Top Stories
Homeland Security Dept. Moves Beyond Terrorism to Check for Pickpockets and Movie Pirating
These days the Department of Homeland Security is tackling a whole lot more than terrorist plots.
Agents are investigating movie piracy, counterfeit merchandise, and small-time pickpockets.
They’re even spending time at schools and senior centers telling kids and the elderly to beware of crooks and perverts on the Internet.
This has government watchdogs and civil libertarians questioning DHS’s direction.
“They’ve kind of lost their way,” said former DHS Secretary Tom Ridge. read more
The So-Called Economic Recovery has Meant Replacing Good Jobs with Lower-Wage Ones
About 3.6 million jobs were lost in higher-wage industries during the downturn. Since then, however, the recovery has seen only 2.6 million of these positions return.
Meanwhile, lower-wage sectors lost 2 million jobs, but have gained back nearly twice as many, 3.8 million.
As for mid-wage industries, they accounted for 37% of job losses, but only 26% of recent employment growth. This has resulted in 958,000 fewer jobs in mid-wage industries than at the start of the recession.
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FCC Set to Say Goodbye to Net Neutrality
Some are suspicious that Wheeler, a former telecommunications executive and Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association lobbyist, will not do his utmost to protect consumers as the new rules are fashioned. The answer will come May 15, when the proposed new rules will be released. read more
Better to be Poor in Europe than in U.S.; Better to be Middle Class in Canada than in U.S.
This comes even though the United States is still the world’s richest country. However, increasing income inequality in the U.S. has caused median incomes to drop even as average incomes increase because of huge gains at the high end of the scale.
Poor people in the United States fare even worse, as they are far behind the median incomes of those living in Canada and much of Europe. read more
Federal Judges Clash with Law Enforcement over Cellphone and Email Data Requests
A small but expanding group of federal judges has thwarted efforts by law enforcement to have carte blanche to pry into the personal communications of suspects.
These judges have made it clear that protecting constitutional rights is more important in some cases than helping police conduct broad searches into cell phone and email data.
Facciola has characterized some law enforcement efforts to access entire contents of email accounts as “repugnant” to the U.S. Constitution.
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Texas City Prepares to become First U.S. City to Convert Sewage into Water for Homes
“You have people who say, ‘Ewww, I am drinking someone else’s toilet water,’” said Teresa Rose. “But...everyone downstream is already drinking someone else’s toilet water.”
The plan “is a bit grotesque,” said Pastor Bob McCartney.
“Nobody is excited about taking a leak and seeing it come back at you in the shower,” agreed George Berre.“
Yet converting sewage into drinking water may indeed be the wave of the future. read more
Military Judge Orders Release of Information about CIA Torture at Secret Prison
Nashiri was held at several secret CIA prisons before being shipped to Guantánamo Bay, where he has been detained since 2006.
His lawyers contend that he was tortured at the clandestine facilities, including being subjected to waterboarding and threats involving a gun and a power drill while CIA officials sought information from him about future terrorist plots. This information, if turned over to the military court, would not be released to the public, according to Pohl’s order.
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Federal Judges Order Obama Administration to Release Memo Justifying Assassination of Americans
The Obama administration has been ordered by a panel of federal judges to release its legal justification for assassinating Americans suspected of terrorist ties.
ACLU lawyer Jameel Jaffer called the decision “a resounding rejection of the government’s effort to use secrecy, and selective disclosure, as a means of manipulating public opinion about the targeted killing program.” read more
64,613 Software Engineers Join Class Action Hiring Conspiracy Lawsuit against Apple, Google, Intel and Adobe
The class-action lawsuit, with 64,613 plaintiffs, targets Google, Apple, Intel and Adobe for secretly agreeing not to poach each other’s engineers and to share salary information in an effort to control salaries.
The collusion reportedly began in 2005, when Apple’s Steve Jobs approached Google’s top executive, Eric Schmidt, about working together to hold down salaries.
After getting Google on board, Jobs “strong-armed” Adobe into joining the secret pact, according to court documents. read more
Obama has Averaged more than One Fundraiser a Week Since he became President
According to statistics compiled by Mark Knoller of CBS News, Obama has attended 373 fundraisers during the 1,900+ days since he’s been in office, which averages to almost one every five days. An investigation last year by The Guardian showed that Obama had attended 30 fundraisers in the seven-month period between April and November, even though he is not personally up for reelection. read more
Domestic Violence Rate Plunges
In an average of the two years ending in 1994, there were 13.5 cases of domestic violence per 1,000 persons aged 12 and over. By the two years ending in 2012, the average had been cut to 5.0 cases per 1,000. The steepest drop in domestic violence occurred between 1995 and 2001, when the rate fell from 13.2 per thousand to 6.2 per thousand in just six years. The steepest decline came in the rate of partner violence. read more
States Slowly Move to Ban Microbeads from Soaps and Facial Cleansers
No larger than grains of sand, microbeads have become a popular addition to many facial cleaners, soaps and even toothpaste. But environmentalists found microbeads exacerbate water and soil pollution. The non-biodegradable ingredients can absorb toxins in lakes and waterways, creating deadly concentrations consumed by fish that mistake the beads for food. read more
4.6 Million American Children go to a School within a Mile of a Facility with Hazardous Chemicals
Millions of children in the U.S. attend schools located within a mile of an industrial facility housing hazardous chemicals, according to a new study.
This total represents nearly 10% of all school-age children in the country. The number of schools operating this close to facilities with hazardous chemicals is nearly 10,000.
“Minority and low-income kids bear the greatest risks, but no one is immune from this danger," said
Katherine McFate, CEO of the Center for Effective Government. read more
FBI Accused of Trying to Turn Defense Security Officer into Spy in 9/11 Military Hearing Case
Attorney Jim Harrington, who is representing bin al Shibh, told the court that agents showed up at the home of his team’s defense security officer, whose identity was not revealed. The Miami Herald reported that the officer worked for SRA International, a government contractor.
Harrington said the FBI questioned the officer about possible wrongdoing by defense attorneys and convinced him to sign an agreement that would have him feed information to the bureau.
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Obama Whistleblower Program Requires Whistleblowers to Register to be Protected
Are whistleblowers—whose anonymity is often their best protection against retribution—made safer by being forced to register as whistleblowers with the U.S. government?
The Obama administration is demanding they step forward and sign up under the FBI's Insider Threat program.
Senator Charles Grassley criticized the effort, saying it is an idea that “should be pretty alarming to all Americans. Sometimes confidentiality is the best protection a whistleblower has.”
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Bureau of Land Management Gives in to Armed Protestors Supporting Rancher who Stopped Paying Fees to Graze Cattle on Federal Land
Rancher Cliven Bundy has refused since 1993 to pay the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) so his cattle could graze on public lands in Gold Butte, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas. His refusal continued even after losing two court battles in 1998 and 2013, as Bundy kept running his herd on the lands managed by BLM without paying the fees required of all ranchers. read more