Yearly Archives: 2013

Bradley Manning and Freedom of the Press

"Reading from a prepared statement, Manning said he was not pressured by WikiLeaks to release the information and that he wanted to give the documents to The Washington Post, The New York Times, and Reuters, but they did not want what he had to offer. He also said the leaked information had 'upset' or 'disturbed' him, but did not contain anything he thought would harm the United States if it became public. Regarding the Collateral Murder video, Manning said the 'most alarming part to me was the seemingly delightful blood-lust' and that those in the video 'seemed to not value human life by referring to them as ‘dead bastards.’'" Continue reading →

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Business lobby moves to criminalize filming animal abuse on factory farms

"Bills being shopped in six states by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) would make it a crime to film animal abuse at factory farms or lie on job applications, in hopes of shutting down animal rights activists who infiltrate slaughterhouses to expose ghastly conditions. The proposals mandate that evidence of animal abuse be turned over to law enforcement within 48 hours, or face a financial penalty. Several of the bills also make it a crime to lie on slaughterhouse job applications, which activists commonly do in order to get footage like the content of a video published by the HSUS, embedded below." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBusiness lobby moves to criminalize filming animal abuse on factory farms

Internet sites targeted by British MPs for first time ‘in chilling threat to free speech’

"The internet will be targeted for the first time as the 'chilling' Royal Charter attempts to curb free speech on the majority of websites and blogs, experts warned today. The draft version of the document suggests that foreign-based or owned websites such as Twitter, Huffington Post, Facebook, Holy Moly, the Guido Fawkes political site and even The New York Times will be subject to the stifling controls if their articles are aimed at 'an audience in the UK'. But as confusion mounted about exactly who would be covered, the government said it would leave it entirely up to the new regulator to decide whether major foreign sites should be made to sign up." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet sites targeted by British MPs for first time ‘in chilling threat to free speech’

Shooting Blanks

Greg Steussel WeTexans.com Archives originally https://web.archive.org/web/20131116034941/http://wetexans.com:80/shooting-blanks/ ======================================= House Bill 553 by Rep. John Otto has all the trimmings of a great state sovereignty bill. It purports to forbid federal gun regulations from being executed in this state.  It has tough language, strong penalties and everything a states’ rights advocate could ask for…until you read the entire bill.  On the second to last page you will find the following: (4)  It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under Subsection (b) that the person … Continue reading →

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Airport security set for boom despite budget cuts

"The airport security sector is still expected to soar despite US budget cutbacks as air traffic grows and the threat of terrorism persists, analysts say. Screening passengers and baggage as well as surveillance at airports is a business that has boomed as countries radically tightened security in the wake of the September 11 attacks. In addition to new types of screening equipment, the drive to better target screening by use of information on travellers available to border control agencies will rely heavily on technology and data gathering." Continue reading →

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U.S. flies B-52 bombers over South Korea

"The United States said it was flying training missions of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers over South Korea, in a clear signal to North Korea at a time of escalating military tensions. The flights — part of annual joint South Korea-US military exercises — should be seen as underscoring US commitment and capacity to defend Seoul against an attack from the North, Pentagon spokesman George Little said. B-52s have taken part in annual exercises before, but Little said the Pentagon wanted to underline their use this time given the current, heightened tensions, and he added that further B-52 flights would be carried out." Continue reading →

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NYPD faces class-action lawsuit over controversial stop-and-frisk policy

"A landmark trial challenging the New York police department’s controversial stop-and-frisk policy began in a lower Manhattan court on Monday. The class action suit accuses the NYPD of violating the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of innocent New Yorkers on a widespread and systemic basis. New York city police officers stopped 685,724 citizens in 2011, continuing an upward trend that began when Michael Bloomberg became mayor. Nearly nine out of 10 of those stopped in 2011 had committed no crime. The vast majority were black or Latino." Continue reading →

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‘Die Hard’ director John McTiernan faces jail within weeks for illegal wiretap, lying

"McTiernan, whose films also include 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'The Thomas Crown Affair,' was sentenced to 12 months in jail and fined $100,000 in 2010 for making false statements to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). But he stayed free pending appeals in the case, which stems from his hiring a private investigator to illegally wire-tap a producer. The US Supreme Court has refused to hear his case, leaving him with the deadline to surrender." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Die Hard’ director John McTiernan faces jail within weeks for illegal wiretap, lying

Obama administration: Warrantless GPS tracking needed to fight terrorism

"The Obama administration will argue before a federal appeals court on Tuesday that law enforcement must regain the ability to use GPS tracking devices without a warrant, which it says is necessary to continue the fight against terrorism. The use of GPS devices in warrantless snooping has been illegal since January 2012, when the Supreme Court ruled that vehicles are private property protected by the Fourth Amendment, which guarantees freedom from unreasonable search and seizure. If the Obama administration is successful on its appeal however, GPS devices will be fair game for police nationwide." Continue reading →

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Daylight robbery in Cyprus will come to haunt EMU

"The decision to expropriate Cypriot savers – even the poorest – was imposed by Germany, Holland, Finland, Austria, and Slovakia, whose only care at this stage is to assuage bail-out fatigue at home and avoid their own political crises. The EU creditor states have at a single stroke violated the principle that insured EU bank deposits of up $100,000 will be guaranteed come what may, and in doing so they have more or less thrown Portugal under a bus. They appear poised to seize large sums from Russian banks – €1.3bn from state-owned VTB alone, and therefore from the Kremlin." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDaylight robbery in Cyprus will come to haunt EMU