Archive for August, 2014
James Risen Calls Obama ‘Greatest Enemy of Press Freedom in a Generation’
August 17th, 2014Via: Guardian: The New York Times reporter James Risen, who faces jail over his refusal to reveal a source and testify against a former CIA agent accused of leaking secrets, has called President Barack Obama “the greatest enemy of press freedom in a generation”. Speaking to his colleague Maureen Dowd, Risen accused the president of […]
Hundreds of Bioterror Lab Mishaps Cloaked in Secrecy
August 17th, 2014I find it remarkable that we know even this much. Via: USA Today: More than 1,100 laboratory incidents involving bacteria, viruses and toxins that pose significant or bioterror risks to people and agriculture were reported to federal regulators during 2008 through 2012, government reports obtained by USA TODAY show. More than half these incidents were […]
A $50 Billion Chinese Canal Across Nicaragua
August 17th, 2014Via: NPR: One hundred years ago today, the first ship passed through the brand-new, U.S.-built Panama Canal; a century later, Panama owns the canal outright, and the country is one of the most prosperous in the region. Panama’s neighbor to the north, Nicaragua, is hoping a transoceanic canal and similar prosperity are in its near […]
Central American Gangs: Made in America
August 16th, 2014Via: Guardian: Central America didn’t always have a gang epidemic. That was exported there by us. And the current immigration crisis is as much a United States legacy as it has become a local tragedy – a consequence of US-financed civil wars from the 1980s that sparked the first migration wave, and of US policies […]
Missouri Governor Declares State of Emergency, Curfew in Ferguson
August 16th, 2014Via: USA Today: Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and curfew in Ferguson, Mo., on Saturday, following nights of protests after 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer.
Government Scientist “Accidentally” Mixed a Deadly Strain of Bird Flu with a Tamer Strain and Sent the Mix to Other Labs
August 16th, 2014Via: NBC: A government scientist who accidently mixed a deadly strain of bird flu with a tamer strain and sent the mix to other labs kept silent about the potentially dangerous lab blunder, according to an internal investigation. The accident happened in January at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in […]
Police in Ferguson Fire Tear Gas Amid Looting
August 16th, 2014Via: NBC: Armored vehicles rolled back onto the streets of Ferguson early Saturday, as riot police faced off with looters in the Missouri town gripped by protests since the fatal police shooting of an unarmed black teen. The violence broke the brief period of calm that had settled over Ferguson, Missouri, after outrage over the […]
Texas Governor Rick Perry Indicted
August 16th, 2014Just another day at the office. Via: Statesman: A Travis County grand jury Friday indicted Gov. Rick Perry on two charges related to his effort last year to force District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg to resign after her drunken driving arrest. Grand jurors charged Perry, 64, with abuse of official capacity, a first-degree felony, and coercion […]
UKRAINE SAYS IT DESTROYED ARMED VEHICLES FROM RUSSIA
August 15th, 2014Via: RTÉ: Ukrainian artillery destroyed a “significant” part of a Russian armoured column that crossed into Ukraine during the night, President Petro Poroshenko told British Prime Minister David Cameron, according to the presidential website. Separately, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Ukrainian forces had tracked the Russian armoured column as soon as it crossed onto Ukrainian […]
Gyroscopes in Your Phone Could Let Apps Eavesdrop on Conversations
August 15th, 2014Via: Wired: In the age of surveillance paranoia, most smartphone users know better than to give a random app or website permission to use their device’s microphone. But researchers have found there’s another, little-considered sensor in modern phones that can also listen in on their conversations. And it doesn’t even need to ask. In a […]
