The news continues to grow worse over global warming. The Peru meeting revealed new research showing that time is running out for humanity to act on climate change. Now to new reports indicate that we may have underestimate the rate of loss on the huge ice sheet of West Antarctica — new calculations under global warming could mean a rise in global sea levels of as much as 23 feet. That would create massive changes in the coasts of the world.
Category: International
Despite the public pledge of President Obama to pull out of Afghanistan, we continue to spend huge amounts of money in the war and the Obama Administration has fought to keep U.S. troops in the country. Now an estimate from the Financial Times and independent researchers put the cost of the war at roughly $1 trillion with a commitment of hundreds of billions more in the coming years. There continues to be no serious debate over our ongoing losses both in personnel and money in this war.
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
In another showing of international support for the activities in revealing to the public the abuses of the NSA, whistleblower Edward Snowden, journalist Glenn Greenwald and filmmaker Laura Poitras each received the Carl von Ossietzky award in Berlin today.
The award is bestowed to honor those who exhibit extraordinary civic courage or commitment to the spread or defense of human rights.
Continue reading “Snowden, Greenwald, And Poitras Receive Prestigious Human Rights Award In Berlin”
Respectfully submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw)-Weekend Contributor
This past week’s news reports of the Senate report on the CIA Torture program were both distressing and enlightening. I was dismayed to not only read what the full extent of the CIA’s Torture program was, but also when I read pundits and former CIA officials claim that rectal rehydration was merely a medical procedure! I was further discouraged when commenters on this blog made claims that waterboarding and other torture tactics were either necessary or what the devils deserved.
Very few pundits or commenters seem to care if the so-called Enhanced Interrogation techniques were legal or ethical when the CIA resorted to them shortly after 9/11. This “debate” over the actions taken in our name by the CIA has gone from a report based on the CIA’s own words to denials that the techniques were torture, to claims that great intelligence value was gained using the torture and claims that it was a biased report written by Democrats. Continue reading “The CIA Lost Its Soul and Took Ours With It”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
We have written HERE and HERE of the continuing effort by the Erdogan Government of Turkey in attacking opposition by heavy handed actions against journalists and media critical of the government and President Erdogan. In another sign of the descent into suppression of opposing views the Turkish government ordered its police forces to raid the newspapers and publications deemed to have links to a rival of the President
A new poll shows broad support for carbon limits, including half of all Republicans. The poll comes out as scientists warn (as reported in the NY Times) that time is running out on climate change and, without decisive action, the world could eventually become uninhabitable for humans. Today, the Pope added his voice to the overwhelming weight of world scientists that time is running out. Likewise, island nations are now demanding action and calling on the world to witness the loss of their very existence to the rising seas.
We have yet another crackdown on free speech in the name of religion. A New Zealand bar manager in Myanmar was arrested with two Myanmar employees for “insulting Buddha” by posting an advertisement showing a psychedelic image of Buddha wearing headphones. Philip Blackwood was arrested with the bar’s owner, Tun Thurein, and an employee. The men could be sent to prison for two years because the image insulted Buddhists.
Andrew Shannon, 49, now has something that he can say puts him in a small group shared only with Steve Wynn. Both have punched holes in valuable paintings. Unlike Wynn, however, Shannon wanted to punch a hole in a Claude Monet masterpiece hanging in the National Gallery Ireland in 2012 and did so in front of witnesses. Fortunately, he also did so in front of a security camera given his later defense. Monet’s 1874 work Argenteuil Basin with a Single Sail Boat has since been repaired though some small pieces were lost due to the damage on the painting.
Continue reading “Irishman Given Five Years After Punching Hole In Monet Masterpiece”
We recently discussed a horrific case where 10 women died and dozens were injured in India after a mass sterilization. Now, authorities are investigating a case where over 24 poor and elderly people went blind following cataract surgeries performed at a free medical camp in northern India. Continue reading “Over Two Dozen Poor People Reportedly Left Blind After Free Cataract Surgery In India”
We have been following the international outrage over the arrest of Loujain al-Hathloul, 25, for driving as a woman. She was arrested with a female journalist. Not only is the Saudi government not backing down, it has extended their jail time by 25 more days to allow for further investigation.
Continue reading “Saudi Officials Extend Jail Time For Women Caught Driving”
Respectfully Submitted by Lawrence E. Rafferty (rafflaw) Weekend Contributor
The Banksters are at it again. You may recall an article that I wrote in March of 2013 which detailed a plan agreed to by the Bank of England and the FDIC which would allow banks to grab depositors funds in order to avoid a bank failure. The prime example given in that article was a similar plan that was put into action in Cyprus. Similar plans were on the books elsewhere, but the Cyprus grab had actually been activated.
Now it seems that the joint FDIC-Bank of England agreement from December of 2012 was not enough to make the Banksters whole in the event that their derivative gambling went south. The idea has gone global and it puts all of our deposits, and even our pension investments at risk! Continue reading “Bail-Ins and Empty Pockets”
We have previously discussed how President Obama continues to reward donors with ambassadorships, including some with little background or known talents for the jobs. I have long been a critic of this practice and I remain astonished that the American people allow it to continue. However, fat cat friends are often given trivial ambassadorships like the Vatican or smaller nations. It is still not a good practice but the damage is limited. Obama however have been handing out major posts to those who give him or the DNC millions in bundled dollars. This week the Senate confirmed two nominees to Argentina and Hungary that should outrage people who believe diplomacy should be left to diplomats and do not believe that such posts should be handed out as favors to wealthy friends. It is a national disgrace but we have become accustomed to the effective selling of these government offices. It certainly conveys a truly insulting message to these two countries that neither they nor their problems amount to much of a priority for the United States.
Continue reading “Bundling Diplomacy: Obama Places Two Fundraisers In Key Ambassadorships”
If you guessed a woman driving, you are ready to visit the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Loujain Hathloul has continued to defy the Saudi ban on female drivers. She was stopped at the border with the United Arab Emirates when she tried to drive back into the country. Our erstwhile ally is the only country to prevent women from driving in the name of Islam — making such medieval neighbors in the region like Iran look positively advanced in comparison.
The debate in the United States continues over whether Edward Snowden is a whistleblower or a traitor. I previously wrote a column on that question. There appears to be less debate in Sweden where Snowden received standing ovations in the Swedish parliament after being given the Right Livelihood award for his disclosure of sweeping surveillance programs of the United States. The award honors Snowden “for his courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights”. This week, the new movie on Snowden also captured two more awards and critical acclaim.
In movies like The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, a ghost army can be a decisive advantage for a besieged army. It appears that Iraq has not just a ghost army but one that is 50,000 strong. The “ghost soldiers” were discovered in an investigation as the latest example of corruption in the country where literally billions of dollars in U.S. aid have disappeared without a trace.
Continue reading “The Iraqi Ghost Army: The Equivalent Of Four Divisions Found To Be Nonexistent”