Jul
17
2013
With the emergence of the Arab Spring, Occupy Wall Street in the US, and Europe’s indignados, today’s prevailing political movements seem to reject both Western capitalism and the traditional bureaucratic left power structures of the former Soviet Union.
In the midst of this forging of an alternative approach to popular social justice movements, the work of a little known Russian …
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Jul
17
2013
WASHINGTON — Chances are, your local or state police departments have photographs of your car in their files, noting where you were driving on a particular day, even if you never did anything wrong.
Using automated scanners, law enforcement agencies across the country have amassed millions of digital records on the location and movement of every vehicle with a license plate, according to a study published Wednesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. Affixed to police …
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Jul
17
2013
A white man named Michael Dunn shot and killed an unarmed black teenager named Jordan Davis in Florida last year after a brief dispute. The prosecutor overseeing the case is Florida state attorney Angela Corey. Dunn, who will be tried for murder, claims the shooting was in self-defense. Sound familiar?
Now that the state’s nationally televised and notorious self-defense case has ended with the acquittal of defendant George Zimmerman, a next potentially high-profile test of the …
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Jul
17
2013
The Central Intelligence Agency is funding a scientific study that will investigate whether humans could use geoengineering to alter Earth’s environment and stop climate change. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) will run the 21-month project, which is the first NAS geoengineering study financially supported by an intelligence agency. With the spooks’ money, scientists will study how humans might influence weather patterns, assess the potential dangers of messing with the climate, and investigate possible national …
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Jul
17
2013
Barclays must pay $435m within 30 days, while one trader must pay $15m and three others $1m each.
Barclays must also forgo $34.9m in profits, which will be distributed to low-income aid programmes in Arizona, California, Oregon and Washington.
Barclays said it intended to “vigorously defend this matter”.
The fines were first proposed by staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last October, and have now been upheld by the body’s board of commissioners.
FERC accused Barclays of …
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Jul
17
2013
BP has set up a “snitch line” to reward people who inform the oil giant about fraudulent claims related to 2010’s massive Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The hotline promises that “tips that lead directly to an indictment, a recovery of money paid, or the denial of a claim because of fraud or corruption may entitle the reporter to a reward”.
The move comes after BP appealed to a New Orleans court to reassess the terms of its …
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Jul
17
2013
LONDON (AP) — Britain has legalized gay marriage after Queen Elizabeth II gave her royal stamp of approval.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow told lawmakers that the royal assent had been given Wednesday — the day after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in England and Wales cleared Parliament.
The queen’s approval was a formality. It clears the way for the first gay marriages next summer.
The bill enables gay couples to get married in both civil …
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Jul
17
2013
NEW YORK — Bank of America says its second-quarter profits soared, helped by higher earnings from investment banking and cost-cutting.
The results beat analysts’ expectations. The bank earned $3.6 billion in the quarter after payments to preferred shareholders. That was up 70 percent from $2.1 billion a year ago.
Per share, that worked out to 32 cents. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected 25 cents per share. The bank’s stock rose 1 percent in pre-market trading.
Bank of …
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Jul
17
2013
PATNA, India (AP) — At least 22 children died and more than two dozen others were sick after eating a free school lunch that was tainted with insecticide, Indian officials said Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear how chemicals ended up in the food in a school in the eastern state of Bihar. One official said the food may not have been properly washed before it was cooked.
The children, between the ages of 5 and 12, …
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Jul
16
2013
We’ll speak with the lawyer for Marissa Alexander, an African American mother sentenced to 20 years in prison in Florida for shooting a gun that killed no one. And, a report on LA’s protests against the Zimmerman verdict. Plus, the first in our new series called “The Science of Health,” focused on the ill effects of artificial sweeteners. And, the first of a three part conversation with KPFK host and author Suzi Weissman on her …
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