"In the wake of the terror attacks in England, France, Germany and elsewhere, can we finally admit that the war on terror is an utter and complete failure? So if the war on terror has failed, what should we do to stop terrorists?" Continue reading →
The Pentagon has admitted to an airstrike that is believed to have killed more than 200 civilians in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, at the edge of the autonomous Kurdistan region. In the 1980s, Kurdistan was targeted by Saddam … Continue reading →
"The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) warned that suspending visa-free travel would have a 'large negative impact,' including an additional 10 million annual visa applications to process. Additionally, the GBTA warned that if the United States retaliates with its own suspension of visa-free travel, it could mean approximately €2.5 billion in costs to EU citizens as roughly 8 million travelers would need to pay the $160 visa fee and other application costs. The GBTA also cited an Oxford Economics study that projected a 23 percent decline in travel revenue for the U.S. and Canada as a result of a suspension, as well as a projected 140,000 jobs lost in Europe and 73,000 jobs lost in the United States." Continue reading →
"The U.S. Government failed to deter them through threats of criminal prosecution, and clumsy attempts to intimidate their families. Now four former Air Force drone operators-turned-whistleblowers have had their credit cards and bank accounts frozen, according to human rights attorney Jesselyn Radack. Michael Haas, Brandon Bryant, Cian Westmoreland and Stephen Lewis, who served as drone operators in the US Air Force, have gone public with detailed accounts of the widespread corruption and institutionalized indifference to civilian casualties that characterize the program." Continue reading →
"China’s central bank is thought to have been targeted in a revenge cyber-attack by investors infuriated at government attempts to destroy the local Bitcoin market. As the yuan-denominated value of Bitcoins collapsed today, the website and official, Twitter-style weibo account of the People’s Bank of China suffered a series of crashes believed to have been caused by hackers. Although the attacks were not claimed by any group, they followed a decision by Beijing earlier this week that will effectively shut down Bitcoin trading on China’s online exchanges. Bitcoins have proved exceptionally popular in China." Continue reading →
"When a Philadelphia transit officer attempted to detain a ticket-scam suspect near a train station platform last week, surveillance video records the suspect turning on the cop and wrestling him to the ground, pinning him between a glass barrier and a bench. But the video also shows a crowd of at least seven transit customers observing the fight, including one who pulled out her phone to record the incident. Notably a similar incident happened at the same train station last week, WTXF reported. And again video captured two plain-clothes officers getting beaten up in front of a much larger crowd at Cecil B. Moore station in north Philadelphia." Continue reading →
"Fox News is reporting a stunning theft of U.S. arms by jihadist salafists in Libya. This news item will be made much of by critics of Obama on the right. However, military and government blunders, cost overruns, unneeded weapons systems, and general mis-management are par for the course. Of more relevance is the light this sheds on the U.S. arms being shipped into Syria. There are no significant controls that prevent these arms from reaching the most terror-prone and jihadist elements among the Syrian rebels, whose numbers are large in proportion to all the rebels. This decision to ship arms was foolhardy from the get-go, and now it looks even more ill-conceived." Continue reading →
"Fox News is reporting a stunning theft of U.S. arms by jihadist salafists in Libya. This news item will be made much of by critics of Obama on the right. However, military and government blunders, cost overruns, unneeded weapons systems, and general mis-management are par for the course. Of more relevance is the light this sheds on the U.S. arms being shipped into Syria. There are no significant controls that prevent these arms from reaching the most terror-prone and jihadist elements among the Syrian rebels, whose numbers are large in proportion to all the rebels. This decision to ship arms was foolhardy from the get-go, and now it looks even more ill-conceived." Continue reading →
"Consider the attack at the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya, blowblack for Kenya's interference in putting down militants against the Somalian government. Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based cell of the militant Islamist, has targeted Kenya after the Kenyan government sent thousands of troops into Somalia in 2011. The US clearly has been an instigator, coaxing Kenya to send troops into Somalia. An NYT slideshow of the attack is here. Note to conspiracy theorists: The NYT photographer just happened to be near the Nairobi mall at the time of the attack." Continue reading →
"At least 39 people were killed when masked gunmen stormed an upscale Nairobi mall, Kenya’s president said on Saturday. Al Shabaab militants said the attack was retaliation for Kenya’s involvement fighting Islamists in neighbouring Somalia. Masked gunmen killed 39 people when they stormed an upscale shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a televised address on Saturday, adding that he lost family members in the attack claimed by Somalia’s al Qaeda-inspired al Shabaab rebels. The Islamist rebels said the massacre was in direct retaliation for Kenya’s military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists." Continue reading →