Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
China’s Empty City
December 10th, 2009Related: The World’s Largest Shopping Mall — Is Empty
China Executes Rogue Trader, Millions Still Missing
December 9th, 2009Via: Reuters: China on Tuesday executed a former securities trader for embezzlement, the first person in the industry to be put to death, but millions of yuan are still missing, a state newspaper said. Yang Yanming was sentenced to death in late 2005 and took the secret of the whereabouts of 65 million yuan ($9.52 […]
Woman Who Invented Credit Default Swaps is One of the Key Architects of Carbon Derivatives
December 9th, 2009Via: Washington’s Blog: Bloomberg notes that the carbon trading scheme will be largely centered around derivatives: The banks are preparing to do with carbon what they’ve done before: design and market derivatives contracts that will help client companies hedge their price risk over the long term. They’re also ready to sell carbon-related financial products to […]
Discredited Claim that Saddam Hussein Could Unleash Weapons of Mass Destruction Within 45 Minutes Came from Taxi Driver
December 8th, 2009Via: Guardian: An Iraqi taxi driver was the source of the discredited claim that Saddam Hussein could unleash weapons of mass destruction within 45 minutes, a Tory MP claimed today. Adam Holloway, a defence specialist, said MI6 obtained the information indirectly from a taxi driver who had overheard two Iraqi military commanders talking about Saddam’s […]
Ha’aretz Says U.S. Officials Face ‘Pro-Israel’ Background Check
December 8th, 2009Via: Foreign Policy: There is an amazing story in Ha’aretz today on the “pro-Israel” litmus test that determines who is permitted to serve in the United States government. Here’s the sort of lede you’re not likely to read in the New York Times or Washington Post: Every appointee to the American government must endure a […]
Brussels Gives CIA the Power to Search UK Bank Records
December 7th, 2009Via: Times Online: THE CIA is to be given broad access to the bank records of millions of Britons under a European Union plan to fight terrorism. The Brussels agreement, which will come into force in two months’ time, requires the 27 EU member states to grant requests for banking information made by the United […]
RAND: A Stability Police Force for the United States
December 7th, 2009Via: RAND Corporation: Establishing security is the sine qua non of stability operations, since it is a prerequisite for reconstruction and development. Security requires a mix of military and police forces to deal with a range of threats from insurgents to criminal organizations. This research examines the creation of a high-end police force, which the […]
Telco and ISP Lawful Interception (Spying) Guides
December 7th, 2009Via: Cryptome: yahoo-spy.pdf Yahoo Lawful Spying Guide December 2, 2009 cox-spy.pdf Cox Lawful Spying Guide December 2, 2009 sbc-ameritech-spy.pdf SBC-Ameritech Lawful Spying Guide December 2, 2009 sbc-lea-spy.pdf SBC Lawful Spying Guide December 2, 2009 ameritech-spy.pdf Ameritech Lawful Spying Guide December 2, 2009 cingular-spy.pdf Cingular Lawful Spying Guide December 2, 2009 cricket-spy.pdf Cricket Lawful Spying Guide […]
IRS Sells Native American Tribe’s Land to Settle Tax Debt
December 7th, 2009Via: Oakland Tribune: The Internal Revenue Service on Thursday auctioned off a large swath of land owned by an impoverished Indian tribe to help pay off more than $3 million in back taxes, penalties and interest—a sale the tribe says is illegal under federal laws protecting Indian land. The 7,100 acres, or 11 square miles, […]
Is the “Wonga” Running Out for Africa’s Mercenaries?
December 7th, 2009Via: Reuters: Africa’s infamous “dogs of war” may still be going strong, but it seems the rewards of the mercenary life aren’t quite what they used to be. Only this month, Britain’s Simon Mann won a pardon for his part in a foiled 2004 coup attempt on Equatorial Guinea, an old-style adventure whose glittering prize […]
