On Wednesday, the U.S. Senate voted 69-29 in favor of the so-called „border surge“ proposal, an amendment to the Gang Of Eight‘s comprehensive immigration reform bill that would shove tens of billions of dollars into border surveillance, fencing, and enforcement. The legislation, authored by Republican Senators Bob Corker of Tennessee and John Hoeven of North Dakota, cleared the way for the Senate’s passage of the overall comprehensive immigration reform Thursday afternoon, locking up support from 14 GOP Senators.
Daily Archives: 28. Juni 2013
House Passes 2014 NDAA; NSA Surveillance Will Lead to Indefinite Detention
The annual renewal of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is underway on Capitol Hill.
On June 14, by a vote of 315-108, the House of Representatives passed the Fiscal Year 2014 version of the NDAA (HR 1960). Several amendments to the defense spending legislation were proposed, many of which were approved either by voice vote or en bloc.
Kerry und Chutzpa
WENN MAN zufällig am Ben Gurion-Flughafen auf John Kerry trifft, mag man sich fragen, ob er kommt oder geht. Er fragt sich das vielleicht selbst.
Seit vielen Wochen hat er jetzt die meiste seiner kostbaren Zeit für Treffen mit Benjamin Netanyahu und Mahmoud Abbas verbracht, indem er versuchte, die beiden zusammen zu bringen.
„Sie errichten einen totalitären Staat“
Der Whistleblower William Binney versucht schon seit Jahren, auf die Datensammelwut der NSA aufmerksam zu machen. Als ehemaliger NSA-Mitarbeiter war er an der Entwicklung der Überwachungsprogramme beteiligt.
Dank Euch haben wir über 10 Millionen Bestandsdaten-Abfragen allein in diesem Jahr erreicht
Abfragen: online, unter 0800 110, in Pullach oder bei einer Polizeidienststelle in Ihrer Nähe.
FBI sued over secretive facial recognition program
The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit digital rights group based out of California, sued the United States Department of Justice this week for failing to comply with multiple Freedom of Information Act requests filed last year by the EFF.
Alkoholproblem in der Bundeswehr: Schwer geladen
(14.6.2013) Am Sonntag um 23:20 Uhr Ortszeit sei es in einem Unterkunftscontainer des Feldlagers Masar-i-Scharif „zu einer ungewollten Schussabgabe mit einer Pistole P8“ gekommen – so steht es im Schreiben von Generalleutnant Hans-Werner Fritz an einen kleinen Kreis von Bundestagsabgeordneten.
„Das Geschoss drang in den gegenüberliegenden Unterkunftscontainer ein und blieb in einem Bett stecken.“ Der Bundeswehrsoldat, „der sich zu diesem Zeitpunkt schlafend in dem Bett befand“, sei nicht verletzt, so der Chef des Einsatzführungskommandos der Bundeswehr. „Nach derzeitigem Sachstand kann nicht ausgeschlossen werden, dass der Schussabgeber Alkohol konsumiert hatte.“
Poor English saved Japan bankers from Lehman: Minister
Japan‘s banks emerged from the 2008 global credit crisis largely unscathed because senior employees did not speak English well enough to have got them into trouble, the country‘s finance minister said Friday.
President Obama Just Got His Recess Appointments Power Back
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s (D-NV) office tells ThinkProgress that the Senate is now adjourned until Monday, July 8, with no “pro forma” sessions planned during the coming week. This is significant because these pro forma sessions, sham sessions where a single senator briefly gavels the Senate into session for a few minutes, are a legally controversial method the Senate uses to cut off the president’s recess appointment power. Without these sham sessions, President Obama’s power to recess appoint several officials currently being filibustered by Senate Republicans likely just roared back to life.
House and Senate Bills Would Block Military Aid to Syria
As the Obama administration rushes to deploy the U.S. military in Egypt in defiance of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution, Representative Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) have offered bills that would block the pipeline of U.S. military aid flowing to al-Qaeda in Syria.
Joined by Republican Representatives Justin Amash (Mich.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Ted Yoho (Fla.), Phil Roe (Tenn.), Mo Brooks (Ala.), Joe Pitts (Penn.), Mark Meadows (N.C.), Scott DesJarlais (Tenn.), and Louie Gohmert (Texas), Representative Massie introduced H.R. 2507, a measure that points out the president’s violation of the separation of powers — particularly regarding the authority to declare war — in the supplying of military arms and funds to Syrian forces opposing the al-Assad government.
JONES CALLS FOR HEARINGS ON CIA’S SECRET CASH PAYMENTS TO KARZAI
The request comes in response to reports that for over ten years, the Central Intelligence Agency has secretly delivered tens of millions of U.S. taxpayer dollars in cash to Afghan President Hamid Karzai.
“The American people are outraged by these revelations,” the letter reads. “They rightly believe their hard-earned tax dollars ought to be spent here at home, not secretly funneled to Hamid Karzai, a man who has publicly stated that he would ‘choose the Taliban’ over the United States.”
H.R.2507 – To restrict funds related to escalating United States military involvement in Syria.
06/26/2013 Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on Armed Services, and Intelligence (Permanent Select), for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
JONES SPEAKS OUT AGAINST UNCONSTITUTIONAL MILITARY ACTION IN SYRIA
“We cannot continue to spend American money and risk American lives overseas without a vote of approval from Congress,” said Jones. “For too long, the legislature’s responsibility to authorize military force has been overlooked. It is time that we uphold the Constitution, which makes it clear in Article 1, Section 8 that Congress alone holds the power to declare war.”
Restricted web access to The Guardian is Armywide, officials say
The Guardian‘s website has classified documents about the NSA‘s program of monitoring phone records of Verizon customers, a project called Prism which gave the agency „direct access“ to data held by Google, Facebook, Apple and others, and more.
US-Armee sperrt Zugriff auf britischen The Guardian
Gordon Van Vleet, ein Sprecher des Army Network Enterprise Technology Command, sagte gegenüber dem Monterey County Herald, dass die Sperrung des Guardian eine Schutzmaßnahme gegen unautorisierte Veröffentlichungen von geheimen Dokumenten sei.
Elektronische Gesundheitskarte droht Millionen- Fiasko zu werden
Erst hat es eine gefühlte Ewigkeit gedauert, bis die elektronische Gesundheitskarte eingeführt wurde und nun scheint die Gesundheitskarte ein Millionen- Debakel ohne Nutzen für die Versicherten zu werden.
Bundestag: Schwarz-Gelb verhindert schärfere Regeln gegen Abgeordnetenbestechung
Union und FDP haben einen entsprechenden Vorstoß mit ihrer Mehrheit in namentlicher Abstimmung abgelehnt. SPD und Grüne wollten eine Freiheitsstrafe von bis zu fünf Jahren, wenn sich Abgeordnete für eine Gegenleistung in bestimmter Weise verhalten
Critical website blocked for four days in Zambia
A private website that documents alleged Zambian government corruption has been blocked in the country since Monday, its editor told CPJ. The Zambian Watchdog‘s Lloyd Himaambo has said that the website‘s staff believes the authorities are responsible for ordering the blocking.
Revealed: ASIC’s secret website block notices
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has published the full text of its official notices to telcos requesting they block websites suspected of providing fraudulent financial information
Turkey investigating insults, riot incitement on Twitter, Facebook
Turkish authorities are cracking down on social network users who posted insults about officials, or incited riots using popular social networking services.
Europol sperrt 151 Webseiten wegen Produktpiraterie
Die europäische Polizeibehörde Europol hat in Zusammenarbeit mit der “US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s” (ICE) 151 Webseiten in Europa sperren lassen. Das berichtet die ICE in einer Pressemitteilung auf ihrer Webseite.
Defense Department Blocks All Web Access To The Guardian In Response To NSA Leaks
Once again, the US government appears to be taking an incredible head-in-sand approach to the various leaks about NSA surveillance. The latest is that the Defense Department is now telling everyone in the DoD to block access to The Guardian‘s website, which was seen very clearly after it was discovered that the US army is blocking access to the Guardian‘s website from all Army computers. This is not only petty and stupid, but useless.
Letta, looking like Tarzan!
Thus to get access to this possibility you have to be chronically unemployed (it’s no good if you’ve just been unemployed for 5 months), be semi-illiterate (if you’ve got qualifications it’s too bad), not live with parents but alone (in fact a young person without an income always leaves home) and have dependants like an old granny or a wife or children. Who, in God’s name fulfils all these conditions in Italy?
If there’s a guy who’s chronically unemployed, semi-literate, and with dependants, then he can access Letta’s “ significant measure“
Many Italians fed up of Euro-rhetoric says Letta
„There is a very strong feeling of impatience with Euro-rhetoric, both in Italy‘s political parties and in certain segments of the population,“ Letta told a press conference.
EU gives Serbia green light to start membership talks
European Union leaders gave Serbia the go-ahead on Friday to start negotiations by January on joining the bloc, capping a remarkable transformation in the prospects of the former Yugoslavia since the wars of the 1990s.
British writer and producer Joseph Lang dies in Vietnam
Members of the British film industry have paid tribute to Joseph Lang, who has died in Vietnam at the age of 33. The writer and producer was found dead on Monday outside a medical centre in Ho Chi Minh City. The cause of death is not yet known and Lang‘s Sussex-based family are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination.
DIE ELEMENTE DES MENSCHEN (IV): Die Auflösung des Dritten Paradoxon Hierarchie und Stände
Fortsetzung der Schriftreihe aus 2010 über den gesellschaftlichen und historischen Zusammenhang von Wissen und Macht, sowie entsprechend den Einfluss der Informationswelt auf die Gesellschaftsstruktur
UK mid-market firms close in on Germany‘s Mittelstand
South of England now highest-performing region across Europe‘s four largest economies, GE Capital report finds
Afghanistan‘s new rich – in pictures
A tiny elite in Afghanistan enjoys a lavish lifestyle, including glittering new apartments, shopping malls and celebrations at luxury wedding halls
Producer prices down 1% in May: Third straight drop in latest sign recession worsening
Italian producer prices fell for the third straight month in May in the latest sign that Italy‘s longest recession in over 20 years is deepening, Istat said Friday.
Labor dispute escalates at Korean daily
The firm demanded that reporters sign a document in which they pledge to work under a managing editor and observe the company rules, according to the union.
When they refused to sign it, the security guards pushed the reporters out of the newsroom. Their access to the computer system was also blocked and their IDs were deleted, it said.
2011 Immigration detention at Villawood
For more than a decade, the Commission has called for reforms to Australia’s system of mandatory and indefinite immigration detention – both in light of the impacts it has on people’s mental health and wellbeing, and because it leads to breaches of Australia’s international human rights obligations.During this time…
Sydney ohne Sydney: Ismail lebt in einem australischen Internierungslager
Australien hat eine strenge Flüchtlingspolitik. Wer im Boot oder Flugzeug ohne gültige Papiere einreist, wird eingesperrt. Aus Sicherheitsgründen. Die Prüfung der Visabeantragung kann sich über Jahre hinziehen. Obwohl diese Methode viel kritisiert wird, gibt es kaum Aussichten auf eine schnelle Änderung der Verhältnisse.
Asylum seeker, aged 26, dies in Villawood detention centre
(20.06.) A young asylum seeker has died after collapsing in Sydney‘s Villawood detention centre, sparking outrage amongst fellow refugee detainees.
Villawood detainee rioters sentenced to jail time
On 20 April 2011, two men climbed onto the roof of one of the centre‘s buildings in protest against their continuing detention and rejection of visa applications.
However, the disturbance escalated as nine more men joined them and items were thrown at staff from the rooftop
Mission statement
September 1994
The American Society of News Editors is dedicated to the leadership of American journalism. It is committed to fostering the public discourse essential to democracy…
Fewer journalists in US newspapers
According to the latest newsroom census carried out by the American Society of News Editors, there were about 2,600 fewer full-time professional editorial jobs at American newspapers in 2012, a 6.4% decline from 2011.
Vatican ‚will help alleged currency scam probe‘
No request yet from Italian authorities
EU-Beitritt: Heim zum alten Onkel, der ähnliche Probleme hat
Das Europabild in Kroatien ist stark von der Abgrenzung zum Balkan und der ehemaligen Zugehörigkeit zur Monarchie Österreich-Ungarn geprägt
EU-Gipfel segnet Lettlands Euro-Beitritt ab
Die Staats- und Regierungschefs der EU haben am Freitagvormittag den Beitritt Lettlands zur Eurozone 2014 abgesegnet. Der baltische Staat wird am 1. Jänner 2014 das 18. Mitglied der Währungsunion, teilte Ratspräsident Herman Van Rompuy über den Kurznachrichtendienst Twitter mit.
European Union Makes Surprise Deal on Budget
The European Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, announced agreement on a seven-year, 960 billion euro, or $1.27 trillion, budget after early morning talks with the president of the European Parliament and other officials from E.U. member states.
Ermittlungen der US-Justiz: Vier-Sterne-General soll Stuxnet-Programm verraten haben
Bis zu seiner Pensionierung war er einer der wichtigsten Berater von Präsident Obama in nationalen Sicherheitsfragen. Inzwischen arbeitet er für den Think Tank „Center for Strategy and International Studies“. Seit seinem Ausscheiden hat er Obamas Sicherheitspolitik mehrfach scharf kritisiert – unter anderem wendete er sich gegen den Drohnenkrieg gegen al-Qaida.
Atomwaffen-General wird gefeuert: Kommandowechsel bei Stratcom
Am 24.Juni 2013 teilte das U.S.-Verteidigungsministerium in einer knapp verfassten Erklärung ohne nähere Angaben von Gründen mit, dass Präsident Barack Obama den Kommandeur der U.S.-Pazifikflotte zum nächsten Kommandanten des U.S. Strategic Command nominiert hat, zu dessen Aufgabenbereich nicht nur das im Juni 2009 zur Überwachung des Internets geschaffene United States Cyber Command gehört, dessen derzeitiger Chef General Keith B. Alexander auch gleichzeitig als Direktor der National Security Agency (N.S.A.) eingesetzt ist.
Ex-Pentagon general target of leak investigation, sources say
while the probe that Attorney General Eric Holder ordered initially focused on whether the information came from inside the White House, by late last year FBI agents were zeroing in on Cartwright, who had served as one of the president’s “inner circle” of national security advisors.
EFF Sues FBI For Access to Facial-Recognition Records
Lawsuit Seeks Transparency Before Implementation of a ‚Bigger, Faster and Better‘ Biometrics System
UK may OK creating babies with DNA from 3 people
Britain may allow a controversial technique to create babies using DNA from three people, a move that would help couples avoid passing on rare genetic diseases, the country‘s top medical officer says.
AOPA demands answers on aircraft searches
With a growing number of reports from law-abiding pilots stopped by armed federal agents on the ramp, their aircraft searched by federal agents, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection remains silent, and outrage is building.
U.S.-Italy strategic dialogue meeting held
Warzone withdrawls, bilateral security and arms addressed
Kerry resumes tough Israeli-Palestinian peace mission
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry‘s drive to revive Middle East peace talks hit familiar warning signals on Thursday as Israel‘s prime minister stressed security needs and a Palestinian negotiator denounced Israeli settlement building.
Bundesnachrichtendienst muss die Unterlagen über Adolf Eichmann nicht ohne Schwärzungen vorlegen
Behörde darf sich auf gebilligte Geheimhaltungsgründe und fachgesetzliche Versagungsgründe des Fachsenats berufen
Germany can keep Eichmann records secret, court rules
In 2006, the CIA released documents showing that it wrote to its West German counterpart in 1958, saying it had information that Eichmann „is reported to have lived in Argentina under the alias ‚Clemens‘ since 1952“.
Leader of leftist party in Mexico‘s Oaxaca state found dead
The dead body of a top leader of Mexico‘s Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) for southern Oaxaca state was found on Thursday and police are investigating his death as a homicide, the state attorney general‘s office said.
FBI Paid Off Wikileaks Insider To Be An Informant: Imagine If It Was The NY Times
People like to debate whether or not Wikileaks is or is not a „media property,“ but I can‘t see any definition of a media property under which Wikileaks would not fall. Yes, it publishes leaked documents, but so do many other media properties.
NATO Secretary General urges Russia to accept commitment on non-use of force ag
„I know that Georgia has unilaterally taken this commitment and publicly stated this, so I call on Russia to assume the same commitment,“ the Secretary General of NATO said.
100 tons of drugs burnt in Iran
Iran burnt at least 100 tons of illicit drugs on Wednesday in the capital in a ceremony attended by officials and foreign dignitaries. Officials said Tehran seized more than 500 tons of various narcotics in the last Iranian calendar year, which ended March 20. The ceremony came as the world marked the annual UN International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Iran is located on a major drug route between Afghanistan and Europe, and large amounts of drugs flow through the country.