Honduran victims of US drug war still await justice

"In the increasingly militarised drug war, suspects are sometimes killed in the field; suspicion of involvement in drug trafficking warrants a death sentence. Government drug warriors on the scene play the role of judge, jury and executioner. This May 11 marked one year since the tragic killing of four indigenous villagers in Ahuas, in Honduras' Moskitia region. The victims, who included a pregnant woman and a 14-year-old boy, were killed in a joint US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA)/Honduran police counter-narcotics operation. Three other villagers were shot and wounded." Continue reading

Continue ReadingHonduran victims of US drug war still await justice

‘The Rendition Project’ sheds new light on U.S. global kidnap and secret detention program

"A groundbreaking research project has mapped the US government’s global kidnap and secret detention programme, shedding unprecedented light on one of the most controversial secret operations of recent years. The interactive online project – by two British universities and a legal charity – has uncovered new details of the way in which the so-called extraordinary rendition programme operated for years in the wake of the September 11 attacks, and the techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) to avoid detection in the face of growing public concern." Continue reading

Continue Reading‘The Rendition Project’ sheds new light on U.S. global kidnap and secret detention program

Antiwar.com Lost Major Donors After News of FBI Monitoring Broke

"Yesterday the ACLU filed a lawsuit on our behalf against the Federal Bureau of Investigation, demanding the receipt of records in their possession regarding surveillance of Antiwar.com, and key editorial personnel. We know they possess such records because of documents received as a result of a third party Freedom of Information Act request, subsequently published online. A memo from FBI headquarters in Washington speculates Antiwar.com and its principals are possibly 'a threat to national security' engaging in a conspiracy 'on behalf of a foreign power' and recommends a more thorough investigation." Continue reading

Continue ReadingAntiwar.com Lost Major Donors After News of FBI Monitoring Broke

U.S. Acknowledges Killing 4 Americans in Drone Strikes

"The Obama administration on Wednesday formally acknowledged that the U.S. had killed four American citizens in drone strikes in Yemen and Pakistan. In a letter to Congressional leaders, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. disclosed that the administration had deliberately killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen. The letter also said that the United States had killed three other Americans: Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike; Mr. Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan." Continue reading

Continue ReadingU.S. Acknowledges Killing 4 Americans in Drone Strikes

Swiss banks face massive fines over Americans’ untaxed bank accounts

"Swiss banks holding US citizens’ funds that are not declared to American tax authorities are set to have to pay a massive fine, under a deal between Switzerland and Washington, a newspaper reported Wednesday. The Swiss daily Neue Zuercher Zeitung, quoting sources familiar with the talks, said that the fine could reach 40 percent of the funds in question. Swiss media have reported that under a compromise hammered out by negotiators, the 300 banks in Switzerland would be classed according to their level of alleged complicity in tax evasion. The dozen banks seen as the main perpetrators would reportedly be forced to make a case-by-case deal with the United States." Continue reading

Continue ReadingSwiss banks face massive fines over Americans’ untaxed bank accounts

Tories begin defecting to Nigel Farage’s UKIP over ‘loons’ slur

"Local Conservative party campaigners, including the chairman of one constituency association, will this week pledge their support for Nigel Farage after one of David Cameron’s allies described grassroots Tories as 'mad, swivel-eyed loons'. Six members of the Tory group on Merton council in south London are quitting. One, Richard Hilton, who has been acting chairman of the local Conservative association, said he would join Ukip because the insult was 'the final straw'. Lord Howe, the former chancellor, claimed Mr Cameron was 'losing control' of the party to growing euroscepticism." Continue reading

Continue ReadingTories begin defecting to Nigel Farage’s UKIP over ‘loons’ slur

Just Six Percent Of Americans Want Jail Time For Marijuana Users

"More Americans believe in Bigfoot than believe someone found smoking marijuana or in possession of a small amount of marijuana should be sent to jail, a new poll reports. Marijuana is a federally illegal, schedule one drug with mandatory minimum prison sentence for certain possession offenses. States like California have decriminalized simple possession of marijuana – making it an infraction punishable by a ticket. About 800,000 Americans are arrested for marijuana each year, or one every 42 seconds." Continue reading

Continue ReadingJust Six Percent Of Americans Want Jail Time For Marijuana Users

Pentagon plans to fight ‘War on Terror’ for another 20 years

"Even after cutting off the head of al-Qaeda, the United States Department of Defense doesn’t believe an end to the war on terror is in sight. On Thursday, one Pentagon official predicted the mission against al-Qaeda could continue for another two decades. Speaking to the Senate Armed Services early Thursday, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations Michael Sheehan said the Pentagon has no plans to pull out of its almost 12-year-old war overseas. When asked for his take on how long the war on terror could go on for, Sheehan told lawmakers, 'At least 10 to 20 years.'" Continue reading

Continue ReadingPentagon plans to fight ‘War on Terror’ for another 20 years

IRS Scandal: And They Shall Eat Their Own …

"These three scandals in particular represent the power of what we often call the Internet Reformation. While scandals have always beset Washington, the breathtaking rapidity with which these blossomed and expanded may be indicative of how modern communication undermines damage control and resists minimization. And, yes, I would tend to believe the third reason – the power of the Internet itself – is driving the rapidity and evolution of these scandals. It is not enough anymore to claim executive privilege while attempting to conceal abuses of political privilege." Continue reading

Continue ReadingIRS Scandal: And They Shall Eat Their Own …

Benghazi: Who Cares?

"In Libya, the media has gotten side tracked on a potentially sensational Obama administration cover up—no matter how minor—instead of asking the more important questions: 'Would U.S. diplomats have been killed if the United States had not overthrown Muammar Gaddafi and destabilized Libya?' or 'Did the U.S. military intervention destabilize the entire region by unleashing Gaddafi’s huge weapon stocks and fighters into places like Mali?' Bloodthirsty Republicans, such as John McCain and Lindsay Graham, don’t want to ask these questions, because it would undermine the rationale for their zealous advocacy of an ill-advised American intervention in Libya." Continue reading

Continue ReadingBenghazi: Who Cares?