Category Archives: U.S.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Obama screws 400 Merchant Marines out of a job

“This has literally flabbergasted the American maritime industry.  The idea was to create American jobs and help the economy.  But all the profit from the sale of the oil has gone to traders and oil companies and all the profit from movement of the oil has gone to foreign shippers and crewmen, and that’s galling.“-Christopher Coakley, The American Waterways Operators

In the name of a national emergency, President Obama has waived U.S. Merchant Marine Law, and is allowing foreign ships to carry U.S. oil supplies.

About a month ago Obama decided that the situation in Libya was threatening world oil supplies, so he decided to release 30 million barrels of oil from the U.S. strategic reserves.

Under the U.S. Merchant Marine Act of 1920: “Section 27, better known as the Jones Act, deals with cabotage (i.e., coastal shipping) and requires that all goods transported by water between U.S. ports be carried in U.S. flag ships, constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents. The purpose of the law is to support the U.S. Maritime industry.”-Wikipedia

Obama decided the situation qualified as a national emergency, which allows him to wave the Jones Act.

According to U.S. merchant marine officials, Obama’s decision cost at least 400 U.S. jobs.

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

United Police States of America: Arizona City stands up to evil prison contractor GEO, says no more

Florida based GEO Group, got slammed by hundreds of Goodyear, Arizona residents, after GEO attempted to convince local authorities to let them build a new prison.

The Arizona Department of Corrections wants a new 5,000 bed prison.  They’ve picked 5 possible locations.  The prison will be run by a contractor, for 20 years.

So far several cities have indicated their desire to be the location of the new prison, but one city, Goodyear, made it clear they did not want a GEO run prison in their back yard.

It wasn’t just the people of Goodyear, but several businesses, and organizations as well. The list includes Duncan Family Farms; the Litchfield elementary school district, along with the city of Litchfield Park; property developers Sunbelt Holdings and Robson Resort Communities; and Sub-Zero refrigerator manufacturer.

A GEO representative tried to convince the Goodyear council that the prison could bring in an annual payroll of up to $51 million to the community.

Mayor Georgia Lord responded: “A prison does not grow anything but more prisoners.”

Along with the 5,000 bed prison, GEO is trying to get Arizona to build a smaller 3,000 bed prison in San Luis, near Yuma.

 

 

International, U.S.

United Police States of America meets United Police Kingdom: Scots horrified that U.S. prison contractor GEO will now run Scottish prison

“The decision to give control of an immigration center in Scotland to a company with so many allegations against them in relation to human rights shows a staggering lack of judgment.  The Scottish people will be horrified by this decision.”-Anas Sarwar, Glasgow Central MP

The GEO Group, a corporation that manages part of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp (GITMO), and manages several private prisons throughout the U.S., has won a contract to run the Dungavel immigrant removal center, in Scotland.

GEO has a record of sexual assaults against prisoners, and their own employees.

Recently guards at South Texas Detention Complex have been accused of forcing women prisoners to have sex with them, or they will be deported.

In 2007, Texas canceled a $9 million contract with GEO, and closed the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center, after it was revealed that the children were sexually abused.

One prisoner at GEO’s Willacy County prison, also in Texas, was beaten to death last year.

In October, 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a complaint against GEO, claiming the company permitted sexual harassment of female employees at their Central Arizona Correctional Facility.

Even Australia stopped doing business with GEO. Contracts were canceled after a series of scandals over rioting, racial abuse of detainees, and sexual assaults on women and children.

Dungavel immigrant removal center was established in 2001, to hold asylum seekers whose applications were rejected. The U.K. Border Agency overseas the operation of the center.  Amazingly British officials are happy with GEO’s track record: “We are satisfied that GEO have delivered this as a tried and tested formula.”-U.K. Border Agency spokesman

GEO officials say their track record has nothing to do with their performance: “No custodial or detention system is immune to incidents and challenges inherent in the management of offender populations, and it would be unfair to judge an organization’s record based on individual incidents rather than its overall record.”-Walter MacGowan, Managing director of GEO UK

 

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: Google knew those Canadian Pharmacy adds were illegal, ran them anyway

Google has agreed to pay $500 million in fines, for running illegal Canadian pharmacy adds.

The U.S. Department of Justice, said it is illegal to mail prescription drugs from outside the country.  Many of the Canadian online pharmacies did not require a prescription either.

Google officials admit they knew what they were doing could get them into trouble, so they set up a fund to pay any fines, if they were caught.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Global Economic War: Apple and Samsung fighting in Europe

“Samsung welcomes the Düsseldorf District Court’s decision to suspend the pan-European preliminary injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1.”– Rachel Jones, Samsung

Early in August Apple filed a complaint with the EU, over the Samsung Galaxy Tab.  Apple claims the Samsung tablet is too similar to the iPad 2.  At first the EU court agreed, but has now allowed the sale of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab in most EU member countries.

One legal analysts, Frank Mueller, says Apple still has a chance to beat Samsung, because the EU laws are too ambiguous, and open to much interpretation.  However, if Apple pursued the case it would “…reinforce a lot of people’s impression that Apple’s enforcement of design-related rights is… overreaching in some areas.”

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Spider Man is for real: The Dutch combine spider webs with human skin, makes bullet proof skin

Human skin has been bio-engineered to include spider silk.  Scientists in the Netherlands then fired a bullet at it.  Turns out it’s bullet proof!

Don’t get too excited, it was only a .22 caliber bullet.  But it shows promise, after all spider’s silk is the strongest thing in nature.

https://youtu.be/iX3LtVuGp4c

The experiment is known as 2.6g 329m/s (a reference to the .22 bullet), and was actually the invention of an artist, Jalila Essaidi.  She was inspired by a U.S. scientist, Randy Lewis, at the University of Utah.

The spider silk came from Utah, it was combined with skin in a Dutch dermatology lab, and Essaidi paid for the experiment.  The spidey skin has spider silk between the dermis and the epidermis.

Essaidi said her main motivation was simply to see if it could be done.  She also fired a few .22 rounds at the spidey skin.  She doesn’t think the spider silk is harmful because it’s biodegradable, so it would degrade over time.  She also thinks that, unfortunately, that would result in loose skin.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Nokia Siemens helping governments to spy on you through social media

“If the U.S. or the EU are proudly focusing on internet freedom, while security and other ICT products made in the West are used to repress the same citizens we are trying to protect, this is clearly neither credible nor effective.”-Marietje Schaake, EU Member of Parliament from Netherlands

In Bahrain, where the U.S. supported government has been cracking down on peaceful protestors, and detaining and torturing them, human rights groups have revealed that Bahraini officials are tracking people’s activities through their cell phones.

Bahrain is using technology developed by Nokia Siemens.  Bahraini activist Abdul Ghani Al Khanjar said while he was being tortured his own cell phone conversations were being read back to him.  He was detained for seven months.

This is not the first time the company has been accused of enabling spying and torture.  Last year, two Iranians attempted to sued Nokia Siemens in U.S. Federal court. They alleged that the surveillance technology helped Iranian security forces to arrest and torture them.

Nokia Siemens Networks is a joint venture between the Finnish Nokia and the German Siemens.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? German Auto Makers making big profits, but economists say the party is over

The Germany auto industry has seen skyrocketing sales this year, mainly in China and India.  But a Center Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany, study predicts dire sales in the near future.

CAR boss Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, says the growing debt problems of Europe, United States, and even Japan, will eventually drag down the world economy.  He predicts a “significant fall in growth” for the German auto industry.

Germany has the strongest performing car makers in the world.  According to the Center of Automotive Management, VW holds 1st place, Daimler 2nd, and BMW holds 4th place (Korea’s Hyundai holds 3rd).

However, Center of Automotive Management predicts German car sales in China will soon drop off.  So far Germany has seen 20% to 30% sales gains year after year.  CAM analysts believe that in the near future German car makers will be lucky to see 5% sales growth in China and India.

5% sales growth will not be enough to make up for predicted loses in other markets (like the U.S.): “The gains that will be made in China and India won’t be able to compensate for the slight losses in other markets.”-Ferdinand Dudenhöffer, Center Automotive Research

 

 

U.S.

United Police States of America: NYPD using CIA tactics to spy on non-white Americans, NYPD officials call it “fiction”

“Some in the department, including lawyers, have privately expressed concerns about the program.”-Associated Press

The Associated Press (AP) revealed that the New York Police Department is using spy tactics “that would run afoul of civil liberties rules if practiced by the federal government” and “does so with unprecedented help from the CIA in a partnership that has blurred the bright line between foreign and domestic spying.”

NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne says the report is “marked by outright fiction.”

The AP says their months long investigation included interviews with more than 40 current and former members of the NYPD, as well as Federal officials.

CIA veteran David Cohen, was hired in 2002 by NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly.  The anti-terrorist program targeted non-white communities.  Cops detained people based solely on how they looked.

The NYPD even asked New York taxi companies to spy on their employees.

Police attorneys told AP that when they warned police officials they were breaking the law, on the grounds that many of the people rounded up were innocent, the cops started shredding their files.

A possible reason why federal cops ratted on the NYPD, to the Associated Press, is because the NYPD overstepped their bounds.  New York cops launched operations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, possibly interfering with federal operations.  That made federalis like the FBI mad.

International, Technology, U.S.

United Police Kingdom: British Bobbies taser to death another man, at least three police killings in 8 days

For the third time in eight days British Bobbies have killed using a taser, and pepper spray.

August 23, Greater Manchester Police officers tasered to death a 53 year old truck driver. They say they were trying to stop him from killing himself!

August 22, a 25 year old amateur rugby player, died after he was hit in the face with pepper spray and subdued by up to 11 cops.

August 16, a professional bodybuilder, and father of two, was pepper sprayed and then tasered three times with 50,000 volts, before dying.  He became the first Brit to be killed with a taser.

Until last week no one in United Kingdom had been killed by the use of a taser. In United States, Amnesty International says that since 2001, more than 460 people have been killed with a taser.