BOMB AT BOSTON MARATHON KILLS 3 PEOPLE, INCLUDING 1 CHILD AND THERE IS AN OUTPOURING OF U.S. SYMPATHY FOR THE VICTIMS. A secret C.I.A. counter-terrorist raid in Afghanistan kills 17 people, including 12 children. Sympathy out-pouring?—not so much, at least in the U.S. Not so, however, in Afghanistan itself, where the PM Hamid Karzai [...]
THE WAY OF THE KNIFE: THE C.I.A., A SECRET ARMY, AND A WAR AT THE ENDS OF THE EARTH. A new book of this title by Mark Mazzetti is about to be released and is excerpted in the New York Times. It describes the “secret deal” in 2004 between the C.I.A. and the Pakistani state [...]
THAT’S ONE GIANT STEP FOR WORLD LEUKEMIA SUFFERERS. An Indian court rules that a “copycat” (generic) version of a brand name drug cannot be prohibited by the patent claimed by the brand name company. This decision could have “ripple” effects on the availability of generics for people throughout the world. Prohibition of copycat [...]
ANTI-DRONE ACTION: IT’S NOT JUST A 13-HOUR RAND PAUL FILIBUSTER ANYMORE. Medea Benjaming and Noor Mir describe an April “month of uprising” against drone use both domestically and in pursuit of U.S. foreign policy interests. This “uprising” is taking many forms, including prohibitions for police use in many cities and states, protests at the [...]
“ANTIQUE COLD WARRIORS IN THE SERVICE OF PIRATE CAPITALISTS.” This is Rob Urie’s tag-line for his scathing denunciation of the Iraqi war: the authorities who perpetrated it, and the 75% of Americans who “supported” it until the action came to be seen as too costly and futile. Bush administration officials come under major charges [...]
A MILITARY DRONE BASE RIGHT HERE IN BROOKSVILLE! “A PARANOID PORTION” OF THE POPULATION PROTESTS. With the support of Senator Bill Nelson, an aviation authority applies to Hernando County FL to locate there one of the 6 drone sites slated for development in the U.S. Protests are launched by a Nature Coast peace group [...]
BIG BANKS PLAY BIG ROLE IN NATION’S SHADOWY, CONTROVERSIAL NETWORK OF PAYDAY LOAN OPERATIONS. Interest rates of over 700 percent on a small loan would seem unreasonable to most people, and would be unheard of at most reputable banks. But such outlandish rates and legally questionable behavior are the norm for unregulated “payday” lenders, [...]
AMERICANS ARE A SIGNIFICANTLY “THREATENED” PEOPLE. A new Gallup survey of “1015 adult Americans” shows that 99% perceive Iran’s nuclear development a threat to U.S. “interests.” 83% of them (97% of Republicans, 79% of Democrats) view this threat as “critical” while another 16% see it as “important.” Nor is this fear confined to [...]
The White House has signaled it is willing to make enormous political sacrifices and deep concessions to noisy partisan critics in order to ensure the continued secrecy of the government’s legal justification for using drone strikes to kill suspected terrorists. Having already been forced to offer a limited acknowledgement of the legal details behind the [...]
SENATE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE HEARING THROWS A WHIFF OF TRANSPARENCY INTO TARGETED DRONE ASSASSINATIONS BY U.S. AGENCIES. Hearings for John Brennan, current counter-intelligence chief and Obama’s nominee for director of C.I.A., show signs of restlessness of some Senators like the chair of the committee, Dianne Feinstein. Expressing frustration at the difficulty of the committee in [...]
Recent Comments