Archive for July, 2013
Leaked Report Shows High Civilian Death Toll from CIA Drone Strikes
July 23rd, 2013This only covers the period from 2006 to 2009. Via: Salon: A secret document obtained by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism reveals for the first time the Pakistan government’s internal assessment of dozens of drone strikes, and shows scores of civilian casualties. The United States has consistently claimed only a tiny number of non-combatants have […]
Italy to Ban Monsanto GMO Maize
July 23rd, 2013Via: Reuters: Three Italian ministries have signed a decree banning the cultivation of a type of genetically modified maize, citing environmental concerns, the agriculture ministry said on Friday. The decree, which still needs to be published in the official gazette to become binding, targets Monsanto’s MON810 maize, one of two genetically modified organisms (GMO) allowed […]
America’s Large and Growing “Health Disadvantage”
July 22nd, 2013Via: Slate: Americans die younger and experience more injury and illness than people in other rich nations, despite spending almost twice as much per person on health care. That was the startling conclusion of a major report released earlier this year by the U.S. National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine. It received widespread […]
‘What Is That Box?’ — When The NSA Shows Up At Your Internet Company
July 22nd, 2013Via: Buzzfeed: They came in and showed me papers. It was a court order from the FISC (Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court) for the intercept, with the agent’s name… and the court’s information. I think it was three or four pages of text. They wouldn’t let met me copy them. They let me take notes in […]
CDC Admits 98 Million Americans Received Polio Vaccine In An 8-Year Span When It Was Contaminated With Cancer Causing Virus
July 22nd, 2013Via: Prevent Disease: The CDC has quickly removed a page from their website, which is now cached here, admitting that more than 98 million Americans received one or more doses of polio vaccine within an 8-year span from 1955-1963 when a proportion of the vaccine was contaminated with a cancer causing polyomavirus called SV40. It […]
CIA Backs Study Into How to Control Global Weather Through Geoengineering
July 22nd, 2013Via: Mother Jones: The Central Intelligence Agency is funding a scientific study that will investigate whether humans could use geoengineering to alter Earth’s environment and stop climate change. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will run the 21-month project, which is the first NAS geoengineering study financially supported by an intelligence agency. With the spooks’ […]
Serious SIM Card Security Flaw Affects Millions of Mobile Phones
July 21st, 2013Via: Cnet: A vulnerability on SIM cards used in some mobile phones could allow malware infection and surveillance, a security researcher warns. Karsten Nohl, founder of Security Research Labs in Berlin, told The New York Times that he has identified a flaw in SIM encryption technology that could allow an attacker to obtain a SIM […]
U.S. Expanding Military Drone Surveillance Operations Around the World
July 21st, 2013Via: Washington Post: As the Obama administration dials back the number of drone attacks in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen, the U.S. military is shifting its huge fleet of unmanned aircraft to other hot spots around the world. This next phase of drone warfare is focused more on spying than killing and will extend the Pentagon’s […]
Norwegian Woman Fighting Jail Sentence in Dubai for Reporting Rape
July 21st, 2013Dubai: The “cosmopolitan city” where rape victims are sentenced to prison. Via: AP: A Norwegian woman sentenced to 16 months in jail in Dubai for having sex outside marriage after she reported an alleged rape said she decided to speak out in hopes of drawing attention to the risks of outsiders misunderstanding the Islamic-influenced legal […]
A Shuffle of Aluminum, but to Banks, Pure Gold
July 21st, 2013If the left hand isn’t sharing information with the right hand, with hundreds of millions of dollars in potential trading profits hanging in the balance, I’m Santa Claus. —Usual Suspects Now Heavily Involved with Commodity Warehousing Via: New York Times: Hundreds of millions of times a day, thirsty Americans open a can of soda, beer […]
