statism

Talk of CIA prisons censored at Guantanamo hearing

"US authorities censored part of a preliminary hearing Monday at a Guantanamo military tribunal that touched on CIA secret prisons where suspected 9/11 plotters say they were tortured. Reporters watched the proceedings against the five 9/11 suspects at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba behind a thick, sound-proof glass wall and listened to piped-in audio with a 40-second delay. But when a defense lawyer mentioned the CIA secret sites at Monday’s hearing, a red light flashed on and the sound from the courtroom was cut off. The audio from the proceedings was replaced by white noise, preventing journalists from listening." Continue reading →

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Google unveils detailed North Korea map… with gulags

"Google has rolled out a detailed map of North Korea that even labels some of its remote and infamous gulags. Until now North Korea was pretty much a blank canvas to users of Google’s Map Maker, which creates maps from data that is provided by the public and fact-checked in a similar process to that used by Wikipedia. Mr Mysore said the North Korea section had been completed with the help of a 'community of citizen cartographers' working over a period of several years." Continue reading →

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Pentagon planning massive cybersecurity increase

"The US Department of Defense has approved a fivefold expansion of its cybersecurity force over the coming years in a bid to increase its ability to defend critical computer networks, The Washington Post reported. Citing unnamed US officials, the newspaper said the Defense Department’s Cyber Command, which currently has a staff of about 900, will expand to about 4,900 troops and civilians. The decision to expand the Cyber Command was made by senior Pentagon officials late last year in recognition of a growing threat in cyberspace, the report said." Continue reading →

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Obamacare Layoffs Begin In Health Care Services; Insurers, Hospitals Set To Profit

"It looks like Obamacare is having some negative effects on the industry it was intended to help. Dr. Nick Turkal, CEO of Wisconsin-based non-profit health care provider Aurora Health Care, announced job cuts due to Obamacare. Orlando Health, a Florida network of community and specialty hospitals, said it would be laying off 400 employees due to new Obamacare costs. Likewise, small medical device company ADM Tronics says Obamacare will mean the company will have to lay off employees for the first time in over a decade. Hospitals and insurance companies alike are expected to receive a large influx in payments due to the new health law." Continue reading →

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How Did Americans Survive Until 1892 Without the Pledge of Allegiance?

"The Pledge of Allegiance was composed by Frances Bellamy in 1892. It came about as a commercial promotion of a youth magazine to sell flags and get flags placed atop schoolhouses. Congress formally adopted the Pledge in 1942. The Supreme Court ruled in 1943 (W. Va. Bd. of Educ. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)) that school children have a right to refuse to participate in saying the Pledge. Mr. Justice Jackson's opinion is readable and worth reading for what it says about the limits to government actions that seek unity, conformity, and affirmation of belief through compulsion. In 1954, Congress added the words 'under God' to the Pledge." Continue reading →

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Indoctrination Nation: Students Taking Oath To Constitution In Order To Graduate?

"A bill making its way through the Arizona state legislature would require public high school students to swear an oath to defend the Constitution before they receive their diplomas. If passed, it would require principals to verify in writing that a student had recited the following oath before they were allowed to graduate, beginning in the 2013-2014 school year." Continue reading →

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Confused professors shocked schools are cutting their hours to avoid Obamacare penalties

"Robert Balla, an adjunct professor of English at Stark State College, in North Canton, Ohio received a letter in which he was told that 'in order to avoid penalties under the Affordable Care Act…employees with part-time or adjunct status will not be assigned more than an average of 29 hours per week.' He told the Journal that the move cut his $40,000 salary by about $2,000 and that he cannot afford health insurance. 'I think it goes against the spirit of the [health-care] law,' Mr. Balla said. 'In education, we’re working for the public good, we are public employees at a public institution; we should be the first ones to uphold the law, to set the example.'" Continue reading →

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How cigarette smuggling fuels Africa’s Islamist violence

"The key role cigarettes play in facilitating terrorism has been inexplicably ignored. But it has become of urgent interest to western intelligence agencies as they seek to check al-Qaida’s diverse factions operating across the Saharan region. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has concluded that 'cigarette smuggling has provided the bulk of financing for AQIM'. The total value of the illicit tobacco trade in north Africa is thought to exceed $1bn (£632m). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that Africans smoke 400bn cigarettes a year, of which 60bn are bought on the black market." Continue reading →

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Who Says You Can Kill Americans, Mr. President?

"Presidents had never before, to our knowledge, targeted specific Americans for military strikes. There are no court decisions that tell us if he is acting lawfully. Mr. Obama tells us not to worry, though, because his lawyers say it is fine, because experts guide the decisions and because his advisers have set up a careful process to help him decide whom he should kill. He must think we should be relieved. Oddly, under current law, Congress and the courts are involved when presidents eavesdrop on Americans, detain them or harshly interrogate them — but not when they kill them." Continue reading →

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