Mainstream News

U.S. film and music industries roll out new anti-piracy program

"The steps announced by the big Internet firms include pop-ups, which force users to acknowledge warnings, and mechanisms to slow a user’s access to near-dialup speeds. Some critics say that redirecting users is equivalent to a 'browser hijack'. 'It’s an elaborate surveillance system,' said Corynne McSherry at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group. 'There will be innocent people caught up in this system, it’s inevitable.' Internet subscribers 'face consequences based on nothing more than an accusation,' McSherry said. Participating in the program are Comcast, Time Warner Cable, AT&T, Cablevision and Verizon — covering some 85 per cent of US residential customers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. film and music industries roll out new anti-piracy program

Start-Ups Fill Void Left by Spain’s 26% Unemployment Rate

"Figures from the INE statistics office show that 53 percent of Spanish companies have no employees, as many can’t afford to hire full-time workers. That portion reached 55 percent last year. The total number of businesses declined for a fifth year in 2012, falling to the lowest level since 2005, the INE said in a statement this month. The proportion of those people losing their jobs who decide to start a business has risen to 15 percent, more than three times the historical rate, said Carmen Sebrango, Randstad’s outplacement director in Spain." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStart-Ups Fill Void Left by Spain’s 26% Unemployment Rate

18 different minimum wages in American Samoa, 30% jobless rate

"The US Department of Labor mandates and enforces about 18 different minimum wages in American Samoa by industry. Oh, and the jobless rate there is almost 30%. And now a serious question for proponents of the US minimum wage: If you support a single hourly minimum wage in the US, wouldn’t you show even more support for multiple, government-mandated minimum wages by industry? That is, if you trust the supposed wisdom of politicians to know what the 'correct' single minimum wage is for the entire US economy (currently $7.25 per hour), shouldn’t you also trust those same politicians to know what the 'correct' minimum wage is for America’s many different industries?" Continue reading →

Continue Reading18 different minimum wages in American Samoa, 30% jobless rate

America’s new target shooters: Younger, female and urban

"The face of America’s target shooters is changing. New target shooters–those who have taken up the sport in the last five years–are younger, female and urban when compared to established target shooters, or those participating for more than five years, according to a survey commissioned by NSSF. The report shows that one-fifth of target shooters in America first started participating in the shooting sports between 2008 and 2012. That means 20 percent of all target shooters began participating in the past five years. The expansion of younger, female and urban-based participants coincides with the surge in firearms sales that occurred over the same 2008-2012 period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s new target shooters: Younger, female and urban

U.S. transport ship with hundreds of Marines deployed to the Mediterranean

"The US Navy has deployed an amphibious transport ship to the Mediterranean, where five destroyers are already in place for possible missile strikes on Syria, a defense official said on Sunday. The USS San Antonio, with several helicopters and hundreds of Marines on board, is 'on station in the Eastern Mediterranean' but 'has received no specific tasking,' said the defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Unlike the destroyers deployed to the area, the San Antonio carries no Tomahawk cruise missiles but can ferry up to four helicopters and is designed to bring Marines ashore by chopper or landing craft." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. transport ship with hundreds of Marines deployed to the Mediterranean

Blair likens Saddam to Hitler [2003]

"Comparing Saddam Hussein to Adolf Hitler, British Prime Minister Tony Blair says he would be pushing for Iraq's disarmament 'irrespective of the position of America.' Many have accused Blair of behaving like U.S. President George W. Bush's lapdog. But Blair rejected suggestions that he had been dragged into confrontation with Iraq by Bush, insisting that he had raised concerns about Saddam's weapons of mass destruction at his first meeting with the U.S. president, before the September 11 terror attacks. Britain, Spain and the United States are co-sponsoring a new U.N. resolution that could trigger war against Iraq. France, Russia, China are pushing to give U.N. weapons inspections more time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBlair likens Saddam to Hitler [2003]

John Kerry: Assad is the new Hitler because of chem. weapon use

"Secretary of State John Kerry today compared Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad to Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein as he said new lab tests proved that deadly sarin nerve gas was used to kill nearly 1,500 civilians last month. 'Bashar al-Assad now joins a list of Adolf Hitler and Saddam Hussein who have used these weapons in time of war,' Kerry told NBC's 'Face the Nation.' Kerry called the murderous attack an 'affront against the decency and sensibilities of the world.' 'So this case is building and this case will build.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJohn Kerry: Assad is the new Hitler because of chem. weapon use

Iran claims U.S. Congress not ‘authorized’ to authorize Syria strikes

"The US Congress is not authorised to green-light American military strikes against Syria as any such action would be in violation of international law, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday. 'Mr Obama cannot interpret and construe international law for his own (benefit),' Zarif told reporters after a late afternoon cabinet meeting, the ISNA news agency reported. 'Congress cannot authorise strikes (against Syria) and that attack would be in violation of international law,' he said, explaining that 'only the UN Security Council — under special conditions — can issue authorization' for the use of force to restore international peace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIran claims U.S. Congress not ‘authorized’ to authorize Syria strikes

North Korean spy’s memoir details ‘enemization’ training by abducted South Koreans

"After graduation, the focus switched to training the agents to pass as locals. South Koreans abducted and smuggled back into the North were among those who instructed them in mastering the right accents and understanding the social and political culture of the capitalist South. This 'enemization' process gave them their first real taste of life outside the isolated North, as they consumed a daily diet of South Korean TV shows, movies, magazines, newspapers and books. Popular songs and dance moves were memorised, along with the names and careers of prominent TV celebrities and sports stars." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Korean spy’s memoir details ‘enemization’ training by abducted South Koreans

U.S. seeks to speed up hearings for five 9/11 suspects

"Self-declared 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed appeared in the military court at the US prison in Cuba with his four co-defendants. All face the death penalty if convicted of plotting the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, which left nearly 3,000 people dead. Preliminary hearings in the case began in May 2012. The five defendants were held incommunicado in secret CIA prisons from 2002 to 2006, before they were transferred to Guantanamo. The detainees’ treatment has come under close scrutiny. Mohammed is known to have been subjected to 183 sessions of waterboarding, the technique of simulated drowning which has been decried as torture by rights groups." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. seeks to speed up hearings for five 9/11 suspects