Winning Hearts & Minds

Ecuadorean Tribal Leaders Fight Government, Gold-Hungry Chinese

"The most famous case of Shuar 'insolence' occurred in 1599, when the Spanish governor of Maca demanded a gold tax from local Indians to fund a celebration of the coronation of Philip III. The night before the tax was due, Shuar armies slaughtered every adult male in the Spanish hamlets and surrounded the governor’s home. They tied the governor to his bed and used a bone to push freshly melted gold down his throat, laughing and demanding to know if he had finally sated his thirst. For the next 250 years, the Spanish mostly stayed away. Occasional attempts by Jesuit missionaries to reestablish contact were met with a welcome basket of skulls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuadorean Tribal Leaders Fight Government, Gold-Hungry Chinese

Ecuadorean Tribal Leaders Fight Government, Gold-Hungry Chinese

"The most famous case of Shuar 'insolence' occurred in 1599, when the Spanish governor of Maca demanded a gold tax from local Indians to fund a celebration of the coronation of Philip III. The night before the tax was due, Shuar armies slaughtered every adult male in the Spanish hamlets and surrounded the governor’s home. They tied the governor to his bed and used a bone to push freshly melted gold down his throat, laughing and demanding to know if he had finally sated his thirst. For the next 250 years, the Spanish mostly stayed away. Occasional attempts by Jesuit missionaries to reestablish contact were met with a welcome basket of skulls." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEcuadorean Tribal Leaders Fight Government, Gold-Hungry Chinese

Americans find it difficult to open bank accounts in UAE

"The recently enacted Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) by the US government is the reason for banks to close its doors to US citizens. When institutions fail to report or disclose information the consequences can be grave, one of the penalties being the withdrawal of US Dollar clearing rights in New York, a penalty feared by banks. Meanwhile, US citizens are reported to have been refused by banks when they wanted to open a new bank account." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans find it difficult to open bank accounts in UAE

Americans find it difficult to open bank accounts in UAE

"The recently enacted Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) by the US government is the reason for banks to close its doors to US citizens. When institutions fail to report or disclose information the consequences can be grave, one of the penalties being the withdrawal of US Dollar clearing rights in New York, a penalty feared by banks. Meanwhile, US citizens are reported to have been refused by banks when they wanted to open a new bank account." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmericans find it difficult to open bank accounts in UAE

Nevada state senator booted from legislature after threatening his wife

"Las Vegas Democratic Assemblyman Steven Brooks, 40, is not welcome in the state legislature anymore following his arrest Sunday for allegedly threatening his wife. Brooks was arrested January 19 on a felony charge after allegedly threatening Assembly Democratic Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, then detained by police several days later on a domestic disturbance call at his grandmother’s home. An investigation was launched at that point and lawmakers began moving forward with plans to bar him from the legislature, and he was kicked out of the Democratic caucus." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNevada state senator booted from legislature after threatening his wife

Bad cyber security bill CISPA heading back to the House

"Rumors of CISPA’s demise were apparently greatly exaggerated, according to various privacy rights advocates and organizations today. The recently 'deceased' bill is scheduled for a new vote. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and fellow congressman Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) will reintroduce CISPA this Wednesday, which should bear a striking resemblance to last year’s bill and not the amended version that failed to gain even a senate vote of approval." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBad cyber security bill CISPA heading back to the House

Ron Paul: Beware The Consequences of Pre-Emptive War

"Last year more US troops died by suicide than died in combat in Afghanistan. More than 20 percent of military personnel deployed to combat will develop PTSD. More than 20 percent of active-duty military are on potentially dangerous psychotropic drugs; many are on multiple types. Violent crime among active duty military members increased 31 percent between 2006-2011. The warning that 'he who lives by the sword dies by the sword' goes not only for individuals but for entire societies. It is a warning to all of us. A country or a society that lives with the violence of pre-emptive war in fact self-destructs." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Beware The Consequences of Pre-Emptive War

Egypt, Syria – it’s just the end of them

"Two years and 60,000 casualties into Syria's civil war, the foreign ministries of the West have nothing to show for their peacemaking efforts except a wad of airline and hotel receipts. Egypt is proceeding with grim inevitability towards financial exhaustion, and the government has just announced a three-pita-per-day bread ration. Most alarming is the emergence of a black market in Egyptian pounds, with a street rate February 10 of 6.95 pounds to the US dollar, against an official rate of 6.72. United States President Barack Obama has asked congress to renew Egypt's $1.8 billion in annual aid, but two-thirds of that is military assistance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt, Syria – it’s just the end of them

Christopher Dorner and the Chaos Inherent to Government

"The LAPD and surrounding police departments were out in full force, their penchant for unleashing deadly violence without warning on no more basis than a hunch on open display. In truly military fashion, police even unleashed a surveillance drone as part of the search. Understandably, many felt unsafe. And for what? While bringing Dorner in — or down — was clearly a priority, the way in which he was pursued, the pile of resources devoted to his capture, and the unprovoked violence inflicted on civilians made it clear that that priority wasn’t rooted in public safety." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChristopher Dorner and the Chaos Inherent to Government

At least 20 prisoners still missing from CIA ‘black sites’

"In one of President Barack Obama first acts in the White House, he ordered the closure of the CIA’s so-called 'black-site' prisons, where terror suspects had been held and, sometimes, tortured. But the CIA’s prisons left some unfinished business. In 2009, ProPublica’s Dafna Linzer listed more than thirty people who had been held in CIA prisons and were still missing. Some of those prisoners have since resurfaced, but at least twenty are still unaccounted for. A few emerged from foreign prisons after the turmoil of the Arab Spring. One has died." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAt least 20 prisoners still missing from CIA ‘black sites’