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...
White House boosts support for Syrian opposition as Congress pushes for military intervention
March 29th, 20130 WASHINGTON — As the Syrian uprising enters its third year, the United States and its allies are preparing to materially increase their support of the armed opposition in Syria.Secretary of State John Kerry pledged an additional 60 million dollars in direct aid to the rebels, marking the first time Washington will directly supply rebel...
Obama’s retreat to Neocon strategies
March 29th, 20130 With Syria and Iran, President Barack Obama faces getting mired in two wars that could set the entire Middle East aflame, and perhaps the rest of the Islamic world, too.Such an outcome would be in part due to Mr. Obama’s Middle Eastern policy, and the willingness of the current U.S. Congress to support Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin......
Regional states, U.S. step up arms shipments to Syrian rebels
Mideast powers opposed to President Bashar Assad have dramatically stepped up weapons supplies to Syrian rebels in coordination with the U.S. in preparation for a push on the capital of Damascus, officials and Western military experts said Wednesday.Four sources, including an Arab official, a diplomat and a military expert, described a...Survey: U.S., UK citizens reject regime change or arms supply in Syria
Both U.S. and UK citizens are decisively against any military intervention in the Syrian conflict, and most do not want the government to provide military aid to rebels according to a new poll. Fifty-seven percent of British people and 45 percent of Americans are against supplying arms to the Syrian rebels, with just 16 percent in......
Obama’s one-sided embrace of Israel angers Palestinians
March 22nd, 20130 RAMALLAH- U.S. President Barack Obama insisted on Thursday a two-state solution was still viable, but disappointed his Palestinian hosts by failing to take a clear stance on freezing settlement activity.On the second day of a historic visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, Obama traveled to the West Bank's political capital to...U.S. looks to overhaul massive immigration detention system
WASHINGTON - Rights groups and government officials here have been testifying in a string of hearings, before both bodies of the U.S. Congress, on how to overhaul the United States’ huge immigration detention system, the scope of which has expanded massively in recent years in ways that some suggest impinge on civil and human...The undying shame of the Iraq war
Ten years ago, in March of 2003, Iraqis braced themselves for the anticipated “Shock and Awe” attacks that the U.S. was planning to launch against them. The media buildup for the attack assured Iraqis that barbarous assaults were looming.I was living in Baghdad at the time, along with other Voices in the Wilderness activists...Obama meets Arab American leaders before trip to Middle East
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Monday met Arab American leaders who urged him to deliver a message of hope to the Palestinian people on his Middle East trip this month, even though he has made clear he will not use the visit to launch a new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiative.Obama hosted about 10 leaders at the White House......
Obama reveals secrets of upcoming Middle East visit
March 15th, 20130 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama also met with members of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee, the Arab American Institute, the Arab Federation of Ramallah and the American Task Force for Palestine among others. He said that he will not push the Israelis and Palestinians toward new negotiations or a new peace initiative,...
Report: U.S. war in Iraq cost over $2 trillion
March 15th, 20130 Rhode Island - The U.S. war in Iraq has cost $1.7 trillion with an additional $490 billion in benefits owed to war veterans, expenses that could grow to more than $6 trillion over the next four decades counting interest, according to a study by the Costs of War Project by the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University......
UC San Diego student government passes divestment
San Diego — After a four year campaign, the University of California, San Diego's undergraduate student government has passed a resolution urging the university to cease its investments in companies that profit from the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories.The bill was cosponsored by multiple student government members and...
NYPD: Crime prevention or racial profiling?
March 15th, 20130 In 2011, students in the Muslim Students' Association (MSA) at Hunter College put up a sign in their club room, reading: "Please Refrain from Political Convos in the MSA". The sole justification provided? An arrow pointing to a recent news article detailing the NYPD's vast, secret surveillance program that spied on American......