The fatal attack two years ago on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, which congressional Republicans continue to use as an issue against President Barack Obama and other Democrats, serves as reminder of how dangerous U.S. diplomatic postings have been under presidents of both political parties. The September 11, 2012, assault that killed four in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, represented the sixth deadly attack on embassy or consulate personnel since 2000.   read more

Military expenses dropped worldwide last year, mostly because the U.S. spent less on the armed forces. But countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East ramped up their warfare spending. Worldwide, military spending consumed $1.75 trillion. Western nations cut back, particularly the U.S. due to its scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan, the end of the Iraq war, and budget cuts. America’s dip equaled 7.8%. But outside the U.S., military spending internationally increased by 1.8%.   read more

Russia became the first nation to drill for oil in the Arctic after Gazprom, the nation’s leading energy company, set up the Prirazlomnaya platform, which was designed to withstand extreme weather conditions, including sea ice. Upon the ship’s arrival in Rotterdam Thursday morning, Greenpeace International activists attempted to interfere with its docking and 31 people were arrested by Dutch authorities.   read more

An American citizen held prisoner in Iraq for 10 years has disappeared following the closure, on April 15, of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Shawki Omar was first captured by the U.S. military in 2004, along with his wife, Sandra, for alleged terrorism ties. Both claimed they were tortured during their imprisonment. Sandra was released and returned to the U.S.. No one knows if Omar is alive or dead, and his family has been unable to get any information from Iraqi or U.S. officials.   read more

This controversy involves a pipeline that has long delivered oil from Portland, Maine, to Montréal, Canada. With Canada looking for multiple ways to export its bounty of tar sands oil, officials want to use the Portland-Montréal Pipeline as another avenue for getting its crude to market. This would mean reversing the pipeline’s flow (Canada to the U.S., instead of U.S. to Canada) and carrying the higher polluting tar sands oil instead of the lighter crude currently moving through it.   read more

The Pentagon informed the Egyptian military, which still controls the country, that 10 Apache helicopters will be heading its way. The decision to ship the Boeing-made hardware was made despite the admission of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel that the U.S. is “unable to certify that Egypt is taking steps to support a democratic transition.” Secretary of State John Kerry also said that he could not offer any evidence that Egypt was heading back towards democracy.   read more

Thomas Cushman, a sociology professor at Wellesley College, told Reuters he was concerned that the financial advantages of having Chinese students at a U.S. university could lead to pulling of punches and self-censorship when it comes to discussing topics deemed sensitive to China.   read more

Only two nations in the world use dolphins for military purposes—the U.S. and Russia—and this summer the two sides may wind up nose. Twenty U.S. dolphins will spend up to two weeks participating in NATO military exercises scheduled for the Black Sea. They will reportedly be testing a new anti-radar system designed to disrupt enemy sonar, and may even try out a new kind of armor. But they may also encounter Russia’s new military dolphins, recently acquired during its annexation of Ukraine.   read more

The new opportunities have existed only since December, when Mexico’s Congress approved a landmark bill that relaxed the 75-year-old grip over oil and gas development by Pemex, the state oil monopoly. The legislation paves the way for foreign companies to cut deals with the Mexican government to develop new oil fields. One such field is the Eagle Ford Shale Play, which straddles the Texas-Mexico border, running for hundreds of miles deep beneath the earth.   read more

The Onondaga Nation spent eight years trying to get a U.S. federal court to side with its arguments that the state of New York illegally took possession of 4,000 square miles of tribal land in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.The tribe’s complaints go beyond land ownership. It also says state and federal agencies allowed American factories to pollute Lake Onondaga, which once was part of tribal lands.   read more

A federal District Court judge has ruled that those injured by the apartheid policies of the white-ruled South African government may sue Ford and IBM for providing assistance to that government in the form of military vehicles and computers. The racist policies of apartheid were in force between 1948 and 1994.   read more

Only 12% of deportations in 2013 committed a serious or “Level 1” offense (defined by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as someone convicted of an “aggravated felony,” or two or more felonies). About half of all deportees were charged with violating traffic or immigration laws. Those guilty of entering the country illegally comprised 22.7% of deportations. Such an offense is classified as a petty misdemeanor under the federal criminal code, TRAC noted.   read more

Following the incident, DSS officials forced the Blackwater specialists to provide written statements of the shootings in exchange for full immunity from criminal prosecution. That decision by the State Department derailed the U.S. Department of Justice’s first attempt to prosecute the guards once they returned to the U.S. A federal appeals court then reinstated the charges, saying the lower court had erred in dismissing the case.   read more

The open fields of Afghanistan have become lethal for many of that nation’s children due to scores of unexploded ordinance left by U.S. military forces. Dozens of Afghan children have died after wandering into abandoned U.S. firing ranges filled with undetonated artillery shells, rockets and grenades. The U.N. says at least 70 civilians—62 of whom were children—have died since 2012 in and around U.S. or NATO firing ranges or bases.   read more

In September 2013, another federal judge, Katherine Forrest, decided the majority interest held by Assa Corp. and the Alavi Foundation was a front for Iran’s Bank Melli, making it a front for the Iranian government. Forrest also ruled that the U.S. government could take control of the building. The plaintiffs include numerous individuals who claim they were victimized by various terrorism acts supported by Iran, including 1983 bombings in Beirut, Lebanon.   read more

As part of the interim agreement on Iran’s nuclear program, the U.S. government is allowing Boeing and General Electric (GE), which manufactures jet engines, to export spare parts to that nation. The accord allowing the sales calls for Iran to stop production of enriched uranium. In exchange, Western nations are allowing $6 billion to $7 billion in trade with the country.   read more