Yahoo grassed up journalist to Chinese copsSEARCH OUTFIT Yahoo! has helped send a Chinese business journalist, who sent a 'pro-democracy' story to the foreign press, to jail for more than 10 years.
According to Reporters without Borders, Shi Tao, who worked for Contemporary Business News, was convicted in a case concerning "top secret level state secrets" because Yahoo Holdings supplied information that helped police track him down.
Shi supplied information to foreign news sites about then pending 15th anniv... (more)
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Hundreds of fingers on the trigger: Every police officer on Merseyside could soon be equipped with a Taser stun gunTHEY have been a controversial addition to the armoury of the British police force but the people of Merseyside will have to get used to the sight of the electronic stun gun.
Tasers have been operating on Merseyside for more than six months without alarm.
Up to this point, though, the 50,000-volt weapons, which cause targets to lose muscle control and either freeze on the spot or collapse to the ground, have been available only to armed response units.
... (more)
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Government Sabotage Of Hurricane Katrina Relief EffortsA great reader has put together a list of examples of government sabotage of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.
CONFESSIONS OF VITAL NATIONAL INTEREST
"Bureaucracy has committed murder here in the greater New Orleans area, and bureaucracy has to stand trial."
-Aaron Broussard, president Jefferson Parish council, MSNBC, TRANSCRIPT Meet the Press with Tim Russert, VIDEO: "Feds criticized for slow response," and VIDEO: "She drowned Friday night," September 4, 200... (more)
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Offers of Aid Immediate, but U.S. Approval Delayed for DaysOffers of foreign aid worth tens of millions of dollars -- including a Swedish water purification system, a German cellular telephone network and two Canadian rescue ships -- have been delayed for days awaiting review by backlogged federal agencies, according to European diplomats and information collected by the State Department.
Since Hurricane Katrina, more than 90 countries and international organizations offered to assist in recovery efforts for the flood-stricken region, but... (more)
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Administration's figures on response don't appear to add upNEW YORK One of the earliest and perhaps clearest alarms about Hurricane Katrina's potential threat to New Orleans was sounded not by the Weather Channel or a government agency but by a self-described weather nerd sitting on a couch in Indiana with a laptop computer and a remote control.
"At the risk of being alarmist, we could be three-four days away from an unprecedented cataclysm that could kill as many as 100,000 people in New Orleans," Brendan Loy, who is 23 and has no forma... (more)
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Blog of a 'weather nerd' gave early warning of KatrinaNEW YORK One of the earliest and perhaps clearest alarms about Hurricane Katrina's potential threat to New Orleans was sounded not by the Weather Channel or a government agency but by a self-described weather nerd sitting on a couch in Indiana with a laptop computer and a remote control.
"At the risk of being alarmist, we could be three-four days away from an unprecedented cataclysm that could kill as many as 100,000 people in New Orleans," Brendan Loy, who is 23 and has no formal... (more)
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Ex-FEMA Chief Blames White House(CBS) Jane Bullock was chief of staff for the Federal Emergency Management Agency during the Clinton administration under the leadership of Director James Lee Witt. In an interview with CBS News correspondent Thalia Assuras, Bullock placed the blame for the slow, stumbling federal response squarely on the shoulders of the Bush administration. These are excerpts from that interview.
THALIA ASSURAS: Where do you place the majority of the blame?
JANE BUL... (more)
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Right city, wrong state: FEMA accused of flying evacuees to wrong Charleston(CNN) -- Add geography to the growing list of FEMA fumbles.
A South Carolina health official said his colleagues scrambled Tuesday when FEMA gave only a half-hour notice to prepare for the arrival of a plane carrying as many as 180 evacuees to Charleston.
But the plane, instead, landed in Charleston, West Virginia, 400 miles away.
It was not known whether arrangements have been made to care for the evacuees or transport them to the correct destination... (more)
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Corruption among UN senior staff, says inquirySeptember 07, 2005-THE Volcker inquiry into the Oil-for-Food scandal called for a significant overhaul of the UN yesterday as it prepared to reveal details of “serious instances of illicit, unethical and corrupt behaviour” at the world body.
The three-member committee, led by Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, released the preface to a 1,000-page report that is to be presented today to the UN Security Council.
“The main co... (more)
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Electronic Tags Used to Track ImmigrantsSep 06, 2005-The use of new electronic devices to track products, pets, and people using radio frequencies is growing at what privacy advocates say is an alarming rate, given concerns that the technology is being implemented without proper safeguards, in both the public and the private sectors.
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology is used around the world in everyday consumer products from produce to beer kegs to DVDs. Increasingly it is being tested as a method to tra... (more)
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Iran weapon 'is five years away'A London-based think-tank which has become a leading authority on the unconventional weapons capabilities of so-called "rogue states" has estimated that Iran could develop enough weapons-grade uranium to develop a nuclear weapon within five years.
But in a 128-page dossier on Iran yesterday, the International Institute of Strategic Studies (IISS) also said Iran was more likely to build up a production capability over more than a decade and then decide whether to acquire atomic wea... (more)
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A Solution In Alaska NEW YORK - Hurricane Katrina may have blown open the door to oil drilling in previously forbidden territory.
The deadly storm last week not only destroyed the historic city of New Orleans and important port towns in Mississippi and Alabama, it took direct aim at the heart of the U.S. refining and oil industry. With refineries and pipelines struggling to come back, and some 58 offshore drilling rigs either missing or damaged, talk has turned to diversifying where the U.S. drills fo... (more)
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Katrina 'set to slow US economy'US growth is likely to slow in the remaining months of this year because of Hurricane Katrina's destruction, US Treasury Secretary John Snow says.
Mr Snow forecast that as much as 0.5% may be knocked off the US's annual gross domestic product (GDP).
The US, the world's largest economy, had been expected to grow by close to 3.5% this year.
However, that was before Katrina blew ashore, killing thousands and causing damages of close to $100bn (£55b... (more)
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Hurricane website is IE onlyThe Federal Emergency Management Agency has not exactly won hearts and minds with its ability to manage an emergency. The agency, and its boss Michael Brown, has been widely slated for its handling of the post-Katrina disaster in the Southern US.
Although its latest failing hardly compares to the litany of incompetence already exhibited but it does manage to make the situation slightly worse for some people. FEMA's website can only be accessed by people using a PC which has Intern... (more)
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The Katrina factor and energy pricesNEW YORK - Energy markets, already strained by robust demand and tight refining capacity in the United States, are now being roiled by a new force: the Katrina factor.
One of the largest hurricanes in US history is already raising energy costs. By midday Tuesday, the wholesale price of gasoline in the futures market was $2.37 a gallon, which would indicate a retail price above $3. A barrel of oil had soared to more than $70, almost $4 more than two days ago. Home heating oil was u... (more)
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California says 'no' to junk-food sales in schoolsLOS ANGELES - California is poised to ban sales of soda and fast foods on public school campuses - including high schools - in a move being closely watched by many other states that are weighing whether to do likewise.
In a bill that public health authorities call "the most impressive gains in school nutrition since school lunch was introduced after World War II," the state Assembly and Senate have approved legislation they feel will help reduce childhood obesity by eliminating ac... (more)
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FEMA Deliberately Sabotaging Hurricane Relief Efforts: Multiple parishes revolt, use armed guards to defend against fedsPaul Joseph Watson & Alex Jones | September 6 2005
Numerous credible sources have come forward with examples of how the Federal Emergency Management Agency is deliberately sabotaging Hurricane Katrina relief efforts in New Orleans. This represents a ruthless attempt on the part of FEMA to impose a federal takeover of the area for their own benefit amid a tragedy that has already claimed anything up to 10,000 lives.
The mainstream media has picked up on this story bu... (more)
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Government Intervention in Stock Market is Detailed by New Report, GATA SaysMANCHESTER, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 6, 2005--A major Canadian financial management firm that a year ago published a compilation of evidence of central bank manipulation of the gold price has just done the same in regard to the U.S. stock market and has reached a similar conclusion.
The new report is titled "Move Over, Adam Smith: The Visible Hand of Uncle Sam," and has been published by Sprott Asset Management of Toronto. It was written by the firm's president, John P. Embry... (more)
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Windsor, Ontario residents face $5000 fine if caught holding more than three garage sales per yearGarage sales fans in Leamington, near Windsor, Ont. have been warned.
Three's OK. Four isn't.
Officials in the southwestern Ontario town of 21,000 have introduced a bylaw prohibiting anyone from holding more than three garage sales per year.
Excessive noise and traffic have been blamed.
"We'll shut you down and we'll charge you," said Brian Sweet, Leamington's chief administrative officer. Fines could reach $5,000 for people who try to ... (more)
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FEMA Executive Orders Paved The Way For Emerging Police State Hell: New Orleans is just the first to fallSteve Watson | September 6 2005
In the wake of the unfolding police state crisis in New Orleans and the Federal Coup d'Etat of all Constitutional laws there it begs the question, how could this happen?
The answer lies with the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the multiple executive orders that have gradually and symptomatically eroded away all aspects of the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
It is FEMA that is handling everything and syst... (more)
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Former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury on New Orleans: "Americans Are Being Brainwashed": Mentality is "like that of the brown shirts that followed Hitler"Steve Watson/Alex Jones | September 6 2005
Paul Craig Roberts has held a number of academic appointments and has contributed to numerous scholarly publications. He served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury in the Regan administration.
Roberts followed up his commentary Impeach Bush Now, Before More Die with an interview on The Alex Jones show on Monday 5th September 2005. The ... (more)
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