Japanese politician calls wartime sex slaves 'necessary'
posted 05/14/2013, 9:17 PM (CNN) [Category: Geopolitics] Japanese officials have distanced themselves from comments made by a prominent nationalist politician that suggested women forced to become prostitutes to entertain Japanese troops during World War II were "necessary."
Toru Hashimoto, who serves as the Mayor of Osaka, told reporters at his weekly press conference Monday that "anyone would understand" the role of "comfort women" when soldiers were risking their lives and you wanted to give them "a rest."... (more)
When you're serving the state, all crimes are excusable.
Wednesday May 1st, 2013
Mexico to Rein In US Agencies in Drug War
posted 05/01/2013, 12:19 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] In a sharp break with the policies of his predecessor, recently installed Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto is moving to restrict the open relationships US law enforcement, intelligence, and security agencies have developed with their Mexican counterparts as the two countries attempt to repress violent and powerful Mexican drug trafficking organizations, the so-called cartels.
The move was hinted at broadly in the Washington Post Sunday and confirmed by the Associated Pres... (more)
Sunday April 28th, 2013
Political Assassination Prevented In Rome As Unemployed Man Tries To "Shoot Politicians"
posted 04/28/2013, 10:34 PM (Zero Hedge) [Category: Geopolitics] While suicides out of desperation had long been a tragic, if recurring, staple in depressionary Europe, so far popular anger had been directed at within, with few if any murderous outbursts targeted at other people, and certainly not at politicians (or financiers). This obviously has been a critical aspect of the current economic collapse in Europe - one needs but recall that it was a political assassination that sparked World War I in Sarajevo, and indirectly, via the Weimar collapse of Germany... (more)
Wednesday March 6th, 2013
Hugo Chavez, Fiery Venezuelan Leader, Dies At 58
posted 03/06/2013, 1:58 AM (Associated Press) [Category: Geopolitics] CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) -- President Hugo Chavez was a former paratroop commander and self-styled "subversive" who waged continual battle for his socialist ideals. He bedeviled the United States and outsmarted his rivals time and again, while using Venezuela's vast oil wealth to his political advantage.... (more)
Chavez was a good example of the tyranny of good intentions, I think he actually did want to help people, yet he did it through stealing stuff and "nationalizing" industries (stealing more stuff), the country was ruined under his rulership with 30% inflation year over year, food prices skyrocketing and going to rot en masse in government warehouses. Contrast his good intentions with the evil intentions of Chile's Pinochet, the murderous dictator who embraced semi-free markets in order to enrich himself and get more tax revenue, the country is doing great, relatively speaking, despite his intentions being evil. - Chris
5 Best Countries to Move to Before Collapse of the West
posted 03/06/2013, 1:58 AM (Activist Post) [Category: Geopolitics] That which mathematically cannot continue will not continue. Western countries, led by the United States and Europe, are in deep economic trouble. Massive debt levels are strangling their economies, and once great nations like Greece and Spain have been reduced to third-world status with staggering unemployment levels and almost daily violent riots.
Those that say it can't happen in the US are dead wrong. The value of the dollar has been slowly eroded over a century, but now that ... (more)
Wednesday February 20th, 2013
Pirate Party Threatened With Lawsuit for Hosting The Pirate Bay
posted 02/20/2013, 4:23 PM (TorrentFreak ) [Category: Geopolitics] For several years the Swedish Pirate Party has provided hosting services to The Pirate Bay. One of the main reasons for the BitTorrent site to team up with the political party was because it wouldn’t easily cave in to pressure from the entertainment industry. This promise will now be put to the test as the Swedish copyright watchdog “Rights Alliance” threatens to sue the Pirate Party next week if they refuse to pull the plug on TPB.... (more)
In September, debutante parties representing both will face off at the Aussie ballot box.
In the purple corner, the Rick Falkvinge inspired Pirate Party. In the black corner, the newly formed Wikileaks Party with Julian Assange himself running as candidate-in-chief fo... (more)
Wednesday February 13th, 2013
Iran Drug Execution Frenzy Continues This Year
posted 02/13/2013, 1:59 PM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Last Wednesday, three men convicted of drug related charges were hanged in the prison in the Iranian city of Isfahan, state media reported. The prisoners died unnamed; only the charges and the fact of their execution were mentioned.... (more)
Thursday February 7th, 2013
Iraq Takes Steps Toward Revoking Cybercrime Act
posted 02/07/2013, 5:51 AM (EFF.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Following the events of the 'Arab Spring,' numerous countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa have begun assessing—or reassessing—their regulation of the Internet. Last April, we criticized Iraq's attempt at legislation: a heavy-handed bill that, if passed, would impose life imprisonment for vaguely-worded "crimes" such as promoting "ideas which are disruptive to public order" and lesser sentences for a range of other offenses.... (more)
Sounds like the USA turned them into a thriving free democracy!
U.S. to recognize Somali government, opening door to new aid
posted 01/17/2013, 1:55 PM (Reuters) [Category: Geopolitics] WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States will on Thursday officially recognize the Somali government in Mogadishu, ending a hiatus of more than 20 years and opening the door to increased U.S. and international economic help for the violence-plagued African nation, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.... (more)
God forbid a people be allowed to govern themselves!
Monday January 14th, 2013
Armed Vigilante Groups Policing 2 Mexican Towns
posted 01/14/2013, 10:36 AM (Associated Press) [Category: Geopolitics] ACAPULCO, Mexico (AP) -- Several hundred civilians have taken up arms in two towns in a southwestern Mexico state and are arresting people suspected of crimes and imposing a curfew, leading authorities to promise to reinforce security forces in the area.... (more)
Wednesday January 9th, 2013
Singapore Death Row Drug Defendants Can Now Seek Review
posted 01/09/2013, 6:12 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Drug traffickers and other death row inmates in Singapore can now seek review of their death sentences after changes to the island city-state's mandatory death sentence went into effect with the new year, the anti-death penalty group Hands Off Cain reported. Some 32 people whose appeals had already ended sit on death row there; it is unclear how many are drug traffickers.
Don't Like The Government? Make Your Own, On International Waters
posted 12/19/2012, 12:40 PM (NPR) [Category: Geopolitics] Almost all of us have complaints about the government, which probably range from high taxes to too much bureaucracy. Periodically, we get to take our frustrations out at the voting booth. But no matter how unhappy you may be, you probably never thought, "I'm going get out of here and go start my own country."... (more)
Pirate Bay Founder Released From Solitary Confinement
posted 12/10/2012, 5:05 AM (TorrentFreak) [Category: Geopolitics] After three months in solitary confinement Pirate Bay co-founder Gottfrid Svartholm will be released from custody. The prosecutor suspects Gottfrid of being involved in several hacking and fraud cases but he has yet to be charged in any of these cases. The Pirate Bay founder will now be transferred to a new prison which he will leave as a free man in five months if no new charges are brought against him.... (more)
About an hour ago John McAfee was picked up by the Guatemala special police task force for questioning about his illegal entry into the country. His lawyer, Mr. Guerra, accompanied him to Emigrason Albergue in Guatemala City and he is attempting to get John out before his press conference tomorrow. Updates to come.
Born in a prison camp, Shin Dong-hyuk describes how three generations of a family are incarcerated if one family member is considered disloyal. Anderson Cooper reports.
Alex talks with tech industry wizard John McAfee who stands accused of killing his neighbor in Belize.
AP believes it found evidence of Iran's work on nuclear weapons
posted 11/29/2012, 12:41 AM (Glenn Greenwald) [Category: Geopolitics] Uncritical, fear-mongering media propaganda is far too common to take note of each time it appears, but sometimes, what is produced is so ludicrous that its illustrative value should not be ignored. Such is the case with a highly trumpeted Associated Press "exclusive" from Tuesday which claims in its red headline to have discovered evidence of "Iran Working on Bomb".... (more)
Tuesday November 27th, 2012
Uruguayan Deputies Say Legalize All Drugs
posted 11/27/2012, 2:00 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Even as Uruguay considers a groundbreaking proposal from President Jose Mujica to legalize state-regulated marijuana cultivation and sales, parliamentarians from most of the leading political factions in the country are calling on the government to go even further and legalize all drugs in a bid to blunt the power of and threat from illicit drug traffickers.
The comments came in interviews solicited by and published in the Uruguayan news weekly Busqueda and appeared in its N... (more)
Dutch Plan to Ban Potent Marijuana From Cannabis Cafes
posted 11/27/2012, 2:00 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Dutch Justice Minister Ivo Opstelten told parliament last week that the government intends to classify marijuana with a THC content of 15% or more as a Class A drug like heroin and cocaine and bar it from being sold in the country's famous cannabis coffee shops. Opstelten did not say when the new policy would go into effect, although he did say it would happen "q... (more)
GAZA CITY -- An Israeli airstrike here on Sunday killed 10 members of one family, mostly women and children, marking the deadliest single attack and worst civilian tragedy since the current fighting in the Gaza Strip began last week.
"This is a massacre,'' shouted Nasser Dalu, a cousin and neighbor as he watched in anguish as his relatives were pulled from debris. "What did these childre... (more)
They are expensive, lethal, and precise in their killing; at least they are designed to be. A creation of the nation's intelligence apparatus, they act as the new soldiers abroad, innately non-emotive machines asked to perform the previous duties of an army combatant more efficiently and free of the inhibitive emotional affects on human cognizance. They kill their enemies but also can miss their targets and a study released last month shows that they miss a lot.... (more)
Honduras: Free Cities Ruled Unconstitutional
posted 10/24/2012, 12:41 PM (UpsideDownWorld) [Category: Geopolitics] The Supreme Court of Honduras ruled today that the Honduras legislation establishing charter or model cities was unconstitutional. A ruling two weeks ago from the constitutional branch of the court established by a 4-1 vote that the law was unconstitutional. Because that decision was not unanimous, the entire Supreme Court had to consider and vote on the issue.... (more)
Monday October 15th, 2012
Amnesty Raps Mexico on Human Rights Abuses in Drug War
posted 10/15/2012, 2:01 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Mexico must take decisive action to rein in systematic and widespread use of torture, ill-treatment, and other human rights abuses, which have increased dramatically since outgoing President Felipe Calderon unleashed the military to fight the country's so-called cartels nearly six years ago, Amnesty International said in a report released Thursday.
The report, Known Abusers, But Victims Ignored: Torture and Ill-Treatment in Mexico, documents the increase of cases of torture an... (more)
Iranians Offer 9-Step Plan to End Nuclear Crisis
posted 10/15/2012, 1:59 AM (New York Times) [Category: Geopolitics] WASHINGTON — With harsh economic sanctions contributing to the first major protests in Iran in three years, Iranian officials have begun to describe what they call a “nine-step plan” to defuse the nuclear crisis with the West by gradually suspending the production of the uranium that would be easiest for them to convert into a nuclear weapon.... (more)
'It Is Our Soul': The Destruction of Aleppo, Syria's Oldest City
posted 10/05/2012, 8:58 PM (The Atlantic) [Category: Geopolitics] Warfare and chaos have come to the ancient streets of Aleppo, Syria's largest city. Rebel groups battling Syrian government forces moved into the metropolis in recent weeks. Fierce street battles and air attacks followed, leaving behind a shattered city, strewn with charred rubble and bodies in many places.... (more)
Justice Department Educates Foreign Judges on Piracy Issues
posted 10/05/2012, 8:57 PM (TorrentFreak) [Category: Geopolitics] The U.S. Department of Justice is ramping up its battle against online piracy. Yesterday another $2.4 million was dedicated to the ever-increasing threat, and Attorney General Eric Holder seized the opportunity to gloat about some recent anti-piracy successes. Besides claiming the Megaupload takedown as a clear victory, Holder also noted that the DoJ has trained, educated and met with thousands of foreign judges, prosecutors, investigators, and policymakers on piracy issues.... (more)
Since 2004, up to 884 innocent civilians, including at least 176 children, have died from US drone strikes in the North Waziristan region of Pakistan.
A new report from the Stanford and New York University law schools finds drone use has caused widespread post-tramatic stress disorder and an overall breakdown of functional society in North Waziristan. In addition, the report finds the u... (more)
New Zealand Prime Minister Apologizes To Kim Dotcom
posted 09/27/2012, 8:36 AM (TorrentFreak) [Category: Geopolitics] New Zealand Prime Minister John Key has apologized to Kim Dotcom after a report from the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security found that the government illegally monitored the Megaupload founder. The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) carried out surveillance on Dotcom, but did not check out his residency status, instead relying on incorrect information supplied by the police.... (more)
"If a group comes and occupies the United States of America, destroys homes while women and children are in those homes, incarcerate the youth of America, impose five different wars on many neighbors, and always threaten others, what would you do? What would you say? Would you help it? ... Or would you help the people of the United States?"... (more)
First Elected Pirate Party Mayor to Rule Swiss Town
posted 09/25/2012, 5:22 AM (TorrentFreak) [Category: Geopolitics] The Pirate Party movement reached a new milestone yesterday with the world’s first elected Pirate Mayor being voted into office in the Swiss town of Eichberg. With an overwhelming 63 percent of the total vote, Alex Arnold defeated two candidates from the political establishment. The 31-year old software programmer is eager to steer the small Swiss town towards a prosperous future.... (more)
[...]Trejo had also helped prepare motions declaring unconstitutional a proposal to build three privately run cities with their own police, laws and tax systems.... (more)
Friday September 21st, 2012
Swiss Move to Decriminalize Marijuana Possession
posted 09/21/2012, 3:57 AM (StoptheDrugWar.org) [Category: Geopolitics] Switzerland is on the verge of decriminalizing the possession of up to 10 grams of marijuana after the lower house of parliament Thursday agreed to align itself with the Senate's version of the legislation, according to the Swiss news portal Swissinfo.ch. A final reading of the bill is expected to happen before the end of the fall session next week.
The Project for the New American Century (PNAC), unleashed in June 1997, has largely disappeared from the political radar, yet the mire, murder and general mayhem the US, UK and dwindling “boots on the ground” allies find themselves in, are s... (more)
Sweden Failed To License Photographs On New Currency
posted 09/21/2012, 3:52 AM (Techdirt) [Category: Geopolitics] Ah, copyright. Back in April, the Swedish central bank announced and showed off its new banknotes, including portraits of "important Swedish personalities." There's just one problem: it failed to license the images before announcing the notes. ... (more)
"I hereby designate Bolivia, Burma, and Venezuela ... (more)
Friday September 14th, 2012
Obama Sends More Drones, Marines to Libya, But Did They Ever Leave?
posted 09/14/2012, 12:48 AM (Antiwar.com) [Category: Geopolitics] The Obama administration has ordered military reinforcements to Libya following the attack on the US consulate building this week, but the truth is drones had never left Libya’s skies and US Marines have been carrying out missions on the ground since the end of NATO’s war there last year.
The US suspects al-Qaeda affiliates were involved in starting the attack on the US consulate in Libya, which killed the American ambassador and three others, and has not only started an FBI inves... (more)
United States transfers Bagram prison to Afghan control
posted 09/11/2012, 2:49 AM (Reuters) [Category: Geopolitics] KABUL (Reuters) - The United States handed control of the controversial giant Bagram prison and its 3,000 suspected Taliban inmates to Afghan authorities on Monday, amid concerns by activists over rights abuses and U.S. questions about Kabul's ability to keep key detainees behind bars.... (more)
Tutu, the retired Anglican Church's archbishop of South Africa, wrote in an op-ed piece for The Observer newspaper that the ex-leaders of Britain and the United States should be made to "answer for their actions."
The Iraq war "has destabilized and polarized th... (more)
The Century of the Self: The Untold History of Controlling the Masses Through the Manipulation of Unconscious Desires
Operation Gladio: The Hidden History of U.S. Sponsored False Flag Terrorism in Europe
The New American Century: The Untold History of The Project for the New American Century
AFP - US pop legend Tina Turner, who has been living in Switzerland since 1995, will soon receive Swiss citizenship and will give up her US passport, Swiss media reported Friday.
The parliament of Singapore has approved legislation abolishing mandatory death sentences in some drug trafficking cases. The action came last Wednesday, according to a 
Last Thursday, the White House released its 
LONDON (AP) — Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Desmond Tutu called Sunday for Tony Blair and George Bush to face prosecution at the International Criminal Court for their role in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Cop Who Karate Chopped NY Judge In Throat Gets Off Scot-Free
Florida Cop Smashes Compliant Woman's Face Into Car -- "Maybe Now You Can Understand Simple Instructions"
VIDEO: Lapel Cam Reveals A Day In The Life Of A U.S. Police Officer (Tasing, Beating, Breaking & Entering, Stomping On Heads... and Laughing About It)
Caught On Tape: Officer Sucker Punches Inmate In Face, Files Report Claiming 'Self Defense'
Insult Person On Twitter, Go To Jail
SWAT Team Brings TV Crew To Film Raid Against Threatening Internet Critic -- Raids Innocent Grandma Instead
Cop Karate Chops NY Judge In The Throat
When the Right to Resist Becomes the "Duty to Submit"
The Missing Lesson From Norway: Never Trust a Man in Uniform
"They're Only Out To Make Cold Hard American Cash"; Park Police Crack Down on Bicycle Cabs in DC