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Westerners Kidnapped in North Africa — but Is France the Real Target?

“Tightened security measures sent hundreds of armed soldiers patrolling Metros, train stations, airports and tourist sites across France, while officials instructed the French people to be wary of the increased risk of attack at home — and abroad. News reports indicated Islamist radicals had kidnapped numerous French, European, and American workers from an oil installation in eastern Algeria. Somalia’s al-Shabab militia also announced it would execute a French spy. Those developments came after warnings by a jihadi leader in Mali on Monday that by attacking Islamist forces in Africa, ‘François Hollande opened the gates of hell for all French people.'” Continue reading →

France adopts words of war by vowing to ‘destroy terrorists’

“With its talk of ‘destroying’ enemies and confronting ‘jihadi terrorists’, France has adopted a language of war for its intervention in Mali that few expected from Socialist President Francois Hollande. As French warplanes carry out airstrikes and French troops clash with Islamist rebels in the West African country, Hollande and his ministers seem to have taken a page from former US president George W. Bush’s playbook on war-time communications. French media reported that ministers have been banned from using the words ‘Islamist fighters’ in statements on the conflict and must always refer to rebels as ‘terrorists’.” Continue reading →

NE Medicaid Expansion (#1): The Race is On

Author’s Note: This is the first in a series of articles about Nebraska’s Medicaid program, the Unicameral’s apparent intent to expand it, and the many reasons why expansion is an uncommonly bad idea. Last year when the Unicameral expanded the state’s already generous Medicaid program to cover prenatal care provided to women who were ineligible… more

Chicago committee to consider settling cop misconduct cases for nearly $33M

“The settlement in the Eilman case would avert a trial detailing the events of May 2006, when the then-21-year-old California woman was arrested at Midway Airport in the midst of a bipolar breakdown. She was held overnight and then released at sundown the next day without assistance several miles away in one of the city’s highest-crime neighborhoods. Alone and bewildered by her surroundings, the former UCLA student was abducted and sexually assaulted before plummeting from a seventh-floor window. She survived but suffered a severe and permanent brain injury, a shattered pelvis, and numerous other broken bones and injuries.” Continue reading →

Study: Democracy in decline around the world

“Democracy around the world was in decline in 2012 for the seventh year in a row as the Arab Spring led nervous autocratic leaders to clamp down on any stirrings of dissent, a study said Wednesday. The annual report by the Freedom House non-governmental organization found 90 countries now enjoyed full freedom, up from 87 nations in 2011, but 27 places saw new restrictions on rights of assembly, expression, and the media.” Continue reading →

Oregon sheriff writes Biden to say he won’t enforce new gun laws

“An Oregon sheriff wrote Vice President Joe Biden announcing his refusal to enforce any new gun safety legislation placing restriction on semi-automatic weaponry, saying they would ‘infringe upon the liberties of responsible citizens who have broken no laws.’ According to KOIN-TV, Linn County Sheriff Tim Mueller said he is unsure Biden will actually read the letter, in which he accuses lawmakers of ‘attempting to exploit the deaths of innocent victims by advocating for laws that would prevent honest, law abiding Americans from possessing certain firearms and ammunition magazines.'” Continue reading →

US Fires Back In Antiguan Gambling Spat

“The United States has warned Antigua and Barbuda not to pursue compensation agreed by the World Trade Organization (WTO) following a 2004 ruling against US laws prohibiting the provision of online gambling services to the United States market. In a landmark decision in 2004, the WTO agreed that these laws were in violation of the US’s international treaty obligations. However, to date, the government of Antigua and Barbuda has said that ‘it has been unable, despite sustained efforts, to either get the United States to comply with the WTO ruling or negotiate any reasonable compromise to settle the dispute.'” Continue reading →

Take Steps Today To Say “Adieu” Tomorrow

“Governments are becoming increasingly hostile toward citizens that leave for greener pastures, and they will use any means to prevent the outflow. They will publicly humiliate expats; Hollande has called Depardieu ‘pathetic’ and ‘unpatriotic.’ They will enact laws to specifically punish expats for leaving; the US Congress attempted to pass a law aimed at punishing Eduardo Saverin, the Brazilian-born co-founder of Facebook who renounced his US citizenship. They will even take proactive steps to prevent citizens from leaving, either by limiting their citizens’ ability to freely travel or by limiting their citizens’ ability to relocate their capital abroad.” Continue reading →