U.S. and the World

Obama Administration Backs off from Deporting Violators of Minor Misdemeanors

ICE agents are no longer allowed to issue detainer requests against unauthorized aliens arrested for minor misdemeanors like traffic offenses and other petty crimes, such as selling food out of one’s home or smoking in a non-smoking area. The new policy instructs agents to issue detainers only for those convicted or charged with a felony; those with three or more non-minor misdemeanor convictions; and those with serious misdemeanors.” read more

U.S. Sailors Sue Japanese Government for Lying about Fukushima Radiation Dangers

The lawsuit, using blunt language, goes on to say, “The Japanese government kept representing that there was no danger of radiation contamination to the U.S.S. Reagan (CVN-76) and/or its crew, that ‘everything is under control,’ ‘all is OK, you can trust us,’ and there is ‘no immediate danger’ or threat to human life, all the while lying through their teeth about the reactor meltdowns.” read more

Yemeni Government Covers Up U.S. Responsibility for Civilian Drone Deaths

On September 2, an American missile destroyed a Toyota truck loaded with 14 Yemenis from a village near Radda. The attack killed 11, including a woman and two children. The Yemeni government tried to claim that its own air force carried out the assault, and that those killed were al-Qaeda militants. Many locals refused to accept the official explanation, and eventually Yemeni officials were forced to acknowledge that the strike killed only civilians. read more

U.S. Sets Deportation Record in 2012

The majority of the deportations (55%) involved individuals with criminal records, which represented another record, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Another 21% were repeat immigration violators. The total number of those deported in Obama’s four years in office has nearly matched all deportations during the eight years of the George W. Bush administration. read more

73-Year-Old Iranian Dies 2 Days after Interrogation by U.S. Customs

Sakineh Sarreshteh is a naturalized U.S. citizen, and Daryoush Sarreshteh possessed a green card, although he had not been in the U.S. for three years, according to The Washington Post. In any event, CBP officials decided to interrogate the Sarreshtehs for five hours, during which they were shouted at in English—according to Sakineh—which neither understood. When the husband and wife were released, Daryoush Sarreshteh appeared shaken and crying. read more

Federal Judge Slams Obama Administration for Trying to Dismiss No-Fly List Case in Secret

Judge William Alsup objected to the government’s tactic. He wrote: “Here the government seeks to affirmatively use allegedly privileged information to dispose of the case entirely without ever revealing to the other side what its secret evidence might be.” Ibrahim is currently dean of the Faculty of Design and Architecture at Universiti Putra Malaysia. read more

UBS to Pay $1.5 Billion for Faking International Loan Rates, but No Executives Indicted

Swiss bank UBS has been fined $1.5 billion by the U.S. Department of Justice for manipulating a key interest rate that affects borrowing between banks. When asked why the Justice Department chose to not prosecute any UBS executives, Criminal Division chief Lanny Breuer told reporters, "Our goal here is not to destroy a major financial institution.” read more

U.S. Military Considers Death Penalty for First Time in 51 Years

U.S. Army Sergeant Robert Bales could become the first soldier in more than half a century to be executed by the U.S. military. Bales is accused of murdering 16 Afghan villagers, including nine children, in two separates rampages last March. By Afghan standards, there was a seventeenth victim…an unborn fetus. read more

Government Report Faults State Dept. for Poor Security in Benghazi; At Least Three Senior Officials Lose Jobs

The five-member panel said the State Department lacked veteran security personnel to guard the mission. The agency also relied too much on local militias to safeguard the compound, according to the Pickering panel. Officials in Washington were also criticized in the panel’s report for not making safety upgrades at the mission and ignoring requests for more guards. read more

More than Half of World’s Population is Christian or Muslim

In the United States, 78.3% of the population are Christians, 16.4% are unaffiliated, 1.8% are Jewish and 1.2% are Buddhist. Followers of most of the major religions tend to live in nations in which they are the majority: Hindus 97%, Christians 87% and Muslims 73%. Buddhists and Jews, on the other hand, are more likely to be in the minority, with 72% and 59% respectively. read more

Family of Border Patrol Officer Killed with Fast and Furious Gun Sues U.S. Government

Agent Brian Terry was murdered in December 2010 by cartel members in Arizona using firearms purchased illegally from Lone Wolf Trading Co., a gun shop participating in the operation at the request of U.S. government agents. Terry’s relatives are going after Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory Hurley and six ATF agents involved in the operation. Attorney General Eric Holder was not named as a defendant. read more

George H.W. Bush’s Bombing of Iraqi Chemical Weapons in 1991 may have Exposed U.S. Troops to Health-Threatening Air After All

Almost half of the 700,000 service members deployed for the gulf war have filed disability claims with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and more than 85% of these have been granted benefits. According to a 2008 VA report, about 25% to 32% of Gulf War veterans suffer from “Gulf War syndrome,” a medically recognized condition whose symptoms include chronic pain, memory loss, persistent fatigue and diarrhea. read more

Human Rights Court Concludes that CIA Tortured and Sodomized an Innocent German

Car salesman Khaled el-Masri, 49, was abducted on December 31, 2003, by Macedonian authorities after a CIA analyst confused him with an al-Qaeda operative possessing a similar name. He was turned over to the CIA and “severely beaten, sodomized, shackled and hooded,” according to the court’s ruling. Masri was transferred to Afghanistan, where he spent more than four months in prison before the CIA agents realized their mistake. read more

Obama Signs Bill Punishing Russia for Death of Whistleblower

Obama now has 120 days to submit a list of Russian officials his administration deems guilty of human rights violations. However, a clause in the new law allows the president to keep the names secret by invoking “the national security interests of the United States.” read more

ICE. Keeps Secrecy Lid on Detention of Thousands of Immigrants

Some detained immigrants who have no criminal records can spend weeks, if not months or years, in jails with no access to due process and sometimes little opportunity to communicate with relatives or others trying to help them. Meanwhile, 8,500 criminals—including 201 murderers—were released by ICE into U.S. cities during the past four years because their native countries refused to accept them back. read more

U.S. Elementary Students Trail in Math and Science on World Academic Stage

With 54 nations ranked, American fourth-graders ranked 11th in math and 7th in science, while eighth-graders were 9th in math and 10th in science. Also, only 7% of US students reached the advanced level in eighth-grade math, compared to 48% of eighth graders in Singapore and 47% of eighth graders in South Korea. read more