U.S. cost of war at least $3.7 trillion and counting From Reuters (Reuters) - When President Barack Obama cited cost as a reason to bring troops home from Afghanistan, he referred to a $1 trillion price tag for America's wars. Staggering as it is, that figure grossly underestimates the total cost of wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the U.S. The final bill will run at least $3.7 trillion and could reach as high as $4.4 trillion, according to the research project "Costs of War" by Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies. In the 10 years since U.S. troops went into Afghanistan to root out the al Qaeda leaders behind the September 11, 2001, attacks, spending on the conflicts totaled $2.3 trillion to $2.7 trillion. Those numbers will continue to soar when considering often overlooked costs such as long-term obligations to wounded veterans and projected war spending from 2012 through 2020.
Time magazine cover features shredded U.S. Constitution, asks if it still matters Provocative? Perhaps, but that’s nothing new for Time magazine with a history of taking iconic American symbols and using them to make political statements. On Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Time magazine editor Richard Stengel presented the cover of his new July 4 issue, which features the U.S. Constitution going through a paper shredder and asks if the document still matters. According to Stengel, it does, but not as much anymore. “Yes, of course it still matters but in some ways it matters less than people think,” Stengel said on “Morning Joe.” The cover is about a story Stengel authored dated June 23 and tackles issues of the day as they related to the Constitution, including Libya, the debt ceiling, ObamaCare and immigration. Stengel concludes his article by saying it isn’t the document that is the U.S. “The Constitution does not protect our spirit of liberty; our spirit of liberty protects the Constitution,” Stengel wrote. Watch:
US police smash camera for recording killing - Features A picture may be worth 1,000 words, but Narces Benoit's decision to videotape a shooting by Miami police landed him in jail after officers smashed his cell-phone camera. It was 4am on May 30 when Benoit and his girlfriend Erika Davis saw officers firing dozens of bullets into a car driven by Raymond Herisse, a suspect who hit a police officer and other vehicles while driving recklessly. Herisse died in the hail of lead, and four bystanders also suffered gunshot wounds, the Miami Herald newspaper reported. Police noticed the man filming the shooting and an officer jumped into his truck, and put a pistol to his head, Benoit said. The cop yelled: "Wanna be a [expletive] paparazzi?" "My phone was smashed, he stepped on it, handcuffed me," the 35-year-old car stereo technician told CNN. Legal issues "There are two questions at play here that need to be separated," said Eugene Volokh, a professor of law at the University of California. Benoit and Davis have hired a lawyer.
Supreme Court Blocks Climate Change Lawsuit Filed By States WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court unanimously ruled out a federal lawsuit Monday by states and conservation groups trying to force cuts in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The court said that the authority to seek reductions in emissions rests with the Environmental Protection Agency, not the courts. EPA said in December that it will issue new regulations by next year to reduce power plants' emissions of carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas. But the administration's actions have come under criticism in Congress, where the Republican-controlled House has passed a bill to strip the EPA from using the Clean Air Act to regulate global warming gases. In pushing to curtail EPA's work, Republicans have accused the administration of acting unilaterally after failing to get a bill passed to deal with the problem. Still, in this case, the administration sided with the power companies. The decision reversed a ruling by the 2nd U.S.
The FBI Just Gave Itself Permission to Follow You and Go through Your Trash Gold, Oil, Africa and Why the West Wants Gadhafi Dead By Brian E. Muhammad -Contributing Writer- | Last updated: Jun 7, 2011 - 7:59:09 PM What's your opinion on this article? Printer Friendly Page Muammar Gadhafi's decision to pursue gold standard and reject dollars for oil payments may have sealed his fate (FinalCall.com) - The war raging in Libya since February is getting progressively worse as NATO forces engage in regime change and worse, an objective to kill Muammar Gadhafi to eradicate his vision of a United Africa with a single currency backed by gold. Observers say implementing that vision would change the world power equation and threaten Western hegemony. “If they kill Brother Gadhafi, I submit to you that American interests in Africa will come under severe strain,” warned the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on WPFW-FM's "Spectrum Today” program with Askia Muhammad. “That man has invested in Africa more than any other leader in the recent history of Africa's coming into political independence,” he continued. Mr. Attacking Col.
Police gun down man in street, threaten to shoot witnesses for filming incident (NaturalNews) When Narces Benoit decided to use his cell phone to film Miami Beach police officers gunning down a man sitting in a parked car early Monday morning, he had no idea the same cops would eventually target him as well. According to video evidence and witness testimony, officers pointed a gun at Narces and his girlfriend, threw them to the ground, destroyed his camera and what they thought was the footage he captured, and handcuffed and arrested the couple, all because Narces happened to capture indicting video evidence of the officers' heinous actions. The Miami Herald reports that Narces and his girlfriend were driving on Collins Avenue in South Beach, Fla., when they happened upon the shocking tail-end of a police chase involving Raymond Herisse, the suspect in question who had allegedly fled police following a scuffle. You can view the video footage for yourself here: The entire event reeks of abuse and coverup.
Worse than meltdown, government report says devastating 'melt-through' has occurred at Fukushima; Official suggests Japan could become 'uninhabitable' (NaturalNews) Recent reports confirming that Reactors 1, 2, and 3 of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility completely melted just hours after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit the area on March 11 ( have been trumped by even worse news that those same reactors have all likely "melted through," a situation that according to Japan's Daily Yomiuri DY is "the worst possibility in a nuclear accident." And senior political official Ichiro Ozawa suggested in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) that the Fukushima situation could make the entire country of Japan "unlivable." A nuclear core meltdown involves nuclear fuel exceeding its melting point to the point where it damages the core, leaks out, and threatens to potentially release high levels of radiation into the environment. Sources for this story include: