November 18, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
Despite urging from the Russian prosecutors and the potential national-security implications of a case involving at least one former FSB (successor to KGB) agent, the trial of those accused of conspiring in the killing of journalist Anna Politkovskaya will be held in open court. The first trial hearings began “behind closed doors”, and Karina Moskalenko —a human rights lawyer working with Politkovskaya’s family— was allegedly poisoned while in France.
More on page 776
September 2, 2008 :: staff :: No Comment Yet
The Republican party kicked off its nominating convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, last night, with a heavy focus on the plight of those displaced by Hurricane Gustav. Fortunately, the storm did not turn out to be “the storm of the century”, but it did leave over 1 million homes and businesses without electricity along the Gulf coast. So in an effort to avoid anything resembling the perceived indifference with which the catastrophic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was met, the GOP has devoted significant time to voicing its support for efforts to send aid to the Gulf coast.
More on page 610
June 11, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
The Federal Communications Commission has been asked by leading members of Congress to investigate revelations about a Pentagon program to use retired military personnel, some working for defense contractors and arms manufacturers, to deliver “talking points” on US television in the months before the Iraq war. The viewing public was not informed of these officials’ special relationship to their former employer or of their ties to military contractors who stood to profit from the war.
More on page 342
April 21, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
19 April :: “The global food crisis became official yesterday [15 April] when the UN called for urgent intergovernmental action and farming reforms to tackle the soaring prices that are plunging millions of people into potentially deadly poverty”, reports UK’s Independent; reports of riots from southeast Asia to the Caribbean, along with multiple border crises […]
More on page 207
April 20, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
GUARDIAN BLOG CLASSES IT “WORST. DEBATE. EVER.”
Two ABC News reporters were criticized for the quality of the debate questions they posed to the two senators competing for the Democratic nomination for the US presidency. Some critics have said the questions were reminiscent of the kind of exaggerations and innuendo typical of “character-assassination” campaigns waged by […]
More on page 95
April 10, 2008 :: admin :: One Comment
10 April :: ABC News reported yesterday that “In dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House, the most senior Bush administration officials discussed and approved specific details of how high-value al Qaeda suspects would be interrogated by the Central Intelligence Agency, sources tell ABC News”; Rice chaired the meetings, as National Security […]
More on page 205
March 25, 2008 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
We are on the verge of a major communications and global economic revolution, in which major media, technological advances, cloud computing and dispersed optimization, adapt to and take over new models for living and producing in human society. The New Scientist magazine reports in its March 15-21, 2008 edition that “web 3.0 will be about making information less free”.
More on page 266
February 2, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
2 February :: Wash. Post reports “Two mentally disabled women strapped with remote-control explosives — and possibly used as unwitting suicide bombers — brought carnage to the two pet bazaars, in attacks Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said sought to ‘turn Baghdad back to the pre-surge period’”; at least 99 people were killed in the two […]
More on page 167
January 24, 2008 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
The potential for broad-scope “electronic agents” —preprogrammed service aggregators and self-organizing databases with proactive marketing capability—, aiding in everyday information-related activities, will require a new security standard to prevent identity theft, which could become one of the gravest threats to economic performance and individual liberty.
More on page 229
January 9, 2008 :: admin :: One Comment
AT&T is proposing the implementation of new filtering technologies “at the network level” that would essentially interrupt in a definitive way the public’s freedom to access online content. The concept known as ‘net neutrality’ refers to consumers and netizens’ ability to freely gain access to any site, paid or unpaid, without major telecommunications companies programming […]
More on page 139
November 7, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
7 November :: Benazir Bhutto has called on Pakistan pres. Musharraf to restore constitution, fix date for elections, step down as army chief, or she will lead mass demonstration in Lahore, march with thousands of supporters to Islamabad to repeat demands; police used force to put down pro-Bhutto rally outside parliament building in Islamabad… In […]
More on page 72
November 6, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
6 November :: Privacy advocates say Real ID —a Homeland Security plan to force all US citizens to carry uniform biometric ID cards— may be finished, as DHS official reportedly indicated to officials from several states their citizens will not be penalized for the states’ rejecting Real ID; 17 states have passed legislation opposing the […]
More on page 69
November 5, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
5 November :: Foreign envoys aim to force Musharraf to keep promises to US, UK, to hold elections in January, step down as military chief or face drop in Western support… As reports say as many as 3,500 dissidents have been arrested in Musharraf’s 2nd military takeover, the Pakistani president has said on state television […]
More on page 67
November 3, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
3 November :: Senate subcommittee approves America’s Climate Security Act, legislation aimed at capping greenhouse gas emissions, now to be voted by full Environment and Public Works committee; bill touted as milestone in US climate policy; Sen. Lieberman has said it is the “Manhattan Project” for climate change that activists have long called for, bill […]
More on page 62
October 31, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
31 October :: US authorities fear catastrophic dam failure in Iraq: “A catastrophic failure of the largest dam in Iraq would send a wave 65ft high hurtling down the valley of the river Tigris, killing up to 500,000 people, US engineers warned yesterday” reports UK’s Independent; Army Corps of Engineers warns failure of the two-mile-across […]
More on page 58
October 27, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
27 October :: China plans to spend $14.4 billion to clean up Lake Tai, 3rd largest fresh-water lake in country, affected by direct toxic dumping, rampant algal bloom that cut off drinking water to Wuxi, a city of 2.3 million; according to IHT “Lake Tai, known as China’s ancient “land of rice and fish,” is […]
More on page 54
October 19, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
19 October :: US att. gen. nominee Mukasey has told Senate panel he believes so-called ‘unlawful combatants’ are not entitled to Geneva Conventions protections, a view contravened by existing law and jurisprudence; US Supreme Court has already ruled the Conventions govern US treatment of prisoners, not which prisoners enjoy protections; HRW reports “In Hamdan v. […]
More on page 46
October 14, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
14 October :: UN report shows rate of women dying during or just after childbirth in US on par with Belarus, Serbia, ten times worse than world’s safest, Ireland; a UN statement on the joint UN-World Bank report said “Among the ten top-ranked European and other industrialized countries, where women are guaranteed good-quality health and […]
More on page 41
October 7, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
7 August :: Brain-eating amoeba found throughout Tucson, AZ, water supply, authorities say no need to worry, as chlorination kills parasite; at least 6 young men and boys have been killed by the Naegleria fowleri amoeba this year in warm lakes, according to NIH researcher for recreational water-born diseases; scientists say rising temperatures may mean […]
More on page 34
September 27, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
27 September :: Reports emerge from Rangoon military junta has raided monasteries in effort to end pro-democracy rallies; UN Security Council has urged regime to meet with special envoy, China says it views Burma crisis as “internal affair”; reports suggest 70 monks were abducted from one monastery alone by security forces; junta has warned demonstrators […]
More on page 24
August 9, 2007 :: J.E. Robertson :: No Comment Yet
THE OPEN INTERNET IS A FORCE FOR DEMOCRACY & OPEN GOV’T, NOW IT IS UNDER THREAT FROM THOSE WHO WISH TO BOTTLENECK THE FREE PRESS
The concept of ‘net neutrality’ refers to the current state of affairs in the free democracies of the world, where those who control the physical infrastructure of the Internet are not […]
More on page 77
July 29, 2007 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
IHT STORY SUGGESTS US ECONOMIC GROWTH SAVING WORLD MARKETS FROM TAILSPIN
I was amazed to see an article entitled “Strong U.S. economy helps slow drop in world markets”, knowing that the dollar is falling, people are struggling to make ends meet, we’re constantly hearing about bankruptcies on the rise, and the housing market is, well, in […]
More on page 75
June 18, 2006 :: admin :: No Comment Yet
Rep. Brad Miller (D-NC) is to introduce an amendment to legislation currently under debate, which would restrict the executive branch’s ability to gag scientists, manipulate their findings or demote those who disagree with official policy. The legislation would also require that scientists appointed to investigatory panels be selected for their credentials, not their political views. […]
More on page 68
