The Justice Department is urging a federal appeals court in Washington to strike down a ruling that said former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld can be held personally liable for the alleged torture of an American contractor detained in military custody in Iraq.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will hear the case, Doe v. Rumsfeld, on Monday morning. DOJ lawyers said in court papers that the suit impermissibly intrudes on foreign detention poli... (more)
On Thursday (March 15), CNNMoney reports, "the long-awaited free-trade agreement between the United States and South Korea … went into effect," representing "the biggest U.S. trade deal since the North American Free Trade Agreement began in 1994." One might assume that a libertarian, promoting individual rights and free markets, would (or should) favor such a deal as the practical implementation of li... (more)
Marc Faber: The Perils of Money Printing's Unintended Consequences
Marc Faber does not mince words. He believes the money printing policies of the Federal Reserve and its sister central banks around the globe have put the world's currencies on an inexorable, accelerating inflationary down slope.
The dangers of money printing are many in his eyes. But in particular, he worries about the unintended consequences it subjects the populace to. Beyond curr... (more)
Rep[ulsive] John "The Toupee" Mica (R-FL) is out there again, prattling about "privatizing" the "security" at airports. By that he means the TSA should "supervise" checkpoints, not staff them, while "private" companies supply the personnel.
You'll never hear The Toupee nor the media's lapdogs admit that this was precisely the arrangement that prevailed on 9/11, except that the FAA rather than the TSA was supervising -- and minutely: It dictated everything "private" screeners did, ... (more)
Breitbart.com has uncovered video from 1995 of then-U.S. Attorney Eric Holder announcing a public campaign to "really brainwash people into thinking about guns in a vastly different way."
Holder was addressing the Woman's National Democratic Club. In his remarks, broadcast by CSPAN 2, he explained that he intended to use anti-smoki... (more)
All student health care plans covering female college students in the United States must include coverage for free voluntary sterilization surgery, the Department of Health and Human Services announced late Friday afternoon.
Women of college age who do not attend school will also get free sterilization coverage whether they are insured through an employer, their parents, or some form of government-subsidized plan.
All student health plans, HHS said Friday as it fina... (more)
KANDAHAR CITY (PAN): A parliamentary probe team on Thursday said up to 20 American troops were involved in Sunday’s killing of 16 civilians in southern Kandahar province.
The probing delegation includes lawmakers Hamidzai Lali, Abdul Rahim Ayubi, Shakiba Hashimi, Syed Mohammad Akhund and Bismillah Afghanmal, all representing Kandahar province at the Wolesi Jirga and Abdul Latif Padram, a lawmaker from northern Badakhshan province, Mirbat Mangal, Khost province, Muhammad Sarw... (more)
Who could have guessed? All you had to do was read the initial witness reports then note how the US spun their 'single soldier' lie instantly before any investigation had even taken place. - Chris
The official U.S. story alleges that a single gunman-soldier lost his mind temporarily, left the base, massacred 16 innocent people, burned some of them, and then returned to base and turned himself in.
A new report could not be more different: "A parliamentary probe team on Thursday said up to 20 American troops were involved in Sunday's killing of 16 civilians in south... (more)
WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange plans to run for a seat in the Australian Senate, despite being under house arrest in the United Kingdom, the whistleblower group has tweeted.
Wikileaks announced its intentions today, saying the organisation also planned to field a candidate to run against Prime Minister Julia Gillard in her seat of Lalor at the next election.
Internet tycoon Kim Dotcom's cash, cars and property were seized using a court order which should never have been granted.
A judgment from Justice Judith Potter on Friday declared the restraining order "null and void" and having "no legal effect".
The blunder might now lead to the beleaguered internet mogul getting back everything that was stripped away in the surprise dawn raid on his mansion eight weeks ago.
Police commissioner Peter Marshall and th... (more)
When people download a film from Netflix to a flatscreen, or turn on web radio, they could be alerting unwanted watchers to exactly what they are doing and where they are.
Spies will no longer have to plant bugs in your home - the rise of 'connected' gadgets controlled by apps will mean that people 'bug' their own homes, says CIA director David Petraeus.
The CIA claims it will be able to 'read' these devices via the internet - and perhaps even via radio waves from o... (more)
A few months ago, in writing about a fascinating interview between Jack Abramoff and Larry Lessig, we talked about Abramoff's admission that the best way to "buy" a Congressional staffer was to merely let them know that they had a lobbying job waiting for them "whenever they wanted it." He noted that, after that, those staffers basically worked for Abramoff more than working for t... (more)
A co-founder for Invisible Children was detained in Pacific Beach on Thursday for being drunk in public and masturbating, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Jason Russell, 33, was allegedly found masturbating in public, vandalizing cars and possibly under the influence of something, according to the SDPD. He was detained at the intersection of Ingraham Street and Riviera Road.
An SDPD spokesperson said the man detained was acting very strange, some may s... (more)
I must admit, I find it odd they did not arrest him. All drugs are medical issues, yet how many drug users do the SDPD let get treatment and go free? They put people on the sex offender registry list for peeing in public. - Chris
Rick Santorum wants to put an end to the distribution of pornography in the United States.
"America is suffering a pandemic of harm from pornography," Santorum's official website reads. "Pornography is toxic to marriages and relationships. It contributes to misogyny and violence against women. It is a contributing factor to prostitution and sex trafficking."
The Justice Department on Thursday issued a 60-day stay of execution for hundreds of thousands of public pools which had been required to install ramps and wheelchair lifts by today or else face lawsuits over violating disability laws.
President Obama in 2010 dramatically expanded the rules for access under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the new regulations mean that every publicly accessible pool — from municipal facilities to hotels — must have two "accessi... (more)
Governor Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders announced yesterday their agreement on a bill that would allow authorities to obtain the DNA of anyone convicted of a felony or a penal law misdemeanor and put it in a DNA databank that law enforcement officials could access when investigating other crimes.
The "All Crimes DNA Bill" is the first of its kind in the entire country. Previously -- in New York and everywhere else in Ame... (more)
Few things in life are as satisfying as a transformative and implausible reversal of history that carries with it stern justice for wrongdoing and sweet victory for the side of truth and human well-being. When it happens, the period in which the wrong persisted without correction fades into memory as a mere parenthesis in the forward trajectory of time — and this is true whether the period of error lasted a year or 10 or a hundred.
A beautiful case in point: the re-emergence... (more)
At over a million digital listens, “Mr. Daisey Goes To The Apple Factory” is This American Life’s most popular episode. That’s no small feat for one of the world’s most well-known radio shows. When it aired, it set off yet another firestorm of controversy regarding the ethics of Apple (and other large tech companies) using cheap Chinese labor through major manufacturers like Foxconn. Mr Daisey, who has been touring for years with a monologue about his visit to the f... (more)
"I could be well moved, if I were as you
But I am constant as the Northern Star,
Of whose true fixed and resting quality
There is no fellow in the firmament.
The skies are painted with unnumbered sparks;
They are all fire, and every one doth shine.
But there's one in all doth hold his place.
So in the world: 'tis furnished well with men,
And men are flesh and blood, and a... (more)
Some will swear that marijuana has merit for motorists. Others fear impairment of any kind, at any level. We're pretty terrified of teen drivers, especially those with cell phones and hangovers, but we'll leave it to the government to intervene on this great debate.
Under a bill introduced last month by a SoCal assemblywoman, driving while stoned would result in an automatic DUI offense.
The proposed bill would tag this "offense" onto the section of the Vehicle Code... (more)
The story from The Daily swept through the Internet with blazing speed. The report: Criminals around the country are stealing an inordinate number of bottles of Tide laundry detergent. This is not because the criminals plan to go into the laundry business. There is not a "grime wave." It seems that these Tide bottles are functioning as a store of value, even a form of money, within many black markets.
As the story memorably puts it, on the street, Tide is known as "liquid gold." H... (more)
