By Cora Currier/ProPublica

The United States is loosening controls over military exports, in a shift that former U.S. officials and human rights advocates say could increase the flow of American-made military parts to the world’s conflicts and make it harder to enforce arms sanctions.
Starting today, thousands of parts of military aircraft, such as propeller blades, brake pads and tires, will be able to be sent to almost any country in the world, with minimal oversight – even to some countries subject to U.N. arms embargoes.

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Posted on October 15, 2013

By Charles Ornstein/ProPublica

Since the federal health insurance exchange has launched, top federal officials have told interviewers that they do not know how many people have been able to enroll using the healthcare.gov website.
In an interview with the Associated Press on Oct. 4, President Obama said: “Well, I don’t have the numbers yet.”
Then, appearing on the Daily Show on Oct. 7, the Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said she didn’t have the information either. “I can’t tell you because I don’t know.”

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Posted on October 15, 2013

By Natasha Julius

Governor Pat Quinn’s blue-ribbon commission on transit reform is due to issue its first report by Friday. This week we’ll give you four recommendations of our own that just might fix this mess.
Suggestion #1: Kill Metra
There are two Metras: the commuter rail system that serves millions of people in the Chicagoland area, and the obtuse, intensely political, hopelessly anachronistic corporate behemoth that serves the interests of a few well-connected individuals. In order for the former to thrive, the latter must be destroyed.

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Posted on October 14, 2013

Another Beachwood Special Report

* Too hard to pronounce.
* No one wants a faster way to Indiana.
* Late momentum for Hawk Harrelson Expressway instead.
* Required stop at John Mellencamp’s house not deemed efficient.
* They refuse to move the cemeteries, only the headstones.
* It’s just too ill.

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Posted on October 12, 2013

By The Electronic Frontier Foundation

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today withdrew from the Global Network Initiative (GNI), citing a fundamental breakdown in confidence that the group’s corporate members are able to speak freely about their own internal privacy and security systems in the wake of the National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance revelations.
EFF has been a civil society member of the multi-stakeholder human rights group since GNI was founded in 2008 to advance freedom of expression and privacy in the global information and communication technologies sector. While much has been accomplished in these five years, EFF can no longer sign its name on joint statements knowing now that GNI’s corporate members have been blocked from sharing crucial information about how the U.S. government has meddled with these companies’ security practices through programs such as PRISM and BULLRUN.

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Posted on October 11, 2013

Ghost Cards For Ghost Trains

Vent away.

Activating your #Ventra Card is easy! Simply visit our website, enter your Card number, douse your hair in gasoline and light it on fire!

— Ventra Chicago (@chicagoventra) October 7, 2013

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Posted on October 8, 2013

A Beachwood Special Report

* Due to furloughed conductors, CTA trains now driving themselves.
* Due to suspension of call center contracts, 311 operators will no longer stand by.
* Chicago Police now not responding to 911 calls from home.
* Federally funded portion of Rahm Emanuel’s f-bombs temporarily suspended.
* State and city will no longer be able to keep up with its pension contributions.

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Posted on October 7, 2013

By Raymond Bonner/Special to ProPublica

Over the past several months, the Obama Administration has defended the government’s far-reaching data collection efforts, arguing that only criminals and terrorists need worry.
And the nation’s leading internet and telecommunications companies have said they are committed to the sanctity of their customers’ privacy.
I have some very personal reasons to doubt those assurances.

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Posted on October 4, 2013

By Kara Brandeisky/ProPublica

Northwestern University’s journalism school boasts of its prowess in preparing students for prestigious careers – but it also serves as a pipeline for unpaid internships.
At Medill, students pay $15,040 in tuition for the privilege of working full-time jobs as unpaid interns. During their mandatory quarter in Journalism Residency, as it is known, students work full-time at news organizations such as CNN Documentaries, Self and WGN Chicago.
But instead of paying interns, employers pay Medill $1,250 for every student placed. In turn, students receive academic credit and a small stipend from the university for relocation expenses, ranging from $600 to $1,200. The most generous stipend amounts to just $2.72 an hour – far below the federal minimum wage.

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Posted on October 2, 2013