Tax chief forced out in IRS scandal
WASHINGTON — Washington's top tax official was fired on Wednesday, as President Barack Obama sought to stem a rising tide of criticism over the Internal Revenue Service's improper targeting of conservative groups for special scrutiny.With three congressional probes of the IRS looming and Republicans' calls for firings at the agency...Obama shies from Iran nuke deal
To maintain the illusion of some prospect for progress in nuclear diplomacy with Tehran, European Union Foreign Policy chief Catherine Ashton will meet with Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, in Istanbul next week. Purportedly, Ashton will see if the P5+1 dialogue with Iran can be put back on track after yet another round...Immigration bill passes first early test in Senate
In the first legislative test for the U.S. Senate's bipartisan immigration bill, the Judiciary Committee rejected a Republican attempt to significantly delay the legalization process for 11 million undocumented immigrants, a central focus of the bill.Only the two Republican co-authors of the bill, Senators Jeff Flake of Arizona and...
Stephen Hawking joins academic boycott of Israel
May 10th, 20130 In a show of solidarity with the academic boycott of Israel, Professor Stephen Hawking has pulled out of a conference hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem. His decision is in protest to Israel's treatment of Palestinians.Hawking, 71, the world-renowned theoretical physicist and former Lucasian Professor of...The government is “us?” Not last time I checked
In a speech last month about proposed gun control legislation, President Obama decried opponents’ attempts to encourage “suspicion about government.” “The government’s us,” he responded. “These officials are elected by you. They are constrained as I am constrained, by a system that our founders put in place.”But if...Obama to support Internet wiretapping program
The FBI has been considering solutions to their so-called “Going Dark” problem as intricate methods of encryption and advances in technology have made it increasingly difficult for the federal government and law enforcement to gain access to online communications conducted in the shadows of the Web. Should the latest efforts of the...10 facts you need to know about immigrant women
Immigrant women are at the forefront of advocacy to fix our nation’s broken immigration system, and they also play an important role in our society and economy. All too often, however, media portrayals of immigrants feature a single Hispanic male without status. In reality, immigrant women in the United States—both documented and...Double trouble: Democrats, Republicans failing Americans
The Republican Party is in trouble, and it knows it. But it does not have a clue what to do. The Democratic Party is in trouble, too. But its troubles run much deeper: It does not even recognize that it has a problem, as it stands on the brink of making that problem substantially worse. Just after the circus known as CPAC came...Poll: Americans more concerned about civil liberties in wake of Boston bombing
Two weeks after the Boston Marathon terror attacks, the American people are far more concerned about new government limits on civil liberties than the need for new law enforcement measures to prevent future attacks, according to a new TIME/CNN/ORC poll released Wednesday.When given a choice, 61 percent of Americans say they are more...Lockdown, USA: The Boston Marathon over-reaction
The bomb attack on innocent civilians and subsequent shooting of two law enforcement officials was a reprehensible act of terrorism, but the saturation media coverage and resulting societal frenzy is unwarranted and actually harmful. Apparently, the lone surviving terrorist, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, told the FBI, before receiving notice of his...Polls: Americans opposed to U.S. intervention in Syria
WASHINGTON - Most Americans do not want the United States to intervene in Syria's civil war even if the government there uses chemical weapons, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed on Wednesday, in a clear message to the White House as it considers how to respond to the worsening crisis.Only 10 percent of those surveyed in the online poll said...Bush’s bloody legacy in Iraq
The most prominent civil wars in recent years have not started with a clear, firing-on-Fort-Sumter beginning. Instead they have been slid into as protests grow, confrontations between the regime and an opposition become more physical, and the government’s use of lethal force is increasingly matched by oppositionists firing back. This...Number of hunger strikers in Guantanamo at 92
A U.S. military spokesman said the number of prisoners on hunger strike at Guantanamo Bay has been raised to 92, based on evaluations by medical personnel at the American base in Cuba.The new figure is up by eight prisoners from a day earlier and represents more than half of the 166 men held there.16 of the hunger strikers are on feeding...Ex-Bin Laden secretary gets life for 1998 embassy bombings
A former personal secretary to Osama bin Laden was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday, for the second time, for participating in a conspiracy to kill Americans that included the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. Wadih el-Hage, a Lebanese-born U.S. citizen and former al-Qaeda member, was one of four people convicted...America’s real sources of insecurity
Americans may assume that public insecurity is a condition you find under dictatorships, where the agents of the state can burst through your door and cart you away without a warrant. That can now happen in the USA too, but only to those the government calls “terrorists.”Perhaps naively, ordinary folks see themselves as immune from......
FBI releases photos of two suspects in Boston bombings
April 19th, 20130 BOSTON— The FBI announced Thursday it had identified two men as “persons of interest” in the Boston Marathon bombing case and asked that anyone with information about the men or may have seen them in the vicinity of the marathon finish line on Monday to step forward with information as soon as possible. At a news conference here,...
U.S. immigration reforms prioritize labor over families
April 19th, 20130 WASHINGTON - A long-awaited legislative proposal to reform the United States’ immigration system is sparking frustration on both the left and right here, but is widely being seen as a centrist compromise bill that will now energize all sides as debate in Congress begins Friday.The massive overhaul plan, released Wednesday by a......
U.S. House of Representatives passes controversial cybersecurity bill
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the controversial Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protect Act (CISPA).Lawmakers in the House voted 288-to-127 Thursday afternoon to accept the bill. Next it will move to the Senate and could then end up on the desk of U.S. President Barack Obama for him to potentially sign...
UC-Berkeley passes Israeli divestment bill
April 19th, 20130 BERKELEY, CA - This week, the ASUC of the University of California-Berkeley voted to pass divestment against companies affiliated with Israel in an emotional 11-9 vote. The move came after a heated debate that began on Wednesday evening and carried on for close to 10 hours into Thursday morning. The Anna Head Alumnae Hall had...Obama to host Middle East leaders for talks on Syria; G8 fails to reach agreement
LONDON - Foreign ministers from the G8 group of rich countries failed to patch up deep divisions over Syria on Thursday according to a report from Reuters. British Foreign Secretary William Hague, speaking after talks with his counterparts, admitted the world had done too little to try to resolve Syria's two-year-old conflict, in...Obama requests modest bump in foreign aid
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama Wednesday asked Congress to approve some 52 billion dollars in foreign aid and international spending in 2014, slightly higher than the current year’s budget which was cut due to the partisan impasse over how to reduce the yawning federal deficit.Among other provisions, the new proposal calls......
Brain waves may replace computer passwords
BERKELEY, Calif. (UPI) — Computer passwords may soon be a thing of the past, replaced by "passthoughts" that users only have to think to have applied, U.S. researchers say.Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, say they're studying the feasibility of brainwave-based computer authentication as a substitute for...Al-Jazeera bets on CNN’s Ali Velshi for launch in U.S. market, opens bureau in Detroit
WASHINGTON — Al-Jazeera America said Friday it has hired CNN business correspondent Ali Velshi, as the broadcaster gears up for its launch in the US market later this year."We are thrilled to secure Ali's extraordinary talents and services," said Ehab Al Shihabi, executive director of Al-Jazeera international operations."Al-Jazeera......
Report: Iraq, Afghanistan wars will cost U.S. 4-6 trillion dollars
WASHINGTON (IPS) — Costs to U.S. taxpayers of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will run between four and six trillion dollars, making them the most expensive conflicts in U.S. history, according to a new report by a prominent Harvard University researcher.While Washington has already spent close to two trillion dollars in direct...U.S. President visit reassuring for Israel, concerning for Palestine
JERUSALEM — On his visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories, U.S. President Barack Obama laid out his vision for a revival of the long-stalled peace talks. Yet, it was clear from his statements that a settlement freeze is no longer an immediate requirement. And, he carefully avoided mentioning the pre-1967 lines as the basis for......
