Controversies
Google Sues Dept. of Interior over Microsoft Monopoly of E-Mail and Messaging System
Google is suing the Department of the Interior, claiming it was unable to compete for an email and messaging contract due to restrictions involving Microsoft software. The Interior Department asked in August for bids from companies to devise a s... read more
Ohio Court Approves Firing of School Employee for 30-Year-Old Drug Conviction
An unnamed school-hearing officer from Ohio thought he was in the clear in 1997 when his criminal record was expunged of a drug trafficking conviction from 1976, clearing the way for his employment with the Cincinnati school system. But when the... read more
8 Biggest Secret Donor Groups
The majority of the top non-party-affiliated spenders this election cycle have provided no information on the source of their campaign war-chests, according to Public Citizen. These groups have spent millions, and in some cases tens of millions ... read more
Marijuana Arrests in California Target Blacks and Latinos
California is not the place to be for Latinos and African-Americans who use marijuana. In city after city, these two minorities have been subject to disproportionately high levels of arrest and prosecution, according to studies produced by the D... read more
Major Polluters Fight to Keep Their Emission Records Secret
Oil companies and manufacturers are fighting new rules from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that require businesses to submit data on the amount of air pollution they release into the atmosphere. The EPA intends to publish the det... read more
Private Prison Industry Helped Create Anti-Immigrant Law in Arizona
Arizona’s controversial anti-immigration law wasn’t just the product of state Senator Russell Pearce’s effort to undo the “lawless” condition that illegal immigration has imposed on the nation. It was also driven by the private prison industry’s... read more
Class Action Suit Accuses Pennsylvania of Using Mine Fire to Seize Coal-Rich Land
State and local officials in Pennsylvania, as well as a law firm representing coal mining interests, are being sued for allegedly conspiring to move residents off their property for the sake of a land grab.
People living in the Borough of Ce... read more
Obama Justice Dept. Turns against Gene Patents
Opponents of biotechnology companies receiving human gene patents got a huge lift this week when the U.S. Department of Justice quietly filed a legal brief that reversed the government’s longstanding support of patenting the human genome.
Fe... read more
Federal Government Asks for Closed Courtroom to Protect Goldman Sachs Secrets
The U.S. Department of Justice has requested that a federal judge seal the courtroom of a trial involving computer code theft in order to protect trade secrets of Goldman Sachs.
Sergey Aleynikov was arrested by the FBI on charges of stealing... read more
Obama Uses Ashcroft Supreme Court Case to Advance White House Immunity
The U.S. Department of Justice under President Barack Obama is helping defend former Attorney General John Ashcroft against a lawsuit that claims the Bush administration official should be held liable for misusing the law during the post-Sept. 1... read more
Glaxo to Pay $750 Million over Tainted and Ineffective Drugs
GlaxoSmithKline agreed this week to pay the largest fine ever ($150 million) by a drug maker to settle criminal charges of having sold tainted products. The fine was part of a $750 million settlement reached with the U.S. Department of Justice t... read more
California County Forced to Drop 18 Cases for Lack of Judges and Courtrooms
Eighteen criminal cases in Riverside County, California, have been dismissed by the state’s Supreme Court due to a lack of judges and criminal courtrooms. District Attorney Rod Pacheco argued for delaying rather than dismissal of the cases, whic... read more
Treasury Tries to Ignore Citigroup-Related Freedom of Information Requests
Bloomberg News has tried since January 2009 to obtain information from the Department of the Treasury about $301 billion of securities owned by Citigroup that the government has agreed to guarantee. Despite President Barack Obama’s promise to ma... read more
Federal Court Rules Details of Secret Prison in Afghanistan Can Remain Secret
Details about the United States’ largest prison in Afghanistan will remain secret, according to a federal judge’s ruling this week. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) had sought documents from the Department of Defense and the CIA about t... read more
Defense Contractor Accused of Armed Robbery of Sub-Contractor in Afghanistan
Defense contractor EOD Technology (EODT) of Tennessee is being sued by its own subcontractor, Kuwait-based MAKS General Trading & Contracting, for stealing prefabricated homes built for American soldiers stationed at Bagram Air Base in Afghanist... read more
Commercial Digital Theft Tops Physical Theft for First Time
Hacking and other forms of electronic data theft are now a bigger problem for companies worldwide than old fashioned stealing of physical property.
The risk consulting company Kroll found in its latest annual survey that 27.3% of businesses ... read more