June 2010
‘Martial Law’ Act Executed During G-20 Summit... →
The Ontario Public Works Protection Act grants the executive branch “unlimited authority to the cabinet” to appoint any with the authority of a local police officer; deem any place in the province a ‘public work’; threaten whatever force is necessary to make any person—irrelevant of probable cause—identify themselves, grant consent to their person and property to a search, and prevent the...
Court to Consider Breaking Up Mass BitTorrent... →
Several digital rights groups will argue Wednesday on behalf of the account holders behind the IP addresses that each defendant should be sued individually in courts near where the defendants reside. Currently, they’ve all been lumped together in handful of lawsuits filed in the nation’s capital in March.
West Bank poverty 'worse than Gaza' | AJ English →
The report by Save the Children UK, due to be released on Wednesday, says that families forced from their homes in the West Bank are suffering the effects of grinding poverty, often lacking food, medicine and humanitarian assistance.
Ecuador threatens to cut Colombia ties over spy... →
Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa threatened to break off diplomatic ties again with Colombia on Tuesday over accusations that its agents wiretapped top Ecuadorean officials, including the leftist leader.
A.C.L.U. Finds ‘Steady Resurgence’ of ‘Political... →
A recent study released by the civil liberties advocacy group highlights the rise in U.S. government Big Brother policies by localizing the National Security State with no accountability.
Report: Toronto Police Molested Female G-20... →
Independent journalist Amy Miller told reporters that while kidnapped by the Toronto Police during the G-20 Summit she faced threats of rape, saw women being strip searched my male officers and was told by one woman that she was penetrated by a finger
Marine accused in Iraqi war crimes is back on duty... →
Hutchins, 26, of Plymouth, Mass., spent the past fours years in a military prison after being convicted of murdering a 52-year-old Iraqi man in the village of Hamdania in 2006.
The Iranian Threat - Noam Chomsky | ZSpace →
The dire threat of Iran is widely recognized to be the most serious foreign policy crisis facing the Obama administration. Congress has just strengthened the sanctions against Iran, with even more severe penalties against foreign companies. The Obama administration has been rapidly expanding its offensive capacity in the African island of Diego Garcia, claimed by Britain, which had expelled...
Scrap dollar as sole reserve currency: U.N. report... →
The report says that developing countries have been hit by the U.S. dollar’s loss of value in recent years.
UK's Cameron to set up torture allegation probe:... →
The inquiry could recommend compensation to people found to have been victims of torture carried out by foreign security services, with the knowledge of British intelligence officials, according to the BBC.
Pakistan drone attack kills six 'militants' | BBC... →
Six suspected militants have been killed by missiles fired by a US drone in Pakistan’s tribal belt.
Indian Maoists kill 26 police as attacks multiply... →
The attack took place in Narayanpur in central Chhattisgarh state, seen as the citadel of the Indian Maoists. Police said the rebels fired from a hilltop on a party of about 70 security men patrolling on foot in a thickly forested region.
Israeli air strike kills Palestinian man, wounds... →
A Palestinian man was killed and two others wounded in an Israeli air strike in Gaza, medics there said.
Iraq signs multi-billion gas deal with Shell,... →
State-owned South Gas and Basra Gas companies in southern Iraq will take a 51 percent stake in the contract, with Shell and Mitsubishi taking a 49 percent share, government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said in a statement.
Kashmir security forces fire on protesters, kill 3... →
Three teenagers were killed Tuesday in India-controlled Kashmir after security forces fired on thousands of protesters calling for independence, police said. The shootings were part of a pattern of violence over the last three weeks that has left 11 people dead and dozens injured. Divided Kashmir, the subject of two wars between India and Pakistan since their bloody division in 1947, has...
APNewsBreak: Courts need $40M for border plan | AP →
President Barack Obama’s $600 million border security plan seems to have it all: More than 1,000 agents, seven gunrunner teams, five FBI task forces and more prosecutors and immigration judges.
But it doesn’t include $40 million to help the already overwhelmed federal courts along the U.S.-Mexico border that will likely be inundated with additional drug and other criminal...
Chicago gun ban on way out, but mayor vows fight |... →
A Supreme Court ruling finding that Americans have the right to bear arms anywhere they live almost certainly means the end of Chicago’s decades-old handgun ban, but it may not make handgun ownership there much easier if the city’s powerful mayor has his way.
Obama: US economy 'strengthening' despite weak... →
President Barack Obama, with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke at his side, insisted the US economy was “strengthening” Tuesday despite foreboding data and a fresh stock market slump.
Obama admitted there was “great concern” about the recovery, amid increasing anxiety over indicators which may point to a slowing of the rebound, and with expectations low for the...
Lobbyists’ Smell Clings to Bank Bill: Susan... →
If you work outside of finance and count your fortunes in figures that have just one comma, here are the highlights and lowlights of the package that politicians will be voting on in the days ahead
US banks off the hook until 2022 - Andrew Clark |... →
It was billed by Barack Obama as the toughest crackdown on Wall Street since the great depression. But top US banks could be given until 2022 to comply with the so-called Volcker rule, which is supposed to restrict financial institutions’ risker trading activities.
Afghan attorney general says US envoy ‘threatened’... →
Afghanistan’s top prosecutor Tuesday accused US ambassador Karl Eikenberry of threatening to have him removed from his job if he did not take action against an Afghan banker allegedly involved in fraud.
Wal-Mart sued for ‘wrongfully firing’ cancer... →
Attention Wal-Mart employees, doctor prescribed treatment for a pre-existing condition may get you fired if you get injured on the job.
Unmanned Drones: Targeted Killing vs. "Collateral... →
Describing himself as a “Muslim soldier”, Shahzad also told the judge one of the reasons for his abortive act of terrorism was his anger at the U.S. military for recklessly using drones, which have claimed the lives of scores of innocent civilians, along with suspected insurgents, in Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and in the tribal areas of Pakistan.
The United States calls the...
UN starts $5M Agent Orange cleanup at Vietnam base... →
The project will focus on dioxin contamination at Bien Hoa airport on the outskirts of southern Ho Chi Minh City. It is one of three former American air bases where U.S. forces mixed, stored and loaded the defoliant onto planes for spraying missions during the Vietnam War to destroy jungle hideouts of enemy Communist forces.
Between 1962 and 1971, the U.S. military sprayed roughly...
UN: human traffickers make $3 bn a year in Europe... →
Traffickers who subject women and children to prostitution and forced labor are engaged in one of Europe’s most lucrative crimes — a euro2.5 billion a year, modern-day slave trade whose victims are growing by 50 percent annually, a United Nations agency said Tuesday.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime estimated that more than 140,000 people are currently controlled by ...
Turks shot multiple times on Gaza aid ship:... →
All but two of the nine Turks killed in an Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound aid ship were shot more than once, and five died from bullet wounds to the head, according to forensic reports.
7 Potential Economic Effects Of A War With Iran |... →
If you were looking for a company to take charge of the security on your own systems, would you trust one that was serving malware from its own Web site? Me neither. But some U.S. senators want to put the Department of Homeland Security in charge of Internet security for the most important private computing infrastructure in the country. In a pure coincidence as I was writing this story, I...
If the DHS Is Serving Malware, Should It Be Our... →
If you were looking for a company to take charge of the security on your own systems, would you trust one that was serving malware from its own Web site? Me neither. But some U.S. senators want to put the Department of Homeland Security in charge of Internet security for the most important private computing infrastructure in the country. In a pure coincidence as I was writing this story, I...
London Police Attack Photographer, Claim “We Don’t... →
A young photographer was accused of being a threat under the Terrorism Act and eventually pushed down a flight of stairs by London police after he refused to stop photographing officers and cadets during a public parade.
Petraeus Says Military May Ease Rules of... →
General David Petraeus today said he’s concerned the U.S. military’s rules of engagement in Afghanistan are too restrictive and putting American forces at risk.
High Court Backs U.S. Ban on ‘Soft Money’... →
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a Republican challenge to the centerpiece of the 2002 campaign finance overhaul, upholding the law’s ban on unregulated “soft money” contributions to political parties.
Lieberman Rules Out Palestinian State by 2012 | NY... →
In remarks that could further strain peace efforts, Israel’s foreign minister said on Tuesday there was no chance a Palestinian state would be established in the next two years.
“I’m an optimistic person, but there is absolutely no chance of reaching a Palestinian state by 2012,” the foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said. “One can dream and imagine, but we are far from reaching...
Suspected Spy Was Ready to Leave U.S., F.B.I.... →
The last of the 11 people charged in the case, identified in the criminal charges as Christopher R. Metsos, was arrested on Tuesday by police in Cyprus. But Mr. Metsos, who was detained on an Interpol warrant as he tried to fly to Budapest, was released on bail and had his passport confiscated, a police spokesman said. Reuters reported that the bail was about $24,000 and that Mr. Metsos would...
Endless Occupation? - Sheldon Richman | FFF →
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast dismissed CIA director Leon Panetta’s remarks that Iran could have nuclear weapons prepared and ready to deliver by as early as 2012, saying that US intelligence knew Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful.
Petraeus: Troops will be in Afghanistan 'for quite... →
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast dismissed CIA director Leon Panetta’s remarks that Iran could have nuclear weapons prepared and ready to deliver by as early as 2012, saying that US intelligence knew Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful.
Iran accuses CIA of waging psychological warfare |... →
Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast dismissed CIA director Leon Panetta’s remarks that Iran could have nuclear weapons prepared and ready to deliver by as early as 2012, saying that US intelligence knew Iran’s nuclear programme was peaceful.
Jury Convicts Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge... →
Decades after torture allegations were first leveled against former Chicago police commander Jon Burge, a federal jury has found him guilty of lying about torturing prisoners into making confessions. Burge has long been accused of overseeing the systematic torture of more than 100 African American men. Two years ago federal prosecutors finally brought charges against Burge—not for torture,...
Pork Copynazis Against Unicorns as ‘New White... →
The National Pork Board is going after a website for modifying the trademarked slogan it uses to advertise a product that doesn’t exist: unicorn meat.
The War in Afghanistan is Crazy - Jack Hunter |... →
Jack Hunter’s recent article at The American Conservative compares Gary “The Bin Laden Hunter” Faulkner’s loony mission with much loonier one of the Obama Administration
Kucinich: ‘We are losing our nation to lies about... →
In Afghanistan, corruption is rife. It is so abundant, in fact, that a senior US lawmaker declared on Monday that she’d be freezing $3.9 billion in Afghan aid dollars until the situation is addressed.
Rep. Nita Lowey’s declaration of principle was made in response to a Wall Street Journal report that claimed over $3 billion has been legally shipped through the airport in Kabul...
China, Taiwan to sign trade pact tying 2 economies... →
The pact will end tariffs on hundreds of products traded across the strait and allow Taiwanese firms access to 11 service sectors on the mainland, including banking, accounting, insurance and hospitals. It should boost bilateral trade already totaling about $110 billion a year: some $80 billion in goods flowing to China, and $30 billion to Taiwan.
Mississippi officials blast BP, U.S. government as... →
“We didn’t complain after Katrina,” said city spokesman Vincent Creel, referring to the 2005 hurricane that wiped out much of the built environment. “But for this, they’ve had two months to prepare. This is like a foot of snow falling on our city: We don’t have snowplows. We don’t have the financial resources nor do we have the physical resources to...
Obama Slams ‘Obsession’ With Ending War in... →
Speaking today in the wake of the G20 Summit, President Barack Obama criticized what he called “a lot of obsession” about ending the war in Afghanistan and withdrawing some 100,000 American troops from the nation.
7,300 Palestinians in Israeli jails | Press TV →
Among the detained are 33 women, nearly 300 children, 296 administrative detainees, and dozens of political leaders, Palestinian researcher Abdul Nasser Farawna said in a report issued on Monday.
Right to Information Law Is Lever for India’s Poor... →
But it has now become clear that India’s 1.2 billion citizens have been newly empowered by the far-reaching law granting them the right to demand almost any information from the government. The law is backed by stiff fines for bureaucrats who withhold information, a penalty that appears to be ensuring speedy compliance.
The law has not, as some activists hoped, had a major effect on ...
Report Criticizes U.S. System for Evaluating... →
Despite spending by the United States of $27 billion on the training of Afghan security forces since 2002, the report found that even top-rated Afghan units could not operate independently and that the ratings of many security forces overstated their actual capabilities. In addition, the report said some parts of the country were so dangerous that assessment teams could not rate the security...
U.S. charges 11 as Russian agents | LA Times →
Some of the material collected and transmitted by the accused spies dealt with U.S. research on nuclear “bunker buster” bombs, according to the federal document charging the suspects. The George W. Bush administration once proposed a nuclear bunker buster bomb, but only a non-nuclear version of the weapon has been pursued. They also sought information on Pentagon planning, U.S....
France/Germany/United Kingdom: Wrong Message on... →
The 62-page report, “No Questions Asked: Intelligence Cooperation with Countries that Torture,” analyzes the ongoing cooperation by the governments of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom with foreign intelligence services in countries that routinely use torture. The three governments use the resulting foreign torture information for intelligence and policing purposes. Torture...
USS Carrier Harry Truman Now Officially Just Off... →
The attached image from Stratfor shows the latest positioning of US aircraft carrier groups as of June 23: the USS Harry Truman (CVN-75) is now right next to USS Eisenhower (CVN 69), both of which are waiting patiently just off Iran.
CIA chief warns of long road ahead in Afghanistan... →
The war in Afghanistan will be tougher and longer than expected despite a string of successes against Al-Qaeda that has weakened Osama bin Laden’s terror network, the CIA chief warned Sunday.
