Archive for the 'Dictatorship' Category
Is Britain on the Slippery Slope to Dictatorship?
June 26th, 2008Falling headfirst into the abyss would be more accurate. Via: Guardian: Aesthetically, at any rate, it does feel as if some of our science fiction dystopias are gradually coming true. In an estate near me, George Orwell’s CCTV cameras are actually trained on the residents’ doors and driveways. Ray Bradbury’s wall-sized TVs flicker in small […]
Supreme Court Cuts Exxon Punitive Damages for Valdez Oil Spill by 80%
June 26th, 2008Via: San Francisco Chronicle: The Supreme Court, winding up a term of victories for businesses, cut punitive damages for Alaskans harmed by the Exxon Valdez oil spill by 80 percent today in a ruling that may signal new limits on damage awards for victims of corporate wrongdoing. In a 5-3 decision, the justices reduced punitive […]
UK Will Allow Anonymous Witnesses in Some Court Cases
June 25th, 2008Anonymous witnesses. Anonymous evidence. Double plus good. Via: BBC: The government has vowed to change the law to allow anonymous witnesses in some court cases after a key Law Lords ruling effectively halted the practice. Justice Secretary Jack Straw said there was a real need for some witnesses to have their identities protected. Mr Straw […]
George Carlin Dies
June 23rd, 2008Via: Time: When the culture began to change in the late 1960s — when the old one-liner comics on the Ed Sullivan Show were looking pretty tired and irrelevant to a younger generation experimenting with drugs and protesting the War in Vietnam — George Carlin was the most important stand-up comedian in America. By the […]
America’s Berlin Wall
June 20th, 2008Via: Economist: QUEUES of frustrated foreigners crowd many an American consulate around the world hoping to get into the United States. Less noticed are the heavily taxed American expatriates wanting to get out—by renouncing their citizenship. In Hong Kong just now, they cannot. “Please note that this office cannot accept renunciation applications at this time,” […]
Defying U.S., EU Scraps Cuba Sanctions
June 20th, 2008Via: Reuters: European Union states agreed on Thursday to scrap sanctions against Cuba in a move aimed at encouraging democratic reforms on the Communist island, officials said. The lifting, agreed despite U.S. calls for the world to remain tough on Havana, will pave the way for a new dialogue with Cuba but come with calls […]
Britain: MP Resigns Over Maniac Fascist 42 Day Detention Policy
June 13th, 2008Via: Independent: David Davis became an unlikely hero of liberal Britain yesterday by sacrificing his political career to launch a one-man crusade against the Government’s plan for suspected terrorists to be detained for 42 days without charge. The former SAS reservist, who supports the death penalty for premeditated murder, shook Britain’s political establishment to its […]
High Court Sides with Guantanamo Detainees Again
June 12th, 2008Via: AP: The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that foreign terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have rights under the Constitution to challenge their detention in U.S. civilian courts. In its third rebuke of the Bush administration’s treatment of prisoners, the court ruled 5-4 that the government is violating the rights of prisoners being held indefinitely […]
China Buying Time at $2.49 Per Gallon
June 6th, 2008In short: The Chinese government is massively subsidizing gasoline prices. Via: Forbes: Beijing is holding down many prices–including oil–with a cumbersome price-control scheme. Consider the following: Since January 2007, global crude oil prices have risen by 109%; gasoline prices in the U.S. have risen by 77% (roughly apace); gasoline prices in China have risen only […]
Chinese Communist Gangster Ran His Own Private Army
June 2nd, 2008But how many times did he watch Apocalypse Now? Via: Telegraph: Yang Shukuan drove round the city of Tangshan in an armoured personnel carrier and owned a fleet of other military vehicles – as well as a Rolls-Royce, two Ferraris and 20 other cars. He also had a cache of arms, some of which he […]
