Excerpt:
Alibaba's Jack Ma is no double agent
October 4, 2011: 12:03 PM ETSome have strongly criticized the idea of China's Alibaba-Taobao buying a distressed Yahoo. They're wrong. These days, the U.S. desperately needs direct investment from China that goes somewhere else other than into Treasury debt.
By Bill Powell, contributor writer
FORTUNE -- Twice in the last decade, Chinese state security were looking for men who had, in the minds of the Chinese government, both become irritants. One, an engineer named Wang Xiaoning, had written pro-democracy essays on a popular group web site. Another, Shi Tao, a prominent journalist, had forwarded an e-mail he had received to an overseas address, an e-mail that had instructed Shi not to cover the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square massacre. With the assistance of a high profile internet company -- whose Hong Kong office gave up their e-mail records to mainland authorities -- Chinese state security got their men. Both were sentenced to ten-year jail terms for "subverting state power" and "sharing state secrets."
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Central_Asia/MJ08Ag01.html
Excerpt:
But it added that, at the same time, Russia's 20-year record testifies that the political transition of a country is an "equation with several unknowns" and the "equation" will have more than one answer, being a "complex systemic project without a smooth road to go on or an existing mode to apply". Meanwhile, another commentary in the Communist Party newspaper estimated cautiously:
A Russia that follows Putin is in China's interests for now. In the long run, it may bring challenges to East Asia, but this is hard to say now. The Russian revival is unstoppable and its relations with China will be more complex. Being more adaptable to the Putin-led route of development and maintaining the strategic and cooperative partnership between China and Russia should be the basic goals of China's Russia policy.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=China
Excerpt:
Censorship
In March 2008, IDG News Service reported that Human Rights Watch and major Internet service providers were working on "a code of conduct addressing how major Internet service providers and portal operators should deal with Internet censorship in China. The code is due in the next couple of months and comes in the run up to the Beijing Olympic Games that begin in August." Human Rights Watch executive director Kenneth Roth remarked, "One of our concerns is the degree to which the major international Internet companies have become complicit in this censorship of the Internet." [4]
In November 2007, the U.S.-based company Yahoo! "settled a lawsuit by two Chinese journalists who were jailed after the Internet giant provided Beijing authorities with information about their online activities. ... The case was brought earlier this year on behalf of the two prisoners, Wang Xiaoning and Shi Tao, who sued the company under U.S. human rights laws in federal court in Oakland. Seeking unspecified damages, they, along with their families, accused Yahoo of illegally giving information about their online activities to Chinese law enforcement."
"Wang, an editor of several journals espousing political reform, was arrested at home in 2002 during a raid by police, and later sentenced to 10 years in a Beijing prison on charges of trying to subvert the government. The lawsuit alleged that Yahoo provided authorities with his e-mail records, which included pro-democracy writings he had sent anonymously to others, including some overseas."
"Shi, a journalist, was arrested in 2004 and convicted based on similar evidence of sending word of a media crackdown to the New York Web site Democracy Forum. He is also serving a 10-year sentence." [5]
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201103170016
Excerpt:
This American RadioWorks documentary aired on All Things Considered® from NPR News and was made possible through major funding by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Florence and John Schumann Foundation, with additional project support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Open Society Institute, the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation, the U. S. Institute for Peace, and the Glaser Family Foundation.http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/funderProfile.asp?fndid=5381
Excerpt:
In 1988, Herb and Marion Sandler, husband and wife, launched the Sandler Foundation (SF) -- or the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation, as it is also known -- as a philanthropic enterprise to memorialize the legacy of Herb’s brother, Leonard, a New York appellate court judge. For much of its history, SF was a low-profile enterprise. In 2002, it had assets totaling $71,894,602. Four years later, the Sandlers sold their World Savings Bank (WSB), formerly called the Golden West Financial Corporation, to Wachovia for $24 billion. Of this sum, the Sandlers pocketed $2.3 billion, putting $1.3 billion into SF and making it one of the largest foundations in the United States.
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6567
Excerpt:
Keeping Investigative Journalism Alive
A new non-profit group called Pro Publica wants to counter the decrease in real investigative journalism. "The plan is to do long-term projects, uncovering misdeeds in government, business and organizations." Pro Publica will be led by Paul E. Steiger, who served as the top editor of The Wall Street Journal for 16 years. It is the creation of Californians Herbert M. Sandler and Marion O. Sandler, the former chief executives of the Golden West Financial Corporation. They have personally committed $10 million in support per year. "Pro Publica plans to establish a newsroom in New York City and have 24 journalists, one of the biggest investigative staffs in any medium, along with about a dozen other employees. Mr. Steiger said he envisions a mix of accomplished reporters and editors, including some hired from major publications, and talented people with only a few years' experience, so that the group will become a training ground for investigative reporters." Pro Publica plans to launch in early 2008.
Excerpt:
ProPublica
One Exchange Plaza, 55 Broadway, 23rd floor
New York, NY 10006
Phone: 1-212-514-5250
Excerpt:
Funding from George Soros
The Center has been criticized for accepting large funds from George Soros, a politically active billionaire and critic of the Bush administration.[28][31][32][33] The Web site of one of Soros' organizations, the Open Society Institute, discloses four grants to the Center, all made before his entry into the 2004 presidential contest. They are:
- A $72,400 one-year grant in 2000 supporting "an investigative journalism series on prosecutorial misconduct."[35]
- A $75,000 one-year grant in 2001 supporting "an examination of wrongful convictions resulting from prosecutorial misconduct."[36]
- A $100,000 one-year grant in 2002 "to investigate the political spending of the telecommunications industry on the federal, state and local levels."[37]
- A $1 million three-year grant in 2002 "to support the Global Access Project."[38]
Excerpt:
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is the largest for-profit prison corporation in the U.S. [1] CCA runs over 60 prisons in about 20 U.S. states plus Washington, DC. CCA has contracts with all three federal corrections agencies (Federal Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Marshals Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement), nearly half of all states and more than a dozen local municipalities.[1] It is the fifth-largest corrections system in the U.S., with only the federal government and three states having larger prison systems.[1] The company trades on the New York Stock Exchange with the symbol CXW. In 2006, revenue was $1.3 billion with profits of $105 million.[2][1]
In May, 2011, Federal Bureau of Prisons Director Harley Lappin was hired as Executive Vice President and Chief Corrections Officer of CCA. [3][4]
http://articles.nydailynews.com/2011-03-31/news/29386379_1_dui-bust-harley-lappin-federal-prison-system
Excerpt:
Warden Harley Lappin offers his 'most sincere apology' of a… (Arbogast/AP - FILE PHOTO)
Harley Lappin, soon-to-be ex-head of federal prison system, says sorry for DUI bust
The outgoing head of the federal prison system has issued a shame-faced apology for an embarrassing DUI bust.
Harley Lappin announced Friday that he was retiring later this year, but revealed his arrest in a letter to staff on Tuesday.
"It is with great humility that I offer my most sincere apology to each and every one of you for failing to lead by example," Lappin wrote.
"I recently allowed a lapse in my judgment to occur, giving rise to potential embarrassment to the agency, the Department of Justice and my position of director."
Harley Lappin announced Friday that he was retiring later this year, but revealed his arrest in a letter to staff on Tuesday.
"It is with great humility that I offer my most sincere apology to each and every one of you for failing to lead by example," Lappin wrote.
"I recently allowed a lapse in my judgment to occur, giving rise to potential embarrassment to the agency, the Department of Justice and my position of director."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Bureau_of_Prisons
Excerpt:
| Agency executive | Thomas R. Kane, Acting Director |
| Parent agency | United States Department of Justice |
http://www.bop.gov/about/co/director_bio_ippa.jsp
Excerpt:
Thomas R. Kane has been the Assistant Director for the Information, Policy, and Public Affairs (IPPA) Division since July 1991. Mr. Kane is responsible for the enhancement of the quality and timeliness of information that Bureau of Prisons (BOP) management and line staff have at their disposal, and for ensuring effective communications between the Bureau and its constituents. The IPPA Division is comprised of several major functions, including information systems, policy development, legislative affairs, public affairs, communications, research and evaluation, and technology assessment.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discovery_Institute
Excerpt:
The Discovery Institute is a non-profit public policy think tank based in Seattle, Washington, best known for its advocacy of intelligent design. Founded in 1990, the institute describes its purpose as promoting "ideas in the common sense tradition of representative government, the free market and individual liberty."[2] Its Teach the Controversy campaign aims to teach creationist anti-evolution beliefs in United States public high school science courses alongside accepted scientific theories, positing a scientific controversy exists over these subjects.[3][4][5][6][7]
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Intelligent_design
Excerpt:
| "The United States has promised that no child will be left behind in the classroom. If intelligent design theory is presented within science courses as factually based, it is likely to confuse American schoolchildren and to undermine the integrity of U.S. science education." Alan I. Leshner, CEO and executive publisher for AAAS |
http://www.allgov.com/Agency/Federal_Bureau_of_Prisons__BOP_
Excerpt:
Privatization of Criminal Justice
Since the 1980s, expanding prison populations and fiscal constraints have led to increased privatization of the federal prison system, with DOJ agencies including BOP relying on state, local and private prisons to house federal inmates. The government has come under criticism for its contracting practices, which increased the risk of default among private service providers typically contracted for management and construction—thereby increasing security risks. In a 2000/2001 report, the Department’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that the state and local providers consistently overcharged the government, criticized the BOP for relying too heavily on a few private contractors, and pointed to an unstable procurement practice. In response, Congress passed legislation authorizing DOJ to procure private prison services through “nontraditional” or “innovative” agreements—meaning more flexible terms. Under the law, agencies are allowed to procure services independently of traditional government contracting rules
No comments:
Post a Comment