Mainstream News

300 tonnes of radioactive water is worst leak yet at Japan’s Fukushima

"Some 300 tonnes of radioactive water is believed to have leaked from a tank at Japan’s crippled nuclear plant, the worst such leak since the crisis began, the operator said Tuesday. Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) said the leak was believed to be continuing Tuesday at Fukushima and it had not yet pinpointed the source of it. The company later said it had identified which tank was faulty but had yet to find the spot from where it was leaking. TEPCO admitted the toxic water might contaminate groundwater and flow into the Pacific Ocean 'in the longer term', but said it was working to avoid such a situation." Continue reading →

Continue Reading300 tonnes of radioactive water is worst leak yet at Japan’s Fukushima

U.S. Air Force can’t find enough people willing to be drone pilots

"The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study. Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone operators face a lack of opportunities for promotion to higher ranks and the military has failed to identify and cultivate this new category of aviators, Air Force Colonel Bradley Hoagland wrote in the report published for the Brookings Institution think tank. As of last year, the Air Force has 1,300 drone pilots, making up about 8.5 percent of the force’s aviators, compared to 3.3 percent four years [earlier]." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Air Force can’t find enough people willing to be drone pilots

Oakland citizen activist says city worker assaulted him

"The resident, 36-year-old Joshua Daniels, is recovering from a black eye and broken eye socket that required 10 stitches at Highland Hospital to close a wound that he said he suffered when a city worker, who was cleaning up the plaza, attacked him during a confrontation. Daniels, a regular activist at Oakland City Council meetings and no stranger to many city officials, said the confrontation began about 8:30 a.m. as he was walking through the plaza and spit his gum into a trash bin that was being used by city workers. [..] 'Truthfully, when I pulled out my phone and started filming, that's when it escalated,' Daniels said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOakland citizen activist says city worker assaulted him

Obama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches

"If the police arrest you, do they need a warrant to rifle through your cellphone? Courts have been split on the question. Last week the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to resolve the issue and rule that the Fourth Amendment allows warrantless cellphone searches. But as the storage capacity of cellphones rises, that position could become harder to defend. Our smart phones increasingly contain everything about our digital lives: our e-mails, text messages, photographs, browser histories and more. It would be troubling if the police had the power to get all that information with no warrant merely by arresting a suspect." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama administration asks Supreme Court to allow warrantless cellphone searches

Michigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

"Michigan’s Finance Authority is offering an interest rate almost 14 times higher than that on top-rated bonds to sell $92 million of one-year notes for Detroit’s public schools. Today’s deal is the first tied to the Motor City since it sought bankruptcy protection July 18. The bonds are backed by state aid payments. The securities maturing in August 2014 are being offered with a preliminary yield of 4.375 percent, down from 4.5 percent earlier in the sale, according to three people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the pricing wasn’t final. That compares with a 0.32 percent interest rate on benchmark AAA munis due in one year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

Michigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

"Michigan’s Finance Authority is offering an interest rate almost 14 times higher than that on top-rated bonds to sell $92 million of one-year notes for Detroit’s public schools. Today’s deal is the first tied to the Motor City since it sought bankruptcy protection July 18. The bonds are backed by state aid payments. The securities maturing in August 2014 are being offered with a preliminary yield of 4.375 percent, down from 4.5 percent earlier in the sale, according to three people familiar with the deal who requested anonymity because the pricing wasn’t final. That compares with a 0.32 percent interest rate on benchmark AAA munis due in one year." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMichigan’s 4.375% Yield on School Notes Shows Detroit Stigma

Second British man jailed for selling fake bomb detectors to governments

"The boxes cost less than £5 ($7.85, 5.85 euros) to make, but Gary Bolton claimed they could detect explosives, narcotics, tobacco, ivory and even cash. They were sold for between £2,500 and £10,000 in bulk or up to £15,000 if bought individually. The court heard Bolton’s company, Global Technology, had a turnover of almost £3 million. In May, British businessman James McCormick was sentenced to 10 years in jail for selling fake bomb detectors to the Iraqi government and other countries. McCormick, 57, made an estimated £50 million from selling the devices, which prosecutors said were based on a novelty golf ball finder." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSecond British man jailed for selling fake bomb detectors to governments

‘Guardian’ editor: Destroying hard drives allowed us to continue NSA coverage

"Alan Rusbridger, the Guardian editor-in-chief, has said that the destruction of computer hard drives containing information provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden allowed the paper to continue reporting on the revelations instead of surrendering the material to UK courts. Rusbridger told BBC Radio 4′s The World at One on Tuesday that he agreed to the 'slightly pointless' task of destroying the devices – which was overseen by two GCHQ officials at the Guardian’s headquarters in London – because the newspaper is in possession of digital copies outside Britain." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Guardian’ editor: Destroying hard drives allowed us to continue NSA coverage

David Miranda: I was treated like a threat to the United Kingdom

"David Miranda, the partner of the Guardian journalist who broke stories of mass surveillance by the US National Security Agency, has accused Britain of a 'total abuse of power' for interrogating him for almost nine hours at Heathrow under the Terrorism Act. In his first interview since returning to his home in Rio de Janeiro early on Monday, Miranda said the authorities in the UK had pandered to the US in trying to intimidate him and force him to reveal the passwords to his computer and mobile phone. During that time, he said, he was not allowed to call his partner, who is a qualified lawyer in the US, nor was he given an interpreter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDavid Miranda: I was treated like a threat to the United Kingdom

Judge: California can force-feed inmates on hunger strike

"U.S. District Court Judge Thelton E. Henderson, responding to a request by state authorities, ruled that California prison doctors may force-feed select inmates who are near death, even if they had signed orders asking not to be resuscitated. Some 136 inmates are currently taking part in a hunger strike that begun July 8 in prisons statewide to demand an end to a policy of housing inmates believed to be associated with gangs in near-isolation for years. Some 69 of the striking inmates have refused food continuously since the strike began." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge: California can force-feed inmates on hunger strike