Clearing the path for future tyranny - Opinion. The right to indefinitely detain citizens without trial, classified kill-lists and "disposition matrices", a fast-expanding fleet of legally-unaccountable aerial drones, and the presumptive right to kill American citizens without due process - all these sweeping expansions of executive power are the legacy of four years of Barack Obama's presidency and of themselves represent a new era in the power of the American government over its citizenry.
Never before has an American president asserted their ability to act as judge, jury and executioner towards their own citizens, a power which Barack Obama claimed for the executive branch in killing the New Mexico-born fundamentalist preacher Anwar Al-Awlaki in a drone strike - followed by his 16 year-old son two weeks later. Domestic surveillance and suppression A separate rule of law Paving the way for tyranny Murtaza Hussain is a Toronto-based writer and analyst focused on issues related to Middle Eastern politics. Female Athletes: 21 Photos That Will Make You Appreciate The Power Of A Woman's Body. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Belonging To Alabama Police Department A Mystery, Says Gadsden Police Chief. Police chief John Crane of Gadsden, Alabama, said he learned two weeks ago that his department has had unmanned aerial vehicles (not pictured) since 2010.
GADSDEN, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama police chief says he recently discovered that his department has two unmanned aerial vehicles. Gadsden Police Chief John Crane tells The Gadsden Times he learned two weeks ago the department has had the unmanned aerial vehicles since 2010. The revelation came to light after the Federal Aviation Administration released a list of agencies certified to fly drones and unmanned aerial vehicles. Mitt Romney and the lure of neo-imperialism. Washington, DC - It would be easy to dismiss Mitt Romney's Washington Post op-ed of this past week regarding US policy towards Iran as yet more self-serving blather in a political season already rife with it.
No doubt, many who read the Republican presidential candidate's harsh criticism of President Obama's Iran policy were inclined to think so, and there were many obvious reasons why they should. First was the former Massachusetts governor's somewhat imaginative account of the reasons for the Iranians' release of the US embassy hostages some 30 years ago, on the day of President Reagan's inauguration. Is it legal to kill Americans overseas? - Inside Story Americas. It is one of the most controversial actions the US government can take: targetting one of its own citizens with lethal force.
At least three Americans have been killed overseas in the unprecedented drones programme under Barack Obama, the US president. And Eric Holder, the US Attorney-General, has been laying out the most detailed legal justification for such action involving citizens deemed a threat to the nation, saying the US will continue to strike overseas if a nation is "unable or unwilling". Holder said the US' legal authority is not limited to the battlefield and that action would continue be taken on foreign soil to deal with threats. "We are at war with a stateless enemy, prone to shifting operations from country to country... Wikileaks obtiene millones de mails de la verdadera ‘CIA en la sombra’ #155 RicardoM: Verás, RicardoM, es muy simple todo esto: ->Ya acabamos el tema ayer.
Considero que has hecho mal en insistir. ->Yo no pretendo convencerte a ti. Pretendo convencer, si, pero no a ti. ->Ya expliqué ayer por qué es un ataque personal la frase que utilizaste: porque no viene al caso en el tema que estamos tratando, y porque no tiene nada que ver con el caso que estamos tratando, sino conmigo como persona. ->Que yo obvie ese ataque personal y lo utilice para aclarar mi punto de vista sobre las cosas... The imperial way: US decline in perspective. This is the second of a two-part article by Noam Chomsky on the decline of US power.
You can read the first part here. Cambridge, MA - In the years of conscious, self-inflicted decline at home, "losses" continued to mount elsewhere. In the past decade, for the first time in 500 years, South America has taken successful steps to free itself from western domination, another serious loss. 'Losing' the world: American decline in perspective, pt. 1. Significant anniversaries are solemnly commemorated - Japan’s attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, for example. Others are ignored, and we can often learn valuable lessons from them about what is likely to lie ahead. Right now, in fact. At the moment, we are failing to commemorate the 50th anniversary of President John F Kennedy’s decision to launch the most destructive and murderous act of aggression of the post-World War II period: the invasion of South Vietnam, later all of Indochina, leaving millions dead and four countries devastated, with casualties still mounting from the long-term effects of drenching South Vietnam with some of the most lethal carcinogens known, undertaken to destroy ground cover and food crops.
Empire - The decline of the American empire The prime target was South Vietnam. There are important lessons in all this for today, even apart from another reminder that only the weak and defeated are called to account for their crimes. The US in a 'dangerous state of funk' 'Losing' the world: American decline in perspective, pt. 1. Sarah Palin brings anti-Washington message to CPAC (2:02) Mississippi lawmaker: Change Gulf of Mexico to Gulf of America. Steve Jobs FBI File Reveals Bomb Threat, 'Tendency To Distort Reality' And More. Though sections have been redacted and more than two dozen interviews are narrated in dry officialese, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's 191-page file on Steve Jobs, released Thursday, reveals numerous lively details about the Apple co-founder's personal life and professional past, as recounted to FBI agents by his colleagues, neighbors and friends.
The document confirms much of what is already known about Jobs, including his drug use, spartan lifestyle and the intense managerial style that created friction between him and some of his colleagues. Yet it also sheds light on Jobs' relationship with the government, revealing that he was given top secret clearance between 1988 and 1990 and was being considered by President George H. W. Imperialism 2.0: EU fosters Botswana degradation. Gaborone, Botswana - Botswana produces some of the highest quality organic, free range beef in the world.
Until early last year, the EU was an important destination for this high value product. Then, following a visit by EU veterinary inspectors, new requirements were imposed requiring that all beef exports be traceable to fenced ranches or territories. GQ’s ’50 most powerful in Washington’ list: Disagreeing is part of the fun - The Reliable Source.