Monthly Archives: September 2013

Ecuador seeks to extend libel penalties to cover social media

"The Ecuadoran government has proposed legal changes to punish libel disseminated over social networks like Twitter or Facebook, a top official said Wednesday. Alexis Mera, President Rafael Correa’s secretary for legal affairs, said the move aimed not to control content on social networks, but to extend to them the same rules that apply to other media. Under Ecuador’s penal code, slanderous libel, which involves a false accusation of a crime, carries a punishment of between six months and two years in prison. Correa has used the courts to sue for libel newspapers and journalists who have written critically about him." Continue reading →

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Michael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

"Michael had been living in LA [alone] for at least 6-months renting two apartments in the same building; one for living, one for writing. Michael and Elise Jordan had been married less than two-years at the time of his death. In less than a year of marriage, Michael and Elise were technically physically separated for large amounts of time by this move and careers. Worth a glance, if you look at this video of the two of them from last summer [2012], you will notice they do not behave as a loving couple, let alone newlyweds in comparison to the reporter John Avalon and his wife. In fact, the bubbly-ness and warmth Elise usually exudes [in other media appearances] is completely lacking." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichael Hastings: A Non-Conspiracy Theory

Russian legislators introduce bill to take children away from LGBT parents

"A Russian lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow the state to remove children from homes headed by LGBT parents. The draft bill was published on the Russian parliament’s website Thursday morning and proposed to make the 'fact of nontraditional sexual orientation' grounds for removing or denying parental custody rights. The bill, if passed, would add sexual orientation to a list of disqualifying factors that includes alcoholism, drug addiction and a history of child abuse. Bill author Alexei Zhuravlev said that the law would be a natural extension of a law passed earlier this year that bans so-called 'homosexual propaganda.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian legislators introduce bill to take children away from LGBT parents

Homeschool raid on family viewed as terror

"The German government is being accused of terrorism on its own citizens for a police squad raid in which officers armed with a battering ram forcibly took four children from their parents because they were being homeschooled. The accusations are being posted on a Facebook page for the German embassy in Washington. The reaction developed after, as WND reported, four homeschooled children, ages 7 to 14, were forcibly taken from their Darmstadt, Germany, home by police armed with a battering ram. The parents, Dirk and Petra Wunderlich, were told they won’t see the children again soon, according to the Home School Legal Defense Association." Continue reading →

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Carlsbad radar device part of smuggling crackdown

"A large radar device recently installed at Carlsbad’s Ponto Beach is part of a federal crackdown on drug and immigrant smuggling along the California coast. The device, which can track any vessel within 20 miles, could help law enforcement agencies spot and apprehend smuggling boats or terrorists before they get to shore. It is the first of its kind in the country. Federal officials have begun to focus more on securing the coastline after sharply reducing smuggling by air during the past 25 years, said Keith Jones of the Air and Marine Operations Center in Riverside, which is run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCarlsbad radar device part of smuggling crackdown

Decentralize to Neutralize Turmoil in Middle East

"The international community—which includes many multi-tribal, ethnic, racial, or sectarian states—frowns on solutions that formally or implicitly break up states. Many have their own minorities that might be encouraged to break away. Thus, arguments are used that it’s a form of apartheid or that boundaries cannot be drawn exactly and will always leave some unfortunate souls on the other side of the line. In South Africa, apartheid was forced separation using armed might of a minority against a majority. In Iraq and Libya, such decentralized governance would have to be voluntary and would reflect existing ethno-sectarian or tribal areas, respectively." Continue reading →

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Urgency: A Tactic of The State

"Jam it through. Worry about the consequences later. This behavior goes way back. I'd like to quote Patrick Henry who was trying to talk some sense to the Virginia delegates who were voting to ratify the U.S. Constitution. Henry was desperately urging them not to give in. Listen to his words and compare it to what we're seeing with the rush to war with Syria." Continue reading →

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Revealed: The NSA’s Secret Campaign to Crack, Undermine Internet Security

"The agency has circumvented or cracked much of the encryption, or digital scrambling, that guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world. The agency, according to the documents and interviews with industry officials, deployed custom-built, superfast computers to break codes, and began collaborating with technology companies in the United States and abroad to build entry points into their products. The documents do not identify which companies have participated." Continue reading →

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Poll: Majority Of Americans Approve Of Sending Congress To Syria

"As President Obama continues to push for a plan of limited military intervention in Syria, a New York Times/CBS News poll showed that though just 1 in 4 Americans believe that the United States has a responsibility to intervene in the Syrian conflict, more than 90 percent of the public is convinced that putting all 535 representatives of the United States Congress on the ground in Syria—including Senate pro tempore Patrick Leahy, House Speaker John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and, in fact, all current members of the House and Senate—is the best course of action at this time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPoll: Majority Of Americans Approve Of Sending Congress To Syria

House Republican Claims Reagan Stood Up To Chemical Weapons Use

"Ronald Reagan did exactly the opposite. For the majority of the 1980s, Iraq under Saddam Hussein was locked in combat with the Islamic Republic of Iran in a war that killed more than 1,000,000 people on both sides. The United States explicitly backed the secular Hussein over the Ayatollah Khomeini’s government in Tehran, still smarting from the embassy hostage crisis that had only ended when Reagan took office. That backing not only included the shipment of tons of weapons to support Baghdad, but also looking the other way when Iraq unleashed its chemical weapons stockpiles — including sarin and mustard gas — against Iranian civilians and soldiers alike." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHouse Republican Claims Reagan Stood Up To Chemical Weapons Use