Mainstream News

Mexican town finds more security by throwing out the police

"The indigenous town of Cherán used to be like many places in Mexico, caving under the weight of drug-related crime and a police force that did little to stop it. But about two years ago, citizens here threw out the police, and took over their local government, running the town according to indigenous tradition. So far, they’ve had remarkable success. About six months after villagers threw out the police, the Mexican state granted the town a degree of legal autonomy to govern itself on the local level, according to indigenous tradition." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMexican town finds more security by throwing out the police

U.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans’ finances

"The Obama administration is drawing up plans to give all U.S. spy agencies full access to a massive database that contains financial data on American citizens and others who bank in the country, according to a Treasury Department document seen by Reuters. The proposed plan represents a major step by U.S. intelligence agencies to spot and track down terrorist networks and crime syndicates by bringing together financial databanks, criminal records and military intelligence." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. to let spy agencies scour Americans’ finances

Police gun down 83-year-old woman in her backyard responding to 911 call she dialed

"A police officer shot and killed an 83-year-old woman in her own backyard. Delma Towler dialed 911 to report a burglary but when police arrived, one officer killed her outside her home in Altavista, Va. Towler had never fired her gun before that night. She fired a warning shot out the window to scare the burglar off. Then she started walking through her backyard toward her sister's house. She grasped the gun for protection from the reported intruder — not the police, her family maintains. The two responding officers claim that they shot Towler after she refused to put her weapon down. The woman reportedly did not have her glasses on or hearing aid in at the time." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice gun down 83-year-old woman in her backyard responding to 911 call she dialed

Special Forces axe their plan to infiltrate Utah after locals complain about exercise ‘imposing martial law’

"The U.S. Army chose a quiet community in central Utah as the training ground for Special Forces soldiers needing to develop Jason Bourne-like skills and to learn how to build a resistance movement by infiltrating the town leadership. With the deeply religious culture present in Manti, Utah and the desert landscape of the area, residents were deemed ideal candidates by the Defense Department to role play with soldiers in the 10th Special Forces as part of a two week training exercise in July on unconventional warfare tactics. Now that sequestration is in full effect, the Utah mission was called on Thursday to the relief of residents." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSpecial Forces axe their plan to infiltrate Utah after locals complain about exercise ‘imposing martial law’

Combat stress felt far from front lines

"Sitting at computer banks lining the expansive room, the Air Force analysts watch the video feeds streaming from surveillance drones and other military assets monitoring U.S. forces around the globe. Photos, radar data, full-motion video and electronically gathered intelligence flows across multiple screens. In 15- to 20-minute shifts, the airmen watch and interpret the information. While they are thousands of miles from the gritty combat in Afghanistan, the analysts in the cavernous room at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia relive the explosions, the carnage and the vivid after-battle assessments of the bombings over and over again." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCombat stress felt far from front lines

Dennis Rodman ‘planning a vacation’ with Kim Jong-Un

"The odd couple is getting odder: first, Dennis Rodman and North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un took in a hoops game side-by-side. Now they’re planning a holiday together. The retired and flamboyant 51-year-old Rodman, who announced the vacation plan Monday, became the most high-profile American to meet Kim, doing so during a recent trip to Pyongyang which came against a backdrop of increased North Korean saber-rattling on the peninsula. Officials in Washington have played down the significance of the trip, stating that the former Chicago Bulls star does not represent the views of the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDennis Rodman ‘planning a vacation’ with Kim Jong-Un

Judge approves use of ‘truth serum’ on accused Aurora shooter James Holmes

"Legal and medical experts are questioning the decision of a judge inColorado to allow James Holmes, the suspected gunman in the Aurora cinema shooting, to be tested with a 'truth serum' should he plead not guilty by reason of insanity. William Shepherd, chair of the criminal justice section of the American Bar Association, whose members include both prosecutors and defence lawyers, said that the proposed use of a 'truth drug' to ascertain the veracity of a defendant's plea of insanity was highly unusual in the US. He predicted it would provoke intense legal argument relating to Holmes's right to remain silent under the fifth amendment of the US constitution." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJudge approves use of ‘truth serum’ on accused Aurora shooter James Holmes

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

US citing security to censor more public records

"The U.S. government, led by the Pentagon and CIA, censored or withheld for reasons of national security the files that the public requested last year under the Freedom of Information Act more often than at any time since President Barack Obama took office. Overall, the Obama administration last year answered its highest number of requests so far for copies of government documents, emails, photographs and more, and it slightly reduced its backlog of requests from previous years. But it more often cited legal provisions allowing the government to keep records or parts of its records secret, especially a rule intended to protect national security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS citing security to censor more public records