Sunday, February 22, 2009

The head of the Drug Enforcement Administration spent more than $123,000 to charter a private jet to fly to Bogota, Colombia, last fall instead of taking one of the agency's 106 planes.

Obama Sides With Bush, Detainees Can't Challenge Detention in U.S. Courts

Obama: No rights for Bagram prisoners - White House- msnbc.com
"The Obama administration, siding with the Bush White House, contended Friday that detainees in Afghanistan have no constitutional rights

In a two-sentence court filing, the Justice Department said it agreed that detainees at Bagram Airfield cannot use U.S. courts to challenge their detention. The filing shocked human rights attorneys."



U.K. government is criminalising legitimate dissent under the guise of fighting 'extremism', a word for which it has no definition

Seumas Milne: According to the UK government, we are all extremists now | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

What about extreme sports? Are they criminal? What about that "extreme" new flavor of Mountain Dew?


The American Form of Government

Soros sees no bottom for world financial "collapse"

"Renowned investor George Soros said on Friday the world financial system has effectively disintegrated, adding that there is yet no prospect of a near-term resolution to the crisis.

Soros said the turbulence is actually more severe than during the Great Depression, comparing the current situation to the demise of the Soviet Union."

Soros sees no bottom for world financial collapse | U.S. | Reuters


Debt is what killed the Soviet Union, yet the U.S. just piles more and more on.


Big Pharma Quietly Hikes Drug Prices 100 Percent or More

Big Pharma Quietly Hikes Drug Prices 100 Percent or More
"Without any fanfare, pharmaceutical companies have been raising the prices of many of their drugs by 100 percent or more, according to a study conducted by researchers from the University of Minnesota."


Hey, gotta get ready for the gov't paying for it...


Bush Had Used Accouting Gimmicks to Show Smaller Budget Deficit, Obama to Get Rid of Them

"For his first annual budget next week, President Obama has banned four accounting gimmicks that President George W. Bush used to make deficit projections look smaller. The price of more honest bookkeeping: A budget that is $2.7 trillion deeper in the red over the next decade than it would otherwise appear, according to administration officials."

Obama Bans Gimmicks, and Deficit Will Rise - NYTimes.com


Civilians Continue to Be Killed En Masse in Afghanistan

"An airstrike by the United States-led military coalition killed 13 civilians and 3 militants last Tuesday in western Afghanistan, not “up to 15 militants” as was initially claimed by American forces, military officials here said Saturday."

U.S. Concedes Afghan Attack Mainly Killed Civilians - NYTimes.com


Monsanto's Tactics in India Lead to Farmer Suicides

There is a great documentary available on Netlfix called, The Future of Food, which describes Monsanto and the whole notion of patenting bioforms. I highly recommend it.

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Former Head of MI5 Says Fear of Terrorism Is Being Exploited by Gov't

"Dame Stella Rimington, the former head of MI5, has warned that the fear of terrorism is being exploited by the Government to erode civil liberties and risks creating a police state."

Spy chief: We risk a police state - Telegraph