U.S. and the World
Medical Emergency Flights from Haiti to U.S. Suspended Amid Finger-Pointing
The U.S. government managed to make itself look like an emergency room unwilling to take patients until they demonstrate proof of insurance or payment. On Wednesday, medical evacuations from earthquake-ravaged Haiti to the U.S. ceased after the st... read more
China Criminalizes Sexting
No electronic communication is safe from government censors in China, and that includes text messages containing sexual content. As part of its crackdown on “illegal” activity, the Chinese government has ordered the country’s top cell phone provid... read more
Is it Cheaper and More Effective to Buy Off the Taliban than to Fight Them?
If you can’t beat them, pay them off. That’s essentially the reasoning behind a plan the United States and some of its allies are considering that would pay Taliban fighters to put down their weapons and rejoin Afghan society. The cost of such a s... read more
Schwarzenegger Suggests Outsourcing California Prisoners to Mexico
Seeking a way to help alleviate his state’s chronic budget shortfall and prison overcrowding, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger suggested on Monday sending illegal immigrant prisoners to Mexico to save money. The Republican governor appare... read more
Details of Death of UK Scientist to be Sealed for 70 Years
The death of British weapons expert Dr. David Kelly in July 2003 was sufficient to raise questions, coming only days after it was revealed he had challenged one of the major claims for invading Iraq four months earlier. Now, the fact that details ... read more
Marines End Combat Mission in Iraq after 6 Years
After more than six years in country, the U.S. Marines are finally leaving Iraq. A ceremony this weekend formally marked the changeover with elements of the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Armored Division assuming responsibility fo... read more
Should Foreign War Criminals Be Allowed to Live Free in the U.S.?
The former head of Somalia’s military is now the focus of a potential landmark case before the U.S. Supreme Court which will decide whether foreign officials now living in the country can be subject to U.S. law.
Mohamed Ali Samantar, once Soma... read more
Afghans Paid $2.5 Billion in Bribes Last Year
Corruption is a way of life in Afghanistan, and Afghans are not happy about it. A survey conducted by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime found that more than half of the population had to pay bribes to a public official last year, and ne... read more
George W. Bush Overthrew the Elected Leader of Haiti; Now He’s Expected to Help?
Critics of American foreign policy towards Haiti have had a hard time swallowing the selection of former President George W. Bush as co-chair of the United States’ relief efforts. They point out that it was during the Bush administration, in Feb... read more
With a 666-1 Manpower Advantage, Why Can’t U.S. Defeat Al-Qaeda?: Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt
There simply is no comparing al-Qaeda to the U.S. military, write Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt of TomDispatch.com. At its potential mightiest, al-Qaeda numbers a few thousand fighters spread throughout the world—a force one-fifth the size of Amer... read more
Would You Recognize Osama bin Laden if You Saw Him?
In case you happen to be wandering down the street, pass a tall, 50-something Middle Eastern gentleman sporting a long gray beard, and wonder, “Was that?….” the FBI has released age-enhanced photographs of Osama bin Laden to help the public recogn... read more
The Iraq Payoff at Last: Halliburton and Others Line Up for Oil Contracts
Iraq wants to rival Saudi Arabia as the world’s top oil producer, and American corporations are happy to help Baghdad get there. With the Iraqi government ready to rebuild and expand its petroleum industry, some of the biggest oil drilling and sup... read more
Baidu, Google Rival in China, Financed by Americans
If Google does pull out of China, it will yield its 36% market share to rival Baidu, a Chinese Internet portal and search service that’s not as “home grown” as Beijing claims. Baidu got to where it is today, controlling 58% of the Chinese Net sear... read more
U.S. Halts Deportations to Haiti
With Haiti in shambles from the recent 7.0 earthquake, the Department of Homeland Security has decided to temporarily halt all deportations to the island nation. Approximately 30,000 Haitians living illegally in the U.S. were subject to arrest and... read more
Google Discovers Chinese Communists are Bad; Threatens to Stop Censoring Searches
Google, which previously caved into demands by China’s government to censor Internet searches in order to enter the Chinese market, is now threatening to pull out of the country altogether. Beijing’s atrocious record on human rights did not keep G... read more
Former Guantánamo Guard and Prisoner Become Friends on Facebook
Brandon Neely did not enjoy his time spent at Camp X-Ray, where he says the U.S. abused many of the suspected terrorists at the Guantánamo Bay naval facility. An Army specialist, Neely was one of the guards who kept watch over detainees like Ruhal... read more