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Flickr / Dana Spiegel

Glenn Greenwald on the Growing Surveillance State

Days after two British men were sentenced to four years in prison for using Facebook to incite disorder that never materialized, Glenn Greenwald writes fluently and concisely about the efforts of governments to maintain power and order by controlling the flow of information and communication online.

Posted on Aug 19, 2011 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS



how will i ever (CC-BY-SA)

Naomi Klein on Riots and Resistance

Britain’s riots were not political, we are assured, and looting is simply un-British, but “Shock Doctrine” author Naomi Klein takes a different view: From Iraq to Argentina, when corrupt elites pass the bill to the struggling masses, civil unrest is to be expected.

Posted on Aug 16, 2011 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS



AP / Nick Ut

America Is a Spark Away From Riots of Its Own

The unrest tearing apart Britain greatly resembles that of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, and conditions across the U.S. could set off a new explosion of violence.

Posted on Aug 11, 2011 READ MORE  |  119 COMMENTS


London Riots: The View From Brixton

A student activist living in the middle of London’s riots shares her view from the ground on this week’s Truthdig Radio in collaboration with KPFK. Also on the show: William Cohan and Robert Scheer on Wall Street’s plunge; Robin Wright on Syria, and David Inocencio on juvie journalism.

Posted on Aug 10, 2011 READ MORE  |  26 COMMENTS



Julian Farmer (CC-BY-ND)

London Riots: They’re Paying Attention Now

It’s day four of riots and madness in the U.K., and if we want to understand what’s happening, we’d best pay attention to young journalists like Laurie Penny, who wrote Tuesday: “Angry young people with nothing to do and little to lose are turning on their own communities, and they cannot be stopped, and they know it.”

Posted on Aug 9, 2011 READ MORE  |  12 COMMENTS



White House / Samantha Appleton

Can America Still Lead?

The world is looking to the United States to help power a recovery and provide leadership at a time when we are suffocatingly inward-looking—and when ultraconservatives are so dogmatic about slashing government that they are prepared to boot away our nation’s influence.

Posted on Aug 8, 2011 READ MORE  |  35 COMMENTS



Surian Soosay (CC-BY)

Londoners Riot for a Third Day (Video)

There were scenes from a “war zone,” as one pub manager described it to the BBC. It’s the third day of rioting in London since police shot and killed 29-year-old Mark Duggan. Both Prime Minister David Cameron and the city’s mayor have canceled their vacations to return to their burning metropolis.

Posted on Aug 8, 2011 READ MORE  |  15 COMMENTS



Karl-Ludwig Poggemann (CC-BY)

The Difference Between Hacking and Attacking

In this age of terrorism and anxiety, we sometimes let loose a little too freely with loaded words like “attack.” Take the case of LulzSec, the humorous hacker collective that brought down the CIA’s World Factbook, penetrated PBS and resurrected Tupac. (more)

Posted on Aug 1, 2011 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS


Norway Attacks and Europe’s Failed Immigration Policies

The events in Norway were in a twisted way the product of Western ideas about the rivalry and clashes of civilizations, which persist.

Posted on Jul 26, 2011 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS



Surian Soosay (CC-BY)

Rupert Murdoch Doesn’t Eat Humble Pie

“People say that Australia has given two people to the world,” Julian Assange told me in London recently, “Rupert Murdoch and me.”

Posted on Jul 19, 2011 READ MORE  |  17 COMMENTS


Keith Olbermann, John Dean Preview Rupert Murdoch Testimony

Rupert and James Murdoch will face the British Parliament on Tuesday, and John Dean (above) thinks the elder tycoon may not be used to the pressure: “I think that this is the first time that Murdoch has ever been in this kind of atmosphere where people can push him to answer ... questions he might not want to address.”

Posted on Jul 18, 2011 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS


Phone Hacking

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Posted on Jul 18, 2011 READ MORE



Flickr / johngarghan

News of the World Figure Found Dead

Sean Hoare, the former News of the World correspondent who was the first member of Andy Coulson’s staff to claim the editor knew of phone hacking by his reporters, was found dead in his home Monday. (more)

Posted on Jul 18, 2011 READ MORE  |  13 COMMENTS


London Papers Falling Down

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Posted on Jul 17, 2011 READ MORE



Flickr / cactusmelba

Murdoch’s Officers Jump the Deck

Les Hinton, chairman of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal, and Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper operations, both resigned Friday over connections to the now-defunct News of the World’s recent phone hacking scandal… (more)

Posted on Jul 15, 2011 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS



Flickr / European Parliament

EU Rejects Aggressive Cut in Carbon Emissions

On Tuesday, conservative British representatives led the European Parliament to reject a 30 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 in a preliminary vote stirred by claims that such a sharp decrease taken out of step with other nations would drive businesses out of EU countries. (more)

Posted on Jul 5, 2011 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS


Huntsman: Yes, He Might

Here are the key questions about Jon Huntsman’s presidential candidacy: Is he the American version of David Cameron? And is the Republican Party ready for a Cameron moment?

Posted on Jun 22, 2011 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



Flickr / Al-Jazeera English

U.K. Cheers On Arab Spring While Training Its Opponents

Just days after the British government pledged $181 million in grants and loans to foster economically viable democratic transitions in Egypt and Tunisia, a Freedom of Information Act report confirmed that British military personnel are training the same Saudi security forces that were used to crush recent popular uprisings in Bahrain. (more)

Posted on May 29, 2011 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



telegraph.co.uk

A Shakespeare Refresher for President Obama

He didn’t say he was a jelly doughnut, but President Obama wasn’t quite up to snuff during his visit to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night. First, there was the matter of his talking over “God Save the Queen” during his toast to Queen Elizabeth II ... (more)

Posted on May 25, 2011 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS



Libyan Intervention Exposes European Disunity

The European intervention in Libya has provided a needed practical demonstration of the European states’ ability to influence world affairs, while at the same time discrediting the expectation that the European Union itself can or will conduct a united foreign and security policy.

Posted on May 24, 2011 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS


Queen Comes Close to Apology in Ireland

Speaking at a historic dinner in the castle that once headquartered Ireland’s British overseers, Queen Elizabeth II expressed regret over the two islands’ violent history: “To all those who have suffered as a consequence of our troubled past, I extend my sincere thoughts and deep sympathy.”

Posted on May 19, 2011 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



NASA / Bill Ingalls

Queen to Visit the One That Got Away

The queen of England is headed to Ireland despite a bomb threat and other security concerns. She’ll be the first British monarch to visit the republic in 100 years, the first since the Irish—most of them, anyway—cast off British rule.

Posted on May 16, 2011 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



Flickr / robnguyen01

Middle-Age Obesity Linked to Dementia Among Elderly

A study published in the journal Neurology reports that people who are obese in middle age are almost four times more likely than those of normal weight to develop diseases that lead to dementia in later life. (more)

Posted on May 2, 2011 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



Flickr / Mykl Roventine

U.K. Businesses Lean on Unpaid Interns

Roughly one-fifth of British companies now enjoy the cost-free benefits of unpaid intern labor, with few claiming knowledge of the practice’s potential illegality, a new study says. (more)

Posted on Apr 28, 2011 READ MORE


U.K. Courts to Journalists: Stow It

Parliamentary official John Hemming has drawn attention to a new type of court order forbidding members of Britain’s fourth estate to cover cases deemed too sensitive for public consideration. The order, known as a super-injunction ... (more)

Posted on Apr 17, 2011 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS



Ben Chau (CC-BY-ND)

Brits Are Crackers for the American-Style Prom

The once-mighty British television empire has fallen to the blitzkrieg of inane American tele-teens. At least that’s the conclusion we’re drawing from this Guardian report, which says shows such as “90210” and “Glee” are responsible for a 500 percent explosion in prom bookings at just one hotel chain.

Posted on Apr 3, 2011 READ MORE  |  1 COMMENT


The Libyan Question: Now What?

Neither Europe nor Washington has a United Nations mandate to depose and arrest Gadhafi and seek his indictment by international courts. Nor do they have a mandate to overturn the existing government in Libya, install a new one, build democracy, etc.

Posted on Mar 22, 2011 READ MORE  |  35 COMMENTS



Wagner Machado Carlos Lemes

Foreign Leaders Work on Terms of Libyan No-Fly Zone

The U.K., France, various Arab states and NATO representatives are all working on plans to prevent besieged Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi from launching airstrikes against his people. Gadhafi’s forces continue to clash with rebels, who now control much of the country.

Posted on Mar 8, 2011 READ MORE  |  22 COMMENTS



Flickr / jwrobinson

U.K. Poll Shows a Far-Right Swing

In a worrisome poll conducted in the United Kingdom, a whopping 48 percent of respondents said they would consider supporting a new anti-immigration nationalist party that was void of the violence and fascist imagery usually associated with the far right.

Posted on Feb 27, 2011 READ MORE  |  33 COMMENTS


Vejjajiva
Wikimedia Commons / World Economic Forum

Thai PM Is a British Citizen

Thailand’s prime minister may be in some hot water. Abhisit Vejjajiva acknowledged that he holds British citizenship, an admission that may make him vulnerable to prosecution for the deaths of around 90 people in anti-government demonstrations back in 2008.

Posted on Feb 25, 2011 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS



The Laird of Oldham (CC-BY)

Britain to Seize Gadhafi’s Billions

The British treasury suspects that Col. Moammar Gadhafi and his government have more than $30 billion stashed in the U.K., and British authorities are prepared to seize those assets in an effort to force the dictator to step down.

Posted on Feb 24, 2011 READ MORE



Flickr / Andrew Mason (CC-BY)

Conservative Brains Have More Fear, Less Courage

Scientists at University College London went poking around the noggins of a couple of MPs and 90 students and were surprised to discover that the brains of right-wing subjects were more prone to fear and anxiety and less so to courage and optimism when compared with their counterparts on the left.

Posted on Dec 29, 2010 READ MORE  |  31 COMMENTS


‘Assangination’: From Character Assassination to the Real Thing

Despite being granted bail, WikiLeaks founder and editor Julian Assange remains imprisoned in London. Politicians and commentators, meanwhile, have been repeatedly calling for Assange to be killed.

Posted on Dec 15, 2010 READ MORE  |  28 COMMENTS



Flickr / Espen Moe (CC-BY)

Julian Assange Denied Bail, Stays in Gaol

The WikiLeaks founder has been denied bail on the grounds that his ties to the community are weak and he has the means to flee the U.K. Assange, who was arrested Monday by appointment in London, is wanted for questioning in Sweden related to sexual assault allegations that he categorically denies. (See correction inside: Assange has not yet been formally charged.)

Posted on Dec 7, 2010 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS



White House / Paul Morse

British Deny Bush’s Claim That Torture Paid Off

In his new memoir, George W. Bush claims that information obtained by waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammad 183 times helped foil plots to attack targets in the United Kingdom. British intelligence and Cabinet officials—Labor and Conservative alike—beg to differ.

Posted on Nov 9, 2010 READ MORE  |  25 COMMENTS



Her Majesty’s Royal Facebook Page

If you’re not on Facebook, you’re officially more out of touch than the queen of England. Her Majesty, who already has a presence on YouTube, Twitter and Flickr, is starting up a monarchy funpage so you can more easily keep track of her business. Just remember, one does not poke the queen.

Posted on Nov 8, 2010 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS



Royal Air Force / Cpl. Paul Saxby

U.K. to Slash Defense Spending

The United States spends more on its military than every other country in the world combined. That’s not likely to change, with British Prime Minister David Cameron announcing plans to cut military spending by 8 percent over four years. (continued)

Posted on Oct 19, 2010 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS


Tory vs. Voodoo Conservatism

I’m not a witch. But if I were, the first spell I’d cast would be to turn House Minority Leader John Boehner into British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Posted on Oct 13, 2010 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS



AP / Plinio Lepri

Cardinal Error: Pope’s Aide Not Sorry (Yet) for ‘Third World’ Slight

Things got off to a not-so-cracking start for Pope Benedict XVI’s U.K. tour after a member of his entourage, one Cardinal Walter Kasper, compared Britain to a “Third World country” just hours before Team Vatican prepared for arrival Thursday.

Posted on Sep 16, 2010 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



Flickr / TheArches (CC-BY)

Tea Party’s European Vacation

Anti-tax organizers in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe are getting advice and assistance from the same well-funded astroturf groups that helped launch and control the tea party movement on this side of the Atlantic.

Posted on Sep 9, 2010 READ MORE  |  4 COMMENTS



Wikimedia Commons

Afghanistan to Get Worse Before It Gets Better

At the same time that Afghan President Hamid Karzai organizes a nationwide council to try to broker peace with Taliban insurgents, the U.K.‘s senior military commander forecasts that violence in Afghanistan will get worse before it gets better.

Posted on Sep 4, 2010 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS



White House / Paul Morse

Tony Blair Stands by Bush, Iraq War

The former British prime minister’s fall from boy wonder to lapdog caricature has a lot to do with George W. Bush and their shared Iraq adventure. In his new autobiography, normally the place for reflection and re-evaluation, Blair defends both his relationship with the American president and the mess in Mesopotamia.

Posted on Sep 1, 2010 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS



Flickr / FotoosVanRobin (CC-BY-SA)

You Just Ate a Clone, Guv

Meat from a bull descended from a cloned cow entered the British food supply, a government regulator said, and “will have been eaten.” Sale of the meat was apparently in violation of European law as the Food Standards Agency has not yet decided whether meat derived from cloning is kosher, so to speak.

Posted on Aug 3, 2010 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS



AP / Rafiq Maqool

U.K. Ups Aid to Afghanistan

The British government has announced a 40 percent increase in aid projects in Afghanistan as it gears up to fulfill a pledge to remove its combat troops from the country by 2014.

Posted on Jul 18, 2010 READ MORE



iroquoisnationals.org

Bureaucrats Rub Salt in Iroquois Wounds

The Iroquois nation may have invented lacrosse, but the national team wasn’t allowed into the U.K. to take part in an international tournament because British authorities insisted the Iroquois players use American or Canadian passports. Problem is the Iroquois don’t recognize the U.S. or Canada.

Posted on Jul 14, 2010 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS



Flickr / ICAEW Newsroom

Cutbacks Clip U.K. Anti-Terror Effort

Budget worries are sparking a new debate in Britain, with spending cuts taking aim at police services in what some see as a threat to the country’s anti-terror efforts.

Posted on Jul 2, 2010 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS


Blair
AP / Paul White

Good Luck With the Whole Gaza List Thing, Tony Blair

Hey, it’s Tony Blair! Remember him? The former British PM now bears the somewhat unlikely title of special peace envoy to the Middle East, and he’s getting down to business on a project having to do with lists, supplies and Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Posted on Jul 1, 2010 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS


Firouz
youtube.com

Britain Refuses Lesbian Iranian Filmmaker’s Asylum Request

Iranian filmmaker, LGBTQ activist and actress Kiana Firouz is facing what could well be a not-so-warm welcome home now that the British government has reportedly rejected her request for asylum after Firouz was driven to flee her native country and seek safety in the UK.

Posted on May 13, 2010 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS


David Cameron

David Cameron, You’re Britain’s New Prime Minister

Conservative leader David Cameron, come on down. You may not have won an outright majority in the U.K.’s recent election, but her majesty the queen has this consolation prize: a fabulous stay in Number 10 Downing Street and a job administering her government until ... (continued)

Posted on May 11, 2010 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS


Clegg
AP / Jon Super

What Britain Taught Us About Hard Times and the Left

Britain produced an electoral earthquake all right, but not the one so many expected. The real lessons have less to do with two-party systems than with how economic change has challenged old strategies on both the right and the left.

Posted on May 7, 2010 READ MORE  |  20 COMMENTS


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