Sunday, March 30
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William Muller is the guest editor today. |
White House to Seek Expansion of Powers for Federal Reserve
“The Bush administration will propose Monday that Congress give the Federal Reserve broad new authority to oversee financial market stability, in effect allowing it to send swat teams into any corner of the industry or any institution that might pose a risk to the overall system.”
"More than 200 colleges have created homeland-security degree and certificate programs since 9/11, and another 144 have added emergency management with a terrorism bent."
Feds Tout New Domestic Intelligence Centers
“Federal, state and local cops are huddling together in domestic intelligence dens around the nation to fuse anti-terror information and tips in ways they never have before, and they want the American people to know about it -- sort of. ”
Drug Companies Still 'Banking' on Dems With Political Money
“All in, the sector has coughed up $18,000,000 so far. Clinton has grabbed more than anyone or $4.4 million of that cash, Obama has taken $3.9 million and McCain $1.4 million. Obama has also been quite vocal about not being beholden to 'special interests' and 'lobbyists.'”
Attorney General Gets Emotional in Calling for Surveillance Power
“Attorney General Mukasey, in an emotional plea for broad surveillance authority in the war on terror, is warning that the price for failing to empower the government would be paid in American lives.”
More Soldiers Returning From Iraq With PTSD
"The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs reports that as many as 20 percent of veterans returning from Operation Iraqi Freedom are also returning home with post-traumatic stress disorder."
Torture in Our Own Backyards: The Fight Against Supermax Prisons
“Imagine living in an 8-by-12 prison cell, in solitary confinement, for eight years straight. Your entire world consists of a dank, cinder block room with a narrow window only three inches high, opening up to an outdoor cement cage, cynically dubbed, 'the yard.' If you're lucky, you spend one hour five days a week in that outdoor cage, where you gaze up through a wire mesh roof and hope for a glimpse of the sun.”
Obama's National Public Education Plans
"This is, obviously, not a full-blown plan to federalize the nation's public schools. But it does represent a bold and intrusive step in that direction. Senator Obama sees the state as an instrument to redeem us..."
500,000 to 2 Million Children in U.S. Are Homeschooled
“For Leslie Nathaniel, who gave up a computer-consulting job to homeschool her daughters, the reason was simple, but crucial. She says she wanted the joy of seeing them grow every day and helping them discover the fun of learning on their own and at their own pace.”
Mini-Spy Helicopters Help Police Fight Crime
“The small spy-in-the-sky contraptions fit into a backpack and are capable of vertical takeoff and landing. Their manufacturer, Honeywell International, has installed technology that allows the 14lb wingless drone to 'stare' using electro-optic or infrared sensors.”
The Private Sector’s Tramping in Iraq
“Ranking Blackwater executives have used inside influence as administration fund-raisers to multiply their no-bid war contracts a thousandfold to more than $1 billion. Armed Blackwater guards redefined Ugly American for the Iraqi people last September in fatally shooting 17 civilians with impunity in a burst of 'spray and pray' panic on the streets of Baghdad.”
Olympic Protester Sentenced to Five Years Imprisonment, Beaten
“Olympic human rights activist Yang Chunlin was sentenced to five years imprisonment Tuesday for 'inciting subversion of state power' by championing his cause with the slogan, 'We don't want the Olympics, we want human rights.' While being taken from the courtroom, police shocked him with electric batons in front of his family.”
Learn English or Go to Jail, Judge Tells Spanish Speakers
Bear Stearns Bailout - Socialism for the Rich
“Overnight, though, the most powerful central bank in the world has sent out a message to other central banks in the world —that it’s okay to interfere with free enterprise and that they shouldn’t think twice about making the taxpayer pay for cowboy antics on the trading desk.”
Traveler
Said
Going Fishing? Pack Your Passport
“Rick Ungar's charter fishing service promises a great time on Lake Erie. But there's a catch — and it's not freshwater fish. It's the Homeland Security Department's new anti-terrorism rules.”
Business Interests at Risk from Domestic Spying
“So any company wanting to develop 'software as a service,' hosted services, Web-based email or any sort of initiative that involves remote databases that are accessed over the Internet, now has to deal with one big privacy question: Will the U.S. government be snooping in on our data?”
Protester 'Will Go to Prison Again'
“A council tax protester faces prison for the second time this year for refusing to pay £65 of last year's bill...The self-employed security advisor currently pays nearly £1,400 council tax a year...and believes if rates keep rising like this his three year-old daughters could be paying £6,000 annually by the time they are 18.”
Police Call for Help from Volunteer Spies
“Police are seeking hundreds of volunteers to spy on crime hot spots and trawl through surveillance tapes to help catch criminals...In some cases, the volunteers will use binoculars to monitor areas and pass on details of suspicious activities to police.”
Man Gets 2 Months for Selling Endangered Fish
“A San Francisco man has been sentenced to two months in federal prison and four months in home confinement for selling an endangered species of fish over the Internet.”
Florida Police Taser 11-Year-Old Girl
Man Tells Police 'I've Been Raped by a Wombat'
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