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

The CIA paid Poland as much as $50 million to use the Stare Kiejkuty intelligence base to interrogate prisoners it brought in from other countries. Former President Aleksander Kwaśniewski and then-Prime Minister Leszek Miller, who allowed the use of the base, may even be subject to prosecution. Many Poles feel betrayed that their country, so recently subject to abuses under Communist rule, was used as a torture site by the United States.   read more

The study showed that homes in predominately black and Latino neighborhoods were three times as likely to be foreclosed on than those in white neighborhoods, with those in mixed neighborhoods also at a higher risk of foreclosure. The problem was exacerbated when white families fled those neighborhoods and black or Latino families, taking advantage of lower housing prices, moved in.   read more

After three years of negotiations, Pope Francis has ended the administration of the U.S. nuns’ leadership group, handing control back to the nuns themselves. Under Pope Benedict, the Vatican initiated the takeover of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), whose members represent about 80% of U.S. nuns.   read more

Shannon Morgan entered 8THEIST into the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission website and it was rejected with the message “requested plate is considered objectionable.” However when Morgan entered “BAPTIST,” she was allowed to continue with the application.   read more

In May 2015, Ravel said it is unlikely that the FEC, which has three Democrats and three Republicans on its board, will be able to do much to regulate the coming presidential election. “The likelihood of the laws being enforced is slim,” she told The New York Times. “I never want to give up, but I’m not under any illusions. People think the FEC is dysfunctional. It’s worse than dysfunctional.”   read more

The Department of Homeland Security, in 2003, issued an emergency alert to its air marshals of a possible hijacking on a commercial flight--“a more ambitious, broader-scale version of the 9/11 plot.” But within 48 hours, one of those marshals, Robert MacLean, received a text message from TSA cancelling overnight missions, in order to save money on hotel lodging. Outraged, MacLean reported it to TSA’s IG but it led nowhere. So he leaked the story to MSNBC and , in return, got fired by TSA.   read more

“Four people lost their lives and their families lost loved ones because DuPont did not have proper safety procedures in place,” said David Michaels. Despite the tough words, OSHA proposed a fine of only $99,000 for the violations. Considering DuPont generated $34.7 billion in revenue last year, the fine won’t amount to so much as a blip in the company’s annual report. In response to the OSHA citation, DuPont's Aaron Woods insisted that “safety is a core value and constant priority at DuPont.”   read more

A report from Service Employees International Union shows that 19.3% of all franchises purchased with SBA loans from 2006 to 2010 have failed. That failure rate has increased over time; loans originating from 1991 to 1995 failed 12.7% of the time. Two franchises with the highest failure rates are Golf Etc., at 49.6%, and All Tune and Lube at 41.6%. Purchasers of those two franchises were almost even money to go down the tubes, costing the taxpayers thousands of dollars.   read more

A report from the Society of Actuaries shows that the most popular “preference-sensitive” procedure undergone by new Obamacare subscribers is knee replacement surgery. A preference-sensitive procedure is one without which a patient can continue for some time, although their quality of life can be improved with the operation.   read more

Evuna Andeme is not an ordinary citizen; his father, Alejandro Evuna Asangono Owono, is minister of state and his sister, Mari-Cruz Evuna Andeme, is ambassador to the United Kingdom, is the president of the country. President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s government is known as one of the most repressive in the world.   read more

The PTC system could have saved the lives of the seven who have died so far as a result of the Philadelphia accident. Amtrak has gotten no help from Congress in making its lines safer. The morning after the crash, the Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee actually voted along party lines to cut funding to the passenger rail line by about 20%. And a bill proposed in March by Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Missouri) would delay the PTC implementation deadline to 2020.   read more

The House Appropriations Committee has denied funding to the Congressional Research Service (CRS) to make its reports available to the taxpayers who pay for those reports. CRS’s talents lie in dissecting policy issues without regard to the ideological biases of those making its budget. Former CRS analyst Kevin Kosar wrote earlier this year that their reports are often not respected by Congress. "Lawmakers ignored our work or trashed us if our findings ran contrary to their beliefs,” he said.   read more

While Chinese companies are enjoying the benefits of buying up parts of U.S. companies, they’re also taking advantage of their country’s “firewall,” behind which corporate parents hide when their U.S. subsidiaries misbehave. Even serving Chinese companies with legal papers is challenging, with U.S. subsidiaries denying they have a connection to their Chinese parent companies. Some companies even claim immunity from U.S. law.   read more

A pregnant Missouri woman seeking an abortion is fighting the mandatory three-day waiting period imposed by that state’s Republican-dominated legislature. Her argument uses one of the right wing’s favorite claims—the violation of her sincerely held religious beliefs. “The potential is for this case to be a lot broader than Missouri,” said Doe’s attorney. “Many states have 24-hour waiting periods and five states have 72-hour waiting periods. I can envision similar suits being brought elsewhere.”   read more

In 2010, there were 3,036 deaths in the U.S. involving heroin overdoses, a rate of 1.0 per 100,000 population. By 2013, the number had jumped to 8,257, a rate of 2.7 per 100,000. The demographics of the overdose victims have changed almost as dramatically. In 2000, African-Americans aged 45-64 had the highest rate of overdose deaths. By 2013, it was whites aged 18-44 who predominated. Men were far more likely to overdose than women.   read more

To agents in the FBI's Houston office, the targeted demonstrators were environmental extremists. The spying began in early 2013. For as many as eight months, the FBI monitored members of the protest group Tar Sands Brigade. Brigade organizer Ron Seifert said dozens of campaigners were arrested in Texas for protest-related activity but none was accused of violent crime or property destruction. The FBI has said the investigation was an “administrative error.”   read more