tagged w/ Global Report
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Last week, FBI anti-terror units raided the homes of activists in Minneapolis and Chicago. Warrants suggest the agents who searched eight different addresses were looking for connections between anti-war activists and terrorist organizations in Colombia and the Middle East. Agents in Michigan and North Carolina had also questioned people in connection with the investigation.Last week, FBI anti-terror units raided the homes of activists in Minneapolis and... more
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Evidence is mounting that fraud in Afghanistan’s latest parliamentary election was so widespread that it could affect the results in a third of provinces, calling into question the credibility of a vote that was an important test of the American and Afghan effort to build a stable and legitimate government.Evidence is mounting that fraud in Afghanistan’s latest parliamentary election... more
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According to a report from ProPublica, more private contractors than soldiers were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan in recent months, the first time in history in which corporate casualties have outweighed military losses on America’s battlefields.According to a report from ProPublica, more private contractors than soldiers were... more
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The CIA has a constellation of bases across Afghanistan, used to train and deploy a 3,000-member Afghan paramilitary force for operations in Pakistan.The CIA has a constellation of bases across Afghanistan, used to train and deploy a... more
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The US military has drawn up plans to continue holding Afghan prisoners it deems a threat in a "unilateral" prison complex on Bagram airbase even after it hands control of the main detention facility to the Afghan government next year.The US military has drawn up plans to continue holding Afghan prisoners it deems a... more
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This past week, the Obama administration urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit over its plan to assassinate a U.S. citizen overseas, saying that the case would reveal state secrets.This past week, the Obama administration urged a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit... more
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After thousands of Iraqis took to the streets this summer to protest a chronic lack of government services, Iraqi authorities are cracking down on demonstrations. In the past few months, the government has refused to authorize numerous requests for public demonstrations, with no explanation. Authorities have also arrested and intimidated organizers and protesters, and policing actions have led to deaths and injuries.After thousands of Iraqis took to the streets this summer to protest a chronic lack of... more
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As the Food and Drug Administration considers whether to approve genetically modified salmon, one thing seems certain: Shoppers will have a hard time determining whether the fish in the grocery store is genetically altered with no label to guide them.As the Food and Drug Administration considers whether to approve genetically modified... more
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All but one of the 48 Republican hopefuls for the Senate mid-term elections in November deny the existence of climate change or oppose action on global warming, according to a just released report. The report, by the Center for American Progress, says the strong Republican front against established science includes entrenched Senate leaders such as John McCain.All but one of the 48 Republican hopefuls for the Senate mid-term elections in... more
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According to a new study released by independent think tank, the Justice Policy Institute, many people who have lost their jobs and homes in the United States due to the ongoing economic recession are ending up in jail. The report's findings on the relationship between poverty and the justice system suggests that more and more people from poor and low-income communities are being arrested and jailed, even though nationwide, crime rates have fallen.According to a new study released by independent think tank, the Justice Policy... more
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Neither a whistleblower's computer disk full of incriminating documents nor a trail of allegations of waste, fraud and shoddy construction, have prevented Louis Berger from continuing to reap hundreds of millions of dollars in federal contracts in Afghanistan worth billions of dollars. And the Obama administration is trying to see to it that they continue to do so.Neither a whistleblower's computer disk full of incriminating documents nor a... more
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In Afghanistan, a raft of former guerrilla chieftains and commanders implicated in war crimes are likely to win re-election to parliament in polls that took place this past week.In Afghanistan, a raft of former guerrilla chieftains and commanders implicated in war... more
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Angry eligible voters in eastern Afghanistan scuffled with police last week, complaining that the closure of polling stations due to security hampered their democratic rights.Angry eligible voters in eastern Afghanistan scuffled with police last week,... more
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In Iraq, at least seven civilians were killed this past week in a raid by Iraqi and U.S. soldiers on three houses in the city of Falluja. The tragedy came two weeks after President Obama declared an official end to combat operations in Iraq, and with no new government having formed since elections in March.In Iraq, at least seven civilians were killed this past week in a raid by Iraqi and... more
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A federal appeals court has ruled that former prisoners of the C.I.A. cannot sue over their alleged torture in overseas prisons because such a lawsuit might expose secret government information.A federal appeals court has ruled that former prisoners of the C.I.A. cannot sue over... more
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One of the world's leading security thinktanks warned this week that the threat posed by al-Qaida and the Taliban is exaggerated and that the war in Afghanistan risks becoming a "long, drawn-out disaster." The critique of the US military policy is contained in the latest strategic survey from the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a respected but usually uncontroversial body. IISS officers have made clear that they have departed from their normal practice because of the serious threat to the west's security interests in pursuing the current Afghan strategy.One of the world's leading security thinktanks warned this week that the threat... more
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The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense Layers have filed a lawsuit challenging the Department of Homeland Security's policy permitting border agents to search, copy and detain travelers' electronic devices without reasonable suspicion. DHS asserts the right to look though the contents of a traveler's electronic devices – including laptops, cameras and cell phones – and to keep the devices or copy the contents in order to continue searching them once the traveler has been allowed to enter the U.S., regardless of whether the traveler is suspected of any wrongdoing.The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Association of Criminal Defense... more
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A federal grand jury in Tacoma, Washington has indicted five anti-war protesters –most of them senior citizens-- on charges of conspiracy, trespass and destruction of government property for entering a secure area at the Kitsap-Bangor Naval Base complex last November. The charges carry penalties of up to 10 years in federal prison. The five are accused of using bolt cutters last November to breach three chain-link fences surrounding the base, which is home to part of the Pacific nuclear submarine fleet.A federal grand jury in Tacoma, Washington has indicted five anti-war protesters... more
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Unbeknownst to many Americans, the United States has pledged more than $185 million in support of the African Union’s military mission in Somalia, which has been battling against an insurgency intent on preventing a UN-backed government from being installed and imposed upon them. This past week saw some of the heaviest fighting this year. The United Nations reported that combat in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu, caused the displacement of at least 22,000 more civilians and forced relief agencies to curtail their operations in the city.Unbeknownst to many Americans, the United States has pledged more than $185 million in... more
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Experts and former officers are saying the United States likely will keep thousands of troops in Iraq beyond 2011. US officials privately acknowledge that the US military presence in Iraq will almost certainly be extended, even though a security agreement in force requires all US forces to depart by the end of 2011.Experts and former officers are saying the United States likely will keep thousands of... more
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