Imagine that China’s dictator, Xi Jinping, sends one million Chinese troops to invade the United States. Fighting breaks out all over the U.S. as U.S. troops and civilians battle against the Chinese invaders. Hundreds of thousands, if not millions, are killed. Meanwhile, China has taken over Florida and declared it an overseas province of China, with Chinese nationals taking over control of the Florida government.   read more

Fracking so close to a nuclear power plant seems like a bad idea, especially in light of a report released in March by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources concluding that a rash of 12 earthquakes in the Youngstown, Ohio, area between March and December 2011 was likely due to nearby fracking operations. Shippingport is less than 45 miles away from Youngstown, with similar geology.   read more

At least four 2012 swing states–Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado, and Florida–rely at least partially on machines that produce no paper ballot and are thus even easier to hack. Those four states account for 71 electoral votes in the presidential race, more than one-quarter of the 270 needed for victory. In Pennsylvania, 80% of voters will use paperless systems to cast their ballots, and in Virginia almost 75%.   read more

U.S. Oil Sands hope to begin strip mining for bitumen, which can be refined into oil, in early 2014 if it is able to finalize the permitting process in the next several weeks. It has already dug out a two-acre test pit. The company found water at a depth of 1,800 feet and will use it in the mining process.   read more

The state of Idaho filed suit against a secretive group that has spent more than $200,000 on campaign ads supporting three school reform ballot measures but refuses to disclose its donors as required by state law. The group, which calls itself “Education Voters of Idaho” (EVI), popped up in August and gave $200,350 to a political committee called “Parents for Education Reform” (PER), which immediately spent the money on statewide TV ads. The two groups share the same mailing address.   read more

Those suing the NSA are telephone service customers who claim something needs to be done to check the government’s unlimited authority to monitor any person’s communications. In addition to claiming it will only use the TSP when necessary, the NSA is refusing to turn over evidence related to what plaintiffs say is a warrantless “dragnet’ surveillance of U.S. citizens.   read more

David Segal, executive director of Demand Progress, writes that “This vastly under-reported case has tremendous implications for millions of Americans and could undermine our ability to use sites like eBay and Craigslist—or even hold old-fashioned garage sales."   read more

Calling the practice “extortion,” Columbia, South Carolina, councilman and defense attorney Seth Rose recently struck a blow against websites that post booking photos—aka mugshots—taken by police and local jails and then charge for their removal, even when the individuals in the photos were never formally charged, much less convicted, of any crime.   read more

According to Pope, Helms’s aide Danielle Pletka told him he would not even get a hearing unless he agreed to testify on his advice to Zinni regarding Chalabi. Pope retired from the State Department on October 2, 2000, after 31 years of service rather than expose his confidential advice. Later, during the ramp-up to the U.S. War on Iraq, Chalabi was responsible for supplying the George W. Bush administration much of the false information alleging that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.   read more

From 2006 to 2009, Godec was the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia. According to diplomatic cables released by Wikileaks, Godec was quite critical of the regime of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, describing his “sclerotic regime,” as a “police state” mired in corruption, an evaluation that was much-appreciated by pro-democracy forces in Tunisia when it was made public. Godec served as principal deputy coordinator for Counterterrorism at the State Department from 2009 to 2012.   read more

According to The Guardian, American diplomats have asked the British government for permission to use military bases in Cyprus and to fly from U.S. bases on Ascension Island in the Atlantic Ocean and Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, both of which are British territories. But London has repeatedly denied the requests, citing a legal opinion that concluded Iran does not represent a “clear and present threat”.   read more

At issue is $500,000 contributed to Rick Hill by the Republican Governors Association through the state Republican Party. The money was delivered in early October, after U.S. District Judge Charles Lovell threw out the state’s contribution limits, . The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the limits a six days later, on October 9. Hill contends it was legal to accept the half a million dollars while the limits were nullified.   read more

Children have been jailed for committing minor offenses, including school disciplinary infractions such as farting in class and wearing the wrong colored clothing. A seven-month investigation uncovered numerous illegalities, including children being arrested in school and incarcerated for days at a time without a probable cause hearing. Also, it was revealed that children had made confessions without being read their Miranda rights and having a chance to waive those rights.   read more

In July 2009, Cole became director general for European and Economic Affairs, as well as chairman of the Malta Sanctions Monitoring Board, which is responsible for Malta’s participation in international economic sanctions against countries like Iran. He served in both capacities from July 1, 2009 to July 12, 2012.   read more

Highlights of his diplomatic career include service as consul general in New York from 2007 to 2010 and as ambassador of Senegal to South Africa from 2010 to 2012. Niang has also served as diplomatic adviser to the President of Senegal.   read more

Texas is among the states where OSCE plans to send observers. But Attorney General Greg Abbott vehemently objects to the idea, and has threatened to arrest and prosecute them if they appear within 100 feet of polling places. Despite the fuss and Abbott’s threats, the fact is that OSCE observers have monitored U.S. elections regularly since 2002 without incident.   read more

Internal Countrywide documents demonstrate that company executives bypassed existing safeguards that disqualified risky borrowers and instead pushed to generate large numbers of loans without regard to their quality. The Justice Department complaint accuses Countrywide of crossing the line into illegality by falsifying loan applications so that borrowers appeared to meet the standards set by Fannie Mae.   read more