Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
White House to Paint Grim Fiscal Picture
February 1st, 2010For a much more meaningful translation of the story below, see: America’s Impending Master Class Dictatorship: One stark and sobering way to frame the crisis is this: if the United States government were to nationalize (in other words, steal) every penny of private wealth accumulated by America’s citizens since the nation’s founding 235 years ago, […]
Bailouts Created More Risk in System
February 1st, 2010Via: AP: The government’s response to the financial meltdown has made it more likely the United States will face a deeper crisis in the future, an independent watchdog at the Treasury Department warned. The problems that led to the last crisis have not yet been addressed, and in some cases have grown worse, says Neil […]
Microsoft Executive Thinks That Individuals Should Have to Obtain Government Licenses to Use Internet
January 31st, 2010Via: AFP: The world needs a treaty to prevent cyber attacks becoming an all-out war, the head of the main UN communications and technology agency warned Saturday. International Telcommunications Union secretary general Hamadoun Toure gave his warning at a World Economic Forum debate where experts said nations must now consider when a cyber attack becomes […]
China Threatens Sanctions Over U.S. Arms Sale to Taiwan
January 31st, 2010Via: Los Angeles Times: Angered by a $6 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, Beijing puts security exchanges with U.S. on hold and threatens sanctions against U.S. firms selling to Taipei. The Chinese government Saturday announced a series of harsh retaliatory measures in protest of the Pentagon’s $6-billion arms sale to Taiwan, including a suspension […]
Bernanke Confirmed by Senate for 2nd Term as Fed Chairman
January 29th, 2010Via: Washington Post: The Senate on Thursday confirmed Ben S. Bernanke for a second term as Federal Reserve chairman, but he scraped by with the narrowest margin in the history of the position and his weakened political standing could weigh on the central bank’s ability to maneuver for years to come. The Senate voted 70 […]
Howard Zinn Dies at 87
January 29th, 2010Via: Reuters: Historian and activist Howard Zinn, whose 1980 book “A People’s History of the United States” was a rallying cry for the American left in a conservative era, has died aged 87. Family members said Zinn, who for decades was a fixture in the U.S. civil rights and anti-war movements and lived in Auburndale, […]
Apple’s iPad as Metaphor for The Nightmare Future of Computing
January 29th, 2010Someone asked what I thought about Apple’s iPad. I wrote back: This was the most hype I’ve seen since Hope and Change. The iPad is going to save publishing. It’s going to save marriages. The blind will see and the deaf will hear! Pay Steve Jobs a commission everytime you want to scratch your ass […]
Pentagon Report Calls for Office of ‘Strategic Deception’
January 28th, 2010Via: Wired: The Defense Department needs to get better at lying and fooling people about its intentions. That’s the conclusion from an influential Pentagon panel, the Defense Science Board (DSB), which recommends that the military and intelligence communities join in a new agency devoted to “strategic surprise/deception.” Tricking battlefield opponents has been a part of […]
City Condems House Because Woman Was Trying to Save Money By Using Solar Panels and Batteries Instead of Utility Power
January 28th, 2010Via: Arizona Republic: An Avondale woman who spent 11 days sleeping in her car said the city treated her unfairly when her home was condemned in December for lack of electricity. But city officials said Christine Stevens violated building codes, a health and safety concern because Avondale homes are required to have heating systems and […]
Four Charged in Phone Scheme at Senator Landrieu’s Office
January 27th, 2010Via: USA Today: The four men accused of trying to tamper with Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu’s office phones share a common experience as young ideologues writing for conservative publications. Federal authorities said two of the men posed as telephone workers wearing hard hats, tool belts and flourescent vests when they walked into the senator’s office […]
