U.S. and the World
2014 World Cup Complicates Brazil's Sexual Tourism Business
With World Cup soccer coming in 2014, Brazil has decided to try to clean up its reputation as a leader in sexual tourism, especially that involving children.
The nation’s human rights minister, Maria Nunes, has vowed to close down illegal bu... read more
Texas and Supreme Court Ignore International Law and Execute Mexican National
Humberto Leal Garcia, a Mexican national convicted in Texas of murdering a teenage girl, was executed on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court denied a last-ditch legal effort to postpone his death.
Leal’s case drew considerable attention from... read more
A New Nation is Born: What is South Sudan?
Overview: The newest nation in the world, officially born July 9, 2011, is the Republic of South Sudan, which seceded from the larger nation of Sudan after decades of civil war that took millions of lives and severely retarded the South’s developm... read more
Mission Accomplished: Troops in Afghanistan Going Home—to Canada
The war in Afghanistan is over for the armed forces of Canada, which will pull out all of its remaining personnel before the end of the year.
After nine years of combat, the remaining 2,800 Canadian troops recently began turning over their dis... read more
U.S. Shifts Gears on Mexico Trucking Deal
Seventeen years after the North American Free Trade Agreement went into effect, the U.S. government has agreed to a controversial provision allowing trucks from Mexico to deliver goods deep into the country. The turnabout by the Obama administrati... read more
Afghan War "Tactic of Last Resort" Still Very Popular
David Petraeus, the United States’ top military commander in Afghanistan who’s now moving to the CIA, promised last year to cut down on the use of airstrikes to combat the Taliban, in order to reduce the risk of civilian casualties.
But the ... read more
Is the U.S. Supporting a Family of Karzai Crooks in Afghanistan?
Once again a member of the Karzai family, whose patriarch serves as leader of Afghanistan, has been accused of helping defraud the nation that the U.S. has so generously supported.
Mahmoud Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai, allegedly... read more
Sen. Kirk Urges U.S. Forces to Support Attack on Gaza Flotilla with Americans on Board
If Senator Mark Kirk has his way, American commandos will be ordered to stop a multi-national aid flotilla scheduled to sail for Gaza this week. Israel has vowed to intercept the ships before they reach shore.
The Republican lawmaker who cap... read more
Terrorist Group Lobbies Congress for De-Listing
The Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK), an Iranian Marxist-Islamist group opposed to the government there, is lobbying the Obama administration to have its name removed from a list of foreign terrorist organizations.
MEK has been on the State Departmen... read more
If U.S. Troops Are Leaving Afghanistan, Why Are New Barracks Being Built?
The United States may be planning to withdraw large numbers of troops from Afghanistan, but that doesn’t mean the U.S. is leaving the country.
Over the next three years, while thousands of soldiers pack up and head home, contractors will be ... read more
Only 6% of Chinese Belong to Communist Party
China’s government may be Communist, but that doesn’t mean the country as a whole is. Not by a long shot.
The latest figures on Chinese Communist Party (CCP) membership show that 80 million Chinese are members. That’s a lot of people—almost ... read more
Corrupt Chinese Officials Smuggled Billions of Dollars into U.S.
The United States is proving to be a destination of choice among corrupt officials in China who have smuggled billions of dollars out of their country.
A Chinese study carried out by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 2008, but only j... read more
Iraq Detainee Abuse Investigations…Just Forget about It
In the early years of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, a half dozen military personnel performed the thankless, and now forgotten, task of investigating reports of detainees abused by American forces.
The six-member Detainee Abuse Task Force (DATF... read more
Norway Best Country to be a Mother; Afghanistan Worst; U.S. Slips to 31st
Western Europe is the place to be for a mom, with Norway leading the way by example. According to Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers report, Norway was ranked No. 1 among all countries when it comes to access to health care, educat... read more
Dictator of the Month: King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia
Barack Obama bowed down before him and George W. Bush made a point of being photographed in public holding his hand. But if King Abdullah didn’t control the world’s largest oil reserves, U.S. presidents and the vast majority of Americans would h... read more
Chinese Dictatorship Welcomes Sudan Leader Wanted for Genocide
China has invited Sudan’s president, Omar al-Bashir, to visit the country on June 27 despite the fact that he is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes and genocide. The ICC has issued arrest warrants for al-Ba... read more