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 * NEW! * Negotiating with the Taliban

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Posted on Jun 18, 2013 READ MORE



satanoid (CC BY 2.0)

Google Reports Government Push for Private Data

Google’s latest transparency report shows the number of government requests for private data increased 136 percent from the second half of 2009 to the end of 2012 as U.S. officials used legislation that “bypasses judicial approval to access the online information of private citizens,” according to The Guardian.

Posted on Jan 23, 2013 READ MORE



InAweofGod'sCreation (CC BY 2.0)

Growth Sputters in the Second Quarter

The marginally growing U.S. economy reduced speed in the second quarter of the year after months of lackluster job creation, threatening the financial well-being of ordinary Americans and deepening the challenge for President Obama’s re-election campaign.

Posted on Jul 28, 2012 READ MORE



altemark (CC BY 2.0)

Hackers for the American Elite

The U.S. government should court the best computer hackers worldwide rather than seek to punish them, a leading military thinker and former adviser to Bush Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says.

Posted on Jul 10, 2012 READ MORE



AP/FBI File

U.S. Drone Strike Kills an Al-Qaida Leader in Yemen

The CIA killed Fahd al-Quso, a high-profile al-Qaida leader wanted by the FBI for his role in the 2000 bombing of the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole, with a missile fired from a remote-controlled drone in Yemen on Sunday.

Posted on May 7, 2012 READ MORE  |  16 COMMENTS



me'nthedogs (CC-BY)

The Scorched-Earth Politics of America’s Four Fundamentalisms

Many Americans seem confident in their view that the United States is a free nation dedicated to spreading equality, justice and democracy. Four forces that increasingly dominate their society suggest otherwise.

Posted on Mar 7, 2012 READ MORE  |  37 COMMENTS



Foreign and Commonwealth Office (CC-BY)

Iran Could Cause Mideast Cold War, U.K. Official Warns

British Foreign Secretary William Hague has warned that a nuclear-capable Iran could push countries in the Middle East into a cold war in which the world would see the greatest nuclear proliferation since the invention of the atom bomb. Iran has ignored economic sanctions that Western nations hoped would deter it from pursuing nuclear development.

Posted on Feb 18, 2012 READ MORE  |  29 COMMENTS



undergroundbastard (CC-BY)

The Myth of ‘Isolated’ Iran

Once upon a time, the “red line” for Washington on Iran was the “enrichment” of uranium. Now, it’s an actual nuclear weapon that could be brandished. But what if the red line is really the petrodollar line?

Posted on Jan 18, 2012 READ MORE  |  45 COMMENTS


U.S. Regrets Friendly Fire Deaths in Pakistan

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Posted on Dec 3, 2011 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS



Flickr / Davide "Dodo" Oliva

U.S. and European Markets Drop as Volatility Rises

U.S. and European markets played follow the leader Friday, as the three main stock indexes in both regions tumbled nearly 3 percent together. Among other events, analysts pointed fingers at the euro, uncertainty over President Obama’s jobs speech and doubt over Greece’s ability to address its financial problems.

Posted on Sep 9, 2011 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



Flickr / doug88888

The Real Cause of America’s Debt Crisis

Over the past century, America’s rich made their millions and billions through the use of public assets shared by everyone. By virtue of those profits, they have not only a moral, but a rational obligation to pay more for the upkeep of public services. (more)

Posted on Jul 25, 2011 READ MORE  |  80 COMMENTS



Flickr / isafmedia

A Top Aide to Karzai Is Killed

Less than one week after Hamid Karzai’s half brother was shot to death, Jan Mohammad Khan, a senior adviser to the Afghan president, was killed by gunmen at his home. The Taliban claimed responsibility. (more)

Posted on Jul 17, 2011 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS



Flickr / NoHoDamon

Employer-Provided Health Insurance Taking a Bigger Bite

Newly published numbers from the Department of Health and Human Services show that American workers in 2010 paid average premiums of $4,940 for employer-provided health insurance to cover just themselves. (more)

Posted on Jul 17, 2011 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS



Flickr / DVIDSHUB

Obama’s Assassination Machine

Fred Branfman was in Laos when the U.S. began covertly dropping bombs on the country’s civilian population in 1969 as part of its military operations in neighboring Vietnam. Today, he writes about the Obama administration’s international counterterrorism plan, which involves 60,000 Special Operations forces worldwide. (more)

Posted on Jul 14, 2011 READ MORE  |  11 COMMENTS



Flickr / Marion Doss

Human Rights Watch: Prosecute the Bush War Criminals

A U.S.-based human rights group published a report Tuesday calling on foreign governments to prosecute George W. Bush and some of his chief officials in light of a growing body of evidence of war crimes. (more)

Posted on Jul 12, 2011 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



Flickr / Defence Images

Pakistani Lawyer Blocked From U.S. After Suing CIA on Drone Strikes

Pakistani lawyer and human rights champion Mirza Shahzad Akbar, who has aided the U.S. government in legal counterterrorism efforts, was banned from traveling to the States to speak at Columbia Law School after suing the CIA about drone strikes that have killed civilians in his country. (more)

Posted on Jul 3, 2011 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS



Flickr / isafmedia

Afghan Reconciliation Efforts Have Failed

In 2005, the U.S.-backed Afghan government instituted a reconciliation program aimed at reintegrating insurgents who aggressively opposed the U.S. invasion of their country. With minimal political support and inadequate funding, that program failed, and many who voluntarily left groups such as the Taliban have received none of the promised benefits.

Posted on Jul 2, 2011 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS



Flickr / Abode of Chaos

Ayatollah Turns the Terrorism Tables

U.S. leaders got a dose of their own medicine Saturday when Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, called them out for supporting and practicing terrorism in the Middle East and beyond. (more)

Posted on Jun 25, 2011 READ MORE  |  23 COMMENTS



Flickr / Stian Eikeland

Estimated 1 in 4 U.S. Hackers Working for the Man

One year after suspected WikiLeaker Pfc. Bradley Manning was outed to the FBI by his confidant, Adrian Lamo, the hacking community is steeped in tension and mistrust, with the publisher of a popular trade journal estimating that a quarter of all U.S. hackers are recruited informers for the federal government.

Posted on Jun 7, 2011 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS


US-Pak Alliance

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Posted on May 16, 2011 READ MORE


Harsh Wind

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Posted on May 1, 2011 READ MORE


Sadr City protest
AP / Karim Kadim

Sadr Delivers an Ultimatum to U.S.

Moqtada al-Sadr is back, issuing an ultimatum to American troops and contractors: Leave Iraq by the end of the year or he will revive his Mehdi Army and relaunch attacks on the United States’ post-withdrawal presence in the country.

Posted on Apr 9, 2011 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS


iPhone
Courtesy of Apple

Activist App: ‘Panic Button’ for Cellphones

A new “panic button” cellphone application is being promoted by the U.S. State Department for pro-democracy activists, especially those in the Arab world and China, that wipes out the phone’s contacts and alerts fellow activists.

Posted on Mar 26, 2011 READ MORE  |  8 COMMENTS



AP / Anja Niedringhaus

Libyan No-Fly Zone in Place, U.S. Says

As a NATO-led international effort to “protect the Libyan people” enters its second day, the U.S. says its no-fly zone is now in place while Russia and the Arab League have condemned the joint attack.

Posted on Mar 20, 2011 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS


Protect the Oil Zone

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Posted on Mar 15, 2011 READ MORE


Santorum and the Crusades

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Posted on Feb 27, 2011 READ MORE


Military Spread Thin

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Posted on Feb 27, 2011 READ MORE


‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Repeal

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Posted on Dec 20, 2010 READ MORE


Afghan Border Region

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Posted on Dec 19, 2010 READ MORE


Shock

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Posted on Oct 25, 2010 READ MORE



AP / Vahid Salemi

Grand Opening: Iranian Nuclear Plant

Drum roll, please. After 36 years in the making and with great help from Russia in its construction, Iran held a ceremony Saturday to mark the opening of the country’s first nuclear power plant. The event marked the beginning of the transfer of uranium fuel rods into the plant, which aims to start producing electricity later this year.

Posted on Aug 21, 2010 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS


Kim Jong Il and soldiers
AP / Korean Central News Agency via Korea News Service

North Korea Threatens to Get Physical

Following the announcement of joint military exercises between South Korea and the U.S., North Korea has threatened a “physical response,” describing the military drills as another sign of U.S. hostility and “a threat to the Korean peninsula and the region of Asia as a whole.”

Posted on Jul 23, 2010 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS



nps.gov

Pinning Down a Disarmament Deal

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have agreed on final terms for a new nuclear arms reduction agreement, a successor to the START treaty of 1991. The new deal will remove about a third of the warheads deployed by each country.

Posted on Mar 26, 2010 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS


Morales
AP / Juan Karita

An OAS Without Empire

In a press conference before a meeting of Latin and Caribbean countries in Cancun, Mexico, Evo Morales proposed a new Organization of American States “without empire” that would remove Canada and the U.S. from the organization’s roster.

Posted on Feb 20, 2010 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS


Fake Missile
nytimes.com

Romania to Host U.S. Missile Shield

In an announcement more apt for a dinner party than a defense memorandum, Romania has agreed to host a new U.S. missile shield in its territory aimed at protecting Western interests from the “emerging threat” of Iranian ballistic missiles.

Posted on Feb 5, 2010 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS



U.S. Denies Blowing Up Iranian Scientist

An Iranian spokesman accused the “triangle of wickedness,” otherwise known as Israel, the U.S. and “their hired agents,” of carrying out the Tuesday bombing of Iranian scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi. The State Department said that was “absurd.”

Posted on Jan 12, 2010 READ MORE  |  6 COMMENTS



AP

China Roars Past U.S. to Become No. 1 Auto Market

With the U.S. economic slump and the seemingly never-ending boom in Chinese manufacturing, it comes as no surprise that China has become the world’s biggest car market, with 13.5 million vehicles sold in 2009—or 2.1 million more than the U.S.

Posted on Jan 8, 2010 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



AP / Nasser Nasser

Closing Time in Yemen

Both the U.K. and U.S. temporarily closed their embassies in Yemen “for security reasons” on Sunday after increasing concern about al-Qaida threats in the capital city of Sana’a. Yemen has been under heightened scrutiny after the 2009 Christmas Day attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner was traced to the Middle Eastern country.

Posted on Jan 3, 2010 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS


Iran nuclear program
payvand.com

A Tentative Deal on Iran’s Uranium

Prodded by the U.S., Russia and France at talks in Vienna, Iranian negotiators have agreed to carry back to Tehran a proposed deal that would see Iran ship out most of its enriched uranium—the stuff of nuclear weapons—to Russia.

Posted on Oct 21, 2009 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS


US Troops
defendamerica.mil

U.S. Troops on Midnight Train to Georgia

The U.S. military has begun war games in the nation of Georgia, an exercise reportedly planned for months, but which comes just days after Russia announced it will spend half a billion dollars refurbishing its own military bases and strengthening its hold on Georgia’s breakaway region of Abkhazia.

Posted on Aug 14, 2009 READ MORE  |  13 COMMENTS


ENTER_ALT_TEXT
Flickr/mikecolvin82

A Big Brother World

This week in surveillance: The New York Times revealed that the NSA has been spying on the e-mails of millions of Americans, including ex-President Bill Clinton. Meanwhile, China has backed down from installing mandatory security software, while Iran tries to clamp down on communications, and Britain plans to track every phone call, e-mail and text message in Britain. Yikes!

Posted on Jun 18, 2009 READ MORE  |  9 COMMENTS


Israel US
aljazeera.net

U.S.-Israel on the Rocks

Tensions have been mounting between the U.S. and its usual BFF, Israel. President Obama’s demand for an end to the construction of settlements in the West Bank was rejected by Israel earlier this week. Obama has responded by suggesting that Israel’s intransigence endangers U.S. security.

Posted on May 29, 2009 READ MORE  |  108 COMMENTS



AP photo / Lee Jin-man

World Reacts to North Korean Launch

The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting following what North Korea described as a satellite launch but what the U.S. and South Korea said was actually a long-range missile test. The U.S., the European Union, Japan and South Korea have all weighed in with varying degrees of concern, while China and Russia have urged calm and restraint.

Posted on Apr 5, 2009 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS



Flickr / danesparza

Death Penalty Keeps U.S. in Bad Company

Here’s a list of countries where you don’t want to find yourself when it comes to human rights: Saudi Arabia, Iran, China, Iraq, Pakistan and the good ol’ U.S. of A. Those six states execute more of their citizens than any others, according to Amnesty International’s latest tally. The U.S. is the fourth-worst offender.

Posted on Mar 23, 2009 READ MORE  |  5 COMMENTS


Russia Stands With Serbia

Russia and the U.S. are picking sides in the conflict over Kosovo’s bid for independence from Serbia. Washington’s support of Kosovo led to last week’s protest outside the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, and now Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who may well be next to lead Russia, has reaffirmed that his country will stand behind Serbia. Medvedev commented Monday during a visit to Belgrade.

Posted on Feb 25, 2008 READ MORE  |  2 COMMENTS


Gates
AP photo / Mark Wilson, pool)

U.S. Claims Successful Hit on Faulty Satellite

The official reason the U.S. military offered for its show of fireworks Wednesday night high above the Pacific was to shoot down, using an anti-satellite missile, a failed spy satellite before it might do damage upon reentry. However, not everyone read the skywriting that way.

Posted on Feb 21, 2008 READ MORE  |  14 COMMENTS


US embassy fire
AP photo / str

Protesters Set Fire to U.S. Embassy in Belgrade

A demonstration of about 150,000 people near the American Embassy in Belgrade turned riotous Thursday when protesters opposed to Kosovo’s bid for independence from Serbia stormed the embassy and set fire to its façade.

Posted on Feb 21, 2008 READ MORE  |  13 COMMENTS


Silent Guardian
raytheon.com

Raytheon’s New ‘Silent Guardian’ Brings the Pain

Reporting on cutting-edge new military gadgetry gives this UK journalist, the Daily Mail’s Michael Hanlon, an unpleasant dose of the reality of modern warfare—and leads him to wonder about the significance, and possible uses of, Raytheon’s new “Silent Guardian” mega-zapper.

Posted on Sep 20, 2007 READ MORE  |  10 COMMENTS


Kofi Annan
news.yahoo.com

Annan Rebukes U.S. for Abusing Power

Speaking from the Truman Library in his last speech as U.N. secretary-general, Kofi Annan excoriated the United States for abusing its power in the world community: “No nation can make itself secure by seeking supremacy over others.”


  • Read the speech

  • Posted on Dec 11, 2006 READ MORE  |  7 COMMENTS


    EU Rules Financial Spying Program Illegal

    A European Union oversight committee has concluded that the data sharing program between the U.S. and a European financial consortium broke the law by violating the civil liberties of European citizens.  The decision may prompt the EU’s ruling body to sue Belgium for allowing the program to continue.

    Posted on Nov 22, 2006 READ MORE  |  3 COMMENTS


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