Fascism

Booz Allen Grew Rich on Government Contracts

"Over the last decade, much of the company’s growth has come from selling expertise, technology and manpower to the National Security Agency and other federal intelligence agencies. Booz Allen earned $1.3 billion, 23 percent of the company’s total revenue, from intelligence work during its most recent fiscal year. The government has sharply increased spending on high-tech intelligence gathering since 2001, and both the Bush and Obama administrations have chosen to rely on private contractors like Booz Allen for much of the resulting work. Thousands of people formerly employed by the government now do essentially the same work for private companies." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBooz Allen Grew Rich on Government Contracts

Insider Speaks About Booz Allen, The Employer of Edward Snowden

"'If I was a little younger and a little crazier that would have been me. I know exactly why he did it,' was the comment that a former long-time Booz Allen Hamilton employee greeted me with, when I put a phone call into him to get his take on the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, an employee of Booz Allen. My source had previously told me, before he left, that he was leaving Booz Allen because security at the firm was getting oppressive. My source tells me that Booz Allen always had important USG contracts, but they really picked up when the Carlyle Group bought Booz Allen. That's when you really started to see the Penatgon and CIA contracts flow in, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInsider Speaks About Booz Allen, The Employer of Edward Snowden

Police ignore Taser heart attack risk and keep firing at suspects’ chests

"British police have fired Tasers hundreds of times at suspects’ chests despite explicit warnings from the weapon’s manufacturer not to do so because of the dangers of causing a cardiac arrest, the Guardian can reveal. Following the death last Wednesday of a man in Manchester after police hit him with a Taser shot, figures obtained from 18 out of 45 UK forces show that out of a total of 884 Taser discharges since 2009 – the year when Taser International first started warning the weapon’s users not to aim for the chest – 57% of all shots (518) have hit the chest area." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice ignore Taser heart attack risk and keep firing at suspects’ chests

Texas City Council Rejects Red Light Camera Initiative

"The city council in Sugar Land, Texas does not want voters to have a say in whether red light cameras are used in the Houston suburb. Although more than 3000 residents signed a petition requesting the issue be placed on the November ballot, and the city secretary verified a sufficient number met the legal requirement, the council voted Tuesday to reject the petition. The council's decision protects the four intersection cameras operated by American Traffic Solutions, one of which only began issuing $75 tickets a month ago. Before that device was added, the cameras issued 10,549 tickets worth $791,175 in a twelve-month period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas City Council Rejects Red Light Camera Initiative

Paul Rosenberg: 9 Plagues That Are Collapsing Capitalism

"Our marginally capitalist, partly-free market systems are approaching a massive collapse. Not because of what capitalism is, mind you, but because the powers that be have bastardized it. Capitalism can bear many distortions and abuses, but it is not indestructible. And, make no mistake, the ‘capitalist’ system we have today has been massively corrupted, so much so that it’s sagging under the load… and will continue to do so until the proverbial straw breaks its back." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPaul Rosenberg: 9 Plagues That Are Collapsing Capitalism

Virginia health centers get $2.5M to ‘promote Obamacare on taxpayer dime’

"Virginia health centers will receive 22 federal grants totaling more than $2.5 million to enroll clients in Obamacare, part of a $150 million national campaign. The largest recipient is the New Canton-based Central Virginia Health Services, which will get $266,020. On a per-capita basis, the 51 new hires in Virginia would be paid an average of $49,000. Skeptics say the overhead costs are emblematic of the Obamacare program. 'There are over 1,200 community health centers throughout the country who are getting a chunk of $150 million in outreach funding for the rollout of Obamacare,' said Ben Domenech at the conservative Heartland Institute." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirginia health centers get $2.5M to ‘promote Obamacare on taxpayer dime’

Ben Swann on the Liberty Rising Truth in Media Project and the State of US Journalism

"There is a generational change in how Americans view journalists. For people under the age of 35, the majority say they get their news from... wait for it... the Daily Show! That tells me two things. 1. Americans under the age of 35 consider 'comedians' journalists. 2. Americans under the age of 35 consider 'journalists' a joke. I have heard from literally tens of thousands of people who say that I am helping to restore journalism. that the work I have been doing puts networks to shame. Simply put, this is a chance to take that journalism to the next and best level – one where we are not dependent upon an established news network." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBen Swann on the Liberty Rising Truth in Media Project and the State of US Journalism

Loophole lets Colorado lawmakers avoid photo radar fines

"A loophole in state law has allowed Colorado state senators and representatives to avoid photo radar tickets because of special treatment given to lawmakers when they get license plates. Most license plates are issued to specific vehicles. But license plates for lawmakers are issued to individuals and aren't registered in state computers. The city has an aggressive photo radar program that sends out millions of dollars in photo radar tickets every year. However, police have not been able to send citations to legislators whose cars carry the special plates." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLoophole lets Colorado lawmakers avoid photo radar fines

Microsoft Gave NSA Backdoor Access To Skype, Outlook, and SkyDrive (Default In Windows 8.1)

"The company has reportedly helped the NSA 'understand' certain alias and encryption features in its software, allowed it to intercept chats passing through the Outlook.com servers, and been so helpful that the NSA has described working with the company as a 'team sport.' Access to SkyDrive files is handled via PRISM and NSA documents praise Microsoft for simplifying this process over the past 12 months. This is particularly pertinent given that in Windows 8.1, SkyDrive is a default storage location for files and created documents. Now we know that the NSA has carte blanche to peer into Microsoft's servers virtually at will." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMicrosoft Gave NSA Backdoor Access To Skype, Outlook, and SkyDrive (Default In Windows 8.1)

Anonymous predicts demise of Corrections Corporation of America

"A final, interesting facet of the report - analyzing a recent development that's been little discussed among advocates - was its dissection and critique of the company's decision to become a 'real estate investment trust' (REIT) as essentially a tax dodge. Find below the jump a substantial excerpt (citations omitted) from the report explaining CCA's REIT strategy and the implications for their business model, shareholders and taxpayers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnonymous predicts demise of Corrections Corporation of America