US let bin Laden escape after 9/11: Senate report

US military leaders allowed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden (Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden) to ‘walk unmolested out of Tora Bora‘ when he was within the reach of US troops, a Senate report reveals. Staff members for the Democratic majority of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations prepared the report at [...]

Taiwan Isn’t Pleased

A Taiwanese news article posted online on November 21st had an interesting topic: an IMINT & Analysis forum member’s article posted to militaryphotos.net detailing Taiwan’s air defense facilities. In a roundabout way, this site was also mentioned, as the article stated that the air defense overview’s author “was working with another that had previously worked [...]

U.S. Power Slipping, Analysts Warn

A warning to lawmakers of a shift underway in the global balance of power from the West to the East came this week from a rather sober source, Stephen Daggett, a defense policy analyst at the Congressional Research Service. CRS analysts are better known for providing carefully balanced and normative assessments of weapons systems or [...]

Soviet and Warsaw Pact Military Journals

A collection of sensitive Soviet and Warsaw Pact military journals from 1961 to 1984 providing a view into Warsaw Pact military strategy. Click here.

Medical group denounces coal in critical report

So you thought smoking cigarettes was bad for your health? Try living next to a coal-fired power plant. That’s the diagnosis Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) relayed to the public in a comprehensive medical study released on November 18, called Coal’s Assault on Human Health. In it, the organization, comprised of physicians and public health [...]

Afghan Villagers Take Revenge for Civilian Casualties – Soldier-Boys Cry

Scientists give grubby children a clean bill of health

For parents too stretched to make sure their offspring are perfectly turned out at all times, it may just be the scientific cover they’ve been waiting for. They will now be able to answer the disapproving tuts of their more fastidious friends by pointing to research which gives biological backing to the old adage that [...]

Obama adminstration seeks to halt Bush-era declassification order

Government officials are working at breakneck speed to halt the pending declassification of millions of historical records scheduled for release next month, according to a report by Secrecy News. The Office of Management and Budget has asked federal agencies to return comments on a new executive order on the classification of national security information by [...]

China takes a new look at Marxism

BEIJING – The week before the visit of United States President Barack Obama, the Chinese media were full of hope and expectations: Obama’s meeting with China‘s leaders would lead to new and higher-level bilateral relations, newspapers wrote. But it was already clear that, contrary to the ideas of the foreign press, this would not mean [...]

US rejects global landmine ban treaty supported by more than 150 countries

The US administration has rejected a global treaty, supported by more than 150 countries, banning the use of land mines. The Department of State explained the decision on Tuesday, saying a policy review had found the US could not meet its “national defense needs” without land mines. “This administration undertook a policy review and we decided [...]

At This School, It’s Marijuana in Every Class

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. — At most colleges, marijuana is very much an extracurricular matter. But at Med Grow Cannabis College, marijuana is the curriculum: the history, the horticulture and the legal how-to’s of Michigan’s new medical marijuana program. “This state needs jobs, and we think medical marijuana can stimulate the state economy with hundreds of jobs [...]

Ex-British diplomat: Iraq war was illegitimate

The former UK ambassador to the UN, Sir Jeremy Greenstock says that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was “of questionable legitimacy”. Greenstock was speaking on day four of public hearings at a wide-ranging inquiry into the US-led, British-backed Iraq War covering the period from 2001 to 2009. Jeremy Greenstock said the United States seemed to [...]

Washington DC TV audience prefers Russia Today

TV Audience in Washington, D.C. Metro Area Prefers Watching Russia Today To Other Foreign TV News in Prime Time According to the survey by Nielsen Media Research, Washington, D.C. DMA* TV audience prefers watching news on Russia Today TV (RT) in prime time, rather than news on Al Jazeera English, Deutsche Welle, France 24, Euronews [...]

No laughing matter for CIA

The top lawyer at the Central Intelligence Agency, General Counsel Stephen Preston, recently introduced himself during an American Bar Association conference on national security as “the chief legal officer of a well-understood and enormously popular agency, the object of universal praise and appreciation.” He was greeted with laughter, reports The Washington Post. We imagine that [...]

Mexican Families Begin Sending Money to Relatives in U.S.

Mexico is expected to lose more than 700,000 jobs this year due to a slumping economy that may decline as much as 7.5%. Almost half of the country’s population lives in poverty, and yet, it is managing to reverse a trend of money that has traditionally flowed from north (the United States) to south. While [...]

‘Multi-National’ to drop from U.S. unit names in Iraq

BAGHDAD — One of the last vestiges of the “coalition of the willing” in Iraq will soon be retired. As part of a consolidation of its command structure ahead of next year’s planned troop reductions, the U.S. military will drop the “Multi-National” name from its unit designations starting in January. The last non-U.S. troops, from [...]

Cops vs. Counterinsurgents: Round Two

The hyper-prolific Spencer Ackerman was kind enough to respond to my critique of his call for applying counterinsurgency techniques to domestic policing. (Note to Spencer: This is what you call a relaxed posting schedule?) In short, Ackerman’s arguing that smart counterinsurgency and community policing can be informed by the same ethic: Getting to the root [...]

Female Army Soldier Charged with Murdering Marine Couple and Abducting their Baby

An Article 32 hearing is scheduled to begin Monday at Fort Lewis, Wash., for Spc. Ivette Davila, who is accused of killing two fellow soldiers and abducting their baby in March 2008. A Fort Lewis investigating officer will examine evidence in charges against Davila, who is accused of killing a married couple, both medics assigned [...]

At the White House Photo Turkey Op …

… people covered up, because they remembered what happened last time.

Exploding Meteor Over South Africa

Health Costs from: Tobacco Use = $800; Booze = $165; Pot = $20 — Any Questions?

Writing in the book Marijuana Is Safer: So Why Are We Driving People to Drink? ( Chelsea Green, 2009 ), I argue that it is irrational for our society to condone, if not encourage, the use of alcohol — an intoxicant that directly contributes to tens of thousands of deaths annually and countless social problems [...]

Students for Sensible Drug Policy Annual International Conference

Every plant starts as a seed. And many leaders of the drug policy reform movement and medical cannabis community started as young activists. Students for Sensible Drug Policy‘s national staff tends to a garden of brand new activists who go on to play influential roles in bringing about reform. In many cases, the cultivation of [...]

German government plans sweeping social attacks

The new German government held a two-day cabinet conference Tuesday and Wednesday at Schloss Merseburg in Brandenburg. According to Chancellor Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the meeting was meant to create “a comradely atmosphere in which we can resolve problems in a spirit of mutual trust.” The meeting was prompted by the [...]

DARPA’s Simulated Cat Brain Project a ‘Scam’: Top Scientist

Last year, the Pentagon’s premiere research arm gave IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) nearly $5 million to make electronics that mimic the “function, size and power consumption” of a cat’s brain. Last week, IBM’s lead researcher on the project, Dharmendra S. Modha, announced that he had made major progress toward that goal, simulating on a [...]

eBay offers items labeled as Mussolini’s blood, brain

Items that were purportedly the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini‘s blood and parts of his brain were briefly offered for online sale on the Ebay auction site for 22,000 US dollars. The neo-fascist granddaughter of Il Duce, Alessandra Mussolini, said the remains were stolen from Milan’s Policlinico hospital and she immediately informed the police when she [...]

Lebanon agrees Hezbollah right to arms

Lebanon‘s new cabinet has agreed to acknowledge the Islamic Hezbollah movement’s right to use armed resistance against the Israeli acts of hostility. A cabinet committee commissioned with drafting a policy statement for the country’s new government met for the ninth time on Wednesday, when it reached an agreement on the issue, said Information Minister Tarek [...]

German army chief resigns over Afghan civilian deaths

The German army’s chief of staff has stepped down after reports of Afghan civilian deaths in a September air strike involving German troops. Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg told parliament on Thursday Wolfgang Schneiderhan had submitted his resignation. Schneiderhan “has released himself from his duties at his own request,” zu Guttenberg said, thanking the former [...]

Norway opens first osmotic power plant

Norway has unveiled the world’s first osmotic power plant, which utilizes the energy unleashed when fresh water and seawater are mixed to produce clean electricity. Osmotic power is a renewable and emissions-free energy source that Norwegian firm Statkraft has been researching into for 10 years. The company hopes to be capable of making a substantial [...]

“NET problem”

Russia’s intelligence services got connected to the secret information bases of the Interpol. Our police have a considerable amount of experience collaborating with their foreign colleagues. Now, it will be expanded by means of electronic communication Yesterday, the European Union officially gave Russia online access to the special databases of the International Criminal Police Investigation [...]

GlaxoSmithKline Pulls Swine Flu Vaccines in Canada: May “Trigger Life-Threatening Allergies”

LONDON — Pharmaceuticals company GlaxoSmithKline PLC said Tuesday it has advised medical staff in Canada to not use one batch of swine flu (influenza A virus subtype H1N1, a type of swine influenza) vaccines in case they trigger life-threatening allergies. Company spokeswoman Gwenan White said that they issued the advice after reports that one batch [...]

Courtroom First: Brain Scan Used in Murder Sentencing

A defendant’s fMRI (functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging) brain scan has been used in court for what is believed to be the first time. Brain scan evidence that the defense claimed shows the defendant’s brain was psychopathic was allowed into the sentencing portion of a murder trial in Chicago, Science reported Monday. Brian Dugan, who had [...]

Feds: Former US Prosecutor Helped Rub Out Witnesses For Gangster Clients, Ran Drugs And Call-Girls

From federal prosecutor to accused violent gangster, pimp, and drug-dealer…That’s the unusual career trajectory taken, say the Feds, by Paul Bergrin, who was indicted earlier this month in a 39-count racketeering indictment. In a drama that could have been made for HBO, Bergrin — a white-collar defense lawyer who once represented, pro bono, a solider [...]

The Department of Gomer Pyle

I was an average high school student. I had to attend summer school between my junior and senior years just to graduate with my class and even then, on graduation night, I wasn’t sure there’d be a diploma waiting for me. I was always more interested in playing ball and chasing girls. I was more [...]

Understanding the Punitive White Male

As the chronology of California correctional policies shows, many of the punitive measures in sentencing, corrections, and risk management, emerged from voter initiatives. Whether or not the public is punitive, or is being pushed in that direction by politicians and the media, and what can be done to change public opinion, are complex and delicate [...]

Inland Valley Hispanic College Fund taking scholarship applications

The Hispanic College Fund has opened up its student applications for the 2010-11 scholarship season. More than $2 million will be awarded in scholarships to about 500 Latino students from the United States and Puerto Rico. Entries will be open until Feb. 16. This is the 17th year the Hispanic College Fund has supported Latino [...]

Big Bear: Community Needs Forum Set for Wednesday, December 2

The public has ideas, and the governments of the Valley are all ears. A community needs forum is set for Wednesday, Dec. 2, at 1:30 p.m. Members of all areas of Big Bear Valley are invited, along with merchants and service organization representatives. The audience is invited to share ideas on needs for public safety, [...]

Big Bear: Neil Derry Fired Don Allen

Don Allen wants to set the record straight. He did not resign his seat on the Big Bear Valley Recreation and Park District advisory commission five months ago. “I was removed,” said Allen, who represented the community of Moonridge on the board until June 30. Allen was serving as the commission president at the time [...]

South Africa busts Shin Bet operation, expels Israeli agent

The South African government has expelled an Israeli intelligence agent posing as an airline worker, after the discovery of a major Israeli undercover operation at the Oliver R. Tambo International Airport (OR Tambo International Airport) in Johannesburg. The operation was uncovered by Carte Blanche, South African television’s most respected investigative news program, based on testimony [...]

Former Wyoming Trooper Gets 15 Years For Kidnapping Scheme

A former Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper received a 15-year prison sentence for an elaborate scheme to kill a Wal-Mart truck driver and seek a settlement from the corporation, the Department of Justice announced. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson handed down the sentence to Franklin Joseph Ryle Jr., who stopped the truck on the evening [...]

DHS Announces “Global Entry” Biometric Identification System for U.S. Airports

Today, the Department of Homeland Security proposed to make permanent Global Entry, a program the agency says will “streamline the international arrivals and admission process at airports for trusted travelers through biometric identification.” Under the proposed system, pre-registered international travelers can bypass conventional security lines by scanning their passports and fingerprints at a kiosk, answering [...]

CIA’s Lost Magic Manual Resurfaces

At the height of the Cold War, the Central Intelligence Agency paid $3,000 to renowned magician John Mulholland to write a manual on misdirection, concealment, and stagecraft. All known copies of the document — and a related paper, on conveying hidden signals — were believed to be destroyed in 1973. But recently, the manuals resurfaced, [...]

Affidavit From Ex-Editor Miniter Details Inner Workings Of Washington Times

A wide-ranging affidavit by Washington Times editorial page editor Richard Miniter in the lawsuit he is filing against the Times provides a detailed picture of the inner workings of the newspaper that has been rocked in recent weeks by the canning of three executives and the resignation of its top editor. Budget meetings Miniter attended [...]

‘Counterinsurgency’ to Fight U.S. Crime? No, Thanks

After the sickening murder of a 9-year-old boy in Washington, our friend Spencer Ackerman made an impassioned plea: U.S. Central Command chief General David Petraeus for D.C. metro police chief. The idea of America’s leading counterinsurgent taking on one of its most crime-ridden towns definitely has a certain visceral appeal. But militarizing our approach to [...]

Czech government expresses regret for illegal sterilizations of Roma women

On Nov. 22, at the instigation of Czech Human Rights Minister Michael Kocáb, the government of the Czech Republic expressed regret over the illegal sterilizations of women that have been performed in the country. Speaking after a cabinet session, Kocáb said a set of measures are being designed to prevent similar cases from recurring with [...]

FBI Releases 2008 Hate Crime Statistics

“Statistics released today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation revealed that 7,783 criminal incidents involving 9,168 offenses were reported in 2008 as a result of bias toward a particular race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity/national origin, or disability. Published by the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Hate Crime Statistics, 2008, includes data about hate crime incidents [...]

Bahrain Commanding Officer Relieved

NAPLES, Italy – The commanding officer of Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain was relieved of command due to loss of confidence. Rear Adm. David J. Mercer, commander, Navy Region Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia, relieved the commanding officer of NSA Bahrain, Capt. John Schoeneck, due to a loss of confidence in Schoeneck’s ability to command. Capt. [...]

Fernando Bermudez exonerated–informant found to have lied

Cleared of murder charges after serving 18 years, Fernando Bermudez was freed on Friday. See NYT story here and my previous post. Four witnesses recanted their testimony, stating that they had been pressured by the government into identifying Mr. Bermudez as the shooter. The main witness, Efraim Lopez, testified falsely under a cooperation agreement guaranteeing [...]

Sailor charged in death of pregnant woman

PENSACOLA, Fla. — A military police officer has been charged in the death of a pregnant Florida Panhandle woman whose body washed ashore in a bag earlier this month. Master-at-Arms 3rd Class (SW) Zachary Littleton, 25, was arrested at Naval Air Station Pensacola on Monday. He is being held without bond on a homicide charge [...]

The War on Drugs: FAIL: An Interview With Clifford Thornton Jr.

Climate Scientists’ E-Mail Hacked

This archive presents over 120Mb of emails, documents, computer code and models from the Climatic Research Unit at the , written between 1996 and 2009. The CRU has told the BBC that the files were obtained by a computer hacker 3-4 days ago. This archive includes unreleased global temperature analysis computer source code that has [...]