government

Speaker of the US House of Representatives infringes rights of music composer

Admin | Wednesday 18 March 2009

Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, is one of a list of people who have used a Creative Commons music track, but give no credit.

CCTV is threat to freedom says House of Lords / Jail for photographing police?

Admin | Friday 6 February 2009

‘The steady expansion of the “surveillance society” risks undermining fundamental freedoms including the right to privacy,’ according to a House of Lords report published today. Read more at The Guardian Meanwhile the British Journal of Photography reports that a new law, due to be introduced this month, ‘is expected to increase the anti-terrorism powers used … CCTV is threat to freedom says House of Lords / Jail for photographing police?

Low-paying employers

Admin | Monday 5 March 2007

The unemployed are a favourite target for government ministers and tabloid headline-writers. But, strangely, unscrupulous business-owners rarely get a mention.

British taxpayers may have lost £8.4bn to VAT fraudsters

Admin | Friday 22 September 2006

BBC Panorama reports on a European investigation which suggests that a VAT (sales tax) scam may have cost the UK up to £8.4 billion (£8,400,000,000). The theft comes from so-called ‘carousel fraud’, where crooks repeatedly import and export high value goods such as mobile phones, failing to pay VAT but then claiming it back from … British taxpayers may have lost £8.4bn to VAT fraudsters

Tony Blair’s assault on civil liberties

Admin | Thursday 29 June 2006

The Independent newspaper has an article (reprinted from Vanity Fair) about the way Tony Blair has eroded civil liberties and freedom in Britain and the scary way

So far Iraq has cost $1000 for every person in the USA

Admin | Friday 28 April 2006

“The Iraq war has already cost the United States $320bn (£180bn), according to an authoritative new report, and even if a troop withdrawal begins this year, the conflict is set to be more expensive in real terms than the Vietnam War, a generation ago… Iraq will have consumed $101bn in fiscal 2006 alone, almost double … So far Iraq has cost $1000 for every person in the USA

British soldiers to face life imprisonment for desertion

Admin | Sunday 19 March 2006

So many soldiers are absconding from the British Army due to the war in Iraq that the Government is planning to change the definition of ‘desertion’.

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