Mainstream News

Ex-Hillsboro cop who shot at police surrendered with wife, daughter at his side

"Timothy Cannon surrendered after a gun fight with 10 Washington County cops, descending the stairs of his two-story Forest Grove home, his arms linked with those of his wife and daughter, according to court records. Timothy Cannon had been drinking off and on throughout the week, Lisa Cannon told a dispatcher during the incident. On Saturday, Jan. 19, he drank all day, she said. According to court records, a detective observed medications in the home prescribed for Timothy Cannon, including drugs treating pain, anxiety, panic attacks and depression. The medications have side effects that can result in 'altered mental status.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Hillsboro cop who shot at police surrendered with wife, daughter at his side

Barack Obama is pushing gun control at home, but he’s a killer abroad

"His justification for targeted killings and drone strikes in foreign parts, prompted by his nomination of a CIA director, has coincided with his advocacy for stiffer gun control and appeals to respect human life following mass shootings. The result is an administration raising life and death issues in its actions and pronouncements but being unable to talk with any moral authority or ethical consistency on either. The credibility of a president in challenging lawless social violence in US cities is fundamentally undermined when he has his own personal kill list in violation of international law to terminate enemies elsewhere." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBarack Obama is pushing gun control at home, but he’s a killer abroad

Brussels fights US data privacy push

"Europe’s most senior justice official is adamant she will fight US attempts to water down a proposed EU data protection and privacy law that would force global technology companies to obey European standards across the world. Viviane Reding, EU commissioner for justice, said that the EU was determined to respond decisively to any attempts by US lobbyists to curb the EU data protection law. Ms Reding’s firm approach is likely to spark a diplomatic battle between Brussels and Washington, which has actively been trying to water down the EU’s tough new privacy legislation by handing US companies a de facto exemption from it." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBrussels fights US data privacy push

Lithuania turns Google Street View on tax cheats

"Lithuanian tax authorities said Thursday they would use the Baltic state’s recently launched Google Street View platform to track tax cheats by identifying the real value of property holdings. 'It will help ascertain which property is ‘hiding’ under the entry recorded in the real-estate register and provide a preliminary assessment of whether the value corresponds to the declared value,' Lithuanian deputy state tax inspector Arturas Klerauskas told AFP. Google Street View was launched in Lithuania a week ago, after Google overcame initial reluctance on the part of the authorities that stemmed from privacy and security concerns." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLithuania turns Google Street View on tax cheats

Pakistan hatches biometric ID scheme to claw back unpaid taxes

"Pakistan's National Data Base and Registration Authority (NADRA) aims to put every Pakistani adult into one of the world's largest multi-biometric databases. 'We have 452 static centers where people are coming and giving this data, we have 250 mobile vans, we have a motorcycle service, and we (even) have people up in the mountains -- skiers and mountaineers with man-pack units,' says chairman Tariq Malik whose mission it is to log every potential taxpayer in Pakistan. 'We are going to block their ID cards, and we are going to block their bank accounts, and we are going to block their foreign travels until the either pay or file an appeal,' says Hakeem." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPakistan hatches biometric ID scheme to claw back unpaid taxes

Raytheon secret software tracks social media and ‘predicts’ people’s future behavior

"A video obtained by the Guardian reveals how an 'extreme-scale analytics' system created by Raytheon, the world’s fifth largest defence contractor, can gather vast amounts of information about people from websites including Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare. The Massachusetts-based company has acknowledged the technology was shared with US government and industry as part of a joint research and development effort, in 2010, to help build a national security system capable of analysing 'trillions of entities' from cyberspace." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRaytheon secret software tracks social media and ‘predicts’ people’s future behavior

Iranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

"Hundreds of thousands of people marched on Sunday in Tehran and other cities chanting 'Death to America' as Iran marked the 34th anniversary of the Islamic revolution that ousted the US-backed shah. Tehran is currently under a series of international sanctions aimed at curbing its controversial nuclear programme of uranium enrichment. The sanctions have led to a severe economic crisis, choking Iran’s banking system and limiting its oil exports, the country’s main foreign revenue earner. According to a recent survey by the US polling firm Gallup, Iran’s nuclear programme is supported by a large majority of its population." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIranians march in government-sponsored rally to mark revolution

Putin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World

"When Vladimir Putin says the U.S. is endangering the global economy by abusing its dollar monopoly, he’s not just talking. He’s betting on it. Not only has Putin made Russia the world’s largest oil producer, he’s also made it the biggest gold buyer. His central bank has added 570 metric tons of the metal in the past decade, a quarter more than runner-up China, according to IMF data compiled by Bloomberg. The added gold is also almost triple the weight of the Statue of Liberty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPutin Turns Black Gold Into Bullion as Russia Out-Buys World

Many 2011 federal budget cuts had little real-world effect

"In the real world, in fact, many of their 'cuts' cut nothing at all. The Transportation Department got credit for 'cutting' a $280 million tunnel that had been canceled six months earlier. It also 'cut' a $375,000 road project that had been created by a legislative typo, on a road that did not exist. At the Census Bureau, officials got credit for a whopping $6 billion cut, simply for obeying the calendar. They promised not to hold the expensive 2010 census again in 2011. Today, an examination of 12 of the largest cuts shows that, thanks in part to these gimmicks, federal agencies absorbed $23 billion in reductions without losing a single employee." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMany 2011 federal budget cuts had little real-world effect

Argentina Is First Nation Censured by IMF for Economic Data

"Argentina became the first country to be censured by the International Monetary Fund for not providing accurate data on inflation and economic growth under a procedure that can end in expulsion. The declaration of censure was adopted yesterday by the IMF’s 24-member board, the Washington-based fund said in a statement. While it doesn’t have immediate effects, the decision takes the country a step closer to sanctions that include being barred from access to IMF loans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingArgentina Is First Nation Censured by IMF for Economic Data