Burbia's Blog – July 2013 Archive (13)

GOVERNMENT BRACES FOR COMING CHANGES TO NSA POWERS

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's national security team argued Wednesday to keep its sweeping domestic surveillance powers intact, even as it acknowledged some limitations appear inevitable.

Facing unexpectedly harsh opposition from both parties over a once-secret program that sweeps up the phone records of every American, the Obama administration said it wanted to work with lawmakers who seemed intent on putting limits on that authority.

"We are open to… Continue

Added by Burbia on July 31, 2013 at 2:17pm — No Comments

Yusif Halacoglu: “Armenians aim to continue the occupation of Karabakh by demanding lands and compensation from Turkey”

“Turkey and Azerbaijan should unite more closely and take joint steps against open and secret plans”

Istanbul. Mayis Alizadeh –APA. “Turkish ethnos should be dominant in the Middle East and Caucasus," Kayseri Member of Parliament from Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party, professor Yusif Halacoglu told APA’s Turkey bureau.

Answering APA’s question “The processes taking place in northern Syria create the possibility of the emergence of new political structures in the region.… Continue

Added by Burbia on July 29, 2013 at 4:53am — No Comments

Death toll in Syria war surpasses 100,000, UN chief says

BY ALBERT AJI AND EDITH M. LEDERER, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS JULY 25, 2013 6:54 PM

DAMASCUS, Syria - The number of dead in Syria's civil war has passed 100,000, the U.N. chief said Thursday, calling for urgent talks on ending 2 1/2 years of violence even as President Bashar Assad's government blasted the United States as an unsuitable peace broker.

In the latest example of the relentless carnage, a car bomb killed at least 10 people and wounded 66 in a pro-regime, residential area… Continue

Added by Burbia on July 25, 2013 at 10:17pm — No Comments

FAA warns public against shooting guns at drones

Responding to an ordinance proposed in a Colorado town that would encourage hunters to shoot down drones, the Federal Aviation Administration said Friday that anyone doing so could be prosecuted for endangering people and property.

By JOAN LOWY

The Associated Press

WASHINGTON — People who fire guns at drones…

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Added by Burbia on July 21, 2013 at 6:32pm — No Comments

Microsoft asks government for freedom to disclose security requests

The Microsoft logo is seen at their offices in Bucharest. (Bogdan Cristel, Reuters / March 20, 2013

Reuters

2:30 p.m. CDT, July 16, 2013…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 4:15pm — No Comments

Did Big Pharma team up to kill B.C.’s drug safety watchdog?

The answer depends on who you ask

By Lori Culbert, Vancouver Sun July 13, 2013

…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 4:14pm — No Comments

Hagel: Top military brass to be cut 20 percent

The Pentagon chief says his staff and that of his top brass will be trimmed by 20 percent in coming years.

By LARA JAKES

AP National Security Writer

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. —

The Pentagon chief says his staff and that of his top brass will be trimmed by 20 percent in coming years.

The…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 4:06pm — No Comments

Court sides with Yahoo in data collection case

Published: July 16, 2013 Updated 5 hours ago

By TAMI ABDOLLAH — Associated Press

FILE - This Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012 file photo, shows a sign in front of Yahoo! headquarters in Sunnyvale, Calif. The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 4:02pm — No Comments

Twinkies to arrive with slightly fewer calories, lower cake weight

Published: July 16, 2013 Updated 7 hours ago

Olympian news services

Twinkies are back, but they may be a bit smaller than you remember.

The new boxes hitting shelves this week list the spongy yellow cakes as having 270 calories and a weight of 77 grams for two cakes, or 135 calories and 38.5 grams for…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 3:59pm — No Comments

Thurston judge OK's ballot wording for I-594’s gun background checks

By BRAD SHANNON — Staff writer

Judge Christopher Wickham

OLYMPIAN FILE PHOTO

Backers of an initiative to close loopholes on background checks for gun buyers have won ballot title language more to their liking. Judge Christopher Wickham…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 3:58pm — No Comments

BPA administrator replaced amid hiring probe

Published: July 16, 2013

By Jeff Barnard — The Associated Press

The newly appointed administrator of the Bonneville Power Administration has been replaced with no explanation.

An email from a deputy secretary of energy to BPA employees on Monday said the acting…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 3:56pm — No Comments

Tensions between Jackson County growers, GMO company peaked days before beet destruction

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Tensions between Jackson County growers, GMO company peaked days before beet destruction

The clientele at Evo, an Ashland coffeehouse, take the matter of…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 3:53pm — No Comments

Panama finds suspected weapons on N. Korean ship

Published: July 15, 2013 Updated 10 minutes ago

By JUAN ZAMORANO — Associated Press

The North Korean-flagged cargo ship Chong Chon Gang sits docked at the Manzanillo International container terminal on the coast of Colon City, Panama, Tuesday,…

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Added by Burbia on July 16, 2013 at 3:50pm — No Comments