Huffington Post: Jon Stewart Mocks Obama Over Latest Scandals: 'I Think The White House Is Going To Start Reading Their Emails Now' (VIDEO) 2013-05-18
How is it that President Obama seems to find out about the scandals plaguing his administration at the same time as the rest of us? Doesn't he have people who are supposed to give him a little heads up?
The Independent: UN's Carla Del Ponte says there is evidence rebels 'used sarin' in Syria 2013-05-06
A United Nations inquiry into human rights abuses in Syria has found evidence to suggest that rebel forces may have used chemical weapons, its lead investigator has revealed.
Reuters: Former Guatemala dictator Rios Montt convicted of genocide 2013-05-11
Former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt was found guilty on Friday of genocide and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest phase of the country's 36-year civil war and was sentenced to 80 years in prison.
The Verge: US drones could remain over Afghanistan after 2014 withdrawal 2013-04-24
The US military is due to pull most combat troops out of Afghanistan by the end of 2014. But after that, an armed American presence could remain over Afghan skies, depending on what agreement...
Washington Post: Dzhokhar Tsarnaev charged with using 'weapon of mass destruction' 2013-04-23
Obama administration says Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will face trial in federal court for the Boston Marathon bombings.
PolicyMic: U.S. Torture Was a War Crime. Why Hasn't Anyone Been Held Accountable? 2013-04-19
In the most comprehensive account yet, a new report concludes that the use of torture by the United States was blatantly illegal. Those responsible must be held accountable.
Human Rights First: To Obama: Don't Let the CIA Change the Findings of the Torture Report 2013-05-07
Human Rights First is an independent advocacy and action organization that challenges America to live up to its ideals.
The People's Voice: Torture Remains Official US Policy 2013-04-28
International law is clear and unequivocal. Torture is illegal at all times, under all circumstances with no allowed exceptions. | Treaties America signed prohibit torture and other forms of ill-treatment. They're binding under the Constitution's Supremacy Clause. | ".all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States shall be the supreme law of the land;"
The People's Voice: Chemical Weapons Charade in Syria 2013-04-30
A mere 24 hours after Washington heavyweights from the White House, Pentagon, and State Department brushed aside Israeli allegations of chemical weapons use in Syria, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the White House changed their minds. They now believe "with varying degrees of confidence" that CWs have been used "on a small scale" inside Syria. | For the uninitiated, "varying degrees of confidence"
The Nation.: President Obama: Close Guantánamo Bay 2013-05-02
While President Obama has rightly argued that Congress is standing in the way of closing the prison, human rights groups have pointed out the many meaningful actions he can take.
Truth-Out: Social Security's Explosive Injustices 2013-05-07
alissa: The proposed reduction from current levels in Social Security benefits comes on top of glaring decades-old abuse of the system. It remains to be seen whether cuts will be the spark that ignites widespread popular resistance.
allvoices: Taliban Spring offensive continues in Afghanistan killing 7 US troops 2013-05-05
Seven US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday as the Taliban continued a spring offensive announced this week. The US-led ISAF coalition reports that five US service members were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. Later reports said two more Americans were killed in an insider attack by an Afghan army soldier. | Insider attacks were announced as part of the tactics the Taliban would use in its spring offensive.
CounterPunch: The US and Israel's Syrian Airstrikes 2013-05-07
But the Syrians themselves have officially confirmed that military installations were hit by the Israelis. And not for the first time during the rebellion. The Fateh-110 — the new version, at least — has a range of perhaps 250km. And it could indeed reach Tel Aviv from southern Lebanon. If the Hezbollah has actually acquired any.
Afro American: Social Security Changes Could Hurt Blacks Most 2013-05-09
WASHINGTON (NNPA) – Social Security changes proposed by President Obama could hurt African Americans more than other groups, according to a new report by the Center for Global Policy Solutions. | In this fiscal year 2014 budget, President Obama is proposing switching the way benefit programs such as Social Security and civil service retirement adjust for inflation to the chained consumer price index, or chained CPI.
UK Progressive Magazine: Six Claims on Detainee Torture, Skewered 2013-04-25
“Perhaps the most important or notable finding of this panel is that it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture,” the report concludes. The task force says that despite overwhelming evidence of torture, both government officials and many in the media have continued to present the issue as a two-sided debate.
Current TV: Jeremy Scahill: Dirty Wars... Obama administration fighting covert war 2013-05-09
Jeremy Scahill is an Investigative Journalist, Producer and Co-Writer of the Film Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield.
Courierpress/news/gleaner/: ANN McFEATTERS: Neocons again beating drums of war 2013-05-06
The people who got us into war in Iraq and Afghanistan are now clamoring for a third war. They want the United States to go to war against the government of Syria. They are also warning that war with Iran may be inevitable.
allvoices: Half of Guantanamo detainees are on hunger strike 2013-04-22
The Central Intelligence Agency of the United States tracked hundreds of potential terrorists in different countries after the 9/11 attacks. Later, the terror suspects were picked up with the help of intelligence agencies of the respective countries and shifted to the Guantanamo prison for interrogation.
CounterPunch: The UN and 250000 Dead Somalis 2013-05-08
Most of those who died from starvation were internally displaced persons, displaced in the main by the military invasion and occupation of southern Somalia by the UN backed Ethiopian Army and then the AU "peacekeepers", today some 25,000 strong. | When I last wrote about starvation in Somalia I spoke of the UN budgeting 10 cents a day for food aid to feed each Somali refugee. Its called a "budget shortfall"
American Civil Liberties Union News and Information: President Obama, Don't Let the CIA Control the Torture Narrative 2013-05-08
When former White House counterterrorism advisor John Brennan went before the Senate in early February for his confirmation hearing to lead the CIA, he made a startling admission.
Human Rights First: President Obama: Close Guantanamo Now! [Petition] 2013-05-08
Human Rights First is an independent advocacy and action organization that challenges America to live up to its ideals.
Human Rights First: Americans Deserve to See the Un-edited Report on Torture 2013-05-08
Human Rights First is an independent advocacy and action organization that challenges America to live up to its ideals.
The Guardian: Former Guantánamo chief prosecutor petitions Obama to close prison camp 2013-05-02
Col Morris Davis attracts 64,000 signatures to Change.
Firedoglake: Court Finds FBI-Issued National Security Letters 'Significantly Infringe Upon Speech' 2013-03-16
Nondisclosure or gag provisions of National Security Letters "significantly infringe upon speech regarding controversial government powers," a district court in California ruled on March 15. The provisions were found to violate the First Amendment and "separation of powers principles." | The authority to do this was granted under the guise of protecting national security by Congress in the PATRIOT Act.
Dissident Voice: Jeremy Scahill: Other Side of the Barrel of the Gun 2013-05-14
I recently had an opportunity to hear Jeremy Scahill, author of the international best-selling book, Blackwater speak about his new book.
Truthdig: Truthdigger of the Week: Jeremy Scahill 2013-04-29
With his new book Dirty Wars: The World Is a Battlefield, Jeremy Scahill brings the last decade of the American government's clandestine war making into the clearest possible focus. -
eNews Park Forest: Icelandic Leader Supporting Bradley Manning in the US 2013-04-09
Press Release: Hundreds gathered in Judson Memorial Church in New York City to hear Icelandic parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir who worked with WikiLeaks to produce the 'Collateral Murder' video in 2010 discuss the trial and persecution of Army private Bradley Manning.
Latinos Post: LivingSocial Hacked: 50 Million Accounts Compromised, Passwords Reset 2013-04-28
Over 50 million LivingSocial accounts were recently compromised as security of the daily deals site was breached by unknown hackers.
The Nation: Australian troops to quit Afghanistan as base closes 2013-03-27
Australia's main base in Afghanistan will close and most of its troops will be home by the end of the year, Defence Minister Stephen Smith said on Tuesday. The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF)
American Civil Liberties Union News and Information: Urgent White House Action Needed to Avert Guantánamo Human Rights Crisis 2013-04-12
There is a serious human rights crisis brewing at the prison at Guant√°namo Bay. A hunger strike that began in early February has spread...
Talk Radio News Service: Report Shows US Tortured After 9/11 2013-04-18
A report released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Constitution Project concluded that the U.S. performed torture during interrogations after 9/11, and that senior American officials bear the blame.
aclu.org: Statement by ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero on Miranda Rights of Boston Bombing Suspect 2013-04-20
Every criminal defendant is entitled to be read their Miranda rights. The public safety exception should be read narrowly. It applies only when there is a continued threat to public safety and is not an open-ended exception to the Miranda rule.
Salem-News.Com: US Activists Respond to GTMO Hunger Strikes 2013-03-28
On Sunday, March 24 human rights activists throughout the United States began a seven day fast and series of actions in solidarity with the men currently on hunger strike at the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Indian Express: Wary of N Korea threat, US says in talks with South 2013-03-31
The US has said it is in close touch with South Korea and is prepared for any possible threat from North Korea, amid escalating tension in the Korean peninsula after declaration of "state of war" by Pyongyang. | "We've seen reports of a new and unconstructive statement from North Korea. We take these threats seriously and remain in close contact with our South Korean Allies,"
CounterPunch: The Consuming Evil of Violence 2013-04-23
In case CounterPunch readers missed the latest US commission of atrocities, the April 7th air strike in Afghanistan that killed seventeen (including twelve children), as reported in the New York Times this past week, a photo of the graves of several of the children on a sandy hillside as part of the article, I offer these thoughts on the Obama presidency which directly speak to that event as well as countless others.
American Civil Liberties Union News and Information: Blue Ribbon Task Force: U.S. Tortured Detainees - Leaders Responsible 2013-04-16
Nearly two years ago, a non-partisan, constitutional think tank called the Constitution Project assembled its blue-ribbon Task Force on Detainee Treatment to examine the treatment of detainees in the years following 9/11.
Salem-News.Com: Syria and Sarin Gas: US Claims Have a Very Familiar Ring 2013-04-30
Is there any way of escaping the theatre of chemical weapons? First, Israeli military intelligence says that Bashar al-Assad's forces have used/ have probably used/ might have used/ could use chemical weapons. Then Chuck Hagel, the US Defence Sec..
GlobalPost: More than 80000 dead since start of Syrian conflict, opposition says 2013-05-13
The organization said in a statement that it compiled the death toll starting with the first fatality in the southern province of Deraa on March 18, 2011, up through May 11, 2013. | The Observatory said that among the dead are 47,389 civilians who have been identified, of whom 4,788 were minors and 3,048 were women.
The Nation: US-Israel arms deal sends Iran 'clear signal': Hagel 2013-04-22
TEL AVIVA major US arms deal with Israel sends Iran a 'very clear signal' that military action remains an option to stop it from going nuclear, US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel said in Tel Aviv on Sunday.
Human Rights First: Hunger Strike Underlines Need to Close Guantanamo 2013-03-22
The military confirmed this week that an ongoing hunger strike among the detainees at Guantanamo Bay has expanded to 24 detainees. According to Carol Rosenberg at the Miami Herald, eight of the 24 have "missed enough meals and lost enough body weight to be fed nutritional supplements by tubes snaked up their noses and into their stomachs. Guards shackle detainees into restraint chairs to carry out the twice daily feedings."
The Guardian: Boston Marathon bombings: rounding up the conspiracy theories 2013-04-25
Amanda Holpuch: 'Alternative interpretations' of the 15 April attack sprang forth online almost immediately...
allvoices: Close Guantanamo Bay, says UN official to the United States 2013-04-06
President Barack Obama initiated the process to close the Guantanamo detention facility at in Cuba, but his proposition to try suspects in US civilian courts were blocked by Congress. | Sadly, the prisoners held in Guantanamo are neither protected by the Geneva Conventions, nor as criminal suspects or "enemy combatants" without any rights whatsoever.
Human Rights First: After Years of Broken Promises, Time for Leadership on Guantanamo 2013-04-12
Human Rights First is an independent advocacy and action organization that challenges America to live up to its ideals.
CounterPunch: Why I Am on a Hunger Strike to Shut Down Gitmo 2013-05-09
As a fourth generation shrimper and an environmental activist on the Texas gulf coast, I have gone on hunger fasts to protect the seas that my community of fishermen depend upon. I know how far I would go to be heard. To have a voice. To push for justice. So I can vouch for the experts who say that the 100+ hunger strikes happening now in Guantanamo prison reflect the level of desperation and despair felt by the prisoners there.
Democracy Now: HRW: Over 4300 Civilians Killed in Syrian Strikes 2013-04-12
Human Rights Watch is accusing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad of killing more than 4,300 civilians in air strikes since last summer. In a new report, the group says many attacks were indiscriminate, deliberate and amount to war crimes. Human Rights Watch Associate Director Anna Neistat said most of the strikes hit areas where no fighting was taking place.
The Nation: Militants kill 44 in attack on Afghan court 2013-04-04
Taliban militants stormed an Afghan court on Wednesday, killing at least 44 people in a bid to free insurgents standing trial, officials said, in the deadliest attack for more than a year.
NBCNews.com: 'Devastating' quake strikes near Iran's Bushehr nuclear plant, kills dozens 2013-04-10
World News value=World News: A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Iran's only nuclear power station Tuesday, killing at least 37 people and injuring hundreds, according to one report, and generating tremors that were felt on the other side of the Persian Gulf. The quake struck about 60 miles southeast... value=A magnitude-6.3 earthquake struck near Iran's only nuclear power station Tuesday, killing at least 37 people and injuring hundreds, according to one...
ColorLines magazine: The Post-Boston Islamophobic Hate Crimes Have Begun - COLORLINES 2013-04-19
On Wednesday, a white man harassed and punched a Palestinian woman in Medford, Massachusetts, calling her a “terrorist” and blaming her for the deadly bombing attack at the Boston Marathon.
Dissident Voice: Guantanamo Exposes Reality of US Fascism 2013-03-28
They are essentially dead men who just happen to breathe. That is the grim assessment of the legal representative for the inmates in the American concentration camp, otherwise known as Guantanamo Bay. | More than 11 years after this penal colony was opened on the American-occupied territory of Cuba, there remains some 166 prisoners who live in a nightmarish world of indefinite detention.
AARP News: Obama Ready to Propose Big Changes in Medicare, Social Security? 2013-04-04
When President Obama's budget arrives on Capitol Hill on April 10, lawmakers in the opposition party — in keeping with a time-honored Washington custom — are certain to immediately brand it "Dead on Arrival." This year, however, Obama's fellow Democrats may not be far behind. | Obama is reportedly ready to propose some big changes in Medicare and Social Security...
CounterPunch: Guantánamo's Lingering Stain 2013-04-16
"We must be clear about this: the United States is in clear breach not just of its own commitments but also of international laws and standards that it is obliged to uphold," declared recently Friday Navi Pillay, the U.N. Commissioner for Human Rights.
www.worldbulletin.net: CIA boosts arms to Syria rebels via Turkish airport: report 2013-03-26
Engin Demir, ebahost: U.S. intelligence officers had also vetted rebel commanders and groups to determine who should receive the weapons as they arrive.
Alaska Dispatch: Obama budget: GOP, Democrats attack president's plan 2013-04-08
Related: Obama proposing cuts to social security Is Obama to blame for North Korean tensions? In his weekly address Saturday, Obama called the budget he'll unveil Wednesday "a fiscally-responsible blueprint for middle-class jobs and growth." "My budget will reduce our deficits not with aimless, reckless spending cuts that hurt students and seniors and middle-class families "
Amnesty International: Afghanistan: Urgent need to protect civilians following fresh attacks 2013-04-10
A recent spike in civilian deaths in Afghanistan highlights the urgent need for all parties to the conflict to take greater precautions to avoid civilian casualties, Amnesty International said today.
Huffington Post: Why Cutting Social Security Benefits Is Such a Big Deal 2013-04-16
Rep. Keith Ellison: This is real money to seniors who are already struggling. Democrats should not propose policies that hurt middle class families in the hope that Republicans will suddenly cooperate in solving our budget challenges.
Press TV: 'US covers up horrors of Afghan war and civilians' plight: Richard Becker 2013-04-15
Iran's television network, broadcasting in English round-the-clock. Based in Tehran.
gp.org: Green Party urges no U.S. interference in Syria, calls on Obama to press Israel to end air strikes 2013-05-10
Green Party leaders today called on President Obama and Congress to cancel proposed military aid to Syrian rebels and press Israel to cease its attacks on Syria immediately, or risk an escalated conflict in the Middle East. | Greens urged the Obama Administration to pursue diplomacy and promote a political settlement instead of a deepening and bloody civil and proxy war.
MWC News: Expanding Guantanamo 2013-03-27
Stephen Lendman: In 2008, candidate Obama promised to close Guantanamo. Straightaway as president, he issued Executive Order titled "Review and Disposition of Individuals Detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Closure of Detention Facilities." | Sec. 3 states: "Closure of Detention Facilities at Guantanamo."
The Borneo Post: March marks Syria's bloodiest month yet with 6000 deaths 2013-04-02
People walk in a street in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on March 28, 2013 (AFP/File, Bulent Kilic) | BEIRUT: The month of March was the deadliest in Syria's two-year conflict, with more than 6,000 people killed, a monitoring group said on Monday. | "At least 6,005 people were killed in March. A total of 2,080 were civilians, among them 298 children aged under 16. Another 291 fatalities were women,"
The Nation: US military involvement in Syria a 'mistake': Gates 2013-05-13
WASHINGTON -Former US defense secretary Robert Gates warned Sunday that deepening US military involvement in Syria's civil war would be a 'mistake,' warning the outcome would be unpredictable and messy.
BBC News: Syria crisis: March was 'conflict's deadliest month' 2013-04-02
More than 6,000 people died in Syria in March during the deadliest month since protests against President Bashar al-Assad began two years ago, activists say.
AllGov: Iraq War Killed 116000 Civilians 2013-03-18
Also, they estimated that about five million Iraqis were displaced by the war. | The study estimated the financial cost to the U.S. from the war was at least $810 billion, and could go as high as $3 trillion once the government finishes paying off the interest from its war-related debt. | Iraq War Killed 120,000, Cost $800 Bln, Study Estimates (Agence-France Press) | Documented Civilian Deaths From Violence (Iraq Body Count.org)
Huffington Post: Syrian Rebel Unit Torturing Civilians Human Rights Group Claims 2013-04-10
BEIRUT April 9 (Reuters) - The pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Tuesday accused a rebel battalion of torturing civilians and extorting money from them in Syria's northern city of Aleppo. Torture kidnapping and summary killings have become a daily aspect of Syria's uprising-turned-civil war. But the Observatory a British-based group with a network of activists across Syria said it felt...
The People's Voice: Washington Escalates War on Syria 2013-03-28
Ousting Assad was planned years ago. At issue is replacing him with a pro-Western puppet. After two years of conflict, he hangs on resiliently. | Whether he'll survive is uncertain. Syria's military is strong and supportive. Free Syrian Army and US-recruited death squads are weak by comparison. | Reports suggest direct US intervention appears likely. NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis said he's ready to act if asked.
San Francisco Chronicle: U.S. Tortured Detainees Getting Little Information, Report Says 2013-04-16
U.S. forces tortured detainees and used other interrogation methods involving cruel, inhuman or degrading' treatment, an independent group concluded. The review, released today by the nonpartisan Constitution Project, said the ‘‘nation's most senior officials bear ultimate responsibility for allowing the spread of illegal interrogation practices.
ICRC (press release): Central African Republic: ICRC appeals for civilians to be spared 2013-03-25
"We have observed scenes of looting," said Georgios Georgantas, head of the ICRC delegation in the Central African Republic. "We are calling on all parties to the conflict to spare civilians, combatants no longer taking part, medical facilities and Red Cross personnel." | Since the previous day, many people injured by the fighting had been brought to the various hospitals around the city, Georgantas said.
Scotsman: UN human rights chief calls for Guantanamo closure 2013-04-06
THE United Nations human rights chief has called on the United States to close down the Guantanamo prison camp, saying the indefinite imprisonment of detainees without charge or trial violated international law. | Navi Pillay said the hunger strike being staged by some 40 inmates at the Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base in south-eastern Cuba was a "desperate act" but it was "scarcely surprising".
- Page Index
- 2013-05-18: Headlines
- 2013-05-14: Top Stories
- 2013-05-14: Headlines
- 2013-05-13: Top Stories
- 2013-05-13: Headlines
- 2013-05-12: Headlines
- 2013-05-11: Top Stories
- 2013-05-11: Headlines
- 2013-05-10: top stories
- 2013-05-10: Headlines
- 2013-05-09: Headlines
- 2013-05-08: Headlines
- 2013-05-07: Headlines
- 2013-05-06: Headlines
- 2013-05-05: Headlines
- 2013-04-28: Headlines
- 2013-04-25: Headlines
Top Stories
Boston Globe: Bomber strikes US convoy, killing at least 16 2013-05-18
KABUL, Afghanistan — A Toyota Corolla packed with explosives rammed a pair of US military vehicles in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Thursday, setting off a blast that killed at least 16 people, including six US military advisers, and shook the relative calm that has prevailed for months in the city, Afghan officials said. The explosion was powerful enough to rattle windows across Kabul. It left bodies strewed along the street...
Alpena News: Afghanistan: Bomb kills 15, including 6 Americans 2013-05-18
The group, Hizb-e-Islami, said its fighters had stalked the Americans for a week to learn their routine before striking — a claim which raises questions about U.S. security procedures. | Two children were among nine Afghan civilians killed in the attack. | "I can't find my children. They're gone. They're gone," their father screamed before collapsing to the ground as neighbors swarmed around to comfort him.
allvoices: Suicide bomber kills 15 in Afghanistan 2013-05-18
Kabul Police Chief General Salangi said that a Toyota Corolla car packed with explosives went off beside a foreign military vehicle in the morning. The blast was so powerful that almost all nearby buildings were damaged. Afghan President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack, terming it a cowardly act of terrorists. The president said terrorists targeted a residential area, showing they are desperate and inhuman.
Trend.az: Nine killed, 60 injured in Afghanistan bombing 2013-05-18
At least nine Afghan civilians were killed and scores others injured in a twin bomb explosion in the southern city of Kandahar on Friday, officials said.
CounterPunch: Little Companies That Bring You Films That Matter 2013-05-18
Fifteen years ago when I began posting film reviews on the Internet, I sought to do for film what I had already been doing for politics, namely to draw people's attention to what was undeservedly neglected.
Aljazeera.com: Jail the messenger? The predicament of a military whistleblower 2013-03-28
Priti Gulati Cox: It is interesting to observe how the US government and major media are staying silent on the case of Bradley Manning, the 25-year-old private first-class in the Army who leaked a vast collection of classified documents to the whistleblower website WikiLeaks. | Those of us who consider him a true American hero for what he did can finally heave a sigh of relief now that the word "accused"
CounterPunch: Exploring Agents of Influence in the Boston Attacks 2013-04-23
Tsarnaeva went on to say that "they were controlling him, they were controlling his every step...and now they say that this is a terrorist act." That may or may not be true; certainly if I were the parent of someone in this situation, that's what I would want to believe.
allvoices: Obama will not include stimulus for benefit cuts in 2014 budget 2013-04-09
In an appeal to Republicans, President Barack Obama will be sending a budget offer to the Congress, dropping out the stimulus for Benefit cuts, which have long been supported by Democrats. This is not our ideal budget," Gene Sperling, director of the White House's National Economic Council, told Bloomberg Television. "This does reflect a compromise offer. There's measures in here we would prefer not to take.""
Politics In Color: America Needs a Truth Commission on Race 2013-04-16
Until the Lion writes his own history he will always be misrepresented. That's what Frederick Douglass said. Until America convenes a Truth and Reconciliation Commission on racism, the complete African-American story will not be told. | Last month, an exasperated Justice Elena Kagen asked attorneys arguing the Shelby County voting rights case if the Supreme Court should really decide when racism has ended.
American Civil Liberties Union News and Information: 'Look to Guantánamo Before It Is Too Late' 2013-04-18
The ongoing crisis in the prison at Guanta´namo Bay is escalating, and new details are emerging as media have been allowed to visit this week.
CounterPunch: A Violent Act Again in a Violent Nation 2013-04-18
I ran the Boston Marathon back in 1968, and, my feet covered with blisters inside my Keds sneakers, dragged across the finish line to meet my waiting uncle at a time of about 3 hours and 40 minutes. It was close enough to the time that the current bombing happened in this year's race — about four hours from the starting gun...
Socialist Worker Online: Human rights abuses at Guantánamo 2013-04-16
ONE man here weighs just 77 pounds. Another, 98. Last thing I knew, I weighed 132, but that was a month ago. | I've been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity. | I've been detained at Guantaacute;namo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial. | I could have been home years ago...
ABA Journal: US tortured after 9/11, says independent Constitution Project panel report 2013-04-18
In the most ambitious effort so far by an independent, bipartisan group to assess American detention and interrogation programs after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a Constitution Project panel has concluded that it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture in its treatment of detainees. In its 577-page report, the panel said the brutality was unique in U.S.
Opposing Views: Nonpartisan Report: Bush Administration Knowingly Ordered Torture 2013-04-16
The Constitution Project, a nonpartisan organization led by former Rep.
eNews Park Forest: Military Decrees Media Access is a Privilege, Not a Right 2013-04-12
Press Release: Announcing new restrictions on the press covering Bradley Manning's court-martial trial at Fort Meade, MD, a military spokesperson said, This media operation center is a privilege, not a requirement. Privileges can be taken away.
RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty: Interview: Terrorism Legal Expert On Significance Of US Torture Report 2013-04-16
An independent report by the U.S.-based Constitution Project has concluded that the United States has engaged in torture. Experts and 11 panel members from both political parties, the military...
The Nation: What Dzokhar Tsarnaev and Bradley Manning have in common 2013-04-25
ALYSSA ROHRICHTThe media is ablaze right now with discussions about Dzokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Bomber, and whether or not he should receive a fair trial as an American citizen.
GlobalPost: Vigilante group releases police, civilians it took hostage in Mexican city 2013-03-28
A vigilante group has released the 12 police officers and six civilians it took hostage in the southern Mexican state of Guerrero after cutting a deal with prosecutors, spokesmen for the grassroots organization said. | The 18 individuals were handed over to Guerrero Attorney General's Office personnel Tuesday night on condition that they will be investigated for allegedly having links to drug traffickers
Aljazeera.com: When fear eclipses justice, we all lose: Shutter Guantanamo now 2013-04-06
Lauren Carasik: The US intransigence on Guantanamo issue is counterproductive, as it only serves to stoke animosity and contempt.
The Women's International Perspective: Guantánamo Continues to Be a Stain on US Reputation 2013-04-18
Dr. César Chelala is an international public health consultant and a co-winner of an Overseas Press Club of America award.
Bell Gardens Sun: Obama's Social Security, Medicare Cuts - No Grand Bargain for Latinos 2013-04-18
President Obama won an unprecedented 71 percent of the Latino vote nationwide, allowing him to edge out Mitt Romney in the key swing states of Colorado, Florida, Nevada and New Mexico. | What many may not know is that like most Obama supporters, Latinos voted for the president in no small part, because they believed they could rely on him to protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
OpEdNews: What to Do with G.W. Bush? 2013-04-22
Now that a bipartisan blue-ribbon panel has reached the conclusion that President George W. Bush and his top advisers bear "ultimate responsibility" for authorizing torture in violation of domestic and international law, the question becomes what should the American people and their government do. | For instance, we're told that Pvt. Bradley Manning may have had good intentions in exposing U.S.
Truth-Out: Death Is Preferable to Life at Obama's Guantanamo 2013-05-13
britney: More than 100 of the 166 detainees at Guantanamo are starving themselves to death. Twenty-three of them are being force-fed. "They strap you to a chai...
Albany Times Union: Report confirms suspicions detainees were tortured 2013-05-09
The Constitution Project's Task Force on Detainee Treatment found that interrogation techniques were cruel, inhuman or degrading and violated U.S. laws as well as international treaties. [...] despite assertions in the movie Zero Dark Thirty, the report says little credible information was derived from them, especially as to the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. [...] the panel extensively examined issues surrounding the infamous U.S. prison...
allvoices: US Supreme Court favorability 'close to an all-time low,' poll finds 2013-03-26
The favorability rating for the US Supreme Court is in historically low territory, a Pew poll released Monday found, with only 52 percent of Americans holding positive views of the highest court in the nation. Thirty-one percent of the respondents held negative views of the court. | While Congress – with an approval rating of 14 percent, according to a recent Fox News poll –
Socialist Worker Online: Shoulder to shoulder with apartheid Israel 2013-03-28
Obama, like U.S. presidents before him, demands Palestinian surrender as a precondition for "peace," explains Sherry Wolf. | Barack Obama with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Ari Zoldan) | THE HEAD of the U.S. empire paid a three-day visit to the praetorian guard of the Middle East oil lake that concluded March 22. President Obama's trip to Israel aimed to shore up anxious vassals and reassert U.S.
The National: Back from Iraq, US veterans fight the effects of war 2013-04-29
Most of her tour was spent on base, serving guard duty and helping distribute supplies, but she still saw an Iraqi man shot to death, nearly died in an insurgent mortar attack and witnessed a friend temporarily lose her mind in the aftermath of the massive bombing that decimated UN headquarters. She also says she was raped by a fellow soldier, a common experience among the growing proportion of women in the US military.
Bulatlat: America cannot assert moral authority while Guantánamo remains open 2013-04-23
By The Observer Editorial Commondreams.org In 2009, defending the promise he made to close Guantánamo Bay, President Barack Obama insisted: "The existence of Guantánamo likely created more terrorists around the world than it ever detained." | One of those trapped in this Kafkaesque nightmare is Briton Shaker Aamer.
Salem-News.Com: Drones Against Boston? 2013-05-05
President Obama authorized the use of drones domestically when he signed FAA Reauthorization Act. They can now be used domestically for a wide range of functions, both public and private, governmental and corporate. And quite definitely against..
Press TV: US committing rights abuses at Gitmo with impunity: Mark Mason 2013-04-15
Iran's television network, broadcasting in English round-the-clock. Based in Tehran.
Alaska Dispatch: Whistleblower Bradley Manning nominated for Nobel Peace Prize 2013-04-04
BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. — It is highly unlikely that Army Pfc. Bradley Manning will go from prisoner to Nobel laureate any time soon. | For one thing, the 25-year-old soldier who allegedly sent hundreds of thousands of classified documents to the WikiLeaks website is only one of a record 259 candidates whose names have been sent to the Nobel Committee as a candidate for the Peace Prize.
SYS-CON Media (press release): CAIR Says Torture Report Shows Need to Stop 'Erosion of American Principles' 2013-04-18
SYS-CON Media, NJ, The world's leading i-technology media company on breaking technology news.
CounterPunch: In Praise of Richard Falk 2013-05-07
Shortly after the 15 April 2013 Boston Marathon bombings, Richard Falk, professor emeritus of international law at Princeton University and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian territories, published an analysis of the episode entitled "A Commentary on the Marathon Murders." | In this analysis Falk pointed out that there are "serious deficiencies in how the U.S. sees itself in the world."
Huffington Post: Drone Pilots Learn Art Of War In Remote New Mexico 2013-04-24
Keywords: (Repeats to widen distribution) By Tabassum Zakaria HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M., April 23 (Reuters) - The tide of war may be receding, as President Barack Obama is fond of saying, but U.S. military demand for unmanned drones and their remote pilots is growing. Here in the New Mexico desert, the U.S. Air Force has ramped up training of drone operators - even as the nation increasingly...
CounterPunch: Funding and Denouncing Israeli Occupation 2013-03-14
More bad news emerged from Israel in recent weeks. Indeed, good news is seldom associated with Israel and its military occupation and institutionalized discrimination and mistreatment of Palestinians. | But now even those international organizations that are often supportive of Israel's militancy seem to be joining the consensus that Tel Aviv is on an irrevocably perilous course.
Huffington Post: Chavez Led Latin America Forward 2013-04-04
Larry Hirsch: It takes a larger-than-life character to make necessary changes. If a more progressive Latin America with less inequality is Chavez's legacy, then he made a positive impact on the world.
OpEdNews: Psychologists and Torture: Accountability Still Awaits 2013-04-19
Yesterday the independent and nonpartisan Constitution Project released its Task Force Report on Detainee Treatment. The comprehensive report was developed over a period of more than two years, in order to "provide an accurate and authoritative account of how the United States treated people its forces held in custody as the nation mobilized to deal with a global terrorist threat."
Daily Beast: Obama's Gitmo Catastrophe 2013-04-30
Torturous force feedings and hunger strikes at Guantánamo Bay are a sign of just how desperate the men there are. Baher Azmy on why the situation must be fixed—now.
CounterPunch: Free Vivienne Westwood! Free Bradley Manning!! 2013-05-09
May 6th saw the the most glamourous night of the year for high fashion — the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala in New York. Since its inauguration in 1948 the swanky annual fete has feature a different theme.
Havana Times: Venezuela: Elections and the Hill Top Barracks 2013-04-15
After exercising their right to vote on Sunday, hundreds of Venezuelans went up to the January 23rd neighborhood (where the Barracks is located) to close a sort of spiritual covenant established with the late President Hugo Chavez Frias: Vote for Maduro. | For those who do not know, the remains of the former president are deposited at the Barracks, which is also a museum displaying Chavez's photos.
news of Latin America: Chavez Knew US Special Services Were After Him 2013-03-26
Hugo Chavez was not the man obsessed by the thought he was being followed and watched, that's what the propaganda tried to make him look like. He was a politician who faced the reality and knew how hated he was in Washington for opposing the United States on all political or economic issues.
MWC News: US judge raises bar in Bradley Manning case 2013-04-12
Agencies: Government asked to prove army private knowingly helped al-Qaeda by leaking secrets to convict him of aiding the enemy.
The New Civil Rights Movement: 10 People Who Still Think Google Was Honoring Hugo Chavez On Easter 2013-04-02
Visit us on Facebook! | What Peitzman revealed is the extent of ignorance surrounding the christian conservative enclave, especially on Twitter. | Going with that thought, here are eleven people who, even after news of the César-not-Hugo laugh riot on Twitter went viral, still think Google was honoring Hugo Chávez. | We invite you to sign up for our new mailing list, and subscribe to The New Civil Rights Movement via email or RSS.
Middle East Monitor: UNICEF's translation of torture to 'ill-treatment' 2013-04-24
Ramona Wadi: The report gives an overview of the rights of the child in accordance with international law, correctly deeming the prohibition against torture as absolute. However, one must question the motive behind downplaying these atrocities to a statement of ill treatment. UNICEF's report documents the human rights violations happening throughout the years, including the arrests occurring between midnight and dawn, the blindfolds and plastic ties...
Hurriyet Daily News: Who is remembering the Muslim dead? 2013-04-30
Keywords: 'Yes, it is time to remember the civilians massacred in the Ottoman Empire during the First World...
Havana Times: Obama Vows to Seek GITMO Prison Closure 2013-05-02
President Obama has vowed a renewed push to shut down the military prison at Guantánamo Bay more than four years after first pledging its closure. Speaking at a White House news conference, Obama called the indefinite imprisonment of more than 100 people unsustainable, but defended the ongoing force-feeding of those on a three-month hunger strike to win their freedom.
BigPond News: May Day protests rage against austerity 2013-05-02
Tens of thousands of protesters have staged May Day rallies in several countries of the crisis-hit eurozone.