When Pope John Paul II visited Damascus in May 2001, Bashar used his welcoming speech to denounce the Jews, saying, “They tried to kill the principles of all religions with the same mentality in which they betrayed Jesus Christ and the same way they tried to betray and kill the Prophet Muhammad.”   read more

ATF has been criticized repeatedly in recent years for botched operations. Its Operation Fast and Furious embarrassment allowed thousands of guns to pass into criminal hands in the U.S. and Mexico. ATF also was exposed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for a local operation in which agents lost guns, arrested the wrong people and used a mentally disabled man as a source. These messes and others led the Center for American Progress to call for ATF’s elimination and merger with the FBI.   read more

The Republican-dominated state has adopted a new law which outlaws the collecting of ecological data on private and public lands. Violations can result in a year of prison time and fines of $5,000. It also makes any samples inadmissible as evidence in court, even if they show environmental hazards. The law prohibits photos and soil samples used for ecological purposes, even in state and national parks. Opponents say it is so broad, it would prevent taking photos at Yellowstone National Park.   read more

Robert Doggart, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress last year, has accepted a plea deal from federal prosecutors in which he admitted to interstate threats. A wiretap revealed he was plotting with a private militia to carry out a terrorist attack on a Muslim community. In one call, Doggart reportedly said, “we’re gonna be carrying an M4 with 500 rounds of ammunition...a pistol with 3 extra magazines and a machete. And if it gets down to the machete, we will cut them to shreds.”   read more

The change was so dramatic, researchers weren’t sure they had crunched the numbers correctly. “I was shocked, I’ll be honest with you,” said epidemiologist Jeffrey Bridge. “I looked at it and I thought, ‘Did we do the analysis correctly? I thought we had made a mistake.’" Explanations included “that black children are more likely to be exposed to violence and traumatic stress...[have] early onset of puberty" and more likely to be subject to “aggressive school discipline.”   read more

Rep. Stephen Fincher's bill would change consumer protection provisions to almost exclusively benefit Clayton Homes, a company controlled by Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Clayton buyers are often stuck with loans that come with interest rates that can exceed 15%. Loans offered by Clayton companies average 7 percentage points higher than conventional home loans usually cost. Clayton dealers also get kickbacks for steering business to companies linked to their corporate parent.   read more

About to ask for a raise? You might have more luck if you do it wearing a pair of elevator shoes. A study published in the Journal of Human Capital showed a difference in height among men, even just four or five inches, can result in higher earnings ranging from 9% to 15%, according to Joe Pinsker at The Atlantic. Pinsker also reported that another source indicated “an extra inch is worth almost $800 a year in elevated earnings.”   read more

Iran has been a great bogeyman for American merchants of war by helping boost billions of dollars in military sales to oil-rich states in the Middle East. In the last five years, U.S. arms purchases by Gulf Arab countries have skyrocketed by 70%. Saudi Arabia alone has paid out $90 billion to American arms firms in that time. U.S. defense contractors have benefited by selling weapons systems and munitions to Persian Gulf countries that have worried about Iranian military plans in the region.   read more

The NSA has the ability to transcribe phone call conversations into written—and searchable—formats. Documents provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed that the NSA 10 years ago developed a system to search recorded phone conversations and “even use sophisticated algorithms to flag conversations of interest." This “has happened with no apparent public oversight, hearings or legislative action. Congress hasn’t shown signs of even knowing that it’s going on,” said The Intercept.   read more

A new HRW report says 62% of military personnel who experienced unwanted sexual contact and reported it to military superiors were retaliated against in fiscal year 2014. In comparison, only 5% of military sexual assault cases in FY 2014 resulted in a conviction. This means victims were 12 times more likely to suffer for speaking out than attackers were to be punished. It is no wonder that only 25% of victims report sexual assaults to military authorities.   read more

The ban on military gear is by no means all-encompassing. Law enforcement will still have access to plenty of other military goods, including wheeled armored vehicles, manned aircraft, drones, specialized firearms, explosives, battering rams and riot batons, helmets and shields. These and other items will, however, come under stricter controls, including new requirements that police departments get approval from local government bodies before requesting military equipment from Washington.   read more

“Across the heartland of America and all along the Gulf Coast, sales of organic products are posting double-digit increases,” according to OTA. “The majority of American households in all regions of the country now make organic a part of their supermarket and retail purchases – from 68 to almost 80% of households in southern states, to nearly 90% on the West Coast.” The trade group also reported that organic sales are reaching the “milestone” of 5% share of the total food market in the U.S.   read more

One-third of the missiles controlled by Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota are in the Bakken oil field and the trains carrying much of that volatile output pass in close proximity to many missile sites, according to a report (video) on MSNBC’s “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Air Force documents obtained by the show highlight the Pentagon’s concern about the problem.   read more

High officials from six Persian Gulf countries got assurances from President Barack Obama that the United States would respond, perhaps with military force, to an “external threat” to any of the countries. Amnesty International has cataloged human rights abuses in each of those countries.   read more

The military knows that children can become addicted to video games and that some, such as “Call to Duty,” can get them excited at the prospect of going into battle. The key is to get contact information on the potential recruits. That task has been made easier thanks to the No Child Left Behind Act. Part of that law’s mandate is that schools turn over personal information on students to military recruiters and allow them access to the schools for their message.   read more

The National Security Agency (NSA) is offering technology to local law enforcement agencies, including programs that pick different voices out of a crowd; cryptographic key generation; transmitter location; and even one that can facilitate the sorting of large amounts of data, such as that that might be gathered in a cell tower dump. Some of this technology can be used in conjunction with devices such as a Stingray, a cell tower mimicking device provided to some agencies by the FBI.   read more

In 2006, Szemerkényi was named chief advisor for international public relations to the CEO of MOL group, the Hungarian oil and gas company. That same year, she also became a senior associate in the Institute of Kremlinology at Gáspár Károli Reformed University. Orbán and Fidesz returned to office in 2010 and by 2011 Szemerkényi was the prime minister’s chief advisor on security policy. Szemerkényi’s views are said to be completely in line with those of Orbán.   read more