Mainstream News

Dennis Rodman heads back to North Korea to see ‘friend’ Kim Jong-Un

"Korean-American Kenneth Bae, 44, has been held prisoner in the North since November, and Rodman had said last week that he might seek the man’s release. But speaking to reporters at Beijing airport en route to the North Korean capital, Rodman said 'I haven’t been promised anything' on Bae. 'I’m just going to meet my friend Kim the marshal to start a new basketball league going,' Rodman said. 'I’m just trying to keep the communication job going.' North Korea, which bans religious proselytising, said Bae was a Christian evangelist who brought in 'inflammatory' material." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDennis Rodman heads back to North Korea to see ‘friend’ Kim Jong-Un

UK troops deny mutilating Iraq insurgents’ corpses

"Troops are accused of unlawfully killing 20 or more Iraqis at Camp Abu Naji near Majar-al-Kabir in May 2004, and ill-treating detainees there as well as later at Shaibah Logistics Base, also in southwest Iraq. But at a hearing in London on Monday, Colonel Adam Griffiths said he had not seen any evidence to suggest that around a dozen bodies taken to Camp Abu Naji were mutilated before being returned to relatives, or that detainees had been mistreated. He suggested that the rumours sprang from 'ignorance amongst the local population as to the traumatic injuries that can be suffered in combat' as well as insurgents’ efforts to discredit the US-led troops that had invaded Iraq in 2003." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUK troops deny mutilating Iraq insurgents’ corpses

U.S. steps up Pakistan surveillance: ‘black budget’ analysis

"America has delivered nearly $26 billion in aid to Pakistan over the past 12 years, with the money aimed at stabilizing the country and ensuring its cooperation in counterterrorism efforts, according to the paper. US spy agencies reported that senior Pakistani military and intelligence officials knew of and possibly ordered a broad campaign of extrajudicial killings of militants and other adversaries, the Post said. Public disclosure of the reports could have forced the administration of President Barack Obama to sever aid to the Pakistani armed forces. This is because of a US law that prohibits military assistance to human rights abusers." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. steps up Pakistan surveillance: ‘black budget’ analysis

For some blacks, gun control raises echoes of segregated past

"As far back as the 1860s, gun control has been used to keep arms out of the hands of black people. After the Civil War, a group of discriminatory laws known as the Black Codes limited the civil liberties—like the right to bear arms—of newly freed slaves. Rules in nine states that give local law-enforcement officials discretionary authority to deny people gun permits even if they meet all criteria for ownership – the same power Alabama’s police department exercised when Martin Luther King Jr. applied to carry a concealed weapon. Despite threats to his life from the Ku Klux Klan, the police denied the civil rights leader permission to own a gun." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFor some blacks, gun control raises echoes of segregated past

‘What is Government?’ Elementary Students Taught It’s Your ‘Family’

"Fourth-grade students in Illinois are learning that “government is like a nation’s family” because it sets rules and takes care of needs such as health care and education. So says a worksheet for social studies homework that was distributed to students at East Prairie School in Skokie, Ill, complete with a drawing of Uncle Same cradling a baby that represents the citizens. Students are then prompted to answer 10 questions comparing government and families, including how their family provides for their health care needs and how the government does the same, and what rules families set and what rules government sets." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘What is Government?’ Elementary Students Taught It’s Your ‘Family’

‘Sovereign citizen’ movement, 30,000 strong, worrying Canadian officials

"There have been a number of 'hard take-downs' by police in B.C. involving Freemen who refuse to have a driver’s licence and, sometimes, automobile insurance. Dozens of sovereign citizens have found themselves in front of a judge facing tax evasion, contempt or criminal charges. Last month, Warren Fischer, a practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine in Nelson, B.C., broke down in tears in court after being convicted of tax evasion. An adherent to Freeman philosophies and a member of the Sovereign Squamish Nation, Fischer refused for several years to pay income tax, saying he did not want his taxes to support the war overseas. He will be sentenced in October." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Sovereign citizen’ movement, 30,000 strong, worrying Canadian officials

Virginia State Trooper inattentively plows into skateboarder, beats hasty exit

"A video showing a Virginia State Trooper striking a skateboarder with his police cruiser was published to YouTube Wednesday. It is unclear, at this point, exactly when this incident happened and police didn’t give an exact date. Sergeant Molnar said that Virginia State Police 'are aware of this video as this incident occurred approximately nine months ago in the City of Richmond near the VCU campus.' 'I do not have any other details to provide to you,' said Sergeant Molnar. 'This is a personnel matter and state police does not have further comment on this matter.' CBS 6 did find out that the trooper is still employed with the state police." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingVirginia State Trooper inattentively plows into skateboarder, beats hasty exit

Bradley Manning’s Letter To President Obama Requesting Pardon

"The decisions that I made in 2010 were made out of a concern for my country and the world that we live in. Since the tragic events of 9/11, our country has been at war. We’ve been at war with an enemy that chooses not to meet us on any traditional battlefield, and due to this fact we’ve had to alter our methods of combating the risks posed to us and our way of life. I initially agreed with these methods and chose to volunteer to help defend my country. It was not until I was in Iraq and reading secret military reports on a daily basis that I started to question the morality of what we were doing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBradley Manning’s Letter To President Obama Requesting Pardon

Pro-Assad hackers target Marine Corps recruiting website

"Pro-Syrian regime hackers posted messages on a US Marine Corps recruiting website on Monday, urging troops to defy orders from President Barack Obama. The hackers showed photos of people in American uniforms holding hand-written signs saying they would not fight for Al-Qaeda in Syria. 'Obama is a traitor who wants to put your lives in danger to rescue al-Qaeda insurgents,' the message read, according to a screenshot from The Wall Street Journal. The US Marine Corps confirmed the intrusion but said the affected site, Marines.com, the official recruitment portal for the Corps, was back to normal." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPro-Assad hackers target Marine Corps recruiting website

‘Let’s tax the sun’: new law shocks world press

"A new tax on solar power introduced two weeks ago by the Spanish government has been described as 'ludicrous' and 'stupid' in two leading international publications. Business Spectator interviewed people who plan to ignore the new law, including Sergio Pomar, chief executive of energy-efficient installation firm INEL. He said: 'If I spend €600 to install solar panels and get fined €6 million let the judge decide.' Private individuals who fail to hook their solar panels up to the national grid to be metered and taxed could face fines of up to €30 million ($40 million) under the new law. Some homeowners have removed their solar panels rather than face fines of up to €30 million." Continue reading →

Continue Reading‘Let’s tax the sun’: new law shocks world press