Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Bank of England: U.S. Faces Same Problems as Greece
May 14th, 2010Via: Telegraph: Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, fears that America shares many of the same fiscal problems currently haunting Europe. He also believes that European Union must become a federalised fiscal union (in other words with central power to tax and spend) if it is to survive. Just two of the nuggets […]
EU Bids for Power Over National Budgets
May 13th, 2010Via: CBC: Senior administrators of the European Union proposed on Wednesday that they be given unprecedented power to scrutinize the spending plans of countries before national parliaments vote on those budgets. The EU’s executive commission’s bid was a move to crack down on widespread government overspending and to begin to deal with the debt crisis […]
Britain: Identity Cards Set to Be Scrapped
May 13th, 2010While this seems like good news, expect the other shoe to drop soon enough. Via: BBC: Identity cards will be scrapped under plans announced by the new Conservative and Lib Dem coalition government, new Home Secretary Theresa May has said. Their abolition is among measures the parties have agreed to reverse what they say was […]
Barrick Gold Moves to Block Mining Book
May 13th, 2010Via: CBC: The threat of legal action from mining giant Barrick Gold has forced Vancouver-based Talonbooks to postpone publication of a book about the Canadian mining industry. Publisher Karl Siegler calls it a clear case of “libel chill” by one of Canada’s largest mining companies. The book, Imperial Canada Inc.: Legal Haven of Choice for […]
Bloomberg Wants ‘Big Brother Britain’ For NYC
May 12th, 2010Via: CBS: Mayor Michael Bloomberg has his eye on more security against terror attacks. He went to London Tuesday to check out their surveillance camera system, one of the largest in the world. Ever since the Times Square car bomb scare on May 1, the mayor’s been looking to build up New York’s camera network. […]
FCC Lets Hollywood Turn Off Your Output Jacks
May 12th, 2010Via: Wired: Hollywood will soon have the power to remotely disable the analog outputs on your set-top box, under a decision by federal regulators on Friday intended to prevent home recording of new movie releases. The move by the Federal Communications Commission grants cable and satellite providers the power to block consumers from viewing just-released […]
Eric Holder: Miranda Rights Should Be Modified For Terrorism Suspects
May 11th, 2010Via: Huffington Post: Attorney General Eric Holder said for the first time today on ABC’s “This Week” that the Obama administration is open to modifying Miranda protections to deal with the “threats that we now face.” “The [Miranda] system we have in place has proven to be effective,” Holder told host Jake Tapper. “I think […]
Journalists Barred from Gitmo for Revealing Already-Public Information
May 10th, 2010Via: Wired: For reporters covering the war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay, the ground rules are pretty draconian: As a condition of attending, they have to sign agreements not to disclose anything the court deems secret; media officers review all photos and videos shot on the island; and there sure as hell ain’t no Tweeting […]
KBR to Get No-Bid Army Contract Worth $568 Million as Justice Department Pursues Lawsuit Over Kickbacks
May 9th, 2010Via: Bloomberg: KBR Inc. was selected for a no-bid contract worth as much as $568 million through 2011 for military support services in Iraq, the Army said. The Army announced its decision yesterday only hours after the Justice Department said it will pursue a lawsuit accusing the Houston-based company of taking kickbacks from two subcontractors […]
Plan for Congressional Audits of Fed Dies in Senate
May 7th, 2010Looks like that one thousand point pants shitter from yesterday sent a pretty clear message. Via: Wall Street Journal: Last-minute maneuvering in the Senate allowed the Federal Reserve to sidestep legislation that would have exposed its interest-rate decision-making to congressional auditors. Pressure from the Obama administration led Senate lawmakers to alter a provision pushed by […]
