Recession saw US millionaires claim millions in unemployment
Poring through IRS data can uncover some interesting statistics, apparently, as reports show that in the midst of the economic downturn, $80 million in unemployment benefits have been doled out to American millionaire households. Some 3,200 households reporting an adjusted gross income of over $1 million collected jobless assistance payments averaging $12,600, for an overall [...]
Tea Party lashes out at ‘Monsanto Protection Act’
Members of the Tea Party have joined protesters standing up against the ‘Monsanto Protection Act’, calling the provision a ‘special interest loophole’ for friends of Congress. The provision has now sparked so much outrage that both the far right and the far left are uniting in their condemnation of Section 735 of the Agricultural Appropriations [...]
US news media has devolved to ‘carnival act’ – Hedges
Chris Hedges, author, columnist and former Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist for The New York Times spoke with RT about how FCC deregulation during the Clinton administration allowed a handful of corporations to dominate US media. RT: I want to start off by reading a quote from one of your articles on this very topic, you say: “The [...]
Judge plugs “private email” loophole in CA public records law
In a big victory for open government, a Superior Court judge in San Jose has ruled that the state’s Public Records Act applies to government officials’ emails and texts about government business–EVEN IF those messages are sent or received using the officials’ private email or text accounts, rather than accounts belonging to the government. The [...]
US plans to allow spy agencies to monitor every citizen’s finances – report
Washington is reportedly considering opening all US financial records to national intelligence agencies in order to prevent future crimes. Only the FBI has had unlimited access to such databases; other agencies had to file case-by-case requests. The Obama administration is preparing legislation to enable the country’s numerous security and intelligence agencies to spy on the [...]
Students claim exploitation after they paid thousands to work for McDonalds
A 27-year-old Argentinian student claims he was “exploited” by a work-study program offered by a Pennsylvania McDonald’s. The student claims he paid thousands to come to the US, only to find himself on call at all times and working overtime without pay. “We have been exploited by McDonald’s because we have been working for McDonald’s [...]
Banks unlawfully foreclosed on military members while they were on tours of duty
Banks wrongfully foreclosed the homes of more than 700 military families during the financial crisis, a number much higher than originally thought. Active military and National Guard members are protected from foreclosure under federal law, but some of United States’ largest banks failed to take that into account when they wrongfully seized the homes of [...]
Software that tracks your every move and predicts future behavior draws heat
US defense giant Raytheon has developed a controversial software that uses social networking sites to track your movements, able to predict where a person will be and their future behavior. The program has drawn criticism from civil rights groups. A video obtained exclusively by The Guardian shows how software developed by the US defense contractor [...]
Senators give Big Pharma huge present at taxpayers’ expense
The bill that averted the fiscal cliff included a largely unnoticed section that granted world’s largest biotechnology firm a two-year delay in regulations of its drugs – even though the firm has just pleaded guilty in a federal fraud case. The bill, H.R. 8, was passed with a paragraph that lawmakers included to give the [...]
Police arrest US presidential candidate Jill Stein at debate site
Police arrested Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate, Cheri Honkala, after they tried to enter the site of tonight’s presidential debate at Hofstra University. The two were protesting against the exclusion of all but the two major political parties from taking part in the debate. “Jill Stein, Cheri Honkala arrested, call [...]