MetaFilter posts tagged with USGovernment

WhoRunsGov

phoque — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:22:17 -0800

WhoRunsGov (beta). A Washington Post project to profile political players. Public participation is planned. WhoRunsGov : will be an ever-growing database of government power-brokers containing key information on new administration officials, lawmakers, senior Hill aides and ultimately interest group and think tank experts. We aim to be a single-stop shop for all those interested in the people and personalities who run the government.

US to charge citizens for evacuation from Lebanon

jeversol — Mon, 17 Jul 2006 14:35:56 -0800

US Citizen in Lebanon? The US State Department would like to remind its citizens that they do not provide no-cost transportation. Want to leave? Just sign this promissory note, and we'll be happy to fly you out on our gunship. We'll bill you at standard commercial rates, plus interest. We simply do not have the resources to pay for it ourselves.

Murray Waas is the new Bob Woodward

spock — Mon, 10 Apr 2006 09:52:24 -0800

Murray Waas is the new Bob Woodward. An opposing view. Wuh-duh-yuh-bet most Americans will be much more interested in this story?

The US backed the invasion of East Timor

JokingClown — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 07:25:41 -0800

Newly declassified US documents show that the US government knew well in advance about the invasion plans of Indonesia into East Timor. Once in East Timor, Indonesian forces committed a mass genocide of the local population - anywhere from 100,000 to 250,000 people, which was only 600,000 to begin with according to Wikipedia. As the first link shows, The US government actively suppressed news stories from getting out about the genocide. This isn't exactly news to Those who followed the invasion, But most people are unaware of the US government's support, perhaps the number of Newspapers covering the story according to GoogleNews can go some way to explain why many are unaware of this fact.

Katrina Ushers in Return of Big Government

Postroad — Thu, 15 Sep 2005 14:10:25 -0800

Katrina Ushers in Return of Big Government We have a larger govt now (people working for the govt) than we have ever had. We have now the Patriot Act, overseeing much of our activities. We have intelligence agencies doing lord knows what domestically, and security checks etc. Now we learn that Big govt is back? Where had it been before the storm?

Intresting.

delmoi — Tue, 24 May 2005 10:16:57 -0800

The Nuclear Option has been avoided. A handfull of senators have reached an agreement killing the nuclear option, and limiting the future Filibuster to "extraordinary circumstances".

Talabangilists have taken over the GOP

EmoChild — Wed, 27 Apr 2005 12:20:54 -0800

Republicans; defending the rights of rapists to sue since 2005. Did you just impregnate your 13 year old daughter? Never fear, the GOP is here! They'll defend your right to keep your "little secret" from crossing state lines.

National Security Archive

plep — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 05:11:24 -0800

George Washington University's National Security Archive carries a collection of declassified US documents and articles on Saddam Hussein; Mexico, Cuba and other Latin American countries; Nixon's meeting with Elvis; the CIA and Nazi war criminals; etc.

Know What Your Representatives Are Doing

nathanrudy — Sat, 08 Jan 2005 19:28:14 -0800

GovTrack.US ... Using the Technorati API these folks track not only the votes and speeches of members of the US Congress, but also what's being said about them in the blogosphere. You can track them both with e-mail alerts and RSS feeds. There's even a way to embed info from GovTrack on your site if you are focusing on particular legislation.

Congressman Matsui (D-CA) Dies of Rare Disease

expriest — Sun, 02 Jan 2005 12:13:47 -0800

Congressman dies of rare disease Congressman Bob Matsui, who was recently elected to a 14th term in Congress, has died due to a rare stem cell disease. Matsui, who was one of the leading opponents of President Bush's plan to eliminate Social Security, was the ranking Democrat on the Congressional subcommittee on Social Security.

Fine Print: Contract is Void if US Military Say So

fenriq — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 12:28:52 -0800

Soldiers Challenge Enlistment Extensions
You sign a contract for a specific period of service, when that service is up you're supposed to be done but that doesn't happen if its a contract with the US government. Soldiers are now suing to try and get out of their extended duties.

Yes, there is the Pentagon's "Stop Loss" program but "The lawsuit contends the policy [stop loss] is a breach of the service contract because it extends the length of service without a soldier's consent. It also alleges the contracts were misleading because they make no reference to the policy, said Staughton Lynd, an attorney for the soldiers."

The Money Shot... at least according to Tom DeLay's photo album...

ph00dz — Thu, 07 Oct 2004 08:28:22 -0800

The Money Shot ... at least according to Tom DeLay's photo album.

Nope, no weapons over there...maybe under here?

kirkaracha — Wed, 06 Oct 2004 12:30:25 -0800

Iraq's WMD capability was essentially destroyed in 1991, according to the report by the chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq.

Fastlight

srboisvert — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 14:15:28 -0800

Operation Fastlight: Piracy Crackdown [2][3] [4] Let the international war on Piracy begin. DOJ rules for computer seizures. Targetted Groups: Fairlight, Kalisto, Echelon, Class, Project X and APC. Overview of the warez scene. Previous anti-warez operation - buccaneer.

Racism, alive and well

Plunge — Thu, 26 Feb 2004 11:09:09 -0800

Corrine Brown shows us racism is alive and well in the US government.

You're either with us...or against us

dejah420 — Sat, 07 Feb 2004 22:02:05 -0800

Feds win one in the war on anti-war activists A federal judge has ordered a university to turn over records about a gathering of anti-war activists. In addition to records about who attended the forum, the university has been ordered to divulge all records relating to the local chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, a New York-based legal activist organization that sponsored the forum. Subpoenas were also served on activists who attended the forum at the school.

Examining Bush's stem cell policy, two years later.

skallas — Sat, 25 Oct 2003 19:52:23 -0800

Examining Bush's stem cell policy, two years later. Kinsley: Put it all together, and the stem cells that can squeeze through Bush's loopholes are far less promising than they seemed two years ago, while the general promise of embryonic stem cells burns brighter than ever. If you claim to have made an anguished moral decision, and the factual basis for that decision turns out to be faulty, you ought to reconsider or your claim to moral anguish looks phony. But Bush's moral anguish was suspect from the beginning, because the policy it produced makes no sense.

Is Syria next?

skallas — Mon, 20 Oct 2003 23:35:05 -0800

Is Syria next? Or understanding the Syria Accountability Act. Interesting criticisms by Rep. David E. Price, who voted for it but with certain reservations here.

Mi verso es un ciervo herido, que en el bosque busca amparo

magullo — Thu, 28 Aug 2003 09:39:53 -0800

Guantanamo is growing
... and a Halliburton subsidiary lands yet another no-bid contract. Its total bill for the U.S. government last year: 1.3 billion. Maybe more

Mister, that sure is one big baby...

troutfishing — Thu, 12 Jun 2003 10:59:07 -0800

Drowning the government in a bathtub - "My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub." Thus spoke Grover Norquist, of Americans for Tax Reform. "The lunatics are now in charge of the asylum", quipped the conservative UK Financial Times. Hardly, says Paul Krugman. The strategy?: "Instead of challenging popular liberal programs directly, the Republicans are creating fiscal conditions that make those programs unsustainable." [lead post, Am. Prospect]. In other words, the 400 billion dollar deficit, coupled with the Bush tax cuts, is designed to shift the obligations of the Fed onto the States and, later, to cause a fiscal train wreck after Bush is out of office.

The Southern Danger

The Jesse Helms — Tue, 29 Apr 2003 12:08:44 -0800

The Government is acting quickly. Quickly, to stem the deluge of Mexican terrorists.

Raytheon missile identified

homunculus — Wed, 02 Apr 2003 15:41:36 -0800

BINCS is an online database of suppliers and identification numbers maintained by the Defense Logistics Information Service. It was used to look up the CAGE code on a fragment of the missile which allegedly hit a Baghdad vegetable market. This confirmed that the fragment was from a missile built by Raytheon Company, and was probably either a HARM or a Paveway. I wonder if the system will remain available online after this. Investors can rest assured that this incident will not affect Raytheon's standing in the Perpetual War Portfolio in any way.

Speaking of gassing one's own people

letterneversent — Mon, 17 Mar 2003 17:04:51 -0800

Speaking of gassing one's own people: US Government admits it tested nerve gas (sarin and VX) on its own sailors (Project SHAD). This is in addition to the testing of LSD on civilians (MK Ultra), syphilis on 399 black Alabama men (Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment), radioactivity on American GI's (Operation Crossroads), and the secret testing of germ warfare tactics on American cities. It's really no surprise the US government rejected an international ban on biological weapons, and yet we personalize this imminent war with Iraq and claim the justification as the forced disarming of dangerous 'Weapons of Mass Destruction'? I love the smell of hypocrisy in the morning.

White House Briefing

Pretty_Generic — Fri, 28 Feb 2003 06:58:23 -0800

Ari Fleischer, the White House spokesman, had a difficult end to his press briefing [Real]. Skip forward to 29 minutes.

DEA fails White House budget review

botono9 — Wed, 12 Feb 2003 18:18:43 -0800

DEA fails White House budget review. (PDF) Busy raiding the homes of disabled medical marijuana users, the DEA has been, in the words of the White House Office of Management and Budget, "unable to demonstrate its progress in reducing the availability of illegal drugs in the U.S." [via MPP]