U.S. and the World
Will John Legend Speak out against Bahrain’s Brutal Dictatorship when he Performs There?
Legend is scheduled to perform Monday in a festival put on by the repressive government of Bahrain. Human Rights Watch has documented many abuses by the Bahraini government, including imprisonment of opposition figures on “terrorism” charges and police use of excessive force. Other issues include lack of freedom of expression; failure to address domestic violence against women; and abuses of migrant laborers from other countries. read more
Average U.S. Payment for Killing an Innocent Person in Afghanistan: $3,426
An analysis by The Intercept showed that between 2011 and 2013, the U.S. military made 957 condolence payments totaling $2.7 million, $1.8 million of them for deaths with the maximum amount generally capped at $5,000. The largest single payment for a death—$15,000—came in 2011. Other payments are as low as $100. read more
European Court Rules War Resister must Prove His Service Would Include War Crimes in Iraq to Qualify for Refugee Status
After serving six months in 2004 and 2005 in Iraq repairing Apache helicopters, Shepherd and his unit were relocated to Germany, where he was stationed for two years.
In 2007, he received word that his unit would be redeployed to Iraq. By then, Shepherd had decided he could no longer support the war and objected to going back to Iraq on conscientious grounds. Shepherd left his post and appealed to the German government for asylum. read more
American Atheist Hacked to Death in Bangladesh
Avijit Roy was traveling with his wife, Rafida Ahmed Bonya, through Dhaka in a rickshaw when two assailants removed them and began attacking them with machetes. Roy, 42, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Bonya survived the attack but lost a finger and suffered numerous lacerations. Muslim zealots had threatened Roy, a bioengineer and a naturalized American citizen, “for his active campaign against Islamist radicals.” read more
Jordan Jails Opposition Leader for Using Facebook to Call a Foreign Country the “American Cop in the Region”
The remark got Rushaid arrested and subsequently tried by the state security court for “acts harmful to the country’s relations with a friendly nation.” He was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Rushaid’s attorney called the verdict the “death for freedom of expression. The government is to blame.” Another Brotherhood member said the purpose of the security court is to try “the most heinous crimes against the country, not for...[expressing] an opinion on Facebook."
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U.S. Drops to 49th Place in World Press Freedom Index…Worst in 9 Years
The latest World Press Freedom Index shows the U.S. ranked 49th in the world, according to Reporters without Borders, which created the index. It hasn’t been this low since 2006, when it dropped to 53rd. The U.S. ranking is usually between the twenties and forties on the index. read more
India Survives Latest Attack on Valentine’s Day
Young couples had to be on their toes on Saturday. Merely expressing their love in public could have led to them being married off, with right-wing Hindu groups vowing to force marriage on couples found celebrating an indecent “Western festival.”
“If you are in love, you should get married,” said Ashok Sharma, vice president of Hindu Mahasabha, a conservative Hindu religious organization with branches across India. read more
On a Typical Day, more Americans Spend the Night in Jail than in Detroit
The jail population average, which has skyrocketed since 1983 when the number was 224,000, has grown even though violent crime has decreased by nearly 50% during this span and property crime has fallen by 40%. Nearly 75% of those in jail are there for nonviolent traffic, property, drug, or public order offenses. read more
Twitter Handles Information Requests from 58 National Governments, but 56% are from U.S.
The new report showed governments in general increased their requests by 40% compared to their previous report. “Providing this insight is simply the right thing to do, especially in an age of increasing concerns about government surveillance,” said Twitter's Jeremy Kessel. After the U.S., the government filing the most requests was Turkey, with 356, followed by Japan with 288. Twitter, however, did not comply with any of Turkey’s requests for user data.
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After 6 Years, Obama’s Pentagon Suddenly Declares Details of Afghanistan War “Classified”
The blackout on information will include such minor details as the number of Afghans who are serving in the army or police force, their salaries and data on infrastructure projects. The restrictions directly affect the American watchdog in Afghanistan, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko, who has regularly reported on spending blunders, shoddy construction of infrastructure and other mistakes made by the U.S. read more
Breaking News: Oil Really is the Main Reason One Country Interferes in another Country’s Civil War
About two-thirds of these wars saw intervention by another country or outside organization—and that the most common reason for this intervention had to do with oil “over and above historical, geographical or ethnic ties.”
The research also revealed that the more oil a country had, the more likely a third party would be to enter the conflict read more
Chinese Firm Moves into Louisiana’s “Cancer Alley”
A Chinese company with a history of environmental problems in its home country is building a methanol plant in an area of Louisiana where cancer rates and other health problems are already high because of the activities of U.S. petrochemical companies in the area.
The methanol plant would be in St. James Parish, which is 90% African-American, and whose residents say they had no voice in the decision.
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Saudi Arabia’s New King, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud Has Been Target of Lawsuits by Survivors of 9/11 Attacks
, Lloyd’s of London filed a suit seeking reimbursement from multiple parties, including Salman.
In the lawsuit, Salman was identified as an “individual patron” of al-Qaeda and as the leader of the Saudi High Commission for Relief to Bosnia and Herzegovina (SHC).
According to the lawsuit, “Under Prince Salman’s leadership, the SHC served as a primary front for supporting al Qaeda’s operations in the Balkans. read more
Chicago Man Jailed for Acting as High-Priced U.S. Lobbyist for Sanctioned Dictator of Zimbabwe
Turner’s actions, which included organizing Illinois lawmakers to advocate for the sanctions removal, landed him in federal court. He was accused of conspiracy and two counts of failing to register as a foreign lobbyist. He avoided prosecution on the latter charges, but was found guilty of the first. read more
50 Years of State of the Union Speeches: 66 Nations Ignored, While Others—Like Iraq and Russia—Get All the Attention
It’s probably no surprise that Vanuatu hasn’t come up in any of the speeches. Even some of our North American neighbors have been snubbed: the Bahamas, Belize and Guatemala are still waiting for their big moment. And there are a few countries of strategic importance that have escaped mention. The United Arab Emirates, a huge oil producer; Belgium, home of the European Union; and banking capital Switzerland all have been shut out. But Norway got a shout-out from George W. Bush. read more
When the President of the U.S. Visits…India Edition
The ITC Maurya hotel, where Obama will be staying, has been taken over by Secret Service personnel and a multi-frequency control room manned by the U.S. officials has been set up.
15,000 CCTVs have also been installed across the capital, and American security personnel will be part of the teams manning the control rooms set up to monitor this footage.
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