Fascism

Government sale of personal gene data condemned as ‘unethical and dangerous’

"The government is keen for Britain to be at the forefront of the genetic revolution, a potential multibillion-pound industry. Last year David Cameron launched a £100m scheme to map the genomes of up to 100,000 people, saying it would help to save lives by delivering new treatments. Under the scheme, firms would be able to access the information at a cost, but ministers insist that all data will be strictly anonymous. However, material released under the Freedom of Information Act reveals that firms can invoke an appeal process to demand 'patient-identifiable data', such as age and postcode." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment sale of personal gene data condemned as ‘unethical and dangerous’

Beware Of All Enterprises That Require New Clothes

"Despite sequestration and Big Sister's threats that the reduced growth of the TSA's budget -- not its actual operating one -- will delay passengers in hours'-long lines, the agency signed a $50-million contract with VF Imagewear for uniforms. Yes, those ugly, neon brown-sorry, blue polyester shirts that the thugs at the checkpoint wear cost a pretty penny. But this is old news. I'm bothering you with it because VF Imagewear is 'better known for its Lee and Wrangler brand jeans.' Additional lines include 'Vanity Fair®, ... The North Face®, and JanSport®.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBeware Of All Enterprises That Require New Clothes

Louisiana: Jefferson Parish To Refund Red Light Camera Tickets

"Officials in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana are moving forward on plans to refund $4.7 million in red light camera tickets. About 284,000 tickets were issued in the program until it was suspended over ethical concerns on January 27, 2010 -- long before the Chicago scandal broke. In light of the early revelations of impropriety, a third of recipients threw their photo tickets in the garbage. Redflex had paid a 3.2 percent cut of the firm's profit on each ticket issued to lobbyist Bryan Wagner, a former New Orleans city councilman, who in turn shared the funds with the wife of District Judge Robert Murphy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLouisiana: Jefferson Parish To Refund Red Light Camera Tickets

Amazon enters $600M deal to develop CIA cloud

"Amazon Web Services has worked with companies such as Netflix, Instagram, and Pinterest. But the cloud computing service may sign with a different kind of client: the Central Intelligence Agency. Federal Computer Weekly reports that Amazon has entered a 10-year, $600 million contract with the CIA. FCW says it learned from anonymous sources that Amazon will build a cloud-computing contract for the agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmazon enters $600M deal to develop CIA cloud

Inside Oklahoma’s Quest To Dominate The American Drone Industry

"Oklahoma businesspeople, academics, and politicians are collaborating through an organization named USA-OK, which aims to make the heartland state the focal point of American UAV development. A quasi-affiliated group, the Governor’s Unmanned Aerial Systems Council (PDF), was formed via an executive order from Governor Mary Fallin in 2011. Both organizations are lobbying for commercial drone test sites in Oklahoma and increased government assistance in luring more large military contractors to the state. Oklahoma is already home to approximately 15 companies servicing the UAV industry." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInside Oklahoma’s Quest To Dominate The American Drone Industry

Chris Hedges: The Day That TV News Died

"Phil Donahue and Bill Moyers, the last honest men on national television, were the only two major TV news personalities who presented the viewpoints of those of us who challenged the rush to war in Iraq. General Electric and Microsoft—MSNBC’s founders and defense contractors that went on to make tremendous profits from the war—were not about to tolerate a dissenting voice. Donahue was fired, and at PBS Moyers was subjected to tremendous pressure. A leaked MSNBC memo stated that Donahue was hurting the image of the network. He would be a 'difficult public face for NBC in a time of war,' the memo read. Donahue never returned to the airwaves." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChris Hedges: The Day That TV News Died

New Hampshire House Votes To Prohibit Private Prisons

"The move is an abrupt shift in New Hampshire, where just last year the legislature had considered a bill to send its entire male prison population to private prisons. The problems with private prisons are too numerous to spell out in full, but here are a few highlights. At its core, the entire private prison industry profits when people are imprisoned, meaning stricter drug and immigration laws produce larger profits. Private prison operators know this, and have spent more than $45 million on lobbying federal and state lawmakers over the past decade, including top Republicans influencing the immigration debate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Hampshire House Votes To Prohibit Private Prisons

How to Defeat CISPA Once And For All!

"From SOPA and PIPA to ACTA to CISPA to the TPP and now back to CISPA, internet activists have been caught up in a deliberately bewildering game of whack-a-mole with freedom-crushing legislation. Now, ISPs are doing an end run around the whole legislative process altogether and voluntarily collaborating with the entertainment industry to spy on their own customers. Join us today on The Corbett Report as we explore a real, grassroots, alternative solution to the problem of internet censorhip that can help to end this government/corporate control over our communication once and for all." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow to Defeat CISPA Once And For All!

The Drug Warriors Cashing In on Pot Prohibition

"When eight former DEA chiefs signed a letter to US Attorney General Eric Holder earlier this month, demanding that the feds crack down on Washington and Colorado, there was more than just drug-war ideology at stake. Two of the elder drug warriors, Peter Bensinger (DEA chief, 1976–1981) and Robert DuPont (White House drug chief, 1973–1977), run a corporate drug-testing business. Their company, Bensinger, DuPont & Associates, holds the pee stick for some 10 million employees around the US, including Kraft Foods, American Airlines, Johnson & Johnson, the Federal Aviation Administration and even the Justice Department itself." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Drug Warriors Cashing In on Pot Prohibition