Mainstream News

Official refuses to resign after saying Japan should follow Nazis’ constitution overhaul

"'The German Weimar constitution changed, without being noticed, to the Nazi German constitution. Why don’t we learn from their tactics?' Days later, Aso insisted he had been misunderstood and that he was not praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler’s political prowess, but rather saying constitutional reform should be not be influenced by media criticism or animosity from Japan’s neighbours. Aso is known for his sometimes clumsy and uncomfortable remarks, including saying earlier this year that elderly people should 'hurry up and die' to avoid taxing the country’s medical system." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOfficial refuses to resign after saying Japan should follow Nazis’ constitution overhaul

Brawl breaks out in Taiwanese legislature over planned nuclear plant

"Taiwanese lawmakers hurled water and wrestled each other to the floor of the island’s parliament Friday in a brawl which broke out during a debate on the fate of a controversial nuclear plant. Dozens of lawmakers from opposing camps clashed as they tried to seize the chamber’s podium and splashed water from cups and plastic bottles at each other. Two scuffling lawmakers from opposing parties fell onto the floor before they were pulled apart by others in footage broadcast live on television. The fourth nuclear plant is about 90 percent complete and due to come online in 2015, according to its operator the state-owned Taiwan Power Company (Taipower)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrawl breaks out in Taiwanese legislature over planned nuclear plant

Even when jobs return, Detroit’s workers fall short on skills

"Detroit emergency manager Kevyn Orr has a long list of things to fix in the city and among them is one that may sound surprising: there are not enough skilled workers to fill job openings as they become available. Seismic shifts in the local labor market have left many unskilled workers behind. Public-sector efforts at job training have shown scant results. After then-governor Jennifer Granholm established a $500 million job training program in 2007, roughly $100 million was spent in Detroit through 2010, but few got jobs because so few positions were available, said Jose Reyes, chief operating officer of the DESC job training agency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEven when jobs return, Detroit’s workers fall short on skills

American Automobile Glut? Unsold Cars Are Piling Up

"There are some signs automakers might be stepping on the gas a little too hard. Some 3.27 million new cars are now sitting on lots across the U.S., more than there have been in almost five years, according to Automotive News. That’s a lot of cars—just enough to equip every man, woman, and child in the state of Iowa with a new vehicle. A year ago at this time, by contrast, there were 2.7 million vehicles lying in wait across the country; summer 2011 saw an inventory of about 1 million fewer cars. Looking for a deal on a vehicle in the next month or two? Dealership lots that stock American automakers appear to be ripe for bargain seekers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican Automobile Glut? Unsold Cars Are Piling Up

Madonna and Lady Gaga accused of breaking Russian visa rules

"Russian officials are considering prosecution against Lady Gaga and Madonna after discovering they entered the country under incorrect paperwork. As any Moscow visitor will know, Russian immigration can be extremely complicated. But Gaga and Madonna's mistakes weren't just discovered by accident: prosecutors launched their investigation only after being contacted by one of the singers' most outspoken enemies. The man in question was Vitaly Milonov, who serves in St Petersburg's municipal legislature and authored St Petersburg's law banning gay 'propaganda'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMadonna and Lady Gaga accused of breaking Russian visa rules

U.S. gives seal of approval to Egypt’s new leaders

"Supporters of deposed Egyptian president Mohamed Mursi prepared for confrontation on Friday, and the United States said Egypt’s military had been 'restoring democracy' when it drove him from office. Thousands were gathered in two Muslim Brotherhood camps in Cairo, defying warnings from the new army-backed government to abandon their protest or face action from security forces. Mursi, an Islamist who became Egypt’s first freely-elected president in June 2011, had faced weeks of street demonstrations against his rule. The turmoil has left Egypt more polarized than at any time since U.S.-backed autocrat Hosni Mubarak was toppled in 2011." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. gives seal of approval to Egypt’s new leaders

Al-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

"Supporters of the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan have been getting U.S. military contracts, and American officials are citing 'due process rights' as a reason not to cancel the agreements, according to an independent agency monitoring spending. The U.S. Army Suspension and Debarment Office has declined to act in 43 such cases, John Sopko, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, said today. 'I am deeply troubled that the U.S. military can pursue, attack, and even kill terrorists and their supporters, but that some in the U.S. government believe we cannot prevent these same people from receiving a government contract,' Sopko said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAl-Qaeda Backers Found With U.S. Contracts in Afghanistan

Exclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

"Four Americans, including Ambassador Christopher Stevens, were killed in the assault by armed militants last September 11 in eastern Libya. Sources now tell CNN dozens of people working for the CIA were on the ground that night, and that the agency is going to great lengths to make sure whatever it was doing, remains a secret. Since January, some CIA operatives involved in the agency's missions in Libya, have been subjected to frequent, even monthly polygraph examinations, according to a source with deep inside knowledge of the agency's workings. The goal of the questioning, according to sources, is to find out if anyone is talking to the media or Congress." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingExclusive: Dozens of CIA operatives on the ground during Benghazi attack

Now We Know Why Googling Pressure Cooker Bombs Gets a Visit from Cops

"Michele Catalano was looking for information online about pressure cookers. Her husband, in the same time frame, was Googling backpacks. Wednesday morning, six men from a joint terrorism task force showed up at their house to see if they were terrorists. Which prompts the question: How'd the government know what they were Googling? Because the Googling happened at work. One hundred times a week, groups of six armed men drive to houses in three black SUVs, conducting consented-if-casual searches of the property perhaps in part because of things people looked up online." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNow We Know Why Googling Pressure Cooker Bombs Gets a Visit from Cops

Ticket quota whistleblower cop loses NYPD suit

"A Manhattan federal judge yesterday tossed a hero cop’s lawsuit against the NYPD, rejecting the officer’s claims that his First Amendment rights were violated by superiors after he was punished for speaking up about alleged quotas for arrests and tickets. NYPD Officer Craig Matthews claimed that he had suffered workplace retaliation for speaking up about quotas for arrests, stop-and-frisks and summonses that were allegedly ordered by his commanders in The Bronx’s 42nd Precinct. But US District Judge Paul Engelmayer said that while Matthews’ comments served a purpose, his beef amounts to a workplace disagreement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTicket quota whistleblower cop loses NYPD suit