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Acta goes too far, says MEP

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Charles Arthur - Feb. 01 - Kader Arif, the lead Acta negotiator in the European Parliament, says Acta potentially cuts access to lifesaving generic drugs and restricts online freedom The French MEP who resigned his position in charge of negotiating the international Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (Acta) has said it "goes too far" by potentially cutting access to lifesaving generic drugs and restricting internet freedom. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, Kader Arif – a member of the European Parliament's international trade group, who was the lead negotiator over Acta – said that despite talks over the agreement having begun in 2007, "the European Parliament, which represents the rights of the people, had no access to this mandate, neither had it information of the position defended by the commission or the demands of the other parties to the agreement". Arif resigned in protest on 26 January as the EU signed the treaty, saying that he wished to "denounce in the strongest manner the process that led ...

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The State of Obama’s Facts

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, D’Angelo Gore, Eugene Kiely, Robert Farley, Ben Finley, Lori Robertson - Jan. 25 (Fact Check) - The president’s State of the Union address got the facts right — mostly. Obama said “the Taliban’s momentum has been broken” in Afghanistan. But targeted assassinations continue, and at least one independent foreign policy expert says the enemy may just be waiting until the U.S. leaves. The president said a get-tough tariff on tire imports from China has saved more than 1,000 U.S. jobs. But tire industry officials say Chinese imports have simply been replaced by imports from other countries. He took credit for putting “more boots on the border than ever before.” That’s true, but the big increase was under George W. Bush. And a decrease in illegal border crossings is due mainly to the lack of jobs in the U.S., experts say. Often the president’s facts and figures were accurate — but not the whole story. It’s true (barely) that Bush issued more new regulations than Obama at the same point in their presidencies — but Obama didn’t mention that his cost more. The president pointed proudly to increased oil drilling, increased U.S. oil production, and declining dependence on imports. But understandably he passed over any mention of chronically high gasoline prices, which hit a record of sorts last year. And he boasted of recent increases in jobs — which still number nearly 1.7 million fewer than when he took office.

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Blaming U.S. and Israel, Iran Reports Killing of Nuclear Scientist

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Alan Cowell, Rick Gladstone - Jan. 11 (News Report) - A bomber on a motorcycle killed a scientist from Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment site and his bodyguard-driver on Wednesday during the morning commute in Tehran, Iranian media reported, in an assassination that could further elevate international tensions over the Iranian nuclear program and stoke the country’s growing anti-Western belligerence.

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What's Happening in the Persian Gulf Explained

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Mother Jones - By Adam Weinstein, Hamed Aleaziz - Jan. 03 (Special Report) - The basics: Iran and the United States appear to be heading for a showdown in the Persian Gulf. Amid already-high tensions over Iran's advancing nuclear program, the US has imposed harsh new economic sanctions on the regime in Tehran and begun to move se

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OpEdNews - Article: OWS is going to be what the people make it.

Mon, 02 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0800

Op Ed News - By Michael Cheverie Dewey - Jan. 02 (Opinion) - Some issues about State Banks helping fund States. State Public Options for Healthcare. And Foreign Policy changes needed to rebuild this Broken Promised Land.

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Slip-Sliding to War with Iran

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Consortium News - By Robert Parry - Dec. 29 (News Analysis) - With the typical backdrop of alarmist propaganda in place, the stage is now set for a new war, this time with Iran. The slightest miscalculation (or provocation) by the United States, Israel or Iran could touch off a violent scenario that will have devastating consequences.

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Under Obama, an emerging global apparatus for drone killing

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Greg Miller - Dec. 28 (Special Report) - The Obama administration’s counterterrorism accomplishments are most apparent in what it has been able to dismantle, including CIA prisons and entire tiers of al-Qaeda’s leadership. But what the administration has assembled, hidden from public view, may be equally consequential. In the space of three years, the administration has built an extensive apparatus for using drones to carry out targeted killings of suspected terrorists and stealth surveillance of other adversaries. The apparatus involves dozens of secret facilities, including two operational hubs on the East Coast, virtual Air Force cockpits in the Southwest and clandestine bases in at least six countries on two continents. ...

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Mano Singham's Web Journal: Book Review: With Liberty and Justice for Some by Glenn Greenwald

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

blog.case.edu - By Mano Singham - Dec. 25 (Review) - The subtitle of the book How the Law is Used to Destroy Equality and Protect the Powerful pretty much says it all. He points out that equality before the law is one of the bedrock principles upon which the US was built, and indeed is seen as the basis for any just society, but that ideal has been dramatically undermined in the last four decades

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Our leadership is dire, but we mustn't despise government | Jeffrey Sachs

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

The Guardian - By Jeffrey Sachs, The Guardian - Dec. 17 - Our leaderships, in thrall to big business, are failing in so many places all at the same time. But we can't give up on them The year 2011 will be remembered as the year of failed summits. Governments proved themselves time and again to be failures at addressing the growing crises engulfing the world, whether the eurozone debacle, climate change, or budget politics in the US and Europe. Next year is likely to be worse, as electoral politics will further impede decision-making in the US, France and several other countries. Why should governance be so poor in so many places at the same time? There are several factors at play. Globalisation has undermined the manufacturing base of most of the high-income economies, costing millions of jobs and leading to stagnant or falling living standards for a large part of the workforce, especially those with basic skills and modest education attainment. The US has lost around 8-9 million manufacturing jobs since the peak in that sector in 1979, just as ...

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U.N. Climate Talks End With Deal for New Emissions Treaty

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By John M. Broder - Dec. 11 (News Report) - More than 190 nations agreed to work toward a treaty that would require all countries to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming.

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Obama orders U.S. diplomats to increase efforts to fight LGBT discrimination abroad

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Washington Post - By Scott Wilson - Dec. 06 (News Report) - President Obama ordered U.S. diplomatic missions and federal agencies working abroad to strengthen efforts to fight international discrimination against gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender individuals, saying he is “deeply concerned by the violence” against them in many parts of the world.

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Fact check: GOP national security debate

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

FactCheck - By Brooks Jackson, Lori Robertson, Robert Farley - Nov. 23 (Fact Check) - The latest GOP debate was thin on memorable moments or major factual bloopers, but we do have some leftover claims to dispute before we shut down for the Thanksgiving holiday. We wouldn't want anybody's turkey dinner to be spoiled by worries that terrorists have come over the border with Mexico, for example. We also found misstatements about an oil pipeline, presidential contacts with Iran and cuts to the defense budget.

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Fact-checking the CNN-think tank debate

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

PolitiFact - By Bill Adair - Nov. 23 (Fact Check) - Eight Republican candidates will be debating on national security issues tonight at DAR Constitution Hall in Washington. The candidates are Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, Ron Paul, Jon Huntsman and Rick Santorum. We'll be watching the debate and updating this story with our fact-checks. >>More

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Op-Ed Columnist: The Technocratic Nightmare

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By David Brooks, New York Times - Nov. 18 (Opinion) - The European Union is an attempt to build an economic and legal superstructure without a linguistic, cultural, historic and civic base. No wonder it’s in crisis.

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South Sudan Accuses Sudan of Bombing Civilian Camp

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

New York Times - By Josh Kron - Nov. 10 (Breaking News) - The United States condemned the airstrike by Sudan and what it called other “negative developments” that increase the potential for hostilities between Sudan and South Sudan.

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Debate Preview: More Ahmadinejad's Missiles Than Cain's

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Esquire - By Charles P. Pierce - Nov. 09 (Opinion) - Tonight, in the 3245th of 9876 scheduled debates between the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, the topic is very likely to be OMG, SCARY IRANIAN NUKES! FECKLESS! NAIVE! HIDE UNDER THE BED!!! Of course, nobody in the field except Jon Huntsman, the Incredible Vanishing Mormon, has any serious experience at dealing with foreigners. Michele Bachmann has negotiated with nobody except the voices in her head for 10 years, and Rick Perry believes there are only two countries in the world — America-Fk-Yeah! and Meskinland. Newt Gingrich's most memorable overseas experience was bitching about his seat on Air Force One, and all Ron Paul knows about people in other lands is that we shouldn't give them any money. (He feels much the same about other Americans, too, so that's a wash, I suppose.) Mitt Romney's experience in foreign affairs is limited to bobsledders, and Herman Cain's experience in foreign affairs is — please, god in Heaven, let this be so — merely limited.

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U.S. Pulls All Funding for UNESCO After Sweeping Vote to Support Palestinian Membership

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Nov. 01 (Interview) - In an emotional—and largely symbolic—move, the United Nations cultural organization known as UNESCO overwhelmingly voted to grant membership to the Palestinians, despite opposition from the United States and Israel. Now the United States says it will cancel a $60 million payment due in November to the U.N. body. Membership dues paid by the U.S. account for about a fifth of UNESCO's annual budget. The U.S. is also threatening to veto any Palestinian effort to be recognized by the U.N. Security Council as an independent state. "By going to UNESCO, this was a way both of gauging where the public opinion is among the various governments and, more importantly, symbolically for the world, showing that this is a moment of recognition that the 20-year-old U.S.-controlled so-called 'peace process' simply hasn't worked," said Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies. [includes rush transcript]

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As NATO Ends Libyan Bombing Campaign, Is the U.S. Seeking Greater Military Control of Africa?

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Nov. 01 (News Analysis) - While NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen hailed the campaign as a success, many analysts say NATO’s intensive bombing campaign violated its U.N. mandate. "The role that NATO played in Libya has been a very, very problematic one, a very troubled one, and ultimately is going to have a very long-term, deleterious impact on Libya’s future," says Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies. "The notion that the NATO bombings somehow was to do nothing but protect civilians is simply not the case."

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Petraeus’s CIA Fuels Iran Murder Plot

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Consortium News - By Ray McGovern - Oct. 13 (News Analysis) - Before Ignatius’s article, I had seen no one allude to the fact that much about this crime-stopper tale had come from the CIA. In public, the FBI had taken the lead role, presumably because the key informant inside a Mexican drug cartel worked for U.S. law enforcement via the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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In GOP campaign, foreign policy becomes economic

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Associated Press - By Bradley Klapper - Oct. 05 (Opinion) - From the rise of China to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the revolutions of the Arab Spring to foreign aid for Pakistan, the Republican Party's presidential hopefuls are framing their foreign policy positions against the backdrop of America's crippling debt and high unemployment.

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Russia and China veto proposed UN resolution on Syria

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

OpenGlobe - By C628, OpenGlobe contributors - Oct. 05 (News Report) - Russia and China vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning the Syrian government's crackdown on protestors late on Tuesday, leading Western supporters of the bill to voice their anger at the decision. The proposed resolution would have condemned the Syrian government over its crackdown on protesters, as well as referring to the possibility of "targeted measures" against Syria. The text had been rewritted three times by drafters France, the United Kingdom, Germany and Portugal in response to Russian and Chinese objections over teh use of the word "sanctions" in earlier versions, leading to the introduction of the "targeted measures" language.

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Awlaki death rekindles legal debate on targeting Americans

Sat, 01 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles Times - Oct. 01 (News Analysis) - The slaying of two Americans renews questions about whether killing U.S. citizens is legal under rules of war or constitutes an extrajudicial execution in violation of U.S. and international law. The killing of two Americans by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen has reignited a debate about whether targeting U.S. citizens — even terrorists — is legal under the rules of war or constitutes an extrajudicial execution that ignores their rights.

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Mitt Romney repeats claim that Obama went around the world apologizing for the United States

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Angie Drobnic Holan - Sep. 29 (Fact Check) - In a debate in Orlando on Sept. 22, 2011, Mitt Romney charged that President Obama has gone around the world apologizing for America. President Obama "went around the world and apologized for America," Romney said, in response to a question about Israel and the Middle East. Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, has made this charge several times. The first time we checked it was when he made the charge is his own book, No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.

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Candidates in Debate Trip Over Foreign Policy

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

New York Times - By Mark Landler, Trip Gabriel - Sep. 23 (Fact Check) - During Thursday night’s Republican debate, Mitt Romney repeated the familiar Republican charge that President Obama has apologized for the United States around the world. It is true that early in his term, Mr. Obama promised to abandon policies of his predecessor, George W. Bush, on issues like the military prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and a foreign policy in Iraq and elsewhere that Mr. Obama described as unilateral.

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Transcript – Fox News-Google GOP Presidential debate

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Fox News - By Bret Baier - Sep. 22 (Speech) - This is a rush transcript from the Fox News-Google GOP Presidential debate on September 22, 2011 at the Orlando Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

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