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The Bradley Manning verdict is still bad news for the press

“The public needs to awaken to the threat to its own freedoms from the Obama crackdown on leaks and, by extension, journalism and free speech itself. We are, more and more, a society where unaccountable people can commit unspeakable acts with impunity. They are creating a surveillance state that makes not just dissent, but knowledge itself, more and more dangerous. What we know about this is entirely due to leakers and their outlets. Ignorance is only bliss for the unaccountable.” Continue reading →

DEA agrees to pay $4.1 milllion to student they locked in a cell for days

“A San Diego, California college student was awarded $4.1 million in a settlement with the federal government on Tuesday, ending his lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for leaving him in a holding cell for five days with no food or water in April 2012. KNSD-TV reported that no criminal charges will be brought against the officers involved in the incident, which began when the victim, 24-year-old Daniel Chong, was taken to a DEA office following a raid by a task force made up of DEA, state and local officers on a ‘420’ party Chong attended.” Continue reading →

Overpicking threatens Greek herbs

“Forestry officials on the Greek island of Crete have slapped a five-year ban on the collection of a variety of wild herbs snipped to near-extinction, the state-run ANA agency said. The forestry department of Hania, one of the island’s main towns, placed restrictions on picking sage, marjoram, oregano and sideritis, better known as Cretan mountain tea, in protected areas. Special permission is required for commercial collection, and an allowance of up to 500 grammes is made ‘for personal use’. And Cretan dittany, a therapeutic plant prized since antiquity that is exclusive to the island, is off the table altogether.” Continue reading →

Paris tax hunt sends French to Switzerland

“France has made highly publicized efforts in recent months to crack down on tax evaders including French nationals who inherit from wealthy Swiss residents. However, some say the move will simply persuade French to up sticks and take their wealth with them. The change still needs to be ratified by both the Swiss and French parliaments and which is not set to take effect until 2015 at the earliest. But when it does it will dramatically increase the tax burden on French heirs of estates in Switzerland, which caps its inheritance tax at 7.0 percent, compared to 45 percent in neighbouring France.” Continue reading →

Obama offers ‘grand bargain’ on corporate tax rate, infrastructure

“Obama wants to cut the corporate tax rate of 35 percent to 28 percent and give manufacturers a preferred rate of 25 percent. He also wants a minimum tax on foreign earnings as a tool against corporate tax evasion and the use of tax havens. Obama wants the money generated by a tax overhaul to be used to fund such projects as repairing roads and bridges, improving education at community colleges and promoting manufacturing, senior administration officials said. Republicans contended that by spending the revenue, it would violate Obama’s previous commitment to a ‘revenue-neutral’ overhaul of corporate taxes.” Continue reading →

Taiwanese Apple contractor probes claims of labor abuse

“The US rights groups said three Pegatron plants in China impose excessive overtime and employ minors. It also cited crowded dormitories, insufficient fire escape routes and arbitrary fines for perceived minor lapses of behaviour. Apple has also said it will investigate the claims. Pegatron produces consumer electronics like game consoles, television sets and computers for Sony, Toshiba and some other brand name vendors, as well as assembling products for Apple, an official of the Taiwanese company said. It currently has around 110,000 employees, the vast majority of them in the Chinese cities of Shanghai, Suzhou and Chongqing.” Continue reading →

Ex-inmate at Chinese prison: We made airline headsets

“Major airlines including British Airways and electronics manufacturers have been accused of sourcing products from a Chinese prison where inmates are tasered if they don’t hit production targets. The Australian Financial Review was tipped off about the story by New Zealander Danny Cancian, a former inmate of Dongguan prison in southern Guangdong province. He claimed he had made in-flight headphones for Qantas, British Airways and Emirates as well as parts for local firms which supply US technology giant Emerson and home appliance maker Electrolux. All companies denied any knowledge of selling products made in Dongguan.” Continue reading →

Challenging a Long-Held Assumption about Commodities

“When it comes to oil demand, 17 years ago, China was a net exporter. Today, it is the second-largest importer, transporting 5.4 million barrels of oil into the country every day. That’s why it is widely accepted that the Asian giant spurred higher commodity prices in the past decade. And if the country was the force behind the boom, then the assumption is that China’s lower, but still healthy growth will be a drag on commodity prices. But recent research challenges this assumption. According to BCA Research’s Chen Zhao, what is initially an ‘outrageous proposition’ may not actually be.” Continue reading →