U.S. and the World

Ice on Antarctic Peninsula Melting at Fastest Rate in 1,000 Years

In recent decades the amount of ice that has melted has increased at an alarming rate. The melting is attributed to rising temperatures across the Antarctic Peninsula that have risen 2.8°C over the past 50 years, making it the most rapidly warming region in the Southern Hemisphere. read more

Hunger Strike and Violence at Guantánamo after 10 Years without Trial

The decision to relocate some detainees came during a hunger strike that has now lasted more than two months. More than 40 prisoners of the 166 still being held at Guantánamo have refused to eat since guards conducted a search on February 6 that resulted in the confiscation of detainees’ letters, photographs and legal mail, and the rough handling of copies of the Koran. At least 13 hunger strikers are being tube fed by American authorities to keep them from dying. read more

Industry Battles Government over Immigrant IT Workers

While the nation’s unemployment rate is still high, joblessness in the technology sector is much lower (less than 4%) due to the high demand for skilled labor. According to Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith, “The American economy creates 120,000 new computer-related jobs annually that require a bachelor’s degree, but we are currently producing about 51,000 graduates with a degree in computer science each year.” read more

Rice Imported from Asia and Europe Contains Harmful Levels of Lead

The research was compiled from samples collected from countries in Asia and Europe, including the Czech Republic, Bhutan, Italy, China, Taiwan, India and Thailand. The highest levels were found in samples from Taiwan and China. Concerns over lead add to another health risk involving rice—the presence of arsenic. read more

Obama Using Drones to Kill Others besides al-Qaeda despite Public Statements

These facts run contrary to President Barack Obama’s public claims that drone attacks are carried out only against “specific senior operational leaders of al Qaida and associated forces” involved in the 9/11 attacks who are plotting new “imminent” violent attacks on Americans. read more

Secret 2004 US-Pakistan Deal Revealed: CIA Assassination In Exchange for Drone Airspace

Muhammad, a Pashtun tribesman, was an ally of the Taliban who had been labeled an enemy of the state after leading a tribal rebellion. Pakistani officials wanted him eliminated, so the CIA came up with a proposition: Let us kill him for you, and in exchange, grant CIA drones access to Pakistan’s airspace so the U.S. could hunt down its own enemies, like al-Qaeda. In June 2004, the deal was sealed when Muhammad and several others were killed in South Waziristan during a missile attack. read more

Largest Oil Refinery in U.S. is Owned by Saudi Royal Family and Anglo-Dutch

Since Barack Obama became president of the United States, Saudi exports to the U.S. have more than doubled. U.S. exports to Saudi Arabia have also hit record highs. Lawrence J. Goldstein, a director of the Energy Policy Research Foundation, said Motiva “guarantees the Saudis an important but subtle footprint in the United States, and they want to have some negotiating strength when geopolitical issues in the Middle East and elsewhere arise.” read more

Still at Large…Longest Ever on FBI Most Wanted List

On September 12, 1983, he stole $7.2 million from a Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, while working as an armored car driver. At the time, he told a fellow coworker that he pulled the heist because he was tired of working for other people. Later, the FBI learned Gerena was part a Puerto Rican separatist group called Los Macheteros, which needed money to finance its revolutionary activities. read more

Study Suggests Fukushima Disaster Caused Thyroid Abnormalities in U.S. Babies

Babies born in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington between one week and 16 weeks after the nuclear meltdown began in March 2011 were found to be 28% more likely to suffer from congenital hypothyroidism (CH) than children born in those states during the same period one year earlier. read more

Why is U.S. Still Importing Asbestos?

About 2.3 million pounds of asbestos was shipped to the U.S. last year, all of it from Brazil, the third largest producer of the mineral after Russia and China. The dangers posed by asbestos have caused more than 50 countries to ban the substance, which is used in building materials, insulation, automobile brakes and other products. But the U.S. government has not prohibited asbestos, preferring instead to regulate its use by businesses. read more

China’s Brutal Past Haunts the Present: First Lady Sang to Murderous Troops; Boy Sent Mother to her Death

The image showed Peng Liyuan, wife of President Xi Jinping, in June 1989, when she sang to the Chinese troops who carried out the bloody crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. The photo didn’t remain online for very long, but it lasted enough time for many to see it and wonder who the first lady really is, given the friendly image that the government has portrayed of Peng. read more

John Kerry in Paris: Convergence and Divergence

Recalling that “the EU and the U.S. together account for one-third of all goods and services sold worldwide and more than 50% of the total global economic output,” the U.S. secretary of state believes that “it is important that we move forward quickly with the free trade agreement in order to have a profound impact on the world.” Negotiations on this agreement appear tricky for certain sectors, such as agriculture. read more

Vast Majority of Border Patrol Drug Arrests are of U.S. Citizens

CBP’s own public relations statements give the impression that the majority of those arrested for drug smuggling are Mexican citizens. This plays into the hands of the drug traffickers, who increasingly recruit Americans to serve as their smugglers because they are less likely to be viewed with suspicion by border security. The drug suppliers find no shortage of Americans willing to make the runs, given the need for cash during tough economic times. read more

10 Lawsuits Filed against Border Patrol for Abuse

After first promising to put her on a plane to New York, where she was born and lived with her parents, CBP agents later told her father they could not return her to “illegals,” and gave him one hour to choose between having her sent back to Guatemala or to an “adoption center.” Fearing he would lose his child forever, and not knowing that CBP’s threats were illegal, Mr. Ruiz chose Guatemala. read more

France | Nicolas Sarkozy indicted for Taking Advantage of the Mental Weakness of Liliane Bettencourt

This is the second time a President of the Fifth Republic has been indicted. After Jacques Chirac was accused of embezzlement while he was mayor of Paris, in a mild surprise, Nicolas Sarkozy, after five years of proceedings, has been accused of taking advantage of Liliane Bettencourt’s mental weakness. read more

Foreign Tourists Turn Away from U.S. Because of Long Customs Lines

Forty-three percent of travelers who have visited the United States told surveyors that they will recommend others avoid a trip to the U.S. because of the entry process, and one in seven travelers said they missed a connection because of long delays at Customs, causing them to cancel hotel reservations, car rentals and other activities. read more