Meet Jeh Johnson: Drone Lawyer and Obama's Homeland Security Nominee
Johnson also suggested that U.S. citizens could be targeted in strikes in a February 2012 speech at Yale Law School. "Belligerents who also happen to be U.S. citizens do not enjoy immunity where noncitizen belligerents are valid military objectives," Johnson said. In the same speech, Johnson pushed the Obama administration's legal rationale for the targeted-killing program...
No Country in World Even Comes Close to the United States in This Key Category
The United States, thanks to the free-market capitalist system, creates more wealthy people than the rest of the world — by a long shot.
Newly discovered fault line may have been source of M 7.2 Bohol earthquake
State seismologists said the earthquake's was the equivalent of 32 Hiroshima atom bombs. By October 16, 2013, 885 earthquakes have been recorded by the PHIVOLCS seismic monitoring network. At least 15 events were reportedly felt in the epicentral area. The main shock and succeeding aftershocks were located in the vicinity of Bohol. These recorded events were shallow, with a depth of at most 32 kilometers. Based on spatial distribution of succeeding events and characteristics of the earthquake, the event is tectonic in origin.
Creationists Dealt Major Blow in Battle Over Evolutionary Content in Texas Biology Textbooks
The battle over evolution and creationism in public schools forges on. And in Texas, where some social conservatives have advocated for a more balanced approach to the study of life’s origins, it seems creationists may be in for major disappointment. ...Publishers recently released proposed amendments to the books, though, and they reportedly included none of the creationist content that some have so fervently sought...
Jets bomb eastern Syrian city after intelligence general killed
Syrian air force jets bombarded the eastern city of Deir al-Zor on Friday after heavy overnight clashes and the killing of one of President Bashar al-Assad's top military intelligence officers, activists said.
New EU rules to curb transfer of data to US after Edward Snowden revelations
Regulations on European data protection standards are expected to pass the European parliament committee stage on Monday after the various political groupings agreed on a new compromise draft following two years of gridlock on the issue.
US debt: Barack Obama says shutdown has damaged America's credibility
Speaking for the first time since the shutdown was ended, President Obama says the debt crisis has dented the US's reputation and called for a change to the way Washington does business. President Barack Obama launched a ferocious political attack on hardline Tea Party Republicans yesterday, accusing them of betraying the ideals of America by forcing a 16-day government shutdown that cost the economy at least $24 billion...
Minor Earthquake Felt Near Kinneret
An earthquake was felt in northern Israel Thursday night. The epicenter of the quake was in the Kinneret. The quake reached 3.5 on the Richter scale, and was felt in communities surrounding the lake. No injuries or damage were reported. Just five days ago, an earthquake was felt in southern and central Israel. The quake was measured at 6.4 on the Richter scale, and had its epicenter beneath the Mediterranean about 40 kilometers under the sea bed,
Abbas Calls for Peace, and Praises Terror – on the Same Day
On the day Palestinian Authority chief Mahmoud Abbas spoke at the UN of finalizing an agreement with Israel, essentially recognizing Israel's existence, a speech he had written for an event in the Palestinian Authority (PA) lavishly praised a PA terrorist whose actions murdered and injured dozens of Israelis. The paradox was uncovered by the Palestinian Media Watch group, which compared the speech Abbas made at the UN on September 27, to remarks he prepared for an event on the same day that celebrated the life of Ahmad Abu-Sukar, a notorious terrorist best known for his 1975 “refrigerator bomb” attack that killed 15 and injured 77.
Australia fires: Wildfires burning near Sydney destroy scores of homes, killing one
Soaring heat combined with gusts of 90 km/h to fan flames that raged across more than 91,000 hectares of the state, with thousands evacuated and hundreds of homes feared destroyed. Near 20 fires continue to burn out of control, turning the skies an ashen brown. ...Authorities are assessing the damage from more than a hundred wildfires burning across Australia's most populous state...
King Mohammed VI Of Morocco Builds New Financial City For The World
Mohammed VI, King of Morocco, has nursed one persistent ambition: to transform Casablanca, the Kingdom’s largest city and economic center, into Africa’s leading financial hub. The Casablanca Finance City (CFC) is a custom-made village being developed for large national and international foreign institutions looking to operate in the region and gain access to French-speaking African markets.
ISRAELI STRIKE COMING?
Talks in Geneva on Iran’s nuclear program are triggering fears within U.S. intelligence agencies that Israel is hardening its stance on Iran and could conduct a military attack... The clearest indicator of growing Israeli concerns, according to defense officials, is the recent large-scale Israeli air force drill Tuesday in the northern part of the country.
What's erupting? List & map of currently active volcanoes
Volcanoes Today, 18 Oct 2013: Klyuchevskoy, Shiveluch, Santa María / Santiaguito, Pacaya, Fuego, Popocatépetl, Dukono, Veniaminof
Blow to multiple human species idea
The idea that there were several different human species walking the Earth two million years ago has been dealt a blow. Instead, scientists say early human fossils found in Africa and Eurasia may have been part of the same species. Writing in the journal Science, the team says that Homo habilis, Homo rudolfensis and Homo erectus are all part of a single evolving lineage that led to modern humans.
Syrian intelligence chief killed in Deir al-Zour
A senior Military Intelligence officer has been killed in eastern Syria, state media and activists say. State television reported on Thursday that Gen Jamaa Jamaa had died while "carrying out his national duties" and "pursuing terrorists" in Deir al-Zour. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said he was shot by a sniper during clashes between government and rebel forces in the city's Rashdiya district.
'Breakthrough' on EU data protection bill
After 18 months of intense negotiations, MEPs spearheading the European Data Protection regulation have reached a compromise. The heavily lobbied draft bill, which included a record-breaking 4,000 amendments, is now set for a committee orientation vote in the next plenary session in Strasbourg.
Saudi Arabia refuses UN Security Council seat, citing body's double standards, failures
Saudi Arabia, in an unprecedented show of anger at the failure of the international community to end the war in Syria and act on other Middle East issues, said on Friday it would not take up its seat on the United Nations Security Council. The kingdom condemned what it called international double standards on the Middle East and demanded reforms in the Security Council.
Crazed House ranter: ‘God made me do it’
The court scribe who went on a crazed rant about the Constitution, religion and Freemasons after Wednesday’s vote to reopen the government said God spent the shutdown urging her to speak her mind. “For the past 2 and ½ weeks, the Holy Spirit has been waking me up in the middle of the night and preparing me (through my reluctance and doubt) to deliver a message in the House Chamber,” stenographer Dianne Foster Reidy told Fox News’ Chad Pergram in a statement.