statism

Dept. of Agriculture approves horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico

"A New Mexico meat plant received federal approval on Friday to slaughter horses for meat, a move that drew immediate opposition from animal rights group and will likely be opposed by the White House. The Humane Society of the United States and Front Range Equine Rescue threatened on Friday to sue the USDA, saying horses are raised as pets and as working animals. Because they are not intended as food animals, horses are given medications banned from other livestock, the groups said, questioning if the meat would be safe. The USDA says it can test for residues of 130 pesticide and veterinary drugs. It also has safeguards to keep horse meat out of the food supply." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDept. of Agriculture approves horse slaughterhouse in New Mexico

Florida man facing criminal charges after cooking and eating family dog

"A 25-year-old Florida man was arrested and charged with animal cruelty on Thursday for allegedly killing his family’s dog, then cooking it and eating it. The Tampa Tribune reported on Friday that authorities picked up Thomas Huggins after being alerted by his his mother, Margie Huggins, that she had found the dog’s ribs inside a pot. She later showed officers more of the dog’s remains in the freezer, along with the dog’s head and innards, which were in a trash can. 'I don’t understand it. I’ve never been violent like that,' she said to the Tribune. 'I grew up in the church, in fear of Jesus Christ and the wrath that will be put on you. He doesn’t feel that.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida man facing criminal charges after cooking and eating family dog

DEA Wages Hemp War Behind The Scenes In House

"The Drug Enforcement Administration has kicked its lobbying against legalizing industrial hemp into high gear, hoping to block an amendment in the House that would decriminalize the crop for research purposes. The Huffington Post has obtained a copy of talking points the DEA is circulating among members of Congress to press them to oppose the amendment -- raising the seemingly incongruous specter of the government using its resources to lobby itself. Hemp is legal to grow in many industrialized countries, including Canada, and is legal to import into the U.S. States such as Colorado and McConnell's Kentucky have legalized hemp growing, but await federal action." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDEA Wages Hemp War Behind The Scenes In House

Anti-government protests continue in Istanbul: ‘Government, resign!’

"Thousands gathered in Istanbul’s Taksim Square on Saturday to protest against the harsh police treatment of demonstrators whose anti-government rallies have rocked the country for nearly a month. Riot police blocked off the centre of the square, the symbolic heart of the nationwide protest movement, for some two hours as the demonstrators chanted 'Government, resign!' but there was no fresh violence. The crowd also denounced the death of a demonstrator in the country’s Kurdish-dominated southeast on Friday after soldiers opened fire to disperse villagers protesting against the expansion of an army outpost." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAnti-government protests continue in Istanbul: ‘Government, resign!’

Gulf Arab youth get around segregation with smartphone flirting

"In the United Arab Emirates and all across the conservative Gulf countries, dating is unacceptable among nationals while arranged marriages are the norm. By switching on WhosHere, a smartphone application which is popular in the kingdom, a young man sitting at the men’s section of the cafeteria could contact girls sitting in the families’ section. Before such applications, men would throw at the girls pieces of paper with their telephone numbers scribbled on them. But the Saudi telecom authority warned in March that it would ban applications like Skype and WhatsApp if providers failed to allow authorities access to censor content, according to an industry source." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGulf Arab youth get around segregation with smartphone flirting

Lawmakers propose cyber crime reforms inspired by Aaron Swartz

"Critics of the current law, called the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), say it is far too vague and led to the overzealous prosecution of Swartz after he accessed an MIT database containing academic research papers, many of which were created with public funding. Aaron’s Law would also cut back on redundant penalties in the current CFAA that can see some offenders punished twice for the same crime. The bill also seeks to address a flaw in the current law that makes 'unauthorized access' of any kind a felony, whereas something as simple as lying about one’s age to Facebook could be considered unauthorized access." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawmakers propose cyber crime reforms inspired by Aaron Swartz

Senator: Contractor that vetted Snowden is under investigation

"A company that conducted a 2011 background investigation into Edward Snowden, the source of recent leaks about U.S. secret surveillance programs, is itself under investigation, Senator Claire McCaskill said on Thursday. In her opening statement before a Senate homeland security subcommittee hearing, McCaskill said USIS is currently under investigation by the Office of Personnel Management’s Inspector General based on allegations is systemically failed to adequately conduct investigations under its contract. 'It is a reminder that background investigations can have real consequences for our national security,' McCaskill said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSenator: Contractor that vetted Snowden is under investigation

What the NSA Revelations Tell Us about America’s Police State

"Ongoing revelations by The Guardian and The Washington Post of massive, illegal secret state surveillance of the American people along with advanced plans for waging offensive cyberwarfare on a global scale, including inside the US, underscores what Antifascist Calling has reported throughout the five years of our existence: that democracy and democratic institutions in the United States are dead letters. If what the Bush and now, Obama regimes are doing is not Orwellian blanket surveillance of the American people, then words fail." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhat the NSA Revelations Tell Us about America’s Police State

Why Is No One Listening to the US Government?

"When Snowden reports on his government’s abuses, however, he is charged with espionage – of aiding the enemy. But who is the enemy? Likewise, the US media dutifully repeats attacks on Snowden by US politicians for seeking asylum in countries whose media does not get a clean bill of health from the US State Department. The irony of such a position escapes the US mainstream media, which has long ago traded real investigative reporting for reading out government talking points. So the US government finds itself powerless to demand that the rest of the world do as it demands. It attacks at home that which it promotes overseas." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhy Is No One Listening to the US Government?

Where Is He Now?

"The American government, with all of its supposed intelligence-gathering capacities - the revelations of which are at the core of the case against Snowden - cannot locate this man's presence. 'All the king's horses, and all the king's men' - even with access to all communications of all Americans - can no more find him than could they anticipate the collapse of the Soviet Union or the attacks of 9/11. The entire affair - along with the actions of Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and other whistleblowers - helps answer the pessimists who ask 'but what can one person do?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhere Is He Now?