Archive for January, 2012
U.S. Debt Limit Will Increase by $1.2 Trillion
January 12th, 2012Via: Washington Post: President Obama formally notified Congress on Thursday of his intent to raise the nation’s debt ceiling by $1.2 trillion, two weeks after he had postponed the request to give lawmakers more time to consider the action. Congress will have had 15 days to say no before the nation’s debt ceiling automatically is […]
Bay Area Company Creating Massive Vehicle Location Database from Police License Plate Scanning
January 12th, 2012Here’s one for your Retroactive Surveillance file folder. Via: San Francisco Chronicle: Capitalizing on one of the fastest-growing trends in law enforcement, a private company in Livermore has compiled a database bulging with more than 550 million bits of information that let police know when and where specific license plates of both innocent and criminal […]
‘Scream Rooms’ Inside Connecticut Elementary School
January 12th, 2012Via: CBS: Parents in a Connecticut suburb are outraged over disturbing disciplinary actions at a local elementary school. They claim students are being locked in unsupervised “scream rooms,” where some children have harmed themselves, reports CBS 2’s Hazel Sanchez. The Middleton School District is on the hot seat as furious parents are demanding to know […]
Who Is Operating Unmanned Aircraft in the U.S.? EFF Files Suit to Try to Find Out
January 12th, 2012Via: Electronic Frontier Foundation: The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed suit today against the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), demanding data on certifications and authorizations the agency has issued for the operation of unmanned aircraft, also known as drones. Drones are designed to carry surveillance equipment – including video cameras, infrared cameras and heat sensors, […]
George Lucas: Hollywood Wouldn’t Back Film About Tuskegee Airmen Due to All Black Cast
January 12th, 2012Via: Washington Post: In a series of interviews in recent days Lucas has said he himself had to bankroll “Red Tails,” a movie 23 years in the making about the Tuskegee Airmen opening Jan. 20. Lucas invested $93 million of his own money for the making and distribution of the film, according to “Speakeasy,” a […]
Homeland Security Watches Twitter, Social Media, Blogs
January 12th, 2012Cryptogon readers yawn even more deeply than usual… Via: Reuters: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s command center routinely monitors dozens of popular websites, including Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, WikiLeaks and news and gossip sites including the Huffington Post and Drudge Report, according to a government document. A “privacy compliance review” issued by DHS last November […]
MF Global: Account Holders Sue Jon Corzine Over Missing Millions
January 11th, 2012Via: ABC: Montana farmers have filed a class action suit against former New Jersey governor Jon Corzine, charging that the failed financial firm run by Corzine stole millions from their accounts to pay off its spiraling debts, and that Corzine’s “single-minded obsession” with making MF Global a big player on Wall Street led to the […]
North Carolina May Pay Eugenics Victims $50,000 Each
January 11th, 2012Via: AP: As many as 2,000 people forcibly sterilized decades ago in North Carolina should get $50,000 each, a task force said Tuesday, marking the first time a state has moved to compensate victims of eugenics programs that weeded out the “feeble-minded” and others deemed undesirable. The payout, which could amount to as much as […]
Lehman Still Doing Deals in a Second Life on Wall Street
January 11th, 2012Via: New York Times: Things that refuse to die include Dracula, fungus, Jason from the “Friday the 13th” movies, zombies — and Lehman Brothers. You would probably like to forget Lehman in the wake of its collapse in 2008, an event that set off a near Armageddon in the financial world. Lehman filed for bankruptcy […]
Iran Car Explosion Kills Nuclear Scientist in Tehran
January 11th, 2012Via: BBC: A university lecturer and nuclear scientist has been killed in a car explosion in north Tehran, reports say. Iranian media sources named the casualty as Mostafa Ahmadi-Roshan, an academic who also worked at the Natanz uranium enrichment facility. The blast happened after a motorcyclist stuck an apparent bomb to the car, said Iran’s […]
