Yearly Archives: 2013

US announces $23 million bounty for African group leaders

"In an unprecedented move, the US has posted up to $23m in rewards to help track down five leaders of armed groups active in West Africa. The highest reward of $7mn was offered on Monday for the Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, who last week called on those sympathetic in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq to join the fight to create an Islamic-governed state in Nigeria. The State Department's Rewards for Justice programme also targeted al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), offering its first ever bounties for wanted fighters in West Africa." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS announces $23 million bounty for African group leaders

New Jersey cop allegedly shot man to death as wife and three kids looked on

"New Jersey police officer Joseph Walker, 40, was arrested Saturday in Maryland after he allegedly shot and killed a man in the midst of a road rage dispute, even as his wife and three children looked on. Maryland State Police told CBS Baltimore that Walker killed 36-year-old Joseph Harvey after the two encountered on another on Route 3. Police added that Walker’s wife and three children were in the car with him at the time. The family was traveling through Maryland back to New Jersey, where Walker works as an officer for the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. He’s being held on $1 million bail, facing charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Jersey cop allegedly shot man to death as wife and three kids looked on

Woman sues Japan’s biggest yakuza boss, seeking refund of ‘protection money’

"She is demanding around 17 million yen ($170,000) in compensation and reimbursement for payments she was forced to make to protect her bar in the central city of Nagoya, the broadcaster said, citing her legal representatives. The woman says she paid 30,000-100,000 yen per month between 1998 and 2010 to a member of Inabaji Ikka, a local yakuza group connected to the Yamaguchi-gumi, Kyodo News said. On one occasion in 2008 when she tried to refuse to pay, she was warned that her bar could be burned down, Kyodo said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoman sues Japan’s biggest yakuza boss, seeking refund of ‘protection money’

Holder Says: “Don’t Stand Your Ground. Run.”

"The main victims of violence from gangs and thugs in the United States are residents of the inner cities. Here, police protection is minimal. Here, people either stand their ground or get run over by thugs. But such talk, in Holder’s view, rejects common sense. There is no need for laws protecting victims of thugs and criminals when the victims defend themselves. The public should wait patiently for the police to intervene. Meanwhile, if they are upset with thugs, they can always run. Problem: when you are facing an armed teenager, you probably can’t outrun him. Or maybe your wife can’t." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHolder Says: “Don’t Stand Your Ground. Run.”

The Manning Show Trial: These Teachable Moments

"I’m shocked — shocked! — that Colonel Denise Lind, the military judge who ruled in February that Bradley Manning could be tried on various charges even after being held prior to arraignment for more than five times the absolute longest time specified in the US Armed Forces’ 'speedy trial' rules, has now also ruled that Manning can be convicted of aiding an enemy that does not exist. Yes, you read that right: There’s only an 'enemy' to aid, in any legal sense, if the United States is at war, a state created by a congressional declaration. There’s been no such declaration since World War II. Lind had only one legal duty as judge in this case: To dismiss all charges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Manning Show Trial: These Teachable Moments

The Chilling Effects of License-Plate Location Tracking

"Location tracking has far-reaching implications for the way we live, even if we don't think we've done anything wrong. Our recent report, 'You Are Being Tracked,' shows that automatic license plate readers allow law enforcement to track every car on the road, not just those relevant to an investigation. This type of widespread tracking endangers our rights of protest and association and has the potential to reach deep into our lives and alter our daily decision making. Once your location information is collected and stored by a third party, you have lost control over it, and there is no way to know whose hands it will end up in." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Chilling Effects of License-Plate Location Tracking

America’s best educated kids don’t go to school

"Brian Ray, president of the National Home Education Research Institute, compared home schoolers and public school students on the results of three standardized tests for the 2007-2008 academic year. With public school students at the 50th percentile, home schoolers were at the 89th percentile in reading, the 86th percentile in science, the 84th percentile in language, math, and social studies. Socio-economic factors may have a lot to do with why home schoolers do so much better. Virtually all have a mother and a father who are living together. Nearly two thirds of fathers and 62 percent of mothers have a bachelor’s degree or higher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerica’s best educated kids don’t go to school

President of American Academy of Arts and Sciences Resigns Over Resume Fraud

"Leslie Cohen Berlowitz, the embattled president of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, will officially depart her post at the end of the month, the academy has announced. Ms. Berlowitz has been on paid administrative leave since early June, following reports that she had falsely claimed, on several grant applications and other documents, to have a doctorate. In a letter sent to members, Louis W. Cabot, the chairman of the academy’s board, said that Ms. Berlowitz would resign effective July 31, without any severance. She will receive a one-time payment of $475,000." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPresident of American Academy of Arts and Sciences Resigns Over Resume Fraud

Fort Hood shooting suspect apologizes for U.S. ‘illegal and immoral aggression’ against Muslims

"Hasan asked for forgiveness and prayers from 'the believers and the innocents' for 'participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, their religion and their lands.' Hasan was a army psychiatrist at Fort Hood and was about to be deployed to Afghanistan at the time of the shooting. Hasan is acting as his own attorney in his court martial. If convicted he could face execution or life in prison without parole. Hasan had said at a pre-trial hearing that he opened fire at the base to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from U.S. aggression. The base is a major center for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFort Hood shooting suspect apologizes for U.S. ‘illegal and immoral aggression’ against Muslims

Obama cheers ‘victory’ in Korean War on 60th anniversary

"The United States was by far the biggest contributor to the multinational United Nations force that poured into South Korea to roll back a Chinese-supported invasion from the North. Nearly 1.8 million US servicemen and women served in Korea, of whom 33,739 died in combat and more than 100,000 were wounded, according to the US Department of Veterans Affairs. It was also the first war in which US forces were not racially segregated. The conflict ended with a ceasefire, which was never cemented with a treaty, leaving the two Koreas still technically at war." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama cheers ‘victory’ in Korean War on 60th anniversary