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Crenshaw_Brothers
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Ghostbusters Demo on Live, PSN to Follow

Are you troubled at the thought of playing another awful licensed tie-in? Do you experience feelings of dread when staring down... more

ShadowPraxis
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Trailer Time: Love Happens, The Answer Man, and Informant!

In Trailer Time we show you some of the newest trailers in the theaters and on the web. The Rotten Tomatoes Show is a movie... more

Ellen_Fox
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Worst 5 Scumbag in Pro Sports History

We follow professional sports for the game but also the athletes. Sometimes we get let down in a big way and as OJ Simpson writes... more

democrat69
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Two states ready for first open wolf hunts

BILLINGS, Montana - Montana and Idaho are moving to host the first open gray wolf hunts in the lower 48 states after the... more

omordn
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Israel Threatening to Use Nukes....Again!!!

Oh here we go AGAIN! The little Zionist bully in the Middle East is threatening MAD--Mutually Assured Destruction. They say... more

blueghost09
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GM Leaves Bankruptcy In Record ime

NEW YORK - The path is now clear for General Motors Corp. to leave bankruptcy protection in record time as a leaner company that... more

Crenshaw_Brothers
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Ghana Goes Ga-Ga For Obama

ACCRA, Ghana – The last stop on President Barack Obama’s week-long trip may prove to be his most historic and... more

Crenshaw_Brothers
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Gorilla in the Greenhouse

The pilot episode, entitled The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, which launched on Earth Day 2008, follows the kids and KJ the Green... more

stopnoise
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New Jersey Shore Vacation Rentals

Welcome to VacationRentalsNewJersey.com, your source for New Jersey Apartments, Cottages, Homes, Studios, Cabins and vacation... more

lancehumblernj
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2 Million Pakistanis To Return Home

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan will allow some 2 million people who fled an army offensive against the Taliban in Swat Valley to return home... more

Crenshaw_Brothers
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Guitar Hero 5 Partial Tracklist Revealed

Although the complete tracklist has yet to be unveiled, creators of Neversoft's forthcoming Guitar Hero 5 have reportedly... more

CarlosG
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PUERTO LAS OLLAS, Mexico - The Mexican army has carried out forced disappearances, acts of torture and illegal raids in pursuit of drug traffickers, according to documents and interviews with victims, their families, political leaders and human rights monitors.

From the violent border cities where drugs are brought into the United States to the remote highland regions where poppies and marijuana are harvested, residents and human rights groups describe an increasingly brutal war in which the government, led by the army, is using harsh measures to battle the cartels that continue to terrorize much of the country.

In Puerto Las Ollas, a mountain village of 50 people in the southern state of Guerrero, residents recounted how soldiers seeking information last month stuck needles under the fingernails of a disabled 37-year-old farmer, jabbed a knife into the back of his 13-year-old nephew, fired on a pastor, and stole food, milk, clothing and medication.

In Tijuana, across the border from San Diego, two dozen policemen who were arrested on drug charges in March alleged that, to extract confessions, soldiers beat them, held plastic bags over their heads until some lost consciousness, strapped their feet to a ceiling while dunking their heads in water and applied electric shocks, according to court documents, letters and interviews with their relatives and defense lawyers.

The officers were detained at a military base for more than a month.

Mexican officials acknowledged that abuses have occurred in the fight against traffickers but described the cases as isolated. In some instances, drug traffickers may be accusing the army of torture and other human rights violations as propaganda and to deflect attention from the government's efforts to dismantle their operations, the officials said.

"I know that the armed forces are not acting inappropriately, although there have been some cases," said Interior Minister Fernando Gómez Mont, who is responsible for coordinating security operations across Mexico. "The government honestly believes that. There is no incentive for abuse."

Mexican security forces have long had a spotty human rights record, but the growing number of abuse allegations appears to be a direct response to the savagery unleashed by the cartels after President Felipe Calderón put the military in charge of the drug war in December 2006. Most of the violations have occurred in regions where the sight of dismembered bodies of soldiers and police is remarkably common. In the state of Michoacán, investigators with the government's National Human Rights Commission concluded that the army committed abuses against 65 people over three days -- including several cases of torture and the rape of two girls -- after five soldiers were killed in an attack in May 2007.

The U.S. government has encouraged and, in part, funded, Calderón's risky strategy of using the army to fight the cartels that handle 90 percent of all cocaine that enters the United States. U.S. officials said Calderón has initiated reforms that they think ultimately will increase respect for human rights among soldiers and police.

However, U.S. officials warned that the abuse allegations could lead Congress to withhold more than $100 million in anti-narcotics assistance.

The cases in Puerto Las Ollas and Tijuana are under investigation by the National Human Rights Commission, which has been overwhelmed with more than 2,000 complaints about the army -- 140 a month this year. The commission has documented 26 cases of abuse, 17 of which involved torture, including asphyxiation and the application of electric shocks to the genitals of drug suspects.

"What happens is the army takes [suspects] back to their bases -- and of course a military base is not a place to detain people suspected of a crime -- and they begin to ask questions," said Mauricio Ibarra, who oversees investigations for the commission. "And to help them remember or to get info, they use torture."PUERTO LAS OLLAS, Mexico - The Mexican army has carried out forced disappearances, acts of torture and illegal raids in pursuit of... more

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16 minutes ago

UN: Israel must tear down West Bank barrier

Israel must tear down its West Bank separation barrier, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday, marking five years since the International Court of Justice declared the barrier illegal and a violation of Palestinian rights.

The barrier separates Israel from the West Bank and in places cuts into Palestinian territory. Israel started building it in 2002 to stop a wave of suicide bombing attacks by Palestinians, who infiltrated across the cease-fire line.

Palestinians charge the complex of walls, trenches, barbed wire and electronic sensors is a land grab that cuts people off from their property and basic services.

Israel did not recognize the 2004 ruling against the barrier by the International Court of Justice, an advisory opinion with no enforcement mechanism.

The barrier is about two-thirds completed. The southern section, near sparsely populated areas on both sides of the line, has not been constructed. Israel's Supreme Court has forced rerouting of several segments closer to the Israel-West Bank line.

At a news conference in Jerusalem to mark the anniversary, the U.N. released a statement concluding that the completed barrier would close in 35,000 Palestinians and wall off another 125,000 on three sides. About 2.4 million Palestinians live in the West Bank.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said the barrier is only part of the problem.

"The wall is but one element of the wider system of severe restrictions on the freedom of movement imposed by the Israeli authorities on Palestinian residents of the West Bank," Pillay said. Israeli must "dismantle the wall" and "make reparations for all damage suffered by all persons affected by the wall's construction," she said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry did not comment on the statement Wednesday. Israel's government has said in the past that the completed sections of the barrier have significantly reduced Palestinian attacks in Israel.

The U.N. said it will release a full report on the humanitarian impact of the barrier later this month.Israel must tear down its West Bank separation barrier, a senior U.N. official said Wednesday, marking five years since the... more

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18 minutes ago

Dems Look At Taxing The Rich For Health Care

WASHINGTON - House Democrats working on President Barack Obama's goal of health legislation are narrowing in on an income tax surcharge on the highest-paid wage earners to help subsidize insurance for the 50 million people who lack it.

Pushing to complete a comprehensive health care overhaul plan by Friday and bring it up for committee votes next week, House Democrats abandoned earlier money-raising proposals, including a payroll tax. They met behind closed doors Thursday to fine-tune the details.

"I promised the president that we would have legislation out of the House before we went on an August break. That is still my goal," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday.

As discussed in the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, the surtax would apply to individuals with adjusted gross income of more than $200,000 and couples over $250,000, according to officials involved in the discussion. Most spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were private.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., a member of the panel, said the panel is looking at a surtax of around 3.5 percent on income above those amounts. Other members suggested it would be closer to 3 percent.

In addition, key lawmakers are expected to call for a tax or fee equal to a percentage of a worker's salary on employers who do not offer health benefits.

Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., has said his committee needs to come up with $600 billion in new taxes to deliver on Obama's goal of sweeping changes to the nation's health care system to bring down costs and cover the 50 million uninsured. Hundreds of billions of dollars more would come from cuts to Medicare and Medicaid to pay for legislation expected to cost around $1 trillion over 10 years.

Lawmakers cautioned that no final decisions have been made. Smaller tax options remained possibilities, depending on the overall cost of the legislation, including a tax on sugared soft drinks and ending a tax break that drug companies receive for advertising.

The action in the House stood in contrast to the Senate, where Democrats edged away from their goal of passing health care legislation by early August amid heightening partisan controversy over tax increases and a proposed new government role in providing insurance to consumers.WASHINGTON - House Democrats working on President Barack Obama's goal of health legislation are narrowing in on an income tax... more