Who says Congress never gets anything done?
On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously approved a bill that would give the Attorney General the right to shut down websites with a court order if copyright infringement is deemed “central to the activity” of the site — regardless if the website has actually committed a crime. The Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act (COICA) is among the most draconian laws ever considered to combat digital piracy, and contains what some have called the “nuclear option,” which would essentially allow the Attorney General to turn suspected websites “off.”
Web Censorship Bill Sails Through Senate Committee
Senate Votes to Fund Indian, Black Farmer Settlements
The U.S. Senate approved spending $4.6 billion for civil settlements with black farmers who alleged racial discrimination by government lenders and with 300,000 American Indians who say they have been cheated out of land royalties dating back to 1887.
Passage of the measure by voice vote today unblocks a legislative logjam that has thwarted payouts of $1.15 billion to black farmers and $3.4 billion to American Indians. The two settlements were negotiated by the Obama administration.
London Mayor Boris Johnson: Bush Could Be Arrested For Torture
Boris Johnson is a total Tory and an old friend from college days. In a piece in the conservative Daily Telegraph, he advises George W. Bush not to bring his book tour to Britain, because he could face arrest as a war criminal:
“Waterboarding” is a disgusting practice by which the victim is deliberately made to think that he is drowning. It is not some cunning new psych-ops technique conceived by the CIA. It has been used in the dungeons of dictators for centuries.
Darvon, Darvocet painkillers pulled from the U.S. market
The maker of Darvon and Darvocet announced Friday that it will stop marketing the widely used painkillers in the U.S. because of a new study linking the active ingredient in the drugs to serious and sometimes fatal heart rhythm abnormalities.
Xanodyne Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newport, Ky., agreed to the ban at the request of the Food and Drug Administration, which also asked makers of generic versions of the drugs' core compound, known as propoxyphene, to stop selling it in the U.S.
Over 95 Percent of 9/11 Workers Approve Settlement
More than 95 percent of the workers who sued New York City and its contractors over health damages suffered in the 9/11 rescue and recovery effort have approved a negotiated settlement of their claims, clearing the way for payouts of at least $625 million, lawyers said Friday.
Plaintiffs had faced a deadline of Tuesday night for accepting or rejecting the settlement, with a 95 approval rate required for the accord to take effect. In responses relayed on Friday to the federal judge overseeing the litigation, they narrowly cleared the threshold: 95.1 percent , or 10,043 of the 10,563 workers, accepted the settlement’s terms.
Canadians vote against fluoridated water supplies
Campaigners against fluoride believe that adding fluoride to the water supply is tantamount to poisoning and are lobbying for fluoridation to be stopped all over Canada. Opponents of fluoride claim the chemical is illegal, unnecessary and dangerous; campaigners believe fluoride contributes to health conditions, including increased risk of cancer, thyroid disease and arthritis.
Republican Cantor recants on Israel
"I'm with you, not my president," Eric Cantor told Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
Soon-to-be House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) is desperately trying to explain away the promise he made to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu last Wednesday.
Cantor huddled with Netanyahu just prior to the Prime Minister's meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
'Stop touching me!' Fury as airport security staff are caught on camera searching a crying three-year-old girl
The national outcry over intrusive body searches at American airports intensified today after it emerged security staff were caught on camera frisking a crying three-year-old girl.
Mandy Simon is seen sobbing and pleading with staff at Chattanooga, Tennessee airport.
She had become upset after having to have her teddy bear put through an X-ray machine and can be heard screaming: 'Stop touching me!'
Airport X-ray scanner is just as likely to kill you as a terrorist bomb
The controversial machines have been brought in at major airports across the globe, including the UK, leading to fears that the increased exposure to harmful radiation may cause cancer.
Now a US physics professor has added to the debate by claiming that the scanners are redundant because you are just as likely to contract cancer from the radiation as you are to die in a terrorist bomb on your flight.
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