Feds Embrace Lying in Response to Public-Record Requests | Threat Level. The Justice Department is proposing new Freedom of Information Act rules allowing the government to inform the public that records do not exist even if they do. The proposal, published in the Federal Registrar for comment, may codify existing practice, as the government has already lied to requesters of public records that relevant documents did not exist. Under normal practice, which seems Orwellian enough, the government may assert that it can neither confirm nor deny that relevant records exist if the matter involves national security. Under the latest proposal, however, FOIA requesters might not sue to challenge the designation because the government has told them they did not exist, civil rights groups said.
Documents may be withheld if they threaten to expose national security and for other privacy reasons, but ultimately the scope of disclosure is subject to a judge’s ruling if the requester sues. That said, judges aren’t very tough on the government when it does lie in FOIA cases.
Montana oil spill fouls Yellowstone River - World. An ExxonMobil pipeline that runs under the Yellowstone River in Montana ruptured Saturday and leaked hundreds of barrels of oil into the waterway, causing a 40-kilometre plume that fouled the riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts downstream to close intakes. The break near Billings in south-central Montana led to temporary evacuations of hundreds of residents along a 32-kilometre stretch. Cleanup crews deployed booms and absorbent material as the plume moved downstream at an estimated 8 to 11 kilometres per hour. The river has no dams on its way to its confluence with the Missouri River just across the Montana border in North Dakota. It was unclear how far the plume might travel. "The parties responsible will restore the Yellowstone River," Montana Gov.
ExxonMobil spokeswoman Pam Malek said the pipe leaked an estimated 750 to 1,000 barrels of oil for about a half-hour before it was shut down. ExxonMobil 'deeply regrets' spill Cause of rupture unknown. Bilderberg.
Big Brother in America. Facebook leaks access to accounts: Change your password now - Digital Life. Canada Possibly Bombed Own Oil Pipes. Americans Gone Wild. Gerald Celente is known to love to make the following statement: "When people lose everything and have nothing left to lose - they lose it. " Sadly, Celente is exactly right about this. As the U.S. economy continues to collapse, Americans are going to becoming increasingly frustrated, and this frustration will inevitably boil over into rioting and violence. Could we be starting to see the start of this already? The number of Americans that have "gone wild" seems to be escalating. Sadly, it appears that we are not the same kind of people that we used to be. There are examples of "Americans gone wild" all over the nation. As the economy continues to crumble this trend is going to get even worse.
*One elementary school teacher in the town of Monroe, Georgia was arrested recently for something very unusual. *In Sioux City, Iowa a 41 year old man recently walked into the office where his boss worked and beat the living daylights out of him. You don't think America has changed? ABORTED FETUSES EATEN IN CHINA-TALK BY ALAN WATT. Cultivating the New World Order. Netanyahu: Israeli army ready for anything. Alex Jones Bilderberg Is Running Scared. State multiculturalism has failed, says David Cameron. 5 February 2011Last updated at 18:55 David Cameron said Britain had encouraged different cultures to live separate lives David Cameron has criticised "state multiculturalism" in his first speech as prime minister on radicalisation and the causes of terrorism. At a security conference in Munich, he argued the UK needed a stronger national identity to prevent people turning to all kinds of extremism.
He also signalled a tougher stance on groups promoting Islamist extremism. The speech angered some Muslim groups, while others queried its timing amid an English Defence League rally in the UK. As Mr Cameron outlined his vision, he suggested there would be greater scrutiny of some Muslim groups which get public money but do little to tackle extremism. Ministers should refuse to share platforms or engage with such groups, which should be denied access to public funds and barred from spreading their message in universities and prisons, he argued.
Continue reading the main story Analysis Human rights. All-New Victimless Crime Report by PFP. 'US working on plan for immediate Mubarak departure' The White House was discussing a plan in which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak would resign immediately with Egyptian officials, The New York Times reported Thursday evening. The plan would place newly-appointed Egyptian Vice President Omar Suleiman in charge of a transitional government with the support of the country's military establishment, according to the report.RELATED:Mubarak: I'd resign, but Egypt would descend into chaosSenior Obama administration officials told the Times that the plan was being discussed with "high-level Egyptian officials around Mr. Mubarak," but not with the president himself. Washington has made several recent statements calling on the Egyptian president to step down immediately, although tempering their language.
The reported proposal calls for a widely inclusive transitional government, with representation coming from "a broad range of opposition groups, including the banned Muslim Brotherhood. " Leslie H. Industrial Disease « Sister Sage's Musings. Meet the Feller Buncher. This is a technological wonder. It looks like a great big dirty machine, but don’t be fooled. This is the future of the forest industry in BC.
This little technological breakthrough has replaced the labour of 10 men. It can fall, limb, stack, load…it can virtually put the children to bed, after feeding them and washing behind their ears. In my last post, I touched upon the social contract vis a vis the Corporation, as illustrated by Island Timberlands, an offshoot of Brookfield Asset Management. Meet Perry. My dad was born into logging. The industry has been given carte blanche with our public lands. …about 94 per cent of BC is Crown or public land. The implications of this are enormous for every citizen of BC, whether you live in Vancouver or Terrace. The theory that the corporate sector will trickle jobs is a baldfaced lie.
The Forest Service was concieved to protect the public interest in our biggest resource from the winds of political change. Like this: Watch Us Live | ThatChannel.com. 11. The Media Can Legally Lie. CMW REPORT, Spring 2003 Title: “Court Ruled That Media Can Legally Lie” Author: Liane Casten ORGANIC CONSUMER ASSOCIATION, March 7, 2004 Title: “Florida Appeals Court Orders Akre-Wilson Must Pay Trial Costs for $24.3 Billion Fox Television; Couple Warns Journalists of Danger to Free Speech, Whistle Blower Protection” Author: Al Krebs Faculty Evaluator: Liz Burch, Ph.D. Student Researcher: Sara Brunner In February 2003, a Florida Court of Appeals unanimously agreed with an assertion by FOX News that there is no rule against distorting or falsifying the news in the United States.
Back in December of 1996, Jane Akre and her husband, Steve Wilson, were hired by FOX as a part of the Fox “Investigators” team at WTVT in Tampa Bay, Florida. According to Akre and Wilson, the station was initially very excited about the series. FOX appealed the case, and on February 14, 2003 the Florida Second District Court of Appeals unanimously overturned the settlement awarded to Akre. “Fairness and balance?” Netherlands to Close Prisons: Not Enough Criminals. VAC MINISTER BLACKBURN TO ANNOUNCE CHANGES TO AGENT ORANGE EX GRATIA PAYMENT - David Pugliese’s Defence Watch. The Macquarie Connection | I'm Laila Yuile, And This Is How I See It. **** Updated January 12th,2011 While not evident in researching this post, it has been brought to my attention that Macquaries interest in the Casino was reduced in a debt reduction transaction that took place in August of last year, which received very little press.
The majority ownership now belongs to Catalyst Capital, a toronto based investment firm, which was , in layman’s terms,an exchange of payment of debt for shares. Macquaries investment was reduced to approximately 2%.I do research my stories to the best of my ability,and had confirmed the below information with not one, but two source’s. However, since New World Gaming is still listed as an owner, the minimal portion of that nature was not widely known. Those of you who have been readers for a while may have picked up on a couple of emerging themes over the last year. One surrounds the indepth features on some of BC’s P3 projects, and the other swirls around the Macquarie group of companies. Like this: Like Loading... Big Think. Barry Cooper's "Never Get Busted" Vol. 2: Never Get Raided (Full Length • HD) Canadian Federal Member of Parliament / Finance Minister Jim Flaherty and the Harper Conservatives.
Just the Facts: Jim Flaherty's top 10 mismanagement momentsAs originally posted on:Liberal.ca May 27, 2009 "I'm comfortable with our projections. I'm staying with our budget projection. We're on track. "- Jim Flaherty on the budget deficit, April 22, 2009 1. Broken promise on income trusts. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. NHPPA.org | Best Reason for a Referendum. Because the BC government and its media friends don't want one. Democracy needs a hand. Image by Dan Hubig. When I was at sea recently -- no, not that sort of at sea, I mean on the ocean -- I read a weighty but masterful book called The Life and Death of Democracy by Australian historian John Keane, who also, incidentally, authored a fine biography of Thomas Paine a few years ago.
Amongst many things he talks of the "monitor democracy," which has, in addition to the levers of government, outside monitoring agencies such as polling, think tanks, lobby groups and, of course, institutions like The Tyee. These have come about because the "system" poses few constraints on a government between elections. It is this fact, of course, that's led to recall and referendum procedures in many jurisdictions, including ours. Recall and referenda are seen by many to be dangerous because they often give power to premature judgements by voters. Pretending to love the referendum Let's go one step further. Fuelling the tax revolt: What is wrong with the NDP's anti-HST campaign.
The Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) has devoted much of its energy in recent months to opposing the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in Ontario and British Columbia. The new taxes came into effect on July 1, 2010. The HST merges the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) in both provinces. Items covered by the GST that were previously exempt from the PST are included under the new HST. Much of the Canadian left has been supportive of the anti-HST campaign on the grounds that consumption taxes are regressive (i.e. people pay the same rate of tax regardless of income). In contrast, it will be argued here that while left critics of the HST raise a valid point about neoliberal tax policies shifting the tax burden away from business, the campaign against the HST is misguided, for two main reasons. First, the anti-HST campaign dangerously dovetails the rhetoric of the right and serves to foment anti-tax sentiment among the general population.
Socialist Project | The Bullet. Matt Fodor The Canadian New Democratic Party (NDP) has devoted much of its energy in recent months to opposing the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in Ontario and British Columbia. The new taxes came into effect on July 1, 2010. The HST merges the Goods and Services Tax (GST) with the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) in both provinces. Items covered by the GST that were previously exempt from the PST are included under the new HST. Much of the Canadian Left has been supportive of the anti-HST campaign on the grounds that consumption taxes are regressive (i.e. people pay the same rate of tax regardless of income). In contrast, it will be argued here that while Left critics of the HST raise a valid point about neoliberal tax policies shifting the tax burden away from business, the campaign against the HST is misguided, for two main reasons. A Tax Shift Indeed, there is no shortage of anti-corporate rhetoric in the NDP’s anti-HST campaign.
Echoing the Right Wing Anti-Taxers 1. 2. The complicated truth about sea level rise. Just like the swimming polar bears have become symbols for disappearing sea ice in the Arctic, the remote atolls of the Pacific and the Indian Ocean have become emblematic for the consequences of sea level rise. It makes plain sense that on islands where the highest elevation is sometimes less than two meters, the IPCC’s predicted sea level rise of up to 58 cm by 2100 will cause devastation. Or does it? Things that seem obvious at first glance, usually turn out to be more complicated if you look closer. So too with climate change. In spite of the attention devoted to tropical islands over the last few years, with stories about “climate refugees” and whole nations being forced to move off their islands because of sea level rise, research on the subject has been scarce. There is little doubt that climate change is happening. It is highly probable that we will experience sea level rise this century and with it an increase in severe flooding events.
New information for old assumptions.
Corruption. Marci Kaptur North American Union Cintra. Politics. Economics. Calgary Social Services: "Anti-racist? We'll take your kids!" Early this morning, five thugs broke into the home of anti-racist activists Jason and Bonnie Devine. Their four children were asleep upstairs. The goons attacked Jason and another male with hammers and bats. The Devines are well-known in the area for their anti-Nazi activities, which most recently included leafleting an area where "Aryan Guard" members were known to hang out.
The children were not harmed--no doubt the brave Nazis were unaware that they were upstairs sleeping. Enter Calgary Social Services.* Unbelievably, they are threatening to apprehend the Devine children unless the Devines stop their anti-racist activity. Here is part of the Devines' account:We have been the victim of a hate crime. This was attempted murder, when 3-4 people simultaneously hit you with hammers and bats to your head and body this is not with the intention of leaving you as function [sic] person but dead. Words fail. No wonder Calgary is the "hate capital of Canada. " Death Note Connected to Murder in Belgium? | ComiPress. Connecting Bloggers. End-Run: The inside story behind energy's organized crime ring.