Mainstream News

Georgia rushes to complete executions before lethal drug supply runs out

"Georgia’s difficulties procuring execution drugs is a reflection of the gradual stranglehold that is being put on the US death penalty by authorities and companies around the world refusing to act as accomplices in the death sentence. The European Commission, following unilateral action by the UK, has imposed restrictions on the export of medicines to all US corrections departments. One of the leading manufacturers of pentobarbital, the Danish firm Lundbeck, has introduced tough restrictions on the distribution of the drug to prevent it falling into the hands of US executioners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGeorgia rushes to complete executions before lethal drug supply runs out

Drones patrolling U.S. borders spark controversy over privacy

"Intended to protect the borders from illegal crossings and the import of illegal drugs, ten drones flown by U.S. Customs and Border Protection have also sparked a controversy over privacy. The plane are piloted remotely and their images are reviewed in real time by agents at Fort Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Arizona. The data is used to help direct agents on the ground or in a helicopter to make a bust. 'The fact we can turn the lights off, we are almost stealth,' said director of Air Operations Dave Gasho. And that, critics say, that is the problem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDrones patrolling U.S. borders spark controversy over privacy

Upstate New York bids to become federal drone testing site

"A coalition of upstate New York universities and defense contractors has submitted a bid to become a federally designated testing and research site for the integration of unmanned aircraft systems, or UAS, into domestic airspace. Drones are expected to be used for everything from search and rescue, to crop dusting, to newsgathering. One of the key issues the FAA will have to assess is the ability of drones to communicate with air traffic controllers, manned aircraft and other drones. The massive growth of drone use is expected to create an economic boom in the U.S." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUpstate New York bids to become federal drone testing site

At least six tanks leaking at military nuclear waste dump in Washington state

"The Hanford nuclear site in the southwest of the US state was used to produce plutonium for the bomb that brought an end to World War II. Output grew after 1945 to meet the challenges of the Cold War, but the last reactor closed down in 1987. Its website says:'“Weapons production processes left solid and liquid wastes that posed a risk to the local environment.' The ecological threat extends to the Columbia River, it added, noting that in 1989 US federal and Washington state authorities agreed a deal to clean up the Hanford Site." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAt least six tanks leaking at military nuclear waste dump in Washington state

Activists launch campaign against ‘autonomous weapons’: Killer robots must be stopped

"A new global campaign to persuade nations to ban “killer robots” before they reach the production stage is to be launched in the UK by a group of academics, pressure groups and Nobel peace prize laureates. The Stop the Killer Robots campaign will be launched in April at the House of Commons and includes many of the groups that successfully campaigned to have international action taken against cluster bombs and landmines. They hope to get a similar global treaty against autonomous weapons." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingActivists launch campaign against ‘autonomous weapons’: Killer robots must be stopped

Defense industry consultants advise Arab nations on crowd control products

"Defence experts who say many lives could have been saved during Arab uprisings if states used proper crowd control measures sought to tap into a growing market at an Abu Dhabi arms fair. Anti-riot vehicles with sophisticated acoustic repellents have boldly taken their place alongside the likes of Eurofighter’s Typhoon warplane and the bristling firepower of rocket launchers at the arms industry’s biennial quest for petrodollars in the Gulf emirate." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDefense industry consultants advise Arab nations on crowd control products

Opponents vote to shoot Egypt’s president Morsi into space

"Opponents of Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi are voting to send him where no Islamist leader has gone before: outer space. Morsi on Saturday was leading the field in Egypt in an online contest sponsored by deodorant makers Axe to send a lucky few on a shuttle operated by space tourism company Space Expedition Corp. Egypt’s opposition movement April 6 entered Morsi into the competition. 'With God’s help, and under His care, Morsi will soon be launched to the moon,' the group said on its Facebook page, along with a picture of the president in a spacesuit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOpponents vote to shoot Egypt’s president Morsi into space

Afghan president: U.S. special forces creating ‘insecurity and instability’

"Afghan President Hamid Karzai demanded Sunday the withdrawal of US special forces from Wardak within two weeks, accusing them of fuelling 'insecurity and instability' in the volatile province neighbouring the capital Kabul. 'In today’s national security council meeting… President Karzai ordered the ministry of defence to kick out the US special forces from Wardak province within two weeks,' said presidential spokesman Aimal Faizi. 'The US special forces and illegal armed groups created by them are causing insecurity, instability, and harass local people in this province,' he told a press conference." Continue reading →

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Locksmiths and firemen refuse to aid evictions in Spain

"Locksmiths and firemen in Spain are rebelling against a wave of evictions in the economic crisis by refusing to help bailiffs open ruined homeowners’ doors to throw them out. A wave of evictions of mortgage-holders ruined by the recession has prompted several suicides and sparked a protest movement that last week brought a motion to parliament for a law to end the procedure. With the locksmiths refusing to take part, some authorities have been asking the fire service to step in and break open the doors of those resisting eviction. [..] When the firefighters arrived they refused to open the door and some of them joined in the protest." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLocksmiths and firemen refuse to aid evictions in Spain

France freezes spending to hit EU targets as slump deepens

"France is to freeze spending on defence, higher education and research in a frantic bid to meet European Union deficit targets this year, tightening fiscal policy yet further as the country slides into deep slump. The severity of the downturn has caught officials by surprise. Markit’s survey data for French manufacturing and services fell to 42.3 in February, plunging at the fastest rate since the financial crisis in early 2009. Anything less than 50 signals contraction. Markit warned that the country may be tipping into a 'downward spiral' as sliding confidence causes businesses to delay spending." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrance freezes spending to hit EU targets as slump deepens