Mainstream News

Holder Begs Court To Stop Document Release On ‘Fast And Furious’

"Attorney General Eric Holder and his Department of Justice have asked a federal court to indefinitely delay a lawsuit brought by watchdog group Judicial Watch. The lawsuit seeks the enforcement of open records requests relating to Operation Fast and Furious, as required by law. Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton said that Holder’s and Obama’s desire to continually hide these Fast and Furious documents is 'ironic' now that they’re so gung-ho on gun control." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHolder Begs Court To Stop Document Release On ‘Fast And Furious’

Man with walking stick puts three Sapulpa schools on lockdown

"An hour long lockdown at three Sapulpa schools is over after a man was spotted walking near the school with a rifle. Sapulpa Police officers located the man and determined that the rifle was, in fact, a walking stick. Walking with a walking stick isn't a crime in the City of Sapulpa so the man was questioned and released." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMan with walking stick puts three Sapulpa schools on lockdown

Police Shoot, Kill Dog When Going To A Home By Mistake

"Jeff Fisher said deputies went to his house by mistake. He said when they forced their way through the door his dog Ziggy ran outside and an Adams County Sheriff’s deputy shot and killed him. '(He went to the door) to see who it was and the police officer shot him three times,' Fisher said. 'They killed my dog for no reason.' Fisher said he wants that deputy to be held accountable. 'I’m on the ground crying hysterically and the police officer says, ‘You need to calm down, you can get a new dog,'' said Fisher." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPolice Shoot, Kill Dog When Going To A Home By Mistake

Indian Jeweler Becomes Billionaire as Gold Price Surges

"T.S. Kalyanaraman opened a shop in the southern Indian state of Kerala in 1993 and taught customers how to test the purity of their gold to expose cheating craftsmen. He was also the first jeweler in town to attach price tags to his gold and gem collection, angering competitors who accused him of ruining the trade. Two decades later, the 65-year-old has become a billionaire as a 12-year rally in gold prices fails to damp demand in India, the world’s largest consumer of the precious metal. He owns 44 stores in India and plans to open 36 more by March 2014, including five in the Middle East." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndian Jeweler Becomes Billionaire as Gold Price Surges

North Korea grants rare citizenship to American businessman

"The US boss of a joint venture run by North Korea and the Unification Church of South Korea said Tuesday he has been granted rare honorary citizenship by Pyongyang, in a bid to encourage new investment by him. Park Sang-Kwon, CEO of Pyeonghwa Motors told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency that he received the citizenship in Pyongyang last month. 'This means that North Korea has acknowledged the trust they had put in me. They were also encouraging me to start new projects in the North, more freely and aggressively,' Park was quoted as saying." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Korea grants rare citizenship to American businessman

French military seeks ‘total reconquest of Mali’

"French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said Sunday the end goal of France’s military action in Mali was to retake control of the whole country from Islamist militants who have seized the north. 'The goal is the total reconquest of Mali. We will not leave any pockets' of resistance, Le Drian said on France 5 television. Le Drian also said Malian forces had not yet been able to retake the town of Diabaly, seized nearly a week ago by Islamists and then heavily bombed by French planes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFrench military seeks ‘total reconquest of Mali’

British man who ‘vanished’ after being stripped of citizenship says he was tortured, forced to sign a confession by the CIA

"Mahdi Hashi, who vanished last summer in Somalia, has described for the first time his 'horrific' ordeal at the hands of the secret police in the neighbouring state of Djibouti, who he claims worked closely with US interrogators. The 23-year-old, who lived in London, alleges that he was stripped and repeatedly slapped before being threatened with electrocution and sexual abuse by officers who were attached to Djibouti's intelligence service. Speaking from a top security prison in New York, where his family tracked him down just before Christmas, Mr Hashi claims he was so frightened by the threats of torture that he signed the confession demanded by his American interrogators." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish man who ‘vanished’ after being stripped of citizenship says he was tortured, forced to sign a confession by the CIA

Torture of prisoners persists in Afghanistan: UN

"The UN issued a follow-up to a report on torture a year ago, as Kabul seeks full control over prisons and prisoners from NATO’s International Security Assistance Force despite the misgivings of the US-led ISAF. Other forms of torture included hanging suspects by the wrists from chains for long periods and threatening them with sexual violence, the UN mission in Afghanistan said in its 139-page analysis released late Sunday. Many of those tortured to extract confessions were children under the age of 18, it said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTorture of prisoners persists in Afghanistan: UN

Chinese ‘re-education’ labor camps set for abolition

"It is another signal that the widely criticised system — where people can be sentenced to up to four years’ 're-education' by a police panel, without an open trial — is coming to an end. The comments come after the Communist Party’s new leader Xi Jinping said the party recognised as a 'pressing problem' that it was 'out of touch with the people'. About 60,000 people are detained in the camps, officials say, most of whom serve from six months to a year. Opponents say the camps are used to silence government critics and would-be petitioners who seek to bring their complaints against officials to higher authorities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChinese ‘re-education’ labor camps set for abolition

Obama turns ‘austerity inauguration’ into a dash for corporate cash

"What a lot has changed in four years. As Obama prepares to revel in his second inauguration, on Monday, there is no ceiling on what an individual can give, corporations and lobby groups are very welcome and the presidential inaugural committee has been going on a fundraising binge as though there was no tomorrow. On surface appearance, the inauguration is a sober and scaled-down affair compared with 2009. But don’t be fooled by the outward semblance of austerity. In fact, says the government transparency watchdog, the Sunlight Foundation, this year’s inauguration has been turned into an orgy of cash generation." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama turns ‘austerity inauguration’ into a dash for corporate cash