NSA faces sweeping review into extent of surveillance

29 Oct 2013

 

The chair of the Senate intelligence committee, who has been a loyal defender of the National Security Agency, dramatically broke ranks on Monday, saying she was “totally opposed” to the US spying on allies and demanding a total review of all surveillance programs. California Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein strongly criticised the NSA‘s… 


File - A demonstration against the PRISM surveillance program in Berlin, organised by the Pirate Party, during United States president Barack Obama's visit, 19 June, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama ‘Aware Of Merkel Tapping Since 2010’

Full ArticleOrange News 

28 Oct 2013

 

28 October 2013, 3:56 Obama ‘Aware Of Merkel Tapping Since 2010‘ Tweet AGerman newspaper has claimed Barack Obama knew three years ago that his intelligence service was eavesdropping on Angela Merkel – contradicting reports that he had told his counterpart he did not know. Bild am Sonntag claimed the US President allowed US intelligence to… 
President Barack Obama meets with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2009.

‘Accurate’ Social Mapping of Islam and Americans Could Reap Benefits

26 Oct 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling In Kenya, popular Muslim clerics were just gunned down by fundamental Islamists. In Somalia and Sudan, Al-Shabab, consisting of young Muslim jihadists, are battling other Muslims while trying to impose Islamic LawIslamic sects like al-Qaeda, and many others opposing the destabilizing affects of… 
File - President Barack Obama talks with Michael Froman at the Working Dinner at the G8 Summit at the Deerhurst Resort in Muskoka, Canada, June 25, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US warned that spying on allies could harm fight against terror

Full ArticleLondon Evening Standard 

25 Oct 2013

 

In a strongly worded statement the leaders said they had “deep concerns” after it emerged the mobile phone of German chancellor Angela Merkel may have been tapped. It came as Germany and France demanded talks with President Obama to set out new rules for intelligence gathering by the end of the year. But the row over US snooping was set to worsen… 
Germany and France demanded talks with President Obama to set out new rules for intelligence gathering by the end of the year.

Pakistan’s PM Sharif urges Obama to stop drone strikes

24 Oct 2013

 

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif pressed US President Barack Obama on Wednesday to stop drone strikes in his country, as the two leaders sought to strengthen ties after years of strained relations. By Catherine VIETTE (video)News Wires (text) Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif urged U.S. PresidentBarack Obama on Wednesday to end… 
President Barack Obama greets Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan in the Oval Office prior to their bilateral meeting, Oct. 23, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LISTENING IN ON FRANCE
New NSA Bombshell Reveals U.S. Spying On French Phones

 

 

US quietly releasing $1.6B in Pakistan assistance

FILE: Aug. 26, 2013: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif at a joint press conference in Islamabad, Pakistan, with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.AP

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US wants to keep bases in Afghanistan, 

20 Oct 2013

 

TIMERGARA, Oct 19Central deputy chief of Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam (JUI-F) Maulana Gul Naseeb said on Saturday that about 2,500 Pakistani prisoners would be released soon from different jails of Afghanistan as a result of his party’s efforts. Talking to media persons in Chakdara, Mr… 

 

 

 

 

Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail, hinting at national agenda

20 Oct 2013

 

Hillary Clinton speaks in support of Terry McAuliffe at the Falls Church rally.PhotographJose Luis Magana/AP Hillary Clinton returned to the campaign trail on Saturday to endorse her old friend Terry McAuliffe in the Virginiagovernor’s race, urging voters to reject the “scorched earth” politics that led to the recent government shutdown. At her… 
File - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, left, arrives to talk with the staff of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, Oct. 20, 2011.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SIDE EFFECTS
‘RECKLESS’ GOP TACTICS PAY OFF FOR DEMS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiddling in Rome while our food burns

17 Oct 2013

 

Rumour has it that the Roman emperor Nero played a fiddle and sang whileRome burned for five days in the Great Fire of 64. Nearly 2000 years later, at the very site where this devastating fire started so long ago, history is repeating itself, only the leaders doing the fiddling are delegates to the 40th meeting of the UN Committee on World Food… 
File - Women in Sharga, North Darfur, Sudan, prepare food at the village’s SAFE Centre during a visit from a delegation of European Union ambassadors, 18 October, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

US debt: Senate positive over budget deal

15 Oct 2013

 

15 October 2013 Last updated at 07:01 BST US Senate leaders have said they have made “tremendous progress” and are closing in on a deal that would raise the country’s debt ceiling. The US needs to raise the borrowing limit so that the nation can pay its bills. Democratic and Republicanlawmakers are also at loggerheads over a partial government… 
President Barack Obama sternly warned Wall Street, Monday, Sept. 14, 2009, against returning to the sort of reckless and unchecked behavior that threatened the nation with a second Great Depression, during a speech at Federal Hall on Wall Street in New York.

 

 

 

 

US ‘partially resolves’ long-term security deal with Afghanistan post-2014 pullout

13 Oct 2013

 

LondonOctober 13The United States and Afghanistan have said they have resolved disagreements on a bilateral security deal after lengthy talks inKabul, although differences remain. President Hamid Karzai said they were still divided over immunity for US soldiers who stay in Afghanistan after NATOwithdrawal in 2014. US Secretary of State John… 
US ‘partially resolves’ long-term security deal with Afghanistan post-2014 pullout

 

 

 

Obama and Republicans search for a deal on US fiscal impasse

12 Oct 2013

 

WASHINGTON: President Barack Obama and congressional Republicanleaders inched toward resolving their fiscal impasse on Friday, but struggled to agree on the length and terms of a short-term deal to increase the U.S. debt limit and reopen the government. Obama met Senate Republicans at theWhite House and spoke by phone to House of Representatives
Obama and Republicans search for a deal on US fiscal impasse

 

 

 

09 Oct 2013

 

WASHINGTON President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, offered hints of possible compromise but also traded heated rhetoric Tuesday. The frustratingly inconclusive combination left the eight-day partial government shutdown firmly in place and the threat of an unprecedented national default drawing closer. “There’s a crack there,”… 
President Barack Obama meets with senior staff in Chief of Staff Denis McDonough's office in the West Wing of the White House, Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013.

A U.S. Default Seen as Catastrophe Dwarfing Lehman’s Fall

 
Julia Schmalz/Bloomberg
A closed sign hangs at the entrance to the U.S. Treasury building in Washington D.C. on Oct. 3, 2013. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew has said the government will have only $30 billion of cash left by Oct. 17 to meet its commitments.

Anyone who remembers the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. little more than five years ago knows what a global financial disaster is. A U.S. government default, just weeks away if Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling as it now threatens to do, will be an economic calamity like none the world has ever seen.

 

 

U.S. terror raids: 2 operations. 2 outcomes. 5 questions

By Holly Yan, CNN
October 7, 2013
Watch this video

U.S. forces strike in Libya and Somalia

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • U.S. forces launched raids in Libya and Somalia over the weekend
  • They captured Abu Anas al Libi, a suspected al Qaeda operative, in Tripoli
  • Navy SEALs came under fire while trying to get an Al-Shabaab fighter in Somalia

 

 

 

US special forces strike in Africa

06 Oct 2013

 

In a stealthy assault in Somalia and in a raid in Libya‘s capital, US special forces have struck out against Islamic extremists who carried out terrorist attacks in East Africa, snatching a Libyan al Qaida leader allegedly involved in the bombings of US embassies 15 years ago but aborting a mission to capture a terrorist suspect linked to last… 


A guard stands atop a watchtower at a UN compound attacked in the Somali capital of Mogadishu on June 27, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

US government shutdown halts EU free trade talks

05 Oct 2013

 

Negotiations on a sweeping free trade pact between the US and the EU have been postponed because of a partial government shutdown in America. US officials had been due in Brussels next week to discuss the deal aimed at boosting bilateral ties. US President Barack Obama earlier cancelled his trip to Asia because of the shutdown. The US government… 
President Barack Obama gestures during his speech in Burlington, Vt., Friday, March 30, 2012, the president was in Vermont on a quick campaign swing that is going to include a series of fundraisers that are expected to draw more than 4,500 people.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama cancels Asia trip to deal with govt shutdown

04 Oct 2013

 

WASHINGTON (AP) President Barack Obama is canceling a trip to Asia to stay in Washington and push for an elusive funding bill to end a federal government shutdown entering its fourth day Friday. In a statement late Thursday, the White House blamed Republicans, saying the “completely avoidable” government shutdown was hurting the president’s efforts… 
President Barack Obama signs H.R. 3210, Pay Our Military Act, which provides continuing appropriations for pay and allowances for members of the Armed Forces during any period for which interim or full-year appropriations for FY 2014 are not in effect, in the Oval Office, Monday night, Sept. 30, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

US shutdown: White House talks fail to end deadlock

03 Oct 2013
US President Obama and Congressional leaders have failed to break a budget deadlock that has led to a partial government shutdown. Mr Obama heldWhite House talks with Republican House Speaker John Boehner and Senateleader Mitch McConnell as well as their Democratic counterparts. Mr Boehnerleft the talks complaining the Democrats “will not…
A view of the West Front of the Capitol building in Washington.

 

 

 

 

Obama condemns Republican ‘ransom’

02 Oct 2013

 

Share Twitter Ghana News Share View Comments Mr Obama accused theRepublicans of waging an “ideological crusade”US President Barack Obamahas vowed not to allow Republicans to undermine his signature healthcare legislation as a condition to restart the US governmentThe government has partially shut down after the two houses of Congress… 
President Barack Obama gestures as he speaks at The Associated Press luncheon during the ASNE Convention, Tuesday, April 3, 2012, in Washington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congress plunges nation into government shutdown

01 Oct 2013

 

WASHINGTON — Congress plunged the nation into a partial government shutdown Tuesday as a long-running dispute over President Barack Obama‘s health care law stalled a temporary funding bill, forcing about 800,000 federal workers off the job and suspending most non-essential federal programs and services. The shutdown, the first since the winter of… 
File - President Barack Obama  and Vice President Joe Biden meet with bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate to discuss working together on issues surrounding the economy and jobs in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Feb. 10, 2010.

 

At Guantanamo, a microcosm of the surveillance state

01 Oct 2013

 

At Guantanamo last week, a pre-trial hearing in the military commission trials of five men allegedly involved in the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, descended into chaos when Air Force Col. Karen Mayberry, the chief defence counsel for the Office of Military Commissions, explained how the Defence Department‘s computer network was so… 
File - Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Jan. 10, 2002 -- Marine security teams take up positions during a rehearsal for handling incoming detainees at Camp X-Ray, one of the holding facilities for Taliban and Al Qaida detainees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SHUTDOWN
House Refuses To Pass Clean Bill… REID: ‘We Will Not Go To Conference With A Gun To Our Heads’… Many Congressmen Drinking So Much You Can Smell It… GOP Rep. Blasts Colleagues: ‘Lemmings With Suicide Vests’… 800,000 Workers Face Furloughs…

AP

Boehner Mocks Obama On House Floor… Congress Will Get Paid During Shutdown… Still Fundraising!… POLL: Majority Will Blame GOP… ‘Will Be Much, Much Worse’ For GOP Than Last Time… Shutdown A Result Of ‘Conscious Party Strategy’… Dems Emboldened, But Warn: Shutdown ‘Could Go On For A While’… 11 Reasons Why Shutdown Is Terrible For You

Facing Government Shutdown, Senate Plans To Reject House Bill

29 Sep 2013

 

WASHINGTON — With the Republican-led House still crafting its latest bid to use funding the government to delay or destroy the Affordable Care Act,Senate leaders already have decided to reject the House bill, leaving the other chamber with a funding-only option. Carrying out that decision would leave the government on the precipice of a shutdown…. 
Senate Plans To Reject House Bill

 

 

 

Obama talked to Iran’s Rouhani about nuclear program

28 Sep 2013

 

President Barack Obama said he spoke by phone with Iranian PresidentHassan Rouhani Friday, the first such conversation between the nation’s leaders since 1979. “The two of us discussed our ongoing efforts to reach an agreement over Iran’s nuclear program,” he said. “While there… 
Obama talked to Iran's Rouhani about nuclear program

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pope Francis: Does the American Left Have a New Hero?

26 Sep 2013

 

Pope Francis is slowly claiming a mantle I never thought I would see a pope acquire: an emerging hero to the American left. In recent weeks I have received inquiry and positive comments on the words and actions of Pope Francis from those in my circles I least expected: devout Agnostics, card-carrying members of the New Age Movement, a published… 
Pope Francis: Does the American Left Have a New Hero?





PANIC

 

Iran’s Morally Sane Doctrine Versus U.S.’s MAD

25 Sep 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling With reports of yet another near-nuclear weapons disaster being averted, (This time a declassified report detailing when a nuclear warhead-200 times more powerful than the atomic bombs used against Hiroshima and Nagasaki-was accidentally dropped on anAmerican city in 1961, with 3 of its 4 safety… 
Barack Obama, President of the United States of America, addresses the general debate of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

 

 

 

 

 

Oracle Seal Amazing America’s Cup Win

Oracle Win America's Cup

Oracle Team USA celebrate their stunning victory

 

 

 

OBAMACARE RATE REVEAL: ‘EXTREMELY REASONABLE’

September 25th

Obamacare Premiums Report Shows Low Prices For Uninsured With Wide Variation

 

 

 

US edges closer to high-level talks with Iran

24 Sep 2013

 

JULIE PACE AP White House CorrespondentNEW YORK (AP) â?? TheObama administration edged close to direct, high-level talks with Iran‘s new government on Monday, with Secretary of State John Kerry slated to meet his Iranian counterpart this week and the White House weighing the risks and rewards of an encounter between President Barack Obama and… 
John F. Kerry (right), Secretary of State of the United States, addresses the round table discussion on “International and regional cooperation and partnerships for disability-inclusive development”, held as part of the General Assembly’s high-level meeting on disability and development, 23 Sept, 2013.

 

 

 

Gunfire erupts after Kenya says all hostages freed in mall siege

24 Sep 2013

 

Reuters September 24, 2013 – 05:17 By Duncan Miriri and James MachariaNAIROBI (Reuters) – Kenya said its security forces had taken control of theNairobi shopping mall where Islamist fighters killed at least 62 people, and that police were doing a final sweep of shops early Tuesday after the last of the hostages had been rescued. An… 
Kenyan Defense Forces leave the near vicinity of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya Monday Sept. 23 2013.

 

 

 

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children’s health

World Bank to invest $700 mln on women, children's health

Tweet United NationsSep 24 (IANSWorld Bank President Jim Yong Kimannounced Monday that at least $700 million would be invested by 2015 to help developing countries reach the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) for women and children’s health….
photo: UN / Paulo Filgueiras

Pope Francis tells the poor: ‘Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope’

Pope Francis tells the poor: ‘Don’t let yourselves be robbed of hope’

ROME — Pope Francis criticized what he called the “idolatry of money” on Sunday (Sept. 22) in a trip to one of the poorest regions of the European Union. The pontiff, visiting the island of Sardinia off Italy’s western coast,…
photo: WN / Marzena J.

Heads roll after poll fiasco for Angela Merkel’s FDP allies

Philipp Roesler, chairman of the Free Democratic party FDP looks down after he declared to resign on the day after the elections in Berlin, Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. German Free Democrats failed to enter Parliament for the very first time. Chancellor Angela Merkel led her conservatives to a stunning victory in Germany's election Sunday. But she will need to reach out to center-left rivals to form a new government after her coalition partner, FDP, crashed out of Parliament.

BERLIN: The leader of Germany‘s Free Democrats (FDP) resigned on Monday after the party’s worst-ever election defeat, which saw it kicked out of parliament where it was junior partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s conservatives. Outgoing vice…
photo: AP / Martin Meissner

Pakistan Church Bombing: Death Toll Rises To 81

Pakistani Christians chant slogans as they burn materials during a protest against a suicide attack on a church, Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013 in Karachi, Pakistan. A suicide bomb attack on a historic church in northwestern Pakistan killed scores of people Sunday, officials said, in one of the worst assaults on the country’s Christian minority in years.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A Pakistan police official says the death toll from a church bombing has risen to 81 as angry Christians protested the deadliest attack ever in Pakistan…
photo: AP / Fareed Khan

Egypt set for rewrite of Morsi constitution

File - Supporters of Egypt's ousted President Mohammed Morsi chant slogans and hold placards showing an open palm with four raised fingers, which has become a symbol of the Rabaah al-Adawiya mosque, where Morsi supporters had held a sit-in for weeks that was violently dispersed in August during a protest in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

Egypt is likely to completely rewrite the constitution adopted under Mohamed Morsi, a spokesman for the committee amending it said on Sunday, in a further push to reverse changes introduced under the deposed president. The 50-member…
photo: AP / Hassan Ammar

EU and Singapore present text of comprehensive FTA

EU and Singapore present text of comprehensive FTA

Monday, 23 September 2013, 11:49 am Press ReleaseWellington, New Zealand23 September 2013 For Immediate Release EU and Singapore present text of comprehensive free trade agreement The European Union and Singapore have released the text of one of…
photo: EC / EU

New Clashes Erupt Before Guinea Vote

Soldiers walk through a newly constructed municipal building, ransacked by anti-government protesters nine days earlier in the Ratoma neighborhood of Conakry, Guinea Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2007. Two waves of violent anti-government protests and rioting in Guinea since mid-January have left at least 115 dead in the capital. President Lansana Conte declared martial law a week ago, saying a military crackdown was the only way to prevent a civil war.

CONAKRY, Guinea — Security forces in Guinea’s capital used tear gas to break up clashes that erupted Sunday between supporters of the opposition and ruling parties campaigning for long-delayed and hotly-contested legislative elections, resulting in…
photo: AP / Rebecca Blackwell

 

 

 

 

 

 

Drone Warfare Reveals Failure to Imagine Geography

23 Sep 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling The U.S.‘s dependency on drone warfare reveals a laziness in properly imagining geography. At the same time, the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) project was a rash decision. It was launched not to save the lives of soldiers, but in response to the geopolitical defeats in Afghanistan and Iraq. This… 
File - A U.S. Army soldier with 3rd Platoon, 87th Sapper Company takes a break during a route clearance mission off of Route 1 in Wardak province, Afghanistan, Aug. 13, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Merkel must reach out to leftist rivals after poll triumph

23 Sep 2013

 

BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces the daunting prospect of persuading her center-left rivals to keep her in power after her conservatives notched up their best election result in more than two decades but fell short of an absolute majority. Even her political foes acknowledged the chancellor was the big winner of the first… 
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the Christian Democratic party CDU, returns a German flag as she is congratulated by supporters on the stage at the party headquarters after the national elections in Berlin Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Iran’s president calls for ‘constructive’ dialogue, end to ‘unhealthy’ rivalries

By Greg Botelho, CNN
September 22, 2013 —
Watch this video

Iran: We want ‘constructive engagement’

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: In Post op-ed, Iran’s president says failing to engage “leads to everyone’s loss”
  • NEW: Iran’s nuclear program is solely for energy, a matter of national pride, he says
  • John Kerry praises Iranian president’s comments on talks, nuclear program
  • Yet the top U.S. diplomat adds: “Everything needs to be put to the test”
 

(CNN) — Iranian President Hassan Rouhani made his case Thursday to the American people and the world for “a constructive approach” to contentious issues including his nation’s nuclear program, arguing that failing to engage “leads to everyone’s loss.”

“We must work together to end the unhealthy rivalries and interferences that fuel violence and drive us apart,” Rouhani said in an op-ed published Thursday evening on the Washington Post’s website.

It’s not the first time a leader from a country often at podds with the United States has used its newspapers to convey his or her views. Just last week, for instance, Russian President Vladimir Putin argued against international military intervention in Syria and jabbed his U.S. counterpart for saying Americans should consider themselves “exceptional” — a remark that quickly elicited derision from across the U.S. political spectrum.

But Rouhani’s tone differed from Putin’s, echoing the theme of “prudence and hope” and the promise of more positive engagement with the rest of the world that helped propel him to an election win in June.

“To move beyond impasses, … we need to aim higher,” he said. “Rather than focusing on how to prevent things from getting worse, we need to think — and talk — about how to make things better.”

Contending “the age of blood feuds” and the idea of diplomacy as a “zero-sum game” no longer apply in a “changed” world, Rouhani said leaders should engage each other “on the basis of equal footing and mutual respect.”

 

 

 

CLASS WARRIORS

Sept. 21st

 

 

 

 

 

Ex-Halliburton manager charged in Gulf spill probe

20 Sep 2013

 

NEW ORLEANS – A former Halliburton manager was charged Thursday with destroying evidence following BP’s 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a case that coincides with a guilty plea to a related charge by the Houston-based oilfield services company. Anthony Badalamenti, who had been the cementing technology director for Halliburton Energy Services… 
File - "The damaged Blow Out Preventer (BOP), along with the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap, have been removed from the Gulf of Mexico and are currently on board the Q4000. The BOP is considered evidentiary material, and is now under the supervision of the Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation Team and FBI Evidence Recovery Team." - National Incident Commander Admiral Thad Allen.

 

 

 

 

 

One War Obama Needs to Restart

19 Sep 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling “I was elected to end wars, not start them.” -President Barack Obama responding to a reporter’s question about possibly going to war with SyriaAs if not responsible for ongoing economic miseries, President Barack Obama chose the five-year anniversary of the 2008 New York Stock Exchange crash to boast… 
President Barack Obama meets with senior advisors in the Oval Office to discuss a new plan for the situation in Syria, August 30, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brazilian president’s U.S. state visit postponed over alleged spying

By Shasta Darlington, CNN
September 18, 2013 — Updated 1027 GMT (1827 HKT)
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will not travel to the United States for a state visit over allegations of U.S. spying.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff will not travel to the United States for a state visit over allegations of U.S. spying.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Brazil has protested reports of US surveillance of President Dilma Rousseff’s phone, e-mail
  • Obama has promised to look into matter, but White House says it will take months
  • Brazil not happy with situation; Obama, Rousseff talked on Monday to try and work it out
  • Both government’s say decision to postpone state visit reached jointly; will be rescheduled
 

(CNN) — The United States and Brazil jointly agreed on Tuesday to postpone Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff’s state visit to Washington next month due to controversy over reports the U.S. government was spying on her communications.

Brazil protested recent disclosures of National Security Agency surveillance, which were included in media reports citing information apparently leaked by Edward Snowden, a former agency contractor who previously admitted leaking U.S. surveillance information to journalists.

A White House statement announcing the postponement said President Barack Obama had previously ordered a thorough review of American intelligence activities, but it acknowledged that process would take several months to complete.

Rousseff spoke with Obama on the phone Monday in a last-minute attempt to patch things up, according to both governments. They decided for now to shelve the visit that had been scheduled for October 23.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Shooting rampage in D.C. grips the nation

17 Sep 2013

 

The nation’s capital was in mourning today as officials began the grim task of notifying the families of the dozen victims of a massacre at the Washington Navy Yard unleashed, police say, by disturbed former reservist Aaron Alexis, who fired away heartlessly into a cafeteria crowd. “We are confronting yet another mass shooting. And… 

Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Ray Mabus is interviewed by local and national media near the Washington Navy Yard about a shooting at the Navy Yard, 16 Sept, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

Cold War Euphemisms and Nightmares

16 Sep 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. “Language exists to express and communicate,” writes Roy F. Baumeister in EvilInside HumanViolence and Cruelty, “but perpetrators reluctant to face up to their guilt often find ways to use language to conceal, confuse, and mislead.” It is a process that begins with the words themselves. But then… 
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a bilateral meeting during the G20 Summit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pakistan, Yemen And Afghanistan Have Children Too, And They Are Being Killed by Our Drones

14 Sep 2013

 

The death of a child — any child — is always painful and shocking. The awful gassing of children in Syria breaks the heart and tortures the soul. We all should and must speak up about this outrage. But the deaths of 178Pakistani children by American drones must also be acknowledged. We must put an end… 
Pakistanis and American citizens hold banners and chant slogans against drone attacks in Pakistani tribal belt, in Islamabad, Pakistan, Friday, Oct. 5, 2012.

 

 

 

 

 

Kerry: Peace talks in Syria reliant on settling chemical arms

14 Sep 2013

 

GENEVA — The top diplomats from the United States and Russia raised hopes Friday for reviving broad talks to end the long and deadly Syrian civil war, even as they struggled to deal with the use of chemical weapons on civilians. The path to a U.N. resolution on securing those weapons seemed at least somewhat clearer, with the U.S. indicating… 
Kerry: Peace talks in Syria reliant on settling chemical arms

 

 

 

 

Afghan Taliban attack outside U.S. consulate, 2 dead

13 Sep 2013

 

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Taliban militants attacked the U.S. consulate in western Afghanistan on Friday morning, using a car bomb and guns to battle security forces just outside the compound in the city of Herat. It was not entirely clear whether any attackers managed to breach the facility, but at least two Afghans died, while the U.S…. 
Afghan security personnel assist an injured police after a suicide car bombing and a gunfight near the U.S. consulate in Herat Province, west of Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, Sept. 13, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

Vladimir Putin in plea to American public as US and Russia falter over Syria resolution

12 Sep 2013

 

Vladimir Putin has made a personal appeal to the American people, calling for caution when dealing with Syria and warning that a military strike would “unleash a new wave of terrorism”. Writing an opinion piece for The New York Times, the Russian president drew attention to previous Western military interventions in the Middle East, when he said… Articl
File - Direct Line with Russian President Vladimir Putin was broadcast live on Channel One, Rossiya-1 and Rossiya-24 TV networks and Mayak, Vesti FM and Radio Rossii radio stations, 25 April, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Syria crisis: Obama vows to keep pressure on Assad

11 Sep 2013

 

Share Twitter Ghana News Share View Comments US President Barack Obama: “I have a deeply held preference for peaceful solutions”President Obama says he will pursue diplomatic efforts to remove Syria‘s chemical weapons but has ordered the US military to “be in a position to respond” if such measures fail. In a televised address, he said he… 
President Obama speaks in support of a bipartisan deal to reduce the nation's deficit and avoid default.

 

 

 

 

 

Mexico arrests alleged leader of kidnapping cell

By CNN Staff
September 10, 2013 
The border between the U.S. and Mexico at Tijuana.
The border between the U.S. and Mexico at Tijuana.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Serafin Medina-Angel was arrested in Tijuana, Mexico, on September 1
  • He is accused of targeting Mexican citizens on their way to the United States
  • Medina-Angel is charged with three counts of kidnapping

 

 

 

Wildfire Near Yosemite Burns Into Fourth Week

08 Sep 2013

 

As a gigantic wildfire in and around Yosemite National Park entered its fourth week Saturday, environmental scientists moved in to begin assessing the damage and protecting habitat and waterways before the fall rainy season. Members of the federal Burned Area Emergency Response team were hiking the rugged Sierra Nevada terrain even as thousands of… 
Wildfire Near Yosemite Burns Into Fourth Week

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sorry But It’s Clear That The US Job Market Is Dead In The Water

JAMES PETHOKOUKIS, AMERICAN ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE SEP. 7, 2013,

 

dead fish

 

 

Rim fire becomes third-largest in California history

07 Sep 2013

 

The Rim fire burning in and around Yosemite National Park grew slightly Friday and has now become the third-largest wildfire in California history. The fire had burned 246,350 acres by Friday afternoon and remained 80 percent contained. Because of progress that fire officials have made, Highway 120, one of the main routes into Yosemite, reopened at… 
Rim fire becomes third-largest in California history
photo: US DoD / Ed Drew

 

 

 

 

85 Million Have A Shot At Seeing Tonight’s Moon Launch

The Minotaur V rocket that will carry NASA's Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer into space. It's set to lift off from the space agency's Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 11:27 p.m. ET Friday.

The Minotaur V rocket that will carry NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer into space. It’s set to lift off from the space agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia at 11:27 p.m. ET Friday.

NASA

If the skies are clear Friday night around 11:27 p.m. ET, there’s a fair chance that anyone from as far south as South Carolina, west into Ohio and on over to New England will be able to see something of NASA’s first launch of a mission to the moon from the agency’s spaceport on Wallops Island, Va.

Our conservative calculations put the number of people who live within the“visibility map” that NASA has produced at more than 85 million. As we said Thursday, if you’re in that area this might be a night when you want to go outside and look up.

NASA’s Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer mission, asSpace.com says, is carrying “a robotic mission that will orbit the moon to gather detailed information about the structure and composition of the thin lunar atmosphere, as well as moon dust conditions near the surface.”

Of course, light pollution, trees, buildings and cloud cover could spoil the viewing for many. Thankfully, NASA TV will be streaming its coverage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

President Obama pushes G20 leaders for support on Syria

06 Sep 2013

 

US President Barack Obama is using his final day at the G20 summit to continue pushing for foreign support for a US military strike on SyriaBritishsources say the leaders of FranceTurkeyCanada and the UK gave MrObama strong backing. But a Russian spokesman said a US strike would drive a “nail into the coffin of international law”…. 
President Obama pushes G20 leaders for support on Syria

 

 

 

 

 

 

US Senate panel backs force in Syria

05 Sep 2013

 

US Senate panel has approved the use of military force in Syria, in response to an alleged chemical weapons attack. By 10-7, the Committee on Foreign Relations moved the measure to a full Senate vote, expected next week. The proposal allows the use of force in Syria for 60 days with the possibility to extend it for 30 days. It prevents the use of… 
US Senate panel backs force in Syria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US strike on Syria ‘helps al-Qaeda’

02 Sep 2013

 

Any US military action against Syria would amount to “support for al-Qaeda and its affiliates,” Damascus has said. Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad also told the BBC that armed groups backed by America had used chemical weapons – not Syrian troops. The US earlier said it had evidence that Damascus had used the nerve agent sarin in a… 
In this image taken from video obtained from the Shaam News Network, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Free Syrian Army fighters fire at Syrian army soldiers during a fierce firefight in Daraa al-Balad, Syria, Monday March 18, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama puts off attack on Syria

01 Sep 2013

 

He said Assad’s use of chemical weapons deserves a military reply but not until Congress has had a chance to weigh in. GalleryObama puts off attack on Syria Travel Deals $119 — Upstate NYRiverside Mansion incl. $45 Credit   See all travel deals &#187Ernesto Londono, Washington Post Posted: Sunday, September 1, 2013, 1:09 AM WASHINGTON -… 
President Barack Obama talks on the phone in the Oval Office with Speaker of the House Boehner, Saturday, August 31, 2013.

 

 

 

 

US certain Syria used chemical arms

28 Aug 2013

 

US Vice-President Joe Biden has said there is “no doubt” that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons and that it must be held accountable. The US has said its military is ready to launch strikes shouldPresident Barack Obama order an attack, and allies say they too are ready to act. The Syrian government has strongly denied claims it used… 
United States' Vice President Joe Biden speaks to media prior to a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, unseen, at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany
photo: AP / Markus Schreiber

 

 

 

 

 

California wildfire rages in Yosemite Park

26 Aug 2013

 

Hundreds of firefighters were deployed Sunday to protect mountain communities in the path of a massive fire raging north of the Yosemite National Park in California, as fierce winds saw flames jump from treetop to treetop. By News Wires (text) A colossal wildfire raging across the western edge of Yosemite National Park swept further into the… 
Firefighter A.J. Tevis watches the flames of the Rim Fire near Yosemite National Park, Calif., on Sunday, Aug. 25, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama, National Security Team Meet on Syria

25 Aug 2013

 

Top U.S. military and national security advisors have presented President Barack Obama with a detailed set of options for responding to the Syrian government&aposs alleged use of chemical weapons. The White House, in a statement Saturday, said the meeting was called to set an action plan — if it is determined Syrian forces used chemical weapons… 
Obama, National Security Team Meet on Syria

 

 

 

 

 

Obama Calls Possible Syria Attack A ‘Big Event Of Grave Concern’

23 Aug 2013

 

AUBURN, N.Y. — President Barack Obama says a possible chemical weapons attack in Syria this week is a “big event of grave concern” that has hastened the timeframe for determining a U.S. response. However, Obamasaid the notion that the U.S. alone can end Syria’s bloody civil war is “overstated” and made clear he would seek international support… 
FILE - In this June 26, 2012 file photo, President Barack Obama speaks in Atlanta. The presidential race enters the sultry summer _ a final lull before a sprint to Election Day _ with President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney neck and neck and no sign that either can break away. Both sides have money concerns _ for all the flood of cash _ as well as political worries.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The US Air Force Can’t Find Enough Pilots To Operate Its Drone Fleet

21 Aug 2013

 

See Also The US Air Force is unable to keep up with a growing demand for pilots capable of operating drones, partly due to a shortage of volunteers, according to a new study. Despite the importance placed on the burgeoning robotic fleet, drone operators face a lack of opportunities for promotion to higher ranks and the military has failed to… 
FILE- In this March 7, 2007, file photo, Israeli Air Force officers stand next to an Israeli army Heron TP drone, also known locally as the Eitan, during a display at the Palmahim Air Force Base. The Israeli military says that a Heron drone that can fly as far as Iran has crashed Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012, in central Israel on a routine experimental flight. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit, File)

 

 

 

From Orphan Trains to Homeless Planes

 

19 Aug 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. When Hawaii announced that it would become the latest place in the U.S. to offer one-way plane tickets to homeless people, it was a reminder of how another sad and shameful chapter is being added to the annals of American historyUnknownto many is the “placing out” movement or “orphan train riders.”… 
Hawaii Department of Emergency Management officers warn homeless campers of the tsunami warning on Maile Beach, Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010, in Waianae, Hawaii.

 

 

 

 

 

US cancels major military exercise with Egypt

15 Aug 2013

 

The US has cancelled a biennial military exercise with Egypt after theEgyptian government‘s deadly crackdown on protesters in Cairo… 
President Barack Obama addresses the National Governors Association in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 25, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 2016 Brings Back Boomer Clinton Rage

by  

There are already signs Hillary’s presidential campaign will drudge up the weird, obsessive hatred the Boomer left developed for the Clintons in the 1990s. But this time, their derision will only have the power to do one thing: help her win….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m quite looking forward to Hillary Clinton being president of the United States. I think she will probably run, I think she will probably win, and I think she’ll be at least a good and maybe a great president. What I’m not particularly looking forward to is the process by which she’ll have to get there. Just in the past few days here, Maureen Dowd and Richard Cohen have laid before us in the form of two recent and silly columns little reminders of the prejudice against Clinton within a certain slice of the liberal chattering class, a prejudice that will swell predictably as she passes the various posts that stand between her and the nomination and, finally, election. Fortunately, these chatterers are less and less relevant every election. Clinton should welcome their animus. It can only help her.

130813-tomasky-clinton-tease

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have observed many strange things in my years of tilling these fields, but surely nothing stranger than the way the arbiters of conventional wisdom in America have viewed the Clintons. It’s a deep and weird Baby Boomer psychodrama that I can summarize as follows: when the Clintons first hit the national scene, they were doing so at the same time that strivers of their generation were starting to displace the old graybeards in the news business. Tim Russert took over Meet the Press in 1991. Dowd got her column in 1995. The ’60s generation was taking over. Things were going to be different. Here was a cohort, after all, that grew up thinking that it could, and would, change the world. And now one of their own was president! We would witness the dawn of a new era of authenticity, to use a big ’60s word, and the Clintons would lead it

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Soon enough, though, the Boomer generation turned out to be no more authentic than any other—indeed quite less authentic, or at least less admirable, than the greatest generation, whom Tom Brokaw limned between hard covers the same year the world learned the name Monica Lewinsky. Though the Boomer journalists began to turn on the Clintons before the Lewinsky scandal, that really sealed it. Obviously, there were good reasons for any human being to consider what Bill Clinton did there to be unacceptable. But there was a self-regarding quality to many Boomer journalists’ scribblings (and on-air musings—the cable nets were taking off around this time) about the whole mess, as if the Clintons had somehow done this to them. Chris Matthews—oh, if you could have heard him in those days going on and on and on about the Clintons, and about Al Gore too (Matthews has even said that he voted for George W. Bush in 2000).

I served my time inside the walls of this abattoir as Hillary first sought her New York Senate seat in 1999 and 2000, a race I covered closely. My God, the hatred of Hillary one heard then! Especially among white Boomer women. At one event in early 2000, I ran into the journalist Jim Traub. We were chatting about this matter, and he said he’d spoken to a shrink friend of his who was aghast at the number of women who were plopping themselves down on his couch and—well, as Jim said to me: “Can you imagine, these women spending $165 an hour to talk about Hillary?”

Dowd and Cohen are here to remind us that the knives will once again be unsheathed.

That was then. Ever since, Clinton has of course served a very successful stint as a senator from New York, successful enough that when she sought reelection in 2006, the Republicans had no one of importance to run against her. (I remember well their blood vows to make sure she was a one-termer.) She then became the secretary of State, and an excellent one, forging major diplomatic breakthroughs with Russia (since rescinded by Putin, not her fault) and other triumphs like the Libya coalition. In between, she ran a not-very-good presidential campaign, it is true. But there’s very little room to doubt the proposition that someone who has been both a senator and a secretary of State, and has to boot lived in the White House for eight years and seen daily what it’s like to have that job, is amply prepared to be the president, and is not remotely the same person she was in 1999.

The world has moved on from those tremulous Boomer anxieties. Well, most of the world has. But Dowd and Cohen are here to remind us that the knives will once again be unsheathed. Dowd’s column was notable only for the fact that she found the flimsiest pretense possible for printing the name Gennifer Flowers, and Cohen is in a lather because Clinton doesn’t have a message yet (of course, if she did, he’d be writing about how having one so early openly showed Clinton’s breathtaking chutzpah). Of Matthews, though, we must say that he has moved on: he has understood, to his great credit, from very early on how lunatic and dangerous today’s Republican Party has become, and he’s changed his tune accordingly.

Matthews’s change is important. Back in the 1990s, there seemed to many people to be little truly at stake in our politics. The Cold War was won. The parties disagreed, of course, and money was rotting the system, yes. But the corrosive effects of both polarization and legal corruption were nothing compared to today. And one of our two major parties hadn’t yet lost its collective mind. This was the historical era when many center-liberals decided it was cooler to bash liberalism than conservatism—when Slate was born, for example, specializing as it did (and still does a bit, but not nearly as much) in producing the “counter-intuitive” “liberal” take on something like why Charles Murray might be right about IQ after all.

That era is pretty close to dead, thankfully. But in a certain kind of pundit, Hillary Clinton will always inspire the same kind of reaction she did two decades ago. It will make for tedious reading, but it will end up helping Clinton, this superficial japery, because the rest of the country understands that the stakes are too high now, and any journalism that doesn’t sink its teeth into that problem will just look silly. And the curse of the Boomer psychodrama about the Clintons will be canceled for lack of interest.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

With Iran U.S. Is Stuck in a False Dilemma

12 Aug 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling Like Longines Symphonettes that once played over and over again, the U.S. is again playing a “false dilemma” record with Iran. When President Hassan Rouhani offered an olive branch by proposing “direct” and “protracted” talks on Iran’s disputed civilian-nuclear program, one would think the Obama… 
Iranian President Hasan Rouhani speaks at his first press conference since taking office at the presidency compound in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013.

 

 

 

Obama pledges overhaul on surveillance

10 Aug 2013

 

Weeks after former US contractor Edward Snowden revealed details of widespread US surveillance, Obama stood firm in denying any abuse by the program but acknowledged that he needed to address growing concerns. “All these steps are designed to ensure that the American people can trust that our efforts are this line with our interests and our… 
President Barack Obama gestures as he gives his inauguration address during a ceremonial swearing-in ceremony during the 57th Presidential Inauguration, Monday, Jan. 21, 2013 on the West Front of the Capitol in Washington.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama scraps summit with Putin

08 Aug 2013

 

LOS ANGELES — President Barack Obama‘s decision to scrap a meeting inMoscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin reflects the White House‘s growing frustration with the Russian government over its embrace of intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, as well as its reluctance to engage over a host of issues that are key to the relationship…. 
President Barack Obama meets with Secretary of State John Kerry in the Oval Office, July 29, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

US army overwhelmed by Manning leaks

01 Aug 2013

 

The US army was overwhelmed when WikiLeaks published more than 700,000 secret diplomatic and war documents handed over by soldier Bradley Manning, a retired officer testified in the sentencing phase of the convicted private’s court-martial. “The ones that hit us in the face were the Iraq logs,” retired Brigadier General… 
A United States Army photograph of Bradley Manning, undated. Manning was arrested in Iraq 2010, accused of having divulged classified material to the website WikiLeaks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Age of Separatism and ‘Beginning’ of History?

29 Jul 2013

 

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling The gradual decline of theUnited States Empire, starting with its colonial wars in Indochina, and the more obvious and rapid collapse of the Soviet Empire marked the beginning of history, not its end. A new age has dawned with the rays of popular Separatist movements, rejecting quixotic efforts at… 
A Beninese peacekeeper of the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) patrols the grounds of the El Farouk Hotel in Bamako, during a meeting of the Mixed Commission composed of representatives of the Malian government and Tuareg separatist rebels, 22 July 2013.

 

 

 

 

US legislators reject proposal to limit spy programme

25 Jul 2013

 

A US spy programme that sweeps up vast amounts of electronic communications survived a legislative challenge in the House of Representatives, the first attempt to curb the data gathering since former NSAcontractor Edward Snowden revealed details of its scope. The House of Representatives voted 217-205 to defeat an amendment to the defense… 
Rep. Justin Amash

 

 

 

 

 

Wildfire still looms over S. Calif. mountain town

19 Jul 2013

 

IDYLLWILD, Calif. (AP) — Longtime resident Dave Jones was back in hisSouthern California home a day after evacuating, but remained ready to leave as a huge wildfire fire threatened to top a ridge near his mostly empty mountain town. The walls were bare in the home where he’s lived for the past 40 years after the 64-year-old and his wife stowed the… 
In this photo made Wednesday, July 17, 2013, and released by the U.S. Forest Service, a DC-10 drops fire retardant along an edge of the Mountain Fire near Lake Hemet, Calif.

 

 

 

 

 

Long-suffering Detroit finally turns to bankruptcy

19 Jul 2013

 

DETROIT — At the height of its industrial power, Detroit was an irrepressible engine of the American economy, offering well-paying jobs, a gateway to the middle class for generations of autoworkers and affordable vehicles that put the world on wheels. But by Thursday, the once-mighty symbol of the nation’s manufacturing might had fallen from that… 
In a Dec. 12, 2008 file photo, a pedestrian walks by graffiti in downtown Detroit.

 

 

 

 

 

Zimmerman cleared in shooting of Trayvon Martin

14 Jul 2013

 

Click photo to enlarge In this image from video, George Zimmerman smiles after a not guilty verdict was handed down in his trial at the Seminole County Courthouse, Sunday, July 14, 2013, in SanfordFla. Neighborhood watchcaptain George Zimmerman was cleared of all charges Saturday in the shooting of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed black teenager… 
In this image from video, George Zimmerman smiles after a not guilty verdict was handed down in his trial at the Seminole County Courthouse, Sunday, July 14, 2013, in Sanford, Fla.
photo: AP / TV Pool

 

 

 

 

 

Russia says US whistle-blower Snowden has not applied for asylum

13 Jul 2013

 

US whistle-blower Edward Snowden has not yet submitted an official request for asylum, Russian authorities said. The former US intelligence contractor had announced on Friday that he would apply for asylum in Russia. Snowden made his first appearance in three weeks on Friday alongside Russian rights activists and lawyers in the transit zone at… 
In this image provided by Human Rights Watch, NSA leaker Edward Snowden, center, attends a news conference at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport with Sarah Harrison of WikiLeaks, left, Friday, July 12, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The CEO who caught the Chinese spies red-handed

TABLE OF CONTENTS
July 22, 2013
 
COVER STORY

The CEO who caught the Chinese spies red-handed

The exclusive inside look at why Kevin Mandia revealed that the People’s Liberation Army has systematically hacked U.S. companies. By Nina Easton

 

 

 

 

Senate passes immigration bill

28 Jun 2013

 

WASHINGTON — The Senate has passed historic immigration legislation offering the hope of American citizenship to millions, while promising a military-style surge to secure the border. Order Reprints J. Scott Applewhite,File | AP Photo FILE – In this June 11, 2013 file photo, Senate Minority LeaderMitch McConnell of Ky., left, accompanied by… 
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., center, speaks following a vote in the Senate on immigration reform on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, June 27, 2013.

 

 

 

 

Obamas head to SA

28 Jun 2013

 

Dakar – US President Barack Obama flew from Senegal to South Africa on Friday to pay homage to his hero Nelson Mandela, after a visit largely overshadowed by the fading health of the anti-apartheid icon. Mandela‘s ill health means the two men, who shattered racial boundaries on either side of the Atlantic, will not… 
President Barack Obama waves as he boards Air Force One during his departure from Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, March 19, 2013.

James Gandolfini funeral live coverage Live

Tune in for reports from the funeral service for “Sopranos” actor James Gandolfini, happening now at St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights.

Mourners line up near Cathedral Church of St. John The Divine. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)
by Adrian Lam on Jun 27, 2013 at 11:54 AM
Welcome to our live coverage of funeral services for “Sopranos” actor James Gandolfini, who died of a heart attack last week in Rome at age 51.
 
Family, friends, fans and fellow actors gathered at St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights Thursday morning to remember the New Jersey-born actor.
 
Join them in remembering Gandolfini by reading our coverage of his life and career as well as the full report from our Daily News correspondents at his funeral.
 

Don’t make ‘Iraq’ mistake twice: Russia tells US over Syria

15 Jun 2013
June 15: Russia said today that US data on the Syrian regime’s alleged use of chemical weapons was “unconvincing”, and warned Washington against repeating the mistake it made when invading Iraq after falsely accusing Saddam Hussein of stocking weapons of mass destruction. The Kremlin‘s top foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov also said the US…
In this Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 photo, Free Syrian Army fighters fire at enemy positions during heavy clashes with government forces, in the Salaheddine district in Aleppo, Syria.

 

 

 

 

Military doctors urged to refuse force-feeding at Guantanamo

Full Article Chicago Tribune

13 Jun 2013
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) – U.S. military doctors should refuse orders to force-feed hunger strikers at the Guantanamo detention camp because it violates their ethical obligations, two doctors and a medical ethics professor wrote in the New England Journal of Medicine on Wednesday. “Force-feeding a competent person is not the…
File - JTF-Guantanamo guards escort a detainee to the detainee hospital located adjacent to Camp Four, Dec. 27.




White House Condemns Qusair Assault By Syrian Regime

Full Article Huffington Post

06 Jun 2013
WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) – The White House on Wednesday condemned the assault on the Syrian border town of Qusair by Syrian government forces, who worked with Lebanese Hezbollah allies to take control from rebel fighters. “The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the Assad regime’s assault on Qusair, which has killed untold…
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney is seen during the daily news briefing at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, March, 1, 2011.





State Department Offers Rewards for Terrorist Leaders

Full Article The New York Times

04 Jun 2013
The State Department announced that it was offering rewards for information leading to the location of the leaders of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, as well as other terrorist organizations operating in North and West Africa. The rewards, the first for the region, include $5 million each for the leader of the Qaeda regional franchise, Yahya Abu…
United States Department of State headquarters at 2201 C Street, NW in Washington, D.C.





Court Clash

Yahoo to buy Tumblr for $1.1bn

Yahoo sign outside its headquarters
Yahoo Tumblr would be operated as a separate business.

Yahoo has agreed a deal to buy New York-based blogging service Tumblr for $1.1bn (£723m; 857m euros) in cash.

Yahoo’s chief executive Marissa Mayer said that as part of its promise “not to screw it up”, Tumblr would operate independently.

David Karp, will continue as chief executive officer of Tumblr.

The deal is the largest made by Ms Mayer since she took the helm at Yahoo last July, and she described the acquisition as a “unique opportunity.”

“On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo couldn’t be more different, but at the same time, they couldn’t be more complementary,” added Ms Mayer.

Mr Karp, 26, who owns 25% of the privately-owned company he co-founded with Marco Arment in 2007, said he was “elated” to have the support of Yahoo.

“Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from,” he added. Mr Karp emphasised that neither its aims or team was changing as a result of Yahoo’s purchase.

 

 

 

 

 

 

San Francisco Drops Law Mandating Radiation Warning Labels on Cell Phones

 

Judge Blocks Cell Phone Safety Warnings in San Francisco

 

cell phone warning, cell phone warning blocked, cell phone health effects, mobile phone health effects, judge alsup, san francisco cell phone warnings, san francisco cell phone warnings blocked

Have you ever wondered about the potential safety risks that could occur because of constant use of your cell phone?  San Francisco wanted to mandate large posters with warnings stating in bold that “studies continue to assess potential health effects of mobile phone use.”  While the industry and researchers continue to debate the notion of health risks, should there be warnings that might make consumers scared of their phones?  

Citing high costs and extreme resistance from the mobile phone industry, San Francisco has dropped a law that would have required a radiation warning label to be placed on all new mobile phones sold within the city limits. On Tuesday, the city Board of Supervisors voted to settle a lawsuit with the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association by accepting a permanent injunction against the right-to-know cell phone ordinance. However, the city was quick to point out that legal fees prompted the action, and that fears about the health risks posed by phone radiation still exist.

 

 

 

 

Global Network of Hackers Steal $45 Million From ATMs

  

Published: Friday, 10 May 2013 | 7:23 AM ET

28
8
Thomas Samson | AFP | Getty Images

The sophistication of a global network of thieves who drained cash machines around the globe of an astonishing $45 million in mere hours sent ripples through the security world, not merely for the size of the operation and ease with which it was carried out, but also for the threat that more such thefts may be in store.

Seven people were arrested in the U.S., accused of operating the New York cell of what prosecutors said was a network that carried out thefts at ATMs in 27 countries from Canada to Russia. Law enforcement agencies from more than a dozen nations were involved in the investigation, U.S. prosecutors in New York said Thursday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

South Korean President to Address US Congress

U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korea's President Park Geun-hye arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 7, 2013.

U.S. President Barack Obama and South Korea’s President Park Geun-hye arrive for a joint news conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, May 7, 2013.

 

 

 

 

 Middle Eastern  hackers to attack White House and Federal Government Tuesday

 

On 7 May 2013, a group of mostly Middle East- and North Africa-based criminal hackers are preparing to launch a cyber attack campaign known as ‘OpUSA’ against websites of high-profile US Government agencies, financial institutions, and commercial entities,” reads a warning sent across federal agencies earlier this month. “The attacks likely will result in limited disruptions and mostly consist of nuisance-level attacks against publicly accessible webpages and possibly data exploitation. Independent of the success of the attacks, the criminal hackers likely will leverage press coverage and social media to propagate an anti-US message.

 

 

 

 

 

Three Women Missing for 10 Years Rescued From Cleveland Home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three women were rescued Monday afternoon from a home in Cleveland. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight all went missing roughly 10 years ago, when Berry was 16, DeJesus 14 and Knight was 21. All three are alive, talking, and apparently in good health, according to police.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RIPPED OFF
Foreclosure Settlement Disappoints Aggrieved Homeowners

Foreclosure Settlement Checks Significantly Smaller Than Regulators Forecasted: Homeowners

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Boston bombing investigation turns to motive

21 Apr 2013
The surviving suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings lay seriously wounded and unable to speak in a hospital on Saturday as investigators worked to determine a motive and whether the two ethnic Chechen brothers accused of the attack acted alone. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured late on Friday after a gunfight with police that ended a daylong…
In this Friday, April 19, 2013 photo obtained by The Associated Press and authenticated by a member of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, ATF and FBI agents check suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev for explosives and also give him medical attention after he was apprehended in Watertown, Mass., at the end of a tense day that began with his older brother, Tamerlan, dying in a getaway attempt.

 

 

 

 

 

Boston Marathon bombing suspect captured

20 Apr 2013
The teenage suspect in the Boston Marathon bombing, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was taken into custody by police in Watertown, Massachusetts on Friday following a massive manhunt that shut down much of the Boston Area and left his brother dead. By News Wires (text) Police captured a 19-year-old ethnic Chechen suspected of carrying out the Boston
File - An FBI release shows one of the suspects, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, wanted in connection with the Boston Marathon Bombings.
photo: FBI

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBAMA REASSURES AMERICA

 

 

 

 

 

CARNAGE AND TERROR

 Mayhem at Boston Marathon

 TASK FORCES are investigating 2 explosions that went off at the finish line of the Boston Marathon shortly before 3:00 p.m., Monday.


TWO IMPORTANT NUMBERS

If you need to find your loved ones:

617-635-4500

If you have information that leads to suspects in this case:

1-800-494-TIPS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 GUN SUICIDE AT NRA RACES

 

 

 

 

 

 

POLL: BACKGROUND CHECKS MORE POPULAR THAN KITTENS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

130405-clinton-stage3-tease

 

 

 

 

Roxxe Ireland/Marc Bryan-Brown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hillary Clinton Keeps Up the Good Fight for Women Worldwide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMERICAN DISGRACE

UN Human Rights Chief Calls For Gitmo Closure.. U.S. ‘In Clear Breach Of International Law’.. More Prisoners Join Hunger Strike.. Reporters Denied Access

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘SHAME ON US IF WE’VE FORGOTTEN’

 

 

 

 

 

 

4,488 DEAD
32,221 WOUNDED

10 Years After Iraq Invasion, Casualties Still Haunt U.S.

 

 

 

 

 

‘I’M EMBARRASSED TO BE A REPUBLICAN’

 

 

 

 

 

Iraq war costs U.S. more than $2 trillion: study

By Daniel Trotta

  • U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman HM1 Richard Barnett, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, holds an Iraqi child in central Iraq in this March 29, 2003 file photo. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

    View Photo

    Reuters/Reuters – U.S. Navy Hospital Corpsman HM1 Richard Barnett, assigned to the 1st Marine Division, holds an Iraqi child in central Iraq in this March 29, 2003 file photo. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj

 

 

 

 

‘HE SAID HE HOPES WE REACH SOME GRAND BARGAIN, BUT WHAT IS IN THAT GRAND BARGAIN?’

O: ‘We’re Probably Not Gonna Get A Deal’ If GOP Insists On ‘Gutting’ Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid

 

 

 

NEW ORDER IN THE COURT
Obama’s Judicial Appointes Changing The Face Of Federal Court System … If Republicans Let Them Through

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Obama signs order to start $85 billion budget cuts

President Barack Obama has reluctantly ordered an $85bn (£56bn) austerity drive that could slow the US economy and slash jobs, after blaming Republicans for refusing to stop the “dumb” spending cuts.

President Barack Obama signs order to start $85 billion budget cuts
Mr Obama was bound by law to sign in the cuts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

HUGE ‘LIKE’
FOR GAY RIGHTS
Marriage Equality To Get Big Backing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel Day-Lewis Set To Make Oscars History

The British-Irish star is the favorite to win the Best Actor Academy Award for his performance in Lincoln.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln (DreamWorks II Distribution)

 

 

 

 

 

 

DRONEWORLD: NEW BASE IN NIGER

 

 

 

 

 

ONE WEEK TIL AUSTERITY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Which D.C. Institutions Have Chinese Hackers Breached?
ALMOST ALL OF THEM

 

 

 

 

 

 

TRADING BLOWS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

US north-east battered by ‘historic’ snowstorm

09 Feb 2013
Thick snow is blanketing the north-eastern US as a major storm cuts power to thousands of homes and plays havoc with transport schedules. Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Connecticut and Maine are all on an emergency footing, with millions of residents being warned to stay indoors. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has temporarily banned…
US north-east battered by 'historic' snowstorm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liberal in domestic issues, Obama a hawk on war

09 Feb 2013
For all of his liberal positions on the environment, taxes and health care, President Barack Obama is a hawk when it comes to the war on terror. From deadly drones to secret interrogations to withholding evidence in terror lawsuits, Obama‘s Democratic White House has followed the path of his predecessor, Republican President George W. Bush.
President Barack Obama signs an accompanying letter to Congressional leaders after signing H.R. 152, which provides fiscal year 2013 supplemental appropriations to respond to and recover from the severe damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Jan. 29, 2013.

 

 

 

 

NEMO COMETH

Northeast Braces For Potentially Historic Blizzard… Many Schools Closed… At Least 3,775 Flights Cancelled Through Saturday… Fears Of Widespread Power Outages… ‘Wherever You Need To Get To, Get There By Friday Afternoon’… Boston Could Get Three Feet Of Snow… 10-14 Inches Possible For NYC…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MORE SECRETS: ‘BROAD POWERS’ FOR U.S. CYBERATTACKS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

America’s Drug War In Latin America Expanding

America War On Drugs Latin America

In this Oct. 11, 2012 photo, the sun rises seen from onboard the USS Underwood in international waters near Panama. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)

 

 

 

 

 

 

AMERICAN SNIPER’ KILLED AT GUN RANGE

325 Army suicides in 2012 a record

By Tom Watkins and Maggie Schneider, CNN
February 2, 2013 —





The U.S. Army says the 325 suicides it had last year were the most ever.
The U.S. Army says the 325 suicides it had last year were the most ever.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • The Army reports 325 suicides last year among active and non-active military personnel
  • “Our highest on record,” says Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg
  • The total for 2011 was 283


 

 

 

 

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