Monthly Archives: February 2009 »
The Two Documents Everyone Should Read to Better Understand the Crisis
By William K. Black As a white-collar criminologist and former financial regulator much of my research studies what causes financial markets to become profoundly dysfunctional. The FBI has been warning of an “epidemic” of
Read More »EU tells U.S.A: Don’t create new Guantanamo
By Ingrid Melander The United States must not allow its Bagram military base in Afghanistan to become a new Guantanamo Bay if it wants European Union help to close the prison on Cuba,
Read More »Would You Go to Jail to Protest Torture?
By Sherwood Ross Are you ready to go to jail for what you believe? Would you stand up to the Pentagon by engaging in non-violent civil disobedience to protest torture? Two men of faith
Read More »Britain admits terror suspects given to US
By LOUISE NOUSRATPOUR DEFENCE Secretary John Hutton admitted on Thursday that British forces in Iraq handed over two terror suspects to the US who were then rendered to Afghanistan for interrogation and possible torture.
Read More »20,000 banking staff to pay for bosses’ errors
By PAUL HASTE MILLIONAIRE Royal Bank of Scotland bosses put the jobs of thousands of low-paid finance workers on the line on Thursday in a last-ditch bid to avoid full-scale nationalisation. Admitting the largest-ever
Read More »Pentagon moves to impose secrecy on budget talks
AFP – Senior Pentagon officials have had to promise they will keep the details of the US military budget secret as the Defense Department prepares to make tough cuts on weapons programs, a spokesman
Read More »US Combat Missions in Iraq Will Continue After ‘Pullout’
By Jason Ditz Just one day after reports came out regarding the Obama Administration’s 19 month withdrawal plan from Iraq, the Pentagon was detailing the enormous number of troops that would remain on the
Read More »Prisoners tortured to death
By Stephen C. Webster The American Civil Liberties Union has released previously classified excerpts of a government report on harsh interrogation techniques used in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. These previously unreported pages detail
Read More »Jack Straw blocks release of cabinet minutes on Iraq
By Ann Talbot The UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw has vetoed a ruling made under the Freedom of Information Act instructing the government to release the minutes of two key cabinet meetings on March
Read More »How Credit Unions Survived the Crash – Casino Capitalism
CounterPunch While the reckless giant banks are shattering like an over-heated glacier day by day, the nation’s credit unions are a relative island of calm largely apart from the vortex of casino capitalism. Eighty
Read More »Facebook backtracks on TOS; Privacy changes still coming later
By Larry Dignan Facebook has reverted to its old terms of service after a backlash from users. Over the weekend a ruckus ensued after it was discovered that Facebook changed two sentences to its
Read More »Facebook now owns your content – forever
By Verity Burns Facebook has updated its terms of service this month, claiming rights to all content uploaded to the site, even after you delete your account. Previously, the terms had read that Facebook’s
Read More »Police will not be prosecuted for Jean Charles de Menezes killing
By Paul Bond The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced Friday that no police officer would face trial for the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes. The CPS had reviewed the case following the open
Read More »Afghanistan: Annual report (2008) – protection of civilians in armed conflict
KABUL AND GENEVA – 17 FEBRUARY 2009 – The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) today publishes its report on the situation of civilians in armed conflict in 2008. This report, compiled by
Read More »Ex-MI5 chief: Ministers scare public to pass terrorism laws
By Paul Waugh A FORMER MI5 chief today accused the Government of exploiting fears of terrorism to pass draconian laws as fresh allegations emerged of Britain’s complicity in torture. Dame Stella Rimington declared that
Read More »Photographers protest new antiterror law
By Owen Amos at New Scotland Yard Hundreds of photographers protested outside Scotland Yard in London this morning as a new law which they claim restricts their freedom came into force. From today, under
Read More »Despite Obama call for open government, Justice resists disclosing Bush secrets
WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President Obama‘s vow to open government more than ever, the Justice Department is defending Bush administration decisions to keep secret many documents about domestic wiretapping, data collection on travelers and
Read More »Experts: U.S. ‘war on terror’ globally eroded human rights
GENEVA, Feb 16 – Washington’s “war on terror” after the Sept. 11 attacks has eroded human rights worldwide, creating lingering cynicism that the United Nations must now combat, international law experts said on Monday.
Read More »Pilots want end to ID card plan
By Nick Heath The government’s controversial ID card project ran into more trouble today, as the scheme was snubbed by both airline pilots and the Scottish government. Lawyers for the British Airline Pilots’ Association
Read More »A Torture Report Could Spell Big Trouble For Bush Lawyers
By Michael Isikoff | Newsweek But the OPR probe began after Jack Goldsmith, a Bush appointee who took over OLC in 2003, protested the legal arguments made in the memos. Goldsmith resigned the following
Read More »Chávez wins Venezuela referendum
guardian.co.uk Hugo Chávez‘s ambition to lead Venezuela for decades to come was backed by his people last night as the country voted yes in a referendum to abolish presidential term limits, paving the way
Read More »US Soldiers Investigated Over ‘Fraud’ Bigger Than Madoff
The Independent In what could turn out to be the greatest fraud in US history, American authorities have started to investigate the alleged role of senior military officers in the misuse of $125bn (£88bn)
Read More »Britain’s Detention Regime Causes Devastating Impact
Britain’s Control Orders And Detention Regime Cause Devastating Impact On Families, Report Reveals The Institute of Race Relations has published a new report on the devastating impact on family life of Britain’s anti-terrorist control
Read More »Scottish Ministers ‘completely opposed’ to ID cards
The Scottish Government today denounced Westminster plans for identity cards as “unacceptable”. In a strongly-worded letter to the Home Office, community safety minister Fergus Ewing said the Scottish Government remained “completely opposed” to the
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