Imperial Hubris

U.S. officials warn Pakistan risks sanctions over Iran pipeline

"Pakistan risks sparking US sanctions if it pursues its plans with Iran to build a $7.5 billion gas pipeline linking the two nations, a senior US official said in a renewed warning Monday. 'We have serious concerns, if this project actually goes forward, that the Iran Sanctions Act would be triggered,' State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. 'We’ve been straight up with the Pakistanis about these concerns.' Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched the construction of a much-delayed section of the gas pipeline with his Pakistani counterpart Asif Ali Zardari at a ceremony on the border of the two neighbors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. officials warn Pakistan risks sanctions over Iran pipeline

UN: Human rights abuses increase in Iran in 2012

"Human rights violations in Iran spiralled in 2012, a United Nations monitor said Monday in a report spotlighting abuses including repression of freedom of speech, torture and secret executions. 'There has been an apparent increase in the degree of seriousness of human rights violations in the Islamic Republic of Iran,' Ahmed Shaheed said in his report to the UN Human Rights Council. Shaheed highlighted 'frequent and disconcerting' reports about 'punitive state action' against a number of groups, including the jailing of opposition politicians, journalists and human rights campaigners." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUN: Human rights abuses increase in Iran in 2012

White House denies claims of collusion with the Taliban

"The White House on Monday strongly rejected allegations from Afghan President Hamid Karzai that the United States was colluding with the Taliban to justify the presence of US troops in the country. 'That’s categorically false, and nobody believes it,' White House spokesman Jay Carney said when asked about Karzai’s remarks. Karzai had charged that Taliban bombings helped the United States argue for a long-term military presence and that Washington was holding 'daily' talks with the insurgents behind the backs of his government." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhite House denies claims of collusion with the Taliban

U.S. Drug Czar: Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

"Federal prosecutors will crack down on recreational marijuana dispensaries and growers even in states where they are legal, U.S. drug czar Gil Kerlikowske told a Canadian news magazine this week. The statement appears to be the first from a federal official to state explicitly that the federal government will prosecute dispensaries and producers once they are licensed in Washington and Colorado. Washington and Colorado’s laws explicitly make both production and distribution of marijuana legal under state law if the entities are licensed and follow regulations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. Drug Czar: Federal Prosecutors Will Go After Washington And Colorado Marijuana Distributors

Balkanization of Syrian War

"Today the UK Telegraph is reporting that the United States has facilitated the shipment of some 3,000 tons of weapons left over from the Balkan wars of the 1990s to Syria via Croatia. This radical escalation on the part of the US and UK is in clear violation of the European arms embargo of Syria and similar US administration pledges. And where are these weapons ending up? The US is facilitating the transfer of sophisticated weapons to terrorists who utilize al-Qaeda in Iraq style techniques such as planting roadside bombs. Here are Syria's jihadist fighters showing off their latest gifts courtesy of the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBalkanization of Syrian War

Bin Laden son-in-law court appearance reignites debate over handling of terrorism cases

"With the surprise appearance in a New York courtroom of Osama bin Laden’s son in law on Friday, the US justice system’s handling of terrorism cases itself went back on trial. Until now, alleged Al-Qaeda figures have been more likely to be blown apart by a missile from a US drone or to disappear into the netherworld of secret CIA or secretive military prisons, before resurfacing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But on this occasion, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, accused of conspiring to kill US nationals, was arraigned in a wood-paneled Manhattan federal courtroom, accompanied by three lawyers and witnessed by the media." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBin Laden son-in-law court appearance reignites debate over handling of terrorism cases

U.S. diplomat warns of global effort to curb Internet freedom

"A number of countries are aggressively trying to control the Internet, a top US diplomat cautioned Thursday, insisting Washington would give no ground when it comes to curbing freedoms on the Web. The fact that many countries appeared to be investing heavily, 'billions and billions of dollars', in next generation surveillance technologies was an indication of their intentions to clamp down on Internet freedoms, Ross warned. The clamp-down was coming amid a clear shift of power all over the world from governments and other state hierarchies towards citizens and networks of citizens, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. diplomat warns of global effort to curb Internet freedom

Saudi rights activists given heavy jail terms

"A Saudi court on Saturday dissolved a human rights group and handed down heavy jail terms to two of its members. He also upheld a six-year prison term for one the group’s members, Abdullah al-Hamed, by a court of first instance, while also handing him a new five-year sentence and an 11-year travel ban to come into force when he leaves jail. Another rights activist with the ACPRA, Mohammed Gahtani, was jailed for 10 years and banned from travelling for 10 years. The defendants were convicted of violating a law on cybercriminality by using Twitter to denounce various aspects of political and social life in the ultra-conservative kingdom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaudi rights activists given heavy jail terms

Rodmania in North Korea

"The evidence only goes to show that the U.S. government rarely looks at itself in the mirror when pillorying and pummeling foreign countries. The United States does not need to befriend Kim Jong Un and the North Koreans—Dennis Rodman can do that. What it needs to do is disengage from the South Korean peninsula and let the now rich South Korea defend itself. North Korea will be much less prone to threaten the U.S. if it is not defending South Korea." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRodmania in North Korea

Democratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue

"Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon voted against John Brennan’s nomination to be the next director of the CIA, saying he was too cozy with the policies of the Bush administration. Merkley listed warrantless wiretapping, the lack of rights given to those deemed 'enemy combatants,' and the use of drone strikes as his primary concerns. The Democratic senator doubted that Brennan, who has defended warrantless wiretapping, would alleviate his concerns. Brennan has been closely associated with the use of drone strikes against suspected terrorists in Pakistan, Yemen and other countries. In a 2012 speech, he insisted the practice was legal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDemocratic senator votes against CIA nominee: Too many Bush-era policies continue