Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Justice Department Asked For News Site’s Visitor Lists
November 12th, 2009Via: CBS News: In a case that raises questions about online journalism and privacy rights, the U.S. Department of Justice sent a formal request to an independent news site ordering it to provide details of all reader visits on a certain day. The grand jury subpoena also required the Philadelphia-based Indymedia.us Web site “not to […]
Russia’s Whistleblower Cop is a YouTube Sensation
November 12th, 2009Via: Global Post: Alexei Dymovsky sits in full uniform and stares at the camera with tired eyes. “Maybe you don’t know about us, about simple cops, who live and work and love their work. I’m ready to tell you everything. I’m not scared of my own death,” Dymovsky says in a YouTube message addressed to […]
Cuba Orders Extreme Measures to Cut Energy Use
November 12th, 2009Via: Reuters: Cuba has ordered all state enterprises to adopt “extreme measures” to cut energy usage through the end of the year in hopes of avoiding the dreaded blackouts that plagued the country following the 1991 collapse of its then-top ally, the Soviet Union. In documents seen by Reuters, government officials have been warned that […]
Israel Proposes Work Camps for Illegal Migrants
November 9th, 2009Via: Haaretz: The government is considering establishing work camps in the south of the country, where illegal migrant workers will receive shelter, food and medical care, Army Radio reported Wednesday. In exchange, illegal migrants would perform manual labor outside the camps, but would not earn a salary. They would stay at the camp until their […]
Profit ‘Not Satanic,’ Barclays Says, After Goldman Invokes Jesus
November 8th, 2009Via: Bloomberg: Barclays Plc Chief Executive Officer John Varley stood at the wooden lectern in St. Martin-in-the- Fields on London’s Trafalgar Square last night and told the packed pews of the church that “profit is not satanic.” The 53-year-old head of Britain’s second-biggest bank said banks are the “backbone” of the economy. Rewarding high- performing […]
NSA To Build 1.5 Million Square Foot “Cybersecurity” Data Center
November 2nd, 2009Don’t forget NSA’s other 470,000-square-footer in Texas. Via: Information Week: The massive complex, comprising up to 1.5 million square feet of building space, will provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats across government. The NSA is building the facility to provide intelligence and warnings related to cybersecurity threats, cybersecurity support to defense and civilian […]
Karzai Gets New Term as Afghan Runoff Is Scrapped
November 2nd, 2009Via: New York Times: Afghan officials on Monday canceled plans for a runoff presidential vote, declaring President Hamid Karzai the winner after the withdrawal on Sunday of his last remaining challenger, Abdullah Abdullah. The announcement capped a fraught election widely depicted as deeply flawed by corruption and voting irregularities…………………………
California: “Think Of It As A Forced, Interest-Free Loan”
November 2nd, 2009Via: Los Angeles Times: Starting Sunday, cash-strapped California will dig deeper into the pocketbooks of wage earners — holding back 10% more than it already does in state income taxes just as the biggest shopping season of the year kicks into gear. Technically, it’s not a tax increase, even though it may feel like one […]
NSA Has Conspicuous Role in New Federal Cybersecurity Center
November 2nd, 2009Don’t miss the last sentence. Via: Newsweek: If anything, the Obama administration, citing the threats of computer hacking and cyberterrorism, is now moving to involve the NSA more deeply in domestic security issues. The growing role of the NSA—a Defense Department agency with thousands of military personnel—in domestic matters was on semi-public display on Friday. […]
Obama Administration: Toss Wiretap Lawsuit
November 1st, 2009Via: AP: Attorney General Eric Holder says a lawsuit in San Francisco over warrantless wiretapping threatens to expose ongoing intelligence work and must be thrown out. In making the argument, the Obama administration agreed with the Bush administration’s position on the case but insists it came to the decision differently. A civil liberties group criticized […]
