Thursday, 03 January 2013 09:40
'Without fanfare, President Obama has reauthorized a law that allows the U.S. government to conduct surveillance on overseas activities of suspected spies and terrorists.
The law, which has been around since the 1970s and is known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, was set to expire at the end of 2012, but Obama and Congress have extended it for an additional five years.
Provisions of the law allow the government to conduct all manners of surveillance, tracking overseas phone calls, email and other forms of electronic communication without first obtaining a court order for each case.'
The law, which has been around since the 1970s and is known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, was set to expire at the end of 2012, but Obama and Congress have extended it for an additional five years.
Provisions of the law allow the government to conduct all manners of surveillance, tracking overseas phone calls, email and other forms of electronic communication without first obtaining a court order for each case.'
Thursday, 03 January 2013 09:37
'There has been an intense debate among leading scientists, government agencies and publications over whether the bigger threat is global warming or a new ice age. As we’ve previously noted, top researchers have feared an ice age – off and on – for more than 100 years. (This post does not weigh in one way or the other. It merely presents a historical record.)'
Thursday, 03 January 2013 09:33
'UN Human Rights Council High Commissioner Navi Pillay long ago fell from grace. Like Ban Ki-moon, Kofi Annan, and Lakhdar Brahimi, she’s a reliable imperial partner. Her previous reports on Syria expressed one-sided anti-Assad sentiment. She part of the conspiracy to replace him with a pro-Western puppet.
Whatever she reports is suspect. Credibility on Syria isn’t her long suit. She spurned her mandate. Instead of responsibly “strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights,” she defiled them in deference to Western interests.
Throughout the conflict, she pointed fingers the wrong way. She ignored Western-sponsored massacres and other atrocities. She blames Assad, not foreign death squads.'
Thursday, 03 January 2013 09:31
'The US and France are deploying additional troops to the Central African Republic (CAR), as anti-government militias close on the capital, Bangui. The intervention is part of a wider ratcheting up of imperialist military operations across Africa, with Washington and its European allies working to maintain their strategic domination of the continent and control of its natural resources.
The US and France were already conducting military operations in CAR before a rebel offensive threatened to topple the government of President François Bozize.'
Thursday, 03 January 2013 09:24
'Fears of a repeat of last winter's deadly toll leaves displaced Afghans saying, 'We are again fighting for our life.'
Humanitarian assistance is failing the dire needs of tens of thousands of internally displaced persons in Afghanistan who have fled one life-threatening situation to find another as cold temperatures leave them struggling to survive. Last winter over 100 children died from the cold in the many makeshift camps around the Afghan capital.
Humanitarian assistance is failing the dire needs of tens of thousands of internally displaced persons in Afghanistan who have fled one life-threatening situation to find another as cold temperatures leave them struggling to survive. Last winter over 100 children died from the cold in the many makeshift camps around the Afghan capital.
"This winter, we are again fighting for our life. Every night is a nightmare for me. I am very afraid of winter," Haji Dost Mohammad, who lives with his family among other displaced Afghans in the Charahi Qamber area of Kabul, told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur news agency.'
Posts
