close enough. Will there be arm bands? Happy Hope and Change. Via: GovTrack: HR 5741 IH 111th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5741 To require all persons in the United States between the ages of 18 and 42 to perform national […]
NSA: New 1.8 Million Square Foot Building at Fort Meade
July 27th, 2010This is in addition to the new 1.5 million square foot facilities in Texas and Utah. Via: WBAL: A draft environmental impact statement said that a project by the National Security Agency will bring 6,500 workers to the Fort Meade area, challenging the area’s infrastructure. The NSA statement said the planned expansion will cost at […]
EFF Wins New Legal Protections for Video Artists, Cell Phone Jailbreakers, and Unlockers
July 26th, 2010Via: EFF: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) won three critical exemptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) anticircumvention provisions today, carving out new legal protections for consumers who modify their cell phones and artists who remix videos — people who, until now, could have been sued for their non-infringing or fair use activities. “By […]
Raw Food Raid in Los Angeles
July 26th, 2010Via: Los Angeles Times: With no warning one weekday morning, investigators entered an organic grocery with a search warrant and ordered the hemp-clad workers to put down their buckets of mashed coconut cream and to step away from the nuts. Then, guns drawn, four officers fanned out across Rawesome Foods in Venice. Skirting past the […]
It Puts the Lotion on Its Skin, Or Else It Gets the Hose Again: Will Jeb Bush Set Sights on the White House?
July 26th, 2010Is a rational response to this even possible? Maybe, but I’m not capable of delivering it. I’ll leave you with this, instead. Somehow, it seems appropriate. Americans are down that pit, most of them just don’t know it. Via: ABC News: This probably isn’t the first time you’ve heard someone ask if Jeb Bush is […]
